Back from the game - Barnsley (h)

[Wycombe Royal]

Sloppiest performance of the season

[Schards#2]

A good, steady workmanlike performance. Probably the biggest compliment I can give is that at no time did I doubt we would win the game, how often have we been able to say that recently?

I looks like what we are going to get with McDermott is as settled a side as possible and a bog standard 4-4-2 which is never going to get us back up to the dizzy heights but is exactly what we need at this time. I think Mcdermott is the right choice to the end of the season but, perhaps, we should reassess where we are close season.

Maybe it's just my imagination but I detect a better spirit in the team than there has been for a while with everybody giving, and being seen to give 100%. Maintaining that is the key to survival as we're not going to cut it on ability alone.

[Schards#2]

Sloppiest performance of the season

An amazing statement given that the opposition didn't have a single meaningful chance.

[Barry the bird boggler]

If we'd failed to have won that one then we should have been relegated straight away.

Barnsley were appalling and must find Mark Robins in a right foul mood with them when they report back for training.

We had the usual hatful of chances which we failed to convert and no doubt now many supporters will be thinking we can make the play offs!

I would not be surprised to see the usual miserable load of crap at Doncaster next week where we'll create a shed load, fail to score any and lose to the 2 or 3 goals we manage to set up for them like at Forest, Sheffield, Plymouth etc.

Biggest problem by far is still the inability for anyone to score as shown by the fact we have not taken a 2 goal lead at home in the league since 9th January 2009. The impression I have from the club is that they will not sign another striker unless things are still in this mess in a month or so despite the previous 6 months of b******s.

You certainly couldn't say the club panics....

[Royal Lady]

McD made it clear on radio last night that we wouldn't be "signing" anyone, except, possibly on a loan deal. I just can't see him getting another striker in on loan, but was, frankly, astounded that we gave Bignell a go ahead of Thor.

Having said that, I thought we looked like a team that could win that game almost from the off - Mills was, again, very steady at the back. Gunnar's last few games have been immense, he seems to have got his mojo back and even Long couldn't be criticised really - he definitely looked sharper than he did at the beginning of the season - whether this is all down to McD, or whether the players have finally realised that they could, actually, be playing League One next season I don't know.

We need more of the same against Donny - particularly as everyone above us got points again - a small run of wins now and we could suddenly shoot up a bit to safety, assuming those around us start to fall off. But, we played with a lot more passion and fight again, something I never saw under BR - so someone is getting something right.

[howser]

Can only agree with that Barry, I dont really care if we play the worst football for the last few years as long as we can pull ourselves out of this mess, however, if we are playing rubbish, we will at sometimes during these games make chances, but as we all know sadly the strikers we have are so low on confidence, a different pairing up front most weeks and struggle to score more than 1 goal each a month.

Hell we all know that we need a Kevin Phillips type instinctive penalty box scorer !

I have openly and regularly slated Madejski's week management of the footballing side of the buisiness over the past two years, and been heavilly critisised on here for daring to do that, but why oh why cant Hammmond see the failures on the pitch and recommend/ sugggest to him how we can improve it.

I have the utmost respect for McDermott in his bravery for taking this job, I think we should have gone for a stronger personality with a track record, but I think that he is in charge now mainly because he wont speek out of turn, and will not have the strength to try and force Madejski's hand. Les Reed at Charlton was appointed in a similar manner and look what happened there.

[Royal Lady]

As was mentioned to me yesterday, we don't have a "footballing" person on the board - sure Hammond was a GK, but he's not actually on the board is he?

Howe and Madjeski aren't "football" people at all - they need someone who can tell them what is needed and LISTEN to them.

Also, Howe has been extremely quiet this season, I don't think I've heard a report of him saying anything to the press.

[Irvinchangeyaname]

Griffin - 8 - such an intelligent player. Repeatedly was in situations where he could have been in big trouble but never panicked, always made the right choice and generally cleared his lines.

