Thetownend.com

Morning all.

Today is the day we that we get back on track. Cooper just picks his best 11. Crucially, he doesn't fuck about with the defence, and the Break lays a claim to starting up front.

We're a good side, who play some lovely football... Time to remind the division and, more importantly, ourselves of that FACT!

COYR.

4-0

Ball achingly disappointing as it is to be all but out of contention for a top two spot, I feel like a lot of pressure has been lifted. Hopefully the players will feel the same and go out show what they can really do.

4-1 Smith, Williams, Obika, Luongo.

Good luck to the Break - whoever you may be  8)

No idea what's going to be served up today.  Could really do with a performance to cheer me up.

It will be good to see Ricketts as post of the back three and no more tinkering.

meh, something will something or something.

Feels like the start of a new season today.  Unusual position to be in: Autos have gone, Play Offs all but guaranteed.

We have a 5 game mini-season with not a lot of pressure to fine tune before the Play Offs.  Could be our best ever opportunity we'll ever get to prepare for them.

I ma returning to the County Ground so order will be restored - 1-0

Im at Aintree today so my brother got my ticket. Last time he hsd it we won 5-2.
That will do for today .

To me it feels like the end of the season. That's quite dangerous if the players feel the same way. Got to get on it.

Hope they share your attitude not mine!

0-3 loss because it's the Swindon we know, not the Swindon we need right now.

Back in England and going to the game. Hopefully we start to put away our chances today.

2-0 win. Williams x2

Entertaining 2-2.

Start of an amazing run which will see us get 2nd spot.

Stranger things have happened

3-0, Break x 2, Turnbull

First game of the season I'm not really arsed about. Fuck knows which Town will turn up. 

1-0, Smith.

I've lost track of who is unavailable?

Forget The Franchise, forget Brizzle Shitty this is the real derby (well it is for me).

After the good work of beating them up here we better not ruin it by not beating the fuckers at ours.

I will get more stick if we lose this than I did for either of the last two games.

A nervy 1-0 to Town from a late OG

1-0 will be just dandy.

This is a big worry.  Not aimed at you personally, but we (the fans) need to snap out of this ASAP and start acting like we're on a promotion push.  The autos have gone, and I suppose it's fair enough to lick our wounds for a game or two.  But then you have to get back to it...and quickly.

Kasim, Branco, Nathan suspended, Toffolo doubftful.

I'm feeling similar to Batch and Chalkie.  Not good.   >:(

Need a decent result today to get a bit of momentum back. 

Precisely my point.  Fans bear as much responsibility for building that momentum as anyone else.  There will be 11 players on the pitch and 8,000+ in the stands.

Not sure will reach that tbh
Been a heavy easter for a lot and home again next weekend then tuesday

Hope am wrong tho
Need a stylish win to kick start everyone

Yeah, that's kind of how I feel.

The odd thing is, we're in a fantastic position.
Had we been mid table a couple of months ago and went on a 10 game winning streak to be where we are now we'd all be absolutely buzzing. The last two games have knocked the wind out of our sails.

I want to feel excited, but I just don't.

By contrast, I haven't been to a game since February, the sun is out and I'm looking forward to seeing us edge Peterborough in close game to get a bit of belief back.

Ardiles is right. The final few games of the regular season are all about the players getting back to how we know they can play and no other team being able to touch them (certainly not outside the top two any way).

I was on the floor after the MK game because I knew that realistically our automatic promotion hopes had gone and I'd even written off our chances of winning the play offs. Consequently I watched the City game with no real expectations or nerves. As a result I found it strangely enjoyable (as much as you can enjoy a 3-0 defeat) and it reminded me that we are still a damned good team.

It's all about the momentum. We've got time to get it going again and hit the play offs running as the form team. That is what this is all about now.

I remember a game v Posh from 77, which was almost to the day....we'd been undefeated for 10 games, and had an interesting side, which liked to draw games 2-2.

Back then, at this time of year at the CG, the pitch would be devoid of grass, and then as now, we'd had a bit of  dry period, so rock hard....I used to dread it, as throw in a bit of wind as there was on the day, and made difficult conditions.  We were terrible got beat 4-0.

