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Brief Synopsis!!! (Doncaster)

Jul 3, 2013
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Cobi Budge":3u2nz7yk said:
Mark Pedlar":3u2nz7yk said:
1) With two strikers on the pitch everyone assumed we would be playing two up front. No sign of Jervis, and Letheren got a place on the bench. As it was, we started with Ciftci wide on the left and Lameiras on the right with Fletcher through the middle. Argyle started brightly and Ciftci showed a lot more in his deeper role.

2) Argyle created a couple of chances but then failed to get the ball into a shooting position. It was the same old story of this season though. A Doncaster player appeared to be off-side and they forced a corner which we didn't defend very well before McCormick appeared to be fouled and Doncaster opened from the melee.

3) Referee had a fussy first 45 booking 4 players, 3 Argyle players for fouls (Miller for holding the only genuine one) and Doncaster for inciting the crowd. Sarcevic hit the goal support from distance and we had a couple of weak shots off target but we lost impetus after the goal and Fletcher didn't see much of the ball.

4) Songo'o had a poor first half. The rest of the team each had "moments" of quality and also bits of dire play. Miller and Ciftci alternately brilliant and awful. Lameiras played the Carey role perfectly - overplayed it quite a bit and gave the ball away and lot whilst still looking like the only player who would produce some sort of spark.

5) Another half-time wondering what formation change we would try for the second half. Fox spent the break warming up properly. Sure enough Fox replaced Songo'o at half-time. Now Argyle had 2 up front with a diamond midfield, Fox at the base and Lameiras on the point. Ness left and Sarcevic right.

6) The game didn't improve from an Argyle perspective. We couldn't get the game going although we had more possession. Doncaster win their second corner of the game and scored their second from it. Yet another situation wasn't dealt with. Argyle were looking flat and the two strikers neither quick enough or different enough to cause problems.

7) With no ideas on the pitch, Adams brought Wylde and Ainsworth for Ness (bizarrely) and Miller. 3-5-2 now with the surprise being that Ciftci and Fletcher would play the full 90. The game was crying out for a presence up front. Doncaster won their third corner and scored but it was disallowed.

8 ) The defence was now wide open. Doncaster added a 3rd with the defence in tatters. We couldn't even claim it was because we were pushing forwards. We won our first corner in the 69th minute and promptly had Bradley sent off. I have no idea why.

9) Awful game from an Argyle perspective with no confidence as soon as we conceded the first. The changes made little difference as there was no height for the crosses to find. Sometimes you can blame the players but this one was almost entirely down to Adams. Because of the sending off we ended up with Wylde and Ainsworth as full backs but the damage was done before that. The system has to change.

Luke McCormick - 6
Gary Miller - 6
Ryan Edwards - 7
Sonny Bradley - 3
Gary Sawyer - 5
Yann Songo'o - 4
Jamie Ness - 7
Antoni Sarcevic - 6
Ruben Lameiras - 7
Alex Fletcher - 6
Nadir Ciftci - 5

Kyle Letheren - unused
Jakub Sokolik - unused
David Fox - 6
Lionel Ainsworth - 5
Gregg Wylde - 5
Joel Grant - unused
Nathan Bissett - unused

I'm not sure how you've given Ness a 7, thought he was our main culprit in cheaply losing the ball.

I thought Ness was our worst player today, struggled to do the basics without the ball and list possession when he had it. Also Lameiras was non existent.
The first goal was also Sawyers fault not Millers. Shocking in the build up to the corner and during the set piece.
 
Nov 30, 2010
4,581
48
Plympton
Oh dear.

That was shambolic and embarrassing again today.
From the very outset 4 - 3 - 3 with that personnel was never going to work and the subs and going 3 at the back was even worse.

DA has a lot to answer for and is obviously feeling the pressure judging by the team selection and dare I say tictacs ( if there were any )

Songo in for Fox ???
Cifti out wide ???
Jervis not even on bench ???
Kid as our main CF ???
Crazy subs ???

Even the greenest of green tints must realise now that we are already in DIRE TROUBLE.
DA has lost the plot and posiibly the dressing room judging by performances and ill discipline
Squad isn't good enough to keep us up and by time Taylor and Oscar are back we will be cast adrift at the bottom of the league
 

monkeywrench

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PL2 3DQ":1pqm2n4e said:
Another frustrating match at Home Park.

Three goals conceded with two disallowed, another red card - our fourth in successive home games - and not a single shot on target.
The players look shell shocked, what has happened to the team from last season, something doesn't appear to right within the squad, although we finished the game with only four players from last season.

It also looked like Adams is playing a half-fit McCormick.

