Let’s talk about the sending off. There was a lot of anger around me, their defender apparently cheated, etc etc. That is utter rubbish. Freck’s first touch was heavy and his second was on the man, not the play. His studs were up, it was a red card. You could say the Crawley lads contributed to the card, of course they did. They’re looking to appeal those decisions and when it is as clear-cut as that, they’re entitled to do so.
By the way, the foul on Akinde later in the game was no comparable either. It was a foul, it was a booking but Akinde was not through on goal and the foul was not serious foul play. Sorry, I call it how I see it and for me, the referee got those decisions spot on. What he didn’t do well was general control, stealing yards at throw ins, hurrying up play and spotting handballs, but they’re minor infringements. There was a lot of anger being directed at him from the rows in front of me, but it was largely unjustified. I’d say it was maybe frustration.
Even Grant Smith had an off game. He did make a great save in the first half, making amends for almost serving up a goal for Ollie Palmer but luckily he showed all the sharpness in front of goal as our striker and we got away with it. Smith’s distribution wasn’t great either, but he was kicking into a swirling wind, so he should be afforded a little bit of slack.
After the sending off I’ve heard it said we looked better, there was only one team likely to score and so on, but let’s be frank, we were never going to score, were we? The only time we looked a danger was when Rheady came on, ten minutes too late. I’m all for Rhead getting a run out from the bench, but in games like this afternoon I think it needed to be a little earlier. I expect Danny saw that our play had picked up and he didn’t want to upset that rhythm, I can understand it to a degree.
Maybe I’m missing something with Matt Green, an injury or something else, but he has more energy and movement than Akinde and Rhead put together.
Perhaps I wouldn’t have brought Mensah on, I’d like to have seen us throw Rhead and Green on for Akinde and Pett and just go for it. What is the worst that could happen? We concede again?
Maybe I’m missing something with Matt Green, an injury or something else, but he has more energy and movement than Akinde and Rhead put together. That’s not a slur on Rhead, nor intentionally on Big John either, but we needed a striker who would chase everything, certainly as Connolly’s legs got tired. Instead we tried to batter them without really getting around them or running at them. That was a shame.
That’s it really. It was a bad day at the office, it was an afternoon we need to forget, the second is as many seasons against Crawley. It’s also an early home defeat for us, something we don’t see very often. Danny wasn’t happy either, his radio interview started out as a bit of a ‘one word answer’ session. He was clearly irked and rightly so. I heard talk of a Manager of the Month curse, but I don’t believe that at all. there’s one reason Danny’s side lost today and it isn’t because he won an award.
His players let him down, and aside from Shackell and Bostwick, they let us down as well. It was sloppy, disorganised and complacent. Don’t expect to see the XI against Macclesfield next weekend anyway, and not just because Freck is suspended.
Thanks to the people who came and said hello today, Jerry, Marie and Richard to name but a few. it’s lovely to hear you tell me you like the blog, fanzine or podcast. Thank you.
Like I said in my last comment, it’s a 46 game season and it would take an extraordinary team to lead from the no.1 position, a lot of good luck and few injuries plus staying in form throughout! One game at a time, let’s not get in front of ourselves. Having said that, where would you prefer to be right now, in Lincoln or in Nottingham? Says it all really, doesn’t it!!! Poor old County, they are in meltdown….. UTI
A Fair summing up we never got going today and the contrast to last Saturday is unbelievable, we were a completely different team.
Totally agree with your summing up Gary, we weren’t at the Imps best today at all. Let’s face it we have been lucky with getting results when played poorly. Crawley were no where near as good as Bury but we got a result. Northampton like wise. Today may have been a massive wake up call, and just the kick up the backside we need.
Rhead & Green should have been brought on earlier, but Danny knows best.
We are used to winning at Sincil Bank and the result hurts . The only good thing was the goal wasn’t scored by Ollie
Palmer.
It’s only a blip and we will learn from this. UTI
I thought Akinde’s chance from Andrade’s cross in the first half was very difficult. It looked to me like he had to take it running at full pace and didn’t have time to alter his stride pattern to make a more accurate connection. If that’s the case then he did well just to get a toe on it. He looked isolated all game. The system we played today relies on players getting near him or running past him when the ball goes into him. That very rarely happened. I think he’d be much more effective with a partner, not someone playing off him in the hole.
We were altogether pretty ineffective in attack today.
An excellent summary Gary. I would slightly disagree about the Bruno Andrade incident. There was a hesitation before he went down as if he thought it was worth reinforcing his claim for a foul. He did not need treatment in the event. It put a couple of our players off (possibly because they were waiting for the ref to stop it for a head injury if not for the foul). A learning point I think. I just wonder if the same team that thrashed Exeter were (deep inside themselves and not even consciously) complacent about Crawley and could not get going when the opposition started strongly. So many players were off the pace it is hard to explain. It is a wake up call for sure but we are still top, still have a fantastic squad and wonderful management team. Up the Imps!
Bias for and against individuals in this write up… Ollie Palmer you have never liked… and you sponsor Greeny… It wasn’t a bad game to be fair… we created some decent chances but the final pass let us down. The free kicks down the sides were well worked and weighted unfortunately the final ball was again missing… I’m afraid Akinde will divide opinion… good finisher but not combative enough We have to find a different way. Dare we try Rheady and Akinde together. It would be an interesting experiment..
Your assessment is spot on, can’t blame the ref, we were just slack for most of the game. Just hope bounce back UTI
Hi Gary
Firstly I agree with your overall assessment of the match. I think we all have to try and remember just how far we have come in such an incredibly short space of time and because of that there will be problems along the way.
The big disappointment for me on Saturday was something that’s always annoyed me with football fans and that’s the Selenity Stand standing up and applauding Freck as he left the pitch. Yes, well done Freck for that unnecessary challenge and making it incredibly difficult for the rest of the team. Just the example the new Club Captain needs to be showing. I’m not saying boo him off or get on his back but a standing ovation, really!! UTI