Isn't part of that down to us slowing the game to glacial pace when in possession at the back? We're less likely to concede the ball in our own half as a result - the penalty incident being a good reminder of why that's so dangerous! But we seem to be creating less because of it too.
There did seem to be more (and slower) passing in our defensive third today which is surprising because you’d think that with a goalkeeper who is less comfortable on the ball than Ravizzoli there would be rather less of it. And it mainly resulted in long punts forward to nobody in particular.
Like most people, I was never happy under MB’s tutelage with three central defenders and out and out wingbacks but it worked so well against Birmingham during the second half when we were down to ten men that it does make me wonder whether there is a case for that formation.
If it wasn’t for some appalling referee decisions, we could have won that 2-1, 3-1 all would have been well in the world, and it would have been our first back to back win since November.
Yes the first half was dreadful, but that chance for Dan, could have left us 1-1 at half time. Regardless, the second half was MUCH better.
We are absolutely screwed without Kone. Unfortunately, he still has to go out wide to get the ball which he shouldn’t have to do.
I’m all for squad rotation, but Magnus and Alex looked great on Tuesday, and yet didn’t even make the squad for yesterday. Bez, is not the answer for us. This must be very frustrating for a player to be on the pitch one week, and then not even make the bench the following. Dodds needs to make some decisions.
For crying out loud, GMac is a legend, and he’s one of my favourite players of all time, but he’s 37, he can’t be on the pitch for 60+ mins.
Simons’ suspension has really hurt us and we’re back to the Morley problem again.
Whilst the jury is out with Dodds, he has my full backing and I feel he will come good for us. We’ve only lost one game under him (in the league) and we almost scraped a point in that defeat against Birmingham.
If we don’t go up, we will lose Kone and then we’re in all sorts of problems, but that’s tomorrow’s problem.
Peterborough had the match officials in their pockets with their tactics. Fair play to them. The time wasting wasn’t even on expert level, it was on god-tier level. At one point, when Jed Steer was taking a goal kick, I actually thought Christmas had come around again.
On to Wrexham, do the job against them, and the Auto’s remain in our destiny regardless of their result against Reading.
Yes we were poor first half but we should have won that 3-1 given chances, dominance and refereeing decisions. If felt very similar to games earlier in the season except we didn’t get the breaks (until injury time).
I truly don’t think we have played outstanding football for 90 minutes in any game this season. Even Stockport we weren’t exemplary for all. But we’ve had the ability to turn it on for short stints and be very difficult to keep out especially with Kone firing. We did that yesterday. And if we had won that 3-1 I think we would be talking about how good we are and how we are still challenging Birmingham for the title etc.
I have a really mixed opinion of yesterday. Some good moments. Some not so good moments. Unfortunate not to win, yet somehow fortunate not to lose. Poor refereeing decisions happen. We’ve got away with lots of fouls inside our own box this season, so we were arguably due Scowen’s - I think we’d only conceded two penalties all season before yesterday, but benefited from nine at the other end. Biggest game of the season next weekend. I’m devastated I can’t be there.
I still have faith in Dodds & thought he spoke well post match, he was clearly not happy with our first half performance.
Our second half performance was better & we were denied a win by some odd decisions by the ref, unfortunate but we have benefitted from these in other games so it all sort of evens out over a season.
Thought Berry's cameo was good. Reach is a class signing (thankfully we have him with Harvie looking to be out for the rest of the season), GMac needs to be an impact sub - he cant play more than 45m these days. Our defence is normally very dependable & solid but the first half was the sloppiest I have seen from Low, Taylor & Scowen - there seemed to be a general malaise affecting the whole team for 45 mins. Whatever Dodds said at half time had the desired effect.
No excuses. We were way off matters in the first half as to what is needed for promotion. Before you know it, the game is over with too many misplaced passes, panic setting in, too much passing at the back not going forward, not firing on the wings , stoppages and time wasting. McCleary was well off his game yesterday and Scowen had one of his worst this season. Just need to look at the passes completed. Our in possession stats were really really poor. Time to give the new guys a chance. All not yet lost, but something needs to change
Just a few comments on the above. Was the referee really that bad yesterday? It was an incident packed game and a lot of big decisions for him to give. Of the decisions we felt disgruntled about, the foul on Leahy was a bad one, probably a 50/50 call on whether it was a red card. Wouldn't say it was a mistake not to send him off, but on another day he might have been red rather than yellow. The 1st disallowed goal for Kone was a mistake, no doubt about that. No issues with the 2nd, clear handball and the 3rd was ruled out for offside (and given long before the ball hit the net).
Peterborough themselves had 5 big penalty shouts. The 2 in the 2nd half definitely weren't. The one he gave looks a clear penalty to me in the replays I've seen. The other 2 in the first half I've not seen back, but they looked very decent shouts to me. So although we were unfortunate with the Kone effort that was ruled out, we may have got away another penalty or 2.
Really refreshing to hear Dodds not being drawn into blaming the referee and instead focusing on what we can do better. To easy for managers/coaches to go down that path rather than looking at their own failings. He's clearly not a natural in front of the camera, but I thought his post match interview with Phil was a very good, honest assessment of the game.
