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hertfordseasider

hertfordseasider

Well-known member
Well... where do I start? Season over? I would say so. First 20 minutes was the best I've seen us play for ages but it didn't produce the goal we deserved, Kouassi was terrorising them up front and Gabriel and Coulson were doing well overlapping and Morgan was involved in everything. They then settled a bit and got back into the game more but we were still the better footballing side by far, but we weren't looking like we were going to score but Stevenage didn't look like they were going to score if we played until next Saturday, they were a team of big players who liked to put themselves about, a typical Steve Evans side, horrible to play against.

Going in at half time I thought we had done well but we needed a goal as the game was there for the taking. My main concerns were that CJ, who was in a midfield 3 had another stinker, he was constantly knocked off the ball and didn't get away from his marker at all, he shouldn't be starting in the current form he is in, I also thought Joseph flattered to deceive. He ran about a lot but there was little about his play that bought anything to our forward line.

So, onto the second half and instead of coming out after a tactical masterclass and team talk from Critchley where we changed it around so we could hurt this big side by playing on the deck, we instead reverted to long balls, one after the other which was just gobbled up by their defenders. CJ continued to be shit and Joseph disappeared completely, leaving Kouassi on his own up front and it was no surprise that after an hour he was completely knackered.

We made a couple of changes, Dembele for Kouassi and Lavery for CJ but it made no difference because we now had the shortest forward line we could put out yet we still just continued to hoof long balls to them after some ridiculous tippy tapping between keeper and defenders. It looked like it was heading for a boring 0-0 which I would have taken, but a fluke moment, one attack, a shot, deflection off Marv and we're one down and you kust knew that was how it was going to end. We created nothing, in fact we were awful for the last 20 with no idea what we were doing

The final whistle went and at the end of the day a 0-0 would have been fair, but we somehow deserved the result because of our lack of a plan. There was no lack of commitment or effort, which is why the players, who looked crestfallen at the end, were warmly applauded by the outstanding support again, 780 in a crowd of 5000 and vocal throughout.

My conclusion is that our tactics away from home are woeful and Critchley has no idea how to change anything, he just drives on with the same thing. We have to play it on the deck but we had barely any midfield, CJ and Joseph may as well not have bothered playing and Dembele looks the part when he is playing as the forward playmaker in the centre, not as a winger and Lavery just looks a yard slower than he used to be and to be honest just isn't good enough.

The next 4 games will define our season, if we get nothing against Oxford then that really will be it and with Posh and Bolton to play we could be season over by the end of February apart from the cup thing.

Today was because of Critchley's lack of bravery and his inability to change a game with his tactics. I will stand by my feelings that he should never have been re-employed yet we are stuck with him for the rest of this season and probably next season too. With him in the helm we will be bog standard, upper mid table League 1 team which I think Sadler is happy with.

Very disappointed today, the players and the supporters deserve better, Critchley is not the answer and his formation he keeps standing by is not right for us.
 
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hertfordseasider said:
Well... where do I start? Season over? I would say so. First 20 minutes was the best I've seen us play for ages but it didn't produce the goal we deserved, Kouassi was terrorising them up front and Gabriel and Coulson were doing well overlapping and Morgan was involved in everything. They then settled a bit and got back into the game more but we were still the better footballing side by far, but we weren't looking like we were going to score but Stevenage didn't look like they were going to score if we played until next Saturday, they were a team of big players who liked to put themselves about, a typical Steve Evans side, horrible to play against.

Going in at half time I thought we had done well but we needed a goal as the game was there for the taking. My main concerns were that CJ, who was in midfield 3 had another stinker, he was constantly knocked off the ball and didn't get away from his marker at all, he shouldn't be starting in the current form he is in, I also thought Joseph flattered to deceive. He ran about a lot but there was little about his play that bought anything to our forward line.

So, onto the second half and instead of coming out after a tactical masterclass and team talk from Critchley where we changed it around so we could hurt this big side by playing on the deck, we instead reverted to long balls, one after the other which was just gobbled up by their defenders. CJ continued to be shit and Joseph disappeared completely, leaving Kouassi on his own up front and it was no surprise that after an hour he was completely knackered.

