Rochdale Game
 

No one on here want to talk football anymore??????

Game today was a painful watch

Very surprising team selection, gamble by the manager which did not work

Hunt not fit
Taylor not fit
Murthy contributes nothing in midfield
Naismith flatters to deceive with lovely touches but absolutely no end product
McCarten not ready/good enough

2nd half we just completely lost our shape and discipline

We looked very disorganised at set pieces.

Rant over. On he lash

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Torn between wanting us to go on as we are or count our losses and move on-here are my opinions/reasons; Carry on as we are: James Beattie seems like a total gent and all round good guy, has brought good players to the club, brought class to the club. I want him to turn it around with this young and in my opinion talented squad.


Change things: Part of me also wants JC back to save us, but it would hurt (you may laugh but it would be like taking your wife back after she has gone off with another better looking bloke who got fed up with her) But he knows what we are about, when I have spoke to him he has told me stories of being on the dole in the 80's, dragging himself up to becoming a teacher and then football manager..ie off his arse to become as a success like our club.


The only thing I know is that although supporting Stanley is a tough hobby, when the second Rochdale goal went in I felt an emotion that I have never previously felt at the Crown embarrassed!....please let me know if I am alone with these thoughts.......

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I'm finding it really hard to not discuss our managers ability, but I promised him 10 league games before I make my judgement so I will bite my lip for now.

Today

Bettinelli - 6/10 didn't have a lot to do in all honesty, but did concede 2 goals
Aldred - 7/10 best defender, mopped up a lot of their attacks alone with no midfield support
Winnard - 5/10 not great, very limited with the ball at his feet
Hunt - 5/10 though he was poor going forward as was his crossing, looked knackered with 15 minutes to go
Naylor 6/10 - shaky at first but grew into the game, lacked fitness but promising
Murphy 2/10 - utterly useless yet again, the game passed him by. The guy has no positional sense and is slow to get back to support the defence. Has no footballing brain whatsoever, cant read anything.
Joyce 4/10 - better than murphy but he has no invention, is not great defensivly. Strange he is the captain as he does not influence the game or his fellow players. Was caught out ball watching in the 1st half.
Naismith 4/10 - some effort and to be fair to him he does try to beat his man and show some invention, but the second he goes past them its as if he is waiting to get tackled.
Physically weak and does not impose himself, comes inside to often. Not sure he is football league standard?
Mahoney 4/10 - to early for him to be thrown into the first team, he had nice ball control but produced little.
McCartan 2/10 - other than some neat touchs, the guy is a waste of space as a football league player. Very disappointed with him in the first half when he had the advantage over the keeper to run onto a through ball and didn't fancy getting involved in a tackle so slowed down to avoid contact.
Bit of a pre-madonna
Odejayi 7/10 - won a good number of the long balls upto him, took his goal well. Only criticism was his decision making at times with the ball at his feet. On at least 2 occasions he tried a through ball which was played well ahead of the runner despite having time on the ball and having better options.
Other than his goal, I can only think of one other good ball he received all day. Felt sorry for him, getting such rubbish service from the wings and no good passes or support from the midfield donkeys of Joyce and Murphy.

Gray - 5/10 - probably not a criticism of Gray but the manager as when he came on for Naylor we looked less effective as the team was unbalanced. Did little of note, had no effect on the game.
Hatfield - 5/10 not enough time to make an impact, did nothing of note.
Richardson - 5/10 not enough time to make an impact, did nothing of note.

Beattie - 1/10 - some major flaws in tactics, team selection and ability to change a game and react to events in a game.
No further comment


One last thing, I arrived 5 minutes late. In the town centre at 2.50PM where plenty of people and youngsters wearing Man Utd, Burnley, Barcelona, man city shirts.
Real shame.
The town of Accrington probably doesn't realise how blessed it is to have a football league club.
It puts the town on the map.

Re: Rochdale Game
 

Great post DAV007 - the last bit really f***s me off. Kids roaming round town in premier league kits, who've probably never been to Old Trafford or Anfield, when they have League Football two bus stops away for the price of a can of coke and a bag of Monster Munch.

