Thetownend.com

Another home game already  :eek:
Tranmere have one win and a draw, scoring one goal and conceding none.

My prediction is a 1-0 victory

Att: 6,322 (168 away)

2-0 Williams, Simpson

Att. 7.5k ish

No idea what to predict here. They have scored 1 and conceeded 0 in their two league games with a 2-2 draw with Oldham in the cup sandwiched in between.

Swindon 1-1 Tranmere.

Pleased to say I am going.

2-1 defeat.

Att: 6,500

Looking forward to it, night games can be special and hopefully a decent crowd can continue the positivity.

2-1 Town, Simpson and McKirdy.
Att: 6,678

Draw. 1-1

I have no idea what to expect.

6-0

Just have the same feeling as I did that Huddersfield midweek home game I missed from the mid-late 90's

gonna put a tenner on it

Any one know if the Fire station is open for parking tomorrow??

Happy Days...you missed the singalong:

Cheer up Brian Horton
Oh what can it mean
To a sad Oxford bastard
With a shit football team

(https://clipartix.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Music-notes-image-of-musical-notes-clip-art-gladstone-high-school.jpg)

Daydream Believer...

6 - 1 (Simpson hattrick, Harry Styles brace, Payne)
Att: 6892

1-0 Swindon, Payne
Att 7900
350 Tranmere

no KKH tomorrow, the best Town player Saturday. We've got nothing in the last third and difficult to see where the goals might come from, plus the football was uninspiring.
Early days, so none of the above matters too much.
However, I'm going for another 2-1 defeat and 5,800

We've scored four goals in two league games thus far - not bad for a team who had players starting the Scunthorpe game who had 45 minutes in the tank from pre-season.

3-2  town simpson to get of the mark  with payne and mckirdy tonight in front of 6500 crowd.

3-1 home win.

2-0 home win,7250 att.

My first game since FGR in 2020. Missed Carlisle due to being best man at a wedding across the country. Cannot wait to be in the county ground again. Win, lose or draw it will be nice to be back to normal.

I reckon 1-1 as we have a decent record against Tranmere, but they are yet to concede, so the two will cancel each other out.

3-0 to us. Optimistic for this one :-)

Ever the optimist so I’ll go 2-1 Town with Simpson and Payne getting the goals. Att 7,200

I'm not gonna be in the stadium until just before half time at best due to work, so all the good shit will happen before then...

On to football matters. Looking forward to this again.
Hoping Johnny Williams makes an appearance at some part of the game.

White Hart roundabout closed I understand, detour for me.

Shut for 3 months so either join the A419 southbound (at the white hart roundabout) and come off at the commonhead roundabout then go pass the hospital - Queens Drive or cut through South Marston and follow the Swindon Road through Stratton towards Greenbridge.

they coned off 1 lane from commonhead to coate yesterday,total clusterfuck, avoid or leave early mate >:(

Fascinated to see how Jonny Williams will get on at this level. Surely he should shine.

Anthony Grant v Jay Spearing should be a good battle in midfield.

In equal measure I so looked forward to the Carlisle game and dreading this evening’s. Not about the result but the affirmation we’re set for fanny football at the back - flicks and attempted show passes in areas where clearing your lines should be the priority.

The fact is, most opposition team aren’t that good and if an agricultural clearance or 2 gives the ball back we’ll get it back soon enough to build again.

What’s set in my mind was under Luke Williams and being 2-1 up against Oldham, I think, with a couple of minutes to go and some fancy ass flick got misdirected and they equalised. That one, in particular, really fucked me off.

Perhaps my nerves are shot!

So basically what you are saying is.......

Get it Fooorrrwwwaaarrrddd.....  ;)

Not at all. I’m saying be a bit more pragmatic at the back and not think every pass has to be a ‘Barcelona’ flick in a dangerous area. If we’re not bring pressed closely, by all means play it out, but if some hairy arsed lower league halfwit is breathing down your neck, get rid.

Do we have a row Z at the CG?  :sherlock:

Who comes up with these midweek fixtures, Barrow v Exeter, Crawley v Salford, Gash v Oldham, Orient v Harrogate.  ::)

As bad as the opening day fixture Exeter v Bradford with all the holiday traffic gridlocking the M5

Going to be A34 / M4 for me.
Leaving earlier than normal.

Think I'll take a similar route - live in wheatley

Let us know how it goes.

