Northampton Town (H) League 1 Saturday 1/11/08.

[Jolly Johnny]

Disappointed that Nicholls is only on the bench whilst Deeney is starting. He was very poor last week.

No Ishy or Weston in the 16 either. Deeney down the right and Taundry or Palmer down the left (can't tell from the way the beeb have laid out the team sheet on the live text) :?

[Winston Smith]

Considering who we have available (presumably), it is a very strange team selection.

Lets hope JM is correct in his decision making.

[loop]

Palmer with a corker by the sound of it!!!!! :D :D :D :D


Wish i was there :(

[Jorge14]

Palmer with a corker by the sound of it!!!!! :D :D :D :D


Wish i was there :(

Sounds like it was against the run of play. Hopefully we can push on and then not fold like two weeks ago.

[loop]

2 - 0 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wooooooooooo :D

[motty]

Palmer with a corker by the sound of it!!!!! :D :D :D :D


Wish i was there :(

Sounds like it was against the run of play. Hopefully we can push on and then not fold like two weeks ago.

thats it stay positive an get behind the team :roll: :roll:

[Jorge14]

Palmer with a corker by the sound of it!!!!! :D :D :D :D


Wish i was there :(

Sounds like it was against the run of play. Hopefully we can push on and then not fold like two weeks ago.

thats it stay positive an get behind the team :roll: :roll:

It was our first shot on goal in the game, it has spurred us to push on and get a second and we are now in exactly the same circumstance as two weeks ago. Where, pray tell, was I being negative or criticising the team?

[loop]

Deeney 3 - 0 !!!!!!! :mrgreen:

[Surrey Saddler]

C'mon lads, time for some more. Nothing like a big win to set the season alight

[loop]

3 - 1

[loop]

Stoke 2 Arsenal 0 :shock:

[bigste]

Good result lads !!!!

Hav'nt been today due to work commitments, looking forwrd to reading match reports later. :D :D

[BathSaddler]

Did we need that. I notice that they had more shots on/off target and also shaded possession, according to BBC text commentary.

Some odd team selections as usual, but we seemed to get away with them today. We must have real strength in depth if we can afford to leave Reich and Bradley on the bench and Ishy and Weston out of the 16 altogether :roll: .

UTS

[latviancheese]

just got back


Utter crap, mullen aint got the foggiest when it comes to subs, took Mattis off and we were rubbish. Cant defend our way out of a paper bag. Ive come away from a 3-1 win feeling like we lost. The atmosphere was flat, but we all know whos fault that is.

Palmers goals was a good un, and the second came from good set piece play. And the third was brave header but it was a goalkeeping error really.



Ince - made two good saves in teh second half but wtf is he doin of corners, marking their centre forward?
Boertien- Decent
Taundry- Best player on the pitch
Gerrard- Did what he needed to do
Roberts - Solid enough, ball watches far too much
Mattis- Without him in the middle we are so powederpuff its untrue
Hughes- Didnt notice he was playing to be honest
Deeney - Scored, but pretty ineefectual.
Ricketts - why did take him off, only bit of skill in the whole team
Jabo - Good in the first, didnt win nowt in the second, but kept plugging.

Subs
Reich - Pointless subistution
Nicholls - Not enough time to make an impact
Bradley - Did okay, hes a shadow of the player he was last season.

[AlexTheWalsallFan]

WM reports that we were good in first half and poor in second half and were lucky to remain 3-1

but anyways good result 3 points are 3 points and we move up the table 5 points off the play-offs with a game in hand

Come on lads !!

[Pedagogue]

Hartlepool United, Leeds United and now Northampton Town - we certainly are the team of "the game of two halves". A promising first half and a dreadful second half in which we faded badly and, in the end, were lucky to come away with all three points. I am puzzled by the continued absence of Weston and Demontagnac from the 16 man squad - are they ill/injured?

Ince - two brilliant saves in the closing stages, to keep us in it.

Taundry - my man-of-the-match, in his best position of right-back. My only worry is his lack of height in dealing with crosses.
Gerrard - usual sound self
Roberts - just about adequate - does not dominate or command in the middle of defence - not a patch on Roper, at his best, or Dann.
Boertien - o.k., without being outstanding.

