Jourdan

80 points is our target, so in that sense, we still have work to do. It’s in our hands, which is what is most important.
16 points from 10 games sounds simple enough but a few unfavourable results would put us under pressure once again.
I don’t think we can get too comfortable. Who would have seen Burton beating Wycombe yesterday? Or Cheltenham beating Peterborough? There are bound to be more twists and turns to come.
I am also not worried about who we get should we finish up in the play-offs. There is very little to separate the teams in the mix. We can beat anyone on our day and we can also be beaten if we have an off day or make mistakes at key times.
The question is whether we can dig down deep and find something from within to give the play-offs a really good go. I think players, fans and coaches are starting to feel the effects of a long, gruelling season.

In the last two I don't think we've been a million miles away from 6 points, despite the evident tired legs. 
Four goals from four poor/unfortunate circumstances. Fozzy playing out at the wrong time, the Rooney shove, a Barks terrible corner and then a ridiculous penalty. I think we've been our own worst enemy this week - if we can avoid that there's a realistic chance we can carry on playing the same way. We're not getting outplayed, just punished. 

So would I if we were outclassed from minute 1 tonight.
The first half reminded me of a Billy Davies performance tonight. It was like going to Preston away in 2007. A very astute game plan being applied very well - defend well, stay organised, capitalise on a mistake or an opening. 
Had we gone 2-0 up, I think we go on to win the game. But we lost our way.

I think we’ll be fine. It’s not like we escaped a 4 or 5 nil hammering. For two thirds of the game, we were very much in it.
The time to worry is if we mishandle the games v Oxford, Bristol Rovers, Exeter and Forest Green. Tonight we were frustrating not concerning. It’s a game we could have won and we were edged out.
 

Whichever way Warne sets us up we don't have the squad depth to do much altering do we?!
Of course it's our fault when we fail, but some fans seem unable to recognise the squad limitations, and how well we've done so far. 

We haven't enough squad depth. The starting 11 consist of players playing out of position! You think we've enough quality to change things around, how? The extra defender, Davies? Lots on here were saying his legs had gone last time he came on! Midfielder? Who, not Thompson, he's not a midfield enforcer nor much of owt else. Another goal-scorer? Who?
We're not getting thrashed week in week out, we're mostly not taking enough chances and making more mistakes that are being capitalised on.
Squad depth is the problem, not tactics.

But can we?
Do we have the quality from the bench to ‘save our legs’?
Would you trust McGee to step in for Wildsmith?
Would you trust White or Thompson to step in for Hourihane?
Would you trust Rooney or Oduroh to step in for Smith?
Would you trust Collins to step in for McGoldrick?
The only real area where we have any reasonable depth is on the wing, but wingers by their nature are inconsistent.
I don’t think it’s as easy as you make it sound.

In the league, we’ve won 11 out of 14 under Warne when scoring first.
We lost v Port Vale and drew v Burton and Shrewsbury.
Perhaps it’s less about control and more about teams punishing mistakes?
Shrewsbury did that today. Barnsley did it last week. Wycombe did it a few weeks back.
This group is a good group but it’s a slog of a season and at any level, there is only so much you can get away with.
We’ve been sloppy, but it happens to even the very best over a long season.

I don’t think the style is the issue. It’s the make up of the squad, the injuries, the restrictions we are under, and the sheer number of games we have played.
We have played 11 cup games this season. That’s almost a quarter of a League One season. It’s bound to take its toll.
We have a group of 13-14 that have been playing game in, game out for 7-8 months. 3-4 of those have been playing exclusively out of position. It’s also bound to take its toll.
The depth and quality of depth hasn’t been there for us to take the burden from the core group.
Imagine if Forsyth and Cashin could have been rotated out for Davies, Chester or Stearman. That hasn’t really been an option for the majority of the season.
If only we could give Wildsmith, Smith, Hourihane, Mendez Laing and McGoldrick a break, you could say. The alternatives are McGee or Loach, Oduroh or Rooney, White or Thompson, Springett, and of course Collins - all of whom are either too inferior or too inexperienced to rely on.
If we finish in the play-offs, we’ll have done very well all things considered.

I don’t think the style is the issue. It’s the make up of the squad, the injuries, the restrictions we are under, and the sheer number of games we have played.
We have played 11 cup games this season. That’s almost a quarter of a League One season. It’s bound to take its toll.
We have a group of 13-14 that have been playing game in, game out for 7-8 months. 3-4 of those have been playing exclusively out of position. It’s also bound to take its toll.
The depth and quality of depth hasn’t been there for us to take the burden from the core group.
Imagine if Forsyth and Cashin could have been rotated out for Davies, Chester or Stearman. That hasn’t really been an option for the majority of the season.
If only we could give Wildsmith, Smith, Hourihane, Mendez Laing and McGoldrick a break, you could say. The alternatives are McGee or Loach, Oduroh or Rooney, White or Thompson, Springett, and of course Collins - all of whom are either too inferior or too inexperienced to rely on.
If we finish in the play-offs, we’ll have done very well all things considered.

