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Post by pughywasfree on Feb 3, 2024 19:01:41 GMT 1
Bloxham showed bit more in second half in terms of taking his man on but his final ball lacking and undermined anything positive by being stupidly rash. Don't get clapping him off at all. Not good enough for starting role for me. Very harsh imo. He played some great balls into the box but Udoh never a gamble to try and get on the end of them. The rash challenge needed to be made as they would have countered when we had a lot of people pushed up. He is still raw but he is positive with the ball and offers us something different.
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Post by Scarecrow on Feb 3, 2024 19:06:21 GMT 1
They had 2 kick offs today and promptly put the ball in the net straight from them Oh well , new guy looks class, he needs to start And a good goal Apart from that we held the ball well , and the ref was awful Is this an alternate timeline? For once I actually agree with Pilch! 😳
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Post by socrates1974 on Feb 3, 2024 19:08:57 GMT 1
Thought we were as bad as we were under Taylor in the second half.
A lot for Hurst to do and I'd be hopeful most of the players are moved on in the summer, particularly high earners like Bayliss and Shipley who do not contribute enough.
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Post by mrcricket on Feb 3, 2024 19:12:40 GMT 1
What a terrible referee,
Started well but then completely faded, - I went for a 3-2 victory for Town,
With Lyle Taylor playing Cambridge always had a chance for goals. - Michael Morrison and Ryan Bennett's legs may well have gone, but they are still canny and marshal their team around well.
I'll write more when I've calmed down a little.
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Post by gtismygod on Feb 3, 2024 19:13:44 GMT 1
Thought we were as bad as we were under Taylor in the second half. A lot for Hurst to do and I'd be hopeful most of the players are moved on in the summer, particularly high earners like Bayliss and Shipley who do not contribute enough. Mental post. Even though we lost, that performance was light years ahead of the performances that Taylor had us churning out. If some people genuinely can’t see that, then I despair. Bayliss needs a run of games, he’s been in and out this season. Shipley is one of our best players.
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Post by southshropblue on Feb 3, 2024 19:14:10 GMT 1
we were not good today but at least there was more attacking intent especially in first half ,poor defending for the goals and yes ref awful Ksikai was excellent I thought
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Post by socrates1974 on Feb 3, 2024 19:22:31 GMT 1
Thought we were as bad as we were under Taylor in the second half. A lot for Hurst to do and I'd be hopeful most of the players are moved on in the summer, particularly high earners like Bayliss and Shipley who do not contribute enough. Mental post. Even though we lost, that performance was light years ahead of the performances that Taylor had us churning out. If some people genuinely can’t see that, then I despair. Bayliss needs a run of games, he’s been in and out this season. Shipley is one of our best players. Shipley is one of our best players but doesn't do enough. Bayliss has been average for some time and was shocking in the second half. We created nothing in the second half, their keeper had nothing to do and if Taylor was still in charge he would be getting slated on here.
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Post by mrcricket on Feb 3, 2024 19:26:04 GMT 1
Too much reactiveness from the XI - a lot look around waiting for someone to have the initiative to do something.
I thought Winchester looked good in the defensive role of midfield, but between them Bayliss, Perry and Shipley go missing for far too long.
Benning and Feeney don't look like proper full backs (I know Feeney isn't) but they don't break down the wings to overlap,
A squad with a clear lack of wingers and pace down the sides when the going gets tough.
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Post by BlueAndAmber50 on Feb 3, 2024 19:32:26 GMT 1
Our back 4 needs some pace adding into it. Benning the only one with legs.
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Post by pughywasfree on Feb 3, 2024 19:32:41 GMT 1
Thought we were as bad as we were under Taylor in the second half. A lot for Hurst to do and I'd be hopeful most of the players are moved on in the summer, particularly high earners like Bayliss and Shipley who do not contribute enough. The same Shipley that has got two assists in the last 2 games?
