| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale 20:10 - Mar 26 with 25625 views | RochdaleAFC.com |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 12:42 - Mar 29 with 3826 views | dingdangblue |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 11:56 - Mar 29 by jonahwhereru |
You misunderstand the inference. We were forced to play badly yesterday. At Southend and Scunthorpe we were pressured because we couldn’t dominate the ball. This team needs to win the possession battle included playing out from the back, in order to bear maximum influence on the game. Now it’s not easy and I don’t have the answers but Plan A , (mixed with a little b and c) of probing with and retaining the ball is our DNA. MORE 60% plus possession please. |
I think we just need some players back. Pettit has gone from not really playing much to starting every game, Mani D up until yesterday hasn't been able to be subbed off for 3 games and all 3 we've been trying to win for 90+ minutes. Gilmour,Adebeyo-Rowling, Pritchard,Allarakhia and Whatmuff can't return soon enough. |  |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 12:43 - Mar 29 with 3818 views | D_Alien |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 12:26 - Mar 29 by isitme |
In Jim's intervew he alluded to a lack of energy. The trip down ended up being a lot longer than it should have. It was another two game match week and Sutton had another day in between games than we did. Injuries and international call ups have weakened the squad which has in recent times left some bench options not really being trusted, causing other players to play more minutes than they would have earlier in the season.
After the Easter weekend there are three matches on three consecutive Saturdays and hopefully some of the injured players will be available.
On to the plan B point. The alternative is what? Play more direct? That happened against Scunthorpe to limited effect. Henderson is hardly going to win lots of headers. We do not really have pacey forwards to get in behind, especially if teams sit deep and there is no space. The substitutions worked yesterday and the foward line who ended the game are different types of player who started.
I think plan A is working well. We have a record points score, wins etc and there are still games to go. At times we have cut the opposition to pieces and scored some lovely goals. We also have to remember that the players are fifth tier players (although a number of they could make the step up) and are working really hard. You can clearly see their fight and passion. How many of us at work do/can put in a 100% performance day in, day out?
If we can better one of York's results in the next four games the last day becomes academic. Away trips to Boston and on the plastic at Tamworth are not gimmes. [Post edited 29 Mar 12:27]
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I'd be very much inclined to attribute the poor performance to the short midweek turnaround, result (after leading) and long trip. Things do get a little less onerous from now (just in terms of logistics) and to have come out of this period three points ahead is just really great
We all keep looking at that four-point lead for obvious reasons, but there's still four games to go before the final showdown and we could barely have asked for more from this group
After yesterday, i'm feeling increasingly positive |  |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 13:07 - Mar 29 with 3648 views | 442Dale |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 12:42 - Mar 29 by dingdangblue |
I think we just need some players back. Pettit has gone from not really playing much to starting every game, Mani D up until yesterday hasn't been able to be subbed off for 3 games and all 3 we've been trying to win for 90+ minutes. Gilmour,Adebeyo-Rowling, Pritchard,Allarakhia and Whatmuff can't return soon enough. |
This is exactly what would lift us up another level again. Getting players back, increasing the energy as JKG and McBride did yesterday, plus sticking to the plan will hopefully get us to where we need to be.
As isitme states, our current tactical approach has gained us 98 points.
So until someone actually states what the alternative Plan B is, we can only assume it’s the natural frustration of being a fan when not winning in a season when we’ve won 31 times. |  |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 13:47 - Mar 29 with 3445 views | jonahwhereru |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 13:07 - Mar 29 by 442Dale |
This is exactly what would lift us up another level again. Getting players back, increasing the energy as JKG and McBride did yesterday, plus sticking to the plan will hopefully get us to where we need to be.
As isitme states, our current tactical approach has gained us 98 points.