We aren’t down tonight but looking at alternative routes for the next Saturday home game (Bank Holiday Weekend)

You can come in on the A420 but have to filter onto the 419  to Commonhead. Coming back is via the South Marston Roundabout down the 419 then filter back onto the 420.

Its because the EFL think that no one will travel, and the clubs can make more money of ifollow

Wary that it might be a bit chaotic, and don’t fancy sitting in a queue on the A420, so wondered if it’s better to go A40 to Burford & through Highworth or down the A34 to the M4.

Posh - Queued for 10 minutes to exit the M4 westbound at J15 on Saturday, due to roadworks reducing lanes on the roundabout. Tip: you CAN use the left hand lane 1/2 way up the sliproad, marked 'A419 & A346' even though everyone is sitting in the right lane...

Is tonight's game available on Ifollow for UK based people? I can't remember the rules now.

I can see where your coming from as I got a bit of Willams deja vu, on saturday.   Not so much at Scunthorpe.    I think the difference for me was that at scunny we were away and so 2 holding midfielders sitting deep is ok , but also Ilandolo looked to break the lines quicker than Reed did, particularly 2nd half.

At home I'd prefer to see a more box to box type player play as the second midfielder to give more passing options, particularly under the press, or we end up playing far too deep as happened a few times on Saturday.

It's very early days so not getting worked up about it.

Or cut across from the A420 at Watchfield and pick up the A361 (Highworth road).

it should be...

https://www.efl.com/news/2021/august/how-to-watch-the-efl-in-season-202122/ (https://www.efl.com/news/2021/august/how-to-watch-the-efl-in-season-202122/)

there is a table on the EFL page linked

How do we get Odimayo into the side?

He'll be in for the suspended Kessler Hayden tonight won't he?

For those of you coming down the A420 from Faringdon way. Come off at Faringdon and cut through Coleshill, Highworth then either A361 to Stratton or via Blunsdon over the A419 and come down via Groundwell. Or after the first Shrivenham roundabout turn right towards Highworth via the Wragg Barn golf course. If you come down the M4 come off @ J14 turn towards Wantage and take the first left and follow past Lambourn and Baydon bringing you to the Foxhills crossroads, either turn left and then turn right onto the B4192 and down through Liddington, lever the A419 roundabout past the GWH. Or at the Foxhills crossroads straight over and through Wanborough into the back of Covingham.

Not going to be able to get to the game now  :badmood: can I still watch a midweek game on ifollow without a VPN?

Yeah it's available on there.

Couple of ways we could line up at the back:

Crichlow - Odimayo - Conroy - Hunt

Iandolo - Crichlow - Conroy - Hunt/Odimayo

Cheers

Thanks Batch.

2-0 Parsons and Mckirdy

Club's social media seems to be indicating that Williams will be starting.

I’d prefer the latter but going with Odi over Hunt.

1-0 to us, JW getting the goal on debut

ifollow again for me too tonight unfortunately.

I listened without commentary (thank God!) on Saturday.

Will Andrew Hawes & Co and Swindon Comms be back tonight?

Well, that teams a bit of a departure

Just got my ticket  :)

Bit worried about Conroy playing a double gameweek.

In the absence of JJ

TEAM NEWS 👥 |  Here’s your Town Starting XI for tonight’s game:

1. Wollacott
2. Odimayo
4. Conroy (C)
5. Crichlow
9. Simpson
10. Payne
11. McKirdy
24. Hunt
25. Reed
29. Parsons
42. Grant

SUBS | Ward, Iandolo, Gladwin, Williams, East, Aguiar, Dabre

bench looks tidy tho...obviously subs could make a difference tonight due to fitness,Gladwin was very leggy Sat.,not much up front though

First time I'll have seen us this season, looking forward to this one.

We haven't done Tuesday nights well for a while now.

Trend to be bucked tonight.
1-0, 90th minute. Sub Gladwin to score.

What's happened to Hartley? Hope he's OK. Phil Smith co-comms.

Watching on my mobile up in the Lake District so not posting in the thread as signal is a bit shit with just enough to stream the game at 720p.

If we get straight at them then who knows what this team is capable of yet. Could easily go either way.

Hmm, two youngsters up front. Surprised not to see Iandolo start ahead of Hunt. Think we’ll struggle against an organised defence - predict 0-1.

Mmm,Parsons and Simpson.Big test for them

Fucking, cunting Vodafone broadband drops to 3G right before KO. Can just about access this forum.

Deathly quiet on here tonight.

I'm listening in.....

