Stockport County (H)

[bwfc4ife]

They looked solid, physical and well organised. That’s it. Didn’t look overly great or anything to be too worried about. 
 

We turn up and play well, we win that game today. 
 

We’ve looked off it for the last two games now. Even the second half at burton was ropey at best. 
 

If only we had another option up top along with a competent left back. 
 

Get in to the break now, refresh and see if we’ve got the balls to do this 💪🏻

[ianofcleveleys]

10 minutes ago, Dr. Feelgood said:

SS will be a victim of having done so well since he arrived. Today we were poor & far too reminiscent of Evatt-ball. That needs expunging.

If, & we now should, we get to the play-off it's a bonus.

 

He will have done a sterling job to get us there, we're desperately short of options up front, even to give Collins and McAtee a rest, and can't consistently turn out our best back line.

What he's got at his disposal is unbalanced and is way short of the physicality required in this league. Getting out of it isn't anywhere near as complex and expensive process as SS's predecessors had the owners believe. 

I'd imagine SS, if he has to rebuild to go again at this level next year, won't be shelling out on any ballers and will be bulking us up a fair degree. 

Stockport have done the double on us this season with some solid, rough defenders, some tidy enough operators in the middle and an assortment of big twats up front. 

Not singling him out by any means, I like him a lot, but I thought Collins was going to cry when the lad with the head band roughed him up for the umpteenth time near the end.

Edited March 15, 2025 by ianofcleveleys

[kent_white]

New manager bounce is over maybe? Players reverting to type? 

I'll be disappointed if we don't make the play offs but the damage was done much earlier on in the season for me. 

Be interested to see where SS thinks we need to recruit to in the summer. And what this new Director of Football does. 

[Roger_Dubuis]

Unfortunately there are better teams than Bolton at the top end of the 3rd Division.It is inevitable the play offs will end in failure if Bolton remain in the top 6.

The midfield just wasn't good enough to impose itself on Stockport and again there wasn't enough output from the two strikers.I don't think Collins/McAtee is  Div 3 promotion winning standard 

At least Stockport were made to work hard for their 3 points unlike  earlier in the season

[Dimron]

36 minutes ago, boltonboris said:

Felt a bit “Evatt” that, but it’s Evatts players. 
 

Fantastic individual goal from their forward who was a handful in the second half. Shit from our point of view, but we’ve got nobody in our team currently that can do that. Powerful running through people and finishing well. 
 

We didn’t deserve anything from that game, but had they been down to 10 men like they should in the first half, and we win that comfortably 

Fantastic individual goal from their forward who was a handful in the second half. Shit from our point of view, but we’ve got nobody in our team currently that can do that. Powerful running through people and finishing well. 

Agreed, I said the same afterwards, the game panned out into one of those where it needed an individual to take it by the scruff of the neck and show some individuality. We don't have that type of player, any showing those traits were moved on by the previous incumbent leaving us with a team of pretty passers.

SS has done well in making them crisper and more direct but he isn't working with his first choice of players at the end of the day, Stockport were very well organised in defence and we just seemed to cancel each other out until....

Not our type of game at the end of the day

Edited March 15, 2025 by Dimron

[Lostock Whites]

Referee aside we were not good enough today, a performance and occasion that just felt too reminiscent of the Evatt days against local rivals.

The defence has been our biggest downfall this season, so many poor goals we concede.

It's so very early on his tenure, but I really hope that unlike his predecessor, schuey actually learns from this game/week in general and gets us firing for the those 2 derby matches.

[tshape]

What a shit week. As if we needed more pressure on getting results in the next 2.

[L/H White]

Huddersfield and Charlton are winning 

We'll be 6 off 6th tonight 

Playoffs gone 

Terrible week 

[Tonge moor green jacket]

37 minutes ago, London Wanderer said:

Nah

Finish outside the playoffs & we might as well of given Evatt until the end of the season.

No excuses with this squad of players & SS will certainly be demanding we make the playoffs. 

I agree to an extent. 

Not qualifying for them will be a big let down. 

OK, the playoffs themselves are a bit of a lottery and as long as we turn up, defeat to a better team can be tolerated.

If we don't qualify, then it has at least given SS time to assess the squad, as pick the men from the boys so to speak.

Don't agree whatsoever though that we may as well have kept IE- the spiral downwards would have continued, and the likes of SS wouldn't have been available, and possibly not as interested neither.

[Wanderlust]

Those Evatt signings that were outstanding against Birmingham - what happened to them then?

It’s irrelevant talking about Evatt in this context - this result was purely about performance, motivation, selection and system and if Schuey is to be judged by the same criteria Evatt was then it was largely his fault.

I said before the game that we needed the same system and a similar selection to the Birmingham game and TBF the selection was similar but with  GT standing in at the back for GJ and Sheehan in for CMG plus a change of keeper. 

The most noticeable difference was the workrate and tempo.

[ianofcleveleys]

7 minutes ago, Dimron said:

Not our type of game at the end of the day

Yes, thought that on way back to the car. Another 'not our type of game' day

[RUREADY2ROLL]

5 minutes ago, L/H White said:

Huddersfield and Charlton are winning 

We'll be 6 off 6th tonight 

Playoffs gone 

Terrible week 

One point behind Huddersfield at the moment 

With Blackpool and Wigan games after the break we could be 10 points behind

[gonzo]

Stop Collins you stop us. We are so short in attack if he's stopped or has an off day.

Only time in 2nd half we got the ball early to him he got a shot off. Sheehan, Toal and GT all back in Evatt land today turning inside. 

