United 0 Barnsley 1 - report

[Deadbat]

The Blades suffered their first defeat for six games as they once again lost out in a local derby. The last defeat had been down the road at Chesterfield and today they were beaten again as Barnsley took the spoils at Bramall Lane. It was a poor game that featured little good play from either side. Barnsley created very little but sadly for the home side, neither did the Blades. United had one header from Craig Alcock saved in the first half and then Sam Winnall scored with his effort in the second half. Aside from this very little happened. Barnsley defended well and United did not have real efforts of note in the second half other than a Scougall chance blocked out and a McNulty header off target.

United made changes again as they brought back Paddy McCarthy, James Wallace, Jamal Campbell Ryce and Jose Baxter to the line up. They also surprisingly started Jay McEveley too rather than the improved Chris Basham.
After Yorkshire CCC had paraded the championship trophy; the club showed a nice touch with a large Poppy tribute displayed on the Kop with red, white and black cards. United were turned around and had to kick towards the Kop first half. United began at pace and forced Barnsley back. Murphy had one enterprising run and then from a corner Alcock was once again denied his first United goal as Turnbull somehow kept it out on the line. They did not know it at the time but this would be the closest United would get all afternoon!

United were winning the midfield and were in turn trying to get Campbell Ryce and Murphy on the ball but too often the final cross was wayward. Barnsley slowly started to get a foothold back into the game and from a move down the left, Winnall clipped over when he should have done better. At the other end Baxter found Murphy with a quick free kick but his finish lacked power. Berry had an effort over the bar for the visitors.
It had been frantic and United maybe edged it but there had been few chances and half time came with the game at stalemate.

The second half saw Barnsley start to wrestle control of midfield but in truth the first 10 minutes saw little happen in terms of chances. Then Barnsley broke and Cole’s shot was turned around the post from Howard.
The corner came over and WINNALL got up and overpowered Doyle to head firmly into the net. The visitors cannot say they had deserved the lead but they had it and now against an impotent United attack knew they had something to hold onto.

The same man almost got in again after indecision from Campbell Ryce and Alcock. The crowd were becoming restless and finally McNulty came on for Wallace with Scougalll dropping back into midfield but United still only had one up top with Baxter dropping back also. From a free kick McNulty had a great chance but headed badly over.

On came Flynn for Campbell Ryce and soon after Porter for Baxter. The minutes were ticking by and rightly Turnbull was booked for time wasting before Scougall almost got in as Harris played in a ball from the left but the keeper just got there to block it. United tried to get more balls into the box but oddly were not getting enough men forward and it seemed unlikely there would be the late drama that has characterised this season. A few long rage efforts came and went but the additional 4 minutes passed with little major incident or chance and the spoils went to the visitors

United – It was not a game we deserved to lose but then we barely did enough to win either. It looked a 0-0 draw in the making but then slack marking saw Barnsley profit and they saw us our rather comfortably at the other end. I have to say we looked pretty clueless most of the game today from an attacking point of view. Our final ball, penetration and idea in the last third was wretched all day. We could be still playing now and I don’t think we would be any nearer to scoring. It was that bad. Defensively we were mostly ok apart from that one moment (defending set plays becoming a big achilles heel) and in midfield we did ok but did not quite have the control we have had in recent weeks against a more physical side. Barnsley got the goal, defended in numbers, stopped us getting round the back and compressed the play.

We had no idea what to do to break them down. We had a few half chances (McNulty’s was a good one) but did I really sense a goal was coming? Sadly not. We kept the same rigid formation with one up, we left the subs way too late and never properly had a go.

First half we did ok and shaded the game and if we had upped it and increased the tempo and maybe changed the emphasis to get another attacked on and stretched the play more, we would have won. Sadly we regressed and they got stronger ad fought a lot harder than they had done. They ended up winning midfield I felt which is first time I have said that for a few weeks. When pressed and put under pressure we panicked and if we did not go backwards then played aimless crosses or balls.

I would have had no issues us maybe going longer or trying to be more direct though if it is done properly. We knocked it about across and sideways and then backwards and then crossed it often diagonally from 40-50 yards out. This was then headed away easily. This happened time and time again. When we did get into the last third there was no penetration and the final ball was awful. I felt we just got squashed out and nobody ran from deep or tried to get into the box. With 10 minutes to go I counted three or four times when we had it in their half and had noone in the Barnsley box.

