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NEWS
30 January 2008
It's a good job I slept on Culver City 0 Elstree 1 last night. What I wrote originally would have probably landed me in court. Suffice to say, I honestly can't remember what I wrote when we lost 2-0 to Sheff Wednesday in the dying days of our Premiership years, but this must have been be the equivalent low point on the pitch that I can remember since the formation of AFCW.
No, we aren't likely to go down, and results did work in our new ultimate aim for second place. But something has changed at AFCW in a matter of a fortnight, and I don't like it one bit. See, in the past, we always could drop one or two games then show ourselves back up again. Sure, we've had chronic injuries, but we've always got out of trouble. Right now, we've lost that ability to do even that, and now I'm scared for Saturday. Torquay must be rubbing their hands with glee.
I was angry on Saturday, and I'm angry now. But this is an anger with more than a hint of resignation. I felt like we were playing in the Slurrey Senior Cup at times, although the makeshift back four and new goalie didn't exactly help matters. I can cope with conceding a goal if that's the case (if anything I thought we were generally better at the back than we have been for some time - go figure) but what I'm getting pissed off with is the total inability to show our ability. I would write about teams coming back etc etc, but quite simply I'm bored to the back teeth of writing it.
To quote Fannie Mae, I'm sick of tired of being sick and tired.
So, what has a good night's sleep done to me? Firstly, there were rumours abound last night that Mark DeBolla went on a massive strop last night after getting subbed at half time, even to the point of fucking off home. This morning, I find out he was in the players lounge after the game. So did he fuck off home after having a massive barney, only to change his mind and return after all? Or is the story in itself bollocks?
If it's the former, I think tempers probably just blew up at that particular moment. Already I sense a general calmness this morning that there hasn't been for a couple of weeks now. It's not exactly unusual for that to happen in a team, especially one that is underachieving and in a bad run of form.
If it's the latter, and somebody is spreading bollocks stories, I would hope that said individual is getting the shit kicked out of them right now. We're in a tricky, fraught situation as it is without the odd individual with an agenda piping up. The trouble at AFCW is that things get magnified and made far much of than is healthy, and even if somebody just misinterprets somebody's actions, all hell breaks loose.
Of course, him walking out could be a true story, and if that's the case he should fuck off right now. Allegedly walking out like that is a cunt's trick. No matter whether you think the manager is harshly treating you, you are expected to maintain a degree of professionalism, and not storm off like a stroppy teenager. Having seen Scott Curley at first hand last season going into one about DA, that sort of behaviour really does not impress me at all. It's divisive, it does nothing for team morale and it was no co-incidence then that we'd played better after Curley left.
If we have rogue, divisive elements in the squad, get rid. Playing for AFCW should be an honour, not a paycheque - with the possible exception of FCUM, where else outside the Conference will you get a setup like ours? People like Jason Goodliffe "get it". People like Marcus Gayle "get it" (and if he doesn't he's an idiot). Do the others?
Second things second. Very few people are calling for TB's head, which thankfully is a sign that our fans are still pretty intelligent. But if he has fallen short on one thing, he's found out that too many of his players - including the ex-Conference ones - go hiding when the going doesn't suit them. OK, maybe "go hiding" is a too strong an expression, though on recent performances it isn't. Seriously, this was back to the Borehamwood game at the beginning of the season - it was just bad.
Yes, we have injuries. Yes, the referee was again proving that he wasn't up to the job. But christ, that Fannie Mae quote keeps coming back to me - if I'm scrabbling around for an answer, christ knows what our management are doing.
But we have to at least ask the questions, even if we don't want to hear the answers. Here's one - it's obvious that despite a new manager, new squad etc etc we are still committing the same mistakes. Why? What's the constant factor? Could it be down to, you know, us....?
Yes, us. The fanbase. And I'm going to include the top brass of AFCW in this - we are a Fans Club (TM) after all. Everyone else is getting looked at, so I don't see why we should get off the hook. Don't you think we - the fans and club - are putting way too much undue pressure on AFCW to get promoted? Yes, we all want to be out of this poxy division as soon as, but our approach is starting to prove counter-productive. If the club is giving our manager just two seasons to get us up otherwise he'll lose his (full time) job, how is that going to help?
To me, everyone (fans and club) is taking the same approach between 2002-05 and applying it in 2008. Back then, we really did need to get out of the CCL and R1 quickly. We need to get up from the Ryman without hanging about as well, but unfortunately our expectation is causing our own downfall. If the AFCW job becomes unmanagable (a la Newk and England) then we really will be stuck in this division for the next decade. TB leaves, another manager comes in, gets the usual lot of money to spend and told he'll be out of a job if we're not in the Conference South two seasons later. The vicious cycle goes on and by the time we figure that out it might be too late.
Yeah, I'm speaking out of turn, everyone works hard at AFCW etc etc etc. I'm not trying to rub anyone up the wrong way (not deliberately anyway) but answer me this. When TB mentions that there's far less pressure on AFCW in the FAT, don't you think he's trying to tell us something? Is it any coincidence that we can dispatch Chelmsford 4-0 quite comfortably in the FAT yet nervously lose to them in the next contest? I bet we all know that we'll play ten times better against Torquay than we have since even before Folkestone. Yes, our own cup final I grant you, but we're not expected to win, let alone by 3-0 by half time. There's a lesson there somewhere.
From what I've seen of other RP sides, we are as good as them. Even last night, a non-pressurised AFCW would probably have won. But forget their cup final mentality, though it certainly still exists - even with that factor we should rise above it. But we can't. And we still can't, three years from the first time we set foot in the RP. People sometimes ask why can teams like Histon get into the Conf and we can't. Because they're not expected to? Because they don't think their club will collapse if it doesn't? Chelmsford seem to do OK, and to be honest they're what we'd be like without that extra pressure.
Yes, there will always be a degree of pressure at AFCW. But last night I felt something more than that. I felt a team that is close to breaking point because it's got itself too strung up on promotion. That might explain DeBolla's alleged actions, and certainly why TB kept them in the dressing room post 1045pm. And now I'm starting to feel a club that has got itself caught in a vicious cycle. No, I don't want to stay in the poxy RP any longer, but I've said in public that I think it could take an extra three years for us to go up. That sounds a depressingly awful long time, but after the way we've gone from being top of the world to relegation form you have to admit I'm not too far out am I?
