wayahead
Midland League Division Two
Posts: 201
|
Post by wayahead on Jan 30, 2020 1:51:30 GMT 1
May be it’s just me but I sense some hostility among the players within the squad. The body language between Laurent and Cummings on Sunday seemed a bit off on the pitch (apart from the euphoric interview after). Tonight Laurent’s head wasn’t in it. Looked like he was trying to do everything himself and was waving his arms around and shaking his head on a few occasions during the match at his teammates. If his head has been turned then he needs to go, as good as he is he seems to have the attitude at the minute that he is playing for a move elsewhere. The transfer speculation doesn’t seem to be helping team harmony at all. Perhaps they thought tonight they were too good for Gillingham after Sunday’s exploits....just can’t put my finger on it, it wasnt just bad tonight, it was dire, it was like something just wasn’t right in the team. Too many individuals and zero togetherness. It might just have been another one of those nights but they seem to becoming more and more prevalent as the season goes on. Make no mistake, as good as SR was on the TV the other night and the way in which he has sold the club superbly, take the FA Cup out of the equation and, at any other club he is in real trouble. 0 wins from 6 and we haven’t exactly been playing world beaters. We have a real chance to get some points in the next 4 games so let’s hope we can get back into the groove and climb up the table. I’m not sure that fresh faces are the answer to this conundrum although tonight it’s the players that need to take a long hard look at themselves. I did personally think that playing Sears and Hart with only 1 competitive game between them all season was asking for trouble. We move on. What an absolute load of nonsense. Body language between Cummings and Laurent? They both wanted the penalty that’s it, Cummings it we scored and move on. The harmony between players looks amazing and extremely close to me. Laurent’s head wasn’t in it. IMO he was our best player. It looked like to me Gills played a diamond in the middle against our 2 of Laurent and Walker. 4 against 2 is always difficult. Laurent chased all game, but I’m sure it’s difficult when you are a. Outnumbered and b. The ball is continuously being booted over your head by both teams. That would pi** anyone off. He was carrying the ball forward rather than just sending it. Hit the post with a lovely bit of skill and getting knocked for it. When Whalley gets the ball, with his head down and runs, that’s fine, Laurent does it, he’s trying to do everything himself. I saw him pass the ball more than anyone else.
|
|
wayahead
Midland League Division Two
Posts: 201
|
Post by wayahead on Jan 30, 2020 1:54:11 GMT 1
May be it’s just me but I sense some hostility among the players within the squad. The body language between Laurent and Cummings on Sunday seemed a bit off on the pitch (apart from the euphoric interview after). Tonight Laurent’s head wasn’t in it. Looked like he was trying to do everything himself and was waving his arms around and shaking his head on a few occasions during the match at his teammates. If his head has been turned then he needs to go, as good as he is he seems to have the attitude at the minute that he is playing for a move elsewhere. The transfer speculation doesn’t seem to be helping team harmony at all. Perhaps they thought tonight they were too good for Gillingham after Sunday’s exploits....just can’t put my finger on it, it wasnt just bad tonight, it was dire, it was like something just wasn’t right in the team. Too many individuals and zero togetherness. It might just have been another one of those nights but they seem to becoming more and more prevalent as the season goes on. Make no mistake, as good as SR was on the TV the other night and the way in which he has sold the club superbly, take the FA Cup out of the equation and, at any other club he is in real trouble. 0 wins from 6 and we haven’t exactly been playing world beaters. We have a real chance to get some points in the next 4 games so let’s hope we can get back into the groove and climb up the table. I’m not sure that fresh faces are the answer to this conundrum although tonight it’s the players that need to take a long hard look at themselves. I did personally think that playing Sears and Hart with only 1 competitive game between them all season was asking for trouble. We move on. Its interesting you say that about team cohesion because its something I picked up on earlier in the season. I get this growing sense that this season our team are on different wavelengths to each other and haven't gelled well enough apart from maybe the back 3 and wingbacks. The middle of the park individually have very technically gifted players but as a unit they've contributed next to nothing going forward this season. I don't think Norburn is a great leader from what I can see in the centre of the park and I get the growing feeling he was only made captain to keep him at the club. Laurent and Norburn look totally disinterested to me and go missing in the games where there isn't anyone potentially bigger watching them which is a concern. We need players who perform on a cold tuesday night in Gillingham. Laurent and Norburn have been amongst our best players all season. Where are we getting this sh*te from?
|
|
|
Post by block18shrew on Jan 30, 2020 8:02:55 GMT 1
As I said it is an opinion....it’s what I see. The fact you don’t....that’s fine. As I said I never claimed to be right it’s just an opinion. You need to calm down lad and breathe.