On the way back from the game.
I think we executed our game plan well for 50-55 minutes. We battled hard and contained Plymouth really well. The only chance of note they had was the one that flashed past Wildsmith’s right hand post.
Mendez Laing took his goal well and in the first half, we looked really comfortable. We looked like a really well organised and hardworking team and up to that point, it was a really professional away performance.
The game hinged on that Barkhuizen chance early in the second half. In a game where you might only get four or five good chances, we had to take it. 2-0 and it’s a different game.
Plymouth made some changes to give themselves a second wind and then got the luck they needed with the deflection and after they scored, there was only ever going to be one winner.
It sounds like we were desperately unlucky with the penalty but Plymouth would have eventually scored if I am honest. Their tails were up and the home crowd had finally woken up.
We lost our heads after the first goal. It seemed like we didn’t believe. The substitutions didn’t really help - it really underlined why Warne relies on the same players. We lost all composure and all sense of a plan.
Plymouth relaxed into it and we looked nervous and were making sloppy mistakes all over the pitch. Credit to them - they edged a good tactical battle and very much a game of two halves.
For us and for the boys, we just have to lick our wounds and get back up and come firing back v Oxford. We weren’t outclassed. We just have to learn to be more clinical and ruthless when on top in situations like tonight.
Don’t be too disheartened - tonight shows we can mix it with anyone but we still have things to iron out.

On the way back from the game.
I think we executed our game plan well for 50-55 minutes. We battled hard and contained Plymouth really well. The only chance of note they had was the one that flashed past Wildsmith’s right hand post.
Mendez Laing took his goal well and in the first half, we looked really comfortable. We looked like a really well organised and hardworking team and up to that point, it was a really professional away performance.
The game hinged on that Barkhuizen chance early in the second half. In a game where you might only get four or five good chances, we had to take it. 2-0 and it’s a different game.
Plymouth made some changes to give themselves a second wind and then got the luck they needed with the deflection and after they scored, there was only ever going to be one winner.
It sounds like we were desperately unlucky with the penalty but Plymouth would have eventually scored if I am honest. Their tails were up and the home crowd had finally woken up.
We lost our heads after the first goal. It seemed like we didn’t believe. The substitutions didn’t really help - it really underlined why Warne relies on the same players. We lost all composure and all sense of a plan.
Plymouth relaxed into it and we looked nervous and were making sloppy mistakes all over the pitch. Credit to them - they edged a good tactical battle and very much a game of two halves.
For us and for the boys, we just have to lick our wounds and get back up and come firing back v Oxford. We weren’t outclassed. We just have to learn to be more clinical and ruthless when on top in situations like tonight.
Don’t be too disheartened - tonight shows we can mix it with anyone but we still have things to iron out.

The stats are remarkably similar on shots etc, but because Plymouth were the better side in the second half, their manager gets to say "we deserved to win" and can avoid saying "but we needed the rub of the green to achieve that".
No-one ever takes a balanced view of the whole game, which seems to me (on reading reports only) that a draw would have been the "fairest" result. 

On the way back from the game.
I think we executed our game plan well for 50-55 minutes. We battled hard and contained Plymouth really well. The only chance of note they had was the one that flashed past Wildsmith’s right hand post.
Mendez Laing took his goal well and in the first half, we looked really comfortable. We looked like a really well organised and hardworking team and up to that point, it was a really professional away performance.
The game hinged on that Barkhuizen chance early in the second half. In a game where you might only get four or five good chances, we had to take it. 2-0 and it’s a different game.
Plymouth made some changes to give themselves a second wind and then got the luck they needed with the deflection and after they scored, there was only ever going to be one winner.
It sounds like we were desperately unlucky with the penalty but Plymouth would have eventually scored if I am honest. Their tails were up and the home crowd had finally woken up.
We lost our heads after the first goal. It seemed like we didn’t believe. The substitutions didn’t really help - it really underlined why Warne relies on the same players. We lost all composure and all sense of a plan.
Plymouth relaxed into it and we looked nervous and were making sloppy mistakes all over the pitch. Credit to them - they edged a good tactical battle and very much a game of two halves.
For us and for the boys, we just have to lick our wounds and get back up and come firing back v Oxford. We weren’t outclassed. We just have to learn to be more clinical and ruthless when on top in situations like tonight.
Don’t be too disheartened - tonight shows we can mix it with anyone but we still have things to iron out.