Re: Rochdale Game
 

To be frank Frank...some 'positives' were apparent to the discerning eye..
Bettinelli again displayed the attributes which will make him a sought-after goalkeeper in the near future.
The young Mahoney when he develops a bit of muscle will also IMHO prove to be a decent forward...pity he tired towards the end !.
Tom Aldred stood out as being by far the best defender on view, and didn't deserve to be on a losing team !
As to 'losing shape', it was difficult to see from the kick-off what JB's preferred shape for the visit of Rochdale actually was !... no better example than the defensive marking at the Corner-kick leading to the first goal !.
But unlike the pundits on Radio Lancs who were ,following the match, determined to write The Stanley off as total failures,again IMHO there is enough in the squad to find some success... as to avoiding the drop, well some change in luck ( and Refereeing decisions !) is sorely needed !..
But Frank...we must go on believing...and supporting our team. It's what is required of us don't you think ?.http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/i...cons/icon5.gif

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At least in the second half I could tell which team was down to 10 men which was more than could be said for Sheffield Wednesday v Yeovil last week.

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I have to agree. JC could have come back in the summer and i for one have to wonder why we didnt snap him up. He has been one of the best things to happen to this club. James Beattie is a nice guy and does want the best for us but he doesnt look cut out for managing yet. We need to get JC back before its too late he will fight for every point get the players back fighting. 1 point from 7 is in no way acceptable. Get JC and JB back before its too late!

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Rochdale scored with embarrassing ease. We only seemed to get any sort of grip on the game when we were two down. Odejayi apart we offered little threat up front apart from McCartan's great run and cross shot in the second half and the curling volley they brilliantly headed off the line. Too often particularly in the first half passes weren't anticipated quickly enough to cut them open and Odejayi had insufficent support.

Players were too often caught out of position and losing possession.

Agree with everything there.

Objectively speaking you can't account for the first goal as it's a fluke - an open net after coming back off the crossbar. But a result of sitting too deep. The second is conceded at a set piece because the back four - however experienced - have never played together.

So disappointed with our performance after the sending off though. Seething in fact.

Naismith was a passenger today when it should've been his opportunity to impress. No positional sense or discipline; a waste. As much as I love Peter Murphy he was completely ineffective today. McCartan rushed and hurried but Hatfield's quality would've been better alongside the magnificent Odejayi.

Ultimately though - I'm so sad that we failed to penetrate an average side with over 45 mins to play. If the manager can't motivate the players enough to want it we might as well give up now.

Sack the bad suits and faux professionalism. Get real. If you want to stay in the league, act like it.

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Dave007 is spot on, as for attendences we do need some kind of a promotion drive, If we cant' muster at least 2000 home fans for a home match there is something sadly wrong. i don't knoe what the answer is but it needs to happen.

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And what the cock is going on with the amount of announcements over the tannoy for away fans?!?!?!

ASFC = club for rent

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I thought at the time that the ref did us no favours in sending off Donnelly as Dale were going to sit back in numbers and try to hit us on the break. We just do not have the quality to open up a packed defence. It has been obvious from well before the season started that Joyce and Murphy as central midfielders are just not up to L2 standards and we won't get out of the current situation without replacing them with players who have the ability to directly take on defenders head on and thus create gaps in the defence. No one has the drive and skills to go marauding into the box from the central positions and the number of cross field passes played in front of their defence was painful to watch. I thought Naismith was very disappointing, and don't let anyone try to tell me that he's a winger. Never once did he try to go outside his man and get in a cross. I thought the new big man up front was great and I'm sure Jeffers, for one, would have had a field day getting onto his knock downs. We can still turn this round, but not unless we can find a Proccy-like player at his attacking best somewhere.

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Think webber is the man to play off the big lad, agree oer Joyce @ Murphy certainly not up to the mark. Stanley need to come outa the traps from the start, Think the first goal can be crucial on a poor run.

