Back Synopsis Just Brief...

Almost didn't bother today, changed my mind and I'm sort of glad I did, not a classic by any stretch, a workmanlike performance but a vital win nonetheless and a crucial 3 points at this stage of the season(the nitty gritty) I'll leave the in depth stuff to Greenskin, GreenSam and Angrybloke, I'm back off out, cab picking me up at 7.30 and I still need to shave, shower and put some makeup on Toodle pip

The epitome of brief!

My brief synopsis?

Yaaaaaaaay!

Couldn't have asked for much more from the other results, a good day all round, firmly back in the p/offs and with a superior goal difference, geddon Shezza.

Synopsis: Cobi to say some mildly controversial statements on Pasoti and get barracked. That'll be the highlight of the evening, no doubt.

AstiSpumante wrote:

Almost didn't bother today, changed my mind and I'm sort of glad I did, not a classic by any stretch, a workmanlike performance but a vital win nonetheless and a crucial 3 points at this stage of the season(the nitty gritty)   I'll leave the in depth stuff to Greenskin, GreenSam and Angrybloke, I'm back off out, cab picking me up at 7.30 and I still need to shave, shower and put some makeup on  Toodle pip

Did it work ?  Got any photos

So 11 games to go - this list shows the number of fixtures the top 10 have against other top 10 sides.

Argyle 3 (Newport, Burton, Shrewsbury)
Steventage 3
Shrewsbury 3
S'end 4
Bury 4
Newport 4
Wycombe 4
Northampton 5
Luton 6
Burton 6

Hhhmmmmmm???

That's very interesting because the teams with the most matches against other top 10 teams will obviously be taking points off each other. We CAN still do it!

11 games left and looking at the fixtures, Argyle must go for wins against - Oxford (a), Dagenham (a), Cheltenham (a), Portsmouth (a) and Carlisle (a). I would take a draw against Shrewsbury (a). Total = 16

As for the home games, Argyle have got to go for the three points when they play Newport, Mansfield, AFC and Tranmere. I would take a draw against Burton. Total = 13

If Argyle could get those twenty nine points, that will leave them on a final total of 84. They could even sneak automatic if other sides above them have a major wobble. It would be great if Argyle went on a unbeaten run right up to May 2nd.

It is unlikely that Argyle will get all those twenty nine points though, so what target should Argyle aim for to be certain of PO spot ?.

6 wins will get us into the playoffs, maybe even 5, I reckon 70 points minimum is what will be required.

Can we drop the brief from brief synopsis please? By its own definition a synopsis is brief.

Les Miserable wrote:

6 wins will get us into the playoffs, maybe even 5, I reckon 70 points minimum is what will be required.

Yeah, i was thinking 70 or 75.

There are bound to be more twists and turns between now and the final game at Shrewsbury Town. Hopefully, the teams above/below Argyle start to slip up a tad, more so than now.

I expect Argyle will take the full capacity of away fans to Shrewsbury Town on May 2nd.

Hope we don't need a result at Shrewsbury to make the play offs.

spowell92 wrote:

Can we drop the brief from brief synopsis please? By its own definition a synopsis is brief.

You know what, when all's said and done and we're down to the nitty gritty, you're absolutely right.

Perhaps you could point that out to PC Pedlar on the Farm.

tigertony wrote:

AstiSpumante wrote:

Almost didn't bother today, changed my mind and I'm sort of glad I did, not a classic by any stretch, a workmanlike performance but a vital win nonetheless and a crucial 3 points at this stage of the season(the nitty gritty)   I'll leave the in depth stuff to Greenskin, GreenSam and Angrybloke, I'm back off out, cab picking me up at 7.30 and I still need to shave, shower and put some makeup on  Toodle pip

Did it work ?  Got any photos

So 11 games to go - this list shows the number of fixtures the top 10 have against other top 10 sides.

Argyle 3 (Newport, Burton, Shrewsbury)
Steventage 3
Shrewsbury 3
S'end 4
Bury 4
Newport 4
Wycombe 4
Northampton 5
Luton 6
Burton 6

Hhhmmmmmm???

The shave and shower went well but putting makeup on when you're in a hurry is positively ghastly darling

Czarcasm wrote:

spowell92 wrote:

Can we drop the brief from brief synopsis please? By its own definition a synopsis is brief.

You know what, when all's said and done and we're down to the nitty gritty, you're absolutely right.

Perhaps you could point that out to PC Pedlar on the Farm.

Yeah go on spowell, ask him and be sure to let us know when so we can tune in for his reply, I'm sure he'll take it in the good humour he's renowned for.

AstiSpumante wrote:

Czarcasm wrote:

spowell92 wrote:

Can we drop the brief from brief synopsis please? By its own definition a synopsis is brief.

You know what, when all's said and done and we're down to the nitty gritty, you're absolutely right.

Perhaps you could point that out to PC Pedlar on the Farm.

