I gently mentioned this earlier. We came out a good couple of mins after Wrexham did and looked to be doing a less intensive warm up.
Then lulled us into a false sense of security by almost scoring straight away, only to then concede almost immediately after!
In hindsight, we should have got a better warm up in, and brought Vokes and Westergaard on immediately, with there only being 16 or so mins left anyway.
Yes I feel the same and it’s ultimately why I don’t feel too despondent. I just don’t see this as a promotion winning team, more an 8th to 12th team type team that managed to string a brilliant run of results together in the first third of the season but then reverted to type.
I think your 5 per cent chance of us making automatic promotion is about right and probably only a bit more to win via the play-offs.
We looked an absolutely brilliant team for a lot of this season. There's a reason we're still top scorers even now.
We've coped with losing a manager who had us playing really positive football, losing 2 very important loanees, one whom we've eventually got back. We've had an interim manager, and rookie coach has come in to boot.
Teams set up very differently against us now, especially at our ground. They spoil the game, make it physical, and ride their luck.
To still be within 1 win from 2nd in Mid March with just 10 games remaining, is not the stuff of 8-12th place, however down we are after a terribly costly defeat.
Or maybe I've come over bizarrely positive, realising we still have a hell of a chance this season. Win Tuesday, and it's all back on - with a string of very winnable homes to come.
Whilst I agree we were awful after the restart we should treat that in isolation. Wrexham took advantage of the situation but if we’d won today it might have felt very hollow. It was shocking to witness what was happening from the Frank Adams and I’m pleased the fan is alive and in hospital.
I think the Wycombe players made a great gesture to the Wrexham fans coming out after the restart. We can still get promoted and with Kone and Simons back in I think we still have a fairly good chance.
It was unprofessional and lethargic and set us up in the worst way possible for the final 20 minutes. Really disappointing from the coaching staff and senior players. Absolutely agreed that there isn't a chance that would've happened under GA.
I thought we were going to finish 10th this season but we're going to make the playoffs and I want to burst into tears. What a funny old game this really is.
Are you being serious? It's an often-used figure of speech. And we don't even know what the medical emergency for the Wrexham fan was. There's no need for such an aggressive comment
Yea I would have taken 10th place at the start of the season. Now gutted we might miss out on 2nd, a win Tuesday will lighten the mood a little and put things back in our own hands.
Just back home. That’s was a long day. Scrappy game with fine margins - someone said their goal was deflection. We know we can play better not sure Wrexham can but they travelled home with the points. My main selection grumble is Norris. Awful distribution again today reminiscent of Max on a bad day. So many balls in the vicinity of udoh giving him very little chance and then regularly missing vokes. In addition he doesn’t seem to inspire confidence, indecisive on a number of occasions in the second half and he seems to sit much deeper than Franco who almost acted as a sweeper which often seemed to keep our attacking intent alive.
I also fully agree with this. Let's be honest, Wrexham offered next-to-nothing in attack because we limited them even more than they limited us. Their only opportunities were (1) the Taylor-Norris miscommunication farce and (2) the goal, a deflected volley that came about from a long-range pot-shot that looped up into the penalty box. I genuinely can't remember another shot from them, let alone a chance
I honestly don't think Wrexham did much more than we did to win that game today. Perhaps edged it after the restart. I don't think either set of fans would have complained if t hat had ended 0-0.
They got 2 chances and took 1
we got 2 chances, and took none.
Guess what? They win!
That was literally all that was between the two sides today. I thought their fans gave them a bit more incentive to win with their noise in the 2nd half, and sometimes that is all it needs. Ref was pretty consistent both ways - we had a shout for a penalty, they had a "stone wall" penalty turned down (he was giving free kicks for much less).
I think our substitutions were a bit desperate at the end. I'm not sure what Westergaard was supposed to have added in place of McCleary. I think Bradley, Vokes and Kodua would have been a better move - switching to a back 3.
I stand by what I said before this game. WREXHAM WAS NEVER THE "SIX POINTER". ROTHERHAM AWAY IS.
We could be back 2nd come Wednesday morning. Wycombe Wanderers are 3rd in League One with 9 games to play and we are moaning!!
Further to my comments above, today's result seems a little overshadowed by what happened in the stand. I hope the person involved is ok. Football and talk of promotion becomes irrelevant when things like that happen.
It tugged on my heartstrings a little when our players decided that the first thing they would do is applaud the away fans. Their own players didn't even do that.
I think we can all be proud of the way our club came across today.
@eric_plant I had to scroll back to find out what upset you as it did not click with me first time...surely you did not believe that was done on purpose...so no need to castigated so strongly in my view.
