NEWS
27 February 2005
I'm really not sure what to make of Sao Paulo 1 Corinthians 1. On the surface of it, we're a team hopelessly out of form. The early season verve isn't there, people are complaining about entertainment (whatever that is), and even one or two have called for DA's head, presumably out of frustration.
And yet, we are still 11 points clear at the top of the table, getting through a tricky period with our lead and unbeaten run intact (last league game we lost was Whyteleafe on New Years Day). Granted, we're being helped by Horsham not capitalising on our slip ups, but to an outsider the major league bitching seems unwarranted.
Basically, we cannot kill teams off. We should have killed off CC yesterday, but didn't. There's an air of jadedness about. I think the motivation to win has gone out of the team. Two reasons for this - firstly, it seems like we feel we've got promotion already. Or at least expecting to get promotion in the next game. Instead of going at 100% we're only going at 70%. True, when the need to motor arises, we go up the proverbial gear - yesterday, when it was 1-1 we put a lot of pressure on CC and with an extra 10 minutes would have won it. For now, we are cruising.
Remember how the 78 match run became an albatross before we actually achieved it? Or last season, when it got agonising waiting for that Walton Casuals game (the importance of that game only came clear when we found out Wallies lost that morning). I can't help feeling that awaiting promotion is the same sort of thing we're going through right now
Secondly, here's a real point to ponder. Perhaps half our squad aren't interested now? DA has publically stated that there will be major changes for next season. Thinking about it, if you know you're one of these players, why would you put in the hard graft only to be elbowed out afterwards? DA himself reportedly said something yesterday about his inspirational HT talk, or lack of it. Does make me wonder what harm it would do to put some reserve players in, unless they too know they're soon for the chop...
In short, are we in that horrible Catch-22 situation where we're too good for the R1 yet not good enough for the RP?
Oh, and in case anyone is complaining about lack of goal description, RB headed us ahead before they crossed in low for everyone bar their scorer to miss. Happy?
Anyway...
Plus points: Well, we didn't lose. Fully on top first half. Went up a gear when we knew the game was running out of time.
Minus points: Didn't win either. Defence asleep. Lethargy for most of the second half. Unable to get killer second goal.
The referee's a.....: Affectionately known as a "fucking fat cunt", he booked our player for being felled in the penalty area. Considered to be biased towards CC, a charge not exactly unfair when you consider he did look like he was about to join in their goal celebrations.
Them: Should be chucked out of the R1 simply for that kit alone. Pink and chocolate would give anyone with a history of neurological problems an aneurysm. Other than that, they grew in confidence the more it went on, and probably should have scored again. Like all teams, and like most AFCW fans seem to forget, they went up 50% purely by playing us.
Point to ponder: Molesey next week could be interesting, and I don't just mean how to park there. It's probably our most vital match of the season simply because we need a morale boosting whipping of an opposition. A good five-niller where they're lucky to get nil. Once we went out of the FA Cup and Trophy, I really wasn't bothered with cup competitions - beating Palace will be nice but it won't change our lives that much. For this season, I want promotion, I'm not that desperate for another cup final appearance...
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Hearing Axel F being played over the PA when RB scored. Since when did we become Middlesbrough? (2) Wondering after the game how the team in second place did. First time I've felt the need to know since probably the start of AFCW. We really are another club now. (3) Decided to go in the John Smiths stand for a change. I needed a nap and knew that I wouldn't be disturbed....
Anything else? OK, let's deal with this "entertainment" lark. I actually enjoyed yesterday. No, the game wasn't special. Or was it? The home team started off brightly, the away side got back into it, could have snatched a win before the home team piled on the pressure at the end. I've seen worse games. I'm not too sure what people expect - this was no worse than Slough v Yeading was in the FAC this year. And that got on MOTD. I've said it before, and feel it's worth repeating - step out of the AFCW bubble once in a while. Go to an ordinary R1, or even RP (or Conf South) game and tell me that AFCW games are significantly worse.
As far as football watching goes, when I want to watch good, high quality skill and excitement, I put on La Liga every Saturday and Sunday evening. Tonight on Eurosport, I can put on Inter v A3 Milan, which will probably whip the arse of all Prem games put together for technical quality. When I watch AFCW I expect different things. Dare I say, more realistic things? Too many of our fans are fast becoming the football purists we had to endure during the 1980s - "this is the way the game is meant to be played"....
