Just watched the Chester match on Player - some might laugh at this but.....

....there WERE some positives to be had from that match. Really, honest

Now I know that not beating a non league team at home is a big let down but, let's face it, the cup competitions are full of silly results so there would be nothing unusual about us being dumped out of the cup by a lower league team. It's happened often enough to much bigger teams than us. It could happen tomorrow but somehow I don't think it will.

In that first game we were run ragged by a tricky little left winger. Nothing unusual in that. Seems to happen nearly every game. Apart from that, Chester played out of their skins, just as you would expect playing a team higher up the food chain than they are. But, and this is what I am clinging on to, they have done it twice now (against Southend and us) so I am betting that they won't do it again tomorrow. They showed bags of spirit at our ground, but not much else. They could, and should, have got a couple of goals. But then, so should we.

Hourihane's one on one near the end was the glaring example. Hemmings was clean through and unmarked and a simple diagonal ball would have left him with an open goal. Hourihane hit it straight at the keeper's legs. Then in that last minute Trotta tried to make up for ninety minutes of ineptness by hammering the ball straight at the keeper. Hemmings should have slotted the rebound in at the near post but fluffed it.

Like everyone else I hated the match on the day. It was poor, there were too many mistakes and it was freezing cold. Watching it just now though I got a different view. We played some decent stuff, amongst the many misplaced passes. Treacey and Jennings made a big difference when they came on. We should have won it, but could have lost.

So, that's me clutching at straws if you like but I think an early goal for us tomorrow will settle us down and we will win comfortably. I shall be stretched out in my recliner watching on BT Sport. And then, after that, the play offs charge starts again..........

 

Oh, I forgot something. Excellent TV coverage of the match EXCEPT for the commentary. It was bland, it was neutral and it sounded like someone in a caravan parked in Grove Street. You could barely hear the crowd at all, which was disappointing. Then again......

 

I sent them our commentary to use, but it was obviously easier to upload the BBC coverage.

 

I'm almost inclined to agree with you, except for the "early goal settling us down" bit.

We took the lead in the first half against Colchester, Doncaster, S****horpe and Walsall, and conceded either immediately after or (with Doncaster) not long into the second half. An early goal will probably mean gifting Chester a goal straight from kick-off. Good entertainment for the neutral, mind . . .

 

I can understand them doing that, just a shame it was so poor! The guy kept repeating himself and clearly had no knowledge about either side, as you boys have. I enjoyed the camera work, professionally done multi-camera angles, but the commentary was just rubbish! Was he in a sound proofed booth?

 

Yes, it's a bad habit that we need to get out of. It's getting silly. On the other hand, we are talking about Chester, not MANchester, so I think an early goal will knock the stuffing out of them a bit. We just need to play with the confidence that we showed a few weeks ago. There were traces of it in that first match, but too many misplaced passes.

These players don't go from being professional, able footballers to amateurs just like that. Things will get better, and soon!

 

No, he was positioned in front of the West Stand directors' box. I've no time for most TV commentators these days, they are very poor in comparison to those in the '70s & '80s.

 

Well that's peculiar then. How come his mic didn't pick up the crowd noise. There was plenty of it from the away end. We can hear it on your broadcasts clearly enough.

I just got sick towards the end of him telling us what a terrific game Mahon had. Yes, he played well, ripped us to bits on occasions, but a lot of that was due to our usual backing off. One or two crunching tackles early on would have kept him quiet. Any footballer will chance his arm if nobody tackles him. Oh for a PROPER hard man in defence who takes no prisoners - Mick McCarthy, Pat Howard - that kind of thing.

 

It's all to do with the boom mics etc - they will have had them turned down to a minimum so as not to drown out their narcissistic commentator.

 

Well I had to turn my volume down to tone down his drivel!