Leyton Orient 3 Exeter City 0: Misery personified

There are no words. Well, there are, but mostly they consist of adjectives such as poor, abject, rubbish, shocking and many more that can't possibly be reprinted here.

It's taken me a good day and a half to calm down enough to write a more measured analysis of the match. At 5pm on Saturday the only sensible option was to get drunk. On Sunday, the anger and hangover was too great. Now, after sleeping on it twice, we're ready for measured analysis.

We. Were. Fucking. Terrible.

What, you want more? You want to know that Exeter were clueless for the first 45 minutes, looked for all the world if they'd only just met and then conspired to give a lesson in how not to defend for Orient's second two goals? You really want to wallow in that misery? If you insist.

Exeter haven't won on the road for over nine months now and from the opening minute we never remotely looked likely to breaking this unwanted run.

With no Matt Taylor or Richard Duffy, we played a 4-4-2 with full back Billy Jones at centre-half and four central midfielders across the middle. We were, quite simply, ripped a new one.

Orient came at Exeter from the off and Paul Jones nearly fumbled a shot into his net soon after. Wave after wave of O's attacks burst forward and Exeter could offer, well... nothing. There was the occasional foray into the Orient half but we failed to get a shot on target.

Meanwhile, Rob Edwards made a hooked goal line clearance and Jones just managed to push a shot onto the post. When even Ryan Harley had to resort to hoofing the ball out of defence, you know that Exeter's neat passing game just wasn't getting going.

What was most depressing was the middle of the park. James Dunne, David Noble, Liam Sercombe and Harley are all fine midfielders but all were trying to occupy the same ground in the centre of the pitch. Consequently, we had no width and no link between midfield and attack and Orient found it easy to pick holes through the centre of the park.

Nonetheless, Exeter very nearly made it to half time level, which would have been a travesty to football but encouraging for us travelling Grecians. After all, there was no way we could have been as bad in the second half.

Orient, though, finally made the breakthrough when a simple cross from the left saw Alex Revell given a free header and leaving Paul Jones with no chance to see Exeter head into the break one down.

Half time and Tisdale took action, pushing Sercombe out to the right wing and bringing on Richard Logan for Jamie Cureton, who I'd completely forgotten was on the pitch. The improvement wasn't immediate but it was there.

With Logan, we had a striker with a bit of height and physical presence so the balls weren't immediately getting pinged back to our half and for about 15 minutes, Exeter put a half decent spell together without hugely troubling Orient.

Ryan Harley had the best opportunity after being slipped through but Terrell Forbes produced a good block to deny the ginger wizard. Our other chance of note was Sercombe's effort after a mazy run but his decent effort hit Logan on the arse on its way towards goal. This just about summed up our afternoon.

The second and third goals, which were no less than Orient deserved, were horror shows of our own making, with the second in particular likely to have me waking up in a cold sweat for a good six months.

The home side launched a speculative punt upfield, but rather than clear the ball, Dunne and Edwards decided to walk into each other, leaving Scott McGleish with an easy run on goal. A new low had been reached.

Dean Cox's third for Orient was an impressive strike, but Troy Archibald-Henville, making his first sub appearance since injuring his knee in January, afforded the diminutive frontman too much time and space and you could see the goal flying in the moment Cox skipped away from his marker.

It really is a struggle to pick out any highlights other than the final whistle. It was nice to see Troy kick a football again after so many months out. And, er, that was it. This really was like watching EastEnders most miserable moments while listening to Tindersticks in the background.

In mitigation, Stanno's funeral was midweek, so this may have still been affecting the team. But for all that still leaves a very heavy burden on us all, the side has to pick itself up and start winning matches.

It is a very long time since I've seen an Exeter performance that bad. Hopefully it was just a blip, a one-off, and will serve as a wake-up call. Because, although we're only three games into the season, if we play like that every week, we will get relegated.

HAL Man Of The Match: Tempted to say no-one, as we were that poor. If pushed, either Richard Logan, who made a bit of a difference after his introduction, or Scott Goldbourne, who was one of the few Exeter players to show any attacking intent, even if the movement around him so so poor he often had to hit it 30 yards back up the pitch to find a player.

