Let's talk about the Stevenage game

[selby]

 Another game against a side who have not won for three games although just two points behind top of the division who we can do our usual trick of getting them back on track after a sticky patch.
  At the moment we are rock bottom of the form league picking up just two points from our last six league games so realistically they should be looking at us as fair game to get the points.
  Their league position looks to be built on their home form with 5 wins and a draw and no defeats in six games and with Reid in the list of top scorers in the division they look on the face of it red hot favourites to win the game, and extend our losing run.
  As we know football is not that predictable, we have been slightly unlucky, and we can be better than our form is projecting us at the moment.
  We are frustrating as a team rarely putting a full game together, probably only against Bradford in the league being on it for the full game, and in many others we have lost in this bad run we, like against Lincoln have dominated periods of games but let ourselves down with poor moments in many of the games missing easy chances or making stupid defensive mistakes.
  Rather than tactical a lot can be attributed to individual error, and spread through the team, poor keeping, poor mid field play, and poor finishing costing us and we are not punishing other teams mistakes like they do ours.
  The frustrating part is there is no real pattern to it,  the mistakes are not really repetitive and must be a nightmare for the manager to try and eradicate.
  Well every bad run comes to an end sometime and we have played better the last few games and have deserved something from the games.     
  We matched Barnsley, Bradford, and Lincoln and could have been looking at three wins if we had cut out silly mistakes and finished better in front of goal.
  So I  would go along with more or less the same starting line up and try and improve our silly mistakes and we have a chance against most sides in the division. This game is obviously a hard one, but we are capable of getting something from the game if we play to our potential and believe in ourselves.
  Lots to discuss, lots to talk about, please have your say.
 cut out silly mistakes and finished better

[Barmby Rover]

Rovers are a team that, even if they dominate a game, struggle to score. We definitely don't do well if trying to come from behind, all signs that this particular trip will be a small disaster, not on an Orient scale maybe, but another loss against a confident Stevenage side. Not looking forward to Saturday.

[roversdude]

Looks like one of our keepers is out, Jake Oram recalled from Matlock

[richtherover]

I have faith in Grant and believe that this poor run will come to an end soon. Not so sure it will happen against a big tough outfit like Stevenage though. Always a hard fixture and even in our Conference days they gave us a few batterings with a certain Carl Alford up front. We need to ride out the storm, get behind the lads and hope for a couple of strong signings in January. We all know that we're desperate for a goal scorer but who? Regan Linney at Carlisle might be worth a punt. Non league I know but surely better than Olusanya and Ajayi? My earliest memories are a forward line of Ripley, Jeffrey, Sheffield, Coleman and Gilfillan
and later a front 3 of Miller, Kitchen and O'Callaghan. What I wouldn't give for that kind of attacking force now. Billy up front on his own is never going to work. This is not a crisis. As someone said earlier, the Richardson/Weaver era was a crisis. Talk of reaching the Championship is ridiculous right now but we're definitely good enough for a mid table finish and to build and grow stronger from there. I'm old enough to remember getting beaten regularly by the likes of Darlington and Workington so people shouting about changes at the top need to get a bit of perspective. Through thick and (mainly) thin. 

[drfchound]

I have faith in Grant and believe that this poor run will come to an end soon. Not so sure it will happen against a big tough outfit like Stevenage though. Always a hard fixture and even in our Conference days they gave us a few batterings with a certain Carl Alford up front. We need to ride out the storm, get behind the lads and hope for a couple of strong signings in January. We all know that we're desperate for a goal scorer but who? Regan Linney at Carlisle might be worth a punt. Non league I know but surely better than Olusanya and Ajayi? My earliest memories are a forward line of Ripley, Jeffrey, Sheffield, Coleman and Gilfillan
and later a front 3 of Miller, Kitchen and O'Callaghan. What I wouldn't give for that kind of attacking force now. Billy up front on his own is never going to work. This is not a crisis. As someone said earlier, the Richardson/Weaver era was a crisis. Talk of reaching the Championship is ridiculous right now but we're definitely good enough for a mid table finish and to build and grow stronger from there. I'm old enough to remember getting beaten regularly by the likes of Darlington and Workington so people shouting about changes at the top need to get a bit of perspective. Through thick and (mainly) thin. 

