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NEWS
26 April 2007
For some inexplicable reason, I feel the urge to put fingers to keyboard. I don't know whether it's because Xav Wiggins is now on the Peterborough board (and IMO we missed a great opportunity when he didn't get on the DT board) or Saturday's game, but I'm so fidgety right now that if I put my hands in my pockets I'll get done for lewd conduct.
In effect, it's the Playoff Quarter final. You know the drill by now. Win and it's guaranteed. Lose and we're out. If we get the inevitable draw in a shit game with precious little skill and retarded tactics, we're relying on Hendon to trip up Margate.
It's now pointless waxing lyrical about the 3 point deduction, or the outright refusal of our team to win games. That's all in the past. What matters now is that period of time on Saturday in a field in Essex. I've no doubt it will be a fraught day, especially if we're not winning early on. Those with Hendon/Margate connections will be bugging Claremont Road for anything, even if a player farts. And I bet the ETU tannoy bloke won't read out the scores as they go in.
This all said, I don't think it's really sunk in how big Saturday is. Christ, this season seems to have gone so quickly, although not necessarily for the right reasons. It is quite conceivable that come 5pm in two days time, our season will be over. Gone. Kaput. The recriminations will start at about 5.01pm, and that's only because we'll have taken a minute to draw breath. It will mean a radical overhaul of the on-field department, and time will tell if that's a good thing.
Why isn't there such
a buildup right now? I think it's because deep down, we're expecting the worst.
Let's face it, this past season month hasn't exactly been awe inspiring.
You can predict how the game is going to go even at this early stage : loads
of aimless hoofing, difficult pitch, hostile opponents giving it 200% more
than usual. It will be a struggle simply because that's the mindset we're
in right now.
A win will be treated as a massive bonus. Christ, even three passes put together is considered a result right now. Confidence ain't exactly sky high. And yet, and yet, and yet........ there is this niggling little pocket of optimism that feels out of place in the body of negativity. Somehow, you're kind of convinced it will be all right in the end. Perhaps there is reason to be less than suicidal? It's still in our hands, we've played badly and lost points and yet could still finish a decent fourth. When they're not calling us cheats and blaming us for every single ill in the league, fans of other Ryman clubs think we've got the luck this season. Perhaps we have?
Perhaps there is one last hurrah left this season? We haven't had a massive barnstormer since about Tonbridge away. And that was in February. Since then, we've been ground down in one way, shape or form. Or to be more accurate, we've sucked dick since we left the poshe part of Kent. Even the post-Appeal wins haven't been on a par with the games earlier this season. Maybe it's time for that sort of cavalier, devil-may-care swashbuckling performance to come through again? If you're going to put on a three-game winning streak, there'll never be a better time to do it.
The trouble is, you can't really see it happening. Whenever you get a twinge that all will be well, you put on DonsOnline and look at Swifts last week. Just as winning becomes a habit, so does putting in horseshit performances. Can we really raise our game for ETU? If we can, are we capable of building on it for the biggest week of the season? Remember, we'll be coming at it from a less-than-impressive set of games, and it'll be very hard to turn that around quick.
If truth be told, I'm unsure how to approach Saturday. I'm expecting a lot, but at the same time I'm expecting nothing if that makes sense. Mind you, this season hasn't really made sense either. Somehow though, and as unexplainable as it is, we'll be taking to the field again next week.
Satan help me if I'm wrong....
22 April 2007
In a way, I'm thankful I wasn't there yesterday. It's getting really difficult to write the same stuff week in, week out right now. Fortunately, one of the SW19 bureau (thanx JP) came up trumps. My comments afterwards.
Heading out to the match I absent-mindedly grabbed the only ‘jumper’ I have on the go. Ironically it was my hooded sweatshirt, bought at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The logo on it was poignant:
“Failure is not an option” (Gene Kranz, Flight Director NASA)
It recalls the Apollo XIII rescue operation in the American Space programme
and though today we didn’t fail, nor did we succeed. We did what we
always seem to do in big games like this – under perform.
Truthfully, Apollo 1 Soyuz 1 was to be expected. The two meanest defences in the league with their striking prowess blunted by injury, non-availability and transfer dealings suggested anyone with a Golden Goal ticket of Player 1 or 2, Minute 87, 88, 89, 90 might feel excited.
