Tripe

[In the box]

Bad day at the office for us, fortunately they had some sitters go awry.

If the chances  today had gone in for both sides it would have still have been a draw . 3-3  . We need to convert and without a striker that we can call ours and not just keep looking to loan kids or players whose career's have gone off the rails . IMO it’s financial and it’s out of means to find that player who  would fix the problem so it’s back to ringing around the clubs again ..

[drfchound]

As much as that second half was one of the worst I've seen in a long time, we should have been out of sight. Moly missed two really good chances that he'd be scoring last season. 3-0 at half time would have been fair.

Second half, and despite the abject performance, again, if Billy nails that chance it's 2-0 and probably done.

As much as I want to be critical of McCann's reaction to Burtons changes and the complete lack of quality we've got up front in the subs, that game should have been done with, and McCann cant score the goals for the team.

What's worrying is we can't keep a clean sheet and we're looking so light up front. January 1st can't come soon enough. I just can't believe we've started the season relying on Billy and letting Ironside go. I can't see Olusunya and Hanlon coming good.

I agree with most of that but I do think that Hanlan could do a decent job for us.
I think he has shown signs in the last couple of games that he has the attributes and IMO he should be ahead of Olusanya in the pecking order.
Before the Exeter match I would have been more than happy with a place in the top ten and only two points out of the top six.

[Padge_DRFC]

Close and Gibson should have never gone off.
We needed probably Broadbent as they were getting on top in the midfield, but only Sbarra needed to come off.

In game management has been poor this season.

[Thorney]

Close and Gibson should have never gone off.
We needed probably Broadbent as they were getting on top in the midfield, but only Sbarra needed to come off.

In game management has been poor this season.

It smacked of desperation/frustratiom throwing the 4 subs on. Didnt seem there was a logic behind it.

Not what i would expect from grant.

[GazLaz]

Close and Gibson should have never gone off.
We needed probably Broadbent as they were getting on top in the midfield, but only Sbarra needed to come off.

In game management has been poor this season.

It smacked of desperation/frustratiom throwing the 4 subs on. Didnt seem there was a logic behind it.

Not what i would expect from grant.

It was a hero move. It wasn’t a time for desperation.

[i_ateallthepies]

Rovers were lucky not to lose 3 or 4-1. At half time I texted my mate saying there's only one team going to win this, then we gave up playing, I am sick and tired of seeing fullbacks who get hold of the ball and then pass it backwards, instead of running into space in front of them. They can be so much better, stop worrying and make the defences we play start to work. Not good enough, more effort needed.

Unfortunately that's how they're coached now, if in any doubt turn back and build from the back again, its the percentage way to keep the ball, it bores the pants off me!

I'd rather they took a gamble and attempted the forward through ball and lost it, you can always win it back. Our buildup can be very pedestrian at times, it allows defences to get set and negate our slow play, nowhere near spontaneous enough, Id rather players like Mols and Gibson attempt the chances to get the ball moving forward, the safe back pass just kills all our momentum stone dead, we then rinse and repeat, infinitely?

The passing around at the back wouldn't be so bad if they could produce crisp accurate passes but it's so laboured, giving time for their press to close the receiving player down and force him to make another sideways/back pass.  It was noticeable today that Ben Close seemed the only one confident and willing enough to carry the ball forward through their press and he made some telling defence splitting passes too.

[Spud]

Can you make more than 4 subs at once? Found it strange how he made the 4, then Middleton came on a few minutes later.

[GazLaz]

Can you make more than 4 subs at once? Found it strange how he made the 4, then Middleton came on a few minutes later.

Didn’t Middleton come on because Moly got a knock?

[Spud]

Can you make more than 4 subs at once? Found it strange how he made the 4, then Middleton came on a few minutes later.

Didn’t Middleton come on because Moly got a knock?

Maybe he did? I watched at home today, I don't think it was mentioned in comms.

[Thorney]

Can you make more than 4 subs at once? Found it strange how he made the 4, then Middleton came on a few minutes later.

Didn’t Middleton come on because Moly got a knock?

