Home form.

[League one forever]

At home, we are consistently starting poorly. We sit off teams, and don’t play further up the pitch. We look passive and seem happy to let the other teams dictate the play. This isn’t now and again, it’s every home game. (It happens away as well, but you get away with it more, as it’s on the home team to attack. . . ) and I think Mellon has been here long enough now to say a pattern has developed. 
 

Mellon has said many times, we need to stop conceding goals. I wonder if the message is- keep it tight first and then the opportunities will come.  The problem there is, the players settle into a pattern and it’s difficult in game to suddenly play front foot football when you’ve been asked to keep it tight. 
 

Id like Mellon to insist on being further up the pitch from the off and get at them - if that means younger fitter players on loan for the time being then so be it. 

[LightDN123]

The current midfield setup is the issue. They’d rather sit back. 

[Bobledgersheart]

13 minutes ago, LightDN123 said:

The current midfield setup is the issue. They’d rather sit back. 

Bloke behind me was shouting at the team to press when Gateshead were pissing about with the ball from dead balls.

With a 33 year old striker, McGahey and Lundstrum (carrying an injury) in midfield and Sutton and Kitching as wing backs pressing as a team is a non-starter.

[LightDN123]

5 minutes ago, Bobledgersheart said:

Bloke behind me was shouting at the team to press when Gateshead were pissing about with the ball from dead balls.

With a 33 year old striker, McGahey and Lundstrum (carrying an injury) in midfield and Sutton and Kitching as wing backs pressing as a team is a non-starter.

Sheron should have been pushed up to Lundstrum. We would have been better going man for man. If you look at Stones and Norwood they was looking over the shoulder and complaining to the midfield that the Gateshead players were free. 
 

No point them pressing if the others sit back and I think that’s what happened and it was all a shambles. 

[League one forever]

12 minutes ago, Bobledgersheart said:

Bloke behind me was shouting at the team to press when Gateshead were pissing about with the ball from dead balls.

With a 33 year old striker, McGahey and Lundstrum (carrying an injury) in midfield and Sutton and Kitching as wing backs pressing as a team is a non-starter.

Exactly Bob. 
 

People just fixate on the midfield. (It does need improving) but a team press the ball, a team win the ball back. We’re a slow ageing side, and until we can get younger fitter players throughout the side not just midfield, we’ll keep struggling. 

[LightDN123]

9 minutes ago, League one forever said:

Exactly Bob. 
 

People just fixate on the midfield. (It does need improving) but a team press the ball, a team win the ball back. We’re a slow ageing side, and until we can get younger fitter players throughout the side not just midfield, we’ll keep struggling. 

The midfield is the bloody issue. For 18 months we have continually looked like a Sunday league team. The midfield has been the constant issue during the time. Kitching was up the pitch ready to press, so was Sutton. Norwood and Stones were pressing. The midfield was non existent and did not press. 
 

You seem to think the midfield is not to blame every week just to support your Sheron is good narrative. He’s wank, so is McGahey but you’ll get the average game out of them. Threkald, Maynard, Shelton and anyone else has also been dross in midfield.

 

Sign a Kelly / Conn Clarke type player and a holding midfielder who can pass the ball. Play them alongside Lundstrum and we will be fine. Until then, we will continue to be this inconsistent mess. 

[Ritchierich]

I keep saying it but this season is a write off, we simple don’t have the right players with the right mentality 

 

MM is going to have to figure it out and make big changes to both the personnel and the mindset ready for next season

 

Its hugely frustrating but we blew the opportunity last summer by sticking with DU and the damage is done

[yarddog73]

Sheron would push on to a man who would then off load, he would them turn around and retreat back in to the defensive line, same guy picks the ball up again and he does the same, what a waste of energy.

 

If you dont press as a team they will always find a spare man it's pretty basic stuff that Gateshead obviously work on day in day out to exploit teams like ours who are obsessed with keeping shape, particularly defensively.

 

It means you have to be brave which is probably part of the problem, frustratingly you could see Gateshead vulnerability yesterday but we allowed them too much time and that just gives them more confidence to play the way they want to.