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Post by socrates1974 on Feb 3, 2024 19:42:17 GMT 1
Thought we were as bad as we were under Taylor in the second half. A lot for Hurst to do and I'd be hopeful most of the players are moved on in the summer, particularly high earners like Bayliss and Shipley who do not contribute enough. The same Shipley that has got two assists in the last 2 games? That's my point. He can do so much more with his talent and influence games more, but doesn't. His assist today was a bog-standard cross, nothing to get too excited about.
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Post by blueandamber on Feb 3, 2024 19:42:39 GMT 1
That was frustrating.
Cambridge were a horrible team to play against, enabled by the referee, along with two weak linesmen and it killed any chance of a game of even average football breaking out.
The fact that they blew almost exclusively for Cambridge, made it difficult for us to get a challenege in when we did get near them.
I can't understand how anyone thought that the ref was anything other than woeful today and that's being extremely kind.
The "officials" (imposters) even managed to mess up substitutions.
Our defending for both goals, the second especially, was schoolboy.
As Cambridge had a lead to defend and sat deep, that exposed our lack of pace/movement/creativity even further.
To summarise, I'm going to bed.
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Post by mrcricket on Feb 3, 2024 19:48:27 GMT 1
That was frustrating. Cambridge were a horrible team to play against, enabled by the referee, along with two weak linesmen and it killed any chance of a game of even average football breaking out. The fact that they blew almost exclusively for Cambridge, made it difficult for us to get a challenege in when we did get near them. I can't understand how anyone thought that the ref was anything other than woeful today and that's being extremely kind. The "officials" (imposters) even managed to mess up substitutions. Our defending for both goals, the second especially, was schoolboy. As Cambridge had a lead to defend and sat deep, that exposed our lack of pace/movement/creativity even further. To summarise, I'm going to bed. Particularly in the first half the ref was only giving decisions to Cambridge, but that tackle in the second half on Bayliss was awful, how was that not even a yellow card.
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Post by regfromwem on Feb 3, 2024 19:54:54 GMT 1
A frustrating afternoon in many respects. It felt as if the Town fell between two stools, trying to play a more possession-based game, but refusing to go long when it was crying out to do so.
I shall refrain from commenting on the officials, but suffice to say that they contributed greatly to the overall feeling of frustration!
How refreshing to hear Paul Hurst's after match comments, and to feel that I'd been watching the same game!
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Post by JohnG on Feb 3, 2024 20:08:55 GMT 1
Both their goals were about exploiting Feeney playing out of position. I don't blame him for that, he's doing a job there. We needed a right back in this transfer window, especially as we have reverted to a back 4. Feeney cannot be expected to continue there for the rest of the season. Why did we not bring one in? Seems strange. Are there any freebies out there?
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Post by jamo on Feb 3, 2024 20:09:38 GMT 1
The ref really was awful. On quite a different level. Pedantic for them but gave us nothing. Taylor is his usual big cheat self but that's the kind of short term January signing that keeps you up. I don't know what the point of Mickey Moore is but to go a whole transfer window and doing nothing in our position is sleepwalking into trouble. . Isn’t this the referee who got chased off the pitch by a Vale fan last week ? Shocking performance today. Not the reason we lost but a significant factor in it it
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Post by mrcricket on Feb 3, 2024 20:17:32 GMT 1
The ref really was awful. On quite a different level. Pedantic for them but gave us nothing. Taylor is his usual big cheat self but that's the kind of short term January signing that keeps you up. I don't know what the point of Mickey Moore is but to go a whole transfer window and doing nothing in our position is sleepwalking into trouble. . Isn’t this the referee who got chased off the pitch by a Vale fan last week ? Shocking performance today. Not the reason we lost but a significant factor in it it For once I'd probably agree with Port Vale and their fans!
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Post by belfastshrew on Feb 3, 2024 20:23:18 GMT 1
First things first, we were a very different side to an MT side. Cambridge settled quicker and were dominant in the first 10mins. Then we grew into the game, looked threatening, had willing runners and plenty of folks looking for the ball. Got the goal for our efforts, which was really well worked. The timing of their goal was annoying! It was basically from the kickoff.
