It is not how we started today, it is more about how we finished. Obviously I did not go to today's game at Port Vale and hopefully when those that did get back, we might be able to make some sense of this. Evans, King, Essam, Jackman - started at the back and up until the 77th minute that new look back four kept a clean sheet. So what happened? Well we know a certain player that I thought was not up to it last season, one that I have been very critical of since the Wimbledon game this season, came on...Martin - four minutes later Port Vale are equal. We changed the shape of the team again, during a vital period, 433 to 442
brb - Essam and Evans did really well today. The starting back 4 did a good job as a unit and we saw plenty of times when the defence threw their bodies in the way of some point blank shots. Their first goal was very similar to Whelpdale's - decent ball into the danger zone and the attacker made a well timed run to find space for the header. I stand to be corrected by the replay but I don't recall Martin being at fault. The second goal should have been our throw in. The Vale player seemed to go down pretty easily to me but it was at the other end so again I may be proved wrong. Tomlin was bundled over in a similar fashion in the box almost straight after their penalty but the ref only had eyes for Micky Adams today.
Sigh... where to begin. Firstly, and no disrespect meant, Port Vale are not a great team. The new look back four played Ok but at times looked disorganised, with no real leadership. Vale dominanted the opening 10 or 15 minutes and a better front line, like that of Southend or Wimbledon would have punished us. Then we started getting into the game and took control midway through the first half but failed to create any clear cut chances apart from the goal, which was well taken. Things looked rosey going into the second half. We continued to have the lion's share of possession, but again failed to create any chances. Then the key decision of the game was made, Adams made a triple substitution. A bold move, and sadly one Hess would never make. The change was sutble but slowly Vale came back into the game, exploiting their right flank more and more, leaving Jackman more and more isolated. The back four looked more and more desperate... tackles becoming desperate and some "agricultural" clearences which the previous defence was lambasted for. That said we were still looking positive going forward, with Kedwell missing an one-on-one to effectively killed the game (more on him later). I feel the substution was the right one, Jackman was being run all over the place and need Martin being a more natural fullback should cope better. The equaliser came from a piss poor set piece on the edge of the Port Vale box. Whether the defender should have been sent off is not an excuse for the goal, we cocked up the set piece, commited too many players forward and were punished. From then it just went downhill. The heads dropped, Kedwell as captain offered nothing in the way of guidance and the kids at the back tried hard but were hanging on by the skin of their collective teeth. There was only one team going to win... The penalty was down the other end so I couldn't see it clearly, but don't get fooled by the excuse of the ball going out of play, it looked like it did but you play to the whistle. We kept sitting further and further back, hitting long ball that would make Richards blush up to Tomlin, who was coming more and more isolated. The most frustrating thing about today was the lack of action from the bench, everyone else could see the the game was slipping away from us and we were crying out for stability and leadership and yet Hess sat on his hands, while the opposing manager made a bold choice which turned the game. Back to kedwell, everytime I see him he seems to be going backwards, he looked like he had gained a significant amount of weight, struggled with movement, couldn't hold the ball up at all and the miss in the second half had all the hallmarks of a player with no self belief. Giving him the armband was a mistake as he offered no real leadship. I can't see us turning this around anytime soon
when vale scored brb, i thought exactly the same thing as you...was it due to martin being on the pitch and was it down to him ? i know it's easy to say now, but when hess took kuffour off, i thought why didn't he put ollie lee on and leave jackman where he was ???, even remove weston as well and put miller up top. just proves the way results are going for hess & co, that he might as well take the gambles and give the younger lads a chance to prove there ability...which so far, they seem to be proving worthy of starting and showing battle thats needed! would of dropped richards all togeather as well and put callum davies on the bench. hear that king had to have two injections in the ankle to play, so very much doubt he will paly today, tuesday, saturday etc !!! so why not give this jonathan fortune a chance if he's still available to to take on some sort of contract...like i say it's worth a try, the way things stand, though andy hess has very limited time in my opinion to turn around some saving grace !!!
First things first, at least something was done about the back 4, and as a member of the back 4 club I'm sure you'll agree that it takes a bit of time for a back 4 to gel properly and work as a mini-team. That said I'm concerned that it would seem that King isn't going to be able to play 2 games a week, which means that the central 2 won't get to play together week in, week out. Not particularly helpful for Essam if he's going to be a key player in central defence. I think you were at the Morecambe match where Jackman played left back, and was run ragged. Was it the same situation yesterday? If so it's another case of either Hessy not accepting the ultimate limits of an otherwise versatile player's ability, or having simply run out of options. No comments made about Evans. Is that a sign that we might have a right back? From most reports, perhaps a small step forward, despite the loss, but obviously many, many questions remain.
Of course our new look back four will need time to gel and they certainly showed lot of potential yesterday. As Lord Snoakes said they certainly weren't afraid to put their collective bodies in the firing line, but it looked a little too desperate for my liking. They lacked a leader and as Vale grew in confidence we sat further and further back and mistakes crept in. Were they better than Framps and co, not in my opinion; were they worse, definately not which bodes well for the future but doesn't really change the here and now. Evans was the pick of the back four for me, started nerviously but grew in leaps and bounds as the game continued, knew when to push forward and when to stay back and overlapped with Whepldale very well, definately should be ssen as first choice RB until Fuller returns
