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Mansfield Town 0-1 Plymouth Argyle | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 28th September 2019 | One Call Stadium, Mansfield  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* No matter what Mansfield Town try, they keep getting bogged down as another defeat marks 25% of the season (well actually it’ll be half-time against Grimsby if you want to be pedantic!) and leaves John Dempster’s men in a pool of negativity in 19th place – the wrong end of the table. What’s more frustrating is that for the most part, the Stags played OK and we’re perhaps the better side – BUT you can’t squander four opportunities to clear the ball and give the opposition the chance to pop one in from 40 yards, nor can you waste golden chances to score when it’s harder to miss. The rain seemed like a metaphor for the season so far, as bad luck and misery seemed to pour down upon us – to be honest, it felt like that scene in the Vicar of Dibley where she’s merely skipping along, splashing in the puddles, before wooosh, in she goes into a deep puddle – thoroughly embarrassed, struggling to get out. It feels like a broken record at the minute with our poor performances and missed opportunities, I feel for John Dempster because like former boss Stewart Watkiss posted on Facebook – there’ll be nobody hurting more than him right now, nobody more desperate to put it right. I can’t fault the substitutions yesterday, we needed attacking flair and brought on three strikers – but again couldn’t take opportunities when they came. All we can do is keep working hard and get that little bit of luck – that’s what Plymouth got and had we taken the lead through CJ Hamilton early doors, I feel we may be sitting here talking about a two or three-nil win. We’re low on confidence, we have to address that period between their goal and half time when we were totally flat and lucky not to be punished further – and we have to go up a gear when it comes to set-plays and our entry’s into the box. It may seem daft to say after ANOTHER defeat, but over the last three games I’ve seen the glimmer of a flame ready to light the fire and let it rage, we just need it to click and lady luck to smile on us once more. Into October we go now, let’s get through this month unbeaten with a minimum of three wins from the five league games – if we achieve that, then we’re in a far better place, failure to do so is another discussion for another time, because right now we need to pull together and be strong enough to get out of the puddle that’s drowning us. -- match recap --John Dempster continued to smash mirrors and run over black cat’s this week as it looked like goalkeeper Bobby Oljenik would be back – a dislocated finger in training prevented his return, whilst Hayden White was admitted to hospital with stomach cramps.
Alex MacDonald took White’s place with Shaughnessy slotting into the back three – the Stags started brightly and should have been ahead on three minutes as Khan and Rose linked up – the latter slotted in Hamilton who went through at pace 1 vs 1 – his touch though was heavy and allowed the visiting keeper to smother, to the sound of angry groans from the Stags’ faithful. Ten minutes later the visitors took the lead with a sublime effort from Conor Grant, although questions must be asked of the Stags who failed to clear their lines despite having three/four chances to do so, before Grant smashed one in from 40 yards. Mansfield struggled to get going again after the goal and found themselves penned in for long periods of the half, Conrad Loagn produced a fine save on 35 minutes to deny Grant a second scorcher whilst at the other End, Otis Khan came closest with a free kick which was miles over. The Stags responded well after the break in their quest to pull themselves level, Danny Rose did well to turn and shoot to win a corner, from which the Stags wasted by delivering straight into the grasp of Palmer. Khan, Bishop and Gordon all saw efforts blocked by Argyle before Benning’s goal bound effort on 62 minutes was accidently blocked by Shaughnessy. Substitute Afolayan curled one wide after replacing Hamilton, before Cook and Maynard were brought on with the Stags going four up front – in the last minute of normal time, Maynard picked out Cook – but the front man was denied by the legs of Palmer who ultimately, earned his side all three points. FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 0-1 Plymouth Argyle | Attendance 4,499 (550) STAGS: [3-4-3] Conrad Logan | Conor Shaughnessy (Andy Cook 77), Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney | Kellan Gordon, Neal Bishop, Alex MacDonald, Mal Benning | Otis Khan (Nicky Maynard 81), Danny Rose, CJ Hamilton (Dapo Afolayan 66) Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Alistair Smith, Jacob Mellis, Willem Tomlinson