I didn't feel from either the commentary or the brief highlights that this was either a terrible Rovers performance or a side set up negatively in the way we were at times last season. However, I'd agree that we are lacking on field leaders. Hemmings does his best, though there's always the issue of whether forwards make good captains, while Turnbull hasn't really stepped up. I don't think the absentees are particularly strong in that regard either. Heads seemed to drop after the first goal and there wasn't much geeing up on the park.
Looking at the highlights Ian's put up, I'd note the following;
Good build-up involving Hemmings, Nolan and Cogley for the early Nevitt effort. Sure Eliott could have done better, but it wasn't a "sitter" there was work needed to convert that.
The og. There was a heap of things going wrong in the build-up; notably a failure of the midfielders to track back and Bristow ought to have been making it more difficult for Smyth to put the cross in. Once the ball got into our box, it was in the zone of uncertainty, too far out for Doohan to claim, but with the forward lurking Turnbull had to make an attempt to reach the ball.
Turnbull free header over. While the jury's out over whether we miss Clarke's defending, we sure as hell are lacking a defender who can attack and finish chances like that.
Nolan's shot. Decent effort and Hemmings again involved in the build-up. Nevitt or McAlear should have been alert to the second ball after the keeper parried.
Orient second Byrne out of position to cover for Bristow and nobody really covering for him. A decent clinical finish though.
Tactically think Rovers got things right going 442 and the diamond, the Orient boss said how they found it difficult to break down that formation. Maybe worth freshening up the midfield, though wish Micky would give Merrie a chance in a more attacking role, however from the point of the first round of changes, it seemed the hosts tightened their grip on the game. The switch to 532 didn't seem to work at all, Byrne a right-footer struggling on the left, while Orient fans were scathing about Simeu and even the commentary remarked how he kept bundling into his team-mates. While I'm sure he'll come good, it wasn't an auspicious debut. Perhaps we should have tried Bristow on the left side of central defence and Hawkes/Merrie at left wing-back? However, I'd disagree with the suggestion that there are no options available to change things at present.
I wonder if Micky's remark about Glatzel being match fit was a consequence of MMs attendance at a funeral on the Friday, so not being fully in the picture. It's one where the follow-up question of "why wasn't he in the squad then?" should have been asked. I would be wary of rushing Paul back. better to do it gradually and hopefully he'll build up some resilience.
Sorry to pee on everybody's chips, but I think the next few games are going to be testing. On reports and highlights, Stockport looked worthy of a more comfortable win than the 1-0 they managed, while both Bradford and Salford are genuine promotion contenders. Hopefully we'll all be feeling more positive when these are out of the way
