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Match day thread: Carlisle

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  • Did you have a late night @BSE? ;)

  • @drcongo indeed, unfortunately working again rather than drinking :(

  • It's a tough one. Another brave defeat. Stats are really against Ainsworth for 2016. I wonder if any other recent Blues manager has survived such a poor prolonged series?
    When / if the Calvary arrive it could be way too late

  • I guess it's the problem with having no money, simply having to hang on and hope things get better under the incumbent - Waddock was given 9 months too long until things got so bad his position was untenable. I'd still prefer Ainsworth to be able to turn things around but with every passing game* it looks less and less likely.

    (* - if only we did play a passing game...)

  • 2 League wins from 17 games under Ainsworth is shocking,lose on Tuesday he should do the decent thing and walk away but he won't as he knows Howard won't sack him so his job is safe.

  • Tuesday will be tough, a win on Saturday is a more realistic hope

  • I think that season 2 years ago gave us unrealistic expectations about avoiding injuries. We were pretty blessed that year, bar a 3monther to Jombati, and a few other minor bits and pieces.
    But this season has been incredible so far, and I still think it's way too harsh to think about the sack for a guy who has had key players out.
    If we had everyone fit and were bottom 4 it'd be different.

  • To be fair Malone , now we have PCH back can you see the other two thirds of the cavalry making that much of a difference ? we have a good loan keeper so unlikely to me much improvement there . This really leaves Onien and Weston as the other two thirds. Bean is not a silver bullet so we are only now down two players with the potential to turn this around . Also this is really feeling like a continuation of the way last season ended .

  • Goalkeeper Jamal Blackman played well today as did the back four in which Stewart, & particularly Pierre were very good. The only negative was a booking for Sido Jombati for dissent after 10 minutes.

    The problem today is the same virtually every week - we don't seem to have a coherent plan when attacking in the opponents half. True, we hit the post twice but apart from that our attacking moves were really pedestrian - allowing defenders to get back and cover. Consequently the Carlisle keeper didn't have a lot to do.

    Interesting chatting to one of the Carlisle players on the way back on the train to London.

  • @James , Paris hasn't even started a game yet, so I wouldn't class him as back just yet.
    And yes, i'd, say him, Weston, O Nien and JJ back, those 4 would make a huge difference to us.
    The keeper scenario matters not a jot, as he's probably a fair bit better than our injured chap anyway.

  • @A_Worboys , we're fairly blessed at getting players in location wise. Imagine being Carlisle, and having to give license to players to make 300mile treks every week!

  • Paris (despite a couple of wildly over hit balls) looked very good once he came on, and if we can get him fit and starting most games it would be a big plus. The defence was excellent today, but we lacked much in midfield or up front. Wood is not a central midfielder. Gape looks a very competent presence, but we are missing O'Nien badly.

  • It does seem that some of Gareth's problem are self inflicted. Last week we saw a bit of progress, it wasn't brilliant but the shape was good and we benefitted from having the majority of players playing their favoured positions in a straight 4-4-2.

    Yet today by the sounds of things we went back to the 4-3-3/4-1-4-1/4-1-2-3 (call it what you like!!) from the off.

    In fairness it sounds like we deserved at least a point but, nonetheless, why not just leave things as they were so that the team can start to build some kind of playing pattern given it actually worked last time out.

    I'm puzzled.

  • I can see the injured players making a big difference when (if) they return.

    Jacobson is an upgrade on Harriman at left back.
    Harriman is an upgrade on Thompson at right midfield.
    Weston should be an upgrade on Wood at left midfield.
    O'Nien is an upgrade on Bloomfield in the middle.
    PCH is an upgrade whichever position he plays in.

    So that's 4, possibly 5, upgrades out of 10 outfield positions - almost half the team. Not just potentially better players but also with more pace and dynamism. I'd say there's every chance of them being able to help 'turn this around'.

    The issue is that it could be a long time before they are all available, this assumes there are no other injuries, and that GA is willing and able to let them play the way they need to to maximise their attacking potential. None of those things are guaranteed...

