Could be 4/5 changes for this - Wouldn’t be surprised to see Tutu, Simons, Dempsey, Cissoko and  Burstow start 

2 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

And that eye of needle pass to Dempsey, who scores on another day but got penalised for feet up.  Nobody else sees that pass never mind executes it.  I'm convinced some people don't watch, which is fine, but don't comment on individual players if you're not paying attention.

He was a joy to watch tonight, levels above anyone else and we are lucky to have him. Yes he makes the odd wayward pass, but it is probably 1-2% of his passing in most games. As you say he sees passes no one else does and he reads the game very well, always been a big fan but tonight was a top performance and he really didnr diserve to be on the losing side.

Was delighted when Johnston went off. His terrible distribution and awful decision making cost us today with the giving away of a needless corner. Forrester and Forino are superior defenders and it feels odd they've not had a look in when fit again.

13 minutes ago, Wanderlust said:

Tonight was a Mansfield masterclass in how to beat us and that blueprint has and will be used by loads of teams who may not have the style (or the flattering statistics) our lads possess, but are solid enough when it comes down to it.

 

Oxford was a masterclass on how to beat us, that wasnt. Mansfield were dominated and conceded many chances. Play like that 9 times out of ten you get a hiding, we squandered our chances and conceded a weak goal and it needs adressing, as Schumacher has stated, but that is no masterclass or blueprint.

Just now, Kane57 said:

Was delighted when Johnston went off. His terrible distribution and awful decision making cost us today with the giving away of a needless corner. Forrester and Forino are superior defenders and it feels odd they've not had a look in when fit again.

Hes was fine, and ones of the best players on the pitch in the last game. It was an atracking sub to give us more bodies up front.

How you can say Forrester and Forino are superior is beyond me when neither have played much  or impressed when they have, this season. 

Thought we played well tonight, probably the best I’ve seen for a while. The balance looked right. Dalby scores and we go in at halftime in front, instead he misses and we start to to look nervy, keep the same team nyd with a similar performance and we may well be back in the mix. Sheehan mom again.

12 minutes ago, CambridgeBWFC said:

Oxford was a masterclass on how to beat us, that wasnt. Mansfield were dominated and conceded many chances. Play like that 9 times out of ten you get a hiding, we squandered our chances and conceded a weak goal and it needs adressing, as Schumacher has stated, but that is no masterclass or blueprint.

I’ve lost count of how many teams have set up 541 against us in the hope of nicking a goal on the break or from a set piece.

1 minute ago, Wanderlust said:

I’ve lost count of how many teams have set up 541 against us in the hope of nicking a goal on the break or from a set piece.

But not many have ridden their luck as much as that tonight. 

19 minutes ago, Kane57 said:

Was delighted when Johnston went off. His terrible distribution and awful decision making cost us today with the giving away of a needless corner. Forrester and Forino are superior defenders and it feels odd they've not had a look in when fit again.

If you think Forino is superior to Johnston then football isn’t for you. 

15 minutes ago, Kane57 said:

Was delighted when Johnston went off. His terrible distribution and awful decision making cost us today with the giving away of a needless corner. Forrester and Forino are superior defenders and it feels odd they've not had a look in when fit again.

I've been saying for a while (over 12 months) that Johnston is our biggest problem, yes he does some things right, but most people seem to be blind to all the things he does wrong/badly - and directing the ball out of play, when hardly under pressure at all, is one of those. He did it on Friday and Rotherham had 2 really good chances as a result of the throw-in he gifted them.

He's also poor at heading - yes he gets to the ball, sometimes (definitely not always) but has limited control where the ball is going. He's incredibly weak at defending corners and, whilst he can play a good pass, god awful passes are also in his armoury.

I hate criticising players online, but I'm afraid we aren't going up automatically if he remains in the team.

We've played worse than tonight & won this season & will do again. We lost because we missed our chances which is obviously a problem but not yet a reason for hysteria or mass changes.

Odd again that Morley put in some lovely crosses .....but after Dalby had gone off.

& the Conway one was a penalty. Cissoko was booked for diving, if the ref thought Conway dived , why did he not book him also ?

MOTM Sheehan, a class act.

I’d love to have Dion Charles and Aaron Collins instead of Burstow and Dalby. I think SS might be thinking similar going off his very honest post match interview. If not those two, pick some others as I  appreciate Charles has gone to shit.

I’d also prefer Baxter back instead of Sharman.….

Edited December 30, 2025Dec 30 by Alf Hartigan
All hypothetical obviously

Not long back. Bumped into some Mansfield fans in services, they could not believe they won. 
 

Keeper not much to do, messed up the one that mattered.

Tutu - individually he did ok, but he does not link up well with ACD . JDC needs to be given a chance IMO. Think he was doing some running pre match.

Conway did ok , link well with most of our attacks down that side. Should score. Need to see penalty again.

Centre halves - GJ fucked up for the corner they scored off , neither did anything that good. Apart from a Toal run and cross

Simons - Another no show

Sheehan - Head and shoulders ahead of others- Need to see penalty again again

ACD - did not do enough, 

Gale - OK frustrating when he stops taking his man , 2 right backs booked for fouls on him

Dalby - Awful miss , some nice touches though

Randel - Did ok but like others no end product

Subs

Dempsey - at least gets fwad to help attack but no end product

Burstow - I said as we were driving to Northampton I was not convinced by him, despite being leading scorer in league at that point. Would love to be proved wrong

Morley - I do not understand why he has been left out so much, some good delivery  

Cissoko - some absolutely awful bits but tbf he kept trying to beat his man , but will be remberred as a nightmare for him.

