: Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:26 pm  

Important game tomorrow, we need to get the three points from Barnet at home, given that our next two games are away to Wycombe and Rotherham (who'd only be a point behind us if not for the -17).

Be interesting to see how we approach it without Daley or Colbeck available.

: Sat Nov 01, 2008 10:32 am  

Asim wrote:

Important game tomorrow, we need to get the three points from Barnet at home, given that our next two games are away to Wycombe and Rotherham (who'd only be a point behind us if not for the -17).

Be interesting to see how we approach it without Daley or Colbeck available.

Unfortunately I think we might see Nix out on the left, but he just doesn't do it for me I'm afraid. I like the look of Leon Osborne and I'd much rather see him given a run out. Not sure if he's a left or right sided player though. Boulding is a good option on the left too.

: Sat Nov 01, 2008 5:46 pm  

GCM1980 wrote:

Unfortunately I think we might see Nix out on the left, but he just doesn't do it for me I'm afraid. I like the look of Leon Osborne and I'd much rather see him given a run out. Not sure if he's a left or right sided player though. Boulding is a good option on the left too.

Well we got it totally wrong, I'm not even sure what the system was supposed to be, but it created a right mess.

: Sat Nov 01, 2008 6:13 pm  

Well that was crap. Basically.

: Sat Nov 01, 2008 6:30 pm  

Gillingham win away beating Macclesfield 1-0 thanks to an Adam Miller goal

: Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:19 pm  

Asim wrote:

Well we got it totally wrong, I'm not even sure what the system was supposed to be, but it created a right mess.

Whilst the idea of playing without wingers clealy didn't work, it's certainly no excuse for giving goals away in the manner that we did. It also seems that after of last season where we were constatly outfought in midfield that we havn't learnt from our mistakes. Paul McLaren is certainly a quality passer of the football but he seems to lack any sort of bite whatsoever and Dean Furman isn't a physical player either.

Whlst he certainly isn't the flashest footballer at the club I think we have desperatly missed Lee Bullock since he's been out injured as he gets stuck in and wins the ball in midfield. He may not be the most technically gifted player around but he's exactly the style of player we need in the centre of midfield and we have no one else who can fulfill that role.

: Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:32 pm  

Gareth1984 wrote:

Snip

Agree with all that, in particular with regards to Bullock.

Some will regard this as heresy but I am beginning to lose a little faith in McCall with regards to his tactics when the plan A of Daley and Colbeck tearing teams apart isn't working..

By the end of last season he seemed to have learnt the lesson that we needed more physical presence in the midfield yet he's now brought in the likes of Furman and Law on loan and the same problems for last year are repeating themselves. I really couldn't understand his thinking today, he clearly wanted to give Conlon a start but wouldn't drop Boulding, and the team he picked left us with a ludicrous imbalance - the three strikers seemed to take it in turns to go out to the left and, as Law is really a central player filling in on the right, it left us ridiculously narrow and meant that the likes of McLaren and Furman never had an outlet for the ball, so we kept giving it away and inviting pressure on.

We had a winger, Leon Osbourne, on the bench who, in McCall's own words, has recently been performing very well in the reserves and training - if he can't get a run out in a home game against a lower mid-table team when our wingers are all out injured when is this form going to be rewarded?

It seems a little harsh to criticise when we are 3rd, but I honestly think we should be doing a lot better than we are, and (as you might be able to tell) today left me pretty angry.

: Sun Nov 02, 2008 4:00 pm  

I've never seen softer goals conceded - 3 tap-ins! By all accounts the 3rd goal never went in and there is no way the linesman could see through Evans' body to judge but Barnet deserved something from the game. Very disappointing.

: Sun Nov 02, 2008 4:04 pm  

Gareth1984 wrote:

Snip, again!

Your point about Bullock is something I picked up on, particularly on Tuesday.

Now Paul McLaren hasn't gone into being a bad player overnight, he had the highest assist total in League One last year, and is arguably the most creative player in the league on his day.

I think his problem has been the absence of Bullock to be perfectly honest. Bullock does all the defensive side of the CM play, sitting in and helping the defence, which enables McLaren to be a bit more loose and creative.

: Mon Nov 03, 2008 12:07 pm  

Went to Griffin Park to watch Brentford lose to Rochdale 2-1 on Saturday. My jinx with them continues. We were really very poor. Our midfield was just porous, and our full backs were continually caught out by Rochdale's greater use of width. We have no-one in midfield who can really control the game and create chances for the likes of Glenn Poole or Dean Bowditch (the one good thing about the game, we have him on loan from Ipswich till the new year - at this level he should at least score goals).

We'll continue dropping down the table if we keep playing like that.