That was a hard watch

[Filo]

3 pts in the bag but that was poor and yet again we gift wrap a goal

[coventryrover]

Indicative of matches I have seen.    I so want them to do well.   

[dickos1]

If a team is sat in 2nd place without getting out of second gear then that’s only a good thing.

[StocksArmy]

Agreed it’s another really poor performance masked by Billy Sharp doing what Billy Sharp does best. McCann did say he had a team that will go to the very end and that was proven today. A couple of new faces and a win on Saturday could really kickstart the season.

[The Dav]

That winner for us only papered over the cracks ! We were woeful today and have been for a few games now, as said though we are currently second.

[philsky]

Absolutely, not pretty at all and not the flowing football we hope to see.

But 2nd in the table so fair enough; they're getting the job done.

See you all on Saturday.

[goalkick]

Well done billy, good three points, another poor game with many players looking as they are not interested and  has been the same for some. Agree great to be where we are in the table but something needs to happen and to loo as though we get rid of our lead boots.

[Plumbster]

Really good to see Maxwell coming back to form

[ncRover]

Feel sorry for Broadbent. He was having a good game but that clearly isn’t something he has the composure to do. I blame the instruction.
Ironside called for it long and was ignored! Then they set a trap and it worked.

We never went long to Ironside as an out ball. Why? Made for a very turgid first half just passing it around the defence. Second half we pushed the whole team higher up the pitch and looked better.

Enjoyed Kyle Hurst’s performance today. He worked really hard for the team too.

Maxwell very good going forward but I think the left side of defence with him and McGrath looks a bit vulnerable at present - I think Selby flagged that to his credit.

It won’t show in the stats with shots etc but they cut through us a lot but their final ball was just lacking.

Very clinical from us today thankfully.

Great time to play Port Vale… could we give Darren Moore the sack? Imagine!

[dickos1]

Agreed it’s another really poor performance masked by Billy Sharp doing what Billy Sharp does best. McCann did say he had a team that will go to the very end and that was proven today. A couple of new faces and a win on Saturday could really kickstart the season.

We’re sat in 2nd, the season doesn’t need kickstarting

[Jersey Rover]

If we can sort the midfield out, we be fine. No ball carrier in there. Hoping for some improvement in that area.

[ForsolongaRover]

Agreed it’s another really poor performance masked by Billy Sharp doing what Billy Sharp does best. McCann did say he had a team that will go to the very end and that was proven today. A couple of new faces and a win on Saturday could really kickstart the season.

We’re sat in 2nd, the season doesn’t need kickstarting

I imagine some of us are more interested in watching good football than contemplating the Table.

[dickos1]

What a daft thing to say,
So you’d be happier sat in 20th but playing pretty football

[Copps is Magic]

Three years of watching this league has nearly broken me. Terrifying implications for the state of the English game when the technical ability of players, even at this level, is so low.

Anyway, I thought that goal had all the hallmarks of a really significant moment in the season.

[Ryaldinhio]

I didn't think it was that bad overall. I think fleetwood are better than their league position. Their No7 and 44 both gave us problems throughout, note they both came from the Irish league so there is value in scouting over there as GM does.

Broadbent will get hammered for his miss control but overall I thought he was OK. Bailey battled well and was strong, Clifton put himself about well as did Kelly when he came on.

For me we are lacking the penetrative wingers, on both side. I'm a big fan of Molly but another game where there was zero end product.

We keep slowing the game down too much,
it doesn't suit us. The one time in the first half where we moved the ball a bit quicker out wide and whipped a cross in we scored.

Sterry and Maxwell offer more going forward than other options at RB/LB. Maxwell looked really good again today IMO, back with an assist aswell.

A team that isn't playing well but doesn't stop and grinds out the extra points is the sign of champions.

My main frustration is the slow predictable passing around at the back. We need to get it forward quicker. I don't think we are too far away.  Here's hoping for some wide attackers personally.

[Donnywolf]

Another game where the Referee could have had a BIG bearing on the result

Hurst Edit Clifton I think it was , dragged back by the last man

DOGSO ? How could it not be , and we would have been playing against 10 men for 60 mins or more

[StocksArmy]

Agreed it’s another really poor performance masked by Billy Sharp doing what Billy Sharp does best. McCann did say he had a team that will go to the very end and that was proven today. A couple of new faces and a win on Saturday could really kickstart the season.