So, was it worth it? A point is a point.
In a nutshell: Wonder how many people will buy the End Of Season DVD?
23 February 2005
Oh dear. Men 4 Boys 2. If you were to look up the phrase "game of two halves" in the dictionary, you'd see stills of this game. Yes, we went 2-0 ahead. Yes, Cooper's goal was excellently headed in. But when we let in a goal 30 seconds after the restart, we were finished. We were incapable of witholding a Slough onslaught (or should that be onslought?), and I really feared it could have been 6-2 or 7-2.
Am I being unduly harsh? I'm not. The truth is, our first half display was misleading. If we're going to be any good at the RP level, we're going to have to reproduce the best bits of the first half all throughout the game. Not just in patches. Slough hit the bar at 0-0, and plenty of people thought it was in. Indeed, one SW19 reader said to me even when we were 1-0 up, "they're all over us"...
It's now obvious that there will be another wholesale change in the squad. Last night proved quite painfully that with the exception of a couple, this squad isn't good enough. This was their best chance to prove they could hack it next season, and it's obvious they couldn't. It's not a one-off either, it had scary hallmarks of Hendon. In the past, I believed a lot of our current rutness was down to our players playing at too low a level for their abilities. Now, I'm not so sure, although I am still a fan of DA and don't believe his signings are as bad as some believe. That said, it does seem like the remaining CCL era players may be collecting their pink slips...
Plenty won't like yet another mass change in the squad, and while there aren't the (at times over-bearing) emotional attachments to the current squad as there was with the CCL lot, it'll be another period of upheaval. The alternative though is unthinkable - I didn't see the Ks match but even Dover away was harder than it ought to have been. And looking at their league positions, we would be facing relegation if we went up. I'll leave you to work out the damage going down would do to AFCW.
We'll be bought down to earth next season anyway. While we probably won't play people like Yeading and Slough, we will be playing teams who are more bankrolled than we are. We'll be facing teams who perhaps aren't in awe of our crowd sizes or reputation. Games this season have shown what happens when a team is fitter, hungrier than we are. The team is generally in a comfort zone at the moment, we're 12 points clear at the top and that's all that matters. And yes, it's ironic that we're doomongering despite this gap. Think it's called looking ahead. As last night proved, we've forgotten how to battle.
Don't get me wrong, we have injuries at the moment. We have Matt E sidelined after all. But that misses the point - our squad isn't in-depth enough to soften the blow of the top players. We really need to be in a position where somebody like Matt E comes in as a backup, not as the main man. After all, that's why teams like Yeading do so well. Put it this way - we considered beating Dover a big achievement, not an expected result.
As a club, as a fanbase, we've just got too accustomed to winning, in poor leagues as well. We won the CCL double last season, barring a fuckup we should win the R1. We've got used to Championship t-shirts, mugs etc. And it will be a huge comedown for people when we play somebody like Billericay (are they in the RP?) and lose 4-1.
I honestly thought that this season would be our consolidation period. Obviously that wasn't true, so I'll readjust my prediction to next season. I suspect there won't be a massive change in our playing budget next season though, as AFCW clearly doesn't want to pay the sort of wages Fisher dish out. For a little while, that will probably be no bad thing, but eventually we will have to. If we don't, we'll end up like Glasgow Celtic post-Seville - big crowds, small money. And this club can't afford to underachieve.
Or in other words, I think the AFCW merchandise department can safely forget about the "Ryman Premier Champions 2005/06" DVD idea.
Sorry to vent, here's....
Plus points: Well, we did go 2-0 up. Not having extra time.
Minus points: The second half. Lots of the first half. Defence went to sleep. Shooting went to pot. Seemed like rabbits in headlights when we conceded the first goal. All round collapse in self-belief and ability.
The referee's a....: Described as quite a strong referee by a Slough fan next to me in the tea bar queue. Bit too strong, if the reaction by our fans was anything to go by.
Them: You can see why they beat Walsall this season in the FAC. They knew how to be physical and legal with it. Like Thurrock, they showed us that they had more on-field nous. The way they came back from 2-0 down at half time and just wiped the floor with us is a lesson we will have to learn how to do ourselves soon.