Written by | Craig Priest *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* Port Vale 2-2 Mansfield Town [Kellan Gordan, Danny Rose (P)] | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 21st September 2019 | Vale Park, Stoke  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* A 2-2 Draw on paper mixed in with the results so far this season on the back of a 4-0 hammering doesn’t look great – however for the first time this campaign, I left the game with the feeling that a succession of victories for this Mansfield Town side is just around the corner. They key for Mansfield this season has been consistency, or more accurately a blatant lack of it! However, if you take away the period of time Stags played with ten men against Cambridge from the past two games, you can clearly see a hunger and desire to go and play on the front foot and hurt teams. Unfortunately, the breakthroughs didn’t come prior to the red card Tuesday which sent us hurling back into Toxic city, and whilst twice surrendering the lead yesterday at Port Vale leaves us pretty much in the same place – I believe the Stags are very close to breaking free into something far more positive. For 99% of the game Mansfield were on the front foot and showed a real eagerness to press high up the pitch, win the ball back and move it with fluidity and purpose – highlighted in both Kellan Gordon’s goal and in the build-up for the penalty, which Danny Rose was never going to miss. The Stags had a number of chances and openings created through the same attitude and application which we can’t ignore and rightfully praise – there’s been far too much emphasis put upon highlighting the negatives over recent weeks. Naturally there’s one negative to highlight, and that’s a failure in concentration which has ultimately cost us two goals and two points, late in both halves. I think it’s natural for a side after such poor form to let the adrenaline get to them when on the verge of victory, especially after playing so well, we just have to work on this and iron out the creases for victory to follow. That’s what is important now to build momentum, I’m delighted that Dempster admitted the players were arguing etc after the game, because it shows they care and desperately want to improve – Dempster and his reshaped backroom team now must channel this in the right way to get the results, likewise we as supporters, back at home, must show the same positive support which was shown yesterday. Everybody makes mistakes, we all learn that something we think is acceptable could be phenomenal with that extra 10% effort, concentration and desire. One point could be three points with that extra 10% - so let’s focus on that this week, rather than the negatives. -- match recap --Two changes were made by Dempster, one enforced as White replaced the suspended again Matt Preston, whilst Otis Khan replaced Sterling-James in attack – the Stags sticking with the 3-4-3 which was looking so bright, prior to Preston’s red card.
After a sluggish start on a bright afternoon it was the visitors who tested the water first as Cullen stung the palms of Logan on the half volley on nine minutes. The Stags’ keepers’ save sparked life into the Stags, Mal Benning picked out Sweeney with a free kick who saw his header deflect behind for a corner, from which Shaughnessy nodded wide. Mansfield were on the front foot and grabbed a deserved lead on 14 minutes with neat build up play which saw Hamilton twist, turn and shoot – his shot was saved by Kellan Gordon was on hand to riffle in the rebound, squeezing in from a tight angle. Three minutes later Mansfield were close to a second as Rose met a cross at the far post, but nodded just over – Bishop had two further efforts for the Stags to double their lead before the break, but a lapse in concentration saw Vale claw one back seconds before the whistle, Cullen converting at the far post as Mansfield failed to clear their lines. The sucker punch winded the Stags but not enough to stop them going again in the second half, Rose, Gordon and Hamilton all had chances before Rose was fouled inside the box on 75 minutes – there was never any doubt over the outcome, as Rose stood up and ripped the back of the net out with a powerful spot kick to put Mansfield back in front. CJ Hamilton saw an effort saved by Brown in the Vale goal with a minute to go which would have sealed all three points, alas whilst Mansfield looked certain to seal victory, five minutes added time gave the hosts hope, and ultimately a shot at a point, taken in the fourth minute as Mansfield failed to clear a corner – allowing Smith to smother the ball home and steal a point from the jaws of defeat for Port Vale. FULL TIME: Port Vale 2-2 Mansfield Town | Attendance 5,109 (679) STAGS: [3-4-3] Conrad Logan |Hayden White, Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney | Kellan