Rovers v Gateshead

[Sparky]

After a positive result and performance on Saturday its back to PP as Gateshead come to town.

The Heed are on a pretty poor run having not scored for over 5 hours and drew at home on Saturday 0-0 with Torquay. They started the season scoring for fun but losing Ryan Bowman to the SPL leaves former Rovers loannee Danny Johnson as their top scorer with 3, but he is suspended after getting sent off on Saturday (not long after missing a pen - a bad day all round). Ex rover Liam Hogan has settled in well though and been a regular in their side - nice to see after injury issues with us but someone who impressed when he featured and a danger from set pieces too.

With Wrexham to come on Saturday and you would think spirits high in our squad, we have to be positive and go for the win. I therefore expect Carden to go with a 4-4-2 with Nors & Cook up top but the defence/midfield will need a reshuffle. Assuming Harris can return but with Jenno, Ihikwe & Maynard missing, I think the team might be something like:

Davies
Vaughan Sutton McNulty (capt) Ridehalgh
Tollitt Harris Duggan Almond
Norwood Cook

Other wide options are Stephenson, Kirby plus the loannees Osborne & Jones. Osborne can play in the middle too so if PC doesn't want to put Duggan in (even though he was excellent on Sat), he could play Harris in a deeper CM role and push Osborne on who does have a goal in him.

I guess the key will be whether we can create enough from midfield to service Nors and Cook but we need to be ultra positive tomorrow, especially if PC wants to stay on MPs shortlist.

Prediction: a fairly comfortable 2-0 win for us.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I would start with the team suggested by Sparky, save that I might play Kirby ahead of Tollitt, purely because we are so light in midfield. However, it would not surprise me if Carden started Duggan at right back with Osborne in the middle, after the former's brilliant performance at Dagenham.

A number of the top sides are playing each other on Tuesday so this game gives us a great opportunity to get right back in the thick of things at the top of the table. Despite the missing players nothing less than three points will do really, particularly given Gateshead's poor form. Our next four matches are all very winnable and we need to take twelve points from them if we are serious about a title challenge.

I am hoping the crowd will sneak above 4,000 but I don't expect more than 20-30 Heed fans to travel.

 

[Boz]

In team selection, I would not be surprised with the line-up RLC suggests. Carden was very positive about Osborne in his post-match comments,while the interim manager doesn't seem to have any confidence in Lee Vaughan. Gumbs doesn't seem to have been recalled from Bradford PA and no defensive loanees, so a fairly threadbare Rovers bench from a defensive perspective.

Given Johnson is out, the visitors main attacking threat is Wes York. However, I suspect they'll be set up defensively and manager Neil Aspin's Halifax side last season were hard to break down. It's the kind of game in a cold October evening that we lost last year; think Barrow. With a full strength side, I'd have been hopeful of a win, but have my doubts now.

It would have been a good game to trial no pay on the day price increase and see if that improves the attendance. If the travelling support is as poor as suggested, it's touch and go whether we'll break 4k for the crowd number.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

This is a must win game - for player confidence and for PC's future prospects. If we play any of the line-ups suggested above, the there's enough talent, passion and spirit to see off Gateshead.

I think he'll keep the team as close as he can to those who plays so well on Saturday. This would mean Duggan at full-back, Sutton inside him, Osborne and Harris in the middle.

I'd love to know what's happened to Vaughan. Sutton keeping his place was no surprise, but seeing four youngsters on the bench instead of him was a surprise.

 

[Mal]

Cannot make this game but based on the Dagenham performance I have hopes of a positive outcome. Just hope the players have recovered sufficiently after the extra effort.

 

[Boz]

A worrying first half. The visitors having the bulk of possession, although Rovers had the better chances. Very little play on the deck and the midfield looks lightweight.

 

[Mal]

Guess the injury and suspension disruption is having an effect.

 

[Ian]

Awful game. That's PCs chances well out the window.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Frustrating. We just had too many key players missing to give us a chance tonight, with the injury to Norwood the final straw really. The youngsters were game enough and I thought Osborne and Tollitt came out with some credit. But the team as a whole was seriously lacking in experience and quality.

