Tadays Game

[CeeJay]

Bloody woeful !!!!!!!!!

 

How the hell can we play like a proper football team for 30 minutes and then so completely fall apart ?

 

That first 30 minutes was pretty good, in my opinion, but you just knew we needed to make our domination count. We should have been at least 2 and possibly 3 up by the break and I got the distinct impression that Scarborough weren’t up for it today. So what went wrong ? We started to drop to their level, but we couldn’t stop there could we? Oh no, we had to drop way below that level, all the way to the Sunday leagues, it seemed. Their No.7 must have thought Christmas had come early: time and time again we gave him enough space and time to cause total panic. The longer the game went on, the more desperate and panicky we looked. The only consolation was that they were so bad that they couldn’t take full advantage of our generosity.

 

And there lies the rub – Scarborough were poor, just like Accrington and Forest Green, but we don’t seem capable of beating their like. How many times have we seen opponents’ wide players having far too much space and time? How often have we seen our entire defence sucked towards the ball like magnets? How many balls to an unmarked far post?

 

Finally, I’m very worried now for next week – if Notts County have any idea how we’re playing lately, they must be feeling very confident of not just beating us, but taking us to the cleaners.

 

Anyway, rant over. But I’ll turn up next Saturday more in hope than expectation.

 

[Student Scum]

Absolutely agree. We SHOULD have made the first half superiority count but as usual we didn't (or couldn't?).

 

Not going to moan about the ref (yes he was ******* s***e) but we cannot allow ourselves to bemoan dropped points and put the blame squarely at the feet of the officials.

 

We MUST start to take these games by the scruffs of their neck and push on to increase our lead (if we happen to find ourselves in that position)

 

I thought we looked far better than them for the majority of the first and just fell apart after the break.

 

PS If anyone can shed any light whatsoever on Pinnock's red then please share....because in the truest sense of the word (not in the Wengerian sense) I honestly didn't see the incident and it seems neither did those around me.

[GaryFB]

Pinnock was sent off for stamping on one of the Scarborough players, he could quite easily have stepped over him but stood on his leg instead.

 

Absolutely stupid

[Student Scum]

Cheers. Just looked on the BBC Conference pages and it only gave it as "violent conduct" (pretty obvious really though as what else could've deserved a straight red?!) but thanks anyhow.

 

What was he on for? About three minutes or summat?

[Andy Y. (G&NFC)]

Well if the idea is to lull any watching Notts County scout into a false sense of security, then we would have succeeded completely. It wasn't crap, it was worse than that. With all due respect to Scarborough, they were by far the worst side we have seen down here this year and yet after the first 30 minutes, they looked the better side.

 

You have to seriously question what goes on in the dressing room at half time as the first five to ten minutes of the second half are ALWAYS a nightmare! How their No 32 missed that chance is beyond me completely.

 

As for the sending off! I have to admit to not seeing it, it was that late! However, the people I was standing next to said that the guy was on the floor after a tackle and Pinnock simply stood on his thigh. It looked to them as though it was pre-meditated and he deserved the straight red. If thats the case, it was about the only thing the ref got right during the whole game.

 

Oli, who looked by far our best player was given no protection at all today, the Scarborough central defenders looked like they were trying to swop shirts with him throughout the whole game.

 

Without doubt our poorest for a while, which if you look at the awful standard of reffing, makes you (almost) thankful that we kept hold of a point.

[FourFourTwo]

For some reason we always look totally exposed defending the open end, especially the ball over the top, and on the flanks. Personally I don't think we defend deep enough, so I'd like us to play Shearer behind Duku and Moore in a sweeper role. I'm sure that would tighten us in defence

at home

[I.C.@G&NFC]

What a shower of sh*t we were, the Dagenham game all over again. First half good, but should of been three up, with the game dead and buried. Instead, second half we should of been dead and buried.

 

I've got no accusations to aim at Andy today, it was entirely down to the team, and has been for most of the season. Do us all a favour lads, don't bother turning up next week or any other week for that matter. The entire squad should go back to the teams their on loan from or hang up their boots and go back to boring humdrum jobs, and never ever contemplate putting on a pair of football boots again. You were beyond bad, you were farcical, the Spinal Tap of non-league football. I'll keep coming to the home games as I'm a season ticket holder, but it won't be renewed at the end of the season.

 

<img src="/images/graemlins/bootyshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/bootyshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/bootyshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/bootyshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/bootyshake.gif" alt="" />

[Gordon T]

How can you say that with so many games of the season still to play?

[CeeJay]

Now I've calmed down a bit, there were a couple of other worrying points I wanted to make.

