agree with CAFCBourne in terms of our approach going forward when we have possesion from the back. people like martiin and besnon need the ball into their feet
Much more organised performance tonight but lacking creativity and and any substance in attack. They were trying but nothing much was happening. Good goal though, Reidy gave us that bit extra and Benson did well to get infront of the defender and a nice finish.
I was suprised at how negative MK were, thought they'd come and have a go at us as but they just sat back.
Not at all convincing but deserved. Hopefully they can keep it up and build on it.
[cite]Posted By: oohaahmortimer[/cite]Reid in front of wagstaff all day long ...... If reid performs we'll get results
On the left definitely.
How did Martin do behind Benson?
Who should be the front two on Saturday (counting Martin as one if he plays there)? Wagstaff or Martin on the right?
Martin was in a free role and looked to try and link it up but nothing really materialised
The goal arrived with reid on the left martin on the right abbot and benson up top .... That is what I'd play cos I'm not a big fan of wagstaffs but can understand if waggy would start with jackson the one to miss out which would be unfortunate for him but if reidy is fit he has to be first down on the team sheet
[cite]Posted By: oohaahmortimer[/cite]Reid in front of wagstaff all day long ...... If reid performs we'll get results
On the left definitely.
How did Martin do behind Benson?
Who should be the front two on Saturday (counting Martin as one if he plays there)? Wagstaff or Martin on the right?
Martin was in a free role and looked to try and link it up but nothing really materialised
The goal arrived with reid on the left martin on the right abbot and benson up top .... That is what I'd play cos I'm not a big fan of wagstaffs but can understand if waggy would start with jackson the one to miss out which would be unfortunate for him but if reidy is fit he has to be first down on the team sheet
3 points but still not exactly convincing. A win is a win though. The one decent cross we got into the box, Benson scored.
Hopefully we've seen the back of Llera now that Fortune is ready to play.
Thought the ref was shocking, they seem to get worse every game. Do they have assessors, if so i'd love to know what they made of that clowns performance tonight.
[cite]Posted By: grumpyaddick[/cite]Not great but BIG improvement on last 3 home performances. Leave poor Francis alone. With Fortune that was a solid back four.
Not enough creativity but there never has been. At least some hope with Reidy.
Pleased for Benson but he is not a quality striker and never will be. Sorry.
so your happy to write off benson but we gotta lay off francis who has been consistently crap?!
My first game of the season. I enjoyed it more because of that I daresay.
Positives: Looked organised Worked hard all through the team when we didn't have the ball Semedo Racon showed what they should be doin everygame Team looked fitter than i have seen them in a number of seasons We had a lot of chances to get the ball into the danger areas
cons: Our crossing is awful - I assume we practise with medicine balls in training as i can't think why we overhit everything Semedo (I think) should really have scored in the first half when through on goal Players had a tendency to just stop the moment a team-mate went down
and a mention to the guy committed to getting the north upper joining in with his 'waugh what is he good for'. kept things fairly light hearted.
I thought Francis had a really good game and also thought Semedo was superb. So many times he stops attacks from forming by his pressing and harrying. Him and Racon together looked good tonight
Good shift from Benson tonight - he really ran his bollocks off and I'm glad he netted.
Thought Fortune was ok but needs a bigger test. Good game to ease him back into the side though
Ps - I wonder if Hammann is still wandering around the centre circle. He's the new Molby!
1st game i've got to this season due to holidays/work. Very poor game.
I didn't think we could be THAT bad but we are. Francis looks a dreadful defender to me, can't kick a ball accurately or keep shape. Fry looked ok.
Just from tonights game and the TV game it appears to me that we have a few players who have a decent Football brain but the rest don't. Martin & Jackson are two, Reidy too.
The game was crying out for that spark and Reidy brought that moment of magic, tidy finish from Benno. Abbott makes Akpo look like Drogba.
Though Racon had a fairly decent game although drifted in and out, and Semedo was solid.
I really hope we are still ''gelling'' because we really need to improve to get out this awful league. I try not to be negative, particularly after a win, but it's hard not to when we play like that. Both teams were poor i thought. Ref was just an idiot who went against us even more so as soon as the crowd got on his back.
