MATCHWATCH : Fleetwood Town (a)

[Millsy]

Wifi wasn’t reliable today, kept screwing up at crucial moments although didn’t have a bearing on the game. Neither was Wifi though and sadly that did.

Disappointing as it is though, can’t fault an away draw.

His strength is with the ball at his feet facing goal.

That's exactly the example I was thinking of. Sadly didn't capitalise with the ball at his feet facing goal. It happens, it's fine. I still like him. Just a shame.

[Whore Jackie]

Elliott and Ehibhatiomhan quite rightly taking the brunt of the criticism, but thought Monlouis stood off far too much for their equalising assist. Knibbs seemed to have a very quiet game and really should have done a lot better with his pass to Femi towards the end of the regulation 90 minutes.

Would happily have settled for a point pre-match, so can't be greedy given the game itself. Aside from the top 4 away, the other 10 games are all very winnable.

[Millsy]

Am warming to Selles, hope he succeeds, but shame his subs just seemed to make things worse overall.

[Stranded]

Am warming to Selles, hope he succeeds, but shame his subs just seemed to make things worse overall.

Again, and whilst I agree at times his subs have been questionable, what else should he have done last night? Without knowing Monlouis would look like a scared rabbit?

[Millsy]

Am warming to Selles, hope he succeeds, but shame his subs just seemed to make things worse overall.

Again, and whilst I agree at times his subs have been questionable, what else should he have done last night? Without knowing Monlouis would look like a scared rabbit?

Fair enough, I don't really know, but then I'm not a professional manager paid to make these decisions so him being as useless as I am doesn't really get him off the hook.

I'm probably being harsh because there's also Fleetwood, who suddenly decided to play football, not to mention the blind lino.

But it's still a fact that his intervention coincided with things getting much worse for us.

[Stranded]

Am warming to Selles, hope he succeeds, but shame his subs just seemed to make things worse overall.

Again, and whilst I agree at times his subs have been questionable, what else should he have done last night? Without knowing Monlouis would look like a scared rabbit?

Fair enough, I don't really know, but then I'm not a professional manager paid to make these decisions so him being as useless as I am doesn't really get him off the hook.

I'm probably being harsh because there's also Fleetwood, who suddenly decided to play football, not to mention the blind lino.

But it's still a fact that his intervention coincided with things getting much worse for us.

It was already getting worse, the pressure was building and the player removed had nothing left in the tank - the change didn't have the desired impact but beyond sticking Rushesha on instead of Monlouis there wasn't anything else he could do.

[Millsy]

Again, and whilst I agree at times his subs have been questionable, what else should he have done last night? Without knowing Monlouis would look like a scared rabbit?

Fair enough, I don't really know, but then I'm not a professional manager paid to make these decisions so him being as useless as I am doesn't really get him off the hook.

I'm probably being harsh because there's also Fleetwood, who suddenly decided to play football, not to mention the blind lino.

But it's still a fact that his intervention coincided with things getting much worse for us.

It was already getting worse, the pressure was building and the player removed had nothing left in the tank - the change didn't have the desired impact but beyond sticking Rushesha on instead of Monlouis there wasn't anything else he could do.

Ok so let's say for teh sake of argument all subs were forced and inevitable, and things were bad beforehand, but managing a game isn't just about the subs you make is it, it's about spotting where the problems are and addressing them through tactics and ethos. None of that happened - just continued to go from bad to worse. As I say not necessarily his fault as Fleetwood got energy out of nowhere. Just pointing out the fact that at best he managed to make no positive intervention at all despite seeing the rot in front of his eyes. Not a biggie, just a shame.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I'm sure fatigue had an impact. Against Stevenage, we managed the game brilliantly, pinning them in their own half and not giving them the chance to launch a bombardment on our box. We couldn't do that last night, and perhaps that was because we'd simply run out of energy to press. And once you invite crosses and set pieces late on, you always risk that one mistake or ball bouncing unfavorably, especially at this level.

[Snowflake Royal]

Am warming to Selles, hope he succeeds, but shame his subs just seemed to make things worse overall.

Again, and whilst I agree at times his subs have been questionable, what else should he have done last night? Without knowing Monlouis would look like a scared rabbit?

One presumes he's seen Monlouis in training and concede 5 goals to our Trophy side, so it shouldn't be a massive shock.

[72 bus]

I'm sure fatigue had an impact. Against Stevenage, we managed the game brilliantly, pinning them in their own half and not giving them the chance to launch a bombardment on our box. We couldn't do that last night, and perhaps that was because we'd simply run out of energy to press. And once you invite crosses and set pieces late on, you always risk that one mistake or ball bouncing unfavorably, especially at this level.

