Skip to content

Match day thread: Colchester

13

Comments

  • Just read Ainsworths comments about "below par second half". Hey gaffer look at your performance to

  • The signing of Bayo may be our undoing sadly. He is really good at this level doing what he does well, holding the ball up etc etc but this leads us to look for him every time. We were so predictable today it was embarrassing - these players are professionals.
    So either the manager has told them to hit Bayo from back to front - in which case GA has lost the plot or the players are doing it themselves - in which case GA has lost the players.

  • Is he really good at holding the ball up? I haven't seen much evidence of that

  • I think Akinfenwa has done well in all fairness. Sam wood was rubbish yet again why on earth freeman didnt start i dont no he looked promising at blackpool. No goals from open play gotta be some record for this. Looks like its guna b a long hard season of crap football.

  • We seem to have a problem with accurate passing anything over about 2 or 3 yards. Players are virtually totally reactive rather than anticipating anything. We are too often static and slow. A lack of confidence results in resorting to hoofball as players seek to play within their 'comfort zone' and get rid of the hot potato as soon as possible. There's a heck of a lot to put right, but it can be done.

  • I agree, I thought Thompson had a decent first half (excluding the dive). I also think Bayo has been ok but pumping the same long balls to him week in week out will not work. We must be one of the easiest teams in the league to defend against right now.

    It is only August but having seen every game so far I am a little bit worried.

  • I agree with your assessment Eric, except that akinfenwa has been one of our best players. He is actually on 2 goals because Stewart didn't score his, has good first touch and is intellegent on the ball.

  • Yes I know it is really depressing at the moment. But... If you imagine what the likely line up would be if everyone was fit, you've probably only got the GK, Stewart & Pierre and possibly Southwell who were starters in the positions you would expect them to be. (I'm sure the plan WAS to use Bayo as an impact sub). That doesn't necessarily make it palatable but it does suggest to me that it is a little early to judge.

    Will it improve if/when Paris et al return? God I hope so. If not keep a space on that bandwagon for me

  • But I think the question really is when will they return? The club's policy of keeping injury news secret is frustrating at the best of times. Now though I think it's actually seriously detrimental to Gareth Ainsworth's standing among the fanbase. If, for example, we knew that O'Nien was expected to come back next week, PCH the week after, Weston by end of September - or whatever it is - we might not all be getting so collectively angsty; at the least we might be more charitable in awarding the gaffer more time to show us what a full squad can do before concluding he should fall on his sword.

    As it stands this lack of information feeds our paranoia. I, for one, am inclined to believe the worst at the moment - the club are hiding information that O'Nien, PCH and Weston are all out for the long-term. If that's the case, what hope do any of us have that Gaz will turn things round before this morass is unnavigable? If the club's press team has any sense, it will persuade whoever needs persuading that accurate injury information should be released - not just for the sake of good comms with the fans but perhaps even for the manager's own good.

  • The only consolation I have (so far) is that it's still only August so there is potential to turns things around. However, very worrying signs are that as a squad we seem to have no real threat or quality on the pitch, little pace and no one looking likely to score and it's been this way for some time. This coupled with yesterdays reported incident of certain players commenting that disgruntled fans are "not worth it" - makes for very worrying times indeed. We need a response from the club and a response from the players on the pitch otherwise we are all in for a very long winter indeed.

  • I can not see the club lasting much longer ,with confrontations between players and fans inept management sending out post match statements blaming everybody other than themselves,a fan owned club where the fans don't know what the hell is going on!.I can only see asset stripper's waiting in the wings or in Wycombe-wanderers set up at the moment waiting out of position to pounce, a very sad time. What is needed now are big changes before it is too late.

  • No issue with Akinfenwa for me. He's not a miracle worker. First half he played some lovely stuff. But what can you do with balls hit 5 yards wide of you at twice your height?

  • The midfield should be Harriman/Rowe/Bean & Freeman until Luke comes back. Playing Harriman as a make shift right back is a waste.What about De Havilland. Other clubs move on each season in their style of play we are the same predictable hoofball as last season. My concern is that a lot will be expected of PCH when he returns and with his injury record I have my doubts that he can stay fit. Wood continually starting is a mystery.

  • Cannot blame akinfenwa, I think he has been one of our better players he has surprised me greatly. What is annoying is GA always using the card that we are so poor and such a small club....we never know what's happening with our injured players...GA said that on nien, PCA and Weston could of played yesterday. It's rubbish and don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth anymore.

  • It really does feel like crunch time. In terms of personnel and their deployment, I am very much with Andy Worboys. When I looked at the team sheet my immediate reaction was that Sammy Wood would be at left back. I really hoped so because Sido Jombati has never looked comfortable or dependable in that position.
    Garry Thompson did have one of his better games playing in his career-long position of right midfield but if Nick Freeman had played on the left it would have given GA the opportunity to bring the pacy and erstwhile goal-scoring Harriman on for Thompson early in the second half.

    But, as we all know, the malaise goes much deeper. I sincerely hope I'm wrong but the worrying suspicion is that @TheAndyGrahamFanClub may have put his finger on it.