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Goodbye Stanno

Adam Stansfield will be laid to rest this afternoon. I imagine there'll be a big turn out at Exeter Cathedral as City fans pay their last respects to our number nine.

And if you want to read a moving tribute to Stanno that will bring another lump to your throat, Oliver Holt's piece in the Mirror is one of the best things I've read.

RIP Adam.

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Jamie Cureton earns a permanent stay at the park

Less of a surprise this one. Much-travelled striker Jamie Cureton has signed a permanent contract with Exeter City after a couple of sub appearances on a pay-as-you-play basis.

It's no secret that Paul Tisdale wanted to sign Cureton but needed to free up some money in his budget, and Cureton himself has made very positive noises about wanting to stay at Exeter.

The jury's still out on whether this is a good signing or not. Last season neither Norwich nor Shrewsbury fans were overly impressed with the striker, but he has scored goals wherever he's been and he was very impressive leading the line on his own against Bristol Rovers at the weekend. His movement away from defenders caused them plenty of problems and he was willing to put in a lot of running against them.

I can't see him displacing O'Flynn or Nardiello at the moment, although could see him working well in a partnership with Richard Logan. And you'd be disappointed if he didn't net a few this season given his record.

No word on the length of the deal, but I'd be surprised if it was for longer than 12 months, given his age and record.

The squad's looking pretty complete for this season now, although another centre-half would be nice, unless we're planning on blooding Furzer and Bennett.

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Exeter City 2 Bristol Rovers 2: A game for Stanno

In many respects, the result on the pitch today was irrelevant. This was a day for paying tribute to our sadly departed number 9, a cathartic afternoon of grieving. A win in memory of Adam Stansfield was the result everybody was hoping for. Sadly football has never been one to respect the script.

Emotions were always going to run high and the way the players got through the tributes and played the way they did for 90 minutes was impressive, especially Adam's best friend and Man Of The Match Steve Tully. He was immense in every sense of the word.

Certainly the players coped better than I did. Walking past the Flybe stand entrance towards the Red Square and seeing the hundreds of tributes left for Stanno by the railings brought a lump to my throat. Reading the numerous tributes to Adam in the matchday programme had me choking back tears. When the minutes applause started for him, I welled up and could hold it in no longer.

I've never been much of a crier. I've never been one much for grieving in public, but I clearly wasn't the only one. All around me, grown men who paid to watch Adam put in a tireless shift every week were wiping tears from their eyes.

Adam Stansfield embodied the heart of Exeter City and all that every could be described as good about football. That he was taken from us a month shy of his 32nd birthday with so much to give to both the club and his young family is heartbreaking. I hope God realises when a gem he's signed from us.

But while it would be easy to fill this post with more memories and tributes to Stanno, they have been and will continue to be done elsewhere. The game may have always been for Adam, but it was also about taking three points from Bristol Rovers.

And for much of the first half, this looked like a serious possibility. Exeter started by playing some crisp, impressive passing football and it was no surprise when the Grecians went one up. Steve Tully was sent scampering away down the right touchline, found some space and produced a pinpoint cross for Daniel Nardiello to head home emphatically for his first goal for the club.

It was no less than Nardiello or City deserved and there was no doubt who the goal was for. The players immediately ran to the Exeter bench and collected Adam Stansfield's number 9 shirt before displaying it to all corners of the ground. That one was for Stanno.

For much of the first half, it looked as if Exeter would add a second quite comfortably. Another perfect cross by Tully was headed wide by Scott Goldborne, never the best header of the ball, while the Grecians were involved in what can only be described as tika-taka in the centre of the park.

Liam Sercombe in particular caught the eye with his quick feet a movement. Last season the youngster seemed hesitant and, at times, overawed, but this season he looks like he believes he belongs in the team. With Ryan Harley missing through illness, much of City's best work came through Sercombe.

Rovers, meanwhile, were limited to the odd foray up the field, most of which were tidied up by Richard Duffy or 'Big' Rob Edwards, deputising for the injured Matt Taylor. At 38 Edwards is still a class act and positively relished keeping the Gasheads' front line quiet, at one point unceremoniously dumping a forward on his backside for having the terminity of trying to take the ball past him.

