NEWS
21 December 2005
Well, I wasn't going to do a writeup about Robbers 0 Cops 1, and I'm still not ;) Having listened to/read some of the post match comments, there are a few random thoughts going around in my head..
Firstly, who really, really gave a shit last night? Not just those on the field - any of us. I know for a fact that a lot of people around me were seriously hoping that the game didn't go into extra time. Not because of a fear of losing it, but because they wanted to get home/warm. Contrast this to the St Albans game where you were wanting just a couple more minutes. No, the team didn't show much passion, but we weren't exactly up for it.
We have not suddenly become a bad team in the space of four days. The FAT may have been a false dawn, but we certainly aren't relegation candidates either. Despite last night, I do think we're good enough for the playoffs.
Unfortunately, we've done exactly what the England cricket team have done post-Ashes in Pakistan. It's taken the shine - and belief - off the back of Saturday. Hopefully not fatally. I'm not joking when I say that I would have preferred the result to have said AFCW 0 HFC WO last night.
I'd rather we give 110% to the league. Put in for as much as you can for the FAC or FAT. Nice proper cup run in a proper cup does wonders. Elsewhere? Be honest, we don't need these sort of games. Tactics are being called into question, yet at the same time we only get one training session per week because of last night's encounters. QED.
I'm not going to start calling for DA's head, because I simply cannot see the point. Is there anyone better? Is there any other manager who wouldn't chop and change the team? Is there anyone who would be happy to cope with Conference level pressure without Conference level wages? His reaction last night on the OS was practically the same as everyone else's, and I'd be far more worried if it was "we played well". True, it's his job to motivate players, but he didn't have a job to get them up for St Albans. Or H&R. Or Fisher. I'm sure you can suss a pattern here....
It's all about expectation. While I hate the "happy to have a club" mentality (reminds me of the "happy to just survive in the Premiership" mantra which ultimately fucked us up), it does have a point. We are due a relatively bad season. We don't quite have the strength in depth that maybe we should have. Though I wouldn't expect us to quite be there in our first "proper" league.
Last night wasn't anything I haven't seen before in 20+ years of Dons watching. And will see again in the next 20 years. Anyone who remembers Simod Cups, or Full Members Cups, or the graveyard rounds of the League cups will know what I mean. I'd be more worried if that level of performance happened consistently in the league, and even during our poor run, we weren't that bad. Pick our worst performances out from this campaign and I bet they're mostly in cup competitions.
One other thing that has grabbed me about these sort of cups. Everyone keeps saying that they like the cup finals at Woking. OK, fair enough, they're nice to win and all that. But remember last season? It didn't really have the same vibe as the first cup final (like the CCL seasons, it was a culmination of many things that you'll never re-create). Would another SSC appearance spring people into life? Doubt it. In fact, like many things, it will have a slightly depressing air of routine about it.....
So the moral of this story is, don't slit your wrists over this. Shit happens. Besides, who wants to win something called "Westview" anyway?
Inwards and upwards....
Plus points: Shite.
Minus points: Shite.
The referee's a.....: Shite. Well, he wasn't, but you know what I mean.
Them: Not as shite as us
Three's a crowd: Disinterested shite.
Point to ponder: Was that shite or was that shite?
Truth is stranger
than fiction: (1) Shite. (2) Anyone notice how shite that was? (3) Reading
reports of other pointless lesser known yet still less valid cup competitions
that we've been in, it's worthy to note that they were as shite as last night.
Anything else? Shite. No, serious comment this time. The tea is back to a "normal" 70p, so we can start buying it again. Obviously the SW19 condemnation worked :) While my original points about prices/quality at AFCW still stand - do we really charge £80 for a Matalan quality tracksuit? - it's nice to see that there is a limit to how much we're prepared to pay for stuff. Even if the profits goes back to the club. Lesson learnt, methinks. Out of interest, how can you "mistakingly" put the price up to £1.....?
So, was it worth it? Shite.
In a nutshell: Shite.
And finally: Got this far? You're brave. Or desperate. Basically, from now until about Slough Town at KM I will be at two games at most. TBH I haven't decided on the immediate future of this site yet, though I have a fair idea what's going to happen. Best to sign up for the mailing list and find out first ;)
18 December 2005
It's practically 24 hours after the event, and I'm not quite sure how to approach Dr Alban 2 St Alban 3. Part of me is very pissed off, because up until Barry Moore's well taken goal (sic), we were wiping our cocks over them. Seriously. We needed the early goal in the second half, we got it - and as anyone who reads today's NLP will know, I still don't think it's a penalty (although the truth was, I could barely see whether it was in or out) and for a moment, we stepped back into the Plough Lane era of giantkilling.
