Mackday meldrew

[Tin Soldier]

From what I heard on the radio, we seemed to sit back in the 2nd half, and invite them on to us, which we got away with, but it's a dangerous thing to do against any team.
Benno on the radio, said it wasn't an easy win, or a great performance.
Still, getting in the habit of winning, is good for confidence, and morale.
Another win next week, will be a big help.

sit back ? We were horizontal!

Can't be arsed with Leadbitter plodding around in midfield personally.

An utter liability

 

[safc_1973]

Will Grigg 8 yards out

 

[BumbleBee]

Played well and won.

Don't know why I didn't have you on ignore before now. Sorted.

 

[aupaalaves]

Just got back about 9pm and even though we won I thought we were poor. I can't believe so many people praising Dobson, OK he does provide energy in midfield but his passing is absolutely dreadful, some people are easily pleased.

Jack Ross was well, Jack Ross. 3-1 up and he still can't find it within himself to put teams away. 2nd half was woeful.

We've all seen many SAFC promotion teams, never in a million years would I describe this team as capable of winning promotion. It's going to be a long season.

We were winning 1-3 with another game on Tuesday, why would we go all out and look to score more?

We were in control of the game and didn't look like losing or drawing at any point.

 

[fyl2u]

Don't know why I didn't have you on ignore before now. Sorted.

How peculiar. I get ignored for expressing my opinion that SAFC played well? Are you a mag?

Just got back about 9pm and even though we won I thought we were poor. I can't believe so many people praising Dobson, OK he does provide energy in midfield but his passing is absolutely dreadful, some people are easily pleased.

Jack Ross was well, Jack Ross. 3-1 up and he still can't find it within himself to put teams away. 2nd half was woeful.

We've all seen many SAFC promotion teams, never in a million years would I describe this team as capable of winning promotion. It's going to be a long season.

When did a 2-goal lead become "not putting a team away".

When I were a lad we'd complain that 2-1 wasn't "putting a team away" but at some point it seems to have expanded by a goal.

 

[tunstallhill]

Needs to put o nien in the middle with dobba

 

[Clueless]

Just got back about 9pm and even though we won I thought we were poor. I can't believe so many people praising Dobson, OK he does provide energy in midfield but his passing is absolutely dreadful, some people are easily pleased.

Jack Ross was well, Jack Ross. 3-1 up and he still can't find it within himself to put teams away. 2nd half was woeful.

We've all seen many SAFC promotion teams, never in a million years would I describe this team as capable of winning promotion. It's going to be a long season.

During the Charlton v Birmingham match, the Birmingham manager was booked for allowing a ball to roll onto the field and the Charlton manager, Lee Bowyer, was then sent to the stands, for throwing the ball back to the Birmingham dugout "... in an aggressive manner ..."

I'm fairly certain that if Jack Ross 'found it within himself' to enter the field of play to contribute towards 'putting a team away', the penalty would have been even greater.

What is it that you expect a manager who is standing on the touchline to do ? He picked what he thought was his best starting line up, they took a 3-1 lead and the players he brought on as subs (two of the three being attacking players) also performed well enough. Managers cannot insist or guarantee that the players win 10-0 every game. They are dependent upon the players performing.

Whilst not at the match and relying on radio commentary and the remarks of other posters, I am prepared to accept that SAFC did not emulate Barcelona, Man City or Liverpool, in terms of dominance, but that is due to the limitations of the players at our disposal.

 

[JohnKay]

Cheers @AC Mack marra, I didn't even get to listen to the game yesterday, didn't get back till about half 4 and the radio in the van is goosed. I will take your meldrew as gospel for the game that got away from me, I've agreed with most of what you've said in previous games I've watched.

Personally nice to see McNulty get a goal, I really like the lad. Can we swap him for Grigg in January please so he's our player

 

[Stortford]

Overall a good win, a bang average performance against a poor side.

McLaughlin - solid as usual, no mistakes and calm with the ball at his feet and coming out to claim. 6.5

O'Nien - got caught out positionally time and again, him being out of position is clearly evident. Gives his all of course and put in some good challenges. 6.