Yet you hoped for more. News on arrival was Dsane was in the dressing room at 1215h; the glorious day was bringing out the large support we craved as 12th man; Margate (the match we had to watch) had as tricky a tie against Ashford Town (Mx) who were fighting possible relegation; and the team selection encouraging with Roscoe starting; Wales on the wing; Gell in midfield; and Goddard, O’Leary and Shroooooot (the boy wonder) all on the bench. Only Butler S at the back was a slight disappointment as Howard was injured.
But then it all went wrong. We lost the toss. And you know what happened.
Yep, play towards the Tempest End first half. Shit. Ok, mad to think it really matters but we DO play better that way, and exceptionally so in a second half. So my trepidation turned slightly to fear when on 5 mins Heybridge’s No 3 hit as sweet a 25-yard free kick as we have seen this season over the wall past AL’s at his near post. Either AL won’t want to watch it on DonsOnline or something was wrong – our players and bench went ape-shit after but I don’t know why.
Suddenly, already, we were chasing the game, not something we are renowned for at home. Fair do’s we upped the tempo immediately but it just seemed up the football into the air for a game of head tennis. High ball after high ball to the diminutive Dsane wasn’t bearing fruit and, I was just noting down whether playing Dsane from the off was the right idea when he created the penalty.
For once a teasing high ball just over the defender’s head by Garrard saw Roscoe 3 yards on side suddenly then 2 yards beyond the defender who kindly took him down. 1-1 from the penalty spot. Surprisingly just a yellow for the last defender (see ref comment below)
So onward we pressed. A bit more head tennis but we were slowly getting to grips, starting to really play a bit on the deck with 35 mins on the clock, and creating the odd half chance or panic in the Swifts defence.
But then - for not the first time this season - half time got in the way and destroyed, in effect, any chance we had to win the game.
For in the second half, if truth be told, it was like two toothless tigers scrapping over a bone that neither of them would be able to eat even if they managed to get hold of it for more than a second (possession was at a premium for either side).
The ball was forever in the air and what was worse was going down the middle (why not the channels as normal, guys?) feeding the big centre backs. Hope of a change in tactics came when Shoot replaced a slightly off form Wales; O’Leary replaced the defensive Gell; and Goddard took over from the cramped up Dsane. Yet for that all we had was a long-range shot from Garrard and a speculative drive by Shroot over the bar. You just wondered though, if Shroot had taken that last free kick just outside the area, what might have been with the week he’d had? Maybe, just maybe it might have been one of those amazing twists of fate.
So the season ends at KM as it started - an unsatisfying draw. We didn’t win, we didn’t lose.
The draws are what have killed us again this season for converting just a few would have meant us challenging H&R for the title. Perhaps those who champion we should go for it more are right but we will never know. What is apparent is today the team did try but lacked the guile to get through a well-marshalled defence.
It did make me wonder if Jolly’s absence had more to do with HS worrying about his ability to embarrass them than anything to do with the agreements. You just felt we needed his ability there today on the pitch when he got the ball. But then again he isn’t much taller than Dsane is he?
Plus points: We didn’t lose. Effort from the players. Butler & Lorraine superb. Margate drawing. Crowd over 3300 takes home average gate over 3K
Minus Points: Not winning. No ability at keeping the ball below 6ft when “passing”. No ‘chicks’ at the game.
The Referee’s a …: Generally had a good game except he bottled the sending off (the penalty) My ref assessor friend said: “Last man. No one else was going to get there, were they? Straight red. He bottled it.” The other odd thing was he seemed to give 8 straight free kicks to Heybridge at the beginning of the first half, then gave us 8 at the start of the second. Spooky.
Them: Big, physical with an occasional flash of skill. Another team set up NOT to lose rather than win. Can see why people said without Jolly they’d struggle to score. Apart from the No 3’s strike don’t think they had a serious shot on goal. Mind you nor did we.
Competitor watch: Thankfully, Margate only drew, though it was better that they were losing at half time. H&R will wrap up the title on Tuesday if they beat Heybridge at home, after their 0-3 win at Leyton. The other crunch match was Bromley v Billericay that saw Bromley home 1-0. Chelmsford snuck home only 0-4 at doomed Slough.
