• Nigel Adkins has been given the Tranmere job on a permanent basis signing until the end of the 25/26 season. Continue the discussion here.

Rovers v Chelmsford City

Joined
15 Mar 2010
Messages
13,873
Player
Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
Manager
John King
Chelmsford were pretty dirty and Bush was very lucky to stay on the pitch. Several bad challenges in addition to the nasty one on Vaughan he was booked for. That said, he defended well and Chelmsford were well organised. We had far more efforts on goal than the visitors, not that the performance was in any way good enough.

Wallace played well in the first half, less so after half time when we went to 442 and his fitness issues caught up with him. Maynard was very poor.

My concern today was that if you play Hughes and Wallace, one of them has to play higher up the pitch to create in the final third.

Mellon was apparently going ballistic after the game and our lack of consistency in the last six weeks is a concern. I still think we will win the replay when they have to come out and play.
 

Ian

Super White!
Admin
Joined
21 Sep 2005
Messages
12,020
Player
Aldo
Manager
Kingy
Agreed RLC. Very laboured performance and the quality in the final third was sorely lacking. Norwood was poor, looks a different player from last season. Cook worked hard but was outfought in the air on most occasions and the game didn't suit him.

Tollitt was disappointing throughout especially in the first half and yet again the quality from out wide was poor.

Passing was quite poor on occasions and I think we only tested their keeper once or twice with most shots flying over or wide.

Like RLC says, credit to the opposition for defending well and they were a lot better than I had imagined. I thought they played quite well as a team.

Replay really not needed at this stage of the season.
 
Last edited:
Joined
15 Mar 2010
Messages
13,873
Player
Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
Manager
John King
If we were complacent today, then MM needs to make some changes for the replay as a wake-up call.
I would not make changes on Wednesday because a) Chelmsford are decent and we will lose, b) the players that failed to perform today should take responsibility and put things right.
 

Boz

Member
Joined
30 Sep 2005
Messages
8,851
Player
Iain Hume
I would not make changes on Wednesday because a) Chelmsford are decent and we will lose, b) the players that failed to perform today should take responsibility and put things right.
I can understand and accept to an extent point b. However, if out of our large squad, only the eleven who started today are capable of beating a side in the league below us, surely it's time to start ripping up a few contracts? My view is that there are enough players in the current squad to be able to win down in Essex. Playing 442 with Dunn, Stockton and Harris/Maynard instead of Wallace is one option, especially if their central defender who went off just after they scored remains injured, but there are others.
 
Joined
11 Aug 2009
Messages
225
Player
Jonny Morrisey
Read somewhere that McNulty had a go at the home crowd after the game...can anyone shed any light on that?
 
Joined
15 Mar 2010
Messages
13,873
Player
Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
Manager
John King
I can understand and accept to an extent point b. However, if out of our large squad, only the eleven who started today are capable of beating a side in the league below us, surely it's time to start ripping up a few contracts? My view is that there are enough players in the current squad to be able to win down in Essex. Playing 442 with Dunn, Stockton and Harris/Maynard instead of Wallace is one option, especially if their central defender who went off just after they scored remains injured, but there are others.

I actually agree with the changes you suggest, I was referring to wholesale changes and bringing in fringe players. Cook and Stockton are our only strikers in form at the moment, but I do worry that they would be too similar to play together. However, I like the idea of playing Dunn and Tollitt wide in a 442.

Regarding McNulty, he had a go at a supporter in the JK Stand who was giving him abuse in the first half. It was fair enough, as Mac was actually playing well at the time. Personally, I like it when players give a bit back, at least it shows they care about their performance.
 

