by lidbid46 » Wed Nov 21, 2012 8:10 pm
Good posts, much of which I agree with. I think the idea of subbing anyone who has been booked automatically at half time is too rigid. If that is a precaution against a sending off, why not sub the offender straight away in case he gets booked again before half time? What happens if two or even three players are booked before half time? Subbing when it is not tactical that early means that you cannot make effective changes later on. Then there is the problem of what happens if you make all your subs early and someone gets injured, then you end up with ten men anyway. We said last night when Lee had left the game to be replaced by Weston that we would end up either scoring lots or conceding a few. It became a team that you would put out if you were two goals behind and chasing the game, when we were drawing and needed to keep tight. The breakaways came where we had weakened the team and no one seemed to know what to do about it. Saving the penalty was great, but then falling for virtually the same move that had given the penalty away in the first place seconds later was disappointing. Having said all that, I thought that Exeter were a very strong side who played some lovely football, and Cureton and Gow ran the game and gave us problems which we haven't faced this season up until then. The Jack Payne saga is the first thing that has made me uneasy about MA; I hope this isn't the beginning of the strange decisions that has blighted his tenure at some other clubs. Still, 9 points clear of 4th place is not to be sniffed at and I still feel optimistic overall.