solihull v rovers again

[frenchrover]

I did tune in to Wirral Radio last night and the overall view was that it was very much an under par performance all round. Particular reference was made of the mixed performance in the first half of Luke Pilling, as confirmed by RLC, although it was made clear that he had no chance with what was described as a "wonder goal" for Solihull's first. Also Buxton's performance came in for some criticism throughout the game.
I honestly believe the club had no interest whatsoever in this competition but turned out a "strong" side to dispel any complaints from the FA powers- that-be, and I think Micky's post-match interview was worthy of an Oscar. This was at best a training match with I believe instructions to take no chances with injuries on what was becoming an increasing difficult pitch, although the red card "tackle" on Buxton late on spoilt the plan somewhat. The real focus was, and remains, next Saturday's league game. Without any doubt Sutton will have had someone scouting for them at last night's match and they will have learnt very little from our performance.

I'm not sure why the direct link to Wirral Radio is down at the moment but I was able to listen to the commentary by using the following:

https://tunein.com/radio/Wirral-Radio-921-s122948/

Hope that link helps Boz

 

[Boz]

Thanks for the link Frenchrover. I'm only going to make the Guiseley game over the festive period, so should come in handy. Interesting assessment of Micky's post-match interview and the game. I thought MM was quite critical, moreso than if they'd been acting on instructions. Hadn't seen much of Buxton in a back three, but he didn't look comfortable for the Torquay game. The manager may be forced to ditch the back three option if he's unfit for the weekend.

I agree that it's unlikely there will be major changes for the Sutton game, but players should not be allowed to get complacent, playing badly and being regularly picked is unhealthy. Hoping the Solihull games are a one off.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

I stand by my comments on the side we should have fielded. Boz makes the point I would have made. Midtable Maidstone fielded a stronger side than bottom of the table Solihull. And the team facing Maidstone were nearly all junior pros, youth players or senior pros about to be released. The reserve team MM could have fielded on Monday could have been stronger. And the first team did at least play half a game last Saturday, so didn't need the gig. On the other hand, the risks of the first team all playing in that game were high, as unfortunately it turned out.

 

[Sparky]

I've never really been a big fan of playing out from the back as at this level you often don't get the time to do it.

I've seen plenty of home games where the 2 centre halves go wide and someone like Hughes would drop into get the ball from Davies or Big Mac.

The likes of Pique etc at Barcelona do it very well but I doubt there are many national league sides who do it. In McNulty we do have probably the best ball playing centre halve in the league but if you make a mistake then there's a big risk you'll concede.

We all want to watch football that is easy on the eye but at the level we are at, and that we are a big scalp to many teams, I'm not sure we should do it

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I stand by my comments on the side we should have fielded. Boz makes the point I would have made. Midtable Maidstone fielded a stronger side than bottom of the table Solihull. And the team facing Maidstone were nearly all junior pros, youth players or senior pros about to be released. The reserve team MM could have fielded on Monday could have been stronger. And the first team did at least play half a game last Saturday, so didn't need the gig. On the other hand, the risks of the first team all playing in that game were high, as unfortunately it turned out.

We had a stronger crop of youngsters in the youth team last season and Solihull were very motivated for the game on Monday, whereas Maidstone were looking forward to their holidays. So the circumstances of the two games were very different.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I've never really been a big fan of playing out from the back as at this level you often don't get the time to do it.

I've seen plenty of home games where the 2 centre halves go wide and someone like Hughes would drop into get the ball from Davies or Big Mac.

The likes of Pique etc at Barcelona do it very well but I doubt there are many national league sides who do it. In McNulty we do have probably the best ball playing centre halve in the league but if you make a mistake then there's a big risk you'll concede.

We all want to watch football that is easy on the eye but at the level we are at, and that we are a big scalp to many teams, I'm not sure we should do it

I think we should play out from the back, as McNulty and all the midfielders are comfortable in the ball. However, it is a question of when and where you do it. On a bad pitch with an inexperienced keeper you should go longer. The real problem on Monday was that we were too deep as a team, which I think was largely due to the 532 formation.

 

[Sparky]

Whether Mickey got things right or wrong at Solihull remains to be seen but I reckon most of the SWA would have happily chosen 3 points this Saturday if it meant going out of the FA Trophy.

As has been mentioned though, we didn't react well to the Posh defeat which derailed some momentum up to that point so we don't want the same against a decent Sutton side on the plastic pitch.

 

[aldoes mustache]

If we play that bad against sutton we will get hammered are away form has been poor . Compared to last season. We cont seem to score away as well . Witch is annoying. So lets start getting the away form going . 442 all the way . An stop pissing around

 

[Mal]

With respect, I think this is nonsense.

And I clearly don't ;o) still, not a problem whilst we are scoring freely.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

And I clearly don't ;o) still, not a problem whilst we are scoring freely.

With McNulty at the heart of the team. He was superb today.

 

[Mal]

With McNulty at the heart of the team. He was superb today.

Fair enough. I cannot comment because ironically I have travelled up from Sutton direction to Birkenhead so couldn't go. Did Clarke have a good game?

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Yes, very impressive again.