The Gloucester and Cheltenham inspired match thread.

Downwards and downwards we go  and to make it worst the adulterer was back on the radio, switched to 5 live

Coxside_Green wrote:

Not an inspiring result but a decent result IMO.

It really should put to bed any thoughts the signing of Banton is 'clearly going for it'.  We don't own any forwards of note, Brent wont pay for them.  We're going nowhere without our own forwards.  Fluking anything (promotion through play-offs etc) with loanees would've seen almost guaranteed relegation next season.  It ain't happening fank fock.

We're not the worst team in Devon, there's at least 2 worst teams so relegation ain't happening.

Shezza does have something to build on next season in spite of Brent's attempts to keep us 'down here'.  If he can convince Brent to keep the 'useless' Reid and find another contracted 'useless' forward like Caolin (sp), Shezza could defeat all odds and get promotion under Brent.  That would look focking great on his CV.

Chin up.

Apparently there is a loanee striker with experience who should be on his way. Nothing signed yet but there are hopes he will be with us on Monday.

Here's our goal.

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It's on FB

knecht wrote:

Coxside_Green wrote:

Not an inspiring result but a decent result IMO.

It really should put to bed any thoughts the signing of Banton is 'clearly going for it'.  We don't own any forwards of note, Brent wont pay for them.  We're going nowhere without our own forwards.  Fluking anything (promotion through play-offs etc) with loanees would've seen almost guaranteed relegation next season.  It ain't happening fank fock.

We're not the worst team in Devon, there's at least 2 worst teams so relegation ain't happening.

Shezza does have something to build on next season in spite of Brent's attempts to keep us 'down here'.  If he can convince Brent to keep the 'useless' Reid and find another contracted 'useless' forward like Caolin (sp), Shezza could defeat all odds and get promotion under Brent.  That would look focking great on his CV.

Chin up.

Apparently there is a loanee striker with experience who should be on his way. Nothing signed yet but there are hopes he will be with us on Monday.

With 'hopes' for what?

The best we could hope from such a signing is to get promoted via play-offs or an extreme turn of fortunes where we steam roller every match until the end of the season.  Then said loanees go home, then what?

If there is money available, I'd rather preserve it right now.  We should have enough to avoid relegation, spending on a lame attempt of play-offs is pointless IMO.  The same money could be spent next season on a more solid foundation.  We've had what we perceive a decent couple of signings, we do have a decent nucleus of players, we're short of our own forwards.

JMHO

I actually didn't think we rescued anything today. Both teams were aboslutely rubbish and neither deserved to win the game. Ergo a draw is the only thing left which is how it went and was fair enough. The only consolation I get, and it isn't much of one, is that a while ago we would have played that badly against a bad side and lost. Nowadays we seem not to lose those sorts of matches.

Long post coming up, scroll down if my waffling reviews aren't your thing:

Overall, disappointing. A draw was probably just about a fair result imho but if you had to press me to say one side or the other then Cheltenham were the better of the two sides. The first hour was generally poor but we had the better of the last hour and the double substitution of Young/Harvey changed the game. You could tell a goal was coming when it did and if either team was gonna nick it at the end then it was gonna be us. Didn't get going enough before the subs however. Again another game which we could have got more from had we just gone for it a bit more and been more cohesive.

I don't think it was as bad as our awful performances in the first two months of the season but it wasn't anything like as good as our performances over the past 6 weeks or so. Lethargic, lacking in movement and didn't create enough (aside from the last 25 to 30). Even in spite of playing badly though, we got a point and had good chances aside from our goal (Trotman's sitter in the first half, Alessandra's blocked shot which he should have scored, Young's 40 yard scorcher and Reid going close at the end). Not good, not promotion form but not as bad as most are saying imo.

McCormick-8. He didn't actually have that much to do, but did all he had to do excellently.

Blanchard-4. Fine defensively, stopped stuff from going past him but I think he somehow managed to be even worse than usual going forward. I genuinely think his pass percentage was close to zero. Our right side was non-existent going forward.
Nelson-8. Excellent as usual. Fine defensively and actually played the ball forward very coolly and efficiently. Almost had a comical own goal though but a great McCormick save bailed him out.
Trotman-6. Solid enough. Didn't do a great deal wrong but doesn't do anything incredible.
Purrington-8. Had his best game yet. His composure when picking out a pass is absolutely fantastic. He's wise beyond his years, nothing phases him whatsoever. Defensively he made less mistakes today too. Only subbed off for tactical reasons.

