malotru
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Post by malotru on Apr 17, 2024 8:36:09 GMT
I still don’t know who it was that hit the bar/post for us. At the time I thought it was a defender, then Bonne on the replay, Johnson on commentary said it was Kachunga, people on here said it was Jobe and now Rossi’s name has come up😀
The truth is out there
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Post by cuoutside on Apr 17, 2024 8:37:09 GMT
What game was Monk watching? Yes we had some chances but not 4 or 5 really good chances and not a couple cleared off the line at the end? 1 really good chance that hit the post and Lennet’s shot that was very comfortably stopped on the line. Digby’s and KaiKai’s were half chances and I don’t remember a header from Bonne or Rossi that troubled the keeper. No mention that Rovers could have been out of sight by halftime as we were so poor. Rovers were so much better than us at most aspects especially finding a teammate when making a pass and creating overlaps down the flanks and making incisive, dangerous passes into the box. And they were on an awful run of form. Getting a point would have been extremely fortunate, if Monk thought we could have had all 3 then I want some of what he was drinking all day yesterday. Thats one of the advantages of playing with fullbacks and wingers, it allows them the opportunity to overlap, thats where you need players like Kaikai and Kachunga putting a shift in in front of the wingbacks to stop the overlaps, it happened on the right hand side at Blackpool too where Kaikai was lazy and they got behind us a lot in that game too. Whereas with how we play wingbacks we've tended to push them high up to try and occupy the opposition fullback / wingback to give us more space to play in the midfield and build play. However more often than not when the wingbacks sit in along with the 2 holding midfielders then it just invites more pressure and it becomes harder to get out and support the lone forward. Safe to say though that in Sinclair and Thomas they have a couple of good experienced wingers. I wasn't impressed with their right back or centre halves though, but we didn't really apply too much pressure on them with Bonne on his own, I think Gassan would have put himself about more. But they've also got some good quality in other areas, like Evans in midfield, I think it was him who unlocked us for the goal. Also Chris Martin upfront is still a good target man at this level, incidentally was it just me or did anyone else notice Martin headbutt Jobe during the game?
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Post by El Goodo on Apr 17, 2024 8:39:18 GMT
I still don’t know who it was that hit the bar/post for us. At the time I thought it was a defender, then Bonne on the replay, Johnson on commentary said it was Kachunga, people on here said it was Jobe and now Rossi’s name has come up😀 The truth is out there It was Jobe.
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Post by El Goodo on Apr 17, 2024 8:56:06 GMT
Can't wait for this season to end as we're only staying up due to 4 really bad teams below us & we need to dismantle this squad As it stands, there are in fact 5 really bad teams below us. And my guess is that by the time we've all played 46 games there'll be 6.
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milesfenton
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Post by milesfenton on Apr 17, 2024 9:08:29 GMT
Reflecting on last night, I think the main problem really was how we set up. There was lots of endevour and effort in defence, but it left us no chance to build anything ourselves going forward. In turn, that meant that our defence, who were generally decent, got no rest at all.
Mannion and the centre backs I think all had a good game. Some of Mannion's kicking wasn't great. Jobe and others got caught on the ball a few times, but to be fair that was when they were trying to hold the ball and actually let us build something, since they were getting no help from those in front of them.
Kachunga and Kaikai were usually too narrow. That's fine when there's a target man they want to stick close to, but not when Bonne's the lone striker. The knock on effect was that our wingbacks were isolated on each flank and couldn't get forward themselves. Because we defended quite narrow as well, any time Lennett or Brophy carried the ball forward they could only really take it diagonally into a dead end. Digby played effectively as a 4th centre back and May was alright, I guess.
Thought all the subs did well when they came on, certainly no worse than those they replaced. Hoddle got forward better than May and made one great overlapping run that Brophy didn't spot (or was too conservative to try the pass for). The formation makes sense with Ahadme at the head of it, but didn't before that.
All of Andrew's set pieces were threatening again, he's found a great level of consistency and it looked by far our most likely chance of a goal.
Our pasing was of course disappointing, but I think that all comes from how we were set up. Too narrow, so every pass we made was under pressure - of course that meant we overthought or mucked up frequently.
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danboyb
Youth team substitute
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Post by danboyb on Apr 17, 2024 9:20:27 GMT
Resting Ahadme was always going to be a risk, but I thought it was very evident on Saturday that he was struggling and well below the level we’ve come to expect.
The decision was the right one IMO but was made to look worse due to the overall performance and the individual one by Bonne. The bloke simply isn’t up to the level.
We’re not really getting anything valuable out of Okenabirhie either so a lot is on Ahadme’s shoulders. Things may have been different had he played last night, but the outcome could also have ended the same - but left us with an even more fatigued Gassan going in to a huge week.
