Curzon 31.08

Open now for discussion of all things Darlo!

Moderators: mikkyx, uncovered

Darlopartisan
Posts: 1738
Joined: Sat Jul 22, 2017 12:49 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by Darlopartisan » Mon Aug 30, 2021 5:55 pm

Not sure anyone is picking on , he hasn’t had a chance yet, got to get the nod against BPA

tdk1
Posts: 2479
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 6:21 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by tdk1 » Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:08 pm

Yeah, I liked cassody today. I think their defenders disliked him, which is a big tick for me - not had one of them for a while.

User avatar
divas
Posts: 13213
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:38 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by divas » Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:36 pm

bga wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 5:55 pm
Thought we deserved a draw from this.Three great chances in the second half all well saved by their keeper. Cassidy put himself about a lot and good to see him score. But couldn't understand his headed flick ons seemed to be trying to flick onto a Darlo player who was never in that position so most were wasted balls. Plenty of verbal communication in the first half between players but this dropped off when they went 2-1 up as heads including Hatfield's went down.
Curzon missed two fairly straightforward chances though. How their number 11 fluffed and open goal I’m not sure and Knowles should have completed his hat-trick with a fairly easy header. We were lucky to get away with conceding two

bga
Posts: 2270
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:18 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by bga » Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:44 pm

divas wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:36 pm
bga wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 5:55 pm
Thought we deserved a draw from this.Three great chances in the second half all well saved by their keeper. Cassidy put himself about a lot and good to see him score. But couldn't understand his headed flick ons seemed to be trying to flick onto a Darlo player who was never in that position so most were wasted balls. Plenty of verbal communication in the first half between players but this dropped off when they went 2-1 up as heads including Hatfield's went down.
Curzon missed two fairly straightforward chances though. How their number 11 fluffed and open goal I’m not sure and Knowles should have completed his hat-trick with a fairly easy header. We were lucky to get away with conceding two
True but if they had scored and we put those 3 chances away it would have been a draw!

Yarblockos
Posts: 1041
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2015 9:19 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by Yarblockos » Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:53 pm

I think we all knew this squad was weaker than last season. We lost quality in the likes of Campbell and Sousa. We seem to have brought in poorer players in all areas. I am going to posit that our defensive problems are only partly down to difficulties in finding the right players though, part of the the reason is that Armstrong has a poor record at signing defenders and that his teams just don't do defending. Blyth had a poor defennsive record when AA was in charge. The Blyth team that reached the play-offs let in 62 goals, as many as TW's Darlo. Maybe you will always have a poor defense when AA is in charge and you hope you can cover that up with attacking talent. But we've lost a lot of that talent this season. Maybe AA just doesn't recognise a good defender when he sees one.

H1987
Posts: 2073
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2016 4:14 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by H1987 » Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:23 pm

At least the kit is nice :think:

Old Git
Posts: 3217
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:09 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by Old Git » Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:37 pm

Yarblockos wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:53 pm
I think we all knew this squad was weaker than last season. We lost quality in the likes of Campbell and Sousa. We seem to have brought in poorer players in all areas. I am going to posit that our defensive problems are only partly down to difficulties in finding the right players though, part of the the reason is that Armstrong has a poor record at signing defenders and that his teams just don't do defending. Blyth had a poor defennsive record when AA was in charge. The Blyth team that reached the play-offs let in 62 goals, as many as TW's Darlo. Maybe you will always have a poor defense when AA is in charge and you hope you can cover that up with attacking talent. But we've lost a lot of that talent this season. Maybe AA just doesn't recognise a good defender when he sees one.
You could have a point about AA and finding defenders but surely Darren Holloway knows a thing or two about defending. I would have thought having a striker and defender as the management team should prove to be a good combination when it comes to recruiting and coaching.

DarloJason
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Feb 28, 2021 7:02 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by DarloJason » Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:46 pm

For the last 20 minutes we looked like we have the potential be a real handful. Griffiths, Purver, Charman and Nelson all on the pitch together looked strong. I just think they all need time to get used to each other. Would have liked to see what impact Smith would have had, hopefully he will be fully recovered soon.

