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Thread | Paul's View vs Notts County
at 21:37 14 Dec 2013
So today’s game was a bit of a waste of time. Uninspiring, cold and quite honestly an utter shambles.
I really don’t know where to start, maybe with the team selection.
Joe started with;
Walker
Tozer Magnus Eastman Garbutt
Gilbey Eastmond
Bonne Morrison Dickson
Ibehre
Where to start with that team. Bonne playing on the wing? He’s a striker who’s been in great goal scoring form so why not play him upfront alongside Jabo? Garbutt didn’t have a great game today but I think he should be the more advanced player, why Joe decides to play Dickson further up the pitch is beyond me. He’s the much better defensive option in my opinion and attacking-wise Garbutt’s crossing ability is almost Premier League standard so that’s backwards to me. Tozer had to be thrown in at the deep end and was out of position a few times so it will be a much needed return for Wilson when he returns.
With injuries we have been short but there seems a lot more that Joe can do to improve our chances before kick-off. Shaun Derry got his tactics spot on today. He saw our weaknesses and they came with a game-plan and were rewarded for sticking to it. They got their goal, not that much of an early goal either coming in the 30th minute, but then they defended well and sat a bit deeper and hit us on the break. Which worked because with so many attacking players on the pitch we were so short at the back it was hardly surprising we conceded the two goals late on. (Especially when he replaced Dickson for Turgott at half-time but he had to try and get back into the game somehow)
The first goal was disappointing because Jack Grealish was allowed so much time and space inside our box that even I could have produced a decent effort. He took the goal well mind you, controlling the ball well before shimming past two defenders and firing home into the far corner giving Sam no chance. Nevertheless we should have defended much better but it wasn’t over at this point, not by any means.
A few chances came and went for us including Jabo firing wide on the edge of the six-yard box after a mad scramble in the County penalty area but we lost the game before the half-time whistle, not for the first time this season I must add.
Notts County were happy to go into the break 1-0 up and were wasting as much time as they could with every stop in play so Derry must have been delighted when they grabbed a second goal. The worst thing Colchester could have done was concede again before half-time. At least at 1-0 you can go in and re-group, asses and change the game with just one goal but at 2-0 both sets of players go in with a different mind-frame.
County’s second came after we’d done well to clear a set piece but when the second ball got fizzed in we’d gone to sleep and left-back Morgan Fox hadn’t. He smashed home in the 43rd minute and from there it was all downhill for Col U.
After the break, with the introduction of Turgott, we didn’t offer much more in an attacking sense and things just kept getting worse for us. Players running into each other and passing going astray happened far too often. Got to say we did get slightly unlucky and if you’re still reading please leave your opinion on this — Gary Liddle’s tackle on Morrison. My Gosh, how did he not walk off the pitch himself before the referee even spoke? It was horrendous. Morrison brought the ball down in the air and as he landed Liddle flew in two footed, may have won the ball but he sent Morrison absolutely flying and he dived in so fast that if he’d caught Morrison it could have ended his career for me. Unlucky for us that he didn’t get sent off because it could have made the game different but he only got yellow and we have to move on.
We did have a few chances to get back into the game and I think everyone wished our best chance didn’t fall to Magnus, anyone but Magnus. About four-yards out he found himself with a free shot on goal but he fluffed his lines big time and smashed it well over the bar. An awful effort that would have definitely changed the game, had it gone in.
County’s two other goals came in the 86th and 89th minute and made the result look a lot worse. Two counter attacks that were executed well and with us trying desperately to get back into the game it’s hardly surprising we conceded.
Third goal was just a case of not having enough players back in defence and Callum McGregor took full advantage of the time and space he was allowed just inside the box and fired into the far corner with a very calm finish.
Their fourth, a delightful run by Grealish from the left-hand side made the goal and he unselfishly laid the ball through into the box for Liddle(Who shouldn’t have been on the pitch but there we go….) who had a little shimmy to fool Walker and with an empty net just passed it home.
Probably only our second real proper chance of the game came for Bonne in injury time. A header that was saved brilliantly by Bartosz Bialkowski and summed up our day really, even if we could do something right, it wasn’t good enough.
Where do we go from here then? Down the table if it carries on like today I would guess.
I hope we improve on boxing day(which I won’t be attending so let’s see if I’m just a bad-luck charm) but if we don’t pick up points in the next few games against the teams in and around us we are in serious trouble.
