Swindon Town v Gillingham FC

[theakston2k]

Coops just said we went four upfront,  two at the back 

Who were the other 2 strikers then? Saying that makes his subs even more bizarre...

[RedRag]

It could be worse, you could be a Pox fan..

Hate to say it but they had 100 less for Morecambe at home and their season is over.  Perhaps we need to look at ourselves?

[CalRed45]

Some points from the guy sat behind me:
- "Go on Byrne" when Smith was running down the line
- "I think I'm going to go back to Anfield next season, much better than this shite"
- "No, he's never played a game before, he is completely new, we have him on loan from Norwich everyone knows that, he joined last week" as Hylton came onto the pitch

[Jimmy Glass is an Alien]

For me Swift kept coming inside where it was too crowded, get Toffollo on my the outside and get some crosses in. Having said that, Toffollo has lost the ability to cross.

[herthab]

Clueless upfront, lacklustre in midfield, kamikaze defending and a goalie who doesn't seem to have any urgency at all.
Not one player tonight should be happy with their performance.

All credit to Gillingham. They didn't park the bus, or come for a point. They came for a win and wanted it more than us.

Shit night.

[JoeMezz]

Who were the other 2 strikers then? Saying that makes his subs even more bizarre...

I guess what he means it Obika and Hylton and then gave licence to put Toffolo and Byrne further up

[Dr Pierre Chang]

Well and truly embarrassed both on the pitch and in the stands - the pikeys took the piss and they loved every minute of it.

I know we have quite a few fans who suffer from an inferiority complex and will see the season as a great success even if we missed out on the play offs (we won't) or lose in the semis (I hope not) but we are not over achieving by being up there.

We have the league's best keeper, top scorer, some top young players on loan and a first choice midfield trio worth around £4 million between them. it would be a travesty if we were not up there.

Plenty of time left and I would begin on Saturday by dropping the clear weak link - Branco. Thankfully Stephens is back. It's also time for Obika to get a good run over Smith.

[Iffy's Onion Bhaji]

Worst performance of the season. Lacklustre sums it up as well. Looked as if we didn't want it at times tonight.

Coops need to change something. We have become too predictable. Gills has their tactics spot on tonight. We are a shadow of the team from a few months ago.

[theakston2k]

Coops need to change something.

Is he actually capable of changing things though, I remember last season and the same old no plan B arguments. Plan A has just worked better this year!

[chalkies_shorts]

That was shite. I couldn't pick a MOM, everyone was shit but take a bow Byrne and Swift. In a team of shit performances both of these excelled. After an absolutely barnstorming first three months Byrne appears to have lost every aspect of being a professional footballer. He's now on a consistent run of bollox performances. Swift, yet again showed how good he is on the ball and how utterly abject he is at finding a red shirt. Our decision making around the box is totally shot to pieces.
Then we get to the defence who recently might as well come out in red noses and clowns outfits. Yet more shit goals given away.
I've now given up hope of a top 2 spot. I'm not sure where the leadership is on the pitch.
I will, however, give the Pikeys credit. They didn't park the caravan and came at us from the off. Tactically they played a solid 4-4-2 but got men behind the ball. They worked bloody hard and they showed class in front of goal when needed. Given Edinburgh's job at Newport and here, I might well have a cheeky little punt on them next season. I also believe Edinburgh is our shortest tenure manager at one day.
Its still been a good season but we're shit at the back, ordinary in midfield and the front 2 are getting fuck all service.

[Batch]

Firstly some credit to the Gills, they hassled us well and defended well. They improvised finishing of two of their goals very well.

That was comfortably the worst I've seen from us this season. Favourable results elsewhere should not mask the very poor performance tonight. There was absolutely nothing there.

The back 3 (4 with Wes) are shocking at the moment. The simplicity and ease at which we are being opened up is really embarrassing. Hoofs over the top and we shit ourselves. I'm not saying they are bad players back there, but the nerves or whatever it is are killing them. Cooper can bleat all he wants about possession and not scoring, but it can't be more fucking obvious this area is even more of a concern.

The midfield was not driving the game at all. Byrne was terrible, nothing came off,  but at least he tried. Toffolo the same.  Kassim isn't at the level he was at earlier in the season, but was OK at times. Swift is frustrating. I think he tried to pass more, but it didn't really work for him. Luongo may as well have stayed at home and watched the TV.

Up front Smith put in a good cross, which Willo could have done better with from a very difficult angle. But other than that is doing absolutely nothing to justify keeping a starting place much longer. Willo is off form, but is a shit load better than Smith.

But what I really don't understand is like for like changes of the front two when 2-0 down. IT WASN'T WORKING FOR FUCKS SAKE. TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Go 4-4-2, Stick Swift just behind the front 2, something. It may make it worse, but given we were absolute bollocks you have to try something. Cooper for the first time angered me by sticking to his guns hoping it would suddenly work. Apparently we went to 2 at the back when Branco came off. It sure as hell didn't look any different to me.

I'm not saying the system that served us so well up to now should be abandoned. No way, but if something has utterly failed to work for 50-60 minutes why persist.

Lastly Obika looked twice as good as Smith, Hylton did alright, too early to know if he's an Austin or a Connell. Gladwin was Gladwin.

[jimbob]

I blame gladwin

[FormerlyPlymRed]

Fucking shit. Too slow, not enough shots or urgency when we are losing.

Swift - pass the ball quicker, stop taking 30000000 touches.
Toffolo - attack the fullback and whip a cross in, stop taking the easy option!
Smith/Obika - win a fucking header and hold the ball up
Kasim - stop slowing play all the time
Byrne - sort out your crossing
Fods - time and a place for short passing, sometimes it needs to just go long but not to our shortest player (byrne)
Branco - where was your head tonight?

Even after this abysmal performance, only 1 point further off 2nd place and still the same clear of Sheffield. Win on Saturday and hopefully kick on

[jimbob]

I blame gladwin

Sorry he was February's scapegoat I remember now

[JoeMezz]

Go 4-4-2,

Can I just ask, who would play LB, RB, RM and LM if we played 4-4-2? Just wondering as I think we don't have enough wide players at the club to make that viable.