Barney

Although if we don't enter said arrangement, and hold on to the player for 7 days so they can't play, I suspect that the player would be much less likely to return because things aren't amicable. I think we're ultimately between a rock and a hard place, and that what we've done is probably the better of the two options as it might encourage one or both players to show some loyalty.

Regardless of who the manager is, we're going to run into this issue - if we don't have players on contract, then there's nothing stopping clubs higher up (or with more money) from approaching players, then it's ultimately up to the player whether they want to stay, or move on. There's still a chance that one or both of the players will have some loyalty to Town, and are approaching this as a temporary way to get game time and maintain fitness... but I'm not confident.

Agree with much of what's been said above - LS's suggestion of getting players to sign nominal contracts so that they command a fee should they move on higher sounds good to me, but as I've said before isn't something that I think we can just do unilaterally. If we do, then those promising young players that might have joined us would go up the road to another club in the division who aren't insisting on this, as it affords them a much greater chance of moving up the leagues if they do well. It would be great if all clubs at our step agreed to do this en-masse, so players didn't have the option of going to a club willing to take them on a non-contact basis, it would be even better if the FA / Leagues put something official in place to reimburse clubs that have nurtured talented youngsters who have then gone on to do well higher up... but I'm not holding my breath.

I wasn't at the game, but very pleasing to see things unfold on Twitter, we have this sort of performance in us, just not the consistency. Let's hope for a similar performance on Tuesday, and then get some injured players fit in the enforced break (assuming we do resume the season at some point).

Also maybe worth saying, I was very impressed with Carshalton's coverage on their YouTube channel - the camera work was decent enough, and the commentator was engaging, and well briefed on both line ups. No idea if they're going to be reading this, but definitely a thumbs up from me 👍

Good summary Raingod - pretty dire watching in the second half, after we didn't look terrible first half (although I missed the first 20). We're going to lose games, that's a given, but when we do lose we really are awful. I've said it before: I don't totally object to a direct style of play, I can remember some very good Enfield sides in the early / mid 90s that were happy to go long - the difference being that they had the personnel to do it. If we're going to go long all the time, why not get some strikers who are comfortable holding the ball up? I accept that Okoje is injured, but surely we need a plan B (whether that's a backup target man, or a change in system / playing style). Bottom line, we're 4th in the table, so I'm not too down about things, but I do think this is largely a false position, with some decent sides having games in hand. As RG mentioned, we have a tough November, and I think we'll know a lot more about where this team is going after that run of fixtures. If the defensively resilient side that have been grinding out results at home by (at times) winning ugly show up, then I think we'll still be in the mix at the right end of the table. If the side that seems devoid of any game plan or direction that has been losing away games turn up, then I do fear for the season.

Nice finish for their second - only one side deserves to be winning this from what I've seen

Gotta love Harry Ottaway though, makes it look easy

Agreed about the kit clash - very strange! Also impressed by the upgraded floodlights. Not a good game at all, and we probably deserved to be behind at halftime, but for some wayward finishing from Margate. Too may long balls lumped up for their No. 5 to win, and Billy working hard but not getting much for his efforts. Second half looked like more of the same, and then for once instead of kicking long, McDonald rolled the ball out to Urquhart, who traveled into midfield and seemed to cause Margate more issues than we had for the entire game up until that point. From then on, we actually played pretty well and just about deserved the 3 points based on chances alone. We also defended very well in the most part, and I can't remember them having a chance in the second half. Not a great game, not a great performance going forward, but good to see some defensive resiliency. On that showing, we definitely don't look like a side second in the table, although to be fair, they didn't look like a side 3rd from bottom!

Agreed - I'm not saying we should either. All I'm saying is that I think Okoje is a more natural centre forward, and foil for Bricknell, and we miss him as a result. Although I wasn't at the game on Saturday, based on what people have said, it sounds like we should have changed things sooner when they weren't working, and should generally be more adaptable in terms of formation.

I wasn't at the game on Saturday, but was on Tuesday - the biggest frustration for me is that we clearly can turn up and play very well at times, but we just can't seem to do it consistently enough. We need to put together the consistent run of performances and results that our squad is more than capable of - I think Andy deserves a lot of credit in putting an (in my view) excellent squad together, but the pressure is now on him to get us playing well (or at least grinding out results when things aren't clicking) game after game, not just from time to time. As a side point, as I know a lot has been spoken about how isolated Bricknell is at times, I do think that Okoje is a key player for us, and an excellent foil for Bricknell, and him getting injured has set us back significantly. Does anyone have any update on his injury and how long he's expected to be sidelined for?

I think we're in the usual situation that we find ourselves in at this point in the season (albeit there are probably quite a few more unknowns and other factors at play for obvious reasons). Bottom line, until we sign players, it makes sense to keep our cards close to our chest so as not to alert other clubs of who we are looking at. I know this is frustrating, but am happy to be patient in this respect if the board / management think this is the correct approach. Anyway, I hope everyone on here is healthy, not too bored and coping as best as they can with the situation we find ourselves in - I'm really looking forward to some non league footie in the near future, especially if we have the chance to safely watch it!

I can kinda understand why he'd want to go somewhere to get game time, as he was down the pecking order towards the end of last season with Urquhart playing left back. It's a shame though, as he's a decent player. Do PBT have some cash all of a sudden, or do we think the likely reason for a move is just to be guaranteed a start?

Interesting to hear how others are coping with the situation we all find ourselves in. I'm normally a homeworker, so not much change there, but it's a lot harder to balance work with having our 21 month old charging around the house and demanding constant attention. My wife is a primary school teacher, and is expected to attend work 1 day every 2 weeks to support the 5 or so key workers' children that her school now has regularly attending, so that's another challenge for us to manage. She's also having to set work on a daily basis, and call all children in her class once a week. All in all, I can't really complain, and I know that there are many others that are in more difficult situations with more upheaval from their normal lives and routines than us. We've found that doing a family walk as our daily exercise is something to look forward to, although my daughter doesn't quite get the concept of social distancing, wanting to get up close and personal with every person/dog/inanimate object. I've noticed that near enough to a person, everyone we see is much more friendly and willing to engage when out and about (whilst still sensibly distancing). I'll be going out to do our weekly shop later today, which should be interesting - I'm also shopping for my parents who are in an age bracket that makes them more vulnerable. We've found that video conferencing is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, and in some cases we're having more social contact with friends that aren't local than we would do normally. Lastly, I wish all Non League fans (and anyone else that stumbles across this thread) all the best. Things are difficult and will be for some time, but there will be an end to this - in the mean time, do your best to stay positive, assist others as much as you can without putting yourself at additional risk and keep safe 👍

I think it's a very emotive subject, and there's an awful lot of additional stress on everyone at the moment - I'd suggest that we all might be well advised to take a step back and think before we post. Ultimately at the end of the day, we are (mainly) all Town fans, and I think all good people despite our many disagreements - now is the time to be supportive of each other, and hopefully this forum can be a source of humour/banter as well as keeping the Town collective in touch with each other.