I try to be as honest whether we win, draw or loose.
We may be 8th but l stand by what lve said the last six weeks. I donāt think we are promotion material.
We struggled today against a very poor side. One that you could visibly see was short on confidence. At times they resembled us where they gave away the ball in sloppy areas. Going forward they looked like a side with a lack of penetration. Yet Argyle made sure they still allowed them opportunities in the most frustrating fashion. A great example was the 90th chance where Wootton allows their left sided player to pass him easily and better composure may have resulted in another give away goal.
The first half was OK. When Cooper found the range with his crossing we caused their static defence problems. We were in control without really capitalising on situations in the final third.
The second half was very poor. We were sloppy. If Carlisle had anything about them they could easily got back into this game. We just kept turning over the ball. Pass after pass went astray. We didnāt really look threatening off a corner or free kick. It was all a matter of could we hold on. We did, yet it was such an unconvincing display.
Canavan and Sarceveic are the only two Adams signings who might/should escape the cull. Riley, Wootton, Sawyer arenāt good enough. Canavan might be decent around better defenders. Sarcevic needs to be more consistent. For me he looks knackered in games. He doesnāt influence the game either ends of the pitch. I know he scored today but too many times l find he goes missing for sizeable chunks of the game. The annoying thing is you can see he has got some ability.
One other player that frustrates me crazy is Joel Grant. I said last season and l maintain this season he is a wide player with the ability to score goals. You play him down the middle he gets bullied by the more physical centre halves. He doesnāt hold the ball up well enough. There is an art to it that he simply doesnāt do.
Too many times the balls get played into our forwards feet and they loose the ball. If you want a comparision look at Billy Clarke. A diminutive figure but his brief hold up play touches were a lot more convincing and brought others into play.
Argyle simply donāt have the outlet on the right side. We lack a physicality at both ends of the pitch. We also need more pace and energy around the field. For example, l thought Edwards was very good today, especially first half. Yet he needs help and we rely too much on him to break up the opposition play.
Finally the defence. Iām sorry but Wootton may work hard. I understand he is a genuine person who gives his all. Yet he is a liability. He gives away the ball in bad areas. He gets beaten by pace too easily. His decision making is poor in the system we play. Having him and Sawyer in the team back line makes us unbelievably vulnerable on the counter attack. Teams with any pace look like pulling us apart.
Iām fully behind Lowe. Iāve always said it takes time for us to evolve. This current squad is mid table standard lm afraid. It just doesnāt look right at all. Today was poor going forward because of the reasons lve mentioned above. Itās the same thing we highlighted throughout the last 11 games. I donāt think itās rectified by this current group because itās not only a physicality that you play football by, but also with your head. The effort is there. Iām afraid the ability to play football this way isnāt. If we played more agricultural style of league two football we might be more effective with what we have at our disposal. Maybe a change of system to a 4-3-3 would suit the current squad better. I say this because you can have control the game still but play J V Grant and Mayor in wider more attacking positions and donāt have to rely on Riley and Macfadzean for your width. You can then strengthen the middle of the pitch with Edwards being the key figure.
A season of frustration l believe awaits unless in January there are some massive personal changes. Personally, l think we might have to wait until the summer.
