Exeter City Vs Rochdale Matchday Thread

[pete_h]

Report for the match, from the Rochdale site. Seem half the goals were offside, and the result not helped by poor and inconsistent refereeing.
http://www.rochdaleafc.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10441~43560,00.html

Just read the report and in particular the last paragraph about the Rochdale penalty. I just caught the goals on ITV, and it wasn't Moxey who fouled the Dale player was it? And I'd say that the only difference between the severity of the two fouls was the fact that Harley was the last man, whereas for the Rochdale one, there were a number of players in the box.

 

[Jim Shepherd]

Then he probably read the second half on the BBC text as that said it was Moxey.

 

[radiogrecian]

Ref got the key decisions right from what I saw on the highlights. Can't speak for his performance during the rest of the game as I wasn't there.

 

[arthur]

Are you mad? i cant express enough how much we missed Matt Taylor at the back,

Agree and I think Tis would too. He clearly has some "must start" players and I imagine Taylor would be one them.

Without the help of a red card I would pick this as our best starting XI:

Jones

Tully
Seaborne
Taylor
Moxey

Saunders
Gill
Panther
Stewart

Basham
McCallister

Subs:
Harley
Marriott
Murray
Edwards
Stansfield

 

[Oli]

Does that team have enough mobility up front? Also, is there a need for Edwards and Murray on the bench, seems like a slight duplication to me.

 

[hillview red]

I thought we were excellent yesterday. Panther - all action, Bash - linked the play together really well, Saunders - a real thinking man's footballer, Mac - a quality option off the bench. I think Craig really benefits from coming off the bench and running against a defence that Adam has run ragged for an hour. I know people will disagree but part of me thinks that Adam's running played an indirect part in all the space we saw in the last 30 minutes.

Sad that Moxey got his 5th yellow, I'm not sure what game he'll miss Wycombe or Brentford?

I also notice that Brentford had Elder (striker) sent off yesterday AND Charlie MacDonald came off after 33 mins (just after scoring...)... If MacDonald isn't playing on Sunday, that would be a huge plus.

Finally, I believe the defining moment of our season will be Tis' timing of the "when to drop Edwards and Stewart" issue. A hugely difficult decision to make but watching yesterday and over the past couple of weeks I personally don't think they would be in my first XI. Rob is a little too exposed for me as a centre half and I'm not sure he'll be able to displace Manny and Gilly in midfield. Stewie was caught offside 5 times within minutes of coming on, admitedly the linesman wasn't great but for a player with such a wealth of experience that was a few too many times. I think Bash is a better option at the moment - stronger and sharper.

I'm not advocating ditching them completely but there will come a time when they probably shouldn't start and I sincerely hope that Tis makes that difficult decision quickly and decisively.

PS Edwards and Stewart are LEGENDS - I'm not picking on them, I love them! But there will come a time when old age catches up....

 

[Oli]

Sad that Moxey got his 5th yellow, I'm not sure what game he'll miss Wycombe or Brentford?

Do we know this for sure? Soccerbase only has him on 4.

If it is 5, then I think he will miss Wycombe.

 

[flack attack]

What a comical report on the Rochdale site. Reckon if I were him I'd have perhaps waited to see the highlights before writing up my report. Tully didn't look in the slightest bit offside, nor did any of their defence appeal to that effect. Similarly they weren't appealing when Harley went through and Wiseman only "nipped round him and toe-poked the ball away" after hauling him back with a handful of shirt as can clearly been seen on the highlights. Some would say a sending off is harsh but the referee would have been criticised by us and his assessors had he not followed the stipulated guidelines.

I'd definitely feel hard done by if I were a Dale fan, but on the basis that they had good chances in the first half that they didn't capitalise on. The same has happened to us in other games this season (Luton and Shrewsbury particularly spring to mind) and we have paid the price.

In summary it was a strangely open, but resultantly very entertaining match. Agree that we are missing Matt Taylor at the back. Was particularly delighted to see Panther perform as had only seen him at Dagenham last week and wasn't particularly impressed. Fully deserved MOM today although agree that Jonah ran him close. 10 men and a Panther. We've got 10 men and a Panther!

 

[Lister]

I think Craig really benefits from coming off the bench and running against a defence that Adam has run ragged for an hour. I know people will disagree but part of me thinks that Adam's running played an indirect part in all the space we saw in the last 30 minutes.

Here here here

Sad that Moxey got his 5th yellow, I'm not sure what game he'll miss Wycombe or Brentford?

Spoke to Deano's dad who thought the ban would come in in 7 days time so would miss the Brentford game.

Finally, I believe the defining moment of our season will be Tis' timing of the "when to drop Edwards and Stewart" issue. A hugely difficult decision to make but watching yesterday and over the past couple of weeks I personally don't think they would be in my first XI. Rob is a little too exposed for me as a centre half and I'm not sure he'll be able to displace Manny and Gilly in midfield. Stewie was caught offside 5 times within minutes of coming on, admitedly the linesman wasn't great but for a player with such a wealth of experience that was a few too many times. I think Bash is a better option at the moment - stronger and sharper.

I'm not advocating ditching them completely but there will come a time when they probably shouldn't start and I sincerely hope that Tis makes that difficult decision quickly and decisively.

PS Edwards and Stewart are LEGENDS - I'm not picking on them, I love them! But there will come a time when old age catches up....

Tis has said on numerous occasions that his philosophy is that certain players are his "A" rated players, and if they are fit and not suspended then they play. I'd say the 3 players that applies to is Gill, Edwards and Stewart.

I'm not disagreeing (sp?) with your point mind, just reminding people of how Tis works. If he drops Edwards, then he's changed one of his main tactics.

 

[Oli]

Tis has said on numerous occasions that his philosophy is that certain players are his "A" rated players, and if they are fit and not suspended then they play. I'd say the 3 players that applies to is Gill, Edwards and Stewart.

I'm not disagreeing (sp?) with your point mind, just reminding people of how Tis works. If he drops Edwards, then he's changed one of his main tactics.

He has also said that when you persuade a player at a certain stage of their career to come to us then you have an obligation to try to play them.

I believe this was on R5 last week.