All that intensity from our purple patch seems to be gone. 

How we've ended up with two number 10s up top and not a fit number 9 at the club is a travesty and will ultimately cost us.

The international break can't come quick enough.

They executed the perfect game plan btw. And they've s proper number 9, we haven't.

[London Wanderer]

8 minutes ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

I agree to an extent. 

Not qualifying for them will be a big let down. 

OK, the playoffs themselves are a bit of a lottery and as long as we turn up, defeat to a better team can be tolerated.

If we don't qualify, then it has at least given SS time to assess the squad, as pick the men from the boys so to speak.

Don't agree whatsoever though that we may as well have kept IE- the spiral downwards would have continued, and the likes of SS wouldn't have been available, and possibly not as interested neither.

Aye the playoffs are a free hit for SS. No pressure on him there.

But I’ve no doubt he will have set himself the expectations of taking us there.

Fwiw none of this is a criticism of him. I’m delighted we got him & I still would be if we finish 9th and have him to rebuild over the summer. 
 

But this squad of players is more than good enough to make the playoffs. They know it & the manager does. It’s the least they’ll expect from themselves.

 Really tough run in now. I reckon we can do it though. 

[Tonge moor green jacket]

Well he's got 2 weeks now to rest them, and tell them to pull their fingers out and find those minerals that put Birmingham to the sword.

Reckon we're missing Johnston.

[Hoppy]

Not the best today poor team selection and tactics for me  no-one in the middle third in their half and no-one spreading play on the wings, like most people said ghost of IE today can't see much for rest of season. Surely we have a player in reserve team that can play as a centre forward 

[mickbrown]

The ref was as bad as I’ve seen in all my years of watching football 

[Farnywhite]

The problem ss will have is moving a lot of the squad on we only have a few out of contract in the summer it’s going to take a couple of windows for him to sort it outand bring is own style in .
Why the board splashed out a million on Randall when evatt was on is last legs fuck knows 

[JimmyRiddle]

When they beat us in the cup, they treated it like a giant killing.

They have now gone past us, it's fucking embarrassing, we shouldn't be mentioned in the he same breath as Stockport County or the like.

FV have yet to succeed IMO, that second half was fucking grim.

And that's all I saw has had to get my tyre changed on way to match after a blow out, so yes I'm in a mood but that was fucking shit!!

[tshape]

14 minutes ago, mickbrown said:

The ref was as bad as I’ve seen in all my years of watching football 

He's always shite him. Stealing a living.

Edited March 15, 2025 by tshape

[Eddie]

Not good enough all over the park and I’m afraid it’s probably the first instance I’ve seen of SS getting it wrong.

First half seemed to go back and forth and was really even, they probably just edged it but there wasn’t much in it. They should have had a man sent off - no surprise another ref bottled the 2nd yellow (the first could have been a red - Tutu helped him out by jumping straight up).

Couldn’t believe they made 3 changes at the break considering they looked marginally the better side. They matched us up, went 5 at the back, 3 in midfield who sat deep and it was back to watching an Evatt team try and break it down. They played it brilliantly, perfect away game, hardly in danger but then managed to pick off our weakness at the back on a few occasions.

Subs were wrong. Randall was anonymous, Sheehan was having a shocker, yet Morley came off for Matete.

Their goal was just yet another weak as piss bit of defending. Matete should have just laid it off, instead he turned and played a blind ball right to their player (shite), Toal put in a weak challenge on the touchline (he was weak all game) and then Forino just offered the lad the freedom of the pitch whilst no midfielder got back at him.

Honeymoon is definitely over. We’ve not just suddenly turned into the best team in the league. This is all about doing whatever we can to sneak into the play offs and then see if we can do something special from there.

Positives - Baxter, he’s a better keeper than Southwood, and GT who I thought played that new role really well and I think it suits him having the game in front of him.

[noxid]

I'm bored with reading about how poor the ref was. The fact is these teams are experts at this level in bullying, fouling, leaning on you and taking a yellow card or two and then substituting those players with similar ones who go again. 

We must be the most lightweight team in the league and to get out of this league you have to be fast, physical, shoot on sight, cross ball after ball into the penalty box where eventually something either a deflection or mistake from a player occurs.

Today all that pissing about on the sideline. Just put it into the crowd.Toal looked like a Div 2 defender with no pace who couldn't make up any ground after his mistake.

Thankfully there is two weeks to regroup but two dreaded local derbies to come.

[worthy10]

As said above, big home crowd, local Darby. None performance, seen that before.

A lot of evattesque sideways and backwards.

The best team won, baxter made 3 excellent saves.

Matete losing the ball, turning back on himself, for their goal,seen that before.

Randall, had his chance, should have been hooked 15 mins earlier. Provides nothing going forward, plays safe by passing sideways/backwards. Seems to have no strength or strengths to his game

 

Subs and attacking intent, too little, too late.

The ref, awfully weak and terrible knowledge of the game. Stopped the game 3 times, with us in possession, to book a Stockport player. Bottled the pen v collins and the 2nd yellow.

We are crying out for a powerful, good in the air striker!

GT, tallest dwarf today. A whiff of the honeymoon period being over and a stark reminder that these are all evatts players

[Farnywhite]

The good news is we can’t possibly loose 4 on the bounce with Blackpool and Wigan next up 

[Winchester White]

I must admit I was surprised to see Morley coming off, yes it wasn't his best game but it was no-ones best game. Randall would have been my choice for being subbed.