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Bloody hell that second half was a hard watch to say the least! Again the opposition change their system and we have no answer to it.

It does feel very much as if PC isn’t getting anywhere near the level of performance from this squad that he should be and as already mentioned his selections seem to be increasingly odd. Bonne has been off the pace for a few games yet Piggott who scored 20 goals last season for an average side can barely get a sniff, Chaplin was dropped after being on form, I can’t imagine these decisions help motivate the players.

It’s all very disappointing and doesn’t really show any signs of improving, in fact we’ve gone decidedly downhill in the last few games

AS I and BM have Stated in other Posts get rid of clueless one dimension 4-3-2-1 time after time Cookie line up, and FFS bring in Neil Warnock who could easily get this squad organized and motivated FACT, if we don't expect to finish around 17th, and don't expect a decent FA cup run if we beat Barrow.
After years of crap managers and crap football we deserve something better than a manager will loads of gobby bull sh*t comments and one dimension game plan. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

BlueBalls wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:06 pm

Steve and Jo wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:04 pm

BlueBalls wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:01 pm

Bonne needs resting now. Really very poor, should have had three but got none.

Non-sensicle substitutions as well, what the hell is he playing at.

His general play was good but all strikers are judged on goals, he missed two what looks like fairly straight forwards.

He missed two certain chances. Not good enough.

.... and I guess that was Paul Cooks fault.

JamessB wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:03 pm

Piggott must be wondering what he has to do to get any game time! Take the win but the performance doesn’t help to ease the doubts creeping in about PC

It’s definitely the time to give Pigott a run as Bonne has completely lost his confidence in front of goal which in my opinion is putting the rest of the team under unnecessary pressure.

Oh better still have 2 up front,hoofing to bonne isn't getting us goals,an own goal & a wonder goal saved us.

Agree Bonne was at fault, would he play better with a stricking partner? 1 up front is not working,eveyone & their dog can see that except PC

Bluemike wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:41 pm

What an absolute pile of crap we are, yes its a win but my god struggling to beat the worst team in the league, yet again bizarre from Cook, cruising at 2-0 his substitutions changed the game and put us on the back foot.

You can all rave about Celina and his goal and yes it was a cracker but for 45 minutes he was absolute sh*te and exposed young Clements time after time with his laziness and refusal to track back, I think he dropped back once, bloody hopeless much of the time.

Bonne was crap, should have had at least Three, we need to shake the bloody thing up, we got away with it today but against a better side we would have got beat.

Things are far from right and if you'd been on the terraces you would know unrest and negativity is growing by the week.

Great to catch up today Mike.

This performance sums up our season so far, creating chances, not clinical enough, vulnerable at the back always looking like conceding.

The players seem to have a nervousness about them which needs to stop, it’s nothing to do with formation in my option just mentality. Morsey, Edmundson need to rally the players more during difficult periods. The expectation levels are high the target on our backs is greater than ever players need to manage it.

There is unrest amongst some but that’s the way we are playing. We should be celebrating one of the best home goals scored at PR for many a year. Let’s all keep hanging in there, the good times are coming without doubt whether Cook is at the helm is another story.

BlueBalls wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 8:43 pm

Charnwood wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 8:07 pm

BlueBalls wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:06 pm

He missed two certain chances. Not good enough.

.... and I guess that was Paul Cooks fault.

What a bizarre post.

Its Bonnes fault and he should be dropped.

However, the stupid substitutions are Cooks fault.

There’s nothing bizarre about my post whatsoever Blueballs. It’s just that football is a game of fine margins and had Bonne scored his simplest of chances and put us 3-0 ahead Crewe would have capitulated and town most likely gone on and won by a landslide all would have been good. Whichever team scored the third goal was always going to be crucial to the match outcome and the fact Crewe scored it gave them a huge uplift and made both our players and fans nervy. You say the substitutions were stupid but it was Edward’s I believe who created possibly the best scoring chance for himself after Bonne’s clanger and once again should have finished the match off. Fans are forgetting this is still a fairly new side still in development and most definitely not the finished product. Our form is fringe play offs and our target needs to be to end the season on a high and make the play offs in form. If that can be achieved we should all be happy rather than constantly be on the manager and players backs hoping for the team to implode and start from scratch again.

