It's a very good question Ian. Ten games without a win isn't a position anyone wants to be in. I felt the score flattered us, Grimsby had more and better chances, were denied a 1:1 with a debatable offside flag and there was a possible late penalty for the hosts, though having seen it back, think I'd go with the referee rather than the commentary team. There were flickers of hope, while Burton's goal was a fluke, he looked more than a kid out of his depth today and Mumbongo looked better and a bit quicker than pre-injury. Turnbull is back from suspension next weekend and a pairing with Tom Davies ought to lead to some calmer defending. Need a win next weekend though, no question.Where do we go from here?
I don't think Micky is getting the best out of the squad, there isn't enough risk taken to try and win a game.There's no lack of effort, there's just a big lack of quality out there.
Robinson’s a proper left back, even though we only ever saw him filling in in a central three. I know he’s disppeared, presumably still injured, but I’d always considered his signing as being a back up to Bristow, and a useful alternative if we wanted to play a flat back four. Not much use now, mind!that got me thinking, do we have another proper left back? jameson can play there but is it another recruitment issue? Not having a back up for an inexperienced left back?
Not my best weekend for forecasting but at least I predicted the scores would be the same.I’m being ridiculously ultrapositive and going for a Rovers-England double, both 2-0. At least if I’m wrong you can have a good laugh at me later.
I've waited until could listen to Micky's post-match interview before responding to this. It is rare for you to differ significantly from Micky in your assessments of a game. I generally respect your viewpoint, but it is disappointing that after Micky praised Jake Burton's contribution when coming on in this game that you cannot accept that fair assessment the manager made. Whether he has a long term future with us, only time will tell, although in the way that Chris Merrie has blossomed after being given regular match-time in his favoured midfield position after seemingly being out of favour gives some food for thought. I agree that Mumbongo played well, but MM made it clear that Joel will be limited to cameos for the immediate future.I thought it was a poor performance today. We very poor defensively, both the back four and as an entire defensive unit. Their first goal set the tone, with Byrne kicking a ball against an opposition player which should have been cleared into the stand, and Bristow showing a lack of awareness of those around him to slice into his own net. There were particular problems down our left side where Bristow had a difficult afternoon and Byrne was very poor. The latter simply is not good enough in my view and will be replaced by Turnbull next week.
In possession of the ball we were quite laboured and did not create enough, at least until the last twenty minutes.
It was a game where seven or eight players were well below par and the outcome was as would be expected when there are so many poor displays. That does not particularly concern me, but of more concern is the six or seven games recently where we performed well but did not take three points due to our inability to put the ball in the net. The lack of goals in the side is still our major problem and until that issue is addressed any manager will struggle to get results with this squad, despite the predictable attacks on Mellon. Mellon's striking options today, Hemmings and a half-fit Mumbongo aside, were playing an average midfielder out of position as a number nine and bringing on a a kid as his replacement, who in my view is not good enough and will not make it with us in the long term.
On the latter point, the only real positive today was the performance of Mumbungo when he came off the bench. He gave us the pace and physical presence up front that we are seriously lacking and we immediately started to create chances when he came on the pitch. He should have equalised with the glancing header at the end but his overall performance was good.
This is a slightly strange post. It almost seems you are spoiling for a fight....I've waited until could listen to Micky's post-match interview before responding to this. It is rare for you to differ significantly from Micky in your assessments of a game. I generally respect your viewpoint, but it is disappointing that after Micky praised Jake Burton's contribution when coming on in this game that you cannot accept that fair assessment the manager made. Whether he has a long term future with us, only time will tell, although in the way that Chris Merrie has blossomed after being given regular match-time in his favoured midfield position after seemingly being out of favour gives some food for thought. I agree that Mumbongo played well, but MM made it clear that Joel will be limited to cameos for the immediate future.