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  • I thought McGinn had a pretty effective game in the 2nd half (no player was worth more than 5 in the first half). He had the unglamorous role in front of the back 4 and broke up any threat they had really well.
    The 2 lads in the centre were magnificent as always and bar the occasional slip in the first half never looked even to get out of second gear. I find it amazing that we have surpassed the clean sheet record of last season when you consider the acclaim that Alfie rightly received.

  • Thanks Len, always great to read, vital even! Do you reckon we just need shooting practice or does the problem lie in not getting in position for the final ball? Sounded like Harriman's turn was sublime and even just listening on player I was on my feet and in raptures when we scored. Would be nice to see him in a Wycombe shirt though ;-)

  • Disagree about the starting formation. For how short it was, looked like he was trying a 433. Then had to switch.

    I was so disappointed by the opening half, really was the worst display I've seen in a while. One of the ones that left you thinking 'I wonder what they do all week'. I know it sounds naive, but there was no attempt at football AT ALL, and every corner was off piste.

    Second half much better, on the floor and quicker. O'Nien is great, but needs to bulk up a tad, his gamesman ship at times was pitiful.

    In fact, in the last 5 mins, the WHOLE teams gamesmanship and timewasting was embarrassing. I'd prefer we were chanting and singing celebrating another goal, or at least a pass, not because 'we know what we are'.

  • Hi @NorsQuarters Thanks, but it was @DJWYC14 who wrote that one not me... and sorry about Harriman in a Gills shirt - updating the Vital images is on the to-do list for summer.

  • You guys are stars for devoting the time and energy to do this for us wanderers. The editor in me couldn't help himself but mention it, he throws his toys out of the pram reading the BFP every week though!

  • I quite enjoyed the corner gamesmanship in additional time. It was a pantomime performance from Harriman and O'Nien, they were absolutely milking the crowd's good-natured time wasting chant. I think O'Nien needs some lessons from JJ on injury theatrics though. There was no contact whatsoever before he went down for three minutes clutching his head. Did anyone see a spot of blood from the supposed nose bleed?

    My biggest issue yesterday was actually with Allsop. He looks like a brilliant shot stopper (not that he had any opportunity to show us) and a commanding presence. But boy was his distribution poor. Not one single short pass or throw to the fullbacks. Almost every kick pumped long to two strikers who just couldn't keep possession. That's why we looked so poor in the first half. In the second Allsop saw less of the ball and we started using the full backs and midfielders to take the ball up the pitch. Our players have the ability to play - I hope GA tells Allsop to let them.

    I saw a lot of potential in both Sellers and Sellars. The latter actually brought out the best 10 mins I've seen Hayes play all season. I hope that's the team that plays on Monday.

    Finally my abiding thought on leaving Adams Park was once again about how weak the opposition were. Other than Plymouth and Northampton, I've yet to see a really good team. It really is a poor League Two this season.

  • @prufrock_91 must agree, trying to "manage the game out" for six minutes was pushing it a bit? At the time I had a big fear that this tactic would bite us in the derriere.
    On another note, was great to see the new loanee Sellars on the pitch. Not only does he have a great 1st touch but we were effectively forced to get the ball down and play the ball on the deck. For a while there was a danger of a game of football breaking through, until the 4th official brought up the added on time board. After that the nice style that we were playing got butchered and descended into a farce for the last 6 minutes. At the end of the day it is three points but looking forward to a Sellars start Monday and a more free flowing style that, personally I find more entertaining.

  • @aloysius I was not far away from the incident and O'Nien definitely got a smack, there was quite a bit of blood. In fact when he came back on he had he had packing in his nostrils.

  • Hayes should have been booked for the pathetic way he ambled over to JJ to ceremoniously put the captain's armband on him.

    This is a few games after the pathetic dive by Matt Bloomfield at Cambridge. These are supposed to be our two senior professionals. What an appalling example they are setting to younger team mates and fans alike.

    I'm fed up with it to be honest. I feel like the joy has gone from our game this season, and we're becoming the sort of side that were we the opposition I would hate

  • @eric_plant I'd rather watch this gamesmanship than spend another final day of the season shitting my pants, listening to the commentary on chairboys player waiting for the gas to score an equaliser and send us down.

  • @bill_stickers that's the choice is it?

  • Games are won by fine margins and I don't think we have the players to play possession based football.

  • @bill_stickers again, that's the choice is it? We can't play that way so instead we'll cheat to try and win penalties and waste time at every opportunity?

  • @ eric plant. Interesting. I'm usually pretty relaxed about the gamesmanship, but felt that yesterday we really shot ourselves in the foot. We had a big holiday crowd, attracted in by the excellent pricing offer, yet played as negatively as I can remember. From the off, there was absolutely no sense that all those people who'd turned up might want to be entertained, might want some positive energy and to see the home side try to play some football.

