A tale of total incompetence

If you were looking for a perfect example of just how clueless Cheltenham were on Tuesday night you only had to look at the final few seconds of the match. With even Scott Brown up for a corner, this was the final chance to salvage something from what had been a truly frustrating evening. Instead Barry Hayles and Elvis Hammond found it in their wisdom to carry out a botched short corner routine, giving the referee the opportunity to end the game before the ball even came close to entering the penalty area. As the final whistle blew, I found myself standing in stunned disbelief for a good minute before heading for the exits. It was that kind of night.

As much as the Robins were the architects of their own downfall yesterday evening, the performance of the officials certainly didn`t help. At times it can be all too easy to point the blame at the men in charge, but some of the decision making last night was truly scandalous. In the second half, Hayles was grappled to the floor inside the Hereford box and it looked for all the world a penalty. The referee was amazingly unmoved, but even more frustratingly so too was his assistant in front of the In2Print stand. I honestly can`t remember a more blatant penalty in the decade and a half I`ve been watching football at Whaddon Road. The assistant referee was ten yards away from the incident and had a clear view, yet he was unmoved.

His job is to help the referee in his decision making, but at the most crucial of stages he didn`t offer his opinion. Even if he was to flag for a penalty, the referee still has the power to overrule him if he disagrees. There was nothing for the assistant to lose by giving his view on the matter, but he totally bottled it. As tough a job as being a match official is, I still cannot fathom how you could stand there unmoved and not make a decision. It defied belief. There were other penalty appeals to follow later, but as soon the first was turned away you realised it was definitely not going to be Cheltenham`s night.

Ultimately though the poor officiating should not cover up what was a toothless display by the Robins. The most frustrating aspect of the current team is the slow pace at which the ball is moved around the pitch. If we are going to be any kind of attacking force we need to be much quicker at getting the ball from front to back. This doesn`t suggest there should be a reliance on playing long balls, but there should more speed and purpose in the way we pass it around. Players shouldn`t be scared to have possession, but it`s a sad fact that most of the current first team players look frightened to have the ball at their feet and as a result do nothing productive.

Off the ball, things are just as bad. On a number of occasions in the first half on Tuesday, Hayles held the ball up well and looked for options in the final third, but there was no one in support . There appears to be no anticipation amongst the team as to what each other is going to do. This group of players train together on a daily basis, so must surely know what each strengths, weaknesses and favoured moves are. Also, as a collective unit, there seems to be little expectation of the ‘2nd ball’. On a number of occasions last night the ball would be cleared from a corner to the edge of the box, but there was rarely a Cheltenham player in sight to take advantage.

So, what can Mark Yates can do about it? The honest answer is not a lot. He has inherited a hotchpotch of players, who are generally neither interested or good enough for the task facing them. You have to sympathise with the manager, as he went for broke last night to try and get at least a draw, with four strikers on the pitch by the end of the game. The full backs pushed on and there were flashes of promise from Marley Watkins and Josh Low. Hereford were penned in their own half, but we had no killer instinct to make it count. In fairness to both Yates and Paul Baker they have come out and admitted that last night wasn`t good enough and changes need to be made. Actions speak louder than words though and the team need to take heed of such criticism ahead of Saturday`s match.