How Refreshing Was That

TwelveAngryMen

TwelveAngryMen

Well-known member
Attack-minded from the start
No silly possession obsession in our defensive third
Fantastic press and three really great goals
Yes we ran out of steam a bit on 60mins and the Norburn / Virtue subs didn’t achieve the objective but give me that any day of the week v the negative possession based approach
Kudos to CJ and Bees who I thought were both exceptional today
MOM a tough one for once as there’s shouts for at least 6/7 players
 
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TwelveAngryMen said:
Attack-minded from the start
No silly possession obsession in our defensive third
Fantastic press and three really great goals
Yes we ran out of steam a bit on 60mins and the Norburn / Virtue subs didn’t achieve the objective but give me that any day of the week v the negative position based approach
Kudos to CJ and Bees who I thought were both exceptional today
MOM a tough one for once as there’s shouts for at least 6/7 players
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He will probably rest Carey and play Norburn from the off, that will cure any attacking tendancies
 
Too little too late. Everyone has been saying we need to play on the front foot and we’ve not done it all season until it’s been forced on us because we had no alternative because it was out of our own hands. Much as I’d love us to sneak in it’s not happening is it.
And we all know how it’ll play out don’t we. Because we’ve finished on a good run it’ll give the Critch next season and we’ll revert to type. He’ll be axed by Xmas and next season will be wasted.
More optimism next week 😀
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Attack-minded from the start
No silly possession obsession in our defensive third
Fantastic press and three really great goals
Yes we ran out of steam a bit on 60mins and the Norburn / Virtue subs didn’t achieve the objective but give me that any day of the week v the negative possession based approach
Kudos to CJ and Bees who I thought were both exceptional today
MOM a tough one for once as there’s shouts for at least 6/7 players
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Attack minded until Norburn came on at which point we sat back. But for 70 minutes it was great stuff.
 
The best first 20 mins we've played all season, clearly the players are playing to instructions and stopped that monotonous playing it across the back four incessantly, what a refreshing difference it made.

Maybe Critchley reads AVFTT after all. 🤔
 
Barnsley were like watching us in a typical away performance. No urgency and no threat aside from the last umcumfortable 5 minutes.

Take aways from today :

CJ had a decent game
We were on the front foot from the off.
Carey had one of his best games.
Dembele was imperious.
And Beesley was superb - my man of the match, and I never thought I would be saying that.

And finally a word for the ref one of the few decent ones we have had all season.
 
Atchetman said:
3-2 flattered Barnsley..they hardly had a shot for an hour.. great team performance..Carey and CJ fantastic today..roll on Reading..76 points should be enough..
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I doubt it, we are still outsiders to snatch a play off place, that said some hope is better than none. Roll on Reading! 😁
 
If the game had finished 4-1 there could be little complaints from them, but we did let them back in a it and need to work on that.

Infact, the time for the possession football is often when ahead like that, to take the sting out, run them round and either they chase and leave gaps or you keep doing it.

If we can learn to master both elements that's when you are almost unstoppable.
 
Allmodcons said:
Barnsley were like watching us in a typical away performance. No urgency and no threat aside from the last umcumfortable 5 minutes.

Take aways from today :

CJ had a decent game
We were on the front foot from the off.
Carey had one of his best games.
Dembele was imperious.
And Beesley was superb - my man of the match, and I never thought I would be saying that.

And finally a word for the ref one of the few decent ones we have had all season.
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Oi there’s only me and td53 normally have anything positive to say about Carey. Joking apart every player put a top shift in today and was pleased to see CJ have his best game in a long time. We’ve waited all season for that performance and the team deserved the great backing they got today 👏👏
 
TangerineBayern said:
Oi there’s only me and td53 normally have anything positive to say about Carey. Joking apart every player put a top shift in today and was pleased to see CJ have his best game in a long time. We’ve waited all season for that performance and the team deserved the great backing they got today 👏👏
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I've always rated Carey but he needs to be given some freedom to play which he has had with Byers next to him and kaddy causing a rucus in front of him. Rigidly playing on the left or as a holding mid just isn't his game.
 
Costero Poderoso said:
I've always rated Carey but he needs to be given some freedom to play which he has had with Byers next to him and kaddy causing a rucus in front of him. Rigidly playing on the left or as a holding mid just isn't his game.
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Spot on CP. He was used badly last season and probably has lost his confidence this season, but since he’s been given his place back in the starting line up up he’s the Sonny of old. Like you say give him the freedom to play and express himself and he’s a class player.
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Attack-minded from the start
No silly possession obsession in our defensive third
Fantastic press and three really great goals
Yes we ran out of steam a bit on 60mins and the Norburn / Virtue subs didn’t achieve the objective but give me that any day of the week v the negative possession based approach
Kudos to CJ and Bees who I thought were both exceptional today
MOM a tough one for once as there’s shouts for at least 6/7 players
Click to expand...
I didn’t see such an attacking entertaining performance coming like that today.
Agree re MOM 6/7 candidates.