In truth, the tactics and mindset were all wrong from the first whistle. Adams had the team set-up to defend and contain, this would be understandable against a team who were top of the league but we were at home against a Doncaster team just one point above us.
We had no width and no Plan B.

With Ciftci and Fletcher named in the team it looked like we would be playing with two strikers but Ciftci was played out of position on the left and drifted inside to partner Fletcher when we were attacking, which was very often.
Lameiras played on the right despite two wide players sat on the bench.

Songo'o played just in front of the back four and Ness and Sarcevic operated in front of him to the left and right.

We gave Doncaster far too much respect and sat back and allowed them to have to ball, once we were in this defensive mindset it was difficult to break out of it.

The ref was quick to show yellow cards to Miller and Lameiras but didn't book the Doncaster players for similar offences.
Former loan player Jordan Houghton was fouled by Songo'o although there didn't look to be too much in the tackle and he sarcastically applauded Lyndhurst side who made their feelings known.

We did have one chance when Fletcher fired over when a difficult cross reached him but that was about it for the whole game.

Doncaster's goal came from a corner, McCormick made a fantastic save from the initial shot, pushing the ball onto the crossbar but it fell to Butler and finished off the loose ball.
McCormick was injured making the save and received treatment, he had already picked up injuries at Walsall and Bury so you have to wonder if he is really fully fit?
He recovered to continue but would make a mistake in the second half.

Fox replaced Songo'o at the start of the second half but he made little difference and it was Doncaster who were still easily the better team.

Adams didn't change much else except move Ciftci a little closer to Fletcher but the yougnster was still left battling against two big hairy arsed centre-backs, the poor lad needed support and service and got neither.

The second Doncaster goal came from - surprise, surprise - a corner. McCormick spilled a shot and Marquis turned in the loose ball - the second Doncaster player to react quicker to a loose ball to score.

Argyle heads went down along with the performance, some players downed tools and just went through the motions.

Wylde and Ainsworth replaced Miller and the anonymous Ness but both wingers would finish the game as wing backs!

The third goal was a speculative shot that deceived McCormick and nestled into the far corner. A fully fit McCormick would have dealt with Doncaster's second and third goals a lot better.

The icing on the cake for another miserable day at Home Park was Bradley picking up a red card for violent conduct. Not many would have noticed whatever happened but the ref noticed Bradley punch a Doncaster player.
We now have nearly as many red cards as goals scored this season.

We ended the game with a farcical 4-5 formation and the fans singing "all the way, all the way, all the way to League Two".

That was the worst performance I've seen for a long time, the players were not up for it and the negative tactics at the start of the game didn't help.
It's perfectly fine to sit back, stifle and contain teams like Liverpool or good teams in League One and Two but not against a "relegation rival" when we desperately need a win.
Other managers know Adams likes to contain and play on the counter attack, it's old news, so they set out to play against us accordingly and try to grab that important first goal.
Once we concede the first goal our containing game plan goes out of the window and we find it difficult to switch tactics and mindset.

Ness was poor and just strolled through the game, no energy and no pace, Sarcevic played well until the third goal and then gave up.
McCormick should have been subbed, it was a risk to keep playing him rather than waste a sub and it back fired.

Lameiras was full of flicks and tricks but no end product, he looked very good against pre-season opposition in the summer but is struggling against the League One professionals.

Bradley lost the plot with his sending off and was clearly frustrated. There's a lot of frustration amongst the players and something doesn't seem right.

I felt sorry for Ciftci, he was played out of position and tried his best.

Where do we go from here?

McCormick 5, Miller 6, Edwards 6, Bradley 3, Sawyer 6, Ness 4, Sarcevic 6, Songo'o 5, Lameiras 5, Fletcher 5, Ciftci 6. Subs: Fox 5, Wylde 5, Ainsworth 6.

Can't argue with much of that except for their third goal. It was a brilliant cross and a great finish. Mccormick had absolutely no chance with it.
 

Liam Vercoe

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Nov 27, 2010
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That was poo, genuinely saw better performances from Carl Fletcher's teams, even the admin one.
 

Altarnun Green

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Frazer Lloyd-Davies":2paoxtzz said:
The Doctor":2paoxtzz said:
Did anyone actually see what Bradley did? No-one around me had a clue what the card was for at the time.
Punched whoever was marking him. Either it was a weak punch or he didn't connect right, but it looked like a punch from where I was - middle of Devonport.

Bradley was pushed by the player marking him and he responded with a right hand hooked punch. Definite red card. First a head butt, now a punch straight out of a Fury fight. What is happening in that dressing room
 

Biggs

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Feb 14, 2010
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Something has to be seriously wrong for a big club to come off League 2 promotion, fantastic games against Liverpool, a couple of money spinning transfers/sell on clauses and a huge boost in resigning our best player.... to then lose momentum completely. Not just lose momentum, but nose dive in results and discipline.

