What did we learn from Carlisle United's defeat to MK Dons?

1 PASSED A JOKE…

Last season a familiar theme developed where Carlisle United struggled to live with League One’s more refined passing teams – most of them in fact.

There was no sign on Saturday that the Blues have got much better at tempering those sides who are particularly progressive at moving the ball.

Mike Williamson’s teams are well-known for that style and, even though they had lost their first three games of 2024/25, there was no reservation in their attempt to remain true to their identity.

United were too often left chasing MK Dons' shadows (Image: Richard Parkes)

That was a problem for Carlisle – particularly once MK Dons got the encouragement of something they hadn’t previously enjoyed this season. The lead.

United were unable to frustrate their ball-hogging opponents for more than 18 minutes and, by the end, the statistics were stark as they illustrated the principles of one side and the contrasting efforts of the other.

MK Dons, the numbers say, passed the ball more than twice as often as United (654 passes to 319), yet Carlisle offered more ‘long passes’ than their opponents (73 to 63).

If there is more than one way to skin a cat, or the more politically correct modern equivalent, the pattern on early evidence seems to remain: that when Carlisle can set a game on more aggressive terms (eg Barrow), they can get on top. When it’s a more fluent footballing examination, concerns are unchanged and their more rudimentary offerings are duly exposed.

2 SQUARE PEGS

The Barrow game had been a good one for Ben Barclay. A surprising amount of Carlisle’s play actually went through the makeshift midfielder, and he did a good screening job in front of the defence. Some bright spark even responded by writing an entire column on the merits of such versatility ahead of the MK Dons game.

The limitations of the experiment, though, were exposed here and a side able to use the full space of the pitch, and pass the ball more fluently across it, was always more likely to make that a greater risk.

Whereas Barclay had himself passed tidily and efficiently against Barrow, United’s unfamiliarity with possession at Stadium MK had a steadily disrupting effect on even the basics.

It was all smiles for Charlie Wyke and Ben Barclay before the game - less so later (Image: Richard Parkes)

In Barclay’s case his passing accuracy was a very poor 36 per cent and his number of touches of the ball plummeted compared with the previous weekend.

MK Dons proved a far more intelligent collective than Barrow had been at Brunton Park and the idea of that extra defensive body offering security here was blown out of the water.

Had Simpson twisted, and selected a more attacking set-up from the start (Dominic Sadi, maybe, or Dan Butterworth), we will never know what the difference could have been.

Clearly that would have brought its own risks – and there is no way of saying it would have made United better or more secure.

But Plan A certainly didn’t work either and it does raise the question of how Carlisle better and more optimistically approach games such as this. Not that this defeat was simply down to Barclay individually; many of those in more familiar positions were well short of the necessary level too.

3 GOALS AGAINST

It’s a small sample size so far, admittedly, but shipping seven goals from your first three games (and those goals all coming in two of them) is plainly not a good look when you’ve already made a reputation for conceding in bulk.

Carlisle conceded 81 in their 46 league games last season and right now they’re averaging 2.33 per match a division down.

What was most concerning here was the Blues’ inability to limit danger in tricky periods, instead of allowing it to flourish in front of them.

United failed to make MK Dons sweat - the hosts scoring twice in quick succession to move into a position of comfort (Image: Richard Parkes)

MK Dons had several more threatening moments after their two first-half goals, which themselves were scored in the space of 13 minutes.

There are different aspects of the term ‘game-management’ and United’s inability to organise things away from their red zone, by whatever which way, suggested they were short of a certain steel on Saturday. Things got too loose, too easily.

Mike Williamson’s side were not yet this season in a state of comfort with the idea of leading or winning. Yet the idea of playing on the hosts’ nerves with a thin one-goal advantage never got the chance to develop. Carlisle failed to take the joy out of things for MK, failed to make them work or wait for their next treats.

This is another echo of last season, especially the second half of it, when United’s rivals scored and, all too quickly, scored again. The street wisdom, as well as the strategy and individual ability in this direction, was not on show at Stadium MK.

4 PATIENCE, PATIENCE...

It’s something that is waning aming the masses, clearly. Carlisle laid on defeat upon defeat in League One last season yet not often were they booed to the high heavens.

The full-time whistle on Saturday, though, brought the unmistakeable sound of many fans feeling they have given certain things enough leeway.

Evidently, a struggling run in League Two, after losing so often in the third tier, will not receive half as much tolerance as in 2023/24, when the challenges of stepping up, United’s summer recruitment difficulties and the ingrained respect for Simpson were all mitigating factors to many.

The Piataks recently declared their faith in Paul Simpson (Image: Richard Parkes)

However much some may still be conflicted, no piece of string is endlessly long and we now appear to be heading back to that place where another game appears to carry an uncomfortable amount of weight.

This is not a healthy place for a team, club or manager to be in for long. To have avoided it, United at least needed the sight of a constructive performance at Milton Keynes.

Instead they served up the kind of showing that invites the harsh spotlight again. So once more, the idea of Tranmere, next weekend, being just another game clashes against the more awkward reality.