NEWS

NOTE: Unless there are substantial sums of money involved, I do not give permission for other clubs to use my match reports in their match day programmes. Use your own bloody material

28 February 2009

I guess this is what the proverbial bad weekend feels like. Sucks, doesn't it?

Immediately after Hawks 0 Pigeons 0, and after hearing yet another late winner for the Axewounds, I felt not only like we'd lost, but suddenly dipped into third place and lost twelve points in the process. I've never seen people look so glum since, well, half time against Worcester last Tuesday.

Strange thing is, I don't think we played that badly today. At some point this was going to occur, and this at a place where you could justly say was a banana skin. That said, if Tom Davis had put his easier-to-score-than-miss effort about six foot lower, we wouldn't be having this post mortem. Or is it a post mortem? As I said, we didn't play badly, and it was only really down to the fatigue of Kedwell and Main today that got us just a point. It looked like Tuesday (and the couple of games before) had finally caught up with everyone else too - on and off the pitch. We really will appreciate this break until this time next week.

No, the real reason for all the doom and likely wrist-slitting is down to events in Worcestershire. Is it me or do the Axewound's late winners remind you of Chelmsford's late winners around the turn of the year? It was point out on here only last week I think : teams who constantly get late goals are lucky, not good. At some point, the late winners for the Axewounds will dry up. They did for us earlier in the season and they did for Chelmsford around the New Year.

This in itself wouldn't the cause of too much anguish, but they still have a game in hand this Tuesday, at home to Newport who just so happen to have a shite away record. So, by Tuesday evening, we can expect the points gap to be down to four. Or five if you count goal difference. What a difference a week could make, eh?

More I reflect on proceedings today, one thing does jump out more than anything : it's still in our own hands. In fact, it's still in our own hands as much as it was after Chelmsford, and Barf City, and H&Y, and.... you get the idea. What is certainly vital now is TB getting in somebody up front as cover, a fact he admits to here. Had we had a striker on the bench (as in, had Belal been more reliable), this game could have been won. Like AL's injury, it'll now force us to look for reinforcements. This could be a vital time of the season signing wise. It's a real shame there isn't a Marcus Gayle available who'll be ready to come down to us for one last stab at glory.

At the same time though, there's no point in getting a Grazioli in just for the sake of it. We must avoid panic-buying, it's a waste of money and can disrupt the team. I would hope we're phoning up Gillingham right now asking if Luis Cumbers fancies another run-out - he seemed to like playing for us. Failing that, how about a cheeky bit for Yaku from a certain team not too far away...?

I suppose I ought to write something about the game. Our passing got better in the second half, we looked lethargic at times. Some good defending. All in all, I'm not that upset by the result and performance, which says something quite profound. Dunno what though.....

Plus points: We didn't lose. Played decently enough. Clean sheet

Minus points: We didn't win. Gap at top narrows. Front two look knackered. Worcester City's defence.

The referee's a....: Spunk stain. I mean, he seemed to have this complete inability to play advantage (he did it on more than the odd occasion), and did love to give decisions against us....

Them: If they played like that every week, they really would be up there in the chasing pack. But they don't, and in all honesty I don't think they were quite the quality to be up at the top. Still, they took two points off us. Seemed a nice little ground as it goes, maybe their trip up to Anfield paid for it? Shame they forgot little things like additional toilets (when will football clubs realise that portaloos are NOT a suitable alternative for a proper bog?) No comment on speed of getting food either. Also, was it me or was the stewarding a bit on the jobsworthy side? Guess that's something they really did pick up from the FAC last season....

Point to ponder: Tony Finn. Is there any point in starting him? If we'd started Tom Davis, Finn could have come on for either Main or Kedwell and his pace would have shitted the undergarments of their tiring defenders. When he starts though, it's like he regresses into a Ryman One player. His lack of control at times was painful. OK, he got better in the second half, but really, he's gone one more game towards him being on the "out" list at the end of the season. On the positive side for him, at least he got to the game on time for once.

Three's a crowd: 1756, of which 801 were us, apparently. Hmm, so we take up behind the goal and half of one side, plus whoever was sitting down? Trust me, we outnumbered the home fans as well, unless their ground actually holds 3000 and not 5000. Normally, I get annoyed when the usual hysterical shrieking about other teams' attendances gets put about by our fans, but today I'm not sure I blame them. Oh, and we were either very noisy or virtually silent today. Very eery...

Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) One of their stands is named "Don's Doors". Is that like Don's Shop? (2) Who was the minute silence for? (3) People being advised on more than one occasion that parking on the grass verge would have got them clamped and/or a parking ticket - this despite the stewards telling them to park on there once the car park became full. Leading to the sight of AFCW fans literally getting their tenners back so they could move them. Just imagine the absolute power trip the traffic warden would have had this afternoon. Wonder if having to pay again would have added more towards the attendance figure?

Anything else? Just really thinking about the fallout of today. People don't seem as pissed off on reflection as they were after the game, because there's a growing sense of belief that we'll pick up again after a little rest. And that the Axewounds really cannot keep their run going - by the sounds of it Worcester played well today and were basically robbed. Sadly though, it seems that we won't be able to rely on Chelmsford to do us any favours. They lost again, and I guess we can call it an implosion now. Maybe they'll pick up form again soon? Would be good timing. I guess what we're waiting for now is for Newport to do us an unlikely favour. Work willing, I may pop down there on Tuesday, and pretend to be Welsh. Now, where's the nearest holiday home...?

So, was it worth it? Pass

In a nutshell: Not quite so easy now is it?

And finally: Yes, I really am looking after Big Tissue at the moment. I have to write a more measured match report on today, though that won't be up until Monday. The deal is that I keep it regularly updated, ie once a day or once every two days, which as we have no match this week may make life interesting. And you think this place scrapes the barrel sometimes. Anyway, tune in as often as you can, you'll never know what you'll find...

24 February 2009

Who said we'd lose? Do have to be honest here, I wouldn't have predicted Tesco Value Bottle Water 2 Malvern 0 before the game tonight. OK, I might have done had we'd played the same as we did against H&Y and given Lady Luck another nailing. But if tonight we were Manchester United, and we were live on Sky, Andy Gray would be looking at the first half, then the second, and saying "that's how United have won so many titles".

OK, we're not Yernited, nor do we have Martin Tyler examining Tony Finn's second half contribution. And we are certainly not there yet. But I had a sense the first half was going to be like it was, before the game. I certainly didn't expect the second.....

The opening 45 minutes were, to put it politely, complete fucking cock. It was as though Furruk had taken more of its toll than we first feared. We looked tired, listless, not a side who are top nor even at home. Worcester had all the running, most of the shots, you name it. Not beyond credibility to say they should have been in the lead.

When JM got the penalty though, and for once absolutely wanked it up, there was a sense that our luck had run out. A feeling that just got compounded further with one of the worst queues in the back bar at HT for a much needed shot....

But the second half? Immense. It's a word I don't use that often, because I'm not into hyperbole. But really, it was immense. To come out in the second half, to pick yourself up like that, to blitz them and kill the game stone dead within about five minutes of the restart? I'm having Andy Gray's voice in my head right now (don't worry, I'm seeing the shrink about it tomorrow) : "If AFCW don't win the league, there's no justice". It was the AFCW you'd like to take home to meet your parents.

It's hard to say exactly why we suddenly looked like the all-conquering, swashbuckling unit that we've been for so many times this season. The last few games I've seen, we've dug down deep, ground out results, and even employing the help of a friendly divot along the way. I've no idea what was said at half time, but whatever it was, I hope it was written down and copyrighted. It would make a fortune in the sports psychology industry.

Or maybe it wasn't a teamtalk? Maybe it was just a wakeup call? We have put ourselves in our current league position on merit, and we were going to let it slip away meekly? IF we go up this year, it will be because of that mental strength that not only won us tonight, but made us feel better in the process. We didn't look like the leggy side that stumbled to a win at Furruk. We had energy, drive, not a little skill and perhaps most importantly of all, a clue. It was almost as though we said to ourselves, "hey, what the fuck are we doing?"

We'll still need to avoid complacency of course, which alongside injuries is our main obstacle to winning the title. Even H&R getting two late penalties, while annoying, doesn't worry me. Here's why : one of the biggest myths in football is that teams who rely on late penalties and/or goals win titles. Look at any team who's won a title recently, and while it undoubtedly happens on the odd occasion, they don't make a habit of it. That's the mistake Chelmsford made when they were winning games in the last minute so often - they confused luck with playing well enough to be high up. We did it ourselves, but then we won games "normally" anyway. That's certainly what I'm hoping from H&R in the next couple of weeks...

Actually, I'm hoping Worcester repeat their first half performance for the full ninety on Saturday, while we repeat our second at H&W. Yet again, another team who you think should be doing better than they are. Only took a coachload of 14 people though, apparently, although I don't envy the 3 hour drive for them.