So that means the best we can achieve now if results go our way is 3rd. Us, or Billericay I think are the only two now who could lose out to Margate (who are away at Hendon). Billericay are at home to Leyton and we’re at ETU.
Point to ponder: Are our players such automatons that once they get out on the pitch any instruction etc HAS to come from the bench? We’ve a lot of experienced players out there (both league and non-league) yet when things don’t seem to be working no one has the balls to try and force a different style of play. The substitutions had some impact on our style of play but surely someone could have seen before then things weren’t working the way they should. A manager does his job in the dressing room; the players have to do it on the pitch.
Truth is stranger than fiction: 1) Apparently God is 80 years old this year. According to Vincent Jones, the late lamented Syd Neal, who died at the age of 84, was 4 years older than God. Nice minute silence for Syd impeccably observed. 2) Do ‘minute silences’ upset the build-up before the game starts, ‘chilling the atmosphere?’ 3) Was the man of the match award to DA a token of thanks, or sarcasm? 4) That it will be ETU who decide the fate of our season again like last year (for those with short memories the late late win over them ensured we had the chance to make the playoffs)
Anything else: How we could have used a few of those ‘excess’ goals against Slough in recent matches.
So was it worth it? Well it’s still in our hands though I think we’d all feel better not having to go to East Thurrock knowing we really need to win. But hey, this was what we fought for in 2002 and 2007 wasn’t it?
In a nutshell: To quote our esteemed Ray Armfield: “Do you realise that could be the last competitive match we see here for 4 months?” Over to you DA.
My €0.02 worth. The worst thing about this result (when I received it as a text message at 5.05pm yesterday) was how predictable it was. I said to myself "I bet we scored first and let it slip". Reading what happened, it could have been much much worse. Thank Satan for RDS, otherwise the KM pitch would have to be sealed off for blood contamination
We're still in a shout of not only getting into the playoffs but still with all possibility of finishing third (with not one but two KM games). The big problem is that right now, nobody really feels it. Hands up those who think ETU will beat us next week? More than a couple. Hmm. It's hard to share some peoples' optimism that somehow it will all turn out right in the end : by the sound of it, we've actually got worse.
While everyone wants out of here ASAP, there's also a feel that we just want the season over with, and give it another shot next year. Events since January have taken a lot out of people, and a summer to recharge ourselves looks really quite attractive right now. It must be the hot weather.
What's hurt most of all is that when we got it reduced to 3 points, we didn't kick on and annhilate everyone in sight. For the first time, the majority (or very large minority) don't want DA around next season. Another season like this will seriously test peoples' enthusiasm, and AFCW can't afford that. Recent results have reflected too many games in the past two seasons, and the joke is starting to wear thin very quickly.
DA's tenure seems to be winding down, and it will take the miracle of winning the playoff final to boost it up again. I read about slanging matches between our bench and people in the JS, and DA's post-match comments that he'd quit if we didn't go up are highly, highly significant. It was the first (semi) public statement that he knew his job was on the line.
The bottom line is that we shouldn't be scraping in the playoffs on the last weekend of the season. Last season I thought we were lucky to be in them, yet still secured them with a game to go. This time I think we've got the better squad, and had the better individual results (Chelmsford, Bromley, the FAT games) but on paper we've got worse.
Chances are we probably will be in the playoffs, and chances are we'll end up getting through to the final. But christ, it shouldn't feel like a chore....
20 April 2007
I'm updating the site now as it's pretty unlikely I'll be at the Swifts game tomorrow. Earmarked to cover Stevenage vs Exeter if you care. But it's yet another cup final and yet another game that looks easy on paper and difficult on grass.
First things first. As sure as night follows day, we're a bit short on the striking front at the wrong time of the season. DG is gone (big mistake IMO). So is PB (not such a big loss TBH). RDS is still looking after his sick dad, RB is still injured from Staines and we can't play Richard Jolly. Which leaves us basically with Fergie, Steve Wales and Goddard. Or to put it another way, three strikers with varying degrees of form. How wonderful.
