PNE (H) | Page 6 | Vital Football

PNE (H)

Thought I’d stay away from here today because I was so angry and unfortunately I still am.

That game was lost today before we kicked off. If ever a game encapsulates what a tactically naive manager Cook is, today was it. Schooled by Alex Neil and it was an embarrassment.

3 central defenders at home that barely won a header between them, getting in each other’s way and frankly looked ill at ease. It left us completely overrun in midfield and the game was gone. A young lad, maybe 6 or 7, who sits behind us said the same after 20 minutes. If a young lad can see that, why the hell cant our highly paid manager. It’s all well and good playing that away at Leeds when there is little emphasis on attack so it’s all about maintaining shape and defending but not at home.

To compound matters he made no change first half them inexplicably didn’t change it at half time. In typical Cook fashion the changes he did make made little sense. Left back was withdrawn which meant Naismith was put at left back. We all know he can’t play there, yet in fairness to him has done okay in a two at centre half. Once more he’s hung him out to dry. How the fuck Lowe remained on the pitch is beyond me, he was absolutely useless. To put the cherry on the cake he left him on yet took off Moore with ten to go when the box should have been loaded. No wonder Neil said he was relieved by that sub.

It just capped off an horrendous afternoon for the clown. It is utterly baffling and disgraceful that he is still in our employ and without a doubt he will be primarily culpable for relegation, along with those responsible for keeping him in post.
 
That team selection from Cook today was a disgrace IMO.We started the game with 8 defensive minded outfield players at HOME to Preston,who should be respected,but not feared.They have a poor away record this season and had only scored 11 goals before today.
I could understand why he did it last week against top of league,away at Elland Road,but to do it for this game is inexcusable.We had back to back wins which gave everyone a lift,so should of been positive right from the start.But that team selection was a big negative before a ball was kicked and ended up costing us.
It was so obvious after the early exchanges it wasn't working and mine and many other tics fans fears when we saw the selection were realised.Cook should of changed it at the very latest at HT if not before.But he inexplicably didn't and they scored early,giving us a mountain to climb.
He then made the changes of bringing on 2 attacking players,we were crying out for from the start.The game then completely changed and for the last 35 mins we battered Preston but why the hell were those extra 1 or 2 attacking players not starting.Unbelievable.Then to compound matters he took Moore off instead of Lowe.Moore was a big threat in the box and having him and Garner on together that last 10 or so mins could of got us a point.
Yes the players were poor 1st half,but I blame Cook massively today,for playing that formation,with all those defensive minded players in it,for a home game,after back to back wins.
 
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moonay said:
I agree LMB. The defending could have been better.

Nevertheless, it was a great little ball into Johnston (and a good run into space by him), and a superb ball across the box.

Aside from that, Byrne had an excellent game. Evans remained crap though.
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Defensively, he gets drawn out of position too much. However, with 3 centre backs, someone should have been covering for him. Playing 3 at the back was a mistake by Cook imo.
 
Made in Wigan said:
Thought I’d stay away from here today because I was so angry and unfortunately I still am.

That game was lost today before we kicked off. If ever a game encapsulates what a tactically naive manager Cook is, today was it. Schooled by Alex Neil and it was an embarrassment.

3 central defenders at home that barely won a header between them, getting in each other’s way and frankly looked ill at ease. It left us completely overrun in midfield and the game was gone. A young lad, maybe 6 or 7, who sits behind us said the same after 20 minutes. If a young lad can see that, why the hell cant our highly paid manager. It’s all well and good playing that away at Leeds when there is little emphasis on attack so it’s all about maintaining shape and defending but not at home.

To compound matters he made no change first half them inexplicably didn’t change it at half time. In typical Cook fashion the changes he did make made little sense. Left back was withdrawn which meant Naismith was put at left back. We all know he can’t play there, yet in fairness to him has done okay in a two at centre half. Once more he’s hung him out to dry. How the fuck Lowe remained on the pitch is beyond me, he was absolutely useless. To put the cherry on the cake he left him on yet took off Moore with ten to go when the box should have been loaded. No wonder Neil said he was relieved by that sub.

It just capped off an horrendous afternoon for the clown. It is utterly baffling and disgraceful that he is still in our employ and without a doubt he will be primarily culpable for relegation, along with those responsible for keeping him in post.
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A bit strong, but I tend to agree about Cook's decision making. Three centre backs at home, with two defensively dodgy full backs, was ludicrous.
 
You are my sunshine said:
That team selection from Cook today was a disgrace IMO.We started the game with 8 defensive minded outfield players at HOME to Preston,who should be respected,but not feared.They have a poor away record this season and had only scored 11 goals before today.
I could understand why he did it last week against top of league,away at Elland Road,but to do it for this game is inexcusable.We had back to back wins which gave everyone a lift,so should of been positive right from the start.But that team selection was a big negative before a ball was kicked and ended up costing us.
It was so obvious after the early exchanges it wasn't working and mine and many other tics fans fears when we saw the selection were realised.Cook should of changed it at the very latest at HT if not before.But he inexplicably didn't and they scored early,giving us a mountain to climb.
He then made the changes of bringing on 2 attacking players,we were crying out for from the start.The game then completely changed and for the last 35 mins we battered Preston but why the hell were those extra 1 or 2 attacking players not starting.Unbelievable.Then to compound matters he took Moore off instead of Lowe.Moore was a big threat in the box and having him and Garner on together that last 10 or so mins could of got us a point.
Yes the players were poor 1st half,but I blame Cook massively today,for playing that formation,with all those defensive minded players in it,for a home game,after back to back wins.
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He's too much in awe of other teams, and shows them too much respect.....probably, because he lacks confidence in his own players. He needs to take our game to the opposition more.
 