Other negatives from tonight? Predominant one of course is Andy Little's injury. Anyone had flashbacks to the game against AFC Coldseal last season at KM? Got to say, I was a bit surprised that Pullen was benched tonight, and now I'm pretty glad he was after all. This now leaves TB with a bit of a headache goalkeeper-wise. Wonder if there are any keepers being shedded from Conf sides that could do a job? The grapevine suggests that Nick Gindre (ex-Whackem and Hurtem and guy with annoyingly loud mother) has just been released from Woking. And to be honest, IF IF IF we go up this season, we will need to look at the keeper situation anyway...

There are a couple of little niggles, like why the referee was a tit. Anyone wonder about Tom Davis? He was yanked off at half time, and maybe could be a surprise name on the "out" list at the end of the season. Have to give kudos to Finn though, for the second game in a row he looked like the player he should be. Unsure whether I'd start him for games, unless we had to though. Mind you, if he keeps turning up late despite only living in Wandsworth...

One other thought that struck me, and I'm sure those who like to think they know about tactics will doubtless tell me otherwise : was our gameplan to tire out Worcester? We certainly kept doing that continental-style passing that leads to continental-sized heart attacks, especially when done across our area. And boy, did Worcester run a lot. Maybe we're cleverer than we thought? Paul Fairclough (ex-Barnet manager) used to have an expression whenever I interviewed him : the Conference is a sophisticated league with sophisticated players. I don't think he would have said that about the vast majority of CS sides, somehow. Maybe we really are ready for the Conference, if we can contain a hungry, energetic side and destroy them as quickly as we did tonight?

But again, I'm not going to think that right now. It's still only February, H&R haven't been put to the sword yet, and the Champions Elect are still alive (though psychologically I think they've gone). All of a sudden though, things just got a little bit easier tonight. We're good enough to win this league, and I believe on the second half performance that we can even do it without losing another game this season.

Let's prove it, eh?

21 February 2009

What's the written/typing equivalent of a long, puffed out draw of breath, often used to show how nervous/relieved you are at a particular outcome? If you know what it is, please drop me a line about it. Because after Lakeside 0 Arndale 1, I'm going to do a big one.

Make no mistake - this was big. If winning ugly is what we've got to do, this was the equivalent of looking like Peter Wankelmann. If I was to tell you that this was just like some of the worst Ryman matches we had to endure in years past, that'll give you some idea of just how big this win was.

Luck? Yes. Good fortune? Certainly. But was it luck or something more? See, we've had four games on the trot where we haven't been at our pulsating best, yet we got twelve points. Almost as important, today the results went our way. If you were to step back, or indeed if you were to take that same scenario today for another division, you would say a massive step forward for the team in front was taken.

And let's face it - it was. As it stands, and if you speak as a neutral, we are now nine points clear. Or with goal difference, ten points ahead. To overtake us, the next team below us has to win three more games than us just to draw level. And they'll need to score a shitload of goals in the process. If we assume that H&R win their game in hand, it's still tight enough for us to need to avoid complacency, but the gap is still wide enough for us to get away with one slipup.

But I want us to ignore those stats right now. This next week is again a vital one. If we can just carry Tuesday through (and Team Barf and BS do us some big favours) and then give it the next push for Saturday, even keeping something like a seven point lead, we'd have done ourselves a massive, massive favour. I know it will not do our collective tickers any good, but we will need at least one more set of results like today from now until late April.

As you've probably noticed, I've avoided writing much about the game up to now. Basically, it was because it was horrible. The pitch was bobbly (thank fuck), our opponents were straight out of last season, and the actual match entertainment, if it was rated on a five-star system, would have been about -2. In other words, it was absolutely dire.

It was as though the exertions of the past week had taken its toll on us (which is why I'm fearful for Tuesday, although we could just about get away with losing if we have to). Main and Kedwell looked like they didn't exist half the time, and indeed Furruk should have been a couple of goals to the good. Though their quality up front, lack thereof, fortunately showed.

At half time - in fact, for most of the time - I was prepared to write today off. I was in truth more interested in what was happening down at Bognor and elsewhere. Did anyone else have that horrible feeling that we'd not only lose, but a couple of last minute winners elsewhere would slash our lead at the top and our arseholes would start looking like the Japanese flag? As it turns out, we've improved our position, and at such an important time of the season too.

I want to see the much maligned Sam Hatton's free kick again. Not only for relief purposes, but also to see if it really did deflect off a divot. If it did, I hope somebody took said divot, put it in suitable storage and looks after it until the end of April. For IF IF IF IF IF IF IF we win the league, we should bring the divot out and wrap it around the trophy. It would have played its part, certainly a lot more than Belal anyway.

But that's in the still all-too-far-away future. There's still two more games this week that we need to get through. And we surely have to slip up? Surely? Surely......

