AC Mack
Striker
At first I thought it was good to see some consistency with the formation and line up. I can't imagine Johnson wants to play a 3-4-3, but needs must. But then I looked at the trendy new graphics and they suggested a 4-3-3 would be more likely.
Turned out to be 4-2-3-1. To say it didn't work would be an understatement. We were absolutely all over the place. We couldn't keep the ball, we couldn't get the ball off them, we didn't press, there were gaps all over the pitch when they attacked, yet when we attacked we never had a yard. I'm not sure if it was the formation, the lack of Leadbitter in the middle with his composure and vision, players not comfortable in their positions (O'Nien the obvious stand-out candidate), them having two men up front that we just couldn't deal with, or what. At the very least we needed to push our line of engagement and defensive lines ten yards further up the pitch - we had the midfielders to press, and the pace in the back line to allow for a higher line, yet we just couldn't get any sort of grip on the game. McGeady spent most of the first half in a nowhere position out on the left by the halfway line. He's not going to do much there. Their goals were fully deserved and our makeshift defence was exposed. O'Nien nowhere near good enough as Mandron ghosted past him. Then for the second goal, O'Nien just left the man he was tracking and gave him five yards to pick his spot. And that's just one player. We've seen some bad team performances in the past few years, but make no mistake that first half was right up there.
At half time I'd have at the very least put McLaughlin centre back, moved Power to right back and brought Leadbitter on. I'd have also changed back to a 4-3-3. A 4-2-3-1 just doesn't give McGeady the space to be able to operate. We all want to see more of Jones too, and fortunately that came later.
Second half and a great ball from McGeady gave Wyke half a chance, but until the changes (and some time afterwards) there was little to shout about. I've rarely seen us give the ball away so cheaply so often. Mcfadzean, McLaughlin two of the worst culprits. Then a wonder goal and suddenly the urgency is there. Jones looks too good for this league and every time he gets the ball they were at panic stations. We all know about McGeady's quality but he doesn't have the pace to trouble defences so at least the opposition can plan against him to extent. They simply couldn't deal with Jones. He's quick, direct, his balance and touch are excellent, and as we now know he can strike the ball sweetly too. After that we had a small spell with our tails up, but it came to nothing and they gradually took a bit of control again. Our only threat seemed to be Maguire's set pieces, which were consistently excellent. Then right at the death, Wyke wins a header and my mind is taken back to Burnley all those years ago, and David Connolly. In fairness this was an even better strike. Maguire and Jones seem to have struck up an instant connection, as they were both absolutely buzzing.
Back to reality though and other than two moments of absolute class, we were pretty abject. However, credit where it's due for the fight back.
Next week I want to see us going back to a 4-3-3. Preferably Power, Scowen and O'Nien in the middle but there's always Winchester or Neil if needs be. It my have to be Sanderson and McLaughlin centre backs. Is Flanagan nearly back?
Burge - didn't seem to have much chance with the goals, and wasn't overly worked otherwise. He spilled one or two and was a bit fortunate to get away with them (although one ended up being offside).
McLaughlin - poor in possession and a bit all over the place at times. Even his 'assist' for Jones he let a simple pass get caught up in his feet. He's been much better recently, but wasn't at it today. Worse at left back.
Sanderson - generally fine but couldn't organise us as he has been doing. He put in some decent but desperate challenges.
O'Nien - experiment over! He was horribly exposed for both of their goals (he wasn't solely to blame for either mind, far from it). He just didn't know where to position himself at all. He was often ten yards deeper than he should have been at other times, though he's not a centre back, is he?
McFadzean - he cannot keep the ball. Every time he gets it you worry, or if we're building momentum in an attack, once the ball finds his feet it's game over. And that's before we mention his defending. He was unlucky not to get an assist with an amazing throw in that fooled everyone.
Power - had no real control over the game without the assurance of Leadbitter. It was pinball wizard in the middle.
Scowen - as above really, but he was worse than Power. He runs around and then doesn't do anything with the ball.
Gooch - he looks a bit frustrated at the moment. The odd glimmer but then he's sloppy and sulky.
O'Brien - a couple of decent touches first half, a couple of efforts that missed the target. Not much to write home about.
