Shakers v Rovers

[Sparky]

On the back of poor recent form and some calling for the managers head, rovers travel to Gigg Lane to take on a Bury side who after a slow start to the season have hit form including a recent home win against top of the table rivals Burton.

Ryan Lowe also started the season slowly but has found his shooting boots more recently and along with Rose & Nardiello, will give our defence one of their toughest tests yet.

Joe Thompson has not featured as yet but with the likes of ex Leicester man Nicky Adams on the wing, rovers will do well to get anything out of this game.

I'm not going to predict the rovers line up but surely we need some more experience in the side as has been noted. Personally I'd get big Odejayi in there and Jason too. It will be interesting too to see if there are any further protests against RE. Hopefully from the kick off the fans can get behind the lads and none of that will raise its head.

Hard to be optimistic about this one - I expect us to perhaps hold out for a while but to lose narrowly in the end. Fingers crossed I am wrong.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

This is a match we'd do well to get anything out of even if we were on form. A point would give us a massive boost. I would just hope that we can put on a respectable performance with some spirit and organisation. I would predict a narrow defeat (maybe 2-1), as I think we'll battle, but their superior attack will carry the day.

 

[bigmart]

2 0 to them Lowe bound to score

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Bury have got four or five good players, but no game at this level is a foregone conclusion as there are not any really exceptional teams, at least not judging by the opposition sides I have seen so far. All of our defeats have been narrow and even when we have been awful, as last week and against Exeter, we have only lost by a single goal.

I won't attempt to predict the starting line up, but I think we should revert to a 4-3-3 and Stockton should return to the side. Hopefully we will take a good following of 1,000 or so.

 

[Ian]

Good point about not being thrashed when we lose, which I suppose is a good thing. In terms of form, its one of the best vs one of the worst in the league, much the same goes for the confidence too. I think we'll battle early on, but if Bury score first, we'll lose shape and all confidence and I think it will be downhill from there. Team seems very fragile at the moment. I just hope we manage to score before they do and that would make for an interesting game. I'll be gutted if Lowe scores.

 

[Boz]

The absence of Holness from the bench v Carlisle remains unexplained, injured/fall out with manager/something else? Elsewhere it's suggested that Fanimo has returned to West Ham. Where's all that communication with the fans that Mr Butler used to deliver?

Turning to the match and bigmart's suggestion of 2-0 to the home side with Lowe on the scoresheet, feels about right. Even though losing could see us in the bottom two, this match is about performance as much as taking points, not to say that 1 or 3 wouldn't be welcome. If we continue in the dismal vein of the last two matches, then deep deep trouble, if we battle and look more positive, then that's something to take forward to the slightly easier-on paper at least-games after this.

Team selection will be interesting. Bury tend to play the ball on the deck more, so despite the fact that his aerial inadequacies were targetted by Exeter and Carlisle, Davies may remain in an unchanged back four. If we were to play 4-3-3, I would opt for a Koumas Gill Rowe trio in the middle; that combo having done reasonably v Forest and Stockton Richards Baggie up front. Like others on here, I haven't a clue how we'll actually line up.

Initially, I'd pencilled in a trip to Gigg Lane this Saturday, but in light of recent performances, I've opted out. I think the travelling support is going to be in the 500-600 bracket to reflect the general disillusionment at present.

 

[frenchrover]

What has happened to Cole Stockton......not even on the bench today?

 

[Ian]

He was injured..

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

A closely contested game which we were competitive in and could have taken something from with better decisions from the management team. Bury had the greater quality in the final third and just about deserved the win, but the strange team selection and bizarre substitutions contributed to our defeat in my view, and left me very frustrated.

Our best period of the game was probably the first fifteen minutes of the first half, when we looked bright, got into good areas and created a couple of half chances but failed to test their keeper. Thereafter, Bury had the greater of the possession in the first half, but we were a threat on the counter attack and were denied what looked a stonewall penalty when Baggie was hauled down inside the box. The second half was again fairly even in terms of possession, but our lack of cutting edge was glaring, with a lot of moves breaking down on the edge of the box or crosses whipped into the area which were not attacked. With a similar amount of the ball Bury looked more threatening, and Fonners had to make a decent save in each half before the concession of the goals, both from set plays once again.

What depressed me most about the performance was the substitutions made by the manager. In the second period we were struggling to create, and once the first goal was conceded both Koumas and Richards should have been brought on immediately to be given sufficient time to make an impact. As it was, Edwards waited fifteen minutes, during which we barely threatened, before making changes and actually replace our best player - Baggie - with the attacking player least likely to make a positive forward contribution, Jake Kirby. Richards had to wait until ten minutes from time to get on the pitch and, most frustratingly, Odejayi stayed on for the full ninety despite being lazy and ineffective throughout. I still struggle to understand the manager's fixation with replacing out most dangerous attacking player when we are desperate to score a goal.

