Cod Almighty | Match Stats

Saturday 18 November 2017

Division 4

Grimsby Town 0

Carlisle United 1 Hill (70)

Attendance: 3753 (218 away fans)

The people behind the perspex were captivated by the swishing of Mr Luke Summerfield shorts.

DJ was dangerously jinky and Mills improved as he remembered how to play football professionally, but James McKeown was blameless, quick-witted and delightfully dainty with that errant back pass, so why not spread a little love to the only Town player left.

Slade's waffling on about knocking on doors and being positive and going into games to score, which is nice, but this Freudian slip will keep you amused, I'm sure:
John Tondeur: "Happy about your tactics?"
Russell Slade: "Err, what tactics?"

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Curly Keith is cock-a-hoop at his players tactical flexibility and somehow noticed that the Town support isn’t entirely happy with its lot. "You can tell there was a bit of negativity around and our job was to stay in the game, get the crowd quiet, nullify their flair players and try and play our game by putting the ball in good areas."

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Until the goal there was something to hang on to: two wingers winging. There was positive intent. It wasn't as bad as the new normal. Then it was as normal as the new normal - the same decisions made with the same outcome.

Doing the same things in the same way at the same times will get the same outcome. Oh, the game, the players, the minutiae of match-day marinerdom.

Summerfield spent the first half in remission with a retreat into last season jellywobbles. He simply looked petrified with Rose beside him, and who wouldn’t be. Rose took over the Berrett role perfectly. Dembele continued to dribble in his own penalty aura, and Vernon, poor old Vernon, tried but ailed. Someone needs to tell Hooper that football is a contact sport.

The biggest bugbear? Town are set up in a cultural cringe, expecting inferiority and inviting attacks. Wagons are circled around the penalty spot at the first whiff of war, with set pieces alarmingly organised. There's simply no outlet, no plan other than get it out of the area. It'll only come back. It does, and eventually Town concede. And then the most dangerous forward will be replaced. Then Jamille Matt will be brought on. Then we go home to our potatoes.

Pointless, witless leadership.

Well, they aren't as good as they were last year, but not bad at all.

The Cumbrians had a fluidity in motion and two midfielders who swept up the detritus. Wacky and wayward defending mind you, with a keeper who couldn't kick, couldn't catch, but could stop anything within arm's reach, which is handy.

One of the better teams to trundle up to Blundell Park, at least in terms of attacking intent. Should shoot up the league because they can shoot. If they aren't in the play-offs then someone, somewhere in their leadership should be shot.

Like the dying embers of an old fire, the occasional chant and cheer flickered and fell dead in the wind.

Mr R Lewis

This strangely shaped non-booker had a penchant for peeping in the most p-p-peculiar places. A benign interferer in the afternoon’s events he was uncontroversial, but consistently erratic. I’ll give him 6.111. Why? Because those were the numbers which came up when I blindly plinkity-plonked the keyboard. Hey, that system of decision making worked for him.

Having a go, letting it go, please Russ just go.

In a word: wearying