Odimayo’s started well.

Playing the high press well against a side that’s trying to play football. Good to watch so far.

Commentators curse hits Grant.

So close to Simpson - twice.

Anyone else having problems with ifollow ??

Interestingly, McKirdy’s playing central MF with Payne wider, though not on the wing.

I realise a few of them play other positions, but we in theory have six central mids on the bench, right?

Swindon attacking well on the left. Parsons can’t make the ball stick with him atm

Yes - keeps buffering and losing resolution

Lovely fast move ending in a decent Payne shot.

Tranmere done nothing in this game but should be 2-0 up. Swindon the better team though overall.

Simpson gifts them a chance from the corner. Lofted over from four yards.

Lovely take and pass from Parsons just then on his first league start.

Good effort from Simpson and Parsons in the last few mins..

And again, Parsons turns, runs and shoots really well. Looking a proper footballer here.

Glad I’m not the only one!! Absolute crap.

Parson's doing well today.

We’re playing some lovely footy here. Fast, sharp, accurate. What could possibly go wrong?

League 2 Lukaku with an attempted overhead kick

Are you Marley in disguise? 😂

:D. nowhere near as creative

0-0 HT

Probably unlucky not to be ahead. Tranmere haven't done much asides from a couple of chances.

Decent half i thought

Much more purposeful than Saturday...

Enjoyable half of football that. Swindon play it round nicely on the deck but lack that killer pass. Hunt and Payne having a lot of joy on the left.

Saying that Tranmere haven’t really pressured Swindon but should be able 2-0 up due to comical Swindon errors. In league 1 those chances would have been punished.

First goal crucial.

Payne looking good,  Odimayo also looks good at full back. Keep him there with the Villa lad further forward might be a good option for Saturday if you're reading Ben?

Why was there a clamour to sign McKirdy? Get Williams on - now!

Decent half. If this is Town still in pre-season mode then there's plenty to come. Parsons looking good enough for L2 already but definitely still need that experienced former Republic of Ireland International to help out (no not Sheridan) :)

Enjoyable first half with some nice play from both sides. We are just missing that final third piece. Reed has been closer to Payne than on Saturday and has looked better for it. Hunt has also got himself further up the pitch. I like the look of Parsons as well.  We just need to find that final ball.

Really enjoyable half that. The football wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Championship. We’ve dominated possession but they’ve troubled us on their occasional breaks. Odimayo started well, Parsons looked good running at the defence, Payne creating loads, Grant making some great blocks and Wollacott coming out sharply all caught the eye. Still feel we’d get more on the left from Iandolo than Hunt.

Better team but frustrating at times.

The needs improvement:

Reed - he's not really adding much other than the occasional good set piece
McKirdy - appears to have no idea how to play wide right, he's going to be proper exciting or rank from one game to the next
Hunt - not a bad performance as such, just would love someone who can cross a ball playing there
Parsons - looks like a youth player at times, some really promising signs of talent but he's too eager and losing the ball a fair bit.

The good:

Payne - much better positionally today, which is probably because he drifts left anyway, but he has left  our defenders alone and created better shape as a result
Grant - total control, all the more impressive because he's the only one providing presence in the middle
Odimayo - for 20 minutes or so he looked more than capable of filling the right back gap - him and KKH together could be fun

Overall we look a few players short of being quite a good team, which is amazing considering where we were only 3 weeks or so ago.

Luckily the Tranny number 10 is a slow donkey, he should have buried that one chance.

A couple of things, Grant and Reed both started slow and never got into the game until 20 mins in but since then both have been excellent.

Parsons is not quite ready for a starting slot IMO his touch is good but he often chooses the wrong option.

Simson has 4/5 of the qualities to be a decent striker, i think if he grabs a goal it will give him the confidence he needs.

McKirdy frustrates me 9 times out of every 10 times he touches the ball, but that 1 time in every 10 he looks almost a world beater.

When we are in good attacking positions we are slow to get bodies into dangerous positions for the cross and havent really looked like we will trouble them as we are trying to walk the ball in, we need to take some risks in thier box.

Over all though fairly decent.

Would much rather see Iandolo at LB... nothing against Hunt...

Much, much better. Just need a bit of the rub of the green. Worse performance so far is the ref and Arkells lino.