[TheBigDog]

40 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

frustratingly you could see Gateshead vulnerability yesterday

I must have missed that… what was their vulnerability?

[League one forever]

58 minutes ago, LightDN123 said:

The midfield is the bloody issue. For 18 months we have continually looked like a Sunday league team. The midfield has been the constant issue during the time. Kitching was up the pitch ready to press, so was Sutton. Norwood and Stones were pressing. The midfield was non existent and did not press. 
 

You seem to think the midfield is not to blame every week just to support your Sheron is good narrative. He’s wank, so is McGahey but you’ll get the average game out of them. Threkald, Maynard, Shelton and anyone else has also been dross in midfield.

 

Sign a Kelly / Conn Clarke type player and a holding midfielder who can pass the ball. Play them alongside Lundstrum and we will be fine. Until then, we will continue to be this inconsistent mess. 

 

I don’t think you actually read what other people post. 
 

I’ve literally just said- the midfield needs addressing. But that’s gone over your head. 
 

To claim I have narrative is just you projecting. Here’s your narrative. 
 

The midfield is the only issue. That’s it. 

Which completely contradicts what you post in other threads. 
 

Hogan isn’t good enough. 
Maghey isn’t quick enough to play centre half. 
kitchen (our only outlet) is 34 and has no one challenging him. 

We don’t have a right back. 
We have no quality wide men. 
We have 6 strikers- many of which aren’t fancied and have been usurped by a 20 year old kid on loan. 
 

None of the above has anything to do with the midfield. (Which I’ll say it again- needs improving as well.) 

 

Two midfielders is not the ONLY difference between where we are and where we want to be. We are old, slow and non existent in certain positions. Something you acknowledge in other threads and then conveniently forget when you say  ‘midfield is the only issue’. 

 

 

[yarddog73]

1 hour ago, TheBigDog said:

I must have missed that… what was their vulnerability?

Once or twice we sustained the press and put them on the back foot, just before half time we played 20 yards further up and didn't allow them time to play out, I really thought start of second half would be much the same but we allowed them the initiative again and were punished almost immediately.

[LightDN123]

1 hour ago, League one forever said:

 

I don’t think you actually read what other people post. 
 

I’ve literally just said- the midfield needs addressing. But that’s gone over your head. 
 

To claim I have narrative is just you projecting. Here’s your narrative. 
 

The midfield is the only issue. That’s it. 

Which completely contradicts what you post in other threads. 
 

Hogan isn’t good enough. 
Maghey isn’t quick enough to play centre half. 
kitchen (our only outlet) is 34 and has no one challenging him. 

We don’t have a right back. 
We have no quality wide men. 
We have 6 strikers- many of which aren’t fancied and have been usurped by a 20 year old kid on loan. 
 

None of the above has anything to do with the midfield. (Which I’ll say it again- needs improving as well.) 

 

Two midfielders is not the ONLY difference between where we are and where we want to be. We are old, slow and non existent in certain positions. Something you acknowledge in other threads and then conveniently forget when you say  ‘midfield is the only issue’. 

 

 

All of them are issues, but the biggest issue is the midfield. The others we can get away with, because no team doesn’t have positions they could improve on in this division.

 

The midfield has been as issue for far to long.

 

Can me and you go back to pushing the Unsy out narrative. We actually agreed on things back then. 

[deyres42]

You wanted Mellon, this is what you voted for.

[yarddog73]

9 minutes ago, deyres42 said:

You wanted Mellon, this is what you voted for.

Out of interest Rob who did you want in?

[deyres42]

6 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

Out of interest Rob who did you want in?

My preference was for a younger progressive coach Faz.

[yarddog73]

Just now, deyres42 said:

My preference was for a younger progressive coach Faz.

Put a name out there then, I quite fancied Williamson but can see why they went with Mellon as a young progressive coach wouldn't be afforded the same patience that Micky is getting.

[deyres42]

1 minute ago, yarddog73 said:

Put a name out there then, I quite fancied Williamson but can see why they went with Mellon as a young progressive coach wouldn't be afforded the same patience that Micky is getting.

Mellon was the easy/lazy/unimaginative choice, in my opinion anyway.