We made a couple of changes, Dembele for Kouassi and Laver for CJ but it mage no difference because we now had the shortest forward line we could put out yet we still just continued to hoof long balls to them after some ridiculous tippy tapping between keeper and defenders. It looked like it was heading for a boring 0-0 which I would have taken, but a fluke moment, one attach, a shot, deflection off Marv and we're one down and you kust knew that was how it was going to end. We created nothing, in fact we were awful for the last 20 with no idea what we were doing

The final whistle went and at the end of the day a 0-0 would have been fair, but we somehow deserved the result because of our lack of a plan. There was no lack of commitment or effort, which is why the players, who looked crestfallen at the end, were warmly applauded by the outstanding support again, 780 in a crowd of 5000 and vocal throughout.

My conclusion is that our tactics away from home are woeful and Critchley has no idea how to change anything, he just drives on with the same thing. We have to play it on the deck but we had barely any midfield, CJ and Joseph may not have bothered playing and Dembele looks the part when he is playing as the forward playmaker in the centre, not as a winger and Avery just looks a yard slower than he used to be and to be honest just isn't good enough.

The next 4 games will define our season, if we get nothing against Oxford then that really will be it and with Posh and Bolton to play we could be season over by the end of February apart from the cup thing.

Today was because of Critchley's lack of bravery and his inability to change a game with his tactics. I will stand by my feelings that he should never have been re-employed yet we are stuck with him for the rest of this season and probably next season too. With him in the helm we will be bog standard, upper mid table League 1 team which I think Sadler is happy with.

Very disappointed today, the players and the supporters deserve better, Critchley is not the answer and his formation he keeps standing y is not right for us.
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I could have written that myself. If I had travelled down there just for that I would seriously consider not going away again. Fortunately I was also down for a family visit, so it wasn’t a wasted journey.
 
Good write up but I disagree about Sadler wanting us to simply stay put, I think he's earned more credit than that.

Critchley's reappointment on the face of things wasn't bad.

He's a great coach, but is too nerdy for his own good, thinking that every match needs to be approached carefully and timidly to avoid defeat.

He needs to learn that he'll do infinitely better if he focuses the team tactics on doing what we do instead of worrying about the opposition.
 
hertfordseasider said:
Well... where do I start? Season over? I would say so. First 20 minutes was the best I've seen us play for ages but it didn't produce the goal we deserved, Kouassi was terrorising them up front and Gabriel and Coulson were doing well overlapping and Morgan was involved in everything. They then settled a bit and got back into the game more but we were still the better footballing side by far, but we weren't looking like we were going to score but Stevenage didn't look like they were going to score if we played until next Saturday, they were a team of big players who liked to put themselves about, a typical Steve Evans side, horrible to play against.

Going in at half time I thought we had done well but we needed a goal as the game was there for the taking. My main concerns were that CJ, who was in midfield 3 had another stinker, he was constantly knocked off the ball and didn't get away from his marker at all, he shouldn't be starting in the current form he is in, I also thought Joseph flattered to deceive. He ran about a lot but there was little about his play that bought anything to our forward line.

So, onto the second half and instead of coming out after a tactical masterclass and team talk from Critchley where we changed it around so we could hurt this big side by playing on the deck, we instead reverted to long balls, one after the other which was just gobbled up by their defenders. CJ continued to be shit and Joseph disappeared completely, leaving Kouassi on his own up front and it was no surprise that after an hour he was completely knackered.

We made a couple of changes, Dembele for Kouassi and Laver for CJ but it mage no difference because we now had the shortest forward line we could put out yet we still just continued to hoof long balls to them after some ridiculous tippy tapping between keeper and defenders. It looked like it was heading for a boring 0-0 which I would have taken, but a fluke moment, one attach, a shot, deflection off Marv and we're one down and you kust knew that was how it was going to end. We created nothing, in fact we were awful for the last 20 with no idea what we were doing

The final whistle went and at the end of the day a 0-0 would have been fair, but we somehow deserved the result because of our lack of a plan. There was no lack of commitment or effort, which is why the players, who looked crestfallen at the end, were warmly applauded by the outstanding support again, 780 in a crowd of 5000 and vocal throughout.

My conclusion is that our tactics away from home are woeful and Critchley has no idea how to change anything, he just drives on with the same thing. We have to play it on the deck but we had barely any midfield, CJ and Joseph may not have bothered playing and Dembele looks the part when he is playing as the forward playmaker in the centre, not as a winger and Avery just looks a yard slower than he used to be and to be honest just isn't good enough.