Gordon, Neal Bishop, Conor Shaughnessy, Mal Benning | Otis Khan (Alex MacDonald 86), Danny Rose, CJ Hamilton Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Alistair Smith, Jacob Mellis Dapo Afolayan, Andy Cook, Omari Sterling-James mu6\ Written by | Craig Priest *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* Mansfield Town 0-4 Cambridge United | Sky Bet League Two | Tuesday 17th September 2019 | One Call Stadium, Mansfield  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* It’s hard to know where to begin on this summary of a thrashing at the hands of Cambridge United, Football is a game rife with emotion played and supported with a pumping heart of emotion – and often it’s difficult to not explode in anger following such as a disappointing performance, but this afternoon I don’t feel anger or hate – I feel empty, like that pumping heart has been ripped right out. Not looking at the games in isolation was mentioned heavily on Saturday and is far more prominent now as SOME supporters call for the removal of John Dempster from his post as manager and things, yet again, start to become heated on social media. Actually that’s a good way of looking at the whole situation – there’s an inferno ripping through the heart of the dressing room, and we can’t stop it. Honestly I’m stuck as to how to tackle this blog, I really want to look at the positive and heap praise on John Dempster for making changes, not just to personnel, but to the system in order to make us more attacking and hungry in the first half, in which I thought we were the best we have been thus far in his tenure. BUT, I always want to examine the failings – how has a team with 90% the same players, gone so drastically from a promotion form, to what is arguably relegation form. I’ve read social media posts from many, and had countless conversations with people about the situation and what I find laughable about most of the former, is the number of posts blaming Dempster for last night’s disgraceful defeat, because the fact is he can’t play for the team – it’s the players who have created this horrible feeling. Did John Dempster get Matt Preston sent off at 0-0 when we were on top? No, only the rashness of said player caused him to collect his second, and deserved, straight red card of the campaign. Did John Dempster tell Andy Cook to take a touch too many when Rose put a goal on a plate at 1-0 down? No, only the inexperience and lack of composure from the 20-goal-a-season striker saw him miss, and Cambridge subsequently go down the other end and score. Key moments change games in live play – and only the players can change that. I’m not just talking about last night, key moments of not concentrating and making school boy mistakes have cost us defeats against Leyton Orient, Exeter and Crawley this season – whilst 90% of the same mistakes made similar mistakes and errors under David Flitcroft, in failing spectacularly to secure automatic promotion last season. The red card was a stupid one to pick up and was at the bare minimum going to cost us a goal, to the Stags credit they did enough to battle for the best part of 25 minutes to keep it 0-0. Again to the managers’ credit changes were made to try and get back into the game and had Cook buried that cast iron goal, I actually think Mansfield might have gone on and nicked a win as mad as it sounds – but another key moment goes astray and within seconds, Cambridge use their advantage to score, fair play to them in getting four easy goals – it’s never nice to be on the receiving end of that. Supporters are entitled to an opinion, it’s part of the game, I do however feel there is a line – telling the manager to “F off and die” is hardly going to make him want to improve the team, football managers and footballers are PEOPLE, just like you and me. I watched the post-match interview with a lump in my throat if I’m being honest, I saw a man whose given everything to this club as a player, captain and academy coach look lost, broken and shattered – and that’s not a nice place to be, trust me. Any comments I make about players, managers, coaches etc past, present or future are my own comments, but are made based solely on football and the decisions they make which effect the result and form – anyone making needless abusive comments like the one referenced by Dempster in his post-match, is a bully and should be ashamed. Back now to reality, I really want the manager to be successful and I understand that takes time – he and the players need to unite to put out the fire before it is too late, if that means upsetting the apple cart and making radical changes then do it, because SOMETHING has to be done to turn this season around, because if I’m honest – I feel like we’re heading straight for the iceberg without any life boats on board, fortunately it’s further in the distance than many