Match Day Thread Tangerines

As expected! Lambert has to go!

 

Enough chances our way just dont put them away. Terrible result!

Who would support us, agony, goodnight all.

 

I feel for those amongst us who still have hope - much like those who still thought we could survive last Autumn.

Action is required now from the ownership or next season will be another relegation battle.

 

Looks like we will be up here next season, and Fleetwood, Southend, is this our destiny?

 

**** it!

We should not have lost that match based on chances created.

 

I’m sure that’s what PL will say as well but the simple fact is we lost (again) I would say that’s it as far as the play offs go. Might be in for a relegation scrap next season,

 

Simply reflects dreadful decision by Evans by not buying a decent striker. A big powerful frontman would have nicked at least 2 of those chances.

 

Would a new manager make a difference, not sure, but new owner and sructure, deffo yes.

Compelete Club overall needed now, nothing less.

 

Simpson looks like he might be that target man player we're missing. He's a big lad but is mobile and I watched him closely when he came on and I was impressed by his play.

 

Ben Morris has got goals in him too but we are so far away from the form we would need to make the play offs that any measures now are too little too late for this season. If it wasn't for our early season points haul we would now be staring League Two in the face.

 

Another frustrating result.

We were on top for the majority of this match and should have won easily with the chances we created. We had some good crosses across the six yard line but just couldn't stab the ball home. Blackpool were more effective than us when they did attack. Their overall build up play was just quicker and more incisive than ours, with the Blackpool players carrying the ball well and committing our defenders to last ditch tackles and blocks. We on the other hand have a bad habit of just trying to attack down one side at a time. I was screaming for a switch of play many times, the space was there but we just don't move the opposition team about enough to really open them up. The Blackpool goal came after a bunch of little defensive mistakes meant the ball wasn't cleared and they scored with a decent finish. It all started with Garbutt trying a little trick to pass a player and failing, the ball then started bouncing about with Downes and Huws getting in each others way and not clearing the ball when we could.

Second half was mostly about us attacking and putting Blackpool under pressure but poor finishing or positioning of the forwards wasn't resulting in goals. We still kept running into dead ends by continually playing in congested areas when there was space available. I thought we got it a bit wrong with the shape today, in fact I'm not quite sure where everyone was supposed to be playing. We had a back four of Garbutt, Earl, Chambers and Woolfenden and then four central midfielders in front of that. Bishop seemed to have been asked to stay on the right wing but we didn't really have anyone at left wing. Skuse sat deep and Huws and Downes roamed the middle but it wasn't balanced. I think Bishop should have played more centrally, in the position that Judge has been lucky enough to play in recently. Teddy is good with the ball at his feet and can glide past people with ease but you're asking him to beat too many players from a wide position. He would be far more effective sitting right behind the forwards where he can pick the ball up and only have a CB to beat to be in on goal. Sears and Keane both wandered too much looking to get involved which left us without a central presence when we did get the ball into the box. They did finally combine for the goal and I hope they can get to learn each others game so that they can be more effective as a pair.

Holy - some crazy moments from the big Czech today. He came rushing miles out of his box on a couple of occasions, completely missing the clearance and relying on defenders to bail him out. He did collect crosses well and was confident in goal but needs to learn when to come out for the ball and when to stay home.
Garbutt - 7/10. Looked lonely down the left side, he didn't really have anybody to vibe off on his side.
Earl - Solid enough without being spectacular
Chambers - same as Earl.
Woolfenden - got involved with plenty of overlapping runs down the right side. Was part of the trio with Bishop and Downes that did the most attacking in the first half. Still think he should be used as a ball playing centre half as he is the exact type of CB we need to be more progressive as a team.
Skuse - sat deep and cleaned up the middle. I did notice he was looking for forward passes most of the time he received the ball, still passed it sideways a lot though. He helped us keep possession and recycled the ball to keep the pressure on Blackpool.
Huws - you just want him to have more effect on the play. With just a bit more effort he might have gotten on the end of a Sears ball across the six yard box early in the game that would've set us up nicely if we had scored.
Downes - superb again. Great ball retention and passion to do his best at all times. Shame he'll be out for two matches now. I can understand why he pushed the Blackpool player. Flynn was having his shorts pulled as he tried to get around the defender. The referee didn't blow the whistle and it ended up with Downes showing his frustration at not getting the call by pushing the player over.
Bishop - looked good dribbling the ball and committing players to defend. Wasted out wide he needs to be in the middle to do his best work.
Keane - decent enough but drops too deep too often. Like Sears, they are just not the 'in the box' presence we need when the crosses are sent in. Actually, those crosses are coming from those two from the wide areas because we don't have any natural wingers hugging the paint on the flanks. The strikers end up in the channels picking up through balls but then there's nobody in the middle to score. Keane is more of a play maker than a finisher and would benefit from playing with a 'goal hanger'
Sears - happy he got his goal, Freddie played well. Needs a different strike partner to be effective as both he and Keane move around too much to compliment each other.

