Northampton 2 v Morecambe 0

[shrimpnsave]

The teams are in.

Up the shrimps

Northampton
26 Steele
02 Rodgers
03 Johnson
05 Hinton
06 Beckwith
23 Gilbert
08 Osman
12 Gilligan
14 Davis
10 Akinfenwa
17 Mckay
Substitutes
13 Walker, 04 Guttridge, 15 Dyer, 09 Guinan, 16 Mulligan, 24 Harris, 28 O'Flynn Morecambe
01 Roche
05 Bentley
19 Wilson
22 Parrish
28 Haining
07 Hackney
14 Panther
16 Drummond
18 Duffy
10 Jevons
21 Mullin
Substitutes
12 Davies, 02 Moss, 04 Artell, 06 Stanley, 11 Wainwright, 08 Hunter, 09 Curtis Ref: Horwood
NORTHAMPTONMORECAMBE

[morecambe mick]

Northampton 1 v Morecambe 0


Cobblers

[Wild Bill]

Haining off for Artell. Is he injured?

[Morecambe Player]

Haining off for Artell. Is he injured?

Looked like it but not sure the extent of the problem.

[darrenlock]

2-0 Ryan Gilligan

[darrenlock]

Wayne Curtis on for Mark Duffy , is Duffy not a very good away performer or something and why not give Wayne some first team start because we have only 3 fit strikers bring another in please.

[morecambe mick]

0 shots on target and only 4 off target this afternoon.

Northampton commentary said "....sums Morecambe up really, good play up to the final 3rd of the pitch but always make the wrong decision,..."

[darrenlock]

Stupid really vs a big team in Northampton how can you get results when you cant even shoow on target to easy for Northampton i think.
oh well we always have next season.

[Christies Child]

0 shots on target and only 4 off target this afternoon.

Northampton commentary said "....sums Morecambe up really, good play up to the final 3rd of the pitch but always make the wrong decision,..."

That's a comment all too often levelled at us by opposition commentators.

Can they ALL be wrong?

Would be interesting to determine which of our players is the main culprit.

With Accy 2-0 up and now 2-3 down it could be a day when both our play off hopes take a dive.

For me, Sammy needs to be ruthless and get rid of a good number of the current squad to bring in quality in the critical areas ie midfield where all too often we can't cope. Game after game we conceed midfield allowing the opposition to dictate. It happens both home and away.

7 shots all off target with 1 on is a reflection of our inabilty to trouble their 'keeper. Shooting needs to be worked on on the training ground.

[Vinny]

For me, Sammy needs to be ruthless and get rid of a good number of the current squad to bring in quality in the critical areas ie midfield where all too often we can't cope. Game after game we conceed midfield allowing the opposition to dictate. It happens both home and away.

Agree, last few game in particular, we have not done well enough in midfield. Manny Panther hasn't yet rediscovered the form he showed before he was crocked by Cambell. We have two other very good, and often 'man of the match' midfielders sat on the bench, in Garry Hunter and Craig Stanley (Frazer Mclach also working way back), so why would we need to need to 'bring in' more midfield players???

How many times in the last few games have we heard and seen 'Mullin just not able to reach it' or 'Mullin or Jevons should have scored there' - shooting practice, yes we need, or someone who has composure when the simple chances arise.

[Heysham_Shrimp]

Time to re-instate Stanners in midfield. It looks really fragile with 2 small wide players among the midfield 4. Stanners in for Duffy and move Manny back to protect the back 4. Duffy can be used as an impact substitute.

[Christies Child]

For me, Sammy needs to be ruthless and get rid of a good number of the current squad to bring in quality in the critical areas ie midfield where all too often we can't cope. Game after game we conceed midfield allowing the opposition to dictate. It happens both home and away.

Agree, last few game in particular, we have not done well enough in midfield. Manny Panther hasn't yet rediscovered the form he showed before he was crocked by Cambell. We have two other very good, and often 'man of the match' midfielders sat on the bench, in Garry Hunter and Craig Stanley (Frazer Mclach also working way back), so why would we need to need to 'bring in' more midfield players???

How many times in the last few games have we heard and seen 'Mullin just not able to reach it' or 'Mullin or Jevons should have scored there' - shooting practice, yes we need, or someone who has composure when the simple chances arise.

