Early Cobblers' thread

[FrankMoody]

Originally Posted by FrankMoody

Gray and Hatfield both worked their socks off with absolutely awful service. Personally I think the criticism should be aimed at the following:
odejaye - can't put more than 2 performances in once he gets his place back in the team, never won a header, took root in the middle of Northamptons half
molyneux - gave us absolutely nothing all day
back 4 - looked as though they had never played together before, gifted them a goal and tried to do it a couple of times after that. Also humped every ball as far as they could for a static odejaye and 5'-10" gray who needs the ball to feet or space.
JB - our set pieces are dreadful - hardly ever miss the first man and when we do hardly ever look like scoring, also game was dead after 55 minutes, 3 attacking subs required

Without Pierro or kal in the team we have zero creativity, with odejaye in the team we go route 1 all day and he goes from 6'4" to 5'-3" when he jumps

Havnt heard JB interview yet, but will be interesting to see if he trots out the usual drivel

To be fair just seen JBs interview - fair play to him honest assessment, credit to him I'll go back in my box

[bdc]

Poor defending and a lack of emphasis on playing high tempo passing football is what cost us today. Chesterfield and Morecambe performances showed us what the benchmark has to be in order to beat teams we need to be fast out of the blocks and get pressure on the opposition.

The goal was a shambles by our defence, they just walked through our defenders and made it look very easy. Kayode looks way off the pace and needs dropping, would've like to have seen subs made much earlier to initiate change a lot quicker. Buxton doesn't look suited to playing left back and think Liddle should start there next week.

Without doubt the worst performance since Dagenham home game.

[yonmon]

After the horrendous error that meant the Reds were always going to play catch-up, and the mistake-strewn first half which could easily have resulted in a result being out of sight, I really hoped that with a gee-ing up of our midfield and positive use of substitutes that JB's
Strategy for a more cohesive second a half performance would materialise into something resembling an all-round team effort .
Sadly, this wasn't to be the case, and more of the same plus some resolute defending from a hardworking Northampton midfield and back four, plus the abysmal efforts of another inept trio of Officials, made for a missed opportunity to ensure near-safety and a dull match to behold also !.
Anyway I could be persuaded that this afternoon's non-performance was nothing but a blip on t'Stanleys road to success, and that another of their sterling away performances at York next Saturday will redress the balance .

PS... Whilst, as you know by now I am always ready to champion the rights and efforts of OAP's....I don't think that they should turn up at t'Storefirst masquerading as FA Referees !...and then go on to officiate a match !...as seemed to be the case again today !....and yes, he really did need to go to Specsavers....ASAP !.

[Redraine]

Originally Posted by bdc

Buxton doesn't look suited to playing left back and think Liddle should start there next week. .

Correct. I don't think that Adam has matched his early strong performances at right back and always seems uneasy on the left. I would prefer him on the right in preference to Nicky Hunt.

[accybeme]

as cashy says (Northants were nowt special, but we were worse)
as usual I applauded the reds as the trudged off the pitch at full time
and it was very evident to see the frustration and hurt on our players faces,
yes it was Northants day today but it will be ours tomorrow

[Wynonie Harris]

...just to add insult to injury, bumped into a group of Cobblers fans celebrating in a pub in Manchester. It's a hard job being a Stanley fan, but somebody's got to do it! ��

[cashman]

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

...just to add insult to injury, bumped into a group of Cobblers fans celebrating in a pub in Manchester. It's a hard job being a Stanley fan, but somebody's got to do it! ��

Never mind bud can't really blame em. We will be next week, when we get summat at York, Can't play that poor again.

[DAV007]

cashman,
its nice to see you being positive despite a poor performance and result.
In the grand scheme of things, survival is all that counts this season after the start we had.

[winstanley asfc]

Our three remaining away matches are against play off chasing clubs. Northampton continue to be a bogey club to us,let's hope they haven't inflicted too much damage?!

[cashman]

Originally Posted by DAV007

cashman,
its nice to see you being positive despite a poor performance and result.
In the grand scheme of things, survival is all that counts this season after the start we had.

The only way to see things Dav, is a club wi our finances, survival in league is always n achievement, even though we all hope fer better.

[Aussie Irene]

Originally Posted by cashman

The only way to see things Dav, is a club wi our finances, survival in league is always n achievement, even though we all hope fer better.

Cashy, with some of the comments you make, my hubby says he is sure you went to the same Stanley training school as Mrs Smith (mother of one your old mates, Tony)

[Exile on Spencer St]

Originally Posted by winstanley asfc

Our three remaining away matches are against play off chasing clubs. Northampton continue to be a bogey club to us,let's hope they haven't inflicted too much damage?!

I'm afraid I wasn't as surprised as I was disappointed by yesterday's result. If there is one thing I know about Stanley it's that they can play their best against good teams, and play their worst against teams at the bottom of the league. So I'm less worried about upcoming games against promotion chasers.
As our friends from Morecambe know, every team has it's bogey and The Cobblers seem to be Stanley's.
By the way, given that yesterday's result appears to be Stanley's 13th defeat by a single goal, I'm hoping it was entirely down to bad luck.

[Chimer]

Originally Posted by winstanley asfc

Our three remaining away matches are against play off chasing clubs. Northampton continue to be a bogey club to us,let's hope they haven't inflicted too much damage?!

That's all right, we just can't beat clubs below us at home!!

[shakermaker]

The flat, lifeless performace from the players can be excused after two long distance away trips andthe relentless fixtures of March.
What must be addressed however is any hint of "we've already achieved safety" in the camp. We could be dragged back into the mire and now is not the time to switch off mentally even if the legs are struggling.
I was disappointed by Beattie's lack of game management; no tactical switches to match Northampton's extra man in midfield (which would have helped the leggy Joyce & Murphy no end) and no subs until ten minutes from time when the game was over.
There's a great virtue in having faith in a team and sticking by them but sometimes tough decisions have to be made. I would have taken off Joyce, Hatfield and Odejayi not long after half time and brought on Windass, Mingoia and Webber. We could have matched their narrow shape and made chances with our quality through the middle - our crosses were abysmal all afternoon.
Hopefully changing a dying game is the next module in JB's football BTEC!

[Redraine]

Originally Posted by shakermaker

Hopefully changing a dying game is the next module in JB's football BTEC!

Well, he has a lot to learn. He has failed to react in time far too often this season at home when we have been struggling to make any impression. We will never really know, but had he been more proactive I think we would be safe by now.