What is it?

My half assed theory is that Nathan Blissett is a hugely popular player in the dressing room and the team are pi55ed off that he’s been dropped for the ineffective Ciftci.

‘Something’ is wrong.
 

Lesley Somerville

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The signs were there last season, when we won games by being strong defensively and nicking goals. Not going to work in this league but DA has yet to cotton on. Is he up to managing at this level? Yet to be seen but the signs are not good. he doesn't seem to understand the importance of actually scoring goals. To have zero shots on target, game after game, is just embarrassing. I agree that our forward players are not able to shine due to the system we play and the lack of support from midfield. If it continues like this then we have to see a change of manager. Or a big change in DA.
 
Oct 18, 2010
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St Judes
My thoughts

Ciftci basically is crap, He's had enough time now and he hasn't impressed (or scored).

Formation didn't work BUT Adams only did what we all told him IE played Fletcher so that's our fault. He can't win basically if he didn't play him we would moan and he's played him and we still moan.

Sending off didn't see. But obviously the red cards are a joke. 4 home games in succession. Plus Blissett in a reserve game was sent off too for kicking out.

Doncaster were very good, professional, and as I thought played the ball on the floor really well. BUT they did play act a lot as have most of the away sides we have faced this season. But they were just better than us. I think our main weakness is strikers, we don't really have a recognised striker at the moment. Fletcher is a youth product so you can't put pressure on him to be out main striker, and Ciftci hasn't done anything - how much longer do we have to give him?

Referee actually was really impressive he booked a couple of Doncaster players for time wasting, which is more than the other ref's have done.

Overall not good obviously, but I think we will stay up, :thumbs: :thumbs:
 
Aug 11, 2013
2,297
783
Think Adams made a few mistakes today.

We finally keep a clean sheet last week with Songo and Bradley and he scraps it. Bradley plays better with Songo next to him. End of. Edwards should have needed to wait to get his place back. What signal does that send to Songo - you keep a clean sheet - you're then dumped. Doesn't do players feelings of fairness any good.

Rather than trust his instinct I think he's reacted to fan pressure to play Fletcher. Bizarrely he plays him as a target man. Didn't work. Kids shouldn't start when you're in a relegation battle. Thought he gave more than most on pitch but spent most of his time challenging for high balls. He should have been the one wide.

Ness - sorry but he's too slow for me and him and Fox don't work well together - too similar. And fox for me every time.

Ciftci is obviously a good player judging by his pedigree but is a square peg in a round hole and doesn't fit into this system. Until Taylor is fit Blissett must start ahead of him. If he has to play because of contract requirements a spell deeper might suit him better. The top of a diamond midfield might suit him. He's not the striker to lead the line and the longer we persist the more his confidence will suffer.

Something's not right in that dressing room however. Something's got the players backs up and they are reacting with poor discipline. These red cards feel like a protest against something? Have they lost faith in the managers tactics? It feels like a protest? Or a betting scandal - lol. What's up? Where's Jervis - has he spoken up and been punished?

I think Adams deserves time and he has my support but he shouldn't treat the fans as fools as he has done post-match today. He would have been better to admit that that was the worst performance of his reign. Apologised to the fans and give us confidence he knows how to sort it.

Finally - he needs to find a settled side. Have we played 2 games with the same personnel - ok the red cards have not helped. But Joel Grant goes from man of the match to benched - bizarre.

Best humour were the chants of 'you're nothing special we lose every week' and 'we're on our way to league 2 we're on our way' ... which at least raised a smile.

Gosh that was bad- it's not easy being green.
 
Oct 19, 2013
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28
was on the kids tour thing today and Jervis was in the changing rooms, told us he was injured and wouldn't be playing.
 
Sep 6, 2006
16,804
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arrythewurzel":x67vfui2 said:
Think Adams made a few mistakes today.

We finally keep a clean sheet last week with Songo and Bradley and he scraps it. Bradley plays better with Songo next to him. End of. Edwards should have needed to wait to get his place back. What signal does that send to Songo - you keep a clean sheet - you're then dumped. Doesn't do players feelings of fairness any good.

Rather than trust his instinct I think he's reacted to fan pressure to play Fletcher. Bizarrely he plays him as a target man. Didn't work. Kids shouldn't start when you're in a relegation battle. Thought he gave more than most on pitch but spent most of his time challenging for high balls. He should have been the one wide.

Ness - sorry but he's too slow for me and him and Fox don't work well together - too similar. And fox for me every time.