    It was a better performance in the second half, but the get-the-ball in the corner approach for the last 16 minutes (yes - from the 80th minute that was the game plan), when we had just introduced an attacker who clearly possessed the touch of quality that the rest of the match had so patently lacked and were causing the Stags all sorts of problems defensively, was awful.

    There was a real opportunity to leave those families making an occasional excursion to Adams Park with a sense of excitement and that Wanderers were a side which wanted to create, and created, opportunities in the opposition penalty area, but no.

    I actually understand that given the way we play and the size of our squad, it makes sense to break up the play and take time over set pieces ... and of course that you might want to lengthen those breaks further when in front and approaching the end of the game. But yesterday, it seemed to me like the team tested that theory to destruction.

  • But but, we are in the play offs spot. Kidding a side, I rather play possession football, when we have the lead, with several minutes to go, but to be fair, every team in all the leagues do the time wasting antics when it suits them.

    Pity we didn't do in the play off final and launch into row Z.

  • Well said @our_frank - Mansfield were utterly dreadful and yet we tried to see the game out as though we were clinging on to a draw against Arsenal. It was utterly joyless I thought, and I can't believe that's actually how the players would like to play.

    I remember coming away from Stevenage a few years ago and saying imagine having to watch that every week. Well now we don't need to imagine anymore

  • Does the type off play not rest on the managers decisions, if not what is going on. Perhaps the players don't want to play for the club next season.

  • Mansfield were absolute gash yesterday. What I struggle to comprehend is that we sign two players to overcome our impotent strikers and stick wth the same two up front.
    Hayes is a top player but his is lack of scoring due to him dropping so many times to help create? He needs to break this run by being selfish and staying where he might have a chance of scoring.
    As for holding on for a win. Pretty embarrassing stuff really.

  • I have to say I had no particular problem with them trying to keep the ball in the corner in injury time yesterday: rather that, than the minute or so when Mansfield got forward into and around our box, goalkeeper up for a corner, with the possibility of them getting a late equaliser.

    If two goals to the good, then maybe go for more. If only one goal to the good, then I'm quite happy to see the points protected.

    I do wonder how many of those on this forum calling for attacking football until the last second and no game management would be straight on here moaning if Wycombe were to concede a lead through losing the ball in an injury-time attack, allowing an opposition breakaway.

  • Not seen anyone calling for that?

  • Anyone else notice we are now the Choirboys according to the player commentary?

  • 'Cos we all sing from the same hymn sheet.....?

  • Imagine if we showed a bit more gamesmanship (or as you call it cheating) at Wembley. We'd be in League One now and you'd still be moaning that we got promoted because we held the ball in the corner for 20 seconds. Pathetic.

  • What is pathetic?
    Your assertion that is acceptable to cheat if it means that we might attain promotion?

  • edited March 2016

    Cheat?
    So every football team in the country cheat? You could list every club of the 92 in a list of teams who've held the ball in the corner whilst winning 1-0....
    Some things we may overdo slightly. But at one point we didn't hold it in the corner and Mansfield went and got one of their own and could've scored. If they had we'd only be on 58 points and outside the play-offs. So you'd prefer that then would you?

  • edited March 2016

    Exactly! We tried to hold the ball in the corner (unpleasant/gamesmanship, or whatever you want to call it); then found that we weren't actually quite adept enough at it to succeed, lost the ball and Mansfield broke up field and, had they been anywhere near good enough, could have created a dangerous situation from which they might have scored. Ergo - we might just as well have played proper football for the last 10 minutes of the match and tried to score a second goal, which would have settled the outcome.

    I'd just rather:-
    (a) watch football than "keep ball" by the corner flag; and
    (b) achieve our objectives by honourable endeavour, without resorting to that sort of tedious behaviour.

    By the way: sixty points, or fifty eight ... we are not actually in the play-offs yet.

  • By definition cheating is illegal and therefore the referee has an obligation to penalise the "cheating" player by awardong a free kick and/or a yellow/red card. Keeping the ball by the corner flag is within the law and is not therefore cheating. There is a simple way of stopping this by amending the laws of the game so that the referee can award a free kick to the opposition for obstruction.

    Time wasting should not have an effect on any game if the referee ensures that he adds on the appropriate amount of injury time.

  • People are failing to distinguish between illegal time wasting and legal time wasting.

    The referee cannot, and should not, penalise a player for holding/shielding the ball at the corner flag. This is rightly within the laws of the game, and it is up to the opposition players to deal with this tactic.

    Illegal timewasting should be penalised by the referee - taking a long time to leave the field during a substiution, tying shoelaces in front of the ball, etc. etc.

  • Completely agree Mr Stickers. Excessive time wasting isn't good for football as a whole - the rules should be changed or enforced differently to prevent it.

    But as long as it is part of the game then I have no problem with Wycombe doing it.

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