It was a long trek for supporters making the almost 700-mile journey to Cumbria yesterday and the journey home after a 3-0 defeat felt a lot longer. Gloverscast Ben (who had a slightly shorter journey, it has to be said) was on co-commentary duty at Brunton Park and here are his conclusions.
Heads dropped: I will get to the football in a minute, but I do think it’s worth making a point about the body language our football club as a whole is offering up at the moment. The third Carlisle goal on the stroke of half-time was the killer blow for the game itself but, it came in part because heads had already begun to drop and frustrations had kicked in. Even the manager, Billy Rowley, who wears his heart on his sleeve and kicks and heads every ball, was starting to get frustrated, water bottles got kicked and on a couple of occasions, Brett McGavin exchanged ‘pleasantries’ with someone on the Glovers’ bench.
At half-time, our subs had a leisurely walk around kicking a ball, whilst the Carlisle bench had cones, structure and a coach making sure their replacements were ready at the drop of a hat. Players were getting wound up with one another and that’s all giving off the wrong image and setting the wrong tone.
I believe that emotions are high and that I want my players playing on the edge, but let’s remember that achieving our goals comes with….unity. Its written on our kit. Frustration can be a force for good when channeled correctly.
There was a Jake Wannell shaped hole at the back:
Remember the days of the consistent back line of Michael Smith, Morgan Williams, Jake Wannell and Alex Whittle Oh, what we would give for that kind of consistency right now. Now, that is not to say that Finn Cousin-Dawson, who was my Man of the Match, Declan Skura and Kyle Ferguson don’t have their attributes, they absolutely do. But I am not sure organisation is one of them.
The first goal comes from a second phase of play where players don’t have a grasp on where their player has drifted off to and how to organise with the ball coming back in. That’s where we need someone to set the tone and get the defence set. We missed our skipper.
We need to talk about Ryan Jones: It sounds odd that adding a transfer fee to someone adds pressure straight away, but I think I am not the only one who was hoping for a bit more from him in this part of the season. I do not know if the right wing/wing back/right back is quite where we’ll get the best out of him long term.
I am fully appreciative that any move into a new team requires time to bed in and get used to a new set up, but for a player who we know is very good for this level, I think I would like to see a bit more between now and the end of the season.
We looked a lot better in the second half: Did Carlisle take their foot off the gas? Maybe a bit, but their substitutes all had a point to prove coming on and certainly did not slow up. (I could make a separate point about squad depth, Regan Linney and Chris Conn-Clarke off the bench? Are you serious? Silly depth).
But, we got chalk on the boots of Jones and Daly and they both looked far more comfortable working with those around them to create plenty of moments that were… nearly… brilliant. I can’t count the number of times we did so much of the nice build up stuff only for the final ball/cross/shot to be naff. Ugh.
I’m not panicking – yet.
Seriously, I am not. There are certain corners of the Internet that have already booked their trains to a range of National League South towns and have started pointing their fingers at any range of people on the pitch, in dug outs, board rooms and wherever else they want to find blame.
That’s not going to help is it? The gap is five points…. to 11th. And I know that is not as click baity as “AFC Yeovil, who’s in?“, but it is true. Let’s try and give the players the belief that one good performance / result and we’re in touching distance of the top half.
That’s bonkers. There are 14 games to go. Every team in the bottom half has to play those around them. Pick the battles, be up for Sutton at home on Wednesday night, but also Tamworth. Things could look different then, but there is so much football to be played.
If any player is reading this, turn the Internet off. Mute the #YTFC hashtag and get your motivation from those who gave you everything at Carlisle, those who’ll be at Southport and wherever else this season takes us. Up the Glovers. Achieve by Unity.
Great assessment Ben. The two things for me (albeit on the stream that failed a few times) was the speed and accuracy of Carlisle’s passing to get them into dangerous places. The additional half to five seconds (depending on who it is) takes for our team to control, look/pass (and the movement of the recipient), it’s too slow and predictable at times. Other times it did work but not with much consistency. Carlisle were far better prepared and drilled IMO. In a half positive – it’s a joy to watch a 19 y/o Cardiff loanee be so in control 9/10 times but it’s equally frustrating to see others who are older and far more experienced operate without his awareness, control and accuracy.
Second was one thing that is screaming for change is DEPTH!! We know the story, we know the reasons, but it was made all too clear when the subs were made. How many goals and how much experience came off their bench compared to ours? Miles apart IMO. We have a decent eleven, perhaps 14 but when suspensions or injuries kick in, that’s when it’s obvious there is not much.
I think we have just about enough to get out of this but can I’ll afford injuries and suspensions without additions.
Would love to see Billy turn this round but apart from Rochdale the performances in the main have been poor. showing a lack of belief, energy and sorry to say ability in the case of some contracted players. Therein lies the problem, the loanees are ok at this level, Ward exceptional but a complete overhaul of playing staff is required so we have to somehow see this season out hoping there are 4 worse teams. Only when he has his own team can the current manager be fairly judged.
I think in the ‘blame’ you will find a high degree of support for a young new manager. He has to be our future at this time.
If passion off the terrace was a fix we wouldnt be in this position. The concerning indicators you cover were evident to me at Tuesdays game. Going to take more than fans passion.
The internet can be a beast and I still yearn for the Ciderspace contained message board. (Probably safer for our younger fans)
Trouble is a bit of a communication gap has emerged in recent weeks and along with our long standing accountabilty gap it is not surprising if some move into that space.
The slowness of build up from Yeovil is one of the biggest problems, allowing teams to get back into position again. The players need to shoot more instead of trying to walk the ball into the goal, we have seen this for quite a few seasons now. I still back the manager, but something has to change quickly, we need a bigger squad and could do with a new striker before Wednesday, but I don’t think that is going to happen.
I think whether you believe or don’t believe, the only option now is to get behind these lads. If we are getting on the players’ backs within 10 minutes on Wednesday night against Sutton, the job is 100 times harder.
With apologies to Al Pacino*, we either heal now as a team (players, management, supporters) or we die as individuals. It’s that simple.
* – Google ‘Inches speech. Any Given Sunday movie’.
Common sense says the manger who’s done nothing but win pre Yeovil ain’t the problem. We haven’t been competitive at this level since the 1st parachute payment season (We’ve had 50 managers since then and not 1 competent owner. Foreign ownership doesn’t work cause they never have the money (Venky’s, Morecambe, Dagenham etc.) #PrabhuOut
I think there is a really strong argument for saying that local ownership doesn’t work either.. 🤔
Works quite well for Chesterfield and Stockport 🤔.