Joe skipped his post-match press conference duty and left it to Mark Kinsella. I thought I’d just give you a snippet of what he said. It’s pretty obvious but he didn’t have to say it after all.
“The normal crew come out week in week out and they’ve been tremendous for us, they proved that against MK Don’s and we appreciate all of that.”
“Today unfortunately we haven’t given them anything to shout about, previous games we’ve had a little fight back but today we haven’t given them anything and in the end we probably didn’t deserve anything but they’ve been excellent for us all season.”
Nice of him to thank the fans but he had to today, we deserved so much more from the team.
Hope it improves soon or neither Joe or Mark will be able to attend the press conference.....
I still believe though,
Up The U’s |
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Thread | Paul's View vs Swindon Town
at 20:49 16 Nov 2013
Hmm... Do we really have to talk about this game? Can we just skip it this week?
It would make my job a lot easier right now, because I like being optimistic and supporting The U's but I don't think there is anything I can say about today's game that be classed as that.
Put simply: We were absolutely awful and were battered at home by an average side missing their top goal scorer (at the time)
Everybody has their days when they aren't at their best but it's happening all too often now to just say we're having an 'off day'.
I don't know if we should seriously start questioning Joe's tactics because despite the attractive football we can play at times, which in most cases doesn't lead to a goal anyway, on days like today we need a plan B which I don't think we have.
The game started well for us and for the first twenty minutes we were all over Swindon, who sat back and had 11 players behind the ball and it seemed like we would go on and win the game comfortably but alas, we didn't. It's happened all too often this season as well, where we start brilliantly and seem to be in control in the first-half but we don't score when we're on-top and end up being beaten.
I don't think the injuries helped today because we didn't have any out and out wingers to play which always gives me a niggling feeling when I see the team sheet before the game because we are so much better with width.
With Watt, Massey, Wright(Drey), Sears(sort of) still having injuries and with Garbutt suspended and Monakana having been recalled by Preston, it meant again we started with no out and out wingers. Joe tried putting Bonne and Gilbey either side of Morrison and Lee but they both kept making runs inside (being central players you can’t blame them) so again it left us with no width and a very narrow approach that is easy to defend against, especially when Swindon have 11 players behind the ball because it doesn't stretch the defence and gives us little space to play our football in.
Swindon's first came from a shot by Massimo Luongo, who was very impressive today it has to be said, which Sam got a hand to but he was unable to push it far enough away and Nicky Ajose reacted quickest to tap home from about 4yards out.
Not sure if Walker could have done better or not? I sit down the other end of the ground and from what I saw he made a pretty decent save from Luongo and needed some help from his defenders or a bit of luck to stop Ajose scoring.
I think we can't be too harsh on some of the players because they are still young and we should give them time to get themselves into the flow of things because the jump from youth football/development squad football to League One football is a big one and they will need time to get up to speed.
Having said that, I think some of the players have had enough time to prove themselves and just aren't up to the task I'm afraid.
I don't think Bolger is League One standard, and I would argue if he's even League Two standard. His touch is poor (Ok defenders don't always have a good touch but his is just beyond poor) His touch almost allowed Luongo to add a second goal in the second half as he was robbed on the half way line and I sat there thinking how is he letting someone steal the ball there? His distribution is awful, he had a few cross-field passes that just went straight out of play or straight to the opposition. As for the absolute hoof he had in the second-half when he was under pressure having taken too long to get rid of the ball, when he did have plenty of time to, the ball was blocked and went up in the air, to which he panicked and attempted to hoof the ball down field but it just ballooned miles up in the air. Fair play to him he went after his poor clearance and made it there for when the ball eventually returned to Earth but he missed the header and as it bounced off the floor and onto his chin it hit his hand and Swindon got a free-kick. Absolutely horrendous defending. I hope Joe sends him back to Bolton now that Eastman is back and then gives a defender from the youth a chance if we need cover because it can't be much worse, can it?
Moving away from that personal attack, tad harsh I know but had to get that off my chest I don't think he helps us at all because our play starts at the back and if our defenders are making errors like that, we won't have a chance of winning again.