At the end we had no out ball to relieve pressure, for their equaliser we had far too many bodies in and around the box, so even when we cleared the ball it just came straight back.

[Sutekh]

I'm sure fatigue had an impact. Against Stevenage, we managed the game brilliantly, pinning them in their own half and not giving them the chance to launch a bombardment on our box. We couldn't do that last night, and perhaps that was because we'd simply run out of energy to press. And once you invite crosses and set pieces late on, you always risk that one mistake or ball bouncing unfavorably, especially at this level.

Or actually supply them when all else fails.....

[Wycombe Royal]

Again, and whilst I agree at times his subs have been questionable, what else should he have done last night? Without knowing Monlouis would look like a scared rabbit?

Fair enough, I don't really know, but then I'm not a professional manager paid to make these decisions so him being as useless as I am doesn't really get him off the hook.

I'm probably being harsh because there's also Fleetwood, who suddenly decided to play football, not to mention the blind lino.

But it's still a fact that his intervention coincided with things getting much worse for us.

It was already getting worse, the pressure was building and the player removed had nothing left in the tank - the change didn't have the desired impact but beyond sticking Rushesha on instead of Monlouis there wasn't anything else he could do.

I'm assuming he wanted to bring someone tall on as at that stage of the match Fleetwood were just pumping balls into the box and he thought Monlouis would be helpful in dealing with them. Unfortunately his change just invited mre free crosses into the box as Monlouis is not a right back and struggled to close the player down. Maybe a switch to five at the back would have been better, taking off Wing or Knibbs and also bringing Rushesha on at right back.

[Snowflake Royal]

I'm sure fatigue had an impact. Against Stevenage, we managed the game brilliantly, pinning them in their own half and not giving them the chance to launch a bombardment on our box. We couldn't do that last night, and perhaps that was because we'd simply run out of energy to press. And once you invite crosses and set pieces late on, you always risk that one mistake or ball bouncing unfavorably, especially at this level.

At the end we had no out ball to relieve pressure, for their equaliser we had far too many bodies in and around the box, so even when we cleared the ball it just came straight back.

Quite a common theme towars the end of games under pressure.

Panic spank it clear to absolutely no one and gradually pull deeper and more people back. Or just fail to clear your lines.

I suppose spank it to no one is preferable to pass it across your six yard box to someone under pressure though.

[Crowbar6753]

It was a sad end to the game, but an away point is more than fine. It keeps us ticking over and the run going. Our home form should be key to survival this season however, taking the odd draw away from home will help us inch our way to the 50+ points total needed for safety.
Portsmouth is a free hit and anything from there would be amazing, then the next three home game: Port Vale, Shrewsbury and Wycombe should see a return of hopefully 6 points plus an away trip to Carlisle!!
9 points from that run of 4 games would leave us two wins from safety!!! However, this is Reading and football so literally anything could happen

[72 bus]

I'm sure fatigue had an impact. Against Stevenage, we managed the game brilliantly, pinning them in their own half and not giving them the chance to launch a bombardment on our box. We couldn't do that last night, and perhaps that was because we'd simply run out of energy to press. And once you invite crosses and set pieces late on, you always risk that one mistake or ball bouncing unfavorably, especially at this level.

At the end we had no out ball to relieve pressure, for their equaliser we had far too many bodies in and around the box, so even when we cleared the ball it just came straight back.

Quite a common theme towars the end of games under pressure.

Panic spank it clear to absolutely no one and gradually pull deeper and more people back. Or just fail to clear your lines.

I suppose spank it to no one is preferable to pass it across your six yard box to someone under pressure though.

I'm well are that it's quite a common theme towards the end of games under pressure, but you don't need all ten outfield players in the area to defend.
For their equaliser nobody knew where the ball was going as nobody had sight of the ball in that congested space, you are far better leaving a couple of players outside to try and get on the clearances and run the ball into safe areas.
Had Smith been on the pitch or Ehibhatiomhan being able to last 90 + mins as any 20 year old should be able to manage comfortably it might have turned out differently.
All that and then bringing on the lad from arsenal who is a centre back instead of rushesha who is an actual right back in his time at swansea?
A draw was probably a great escape as it should really have been 2-1 to Fleetwood.

[skipper]

At the end we had no out ball to relieve pressure, for their equaliser we had far too many bodies in and around the box, so even when we cleared the ball it just came straight back.

Quite a common theme towars the end of games under pressure.

Panic spank it clear to absolutely no one and gradually pull deeper and more people back. Or just fail to clear your lines.

I suppose spank it to no one is preferable to pass it across your six yard box to someone under pressure though.

