MATCH: Halifax Town (A) 10/09/24

[JoeP]

1 minute ago, nzlatic said:

Come on, no one would call that a sitter whether it’s Norwood on the end of it, Fondop or anyone. 
 

Fondop doesn’t get stick for missing every chance, just the really good ones. Like headers from about 3 yards out. 

 

I wouldn't call it a sitter, but then I wouldn't call Fondop's a sitter in the first-half, more a good save by the keeper. 

 

Seems a bit double-standard..

[BerlinBlue]

1 minute ago, JoeP said:

 

I wouldn't call it a sitter, but then I wouldn't call Fondop's a sitter in the first-half, more a good save by the keeper. 

 

Seems a bit double-standard..

The two chances were not comparable and you know it.

Fondop was poor again. Simple.

[TheBigDog]

Our WhatsApp chat match summary
 

* Dull first quarter.

* Gardner looking off the pace and huge space in front of our back three.

* Giving the ball away far too often resulting in our wing backs being caught too far up the pitch.

* Good header from Mikey - good save by the keeper.

* Kitch scores but Fondop should have buried it.

* Should be two - Dolan should have done better.

* Hudson to blame for their equaliser.

* Fondop caught offside far too often.

* How did Wright miss that?

* We really are a very ordinary side  - once again we seem to lack ideas or any real urgency.

* Looked better when down to 10
* Sadly I hold no hope of seeing anything better at Woking.

[BradKnowles1]

6 minutes ago, JumpingJoshLundstram said:

 

Very true but again I'd hazard a guess at consistency is the issue. Haven't a clue what he said and it might have been something deserving of a red card but I guess many others say the same week in and week out and get let off with it. PS not that's its relevant the decision was a shocker, never a foul.

He deserved it

 

it weren’t a foul he threw his arms up and moaned. Carried it on and did a glasses signal to the ref. 

Edited September 10 by BradKnowles1

[Littlemoor Lad]

I'd take another 1-1 at Woking after enduring that tonight 

Can't buy a win, although more than enough's been spent 

[League one forever]

Just got in from work, so haven’t seen the game. 
 

Sounds like.

 

Awful first half.

 

Bit better second. 
 

Only turn up in one half. 
 

Miss chances. 
 

Is that fair? 
 

Because if so, it’s simply not good enough. 

[diggleblue]

Mellon lost his strikers before the season began.He should have brought someone in to cover.He probably hoped Reid would cover but for whatever reason Reid hasn't been given a chance. So what's he playing at?A decent striker would bring the midfield into the game. We are going to have a lot of 6 pointers this season if we are to do anything.We look very unbalanced and the squad looks weak.Still need a striker and a creative midfielder. Monthe and Ogle are great but all the OAPs won't do it for us.

 

[Littlemoor Lad]

Just now, League one forever said:

Just got in from work, so haven’t seen the game. 
 

Sounds like.

 

Awful first half.

 

Bit better second. 
 

Only turn up in one half. 
 

Miss chances. 
 

Is that fair? 
 

Because if so, it’s simply not good enough. 

Lucky you

Hope work was good

 

[nzlatic]

15 minutes ago, JoeP said:

 

I wouldn't call it a sitter, but then I wouldn't call Fondop's a sitter in the first-half, more a good save by the keeper. 

 

Seems a bit double-standard..

One was slightly behind Norwood on the edge of the 18 yard box, got no power on it. The other was in front of Fondop in the 6 yard box. Good save, yes, but the keeper shouldn’t even have been given a chance - a yard to the side and it’s a goal. 

[aaronoafc]

The midfield 3 of Gardner Lundstram and Conlon where as bad as I’ve ever seen from a midfield tonight. 
 

Gardner couldn’t do anything right bar the assist that wasn’t to be. Every pass went wayward, except ironically the one Fondop scored from. Other than that I thought he was awful. He’s got a good footballing brain but he’s just not up too it. Some of his passing tonight was genuinely concerning. 

 

Lundstram spent the first half hiding as usual. He came out showing a bit more 2nd half but his first touch about 10 times was a disgrace. Legit bouncing off him. Coward of a footballer. He’s had enough chances, shite. 
 

Conlon well, I’ve backed him more than most but I’m struggling to see what he does. I wouldn’t say he hides like JL but he just doesn’t really do anything other than the safe 5-10 yard passes sideways and backwards. 
 

We are going nowhere with that as our midfield. 
 

Ogle and Monthe where superb. Caprice a bit dodgy defensively but going forward was very good. 

[yarddog73]

Five 1-1's in six games is embarrassing and they sandwich a 4-1 defeat at Aldershot, only Ebbsfleet and Fylde have failed to win any of their last five, remember that good point against Fylde the so called tough team who'll cause others plenty of problems, they've picked up 1 point in 12 since. 

