Col U.....Saturday

[Clarity]

I agree with the remarks on here and by Freestone on the radio today.. The second half was probably one of the worst halfs of football I have witnessed at Sixfields. A total capitulation.. I accept it is wildly optimistic. But I just hope they can start to gel now the ins and outs are over with....  We looked appalling.

Once again the system to blame, we just haven’t got the players for 352

[guest48]

Once again the system to blame, we just haven’t got the players for 352

You know that, I know that and the other 4000 Cobblers fans in attendance know that. KC must know it as well so why does he persist with it ? I hope its not another looking to boost his pension fund by being crap 

[Letchworthcobbler]

I seem to recall Justin Edinburgh being like this with the formation. Very stubborn!

[Macc Cobbler]

Here goes .... I thought we were actually ok first half, but conceded a very poor goal. The warning signs were there however as Pierre was looking very exposed.
Sordell was denied by good goalkeeping at the very start at the second half .... And Colchester go down the other end and double the lead and after that it was total capitulation.

Is Powell better than Hoskins, flipping heck, I am better than Powell.

Facey had his usual bright start and then when things started getting tough, he disappeared and offered nothing.

Re Taylor I thought he started purposefully but in the second half he reverted to type, to what we have seen this year.

I can only hope that Turnbull and Foley are back soon.

Re KC is he just stubborn or does he not have a clue .... At the moment I am leaning towards the latter.

  

[Buster]

Actually I also thought we came out looking good.  They lined up with purpose. The team looked synchronised as they ran across the pitch and got into their position well.

Unfortunately the ref then blew for kick-off...

[Martin]

Disgraceful performance after the first 10 minutes. When will Curle stop playing Bridge out of position. He is best behind the strikers. Predictably Taylor was awful. O'Toole looks a pale shadow of the player of a couple of seasons ago and doesn't justify selection any longer. Cornell had no chance with any of the goals and at least saved the penalty but I suppose his detractors will blame him regardless. How we missed Turnbull but we really need him in midfield and also in defence.
I am doubting that Curle is the man to lead us forward and am beginning to hope that he goes at the end of the season. He might just do enough to keep us in league 2. The future looks very bleak.

[Patmore]

Probably not a popular point of view, but I think Curle’s summary was right to a large extent.

We missed some unbelievable chances. I’m pretty sure Sordell missed an open goal first half. He and Morais both 1 v 1, Powell’s sitter. I think I’ve forgotten at least one other too.

In contrast they’d had four shots on target and found themselves 4-0 up. Their keeper showed exactly what we have been missing all year. The current love in with Cornell baffles me.

This has been the pattern since game 1 of this season. We have not addressed it at either end.

Play Bridge at the top of the midfield. The two loanees have taken it in turns to look a shadow in that position since Bridge bossed the Carlisle game.

Don’t move Pierre out to left back for most of the second half. He is by far the best centre half we have  on the pitch.

Dressing room discontent mentioned after the game. No surprise really given the constant chopping and changing, almost regardless of form. The writing was on the wall by half time though. They looked lack lustre, almost disinterested even in the first half I thought. Too many loanees and want-aways with no vested interest in the future of the club. All very worrying.

[GrangeParkCobbler]

Looking at the lowlights.....wtf is going on? Goals 2, 3 and 4 nobody bothered to put a challenge in at all.

[Dan]

Probably not a popular point of view, but I think Curle’s summary was right to a large extent.

We missed some unbelievable chances. I’m pretty sure Sordell missed an open goal first half. He and Morais both 1 v 1, Powell’s sitter. I think I’ve forgotten at least one other too.

In contrast they’d had four shots on target and found themselves 4-0 up. Their keeper showed exactly what we have been missing all year. The current love in with Cornell baffles me.

This has been the pattern since game 1 of this season. We have not addressed it at either end.

Play Bridge at the top of the midfield. The two loanees have taken it in turns to look a shadow in that position since Bridge bossed the Carlisle game.

Don’t move Pierre out to left back for most of the second half. He is by far the best centre half we have  on the pitch.

Dressing room discontent mentioned after the game. No surprise really given the constant chopping and changing, almost regardless of form. The writing was on the wall by half time though. They looked lack lustre, almost disinterested even in the first half I thought. Too many loanees and want-aways with no vested interest in the future of the club. All very worrying.

Completely agree. One was commanding, quick to distribute and made some saves. The other was Cornell. While he's been okay this season, if we don't replace him with a proper number one next year, it'll be another disappointing season, irrespective of what division we find ourselves in.

[Patmore]

Cornell had no chance with any of the goals and at least saved the penalty but I suppose his detractors will blame him regardless.

It could be that it is just “his detractors” or it could be that you need to objectively review the evidence.

“He had no chance with any of the goals”? I don’t think even I can really be bothered to do this again, but if anybody can find the strength to try to explain to me how just the second goal alone is not p*ss poor goalkeeping I’d really appreciate it.

