A Win At Last

Finally, we managed to bag the 3 points although the 12 minutes added on made it nerve wracking as usual! However, this time we managed not to implode.

The first half was awful and we witnessed such a disjointed performance. We could easily have fallen 2 or 3 behind. Stockley nearly put Fleetwood one up from a free kick which struck the underside of the bar but fortunately didn't go in.

It was only a matter of time before he scored and headed home a lovely cross. He was entitled to celebrate wildly but chose not to do so. 

Given that we haven't come to win from back from going behind since early 2022 a win seemed even more unlikely than usual.

Thankfully, we produced a rare moment of magic on 43 minutes as May latched and clinically finished Chem's lovely pass. This was the critical moment of the game.

The second half proved to be a different story and we were at it from the word go. There's was much more intent and effort. The penalty was much deserved and May scored his second for us. He may need to think about where he puts the next one as well as not getting involved in the verbals.

May now finds himself on 4 yellows already this season and the manner in which they're being dished out by refs this season, the 5th one leading to suspension will no doubt be arriving soon.

As a team we managed to collect another 4 yellows as well as one for Pearce. His and the one for CBT are extremely harsh. CBT was a case of mistaken identity and Pearce was only pointing out the error. However, the one for Pearce will not make much difference. 

Overall, the ref had a poor game much like most I've seen this season. He was very inconsistent and made a number of bad decisions. The standard in the third tier has never been that great but this season it seems to be worse. It's unfortunate given the clamp down on disputing decisions and the need to respect the officials. They're not making it easy!

I felt that we needed to start with Kanu and was surprised that we didn't set up with a striker alongside May especially with Leaburn on the bench. The improvement when Kanu has partnered our No.9 has been clear for all to see.

The transfer window has seen us recruit players for the positions that needed filling. Whether the new recruits are of sufficient quality only time will. Tennai Watson I understand is a decent wing-back so I look forward to seeing him play.

Similarly, a few folk are assuring us that in James Abankwah we have a good player. Let's hope so because the centre half position is giving the most cause for concern at the moment.

Ness and Hector are looking far from the players that finished last season. Hector is the greater worry. He looks of the pace and a tad complacent. He really needs to up his game.

That most pointless of competitions, the EFL trophy, at least gives us a chance to give a run out to a few players. Even more valuable given that we don't have game next Saturday. Hard to believe that we have 3 players on international duty but strangely, we do!

That gives the owners (more like Andy Scott) more time to finalise Holden's replacement. The approach to that has seemed very amateurish. The number and quality of manager that have allegedly turned us down is quite telling. Sir Chris being one of those and that he did so tells us that in his view at least little has changed since he left.

Not everyone's cup of tea but I'd have Bowyer back in a heartbeat. Failing that, there are several decent managers out there but realistically most won't want to come.

Of the outsiders or less fancied, then Jon Brady would be worth some consideration and not least because Australian mangers (well one anyway) are doing well!

Hopefully, by the end of this week we will have someone in place. Let's hope they are someone we can really get behind and are afforded the time and resources to do the job.