Posh had a couple of lads, Chris Turner and Jack Carmichael....who Bob Smith later signed as part of a strange job lot from...New Boston Tea Party or something like that.

Wouldn't be surprised by something like that today.

You're our beacon of hope, Reg!

Cooper has a massive job on his hands today.....it's important that the last 2 games are not indicative of throwing in the towel, and given an erratic opponent who can win away games as well as lose, it won't be easy.  A point would do...

Was at that game. Lost the next few home ones as well I think.

They were called the...

(http://www.logoserver.com/Soccer/NewEnglandTeaMen78.GIF)

And here is one of the afore mentioned. I also remember Mike Flanagan, the former Charlton player playing for them...

(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTD99IVRs7lzv3TU6xUpelrHrNKQOkJHrWFRV8J0vqRG0mgtegBYg)

  Yep....New England Tea Men.

  Turner got on the pitch a few times, Carmichael never did, and there was a third, whose name annoyingly is escaping me.

We played Peterborough on Grand National day in 1993...a one nil win, it's a good omen, I tell thee.

The players that are on their way this summer will go through the motions.
The season is ss good as finished. Peterborough to score after a lot of early pressure from us. The rest you know. 2 0 defeat.

Point will be no disaster.1-1 with Obika on target

bloody hell. Anton Rogers IS starting.

Willo and beaks up front.

Yes. It's a shame that only the top two go up. We could really do with some kind of play off system. It would keep the season alive for so many more teams... :hmmm:

Good luck to him.

I'd forgotten that we had about four players in that squad.

anyone having trouble with Player? It's so out of character!

Holy shit.  Where do you start with that?

Seriously...if that's how you feel, you're probably not cut out for football.  Best find another hobby, maybe?

A little disappointed that Hylton has not been given the nod from the off.

Other than Rodgers no surprises really.

Foderingham (C), Ricketts, Stephens, Turnbull, Byrne, Luongo, Rodgers, Gladwin, Toffolo, Williams, Obika
Subs: Belford C, Barthram, Hylton, Barker, Randall, Swift, Smith

Just Fucking Win :D

Looking very thin on the ground.  A fair number of st holders by us aren't here.  Can't see many will have paid on the gate after two 3-0 defeats.

They've brought a drum?

I was at that game too, didn't Trevor Anderson run rings round them on the wing and do everything except score?

Turnbull out for next two now  :badmood:

that was not a foul/yellow. now we lose turnbull

Yes they've brought a fucking annoying drum.  I am surprised how empty the ground is this afternoon.

Crap decision, good tackle

I'm sure they will all be back for Wembley if we get there.

On the upside, it's brilliant how dirty our defence will be able to be once they're all back.

Rodgers seems to be keeping the ball well

I think we can open Peterborough up. but we aren't setting enough of the ball to put on some sustained pressure.

Penalty.

come on willo

Misses again, oh dear

Missing today after two 3-0 defeats in a week cost me a hundred quid to appear at. Hopefully we get back on track.

And we've missed again  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

lolz

What a fucking wanker.

Again!  :crash:

struggling to see the funny side

at least he smashed it missed rather than fanny flick missed.

I am sorry Willo but please please please never take another penalty for us.

Why do BBC Wiltshire have someone at the Preston City game?

Yep me too.  It's really not that great again and the crowd are starting to turn.

they think we are interested

BBC5 live have someone there.  Radio Wiltshire dont have anyone there they just tap into what radio 5 have.

Gladwin sounds lively again. Good thing someone's still got something to play for.

half time summary "both teams are rubbish" - Chris aged 6.

gladwin is involved but very mixed in what he's doing,

Not looking forward to a penalty shoot-out in the playoffs.

Sounds like a standard Galdwin game then.

No, it's a BBC Wilts reporter. Must have been booked at a time when we thought it might matter.

Player seems to have stopped working completely now  :no:
 

Game Summary: It's just a bit shit

I think the Town End are watching the racing

Uninspiring

Plenty of possession and a fair few chances, but again we've been very wasteful.  So far it's not really been the response we needed after two heavy defeats

I can't help but wonder how much shooting practice we actually do in training, both penalties and general shots.  We get so few on target.