+1

[Southbank Old Boy]

Sloppiest performance of the season

An amazing statement given that the opposition didn't have a single meaningful chance.

Try reading my post again

Sloppiest performance of the season, pretty poor from both sides apart from our back four

A very good 3 points though, hopefully that will be the kick start we need, but if we play that poorly again (in terms of needlessly giving the ball away and wasting good goalscoring opportunites) we wont see many more 3 points

As you can see I said the back four were pretty decent and we defended OK, but it still remains that they didnt have any real clear cut chances because they were so toothless upfront and wasted every opportunity they created or we gifted them

I cant remember us giving the ball away through basic errors so much for many a year, and against a better side we probably would have come unstuck. We got into plenty of good positions only to waste them by getting caught offside, misplacing a pass, taking the wrong option, or just delaying too long and wasting the chance

How many meaningful saves did their keeper actually make?

Probably the biggest compliment I can give is that at no time did I doubt we would win the game, how often have we been able to say that recently?

Really? For someone who has watched us play for many years I can believe you didnt have that feeling that the longer the game stayed 1-0 the more it felt like we would find some way to throw it away. Barnsley actually had a half decent chance in the last 5 minutes, in just the same way as Scunthorpe nealry nicked it in decemner

[Schards#2]

I know what you mean but, no, I honestly didn't. We looked solid and comfortable at the back.

I like our midfield options. If we had one forward capable of scoring on a regular basis, we'd be home and hosed.

[howser]

[quote="Schards#2"]I know what you mean but, no, I honestly didn't. We looked solid and comfortable at the back.

I like our midfield options. If we had one forward capable of scoring on a regular basis, we'd be home and hosed.[/quote]


+ 1

[floyd__streete]

I thought that - for the most part - this game was absolutely rancid, both sides were very poor indeed. The goal only came about due to some diabolical goalkeeping and as usual we missed some guilt-edged chances. There were some very iffy performances throughout; MacAnuff looked disinterested, Karacan's passing was diabolical and well below the standard required and whilst being generally sound in the air I thought that once again Matt Mills decision making was very poor indeed.

Fair play to Long for being johnny-on-the-spot for his goal, but his partnership with Church hardly looked a goer. Gunnarsson was absolutely tremendous, dfove us forward and got through spades of work and was the best player on the pitch for me - which kind of sums this game up for me. Grateful for a rare three points, but I am no less pessimistic about our chances because we still have very poor options up front.

[Blue Biscuit]

Pleased with the three points obviously, but not a great game. I don't like the Long and Church pairing upfront. They don't combine well together, Long's first touch is not good, his passing is poor and Church got caught offsie too much. He should be encouraged to have a pop at goal more often, he gets into some good shooting positions. They don't seem to be aware of each other and what the other is trying to do. Maybe their styles of play are too similar to work well together. Gunnarsson was unlucky to get a card for a good tackle. I thought the defence played well, never really looked in trouble. Feds distribution did let the side down on occasions. Macanuff looked a bit out of touch, I would like to see Griffin give him a bit more support, but that might leave us more vulnerable at the back I suppose.
McDermott has bought some stability to team selection which can only be a good thing. The result probably justifies his selection yesterday, although when the team was announced I was disappointed that both Gunnarsson and Karacem were included. The inclusion of Howard might have given us a bit more forward momentum and surly he would have been up for it against his old team. If only we had a more clinical stiker. Hopefully the result will instill a bit more confidence into the team and we can move up the table.

[Ryn]

3 points, just what we needed. We need to get a few of these gritty performances together and get used to grinding out the wins, it's what it is going to take now because of the position we are in.

I was impressed with Mills today, he played well, can't understand why he hasn't been a mainstay of the defence since we signed him. Gunnar also impressed, I thought his booking was harsh considering he won the ball and it was only the force of the tackle that brought the Barnsley player down.