But the nagging fear grew that while City were good in possession, they were still vulnerable with just a one goal lead and so that fear came to pass.

First the impressive Nardiello limped off to be replaced by Jamie Cureton. Given the striker's injury woes this was a major concern and Cureton took a while to get into the game.

Then, on the stroke of half time David Noble, largely solid up to this point, gave the ball away in the centre of the park. Rovers broke and worked the ball into the penalty area. Although the City defence appeared to have things covered, Jo Kuffour was allowed to turn and smashed a shot passed Paul Jones to level the scores.

Exeter were still rattled after the break as Rovers built in confidence and it didn't take long for City to self destruct completely. First a long ball over the top saw Duffy caught one on one with the Bristol striker. Whether he accidentally or deliberately clipped the attacker's ankle, I'm not sure, but as soon as Hoskins went down there was only one outcome and Duffy was already halfway back to the changing rooms before the ref had brandished the red card.

Eight minutes later, Rovers had the lead after the City defence failed to clear the ball properly and after a bit of penalty area pingball Hoskins poked home to give the Gas the lead.

Without Duffy, Exeter reverted to a flat back four, with Billy Jones playing centre-half, while up front John O'Flynn dropped deeper to give the midfield extra support.

But without the extra man, City struggled to impose themselves on the game and twice Paul Jones pulled off some exceptional saves, including one point blank shot from close range that looked destined for the goal.

But Exeter never gave up trying and Tully in particular seemed determined to haul Exeter back into the game single-handed with and all-action display down the right flank. Eventually City settled and started working the Rovers backline again. An equaliser looked highly unlikely but not totally impossible.

You can debate the challenge in the penalty area on James Dunne all you like, and my view is Dunne saw the challenge coming and played for it, but the spot kick offered Exeter a way back into the game and O'Flynn calmly slotted home to open his account for the Grecians and level the scores at two all.

Noble, who had been off the pace for much of the second half, was replaced with Bertie Cozic to give Exeter extra muscle in the centre of the park, while up front Cureton provided a masterclass in how to hold up the ball and work the channels, but despite a positive end from both sides, it remained level, probably a fair result over the course of the 90 minutes.

Under the circumstances, this wasn't a bad point. We were missing Taylor and Harley, two of our best players, while Nardiello only lasted half an hour and we had to play nearly all the second half with ten men. If Goldborne's sitter had gone in, it could have been a different story, but the team showed character to come back. It does suggest that last season's problem of too many drawn home games still hasn't quite been fixed.

But, hey, I'm not the one playing in front of nearly seven and a half thousand people having just lost a well-loved and popular colleague to cancer. Under the circumstances and emotion, we did well.

And, in many respects (and hopefully this won't be taken the wrong way), we needed to get that game out of the system and we needed not to lose. It would be easy for heads to drop and Stanno's death affect the team badly. As it is, the performance and the fightback was one of a mentally strong team and would have done Adam proud.

And secondly, sadly, life goes on for the club and for Tisdale and his team. We've now grieved for Stanno and have to turn our attention to picking up wins, starting with a trip to Leyton Orient on Saturday.

But while we, as a club, have to move on, the little things - the memories, the numerous articles, and the memorial tributes outside the ground show that Adam is gone but will never, ever be forgotten.

RIP Adam Stansfield


HaL's Man Of The Match: Steve Tully. A magnificent, mature display down the right hand side. Rallied the team after Duffy's sending off and his cross for the goal was perfect. The former Weymouth full-back just keeps getting better, even though he's now a veteran.

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Adam Stansfield

Always and forever City's number 9.

Rest in peace Adam.

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Bits and pieces

Amidst all the sadness, life goes on, as the same can be said for Exeter City, even if we're still in mourning.

First off, Exeter have been drawn against Yeovil in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, to be played at the end of the month. This should be a great atmosphere for a midweek cup tie and a great opportunity to celebrate Adam Stansfield's life between two of his former clubs.

Secondly, young forward James Norwood has gone on loan to Forest Green Rovers. It's exactly the type of move he needs and it'll be interesting to see how he gets on there.

