we need a win to get the monkey of our backs (vs Haretlepool match thread)

Good first half from Argyle today,pretty much dominated a not brilliant Hartlepool side.Unfortunately Argyle didn't bury the chances and half chances that came their way and predictably things got a bit edgy as Hartlepool gained a bit of belief and came more into the game.Thomas came on in place of the injured Reid at HT,with Big Marv taking Reids role and it must be said that NT had quite an impact,breaking through to score the clinching goal with aplomb to ease the tension and enabling Argyle to see the game out comfortably.I won't get carried away with the Thomas performance,having seen too many flatter to deceive cameos in the past, but i do think he deserves a chance to start a few games now to show his worth as a possible regular.Difficult to pick anyone out as the team pefomance was quite solid overall but Marvin was very lively in the first half and scored a good goal cutting in from the left and i thought Blizzard became more and more influential as the match went on.Not good on the injury front though-Banton out for a while,not sure about Reid and Hartley,looks like a dip into the loan market is needed even more now.

Hopefully I am wrong but looked to me as if Allesandra done his hamstring again in the final minute.

stephensdad wrote:

Hopefully I am wrong but looked to me as if Allesandra done his hamstring again in the final minute.

didnt see that myself but losing him would be a huge blow...

The club will need to bring in 2-3 loan signings in before saturday if Hartley and Reid are out for a while.

I thought we controlled most of the game, apart from a spell at the start of the second half, against a very poor Hartlepool side. Two well-taken goals - even if the second was offside by yards. Marvin's renaissance continues!

Yes Morgan is slowly becoming a bit of a handful at this level, Blizzard is undoubtedly a very clever player who reads the game well but looks a bit physically weak for his size and a bit of a carthorse at times. Thomas looked dangerous when he came on and scored a decent and well deserved goal and could've created a couple more(Sherry's firm man management of him seems to have worked ) As Greenskin said, Let's hope his second half performance wasn't just a cameo and he continues to impress if selected at Accy Stanley. All in all a goodish display against a poor team(thought we could've scored at least 4) but a very welcome 3 points

Greenskin wrote:

Good first half from Argyle today,pretty much dominated a not brilliant Hartlepool side.Unfortunately Argyle didn't bury the chances and half chances that came their way and predictably things got a bit edgy as Hartlepool gained a bit of belief and came more into the game.Thomas came on in place of the injured Reid at HT,with Big Marv taking Reids role and it must be said that NT had quite an impact,breaking through to score the clinching goal with aplomb to ease the tension and enabling Argyle to see the game out comfortably.I won't get carried away with the Thomas performance,having seen too many flatter to deceive cameos in the past, but i do think he deserves a chance to start a few games now to show his worth as a possible regular.Difficult to pick anyone out as the team pefomance was quite solid overall but Marvin was very lively in the first half and scored a good goal cutting in from the left and i thought Blizzard became more and more influential as the match went on.Not good on the injury front though-Banton out for a while,not sure about Reid and Hartley,looks like a dip into the loan market is needed even more now.

Flatter to deceive cameos?

I can name more than 5 matches now that Nathan Thomas has come on, produced a MOTM performance and won points by himself.

How many times does he need to do it before he isnt 'deceiving' but is a genuine game changing talent that deserves a chance - in a team that is so often flat, stale and out of ideas?

If Reid hadn't got injured today Thomas probably wouldn't have got more than 5 minutes and two touches of the ball. At least Thomas has finally had a chance to show the fans what he is made of after Sheridan's extremely critical comments before the Luton game. Hopefully Sheridan was watching.

ejh wrote:

Greenskin wrote:

