League Two Monkey Hangars v Rovers

[Rockford's Love Child]

It's not just the defeats in the manner of them that is the issue, we don't create much, rarely threaten and play long balls far too often.

The real test us now we are coming towards the business end of the season, we have been grinding out results until recently, we need to again as the odd game aside we are not a very entertaining team

We have lost just two games, we are not on a long losing streak. The manner of the victories is ultimately irrelevant, unless points are now awarded for artistic impression. Mellon's formula has got us to second in the League and, given his credentials, there is still no reason why he can't take us up automatically. We have adapted tactically on previous occasions this season, and if he feels it is necessary I am sure he will do so again.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

It’s not compulsory to have a bad spell, Forest Green don’t seem to have suffered one yet. Could also argue that Rovers have already had one losing home games to Northamptonand Sutton and at Mansfield when they were struggling.. I expected a bit of a wobble with the run of difficult games coming next, but not that we’d be entering it is such poor form.

While we played better second half, you can’t ignore Pools having a couple of decent chances to extend the lead. Maybe making fuller use of the subs wouldn’t have made an impact, but if we’re resorting to using Clarke as a makeshift striker, then surely worth giving one of our actual forwards on the bench a go?Given the games are increasing in frequency arguably we should be making full use of the bench for fresh legs.

While Clarke was totally at fault for the Walsall penalty, not so sure all the blame lies with him for the og. It was a well-placed free-kick into one of the corridors of uncertainty.

It is wholly unrealistic to believe a team will go virtually entire season unbeaten, as is the case with Forest Green, which is an exceptional circumstance. The recent defeats are largely the result of disruption due to injuries, and in that sense are very predictable, irrespective of the opposition. We do not yet know what will happen in the supposedly tougher games that follow.

I did not think the free kick that resulted in the goal should have been given in the first place.

 

[bigmart]

McPake can't play just off the striker like MacManaman and the only other alternative up front was Mani. On Saturday we made all three changes, but there was no significant impact.

Could have tried Burton central or even Mani something a bit different rather than end up with Clarke

 

[bigmart]

We have lost just two games, we are not on a long losing streak. The manner of the victories is ultimately irrelevant, unless points are now awarded for artistic impression. Mellon's formula has got us to second in the League and, given his credentials, there is still no reason why he can't take us up automatically. We have adapted tactically on previous occasions this season, and if he feels it is necessary I am sure he will do so again.

We have only won 2 of our last 6 games, we have handed the initiative over to others around us with poor performances.

 

[Ian]

Ideally, we could do with turning the corner on Saturday and putting the last two performances to bed. We are still 2nd so let's hope that will still be the case Sat @ 5

 

[Boz]

It is wholly unrealistic to believe a team will go virtually entire season unbeaten, as is the case with Forest Green, which is an exceptional circumstance. The recent defeats are largely the result of disruption due to injuries, and in that sense are very predictable, irrespective of the opposition. We do not yet know what will happen in the supposedly tougher games that follow.

I did not think the free kick that resulted in the goal should have been given in the first place.

You’ve pointed out previously that we managed to get a draw at Forest Green, so the gulf between the sides perhaps not as vast as the home game suggests. However it’s not impossible to go through a season without a bad run. The occasional defeat now and then rather than totally unbeaten. I suggested we’d already had a bad run prior to this one.
How crucial the absentees have been is a moot point; we’ve won games without Glatzel and Spearing, while even in the absence of both of our best defensive midfielders last night’s showing was a marginal improvement on Walsall.

I agree that the free-kick award was debatable, but once given, you have to deal with it and Rovers didn’t.

I agree with bigmart that a big concern last night was Micky’s failure to make full use of his subs. Maybe the fact that our pressure dipped after Macmanaman replaced Jolley was a factor, but once he was desperate enough to try Clarke up front, then he should have looked to one of the forwards on the bench.

Saturday is going to be a very testing game.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

You’ve pointed out previously that we managed to get a draw at Forest Green, so the gulf between the sides perhaps not as vast as the home game suggests. However it’s not impossible to go through a season without a bad run. The occasional defeat now and then rather than totally unbeaten. I suggested we’d already had a bad run prior to this one.
How crucial the absentees have been is a moot point; we’ve won games without Glatzel and Spearing, while even in the absence of both of our best defensive midfielders last night’s showing was a marginal improvement on Walsall.

I agree that the free-kick award was debatable, but once given, you have to deal with it and Rovers didn’t.

I agree with bigmart that a big concern last night was Micky’s failure to make full use of his subs. Maybe the fact that our pressure dipped after Macmanaman replaced Jolley was a factor, but once he was desperate enough to try Clarke up front, then he should have looked to one of the forwards on the bench.

Saturday is going to be a very testing game.

