Crawl over the finish line (please!) sat 8/5 @3pm on the Sky box

[BWFC_Insane]

I'm slightly perturbed by how low morale within the squad seems to be, or at least how low Evatt's comments seem to suggest it is.

Hopefully he can shake them out of it.

Good managers get a reaction. Doubt we’ve ever been as low as losing to Burton....week later....pitch invasion. That really was against all odds and form too.

I think the big thing for Saturday is picking those that have the balls and fire to do it. We need people to stand up like lionhearts to get the job down not those who wilt away under pressure. Hopefully Evatt will select the right sorts and we get the job done.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

And as well as he defends I'm not sure Doyle stops their centre back with a run at the back post.

No, but maybe someone who was marking someone else does. Obviously Doyler isn't nine foot eight, but he's been back for just about every other corner this season so obviously there's some merit in him being there - especially when they've already overloaded by lobbing the goalkeeper up.

I've said many times on here that football is about players and space, and that the teams who succeed are the ones who best plug the defensive spaces, find the attacking ones or preferably both. At times this spring we've plugged the defensive gaps as well, IMO, as any Parky or Sam team, and combined it with bursts of attacking intent as promising as Rioch or Todd. But that one decision struck me immediately as unwise, in my gut and my head, and I was almost instantly devastated that it worked out that way.

[Prufrock]

All fair enough, I'm not saying they definitely would still have scored, just that it's not certain they wouldn't. I still think it was worth the risk, guaranteed promotion if it comes off, a slight decrease in the odds of promotion if it goes wrong (which, unarguably, it did )

[Worthy4England]

T minus 54 hours.

[officer_dibble]

https://help.nowtv.com/article/sports-membership

Day pass = £9.99 or you can get the month (but seemingly sign up to 3 months) if you are feeling negative and want the play offs - they will all be on sky I think.

[Bruce Rioja]

https://help.nowtv.com/article/sports-membership

Day pass = £9.99 or you can get the month (but seemingly sign up to 3 months) if you are feeling negative and want the play offs - they will all be on sky I think.

I'm going to tempt fate and say the single day's pass will be plenty

[Worthy4England]

https://help.nowtv.com/article/sports-membership

Day pass = £9.99 or you can get the month (but seemingly sign up to 3 months) if you are feeling negative and want the play offs - they will all be on sky I think.

I'm going to tempt fate and say the single day's pass will be plenty

I've made a note of this, and hope we don't have to come back to it!

[officer_dibble]

I have already ticked one superstition off

[BWFC_Insane]

Evatt seems to now be suggesting last week was down to complacency. I hope so as that’s much more easily fixed than stage fright.

[officer_dibble]

I think they viewed it as a free hit. When it went 1-1 we looked devoid of inspiration. Certainly nobody wanted to step up to the plate.

5 subs for the last time on Saturday - hope we use them properly if we need to. We could, for example, start Jackson and John, and if it’s 0-0 or worse bring Dapo on at half time. And still have Miller, Arthur/Elbo, Delf to go...

[jimbo]

Had a dream last night that we lost 4-0. Feelings comparable to that Stoke game.

[Bruce Rioja]

Had a dream last night that we lost 4-0. Feelings comparable to that Stoke game.

Back on the Wee Beastie, you!

[Worthy4England]

Bah - I forgot T minus 30...

So T minus 29:25...

[DJBlu]

Evatt seems to now be suggesting last week was down to complacency. I hope so as that’s much more easily fixed than stage fright.

Might explain the second half then.

Thinking it was job done.

[BWFC_Insane]

Evatt seems to now be suggesting last week was down to complacency. I hope so as that’s much more easily fixed than stage fright.

Might explain the second half then.

Thinking it was job done.

You like to think as a supporter that complacency is never a factor but looking at games we've struggled in during the 'run' Colchester, Grimsby, early doors against Harrogate and Walsall, games perhaps where the players felt we just had to turn up to win.

So perhaps second half was that. Though I rather suspect it was less 'we've done this relax' and more excitement getting the better of them or adrenaline perhaps not being controlled. I once heard Big Sam talk about big game prep and he said one of the big things is to not let adrenaline levels be too high pre match as it causes mental and physical tiredness and you wonder if that's what happened last week. Over excited adrenaline high first half, half time starts to lower and second half is flat......only probably needs to happen to 3 or 4 and suddenly you're up against it.

[Worthy4England]

Evatt seems to now be suggesting last week was down to complacency. I hope so as that’s much more easily fixed than stage fright.

Might explain the second half then.

Thinking it was job done.

Not sure how you fix one of football's greatest intangibles that has no specific measures. Like commitment, playing for the shirt, wanting it more than we did, they were up for it.

"Oh I know what I'll do, I'll impress upon them to want it more, and for a full 90 minutes"

"Run a lot"

"Tackle harder"

Maybe "chuck some tea-cups and express more than a mild displeasure"....

[BWFC_Insane]

Evatt seems to now be suggesting last week was down to complacency. I hope so as that’s much more easily fixed than stage fright.

Might explain the second half then.

Thinking it was job done.

Not sure how you fix one of football's greatest intangibles that has no specific measures. Like commitment, playing for the shirt, wanting it more than we did, they were up for it.

"Oh I know what I'll do, I'll impress upon them to want it more, and for a full 90 minutes"

"Run a lot"

"Tackle harder"

Maybe "chuck some tea-cups and express more than a mild displeasure"....

All intangibles yet the best managers manage to get teams to put these sorts of performances it. Look at Lampard at Chelsea, hapless. Tuchel comes in and suddenly they look organised, disciplined, totally committed and with a very clear tactical plan.

I believe a lot of the issues we had second half was down to how we play or try to and it not really being suited to the circumstances or situation. Exeter were always going to come at us hard and perhaps had we soaked it up for 15 minutes, re-assessed and hit the on the break as the game went on we might have done better. We did that second half against Salford so are capable of it. I suspect the mood was less conducive to playing like that Saturday though.

[Worthy4England]

I think that explanation is more likely than "complacent"

[BWFC_Insane]

I think that explanation is more likely than "complacent"

Yeah that was Evatt's word - I guess it depends how you mean. Like I say I doubt anyone went 'we've done this boys lets just mess about second half'.

Probably more a case of the occasion sapping a bit of energy and not really knowing how to deal with the second half. For a team that likes to pass it I've noted that as soon as games get stretched it really does not suit us at all. Perhaps second half against Exeter we should have compressed the game and asked them to break us down.

[TANGODANCER]

So, after all the debating,are we sort of agreeing that there is actually no magic formula to winning, nobody knows the answer and tossing a coin has as much chance of being right as anybody here? In short, we cheer, shout "COME ON YOU WHITES and just and hope for the best? Guess that's about it.