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Macclesfield Town 0-0 Mansfield Town | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 16th November 2019 | Moss Rose, Macclesfield  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations*
There are some away games I fear driving too as I have this recurring nightmare of breaking down in the middle of nowhere without a phone signal to call for help, lost in the mist. That nightmare scenario seems to be the best way to describe the Stags at the moment, following another lacklustre display against struggling Macclesfield. A point and a clean-sheet in any game is a positive so I don’t want to overlook that, you can throw in the conditions and the scenario regarding the Silkmen this week regarding training strikes etc and them wanting to fight for the cause – but ultimately the minimum we should have come away with yesterday is three points. I’ve said it tome and time again about supporting the manager and the players and about it being a different season to last, meaning we should change our perception slightly – but that doesn’t stop yesterday being another in a long line of below par, unacceptable performances, from this Mansfield Town squad who, REGARDLESS of what’s come before, are capable of so much more. Anyone who didn’t know the scenario yesterday would have said it was the Stags who hadn’t been paid or hadn’t trained, because they lacked zest and flair and it felt in general so negative in both set up and approach – highlighted by the fact we didn’t win a single corner. Setting up with three central defenders and three defensive midfielders left us with very little attacking options, and yet there were some on the bench who deserve the chance to liven up this stuttering, sluggish season – and even some not even in the match day squad, whose inclusion would have given us options for a better shape, such as James Clarke who had a fantastic game on Tuesday against Burton Albion. Off of the pitch I feel for Macclesfield and the predicament they find themselves in, but on it Mansfield Town have to be ruthless if they want to show they have any desire or ambition to achieve something this season, because I for one am not relishing spending countless amounts of money trekking around the country on the hunt for League Two consolidation – especially when the aim from the board, is promotion. You could argue that the league table is so tight that a few wins would light the fire to shoot us up into the mixing bowl, but hand on heart I can’t say I’ve seen anything this season which suggests this squad have it in them to compete CONSISTENTLY week in week out, we’re back average, lost in the mist. I’m not going to get drawn into the manager in or out debate just yet, and whilst I’m against looking back and comparing last season to this, at this point with a squad David Flitcroft had spent the same amount of time with (I ALWAYS discount his first twelve games post Evans as a poisoned chalice for anyone) – from fourteen games, we’d won seven, drawn seven and we’re the sternest defence in the league heading in the right direction. A year on, a new manager, a new(ish) squad and we’re lost in the mist – what’s changed and what needs to change in order to reach the ambitions and targets outlined by the board? We have a fantastic squad; we just need to find that spark AGAIN to play a more attacking brand of football using our flare players to get us going. The most frustrating thing of all is we ALL know it’s there, but there’s just something about us right now which isn’t pretty and simply isn’t working. Macclesfield deserve credit for their attitude and approach to the game, they are a tough side and for the way we are right now, it was a very tough game to get anything out of, which I don’t have a problem with… IF that’s all we are, a mid-table side spending a season consolidating and rebuilding. BUT, we ALL know that’s not the aim and it’s not the target – hence why our disappointment, our frustration grows week in week out when all our performances and approach does is suggests otherwise. Who are we? What are we aiming to achieve? And, are we good enough to achieve it right now? It’s time to start answering some questions and find our way back to civilisation. Quickly Match Recap Captain Krystian Pearce was brought back into the starting XI which saw a change in shape to a 3-5-2, midfielder Neal Bishop missed out as did attacking midfielder Otis Khan forcing the shape change. I’ve absolutely no desire to waste time going over that game again, and to be honest I’m sure you haven’t either. If, however, you’ve stumbled upon this years down the line and want to find out what happened or are genuinely wanting to read a report of the match – may I point you in the general direction of the official club report HERE, thank you kindly. FULL TIME: Macclesfield Town 0-0 Mansfield Town | Attendance 2,055 STAGS: [3-5-2] Conrad Logan | Matt Preston, Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney | Kellan Gordon, Willem Tomlinson (Jacob Mellis 63), Alex MacDonald, Conor Shaughnessy, Mal Benning | Nicky Maynard (CJ Hamilton 80), Andy Cook (Danny Rose 75 TAKEN OFF INJURED 83) Unused Subs: Bobby Oljenik, Alistair Smith, Dapo Afolayan, Omari Sterling-James *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* Comments are closed.
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