I don't think we've won a game after missing a penalty this season have we?

Frustrating.

The keeper showed Williams his left and Willo lost his bottle and crashed it against the bar. Instead of trying to get to the rebound he turned and held his head.

Luongo keeps over hitting his through balls and both Gladwin and Rodgers have been bright but up and down.

This game will finish 1-0

my biggest issue with gladwin is defensively he doesn't do enough. he has less of a tackle than my 10 year old and doesn't always track back.

going forward though he can be brilliant or crap, but when he's brilliant you can see why it's worth trying to get consistency out of him.

I'm not saying luongo is going through the motions, but he's played the first half with a knotted hankie on his head while eating an ice cream. actually that's not fair. he's had a couple of good moments but I expect the big players to take games like this by the scruff of the neck.

anyway not a great game. hardly any shots on target  by either team. though we looked like we could take them apart but in truth after the first 20 it's kind of petered out a bit.

Williams looks low on confidence. Is reaction from the penalty said it all

fuck me, glad I haven't been reading the forum much for the last week. Are we in the play-offs or the relegation zone? I can't tell from some of the posts on here.

sitter for willo. he needed that one :(

A few more performances as of late and neither  :hmmm:

Foderingham's still limping from just before half time.  I'll be surprised if he finishes the game.

Williams misses a gilt edged chance and nothing is coming off for him.  Feel sorry for him.

it's a match day thread, whereby you write a reaction to the match you see in front of you . if you want to start an appreciation thread go ahead.

Goal for Preston, tehe.

bet the love in stops now between Preston & City

Player has stopped working altogether for me. Can't even access the site.

still 0 0. crowd increasingly impatient

dont like the way this seems to be going

very scrappy. posh having their spell

Shithead wankers scored now 1-1

swift waiting. should be mas or gladwin to make way

To summarise how football is generally going across the country today, 'Still 0-0' is trending on twitter.

Except for Sunderland, who are four nil down to Palace.

ffs coops. was our best midfielder :)

good sub. willo was crap and having a confidence crisis...

Obika and Hylton-what some were hoping for.Hope it pays off for us

Get in!

good time to score your first goal

it did
 :pint:

Yessss! Really happy for Hylton

WELL DONE SON!!!!!!   AND COOPER!

Five-star Hylton! (Just a preview of tomorrow's Adver)

cha-ching.

very well worked

A legend is born.

Yay. Me Paris, you Hylton.  :clap:

Get in!

We can hope.

fair fucks, the subs and goal have really livened us up. posh still dangerous though.

Sam Morshead ‏@SamMorshead_  2m2 minutes ago
7,126 here (285 from Posh)

Franchise have had a grand total of 0 shots against Port Vale.

They have just noted on Five Live that due to us winning City won't be getting promoted today..... another thing to blame us for!

This makes me smile.

 :)

Bloody well done lads,and Cooper

Phew. Sounded a bit laboured, but what we needed. I wonder if Hylton will get a start next week?

Yeovil relegated.

Crikey - we're not overflowing with confidence at the moment, but a win is a win  :beers:

perfect summary

Job done.

Only team in the top seven to win this afternoon. That's at least two points on all of them. Who's wobbling now?

Obika should have got MoM.

Rodgers decent.

That's about all.

Big 3 points and a clean sheet.  We needed that even though the performance wasn't great.

Ref was shite, not one booking for Peterborough despite repeated fouls yet Turnbull is booked for a good challenge and now misses the next 2 matches.

Ricketts mom for me.  Certainly not Luongo.

Obika or Ricketts mom for me, Rodgers not far behind!  Luongo, average at best!!  Referee due back at the Wyvern at Xmas for pantomime!

Sorry sonic about my match report but.....

A good side would have walloped us today. The amount of times we gave the ball away was farcical. In my eyes we played with an over-arragance, almost lackadaisical.

Obika was excellent and my man of the match. For all the good Obika was, Williams was bad, low on confidence and missed a penalty and a sitter and every time the ball went to him the blue shirts went away with it.