How are we going to score or create anything aside from a long range shot? The tempo was really flat today and I felt we took too long to move it on and move it forwards. The two centre backs for them have been making mistakes (speaking to a friend who supports Barnsley pre game) and we gave them their easiest game for weeks.
Disappointing after the run of wins to see us now back amongst the chasing pack and not even in the top 6. Sadly I had said our wins were as much about the poor opponents as the great play United had put in (we have improved) and today it was back to the poor play we had seen earlier in the season with little goal threat and then a soft touch at the other end on the key moment.


United simply do not look a promotion side in my view. We are too soft all over the field, lack attacking threats and are approaching games with ridiculously over cautious tactics. Without a change from the manager in the latter and some investment in the former from the board; we will probably fluctuate between 4th and 10th all season and may make the playoffs; we may not. Ultimately it won’t be good enough to get us up again which is so disappointing after the promise of last season. Today as they did at Chesterfield in a local derby the side failed again and that is a concern with another local derby coming up at Doncaster. If we keep losing these games then we can forget promotion as we have so many this season. Once again a big game and a big crowd and we serve up a rather flat performance. Typical United really.

Barnsley – They will say it was a classic away performance. Defended well, hustled and harried and scored a good goal. Hung on to what they got and restricted us to hardly a chance. Job done. Reality is they were quite poor themselves and it could easily have been 1-0 to us. They time wasted all game and were quite physical at times although their superior strength and height paid off. At stages of the game they won the ball more than us and bullied us in certain areas. They were better than the three soft touches we beat the other week and at least got their foot in and competed more. They are not a scintillating side and lack fluency. However they were well organised today and solid.

They won’t struggle nor will they be anywhere near promotion contenders but they will be in the top half I feel. They have some strikers who can get goals and some danger up top (Cole’s pace, Winnall’s scoring touch) and like most teams in the top half have better striking options than the one we have.

Defensively they did well but the fact journeymen like Ramage and Nyatanga saw us out so easily sums up how poor we were attacking wise. They were busy in midfield and as I say had more height and strength at times. Worrying that for spells they had a 4 against 5 in midfield but still had as much of the ball. Cole up front was lively but they did not have many chances all game (one effort first half and then a couple in the second). It was the same for us really on chances. As an away side you would take that. For your keeper to make one, maybe two saves all game then you are happy. Second half they pressed us higher and got into us and we had less of the ball. They improved quite a bit just in the basics of effort and closing down and we struggled to cope with that in terms of creating much.

I got in just before kick off so was not sure if Wilson got any kind of introduction/welcome. I have no hard feelings towards him. He should have took us up in that season regardless of what happened with Evans but equally he turned a side that was hopeless year before under Blackwell/Speed/Adams into an attractive, attacking side. The year after with players left we were poor and even though high up, the writing was on the wall. It was harsh to sack him when they did. Maybe should have waited till the end of the season but he was taking us nowhere. I do feel Clough is a superior manager but today Wilson got his tactics spot on and out coached Clough. However there is a reason Wilson has spent most of last 2 decades in this division as he is a very ordinary manager. A nice guy who always carried himself with class and spoke well but not someone who will take teams up.

 

[Deadbat]

Howard 7/10- Had little to do. One low save from a Cole shot which was relatively comfortable. Little chance on the header.

Alcock 6.5/10 – Did alright defensively apart from a few moments when he dithered second half and they nearly got in. Not up against and out and out winger as they played with players tucked in but did what he had to. Did not get forward that much though.

Harris 7/10 – Defensively he was also ok with few mistakes and did the basics well. He got forward more than Alcock but like the rest his final ball was quite poor. He overplayed many (to keeper) or hit the first man too much. Put a few decent ones in at the end but noone near them. Had one shot blocked.

McCarthy 7/10 – Did a decent job on the front two and I felt Winnall only got away from him once in the first half. At times his lack of pace shows up but he is a decent defender at this level who we should look to retain.

McEveley 7/10 – Decent. At times seemed at full stretch and positionally often was 2 yards behind the others meaning we did not keep a high enough line. However maybe due to Cole’s pace he was told to play a bit deeper. Why was Basham dropped after being the best player last week?

