My take ...

[Bell4]

A point is a point and its not three given away. But even the most happier of clappers might concede that although we remain top of the league for tonight at least, one feels that the momentum gained in the game last Saturday was somewhat lost. We'd made some chin-stroking changes - dropping Anel to the bench for Bash, Flecky now joining the long term injured, no Khadra and McAtee coming in to get his first start and one would hope we'd get hold of Luton Town in our teeth and shake the fuckers in the way a terrier shakes a farmyard rat to break its spine and neck and kill it early.

But the first half was unimpressive to be honest. We didn't seem to have a system and were effectively bossed and bullied in areas of the pitch where we should have had more effect. Ex-Blade Luke Freeman, a seemingly past-it benchwarmer/treatment table wage stealer had a decent game and bossed our midfield almost single headedly showing flashes of skill and vision maybe we have lacked for too long. When Luton offered him a home when we released him I thought, 'good luck with that fucker'. Now he's in some sort of resurgence and found buckets of time to thread balls, make runs and put Sander Berge in the front row seats (fairly as well) and run off with the ball. Our midfield three could cope with him or his fellow midfielders.

Their goal was one bit avoidable but three bits bad marking. The replay shows Morris plonked firmly between Norwood and Basham and completely unchallenged, which if you are defending a cross from the zone is unforgivable. TO be able to leap and touch the ball like that and steer it into the net is a lesson of touch-tight-marking. I doubt Anel would have let him get away with that. Again, we are weak at defending the cross and again, we pay for it. It's notable - when opposition teams cross the ball into our six yard box there always seems to be a player or two who has bags of time to attack the ball and get it toward our goal yet when we cross it, the opposition penalty area is congested and packed and they (usually) deal with our ball easily.

Our midfield again today was the outcome of the result. In the first half, Berge couldn't find effective ways forward and didn't like being pressed and robbed and McAtee looked well over his head in a man's game. Norwood didn't do too badly but he again was sometimes profligate so without those options and settled pattern of play, our impetus was on McBurnie and NDaiye who at times looked on a hiding to nothing despite a lot of effort. McBurnie's goal was deserved and very, very welcome, but the post-equaliser ten minutes were not capitalised upon and we did spend a lot of time tentatively defending Luton's breaks whilst offering nothing much in return.

Foderingham 6/10: Decent game with a good, if pointless, save. Hope he recovers quickly.
Baldock 7/10: Enjoyed his performance and unlucky to be booked. I would like him to cut in diagonally at times and head toward goal, Bogle-style. Some decent defensive interventions
Basham 6/10: Sometimes a shaky return and other times consummate and composed with some decent defensive headers. Should have been a lot tighter marking for their goal, however
Egan 6.5/10: Once again marshalled the defence well when needed and put in his usual dogged spirit but he doesn't like the old ball over the top, does he?
RND 5/10: He works hard does Rhys, but I maintain - he's NOT a Centre Back. His shortcomings and tactical nous in effectively defending are made up by liability-wresting and 'mixing it up' which is okay when you are Chris Morgan or Virgil Van Dyk. He defends as a CB like he's playing LWB still and tonight he was bullied to fuck
Lowe 5.5/10: A quiet, practically vanilla game for him. Didn't see him in advanced positions much which told me all I need to know about his game and the fact that tonight he played like a flat-four LB rather than a marauding LWB in a 3-5-2
Berge 5.5/10: Thought he was outplayed and outmuscled most of the game, and vanished for long periods, even more so after taking a seat in the stands
Norwood 7/10: Another improved performance even if error prone at times. Good efforts on goal
McAtee 2/10: Very poor and our weak link in that first half. There were too many periods where he was outran, showed poor control, shite distribution and looking like an academy player blooded too early. Let's not get too bone hard on the hype on this lad, or we'll be back in Woodburn territory. If he is that magical, we need to see it materialise, because tonight, he was pretty dogwazz.
NDaiye 7/10: Again a great, grafting outing where he is the only point to deliver to and goes and gets it at all costs. We got another 15 out of him tonight as well which was good
McBurnie 7/10: Drops a whole mark for me because although we have a new McBurnie in the team now, the old one comes through like a stubborn skidmark. Just wish he'd get on with the game and stop the shithousery (the diving, the wrestling, the arms-up-appealing-to-the-ref because, as we have seen, he lurks in the shallows and can give us that bite we need. Fucking epic goal from him and deserved celebrations. Thank fuck he is off the mark now and hopefully ... there's more to come.

Doyle 6/10: A considerable upgrade on McAteer. Much more endeavour however not a great deal to show for it
Amissah 7/10: Giant of a keeper and looks commanding, taking his first cross with ease and producing a quality stop late on from Jerome
Anel 6/10: Looked a lot more solid with him at the back
Brewster 6/10: Still underfed and reliant on digging out his own chances. Scuffer of a shot late on, one of three for us

As said, a point is a point and all that. But we lack at times that 'gets you out of your seat' capability and spend a lot of time either doggedly defending or simply passing it about like in a practice match. Again, the midfield is guilty of not carrying it up the pitch and doing what MGW used to do with aplomb, namely put them on a the back foot and afraid to tackle. Khadra was (I believed) the answer to this but tonight he wasn't anywhere near the squad. Without that capability and potential on the pitch we will see a lot of games like this one tonight.

pommpey

First

pommpey

Nailed it

Vanilla as you say - except Oli Mac and IN

The rest were very very ordinary

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

A point is a point and its not three given away. But even the most happier of clappers might concede that although we remain top of the league for tonight at least, one feels that the momentum gained in the game last Saturday was somewhat lost. We'd made some chin-stroking changes - dropping Anel to the bench for Bash, Flecky now joining the long term injured, no Khadra and McAtee coming in to get his first start and one would hope we'd get hold of Luton Town in our teeth and shake the fuckers in the way a terrier shakes a farmyard rat to break its spine and neck and kill it early.

But the first half was unimpressive to be honest. We didn't seem to have a system and were effectively bossed and bullied in areas of the pitch where we should have had more effect. Ex-Blade Luke Freeman, a seemingly past-it benchwarmer/treatment table wage stealer had a decent game and bossed our midfield almost single headedly showing flashes of skill and vision maybe we have lacked for too long. When Luton offered him a home when we released him I thought, 'good luck with that fucker'. Now he's in some sort of resurgence and found buckets of time to thread balls, make runs and put Sander Berge in the front row seats (fairly as well) and run off with the ball. Our midfield three could cope with him or his fellow midfielders.