Our defenders were good today, Ricketts looked confident. Rodgers turned to shit in the second half and Luongo got a bit better, but his head seemed somewhere else.

However, the 3 points are the most important think and fair play to Hylton for getting it. If we beat Yeovil at home and Preston and Mk drop points.... Who knows!

been saying Luongo appears to be somewhere else for a while now.He is stll gonna play reasonably well techncally because he s a good player,but he should be dominatng games at this level

What is it with Williams? Why would a 20 goal striker be low on confidence?' I don't get it.

A welcome 3 points but don't let the win and clean sheet fool you. We were shit, Posh were worse. Byrne and Williams had absolute shockers to day. I'm surprised to see the positive comments about Rodgers who I thought was bollox. He'd do something decent, admire his work and then fuck it up and lost the ball in some dangerous positions today. Saying that, the number of times we gave the ball away and played ourselves into trouble a better team would have annihilated us today. Defensively we were all over the place again today.
Obika MOM for me.
It was quite interesting that the only decent tackle we put in today, Turnbull got booked. We were second best in every challenge and there were some real bottlers in the tackle today.
Its a good three points but its papering over the cracks and Posh were the perfect team to play today.  

it may be that, even though he is top scorer,he has been by no means an automatic choice

 Fair play to Cooper and the lads, badly needed something from today....and we've now got an unexpected bonus, in the form of Hylton scoring and Rodgers performing OK.

A point at Spotland confirms a PO place....

To show the difference a massive budget makes ( not that we didnt already know )
City have Bradford away tuesday and arent coming back today.
Are staying up north to prepare.


3 points today was a must and gives us 13 pts over Rochdale, they can get a max 15 so would make the playoffs a certainty with one more win.
If its tuesday over Rochdale even better.
Need to finish 3rd or 4th tho to give us a greater chance

I thought that Rodgers did very little first half, but made many mistakes second half losing the ball in dangerous positions where they should have scored if they'd been any good.

An important win today rather than a good one. Good for two reasons, 1) it gives the players a platform to improve on, any bit of extra confidence is good 2) it calms the jittery fans down a bit. I'm clearly a glass half empty person - but I thought we were collectively deflated for obvious reason, and the moans and groans were growing in perhaps disproportionate amounts to our current standing .

So on to the match itself. I make no apologies for how I saw it:

Today wasn't a great town performance, many players had off days but I think Luongo and Gladwin stand out as the main culprits for why it didn't go well. Luongo couldn't find his range of pass and again drifted in and out the game. Gladwin was mostly rubbish as opposed to he mostly good Gladwin of City. By contrast Rogers is a far more limited ability player, but he was the one putting in the effort and looking for the ball at every opportunity. This is why I thought he was out pick of our central midfielders.

Peterborough had more of the ball than I expected  as our inaccurate passing kept giving it to them. We didn't really click into gear, but at least early in the first half when we did break it looked like it might be a knife through butter had we actually found the right pass. In contrast nothing threatening our goal seemed to come from Peterborough - something that didn't really change for the first half. Our defence looked solid, and an incorrect booking for Turnbull has robbed us of possibly our best back three at Rochdale. Our attacking also petered out, and Byrne and Toffolo started to make mistakes and were none too effective.

However the one bright moment came when Obika turned smartly in the box, got a small tug on the shirt and from my seat seemed to go down easy. Up stepped Willo and hammered it onto the bar. And that summed up Willo's game really. He's easily our best striker when he's on form. But at the moment he's the Di Canio post injury Willo. He missed a sitter in the second half too. I really really want him back firing, but I'm not even sure who our best two strikers are now.

Second half all our frailties that were exposed during the City and Franchise game were there to see. We became ragged as Posh had a spell where they could have scored, looking dangerous as we failed to deal with them. Thankfully we rode the storm and Cooper spotted we needed something else on the field, so he took off Rogers (!) and brought on Swift and replaced Willo with Hylton. I'm not too sure about the first one, but hey it worked.

