• Nigel Adkins has been given the Tranmere job on a permanent basis signing until the end of the 25/26 season. Continue the discussion here.

FA Cup Orient v Rovers - FA Cup Second Round

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Alan King, Barry Dyson

I've never seen Micky so distraught. A frank and honest analysis. He's a lot of work to do before Tuesday, when we have to bounce back immediately to have any hope of getting out of this league.
 

Outoftowner

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Chris Merrie
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Micky Mellon
Questions need to be asked of Micky's use of the squad, Walker and Merrie barely had a look in and Micky pushed to sign Duffy yet he's hardly played either
Yeah - I agree, as I said on the other thread I wonder what they did to upset Mellon to the extent they mostly didn’t even make the squad most games ?
 
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aldo
just a few words shit piss poor cowards,I feel for the fans who went to bring Nevitt and that other so-called forward on is a joke, the team is full of old farts at the end of their playing time a score like this has been coming for a while,some of this lot needs moving on and getting younger hungrier players in and some who might score goals or give a shit,rant over
 
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Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
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John King
Bizarre - what on earth is MM thinking switching to Morris at LB and even worse bringing on Mani who should be nowehere near the squad never mind the pitch. I despair.
We actually had our best spell of the game when we switched to wing backs, and both Mani and Nevitt worked hard and did quite well.
 
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A miserable afternoon.

We were second best today and deservedly lost the game. However, I did not think we were outclassed in every aspect of the game, so much as defending extremely poorly at vital moments and being punished by a ruthless Orient attack, with two top strikers at this level. People can question tactics and selections, but the problems today were not tactical in my view. Collectively and individually players simply did not do their jobs when called upon.

The first half was actually tighter than the scoreline suggested, with not much quality shown by either side and the two teams nullifying each other for long periods, and our back five looking relatively solid in the early stages. Orient only created two genuine chances, but we defended both extremely poorly: for the first goal the defence parted like the Red Sea and Smith finished expertly; for the second we failed to clear from both the first and second phases of a corner. A turning point in the game came shortly after the first goal, when Maynard was played in by O'Connor. He only had the keeper to beat but his first touch let him down, and the chance was spurned. Had that chance been taken things might have been different.

At half time Micky switched to a midfield diamond, but the change did not seem to work and Orient started the half the brighter of the two teams. We switched again to wing backs, which was actually much more effective. However, seconds after the change Orient were given a very dubious penalty for handball and the game was over. In fairness to the players, they did continue to battle - the substitutes anyway - and we were unfortunate to have a goal from Morris chalked off for offside. Nevitt had a couple of reasonable chances. However, as we chased the game we were picked off again on the counter attack, and Smith once again finished coolly.

I don't read too much into the game tactically, as the 532 formation and the personnel we started with were sensible. Most people were calling for the majority of the side from the Bradford game to be selected, which is what happened. However, on the day we simply did not perform.

Win on Tuesday night in front of a buoyant SWA and this defeat will be quickly put behind us.
 
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Sparky

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Chris Greenacre
Thanks for the report RLC. As you say a win at Oldham on Tuesday then all will be forgotten. A defeat however will not go down well at all an expected healthy away support.
 

Ian

Super White!
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Aldo
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The players need to step up. They were not good enough as Mellon highlighted after the game and there is no excuse for not putting in a performance. Hopefully we’ll see better on Tues but we need more consistency to build anything this season.
 

ADD

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Norwood
We actually had our best spell of the game when we switched to wing backs, and both Mani and Nevitt worked hard and did quite well.
RLC, you and I know both know you take every opportunity to criticise me on this forum at every opportunity due to me having supported a poster who left the site due to your constant attacks on him for not agreeing with the party line but honestly talk about clutching at straws....
 
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RLC, you and I know both know you take every opportunity to criticise me on this forum at every opportunity due to me having supported a poster who left the site due to your constant attacks on him for not agreeing with the party line but honestly talk about clutching at straws....
I made a perfectly polite comment about the tactics at today's game, and you respond with a highly personal and vindictive remark. Not to mention inaccurate.

You might want to retract that comment.

And for what it's worth, we did look more effective with wing backs.
 
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I would have the team in today at 6 in the Morning who cares if it was a long drive back get them in and sort this bollocks out,
Whether it is down to lack of ability, or lack of application, there are too many players in the squad that simply don't care often enough. It has been said many times, but the recruitment process needs an overhaul.

I am yet to work out exactly what Ryan Watson does, not that he is the only culprit.
 

Sparky

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Chris Greenacre
1638703668842.jpeg
 

Sparky

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Just watched the goals. The handball was harsh as Clarke was sliding to block a cross but even so, some of the defending was poor.

You wonder if Micky is ever tempted to bring Jacko back given their previous success and his defensive coaching attributes
 
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Just watched the goals. The handball was harsh as Clarke was sliding to block a cross but even so, some of the defending was poor.

You wonder if Micky is ever tempted to bring Jacko back given their previous success and his defensive coaching attributes
It makes you wonder if he would benefit from having Jackson with him just as a sounding board and somebody that he can trust.

In the promotion seasons I think Jackson acted as 'bad cop' to Mellon's 'good cop' in the dressing room, but I am not sure Dawes and Parkinson have the same authority with the players.
 

Boz

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Iain Hume
Now viewed the extremely limited match action footage, confined to the four Orient goals.
The first didn't show Morris losing the ball, which led to the chance, there didn't seem to be any pressure on the attacking players, but it was a well-timed run onto a perfectly delivered through ball and a clinical finish.
The second was poor defending failing to clear our lines and leaving the scorer unmarked
The penalty was impossible to judge on the footage, was it the AR who gave it reacting to the home crowd shout of handball? Paul Harper the pundit on Radio Merseyside thought it was the correct decision.
The fourth seemed similar to the opening goal, coming from a break, though this time there did seem to be a defender in the vicinity of the scorer, not that that changed the outcome.
Didn't get to see the Maynard chance or the Morris disallowed offside goal, though Paul Harper felt the latter should have stood.

