I'm still around...been away without internet access so haven't been able to post for a while.
20 league games played, we'll soon be halfway through the season, so I thought it a good time to take stock of where we're at.
I'm sure we're all disappointed at conceding the late equaliser yesterday and dropping the 2 points, however it was a derby game, away from home and it sounded like it was a fair result.
So, overall, 6th in the league, not too far off the top 3 positions, in the 3rd round of the FA Cup and the Southern final of the JPT. If I'd been offered this a couple of months ago I'd ahve jumped at it, wouldn't we all?
I know the JPT is always rightly seen as low priority but as we're now so close I'd like to see us get to Wembley...good for morale and income too.
We won't win the FA Cup but we have got a good draw with absolutely nothing to lose, that suits me fine.
As for the League...we're in a reasonable position. I have to say I can't see Crawley slipping but Southend seem possibly to be having a hiccup and Cheltenham, although flying at the moment, have quite a few loan players in the first team who won't be around all season. Shrewsbury will stay around but they lost yesterday and having seen them earlier in the season I don't see them as better than us.
I guess what I'm saying is that we have every reason to think we can push on in the second half of the season. We have a large enough pool of players to cope with injuries and individual loss of form. I don't think we need to bring in three to five players in January, we need to keep team changes to a minimum. We have settled defence and midfield but we could do with a little more goal threat.
I'm optimistic...last season we were in the losing habit, now we're in the habit of not losing, providing we maintain that we'll keep picking up points and be in contention.
Thoughts?
PS Clock moment - regarding RG's post about the ROLEX. My clock memory is of the 5th round FA Cup replay game against Nottingham Forest in 1967, fourth minute of injury time, 0-1 down. Last desperate attack, the ball falls to Bruce Walker on the edge of their penalty area and he hits an unstoppable left footer in to the top corner (he could really hit a ball but usually without much degree of accuracy). The clock showed 9.15, next day the Adver included a picture of the clock in their report. Great moment.
Termly report
posted on 11/12/11
Nice to hear from you again dtmb, agree about the point from Rovers, don't get much from the mem very often and like you said a draw was about right.
Sitting in the playoff positions around the midway mark is where I thought we would be so I'm hoping now we
can gain those extra points to get us up into the top 3
sooner rather than later. I also don't think we need
another batch of players joining in January. I'm hoping
and expecting that we keep Ritchie,Caddis, Flint and
Foderingham and if that is the case apart from a hit
man up front we should be strong enough to make a
genuine push for a return to Dvision one.
As a teenager I remember climbing the clock to wave
back at the Town End when we were beating Bury six or seven nil, think it ended up being eight and apparently Danny Wilson was playing for them.
posted on 12/12/11
I agree with Don's appraisal.
We don't want a load of new players in January, it will just complicate things.
On the adverse side, the players that have performed really well, haven't been signed by DiC, Foderingham apart. So we have, IMO, a lot of dross to sort out before signing more. We need a consistent goalscorer, maybe we already have one in our ranks but has yet to prove it. A settled side has got to be a bonus, no need to upset that.
As for the clock, I went to all 3 games in that cup tie v Forest. We played well up there for a deserved 0-0, then came the replay at the muddy CG. I missed Walker's goal, having to leave early to get the 9.10 train back to Chipp.
Credit to them, Chipp Grammar School realised the significance of the tie & organised a coach up to Villa, negating the need for issuing truancy orders. Tony Hicks in goal did his best, but....!
posted on 12/12/11
Notts, yes it was eight, and the following Tuesday we hit four past Arsenal in the League Cup quarter final...12 goals in four days, can't ever see that happening again!
Red, I went to all 3 games too...I remember the chaos at Villa Park, lots of us arriving late because of traffic. I had to crawl under a police horse to get in!
posted on 12/12/11
Remember being squashed in like sardines at highbury and the pandemonium when Billy Tucker equalised.
Also both the games against Wolves, I'm often telling my son about those games. Apart from the disappointment of the score up at Wolves our windscreen shattered and we had to drive most of the way home with the wind howling into the car. Mostly happy days though !