 

I'm fearful for us now, we are powderpuff up top and have a keeper whose weak as piss and needs a rest, it's not a great combination. 

[yarddog73]

10 minutes ago, nzlatic said:

One was slightly behind Norwood on the edge of the 18 yard box, got no power on it. The other was in front of Fondop in the 6 yard box. Good save, yes, but the keeper shouldn’t even have been given a chance - a yard to the side and it’s a goal. 

Correct, I've watched it back and it's a sitter, anywhere but straight at Johnstone and that's a goal.

 

We've now already drawn as many as Chesterfield did all season last time round and it's the 10th September. 

Edited September 10 by yarddog73

[Astro]

7 minutes ago, Littlemoor Lad said:

I'd take another 1-1 at Woking after enduring that tonight 

Can't buy a win, although more than enough's been spent 

Can you - or anyone - provide a summary of what money has been spent under Mellon? I've been distant from Latics for several years and I don't know what sums we're talking about. 

 

I found that to an oddly entertaining game in that a lot of it was played at a good pace, and to their credit they again competed over a 90-minute game. Nowhere near good enough, of course, but if Mellon is pushing for recruitment- does anyone know if he is? - I think we're closer than what many think. We're not going to walk the league and we're going to be competing in a classic National League season this year. I'm happy to grind it out, notwithstanding the obvious need to improvement.

 

I thought Fondop showed himself to be the bench player that he is, but then that feels a little harsh given the weak showings from too many in the middle. 

[sjk2008]

At least we still have a brilliant goalkeeper eh!

[aaronoafc]

Just now, Astro said:

Can you - or anyone - provide a summary of what money has been spent under Mellon? I've been distant from Latics for several years and I don't know what sums we're talking about. 

 

I found that to an oddly entertaining game in that a lot of it was played at a good pace, and to their credit they again competed over a 90-minute game. Nowhere near good enough, of course, but if Mellon is pushing for recruitment- does anyone know if he is? - I think we're closer than what many think. We're not going to walk the league and we're going to be competing in a classic National League season this year. I'm happy to grind it out, notwithstanding the obvious need to improvement.

 

I thought Fondop showed himself to be the bench player that he is, but then that feels a little harsh given the weak showings from too many in the middle. 

I think it’s more wages spent really when people talk about backing. January alone last year we signed Garner, Hammond, Conlon, Dallas on loan. There was a couple more players but Garner and Conlon will be on more than 90% of NL players. Dallas was rumoured to be on 4k a week at Barnsley and I bet we where paying most if not all of it when he joined. 

Monthe and Charsley will be on a fair whack from the summer signings, maybe Kay as well. 
 

He’s not had the backing Unsworth had, as a lot of this seasons budget was tied up. However he’s signed what, 12-14 players now? With half of them being on very good wages. 

 

[the_mighty_bosh]

Starting to think that it's the right formation in the wrong hands.

 

With two energetic advanced midfielders pressing high up and getting close to the lone forward, this formation can work.  If Gardner is one of the advanced midfielders it won't.  Mellon has turned this formation too defensive and at this rate he won't have a huge amount of time to change it.

 

He's not helped by some utterly brainless and underwhelming play by the likes of Hudson, Lundstram, Conlon, Fondop and, most notably, Khan.

 

We won't fall off a cliff in the same way we did under Unsworth, but that's nowhere near enough at this point in time.  While Wild is still unemployed, twisting with him rather than sticking with Mellon will be increasingly more tempting.

[BradKnowles1]

In this league you usually can see a good team within the first 10 minutes. Tonight was two poor mid table teams.

 

our recruitment has been wrong. At board level some of these signings have been baffling. 
 

mellon his record speaks for itself. Football is a results business and we are just drawing.

 

In 2024 in the national league  expect Oldham athletic to be fighting for the title. However we are far from it. It’s a catastrophic failure.

 

i keep hearing it takes time and patience it’s competitive. Fuck off this fan base expects

[League one forever]

2 minutes ago, the_mighty_bosh said:

Starting to think that it's the right formation in the wrong hands.

 

With two energetic advanced midfielders pressing high up and getting close to the lone forward, this formation can work.  If Gardner is one of the advanced midfielders it won't.  Mellon has turned this formation too defensive and at this rate he won't have a huge amount of time to change it.

 

He's not helped by some utterly brainless and underwhelming play by the likes of Hudson, Lundstram, Conlon, Fondop and, most notably, Khan.

 

We won't fall off a cliff in the same way we did under Unsworth, but that's nowhere near enough at this point in time.  While Wild is still unemployed, twisting with him rather than sticking with Mellon will be increasingly more tempting.

Do you think the players don’t believe in him anymore? 
 

These types of performances we’re getting now have all the hallmarks of it. 
 

He says in every interview. 
 

We started slow.  

We came into more in the second half. 
 

We didn’t move the ball quickly enough. 
 

I want us to pass more. 
 

