Carlton Updates

[andy]

Hi Paul
Good of you to come on here. For me it's a more general question. We are clearly having a very good season, my only concern is that on occasions we play players that are probably not up to the standard required for this division when better players seem to be available. Frustratingly these seem to be the games we drop points in. Maybe some named on the bench are not match fit sometimes? Is it you prefer an element of rotation rather than best 11 each game?
Best of luck in getting us up!
Cheers

[PaulSmith]

Hello Andy,

Players not up to the standard in your opinion.
We train twice a week, we have scouts that go out to identify targets, we don’t just put a pin in a map and hope for the best.
Secondly and very importantly we know how the squad are fitness wise, we speak or message daily, and pick teams accordingly.
Without sounding disrespectful, it’s very easy being a 6pm Saturday evening manager.
We make decisions on the opposition we play, the fitness and form of the group.

[PaulSmith]

Hello Paul, how come now, or yesterday, did you decide to change from four at the back to a three? And why was Rob Evans on the bench when, for me , he's a great player playing in a three, on the right?
Thanks in advance and good luck for promotion

We changed formation to combat their threat firstly, secondly to go big and strong on a poor pitch.
Rob hasn’t been able to train for nearly three weeks now, and we are trying to look after him for the run in.

[andy]

Without sounding disrespectful, it’s very easy being a 6pm Saturday evening manager.

Very true. I did try hard to not put my question across as if I could have done any better. Believe me I am delighted with the progress this team has made under your tenureship. I've seen little to match it in my time since the eighties. It's becoming a great journey. I just feel we are far and away the best team in this league and hope that the final table reflects that.

[drummyb]

Lets face it, we're all 6pm managers!!!! . Everyone has their opinions, questions, favourite players etc etc. Be a bloody boring game if we all agreed all the time. Its no different to any forum anywhere. We dont all agree on here ffs but we all want the same things!!!! Even with our successful 80's team, I can remember people shouting "bloody rubbish" on occasions.

[Seamus]

Evening Paul,
Was wondering if Dan Coogan was still with us, or injured?
Any prospect of playing a part before the end of the season?

[PaulSmith]

Morning,
Dan Coogan has had a successful operation and we hope to see him back in pre season.

[dazzlingdazza]

I don’t like posting straight after a game as emotions and thoughts can be high etc.

On reflection of Saturday’s game I was more than happy with the performance, I don’t think we got we deserved (which was 3 points) in football that’s what can happen, I thought we controlled the game for large periods, they have had more or less 3 shots on target and 3 goals.
I was a little disappointed with their 3rd goal, the lads strike was unreal but I think before that we could have perhaps got in a challenge or closed down a little quicker (maybe it was tired legs on a heavy pitch late in the game)

Whilst I was gutted with Sim’s suspension I was impressed with Mickey Taylor, he offered us something different, a real hold up option, the ball stuck and Greg’s was always looking for a flick on or bits and pieces from him (which is how we got our penalty)

Whilst it was frustrating to concede so late there were lots of positives for me, the reaction from being pegged back, obviously their 3rd goal didn’t give us much time to respond again.
It was also good that despite the late equaliser the players and manager coming over and appreciating our support, the fact that you looked absolutely gutted shows us how much you care, and hopefully this will drive you all on even more for the remaining 8 games, and that none of us want the feeling of being deflated at the end of the season.

Right behind you. Let’s do this !

[drummyb]

Yeah. I dont think it was a bad performance at all and I enjoyed the game. It pretty much had everything. Lets not forget that they're in 6th place at their ground so it was always going to be a tough one. And I didnt think they looked to shabby either.

I dont think anyone here is or ever has been overly critical or unfairly, and yeah people do post emotionally, thats only natural and a natural release. But thats what forums are, an exchange of opiniins etc. I always find it interesting that people see different things in games.

Good of Paul to come on imho.

[AwayDayYeltz]

Yeah. I dont think it was a bad performance at all and I enjoyed the game. It pretty much had everything. Lets not forget that they're in 6th place at their ground so it was always going to be a tough one. And I didnt think they looked to shabby either.

I dont think anyone here is or ever has been overly critical or unfairly, and yeah people do post emotionally, thats only natural and a natural release. But thats what forums are, an exchange of opiniins etc. I always find it interesting that people see different things in games.

Good of Paul to come on imho.

Saturday was a very strange one. On one hand I'd have taken a point before kick off, and we've not lost ground on Ilkeston and have pulled clear of Chasetown. So that's a positive. Should we win Saturday (another tough match) we'll either go top, or pull further clear of Chasetown, which will more than likely make it a two horse race for the title. So we're in a healthy league position.

That being said, conceding so late, due to sloppy play when going forward, in terms of not taking the ball in the corner, and losing the lead on three separate occasions, AND the fact we had a chance to go top, leaves a disappointing feeling to the weekend. How many more points are Ilkeston going to drop? Not many is probably the answer. If we win the last 8, but they also win the last 8, then hats off, and fair play. However, how galling would it be to miss out on promotion because we have failed to take advantage of Ilkeston when they've dropped points?

Maybe I'm being overly critical, because as I said in a previous post, we were the better team, and created more than enough to win. It's just frustrating that we couldn't have held on. I suppose the cliche will hold true, we'll play much worse than that, but take all three points.

I can't recall the stand in GK having to make a save? Although, I think it's easy to say 'we should be shooting on sight, to take advantage of an outfield 'keeper', but doing so would move away from a gameplan the coaching staff and players have worked on all week.