Accrington Stanley vs Torquay United

[Gullscorer]

Are you sure you actually watched it? I've seen it several times and each time there's no doubt in my mind he deserved a red.

Yep, I've seen it several times; all I can say is it all happened too fast for me to see an intentional foul. Of course, the ref had a much clearer view of the action.. If it was a foul, it was a fair one..

[AustrianAndyGull]

Lets put all this rubbish about 'southern softies' to one side whoever said that on the commentary is an arsehole and shouldn't be broadcasting. I know Gullscorer highlighted it but its complete cack. Half of our players aren't from the south anyway PLUS we have put in good performances at Crewe, Vale, Chesterfield and Sheff Utd recently where it was just as cold and uninviting so thats that pointless argument out of the window. I believe our style of play and the attackers we have are not ideally suited to abhorrent pitches and coping with tough uncompromising defenders / midfielders. Its not a criticism, its just how it is. That said, we all knew what we were in for at Accrington and i'm sure the players who have played there before did too so its slightly disappointing we put in a tepid performance. I would have gone with McPhee from the start ( said this before the game so not just saying it because he scored ) as i felt it was the type of game we needed strength and height and workrate up there and i would have dropped Stevens. NOT because its a vendetta but because he has a tendency to go missing for long periods when we are not attacking and this is apparently what happened again. It just wasn't the type of game condusive to him producing any sustained threat or quality. Again , i'm not having a go, i,m just considering what was best for the team on that day IMO. Its a bit weird because had i have gone to Accrington i may have come back home having seen a tripe performance then come on here doing a 'Brucie' and slagging them all off saying they are all shite. I do get worked up and thats probably what would have happened until the next day when i'd come on again having calmed down and put forward a more reasoned response. I feel apathetic towards this defeat and put it down to just one of those games. What is obvious now over the festive period with Howe missing is that Tai will finally be given a chance to prove that he can do the business for us and that he deserves consideration for a starting place. There are four players in our squad who i feel are not good enough for professional football, Rice, McPhee, Stevens and Atieno. I am happy to be proved wrong and will accept that what i have seen from Stevens so far this season is a lot better than i have seen previously. My mind hasn't changed though and neither will it about Tai even if he comes in and gets hat tricks v Swindon and Oxford. But for Tai, its not about convincing me, he needs to do well for himself and the team. There can be no excuses now. Its a big loss with Howe out but i am prepared to give Tai the benefit of the doubt and put faith in him that he can do well. I'm not expecting goals galore but he certainly needs to improve. I'd be happy with a point from either Swindon or Oxford and beat Plymouth. All things considered that would be good for me and make the Accy result just look like a blip. I think we just need to keep the confidence going because we can't afford to let heads drop and start leaking goals again.

[Plymouth Gull]

Yep, I've seen it several times; all I can say is it all happened too fast for me to see an intentional foul. Of course, the ref had a much clearer view of the action.. If it was a foul, it was a fair one..

Are you sure? Howe's left foot goes straight into the lads midrift.

[kingsgull]

Lets put all this rubbish about 'southern softies' to one side whoever said that on the commentary is an arsehole and shouldn't be broadcasting. I know Gullscorer highlighted it but its complete cack. Half of our players aren't from the south anyway PLUS we have put in good performances at Crewe, Vale, Chesterfield and Sheff Utd recently where it was just as cold and uninviting so thats that pointless argument out of the window. I believe our style of play and the attackers we have are not ideally suited to abhorrent pitches and coping with tough uncompromising defenders / midfielders. Its not a criticism, its just how it is. That said, we all knew what we were in for at Accrington and i'm sure the players who have played there before did too so its slightly disappointing we put in a tepid performance. I would have gone with McPhee from the start ( said this before the game so not just saying it because he scored ) as i felt it was the type of game we needed strength and height and workrate up there and i would have dropped Stevens. NOT because its a vendetta but because he has a tendency to go missing for long periods when we are not attacking and this is apparently what happened again. It just wasn't the type of game condusive to him producing any sustained threat or quality. Again , i'm not having a go, i,m just considering what was best for the team on that day IMO. Its a bit weird because had i have gone to Accrington i may have come back home having seen a tripe performance then come on here doing a 'Brucie' and slagging them all off saying they are all shite. I do get worked up and thats probably what would have happened until the next day when i'd come on again having calmed down and put forward a more reasoned response. I feel apathetic towards this defeat and put it down to just one of those games. What is obvious now over the festive period with Howe missing is that Tai will finally be given a chance to prove that he can do the business for us and that he deserves consideration for a starting place. There are four players in our squad who i feel are not good enough for professional football, Rice, McPhee, Stevens and Atieno. I am happy to be proved wrong and will accept that what i have seen from Stevens so far this season is a lot better than i have seen previously. My mind hasn't changed though and neither will it about Tai even if he comes in and gets hat tricks v Swindon and Oxford. But for Tai, its not about convincing me, he needs to do well for himself and the team. There can be no excuses now. Its a big loss with Howe out but i am prepared to give Tai the benefit of the doubt and put faith in him that he can do well. I'm not expecting goals galore but he certainly needs to improve. I'd be happy with a point from either Swindon or Oxford and beat Plymouth. All things considered that would be good for me and make the Accy result just look like a blip. I think we just need to keep the confidence going because we can't afford to let heads drop and start leaking goals again.

