I know it's a funny old game, but the results today defy logic. The top 3 teams Gills (lost) , Notts Co (lost) , Walsall (draw) and you have to go to 4th and 5th Barrow and Donny for wins. And now we have 4 teams all with the same points at the top. Talk about a close, tough, competitive league. Wow. Disappointing Donny did not score any more goals in the second half against a 10-man Grimsby. I hate it when teams just back off in the second half instead of going for the kill. Can't really complain though, a win is a win.
Always think 10 games in is a good time to judge what the season is going to look like and how you’ve recruited in the summer. Last season we were sat in 21st on 8 points, this year we’re 4th level on points with 1st with 19 points. Other than the first half today we’ve not played particularly well in the last 5 games so I’m very happy with where we are. As the new players bed in further and McCann solidifies his best 11 the performances should continue to improve, not at all expecting a mental run like last season () but we’re positioning ourselves very nicely so far Going to be a tough battle at the top though by the looks of things
Of course, Fleetwood and Crewe are on 16 points with a game in hand. Both win, and we would 6 teams all on 19 points with only GD separating them. The season couldn't be much tighter. Interesting times.
I was impressed with Walsall yesterday. Looked a very slick and powerful side. We didn't help ourselves by giving them a goal start, and the overall performance perhaps wasn't great, but we stuck at it and came away with a point. I'm content with the way things have gone so far. We're tough to beat, and have a goal or two in us. The only thing which bothers me is that we only seem to see our optimum game depending on who we're playing and how they set up...we need to impose our game on our opponents more. Still, a solid start.
I think all the results have shown so far is that the pre-season expectation of a much more competitive division without the likes of Wrexham and Stockport appears to have some substance to it. I've seen most of our games either live or on television and, even allowing for some utterly horrendous officiating yesterday, Doncaster were the first side I've seen against us who I would be confident can sustain a challenge at the top end for 46 games. David Artell may have been slightly exaggerating when he talked about going to Scotland on Saturday and France on Tuesday in his post-match interview yesterday but it was quite clear, particularly from how the game started, which side was coming into it on the back of two very long away trips and which side had played their previous two games at home. I'm sure a Premier League manager would have been similarly philosophical about such a schedule. But, for all the challenges we've had so far, being five points better off than we were after 10 games last season and only four points off top can only be encouraging as much as I still don't see us being in the mix at the business end.
I don't think any game involving us is a classic to be honest A much needed win though and gets us back into the picture with a winnable game this weekend away at Tranmere.
2-2 between Chesterfield and Notts County. “Controversial” penalty at the end given for handball gives the Magpies a point .
Steady point. Struggled to break Crewe down and they capitalized on some poor defending from us but McCann changed the game with his subs and it was great to see Hurst get himself on the scoresheet after being left out last weekend Was a bit odd their goal, we were doing a minutes applause for a fan who had died recently and we were all stood up clapping while they celebrated right in front of us
Has anyone gone down from League one to national league in consecutive seasons as Carlisle must be at risk right now ?
The current handball law is horrible and that was just another example. Forest Green did last season. Long way to go but there's clearly a big job for Mike Williamson to do up there.
Unusually, at least for me, I have to start my comments on today's game by praising the referee, Scott Jackson. I know he was far from popular with our visitors at times but his decision to pause play and join, along with players, coaches and the Walsall supporters, a minute's applause in memory of Town fan Kieran Turner, who recently died from cancer aged just 26, is one of the most powerful and moving things I have ever seen on a football pitch. It hardly seems relevant in that context but, for the second home game running, I saw a team who look like they have what it takes to sustain a promotion challenge. We competed with Walsall for a good hour and, probably didn't deserve to lose as heavily as we did, but we were really overrun in the one area of the field where we've been hit hardest by injuries of late. At least we get to play a team below us in the table on Tuesday night for a change, given we've now played seven of the current top eight.
I wasn't at the match but from our commentary it sounds like the ref got at least 3 big decisions wrong. Weird this season, most matches we have less than 50% possession yet we're currently the top scores!
Can’t go wrong with a last minute Joe Ironside penalty… we did alright in the following games last time that happened
The one thing he definitely got wrong was in the first half when he pulled the play back for a free kick to you when your number 2 was at the byline in a clear crossing position. We couldn't complain about the foul or yellow card in that incident but I know we'd have been absolutely spewing if the roles had been reversed. There were certainly two or three big shouts from the away contingent in the second half for things at that end of the field. Assuming your commentators were in the Main Stand, they may well have had a better view of those than I did from the other end of the ground. Ultimately, you overpowered us second half, particularly in midfield where we don't have many options at all at the moment.