Forss - Continues to disappoint and like so many others no end product and hardly involved

The Ref - books 2 players for shirt pulls - then lets next one go. Did not think Cisoko dived , Need to see replays of that and the penalty claims , if they were not penalties were they not simulation ? So why no card ? 

Conceding soft goals and missing guilt edge chances, story of our season.

I know every team will say goals are avoidable but ours have been genuinely more so. Teddy's mistake against Exeter and tonight not being strong enough, the penalty against Rotherham. Even the 2 goals against Wycombe where our players slipped and theirs don't.

You see the genuine frustration and anger in Schuey's eyes and rightly so. We shouldnt have lost any of the games we have lost so far. 

But we're 22 games in and there's a clear pattern. Think January has come at a good time because I think we need some experience to assist this young group. 

They are playing well, controlling games and trying, but like Schuey has said, we're just not clinical, in both boxes. You can't expect promotion like that no matter how many shots and possession you have per game.

It's frustrating because there's clear a good team there capable. I don't believe for one second that Lincoln & Bradford are better sides than us, but they're more solid and get the job done.

28 minutes ago, CambridgeBWFC said:

But not many have ridden their luck as much as that tonight. 

True, and they wouldn’t have got away with it if we had finishers and a tighter defence - plus we’d have turned a lot of our draws into wins and won some games far more convincingly.
I look at it this way…..a title winning team should have enough about them to overcome setbacks and bad luck more often than not and I don’t think that’s us yet because we haven’t been convincing for a while. I am hopeful in every game we go into, but I’d rather feel confident than hopeful. 

 

Tonight’s performance is why we’re not getting top two said it for a long while Xmas was 12 points anything less we blow it 

and the keeper needs fucking off is save rate must be 50 percent 

Edited December 30, 2025Dec 30 by Farnywhite

45 minutes ago, bolton va va said:

We've played worse than tonight & won this season

We got lucky in them games Exeter for example and got away with it luck run out tonight 

51 minutes ago, JOGLER said:

I've been saying for a while (over 12 months) that Johnston is our biggest problem

He is weak as piss as been since day one look at Mansfield or Rotherham last 2 Games centre half’s who can defend not light weight centre half’s 

20 minutes ago, Lostock Whites said:

don't believe for one second that Lincoln & Bradford are better sides than us, but they're more solid and get the job done.

If there above us there better so believe it 

Not scoring enough goals, missing easy chances and giving sloppy goals away.

why do our wingers keep floating balls into the goalkeeper ? Thought Morley played some great balls in, but the person most likely to win the headers had gone off.

dalby just has to score that chance first half.

if we have their man mountain of a centre half in our team - we don’t concede half the crap goals we do.

for their goal, Johnston could / should have put it out for a throw, who was marking their centre forward and shouldn’t our goalie be commanding his 6 yard box.

have to go to Doncaster and win otherwise the top 2 is just slipping away and given what I said right at the start, this team in a 2 legged play off  semi against a tough tackling, low block side ain’t winning.

 

8 hours ago, Johnnyrotten said:

Hard to put into words how much I disagree with that.  Beggars belief what some people are seeing versus what I'm watching.

I said it after the last game but Randall's running, getting into space and showing for the ball is fine. He definitely doesn't go hiding. But the issue is once he has the ball he offers nothing. No goal or assist threat from him at all. 

Added to his general lack of physicality that's why I'd always have Dempsey or Forss starting ahead of him in that 10. Or even McAtee when fit.

9 hours ago, Krimzon said:

 

Decide on your best 11 and play that barring injuries.suspensions or severe lack of form . 

 

Do that and you accused of being stubborn with no plan b

Burstow goals have dried up so he's tried everything else up top including not playing strikers at all and it's not worked that well 

We keep conceding goals and no matter what he tries in midfield / right back, doesn't help 

Just not good enough last few games

So try something else or bring in new faces in January

9 hours ago, CumbrianWhite said:

He was the best player on the pitch by a country mile. Summed up by his run half the length of the pitch where Burstow should of then done better. 
 

Compare him to Simons in the same position who was poor once again. Our summer transfer business is looking more questionable each game. 

I think this is probably the most games Simons and Burstow have played at this point of a season in their career and it's catching up with them - they were excellent early on but it's like they've both ran out of steam

7 hours ago, Lostock Whites said:

I don't believe for one second that Lincoln & Bradford are better sides than us, but they're more solid and get the job done.

which in turn makes them a better side that us because one thing we are not is solid and we have failed to get the job done when on top numerous times this season 

Clean sheets - that’s how you win this league 

8 hours ago, BWFC_LOVE said:

If you think Forino is superior to Johnston then football isn’t for you. 

Not sure where that certainty has come from. We're not comparing Maldini to Forino. They're both league 1 standard defenders of similar overall ability but Forino is far better in the air, but a bit clumsy at times, while Johnston is left footed so helps the balance of the team.

For me, I'd give Forino a chance as we're conceding every game at the moment.