 

Firstly, even allowing for Christmas shopping and the bloody awful weather, only 700ish in the crowd today ! Any hope of going full-time and really competing at this level seems a hell of a long way off at the moment. But, in fairness, you'd be hard pressed to blame anyone for not wanting to fork-out £10 to get cold and wet, and have to watch the fare we're offering at the moment.

 

Secondly, the indiscipline - quite apart from Pinnocks senseless red, again we gave away too many silly free-kicks and picked up another handful of bookings. Will we never learn !

 

On a somewhat more positive note, the table suggests that a 7 horse race is quickly developing at the foot of the table and, even allowing for the dire second half display today, I still beleive we are better than the other six. However, it's far too easy to see us getting sucked right into it if we can't sort ourselves out. In my original post, I've already mentioned some of the seemingly all too obvious problems, but there's also our inability to clear the ball from the back to anywhere other than touch or an opponent and, sadly, Wilkos general inability to quick a ball straight. Don't get me wrong, I'm firmly in the 'Wilko for England' crowd, but not when it comes to his kicking.

 

Anyway, now I feel I've got most of today out of my system and can begin to look forward to next week. That is, if Sky are going to leave anywhere for us halfway liners to stand ! Perhaps the lads will be as positive as we saw against Exeter and Chester.

 

Come on you reds !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JimGNFC]

Another Jekyll & Hyde performance. IC as a season ticket holder, I'm equally frustrated by the Home form but given the weather conditions, today's game was never going to be a classic and at least we got a point - just! Even so, how many people can honestly remember the last time we won at Home in the League without referring to the Fixtures Page?

 

What worries me is:

 

a) This season, we are clearly struggling to match the full-time

teams for 90 plus minutes. As with the Dagenham game on Tuesday,

Scarborough were dominant throughout the second half.

 

The full-time teams seem to be able to step up a gear in the second

half, while we tend to go in reverse.

 

Attendances: 747 today. Is the FA Cup Game likely to be a sell out?

This is the Clubs Big Opportunity to attract into the ground

people who wouldn't normally watch the Fleet.

 

If its likely tickets are going to remain unsold then why not give

them to a few local schools? It would be a great PR exercise

and generate more support for the players in front of the camera's.

 

A packed Stonebridge Road, with spectators close to the pitch is an

intimidating place for any Away team.

 

Nice to hear the drum today and the singing behind the goal - more of the same on Saturday - well done guys!

[KShep]

bearing in mind we had 747 there, the plough end made alot of noise! More of that please!! Ref was abysmal, we were too.

[Paulo GNFC]

Think most points already covered but more valuable points thrown away. Just think how much better a position (not just in places up the league) we'd be sitting with 24pts instead of 19! The really frustrating thing is we had the opportunities against two teams clearly not on top of their form, this week.

 

Lack of discipline is creeping in again and Pinno's sending off was a disgrace and let the team & club down big time. Although the result probaly wouldn't have been any different. AF did state in his programme notes that he wants to see a 'mean streak' in our players but I doubt that's what he meant.

 

All would agree that Wilko's kicks need some improvement and he does need to come out and command his area from set pieces.

 

With big Rob up front a few crosses from either wing would be useful but no Walshe in the starting line up to help deliver!?? Walshe comes on for Drury (?? one of the better players on the park)and minutes later Haworth comes off ????

Strange decisions....

 

Finally, we have some good big lads at the back yet can't seem to handle set pieces very well, why?? Scarbro's forwards were smaller than most of ours this year (must be panto season!!) but still caused problems for us. First half hour we were attacking (pushing up to the halfway line most of the time) and in control of the game... then for some strange reason we drop too deep and the back four are under constant pressure for the duration. Exactly as we did against Daggers.

 

 

That's it, I feel better for that.

At least we're above the Git now, albeit alphabetically...I think!

 

Let's hope things improve for next Saturday and we play some good footie for everyone at the game & tv viewers and have a great day all round.

 

Come on the Fleet.... fame is just around the corner!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[I.C.@G&NFC]

Quote:

Gordon T said:
How can you say that with so many games of the season still to play?

Halfway through the season and only 19 points,easily. With rubbish performances like yesterday, the fans that the club are in such desperate need of, just to survive, will leave in their droves. Less season tickets will be renewed, at the start of next season and potential fans will be reluctant to come to games until a good run is put together. The 747 gates will become standard, finances will drop, the poorer players will be released and the better ones sold, just to keep the club afloat. They spiral downwards to Conference South and obscurity.

We all say every week, myself included. 'We can beat them'. If we draw against a top 6 club, we've done well. But, we draw and lose to so called inferior opposition. We're deluding ourselves, we haven't got what it takes to survive. We may not get relegated this season, but it will happen. Next season or the season after. We're in a Catch 22 situation. Rubbish football, low crowds. Low crowds, low income. Low income, poorer players. Poorer players, Rubbish football.

