Just back

To bed.

Watched on iFollow tonight.

We didn’t play that badly caught out a couple of times and we looked much better after the changes when we tried to play some football instead of hoofing it upto to the isolated Taylor.

I’ll let you lot talk about more of the game because I see it much better when there but I feel going forward with this poor run at home we need something different. Without Mcatee from what I’ve seen from tonight and going forward we need to be playing football like we did after the changes going forward .


Khan JMD Clifton/Richardson

                Orsi

And cropper in there for Efete because his head seems to have gone hopefully his goal in 2nd half has helped but before that he just looks a beaten man.

Seen idiots blaming Taylor. The man gets no support, we hoof the ball at him and expect miracles. Simmonds was nowhere near him and ran around like a lost dog and we looked better with 2 closer together up top.

Hunts delivery was diabolical every single time, we gave an average side 3 points through errors and didnt do enough attacking wise to get back into the game. I feel for Michee, he is not a bad player, but he is shot to pieces confidence wise and needs to come out the  side. Dissapointed in many comments at him from social media cowards

JMD played well and tried to make things happen, crowd excrement again up to the goal. Home form is frustrating, i dont know our best 11. Dont think PH does

I’d love to see JMD just behind the striker. When he drifts into that area he can play some killer balls.

Making the changes wide was god but Simmonds in as well rather then Richardson or Orsi meant Taylor was even more isolated then normal. As said above Simmonds looked lost. I think with JMD and khan and their ability to play the ball in behind or over the top then Taylor’s not needed and it has to be Orsi or a.n other not yet in the building who can play on the shoulder and get in behind

We set up to play through Taylor and then get no runners anywhere near him. Obviously we’re missing McAtee who plays so well with him but in his absence, we’ve surely got to find a different game plan.
We played some lovely football but mostly outside the final third. What concerns me is the lack of goal threat. Richardson came on and did well but you can’t see where the goals are going to come from. Hunt played well but set piece delivery was shocking and pretty much the same can be said for JMD.
Defensively, we gave two shockers away. Not sure Efete is at this level, not sure Cropper is either. We need to find a way to win at home because some of the natives are getting restless.

MoM Khan, closely followed by Harry.

Negatives.......we lost and more frustratingly we lost to a pretty average side, Dennis scored..Simmonds looked completely out of his depth..naivity of our players at times giving cheap free kicks with needless challenges.

Positives ........looked much more purposeful and dangerous with Khan and JMD...if Orsi or Richardson had started then I think a completely different outcome..whilst JMD Khan were fresh and sharp we needed the extra movement for them to feed.
Squad depth starting to improve now as well.

.

MOM Khan

Maher didn’t have a bad game but I’d have Smith back in on Saturday

Richardson and Orsi need to start at Salford

Effete miles away from what we need, but don’t think Cropper is the answer either (when fit)

Think we’re missing Morris in the middle of the park

Really don’t know what our best 11 / formation is - not sure Hurst does either.

Quoted from Hagrid

Seen idiots blaming Taylor. The man gets no support, we hoof the ball at him and expect miracles. Simmonds was nowhere near him and ran around like a lost dog and we looked better with 2 closer together up top.

Hunts delivery was diabolical every single time, we gave an average side 3 points through errors and didnt do enough attacking wise to get back into the game. I feel for Michee, he is not a bad player, but he is shot to pieces confidence wise and needs to come out the  side. Dissapointed in many comments at him from social media cowards

JMD played well and tried to make things happen, crowd excrement again up to the goal. Home form is frustrating, i dont know our best 11. Dont think PH does

I just didnt feel taylor fit in with the changes weve made tonight, and I was singing his praises when he was under fire from some fans the other day. I felt like hunt was linking up well with khan and JMD and we were more dynamic but needed more mobility and 1-2s to bring that together. My suggestions would be give Orsi a go up top and in behind either kiernan or even push clifton up more if we can have morris or green back in the centre. As always hurst and staff know a million times more than me and im sure theyll have some ideas. Personally for me hunt really stood out tonight and id build a team around that role he was in, really seemed to be directing the play.

Where do you start with this match, In the first half we were poor as a team. In the second half we continued in the same vein. It wasn't till Orsi and Richardson came on that we had some fight, for a short while. Then we huffed and puffed but had little impact.

You couldn't blame Crocrombe for the goals and Efete redeemed himself for his first-half howler, that said his defensive play way poor all night. Maher, Waterfall and Amos looked solid enough but the midfield was asleep until the subs came on. Hunts deliveries were not up to standard and poor compared to what we were used to from him when he came on loan last year.

JMD play well in patches and again failed to put in good crosses all the time consistently. Khan was the sole live wire in the 1st half and Harry had a night off, again. He put in a shift for effort but like many tonight couldn't pass the ball; a basic requirement.

Taylor had his normal game with no support, there's no point in playing him without 1/2 others to feed off
him. The opposition knows the long ball is going to Taylor, because that's all we have done.

Time for a change of tack up front and give Taylor a rest, not that he's playing bad.

All in all, we're not that bad but predictable and makers of our own destiny. So it's on to Salford AWAY; now we might get a positive result there to maintain our away form.

Efete really out of sorts and too be honest he's been poor all Season at home,not sure why?At least his goal cancelled his mistake and hopefully he can get back to his best.
We give the opposition far to much time on the ball at the back with little or no press and create very little going forward. At least when Town try and get the ball down and play they look much better.We have needed a quality centre forward for a long time now and these 3 youngsters we have on loan are not the answer.Quality players cost money home gates over 6k suggest we should be able to afford one.Carlisle wete bang average but far better than us.

We’re in a precarious position here. No win in four league games is concerning , regardless how you dress it up.

I’m immensely fortunate to not have missed a game this season and what concerns me is the lack of ability to maintain our opposition under pressure for a prolonged period of time. Irrelevant of results all season, all our goals have come; out of the blue or in quick succession. This makes our style of football quite bland and at home in particular, not overly effective.

However, my bigger concern is with 6k worth of season ticket holders, we’ve got a special opportunity to secure a larger fan base for both this season and beyond. Have we taken that opportunity thus far? No.

In my very humble opinion, a change of style and intensity is required. We’ve all seen how sticking centre forwards has changed the last two home games, so perhaps now is the time to try that from the off?

