rjdgull
TFF member
Admin
Posts: 12,227 
|
Post by rjdgull on Aug 27, 2013 12:39:26 GMT
If it were not for that win on Saturday, this would have been our first crunch match of the season against a relegated side that are still finding their feet in this division. As it is, this is a good opportunity to get that first home win and propel us well into the top half of the division and give us some much needed breathing space.
It has been much talked about that Hartlepool are yet to score in the league this season with only a Neil Austin header in their 3-1 away defeat against Forest in the league cup giving them something to cheer about. They started poorly with a 3-0 away defeat at Rochdale on the opening day, had two narrow 0-1 losses at home to Southend and Fleetwood with their solitary point gained at York with a scoreless draw of course.
Similar to us, Hartlepool seem to have left things quite late with a number of recent changes and additions which doesn't help you hit the ground running, more like with a flop.... They lost central defender Peter Hartley to Stevenage after he indicated that he wanted out. This month they have signed a couple of Middlesborough players on loan with 21 year old defender Christian Burgess for the season and midfielder 20 year old Matthew Dolan for an initial one month deal as recently as last week. A permanent signing also from last week is Michael Duckworth coming from Bradford Park Avenue. Once these players gel then they may well have a decent side and whilst not scoring do not appear to be conceding many either.
So, after a good away way at Northampton, the players will be more confident but Knill certainly won't let any complacency come in as he still seeks to improve the side, particularly as we only seem to have one good half in a match. After his brace on Saturday, Chappelle is nailed on to start and will give the opposition something to think about but that could open up gaps elsewhere. The starting XI seems to be pretty straight forward apart from on the left flank where Bodin and Cameron will vie for a start and at left back where some question marks remain over Nico with some perplexed as to why Cruise is not given a chance to prove his worth although he has the opportunity at the Cat and Fiddle (training ground that is) this afternoon....
|
|
petef
Match Room Manager
Posts: 4,626
|
Post by petef on Aug 29, 2013 17:22:35 GMT
A job to judge this one.
Hartlepool have had a disastrous start, the sort Stockport had and even ourselves when we found ourselves in free fall and out of the football league. They will be dangerous for sure, a wounded animal and no doubt will be looking to get any sort of result to get the ball rolling as it were.
Not a single league goal scored, how worrying that must be for their supporters and management and lets face it that stat has to come to an end at some point so we need to start better than we have done in virtually every game this season. Personally I'm not so sure what all the fuss is about with regards Nico/Cruise. Neither have been outstanding in any sense of the word Nico has perhaps lost a little more pace but makes up for it in other ways and still has pretty good positional sense. Cruise, despite his undoubted abilty and good first touch lacks awareness and gives the ball away in dangerous areas.
Swings and roundabouts for me but if Cruise does eventually get the nod over Nico he had better be more on the ball and defensively aware to keep his place. One last thing I hope Mansell leaves the free kicks around the box to the players who can hit the target after the last fiasco against Oxford when Ball had the first attempt mysteriously cancelled out.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2013 9:40:42 GMT
I think the word Banana skin might have been coined for TUFC, and this game is certainly one of those. A game we should win and put some space between us and the bottom clubs. It seems though that we can't yet get over playing hoof-ball for one half of a match (often conceding a goal during that period) and on the floor entertaining football in the other half (often scoring a goal or two during that period)! I do sit and scratch my head in bewilderment why we actually play hoof-ball, when the management, the players and the fans can see that it blatantly doesn't work...expect at least 45 minutes of it again tomorrow!
|
|
JamesB
TFF member
Posts: 1,526
|
Post by JamesB on Aug 30, 2013 13:53:07 GMT
They'll see this as a winnable game, one to kick-start their season after their initial struggles
I decided to look at Steve Howard's record against us, to see if he'd ever scored, and I seem to have unintentionally stumbled on a poor record against him. It turns out he scored the winner against us in the last game of the 1999-2000 season, clinching the 2-1 win which got Northampton promoted to Division Two, and also scored against us in October 1998 (for Hartlepool in a 4-1 win) and September 2001 (for Luton in a 5-1 win). In the majority of games we've played against him, we've lost - I count 1 draw, 1 win and 5 defeats, in that order, though the last of those was over 10 years ago. Since then he has transferred for over £1 million twice, most recently in 2008 when Leicester paid £1.5 million for him. But he is 37 now and is yet to score this season so that run may not continue
|
|
|
|
Post by hullgull on Aug 30, 2013 14:23:38 GMT
I think the word Banana skin might have been coined for TUFC, and this game is certainly one of those. A game we should win and put some space between us and the bottom clubs. It seems though that we can't yet get over playing hoof-ball for one half of a match (often conceding a goal during that period) and on the floor entertaining football in the other half (often scoring a goal or two during that period)! I do sit and scratch my head in bewilderment why we actually play hoof-ball, when the management, the players and the fans can see that it blatantly doesn't work...expect at least 45 minutes of it again tomorrow! Your right del,not many people fancied us last week,.....got to get rid of that hoof ball,proved it last week ,when we keep it simple we can cause problems .....obviously we have the players to do this.......so on that note del we should have enough in the tank to beat Hartlepool....but as you well know being a gull that's not always the case ha ha ha.....joking aside mate expecting the 3 points ......si |
|
rjdgull
TFF member
Admin
Posts: 12,227
|
Post by rjdgull on Aug 31, 2013 8:02:21 GMT
No clean sheets for us yet this season against Hartlepool's failure to score - something has got to give....