Willis - excellent and can't think of too much he did wrong really. He showed good turns of pace a couple of times and showed a cool head at the back throughout whilst others were losing theirs. There's a chance he was more culpable in a couple of the hairy moments we had in the second half, but it was hard to tell from the other end. 7.5.

Ozturk - had a shocker of a first half. Like O'Nien, the ball kept coming through his channel and he couldn't deal with it. He never did anything horrendous but he also never really settled. 6.

Hume - I felt a bit sorry for him defensively because they were doubling up on him and he wasn't get much support from McGeady. That said he's just not quite up to it yet defensively and I think decent opposition will punish us down his flank. He's better going forward and links up better with McGeady, especially when McGeady cuts inside and Hume can overlap. He put in some dangerous crosses and we got some joy from them. 6.5.

Leadbitter - looked a bit off the pace at times to me, with his decision making and passing. Still his proving to be a reliable, experienced figure in an important part of the pitch. 6.

Dobson - the best player on the pitch after the first ten minutes, where he played a poor pass leading to their goal (just like against Oxford), conceded a sloppy free kick in a dangerous area and generally looked nervy. After that he was all over the pitch all game, often driving us forward with positive passes. A bit like Power when he's playing well. Excellent through ball for the third goal. Sideways passers take note. A slight concern was that they carved us open more than I'd like and the central midfielders should probably take some responsibility. 7.5.

Gooch - wonderfully taken goal, and was involved in a few of our attacks but I didn't think he overly stood out. There are signs our attacking line are developing an understanding, but Gooch is often a little bit on the periphery. If he doesn't score that first it may be a different game. 7.

Maguire - really good composure for the third and unlucky with an effort after cutting inside in the second half. I like his tenacity but he didn't stand out too much more to me. 6.5.

McGeady - great quality to score the winning goal after being left in loads of space, and as usual he showed occasional glimpses of quality mixed with plenty of nothingness. A couple of times he had their full back one on one but failed to capitalise. Put it on a plate for Grigg late on. 6.5.

McNulty - he epitomised what I want to see from a forward with his constant movement, off the ball work and general work rate. He's a pest for defenders and seems to link up well with his teammates at times. Good to see him on the scoresheet. 7.

Subs - not enough contribution to give individual comments, but a note for Grigg's contribution. He was lazy at times but also showed a couple of glimpses. We put together an excellent move to play him in near the end but his finish was the most clear 'no confidence striker' effort you'll see.

I feel like a couple of those attacking marks are half a mark off but I can't decide which ones to change.

Pre-match - I enjoyed a couple of lime and sodas inside The Crown once again, and got talking to an elderly-ish bloke who comes to watch us every week from Southport. Usually on his own too, I think. A thoroughly nice chap, and today was more like home game for both of us. Good atmosphere with the Liverpool game on the TV.

Crowd - decent enough atmosphere but too much focus on Accrington being 'tin pot' than pro Sunderland songs today. Surprisingly few mag songs. I don't think we quite sold out but to take the full side stand and the terrace must have been pretty full was good to see. A quick point on a couple of isolated moments. There was a lad in front of me shaking his head all the way through the first half, presumably disagreeing with things I (and perhaps others) were commenting on. He was very much a 'pass, pass, pass' type person. Which is fine, everyone has their opinions. But it's abundantly clear to me that we are more threatening when we get the ball forward quickly and put pressure on the crap defences we're coming up against. That doesn't mean hoofing it long, that means being more positive and dynamic on the ball. These defences must love it when they see Ozturk, Willis, Hume and O'Nien (for example) just tapping the ball about between them; not only giving respite to the opposition, but allowing them to regroup and prepare for an attack if it does eventually arrive. All that ever happens is we knock it around for a while, then just lose it. Every single time. We don't score goals from pratting about in defence, we score goals from swift attacks. As was evidenced again today. Another bloke near me was trotting out the 'recycle' line. Funnily enough he then shouted for us to put it into the box in the 92nd minute when the obvious thing to do was to keep the ball, without a hint of irony.

