Harsh on Hanlan I think when he's fit, but he has been out a fair while now, so has it all to do to get back in, especially as Mehmeti has now made that left sided forward position his own. Makes a tasty sub though.
Wing in his initial form when joining would threaten Gape too in certain games. But then Thompson could threaten it too.
Even greater pity that his petulance effectively cost us his services for four matches (inc Fleetwood) at a time when we have a raft of injuries - particularly to attacking players.
Exactly. GMac wouldn't have acceptingly walked off if the defender had 'done a job' on him. I reckon he just put his hands in his face / leaned in with his head - not enough to cause a big commotion but a mandatory red card.
GMac's hand was up - that, you could see from the stand. Hard for most people to know exactly what or where any contact was, as the ball was in Max's hands, so it's a peripheral vision thing. Where we were sitting, you had to look through the tussling players to see Max, so it depends what anyone at the time was specifically focusing on. Most were focusing on Max, naturally, as he had the ball. I think where Righty is coming from, is that in the first few minutes there was a lot of niggle between Baker and GMac as they tussled for position, on and off the ball. Baker did seem to be trying to unsettle GMac by staying ultra-tight to him. I think Garath knew he had been unprofessional with his reaction. It wasn't without provocation, but that doesn't excuse anything.
Absolutely, and there’s a slight risk of course that he’ll be so fired up when he returns - to make up for his costly misdemeanour - that he could be vulnerable to the temptation to retaliate to any opposition player who is aware of the Drew Baker incident and tries to provoke him.
But let’s err on the side of thinking that, at his age, he must have the maturity to resist that temptation!
Asked and answered at the time. The centre back knew what he was doing and GMac knew straight away he had fallen in to the trap. No complaints about the decision but the defender manufactured the situation.
I hate centre backs who fall over at the slightest tap.
I’d hate to go the most desolate place you’ve been then. I’m struggling to think of anywhere I’ve been that would fit better into a JG Ballard novel than Stevenage.
Can’t believe I haven’t seen more praise for Gape. He was very good. Incredible on second balls all game in a second half where our midfield was significantly outnumbered, yet remained equal in quality. Efficient.
Grimmer looks like he's put on about 5kg and looks stronger for it; perhaps we'll rarely see him as a full back in a four in the future
Mehmeti's strength / use of body for his size is fantastic; he's also put some extra weight on
Mehmeti's stamina / work rate / pressing has improved considerably this season
Max's kicking was much better last night; potentially because Vokes makes such a difference as he owns his 10m diameter like no other striker in the league
Max's tone management was superb; always in full control of the game's emotions, most notably when he created a crucial stoppage on c75 mins to take the sting out of the game and give GA a chance to reset tactically
Tactically, it was fascinating to watch. Accrington went from a 5 at the back with no traditional striker, to a 4 at the back and overloading the midfield, to finally bringing on a traditional number nine. We dealt with this pretty well, switching Tafa and Mawson where required, bringing on Freeman (albeit 10-15 mins late in my opinion), giving Mehmeti further freedom later on in a striker role, allowing AAH some good minutes
Obita flourished in a 5 at the back role and was a critical offering of balance
McCarthy, although not as technically proficient as others in the league, is absolutely vital for his work ethic, general teamwork and outstanding attitude. He's a real leader now. The glue to hold the team together and keep us moving in the same direction.
Gape and Scowen on second ball duty are just unfair. Imagine having to play against them. It would be cruel.
When Vokes is winning everything and Gape + Scowen are winning all the second balls, the initial lofted diagonal balls are like a cheat code to win 30-50 yards of ground up the pitch
All this said, we were not at our best yesterday, but I'm very pleased we remained fairly street-smart. It was like Wycombe of 2-3 years ago.
Have you been twiddling the wrong knobs @Chris ? Celebrating Kent’s glorious victory over Hampshire, giving the garden County an outside chance of staying in the proposed six County Championship Division 1 next season.