Ciftci is obviously a good player judging by his pedigree but is a square peg in a round hole and doesn't fit into this system. Until Taylor is fit Blissett must start ahead of him. If he has to play because of contract requirements a spell deeper might suit him better. The top of a diamond midfield might suit him. He's not the striker to lead the line and the longer we persist the more his confidence will suffer.

Something's not right in that dressing room however. Something's got the players backs up and they are reacting with poor discipline. These red cards feel like a protest against something? Have they lost faith in the managers tactics? It feels like a protest? Or a betting scandal - lol. What's up? Where's Jervis - has he spoken up and been punished?

I think Adams deserves time and he has my support but he shouldn't treat the fans as fools as he has done post-match today. He would have been better to admit that that was the worst performance of his reign. Apologised to the fans and give us confidence he knows how to sort it.

Finally - he needs to find a settled side. Have we played 2 games with the same personnel - ok the red cards have not helped. But Joel Grant goes from man of the match to benched - bizarre.

Best humour were the chants of 'you're nothing special we lose every week' and 'we're on our way to league 2 we're on our way' ... which at least raised a smile.

Gosh that was bad- it's not easy being green.


Good post. I seriously do wonder about Adams when he plays Fletcher as a lone target man. I dont think the red cards are a statement against Adams though just borne out of frustration.
 
Feb 17, 2017
926
245
arrythewurzel":1dtnf89s said:
Think Adams made a few mistakes today.

We finally keep a clean sheet last week with Songo and Bradley and he scraps it. Bradley plays better with Songo next to him. End of. Edwards should have needed to wait to get his place back. What signal does that send to Songo - you keep a clean sheet - you're then dumped. Doesn't do players feelings of fairness any good.

Rather than trust his instinct I think he's reacted to fan pressure to play Fletcher. Bizarrely he plays him as a target man. Didn't work. Kids shouldn't start when you're in a relegation battle. Thought he gave more than most on pitch but spent most of his time challenging for high balls. He should have been the one wide.

Ness - sorry but he's too slow for me and him and Fox don't work well together - too similar. And fox for me every time.

Ciftci is obviously a good player judging by his pedigree but is a square peg in a round hole and doesn't fit into this system. Until Taylor is fit Blissett must start ahead of him. If he has to play because of contract requirements a spell deeper might suit him better. The top of a diamond midfield might suit him. He's not the striker to lead the line and the longer we persist the more his confidence will suffer.

Something's not right in that dressing room however. Something's got the players backs up and they are reacting with poor discipline. These red cards feel like a protest against something? Have they lost faith in the managers tactics? It feels like a protest? Or a betting scandal - lol. What's up? Where's Jervis - has he spoken up and been punished?

I think Adams deserves time and he has my support but he shouldn't treat the fans as fools as he has done post-match today. He would have been better to admit that that was the worst performance of his reign. Apologised to the fans and give us confidence he knows how to sort it.

Finally - he needs to find a settled side. Have we played 2 games with the same personnel - ok the red cards have not helped. But Joel Grant goes from man of the match to benched - bizarre.

Best humour were the chants of 'you're nothing special we lose every week' and 'we're on our way to league 2 we're on our way' ... which at least raised a smile.

Gosh that was bad- it's not easy being green.

Spot on assessment. Adams has played fletcher purely to please the fans, I think it's clear he shouldn't be starting, should actually be near the first team it's not going to do his confidence any good. We had absolutely nothing about us going forward. Agree that the lack of discipline seems like a slap in the face to Adams, I would say the players no longer want to perform for Adams, seen managers sacked for better performances/form than our own (frank de boar for Crystal Palace) it's took years to get in this league let's stop the rot before it's too late
 
Jan 16, 2010
13,135
1,821
plymouth
utterly abject and for the first time this season i sensed the players had no belief they could get back into the game.our first of two corners happened in the 75th minute!!!!!!felt sorry for Fletcher playing a lone role.i am not calling for a sacking because Derek did well for us last season by gaining promotion and deserves time to get it right.my word that was a painful match.my man of the match was Ruben Lameiras.i would like to say that we must be the slowest set of players around.my ratings;

Luke McCormick - 1
Gary Miller - 1
Ryan Edwards - 1
Sonny Bradley - 0
Gary Sawyer - 2
Yann Songo'o - 1
Jamie Ness - 1
Antoni Sarcevic - 1
Ruben Lameiras - 6
Alex Fletcher - 6
Nadir Ciftci - 1

Kyle Letheren - unused
Jakub Sokolik - unused
David Fox - 2
Lionel Ainsworth - 2
Gregg Wylde - 1
Joel Grant - unused
Nathan Bissett - unused