Wallace 6/10 – We did not have the same level of control as we had last week at Crewe and Wallace’s performance was a reason for that. Today he was not in the game much and I felt did not win as much of the ball as he has been doing against a tougher midfield. When he had it his passing was mixed today and did not have the same influence. Came off second half.

Doyle 6/10 –As above really. I felt we did well to start the game winning the key middle part of the field but as the game progressed we lost the battle and had less and less of the ball. He often did not seem to know who he was marking. If you look at the goal whether it was his man or not (debatable) he is the one nearest/marking Winnall and just lets him jump and over powers him. Maybe the bigger players they had meant he had to mark a bigger player but it was poor. This was the same against Orient when he lost his man for the free header at the end.

Murphy 5.5/10 – Poor today. I felt both our wingers were completely ineffective as were all our attacking threats. He came inside time after time and got bottled out of it. He never went round the back and as a result this just compressed the play. Had one run early on and you thought he had the beating of full back but then the rest of the game I barely remember him being a threat.

Campbell Ryce 4/10 – Thought he was even worse than Murphy. He saw lots and lots of the ball but his final pass/cross was wretched. He put them too long, hit the front man, failed to even get the ball in or stumbled and lost it. He managed to find every single way possible not to put a decent cross in. Did not beat his man either that much and the one occasion he did he failed to get the ball in. Again. Surprised he last as long as he did before he came off.

Scougall 6/10 – Worked hard and tried to get into areas and pockets and had a few runs into the final third (missed a good chance) and was involved in a few of our decent early moves. Like most games this season he faded really badly though and I can’t recall him touching the ball much at all second half. Ended up back in the midfield two when Doyle went off but still did not get involved much. Been a big step back for him this season from player I saw last year.

Baxter 4.5/10 – Like last week a really poor performance. The tactics, formation and poor play up to the final third do not help of course but I expect more from a so called talented footballer. He did not hold it up, did not chase lost causes and idled around for most of the game without even looking remotely dangerous. He is not a striker and if people are calling for 2 up top then unsure he can play as either of those as does not offer hold up or pace. Not sure where his best position is or if he has one. If he lost some weight and gained some motivation and mobility he could be better as a central midfielder but we would get overrun if he played there.

Subs-

McNulty – Missed a really good headed chance when he came on. Looked busy but other than that chance did not have any other opportunities. Does need a run of games to allow him to develop and get some level of consistency. Unsure why Baxter is getting preferred to him.

Flynn – Brought on too late and when he was on had one run across the middle when he should have crossed it and little else really but given too late (less than 10) to make an impact.

Porter – A rare Porter appearance. He again should have come on earlier but Clough’s ridiculously late substitutions give players little chance to get into games. He controlled one long ball well but then gave it straight away. I felt with longer time up front with McNulty we may have been more of a threat with his knock downs.

Manager rating : Clough 4/10 – A bad day at the office as former United manager Wilson (who was ironically billed as the original Mr Negative – second season) got the upper hand. Clough persisted with one up top (even when losing) and we looked completely powder puff all afternoon. He strangely left Basham out and changed the side around again. He kept players on who had been awful (Campbell Ryce and Baxter) way too long and left his subs too late yet again. We did not have a plan B and kept the same shape and formation most of the game. This led to little chances of note being created and it was pretty dire to watch from an attacking point of view. We really were clueless at times but even more frustrating is he did not change it. He is a very stubborn manager who sticks to his principles but this inflexibility allied to not having great front men aswell will cost us any chance of promotion this season and ultimately will cost him his job longer term (big call but I believe that). He has to adapt and realise we are the biggest club in the league in front of 24,000+ people at home and he is playing effectively without any strikers (Baxter often was back in midfield). He can dress it up all he wants but that is unacceptable to me. Most weeks we create 3 or 4 chances and that is it. We do not concede many at the other end but we will not go up hoping to nick games 1-0 every week. It will not work. Sure we will beat dross like Yeovil and Crewe but against the better teams it will not work (Barnsley are not eve one of better teams).

Officials – Scott Mathieson has had some odd games down at the Lane but was fine today. Barnsley were a little strong arm at times but nothing that was over the top and were stronger in individual battles. The officials did not have many big calls to make (one half hearted spot kick appeal on Murphy). He booked the keeper for time wasting (maybe could have earlier) but I barely noticed them all game. That is usually a good sign.

