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A Just Back From Barnsley


The Casual Connoisseur

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replacing who?

So you do not feel the team needs freshening up then ?

Agard has been struggling for a number of weeks , perhaps still not 100% fit, and wilbraham despite his excellent finish yesterday has not made the same impact recently up front as he did up to and including the port vale game.

I would also like to see freeman playing a wider role, which would probably mean changing the formation and might not be a bad thing, as i feel we really haven't been utilizing him to the best of his ability so far.

Is that ok for starters ?

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An honest view.

I'm not quite sure if I've just seen us play badly or our opposition play well.

Hats of to Barnsley they threatened our goal more than any other team this season and if I'm honest, they deserved all 3 points.

We didn't click today, not in any department. And if it wasn't for an excellent clearance from Flint, 2 great saves from Franke and the wood work we would have come home empty handed.

On a plus side, we never gave up and battled for a point, JET for me was the difference, Barnsley didn't know how to cope with him and he nearly created a great goal after beating several players.

Overall an off day at the office with a bittersweet day for Ayling whom I thought was poor, yet took his goal well.

We're still unbeaten, were still top of the league, so little to worry about, however I'd be naive if I didn't recognise the warning signs, they were flashing brighter than ever.

A decent point, that we arguably didn't deserve. I'll take that any day of the week.

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So you do not feel the team needs freshening up then ?

Agard has been struggling for a number of weeks , perhaps still not 100% fit, and wilbraham despite his excellent finish yesterday has not made the same impact recently up front as he did up to and including the port vale game.

I would also like to see freeman playing a wider role, which would probably mean changing the formation and might not be a bad thing, as i feel we really haven't been utilizing him to the best of his ability so far.

Is that ok for starters ?

Agard hasn't scored in 2 games, so should be dropped? Wilbraham I agree hasn't been at his best like he was at the start of the season but he's still our highest scorer and will always look threatening, we may need changes In our team but I don't think SC will play JET

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So you do not feel the team needs freshening up then ?

Agard has been struggling for a number of weeks , perhaps still not 100% fit, and wilbraham despite his excellent finish yesterday has not made the same impact recently up front as he did up to and including the port vale game.

I would also like to see freeman playing a wider role, which would probably mean changing the formation and might not be a bad thing, as i feel we really haven't been utilizing him to the best of his ability so far.

Is that ok for starters ?

Source? 

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Warning signs have been there all year.

Yes, we nearly lost today but only managed a draw again!!!

We've scored the most goals in the league, have the best goal difference in the league, are still unbeaten.... but the warning signs have been there all year????

'kin 'ell.

You're going to be absolutely full of it when we do lose, aren't you?

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An honest view.

I'm not quite sure if I've just seen us play badly or our opposition play well.

Hats of to Barnsley they threatened our goal more than any other team this season and if I'm honest, they deserved all 3 points.

We didn't click today, not in any department. And if it wasn't for an excellent clearance from Flint, 2 great saves from Franke and the wood work we would have come home empty handed.

On a plus side, we never gave up and battled for a point, JET for me was the difference, Barnsley didn't know how to cope with him and he nearly created a great goal after beating several players.

Overall an off day at the office with a bittersweet day for Ayling whom I thought was poor, yet took his goal well.

We're still unbeaten, were still top of the league, so little to worry about, however I'd be naive if I didn't recognise the warning signs, they were flashing brighter than ever.

A decent point, that we arguably didn't deserve. I'll take that any day of the week.

I pretty much agree with this... an off day at the office with things not clicking. Great character to get back and earn the draw.

Someone best tell the wolf that I gave agreed with him..... ;)

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I didn't listen to the commentary or go to the match, but the the comments here strike several chords from the recent matches that I have seen.  We have done so well to get where we are, but there are weaknesses that are being found out as we go - rather like totem players (eg Albert) who impress early on, and then get marked out by savvy opposition. Our problem - and strength - has been 3-5-2. We have been exposed on the flanks (eg when Bryan and Burns were defending there, and so it would appear this week) and stifled in the packed middle by smartly organised teams  - this is why JET has potentially  become so important in threading through latterly IMHO. We just haven't been able to play through teams, and with Williams marked by two, and without Ayling being able to walk through the midfield we appear to have poor forward momentum at times. I'd like to see an active switch of formations during games to counter this...

I am so not a doom monger - this is a great team, reminds me of the the Wigan team that came and beat us at the gate years ago - strength and competence in all positions, without needing to rely on one or two players.

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First half was scrappy but we probably had the better of it. Barnsley pressed very well and didn't give our midfield much chance to play. Smith took about 15 minutes to get going, which is understandable, but was very good once he had. Elliot did OK, but I thought Freeman was fairly poor. The forwards worked hard but it was difficult to get the ball to them, then get support up quick enough. Neither Bryan nor Little had good games in the wide positions.

 

Second half, Barnsley came out strongly and overran City but their first half pressing must have taken its toll somewhat as the game became incredibly stretched with huge gaps all over the pitch and both teams taking it in turns to attack. Their goals were clearly coming and whilst I felt the penalty looked soft (for all I could see from 100+ yards away) they definitely merited a goal. JET for Freeman was the obvious substitution and while he didn't produce any real moments of brilliance, save for one run on a break that could have brought a winner, he did the job that Freeman should have been doing and got City playing much better.