We’re sat in 2nd, the season doesn’t need kickstarting

How many threads do you wanna post on til you realise the performances won’t keep us the? Happy clapper.

[Fal]

Did we play well today? No
Did we win? Yes
Are we 2nd in the league? Yes

Do I care about the first question? No.

Some of you need to understand this league this season, it is not a pretty football league, it’s a get 10 men behind the ball, press and make them go long type of league. Shit to watch but that’s the reality and only Walsall are good enough to play around it, the rest of us are just inconsistent but I’ll take a crap performance and a win over a great performance and a loss/draw any day of the week.

[GazLaz]

We are just atrocious at passing and progressing the football down the field with short to medium distant passes. Other parts of the game are ok. The father look horrific in possession makes us look worse than we are as a team.

[Michael Shaw]

We are 2nd in the table only if Salford, Crewe, Wimbledon and Notts Co don't win all the games they have in hand.
We could equally be 6th which is quite different.
Just a simple fact, and we need to improve now we are in the second half of the season.

[PDX_Rover]

All this and yet… we won and sit second in the league. I reckon we’d have gladly accepted that at the start of the season. Imagine what’ll happen when we start playing…

Tough game today in shit conditions. Me and the boy were there. He’s undefeated in live games so far. A few observations:

I don’t know why we persist with this playing out from the back. It’s predictable and often the ball just comes straight back.

Olowu and McGrath are some partnership.
Maxwell doesn’t seem 100% fit.
Sterry was excellent today.
Joe Ironside is a warrior.
We seem to be lacking a proper bas**rd in midfield.
Mols and Hurst have bags of talent but really need to be having a pop at goal more, especially on days like today.


Actually enjoyed the game. Cold. Hard fought. And we won.


Billy Sharp - love.❤️

[PDX_Rover]

We are 2nd in the table only if Salford, Crewe, Wimbledon and Notts Co don't win all the games they have in hand.
We could equally be 6th which is quite different.
Just a simple fact, and we need to improve now we are in the second half of the season.

And if my auntie had b*llocks…

[RoseTInteD]

We are 2nd in the table only if Salford, Crewe, Wimbledon and Notts Co don't win all the games they have in hand.
We could equally be 6th which is quite different.
Just a simple fact, and we need to improve now we are in the second half of the season.

And if my auntie had b*llocks…

A very intelligent response to a valid point. We haven't all played the same number of games.

[drfchound]

Coming away from the stadium one of my mates said that the Sharp late goal felt a bit like the late Ironside pen at Sutton last season and that it might just kick us on as it did after that.
Edit:
So we are second in the table and it shouldn’t be forgotten that teams with games in hand don’t always win them..

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

I thought we were very well organised but we do struggle a bit to break teams down.  The teams at the top find a way to win.  Massive goal that feels like.

We'll be fine though the defence was super strong again.  I do wish we passed it a bit better through midfield.

I was also wrong. I didn't like the subs with Ironside going off but sharp did the business.

[Draytonian III]

If I go to watch for example Sheffield Wednesday vs Derby County or Exeter City vs Lincoln City I want to 7 goals including a couple of worldies, a sending off or two.
When I go and watch MY team I want to see them win and hopefully 7 goals and a couple of worldies, but if it’s a win like today so be it.
 There must be some people on this forum who were annoyed when Billy Sharp did what Billy Sharp does, because they couldn’t pull the team to pieces even more

[thumper]

Not sure how Sterry got MoM, I didn't think he played that well, 90% of the time got the ball, stopped and passed backwards.

Might be the lack of movement we have in midfield at the moment though, throw ins we seem to take forever on because nobody shows until late

[Donnybax]

It’s never going to be a good watch when you’re playing a midfield 3 and none of them can play football. We desperately need a central midfielder that can use the ball.

[GazLaz]

Maxwell was much better than Sterry if they wanted a fullback to compare against.

[Lesonthewest]

Great 3 points, absolutely awful performance.