[Middle East]

I was going to post when I got in last night but decided to mull it over before I did. Much of what I think has been put on different threads but for what its worth here's my take...

I like Cook and believe that he is a good manager, but even the best of them get it wrong and he did again last night....... for the third match running!

OK so Johnson is going back to Villa and may not return, but he is absolute quality and not playing him from the start in all 3 games is criminal. There's a lot of kak talked about tactics this and that, but put simply you play your best players if they are fit and he is definitely one of them!

Bocco is a better option than Gardner and Goboly (probably spelt wrong) down the right for me and we were playing well when he was in the team, so why isn't he now? Is it that he's on pay per play and we don't want to stump up? I don't know, but the other two are still very young and very raw and we are now playing against better quality teams and they don't look up to it yet.

I also think Cook has got it wrong bringing in a defensive midfielder. Gobern doesn't look fit and isn't really required when we have already have Morsy who already does that job brilliantly! For me a better quality centre half is needed as Evatt and Georg just aren't working as a partnership. Unfortunately Evatts pace has gone, so he needs a quick defensive partner to cover and the pizza boy isn't that man! I would love to see Cooper back on a season long loan when Georg goes back to Wolves or someone similar but that's probably wishful thinking.

Bringing Ryan off instead of Gobern was also a totally bizarre decision. We're 2 down at home and Cook leaves a defensive midfielder on? By that stage we needed goals to get back in the game and so what if we shipped another.....which we did in any case!

The only 2 who played well for me were Tendayi (who was my motm) and Jones, as they got forward, defended well and had to try to cover for the central defence!!!

Unlike some I am not pressing the panic button yet but having watched us for 40 years I fear that history will repeat itself and yet another season that started with so much promise will unravel. I hope like hell that I am wrong but the signs are there for all to see. We start playing well as well as I have seen us for years, get an extra 1 to 2 thousand extra fans and suddenly it implodes....

So come on Paul, please please stop tinkering with something that wasn't broken because its not doing you, the players or us any favours!

[brianclose]

Have to say I thought Swindon were absolute class last night. The first time Ive walked away from a game for many a time when Ive accepted that we have been well and truly outplayed. Playing it around calmly at the back (including the keeper), then breaking at speed and always making the right decisions with incisive forward passing. I reckon half of the Championship would have struggled to match them last night and they were certainly better than Huddersfield. The number 3 was like lightening but he also had a composure, awareness and end product which is very rare even at L1 level. Their midfielders and centre backs were ultra-composed, never ruffled, and their strikers both looked a threat despite Obika missing two sitters. Probably the paciest all round side we have played this season - this is what I feared L1 would really be like!

Ratings;

Lee 5 - Should have stopped the swerving ball for the first. Unlucky with the third. Doesnt inspire confidence in this league.
Darikwa 8 - MOM. One of only 2 or 3 who was prepared to fight fire with fire with Swindons pace and drive. Made some very good runs second half and defensively solid. Needs to learn how to beat the first man with crosses!
Margreitter 6 - Didnt really notice him. This isnt in this case a good thing as he was AWOL for much of the night.
Evatt 5 - More cumbersome by the week. Let the strikers run amok around him. Cannot dominate games like last season.
Jones 5.5 - Defensively not sound and also lacking in the final third last night. Cant fault his effort.
Gobern 5 - Looks a bit like a midfield showpony spraying the occassional hollywood ball but generally doesnt get stuck in enough or protect the back 4 enough. We didnt need him.
Ryan 6 - Typically busy performance. Unlucky with the volley. What we have come to expect but doubts creeping that he is really good enough for a promotion chasing L1 side (if we are ver to be one).
Morsy 7.5 - Battled manfully, a few decent driving runs and generally composed on the ball. Probably his toughest game of the season and what he will have to get used to if he moves on to better things.
Gardner 6 - Is exciting but has a bit of the headless chicken about him. End product flatters and not fit. Faded badly.
Clucas 6.5 - Im warming to him. He tries hard, has a trick or two and a bullet of a left foot. I think he is the most likely of our younger attacking midfielders to be a big player for us.
Doyle 5 - Has never been good enough to do it on his own so now we arent playing our two most creative players he has no chance.