I'm not sitting in the West lower again even if the tickets are free! Feels very cliquey in there. NU looked pretty full, and was interesting to hear what it sounds like from either end of the WL. Managed to move seats right in front of where Benson celebrated the goal for 2nd half.
All in all happy with the 3 points of course and looking forward to Brentford, but we'll need to improve to have a successful season imo.
I called it wrong but I thought MK would present more of a threat. Yes we were far from convincing but they were truly awful. Benson looked rubbish then suddenly into the second half he suddenly did something good and you could see him gain confidence and started to look a player. Reid obviously listened to John Still and put in an early ball that Benson was quick to react to. Maybe we have a weapon here, just have to learn how to use it. Defence was good -well done Forts. Semedo was MOM and Racon did ok. We didn't look a threat going forwards though until Reid came on then we certainly did. Terrible game really that came alive in last 15 minutes.
Somebody on 606 commented that MK Dons were a good passing side- never read so much rubbish. They are a side who try to pass that are terrible at it - much worse than us and that's saying something!!!! Only time I was concerned was the 2 free kicks they had- I though Hamman was walking through the game so he must be in the team for set pieces- memories of Germany Englsnd came flooding back and he didn't even take them and the bloke who did was terrible. ha ha ha!
Francis overhit a couple of crosses and thumped two wayward clearances into row z, but I thought he had an excellent game. All the back 4 looked solid and calm, helped enormously by Fortune's presence. Midfield was a battle zone and Semedo & Racon won a few medals in there. Waggy had a shocker, Benson gets better with every game and Martin frustrates the hell out of me. Reidy changed the game when he came on and ran at tiring defenders. All in all a very scrappy game not helped by what has to be the worst ref I have EVER seen. Good win, now let's move on to the team at the bottom of the table on Saturday. I would love to see Joey back fit in time for that game.
Spin Version: Average game, two evenly matched sides, Charlton get deserved late winner after biding their time Reality Version: Dreadful game, two evenly matched sides going nowhere
Plus points: Benson scored, Reids cameo, Fortune played well Negatives: Martin, Wagstaff, Lack of Ideas from the management
Overall: Last season we were a team that looked like we would get to the play offs minimum. Tonight we looked a team that will be staying in this league for a long time if we dont get up this season. Pleased for Benson, Fortune made a difference, if we hadnt of got late late winner then reaction at FT would have been very negative.
Make no mistake, this was a poor performance and a fortunate win.
Another incrementally better performance than the last. MK Dons are a very, very poor side. Reid provided some much needed creativity but apart from that we were barely above abject for most of the game, utterly dreadful for the rest.
3 points was the best thing about tonight, the rest of it was shit.
Same as most of the season, played well in bits awful in others. The team is not gelling and the squad appears balanced but without Parky knowing what his best X1 is. The original line up had 3 forwards on the bench but a lightweight attack (in terms of holding the ball) on the pitch.
As I said on Saturday Benson needs to be judged when he gets a chance. Tonight he showed in that moment what he is capable of and let’s hope that continues.
Fortune made a huge difference at the back; they were comfortable there, perhaps because Llera was not?
Martin could turn out to be a very good player but someone needs to get hold of him and show him team play. He has the ability for this league and easily the one above but he does need to start turning that into an end product.
[cite]Posted By: JohnnyH2[/cite]Martin could turn out to be a very good player but someone needs to get hold of him and show him team play. He has the ability for this league and easily the one above but he does need to start turning that into an end product.
99% of the time theres no end product. A selfish player & underperfming luxury no team trying to win promotion from League 1 can afford.
Fart arse about all you like Martin when we are actually winning but until we are 5-0 up with 10 minutes left then start thinking of better options around you
Consensus of opinion on here is that mk are a poor team, which I agree with but before tonight they were above us in the league. Maybe the key to getting out of this league is to not be as shit as our opponents. Fortune, without doing anything eye watering, brought an air of composure to the whole team tonight. Well pleased for benson who has pretty much looked like a pub player so far. Waggy I think need's to remain our impact player as he fails to impress when he starts. On the whole, i'm pleased. Hope we can build on this.
