If it had happened at the other end of the pitch the ref probably wouldn't have sent him off because it would have been in front of our fans and not had thousands of ugly Cobblers screaming at him.

I don't think it's a red but as has been mentioned he shouldn't be putting himself in those kind of situations. If it was their keeper we would expect a sending off

Just watched the highlights.

Defending on their goal was shambolic - if you don't win the first ball into the box, it is simply asking for trouble. Set pieces were a problem in pre-season and it still is by the look of things. Number one job in training on Monday.

The sending off was nailed on. They'd done their work on us and knew our overlapping goalie would venture way out at some point. A clear tactic on their part and it worked. 

Wilson should have scored from the chance three yards out but his feet were all over the place - a bad miss, probably game changing. Wilson looks like a confidence player to me and DC has his work cut out to keep his head up. He needs to continue playing him and we need to get behind him. Interesting to note that the cross from Rodney was as a result of a long ball from Covolan way out of his goal.

Horrible start to the season - you couldn't have scripted it - and by the look on Conlon's face at his post-match interview, it's had a demoralising effect. Let's hope it's temporary.

At least DC has been there before and come out on top, so let's see what happens on Tuesday.

It's a red card for me on seeing it ,poor decision making so early in the second half by our goalie but never mind better to be having these big errors early on so we they can learn from them 

Still cannot get me head round why Legge is not playing when we were having that run where we won 8 on the bounce  he is the one along with Brisley (departed )who stood out or maybe I was seeing things .

Is he injured ?

GET THE LAD BACK IN.

It’s one game. If my memory serves me right Bolton had a terrible start to last season, but look where they finished.

He won’t be sacked in mid September. I think DC was careless with the comment that his teams don’t start the season well, could come over as an excuse, in case we do have a poor start. Good to hear different ppls opinions and no one should be jumped on for having an opinion that isn’t the consensus of opinion.

2 minutes ago, Playa Amodores said:

It’s one game. If my memory serves me right Bolton had a terrible start to last season, but look where they finished.

 

Bolton won one of their first eight league games and lost three cup games.

3 hours ago, dishydave said:

I've said the same look at it in slow motion and I don't think he's even touched him.
 

He 'might' just catch him 'slightly' on his right foot which takes him down.Very slight touch though and that's the way player play now.They wait for the slightest touch then drop.

I also notice that although Cov came out for the ball (rightly or wrongly) that non of the defenders got back to the goal to cover for him.

Edited August 8, 20214 yr by melv

If this had been game 5 of the season and we'd started with a few wins and draws, we'd be chalking it up to misfortune and moving on.

I really do think we will get it right, the squad is better than last year, the starting 11 is better than last year, the set up is better than last year. Iron out these inconsistencies earlier doors and kick on after 5-6 games.

6 hours ago, Biddulph_PV said:

????

oh your from biddulph!😄

Terrible defending for the goal.  Why was Smith in a wrestling match rather than trying to get to the ball?  That allowed the ball to bounce and created a scramble. 

Wilson's miss is one of those things.  It came behind him and at pace.  Most of the time it hits the shin and goes in but it just hit him at the wrong angle.  9 times out of 10 it hits him and goes in.

Thought the sending off was harsh.  Their player was still miles away from goal so not really a definite goal scoring opportunity.  Having said that, why is he out there 40 yards from goal in the right back spot?  Leave it to the defenders when it's there.  Referee was new to the league, so would always be liable to give it, particularly following pressure from half their team. 

In those few games towards the end of last season we had started to do the shithousery well. Going down injured, influencing the ref, wasting time but we didn't do that yesterday (granted we were chasing the game). Look at Northampton, who deliberately targeted our keeper in order to get him sent off, it's not very nice tactics but it worked.  They were also great at going down at the slightest touch to the point where they didn't allow any momentum as the game was massively stop and start.  We definitely need to be more streetwise and target these things. 

Overall though, it's a really tough opening day fixture and I  didn't think they were up to much.  Certainly didn't put us to the sword in the last 30 minutes.  They looked functional. We know from previous seasons that even the top teams aren't great in this league, I just worry that we lack that x factor and bit of pace.  If we go behind and teams shut up shop we look in trouble. 

4 hours ago, Jacko51 said:

Did his right foot catch the player??

Yes

He went after his leg and deserves the sending off.

Hope he learns. Quickly

Reading a lot of opinions about Covolan online and it's frustrating. As frustrating as what people say about Brown. 

Lucas made a mistake. Quite a lot of players did yesterday. People seem to be prepared to throw him under the bus. The poor fella has had a nightmare start and will be gutted... being a keeper is tough when you lose your place. 

Our job as fans is to get behind him and lift him up.

8 hours ago, philmpv said:

8 hours ago, werstayinup said:

I think long term he will earmark Gibbo or Cass for that role BUT then if he plays the same system where will wozza go,maybe when a new winger comes in it will give him chance to play 4-4-2 at times.
I would still like to see us give the Rudge 4-5-1 system a go which he played away from home during good seasons,make our pitch bigger and go 4-4-2 at home?

If he's determined to use 3 at the back AND play Worrall, surely it has to be 343, with Worrall playing in the front 3?

But the problem then is where does Gibbo play when he's fit, one of Vale's most effective players.

Much better to have Gibbo and Worrall playing down the right hand side as they form such an effective partnership.

But the problem then is where does Gibbo play when he's fit, one of Vale's most effective players.
Much better to have Gibbo and Worrall playing down the right hand side as they form such an effective partnership.

They would do in a 343 which is why I suggested it. Gibbons as RWB and Worrall as one of the advanced 3. Think of it in the form of 523 and you'll see what I mean

2 hours ago, Breadwinner said:

It's a red card for me on seeing it ,poor decision making so early in the second half by our goalie but never mind better to be having these big errors early on so we they can learn from them 

Still cannot get me head round why Legge is not playing when we were having that run where we won 8 on the bounce  he is the one along with Brisley (departed )who stood out or maybe I was seeing things .

Is he injured ?

GET THE LAD BACK IN.

I can understand why DC would want to persevere with the defenders he's brought in but if we don't solve this wretched set piece issue then he has to bring Legge back because he is so dominant in the air. I doubt very much Legge would have missed that ball into the box yesterday because, for one thing, he doesn't wait for the ball, he attacks it as if his life depended on it. And if he's playing a three at the back, then Legge would be fine even though he might have lost a yard.