And perhaps we'd be best taking that attitude? That might be better long-term than panicking that crowds will drop if we're still in the RP in 2010. Is that what it's about really? Is AFCW really going to collapse down the plughole if crowds go down to 1500 (which they won't IMO)? If so, we are totally fucked. But this club is certainly strong enough than probably any other club in non-league (bar the recent ex-League clubs in the Conf) to withstand the bad times. Other clubs, including some Conference, would love even 1500 coming through the gate.
Again, it's the old 2002-05 mentality rearing its head again. We still have to learn that this league is too high a standard to proclaim we can get out of there in two seasons. TB himself had to re-learn the Ryman ropes and currently he's getting knocked back. Give him a proper chance and he'll do all right. But it's no good planning for 2010 in the Conference if we're hampering 2008 in the Ryman Premier in the process.
What's the answer? I don't think there is one, not an easy one anyway. We have to balance the reasonable expectation with the unreasonable, and now I think we've crossed that line. Remember that Aldershot were in the equivalent of the Ryman Prem for a good five seasons, and we've only had three years here. We have become the over-expectant parent, putting immensive pressure on our undoubtedly gifted kid, always thinking there's something wrong when they're not performing to the highest possible standard each and every time.
Maybe give TB an extra year on his contract and say we're in it for the long haul? Wouldn't hurt, and we're the first set of fans to take the piss out of Prem clubs for demanding the earth too soon. Perhaps we ought to take our own advice when it comes to AFCW? While I have no doubt we will outgrow this league, our own worst enemy right now is ourselves.
As for right now, I dunno. I have to admit, I was ready to tear up my Torquay ticket after I got into SW19 Towers. Why should I be putting my money into the players' fund when they only turn it on when they want to? In the end, I haven't, and like a mug I'll probably be there on Saturday. And yes, I'll say now how utterly fucked off I am with the last four games, but will large it up big time if we do somehow win.
But for the team? Alleged strops or not aside, looks like TB will again have to bring in a new set of players. It's telling that he's been looking at Olly Schultz, the Ramsgutter centre back. Not so much that specific player but the fact he's looking at players who do actually know what it's like to play in this division. TB could have gone for Grazioli but he went for Main instead. Maybe he's starting to figure just what gets you by in the Ryman League, 2008?
And if he doesn't, do you have any better ideas?
26 January 2008
I really, really would like to offer my congratulations to AFC Wimbledon for doing something I didn't think was possible. I genuinely believed that it was beyond the realms of humanity to put me in a worse mood than the one I developed in the second half. After White Flag 2 White Shirt 2 I realise there is absolutely no limits to how out and out fucked off I can be.
Satan help anyone standing around me in the second half. But more importantly, Satan help our team. For the third time in a week, we have managed to produce outright shit. For the third time in a week we have proven that we won't get automatic promotion. And after the third pathetic performance in a week, I really openly and honestly question our ability not only to win in the playoffs but to actually get in them to begin with.
Why? Just answer me, why? Why have we gone from a team walking about with a swagger to one that could be 6-0 up at half time and will end up drawing 6-6 if it's lucky? I'll tell you why - it's to do with the massive queues outside the game. No, not the actual fans but the Torquay game. Drawing them has got to be the worst thing to have happened to us this year.
See, ever since we drew the Gulls in the FAT our team has lost its focus. Actually, worse than that - it's believed its own hype. It's convinced itself that we don't have to put the effort in, to kill games off when we can (we were two fucking nil up today for fucking fucks sake) and that the sides we play against aren't even worthy of being on the same pitch as us.
Well, when I walked out of KM tonight and I started thinking about the rammifications, I honestly said to myself that we should immediately withdraw from the FAT, and give the walkover to Torquay. Yes, it's an over-reaction, but quite simply our side doesn't deserve the chance to test itself against a Conf side. By focusing on next Saturday at the expense of yet another vital three points effortlessly gifted away, I'm not too sure whether we've proven ourselves as big time charlies or small time. The former because we think with the size of the crowd, the adulation, the gate receipts, the setup, the mascot etc etc we should be playing Torquay twice a season. The latter because we're treating it as our big day out, our very own cup final, and the rest doesn't matter.
No, it won't happen. But it's what I still feel to an extent right now. Am I angry? Guilty as charged, m'lud. What today's capitulation has proven is that we're not ready to go up. A team that is ready to go up gets a 2-0 lead at home and keeps it. A team that is ready to go up, if it does let a goal in just after the break kills the game slowly, and maybe squeak out a third goal at the temerity of scoring against us. A team that is ready to go up does not, and I repeat does not, meekly surrender a game in the way we did today.
If anyone at AFCW doesn't like what I've said, tough shit. I don't like having the realisation that we will (and let's be honest here, we will) be spending yet another fucking season in the Ryman poxy Premier. That's another reason for my bad mood, as it really did come down in the second half that we'll be spending yet another season trapsing around various shitholes in Kent and Essex, always wondering why we're not higher up. Today should have shown us why. If it hasn't, then ship up for the rest of the season or fuck right off now while we've still got a chance of scraping in fifth.
Folkestone was a bad day at the office. Billy Rickay was a first official warning. I've no idea what today would be, but repeat the same performance against BW and it's P45 time, and heading down to the dole office to pick up £3.50 an hour cleaning tables at McDonalds. And I genuinely mean that. As said earlier, we've now blown automatic promotion. The best we can hope for is second and maybe come good at the right time. But I shouldn't have to be writing this. I should have been writing today that we overcame a couple of difficult games and are back on track. But I'm not, and that's why I'm fucked off.
Yes, we drew, but as far as I'm concerned it was a loss. We had no discernable attack to speak off in the second half, and we needed Jon Main going off like Barack Obama needs Bill Clinton at a supporters rally. Again, that's not the sign of a team ready to go up. Yes, we may have a weakened defence. Well, strengthen it. It's been hinted this week that a couple more players might come in, and a couple go out. Make them defenders, because if we lose JG for whatever reason we really will be fucked good and hard up the arse.