Crowd – Impressive following from Barnsley (around 3,000) and they were quite noisy helped by getting the goal and the eventual win (unsure why they did not just put them all in one tier though – seemed odd to have them split up). United fans got behind the side early but noise faded after the break and it was more frustration than anything as we struggled to carve out a chance. The club are extremely fortunate to get the crowds they get when watching such mediocre play as the fans had to ensure today and sadly coming back to it again, such negative tactics and approach.

 

[bartman]

Howard 7/10- Had little to do. One low save from a Cole shot which was relatively comfortable. Little chance on the header.

Alcock 6.5/10 – Did alright defensively apart from a few moments when he dithered second half and they nearly got in. Not up against and out and out winger as they played with players tucked in but did what he had to. Did not get forward that much though.

Harris 7/10 – Defensively he was also ok with few mistakes and did the basics well. He got forward more than Alcock but like the rest his final ball was quite poor. He overplayed many (to keeper) or hit the first man too much. Put a few decent ones in at the end but noone near them. Had one shot blocked.

McCarthy 7/10 – Did a decent job on the front two and I felt Winnall only got away from him once in the first half. At times his lack of pace shows up but he is a decent defender at this level who we should look to retain.

McEveley 7/10 – Decent. At times seemed at full stretch and positionally often was 2 yards behind the others meaning we did not keep a high enough line. However maybe due to Cole’s pace he was told to play a bit deeper. Why was Basham dropped after being the best player last week?

Wallace 6/10 – We did not have the same level of control as we had last week at Crewe and Wallace’s performance was a reason for that. Today he was not in the game much and I felt did not win as much of the ball as he has been doing against a tougher midfield. When he had it his passing was mixed today and did not have the same influence. Came off second half.

Doyle 6/10 –As above really. I felt we did well to start the game winning the key middle part of the field but as the game progressed we lost the battle and had less and less of the ball. He often did not seem to know who he was marking. If you look at the goal whether it was his man or not (debatable) he is the one nearest/marking Winnall and just lets him jump and over powers him. Maybe the bigger players they had meant he had to mark a bigger player but it was poor. This was the same against Orient when he lost his man for the free header at the end.

Murphy 5.5/10 – Poor today. I felt both our wingers were completely ineffective as were all our attacking threats. He came inside time after time and got bottled out of it. He never went round the back and as a result this just compressed the play. Had one run early on and you thought he had the beating of full back but then the rest of the game I barely remember him being a threat.

Campbell Ryce 4/10 – Thought he was even worse than Murphy. He saw lots and lots of the ball but his final pass/cross was wretched. He put them too long, hit the front man, failed to even get the ball in or stumbled and lost it. He managed to find every single way possible not to put a decent cross in. Did not beat his man either that much and the one occasion he did he failed to get the ball in. Again. Surprised he last as long as he did before he came off.

Scougall 6/10 – Worked hard and tried to get into areas and pockets and had a few runs into the final third (missed a good chance) and was involved in a few of our decent early moves. Like most games this season he faded really badly though and I can’t recall him touching the ball much at all second half. Ended up back in the midfield two when Doyle went off but still did not get involved much. Been a big step back for him this season from player I saw last year.

Baxter 4.5/10 – Like last week a really poor performance. The tactics, formation and poor play up to the final third do not help of course but I expect more from a so called talented footballer. He did not hold it up, did not chase lost causes and idled around for most of the game without even looking remotely dangerous. He is not a striker and if people are calling for 2 up top then unsure he can play as either of those as does not offer hold up or pace. Not sure where his best position is or if he has one. If he lost some weight and gained some motivation and mobility he could be better as a central midfielder but we would get overrun if he played there.

Subs-

McNulty – Missed a really good headed chance when he came on. Looked busy but other than that chance did not have any other opportunities. Does need a run of games to allow him to develop and get some level of consistency. Unsure why Baxter is getting preferred to him.

Flynn – Brought on too late and when he was on had one run across the middle when he should have crossed it and little else really but given too late (less than 10) to make an impact.

Porter – A rare Porter appearance. He again should have come on earlier but Clough’s ridiculously late substitutions give players little chance to get into games. He controlled one long ball well but then gave it straight away. I felt with longer time up front with McNulty we may have been more of a threat with his knock downs.