At least a part of Cook's decision making/selection process seems to be fed by a fuck you/I'm in charge not you/that's what the crowd are baying for so I'll do the complete opposite mindset now...and if any of this is true then it is counterproductive to a successful outcome. His main asset appears to be in arguments with whoever disagrees with him including the officials.
 
formbylatic said:
Credit to Joe Williams for having the honesty to admit that the team wasn’t good enough today and that the players were at fault for the result.
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Clearly 🤡s got into the young lads head. The loss was due to piss poor management from selection to 65 mins.
After the eventual and obvious change the players (with a couple of obvious exceptions and despite awful sub decisions) had PNE under the cosh
 
Nottingham said:
A bit strong, but I tend to agree about Cook's decision making. Three centre backs at home, with two defensively dodgy full backs, was ludicrous.
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If you thought that was strong you should be grateful I didn’t post straight after the game!

From a tactical and game management point of view it was as bad as it gets.
 
29 goals scored this season tells its own story and as relegation all over it said at the start of the season this team would not score enough And now to top it all letva goal scorer go out on loan and don’t replace him Agree with letting him go but surely you have some one lined up
 
Nottingham said:
He's too much in awe of other teams, and shows them too much respect.....probably, because he lacks confidence in his own players. He needs to take our game to the opposition more.
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hindleymonwafc said:
At least a part of Cook's decision making/selection process seems to be fed by a fuck you/I'm in charge not you/that's what the crowd are baying for so I'll do the complete opposite mindset now...and if any of this is true then it is counterproductive to a successful outcome. His main asset appears to be in arguments with whoever disagrees with him including the officials.
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I've said before its all done deliberately to piss the fans off, i reckon he wants the supporters to be chanting Cook Out, booing etc just to put the hierarchy under pressure to sack the greedy bastard and he can get his full pay off.

He's not as dumb as we think he is!
 
First things first, the tactics were abysmal and PC needs to be man enough to take responsibility for that.

I praised him for the decisions in the last two games which led to us accumulating 6 points but the decision to play five across the back at home, against a team with a record almost as poor as our own in away games was exceptionally poor.

I am not going to go into detail about the game because I think it has been covered in most of the previous posts. I had hoped that the boost in confidence that the players would have got from the last two performances would have meant that we went into the game looking for three points. Wrong. The set up was for containment and not for the expansive attacking football that two wins on the bounce would see most managers choose.

What is most concerning is that it was obvious to all and sundry that Preston had not come to throw the ball into the box but were looking to expose our weakness on the deck. Their pass and move tactics had our defence chasing shadows and the overload in midfield meant that balls played through were being chased down and won in the danger area. A simple change of formation could and should have nulled them. It was obvious from the off that Dunkley had been left in to stop the aerial threat that did not happen and should have been withdrawn, or Naismith, who incidentally had the worst game he has had since moving to CB, should have been moved forward. We were getting under one another's feet and because the aerial threat didn't materialise the three centre backs looked confused.

Why Lowe was left on is anyone's guess. He is too lightweight for this division and once he is tackled hard loses interest/confidence and will be targeted by every other manager in the division as a weak link. He came into the club and was touted as a fast paced tricky player, none of which he has shown in over half a season. The experiment is a failure and needs to be wound up.

We go again on Tuesday against a side that pushed Brentford hard and will be looking to make up for a disappointing loss. If we fail to get our tactics right again we will lose the opportunity to close the gap again.

If we decide to play a defensive game we will lose.

If we get back to the way we have played in recent weeks and stop worrying about what the opposition can do and play our own game we have a chance.

My final point is simple, "Joffy" needs to start, he is the spark that ignites our best play.
 
TRUE BELIEVER said:
First things first, the tactics were abysmal and PC needs to be man enough to take responsibility for that.

I praised him for the decisions in the last two games which led to us accumulating 6 points but the decision to play five across the back at home, against a team with a record almost as poor as our own in away games was exceptionally poor.

I am not going to go into detail about the game because I think it has been covered in most of the previous posts. I had hoped that the boost in confidence that the players would have got from the last two performances would have meant that we went into the game looking for three points. Wrong. The set up was for containment and not for the expansive attacking football that two wins on the bounce would see most managers choose.

What is most concerning is that it was obvious to all and sundry that Preston had not come to throw the ball into the box but were looking to expose our weakness on the deck. Their pass and move tactics had our defence chasing shadows and the overload in midfield meant that balls played through were being chased down and won in the danger area. A simple change of formation could and should have nulled them. It was obvious from the off that Dunkley had been left in to stop the aerial threat that did not happen and should have been withdrawn, or Naismith, who incidentally had the worst game he has had since moving to CB, should have been moved forward. We were getting under one another's feet and because the aerial threat didn't materialise the three centre backs looked confused.

Why Lowe was left on is anyone's guess. He is too lightweight for this division and once he is tackled hard loses interest/confidence and will be targeted by every other manager in the division as a weak link. He came into the club and was touted as a fast paced tricky player, none of which he has shown in over half a season. The experiment is a failure and needs to be wound up.

We go again on Tuesday against a side that pushed Brentford hard and will be looking to make up for a disappointing loss. If we fail to get our tactics right again we will lose the opportunity to close the gap again.

If we decide to play a defensive game we will lose.

If we get back to the way we have played in recent weeks and stop worrying about what the opposition can do and play our own game we have a chance.

My final point is simple, "Joffy" needs to start, he is the spark that ignites our best play.
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Agree mostly, but I'm not sure if Joe will be up to playing every game, but he definitely deserves a start. I think PC should give the loan players a game, too.
 
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