Plus points: The 85th minute. Results elsewhere. A win. Another valuable three points. Would have lost this game last season/October.

Minus points: Everything up to the 85th minute. Looked tired and out of sorts.

The referee's a...: Well, he was saying "please" and "thank you" a lot, so he was nice and polite. Still a twat though. Especially when he first gave a backpass then decided not to - and award an uncontested drop ball as an apology. Oh, and how many offsides did we have against us?

Them: Fighting for their Conf South lives, and boy did it show. With a bit more quality up front they could have Boreham Wooded us. Thing was, as the game progressed, I thought that they were starting to lose it a bit, just like the game at KM. Their #9 certainly lost it after giving away a free kick after we'd scored. Bless him. Anyway, they might cause problems for a couple of other teams this season, though unfortunately not against any of the chasing pack. Your editor is not going to even begin to pass comment over the fact that a nearby road is called The Caravan Site....

Point to ponder: Was it me or what it low-key off the field today as well? Guess we're still anxious, and even after the game there wasn't much in the way of "yeaaaaah we're gonna win the league Easy Easy Easy". More a kind of still shitting ourselves about H&R, though with the obvious relief thrown in. I guess what we need to do is not only keep winning, but put in a real good solid performance from beginning to end, if only to settle the nerves. Be honest, you expect more of the same against Worcester and H&W this week don't you? Just imagine though if we start winning games like that with some comfort....

Meet the manager: No interview this week, though I did see him walk past me afterwards looking pretty relieved himself. I can exclusively reveal that he said "that was scary". I don't think scary is quite the right word......

Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) The Thurrock hotel. To quote, "is that a place where you hire rooms for an hour with Eastern European women?". I wouldn't know, although you can get a room for £59 a night. Come to think of it, there are quite a few hotels around that area (Premier Inn, Ibis, Hilton nearby). Is shopping at Lakeside that popular? (2) Did Furruk really have a live game on the BBC at their place merely a couple of years ago? Wonder how long it took them to clear the field next door car park that day? Believe the last car from that game finally got out last week. (3) Tea a whopping 60p. Seriously, there is no excuse for a cup of tea to cost any more than that. Especially as I've never had a teabag at a game that tasted anything other than the god-awful PG Tips.

Anything else? Yes. It's in the average football fan's nature to look at teams below them to see what they're doing. I think we're all keeping a wary eye on both H&R and Chelmsford, and probably discounting Eastleigh. The Beavers are bastards at the best of times, and you get the impression they'll be the big spanner in the works for us if we're not careful. And boy, will that hurt if they end up overtaking us. Even so, there's still scope for them to slip up too. And don't forget unlike when we were 9 points behind Chelmsford, they don't have three games in hand...

Speaking of the Champions Elect, are they self-imploding? By the sounds of it, they managed to be even worse against BRT than when I saw them against Eastleigh. This after yet another round of signings which I presume won't come cheap, despite what line is being spun out of their boardroom. Seems they are going for broke, and after Weymouth's troubles this week (with a 9-0 stuffing today for good measure) you do wonder if history is about to repeat itself. That and the Peter Webb saga where all of a sudden he's not on his bike doesn't sound good for them. Good for us though if it keeps affecting them. To quote somebody today though, it all started going wrong for them when we beat them. Curse of the Wombles?

TBH I've said it before and will continue to say it. Us winning the league is purely in our own hands, and today the task got a tinsy winsy bit easier. But even if we are about three games ahead (points wise) than anyone else, I would kill to have a sixteen point gap right now....

So, was it worth it? Only because of Sam Hatton and a friendly blade of grass.

In a nutshell: One more little step...

18 February 2009

What a waste of time, money and effort Town 0 Hamlet 1 was. And not just because it's a competition many have very real disdain for...

You would hope with these run-outs that you'd see something from the fringe players to make them give our management a selection headache. OK, the likes of Hussey, Little and Kennedy were a bit ring rusty and no doubt we'll see them at least on the bench at Furruk. A couple of the unknown players didn't do too much wrong, and Tommy "TJ" Rose had a couple of good shots on target. But the rest?

If and when TB announces that he's signed another player or two by the March deadline, let nobody moan that we're just buying yet more players and pushing out the likes of Finn and Sullivan. Because on last night's performance, I seriously doubt if either of them will be here by the end of the season. And I think they know that too. Granted, we're spoilt by the Main/Kedwell dynamic duo for most games, but even so I expected better from two players who still have a real chance of at least coming on as late sub in the upcoming fixtures.