Yeah go on spowell, ask him and be sure to let us know when so we can tune in for his reply, I'm sure he'll take it in the good humour he's renowned for.

Been there, done that, the notion got rejected.

spowell92 wrote:

AstiSpumante wrote:

Czarcasm wrote:

spowell92 wrote:

Can we drop the brief from brief synopsis please? By its own definition a synopsis is brief.

You know what, when all's said and done and we're down to the nitty gritty, you're absolutely right.

Perhaps you could point that out to PC Pedlar on the Farm.

Yeah go on spowell, ask him and be sure to let us know when so we can tune in for his reply, I'm sure he'll take it in the good humour he's renowned for.

Been there, done that, the notion got rejected.

You mean PC Pedlar didn't take kindly to having factual inaccuracies pointed out to him?

I'm shocked.

Some people just can't handle the truth.

pepsipete wrote:

Hope we don't need a result at Shrewsbury to make the play offs.

I think its going to come down to that no mattter what as its so tight atm.

Watching country file ( sad i know) when that nice Matt Baker said Nitty Gritty.... WTF! I WAS OUT RAGED! Get PC Pedlars boss No mates Nool to Ban him from Brown Nosers Farm forever!!!

pepsipete wrote:

Hope we don't need a result at Shrewsbury to make the play offs.

Absolutely.

It's irritating that we never seem to be at home on the last game of the season.

sufferedsince 68 wrote:

Watching country file ( sad i know) when that nice Matt Baker said Nitty Gritty.... WTF! I WAS OUT RAGED! Get PC Pedlars boss No mates Nool to Ban him from Brown Nosers Farm forever!!!

One of Pasotis all time clangers that was by PC Pedlar. Nothing at all to support his outrageous claims that it was racist which our PC society gone mad would have had outlawed a long time ago were there any semblance of evidence to back up his stupid claim. But Pasoti know better than every other media form in the country and decide to include it in their swear checker or whatever it is called. Precious numpties. Made me piss myself when Hartley opened his interview on Argyle World with Nitty Gritty a couple of weeks later.

Very pleasing win. On the whole a good, professional performance. The sort of result that the last two performances have justified...except with better defending to stop us from conceding a goal. Was it a classic? No it wasn't. Did Northampton have spells which they controlled the play? Yes they did. But they were always going to at 1-0 down. They're the top scorers in all of League Two. Unrealistic to expect them to have no play at all. What we did do was resist their dominating spells to no more than sterile domination due to our excellent defence. We let them have some of the play of course because we'd have worn ourselves out if we'd gone full throttle all half whilst leading. And that's not to say we didn't dominate the game for spells too: we did. Did they have any real chances? Did Luke have a save of note to make? No he didn't. We had two very debatable offside calls when Reuben would have surely scored from them if they weren't spuriously flagged for. What Sheridan did do was expertly spot on in bringing on an attacking sub in spite of being in the lead. He spotted the space Northampton were leaving in behind and bringing Blizzard on for McHugh allowed us to exploit that brilliantly.

The gaffer also did very well spotting the potential of Talbot as a midfielder. I've never quite understood why he's raved about quite so much as a wing-back. He doesn't always offer genuine width and when he does do so, his crossing can be hit and miss. However, I think it is fair to say he's finally found his niche with us as a central midfielder. He was energetic in his movement, pinpoint in his passing and alert in his creative vision. You could tell he was relishing the experience too just from watching him. I'm a bit of a purist/football snob when it comes to wanting to see good football and I find no greater joy than from watching a CM take a hold of a game like Talbot did today. Who'd have thought it eh? After all the debate about whether Cox, Blizzard, Lee or Norburn is the better option(all four of whom have something to offer) the one who really nailed down his place in the side more than any of them was the striker-come-rightback Drew Talbot? Funny old game.

I will admit it, I panicked after the Hartlepool game. I genuinely thought that the collapse to the bottom half of the table and beyond was on. When I did not panic was after Bury and Stevenage because I thought it was two pretty decent performances that were let down by a couple of sloppy errors and a lack of ability to convert our chances. Or, in one case, the ability to convert our chances but a linesman who incorrectly ruled offside against Alessandra. The point I'm getting at is that I saw little to worry about from those two games and I'm pleasantly surprised to be proved right. I don't think those two games can be counted as a standard Sheridan blip either due to not only the way we played but also some very astute tactical decisions made during the two games. Today was the win that our last three games have justified with a much more professional defence to boot. I'm probably jinxing this now and we'll got and get tanked up at Oxford but I really feel that the last three games against good opposition and the four wins in a row that proceeded that have given us a lot of reasons to be optimistic. Dare I say it but, in spite of all the misgivings I've had about John Sheridan...things are actually starting to look really rather good. Sheridan since the start of February has changed games and made some great spots. He's started to look like a proper manager and less like a glorified chief scout. Long may it continue.