Agree, I think at this level, unless we play against a really good right winger you can afford a more attacking minded player.  Hunt is more than competent, and it's amazing that he is comfortable with both feet for a player in L2.  But, he just doesn't have that same confidence going forward that he had as a right back at this level last time out.

just a little lacking in peace of attack when it matters, and a cutting edge

don't get me wrong, we've controlled the ball most of the half and have certainly created chances

shit grant was lucky then. var would have given the pen. proper yanked the striker arm on the cross

We haven’t started as sharp this half. Lots of little errors.

Jojo keeps us in the game.

Third chance this half for Tranmere.  Bad miss, great save by Wollacot

Great save by Wollacott

McKirdy yellow. Shooting opportunity for Tranmere

Stupid foul from McKirdy.

we've seen 4 days of Williams being paraded. let's get the lad on!

Slow and ponderous.
Shot/cross from Hunt

Seem to keep over hitting the final pass.

Parson leaves the boot in which ends the latest attack

Surprised they’re looking to bring Gladwin on.

Bring on Gladwin for Parsons would be change.

Both teams sloppy on the ball atm.

Third awful pass from Odimayo. Payne gets it back and draws a foul in Twine range.

Gladwin on for Parsons

Payne puts it over the bar

Conversion by Payne.

All our shots are Payne from 20+ yards. We need to get the ball into the box a bit more.

Payne looks our most likely outlet at the moment - if only he had a shot like Gladwin

McKirdy needs to be brought off - running down blind alleys

McKirdy always has a bit too much trust in his ability to beat the second tackle.

Should have scored. Great play.

First 'killer ball' from Payne left McKirdy clear through. Great save by the keeper.

8274. Very decent for midweek.

A brief flick through social media reminds me of why I don't look often. The childish cretins have gone from 'HMS Piss the League' to 'Garner out' in one and half games. Some of those seriously need to get laid

Close by Payne.

What a ball by Payne,should be 1 nil

Williams coming on.

That's the sort of opportunity Simpson needs to get him rolling..

Think we have looked worse since Gladwin came on.

I’d say that’s more coincidence than causation.

Great ball by Gladders, smart chest and shot by McKirdy

McKirdy chance from Gladwin through ball. Good save

Williams for McKirdy

An absolute pearler of a ball by Gladders. Another great chance for McKirdy

Funny,I thought the opposite.Ah well

There's a goal coming...

<<<McKirdy
Williams >>>

Iandolo for Hunt

Probs a bit late bringing Ian on now. Usually needs time to get into the game. Would've favoured him coming on much earlier, if not starting him.

Williams looks very bright down the left. Not sure anyone is going to get on the end of any of his crosses though!

Williams needs Simpson to get closer to the keeper.

FK on the edge of the box.

Crossing into the box full of red midgets is the problem

Jojo cleans up again. Done brilliantly tonight.

Wollacott saves us twice!

Make that 3 times!

Jojo has looked really good - well happy with him, looking more and more like Wes every game

Odimayo put in down the wing by Payne. Final ball lacking

Better quality performance than we could ever have hoped for a few weeks ago

Credit to the Tranmere defence. As I predicted. They only seem to do binary results.

Gladwin 'just a little slow there'

FT 0-0

Walacott saved us, but we deserved the draw

Decent that. Definitely lacking up top though.

Decent game, fair result.

One point from six at home isn’t great, think we will do better away from home until we get some experience up front.

Happy with that all things considering. Just need that killer instinct upfront and hopefully that will come with Williams and any new strikers we sign. Can’t see us getting relegated but we may struggle against more direct teams.

Get that benchmark ST in and we will do alright this year, hopefully alongside Simpson.  Give him somebody alongside him and he will score a load..

Thanks to all for keeping us up to date.

Happy with that. No way will this side be in the bottom two come the end of the season. A good performance against a side you expect to be in the play off mix. Oh and an 8k+ crowd  :clap:

Thought we'd struggle to begin with, and we've got plenty of room to improve but we have four points on the board and plenty to build on too. Above where I expected us to be so soon.

Over 8k midweek is brilliant too.

We’re a decent enough team and Tranmere regressed to pure long ball. We need more up top!

I'll take that point

Well I would have taken 9th after 3 games if you would have offered it to me before the season started.  I expected us to be bottom 4 tbh

Hope we are aiming a bit higher than third bottom!

Reasonably happy with that considering. Would be unfair to focus on the negatives.

That's another pre-season game out of the way. Closer to being ready.

Will take that. We’re beginning to look like a team. We definitely need a couple more up front, and we’re not going to see so much of McKirdy from the start now Williams is here. Would prefer Iandolo behind him on the left, and Odimayo behind KKH on the right. Payne very busy in left mid, and Reed looked solid behind him - better than Gladwin at the moment.

