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Post by davidm on Jan 27, 2020 19:41:19 GMT
Another match practically upon us but hardly any comments about it anywhere.
Understandably not a particularly inspiring match – Bristol Rovers on a Tuesday night.
If you think we are in a bad run, just look at Bristol Rovers:-
- Last win Dec 17th in the FA Cup,
- Failed to score in 7 out of their last 8 matches,
- 4 defeats plus three 0-0 draws in the last 7 games.
Surely, surely a team we can beat although we do have a history of halting opponent’s losing runs.
Some tales going around about players being sick over the weekend so the line-up may not be what is expected.
We are definitely going down this season but let’s please have some attacking winning football.
A 1-0 win – I hope
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2020 20:50:50 GMT
Scorer: Will Buckley!
(sorry david, couldn't resist)
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Post by whitesince63 on Jan 27, 2020 22:01:15 GMT
Scorer: Will Buckley! (sorry david, couldn't resist) I hope you’re both right but of course they will be coming feeling this is where they can get a win too!!
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Post by Alptrotter on Jan 28, 2020 15:49:18 GMT
Yet more self justificatory drivel from Hill in his interview on the BN. If I hear him whine once more about how hard it is representing BWFC right now, my ipad's for the bin! When will he learn to pick his words more carefully and utter far fewer of them?
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Post by kenglowhite on Jan 28, 2020 17:02:26 GMT
Lots more guff from Keith the Mouth, no more necesasry signings, sickness apparently affecting team selection and no Darcy, loads of pessimism, and the weather's rough, so why should I bother to turn out? Things are in a right state if I am saying that, so please somebody at The Unibol do something about it vite, vite, vite. Time to defer to age and perceived wisdom I think.
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Post by OohMac on Jan 28, 2020 17:10:16 GMT
How many poor runs do we seem to end though?
Real good chance tonight but i think we'll blow it. 2-2.
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Post by whitesince63 on Jan 28, 2020 18:45:15 GMT
Not driving over tonight be there Saturday instead but I listened to Keith’s interview and to be fair I agreed with pretty much all of it. I don’t think he was moaning, I think he was just saying it as it is. He obviously doesn’t consider some of the squad he has good enough and wants to improve it and I have to agree with him and surely so do results, that he’s right. Working under the constraints and embargo’s surely can’t be easy and it has to make it difficult trying to bring in the quality of players that we need? He’s been even more squeezed by injuries and sendings off so I’m sure he’s tearing his hair out trying to put out a winning team. There’s a fine line between explaining and just moaning so I can see where some might think it’s the latter but if he’s asked questions about performances, results and signings, he has to answer and for me that’s all he’s done.
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Post by kenglowhite on Jan 28, 2020 19:18:43 GMT
Surprise, surprise.....all the so-called sick and unfit are turning out after all. The BN and KH are now to be called the media of misinformation. Very pleased for those that are going on such a bad night that such a good selection has been possible after all.Hopefully they'll start where they left off v Pompey.
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Post by OohMac on Jan 28, 2020 22:18:32 GMT
Predicted a score draw.
2 questions.
1.) Does Keith Hill still want this job? 2.) Does Keith Hill think he can do this job?
I think the answer in August was a resounding yes. Now i think its a shrug and some nonsense answer about singing from the same page.
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Post by whitesince63 on Jan 28, 2020 22:54:21 GMT
I’ve seen some lows in my many years watching Wanderers but I’ve never seen it as low as it is now. I know the finances are poor and the embargo’s are biting but surely the squad isn’t as bad as current results and performances suggest? I wasn’t there tonight but it doesn’t sound as though there was any cohesion or pattern to the play again. This constant experimentation by KH just seems to me to be so pointless. Surely he has enough players to create a settled side and a fixed style of play. Whether that’s to just defend or attack or whatever, at least by now we should have been working towards something but there doesn’t seem to be anything being built. Maybe the job is just too big for Keith, or maybe the background activity is unsettling him, I don’t know but even from here something just doesn’t seem right. We can’t even get a bit of luck, other than bad luck, as Buckley goes down with what looks a long term injury. Whatever, it’s surely now clear that we have no chance of surviving and all efforts should now be focussed on getting the best squad for next season. Whether that’s under KH or not is now a definite question I’m afraid.
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Post by davidm on Jan 29, 2020 9:15:52 GMT
That was an absolutely dreadful match.
Our passing was non-league standard.
We have reached a stage where the ball is like a hot potato and players just hoof it away.
I think it is fair to say that that was the worst standard of football seen at home this season.