The one move of real quality lead to our goal, some nice passing in the Posh box saw Obika pick out Hylton who seemed not to make the best  contact on the ball, but to his delight it was far enough from the keeper to see him notch his first professional goal. After than he didn't do too much, but I guess his head was in the clouds and frankly who can blame him.

So did we deserve the win? probably not.
Would we win the playoffs playing like this? no.
Can we build from here? Absolutely.

MMOM : Rickets (or Obika)

I wonder whether the fact that his contract is ending and in light of his present form, injury record and inconsistency he is potentially unlikely to get such a lucrative one here or anywhere else may be playing on his mind - mortgage to pay and all that.

Plus his confidence always seemed to be fragile from day one.

He gave up on a few 50/50 balls today very easily.  

In terms of Williams, his head does seem to go down when he misses a good chance.  I don't think it was helped today by people getting on his back constantly after he missed the penalty.

However, people cheering when he was subbed is pathetic.  He's always been a player that becomes a scapegoat after a few poor games.

Agree with Chalkie, Byrne was shit today and has been for several months. People never seem to get on his back though and he always plays the full 90 mins.

Good write up from Batch.  Pretty much how I saw it.

Am I the only one that thinks Gladwin was decent again today? The way he ghosts pasts players could be so good in the playoffs. Ricketts MOTM for me.

Take the scrappy win!! well done to Hylton, here's to many more in a town shirt  :beers:

Gladwin was decent and shit today. He is going to be a very good player next season and will earn us a decent fee. Gladwin is different. He looks unfit with no pace but he has no problem beating players. I'm a big fan but before he becomes the finished article he will frustrate the fuck out of a lot of people.

I think the time where he got a yard of space with a step over before fucking his cross into the town end sums up Gladwin perfectly.

I like him though he does frustrate!

Yep a draw will do it

Only team in the top 11 to win

Today was all about 3 points and not the performance so on that front it is job done. however my view of the game:

Very poor from both sides, even poorer from the referee

Ricketts and Obika did well
Rodgers looked very good first half, linked up play well, but when he came out 2nd half looked like he had forgotten how to play football, rightly subbed shortly after.
Gladwin looked our most dangerous player going forward, and most likely to score, but his general play on the ball and facing his own goal wasn't the best.  If he can get his all round game sorted he will be a big player for us next season, could possible step into Mass's boots.
Turnbull was ok, but the undeserved booking seemed to affect him and he didn't seem as composed after that point.  Toffolo much the same.
Nathan Byrne did not impact the game at all and Luongo looks disinterested, moments of brilliance but not enough to influence the game.
Andy Williams confidence is shot, he is back to the player that he was before his injury, needs a spell on the bench and give him a chance to be the impact player as he was successfully at the start of the season.  Could see he was going to miss the penalty the moment he picked the ball up.

The referee was so frustrating today, picking us up on everything and letting Posh get away with everything.  Didn't seem to want to book their lot but happy to throw the yellows at us, only deserved yellow today was Toffolo.

To add to this, that fucking drum, and the "posh go marching in" song which went on for most of the first half.  :suicide:

Reminiscent of a certain Mr Bamber ?

Luongo barely completing passes, pulling out of tackles and then going straight down the tunnel at FT. Disappointing.

There's almost a part of me that wonders whether we would have been better off realising the ££ for Mass and Yaser in January, and pushing on from there with replacements.  It was a brave decision to hold on by Power, and he would have been flamed by many for selling at that point.  But Yaser, in particular, has not been the same player since the Asian Cup.  It's very frustrating.  The Youth Strategy worked wonders for 30 games; but sustaining it over 46 was maybe a little too much to ask.

That said, a good win today.  A few more of those during the next few weeks and we'll be teed up nicely for the Play Offs.

He's never clapped the fans. Suppose people will only start noticing it when looking to see if he cares.

I agree with some of that, but I thought Ricketts was outstanding in the tackle and solid in defence. Rodgers was clueless in the 2nd half, constantly giving the ball away.

His last good game was Bradford at home some time ago. I get the impression he can't wait to move on in May/June.

We had all three strikers firing in November to end of January but they have all gone off the boil.