2nd half...we conceeded straight from the off. Which seemed to deflate the lads considerably. We didn't pose that threat anymore, and even resembled a Taylor side at parts...passing wide then back wide then back. Cambridge were happy to keep it at 2-1 and posed very little threat. We brought a defender off and put a striker on, but it didn't work. O'Brien had about 5 touches in 20 minutes.
The ref was a disaster. Amongst all that's been said on here...he did miss two handballs by us and a Cambridge penalty which i've seen given. The inconsistency was staggering...letting players take freekicks from 15ft away from where it should be one minute, then forcing them to move back 3ft the next time...bonkers. I don't think we will see him ref in L1 for some time after that.
Whoever operates our scoreboard was having a mare too. First they put up Finnigan as number 8...then the scoreboard remained at 0-0 even though it was 1-1...then the attendance was read out at 6k but was popped on the scoreboard as 7k.
Marosi: 6 Feeney: 4 Dunkley: 6 Pierre: 7 Benning: 6 Shipley: 6 Perry: 5 Winchester: 6 Bayliss: 6 Bloxham: 5 Udoh: 7
Hinchy: 6 O'Brien: 5
Pierre MOTM for me.
So in summary...Town are like our scoreboard operator...needs a bit of work and finesse. But we are entertaining and have remembered how to attack! So I have no concerns about relegation as yet.
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Post by belfastshrew on Feb 3, 2024 20:31:50 GMT 1
Just read that Cambridge haven't won away since August...
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Post by armchairfan on Feb 3, 2024 20:35:19 GMT 1
No complaints! Two poor goals to concede, they created very little else and we also didn’t create enough chances. Still better than watching any game with MT in charge! Listening to the radio in my customary armchair, that is exactly the same impression that I formed: the odd few minutes of sustained pressure, as with Hurst Mk 1, but not enough.
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Post by harboroughshrew on Feb 3, 2024 20:42:34 GMT 1
That was a letdown after last week but, in a tight match, Cambridge always carried the greater threat. It is a bit scary how even the teams around us or below us have better forward options than we do - Taylor has always scored goals and Kaikai tormented the right side of our defence every time he had the ball. The midfield seemed a bit off today and were not getting into the box enough to support Udoh - Bloxham got past his marker a few times but only had a surrounded Udoh to cross to. Our DOF and our Director of Non-Recruitment have let the club down badly during the January transfer window (and the one before that) - we badly needed a right back and a striker to be brought in. As I said when Hurst was appointed it is not a given that he will keep us up as the mistakes of others have left him with an unbalanced squad devoid of quality in a couple of key areas. With a couple of tough games coming up lets hope Hurst can work some magic and somehow get us a few points from them.
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Post by mrcricket on Feb 3, 2024 20:54:25 GMT 1
Also how much was the ball up in the air today,
There is a tendency to hoof the ball up, Feeney, Benning and Bloxham are particularly guilty of that, Shipley also constantly cuts in and crosses to a packed box where no one in a town shirt will win anything.
Cambridge also hoofing the ball away a lot but then they could, they were and did win.
I never thought I'd say this but I'd likely start with O'Brien next week.
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Post by shrewswolf on Feb 3, 2024 21:01:27 GMT 1
Also how much was the ball up in the air today, There is a tendency to hoof the ball up, Feeney, Benning and Bloxham are particularly guilty of that, Shipley also constantly cuts in and crosses to a packed box where no one in a town shirt will win anything. Cambridge also hoofing the ball away a lot but then they could, they were and did win. I never thought I'd say this but I'd likely start with O'Brien next week. I must watch a different match. We tried to pass the ball today more than we have since possibly Leeds away. The crowd were begging them to lump it up there with 90+1 on the clock and we were still reluctant to do so! Thought Town were good first half and not really at it second half but still didn’t deserve to lose. Winchester excellent. Bayliss very good first half and significantly below standard second half. Benning good again. The reality is we are definitely trying to be a bit more expansive and the back four with a Pierre & Dunkley partnership is going to look stretched and we may well concede more. I should think we will score a lot more too. I’d say the frustration evident on this thread is a sign that an actual football match place and for that I’m grateful after the past few season. Bad result mind. Snap your hand off for a point next week.