It’s starting to come together.

its an ok start. as much as can be expected- we have good bits of creative play but that final ball is missing. hopefully that top target striker can unlock this team.

most players were solid tonight- im not a huge fan of mckirdy he can do bursts of brilliant but does run into walls far too often, really sure have scored in the 2nd half.

grant had his moments of brillance and control but could have cost us 3 times tonight- caught on the ball twice and a penalty claim for pulling.

im looking forward to this team in after 10 games when we have finished recruiting and gelled a bit more. you can tell already some training ground moves are beginning to creep in. the freekick knockdown for crichlow last week and the corner routine tonight which was cleared off the line from paynes effort

For a LG 2 goalless draw that was very entertaining.

Credit to Tranmere for coming to play.

Looking forward to seeing Williams combine with KKH.  Think we'll start to look dangerous rather than just controlled when all the players get more used to one another.

But without a more serious cutting edge that won't amount to enough.

1 x W
1 x L
1 x D

Par for the course to some degree. Do that all season and Town end up on 52pts. Where would that see them?  :hmmm:

Although I've a sneaky suspicion that they will get more than that.

Remembering that Town are still in "pre-season". The signs on the pitch are good.

Spot on.

Simpson isolated up top making it easy for their defence to deal with. He's not the most mobile and doesn't look like creating anything himself. Would benefit from another body to play off maybe or he is going to struggle to get goals.

 Decent game overall I thought. Could have gone either way. Our keeper in particular did very well or we could have lost that.

Yep. I think we need to give it another 3 or so games before we can properly start to judge

Plus the team are getting games under their belts.

Garner:
- Pleasing performance
- Only negative 1 point and not 3
- Strong performance to build on
- McKirdy disappointed he didnt score
- Goals will come. We'll keep polishing in those areas
- Build up play superb
- Tranmere a good team. A lot of experience in the team and manager
- Payne pass to McKirdy was brilliant play
- We looked a threat from set pieces
- We have a way we want to play
- We do want 1 or 2 forwards, but saying we need them in quickly would be harsh on the players tonight. What we need is another option. We just need something different that we can deploy when necessary.
- Dont know on timeframe for incomings
- Defensive performance was good.
- Feeney and McManaman are very good players. Defence did well against them
- Their best moments came from us being a bit loose
- Wollacott has been outstanding across the 3 games so far
- Williams gave glimpses of what he can do
- Gladwin and Williams will get closer fitness wise in the next couple of weeks
- Parsons for a first league start was very good. Proud moment for his family who came to watch
- Sends a message to the academy that you can progress into the first team
- Challenge getting Gladwin up to speed? That will take time. Cant quicken the process up. Gladwin is a special player and will have players around him all the times. He will get better and better. Need to look at what he will deliver long term rather than short term while building fitness
- We are ahead of schedule w/r/t performance and points.
- We have controlled long parts of games and have deserved more than 4 points from the 3 games so far.

Happy with 4 points after 3 games. Onwards and upwards.

Take it really. Always going to be a while before we fully click. Still need that extra striker which will come.

Salford will be an interesting test on Saturday. As someone else said we may fair better away from home at the moment.

Wellens Doncaster on 0 points after three games.

Think we saw near the end of the carlisle game that parsons helped improve simpson massively. With that I was very happy to see parsons start but he did seem a little more deeper tonight from the start- brilliant performance from him again mind.

Being a sole striker against 2 experienced centre backs is extremely tough work let alone for a 19 year old.

That's a good description of where we are. Controlled.

Although we aren't outplayed Tranmere looked just a bit quicker in attack.

I think that side will come with more games and a forward or two. Simpson is too isolated.

But that was a good performance against a good team. A clean sheet and we still created some good chances.

everyone put in the maximum effort.

Chirchlow found it a bit tougher tonight. How did the Tranmere forward miss from what looked like 2 yards!

Anyway, delighted with 4/9 points.

Parsons played well tonight. Seeing a lot more of why he's earned a contract

Putting aside my partisanship I enjoyed that in as much as there clearly was in improvement on Saturdays performance. Still a few players short, match fitness and the gelling factor of a squad made up with 75% new players. Once it falls into place we are going to be a very, very good side. Aspirations of staying up are and will be nothing more than an under achievement. This team will be good enough for the play offs minimum. I still feel autos is not out of the question even at this stage.