We set off with our usual first 10 minutes of sitting back and allowing the opposition to have 90% of the play. Bristol were all over us. But for Matthews, we could easily have been 2 down within 15 minutes.
We have also got into a position where we endlessly foul. After Portsmouth, the manager criticised the number of free kicks we gave away. Well like night we gave away at least 10 in the first 20 minutes – just endless fouling.
We had one chance in the first half from probably our only quality bit of play. Emmanuel and Darcy combined well on the right and Emmanuel’s cross was smack onto Murphy’s head, only for him to head straight at the keeper. A very good chance wasted.
The first half was dreadful and ended 0-0. Bristol had outpassed us endlessly but were poor upfront.
Things did not improve. We kicked off, put the ball straight out of play and were on the defensive straight away.
Bristol had all the ball, our passing was dreadful and just nothing was happening. Politic had a go from the edge of the area – the only player in the team who tries to shoot – and the ball went just wide.
We then conceded a pathetic goal. Nsiala headed a simple clearance pathetically straight to an opponent, the ball went down their right, Fleming was beaten and a cross came in. Edwards inexplicably stepped over the ball and let it run into the 6-yard box for an easy tap in.What went on there I do not know.
We still made little or no effort. Everything was slow, sideways or backwards – shocking.
We somehow managed to equalise when Murphy headed in from a corner.
The ref quite rightly gave 8 minutes of extra time and we thought we had a chance. But NO. We never got near to their area in the whole 8 minutes. Bristol had the ball for probably 6 of those minutes.
It was a truly dreadful, dispiriting performance.
The following paragraph, I copied from the BN comments page but it sums up exactly my thoughts:-
I know that we are in a bad position. Players are poor, we cannot sign anyone BUT supporting the team doesn't mean we have to accept what happened last night. Our passing was awful. Simple balls over or under hit. Aimless headers going to the opposition. Sadly these are mainly poor players and poorly set up. Bristol pushed and harried all night, little better than us but they had a clear plan and passed like Barcelona in comparison to us. It's not the fear of L2 would stop me coming but this aimless garbage.
A dreadful dreadful match.
Marks
Matthews - 7
Saved us a couple of times early on and was fine savewise but his distribution is awful. No rolling the ball out, just wild random kicks.
Emmanuel - 6 Reasonable attacking threat but still dozy defensively
Nsiala - 6 Some good blocks but his heading is dreadful – straight to opposition, including the build up to their goal
Edwards - 4 What was he doing on the goal?
Fleming - 5 Just OK for me. I have yet to see anything exceptional. His first two attacking crosses were poor
Lowe - 2 Hopeless. His first 3 passes went straight to a Bristol player.
Hamilton - 3 Just anonymous. I am now thinking that the Rochdale performance was a fluke because he wasn’t in the match at all
Murphy L - 1 Terrible. The mark I have given him is equal to the no of passes he got right
Darcy -3 Totally wasted on the right. He still gets manhandled off the ball much too easily
Politic - 4 Like Darcy, in the wrong position. Probably our only positive attacking player
Murphy D - 4 Isolated for most of the match with just endless hoofs sent his way.
Dodoo - 4 Just didn’t notice him.
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Post by kenglowhite on Jan 29, 2020 9:36:00 GMT
Obviously I chose correctly to give this a miss. Actually I believe we do have enough talent to be doing much better, and I have to put it to the management team that they don't know how to set it up. For instance Darcy and Politic provided an inspirational attacking midfield performance afainst Portsmouth, yet Keith The Mouth apparently played them both as wingers last night. I feel strongly that he is at the root of our problems. At one stage this season we looked likely to win enough to stay up. Since Fleetwood he has completely lost the plot.
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Post by whitesince63 on Jan 29, 2020 10:31:04 GMT
100% agree with all that Kenglo, I just don’t understand Keith’s thinking. He calls it experimenting but he’s been here nearly 6 months now and if he still doesn’t know his system and what the players strengths are then you seriously have to worry. I didn’t go last night but have seen enough this season to be completely confused by what he’s trying to do. As you say, against Portsmouth second half Darcy and Politic looked superb and you’d think he’d build on that but the total opposite happened with perhaps predictable results. I think every body accepts the difficulties Hills facing but by now we should have at least been seeing green shoots, even if still a long way to go. Sadly I see nothing only evidence that Hill hasn’t a clue what he’s trying to do. When Matthews first came in he was lauded for rolling the ball out rather than hoofing it like a Howard and Alnwick, so what’s changed him? It can only be management instructions. Right now I have absolutely zero confidence in either the team or Hill and I’m equally sceptical of FV. I can’t see another win because it looks like even the players have lost confidence and that doesn’t bode well for next year either, let alone season ticket sales.