Their goal was one bit avoidable but three bits bad marking. The replay shows Morris plonked firmly between Norwood and Basham and completely unchallenged, which if you are defending a cross from the zone is unforgivable. TO be able to leap and touch the ball like that and steer it into the net is a lesson of touch-tight-marking. I doubt Anel would have let him get away with that. Again, we are weak at defending the cross and again, we pay for it. It's notable - when opposition teams cross the ball into our six yard box there always seems to be a player or two who has bags of time to attack the ball and get it toward our goal yet when we cross it, the opposition penalty area is congested and packed and they (usually) deal with our ball easily.

Our midfield again today was the outcome of the result. In the first half, Berge couldn't find effective ways forward and didn't like being pressed and robbed and McAtee looked well over his head in a man's game. Norwood didn't do too badly but he again was sometimes profligate so without those options and settled pattern of play, our impetus was on McBurnie and NDaiye who at times looked on a hiding to nothing despite a lot of effort. McBurnie's goal was deserved and very, very welcome, but the post-equaliser ten minutes were not capitalised upon and we did spend a lot of time tentatively defending Luton's breaks whilst offering nothing much in return.

Foderingham 6/10: Decent game with a good, if pointless, save. Hope he recovers quickly.
Baldock 7/10: Enjoyed his performance and unlucky to be booked. I would like him to cut in diagonally at times and head toward goal, Bogle-style. Some decent defensive interventions
Basham 6/10: Sometimes a shaky return and other times consummate and composed with some decent defensive headers. Should have been a lot tighter marking for their goal, however
Egan 6.5/10: Once again marshalled the defence well when needed and put in his usual dogged spirit but he doesn't like the old ball over the top, does he?
RND 5/10: He works hard does Rhys, but I maintain - he's NOT a Centre Back. His shortcomings and tactical nous in effectively defending are made up by liability-wresting and 'mixing it up' which is okay when you are Chris Morgan or Virgil Van Dyk. He defends as a CB like he's playing LWB still and tonight he was bullied to fuck
Lowe 5.5/10: A quiet, practically vanilla game for him. Didn't see him in advanced positions much which told me all I need to know about his game and the fact that tonight he played like a flat-four LB rather than a marauding LWB in a 3-5-2
Berge 5.5/10: Thought he was outplayed and outmuscled most of the game, and vanished for long periods, even more so after taking a seat in the stands
Norwood 7/10: Another improved performance even if error prone at times. Good efforts on goal
McAtee 2/10: Very poor and our weak link in that first half. There were too many periods where he was outran, showed poor control, shite distribution and looking like an academy player blooded too early. Let's not get too bone hard on the hype on this lad, or we'll be back in Woodburn territory. If he is that magical, we need to see it materialise, because tonight, he was pretty dogwazz.
NDaiye 7/10: Again a great, grafting outing where he is the only point to deliver to and goes and gets it at all costs. We got another 15 out of him tonight as well which was good
McBurnie 7/10: Drops a whole mark for me because although we have a new McBurnie in the team now, the old one comes through like a stubborn skidmark. Just wish he'd get on with the game and stop the shithousery (the diving, the wrestling, the arms-up-appealing-to-the-ref because, as we have seen, he lurks in the shallows and can give us that bite we need. Fucking epic goal from him and deserved celebrations. Thank fuck he is off the mark now and hopefully ... there's more to come.

Doyle 6/10: A considerable upgrade on McAteer. Much more endeavour however not a great deal to show for it
Amissah 7/10: Giant of a keeper and looks commanding, taking his first cross with ease and producing a quality stop late on from Jerome
Anel 6/10: Looked a lot more solid with him at the back
Brewster 6/10: Still underfed and reliant on digging out his own chances. Scuffer of a shot late on, one of three for us

As said, a point is a point and all that. But we lack at times that 'gets you out of your seat' capability and spend a lot of time either doggedly defending or simply passing it about like in a practice match. Again, the midfield is guilty of not carrying it up the pitch and doing what MGW used to do with aplomb, namely put them on a the back foot and afraid to tackle. Khadra was (I believed) the answer to this but tonight he wasn't anywhere near the squad. Without that capability and potential on the pitch we will see a lot of games like this one tonight.

pommpey

First

pommpey

Needs editing. On my phone when you scan read it, looks like Chris Morgan is a player for a second!

 

[Lane Ender]

A point is a point and its not three given away. But even the most happier of clappers might concede that although we remain top of the league for tonight at least, one feels that the momentum gained in the game last Saturday was somewhat lost. We'd made some chin-stroking changes - dropping Anel to the bench for Bash, Flecky now joining the long term injured, no Khadra and McAtee coming in to get his first start and one would hope we'd get hold of Luton Town in our teeth and shake the fuckers in the way a terrier shakes a farmyard rat to break its spine and neck and kill it early.

But the first half was unimpressive to be honest. We didn't seem to have a system and were effectively bossed and bullied in areas of the pitch where we should have had more effect. Ex-Blade Luke Freeman, a seemingly past-it benchwarmer/treatment table wage stealer had a decent game and bossed our midfield almost single headedly showing flashes of skill and vision maybe we have lacked for too long. When Luton offered him a home when we released him I thought, 'good luck with that fucker'. Now he's in some sort of resurgence and found buckets of time to thread balls, make runs and put Sander Berge in the front row seats (fairly as well) and run off with the ball. Our midfield three could cope with him or his fellow midfielders.

Their goal was one bit avoidable but three bits bad marking. The replay shows Morris plonked firmly between Norwood and Basham and completely unchallenged, which if you are defending a cross from the zone is unforgivable. TO be able to leap and touch the ball like that and steer it into the net is a lesson of touch-tight-marking. I doubt Anel would have let him get away with that. Again, we are weak at defending the cross and again, we pay for it. It's notable - when opposition teams cross the ball into our six yard box there always seems to be a player or two who has bags of time to attack the ball and get it toward our goal yet when we cross it, the opposition penalty area is congested and packed and they (usually) deal with our ball easily.