Can't help thinking playing 1 up front hasn't helped any of them. 3 strikers fighting for one place when previously we were able to rotate the 2 into 3 places puts all of them under pressure and, chances they were burying, they started snatching at and you can see the confidence draining as we went on our first bad run.

We need to get them firing again as they were key to our best form when we blasted teams away by rushing into 3 goal leads that killed teams off before our defensive frailties were exposed.

 Look at how Preston pushed on by bringing in Johnson, Beckford and getting    Garner fit again. But that's the difference in budget they have.

There were a few who went straight to the tunnel, only four walked around!!  If they don't give a fuck how hard must it be for us - the fans who pay their wages - to give a fuck!!  Poor atmosphere, sadly outsung by 285 Posh fans and a fucking drum!!  I thought that the ground rules stated that musical instruments were not allowed - fucking well sort it!!

That's not correct. Kasim always seems to struggle when he first comes backs from international duty but anyone who saw Tuesday night's game surely can't suggest that he's lost interest, or didn't perform. He's now got a bit of a rest, due to the suspension and I'd wager he'll be back to his imperious best against Yeovil.

Maybe I'm being harsh, you're probably right.

I did think watching the City game that Gladwin will be our next big money sale after Luongo (and maybe Kasim), possibly at the end of next season. I made the comment then that he reminded me of Chris Waddle and some of the comments made about him today back that up as they are the same comments that would have been made about Waddle 25 years ago such as He looks unfit with no pace but he has no problem beating players. Or, if you want to make a Swindon related comparison, Dave Bamber, as Nice Bloke said. To be compared to either player is by no means a bad thing.

I was ripped another arsehole in the ground for saying this. I'm so pleased to know that there's another misinformed person out their.
Awful game throughout. Maybe there's something in, you don't win things with kids.
Just a thought.

On the subject of Luongo, he had a great game defensively but when it came to attacking it seemed like he'd rather take a risky pass or try to skin people every time than complete a pass that could lead to a goal. It felt a bit like if he didn't get an assist he wouldn't be happy.

It was nice to meet Tails from here today. Moved from Arkell's for the TE today. Made a nice change.

Luongo has been through a lot in the last 12 months. He went to a World Cup with training camps to get players ready after a long English season. Then he has come straight back into a pre season here, played in pretty much every game or been away with Australia. Then gone to the Asia Cup playing every game, come out of it as player of the tournament.

Since coming back to Swindon he was straight into a run of Saturday Tuesday games as we have struggled for form. He has had to deal with media attention on his future and now we are at the sharp end of the season with Saturday Tuesday games.

All of that would be enough to test experienced International players let alone a young player on a rapid trajectory. Look how many top Premier League players have had poor seasons after the World Cup.

Luongo probably needs a break physically and mentally after the last 12 months. He played great against City and today I felt his problem today was his passing radar was off rather than a lack of effort. Ideally if auto promotion goes, we should rest him up and get fresh for the play offs

Y CV
Agree with every word of that. Obika man of the match for me, running and closing down from the first to last, and set up the goal, too. First time I've seen Ricketts, and he impressed me as well.

Good post.

Add to that the issue of are we playing 5 or 6 in midfield - how many holding midfielders, trying to accommodate Swift in a team that doesn't seem able to and an ever changing cast behind him, around him and in front of him and I can see why we're not getting the best out of him.
The loss of form for Town I believe is partly attributable to bringing Swift in and then trying to play him in a normal midfield role, then in the hole. To accommodate this, we have changed our shape and personnel too much. Then we have our shit discipline yet again. Then we have Byrne's form this year where he offers fuck all defensively and exposes us down our right and his decreasing returns going forward.
We also have others teams tactically out foxing us, Rochdale, Franchise. Pikeys for example.  

And yet we are 4th and if we finish the season 4th it'll be our best placed season in 15 years.

We really miss Louis Thompson. With him in the team he always helped out the defence by tracking back. The others are less inclined to do that.

Agree with both points you made.
Just needed the ugly win today after the last two results and we got it.

I didn't think there was too much lack of effort from Luongo today. Saw him making a fair few last ditch challenges and interceptions that could have quite easily led to a chance for 'boro. Like a lot of our team though this afternoon, couldn't get the weight of his passes right at all.