Not sure I agree that we could have won that 2/3-1 on another day. I thought that apart from the 10-15 minute spell at the start of the 2nd half, Peterborough dealt with us pretty comfortably and could easily have scored more on the break themselves. The 1-1 draw was the very most we deserved from that . Not saying it's a bad result, I actually thought Peterborough looked a much improved side from earlier in the season and you could see why they've hit a good run of form. Poku being back is also a huge boost for them. He's as important for them, as Kone is for us. It's more the performance I was disappointed in, but that said, it might be a big point come the end of the season.
Back to Dodds, I think he's been dealt an incredibly difficult hand with the amount of players who would expect to be featuring. Some of his bench selections are surprising at times though. Lowry and Westergaard both impressed on Tuesday, but didn't make the squad yesterday. Berry who's not featured at all is suddenly bought in (in fairness, I thought he had a positive impact). No sign of Kodua who I'd have thought would be a decent option for McCleary. I do feel for Dodds, as these really aren't easy decisions to be making, but I just think players will be frustrated when they feel they've made a claim to be involved by performing well, only to be completely dropped for the subsequent match.
Thought the ref was poor throughout and made some odd decisions on both sides. But we can be really aggrieved that Kone header was disallowed. A real shocking decision that could cost us dear.
I don’t think Kodua is anywhere near our best 18 now sadly. He’s shown glimpses of something but I’d rather have Lowry, Berry, Lubala and McCleary/Onyedinma ahead of him as subs.
Which new guys are you starting and who is getting dropped though? With 11 games left would be pretty risky relying on the new signings who clearly aren’t fully match fit.
I do think he needs to stick with a consistent 18 man squad now though, yes it will annoy people but we are in the final run in now that’s what happens. As others have said chopping and changing every week is no good for anyone.
Not sure how GMac keeps getting a starting spot. Even his crossing seems to have deserted him lately. Fred doesn’t seem to be the answer either. We need Sadlier fit and firing, or let the kid Berry have a go.
Comments
You being negative? There’s a shock.
When it mattered, it was Joe Low who was half asleep in the first half.
Well said, facts will always outweigh opinions.
I really don't think you're one to talk about being one-note on here. I regularly provide nuance. You just spin the line.
Isn't part of that down to us slowing the game to glacial pace when in possession at the back? We're less likely to concede the ball in our own half as a result - the penalty incident being a good reminder of why that's so dangerous! But we seem to be creating less because of it too.
There did seem to be more (and slower) passing in our defensive third today which is surprising because you’d think that with a goalkeeper who is less comfortable on the ball than Ravizzoli there would be rather less of it. And it mainly resulted in long punts forward to nobody in particular.
Like most people, I was never happy under MB’s tutelage with three central defenders and out and out wingbacks but it worked so well against Birmingham during the second half when we were down to ten men that it does make me wonder whether there is a case for that formation.
Yes, I thought the same, I’m far more comfortable with the idea of a back 3 when you’re talking Low, Taylor and Bradley.
Not sure if we have an injury thread somewhere but in his post-match, Dodds has confirmed that he’s not expecting Harvie back until pre-season.
A huge blow, but credit to recruitment for bringing in Reach who looks more than capable of filling in the gap.
My thoughts after sleeping on yesterday’s result…
If it wasn’t for some appalling referee decisions, we could have won that 2-1, 3-1 all would have been well in the world, and it would have been our first back to back win since November.
Yes the first half was dreadful, but that chance for Dan, could have left us 1-1 at half time. Regardless, the second half was MUCH better.
We are absolutely screwed without Kone. Unfortunately, he still has to go out wide to get the ball which he shouldn’t have to do.
I’m all for squad rotation, but Magnus and Alex looked great on Tuesday, and yet didn’t even make the squad for yesterday. Bez, is not the answer for us. This must be very frustrating for a player to be on the pitch one week, and then not even make the bench the following. Dodds needs to make some decisions.
For crying out loud, GMac is a legend, and he’s one of my favourite players of all time, but he’s 37, he can’t be on the pitch for 60+ mins.
Simons’ suspension has really hurt us and we’re back to the Morley problem again.
Whilst the jury is out with Dodds, he has my full backing and I feel he will come good for us. We’ve only lost one game under him (in the league) and we almost scraped a point in that defeat against Birmingham.
If we don’t go up, we will lose Kone and then we’re in all sorts of problems, but that’s tomorrow’s problem.
Peterborough had the match officials in their pockets with their tactics. Fair play to them. The time wasting wasn’t even on expert level, it was on god-tier level. At one point, when Jed Steer was taking a goal kick, I actually thought Christmas had come around again.
On to Wrexham, do the job against them, and the Auto’s remain in our destiny regardless of their result against Reading.
COYB
Another slept on it thought…
Yes we were poor first half but we should have won that 3-1 given chances, dominance and refereeing decisions. If felt very similar to games earlier in the season except we didn’t get the breaks (until injury time).
