Rovers v Grecians

[Boz]

Rob Edwards manages against his former club likewise Gill and Richards may turn out against a side they once played for. Exeter have been good for us; the historic 1-0 last game to keep us in the league back in the late 80s, while they've failed to take anything back to Devon in visits this century. Will our good form against the Grecians come to an end?

A couple of weeks ago, I was fairly hopeful about this one, now I'm not so sure. Short of a recognised left-back, we don't seem to have many options beyond the back four that finished v Newport, unless there's a last minute loan. Further forward, Gill has done well protecting the defence, but it wasn't envisaged he'd be playing every week, so if he is to be rested better here than Carlisle away. I don't expected Exeter, bolstered by their first win of the season at Cambridge will play quite so negatively as Newport.

Noises from the manager about Donnelly starting, but instead of who? He didn't seem any better than Stockton midweek, and if we were to play two similar forwards, I'd rather a Cole-Odejayi pairing. However, particularly against his old club, it makes sense to persist with Richards.

Prediction: The crowd should swell from midweek, probably around 4.4k with 150 away fans. I think we may rediscover our scoring boots, but come unstuck at the back. Either a score draw or narrow Rovers win.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Although Exeter got a good win in midweek, I am not sure why Boz is less hopeful about this game than a couple of weeks ago, as our last two performances have definitely been the best of the season so far. However, I would agree that regardless of the quality of our football we badly need to win on Saturday, if nothing else to silence some of the vocal critics (misguided in my view) of the manager.

This game may actually suit us more than the majority at this level, as Exeter will come to play football rather than play a direct, physical game; indeed, Edwards' approach at Rovers is really a continuation of the style instigated by Tisdale at Exeter. With the exception of the enforced change at left back I would not change the team, other perhaps than playing Koumas or Rowe ahead of Laird to give us more creativity in midfield.

I now actually think the 4-3-3 suits our players better than 4-4-2, as to play a progressive passing game we really need to have three in the centre of midfield. In addition, while we have skilful and mobile players we only have one genuine, permanent winger (Baggie). On that basis I would start with Cole as the focal point of the front three; he has had a below par couple of games but is still our most likely goalscorer. Perhaps a 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 formation might allow us to get both Stockton and Richards / Donnelly in forward roles, but that is probably a discussion for another day.

The last couple of performances have suggested a convincing win is on the horizon, so hopefully it will come on Saturday.

 

[drwhoman]

I see Davies from Preston has been signed on loan. The left back seems to have decent experience for a young guy. See how he goes!

 

[Boz]

It will be interesting to see who plays at the back now. The options;

Same line up as finished at Newport. Not impossible, given Rob's apparent preference not to use loan players from point of signing.

Slot Davies in at left-back for the injured Hill, otherwise as we started v Newport.

Keep Donacien at right-back and drop Holmes

Revert to Ihiekwe-Donacien in central defence and drop Holness.

Who knows?

 

[Sparky]

Too gutted to give a full report yet but in summary:

No cutting edge (again)

Farcical defending for the first goal and conceding on a basic set piece for the second.

Really can't get much worse

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Well, let's not dress it up, that was abysmal. Although we did have a few opportunities in the first half and some decent patches of play, in terms of shape and control of the game Exeter were the better side throughout and deserved the victory. Indeed, if it had not been for a couple of marginal offside decisions, we would have been put out of our misery much earlier.

Defensively, we were awful. The communication and control of the box was non-existent from Fon Williams and he was directly responsible for the first goal. I have defended him previously, but I now think it is time for him to be dropped. His uncertainty spread to the young centre halves, who both had nervous games, but the defending as a team was not good enough, with too many balls coming into our box and too many poor decisions in the defensive third.

I will give Edwards some credit for making changes early, but they made little difference to the quality of our performance. With Odejayi on the pitch, we went route one virtually every time and any pattern of play disappeared completely. It said something, that at 2-1 with twenty minutes to play the ground was virtually silent as nobody could see us getting back into the game, as the performance had been so dismal.

Individually, Donnelly worked hard when he came on and laid a couple of shooting opportunities on a plate for Odejayi, which he spurned, and Max kept driving forwards. The new left back also did ok, but nobody else comes out with credit.

What is really disturbing is that we were largely outplayed by a team that has struggled in recent seasons, is skint and was second bottom of the league at start of play. With our resources we should be doing much, much, better and today's display was completely unacceptable from all concerned.