The next 4 games will define our season, if we get nothing against Oxford then that really will be it and with Posh and Bolton to play we could be season over by the end of February apart from the cup thing.

Today was because of Critchley's lack of bravery and his inability to change a game with his tactics. I will stand by my feelings that he should never have been re-employed yet we are stuck with him for the rest of this season and probably next season too. With him in the helm we will be bog standard, upper mid table League 1 team which I think Sadler is happy with.

Very disappointed today, the players and the supporters deserve better, Critchley is not the answer and his formation he keeps standing y is not right for us.
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Agree with all of that, although we’ve seen the same shit tactics at home, yes we’ve been winning and sometimes well, but there’s been plenty of times we’ve been hanging on, hoofing the ball anywhere.
 
AmericanTangerine said:
Good write up but I disagree about Sadler wanting us to simply stay put, I think he's earned more credit than that.

Critchley's reappointment on the face of things wasn't bad.

He's a great coach, but is too nerdy for his own good, thinking that every match needs to be approached carefully and timidly to avoid defeat.

He needs to learn that he'll do infinitely better if he focuses the team tactics on doing what we do instead of worrying about the opposition.
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Critchley’s reappointment was bad. My own feelings aside, I think he was damaged by his failures at AV and QPR. He’s now even more cautious than he was before. On his first appointment with us he was an unknown quantity in management and had nothing to prove. He now thinks he has to rebuild his reputation and try to out think, out manoeuvre and tactically dominate his opposite number. He is failing to do those things.
 
AmericanTangerine said:
Good write up but I disagree about Sadler wanting us to simply stay put, I think he's earned more credit than that.

Critchley's reappointment on the face of things wasn't bad.

He's a great coach, but is too nerdy for his own good, thinking that every match needs to be approached carefully and timidly to avoid defeat.

He needs to learn that he'll do infinitely better if he focuses the team tactics on doing what we do instead of worrying about the opposition.
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Bang on @Phil_bfc deux and I get where you are coming from now having this load of Bollox.
 
hertfordseasider said:
Today was because of Critchley's lack of bravery and his inability to change a game with his tactics. I will stand by my feelings that he should never have been re-employed yet we are stuck with him for the rest of this season and probably next season too. With him in the helm we will be bog standard, upper mid table League 1 team which I think Sadler is happy with
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You see it, I see it, several others do too. I am baffled many more don't. The soul has gone out of this Club a bit for me and I regularly spend several hours looking at previous clips of matches under Ollie.

Wow, what a difference. Critchley has to be one of the most overrated boring Managers in Club Football at the moment.
 
They forced Morgan and Norburn back in the 2nd half stopping the link between them, the wing backs and forwards. Wing backs had to drop back too, so lost our width and hence hoof ball. Critch seems to be able to change things if we have a poor first half (like Bolton) but not when we were on top and opposition change their tactics for second half.
 
We go around in circles with this don’t we? 3-4-3 works, it’s worked plenty of times recently, and first 20 mins today we were by far the better side. We are away against a team in 7th, who have have won via a deflected goal. Other then that and the save Grimmy made first half, they have done sod all. I’d have taken a draw before the game, as would most of us.

We would and should have got 4 points from our last two games, and both results were not Critchley’s fault, last week was our inability to score and today was the result of a scrappy goal.
 
Loco said:
They forced Morgan and Norburn back in the 2nd half stopping the link between them, the wing backs and forwards. Wing backs had to drop back too, so lost our width and hence hoof ball. Critch seems to be able to change things if we have a poor first half (like Bolton) but not when we were on top and opposition change their tactics for second half.
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That's exactly what happened but we only had 2 in midfield, we needed more. CJ did absolutely nothing.
 
Just got back too. First half hour was good to watch i thought. Shape looked better with coulson and gabriel keeping the pitch wide. Unfortunately the decent interplay between hubby and coulson on the left couldnt be matched on the right as cj is not a footballer.

The ref started the game with minimal interference, but then after booking KK for the lowest high foot I’ve ever seen, decided to get involved - to the detriment of the game.

Second half was disappointing. They had much more of the ball and we seem to revert to long balls. Maybe they were just pressing higher. When KK went off it left CJ trying to win headers in the middle against their big defenders. Dembo comes on and seems to get shoved wide right, when his best work for us is when he floats in the gap behind the front two. Result no effect. And for me, if Lavery is the answer then you are asking the wrong question.

