TOPIC: Anyone brave enough

To admit to going last night and post ratings. Still interested in how the players performed.

Apparently not lol.

I went last night even though I totally disagree with the introduction of U21 teams. I`m very glad I went cos Carlisle played some really excellent football, especially in the first half. The first 2 goals were the result of great play and a joy to watch. Salkeld`s 4th was also a lovely piece of action with a perfect pass (from Devitt??) to send him through. I would encourage you to watch the highlights if you can find them somewhere. All in all it was well worth the £5 I paid - one of the most enjoyable games I`ve been to this season - and that's saying something. Nice to see Salkeld and Holt coming on too.
As for ratings I`d be saying 7s mostly as it was a good performance. Standouts were Joyce and McKee, and Lambe on the wing in the first half was unstoppable. A good evenings entertainment despite the cold.

Goals From Last Night

Don't know about ratings but there were a couple of soldiers there...

The pass for the 4th looks to have been from 25, Holt. Great ball and finish sounded like it got the biggest cheer of the night

Crocombe was poor, second goal should never have gone in.
Defence was solid enough, Brisley and Ellis never looked in any trouble.
Midfield controlled the game, Joyce played well, McKee was solid enough. Holt looked good when he came on, put himself about a bit.
Charlie Wyke again didn't offer too much threat up front though did score. Some in the Paddock were booing young Salkeld when he came on which I thought was harsh, was really pleased when he scored with a well taken goal .
Fleetwood seemed to be playing a load of reserves and young lads who were generally dire. If that is their first team they are in trouble

Markovitch wrote:
Why the f**k were people in the paddock booing Salkeld? Weird!

We were lucky Fleetwood don't score a couple more! Crocombe was awful in the first half p1ssing about with the short passing to defenders when they were getting closed down quickly and taking too long to get rid of the ball when it was passed back to him. No danger to Gillespie from him.
2nd half we had the problem of no one upfront to win the long balls after Wyke went off.. no good punting it forward to a 5ft centre forward and hoping he can out jump 6ft defenders. that invited pressure back on us and its just as well Fleetwood were not that good.
Thought Salkeld did well although Devitt and Miller seemed reluctant to pass the ballot him at times.
Good win though so shouldn't complain too much

I went along last night and on the whole was a good performance.
First half played 352 and was probably the most dominant and comfortable half Ive seen this season. We should have had 5 by HT, Devitt rattled the bar and Asamoah mucked up a clear chance. McKee, Devitt and Joyces movement was very good, (Joyce basically ran the show), All our goals came from good build up play. Was pleasing to see the players passing the ball into space for someone to run onto rather than playing it to static players all the time.
Second Half felt similar to the Hartlepool match at the end of season 2 years ago. Joyce came off still played 352 and the midfield lost a lot of bite and aggression as you would expect when you effectively have three No. 10s playing there in McKee, Devitt and Lambe. Fleetwood were on top for the first 30 minutes of the half but the fourth killed them off. Credit to McKee he grew into the role of sitting deeper and covering Joyces role and showed he could do it if needed.
One big issue was Crocombe and Brisley passing out from the back, it was very similar to Gillespie and Raynes doing it last season neither looked comfortable, Fleetwood put lots of pressure on and resulted in lots of errors.
Salkeld did OK, struggled at the start but his goal was well taken, settled him down and he was much more involved from then on.

Markovitch wrote:
Think that might have been his mates

Good to see the young lads given a chance. There is Max Brown as well he has always looked a good prospect whenever I've seen him play, he's still recovering from injury at the moment.

Markovitch wrote:
Rosler made 11 changes

Dave wrote:
How many games have you been to then Dave
Quote" one of the most enjoyable games I've been to this season -and that's saying something ". Seems you haven't enjoyed the many other great games we've seen at BP so far

I`ve been to them all (season ticket) and away at Blackpool and Morecambe. Agree there have been other cracking games - we are getting our bob`s worth this season. But I just felt that the quality of football in the first half was excellent, particularly as we had quite a few fringe players in the team. Also despite some scary moments playing out of defence they did not lose their nerve and were rewarded for the effort to play rather than hit long balls.
I too was amazed and saddened by the booing of Salkeld. He did take a little time to get used to the pace of the game but he won his critics over with the goal. Perhaps the boo-boys were just getting a bit nervous after Fleetwood had come back to 3-2.

