None one could claim following City is boring. Another 5 goal thriller. A desperate attempt to gate crash the relegation zone. Millwall winning makes tonight worrying, 2 points out of 15 when at least 11 have been deserved.
We played OK today, better than Leicester, who are woeful, but nowhere near as well as last week. Andrews and Noble were very poor, both with and without possession. The 5 in midfield just got in each others way. Constantly after the same ball. In possession, there just weren't enough options, with France and Elliott playing deeper, leaving no-one close to Parkin. This improved every time we were a goal down but then reverted to type once we'd scored.
Green was the pick today. He worked hard and got from box to box. He frustrated with a couple of poor passes in the first half, but was always available, always wanted the ball and stuck a foot in. There is real hope now that next season he will come into his own. His goal was beautifully struck from 20 yards.
The defence did OK, barring the first goal. Cort and Delaney were very strong. The first goal came from a through ball as Cort stood and watched Hume make a run. Lots of offside cries, but it was in Corty's hands to stop it, he should have done better. The second was magnificent, struck into the top corner from the half way line. Boaz was well off his line, but 999/1000, he'd be in the perfect position to defend a ball over the top. Just incredible vision and execution. The third was disappointing. Twice prior, we'd let them shoot from distance, once off target, once blocked. We defended a corner, 3/4 of the team rushed out to the right to defend and a simple ball across the box gave Gudjohnsen an age to hammer in an unstoppable shot. It was poor defending as a team. Must do better.
Parkin worked hard, but had little support. He was against 2 defenders all afternoon and won 50% of the ball. His cross for Elliott's goal was excellent, he was also denied by a super save from Henderson at 2-1, after connecting with a pearl of a cross from France. When Duffy came on, we hit all the long balls at Duffy, very silly. The one criticism I would have of PT this afternoon, is that he should have sent on Paynter for Parkin at 2-2. Parkin had visibly tired, it needed a change.
Another terribly disappointing result, but a fair performance. Plymouth is now MUST win. The 451/433 might be the way to go, if it's to be attack minded, France needs swapping for a Fagan/Duffy/Paynter. The rest have earned another opportunity, although Andrews recent loss of form suggest Welsh might deserve a go. Andrews passing was awful today and that's not at all like him. The defence did OK, we certainly have no other options. We need to improve the position of the midfield. there's 5 of them in there, they need to use that to their advantage, and they didn't enough today.
We nearly missed the game. We arrived at the ground at 2:30 to find MASSIVE queues at the turnstiles. I don't know what went on, but about 10 people seemed to get in in half an hour, then hundreds or even thousands in 15 minutes once the game started. Pathetic organisation from another supposedly big club. Very reminiscent of Sheff Weds last year.
Ratings: Bo 6, Thelwell 7 (Duffy), Rogers 6, Cort 6, Delaney 7, Andrews 5 (Paynter), Noble 5 (Welsh), Green 8, France 7, Elliott 6, Parkin 6.