Actually, I say that, but I did see Robin Shroot in one of my very rare reserve team games last Monday. And yes, he was pretty good. But would playing him be too much of a gamble? Especially if he was put on from the start and played badly? Might be worth slinging on the bench anyway, especially if it's 0-0 with twenty minutes left. Mind you, on previous form, DA will probably put him on with 30 seconds left.
Am I being unfair? Probably. What this season has proved is that when we need to produce a result, we usually do. It's worth remembering that of those games we consider failures (BW away, Staines at KM, Worthing games etc etc) we didn't actually lose them. It's just that they felt like losses.
We could just about get away with a draw IF Margate lose or draw to Ashford. That's a monumental "if", on a scale comparible with Peter Wankelmann's delusion. But that would mean completely no margin for error at ETU next week, and I don't think anyone would want to handle that. Not only that, but should Chelmsford win tomorrow, we'll be scraping around for fifth place, which in many ways would be a disappointment.
In all likelyhood, a win tomorrow won't settle the playoffs. It will however leave certain other teams bricking themselves as well. I guess most of us are expecting H&R to win the league, even they can't blow it. Can they? If the unthinkable happened and Chelmsford lost (or even drew) to Slough, they could be in real trouble. Especially if us and Margate won. As I said last week, we could still get automatic promotion if the results went our way. Of course, we'll then be accused of match-fixing by the other Ryman clubs should that happen. But then, they call us cheats if we breathe outwards a bit too quickly.
The absolute bottom line is that it's 3 points or nothing tomorrow. Get that, and somebody else will slip up. It may not seem it right now, especially looking at the table, but it is still in our own hands. And if truth be told, it always was. As said many a time, this league has at least one more twist to come.
So, what's the mood like? People are clearly nervous, but there's no feeling of dread that I felt before BW, Staines and H&R. That's probably because there is no turning back now. We know that our only threat is Margate, which makes things a bit easier in many ways. I guess apprehension has been soothed a little bit by comments from our players this week. Here's what Chris Gell said in the local Guardian this week:
"I have to admit I was blowing a bit at the end (of Folkstone). I was on my last legs but the supporters got me through it. Hearing them cheer us on until the end kept me going. I was knackered but I didn't want to tell the boss - I didn't want to come off. The fans were our 12th man. They have stuck by us this season and we owe them one".
And here's Andy Little.
"The save (last week) is only important if we go on and win promotion. Hopefully, we can look back at it come the end of the season and say it was an important save that helped us go up but, right now, it doesn't mean an awful lot."
It's good to read that the players know they owe us one. It's a good time to remind everyone of the hard work plenty put in to get the Appeal in our favour. And also it's worth reminding just how pissed off everyone was after BW and Staines. After Folkestone, I wonder if the players themselves knew what the state of play was?
Tomorrow will see how serious we are about going up. It'll be a very difficult game, probably harder than Folkestone. There's massive pressure to win, but also to perform well too. Win tomorrow, no matter how ugly, and people will accept it but probably not much more than that. Win and play well, and the mood will lift at the right time. Tomorrow will be a time for somebody to step up and make a hero of themselves. We haven't had the season-defining image yet (even Jolly's winner last week was more like wanking than an orgasm), and we're due something on those lines.
By 5pm tomorrow, it could all be over for now. But something tells me that it won't...
14 April 2007
If we're plying our trade in the Conference South (or whatever they're going to call it) next season, make a note of 4.27pm on the 14th April 2007. For when Andy Little dived low to his left following a penalty at that time, AFCW took one look at the abyss it was heading towards, stepped back and thought to itself, "fuck that".
Melodramatic opening? Well, I probably should call this Michael Howard 0 David Cameron 1, but I think Performance 0 Result 1 is more apt. It wasn't so much that we were bad (at least in the second half), but this was the three pointer of the season. Just image how you would be feeling right now had it been a draw. Or indeed, a loss. You couldn't pick yourself up, certainly. You'd look back at the various games we dropped points and mutter "If only..."
As it is though, we didn't secure our playoff position today, but we didn't surrender it either. Looking at the table right now, we are three points off automatic promotion. IF we win our next two games, and IF Bromley and Ricky draw their game on Saturday and IF they lose their final game, and IF H&R choke and IF..... you get the idea. It's that close.