Part of me feels relieved. At least I won't have to make a mad dash on Tuesday from Hounslow to St Albans. And besides, we can concentrate on the league.
But the main part of me is feeling something I haven't felt for ages with this club : confidence. We have now proven to ourselves that we can hold our own in the Conference South. Apart from their attack and our very makeshift defence, there was hardly any difference between us and them. They certainly didn't show the nous that Thurrock showed against us - perhaps we're a lot better than we give ourselves credit for?
If we're being honest, you can file this season under "disappointing". Unless you're basing it on the W&H debacle, when "rancid llama spunk" would be a more accurate description. Quite simply, we haven't got going. For ever H&R/Fisher match, there's an ETU, or a Worthing. Or a Leyton. It's as though we've been in a rut, and have lost a lot of our self-belief that we can get into the playoffs. Yesterday, you could sense that apprehension had been lifted.
I've said recently that we needed a big game more than ever. While yesterday wasn't quite the massive Aldershot-esque fixture we all wanted, it may have done us a favour. We shouldn't be in the RP (says he requiring Pickfords to move his extremely large genitalia). Yesterday proved that to me more than ever - perhaps more importantly, it proved it to our squad.
Fed up of the positivity yet? Good...
Plus points: Battled like fuck. Coming back after conceding. RB. Proving we can mix it with higher placed teams.
Minus points: We lost. Barry Moore's defensive clearances. Michael Harvey's attempts to get sent off (see below)
The referee's a....: OK then. What sexual acts do you think she performs to be allowed on the refereeing register? You may select any three from spitting, swallowing, DP, gangbang, lesbian, bukkake, usage of rope, whips or chains. Quite simply the worst excuse ever for a refereeing performance, rivalling only that of Mr Fish (G&G) and the guy who did our 3-0 defeat at Bradford in the Prem. Typical PE teacher type individual, reportedly quite rude to people before the game. Incidentally, I have nothing against female referees. It's just that they have a habit of tripping over their pinnies.
Point to ponder: Michael Harvey. I know he has some supporters about, but am I the only person who hopes this jumped up McDonalds cleaner fucks off ASAP? His play may have improved a little bit recently, but at times yesterday he was a serious liability. Even though she was a complete bitch, snarling at the referee is one thing (and spitting at her afterwards is very clever). Snarling at opposition players when you're on a yellow is another. And so is snarling at your own players when they fail to make a pass to you. No wonder he got arrested for assaulting that copper. Yes, we know that he (allegedly) got racially abused yesterday. But as somebody high up tellingly put it afterwards, it's funny how it only seems to happen to Harvey......
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) I'm sure there was more than 1900 there. Either somebody at the matchday takings department can't count or our capacity is a lot smaller than 4500. There's probably an explanation for this, but it doesn't stop people getting suspicious. (2) Aren't those new AFCW wooly gloves just like the old ones you got at PL? (3) Witnessing a well known Womble have a, cough, discussion with two members of the St Albans board during the game. Honestly, how can we expect kids to behave at games when the adults don't? ;) (4) An SW19 reader revealing that they had a winning Golden Goal ticket - player 9, minute 25. There was one problem - they found out the ticket was bought at the Wealdstone game......
Anything else? Didn't get to sample it, but I hear that the tea has now gone up to £1. Not 60p, not even 70p, but one of your English pounds. I have no idea who's idea it was - the caterers or AFCW - but it's a surefire way to piss people off. So you get a slightly bigger cup and a bit more water. Well, excuse me for being somewhat ungrateful, but the tea isn't that good. It is only worth 50p at best, and you only tend to drink it when you're cold and thirsty. What's the betting that people will sneak off to Fatboys for their half time cuppa? Cue slightly patronising "it's our club" type comments.
It's all very well trying to justify it by saying that 20% goes to the club, but if you're making prices prohibitive, you ain't going to get the money anyway. I'll only buy tea now if I'm really gasping, so in essence the club have lost revenue already. Unfortunately, it does seem to be an increasing trend at AFCW to put prices up and ignore the quality. Witness ticket prices and the programme. We should bear this in mind next time AFCW accuses other teams of being greedy at our expense...