Really, apart from their goal (lapse of concentration, and of course the Cup Final celebrations when they scored it), I can't remember much at all from it. Oh yeah, TJ's shot. But he's an unknown player. If we'd peppered their goal and Sullivan/Finn had put in blinders, yet we still lost 1-0, then fair enough. These things can and do happen.

So, what? In truth, nothing has changed much from last Saturday with regards to the rest of the season. The likes of Kennedy and Hussey will be back in the squad for Saturday, no question. Haswell is becoming more of a liability. Andy Little needs to bide his time again. Mason needs another month on loan somewhere. And I think that's the biggest disappointment of all - the fact that nothing will be changed after this performance. Not a slur on our first eleven at all, in fact far from it. But those last night who needed a good performance must surely be looking very closely at their AFCW future.

TB wasn't there last night, by the way, he was apparently on a spying mission at H&R versus Welling. Which by the sound of it was quite poor. Shades of Eastleigh vs Chelmsford? Christ, I'll be seriously fucked off if we don't win promotion this season. Anyway, maybe TB is looking at more players? He obviously made the wise choice of not going to KM then.

Seriously though, what is the point of us remaining in these tournaments? They had a bit of kudos for us in the early days, and those at the Woking finals will always remember them with fondness. But if it's true we'll get punishment from the SSC morons for playing understrength teams now, so be it. It's obvious that even the fringe players don't really see it much beyond a run-out. How much would it cost us just to opt out entirely?

One other thing that really struck me last night was this. I guess the whole experience must be what it's like to support an ordinary, run-of-the-mill Ryman side. Less than 600 people there last night, a strange muted atmosphere, with players who might do something but with a team that looked very, very ordinary. To watch that sort of football week in, week out would definitely be an aquired taste, and it does at least show why a lot of fans at that level are a bit, well, odd. You've got to be to actually enjoy that shite on a regular basis.

Then again, there's oddness and then there's Dulwich Hamlet fans. OK, they celebrated like it was their cup final, but wearing Franny scarves? Seriously, what's the mentality of that? I'm starting to believe that perhaps they want to be abused and maybe get a twatting for their efforts. Then they can scuttle away and start playing the victim card against us, how badly we treated them etc. Wouldn't be the first time. Sure it'll be called "banter" by them, which will merely prove that they haven't got a scooby what the word actually means. Not sure if they know the phrases "hygiene" or "incest is wrong" either.

Mind you, the best comment I heard about people who do that sort of thing is that it's an admission their team is shit. Think of when Leeds United played Barcelona over their PA, after Manchester United lost 4-0 in the Nou Camp once. Compare to the Barf City fans on Saturday - only one of them was even tempted to do a Frenzy song and got his answer from his own fans. Actually, don't bother trying to compare, it's pointless. There's none to be made.

Anyway, enough bitching. We lost, and nobody is really that bothered. We're more pissed off because those given a nice opportunity to prove themselves in a non-vital game didn't do so. We'll move on, remembering what it's like to lose a game and knowing that come Saturday, things will be back to normal. Is it any wonder that more people was fussed about the game at H&R last night than our own offerings on the field...?

14 February 2009

As it's Valentine's evening, and after Shower 3 Bath 2, I hope some kind soul takes Lady Luck out for a nice romantic dinner. No expense spared. If she wants flowers and champagne too, get her the best you can find. Tonight is all about her.

Because after the way she's been ridden this week, the poor cow deserves something nice this evening.

As for the rest of us, I think valium and neat whiskey might be in order. This wasn't winning ugly, this was winning suicidally. At 2-0, we weren't comfortable but the opposition were starting to lose it mentally. Then, gift them a goal and it's brown underpant time. Thank fuck for Godfrey's effort about 30 seconds later, and their strikers not hitting a barn door. Because had we dropped points today, I think Jamie Pullen and Mickey Haswell would be in hiding.

Make no mistake, this was a difficult game. In fact, it's been a difficult week, and one I for one am glad is now over. With six points added to an ever increasingly vital tally, and with games starting to run out we needed this. There's a clear sense of relief about. The penalty was luck, our second goal had a bit of fortune, and the two we conceded were just outright shocking. And to think at 2-0 I wrote that we were showing a lot more backbone in defence. Certainly got a lot more practice at defending anyway.

A bit more discipline, a lot less sloppyness (which to be fair we hadn't been showing so much recently) and this would have been comfortable-if-unspectacular. Our back line must really be on its guard now from now until the end of April. It's no good relying on JM and DK to carry us through if our defence will keep opening its legs and saying "come hither".

