Christmas Cheer

boris · Post by **boris** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 8:57 pm

&quotSnake&quot wrote:&quotHow many, if any, nice through balls has he had since then ????? &quot

Now I think about it, err, none

Not true - he had a very nice through ball, in almost exactly the same position as the Exeter one, against Halifax earlier this season. He buried it.

ty cobb · Post by **ty cobb** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 9:33 pm

Duffy was poor, but I thought the centre half he was against had a very good game, he won everything in the air and outpaced Yemi in the first half - didn't think Barnes improved things much when he came on which really reflects the service they're getting at the moment - no wonder Twigg wanted out. Still think if you want a good target man then Duffy is as good as we'll get, if you want someone who's skillful and will create goals out of nothing then he's not your man.

I thought Hutch had a good game - he's not going to create anything but he gets stuck in, wins the ball, covers a lot of ground and can run with the ball and is decent in the air. The problem is Petts and Trainer do the same job, which means our only outlet is Joel which they quickly worked out and made sure he didn't get much time on the ball.

It really is dire stuff at the moment, but all good teams are built on a solid defence - we now have a very solid defence, hopefully the rest can now start to follow, roll on Jan.

Snake · Post by **Snake** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 9:42 pm

&quotboris&quot wrote:
&quotSnake&quot wrote:&quotHow many, if any, nice through balls has he had since then ????? &quot

Now I think about it, err, none
Not true - he had a very nice through ball, in almost exactly the same position as the Exeter one, against Halifax earlier this season. He buried it.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Selective memory syndrome strikes again.

Matt D · Post by **Matt D** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:52 pm

i said a while ago that i was impressed by patterson's steadying of the team, and while yesterday the defence could hardly be described as steady, it was ultimately effective. what i was waiting for is some signs that we'd start to see some chances created - and to be fair, i think you can see where patterson sees the solution, and it's on the flanks. we certainly seemed to be able to move the ball forward in these areas more regularly, and ledgister seems to have a good cross on him (even if he needs three touches to get a shot away in front of goal - jesus wept!).

steady improvement is fine by me, even if it's not the most thrilling football to watch at the moment.

Baboo · Post by **Baboo** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 11:13 pm

&quotboris&quot wrote:[
Not true - he had a very nice through ball, in almost exactly the same position as the Exeter one, against Halifax earlier this season. He buried it.

Completely forgotten about that one.

Baboo · Post by **Baboo** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 11:16 pm

&quotty cobb&quot wrote: I thought Hutch had a good game - he's not going to create anything but he gets stuck in, wins the ball, covers a lot of ground and can run with the ball and is decent in the air.

I didn't.

In the first half I decided to keep count of the number of tackles he won. Total = zero. (In fairness it was so boring that I might have dropped off and missed something).

If Hutchinson CAN run with the ball why doesn't he DO IT more often?

GodalmingYellow · Post by **GodalmingYellow** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 1:42 am

I though Hutchinson was poor, but better than in recent weeks. At least he was covering some ground and getting into the opposition box, which made a change even if he wasn't effective at all.

Duffy was poor, but none of the other strikers were any better.

Yemi was being beaten to the ball by defenders who were not particularly quick. That suggests to me he is unfit.

Pettefer was MoM by a country mile, constantly breaking up the opposition attacks, good passing, but not creative enough on his own.

Ledgister was one of our better players. Good control running with the ball, and with a run in the team could well be one of the wingers we have been desperately seeking.

I agree with teh comment above that Patto is clearly working towards 4-4-2 using the full width of the pitch, but the players have been so used to a defensive outlook that they are scared to get forward in meaningful numbers.

A back line including Quinn, Corcoran and Foster and Clarke would be good if only one of them could play left back.

Although I think Jeannin is a waste of space as a left back, I still have a niggling thought that he might be turned into a left winger, IF we can find a good left back.

So two strikers, a creative midfielder and a left back remain the prime targets for January. Gilly and Twigg going will have freed up some wages. If Duffy goes, as is rumoured, and we can get the right players in, we might just have an outside chance of the play offs (says heart starting to rule head again).

