[Lord Snooty]

Huddersfield Town v AFC Wimbledon
Sky Bet League One
Saturday November 29th - 15:00 ko
at the J'Accuse Stadium

Huddersfield Town welcome AFC Wimbledon to the Town Ground on Saturday afternoon for a game of football.

The Wombles, with their Sporting Director Great Uncle Bulgaria, will be meeting up with a Terriers team who themselves have a brand new Sporting Director. No stranger to the club, Chris Markham spent the years 2009 to 2017 here as Head of Performance Analysis, but returns now as the top dog, filling the role vacated in the summer by the fans' favourite, the ever popular Mark Cartwright. On leaving Huddersfield, Markham took up a job with the FA before moving to Bolton.

What, dear reader, is your opinion on the role of Sporting Director? Personally, I'm not right bothered, but it gives us somebody else to scapegoat when it all goes wrong. Again!

Link to page on Town website

The first question for the new SD could be, what are you going to do about all these injuries? An injury list that has two new long term names on it. Or should that be, back on it, as Antony Evans and Mickel Miller have only just gotten off it. David Kasumu could come into contention having got off the treatment table onto the grass.

Marcus Harness though, one of the game's softest players, has somehow managed to pick up five yellow cards and will be suspended for this one. Herbie Kane, Jack Whatmough, Will Alves, and Zepiqueno Redmond remain unavailable as long-term absentees.

Match preview on You Tube






A brief history of AFC Wimbledon: formed in 2002 when a club that had previously played at Wimbledon relocated to Milton Keynes.

They started out in the Combined Counties League Premier Division in 2002/03 and rapidly rose up the league pyramid system. So rapid was their rise that they made it to the Football League in less than ten years. In the 2010/11 season, they finished as runners up to Crawley Town in the Conference Premier League. This qualified them for the Play Offs.

They played Fleetwood Town at the semi final stage and won the first leg 2-0 away. This the attracted a massive crowd of 4,538 into Kingsmeadow for the second leg and they weren't disappointed as any nerves were settled in the first minute by a goal from Kaid Mohamed. He went on to score a hat trick as the Wombles won 6-1 and 8-1 on aggregate to reach the Final.

In that Final, played at the Etihad Stadium, they faced Luton Town. It ended 0-0 after extra time and so went to a penalty shoot out. Danny Kedwell scored the winning penalty as the Wombles won 4-3. It was his last kick in a Wimbledon shirt, signing for Gillingham a few weeks later.

Penalties v Luton on YouTube

Their first four seasons were a struggle, finishing closer to relegation than promotion, but then in 2015/16 they finished 7th in League Two to qualify for another Play Off campaign. Their opponents? The mighty Accrington Stanley.

Stanley had looked like getting automatic promotion, but cocked up on the final day of the regular season and now lost the first leg of the Play Off semi when Tom Beere rolled out the barrel for the home fans by scoring in the 3rd minute of added on time, to take a 1-0 lead up to the Wham Stadium.

Accrington levelled before half time in the second leg, a penalty taken by former Town junior, Josh Windass. They then took the lead in the tie when Piero Mingoia scored an absolute screamer. The home fans were screaming again when the Beast came off the bench for Wimbledon. That beast was Adebayo Akinfenwa and it was his headed goal that took the match into extra time, where a goal from Lyle Taylor booked AFC Wimbledon their first trip to Wembley.

The same two players were on target in the Final as the Wombles earned promotion with a 2-0 win against Plymouth Argyle. Taylor in the 78th minute, followed by the Beast from the penalty spot in the 11th minute of added on time. That would be his last kick in a Wimbledon shirt, being released shortly after. He knew it as well and was determined to take that spot kick, nicking the ball off the regular penalty taker. Well would you argue with him?

Play Off Final v Plymouth on You Tube

They finished their first season in League One in 15th position, which was to be a high for the club to date, as their six season stint at the third level came to an end with relegation in 2021/22. Before that though, the club had returned to their spiritual home in 2020, by moving into a new stadium on Plough Lane, about 200 yards from the original Plough Lane football ground.