 

[GroundsmansFork]

Totally unacceptable. Surely it's the defence that needs looking at not the forwards. The defence was shambolic and had no understanding with each other. We huff and we puff but we can't blow anyone's house down. He needs to do something and do it quick.

 

[merseyside bossman]

I WILL KEEP THIS SHORT FOR ONCE.
4-5-1 isn't working

Why doesn't is work?
Because in this league teams are very, very happy to bang long balls from opposition defence into our peno area.
By passing our 5 man midfield.

Playing 2 upfront will give there 2 centre backs less time to do this.

I also believe that most defences have worked out that Cole Stockton always turns to the left when receives the ball.
(centre backs are just standing 1/2 a foot to his left and he turns straight into them).

Also the game was crying out for a left winger.....

 

[Boz]

I've not much to add. Usually there are a few crumbs of comfort after any game, but it's a struggle to find any here.

The new left-back was very weak. While you could argue that OFW should have claimed the ball that led to the comical first goal, once Davies got it he should have got rid. He was brittle in the air and Exeter kept pumping high balls to the forward pitched against him, who was winning every time. Danny Holmes would have done better there.

I agree with bossman, we had a left winger on the bench, so why, yet again, did Rob fail to use him?

My next Rovers game is likely to be Mansfield in a month's time. Any more performances of this mediocrity may well see a new manager in place then.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I don't actually agree with Bossman's assessment of 4-5-1, as Exeter today actually hit very few long balls and played more football than any team we have come up against so far.

My criticism is not the system per se, but our complete lack of game management in the majority of matches this season. When we go ahead, we are unable to see games out; if we fall behind, our approach to getting back into games is to stick Odejayi up front and go route one; when scores are level and the game is relatively even, as in the first half today, we look incredibly vulnerable whenever we lose the ball in midfield, and often make poor decisions on the ball in trying to play in the wrong areas.

I still maintain that a lot of this stems from having so many youngsters in the side - 7 or 8 is too many. Three of the back four today were very inexperienced and with the absence of Matt Hill there was no leadership or communication in the defence; add in Fon Williams' woeful showing and you have a recipe for disaster.

I think we have to bring a couple more experienced heads into the starting eleven in the next couple of weeks and Edwards must focus on simply digging out some results, in the short term at least.

I agree about the problems on the left side. Power was playing left winger in the second half and inevitably ran inside into traffic every time he had possession.

For the first goal, Fon Williams was at least 50% at fault as the ball was his to claim: when he should have come out he hesitated and by the time he did decide to come it was too late. Not once did he communicate with the full back; it is very difficult for a youngster to play with that kind of indecision behind him.

 

[Ian]

I would say they played a mixture of long ball and passing today. Their shape and passing was very good, but they also had a lot of joy in the first half punting balls long enough for Cummins to run onto and cause problems. Defensively we were shaky today, and it looks like OFW is now becoming exposed with his lack of decision making and communication between the back four. I didn't think the young left back was that bad, certainly no worse than the majority of them out there today.

Like Sparky said early on, there was no cutting edge. I think we had 55% of the possession but did nothing with it. Again, going sideways, backwards, then losing the ball with a long ball or poor placed pass. Their keeper was rarely tested. Sub didn't make much difference although Odejayi did win more than Cole (who was poor again) in the 30 mins he was on. Donnelly had a lot of energy but didn't put it to much use, and the Koumas sub was fruitless.

It was very desperate out there today though. Lots of huffing and puffing but no thought behind it. I'd agree with RLC. In this position/situation, you need more experienced heads out there.

This season seems like a huge experiment and massive learning curve for certain individuals, but they need to wise up and do it quick because time will run out very quickly.

On a side note, nice to see one of our old regulars on the forum (Paul Harper) Scoopersomersaults writing the report on the official site. Keep up the good work mate!

 

[Boz]

The problem with calling for more experienced players is that there isn't a great deal of option in the current squad. Of those in the starting line-up falling into that category, Holmes and Gill were among our better players, OFWs failings have been highlighted and Laird was back to woeful [but didn't get subbed]. Amongst the subs, Donnelly did well in terms of work-rate and did set up up a good chance spurned by Odejayi. Kayode was very frustrating yesterday, he must be awkward to play against as a physical presence, but doesn't make full use of this and continues the recent Rovers tradition of a big man who's weak aerially. Neither look more likely to score than Stockton. Koumas didn't make much of a difference yesterday, though nearly all of his passes found their target, so a vast improvement on Laird's pass completion rate.