So until someone actually states what the alternative Plan B is, we can only assume it’s the natural frustration of being a fan when not winning in a season when we’ve won 31 times. |
No one, least of all McNulty needs to say what Plan B C D E etc are. He often refers to needing to adapted due to something different the opposition have presented them with. Remember him referring to the opposition leaving lots of spaces behind the fullbacks, which we adapted to in order to exploit. These nuances are each a change of plan, which most of us don’t even pick up on during matches. Alex Ferguson once said when your two down in injury time you play 6 up front. That was probably his plan / nuance H on the day. | | | |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:06 - Mar 29 with 3381 views | 442Dale |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 13:47 - Mar 29 by jonahwhereru |
No one, least of all McNulty needs to say what Plan B C D E etc are. He often refers to needing to adapted due to something different the opposition have presented them with. Remember him referring to the opposition leaving lots of spaces behind the fullbacks, which we adapted to in order to exploit. These nuances are each a change of plan, which most of us don’t even pick up on during matches. Alex Ferguson once said when your two down in injury time you play 6 up front. That was probably his plan / nuance H on the day. |
Exactly and that what I don’t understand when you see the “McNumpty has no plan B” type comments. Not necessarily on here btw, but elsewhere online and also heard on the terraces/pubs.
Yesterday when Winterbottom went down (which the commentary actually thought might be real!), we made a switch with Barlow dropping into a more central area and East was pushed right up alongside Dieseruvwe when Sutton had a goal kick.
The one thing I’ve always been critical of, maybe unfairly so, is our reluctance to move away from the 3-4-3 formation we set up with mid-game. I’ve been wrong because there have been changes as seen yesterday, but the basic structure remains the same. Would have like to see us start with a 3-5-2 in some games and a Snith/Henderson/Rodney actually alongside Dieseruvwe, but we haven’t and 31 wins later it’s hard to argue we should try.
Which is why, when fans do claim McNulty has no Plan B, it’s fair to ask what they see that looking like. Even if they too would be as wrong as I’ve ended up being. At least have courage in your convictions.
Or, alternatively, shout at the clouds with one line opinions that don’t actually mean much. | |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:20 - Mar 29 with 3336 views | samueloneils |
Having looked back on Dzone at the whole match in the cool of the day, what seems to be a worrying development in recent games is the lack of control in midfield. East is still soldiering on, but they are not functioning as a unit as when Gilmour was there. Each opposition has more of the ball in midfield than we have. At least one of Pettit, Barlow and Moss need to be closer to East for a quick return pass. The spaces will open up. Also there would be more opportunities to slide the ball through to Manni D, who we know turns well when receiving to his feet.
This should be no surprise to us, as opposition managers ( who study all these games on playback) have worked this out and press hard in midfield. | | | |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:26 - Mar 29 with 3314 views | 442Dale |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:20 - Mar 29 by samueloneils |
Having looked back on Dzone at the whole match in the cool of the day, what seems to be a worrying development in recent games is the lack of control in midfield. East is still soldiering on, but they are not functioning as a unit as when Gilmour was there. Each opposition has more of the ball in midfield than we have. At least one of Pettit, Barlow and Moss need to be closer to East for a quick return pass. The spaces will open up. Also there would be more opportunities to slide the ball through to Manni D, who we know turns well when receiving to his feet.
This should be no surprise to us, as opposition managers ( who study all these games on playback) have worked this out and press hard in midfield. |
Yeah, there is an issue in control via midfield and again not necessarily a reflection of those playing but more how good Gilmour has been in achieving that.
Similarly East often vacates the centre to join Gordon and whoever is RWB on that side. The absence of TAR affects that too. Just getting those two back for the last 2/3 games will be massive.
On midfield, thought Francis did quite well after coming on. Can see how he’ll prove to be an astute signing next season. | |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 15:04 - Mar 29 with 3180 views | tony_roch975 |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:20 - Mar 29 by samueloneils |
Having looked back on Dzone at the whole match in the cool of the day, what seems to be a worrying development in recent games is the lack of control in midfield. East is still soldiering on, but they are not functioning as a unit as when Gilmour was there. Each opposition has more of the ball in midfield than we have. At least one of Pettit, Barlow and Moss need to be closer to East for a quick return pass. The spaces will open up. Also there would be more opportunities to slide the ball through to Manni D, who we know turns well when receiving to his feet.