On the way back from the game.
I think we executed our game plan well for 50-55 minutes. We battled hard and contained Plymouth really well. The only chance of note they had was the one that flashed past Wildsmith’s right hand post.
Mendez Laing took his goal well and in the first half, we looked really comfortable. We looked like a really well organised and hardworking team and up to that point, it was a really professional away performance.
The game hinged on that Barkhuizen chance early in the second half. In a game where you might only get four or five good chances, we had to take it. 2-0 and it’s a different game.
Plymouth made some changes to give themselves a second wind and then got the luck they needed with the deflection and after they scored, there was only ever going to be one winner.
It sounds like we were desperately unlucky with the penalty but Plymouth would have eventually scored if I am honest. Their tails were up and the home crowd had finally woken up.
We lost our heads after the first goal. It seemed like we didn’t believe. The substitutions didn’t really help - it really underlined why Warne relies on the same players. We lost all composure and all sense of a plan.
Plymouth relaxed into it and we looked nervous and were making sloppy mistakes all over the pitch. Credit to them - they edged a good tactical battle and very much a game of two halves.
For us and for the boys, we just have to lick our wounds and get back up and come firing back v Oxford. We weren’t outclassed. We just have to learn to be more clinical and ruthless when on top in situations like tonight.
Don’t be too disheartened - tonight shows we can mix it with anyone but we still have things to iron out.

We weren’t **** at all.
It was a competitive game between two well matched sides, won and lost on fine margins.
If Barkhuizen gets some purchase on that header to direct it into the corner, it’s 2-0 and it’s a different game and the mood feels different tonight.
The second goal in the game was crucial. We get it and we win because Plymouth and their home crowd were nervous and flat. But as it happens, they did and the game and the atmosphere was totally different.

We weren’t **** at all.
It was a competitive game between two well matched sides, won and lost on fine margins.
If Barkhuizen gets some purchase on that header to direct it into the corner, it’s 2-0 and it’s a different game and the mood feels different tonight.
The second goal in the game was crucial. We get it and we win because Plymouth and their home crowd were nervous and flat. But as it happens, they did and the game and the atmosphere was totally different.

So would I if we were outclassed from minute 1 tonight.
The first half reminded me of a Billy Davies performance tonight. It was like going to Preston away in 2007. A very astute game plan being applied very well - defend well, stay organised, capitalise on a mistake or an opening. 
Had we gone 2-0 up, I think we go on to win the game. But we lost our way.

I think we’ll be fine. It’s not like we escaped a 4 or 5 nil hammering. For two thirds of the game, we were very much in it.
The time to worry is if we mishandle the games v Oxford, Bristol Rovers, Exeter and Forest Green. Tonight we were frustrating not concerning. It’s a game we could have won and we were edged out.
 

No, you’re right, they were not.
But they were growing in confidence and the nervous tension in the stadium completely disappeared. I think they would have continued to apply pressure.
The second goal in the game changed everything.

Looking back at the penalty decision, which was hard to see at the other end of the stadium, it does look like a dive.
But if you are in the penalty area and motion towards the ball, you have to time everything to perfection. If not, you are leaving the referee with a decision to make which is what happened here.
It was very much a game of fine lines.

Good first half, deserved to go in ahead. Football matches are sometimes decided on fine margins. Barks chance is taken at the start of the second half and we probably go on to win. They get the rub of the green for both of their goals and win the game. Not sure if there was any contact for the pen but definitely the decision teams seem to get at home. The limited squad is now being tested and we do seem to fade in games. Be good to have Bird back. Disappointed but on to Oxford ??

On the way back from the game.
I think we executed our game plan well for 50-55 minutes. We battled hard and contained Plymouth really well. The only chance of note they had was the one that flashed past Wildsmith’s right hand post.
Mendez Laing took his goal well and in the first half, we looked really comfortable. We looked like a really well organised and hardworking team and up to that point, it was a really professional away performance.
The game hinged on that Barkhuizen chance early in the second half. In a game where you might only get four or five good chances, we had to take it. 2-0 and it’s a different game.
Plymouth made some changes to give themselves a second wind and then got the luck they needed with the deflection and after they scored, there was only ever going to be one winner.
It sounds like we were desperately unlucky with the penalty but Plymouth would have eventually scored if I am honest. Their tails were up and the home crowd had finally woken up.
We lost our heads after the first goal. It seemed like we didn’t believe. The substitutions didn’t really help - it really underlined why Warne relies on the same players. We lost all composure and all sense of a plan.
Plymouth relaxed into it and we looked nervous and were making sloppy mistakes all over the pitch. Credit to them - they edged a good tactical battle and very much a game of two halves.
For us and for the boys, we just have to lick our wounds and get back up and come firing back v Oxford. We weren’t outclassed. We just have to learn to be more clinical and ruthless when on top in situations like tonight.
Don’t be too disheartened - tonight shows we can mix it with anyone but we still have things to iron out.