It is difficult to know where to start after such a shambolic display. That was as poor as anything since the dark days pre-Mellon.
I think most of us were surprised by the starting line up and our fears were well founded. We were way too deep, with five defenders, two defensive midfielders and a lone striker, and we handed Cheltenham the initiative. However, whereas we have looked solid defensively in previous games, there was a real lack of organisation at the back today, possibly a case of 'too many cooks', with the three centre backs apparently passing responsiblity to each other a lot of the time. We looked particularly vulnerable from set plays, as for the first goal where I thought Davies should also have done better.
The biggest concern to me was the lack of any established shape or pattern of play. How are we trying to move the ball through the thirds, create chances and score a goal ? I just could not see any evidence that we have worked at our attacking game on the traiining ground, and we did not press well enough when we were out of possession either, with Cheltenahm completely disctating the tempo of the game for long periods.
The second half was a slight improvement after the switch to 442, but the horse had already bolted and I found the decision not to switch to two strikers at half time at the latest, very strange.
The only positives were the performances of Feeney, who looks a quality addition, and Vaughan, who I thought looked sharp despite the generally woeful service. However, it does not matter how many good individuals you have if they are not set up well tactically, as I said when we made the signings last week.
I don't like singling players out, but Spearing was really pedestrian in a poor midfield, and looked completely off the pace of the game.
A huge amount of work for the manager to do, as that kind of display is not acceptable with the money that has been spent this summer.