That’s a good post Rich but I have to say that Keith Ripley usually played left half, not left wing.
I do remember him bagging a hat trick once though in a Sheffield County Cup game against ( I think) Rotherham.

[steve@dcfd]

Looks like one of our keepers is out, Jake Oram recalled from Matlock

According to free press he was recalled Saturday morning to cover for Lawlor but he was okay for the Lincoln game.

[scawsby steve]

I know games in hand aren't the same as points in the bag, but it's worth noting that Stevenage have 2 games in hand on the leaders, Stockport, and 3 games in hand on second place, Lincoln, and are just 2 points behind them both. Potentially, they could be clear leaders of League 1.

Could this be brewing up for the shock of the season? Yes, I know pigs might fly, but you never know in football.

[Donnywolf]

Were Denmark the Rovers in disguise

Ffs how many chances did they need before scoring

I was sure they would even miss the Penalty

[selby]

   Looking at the weather, and we are well overdue a really bad winter our fixtures could well be affected as regards going ahead as scheduled, which up to Christmas might be no bad thing and get us to the date we can  try and strengthen the squad, or am i wishful thinking?

[GazLaz]

   Looking at the weather, and we are well overdue a really bad winter our fixtures could well be affected as regards going ahead as scheduled, which up to Christmas might be no bad thing and get us to the date we can  try and strengthen the squad, or am i wishful thinking?

Back up to 12/13/14 degrees next week.

[BobG]

My pond froze over last night despite 2 waterfalls and a fountain... Can't happen soon enough Gaz!

BobG

[GazLaz]

My pond froze over last night despite 2 waterfalls and a fountain... Can't happen soon enough Gaz!

BobG

Though a man of your stature would live in a house not a pond Bob.

[tommy toes]

We used to live in a pond. No waterfalls or fountains for us though. Ad to mek do wi mi dad projectile vomiting on us after e’d bin tut pub all neet.

[Chris Black come back]

McCann in stands for Saturday having accrued three bookings this season.

[danumdon]

A match up against these will involve copious amounts of strength and aggression being directed upon our delicate little petals!

Can we ensure we play a team who can handle the rigours of this type of game!

[GazLaz]

Stevenage want us to go down there and try to play football. They'll let us have the ball in the areas they want us to have it, in an attempt to pick us off and counter. We should sit in, let them force the pace and be patient. We will have more joy playing through them in 3 passes than 20 that's for sure.

Interesting that GM says they are the "best team" at set pieces. They have scored most goals from set pieces admittedly, but does that necessarily make them the best set piece team?, I'm not sure it does (i look at data that says different). Its a minor thing but its a small insight into how they look at analytics. Making judgements based on outcomes, especially on an area that has so much variance in said outcomes, is miles off it. They may end up being the best team at set pieces and my waffling may be nonsense but its more the thought process i'm looking at as opposed to the rational itself.

[mushRTID]

Stevenage want us to go down there and try to play football. They'll let us have the ball in the areas they want us to have it, in an attempt to pick us off and counter. We should sit in, let them force the pace and be patient. We will have more joy playing through them in 3 passes than 20 that's for sure.

Interesting that GM says they are the "best team" at set pieces. They have scored most goals from set pieces admittedly, but does that necessarily make them the best set piece team?, I'm not sure it does (i look at data that says different). Its a minor thing but its a small insight into how they look at analytics. Making judgements based on outcomes, especially on an area that has so much variance in said outcomes, is miles off it. They may end up being the best team at set pieces and my waffling may be nonsense but its more the thought process i'm looking at as opposed to the rational itself.

Our manager has two league titles on his CV.

I’m sure he knows what he is doing, regardless of what analytics/outcomes say.

[GazLaz]

Stevenage want us to go down there and try to play football. They'll let us have the ball in the areas they want us to have it, in an attempt to pick us off and counter. We should sit in, let them force the pace and be patient. We will have more joy playing through them in 3 passes than 20 that's for sure.

Interesting that GM says they are the "best team" at set pieces. They have scored most goals from set pieces admittedly, but does that necessarily make them the best set piece team?, I'm not sure it does (i look at data that says different). Its a minor thing but its a small insight into how they look at analytics. Making judgements based on outcomes, especially on an area that has so much variance in said outcomes, is miles off it. They may end up being the best team at set pieces and my waffling may be nonsense but its more the thought process i'm looking at as opposed to the rational itself.