What I will say though is Hursty deserves our full backing (and I’ve not always been the most pro-Hurst fan). The bloke worked wonders last season and I don’t think he’s too far from building a squad that can challenge again.

UTM

Quoted from DB

Taylor had his normal game with no support, there's no point in playing him without 1/2 others to feed off
him. The opposition knows the long ball is going to Taylor, because that's all we have done.

Time for a change of tack up front and give Taylor a rest, not that he's playing bad.

This,
If you want to play a system of lumping it up front to a target man then Taylor is your man but….no point playing him if the rest of the team can’t take advantage of his way of playing. Add to the fact in my opinion he hasn’t played well as a target man this season Town should play without him, look at the difference when he went off, Orsi is more mobile and can bring players in without giving away so many fouls, rest Taylor for a few games, I’d have him as a sub to have a plan “B”

Carlisle were very well organised, so you can see why they haven't lost many. Typical that they should score with their first shot (sloppy defending in the lead up) but, in many ways, it was similar to the weekend as the forward intended to play off Taylor simply didn't get involved. Simmonds simply lost possession every time he received the ball, generally by dwelling on it and Carlisle pressed very well for the first hour especially. Orsi and Richardson did a little better when they came on but still very much in and out of it.

We played some nice football at times, but almost always in front of them and the few occasions we got in behind, the final ball just wasn't good enough. As others have mentioned, delivery from pretty much all of our set pieces was poor and we kept failing to beat the first man with loads of crosses as well. Need to do better than that.

I wasn't surprised that Khan set up the goal as he looked the most likely to do something and he certainly ought to be a good player for us. Maher was fine - can't say he did anything wrong but didn't stand out either. Not keen to try and pick a pass and perhaps a bit too cautious in possession, but then the same was true for most of our players. Amos did OK defensively but didn't get forward enough really, considering they were sitting back and we needed to overlap.

I've never been overly convinced with Efete, but he had a poor one tonight, especially given the member-up for the match-winner. Links up well at times then doesn't quite find the cross or pass and, to me, he always looks like a midfielder playing slightly out of position.

JMD was tidy and played some good stuff but is another who takes too many touches - he missed a great chance to put Taylor through in the first half when all he needed to do was flick it with the outside of his boot. Tried to dribble instead.

Hunt was tidy in possession, but that was it. Need better delivery and more incisive passing from him than we've seen in the past two games.

Ultimately, it feels as though there is still a lot more to come from this bunch of players, but it's not ideal for us to be just trying to keep things ticking over until McAtee is hopefully able to bring some impetus when he returns.

I do wonder if giving Kiernan a try as a forward might be worth a go. I know that Walsall fans indicated he often does better in the middle and it doesn't seem as though either Simmonds or Richardson are going to be affecting the game enough from the last couple of games. Desperately need a home win, that's for sure.

Was Expecting a win tonight and then we could have moved on  after Sat but the two now linked
Absolutely woeful performance especially 1st half
So Poor
Hurst made too many changes and we did indeed look like a team of strangers
No cutting edge at all
We will have to play tons better than that in forthcoming games to avert a rapid slide down the table
Any connection between the two recent below average home performances to PH been linked with Millers job?
We very rarely do well v Salford and another defeat and you could say a wheel has come off
Come on Town!!

Despite much more possession, more shots, more corners, we just don't look threatening enough, and if the defence has an off day, as they now have for 2 games in a row, we haven't got the goals in us to rescue the situation. Think that was the 8th goal for Dennis this season and I am struggling to see any of our current forwards scoring that many all season as things stand.

Four goals from five home games is a poor return and the natives are getting restless.

Nothing to add really, except that we can't afford to be giving away defensive howlers every game.

The crowd are already starting to get on the players' backs, we need a home win and soon!

I was one of the posters who expressed concerns over Taylor and it was not about his abilities as a player but his inclusion dictates the way we try to play and without McAtee linking up with him it just doesn’t work and I feel PH has been guilty of trying to fit some square pegs into round holes in an attempt to find someone capable of filling this void. We don’t have such a player so we need to move on and play a different style. Think in his post match interview interview he mentioned that Taylor had picked up a calf injury so change may well be forced upon us.

Personally I think our midfield tonight lacked both a physical presence and creativity. Hunt, to his credit kept wanting the ball but his passing and dead ball delivery were both poor and Harry is not the greatest on the ball at the best of times and I believe he is better playing in a three man midfield.

Khan and JMD both had their moments tonight so hard to leave one of them out but I would, in the absence of Morris, like to see Green join Hunt and Clifton on Saturday with Khan, Orsi and Richardson/Pepple up front. Richardson had a good cameo tonight but maybe I would go for Pepple initially as his physical attributes give us something different going forward.

To date our mid season signings all look ok but none of them have, as yet, have really  set the world alight but I remain hopeful that by the end of October PH will have identified his preferred starting eleven and got us playing better than at present in front of the home fans.

Taylor too isolated imho, need to play a runner off defenders shoulder - not someone 15 yards behind. That said it sounds like he’ll be out at weekend so change of tactic/thought needed. At home though it’s probably more of an issue and maybe worth a go playing two ‘runners’ up top rather than a target man?

Khan is useful, thought Hunt was a bit disappointing tbh - both delivery wise and distribution in general. And Clifton I’m not sure is a good combination with Hunt. Hope Morris/Green can return and do a role a la Khan on Saturday, JMD was alright, no better than that but still the best option/likelihood to create something. Wasn’t a ‘bad’ performance by the team, neither was Saturday tbh, just look a tad predictable and easy to defend against.

Maybe Orsi/Richardson up top at home , with JMD, Khan wide and Greenor Morris with Hunt central. Or Clifton/Khan wide, Morris and Hunt/Holohan?
Defensively Maher didn’t do much wrong but I’d expect Waterfall and Smith return as a partnership, Glennon and Efete.

Gut feeling though that PH might go like for like up top and play Pepple.

So I think Saturday will be something like

   Crocombe
Efete Waterfall Smith Glennon
JMD/Kiernan Hunt Clifton Khan
Richardson
Pepple

In that sticking with what’s worked away from home.

