Match report v Crawley

All of our problems come down to poor decision making and execution in the final third. Yesterday was an extreme example but in most of our recent games we've had promising play but have been completely wasteful with it. Some of this is down to Tindall but sometimes it's a lack of basic skills, poor passing, shooting etc.

Need to sort this out and get scoring again.

I though him picking such a strong side was a bad sign hinting that he's as worried about confidence as much as we are.
 
I agree that we are often wasteful with our well crafted opportunities.

Having just viewed the extensive highlights on COWS I must admit however that we were simply unfortunate not to score in a few instances. Particularly in the second half we had plenty of high quality chances which on another day would probably have gone in. There were quite a few instances where their goalie somehow managed to block shots and was fortunate that the parried ball didn't land at the feet of one of our boys. In most instances you couldn't fault the technique of the players, they were chances which deserved goals. Sometimes things just don't go your way and there was a fair bit of that last night. Things like getting too much on the shot or not quite enough can happen and that was often the case last night. Very fine margins and we could have easily won that game 4-1 or 5-1.

Reviewing the highlights also contradicted my feeling that our play continues to be disjointed. Some of the moves from back to front last night were fast and precise. Great passing and movement, often getting the ball quickly down the pitch, which is something we've been longing to see for a while now.

We can already play some great football and last night we created a lot of very good chances. I'm not sure the players did too much wrong to be honest. The opposition were somewhat fortunate in keeping the score down IMO.

Overall we were not brilliant but under the circumstances, ignoring the somewhat disappointing scoreline, we looked decent enough. Wilshere will make things happen for us if we continue to play attacking football. Danjuma will draw defenders in leaving space for Solanke or King to wreak havoc.

I might be a glass half full kind of guy but I am beginning to see positive signs !
The only downside is that I now have to watch us play Burnley !
 
Thanks for your Match Report Mr K, always an interesting read. As well, you throw in gems like your “.......blood of innocents.” paragraph!
You have a way with words Sir.
 
No matter how JT sets the team up, once they cross the white line and start the game it's up to them to perform. He can shout instructions as much as he likes but they are still responsible for carrying them out. In quite a few games we've seen an improvement of sorts in the second half and he's not afraid to make early subs. There are still a few weeds in the Cherry Orchard and they need pulling up and be composted at some other grounds.
 
This is what is glaringly obvious to me. We're not just disjointed but it looks like a lot of players are currently only playing for themselves. So many occasions where a pass was the obvious choice and would've lead to a goal scoring opportunity, instead only to either run into a Crawley player, or a blocked shot, or blazing miles wide.

I don't know what it is, but something seems really off at the club at the moment and Tindall needs to get it sorted PDQ.
This is exactly what we said at the time and after the game, players playing for themselves.

Wild shots, running into players, choosing not to make an obvious pass, stupid fouls.

Doesn’t seem any intent in our play and looked like we were just going through the motions. We won’t get away with that Friday however I’m not sure we can address this unfortunately
 
I agree that we are often wasteful with our well crafted opportunities.

Having just viewed the extensive highlights on COWS I must admit however that we were simply unfortunate not to score in a few instances. Particularly in the second half we had plenty of high quality chances which on another day would probably have gone in. There were quite a few instances where their goalie somehow managed to block shots and was fortunate that the parried ball didn't land at the feet of one of our boys. In most instances you couldn't fault the technique of the players, they were chances which deserved goals. Sometimes things just don't go your way and there was a fair bit of that last night. Things like getting too much on the shot or not quite enough can happen and that was often the case last night. Very fine margins and we could have easily won that game 4-1 or 5-1.

Reviewing the highlights also contradicted my feeling that our play continues to be disjointed. Some of the moves from back to front last night were fast and precise. Great passing and movement, often getting the ball quickly down the pitch, which is something we've been longing to see for a while now.

We can already play some great football and last night we created a lot of very good chances. I'm not sure the players did too much wrong to be honest. The opposition were somewhat fortunate in keeping the score down IMO.

Overall we were not brilliant but under the circumstances, ignoring the somewhat disappointing scoreline, we looked decent enough. Wilshere will make things happen for us if we continue to play attacking football. Danjuma will draw defenders in leaving space for Solanke or King to wreak havoc.

I might be a glass half full kind of guy but I am beginning to see positive signs !
The only downside is that I now have to watch us play Burnley !
Well I'm glad someone feels like me! I thought our transition through midfield was excellent only let down a little by decision making in the final third, good goalkeeping and occasionally the run of the ball.

Danjuma's positivity and Wilshere's creativity were great to see and King played well, imposing himself on the game. We defended well apart from 5 or 10 minutes when we spooked ourselves and conceded an offside goal.

I agree that the form of some is a concern but isn't that always going to be the case? Kelly, Brooks and actually Lerma are a worry, perhaps three who feel most frustrated at failing to dominate as they should. I know, I know, they should work harder and all that - of course they should - but the touch of arrogance they all depend on is being undermined.

Teamwork? I thought we were fine and some of the movement was excellent. Tindall has quite a job on his hands here with such a diverse group - a real mix of career goals and expectations, aspirations and frustrations following our relegation that couldn't be much more removed from our once-in-a-lifetime promotion team.

I think Tindall took the measured decision to play a strong team, not because he particularly values the cup, but because he wanted some proper competitive game time for the squad in preparation for the Reading game. There was always the risk it could backfire with a defeat and or a serious injury but it didn't and I think he'll believe the gains outweighed the losses.
 