Defensively despite the lack of a leader, we did hold the line fairly well and Exeter frequently got caught offside. There is the option to bring Holness in, either as a straight replacement for Donacien or as part of a defensive re-shuffle to how we finished against Newport.

In midfield, Koumas could replace Max to up the experience factor, but so far he hasn't done much to impress at this level.

Up front, I wouldn't like to start with the pair we finished with yesterday, as our attack would be fairly toothless.Stockton, whatever his failings, is a more clinical finisher. There may be some merit in trying a Stockton-Donnelly starting pairing, as Cole is more likely to finish any opportunities created by George's work-rate and harrying. This may be a bit harsh on Richards, who aside from our deflected goal was the only Rovers player to give their keeper a proper save to make.

 

[merseyside bossman]

We can talk about the best forward pair all day....

But the manager wont play 2 upfront until where behind or the game is out of reach.

The league table shows the 4-5-1 doesn't work.

 

[GroundsmansFork]

Boring, I know but I repeat myself. There is supposedly a good winger on the bench brought in from a Premier League side. He may not be as good as we think but we'll never know will we? What must he think(and Allardyce, who wanted him to have games) when he just sits there. Why did I come here?
If this continues I can see questions being asked about Edwards before Christmas.
Edwards says the right things after defeat(s) but its his job to do something about it and at the moment he doesn't seem to know what to do.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

The problem with calling for more experienced players is that there isn't a great deal of option in the current squad.

There are several options though, some of which you highlight yourself. In the absence of Hill and Woodards, Holness probably should come back into the side. While I am not as big a critic of Laird as many - he has been played out of position in the majority of games this season - playing Koumas aheahd of him would definitely improve our ball retention and composure in midfield, which was sorely lacking yesterday. It is harsh to criticise Koumas based on his lack of impact yesterday, as he is not an impact player: he needs a longer period on the pitch to dictate the tempo of the game, added to which he was bizarrely played in the holding positon when he came on yesterday and thus had little impact in the final third. A change of keeper may also improve communication at the back in this difficult period.

A 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 formation can work if it is played appropriately, and there are plenty of examples at all levels of football of teams who use this system effectively. I still don't believe we have the personnel to play 4-4-2, although 3-5-2 / 5-3-2 may be an option once we get some of the injured players back.

I would agree with Boz that a Donnelly / Odejayi pairing is not the way forward and that Cole should still be seen as the number one striker, perhaps paired with Donnelly / Richards.

 

[Ian]

I'd like to see a Stockton/Donnelly pairing up front. It would give us a bit more pace up there and Donnelly needs more than a second half showing to make a mark. Richards is good in patches but I don't think he's a great finisher. We need to shake it up now so we can get some points coming in. Still think Odejayi can play a role at the club. He was winning balls but there needs to be support and bodies around him to pick it up.

Koumas should really be playing from the start. He's one of the most experienced pros at the club and I just think it's a waste seeing him sitting on the bench. I drop OFW immediately too.

 

[Higgy]

We can talk formations all day, but the key is to get the right players on the park, which is partly compromised to injuries to three of our better defenders. I agree with comments that we need as much experience on park as possible - even OFW. I agree it is not great for a young defender to have an indecisive keeper behind him, although not great for a keeper to have an inexperienced changeable back four ahead of him.

I think we could have fielded an experienced enough back four without further dips into loan market. In terms of inserting experience we could of slotted Holness in there and just rejigged the four to accomadate - the guy was a potential captain - so should improve the communications.

Not a fan of 4-4-2 as can be a tad static, and if we are going to play wingers as suggested we would have to ensure we do get overrun and that wingers put in a shift.

I would prefer the legs, speed and enthusiasm of Donnelly and Richards up front to either harry and create their own chances, or make room for midfielders to have a pop. Cole may be a more clinical finisher, but is not really that prolific and can be predictable.

OFW/Breznan (ok either way)

Donacien Holness Ihiekwe Holmes

Gill
Koumas Power

Rowe/ABB

Richards Donnelly

Easy

 

[Boz]

There has been an explanation from RE about Fanimo's lack of game time; initially unfit, then had a groin strain at the weekend, though strangely he still was on the bench.

 

[Tartantranmere64]

He played for the stiffs today. We lost that one too (3-4).