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

I was one of the posters who expressed concerns over Taylor and it was not about his abilities as a player but his inclusion dictates the way we try to play and without McAtee linking up with him it just doesn’t work and I feel PH has been guilty of trying to fit some square pegs into round holes in an attempt to find someone capable of filling this void. We don’t have such a player so we need to move on and play a different style. Think in his post match interview interview he mentioned that Taylor had picked up a calf injury so change may well be forced upon us.

Personally I think our midfield tonight lacked both a physical presence and creativity. Hunt, to his credit kept wanting the ball but his passing and dead ball delivery were both poor and Harry is not the greatest on the ball at the best of times and I believe he is better playing in a three man midfield.

Khan and JMD both had their moments tonight so hard to leave one of them out but I would, in the absence of Morris, like to see Green join Hunt and Clifton on Saturday with Khan, Orsi and Richardson/Pepple up front. Richardson had a good cameo tonight but maybe I would go for Pepple initially as his physical attributes give us something different going forward.

To date our mid season signings all look ok but none of them have, as yet, have really  set the world alight but I remain hopeful that by the end of October PH will have identified his preferred starting eleven and got us playing better than at present in front of the home fans.

To be fair, the 3 strikers are all young and raw, with little or no experience in men's football.  Of the 3, I think Richardson has shown the most promise, in patches - however, he is very lightweight.  He's got quick feet and a good turn of pace though, so I think there's a player in there somewhere.

The game passed Simmonds by tonight, he showed glimpses of quality at Newport though, so will improve with minutes.

Pepple looks well off the pace so far, and his injury has set him back again, his finishing is poor however.

Anyone got a link to PH post match please?

With all the extra revenue from season ticket sales and being back in the EFL we never did sign that hairs on the back of your neck striker did we.

Hope it won't cost us in the long run.

Quoted from ginnywings

Anyone got a link to PH post match please?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0d3150m

The kind of night that makes you wonder why you bother with football. A long day for me that began with the first of many work meetings at 7am. Set off from Leeds about 6:15, arrived just after 7:30pm to find absolutely nowhere to park. Anywhere. Never used to be an issue, but we are operating in different times.

Finally found somewhere to park and rocked up to Blundell Park about 8 o’clock, only to find my ticket wouldn’t let me in. “This ticket has been cancelled”, said the reader. As I racked my brain as to whether I’d upset anyone at the club or whether those flares in my underpants had finally been rumbled it occurred to me that this was the game I had released my seat for while away on holidays only for it to be abandoned.

Some dícking about in the ticket office ensued and I was issued a ticket for a different seat. Having already missed much of the first half by this point I duly accepted and trundled off to investigate whether whoever was sat in my ST seat looked soft enough for me to turf out or not. Fortunately it remained unoccupied and so no awkward confrontation was necessary, but the club need to get slicker over this if they want people to proactively release their tickets when they can’t make it.

I sat down to take in the final 15 minutes or so of the first half. Town knocked it about better than we did on Saturday and I thought we looked slightly cuter in our approach at times, but still didn’t create much to get people off their seat.

I’m not going to lay into Efete; he didn’t look before playing back to Crocombe and then scuffed his pass, but he seems to be having a crisis of confidence at the moment. I believe he’s every bit a competent League Two full back; I’m not convinced he does. There was a moment before his mistake when he made a fantastic bursting run forward, received the perfect through ball and then froze, slowed, stopped and played the ball back.

I hope his goal gave him some confidence. It gave us a period of belief where, a bit like on Saturday, I felt that if we could get the equaliser we could get the winner. Like Saturday, it wasn’t to be. We huffed, we puffed, but after that initial spell we looked defeated.

There were some positives. I thought Hunt played the ball well, looking like a young Wayne Burnett at times, though his set pieces were lacking slightly. Waterfall did well too, and I thought Richardson played as well as I have seen him in a Town shirt when he came on.

There were a couple off the pace though. Crocombe’s usually excellent kicking poor tonight, and I’m not sure Maher really grabbed his opportunity with both hands. Officials poor too, but I’ve come to expect that.

All in all, I’m frustrated, disappointed but ultimately philosophical about things. This is a noticeable step up. Even middling teams like Carlisle are solid, have some quality in front and know how to manage games. Stockport, league winners last season and much more well heeled than us have found things tough.

The home form is an increasing concern, but I do believe it will change. Hurst has a lot of options at his disposal; he now quickly needs to establish the right combination. I have confidence that he will.

To add to the day’s frustration I felt tired on the drive home so stopped off at Donny Services for a couple of Monster energy drinks. They worked a treat, not only to the point that not only did I not plough my car through the central barrier of the M62, but also that I don’t think I’ll be able to contemplate sleeping for at least another 3 hours. Up again at 5:30.

But, as I said in my opening comments, these are nights that make you question why you do it. The very antithesis of the Notts County, Wrexham and Solihull games. Annoying, yet necessary for those rare events to mean what they do.  And whilst I don’t think our ascent will necessarily be an easy or smooth one, I’m still confident there are more days like that on the horizon.

UTM!

Quoted from Chrisblor

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0d3150m

Thank you.

Khan , JMD and Hunt where the standouts for me , and once the changes where made , and they had strikers who made runs in behind, they are much more suited to that kind of game and it was like watching a different side , felt like we could get the second , when at half time we didn’t look like get one . Maher was a bit of a let down , kept opting to try and kick the ball instead of just getting his head on it , but only just come into the side so can’t be too harsh . Effete maybe needs a game out , to re set his focus . Didn’t play badly , but Carlisle had the better chances and forced the most saves

Really liked the 4 across midfield and hope PH sticks with them. Hunts passing is brilliant, most the time he makes it look casual and easy. Khan was motm for me but tired aswell as jmd. A shame cropper is injured as Efete struggled defensively. For me I'd only make the 1 change and that's Simmonds for Richardson moving forward.
Keep the faith. Looking forward to coming to Grimsby next weekend and watching a home game, let's hope I can help break the BP curse

The first caller to Humberside on the way home nailed it. We still haven’t signed the alternative to Taylor. We’ve got three young loanees plus Orsi, who didn’t set Harrogate on fire in his first league season and, given his selections, it’s pretty clear PH either doesn’t trust them or doesn’t know how to use them.

The problem is the lack of McAtee who plays brilliantly off Taylor and the lack of either an alternative player or alternative plan.