Goal was a kick in the nuts obviously. Thought we had defended well all game against a threatening front line. Only saw it live but the goal didn’t seem to be any one players fault in particular.

Fans were outstanding despite the “stadium” being alcohol free 😵

Having dropped 5 points in the last 6 play offs are way off.
 
HerefordSeasider said:
We go around in circles with this don’t we? 3-4-3 works, it’s worked plenty of times recently, and first 20 mins today we were by far the better side. We are away against a team in 7th, who have have won via a deflected goal. Other then that and the save Grimmy made first half, they have done sod all. I’d have taken a draw before the game, as would most of us.

We would and should have got 4 points from our last two games, and both results were not Critchley’s fault, last week was our inability to score and today was the result of a scrappy goal.
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That's too simplistic surely? This is a competitive league and the difference between success and mediocrity is in the edge you get from good players and cute management. I still think we have enough good players though they lack a bit of steel. Management-wise we are getting turned over too often.
 
Mark_GT said:
That's too simplistic surely? This is a competitive league and the difference between success and mediocrity is in the edge you get from good players and cute management. I still think we have enough good players though they lack a bit of steel. Management-wise we are getting turned over too often.
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There was a bit today from Chisnall on the comms when he said NC had said he was going to stand as far away from Steve Evans as he could on the touchline as didn’t want to get involved…

I imagine this runs through to his team-talk when sometimes against fat whoppers like Evans and his shite team you have to give it them back a bit.

Can’t imagine any of our coaching staff telling the fat knob to sit down and shut up.

Too nice, doesn’t always work.
 
Mark_GT said:
That's too simplistic surely? This is a competitive league and the difference between success and mediocrity is in the edge you get from good players and cute management. I still think we have enough good players though they lack a bit of steel. Management-wise we are getting turned over too often.
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I like Morgan but we needed someone else in that midfield today. CJ shouldn’t have started. Hopefully one of the new lads might be the answer.
 
Adams Kebab said:
There was a bit today from Chisnall on the comms when he said NC had said he was going to stand as far away from Steve Evans as he could on the touchline as didn’t want to get involved…

I imagine this runs through to his team-talk when sometimes against fat whoppers like Evans and his shite team you have to give it them back a bit.

Can’t imagine any of our coaching staff telling the fat knob to sit down and shut up.

Too nice, doesn’t always work.
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He’s a horrible ** but no idiot. Made changes mid game to take the sting out of our play. Its evident that Critch didn’t react to counter that.
 
Dr Hfuhruhurr said:
He’s a horrible ** but no idiot. Made changes mid game to take the sting out of our play. Its evident that Critch didn’t react to counter that.
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Yep he knows how to do anything and everything to win a football game with limited coaching ability. He’s a big fat mess though & he sits down a lot because he can’t stand up.

They started the 2nd half better and we sat on our hands when they did their triple change on 58.

There’s definitely something where he doesn’t want to make a change before 60 mins, there was players having no impact on the game today and we needed to change it.
 
Adams Kebab said:
There was a bit today from Chisnall on the comms when he said NC had said he was going to stand as far away from Steve Evans as he could on the touchline as didn’t want to get involved…

I imagine this runs through to his team-talk when sometimes against fat whoppers like Evans and his shite team you have to give it them back a bit.

Can’t imagine any of our coaching staff telling the fat knob to sit down and shut up.

Too nice, doesn’t always work.
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Heard that. Was it before hawking his lungs up several times on mic, or after he called the youth official a "poor girl"? That would get anyone else fired from the Beeb, but I'm not sure we're that lucky 🙄
Spot on about our management team, fancy being intimidated by that fat knacker and his gobby entourage.
 
Mark_GT said:
Heard that. Was it before hawking his lungs up several times on mic, or after he called the youth official a "poor girl"? That would get anyone else firesmd omfrom the Beeb but I'm not sure we're that lucky 🙄
Spot on about our management team, fancy being intimidated by that fat knacker and his gobby entourage.
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Always think back to Jimmy Floyd moaning about that frozen pitch and NC not saying a word. Too nice, too soft and sometimes in League 1 that will have you over. If one of their players had been caught in the dish with an arm/elbow like Husband was, fat Steve would have made sure he got booked… us? Nah, we’re too nice. Hopefully Byers adds something. If not get Gary Brabin back on the line.