|
|
|
Post by stuttgartershrew on Jan 30, 2020 8:29:03 GMT 1
Despite the changes I thought we looked jaded and off the pace from the get go. No idea how many games we have played this January (after the busy Xmas period to boot) but I really don't think its done us any favors rearranging midweek games to Doncaster and Gillingham in this short a time. Look to be as though its starting to catch up with them and I think we will be hard pressed to recover from it...there is no respite. Just hope we can still bring one or two more in and we can have players stepping up when asked to do so. Have no issue with swapping things about from Sunday. I think some of our lads are on their chin strap...and the slump continues.
|
|
|
Post by zenfootball2 on Jan 30, 2020 9:15:01 GMT 1
if we put the wonderfull performance of liverpool to one side. we have been struggling for points and it is not all down to poor performances which we have had a sprinkling of over the season 3 points from a possible 18 is concerning. we have players coming back from injury and we have shown we can create chances. so just a bit of fine tuning unless we have a late rush it does not look as if we will strengthen the squad further which is a bit disapointing.
|
|
|
Post by El Huracán!!!! on Jan 30, 2020 10:01:44 GMT 1
6 Games without a win in the league.... think hes trying to beat his previous best with us of 9.
Last night was a shambles.
|
|
|
Post by Stowmarket Shrew on Jan 30, 2020 10:08:13 GMT 1
Thanks to Laurent hitting the post last night at least it made it a better game than Doncaster - having been at both games that's pretty much the only positive I can take from last night's shambles.
A real shame, as it doesn't seem like that long ago I did the long drive back from Blackpool to Suffolk with a huge grin on my face thinking we had finally snuck very much into play-off contention.
|
|
|
Post by Exkeeper on Jan 30, 2020 10:10:33 GMT 1
Well, we improved slightly second half. Various problems were addressed. Sears looked way off the pace (understandably) and was relplaced by Love. Beckles moved up front to give us at least some presence in the air The other benefit of this was to take him out of the defence where there had been at total lack of understanding with players seeming to have no idea what each other was supposed to do. Edwards came into midfield and helped to stabilise that along with a marked improvement from Laurent. One positive was that Hart showed glimpses that he could be a useful acquisition as left wingback. Overall the team looked tired and were tactically naive when playing skyball to our strikers, none of whom are big enough to play the target man role. Interesting to note that three of Liverpool’s reserves affected their game last night - goals from Salah and Oxlade-Chamberlain and an assist from Firmino.
|
|
|
Post by camdenshrew on Jan 30, 2020 10:33:53 GMT 1
If we are going to eventually sign some players in the transfer window - and I think we desperately need them - please can we ensure they are at least fit enough to start games from the moment they arrive?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2020 11:15:40 GMT 1
If we are going to eventually sign some players in the transfer window - and I think we desperately need them - please can we ensure they are at least fit enough to start games from the moment they arrive? That's a big ask. I'm more worried about any potential departures from the GM in the next 48 hours to be honest.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2020 11:19:32 GMT 1
Overall the team looked tired and were tactically naive when playing skyball to our strikers, none of whom are big enough to play the target man role. A question for the manager and his coaching staff... Why persist with this tactic when it clearly doesn't suit the players we have available?
|
|
|
Post by tvor on Jan 30, 2020 11:33:23 GMT 1
|
|
|
Post by northwestman on Jan 30, 2020 12:06:28 GMT 1
Despite him saying that he wasn't entirely blaming the state of the pitch for that performance, it sounds like he is!
|
|
|
Post by scooter on Jan 30, 2020 12:35:43 GMT 1
if we put the wonderfull performance of liverpool to one side. we have been struggling for points and it is not all down to poor performances which we have had a sprinkling of over the season 3 points from a possible 18 is concerning. we have players coming back from injury and we have shown we can create chances. so just a bit of fine tuning unless we have a late rush it does not look as if we will strengthen the squad further which is a bit disapointing. Last night wasn’t a rearranged fixture, apart from moving to Wednesday. Full fixture list this week The last month has been very busy, and apart from the cup form has been poor. Lot of pressure to get something on Saturday before going to Liverpool
|
|
|
Post by Exkeeper on Jan 30, 2020 12:42:59 GMT 1
Despite him saying that he wasn't entirely blaming the state of the pitch for that performance, it sounds like he is! The pitch was poor but also I return to one of my pet hates - footwear. Years ago when we played on pitches far worse than they are now, we would change our studs or wear different boots if there was frost about. This clearly didn’t happen last night. Even warming up, Max practised a long goal kick and fell into his a**e. Other players fell during the game and looked unsure when trying to turn quickly. The home side looked better equipped to deal with the surface. One other observation, something that cannot be blamed on SR, is that we badly missed Norburn. We had no leader/enforcer in the middle of the park. Shame most of his critics were not there to witness the difference when he is not involved.