Happy with that, could easily have won and could easily have lost. We need that killer edge and 1 good striker could have possibly won that for us even if Simpson didnt get much service, we looked better when Gladwin came on.

Nobody played badly.

Wollacott my MotM as he saved us and for me never put a foot wrong all game.

Reflecting on the two home games, Carlisle came and did a workmanlike spoiling game and playing to those strengths got a result, Tranmere were more like us, tried to play football and could have scored a couple but also got a result. The common denominator for us is the making/taking chances which is not quite happening yet and I would like to think than when we get a settled side and a consistent goal scorer then we will be beating sides like those two without a doubt.

Another great allround display.  Solid on crosses and some good saves.  Vital to get the basics right.

But I like the speed of his distribution.  He's often quite high up the pitch for a keeper too - without alarms so far.  He's like an extra player at the back

We could have won or lost but we seemed very narrow for a lot of the game. I would have like to see the full backs push on more. Simpson was useless. Offers nothing and felt like we were playing with 10 men at times. Can’t remember him touching the ball more than a couple of occasions in the second half and feels like the other players don’t trust/look for him when passing it around. If we can bring in a proper target man to bring others into play we could be a very good team.

It's a sign of how far we've come in a matter of weeks that some are disappointed we've only got 4 points from 7. Today was good, more match sharpness and fitness for the boys, a shame not to get the win, but we didn't lose, no new injuries, good game time for Parsons and a nice little cameo for Williams' debut. Pleased with that, to be honest.

9 leggett, 9

Improvement on Saturday. Great attendance and good away following too. They missed two sitters, but then I think McKirdy would score more often than not if he had that 2nd half chance again.

Back four and Jojo were comfortable. Jojo is Rene Gilmartin’s lasting legacy at the club. Has done really well, not only with the eye catching saves, but his general presence.
Solid signing for this level. Crichlow will be a real asset this year and Conroy got stuck in a few times tonight - a sign his confidence may be returning. Hunt is such a useful player to have in the squad too. He was the one to stay back on Saturday, but today was given the go ahead to get forward and he had his moments, including a lovely move inside in the first half.

In midfield, Grant lost concentration a few times, and I suspect we will see him given a break at times too, if they can get Lyden fit. Reed was tidier tonight too. The defence was looking to those two to come and get the ball.c turn and start play. Reed is going to be quicker to turn than Grant, so we want Reed to be taking this role on and playing a quick ball. It was slower at times, particularly as we tired from 65 onwards. Unlike the three man midfield under Wellens, the Parsons/Gladwin role seems more advanced than the old Doughty role. Parsons grew into the game and did well, but I suspect he’d prefer to be wide or the main man, so he can get the ball played ahead of him rather than into feet with his back to goal. Gladwin isn’t there yet - but I’m sure it’ll come.

As for the wide men, Payne (playing much narrower than McKirdy) was I thought out brightest player - with a bit more movement in front of him, he’ll be lethal. I wonder if, when we have recruited a few more, we’ll see him playing in the 10 role? That would leave Gladwin on the bench, but may be the best balance. McKirdy was better tonight than Saturday - and as I thought then, is definitely going to divide opinion, even if it’s because of his socks and shirt pulled over his hands! He made good runs; nearly scored; ghosts in behind and also did well to turn back a cross in the first half that someone really should have got on the end of.

Simpson worked hard, with two men for company all night. He did all he could to offer himself for a pass, but the midfield rarely played it into him because with two on him, he could rarely retain possession. Good shot in the first half, but needs that first goal.

In Jonny Williams cameo, I counted five fouls in the space of about 10 minutes! He’ll be a marked man for sure…. but has the Caddis/Grant knack for knowing how to invite the free kick….!

Now, let’s see who those strikers are….

Very happy to be able to watch another live match in a matter of days and I was pleasantly surprised by the attendance figure. 

I discerned two cries of ffffooooorrrwwwaaardddd this evening.

Great attendance. Good match. Worth the torturous journey. Left at 5, got home at 1.30. We all know the problem is lack of strikers. Interested to know what people honestly think of Mckirdy. He strikes me as a pretty good non league player. At this level he overplays, lacks end product etc. No composure in front of goal. Always seems to be about to fall over when he shoots. Strangely compelling and frustrating to watch in equal measure!

He was unlucky not to get a brace yesterday. I like him, better than a lazy striker.