Not a classic and MK Dons are on ordinary outfit but we deserved the win, particularly on our first half performance.
Positives: Semedo, Racon, Fortune(cigar) and Benson for getting on the end of a brilliant delivery from Reid.
Negatives: Wagstaff - their left back was sharing Fortune's cigar. Wagstaff has potential, but he is not the finished article and hopefully he will get there with the right coaching and encouragement.
This would appear to be a weaker league than last season.
Worner looked fairly solid apart from a dropped cross near the end, if he is over 5ft 9 then i'l eat my hat.
Fry looked a bit shakey but not much to worry about, nearly cost us with that dodgy pass to their striker near the end though. Francis i'm losing patience with, I like his corners and whipped in a dangerous couple of crosses but for the rest of the time he looks like a sub standard defender. Fortune and Doherty solid, great to see Fortune back.
Enjoyed Jackson on the left, rather him there than left back, espeically with Youga coming back. Looked above average although no real end product. Racon and Semedo had great games although neither have the creative spark which we are clearly missing. Martin still thinks it's his show, always feel hes trying too hard, needs to become a team player.
Reid was the key, our match winner and too much of a handful for MK Dons.
So pleased for Benson, for the first time in god knows how many hours of football somebody finally feeds him a cross / chance and he is in the right place and time with a great finish. I wouldn't of been surprised if he missed and collapsed in shock that he received some service. We give him chances, he will score, simple.
Abbott was pretty much annonymous for the time he was on.
Now we go to Brentford on Saturday who are bottom of the table, we will have a big support and I think it's vital that we go there and get a win and start a run going.
Don't mind admitting i would have dreaded having to look on here over the next few days had we not got that winner. One goal, such thin margins that can make such a difference betwenn contentment and abusive anger.
I thought 1st half we were solid, playing a decent tempo yet looking largely devoid of ideas in the final third. 2nd half was a continuation of the same, with frustration starting to kick in and MK Dons looking more comfortable with 'their lot'.
And then Kyel Reid entered the fray.
This lad will play in spells, and when he is on song he is a Championship game changer, let alone League One. Whether he had the impact he had if he was playing the full 90, i don't know, and in fairness Jackson on the left put in a decent performance. But Reid come on and provided the quality to change the game.
Delighted for Benson. If we are to have a fair season then we need at least one striker scoring goals, hopefully that will be the start for him and not a false dawn. Huge move for him this, confidence plays a massive part when stepping up a level and having a bit of expectation upon you, and for strikers its only really goals that provide that confidence.
Elsewhere, as Stone suggested it was the best shift Semedo and Racon have put in this season, and for Racon it was his best game for a very long time. Always technically sound, he seemed to cover a few more yards that bit quicker, have a bit more bite about him and seemed to want to dictate play, rather than just play a part in it.
Fry and Jackson provided a very sound and balanced left side. Like the look of Fry, think he is going to have a decent career at a higher level than this for sure.
Forch seemed to win a lot of people's approval, though i think a lot of that is to do with the fact he hasn't been in the firing line over the last couple of years. Positionally he looked sound, read the game and intercepted very well, and provided a nice foil for a leading Doc. But this was no real game to make a full assessment on Fortune, MK Dons were as powder puff in attack as we have been at our worst. But you can only deal with what is in front of you, and they dealt with it well.
Other big positive for me was the way the crowd largely stuck with it. Its been a frustrating run, and it was looking like being yet another of those days but the crowd never turned, and got what was well deserved.
Only real disappointment for me was Wagstaff. He key asset is his pace, yet did not have a single attempt at their full back, or provide any form of injection going forward. The game went on around him, and when he did see the ball it was a two touch, control a five yard lay off every time.
Overall, its still 'not great'. But it is showing tentative signs of encouragement, and very different to the end of the Pardew spell when teams with lesser players would come to the Valley and dominate games. We could still benefit from being a little more adventurous, but i got back in the car happy with a win and hopeful we can move it up a notch. That is the real key, we need to put in a run of sustained improved performances if we are to have a real chance.
Agree with AFKA.
Wagstaff never got the better of his ful back (Leamington?) who was there was their MOTM. Neither did Martin but still disappointing.
