True Tic

9 hours ago, TheBigDog said:

I’m up for this one tomorrow and expect to see a much improved attitude from the players tomorrow.

 

I also want to see two strikers up front for Latics - please. 

Got a draw written all over it

25 minutes ago, oafc1955 said:

In his pre match interview I think I heard him right, saying that Gardner & Ward will be available for selection.

No mention of Freeman and Raglan but surely if fit should be in contention?

I think all the above should be included if they can . Gardner freeman and raglan would change the look of that side . 

1 hour ago, Boyyou said:

How come we sign supposedly top players from other clubs and they seem to benefit more than us?

Lundstram from Alty who are 5th on 28 pts 

Ward from Gateshead who are 8th on 26

Hobson from Southend who would be 5th but for their 10 pt deduction

Willoughby from Chester who are one pt outside play-offs with game in hand on a couple 

Norwood from Barnsley who are 3rd in League 1 and the division's top scorers

Is Boundary Park cursed?

Theories anyone.

That’s a really good question 

Wish I had the answer 

9 minutes ago, Guy Branston Pickle said:

Totally agree, he absolutely needs to improve, as do all our strikers. A lack of consistency in the line up and formations won't help any of them. But I do think the stick he gets is massively unfair.

Absolutely, booing him onto the field is madness. I was vey close to the players on Tuesday as many of us were and I saw Hudsons head drop instantly when he started getting grief from the fans. I’m not defending him or any of them for that display but I felt for him at the time. 

It’s a tough one with Nuttall, he clearly has ability and can score the odd goal but I definitely think it’s right to question his work rate, not how many miles he covers I mean his positioning, winning headers, hold up play,  first touch all of which have been really poor for the majority of the time I’ve seen him. He needs to use his physical presence to better effect. Fondop is a liability at times but he does win stuff in the air and can bring people into play, for what it’s worth I think he would have changed things on Tuesday if he’d come on, not won it obviously but at least the ball wouldn’t  have just been pinged pointlessly back to Hudson after being kicked out in hope to find Norwoods head. But, that’s just me and my opinion. 

1 minute ago, oafc1955 said:

We’ll I haven’t seen it and I also don’t think he really wants to be here!!

Apart from his lazy attitude, his first touch is shocking, he doesn’t win his headers, he doesn’t lead the line, and is hardly prolific in front of goal!

Unsworth himself eventually dropped him and the fact that he hasn’t figured since Thompson took over and now can’t even make the bench says a lot.

 

He played against York and scored a great goal but then next few games I think he reverted to type and became anonymous 

42 minutes ago, Worcester Owl said:

Thinking back to Tuesday, I can understand why Frank would rather row the Atlantic, even in December!!

I felt like I’d rowed the Atlantic by the time I got home 

14 minutes ago, oafc1955 said:

If only it was that simple!

True, but it’s a priority for me. Bottom of the league, barely won a game and they looked good and Imposed on us all the way through . That’s surely about mindsets. 

3 hours ago, oafc1955 said:

The sobering thought for me is that as bad as we were, I cannot remember a game where we have been anywhere near as good and as dominant as Fylde were on Tuesday night!

 

They didn’t just beat us they absolutely murdered us and were so much better than us all over the pitch!

 

If we really have what has been described as a very decent squad I really don’t know how that could possibly happen.

 

We let them, got there possibly thinking we just needed to turn up, they were fired up as everyone is against us. I bet Fylde dont play the same on Saturday . We really need to learn how to absorb the cup final mentality many teams use against us and overcome them . 

14 hours ago, League one forever said:

He was given time off as his Mrs had a baby. He’s been back in training for quite a while- but can’t catch.
 

Played a lot in higher leagues- primarily for Sheff United. But has been very injury prone. Hence we give him a short deal. In the two games he’s played he’s been light years ahead of Sutton IMO. 

Let’s Hope he can slot back in then and there can be some other changes too for Saturday. Raglan for Hogan. Two up front. 