|
|
|
Post by Minormorris64 on Jan 30, 2020 13:10:48 GMT 1
Despite him saying that he wasn't entirely blaming the state of the pitch for that performance, it sounds like he is! The pitch was poor but also I return to one of my pet hates - footwear. Years ago when we played on pitches far worse than they are now, we would change our studs or wear different boots if there was frost about. This clearly didn’t happen last night. Even warming up, Max practised a long goal kick and fell into his a**e. Other players fell during the game and looked unsure when trying to turn quickly. The home side looked better equipped to deal with the surface. One other observation, something that cannot be blamed on SR, is that we badly missed Norburn. We had no leader/enforcer in the middle of the park. Shame most of his critics were not there to witness the difference when he is not involved. Still managed 3 yellows without Norburns usual contribution
|
|
|
Post by Exkeeper on Jan 30, 2020 13:14:39 GMT 1
True, but for the first time in all my years watching football iI witnessed something new. “You don’t know what you’re doing” being sang to the referee, by fans of BOTH clubs at exactly the same moment.
|
|
|
Post by venceremos on Jan 30, 2020 16:21:58 GMT 1
Isn’t everyone moaning about tonight? Would you prefer that he looked for positives that attending fans are saying weren’t there? Not a lot positive tonight but he’s been really annoying and complains about the same things over and over again, each match. Almost revels in it when we are doing bag. Right …….... no, sorry, you're going to have to point out to me how this differs from almost everyone else following Salop.
|
|
|
Post by TheFoz on Jan 30, 2020 16:26:45 GMT 1
Not a lot positive tonight but he’s been really annoying and complains about the same things over and over again, each match. Almost revels in it when we are doing bag. Right …….... no, sorry, you're going to have to point out to me how this differs from almost everyone else following Salop. Fair point
|
|
|
Post by Stowmarket Shrew on Jan 30, 2020 16:28:06 GMT 1
True, but for the first time in all my years watching football iI witnessed something new. “You don’t know what you’re doing” being sang to the referee, by fans of BOTH clubs at exactly the same moment. that really was a bizarre moment - I actually had no idea what was going on, the ref spent an age walking around randomly and it ended with a Gills free kick. All in all a pretty miserable trip, finished off with the A12 being closed at Chelmsford on my way back to Suffolk and I think I got flashed for speeding through roadworks on the M25, oh and my Dart bridge account had been frozen because I'd not crossed in more than a year!! And the game was awful!! Great!!
|
|
|
Post by Exkeeper on Jan 30, 2020 18:29:52 GMT 1
True, but for the first time in all my years watching football iI witnessed something new. “You don’t know what you’re doing” being sang to the referee, by fans of BOTH clubs at exactly the same moment. that really was a bizarre moment - I actually had no idea what was going on, the ref spent an age walking around randomly and it ended with a Gills free kick. All in all a pretty miserable trip, finished off with the A12 being closed at Chelmsford on my way back to Suffolk and I think I got flashed for speeding through roadworks on the M25, oh and my Dart bridge account had been frozen because I'd not crossed in more than a year!! And the game was awful!! Great!! Whilst queueing for tickets this morning, a guy asked what time we got back. I said about twenty past one He had gone on a coach and they got back at three o’clock. We kept seeing signs saying the M25 was closed but were able to stay on it by staying on the hard shoulder (legally). The coaches though were directed off it, on to long winded diversions where other hold-ups delayed them even more. Added to that, I guess they had to break the journey with a mandatory stop. Glad we went be car and congrats to our driver for staying awake.
|
|
|
Post by Stowmarket Shrew on Jan 30, 2020 18:39:54 GMT 1
that really was a bizarre moment - I actually had no idea what was going on, the ref spent an age walking around randomly and it ended with a Gills free kick. All in all a pretty miserable trip, finished off with the A12 being closed at Chelmsford on my way back to Suffolk and I think I got flashed for speeding through roadworks on the M25, oh and my Dart bridge account had been frozen because I'd not crossed in more than a year!! And the game was awful!! Great!! Whilst queueing for tickets this morning, a guy asked what time we got back. I said about twenty past one He had gone on a coach and they got back at three o’clock. We kept seeing signs saying the M25 was closed but were able to stay on it by staying on the hard shoulder (legally). The coaches though were directed off it, on to long winded diversions where other hold-ups delayed them even more. Added to that, I guess they had to break the journey with a mandatory stop. Glad we went be car and congrats to our driver for staying awake. I was home by 23:40, pretty decent in the circumstances, so fair play to anyone who made the effort for such a miserable game and journey. It's 4.5 hours from Liverpool to Stowmarket (and even then I live in a rural village a few miles away) so reckon Tuesday will be certainly the wrong side if 03:00 when I get home. Work the next day will be fun!
|
|
|
Post by Exkeeper on Jan 30, 2020 18:46:23 GMT 1
I have been with school parties in the past and the drill was always to park the coaches near Goodison if we were attending Anfield and park near Anfield when going to Goodison. As stated above, just a short walk across Stanley Park..
|
|