MATCHWATCH : Stevenage (a)

[leon]

We’re not going to make the playoffs

[Royalwaster]

We’re not going to make the playoffs

I wouldn't rule it out - but Plymouth look nailed on to win them. We don't even if we get into them.

[under the tin]

We’re not going to make the playoffs

Tru dat ^^^

Maybe it's as well. A summer clear out of dead wood, coupled with a structured summer recruitment, as opposed to the farce that preceded this season will leave the club stronger in the longer term.
Look on the bright side. We'll be better placed to give our neighbours down the M4, and up the A4074 a good thrashing next year!

My money's on Argyle to go up with Lincoln and Cardiff. They've got the same thing that we had in 2012. Momentum.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

We’re not going to make the playoffs

Tru dat ^^^

Maybe it's as well. A summer clear out of dead wood, coupled with a structured summer recruitment, as opposed to the farce that preceded this season will leave the club stronger in the longer term.
Look on the bright side. We'll be better placed to give our neighbours down the M4, and up the A4074 a good thrashing next year!

My money's on Argyle to go up with Lincoln and Cardiff. They've got the same thing that we had in 2012. Momentum.

Will the owners fund this level of spending having splashed the cash in January?...

Remember we don't have a sugar daddy owner - pumping in a million pounds a month for another 12 months won't be simple...

[windermereROYAL]

I`ll be delighted to finish the season on May 2nd, it`s been a struggle to get enthusiastic about any of this shit show.
Give Leam the summer and see what he can do with it.

[leon]

We’re not going to make the playoffs

Tru dat ^^^

Maybe it's as well. A summer clear out of dead wood, coupled with a structured summer recruitment, as opposed to the farce that preceded this season will leave the club stronger in the longer term.
Look on the bright side. We'll be better placed to give our neighbours down the M4, and up the A4074 a good thrashing next year!

My money's on Argyle to go up with Lincoln and Cardiff. They've got the same thing that we had in 2012. Momentum.

Maybe leam will learn that a football match has 2 halfs.

[Getthebeerens]

I`ll be delighted to finish the season on May 2nd, it`s been a struggle to get enthusiastic about any of this shit show.
Give Leam the summer and see what he can do with it.

Not sure I would want to give Leam the summer if we are playing the same awful football. Can’t fault him on results but it’s really tough to watch and certainly not entertaining. Really considering not renewing my season ticket next season.

[South Coast Royal]

I know that everybody says it's the result that matters at the "business end" of the season but this is dire stuff from both teams and this time I don't think the pitch can be blamed..
If you didn't know you would guess that this was a game between two mid-table sides in the Conference with nothing to play for.

As we have said so many times this season, the second half has to be better.
BTW I had forgotten that Doyle (much improved of late) was playing until the game was in added time.

Pitch quality is fine, but size is playing a big factor. It's very narrow and that's making everything tight.

Stevenage don't score many and they concede even fewer.

It's not an exciting match, but I wouldn’t say it's particular poor quality or error prone, just good defending and limited space.

Checking online, their pitch seems to be 4 metres narrower than ours and about 1 shorter. That's quite a lot of pitch missing.

So, knowing that the pitch is smaller presumably the manager and coaches spent preparation time by narrowing the training pitch in preparation when training since Tuesday?
That is the great benefit of having a modern training facility.
Or did they?

You reckon it wasn't poor quality-let's settle for" unimaginative" football but with Stevenage showing much, much more determination and just a little imagination.

Whoever goes up with Lincoln and Cardiff will need to spend some millions just to stay up.

[Extended-Phenotype]

Drearily, and typically, too deep. Few players with any courage on the ball, always wanting too many touches, before succumbing to even the gentlest press, giving in and going backwards. How many times do we need to see ourselves NOT do that and create decent half/full chances?

If I were Leam, I’d be saying “lose the ball going forward. You’ll lose it anyway, might as well be in their third rather than ours.”

Keane isn’t working for me. He’s certainly not good enough to be keeping Doyle out of the middle. No idea if R.Williams is now out, but surely we can get width from somewhere other than having to play Doyle there.

[Hound]

The inability to ever keep a clean sheet is what’s hurting us most at the moment. Is that 12 in a row without a clean sheet? Not good enough. Some games you need to hold out for a 0-0 and we weren’t capable

Forwards generally doing enough for us but you can’t score every single game - often more than once

[Snowflake Royal]

The inability to ever keep a clean sheet is what’s hurting us most at the moment. Is that 12 in a row without a clean sheet? Not good enough. Some games you need to hold out for a 0-0 and we weren’t capable

Forwards generally doing enough for us but you can’t score every single game - often more than once

Tbf, we keep more clean sheets, than fire blanks. 7 vs 5 I think.