Ross - it's good that he's keeping a simple system that's generally working, and he was sensible enough with his substitutions today. He brought Dobson in who was excellent and played a left back in his natural position, although there are question marks over his defensive performances. As for style of football, see above. We shut up shop at 3-1 and that was disappointing. A good team would have put five or six past them, easy. We're still relying on individual moments of quality rather than polished team goals and performances.

Referee - fine. He gave a few questionable free kicks as to be expected, but generally didn't have much influence on the game. Rightly booked Leadbitter and one of their players.

Opposition - Accrington were better than the cup game going forward, but just as bad at the back. They're a fine example of another team that try to play it out from the back and are nowhere near good enough. Going forward they play with lots of width and often had two out wide attacking our lone full back, which caused problems both halves, but a lack of quality means they didn't create loads of chances. The lad too his goal well but overall they're lucky we have Bolton and had Bury in the league this season.

Cheers taking the time to post that AC, think you are spot on with the ratings, Accrington were awful and we were indeed bang average but we won with 3 bits of quality without getting out of 2nd gear but we didn’t need to and with a game on Tuesday not sure why folk are saying we should have been putting them to the sword, we needed and got 3 points

 

[manamamackem]

Overall a good win, a bang average performance against a poor side.

McLaughlin - solid as usual, no mistakes and calm with the ball at his feet and coming out to claim. 6.5

O'Nien - got caught out positionally time and again, him being out of position is clearly evident. Gives his all of course and put in some good challenges. 6.

Willis - excellent and can't think of too much he did wrong really. He showed good turns of pace a couple of times and showed a cool head at the back throughout whilst others were losing theirs. There's a chance he was more culpable in a couple of the hairy moments we had in the second half, but it was hard to tell from the other end. 7.5.

Ozturk - had a shocker of a first half. Like O'Nien, the ball kept coming through his channel and he couldn't deal with it. He never did anything horrendous but he also never really settled. 6.

Hume - I felt a bit sorry for him defensively because they were doubling up on him and he wasn't get much support from McGeady. That said he's just not quite up to it yet defensively and I think decent opposition will punish us down his flank. He's better going forward and links up better with McGeady, especially when McGeady cuts inside and Hume can overlap. He put in some dangerous crosses and we got some joy from them. 6.5.

Leadbitter - looked a bit off the pace at times to me, with his decision making and passing. Still his proving to be a reliable, experienced figure in an important part of the pitch. 6.

Dobson - the best player on the pitch after the first ten minutes, where he played a poor pass leading to their goal (just like against Oxford), conceded a sloppy free kick in a dangerous area and generally looked nervy. After that he was all over the pitch all game, often driving us forward with positive passes. A bit like Power when he's playing well. Excellent through ball for the third goal. Sideways passers take note. A slight concern was that they carved us open more than I'd like and the central midfielders should probably take some responsibility. 7.5.

Gooch - wonderfully taken goal, and was involved in a few of our attacks but I didn't think he overly stood out. There are signs our attacking line are developing an understanding, but Gooch is often a little bit on the periphery. If he doesn't score that first it may be a different game. 7.

Maguire - really good composure for the third and unlucky with an effort after cutting inside in the second half. I like his tenacity but he didn't stand out too much more to me. 6.5.

McGeady - great quality to score the winning goal after being left in loads of space, and as usual he showed occasional glimpses of quality mixed with plenty of nothingness. A couple of times he had their full back one on one but failed to capitalise. Put it on a plate for Grigg late on. 6.5.

McNulty - he epitomised what I want to see from a forward with his constant movement, off the ball work and general work rate. He's a pest for defenders and seems to link up well with his teammates at times. Good to see him on the scoresheet. 7.

Subs - not enough contribution to give individual comments, but a note for Grigg's contribution. He was lazy at times but also showed a couple of glimpses. We put together an excellent move to play him in near the end but his finish was the most clear 'no confidence striker' effort you'll see.

I feel like a couple of those attacking marks are half a mark off but I can't decide which ones to change.

Pre-match - I enjoyed a couple of lime and sodas inside The Crown once again, and got talking to an elderly-ish bloke who comes to watch us every week from Southport. Usually on his own too, I think. A thoroughly nice chap, and today was more like home game for both of us. Good atmosphere with the Liverpool game on the TV.