This should be no surprise to us, as opposition managers ( who study all these games on playback) have worked this out and press hard in midfield. |
Gilmour is a class act at sniffing out danger and adding energy into moves; Petit is an excellent solid 3rd midfielder (if 442's formation is adopted) but he's not Gilmour (despite the 2 cracking goals). Also playing Rodney wider left (or right) recently limits his ability to drop short in the No 10 role to create the out ball for the midfield or back 3. | |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 15:38 - Mar 29 with 3057 views | isitme |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 15:04 - Mar 29 by tony_roch975 |
Gilmour is a class act at sniffing out danger and adding energy into moves; Petit is an excellent solid 3rd midfielder (if 442's formation is adopted) but he's not Gilmour (despite the 2 cracking goals). Also playing Rodney wider left (or right) recently limits his ability to drop short in the No 10 role to create the out ball for the midfield or back 3. |
Gilmour has argubaly been our best player this season. Technically he has come on and his work rate and mobility are both excellent. Pettit is a different type of midfielder and tends to be more of a sitter so we play a slightly different game without Gilmour. Casey has been a very good option to bring on as fresh legs, often to close the game.
Tobi is probably our quickest and most direct option in the wing back position. He links up really well with Gordon and East down that side. Two vital cogs in out team have been missing for a while. [Post edited 29 Mar 15:39]
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 20:40 - Mar 29 with 2651 views | pnc4eva1 |
But each one gave us all a white wee wee |  |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 20:54 - Mar 29 with 2619 views | pnc4eva1 |
Sorry my reference was to the Muir head, Davies Hendo comment | |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 21:01 - Mar 29 with 2591 views | pnc4eva1 |
Back to the main comments section
Gilmour has been missed drastically over the last few weeks. As an exile I watch as many games as I can on DAZN.
Last season I was slightly dismissive of Gilmour's contribution and ability. This season he's been a revelation. Since he's been out we've missed his tackling, energy and distribution. Petit is too similar to East in his style.
At this time and pressure of the season we need a tackling Tasmanian devil like Gilmour.
Yesterday's performance was not goo. I got so fed up and angry I threw my tablet down at 85 minutes and went to walk the dogs.
Imagine how pissed off I was that it was 1-1 (quality goal) by the end of the street. About a half mile from home I was dancing round on a narrow country lane like a loony.
Still we're missing midfield energy | |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 23:11 - Mar 29 with 2357 views | Daley_Lama |
I’ve not seen much praise for Sutton, but they should be lauded for their performance yesterday.
They didn’t match our 5-2-3 formation, they played 4-5-1 (in my view anyway)
The 5 midfielders allowed for extra pressing on our back line when we had it, with 4 players covering Gordon, Eels, Perry and Winterbottom. The two wing backs were so far forward that they were marked by their full backs and East/Pettit were marked by their two central midfielders.
Our outlet from the back was therefore long to Mani or occasional ball over top for Smith. All 3 front players had little involvement in the game first half.
Conversely they turned possession into swift attack. They always seemed to have a spare player in CM (25) to pass to as Pettit/East dropped very deep.
They had done their homework, evidently worked on triangles down the flanks and were far more fluent in the first half than ourselves box to box.
They made us look poor especially first half through their endeavour. Add in some possible fatigue from Weds, a long coach trip (i assume came down Sat but just a guess) and a ground where we get nothing from and it makes a bit more sense.
It also makes the ending even better. Matched only by DySportings celebration.
As others mention, we’re now into the final straight and are completely caught up. Hartlepool and Wealdstone both play an extra game before we play each of them so boot on other foot for once. |  |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 07:18 - Mar 30 with 2161 views | isitme |
Wealdstone also have a Wembley appearance to think about before they play us and nothing really league table wise to play for. Maybe they will rest and rotate, especially after playing catch up games wise.
If you look at our next four games:
Morecambe H - They are in a mess and need an unlikely set of results to stay up.
Hartlepool A - A difficult game, although they will have played Tuesday, Friday and then Monday (thanks TVOS!). Hopefully they will have run out of steam by the time we play them.
Wealdstone H - Another team playing catch up fixture wise. They will be safe from relegation and have Wembley to look forward to.
Braintree A - They are on an awful run of form and will probably be relegated by the time we play them.
[Post edited 30 Mar 12:38]
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 10:25 - Mar 30 with 1926 views | Dale_4_Life |
Incredible ending to the game..
Hendooooooooo….
Sets up Easter 2026 a treat. Come on Dale we can do this.
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 10:39 - Mar 30 with 1892 views | frenzied |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 07:18 - Mar 30 by isitme |
Wealdstone also have a Wembley appearance to think about before they play us and nothing really league table wise to play for. Maybe they will rest and rotate, especially after playing catch up games wise.
