Let's talk about the Crewe Alexandra game

[ravenrover]

Just the one change Olowu back in

[Chris Black come back]

Olowu starts. Midfield of Bailey, Clifton and Broadbent.

[RoversInSpain]

Decent game. Crewe defended exceptionally well and had us completely worked out, forcing us to play a lot of sideways and backwards passing, rather than those cutting one twos of last week. They were slick with the ball and got what they came for a breakaway goal, and a good one. Couldn’t see us scoring at all.
Then we did a Crewe on Crewe with a breakaway with fast smart passes and a good finish.
The changes then seemed to upset Crewe’s rigid plan, and in the end we should have won it.

[NickDRFC]

Frustrating game for me. Soft goal to concede as he went through unchallenged and McGrath had an absolute brain fart, we then started to play but why do we so often only get into gear when we go behind? We’ve also looked better every time we’ve gone to 3 at the back; I know a lot of it depends on the state of the game but surely it’s worth a go from the start?

Even with only playing well for a short period we could have scored a few more - Hurst and Sharp missed chances that were near enough sitters, and Sharp was poor in being offside for the rebound from Gibson’s free kick.

[Chris Black come back]

John Coyle reckons that was our first home league draw since September last year. Thought it was a weird feeling when whistle went.

[dickos1]

Frustrating game for me. Soft goal to concede as he went through unchallenged and McGrath had an absolute brain fart, we then started to play but why do we so often only get into gear when we go behind? We’ve also looked better every time we’ve gone to 3 at the back; I know a lot of it depends on the state of the game but surely it’s worth a go from the start?

Even with only playing well for a short period we could have scored a few more - Hurst and Sharp missed chances that were near enough sitters, and Sharp was poor in being offside for the rebound from Gibson’s free kick.

You say we don’t start playing until we fall behind so often but when?
I can’t think of any occasions this season

[Padge_DRFC]

Who was the guy who rang praise or grumble first. 'we started of slow again' must have e forgot last week's 0v3 at HT

[Chris Black come back]

McCann is getting much better at impacting the game with his personnel and formation changes. It almost always makes a difference. This again is the benefit that our huge squad provides.

[Reg of the Rovers]

MK Dons a recent example of starting slow. We did start slow today. They didn't want possession and we just didn't have enough urgency or creativity to break that down. The one time we broke quickly we scored.
 
However, it was a decent performance and decent point overall - Jay and Olowu excellent again, Gibson and Moly also looked good. Sharp worked his socks off but he's having a dry spell by his standards. That second half header he missed was a proper sitter.

We just need to be a bit braver - willing to move the ball quickly and forward to break teams down.

[The Dav]

Boring and laborious! We need to start playing from the kick off, not when we go behind!

[dickos1]

When have we started playing only when we’ve gone behind. People keep saying it but when

[dickos1]

MK Dons a recent example of starting slow. We did start slow today. They didn't want possession and we just didn't have enough urgency or creativity to break that down. The one time we broke quickly we scored.
 
However, it was a decent performance and decent point overall - Jay and Olowu excellent again, Gibson and Moly also looked good. Sharp worked his socks off but he's having a dry spell by his standards. That second half header he missed was a proper sitter.

We just need to be a bit braver - willing to move the ball quickly and forward to break teams down.

To be fair we had a man sent off after 8 mins

[roversdude]

Don’t think we were brave enough today until we were behind
Crewe’s time wasting was infuriating and allowed to happen by the ref who missed an awful lot

[NickDRFC]

Frustrating game for me. Soft goal to concede as he went through unchallenged and McGrath had an absolute brain fart, we then started to play but why do we so often only get into gear when we go behind? We’ve also looked better every time we’ve gone to 3 at the back; I know a lot of it depends on the state of the game but surely it’s worth a go from the start?

Even with only playing well for a short period we could have scored a few more - Hurst and Sharp missed chances that were near enough sitters, and Sharp was poor in being offside for the rebound from Gibson’s free kick.

You say we don’t start playing until we fall behind so often but when?
I can’t think of any occasions this season

Yep that’s fair, was thinking of MK (admittedly mitigating factors) and had thought there was more but now you mention it I’m not sure there have been. Should have said we only get into gear in the 2nd half of games. We’ve been very slow starters fairly regularly this season.

[StocksArmy]

The goal we conceded summed up L2 football. Fleming plucks the ball out of the air brilliantly, plays a complete hospital ball across to Sterry under no pressure who then nods the ball straight to their player. After that somebody just has to take the yellow.

It’s really difficult to put a finger on that performance and call it good or bad. McCann has to sense that teams will come to slow the game, sit in and cut off the supply to the wingers. It is becoming more and more annoyingly predictable and he changed it a good 30mins too late. Having said that, we had enough chances to win the game comfortably. No idea how the keeper has saved Gibson’s free kick, Sharp has to score, Hurst has to score, Ironside has to score and it looked a nailed on penalty in the 2nd half.

[Chris Black come back]

Probably marginally two points lost but a draw was in the region of being fair. We are now in the automatic spots and should be the aim to stay here now. Another empty midweek so Maxwell and Westbrooke could be in contention for Swindon away squad.