Our manager has two league titles on his CV.

I’m sure he knows what he is doing, regardless of what analytics/outcomes say.

He’s good at what he does at the level he does it at. If he wants to have a good career higher up the pyramid he has to embrace the fact that there is now the capacity to analyse things in a more in depth/ nuanced way. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be a L1/L2 manager all of his career, he could make the step up easier for himself if he was less old school imo. Most clubs recruiting at Champ and Prem level now won’t entertain a coach that doesn’t have a real trust in analytics and an accept data led approach.

I know what other clubs do and the edge they get from certain things. It’s just the way football (and life!) has evolved over the last 10 years. If you don’t keep up with technology you are going backwards.

[Draytonian III]

You make out that McCann is using a blackboard and chalk

[drfchound]

McCann in stands for Saturday having accrued three bookings this season.

It doesn’t matter these days does it.
Grant will just have a live link to Cliff so will still be making the decisions.

[selby]

   And yet three teams still come down every year from both leagues, mostly determined by money not statistics.
  They have their place, and are needed to be taken on board, but knitting eleven players to complement each other and work as a unit is the main skill needed by a management team.

[Chris Black come back]

Ref is Elliot Bell who took charge of the Rotherham game earlier in the season. Was pretty decent that day so maybe we will get a fair crack of the whip for once.

[In the box]

McCann in stands for Saturday having accrued three bookings this season.

McCann may need to see this game from a different perspective as his blind faith in playing Billy on his lonesome is starting fall flat and the good approach work is just getting wasted without an end product.

[ncRover]

Stevenage want us to go down there and try to play football. They'll let us have the ball in the areas they want us to have it, in an attempt to pick us off and counter. We should sit in, let them force the pace and be patient. We will have more joy playing through them in 3 passes than 20 that's for sure.

Interesting that GM says they are the "best team" at set pieces. They have scored most goals from set pieces admittedly, but does that necessarily make them the best set piece team?, I'm not sure it does (i look at data that says different). Its a minor thing but its a small insight into how they look at analytics. Making judgements based on outcomes, especially on an area that has so much variance in said outcomes, is miles off it. They may end up being the best team at set pieces and my waffling may be nonsense but its more the thought process i'm looking at as opposed to the rational itself.

Our manager has two league titles on his CV.

I’m sure he knows what he is doing, regardless of what analytics/outcomes say.

He’s good at what he does at the level he does it at. If he wants to have a good career higher up the pyramid he has to embrace the fact that there is now the capacity to analyse things in a more in depth/ nuanced way. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be a L1/L2 manager all of his career, he could make the step up easier for himself if he was less old school imo. Most clubs recruiting at Champ and Prem level now won’t entertain a coach that doesn’t have a real trust in analytics and an accept data led approach.

I know what other clubs do and the edge they get from certain things. It’s just the way football (and life!) has evolved over the last 10 years. If you don’t keep up with technology you are going backwards.

On a more basic note it worries me that it took until near half time for Grant to realise that Rob Street would be the target of long balls against Maxwell out in the right wing. He said in his post match that’s when they tweaked something to stop that.

I said on lucky point before kick off that would happen. It was an obvious strength v weakness.

[Usher wide.]

Stevenage want us to go down there and try to play football. They'll let us have the ball in the areas they want us to have it, in an attempt to pick us off and counter. We should sit in, let them force the pace and be patient. We will have more joy playing through them in 3 passes than 20 that's for sure.

Interesting that GM says they are the "best team" at set pieces. They have scored most goals from set pieces admittedly, but does that necessarily make them the best set piece team?, I'm not sure it does (i look at data that says different). Its a minor thing but its a small insight into how they look at analytics. Making judgements based on outcomes, especially on an area that has so much variance in said outcomes, is miles off it. They may end up being the best team at set pieces and my waffling may be nonsense but its more the thought process i'm looking at as opposed to the rational itself.

Our manager has two league titles on his CV.

I’m sure he knows what he is doing, regardless of what analytics/outcomes say.

