Imps v Limps MDT...

Like last summer?

 

Well I thought Marsh looked extremely lightweight when he came on. Watters had got hold of the ball and run the channels and put a few decent balls across.
Marsh was second to nearly every ball to the point where it looked like he was scared to go in for a challenge.

 

Liverpool manager said yesterday that it’s really difficult bringing in quality. If they can’t do it, it’s no surprise it’s not easy for us.

 

Watters had the chance in the second half to cross to give Cosgrove a simple finish but couldn't manage to hit it across hard enough.

What else did he do during the game?

Name me one specific useful constructive thing he did.

Watters is fast, he tries to control and pass quickly in order to create chances. He means well and is eager.

But we've had 2 years of disappointment and he was hauled off today too.

Not that we need 3 new strikers. That's daft.

 

Yeah its definitely one of those annoying fixtures, and I would have taken a point before kick off.
They might be looked at as an average mid table side, but we still lose to them almost every time.
With the midfield apparently going missing today, it will be interesting if we can get the new lad involved soon.
And take your pick from any of them, who should get dropped.

 

Away end looked fine

 

Not impressed with the gaffer today. Made heavy weather against a glorified pub team. His subs weakened us.

Positives Earl was solid as a static left back and passed the ball accurately and didn't overthink owt.

 

Interesting to read , that your negative comments , were about a young un coming on,as opposed to 2 senior players in the middle of the field letting the 90 minutes pass them by.

 

Good result, need 2 strikers at least. Poor defending by Roberts for their goal/corner. Expect better from an experienced bloke.

Good to be up and running. A lot of work to be done though

 

You mean like last season, under Mr Collins.
After the first game, I'd have been delighted at the chance of us winning both of the away games this week (we should have beat Wigan properly though, instead of on pens).

 

Damn, you got there before I corrected it

 

First of all, that’s a very welcome three points, to kickstart the league campaign and, at a venue where you’d expect many to come unstuck. Lincoln City are no mugs, finishing just a couple of points behind us last season and let’s not forget, they rinsed BFC 5-1 about six months ago. So yeah, a very good result.

I always feel it’s best to give it an hour or two before offering any kind of considered thoughts and in that time I’ve noticed Darrell has already hammered the performance which makes me feel a bit better about stating something similar. I also appreciate the candour of his post-match summary, as will most supporters I reckon.

Whilst I don’t think the performance was great full stop, it was enough in the first half hour or so. But once the opposition worked us out and, I think, realised we weren’t quite at it, it was very one-sided. The new ‘keeper made a very impressive one-handed save in the first half and it looked a nailed-on penalty when Robbo took out Darikwa in the second. I also remember breathing a sigh of relief when the ref brought play back on one occasion where the Imps had got in behind. So there felt a bit of fortune today where at times over the last three seasons we’ve had little. Even in terms of our own rare offensive moments, we’ve tucked the chances away. Very un-Barnsley.

I hope that display is looked back on as un-Barnsley as we make our way through the campaign. Because of the three matches played so far, that was comfortably the worst showing. The midfield trio looked lethargic, failed to link with defence or attack and it didn’t improve when one of them was replaced either. Defensively, most of the backline had ‘moments’ and after initially impressing me, I became more and more worried about the goalie. Up front we weren’t anything special but I felt like they were least culpable for what was a dire performance.

A win’s a win as they say, and it’s positive to pick one up when so many players were having a stinker.

Slonina: Other than his iffy distribution, he’s impressed me in his first two games. 7.

Cotter: Great assist today, and could have had another but shot instead of squaring for Cosgrove. He’s doing alright. 6.

de Gevigney: Might be the third time I’ve said this, but he’s better than he’s showing. 5.

Pines: Still looks rusty to me. Was surprised he started. He’ll get better for that 98 minutes. 6.

Roberts: Out of position on the left a lot, but performed well by and large, won his headers (including a goal scoring one). Lucky with the Darikwa challenge. 7.

Earl: Iffy at times defensively and offered very little the other way. Keep hoping he’ll rediscover the form shown when he first arrived. But it’s been a while. 6.

Craig: He got stuck in again but I can’t quite work out what he is. Very early days though. And we got worse - like Mansfield - when he went off. 6.

Connell: Dreadful. As bad as I’ve seen him. In and out of possession. 4.

Phillips: Just as bad as Luca. But gets points for some good defensive headers and one very good ball that Cotter wasted. 5.

Watters: Was surprised to see him subbed off. Nothing special from him, but had little to work with and I felt we dropped deeper when he departed. 6.

Cosgrove: More like it today. Physical presence, a nuisance and scored a lovely goal. 7.

Russell: Nowhere near as impactful as his previous two showings. Early booking won’t have helped. 5.

Marsh: Run around a lot, and linked nicely a couple of times. 6.

Lofthouse: Didn’t notice anything good or bad in the time he was on. 6.

Gent: Same as Kyran. 6.

Looking forward to seeing what Kelechi can offer when he’s ready, plus Benson if he can stay fit. Because we’ve seen right there, just how tough it can be if Luca and Phillo aren’t on it. The passing today was Sunday league level, really bad. And of course, some further additions up front would give Clarke more options.

 

I don’t have links to the video to pick things out, but there were numerous times in the game I thought he’d worked hard, chased down or won the ball, put the defence under pressure, made the correct decision to pass or take his man on.
I know the cross you mean but if Cosgrove had gone inside his man towards the penalty spot he’d have got there first. No ones fault, just not on the same wavelength at that time.
That being said, Cosgrove has scored a great goal and Watters hasn’t, and we desperately need options. All I said was that I thought Watters was more effective than Marsh when he was on the pitchZ

 

Can't knock Watters for effort but at some point soon he needs to go from nearly making things happen to actually making them happen, he's getting the game time and the fans are behind him so it's up to him to deliver.

 

Yeah admittedly, the reasons/excuses eventually have to stop, when a player is finally getting more game time.
Which is what we have asked for.

 

We pressed high better with him Cosgrove and Phillips.
He pulled their defence wide and pudhed them back.
His pace and running were a threat and we were winning 2 nil. He also had a greater physical presence.

 

Possibly. But Phillips seems to often produce sub-standard performances.

 

I'll take 3 points away from home and give the coach and players time to get the performances right.

Sometimes just be happy with the win.

Slonina - some great saves and looks very capable.
Cotter - fast exciting great assist
Mael - always puts in 100%
Pines - great to have him back playing
Roberts - played left side, won loads of tackles, headers and scored.
Earl - solid performance in a new position.
Craig- great talent will be a real player for us this season.
Connell - one of our best
Phillips - pressed well and can always come up with a goal
Watters - quick, pressed, nuisance works well and looks for Cosgrove, goals will come.
Cosgrove great goal and a real presence well played MOM.

 

In other words he runs about faster than Marsh.

 

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