MORECAMBE

My view on Michael Appleton (and Darryl Eales and Mark Ashton come to that) has been well documented in the numerous “Fan’s Views” I’ve banged out. I really have tried to believe and am still trying to, BUT at times it is nigh on impossible.

After doing really well in turning over a poor Mansfield side and winning a point with a satisfying battling display at Pompey (in a game we could quite easily have lost, let’s not forget) we had a home game against a mid table side. Surely if we are making any progress we would have won this. We just can’t put a run together. The best winning sequence we can boast of in the League this season is all of two games and we’ve only achieved that once. Pathetic.

Our best unbeaten sequence in the League is a five game run and that included just two wins, dropped home points to Tranmere and AFC Wimbledon and failure to win at Whaddon Road. Bearing in mind that Cheltenham are so bad many are already picturing them riding the highway to non-league obscurity alongside the Monkey Hangers, it’s not that impressive is it?

So every time I think is this it, please be it, it’s the same old same old. My head then says “Appleton Out”. I’m not shouting it at The Kassam or wherever our travels might take us, but that’s what my brain is telling me. And what about the heart? It’s obviously OUFC through and through and it was that way long before this current lot came along with their well meaning experimental project. They can and almost certainly will move on. I won’t. I can’t. So, the sooner it’s sorted the better. Again, Appleton Out.

We’re in the first week in March but have not even reached double figures in the wins column in the League Table. Dire.

What we’ve got at the moment in one way or another isn’t really cutting it. There’s a massive problem somewhere. I am not into blame culture, but the responsibility for our position in the lower reaches of the fourth tier of English Football has to rest with someone or an assortment of somebodies. Players? Manager? Coaches? Recruitment Officer? Apportion responsibility / blame as you see fit, but it has to rest somewhere.

You’ve probably got it by now that I’m not happy. I try to be but I’m way off.

So on to the game. As it was drawing to a close I rated the performance at no more than 2 out of 10. Attacking wise we’d hit the bar but that was about it. I’d awarded the two on the basis that after conceding we didn’t really look like doing so again, even though defenders did not look as individually assured as they had against Pompey.

Thankfully, when players were getting caught wrong side of their man, and I’m particularly thinking Jake Wright here, it was in an area of the pitch that we were not going to be hurt given that the Shrimps had no great ambition to get a second. They’d probably sussed that if they stayed well organised and solid we had little threat.

Their goal came from a free-kick on the half way line and whilst we had men back in numbers, as you would expect, our marking was such that Morecambe had space and time to receive the ball and turn. That said they shifted it about well and had good movement. Joe Skarz was the wrong side of Kevin Ellison and all he could do was shirt pull as the veteran striker converted following Ryan Clarke’s save.

I’d wanted a change or two in the starting line up to freshen things up because, from where I’m sitting, some players’ bodies are screaming “jadedness” with every step they take. Prime example, Danny Hylton. He and Patrick Hoban got very little change out of the Morecambe defence, posed no physical threat of note and failed to win almost every high ball. (Could we have done with an Ellison type? I consider him a horrible player but if he had been in an Oxford shirt over the years, I wonder. 35 now though.)

I admire Hoban’s wholehearted effort and have said previously that I’m on the fence when it comes to the man from Dundalk, but performances like this have me slipping to the side that says he’s not a (top) L2 player. Perhaps a goal will get things kicked on and change this view. There are many times when we need a bit of individual inspiration such is our general state – one of mediocrity – and on current form I can’t see PH producing it. One day, perhaps.
On the night one man did produce. Hats off to George Baldock. He belatedly shone on a night when things had got so dim even the floodlights had played along. The speakers in the SSU joined in too by producing a prolonged farting sound; an apt summary of the entertainment to be sure.

Baldock’s inspiring moment came in the 87th minute. A bit effing late but we then started to play and nearly won it. Hoban nearly scored. That tiny splurge boosted my rating up to 2.5. Some are a little bit happy, citing battling to salvage a point, and pointing to a three game unbeaten run. I’m not. We should be beating teams like this, or at least have a better idea as to how to do so throughout the 90 minutes. For me that was more home points dropped. We got away with it and no way deserved to win. I wasn’t sure what our game plan was. Were we trying to revive our passing game on the mud pit or were we going long ball? I couldn’t tell. I just thought it was a rather bumbling, shambolic mess. Yes, my glass is rather more than half empty.

Cue a fine effort at Gigg Lane with at least a draw achieved against a team in 5th place who have won their last four and only conceded one goal in the last five. (Compare and contrast with anything we’ve achieved this campaign.)
There are a few on social media who have already declared that we won’t pick up a single point in the next two games. But even I don’t think there’s much chance of that being so. Why? Well for starters we’ve got a good defence.