It's only a game and some things are more important though, so best wishes to the patient.
Given Kone's illness, I can't really quibble about the team Dodds picked and in patches we played as well as we have done for ages. Perhaps Bakinson would have provided a bit of height in midfield given the amount of hoofing and heading but heigh ho.
I agree our late return to the pitch for the restart was perplexing and as we seem to have recruited about eight coaches surely one of them could have run some drills?
I would have hooked Gmac for Berry myself, as Fred was worrying them while Gareth wasn't really.
Otherwise I am not too despondent as we created as much as them if not more and if Low's header or Berry's shot goes in we're laughing. And we could have nicked a draw.
Also agree their keeper kept them in it...while ours kept giving away possession at every point. Franco back for me.
We have clawed our way to the top of the table in a season most of us approached with some trepidation even after our good form at the end of last term.
These are really good points. The only one I'd make in addition is that when that moment of luck with the deflected pot shot fell to Fletcher, he had the composure and awareness to pick out Smith, who hit a good volley, even if he was fortunate with the deflection. When we had a great chance fall to Humphreys, by contrast, he shot rather than picking out the unmarked Udoh. And when Udoh and McCleary combined to play in Berry, his shot was good, but not quite good enough to beat the excellent Okonkwoh.
Many said beforehand it would be a game of fine margins and limited chances and they were right. When Wrexham's big chance came, their strikers showed a quality that ours couldn't quite match.
These sorts of statememts confuse me a. bit after a game like that. Which member of the team or set up would you have changed Dave? You say yourself we are toothless without Kone but Dodds can't score the goals. He did not buy the players. He put a team out that were all.playing in their preferred positions and could and on another day probably would have won the game. Not much more he can do.
The problem is that Dodds's reputation is that of someone who works well with individual players to identify their weaknesses and give them the strategies and confidence to improve. He's been here 6+ weeks now, can you name a player that's improved over that period? Fred is the sort of low-on-confidence player that Dodds should've been focusing on. He has the ability to turn games singlehandedly when on form. I've not noticed any uptick in that form since Dodds has been here though.
In one of his interviews Dodds said he'd worked intensively with Humphreys. That bore fruit for maybe one match but recently he's looked a shadow of the player we knew he could be earlier in the season. I'll be watching closely to see if there's any improvement in his form when Simons returns on Tuesday.
@Wendoverman and others have made the point that we should've been drilling our players effectively after the long break. That really should be Dodds' bread and butter. It's firmly on the head coach to prepare the players for the restart - including instructing one of his team to do a proper warm up. We all saw what happened from the restart as a result - we were sleepy, Wrexham were sharp.
On your firing point - if there are two things we know about the new regime it's that they're rich and they're ruthless. They may well have put a clause in Dodds' contract making it cheaper to let him go if he doesn't get promotion. Even without that I'm confident Dan Rice will act fast - if nothing else to save himself from becoming the fall guy with his employers.
Just watched the Dodds. Doesn’t exude much confidence. Clearly not comfortable in front of cameras. Moving side to side, stratching his neck, totally ill at ease. Hope he’s not like that in front of the players. He clearly needs to improve things quickly or the season could implode quickly.
The body language stuff is getting tedious. If he doesn't command respect , get results, have tactical plans, get his ideas across or have good relationships with players he'll be found out but it won't be because he crosses his arms or puts his hands in his pockets. People have their own style.
we do have the squad to be a top two side it’s just all very bad timing with Bloomfield leaving and all these new players . Honestly think it would be good not to go up and have the squad better settled and ingrained into what ever style of football Dodds wants us to play , however saying that I still think we can go up . Wrexham are not that great just a well drilled side .
Wycombe used to be a well-drilled side. It served us well. I have no idea what we are now other than a collective that seem to be trying hard but without any real idea of why or to what end.
I can't work out Fred at the minute. He just doesn't look himself. His dip in form seems to coincide with Bloomfield leaving. He was such a big player for us but he's produced very little, compared to what was one of the most feared attacks/front 3's in the first half of the season. Same with McCleary. Is Kodua not worthy of a start? How we could have done with a bit of Sadlier magic today.
Comments
I gently mentioned this earlier. We came out a good couple of mins after Wrexham did and looked to be doing a less intensive warm up.
Then lulled us into a false sense of security by almost scoring straight away, only to then concede almost immediately after!
In hindsight, we should have got a better warm up in, and brought Vokes and Westergaard on immediately, with there only being 16 or so mins left anyway.
