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Silkmen v Rovers

Boz

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Iain Hume
A chance to turn things round quickly after the weekend disappointment in the NE. The hosts have gone off the boil a little recently,after a bright start, but still in 4th. Manager John Askey had to pretty well build a squad from scratch over the summer...makes you wonder if squad continuity is all it's cracked up to be. Key players are probably midfield stalwart Whitaker and Durrell who was surprisingly released by Chester.

Connor Jennings returns from suspension, both he and Norburn will be facing a former club, if selected. Ridehalgh is an injury doubt. If Liam's unfit, wonder if Buxton will stay at left back, or will Micky bring in Eddie Clarke. If Buxton stays on the left, it wouldn't be a total surprise to see Sutton shunted out to right-back and another chance for McEveley, though that is not a course of action meeting with my approval. Further forward, hope that there is no thought of the 1 up approach we took at Aldershot. I think Connor J should come in for Cole, who did not turn in the most committed of performances at Gateshead, while it would not be a surprise for McDonough to replace Cook again, although Norwood's also looking in need of a rest.

Prediction: A slightly below par attendance at the weekend and I can't see more than 300 making the trip to the Moss Rose. Think this one will end in a draw.
 
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Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
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Prediction: A slightly below par attendance at the weekend and I can't see more than 300 making the trip to the Moss Rose.
You can't be serious !? There will be 800-1,000 of us there.
 
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I thought Cole was one of our better performers on Saturday and I am not sure where the negativity about him has come from.

I would restore Jennings to the side on the left of midfield at the expense of either Cole or DMH, as we will need to be solid against decent opposition. Cook was poor at the weekend and it would not be a surprise to see Gerry start, not that that is an enticing prospect.

We have struggled against Macclesfield since relegation to this level. I can't remember a really convincing performance against them, and last season saw a thrashing at Moss Rose on New Year's Day and defeat in the Trophy semi-final. However, The Silkmen's form has tailed off slightly in recent weeks and I fancy us to take something from the game tomorrow. With two winnable home games to follow, a victory would be a massive boost.
 

Boz

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You can't be serious !? There will be 800-1,000 of us there.
Oops. I see that we had 1679 on New Year's Day, so my radar was way off on this one. The number at Gateshead was a bit disappointing and there seemed to be quite a lot of disillusion about how we were playing, even before the late og, so not expecting the travelling SWA to get anywhere near 1k.
 
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You must have lost your bearings after all those years in Huddersfield. ;) In all seriousness, I thought the support at Gateshead was good as it is a heck of a journey from the Wirral.

I can't remember us taking less than 500 to a local match in midweek since the late-eighties, other than JPT matches. We don't have many local games this season, so I would expect it to be a reasonable turnout, despite our travails.
 

Boz

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I thought Cole was one of our better performers on Saturday and I am not sure where the negativity about him has come from.
The lad sat next to me thought he should have done better in the one on one. At the time, my thought was to credit their keeper, who had rushed out so quickly that he'd put Cole off, but seeing it again, maybe LC could have tested him harder. There were a couple of challenges he pulled out of and he didn't do much defensively to protect his full back. Despite those weaknesses, I'd agree that he was one of our better players on inate ability, but for one given the chance to put himself in the shop window, you might have expected him to pull his tripe out more.

It was a decent turnout at Gateshead, more nearly double the next highest travelling support (Halifax) there. However, thought there would be a few more like myself, taking the chance to do a new ground as this was a weekend fixture for the first time.
 
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I did not think there was any lack of effort from Cole. He is hardly the kind of player to fly into fifty fifty challenges, but he was brave enough to get on the ball and try and make things happen on a number of occasions, when others did not seem willing to take responsibility.

The one-on-one chance which he missed he created for himself, by winning the ball back near the halfway line and carrying it forward.
 

drwhoman

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Fingers crossed! If I recall correctly SWA made up about 40% of the gate in the north east. A great turn out given the distance. I only ever went there once around 1970 when the Northern Premier League was formed. It was the very first game in the new league. South Liverpool drew 0-0 at Gateshead if I recall correctly. The Heed must have left the League sometime in the 60s.
 

drwhoman

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I hope it does not take us that long to get back! I will not be here if it does! (LOL!).
 

bigmart

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I hope i am wrong but can see us losing yet again 2 1
 

Boz

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Only one change from Saturday, Clarke replacing the injured Ridehalgh.
 

Sparky

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Chris Greenacre
For gods sake, contributing to our own downfall again.

Leading 1-0 and Big Mac decides to wrestle someone
 
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A funny game this. Macc have got an extra man in midfield and have had a lot of possession and chances but we have scored two fantastic goals on the break.
 

Boz

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Couldn’t see their penalty incident clearly, from my obstructed viewpoint it didn’t look blatant. Cole’s goal was just about our first attempt on target and it came at a time when heads dropping a little. Played reasonably since, though I’d prefer Clarke to get a bit closer to the touch line when defending.

Long way to go. Similar score last season and we lost that 4-2.
 
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