So, was it worth it? It will be if it means we go on a 20 game unbeaten run.
In a nutshell: Bet we play shit on Boxing Day.
14 December 2005
Games like Soot 3 Ash 2 are always horrible affairs. Nobody is really that interested in them, the chance for an upset is very real and you do consider yourself unlucky if any of your players hobble off injured..
It's pointless trying to make too much of the result, the performance etc. We're through, and even when we went 2-1 down we never really looked in danger. Do you really think that our players - flu or not - are going to put 110% into these sort of games when St Albans is a mere couple of days away?
As it was, it was pretty much routine. We scored through SS, then they scored. Then they scored again. We woke up, scored back thanks to DP and finally took the lead courtesy of Nas Richardson. Who, as sure as day follows night, got injured soon afterwards. I'm sure we're cursed. Oh, and we hit the woodwork about three times.
Anyway...
Plus points: Well, we won I suppose. The two debutants didn't look too bad.
Minus points: Flu. Nas going off.
The referee's a......: *scrabbles through notes*. Nope, can't find anything recriminating at all on him. Damn.
Them: Ah, I'd forgotten about them. Didn't they act a bit arsey with us when we first played them? Still got a horrible kit. Good to, er, hear the mad Ash fan still outyelling everyone else. I bet the Ash manager must want to deck him sometimes, especially as he apparently stands behind the dugouts each game.
Point to ponder: Plenty (OK, a couple) of people are trying to make something of the fact that we scraped through against a CCL side last night. Let's look at the evidence : this was not a full strength team. It was not a team that needed to go at full pelt. In fact, I reckon that we were probably going at 70% yet still looked comfortable. Even though Ash were seriously up for it, there was nothing there to suggest that we couldn't go up a gear. Perhaps our team is a bit better than what some of our fans think? Look at how many decent teams struggle in early cup rounds....
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Did my ears deceive me or was that the Champagne Song being sung last night? Christ, things must have been bad. All that was missing was some anti Charles Koppout material. (2) This was as close to a CCL game as we've had since we left the division. We all know deep down it was a shite level, but if you ever wonder what would have happened had we'd stayed there, last night was proof. Our crowds would be around the 600 mark, certainly no more than 1000 at best. The level of play would have slumped, the level of boredom would have skyrocketed. Somehow, the CCL doesn't seem quite as romantic as before...
Anything else? Interesting to receive in the post a letter from Keith McGuinness, the new Commercial Executive. Especially the relaunch of the Dons Directory (the fact it's being relaunched seems to say it wasn't that big a success). It's the usual upbeat stuff which you would expect from any commercial department, and the appointment is one of the most important ones ever made. It's a long held belief of mine that commercial operations will have as much influence in the running of AFCW as the DT, and if/when we get in the Conference or even CS, probably more so. That said, I'm worried about the "my efforts will match those of the team" comment. Hopefully not the same effort shown in the first half...
So, was it worth it? The brevity of this report and the amount of caffine needed to write it will answer the question.
In a nutshell: Ash United, Ash Ash United...
12 December 2005
Another game, another match report not by me. Don't worry, I will be there tomorrow...
There was something
bewildering about Sprouts 2 Greens 1. At 3.45pm the sun was
shining in the Meadow of Kings after 2,693 souls had witnessed a thoroughly
enjoyable display of attractive football only occasionally seen so far this
season. A Butleresque drive from Harvey and a 3-yard tap in from Butler himself
(the keeper proving it is the season of good will by spilling the ball onto
Rich's toe) had given us a deserved 2-0 lead and everyone a warm glow. The
murmurings on the Tempest Terrace at half time were of how many we would go
on to score such was nature of the
performance.
Unfortunately, Hendon decided to start playing in the 2nd half and if it wasn't for the lightning reactions of big Andy Little, the score line could have been quite different.
There was certainly a feeling that for only the 3rd time this season (H&R
away and Fi$her at home being the others) that we raised our game. Unfortunately
we didn't do it for the whole 90.
Plus Points: 3 points and revenge for that defeat last season. Chris Gell. Has without doubt added that certain steel in midfield that York failed to provide. Smeltz putting Cooper on his arse. The Christmas Ale was very tasty!
Minus Points: Not getting the 3rd and going onto convincingly thrash them as we should have.
