Wrexham have the best away fans I’ve seen for a while despite all the talk of day trippers. They sang for most of the game and I can’t get “we always win away” out my head. I’m truly jealous of them if I’m honest, the journey they’re on must be phenomenal for the fans who have been there from the bad days.
They were a proper team, they look well drilled and have some real handfuls up top, they will clearly be in the running for promotion. Us on the other hand will not be, I think we’re better than the last three season but only just, if things go well for us I can see an 8th place finish, if they don’t, 12th maybe. It is what it is.
Obviously happy to take a point and that was a good way to do it after their antics towards the end.
But I’ve once again sat through 90 minutes struggling to work out what we’re meant to be as a team. The stats don’t really tell the full story as, while Wrexham were unspectacular, I thought it was very much mid table v promotion in that second half.
All those glaring issues at the start of the season are still there. A lot of it could probably be solved if we weren’t carrying at least two passengers in midfield at all times, but with the limited players we’ve actively looked to sign we have to be better at the ugly side of the game at the least. Maybe I’ll get told I’m being overly negative but not optimistic at all after that.
Your right about the stats which suggest we were the better team. More shots, more corners and more possession (BBC Sport). Our keeper made one save, Wrexham's made 5.
The criticism of Mannion's recent performances need to be measured out with the loss of Lloyd Jones, that's probably true of Mitchell as well. I have looked at yesterdays first goal conceded and it flies off Coventry's head into the net, no way could Mannion come and get it and if he had got a hand to it then it would have been a wonder save. He also saved one shot down to his right in the second half and unlike his mistake at Barnsley he used the balls momentum to push it wide, he's learning.
Berlin,Curran aribo.2019 midfield Coventry,docherty,Anderson 2024 midfield Just scraped into playoffs in 2019 need a Cullen or an aribo to emerge for similar heroics this time
It was an interesting incident packed game. But it was another two points dropped. We are now eight points behind target, that means winning all of our remaining home games, drawing all our remaining away games bar four, those four we need to win. We are probably at the last chance saloon regarding automatic promotion now, and then the next aspiration has to be the lottery of the playoffs which is an utter drag and a big stress.
Making the playoffs isn’t completely out of the question, but actually winning them isn’t something I think this team is capable of.
The big weakness was midfield. Wrexham pased through thecmidfieldcas we had no midfield. They could not win a table. Nor can they hold onto the ball or try to run past acplayer with the ball at feet. The passing was mostly side ways or backwards. I spoke to some neurltral fans and they felt our players were in a panic with ball at there feet and just wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible.
I felt that was not a bad assessment. No wonder we have a tendency to by pass the misfield.
Well put.
Watching the stream, there was feeling of "panic" when receiving the ball. Head tennis away, pinball reactions etc. These are professionals who've been practicing this a long time - can't they deaden the ball, pass & move?
Wrexham passing was much slicker, looked a lot more dangerous on attack, with good intent and players making good moves.
Meanwhile we kept hoping on long ball or poor punts up the field with no real intent. When we got near the box we didn't make anything of the chances.
As a manager I'm not convinced with NJ. He fiddles formation and seems too animated (angry or passionate ?) on the sidelines. I don't think this helps the (fragile) mentalities of these players. Dare I say Curtis Fleming seems more assured, calmer.
Next game for me is at Exeter, I hope the lot who turned out at Bristol Rovers aren't on the pitch.
The criticism of Mannion's recent performances need to be measured out with the loss of Lloyd Jones, that's probably true of Mitchell as well. I have looked at yesterdays first goal conceded and it flies off Coventry's head into the net, no way could Mannion come and get it and if he had got a hand to it then it would have been a wonder save. He also saved one shot down to his right in the second half and unlike his mistake at Barnsley he used the balls momentum to push it wide, he's learning.
It was an interesting incident packed game. But it was another two points dropped. We are now eight points behind target, that means winning all of our remaining home games, drawing all our remaining away games bar four, those four we need to win. We are probably at the last chance saloon regarding automatic promotion now, and then the next aspiration has to be the lottery of the playoffs which is an utter drag and a big stress.
Making the playoffs isn’t completely out of the question, but actually winning them isn’t something I think this team is capable of.
I think play offs suit this team. Those matches are usually tight occasions without much creativity anyway and that’s how we play
Coventry is pretty much the dictionary definition of 'a Cullen', it's the hyenas who are the real enemy others who lose massively by comparison to that team
I mean, I'm a big Coventry fan and was in your corner last season, but, Cullen he ain't.
Cullen could effect the game all over the pitch, break up play, short pass, long pass, drive forward with the ball, take a set piece and ASSIST because you're an ass. A complete midfielder. The defensive side of their games for sure, similar.