It was a three year stay in League Two, coming back up via the Play Offs again last season, after finishing 5th in the league table. It was three 1-0 wins that did it for them. Riley Harbottle scored against Notts County at Meadow Lane, then Josh Neufville scored in the home leg for a 2-0 aggregate victory.

At Wembley, Walsall awaited, fresh from throwing away automatic promotion, but buoyed by a 4-1 aggregate win over Chesterfield in the semis. It was another one-niller to the Wombles though, with Myles Hippolyte giving them the lead on the stroke of half time. More importantly though, it was another clean sheet for Crystal Palce loanee, Owen Goodman in his last game for them before joining Huddersfield Town in the summer.

Play Off Final v Walsall on You Tube



Head to Head:

This is the first ever meeting of the two clubs..........

But in old money it's 8 wins to Wimbledon, with 4 Town wins and 4 draws. However, this is a completely different club.



So. Seeing as we can't post images anymore, here are some links to click on.....

An image of the old Plough Lane

An image of the new Plough Lane

An image of a Womble

An image of a Cockwomble


Recent form - last 6 matches:

Luton 2-1 Town
Mansfield 1-3 Town
Town 3-1 Plymouth
Town 3-1 Mansfield (EFL Trophy)
Bolton 2-1 Town (FA Cup)
Wycombe 3-0 Town

AFCW 1-2 Wigan
Bromley 1-2 AFCW (EFL Trophy)
PishPosh 5-0 AFCW
AFCW 0-2 Gateshead (FA Cup)
AFCW 0-1 Burton
Plymouth 1-2 AFCW

Town are 8th in the League One table with 25 points. AFC Wimbledon are 9th, also with 25. We have a better goal difference, five better, believe it or not.

[theo_luddite]

You can post DIY and free to use images Snoots.

Let's just say I'm working on it but a good read none the less.

---

Handball shirley?

https://www.exclusivememorabilia.com/pau...photo.html

Up to you whether or not you want to pay for it.

[jjamez]

My view on sporting directors? I think there's too much going on at clubs now for just the manager or head coach to oversee. It was starting to get that way when fergie retired and definitely when Wenger did, the last of the dying breed. Gone are the days where it would be 3/4 coaches looking after 20 players, with 2/3 old blokes doing the scouting, one or two others would deal with the reserves and youth. There'd be a physio who'd tell you if a guy was knackered or not but generally if the player felt he could play, they would. No data analytics no performance analysis.

Now there's data to deal with, footage of an opponent from years ago, every player can be tracked by a touch of a mouse, scouts can watch a player in Brazil easier than one in brighouse. The backroom numbers are massive, I know it's cricket but at one point it was said England take 18 players abroad, but there's the same in staff. It's not too dissimilar with football, then there's the agents etc and we haven't even got to the training pitch yet. I mean talking of coaches, you now have set pieces coaches, defending coaches, attacking, goalkeeping, fitness, Liverpool at one point had a throwing technique coach. It's too much for a manager to be overseeing, the sporting director takes the weight of the stuff away from the ground, it's still a lot for Markham, he's doing mental, academy and women's, but there's still a whole lot going on between him and each role, might be 3/4 people who are reporting to him and providing information.

Now I know Chris personally and I know his dad took, so I ain't gonna sit and say he'll be shite nor am I going to blow smoke up his arse, but him being at town once before helps, him being a town fan like me and you helps, he has a far better understanding of what we all want than any pen pusher coming in ever would. He watched the dark days of Wadsworth, he watched Ritchie. Im sure he has a black book, probably better contacts than Cartwright, I mean he has Webber, Wilson, Wagner, Rhodes and robins to begin with let alone Southgate et al from England times. There's a lot of work to be done and my main concern is about how long it has taken town to go through this process, only to appoint someone who was available way before the summer, just weeks before the January window, especially when that someone is on our doorstep. Now Chris is heavy on the data, and that has often led to Bolton getting technically good players but the downfall being fitness, but their budget wasn't massive either. So if ours is bigger maybe we/he can identify players with less physical issues, but the modern footballer is full of them, we keep asking for fit players, but they don't exist anymore, every player is a brand, they ain't these robust characters that get covered in mud and blood anymore