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Post by Alptrotter on Jan 29, 2020 11:06:42 GMT
Can only agree with Davidm that this was a dismal and dispiriting match to watch, though at least I could do that from the comfort of home via i-follow. The real temptation to ‘turn off and do something less boring instead’ ( remember the kids’ tv programme) was ever present.
While I agree that we have an uninspiring squad, I’m not sure I buy the idea that they are not good enough for L1. I’m afraid I see Hill now as similar to Parky in one baleful way - players simply deteriorate under him. Can anyone think of one player who has shown consistent improvement under the current coach? Sure, some have shown flashes of what they can do ( and could do more consistently with more creative coaching) but none have demonstrated clear improvement.To me, that is what would worry me if I were part of FV. He makes the right noises about the way BWFC must move towards sustainability in the future, but beyond making endless reference to what he did at Rochdale, he has made little to no actual progress towards achieving it.
I think he has fallen victim to really believing we could escape relegation and he has flip flopped on tactics on a game by game basis. In contrast, he has shown far too much faith in the desperately poor Lowe ( in possession, his passing is abysmal and he offers nothing creative, out of possession he alternates between rushing about like a bull in a china shop and seeming a bit scared to get stuck in ) and Luke Murphy who, to adapt Ben Elton is a ‘football kit full of bugger all.’ Our most promising players are moved from pillar to post, given different tasks on a match by match basis and, unsurprisingly, look lost and demoralised. Why does Hill seem incapable of settling on a first eleven and coaching them into a consistent way of playing? However limited our squad, that is surely the best way to get the most out of it. If Jack Deardon said once last night that we looked to have no structure and played like a team of strangers, he said it a dozen times. And he was correct. No one to blame for that, other than the manager and coaches.
All in all, for me, Hill, after a misleadingly promising start, seems to have managed to take the footballing side of the club backwards from a position in which that hardly seemed possible. I really hope that he quickly recognises that the rest of the season should amount to perfecting a playing style for L2 and coaching the young players into it.
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Post by andyl on Jan 29, 2020 11:16:40 GMT
That was a tedious and unimpressive game. I nearly wrote match but it wasn't that. A very weak Bristol Rovers outfit bettered BWFC in all the simple arts of football bar one and much as Southend were far the superior team.
We were undoubtedly illness- ridden but KH's pre- match defeatism dressed up as realism was also a dampener. As some above I believe we have players to do better. Indeed the youth team did better v Coventry.
KH says much, most of it trite, repetitive and uninspirational but he hardly ever discusses football. Were he to do so we could ask why again he paired Murphy L and Lowe in midfield. As a pair they strangle forward movement. The cannot pass reliably are slow and to compensate commit foul after foul. Once again when injury/ illness broke them up we looked better. Once again Lowe actually did well in defence this time at right back. Murphy went from bad to worse
It is true that Matthews pulled off a brilliant reflex save early on and was lucky in the rebound as he was not v Portsmouth after an error. So evens on that. But on crosses he was rooted. Twice in the first half he left easy crosses to defenders who failed to clear. His kicks were dire and in this his decline is marked. Why? Their goal was too far from me but where was everyone . Was it impossible for Matthews to play a part.
Upfront I despair of Politic. He has talent but last night he resembled nothing so much as a table football man long bereft of its hinges lashing out at every ball in the vain hope of a wonder goal. No!
Dodoo was an embarrassment. Ill perhaps but did that excuse his rather craven cop outs from a number of aerial challenges and his fluffed header in front of goal?
To the one exception. I thought Daryl Murphy was a class above the rest. With neither service nor support he scored one and held the ball up all night. I saw two horror passes the second of which he ran back to remedy but otherwise he was very good- easy to miss. Darcy flickered but lacked power. Hamilton did nothing. Did he take the vital corner or was it Fleming? O'Grady made a bit of a difference in the air and made few mistakes- noticeable in context
Just not good enough and certainly not worth the rail and accommodation costs.
Matthews 4 Emmanuel 3 Nsiala 6 Edwards 5 Fleming 5 Lowe 5 Murphy L 2 Dodoo 1 Darcy 5 Murphy D 8 Politic 4 Hamilton 2 O'Grady 5. Buckley ( O dear ! but his record was unblemished at least) - Looked a bad challenge- maybe an accident but not a foul???
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