10 minutes ago, PeteG said:

How you can say Kurt would improve the sides at the top of the division is beyond me. You could of course be right in the long term but we've barely seen anything of him to even have an opinion on him. I did say when we signed him and everyone was getting excited that he'd only done it at the level below and he had to prove he could do it at this level. The jury is still out, through no fault of his own at this stage but it does worry me that 3 managers have seen him in training and none of them felt he is worthy of a start so far.

I think Willoughby is a decent player and can play a part for us aswell as Reid and Fondop, he linked up well with Reid v Kidderminster and between them they pretty much secured the points. Fondop is chaotic but can cause chaos for the opposition too. They just need to be used correctly. Norwood is the main man now but he isn’t a lone goal machine as we can see. 

23 hours ago, Frankly Mr Shankly said:

 

Agree apart from the P45 bit. I expect one or two thrashings over the coming months because our squad has a soft underbelly. Plenty of quality there so we'll rinse one or two teams too. I'm sure a manager who's got five promotions under his belt can see we don't have many players who can put a firm tackle in. I'm sure, unlike DU, he'll remedy this when players who have become available.

I hope you’re right because that was appalling on Tuesday. Worse than any Unsworth game and that’s saying something. There was literally nothing there. Every battle lost, second to every ball, outmanoeuvred, outpaced and out skilled. It’s a good thing they didn’t appear to have anyone particularly left footed because the amount of times they skipped past us down the right wing then cut in almost to an open goal but couldn’t let go with their left foot. 
That really can’t happen again but with some of this lot we currently have I wouldn’t put it past them . 

Well Mellon managed him previously so let’s see what he can do to utilise him the best. 

1 hour ago, Gaz_Oafc said:

I'd have both Fylde's wide players over any of ours based on nothing other than their performances last night.

They all raise their game against us. Watch their next game and I’d guess they’ll be pretty underwhelming. They are bottom of the league . 

3 hours ago, Lee Sinnott said:

I'd be inclined to play Shelton right back. Raglan in for Hogan. Gardner, if fit, into the middle. And I hate myself for saying it, but I'd probably chuck Fondop up front with Norwood...

Don’t hate yourself , he has his purpose and last night should have seen him on at some point . 

Being at eye level with the game last night, Norwood was on a hiding to nothing. He was their target man for obvious reasons. Didn’t win a header, and any little scrap of a flick on was mopped up by their defenders. He should have been taken off or at least been partnered up at some point. 

1 minute ago, League one forever said:

Agreed, I don’t like the idea of any squad member being undroppable- just breeds complacency. 
 

I think he would sulk, but I couldn’t care less- if his attitude is poor he doesn’t play. 

Absolutely. He’s part of a wider purpose like they all are. 

1 hour ago, League one forever said:

I wonder how Norwood would react to be being dropped. .

watch the opposition, see who looks best to combat their style and play them. Or at least rotate things if we are getting no joy. 

Just had a look at the table - to think we were joint favourites for promotion at the start of the season…

The one positive last night was Mellon has quickly been shown the frailties of some of this team when they under the cosh. I’m glad in a way it’s happened now. Was a bit puzzled he didn’t take off Norwood or put someone alongside him but I understand the issues re the sending off/subs etc 

35 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

Biggest worry for me wasn't the players we know they can be weak as piss it was Mellon and Brabin's reaction to it all, literally when the second went in there was no way back because you could see we were just going to continue doing the same thing, Hogan's sending off just compounded everything, we've got no real leaders in there, Hogan for instance has one good game every five yet is a mainstay and captain when really he's not good enough, this persisting with Sutton at RB has to stop, it's bordering on irresponsible now, surely Raglan or Shelton could do a job until a suitable replacement can be found. Kitching is now getting caught out time after time, Sutton gets the flak but I'll guarantee more goals have gone in down left side than the right in the past month or so including the first two last night where Kitching actually appeared that he didn't look arsed, no competition for his place is probably a problem as at times he starts to cruise.

