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[One Foot in the Grave]

There was so much wrong that it's difficult to decide where to start.

Let's deal with the goakeeping situation first. Thompson was dreadful today. I've commented before on the effect he has on the performances of our back four. Today he stayed on his line more than once when he should have stepped up and taken control; on other occasions he rushed off his line and got nowhere near the ball. His distribution was woeful. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can we have Elliott Wynne back in nets RAPID !!!!

Now on to that back four. I'm usually pretty happy with them as a unit, but today it was like the Keystone Kops. Hampson had probably the poorest game he's had for the club; White ran him close; Jones was like a lost soul; Hannigan can't do it all on his own, but even he was below par. The penalty was soft and he won't have been happy with himself.

In the middle of the park, we had a very poor showing from Harrop. Unfortunately much of our first half effort came down his side, but he and Hampson played like they'd never met before. On the other side, Johnston started brightly but was kicked by opponents on two or three occasions, and eventually faded. Moult and Richman never got a real foothold in the game. Hancock was largely anonymous.

Hulme. What the hell is wrong with him ? He doesn't learn. His aggression has to be channelled better - too often he behaves like a spoilt child. The red card illustrated this perfectly - it wasn't his battle, and he should have kept well away. The linesman had a clear view of it, and acted accordingly. He will have been unavailable through suspension for almost 20% of this season.

However, the officials have to take a great deal of blame for the debacle. The referee was unbelievably poor, and let Leamington get away with murder. How he missed the elbow on Waterston in the box amazes me. He could scarcely have been more partisan if he'd been bribed. We wouldn't have got a result with Anthony Taylor in charge, but this guy totally pissed me off.

On the positive side, Harrison looked ready to resume, and Waterston could be a valuable addition when those around him are up to scratch.

We've got a fortnight to sort this mess out. We're still clutching a playoff spot by our fingernails, and we need to step up now and put in the necessary effort to stay in contention.

[casper]

For me, Alty did well until unable to clear from a corner - why we still persist in having all 11 in the box to defend a corner is still a mystery.

First goal was very poor defending.

The pen was a very poor decision, still, Hannigan was behind play by 6 yards, and should have defended much better - he should have been in line with the other central defender.

Their third was quite a poor goal to concede, as Bishop was clearly fouling the defence to score - ie hands on shoulders pushing the defender down. Guess the ref hadnt read this far in the rules of football.......

Strangely, Thompson's clearances from dead balls were much better than from in play. Even from goal kicks, few went straight out for throws. Wind was a factor, but Leamington simply altered their tactics in the second half to counter the weather. Something we seemed unable to do.

Alty should clearly have had two pens in the second half.

First seemed like a clear handball, second was an elbow to Waterson (which lead to the sending off of Hulme). I also thought English also kicked Waterson afterwards.

Harrop very poor in first half, much better in second. Don't think he should have been brought off. Main issue was central midfield. It was just poor and non- existant.

As for the referee. Its a hard job. You are judged on the decisions you make. Such as booking White for a challenge in the middle of the park, and not booking Murphy for sprinting 30 yards with the intent to foul.

3-0 harsh on alty, BUT really need to adapt to what the referee is going to give.

If Hulme has just pushed the bloke over - dont think its a red. This was a decision made by the assistant ref - who couldnt see the elbow, and didnt flag for the penalty decision in first half.

[Sarf London Alty]

Well I can only echo the posts above, that was utterly dreadful and the worst I’ve seen us play in a long time.

Lem weren’t a particular cultured outfit, all long balls and get it in the mixer but that’s all they needed to do against us. To call our defending inept would be generous. Wynne has to have a run in the team now and be allowed the opportunity to make mistakes too.

Hulme’s red card utterly needless in the context of the game which was long gone by that point. Capped the day off grimly.

To be honest on that showing I’d rather we didn’t get in the play offs, that team would get eaten alive in the National.