Boco-2. I berated him when he got subbed off today saying he didn't try. On reflection I think that may have been harsh of me as he deserves the benefit of the doubt on that front. The impression he gives most of the time is that he doesn't try but maybe that's wrong. Whether he tries or not though, my God he is a terrible player. Offers absolutely nothing. Absolutely stinking game from someone who's been dire from the start of his career.
Blizzard-5. Started poorly but got better as the game went on. Lacks pace and mobility. He's grown on me but if we could get Lee Cox back then I'd drop Blizzard like a hot potato. Has nowhere near the required mobility to cover enough ground at a quick enough speed as is required for the midfield battle. His slowless and lethargy allows the opposition far too much room in midfield every game.
Hourihane-7. He has to cover for Blizzard in the middle too much of the time which is why it limits what he can do. He did his usual thing of buzzing around the midfield at high speed picking up loose balls and then laying them off very well. It's one of those things we'd miss if he were to leave. He got far better going forward when he had two midfielders alongside him neither of whom were the cumbersome Blizzard.
Banton-4. Did almost nothing in the first half. Better after the subs but still not good enough. I think to an extent the match fitness 'excuse' is still valid as he looked much more fit today. Still not fit enough but heading in the right direction enough to assure me that he needs more time. He's getting there and I think is only a finish away from a big confidence boost. I'd drop him and let him earn his place back in the side but if we're gonna start him, don't make it out left. He'll come good but he isn't much cop now at all.

Reid-3. Just had one of those days. He was active and got involved as much as ever but everything he tried to do went wrong. Just a bad day at the office for him. No biggie.
Alessandra-8. By a country mile our best attacking player over the game. Looked as good and as fluid as I can remember seeing him. If ever I moan about him again, remind me that Boco and Gurrieri exist.

Young-9 MOTM. The natural talent that this lad has is unreal. I don't buy the consistency point either. Been consistently excellent every time I've seen him this season bar one game. One off day for me doesn't equal inconsistent. As I've said, you have to work to accommodate a player that good.
Harvey-7. A high seven though, almost an 8. The best I've seen him play since his debut. I'm amazed I've seen some say he wasn't effective at all today. Each to their own but just because some people have hyped him up, I think sometimes he's underrated to overcompensate. Him and Young changed the game between the two of them. He made lots of neat, sharp short/medium range forward passes that linked play up, moved us up the pitch and notably increased the tempo of the match. He did very well as a deep lying attacking midfielder could do: created well and found some good passes from deep.
Thomas-6. Bright, was always showing for passes but lacked end product.

Play-offs now are looking very unlikely. I think it's too over the top for people to panic about the relegation fight myself but but now I think we're almost certain to be in this league next season. These last three games were a litmus test to our play-off hopes and we didn't pass. In order to go up, I think we needed more than two points from the matches against Southend, Rochdale and Cheltenham. We're 12th now and give or take that's where I think we'll be in May. In a sense that'd be disappointing as we don't know how easy it'll be to go up this season budget wise- we could have just missed our best chance in years. In another sense though it'd be good. We were stuck in a rut of relegation fight after relegation fight and players with absolutely zero self-belief. It would have been nice to have a promotion but to turn that around is an achievement in itself. We're on the mend if not healed yet on the pitch. And who knows, with Banton surely still to improve and Parsons/a new striker to come in then maybe we will give the top 7 something to worry about after all.

GreenSam wrote:

Long post coming up, scroll down if my waffling reviews aren't your thing:

Overall, disappointing. A draw was probably just about a fair result imho but if you had to press me to say one side or the other then Cheltenham were the better of the two sides. The first hour was generally poor but we had the better of the last hour and the double substitution of Young/Harvey changed the game. You could tell a goal was coming when it did and if either team was gonna nick it at the end then it was gonna be us. Didn't get going enough before the subs however. Again another game which we could have got more from had we just gone for it a bit more and been more cohesive.

I don't think it was as bad as our awful performances in the first two months of the season but it wasn't anything like as good as our performances over the past 6 weeks or so. Lethargic, lacking in movement and didn't create enough (aside from the last 25 to 30). Even in spite of playing badly though, we got a point and had good chances aside from our goal (Trotman's sitter in the first half, Alessandra's blocked shot which he should have scored, Young's 40 yard scorcher and Reid going close at the end). Not good, not promotion form but not as bad as most are saying imo.

McCormick-8. He didn't actually have that much to do, but did all he had to do excellently.

Blanchard-4. Fine defensively, stopped stuff from going past him but I think he somehow managed to be even worse than usual going forward. I genuinely think his pass percentage was close to zero. Our right side was non-existent going forward.
Nelson-8. Excellent as usual. Fine defensively and actually played the ball forward very coolly and efficiently. Almost had a comical own goal though but a great McCormick save bailed him out.
Trotman-6. Solid enough. Didn't do a great deal wrong but doesn't do anything incredible.
Purrington-8. Had his best game yet. His composure when picking out a pass is absolutely fantastic. He's wise beyond his years, nothing phases him whatsoever. Defensively he made less mistakes today too. Only subbed off for tactical reasons.