I want us to look for the forward pass more. 
 

We weren’t brave enough with the ball. 
 

In the next game, we do exactly what he says he doesn’t want.  
 

To my mind, that can only be because they’ve stopped listening. Happened with Unsy, and it’s happening again. 

[yarddog73]

6 minutes ago, the_mighty_bosh said:

Starting to think that it's the right formation in the wrong hands.

 

With two energetic advanced midfielders pressing high up and getting close to the lone forward, this formation can work.  If Gardner is one of the advanced midfielders it won't.  Mellon has turned this formation too defensive and at this rate he won't have a huge amount of time to change it.

 

He's not helped by some utterly brainless and underwhelming play by the likes of Hudson, Lundstram, Conlon, Fondop and, most notably, Khan.

 

We won't fall off a cliff in the same way we did under Unsworth, but that's nowhere near enough at this point in time.  While Wild is still unemployed, twisting with him rather than sticking with Mellon will be increasingly more tempting.

Watching Gardner embarrass himself as one of those forward two in a box four sums it all up for me, we started the season with him deep alongside Conlon and it worked to a degree because we had Charsley and Hammond as willing runners, now none of them really take any responsibility and teams pick us apart willy nilly despite us starting effectively with a 3-6-1.

[the_mighty_bosh]

34 minutes ago, aaronoafc said:

The midfield 3 of Gardner Lundstram and Conlon where as bad as I’ve ever seen from a midfield tonight. 
 

Gardner couldn’t do anything right bar the assist that wasn’t to be. Every pass went wayward, except ironically the one Fondop scored from. Other than that I thought he was awful. He’s got a good footballing brain but he’s just not up too it. Some of his passing tonight was genuinely concerning. 

 

Lundstram spent the first half hiding as usual. He came out showing a bit more 2nd half but his first touch about 10 times was a disgrace. Legit bouncing off him. Coward of a footballer. He’s had enough chances, shite. 
 

Conlon well, I’ve backed him more than most but I’m struggling to see what he does. I wouldn’t say he hides like JL but he just doesn’t really do anything other than the safe 5-10 yard passes sideways and backwards. 
 

We are going nowhere with that as our midfield. 
 

Ogle and Monthe where superb. Caprice a bit dodgy defensively but going forward was very good. 

 

Absolutely agree.  This should be the captain that grabs the game by the scruff of the neck and dominates the midfield, especially when protected by three other central midfielders.  Yet he doesn't really do anything of note and always seems to get on the ball in completely ineffective positions.

[LightDN123]

1 hour ago, JoeP said:

Does that header from Norwood count as a sitter missed?

Obviously not. But the far easier free header from Mikey and the stupid offside counts as a total of 3 wasted chances from Fondop today.

 

We are on about 8 for the season at this point. 

[the_mighty_bosh]

6 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

Watching Gardner embarrass himself as one of those forward two in a box four sums it all up for me, we started the season with him deep alongside Conlon and it worked to a degree because we had Charsley and Hammond as willing runners, now none of them really take any responsibility and teams pick us apart willy nilly despite us starting effectively with a 3-6-1.

 

And tonight it looked like a 5-4-1 (nothing against Caprice and Kitching who didn't disgrace themselves, but they are naturally closer to full-backs than they are wingers) which is not the way teams who get out of this division play.

Edited September 10 by the_mighty_bosh

[spanishfly]

Mellon needs to act very decisively now or he will lose much credibility. Strip Conlon of the captaincy and hand it to Monthe, tell Lundstram his BP career is finished, find a new keeper and play 2 up top. After a bright opening 2 or 3 games we have regressed and the support will dwindle rapidly.

[whittles left foot]

12 minutes ago, LightDN123 said:

Obviously not. But the far easier free header from Mikey and the stupid offside counts as a total of 3 wasted chances from Fondop today.

 

We are on about 8 for the season at this point. 

You keep telling us that Norwood is class yet he hasn't done a thing for 6 months now. He was dropped at the end of last season.

 

If he is that good he should be creating chances for himself and yet nothing seems to change-looks frustrated all the time and that headed attempt tonight-well I could have got more on it than he did.

 

Keep counting up the Fondop chances but there aren't many to count for Norwood so far.

[LightDN123]

1 minute ago, whittles left foot said:

You keep telling us that Norwood is class yet he hasn't done a thing for 6 months now. He was dropped at the end of last season.

 

If he is that good he should be creating chances for himself and yet nothing seems to change-looks frustrated all the time and that headed attempt tonight-well I could have got more on it than he did.

 

Keep counting up the Fondop chances but there aren't many to count for Norwood so far.

Who would you rather be on the end of an opportunity then? 
 

Create for Norwood and he will score. Fondop is absolutely fine to bring on as a sub, in fact, he could have had an impact coming off the bench tonight. But as a starter, he is rubbish.