York City 0, Fleetwood 2 (From York Press)

First 30 minutes was quality. What's going on with Ingham, Challoner and Smith. Those frustrations with each other should not be seen on the pitch. Needs sorting out. Where was Banjo??

I don't believe in luck in football, but I feel like both the scoreline (and the result really) flattered them. It's not often you hit the woodwork twice and come away with nothing at all. Fleetwood were really nothing much, but credit to them for making the most of their limited chances.

On the positive side of things, Fyfield and Walker were great all the way through, and Johnson looked very sharp when he came on - hopefully a secret weapon in the making.

How did Chambers and Coulson play? Gone quiet from the wide men since the first few games. Been found out?

Chambers shocking tonight gave the ball away too much espeially for the 1st goal. Fyfield for me was MOM, infact why do people slag him off I think he is a very good player. Referee's and Linesmen have been terrible this season I thought we left them in the conference.

Started well tonight but in this league you get punished for not taking your chances. Fleetwood had one chance in the first half and took it. Second half we were poor and didn't seem to have a plan b. Pumping the ball forward straight on to the head of their number five is not a good tactic, it didn't work last season. Chambers was poor tonight but so were a few others. Strange use of substitutes tonight, Bullock seems to be struggling so why bring him on? Then when we were one down with time running out a full back comes on and plays wide on the left. The magic of Jamie Reed would have possibly been a better option. Home form continues to be poor and must be a major concern.

Don't know what was said at half time but city seemed to stall, after such a fantastic first half which carried on from Saturday. The game should really have been over at half time in citys favour 3 . 1. but that where we lost it, because we didn't take the chances whereas Fleetwood did.
The midfield went missing on so many occasions in the second half, which would explain why Mills subbed 3 of them, but even that didn't kick start them to the level they had been playing at on Saturday or the first half tonight.
Come on city get it right for next Saturday, in mills I trust

The home form is now a massive problem as is the fact just about every close season signing has been dropped or appears injury prone. We might have been good for 20 minutes last night but the fact is we are still relying on the same defence as last season and playing a defender and attacker in midfield while our two close season midfielders have been dropped. The sad thing is the home games are now so predictable and just when we were again attracting fans back to the club we are driving them away again with close to the worst home record in the division.

Parslow just isn't a midfielder at this level, he does not have the ability to create time and space for himself, and thus is reduced to sideways and panic passes when pressed. It would help if he was a ball winner, but on the ground he is not. Bullock in my view, as a natural midfielder and ball winner did improve matters,but his addition was too late Likewise, as I said before the match, Blair is not a midfielder so the the 3 man midfield had one player in his natural position, Mcglaughlin. Paddy did well in the first half, but was bypassed in the second half as Inghy persisted in pumping up balls for their centre half to nod back.
A great first half due to the speed of play, and we were unlucky to be losing at half time, but a poor tactical second half. Why bring on Taylor, when we needed a goal, with Reedy sat on the bench! Couslon is a steady player who may not stand out as others do in patches,but he does not give the ball away easily, and should not have been substituted. Not a good night tactically I am afraid.
Having said that Fleetwood after the first 25 minutes showed why they will be up there at the end of the season and that at the moment we are not as good as them. I am though confident, with Kerr back in midfield, when back to his usual self, that there is the class in the team to beat many others in this league and secure at least a midtable spot.

yep, it was one of those nights, always one in a season, where we could still be playing now and we wouldn't have scored.
similar in some ways to wycombe in that the opposition were far more clinical than us when it came to finishing.
still not a major worry as we are still getting to grips with this division. there were positives though, fyfield was excellent, walker is starting to play consistantly well and johnson looked a real threat when he came off the bench. looking forward to welcoming our Rotherham friends on Saturday.