Manager rating : Clough 4/10 – A bad day at the office as former United manager Wilson (who was ironically billed as the original Mr Negative – second season) got the upper hand. Clough persisted with one up top (even when losing) and we looked completely powder puff all afternoon. He strangely left Basham out and changed the side around again. He kept players on who had been awful (Campbell Ryce and Baxter) way too long and left his subs too late yet again. We did not have a plan B and kept the same shape and formation most of the game. This led to little chances of note being created and it was pretty dire to watch from an attacking point of view. We really were clueless at times but even more frustrating is he did not change it. He is a very stubborn manager who sticks to his principles but this inflexibility allied to not having great front men aswell will cost us any chance of promotion this season and ultimately will cost him his job longer term (big call but I believe that). He has to adapt and realise we are the biggest club in the league in front of 24,000+ people at home and he is playing effectively without any strikers (Baxter often was back in midfield). He can dress it up all he wants but that is unacceptable to me. Most weeks we create 3 or 4 chances and that is it. We do not concede many at the other end but we will not go up hoping to nick games 1-0 every week. It will not work. Sure we will beat dross like Yeovil and Crewe but against the better teams it will not work (Barnsley are not eve one of better teams).

Officials – Scott Mathieson has had some odd games down at the Lane but was fine today. Barnsley were a little strong arm at times but nothing that was over the top and were stronger in individual battles. The officials did not have many big calls to make (one half hearted spot kick appeal on Murphy). He booked the keeper for time wasting (maybe could have earlier) but I barely noticed them all game. That is usually a good sign.

Crowd – Impressive following from Barnsley (around 3,000) and they were quite noisy helped by getting the goal and the eventual win (unsure why they did not just put them all in one tier though – seemed odd to have them split up). United fans got behind the side early but noise faded after the break and it was more frustration than anything as we struggled to carve out a chance. The club are extremely fortunate to get the crowds they get when watching such mediocre play as the fans had to ensure today and sadly coming back to it again, such negative tactics and approach.

More or less how I saw it however I think you are being tad generous to Scougill who just can around not doing much (as opposed to his all round performance lasdt week)

I thought Basham should have come on for Scougs and I would have kept Wallace on as I thought we needed to be more physical and direct . Agree that Porter should have been brought on a lot earlier.

I was amazed JCR appear for the second half

 

[Jehovah]

Defence looked solid.

Attack looked shit.

Pretty much sums it up for me.

 

[sitwell]

Good report DB. Pick you up on one thing though ,you say McEveley (MOM for me btw) keeps a poor defensive line ,from where I sit it always seems to be Alcock who is 2 yards behind ,I think he is the least disciplined of the back 4 and the reason we don't get many offsides.

 

[Deadbat]

I agree to some extent as at times the defence does not seem in line and it is different people each week. Alcock's standards have dropped for me. McEveley has been fairly consistent. He has been a better signing than I though as has Campbell Ryce although his form has dipped recently and his final end product means you can see why he has shad so many clubs.

The game had nothing in it but the fact we struggle to create chances is still a concern as is Clough's stubbornness to change it. Yesterday was such a winnable game but we lacked the quality to beat a very average Barnsley side. If this sort of pattern continues we wont go up sadly as the division as poor as it is there are quite a few teams with much better attacks. It will be another wasted season unless Clough and the board do take initiative. I know I and others are called for reactions to losses compared with reactions to wins but I think it right to be concerned after another loss. We have now lost 5 in 15. Repeat this the rest of the season (say 15 defeats) and it most likely we wont even make the playoffs. Wolves won the league with 5 defeats last year. We have lost as many already. Brentford only lost 8.

 

[Dkc]

I wasn't there and only listened to the commentary, but Keith Edwards was very positive about our first half performance, apart from the final ball. It sounded like we dominated the first 45 mins at least.

Anyone know anything about Higdon's injury? He would probably have been more effective as a sub than Porter, at least

 

[sitwell]

I wasn't there and only listened to the commentary, but Keith Edwards was very positive about our first half performance, apart from the final ball. It sounded like we dominated the first 45 mins at least.