Boogie · Post by **Boogie** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 9:39 am

From what I saw at Southend, there is a good left back in Ben Weedon.

Baboo · Post by **Baboo** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:47 pm

[quote=&quotGodalmingYellow&quot]I
Pettefer was MoM by a country mile, constantly breaking up the opposition attacks, good passing, but not creative enough on his own.

Although I think Jeannin is a waste of space as a left back, I still have a niggling thought that he might be turned into a left winger, IF we can find a good left back.quote]

GY, we obviously interpret what we see on the football field very differently.
For me MOTM was Quinn - not quite by a country mile but by some distance.

Petts I thought had a poor first half but better in the second. I don't think his passing ability is particularly good.

Jeannin can pass a football much better than any of the other outfield players imho, but he is also prone to dreadful lapses and awful passes too.

Kernow Yellow · Post by **Kernow Yellow** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 2:14 pm

Quinn was my man of the match too. By a country mile I reckon. Petts, Clarke and Turley also played ok. The rest were rubbish.

We've scored 1 goal in the last 8 games. Which, extrapolated over the rest of the season, doesn't even bear thinking about. For the last 10 mintues we were holding on for a point at home to Kidderminster. It was almost too depressing to watch.

I don't get this talk of shipping players out and getting new ones in. Who's going to want to pay the ones we've got at the moment? And anyway, it's not about individuals. It's about the mindset of the football club as a whole, and the way we play. Our lack of intelligence and fight, which sucks the life out of the game and the crowd.

This club is going nowhere fast.

Mally · Post by **Mally** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 3:28 pm

&quotKernow Yellow&quot wrote:This club is going nowhere fast.

Disagree. They are going nowhere slowly.

Kernow Yellow · Post by **Kernow Yellow** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 7:14 pm

[quote=&quotSnake&quot][at 12.15am]
“I'm not in any way condoning any pie throwing that may have taken place

Snake · Post by **Snake** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:15 pm

I really don’t think that’s compulsory on this board.

However, Turley is precious to Us and anyone who chucks anything on the pitch, let alone at him, does not deserve the time of day to debate.

Werthers Original · Post by **Werthers Original** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:41 pm

Whatever and ever amen. I recently suggested we may as well have kept Jamie Cook, looking at our position and his. I was kind of joking but maybe I should have been serious. I've got my friend's season ticket but because I'm not a nice guy I'm going to give it back to him - I've been to five games this season and seen one goal, a last-minute penalty.

Kernow Yellow · Post by **Kernow Yellow** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 1:06 am

&quotSnake&quot wrote:However, Turley is precious to Us and anyone who chucks anything on the pitch, let alone at him, does not deserve the time of day to debate.

But I wasn't debating (let alone condoning) the throwing incident at all. Just the events preceding and following it. Hence your childish rebuke drawing my ire.

Anyway, on with the Christmas Cheer of the title. Is everyone too shell-shocked by today's game to post anything? Or has it all been said before?

Given that Crawley are really ten points better than their league position, there are currently only nine teams in the Conference worse than us this season. Which is a pretty shocking state of affairs.

Even more shocking is our lack of goals. Or even of goalscoring opportunities. We've scored ONE goal in NINE games, and have failed to score in 9 of our last 11 games. Which is quite simply incredible. And very, very worrying. Have we ever had such a bad run? At any level?

I'm surprised there aren't more people questioning whether Patto is up to the job. Not surprised because that's what I think, just because our fans are pretty impatient at the best of times. And this is the very worst of times for all but our oldest fans. Moreover, the goal drought started right after he took over.

I really don't know what to think about Patto. The one positive I see in him is that he's giving some of the younger players a proper chance. If they can get some confidence together as the year wears on, then we might have a better foundation to build on for next season. But that's looking like a big 'if' at the moment. And it pre-supposes that they're good enough anyway.

I'm sure it goes without saying, but I've never been so depressed about the prospects for this football club.

Happy New Year.

Rage Online

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