Our midfield again today was the outcome of the result. In the first half, Berge couldn't find effective ways forward and didn't like being pressed and robbed and McAtee looked well over his head in a man's game. Norwood didn't do too badly but he again was sometimes profligate so without those options and settled pattern of play, our impetus was on McBurnie and NDaiye who at times looked on a hiding to nothing despite a lot of effort. McBurnie's goal was deserved and very, very welcome, but the post-equaliser ten minutes were not capitalised upon and we did spend a lot of time tentatively defending Luton's breaks whilst offering nothing much in return.

Foderingham 6/10: Decent game with a good, if pointless, save. Hope he recovers quickly.
Baldock 7/10: Enjoyed his performance and unlucky to be booked. I would like him to cut in diagonally at times and head toward goal, Bogle-style. Some decent defensive interventions
Basham 6/10: Sometimes a shaky return and other times consummate and composed with some decent defensive headers. Should have been a lot tighter marking for their goal, however
Egan 6.5/10: Once again marshalled the defence well when needed and put in his usual dogged spirit but he doesn't like the old ball over the top, does he?
RND 5/10: He works hard does Rhys, but I maintain - he's NOT a Centre Back. His shortcomings and tactical nous in effectively defending are made up by liability-wresting and 'mixing it up' which is okay when you are Chris Morgan or Virgil Van Dyk. He defends as a CB like he's playing LWB still and tonight he was bullied to fuck
Lowe 5.5/10: A quiet, practically vanilla game for him. Didn't see him in advanced positions much which told me all I need to know about his game and the fact that tonight he played like a flat-four LB rather than a marauding LWB in a 3-5-2
Berge 5.5/10: Thought he was outplayed and outmuscled most of the game, and vanished for long periods, even more so after taking a seat in the stands
Norwood 7/10: Another improved performance even if error prone at times. Good efforts on goal
McAtee 2/10: Very poor and our weak link in that first half. There were too many periods where he was outran, showed poor control, shite distribution and looking like an academy player blooded too early. Let's not get too bone hard on the hype on this lad, or we'll be back in Woodburn territory. If he is that magical, we need to see it materialise, because tonight, he was pretty dogwazz.
NDaiye 7/10: Again a great, grafting outing where he is the only point to deliver to and goes and gets it at all costs. We got another 15 out of him tonight as well which was good
McBurnie 7/10: Drops a whole mark for me because although we have a new McBurnie in the team now, the old one comes through like a stubborn skidmark. Just wish he'd get on with the game and stop the shithousery (the diving, the wrestling, the arms-up-appealing-to-the-ref because, as we have seen, he lurks in the shallows and can give us that bite we need. Fucking epic goal from him and deserved celebrations. Thank fuck he is off the mark now and hopefully ... there's more to come.

Doyle 6/10: A considerable upgrade on McAteer. Much more endeavour however not a great deal to show for it
Amissah 7/10: Giant of a keeper and looks commanding, taking his first cross with ease and producing a quality stop late on from Jerome
Anel 6/10: Looked a lot more solid with him at the back
Brewster 6/10: Still underfed and reliant on digging out his own chances. Scuffer of a shot late on, one of three for us

As said, a point is a point and all that. But we lack at times that 'gets you out of your seat' capability and spend a lot of time either doggedly defending or simply passing it about like in a practice match. Again, the midfield is guilty of not carrying it up the pitch and doing what MGW used to do with aplomb, namely put them on a the back foot and afraid to tackle. Khadra was (I believed) the answer to this but tonight he wasn't anywhere near the squad. Without that capability and potential on the pitch we will see a lot of games like this one tonight.

pommpey

First

pommpey

If you get anything at Luton it’s a result they raise their game against us physical side intimidating ground lm happy with that point.

 

[Keen Blade]

Red was such a homer? As in homosexual? Can you explain what you mean fella?

Favoured the home team

 

[Sheffsteel]

My observation regards this match was

It really reminded me of an 80's game with hard but technically poor players being more effective than talented players.
The ref hardly blew for anything and it looked like a WWF wrestling match at times.
Then I realise this is the new referee directive to raise the foul threshold and allow more physical play.

Enjoyed the physical contest but its a leveller and encourages teams to buy your Vinny Jones types, with low quality but high physicality.
Used to complain that football has been changed into a non contact sport, players seem to go down far too easily, so a change was needed.

Makes you wonder if the game will change too much back to the agricultural 80's style
and in future you might find anti-football players like Carlton Palmer being sort after again, all because they can run and tackle.

 

[Karaoke Blade]

My observation regards this match was

It really reminded me of an 80's game with hard but technically poor players being more effective than talented players.
The ref hardly blew for anything and it looked like a WWF wrestling match at times.
Then I realise this is the new referee directive to raise the foul threshold and allow more physical play.

Enjoyed the physical contest but its a leveller and encourages teams to buy your Vinny Jones types, with low quality but high physicality.
Used to complain that football has been changed into a non contact sport, players seem to go down far too easily, so a change was needed.

Makes you wonder if the game will change too much back to the agricultural 80's style
and in future you might find anti-football players like Carlton Palmer being sort after again, all because they can run and tackle.

I'd say running and tackling were key skills at any level of football. I still think we need an 'enforcer' in our midfield in order to get the best out of the flair players like Berge, Norwood, McAtee and Kedra.

 

[Alex Cheeseright]

We still haven't, and not sure when we will, seen our best start eleven. A few square pegs in round holes tonight and other nights. It's still early doors and lots of games to go. Last night was a great game to get up and yell at the telly. Missed those games. First time in a while that I jumped out of my seat when McB scored. Ref got a few mouth fulls too. Football is back baby. More games like this for me....with us winning more and being the "bully" and not the " bullied"

 

[Big Hitter]

Some points in no partic. order or importance. Ref was a tosser- obviously never played the game. Carlton Morris did more rattling than a can of marbles- the prat. Ref should have told him to piss off or get booked. ground is a shithole - pitch was 6 inches from the stands, poor old Berge got dumped into 5th row . McB - liked the way he foraged and fought for the ball. No point in him acting like a ballet dancer with that bunch of ruffians. Apprehensive and concerned about our defending against crosses . We were lucky not to concede as Asaba remarked on Radio. Did not see what happened to Wes, we need him back asap. Lowe ineffective- needs work and help from coaches. Berge did not make the impact I was looking for and got caught in possess. once or twice. Baldock and Bashan tried hard. RND a little exposed on that flank. McAtee still learning his craft - silly booking for him. All said - a good point, maybe we should have got all three but they may be saying the same.