It's a good day to watch some football, looking forward to a good match.
|
|
JamesB
TFF member
Posts: 1,526
|
Post by JamesB on Aug 31, 2013 13:59:52 GMT
I've been reminded that we played Howard and Luton in League One. So that's 7 defeats in the 9 matches against him and he has scored in 5 of them:
96/97 - Hartlepool (A) - 1-1 draw
97/98 - Hartlepool (A) - 3-0 defeat
97/98 - Hartlepool (H) - 1-0 win
98/99 - Hartlepool (A) - 4-1 defeat, goal for Howard
99/00 - Northampton (A) - 3-0 defeat
99/00 - Northampton (H) - 2-1 defeat, goal for Howard
01/02 - Luton (A) - 5-1 defeat, goal for Howard
04/05 - Luton (A) - 1-0 defeat, goal for Howard
04/05 - Luton (H) - 4-1 defeat, goal for Howard
In fairness, those Luton teams were very good in those years. Curtis Davies was playing for them in 2004-05. Also the last game featured a late substitute appearance by one L Mansell
Anyway, back to today - team news is that Bodin's in for Cameron. Otherwise unchanged
|
|
|
|
Post by hullgull on Aug 31, 2013 14:10:38 GMT
We could ave been 4up within 10 mins....coyy. Si
|
|
|
|
Post by Ditmar van Nostrilboy on Aug 31, 2013 16:53:37 GMT
One phrase to sum up today is "profligate with our chances".
Plenty of chances from in the area, even some in the 6 yard box. If you cant score, you wont win games. Positive to see the chances but a big negative on converting them.
|
|
|
|
Post by hullgull on Aug 31, 2013 17:02:19 GMT
We had enough chances to finish this game by half time.....few games into the season now,got to finish these teams off,we won't get games like that with so many chances....but on the positive side we are creating which bodes well for the rest of the season,and keeping a clean sheet to......so really shame we didn't get all 3 points.but can take alot out of the game.....si
|
|
|
|
Post by Swanny on Aug 31, 2013 18:42:39 GMT
After such a promising start the game gradually descended to a bore draw 0-0. Torquay had the best chances of the match and you could argue they deserved to win. But apart from the first 5 minutes there was little sustained pressure from Torquay and clear chances were quite sporadic. For the majority of the match Torquay failed to unlock the Hartlepool defence and too many attacks broke down through misplaced passes or poor crosses. I don't personally think Torquay did enough to earn a victory today and Hartlepool coped quite comfortably putting men behind the ball. Hartlepool offered little going forward but they nearly nicked it deep into added time in the second half. Crowd 2,646 only 89 from Hartleppol.
The first 5 minutes was the best attacking display I've seen from Torquay for a long time. Chappel nearly scored inside the first minute however a defender somehow just blocked his goalbound shot in time. There was plenty of incisive passing and chances continued to come. Torquay did not get the vital breakthrough and Hartlepool came into the match. There were quite a few stoppages in the first half and Torquay's early momentum petered out. Hartlepool played the ball around well at times but Rice had a quiet afternoon. When Hartlepool did have a chance their finishing was not good. Chappell looked lively but he let himself down several times with poor crossing. On the other wing Bodin had a decent chance in the first half on the left but seem to lose his bearings and put his shot well wide from close range. Ball looked the livlier our our strikers. But the first half became a bore and I was relieved when the whistle blew.