Boco-2. I berated him when he got subbed off today saying he didn't try. On reflection I think that may have been harsh of me as he deserves the benefit of the doubt on that front. The impression he gives most of the time is that he doesn't try but maybe that's wrong. Whether he tries or not though, my God he is a terrible player. Offers absolutely nothing. Absolutely stinking game from someone who's been dire from the start of his career.
Blizzard-5. Started poorly but got better as the game went on. Lacks pace and mobility. He's grown on me but if we could get Lee Cox back then I'd drop Blizzard like a hot potato. Has nowhere near the required mobility to cover enough ground at a quick enough speed as is required for the midfield battle. His slowless and lethargy allows the opposition far too much room in midfield every game.
Hourihane-7. He has to cover for Blizzard in the middle too much of the time which is why it limits what he can do. He did his usual thing of buzzing around the midfield at high speed picking up loose balls and then laying them off very well. It's one of those things we'd miss if he were to leave. He got far better going forward when he had two midfielders alongside him neither of whom were the cumbersome Blizzard.
Banton-4. Did almost nothing in the first half. Better after the subs but still not good enough. I think to an extent the match fitness 'excuse' is still valid as he looked much more fit today. Still not fit enough but heading in the right direction enough to assure me that he needs more time. He's getting there and I think is only a finish away from a big confidence boost. I'd drop him and let him earn his place back in the side but if we're gonna start him, don't make it out left. He'll come good but he isn't much cop now at all.

Reid-3. Just had one of those days. He was active and got involved as much as ever but everything he tried to do went wrong. Just a bad day at the office for him. No biggie.
Alessandra-8. By a country mile our best attacking player over the game. Looked as good and as fluid as I can remember seeing him. If ever I moan about him again, remind me that Boco and Gurrieri exist.

Young-9 MOTM. The natural talent that this lad has is unreal. I don't buy the consistency point either. Been consistently excellent every time I've seen him this season bar one game. One off day for me doesn't equal inconsistent. As I've said, you have to work to accommodate a player that good.
Harvey-7. A high seven though, almost an 8. The best I've seen him play since his debut. I'm amazed I've seen some say he wasn't effective at all today. Each to their own but just because some people have hyped him up, I think sometimes he's underrated to overcompensate. Him and Young changed the game between the two of them. He made lots of neat, sharp short/medium range forward passes that linked play up, moved us up the pitch and notably increased the tempo of the match. He did very well as a deep lying attacking midfielder could do: created well and found some good passes from deep.
Thomas-6. Bright, was always showing for passes but lacked end product.

Play-offs now are looking very unlikely. I think it's too over the top for people to panic about the relegation fight myself but but now I think we're almost certain to be in this league next season. These last three games were a litmus test to our play-off hopes and we didn't pass. In order to go up, I think we needed more than two points from the matches against Southend, Rochdale and Cheltenham. We're 12th now and give or take that's where I think we'll be in May. In a sense that'd be disappointing as we don't know how easy it'll be to go up this season budget wise- we could have just missed our best chance in years. In another sense though it'd be good. We were stuck in a rut of relegation fight after relegation fight and players with absolutely zero self-belief. It would have been nice to have a promotion but to turn that around is an achievement in itself. We're on the mend if not healed yet on the pitch. And who knows, with Banton surely still to improve and Parsons/a new striker to come in then maybe we will give the top 7 something to worry about after all.

we need a striker and a natural right back is needed asap i say. I would also say a holding midfielder too although thats not majorly important.

Agreed, those are the two priority positions.

If I were in charge I'd offer Boco out on a free transfer to every other club in this league to get him off the wagebill.

GreenSam wrote:

Long post coming up, scroll down if my waffling reviews aren't your thing:

.................And who knows, with Banton surely still to improve and Parsons/a new striker to come in then maybe we will give the top 7 something to worry about after all.

Almost 1200 words, Sam, I shall read that over a tea & biscuit later.   

There's a gap developjng now between 6th and 7th. I think the ply-offs are beyond us. Yesterday, Cheltenham were there for the taking. We were dreadful though. If both teams could've lost, that would have been the fair result. It was freezing.

Nelson was awful - I don't think he was "solid" at all and when the man of match was a sub who played little of the game, it does sum it up.

As for Banton, he was isolated and had no support - he isn't going to beat three players every single time. We've signed Banton, not Ronaldo. People are putting way too much on his shoulders.

One thing that really annoyed me yesterday was our utter inability to take a throw in properly

A bad game, bad performances all around, a bad result and a bad taste in the mouth. One of the worst games this season.

A draw was afair result against a pretty average Chetenham team of older league 2 hacks in contrast to our younger players. Sheridan actually made two good subs in Harvey and Young which definitely swung the game in our favour. Mind you Cureton should have banged in a couple yesterday far too much space given to their attacking players. Boco must be the consistently worst player in an Argyle shirt I have seen for some time.