 

[Espania blade]

A point is a point and its not three given away. But even the most happier of clappers might concede that although we remain top of the league for tonight at least, one feels that the momentum gained in the game last Saturday was somewhat lost. We'd made some chin-stroking changes - dropping Anel to the bench for Bash, Flecky now joining the long term injured, no Khadra and McAtee coming in to get his first start and one would hope we'd get hold of Luton Town in our teeth and shake the fuckers in the way a terrier shakes a farmyard rat to break its spine and neck and kill it early.

But the first half was unimpressive to be honest. We didn't seem to have a system and were effectively bossed and bullied in areas of the pitch where we should have had more effect. Ex-Blade Luke Freeman, a seemingly past-it benchwarmer/treatment table wage stealer had a decent game and bossed our midfield almost single headedly showing flashes of skill and vision maybe we have lacked for too long. When Luton offered him a home when we released him I thought, 'good luck with that fucker'. Now he's in some sort of resurgence and found buckets of time to thread balls, make runs and put Sander Berge in the front row seats (fairly as well) and run off with the ball. Our midfield three could cope with him or his fellow midfielders.

Their goal was one bit avoidable but three bits bad marking. The replay shows Morris plonked firmly between Norwood and Basham and completely unchallenged, which if you are defending a cross from the zone is unforgivable. TO be able to leap and touch the ball like that and steer it into the net is a lesson of touch-tight-marking. I doubt Anel would have let him get away with that. Again, we are weak at defending the cross and again, we pay for it. It's notable - when opposition teams cross the ball into our six yard box there always seems to be a player or two who has bags of time to attack the ball and get it toward our goal yet when we cross it, the opposition penalty area is congested and packed and they (usually) deal with our ball easily.

Our midfield again today was the outcome of the result. In the first half, Berge couldn't find effective ways forward and didn't like being pressed and robbed and McAtee looked well over his head in a man's game. Norwood didn't do too badly but he again was sometimes profligate so without those options and settled pattern of play, our impetus was on McBurnie and NDaiye who at times looked on a hiding to nothing despite a lot of effort. McBurnie's goal was deserved and very, very welcome, but the post-equaliser ten minutes were not capitalised upon and we did spend a lot of time tentatively defending Luton's breaks whilst offering nothing much in return.

Foderingham 6/10: Decent game with a good, if pointless, save. Hope he recovers quickly.
Baldock 7/10: Enjoyed his performance and unlucky to be booked. I would like him to cut in diagonally at times and head toward goal, Bogle-style. Some decent defensive interventions
Basham 6/10: Sometimes a shaky return and other times consummate and composed with some decent defensive headers. Should have been a lot tighter marking for their goal, however
Egan 6.5/10: Once again marshalled the defence well when needed and put in his usual dogged spirit but he doesn't like the old ball over the top, does he?
RND 5/10: He works hard does Rhys, but I maintain - he's NOT a Centre Back. His shortcomings and tactical nous in effectively defending are made up by liability-wresting and 'mixing it up' which is okay when you are Chris Morgan or Virgil Van Dyk. He defends as a CB like he's playing LWB still and tonight he was bullied to fuck
Lowe 5.5/10: A quiet, practically vanilla game for him. Didn't see him in advanced positions much which told me all I need to know about his game and the fact that tonight he played like a flat-four LB rather than a marauding LWB in a 3-5-2
Berge 5.5/10: Thought he was outplayed and outmuscled most of the game, and vanished for long periods, even more so after taking a seat in the stands
Norwood 7/10: Another improved performance even if error prone at times. Good efforts on goal
McAtee 2/10: Very poor and our weak link in that first half. There were too many periods where he was outran, showed poor control, shite distribution and looking like an academy player blooded too early. Let's not get too bone hard on the hype on this lad, or we'll be back in Woodburn territory. If he is that magical, we need to see it materialise, because tonight, he was pretty dogwazz.
NDaiye 7/10: Again a great, grafting outing where he is the only point to deliver to and goes and gets it at all costs. We got another 15 out of him tonight as well which was good
McBurnie 7/10: Drops a whole mark for me because although we have a new McBurnie in the team now, the old one comes through like a stubborn skidmark. Just wish he'd get on with the game and stop the shithousery (the diving, the wrestling, the arms-up-appealing-to-the-ref because, as we have seen, he lurks in the shallows and can give us that bite we need. Fucking epic goal from him and deserved celebrations. Thank fuck he is off the mark now and hopefully ... there's more to come.

Doyle 6/10: A considerable upgrade on McAteer. Much more endeavour however not a great deal to show for it
Amissah 7/10: Giant of a keeper and looks commanding, taking his first cross with ease and producing a quality stop late on from Jerome
Anel 6/10: Looked a lot more solid with him at the back
Brewster 6/10: Still underfed and reliant on digging out his own chances. Scuffer of a shot late on, one of three for us

As said, a point is a point and all that. But we lack at times that 'gets you out of your seat' capability and spend a lot of time either doggedly defending or simply passing it about like in a practice match. Again, the midfield is guilty of not carrying it up the pitch and doing what MGW used to do with aplomb, namely put them on a the back foot and afraid to tackle. Khadra was (I believed) the answer to this but tonight he wasn't anywhere near the squad. Without that capability and potential on the pitch we will see a lot of games like this one tonight.

pommpey

First

pommpey

A point is a point and we won't be playing a rugby team every week.

 

[Bell4]

I'd say running and tackling were key skills at any level of football. I still think we need an 'enforcer' in our midfield in order to get the best out of the flair players like Berge, Norwood, McAtee and Kedra.

Spot on

 

[dn5 shaun]

No

I'm normally quite negative but I'm happy with that point. It was a fight from start to finish and most teams would have struggled for a point in a game that could have been mistaken for a local derby. Don't agree with the mcburnie comment either, it's hard to not get involved in a wrestling match when that's what their players were doing from minute one. He can't control getting fouled and it's not his fault refs refuse to clamp down on it.

It's rare a team can create a good football performance like we did against Blackburn and still stand up to the pure fight at a place like Luton. Still a work in progress but I'm positive after tonight.

Not a mcb fan but the last 2 weeks he's impressed alot, why he never gets any protection from refs is beyond me. As soon as he starts giving what he's received the ref starts playing a tune with his whistle.