Good first half from Argyle today,pretty much dominated a not brilliant Hartlepool side.Unfortunately Argyle didn't bury the chances and half chances that came their way and predictably things got a bit edgy as Hartlepool gained a bit of belief and came more into the game.Thomas came on in place of the injured Reid at HT,with Big Marv taking Reids role and it must be said that NT had quite an impact,breaking through to score the clinching goal with aplomb to ease the tension and enabling Argyle to see the game out comfortably.I won't get carried away with the Thomas performance,having seen too many flatter to deceive cameos in the past, but i do think he deserves a chance to start a few games now to show his worth as a possible regular.Difficult to pick anyone out as the team pefomance was quite solid overall but Marvin was very lively in the first half and scored a good goal cutting in from the left and i thought Blizzard became more and more influential as the match went on.Not good on the injury front though-Banton out for a while,not sure about Reid and Hartley,looks like a dip into the loan market is needed even more now.

Flatter to deceive cameos?

I can name more than 5 matches now that Nathan Thomas has come on, produced a MOTM performance and won points by himself.

How many times does he need to do it before he isnt 'deceiving' but is a genuine game changing talent that deserves a chance - in a team that is so often flat, stale and out of ideas?

If Reid hadn't got injured today he probably wouldn't have got more than 5 minutes and two touches of the ball.

i agree which is even more testament to Nathan's attitude and workrate that he grabbed his chance when it came and now given Sheridan food for thought that he cant ignore now. I fully expect him to be starting on saturday

ejh wrote:

Greenskin wrote:

Good first half from Argyle today,pretty much dominated a not brilliant Hartlepool side.Unfortunately Argyle didn't bury the chances and half chances that came their way and predictably things got a bit edgy as Hartlepool gained a bit of belief and came more into the game.Thomas came on in place of the injured Reid at HT,with Big Marv taking Reids role and it must be said that NT had quite an impact,breaking through to score the clinching goal with aplomb to ease the tension and enabling Argyle to see the game out comfortably.I won't get carried away with the Thomas performance,having seen too many flatter to deceive cameos in the past, but i do think he deserves a chance to start a few games now to show his worth as a possible regular.Difficult to pick anyone out as the team pefomance was quite solid overall but Marvin was very lively in the first half and scored a good goal cutting in from the left and i thought Blizzard became more and more influential as the match went on.Not good on the injury front though-Banton out for a while,not sure about Reid and Hartley,looks like a dip into the loan market is needed even more now.

Flatter to deceive cameos?

I can name more than 5 matches now that Nathan Thomas has come on, produced a MOTM performance and won points by himself.How many times does he need to do it before he isnt deceiving but is a genuine game changing talent?

Go on then,i'm all ears.

The key word in my post was cameo and the "flatter to deceive" comment was intended to describe players [and there have been plenty of them in my 50 years of watching Argyle] who have contributed well when coming on for comparatively short periods but have not been so effective when starting matches.And to be fair to myself,not sure if you read my post with much attention to detail but i did say that Thomas deserves a chance to prove himself as a regular starter rather than a bit part player,which would not appear to be an unreasonable point of view.Hope he does seize any opportunity that comes his way,he certainly seems to have some talent on the ball and a fair turn of speed.

stephensdad wrote:

We beat a very poor team playing poorly ourselves in my opinion.Thomas was a real stand out with a great finish although looking 2-3 yards offside. He put in numerous decent crosses and to me looks a player full of promise. Come on Mr Sheridan you have a real talent to nurture. Look after the lad. A special mention also for Blizzard who put in his best performance in an Argyle shirt, again only in my opinion. He is a player who in the past I have slated but fair play to him today.

That sounds absolutely worrying....

A performance that was average at best but I'll take a win however it comes. Hartlepool gave up after 2-0 and just let Thomas run rings about them but up until that point, we weren't by any means home and dry and we actually played pretty poorly. I'll take a win but it was a poor performance in which far too many players were off their game. There's the old cliche that 'you can only beat what's put in front of you' but I feel a team of under nines would have struggled to play that shambles of a team and not beat them. If we'd have played well we could have won by about 5-0. As it was, we only won 2-0. Exeter and Southend are two examples of when we played poor teams and could easily have won be a greater margain. Today 2-0 flattered us slightly. We were the better team but it was two poor teams on the day.