Weather with you: Probably the coldest night of the year, though the game never looked in doubt. The crowd was low, but considering all the circumstances (Clapham Junction being closed didn't help) it was quite good. Couple of snow flurries, which in the UK is guaranteed to bring the whole country to a halt.
Point to ponder: When was the last time an opposition team ripped us open like that?
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) The PA's choice of music was the sort of stuff that you get on AOR stations in places like Cincinnati. Only thing missing was Bob Seger. (2) Some good chants - "You've got David Brent in goal", and "You all work in a Mars bar factory". "You're supposed to be in Slough" was a bit hypocritical though.
Anything else? Not really. Jailbait behind the tea bar looked right filthy though. And here was me thinking that Windsor was poshe...
So, was it worth it? In hindsight, I really wished the game was off.
In a nutshell: Oh, who wants to win something called the Bryco Cup? Stupid tournament...
19 February 2005
This probably won't be the most comprehensive, in-depth report of Saxons 1 Normans 1 you'll ever read, a mixture of a crap journey back and me not being online enough tomorrow will scupper that
Firstly, the important stuff. They scored with a very good free kick. It wasn't that much of a game, Hastings were very defensive and we weren't into it that much either. I thought the longer it went on the more likely we were to score, and so it proved. It was bloody cold, there were 1834 people there, and Hastings decided that it would be fun to make your editor queue up twice to get a cup of tea. Even more hilarious when I was moved to another serving area, being told there was tea and finding out there wasn't....
Now, the bit
which is really pissing me off this evening. We came close to another
Coney Hall type fiasco. Here's the craic : Hastings is known for its
ned population (for those of you unfamiliar with Glaswegian, a "ned"
stands for Non Educated Delinquent. It's SW19's preferred term for
chav as it's a bit more accurate in description). And needless to
say, said inbred populace was out in force for our visit. Hastings
Town decided in their infinite greed wisdom to sell alcohol
on very open sale, a la Coney Hall. Now, ned + alcohol is a dangerous
mix..
I felt a little bit perturbed in the first half. We were giving our usual banter and the home fans were showing a distinct lack of humour. So, they replied with the usual MK chants, which got treated to the "Wombles going up/Franchise going down" singalong. I think that's the best way of replying to it, it's a seriously good way of neutralising the opposition's chief windup at us. It's not as though we'll never hear it again.
I found myself down the other end in the second half, and after we scored I saw a mass of stewards and coppers rush in. I really don't know exactly what happened, but I expect the neds got too mouthy for their own good. Speaking to somebody at AFCW, it seems that the Met Police had warned Hastings about the rammifications of selling alcohol openly, especially with the inbreds that infest their town. Needless to say, it was ignored, but the local police did CCTV a group of neds throughout the whole game. Good of them.
Few thoughts. Firstly, it's clear that whatever happens, somebody will put some unwarranted blame on us. We got the blame over Coney Hall. Yes, we have a few mouthy idiots who get a bit drunk, but I can say that hardly any of our fans are as remotely backwards as those supporting the opposition today. Remember, we have taken as many people away all over the place as we did today without even a hint of trouble. Only three major problems I can think of were CH, AFC Wallingford and today. For a club with our away following, that is worth waving ones' genetalia about.
Secondly, for ignoring the warnings alone, I sincerely hope that Hastings Town lose all their profits today with a hefty police bill. Remember, they did try and stiff us for admission prices before common sense prevailed. Trouble is, clubs get too greedy when they see us coming, and the thing is, we get too wise to it and plan accordingly. Clubs who treat us well always seem to do better in the long run. Ask Walton Casuals and Merstham.
Thirdly, Hastings neds. Like all of the chav underclass, they love to mouth off when they're a safe 50 yards away. Walking out, I saw four grown up pikeys doing the MK stuff, all from the safety of their (no doubt stolen) car. No doubt when they're following their real club to Old Trafford - let's face it, they ain't regular Hastings fans - they're the ones doing the "Munich 58" chants complete with aeroplane mimicking. Also, I didn't hear it myself, but they were apparently happy to mouth racist abuse to their own players....
Two more things : why did we come out to an old TOTP theme tune? And why were QPR fans there, complete with flag....?