The first 25 minutes we were superb - but you've got to score in periods like that. After that Fleetwood bossed the game and, in fact, out muscled us. Second half we abandoned our pass and move game and reverted to that tried and failed tactic of high balls that were meat and drink to their massive centre half. OK to use that approach if you've got a couple of big, tall centre forwards - which we haven't. The home form continues to be a real concern and this is being reflected in falling attendances. Saturday's game is now a must win game. Like others I thought that Jamal was excellent last night but the midfield is badly missing Scott Kerr.

I thought we were brilliant for the first half-hour, but if you dont score when you are dominating the game, you are always going to be vulnerable. Just about everyone around me was expecting Fleetwood to score with their first attempt on goal, and they duly did. We seemed to lose the plot and run out of ideas in the second half. Pumping long balls upfield and everyone of them landing on Steve McNultys head. Gary Mills has been praised for his substitutions in the past, he has snatched many points, when all looked lost. But last night he got it wrong, he surprised many people by not putting Jamie Reed and Jonathan Smith on when we were chasing the game. Bullock, Johnson and Taylor made little difference, and Fleetwood finished up as the dominant team. I also have deep concerns with our home form, for we have developed a habit of making our visitors look good. Fleetwood looked like a team who will be difficult to beat this season, they have dismantled last seasons squad, and its paying dividends. But City usually bounce back after a defeat, so roll on Saturday.

think it has all been said above but was frustrating to watch ourselves get bullied last night.
we started great but the finishing was very poor and we allowed ourselves to be dictated from the moment they scored.
thought walker and fyfield were good but the rest were off their games.
smith and doig got caught out time and time again with the same ball over the top.
i'll be mightily glad when when we have kerr back and would play mcgurk any day when fit, possibly alongside carlisle.
still, its not all bad. we are showing we can compete with the 'big boys'. we just need to be stronger and more clinical.
MASSIVE game now on saturday

Well we could have been 3.0 up in the first 20 minutes last night as we came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders!! I thought the game was going to be done and dusted by half time!!

How wrong was I!!! After missing so many chances the doubt started to creep in because as we know if you don’t take your chances you get punished. I said to a friend of mine if anybody is going to score it will be Brown as he was their only outlet in the first half as I thought they were very poor and what happens. He took is goal very well to be fair.

Half time came and I thought we would come out fighting but we looked pretty lacklustre. Chambers had a very poor game and gave possession away far too easily. Coulson apart from rattling the bar in the first half did not get involved. Ingham for me lost his head last night, was arguing with Smith and seemed to refuse to give the ball short, pumping it straight down the middle only to be gobbled up by their resident Blackpool bouncer. God knows what was going on there but needs addressing.

The game was crying out for Smith to come on and break it down in Midfield and Reedy but no sign of either!!!

On the Plus side Walker looked sharp and Fyfield was solid. Johnson showed some promise when he came on too.

Mills needs to address the Midfield for me. Bully needs to come in for Parslow until Kerr is fit and I would bring Smith back in at the expense of Chambers or Coulson moving Blair out wide.

I think the ratings are too high, looks like they're based on the first 25 minutes! No problem with the 9 for Jamal but for most I think 6 would be about right over the 90 minutes with 7's for Walker and Blair. Coulson an 8?! No way.

Lack of composure in front of goal did for us and in the end Fleetwood did a job on us-they should never have had the chance!-Second half we ran out of ideas and lost momentum and just made it easy for the Cod heads-agree with above posts that better use of substitutes could have made a difference-thought Oli Johnson did well when he came on hope we see more of him in the future.

Lets hope Clarke Carlisle is fully fit. Put him and Doig at the heart of the defence. Send captain chaos Smith away for a while. He was a liability last night. He created the Ingham long ball problem single handedly by not moving forward to take there striker with him and allow our defenders to drop in and collect the ball. Plus he was at fault for both goals

How can you say Chris Smith was a liability, he played as well as many others last night. Their first goal game from a mis-placed pass way before Smith was involved. Passes will go astray, Smith was also asking for the ball off Ingham who chose many times to kick long. Get off his case!

duffy wrote:
The home form is now a massive problem as is the fact just about every close season signing has been dropped or appears injury prone. We might have been good for 20 minutes last night but the fact is we are still relying on the same defence as last season and playing a defender and attacker in midfield while our two close season midfielders have been dropped. The sad thing is the home games are now so predictable and just when we were again attracting fans back to the club we are driving them away again with close to the worst home record in the division.

