vs Stockport County

[Redraine]

Looking at the video the first goal wasn't Bav's fault alone, or even at all. Proccy ducked his head out of the way when it was within range and "headable", an instintive reaction but not what is required, otherwise why have a wall in the first place?

[Phil Whalley]

Originally Posted by shakermaker

I simply can't fathom why - when we have a more than capable left winger in Dennehy - Coleman continues with this idiotic formation.
We've got a 4-4-2 with three central midfielders and one natural winger - playing on the wrong flank of course.
And why is Roscoe still getting a starting place ahead of McGivern??

It's going to be a long long season.

The answer, I think Shakermaker, is that Coley sees Harris, Craney and Proctor as must-starts, and would probably put Toddy in that bracket too while he's here. If you play Dennehey on the left and Toddy on the right, which one of Proccy, Craney or Harris are you going to drop?

I've not seen enough of Dennehey to argue that he's more than capable, but if he is, one answer might be to play 4-4-1-1 with a midfield of Dennehey, Harris, Proctor and Todd, and play Craney in the hole with Mullin as a lone striker.

The one big plus from yesterday was the application of King, who is clearly good enough to fulfil either the left-back or left wing-back roles. We have solved the left-back problem with this lad, and this opens the possibility of three in the middle with Leam/Edwards and King on the flanks.

Harris makes an impact wherever he plays, but he should be in the middle, no doubt, we did look vulnerable to the counter through the middle yesterday. I'd also agree with the poster who argued that Rocky was recalled to cope with the pace of Dickinson. And while Rocky didn't exactly stand out, neither did Roberts. Elding's off-the-ball movement was superb and he found space at will. If Stockport had a decent crosser of the ball Elding would have had a hat-trick from free headers, rather than just the one. Apart from a spell after we had conceded the first, we just didn't look like getting back into it. It was just one of those afternoons, beaten by a better side on the day.

[cmonstanley]

i dont agree we were beaten by a better team ,its our teams apathy and its starting to pee me off big style .its time to get back to basics defenders stay in your defensive positions midfielders do the job in midfield unless craney moves up to striker again,because lets be honest what has he done since he came back answers on a very small postcardand the biggest thing that is peeing me off is the strikers where are they and thats including mullers ,where the are you are you not supposed to be in the penalty box yesterday we were restricted to half hit shots 20 yards out thats not good enough even for relegation candidates .yesterday stanley were just going through the motions thats not good enough people pay to watch.i was disgusted with dunbavin yesterday when he jumped the fence to get the ball he just looked up and the look on his face just sums up the contempt some stanley players have got for the stanley support..we pay his wages and he could at least try and gee up the support all we got was a dirty look..and the gestapo stewards is it true somebody got thrown out for starting a mexican wave..i think every stanley player needs to have a long good look at their self and ask themselves if they want to be a professional footballer because they are not proving it on the pitch.i cant criticise players if they put in the effort but we are carrying too many players there is no cohesion in the majority of matches we can see glimpses in some but we need to get back to basics

[Tin Monkey]

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

i dont agree we were beaten by a better team ,its our teams apathy and its starting to pee me off big style .its time to get back to basics defenders stay in your defensive positions midfielders do the job in midfield unless craney moves up to striker again,because lets be honest what has he done since he came back answers on a very small postcardand the biggest thing that is peeing me off is the strikers where are they and thats including mullers ,where the are you are you not supposed to be in the penalty box yesterday we were restricted to half hit shots 20 yards out thats not good enough even for relegation candidates .yesterday stanley were just going through the motions thats not good enough people pay to watch.i was disgusted with dunbavin yesterday when he jumped the fence to get the ball he just looked up and the look on his face just sums up the contempt some stanley players have got for the stanley support..we pay his wages and he could at least try and gee up the support all we got was a dirty look..and the gestapo stewards is it true somebody got thrown out for starting a mexican wave..i think every stanley player needs to have a long good look at their self and ask themselves if they want to be a professional footballer because they are not proving it on the pitch.i cant criticise players if they put in the effort but we are carrying too many players there is no cohesion in the majority of matches we can see glimpses in some but we need to get back to basics

I gave up trying to decipher this post after the first line.

[harwood red]

ha ha TM It was a dire match and a dire result, within a dire ground with dire stewards.... and yes someone did get thrown out...but not for starting mexican wave, but more for gesturing at copper filming us he was sat right in front of me, but it was rather heavy handed as he wasn't inciting the crowd he was just being numptyish

I was thoroughly fed up after 15 mins in second half and my backside was freezing from them horrible seats

On a positive note - chicken and mushroom pie was good and the barlady in clubhouse before match was a star

[Redraine]

Originally Posted by Tin Monkey

I gave up trying to decipher this post after the first line.

Oh I don't know - some good points in there if you do the breathing for him!

[cmonstanley]

Originally Posted by Tin Monkey

I gave up trying to decipher this post after the first line.

other words we were crap again and the same old problems keep coming up its like de-ja-vu..

[Kiwi John]

Originally Posted by Tin Monkey

I gave up trying to decipher this post after the first line.

Me too I am totally confused as to where the bannanas have gone

[Phil Whalley]

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

i dont agree we were beaten by a better team

Better team on the day, I said, not necessarily better full stop. I agree with you that Craney struggled yesterday, but then again so did everyone.