Just got round to watching the highlights, what is Parkinson on about re. the penalty?! Literally brings it to dead stop with his arm! That should be given 50 out 50 times.
Coventry is pretty much the dictionary definition of 'a Cullen', it's the hyenas who are the real enemy others who lose massively by comparison to that team
Coventry also loses massively if you're doing that comparison. Cullen was everything he isn't, and everything that we desperately need in the middle of the park.
Cullen was everything he isn't? Please explain. Coventry is a great reader of the game defensively, strong in the tackle, gets everywhere and is tidy on the ball. Cullen had a bit more forward passing ability and dead-ball ability, but on every other metric they're about the same?
I'm a big Coventry fan but he's not a Josh Cullen. Cullen had the passing range to run the show from deep and I've not seen that consistently from Cov. I don't doubt he could develop that side of his game though and start to offer a bit more going forward.
The criticism of Mannion's recent performances need to be measured out with the loss of Lloyd Jones, that's probably true of Mitchell as well. I have looked at yesterdays first goal conceded and it flies off Coventry's head into the net, no way could Mannion come and get it and if he had got a hand to it then it would have been a wonder save. He also saved one shot down to his right in the second half and unlike his mistake at Barnsley he used the balls momentum to push it wide, he's learning.
Coventry is pretty much the dictionary definition of 'a Cullen', it's the hyenas who are the real enemy others who lose massively by comparison to that team
I mean, I'm a big Coventry fan and was in your corner last season, but, Cullen he ain't.
Cullen could effect the game all over the pitch, break up play, short pass, long pass, drive forward with the ball, take a set piece and score. A complete midfielder. The defensive side of their games for sure, similar.
Cullen could score? That's a good one lol. His shooting was infamously rubbish while he was here. He also had good players around him, not Docherty, A Campbell and Anderson, and the one guy who knows how to play football (Berry) is more interested in swanning about than putting a shift in
Just got round to watching the highlights, what is Parkinson on about re. the penalty?! Literally brings it to dead stop with his arm! That should be given 50 out 50 times.
The reaction of the Wrexham players suggests it’s a pen. 5 players around the ball and not one of them moaned or went running to the ref.
I did enjoy how the one time Dobson inarguably got the better of Coventry in a direct confrontation, he immediately passed the ball straight out of play. Good guy Dobbo
Coventry is pretty much the dictionary definition of 'a Cullen', it's the hyenas who are the real enemy others who lose massively by comparison to that team
I mean, I'm a big Coventry fan and was in your corner last season, but, Cullen he ain't.
Cullen could effect the game all over the pitch, break up play, short pass, long pass, drive forward with the ball, take a set piece and score. A complete midfielder. The defensive side of their games for sure, similar.
Cullen could score? That's a good one lol. His shooting was infamously rubbish while he was here. He also had good players around him, not Docherty, A Campbell and Anderson, and the one guy who knows how to play football (Berry) is more interested in swanning about than putting a shift in
Meant assist sorry, and any rate Cullen scored more than Coventry has so far...
Coventry is pretty much the dictionary definition of 'a Cullen', it's the hyenas who are the real enemy others who lose massively by comparison to that team
Coventry also loses massively if you're doing that comparison. Cullen was everything he isn't, and everything that we desperately need in the middle of the park.
Cullen was everything he isn't? Please explain. Coventry is a great reader of the game defensively, strong in the tackle, gets everywhere and is tidy on the ball. Cullen had a bit more forward passing ability and dead-ball ability, but on every other metric they're about the same?
It's pointless having these discussions with you because you don't accept any criticism of your favourites - how are Innis and Hector getting on btw?
You show your hand by saying Cullen only had a 'bit more' dead-ball ability than Coventry. Coventry's set pieces are staggeringly bad.
I don't remember conversations about Cullen being slow to close down a shot, or slow to react for a goal, and we've definitely had that with Coventry. Cullen would take the ball on the turn and drive forward, something which Coventry does not do enough. Cullen's tackling was better, his passing was better and he was a leader on the pitch. Coventry is not.
I actually think Coventry is a pretty good player at this level, but Cullen was streaks ahead of him and it's just bizarre to claim that he wasn't.
I don't think Coventry should even be a discussion tbh, a very decent player amongst the pile of average (similar to May, Dobson etc). Probably the only midfielder who isn't afraid of the ball (still need to see more of TT) and actually has a bit of composure.
Ok he could probably offer more, but his work rates are good, decent engine, he's actually taking shots now, he allows us to play out from the back, always has time on the ball.
You'll notice he's one of the few players in this team the opposition don't really press that hard, and I think it's because he's earned the respect in that regard. He isn't a panic merchant on the ball.
One we can build with for the future, and I'm fairly confident if he had better players around him, we'd see more from him. He's a victim of poor recruitment, just like Dobson.
