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Kieran wrote:Last night was as bad as it gets, terrible stuff. Haven't heard Bayliss' interview but if he did say we created good chances then I'm not sure what game he was watching.

We're just not getting the best out of the squad we've got, we've got more than enough to stay up comfortably but thats not going to happen unless we start using what we've got properly. The most obvious one is Hessey, he's never a left back but should be the first centre half on the team sheet. Almond is being wasted out wide where he's just far too predictable, play him in the middle just behind a forward however and he's a different player. Baker is just [SwearFilter], apart from chipping in with the odd goal he offers nothing and wastes every set piece he takes. How Owen can't get into that midfield I don't know. As much as I like Mike Pearson he's been dreadful all season, he should have been dropped weeks ago with Hessey and Anderson being paired together at centre half.

We keep the ball quite well at times, but do nothing with it. Boyes Jackson or whoever are constantly playing with their back to goal. We play into Boyes/Jackson's feet on the edge of the box, they come back out, give back to a midfielder and then the same thing is repeated until we eventually lose it. We have absolutely zero penetration. I really believe that a forward line of Boyes, Almond and Jackson is amongst the best in this division but they aren't being used correctly. Danny Rowe needs to be used more also when he's fully fit.

We've got it in us to stay up, but I have serious doubts that we will.

^^^absolutely 100% spot on. ^^^

I don't like knocking the manager or team and sincerely hope Dave Bayliss and the lads can turn it around but it's not looking so good the next 4 league games only one is at home and we have the away game at Luton to play yet last season we finished just below halfway yet our away form was the 19th out of 24 teams and people say we had a better squad last season.(p.s we were the 5th best home side last season as well)
The signs were there towards the end of last season about 2 wins out of the last 13 games let's get behind Dave and the team Conference north is not the way forward

To be fair we'd be in a worse position now if it wasn't for bakers goals. He seems to be the one people blame cos he doesnt run round like a headless chicken, much like Bolland.
Peo has been shite this year. Offers very little.
Danny Rowe is fast and would help us break quicker, just a shame he's a terrible footballer.

Bayliss needs to get the best out of his players and learn how to use subs.

Going down.

Jonty wrote:

Kieran wrote:Last night was as bad as it gets, terrible stuff. Haven't heard Bayliss' interview but if he did say we created good chances then I'm not sure what game he was watching.

We're just not getting the best out of the squad we've got, we've got more than enough to stay up comfortably but thats not going to happen unless we start using what we've got properly. The most obvious one is Hessey, he's never a left back but should be the first centre half on the team sheet. Almond is being wasted out wide where he's just far too predictable, play him in the middle just behind a forward however and he's a different player. Baker is just [SwearFilter], apart from chipping in with the odd goal he offers nothing and wastes every set piece he takes. How Owen can't get into that midfield I don't know. As much as I like Mike Pearson he's been dreadful all season, he should have been dropped weeks ago with Hessey and Anderson being paired together at centre half.

We keep the ball quite well at times, but do nothing with it. Boyes Jackson or whoever are constantly playing with their back to goal. We play into Boyes/Jackson's feet on the edge of the box, they come back out, give back to a midfielder and then the same thing is repeated until we eventually lose it. We have absolutely zero penetration. I really believe that a forward line of Boyes, Almond and Jackson is amongst the best in this division but they aren't being used correctly. Danny Rowe needs to be used more also when he's fully fit.

We've got it in us to stay up, but I have serious doubts that we will.

^^^absolutely 100% spot on. ^^^

Pretty good summary that. I hope we stay up, but in reality it's looking a hard task.

It was Adam Boyes and 10 imposters last night.

I have been confident all the way through that it would come right, until last night.

Bayles if you are daft enough to read all this bampottery, FFS put Hessey at centre half, drop any central midfielder and bring back Gav Skelton and YJO. We are [SwearFilter] weak and too many are out of position.

He's making the same mistakes season after season. If he won't learn or simply can't learn it's got to be time for the BOD to learn ... and act before it's too late.

The trouble is they probably won't do a thing while we are still bringing in cash from the cups and it might well suit them financially to go down anyway.

There are a couple of teams in this league with budgets smaller than ours. We have some good players as others have said.

I don't think we should lose faith we are not down yet far from it and there are definately 4 sides worse than us in this league. We are only a couple of wins from safety.