 

[bakeblade]

A point is a point and its not three given away. But even the most happier of clappers might concede that although we remain top of the league for tonight at least, one feels that the momentum gained in the game last Saturday was somewhat lost. We'd made some chin-stroking changes - dropping Anel to the bench for Bash, Flecky now joining the long term injured, no Khadra and McAtee coming in to get his first start and one would hope we'd get hold of Luton Town in our teeth and shake the fuckers in the way a terrier shakes a farmyard rat to break its spine and neck and kill it early.

But the first half was unimpressive to be honest. We didn't seem to have a system and were effectively bossed and bullied in areas of the pitch where we should have had more effect. Ex-Blade Luke Freeman, a seemingly past-it benchwarmer/treatment table wage stealer had a decent game and bossed our midfield almost single headedly showing flashes of skill and vision maybe we have lacked for too long. When Luton offered him a home when we released him I thought, 'good luck with that fucker'. Now he's in some sort of resurgence and found buckets of time to thread balls, make runs and put Sander Berge in the front row seats (fairly as well) and run off with the ball. Our midfield three could cope with him or his fellow midfielders.

Their goal was one bit avoidable but three bits bad marking. The replay shows Morris plonked firmly between Norwood and Basham and completely unchallenged, which if you are defending a cross from the zone is unforgivable. TO be able to leap and touch the ball like that and steer it into the net is a lesson of touch-tight-marking. I doubt Anel would have let him get away with that. Again, we are weak at defending the cross and again, we pay for it. It's notable - when opposition teams cross the ball into our six yard box there always seems to be a player or two who has bags of time to attack the ball and get it toward our goal yet when we cross it, the opposition penalty area is congested and packed and they (usually) deal with our ball easily.

Our midfield again today was the outcome of the result. In the first half, Berge couldn't find effective ways forward and didn't like being pressed and robbed and McAtee looked well over his head in a man's game. Norwood didn't do too badly but he again was sometimes profligate so without those options and settled pattern of play, our impetus was on McBurnie and NDaiye who at times looked on a hiding to nothing despite a lot of effort. McBurnie's goal was deserved and very, very welcome, but the post-equaliser ten minutes were not capitalised upon and we did spend a lot of time tentatively defending Luton's breaks whilst offering nothing much in return.

Foderingham 6/10: Decent game with a good, if pointless, save. Hope he recovers quickly.
Baldock 7/10: Enjoyed his performance and unlucky to be booked. I would like him to cut in diagonally at times and head toward goal, Bogle-style. Some decent defensive interventions
Basham 6/10: Sometimes a shaky return and other times consummate and composed with some decent defensive headers. Should have been a lot tighter marking for their goal, however
Egan 6.5/10: Once again marshalled the defence well when needed and put in his usual dogged spirit but he doesn't like the old ball over the top, does he?
RND 5/10: He works hard does Rhys, but I maintain - he's NOT a Centre Back. His shortcomings and tactical nous in effectively defending are made up by liability-wresting and 'mixing it up' which is okay when you are Chris Morgan or Virgil Van Dyk. He defends as a CB like he's playing LWB still and tonight he was bullied to fuck
Lowe 5.5/10: A quiet, practically vanilla game for him. Didn't see him in advanced positions much which told me all I need to know about his game and the fact that tonight he played like a flat-four LB rather than a marauding LWB in a 3-5-2
Berge 5.5/10: Thought he was outplayed and outmuscled most of the game, and vanished for long periods, even more so after taking a seat in the stands
Norwood 7/10: Another improved performance even if error prone at times. Good efforts on goal
McAtee 2/10: Very poor and our weak link in that first half. There were too many periods where he was outran, showed poor control, shite distribution and looking like an academy player blooded too early. Let's not get too bone hard on the hype on this lad, or we'll be back in Woodburn territory. If he is that magical, we need to see it materialise, because tonight, he was pretty dogwazz.
NDaiye 7/10: Again a great, grafting outing where he is the only point to deliver to and goes and gets it at all costs. We got another 15 out of him tonight as well which was good
McBurnie 7/10: Drops a whole mark for me because although we have a new McBurnie in the team now, the old one comes through like a stubborn skidmark. Just wish he'd get on with the game and stop the shithousery (the diving, the wrestling, the arms-up-appealing-to-the-ref because, as we have seen, he lurks in the shallows and can give us that bite we need. Fucking epic goal from him and deserved celebrations. Thank fuck he is off the mark now and hopefully ... there's more to come.

Doyle 6/10: A considerable upgrade on McAteer. Much more endeavour however not a great deal to show for it
Amissah 7/10: Giant of a keeper and looks commanding, taking his first cross with ease and producing a quality stop late on from Jerome
Anel 6/10: Looked a lot more solid with him at the back
Brewster 6/10: Still underfed and reliant on digging out his own chances. Scuffer of a shot late on, one of three for us

As said, a point is a point and all that. But we lack at times that 'gets you out of your seat' capability and spend a lot of time either doggedly defending or simply passing it about like in a practice match. Again, the midfield is guilty of not carrying it up the pitch and doing what MGW used to do with aplomb, namely put them on a the back foot and afraid to tackle. Khadra was (I believed) the answer to this but tonight he wasn't anywhere near the squad. Without that capability and potential on the pitch we will see a lot of games like this one tonight.

pommpey

First

pommpey

Bit brief, couldn't you make it more War and Peacey

 

[Rochdaleblade]

Bit harsh on RND for me. I thought he did OK defensively and put in some fantastic crosses (which nobody attacked).

 

[bakeblade]

Didn't see your mark for Hecky ?
Poor decision to select McAtee ahead of Doyle , versus thugs.
Poor decision to play Berge deep in first half - can't he see how this creates a gap between our mf & strikers ?
But I suppose he daren't risk McAtee as a defensive mf (body of a boy).
Even more reason to choose Doyle in these circs.
Poor not to hook McAtee immediately after crazy self-inflicted booking.
I still think he sets up too negatively away from home.
In 2nd half it was better with Doyle on but Berge didn't seize the initiative.

Hecky needs to get recruiting some assertive , muscular type as cover for defence/mf in these sorts of away games coz if we lose Doyle , we're gonna get physically bossed around.

Too true, he should have hooked McAtee first half and sod the fallout. He needs to more ruthless.
In the end we were very lucky McAtee didn't get a second yellow.