Although our number 31 is still young, this is a bit of a key season for him. Tisdale is quite fond of blooding young players on loan and this will be young James second loan, after spending much of last season at Sutton.

Forest Green is exactly the type of club Norwood needs to be playing for right now. The standard will be decent and they're expected to struggle, so a spell near Stroud will be character building.

I saw James play last season for Sutton and wasn't overly impressed, and I've heard mixed reports pre-season. At some point he needs to convert youthful promise into a definite product. He's probably got this season and maybe next before Tis decides to move him on.

Hopefully, for his sake, he can impress on loan. He's got a lot of players to displace in the pecking order but netting a few at Rovers is a good way to remind us he's still here.

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Stanno

The last two days have been somewhat surreal. A lot of time has been spent reading tributes to Adam and welling up reading them.

Inbetween this, I penned my own tribute for BBC Sport online on Adam. It's had some lovely feedback. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read it.

Understandably, Exeter's trip to Dagenham & Redbridge this weekend has been called off. It's a tough decision to make. Many, myself included, would have loved the chance to show the team how much we were behind them and pay tribute to Stanno. But the club and places need time grieve. It's definitely the right call.

I've said a lot elsewhere about Adam Stansfield, so I don't want to say too much, but seeing all the tributes has moved every Exeter fan. Times like this make you appreciate there are more important things in life than football.

Frankly, it seems irrelevant that we lost 3-1 (aet) to Ipswich of Tuesday.

RIP Adam

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Exeter 2 Colchester 2: Same old, same old

A demonstration of the distance between Exeter City's attack and midfield

It takes just four minutes for early season optimism to turn into the usual deflation. That's the time from Ryan Harley firing Exeter into the lead to Colchester accelerating a goal ahead. A strange, frantic early start at St. James' Park, but, boy, it's good to be back.

So, slight disappointment tempered by joy as Richard Logan snatched a late equaliser. Which is about fair, just, judging by the ebb and flow of the game. Were we good or bad? Both, probably. Flashes of brilliance combined with some poor play, but many signs of encouragement.

Paul Tisdale gave City league debuts to three players - Nardiello, O'Flynn, and David Noble, while the returning Billy Jones also started - and at times it showed.

Daniel Nardiello showed a very good touch up front, while Jon O'Flynn has good movement, although needs to be coached in the offisde law. There was a lack of understanding between the two strikers, but that's sort of to be expected.

Nardiello's good work led to the early penalty, with City on top in the early stage. He skipped through the box, drew the foul and went over. Clever work and a soft penalty for Colchester to concede. Up stepped Harley to duly stick it in the net and Exeter were one nil up and cruising, and then some.

At this stage, the U's couldn't get a touch on the ball and, without sounding hyperbolic, City looked good enough to dish out a pasting. And then it all fell apart.

With their first proper attack of the game, Colchester worked the ball to the wing, Goldbourne and Billy Jones stood off, Brian Wilson whipped in a delicious cross and Anthony Wordsworth jumped up to plant a free header beyond Paul Jones in the City goal. A textbook move that Jonah could do nothing to keep out and Colchester were level.

And then Colchester well and truly spoilt the opening day party. Matt Taylor tangled with Kayode Odejayi is a nothing incident, but a free kick was awarded and Wordsworth unleashed a low piledriver to make it 2-1 with just two shots of Colchester.

In goal, Jones could have done nothing about the 30-yarder shot, but there were questions over the wall, which disintegrated. Did Jones set it up wrong, or was it just poor defending? Who knows.

City then pushed forward for an equaliser, but were frequently caught out at the back with Duffy and Taylor frequently having to make last-ditch interceptions while Jones pulled off a stunning save to keep Exeter in the game.

Exeter finished the first half on top, but Colchester tightened up a lot in the second half and the game somewhat petered out with chances few and far between, and Colchester seemed to be heading for a functional victory, before Logan popped up to notch an equaliser.

Yeah, Logan was probably offside, but who cares? Colchester's second goal came from a free kick that shouldn't have been given. Horses for courses. Logan nearly won it at the death, but couldn't quite get his header on target, although victory to the Grecians would have been harsh on Colchester.