Haven't read back completely so not sure if this was mentioned, but Peter Clarke's been playing longer than Simpson has been alive :D think he used that experience well last night. Joe Murphy in goal didn't look 39 either I thought.

What's happened to Rob Hartley on BBC Wilts co commentory he seems to have been replaced with Steve Hale or Phil Smith

Maybe he wants to be in the crowd?

Maybe although you would imagine he had free admission for both home and away games.

Really enjoyed watching two teams playing Div 3 football. An excellent nil-all match. Simpson was isolated but agree we need a more experienced head up top to make it more uncomfortable for defenders. That said, I think Simpson will be an asset this year and will improve. Compared with Saturday we played much better across the whole team and you could see that the training is having an impact. I am sure that the season will have its ups and downs but we look to be assembling a team that could surprise and challenge. Great attendance too!

Good game.
Two clean sheets in first 4 games.
Haven't checked but must have taken half a season to do that last year.

Tranmere were better than Carlisle and very good away following for a midweek game.

Impressed with Parsons. Looks to have sprouted and filled out a bit over the summer.
Struggled to keep the ball in first 10 or 15 mins then his space management was excellent thereafter.
It's to our benefit that he somehow managed to avoid ending up in a youth player warehouse stockpile at Championship level or above.

The Hurdy (Mc)Gurdy Man is like marmite.
I like him. Got a great engine, so what if the satnav goes awry now and again.

The new normal after forking out £2.50 for a black coffee is making sure that the milk from the sachets doesn't squirt everywhere but into the cup.

I see the Pox only had 6500 home fans in attendance last night.  :girlgiggle:

Its pleasing that we seem to have got the defence sorted out as its great not to be guaranteed to fuck up and ship a couple of stupid goals a game, gives a much easier starting point (obviously).

I think as much as anything Simpson needs a goal and that could see him kick on, that aside we are crying out for a striker, our seasons over the last few years seems to hinge on whether we can get a decent striker in and sadly it seems very hit and miss.

And the Gas had 6005 😀 Also Doncaster have lost all three games so far!

PPP came on as a sub and was booked.

I can't see him playing many matches once their pitch turns into a swamp as even walking becomes hard!

I haven’t read back - but I enjoyed the game - both sides played football, and had chances to win. Both keepers made excellent saves in the second half. On the balance of play we ought to have won, but some encouraging signs of a pattern of play emerging.
I thought Simpson had a good game last night, and was better used than Saturday, and Parsons also. McGirdy I am less sure about - whichever wing he is on he tries to cut inside and is easy to read. However, both on Saturday and last night he looked more dangerous when more central - and could have scored on two occasions. There was more pace, tempo and movement than Saturday - which Parsons starting ahead of Gladwin contributed to. Having said that, Gladwin’s passing created some late chances. I suspect when all are fully we may not know what is our best eleven as there are a lot of midfield options.
If KKH is back on Saturday, I’d start him on the right midfield, with  Odimayo at right back.

I can't get on board with KKH further up the pitch, he's shown he's good defensively and very capable of getting into the opposition box from RB, I think we'd be hamstringing ourselves by putting AK behind him.  If you do that you'd have to sacrifice one of Payne, Gladwin, McKirdy, Parsons or Williams.  Any of the actual forward players being played at RW will want to cut inside a bit, having KKH bomb on beyond when that happens makes us much more dangerous in my opinion.

I'd be more concerned with the lack of support for the lone forward. It's about scoring goals after all. At times there was him with 5 of theirs between him and the goal. Too much for a young lad to do alone. I feel for Simpson as it isn't his fault. My only criticism is that he isn't the most mobile of players and doesn't play on the shoulder which makes it difficult to break through. Back to goal in front of the defenders makes it easy for them. Either he needs another body up there with him or we get someone else in who can lead the line alone if this team set up is going to stay.

Tranmere fans on their forum talking about their team having only just been out together and bemoaning a lack of striker. (Sound familiar?!) They have noticed the man that got them promoted last time, James Norwood, has been transfer listed but he’s be out of reach of a div 4 club. Bossed us when he came on at Portman Road last year and at the CG. On the subject of Ipswich strikers, I read in Simson’s Wikipedia entry that he’d been offered a rugby contract with Leicester Tigers but chose to pursue football. Have seen him play four times now and he looks strong but needs to learn how to use it. Got knocked about by the Tranmere centre backs a few times in the first half. Gifted the visitors a ‘sitter’ from a corner too. I’m not convinced he’s any more chance of making the grade than Parsons. Both lads who have been picked up by their local clubs and given a chance. Reckon Parsons has more attributes actually.
Oh, Tranmere fans also incensed by another ticket “shambles” trying to pick up pre paid tickets.