Yes I feel the same and it’s ultimately why I don’t feel too despondent. I just don’t see this as a promotion winning team, more an 8th to 12th team type team that managed to string a brilliant run of results together in the first third of the season but then reverted to type.
I think your 5 per cent chance of us making automatic promotion is about right and probably only a bit more to win via the play-offs.
I think 8-12th criminally underrates us.
We looked an absolutely brilliant team for a lot of this season. There's a reason we're still top scorers even now.
We've coped with losing a manager who had us playing really positive football, losing 2 very important loanees, one whom we've eventually got back. We've had an interim manager, and rookie coach has come in to boot.
Teams set up very differently against us now, especially at our ground. They spoil the game, make it physical, and ride their luck.
To still be within 1 win from 2nd in Mid March with just 10 games remaining, is not the stuff of 8-12th place, however down we are after a terribly costly defeat.
Or maybe I've come over bizarrely positive, realising we still have a hell of a chance this season. Win Tuesday, and it's all back on - with a string of very winnable homes to come.
The delay in coming out to warm up surprised me.
Whilst I agree we were awful after the restart we should treat that in isolation. Wrexham took advantage of the situation but if we’d won today it might have felt very hollow. It was shocking to witness what was happening from the Frank Adams and I’m pleased the fan is alive and in hospital.
I think the Wycombe players made a great gesture to the Wrexham fans coming out after the restart. We can still get promoted and with Kone and Simons back in I think we still have a fairly good chance.
Maybe, but at the minute I think we might finish closer to 8th than 2nd.
Also, huge credit to the Wrexham fans today. There must be a lot of sore throats tonight - the loudest away support at AP for years IMO.
It was unprofessional and lethargic and set us up in the worst way possible for the final 20 minutes. Really disappointing from the coaching staff and senior players. Absolutely agreed that there isn't a chance that would've happened under GA.
Ten minutes in a group circle at the very least.
I thought we were going to finish 10th this season but we're going to make the playoffs and I want to burst into tears. What a funny old game this really is.
Are we going to make the play offs?
YES
Are you being serious? It's an often-used figure of speech. And we don't even know what the medical emergency for the Wrexham fan was. There's no need for such an aggressive comment
Yea I would have taken 10th place at the start of the season. Now gutted we might miss out on 2nd, a win Tuesday will lighten the mood a little and put things back in our own hands.
I thought that too. Sums up the way the ball has been rolling for us recently
Just back home. That’s was a long day. Scrappy game with fine margins - someone said their goal was deflection. We know we can play better not sure Wrexham can but they travelled home with the points. My main selection grumble is Norris. Awful distribution again today reminiscent of Max on a bad day. So many balls in the vicinity of udoh giving him very little chance and then regularly missing vokes. In addition he doesn’t seem to inspire confidence, indecisive on a number of occasions in the second half and he seems to sit much deeper than Franco who almost acted as a sweeper which often seemed to keep our attacking intent alive.
I also fully agree with this. Let's be honest, Wrexham offered next-to-nothing in attack because we limited them even more than they limited us. Their only opportunities were (1) the Taylor-Norris miscommunication farce and (2) the goal, a deflected volley that came about from a long-range pot-shot that looped up into the penalty box. I genuinely can't remember another shot from them, let alone a chance
I honestly don't think Wrexham did much more than we did to win that game today. Perhaps edged it after the restart. I don't think either set of fans would have complained if t hat had ended 0-0.
That was literally all that was between the two sides today. I thought their fans gave them a bit more incentive to win with their noise in the 2nd half, and sometimes that is all it needs. Ref was pretty consistent both ways - we had a shout for a penalty, they had a "stone wall" penalty turned down (he was giving free kicks for much less).
I think our substitutions were a bit desperate at the end. I'm not sure what Westergaard was supposed to have added in place of McCleary. I think Bradley, Vokes and Kodua would have been a better move - switching to a back 3.
I stand by what I said before this game. WREXHAM WAS NEVER THE "SIX POINTER". ROTHERHAM AWAY IS.
We could be back 2nd come Wednesday morning. Wycombe Wanderers are 3rd in League One with 9 games to play and we are moaning!!
I love my team.
Further to my comments above, today's result seems a little overshadowed by what happened in the stand. I hope the person involved is ok. Football and talk of promotion becomes irrelevant when things like that happen.
It tugged on my heartstrings a little when our players decided that the first thing they would do is applaud the away fans. Their own players didn't even do that.
I think we can all be proud of the way our club came across today.
@eric_plant I had to scroll back to find out what upset you as it did not click with me first time...surely you did not believe that was done on purpose...so no need to castigated so strongly in my view.