Johnson 6 - And undoubted class act and probably the most baffling decision of Cookies tenure to start leaving him out. Not his best game but Swindon were already holding every ace when he came on.
Gboly 6.5 - I thought he looked decent after being thrown in against a very good side. Nice feet, can beat a man with pace and put thought into his final delivery. More effective than Gardner with his end product.
Banks 5 - Hardly remember him touching the ball.

Saturday has become a must-win for me. Yeovil are on their knees, arguably worse than we are. Johnson has to start for Gardner in his last game and I would probably put O'Shea in for Gobern and go for the jugular.

[The informer]

Middle East, on 29 October 2014 - 09:55 AM, said:

I was going to post when I got in last night but decided to mull it over before I did. Much of what I think has been put on different threads but for what its worth here's my take...

I like Cook and believe that he is a good manager, but even the best of them get it wrong and he did again last night....... for the third match running!

OK so Johnson is going back to Villa and may not return, but he is absolute quality and not playing him from the start in all 3 games is criminal. There's a lot of kak talked about tactics this and that, but put simply you play your best players if they are fit and he is definitely one of them!

Bocco is a better option than Gardner and Goboly (probably spelt wrong) down the right for me and we were playing well when he was in the team, so why isn't he now? Is it that he's on pay per play and we don't want to stump up? I don't know, but the other two are still very young and very raw and we are now playing against better quality teams and they don't look up to it yet.

I also think Cook has got it wrong bringing in a defensive midfielder. Gobern doesn't look fit and isn't really required when we have already have Morsy who already does that job brilliantly! For me a better quality centre half is needed as Evatt and Georg just aren't working as a partnership. Unfortunately Evatts pace has gone, so he needs a quick defensive partner to cover and the pizza boy isn't that man! I would love to see Cooper back on a season long loan when Georg goes back to Wolves or someone similar but that's probably wishful thinking.

Bringing Ryan off instead of Gobern was also a totally bizarre decision. We're 2 down at home and Cook leaves a defensive midfielder on? By that stage we needed goals to get back in the game and so what if we shipped another.....which we did in any case!

The only 2 who played well for me were Tendayi (who was my motm) and Jones, as they got forward, defended well and had to try to cover for the central defence!!!

Unlike some I am not pressing the panic button yet but having watched us for 40 years I fear that history will repeat itself and yet another season that started with so much promise will unravel. I hope like hell that I am wrong but the signs are there for all to see. We start playing well as well as I have seen us for years, get an extra 1 to 2 thousand extra fans and suddenly it implodes....

So come on Paul, please please stop tinkering with something that wasn't broken because its not doing you, the players or us any favours!

If You think Jones defended well then think gain,he may be good at going forward but he is constantly out of position and allows attackers to get crosses in,Evo and Marg constantly have to come out wide to cover his mistakes.

[frearsghost]

Middle East, on 29 October 2014 - 09:55 AM, said:

I was going to post when I got in last night but decided to mull it over before I did. Much of what I think has been put on different threads but for what its worth here's my take...

I like Cook and believe that he is a good manager, but even the best of them get it wrong and he did again last night....... for the third match running!

OK so Johnson is going back to Villa and may not return, but he is absolute quality and not playing him from the start in all 3 games is criminal. There's a lot of kak talked about tactics this and that, but put simply you play your best players if they are fit and he is definitely one of them!

Bocco is a better option than Gardner and Goboly (probably spelt wrong) down the right for me and we were playing well when he was in the team, so why isn't he now? Is it that he's on pay per play and we don't want to stump up? I don't know, but the other two are still very young and very raw and we are now playing against better quality teams and they don't look up to it yet.

I also think Cook has got it wrong bringing in a defensive midfielder. Gobern doesn't look fit and isn't really required when we have already have Morsy who already does that job brilliantly! For me a better quality centre half is needed as Evatt and Georg just aren't working as a partnership. Unfortunately Evatts pace has gone, so he needs a quick defensive partner to cover and the pizza boy isn't that man! I would love to see Cooper back on a season long loan when Georg goes back to Wolves or someone similar but that's probably wishful thinking.