MK passed the ball very well but in their own half and when under no pressure. They showed no ambition but defended well and made it hard for us. We weren't great but MK came for a draw.
Francis solid defensively but the good delivery seen v D & R had disappeared last night.
Best first game possible for Jon Fortune to ease back in. Little to do other than head it clear all night. Maybe a little tired at the end but that's not a surprise. Was worried when he stayed down after one of the few tackles he had to make but seems OK. Will Dailly and Fortune work? Both 2nd ball CHs.
Very pleased for Benson. Very well taken goal. First of many I hope. Reid, even with the advantage of coming on v a tired defence showed what he can do.
Martin - still the same, lots of work and skill but too many poor choices and too much whining. you're not at Man Utd any more, get on with it.
On to Brentford and starting a little run of wins. this league is all over the place and if we can only score goals we will be up there.
And Racon was very good, almost up to the very high level we know he can reach - happy now Brunello ; - )
Comments
I was suprised at how negative MK were, thought they'd come and have a go at us as but they just sat back.
Not at all convincing but deserved. Hopefully they can keep it up and build on it.
Martin was in a free role and looked to try and link it up but nothing really materialised
The goal arrived with reid on the left martin on the right abbot and benson up top .... That is what I'd play cos I'm not a big fan of wagstaffs but can understand if waggy would start with jackson the one to miss out which would be unfortunate for him but if reidy is fit he has to be first down on the team sheet
Martin was in a free role and looked to try and link it up but nothing really materialised
The goal arrived with reid on the left martin on the right abbot and benson up top .... That is what I'd play cos I'm not a big fan of wagstaffs but can understand if waggy would start with jackson the one to miss out which would be unfortunate for him but if reidy is fit he has to be first down on the team sheet
Not enough creativity but there never has been. At least some hope with Reidy.
Pleased for Benson but he is not a quality striker and never will be. Sorry.
Hopefully we've seen the back of Llera now that Fortune is ready to play.
Thought the ref was shocking, they seem to get worse every game. Do they have assessors, if so i'd love to know what they made of that clowns performance tonight.
so your happy to write off benson but we gotta lay off francis who has been consistently crap?!
Positives:
Looked organised
Worked hard all through the team when we didn't have the ball
Semedo Racon showed what they should be doin everygame
Team looked fitter than i have seen them in a number of seasons
We had a lot of chances to get the ball into the danger areas
cons:
Our crossing is awful - I assume we practise with medicine balls in training as i can't think why we overhit everything
Semedo (I think) should really have scored in the first half when through on goal
Players had a tendency to just stop the moment a team-mate went down
and a mention to the guy committed to getting the north upper joining in with his 'waugh what is he good for'. kept things fairly light hearted.
Good shift from Benson tonight - he really ran his bollocks off and I'm glad he netted.
Thought Fortune was ok but needs a bigger test. Good game to ease him back into the side though
Ps - I wonder if Hammann is still wandering around the centre circle. He's the new Molby!
Racon & Semedo shared the MOTM - Waggy was annoymous (injured ?) . Fortune & Fry solid but jury still out on Francis
When Reid & Martin are on song we look unstopable - felt Martin had a quiet game (for him) but still does so much running/closing down etc
I didn't think we could be THAT bad but we are. Francis looks a dreadful defender to me, can't kick a ball accurately or keep shape. Fry looked ok.
Just from tonights game and the TV game it appears to me that we have a few players who have a decent Football brain but the rest don't. Martin & Jackson are two, Reidy too.
The game was crying out for that spark and Reidy brought that moment of magic, tidy finish from Benno. Abbott makes Akpo look like Drogba.
Though Racon had a fairly decent game although drifted in and out, and Semedo was solid.
I really hope we are still ''gelling'' because we really need to improve to get out this awful league. I try not to be negative, particularly after a win, but it's hard not to when we play like that. Both teams were poor i thought. Ref was just an idiot who went against us even more so as soon as the crowd got on his back.
I'm not sitting in the West lower again even if the tickets are free! Feels very cliquey in there. NU looked pretty full, and was interesting to hear what it sounds like from either end of the WL. Managed to move seats right in front of where Benson celebrated the goal for 2nd half.