I can’t cope with Chisnall, genuinely hate the bloke 😂 no wonder the Firestick Supporters branch are so depressing, listening to him every week would send you under.
 
Adams Kebab said:
Always think back to Jimmy Floyd moaning about that frozen pitch and NC not saying a word. Too nice, too soft and sometimes in League 1 that will have you over. If one of their players had been caught in the dish with an arm/elbow like Husband was, fat Steve would have made sure he got booked… us? Nah, we’re too nice. Hopefully Byers adds something. If not get Gary Brabin back on the line.

I can’t cope with Chisnall, genuinely hate the bloke 😂 no wonder the Firestick Supporters branch are so depressing, listening to him every week would send you under.
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I always remember old bacon face getting Charlie booked at our place. Charlie fouled one of theirs, the ref moved things on, so Ferguson walked onto the pitch and demanded he book Charlie. So of course he did.
 
We were very good till we went long. Why carry on doing something not working and clearly playing into their hands how the hell Stevenage are not bottom I don't know .Shocking team of shitnousery
 
C J was not good today….

… however I am not allowed an opinion on this as I was not there and only paid the club to watch!
 
hertfordseasider said:
Well... where do I start? Season over? I would say so. First 20 minutes was the best I've seen us play for ages but it didn't produce the goal we deserved, Kouassi was terrorising them up front and Gabriel and Coulson were doing well overlapping and Morgan was involved in everything. They then settled a bit and got back into the game more but we were still the better footballing side by far, but we weren't looking like we were going to score but Stevenage didn't look like they were going to score if we played until next Saturday, they were a team of big players who liked to put themselves about, a typical Steve Evans side, horrible to play against.

Going in at half time I thought we had done well but we needed a goal as the game was there for the taking. My main concerns were that CJ, who was in a midfield 3 had another stinker, he was constantly knocked off the ball and didn't get away from his marker at all, he shouldn't be starting in the current form he is in, I also thought Joseph flattered to deceive. He ran about a lot but there was little about his play that bought anything to our forward line.

So, onto the second half and instead of coming out after a tactical masterclass and team talk from Critchley where we changed it around so we could hurt this big side by playing on the deck, we instead reverted to long balls, one after the other which was just gobbled up by their defenders. CJ continued to be shit and Joseph disappeared completely, leaving Kouassi on his own up front and it was no surprise that after an hour he was completely knackered.

We made a couple of changes, Dembele for Kouassi and Lavery for CJ but it made no difference because we now had the shortest forward line we could put out yet we still just continued to hoof long balls to them after some ridiculous tippy tapping between keeper and defenders. It looked like it was heading for a boring 0-0 which I would have taken, but a fluke moment, one attack, a shot, deflection off Marv and we're one down and you kust knew that was how it was going to end. We created nothing, in fact we were awful for the last 20 with no idea what we were doing

The final whistle went and at the end of the day a 0-0 would have been fair, but we somehow deserved the result because of our lack of a plan. There was no lack of commitment or effort, which is why the players, who looked crestfallen at the end, were warmly applauded by the outstanding support again, 780 in a crowd of 5000 and vocal throughout.

My conclusion is that our tactics away from home are woeful and Critchley has no idea how to change anything, he just drives on with the same thing. We have to play it on the deck but we had barely any midfield, CJ and Joseph may as well not have bothered playing and Dembele looks the part when he is playing as the forward playmaker in the centre, not as a winger and Lavery just looks a yard slower than he used to be and to be honest just isn't good enough.

The next 4 games will define our season, if we get nothing against Oxford then that really will be it and with Posh and Bolton to play we could be season over by the end of February apart from the cup thing.

Today was because of Critchley's lack of bravery and his inability to change a game with his tactics. I will stand by my feelings that he should never have been re-employed yet we are stuck with him for the rest of this season and probably next season too. With him in the helm we will be bog standard, upper mid table League 1 team which I think Sadler is happy with.

Very disappointed today, the players and the supporters deserve better, Critchley is not the answer and his formation he keeps standing by is not right for us.
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Agreed re lack of bravery. When Stevenage were getting on top around the hour mark, Critch did nothing. It needed a change and not just a reactive one. Poor second half and thats why we are not going up this season.
 