Criticism of Karacan is a little harsh, he had a decent first half and made some good tackles, but against a poor Barnsley side, who rarely looked like doing anything dangerous, he was left with little to do after Gunnar had done most of the mopping up. I'm not Karacan's biggest fan and I would prefer to see a more attacking minded player played with Gunnar in the middle, Howard looked better when he came on.

McAnuff had a quieter game today, he played solidly but unspectacularly. Gylfi toiled away on the left/free role but got little reward for his hard work. By the start of the second half he knew was wasn't going to see much of the ball despite being in acres of space for much of the time, so zoned out and switched down a gear.

Special mention to Simon Church who was absolute mince. Nice first touch, f*ck all else to his game. He had numerous opportunities to either play Long or Gylfi through on goal, but failed to play the right ball. Caught offside on too many occassions. Ballooned several shots Frank Lampard style into the stand. Somehow got beaten by Moore for pace on at least two occassions. How he kept Rasiak and Thor on the bench I do not know. He is not good enough to play at this level.

Conversely Shane Long had a great game, would like to see him start with either Rasiak or Thor. Worked hard and tested the keeper. Looks like he has had a rocket up his arse in recent weeks.

Overall I'm pleased with the 3 points and the clean sheet. The performance was exactly what we needed and I hope the players can take this and build on it.

[Dirk Gently]

Nor going to comment on the match as it's all been said before - I will highlight the humber of people who talk about "guilt-edged" chances instead of "gilt-edged" ones....

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Nor going to comment on the match as it's all been said before - I will highlight the humber of people who talk about "guilt-edged" chances instead of "gilt-edged" ones....

given how the players ought to feel after missing them, guilt-edged seems appropriate.

[rob the royal]

match ratings:

6 Fed - Nothing much to do (except to make sure he didn't fall out of his area with that one ominous looking ball he claimed)
7 Bertrand - good going forward and solid at the back
7 Ingimarsson - did what was required, for me a decent performance.
7 Mills - another solid game, and a few less aimless hoofs.
7.5 Griffin - Really impressed me today. I like the way he took his time to pick his passes/long balls. Remember some of those awful balls Rosenior used to play... (not that I disliked Rosenior, but that used to really annoy me) And Griffin got rid when he needed to.
7 Sigurdsson - not his best but still a good performance. Got the assist for the goal.
6 Karacan - Also not his best. Did a bit of a Harps and just did a lot of running and closing without having much impact on the game.
7 Gunnarsson - Still playing well, looked to have lost his legs at the end though, probably not taken off to keep the team stable for the last part of the game - with him on a yellow as well this could have backfired.
6.5 McAnuff - not his best but not to shoddy either, had a few runs here and there. Can do better.
6 Church - does a lot of running and closing, but I'm starting to wonder if this is enough or not. He's starting to stray in to Rasiak territory for me, in that in the very back of my mind, I'm starting to question his usefulness - which worries me because who else have we got. Was caught offside too easily for my liking. Especially one time when he was free of his markers in the middle and didn't need the extra yard.
8 Long - MOM got a goal, worked hard both attacking and tracking back. I'm certain this guy has more in his locker, deserves a run in the team now alongside whoever is suitable for the game in question. Today I think McD was right to go with Church.

Howard and Bignall didn't really do a great deal. I'm not going to bother marking them. But neither did anything wrong and Bignall looked quick. With Khizanishvili on the bench at the moment to cover CDM and CB I can't see any problem with having Bignall, Thorvaldsson and Rasiak on the bench. Bignall can apparently play as a winger as well.

We did what was required. I'm happy. BUT surely we will have to be better to take 3 points from future games. Barnsley were poor.