[roversdude]

Westbrooke has had a minor setback but scan shows he is ok

[graingrover]

It was a good decision to bring on Ironside and Hurst  and leave Sharpe on .Sharpe is most likely of all to get on to Ironsidés headers and hold up play but they have had too little time together to work a partnership .Team mates says that in training the hardest man to mark is …Hurst .

[Cramby10]

Good point after going 1 nil down. But a disappointing performance on the whole. We’re better than that. We do seem to struggle against teams that sit deep. We’re so much better attacking at pace, as demonstrated by our goal.
I thought we missed Kelly today. His ball carrying last week was excellent and might have proved the difference today in advanced areas.
We do also seem to be missing an in form striker. Controversial opinion I know, but our centre forward was integral to how we played last season and neither seem to be on it at the moment.

[Campsall rover]

We played at a tempo that was too slow in the 1st half and 1st 20 mins of the 2nd half.
Credit to Crewe, they did their homework on us.
Did think we should have started with Joe Ironside. We had no focal point up front. Billy hardly got any ball he could hold up and bring players into play. Joe is so much better at it.
Do think Billy should be used as an impact sub in most games.
Let Joe run the defence around for 65 mins and Billy’s fresh legs will be much more effective using him for 20/25/30 mins.
Just my opinion.

Harry Clifton m.o.m last week and this week he couldn’t trap a ball or pass a ball.
Midfield was brilliant at Grimsby and poor today. How Broadbent got m.o.m. I don’t  know as he was not influential in the game imo.
Last week as HC he was very good, possibly his best ever game for us.

Jay McGrath was my m.o.m. He is going to be a top player no question. He is way beyond his age for a CB

Subs should have been made at H/T imo. Ironside made a massive difference as we had an outlet up front and consequently our wingers started to have an impact.

Any way we got a point in a game this time last year we would have lost.
2nd in the table is perfect after 11 games.
Only Port Vale in the top 7 won today.
Home defeats for Gillingham and Barrow to the bottom 2 teams

Win the next 2 and we are very well placed.
Still not at our optimum yet. That will come from Feb onwards i expect.

[Padge_DRFC]

We played at a tempo that was too slow in the 1st half and 1st 20 mins of the 2nd half.
Credit to Crewe, they did their homework on us.
Did think we should have started with Joe Ironside. We had no focal point up front. Billy hardly got any ball he could hold up and bring players into play. Joe is so much better at it.
Do think Billy should be used as an impact sub in most games.
Let Joe run the defence around for 65 mins and Billy’s fresh legs will be much more effective using him for 20/25/30 mins.
Just my opinion.

Harry Clifton m.o.m last week and this week he couldn’t trap a ball or pass a ball.
Midfield was brilliant at Grimsby and poor today. How Broadbent got m.o.m. I don’t  know as he was not influential in the game imo.
Last week as HC he was very good, possibly his best ever game for us.

Jay McGrath was my m.o.m. He is going to be a top player no question. He is way beyond his age for a CB

Subs should have been made at H/T imo. Ironside made a massive difference as we had an outlet up front and consequently our wingers started to have an impact.

Any way we got a point in a game this time last year we would have lost.
2nd in the table is perfect after 11 games.
Only Port Vale in the top 7 won today.
Home defeats for Gillingham and Barrow to the bottom 2 teams

Win the next 2 and we are very well placed.
Still not at our optimum yet. That will come from Feb onwards i expect.

Clifton is pretty pointless against teams where they'll let us have the ball more than them intentionally.

[BillyStubbsTears]

We played at a tempo that was too slow in the 1st half and 1st 20 mins of the 2nd half.
Credit to Crewe, they did their homework on us.
Did think we should have started with Joe Ironside. We had no focal point up front. Billy hardly got any ball he could hold up and bring players into play. Joe is so much better at it.
Do think Billy should be used as an impact sub in most games.
Let Joe run the defence around for 65 mins and Billy’s fresh legs will be much more effective using him for 20/25/30 mins.
Just my opinion.

Harry Clifton m.o.m last week and this week he couldn’t trap a ball or pass a ball.
Midfield was brilliant at Grimsby and poor today. How Broadbent got m.o.m. I don’t  know as he was not influential in the game imo.
Last week as HC he was very good, possibly his best ever game for us.

Jay McGrath was my m.o.m. He is going to be a top player no question. He is way beyond his age for a CB

Subs should have been made at H/T imo. Ironside made a massive difference as we had an outlet up front and consequently our wingers started to have an impact.

Any way we got a point in a game this time last year we would have lost.
2nd in the table is perfect after 11 games.
Only Port Vale in the top 7 won today.
Home defeats for Gillingham and Barrow to the bottom 2 teams

Win the next 2 and we are very well placed.
Still not at our optimum yet. That will come from Feb onwards i expect.

Agreed 100% on all points.

[drfcsteve]

If we’d have scored first we’d have won that, Crewe knew it which is why they set up as they did to frustrate us.