The first fifteen to twenty minutes of the game were somewhat the exception to this with Northampton having come out of the blocks far quicker than us who looked a bit sleepy to start with. They bypassed our midfield during this time as it took a while for Talbot to settle into the game. Also, O'Connor's passing was erratic in these early stages. However, as we settled into it, things began to really click into place. We started to take a hold of the game as Talbot and Bobby Reid began to develop a greater movement and understanding. A mini-spell of pressure resulted in a fine strike by O'Connor finding the net. I personally can't begrudge him taking his shirt off to reveal the superman jersey underneath. Logically it was stupid but I admire his cockiness that he felt he could last the whole game on a yellow card for the sake of that celebration.

Throughout the remainder of the first half as well as the second half as I said above, we did have to withstand spells of pressure from Northampton which our defence dealt with very well. Hartley absolute oozes class and he keeps his composure to get the ball out of defence and begin a counter even in the most pressurised of situations. Nelson was also very good, didn't really put a foot wrong the whole time and held the defensive line well. McHugh was the least good of the three, looked like he was possibly carrying a knock as he wasn't quite as sharp and as domineering a presence as usual. Not bad by any means but not his best self. All three of them were helped of course by O'Connor who had his standard good game in general in addition to scoring his goal. I felt safe with the wing-backs defensively too. Whilst Talbot is a very talented footballer, I was and am far from convinced about his defensive acumen out wide. Mellor is far more of a natural defender. Stuck to his man like glue and pressed very well, was instrumental in forcing Northampton back up the pitch. All goals are down to defensive errors to some greater or lesser degree. If the wing-backs don't put a defensive foot out of line then they won't score. The same goes for THD who I've been far from won over by until today. He too didn't put a toe wrong defensively and it showed by Northampton's lack of genuine goalscoring chances. Luke had little to do but dealt with all he had to do well and with no fuss.

Going forward, we had our moments too. Bobby Reid had a great first half, doing his usual thing of short, electric pass and move routines to build up chemistry as a team and get us playing comfortably. It sometimes goes unappreciated to have someone in the hub of it all acting as both a hasty recycler of possession with a great first touch and pass allowing the other players to move and also as a good creative playmaker in his own right. Is it just me, or are even his free-kicks getting a bit better too? Second half however he tailed off a lot and seemed like he too was suffering from an injury. The third player who looked like he had a knock was Mellor. Whilst he was sound defensively, he was far from the player who terrorised Pompey and Southend going forward. Looked a little slow in his movement. Holmes-Dennis was far livelier and made himself much more of an attacking outlet but frustratingly, he seemed to suffer stagefight in the penalty box. Unlike Alessandra, Reuben or even Mellor when he's on form, you never quite get the sense that THD on the ball in the penalty box is going to result in a goal. If he can improve his final ball, he will be a seriously good player.

Reuben had a very good game in spite of not scoring a goal. We take him for granted that he's an outlet who is good for aiming both long-balls to and passes along the ground. He didn't score but he was involved in a great many of our attacks with his chests down and good passes into space. Including one absolutely sublime pass in the lead-up to our second goal. Alessandra too had one of his better days, always moving as such a speed as to unsettle the players around him- moving them out of position and ensuring Argyle controlled the space in the final third. Showed great composure to score the third goal too. Again, another player whose weakest attribute (composure) seems to be slowly improving. Blizzard, as I mentioned earlier, was a great sub. Brunt and Banton weren't on for long but both did fine in the time they were. Pleasing stuff on the whole. Not a classic but we dominated spells and in the spells we didn't dominate, we ground it out with the defending of a promotion team. Things really are looking rather good right now.

Finally, Argyle did all this in spite of some disgraceful gamesmanship and poor refereeing throughout. Whilst I don't think Duke should have walked (there were no Argyle players near him), the ref gave seemingly every other 50/50 their way. At least one if not two of Reuben's 'offside' calls definitely wasn't offside either. Not to mention Northampton's team and manager picking fights with announcers and innocent ballboys. Poor show all round really. Also poor was when Cresswell on their team decided to boot the ball at our dugout after it had gone out of play for no apparent reason, hitting Cox square in the face. I thought Cox was about to get up and tw*t him one. Surely Cresswell should have at least been booked for booting a ball in someone's face?


McCormick-7

Nelson-7
McHugh-7
Hartley-8

Mellor-7
O'Connor-7
Talbot-8 MOTM
Bobby Reid-7
THD-7

Reuben Reid-8
Alessandra-7

Blizzard-7
Brunt-6
Banton-6

spowell92 wrote:

Can we drop the brief from brief synopsis please? By its own definition a synopsis is brief.

Someone please explain this to GreenSam. He still hasn't got his head around this. Or have a separate thread Extended epistle.

.....Thanks GreenSam an interesting report of how you saw it.....appreciated as an exile.

I shall clear my diary so that when you put in your full report....not just his brief one of course I shall have time to enjoy it in full.

In the meanwhile I shall practise by reading chunks of ..War & Peace..to build up my concentration.