think and with a bit of work, we can steer away from it. Let’s start that at Port Vale on Saturday, playing the way we did in the first half – with intensity and hunger, which with an added bit if composure and confidence, will see us be on the right end of a 4-0 score line, I honestly deep down believe that, BUT that work and commitment to each other from within the heart of the inferno HAS TO START NOW. Hurt. Angry. Defeated. Disappointed – chose whichever feeling you want to, and remember that people will quit and give up on you, you’ve got to wake up every day – and not give up, or quit, on yourself. match recapJohn Dempster made three changes as Neal Bishop returned to the side after a lay-off, whilst Mal Benning also returned to line-up – replacing Mellis and MacDonald, whilst Omari Sterling-James was handed a start, replacing the injured Nicky Mayanrd.
John Dempster also tweaked the system, going from a 3-1-4-2 to a more attacking 3-4-3 – In summary the first half was the best we’ve played all season, the second half was a vast contrast following the red card and is 45 minutes of football I never care to whiteness again – click here to read the clubs report if you REALLY want too! FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 0-4 Cambridge United | Attendance 3,567 (181) STAGS: [3-4-3] Conrad Logan | Matt Preston [SENT OFF 49], Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney | Kellan Gordon (Otis Khan 86), Neal Bishop, Conor Shaughnessy, Mal Benning (Andy Cook 81) | Omari Sterling-James (Alex MacDonald 75), Danny Rose, CJ Hamilton Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Alistair Smith, Jacob Mellis Dapo Afolayan Written by | Craig Priest *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* Crawley Town 1-0 Mansfield Town | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 14th September 2019 | The People’s Pension Stadium, Crawley  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* “Over a period of games, so far this season we haven’t been good enough – that’s the reality” They’re the words not of me, but of Stags boss John Dempster following another sloppy and careless defeat at Crawley yesterday, and to be honest – the Stags boss is spot on. Another Dempster quote is “You can’t play a period of games and keep harping on about fine margins” and again he’s right, there’s only so many weeks and games in which you can take them in isolation before you need to look at the bigger picture, as with eight games now played – the form book isn’t looking good for Mansfield Town. Reflecting on yesterday for a moment, you can argue that the Stags enjoyed the better of the chances but just couldn’t find the killer instinct at key moments – however stats don’t win football matches, all they show is that deep within there is a possibility – the problem is that the consistency needed to unlock that, is absent from within. When we played football on the floor we looked fluid and dangerous, but we didn’t stick with it for long enough periods to really hurt Crawley – we resorted to more directional, static play, which was far too easy for Crawley to pick off and eventually, ultimately exploit. You can turn round and blame the deflection and say “it happens” and you’d have a point, but for me you need to look at the build-up play which leads to the shot coming in – we’ve had three opportunities to press and try to clear our lines, executing none of them, backing off and backing off and backing off, until the inevitable happens. It was the same at Exeter and there’s been plenty of other examples throughout the season where we’ve been punished in similar fashion. Those are the fine margins which Dempster eluded too in his post-match comments, in solitary games they are fine margins – but games come thick and fast, we’ve now played 17% of the season and “fine margins” have lost us two away games, costing us at least two points, and also seen us concede needless goals. We all know from last season how these fine margins add up and we can’t afford to be letting this happen on a constant basis, because another four games like this and we’ll struggle to turn it around – because so far we haven’t shown that we have the mentality to do so, or the consistency. I think we have to look at systems in which we can be more effective going forward, we changed to a back four after the Crawley goal and looked more intent, too little too late in that particular match – but if we can start with that intent and hunger, we will go out and really hurt a team. We certainly have the personnel to do so, if for example you looked at playing a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1 you can utilise Otis Khan and get more out of CJ Hamilton playing further forward, not to mention the likes of Omari Sterling-James and Dapo Afolayan, who both looked hungry when they came on and could be the key