 

The PL and Championship academies are all stacked nowadays, I'd have been looking that way but alas the powers that be thought differently.

[trickyrickyholden]

5 hours ago, deyres42 said:

Mellon was the easy/lazy/unimaginative choice, in my opinion anyway.

 

The PL and Championship academies are all stacked nowadays, I'd have been looking that way but alas the powers that be thought differently.

Isn't that where we went horribly wrong last time!??? No thanks!

 

Mellon will come good, I'm sure of it.

[Londonboy]

We need to find a way 2H to do better at home there is no doubt if we want to get into the playoffs.

The sides with the best home form are unsurprisingly the top 3.

We are16th in the home form table with 3 wins which is dire and we have little chance of the top 7 unless we see a significant improvement.

If we matched Barnet and Bromley's home form we would be 2nd or 3rd.

Mellon needs to find a formula to win at home. I'm not bothered if we aren't in the front foot so much as long as we stop conceding soft goals.

Let's start tomorrow against a pretty poor Hartlepool side who are low on confidence and are leaking goals like a sieve....

 

 

[BP1960]

7 minutes ago, Londonboy said:

We need to find a way 2H to do better at home there is no doubt if we want to get into the playoffs.

The sides with the best home form are unsurprisingly the top 3.

We are16th in the home form table with 3 wins which is dire and we have little chance of the top 7 unless we see a significant improvement.

If we matched Barnet and Bromley's home form we would be 2nd or 3rd.

Mellon needs to find a formula to win at home. I'm not bothered if we aren't in the front foot so much as long as we stop conceding soft goals.

Let's start tomorrow against a pretty poor Hartlepool side who are low on confidence and are leaking goals like a sieve....

 

 

 

Teams tend to play more defensive and counter attacking away from home, we can't cope with direct runners so I'd suggest even if it means changing a winning team take out Raglan and bring in Gardner to put us on the front foot.

The opposition always seem to have a playmaker with no one within 10 yards of him and they need to be quickly closed down.

[Londonboy]

10 minutes ago, Londonboy said:

We need to find a way 2H to do better at home there is no doubt if we want to get into the playoffs.

The sides with the best home form are unsurprisingly the top 3.

We are16th in the home form table with 3 wins which is dire and we have little chance of the top 7 unless we see a significant improvement.

If we matched Barnet and Bromley's home form we would be 2nd or 3rd.

Mellon needs to find a formula to win at home. I'm not bothered if we aren't in the front foot so much as long as we stop conceding soft goals.

Let's start tomorrow against a pretty poor Hartlepool side who are low on confidence and are leaking goals like a sieve....

 

 

And to give some context

We still have the top 3 to play at home

We have lost at home to the teams in 4,,5 and 7th

And drew with Alty in 6th....

[Monty Burns]

On 12/24/2023 at 12:56 PM, Ritchierich said:

I keep saying it but this season is a write off, we simple 

sums it up for me.

keep saying it = keep being wrong.

[True Tic]

46 minutes ago, BP1960 said:

 

Teams tend to play more defensive and counter attacking away from home, we can't cope with direct runners so I'd suggest even if it means changing a winning team take out Raglan and bring in Gardner to put us on the front foot.

The opposition always seem to have a playmaker with no one within 10 yards of him and they need to be quickly closed down.

Yes, we stood off Gateshead for some strange reason, yes they’re ok but that’s it, reminded me of Unsworth. I just kept thinking why aren’t we in their faces. You simply have to battle for the ball then keep the thing or of you can’t keep it make those first touches count. 

[League one forever]

On 12/25/2023 at 12:11 PM, deyres42 said:

Mellon was the easy/lazy/unimaginative choice, in my opinion anyway.

I know, I bet they saw his 5 promotions and just thought - 

 

‘Oh, he’ll do’ 

[Monty Burns]

41 minutes ago, League one forever said:

I know, I bet they saw his 5 promotions and just thought - 

 

‘Oh, he’ll do’ 

yep. Frank just got in the first boat he saw and the family just buy rusty cabins. then they came to one match and bought us

 

(l'm not havin a go at you btw. sometimes have to explain in here!!)