Bringing Ryan off instead of Gobern was also a totally bizarre decision. We're 2 down at home and Cook leaves a defensive midfielder on? By that stage we needed goals to get back in the game and so what if we shipped another.....which we did in any case!

The only 2 who played well for me were Tendayi (who was my motm) and Jones, as they got forward, defended well and had to try to cover for the central defence!!!

Unlike some I am not pressing the panic button yet but having watched us for 40 years I fear that history will repeat itself and yet another season that started with so much promise will unravel. I hope like hell that I am wrong but the signs are there for all to see. We start playing well as well as I have seen us for years, get an extra 1 to 2 thousand extra fans and suddenly it implodes....

So come on Paul, please please stop tinkering with something that wasn't broken because its not doing you, the players or us any favours!

It's all opinions of course and here's my take. I don't think we were 'unbalanced.' I think the problem is the back four and the solution is to bring in better players in those areas. They have clearly not established an understanding and have looked vulnerable when players run at them. We've been superb up to Bristol City and the first ten minutes at Colchester and it was obvious where the weakness was.

Cook is responsible for the last three defeats and must take responsibility. He's not identified the problem, as I see it, and has talked his way into a crisis. He's tried to fix something that wasn't really broken. His perception of what was wrong has had an negative impact. It has disrupted the fluency of the team and has affected some players. Gobern's signing signalled a more defensive approach and it hasn't worked. If yesterday's performance doesn't exemplify his 'unbalanced' theory was wrong, what will.

My advice would be. Stick by your footballing philosopy. We all like it and want more, and work on bringing in quality players who can make it work. If you do that Cooky you'll have the support of most of us.

This post has been edited by frearsghost: 29 October 2014 - 11:10 AM

[Westbars Spireite]

Jones didn't defend well at all.

[h again]

frearsghost, on 29 October 2014 - 10:57 AM, said:

It's all opinions of course and here's my take. I don't think we were 'unbalanced.' I think the problem is the back four and the solution is to bring in better players in those areas. They have clearly not established an understanding and have looked vulnerable when players run at them. We've been superb up to Bristol City and the first ten minutes at Colchester and it was obvious where the weakness was.

Cook is responsible for the last three defeats and must take responsibility. He's not identified the problem, as I see it, and has talked his way into a crisis. He's tried to fix something that wasn't really broken. His perception of what was wrong has had an negative impact. It has disrupted the fluency of the team and has affected some players. Gobern's signing signalled a more defensive approach and it hasn't worked. if yesterday's performance doesn't exemplify his 'unbalanced' theory was wrong, what will.

My advice would be. Stick by your footballing philosopy. We all like it and want more, and work on bringing in quality players who can make it work. If you that Cooky you'll have the support of most of us.

Well said. Up to half time at Colchester we were looking as if the play-offs weren't out of the question. That's two and a half games ago, in the last of which the new, 'defensive' outlook was made to look silly by playing a loan merchant obviously brought in to give us a bit more power defensively. Wrong man in the wrong position at the wrong time - otherwise he wasn't too bad.

[h again]

Westbars Spireite, on 29 October 2014 - 11:10 AM, said:

Jones didn't defend well at all.

Nice to have full-backs who can get forward, but since two of our most effective attackers are also left midfielders - and we now have what looks like another good prospect in Boly, it might be time for the gaffer to tell Jones to rein it in a bit. Quite apart from strangling the supply of crosses, his pace is needed at the back to support the slow centre of defence.

[Tha Knows...]

Middle East, on 29 October 2014 - 09:55 AM, said:

I was going to post when I got in last night but decided to mull it over before I did. Much of what I think has been put on different threads but for what its worth here's my take...

I like Cook and believe that he is a good manager, but even the best of them get it wrong and he did again last night....... for the third match running!