We've got to start moving the ball quicker as well, too many times today we won the ball, and it slowed down too quickly and Swindon filtered back into position and we found ourselves trying to get through all 11 of their players again. If we moved the ball faster when we won it back it would catch some of their players out of position and there would be spaces to run into but it’s just not happening at the moment and until it does we are going to carry on struggling. I’m not suggesting we hoof it forward every time we win the ball but just a little more conviction and tempo to our passing would get us into much more dangerous positions.
Swindon's second was just awful. Just after half-time, you'd of thought we were already 5-0 down due to the numbers of players back defending for us. I counted 5(including Walker) so where was everyone else? We were so open it was easy for them and despite the luck of the scuffed shot turning out to be a cross, it was a very poor goal to concede and very easy for N’Guessan to tap in at the back post.
Magnus got us a goal but I think everyone knew we wouldn't get more than one, if we did indeed get one. His header was impressive though, did everything right and found himself unmarked just inside their box which made it easier for him but it was a great downward header that gave Foderingham no chance.
I think Joe needs to look at why we can't score when we're on top (preferably moving the ball faster when we win it) and why we give away cheap goals immediately after half-time that kill off the game, happened against Wolves which you could say we had no chance of winning even before kick-off in that game but it still completely killed the game conceding so early in the second-half and today was the same, we we're beaten before the 50th minute.
I hope the team and Joe go home and have a real look at themselves and decide what needs to be done and how it can be done to improve our game. We can match the best, and we usually do match teams in the first-half of games but we need to keep those performances up in the second.
All in all I think we should put this game behind us and try to move on as quickly as possible. Its 1 win in 14 games now... Not looking good but we aren't down and out yet, there is still a lot to play for and we can still get a lot from this season.
Stay positive and Up The U’s!!! |
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Thread | A little help and information
at 21:59 7 Nov 2013
Just to let everybody know that there won't be Paul's View for Sheffield Utd as I am unable to make the game on Saturday. Looking forward to reading about the game on here though.
Firstly I am not begging for help, to those fickle few who think I am just using this to get information and that I can't be bothered to find out the information myself, you couldn't be more wrong. Post if you want to post, don't if you don't want to, it's not going to bother me or stop the production of a decent story. Saying that though, anything that might be useful and add to the piece it would be great if you could add it because it will only make the film better(if good enough will be put onto the Col U website/YouTube channel so anything you can add will make it more interesting to viewers from other clubs)
A little help... As I said before, I am at university and I have a broadcast module, in which we have an assignment to film a sports news story. I chose to talk about how Colchester United are developing such talented young players and handing them first team appearances on a regular basis, especially with the FA wanting to help clubs develop players so that the national team improves in the future and how Colchester are a step ahead of most clubs at the moment and explore why that is.
I have done my research on the subject, like journalists do, but I wanted to come on here because I know you are all very knowledgeable about your club and thought I could check my stats with you and if I'm wrong then at least I'm wrong now and not in the film.
So I have researched and found that 7 players have been brought through the youth system at Colchester and given their debuts in the last two seasons(this and last)
Alex Gilbey
Sammie Szmodics
Macauley Bonne
Tosin Olufemi
Drey Wright
Conor Hubble
Freddie Ladapo
If you know more players from last season/this season please let me know because the more the better obviously but I think this is the total number. I know there are a lot more who have been part of the squad and on the bench but just wanted to focus on those who have played.
We have been given permission to film at the training ground and speak to some players ( Sammie, Drey and hopefully Clinton Morrison for his views on the young players and what he does as a senior player to aid their development) If you have any questions for them (Related to this or unrelated) let me know and I will try and get an answer off camera for you.
If you have anything else you think could add to the film like statistics, facts, interesting talking points or anything like that please post it will be greatly appreciated.
We are pretty much there in terms of what we want to film and how we are going to do it, but I thought why not ask the fans if there is anything they'd like to see or hear about or if they know of anything that could enhance the film.
Thanks in advance to any of you that can help,
Paul [Post edited 7 Nov 2013 22:07]
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Thread | And we all went home smiling...
at 18:30 27 Oct 2013
Well I hope you did but I'm sure Bonne left the ground with a bigger one, what a birthday.
(Apologies for the delay in posting I know journalists are meant to be fast posting after games but went out last night and had work today)
What a fantastic day at the WHCS, easily the best this season by far.
I told you the one to watch was Lee Tomlin — haha.
I thought I’d start with his sending off, a fantastic decision in my opinion, although I’m sure Peterborough fans will disagree.