Well I'm glad someone feels like me!
Me too !

I recommend viewing the COWS extended highlights to anybody who thinks that was a poor performance.

I was surprised by how good we looked at times and we really did create plenty of really good chances and were unfortunate not to score more.
For an AFCB cup game I'd say it left me with pretty much nothing to complain about.

Yesterday I was "meh" about the performance, having watched most of it on the TV. I missed the final 25 minutes but judging by the highlights video we came on strong later in the second half. During that time we played some pretty promising stuff I thought.

Hopefully JT has now gone all in on playing attacking football, getting the ball forwards quickly and not being scared to give the ball away by risking something occasionally.

I will be following the Reading game closely, hoping he doesn't field a negative, defensively minded team. We really need to go for it now if we want automatic promotion. To coin a phrase "sh1t or bust" !
 
It's funny how we all see things differently, isn't it?

My thoughts:

Arsing about at the back is going to cost us soon.

I didn't think Danjuma was as good as you thought he was but I actually thought Brooks was slightly better than recently, but not a lot.

You didn't mention the 5 on 1 situation which Solanke handled sublimely.

Why doesn't Billing EVER win a competitive header in the air? He's a foot taller than anyone else. No one challenged him for the one that hit the post and he was stooping for that.

Why can't Kelly pass?

King, Wilshere and L Cook were ok but we misplace passes and miss so many chances by trying over complicate things.

I have a horrible feeling that our slump will continue.

:utc:
 
On a separate point, I don’t know how many more time I can watch Kelly drive forward into space, look up and then turn round and pass backwards, before I kick in my tv screen. Please for the love of God just pass the bloody thing forwards.
also Diego Rico didn’t even look comfortable at lb against a reserve league 2 side. Concur with the poster above, something is clearly not right at the moment. The players can bleat on about team spirit as much as they like but something doesn’t add up.
 
Thanks for report. Didn’t watch it so good to get a summary. I did see Jack’s goal and was pleased for him. He may provide the spark we need to take us forward.
 
It's funny how we all see things differently, isn't it?

My thoughts:

Arsing about at the back is going to cost us soon.

I didn't think Danjuma was as good as you thought he was but I actually thought Brooks was slightly better than recently, but not a lot.

You didn't mention the 5 on 1 situation which Solanke handled sublimely.

Why doesn't Billing EVER win a competitive header in the air? He's a foot taller than anyone else. No one challenged him for the one that hit the post and he was stooping for that.

Why can't Kelly pass?

King, Wilshere and L Cook were ok but we misplace passes and miss so many chances by trying over complicate things.

I have a horrible feeling that our slump will continue.

:utc:

There isn't too much I would disagree with there. You can read the Danjuma thing either way, he was wasteful but he was also trying to make it happen. Agree Brooks was better than recently but he was still poor.

The 5 on 1 was an oversight as it deserved a mention, I think perhaps it was so horrific I mentally blocked it from my mind. It reminded me of that that time in a recent season we had two strikers clean through on goal and one passed to the other in an offside position. I can't remember what match that was but it was comically bad. Last night's attempt was it's equal.

I'm no more or less concerned about our next game than I was before it. The biggest positive would be Wilshere coming through more first team minutes unscathed. Fingers crossed he's ready to go full throttle on Friday.
 
You've not been watching the past few weeks then. Alot more energy about Brooks tonight and involved in alot more build up play without frequently running into players or giving the ball away. Got a few shots away (albeit mostly off target) Still not back to his best but night and day compared to the past few performances IMO.

I think it depends on how you evaluate "played well". I agree that he seemed to try harder and run around more, but seemed like more often than not he was second best against League 2 players. But definitely a fair point that he was less invisible than he has been.
 
There isn't too much I would disagree with there. You can read the Danjuma thing either way, he was wasteful but he was also trying to make it happen. Agree Brooks was better than recently but he was still poor.

The 5 on 1 was an oversight as it deserved a mention, I think perhaps it was so horrific I mentally blocked it from my mind. It reminded me of that that time in a recent season we had two strikers clean through on goal and one passed to the other in an offside position. I can't remember what match that was but it was comically bad. Last night's attempt was it's equal.

I'm no more or less concerned about our next game than I was before it. The biggest positive would be Wilshere coming through more first team minutes unscathed. Fingers crossed he's ready to go full throttle on Friday.
That was Pitman and Junior - can’t remember the game though ...
 
Hear me out.

Is Tindall's team a better cup team because, we rely on individual brilliance, and as a team blow hot and cold. Cup teams don't need consistency every week, just for a game every now and again.

Howe's team was a worse cup team because, the 11 picked for the league was always greater than the sum of it's parts, so when you started removing key players it didn't work.

Or it could be that Eddie didn't rate the cup and put any old **************** out there. discuss.
 
You've not been watching the past few weeks then. Alot more energy about Brooks tonight and involved in alot more build up play without frequently running into players or giving the ball away. Got a few shots away (albeit mostly off target) Still not back to his best but night and day compared to the past few performances IMO.

Think I'd agree with that but I can't help wondering if that was because of the standard of the opposition.
 
Still not working right, unless it's me. It doesn't register my vote and there's only one (yours?) for Danjuma.

It does work properly. Just sometimes it doesn’t display the results correctly. If you come back to it later in the day it often looks completely different.
 

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