Cowshed Kid

Member
Joined
5 Dec 2015
Messages
882
Player
Bobby Hutchinson
We take a step forward at Woking and then two steps back today.
Utter dross. First half we played like it was a behind closed doors training session. Tippy tappy possession going nowhere.
Mickey's diamond continues to trouble us. Does he adopt it early doors to ensure we are 'tight' down the middle and therefore less likely be over run in midfield? Once we've settled he then goes more conventional?
Home games we've bucked up when we've gone back to 442.
To be fair, they were as good as most teams outside the top ten in NL in my view. A couple of 'timely' challenges but not the likes of what we've seen from Eastleigh etc. And they can't be accused of unnecessary time wasting.
Service from out wide was dire but it's not fair to overly crticise the full backs.
Nors was utter tripe. No first touch, misplaced passes. He's definitely in a rut. Shame he didnt get a confidence building goal. I think his frustration will continue.
Dunn looked useful but he needs to stop the fancy stuff in positions where, if it fails, he looks a tit and we're put under pressure. Shades of George Green?
Finally, what a different player Cole looks?
Terrific finish for the goal, looked eager and actually jumped for the ball! Unheard of!
Selection on Wednesday will be interesting.
Why can't the Sutton game go ahead on Tuesday and we'll play our second string on Wednesday for replay? :)
 

Cowshed Kid

Member
Joined
5 Dec 2015
Messages
882
Player
Bobby Hutchinson
Where's Claret Rob?
He must be home by now?
Great result for you mate, hope you all got home safely and enjoyed the day.
Nice to see your fans in the fans zone.
 
Joined
15 Mar 2010
Messages
13,873
Player
Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
Manager
John King
Mickey's diamond continues to trouble us.

We actually did not use the diamond at all today. It was 433 to begin with (as at Woking), then 442, and finally 343. None of the three systems was particularly effective, which just goes to show that our recent problems are not solely due to formations.
 

Cowshed Kid

Member
Joined
5 Dec 2015
Messages
882
Player
Bobby Hutchinson
Just shows how we can interpret formations differently.
First half Hughes played virtually on the edge of our box. 4123?
Something I miss Ronnie for...442, up and at em!
 
Joined
15 Mar 2010
Messages
13,873
Player
Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
Manager
John King
In fairness CK, in his interview Micky said we changed formation three times. So it might have been the diamond early on in the first half, then the three formations I listed above.

Either way, it was not great.
 

Sparky

Member
Joined
8 Sep 2009
Messages
7,532
Player
Chris Greenacre
First game I've missed this season and whilst we've not been great recently, apart from Tuesday 2nd half, it sounds like it was back to this building slowly from the back, neat and tidy, but fairly toothless and slow paced. Although only one game If we can't beat Chelmsford at home then our automatic promotion chances look highly doubtful.

I'm with cowshed kid. Let's give 4-4-2 a go for a few games, especially at home. We have the players.

Disappointing that it sounded once again Wallace looked immobile and was a passenger towards the end. Can we afford to have him in the team with Hughes who although good technically, doesn't get about much either. Ever since James was shoe horned in things have gone down hill overall. We cannot afford to have an unfit player if we want to go up. Fact.

What it worrying is we have this massive squad but MM doesn't seem to know how to get the best from them. We haven't played well since before Macc on Boxing Day. Yes we won on Tuesday but is that papering over the cracks a bit due to some quality from Tollit?

My concerns about MM are building albeit slowly, but it sounds as if even more tinkering today with the formation shows he doesn't know what to go with.

Glad I missed it but if we play this next Saturday, Bromley will have a chance.
 
Joined
15 Mar 2010
Messages
13,873
Player
Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
Manager
John King
I don't agree with all of Sparky's comments (I won't rebut them point by point) but I do agree about Wallace. His passing was actually good in the first half, as it was on Tuesday, and he shows his quality on the ball in most games. However, I just don't see how we accommodate him in a 4-4-2 and we will need to use that formation a lot at this level. I would start with a midfield of Hughes and Maynard on Tuesday, but I doubt MM will. Sparky is right to point out that our inconsistent form started when James arrived.

More generally, we need to increase the tempo and move the ball from back to front more quickly. Not hoofing it, but getting the ball to the wingers more quickly so that can get one-on-one with the fullbacks, and getting it to Cook earlier so he can link the play higher up the pitch. Because of the emphasis on the passing game we have been lulled into playing at too slow a tempo, and this has an impact on the movement of the forwards too: you are not going to make a run if you know you won't receive the ball.
 