Know what was flashing through my mind at various points of the game? Tonbridge Angels last season. Either contest in the league will suffice, though I'm thinking more of the home game against them. When Barf got their corner right on 93 minutes, you feared the worst didn't you? What I do hope is that we haven't used up Lady Luck's goodwill by rattling her once too often this week. A quick glance at the upcoming fixtures suggests that the next games are tricky but perfectly winnable. We certainly need to use this week to recharge, both mentally and physically. Just take a deep breath, regroup mentally and ensure that today was the worst it'll be for the rest of the season.

But we're unscathed. We have six points, about four more than I would have expected this time last Saturday. We know we can play better, and there really does seem like there's a spirit and determination throughout the team that is getting us through right now. You get the impression a draw or loss will sting but not hurt. Mentally and physically, our last three games have been excruciating, and not just for us supporters. Should we drop points, I'm now starting to believe it will be down to us not being crap but it catching up with us. That is why I'm glad we (a) don't have a backlog of fixtures that we need to get through, especially midweek, and (b) don't have at least four fixtures against the chasing pack upcoming. And I suppose the points gap we've built up helps.

Are we feeling the pressure? Yes and no. Yes, because the last few games have seen a more tense, terse atmosphere at the games. It's in our hands, and we know it. But no, because we seem to have that belief deep down that if we do find ourselves off the top of the table, we can regroup and go for it. Want proof of that belief? OK, this should have been a defeat or a draw at best. We've given our all recently, we were without Hussey, Lee and Kennedy to name but three, and we played very difficult opponents who themselves are the in-form side of the division behind ourselves. And we won. And their two goals were down to us.

I think we know we've gotten away with it this week, but at the same time we know even now we can improve. There's no moping about the injuries, we know we just have to get the three points by whatever (legal) means necessary. Our nerves are jangling a little because we've got this far, we can start to smell the Conference and we don't want to let it slip. They're not down to us knowing deep down we're not good enough. I think that might be a good thing...

Plus points: We won. Scoring three goals again. Godfrey netting a doozy. Ability to cope with the pressure that I haven't seen us do for many a year. Getting the goals at the right time. Coming back immediately when it was 2-1.

Minus points: Those two goals. Looking not quite there at times.

The referee's a....: What a cunt. Seemed determined not to give us anything at all, and only really could give the penalty as he had no choice in the matter. Even down to the off-the-ball incident with Haswell (?) who was left on the floor poleaxed at yet another Barf free kick yet their player only received a yellow. To quote the bloke behind me, "it's a shit game and you're not helping it". Oh, and the linesman was from Frenzyville. Luckily for him, he obviously wasn't a Mong because he was quite good....

Them: Fair play to them - they went at us and could (should) have got something out of the contest. Some may say they weren't all that, but like H&Y they're another side that you shouldn't be surprised at if they end up in the playoffs. Liked their #10 anyway. To me, Barf are a club that wouldn't look too out of place in the Conference, though obviously their team isn't at that level yet. At least one Womble reckons that our last minute goal against them in the FAC in 1974/75 is the most important in our history, so it's not like we're dealing with a nobody side. Was a bit surprised at their support, which I thought would have been bigger. Still, they enjoyed themselves...

Meet the manager: Owing to technical difficulties, I managed to miss the first 30 seconds of TB's interview. Basically, he said we were "leggy". You can listen to the rest of it below (make sure your Flash is updated, you're not using Adblock on Firefox etc etc) in glorious streaming....

Point to ponder: How immense is Jason Goodliffe? Is he just mere mortal immense or mythical superhuman comic book type immense? The sort of immense that Marvel comics would do a special limited edition for. You can see it now - Jason Goodliffe : Tower Of Power. It may be his Indian summer, and he may find the years catch up with him very quickly, but our recent increased backbone in defence (apart from today) has been in large part down to him. Remember when he was finished not so long ago? If he gets to lift the Conference South trophy in April, nobody with a soul could say he didn't deserve it.

Three's a crowd: 3043. Another game where it proves the old adage that success breeds success. Thinking about it, these last few games, we've managed to overcome to an extent playing in front of 3000+ crowds and not embarrasing ourselves in the process. Little things...

Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Just think, had results gone badly this week we could have been within striking distance of being in second place. (2) Speaking of changing times - Micky Haswell. Now somebody who you could consider more of a liability than an asset. Perhaps we should have sold him to Chelmsford when we got the chance? Funny to think that at the beginning of the season he was on trial at Brighton. (3) Now I'm only on WDON duties on occasions rather than regularly, I went back amongst the proles on the terraces. Put it this way - I wouldn't want to be a director of a club, always having to be the one in suit and tie having to act properly. On more than the odd occasion today, I was asked if I had tourets...