It's only a game and some things are more important though, so best wishes to the patient.
Given Kone's illness, I can't really quibble about the team Dodds picked and in patches we played as well as we have done for ages. Perhaps Bakinson would have provided a bit of height in midfield given the amount of hoofing and heading but heigh ho.
I agree our late return to the pitch for the restart was perplexing and as we seem to have recruited about eight coaches surely one of them could have run some drills?
I would have hooked Gmac for Berry myself, as Fred was worrying them while Gareth wasn't really.
Otherwise I am not too despondent as we created as much as them if not more and if Low's header or Berry's shot goes in we're laughing. And we could have nicked a draw.
Also agree their keeper kept them in it...while ours kept giving away possession at every point. Franco back for me.
We have clawed our way to the top of the table in a season most of us approached with some trepidation even after our good form at the end of last term.
We're not done yet.
These are really good points. The only one I'd make in addition is that when that moment of luck with the deflected pot shot fell to Fletcher, he had the composure and awareness to pick out Smith, who hit a good volley, even if he was fortunate with the deflection. When we had a great chance fall to Humphreys, by contrast, he shot rather than picking out the unmarked Udoh. And when Udoh and McCleary combined to play in Berry, his shot was good, but not quite good enough to beat the excellent Okonkwoh.
Many said beforehand it would be a game of fine margins and limited chances and they were right. When Wrexham's big chance came, their strikers showed a quality that ours couldn't quite match.
We've got 10 games left Cat, but apart from that I agree with every word in both posts!
I was really proud of our players for their warm applause to the Wrexham crowd.
Come on people, BELIEVE!!!!!
Let's try and inject some confidence in our players, starting Tuesday.
These sorts of statememts confuse me a. bit after a game like that. Which member of the team or set up would you have changed Dave? You say yourself we are toothless without Kone but Dodds can't score the goals. He did not buy the players. He put a team out that were all.playing in their preferred positions and could and on another day probably would have won the game. Not much more he can do.
The problem is that Dodds's reputation is that of someone who works well with individual players to identify their weaknesses and give them the strategies and confidence to improve. He's been here 6+ weeks now, can you name a player that's improved over that period? Fred is the sort of low-on-confidence player that Dodds should've been focusing on. He has the ability to turn games singlehandedly when on form. I've not noticed any uptick in that form since Dodds has been here though.
In one of his interviews Dodds said he'd worked intensively with Humphreys. That bore fruit for maybe one match but recently he's looked a shadow of the player we knew he could be earlier in the season. I'll be watching closely to see if there's any improvement in his form when Simons returns on Tuesday.
@Wendoverman and others have made the point that we should've been drilling our players effectively after the long break. That really should be Dodds' bread and butter. It's firmly on the head coach to prepare the players for the restart - including instructing one of his team to do a proper warm up. We all saw what happened from the restart as a result - we were sleepy, Wrexham were sharp.
On your firing point - if there are two things we know about the new regime it's that they're rich and they're ruthless. They may well have put a clause in Dodds' contract making it cheaper to let him go if he doesn't get promotion. Even without that I'm confident Dan Rice will act fast - if nothing else to save himself from becoming the fall guy with his employers.
Just watched the Dodds. Doesn’t exude much confidence. Clearly not comfortable in front of cameras. Moving side to side, stratching his neck, totally ill at ease. Hope he’s not like that in front of the players. He clearly needs to improve things quickly or the season could implode quickly.
The body language stuff is getting tedious. If he doesn't command respect , get results, have tactical plans, get his ideas across or have good relationships with players he'll be found out but it won't be because he crosses his arms or puts his hands in his pockets. People have their own style.
we do have the squad to be a top two side it’s just all very bad timing with Bloomfield leaving and all these new players . Honestly think it would be good not to go up and have the squad better settled and ingrained into what ever style of football Dodds wants us to play , however saying that I still think we can go up . Wrexham are not that great just a well drilled side .
Wycombe used to be a well-drilled side. It served us well. I have no idea what we are now other than a collective that seem to be trying hard but without any real idea of why or to what end.
I can't work out Fred at the minute. He just doesn't look himself. His dip in form seems to coincide with Bloomfield leaving. He was such a big player for us but he's produced very little, compared to what was one of the most feared attacks/front 3's in the first half of the season. Same with McCleary. Is Kodua not worthy of a start? How we could have done with a bit of Sadlier magic today.
Agreed. He chews gum wrong as well I understand.
Did anyone notice when Humphreys was announced as MOTM there was not one single clap?! It was very strange.
I couldn't pick a MOTM because we were quite average but I thought Leahy had another solid game.