Judge - not as good as Bishop, he's just not.
Dobra - really bright performance from Armando. He is super positive with the ball, he tries to make something happen EVERY time he has the ball. It's rare that you see him him play safe or shirk responsibility, he just wants to run at you, make lay offs and drive further forward.
Simpson - a big lad who looks like he has everything needed to be a nightmare for CBs. Could he be the target man trouble maker we've been lacking?

All in all, more frustration at the final whistle.

Like some of our recent games, if we could just score the first goal when we are on top then matches would be completely different. We're not playing badly, the chances are there, the finishing is not. We were unbalanced in midfield today and neither of the strikers are selfish enough to stay in the box. Sure it's commendable to be everywhere trying to be involved but at some point there needs to be somebody in the middle for the final touch!

I'd like to see more of Dobra and Simpson from now until the end of the season. I know we've already given a lot of minutes to the other youngsters coming through this season (Downes and Woolf) but if we want these players to progress and be useful to us then they need to be getting many more minutes if we're not going to send them on loan. I don't want to hear Lambert saying these guys don't have enough experience when it's up to him to get them the minutes they need.

 

We can still aim for top six whilst giving these players the game time they need to start to be first team regulars. There's no better time than when you don't have anything left to play for to get these lads on the pitch. Might not make a difference but it would prep them better for next year. We are likely to lose players if we stay in League One for another year. We won't be spending money to replace them so will be promoting from the academy. I don't want to hear Lambert whinging about having an inexperienced team of young guys all of next season.
Get them some minutes now!

 

This quote from the BBC news site just about sums everything about us at the moment!

“But the Tractor Boys were unable to kill the game off and Dunn's side grabbed a dramatic winner in added time.”

 

Forget all about the top six. You do hit on something though. We could do worse than swap out the first team for the U23s.

It shows how far we have fallen that our defenders are described as 'solid' in these circumstances. For a player in Downes' position to be described as 'superb', he needs to be contributing 15-20 + goals at this level. He's got two goals and one assist. Let's get things into perspective.

 

My perspective on Downes being superb is in the context of him rapidly being considered the best of our midfielders and most improved member of the squad. Considering the experience and so called quality around him in Skuse, Huws, Judge etc, Flynn has been our stand out and most consistent performer this season. So whilst he may not be banging the goals in that you think is a criteria for a superb rating, I rate him that for being one of only a few players who look like the result matters to them and carrying the mantle of the team. Flynn is a prime example of how quickly players can improve once they are playing regularly, especially in the first eleven. If we want anyone else to advance at the same rate, we need to be playing them more.
Woolfenden and Dobra are a couple more that play the game to win, not just pick up an appearance bonus. It's important we get Dobra game time, we'll need him next year....if we can keep hold of him!

 

Apparently Warnock is being linked.

I can’t stand the chap but it might be a necessary evil to reverse our decline.

 

I really can’t see that ending well!

 

Would be typical of Evans though, hand PL a 5 year contract say we are building for the future then doesn't back him in the transfer market. Sacks him and appoints a manager who has said he will retire at the end of the season!!

 

Warnock caretakes us into Division Two and buggers off with another two finger salute to the SBR Stand.Cheers mate

 

Warnock is 71 and has openly said that he will retire from football management in the summer. We could maybe tempt him into an 18-month contract, if he can get us promoted this season, but next season in the Championship with Ipswich would be like the Rotherham job Warnock took on. Namely trying to keep an unfancied team up, and it would not be pretty to watch. But maybe that’s preferable to most fans over a failed attempt at promotion and stagnation in League One? However, say Warnock keeps us up in the Championship and retires next summer, what would we be left with? Possibly we’d be in a similar situation to when McCarthy left - a squad with a few stand-out players but a lack of style, identity, and footballing ability. A squad favoured to go back down to League One.

What this season needed to be was a big rebuilding job and a tilt at promotion. To establish an identity and clear signs of on-field development and success. In some respects, Lambert has been let down by an owner unwilling to finance a big reshuffle, but ultimately the poor results are his fault. There are no discernible signs of progress on the pitch, granted we’ve been playing better over the last couple of games. However, he spent half this season chopping and changing formations and personnel, while also ducking challenges and postponing games when we were in good form. The players have already reportedly aired issues around the constant rotations, which have not resulted in an upturn in form. We have no incisiveness on the pitch, we resort to aimless long balls far too often, and we’re unable to beat semi-decent teams in this division. Lambert has had three transfer windows and a lot of time with this squad, and we still look directionless and lacking a plan A.

Despite not being his biggest fan, I think Lambert should be given the full season to try and get sixth place - which is still achievable in what has been a division containing mostly poor-quality teams that lack consistency (of which we are certainly one of them right now). If we fail to reach the play off places, then Lambert should be replaced in the summer. We need somebody to provide some leadership and establish a philosophy and playing style that will yield results and good performances. We need a coach that can get the best out of these players on the training pitch. I don’t have trust in Lambert to achieve this.