We are struggling to score goals and why the long pass to kitching in the air all the time play through midfield and create hopefully williams will add more to the team when fit

Strikers are having to come out wide all the time for the ball so we have nobody in around box,we won't score many like that. Looked solid enough tonight but I thought it was a very poor game and we looked a bit jaded.

Yeah even bates said before game we looking tired so why no late action.

If we are looking tired after just 9 games in we are fooked!!!

Loach's one weak point to me is his failure (like Scott Flinders) to set a player away with the ball, which Carson was excellent at doing.
He insists on letting everyone get back into position and like some set piece battle then hoofs it up the pitch. Result, waste of time.

[quote="phil"]We looked as though we tired after about 40 minutes tonight. Really surprised there was only the one sub.

me too. it was crying out for fresh legs being brought on as barrow looked sharper throught the game especially last 30 minutes.

I think it points to the fact he doesn't have much faith in his substitutes - we could do with Williams getting fit and on the bench asap.

To be fair the players have done a lot of travelling in the last 4 weeks that will take a toll. Away games have all been at the other end of the country and probably should have used some fresh legs last night as same players are starting every game and that is hard when there has been 9 games in 4 weeks.

Pools players are full time professionals, often playing against part-timers who still have the same number of games spread throughout the land so I do not buy that it's the travelling.
What does wear the players out physically and mentally is the tight 'backs to the wall' defending that has secured four one goal wins and three draws. Always playing such tight games will eventually take its toll. If the team had put away more chances and thrashed the likes of Braintree, they would be much more able to handle two games per week.

Which type of game plan is least exhausting?

It was evident within 10 mins last night , that it was a game for a target man, in possibly a front 2 , but we didn't even have our target man on the bench. James and Muir will be lucky to get 20 between them if we continue to play this formation. Bates and co should of changed the formation to suit last nights opponents , failing that he could of changed it on 30, 60, 75 mins , but he didn't because he couldn't . We either need Cassidy on the bench , or sign a proven ( at football league level ) target man.

James and Muir were playing too far apart for me - James spent most of the first half on the left wing. Muir had his poorest game so far for me, not sure if he hasn't adapted to this league yet. Anyway we are in a better position than I think we all expected, we will just have to keep working on our creative play in training and look to improve that department.

Muir should have been subbed with 25 mins to go.

The same number of games spread throughout the land?

I suspect that geography isn’t a strong subject for you and would suggest that you might want to buy a map.

woods was injured the previous saturday so again why play him as he hardly got involved much apart from being chopped down early in the game.

James & Muir are dragging defenders wide, & creating space through the middle for the midfielders to exploit - but the midfielders aren't dong that to the entire desired effect, except for Featherstone's & Woods' goals so far. When one striker is working out wide, the other one needs to be ready to attack the ball in the box. Both Muir & James appear to have that skill-set; they just need to get into position to apply it

Most teams are based in Southern England so they'll be playing fairly locally in relative terms, nowhere near the mileage teams in the North will do.