[everbrite]

Probably not a popular point of view, but I think Curle’s summary was right to a large extent.

We missed some unbelievable chances. I’m pretty sure Sordell missed an open goal first half. He and Morais both 1 v 1, Powell’s sitter. I think I’ve forgotten at least one other too.

In contrast they’d had four shots on target and found themselves 4-0 up. Their keeper showed exactly what we have been missing all year. The current love in with Cornell baffles me.

This has been the pattern since game 1 of this season. We have not addressed it at either end.

Play Bridge at the top of the midfield. The two loanees have taken it in turns to look a shadow in that position since Bridge bossed the Carlisle game.

Don’t move Pierre out to left back for most of the second half. He is by far the best centre half we have  on the pitch.

Dressing room discontent mentioned after the game. No surprise really given the constant chopping and changing, almost regardless of form. The writing was on the wall by half time though. They looked lack lustre, almost disinterested even in the first half I thought. Too many loanees and want-aways with no vested interest in the future of the club. All very worrying.

Quite a good summary although you have to drag the Cornell factor into the defeat. Quite right to point out the missed chances and KC's puzzling habit of playing people out of postion. The biggest home cheer of the day was earned by Cornells penalty save.,, says it all. I blame the players for that defeat nobody earned any plaudits. Certainly not KC inspite of misplaced selection - Powells miss at the end  summed it all up. The galling thing was CU were hardly a decent footballing outfit - I even left in the 90th minute totally fed up.      

[Clarity]

Btw their number 10 was a class above league 2

[Clarity]

And their 7, and Gilmartin was the best keeper I've seen at Sixfields for a long time.

Agreed, their keeper put in the perfect performance for this level

[guest2995]

Bridge has two man of the match performances behind the front two , including a game that we won - and Curle plays him at left wing back for the next two matches .
Facey is flakey to say the least and we get rid of his only real competition for that right wing back position ( granted C MacWilliams is worth a try ) .
He plays two players that have not started since November in prime positions .
Hoskins is dropped from the squad and Powell keeps his place .
Just play it simple Curle and stop over complicating it with changes .
You have had long enough now to play with your jigsaw - we haven’t moved forward one bit .

[cobbs_supp]

Football is a simple game! Convert your chances and stop the opposition converting there chances! We can’t do either! Starting at the back, Cornell did nothing wrong but did y America the save saves his opposition did! The back three does not work with Taylor in it! His positional play is poor his communication is worse! Having said that Pierre played poorly today! But facet has been poor alll season and continued his poor form! Bridge proved once again that when he is played in central midfield he has an impact! Morias I like but you cannot be offside that many times and miss that many chances! But my main ire is with Curle! His substitutions were s*** and there is no plan b! However if people defend Powell in any shape or form then then they are idiots! The man is clueless!

[Terryfenwickatemyhamster]

Btw their number 10 was a class above league 2

He was a pleasure to watch. He’s the only player I applauded yesterday. Run the show like Ricky Holmes used to for us... If only.

[Mathius]

New loans players that lack match fitness. JJOT training for less than a week after long injury. Players struggling for form persisted with. Other players out of position because of a stubbornness to stick to a formation that isn't working. KC must be feeling the pressure. He can come through this but he needs to be more flexible with his formation, drop the under-performers and put players in their best positions...now!

[bungle]

I suspect that Curle, Edinburgh and a bunch of other lower-league managers watched Chelsea tear up the league a few seasons ago playing 3-5-2 with Victor Moses daringly employed as a wing back and started salivating about the prospects of trying it in league two.

Like JED before him, Curle is finding that he doesn't have the personnel to make it work. Unfortunately, as Letchworth says, he's too stubborn to make a change.


As far as I'm concerned, at a stretch we have two natural wing backs in the squad: Cox and Facey. Facey's loss of form has been well documented and Cox is currently out injured. We also don't really have a 'Victor Moses' type of physical, combative winger who could do a job there either: Powell has the physical attributes but appears to have no appetite for a tackle.

Without viable wing backs the whole system is doomed to failure and until Curle realises this we are doomed to failure.

I'd love to see us give 4-2-3-1 a try.


                                Cornell
              
                 Facey    Turnbull  Pierre   Buchanan

                     O'Toole/Foley      McWilliams

                   Sordell/Powell   Eisenik        Morais

                                  Williams

[BackOfTheNet]

He was a pleasure to watch. He’s the only player I applauded yesterday. Run the show like Ricky Holmes used to for us... If only.

As he came off yesterday I said to my dad "He's been the best player on the pitch today", and then a few people behind started applauding and I thought yeah, fair enough and joined in.

That's only the third time I remember applauding an opposing player off at Sixfields, the others being Beckford when he got his hat trick for Leeds and Gabbiadini the day he virtually single handedly dismantled us for Darlington .

[Glastonbury Cobbler]

Just watched the goals back again and yes the defending is utterly shocking but wtf is Cornell doing??

#hopelessallround