More generally, given our lack of creativity and goal threat at the moment I fail to understand why Koumas and Richards did not start the game. Donnelly worked hard and played well, but Odejayi offered nothing, and I don't understand why we could not have started the game with a front three of Baggie, Donnelly and Richards. Elliott has been our most consistent forward this season, yet finds himself out of a side that can't score for toffee; the decision to leave out Koumas is even more bizarre, particularly when you consider that he contributed more quality in the final third in the final twenty minutes of the game today than we had in the previous seventy and was responsible our only shot on target, in the 85th minute.

Regardless of Bury's league position, this was a game we could and probably should have taken something from, and in all honesty I feel less confident than ever tonight that the current management are the right people to take the club forward.

 

[Ian]

For all the huffing and puffing we are toothless in front of goal and something has to change fast. Third from bottom and one point from bottom. Very worrying times.

There no plan b with Edwards. If the game is going against us, he has no idea how to turn it around. Taking off Baggie for Kirby says it all.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

In fairness to Edwards, I have just read that Richards had a slight injury. However, that still does not explain the decision to replace Baggie with Kirby and freeze the most talented midfielder at the club out of the side for a month.

 

[drwhoman]

I see Fanimo went back as in RE's words - 'it did not work out'. I am not sure what that means. Will not get us any brownie points from West Ham that is for sure. While I am physically a long way from what is happening I get a real sense from many posts that Edwards is struggling and may be a better no 2 than a no 1. The reaction from the owners will be interesting. I cannot imagine that they will wait too long and will be thinking about a more experienced Manager with the savvy to at very least keep the club in Div Two.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Having had a bit of time to reflect and calm down a bit, it was a much better performance today than the previous two and, as their manager has admitted, we did not look like a bottom of the table side. Much of the difference between the teams in the final third can probably be put down to confidence; ie. they have got lots of it and we have not got any at the moment.

However, I still think Edwards' decision making during games is often poor and he badly needs a result in the two upcoming home games.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Having had a bit of time to reflect and calm down a bit, it was a much better performance today than the previous two and, as their manager has admitted, we did not look like a bottom of the table side. Much of the difference between the teams in the final third can probably be put down to confidence; ie. they have got lots of it and we have not got any at the moment.

However, I still think Edwards' decision making during games is often poor and he badly needs a result in the two upcoming home games.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. We don't have particularly poor players. I can remember worse squads at PP in recent years, so this lot have the potential to do well in League Two.

I agree that team selection at times has been baffling and too often the wrong subs arrive too late. I am surprised at this, because I would expect Rob as an experienced assistant manager to have learned this from the very experienced Paul Tisdale at Exeter. But I agree that the main issue is confidence. That's something you might expect an inexperienced manager to struggle with.

To lose just 2-0 away to a top side is not a bad result, especially as we appear to have been still in the game until three minutes from the end. One good result may well start to turn things around. But to get that good result will probably need a bit more luck than we've had of late. It sounds like we could have got something today if the foul on ABB in the area had been punished. There is still time.

Thanks for the report, by the way.

 

[bigmart]

Simply Edwards is not upto the job, the longer hes in charge the more trouble we are going to be in, we are in a relegation battle and the sooner he goes the better for me

 

[Ian]

We've been conceding from set pieces for far too long and still we haven't managed to rectify the problem. Also I'm not blaming Edwards, more the situation we are in, but the lack of real decent goal threat up front is going to cause us big problems this season. Odejayi, Donnelly and Richards aren't the answer. We are creating chances but have no-one to put them away. This isn't something you can learn either. You either have the ability to do it or you don't.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

We were scoring freely earlier in the season, and Stockton, Richards and Baggie are all capable of getting goals at this level. The major problem at the moment is a lack of confidence, and it remains to be seen whether the manager will be able to turn the situation round.

 

[Ian]

They are capable of getting goals, just not enough goals. I suppose inexperience plays a part too as when the team is down, you need your experienced players to pull through and dig out results. Getting a win in Tues could be a huge boost. I hope he plays Koumas and leaves Kirby at home.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

They are capable of getting goals, just not enough goals.

We don't actually know that for certain yet. Stockton has not had a full season in the first team yet, and Richards was averaging one goal every two games in the second half of last season at Exeter. At the moment they are playing in a side that has struggled pretty much from the first game of the season, so it is difficult to judge them individually.

I still maintain that the individual players we have are good to enough to compete at this level, it is simply up to the manager to get the best out of them.

 

[Sparky]

The game sounded like it went how I thought it would. An improved display on the Carlisle game but ultimately we were not good enough at both ends once again.

I think RE will have the next 3 home games to save his job. I'm not too concerned about the JPT (but obviously another defeat would be difficult for the PP faithful). After that Plymouth at home next Sat will be a must win.

You only have to see that since Carlisle brought in Keith Curle, they have won 2 games on the bounce albeit against poor sides. Colin Cooper resigned from Hartlepool at the weekend so RE can't have too long if things carry on as they are.

You can say he needs time and that the players need to look at themeselves but at the end of the day, its the manager whose head is on the block. I agree that several of our players are underperforming and are good enough to play comfortably in L2 - but RE has failed to stop this regular issue with set pieces and I think most would agree, doesnt seem able to turn things around.