Though apparently getting a dubious rash isn’t uncommon after a night in the north east…
I’m not sure whether a draw without a goal is a good result or not, after last week’s victory.
On the one hand, we didn’t seem to muster (m)any shots, in a flashback to some of the PSFs/last season.
It sounded like we rode our luck a fair bit in the second half, and were most likely to lose the game.
Especially against a side that got gubbed while we were disposing of Gillingham.
At the same time though – it’s a point away from home. Especially when it’s a very long journey to the arse-end of the country.
Your editor has been watching football for too long. And I know a team who loses 4-0 one week will reorganise, and try to right that wrong the following game.
Just because we’ve been incapable of that in the past doesn’t mean other clubs aren’t.
So I’m not surprised that Hartlepool played better yesterday, and caused us problems.
Most teams in L2 are quite similar in terms of talent and consistency, ourselves and Hartlepool included.
And when you look at it in those terms, it may be the proverbial good point after all.
JJ thinks it’s a good weekend anyway, and this might explain his current thinking.
Being hard to beat – especially away from home – is an admirable trait.
As Captain Obvious would say, you don’t lose games if you don’t let in goals.
Maybe we need more up front, and we probably do. But presumably when he came in, Jackson wanted to prioritise the back line.
Initial signs suggest he’s at least started on that.
We’ve got four points, when many times last season the same two games might have got us one.
Or even zero.
No, I don’t like it when we pass around the back either, and eventually we’ll fuck it up.
That will be another test of our character, mainly what we do when we go behind and need a goal.
That’s for another day. The long and short of it is, we’re two games unbeaten, got four points and we haven’t let in a goal yet.
I would have ripped not only your arm off for that last season, but your leg and probably your genitalia too.
When was the last time we kept two clean sheets in a row? Actually, no need to research that – it was January 2022.
Pompey and Morecambe, both 0-0 if you’re desperate enough to know. And yes, I was sad enough to look that up.
The last time we had any goal-less draw by the way was Gillingham away in late February, when the slump began.
Today, a 0-0 draw feels a bit of a disappointment in parts. That might be a good thing.
What’s going to be clear from now until maybe January and beyond is that pragmatism rules.
JJ is happy with yesterday because it means we’ve got a point away from home without letting a goal in.
It may not make for exciting football, but it’s a hundred times more effective than what we saw 95% of 2021/22.
Jackson would have known our weaknesses from when he was Charlton gaffer, and he knew what to prioritise when he went to SW17.
It’s possible there’s more rebuilding than he first thought, which may explain why goals are still hard to come by.
I do question whether we’ve got enough – or indeed any – in us right now, and I’m not alone in that view.
If we’d gone behind at Victoria Park, would we have managed to claw back a draw? I’m not sure.
But that’s not particularly relevant right now. What’s done is done, and we move onto Donny next Saturday.
Oh, and the Carabao against Gillingham again on Tuesday. A nation yawns.
Actually, I hope we put out a strong enough side for that, and try to win that game, because a decent draw against a Premier League side will appeal.
I expect it will be quite a poor crowd, which will be a shame yet totally understandable.
I’d play Hudlin and NYC from the start, and see if they can find the net. After all, somebody in the squad has to…