The incident happened right in front of where I sit and I got a clear view of it because at first I thought Eastmond could be in trouble. He came flying across to win the ball and I thought he was going to clatter Tomlin but instead, Tomlin put one hand across Eastmond’s face and pushed him to the floor, then when Eastmond was lying on the floor, Tomlin took a kick at him and I thought the decision was definitely correct.
I don’t think the linesman actually saw what happened because he didn't flag straight away he waited a good 30seconds but he was the one who informed the referee and mimicked the kick by Tomlin so maybe he did see it and the ball to the 'crown jewels' earlier on had affected his reaction time. Tomlin’s reaction however was much more of a give-away, that kick on the water bottles as he walked off proved he has a tendency to kick innocent things on the floor.
Of course the sending off helped us secure the three points but I thought we were completely in the game up to that point anyway.
The first half was at times, nail biting, as Peterborough had a few good chances to go ahead and I feared if they did, that would be it for us. Walker kept us in the game with a brilliant save around 30minutes when he threw up his right hand to deny Tommy Rowe from scoring 8yards out. What a great save that was and I think had that gone in, it would have been a completely different game, almost certainly.
Luckily they didn’t score but we also had plenty of chances ourselves in the first half, most notably when Eastmond was denied from about 6 yards out and if his shot had a bit more conviction, like one from a striker would have, we could have been ahead earlier.
Some fantastic tactics from Joe and brilliant substitutions ensured we got ourselves three points instead of the usual one.
I watched Eastmond constantly in the first half and he made sure Tomlin wasn’t able to get into the dangerous positions he finds so often, an expert display from Eastmond nullifying their best player and a brilliant tactic to employ by Joe because he still had Bean to cover the defence when needed.
Another tactic that gave us the edge was the width(I know Noah already touched on this) especially after they went down to 10-men and went 3 at the back, because it allowed us to get in behind their defence and get crosses in.
Eastmond did have a brilliant game and deserved to score when his shot hit the crossbar just before half-time, that was a fantastic effort with the inside of the foot and as it curled towards goal I was already clapping, I thought that was an incredible effort and he was really unlucky not to score.
So now for the introduction of the Birthday Boy …. What a fantastic day for the lad. I don’t think even in his wildest dreams he would have predicted he’d come on to score the winner at home to one of the best sides in the league.
His header was excellent and I was told he has been scoring bags of goals for the youth team and you can see why, he was a real threat when he came on and definitely deserved his goal.
Joe deserves a lot of credit for the win, his tactics flawless and his substitutions were brilliant, when we had Bonne and Szmodics up top for the last ten minutes or so we looked really dangerous, even if Peterborough were bombing forward.
After the goal it was a case of holding on and I think we held on well, a few chances conceded but none that were a real shock when they were missed. And despite the 96th minute cheap free-kick given away again, didn’t we learn our lesson against Walsall?We held on.
I will leave you with this, I think we will win a lot more games in the coming weeks, especially considering how many players were missing today and the exciting talent coming through the youth setup.
Everything's looking positive all of a sudden, how did that happen?
C'mon Colchester!!! [Post edited 27 Oct 2013 18:56]
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Thread | Peterborough at home... Tough test
at 19:37 24 Oct 2013
Considering the hiding that we got in the Capital One Cup at the beginning of the season I am pretty worried about Saturday's game.
We were in that game up to a 15minute period in the second half where they scored 3 goals in quick succession, which has been a rhythm to our games ever since.
You only have to look at Brentford last Saturday to see we really struggle in the second half. We'd taken the lead and again collapsed and conceded in quick succession. Is it a case of fitness? Is it confidence problems? Nerves creeping in trying to hold onto a lead?
It must be a blend of all three because it's happened all too often.
We usually match teams in the first half and if second half performances improve we can start getting results again.
Saying that I don't think we'll get anything from Saturday, but you never know.
Peterborough obviously have a really strong team, having just been relegated, and they have been doing well in League One living up to expectations and are joint top with the impressive Orient heading into the game.
They only managed a 0-0 draw with Sheffield Utd on Tuesday which is encouraging and I hope Joe & the staff have studied the game to see how Sheffield nullified the Peterborough threat.
One to watch is Lee Tomlin for me, he was really impressive in their 5-1 win earlier in the season, scoring a great goal and assisting two of his team-mates. I think he's a real class above League One and wasn't surprised when I heard Celtic tried to sign him back in the summer.