[leon]

The inability to ever keep a clean sheet is what’s hurting us most at the moment. Is that 12 in a row without a clean sheet? Not good enough. Some games you need to hold out for a 0-0 and we weren’t capable

Forwards generally doing enough for us but you can’t score every single game - often more than once

Tbf, we keep more clean sheets, than fire blanks. 7 vs 5 I think.

It’s being shit that hurts us. Backwards passing imaginationless, weak willed shit

[Hound]

The inability to ever keep a clean sheet is what’s hurting us most at the moment. Is that 12 in a row without a clean sheet? Not good enough. Some games you need to hold out for a 0-0 and we weren’t capable

Forwards generally doing enough for us but you can’t score every single game - often more than once

Tbf, we keep more clean sheets, than fire blanks. 7 vs 5 I think.

Maybe over the season but talking more recently. We had a spell where we kept a couple and looked solid

[RoyalBlue]

I know that everybody says it's the result that matters at the "business end" of the season but this is dire stuff from both teams and this time I don't think the pitch can be blamed..
If you didn't know you would guess that this was a game between two mid-table sides in the Conference with nothing to play for.

As we have said so many times this season, the second half has to be better.
BTW I had forgotten that Doyle (much improved of late) was playing until the game was in added time.

Pitch quality is fine, but size is playing a big factor. It's very narrow and that's making everything tight.

Stevenage don't score many and they concede even fewer.

It's not an exciting match, but I wouldn’t say it's particular poor quality or error prone, just good defending and limited space.

Checking online, their pitch seems to be 4 metres narrower than ours and about 1 shorter. That's quite a lot of pitch missing.

So, knowing that the pitch is smaller presumably the manager and coaches spent preparation time by narrowing the training pitch in preparation when training since Tuesday?
That is the great benefit of having a modern training facility.
Or did they?

That would seem the sensible and logical thing to do but I'm not sure Richardson does 'sensible and logical'.

[tidus_mi2]

This is definitely why I've given up on away games, travel plus shite performances makes for a shit Saturday.

[MR. CYNICAL]

This is definitely why I've given up on away games, travel plus shite performances makes for a shit Saturday.

Yep, me too, first away game this season, must be one of the worst performances of the season. Can't remember a shot on target, second half we hardly got in their box at all, let alone have a shot.
Constantly hoofing it from the back, inability to pass the ball through the midfield, reckon you'd see better football in the local park. Totally unacceptable performance.

[windermereROYAL]

This is definitely why I've given up on away games, travel plus shite performances makes for a shit Saturday.

Yep, me too, first away game this season, must be one of the worst performances of the season.

If it was worse than Mansfield it must have been hideous.

[MR. CYNICAL]

This is definitely why I've given up on away games, travel plus shite performances makes for a shit Saturday.

Yep, me too, first away game this season, must be one of the worst performances of the season.

If it was worse than Mansfield it must have been hideous.

Believe me, it was bad. Lots of disgruntled fans too.
Not sure what Richardson and his 'coaching team' do with them all week, they played as if they've never played together before.

[Extended-Phenotype]

I sometimes wonder when managers comment a bit negatively about the players whether they are managing the freedom to try out of them.

Paul Ince seemed to basically give up on our team, believing them to be incapable of playing competitive football, and had them drilled to hang on and go long. I’m not saying Leam is the same, but his Q&A effectively inferred that if he had them play attacking football they would be relegated.

I think he’s drilling them to sit deep, not take too many chances, avoid the counter and try to get lucky on a long ball. And I think while that might be a decent stabilising strategy that will safely see us mid table, it’s not going to excite the fans or push us much higher than that.

I think we can do better.

[Brogue]

We’re not going to make the playoffs

Tru dat ^^^

Maybe it's as well. A summer clear out of dead wood, coupled with a structured summer recruitment, as opposed to the farce that preceded this season will leave the club stronger in the longer term.
Look on the bright side. We'll be better placed to give our neighbours down the M4, and up the A4074 a good thrashing next year!

My money's on Argyle to go up with Lincoln and Cardiff. They've got the same thing that we had in 2012. Momentum.

I don’t disagree. But isn’t a sorry state of affairs that we need to clear out deadwood when we only had 7 in contract players at the beginning of the season. One might suggest that the deadwood had already been cleared, and then some… to have deadwood already…? Heads should roll.