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Wasn't good today,but in reality we should have got something from the game.I counted at least five clear cut chances,and we failed to convert any.
Once again we haven't given any credit to rochdales young organised team who had a bit of pace and good movement.
Playing 4-4-2 with two wide men and fullbacks who weren't fully fit was always going to cause problems in central areas (due to being out numbered).
Joyce coming short,murph trying to get forward,gaps started to appear when wingers/number ten don't fill those spaces left.
I understand the idea of wingers staying wide and getting crosses in,but without the ball,you have to know your roll and not switch off.
For me,now we have a target man,4-3-3 would suit us more,and use wide men as impact players as required.

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Same old thing, plenty of effort but a lack of quality!

Aldred and adadayi (you know who I mean) the only players who looked like they'd played football before!

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Sorry guys - I also thought it was ridiculous. Why didn't they just announce it at their next home match. I was asked to put it over the tannoy more times but thought that 3 was more than enough.

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You can pick critisisum with anyone !!


The centre forward missed a absolute sitter,were there man scores from the same position.


Aldred (who played well ),didn't react as quick as there man for the first goal,and what was he doing chasing the ball in the right back area (hunt didn't have a man ),for the second.


For me,it's not that the players aren't good enough,it's concentration and knowing your role in the team and NOT playing for yourself ---it's a team game,you win as a team and lose as one

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football19

I half agree with you.
Its a mixture of a lack of organisation and game plan but also a lack of ability with some of our players.

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Davo,you obviously know your footie and as you know confidence plays a major role in a players performance,just as much as fitness.Players start passing on responsibility and the game plan/focus goes out the window.
We really should draw a line under our poor start and get back to basics of pass and move built on the back of clean sheets.
Our first eleven will give most teams a tough game,so we need to remain positive and the tide will turn

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One item of concern that gets overlooked is leadership, we dont have any leaders.
I dont see why Beattie doesnt give the captains armband to winnard or aldred?

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I think all ten out-field players need to be step up and be leaders,play without fear and push themselves to the limit ,results will follow,of that i am sure

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Well I am now going to put in my 2`pennies. What I saw was a team who should have been camped in the Dale box in the 2nd half yet were too busy passing it around the back 4. How Connor Whickham got MOM I will never know. Lee Naylor for me had the best game by a Stanley player and gets subbed. Why? The final 2 subs stunk of desperation to me. They should have been brought on midway through the 2nd half at the very latest. I personally would have taken McCartan and Whickham or Naismith off as they were too lightweight when attempting to try running passed defenders. For me Gray, Hatfield should hve started. Get Carver back from his loan spell, at least he is a goal scorer at this level. Unless things change very quickly, I fear it may be thanks, but no thanks Mr Beattie (and yet I really want(ed) him to succeed).

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Connor Whickham? I didn't hear the MOM announcement, but it should have gone to a player who is actually on our books, surely?

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Naylor had a very good game imho, but was knackered through lack of games i thought, also took a slight knock, so a very wise substitution i thought, Carver gives 100% but is not yet up to Div2 level (soon will be i hope) which is why hes out on loan to the Division just below the league now. People seem to be forgetting the small squad wi big injuries, panic seems to me setting in, which shows character to me.:rolleyes:

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Absolutely devastated. If we had battered them and they had bravely hung on then that would be a.different matter. However wr asked them very few questions and to be honest they looked the more dangerous even with 10. Where was the effort and the passion? We are used to losing....but this side looks beaten before they even step onto the pitch. Gutless and effortless.

It's all well and good stating how JB is a nice persin and has ushered in a new era of proffesionalism etc but football is a results business. The fact this appears on paper to be a very talented side makes our inepitude even more confusing. Why were the subs held back so long? And someody please tell me the logic of not allowing the keeper up for a last minute corner?

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Have to say to me the second half,against 10 men, Can only be 2 options to me, (1) J.B. used the wrong tactics, or (2) we got a team of cretins that ignored em.:confused: If anyones got another option please tell me?

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Seen as you've just torn apart our two best players.....sounds like our entire squad lacks quality!! And there's me trying to be positve!!!

