Just back from Crewe

[London Irish]

The worst thing is, Crewe were shit.

No they weren't. Playing football in that gale wasn't easy but their passing and movement were impressive. They probably do have a dodgy goalie and a poor defence, but alas we weren't good enough to keep the ball long enough to expose them. I think their last game Crewe 3 Reading 4 backs that up.

 

[BensGrandad]

The old sayings Football is a funny game , lets take every game as it comes. Today was a terrible blow and the outlook is very grim but we must keep going with the rubbish we have.

 

[London Irish]

The old sayings Football is a funny game , lets take every game as it comes. Today was a terrible blow and the outlook is very grim but we must keep going with the rubbish we have.

I guess that's the closest to Henry V stuff we'll get from you, so I'd better take it!

 

[BensGrandad]

I guess that's the closest to Henry V stuff we'll get from you, so I'd better take it!

Is he going to sign what position does he play?

 

[RexCathedra]

I guess that's the closest to Henry V stuff we'll get from you, so I'd better take it!

Is he going to sign what position does he play?

I'm not surprised that Henry has been cloned, but how did we get on the list for one of the first five copies? I would have supposed the Premiership would have snapped them all up?

 

[Gully]

Gradi will not get sacked by Crewe if or when they get relegated, his job is probably the safest in football. I believe he actually owns a stake in the club, the only time Dario will be moving is when he decides to retire from coaching and moves up to the boardroom.

 

[El Presidente]

History we are concerned about NOW

.......if Adolf Hitler, flew in today, they'd send a limousine anyway

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I'm actually more concerned about the almost quarter of the season we have left

Today was a massive blow but McGhee will get the players to scrap for their lives. Not good enough today, but who knows with the next 10 games. Go to Plymouth and find out!

Do results count in the last quarter?

 

[fleet]

Sure some of this (if not all) is above - but still to depressed to look through it all.

That was the most gutless - "couldn't care less" - "doesn't matter that much if we lose again" - woeful perfromance I have seen in many a year.

Most of the team looked like it was a friendly. Hart, Butters and Mayo had a go the rest should be shot.

Also the wrost goalkeeping perfromance I have seen in may a year.

The maths say we can stay up, yesterday said we have long since given up and the players are already looking to see if they do better witha few win bonus payment in a lower league.

Can't tell you how fed up I am with them.

 

[portlock seagull]

Also the wrost goalkeeping perfromance I have seen in may a year.

Sorry, but yet more evidence that Kuipers is more than adequate for the Albion and yet we went and signed another keeper.

 

[fleet]

Sorry, but yet more evidence that Kuipers is more than adequate for the Albion and yet we went and signed another keeper.

Agreed - also one of the worst typing performances in many a year by me!

 

[Screaming J]

Most of the team looked like it was a friendly. Hart, Butters and Mayo had a go the rest should be shot.

Also the wrost goalkeeping perfromance I have seen in may a year.

Agree with the first para of the above; but not the 2nd. CKR went into hiding after his goal and in the 2nd half both he and Gatting had very little movement. Everytime Henderson cleared they just seemed content to stand next to their markers, very little running to try and pull people out of position or anything. And unlike some others I think CKR should release the ball MORE. Twice in the 2nd half when we actually did find some space gatting was in a good position but CKR didn't pass the ball.

Kerry was the only player I could see who was willing to make some forward runs past our forwards and put their defence under pressure. I could see the logic of putting Hammond on for Frutos because it ought to have given us some more bollocks in midfield where we were sadly lacking. But Hammond is a shadow of the player I saw last season and contributed the best part of bugger all apart from - like almost everyone else - chasing shadows for most of the time.

Hendo's save kept us at 1-0 at half time, their first goal was a fluke which I doubt Kuipers (or many others) would have got to. I didn't think there was anything wrong with Henderson's positioning, he like everyone else was expecting a cross. The 2nd goal was due to poor defending at a corner; again not his fault.

The one criticism I have of him was his distribution. Especially in the 2nd half he had several opportunities to throw it out to Lynch on the left but each time he kicked it straight up the middle where Crewe won almost every header (and 2nd ball). Lack of confidence in his left back peut-etre? His kicking may be better than FDMs but he doesn't need to remind us of this every time he gets the ball in his hands!

 

[ditchy]

In the first half we were slightly the better of two poor teams, in the second half we made them look like Brazil. No pace (Jones was running past OGH and AEA at will) , no guile, no creativity, no leaders. Only CKR and Kerry ever looked like scoring.

