The game should have been called off before kick off in my opinion. Everytime the ball was put down for a goal kick, free kick or corner it just got blown away by the wind and took several attempts before it was eventually taken. They passed the ball around well first half and we never got going. Great start to the second half but we are weak in midfield and that needs resolving. Their second goal was a massive deflection off Kerr, the third was a handball in the build up and a ball hanging in the wind which Loach stood on his line and watched instead of punching it clear or catching it fell straight to Lowes head for an easy header, the fourth was offside in the build up. Kioso had a good game and was taken off for Noble who did nothing Fyldes two wingers were good and quick and not big lads either.

Bad day at the office but not the conditions to judge anybody on the be fair.

http://www.thenationalleague.org.uk/mat ... /1-3614171

A bit harsh on Noble seen as by the match report he came on in the 86th minute, we were getting beat so to take off a defender or at least in the role he was playing last night a defensive minded player for your top scorer doesn’t sound a particularly outrageous decision looking in. He’s quite unpopular Noble in some quarters isn’t he?

Fairly absurd to blame Loach for the third goal as well was he meant to anticipate the ball being carried at pace by hurricane plastic I am not sure I’ve ever seen a football behave like that, he seems another escape goat at the minute. Imagine how if he’d have conceded two like our two goals!!? Looking at those conditions playing in goal last night didn’t look much fun though to fair to both keepers.

its not noble on his own but again the midfield seemed to go missing at times and we gave em too much time on the ball. its loach that really gives me the jitters and wonder why its one of the reasons for all the goals conceded over the last few games. never a big fan but after watching the last two games i hope its his last season with pools as there is surely better out there.

Based purely on seeing the goals we have conceded six and scored five since the start of Saturday none we have conceded for me were at any point goalkeeping errors and three we have scored maybe were (2nd penalty Saturday and the two last night but both maybe condition assisted)

He’s a perfectly good keeper at this level, he doesn’t have many outright howlers in him that many seem to but maybe could command his area better and come out more. But if he did that he probably wouldn’t be playing Non League football. If we can replace him with a better keeper on less money then great but I’d be careful what we wish for.

That third goal is ridiculous, I don't think I've seen anything like that, certainly that resulted in a goal, gifted to them by GOD!

[quote="PJPoolie"]

He’s a perfectly good keeper at this level, he doesn’t have many outright howlers in him that many seem to but maybe could command his area better and come out more. But if he did that he probably wouldn’t be playing Non League football.
you have probably seen more of him than i have. just seen 7 games this season and for me i,ll stick to my earlier assesment of him. agree about the real howlers but his play inside the box leaves a lot to be desired and could have done better with some of the goals he has actually conceded. think the standard of goalkeeping has gone down over the years as the league goals programme on saturday night show some goalkeeping cock ups on a regular basis. so i suppose on that basis loach might not be that bad.

Can't watch these highlights with those fecking adverts!!!!

Don,t get any adverts on mine?

Agree with that. The only bad goal from a defensive point of view is the first one - 3 or 4 Pools players have a chance to get a tackle or a block in but Rowe still scores - mind, he won't be in the NL next season whatever happens to Fylde's promotion push.

Google 'adblockers' Mr Muttley and put one on - cuts out all the shite.

Watching a few highlights doesn`t capture Loach`s frailties throughout a game, I think it was Snowy who mentioned he looks like he has a bungee cord attached to his back!

We have a goalkeeping coach who should be coaching him to improve on his command of the box, flapping at crosses and confidence to come off his line to quell an attack.

Did I say I was a keeper in my yoof?

We were a bit unlucky with some of them goals conceded.
At least we look a lot better goin forward since Higgy took over.
All we can do is hope next season goes to plan.

Well if someone at the game are blaming him for the third goal last night I’d rather trust a few highlights thanks.

Just about every keeper at this level will have frailties as you put them, at his best Loach would be one of the better keepers in the National League but form will fluctuate during a season. If Dimi fancies a year or two back here to finish things off then great but we’ll do well to sign a better keeper than Loach as a team in the middle of the conference. I suppose it comes down to budgets and the areas in the team we think are a priority. A young keeper on loan from a bigger club could be a good cheap option but that brings risks. If we can improve on him then great buts it’s a position we could easily end up worse off in.

Id replace Loach if a good alternative out there. Great when he is called upon to make instictive saves and also on one on ones but beaten too easily from outside the box imo, perhaps lacks concentration? Im not sure.

