The Opposition View – Chesterfield

Following the Chairboys’ stirring comeback to beat Chesterfield 2-1 at Adams Park yesterday afternoon, here are some views on the game from the Spireites’ manager Paul Cook and a few of their fans.

“There’s certain stuff at our club that I don’t agree with,” said Cook in a refreshingly frank post-match interview.

“We’re soft, we get treated like kings, we get looked after like we’re something special… and we’re not… we’re a bang average League Two team,” he said.

“We’ll probably finish twelfth in the league and it’s not good enough… the players need to know… It doesn’t hurt them enough.”

“Our players show a level of inconsistency. It’s just a fact. it’s there for all to see.”

“At times in the first half today we bordered on being unplayable. We were cutting them up at will, we’ve hit the post, the bar twice, we’re creating chance after chance, but we concede again.”

“We have an undercurrent of softness. Our results say we don’t keep clean sheets… any team can keep the odd clean sheet, but over a period of time the best teams normally have the best defensive record and are the highest scorers.”

“We look a threat going forward at times but we concede goals… it doesn’t matter who we play, the same things happen.”

When asked if he could expect a big response from his players next week, Cook replied: “I’m not particularly bothered. They seem to do what they want don’t they. They might as well carry on doing what they want… that’s life isn’t it.”


The Chesterfield fans couldn’t quite fathom how they lost.

The following extracts are taken from Bob’s Board.


Oldbury Spireite wrote:
‘We should have been 3 goals up before Wycombe’s dodgy goal. We kept creating chances, hitting the woodwork, keeper saving, flukey defending etc. In the 15 mins after our goal, we showed again that when we pass and move, the opposition cannot get near us. We simply lost our way and forgot to do the simple things in the second half after losing the momentum just before the break.’


hardgums wrote:
‘Quite simply we murdered them in the first half. We played some excellent stuff and could have, should have, been out of sight. A corner in injury time was our undoing. For some bizarre reason the ref thought it was OK for them to bundle Tommy and the ball over the line. No, bundle is the wrong description… Steam roller would be better. We were poor in the second half, but I’m still keeping the faith. Our first half performance tells me that the Cookie will get us up.’


HU5 spire wrote;
‘Chance after chance after chance. Created enough to win 5 matches again today and we go and give away 2 silly goals again. Desperate for a clinical finisher who can put the ball in the net from inside 12 yards. Severely fed up after today that we are not getting the results we should be getting.’


DMU Blue wrote:
‘Totally outplayed them first-half. Attack superb. Defence immense. Their goal an absolute disgrace. Boa Morte gave away a cheap corner but after that there’s loads of pushing in the box. Ref stops it. Ball comes in. Fouls continue. Ref shapes to give the free kick. Ball falls in the box. Then what can only be described as a rugby scrum occurs and the ball is pushed over the line. Foul all day long. Absolute disgrace. Away end livid.’


the original blue pill wrote:
‘Put the lot on the transfer list. Forget any notion of promotion this season, get the lot out on the transfer list. This lot are a joke to this football club.’


Bushy wrote:
‘Disappointed with the changes PC made. We look so much more dangerous in the 4-5-1 system. When we went to 4-4-2 we played too direct and had players out of position. In saying that, we were excellent at times in the first half. We must go on and win games though.’


death wrote:
‘Still don’t know what to make of that. A very impressive and fluid first half performance. 2-0 at half-time would not have been unfair as we also hit the woodwork. Second half – they started with a bit more gusto and we huffed and puffed in the centre without much to show for it. Then came the second goal. From then on, we didn’t look like scoring. They now had more conviction, and they played the fool of a ref very well, time wasting, going down easily etc.’


Oldbury Spireite wrote:
‘Congratulations. Wycombe take the award for time wasting and play acting. What a joke!’


DMU Blue wrote:
‘Wycombe have been a disgrace. Time wasting since they scored. Throwing themselves down.’


MDCCCLXVI wrote:
‘If we punished sides when we were on top they wouldn’t have this luxury. One game decided by the ref or ugly tactics can be dismissed, but it’s become the story of our Christmas and new year.’


Bacon Face wrote:
‘Defeats to such dreadful outfits such as Barnet, Bristol Rovers, Wycombe and Accrington, coupled with our inability to beat the dross of Morecambe and Burton, just cements my initial belief… Paul Cook isn’t good enough.’


Next Game: AFC Wimbledon v Wycombe – Sat 12th Jan – 3.00pm