I’ve slept on it now so I’m more level headed about it now: that was crap. There were bits that were slightly better than Saturday but not much. Taylor does a job but he can’t do it on his own - Simmonds let him down a bit. Orsi and Richardson coming on gave us a bit of mobility which worried them for about ten mins. JMD was a minor improvement on Kiernan. Khan was MOM - he needs to stay fit.

I seem to watch the same game about 15 times a season - crap ref, timewasting opposition and us not having any idea on how to get through them. That was my sixth game this season and I’ve seen one win (Rochdale) and probably two halves that have been ‘good’ performances.

Quoted from Quagmire

MOM Khan

Maher didn’t have a bad game but I’d have Smith back in on Saturday

Richardson and Orsi need to start at Salford

Effete miles away from what we need, but don’t think Cropper is the answer either (when fit)

Think we’re missing Morris in the middle of the park

Really don’t know what our best 11 / formation is - not sure Hurst does either.

While I agree about Effete,I'm not sure we can make the same judgement about Cropper as he hasn't figured much this season

We seem absolutely stuck on this 4411 or whatever you want to call it. Without McAtee, we rotate the “1” off Taylor desperate to find the winning combination and last night it was Simmonds’ turn. It failed again and I hope now we realise there is only one John McAtee and until his return, we need to find another system that suits rather than shoehorning people in to his role.

I said it on the weekend - we should have started with Orsi alongside Taylor last night. I get we like the defensive solidarity of an extra player in that space between the central pair and Taylor, but when they are ineffective in that role you’re almost playing with 10 so you’d be better off two forwards alongside each other (and look at the difference after we went that way last night).

Disappointing again but so long as we learn and adapt I can cope with that. If we line up with anything other than 442 against Crawley though I might just pull the last of my hair out.

I said before the season I’d be disappointed if Taylor was our main striker this season and I still stand by that. The opening poster cried about people ‘blaming’ Taylor, it’s not that at all, it’s the fact it’s only Taylor and he’s limited. People aren’t getting round him quickly enough and there’s only so much you can blame the whole team before we realise he’s not mobile enough to play every single week. I’d be delighted to see him play every away game because that’s what we need, but it’s just so painfully slow at home.

I thought with the exception of Simmonds, that the players who came in all did relatively well and Orsi/Richardson combo showed what we’re missing up top. It wasn’t like it was a terrible performance, we just did exactly what we’ve done all season at home and make it ridiculously easy for the away side.

If you give away two soft goals in this league then you'll usually get beat.

I thought we played ok and similar to Swindon bad defending put us out of the game. Once we were 2 nil down, Carlisle was always going to be hard to break down, but we dug in and never gave up.

I think as others has said it wasn't the worst performance ever but 2 very very poor goals to give away and maybe we aren't as watertight at the back as we thought. Khan looked very lively and always tried to make things happen, but often I noticed when he had the ball there was a lack of real support around him, almost as so the players thought "I'll leave him to it" JMD looked good in stages also and I would like them both to get some game time, I like Taylor but we did show that we look better with the energy of Orsi and Richardson, I would like to see Orsi given some starts. Centre mid still isn't quite right for me although Hunt looked really good in possession but a few more incisive passes needed for me, Amos looked OK defensively and his long passing was good last night but just like Efete on the opposite side he looks to lack some confidence especially when going forward.

The stats on BBC show 67% possession for Town and 18 shots- but only 4 of those were on target.  I feel like we are in a transition period by introducing a lot of attacking players to team that didn't have them for 8 games, but we'll come out the other side better overall.

Quoted from pontoonlew

I said before the season I’d be disappointed if Taylor was our main striker this season and I still stand by that. The opening poster cried about people ‘blaming’ Taylor, it’s not that at all, it’s the fact it’s only Taylor and he’s limited. People aren’t getting round him quickly enough and there’s only so much you can blame the whole team before we realise he’s not mobile enough to play every single week. I’d be delighted to see him play every away game because that’s what we need, but it’s just so painfully slow at home.

I thought with the exception of Simmonds, that the players who came in all did relatively well and Orsi/Richardson combo showed what we’re missing up top. It wasn’t like it was a terrible performance, we just did exactly what we’ve done all season at home and make it ridiculously easy for the away side.

because we went 2 up top. when taylor was on the pitch he was literally on his own

Quoted from WHYWONTYOULETMESIGNUP

I just didnt feel taylor fit in with the changes weve made tonight, and I was singing his praises when he was under fire from some fans the other day. I felt like hunt was linking up well with khan and JMD and we were more dynamic but needed more mobility and 1-2s to bring that together. My suggestions would be give Orsi a go up top and in behind either kiernan or even push clifton up more if we can have morris or green back in the centre. As always hurst and staff know a million times more than me and im sure theyll have some ideas. Personally for me hunt really stood out tonight and id build a team around that role he was in, really seemed to be directing the play.

I thought Hunt was awful tonight, his passing and corners were woeful, Taylor always gives his best but had a poor partner tonight, Effete needs a rest from first team duties

Disappointing to see Efete struggling recently, because when he first joined us, he looked a real threat going forward. But in the last few games he has looked devoid of confidence and willingness to be direct and beat his opponents in 1v1's, and he seems to delay putting balls into dangerous areas. I think he needs leaving out of the 11 for a bit now. I'd still have him on the bench though, and I think like everyone else, PH knows there is something decent about him if he can get his mojo back.

After the mistakes that cost us those two goals, one of which was a howler; PH soon changed things in the second half when it became obvious that Carlisle were happy to defend the lead with two very well organised and compact lines in a low block. Which meant that forward balls to big forwards (Taylor and Simmonds) became ineffective, as there was no space around them, or beyond them, for anyone to operate in. Carlisle were simply able to head and knock any of those sort of forms of offensive play away, then regroup and do it again and again on each occasion that we turned over possession.

So I was impressed and pleased to see PH recognise this, and instead put on two smaller players that were more comfortable in possession on the ball. Players with some ability to take the ball into those areas with a bit of trickery and ball mastery, because it was that which then got us getting a bit more joy in getting into their penalty area. Whilst this gave us some hope, with a goal as a result of the increase in sustained pressure, alas it wasn't to be.

Not panicking here though, and I am really enjoying the early part of the season, and I have seen enough to know that we will be okay this season. I am not sure I would hang my hat on us scraping into as play off position, but that isn't out of the question either. I am just delighted to at least see us competing at the right end of the table in our first season back in the EFL.