Anyone who went today must be soft in the head. Supporting that shit away from home is just an absolute waste of time and money. Until the snake is potted it’s not going to get any better unfortunately……FCUK OFF CRITCHLEY YOU CLOWN 🤡
 
HerefordSeasider said:
We go around in circles with this don’t we? 3-4-3 works, it’s worked plenty of times recently, and first 20 mins today we were by far the better side. We are away against a team in 7th, who have have won via a deflected goal. Other then that and the save Grimmy made first half, they have done sod all. I’d have taken a draw before the game, as would most of us.

We would and should have got 4 points from our last two games, and both results were not Critchley’s fault, last week was our inability to score and today was the result of a scrappy goal.
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Actually I wouldn’t have taken a point because we needed all three if you look at the table. We were the better team first half. Stevenage are poor and were there for the taking but we couldn’t close the show. We were woeful second half and the ending was almost inevitable. Season is over.
 
hertfordseasider said:
Well... where do I start? Season over? I would say so. First 20 minutes was the best I've seen us play for ages but it didn't produce the goal we deserved, Kouassi was terrorising them up front and Gabriel and Coulson were doing well overlapping and Morgan was involved in everything. They then settled a bit and got back into the game more but we were still the better footballing side by far, but we weren't looking like we were going to score but Stevenage didn't look like they were going to score if we played until next Saturday, they were a team of big players who liked to put themselves about, a typical Steve Evans side, horrible to play against.

Going in at half time I thought we had done well but we needed a goal as the game was there for the taking. My main concerns were that CJ, who was in a midfield 3 had another stinker, he was constantly knocked off the ball and didn't get away from his marker at all, he shouldn't be starting in the current form he is in, I also thought Joseph flattered to deceive. He ran about a lot but there was little about his play that bought anything to our forward line.

So, onto the second half and instead of coming out after a tactical masterclass and team talk from Critchley where we changed it around so we could hurt this big side by playing on the deck, we instead reverted to long balls, one after the other which was just gobbled up by their defenders. CJ continued to be shit and Joseph disappeared completely, leaving Kouassi on his own up front and it was no surprise that after an hour he was completely knackered.

We made a couple of changes, Dembele for Kouassi and Lavery for CJ but it made no difference because we now had the shortest forward line we could put out yet we still just continued to hoof long balls to them after some ridiculous tippy tapping between keeper and defenders. It looked like it was heading for a boring 0-0 which I would have taken, but a fluke moment, one attack, a shot, deflection off Marv and we're one down and you kust knew that was how it was going to end. We created nothing, in fact we were awful for the last 20 with no idea what we were doing

The final whistle went and at the end of the day a 0-0 would have been fair, but we somehow deserved the result because of our lack of a plan. There was no lack of commitment or effort, which is why the players, who looked crestfallen at the end, were warmly applauded by the outstanding support again, 780 in a crowd of 5000 and vocal throughout.

My conclusion is that our tactics away from home are woeful and Critchley has no idea how to change anything, he just drives on with the same thing. We have to play it on the deck but we had barely any midfield, CJ and Joseph may as well not have bothered playing and Dembele looks the part when he is playing as the forward playmaker in the centre, not as a winger and Lavery just looks a yard slower than he used to be and to be honest just isn't good enough.

The next 4 games will define our season, if we get nothing against Oxford then that really will be it and with Posh and Bolton to play we could be season over by the end of February apart from the cup thing.

Today was because of Critchley's lack of bravery and his inability to change a game with his tactics. I will stand by my feelings that he should never have been re-employed yet we are stuck with him for the rest of this season and probably next season too. With him in the helm we will be bog standard, upper mid table League 1 team which I think Sadler is happy with.

Very disappointed today, the players and the supporters deserve better, Critchley is not the answer and his formation he keeps standing by is not right for us.
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Great write up Herts.

What you have written is the story of the season.
 
Superbretty said:
Actually I wouldn’t have taken a point because we needed all three if you look at the table. We were the better team first half. Stevenage are poor and were there for the taking but we couldn’t close the show. We were woeful second half and the ending was almost inevitable. Season is over.
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You say they are a poor side but they are 7th in the league and have been up there consistently all season. If we had won last week, which we should have and deserved for 75 mins, and drawn today we would absolutely have taken that. Of course we all want to win every game but we have no devine right to do that, but we 100% didn’t deserve to lose that, and another own goal is the reason we did.