Sorry to go way OTT. Actually, fuck it - I'm not sorry to go way OTT. The only time I'll be sorry is if I end up in court over anything I say. But today I saw a team that thinks it's Conference level bottle it. Yes, you read that correctly - I said bottle it. Again, a 2-0 loss becomes a 2-2 draw. That's what cost DA his job, and TB has got to ensure it doesn't become a habit under him.
I would say roll on Tuesday, but all of a sudden I'm really not looking forward to it any longer...
Plus points: We didn't lose I suppose.
Minus points: Where to start? OK - letting in two goals. Shit passing. Shit defending. Shit
way of taking hold of the game. Jon Main breaking his metatatarsel metatarcil metatarsle foot and is out for at least six weeks.
Marcus Gayle's lack of pace. Fergie having one of his days - where's the Steve
Ferguson that slaughtered Staines at their place? Looking more likely to lose
than win. Chelmsford winning. Chelski winning. Running out of bottles of water
in my car. Two DVDs I burnt failed to work. Tea slightly too hot....
The referee's a........: Managed to miss two rather, ahem, "strong" challenges. Apart from that, we can't really blame him for much. Well, we can, but that would be a bit too churlish. Even for us.
Them: Like Folkestone and like Rickay, took advantage of our obvious failings and again could have got three points. One of their players decided the best way of stopping JM getting a hat-trick was a well aimed stamp.
Point to ponder: We had 2733 there today, so why is it that we always, always manage to put a stinker in for the extra 2-300 people who turn up? There's a semi-joking theory that we'd be in the Conference now if we only had 1400 turning up to watch us. I say "semi-joking" because right now I've lost my sense of humour.
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Apparently, a flock of parakeets fly over KM at an exact time every Saturday. Today they were later than usual. No doubt somebody will claim it's to do with the position of the sun setting. Me, I think they couldn't bear to watch what was happening. (2) This is the second time this season we have let slip a 2 goal lead to Tonbridge. At least the first time round we had a ready made excuse with the goalies. What's the excuse this time? (3) JG's black eye. Nasty. (4) Realising that this time next week we'll probably have beaten Torquay in the best performance for years and everyone will be talking about Wembley.
Anything else? Yeah, Franchise lost 1-0 to a 10 men Rochdale. Are they slipping up like we hoped they would? Or is it just a blip and they'll come back soon enough, winning the Fourth Division at a canter, and 20k schoolkids cram into the Wankiedome with their leader doing that sickly smile, and a rush of puff pieces appear in the press to signify just how good it all was and how it was right to move? Christ, when even Franchise losing doesn't cheer me up, things must really be bad....
So, was it worth it? Yes, I enjoy being a miserable cunt after watching abject whale wank.
In a nutshell: Two points from a possible nine.
23 January 2008 [1am EDITION]
At half time tonight, somebody suggested that I would simply put down "bugger" for a brief match report.
Well, the reason for a rare midweek match update is that after Ricky 2 Pat 2 I'm thankful I don't have to go down that route. We were effectively about 2 minutes away from me having to do a post-mortem of the season. Thankfully Sam Hatton did something right for once tonight and gained what I honestly would call an unlikely point.
Let's face it - tonight was crap. It was as though the smell after the Folkestone game still hadn't been vented away properly for a lot of it. Too many misplaced passes, giving the ball away, high punts up field to players no taller than your editor. But tonight, we walked away from a place we have never gotten a point from before with one vital point. And you know what? Had we'd had a couple more minutes, who knows.........?
Yes, it would have been great to get three, but we're in the middle of a sticky patch right now. We seem to be semi-focused, which I put down to our own upcoming Cup Final, against Torquay in the FAT. It was only a matter of time before Rickay got their first goal, we just seem determined to give our defence as much practice as possible.
But after half time, where reportedly JG gave everyone an absolutely massive bollocking, we went up a gear. I hope somebody taped Richard Jolly's goal, it was a bit Main-esque (complete with subtle barge of defender and a cup-to-ear celebration afterwards). And after that, you started to think that we'd woken up and do a vintage Liverpool-style performance. And I don't mean our fans brandishing banners with "We want Dic" either.
Needless to say, they scored. You may hear plenty of comments about how great a goal it was. What you might not hear so much is that it looks like it deflected off our defender giving Butch no chance. Whatever happened, it really did knock the stuffing out of us. Think about it - you psyche yourself up for the second half, get yourself back into the game and that happens. Eyes were rolled, heads were slightly bowed, and I think we must have put on some of the worst displays of passing seen for a long while.
Maybe it was the New Lodge curse, but until Hatton struck very late on, the unthinkable was becoming thinkable. Before that strike, automatic promotion was fading away fast. Afterwards, who knows?
What we can certainly say is this : by fuck we got out of jail tonight. Maybe it's because we lost against Folkestone, and self-doubt started to creep in, but this seemed an odd performance from us tonight. At times we didn't even look playoff material. But we got a draw, an unlikely draw, at a place where..... OK, you get the idea.
We certainly can't hide the obvious flaws tonight dug up - we shit ourselves every time the opposition attack, we give away far too many free kicks, and by fuck we need Webb and Garrard back ASAP. If we're to progress to where we want to, we need to sort these out and quick. We really do need another 4-0 over Tonbridge just to settle us down again. Christ, a 4-0 followup against Borehamwood wouldn't be a bad idea either.
But on the flip side, it's worth remembering that we did actually draw tonight. Forget the implications of tonight's game, that's done and dusted now. It would have been better to get three points, but one is better than none. Perhaps more importantly, we got that point whilst playing badly. It's a cliche that causes a bit of antagonism amongst some AFCW fans, but last year we really would have lost that game.
And what that does prove is that there's a mental strength in this current AFCW side that we haven't seen for a while. The one with the strength to overcome a poor 1-0 first half with an equaliser. And maybe even more important than that - a team with the strength to overcome a second goal after all that half time geeing up, play badly and still have enough mettle to come back again. That maybe is the sign of a side that might still do it. We'll wait and see, as ever, but we might have witnessed something vital without us realising it
We may have seen the best and worst of AFCW tonight. As long as we now show some of the former and a lot, lot less of the latter, I can cope...