 

Simply we need players, where is Raglan, Gardner, Freeman, Willoughby even Nuttall could have done something last night because that cannot be allowed to happen again, it was an embarrassment all round.

 Think Raglan might have his chance on Saturday . I’m not sure about Hogan either. Can’t make my mind up about him. The Freeman situation needs sorting out. What on earth is going on with him? 
Definitely confused re not changing Norwood up front, especially late on when we had nothing to lose. We were missing pace and height up top, both of which we had on the bench. Couldn’t really understand bringing Tollitt on. 

24 minutes ago, disjointed said:

I was in a car with no sat nav, the diversion signs were non existent, fortunately I headed for Deepdale where I knew and managed to pick up a road for Swinton off the East Lancs. 

Me too, absolutely ridiculous situation. I’d already had my fill of one circus last night to be met by another bunch of clowns closing the m/way in about fifteen places 

15 minutes ago, andy_b_100 said:

Last night was my sons first away match .... he had been looking forward to it for weeks now .....  from 1-11 it was just awful to watch. Making Shelton a scapegoat is the easy thing to do but christ on a bike. Lets start with the positives !!

 

We got in the car park ! 

Double whopper was good !

Starbucks Latte was good ! 

 

Game was shite ... players were shite ..... the scoreline was shite .... 5 outfield players were more shite than Shelton, who was shite. There were one or two melts in the crowd baying for blood and hurling personal abuse at the players which was shite ... So overall it was shite. Then after finally getting out of the car park ..... they closed every exit feasable to prevent us getting home ... and after the 50min journey turned to 2 hours .. they had the audacity to close Rochdale Rd as well ..... which as you may have guessed was shite. My sons verdict on the whole thing was it was shite. My plans for another awayday have gone to shite ...... oh and finally getting diverted all over Garstang and Salford when you are bursting for a pee after being in M555 traffic for what seemed like hours .... is SHITE ! 

Yes the magical mystery tours of Preston and Salford really topped off my evening too. 

Just now, Dave_Og said:

 

It would be quite something to enter the loan market for a striker when we have 5 or 6 of them on the books

I meant a good number of the players in general Dave, not specifically the strikers. I watched Norwood lose out over and over again without so much as a glimmer of movement from the bench . Fondop or Reid would have made a difference although I doubt theyd have turned it around completely. The whole thing was just awful. 

7 minutes ago, TheBigDog said:

Mellon was careful to talk about 'we' in the post match interview - and rightly so in my opinion. I'm not writing him off after two games, that would be foolish, but as bad as the players were last night, I think Mellon has to take some share of the responsibility for the performance.

That first half was as bad a half as I have witnessed this season. Right from the first minute we were simply not at it.  He said in his post match that we did not match their running - very true.

Yet again we watched our team outrun, outthought and outplayed by the opposition.

 

I thought he knew how to get the best out of Norwood...  yet he played him as a lone striker and allowed the team to pump high balls to him. It didn't work.

 

There was a point during the first period when Kay was down receiving treatment and the players grouped around the manager - a time to reset perhaps? Nope, more of the same followed.

 

He persisted with his 4-1-4-1 away from home at the bottom of the table team. He had Fondop and Reid on the bench - neither were used.

 

Also - he has come in and apart from McGahey and Hope (both Paul Murray changes) he has persisted with the same players that we have seen stutter and fail all season.

Shelton and Sutton should not be starting and Sheron is average at best. 

 

What other options does he have? Ward, Gardner, Dickenson are injured as they would have brought more energy but the players last night were collectively woeful.

 

Then there are the question marks around Raglan, Willoughby, Nuttall and Freeman.

 

Mellon and his assistant, Brabin, will know all of the above and far more. They need time but they also need to get to work sharpish. I do not want to see another performance like last night ever again.

Yep, I thought the same re Norwood, if you’re going to lump balls up the field to a loan striker at least get someone on with the height to reach them. 
That was embarrassing last night, outplayed, outfought and outwitted by the worst team in this league.

Not good enough but I don’t think a good number of them are good enough full stop.