 

[DorsetSUFC]

A fair accurate report pommpey - can't disagree with it - thank you.

Thought Mcburnie worked is ass off and do agree he should cut out some of his unnecessary shit housing - truly hope he has turned the corner and starts banging them in. I thought the ref was a bit tight booking him for his goal celebration given how long he has waited to score.

Regarding Luton - they played and competed exactly like Nathan Jones did in his Yeovil playing days, he was always first out warming up and always gave 100% and in the opposition faces - never had him down as a whinger though. I think Luton will surprise a few teams this season, happy with a point and that away fixture is out of the way! Onwards and upwards........

 

[Freddie]

A point is a point and its not three given away. But even the most happier of clappers might concede that although we remain top of the league for tonight at least, one feels that the momentum gained in the game last Saturday was somewhat lost. We'd made some chin-stroking changes - dropping Anel to the bench for Bash, Flecky now joining the long term injured, no Khadra and McAtee coming in to get his first start and one would hope we'd get hold of Luton Town in our teeth and shake the fuckers in the way a terrier shakes a farmyard rat to break its spine and neck and kill it early.

But the first half was unimpressive to be honest. We didn't seem to have a system and were effectively bossed and bullied in areas of the pitch where we should have had more effect. Ex-Blade Luke Freeman, a seemingly past-it benchwarmer/treatment table wage stealer had a decent game and bossed our midfield almost single headedly showing flashes of skill and vision maybe we have lacked for too long. When Luton offered him a home when we released him I thought, 'good luck with that fucker'. Now he's in some sort of resurgence and found buckets of time to thread balls, make runs and put Sander Berge in the front row seats (fairly as well) and run off with the ball. Our midfield three could cope with him or his fellow midfielders.

Their goal was one bit avoidable but three bits bad marking. The replay shows Morris plonked firmly between Norwood and Basham and completely unchallenged, which if you are defending a cross from the zone is unforgivable. TO be able to leap and touch the ball like that and steer it into the net is a lesson of touch-tight-marking. I doubt Anel would have let him get away with that. Again, we are weak at defending the cross and again, we pay for it. It's notable - when opposition teams cross the ball into our six yard box there always seems to be a player or two who has bags of time to attack the ball and get it toward our goal yet when we cross it, the opposition penalty area is congested and packed and they (usually) deal with our ball easily.

Our midfield again today was the outcome of the result. In the first half, Berge couldn't find effective ways forward and didn't like being pressed and robbed and McAtee looked well over his head in a man's game. Norwood didn't do too badly but he again was sometimes profligate so without those options and settled pattern of play, our impetus was on McBurnie and NDaiye who at times looked on a hiding to nothing despite a lot of effort. McBurnie's goal was deserved and very, very welcome, but the post-equaliser ten minutes were not capitalised upon and we did spend a lot of time tentatively defending Luton's breaks whilst offering nothing much in return.

Foderingham 6/10: Decent game with a good, if pointless, save. Hope he recovers quickly.
Baldock 7/10: Enjoyed his performance and unlucky to be booked. I would like him to cut in diagonally at times and head toward goal, Bogle-style. Some decent defensive interventions
Basham 6/10: Sometimes a shaky return and other times consummate and composed with some decent defensive headers. Should have been a lot tighter marking for their goal, however
Egan 6.5/10: Once again marshalled the defence well when needed and put in his usual dogged spirit but he doesn't like the old ball over the top, does he?
RND 5/10: He works hard does Rhys, but I maintain - he's NOT a Centre Back. His shortcomings and tactical nous in effectively defending are made up by liability-wresting and 'mixing it up' which is okay when you are Chris Morgan or Virgil Van Dyk. He defends as a CB like he's playing LWB still and tonight he was bullied to fuck
Lowe 5.5/10: A quiet, practically vanilla game for him. Didn't see him in advanced positions much which told me all I need to know about his game and the fact that tonight he played like a flat-four LB rather than a marauding LWB in a 3-5-2
Berge 5.5/10: Thought he was outplayed and outmuscled most of the game, and vanished for long periods, even more so after taking a seat in the stands
Norwood 7/10: Another improved performance even if error prone at times. Good efforts on goal
McAtee 2/10: Very poor and our weak link in that first half. There were too many periods where he was outran, showed poor control, shite distribution and looking like an academy player blooded too early. Let's not get too bone hard on the hype on this lad, or we'll be back in Woodburn territory. If he is that magical, we need to see it materialise, because tonight, he was pretty dogwazz.
NDaiye 7/10: Again a great, grafting outing where he is the only point to deliver to and goes and gets it at all costs. We got another 15 out of him tonight as well which was good
McBurnie 7/10: Drops a whole mark for me because although we have a new McBurnie in the team now, the old one comes through like a stubborn skidmark. Just wish he'd get on with the game and stop the shithousery (the diving, the wrestling, the arms-up-appealing-to-the-ref because, as we have seen, he lurks in the shallows and can give us that bite we need. Fucking epic goal from him and deserved celebrations. Thank fuck he is off the mark now and hopefully ... there's more to come.

Doyle 6/10: A considerable upgrade on McAteer. Much more endeavour however not a great deal to show for it
Amissah 7/10: Giant of a keeper and looks commanding, taking his first cross with ease and producing a quality stop late on from Jerome
Anel 6/10: Looked a lot more solid with him at the back
Brewster 6/10: Still underfed and reliant on digging out his own chances. Scuffer of a shot late on, one of three for us

As said, a point is a point and all that. But we lack at times that 'gets you out of your seat' capability and spend a lot of time either doggedly defending or simply passing it about like in a practice match. Again, the midfield is guilty of not carrying it up the pitch and doing what MGW used to do with aplomb, namely put them on a the back foot and afraid to tackle. Khadra was (I believed) the answer to this but tonight he wasn't anywhere near the squad. Without that capability and potential on the pitch we will see a lot of games like this one tonight.

pommpey

First

pommpey

Great report. Well done POmpaiye.

 

[El Volví]

A point is a point and we won't be playing a rugby team every week.

Hmmmm not so sure about that.
I think we'll come up against quite a few physical teams this season plus we've still got to play them again at BL?