Some players did have legitimately good games (as in, not merely an average game) but they were in a minority. Those five were in my view: McCormick, Hartley, McHugh, Blizzard and Thomas. Three of them were only on for about a half each and one of them is a goalkeeper. Luke was very assured making one fantastic save in the first half and doing all else which he had to do well. Hartley managed to be both assured and a colossus all at once. Probably assured in that he tried to play on too long after being injured but that aside was good. McHugh did pretty well when he came on. Stuck to his man like glue and did well playing the ball out of defence- he proved today beyond any shadow of doubt that he is a centre back and NOT A LEFT-BACK. Dominic Blizzard really is like a whole new signing. He has without any doubt found his best position as a very advanced central midfielder. As a ball-winner he is nothing but as a playmaker he is very effective indeed. Found some beautiful passes today and always seemed very composed with the ball going forward. He's fit, he's in his best position and by god it shows. Really pleased for Nathan Thomas- he may not quite be the finished product yet but by god has has got something to offer or what? He's direct, he makes defenders panic, he tries stuff that no-one else in our squad has got the confidence for, he can get a good cross in and by god he believes in himself. His main vice is his positional weakness. That's what stops him from being an away game player as well as a home game player. I wouldn't start him at Accrington but down to his pure ability I'd start him at home to Shrewsbury.

Nelse wasn't as good as those five but he was alright. Stood off the strikers too much but did what he had to do when the ball came his way. Morgan was good as a left-winger but had a very quiet second half when moved central. He's still obviously a massive improvement on the player we saw last season. He's got his hunger back and I'm glad he's scored a goal. Cox had a very shakey first half but some good attacking moves and passes second half. Still giggling at his 'shot' in the second half though. Purrington looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights in the first half but in the second he looked very good getting up and down the line once he had got some confidence into his system. It's so refreshing to have a left-back who actually overlaps rather than just stands there. I like McHugh but may he never play left-back again.

O'Connor had a funny game. He's usually excellent defensively but poor creatively. Today it was the other way around. He didn't track their central runners at all and was anonymous when balls came through the middle that he should have been snapping up. That said, attackingly he was better than normal making some good passes to players who had found space. Also in the 'mixed' bracket was Harvey when he came on. Didn't get in the game much but made one very good pass to Lewi...

On the subject on which, our right side was appalling. Two players who on their day can be amongst our best and most talented were well off form today in the shape of Lewis Alessandra and Kelvin Mellor. At least Lewi admits via his Twitter page that it was crazy that he got man of the match. Mellor had a calamity around every corner and Lewi just didn't get in the game enough at all. He missed a stinker at the end too which highlights his very average finishing. A talented player but is about as consistent as the weather is for a two week summer holiday in Cornwall. Reid too was having a pretty poor game- not at all like his usual excellent self. Please, please let him be fit and not injured.

On the whole, some players played well individually but we didn't link up enough well as a team at all. It's both funny and ironic that so many players put in good, 8 out of ten individual performances yet at the same time we were so below par as a team. I guess that's because not all/not many of them were on the pitch at the same time and one of them was the last line of defence: the goalkeeper. Hartlepool walked through us at times and a team that weren't relegation fodder could have really punished us. We were sloppy but Hartlepool let us get away with it. Still, it'd be churlish to suggest that there weren't ANY positive signs. There were some and most of them were relating to our attacking side. Thomas didn't do himself much harm- nor did McHugh or Blizzard. My review on the whole though would be generally disappointing and improvement needed.

McCormick-8

Mellor-3
Nelson-7
Hartley-8
Purrington-6

O'Connor-6
Cox-6
Blizzard-8 MOTM

Alessandra-4
Reid-5
Morgan-7

Thomas-8
McHugh-8
Harvey-6

alessandra was not anything like a 4 sam

alessandra was not anything like a 4 sam

2x4=8

I left Home Park today feeling weird, I think many probably felt the same.