What is a 'bad run' exactly ? Do two defeats constitute a bad run ? If they do, then virtually every team in the country will experience a 'bad run' at some stage of the season. Your suggestion that because we were capable of drawing with Forest Green, we have failed this season because we have not matched them point for point, is not reasonable. Every team will put in poor displays and drop points at some stage.

We are second in the table after 32 games with 55 points, which is a strong performance. They are the statistics that matter.

What changes would you have made, given the limited options on the bench ? The only real alternative was to replace Hawkes or Morris with McPake in a like for like change, unless we believe Mani is a match winner. It was not a game for the untested Burton, particularly given that Hartlepool were so deep in the second half.

We were missing our two best midfielders, our second and third best strikers (based on Jolley's current form), and our captain and others were showing signs of fatigue after a punishing schedule. That is pretty much the whole spine of the team ripped out, which is bound to have an impact on the performance. The loss of O'Connor and Nevitt shortly before the game will also have seriously disrupted the preparation, as I am sure Jolley would otherwise have been dropped.

It is not just the loss of the qualities of a particular individual that has an impact. It is also the loss of the relationships and understanding between the players that has developed in recent weeks.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Could have tried Burton central or even Mani something a bit different rather than end up with Clarke

Neither of those look attractive options.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

We have only won 2 of our last 6 games, we have handed the initiative over to others around us with poor performances.

Prior to Saturday our only defeat in thirteen was against Forest Green. We followed up that defeat with two wins and a draw, including the thrashing of Swindon. So I think you are wrong to portray this as a longer term dip in form.

 

[Sparky]

Clarke up front smacks of desperation and it never worked with Goodison up there. I would have thrown Mani up there as at least he’s a big lad. Mickys subs do sometimes baffle me (bringing Nevitt on at barrow in the 93rd minute seemed pointless).

No one is ever going to be a hundred percent happy with every decision Micky makes. I get frustrated at times but we need to stand back and look at where we are. An excellent position. Our recent form is a worry as I don’t want us to limp into the play offs like we did last season. So it’s too early to be overly critical of Micky and let’s see where things are in a month of two.

To be fair to Micky, you take out spearing; OConnor and glatzel out of our side it is not easy as they would likely all start.

 

[ONIGP]

What is a 'bad run' exactly ? Do two defeats constitute a bad run ? If they do, then virtually every team in the country will experience a 'bad run' at some stage of the season.

Personally my definition of a "run" is a sequence of more than one game. A good run is 2 or more games without defeat, a bad run 2 or more games without victory. So I would say "yes" two defeats constitute a bad run and "yes" most teams will experience multiple bad (and good) runs in a season. So my personal definition means the only time we are not a run is when we are in the middle of a WLW or LWL sequence!

 

[ADD]

Two defeats does not technically constitute a "run of defeats" I tend to agree rather consecutive defeats. Having said that 7 points from the last 18 is a poor run of form in my eyes at least if a team is genuinely expecting/hoping for automatic promotion particularly when you look at the opposition. It is also the joint worst of all teams in the top 7.
I got very excited about how we clicked against Swindon and genuinely thought that with Glatzel back and Warrington in we could cement our position.
In reality looking back on it I suspect that I was wrong and that the Swindon result was the outlier and a freak result where we benefitted from an excceptionally naive Swindon performance.
I hope I am proved wrong but suspect sadly I am not as we remain incapable without Glatzel from truly opening up other teams - compare with Exeter - who came back from 3 down!
One final point if Clarke is considered above both Mani and Burton in the pecking order as a striker why put them on the bench - put an extra couple of defenders/ midfielders on the bench or just 5. Waste of their time frankly.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I got very excited about how we clicked against Swindon and genuinely thought that with Glatzel back and Warrington in we could cement our position.
In reality looking back on it I suspect that I was wrong and that the Swindon result was the outlier and a freak result where we benefitted from an excceptionally naive Swindon performance.

It was a very good performance against a good team which we are capable of if we have a settled side and our best players available. However, at the moment we have neither, plus a lot of fatigue in the squad.

Swindon are a decent side, but we made them look naive through the quality of our performance.

It almost certainly is not possible for us to play at that level in every game, but we don't need to in order to beat League Two teams, as results have already demonstrated.

 

[Boz]

What is a 'bad run' exactly ? Do two defeats constitute a bad run ? If they do, then virtually every team in the country will experience a 'bad run' at some stage of the season. Your suggestion that because we were capable of drawing with Forest Green, we have failed this season because we have not matched them point for point, is not reasonable. Every team will put in poor displays and drop points at some stage.

We are second in the table after 32 games with 55 points, which is a strong performance. They are the statistics that matter.

What changes would you have made, given the limited options on the bench ? The only real alternative was to replace Hawkes or Morris with McPake in a like for like change, unless we believe Mani is a match winner. It was not a game for the untested Burton, particularly given that Hartlepool were so deep in the second half.