[Lord Snooty]

TOWN’S TEAM vs AFC WIMBLEDON (H)

1. Owen Goodman
2. Lasse Sorensen
4. Ryan Ledson ©
7. Lynden Gooch
11. Ruben Roosken
12. Radinio Balker
15. Dion Charles
20. Josh Feeney
24. Leo Castledine
25. Bojan Radulović
36. Cameron Ashia

SUBSTITUTES

Lee Nicholls; Murray Wallace, Ben Wiles, Joe Taylor, David Kasumu, Seán Roughan, Alfie May

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AFC Wimbledon:
N. Bishop
R. Johnson
J. Lewis
I. Ogundere
S. Seddon
A. Smith
J. Reeves ©
N. Asiimwe
M. Browne
M. Hippolyte
D. Orsi

Subs:
P. Bauer
Omar Bugiel
R. Harbottle
S. Hutchinson
C. Maycock
J. McDonnell
A. Sasu

[Lord Snooty]

Shots: Town 26-7 AFCW

Goals: Town 3-3 AFCW

[theo_luddite]

What do I know about picking keepers when our manager is an ex-keeper? I know a duffer when I see one. He might have been brilliant at Wombledon last season but he can't catch a cold or kick a balloon for us. He's costing us goals every time he plays. Bench him or tell Palace to take him back and sort out the injury between his head and his hands and feet. They don't appear to be connected.

When you look at what Castledine brings, a former junior Womble, and you look at what Goodman takes away ...... it isn't the science of sending lumps of metal into orbit is it?

[Lord Snooty]

Chapman and Nicholls have both signed extended contracts this year. They should be the two first choices. Goodman is somebody else's player and really a waste of a loan. Send him back in January and replace him with someone who will plug one of the holes in the outfield squad, where we have dozens of injuries.

And when he goes back, Nicholls and Chapman will get injured.

[theo_luddite]

You can always get an emergency loan for a keeper.

[Devongone]

In two loans Owen Goodman has been rated very highly indeed. If he is rubbish for you it is an issue you need to address. Why can't he do it for you? The football isn't that much better! Is he unhappy in the north? Does he perhaps have an issue with his defence or a particular player in the squad? Is someone going out of their way to point out his mistakes, making him even more conscious of them, and thus making them more likely to happen? How is his relationship with Lee Nicholls? If there is a problem it is worth knowing the source, because it might well happen again to another loanee if it is not addressed. It is not so long ago that you had a Man City loanee centre back who could do nothing right for you. Why? And yes, why is it that Castledine is shining and showing all the ability he had before he hit injury problems at Chelsea and Goodman failing?

I say this because years ago I was rated the best keeper in the many divisions of the Sunday League in Chesterfield. I moved to another team, where the centre back and captain made it very obvious he didn't like me or rate me (on no evidence at all). It was the same league, the same opposition, I was behind a better team and I couldn't play for them at all. Whatever I did I was made to feel inadequate .... but the team manager didn't know anything about it. In a season of misery every Saturday I played well, every Sunday was the nightmare before the roast beef and Yorkshires

Playing in goal can be as lonely as it can be thrilling. You get time to think and any mental weaknesses get magnified. Goodman needs some slack cutting and someone to get to the root of it, or it might destroy a promising career. It is true Lee Nicholls is still a decent goalie, but with my fairest head on I could not put Chapman in anywhere near the same league as Owen Goodman. He may have arrived in Huddersfield over-rated, but now he is experiencing absolutely the opposite experience.

And I've just seen on my laptop that Huddersfield is fast becoming a ghost town. What is going on? To a place of which I'm fond! Halifax is thriving Huddersfield is the pits, can it be true?

[WakeyTerrier]

Goodman has potential to be a decent keeper but he should be dropped because his mistakes are costing us dearly.

Barnsley, sent off and we end up losing the game
Luton, poor goalkeeping for the winner…cost us a point
Wimbledon, poor goalkeeping cost us 2 points.

And that’s just from the top of my head…oh hang on..Harrogate away in the paint pot cup can be added to that list.