OK so Johnson is going back to Villa and may not return, but he is absolute quality and not playing him from the start in all 3 games is criminal. There's a lot of kak talked about tactics this and that, but put simply you play your best players if they are fit and he is definitely one of them!

Bocco is a better option than Gardner and Goboly (probably spelt wrong) down the right for me and we were playing well when he was in the team, so why isn't he now? Is it that he's on pay per play and we don't want to stump up? I don't know, but the other two are still very young and very raw and we are now playing against better quality teams and they don't look up to it yet.

I also think Cook has got it wrong bringing in a defensive midfielder. Gobern doesn't look fit and isn't really required when we have already have Morsy who already does that job brilliantly! For me a better quality centre half is needed as Evatt and Georg just aren't working as a partnership. Unfortunately Evatts pace has gone, so he needs a quick defensive partner to cover and the pizza boy isn't that man! I would love to see Cooper back on a season long loan when Georg goes back to Wolves or someone similar but that's probably wishful thinking.

Bringing Ryan off instead of Gobern was also a totally bizarre decision. We're 2 down at home and Cook leaves a defensive midfielder on? By that stage we needed goals to get back in the game and so what if we shipped another.....which we did in any case!

The only 2 who played well for me were Tendayi (who was my motm) and Jones, as they got forward, defended well and had to try to cover for the central defence!!!

Unlike some I am not pressing the panic button yet but having watched us for 40 years I fear that history will repeat itself and yet another season that started with so much promise will unravel. I hope like hell that I am wrong but the signs are there for all to see. We start playing well as well as I have seen us for years, get an extra 1 to 2 thousand extra fans and suddenly it implodes....

So come on Paul, please please stop tinkering with something that wasn't broken because its not doing you, the players or us any favours!

If our final league position is affected significantly by a matter of 2 points you could rightly point a finger at this decision

[brianclose]

Spire-Power, on 29 October 2014 - 11:52 AM, said:

If our final league position is affected significantly by a matter of 2 points you could rightly point a finger at this decision

I am absolutely convinced that we would have gained at least 2 points from Colchester and Walsall with him starting both games.

The argument that we must give squad players game time for when he goes back is nonsensical, as at whichever point they are drafted back in, be it after Johnsons 1st game on loan, or 50th game on loan, they will need a game or so to get up to speed. And people like O'Shea arent getting a look in regardless of this - what will he be like when he has to start a game?!

This post has been edited by brianclose: 29 October 2014 - 11:59 AM

[boot]

h again, on 29 October 2014 - 11:17 AM, said:

Nice to have full-backs who can get forward, but since two of our most effective attackers are also left midfielders - and we now have what looks like another good prospect in Boly, it might be time for the gaffer to tell Jones to rein it in a bit. Quite apart from strangling the supply of crosses, his pace is needed at the back to support the slow centre of defence.

I have thought for some time that Jones puts so much into going forward that he is running on empty at the other end, particularly late in games.

This post has been edited by boot: 29 October 2014 - 12:00 PM

[Tha Knows...]

brianclose, on 29 October 2014 - 11:59 AM, said:

I am absolutely convinced that we would have gained at least 2 points from Colchester and Walsall with him starting both games.

The argument that we must give squad players game time for when he goes back is nonsensical, as at whichever point they are drafted back in, be it after Johnsons 1st game on loan, or 50th game on loan, they will need a game or so to get up to speed. And people like O'Shea arent getting a look in regardless of this - what will he be like when he has to start a game?!

I cant speak for Colchester game but I was at walsall and I reckon we would have won that one with Johnson in. We were the better side that day imo, we didnt play as badly as some are making out but it was the final ball syndrome again. Johnson can unlock defences and, as we know, has been assisting Doyle.

[azul]

Westbars Spireite, on 29 October 2014 - 11:10 AM, said:

Jones didn't defend well at all.

He was dozing for that second goal

The only member of that back five that deserves any credit whatsoever was Darikwa and as for the midfield defensively they were inept too.

We go back to Morsy/Ryan pronto and hope they can keep the pressure of the defence by ball retention