Morecambe 1 (Hunter) Oxford 1 LIVE (ish)

[Keith]

Get in! Hunter, good finish!

[Old Man Kensey]

1 shot on target still.
Really fighting for our lives?

[dannymorc1]

Come on, get in. Don't sit back,go for it.

[dannymorc1]

Penalty? Will we ever get one?

[dannymorc1]

Well, a point. Did we deserve it, maybe but only on the last few minutes. Could the changes have been made earlier? Who knows, only Derek. One thing is sure, we are still deep in trouble.

[black morse]

A bit more than deep trouble. I reckon we needed 3 points there and now we're done for. Only FGR and Cambridge will finish below us

[Gone_Shrimping]

A bit more than deep trouble. I reckon we needed 3 points there and now we're done for. Only FGR and Cambridge will finish below us

Accrington v Plymouth this Tuesday. Could do with Plymouth winning and Accy will then have only 1 game in hand on us.

[Keith]

The substitutions were positive. We went two up front, which forced them to defend deeper. At last, we started to look like we might create something. Hunter took his goal well.

Probably too much to do now, but HOPEFULLY, at Milton Keynes, we will set up with two up front, and also, STOP DEFENDING SET PIECES WITH ELEVEN PLAYERS! Leaving some attacking players forward, forces the opposition to keep defenders back and gives the defence an 'out'. Until the changes, every defence of a set piece, simply came straight back at us.

[fulwoodshrimp]

The manager needs to look at his team selections. Something has obviously gone on and he is reluctant to select Stockton. Without him playing we are really poor. I think the squad is good enough to survive but the manager needs to pick the right team. Someone said to me DA is a good League 2 manager and I know what he is suggesting!!

[Keith]

The manager needs to look at his team selections. Something has obviously gone on and he is reluctant to select Stockton.

A few players have been carrying knocks. Hopefully, a week before our next game will see everyone fit again (other than the long term injuries that we know about).

[BerlinWaller]

The manager needs to look at his team selections. Something has obviously gone on and he is reluctant to select Stockton. Without him playing we are really poor. I think the squad is good enough to survive but the manager needs to pick the right team. Someone said to me DA is a good League 2 manager and I know what he is suggesting!!

I thought Cole struggled when he came on. His first touch was horrible and he won very few battles with the defender. Omar makes more runs and has a better touch but his fitness isn't there. It's a shame we didn@t get hin in earlier.

[redrobo]

Cole was injured for the Cambridge game and looked short of fitness yesterday.

[redrobo]

Any body else notice Cole rushing to carry ball back to the centre spot after we scored our equalizer.

Not the actions of someone who wants to leave come the end of the season....

[Cisco Kid]

Any body else notice Cole rushing to carry ball back to the centre spot after we scored our equalizer.

Not the actions of someone who wants to leave come the end of the season....

More like the actions of someone who doesnt want 'relegation' on his CV to match his lack of goals this season.

When he came on all he did was head a ball on into an area that none of our players were in.

If I was Derek, I would need some big assurances from him before offering a contract. I wouldnt be surprised if there was an offer from Fleetwood, but if you took this season on it's own, you wouldnt be beating a path to his door.

Interesting.

[Keith]

If I was Derek, I would need some big assurances from him before offering a contract. I wouldnt be surprised if there was an offer from Fleetwood, but if you took this season on it's own, you wouldnt be beating a path to his door.

I've wondered a few times on here, if his contract offer has been withdrawn? Not sure if I'd be wanting him to still have it in his back pocket to return to, so he'd be the club's highest paid player, if nothing better materialises?

[CityShrimp]

If I was Derek, I would need some big assurances from him before offering a contract. I wouldnt be surprised if there was an offer from Fleetwood, but if you took this season on it's own, you wouldnt be beating a path to his door.

I've wondered a few times on here, if his contract offer has been withdrawn? Not sure if I'd be wanting him to still have it in his back pocket to return to, so he'd be the club's highest paid player, if nothing better materialises?

I’d go as far as saying I’d probably release Cole at the end of this season, even if he were ‘willing’ to stay. Unfortunately I think last season was a flash in the pan and the concerns over his attitude now outweigh his ability and contribution to the team.

[Keith]

I’d go as far as saying I’d probably release Cole at the end of this season, even if he were ‘willing’ to stay. Unfortunately I think last season was a flash in the pan and the concerns over his attitude now outweigh his ability and contribution to the team.

It shows what happens when a crap agent gets inside a player's head and ruins them. On Saturday's showing, I'd rather sign Niasse for next season. I wouldn't be 'upset' to hear Stockton was staying, but it would have to be because he wants to be with us and is going to focus upon his football & Morecambe FC.