Anything else? I dunno. Can't really seem to write too much without either getting carried away with our results/form or putting the ultimate dampner on it. We're in a strange time of the season, where you have to remain focused even though we could still finish outside the playoffs. I get the impression that a lot of people are like this right now, and I guess throughout the team as well. If you're top in November, it's so far to the end of the season that you can just relax. If it's March and you're in the same position, it's a case of re-tripling your efforts to get you over that finishing line. But midway through February? Is it me or does this season seem to be getting ever longer the closer we get to the last game? Easter will be a killer.

So, was it worth it? The three points certainly was.

In a nutshell: A small step on an increasingly longer road....

10 February 2009

OK, I don't usually do midweekers, but after S&M 2 H&Y 0 I feel moved to put fingers to keyboard.

Simply put, if we find ourselves as champions at the end of April, this game will have done as much to secure that title as winning games against the likes of Chelmsford. Tonight, my worst fears almost got confirmed : the layoff saw a lot of ring rust, together with a sloppy performance with little of the swashbuckling and verve we've shown in recent weeks. Add to that the inevitability of a shite performance due and somehow you think we slightly got away with it tonight.

But if this was Manchester United overcoming a Wigan, or an Everton at home, we'd all be saying that that's Yernited for you. That's what they do. We played a team who closed us down to good effect at their place and stopped us playing, and coming away with a win. Tonight, they did the same and this time a bit of luck got us through. Their keeper fumbling in the best way possible was luck. Getting a penalty is always fortunate in a way, and to this day I never consider them "proper" goals. We misplaced the ball too much, we looked nervy, and we should have come a cropper.

I'm pointing this out, not only because it's stating the obvious, but I'm signing up to a theory that I'm sure some sports psychologist has written in a book somewhere - the theory of demoralisation. Think about it : right now, you're a Chelmsford fan and you're having a quick read of this site (and I know they do). You've seen your team play horribly over the weekend and lost. You've now found out that the team you're chasing has won its game in hand. Worse still for you, they've scraped through without a major lynchpin in midfield. While you're obviously still expecting a slipup, when the final whistle blew tonight a little bit of your title chasing dream died.

Think back to last season when we closed the gap (albeit not by much) on the leaders, then we slipped up and they didn't. Imagine how you felt when you heard that last season, the opposition had a game just like ours tonight. You never gave up hope, but deep down, you were already making plans for an extra week at the end of the season. A quick look at February 2008 showed that we had just come off the back of throwing the game away against Tonbridge at home, followed by that horrible Boreham Wood defeat. Granted, we made up for it a bit with a good win at Horsham, but the psychological damage had been done by then. Especially when Chelmsford were getting results at Carshalton, ETU and Wealdstone. Although this time last season, we were playing Torquay and CCFC had just been gubbed by AFC Coldseal....

It's worth keeping an eye out on the reactions of those chasing top spot in the next month. No doubt there will be the usual comments that there's still a long way to go and there's plenty of points still on offer. That's very true of course, and the title is never won in February. But can it be lost? If there's talk that we're just a two man side, that we're really there for the taking still etc etc then it's obviously psychological warfare. But as we know ourselves last season, there's talking yourselves up because you think you can do it, and acting like you know you can do it. We did a lot of the former last season. I'm definitely starting to feel the latter this season.

Tonight may have just been the most massive result of the season so far without realising it. H&Y are not a bad outfit, they're within striking distance of the playoffs themselves, and should they get in them could cause a few raised eyebrows. Losing Mark Sambrook (though thankfully not seriously by the sound of it) was a blow, and poor Sam Hatton obviously had too good a birthday party on Saturday. Boy, do we miss Dwayne Lee as well. This said, I did think we finally started to control the game to how we should be doing it with 15 minutes left. And I'm a big critic of our defence, but tonight it started to do what it also should be doing - no sloppyness, booting it away to safety when possible and do its own demoralisation of the opposition. Not to mention Jason Goodliffe's indian summer...

Also, the H&R manager plus a few players were there tonight. Were they there to experience an atmosphere tonight? Like many, they are a dark horse and the one team who I think could really put us out of joint if we're not careful. Wins like tonight certainly help our cause. Obviously, every game this season is important, but we get H&R right at the end of the season. That could be absolutely massive, or it could easily just be as irrelevant as a PSF.