The question is why? Why now? There’s a great team there, we all could see that at times, but it was shackled up. Today they played with a smile, energy and confidence, made the right decisions, I could go on. The club felt as one for the first time this season. Fans & team.

We will probably look back on 2023-2024 as our biggest missed opportunity. BUT it’s not over yet. 🤪🤪
 
I loved todays performance up to 60 minutes or so but thought Critchley made yet another bad call going to one up front at the first real sign of adversity. We immediately looked less organised at the back. Good initial set up today though, and in the main, our best home league performance this season. We could have done with a few more like that home or away over the season. Anyway, the positive is that we enter the final game with at least a chance of sneaking into the playoffs.
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Attack-minded from the start
No silly possession obsession in our defensive third
Fantastic press and three really great goals
Yes we ran out of steam a bit on 60mins and the Norburn / Virtue subs didn’t achieve the objective but give me that any day of the week v the negative possession based approach
Kudos to CJ and Bees who I thought were both exceptional today
MOM a tough one for once as there’s shouts for at least 6/7 players
Click to expand...
I thought this was the worst trip though?

Like bloody kids some of you lot...
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Attack-minded from the start
No silly possession obsession in our defensive third
Fantastic press and three really great goals
Yes we ran out of steam a bit on 60mins and the Norburn / Virtue subs didn’t achieve the objective but give me that any day of the week v the negative possession based approach
Kudos to CJ and Bees who I thought were both exceptional today
MOM a tough one for once as there’s shouts for at least 6/7 players
Click to expand...
The one day we needed subs after an hour !
 
Mark_GT said:
I loved todays performance up to 60 minutes or so but thought Critchley made yet another bad call going to one up front at the first real sign of adversity. We immediately looked less organised at the back. Good initial set up today though, and in the main, our best home league performance this season. We could have done with a few more like that home or away over the season. Anyway, the positive is that we enter the final game with at least a chance of sneaking into the playoffs.
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IMO Taking Lavery off was a big mistake, his pace and movement had their defence scared and sat deep. As soon as he went off they started to push forward more and we started to retreat.
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
I thought this was the worst trip though?

Like bloody kids some of you lot...
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If he'd put "the slightly frustrating but I daren't say anything in case someone gets the hump about it trip" then 1) it would have been too wordy, like this post is about to be & 2) it wouldn't have stimulated a decent conversation.

Couldn't get there today and couldn't follow it live. Checked after an hour expecting to see the binary 0-0 or 0-1. I thought the app had a glitch and they were firing out random scorelines and scorers. Attacking football isn't a crime.

Just seen the result and it looks like safe mode then kicked in with the subs and trying to protect a lead, and running out of steam after trying something new. A win is what was needed though and there's an unexpected fighting chance. The best we could have hoped for with how this season has gone is for it still to be live on the last game.

It doesn't have the feel of having done enough compared to Lincoln's march since January, Oxford always being in there and Barnsley with their goals scored & away form until they've hit a wobble (for Lincoln to make their 5-1 v them count in the end) but its something. Nobody likes a season being over in March unless you're trying to dodge relegation.
 
It looked to me like Barnsley didn’t do their homework. The secret to beating us is let us have a lot of the ball in our own half. They had a very high press in the first half and 2 on the edge of our box for goal kicks etc. so we couldn’t dilly dally about at the back and had to go long to beesley. It may have been our plan but if they hadn’t pressed I’d imagine we would have passed it around at the back like we normally do. When they stopped pressing later in game we started playing sideways.
 
Repeat the trick against Reading and you never know. Need some luck, but the last day always throws out a few curve balls
 
Some of this has to come down to the players, everyone of them to a man looked up for it yesterday where at times especially away from home they've often been lethargic.

High tempo, determination, chasing lost causes and fight was all there yesterday.

All the things we've seen with Jordan Rhodes all season him not being in our side has killed us not only for his goals but the way he plays.
 
poolfc said:
If he'd put "the slightly frustrating but I daren't say anything in case someone gets the hump about it trip" then 1) it would have been too wordy, like this post is about to be & 2) it wouldn't have stimulated a decent conversation.

Couldn't get there today and couldn't follow it live. Checked after an hour expecting to see the binary 0-0 or 0-1. I thought the app had a glitch and they were firing out random scorelines and scorers. Attacking football isn't a crime.

Just seen the result and it looks like safe mode then kicked in with the subs and trying to protect a lead, and running out of steam after trying something new. A win is what was needed though and there's an unexpected fighting chance. The best we could have hoped for with how this season has gone is for it still to be live on the last game.