Clubs have probably already cottoned on that they can just keep crossing the ball and he wont come off his line for it.

Nobody got in Rowes face all night, standing off him giving him too much room. He's a good player but we let him be last night.

The first goal was a shambles from a defensive point of view, 5 or 6 red shirts around him and nobody puts a foot in,it's as though they are terrified by him. That third goal was freaky but you could say non of our defenders reacted to it and rowe did, he didn't even have to jump, a big defender has to dominate situations like that not just watch the lad nod it in. Early days for Kerr and Edgar so hopefully they can form a good partnership. They do however need some help from midfield as well and a left back wouldn't go a miss!.

Loach is the last of the ‘Magnificent Five’, possibly the worst mass signing in the history of football.
Loach is like a blind man in a minefield and does not inspire confidence in me. He’s hesitant and does not command his box. It’s all well and good pulling off the super shot stop, but if it trickles past you or you fail to take the ball in the box it’s a waste of time.
I make no apologies and think t’s unacceptable there is no viable keeper at the club to vie for the keepers shirt.
By the way, while I’m on, we need a midfield. The present ring of steel that a one legged lamb could run through (putting pressure on the defence) on a tricycle with square wheels and rampage into the box, is getting on my fecking nerves week after week with their slow motion tippy tappy triangles and taking a lifetime to get the ball up the pitch without letting every player touch the ball twice. I’m not happy.

Are you trying to suggest that Louis Laing was a poor singing!? It’s a bit harsh on Blair Adams as well....

I’d say Loach and Donaldson have been decent signings during a difficult period for the club, strangely I reckon if Jack Munns was here now with Hignett manager we’d have seen a different player but the rest I’ll give you but let’s be honest all of that pre season talk at the beginning of last season was just smoke and mirrors for what was really going on.

Loach I don’t think is quite as bad as is being made out but at the same time if he was released I wouldn’t lose much sleep either as he’s apparently one of the higher if not highest earners but we have had far worse keepers. I’m not sure at this level you can have room in the budget for two senior keepers but what we need to look at is bringing through a young lad or signing one on a low wage who has the at least the physical attributes to play in the Conference, from the admittedly little I’ve seen of Catterick he’s nowhere near that. But I agree it’s healthy to have competition for shirts but realistically we have to remember that we aren’t in the Football League anymore and the team has had bigger problem areas than the keeper.

Loach has saved us many times with amazing saves.....yes he does not dominate his box but we now have a big back line to protect him. I would not like to see him go. Good character too apparently.

I want a goalkeeper, not a butler. We can do better.

The big back line didn`t protect him much last night!

Please watch it again and tell me how possibly anyone could have dominated that situation? He didn’t have to jump because the ball was blown into his head from a ridiculous height and angle, I have never seen anything like that goal it was complete luck. How is a defender or anyone meant to anticipate what happened??

The highlights of Tuesday nights game are an irrelevance. I’m talking of watching him for a full game week after week. No one judges how good or bad a player is on the match highlights. You have to view a player over a full match. It’s the mundane things that catch your attention.
A keeper and the midfield is where Hignett must focus his attention if we are to have any meaningful chance of promotion next season.
Wait and see is not really a viable option any longer. It’s a football club, not a ‘Gentleman’s Country Club’ and there are plenty of decent keepers at this level, the idea he’s the best we could have got at this level is farcical.
I don’t care how canny someone is, if a complete and utter bastard can do the job better, sign him!

I wasn’t talking about Loach in that post we get that you don’t rate him

More that you can’t really single out individuals for a goal that was a complete freak occurrence, even Rowe did very little the ball almost landed on his knapper!

It’s not about ‘one goal’, if it was, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
The ‘freak goal’ is an irrelevance. Freak goals happen.
You appear to want to to want to keep pouring money into maintaining your unreliable car while I want to pop down the showroom for a reliable one that gets me to work every day.
I’m glad you get the idea I don’t rate Loach. I don’t rate him.

Every keeper will. Do 1 good save over 90 mins.
Loach n Featherstone top of my released list.

Newton and Magnay are top of mine. Remember them?

And Hawkins.
The full lot out of contract can go for me.
Does Luke James have anutha year on his contract?
I rate him like.

newton, magnay,loach and featherstone end of season taxi.

I think it’s time to move on from Featherstone but I can’t see him being released somehow.