Everytime we drop points everyone wants to point the finger at Critch, sometimes it’s absolutely justified, sometimes it’s simply not, and I’m not sure today was that day.
 
hertfordseasider said:
Well... where do I start? Season over? I would say so. First 20 minutes was the best I've seen us play for ages but it didn't produce the goal we deserved, Kouassi was terrorising them up front and Gabriel and Coulson were doing well overlapping and Morgan was involved in everything. They then settled a bit and got back into the game more but we were still the better footballing side by far, but we weren't looking like we were going to score but Stevenage didn't look like they were going to score if we played until next Saturday, they were a team of big players who liked to put themselves about, a typical Steve Evans side, horrible to play against.

Going in at half time I thought we had done well but we needed a goal as the game was there for the taking. My main concerns were that CJ, who was in a midfield 3 had another stinker, he was constantly knocked off the ball and didn't get away from his marker at all, he shouldn't be starting in the current form he is in, I also thought Joseph flattered to deceive. He ran about a lot but there was little about his play that bought anything to our forward line.

So, onto the second half and instead of coming out after a tactical masterclass and team talk from Critchley where we changed it around so we could hurt this big side by playing on the deck, we instead reverted to long balls, one after the other which was just gobbled up by their defenders. CJ continued to be shit and Joseph disappeared completely, leaving Kouassi on his own up front and it was no surprise that after an hour he was completely knackered.

We made a couple of changes, Dembele for Kouassi and Lavery for CJ but it made no difference because we now had the shortest forward line we could put out yet we still just continued to hoof long balls to them after some ridiculous tippy tapping between keeper and defenders. It looked like it was heading for a boring 0-0 which I would have taken, but a fluke moment, one attack, a shot, deflection off Marv and we're one down and you kust knew that was how it was going to end. We created nothing, in fact we were awful for the last 20 with no idea what we were doing

The final whistle went and at the end of the day a 0-0 would have been fair, but we somehow deserved the result because of our lack of a plan. There was no lack of commitment or effort, which is why the players, who looked crestfallen at the end, were warmly applauded by the outstanding support again, 780 in a crowd of 5000 and vocal throughout.

My conclusion is that our tactics away from home are woeful and Critchley has no idea how to change anything, he just drives on with the same thing. We have to play it on the deck but we had barely any midfield, CJ and Joseph may as well not have bothered playing and Dembele looks the part when he is playing as the forward playmaker in the centre, not as a winger and Lavery just looks a yard slower than he used to be and to be honest just isn't good enough.

The next 4 games will define our season, if we get nothing against Oxford then that really will be it and with Posh and Bolton to play we could be season over by the end of February apart from the cup thing.

Today was because of Critchley's lack of bravery and his inability to change a game with his tactics. I will stand by my feelings that he should never have been re-employed yet we are stuck with him for the rest of this season and probably next season too. With him in the helm we will be bog standard, upper mid table League 1 team which I think Sadler is happy with.

Very disappointed today, the players and the supporters deserve better, Critchley is not the answer and his formation he keeps standing by is not right for us.
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Thanks for the impressively detailed account you have provided us with of the unfolding horror show you had the misfortune to witness during yesterday's away game versus Stevenage. In a perverse sort of way, it's appreciated.

A quick word to the wise, though. Do you not think your report could've been condensed to the following 4 words: Blackpool's contribution - tactically bankrupt?
 
tarantula said:
Thanks for the impressively detailed account you have provided us with of the unfolding horror show you had the misfortune to witness during yesterday's away game versus Stevenage. In a perverse sort of way, it's appreciated.

A quick word to the wise, though. Do you not think your report could've been condensed to the following 4 words: Blackpool's contribution - tactically bankrupt?
Click to expand...
Evans's opinion was that both sides cancelled each other out and it was going to take a piece of magic or a mistake to win it. They got the lucky break.
 
hertfordseasider said:
Well... where do I start? Season over? I would say so. First 20 minutes was the best I've seen us play for ages but it didn't produce the goal we deserved, Kouassi was terrorising them up front and Gabriel and Coulson were doing well overlapping and Morgan was involved in everything. They then settled a bit and got back into the game more but we were still the better footballing side by far, but we weren't looking like we were going to score but Stevenage didn't look like they were going to score if we played until next Saturday, they were a team of big players who liked to put themselves about, a typical Steve Evans side, horrible to play against.