If we weren't in this dogfight, you'd be glued to every Ryman game for the next two weeks with excitement (and not the brown pants most of us have right now). Bromley vs Ricky should really be moved to Sunday and shown on Sky. It'll whip the arse of Watford vs Pompey anyway. Could we be out of it ourselves? Yes. And so can anyone there. By the end of April, Bromley could be out of the playoffs altogether. They're top right now. If Chelmsford don't get their act together, they too could slip out. And wouldn't that be funny?
The brutal truth is, we have to win our next two games. That's how it was when we got the points reduction, that's how it was last week, and let's face it, it'll go down to the last game of the season. You could snarl that had we filled the ITC in correctly we'd be top. Actually, I consider that a red herring - the games we should have won but didn't are why we're fifth rather than certain champions.
A lot has been written about DA's future this week, and if we're being honest, it's still up for debate. He now has four games to save his job, today was still a stay of execution. Repeat this for the next four games and he's safe. Although I suspect half our crowd will either need Grecian 2000, emergency nail surgery or CPR if that was the case.
The game? I think the rather shite first half was down to anxiety of our players and a pitch that was pretty much akin to a Spanish fourth division stadium. With slightly more sand that is. Second half though was a different kettle of haddock. Whether it was because we knew that Margate were stuffing Chelmsford or not, I don't know, but suddenly we harried and hustled.
The trouble was, with our recent form there was always that niggling doubt that it wasn't going to happen. Certainly when Frankie went for a header down, missed it and went off injured. I won't say we've suddenly become a bad side, but instead we've become a nervous side. One with even a bit of self-doubt. Dare I go so far as to suggest lack of confidence in winning a game?
Anyway, Folkestone got into it, and they got a penalty. Now, this is where my first paragraph needs repeating. I was ready to write the obituary of AFCW's season as their player strolled to do his run-up. This was a season defining moment, and no hyperbole either. Andy Little may have made the most important save of the season when he got down low to his left and palmed it away.
Why? Well, when that happened, you just knew we were going to win. It was that moment of relief when something went our way. The anxiety really did lift then - you could sense that things were on the up. We started playing a lot freer, we looked far more composed and confident and that translated off the field as well. When Jolly netted about 5 minutes later, it was on a par with winning the playoffs.
Nobody is getting carried away, unsurprisingly. We still need four points at the barest of bare minimums, and in all likelyhood the team that doesn't win on the last day of the season will be the one out of the playoffs. We do need a push though, and that means everybody pushing. Constantly complaining about how we play may make you feel superior, but it won't get us promoted.
Meanwhile...
Plus points: We win. Away. Clean sheet. Could have scored a couple more. Andy Little. Steve Wales.
Minus points: Still far too edgy/nervy.
The referee's a.........: Clearly didn't get his "bonus" from the Ryman as he refereed quite fairly. By the sounds of it, he did "misinterpret" the penalty...
Them: How can you not love a place that is having a striptease evening in their function room? Time for KM to do similar, methinks. As for the rest of it, they battled hard I guess. One of the more enjoyable clubs to visit, certainly. Their player sent off was a bit of a dick for doing it....
Point to ponder: First half behind the goal saw a lot of people moaning like fuck and us playing not very good. Second half, the people behind the goal got behind the side a lot and we were playing much better. QED
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Two full coaches, and a little coach as well with the old WFSC Executive Coach lot as well. Wonder if they stopped in a pub outside Raynes Park for three hours beforehand? (2) What utterly crap music from the PA system. I think half of it was a Lieutenant Pigeon tribute band and the other was about 13 different versions of the Proclaimer's "500 Miles". I'm sure they played a Spanish flamenco version of that song....
Anything else? I heard a couple of complaints about it today, although this is more of a general point. It's to do with the terrace coaches, the ones that are always giving out tactics like they're the new Alex Ferguson. The sort who have annoyed me for many a year. Basically, if they actually knew 1% as much as they think they do, they wouldn't be standing on a crumbling terrace in non league. They would instead be employed as an actual manager working with actual players and earning actual money.
Quick reality check: Championship Manager is a computer game heavily watered down to make it playable to the masses. Every manager ever employed at this level and above has had a lot better experience at what actually goes on in a serious team than what they ever will. If pro footballers like Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson (and even Peter Withe) flopped as managers, so would they. The guy who plenty are slating for tactics has played professionally for Glentoran and has played for Wolves and Sheff Utd youth. Three non-tinpot outfits. I think he has far more idea of what he's doing than a frustrated bigmouth does, somehow...