[StocksArmy]

Sharp in every game he has played in this season has had an opportunity where he “should have” scored. Ironside hasn’t played well up to date this season and he has shown signs that now he has competition and isn’t the main man he’s gone under and lost the belief. The difference in quality is that Billy is getting in the positions to score so, I know which one I’d pick. We are missing a 9 with pace though.

[Pancho Regan]

Very brave and ultimately successful substitutions by Grant today.

He threw caution to the wind and it totally changed the game. I said to my brother at 0-0 that if Crewe scored first we would lose.
When they got their goal I feared the worst.

The changes Grant made were brilliant.
In the end, only one team was going to win that game and Crewe were shitting themselves.

I’ll take a point.

[Alan Southstand]

I thought Crewe were absolutely knackered for the last 10 or 15 minutes of the game. All that harrying and pressing clearly hurt them more than us. If they can keep that up for 46 games, I’ll be impressed, but I’m sure it’ll come at a cost!

[CJK]

Although we've had some positive results when Sharp has started games, I really think we're missing Ironside in the middle up top. He was pivotal in our good run last season and I think its showing. Billy works very hard and will always sniff out being in the right place at the right time but at the moment our overall attacking play is suffering without Ironside.

I was really disappointed with their goal, why nobody didn't just tackle the bloke or even take a foul for the team is a mystery. You can't just let him waltz through like he's Messi. I would imagine that was their only meaningful attack of the game.

Another thing that continues to frustrate is our absolute inability at set pieces.

McGrath and Oluwu really good today, both look good and for me, are the future CB pairing.

[Usher wide.]

I thought we played the first half as though we were a team that had just been promoted into Lg2.

Very tentative, Joe Olowu on the right of a back three always looking to play the ball back to Bailey or Sterry (if he’d wandered close enough to the half way line) yet when he was ‘brave enough’ (& as the home side we NEED to be braver on the ball in this division)  he carried the ball forward in that first period & found an outlet in Molyneaux.

Jay McGrath showed the way in getting the ball forward in that he was always playing with his head up & looking for that pass to set us on the front foot but, that first half was a dirge to watch.

Having said that, Crewe had the most inventive midfield & in that department we really struggled to impose ourselves. Broadbent to my absolute beside myself annoyance never once ‘showed himself’ to receive the ball from a throw in leaving Sterry the option of Molly or a throw back to Olowu…& repeat.

It wasn’t until they scored on 55 minutes that substitutes having been made we actually put them on the back foot. You can’t seriously think of dropping Sharp ( it is Sharp without the ‘e’ for Christ’s sake) because he hasn’t scored x amount of goals yet. He needs the clever, quick ball into him to show why he is & has been such a predator throughout his career & yes, as his manager at half time I would have ‘slapped his legs’ for getting himself into an offside position first half thus nullifying Gibsons excellent free kick.

When Ironside & Hurst came on (leaving Sharp & Moly still on the pitch) we really looked a force. Molyneaux’s run & pass inside was finished sublmely by Hurst & if only Kyle had gone for accuracy rather than power when the ball fell to him late on we’d be sitting at the top of the table tonight.

So we’re not the finished article, we certainly missed PK in midfield today & Crewe came, saw & could well have conquered so let’s settle for a point, learn & move on.

[NickDRFC]

I thought we played the first half as though we were a team that had just been promoted into Lg2.

Very tentative, Joe Olowu on the right of a back three always looking to play the ball back to Bailey or Sterry (if he’d wandered close enough to the half way line) yet when he was ‘brave enough’ (& as the home side we NEED to be braver on the ball in this division)  he carried the ball forward in that first period & found an outlet in Molyneaux.

Jay McGrath showed the way in getting the ball forward in that he was always playing with his head up & looking for that pass to set us on the front foot but, that first half was a dirge to watch.

Having said that, Crewe had the most inventive midfield & in that department we really struggled to impose ourselves. Broadbent to my absolute beside myself annoyance never once ‘showed himself’ to receive the ball from a throw in leaving Sterry the option of Molly or a throw back to Olowu…& repeat.

It wasn’t until they scored on 55 minutes that substitutes having been made we actually put them on the back foot. You can’t seriously think of dropping Sharp ( it is Sharp without the ‘e’ for Christ’s sake) because he hasn’t scored x amount of goals yet. He needs the clever, quick ball into him to show why he is & has been such a predator throughout his career & yes, as his manager at half time I would have ‘slapped his legs’ for getting himself into an offside position first half thus nullifying Gibsons excellent free kick.

When Ironside & Hurst came on (leaving Sharp & Moly still on the pitch) we really looked a force. Molyneaux’s run & pass inside was finished sublmely by Hurst & if only Kyle had gone for accuracy rather than power when the ball fell to him late on we’d be sitting at the top of the table tonight.

So we’re not the finished article, we certainly missed PK in midfield today & Crewe came, saw & could well have conquered so let’s settle for a point, learn & move on.

It is Molyneux without the “a” for Christ’s sake.

[pib]

Unbelievable that after all these years we’re still having Sharp spelt as Sharpe on here as well.