Ricketts was very solid at the back, good game for him. Obika good too, lovely move to set up Hylton. I'd start with those two against Rochdale personally. Christ knows how Willo fluffed his chance at the back post, very low on confidence at the moment, certainly no lack of effort though.

Rodgers whilst looking good somehow managed to give the ball away far too often, something the whole team was guilty of (ricketts and beaker excepted maybe). Certainly we couldn't get our foot on the ball and control the game after we scored which was quite concerning. Frustrating thing is, from what I can see, is that so much of the pressure that we end up putting on ourselves comes from trying to be too clever. A couple of times I saw us delay a simple pass which the receiver was ready to receive if it was played early, only for the pass to be delayed, I'm assuming to draw an opposing player in, but the receiver has by then had to check their run or is on their heels as the ball comes to them, and suddenly they're swamped by opposition players who nick it off them.

Still, a useful 3 points to build on.

He was on the radio prior to the game and said his recovery is going well and is ahead of schedule.  Didn't elaborate, so don't know whether there's a chance he could be back for the play offs (or whether Norwich would even allow it).

if his loan deal expires after the play-offs I don't think Narrrrrcchhh can't prevent us from playing him if fit

Gladwin is a bloody good player, makes the game look easy, but I can see why people can think he isn't sometimes, as he is what you would call a languid type, in the fact he sometimes doesn't look as if he's moving much. But if he screws up, it doesn't phase him, he'll keep doing what he does, and he does it good a lot. Only thing I would say he could do with , is being a bit luckier! He probably could have had 7 or 8 goals by now. Good, full pre season, and keep those niggling hammy's under control and he'll be untouchable next season, if he keeps progressing, as it doesn't seem to matter if defenders know what he'll do, he'll beat them anyway.

good summary Sutton.

going to add that sometimes his passing is wayward or he makes the wrong decision. felt this was the case today.

but on the flip side he has made very good experience played look like idiots.

In fact, I'll predict now that a big champ side will put in a 7 figure bid for him in the summer. If I'm wrong I'll draw Himmler glasses to go with Audrey's hitler tache on him.

Very well put, I really rate Gladwin, unfortunately I've got an idiot sat in front of me that just shouts abuse at Gladwin everytime he touches the ball which is getting very annoying.

wow! million

And I'll get Adje pissed in the Market Porter before the Millwall game...

Just so you know, every time we beat Peterborough one nil on Grand National day we get promoted. It's a small sample size,I grant you, but fuck it I'll take it.

deal

You don't think they can't prevent it?? I have to admit to being slightly confused at this point  ???

I think most comments on here got it near spot on.

For me best players were, as most have said, Obika and Ricketts,
but also Luongo, not for his work going forwards, but his work after he
took over Rodgers role, that was key to not dropping 2 points for me.

Rodgers looked like what we needed to shield the defence first half - he also
played the pass of the match. Then 2nd half he went completely to pot... very strange.

Still not seeing much evidence in the forward play that the front 6 are being coached
enough on attacking ideas. They seem indecisive most of the time and have limited vision, Swift aside
(delicious corner near the end, with the lobbed ball to Toffee who then shot a la Coutinho - not !)

First half Gladys had acres of space to attack, but bumbled it a few times - instead of taking it on
into the penalty area so a defender would be forced to come at him and leave space for a forward to slip in.
Then lost the ball 2nd half a few times, overdribbling. If someone can work on those things, that would help.
(yes I like the lad)

obviously I meant can not can't.

So you actually typed an apostrophe and and additional letter 't' for no reason whatsoever.

You are one crazy mother fucker. 

I've had too much to drink. Two pints of squash is far too much for a Saturday evening.

Scandinavian herring beer does that to you I've heard.

You can never have 'too much to drink'. Don't listen to those condescending so called 'medical' 'experts'.

Look at it this way...

(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTXwpAOQlLd6hNeE9TAUxzlu4HiBV7fNnuPQcM5SwGPiji8xOQIHA)

There are more old drunks than there are old doctors.

Which proves my point...I think....?

It does, how many doctors post on here is what we should be considering.

