League Two Crawley v Rovers

[drwhoman]

I am not sure what happened above KH (B) must be my IPAD! Apologies! Anyway, a very disappointing result. Predictable given the season I suppose. The sooner we have a new Manager the better given that we might want to keep some of the players whose contracts are expiring. That said, the size of the player budget may put some off. Money is so important these days. It is no fault of Mark and Nicola who saved the Club. The problem is that Rovers are not a business proposition for the hard headed so we are really hoping for another for whom the money is surplus to their needs! The predators are to be avoided or we will end up like Bury!

I take your point re the 60s and 70s. There were a lot more local players then playing for the shirt. It was a different game. Pitches were poorer, training regimes were not as intense, players were less fit and substitutes were only just being introduced. I know I am probably being nostalgic but the game was a more exciting experience. There was not such a financial gulf in the game so top players often ended up in L4 for financial reasons, crowds were bigger,under 10k was poor, and more tribal, with many standing. It was a working class game whereas at the top level today only the more affluent can afford to go. In the 60s only 400/500 supporters at Rovers had season tickets despite the crowd sizes. And goals were scored - the whole point of the game! Between 1958 and 1969 the lowest number of goals scored by Rovers in a season was 70, In 1964-5 we scored 99 and still missed promotion! Over 2 a game! Manning and Dyson scored 51 between them!

 

[Brightonian]

Of course Ian Dawes will try to convey something positive about the display for self preservation but I am sure any neutral would say Crawley deserved the win. We were moving it around well at first, got the fortune of any early gift goal but just seemed to get pressed out of our stride and made far too many basic errors with confidence drifting away.
The pitch was quite slippery with an unpredictable surface bounce but I don’t think this was the root of it all. Thought Josh Hawkes was very disappointing again, Chalmers should have been subbed earlier, Lee O’Connor making a lot of errors and Turnball had a very rare less than commanding performance. We got more and more ragged as the game went on with a performance very much like a going through the motions. For me Regan Hendry and JDC only lads to come out with any credit. Really very depressing that we couldn’t carve out many real clear chances against a team with a very erratic and porous defence but the story of the season and agree we need a root and branch overhaul if we are to be competitive next season.
Wish this season will end and put us all out of our misery!

 

[Ian]

It's probably not helped matters that the system and style of play has changed as Jurnbull alludes to in his post match interview. We just need to go through the motions now and hope the new manager will stabalise things, although I do have a horrible gut feeling about the setup and the direction we are going. Hopefully my gut will be proved wrong!

 

[Keith Hill (Bolton)]

According to a friend of mine........

First, the reserves went.....
Next, the academy went......
Next, covid came........
Then, the youth team went.......
Today, our first team went!
And our future went with it!

The question is why?

 

[Ian]

Money?

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Would be interested in any reports. Sounds like turnbull had a mare. Wonder if any truth in him wanting to leave. Suspect even though not a lot of SWA the reaction at full time wasn’t pleasant?

He did not look fit to me. He was not his usual self, but the first half performance was lacklustre in general.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

The performance was as most people anticipated.

In the first half Crawley showed more hunger and desire and we were deservedly behind at the break. Instead of capitalising on the early goal, we sank deep and turned possession over far too often, which just gave encouragement to the opposition. I actually thought the back four did pretty well in the first half to repel attack after attack, but the two goals were inevitable in the end just due to weight of pressure.

I thought the second half performance was an improvement. The substitutions made a difference and Turner-Cooke was impressive again when he came on and got us playing some decent stuff, and I think we actually edged the half overall. However, it was incredibly frustrating that we missed two gilt edged opportunities to take a point from the game, the penalty miss from Hemmings and poor follow-up from Hughes, and an absolute sitter missed by Chalmers early in the second half, when he skewed the ball wide with the outside of his left foot which would have been a simple finish with his right. The latter's hit and miss displays really sum up the last few weeks.

There were some decent individual performances from Davies, Bristow and Hendry, and it seems we might have a reasonable striker for next season in Saunders. He looks more comfortable playing on the left of a front three and seems to enjoy playing with Hemmings, who I thought was actually OK today with minimal service.