Deeney - usual 100% effort but poor skill level but full marks for his brave header for the 3rd goal.
Hughes - quite good first half, VERY poor second half, in which he was a liability - may not yet be back to full fitness.
Mattis - as Boertien
Palmer - for all the recent criticism of him, he didn't have a bad game and his delivery was generally good - scored a cracker and laid on the other two.

Ibehre - worked hard as ever but his finishing lets him down
Ricketts - typical Ricketts - doesn't break sweat but may not have been fully fit.

Bradley (for Mattis) - apart from one saving tackle in our penalty area, contributed little when he came on but we were already under the cosh by then.
Reich (for Ricketts) - nothing
Nicholls (for Deeney) - only on for stoppage time

The second half fade-out worries me. Perhaps those who have seen more games than me would care to comment - is it a fitness issue? I'm sure Dicky Dosh wouldn't have tolerated it!

[Louise]

Well am just defrosting after watching that lot ...
Yes we won ,but i left feeling flat and knowing it could so easily have been Hartlepool again.
What have Ishy and Weston done to not be even on the bench??
I dont understand Mullens subs - Mattis is needed on the pitch - i didnt get Bradley comeing on for him.
Deeney did well for his goal, but very little else.

There is no cohesion ,Northampton went for it in the second half and were unlucky not to score more than once.
This team Mullen is picking is not even playoff material,play like that next week and we are out of the cup.

Shouldnt feel like this after a victory but I am not convinced at all.

[latviancheese]

Certainly the players up the attacking end of the ptich fade out before 60 minutes, especially jabo, i know he runs around alot but he shouldnt get that kanckered, same with deeney.

[bleed_red_n_white]

its a scandal that rhys weston is not in the team.

[BathSaddler]

Certainly the players up the attacking end of the ptich fade out before 60 minutes, especially jabo, i know he runs around alot but he shouldnt get that kanckered, same with deeney.

It may have something to do with the fact we only have two senior forwards at the club, we are woefully undernourished upfront IMO. If both Ibehre and Ricketts come off, who else do we have who is experienced in that position?

But then we do have a bigger budget than last year, so what do I know?

[saddlerken]

I'm afraid that as a defensive unit we are shambolic, Mullen and Schofield have not got a clue in that regard

Likewise the subtitutions, diabolical

They really should have got at least a point out of us lookinh back at the amount of times we had a lucky escape

Also, why wasn't Ince MOTM? He was always involved and saved our skins on many occasions in the 2nd half

This team will not get relagated, it will also not get promoted, middle of middleville is where we will be

Unless of course we sack the manager

[sj]

We won 3 1 but the game was so flat. The players were putting the effort in but it never fizzled. Can't put my finger on it yet.

[Saddlers Man Dan]

Well am just defrosting after watching that lot ...
Yes we won ,but i left feeling flat and knowing it could so easily have been Hartlepool again.
What have Ishy and Weston done to not be even on the bench??
I dont understand Mullens subs - Mattis is needed on the pitch - i didnt get Bradley comeing on for him.
Deeney did well for his goal, but very little else.

There is no cohesion ,Northampton went for it in the second half and were unlucky not to score more than once.
This team Mullen is picking is not even playoff material,play like that next week and we are out of the cup.

Shouldnt feel like this after a victory but I am not convinced at all.

Summed up perfectly i would say. Very nervy parts in the second half when we where 3-0 to the good.

[Chomper]

Odd!

people have been calling for Bradley to be involved more, yet when he is, you're now saying Mattis shouldn't have been brought off.

Unless we change the formation Bradley is only ever going to replace Mattis isn't he?

Anyweay it's good to get back to winning ways. Lets hope we can continue.

[Whitti Steve]

Echo what others have said. It was inportant to get back to winning ways, and we did - so I am happy about that. I assumed Mattis was injured as there was no other explanation for him going off then. But when Rickets went off (he too loked to be holidng his groin), why put Reich on? Surely Nichols was the more obvious? We sat back way too much again and almost suffered the consequences. I thought Palmer could have been in with a shout for MOTM for his first half performance, Taundry did well until the last 15 too.