Great to meet up today Ando and fab to see you posting mate, keep it coming.

Magicmark wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 8:54 pm

Agree Bonne was at fault, would he play better with a stricking partner? 1 up front is not working,eveyone & their dog can see that except PC

Most can, not everyone.

Magicmark wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 8:54 pm

Agree Bonne was at fault, would he play better with a stricking partner? 1 up front is not working,eveyone & their dog can see that except PC

I’d like to see it given a try, maybe next weekend against Barrow if we decide to field a strong starting X1. Certainly something needs to change to help Macauley Bonne get his confidence back and give Joe Pigott some decent game time.

Magicmark wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 8:24 pm

Oh better still have 2 up front,hoofing to bonne isn't getting us goals,an own goal & a wonder goal saved us.

agree, I have never known any team do any good with just one up front, especially if that's what the formation at home was today,,

Surprisingly 1 up front has been working & were scoring for fun,now that's not the case,so why not mix things up a bit.

goldandblack wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 11:16 pm

Magicmark wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 8:24 pm

Oh better still have 2 up front,hoofing to bonne isn't getting us goals,an own goal & a wonder goal saved us.

agree, I have never known any team do any good with just one up front, especially if that's what the formation at home was today,,

Man City play no one up front they do ok.

Could of got involved at some stage today but there's a number of factors chose not to. Let's not waste time, the team got a victory, read game reports and reaction both here and TWTD and all told while maybe a struggle towards the end it's three points all the same.

Cook played the requisite loan attacker - at home against this caliber of opposition - and while you can berate and argue the point morning noon and night it'll achieve nothing. The manager seems to know no other way and eventually, at one stage or another, it'll provide a major push to Cook's eventual downfall. OK the team won but all reports suggest something of a struggle and it were hardly five-star entertainment. Bonne missed a number of opportunities as did the team as a whole. What should have been a routine victory for some turned out to be a near escape regards getting three points over arguably the worst team this division has to offer.

There may have been a great strike from Celina, too bad it took an own goal for us to score the other but you got to read the bigger picture. A win's as win only we made hard work of it, the manager continues to deploy frustrating formations if not tactics, and if the truth be known we're just not as good as some will make out despite one or two big scores / standout victories thus far. Viewed the league standings and leading scorers or not promotion by way of a top six finish (auto places will not work for us) seems finely balanced by way of sh*t or bust.

Ando wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 12:41 am

goldandblack wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 11:16 pm

Magicmark wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 8:24 pm

Oh better still have 2 up front,hoofing to bonne isn't getting us goals,an own goal & a wonder goal saved us.

agree, I have never known any team do any good with just one up front, especially if that's what the formation at home was today,,

Man City play no one up front they do ok.

Yeah but Man City have World Class players, we don’t. I’m sorry but struggling to win against the Lg 1 bottom side is pathetic. I’ll take the 3 points, but it’s blatantly obvious we’ve got problems. We need Scout driven reinforcements in January cuz Cook’s targets are not getting the job done. Changing the manager won’t solve problems. We need better players…players that are not selected by Cook.

number 9 wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:35 am

Ando wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 12:41 am

goldandblack wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 28, 2021 11:16 pm

agree, I have never known any team do any good with just one up front, especially if that's what the formation at home was today,,

Man City play no one up front they do ok.

Yeah but Man City have World Class players, we don’t. I’m sorry but struggling to win against the Lg 1 bottom side is pathetic. I’ll take the 3 points, but it’s blatantly obvious we’ve got problems. We need Scout driven reinforcements in January cuz Cook’s targets are not getting the job done. Changing the manager won’t solve problems. We need better players…players that are not selected by Cook.