Jonty wrote:

Kieran wrote:Last night was as bad as it gets, terrible stuff. Haven't heard Bayliss' interview but if he did say we created good chances then I'm not sure what game he was watching.

We're just not getting the best out of the squad we've got, we've got more than enough to stay up comfortably but thats not going to happen unless we start using what we've got properly. The most obvious one is Hessey, he's never a left back but should be the first centre half on the team sheet. Almond is being wasted out wide where he's just far too predictable, play him in the middle just behind a forward however and he's a different player. Baker is just [SwearFilter], apart from chipping in with the odd goal he offers nothing and wastes every set piece he takes. How Owen can't get into that midfield I don't know. As much as I like Mike Pearson he's been dreadful all season, he should have been dropped weeks ago with Hessey and Anderson being paired together at centre half.

We keep the ball quite well at times, but do nothing with it. Boyes Jackson or whoever are constantly playing with their back to goal. We play into Boyes/Jackson's feet on the edge of the box, they come back out, give back to a midfielder and then the same thing is repeated until we eventually lose it. We have absolutely zero penetration. I really believe that a forward line of Boyes, Almond and Jackson is amongst the best in this division but they aren't being used correctly. Danny Rowe needs to be used more also when he's fully fit.

We've got it in us to stay up, but I have serious doubts that we will.

^^^absolutely 100% spot on. ^^^

Agree with most of this post.

Whilst we perhaps need a couple of additions (if finances allow) I also suspect we aren't getting the most out of the current squad.

Surely Bayliss (as a once uncompromising central defender) must realise that the first name on any BSP teamsheet has to be a player in the Jones / McNulty mould. HESSEY is the closest we have to that - let's see him being played there. Suspect MIKE PEO would look much more comfortable with Hessey alongside him SKELTS might be short of pace, but was our player of the year last season, is the only specialist left-back we have and also offers something in attack and distribution-wise. Make these two changes Tues night with ANDERSON remaining on the bench and I predict we'll immediately look better defensively.

If YJO is fit we need to see him phased back into action ASAP. Without him on the pitch we have no bite in midfield - even with three playing in the middle of the park. It's possible that one or two of the existing 3-man midfield could be made to work alongside YJO, but not convinced by any of them. Baker's dead all delivery is getting tedious - about 1 in 20 of his corner kicks lead to a chance - not good enough.

With a decent spine to the team, RUTHERS and ALMOND on the wings (with a fit ROWE as super sub) and JACKO and BOYES up front would surely be enough to stay in this league.

For what it's worth...that's my view.

I've been telling anyone that'd listen all season that we're good enough to stop up but that last night was soul destroying. I can't think of anyone other than Boyes that looked like a BSP footballer last night! Probably the worst game I've seen for a long, long time at HS.
When will we learn that we aren't good enough to scrape a win (or even a draw atm) never mind [SwearFilter] around & trying to walk the ball into their net, I saw Ruthers run across their penalty area for about fifteen - twenty yard's last night waiting for him to have a shot, there's more chance of standing in rocking horse shit.

If there has to be something that can be learnt from last night, it's got to be our home tactics after half a season just aren't working & Bayles can't persist with them anymore. As others have said - Skelton back in, Hessey replacing one of the two centre back's (probably Peo) YJO back in the middle & Ruthers sitting on the bench as soon as Rowe is back, Almond is wasted on the wing & looks demoralised there but I can't see at first glance how to shuffle things around & get the above players back on & off the field & put Almond in a more attacking role but if it has to be at the expense of the wingers then that might also work.
Also, substitution's HAVE to be given more time to make an impact.

Change thing's DB & I will still believe that we can stop up, to not learn from this first half of the season would be madness & we will go down.

That was grim. I have to own up and say that I walked out of the ground and went home after their second goal went in. I’m not proud of that and I know it’s entirely the wrong approach and a hugely negative reaction but it was just an instinctive response. The last, and only other time, I did that was when we lost 1-5 at home to Merthyr Tydfil in April 1990 when we were sliding towards the drop zone as our minds were on Wembley. I feel like apologising - - it’s completely the wrong thing to do. It’s just that I could not stomach such an inept performance against very average opposition.

I will of course be back on Tuesday but I have to say that despite a lot of speculative hysteria on here about a possible, stress possible, match against Cardiff I feel little appetite or enthusiasm for cups and trophies at the moment while we are rooted at the bottom of the league. I want us to win on Tuesday but more for the much-needed cash injection than for any great sense of “excitement” or “glory”. I am far more interested in the bread and butter of the league and trying to stay in this one.