Plus points: A draw. At a bogey ground. Coming back twice. Never giving up. DeB and Gayle. It's still only January
Minus points: Midfield woeful. Passing shit. Finn. Hatton. Defence just, well, meh. Realisation that we might be losing form and ability at a time when we don't need it.
The referee's a.........: I know we talk about persecution from Ryman league officials, and it's usually dismissed as paranoia, but for large parts of tonight I......... nah, better not put what's really going on through my mind. I couldn't prove it in a court of law anyway. As much as I'd like to.
Them: Bet they must really be kicking themselves right now - had us on the backfoot for most of it, had the rub of the (muddy) green and still didn't get their 3 points. Can never understand why they've underachieved this year, especially as they were tipped along with us and Chelmsford to be up there. Still, not our problem. Billericay itself is a nice enough place, for Essex anyway. Bit poshe though, and I don't think the one and only chippy was the sort that would serve gravy with their chips either. Put it this way - they didn't understand the concept of people asking for their grub to be open......
Point to ponder: Is there any manager in non league who TB doesn't know? He was chatting away happily with the Rickay boss, and he really does seem to be on good terms with everyone..
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Going away from New Lodge with a point. Especially after playing like that. (2) The rather sad sight of some local yoofs after the game running to shout abuse at our supporters bus on the way back. Reminded me of a dog chasing a car, and with similar effects. (3) PA bloke clearly auditioning for Essex FM's Classic Rock show, complete with cheesy links. All he needed to play was some Free and REO Speedwagon and he'd got the job.
Anything else? I dunno really. Didn't seem quite so horrible to go to this time around, in fact seemed quite pleasant enough. Even the journey to/from SM4 wasn't too bad. One question though - was it my imagination or was there a line of stewards separating the home support up t'other end?
So, was it worth it? If Sam Hatton hadn't done what he did two minutes from time, I wouldn't be answering this question right now
In a nutshell: Not so much getting out of jail free, but given a tag and some compensation as well
19 January 2008
Ouch.
We all got a bit too cocky this week didn't we? Looking ahead to Torquay, even talking about when, not if, we'd be in the Conference. Well, the evil forces that call themselves the Football Gods have, yet again, done their usual. Channel Tunnel 3 Fudge Tunnel 2 really doesn't read too good, does it? AFC Wimbledon, may I introduce you to Planet Earth again? Just try not to bump too hard....
OK, we were all guilty this week of getting ahead of ourselves, myself included. The amount of people before (and even during) who said "we'll win this" was in hindsight asking for trouble. It was the fayre seen too often this season at times - lots of possession, no real cutting edge in front of goal, and for once we paid the ultimate price.
Be honest - we rode our luck against Ramsgutter, Maidstone, Hendon to name but three, and today it finally bit us on the arse. Damn the weather gods for not sending their promised downpour over the Kent Coast, although in all honesty that would have been delaying the inevitable. Passes just didn't happen, Fergie and Finn for the most part were pretty lackluster, and our defence just creaked at the time it wasn't supposed to.
Strange thing is, I'm pissed off yet not upset. I'm stung but I'm not looking for a scapegoat, or a high building, or TB's head on a lampost. I saw how confident we looked before the game, and chances are we went into this game thinking it had been won already. As earlier comments prove, certainly many fans had turned up expecting a win. We never really learn, do we?
It was a must-win game, and we lost it. But if you want to be positive, this will probably prove to be a blip. Teams get blips, and we're certainly not immune against that. What was this, our first loss since Chelmsford? It's a good run and it did have to come to an end at some point - we are not a bad team, in fact we're quite a good one. Another 10 minutes today and we would have had at least a point. You'll see why I said that later, but I genuinely mean that. This wasn't some of the crap that was served up for a few games in the past few years, nor was it some of the Premiership shite that passed itself off as professional football in eras past.
Chelmsford winning today sucked, but it was against Leyton (and even that was only one goal in it). What I hope today did was just make us realise that we do have a long way to go, in both senses of the word. We do have to learn to take our chances, we do have to kill teams off when we're in the ascendancy. It should also make us realise what we can have (Torquay) and how quickly we can lose it (today). I can cope with losing if we learn from it and bounce back straight away. It's unfortunate that while we can get this out of our system on Tuesday, it just so happens to be at Billy Rickay. A venue we've never even drawn at. Losing two games in a row is unthinkable, though it shouldn't be. And what would be the fallout should that happen?
Mind you, I did hear a comment made tonight which interested me. Bascially, if we know that Chelmsford are out of sight, that would relieve the pressure on us a fair bit. While I think we'd be far better to learn how to deal with the pressure on us, it's still a none-too-dissimilar approach to why we're doing so well in the FAT. Remember, in that, we have been undefeated since last year....
Is the goal of automatic promotion over? No, and anyone who says otherwise is a dickwad. Will it be over if we don't win at Rickay on Tuesday? Again, no, but that does make life that bit harder. It became that bit harder at 4.55pm today anyway, and I hope that everyone in that dressing room wants to get out there and get back on track ASAP. I hope this hurts - not in a sinking feeling type of hurt, the sort that happens when you get relegated, but a stinging kind of hurt. The kind of hurt that comes from realising you've blown a good chance to make up ground.
It is still only January, lest we forget. This league race still has a long way to run. And I know that sounds a bit like straw clutching on my part right now (aren't we 14 points behind or something?) but if we were to have one more loss this season, I'll take it on Tuesday. We can recover from today, and if we learn from it right this could be a blessing in disguise for us. Would we have won this fixture on another day? Probably. But it's over now, and we have to take this on the chin. Losing this doesn't make us a bad team overnight. Even at 3-1 down there was enough fight by us to suggest that we won't slide out of the playoffs. I've seen enough games to know when something is majorly wrong and when a team just, well, loses.
I will say this about the game, apart from how much we miss the option of Danny Webb. Two words : Marcus Gayle. Before the game, he was shaking everyone's hand as that kind of father figure. Had he come on about 10 minutes earlier, I think we would have drawn that game at least. Our crosses were shit before he came on, his crosses afterwards were the Premiership quality ones. We owe our second goal to him, and had Fergie put away that easier-to-score-than miss chance from about 3 yards out, after a cross by - guess who? Let's hope MG remains fit enough for the rest of the season. We are really, really lucky to have him.
