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| We should reject the German's proposals! |
There's something very reduced about the spectacle of the game in its current form. Empty stands and soulless auto tuned pop music echoing round them. None of the hum, buzz and tension of the real thing. A few weeks ago I was sulking as I couldn't take up my ticket for the trial game whilst reasoning that it wouldn't be long before crowds were back on a regular basis but now that seems like a flicker of sunlight in the dark clouds of CovidUK.
It's all a bit grim innit? My job seems twice as hard as it used to given all the restrictions and I'm not allowed to do pretty much anything fun. I wonder to myself from time to time... 'Why am I working?' It's nice to pay the rent, but there's not all that much else to do. It all seems a bit like going through the motions. All of the effort and none of the reward. I wonder if that's how the players feel or not? Is it better to play without the merciless critique of a football crowd, or is it an empty feeling, knowing that victory won't bring any opportunity to back in the adulation of an adoring public?
Today's game feels like it might be a slog. Lincoln are coached by Michael Appleton, infamous for for staying a very short time at the seaside, drawing a few games and beginning the process of shaking the flair and elan out of Ollie's team that was ably continued by Ince, Clark and others. He reminds me of that Greek finance minister who was really famous for about 6 months a bit, for no other reason than he seems a bit intense and used to sport that 'not actually bald but bald' tough, well dressed look - I'm not sure if he's ever espoused openly Marxist ideals amidst a financial crisis in opposition to the dominant neo liberalism of the EU or not but these days, he wears his hair a little longer and seems to have relaxed a little about what seemed to be quite rigid footballing ideas in the little we saw of him at the seaside.
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| We've got to keep it tight at the back etc.... |
I'm hoping the Goal Machine will start and Virtue will be fit enough to add a bit of bite, but the former is on the bench and the latter still nursing an injury nowhere to be seen. Things are almost 'as you were' with the only change being Notts dropped all together and James Husband in the centre alongside Big Marv. Our fancy new full backs are on the bench for the first time though, which might inspire Ollie Turton to a performance of Cafu-esque proportions. Or not. Time will tell.
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The players emerge from the tunnel, squinting through driving rain. Lincoln are well on on top early on. A driven ball to their left wing puts Turton under pressure, and he can't stop the cross - only the wildness of the Lincoln forward's finish saves Pool from conceding an uncontested effort early on for the third half in a row.
Turton (who I think has a good game, if not quite Cafu level, probably the most convincing of the back 4 and arguably, the most incisive passer in the side today) quickly redeems himself with good work to snuff out a cross from the right hand side and it's that interception that leads to Pool establishing a bit of rhythm. They keep Lincoln pinned back on the edge of their box for a few minutes, without really fashioning an effort, the most incisive moment a dangerous cross from, again, Turton
A chance! Husband plays a nice ball to the edge of the box, Hamilton chests down and Yates belts it, a missile of an effort the swerves and cracks the base of the post. So close. That could have been a moment to change Yate's luck for the season.
Yates then plays a lovely weighted pass for the marauding Hamilton whose near post ball is close to being turned in by Lubala.
Anderson goes through, cuts the ball back and Yates shins it wide. Pool are on top now.
Lincoln play a terrible ball out and it's stolen by Yates who lays off to Hamilton who has work to do, but a little run, a stutter and a low shot is smashed home. 1-0!
Pool are confident and put together a genuinely gorgeous move which is topped off by Mitchell being slipped in having run from nowhere and no one for Lincoln spotting him or the pass. That's probably as good as it gets for Pool (and it really was good for a while..)
A raking early ball is brilliantly cut out by Husband. He's looked up to his task.
Another raking ball from the left exposes Mitchell, not for the first time, he's out of place but his pace gets him back goalside... Their winger runs at him and Mitchell makes a challenge like a school kid faced with a better player. It's nailed on. The penalty is perfect, placed just inside the post. Maxwell does everything right but it sneaks beyond his fingertips into the side netting.
