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Haven't read any other comments, or listened to any radio, so this all me!
Team selection. Bizzare, to say the least. Beano apparently 'ill', two left backs, two rightbacks.
We started in some sort of 4-4-1-1 (I think). Batt and Tonkin playing as wingers. What a surprise, it didn't work. So they then swap with their respective full back after about 10 minutes , so Kinniburgh and Purkiss are now 'wingers'. Well blow me down, that doesn't work either so Kinni is hauled off and Potter brought on. During the whole of that first twenty minuted this sparkly new formation managed one cross (Batt to Craddock).
Meanwhile, Burton were cheating. They kept passing the ball without taking what I thought was the required three or four touches, and kept making it hard for us to mark them by moving into the spaces between our players and running about. I'm pleased to report that our lot resolutely stayed where they were put and weren't at any point impolite enough to try and get the ball off the Burton players or run into space, or indeed to keep the ball when they had it.
Really though - we couldn't do the basics right, in fact at all. It was an abject first half. The worst I have seen us play for a long long time. We were very lucky to go in level, and if I am honest, Burton looked as if they were a league or two above us rather than just a few points. They were quicker, more inventive and had a game plan - something we were totally missing. Our sole method of attack was to boot the ball up to our star target man - Matt Green. Who was on his own, Craddock playing as some sort of third left back half the time. It looked like eleven blokes who had never played together before.
Second half, we improved from laughably bad to not quite as good as mediocre. But we all knew which way the game was going to end. Burton got in behind us time and again. It was only a matter of time and probably a bit cruel that it happened so late. Good luck to Burton, they were the better team and we deserved what we got. Nothing.
While I am at it, could the brains trust who thought it was a good idea to start chanting songs about Jack Midson as soon as one of our strikers misses one, please just SHUT UP. You might be right about it being a poor decision to let him go, but support the players on the pitch during the game you numpties!
So apart from a poor display from the manager, players and sections of our crowd, were there any positives? Well it used up one of Jake's suspensions. Clarkey was good, Payne and Creighton weren't absolutely terrible, and the drive home wasn't too bad.
We desperately need some steel in the middle of the pitch and up front (not Zola - if we get a great tall striker, we'll just lump it up front even more). We need a ball-winner somewhere. We need someone else to help with or even take the training sessions, as there is no improvement in any area of the team's performance (in fact it is getting worse). Fail to improve, and we'll be checking the distances to Bath and Grimsby next season.
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