While you lick your
wounds, here's.....
Plus points: Did keep going. Marcus Gayle's cameo
Minus points: We lost. Defence looked really iffy. Couldn't score when we needed to. Fergie's miss at the end. Bad day at the office.
The referee's a......: Never let it be said he didn't let the game flow at times. Even when one of our players was fouled rather painfully......
Them: Let's hope they do the same to Chelmsford next time they meet, would certainly hate to think they just put in the effort against ourselves. Caught us at a vulnerable moment and I can't say they didn't deserve it. Their goalie deserved a smack at the end, as did our cock munchers who decided they couldn't take losing so they threw their flimsy plastic beer glasses on the pitch. Bright idea, I don't think.
Point to ponder: Have we suddenly got a bit louder off the field? Normally, when we go 3-1 down we go quieter than a Franchise fan at a police ID parade. Christ, we don't get much louder at 3-1 up, and we're certainly comatose at KM. Maybe as the team (generally) has gotten into life a bit so has the support? Would explain a lot...
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) How many old people were in the Morrisons next door? And I don't just mean shoppers. Can't be too unkind, the store was not only selling Guinness in their throwout section but actually saved this match report from not getting done - I forgot my notepad. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't found their stationery section (2) Seriously iffy 80s style music over the PA system. And Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" - the original version.
Anything else? I suppose really that it's a good job we've got a game on Tuesday to get today out of our system. Bet most would have preferred it at KM though. Actually, I forgot about Tonbridge on Saturday as well - I bet they won't roll over for us like they did in the FAT....
So, was it worth it? I'd rather be in a BA Boeing 777 aircraft landing at Heathrow than go through this again.
In a nutshell: I hate Kent.
12 January 2008
First things first. Quite a few people (and I genuinely mean, quite a few people) have asked me why midweek reports are thin on the ground. The answer is basically I can't be arsed to do them midweek - unless it's something major, I like to watch a game every so often where I don't have to think about how to describe it afterwards.
Now, I can sense the venom in my direction already, so here's a deal. I'm more than happy to put up match reports for evening games from anyone who wants to write them. They don't have to be particularly lengthy, or funny, or even concentrating on the game, but it'll save me having to do it. As for those complaining about a lack of an Ashford report, here's a very brief one.
We won. They lost. 3 points. Sorted.
Now, onto today. Although I was secretly hoping the game would be off, thank fuck Tunbridge Wells 0 Wimbledon Village 4 went ahead after all. Normally, I find myself writing more and more after FAT games, what a real shame this wasn't a league game. In fact, even more of a shame when you consider the last time what happened when we went down there. Thankfully, Lee Butcher managed to last the full game....
But fuck it. Let's talk about the FAT instead. We could bog ourselves down over the RP (Chelmsford won, Staines drew and Hendon lost FTR), but this is a good distraction. Especially if you work on my theory that us playing against higher placed sides makes us play better all round. So put aside the league for this week and concentrate on a possible second trip to Wembley this season
Today was basically the sort of performance where you can forget we've scored four. And I don't mean that in a negative way either. When Fergie made yet another run down the wing and was either blocked, crossed it too hard or just went for another spectacular finish, you silently grrr-ed to yourself. But when Danny Webb opened with a screamer (yes, you read that right), when TA's attack didn't really materialise and DeB made up for his saved pen with a goal right on the stroke of half time, for once we could relax a bit.
OK, DeB deserved a hat-trick, and Jolly has discovered his scoring boots again (even if it did go off the post and was a little bit "disputed"). But now we've entered unchartered territories. We've now reached the furthest we've ever reached in the FAT without getting thrown out beforehand. And we're now the lowest side left in the entire competition.
Barring another oversight in our administration department, we will finally get to face a team higher than us - guaranteed. The beancounters are praying for a home tie for the finances. Me, I want a good, long, Northern away trip. The sort of traditional one that we miss in the AFCW era. You remember the sort of thing, getting to Kings Cross at 9am, praying the trains don't break down, finding yourself in some inhospitable Northern hovel before taking their heroes on, coming away with a win, with plenty of beer and merriment back towards t'Smoke with us putting the smelly inbreds in their rightful lowly place and finding yourself on the tube at 11pm wondering just how many people are using public transport at that time of night.
Of course, it'll be some kind of justice for last season if we did get Rushden on Monday. They stuffed Exeter 3-0 today BTW. But there isn't a Bromley or H&R type matchup now. With the possible exception of Braintree and Bishop's Stortsford, they're all pretty much plum ties from now on. Workington and Blyth Spartans are the long away fixtures I so desperately crave (and how fucking kewl would it be to have an evening game at Blyth?), and the rest are all Conf. Aldershot and Ebbsfleet will want to sort us out after last season, and how does Torquay down at KM sound?
What this does prove is that even though we'd rather have been at Oxford today (be honest), people are still into the FAT. As said earlier, it's a good distraction from the league. In fact, I'll go one stage further and suggest it's a motivational tool for the rest of the season. Just think how good it is to talk about playing a Torquay, or Aldershot, or whoever in the next round. Just think how much better it'll be to say next season that we don't want Braintree or BS because we played them in the league a few weeks ago.
And consider this as well. If you read the FA.com roundup, it says we're dark horses. Who'd thunk it, eh? A Ryman Premier team getting considered dark horses, and not in a patronising way either. You would expect a mid-table Conference side to get that label, but somebody at our level?
Yeah, it's an ego boost, and yeah we could easily get brought back to earth come this time next week. But I suggest we use the FAT not as a distraction but more of a trial run. I believe any team ready for promotion does most of the time achieve it. Still a way to go, and with a lot still to do, but suddenly that belief has become a little bolder...
Plus points: We won. Away. Quite comfortably as well. Clean sheet. Young players fitting in better with the older ones directing them. Fergie's runs. DeBolla. Danny Webb's goal. Lee Butcher. Having one goalkeeper being able to last the whole game this time
Minus points: JG's knock. Fergie's crossing.