Normal service resumed Tuesday
13 February 2005
There was something CCLish about Top 3 Bottom 0. Whether it was the windy weather, the comprehensive stuffing of a team out of their depth against us, or even me walking into the ground at 2.55pm and wondering why it wasn't fuller, I don't know. But after games like T&M, Levvured etc, it was nice to step back for one Saturday at least and remind ourselves when we really did think that we would conquer all (what do you mean, we still think like that?)
You won't be surprised to know that once again I missed the first goal, I really wish that the hAE tea bar wasn't blocked out by the Main Stand. One does feel the club does not have its priorities right, and all steps must be taken to relocate said teabar into a more suitable place. Berrylands sewage works, perhaps? Just as well I missed it, I think the sight of the very much maligned Jon Barrie-Bates scoring may have caused a fatal shock to the system.
I did see Andrew Martin get the second goal, headering in from a well delivered ball into the box. First time that Jesus has ever liked a cross. For the second time in about 2 weeks, the PA played Depeche Mode, though this time it was "Personal Jesus". Bit of a delayed reaction in playing it though, even now I have visions of Phillo scrabbling around for the right tune in amongst his Kiss FM CDs. Comparisons between this and Radio Jackie's normal modus operandi are to be discouraged.
Apart from that, not a lot else really happened. Oh yeah, Leon MacDowell scored. I went home after that, read the NLP today and you'll know why. Needless to say, I missed the first AFCW sending off in eons...
So...
Plus points: We win. Without conceeding. Comprehensive stuffing. JB-B had best game in shirt.
Minus points: Injuries. Ryan Gray's utter petulance.
The referee's a....: Have to be honest, I hardly noticed him, except for his tattoos. Or was that dirt? That said, I think his laissez faire approach may have been a contribution to certain incidents...
Them: Went out to make a name for themselves and ended up doing serious damage in a literal sense. I expect a team down the bottom to scrap, especially when they're about to play in front of probably their biggest crowd ever. Unfortunately for us, they looked at videos of bare knuckle boxing, cock fighting, CZW and Southall to get them in the mood. Apparently, Jesus got fed up of saving the sick and tried to damage one of their players, though with everything going on before, perhaps Croydon should see that as a sign from God.
Snap, crackle and pop: Deliberately left out mentioning Jay Conroy. Basically, it's very possible he may never play again. It appears that either his ankle or - worse - his shin is fucked. When you spend 5 minutes being treated then have to be carted away in an ambulance, that ain't good. I hope that JC likes Kingston Hospital's food, it will be his pre-match meal for a while.
Point to ponder: Already people are talking about when, not if, we get promoted. Even picking what game they want to see the R1 title lifted (T&M away sounds a favoured fixture). OK, I think the most tricky run is over, and unlike Arsenal we appear to have survived the unbeaten-run-losing comedown. But please remember everyone, this ain't the CCL. We can still come unstuck. While the confidence is more or less there, with our injured list anything can still happen. Let's not turn into another club that plays in blue that is based in SW London.
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Hearing SW19 described as having an "endearing quality". Quite. (2) Bloody hell it was windy. (3) Hearing Mud's "Tiger Feet" on the PA. Why? (4) Second half so exciting, a major discussion on cloud formation was being had. As those Sky News ads with Ian McCaskill say, "You've just missed a bit of autostratus"..
Anything else? About 50-100 people went to that open meeting. Which doesn't sound a lot but considering that participation in AFCW has noticably slumped isn't too bad. No, I wasn't there, these meetings seem to be full of the sort of people who read the Independent and vote Lib Dem. And looks like they were out in force, as apparently a good 20 minutes was given over to the Champagne Song. Nice to see a prevailing sense of perspective amongst the opinion formers - perhaps this sort of thing is exactly why DT election turnouts are 17%, and Open Meetings are about as well attended as a Franchise game...
Perhaps slightly more relevant to AFCW's wellbeing was the thorny issue of money. Again, working on second hand info, but the rub is: bank loan of £500k, presumably to do to Khosla what Ks have finally done. Possibly looking at grants to do things like roof the Disabled Section, 5 year season tickets and - probably most contentious of all - raising admission prices. Can't see why AFCW really needs to raise the cost of entry, it's only going to raise money from those without STs but turn up regularly. Most people who are committed enough to part with money will have STs anyway, and £9 for a RP (hopefully) side or £9 for a Conf South side nearby ain't going to attract too many neutrals...
