I thought long and hard whether to post this thread. In the end I decided there was no real option. Oh dear another away game. COYG
If we lose by one or two then that is not any great shame.....but if we lose by four or five I feel that Rooney should do the honourable thing and resign. OK we're playing with an understrength side.....but it is the lack of organisation that is beyond acceptable.....Rooney hasn't coached any answers into this team that when things go wrong you do this or that instead.......they seem to just fold and accept their fate.....only 2pts and a goal difference of 3-33 in away matches isn't acceptable.....even if they're winning their home games....which they aren't doing anymore. Oxford are a crap team and we should be able to give them a good match....if we don't then Hallett needs to do the obvious and remove Rooney before it is too late.
Another game more accurately. The ever longer Injury list on top of muddled tactics are going to make it hard to get points anywhere, home or away. It’s admirable that the club aspires to attractive and entertaining football but necessity trumps aspiration. We need points on the board and ultimately all real fans prefer a boring 1-0 win to an end-to-end 3-4 defeat.
Cissoko will be in the squad apparently. Rooney hopes his mere presence will lift spirits - he is a happy enthusiastic soul - you only have to see him warm up to know that, let alone score a goal when he looks as though he’s about to leave Earth orbit. Great that he’s back but even in our current dire straits, 3 points today isn’t worth risking him breaking down and missing yet more games. He was that influential early on in the season. If we can get Cissoko back into the team successfully, then my next New Year wish would be Joe Edwards. Notwithstanding the absence of big players like Bundu and Whittaker, his influence on the team is so much more than just what he does with the ball. Captain by name but so much more Captain by nature.
Cissoko is not on the bench so presumably the remark means he’s back in training. Morgan Whittaker and Ryan Hardie both start though as does Connor Hazard.
Presumably the back four is Sorinola, Szucs, Gibson and Galloway with Mumba in a wide attacking role. Or is it a five?
Hazard, Mumba, Szucs, Gibson, Galloway, Randell, Whittaker, Gyabi, Al Hajj, Sorinola, Hardie. Subs. Grimshaw, Finn, Gray, Issaka, Houghton, Ogbeta, Pleguezuelo, Palsson, Roberts. Whittaker returns sooner than expected.....No Cissoko in the squad....But Hardie back as well. Hazard replaces Grimshaw. Strongest line up for awhile.....hope returning players fully fit.
The change of keeper is a surprise to me. Grimshaw has done OK I think although I suppose we can’t tell how well he’s been organising the defence. The keeper always has the best view of open play and the good ones give the outfield players advice. They also need to be in control at corners etc. I was annoyed when Randell got the blame for one of Coventry’s goals when he got caught in possession in the centre of the box. The point is that Grimshaw shouldn’t have passed it out to him when he was tightly marked in such a dangerous position.
FFS I was just about to say it was an ideal 1st 15 minutes away from home - nothing happening- and we concede from the first corner and 1st attempt on goal.
A single goal down at half time, disappointingly conceded from a recycled corner. Still, we’re still in it, so that’s progress.
2-0.....F/T Brown...14mins. Placheta...61mins. 4pts (5 if you count goal difference) adrift at the bottom.....playing our strongest team at the moment...just makes no difference under Rooney's leadership. Mrs Rooney at Everton to see them get beaten as well.....they're turning into Jonah's. Wins for Stoke, Hull & Cardiff.
I said it was our strongest team at the moment.....Cissoko and Edwards not available as you well know.
23 games played....exactly half way and we have already leaked 51goals....so heading towards the horror of conceding over a 100 goals in a season. I would suggest on paper our defenders are not as bad as that....they at times look lost as if they are not coached to perform as a team...or.a solid unit. Ok injuries haven't helped to build a united confident unit....continual chopping and changing doesn't help.....but are they that bad....or is it that they are being coached badly. They aren't helped by having a midfield that is generally out muscled and dominated. All this leads to an attacking force that gets bad service and so the pressure builds up in our half of the field. Rooney is trying to coach players that are nowhere near gold standard... gold standard tactics.....and he has not designed his ideas to suit the ability of his players.....he cannot change his ideas to fit the players that he has got. Will he one day realize that Mumba is a liability around our penalty area.....yet again the finger could be pointed at him for one of their goals.....Mumba should be in the oppositions penalty area. The window is about to open and we have Rooney still in charge.....there is the talk of funds being available.....but how do you encourage new Championship quality players to come to Plymouth....seen by some as one stop before America. Do you sack your manager half-way through the January window and someone else picks up the pieces and try and build a team with someone else's choices. At the moment the good ship Mayflower is sinking in the ocean nowhere near land and who would be able to save it.....not Rooney I'm certain of that.....he has been a top player... how soon will he realize that you need more than that to be a top manager......there is a long list of great players that never made it the otherside of the fence by being a manager.