Think middleton was already being prepared prior to mols getting fouled

[Lesonthewest]

We didn't in my opinion. As I said we had really good chances to go in 2 or 3 ahead, but I never thought we took control of the game as in putting them on the back foot for a sustained period, we were conceding needless corners & dangerous long throws, they also hit the bar. Just my opinion on what happened on the pitch, not the xG data.

[Lesonthewest]

Close and Gibson should have never gone off.
We needed probably Broadbent as they were getting on top in the midfield, but only Sbarra needed to come off.

In game management has been poor this season.

Agree with Close & Gibson, Grant should have made a couple of changes at 1-0 when they were getting on top, the warning signs were there.

[StocksArmy]

I have to have a moan at the manager today. For 3 league games on the bounce he’s not recognised than subtle changes in the game need to be made. Although I fully respect that Billy has missed a sitter moments before their goal today I just think he’s waited for that goal to go in before doing it. Same at Luton last week. And today he’s made 4 subs and we then become the most disjointed, unorganised pile of rubbish we have seen since he first came in. If hi insists on coming out after games proclaiming he wants to be a championship manager then frankly he’s not gonna get there unless he is more proactive. He was crap against Wimbledon, crap at Luton and crap today

[Filo]

Everyone in the ground could see that equaliser coming, it only needed one change before it came and that was Broadbent on for Sbarra, we were being over run in midfield

[CJK]

Four changes at once is surely going to cause you to lose all cohesion and be a bit disjointed in the aftermath.

We had plenty of time to react to the changes Burton made, and aside from Billy putting that chance away, we didn't and paid the price. McCann seems hellbent on making all five changes regardless of the game and situation.

Unfortunately, the bluntness up top is going to cost us and we've got three months of this.

[GazLaz]

Everyone in the ground could see that equaliser coming, it only needed one change before it came and that was Broadbent on for Sbarra, we were being over run in midfield

61mim I looked at the clock sbs thought we needed changes asap.

[dickos1]

First half we were very good, absolutely battered them.
The fact they made all those subs at half time only emphasises that,
Second half we were poor, but Sharp missed a chance my 3 year old would put away!
Half time the game should’ve been all over,

[Metalmicky]

TBF, they looked like scoring regularly second half - not enough people pulling their socks up and taking responsibility. 

[Donnywolf]

Rovers were lucky not to lose 3 or 4-1. At half time I texted my mate saying there's only one team going to win this, then we gave up playing, I am sick and tired of seeing fullbacks who get hold of the ball and then pass it backwards, instead of running into space in front of them. They can be so much better, stop worrying and make the defences we play start to work. Not good enough, more effort needed.

Unfortunately that's how they're coached now, if in any doubt turn back and build from the back again, its the percentage way to keep the ball, it bores the pants off me!

I'd rather they took a gamble and attempted the forward through ball and lost it, you can always win it back. Our buildup can be very pedestrian at times, it allows defences to get set and negate our slow play, nowhere near spontaneous enough, Id rather players like Mols and Gibson attempt the chances to get the ball moving forward, the safe back pass just kills all our momentum stone dead, we then rinse and repeat, infinitely?

The passing around at the back wouldn't be so bad if they could produce crisp accurate passes but it's so laboured, giving time for their press to close the receiving player down and force him to make another sideways/back pass.  It was noticeable today that Ben Close seemed the only one confident and willing enough to carry the ball forward through their press and he made some telling defence splitting passes too.

And Close played the pass of the match in first half threading which SHOULD have been worth 2 assists

[Filo]

First half we were very good, absolutely battered them.
The fact they made all those subs at half time only emphasises that,
Second half we were poor, but Sharp missed a chance my 3 year old would put away!
Half time the game should’ve been all over,

They sat off us first half, hence why we dominated, second half they came at us and we couldn’t cope

[The Beast]

As I walked up to the ground the wind was absolutely hideous, I thought this is going to be terrible and is a lottery. To be fair I thought both teams made a decent fist of it considering the conditions. I don’t get this arrogance where we go up to a higher division and seem to expect the opposition to roll over and have their tummies tickled.
Sharp’s link play was fantastic in the first half, on another day he gets a couple and we’re the best team in the world again!