So, was it worth it? Urm, probably
In a nutshell: Are we there yet?
5 February 2005
I'm not really too sure what to make of Head of Leather 1 Head of Hair 1. On the one hand, it was yet another OK-but-nothing-more performance. On the other hand, we're still oodles of points clear and playing in conditions that could easily have reduced our points lead down quite significantly. I don't think we've gone that extra gear simply because we don't need to.
As for the game,
it's quite standard copy at the moment. Andrew Martin - who, thanks
to his mullet bohemian style of hair will now be known as Jesus
- started and was actually quite impressive. Not so impressive was
their first goal. Basically, they had a free kick from 30 yards out,
and it went in. Those who missed Cray's first goal on Tuesday were
treated to an action replay. This sort of thing seems to be happening
quite a bit recently, us going a goal down. We should be used to it
by now, especially some of the comebacks in the CCL we've done.
We seemed to do OK after that, but for some reason I couldn't see us scoring. Then came the divine intervention : Jesus got fouled, or fell over, in the box (he was certainly crucified when the cross came up), the ref gave a penalty and up stepped Ryan Gray to show RU how it's done. Mr Ursell was warming up at the time, for some reason he ignored the "that's how to take a penalty" comments....
Apart from Andrew Martin being replaced by Rob Ursell - I won't do the "Jesus replaced by God" comment as you've heard it a zillion times already - the game sort of petered out to a draw. OK, we put some pressure on and they did a little. But apart from a goaline clearance that looked like it went in (which was Levvured's best effort), that was, well, that. It wasn't bad, but right now, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of major challenges for us this season. Apart from winning the league, of course.
Got all that? Good.
Plus points: We didn't lose. Good debut by Jesus, great in the air. Still kept looking for that winning goal. Appeared to be a much more positive attitude from the crowd - then again, a funeral was more positive than Bashley.
Minus points: We didn't win. Bit lethargic in defence. Ginge played shite.
The referee's a....: Remember Stephen Cook from the CCL? He was that young kid who did the refereeing for some of our games. Well, it was him. And the higher he goes up the refereeing scale, the duller his senses become. Managed to miss a rather nasty challenge on one of our players, despite it being right in front of him. The Premiershit beckons for him. Wasn't helped by the lino, who looked like his 10 year old brother whose mum cut his hair in the dark.
Them: Apparently, the fans were well up for this game, and they certainly tried to play their part. Apart from their FA Cup jaunts in the past, I'm sure they've been higher than the R1. And I always have liked Levvured's kit. Their players must have been on a high after beating Yeading - as in the team who only lost 2-0 to Newk - in the week. The town of Leatherhead is a bit pointless though, it's neither a small hamlet a la Cobham nor a busy shopping street like Fleet. It's like Morden without the character or smell of piss.
AWOL: Mr D Anderson, reportedly away because of a "family commitment" in Manchester. Probably got tickets for Man U v Brum and didn't want anyone to know. Doubt if his absence would have stopped the professional moaners though. Incidentally, his half time team talk on Tuesday wasn't a bawlathon as one might expect, which does make me wonder if our current manager has a far better idea of man management than certain ex-managers of our club. Why does a former Forest and Luton boss spring to mind?
Point to ponder: I'm sure that our heading was better with the introduction of the Son of God today. When he went off, I don't think we won half the headers we should have. Put it another way - if we, the fans, get a lift from certain players playing well, what's to stop the team having the same boost?
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Your editor being detoured coming out of the ground and having to head to.... Cobham. You'll be pleased to know the football ground looks the same as before. (2) Some "interesting" smelling smoke around in the second half. And some people deliberately inhale that foul smelling shit. What is up with the human race? (3) Seem to play at Levvured's ground more times than KM sometimes. Thankfully, things at AFCW were a little less fraught than the last time we played at that ground...