BURY

Pre-match meal for some- local delicacy in the Trackside

As a football spectacle the first half was largely forgettable. I would have been happy for it to have remained that way and us to have returned south with a point. In summary I’d say it looked like two competent mid table sides going about their business in such a way that would not raise anyone from their seats.

There were two things that did stick in my mind though from the first 45 minutes. Firstly, the ease with which Bury players went to ground. The biggest culprit was their Danny Rose. One of the worst displays of cheating that I can recall for some time. Secondly, the ridiculously lengthy efforts to which Bury fans (how biased are they?) and players went to try and get Alex MacDonald sent off. Perhaps if the latter had concentrated on the matter in hand more, they would have had more success. (I’m still baffled as to the reason our winger received a yellow. A free-kick was awarded after a foul was committed but I thought that was Kemar Roofe. Was it for something he said? Or perhaps I missed what really went on.) It was a wise decision by Mapp to swap the targeted one with Callum O’Dowda (that’s with an A) at the break.

What followed in the second period was therefore deliciously ironic when they had a player dismissed for a second yellow and we won a penalty when Hylton went to ground.

The anger and emotion cranked up many notches as it became clear to the home side and supporters that they were not going to, as they had probably mistakenly assumed, easily take all three points.

Again the defensive line was satisfyingly solid; Jake Wright was imperious (yes I’m a big fan) and Clarkie pulled off wonder saves and brave saves as required (yes I’m a big fan).

Adam El-Abd was already on a yellow (can’t remember what for) when he fouled Roofe in the 65th minute. I think our loanee was just a bit too quick for him and that there wasn’t really anything malicious in it. But in this instance the referee favoured us. I chuckled.

They could have gone down to nine players then because Joe Riley laid a hand on referee Kevin Johnson. He got away with it. But hey, it’s a passionate game.

Bury’s resolve didn’t drop nor did the passion of their crowd. Our objective had to be to stay cool, not get drawn into anything and try to patiently create a chance or two, something we had not been doing to any great degree.

Five minutes later home tempers rose even higher when we were awarded the penalty. After a shot had been blocked there was a tangle of players, some on the floor, some not. Hylton recovered quickest and was heading away from goal. On the day I thought that Jimmy McNulty’s push was much more blatant than TV replays suggest. But there’s more to it than that. The Bury man’s left leg catches our man’s left leg. (Did Danny boy leave it trailing on purpose?) No doubt Northerners and Southerners will put a very different interpretation on the incident. It should also be noted that Hylton, instead of appealing, got to his feet and carried on playing.

But a penalty it was and, as so often happens, an age seemed to pass before the kick was taken. The longer the delay the greater the pressure on the kicker. There’s also more time available for the inevitable sledging. Referees should just get on with it. Book anyone who attempts to hold things up and don’t bother to see if everyone is outside the box. If there’s an infringement that delays the outcome, speak to the linesman and deal with it afterwards in the appropriate fashion.

What happened was that our leading scorer, having been spoken to by half the Bury team, produced a poor effort that was easily saved by Nick Pope. In such circumstances I’d like to see us change penalty taker at the last second. That of course could also go horribly wrong. McNulty’s aggressive verbal abuse of Hylton following the miss merited his yellow card at the very least.

This may all have pumped up the home side even more but on the plus side it told me they lacked discipline which indicates a lack of focus on what really matters.

We held it together without being bullied and got our rewards with five minutes of normal time remaining. Hylton won a header near the half way line, Hoban controlled on his chest and with an instinctive pass, played almost without looking, found the run of COD. His second touch was a bit heavy but speed and determination took him through and with the outside of his left foot rounded the advancing Pope before finishing from a tight angle. I’m now seeing a much better player than the one who first got into the team, although I think Dube’s assertion that he will one day play in the Premiership is going a little too far.

That moment was so sweet, particularly after the penalty miss and there was relief in Hylton’s face as he ran over to congratulate the scorer. Hylton, by the way, was better than he’s been in the last couple of games but his late booking means he will indeed get that rest I’ve been thinking he needs.

Make no mistake this was a very good win. Marks out of ten, I’ll go 7.5.

It’s not enough to have changed me into an “Appleton In” bloke but perhaps I need to leave this thing alone as it is blatantly obvious he is not going anywhere anytime soon. I’m going to have to live with it so will search for positives to try and convince myself that next year will be the year and that we really have now turned the corner.

• We’ve now hit double figures of League wins
• Morecambe winning at Luton means our point on Tuesday was actually a very good one.
• Unbeaten in four and eight points from twelve.
• As previously stated – a now solid defence.
• If we win our remaining 11 games we could yet be in the play-offs.

There, don’t go accusing me of being negative.