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.