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Darwin,I did say Aldred played well ,just making a point about the bigger picture.When playing against ten men your fullbacks are key and need to push on,but they just ran out of steam due to lack of games.
JB let it unfold for a while before we went three at the back.
Fair play to rochdales defending,but we really should have scored more

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3) Dale just stuck to their 2nd half game plan..... ;) :) The thing with the corner flag was disgusting and warranted a card - no place for that on a footy field!! :)

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At the risk of being accused of over-indulging in my long-time obsession with the lack of quality in Stanley's midfield:-
I had a conversation with my next door neighbour over the garden fence this afternoon. Hi Dave,says I, Didn't see you at Stanley yesterday. No, says he. How long can the present situation last with the boss? I've only seen one game this season. he went on, and I thought Stanley did quite well against Portsmouth, but the midfield was terrible. Never put enough pressure on the the other team in possession, or going forward, and the play passed them by most of the time.

Now, if he can see this on the day Murph scored 2, and Joyce had a half decent game by his standards, I dread to imagine what he would think if he had witnessed what most of us have so far this season.
I rest my case, but have to confess I don't have a ready answer for our no.1 problem.

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Firstly the sending off yesterday was shameful a 50/50 ball and never a sending off don't like to see that sort of thing in game neither the business with the corner flag.

Got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot I was expecting gusto from the kick off but that came from Dale 2-0 within the first 13 minutes left us a mountain to climb however when we pulled one back (we were in line and it was offside so we do get decisions from officials as well as the sending off) we started to turn the screw and the end of the first off probably came at the wrong time for Stanley.

Being down to ten men should have given Stanley the chance to stretch them but we struggled to break them down once or twice going close but they probably looked the more dangerous on the break.

Yesterday really was three points missed the only thing that is going for us at the moment is we are not yet cut adrift at the bottom because it is harder and harder to see where a win is coming from.

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I'd like to see Hunt as captain,failing that Aldred. Just cannot understand Joyce he's no leader, not vocal and couldn't inspire ---- --- !!!

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Lee Naylor played well but their no7 beat him in the air every time,but an inspiration all the same,the reason he got subbed should have been patently obvious he was totally knackered and cramping up,but a couple more weeks and he'll be up to full steam !!!

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Wasn't Hunt captain before his recent injury? I'm sure Joyce is a nice guy but that may well be why he isn't the best choice for captain under the present circumstances.

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Just read all the replies and agree with many comments. Give credit to Rochdale though for their second half performance as they clearly had a plan to allow us lots of possession but only in our own half. They played with a solid back four and a bank of five sitting just inside their own half. Coupled with the lack of creativity and lack of penetration from our midfield this made for a second half stalemate. Also their players had really good ball skills when in possession and stopped us from getting the ball and they also looked dangerous waltzing through our midfield on the break.
I have said before on previous posts and others are saying it here...We need a couple of midfield players with some creativity and physicality.
For me Aldred should be captain as he is so courageous and sets a superb example. I thought that the new signings made a big difference especially the left back Naylor who will be even better when he gets fully match fit.
Kayode will score goals for us but we need the other forwards to get closer to him in order to feed off the ball that he wins frequently.
Yes it is backs to the wall stuff now, and just to remind some folks, that JB just has no money or other stuff to tempt significantly better players to the club. He has to manage by trying those younger guys in the squad now and by getting some experienced guys to extend their playing careers a bit longer.
We must KEEP THE FAITH and continue to support JB and whatever players he is able to pick for the team.
The referee was a numpty, and he has been so bad before at Stanley, but he wasn't the reason we lost, he seemed to be there just to mystify us!!!
Finally, when will the luck run for us? They say a team makes their own luck and that luck evens itself out over a season....Well we must be overdue and our storage bubble of luck must be bursting at the seams.
I thought the fans in the Clayton end were great once again and both my daughter and I went home absolutely hoarse from our efforts!
Come on......KEEP THE FAITH, THE TIDE WILL TURN AND STANLEY WILL MAKE HISTORY ONCE AGAIN WITH A MAGNIFICENT "GREAT ESCAPE":jimbo:
BELIEVE:alright:

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i`d love to know what this plan that beattie has because from what i saw on sat it aint working all we are doing is passing the ball sideways noibody wants to run with the ball and as for shooting dont think they have got to that page yet think this season we are gonna set a record for going the whole season without a league win unless there are some changes