Darlo_Pete
Posts: 14082
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:13 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by Darlo_Pete » Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:40 pm

H1987 wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:23 pm
At least the kit is nice :think:
That's very questionable. :wtf:

JE93
Posts: 1855
Joined: Sun Nov 29, 2009 2:48 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by JE93 » Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:59 pm

Yarblockos wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:53 pm
I think we all knew this squad was weaker than last season. We lost quality in the likes of Campbell and Sousa. We seem to have brought in poorer players in all areas. I am going to posit that our defensive problems are only partly down to difficulties in finding the right players though, part of the the reason is that Armstrong has a poor record at signing defenders and that his teams just don't do defending. Blyth had a poor defennsive record when AA was in charge. The Blyth team that reached the play-offs let in 62 goals, as many as TW's Darlo. Maybe you will always have a poor defense when AA is in charge and you hope you can cover that up with attacking talent. But we've lost a lot of that talent this season. Maybe AA just doesn't recognise a good defender when he sees one.
Do we?

I'd argue Taylor is better than Saltmer on what we've seen so far, certainly comes off his line and better with his feet. Griffiths is a solid RB at this level has been for years, compared to McMahon who's legs were going and struggled against anyone with any pace. We haven't seen Smith yet due to illness so impossible to compare him to Liddle at this point. Purver is certainly better than Reid as a footballer and CM. Only real losses are Campbell and Sousa (both left for something we can't offer), and in that space Nelson and his return to fitness could be a decent replacement for Campbell. Added to that we were lacking presence upfront last year and today our new Target Man won aerial duels, made a hassle of himself and took his goal well by all accounts.

Not saying by any stretch its been a good start, it hasn't. Not saying we're currently good enough at CB, we're not. But hyperbole comments really don't help when in reality we're not done recruiting, we've been after a big ugly CB all closed season but there aren't loads in the market and at least Alun hasn't gone down the TW line and spunked the budget on the likes of Hughes and Ainge. He has repeatedly said there is money left in the budget, money earmarked for a CB. The EFL transfer window will close early next week which will give us a better idea of who might be available on loan etc.

Old Git
Posts: 3217
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:09 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by Old Git » Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:08 pm

DarloJason wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:46 pm
For the last 20 minutes we looked like we have the potential be a real handful. Griffiths, Purver, Charman and Nelson all on the pitch together looked strong. I just think they all need time to get used to each other. Would have liked to see what impact Smith would have had, hopefully he will be fully recovered soon.
I was not present today so I am sure you are correct in what you say but surely it has to be seen in the context of the game. In the last 20 minutes we were a goal down and playing against 10 men. I would expect Curzon would have little option but to get everyone behind the ball and defend their lead. We didn’t look too bad in the final 20 minutes against Alfreton either but unfortunately games last for 90+ minutes and we have to become more competitive from the kick off.

LoidLucan
Posts: 4536
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 11:29 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by LoidLucan » Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:38 pm

Yarblockos wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:53 pm
The Blyth team that reached the play-offs let in 62 goals, as many as TW's Darlo. Maybe you will always have a poor defence when AA is in charge and you hope you can cover that up with attacking talent.

If that's an attempt to say that AA doesn't know what he's doing, it's one of the most ridiculous examples to base your spurious argument on. AA's Blyth team finished 6th on 69 points. They won 20 of 42 games with 9 draws. They had a goal difference of +12. They enjoyed a fantastic season and were great to watch. TW had us in 16th place with 12 wins from 42 games and a goal difference of -6. Our central defensive options at the start of Wright's season included Jonny Burn, Jack Vaulks and Dom Collins with Liam Hughes draughted in there because he was too unfit to play in midfield.

Although there are defensive concerns (which by all accounts are being addressed) the knee-jerk from some so far has been as OTT as it has been predictable.

Yarblockos
Posts: 1041
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2015 9:19 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by Yarblockos » Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:57 pm

LoidLucan wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:38 pm
Yarblockos wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:53 pm
The Blyth team that reached the play-offs let in 62 goals, as many as TW's Darlo. Maybe you will always have a poor defence when AA is in charge and you hope you can cover that up with attacking talent.

If that's an attempt to say that AA doesn't know what he's doing, it's one of the most ridiculous examples to base your spurious argument on. AA's Blyth team finished 6th on 69 points. They won 20 of 42 games with 9 draws. They had a goal difference of +12. They enjoyed a fantastic season and were great to watch. TW had us in 16th place with 12 wins from 42 games and a goal difference of -6. I know which record I would choose.
No, its an attempt to say that AA's teams let in lots of goals, even when they do well. No need to get your knickers in a twist. Both teams let in 62 goals, as I stated. If I was attempting to say he doesn't know what he's doing I would have said so. Not all managers are good at putting solid, well organised sides together, some are better at putting together an attacking, creative side. If AA can't find a centre back to spend the money on then maybe he'd be better off bringing in a new striker. His sides seem to be the strongest going forward.

