Was tonight really a big surprise for anyone?

once they had scored I knew it was going to finish 1-0 as we are completely lacking any sort of creativitiy. once again one of the worst sides i have seen at the vic (barring pools) have left with at least a point.

if it wasn't for noble lets be honest we would have looked even worse. how anyone can criticise the strikers only with the shite service they get from midfield is beyond me.

anyways, everyone knows a huge clearout is needed but it will NOT happen and we will have the same issues again next season.

My views on the team from tonight are below: -

Flinders - Kicking piss poor, but least of our worries. Reliable
Austin - went backwards at an alarming rate, poor distribution, poor positional play and why now does he bottle every challenge
Collins - can tell when he doesn't play but due to age probably need to be looking to replace. Baldwin could be the long term?
Hartley - a lot of good things about his game but don't know why he thinks he is a ball player. can't pass for toffee
horwood - what has happened. never has been a good defender but now his devliery is poor also and doesn't offer as good attacking threat as usual

Sweeney - Why on earth did Huddersfield not sign him. We going to be stuck with him forever now and he is just not a footballer. can't fault the effort and scores goals every now and again but is so poor its untrue
murray - best of the midfield and only one who can do his job at a decent level but isn't getting any younger. needs managing right to get most out of him
liddle - please please please go at end of the season, doesn't look like he wants to be here and must be the slowest player alive
monkhouse - please please someone take him. poor winger, even worse striker. looks like a red card waiting to happen and basically can't take a man on and can't cross. chase ASAP

noble - offers some improved quality. first time in a long time i have seen someone take a long ball down, usually we just aim it aimlessly
poole - has quality but needs games. needs to learn how to try n win balls or at least free kicks but will improve


Anyways people who i would chase in summer: -

Liddle, Monkhouse, Solano, Luscombe, Sweeney, Nish, Boyd, Haslam, Humphreys + sum of youngsters who aint had chances.

I wouldn't chase Sweens like, and Hartley likes to either play a long ball which is a waste or either plays the ball backwards, getting beat of a team 4 without a win is a joke we cant score for shit and the lack of entertaining football is ridiculous 2500 fans next season again yipee.

Austin would be the first player out the window in the summer for me. In fact I'd sack him now.

Oldham and Stevenage both have very good right backs, I'd sign one of them

Sweeney had a 20 minute spell tonight that is probably as bad as you will ever see from a proffessional footballer culminating in him just running the ball out of play when we had a break on. It doesnt matter how many strikers Cooper bring in with a midfield containing him and Gary Liddle we will never create anything.

Murray, is part of the problem in a 4-4-2 he drops into the same space as he does in a three man midfield then Liddle doesn't show for the ball creating a huge gap where they should be playing. Neither are box to box neither can carry the ball. Oldhams goal tonight came from a central midfielder carrying the ball through three challenges eventually earning the free kick.

Cooper said at the weekend we don't have the players to play 4-4-2, we don't in midfield. Why did we for 90 minutes tonight?

If it started off as a 4-4-2 then monkhouse/poole or whoever was playing left midfield were constantly out of position

Poole started wide left, he swapped with Monkhouse after about 30 minutes.

midfield as a unit was non existent in an attacking way - Liddle and Sweeney were absolutely terrible.
My worry is that they will all be here again next year, along with Monkhouse, Humphreys, Nish, Austin and a few others who need finishing here
How a set of players who consistently tread water keep getting contracts is baffling - how are we ever going to improve?

How is murray part of the problem? he is the only one who looks to bring other players in the game. he gets the ball, looks around and plays it to feet. i also lose count the amount of times he breaks up the other teams attack and wins back the ball. He is the type of player every team needs.

That is a very good question.... As you would expect from me I don't think Paul Murray is the problem in a 4 man midfield - although he got caught a few times that was more due to the lack of movement around him and no one seemed to show for the ball.

What has happened to Gary Liddle - is it confidence or is he not arsed? He used to glide and ghost past players and looked a real quality footballer not too long ago but now he just looks a bit stale. Would he be more suited to playing at full back ? I can't work him out.

He is a holding midfielder, he's 35, he's brilliant when he had two around and ahead of him. In a 4-4-2 you can't function with one of your centre mids who sits and the the other who doesn't show for the ball but gets stuck in. It might work away, if you go behind at home you're fucked.

We've watched that 1-0 defeat plenty of times this season, against utterly crap opposition. The only interlude was when we had Luke James on the field at home and reverted back to last seasons system in midfield.

Age doesn't matter for me, it's how he performs that matters and at the moment he is one of the only players we have who doesn't shite himself when he gets the ball. He is obviously our best player - it is up to those around him to raise their games and take responsibility...

Murray plays his style of game very well. He breaks up the oposition play and most of the time gives it to another pools players feet. Atleast in him i see a bit of fight and determination to get something from the game. The like of sweeney and liddle should be hanging there heads in shame as you say a '35 year old' is outclassing them.

If you take Murray out of the team then we wouldnt be getting beat 1-0 or drawing 0-0, we would be losing by 2 or 3 goals a lot more often.