I cannot recall a worse home league run up to early December; I checked the stats and was shocked to see that back in 72-73 when we featured in non-League for the first time (and were probably as bad as we have ever been in our entire history, as anybody who saw us would recall) we had still managed 5 home league wins by early December.

A lot of people on here are going on about the way we play and I do agree with much of that - - - certainly our tendency to go backwards and sideways when we approach the final third is exasperating. Rutherford gets blamed for this all the time but it seems to be a collective mentality across the whole team. Hyde were worse than us when they came here and then they went out and scored 7; if we are to go down let’s at least go down trying to get forward and score instead of appearing to be frightened of getting into the final third. Also, you have to wonder after the first goal last night if, after all the times it has happened this season, the current personnel are ever going to learn to stay tight on opponents on crosses. However, I’m not so sure about other comments on here about our absolute commitment on the pitch; I didn’t think the effort-levels from some of the players were what they should have been last night. We saw against Forest Green that we have the capability to play really well when we put our minds to it but with much the same personnel last night’s performance was unrecognisable by comparison.

Despite everything I am not one of the anti-Bayliss brigade. I appreciate that he has so little to work with and, as I wrote on here recently, you have to love the bloke because of the passion and commitment he shows, and when he is long departed from Barrow maybe those who want to see him gone will look back and realise we could not have had a manager with a more genuine whole-hearted approach to the club. And one who has actually achieved a great deal. I hope for his sake that he can get us out of this mess - - - if there’s one bloke who does not deserve a Barrow AFC relegation on his C.V. then it’s Dave Bayliss. Nevertheless, a big corner has to be turned and so, aside from the money that could be brought in, I’m not especially lying awake at night dreaming of the Macclesfields and Cardiffs but I am wondering about the league games looming and hoping our dreadful home record can be turned round.

Matty wrote:
Good result on Tuesday is needed to restore some long lost optimism and hopefully kickstart our season, albeit 21 games in.

We've won once at home.

In the League maybe, but don't forget we have a 100% record in home cup ties this season, during which we haven't conceded a goal. Macc have no chance!

pjdaly,its not that Hyde were "worse" than us when they came here.The Hyde Club as a whole had been victors in a bloody battle to get to this level of football and know exactly what their priorities are.We on the other hand are mounting a battle on every front.What,with our squad?.

The problem as I see it is a lack of organisation, tactics and too many players playing in positions they are not happy or good in. Hessey, a gifted two footed player at centre back is no left back and never was. Almond will never be a winger, can't cross with his left and Bayliss admitted this was not his best position. Rutherford can't beat his man to get a cross in and so the tactic of playing with wingers is flawed. This is much of the reason we don't score, no service to Boyes. Pearson was always better at right back but seems to have lost all form since his last injury. Having been a critic of Owen, he seemed to be what had been missing when he came on as sub the other night. Skelton, not at his best is still the only option for left back. Jackson and Boyes together are good enough to get goals, supported by Almond in midfield and ditch the two wingers we don't have.
Bayliss needs to sit down and have a good look at what he is doing before we are doomed to relegation, or escaping by a whisker while crowds dwindle even further.
We never will be Barcelona but with good organisation we can compete at this level

So assuming Hurst is out for a few weeks at least, the tues team I would like to see is...

Peo-gloves
Flynn, Peo, Hessey, Skelts
Owen Hunter Harvey
Baker
Almond
Boyes

If we are going to play narrow, then do it, but play through the middle quickly instead of playing square passes all the time.

Watched at home last night (from leeds) and all I saw was hoof after aimless hoof, when we got the ball down and passed we could pass well but we were afraid to attempt a killer ball.
As for the marking, we need to sort out the man marking, and I think bring skelts back in might bring another organisational voice into the mix.

Bayles subs are clueless, to late, like last night, why take off a Byrne for Jacko, should have been Flynn then you would have 3 CB's on the pitch when playing 3 at the back, its simple logic.

conquistador wrote:Jackson and Boyes together are good enough to get goals, supported by Almond in midfield and ditch the two wingers we don't have.

Yes, yes.......this.

We can't defend, as has been proven so have an attack mentality, try & take a little pressure off a confidence sapped defence.