I came away from the game deflated that a) we blew a good chance to take a draw with those missed chances, irrespective of how poor the first half had been and b) that we again failed to deliver against poor opposition under Dawes.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Thought Josh Hawkes was very disappointing again,

Hawkes has been played everywhere by Dawes, other than in his best position. He has gone from being our biggest goal threat to largely anonymous.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Talk on another site that investment is looking unlikely, an ex player is due to talk to MP tomorrow about managers job then a decision to be made within a week

Worrying times.

Without investment, I just don't know where the club goes from here (or perhaps I do, but would rather not think about it).

 

[Boz]

Hawkes has been played everywhere by Dawes, other than in his best position. He has gone from being our biggest goal threat to largely anonymous.

Haven’t seen any of the highlights yet, but the reports suggest that we were back to playing a 442 with Hawkes wide left? His usual position under Micky, though he was also tried in a more central roving role by Micky and as the tip of the diamond by Dawes. Seems to be more comfortable out wide. He set up Saunders’ goal v Swindon and had a good chance to score himself, so maybe like so many others yesterday was an off day for Josh…

 

[Am on mobile]

Sorry lads next year we will be fighting for our lives if we stay with this bunch

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Haven’t seen any of the highlights yet, but the reports suggest that we were back to playing a 442 with Hawkes wide left? His usual position under Micky, though he was also tried in a more central roving role by Micky and as the tip of the diamond by Dawes. Seems to be more comfortable out wide. He set up Saunders’ goal v Swindon and had a good chance to score himself, so maybe like so many others yesterday was an off day for Josh…

We were playing a 4123 and Hawkes was central. He has not played on the left of a 442 at all under Dawes. He has not scored a goal under Dawes.

 

[Boz]

We were playing a 4123 and Hawkes was central. He has not played on the left of a 442 at all under Dawes. He has not scored a goal under Dawes.

The 3 were Saunders Hemmings and Chalmers then? Swindon looked closer to a 442 formation, as Chalmers didn’t seem to be so far up the pitch as the other two named.
Re Hawkes’ scoring record under Dawes, he did have an excellent chance to break that duck with the through ball from Turner-Cooke on Monday leaving him one on one. While the Dawes experiment has failed, players have to accept responsibility for their own shortcomings too.

 

[Ian]

Hawkes has been poor for a while now but then so have a lot of others so probably harsh to just single him out.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

The 3 were Saunders Hemmings and Chalmers then? Swindon looked closer to a 442 formation, as Chalmers didn’t seem to be so far up the pitch as the other two named.

Yes, it was. I thought it was a 442 in the first half against Swindon, but in hindsight I think it was 4123.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I believe Rochdale can be relegated if they lose on Tuesday.

A good job they are playing us then......

 

[Sparky]

Too many excuses elsewhere mentioning the 10 missing senior players. Yesterday we had our first choice back 4, first choice front two plus hendry and hawkes who would arguably be in our best eleven. Only Murphy and Morris would probably start. Yes we have merrie, Walker. Lewis and others etc but would they all be in our best eleven? I’m not sure.

I think whether it’s subconscious or not, too many players aren’t giving their all either mentally or physically. Whether that is due to a lack of manager or nothing to play for, or players out of contract. It’s probably all of those reasons. Plus the likes of JDC and Davies who haven’t been as bad as others of late, may well have moves lined up so why would they give their all? They break a leg or do their ACL and they have an uncertain future

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Too many excuses elsewhere mentioning the 10 missing senior players. Yesterday we had our first choice back 4, first choice front two plus hendry and hawkes who would arguably be in our best eleven. Only Murphy and Morris would probably start. Yes we have merrie, Walker. Lewis and others etc but would they all be in our best eleven? I’m not sure.

I agree completely with this. The starting eleven yesterday, and in all of the recent games against poor opposition, was more than good enough to get a result.

 

[Ian]

Why does this keep happening? Remember when Clarke went on a rant about shrinking violets. Seems to be the same thing happening over and over again. Players not taking responsibility. I think as a club we are too soft on players. Too many players coming for an easy wage and we have to suffer watching it unfold. Where has the passion, desire and fight gone from this club? I've not seen it for a long time.

 

[Boz]

So is it mainly down to the players’ attitude? The recent games against poor opponents where Rovers failed to get a result must include Newport, where the poor performance effectively cost Micky his job.

Clarke may have a point about shrinking violets, but he was part of the problem too, being too cowardly to acknowledge his own mistakes.