It's still early days, but there was plenty of promise. When Noble and Harley got going, their passing was a joy and some of Exeter's best moves came from neat passing arrangements through this pair, while Colchester's formation, which was a loose 4-3-3, meant that Tully and Goldbourne were getting acres of space down the flanks.

But John Ward clearly wised up to this, and Colchester's forwards started pressing our wing-backs more, while Noble and Harley weren't given any time on the ball. This meant that Paul Jones, who would always roll or throw, given the chance, couldn't distribute the ball and was forced to kick upfield, where Nardiello and O'Flynn were giving away a serious height advantage to the Colchester centre-backs.

There was also a sense that Harley and Noble, both great creative players with good feet, were occupying far too similar a role, leaving Liam Sercombe to get stretched over the middle. This had the effect of leaving a gap between midfield and attack, and Exeter were losing the second ball as a result.

Again, this may be something that can be ironed out a few games into the season, and not every team will press as well as Colchester, but there may be times when either Noble or Harley need to be sacrificed for Dunne or Cozic to give us more strength and fight in the centre of the park.

Certainly it was no coincidence that Exeter picked up 13 minutes from time when Logan and Jake Thompson came on and Exeter switched to a more orthodox back four, while Thompson, Harley and Noble got closer to the strikers. Logan also gave us more of an aerial threat.

A quick word for Billy Jones, who made me nervous every time the ball went near him yesterday. It's doubtful he'll want to watch the highlights on DVD. He looked more solid in a flat back four but was often caught out and looked nervous in a back three, although his crossing ability hasn't diminished.

We'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that it might be a mixture of playing in an unfamiliar system and early season nerves, but at the moment he remains somewhat of a weak link at the back. He can improve, hopefully, but it still doesn't change my mind that we need another centre-half.

Overall, though, there was a lot to be impressed and optimistic about, as well as a few areas of worry, and there are much worse teams than a direct Colchester team, who played well on the counter. Once the squad start to gel, it could be interesting. Although we'll have to get that first win under our belt soon, as we're traditionally slow starters.

Next up is Ipswich in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, where we'll do well to get anything out of it. Hopefully we'll use it as an exercise in getting the squad to know each other better ahead of Dagenham away next weekend. Apparently they even have seats there these days.

HaL Man Of The Match: Richard Duffy. If Jones gave me kittens in defence, Duffy had me purring. Calm and controlled and never out of position, we needed his late tackles to keep us in the game. Possibly one of our most important players this season.

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The eve of the season

City's second League One campaign is nearly here and it's becoming increasingly hard not to squeal in excitement like a small child on Christmas Day. Obviously we don't do this because WE ARE MEN. But you get the idea.

And it's a strange eve of the season because for once City fans are both optimistic and hoping for a quiet season. It's been about eight years since we weren't involved in a promotion or relegation battle so going into the final month with not much to play for would be a welcome novelty.

Yes, it would be nice to be challenging for the playoffs, as some of our more optimistic fans think we might do. I'm not one of them, and I won't be calling for Paul Tisdale's head if we don't.

Nor will I be shouting for him to be sacked if we're pulled into a relegation battle. We're still a relatively small club in this division and, for all the great signings, there's still a possibility that it'll be another fight for survival.

But I don't think that will happen, unless skipper Matt Taylor gets sold or injures himself badly. We've got a decent defence but it's very much dependent on Taylor and Richard Duffy staying fit. Scot Bennett and Jack Furzer are good young prospects but may find themselves playing a bit more regularly than planned. Centre-half is the only place I'd like us to add one more player.

Other than that, our attack and midfield look miles better than last season. We have wingers in Jake Thomson, young Chris Shephard, and, at a push, Scott Goldbourne. David Noble seems a class above in midfield, while Nardiello and O'Flynn look to have plenty of goals in them. The jury's still out on 87-year-old Jamie Cureton, but I'm willing to give him a chance, and Tisdale clearly thinks he's important enough to sign.

Just reading that list of players back is cause for optimism. A comfortable 12th - 15th is probably around where I'd expect and hope us to finish.

So, Colchester tomorrow at the Park. Excited? You bet I am. YOU REDS.

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