I'm not too down hearted with last night in all honesty.

We tried to pass it around, without cutting them open.

I like the look of Orsi, and think he deserves to start now.
Taylor is a good player, but he can be easy to defend against when he's isolated, which is no fault of his own, as his touch, and hold up play is good.
Simmonds looked ok, just didn't get involved, and Richardson looked better with Orsi when they came on.

Hunt might get bad reviews by some, but for me, he played well, and a lot of his passes didn't come off because of the players around him not making the runs that he can see.

Efetee needs taking out the spotlight for a bit. The goal might boost him, but he's really struggled for a few weeks now.

Khan looked good again.
JMD was involved, but didn't really create anything.

Maher and Waterfall no problem, and Amos did ok aswell.

I like Clifton, but think Holohan is a bit more creative, and maybe could have done with him in the second half as Carlisle has no intention of attacking.

I have been quite impressed with Morris who, IMO has got better each game before injury. Thought we missed him last night as Hunt seemed to be trying too hard at times. Each division is a step up particuarly in the box. Whilst we have contributed a number of times to our own downfall you can see clearly see that finishing and being clinical is more apparent. Thats our obvious downfall at the moment and the clear difference in this league.

We just need to start cutting out these individual errors if we can.

On the whole our performances at home haven't been that bad but if you're going to gift the opposition a couple of goals every game it going to be bloody hard work to win!

The one thing with Taylor is that how we play the ball up to him and how static he is backing into defenders, it's very easy to defend, predictable and we lose possession a high percentage of times. He's also not strong enough to play the hold up role, he's got to do better for the team than the odd clever flick on. A more willing runner like Orsi opens the pitch up, stretches defences, pulls defenders about and leaves gaps for runners and passes.  

It was nice to see wide players with guile, a willingness to beat a man and both have an eye for a pass. First full games for both, so I can only see improvement there as match fitness improves. We'll revert to type though and both won't start an away game at Salford.

Although he's exactly what we need, Hunt had a bit of an off night with his passing,  and we were so wasteful from set pieces, which should be a major strength. And we've got to be braver on the ball rather than working it back to an aimless Waterfall ball forward. We lose possession that way anyway, so we should take more chances in midfield rather than thinking backwards ball retention is doing us any good.

On a positive note Maher looks like a really good acquisition and Richardson looked lively and a real threat when he came on.

And no one can ignore the two mistakes that led to a limited Carlisle side's two goal lead, but Efete had a better game and looked more like himself otherwise. Like I said you just can't ignore the two crucial mistakes, but other than over running the ball once, he didn't put a foot wrong if you have the time to look back at the whole game.

I think we've got a decent team in the squad somewhere, but I don't think the best blend of eleven players has been on the pitch at the same time yet due to PH's selection or player availability.

Interesting to see what our starting line up will be in a month's time. I hope Hurst doesn't go ultra cautious as I can't see us picking up too many points without looking a goal threat. We need to give teams more to worry about rather than bore them into submission..

Regarding Efete last night, I think these few words from Poojah sum it up very succinctly,

"I believe he’s every bit a competent League Two full back; I’m not convinced he does"

I was willing him to at least give it a go in just knocking the ball in to space past his man (as usually plenty of pitch left when starting on half way) but I don't think he did it once.  He did look better after his goal when we were pushing, but seeing him close up (from the Osmond) his body language at times looks like he's frightened to be there.

I have to say though that I was saddened at the negativity and vitriol aimed at him by a significant minority of people (I wont say fans) in the Osmond corner, it's totally out of order with one of your own team  

Quoted from Garth

I thought Hunt was awful tonight, his passing and corners were woeful, Taylor always gives his best but had a poor partner tonight, Effete needs a rest from first team duties

His corners were but his passing wasn’t, he had a much better game than people are giving him credit for IMO.

Horror stat. Since PH returned we have played  41 home league games  In the 17 in which Mcatee appeared we won 14 in the 24 he didn’t appear in we have won 4 . Draw your own conclusions

Quoted from HerveJosse

Horror stat. Since PH returned we have played  41 home league. In the 17 in which Mcatee appeared we won 14 in the 24 he didn’t appear in we have won 4 . Draw your own conclusions

It’s all Michee Efete’s fault?

Quoted from HerveJosse

Horror stat. Since PH returned we have played  41 home league. In the 17 in which Mcatee appeared we won 14 in the 24 he didn’t appear in we have won 4 . Draw your own conclusions

That is a horror stat.
My take on last night, a few of the players individually did okay I thought Amos came back well and should keep his place. Morris is clearly a bad miss for us. The young lad upfront, Simmonds in the first half only touched the ball twice. I am a big Taylor fan but this set up is not working in home games and I think I would bring him on as an impact sub
A couple of observations:
When crossing a ball you have to miss the first man I do not know how many times we failed on that last night but to add to that we haven’t got a forward  outside of Taylor who can win a header in the oppositions box and so crossing high is a waste of time anyway
I always get the feeling in these home games that we will never score and as somebody earlier said Goals seem to come right out of the blue. This cannot be right and begs the question is our formation right
Smith has been excellent this season, okay a poor game against Swindon but I thought very hard to drop him
Not particularly fair on Clifton But I would be interested to see him play right back, full of energy, great athlete and I would like to see him locked into one position sooner than playing the role of utilityman
The Arrogance of McAtee is really missed and he lifts the complete team, I am certain there would be more points on the board with him in this team.
Not despondent at all, and as I have said many times when we were in the National League, I will watch any old crap in the football league but the National League was hard work for me utm

11th after 10 games not a bad return with a few of our main players coming back and our star man coming back by the end of the year. Joint 3rd best defence we are doing OK we know the problem is scoring goals at the moment.

[quote=136845]We need to give teams more to worry about rather than bore them into submission..[/quote]

Exactly this!  When we are at home, we should go out with an attacking formation and let them worry about us!

As I've been saying since the start of the season, I think we are really going to regret bit signing a more experienced striker instead if relying on Taylor who just simply isn't good enough to be a main striker.

Although I respect people's opinions and their love for Taylor for his help in getting us promoted. We need to be realistic here and realise he isn't a 20 goal player and this shows in our lack of goals.

Stats are facts.