Mcgeady - they nullified him with their marking and pressing, and we were so much deeper than we should have been he was never going to influence the game. It was also far too congested with the 4-2-3-1. Ineffectual.
Wyke - feeding off scraps. One half chance on his left and a header from a corner. An excellent header to set up the equaliser.
Subs
Jones - he's a class above, that was apparent before his wonder goal. I've mentioned everything about him above really so no point in repeating myself.
Diamond - didn't do much today but his pace is always going to be an asset late on.
Maguire - two superb free kicks, one to put it on a plate for O'Nien and another which nobody got on the end of. Then another decent free kick which Winchester got a head to. His goal was breath-taking, or squeal-inducing.
Winchester - it might have been coincidence but we were a bit calmer in the middle when he came on, and it could have been his presence being felt. It might have just been that time of the game, with them tiring.
Honourable mention to Leadbitter and his one minute cameo. I hope it's not too serious for all our sakes, if today is anything to go by. It'll be interesting to hear people's views on us without him today.
I'd be very surprised if anyone else in the league can be suffering from our injuries yet still have two players on the bench to be able to come on and do what Jones and Maguire did today.
Crewe - Crewe were terrific first half. They pressed, they had a quick tempo, their off the ball movement was excellent. They have some big lads but they played some football at times. Kirk is good on the ball, Lowery and another little one were decent and all over the pitch at times, and Mandron has good off the ball movement. It was like chalk and cheese compared to their performance at the SOL. Credit to their manager too who made a point of shaking every one of our players' hands at the end, didn't moan at the ref, and even gave Maguire a cheeky slap across the face. They're not exactly the archetypal pass and move Crewe that I always have in my head, but they were decent.
Ref - good. They resorted to a bit of timewasting towards the end as you'd expect, but we played nearly 100 minutes so no complaints.
#askdanny what's the thinking with changing formation and leaving our most composed player on the bench? Is it time to unleash Jordan Jones?
I forgot to mention - how good would it have been to be in the crowd at the end?
Turned out to be 4-2-3-1. To say it didn't work would be an understatement. We were absolutely all over the place. We couldn't keep the ball, we couldn't get the ball off them, we didn't press, there were gaps all over the pitch when they attacked, yet when we attacked we never had a yard. I'm not sure if it was the formation, the lack of Leadbitter in the middle with his composure and vision, players not comfortable in their positions (O'Nien the obvious stand-out candidate), them having two men up front that we just couldn't deal with, or what. At the very least we needed to push our line of engagement and defensive lines ten yards further up the pitch - we had the midfielders to press, and the pace in the back line to allow for a higher line, yet we just couldn't get any sort of grip on the game. McGeady spent most of the first half in a nowhere position out on the left by the halfway line. He's not going to do much there. Their goals were fully deserved and our makeshift defence was exposed. O'Nien nowhere near good enough as Mandron ghosted past him. Then for the second goal, O'Nien just left the man he was tracking and gave him five yards to pick his spot. And that's just one player. We've seen some bad team performances in the past few years, but make no mistake that first half was right up there.
At half time I'd have at the very least put McLaughlin centre back, moved Power to right back and brought Leadbitter on. I'd have also changed back to a 4-3-3. A 4-2-3-1 just doesn't give McGeady the space to be able to operate. We all want to see more of Jones too, and fortunately that came later.
Second half and a great ball from McGeady gave Wyke half a chance, but until the changes (and some time afterwards) there was little to shout about. I've rarely seen us give the ball away so cheaply so often. Mcfadzean, McLaughlin two of the worst culprits. Then a wonder goal and suddenly the urgency is there. Jones looks too good for this league and every time he gets the ball they were at panic stations. We all know about McGeady's quality but he doesn't have the pace to trouble defences so at least the opposition can plan against him to extent. They simply couldn't deal with Jones. He's quick, direct, his balance and touch are excellent, and as we now know he can strike the ball sweetly too. After that we had a small spell with our tails up, but it came to nothing and they gradually took a bit of control again. Our only threat seemed to be Maguire's set pieces, which were consistently excellent. Then right at the death, Wyke wins a header and my mind is taken back to Burnley all those years ago, and David Connolly. In fairness this was an even better strike. Maguire and Jones seem to have struck up an instant connection, as they were both absolutely buzzing.