It doesn't have the feel of having done enough compared to Lincoln's march since January, Oxford always being in there and Barnsley with their goals scored & away form until they've hit a wobble (for Lincoln to make their 5-1 v them count in the end) but its something. Nobody likes a season being over in March unless you're trying to dodge relegation.
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Lincoln this, Lincoln that, we've got more points than them in April you know...
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Not sure I can see two of the three dropping points
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My Dear Friend TAM

Lovely to see you finally post something “positive” but unfortunately it didn’t take long for some “negativity” to return🤣🤣

Off course “reality” is that it’s probably more likely two of the others will win, but it’s not far off 50/50 !!

Of course we have to win ourselves which is far from a given but on todays performance more likely.

So come on Pal, let’s have a “Week Of Praise Hope and Positivity”

Let’s focus on the fact at least we are involved in “last day of the season drama” 🧡

As opposed to all the managerial team selection & formation errors during the season resulting in so many points being squandered at lower teams away from home.

UTMP 🚌🧡🍊#88
 
Any negativity by me and others is i believe constructive and down to the management teams weird obsession over possession, bizarre team selections ( think Oakley-Boothe over Dembele ) and ingame inflexibility

I didn’t start the season negatively - I openly tipped us to go up as Champions - rather I’m a product of the football we’ve had to endure for the most part

A season of missed opportunity for me as I think that most certainly better than four teams above us and arguably one or two more

We won yesterday with 41% possession and a lower pass completion than Barnsley - the difference being our posession was effective and we had double their shots

That was approx the same possession % as with many other wins this season

It’s not rocket science

Hopefully if we get the chance to have a go at the play offs we can put the IPads away, stop worrying so much about the opposition and believe in the players we have
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Any negativity by me and others is i believe constructive and down to the management teams weird obsession over possession, bizarre team selections ( think Oakley-Boothe over Dembele ) and ingame inflexibility

I didn’t start the season negatively - I openly tipped us to go up as Champions - rather I’m a product of the football we’ve had to endure for the most part

A season of missed opportunity for me as I think that most certainly better than four teams above us and arguably one or two more

We won yesterday with 41% possession and a lower pass completion than Barnsley - the difference being our posession was effective and we had double their shots

That was approx the same possession % as with many other wins this season

It’s not rocket science

Hopefully if we get the chance to have a go at the play offs we can put the IPads away, stop worrying so much about the opposition and believe in the players we have
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I think that’s the big issue. Most of us did believe (and still do) in the players, it’s just been a frustrating season watching them be held back. Even if we don’t scrape in the play offs, he needs to realise that we need to start next season with intent.
 
For me the problem has been we have wasted too much time passing the ball back too many times as opposed to shooting at goal.

As I have stated before, going back to draw teams out that “park the bus” is fair enough but not 4,5,6,7,even 8 times!!!

Yesterday proved we have the players that are good enough, and we made the effort to “remove the shackles” and attack.

Yes, we have definitely failed by being too cautious and definsive throughout the season overall.

I think there are games when we would be better set up as 442 or 433 but, I consider 532 to be an attacking system and PROVIDING you “take the shackles off” it CAN deliver rewards as yesterday proved.

🚌🧡🍊#88
 
I'm still buzzing after that performance, unfortunately the type of performance we should have been seeing throughout the season. Is it too little too late? Only time will tell.

Come on Portsmouth, come on Exeter, come on Northampton and COME ON YOU POOL.
 
We looked a pretty complete side yesterday, apart perhaps from Lavery, still not looking a goal threat although he worked hard and did a job. I was impressed with Byers and Carey in the middle, both played really well, especially in the first half. CJ certainly justified his selection yesterday and the back three was excellent. And Coulson.

The problem for next season is that we are likely to be without five key members of yesterday's starting XI: Dembele, Marv, Hubby, Byers, Coulson. Maybe we can get some of them signed up? We will miss Marv, IMO.
 
Same formation, same tactics, for me there was the opposition tactics that played into our hands and without Norburn and with Sonny, we had a midfield that drive forward into space creating overloads and space for the wing backs.

I don’t think Critchley changed anything on his side, Carey getting a chance has made himself undroppable after coming back in and gives us something to get us moving forward rather than keep just passing it around the back.

A change of tactics and being tight on Carey and not letting him turn or go forward and we start to be defunct of ideas
 
voyeur said:
We looked a pretty complete side yesterday, apart perhaps from Lavery, still not looking a goal threat although he worked hard and did a job. I was impressed with Byers and Carey in the middle, both played really well, especially in the first half. CJ certainly justified his selection yesterday and the back three was excellent. And Coulson.

The problem for next season is that we are likely to be without five key members of yesterday's starting XI: Dembele, Marv, Hubby, Byers, Coulson. Maybe we can get some of them signed up? We will miss Marv, IMO.
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I get Dembele,Coulson and Byers but why are we likely to lose the other two ??

Back to the OP - possibly the best game of the season ,first half was definitely the best half

Suspect it will not be enough but great effort to end at Bloomfield Road for this season
 
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