Not me this time! Kent (and other counties) not happy with the proposals, and for good reason. If we do stay up (and it is entirely unreasonable that we don’t at this point know how many clubs will be relegated) then it will have been a remarkable season.
Comments
That would be my first choice team every week !
Agreed.
Harsh on Hanlan I think when he's fit, but he has been out a fair while now, so has it all to do to get back in, especially as Mehmeti has now made that left sided forward position his own. Makes a tasty sub though.
Wing in his initial form when joining would threaten Gape too in certain games. But then Thompson could threaten it too.
Lots of options.
Pity
Even greater pity that his petulance effectively cost us his services for four matches (inc Fleetwood) at a time when we have a raft of injuries - particularly to attacking players.
As a town? It is probably the second-most desolate place I've ever been. Remember when Scott Brown 'scored' there?
No forgiveness then. I still say that centre back did a job on him.
Based on what?
Exactly. GMac wouldn't have acceptingly walked off if the defender had 'done a job' on him. I reckon he just put his hands in his face / leaned in with his head - not enough to cause a big commotion but a mandatory red card.
... and the defender in question was 20 year-old Drew Baker who was making his Football League debut - hardly a grizzled old pro / wind-up merchant.
GMac's hand was up - that, you could see from the stand. Hard for most people to know exactly what or where any contact was, as the ball was in Max's hands, so it's a peripheral vision thing. Where we were sitting, you had to look through the tussling players to see Max, so it depends what anyone at the time was specifically focusing on. Most were focusing on Max, naturally, as he had the ball. I think where Righty is coming from, is that in the first few minutes there was a lot of niggle between Baker and GMac as they tussled for position, on and off the ball. Baker did seem to be trying to unsettle GMac by staying ultra-tight to him. I think Garath knew he had been unprofessional with his reaction. It wasn't without provocation, but that doesn't excuse anything.
The defender clearly wasn't destroyed, but you don't have to kill someone to get a red.
McCleary knew what he'd done, and just traipsed off.
People at the game who saw it live said it was an obvious red.
I was there and the first thing I saw was the guy lying in the floor and the referee’s assistant flagging.
If we do well without Gmac, I assume he will be itching to get back and prove himself again...which is great for us.
Sorry,let me change that to "observant " people who were there....
Absolutely, and there’s a slight risk of course that he’ll be so fired up when he returns - to make up for his costly misdemeanour - that he could be vulnerable to the temptation to retaliate to any opposition player who is aware of the Drew Baker incident and tries to provoke him.
But let’s err on the side of thinking that, at his age, he must have the maturity to resist that temptation!
Asked and answered at the time. The centre back knew what he was doing and GMac knew straight away he had fallen in to the trap. No complaints about the decision but the defender manufactured the situation.
I hate centre backs who fall over at the slightest tap.
Let's not act like our centre-backs wouldn't do exactly the same thing. It's not good, but it's endemic in the game.
I’d hate to go the most desolate place you’ve been then. I’m struggling to think of anywhere I’ve been that would fit better into a JG Ballard novel than Stevenage.
Crawley
I can’t see Alfie Mawson falling down that easily unless he was up against Tyson Fury.
He kind of did for the equaliser. Still not entirely sure what happened there tbh.
Can’t believe I haven’t seen more praise for Gape. He was very good. Incredible on second balls all game in a second half where our midfield was significantly outnumbered, yet remained equal in quality. Efficient.
A few other bits I took away from yesterday:
All this said, we were not at our best yesterday, but I'm very pleased we remained fairly street-smart. It was like Wycombe of 2-3 years ago.
Time to get scoring from set pieces again...
I said to the missus that I can see us winning this by four or five. Stanley are no push overs but we are playing so well.
Have you been twiddling the wrong knobs @Chris ? Celebrating Kent’s glorious victory over Hampshire, giving the garden County an outside chance of staying in the proposed six County Championship Division 1 next season.
Not me this time! Kent (and other counties) not happy with the proposals, and for good reason. If we do stay up (and it is entirely unreasonable that we don’t at this point know how many clubs will be relegated) then it will have been a remarkable season.