Going in at half time I thought we had done well but we needed a goal as the game was there for the taking. My main concerns were that CJ, who was in a midfield 3 had another stinker, he was constantly knocked off the ball and didn't get away from his marker at all, he shouldn't be starting in the current form he is in, I also thought Joseph flattered to deceive. He ran about a lot but there was little about his play that bought anything to our forward line.

So, onto the second half and instead of coming out after a tactical masterclass and team talk from Critchley where we changed it around so we could hurt this big side by playing on the deck, we instead reverted to long balls, one after the other which was just gobbled up by their defenders. CJ continued to be shit and Joseph disappeared completely, leaving Kouassi on his own up front and it was no surprise that after an hour he was completely knackered.

We made a couple of changes, Dembele for Kouassi and Lavery for CJ but it made no difference because we now had the shortest forward line we could put out yet we still just continued to hoof long balls to them after some ridiculous tippy tapping between keeper and defenders. It looked like it was heading for a boring 0-0 which I would have taken, but a fluke moment, one attack, a shot, deflection off Marv and we're one down and you kust knew that was how it was going to end. We created nothing, in fact we were awful for the last 20 with no idea what we were doing

The final whistle went and at the end of the day a 0-0 would have been fair, but we somehow deserved the result because of our lack of a plan. There was no lack of commitment or effort, which is why the players, who looked crestfallen at the end, were warmly applauded by the outstanding support again, 780 in a crowd of 5000 and vocal throughout.

My conclusion is that our tactics away from home are woeful and Critchley has no idea how to change anything, he just drives on with the same thing. We have to play it on the deck but we had barely any midfield, CJ and Joseph may as well not have bothered playing and Dembele looks the part when he is playing as the forward playmaker in the centre, not as a winger and Lavery just looks a yard slower than he used to be and to be honest just isn't good enough.

The next 4 games will define our season, if we get nothing against Oxford then that really will be it and with Posh and Bolton to play we could be season over by the end of February apart from the cup thing.

Today was because of Critchley's lack of bravery and his inability to change a game with his tactics. I will stand by my feelings that he should never have been re-employed yet we are stuck with him for the rest of this season and probably next season too. With him in the helm we will be bog standard, upper mid table League 1 team which I think Sadler is happy with.

Very disappointed today, the players and the supporters deserve better, Critchley is not the answer and his formation he keeps standing by is not right for us.
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I think that’s an exact summary of how I see the game, although I’m not as anti Critch as you are. At least not yet, although I am getting that way.

On the way to Stevenage yesterday morning I was like an excited schoolboy looking forward to away fixtures at Peterborough, Orient, Shrewsbury and Northampton. Last night and this morning, I’m thinking “Ugh, do I have to?”.

Maybe I’ll get my mojo back tomorrow and still buy the tickets, but at present I have zero enthusiasm at the prospect (Shrewsbury I will be going to as it’s a weekend with relatives potentially spoilt by the footy. I may just stay in the pub instead).
 
That’s exactly how I feel, had to do some work yesterday morning so only got to Stevenage at 2.40pm, it was kind Camvridge, fantastic first 20 minutes and then a steady decline to utter shitecand an inevitable result. There is no way we’ll make the play offs this season.
 
CJ doesn't suit the position he was asked to play. As a winger or wingback where you can get the ball Infront of him and he stretches his legs, the opposition won't tell you he's useless, but tuck him in like yesterday, where interplay and footwork become important, he's not exactly GTF. That's not his fault though.
 
hertfordseasider said:
That’s exactly how I feel, had to do some work yesterday morning so only got to Stevenage at 2.40pm, it was kind Camvridge, fantastic first 20 minutes and then a steady decline to utter shitecand an inevitable result. There is no way we’ll make the play offs this season.
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The first 20 were great and I thought we were in for a real treat. And then we weren’t. I said at half time “you just know they are going to steal one somehow”. And then they did. So I still haven’t seen us win this season!

Chequers pre match and Broken Seal post were very good though. Plus a great curry at Spice Rouge. But then the bloody train was delayed by 90 minutes FFS!!
 
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