to hurting teams early. Hurting teams early is certainly what’s needed right now, it’ll give us that bounce and zest in our attacking play and give us something to protect which may turn these fine margins, into positive ones. It’s a long way home when you begin to bubble with frustration at how things aren’t quite going your way – sometimes you’ve got to let go of what’s gone and pull together to light up the darkness, naturally we’ll get disheartened and say things we shouldn’t – we’re only human after all, but it’s important to focus on Tuesday’s night’s match and put things right. I’m just as frustrated and would love to sit here and hammer negative words at my keys just to get it out of my system, but it’s a pointless exercise - a lot of our problem as a collective is that we still have our eyes firmly fixed on promotion. Sometimes when you’ve been so close to achieving something you won’t take your eyes off of it and be constantly be haunted by the memories of failure, merging with those dreams of what could have, and should have, been – it’s like running before you can even crawl. We need to take a little step back and focus on the little tasks, set ourselves smaller objectives – like two back to back wins which includes at the very least, one clean sheet – because two wins from the next two games gives us a bounce and a platform to build upon and see where we are in 3-4 games times, after a quarter of the season. I believe in the players and management – it’s just time to stop crawling and start running. Come on you Stags. -- Match recap --John Dempster named an unchanged side from the one which beat Scunthorpe United 2-0 last weekend, striker Dapo Afolayan made the bench following a little niggle which kept him out of the previous weekends squad.
Both sides enjoyed early opportunities with Nicky Maynard firing wide for the Stags on three minutes, before a Matt Preston block denied Camara three minutes later as the hosts’ opened up some space. Conrad Logan was sold short by CJ Hamilton on 20 minutes when the wing-back miscued a back pass, the Stags keeper raced out and controlled well before smashing clear, five minutes later Logan was the hero again as Pearce felled Grego-Cox inside the box – the Stags number one getting inside the penalty takers head, guessing correctly to palm away the spot-kick. Danny Rose should have put Mansfield ahead on 32 minutes but the Stags’ number 32 got in a real mess following excellent build up play which saw Maynard provide an inch perfect cut back – Rose took a very heavy touch which saw the keeper collect, rather than lace the ball into the net which was crying out to be hit – Mansfield’s best chance of the half by far. CJ Hamilton stung the palms of the home keeper on 42 minutes with a right footed effort, but on the stroke of half-time, it was the Stags’ stopper Logan who again bailed his side out of trouble – this time denying Lubala, after his skipped effortlessly through the defence. Former Stag Ollie Palmer hit a tame free kick straight into the grateful grasp of Logan on 49 minutes, but four minutes later taunted the Stags faithful like a petulant child, as Lubala was allowed far too much space on the edge of the area to hit a tame shot, which looped up off of Matt Preston and beyond Logan – who could do nothing bar, rightfully, berate his static defence who had three chances to close the ball down. Kellan Gordon offered a response for the Stags straight from the restart but failed to keep his effort down from MacDonald’s pass, before Rose was twice denied by Morris in the Crawley goal. Benning replaced the booked Sweeney on 63 minutes to drop into a 4-4-2 with MacDonald on the right wing, the Stags looked lively immediately but again failed to finish the move – Maynard this time denied by the keeper. Afolayan and Sterling-James then came on for the Stags the former fired over the bar from a Rose flick on with 12 minutes remaining. At the other end Logan denied Lubala a second before with three minutes to go, the Stags best chance of the second half saw a seemingly unstoppable Benning venomous effort, expertly palmed away by Morris who flew through the air – a save which ultimately earned the hosts victory, and sent Mansfield on the long journey home empty handed and deflated. FULL TIME: Crawley Town 1-0 Mansfield Town | Attendance 2,068 STAGS: [3-1-4-2] Conrad Logan | Matt Preston, Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney (Mal Benning 63) | Conor Shaughnessy | Kellan Gordon, Jacob Mellis, Alex MacDonald (Dapo Afolayan 70), CJ Hamilton | Nicky Maynard (Omari Sterling-James 73), Danny Rose Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Alistair Smith, Otis Khan, Neal Bishop Written by | Craig Priest *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* Mansfield Town 2-0 Scunthorpe United [Preston, Rose] | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 