All of that said, several of the senior players that did play did not cover themselves in glory - Kirby and Almond were especially poor - and the interim manager made some poor choices in my opinion. Given the number of absentees, we should have started with Vaughan and Stephenson to give us a bit more know-how (leaving Vaughan out smacked of bloody-mindedness) and I think the manager got carried away by the efforts of the youngsters at Dagenham. It is harsh to single out a young player, but Jones should have been replaced to at least give us a chance of holding the ball in the final third.

The next three matches are all winnable, so the current position is not the end of the world. However, we desperately need three or four of the senior players back.

Amazed the gate was over 4,000, particularly given the away support of fifteen, the smallest visiting contingent at Prenton Park for thirty years.

 

[Ian]

There was a serious lack of quality especially in midfield and Jones who played upfront with Cook wasn't anywhere near good enough. Missed some big players tonight and that's done us absolutely no favours.

Asking people to pay £19 to watch that is taking the piss to be honest.

 

[Kelti5]

Credit to Heed they took their chance and the points but yet again it was drab fare served up at Prenton Park. Never mind both ourselves and Wrexham are saving ourselves for the derby. or not.

 

[TRFCJason]

Stevenson was bright when he came on, I would like to see him start a few

 

[drwhoman]

Very disappointing. The sooner we get a new Manager in the better. Before we drift away from the promotion places. I am not sure PC is the man although he had a tough time picking a team tonight!

 

[Ian]

I can almost hear the excuses tonight that the squad was thin etc etc.. That maybe true but what do you expect when you bring in youngsters who've had a handful of competitive games between them. I don't blame the young guys, I thought they tried hard at times but the quality isn't there. Surely there are more experienced loanees we can bring in?

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Surely there are more experienced loanees we can bring in?

There possibly aren't at short notice, in fairness. But we could have helped ourselves by playing the couple of experienced players we had sitting on the bench.

 

[Sparky]

Dreadful stuff. RLC is spot on that with all that experience missing, Vaughan should have played. Duggan did ok but we had a real lack of experience out there.

I was really disappointed with Almond who looked lost at times. You wonder if a club like us is too big for him. Ethan Jones was very poor throughout and I didn't think much of Osborne. Having missed the Woking game I thought Tollit looked very lively and positive but his final ball was awful. Cook must be thinking why did I leave Barrow for this.

Admittedly we were missing at least 6 players who would have started so I have some sympathy for PC. But the fringe players/ loannees didn't step up and looked out of their depth.

its nights like this you can see why people will stay away and save their money for xmas

 

[Boz]

A very disappointing performance from Rovers and the interim manager should take some responsibility for not changing things before we went behind. The opening 20 minutes Rovers hardly had a touch but gradually got into the game. We probably had the better chances in the first half, a Harris free-kick turned round the post and a close range effort, but went in level.

The visitors finishing had been poor, so it was a surprise when they took the lead, a poorly defended cross from the left swept on. Soon after, Carden did make a change replacing the hapless Almond with Tollitt. Kirby, who improved after an indifferent first half was then replaced by Stephenson, who did at least cause a little unease by running at defenders. However a combination of the ineffective Harris and the inexperienced Osborne were being by-passed in midfield. Given what Duggan had shown he could do there in his cameo during the Woking game, I'd have put him into central midfield. It didn't even need Carden to pick the footballing leper, Lee Vaughan, as Gumbs was on the bench too.

I'd exempt Davies, McNulty and Duggan from major criticism, but the rest of the starting xi were poor. Our recent home form v Wrexham is poor, so nobody should expect a cakewalk especially playing as badly as this again.

 

[Higgy]

9th !! You have to go down to 15th to find a team who have scored less goals, and I think there are only two teams who have scored less than us in the "top" 20.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Even more disturbingly, if we lose on Saturday and Chester win (they have not conceded in six games) they go above us. I don't think they have been higher than us in the pyramid since 1989.

 

[Ian]

Jeez, now that's a wonderfully depressing start to the morning! Need to get this back on track ASAP. I hope MP brings in the right man.