I truly don’t think we have played outstanding football for 90 minutes in any game this season. Even Stockport we weren’t exemplary for all. But we’ve had the ability to turn it on for short stints and be very difficult to keep out especially with Kone firing. We did that yesterday. And if we had won that 3-1 I think we would be talking about how good we are and how we are still challenging Birmingham for the title etc.
Clearly the Wrexham game is absolutely massive.
I have a really mixed opinion of yesterday. Some good moments. Some not so good moments. Unfortunate not to win, yet somehow fortunate not to lose. Poor refereeing decisions happen. We’ve got away with lots of fouls inside our own box this season, so we were arguably due Scowen’s - I think we’d only conceded two penalties all season before yesterday, but benefited from nine at the other end. Biggest game of the season next weekend. I’m devastated I can’t be there.
I still have faith in Dodds & thought he spoke well post match, he was clearly not happy with our first half performance.
Our second half performance was better & we were denied a win by some odd decisions by the ref, unfortunate but we have benefitted from these in other games so it all sort of evens out over a season.
Thought Berry's cameo was good. Reach is a class signing (thankfully we have him with Harvie looking to be out for the rest of the season), GMac needs to be an impact sub - he cant play more than 45m these days. Our defence is normally very dependable & solid but the first half was the sloppiest I have seen from Low, Taylor & Scowen - there seemed to be a general malaise affecting the whole team for 45 mins. Whatever Dodds said at half time had the desired effect.
No excuses. We were way off matters in the first half as to what is needed for promotion. Before you know it, the game is over with too many misplaced passes, panic setting in, too much passing at the back not going forward, not firing on the wings , stoppages and time wasting. McCleary was well off his game yesterday and Scowen had one of his worst this season. Just need to look at the passes completed. Our in possession stats were really really poor. Time to give the new guys a chance. All not yet lost, but something needs to change
Just a few comments on the above. Was the referee really that bad yesterday? It was an incident packed game and a lot of big decisions for him to give. Of the decisions we felt disgruntled about, the foul on Leahy was a bad one, probably a 50/50 call on whether it was a red card. Wouldn't say it was a mistake not to send him off, but on another day he might have been red rather than yellow. The 1st disallowed goal for Kone was a mistake, no doubt about that. No issues with the 2nd, clear handball and the 3rd was ruled out for offside (and given long before the ball hit the net).
Peterborough themselves had 5 big penalty shouts. The 2 in the 2nd half definitely weren't. The one he gave looks a clear penalty to me in the replays I've seen. The other 2 in the first half I've not seen back, but they looked very decent shouts to me. So although we were unfortunate with the Kone effort that was ruled out, we may have got away another penalty or 2.
Really refreshing to hear Dodds not being drawn into blaming the referee and instead focusing on what we can do better. To easy for managers/coaches to go down that path rather than looking at their own failings. He's clearly not a natural in front of the camera, but I thought his post match interview with Phil was a very good, honest assessment of the game.
Not sure I agree that we could have won that 2/3-1 on another day. I thought that apart from the 10-15 minute spell at the start of the 2nd half, Peterborough dealt with us pretty comfortably and could easily have scored more on the break themselves. The 1-1 draw was the very most we deserved from that . Not saying it's a bad result, I actually thought Peterborough looked a much improved side from earlier in the season and you could see why they've hit a good run of form. Poku being back is also a huge boost for them. He's as important for them, as Kone is for us. It's more the performance I was disappointed in, but that said, it might be a big point come the end of the season.
Back to Dodds, I think he's been dealt an incredibly difficult hand with the amount of players who would expect to be featuring. Some of his bench selections are surprising at times though. Lowry and Westergaard both impressed on Tuesday, but didn't make the squad yesterday. Berry who's not featured at all is suddenly bought in (in fairness, I thought he had a positive impact). No sign of Kodua who I'd have thought would be a decent option for McCleary. I do feel for Dodds, as these really aren't easy decisions to be making, but I just think players will be frustrated when they feel they've made a claim to be involved by performing well, only to be completely dropped for the subsequent match.
A couple of thoughts back:
Thought the ref was poor throughout and made some odd decisions on both sides. But we can be really aggrieved that Kone header was disallowed. A real shocking decision that could cost us dear.
I don’t think Kodua is anywhere near our best 18 now sadly. He’s shown glimpses of something but I’d rather have Lowry, Berry, Lubala and McCleary/Onyedinma ahead of him as subs.
Thanks for ruining my Sunday afternoon
Which new guys are you starting and who is getting dropped though? With 11 games left would be pretty risky relying on the new signings who clearly aren’t fully match fit.
I do think he needs to stick with a consistent 18 man squad now though, yes it will annoy people but we are in the final run in now that’s what happens. As others have said chopping and changing every week is no good for anyone.
To be fair most of the changes have been on the subs bench, the starting X1 under MD has been fairly consistent.
Not sure how GMac keeps getting a starting spot. Even his crossing seems to have deserted him lately. Fred doesn’t seem to be the answer either. We need Sadlier fit and firing, or let the kid Berry have a go.