[rob]

Last time I was Accrington it was one of the best football moments of all time. A stunning victory in the play off semi final, players and fans celebrating together on the pitch, selfies with the manager and promotion to look forward to. Fast forward to yesterday. You couldn’t get a bigger contrast.A desperate display,fans leaving without the usual applause for the players and the manager standing looking decidedly disconsolate outside the shed which doubles as a changing room. No promotion to look forward to but certainly the strong possibility of relegation. It was a shambles. The first 20 minutes was worse than watching school boy football. Accrington sliced us open and the midfield may well have stayed in the changing rooms. The defence looked shakey and we were lucky that we were only one down. It was awful. McDonald and Oshilaji were hopelessly exposed and didn’t look good. There has been a lot of debate about Trotter over the last season and his performances have divided fans. Yesterday it was like he had a season ticket to watch the game rather than be part of it. He wasn’t in the game and was hopeless. This exposed Soares who attempted to cover the back four on his own but came up a little bit short.There is absolutely no creativity in midfield which meant most passing moves ended with Purrington being pushed into a corner and with no outlet giving the ball away. Andy Barcham was eventually pushed inside to give much needed support but was then playing out of position. The front 2 got very little service and had no impact on the game.How could it go so wrong? Was it the players not performing or was it the management getting tactics wrong? Whatever the reason it was one of the worst displays I have seen for years.
Second half was a significant improvement but I think everyone in the crowd was so fed up with the first half performance that they were resigned to the inevitable. Two new signings came on and made a difference. The energy Wagstaff provided for the midfield was excellent. He offered so much more than the others and capped it off with a fine goal. Jake Jervis created problems and looked dangerous – he must deserve a run out soon?? And yes they did head the ball off the line in the 92nd minute from an acrobatic effort from Piggott but that would not have taken away the first half dross.
What does this one poor performance tell us? Probably that this season is going to be like last season – inconsistent. The odd good performance mixed with rubbish. It will not be an easy watch. There isn’t exciting football to make up for the lack of quality. Goals will probably be few and far between. Certainly thus far there has not been goals from a more attacking midfield or any sign of one from Hansen and judging by yesterday I’m not holding my breath. I’m not in favour of changing the management but I can understand why some people would. Allegedly we have played well at times this season and there is no reason why we shouldn’t again… but surely it has to be soon and result in some positive results rather than more ‘bad luck’.We’ll win next week….. COYD

[rob]

Just back from Doncaster and absolutely ecstatic to have got that crucial point. Pretty poor game but for once who cares? It was mission accomplished and the celebrations at the end were a joy to be part of. Who cares if the achievement you are celebrating is only staying up? It felt like we’d won the league. It was a decent battling performance. Doncaster were poor and never really looked like scoring which was just as well as the nerves were frayed as it was. Kwesi could have nicked it at the end but it wasn’t to be. Long has been awesome and ably supported by Charles and Oshilaji. In many ways they have been the stand out players this year. Good graft from the midfielders but not enough goals from midfield to support the depleted front line. When you look at the team you think there might be a lot of new faces next year. That becomes a massive job for the manager. Fingers crossed Ardley gets it right because it will be another tough season next year. Still at least it will be in League 1.😄😄 COYD

[rob]

I think the Rotherham game was the turning point. We went into it in good form but virtually everybody at the club expected us to lose! That cannot be good for confidence…….. And so we lose to Bury and Northampton and probably Plymouth. You can’t beat a positive mindset and now we seem to have lost it. Survival is still in our hands.

[rob]

Shocking performance at Bury. From the players and the manager. The players will disappointed with how they performed but the set up was wrong. 3 at the back with Meades right midfield??? That soon became a flat back 4 with Deji at right back- looking out of position. Then off goes Robbo after a yellow card and on comes Francomb and finally the back 4 looks half decent but we’re losing by then. Plenty of huff and puff in the second half but no real chances that you felt deserved a goal. I didn’t feel like clapping them off. Especially as I had witnessed a similarly disappointing performance at Rotherham on Saturday. Before that everyone was saying we were in good form and Ardley up for manager of the month. Well that good form has gone out of the window and the relegation battle continues. I was optimistic but now…..

[rob]

Well that was not what I was expecting! A really impressive away performance creating a hatful of chances and missing all but 3 of them! But to score 3 cracking goals was sensational. I was really impressed. It was the best performance I have seen for a while – especially in the final third. Not necessarily in terms of finishing- 2 open goals missed!! But in terms of chances created it was great. Everyone was on top of their game especially the midfield duo of Soares and Trotter who have seemed unfit and pedestrian at best. yesterday they actually looked like an effective midfield pairing – as good as Dannie Bulman and Jake Reeves in their pomp. Jon Meades is a huge plus. Not only defensive qualities but he has a presence which helps those around him.
But Tuesday is Oldham. Cold and wet, midweek and a desperately needed win. Will the team that played at Rovers turn up again? I hope so and if they do they will win. I’m looking forward to it. What’s the betting i’m a frustrated Womble on Tuesday night?

[rob]

The game at Oxford can be summed up by 2 things. Darius Charles playing striker and Neal Ardley sitting glumly on the bench. A centre half at centre forward sums up our woes and is not the answer. Sadly he was no better than Macdonald who was equally ineffective. At Blackburn Ardley’s management helped win the game. Yesterday his lack of management ensured we failed to win.It seemed like he was resigned to defeat from the moment they scored. That must have rubbed off on the players. For the first time I found myself questioning whether he is the right man for the job or not. I think we may know by the end of the Plymouth game. Here’s hoping…..

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