Cheltenham Town video: Robins facing tense replay after Bulls draw

“Good constructive comments posted. Are we paying the penalty for having a small squad, with Sido injured, and loss of form of several key midfield players. Cannot understand why Sam Deering cannot get a run, he certainly adds bite to the midfield as does Penn when he starts. I think the majority of fans beleive Carter/Pack together does not produce. Sorry to upset anyone but Mo in my eyes is lucky to get as much match time as he does. However I feel not all is lost regarding the replay, Hereford have to change their game plan for the replay which will hopefully give the Robins the space to counter attack. As mentioned earlier by others we seem to have slowed down our game and are very content to pass the ball around waiting and waiting for an opening which lately does not happen. For those who saw how Rotherham came at us with pace and cut through our defence would be nice to see the Robins adobt.”

“Agree Bowman and Pell had terrific games last night, but I guess they (and anyone else) are not available till the January window. So what do we do this month to turn things around? We can't afford to let December's games slip by wthout taking some action.

We have a potential gem in MacGlashan but don't use him well enough. He should be instructed to stay wide and take on the full back (plus 2nd man on him) at all times, even if he only gets a free kick for his pains. And the whole team (including Brown, as well as the defence and midfield) needs to get the ball much more quickly to his feet, not after 2 or 3 passes among themselves.

Might we also go with an out and out 2nd winger? Instruct him to stay wide too (especially if it's Mo, who too frequently turns inside and loses the ball). That could all be practised on the training ground (I sometimes wonder what they do practise there). There is enough pace there - we use it to good purpose all too rarely.

Could a midfield 3 of Penn (who surely must start most games), D'Ath and A N Other provide enough solidity to contain the opposition and to provide the balls out wide? They might also find more space for themselves if the opposition grew increasingly worried about our wide men. Again, something for the training ground.

Worth a go? I think the recent stats on shots, corners and even offsides tell their own sorry story. And last night showed again that a better way of countering a packed defence is not to try to go through it but to go round it, from the byelines.”

“In the second half Hereford's passing and movement were a joy to watch and if they really are not being paid then MY needs to step in at the first available opportunity for Bowman and Pell. The former was terrific and the latter immense. He was here, there and everywhere. Not much too add to the other comments re our mob. Contrast this cautious, fumbling performance studded with inaccurate passing with the joyous thrashing of Southend at roughly the same time last year and one conclusion is that we sorely miss the drive and energy of Summerfield who made the whole midfield play. Pell please.

I'm a defender of Mo but agree he was hopelessly unambitious against A gallinagh who we know to be ponderous. Jermaine was lively for 30 mins but rarely took on his man to the bye line and his crossing, goal apart, rarely got beyond the first man. Carter's pedigree is undoubted but he looks ineffectual and lost when everything flows through Pack. Jones was similarly unambitious and Lowe struggles against anyone with trickery and a bit of pace.

When your second team is Everton, as mine is, you can understand how much I wanted us to progress last night. But frankly I'm more concerned about the Cobblers and League 2 with Rotherham, Torquay and Southend all improving fast. Third is a great spot to be in but we're not dominating teams at all (compare our goal difference with others). And it's ultra-competitive this season. Any 4 from 10 or 11 could go up.”

“Ambleside,I can only agree partly with your views,Fact..we do not have a big strong centre forward.Fact....Mo,I cant say anymore than that other fans get upset that I pick on him.
Fact..for the first 30 minuets last night McGlashen run their defence ragged but he cant do it alone,why does he never switch wings once in a while though?,if he had gone against Gallinagh he would have possibly had even more success.
Penn as to start in the replay he is far busier than Pack or Carter or maybe D'ath and Taylor and Penn with Pack or Carter chugging on behind.
Pack as not been at his best all season maybe we expect more or maybe we miss Summerfield to much and obviously Carter and Pack are pretty much clones.
We are not out of this Cup yet,Everton are still up for grabs,M Y cant change his player's now so it's all about the right team and the right tatics,motivation should not be an issue,a lot of fans complain aboy Zeb,but I think he ewas missed last night and he is far more likly to run at a defence then Mo (with all that pace he should terrify defences)”

“sorry but i think MY picked the wrong team again.so hereford line up,a big strong side,with two tall centre backs.so MY plays two of our smallest players againist them.we did'nt win a header all night.why play mo.he's been completely out of form for a long while now.you could tell he was going to be pretty in effective from the start.i agree with the pack & carter situation.neither have the pace to get away from the opposition,they were outplayed by the hereford midfield.our keeper and back four are no worry at the moment,but MY needs to sort out the rest of the side.people will say why are you moaning when your 3rd in the table,but are we just riding our luck?the home performances have been poor to watch.is it the system thats wrong,is it the players,or is it MY ot making best use of the squad that he's got.one things for sure,if he does'nt make some radical changes and we play like that at hereford,not of will they win because there our bogey team,but they will also be the better team!”

“Well LP 1212,you beat me to the punch you are pretty much 100% correct in your observations,especially the second half,far too many sideway passes however it must be difficult to thread a ball through a packed defence and one lonly striker running out of room.
McGlashen was starved of the ball second half and Mo who was up against probably their slowest defender in our Andy Galligah did not try once to use his blistering pace to go past him,instead doubled back on almost every occasion to play the safe back pass.
Pack had a very poor game however we do not pocess a central midfield player who as the guts or knowledge to run at a defence unlike Hereford who have a very good counter attacking running midfield.
Summing up,lots of possesion,but second half no bite and I'm afraid once more no plan B.
The good point we have a second chance.”

“What a disappointing result. I thought in the first 15 minutes we were going to have a comfortable win, especially after Harrad's delightfully made goal - and from a pass inside the left full back for Jermaine to run on to (did someone mention that last week?!). But that pass was one of the very few good things that Pack did all night, and our midfield thereafter again showed itself for what it has become over the last few weeks - slow, ponderous and seemingly devoid of creativity. Indeed the Hereford midfield showed us how it should be done - swift running, direct forward passing (and I don't mean long ball).

Pack needs to be rested; he is simply not performing as he can, although he still believes that everything should flow through him. The more I see of Carter, the less impressed I am by him; maybe that is because he and Pack are too alike. Mo had one of those evenings which we often see from him, though he had a couple of decent shots. And Jermaine faded out of it - partly because they put 2 men on him (though that should release space for other players) but partly because we rarely gave him the ball to feet in the second half. Taylor had a decent game; Harrad got very little decent service. Penn gave us some much needed bite - someone to win the ball and break up the opposition's play.

I would try a wholesale change in midfield, and would certainly give D'Ath, Taylor and Penn a starting berth, and tell Jermaine to stay out wide (again he drifted in too much this evening). It would be a brave manager to do that in the important League game on Saturday - but isn't that why you get other players in, to push people who are not performing?”