[Spireiteboy155]

JonB, on 22 January 2022 - 07:02 PM, said:

We weren’t very good, the ref was woeful and the pitch was crap which partly led to how crap we were. Asante playing 10 didn’t work and he should probably have had Mandeville in there behind Asante and Kabby with Quigley entering the game later on.

You could see the players had no confidence in the pitch as it bobbled all over towards them which led to them taking the east option a lot to make sure they weren’t caught out.

Agree with the pitch.
I’ve no idea what’s going on and how many teams use it but it looks horrendous.
Our pitch used to be the best in the league by a street - it’s not even half way through the home games and it looks as though it’s May already.

[dtp]

lindave, on 22 January 2022 - 08:45 PM, said:

Never seen the pitch look so bad.

Must admit, if anything has deteriated since the Trust took over it's the state of the pitch. Whilst it looked sparse and bobbly today it has looked very poor for a few months now and very early into the season we had sand in the goalmouths. If we want to play a passing game the pitch has to be prepared correctly for it.

Now I'm sure I've read on these boards that our budding managers have suggested playing Asante as a No10. So, it was tried today and didn't work.

Quigley put himself about and should have buried his first header from a quality Maguire cross but he seemed to suffer from an official who was consistent in his thinking that if Joe had his shirt pulled or was involved in a 50:50 tussle it was obviously a foul by the lad in blue. We ask for consistency from referees, well we got it, whether he was consistently right or not is another matter. Then Tom came on, possibly to save Joe an early bath, to loud applause and that was the highlight of his performance.

For me, I understood going longer on that surface but I felt when they counter attacked we should have got the ball forward quicker rather than allow them to take up camp again first. Miller, followed by Whittle, along with King failed to get behind their defence and pull back a decent cross for the likes of Tshimanga to attack. If ever there was a game for any scouts to learn anything about Kabby this wasn't it.

In fairness to them they defended well, stuck to their tactics to a man, and even though the ref warned their keeper in the first half for time wasting continued to play him to their hearts content.

At the end of the day we got a point to take us back to the top but if we are going to continue to challenge for that spot we have to improve on that performance from the groundsman upwards.

[Trigger]

Weather has been odd for the last week or so. Its been 3, 4 or even 5 degrees overnight and the ground/car windscreens have been frozen. Not sure if the same happened last night or not but my garden was a little frosty

[Spireiteboy155]

BilltBigBalls, on 22 January 2022 - 07:17 PM, said:

Think a good few on here need to take a long good look at themselves. We're not going to win every match this season same as every other club in this league. Slating the manager when things don't go right for us when the fact is were sat bang top of the league , well go give your heads a wobble.

If he’s the type of manager I though he was, he’d hold his hands up high and admit he got it wrong today.
Wrong team selection.
Wrong positions - totally stitched Asante up.
And wrong tactics. We didn’t get where we are on the league but limping the ball forward at every opportunity.
He picks all of those so for today no one else is to blame.
We rightly praise him when he deserves it, which he has countless times.
Today, he deserves criticism.
He got it wrong. Simple as that.

[Westbars Spireite]

azul, on 22 January 2022 - 08:10 PM, said:

Was there a frost last night? If so it was highly localised and not forecast

It was white over on my front (which gets little sun) this morning.

[Humpalumpa]

Spireiteboy155, on 22 January 2022 - 09:17 PM, said:

If he’s the type of manager I though he was, he’d hold his hands up high and admit he got it wrong today.
Wrong team selection.
Wrong positions - totally stitched Asante up.
And wrong tactics. We didn’t get where we are on the league but limping the ball forward at every opportunity.
He picks all of those so for today no one else is to blame.
We rightly praise him when he deserves it, which he has countless times.
Today, he deserves criticism.
He got it wrong. Simple as that.

And Rowe also blames the state of pitch but they've been training on it during the week.

This post has been edited by Humpalumpa: 22 January 2022 - 09:32 PM

[Benno Spire]

A very frustrating game today not helped by poor ref and Lino’s, couldn't believe the ref thought it acceptable for Aldershot player to slam dunk Denton and not give a foul and allowed the constant blatant time wasting by their keeper and his way of dealing with it was to look away. What annoyed me more was the smug grin on the refs face as he was booed as he walked off.
Depending on results we could drop to third on Tuesday and it’s getting tight at the top, now is not the time for our form to dip.
Agree about the pitch, this is the worst I have ever seen it. We need to hire in some heat lamps and get some growth and thicken the grass.Someone clearly misjudged the weather and the game I believe was close at one point to being called off which is why the club delayed opening the gates and this would have been very embarrassing. It could all be part of a master plan to stop Stockport, Wrexham and Notts being able to play football against us on the floor.

[Mr Mercury]

Westbars Spireite, on 22 January 2022 - 09:27 PM, said:

It was white over on my front (which gets little sun) this morning.

Frost has been forecast and has happened for nearly a week now all over N Derbyshire.