User avatar
don'tbuythesun
Posts: 2398
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 12:24 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by don'tbuythesun » Mon Aug 30, 2021 10:17 pm

I left home thinking we might get thrashed but we didn't and I was pleased with the effort. We might have some shortcomings but I thought we played okay and if we can pass balls for Kevin to run onto and get everyone fit who knows where we will be. So good to be watching live footie and to see friendly faces again. I enjoyed my day out!

LoidLucan
Posts: 4536
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 11:29 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by LoidLucan » Mon Aug 30, 2021 10:19 pm

Well look at the 2016-17 season when AA was in charge of Blyth and they won the NPL. They finished on 101 points and scored 114 goals with 44 against (fewer than any other team in the league). That suggests a solid enough side to me. Some circumstances have combined so far this season along with some players just not doing the basics right in the first couple of games. And action is being taken. To inflate the current situation into a sweeping statement that AA doesn't know how to turn out a solid side and can't do defence is wrong.

Darlobill
Posts: 313
Joined: Wed Aug 11, 2021 6:00 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by Darlobill » Tue Aug 31, 2021 6:41 am

LoidLucan wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:38 pm
Yarblockos wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:53 pm
The Blyth team that reached the play-offs let in 62 goals, as many as TW's Darlo. Maybe you will always have a poor defence when AA is in charge and you hope you can cover that up with attacking talent.

If that's an attempt to say that AA doesn't know what he's doing, it's one of the most ridiculous examples to base your spurious argument on. AA's Blyth team finished 6th on 69 points. They won 20 of 42 games with 9 draws. They had a goal difference of +12. They enjoyed a fantastic season and were great to watch. TW had us in 16th place with 12 wins from 42 games and a goal difference of -6. Our central defensive options at the start of Wright's season included Jonny Burn, Jack Vaulks and Dom Collins with Liam Hughes draughted in there because he was too unfit to play in midfield.

Although there are defensive concerns (which by all accounts are being addressed) the knee-jerk from some so far has been as OTT as it has been predictable.
Once the SG board were feeling the pressure from fans over Tommy Wright his days were numbered - with two games in this is not the situation here although I’d imagine the SG board who appoint managers will be listening very carefully to the owners of the club the fans.

eddie-rowles
Posts: 484
Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2014 7:51 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by eddie-rowles » Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:23 am

Old Git wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:37 pm
Yarblockos wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:53 pm
I think we all knew this squad was weaker than last season. We lost quality in the likes of Campbell and Sousa. We seem to have brought in poorer players in all areas. I am going to posit that our defensive problems are only partly down to difficulties in finding the right players though, part of the the reason is that Armstrong has a poor record at signing defenders and that his teams just don't do defending. Blyth had a poor defennsive record when AA was in charge. The Blyth team that reached the play-offs let in 62 goals, as many as TW's Darlo. Maybe you will always have a poor defense when AA is in charge and you hope you can cover that up with attacking talent. But we've lost a lot of that talent this season. Maybe AA just doesn't recognise a good defender when he sees one.
You could have a point about AA and finding defenders but surely Darren Holloway knows a thing or two about defending. I would have thought having a striker and defender as the management team should prove to be a good combination when it comes to recruiting and coaching.
What you could observe from Holloway yesterday was him repeatedly telling the defence(all four) to stand up strong and keep tight but alas, far too often our defenders stood off and let Curzon attackers collect the ball and turn, tentatively sticking out a leg it was far to easy for a bang average Curzon. Not one of them came out in glory.
On one occasion Hatfield cleared a corner and AA got angry saying that is not your job and Hatfield explained maybe not but who else was going to clear the ball? Our defensive frailties will really be exposed by alot stronger sides than Curzon or Alfreton who are both happy to just survive at this level.
Purver wanted too much time on the ball and lost it repeatedly putting our defenders back under pressure, to much complaining with other players from our team(no dressing room banter yesterday) . Wheatley was tired and resorted to the sliding tackles some worked several didnt, Rivers was okay but not fully recovered from Covid. De Santos was likewise ok but needs to strike up a passing partnership with someone in the team instead of beating everyone. Cassidy was ok, but as mentioned earlier winning headers when there is no one with 20m of him is a waste of time , better into feet and hold up ball until others arrive and we did not punish enough Curzons weaker RB. Hatfield MOTM up front in midfield and defence but even he lost it with both Taylors, Storey etc who just launched the ball anywhere in the last 15 minutes. Being bottom of the league means we can only move up.

