sirscrumpton Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 Thoughts on Notts County game! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There I was ready to ring Geoff Twentyman and moan when Marc Goodfellow pops up and sends everyone into a three minute bout of hysteria and the cue for Tinman to celebrate an incredible and emotional landmark. Unfortunately the goal, timely and as deserved as it was, can't hide the fact that the performance preceeding it was not acceptable, too many players did not seem to be giving it their all. Of course its taboo to question whether a player wants it, and to be fair their celebrations at the win indicate that they do, but before that I was seriously having to ask myself whether our players do 'want it'. I honestly felt certain members of the team were either ill or had been drinking as the performance of several players was uncharacteristically lethargic, careless and laboured. Carey and Hill in the two full back positions for a start, Louis Carey in particular - I really don't believe it was him, it was a terrible performance from someone who looked like they were struggling. Then there's Aaron Brown. It's a contentious point the criticism he gets and I'm one of the few that defend him, but today I can't do that - his performance was laughable. Either he is seriously unfit (which we know he's not) or he's just plain lazy, because today his performance was insulting at times, so casual, so not bothered, so half hearted. For a brilliant win that I've been celebrating all the way home, I find it strange and perhaps unfair to say, but 'half-hearted' about sums up the team performance as a whole. Notts County were diabolical, they haven't got a hope of staying up, some of their play was comical, and to make matters worse they (and us) had to put up with dismal officiating and a clueless linesman. Which is why when we comfortably went in front so early on, a thrashing looked on the cards - in fact had you told me then that we might have drawn the game I would have laughed at you. But draw it we nearly did, and all because the players (well most of them) displayed an alarming casualness throughout after they scored, and once the scores was levelled, you did wonder if they 'wanted it'. Sure, they went through the motions to get a winner, but it was slow and ponderous and not really with any great urgency. A lot of them looked either unfit or just not bothered. I'm not being out of order here because the MOST FRUSTRATING thing was we know they can do so much better. I know they could have won 5-0 today if they tried. But they didn't, and they made it hard for themselves. Which is why Goodfellow's goal was so celebrated, because it was not only deserved, but saved the team from chronic embarassment and a very much justified enquiry into what they were playing at. For an hour today I wouldn't have considered our players anywhere close to wanting it as much as say Plymouth and QPR, they just didn't look like they would fight tooth and nail to put the match out of reach. Maybe that's what it is, we're just not rutheless enough, and Danny does not turn the screw like other managers perhaps would - being in front is enough for us, we don't worry about precarious leads, we just lose them! So anyway, what started looking like it would be a walk in the park, turned out to be the most uneccessarily laboured match against a ###### poor relegation bound opponents. And try as I might to put it down to other reasons, I just think the players were FAR too casual in their approach and too casual in the standards they were setting themselves, it was a bare minimum peformance. But we got the three points, and as the saying goes, to do that playing badly is the sign of a good team. Even more importantly it made a fitting end to a great day for Tinman, whose name was sung loudly throughout. We had a big away support, and it was also an overwhelmingly positive one for once; loud, continuous, and unbroken, an emotional and rousing support for Tinman, and great scenes from the winner and at the end. And what of Goodfellow? Too early to tell, and no immediate signs that he is a class act, more concerningly is that we have signed a player for the right wing who has no right foot. I kid you not, the lad had to cut inside onto his left EVERY time and never used his right foot, looked awkward with it - seems to be another gem from Danny, right wing does not seem to be his best position. Has pace and a willingness to run at people, but have not yet seen a spark of real quality that you look for in a new player. Oh, and he missed a WIDE OPEN goal, totally WIDE OPEN, which was concerning. But the winner more than made up for it, not so much in quality, he just nodded it in on the line (though I suppose we should be pleased to see a midfielder in there) but in timing and deliverance. Because otherwise I'd be here talking in a lot more concern about Aaron Brown being disinterested, half the players playing so casually that the result seemed unimportant, and the team looking less than fit. Not a good performance against god-awful opposition. But a great result - and in the end that's what counts. Oh, and that you can do it with a player who everyone thought disappeared two years ago (Hello Marv!) Kind Regards Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhatWill Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 Rob F sitting on the fence as usual then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobby59 Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 watching city yesterday they only had 10 players on the field . aaron brown was the programme seller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest newportred Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 In reply to your review... I could predict what you were going to say even before I had passed the first paragraph. In summary. Shocking display from <insert name of player its fashoinable to slag off>, dissapoiting display from <insert another name of player who didnt score>...moan...moan...not good enough shocking...blah blah...half hearted...no spirit....what is Danny thinking of? (you must always slag off the manager remember)... Get a grip man! OK it wasnt the best display we have had this season, BUT we won (QPR didnt there) we are third in the league, have shown we can muster up a huge following, and have won four on the bounce. We cannot win every game 5 - 0 and at times will have to dig in and grind out a result against clubs who are fighting for their lives. You make it sound so bleak,so negative. If you want to really write waffle like you have why not go and watch Bristol Rovers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Port Said Red Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 Some people will never be happy. Michael Owen missed from a yard yesterday, so he's obviously not good enough either. If we went through the whole season winning every game 5-0 evrerybody playing at the top of the game, they would say we had nothing to beat! Personally I would find it very boring, but hey..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheshire_red Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 RobF is a legend, brings a response from both our fans and the oppositions. That is what reporting is all about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre_The_Giant Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 Aaron Brown is a shockingly bad performer. Always has been, and always will be. The kid (actually he's not a kid at all anymore) doesn't have it and is a liability in our team. BS4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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