We were missing our two best midfielders, our second and third best strikers (based on Jolley's current form), and our captain and others were showing signs of fatigue after a punishing schedule. That is pretty much the whole spine of the team ripped out, which is bound to have an impact on the performance. The loss of O'Connor and Nevitt shortly before the game will also have seriously disrupted the preparation, as I am sure Jolley would otherwise have been dropped.

It is not just the loss of the qualities of a particular individual that has an impact. It is also the loss of the relationships and understanding between the players that has developed in recent weeks.

It’s obviously subjective what constitutes a bad run, but 1point from 9 against 2 struggling sides and a mid-table one is not promotion form. Sandwiched amongst that was the Swindon win and with hindsight, I agree with ADD that was very much an outlier.

I am surprised that you feel Clarke was a better attacking option than Mani, McPake or Burton. I thought Morris was one of our better players last night but very tightly marked, so I’d have probably looked at introducing McPake. However we were losing and creating very little, so giving Burton some match action wouldn’t have cost anything. You mention fatigue in your reply to ADD, so even if I were to accept the MM/RLC approach that Clarke was our best attacking option, then why not go the whole hog and play him as an outright striker either bringing NKP on or dropping Foley back and putting Merrie in midfield?

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I agree with ADD that was very much an outlier.

An outlier in what respect ? We have won games consistently this season and we are second, so as an excellent result and effective performance it certainly was not an outlier.

The last two very poor displays were certainly 'outliers' in recent months, something you don't acknowledge.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I am surprised that you feel Clarke was a better attacking option than Mani, McPake or Burton. I thought Morris was one of our better players last night but very tightly marked, so I’d have probably looked at introducing McPake. However we were losing and creating very little, so giving Burton some match action wouldn’t have cost anything. You mention fatigue in your reply to ADD, so even if I were to accept the MM/RLC approach that Clarke was our best attacking option, then why not go the whole hog and play him as an outright striker either bringing NKP on or dropping Foley back and putting Merrie in midfield?

The decision to throw Clarke up front for a few minutes at the end of the game was not the reason for the poor display or the defeat, and was a minor issue in the scheme of things.

The attacking change that Mellon made was the introduction of MacManaman, and it was that substitution I was referring to vis a vis Mani and Burton. I never mentioned using Clarke as a striker,

 

[Ian]

We do in general tend to jump on a succession of defeats, thats football and when we win again, it's soon forgotten about. I just hope we are able to get most of our injured players back as that will have an effect on the results in the next few weeks.

 

[Boz]

An outlier in what respect ? We have won games consistently this season and we are second, so as an excellent result and effective performance it certainly was not an outlier.

The last two very poor displays were certainly 'outliers' in recent months, something you don't acknowledge.

These last two games along with the 0-4 drubbing by FGR mean we’ve actually lost 3 out of our last 6 games.

At half-time in the Swindon game, we were ahead by a goal and had survived a scare when Swindon had a chance close to h/t. In the second half we really went for the jugular and closed out the game comfortably, no stifling the play and clinging on grimly, which has been true for some of our recent wins.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

These last two games along with the 0-4 drubbing by FGR mean we’ve actually lost 3 out of our last 6 games.

At half-time in the Swindon game, we were ahead by a goal and had survived a scare when Swindon had a chance close to h/t. In the second half we really went for the jugular and closed out the game comfortably, no stifling the play and clinging on grimly, which has been true for some of our recent wins.

You can twist statistics any way you want to. Our medium term form remained strong until Saturday, and it is hardly disastrous even following these two defeats.

The alleged 'stifling play and clinging on' has been responsible for countlesss victories and has got us to second in the league. I don't accept your characterisation of our style, but a controlled, measured approach has been highly successful for us this season, and you don't ditch that approach because of two poor displays.

It is slightly ironic, as I don't recall you being in favour of adventurous, gung-ho tactics in the past, particularly away from home.

 

[Boz]

You can twist statistics any way you want to. Our medium term form remained strong until Saturday, and it is hardly disastrous even following these two defeats.

The alleged 'stifling play and clinging on' has been responsible for countlesss victories and has got us to second in the league. I don't accept your characterisation of our style, but a controlled, measured approach has been highly successful for us this season, and you don't ditch that approach because of two poor displays.

It is slightly ironic, as I don't recall you being in favour of adventurous, gung-ho tactics in the past, particularly away from home.

It’s always the case with statistics. I hope we can agree that if we lose 50% of our remaining games it would be an achievement to make the play-offs.

I’m on record as saying that we ought to have strengthened defensively in the window but for whatever reason that didn’t happen. All the players added have been attacking players even Warrington is a predominantly attacking midfielder. Hence it puzzles why we are not adopting a more attacking approach with the resources at Micky’s disposal.