 

[RammyBlade]

A point is a point and its not three given away. But even the most happier of clappers might concede that although we remain top of the league for tonight at least, one feels that the momentum gained in the game last Saturday was somewhat lost. We'd made some chin-stroking changes - dropping Anel to the bench for Bash, Flecky now joining the long term injured, no Khadra and McAtee coming in to get his first start and one would hope we'd get hold of Luton Town in our teeth and shake the fuckers in the way a terrier shakes a farmyard rat to break its spine and neck and kill it early.

But the first half was unimpressive to be honest. We didn't seem to have a system and were effectively bossed and bullied in areas of the pitch where we should have had more effect. Ex-Blade Luke Freeman, a seemingly past-it benchwarmer/treatment table wage stealer had a decent game and bossed our midfield almost single headedly showing flashes of skill and vision maybe we have lacked for too long. When Luton offered him a home when we released him I thought, 'good luck with that fucker'. Now he's in some sort of resurgence and found buckets of time to thread balls, make runs and put Sander Berge in the front row seats (fairly as well) and run off with the ball. Our midfield three could cope with him or his fellow midfielders.

Their goal was one bit avoidable but three bits bad marking. The replay shows Morris plonked firmly between Norwood and Basham and completely unchallenged, which if you are defending a cross from the zone is unforgivable. TO be able to leap and touch the ball like that and steer it into the net is a lesson of touch-tight-marking. I doubt Anel would have let him get away with that. Again, we are weak at defending the cross and again, we pay for it. It's notable - when opposition teams cross the ball into our six yard box there always seems to be a player or two who has bags of time to attack the ball and get it toward our goal yet when we cross it, the opposition penalty area is congested and packed and they (usually) deal with our ball easily.

Our midfield again today was the outcome of the result. In the first half, Berge couldn't find effective ways forward and didn't like being pressed and robbed and McAtee looked well over his head in a man's game. Norwood didn't do too badly but he again was sometimes profligate so without those options and settled pattern of play, our impetus was on McBurnie and NDaiye who at times looked on a hiding to nothing despite a lot of effort. McBurnie's goal was deserved and very, very welcome, but the post-equaliser ten minutes were not capitalised upon and we did spend a lot of time tentatively defending Luton's breaks whilst offering nothing much in return.

Foderingham 6/10: Decent game with a good, if pointless, save. Hope he recovers quickly.
Baldock 7/10: Enjoyed his performance and unlucky to be booked. I would like him to cut in diagonally at times and head toward goal, Bogle-style. Some decent defensive interventions
Basham 6/10: Sometimes a shaky return and other times consummate and composed with some decent defensive headers. Should have been a lot tighter marking for their goal, however
Egan 6.5/10: Once again marshalled the defence well when needed and put in his usual dogged spirit but he doesn't like the old ball over the top, does he?
RND 5/10: He works hard does Rhys, but I maintain - he's NOT a Centre Back. His shortcomings and tactical nous in effectively defending are made up by liability-wresting and 'mixing it up' which is okay when you are Chris Morgan or Virgil Van Dyk. He defends as a CB like he's playing LWB still and tonight he was bullied to fuck
Lowe 5.5/10: A quiet, practically vanilla game for him. Didn't see him in advanced positions much which told me all I need to know about his game and the fact that tonight he played like a flat-four LB rather than a marauding LWB in a 3-5-2
Berge 5.5/10: Thought he was outplayed and outmuscled most of the game, and vanished for long periods, even more so after taking a seat in the stands
Norwood 7/10: Another improved performance even if error prone at times. Good efforts on goal
McAtee 2/10: Very poor and our weak link in that first half. There were too many periods where he was outran, showed poor control, shite distribution and looking like an academy player blooded too early. Let's not get too bone hard on the hype on this lad, or we'll be back in Woodburn territory. If he is that magical, we need to see it materialise, because tonight, he was pretty dogwazz.
NDaiye 7/10: Again a great, grafting outing where he is the only point to deliver to and goes and gets it at all costs. We got another 15 out of him tonight as well which was good
McBurnie 7/10: Drops a whole mark for me because although we have a new McBurnie in the team now, the old one comes through like a stubborn skidmark. Just wish he'd get on with the game and stop the shithousery (the diving, the wrestling, the arms-up-appealing-to-the-ref because, as we have seen, he lurks in the shallows and can give us that bite we need. Fucking epic goal from him and deserved celebrations. Thank fuck he is off the mark now and hopefully ... there's more to come.

Doyle 6/10: A considerable upgrade on McAteer. Much more endeavour however not a great deal to show for it
Amissah 7/10: Giant of a keeper and looks commanding, taking his first cross with ease and producing a quality stop late on from Jerome
Anel 6/10: Looked a lot more solid with him at the back
Brewster 6/10: Still underfed and reliant on digging out his own chances. Scuffer of a shot late on, one of three for us

As said, a point is a point and all that. But we lack at times that 'gets you out of your seat' capability and spend a lot of time either doggedly defending or simply passing it about like in a practice match. Again, the midfield is guilty of not carrying it up the pitch and doing what MGW used to do with aplomb, namely put them on a the back foot and afraid to tackle. Khadra was (I believed) the answer to this but tonight he wasn't anywhere near the squad. Without that capability and potential on the pitch we will see a lot of games like this one tonight.

pommpey

First

pommpey

Agree with all that and especially with RND at Centre back - as you say he lacks the nounce to play CB but also is a bit short especially when we are playing a couple of giants up front like the Luton front 2 !

 

[Snowflake]

He's picked the wrong team and for me th most worrying thing is that this is the 2nd game already when he's played Berge deeper and it hasn't worked. Doyle to start the next match alongside Norwood.

McAtee was also at fault for the goal, he doesn't shut down the crosser of the ball , who has forever to pick his pass.

TBF we got Luton when they were right at it, so an away point isn't the end of the world

It is easy to say he picked the wrong team after the game. Had Macatee played well we would all be praising his team selection

 

[Snowflake]

A point is a point and its not three given away. But even the most happier of clappers might concede that although we remain top of the league for tonight at least, one feels that the momentum gained in the game last Saturday was somewhat lost. We'd made some chin-stroking changes - dropping Anel to the bench for Bash, Flecky now joining the long term injured, no Khadra and McAtee coming in to get his first start and one would hope we'd get hold of Luton Town in our teeth and shake the fuckers in the way a terrier shakes a farmyard rat to break its spine and neck and kill it early.