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Post by mrcricket on Feb 3, 2024 21:09:34 GMT 1
Also how much was the ball up in the air today, There is a tendency to hoof the ball up, Feeney, Benning and Bloxham are particularly guilty of that, Shipley also constantly cuts in and crosses to a packed box where no one in a town shirt will win anything. Cambridge also hoofing the ball away a lot but then they could, they were and did win. I never thought I'd say this but I'd likely start with O'Brien next week. I must watch a different match. We tried to pass the ball today more than we have since possibly Leeds away. The crowd were begging them to lump it up there with 90+1 on the clock and we were still reluctant to do so! Thought Town were good first half and not really at it second half but still didn’t deserve to lose. Winchester excellent. Bayliss very good first half and significantly below standard second half. Benning good again. The reality is we are definitely trying to be a bit more expansive and the back four with a Pierre & Dunkley partnership is going to look stretched and we may well concede more. I should think we will score a lot more too. I’d say the frustration evident on this thread is a sign that an actual football match place and for that I’m grateful after the past few season. Bad result mind. Snap your hand off for a point next week. More so in the second half with the ball in the air, I agree with you about Winchester, he's very comfortable in front of the back 4, Bayliss started well but faded. - I noticed (first half) a lot passing triangles between three to get up the pitch, that has clearly been coached in by Hurst and Doig since their time back here. I'd have to see the two cambridge goals again but I thought the back four got cut to pieces for them from where I was.
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Post by darkshrew on Feb 3, 2024 21:19:57 GMT 1
Just listened to the Paul Hurst interview - what a difference to MT or Cotts !
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Post by shropshirelad1711 on Feb 3, 2024 21:47:04 GMT 1
I wish Bennett could have been fit to slot in at right back. Feeney was not good -again- today, especially for Div1 standard. I hope he proves me wrong & improves under Doug & Hurst
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Post by belfastshrew on Feb 3, 2024 21:56:11 GMT 1
I feel for Feeney. He really is a duck out of water in that position. He's a great lad who does a good job at CB. I watched Bennett at halftime and warming up during the match. He looked fairly on form to me 🤷♂️
Gotta say I loved Bloxham's heart today. He looked strong and up for it. But also looked like he lacked a tiny bit of confidence. He had his marker beaten so many times but Bloxham looked a bit like a rabbit in the headlights, as if he couldn't believe the position he's in.
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Post by belfastshrew on Feb 3, 2024 22:04:11 GMT 1
For anyone wondering what the extra long hold-up by the ref was after Bloxham's red card...apparently play cannot resume until the player is down the tunnel. Im not sure if Bloxham knew this, as he went off the pitch at the west stand and walked the long way round the back of the south stand net.
The fans gave him a great ovation as he went. He gave everything he had today. First yellow for dissent after yet another dodgy lino decision. Second yellow for a late, possibly two-footed, tackle from behind. Can't really argue much there. He even gave the ref a sarcastic clap after a 50/50 decision went his way, so I thought he was always tiptoeing that red line.
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Post by mrcricket on Feb 3, 2024 22:06:31 GMT 1
What position does O'Brien actually play? I'm assuming he's the change for Bloxham away at Derby.
I agree with Feeney, its not his natural position, personally think he's a better central defender than Pierre is.
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Post by belfastshrew on Feb 3, 2024 22:12:22 GMT 1
There was a moment at about 80th minute when Bayliss had the ball in a lovely position 30yrds out and could have had a shot...but instead played a long ball sideways towards Feeney. But it was overhit and went straight out for a throw in. That kinda summed up the 2nd half. And reminds us of the lack of confidence we have from all the negative football.
Things can turn quickly though. There is definitely renewed vigour since MT. Shackles off stuff. I am optimistic. There was probably an extra 1000 through the gates than normal today. Maybe Hurst-factor and Feb payday after xmas.
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