My 2 Penneth

Summary - Bloody freezing, poor game in which we defended badly and got dragged into a physical contest which didn't really suit us.  Still probably should have squeaked a point out of it though.  Read on for guff.....

Matchday Experience - I'd been to Chesterfield once before on the train and liked the place. This time I had no time to explore as I drove over from Manchester in time for kick-off.  The drive through the Peaks to get there was spectacular if a little bit dicey at times (especially coming back in the dark) with the mist at the high points.  The ground itself was just as I remember - an identikit cut out stadium situated in a Tesco Carpark although there is at least a high street close by that has a smattering of pubs on it so it could be worse.  But bloody hell it was cold and they have an annoying drummer.

First half - We set up to play very narrow with 3 strikers and 3 central midfielders on the pitch.  For the first 15 minutes this worked very well and we seemed to be causing a lot of trouble.  Gaffney in particular proved very difficult to handle while Easter and Taylor seemed to be findings holes around the edge of the box and our midfield were in control of the temp.  Chesterfield were really struggling to get into the game and we were good value for 1-0.  Good set piece from Lines, well won by Gaffney and Hartley reacted first to poke it home.  At that point we looked very comfortable.  However, from about 20 minutes Chesterfield seemed to adapt (perhaps someone who was paying attention could point to something they did) and we just stopped doing (or being able to do) the things that had been effective in the first part of the game.  I felt our midfield just vanished and our strikers were no longer finding the little holes around the box, partly because our midfield were struggling to get on the ball and they weren't getting service.  It wasn't that Chesterfield suddenly looked particularly good but the rest of the half was largely played in our half and we increasingly looked like we were clinging as the half went forward.  Chesterfield didn't really do enough to deserve their half-time lead but we did seem to lose composure.  The first goal was poor - Gaffney was outmuscled to a second ball from a set piece and their player had a 5 yard tap in.  Second goal was a bit unlucky - Brown charged down a shot and it broke fortuitously for their bloke to cross it into the middle for another easy finish.  Even though both goals came from unmarked players 5 yards out I don't think the centre backs were primarily to blame because they were broken plays where we lost the ball at a crucial point.  Nevertheless given the way the half had gone I was very pleased when the half time whistle came and I didn't feel very hopeful that we were likely to turn it around.  It looked like we'd been drawn into a physical contest and were basically being outmuscled and outniggled all over the park.

Second half- The free-kick goal early in the second half should have been the killer blow.  Weirdly though, Chesterfield decided to park the bus to an absurd degree at that point (possibly betraying their lack of confidence) and we seemed to respond well.  We played patiently, as if against 10 men, and kept working Leadbetter into space down the right as the overlapping player.  This was stretching them and it created a fair few half chances - it was pretty obvious that they were quite nervous at the back.  Bodin definitely made a difference when he came on as well and seemed to be given a fairly free role across the midfield.  It's fair to say that we didn't get the breaks - Chesterfield had targeted Leadbetter for the whole game as they clearly identified him as someone they could get sent off following early exchanges and the elbow to the ribs he got when the ball was already out of play was a disgrace and a terrible example of home town refereeing.  We probably should have had a penalty as well.  Then, just when it seemed like it wasn't going to be our day, we scrambled a scrappy goal with 10 minutes left and at that point I quite liked our chances of sneaking a point out of it because Chesterfield had become so passive.  However, what was frustrating is that just when it looked like we could put them under real pressure it was us that played tight in the last 10 minutes.  The composure we'd shown to get ourselves back into it was lost and we just became far too frantic and made it very easy for them to close out the game - it was annoying that their nerve wasn't tested more.  It was as though the thought of actually equalising made us lose out heads a bit.