Only my opinion, but the entire midfield don't perform at a high enough level consistantly. Midfield is an area where games are won and lost, both home and away. We're just not physically or mentally strong enough in this area and results and performances are proof of that. Radio coverage of away games is too painful to bear at times with the team apparently under constant pressure especially in the second half. Even at home we can't control many games.

As much as I'd like us to get into the play-offs I just can't see it happening this season. Maybe next with the attraction of the new stadium we will be able to recruit some real quality in key areas.

Sammy and the Board will no doubt be busy as usual in the close season. I just hope we go for quality in key positions to enable us to dictate games on a regular basis in addition to a couple of speedy youngsters who Mark can work on for the future.

[Heysham_Shrimp]

For me, Sammy needs to be ruthless and get rid of a good number of the current squad to bring in quality in the critical areas ie midfield where all too often we can't cope. Game after game we conceed midfield allowing the opposition to dictate. It happens both home and away.

Agree, last few game in particular, we have not done well enough in midfield. Manny Panther hasn't yet rediscovered the form he showed before he was crocked by Cambell. We have two other very good, and often 'man of the match' midfielders sat on the bench, in Garry Hunter and Craig Stanley (Frazer Mclach also working way back), so why would we need to need to 'bring in' more midfield players???

How many times in the last few games have we heard and seen 'Mullin just not able to reach it' or 'Mullin or Jevons should have scored there' - shooting practice, yes we need, or someone who has composure when the simple chances arise.

Only my opinion, but the entire midfield don't perform at a high enough level consistantly. Midfield is an area where games are won and lost, both home and away. We're just not physically or mentally strong enough in this area and results and performances are proof of that. Radio coverage of away games is too painful to bear at times with the team apparently under constant pressure especially in the second half. Even at home we can't control many games.

As much as I'd like us to get into the play-offs I just can't see it happening this season. Maybe next with the attraction of the new stadium we will be able to recruit some real quality in key areas.

Sammy and the Board will no doubt be busy as usual in the close season. I just hope we go for quality in key positions to enable us to dictate games on a regular basis.

IMHO we should push the boat out and try and bring David Perkins to The Globe Arena.

Perks with a combination of Drummy/Craney/Panther/Stanners as well as Simon Hackney would improve midfield. We know that the new revenue streams will be flowing so lets hope that the board sanction some good signings.

[james456]

I don't think there's much wrong with the current midfield - we just lack a creative player who can dribble and pick the killer pass. Craney did the job earlier in the season but he's obviously been injured and not very consistent. Defensively, we have three players all capable of playing the holding role but as a team, we seem to fall asleep at times and not close down quickly enough.

[mfcbro]

I just love your comments when we get beat c.c. i know its all about opinions,but 1 minute you are slagging off the defence and next minute you are slagging off midfield.Did you go today?Give the lads a break,at the beginning of the season we were way off a play off place,to get ourselves into the mix is superb.Come on another good season.Lets have some positive comments for a change.

[Harry]

Positive comments -

I don't have to go to the ground again now I've "ticked it off the list"

Simon Hackney got closer to full match fitness

That's it

[Christies Child]

I just love your comments when we get beat c.c. i know its all about opinions,but 1 minute you are slagging off the defence and next minute you are slagging off midfield.Did you go today?Give the lads a break,at the beginning of the season we were way off a play off place,to get ourselves into the mix is superb.Come on another good season.Lets have some positive comments for a change.

So there's no need for improvement then?

I don't feel that I'm slagging any part of the team off, just making constructive comments as to how in my opinion we can improve. If you disagree, so be it.

If everything is rosey, why then is Sammy talking about bringing in additional quality in certain areas?

Take a look at the goals against column and then tell me that we don't need to improve in both areas of defensive play.

Going forward we can be superb as the goals for column confirm, but defensively.....??????

One thing we surely can agree on is that we can't have another season of inconsistancy like this one?