As a champion of Doig I'm surprised that you're having a dig so early. Actually -no - I'm not surprised.

Don't agree that the home games are predictable at all.

The football on show last night in the first half hour will not drive people away. Quite the reverse.

It would perhaps be a massive problem if we were being outplayed -we haven't been in any match I've seen.
However we do need to pick up more points at home for all our sakes.
The fact that we can change the team to take account of form/fitness is a major plus in my book and did us well last season.

Should we open the book on when you'll state that you think the season "blown"? Now that we have a massive problem can't be long now.

Eldewiso Is correct to a degree. Chris Smith is a great player for us but I also agree he was contributing to the problem of Inghams delivery last night. We just seemed to lose the plot a little. A bit of a learning curve but we have the players and manager to keep moving us forward.

It seems like the same old story, in my opinion it's a poor team that can't win at home. I have been a City supporter for over 70 years now and I see it time and time again. Perhaps the New Stadium will make a differance. But don't hold your breath.

Fast, flowing football, chances galore, entertaining games - yes crowds will dwindle!! Come on its the best its been for ages. Or am I missing something??

skilly wrote:
Fast, flowing football, chances galore, entertaining games - yes crowds will dwindle!! Come on its the best its been for ages. Or am I missing something??

Seriously at home this season ? I don't think we have played that well at all at home in the majority of games. It has certainly not been a patch on the football we saw early on last season.

Edsoni wrote:

duffy wrote:
The home form is now a massive problem as is the fact just about every close season signing has been dropped or appears injury prone. We might have been good for 20 minutes last night but the fact is we are still relying on the same defence as last season and playing a defender and attacker in midfield while our two close season midfielders have been dropped. The sad thing is the home games are now so predictable and just when we were again attracting fans back to the club we are driving them away again with close to the worst home record in the division.

As a champion of Doig I'm surprised that you're having a dig so early. Actually -no - I'm not surprised.

Don't agree that the home games are predictable at all.

The football on show last night in the first half hour will not drive people away. Quite the reverse.

It would perhaps be a massive problem if we were being outplayed -we haven't been in any match I've seen.
However we do need to pick up more points at home for all our sakes.
The fact that we can change the team to take account of form/fitness is a major plus in my book and did us well last season.

Should we open the book on when you'll state that you think the season "blown"? Now that we have a massive problem can't be long now.

Put me down now, this team is not close to being good enough to gain promotion.

duffy wrote:

Edsoni wrote:

duffy wrote:
The home form is now a massive problem as is the fact just about every close season signing has been dropped or appears injury prone. We might have been good for 20 minutes last night but the fact is we are still relying on the same defence as last season and playing a defender and attacker in midfield while our two close season midfielders have been dropped. The sad thing is the home games are now so predictable and just when we were again attracting fans back to the club we are driving them away again with close to the worst home record in the division.

As a champion of Doig I'm surprised that you're having a dig so early. Actually -no - I'm not surprised.

Don't agree that the home games are predictable at all.

The football on show last night in the first half hour will not drive people away. Quite the reverse.

It would perhaps be a massive problem if we were being outplayed -we haven't been in any match I've seen.
However we do need to pick up more points at home for all our sakes.
The fact that we can change the team to take account of form/fitness is a major plus in my book and did us well last season.

Should we open the book on when you'll state that you think the season "blown"? Now that we have a massive problem can't be long now.

Put me down now, this team is not close to being good enough to gain promotion.