The referee's
a...: With large tattoos on each forearm Mr PT McCaul of St Ives looked
like a scouse docker you wouldn't like to mess with and for 45 minutes he
controlled the game with exemplary efficiency. His half time
orange must have been soaked in gin because he came out for the 2nd half and
completely lost the plot. Why he never sent Cooper off after he attempted
to kick Butler over the hoardings and into the tea bar I will never know.
9 out 10 for first half: 1 out of 10 for second half
Them: Pretty average TBH. Cooper got a bit of stick (rightly so), Campbell didn't play and Crace came on late so that will give you an indication of the quality (sic) in their squad. We made them look better than they were.
Truth is stranger than fiction: I wondered what Frank Bough was up to these days; running the line in the RPL. Is it me or do you get the feeling that our more vocal supporters have become less inventive when it comes to songs/ chants. Last year the banter at the Dover and Hastings away games in particular were hilarious. We must have some budding lyricists amongst our fan base?
So was it worth it?: The first half was. Could have had an extra hour in the bar
In a nutshell: Pistachios!
8 December 2005
Another welcome match report from the SW19 international media bureau. Incidentally, if you want to join such a highly regarded (?) organisation, please don't hesitate to get on the mailing list
Anyway, here's the Wingate report....
As it was my 250th game
in a row, REPD pissed me off (SW19 note: hey, you offered...) gave
me the honour of reporting on Half Inch(ley) 3 Robbed 2.
Now, we weren’t robbed as such but, had we fielded a stronger side,
we would have comfortably won and now be looking forward to a home quarter
final against Tooting and Mitcham. And that pisses me off.
Okay, so I knew that we would be fielding an under strength side, and it looks like the youngsters playing will need to strengthen up a bit themselves if they had any dreams of making an impact in the first team this season, and I knew that our record in this competition isn’t amazing, but apparently this was our ‘first team’ county cup competition this year, i.e. taking it as seriously as we did in the Surrey last season.
I might have been listening to completely the wrong people about this but, if true, we should have been able to put out a stronger side and saved playing all these non first-teamers for when we played Ash next week.
A brief look at the sides left in the competition* would have made anyone feel confident that we could have gone all the way and won it at Bromley… actually, fuck it, well done Dave for putting out a weak side.
*Disclaimer: I haven’t actually looked at the teams left in the competition but they’re probably rubbish.
Anyway, enough with that garbage and on with the stuff you really want to read about…
Plus Points: Beasant, Paris, Connery and King looked half descent but need quite a few more ‘adult’ games before they’ll be able to make a real impact on the first team.
Minus Points: Losing. Waiting fucking ages for a tube home. Freezing.
The Referee’s a: Cunt? He stopped the game at every chance he got, failed to let Niall Connery come back on after treatment for at least a minute and denied us probably two good penalty shouts in the first half. At least he pulled his hamstring before the start of extra time.
Them: Cunts? Well, that’s what their goalkeeper said to our chav fans behind the goal after saving a pen that the referee did give. Gave the finger to them as well. Nice bloke.
Truth is stranger than fiction: After about five minutes they had a net-busting shot. Literally. It took a step ladder and a 4 minute delay to fix it after the 4’ groundsman ran out and realised he couldn’t reach the top of the post to reattach the net to the goal frame.
So, was it worth it: Only for Harvey’s cross which fell on Smeltz’s head. Great goal.
In a nutshell: At least we can now concentrate on the League. And the FA Trophy. And the Surrey Senior Cup. And the Ryman League Cup.
3 December 2005
Surely nothing could have been worse today than enduring Northwest Orient 0 Leyton Orient 0? Oh wait, Franchise won in the FAC and now they're in the third round. Watch them get a tie against Chelski now. All the lifelong Frenzies will come out to support "their" team, Wankelmann will get his deformed mugshot on the telly and everyone will be jacking off up there proving to themselves just what a good idea it all was and how this sort of thing will be de rigeur in the future. Cunts.
I would suggest that they all contract bird flu, but then they'll probably get a load of sympathy for getting it. Instead, let's just pray they get Sheff Weds and lose 3-0 in front of 20 people.
Enough of that. I think this game managed to start off poorly, level off at the middle and the less said about the end the better. I'm going through my notes and I'm struggling to find much of note that didn't involve the sending off. This was bad. This had all the hallmarks of those Plough Lane era games against somebody like Coventry. It had 0-0 written all over it, and then some.