is it me or did we not see a cracking consolation goal by Mc Fee on Saturday so those just writing Mcfee off are just daft...i know we will miss Howe as he is our dare i say it our "emile heskey" of TUFC i still think its not the end of the world and all doom and gloom...i spoke to Taiwo on Thursday and he said there was great spirit in the dressing room and despite this loss lets not get all doom and gloom and give taiwo and Mc Phee a chance .... the onlty game i think we will really struggle with is Swindon otherwise we CAN still win the other two....oh and by the way Merry Xmas to all including Brucie mee old mucca !!!

[AustrianAndyGull]

I never said i'm not going to give McPhee and Atieno a chance kingsgull. All i said that IMO they aren't good enough for league 2. They may be good enough and my opinion may be wrong but thats all it is - my opinion. I said to start the game with McPhee on saturday as it would be more suited to his style of play than Stevens so how is that me not wanting to give him a chance? I said to start Tai over Xmas to see what he can do so how is that me not giving him a chance? If we have players like Atieno and McPhee in the squad then we should use them as and when necessary even if (IMO) they aren't that good. Either Atieno or McPhee would have been a better option than Stevens on saturday and against Swindon i would have put Stevens back in the starting 11. A bit surprised Ling didn't consider this on saturday, i don't believe in playing the same 11 every week regardless is a sound managerial strategy but i'm not having a go at Martin, i'm over the moon at what we have achieved so far.

[kingsgull]

this wasnt really aimed at you austrian...just a response to people panicking because we lost Howe....you did say ...." There are four players in our squad who i feel are not good enough for professional football, Rice, McPhee, Stevens and Atieno"
We do get back Capt Marvel aka Mansel who i think we missed big time on Saturday so that should be a big boost....but i do agree with nearly all of your post austrian....

[AustrianAndyGull]

Fair enough Kingsgull, thanks. I don't think we should panic about losing Howe, i do think that McPhee and Tai can score goals just that we may need to make double the amount of chances we normally do for Howe for them to do so. Howe is just a clinical finisher at this level and we will miss him no doubt.

[gullintwoplaces]

Anyone making excuses for yesterday such as "we always lose to Accrington", "its a sh*t hole", "its cold" or anything else really is talking rubbish. The fact that the manager saw it the same way doesn't excuse the peformance anyway.
It sounded like abject surrender from start to finish.
Howe pulling the old pros trick so he could get the xmas and new year off is equally appalling.
Having watched the Barnet game I was impressed with Howe in the second half but in all honesty I am not sure about the formations we play - Howe seems completely isolated and most times the ball seems to come straight back when it goes forward - possibly a reason why we seemed to be under pressure most of the time.
Its a big loss though especially for the Plymouth match and points could be thin on the ground over the coming couple of weeks.

Where would Christmas be if the Grinch didn't come to cast gloom everywhere? Merry Christmas Brucie.

[gullintwoplaces]

Anyone making excuses for yesterday such as "we always lose to Accrington", "its a sh*t hole", "its cold" or anything else really is talking rubbish. The fact that the manager saw it the same way doesn't excuse the peformance anyway.
It sounded like abject surrender from start to finish.
Howe pulling the old pros trick so he could get the xmas and new year off is equally appalling.
Having watched the Barnet game I was impressed with Howe in the second half but in all honesty I am not sure about the formations we play - Howe seems completely isolated and most times the ball seems to come straight back when it goes forward - possibly a reason why we seemed to be under pressure most of the time.
Its a big loss though especially for the Plymouth match and points could be thin on the ground over the coming couple of weeks.

