12-08-2019, 10:22
Good research, Matt.
I agree that it`s far too early to write off the season yet and I still fancy us to reach the play-offs. Plenty of teams have made a stuttering start to the season and then got it together; you don`t have to go back 50 years, Dev. By the same token, teams have won their first 3 games and then been in the bottom 4 within a couple of months. (I seem to remember a team in this league doing that very thing last season; who could that have been?)
I saw the Dover game and have watched the highlights you uploaded, Matt, and have to say that on the basis of these I don`t entirely agree with you about the quality of the football that we`re playing this season, which to me is a marked improvement on what we saw in the early part of last season (I`m sure Dancing will corroborate). The first half against Dover was very poor, but I always felt that we were TRYING to play decent football – we weren`t at this time last year -it`s just that we couldn`t quite manage it.
I think you have to remember as well that this is the National League. I have fond memories myself of the quality of football we played under Paul Cook in League 1 and what we play nowadays just doesn`t bear comparison, but for now at least those days are gone. This is the National League and I just don`t think tikka-takka football would work at this level.
I know it`s difficult to judge a game on the basis of edited highlights, but from what I saw in the Boreham Wood video I was quite encouraged. Even when we were down to 10 men, we seemed to create as many chances as they did and, again, we looked as though we were trying to play football and maybe deserved to win the game overall. The penalty looked to be a 50/50 shout between a penalty and a yellow card for simulation to my thinking (yes, I know I`m biased) and the red card was ridiculous. I`ve watched it 4 times over now (yes, I know referees don`t have that privilege) and I`m not convinced I even see it as a free-kick. The report I read said it was a `high tackle’ and whatever it was or wasn`t it certainly wasn`t that.
You may be right about Tshimanga, Dev, but I don`t think you can read too much into his 2 `goals’ in this game. The first was the aforesaid penalty and the second was a very speculative shot (or was it a cross?) that would have gone nowhere near the goal if it hadn`t taken a wicked deflection; I`m amazed that`s not been given as an og.
Anyway, after 3 games my razor still hasn`t gone anywhere near my wrists – or my throat – and I`m still reasonably optimistic about the season to come.
I agree that it`s far too early to write off the season yet and I still fancy us to reach the play-offs. Plenty of teams have made a stuttering start to the season and then got it together; you don`t have to go back 50 years, Dev. By the same token, teams have won their first 3 games and then been in the bottom 4 within a couple of months. (I seem to remember a team in this league doing that very thing last season; who could that have been?)
I saw the Dover game and have watched the highlights you uploaded, Matt, and have to say that on the basis of these I don`t entirely agree with you about the quality of the football that we`re playing this season, which to me is a marked improvement on what we saw in the early part of last season (I`m sure Dancing will corroborate). The first half against Dover was very poor, but I always felt that we were TRYING to play decent football – we weren`t at this time last year -it`s just that we couldn`t quite manage it.
I think you have to remember as well that this is the National League. I have fond memories myself of the quality of football we played under Paul Cook in League 1 and what we play nowadays just doesn`t bear comparison, but for now at least those days are gone. This is the National League and I just don`t think tikka-takka football would work at this level.
I know it`s difficult to judge a game on the basis of edited highlights, but from what I saw in the Boreham Wood video I was quite encouraged. Even when we were down to 10 men, we seemed to create as many chances as they did and, again, we looked as though we were trying to play football and maybe deserved to win the game overall. The penalty looked to be a 50/50 shout between a penalty and a yellow card for simulation to my thinking (yes, I know I`m biased) and the red card was ridiculous. I`ve watched it 4 times over now (yes, I know referees don`t have that privilege) and I`m not convinced I even see it as a free-kick. The report I read said it was a `high tackle’ and whatever it was or wasn`t it certainly wasn`t that.
You may be right about Tshimanga, Dev, but I don`t think you can read too much into his 2 `goals’ in this game. The first was the aforesaid penalty and the second was a very speculative shot (or was it a cross?) that would have gone nowhere near the goal if it hadn`t taken a wicked deflection; I`m amazed that`s not been given as an og.
Anyway, after 3 games my razor still hasn`t gone anywhere near my wrists – or my throat – and I`m still reasonably optimistic about the season to come.