Just going to give my opinion in regards to yesterdays game, would like to know what you think.

It was another game we started on the backfoot, the last time we started with a foothold in the game was Dagenham and Redbridge at home in November. We had a great chance to be 2-0 within the first 5 minutes though but they go and score...against the run of play you could argue? No. Failure to close down and failure to look interested in the first 10 minutes cost us again. Now onto speaking about Scott Flinders, another howler of a decision to come off his line. Have you noticed the first goals against Bury, Morecambe, Chesterfield, Burton and Cheltenham have all been down to Flinders' poor goalkeeping? Not going to lie, I love Scott Flinders. He's an asset to this football club and could walk into any League Two side and most League One sides but he's obviously not in form, maybe it's time to give Andy Rafferty some gametime???

For the second goal, poor defending which allowed Danny Nardiello through and Flinders comes out to try and make up for the save but he scores, from that point I saw it as game over. Pools never looked interested and then they got their 3rd in the second half, a bad day at the office. My only positive of the game was how lively Sweeney, Rodney and Holden looked when they came on but I was extremely disappointed that the subs came when the game was gone. Sweeney and Holden should start against Rochdale for me. The players now have until Monday off and prepare for Rochdale next Saturday.

My team for Rochdale:

--------------------Rafferty-----------------------
Duckworth-----Baldwin-----Burgess-------Holden
Franks------Walton----Walker-------Monkhouse
--------------------Sweeney----------------------
------------------------------James---------------

Wow, another one that drops Poole first.

Masochistic Pools fans arent they?

You can't say Sweeney doesn't deserve a chance?

to be fair all 3 subs did do well when they came on

However the starting XI is still potentially our biggest points earner for the rest of the season

I bet you £1million that I can.

Sweeney doesnt deserve a chance.

I want the money in cash.

So you say we could have been 2 up in the first 5 minutes but also we started on the back foot?

Best player was probably Poole and you suggest dropping him for Sweeney?

Christ.

I remember commenting at the match how well we had started ...it was about 10 seconds before their goal. Our midfield was woeful for the first 20 mins, that is where Cooper needs to have a rethink.

Personally I wouldn't drop Austin flinders or Poole. Watching yesterday it was obvious were the problems lie when playing at home. We play well away because teams are more open allowing us to pass the ball about and create more chances, at home teams stack the middle of the park and we don't influence the games as efficiently as on the road. I think we should play with 3 forwards in a 433 at home forcing teams to change there system. I'd put Poole and monkhouseup top with James. The team would read ... Same keeper and back four then a midfield 3 of Dolan walker and Walton with the 3 named above in front of them.

We have alot of the ball but few bodies in attacking positions to do anything with it. At home we need to be more open and a 433 is worth a chance. The current system we operate has been found out and for me this is the problem that should be addressed in future home games.

Also we should be using Baldwin and duckworth at every opportunity when flinders has the ball. Both are very Competent in possession and I'd be using them instead if just lumping it forward

No matter which way you look at it we dont score enough goals. Yes luke James has potential but at this moment in time is not a natural finisher in front of goal, you get franks, monkhouse and poole getting the odd goal here and there but its not enough to push us up into a play off spot.

Our record in our last ten home league games is W6 D2 L2.

That isn't really cause for panic, in fact compared to the two previous seasons it's a bit of a corner turned in terms of home form.

Yesterday was a freak game, people see a 3-0 scoreline and looks like we were awful and battered when what actually happened is made a couple of bad individual errors and had no luck/ final bit of quality in and around the box. In terms of territory of possession it's probably as dominant as we've been in a home game. All this 'we didn't look interested' and we were 'awful' is absolute bollocks. Bury could have conceded at any time it's a minor miracle they didn't.

I don't think we should be overreacting and dropping half the team, who remember played fantastically well just a few days before because of one bad result when the dust settles you realise we didn't actually anywhere near as badly as the scoreline suggests. Dropping Poole for Sweeney is a barmpot suggestion as is dropping Flinders or Austin. Rodney and Sweeney's contribution was to both miss easy chances, Rodney's was almost beyond belief. Hopefully also the squad will have been bolstered with a couple of decent additions by the Rochdale game.

