A list of things that made the first half last night truly awful

The Formation
For the first three minutes looked like a 5-3-2 but became a 4-1-4-1, but also became something I couldn't put down in numbers as at times I had no idea where Winnall was meant to be playing. He isn't a midfielder, not even close, and on two occasions he lost the ball on the halfway line and allowed them to break through.

Confidence
A complete lack of this in all our players other than maybe George Smith and Davies

Team Spirit/Attitude
No togetherness. Nobody up for the fight. Players looking like they didn't want the ball and couldn't wait to get off the pitch and have their night's 'work' over with.

With the Ball
We didn't pass and move. We didn't shout for the ball. When we did have it it was the usual pedestrian like passing from side to side with no forward movements. We're so easy to play against because everything is too slow and every player requires a touch. The intention of switching the ball from left to right is right, but it takes us so long to do it we offer no threat what so ever. There was one occasion where Pearson had the ball 35 yards from goal, and the six closest shirts to him were blue ones, but bizarrely this didn't create any space or leave any red shirts wide open, and ultimately we had to pass it 20 yards back to Roberts. Another time (and remember we're 2-0 down), George Smith has the ball about ten yards away from the angle of the box with time to set himself and deliver a cross, but nobody other than Smith was in the middle.

Without the Ball
I lost count of how many times their right winger had 20 yards of space on the touchline, but we didn't do anything about it. You could spot it a mile off and for about twenty minutes they just continued to ping balls over to him. I genuinely think Coventry were finding it so easy in that first 20 minutes they took their foot off the gas, when what they should have done was have us 5-0 down at the break. Our management team did nothing to combat the constant flow of space we were giving them.

Set Pieces
When we have the ball in hand, all our players just separate as much as possible all over the pitch. This means when Davies throws the ball out to a full back or centre half our midfield are a 25/30 yard pass away. What happens? We pass sideways and backwards trying to get out of our own half, and ultimately have to try and find Smith. It's so basic and infuriating.
When we had a corner Coventry had a tactic of leaving three players up on the half way line. Even though we were 2-0 down, we decided to match this with four players on the half way line. I'm not saying it was the time to be gung ho, but we probably had four corners in the first half and didn't change our approach at all. We were crying out for the fourth defender on the half way line to come short for the corner, causing space to be created in the box for a ball to be then played in. Why the management team didn't get instructions like this or similar over to the players after the first corner I don't know.


That first half is the worst game of football I've witnessed since we tried to defend a 1-0 defeat away at Swindon last season. The biggest positive I'm taking was the drive and intensisty displayed in the second half, and the performances of Pearson and Scowen. I know a few disagree, but Ben Pearson is a bloody good footballer and we don't get the best out of him at all. I wouldn't be signing permanently in January if I was in his shoes, but I really hope he does.

Maybe Johnson learnt more in that second 45 minutes than he has in his entire Barnsley career so far? People can say we didn't get as many shots off as we should have done, but we had sustained pressure, attached at pace facing the opposition's goal, took players on, and looked up for the fight. Ben Pearson had two shots in the first 43 seconds of the second half. Wilkinson missed a guilt edged one on one, had another shot blocked from ten yards out, and everytime we put the ball in the box (not always from set pieces) it looked like we might create a chance. Why? Because for the first time in about six games our midfield were close enough to the strikers to pick up on knockdowns.

And the penalty that some people have claimed we should have had was an absolute swan dive by Ben Pearson. It reminded me of one of those slow motion taking a bullet for your friend dives. Shocking. It could have been a foul, but when you audition for swan lake at the time of contact you're putting doubt in the referee's mind.

 

Not sure I was aiming that at you mate so not sure why you felt the need to single yourself out? There's people who genuinely don't rate him (both on here and down the pub/at the games), so I was mainly referring to them.

As for the sideways and hides comment. The sideways option is nine times out of ten the only one available to him as our players simply don't pass and move or show for the ball, and I completely disagree that there's been more negative performances from him than positives.

 

Sorry mate, the way you phrased your answer with 'we' twice, was as if you were putting together a direct response. Surely reading back you can understand that? I just read it wrong and wanted to point out I didn't mean you, or folk who have that same opinion.

No 'kin 'ell required.

 

The joy of tone of voice not coming across correctly on the Internet. We've both failed here.

All my responses were with a smile on my face, and my initial reply was almost like an apology as if you thought I'd directed my Pearson comment at you. The 'no kin ell required' was meant to mean there was no problem or disagreement.

I'm sticking to the pub .......