Anyone know anything about Higdon's injury? He would probably have been more effective as a sub than Porter, at least

I agree with that we totally dominated and they created nothing.Cole up front for them looked hopeless .Porter didn't have much chance but he looked poor and weak in the little time he had. Hope its not true but someone was saying Higdons injury will be months rather than days ,that's what they were saying around the bar at half time.If ,big if, that's the case we will need to go into the loans market surely.

 

[Latters]

Good report DB. Pick you up on one thing though ,you say McEveley (MOM for me btw) keeps a poor defensive line ,from where I sit it always seems to be Alcock who is 2 yards behind ,I think he is the least disciplined of the back 4 and the reason we don't get many offsides.

I thought Alcock was absolutely dire yesterday. His positioning was piss poor, he didn't offer any attacking support to his winger, he was reminiscent of McMahon in they way he wouldn't dare pass the half way line, and his distribution was shocking. I know people like him, but I really do not rate him. Perhaps I've been spoilt by the likes of Brayford, Lowton, Walker and Naughton and, going further back, Vass.

 

[sitwell]

it may be that he doesn't trust JCR to cover him like Flynn does ,because he looks better when Flynn plays. Personally I prefer JCR as an impact player for the last 30 minutes as defenders tire.

 

[Bergen Blade]

I wasn't there and only listened to the commentary, but Keith Edwards was very positive about our first half performance, apart from the final ball. It sounded like we dominated the first 45 mins at least.

Anyone know anything about Higdon's injury? He would probably have been more effective as a sub than Porter, at least

Hamstring injury apparently, could be a while.

 

[stannyblade]

Think you have been very generous to Baxter, worse than Campbell-Ryce imo. Yes he isn't a striker but it is where he is playing, time for a spell on the sidelines

 

[Latters]

it may be that he doesn't trust JCR to cover him like Flynn does ,because he looks better when Flynn plays. Personally I prefer JCR as an impact player for the last 30 minutes as defenders tire.

Another reason Campbell-Ryce was quite ineffective yesterday was that their defence was actually pretty good, the left back in particular. JCR is ok against the slower, lower quality defences in this division, but he just hasn't got the legs any more to go racing past the better full backs. He never managed to get the extra yard of space to put in a cross of actual quality, or drive into the box.

If he had had support in the form of Alcock overlapping, this might have negated their defensive strength and created a little more.

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

Thought up to them scoring our midfield and wide players were completely dominant, they couldn't get ball of us. For me the problem was crossing into the box, if there'd been a Deane or Shipperley on the back stick JCRs crosses would have been brilliant, however there wasn't and they looked awful. Murphy's and the two full backs crosses were just as ineffective, although the build up play up to the crosses was generally very good.

The defence didn't particularly have too much to do, the one time they needed to be on the ball they switched off. Looking at the replay of the goal, it ended up with Wallace up against Winall, with McCarthy drifting away from the situation. I take it McCarthy should have been picking Winall up on set plays, in which case you have to point the finger at him for conceding.

 

[Blade59]

I wasn't there and only listened to the commentary, but Keith Edwards was very positive about our first half performance, apart from the final ball. It sounded like we dominated the first 45 mins at least.


Trouble is he could record that and an play it every match. In fact I think he already has based on the number of times I have heard him say it.

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

Thought up to them scoring our midfield and wide players were completely dominant, they couldn't get ball of us. For me the problem was crossing into the box, if there'd been a Deane or Shipperley on the back stick JCRs crosses would have been brilliant, however there wasn't and they looked awful. Murphy's and the two full backs crosses were just as ineffective, although the build up play up to the crosses was generally very good.

The defence didn't particularly have too much to do, the one time they needed to be on the ball they switched off. Looking at the replay of the goal, it ended up with Wallace up against Winall, with McCarthy drifting away from the situation. I take it McCarthy should have been picking Winall up on set plays, in which case you have to point the finger at him for conceding.

Looked again, my mistake it wasn't McCarthy, but some one peels away from the action (can't work it out who it was - defo not one of the centre halves though).

 

[BeatleBlade]

Why was Higdon not even on the bench after his midweek goals? Injured? Porter chosen over him?

Edit: Just seen that he has a hamstring problem. Do'h, ignore that.