I glanced at the reply, say he wants to drop Poole (a very gifted, hardworking, player who can control a ball, shoot and can pick a pass) for Sweeney (a non stop running player who gets onto the end of a few loose balls a season) then didn't read the rest.

I don't dislike Sweeney but he isn't as good as anyone who started yesterday.

Excellent, points, there.

Does anyone think we were possibly a bit over confident and gung ho yesterday? It's the first time we've actually started a home game right on the front foot pushing the opposition back yet we found ourselves 2-0 down!! The second goal we were especially wide open, maybe we are actually better with one of the midfielders sitting deep and we wouldn't have conceded that goal if Walton was playing?

yesterday against bury, they set up with 3 central defenders and 3 centre midfielders, thus causing the middle of the mark to be very crowded.

Usually you would exploit this by going out wide, but we don't really have out and out wingers. Franks rarely gets the ball in with a great deal of success, and monkhouse always wants to cut inside.

I think James has potential, but it looks as though he needs to be taken out for a little bit, unfortunately we have no-one to come in. Do think yesterday we would of had more luck putting monkhouse through middle with james and poole wider to give them more space.

Like a lot of people have said though, we've come a long way since last season in a relatively short space. And we have a good selection of exciting younger players which with the right coaching and guidance, could well go on to much higher level than pools have ever played. For me, this season was consolidation, happy to be mid table with the outlook of keeping hold the vast majority of the squad.

Next season I think we could have a bit more ground to complain about a bit of a freak result like yesterday.

Franks must have put 10+ decent crosses into the box yesterday, he didn't have a bad game for me just nothing dropped for us and what did we somehow managed not to convert.

Last time I looked we are only 7 points off a play off place and if you had said that to me at the end of last year I would have ripped your hand off. We lost lets move on.

We look so predictable in the way we have been playing at home. I agree with RB that this system has been found out. Maybe the players are a bit complacent because the team more or less pick itself, I don't know.

I also think the way we hoof the ball up to James is pointless. He's an honest player but there is no way he is going to out jump someone who is 6'4". I'd personally love to see Duckworth on the wing, Richards right back, Compton/Franks on the left and Monky up front with James. So if the ball is played long we have a chance of winning it.

Hard to leave Poole out but got to try something different, and maybe see what Rafferty can do given a chance.

regardless of how many crosses someone puts into the box, its always a lottery as to what happens next.

I hope Cooper ignores any calls for a big striker and more width, and remembers he has good players but needs to develop them a bit more.

We probably need to move the ball a bit quicker and have more players prepared to make runs between defenders. Not having wide players stuck out wide.

I like the thought of playing 4 3 3 as long as the three up front are forwards and not wide midfielders.

I like to see us keeping the ball, so getting down the wing and putting in crosses doesnt appeal to me at all.

It smacks of 4 4 2 with a big striker to win the headers. the prelude to the long ball game re-appearing.

If the manager has footballing principles he just needs to stick to them. And he will get it right.

Anyone wanting to introduce more height and size into the team needs to be sectioned, and silenced.

Its a retarded way to think these days. Hopefully Sam Allerdyce will be the next dinosaur sacked to rid us of one more footballing retard.

And the end of last year we were 6 PTS off the playoffs so that makes no sense

I would never rule out playing the ball wide and sending in low hard crosses for people like James and Poole to finish off.
Compton was putting in some beauties in between the keeper and the defence earlier in the season and nobody was coming towards the front post to hit them. That's as good as playing through the middle, and mixes it up a bit. I agree hitting it into the air and expecting something has a very low percentage success rate.

But working the ball into wide areas and putting low balls into the box is a vital part of the way a team like Pools should play

Living on the south coast means I don't get to watch Pool's games but it still hurts to see their failing against bottom half of the table teams after doing well so against the better teams.

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