Cook has selected players pretty well in the past and at a higher level than League One.
I agree results can be better and the team as a whole must perform better but we are back to the same old sack the manager routine that can't keep happening.

valleyroad wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:42 am

number 9 wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:35 am

Ando wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 12:41 am

Man City play no one up front they do ok.

Yeah but Man City have World Class players, we don’t. I’m sorry but struggling to win against the Lg 1 bottom side is pathetic. I’ll take the 3 points, but it’s blatantly obvious we’ve got problems. We need Scout driven reinforcements in January cuz Cook’s targets are not getting the job done. Changing the manager won’t solve problems. We need better players…players that are not selected by Cook.

Cook has selected players pretty well in the past and at a higher level than League One.
I agree results can be better and the team as a whole must perform better but we are back to the same old sack the manager routine that can't keep happening.

So what do you suggest? Cross our fingers and hope for the best? Again something is not working here! Our previous owner may well have put up with the situation but will the new ones? Soft and cuddly they might seem but I would be very surprised if they put up with this much longer.

Evans employed Cook not the new owners so there will be no loyalty there if decisions hopefully need to be made.
Oddly 17 new signings at Wigan and they are doing pretty well but still we roll out excuse after excuse for one dimensional man.

Bluemike wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 11:16 am

Evans employed Cook not the new owners so there will be no loyalty there if decisions hopefully need to be made.
Oddly 17 new signings at Wigan and they are doing pretty well but still we roll out excuse after excuse for one dimensional man.

Just as a point, i find it extremely difficult to go with this "Cook being Evan's man" stuff! I am, as are most of us, not likely to be aware of what goes on behind the scenes, but these takeover negotiations had been going on for quite some time (during Lambert's reign). The Americans were keen to buy, so there would have no need for Evans to put a new man in place just to make the club more saleable. Why go to the expense of (no doubt) giving PL a sizeable pay off when you would only have to wait a few weeks more and (apart from retaining a share holding in the club) it would no longer be Evan's burden?
The new owners would have been fully aware of the manager situation and, i believe, would have had to have been happy with PC going forward under their ownership. Just my opinion of course.

Whether the new owners approved of Cook’s appointment or not I can’t believe they can be happy with the job he has done so far.
If they are then frankly it could end up they will be no better than Evans.

number 9 wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:35 am

I’m sorry but struggling to win against the Lg 1 bottom side is pathetic. .

While on reflection the result is indeed pathetic, i believe we are also doing Crewe an injustice. They certainly don't look like a side bottom of the league (unless we helped to make them look that way). They have a playing style (bringing the ball out from the back) which maybe they don't have the personnel to always make this a comfortable view for their own fans, but they certainly stuck to their guns.
Artell the manager said this of the game "It was a disappointing one to take after we produced one of our most positive away displays of the campaign.". Let us also not forget this Crewe side have garnered draws away at both Plymouth and Rotherham, something i doubt we will be able to say (once we have played the latter away). Credit to the Alex for a gutsy performance, even if it did leave me feeling cheesed off!

Shed on tour wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 12:01 pm

I can’t believe they can be happy with the job he has done so far.

Certainly I cannot dispute that. Personally with hindsight most of us would probably have swerved his appointment when taking everything into consideration! Then again with hindsight, i wouldn't have employed Keane, Jewell, Hurst or Lambert, although always appreciate the latters initial attempts to re-engage the club with the community.
As it is PC is here now, the new owners have not given the dreaded vote of confidence yet, so for me i will stay behind PC for the time being.

Out of interest Mark, what would it take for you to turn against Cook ?

Bluemike wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:32 pm

Out of interest Mark, what would it take for you to turn against Cook ?

A good question. It is more likely to be when the majority of fans turn against him and the atmosphere gets too toxic, but that would (like with McCarthy) be more of the crowd rather than my personal opinion of PC! I was probably one of the last people to turn against MM or PL, even though we were obviously struggling under both at the time.