The referee's
a.....: Gave more to them than us. Oh well, at least he wasn't quite
as bad as the previous jism guzzlers we've put up with recently. Incidentally,
a Mr Graham Thorley was a lino. Not the Graham Thorley? Not the "statement of a statement" puppet apologist representative
for the Koppout regime in the dying days before 28/5/02? Although Comical
Ali had more gravitas than he did, and was a lot more believable as well.
Anyway, if it was he sensibly kept very quiet.
Them: I've got a theory about a sizeable proportion of TA fans. They're either rugby union frequenting "Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells" types, or one-game-a-season numpties. I wonder the sort who did those small time Franchise chants at us (and trust me, they are very small time). And especially those who did the outright odd "What's it like to have a ground?".Shame really, as the PA bloke liked us. Their team? Understrength a bit, apparently, and really not much to write home about. Their player getting sent off was justified for daring to touch JG anyway, let alone try and kill him. As for the dickwad who came on at the end, I'm sure I acted exactly like that when I got my first ever pube as well.
Point to ponder: When was the last time we had a delayed kickoff for a Saturday 3pm game? Seriously, I was gobsmacked at the amount of people who turned up to this. Had you said about 1500 or so beforehand, you might have considered it a bit optimistic, but 2281 is almost creeping back to the CCL era. Maybe it's because we're winning and it's starting to look less like a false dawn? Success breeds success, and all that.
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Only a couple of hundred more and it would have been their all-time attendance record. Damn you those who didn't turn up. (2) Who the fuck is Steve Gilbert? Is he a reserve we don't know about? A new signing that the OS hasn't got round to yet? Some bloke who was walking his dog on our training pitch one day and got signed up? Didn't hear anyone yelling blue murder at him though, so he must have done all right. (3) I am really, really getting fed up of visiting Clackett Lane every time I want a piss/food. Even if I can get 15% off anything I buy with an RAC card.
Anything else? Remember this time last year, when we'd just KOed Gravesend and NorthEbbsfleet
United and how much we were looking forward to taking on Rushden at KM. Finally,
a big Conf side down facing a hostile (?), bloodythirsty (?) crowd. Remember
how you felt when it was taken away from us just like that. What made it worse
is that we got the taste for it and wanted more. A lot more. Fast forward
to this year, and while there's outright excitement about possibly facing
another Conf outfit, it doesn't seem such a Cup Final now. Puzzled? OK then.
Whoever we draw, we feel we can at least match on the field. Seriously - it
might be just me getting carried away, but we have a lot of ex-Conf players
who are gelling more and more as a unit and who do look as confident as I've
ever seen an AFCW-era side.
And if that's the case, why should we be scared of a Conf outfit? We have the support, and it's kind of weird that you read around other teams' sites and they seem to want to play us. Good thing or not, it shows where we should be aiming for at least. Some say they could be happy in the RP for a few more years yet. It's days like today and Monday that prove to me we most certainly should never, ever settle for that....
So, was it worth it? Aye.
In a nutshell: At least WUP can sell their surplus "Undefeated" t-shirts for a little while longer
5 January 2008
When you're at a tough little ground in the middle of nowhere, in the depths of winter, on a pitch taken out of Ypres in WW1, your mettle and character is tested to the full. When you have a player sent off in the first half, when you have to make three subsitutions by half time, when you have a brand new goalie who probably didn't even know this level of football existed this time a couple of days ago, when yet again you find yourself incapable of holding onto a sizeable lead, and when you're only one goal to the good against a team who twigged that putting it in high rattles you to the bone, you're suppose to eventually succumb and wonder yet again what you're thrown away.
After Stones 1 Dave Clarke Five 2, thank god we forgot to read the script.
For once, I think I'll better put things in context with the game's description. We got a penalty after about a minute, when they handballed it. We scored thanks to Mark DeB. Then we scored again with Finn's bullet-like header and we thought it would be a nice easy game for once. Then we realised we watch AFCW and needless to say they started coming back, testing us in the air and Lee Butcher finding out that referees don't give keepers protection at this level. 2-1, and many an anus was twittering.
Then Webb got fouled on the edge of the box and nothing was given, so decided to take matters into his own hands a few minutes later by clattering into somebody. With helpful assistance from the Maidstone manager running onto the pitch, Webb got sent off on about 25 minutes. So, we faced the rest of the game with 10 men, a hostile ref, only one goal ahead and our defence looking as good as Hillary Clinton's campaign in Iowa. With plenty of "hurry up and blow the fucking whistle for half time you stupid cunt" type comments, we scraped through fearing the worse for the next 45 minutes.
Oh, and all this with Quinn and Finn off before the half hour mark as well. Which became even worse when DeB was subbed at HT and the not-very-fit Main put on in his place. Valium sales went through the roof.
When they got a corner, needless to say flung in at a rate of knots, we all rolled our eyes and expected the inevitable. Except for some reason, it didn't materialise. Where was the kitchen sink? Shouldn't we have been the ones on the backfoot for the whole game? I think we might have even saw, you know, attacking from ourselves. In fact, quite a bit of attacking. They had a man sent off for a second booking (making his debut as well, dick) and I don't know if this is BBB or not, but we really were the team more likely to score after that.
On paper, we did the same thing as we did against Hendon last week. But today we looked a bit more assured. I don't know whether the obvious confidence Lee Butcher showed in the second half shone through in our defence or not, but we saw character. Maybe Webb's sending off galvanised us? I don't know what TB said at half time, but that might have been the most important team talk this season so far, and without us realising it.
Why? Because had we drawn this, it would have been the proverbial nail in the mahogany coffin. We go 2-0 and can't hold onto the lead - not the sign of a promotion gaining outfit. But to survive that adversity, then to come out and build on it so we look like the more likely next goalscorer is something else.
Dare to dream? I decided to let the traffic die down afterwards and spend a good 20 minutes in the bar catching the results. When it was discovered that Chelmsford drew 1-1 at home to Hastings, the cheer was one thing. But the buzz afterwards, if only fleeting, was something else. Dare we dream? Dare we believe? When you consider that Staines beat Ramsgutter and the rest didn't win either, maybe you get a twinge that perhaps it could happen. Dare we believe that we win our three games in hands that puts us just two points behind the champions-elect?