I left not disapointed or angry, but not over the moon as I usually am with a win, I didn't really know how to feel. :crazy:

We managed to win with a degree of comfort without leaving 2nd gear.

Hartlepool were absolutely dreadful, I understand you can only play what's infront of you, but I honestly believe that they are (Perhaps bar Morecambe last season) the worst side to come to Home Park in our 3 and a bit seasons in League 2. They had nothing, at the back, they looked nervous and depleted, they struggled with Reid being able to keep the ball on a string, they struggled with Morgan's turn of pace, despite him having a bad game they struggled with Lewi's nippiness & then they just couldn't handle Thomas. In the centre of midfield their CM's were dragged around ridiculously easily and constantly found themselves out of position. On the wing's, their right sided winger wasn't really in the match, their LM, number 17 maybe, was extremely fast, but absolutely clueless technically, just ran until he ran in to someone. Up top, I'll give Marlon Harewood some credit, he's a good strong footballer and has a decent touch, but he had nothing around him whatsoever. Some have been saying they thought Hartlepool were going to level, I didn't, even when the ball was bouncing around in the box I couldn't see it happening, they had absolutely nothing.

I'm pleased to get the 3 points, but I'm not sure if we would have beat a different team with the performance, I don't think we can take much from today but the points, let's move on and try to get some consistency.

Guys............... this is what PAFC is about these days. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Save your energies for when the club gets a tad more class. Meanwhile, 'enjoy the ride', the bucket rattling and the photoshoots, if that's your thing. It's the only real show in town. The football side is going nowhere.

Tringreen wrote:

Guys............... this is what PAFC is about these days.  http://www.greensonscreen.co.uk/photodisplay.asp?parm=2014-09-20M3    Save your energies for when the club gets a tad more class. Meanwhile, 'enjoy the ride', the bucket rattling and the photoshoots, if that's your thing. It's the only real show in town. The football side is going nowhere.

It gets worse!!! I saw 3 middle aged men wearing those pasoti polo shirts at the game..

That's nothing. We had a full kit wanker in the Lyndhurst on Tuesday.

Another game another formation! 4-3-3 this time with the rarely seen narrow V, with O'Connor sitting deep, across the midfield.

Not too much to add to that. Hartlepool were poor, very poor, and we beat them. 2-0 was the very minimum scoreline that we could have expected. We really should have annihilated them completely and didn't.

I still don't think we're that far off being a good side in this division but we seem so pedestrian all the time. It's not a case of getting it forward quickly or a desire to see kick & rush but I wish we'd zip the ball around a bit more purposely. It's all sooooo slooooooooooooooooow.

Cripes, that looks grim

How many years since brent took over and most are more than happy with a team that will just about scrape mid-table in this appalling division. Our current league position is a disgrace! Promotion this season it seems is only for the likes of high flying Burton with their massive 2k gates while "We'em just 'aappy to 'aaave a team to s'pporrrt"

BRENT OUT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 years on and fanfests are same old shit recycled it seems

I wonder why Tony Hooper is in a picture of London branch fans?

As to the game, some of us commented that the game had the feeling of being a pre season friendly. Much better than Tuesday which wasn't difficult. Three points, a couple of goals and some flashes of promise from Thomas but not exactly an inspiring game.

Freathy wrote:

How many years since brent took over and most are more than happy with a team that will just about scrape mid-table in this appalling division.  Our current league position is a disgrace!  Promotion this season it seems is only for the likes of high flying Burton with their massive 2k gates while "We'em just 'aappy to 'aaave a team to s'pporrrt"

BRENT OUT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cant wait to go to accrington next week, praise be to st james FFS !

Angry wrote:

4 years on and fanfests are same old shit recycled it seems

God give me strength

Punchdrunk wrote:

Angry wrote:

4 years on and fanfests are same old shit recycled it seems

God give me strength

Childlike and cringeworthy. The house that James and his jamboys built