The unofficial AFC Rushden & Diamonds messageboard

Has to go down as the worst AFC performance ever. The heavy defeats against Oadby and Eynesbury in the first season, were against good sides. The defeat to St. Andrews was against a team who wanted it more on the day. Anybody who missed todays game made a good decision but all is not lost. Some major improvements have to start on Tuesday night, but the way the team are playing at the minute i'd be happy to scrape a 1-0 win!

is dunks injured?

therushden wrote:is dunks injured?

Yea, I overheard him saying today that he was back in training this week

Pete wrote:I'd say it was more like no intelligence rather than no passion.

This was my impression of the performance. We started like we were expecting the game to last 2 days and had all the time in the world to warm up and string a few passes together. We've got to decide to go to these kind of teams and impose ourselves in the first half an hour and kill off the opposition hopes early. Like with Yaxley & Cogenhoe, we just made it too easy for them to get into the game and gain confidence. The pitch was dreadful and the conditions difficult, but I don't think we linked a move together from back to front all afternoon. Oadby kept it simple and did everything better than us all over the pitch. All the second balls were theirs and all the incisive forward passing was theirs. They just made more intelligent decisions than us.

I'm sure we'll come back stronger but Holbeach have got significant breathing space now. They can afford to lose to us and still be top.

There seemed confusion between Confue and King about their respective roles - at times they were almost treading on each others' toes. They couldn't get the ball quickly out to Rogers or ELJ, resorting to high balls forwards or sideways passes to one of the back four. Perhaps the only time ELJ made a run he drew a foul out of Callum Earls and left him on a yellow card - but we failed to capitalise on that all game.

I'd agree it was the worst performance I've seen from a Diamonds team on the road - rivalled only by the St Andrews game. What is it about these teams from Leicestershire?

An utter shambles of a performance with to many things wrong to write on here. I've always been uninspired with having peaksy in charge and is it time to say he is out of his depth? His management skills on the touchline are non existent and his substitutions always to late. We badly miss merril and dunks.

Rushden123 wrote:His management skills on the touchline are non existent

I always think these sort of statements are a bit daft. The important messages are given in the dressing room. It's impossible to get any contact with the left back when he's on the other side of the pitch for example.

Players play better when they haven't got a manager constantly whinging in their ears. Andy's style in much more likely to get performances out of players than Pinky & Perky at PNS or Daren Young at Sileby.

Today's performance was the worst I've seen from an AFCR&D team and I've not heard anyone disagree with that, including players or management.

I think it is about time you stopped defending the management SouthrushdenJFC and admitted they had a hand in this appalling performance. Brad is not a full back and never will be. Lamb-Johnson does not deserve to start and has not done so for a few weeks.The team is not playing for the SHIRT and I sincerely hope there is not a man of the match because nobody deserved it!

You need to read all the post then and just the bit that you don't like.

Players and management have all said today wasn't good enough, some of our supporters seem to want a management team that spend the game berating players every time they make a mistake. I don't because I know it doesn't work.

This is Step 5 football, players put in bad performances, the only thing you can demand as a supporter is that they keep trying and don't hide on the pitch. There was no lack of effort today, just a massive lack of ability to make correct decisions and influence the game.

The worst performance from an AFCRD team I've seen. King's inclusion didn't improve us one bit and as Formic has said there was confusion between him and Confue as to their role. Butt should have been at right back and Brad in midfield. Rogers must have wondered what he had joined. A wake up call to management and players today.