At least we have the ability - and the league position - to render that game irrelevant. Just imagine having to face H&R in March? Or Chelmsford? OK, I know we have to go to Eastleigh, but all the other teams are now ever so slightly starting to realise they'll run out of games before they know it. They can't afford to slip up now, any of them. And they do have to face each other at critical times of the season, too. From what I've seen, Chelmsford, Eastleigh and H&R are quite similar in standard to each other. It's perfectly possible that they could start taking points off each other, and providing we don't lose on those particular matchday ourselves, our task becomes just that little bit easier.

Anyway, tonight was the result what we wanted with the performance we feared. It's still far too early to get excited about winning the league. Anything can happen and most probably will. But somehow, somehow, a small step forward was taken.........

7 February 2009

Well then. Southampton Parkway 2 Stansted 1 and it all looks interesting doesn't it?

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Due to a mixture of no game at St Albans, the Northern line being fucked and your editor really needing an afternoon out, I went down to Eastleigh vs the Champions Elect. Along with about five other Wombles, TB himself and no more than 150 odd Clarets. What a difference a week makes, eh?

OK, enough sneering. What did I make of it all? Quite simply, the title is in our hands. I really mean it as well. Eastleigh were a strong, physical side - think H&R without the violence - and deserved the win. They will be a side that will grind away, and will be the most trickiest of all the remaining fixtures for us (on paper, anyway), even including our last away game of the season. Really don't be surprised if they're the team who you find in second place in the not too distant future, though whether they've quite got "it" enough to go for the title remains to be seen.

Chelmsford were ordinary at best. They looked a bit like they had the stuffing knocked out of them from last week, and because Eastleigh took the game to them they looked like they weren't going to get anything. Their goal was their one bit of quality from them the whole game. Other than that, they were just, well, meh. I wouldn't go so far to suggest it was a bit lights-on-nobody-is-home, and I didn't see last week to compare and contrast. But right now they remind me a bit of Chelski - have had a great run in recent seasons yet maybe the moment has passed for them? They're a good team but they're no longer the good team.

Sure, you have to respect what both teams are capable of. And there's enough crap in the CS to ensure that both these teams will still be chasing top spot for a while yet. But I drove away from the ground thinking the same thoughts as I did for a lot of the Ryman One season - this is in our hands more than we even dare to realise. Yes, the pressure is on us now. But as said before, it's a different kind of pressure, the pressure to stay ahead of people. People raising their games against us is hardly a new phenomenon, we should be used to it by now.

Wonder what TB (and Stuart Cash) made of it all? No, I didn't interview TB afterwards. In fact, I didn't see him at all, but I'm sure he would have made plenty of mental notes. The game down on the South Coast on the 28th March could be that game, and I'm sure with plenty more watching and hopefully the same run of form continuing, it could be like those old days when we used to go down the Dell and occasionally won.

Anyway, enough of that. What's it like to watch an important game in your own division as a neutral? Firstly, I wasn't a neutral, as I was naturally supporting the home side today. Eastleigh till full time, me. Secondly, even in the CS it's still a bit of a culture shock to watch a non-AFCW game. OK, this wasn't too bad a turnout, but even so there was that little something missing. The play itself was all right but not the most skillful or spectacular - Eastleigh had a few attacks that broke down in a way we just don't see at our games. For the first time this season, I allowed myself to say that we are better than the rest of the teams.

All right, it's BBB to think that, and if it goes ahead, Tuesday can bring us down to earth. It's a vital month for us, because these sets of fixtures where what buggered us up in October/November. But elsewhere, the main rivals are suddenly slipping up. We are strangely enough in a better position than we were at 2.59pm today - we're still two wins ahead of everyone else, but now with a game in hand. Suddenly, we could almost afford to slip up, though not something I would suggest quite yet.

What else occured to me today? Met some locally based Wombles (hello there if you're reading this), and the local Eastleigh contingent seemed quite happy to talk to us. The ones behind the goal even challenged us to a singing contest (unfortunately, we lost. Well, rather, we declined to take part...), though transpired one of the main singers knew a couple of the locally based Wombles anyway. It was all quite amiable.

Fuck all Southampton fans though. By plenty of accounts, they are a bit "strange" when it comes to that sort of thing, despite last season getting 50% off entry if they showed a Saints season ticket. In fact, things sound quite bad at St Mary's, although after the way they revelled in our relegation in 2000, don't expect massive amounts of sympathy. Also sighted were a dozen Havant and Waterlooville fans who turned up at half time as their game at Dorchester got called off ten minutes before kickoff. Somehow, that's a pisstake too far, although to quote one local "couldn't have happened to nicer people".

All in all, I enjoyed today. It was a nice change and the result helped too. I would hope we take a good 2000 down there when we play, it could be a defining game. Just hope AFCW don't foul my mood up by doing the mother of all fuckups......