But you said the same thing last season after we lost to Newport. I don't mean to get on your back about being negative, and we do have to improve at home, but its still early in the season and there is plenty to be very positive about!

i agree with most of the comments on here,should have been 4 or 5 up in the first half hour last night.fleetwood and a lot of other teams in this league cant handle the pace of york.i still think gary mills is playing the wrong system at home.walker still needs another striker at the side of him.johnson did well up there after playing the last 20 minutes.still midfield wants sorting,only paddy as a recognised midfielder.what has jonothan smith done to not even get on last night.mills substitutions baffled not just me but a lot more round me last night.he should have thrown reed on last night,not a full back,and bullock who i am afraid is past is sell by date.as i keep saying on here we are still short of another 2 or 3 players to make us a play off side

YorkCityLuke wrote:

duffy wrote:

Edsoni wrote:

duffy wrote:
The home form is now a massive problem as is the fact just about every close season signing has been dropped or appears injury prone. We might have been good for 20 minutes last night but the fact is we are still relying on the same defence as last season and playing a defender and attacker in midfield while our two close season midfielders have been dropped. The sad thing is the home games are now so predictable and just when we were again attracting fans back to the club we are driving them away again with close to the worst home record in the division.

As a champion of Doig I'm surprised that you're having a dig so early. Actually -no - I'm not surprised.

Don't agree that the home games are predictable at all.

The football on show last night in the first half hour will not drive people away. Quite the reverse.

It would perhaps be a massive problem if we were being outplayed -we haven't been in any match I've seen.
However we do need to pick up more points at home for all our sakes.
The fact that we can change the team to take account of form/fitness is a major plus in my book and did us well last season.

Should we open the book on when you'll state that you think the season "blown"? Now that we have a massive problem can't be long now.

Put me down now, this team is not close to being good enough to gain promotion.

But you said the same thing last season after we lost to Newport. I don't mean to get on your back about being negative, and we do have to improve at home, but its still early in the season and there is plenty to be very positive about!

Thing is last season we had a top five budget and really finished where we should, I know people keep going back to my statement that we had "blown it" but in all honesty we nearly did only pulling our form back together towards the end and even then that linesman did us a huge favour. This season though we don't have that top budget and I'm struggling to see how anyone that has watched all our home games thinks this is a top three team. Can it make top seven? Not on what I've seen against let's be honest not even the best teams in the league bar Fleetwood.

duffy wrote:

YorkCityLuke wrote:

duffy wrote:

Edsoni wrote:

duffy wrote: The home form is now a massive problem as is the fact just about every close season signing has been dropped or appears injury prone. We might have been good for 20 minutes last night but the fact is we are still relying on the same defence as last season and playing a defender and attacker in midfield while our two close season midfielders have been dropped. The sad thing is the home games are now so predictable and just when we were again attracting fans back to the club we are driving them away again with close to the worst home record in the division.

As a champion of Doig I'm surprised that you're having a dig so early. Actually -no - I'm not surprised. Don't agree that the home games are predictable at all. The football on show last night in the first half hour will not drive people away. Quite the reverse. It would perhaps be a massive problem if we were being outplayed -we haven't been in any match I've seen. However we do need to pick up more points at home for all our sakes. The fact that we can change the team to take account of form/fitness is a major plus in my book and did us well last season. Should we open the book on when you'll state that you think the season "blown"? Now that we have a massive problem can't be long now.

Put me down now, this team is not close to being good enough to gain promotion.

But you said the same thing last season after we lost to Newport. I don't mean to get on your back about being negative, and we do have to improve at home, but its still early in the season and there is plenty to be very positive about!

Thing is last season we had a top five budget and really finished where we should, I know people keep going back to my statement that we had "blown it" but in all honesty we nearly did only pulling our form back together towards the end and even then that linesman did us a huge favour. This season though we don't have that top budget and I'm struggling to see how anyone that has watched all our home games thinks this is a top three team. Can it make top seven? Not on what I've seen against let's be honest not even the best teams in the league bar Fleetwood.

Nothing like an optimist! We may not finish top 7 but so far I haven't seen a single team that have blown us away and even out played us. So I have belief that this team can achieve a high finish this season. The team will improve as the season progresses Cmon City