Was this down to apathy, as you suggest? Unless you are privvy to some inside information then that remains just speculation. What we can say for sure is that the defence do not have much confidence in Bavs, and this must have been exacerbated by the early first goal. They had an allotment of a pitch to play on, and then, after playing well enough to suggest that an equaliser was possible, conceded a second at the most frustrating time, with Bavs again at fault. It would be nice to think that Coley can then wave a magic wand and have them come out breathing fire and ready to blitz the oppo, but sometimes it just doesn't happen. Stockport pulled everyone behind the ball, worked hard and just smothered us.

As for getting back to basics, I'd say that our problems often stem from being too predictable. We need to do the unexpected sometimes to unlock stubborn defences. I agree that Mullin and Roscoe too often end up in wide positions, but isn't this preferable to lumping the ball up to Mullin and seeing his flick-on invariably tidied up by their defence? Our best move yesterday stemmed from King running at them and finding Mullin at the back post. When we attack, we need to do so as a team, with everyone, regardless of their position on paper, being ready to support the man on the ball if necessary. This comes with confidence, but we were on the back foot from the opening minutes.

I'm not saying the performance was acceptable. Afterwards, for the first time this season, I asked my companions whether they could see us in another relegation battle. The game just didn't go our way, simple as, and we didn't play well enough on the day to turn it round. No need to slag everyone and everything, but yes, we do need to see an improvement.

[County Lad]

Originally Posted by harwood red

ha ha TM It was a dire match and a dire result, within a dire ground with dire stewards.... and yes someone did get thrown out...but not for starting mexican wave, but more for gesturing at copper filming us he was sat right in front of me, but it was rather heavy handed as he wasn't inciting the crowd he was just being numptyish

I was thoroughly fed up after 15 mins in second half and my backside was freezing from them horrible seats

On a positive note - chicken and mushroom pie was good and the barlady in clubhouse before match was a star

Dire ground? there's a lot worse in this league and you don't have to go far to see one. I agree the stewards are like nazis they seem intent on ruining the atmosphere and have thrown out so many home supporters this year that I'm surprised we have any left. Anyway I'm looking forward the the return fixture, it was a top day out last year, maybe it's the first class facilities that made it.

[cmonstanley]

if the defence dont have much faith in bavs they should try harderand the apathy, if its not apathy what is it we just seem to be going through the motions. when was there an equaliser possible when we only had long range shots which the keeper caught comfortly .even if the keeper never caught them comfortly there was no one following them up.agree about the pitch but it was the same for both teams.plus we always concede at nearly the same time in every match just before halftime ,the only thing they are interested in near half time is coming off the pitch,what we should be doing is trying to catch the opposition on the hop but the opposite always happens.it was about 4 seconds before the goal went in i predicted we were going to concede because the full defence was out of position they were daydreaming the frustrating thing is we know they can perform when they can be bothered thats what i am trying to get at im not slagging them off ,i just want them to wake up they are supposed to be professionals now.we could get away with that in the lower leagues but not now we need a kick up the backsides a new way to prepare for matches maybe a dietician for pre-match meals .the only predictable thing is we concede preventable goals ,we make stupid mistakes because the players have turned off .they should be more focused thats what you do when you are a professional in any sport.i agree with you about mark king thats what happens when you striker gets in the box thats where he should be in the box mullers is at his best when he is in the box not stuck in midfield plugging up holes anyway there is always the next game cmon lads we know you can play a bit just focus try the easy way no fancy flicks, pass in triangles get in the boxim getting carried away now:b anjump:cmon you reds

[Oggy]

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

.... we always concede at nearly the same time in every match just before halftime ,the only thing they are interested in near half time is coming off the pitch....

Actually, that was something we used to do, first time this season was yesterday, according to stats -

When the goals have been scored and conceded this season


It's the 2nd half that's usually the bigger problem.

[Revived Red]

After a weekend in the north, I'm now back home and thought I would add my two penn'orth about the Stockport game. As others have said, the real positive was the performance of Mark King. Sorry - I should have said the only positive.

Team selection is a total mystery. OK, our defence has its share of critics - but it is not going to improve with constant changing. Any defence relies heavily on a good understanding between the two central defenders. It surely makes good sense for the present team - and for the future - to have Sean Webb and Mark Roberts at the centre of that defence and allow them to develop an understanding. If that is not the way ahead, I cannot understand why we signed Sean Webb or extended his contract.

Andy Todd was a shadow of the player we knew last season, but maybe that's because he spent most of the game on the left wing before he was subbed. But the entire midfield was a huge disappointment.

I am convinced that there is something amiss at the club. Maybe Rommy Boco has hinted at it in the comments on another thread. My own feeling is that Graham Branch had a negative effect on the others - apart from his own glaring limitations as a player. It may be that Lee McEvilly has had a similar negative effect, although I have no evidence for that.

Also it could be that some players feel that their performance in any game will have no bearing on their inclusion in the team (or even squad) for the next game. If that is correct, it must surely have a demoralising effect.

[harwood red]

hmmm you can tell we have major issues for goals against just before final whistle!!

[harwood red]

Oh and most of all, what we wouldn't have done to see a welchy type cracker again