 

By the end either side could easily have won it. Barnsley had several good chances denied by excellent performances from Fielding, Flint and Williams, whilst City too were unlucky on several occasions. A draw was the fair result, but any result could conceivably have happened in that game.

 

City weren't fantastic but they showed they have enough about them to produce a result. They need to learn to control and close out games but right now that's simply not a strength so they have to play the way they do. It probably is time to try a couple of changes: Cunningham for Bryan, JET for Freeman and maybe Wagstaff for Little, just to give those players a break and an indication that their places aren't automatic. I personally wouldn't drop Ayling because he does an important job distributing the ball from defence and his passing is the best of all the defenders.

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Warning signs have been there all year.

People keep papering over the cracks with comments like 'we've still got a couple of gears to move through'. I haven't seen them yet.

we are flattering to decieve at present. Once Peterborough and Swindon are out of the way we will know who we really are.

Warning signs have been there all year, this surely has to be the most baffling of all comments in  the history of OTIB, how can you possibly justify that comment when we are top of the league? Unbeaten in 21, surely that is not just down to luck, or 'flattering to deceive'  (i before e except after c  :yes: ) as you put it, granted we are not Barca or Real this week ,just yet, but we are winning, and that my friend is no fluke, that is a mentality, and good enough for this league. 

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I didn't listen to the commentary or go to the match, but the the comments here strike several chords from the recent matches that I have seen.  We have done so well to get where we are, but there are weaknesses that are being found out as we go - rather like totem players (eg Albert) who impress early on, and then get marked out by savvy opposition. Our problem - and strength - has been 3-5-2. We have been exposed on the flanks (eg when Bryan and Burns were defending there, and so it would appear this week) and stifled in the packed middle by smartly organised teams  - this is why JET has potentially  become so important in threading through latterly IMHO. We just haven't been able to play through teams, and with Williams marked by two, and without Ayling being able to walk through the midfield we appear to have poor forward momentum at times. I'd like to see an active switch of formations during games to counter this...

I am so not a doom monger - this is a great team, reminds me of the the Wigan team that came and beat us at the gate years ago - strength and competence in all positions, without needing to rely on one or two players.

 

I remember that Wigan team well, with Van de something (sorry) at centre-half. We got absolutely hammered.

 

I also remember, at around roughly the same time, a similarly strong Southend team and, in the middle of one winter and sleet in the Williams, a thrashing by Sheffield Wednesday.

 

We could do with a few more Flint's this winter.

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I remember that Wigan team well, with Van de something (sorry) at centre-half. We got absolutely hammered.

 

I also remember, at around roughly the same time, a similarly strong Southend team and, in the middle of one winter and sleet in the Williams, a thrashing by Sheffield Wednesday.

 

We could do with a few more Flint's this winter.

 

Arjan de Zeeuw. He was a superb player.

 

I don't recall us being hammered by Wigan either, though. On the contrary, I remember some very good performances and results against them. Low scoring but high quality. Playoffs aside, Danny Wilson's team usually performed well against the top sides (the twice-annual thrashing of Reading was always particularly satisfying).

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I remember that Wigan team well, with Van de something (sorry) at centre-half. We got absolutely hammered.

I also remember, at around roughly the same time, a similarly strong Southend team and, in the middle of one winter and sleet in the Williams, a thrashing by Sheffield Wednesday.

Was the Wednesday game when the Motorway was shut and we all sang "there's only one Bed & Breakfast" ?

We could do with a few more Flint's this winter.

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Arjan de Zeeuw. He was a superb player.

 

I don't recall us being hammered by Wigan either, though. On the contrary, I remember some very good performances and results against them. Low scoring but high quality. Playoffs aside, Danny Wilson's team usually performed well against the top sides (the twice-annual thrashing of Reading was always particularly satisfying).

 

OK!

 

It was probably Arjan de Zeeuw to whom I was referring and, of course, he was a superb player.

 

No doubt somebody will correct me, but I just seem to recall a really important game against Wigan - we were expected to win - and we got hammered. 

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Take Elliot and Wilbraham out of the team and it is very young. They are only going to develop and improve the more they play as a unit. We have spells showing our class in every game and have not been outplayed in any game this season, yes patches but not a full game. I think this is why people talk about more gears because it does feel like only a matter of time before our good play last for a full game,instead of just 1 half or patches. 

 

At the moment even if we were to go 2 down I'd expect us to still score 3. When was the last time we could think like that. Once the defence clicks back into gear jobs a good'n.

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I don't understand why people are getting a roasting for stating there ARE things that can be improved.

Yes we are top, yes we are scoring pretty freely and yes it may be entertaining, but we've conceded 13 goals in the last 7 league games.

We aren't going to keep scoring 2/3 a game so we do need to tighten up at the back.

Those of us pointing that out and being concerned are just being realistic. It's very "happy clappy" to say oh well we are top, nothing to worry about.

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