All in all happy with the 3 points of course and looking forward to Brentford, but we'll need to improve to have a successful season imo.
YES!!!
And when will the next one be?????
Reality Version: Dreadful game, two evenly matched sides going nowhere
Plus points: Benson scored, Reids cameo, Fortune played well
Negatives: Martin, Wagstaff, Lack of Ideas from the management
Overall: Last season we were a team that looked like we would get to the play offs minimum. Tonight we looked a team that will be staying in this league for a long time if we dont get up this season. Pleased for Benson, Fortune made a difference, if we hadnt of got late late winner then reaction at FT would have been very negative.
Make no mistake, this was a poor performance and a fortunate win.
3 points was the best thing about tonight, the rest of it was shit.
As I said on Saturday Benson needs to be judged when he gets a chance. Tonight he showed in that moment what he is capable of and let’s hope that continues.
Fortune made a huge difference at the back; they were comfortable there, perhaps because Llera was not?
Martin could turn out to be a very good player but someone needs to get hold of him and show him team play. He has the ability for this league and easily the one above but he does need to start turning that into an end product.
99% of the time theres no end product. A selfish player & underperfming luxury no team trying to win promotion from League 1 can afford.
Fart arse about all you like Martin when we are actually winning but until we are 5-0 up with 10 minutes left then start thinking of better options around you
The ref was a salad shuffler. I'm glad there wasn't any kids near me tonight.
crickey we need reid fit , we need fortune to install some confidence in the back for and we need something creative in the middle....
Positives: Semedo, Racon, Fortune(cigar) and Benson for getting on the end of a brilliant delivery from Reid.
Negatives: Wagstaff - their left back was sharing Fortune's cigar. Wagstaff has potential, but he is not the finished article and hopefully he will get there with the right coaching and encouragement.
This would appear to be a weaker league than last season.
Worner looked fairly solid apart from a dropped cross near the end, if he is over 5ft 9 then i'l eat my hat.
Fry looked a bit shakey but not much to worry about, nearly cost us with that dodgy pass to their striker near the end though. Francis i'm losing patience with, I like his corners and whipped in a dangerous couple of crosses but for the rest of the time he looks like a sub standard defender. Fortune and Doherty solid, great to see Fortune back.
Enjoyed Jackson on the left, rather him there than left back, espeically with Youga coming back. Looked above average although no real end product. Racon and Semedo had great games although neither have the creative spark which we are clearly missing. Martin still thinks it's his show, always feel hes trying too hard, needs to become a team player.
Reid was the key, our match winner and too much of a handful for MK Dons.
So pleased for Benson, for the first time in god knows how many hours of football somebody finally feeds him a cross / chance and he is in the right place and time with a great finish. I wouldn't of been surprised if he missed and collapsed in shock that he received some service. We give him chances, he will score, simple.
Abbott was pretty much annonymous for the time he was on.
Now we go to Brentford on Saturday who are bottom of the table, we will have a big support and I think it's vital that we go there and get a win and start a run going.
Agree with AFKA.
Wagstaff never got the better of his ful back (Leamington?) who was there was their MOTM. Neither did Martin but still disappointing.
MK passed the ball very well but in their own half and when under no pressure. They showed no ambition but defended well and made it hard for us. We weren't great but MK came for a draw.
Francis solid defensively but the good delivery seen v D & R had disappeared last night.
Best first game possible for Jon Fortune to ease back in. Little to do other than head it clear all night. Maybe a little tired at the end but that's not a surprise. Was worried when he stayed down after one of the few tackles he had to make but seems OK. Will Dailly and Fortune work? Both 2nd ball CHs.
Very pleased for Benson. Very well taken goal. First of many I hope. Reid, even with the advantage of coming on v a tired defence showed what he can do.
Martin - still the same, lots of work and skill but too many poor choices and too much whining. you're not at Man Utd any more, get on with it.
On to Brentford and starting a little run of wins. this league is all over the place and if we can only score goals we will be up there.
And Racon was very good, almost up to the very high level we know he can reach - happy now Brunello ; - )