The game gets a bit loose as first Lubala chases down a lost cause and seems to clean out a Lincoln man. Ref waves away Lincoln's shouts, just as he waves away Pool claims when Hamilton sprints into box and tumbles to the ground. The whistle does finally blow for a foul on Mitchell on the edge of the box but he can't beat the wall.
Grant Ward plays a beautiful swirling ball that the full back misreads and gifts Lubala a heading chance. He stuns a header back across the six yard box, it's nice technique but not the right choice - surely you go for goal when you're free 8 yards out?
Lincoln again get in behind Mitchell, a well timed diagonal pass releasing Johnson who this time leaves Demi trailing but his shot is tipped wide by Maxwell, saving the full back's positional blushes.
As the half ends, it's Johnson again, tying Mitchell in knots, surging into the box, stepping over and sprinting at him, daring him to challenge, Mitchell doesn't take the dare on, but he doesn't offer any resistance at all either and it takes a smart interception from Husband at the near post to clear the danger.
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Pool have had a few good spells but none of the forwards have really shone. James Husband has done really well. The quality of balls from the back have improved as a result of him being on the pitch. He's not Baresi, but he can put it more or less in an area. My favourite moment of the half is a beautifully timed sliding challenge just inside his own half where he takes the ball cleanly but also manages to send their man about 6 foot up in the air. He's pointing, talking, organising and has had a good 45.
Big Marvin has had a really odd half. His tackling is simply fantastic sometime. He times a challenge brilliantly and wins several one on ones where it looks as if he's got no chance. I haven't seen a player make tackling look so simple for ages. He also plays at least three really poor passes to no one and I'm just always in two minds about him.
Demi Mitchell too has a curates egg of a half. He just doesn't look like a full back, seeming completely at sea against a decent wide man. Going forward, he looks great, full of purpose and drive and timing his runs well.
Bez continues to offer more questions than answers.
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Pool have had a few good spells but none of the forwards have really shone. James Husband has done really well. The quality of balls from the back have improved as a result of him being on the pitch. He's not Baresi, but he can put it more or less in an area. My favourite moment of the half is a beautifully timed sliding challenge just inside his own half where he takes the ball cleanly but also manages to send their man about 6 foot up in the air. He's pointing, talking, organising and has had a good 45.
Big Marvin has had a really odd half. His tackling is simply fantastic sometime. He times a challenge brilliantly and wins several one on ones where it looks as if he's got no chance. I haven't seen a player make tackling look so simple for ages. He also plays at least three really poor passes to no one and I'm just always in two minds about him.
Demi Mitchell too has a curates egg of a half. He just doesn't look like a full back, seeming completely at sea against a decent wide man. Going forward, he looks great, full of purpose and drive and timing his runs well.
Bez continues to offer more questions than answers.
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Second half opens as if intent on proving my point about Mitchell. Within 30 seconds, he's completely misjudging a high ball and nearly letting Lincoln in, but then he's racing forward, stretching play and Lincoln's defence with exciting intent and no little skill.
Lincoln have the first chance from a well delivered free kick. Their forward chucks himself at it, unchallenged as he flies through the air but his forehead only grazes it and we've got away with one.
Hamilton pounces on a gap and a loose ball and runs right down the middle, advancing on the keeper before lifting the ball agonisingly the wrong side of the post. They've got away with one.
A long ball from Turton has Hamilton against the full back at the line, clever work sees Yates in possession, who with back to goal flicks it beautifully, turns and curls it wide.
Pool getting joy from Lincoln's left back, it's simple football that's looking our best outlet, Turton to Hamilton who runs at a player who doesn't seem to know how to deal with him.
Bridcutt dinks a lovely ball, Husband glances away but Pool don't clear the second ball and it comes back across goal. Chris Maxwell can only palm away and they look set to pounce but for a tremendous tackle from Marvin, sliding full length and taking the ball away.