Crowd - decent enough atmosphere but too much focus on Accrington being 'tin pot' than pro Sunderland songs today. Surprisingly few mag songs. I don't think we quite sold out but to take the full side stand and the terrace must have been pretty full was good to see. A quick point on a couple of isolated moments. There was a lad in front of me shaking his head all the way through the first half, presumably disagreeing with things I (and perhaps others) were commenting on. He was very much a 'pass, pass, pass' type person. Which is fine, everyone has their opinions. But it's abundantly clear to me that we are more threatening when we get the ball forward quickly and put pressure on the crap defences we're coming up against. That doesn't mean hoofing it long, that means being more positive and dynamic on the ball. These defences must love it when they see Ozturk, Willis, Hume and O'Nien (for example) just tapping the ball about between them; not only giving respite to the opposition, but allowing them to regroup and prepare for an attack if it does eventually arrive. All that ever happens is we knock it around for a while, then just lose it. Every single time. We don't score goals from pratting about in defence, we score goals from swift attacks. As was evidenced again today. Another bloke near me was trotting out the 'recycle' line. Funnily enough he then shouted for us to put it into the box in the 92nd minute when the obvious thing to do was to keep the ball, without a hint of irony.

Ross - it's good that he's keeping a simple system that's generally working, and he was sensible enough with his substitutions today. He brought Dobson in who was excellent and played a left back in his natural position, although there are question marks over his defensive performances. As for style of football, see above. We shut up shop at 3-1 and that was disappointing. A good team would have put five or six past them, easy. We're still relying on individual moments of quality rather than polished team goals and performances.

Referee - fine. He gave a few questionable free kicks as to be expected, but generally didn't have much influence on the game. Rightly booked Leadbitter and one of their players.

Opposition - Accrington were better than the cup game going forward, but just as bad at the back. They're a fine example of another team that try to play it out from the back and are nowhere near good enough. Going forward they play with lots of width and often had two out wide attacking our lone full back, which caused problems both halves, but a lack of quality means they didn't create loads of chances. The lad too his goal well but overall they're lucky we have Bolton and had Bury in the league this season.

Cheers mate. Didn't get a chance to listen in yesterday, as we were out and about all day. First post that I looked for, this morning.

 

[Joe Baker]

I'd go along with "bang average" as a verdict on the performance. The problem is that, in matching our payroll to our (League 1) means, we've ended up with a league 1 side and a league 1 manager. Quality is in short supply and we need to get used to it. (but just for the time being )

Hopefully, we can kick on with some new investment, and some sustainable and steady growth...

 

[PtangYang kiperbang]

I am constantly bemused by the amount of people on here that expect more from our performances when we’re playing in league 1. Yes we have a big budget but on paper that has bought us a strong league one team which at best will provide an average performance.

I guess they will be the same people who complain the these new investors come in and they don’t chuck a boat load of money at the team.

Money and quality of player has no bearing at all on whether a team attacks or just sits back.

And why should the best we can expect of this team be “average” performance? What has being in league one got to do with that?

We have played some absolute shite who have raised there game against us, but we seem incapable of doing the same.

In football, if you have superior players, you first have to match the other side in terms of effort and desire before your quality can tell, and that is precisely why we labour through every game.

Nothing to do with money, twisty fans, or being in league one, it’s because there isn’t enough effort, attacking intent and belief throughout the side and the coaching staff.

 

[Keith S30S]

Overall a good win, a bang average performance against a poor side.

McLaughlin - solid as usual, no mistakes and calm with the ball at his feet and coming out to claim. 6.5

O'Nien - got caught out positionally time and again, him being out of position is clearly evident. Gives his all of course and put in some good challenges. 6.

Willis - excellent and can't think of too much he did wrong really. He showed good turns of pace a couple of times and showed a cool head at the back throughout whilst others were losing theirs. There's a chance he was more culpable in a couple of the hairy moments we had in the second half, but it was hard to tell from the other end. 7.5.

Ozturk - had a shocker of a first half. Like O'Nien, the ball kept coming through his channel and he couldn't deal with it. He never did anything horrendous but he also never really settled. 6.