Lastly, on tickets, with the ease of buying online now I can see away fans infiltrating a home end somewhere soon. Rovers games could be ‘interesting’….

That had more to do with him keeping his attendance record alive...

 :eek: :)

Bit of a shame really as I think he was a very good co-comms. Can't say I really enjoyed Phil Smith's musings really. He wasn't the worst but I'd definitely have others over him.

Same here and what's happened to Steve White, Sam Parkin & Dave Hockaday

Hope he doesn't read this forum as I think that is harsh. He's 19 playing as a lone striker against experienced defenders. He is not going to win the golden boot but he is certainly not useless.

I'm with Kinky Tom. There's is nothing finer than an overlapping full back and I think KKH will be outstanding at it.

Simpson is doing what he can, he desperately needs to work on his first touch/control though as it bounces off him more often than not.

Well that was a 'next goal wins' game...

I was excited when we attacked without huge expectation and then nervous when Tranmere broke on us.

Team is slowly pulling together bit by bit.

Striker please to help out the big Ipswich lad.

I think the way Simpson plays is probably going to be better utilised away from home. I think given his power and strength he probably needs to play on the shoulders of defenders higher up the pitch running onto through balls from Reed, Payne etc. At home he isn't going to be afforded this luxury. The balls are worked into the strikers on the half term etc and early in the first half both Parsons and Simpson kept losing it as the Tranmere defence was well organised. There was improvement in the second but I agree, his first touch and control will need to be better in home games where teams are well organised and sit in fairly deep.

Too early to say for sure, but you wouldn't be surprised to see Carlisle and Tranmere up there come the end of the season. Two very different sides but neither pushovers. To have competed the way we have in the past two games gives real hope that we'll be a force to be reckoned with in a few weeks time. We all know that the right striker is the key to our success this season. Garner seems to know who he wants, let's hope it comes off.

Plenty of reasons to feel optimistic.
Some decent possession last night. Dion Conroy looked assured and was continually communicating with the back line that in the main looked solid. We came out with the ball better than on Saturday albeit Tranmere did not impose the high line press.
Equally we turned the ball around a lot quicker which was impressive, particularly the first half.
Created chances but tough on a rookie leading the line and am expecting another forward in the building by the weekend.

Really want Garner to achieve as liking everything he is trying to implement and can only see us getting better and better. Shock crowd for a mid week game.
Usually a little despondent after a draw at home but not yesterday and now looking forward to Salford.

One thing about Conroy.

The first couple of games I’ve noticed him, not pulling out of a 50/50, more not 100% commitment to it. Last night he thundered into one with good effect!

Hope that sets his mind at ease. He’s a classy fucker.

I thought Carlisle looked a far better side than Tranmere. Salford will give us a really good idea of where we're at.

I do feel we need one more bigger body in midfield who can hold off a challenge.
Gladwin most of the time can glide and hold his own but sometimes gets caught out. Grant we know about.

The front 3 are tricky and can get away from players but if they're caught, they invariably are tackled and are easily pushed off the ball.
Looking forward to seeing how Williams copes with keeping the ball.

I must admit though it's hard to think of a similar player we've had in recent years apart from a fit Gladwin.
Kasim and to an extent Luongo I guess would be the closest comparison.

But hey, it's league 2.

Can't modify my post but just looking at the table, I expected Salford to be higher.
A fit Gladwin and more importantly with KKH playing last night, we would have won I'm sure.

I cringed when he went for it, not sure if I thought he mistimed it and was in danger of a red or I was afraid he'd hurt himself but relieved he came through it unscathed!

Sent from my CLT-L09

It must take guts to go into challenges after his injury problems. I'm afraid of walking down the stairs because of my dodgy ankle.

Impressed with the Tranmere fans, decent number for a Tuesday night, and they kept on singing.  Fair play to them.

fair comment

Yes I thought it was a good turn out and they were out to enjoy themselves. Anybody got any ideas about the away attendance?

381 away fans last night.

I predicted the attendance would be 7900 with 350 away fans so wasn't far out😀

That's the HMHB influence!  ;D

https://youtu.be/AtuTkOeHpWk
Strange but enjoyable 3 way including Ivo Graham and The General.
That line above doesn’t read well at all!