Back to reality though and other than two moments of absolute class, we were pretty abject. However, credit where it's due for the fight back.
Next week I want to see us going back to a 4-3-3. Preferably Power, Scowen and O'Nien in the middle but there's always Winchester or Neil if needs be. It my have to be Sanderson and McLaughlin centre backs. Is Flanagan nearly back?
Burge
McLaughlin Sanderson Flanagan McFadzean
Power
O'Nien Scowen
McGeady Jones
Wyke
If needs be, Winchester can start and Power/O'Nien at full back with McLaughlin in the middle.McLaughlin Sanderson Flanagan McFadzean
Power
O'Nien Scowen
McGeady Jones
Wyke
Burge - didn't seem to have much chance with the goals, and wasn't overly worked otherwise. He spilled one or two and was a bit fortunate to get away with them (although one ended up being offside).
McLaughlin - poor in possession and a bit all over the place at times. Even his 'assist' for Jones he let a simple pass get caught up in his feet. He's been much better recently, but wasn't at it today. Worse at left back.
Sanderson - generally fine but couldn't organise us as he has been doing. He put in some decent but desperate challenges.
O'Nien - experiment over! He was horribly exposed for both of their goals (he wasn't solely to blame for either mind, far from it). He just didn't know where to position himself at all. He was often ten yards deeper than he should have been at other times, though he's not a centre back, is he?
McFadzean - he cannot keep the ball. Every time he gets it you worry, or if we're building momentum in an attack, once the ball finds his feet it's game over. And that's before we mention his defending. He was unlucky not to get an assist with an amazing throw in that fooled everyone.
Power - had no real control over the game without the assurance of Leadbitter. It was pinball wizard in the middle.
Scowen - as above really, but he was worse than Power. He runs around and then doesn't do anything with the ball.
Gooch - he looks a bit frustrated at the moment. The odd glimmer but then he's sloppy and sulky.
O'Brien - a couple of decent touches first half, a couple of efforts that missed the target. Not much to write home about.
Mcgeady - they nullified him with their marking and pressing, and we were so much deeper than we should have been he was never going to influence the game. It was also far too congested with the 4-2-3-1. Ineffectual.
Wyke - feeding off scraps. One half chance on his left and a header from a corner. An excellent header to set up the equaliser.
Subs
Jones - he's a class above, that was apparent before his wonder goal. I've mentioned everything about him above really so no point in repeating myself.
Diamond - didn't do much today but his pace is always going to be an asset late on.
Maguire - two superb free kicks, one to put it on a plate for O'Nien and another which nobody got on the end of. Then another decent free kick which Winchester got a head to. His goal was breath-taking, or squeal-inducing.
Winchester - it might have been coincidence but we were a bit calmer in the middle when he came on, and it could have been his presence being felt. It might have just been that time of the game, with them tiring.
Honourable mention to Leadbitter and his one minute cameo. I hope it's not too serious for all our sakes, if today is anything to go by. It'll be interesting to hear people's views on us without him today.
I'd be very surprised if anyone else in the league can be suffering from our injuries yet still have two players on the bench to be able to come on and do what Jones and Maguire did today.
Crewe - Crewe were terrific first half. They pressed, they had a quick tempo, their off the ball movement was excellent. They have some big lads but they played some football at times. Kirk is good on the ball, Lowery and another little one were decent and all over the pitch at times, and Mandron has good off the ball movement. It was like chalk and cheese compared to their performance at the SOL. Credit to their manager too who made a point of shaking every one of our players' hands at the end, didn't moan at the ref, and even gave Maguire a cheeky slap across the face. They're not exactly the archetypal pass and move Crewe that I always have in my head, but they were decent.
Ref - good. They resorted to a bit of timewasting towards the end as you'd expect, but we played nearly 100 minutes so no complaints.
#askdanny what's the thinking with changing formation and leaving our most composed player on the bench? Is it time to unleash Jordan Jones?
I forgot to mention - how good would it have been to be in the crowd at the end?
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Happy days