Analysis - Dissapointing. It was a poor game and they won the bits of the game that mattered.  Interesting what difference a month makes.  The last time I saw us play was at Oldham and we controlled that game throughout and I never really doubted we would win.  I don't think Chesterfield are much better than Oldham but today was different - despite starting well we faded from the game quickly and let them get on top of us.  I also felt we played a bit into Chesterfield's hands.  They were happy to play a physical, niggling game and by playing narrow we helped them do that and that definitely isn't our strength - we just don't have that physicality.  I always think playing 3 strikers in the way we did is a defensive move to condense the play and that is definitely how we played it.  However, we were making it work early on because our strikers were moving well and our midfield was spending time on the ball and creating neat angled passes.  That just seemed to vanish the moment that Chesterfield got themselves into the game - at that point our strikers became static and isolated and our midfield just seemed lost.  We only managed to find some control again once Chesterfield had decided to park the bus in the second half.  I'm sure some people will criticise Lines and say he gave the ball away too much.  But, I saw it in terms of us asking far too much of him.  As far as I can see for a lot of the game our tactic was; give the ball to Lines in space and hope that he'll deliver a magic ball over the top of their back 4 - he kept giving it away because no one was creating options ahead of him and no one was helping him create.  There was just a lack of creativity all through our side.  I've never seen Taylor play as far forward as that for the whole game - there was nowhere near enough linking play for him.  Ultimately, I think my view would be that we just don't have the right personnel to play 3 up front.  We don't have a natural holding midfield player and I think you probably need 2 target men to make it work in the way we were playing and we don't have that either.  I'm also sure some will say that the ref gave a load of borderline free kicks against us around the edge of the box - but, while that was true, the reason they kept being given is that we were being physically overwhelmed and so we weren't going to get the benefit of the doubt because we looked shaky and off balance, and if you keep giving free kicks away in those areas then the opposition will hurt you eventually.

Roos - 6.  Made some smart saves but didn't command or, appear to, organise the defence particularly well.

Leadbetter - 7.  I felt he stood up well to the Chesterfield onslaught on him.  Kept his head as they were clearly targeting him and, in the second half, pushed on well and looked a useful attacking outlet.  Final ball wasn't always there but he battled well.

Brown - 6.  Fine defensively but could have probably been more of an option going forward in the 2nd half.  On the other hand that may well have been tactical.

Lockyer - 6.  A decent display and covered the ground well as ever but at times was a bit overwhelmed by the physicality of Chesterfield in the first half when they had their crucial dominant period.

Hartley - 5.  I've now seen Hartley half a dozen times and I have to say I'm not really convinced.  I can't quite understand what his main strength is.  He's OK in a number of areas but the quicker players outrun him, the skilful players get round him and the more physical players outmuscle him from what I've seen.  Not sure Hartley-Lockyer is the right balance either.

Sinclair-4.  I'm a Sinclair fan but I thought he was very poor today.  On the other hand I think it was tactical.  I cannot see what he offers in that defensive midfield holding role.  He's not strong enough and his passing isn't consistent enough to sit in that position.  Plus it takes away his natural strengths because he can't harass and chase down the ball because he's having to hold position. I cannot understand why Ollie Clarke wasn't put in that position in a midfield 3.  As it was Sinclair was just MIA for most of the game and defensively he was constantly being targeted by Chesterfield in the air and bullied on the ball.

Clarke - 6.  He started really well and was making good runs in and around the box supporting our strikers.  Then he seemed to stop doing that and went missing from the game for a bit.  Contributed well in the second half with tidy touches but I felt he needed to support Lines far more in an attacking sense and take a bit more responsibility.

Lines - 6.  I felt he worked hard and tried to do what he could but didn't get enough support.  This led to some frustrating moment of giving the ball away but I honestly felt the options were not there for him most of the time.

Taylor - 5. Didn't play well.  Was unusually anonymous and didn't get involved in the build up play.  I think that might be because he needs to have players going outwide of him to do that.  Ball didn't really bounce for him today.

Easter - 5.  Again, was another who played well for the first 15 minutes and then seemed to drift out of the game. Battled quite well but didn't look like enough of a threat which went for all of our attacking players today.

Gaffney - 6.  Worked his backside off as ever but was dealing with scraps and looked isolated for most of the game.  When Ellis came on the same could easily have applied to him. 

Overall, I think we may have come across our first wobble of the season here.  I admire DC's commitment to being flexible and preparing sides accordingly for each game.  However, I wonder if today was a tinker too far because I just don't think our squad's strengths were suited to playing the way he set up.  Put simply, if you're going to play a narrow game with 3 strikers on the field you need to have some bruisers out there and we don't have those whereas Chesterfield seemingly did.  So it's a bit of a bounce back to earth but I'm still confident that this is a decent team with a good manager that will be fine but we may be seeing the limitations of the squad within the context of Clarke's ambitions if that makes sense.