He’s a neat and tidy footballer and through Hignetts two spells he’s always been a starter. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him at the club next season. With the right players around him he’s a decent player, he’s not the holding midfielder who can mix things up, press and get the ball back at this level though. All the teams who do well in the National League do the ugly side of the game well we don’t really have a midfielder on the books who does the ugly side at all unless you count Nobles frequent shithousing and getting in people’s ears.

Well pj from a defensive point of view rowe is in the middle waiting for the cross,nobody picking him up obviously or he wouldn't have had a free header. He was alive to the situation and if somebody was tighter to him then maybe it wouldn't have ended in a goal. It was a freak goal but it still looked like their danger man wasn't marked very well, just my opinion.

the opposition always have a couple in midfield who put themselves about and just do not see noble and featherstone will ever be the answer to this. featherstone is a luxury player in a good side which is something he,s never had at pools on a regular basis from the day he walked into the vic.

He had 4 of our players stood around him and Loach bungeed to his line, a poor goal to concede, bad conditions or not.

Think id be releasing:

Hawkins
Newton
Richardson
Cassidy
Mclaughlin

Ambivalent about:

Loach
Edgar
Magnay
Noble
Featherstone
Kitching
Catterick

Keep the rest including the 4 loanees if possible.

He was marked as the cross was struck, if you are being hyper critical he kept moving while the defenders were a bit static probably trying to work out where ball was.

From a defensive point of view the cross was closed down and blocked even Fylde’s manager said the ball should have gone out of play for a throw in to them. That is where the ball is heading when Featherstone blocks it, it doesn’t spin off him he gets a solid full block on it with his foot. The wind gets it, it gains height changes direction completely and gathers speed. It could have landed anywhere, to suggest it was poor defensively is bonkers.

I wouldn't even consider letting Loach go. There are few better at this level, whats the point of even of trying to find somebody better, we have other areas that should be targeted before a new goalkeeper. IF we agree he has a few short comings, why not work on them?

There are £50m keepers in the Premier League with short comings!

Have a listen to the first couple of minutes of Dave Challinor's post-match interview here:
http://www.afcfylde.co.uk/

He admits Fylde got more breaks than Pools in a game played in terrible conditions and calls their third "an absolute freak goal." That's really all that needs to be said about it.

Pools play an attacking football brand of football under Hignett that leaves them vulnerable defensively. I'd rather watch that than the Matty Bates sides that didn't concede as many goals but struggled to make 2 or 3 chances a game.

For sure Pools would concede fewer goals with better players in certain positions, but you can't say Craig Hignett isn't trying to address that. He has already brought in 2 new defenders and a midfielder - Kerr on a long-term deal and Holohan and Edgar to have a look at till the end of the season. The balance wasn't right with his squad that started the 2016/2017 season - mainly because he didn't have a player to boss central midfield. I'll be very surprised if he makes the same mistake again next summer.

Swings and roundabouts innit, Kitching's goal the other week was a freak one, and Hawke's deflected effort before that.

Just glad we're going at teams and scoring, we're building the team well and hopefully Holohan and Williams will form a good partnership in midfield next season.

Opposition teams have this habit of just running through our midfield. They’re a bit like the Softy Walters of the midfield as the opposition rampage straight past them, ours are still pirouetting in shock.... or is it bafflement?
One of the more annoying traits is the way some fans just can’t let players go, they always think they’re going to come good, but they never do. Like some bald old teddy bear with a leg missing and haemorrhaging stuffing they get all moist eyed and ask for another season for Mr Snuggles to come good, but he just keeps leaving a trail of stuffing and little else.
End of the day, it’s the table that matters, the standard of table manners and being a ‘good egg’ are neither here nor there to me.
I’d settle for a team of complete and utter bastards as long as they finally produce something for us, when they have, they can go to charm school and take up sewing for all I care.

[quote="Snowy"
One of the more annoying traits is the way some fans just can’t let players go, they always think they’re going to come good, but they never do. Like some bald old teddy bear with a leg missing and haemorrhaging stuffing they get all moist eyed and ask for another season for Mr Snuggles to come good, but he just keeps leaving a trail of stuffing and little else.
End of the day, it’s the table that matters, the standard of table manners and being a ‘good egg’ are neither here nor there to me.
I’d settle for a team of complete and utter bastards as long as they finally produce something for us, when they have, they can go to charm school and take up sewing for all I care.[/quote]
yes so would i. the meek might inherit the earth but they never seem to do much on the football field. the other annoying thing for me with some fans is that many think all the young lads at the club are going to make it when the truth really is very very few will ever do so.