I'm well are that it's quite a common theme towards the end of games under pressure, but you don't need all ten outfield players in the area to defend.
For their equaliser nobody knew where the ball was going as nobody had sight of the ball in that congested space, you are far better leaving a couple of players outside to try and get on the clearances and run the ball into safe areas.
Had Smith been on the pitch or Ehibhatiomhan being able to last 90 + mins as any 20 year old should be able to manage comfortably it might have turned out differently.
All that and then bringing on the lad from arsenal who is a centre back instead of rushesha who is an actual right back in his time at swansea?
A draw was probably a great escape as it should really have been 2-1 to Fleetwood.

I quickly checked the stats, and i'm not sure why it should have been 2:1 to Fleetwood.

Their goal was offside. We had a 1v1 that should have been buried... they only had 1 more shot on target more than us. Possesion, passes and fouls were remarkably even... i dont think they deserved to win. I would have felt cheated if they had snatched it.

[traff]

Quite a common theme towars the end of games under pressure.

Panic spank it clear to absolutely no one and gradually pull deeper and more people back. Or just fail to clear your lines.

I suppose spank it to no one is preferable to pass it across your six yard box to someone under pressure though.

I'm well are that it's quite a common theme towards the end of games under pressure, but you don't need all ten outfield players in the area to defend.
For their equaliser nobody knew where the ball was going as nobody had sight of the ball in that congested space, you are far better leaving a couple of players outside to try and get on the clearances and run the ball into safe areas.
Had Smith been on the pitch or Ehibhatiomhan being able to last 90 + mins as any 20 year old should be able to manage comfortably it might have turned out differently.
All that and then bringing on the lad from arsenal who is a centre back instead of rushesha who is an actual right back in his time at swansea?
A draw was probably a great escape as it should really have been 2-1 to Fleetwood.

I quickly checked the stats, and i'm not sure why it should have been 2:1 to Fleetwood.

Their goal was offside. We had a 1v1 that should have been buried... they only had 1 more shot on target more than us. Possesion, passes and fouls were remarkably even... i dont think they deserved to win. I would have felt cheated if they had snatched it.

As there was no goal-line technology in use would VAR technology have brought a different result to this game?
Personally not a fan of VAR. Is there goal line tech at different grounds in League One or not in use at all? Can't remember if it has been needed at home this season.

[Clyde1998]

I'm well are that it's quite a common theme towards the end of games under pressure, but you don't need all ten outfield players in the area to defend.
For their equaliser nobody knew where the ball was going as nobody had sight of the ball in that congested space, you are far better leaving a couple of players outside to try and get on the clearances and run the ball into safe areas.
Had Smith been on the pitch or Ehibhatiomhan being able to last 90 + mins as any 20 year old should be able to manage comfortably it might have turned out differently.
All that and then bringing on the lad from arsenal who is a centre back instead of rushesha who is an actual right back in his time at swansea?
A draw was probably a great escape as it should really have been 2-1 to Fleetwood.

I quickly checked the stats, and i'm not sure why it should have been 2:1 to Fleetwood.

Their goal was offside. We had a 1v1 that should have been buried... they only had 1 more shot on target more than us. Possesion, passes and fouls were remarkably even... i dont think they deserved to win. I would have felt cheated if they had snatched it.

As there was no goal-line technology in use would VAR technology have brought a different result to this game?
Personally not a fan of VAR. Is there goal line tech at different grounds in League One or not in use at all? Can't remember if it has been needed at home this season.

IIRC, there's no technology in League One. I don't know if clubs would have to install it at their own cost or not, which may be why it's not used.

[Clyde1998]

All that and then bringing on the lad from arsenal who is a centre back instead of rushesha who is an actual right back in his time at swansea?

I think Selles was concerned about height, as I don't see any other reason for taking Abrefa off. Neither Abrefa nor Rushesha are particularly tall.

[facaldaqui]

I couldn't see what happened with the Fleetwood goal, owing to a combination of the net at our end, Reading wearing grey, the air being grey, and me being blind as a bat. But as far as gutted goes, I felt like a cod having its heart ripped out on a slab at Fleetwood docks.

*

My opinions on a couple of points raised in the thread:

I like both Craig and Savage. But if they're going to be swapped, do it the way we did it at Oxford: Craig marshalled the deep midfield well till Oxford were getting knackered, and then Savage could come on and crunch the game around in midfield like Jem Karacan in disguise.

If we haven't got a target man, play Femi and Kelv as two unguided cruise missiles down the wings and tell the rest of them, "OK, you lot may not be lethal, but you are footballers so run up the middle and kick what comes over into the net, in the same way that when your mums put your dinner on a plate, you just polish it off, it's not lettuce science".