So, was it worth it? Yes.
In a nutshell: It's better to win ugly than lose beautifully
9 April 2007
(disclaimer: the editor was in a foul mood when he wrote this report. SW19 reserves the right to change its mind in due course)
I could excuse the Boreham Wood game ending like it did. But right now, after Skidmarks 1 Staines 1, I can't justify this. The second must-win game in three days and we yet again failed to get the three points.
Why? Why can't we fucking kill teams off? Why does our defence shit itself every time an opposition player gets within about 10 feet of our area? Are our defence taking bribes not to keep any clean sheets? Would explain a lot if so. Why was Steve Wales on the bench? Why is that cock Ryan Peters wearing an AFCW shirt?
When we got the FA appeal in our favour, I really thought that would be it. I really thought we would put the shits up the rest of the division. I really expected the charge of a lifetime that would propel us upwards. Know what I see now? I see a bottle job. I see a bunch of chokers. I see a team that had the opportunity of a lifetime and didn't take it. Right now, I see a team that has blown it.
Let's face it, unless we see an upturn of biblical proportions, we're heading out of the playoffs. Not that we deserve to be in them right now. If you can't hold onto a one goal lead after two minutes and build on that - AT HOME - you ain't good enough. And we haven't been good enough all season.
Do our players want to go up? If so, why the fuck do they give the fucking thing away every fucking time? I would cope with it once or twice, but you go through all the games we've been leading and ended up with one point at most. That's not a side with character. That's a bottle job.
Look at the table. Look at the fucking table. We are now ONE point away from going out of the playoffs altogether. And wouldn't the tinpots just love that? Just imagine Turdey beating his viagra-powered dick to a pulp at our expense? Just imagine another season of everyone blaming us for every single ill in the Ryman, then fleecing us at the same time. Sickening, I agree. We shouldn't be scraping into the playoffs, but we are.
"But we lost 3 points and if we didn't lose the three points we'll still be up there and...." Shut the fuck up. Losing 3 points isn't a reason for us doing badly, it's an excuse. And excuses are what you make when you haven't got anything else to defend yourself with. OK, BW was trickier than many people realise, but today was must win. Today was guaranteed 3 points. Genuine playoff contenders don't throw away leads like we did today. Genuine playoff contenders don't play like a bunch of retards in defence. Genuine playoff contenders win when it matters. Right now, we ain't genuine playoff contenders.
The fact is, I'm resigned to life in this poxy drinking club league for next season. And it will only get worse. I expect the refereeing "performance" today to be de rigeur next season. I expect everything we do to be scrutinised to the nth degree for something - anything - that will get us in trouble. Unannounced ground inspection, anyone? You know it and I know it.
I can cope with us getting in the playoffs, playing well and losing if it came down to it. I can just about cope if we got there and played badly - these things happen. But I definitely can't cope with us throwing our chance of scraping in away. And with it in our own hands is quite simply unforgivable. If that's the case, it's bye bye DA and bye bye half this squad. And I'm not sure if I would want any of them to stick around.
And then what? The players have a good number here, they get to play in front of crowds that you would expect to find in League Two. I bet they ain't poor thanks to our pockets. They can be heroes if they want to be. They are at a club which has got more exposure than most of non-league put together. I hope every single AFCW player reads these next few sentences. If you fail to take us up, you will be gone. And you will be back in front of crowds of 400. And you may be picking up a nice wodge of cash but you won't get the atmosphere, the passion for the club, and all the other trappings. And then you'll realise what you had and threw away. Many of us worked our fucking bollocks off to make sure you still had a chance of Conference South this season. Right now, we feel that it's been slung back in our faces. That is unforgivable.
If DA wants to be manager next season, he has five games to save his job. Not three (think about it). If the players want to enjoy performing in front of crowds of 2.5k next season, they know what to do. And it ain't what they did today or against Boreham Wood.