Yes, I have received ridiculous and mostly childish abuse for this opinion, but slowly it will become evident that I was right.

It's difficult to analyse a game when we are defeated by two individual errors, but when we can't be relied upon to score more than one goal a match, it puts our defence under increasing pressure which leads to mistakes. It's worryingly reminiscent of our downturn last season when a similar decline in goal threat lead to us losing a raft of winnable games, usually by a single goal.

I thought Hurst should have swapped Hunt for Holohan or Green in the second half when Carlisle started to sit in. Hunt is good at picking the ball up in a deep position and moving it on through midfield, but that doesn't work when the opposition are dug in and effectively squeezing out our passing options. We needed to go a bit more direct, hitting the channels quickly and forcing corners and throw-ins to keep Carlisle pinned in. Holohan might have been able to pounce on second balls in their half which would have sustained our pressure.

I think that's the most disappointing aspect of both Saturday and last night. We had the ability to get back into both games but we let them both drift with some naïve play. It didn't help that the set-piece deliveries from both Hunt and JMD were well below par.

It's not a disaster but it's a big wake-up call for some players and possibly the management. Mid-table teams in this league aren't going to fold like Barnet and we're going to need to be more ruthless if we're going to push on.

Khan was excellent by the way. Displayed some very neat control and was unlucky not to score in the first half after a bursting run. Nice cross for Efete's tap-in too.

Quoted from Grimsby2012

As I've been saying since the start of the season, I think we are really going to regret bit signing a more experienced striker instead if relying on Taylor who just simply isn't good enough to be a main striker.

Although I respect people's opinions and their love for Taylor for his help in getting us promoted. We need to be realistic here and realise he isn't a 20 goal player and this shows in our lack of goals.

Stats are facts.

Yes, I have received ridiculous and mostly childish abuse for this opinion, but slowly it will become evident that I was right.

Taylor was never going to be a 20-goal striker, just as Steve Livingstone wasn’t. I feel like your ire could be better directed.

Quoted from Grimsby2012

As I've been saying since the start of the season, I think we are really going to regret bit signing a more experienced striker instead if relying on Taylor who just simply isn't good enough to be a main striker.

Although I respect people's opinions and their love for Taylor for his help in getting us promoted. We need to be realistic here and realise he isn't a 20 goal player and this shows in our lack of goals.

Stats are fact

Yes, I have received ridiculous and mostly childish abuse for this opinion, but slowly it will become evident that I was right.

Harsh to blame Taylor he does what he does.won numerous balls flick ins thirty yards out if first half last night and there was no one within 15 yards of them . I agree he can’t play if we are playing with the more creative khan and JMD  . I was very suprised that Hurst played JMD and Khan with no one playing on their back lines shoulders or anywhere near it . Football is a matter of opinion but I woukd have thought this was obvious enough by now

Why are people slating Ryan Taylor for heavens sake? And are people really taking issue with him not being  the 20 goal a year striker that we need?

Ryan Taylor is a classic Number 10, not a Number 9. He does great work in that 10 role, and if people cannot see that then frankly they must be be blind or lack understanding of what that 10 role is.

Why is it going so unnoticed by supporters, that we don't have a Number 9 in the building and that is the reason why we are lacking a goal threat. We've got Orsi, who with the fitness of McAtee and/or another nailed on No 9, would be a squad player. And we have two kids in on loan that we have taken a bit of a chance on.

Until we get somebody in, that PH wants to hand the No. 9 shirt to, then we are likely to amble along fairly well, but still lacking the firepower we need to put games to bed more often or not. But people, you have really got to stop making Ryan Taylor a bit of scapegoat for your frustrations, because you are judging him based on a role that he isn't really there to fulfil. He's not an out and out goal scoring striker in the No 9 sense of the game. Although to give him a bit of credit where credit is due, his league form recently is a goal every other game,.

As I said in an earlier post in this thread it’s not Taylor’s ability that’s in question it’s the fact that, without McAtee, we don’t have any players capable of playing alongside him in the team structure that Hurst favours.

Funny how anyone who has a negative opinion on Taylor’s role is judged to know nothing about football and Dale saying he’s a number ten who requires a number 9 alongside him suggests some of our views have merit.

Whilst I’m at it one of the reasons Efete doesn’t always cross the ball as early as us fans think he should might have something to do with the fact that we never have more than one player in the box!!!

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

As I said in an earlier post in this thread it’s not Taylor’s ability that’s in question it’s the fact that, without McAtee, we don’t have any players capable of playing alongside him in the team structure that Hurst favours.

Funny how anyone who has a negative opinion on Taylor’s role is judged to know nothing about football and Dale saying he’s a number ten who requires a number 9 alongside him suggests some of our views have merit.

Whilst I’m at it one of the reasons Efete doesn’t always cross the ball as early as us fans think he should might have something to do with the fact that we never have more than one player in the box!!!

The manager clearly likes to play off Taylor, the problem is finding the right players to play off him. The fact we’ve ended up with the players we have (3 young loanees plus Orsi) suggests that we didn’t find/couldn’t afford what we were looking for in the window.

It suggests that the manager is keen to carry on with his preferred game plan even though he might not have the players to implement it. Time for a change of plan maybe?

Has people slating Taylor now moved to people talking about people slating Taylor?

Good player, who just needs people to play around him properly, McAtee seemed to that quicker than anyone else.

Quoted from Grimsby2012

As I've been saying since the start of the season, I think we are really going to regret bit signing a more experienced striker instead if relying on Taylor who just simply isn't good enough to be a main striker.

Although I respect people's opinions and their love for Taylor for his help in getting us promoted. We need to be realistic here and realise he isn't a 20 goal player and this shows in our lack of goals.

Stats are facts.

Yes, I have received ridiculous and mostly childish abuse for this opinion, but slowly it will become evident that I was right.

He has literally never even come close to scoring 20 goals in a season, throughout his career - so i don't think anyone ever claimed or thought he would be that guy. It's not what he's been signed for or what he consistently gets picked for.

Stats are facts.

Quoted from sam gy

He has literally never even come close to scoring 20 goals in a season, throughout his career - so i don't think anyone ever claimed or thought he would be that guy. It's not what he's been signed for or what he consistently gets picked for.

Stats are facts.