But the first half was unimpressive to be honest. We didn't seem to have a system and were effectively bossed and bullied in areas of the pitch where we should have had more effect. Ex-Blade Luke Freeman, a seemingly past-it benchwarmer/treatment table wage stealer had a decent game and bossed our midfield almost single headedly showing flashes of skill and vision maybe we have lacked for too long. When Luton offered him a home when we released him I thought, 'good luck with that fucker'. Now he's in some sort of resurgence and found buckets of time to thread balls, make runs and put Sander Berge in the front row seats (fairly as well) and run off with the ball. Our midfield three could cope with him or his fellow midfielders.

Their goal was one bit avoidable but three bits bad marking. The replay shows Morris plonked firmly between Norwood and Basham and completely unchallenged, which if you are defending a cross from the zone is unforgivable. TO be able to leap and touch the ball like that and steer it into the net is a lesson of touch-tight-marking. I doubt Anel would have let him get away with that. Again, we are weak at defending the cross and again, we pay for it. It's notable - when opposition teams cross the ball into our six yard box there always seems to be a player or two who has bags of time to attack the ball and get it toward our goal yet when we cross it, the opposition penalty area is congested and packed and they (usually) deal with our ball easily.

Our midfield again today was the outcome of the result. In the first half, Berge couldn't find effective ways forward and didn't like being pressed and robbed and McAtee looked well over his head in a man's game. Norwood didn't do too badly but he again was sometimes profligate so without those options and settled pattern of play, our impetus was on McBurnie and NDaiye who at times looked on a hiding to nothing despite a lot of effort. McBurnie's goal was deserved and very, very welcome, but the post-equaliser ten minutes were not capitalised upon and we did spend a lot of time tentatively defending Luton's breaks whilst offering nothing much in return.

Foderingham 6/10: Decent game with a good, if pointless, save. Hope he recovers quickly.
Baldock 7/10: Enjoyed his performance and unlucky to be booked. I would like him to cut in diagonally at times and head toward goal, Bogle-style. Some decent defensive interventions
Basham 6/10: Sometimes a shaky return and other times consummate and composed with some decent defensive headers. Should have been a lot tighter marking for their goal, however
Egan 6.5/10: Once again marshalled the defence well when needed and put in his usual dogged spirit but he doesn't like the old ball over the top, does he?
RND 5/10: He works hard does Rhys, but I maintain - he's NOT a Centre Back. His shortcomings and tactical nous in effectively defending are made up by liability-wresting and 'mixing it up' which is okay when you are Chris Morgan or Virgil Van Dyk. He defends as a CB like he's playing LWB still and tonight he was bullied to fuck
Lowe 5.5/10: A quiet, practically vanilla game for him. Didn't see him in advanced positions much which told me all I need to know about his game and the fact that tonight he played like a flat-four LB rather than a marauding LWB in a 3-5-2
Berge 5.5/10: Thought he was outplayed and outmuscled most of the game, and vanished for long periods, even more so after taking a seat in the stands
Norwood 7/10: Another improved performance even if error prone at times. Good efforts on goal
McAtee 2/10: Very poor and our weak link in that first half. There were too many periods where he was outran, showed poor control, shite distribution and looking like an academy player blooded too early. Let's not get too bone hard on the hype on this lad, or we'll be back in Woodburn territory. If he is that magical, we need to see it materialise, because tonight, he was pretty dogwazz.
NDaiye 7/10: Again a great, grafting outing where he is the only point to deliver to and goes and gets it at all costs. We got another 15 out of him tonight as well which was good
McBurnie 7/10: Drops a whole mark for me because although we have a new McBurnie in the team now, the old one comes through like a stubborn skidmark. Just wish he'd get on with the game and stop the shithousery (the diving, the wrestling, the arms-up-appealing-to-the-ref because, as we have seen, he lurks in the shallows and can give us that bite we need. Fucking epic goal from him and deserved celebrations. Thank fuck he is off the mark now and hopefully ... there's more to come.

Doyle 6/10: A considerable upgrade on McAteer. Much more endeavour however not a great deal to show for it
Amissah 7/10: Giant of a keeper and looks commanding, taking his first cross with ease and producing a quality stop late on from Jerome
Anel 6/10: Looked a lot more solid with him at the back
Brewster 6/10: Still underfed and reliant on digging out his own chances. Scuffer of a shot late on, one of three for us

As said, a point is a point and all that. But we lack at times that 'gets you out of your seat' capability and spend a lot of time either doggedly defending or simply passing it about like in a practice match. Again, the midfield is guilty of not carrying it up the pitch and doing what MGW used to do with aplomb, namely put them on a the back foot and afraid to tackle. Khadra was (I believed) the answer to this but tonight he wasn't anywhere near the squad. Without that capability and potential on the pitch we will see a lot of games like this one tonight.

pommpey

First

pommpey

Spot on, although the idea of Baldock cutting inside is scary. What does he then do ? Shoot with his left foot ?

 

[blade67]

It is easy to say he picked the wrong team after the game. Had Macatee played well we would all be praising his team selection

It's true that it's easy to be a monday morning quarterback as th yanks say but, playing Sander deeper (to accomodate McAtee or even Khadra) affects us IMO and thereofore I'd called this out as did others I know prior to the game. It worked against Sunderland only in that McAtee knicked the ball off their player and got him sent off in the process. We looked 2nd best until that moment. On Friday it didn't work at all and we were better when Doyle came on and Sander played 20 yards further forward.

IMO, Sander shouldn't play anywhere other than in that forward, right side role, unless we are in some sort of crisis. If he gets loads of minutes now, in the deeper role and plays really well I'll be happy to hold my hands up.

 

[dublin 10 blade]

Can’t disagree with most of that Pomp’s ,
An early last season United might have been bullied into a loss
These last season along with Swansea & Dull were probably they worst teams to visit the Lane
Macker won’t have the time & space at tight grounds , with kickers ( Millwall )
Doyle was an immediate upgrade after halftime and needs to start in the Fleck role ( I did say that in a previous post )
Thought Bash was just rusty , hopefully and not a real decline in his ability
We have thankfully a ready made replacement for him & most of the back line just need Clark /Robinson fit then that’ll take RND out from where he’s playing now and into his more familiar position
I thought we’d push on after we scored because when we did pass and move we did show them how to play ball
Hopefully Mcburnie, who should have scored against Blackburn and could have scored v Sunderland, has his sights set on goal
Doyle and Norwood to start with berge in front of em
On Tuesday