Ok Here goes:
7 - Max - Couple of dodgy moments but on the whole looks a decent keeper, distributes the ball very well and quickly.
6 - Ellis - Not as good as against Crawley, but stuck to his task.
7 Grainger - Well what can you say, 6 goals on the trot, lets hope he makes seven on Saturday
7 Brisley - Like the look of this lad very composed, maybe a little TOO laid back at times, going to be very interesting if he keeps his place or is replaced by Gilesphy
7 Gilesphy - think this lad gets better every game
6 Joyce - Not at his best, but bloody hell did we notice when he didn't reappear after half time, we nearly fell apart in the middle of the park.
8 McKee - MOTM and deservedly so a very busy little player, took his goal well, and on that performance we have nothing to worry about if Jones/Joyce get injured or suspended.
7 Lambe - Normal bustling self
7 Devitt - Some nice touches nearly capped it with a goal but hit the woodwork.
6 Wyke - Not at his best
6 Asamoah - Ran about a lot

Subs
7 Miller
7 Salkeld - Looks promising
6 Holt - Looks a big strong lad, but didn't see much of the ball

Curle - 7 thought he made the substitutions a bit to early, but after saying that we were 3-0 up so can be forgiven.

Crowd - Very quiet, felt like a reserve game.

There you go folks, yes I went and paid my money and I will make absolutely no apologies for that. Even though like most people I don't agree with the format of this competition the lure of seeing the lads make it 8 straight wins was enough to make me want to be there. And to be honest at the moment they deserve every scrap of support we can muster be it this dog end of a competition or anything else.
COYB

Sad to see so many on that side of the ground on camera. Thank God most other clubs up and down the country and boycotting in big numbers. We have let the side down as a fan base I feel. Fans had a duty to stick together on this.

bruntonpete wrote:
Don't we have a duty to 'stick together' as supporters of our teams?

bruntonpete wrote:
Bit surprised with it being a dead rubber, on top of everything else. I've been to league games with lower crowds. It's a strange world we live in.

Not really. The club have moaned in the past that we have actually lost money in the early rounds in the past. They are taking blood money now in this shame. If it is no longer viable then scrap it. If they had set this up as a new competition I'd have more respect for it. I still probdbly wouldn't attend it with those teams in but I could understand it. The way it is now is the same as trying to shoehorn Milton Keynes into the league.

Most of us would have loved to have seen these three wins and cheer on the team but surely principles must matter at some point and with mk and this, I can't accept either.

bruntonpete wrote:
I went last night. Don't agree with the new teams either. I do believe though in boycotting the u23 games would make the farce stand out more. For example if we had got 4K last night against league one opposition but only mustered 500 against Blackburn u23s would that not send a stronger signal out about what we don't agree with?

I see what you are saying but that's a weak protest. They will spin that with averages and trials. It needs a total boycott and a strong national stance against it. The rich are taking the piss out of the poor as usual. If it was English youngsters only it would carry a semblance of credibility in its argument for but it doesn't. The club hierarchy have let themselves down too. Lowering ticket prices and our CEO singing it's praises only goes to add an embarrassing slant compared to other clubs.

Mikercufc wrote:
Not for me. It's still a competition featuring U23 teams. By going v Fleetwood you give the competition your blessing. Total boycott or what's the point?

By the same token then if you disagree with the MK Dons fiasco you should boycott all league games not just ones involving MK?

pie wrote: If the league was a one season trial then you may have a point... as it's not then you really don't. If the 1 season trial is a flop then there is every likelihood it will be changed. I think if the B teams farce was extended to the league I'd seriously think about not bothering with the league as that would be the end of lower league football in this country pretty much.