In the eyes of several, Hurst is getting this wrong. Which is good as any one of them could do better when/if he moves on.

On a positive note I was very impressed with Niall Maher last night, he looks a high-quality recruit who can go on to be a mainstay in this team. Khan and JMD also looked like positive introductions and will improve with match fitness.
The big issue for me is the lack of mobility and movement. We barely turned the Carlisle defence so we were easy to play against, almost predictable. And that of course is where McAtee comes into his own, probably the least predictable player we've had in years. Things improved after Orsi and Richardson came on but if you gift the opposition two goals it's going to be a struggle.
Somehow we have to eliminate the mistakes, easier said than done, but hopefully the goal will have helped Efete's confidence.

Some Carlisle fans on their forum and Twitter rightly acknowledging we are a good footballing side and 2-0 at half time was very harsh on us. We certainly played a lot better footballing wise than on Saturday.

I am delighted with the quality of the football but we need to do it further up the pitch and somebody needs to be playing every week whose main and probably only job is to finish.

Personally I would play Taylor and Orsi together because we know Taylor creates and Orsi has a great goalscoring record at a previous club.

Looking further ahead we need to bite the bullet in January and sign a league 2 quality striker  - even one that has been round the block a bit but who is sought after by other clubs. It will cost a bit but no good having sell out crowds if we won't sign a striker in a seller's market.

I always try to be positive after a game.

However, I though we could have done better last than some fans have commented.

Firstly, a Carlisle fan posted t hat they were missing a number of players.

Yes, we played attractive football at times. Most of it at the back with Carlisle all in front of us.  Even in the second half I would say we wasted 10 minutes overall neatly playing in our own half.  You won't score from your own half (unless you are a teenage David Beckham).

Paul Hurst said that apart from goals the stats were in our favour.  We still created very few decent chances.  Not incisive enough.  

Simmonds (and as a young player) had not enough before to start the game. He was lost first half.  Efete needs a rest as we know as much for his own benefit.  Last night x player should have been at RB.

We need to stop conceding in the last minute before HT.  Twice in 4 days.

2-0 down at HT.    I would have liked to have seen Orsi and Richardson on for all of the second-half.  They did make a positive difference and we scored.  We had to do something different and needed 2 goals at least.

Disappointed that from the 80th min Carlisle more or less controlled the game. They won all the balls in the air.  We offered little.

We have played the same number of games as other clubs now.  Bar leader Leyton Orient, only Salford have conceded fewer goals (Salford by 1).

We have a solid base to build from.

Having braved the highlights, whilst for the first, Efete's was the 1st mistake, ALOT of football happened after, the lad wasn't closed down at all and the goalscorer had his own postcode to take the shot.  I also felt Max could have done better, though that's being super critical.

Quoted from Lost in Lincoln

Having braved the highlights, whilst for the first, Efete's was the 1st mistake, ALOT of football happened after, the lad wasn't closed down at all and the goalscorer had his own postcode to take the shot.  I also felt Max could have done better, though that's being super critical.

For the second...Before Efete even gets the ball Waterfall is pointing / gesturing him to go back to Crocombe....seemingly unaware Dennis was already moving in to close it off, yes it wasn't a well executed pass but some external influence on the decision to go back.

Quoted from moosey_club

For the second...Before Efete even gets the ball Waterfall is pointing / gesturing him to go back to Crocombe....seemingly unaware Dennis was already moving in to close it off, yes it wasn't a well executed pass but some external influence on the decision to go back.

The sideways and backwards passing culture, linked to a deep back line is our default position for recycling and often ends with either Waterfall or Crocombe hoofing it. It begs the question why Efete can’t have more licence to pick a forward pass if there is one? Paint by numbers full backs survive in National league but are are more likely to be pressed in the EFL. Most of our visiting teams seem to have been well organised in their pressing of our full backs and midfield which means that we pass back, go long then have to scrap for possession.
Once we get the ball down to Khan, Taylor and Orsi etc, we look much better but our passing generally has been poor.

The stats say we had a lot of possession most of which was sideways, backwards, sideways, reverse sideways and backwards again. Good for stats but it doesn't help in moving the ball forward.

Funny old game, isn't it. I thought we were poor in 5 of the first 8 games, yet managed to pick up a lot of points due to taking the very few chances we had and opponents lack of finishing. I think we've been better in the last 2 games than most of those, but we've actually been punished and not taken our chances. We probably still have a couple more points than I think we deserve, but that's what Hurst teams do.

It's not fun to watch a mid table side, but it was overly optimistic to expect a team that finished 6th in the NL to be competing at the top of L2. There's a huge difference in quality between the leagues that is underestimated. Our start reinforced the high expectations, but it was as much down to other teams mistakes as us earning it.

Controversially, I don't like Hunt. Didn't last season either. His passing is very good and his set pieces are usually excellent, but I don't see where he plays. He sits deep and tries to move the ball on quickly, but he's not very good defensively. He doesn't shirk challenges, but doesn't read the game defensively, doesn't shield the defense and gets passed around easily. You'd think his passing would be better utilised more forwards, but he doesn't drive to get into positions to use that. I think Morris is far better holding and Clifton/Holohan offer more going forwards because of their energy rather than quality.

I thought Hunt tried to make things happen, but sometimes looked poor because he "forced" it, as the movement ahead was mostly static.
He needs a run in the team, and with someone (like Morris or Green) alongside him to offer protection and do the "engine" work

Two defensive lapses don't happen and the scrutiny is well and truly off.

The first goal changed the game, up until that point it was open as hell.  The second goal just killed it completely.  

Problem for me isn't Taylor or even those around him.  Well, it is a problem to an extent but not the problem.  To my eyes the problem lies in midfield, which ironically was our strength a matter of weeks ago.    We were at our best when we packed the midfield with energy and more or less won games by making sure we were second to the vast majority of balls.  We pressed high with intensity and teams couldn't handle it, ultimately making mistakes or leaving space late on.

That meant our line-ups weren't spectacular, a midfield 3 of Morris, Green and Holohan is never going to produce a Ballon d'Or winner, equally so width from Clifton and Kiernan is workmanlike rather than exciting.  But it worked.  Morris was sitting as a third centre-back, which gave a lot of freedom for Efete and Glennon to bomb on, where I think their best work is done.  Holohan and Green pressed, pressed and then pressed some more with similar attributes coming from the lads out wide.  