[The Beast]

First half we were very good, absolutely battered them.
The fact they made all those subs at half time only emphasises that,
Second half we were poor, but Sharp missed a chance my 3 year old would put away!
Half time the game should’ve been all over,

They sat off us first half, hence why we dominated, second half they came at us and we couldn’t cope

They had a gale behind them in the second half. Can only think that this was also the reason for Billy’s miss, the ball must’ve moved just before he kicked it.

[drfchound]

First half we were very good, absolutely battered them.
The fact they made all those subs at half time only emphasises that,
Second half we were poor, but Sharp missed a chance my 3 year old would put away!
Half time the game should’ve been all over,

They sat off us first half, hence why we dominated, second half they came at us and we couldn’t cope

They had a gale behind them in the second half. Can only think that this was also the reason for Billy’s miss, the ball must’ve moved just before he kicked it.

Although Burton improved after the break I thought we were still the better side up until the four subs came on.
After that we were nowhere near the level of the first half.

[sf9944]

I thought the wind was a big factor. I noticed a couple of times in the second half rovers defenders leaving it to each other and after that there seemed to be a general loss of composure at the back. Up until then we’d looked secure back there.

We generally dealt very well with the aerial bombardment but we don’t half put ourselves under pressure with cheap corners and throw ins. They had so many of both yesterday!

[Barmby Rover]

Think a lot of people are letting the second half, and particularly the last 20 minutes, colour their view of the whole game. First half we were brilliant.

not

I was as frustrated with them in the first half as the second for  not really going for it, whatever happened with "you get one, you look for another" that they were supposed to follow as a rule? It isn't as if we couldn't have done that.

[andyst79]

We were good. Just didn’t finish the ample chances we created. We created more today than in any game this season.

Molly & Sharp missed 2 guilt edge chances that take the game away,Our finishing cost us dearly against Huddersfield also. Looking at other results and teams we've beaten this season there's not much in it between teams in this division so taking chances is crucial. We're in the mix for the playoffs and hopefully we recruit well in Jan & kick on like we generally do.

[GazLaz]

We were good. Just didn’t finish the ample chances we created. We created more today than in any game this season.

Molly & Sharp missed 2 guilt edge chances that take the game away,Our finishing cost us dearly against Huddersfield also. Looking at other results and teams we've beaten this season there's not much in it between teams in this division so taking chances is crucial. We're in the mix for the playoffs and hopefully we recruit well in Jan & kick on like we generally do.

There was the other Moly chance as well which was a good one. When he was one on one and hit the keeper.

[ForsolongaRover]

We were good. Just didn’t finish the ample chances we created. We created more today than in any game this season.

Molly & Sharp missed 2 guilt edge chances that take the game away,Our finishing cost us dearly against Huddersfield also. Looking at other results and teams we've beaten this season there's not much in it between teams in this division so taking chances is crucial. We're in the mix for the playoffs and hopefully we recruit well in Jan & kick on like we generally do.

Would it not be accurate to say that they got themselves into a position to score and got shots away? I’m not sure that their replacements even managed that.


There was the other Moly chance as well which was a good one. When he was one on one and hit the keeper.

[Thorney]

Think a lot of people are letting the second half, and particularly the last 20 minutes, colour their view of the whole game. First half we were brilliant.

not

I was as frustrated with them in the first half as the second for  not really going for it, whatever happened with "you get one, you look for another" that they were supposed to follow as a rule? It isn't as if we couldn't have done that.

After we scored we still did try to get another.
We did actually put the ball in the net but was offside.
You sound like we shut up shop after our goal which wasnt the case.

2nd half is when we fell to pieces

[drfcsteve]

1st half stats:

72% possession, 9 shots to their 2, 3 on target 0 for them. 4 big chances 0 for them.

Second half:

52% possession, 6 shots to their 13. Zero on target for us, 5 for them.