Folkestone have an easy game next week, all they need to do is wait for us to go one up and then sit back until we gift them the point(s). You don't need to be a Malaysian businessman to predict that one. When Folkestone take points off us next week, and when Margate overtake us for the fifth spot, maybe then we'll twig just what we've thrown away. Maybe the team will realise just what this past couple of weeks has done. But then it will be too late. Far, far too late....
If you feel the need to read on, do so...
Plus points: I suppose we didn't actually lose (though it felt like it). Still hanging on in fifth.
Minus points: Two points dropped - nuff sed.
The referee's a.......: When you go thieving at your local Ryman tomorrow (because you sure as hell won't be contributing to their coffers) don't expect to find any brown envelopes in stock, put it that way.
Them: Gave us a little bit of a fright when they shot on goal after the first minute. We should have seen the warning signs then, and did we? Did we fuck. They weren't that good TBH, but I bet they couldn't believe their luck when we gave them the equaliser. Their goalie a twat, but he was clearly embarrased by having to wear a jumper with a duct-taped "1" on the back.
Point to ponder: Did RB's injury just encapsulate our season in a nutshell? Took ages to start up, flickers of brilliance and then gone. Although I've heard he might be all right now. So all is well and good. Probably.
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Two red hands taking penalties against a Womble on a football pitch. I don't do drugs but I might have drunk some LSD without realising. That didn't really happen, did it? (2) Speaking of red hands, what do you think the guys wearing the Tom Tom costumes will tell their grandchildren? It's not the sort of thing you'd wish to show them pictures of, are they? Could be worse, they could be the lame H&R chipmunk.
Anything else? Yeah. When I got to KM, I saw a rather large (and particularly aggressive) gentlemen having a major barney with a copper. After a bit of investigating, I discovered it was because he ignored the "Car Park Full" sign (and by the sound of it this isn't an isolated incident), tried to get in and .... well, you can guess the rest.
The point here is that said individual justifies his actions by using the "It's my club" line. In other words, because he's bought a DT share he thinks he can do what the fuck he likes. Well, if you're one of those sort of people, listen up : sell all your shares in AFCW because it doesn't. Buying shares in AFCW, and becoming an "owner" means that you have the right to contribute to general strategic direction and who sits on what boards.
It does not give you the right to ignore signs that you don't feel like obeying. If it says Car Park Full, and you don't have a special pass that is limited to players, officials and disabled, then you can't go in. Simple as that. If it says not to run onto the pitch, you don't run onto the pitch. Additionally, you do not get the right to pick the team. Buying shares in AFCW and becoming an owner does not give you a waiver to call volunteers "cunts" and generally act in a threatening, bullying manner.
If you can't accept those terms and conditions (also known as "responsibilities") perhaps you've mis-sold yourself as to what a shareholder actually means. Not what you think it means. And as for the fat cunt giving it all that because he didn't get his own way, he's a good reason for AFCW to sell up to an individual businessman...
So, was it worth it? Today, I stood in an area with a couple of impressionable youngsters and managed to keep my swearing down to a minimum. Then Steve Ferguson crossed for Richard Jolly to not get on the end of it, and all my hard work of trying to control tourets failed miserably. Hope the kids mothers don't mind. As for the game, ask me when I'm in a better mood.
In a nutshell: East Thurrock at KM last season this wasn't.........
7 April 2007
I'll be honest. I actually thought we'd lose today. Yes, I had that slight feeling I had before Hendon and H&R beforehand. Which is why I suppose I ought to be content at Elstree 0 Shepperton 0. Thing is, I am and I'm not.
I'm not content because this was a must-win game that we didn't win. Quite simply, we weren't good enough on the day. Too many passes frustrating didn't go where they wanted, too many moves broken down, too many offsides against us, too many panicky high balls, too slow to clear out of defence, and if we kept playing up until full time of a 3pm kickoff, we still wouldn't have scored. This was basically the last thing we needed and the first thing we got.
On the other hand, it's a point. If you're discounting automatic promotion now, it's one more point towards the playoffs which is effectively where we need to be at the end of this season. And it's not just us throwing it away. OK, Ricky won which sucks a bit. But who would have predicted Margate only drawing at Slough? Lest we forget about H&R who got a bit stuffed yesterday.