[Wyrley_saddler]

Ince - 8 - Fine form, made a few great saves and was confident in catching

Taundry - 9 - My MOTM, superb all game
Gerrard - 7 - Solid at the back and scored?
Roberts - 7 - Solid display
Boertien - 7 - Look better today, abit more confident than in recent weeks. Decent display

Deeney - 7 - Was brave to score his goal in that manner, gave his all, but was still only average
Hughes - 7 - Decent first half but dissapeared second half
Mattis - 7 - Good game from him. Solid in thee middle for the majority of the 90 mins
Palmer - 8 - Another good game from him. Wonderful goal and picked up two assists

Ibehre - 7 - Posed a threat but his decision making was poor. Poor first half, better second, gave his all but not his best performance
Ricketts - 6 - Poor game from him, never realy got going.

Bradley (for Mattis) - 6 - Didn't realy get into the game when he came on, putting us under more pressure
Reich (for Ricketts) - 6 - Ran around abit, but never got into the game. Looked out of place upfront.
Nicholls (for Deeney) - 7 - Did well with what he had to do for his limited time on the pitch





Overall, we never got out of 2nd gear, but didn't need to. Northampton could have scored anothe, but Ince was in good form making a vew very good saves. It was a routine win against a poor Northampton side. We weren't convincing but good (and brave) finishing won us the match. It could have so easily gone the other way.

[LancsSaddler]

agree with most that it was a flat win, like everyone was just going through the motions. I think mullens bizare selections have a lot to do with it:

ince: some good saves but scares me whenever the ball goes near him (plus what the heck is he doing in corners!)

taundry: fairly solid, his lack of pace didnt get exposed today as he wasnt really against a fast winger (it normally does...). however the fact that hes a midget did, i dont think he won one header against their left mid, he was clearky targeted. Not a patch on weston at full back.
Boertion:solid game
Gerrard: solid
Roberts: dont really agree with some of the posts on here, as other than his air kick near the end he was solid and made some vital interceptions and tackles. (He had to deal with lots of 2nd balls and knock downs when taundry got beat in the air)

Deeney: brave for his goal, still got no 1st touch or skill or pace. at least he tries hard though...
Palmer: Good set piece delivery as usual and goal looked good. I dont mind us playing him in midfield as long as we have some pace on the other wing to stretch the game. however we didnt.
Hughes: our only player who always wants the ball, and always looks to keep possession. Hes another Osborn, who some people that dont really understand the game cant see what he adds to the team.
Mattis: solid game, need to try to get forward a bit more to support jabo when ricketts drops deep. (he was hobbling before he was taken off so i presume that was why)

Jabo: strong and held the ball up as usual. Still seems a bit shot shy??
Ricketts: you can see the class in his play, even if he is abit lazy, but he needs someone to link up with on the wings and give him some service. Id like to think he went off injured.... but it may have been one of mullens tactical masterpieces :roll:

one final thought: We are obviously low on confidence. So when we are winning 3 v 0 at home, why do go to 4 5 1?!? all that says to the players is to forget attacking, were not good enough to defend this lead unless we go backs to the wall and sit deep. It just invites the opposition to attack us and grow in confidence, while our players just lose any that they had gained, and start thinking about the numerous games we have thrown away!

[tinned]

I'm glad I ain't alone because I feel like we lost (cue the happy clappers mithering on about us winning). If we play like that every week we're doomed. Terrible, terrible, terrible. I have never watched so little of a 90 minute game of football. I'd more interest in the pre-season friendlies. Woeful stuff.

Any truth in the big rumours circulating the Stadium Suite at half time? We're a dead club walking I'm afraid.

[bleed_red_n_white]

i agree with above i would be very disapointed now if i was a northampton fan.

[ws3]

I'm glad I ain't alone because I feel like we lost (cue the happy clappers mithering on about us winning). If we play like that every week we're doomed. Terrible, terrible, terrible. I have never watched so little of a 90 minute game of football. I'd more interest in the pre-season friendlies. Woeful stuff.

Any truth in the big rumours circulating the Stadium Suite at half time? We're a dead club walking I'm afraid.

Whats that all about then tinned?