7th September 2019 | One Call Stadium, Mansfield  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* After a below-par start to the season ravaged with injuries and suspensions, John Dempster collected his first win on home soil of the season yesterday – beating the leagues bottom side Scunthorpe United. It was clear that after the aforementioned injuries and suspensions that the Stags boss needed to add a few bodies into the squad – completing his summer jigsaw with the arrival of midfielder/ defender Conor Shaughnessy on a season long loan from Leeds United on deadline day – an addition which yesterday proved to be the buffer to solve the Stags’ boss’ slow and stuttering internet. The 23-Year-old played in a defensive midfield role yesterday and proved to be exactly what Mansfield needed to re-start their router and kick into life, proving to be the missing pocket of power the Stags faithful have been asking for. Beating the leagues bottom side should have been a given anyway and whilst Scunthorpe will start to improve as the season goes on, it was perhaps the perfect opportunity to play them in order for Dempster and his men to gel and mould without the risk of facing a side a tad hungrier and confident such as Exeter. And to be fair, that’s exactly what we did – the basics, which is all we needed to do. Our build up play was slicker than it had been, thanks largely to Shaughnessy whose range of passing allowed us to get more particularly out of Kellan Gordon on the right hand side – whilst both goals were fuelled by the want to connect with crosses and punish errors which was very pleasing indeed. What is more pleasing is that we didn’t see a repeat of the Leyton Orient game, in which the Stags played well enough to get a two-nil lead and then collapsed like a bridge made of paper. Players put bodies on the line to block efforts and were more alert in the closing stages of the game – whilst John Dempster made the right changes to counter balance the worry when it looked like Scunthorpe were starting to take hold of the game – brining on Neal Bishop and Mal Benning. Victory, no matter the level or standing of the opponents, is still victory and lifts everyone that extra 5-10% which can have a positive effect. The performance may not have been completely what the Stags are capable of, however when you’ve been in a period of instability, you just need to do the basics to allow those cracks to start to heal, the rest will hopefully follow. With no Tuesday night game this week, we’ve got that extra time to relax and take stock – and on an even more positive note, have players coming back into the fold from the injury squad which can only bolster us going forward – let’s use victory as a platform to build on and make September a more solid month and start climbing the league table, starting with next weekend’s trip to Crawley. Match RecaP Stags boss John Dempster had a number of ace’s up his sleeve as the Stags returned to the One Call Stadium – defender Ryan Sweeney’s red card from last weekend had been overturned meaning he kept his place, whilst new addition Conor Shaughnessy was also handed a debut. Defender Mal Benning was dropped to the bench in place of CJ Hamilton, a bench which also included Neal Bishop, back available following his injury absence.
It was a fairly balanced start to the match with the Stags enjoying a few set-plays inside the opening ten minutes, also having MacDonald to thank as he blocked a free-kick from Eisa which looked destined to find the net, Nicky Maynard came closest to opening the scoring on 22 minutes – denied by the palms of the visiting keeper. Mansfield looked the more likely to take the lead with lots of good build up play, particularly between Shaughnessy and Gordon down the right hand side – the overdue goal coming on 31 minutes, as CJ Hamilton’s right sided cross hit Matt Preston’s outstretched foot at the far post, the connection strong enough to evade the keeper and give Mansfield the lead. After the break the Stags knew they needed a second, if only to settle any nerves and kill any Scunthorpe hope – only one man was ever going to deliver it, Danny Rose duly obliged on 54 minutes, nipping in front of his market to nick the ball beyond the on rushing keeper – grabbing his sixth goal of the season in the process. CJ Hamilton thought he’d added a third on 76 minutes but was denied by the offside flag, much to the fury of the Stags bench – a minute later they were on their feet ready to celebrate again, Rose denied by Watson who made a strong save. Kellan Gordon also flashed a volley in before Ryan Sweeney’s “AVE IT!” clearance nearly bounced in in the 5th minute of six additional minutes – the defender had no time to react, as the full time whistle soon followed, job done for the Stags. FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 