If we get in the playoffs, we need to win two games. Or to be more precise, we need to win two cup finals. Whether you finish a strong second or scrape in fifth, that's what you need to do. There's no real bye you can get, although securing home advantage is definitely an, er, advantage. And getting teams down to KM will certainly work in our favour, especially for an evening game.
At the end of the day, we haven't gone backwards from when we woke up this morning. It's just that we should have gone a little bit further forward...
So, enough analysis out of the way. Why the fuck did we revert to the AFCW of Horsham away, Hendon away, Ramsgutter away etc etc? Why did we look completely unrecognisable from the Slough game of last week, or the Leyton before that? Or certainly the Bromley or Chelmsford or Tonbridge away games?
The reason why I had a premotion about today was because we've seen it all before. I suppose last year we would have lost this game. This year we drew it, just like we drew Horsham and Worthing. Next year if we're in this division? Would be nice to think that, certainly.
The problem is that we're a Jeckyl/Hyde team. When we're good, we're very good and all that. The same as every other team in the top half of this division. If you're a neutral, you'll be gushing at how tight this league is and sigh lovingly at how this will go down to the wire. If you're a team actually in this dogfight, it's absolutely fucking frustrating. In many ways, we blew it today. We really could have put the shits up the rest of the division, but instead we fell into the same trap as everyone else. I've always said that at least one team will bottle it. I just hope it ain't us.
Am I being unfair? Probably. In the grand scheme of things, we probably weren't going to win five games on the trot. And this game was bound to be the most trickiest of the lot. It's away, against a team apparently one of the form sides, and us coming back off a confidence-boosting 9-0 victory. A recipe for disaster, basically.
What is now more must-win is Monday. It couldn't have come at a better time or venue, and will hopefully get the anxiety we saw today out of our system. If it doesn't, we won't win any playoffs as it'll show we've been bitten by the bottle beast (and try saying that after a few). This next month will certainly make or break the Anderson era.
The game? If I must....
Plus points: Everything in the third paragraph above.
Minus points: Everything in the second paragraph above
The referee's a......: God, he liked to blow a bit didn't he?
Them: To be fair, they were well organised and we couldn't cope. Still probably play about 30% above what they normally do. I don't recall the ground looking as reasonable as it did in 2002, although the Arsenil ladies play there so maybe that explains it. . Burgers didn't go down too well either (literally). Sour note (1)- group of BW fans were allegedly done for racist abuse towards one of our fans (I believe they've had their names taken etc). One of said group was also nicked for - wait for it - "exposing himself". I presume it was against women and children, though my bet is that he was waving it towards our male support hoping for a bit of business.
Sour note (2) - the pricing. £9 to get in, where you got a free programme (unless you were unlucky in which case they didn't). Usual price there - £8. Kids cost £6 - no idea if that's their normal price, but plenty pissed off at that. Reportedly the press pack had to pay £11 to get in, despite there being press passes organised beforehand. Trust me, that's how not to get good publicity. We charge kids about £3 and are top of the attendance league. Chelmsford did KFAQ yesterday and got an impressive 2k. BW are the third lowest attended side. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
Point to ponder: Do you think playing at 12.30pm had a lot to do with today? It seemed a very odd time to start, and if truth be told most early kickoff games are pretty shit. Seriously - can you name a daytime game that didn't kick off at the usual 3pm or 4pm which was any good?
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) BW players with rather wayward shots in warm up before the game. They kept thumping it past their right hand post. Sounds unusual until you find out that the kid standing there was wearing a WHU shirt. (2) One well known bookie on the nearby High Street were offering odds on our game. Hope they didn't lose too much money... (3) Was it me or did the first half really drag on?
Anything else? Yes, but not on the game. For about the first time in god knows how long, I actually took the train (not the tube) to a game. In ye olden days, I did it a fair bit but since we became non-league I simply haven't bothered. Anyway, that's not the point. What did strike me was how far and wide our support live. While plenty got on/off at Wimbledon, Haydons Road, Streatham etc, quite a few got off at Kentish Town, some at Herne Hill etc etc. Couple from Woking as well. I wonder if our fans are the most transient around? And what's the betting we get a chant someday of "Do you come from Wimbledon?"..
So, was it worth it? Not really worth an Easter weekend for.
In a nutshell: Two points gone....