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danielcufc
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Post by danielcufc on Apr 17, 2024 9:33:42 GMT
The game reminded me of Burton away last season. A great opportunity to put it to bed but a tame performance with a few half chances and ultimately a defeat. In hindsight I think Monk got the team wrong. I think Rennett should have started with no Gibbons and Andrew at LWB. Brophy could have then played further forward instead of the ineffective Kachunga. Gassan did look leggy on Saturday so didn't mind him being rested for next week but when he came on it should have been with Bonne not instead of him.
The main thing is that it is still in our hands and that not all of the teams below will string the required results together. I could in fact see everyone losing their respective games on Saturday leaving it down to us needing a point from the last 2. In regard to Monk's post match interview, I think he he know's how poor this lot are and just needs us to get over the line and then rebuild this summer. He can't throw them under the bus in public though. It will also be the first summer in 4 years when its a different head coach building a squad so hopefully a move away from some of Bonner's squad building beliefs.
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Post by El Goodo on Apr 17, 2024 9:45:01 GMT
Yeah I think having Brophy at LWB and not Andrew was a mistake, but by the same token Andrew's performed very well in that role so I can understand not wanting to disrupt it. Bennett in with Ibsen Rossi & Jobe and Andrew to LWB felt like it would have been the best move though.
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Post by martinjohn on Apr 17, 2024 9:52:36 GMT
In regard to Monk's post match interview, I think he he know's how poor this lot are and just needs us to get over the line and then rebuild this summer. He can't throw them under the bus in public though. In the first 30 mins yesterday I thought there was a clear tactic of trying to pass it out from the back, keep it on the ground and get something from the game through 'total football'. From what I've read, that seems to be Monk's preferred playing style. And I would be all for it... But it was obvious that our players just couldn't execute it. The will was there, but not the application. And this worries me a bit, as we may not be able to attract the kind of player Monk has in mind for this kind of progressive football. Monk's not managed a club of our size before and unfortunately budget constraints may make it unlikely that he'll get the kind of players he needs to implement his style... maybe. Time will tell.
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cufcwill
On trial
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Post by cufcwill on Apr 17, 2024 10:02:08 GMT
In regard to Monk's post match interview, I think he he know's how poor this lot are and just needs us to get over the line and then rebuild this summer. He can't throw them under the bus in public though. In the first 30 mins yesterday I thought there was a clear tactic of trying to pass it out from the back, keep it on the ground and get something from the game through 'total football'. From what I've read, that seems to be Monk's preferred playing style. And I would be all for it... But it was obvious that our players just couldn't execute it. The will was there, but not the application. And this worries me a bit, as we may not be able to attract the kind of player Monk has in mind for this kind of progressive football. Monk's not managed a club of our size before and unfortunately budget constraints may make it unlikely that he'll get the kind of players he needs to implement his style... maybe. Time will tell. I think Monk has shown enough willingness to try out different things tactically that even if he can't get in the exact players to play the style of football he most wants to play, with better players than the current lot he should at least find a style of football which is effective. He seems to be basing how we play around who we have to play, which is generally better than trying to shoehorn players into roles which they can't perform or sticking with the same tactics week in week out like Bonner and the snake did.
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danboyb
Youth team substitute
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Post by danboyb on Apr 17, 2024 10:14:59 GMT
Just felt at times it all looked a bit panicky, especially at the back. The penalty was one such example. The likes of Digby and Brophy didn’t help cos they seemed just as anxious as the 2 younger lads at CB.
Jobe has been excellent since he came in, but I felt on Saturday he was caught out a couple of times and again last night he made the wrong decision occasionally. Nothing more than inexperience but i wouldn’t be surprised if Bennett replaces him for Saturday. All in all though, Rossi and Jobe provide optimism for the future.
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malotru
Youth team star
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Post by malotru on Apr 17, 2024 10:31:27 GMT
The move that led to winning the Digby header corner was great. Swift passing to players in space or already on the move straight down the centre and eventually getting the ball into a dangerous position that was defended out for a corner. A passing move down the centre of the pitch is pretty rare for us.
Although he’s 34 ish I’d try to keep Danny Andrew for next season. His dead balls really offer a threat now and he’s a guaranteed 40 games a season man. And chips in with a few goals.
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artvandelay
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Post by artvandelay on Apr 17, 2024 10:34:55 GMT
Andrew has really become the player we were promised when he signed: a solid defender with a great delivery both from open play and dead-balls. He has got better and better as the season has gone on and is now our most reliable performer. I would be shocked if he wasn't offered another year, he probably has another two in him.
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Post by El Goodo on Apr 17, 2024 10:35:40 GMT
(He's 33, 34 in December).
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malotru
Youth team star
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Post by malotru on Apr 17, 2024 10:39:12 GMT
He’s my only definite out of contract player I’d like to see next season with us. Still on the fence with Brophy.
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