Lincoln are dangerous going forward and Pool are slow to counter. Too often the ball just seems to get over run or we run out of options round the halfway line.
Yates hold it up and lays it off, Mitchell bursts through and is hacked down. Garbutt (on for the again ineffective Lubala) claims the free kick. He measures his paces back, he stands, still as a statue as all around him arrange themselves and jostle, then he steps into the run up and... blasts it into wall. The bounce is kind and Pool can hoist it back into mixer where Yates swivels but again, fires wide.
Grant Ward is loose with possession, once, twice, three times over running it or just picking the wrong pass.
A sub. It's going to be Madine, to add a bit of presence, let us go more direct, cut out the need to work through midfield when we're clearly struggling a bit to do so... C'mon Gary, lad! but wait..... its..... Sarkic? ... For Grant Ward, surely.....
No. It's Sarkic for Yates. For Yates??
I'm baffled.
Yates hasn't finished brilliantly but he's been quite effective as a presence, hit the post and got 3 or 4 more efforts in. Why replace him at all, but if you must, why do it with a midfielder who hasn't played a game for 5 or 6 weeks?
I'm really baffled.
No. It's Sarkic for Yates. For Yates??
I'm baffled.
Yates hasn't finished brilliantly but he's been quite effective as a presence, hit the post and got 3 or 4 more efforts in. Why replace him at all, but if you must, why do it with a midfielder who hasn't played a game for 5 or 6 weeks?
I'm really baffled.
Lincoln play a lethal ball from the right, all across the box, causing all kinds of mayhem but Pool get away with it.
Sarkic concedes possession on an unconvincing run to nowhere. I've nothing against this lad, but he looked completely hopeless up front against Blackburn, he's just not a striker... Lincoln pour forward, one touch, two touch, third touch sliding their man in and Maxwell is leaping to make a great stop. The ball isn't away and Lincoln drive it low and hard but again Maxwell sprawls and saves Pool.
Then another sub. It'll be Kemp or Madine, surely? But it's not... Has MJ Williams got 'must come on, no matter what, in every game for no obvious reason' written into his contract?' It's Keshi off again. He's done OK, but not really had an effort in anger, the threat of pre season hasn't really been evident in real football. So, we're now playing with no striker and an extra defensive midfielder. Which isn't personally how I'd have thought you win a game at home in the last 15 minutes, but I'm not a football manager.
Turton to Hamilton again, easily the most productive route of the half, and CJ wins a corner. Not for the first time, it's nodded easily away but only to Turton who swings it in, a nice curling delivery that's harder to clear, but Lincoln do, but again, not definitively. Grant Ward picks it up and crosses deep, and again it's away but this time it falls to Demi Mitchell who buries it and redeems himself from the earlier errors.
2-1 Pool!
What do I know about winning a game? Nothing! All is good again. Great subs!
2-1 Pool!
What do I know about winning a game? Nothing! All is good again. Great subs!
The imperious James Husband, our new centre half hero is doing a bit of tidying up at the back. "It's all a matter of time now, as they stream forward, we'll be able to pick them off... " I'm thinking that happy thought as I see that Husband has lost the ball, a horrible error under no great pressure, Lincoln bear down on goal, Husband slides in from behind and it's a penalty all day long and a red card offence all week. He's done pretty well, but that moment is as calamitous as any that's happened to us all season.
Perhaps he's a full back after all. Fuck's sake Pool.
Perhaps he's a full back after all. Fuck's sake Pool.
They score the penalty. 2-2
Sarkic is presented with a chance to run at the heart of their defence, a gap in front of him and the keeper off his line but he just ambles forward and lays a pointless pass to the side. He doesn't look like he's got any confidence at all. If only we had an actual striker on the bench who'd done well in his last two sub appearances eh?
I can't really tell when the formation is. It seems like three at the back with Williams in front. Fuck knows really, because whatever it is, when Lincoln win a corner from (as last week by Nottingham) a completely needless touch from Ekpiteta, formations are irrelevant as we let them flick it on, then give their centre back time to chest it, then literally juggle the ball before smashing it home. Great stuff Pool. 2-3.