[ockers]

just got back
we're all disappointed today thats us in lance's car sammy who i interviewed and some of the players we chatted to after the game as im sure the 129 fans who made the journey
but we we're all in agreement(well i cant speak for the 129) Northampton were a fine side and personaly i do think they will qualify automatically i really do quality throughout their team and fo rme th ebest side ive seen this year after accrington and rochdale
there was some good football played today sadly only by the home team its fair to say
its not the end of the world as a club weve come on leaps and bounds and we can still go for a top half table finish
i asked sammy about contracts and getting players signed up and im sure that will be progressed soon
lets all try and focus and enjoy the rest of the season were staying in league two and i do think thats a brilliant achievement in itself
we were in northamptonshire today...remember rushden....remember kettering....now were in the big league and lets keep enjoying it
bring on torquay and some atmospher to give the lads a lift!!!
cheers sean

[Up_The_Cobblers]

We're still operating on a League One budget in fairness whereas with your new ground under construction, I'd imagine every last bit of MFC's resources are going on the stadium and your manager doesn't have two pennies to rub together with regards to the playing budget- so the fact you're only six points behind us in the table is a credit to your manager and your players. You didn't have a good day today but you certainly didn't embarrass yourselves. Interestingly ockers mentions Accrington as being one of the best teams in this division but we well and truly put them to the sword at Sixfields and were unlucky only to win by four goals, which just goes to show that when we have our best eleven starting and they really click we're just unplayable whether the opposition is in form or not. Don't be too downhearted by today, there have been plenty of sides above you, even above us, who've come to Sixfields this season and looked a much poorer outfit than your boys did today.

Best of luck for the rest of the season, and if you can do us some favours against Rotherham, Notts County and Shrewsbury it'd be much appreciated.

[bigreddog]

Many thanks for your kind words. interesting to get the perspective of the opposition, and in many ways put the result into some perspective. Like Ockers said, disappointed, but we've come a long way and we know we're on the right track on and off the field.

[Up_The_Cobblers]

Incidentally-

...remember rushden....

No, don't go telling them to do that! The sooner Nonce Park is forgotten about the better.

[heysham_mfc]

dissapointing result today but even though we didn't play well Northampton are a top side so not too much to worry about

[Dids]

Sorry but did everyone watch to same game as me?

Manny Panther did not make one tackle in the whole game. He didn't even have a speck of mud on his kit. His first touches were poor too. As for Duffy, well, he cannot beat a man. Duffy is great for an impact sub ONLY. So why didnt sammy change things earlier. After the first goal was scored there needed to be changes, maybe not subs but obviously the formation for the team we were playing was wrong. Then after the second goal was scored there needed to be major changes. Duffy needed to go off, which he did, but so did Manny. For them they could of brought curtis on, which we did and was a good sub, but not at left wing. Wayne is not a left winger, he is an out and out striker. Hunter or Stanley should also have come on to add a bit of pace that we were struggling with. One good thing about the game was Laurence Wilson yet again. He made some superb tackles as he always does, player of the season imo. Also Paul Mullin got stuck in and tried is hardest to get the ball. He's not had a great season, but this was one of his better games.

Remember our 7 game winning run? Think of the team. Artell, Hunter, Stanley. Get them back in and get back to winning ways.

[outsider]

Sorry but did everyone watch to same game as me?

Manny Panther did not make one tackle in the whole game. He didn't even have a speck of mud on his kit. His first touches were poor too. As for Duffy, well, he cannot beat a man. Duffy is great for an impact sub ONLY. So why didnt sammy change things earlier. After the first goal was scored there needed to be changes, maybe not subs but obviously the formation for the team we were playing was wrong. Then after the second goal was scored there needed to be major changes. Duffy needed to go off, which he did, but so did Manny. For them they could of brought curtis on, which we did and was a good sub, but not at left wing. Wayne is not a left winger, he is an out and out striker. Hunter or Stanley should also have come on to add a bit of pace that we were struggling with. One good thing about the game was Laurence Wilson yet again. He made some superb tackles as he always does, player of the season imo. Also Paul Mullin got stuck in and tried is hardest to get the ball. He's not had a great season, but this was one of his better games.

Remember our 7 game winning run? Think of the team. Artell, Hunter, Stanley. Get them back in and get back to winning ways.

Spot on Dids, Also our 7 game winning started after a defeat against Northampton.......

[Keith]

You have to wonder what Hunter has done to deserve a place on the bench? Our best run coincided with him being in the team and he was a candidate for MotM in practically every game he played. If he'd been on the pitch more, he could have been a candidate for Player of the Season but now he can't even get a two minute cameo role...