We are asking a bunch of kids to do a mans job, and some of them are out of their depth at this stage of their careeers.

Bit of verbals in the Albion end when one fan screamed "thats it, I have f***ing had enough" and some others shouted him down.

Best part of the day was the chip shop outside the ground, which did an excellent curry sauce

chip butty curry sauce ..tops

 

[ditchy]

I'm actually more concerned about the almost quarter of the season we have left

Today was a massive blow but McGhee will get the players to scrap for their lives. Not good enough today, but who knows with the next 10 games. Go to Plymouth and find out!

i admire your optimism LI but finding it hard to be as positve right now

 

[El Presidente]

The only positive I can find today is on the battery of the wife's vibrator

 

[Uncle Buck]

Odd day all round. Kind of knew that when the Virgin Train got to Crewe 10 minutes early.

The Crown and the Borough Arms were good boozers, the selection of Belgium beer in the second pub was superb. Also very nice of the girl in WH Smiths for looking after our undrunk booze and left over food from the journey up, for the day.

Little tip to my mate, do not ask the steward to hold your pint glass whilst you are trying to find your wallet to pay to get into the game!!!

The game itself, well it look like 2 poor sides. Odd selection as ever, nice to see Hinsh back, not sure what was going on with the midfield, but then not sure what goes on in McGhee's head. Good work by Gatting for the goal, shame we could not build on it. The equaliser, well these things happen, but the way our heads dropped after that was a worry and no surprise that Crewe went on to win it.

The worry was we had no Plan B once behind. The players heads dropped and yet McGhee could do nothing to rectify this and this has been the case recently. It is also a worry that we seem to heavily flag in the last 15 minutes.

Why oh why do we still play 4-4-2, with 2 wingers, when it is not working, we are still letting in too many goals. With the return of McShane for the next home game, surely it is time to try 3 centre backs, kill games and try and nick a win. Steve's exciting 4-4-2 is not working, but McGhee seems to stubborn to change it, suppose in his eyes it would mean admitting he got it wrong.

At present you just do not know when the next win is coming, still we will be here a long time after McGhee has gone, which is the main thing.

Oh and Bargin Booze is a truely superb shop. 24 Bows for £14, just not sure where I left the flag....

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I said 5 or 6 weeks ago that we should be playing 5 at the back - we may not be scoring many but we are letting too many in.

At least with a back 5 we might have picked up a few draws - those coupled with wins agaist Weds and Millwall might even have kept us up.

Too late now. we are going down - and the worst thing is with a few exceptions it's without a fight.

I hope their Salaries are related to what division we are playing in - although if they are it doesn't seem to show.

As for McGhee, he should walk - but he won't and we can't afford to sack him.

 

[Hannibal smith]

Crewe were the worst team I have seen all season by far. They are a mid / Upper League 1 team with comedy defenders who should have been exposed today. Good going forward, great delivery from set pieces but you can see why they let in goals. Sadly, we lacked the guile to expose this.

Their defenders tried to play out of defence and if CKR especially had run like Virgo used to and we defended as a team, then maybe, just maybe, that kind of pressure would have paid off. CKR must learn to run more, improve his decision making and become a team player rather than an individual.

As for their goal, the 1st was a fluke which gave them confidence at the same rate as ours dropped. Shame, we could have done with that kind of luck.

I am pro Mcghee but he got it wrong. Hammond was AWFUL on the left wing (Maybe Mayo on the left, Hammond in the middle would have been better?) and he was subbed just as Frutus was coming into the game. Secondly, I'm sick of 4 central defenders across the back. There was not one overlap in 90 minutes and we cant expect Hart and Frutos (or Carole) to do it all on their own (Especially as Gatting and CKR weren't running the channels either). As for set pieces don't get me started. Chippys deliver is often as dangerous as a fluffy white cat. There just isn't enough playing as a team.

Thanks also to all Brighton fans who kindly tooted with us stranded on the hard shoulder of the M6 on the way home. Summed up the day really.

 

[Gully]

Was that you on the M6, I tried to spot some colours in case we could help, didn't see any but be assured that we didn't toot.

 

[Hannibal smith]

Yep that was me. I was probably on the Phone telling AA that they were shite (1hr 30 minutes wait?), Prest Gull was doing his impression of a Kwik Fit fitter with his arse poking out in the M6 slow lane and Sandgate seagull was standing around 'directing operations'

Got a nail in my back rear tyre, thing exploded at about 80 MPH. I almost shit myself.