I try to be as positive as possible, not that it is always a good thing, but to get back to your question! I feel PC should be given to the end of this season at least and as mentioned previously, i am keen to see what happens during the January transfer window. Ultimately i am no different to everyone else in that being involved in the playoffs is what i want, but if we are storming towards the top 6 and mostly hindered by our shocking start to the season, i could still give Cook the first month of next season, but he would HAVE to have a phenomenal start or else it would be curtains!

At heart, i think the fans will be key! A hostile atmosphere will lead to players 'going missing" and stop demanding the ball. With that results will further suffer and PC's position becomes untenable! I know to stop that, PC and his players need to make sure they perform to the top of their ability. Sadly even i have to admit that we (the team) are shooting ourselves in the foot far too often.

The thing I don't get is many Town fans have made the point about 19 new signings and needing time to gel etc, but now a lot of them are saying he needs another Transfer window to bring a few more in, surely that brings with it yet more gelling time and before you know it the season is over.

On your other point about the fans, I can assure you those wanting Cook gone is growing and pretty quickly so the concern of a toxic feel again is a very real risk.

Bluemike wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:13 pm

The thing I don't get is many Town fans have made the point about 19 new signings and needing time to gel etc, but now a lot of them are saying he needs another Transfer window to bring a few more in, surely that brings with it yet more gelling time and before you know it the season is over.

On your other point about the fans, I can assure you those wanting Cook gone is growing and pretty quickly so the concern of a toxic feel again is a very real risk.

That is the real salient point, Mike. You can throw money at something but that is no guarantee of anything. 19 signings - most of them HIS choice - ought to be enough for anybody, and if he can't make things work with what he has then he should make way for somebody who can.

Yes, that cannot be forgotten, he didn't get his 5th choice in the list tesco value versions of the players he wanted either. We saw that a lot in the McCarthy era with that buffoon Evans at the helm, and I may be wrong, but it seemed that the club did very good business getting the players Cook wanted.

The thing that worried me most is that the team has gone backwards. In my mind they should be continuing to improve at the moment, that's why I didn't mind the early results. A blip here or there aside, it should continue on an upwards trajectory as the players become more familiar to each other by the day, but it doesn't feel like that does it? A blip? It feels like they've run out of ideas and confidence.

Another thing that concerns me is the squad became too big and so it's going to be hard to open the purse strings in January, because it is more cost and more players wasted stewing on the bench or in the U23s and becoming unhappy.

Apart from that, everything is great and I'm feeling positive.

Bluemike wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:13 pm

The thing I don't get is many Town fans have made the point about 19 new signings and needing time to gel etc, but now a lot of them are saying he needs another Transfer window to bring a few more in, .

While i believe that is made as a general (and correct) point, i hope i have been one of those who has not used the 'time to gel" reasoning too much. I have been very aware of more successful teams signing similar numbers, indeed I commented prior to the Morecambe game that they had made 15 signings and therefore we could not truly use the mass overhaul excuse for what turned out to be a poor result. To a lesser extent, Crewe lost a significant part of their promotion winning squad to other teams and as such were relying heavily on their historically successful youth system to pack out their first team squad.

You would like to think with modern technology and the masses of data available to clubs, that all of our signings were researched as fitting into the system PC wanted to set up with. Unfortunately some of those players really have failed to hit the mark as much as we would all have expected. Therefore I don't think it is unreasonable to tinker with the parts that need it. Central defense being, for me, the key part. I like Nsiala but do not see him as the solution going forward. Burgess to to me smacked of a bit of a hasty purchase at a time when Toto and Edmundsen were unavailable. Edwards was a fantastic signing, but cannot seem to provide the right ammo for our striker. Celina was obviously an Ashton signing, who can produce the sublime, but fail to execute a 5 yard pass (I like him as player, even if he is a luxury). If Norwood and Jackson are obviously not the answer anymore, this is another area, knowing our injury history, where we need extra depth.

Yes, 19 new players purchased to play in PC's rigid system should indeed be more than enough. But lose the two aforementioned strikers and sending Barrie back to Villa, makes room for a couple of good signings to enhance what we already have. Nothing wrong with that, in my eyes.