So what of this sending off? Well, I sort of missed it (I was jotting down stuff), but it appeared that there was a strong tackle, a bit of afters - no real surprise there - then suddenly Gell was seen trudging back with a rather cartoonish huff on his face. Still trying to work out if it was something said, or not, but looks like we weren't exactly chuffed. Or to quote an SW19 reader, "I'm glad I'm not stewarding today, because I wouldn't be able to call him a fucking twat". About the ref, I hasten to add.
Still, it looks increasingly likely that we'll be plying our trade in this division next season at this rate. And while you wait for that, here's...
Plus points: Well, we didn't lose I suppose.
Minus points: 3pm-4.50pm. Gell's sending off. Barn door/banjo misalignment from our strikers.
The referee's a.......: Jebem ti sonse. Nasisaj mi se kite. Ne postoyi veche sranye nego ti. Ja ti jebem mamicu. Idi jebi svoga tatu u supak jebeno govno jedno. Da Bog da te majka u cevapu prepoznala. In future, I think I should get this site to write my match reports. Really can't repeat the phrase I have involving a horse though...
Them: Came to do a job, and did it well. That is, if their employment contract stated that they were to fall down like they've been shot at by Iraqi militants. Reportedly a couple of their players gave each other a knowing handshake after Gelly's sending off. Narky little fucks, and utterly shite with it, which makes the game even more of a frustration. Incidentally, anyone else see their #7 get extremely riled up when somebody from the Main Stand threw a ball at him? Shame it didn't kick off, would have livened the game up.
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) The Main Standing singing. Twice. Next, I suppose we'll be seeing Peter Crouch scoring at least one goal at Anfield. (2) Who the fuck is Wesley Beckles? (3) One of the wannabe AFCW Baby Squad was ejected by two coppers. Enough has been written about the less than exemplary behaviour from a small minority of our fans (and let's not get too carried away - it IS a small minority), but it does seem clear that the net is closing in a bit on them. Let's see how much of the floor is wiped with them when they meet the fifth string of Millwall's top boys...
Anything else? Yeah - why is the DT silent auction offering a family admission ticket to the Chelski museum/tour? Or a Spurz one? Or four tix for a Sahfehnd game?
So, was it worth it? Er...
In a nutshell: Roll on Xmas.
1 December 2005
Yes, I know that it's two days after we blunted the Darts (sorry), but I did warn you that updates may be a bit more sporadic at the moment ;)
Actually, having a few days to reflect isn't such a bad thing. As you probably all know by now, we made a little bit of hard work of it in Tuesday, though trying to ape the worst excesses TB-era football in places didn't help. The sense of relief after RB scored in the 87th minute said more than anything.
But hey, we're through. And as the world and his mistress knows, we've got a home tie against St Albans, who as I type this are sitting a lowly, er, top of the Conf South. Now, when you get into the first round proper (and doesn't that sound nice?), you want a good draw. I'm sure plenty were hoping for an Aldershot, or a Woking, or even Sutton. And while we've got a good side to deal with, you can't help thinking some people are slightly disappointed.
Let's not kid ourselves here, St Allbran should whip our arses. You don't get to the top of your table by being shite (OK, there may be the odd exception to this rule, like H&R). As the Thurrock game a couple of years ago proved, CS is a much more sophisticated level. The players have a lot of nous (Thurrock outsmarted us I seem to remember) and there is that level of sharpness that no RP team has.
That said, the FAT is a strange tournament. A cursory glance at the FAT website shows that Grays, Hednesford and Burscough were the last three winners, so it does show that standard of play isn't that much of a guide. Ask Uxbridge. Better still, ask Sutton. And unlike the FA Cup* the Trophy is a genuinely unpredictable tournament.
* - I have to say, these days the FAC is a seriously over-rated competititon. You could take any of the top 7 clubs in the Prem and get at least three semi-finalists. It's clearly lost its lustre. Of course, if we ever get into the first round proper, all such thoughts will be conveniently forgotten.
The need of a "big" tie to get people salivating again has been delayed. No disrespect to St Allbran at all, but I wonder how many people really knew what level they were without looking it up? I get the impression they're more excited about coming to us, when it should be the other way round. I doubt if we'll get 3k, more like 2.5k at best. Fixtures on the weekend before Xmas are always a pain in the soil vent..
Elsewhere, and just as a trial basis, if you check the front page, I've now put up a mailing list. At least this way I don't have to keep telling people when the next update will be :)