  • Next few weeks will be key. Manager and players know fans aren't happy so it's now down to how they respond to that.

    If we are still in the same position come the end of September I think unfortunately it's time for change before it's too late.

  • Lot of us saw this coming, when GA got rid the youngons and stuck with his friends, who played the lion share of matches and since the beginning of the year have been dire.

    We have been shocking period. I made a tongue and cheek remark about "looks good on paper", the squad assembled proberly does, but in reality it's plain to see. Hayes, Thommo, Blooms, and Wood are over the hill in my book, all bessy friends.

    We hoped for a usual good start to our season, but here we are, rudderless pitch side, to the extent of shorting the pitch, to contain the opposition, which isnt working at home.

    It's a apparently a fan owned club, where is our Saunder'ess creative midfielder, we are crying out for one, to make things happen, where's some of that Ingram/Ibe cash?

    Act now, as the new FA rules, means no loaness till January and the time of year we dip.

    Still a few more days, till will know for sure, if we hold onto Pierre, imagine if he goes next week.

  • Tactically inept yesterday against Colchester,lump it up to Akinfenwa If that doesn't work lump it up to Akinfenwa If all else fails lump it up to Akinfenwa

  • I was in the frank Adams stand with my 8 year old son for the first half......he said "dad why doesn't the ball touch the floor it's so simple"? so at half time we went in the main stand for the second half so he could ask the bench for himself, we waited until the end he also wanted a picture with bayo........I called him over (ainsworth had gone down the tunnel already) "can my boy have a picture please?" he came over and said "I'll be back out I swear etc..... we waited until 17.25 at the tunnel the col u squad were out at 17 warming down and bizarrely only hayes and the bench came out to warm down.......then ainsworth came out and came over and said " sorry about the performance and offered to have a photo with the lad" I said the boys waiting for a photo with bayo....he replied there in the changing room they won't come out there "in discussion" we could hear the shouting, what I found bizarre is that surely he's should of been in there with hayes and bloomfield the so called leaders? Ainsworth was a gent yesterday but I'm afraid it looks like he's lost the players.

  • Nice post @bigred87; so I expect they'll work on playing football and listen to their fans concerns.

  • Top post @bigred87 although slightly worrying.

    Hopefully this is the boost they need.

  • Nothing to lose at Luton, no one expects us to get a result, everyone expects us to play hoofball. Let's surprise everyone and at least try and play football. If we lose anyway then at least we gave it a go.

  • I hope so ainsworth seems like a top bloke I hope he can sort it out......on another topic there was a Charlton scout in main stand not sure who he was there for col u or pierre

  • @bigred87 That's interesting if a true account (I have no reason to not believe that). The 'out of the mouths of babes' comment about the ball not being played on the floor is telling - I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been desensitised to the tendency to play it long.
    Though I am not surprised that some players were not going to be in the mood for photos for a while after that. Anyone with any professional pride would have been embarrassed by the ineptness of how we played and would have wanted to dig themselves a hole.
    I don't know if Ainsworth has lost the players, though I don't think they play like they believe in his game plan and tactics.

    Yesterday in its totality was one of the worst performances I have seen from a Wycombe side for a while, though we had played that badly in spells for many game recently, it was only going to be a matter of time before it was how we were going to play all game.

  • @Gerry47 said:
    Nothing to lose at Luton, no one expects us to get a result, everyone expects us to play hoofball. Let's surprise everyone and at least try and play football. If we lose anyway then at least we gave it a go.

    One person at least expects "to get a result " at Luton (and, no, it's not GA). The Mail on Sunday's so-called pundit has it down as an away win. Pigs and flying come to mind.

    One thing about yesterday that no-one appears to have mentioned is the fact that the newly promoted referee (John Brooks) kept up his average of over 5 yellow cards per game by issuing 6 - all to us. That is truly amazing, considering the amount of 50/50 grappling that was going on.

  • On another note, it's funny how rival clubs don't moan about our approach any more!

  • Gareth has signed some good players for us over the last few years and provided some great moments, but something just not quite right. The Accrington game was very bad in the second half and yesterday was again drab sadly it just seems like we are carrying on from last season which all went downhill in the New Year. I am rapidly losing faith in Gareth tactical ability as other have said on paper we do seem to have a team that can compete in this league.

    The stat that is really worrying for me is since the 1st of January 2016 in all league games up to and including Colchester we have scored at total of 15 goals in the last 27 games.

  • We seem to get locked into runs of form with Gaz.

    3 years ago, a near disastrous run which almost cost everything.
    2 years ago, a terrific run, seemingly never losing any games
    Last year for the last couple of months, just turgid football, and unfortunately we've continued that.

    All depends on the players returning for me. Add them in, and it all gets easier, including for the defence as we'll have more of the ball.

  • @sandsexile That and the fact it's not just an early season issue. It's been awful since January and nothing's been fixed over the summer.

  • Actually it's been crap since before December,our goals for since then must be the lowest in The Football League and that includes teams that were relegated.

Sign In or Register to comment.