Hume - I felt a bit sorry for him defensively because they were doubling up on him and he wasn't get much support from McGeady. That said he's just not quite up to it yet defensively and I think decent opposition will punish us down his flank. He's better going forward and links up better with McGeady, especially when McGeady cuts inside and Hume can overlap. He put in some dangerous crosses and we got some joy from them. 6.5.

Leadbitter - looked a bit off the pace at times to me, with his decision making and passing. Still his proving to be a reliable, experienced figure in an important part of the pitch. 6.

Dobson - the best player on the pitch after the first ten minutes, where he played a poor pass leading to their goal (just like against Oxford), conceded a sloppy free kick in a dangerous area and generally looked nervy. After that he was all over the pitch all game, often driving us forward with positive passes. A bit like Power when he's playing well. Excellent through ball for the third goal. Sideways passers take note. A slight concern was that they carved us open more than I'd like and the central midfielders should probably take some responsibility. 7.5.

Gooch - wonderfully taken goal, and was involved in a few of our attacks but I didn't think he overly stood out. There are signs our attacking line are developing an understanding, but Gooch is often a little bit on the periphery. If he doesn't score that first it may be a different game. 7.

Maguire - really good composure for the third and unlucky with an effort after cutting inside in the second half. I like his tenacity but he didn't stand out too much more to me. 6.5.

McGeady - great quality to score the winning goal after being left in loads of space, and as usual he showed occasional glimpses of quality mixed with plenty of nothingness. A couple of times he had their full back one on one but failed to capitalise. Put it on a plate for Grigg late on. 6.5.

McNulty - he epitomised what I want to see from a forward with his constant movement, off the ball work and general work rate. He's a pest for defenders and seems to link up well with his teammates at times. Good to see him on the scoresheet. 7.

Subs - not enough contribution to give individual comments, but a note for Grigg's contribution. He was lazy at times but also showed a couple of glimpses. We put together an excellent move to play him in near the end but his finish was the most clear 'no confidence striker' effort you'll see.

I feel like a couple of those attacking marks are half a mark off but I can't decide which ones to change.

Pre-match - I enjoyed a couple of lime and sodas inside The Crown once again, and got talking to an elderly-ish bloke who comes to watch us every week from Southport. Usually on his own too, I think. A thoroughly nice chap, and today was more like home game for both of us. Good atmosphere with the Liverpool game on the TV.

Crowd - decent enough atmosphere but too much focus on Accrington being 'tin pot' than pro Sunderland songs today. Surprisingly few mag songs. I don't think we quite sold out but to take the full side stand and the terrace must have been pretty full was good to see. A quick point on a couple of isolated moments. There was a lad in front of me shaking his head all the way through the first half, presumably disagreeing with things I (and perhaps others) were commenting on. He was very much a 'pass, pass, pass' type person. Which is fine, everyone has their opinions. But it's abundantly clear to me that we are more threatening when we get the ball forward quickly and put pressure on the crap defences we're coming up against. That doesn't mean hoofing it long, that means being more positive and dynamic on the ball. These defences must love it when they see Ozturk, Willis, Hume and O'Nien (for example) just tapping the ball about between them; not only giving respite to the opposition, but allowing them to regroup and prepare for an attack if it does eventually arrive. All that ever happens is we knock it around for a while, then just lose it. Every single time. We don't score goals from pratting about in defence, we score goals from swift attacks. As was evidenced again today. Another bloke near me was trotting out the 'recycle' line. Funnily enough he then shouted for us to put it into the box in the 92nd minute when the obvious thing to do was to keep the ball, without a hint of irony.

Ross - it's good that he's keeping a simple system that's generally working, and he was sensible enough with his substitutions today. He brought Dobson in who was excellent and played a left back in his natural position, although there are question marks over his defensive performances. As for style of football, see above. We shut up shop at 3-1 and that was disappointing. A good team would have put five or six past them, easy. We're still relying on individual moments of quality rather than polished team goals and performances.

Referee - fine. He gave a few questionable free kicks as to be expected, but generally didn't have much influence on the game. Rightly booked Leadbitter and one of their players.