If you look at our next four games:
Morecambe H - They are in a mess and need an unlikely set of results to stay up.
Hartlepool A - A difficult game, although they will have played Tuesday, Friday and then Monday (thanks TVOS!). Hopefully they will have run out of steam by the time we play them.
Wealdstone H - Another team playing catch up fixture wise. They will be safe from relegation and have Wembley to look forward to.
Braintree A - They are on an awful run of form and will probably be relegated by the time we play them.
[Post edited 30 Mar 12:38]
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Assume nothing.
Saturday was a kick up the backside thankfully we robbed 3 points.
Dale will need to be at their v best to win the next 4 games..anything less and we open the door for York. | | | |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 10:53 - Mar 30 with 1855 views | dingdangblue |
Obviously we were getting towards desperation on Saturday but it does show you the value of getting the ball in the box. A wonderful ball in from McBride (he'd already done it earlier when Rodney should have scored) and a brilliant delivery in from Perry on the left for Moss to set up the winner. We do have a tendency to overplay at times - yes it is towards trying to open up the opposition - but at this level sometimes the simpler approach is just as effective. Getting the right balance is the key. | |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 11:01 - Mar 30 with 1844 views | TVOS1907 |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 07:18 - Mar 30 by isitme |
Wealdstone also have a Wembley appearance to think about before they play us and nothing really league table wise to play for. Maybe they will rest and rotate, especially after playing catch up games wise.
If you look at our next four games:
Morecambe H - They are in a mess and need an unlikely set of results to stay up.
Hartlepool A - A difficult game, although they will have played Tuesday, Friday and then Monday (thanks TVOS!). Hopefully they will have run out of steam by the time we play them.
Wealdstone H - Another team playing catch up fixture wise. They will be safe from relegation and have Wembley to look forward to.
Braintree A - They are on an awful run of form and will probably be relegated by the time we play them.
[Post edited 30 Mar 12:38]
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Hartlepool didn't play on Saturday. They were scheduled to host Southend. |  |
| Maestro? No.
Elite? No.
Heavyweight poster? No.
Able to be rational and not over-react to individual results? Yes. |
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| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 12:24 - Mar 30 with 1689 views | Delboy |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 23:11 - Mar 29 by Daley_Lama |
I’ve not seen much praise for Sutton, but they should be lauded for their performance yesterday.
They didn’t match our 5-2-3 formation, they played 4-5-1 (in my view anyway)
The 5 midfielders allowed for extra pressing on our back line when we had it, with 4 players covering Gordon, Eels, Perry and Winterbottom. The two wing backs were so far forward that they were marked by their full backs and East/Pettit were marked by their two central midfielders.
Our outlet from the back was therefore long to Mani or occasional ball over top for Smith. All 3 front players had little involvement in the game first half.
Conversely they turned possession into swift attack. They always seemed to have a spare player in CM (25) to pass to as Pettit/East dropped very deep.
They had done their homework, evidently worked on triangles down the flanks and were far more fluent in the first half than ourselves box to box.
They made us look poor especially first half through their endeavour. Add in some possible fatigue from Weds, a long coach trip (i assume came down Sat but just a guess) and a ground where we get nothing from and it makes a bit more sense.
It also makes the ending even better. Matched only by DySportings celebration.
As others mention, we’re now into the final straight and are completely caught up. Hartlepool and Wealdstone both play an extra game before we play each of them so boot on other foot for once. |
As you say Sutton deserve a lot of praise for their approach and the effort they put in to contain us. As often happens we are so wrapped up in our own performance we sometes fail to see what the opposition have achieved. The energy they needed to maintain the level of press they applied for most if the game was exceptional. However it must have taken its toll in the later stages and coupled with our determination to press forward and not give up led to a win that will live long in the memory. | | | |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 12:46 - Mar 30 with 1614 views | Trev |
| Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 10:39 - Mar 30 by frenzied |
Assume nothing.
Saturday was a kick up the backside thankfully we robbed 3 points.
Dale will need to be at their v best to win the next 4 games..anything less and we open the door for York. |
The door could still well be open even if we do win the next 4. Crazy to think we could come 2nd on 110 points. | | | |
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