Stevenage v Barrow match thread

[blue nige]

Watched the game, thought we did well. Controlled first half, goal changed game.Don’t think we would score if we played all night. A target man would change that whole attacking threat, and we would be a good side. Positive. And Nige why you calling out the board regarding a striker, do you want them to go out and get one, Cooper has said many times he’s waiting for the right one , try listening.

you're right but how long? there's other clubs in the mix what I was getting at ,is that we might have to spend money to get someone, we'll be extremely lucky to get the "right person, " the longer it drags on the harder it will be I do listen but as "boylie " said we've had plenty of time to choose who we want or has he gone?

[A.B.]

Cooper said he could have been on the bench today but it would have been a risk. Possibly Tuesday but definitely next week is what he said.

cheers!

No worries

[Suffolk Blue]

Midfield playing very well defensively. Ellis and Platt looking good. Neither side have much up front though. Both sides shot shy. Will take a mistake or piece of genius to separate these two today

You called it, it didn’t sound like the piece of genius though…

Actually Spirit it was probably the best move of the match as it was probably the only time in the game (for either side) that involved a sequence of winning the ball, running at pace, crossing and having someone in the box to meet the ball. 46 minutes we were caught cold. After that the previous pattern of the game resumed.

There was very little surprising in anything that we saw from BAFC today. They were pretty fit and well drilled, Defensively the pairing of Platt and Ellis worked pretty well and we didn't look in much danger when defending behind the ball. Midfield whilst not perfect by any means looks stronger than last season and they did well especially without the ball. All of this you would expect from a Mark Cooper side.

The problems are clearly up front as we all know. In a nutshell we have no completer finisher amongst those playing forward. This manifested itself in two ways. Firstly the Stevenage back line was as good as ours and did not make any gaffes. They defended really well when pressed and gave us zip. Secondly we seemed to have absolutely no ability to get a man in behind when we did press and it all got a little frantic when we got into their box, boots flying everywhere. On a couple of occasions balls were played through the defensive line just asking for a Scott Quigley to run on and plant it in the back of the net but alas Scott Quigley was not there and nobody had the instinct to make those runs. Also it was noticeable that Patrick Brough on more than one occasion was free on the far post in the second half and was completely ignored.

So box to box we were generally effective. Up front we were not. As I say few would have come away shocked or surprised with what they saw. Just with the usual disappointment.

[mickycarrol]

Not sure the amount of injuries Platt gets has been discussed on here yet…..great player but wow he misses a lot of game time which could be costly to both us and his career in the long term.

[Pedro]

You can be as good as you want in defence but you will concede .
We sold our midfielder the previous season and he has not been replaced, Quigleys gone and we do not have a similar player to replace him.
He scored 15 goals in a bad team and if I remember right was never out for injury only for the ban he received which was epic .
It's early days and I think MC does know his football its if he can get someone in within the next month.

[mickycarrol]

You can be as good as you want in defence but you will concede .
We sold our midfielder the previous season and he has not been replaced, Quigleys gone and we do not have a similar player to replace him.
He scored 15 goals in a bad team and if I remember right was never out for injury only for the ban he received which was epic .
It's early days and I think MC does know his football its if he can get someone in within the next month.

A month is a lonnnnnnng time at the start of a season we could be fair few games in by that time. I prefer to say we need one before Hartlepool next Sat.

[Adam29]

You can be as good as you want in defence but you will concede .
We sold our midfielder the previous season and he has not been replaced, Quigleys gone and we do not have a similar player to replace him.
He scored 15 goals in a bad team and if I remember right was never out for injury only for the ban he received which was epic .
It's early days and I think MC does know his football its if he can get someone in within the next month.

Ermmmm he came back from suspension then missed about a month of the season after that with injury

[janwilder]

Regarding Quigley, he scored 15 goals last season (not sure if they were all league goals) and a few of those were penalties, so not exactly an 'ace' goalscorer. Yes, he was an important player and was a handful for defences and so possibly created chances for others. Yes, also some of his goals were vital ones that won games.

Correct Jim.

5 of his 15 were pens. 2 assists. He was a handful and he was that 'focal player' for us (which tbf he doesn't really do as well as his size suggests he should; ie not great in the air). For me, his team play in general was poor. Failed to lift his head and play the right pass on many occasions. Wanted to shoot every time. Whilst I guess that's what he's paid to do, gimme a striker who gets 10 goals and 7 assists over 15:2. Don't get me started on his diving.

That said, he got some very important goals for us.

In Cooper we trust

[Jonty]

Level headed post match interviews with Mark Cooper and the fans panel- Stu and Charlie. We all know where we need to be better. The training scenario has not helped and hopefully lessons will learned with this.

[Pedro]

You can be as good as you want in defence but you will concede .
We sold our midfielder the previous season and he has not been replaced, Quigleys gone and we do not have a similar player to replace him.
He scored 15 goals in a bad team and if I remember right was never out for injury only for the ban he received which was epic .
It's early days and I think MC does know his football its if he can get someone in within the next month.

Ermmmm he came back from suspension then missed about a month of the season after that with injury

Thanks Adam makes his 15 goals even more amazing.
I much prefer someone who delivers even if they leave after.

[Desmond2-2]

Ermmmm he came back from suspension then missed about a month of the season after that with injury

Thanks Adam makes his 15 goals even more amazing.
I much prefer someone who delivers even if they leave after.

I think we all wish you would leave!

[Tommylad]

Shocking today, Gordon looks decent. Been said a million times but we need a spark in the midfield and a striker. Apart from that defense looked decent

[Pedro]

Thanks Adam makes his 15 goals even more amazing.
I much prefer someone who delivers even if they leave after.

I think we all wish you would leave!

Thanks much appreciated hope you get better soon

[Si_Nichols]

Not great but not totally awful.

Positives - we looked good at the back, Farman looks an upgrade on Dixon and Hutton and Ellis look impressive. We also looked organised with a bit more skill and pace than last term

Negatives - we have no focal point in attack and it is difficult to see where goals ate coming from. Gordon put a shift in but don't think he is the answer. Main issue for me though is our midfield - too defensive minded, too slow and no creativity. If we want to be involved in another relegation battle then Jason Taylor may be our man but I would rather not be.

Main thing for me today though was being back at football. Travelling up and down the country, following the team we love, meeting up with mates, having a few drinks, singing, banter, abusing officials .... it all flooded back. It's been too long and I for one have missed it

[Methuselah]

Listened to the game today and thought overall we did ok.We seemed to make the same mistake as we did against Southport last week.We were nit fast enough out if the blocks at the start of the second half and were once again caught napping.
As Mark Cooper said we are not yet the finished article and are not yet at our full potential.We were without Zanzala,so hopefully when he comes back the situation will change.
I would like to urge everyone to keep the faith in Mark Cooper,because he is the man who will drive our team forward.