Old Git
Posts: 3217
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:09 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by Old Git » Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:32 am

I don’t think any reasonable person would think 2 defeats puts the manager under any kind of pressure regarding his job. AA seems to have a good working relationship with DJ and Supporters Group as far as I can tell and I am sure they and all genuine fans are hoping and expecting this is just a temporary blip and results will improve.

MCFCDarlo3
Posts: 896
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2014 8:28 pm
Team Supported: Manc born Darlo & City
Location: Manchester

Curzon 31.08

Post by MCFCDarlo3 » Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:17 am

The team put in loads of effort and played nice stuff.

They are short on confidence, important to get behind the lads now.

Emdubya
Posts: 1118
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2015 9:31 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by Emdubya » Tue Aug 31, 2021 11:54 am

So who was the fuckwit on the pitch when we scored?.Surely not the same offender as at Farsley!!.Anyone know?

AndyPark
Posts: 12155
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:08 pm
Team Supported: Darlington
Location: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by AndyPark » Tue Aug 31, 2021 1:13 pm

Emdubya wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 11:54 am
So who was the fuckwit on the pitch when we scored?.Surely not the same offender as at Farsley!!.Anyone know?
No it was not me, and I don’t appreciate the accusation either.

Thanks :thumbup:

Old Git
Posts: 3217
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:09 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by Old Git » Tue Aug 31, 2021 2:02 pm

Sounds like a bad day all round with not only losing the game but an idiot on the pitch allegedly kicking their keeper and the team arriving late and the game being delayed 20 minutes.
The referees report could make painful reading for the club. If the idiot on the pitch can be identified then a lengthy ban from Blackwell Meadows needs to be imposed. Although not sure what can be done about away games. Don’t know what the reason for late arrival was but guessing it was to do with Bank Holiday/Leeds Festival traffic but presumably this should have been taken into account before travelling. Lets hope the League are not feeling vengeful towards us after our appeal.

User avatar
divas
Posts: 13213
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:38 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by divas » Tue Aug 31, 2021 3:23 pm

Old Git wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 2:02 pm
Sounds like a bad day all round with not only losing the game but an idiot on the pitch allegedly kicking their keeper and the team arriving late and the game being delayed 20 minutes.
The referees report could make painful reading for the club. If the idiot on the pitch can be identified then a lengthy ban from Blackwell Meadows needs to be imposed. Although not sure what can be done about away games. Don’t know what the reason for late arrival was but guessing it was to do with Bank Holiday/Leeds Festival traffic but presumably this should have been taken into account before travelling. Lets hope the League are not feeling vengeful towards us after our appeal.
There were at least two accidents on the route to Ashton. One on the A1 near Darlington which depending which was a delay of around 30 mins and one near Wetherby which caused a minimum 45 minute delay

50 years
Posts: 626
Joined: Sun Jul 30, 2017 12:02 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by 50 years » Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:41 pm

A poor start to the season, but so have others, York who were favourites lost there first three, Spenny now lost 2 in a row. Clearly we have failings in the centre of defence and in confidence with the pre season and start we have had, but it is very early days.

To be honest I don't think the new players are worse than we had as some have said, Griffiths at fullback looks good and strong,
Smith in pre season at full back look really good,
KDS for me looks better as an allrounder, than Souser was,
Cassidy for me looks like the centre forward we have needed for a while holding the ball up and physical,
Nelson we all know can deliver if he can get fit,
Taylor in goal looks a bit better than we have had,
Taylor in CH is too early to judge,
Purver looks useful,
plus we have a few youngsters like Hope and Beeden who have potential.

As to existing members:-
Headley when in midfield in pre season looked really good, so may be an option as we go forward with two regular full backs available.
Wheatley has looked out of sorts just lately, and off the pace (not like him tbh).
Our captain is getting frustrated and that can be seen on the pitch, which cant help the others when confidence low,(although he is playing well)
Storey I have always liked, but looks really low in confidence and it is seriously affecting his playing.
Plus we have injuries and impacts of the virus.

Personally, I am just glad season has started and I can watch the boys again, and i believe those players (with some additional experience at CB) can turn this around fairly quickly under AA.

Old Git
Posts: 3217
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:09 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Curzon 31.08

Post by Old Git » Wed Sep 01, 2021 7:19 am

Just watched the highlights and the defending for their goals is awful. After the second goal is conceded Kallum Griffiths looks more concerned with rearranging his barnet than football.

Post Reply