2-0 Scunthorpe United | Attendance 4,772 (554) STAGS: [3-1-4-2] Conrad Logan | Matt Preston, Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney | Conor Shaughnessy | Kellan Gordon, Jacob Mellis (Neal Bishop), Alex MacDonald, CJ Hamilton | Nicky Maynard (Mal Benning 80), Danny Rose Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Alistair Smith, Otis Khan, Willem Tomlinson, Omari Sterling-James Written by | Craig Priest *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* Exeter City 1-0 Mansfield Town | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 31st August 2019 | St. James Park, Exeter  Craig Priest writes… The long journey home followed by a lie-in often gives you time for reflection, but I can honestly say this morning that no matter what I’ve tried, I simply can’t shake my anger and sheer disappointment at Mansfield Town’s performance at Exeter City yesterday, a 1-0 defeat as the season, and life under John Dempster, continued its utterly woeful start. ‘Utterly Woeful’ might be a little harsh as we’re not rock bottom having lost every single game, but *insert expletive here* we’re not half close to that – with one win, two defeats, three draws and a whole host of errors from our opening six games. I always try to be as positive as possible and it takes a lot for me to hit publish on an article which is predominantly negative – I’ll often vent and delete! Today I’m not pressing delete, because what I’m watching unfold in-front of me is one hell of a nightmare for my beloved club. Before I fully take the handbrake off on vent-mode, I’ll make a few things abundantly clear – whoever is Mansfield Town manager I will back, and back, and back wholeheartedly. I accept that I’m no manager or coach, just a humble fan sharing my opinion – and in doing so, when in a negative form – I do so in the hope that whoever is on the receiving end of it, prints it off, pins it up on the dressing room wall and proves me wrong – because all we all want is positive success, and WHEN that happens, I’ll say well done. This feeling of anger, disappointment and being completely let-down doesn’t come from one game it doesn’t come because we travelled all those miles to get beaten by a soft, play-ground goal – it comes from the entirety of the season so far, it comes fear of it getting worse and it comes from the comparison we shouldn’t be making – but just can’t stop ourselves from doing: Flitcroft Vs Dempster, 2018-19 vs 2019-20. Of course we shouldn’t make the comparisons, I’m guilty of doing that every single day between one thing and other and all it does is make me feel utterly numb and angry at the mistakes and errors I’ve allowed myself to make. Yesterday’s starting line-up had TWO players difference between last season’s squad and this season’s in Kellan Gordon and Nicky Maynard, two players you would argue are improvements on those they’ve replaced. We’re playing with the same back three who were so solid but now, look so fragile. We’re playing in the same shape which was so fluid and energetic, but now is lethargic and stuttering, a bit like my old Fiat Punto on a cold morning. What’s changed? The obvious one is the manager and the coaching team, and as much as I admire and like John Dempster – fabulous player, captain and academy coach who did deserve a shot, naturally it’s he who the spot light shines upon. Like my own comparisons, both Flitcroft and Dempster have differences, different ideas, ambitions, styles etc etc etc – and whilst we’re watching this frustratingly stale mess unfold, longing for one isn’t going to help the other. The questions that we have to ask is, when Flitcroft ultimately got sacked for failing to deliver promotion [justified if that was he remit – again if you didn’t deliver your work targets, at some point you’d be visiting the job centre, no matter the margins – fact] was the decision to replace him with the inexperienced Dempster made in haste? Was that appointment made in that period where you know something’s wrong, where you know that saying something or doing something could have detrimental effect long term, but you’re so hurt, broken and angry, you can’t help it. Dempster fully deserved a shot at being a manager but, and I said this at the time, it felt like the wrong time – it felt like he was being thrown into the inferno, and on what I’ve seen so far – the flames are getting wildly out of control. Dempster’s time should have come when Evans hopped it to China via Peterborough, when the pressure and expectation from the Stags from us as supporters was nothing bar ‘have a go and if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen’ with a squad we knew deep down weren’t good enough and not when we’re collectively expecting the world with a squad who should be playing in league bloody one. This is not a reflection on him whatsoever and at