The game ends with Lincoln snuffing everything out easily as we look completely broken. They look dangerous and I fear a fourth, but they settle for the 'running it into the corner' routine and we never threaten at all.
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There was an argument against Gillingham that we suffered a bad ref who broke up play and a cynical, direct opposition who did the same. Today, we didn't have that excuse. Lincoln were decent, matched us in formation and there was no real sustained shithousery or cynical play. The ref let a few things go as refs will do, but he let the game flow and we can't complain in the slightest about either penalty. It was a really poor defensive display, but what concerns me more, is the timidity of our second half attitude.
We don't seem to be playing 'we'll score one more than you' football but we also don't seem to be able to defend. We looked laboured going forward at times and, yes, we had periods of passing and some nice moves, but outside of a good sustained spell in the mid part of the first half, it's difficult to say we were on top for very long.
I'm not sticking the boot in to Critchley, because he's put together a lot of talent and we certainly could have scored more goals, but the story is the same for 3 of four weeks. Lots of effort and some nice build up play, but not enough threat up front. When you've got a player with significant Championship pedigree sat on the bench and the central striker prefers to play wide, why not give it a go? Maybe we'd turn some possession into clearer chances and then we could afford defensive errors. We can concede 2 if we score 3, but we don't seem to want to do that and I don't really understand why.
I'm close to tweeting "Fuck off with 'false 9' shit. This is league 1!" when Sarkic comes on, but I decide that dignity is the better route. I'm not so sure at full time. Lincoln's work rate was good and their winger excellent, but the real difference was their dead ball delivery and the fact that in Bridcutt, they had a player with an incisive pass. We probably matched them in most areas, but they just looked more dangerous. We did less with more possession in other words.
For all that crap telly football is shit, I was pissed off today that we neither had the guile nor discipline to convince at either end of the pitch. In simple terms, it seems we're not quite committed enough to attack, attack, attack, but not good enough at the back to hold and pounce.
We'll sort it out.
utmp
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There was an argument against Gillingham that we suffered a bad ref who broke up play and a cynical, direct opposition who did the same. Today, we didn't have that excuse. Lincoln were decent, matched us in formation and there was no real sustained shithousery or cynical play. The ref let a few things go as refs will do, but he let the game flow and we can't complain in the slightest about either penalty. It was a really poor defensive display, but what concerns me more, is the timidity of our second half attitude.
We don't seem to be playing 'we'll score one more than you' football but we also don't seem to be able to defend. We looked laboured going forward at times and, yes, we had periods of passing and some nice moves, but outside of a good sustained spell in the mid part of the first half, it's difficult to say we were on top for very long.
I'm not sticking the boot in to Critchley, because he's put together a lot of talent and we certainly could have scored more goals, but the story is the same for 3 of four weeks. Lots of effort and some nice build up play, but not enough threat up front. When you've got a player with significant Championship pedigree sat on the bench and the central striker prefers to play wide, why not give it a go? Maybe we'd turn some possession into clearer chances and then we could afford defensive errors. We can concede 2 if we score 3, but we don't seem to want to do that and I don't really understand why.
I'm close to tweeting "Fuck off with 'false 9' shit. This is league 1!" when Sarkic comes on, but I decide that dignity is the better route. I'm not so sure at full time. Lincoln's work rate was good and their winger excellent, but the real difference was their dead ball delivery and the fact that in Bridcutt, they had a player with an incisive pass. We probably matched them in most areas, but they just looked more dangerous. We did less with more possession in other words.
For all that crap telly football is shit, I was pissed off today that we neither had the guile nor discipline to convince at either end of the pitch. In simple terms, it seems we're not quite committed enough to attack, attack, attack, but not good enough at the back to hold and pounce.
We'll sort it out.
utmp
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