[Little Shrimp]

While the total amount and frequent nature of spectacular goals that Stockton scored last season was almost certainly a giant purple patch, I still do think he's a striker who's more than capable of being a solid option in this division.

He's always had a couple of howitzers in him, and his hold-up play is absolutely superb when he's on it. The way he can dominate defenders, bring the ball down and bring others into play is really high quality.

However, he's hugely let himself down this season. Some of his performances have been utterly embarrassing on his behalf. Contrast that to Alfie May, who is actually a year older so theoretically has less time on the playing clock, and despite not getting the big move (as well as having a few injuries this season) has absolutely pulled it out of the bag. His goals in recent weeks have all but sealed Cheltenham's survival.

Come summer, there'll be top League One clubs in for him. For out of contract Stockton? He'll be lucky if he gets a move to Port Vale. The responsibility lies solely on himself and his agent.

[KenH]

Yep, sadly Cole isn't performing anywhere near to his abilities and isn't going to be in high demand.

Last season he mostly played full matches, very rarely did he get subbed off and he started most, except for an occasional minor injury/knock. The rest of the team was built around him, as he was a constant by being nearly always our target men, virtually every match. Yes, he did some spectacular goals, but most were just pretty normal/competent ones - the vast majority of his 26 goals were pretty unspectacular. Other players like Wildig and Phillips were constantly feeding the ball to him. Can't really remember for sure, but I got the impression that his "dry" periods were when Wildig and Phillips were out, either injured or just out of favour.

This season, he clearly didn't have his head in the game for the first couple of months, and has been on/off for the rest of it really. It doesn't help that the rest of the team aren't built around him any more, so when he's on the pitch, they're not accustomed to feeding it through to him and he often just drifts around aimlessly, yes, he comes back to tackle and gets the ball around the middle of the pitch, but then he's out of position and not close to goal when the balls gets passed back to him. I think he needs to be on the pitch a lot more to gain any sign of improvement to get his confidence back and get the other players around him to get used to him and play him in to his strengths.

Unless there's a change in attitude and improvement in performance, if I were Derek, I wouldn't be offering him a new contract this Summer, and I'm sure other clubs won't be as interested either, certainly not a massive wage rise offer from "better" clubs. Yes, maybe the best he'll get is a slightly better wage from Fleetwood if they're still looking for someone like Cole.

[Gone_Shrimping]

Yep, sadly Cole isn't performing anywhere near to his abilities and isn't going to be in high demand.

Last season he mostly played full matches, very rarely did he get subbed off and he started most, except for an occasional minor injury/knock. The rest of the team was built around him, as he was a constant by being nearly always our target men, virtually every match. Yes, he did some spectacular goals, but most were just pretty normal/competent ones - the vast majority of his 26 goals were pretty unspectacular. Other players like Wildig and Phillips were constantly feeding the ball to him. Can't really remember for sure, but I got the impression that his "dry" periods were when Wildig and Phillips were out, either injured or just out of favour.

This season, he clearly didn't have his head in the game for the first couple of months, and has been on/off for the rest of it really. It doesn't help that the rest of the team aren't built around him any more, so when he's on the pitch, they're not accustomed to feeding it through to him and he often just drifts around aimlessly, yes, he comes back to tackle and gets the ball around the middle of the pitch, but then he's out of position and not close to goal when the balls gets passed back to him. I think he needs to be on the pitch a lot more to gain any sign of improvement to get his confidence back and get the other players around him to get used to him and play him in to his strengths.

Unless there's a change in attitude and improvement in performance, if I were Derek, I wouldn't be offering him a new contract this Summer, and I'm sure other clubs won't be as interested either, certainly not a massive wage rise offer from "better" clubs. Yes, maybe the best he'll get is a slightly better wage from Fleetwood if they're still looking for someone like Cole.

Fleetwood signed a couple of strikers in January , one of them Jayden Stockley who is a similar style to Cole so I doubt they will be in again for him. I would think Accrington under Coleman would be a more likely destination for him unless he pulls his finger out in the last 8 games to earn another contract from us.

[BerlinWaller]

There were a few different scenarios for Cole in the summer and it really has turned out to be the worst one for all parties. His attitude and tantrums at the start of the season should not be forgotten and have contributed to our plight. His piss poor attitude during some games was criminal and really hard to watch. He had the season of his life and has messed it all up through bad advice and sulking. He really dragged our name through the mud with all the Fleetwood, Pilley and Nixon stuff. LS is bang on, who would take him now after a season like this?

The rumours i heard on Saturday were that he has signed a 2yr deal. Struggle to believe that though.