this point I want to point out that this is also not a post wanting him removed as manager, like I said at the top of this rambled bout of frustration he’s got my full support – however it is a post questioning why it simply isn’t working. Naturally, and he said so post-match yesterday, he’ll get the blame and rightly so in some areas – but my attention now turns to the players who, apart from a VERY small minority, need to take a long hard look at themselves in regards to their professionalism. Not only does Dempster have one hell of a discipline problem with a red card every two games, not to mention the off-pitch disciplinary nightmare, there’s a real rift forming between the players and a massive attitude problem which is having detrimental effect on performance. You’ve got the back three and Logan practically doing a life stage version of Jeremy Kyle every time an opponent scores or gets a shot in, you’ve got CJ Hamilton getting rockets (probably deserved sometimes) from all areas after trying to take on the world rather than cross, the latest showdown between him and Macca yesterday another stunning highlight – and you’ve got players just simply being bothered to put in that extra 10% that proves the difference. There’s no movement, no idea, no instruction, no leadership and no pride anymore – that’s not just yesterday it goes back months. How does that change? I mentioned fear before, I fear the more poor performances, the more bad results follow and the closer we come to going back down there [conference] with them [Notts County, Chesterfield] who we so arrogantly mocked. One thing we need to do is stopping harping on about bringing back Flitcroft (I’ve not once said within this blog, or others, I’ve just made comparisons) – I’m hoping that now he’s been appointed Keith Hill’s assistant at Bolton, those murmurings will die – I am prepared for bids for CJ, Pearce and Rose within the next week however! As a Football Club, we must focus on how to improve in the present in order for a better future, rather than dwell on the past, if that means new players and upsetting the old guard then so be it, if that means changing the systems then get it done – if it means coming out and making a statement, then make it – whatever we need to do to end this nightmare and climb in the right direction, let’s do it. Again I’ll fully back John Dempster, once he gets a run together and the players clicking and working for him – in the long term he’ll gain success, but in football we all know that time is of short supply. Finally I’ll end on some form of positive, we need to trust the Radford’s and be thankful we have a club to go and watch. Bury supporters are unlikely to ever have this privilege of moaning about poor performances and results ever again – following Mansfield Town has given me a career, friendship and ultimately love, if it wasn’t there my life would be empty and pointless and to think of Bury fans having to life through that saddens me to the core. Thanks for sticking with me during this journey of anger, hurt and disappointment which is fuelled ultimately by the knowledge of how good and effective the Stags can be when it clicks – let’s get clicking yeah! And quick. Match RecaP John Dempster was boosted by the return of skipper Pearce, fellow defender Kellan Gordon and striker Nicky Maynard who went straight back into the starting line-up whilst Hayden White also made the bench. New loan signing Dap Afolayan also made the bench with the Stags on paper, looking a lot stronger.
As for the match, what is there to reflect upon other than we had about three shots which caused less trouble than they should have done and were embarrassingly caught out from a throw-in in what was a school boy goal to concede. In the second half we gave it more of a go, actually no we didn’t – throwing Logan up for a corner in the last minute was just for a laugh I’m sure, because the corner, like every other set play in the game, was never going to beat the first man. The truth is we were feebly weak throughout and could barely string a pass together; our set plays were nothing short of embarrassing and as ineffective as me taking them and the lack of changes from the bench early left a lot to be desired! If you really want to read about the match in detail, here’s a link to the clubs report – which is far less sarcastic and written more impartially than I can manage right now. Football eh! FULL TIME: Exeter City 1-0 Mansfield Town | Attendance 4,316 (232) STAGS: [3-4-1-2] Conrad Logan | Matt Preston (CJ Hamilton 78), Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney [SENT OFF 86] | Kellan Gordon, Willem Tomlinson (Omari Sterling-James 70), Alex MacDonald, Mal Benning | Jacob Mellis | Danny Rose, Nicky Maynard Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Alistair Smith, Hayden White, Otis Khan, Dapo Afolayan |