 

[OllyBlade]

I know I and others are called for reactions to losses compared with reactions to wins but I think it right to be concerned after another loss. We have now lost 5 in 15. Repeat this the rest of the season (say 15 defeats) and it most likely we wont even make the playoffs. Wolves won the league with 5 defeats last year. We have lost as many already. Brentford only lost 8.

Yes precisely. We should forget about automatic altogether as it seems the management, players, and boardroom certainly have. That Clough is under so little pressure is remarkable. The new ownership have been praised at times for trying to understand and communicate with the fans better. Fundamentally though it is about getting out of this division and the lack of urgency about that objective is so painful to watch. Yet another bunch of small time losers in my opinion. If we go up I think Clough would be the perfect manager for us, but I doubt he will ever get us there.

 

[Dkc]

Amazing what a difference one result makes. If we'd have won we'd have been 3rd and right in the mix for automatic

 

[JohnDenver]

Random observations...

Giving Wallace a 6 is remarkable. He played like he was either ill or injured.

And I agree with Latters about Alcock's performance. His quality on the ball has deserted him, and the opportunity to overlap JCR was never exploited.

As for the rest of the game, Barnsley truly didn't deserve to win, but our vacancy at centre forward meant we never took advantage. A good striker means you win games with average performances. Oh, for a good striker....

 

[alcoblade]

I wasn't there and only listened to the commentary, but Keith Edwards was very positive about our first half performance, apart from the final ball. It sounded like we dominated the first 45 mins at least.

Anyone know anything about Higdon's injury? He would probably have been more effective as a sub than Porter, at least

We dominated the whole match, more or less, possession wise. It's our final ball ( or options for it) that are always lacking.

The only difference between yesterday and most other performances was a couple of goals, which inevitably come late on after we've abandoned our initial setup.

UTB

 

[alcoblade]

Oh, for a good striker....

the bench isn't big enough

 

[JohnDenver]

We dominated the whole match, more or less, possession wise. It's our final ball ( or options for it) that are always lacking.

The only difference between yesterday and most other performances was a couple of goals, which inevitably come late on after we've abandoned our initial setup.

UTB

Much of the problem is Baxter is always too deep to meet any crosses, partly because he's fat and partly because he's elsewhere linking up play.

All I want for Christmas is a striker.

 

[alcoblade]

Much of the problem is Baxter is always too deep to meet any crosses, partly because he's fat and partly because he's elsewhere linking up play.

All I want for Christmas is a striker.

In a five (or is it 6?) man midfield, he shouldn't be sat deep linking up play though.

And that's part of the issue, he's neither a midfielder or a striker.

UTB

 

[crucialkneeligaman]

From what I had heard about Barnsley, they had a dodgy defence but had a decent attack, was certainly expecting a torrid time from their front men. In the end their attack looked lightweight but their defence coped easily against our powder puff front line.

 

[cahill]

Beg to differ about Barnsley I thought they were ordinary in the extreme and offered nothing. Our defence switches off as they did against Orient ad hey presto, Even when Baxter doesn't have his best game he still looks a class act. Alcock, worst game I've seen him have, Wallace looked sluggish, Murphy and Rice looked jaded. McArthy tore a strip off Alcock a few times, either that or he was frustrated with his own performance. I thought we dominated from start to finish. Their time wasting was a disgrace, all teams do it but their keeper took it to another level of cheating

 

[Wards]

Felt Doyle and McEveley were the outstanding players on the pitch, and that tells you everything about the game you need to know. Needed McNulty on earlier IMO. JCR had a poor game and we should have had Flynn on earlier too. Murphy didn't beat his man once and when we did get crosses in (sometimes bouncing on the 6 yard box) we weren't agressive enough getting bodies in the box.

Poor performance but we'll pick it up again.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

McEveley 7/10 – Decent. At times seemed at full stretch and positionally often was 2 yards behind the others meaning we did not keep a high enough line. However maybe due to Cole’s pace he was told to play a bit deeper. Why was Basham dropped after being the best player last week?

Think I heard Clough say in his interview that he likes to have a left-sided player as one of the central defenders ideally. If McEveley & McCarthy are fit, that will probably be the first choice pairing while McCarthy remains.

 

[metalblade]

When does McCarthy go back to Palace ?

 

[LSF]

Winnall was an interesting player. Apart from his goal I thought he looked sharp committed and intelligent. We were linked in the summer speculation, on that evidence he would have been a welcome addition.