Despite climbing one place, we're still relying on others teams results just to survive, but are unable to take a hold of our own destiny.

[FleetFanatic]

Quote:

I.C.@G&NFC said:
[We're in a Catch 22 situation. Rubbish football, low crowds. Low crowds, low income. Low income, poorer players. Poorer players, Rubbish football.

Which takes me back to my points in the 'worrying statistics' thread:

'The club had planned for a £50,000 loss this season. There was no guarantee of a cup run. So relatively speaking, the club is £72,500 up already against the budgets PLUS the new sponsorship deal.

Therefore maybe it's time to add 2 or 3 better quality players to the squad and REALLY take the club forward.

Then maybe the club will get the attendance levels it seeks.
Then maybe the club will move nearer to going full-time.

It's alright speaking of ambition - but sometimes it needs to be shown.'

'Success on the pitch brings in greater attendances, which then increases the cash-flow allowing the club to advance further. Look at the Ryman Championship year - by the end of the season, attendances had rocketed!'

'We need to make big improvements on the pitch - do that & the attendances will surge up. This in turn will increase the cash into the club & maybe allow the club to consider becoming full-time.

'As it stands - at best: we will be in the conference year after year just to make up the numbers, with our best players leaving for 'bigger clubs'; more likely (unfortunately) we will be relegation fodder.'

Can't the majority of people see these arguments?????

What the f**k would be happening without the cup money and without the sponsorship deal? Neither of these were budgeted for at the start of the season.

As for attendances, to quote somebody yesterday, 'we have a population of 60,000 plus and we can't even get 5% of them down here' (which would be 3,000!) - most noticeably, the members of the Asian community stay away in droves.

Maybe we need to scout Guru Nanak and see if they have any players capable of playing at this level!

[jc]

Relegation may look to be inevitable in the long run, if the club's financial status/fanbase remains the same, but at least we can be consoled by the fact that there may just be three sides worse than we are again this season. Tamworth are going through a really rough spell (although a draw against Shrewsbury yesterday wasn't a bad result), while Farnborough and Northwich haven't had a huge upturn in results since changing their managerial set-ups. We'll just have to hope that this remains the case throughout the rest of the season.

 

Agreed, yesterday's match was pretty uninspiring, and it was frustrating to see us concede a headed goal against surely the shortest side we have played against this season, but as JimGNFC says, at least we managed to take something from the game. However, naturally this sort of attitude to results won't be good enough if we keep throwing away leads time and time again throughout the rest of the season.

[KShep]

Typical Fleet, play like a brilliant full-time team for the first 30 minutes, then passing and teamwork gets sloppy, ref is s***e, go in at half-time, winning or drawing, play pants in the second half, concede a late far post header, 400 or so 'fans' leave when we concede, or just before that, Wilko plays a blinder, so do a couple of others (Macca, Rob Owen).Why aren't we consistent through 90 minutes, let alone a couple of games?? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

[American FLEET FAN No1]

I've said it before.....and i'll say it again!You are all repeating the obvious.Unless somebody with REAL money.....not piggy bank change .....comes in the club is going nowhere but downwards. Ex-league players are needed and they cost money. This club has never lived up to it's potential for the same reasons....lack of investment ....lack of investment...lack of investment. To many Chairmen,(in my view)have invested for the short term,spent money and taken it back out as quickly as they could when the club showed a profit, because they were not BIG money people. I can't blame them for that, but it is never going to bring League Football to Stonebridge Road. <img src="/images/graemlins/wall.gif" alt="" />

[I.C.@G&NFC]

Quote:

jc said:
at least we can be consoled by the fact that there may just be three sides worse than we are again this season. Tamworth are going through a really rough spell (although a draw against Shrewsbury yesterday wasn't a bad result), while Farnborough and Northwich haven't had a huge upturn in results since changing their managerial set-ups. We'll just have to hope that this remains the case throughout the rest of the season.

How thick are you, this is exactly the point I'm making. Relying on other teams results so we can stay up.

[FourFourTwo]

The main priority is still a striker, Oli and Haworth don't look like scoring, and with their height advantage surprisingly won little in the air yesterday. Some might say they don't get the service, but McKimm, Perkins, and Drury all get into scoring positions, Get a striker and we'd pull away from the relegation zone

[FleetFanatic]

From what I saw yesterday, not only do the players you mentioned above get into scoring positions, but as a team we also get severely out of position. How many times did Scarborough switch the play to their left wing and find plenty of space? We had no shape, no balance.