Gainsborough away

We dont look as though we will be anywhere near full strength for this game but we have strength in depth.
Ellis very doubtfull
Sheils possible
Thirlwell seems to struggle to be free from injury at his age
Swain very doubtfull will be really missed
Simon seems to hint at playing Clayton because we are missing a fair few chances but he is not a prolific goal scorer.Thewliss had one iffy half game so might miss out. Knowles needs too many touches before shooting. I wonder if we will go back to long balls up front for Clayton to flick on to Knowles who never gets anywhere near them. Any thoughts from anyone else?

paulstreet wrote:Simon quite explicit in the paper that we miss too many chances, really high time for Knowles and Clayton to deliver. They start for me: time to get some goals for the team.

I agree Paul - Clayts to soften up there back four then bring on Jordan to run them ragged. Pitch will also suit Jack Emmett - centre back pairing needs to be an object lesson in concentration - such is the importance of Danny Ellis. Cum on Town

Just listening and same old same old.

Poor conditions for BOTH teams and not helped by changed back line again. But.

A few players letting us down now, week in week out. Crook starting to be a liability, need experience between the sticks. Clayton and Knowles, sorry both are not up to it. Don't give a **** about effort in one case - we need goals and he ain't even really a target man. And the other, just don't know what he does - our wingers show more desire and hunger to get shots away and it is unfair to expect goals from them every week. Time for the forwards to stand up and be counted or go. Need to drastically do something about the front line before it ruins the very real chance we have or had....of getting in the playoffs. Yates will help but we need a contracted signing.

Great to see Emmett get the start he has deserved for sometime. Good on him.

Gutted! Sounds like lots of chances missed in the first half, blew it 2nd. Three crucial mistakes by Crook now, that is too many, sorry. Agree about our 'strikers', so-called, not good enough. Please do something Simon, we are drifting. Unlike bloody Ferriby!!

paulstreet wrote:Gutted! Sounds like lots of chances missed in the first half, blew it 2nd. Three crucial mistakes by Crook now, that is too many, sorry. Agree about our 'strikers', so-called, not good enough. Please do something Simon, we are drifting. Unlike bloody Ferriby!!

Yep - a consistent pattern emerging at both ends of the pitch, putting unfair pressure on the lads in defence and, particularly, midfield where we have been excellent.

The archetypal footballer is said to be not the brightest - I don't know about that, but who in their right mind would think it was a good idea to lump the ball aimlessly skyward in storm force winds, particularly through tout the first half.What the hell is the goalkeeper coach doing? He needs to have a word with Crook and Mr Weaver needs to start mixing things up a bit. We are far too predictable and our plan b is the same as our plan a, just with different players. The opposition can suss us out in about five minutes.

Crook's place has to be in serious question. One mistake, OK, happens to all keeper's, 2 mistakes, worrying. Three and serious doubts should be apparent. Hope Simon won't allow sentiment to cloud his judgement.

Really can't argue with whats been said.Crooks confidence must be at a all time low ?Yes,early season the guy was outstanding.Seems there was one or two league clubs watching him as well..Yet pretty sure SW can only protect is keeper for so long with out repercussions...
On the striking front ,yes the work rate is there...no doubt about it , a real team player but Dom is struggling, big time.

Even SW , must realize you can only big up a guy before it kicks you when thing's get rough yes?

Every team will struggle when injuries kick in,yet we are still creating chances.. we are still in great shape.And like most fans on this forum pi@@ed off, trust me we will be alright.

There managers thoughts.

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On our day we can match and even surpass any team for hard work, endeavour and resilience. (Last week was a blip) However, the closer to the top we get, the more important it is to have something else in your locker. For me that is creativity. We need one or two players who not only joins in with the workhorses, but who can compliment them by playing with flair. At the moment, for me, the only player who falls in to that category is Kerry and he is all too often having to play the workhorse role.

Yea Crook's mistake cost us dearly yesterday,and I heard lots of people saying he was fouled but he made a really poor decision that lead to the "so called" foul. He should have gone straight through the ball with his head and they wouldnt have scored. I personally think we should draft in a keeper and give him a rest. There is that saying that form is temporary and class is permanent but I think a few games out to  re-focus will do him good.

We need Yates back asap!

One of the brilliant things about football is that it invites diverse and even opposite opinions. After listening to the manager talking about yesterday's game, whilst I know that in later life, my eyesight is not as it was, but I saw very little playing the ball along the turf. Perhaps I watched a different game. Also, he rather disparagingly commented said that the opposition changed formation several times in their 'desperation' to win -well,the upshot of that tactic was that they won and took all 3 points. It's fine to have a preferred style, system and formation, but surely it is the sign of an astute manager, who is willing to change to suit conditions, opposition and playing to,the strengths of the available players. I would rather have that than to rely on default mode of blaming the weather, the ref or the injury list

Yes, parts of that interview reminded me of the 'bad old days' last season! I'd we were past that...how dare the opposition try to win. The rotters!
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Moaning and whinging like we're a team fighting off relegation! Imo the squad we have has been performing above and beyond what I expected at the start of the season, were only 3 points off 2nd and it's nearly Xmas! Smile everyone!!

Its a Forum TC, you know, exchange of views and all that (in a friendly and comradely fashion, of course!). I'm not so much whinging as expressing my frustration (which entirely echoes Simon's, based on his recent comments). Yes we DO have a great squad this season, but we should have put Trinity to bed on Saturday before half time (based on reports and the film), and I'm afraid, now I've seen it, Crook was to blame for their winner, he was rooted to the spot and came out too late to collect the ball. Yes, 3 points off second place after (almost) half the season and, yes, I would have taken that in August with great pleasure. But my fear is that this IS the best team Simon has assembled, he is at the top of his game as a manager right now, so please lets not blow it. We may not have as good a chance again to at least make the play offs. Our strikers DO need to start converting chances (come back Yates ASAP, as Trevdee says), and much as I admire Peter Crook goalkeeping errors can be really costly, it comes with the territory.

So, no whinging, just worry!!

We are doing OK and bound to get a few bad results.
But my main gripe is why we have such a narrow pitch. Simon had it narrowed for football purposes ( I am told?) but this stifles football skill and makes the games at home more dull. It looks like a 5 a side pitch to me.
We need to play attacking attractive football and get bigger crowds in!

Quink wrote:We are doing OK and bound to get a few bad results.
But my main gripe is why we have such a narrow pitch. Simon had it narrowed for football purposes ( I am told?) but this stifles football skill and makes the games at home more dull. It looks like a 5 a side pitch to me.
We need to play attacking attractive football and get bigger crowds in!

Have you been to many home games this season-- We've had mainly great games of football to watch maybe not winning most of them- You must be very hard to please but please keep watching.