  • @A_Worboys said:

    >
    True, we hit the post twice but apart from that our attacking moves were really pedestrian - allowing defenders to get back and cover. Consequently the Carlisle keeper didn't have a lot to do.

    Hitting post twice stone wall penalty...not that bad tally for an away game.

  • @Fidget said:
    I can see the injured players making a big difference when (if) they return.

    Jacobson is an upgrade on Harriman at left back.
    Harriman is an upgrade on Thompson at right midfield.
    Weston should be an upgrade on Wood at left midfield.
    O'Nien is an upgrade on Bloomfield in the middle.
    PCH is an upgrade whichever position he plays in.

    So that's 4, possibly 5, upgrades out of 10 outfield positions - almost half the team. Not just potentially better players but also with more pace and dynamism. I'd say there's every chance of them being able to help 'turn this around'.

  • Spot on @Fidget. But, if the return of those players did not lead to a turn-around, the writing would surely be on the wall. I wasn't at the game today but, listening to the commentary and remembering the green shoots against Stevenage, I feel more optimistic than I have for some time. But what a bummer yet another player getting injured in training. And I supposed we shouldn't be surprised, in view of recent history, if Dayle Southwell is out for 6-8 weeks! Just when he was starting to fire on all cylinders. Jinxed or what?

  • I suppose we shouldn't be surprised...,,,,

  • Long trip home but after time for reflection we were not terrible today by any stretch and played some nice positive ball pushing forward.

  • A new manager doesn't mean a sudden improvement surely? He will have no more money available and paying off the present one means even less in the kitty.

  • @wingnut said:
    A new manager doesn't mean a sudden improvement surely? He will have no more money available and paying off the present one means even less in the kitty.

    Exactly. And the green shoots have definitely been there in the last two games and, all too briefly, against Portsmouth.

  • No, that's right, the appointment of a new manager has never seen a sudden improvement in performances and results. That's why you hardly ever see managers getting the sack these days.

  • Or relegated teams having sacked their manager during the season.

  • The questions that needs answering are

    1) Is the current manager good enough? If not, then
    2) Can we get anyone else in who will improve performances enough to warrant paying off the current manager? If yes
    3) Will the losses of bringing in the new manager, any of their preferred back-room staff, moving on subsequently unwanted players and bringing in new ones they want outweigh the cost in the eventuality of then getting relegated without making the change?

    If yes to 3, then the board has to act decisively. I personally don't think we're at that stage yet, though I'd be interested to see who other people think we would genuinely be able to bring in and who would improve the situation considering our current squad and the resources available.

  • With regards to the game, it wasn't the most exciting game I'll ever travel 300 miles to see, though there are some signs of improvement. We were maybe unlucky to have not had one of the efforts that hit the post end up in the net, though I don't think we can complain too much about the result. Carlisle were bang average, but still better than us at the moment.
    The main failings were far too little movement up front and a midfield that was bypassed far too easily in the second half. Marcus Bean is far from the most fashionable player, though I felt we could have done with him at this destructive best in midfield.

    Has anyone seen a replay of the Gape incident? I was almost 100 yards directly behind it so didn't have a great view, the angles of the defender's run certainly looked like he had been beaten for pace by Gape and had run into Gape's legs, unfortunately I haven't been able to see a replay of the incident. Maybe recent dives by our players may have earned us a reputation amongst refs already.
    Also, their number 4 should have been sent off for two yellows in the space of barely 5 mins. The ref gave him a 'look, I don't want to send you off but the assessor's in the stand' lecture but ultimately bottled making the correct decision.

  • The trouble with that is you just don't know the answer to question 2. You can make a considered judgment but it's still a gamble

    You've just got to make the call and hope to goodness you got it right. Personally I'd like to see Gaz get enough time to get his full strength side out on the pitch. Plus, I really like the bloke, and I reckon that buys you time. If he was Alan Smith we'd have been calling for him to go months ago

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