Torquay kicked towards the empty away end in the second half and our play did not really improve. Hartlepool had a few corners and attacks but did not seriously threaten. Bodin blazed a shot well over, Ball had one or two efforts just wide. But in the main the game had become a drab affair and surely one goal would win it. Torquay finally got the ball in the net near the end. Ball's shot was saved and Benyon forced the ball in but was in an offside position. It will be interesting to see the TV replay of that. In added time the ball fell loose in the Torquay box and a Hartlepool player stabbed the ball past Rice but narrowly wide. It was interesting that Ricey then gave Lathrope a right rollicking. So it ended 0-0.
So that's all 3 home games I've watched this season and I have not seen a decent performance from Torquay yet. We find it hard to break teams down and it is not helped by poor deleveries from wingers and we have 2 forwards who are unlikely to score with their head. I notice that our 2 goals last week were scored on the counter attack keeping the ball on the deck. I am not saying we are a bad side but it is not clicking at home at the moment. I thought Cameron perked things up a bit when he replaced Bodin. I thought all our defenders today had good, steady games. Mansell got stuck in as always but Harding offered little. All in all a forgettable day but at least we did not lose.
|
|
|
|
Post by bristolgull on Sept 1, 2013 8:16:28 GMT
A poor spectacle yesterday, the positives being: we didn't lose and the chances created in the first 5 minutes! Hartlepool were very poor but we had no answer to break them down. Too many misplaced passes and easily giving up possession, you can't fault the work rate but the quality was lacking at times today. Harding was particularly disappointing I thought, he was poor in the tackle and did little when given the ball. Maybe craig should be given a go on Tuesday night to see if he can make a difference? Obviously Knill sees him in training every day and doesn't like what he sees, for him not to even make the bench - it's a shame as I think he has the potential to be a classy footballer. Anyway what is clear is what we needed yesterday was somebody in the middle of the park to put his foot on the ball and pick a pass.
We are a work in progress and it certainly is not all doom and gloom, but we just lacked that little bit of quality and imagination needed yesterday...
|
|
petef
Match Room Manager
Posts: 4,626
|
Post by petef on Sept 1, 2013 10:15:14 GMT
Missed the game yesterday. Intentionally I might add and a rare occasion but it was a choice between making the most of a beautiful sunny summer day, saving the hard to find £25 it usually costs me to stand and generally get bored and frustrated. Sounds like I made the right choice as it usually backfires and end up missing the one unmissable game in the season.
Two average and doomed to struggle outfits by the sound of things once again our midfield and forward line flattering to deceive and lacking the "killer pass" and creativity that the majority of us all know is missing. Not yet time for a midfield shake up perhaps, after all we have little in the way of options though despite his limitations Craig should maybe given a game on Tuesday to just see if it makes a difference. The Morris for Harding debate - both pretty average players who haven't yet made to many friends with their performances so far and I still cannot make my mind up who got the better deal. Whilst Alan Knill tinkers and rotates his wide men, of which we have an abundance, the middle of the park has been left to its own devices and is still not really producing any real incisive play.
I'm certain Knill/Brass can see what we see and is no doubt doing his best with the funds available and Harding will hopefully improve with games, or have we already seen the peak of what he can offer?. One things for sure just because we play two up front and two wingers doesn't mean we will score lots of goals and run teams ragged. The jury s still out on this current formation and I personally believe we should sacrifice one of the wide men for a more natural midfielder and try either Craig or even Lathrope to make up a more conventional midfield or at least make it easy for us to switch if we find that we are being bogged down going forward down the flanks.
Still we are basically where I thought we would be at this stage, steady at the moment and only lost the one game so its anybodys guess where it will will end next May.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 10:42:59 GMT
Well that was predictable...hence that was my prediction league score!
Hartlepool haven't scored a goal so far this season, and now we know why...they're crap! Sadly though, what does that make us by not being able to beat them? We just do not have the ability to put teams at the bottom of the league to the sword; and this problem has been going on for as long as I can remember. That's why every season we are just a few points away from automatic promotion or we are in a relegation fight! It's obvious the midfield is nowhere near good enough and somehow we have to get somebody in who can play in that role because otherwise we will struggle again this season. Knill says he likes to bring in loan players so let's hope he can get someone in sharpish i.e., when the window opens tomorrow...I think?
|
|
|
|
Post by Ditmar van Nostrilboy on Sept 1, 2013 13:22:58 GMT
To be quite honest Pete and Reg, midfield was not the problem yesterday. Profligate finishing and, despite Chappies 2 excellently taken goals at the Cobblers, none of the wide men seemed to be able to accurately cross the ball into the area. They all seemed to be going behind the goal line.
|
|