[azul]

Westbars Spireite, on 22 January 2022 - 09:27 PM, said:

It was white over on my front (which gets little sun) this morning.

It was bright sunshine when I woke, I dusted off my Mankini in anticipation of a balmy afternoon and then went back to bed until midday

Not just the performance and result that was disappointing

This post has been edited by azul: 22 January 2022 - 09:32 PM

[Mr Mercury]

CFC1409, on 21 January 2022 - 08:19 PM, said:

Know a couple of people who have had it 2-3 times very quickly

Which may actually be long covid, ie regularly testing positive with PCR testing but negative on lateral flows which covers the ability to pass it on.
Anyhow, it’s passing now so get on with life and move away from the testing regime.

[BilltBigBalls]

Spireiteboy155, on 22 January 2022 - 09:17 PM, said:

If he’s the type of manager I though he was, he’d hold his hands up high and admit he got it wrong today.
Wrong team selection.
Wrong positions - totally stitched Asante up.
And wrong tactics. We didn’t get where we are on the league but limping the ball forward at every opportunity.
He picks all of those so for today no one else is to blame.
We rightly praise him when he deserves it, which he has countless times.
Today, he deserves criticism.
He got it wrong. Simple as that.

.
Rule #6.

[JonB]

It may have been frosty in parts this morning but the game was never in danger so presumably the covers weren’t needed as they knew any hardness in the pitch would thaw in plenty of time. Seem to remember the covers being on can harm the grass so presumably they are only used should the game be in doubt, if they know it’s going to thaw no reason to use them.

[Humpalumpa]

JonB, on 22 January 2022 - 09:35 PM, said:

It may have been frosty in parts this morning but the game was never in danger so presumably the covers weren’t needed as they knew any hardness in the pitch would thaw in plenty of time. Seem to remember the covers being on can harm the grass so presumably they are only used should the game be in doubt, if they know it’s going to thaw no reason to use them.

JB the game was in danger around 2pm, hence the late opening of the turnstiles and team announcement.

This post has been edited by Humpalumpa: 22 January 2022 - 10:00 PM

[JonB]

Humpalumpa, on 22 January 2022 - 09:54 PM, said:

JB the game was in danger.

Was it? There was never mention of a put inspection or alike as far as I know and bearing in mind they were travelling a fair way.

[essexspireman]

JonB, on 22 January 2022 - 09:35 PM, said:

It may have been frosty in parts this morning but the game was never in danger so presumably the covers weren’t needed as they knew any hardness in the pitch would thaw in plenty of time. Seem to remember the covers being on can harm the grass so presumably they are only used should the game be in doubt, if they know it’s going to thaw no reason to use them.

Phil Tooley said they were putting hot water on the pitch before kick off

[Humpalumpa]

essexspireman, on 22 January 2022 - 10:13 PM, said:

Phil Tooley said they were putting hot water on the pitch before kick off

Yep

[Mr Mercury]

JonB, on 22 January 2022 - 09:59 PM, said:

Was it? There was never mention of a put inspection or alike as far as I know and bearing in mind they were travelling a fair way.

A cpl I talk to who get in really early we’re surprised the the turnstiles weren’t open for 15 mins later than they expected. Therefore they didn’t want to let folk in until they were certain the game was going ahead.
Yes it was in danger.

[dim view]

Mr Mercury, on 22 January 2022 - 10:53 PM, said:

A cpl I talk to who get in really early we’re surprised the the turnstiles weren’t open for 15 mins later than they expected. Therefore they didn’t want to let folk in until they were certain the game was going ahead.
Yes it was in danger.

Groan. I come out in a rash at any suggestion of a return to Carson style management.
Does this mean that nobody foresaw a problem until the ref did an inspection? The team deserves better.

[Goku]

Listened to the interview. Agree with Rowe about Croll, he was great and I think he’s risen up the ranks in our ultra competitive centre half rankings.

I don’t see the pitch as a valid excuse for the football I saw yesterday. It is currently crap, agreed, but would Notts County be playing constant hoof if they had a crap pitch? No, they would continue to pass. Stockport would likely do the same. From his comments it sounds like we can expect hoofball at home for the forseeable which is disappointing. I don’t enjoy that brand of football. It always ends up with players constantly grappling whilst challenging, constant screams from the crowd at the ref to no avail, general frustration, balls dropping anywhere and everywhere and rarely in our favour. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a successful longball town team. We will regret this at the end of the season if this is the route we decide to take, I am very confident in saying that.

[Spireiteboy155]

Goku, on 23 January 2022 - 07:37 AM, said:

From his comments it sounds like we can expect hoofball at home for the forseeable which is disappointing.

If that is the case, I can confidently say that we won’t be winning this league.
Or making the top 3 either.

What is the big issue with the pitch? Overuse? Poor management of it?
I’ve never seen it looking so bad in January.

This post has been edited by Spireiteboy155: 23 January 2022 - 08:25 AM