Onto a few other things about the game, which RLC or anyone else who attended may be able to throw some light on;

Wing-backs; we started the game with Macdonald and Cogley in those positions. The commentary suggested there was a real difficulty on the right side with Cogley struggling to get forward, but didn't really explain why. With the h/t substitutions did we switch to a back four? It wasn't clear and then we seemed to change things again with Morris and Mcmanaman as wing-backs. It sounded like Kieron did quite well there yesterday, but my concern is that he usually seems to struggle with the defensive part of that role.

Substitutions; Hawkes seemed to be one of the better players in the first half, so why was he hooked, as that appeared to reduced our attacking options? He could have also been deployed as left wing-back like the Bradford game, where he looked fairly comfortable in all aspects of that role. The others made more sense, Spearing was having a poor game and on a yellow card, Maynard quiet, Glatzel according to the commentary was working his socks off but getting nothing from team-mates. It seemed we posed more of an attacking threat after the changes but still rarely troubled the Orient defence.

Thanks to Sparky for posting the action. I'm not so convinced that Mike Jackson's return would improve us defensively. We haven't been particularly solid as a defensive unit since NL days. There may be a stronger argument in terms of him working with Mellon to get the best out of the squad, but do we have the funds to be able to afford to make changes to the management team, given the noises made about how we are strapped for cash to strengthen the squad?
 

Boz

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Whether it is down to lack of ability, or lack of application, there are too many players in the squad that simply don't care often enough. It has been said many times, but the recruitment process needs an overhaul.

I am yet to work out exactly what Ryan Watson does, not that he is the only culprit.
I feel the same about Feeney and he's been with us longer and gets deployed in the same position, but after a bright opening game has contributed little. I agree Watson's been disappointing.

I am yet to work out exactly what Chris Merrie and Stephen Walker have to do to get a chance in a game other than the Pizza Cup!
 
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Re the disallowed goal, Morris was at least a yard offside when the ball was played in, even though he then did adjust his position before getting his header in.

Maynard’s chance was a case of a slightly over-hit through ball to him. Or, if you prefer, he wasn’t quite quick enough to get it fully under control.

The opening goal was criminal. Morris seemed to have done the hard part and just had to slip Maynard in. Instead he dallied, and I think it was the bloke who robbed him who immediately showed him what he should've done, playing a through ball to put Smith in one on one.
 
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
Trying to be positive, not having been at the game, I am hoping it was a bit of rustiness having not played for 11 days and coming up against an in-form side away. Sometimes several players just have a bad game on the same day. If I am right, the expected rollicking from Micky and a shake-up of personnel should do the trick on Tuesday. If we can't beat Oldham, then what hope next Saturday at Exeter? For me, the evidence of a recovery will be how the team plays a week Saturday when Orient come to PP in the league. If they are not up for it then, they will never be.
 
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ian goodison
I don,t know whether mellon picks the team on merit or from a personality view, I,ve only seen merrie at the game were he was sent off playing full back but as he was signed as a mid-fielder on a 2yr contract his exclusion is a mystery, we could all pick different teams which is why the forum is a great place to argue/differ with each other, I do think we have a half decent squad but his selections/tactics seem all over the place, football is a simple game why complicate things
 
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Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
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John King
Now viewed the extremely limited match action footage, confined to the four Orient goals.
The first didn't show Morris losing the ball, which led to the chance, there didn't seem to be any pressure on the attacking players, but it was a well-timed run onto a perfectly delivered through ball and a clinical finish.
The second was poor defending failing to clear our lines and leaving the scorer unmarked
The penalty was impossible to judge on the footage, was it the AR who gave it reacting to the home crowd shout of handball? Paul Harper the pundit on Radio Merseyside thought it was the correct decision.
The fourth seemed similar to the opening goal, coming from a break, though this time there did seem to be a defender in the vicinity of the scorer, not that that changed the outcome.
Didn't get to see the Maynard chance or the Morris disallowed offside goal, though Paul Harper felt the latter should have stood.

Onto a few other things about the game, which RLC or anyone else who attended may be able to throw some light on;

Wing-backs; we started the game with Macdonald and Cogley in those positions. The commentary suggested there was a real difficulty on the right side with Cogley struggling to get forward, but didn't really explain why. With the h/t substitutions did we switch to a back four? It wasn't clear and then we seemed to change things again with Morris and Mcmanaman as wing-backs. It sounded like Kieron did quite well there yesterday, but my concern is that he usually seems to struggle with the defensive part of that role.

Substitutions; Hawkes seemed to be one of the better players in the first half, so why was he hooked, as that appeared to reduced our attacking options? He could have also been deployed as left wing-back like the Bradford game, where he looked fairly comfortable in all aspects of that role. The others made more sense, Spearing was having a poor game and on a yellow card, Maynard quiet, Glatzel according to the commentary was working his socks off but getting nothing from team-mates. It seemed we posed more of an attacking threat after the changes but still rarely troubled the Orient defence.

Thanks to Sparky for posting the action. I'm not so convinced that Mike Jackson's return would improve us defensively. We haven't been particularly solid as a defensive unit since NL days. There may be a stronger argument in terms of him working with Mellon to get the best out of the squad, but do we have the funds to be able to afford to make changes to the management team, given the noises made about how we are strapped for cash to strengthen the squad?
I though Cogley played quite well yesterday, and there was more a defensive problem at left back, where MacDonald was way too far off his man when Orient switched the play.
 
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