Anything else? Here's one for you, and a thought I had whilst waiting to get out, in my car listening to Radio Dive Live. Somehow, today felt like a "proper" game. It was a league game, it was quite close, you didn't really know who was going to win, it felt a bit competitive and afterwards you walked out thinking thoughts about football. Like "proper" fans do. I've missed having those sort of feelings after the game, I never really felt like that at SP because we were always transplanted and you just knew WFC were up to something that would ruin your weekend. Also, for one reason or another, it's taken me a while to have it at AFCW. I've missed being a proper football fan, I think we deserve a lifetime of hassle-free footy watching. After all, we're owed it.
So, was it worth it? Might have been.
In a nutshell: Praise the Lord.
2 February 2005
I'm sure you can find a sexual metaphor to describe Stay-at-homes 3 Wanderers 2. Me, I'm going to stick to the theory of life I have that the best things are preceded by the worst things. Which is precisely what this game was. With the exception of one guy I know who described the game as "fucking awful", just about everyone was in orgasmic pleasure at the performance.
Well, the second half performance anyway. First half was fast turning into Bashley mark 2. Well, it wasn't quite like that, we weren't playing badly, but Cray unleashed a 30 yarder which must have been one of the best goals seen at KM for a while. And you could have been forgiven for thinking that it was deja vu all over again
I'm sure DA's
wallpaper stripping HT talks must be getting quite predictable by
now, but even so, the way we came back in the second half was something
else. We levelled thanks to the ref (see below) and Ryan Gray, and
the Womble elite masses were building up to a creccendo of
passion, noise and certain victory.
Well, almost. They went up the other end and scored. Basically, our defence fell asleep and our fans went into the proverbial stunned silence. Somebody dropped a pin and was arrested for creating a loud noise. But we dusted ourselves down, picked ourselves up and got it back to 2-2. You could sense that Cray were beginning to lose it, and the oncoming Rob Ursell finished matters to make it 3-2. Cue mass orgy, and cue your editor getting the most enjoyment he's had for ages....
Anyway, moving on...
Plus points: Coming back. Winning. Far superior performance to Saturday (not saying much, granted). John Barrie-Bates playing well. Pushing forward for the fourth goal even when the game was sewn up.
Minus points: First half. Going behind twice.
The referee's a....: Replacement for Wendy Toms - yup, that one - and was a replacement for having a qualified official. To sum up his performance : we equalised from a free kick which was awarded after the ref ran into one of our players. You read that right. I know the ref is part of the field of play, but the only thick immobile piece of wood you have on a field is usually the goalpost.
Incidentally, last time I can remember Ms Toms officiating one of our games was away to Coventry. Where your humble/esteemed editor got in quite severe trouble from some people for suggesting that she should stick her flag where the sun does shine.
Them: I can see why they ended our long unbeaten run and are looking good in 5th place. Seemed pacy, organised, possible dark horse to go up this year. Their #10 did a rather, ahem, over-zealous tackle though. Got booked, which is just as well. If he'd been a burglar, he would have been shot*
* - read the news.
Point to ponder: Made this comment last night, which wasn't treated with much derision. I am sure we play better in front of crowds of 700 than 3000. It was relatively pressure free and I think it showed. There was no unwarranted moaning at 1-0 down, then 2-1 down, and had the crowd been what it was against Bashley, we would have lost. QED. Obviously, the AFCW moneymen would prefer 3k crowds, but I can't help feeling that it will need a boot to the head - perhaps literally - to some factions to get some sort of perspective back. Quite simply the level of expectation at AFCW right now is crippling. As somebody said to me last night, "I love evening cup games". They have a point..
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) How bad was that rain in the first half? (2) Hearing Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" over the PA. Thank fuck it wasn't "Master and Servant". (3) Hearing JBB's name over the tannoy and a massive groan from the crowd. Worrying thing was, it was in the back bar. (4) Speaking of the bars, the Guinness is still too bloody cold. And expensive. I rarely drink at games now, only the odd evening game I can get to. Really don't think I'm missing much...
Anything else? Yeah. Why the higher than usual representation of the chavette at the game last night? Usual boob tube-puffa parker-tight trouser combo, complete with tied back hair, excessive nicotine habit, docker level of speech and painful Estuary dialect. Walking round in groups of three, expect them to be contributing to the gene pool within the next two years. Were they catering? Would explain the greasy chips. Away fans? Half time entertainment?
So, was it worth it? If Saturday was the virus then last night was the penicillin.
In a nutshell: Now, when's the draw?