[Snowball]

7 Federici - Was beaten and lucky first half (near-post again) but otherwise ruled the box
8 Bertrand - Excellent game, good wing play and crosses, one should have been an assist for Macanuff
7 Ingimarsson Maybe 7.5 seemed solid throughout, partnership with Mills gets better every game
9 Mills - A real hard man and gets better every game.
8 Griffin - A totally solid "old-fashioned" fullback. He talks a lot on the itch and will make this defence better over time. Make a captain?
7 Sigurdsson - Always a threat and I think he's the correct option LW for the first hour
7 Karacan - Terrier, does a lot of work. Got two nasty knocks in game. Long passes to RW failed today but looked like "orders"
8 Gunnarsson - I want what he's on!
7 McAnuff - Heavily marked but still played solid throughout. Often had three men on him
7 Church - Seems not to have ability to beat the last man, or shoots enough, but one or two brill flicks. You could hear Long-Church and later Siggy "asking". Ch-Lg pair might work given time
9 Long - Think he will get better with a run. He gets goals end of. Looks fitter now. Worked hard, won a lot of ball, tackled back. His cameo at Liverpool was priceless and here he gets the only goal. IMO he should get a run. Might work with Church but would like him alongside Thor

[Victor Meldrew]

7 Federici - Was beaten and lucky first half (near-post again) but otherwise ruled the box
8 Bertrand - Excellent game, good wing play and crosses, one should have been an assist for Macanuff
7 Ingimarsson Maybe 7.5 seemed solid throughout, partnership with Mills gets better every game
9 Mills - A real hard man and gets better every game.
8 Griffin - A totally solid "old-fashioned" fullback. He talks a lot on the itch and will make this defence better over time. Make a captain?
7 Sigurdsson - Always a threat and I think he's the correct option LW for the first hour
7 Karacan - Terrier, does a lot of work. Got two nasty knocks in game. Long passes to RW failed today but looked like "orders"
8 Gunnarsson - I want what he's on!
7 McAnuff - Heavily marked but still played solid throughout. Often had three men on him
7 Church - Seems not to have ability to beat the last man, or shoots enough, but one or two brill flicks. You could hear Long-Church and later Siggy "asking". Ch-Lg pair might work given time
9 Long - Think he will get better with a run. He gets goals end of. Looks fitter now. Worked hard, won a lot of ball, tackled back. His cameo at Liverpool was priceless and here he gets the only goal. IMO he should get a run. Might work with Church but would like him alongside Thor

Very generous ratings Snowball-the sort that one might give for a 6-0 win.
I,like everybody else,am grateful for the win from a game that looked like something out of the 3rd division such was the lack of class.
I'm not a Shane Long fan but he did well against the 87 year-old Moore and hope that he can carry this new-found confidence into future games as under Brian he is a certainty to play.
I think Snowball must have not seen Shane's really poor attempt in the first-half.

As others have said it was a kind of paceless game in which the two old boys,Griffin and Bryn were probably the best players out there.
Ivar and Mills both loked good in the air but Hume and Macken are hardly the biggest.
Jem was below par but his attitude is always 100% and he never hides.
Church runs about a lot but to suggest that his pairing will see us through strikes me as blinkered.
How Jamie Cureton would have loved the chances that this team creates and that is what gives me hope-the fact that most weeks we do create chances.
One thing that strikes me as odd is that Brian Mac has supposedly spent the last 2 seasons suggesting that we get the new Iceander and yet he brings Bignall on-a player who's control looks currently a long way off first team level.

[OLLIE KEARNS]

For those who commented on Bignall I thought it was a clever substitution. Barnsley had a slow back 4 in addition to which the game was becoming stretched as they had no choice but to push forward. The thinking was probably that the pace of Bignall was a significant threat on the break given the status of the game.
I also noticed that BM pushed Sig inside a fraction and asked Bignall to play in the left channel. The thinking probably being to shut the game down in central midfield while having fresh legs / pace in Bignall to contend with any forward forays from their RB down our left side.
Generally speaking I like the thinking that goes into BM substitutions. The above may be wrong but I can imagine it being somewhere close to his thought process.