Highlight for me. I regularly shout very loudly in the ACS, when an opposition player goes down, and acts like he's been shot by a sniper: "Get up, you t*rt!"
Yesterday, I was able to shout it at the referee...
Coventry is pretty much the dictionary definition of 'a Cullen', it's the hyenas who are the real enemy others who lose massively by comparison to that team
Coventry also loses massively if you're doing that comparison. Cullen was everything he isn't, and everything that we desperately need in the middle of the park.
Cullen was everything he isn't? Please explain. Coventry is a great reader of the game defensively, strong in the tackle, gets everywhere and is tidy on the ball. Cullen had a bit more forward passing ability and dead-ball ability, but on every other metric they're about the same?
It's pointless having these discussions with you because you don't accept any criticism of your favourites - how are Innis and Hector getting on btw?
You show your hand by saying Cullen only had a 'bit more' dead-ball ability than Coventry. Coventry's set pieces are staggeringly bad.
I don't remember conversations about Cullen being slow to close down a shot, or slow to react for a goal, and we've definitely had that with Coventry. Cullen would take the ball on the turn and drive forward, something which Coventry does not do enough. Cullen's tackling was better, his passing was better and he was a leader on the pitch. Coventry is not.
I actually think Coventry is a pretty good player at this level, but Cullen was streaks ahead of him and it's just bizarre to claim that he wasn't.
You can't see it, but the way you've phrased all of this shows bias in the other direction. We all do it - compare today's players negatively to yesterday's - but when I develop 'favourites' it's always because I feel they're getting a rough ride from people on here - nothing more, nothing less
And of course I can accept criticism. Coventry's dead ball work has been a disappointment this season ('staggeringly bad' is pretty harsh) and maybe sometimes he passes into the feet of someone who doesn't want it (so, all of our attacking players except Leaburn and Berry), but his defensive work has been almost faultless this season and he very rarely gives it away when not attempting a forward pass
I have never played football and probably miss things that many on this forum see. But feeling hard done by because our target is the playoffs rather than the automatics just seems delusional to me. For even that to be a reality we would have to overtake 5 teams, 4 of whom have a game in hand, better goal difference (apart from Bolton) and better form. Challenging for top 6 would require a similar recovery to the one NJ managed last year when he came in. The difference is that last year he was working with a team he had no say in choosing. This year he chose the squad and they are not much better - some would say worse in the absence of May and Dobson. Therefore that sense of upward looking hope, waiting for "his" transfer window is gone.
The draw was a fair result. Neither team really deserved to win but more importantly neither team deserved to lose. Both battled and nullified each other so it was never going to be a game that didn’t often frustrate. If I think there was one thing that stopped us it was the introduction of Leaburn. To me, he looked off the pace and not the player we usually see. Injury circumstances have probably meant he’s been rushed back a game or two early so no criticism from me, needs must at the end of the day. A few more balls to Tyreece in the second half would have been nice, they clearly saw him as the major attacking threat for good reason and with two and three defenders closing him down every time his was given the ball then that meant one or two Charlton players were left unmarked. We should have made more of that.
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Cov OG
I mean, I'm a big Coventry fan and was in your corner last season, but, Cullen he ain't.
Cullen could effect the game all over the pitch, break up play, short pass, long pass, drive forward with the ball, take a set piece and ASSIST because you're an ass. A complete midfielder. The defensive side of their games for sure, similar.
Meant assist sorry, and any rate Cullen scored more than Coventry has so far...
Cullen 66 appearances - 2 goals 8 assists
Coventry 30 appearances - 0 goals 0 assists*
Transfermarket* thought he actually had at least one
But you're right, carbon copies of each other.
You show your hand by saying Cullen only had a 'bit more' dead-ball ability than Coventry. Coventry's set pieces are staggeringly bad.
I don't remember conversations about Cullen being slow to close down a shot, or slow to react for a goal, and we've definitely had that with Coventry. Cullen would take the ball on the turn and drive forward, something which Coventry does not do enough. Cullen's tackling was better, his passing was better and he was a leader on the pitch. Coventry is not.
I actually think Coventry is a pretty good player at this level, but Cullen was streaks ahead of him and it's just bizarre to claim that he wasn't.
Ok he could probably offer more, but his work rates are good, decent engine, he's actually taking shots now, he allows us to play out from the back, always has time on the ball.
You'll notice he's one of the few players in this team the opposition don't really press that hard, and I think it's because he's earned the respect in that regard. He isn't a panic merchant on the ball.
One we can build with for the future, and I'm fairly confident if he had better players around him, we'd see more from him. He's a victim of poor recruitment, just like Dobson.
Yesterday, I was able to shout it at the referee...
Plus got forward more than Edwards who plays a similar role for us.
4 games now unbeaten, onward and upwards.