He’s good at what he does at the level he does it at. If he wants to have a good career higher up the pyramid he has to embrace the fact that there is now the capacity to analyse things in a more in depth/ nuanced way. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be a L1/L2 manager all of his career, he could make the step up easier for himself if he was less old school imo. Most clubs recruiting at Champ and Prem level now won’t entertain a coach that doesn’t have a real trust in analytics and an accept data led approach.

I know what other clubs do and the edge they get from certain things. It’s just the way football (and life!) has evolved over the last 10 years. If you don’t keep up with technology you are going backwards.

If you listen to Grants pre match interview he’s asked about xg’s & analysing the strengths & weaknesses of the opposition.

He says the club has its own analytical team who do exactly that.

You make Grant sound like a throw back to Bill Nicholson.

You’re a very arrogant person to allude to Grant not being good enough to manage above Lg1 level because he doesn’t embrace your world (how well I remember your post showing the number of minutes Hanlan had on the pitch & the goals he’d scored in those minutes compared to Sharp. It amounted to half a goal….oh how I laughed watching you pull back the hammer, point the pistol at your foot & pull the trigger) when he clearly states in that interview that analytics play an important role in preparing the team to play against each opponent they face.

Get your head out of your backside & try to keep up.

[Chris Black come back]

Hanlan starts. Sharp on bench. McGrath and O’Riordan at CB.

[GazLaz]

Stevenage want us to go down there and try to play football. They'll let us have the ball in the areas they want us to have it, in an attempt to pick us off and counter. We should sit in, let them force the pace and be patient. We will have more joy playing through them in 3 passes than 20 that's for sure.

Interesting that GM says they are the "best team" at set pieces. They have scored most goals from set pieces admittedly, but does that necessarily make them the best set piece team?, I'm not sure it does (i look at data that says different). Its a minor thing but its a small insight into how they look at analytics. Making judgements based on outcomes, especially on an area that has so much variance in said outcomes, is miles off it. They may end up being the best team at set pieces and my waffling may be nonsense but its more the thought process i'm looking at as opposed to the rational itself.

Our manager has two league titles on his CV.

I’m sure he knows what he is doing, regardless of what analytics/outcomes say.

He’s good at what he does at the level he does it at. If he wants to have a good career higher up the pyramid he has to embrace the fact that there is now the capacity to analyse things in a more in depth/ nuanced way. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be a L1/L2 manager all of his career, he could make the step up easier for himself if he was less old school imo. Most clubs recruiting at Champ and Prem level now won’t entertain a coach that doesn’t have a real trust in analytics and an accept data led approach.

I know what other clubs do and the edge they get from certain things. It’s just the way football (and life!) has evolved over the last 10 years. If you don’t keep up with technology you are going backwards.

If you listen to Grants pre match interview he’s asked about xg’s & analysing the strengths & weaknesses of the opposition.

He says the club has its own analytical team who do exactly that.

You make Grant sound like a throw back to Bill Nicholson.

You’re a very arrogant person to allude to Grant not being good enough to manage above Lg1 level because he doesn’t embrace your world (how well I remember your post showing the number of minutes Hanlan had on the pitch & the goals he’d scored in those minutes compared to Sharp. It amounted to half a goal….oh how I laughed watching you pull back the hammer, point the pistol at your foot & pull the trigger) when he clearly states in that interview that analytics play an important role in preparing the team to play against each opponent they face.

Get your head out of your backside & try to keep up.

All clubs have analysts. Using analytics and having analysts is a different thing. It’s the level you apply these things to. Mr Wide, I work with the best football analytics people in the world (not subjective either btw), and know what good in this field looks like more than most. For onece in your life take a step back and trust that someone can know more about something than you do.

On Grant “not embracing my word”, it’s not embracing the way football is progressing to the level you have to in 2025.

As the Chef Exec of hearts said in a recent interview, top of the SPL based on using data and data alone btw, put your preconceptions on football to one side and embrace the data.

The numbers know more than us all. Are they just one tool in a pretty large armoury that you need to be successful?? Of course they are, have the become the tool one if used in a smart way, yes.

[ncRover]

No Reid for them.

Other striker out too so they are playing without a recognised no.9.

[rich1471]

Hanlon looking good up top ,Giving the defence a rough time

[BobG]

It is quite bizarre now your fixation on Gaz.

BobG