Taylor was still isolated but because he had four players pressing a higher line, he wasn't as far away from support and the defenders had other things to occupy them rather than two of them wrestling him to the floor at a time.  

Now we've got a completely different system and midfield line-up.  Richardson/Simmonds operating in that no-mans land doesn't really help the midfield nor get involved enough in and around Taylor.  So we're a man down in the midfield battle straight away.  Hunt isn't the same type of player as Holohan or Green, not saying his lazy, but he's a different type of player.  He wants to get on the ball and create, not press.  The other two have the first instinct to get up and at someone, Hunt's first instinct is to see when he can get the ball and what he can do with it.  

A flat four across the middle and the lack of someone dropping deeper to create a back 3 limits the ability for the fullbacks to get forward.  Notably of late down the left.  For his critics Efete got down the flank a lot on Tuesday, but it did create gaps at the back.

In the absence of a striker who can work with Taylor effectively, I wonder if there's merit in returning to what was working.  Morris is out so maybe Hunt in that sitting role, I think he'll be better further forward but needs must.  Energy back in the middle of the park and back to what we do well.  

It needs progressing and I think Hurst tried to improve the quality of what we had (Hunt, Khan, maybe even the likes of Richardson), but perhaps too many steps too soon.  One step at a time, Khan in on one flank with Clifton on the other?

Quoted from lee65

I thought Hunt tried to make things happen, but sometimes looked poor because he "forced" it, as the movement ahead was mostly static.
He needs a run in the team, and with someone (like Morris or Green) alongside him to offer protection and do the "engine" work

I don't think he 'forced' it as such, I just think some of our players are not at the same level as him.

I can see why he didn't work out at Oldham, because he clearly has a great eye for a pass, but Oldham had players that clearly wasn't good enough to see what he could.

He's a clever player, and I'm very excited about him.

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

I don't think he 'forced' it as such, I just think some of our players are not at the same level as him.

I can see why he didn't work out at Oldham, because he clearly has a great eye for a pass, but Oldham had players that clearly wasn't good enough to see what he could.

He's a clever player, and I'm very excited about him.

Very fair point  

Quoted from diehardmariner

Two defensive lapses don't happen and the scrutiny is well and truly off.

The first goal changed the game, up until that point it was open as hell.  The second goal just killed it completely.  

Problem for me isn't Taylor or even those around him.  Well, it is a problem to an extent but not the problem.  To my eyes the problem lies in midfield, which ironically was our strength a matter of weeks ago.    We were at our best when we packed the midfield with energy and more or less won games by making sure we were second to the vast majority of balls.  We pressed high with intensity and teams couldn't handle it, ultimately making mistakes or leaving space late on.

That meant our line-ups weren't spectacular, a midfield 3 of Morris, Green and Holohan is never going to produce a Ballon d'Or winner, equally so width from Clifton and Kiernan is workmanlike rather than exciting.  But it worked.  Morris was sitting as a third centre-back, which gave a lot of freedom for Efete and Glennon to bomb on, where I think their best work is done.  Holohan and Green pressed, pressed and then pressed some more with similar attributes coming from the lads out wide.  

Taylor was still isolated but because he had four players pressing a higher line, he wasn't as far away from support and the defenders had other things to occupy them rather than two of them wrestling him to the floor at a time.  

Now we've got a completely different system and midfield line-up.  Richardson/Simmonds operating in that no-mans land doesn't really help the midfield nor get involved enough in and around Taylor.  So we're a man down in the midfield battle straight away.  Hunt isn't the same type of player as Holohan or Green, not saying his lazy, but he's a different type of player.  He wants to get on the ball and create, not press.  The other two have the first instinct to get up and at someone, Hunt's first instinct is to see when he can get the ball and what he can do with it.  

A flat four across the middle and the lack of someone dropping deeper to create a back 3 limits the ability for the fullbacks to get forward.  Notably of late down the left.  For his critics Efete got down the flank a lot on Tuesday, but it did create gaps at the back.

In the absence of a striker who can work with Taylor effectively, I wonder if there's merit in returning to what was working.  Morris is out so maybe Hunt in that sitting role, I think he'll be better further forward but needs must.  Energy back in the middle of the park and back to what we do well.  

It needs progressing and I think Hurst tried to improve the quality of what we had (Hunt, Khan, maybe even the likes of Richardson), but perhaps too many steps too soon.  One step at a time, Khan in on one flank with Clifton on the other?

Didn’t see the game on Tuesday but when I saw the line up I did immediately think baby and bath water - hence my sarcky comment when someone posted that there’s goals in that team about the line up.  I think it’s kind of what you are saying here. In the games I’ve seen, apart from Orient, we’ve bossed the midfield from about 20 mins on with Morris, Green and Holohan. Suddenly none of them are starting.

Quoted from DaleH

Why are people slating Ryan Taylor for heavens sake? And are people really taking issue with him not being  the 20 goal a year striker that we need?

Ryan Taylor is a classic Number 10, not a Number 9. He does great work in that 10 role, and if people cannot see that then frankly they must be be blind or lack understanding of what that 10 role is.

Why is it going so unnoticed by supporters, that we don't have a Number 9 in the building and that is the reason why we are lacking a goal threat. We've got Orsi, who with the fitness of McAtee and/or another nailed on No 9, would be a squad player. And we have two kids in on loan that we have taken a bit of a chance on.

Until we get somebody in, that PH wants to hand the No. 9 shirt to, then we are likely to amble along fairly well, but still lacking the firepower we need to put games to bed more often or not. But people, you have really got to stop making Ryan Taylor a bit of scapegoat for your frustrations, because you are judging him based on a role that he isn't really there to fulfil. He's not an out and out goal scoring striker in the No 9 sense of the game. Although to give him a bit of credit where credit is due, his league form recently is a goal every other game,.

Another good performance from Taylor in that 10 role. I agree with Hurst too, in a game with not to much sparkle, I’d put Ryan in there as one of the best performances today. Did everything that you want from your 10.

And if I’m not mistaken, that continues his run of form of a goal every other appearance, and for your 10, you can’t ask for much more than that.

Now let’s hope he gets that 9 to play with before much longer

Is Taylor a '10'?

How much beer did I have prematch? Why is the Carlisle just back thread at the top?