I haven't gone into much detail about line-ups and who might play and who might not because I think with the squad so depleted due to injuries it will be much of the same, minus Sears & Wright, plus Bolger.
I'd hope we try to get the ball down and play football like we have been and with the right sort of performance, being positive and without the pressure of expectation, we could get a result. Now we have a few goals in us from Lee, it could happen!!
Up The U's!!!
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Thread | Paul's View
at 21:22 12 Oct 2013
So I expect you’re all disappointed with that result, and rightly so I think.
Not only did we fail to hold onto a priceless victory that would of have revitalised both fans and players alike but it seemed that the second half wasn’t a case of Colchester Vs Walsall but Colchester Vs The Clock.
From kick off in the second half it seemed that Joe was happy to stick rather than twist. The whole team dropped 5-10 yards deeper than they played in the first half and I think that allowed Walsall to take back control of midfield. In the first half Eastmond, Gilbey and especially Bean were controlling the centre of the midfield and dictated play but in the second it was much different and Walsall definitely took advantage of that and really should have scored way before injury time.
That being said I thought the first half was a really good half for The U’s and I thought Garbutt, Bean and Ibehre were really impressive. Garbutt looks a real player at left back, rightly given man of the match at the ground, he was constantly a threat to Walsall and defended a lot better than he did against Wolves last week. Bean was fantastic for the majority of the match, winning almost every 50/50 and every aerial battle, he allowed the forward players to get on the ball and create chances as well as helping the defence when Walsall attacked. Ibehre is a lot to handle and I think he’d be a championship striker on his day, his finishing is way off the required mark though. He got in behind a few times today and should have done a lot better with his chances, most notably when he robbed Paul Downing and stormed into the box but his finish was absolutely terrible. That being said he works hard for the team and he does allow the team to play football because he holds up play and draws defenders out of position. As well as the control of midfield changing after the break and Walsall finding a lot more space in the middle of the pitch, I thought Ibehre tired quickly and by the 60th minute he was barely able to jump to head the ball. He hardly won anything in the second half and that meant the ball just kept coming back at Colchester.
I had a bet on Sears scoring first because, in all honesty, when I looked at the betting before the game I couldn’t see anyone else scoring and he did take his goal very, very well. A fantastic finish from him and his movement to find space on the edge of the area was great but other than his goal, what else did he do today? I didn’t write down his name once after his goal until he got substituted. Him and Ibehre don’t work well together, when you watch Massey and Ibehre play off each other and exchange passes, like they did before Sears’ goal, you can see they have an understanding but Sears and Ibehre seem to have their own agenda’s and don’t work well together so it is defiantly time to explore other options Joe.
Ok so this is a common excuse of football fans, blame the referee. I thought he had quite a bad game today. Five minutes? FIVE MINUTES? Where on earth did he get that from I don’t know. He got several decisions wrong and he wasn’t consistent at all. I’m not sure if the majority of you sit in the south stand and didn’t get a great view when Garbutt raced into the box, well I did. That was a blatant penalty. Absolute stone-wall penalty and I was speechless when the referee crossed his arms as if the defender had won the ball, he clearly took away Garbutt’s ankle. I got a good view of that one but didn’t get a great view of the handball appeals from Walsall so I’m not sure about that one but from the appeals it did look a bit suspect. Another decision the ref got wrong for me was one you will hate me for but Gilbey should have been sent off if the referee was consistent. He booked him for kicking the ball away when Walsall had a free kick, then when they won another one for a challenge by Bean he thumped the ball downfield but didn’t receive a card… An example of his poor refereeing display and a bad day at the office for Mr Simpson.
I think overall Walsall probably deserved a point from the game, it was harsh on us coming so late but they’d hit the crossbar and the post during the game and in the second half were much the better team. Plus you can’t discredit the free-kick, it was a foul and what a fantastic strike. Joe will be pleased with another point but really it’s two dropped because a silly tackle from Magnus in the last minute has denied a much needed win for the boys.
Onwards and upwards though, it’s not a defeat and we move on. Hopefully away from home at Brentford and Shrewsbury in the next few weeks the players won’t have the expectation of playing at home and they won’t have any nerves transcending from the stand if they have to hold on for the last few minutes and hopefully steal a few wins. |
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