Joined
1 Oct 2005
Messages
5,692
Player
Alan King, Barry Dyson
I'm more relaxed than most about this result. We haven't lost any points. We are still in the competition. We finished strongly. It hasn't affected our fixture list much, as Sutton also drew so Tuesday's game would have been off anyway. The manager and players should have learned a lot from today and they have another chance to put it right on Wednesday. OK, a few players continued their poor form, but at least we can welcome our "new" striker, Cole Stockton.
 
C

Claret Rob

Guest
Hope you have a nice birthday Rob and enjoy the game.
It would be great if you could pop back on here and give us your post match thoughts too!

Cheers Ian,

Had a great birthday thanks. We played very well IMHO our tactics were good and work rate excellent. It was a decent game and we could have won it? The replay will be tough again but looking forward to it. Thanks for great hospitality today at your ground. Nice set up and fans.
 
C

Claret Rob

Guest
Where's Claret Rob?
He must be home by now?
Great result for you mate, hope you all got home safely and enjoyed the day.
Nice to see your fans in the fans zone.

Yeah home safe cheers. Great day out. We're a decent side and performed well today. See you Wednesday
 

Ian

Super White!
Admin
Joined
21 Sep 2005
Messages
12,020
Player
Aldo
Manager
Kingy
Thanks for posting back Rob.

On reflection, although the performance was poor, it was a cup game and I thought the visitors played really well. I don't think we should let it judge our chances for the rest of the season.

It will be a different game on Wed so let's see how that pans out.

I think McNulty was like a bear with a sore tooth yesterday. Having a go at supporters and a ding dong with the visitors bench. He played well though if a little too casual at times.
 

frenchrover

Member
Joined
4 Feb 2012
Messages
688
Player
aldo
Well I thought I'd give it 24 hours to see if I could see the game a little more objectively and to try and see if there were any positives to be gained from the game and to consider the managers post-match comments. Regrettably, I still feel the same as yesterday....we were total dross. We were at home to a part-time team 25 places below us who looked fitter, sharper and more committed than we did. Apart from Stockton's goal and very late efforts from Norwood and Dunn we failed to break them down and create any meaningful chances. It has been hinted elsewhere that Chelmsford came to "park the bus", nothing could be further from the truth. For most of the game they played a 4-4-2 but were able to get cover back when needed because we were so slow in working the ball forward it was ridiculously easy for them to switch from attack to defence.
Our midfield, supposedly the engine room of any team, was totally ineffective other than for the efforts of Maynard who for some inexplicable reason was dragged off at half-time. Wallace was dreadful from start to finish failing to find a white shirt 9 times out of 10, he is totally unfit and can hardly summon up the energy to move forward in any attacking sense or provide defensive cover when needed, which meant whatever role he was supposed to provide was limited to searching for the miracle pass from an essentially static midfield position, which he totally failed to do. By the end of the match his demeanor was one of absolute dejection.
I feel the limited movement of Wallace meant more pressure was placed on Hughes and this impacted adversely on his performance. Until Micky bites the bullet and acknowledges that an unfit Wallace is actually detracting from overall team performances we are going nowhere. God only knows what Harris must feel at being left on the bench while an immobile and ineffectual Wallace stays on the field.
I heard nothing from Micky in his post-match summary, apart from a half-hearted apology of sorts to Maynard, to alleviate my sense of disappointment and frustration with a system which seems to be organised to accommodate Wallace. At least we were not subjected to the nonsense of the "10% underperformance" which he promulgated as the cause of our failure against Dagenham. Taking nothing away from Chelmsford, who actually deserved to win this match, this was, certainly apart from the final 20 minutes an absolutely spineless display by Rovers, who, as a team, displayed no passion, no desire, no conviction and I'm sorry Micky, apart from haranguing each other, very little in terms of effort.
 

Ian

Super White!
Admin
Joined
21 Sep 2005
Messages
12,020
Player
Aldo
Manager
Kingy
Whilst we weren't great, I wouldn't say the visitors deserved to win. We had pretty much all the possession in the second half, we were just too static and lacking ideas to break them down in the final third.

I think it'll be a totally different game on Wed with more space to be creative but I can fully understand the disappointment.
 
Top