Opposition - Accrington were better than the cup game going forward, but just as bad at the back. They're a fine example of another team that try to play it out from the back and are nowhere near good enough. Going forward they play with lots of width and often had two out wide attacking our lone full back, which caused problems both halves, but a lack of quality means they didn't create loads of chances. The lad too his goal well but overall they're lucky we have Bolton and had Bury in the league this season.

Harsh twice on Dobson IMO.

The goal against Oxford was 99% C McLaughlin's fault. It was a very slighty tight ball to someone in 5 yards of space. More than 9 times out of 10 no problem. McLaughlin allowed it to bounce 5 yards off him and they scored too.

Yesterday the ball was given away in a non dangerous area near the halfway line. Again at least 9 times out of 10 no issue. They lumped it forward, good pass, lovely first touch, goal. Not really Dobson's fault they scored a route 1 goal. We were probably defending too deep (again).

 

[AC Mack]

Harsh twice on Dobson IMO.

The goal against Oxford was 99% C McLaughlin's fault. It was a very slighty tight ball to someone in 5 yards of space. More than 9 times out of 10 no problem. McLaughlin allowed it to bounce 5 yards off him and they scored too.

Yesterday the ball was given away in a non dangerous area near the halfway line. Again at least 9 times out of 10 no issue. They lumped it forward, good pass, lovely first touch, goal. Not really Dobson's fault they scored a route 1 goal. We were probably defending too deep (again).

I can't be that harsh if I gave him man of the match

Both goals (Oxford and Accrington) he played a poor pass which led to the receiver being intercepted. Both situations, unfortunately for him, led to goals being scored. It's not always the person who loses the ball who is at fault, although I'm sure you know that.

He was good yesterday, a real bright spark.

 

[Keith S30S]

I can't be that harsh if I gave him man of the match

Both goals (Oxford and Accrington) he played a poor pass which led to the receiver being intercepted. Both situations, unfortunately for him, led to goals being scored. It's not always the person who loses the ball who is at fault, although I'm sure you know that.

He was good yesterday, a real bright spark.

Oxford was a very slightly tight pass straight to the feet of our player. The awful miscontrol was 99% of the problem not the pass.

 

[AC Mack]

Oxford was a very slightly tight pass straight to the feet of our player. The awful miscontrol was 99% of the problem not the pass.

As soon as he played it I held my breath as I knew it had put us under unnecessary pressure. Maybe I can just see a couple of moves ahead of other people

 

[molthemackem]

If Accrington had took their chances we wouldn't of had three points.

from listening on the radio, thats what I thought too. When we should have been going for the kill second half, we stopped playing.. GD will count at the end of the season for some teams.

 

[KNGHTHOOD]

from listening on the radio, thats what I thought too. When we should have been going for the kill second half, we stopped playing.. GD will count at the end of the season for some teams.

Yes goal difference could be a telling point at the end of the season and we should of pushed on more. Two of our goals came from Accy passing to our players, yet Ross is happy with the way we play. That's the bit that frighten's me. Any flowing moves came from our opponents yesterday, with our fans having to shout at our players to close them down. God I wish we had a manager that would shout instructions.

 

[molthemackem]

Yes goal difference could be a telling point at the end of the season and we should of pushed on more. Two of our goals came from Accy passing to our players, yet Ross is happy with the way we play. That's the bit that frighten's me. Any flowing moves came from our opponents yesterday, with our fans having to shout at our players to close them down. God I wish we had a manager that would shout instructions.

I still believe that nothing has changed with Ross or his attitude or tactics or as you suggest, players who cannot control or pass a ball 5-10 yards. He has I believe, whatever goes on with this takeover, lost the majority of the fans and is a dead man walking and whats more, I suspect he knows it.

 

[KNGHTHOOD]

I still believe that nothing has changed with Ross or his attitude or tactics or as you suggest, players who cannot control or pass a ball 5-10 yards. He has I believe, whatever goes on with this takeover, lost the majority of the fans and is a dead man walking and whats more, I suspect he knows it.

I've been told on here by a couple they are not bothered if we aren't playing well becuase we won. Well the day i don't care if we're playing shite is the day I stop going.