Let's dampen the optimism right here and now. To get those three wins is a MASSIVE ask. And that's just to remain one win behind Chelmsford. They still have the points on the board, we haven't, and right now they're still clear favourites. Also, if our players are getting injured, that just makes the task even more harder. The next few league games will tell us whether we can catch Chelmsford or whether it's the inevitable heartbreak in the playoffs for the third year in a row.
Is there pressure on us? Of course, always was and always will be. And if I'm being honest I don't think we'll catch up 9 points with our 3 games in hand. But ever so slightly, there's now pressure on Chelmsford. Can they cope? It could be extingushed with Ashford taking points off us on Tuesday, but if we win, the dynamic of the RP changes. Hastings scored a last minute goal from the half way line. Fluke it may have been, and it might just turn out to be a blip than a turning point. But suddenly, just a tiny little something moved today.
Oh yeah, I forgot about Staines as well. We'll deal with them later...
Actually, if things don't pan out the way we hope, today did at least show that we can win ugly as TB said we'd have to. Last year, and even not many months ago, this would have been a scraped draw at best. While the Leyton/Borehamwood games seem like a distant memory now, today could have been Tonbridge and then some. Think about it - away in Kent, on paper should win, go 2-0 up, goalkeeper either gets injured or goes into mental breakdown, concede one goal then concede another and then just about hang on.
If truth be told, this is still just one game from now until the end of April. We won't win every game this season, I'll warn you that now. We might even lose a couple. But today proved that just when you think this league looks settled....
Plus points: We won. Away. Jason Goodliffe. Steve Ferguson. Jon Main (even when he's not fit he looks the best striker at the club). Overcoming the biggest adversity this season. Looking more like a team that might, just might, have "it"
Minus points: Injuries. Failing to kill the game off at 2-0. Webb's dismissal.
The referee's a.........: I've lost the will to talk about officials now. I know life ain't easy for them, and Webb did deserve his red, but surely he could have done something about their manager encroaching on the field of play? Do officials at this level really get intimidated by the size of our crowd? Serious point BTW - I know Turdey is an ex-ref himself, so surely the Ryman should at least be some sort of breeding ground for the next generation of ref. Where's the Steven Cook type official that we got in the CCL?
Actually, while looking up about what Cook is up to, I came across this from the Times.a few months ago. This bit caught my eye:
"Players would be able to take refereeing courses while playing, in much the same way they gain coaching badges. They would be given mentors and develop their officiating by handling academy games. They could then, if good enough, enter at Supply League level (nonleague football, just below the Conference) when they finish playing."
Bold emphasis is mine. I ought to write a whole article on this sort of thing, but I'll summarise. The Ryman League level is a lot more "professional" than people believe. It has at least one full time manager (TB), and while there are no out-and-out professionals it's not exactly expenses and a cup of tea either. Players from this level can and do join the pro leagues, and not just League Two either. There is a fertile breeding ground for quite a few players who really could make it higher up. Don't they deserve some better refereeing?
Turdey and co should really be pushing to make their league Supply League level. Clubs at this level - not just AFCW - deserve better officiating. The standard of many clubs in the RP is as good if not better than those in the Conf South, and it's no coincidence that the best ref this season (FAT game v Chelmsford) was a Conf South official. Needless to say, I'm not going to hold my breath.
Them: Any team that has to play at that place deserves sympathy, especially one that isn't theirs through choice. You forget they're an ex-league club sometimes. I can't remember the last time I went into a ground which was a former training pitch (since converted to a stadium because Sittingbourne went broke and couldn't play at the nice looking greyhound track next door) in an industrial estate, with CCLesque terracing and a Travis Perkins behind it. The Garden Shed of England. Bit like Wealdstone, insofar as they need to get their new premises sorted ASAP otherwise they could slip back into oblivion. Their fans were all right as it goes, they hate Gillingham for some reason, but was it necessary for one old boy to say to our drummer that he would like to put a sharp knife through it?
Point to ponder: Good to see people noticing that JG was openly encouraging our new keeper before the game and again at HT. Doubtless helped with his confidence. Just how irreplacable is he? Certainly my Player of the Season even at this early stage. Incidentally, is Lee Butcher the first ever Spurz player to ever transfer directly to Wimbledon?
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Sittingbourne's gaff. Those there today need no explanation. Those who weren't probably wouldn't get a suitable one. (2) Maidstone's programme listing the entire ETU squad as our side playing today, including one S Gore in goal. Maybe that's why we showed for the first time this season the steel we needed? (3) Still can't used to a Spurz goalie playing for us. Mind you, the rate Paul Robinson is going, I think Lee Butcher will be starting at the Emirates next week. (4) When was the last Saturday when we had virtually every result go for us?
Anything else? I can't remember the last time we had a player sent off in the TB era. Probably never. Come to think of it, our disciplinary record is quite good (pretty amazing when you consider the standard of refereeing generally in the Ryman) under him, and I'm referring to yellow cards. Maybe TB has an approach that doesn't confront the officials that much? I certainly can't imagine him doing what the Maidstone boss did today, ie run onto the field of play, and wouldn't ever think he'll be sent to the stand. And with players only missing through injury, it really does help our cause. On these lines, I was informed today of how DA approached one official and stated "you can't referee the big games". The rest was indeed history...
So, was it worth it? If we end up promoted, it will be days like this that took us there. So if you're scrolling back in September 2008 with us having just beaten Bromley to go top of the Conf South, then yes.
In a nutshell: Character. A word often used but today almost under-used....
2 January 2008
It's OK everyone, you can come out now. It really did finish Dons 3 Pretend Dons 2. We really did get the three points, despite our best efforts for the last 15 minutes. Hell, I've only just recovered enough to start writing this up, hence the delay.
Where to start? Well, people were saying to me at the end "I'll like to see you write up that", and I like a challenge. So here goes. Had Hendon managed to net that final goal, we would have kissed goodbye to any hopes of promotion whatsoever. Not just automatic promotion, but playoff victory as well. Why? Because that sort of horrible defensive indiscipline will lose playoff games. We saw it at Bromley last season, and I'm sorry to say I think we'll be disappointed yet again come late April/early May unless we really sharpen our ideas up..