Having just watched the highlights, I have to say that I am struggling to see that Howe's alleged "old pro's trick" (Brucie's words, not mine) was a red card offence at all. All I could see was some highly theatrical banging on the ground by an Accrington player, clearly designed to get a fellow professional punished. Two "appalling" things here then:

First, an appalling display of theatrics by the Accrington player
Second, a truly appalling accusation by Brucie against Howe. How dare you Brucie, your comment is utterly disgraceful and demeans this forum.

[ferrarilover]

Right, two things, firstly...

As if getting sent off will get Howe three weeks off, you muppets! Christmas or no stupid, meaningless, arbitrary Christmas, Dinger isn't stupid, Howe will be in for double sessions six days a week. The idea that he will be sat at home on his fat arse, piling down turkey and cake is madness. He done a bad thing, not a bloody good thing, he'll be punished, lots.

Secondly, suggesting that one goal, one meaningless, last second consolation, does not absolve him of being utterly, totally, set-your-trousers-on-fire-in-frustration, useless.
Come back to me when him, or Atieno, have made a turn around of Danny Stevens proportion, and we'll talk.

As an aside, since this is fat boy's second red of the season, is it not 4 games he'll miss?

Matt.

[stevegull]

I think Taiwo is a confidence player, and i doubt he'll ever be supported enough by management or fans to really get the best from him. I genuinely think he has potential, but he would have to be given time on the pitch.

And i think i'm one of the few standing in the "McPhee was a good signing" camp. I really hope he does some more over the coming weeks to give me some ammunition. He scored heavily from midfield in the conference, and i think he is a good, solid bench player for us.

[Southampton Gull]

I think Taiwo is a confidence player, and i doubt he'll ever be supported enough by management or fans to really get the best from him. I genuinely think he has potential, but he would have to be given time on the pitch.

And i think i'm one of the few standing in the "McPhee was a good signing" camp. I really hope he does some more over the coming weeks to give me some ammunition. He scored heavily from midfield in the conference, and i think he is a good, solid bench player for us.

You're not alone, Steve. Some fools think we can sign 25 players who would get in any other team below the Championship. The facts are that some players are cheaper options to fill the squad and McPhee fits that criteria. The number of goals he score at a consistent rate in the league below mean he deserves a chance to prove himself at a higher level. Perhaps if people got off his back he might gain enough confidence to do well, he sure took that goal well yesterday.

[Gullscorer]

Are you sure? Howe's left foot goes straight into the lads midrift.

I've watched it a few more times and I'm sorry but I still can't see that. But, as I said, the ref must have had a clearer view of the action. Anyway, I'm sure the team's performance was a blip. Three great games coming up, and I (or that ref) must get some new specs..

[tufcbrett]

Mr Rene will be training just like every other day with the rest of the squad, all he will do is sit in the stand during the games instead of playing.

yes he will be a loss but it wont be as bad as we all think. Im pretty sure Ateino or Mcphee can go up top and do the same role, it wont be much difference to the rest of the team playing around them. The other two are not as good as we all know, but we are a league 2 side with a squad to match, some or good enough for above. Some are at the right level and some are struggling at this level. But thats what our budget can afford.

Given the chance infront of goal im sure either guys would do us proud, its one of them moments where its there chance to impress and try take Renes place from him after his ban. If they play really well and scored goals there fair play to them. I will be fully behined them even if they are not liked for not being the best players at the club.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Mr Rene will be training just like every other day with the rest of the squad, all he will do is sit in the stand during the games instead of playing.

yes he will be a loss but it wont be as bad as we all think. Im pretty sure Ateino or Mcphee can go up top and do the same role, it wont be much difference to the rest of the team playing around them. The other two are not as good as we all know, but we are a league 2 side with a squad to match, some or good enough for above. Some are at the right level and some are struggling at this level. But thats what our budget can afford. Given the chance infront of goal im sure either guys would do us proud, its one of them moments where its there chance to impress and try take Renes place from him after his ban. If they play really well and scored goals there fair play to them. I will be fully behined them even if they are not liked for not being the best players at the club.

Pretty much hit the nail on the head with that Brett.