Teams who are genuine promotion contenders don't do that sort of thing we almost did at the end. If you're 3-0 up, you kill the game off. If they get a consolation goal, make sure it remains that way. What the fuck were we doing for their second? Did their guy smell or something? Did we have a bet on us winning 3-2? If, if if this is a once off, then maybe I can share other people's view that it was exciting. Although let's be honest, being three goals to the good then almost throwing it away at the last is not exciting when it's your team. It's stroke-enducing.
I hope that it really is down to a flu virus going around the AFCW camp right now. If true, we are probably the luckiest team in the division right now - 10 points out of 12, and the two dropped points could have easily been all three had it not been for a last minute double block by the Gutter keeper. If not, we are definitely the luckiest team right now. Unbeaten without actually playing that well? I know the theory goes that it's the mark of a championship winning team, but that normally applies to games in March and April, not December and January.
I don't know who it was who cleared off the line right in the dying seconds (a good 6 mins of injury time, apparently), but there are plenty of male AFCW fans right now who are considering changing their sexuality right now because of him. If you caught our heroic defender in bed with your missus tonight, you'd kick her out.
But I'm annoyed because I don't want to be writing about such a narrow squeak. I wanted to write about a good, solid 3-0 victory against a team higher than us. I wanted to write how comfortable it was in the end, even when we didn't have the strongest team out. Because for 75 minutes, we weren't too bad. Not special, but I thought we were good enough for a 2-0 lead certainly, and 3-0 was the icing on the leftover Xmas cake. Winning by such a scoreline would have said to the rest of the league again that maybe, just maybe, this division ain't settled yet. While I reckon in all honestly that Chelmsford should win the league by about early April, it doesn't hurt to put a few doubts in other peoples' minds.
We just can't keep on like this though. We just can't keep making life difficult for ourselves. We just can't keep getting a briefcase with £1m in used notes and throwing it into the river. Yes, we've done bloody well to get the points we did with a depleted squad. But even before that, I've still remained unconvinced that we have quite the sufficient killer instinct to get us the next stage further. Yesterday, we should have ensured we won 3-0 (or 3-1 at a push), not 3-2. No matter if we've got flu, the lurgey, irritable bowel syndrome, impotence, the clap, or even worse than all that put together, Ben Symons in goal.
"But hey" you'll now be saying "stop being such a miserable bastard so early in 2008." And yeah, I know I should be a bit more grateful really. As said earlier, we were 3-0 up without playing that well. Certainly wasn't really a full strength side, especially when Main went off. And especially when we were playing hangover football for much of the first half. You know, misplaced passes, Finn looking totally out of sorts etc etc. But we got the penalty (which was weird because it felt like absolutely nothing had happened) and sure enough we were 1-0 up. Not racing away with it, but not exactly against the run of play either.
When we got the second and third in quick succession, we were actually playing like a team possessed. Again, no Main or Fergie or MG, though why Jolly didn't come on I don't know, and I really did think that it would be another 4 or 5 niler. We all know the rest.
I'm not too sure what I'd be doing if I was TB right now. Probably downing a bottle of scotch if truth be told, although his comments on the OS did seem disturbingly positive. My guess is that he's hoping this flu bug clears up enough to get the team back to full whack. And I would honestly consider maybe looking at an extra defender, either from outside or from the reserves. But whatever he decides to do, he really needs to figure out how to get our players to kill games off. Otherwise, we'll be the ones getting put to the sword.
Anyway, if that's what 2008 is going to bring us, don't expect the SW19 editor to be alive come 1 January 2009.
Plus points: We won. Taking chances finally. Not really threatened for 75 minutes. Getting to 3-0 without really going at full pelt
Minus points: Last 15 minutes. Defence.
The referee's a......: I do wonder if Care In The Community closes down during Xmas, because we've had some outright retards doing our officiating recently. Yesterday, the ref had it in for poor DW so much that if he was a door, he wouldn't even give our striker a bang. Especially when he booked Webb when even the goalie said that he wasn't touched. Managed to miss a handball by their goalkeeper right at the end (not a typo). And most telling incident of all was them getting a free kick when a player of theirs fell over - this despite no AFCW player within 500 yards of him. Reportedly, the lino told TB "You know he fell over, and I know he fell over..."
Them: Fair play to them, they capitalised on our weaknesses and maybe should have snatched a point at the death. Just goes to show that a 3 goal deficit can be overturned. I can see why they're up the top end of the table, and they are a better side than Staines. Maybe not quite on Chelmsford/our level, but still the sort of side who'll beat us in the playoffs. Not too bad a turnout by them either, although I was a bit perturbed by that "Hendon Loyal" union flag. Oh, and as for the Franchise loanee players? Fuck them both. At least they gave our usually Old Traffordesque Silent Army something to get into for once. Reportedly they were standing outside the players bar afterwards not joining in as they didn't fancy it......
Point to ponder: Wasn't yesterday just odd? You can normally tell how odd a game is going to be by the amount of people about just driving around Kaiserfeld - and it was the emptiest I've seen it for a long while. I know it's NYD but surely the shops are open? Mind you, even the local decent kebab shop wasn't open. Even stranger, there was 2700 odd when it really didn't seem like there were many people about at the ground.
Truth is stranger than fiction: Did TB get a new scarf for Xmas? At least he didn't get a new Dunnes and Co brown shirt
Anything else? Looks like Danny "Tony" Knowles will be going elsewhere now. Shame really, as he steadied our goalkeeping ship when one keeper got injured and the other one looked like he'd just discovered strong skunk. While AL will always be our first choice, it just goes to show how much you need a decent shotstopper - I found it no co-incidence that when AL got injured our performances weren't quite as sharp as they had been. Everyone is wishing Knowles well, and justifiably so, although I won't miss his heartstopping runs to the edge of the box. As for our new backup keeper, he's from a "premier league club" (lifted verbatim from the OS, lack of drop caps not mine). Hmm. Don't you think Jens Lehmann is a bit too old for RP football...?
So, was it worth it? Yes, if you're testing a new strain of valium or blood pressure tablets..
In a nutshell: The game lasts 90 minutes, not 75.