Which was my point...I think? ;) :pint:

It proves my point and was your point. Eveyone's happy  8)

Apart from the dead doctors.

Should've had a beer...alcohol kills germs and preserves things.

Has anyone got a link for the highlight yet?

That was as shit as City was good and we fucking won....fuck knows how but long may it continue.

Never seen so many bottled tackles in my life..

Gave the ball away cheap and passes constantly under hit.

Boro were fucking woeful and as previous posts suggest we got them just at the right time.

Second half was dire and it seemed as if it was a cup second leg and we just wanted to hang on..

Paris goal was excellent and well worked, good play from Obike who like Ricketts should of got MOM.

Um Bongo drifted in and out. I am never bothered by players clapping at home games, away games, yes... So don't give a shit.

Another win out of all the last few and we are in the Poffs....

Let's hope the strikers find their scoring boots again.

Good grief we were poor today IMO but we got a massive 3 points so I'm happy this evening

roll on Rochdale!

Personally, Ricketts MOTM... I thought he was excellent.

Rodgers played well in parts, but did look off the pace in others.

Williams just had no luck, looks devoid of confidence. Their defenders were all over him, but instead of getting on with it, he seemed to sulk. Though, I thought the 'sitter' took a bobble in front of him, or he wasn't expecting it... I was probably clutching at straws, though.

I thought Luongo was poor for large parts, I'm not quite so sure why he got MOTM, but that's corporate sponsors for you..

Good movement for the goal, although not the cleanest strike, not a bad finish.

I thought Gladwin was decent... although he needs to learn to pass the fucking ball.

Oddly, I thought Willo got some good support/encouragement after the penalty miss and after the miss at the Town End. I didn't notice the ironic cheering when he was subbed either. Maybe I'm getting too old to understand what is going on any more...

I'm with you on this, I didn't notice anything discouraging towards Willo, quite the opposite.

I don't understand the consensus on this forum that Williams busts a gut for the team. He regularly shirks challenges and doesn't play to his size in the air. His body language is terrible, and he sulks and dwells on missed chances for far too long. If chasing down the goalkeeper, and then wandering back onside at his leisure, is satisfactory, then fair enough.

There's nothing wrong with Luongo's commitment. His passing range is a bit out, that's all. He's just out of form.

Willo has always had a habit of getting in a sulk when things aren't going his way. Probably my least favourite thing about him. Him and Smith both need sitting down and being told they are still two of the best strikers in the league. A couple of fluffed shots doesn't change that. Get someone like Luongo  on the penalties and let the strikers do what they were doing earlier in the season.

It's still mathematically  possible for us to go up automatically.  Just like to put that out there.

If you take yesterdays performance in isolation that's spot on.

I think up to a few weeks ago he was putting in a shift, now he's gone hiding which I put down to confidence.

Didn't notice Luongo at all until Swift came on, he perked up a bit then.

Highlights are up

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gA26DSybQKM

Thanks for posting that.
Watching that back didn't realise Hylton still had some work to do before hitting the bottom corner.
Good finish.

Having seen a couple of their chances we were bloody lucky to have Wes in goal. Hylton's goal was well taken.

Did you open his casket propped up on the back wall then Jay?

It was in the Arkells.  Perhaps more noticeable because it was people near to me.

he's been on good form recently. saved us from a spanking against franchise, couldn't do much with the city goals.

but bloody hell do I have kittens sometimes when the ball lands at his feet.

Best keeper since Digby.

Funny you should say that, but a guy I sit next to on Saturday was talking about Wes taking risks and said 'I don't half get the jitters when Fraser has the ball at his feet!'

We will miss him when he signs for the 82ers after they get promotion and we don't...if the OTIB is anything to go by.

Which is hilarious because don't they already have the best keeper in the history of the universe?

Only as back up for Fenella Fielding of course ;)

Few things about this... Massimo actually celebrated. Probably down to everyone being excited for Hylton though. Also, one of the Peterborough players getting a clearance smashed into him when the pen was called.

It's a shame they didnt get all of Hyltons celebration, pure jubilation. Reminds me a bit of Louis's first goal for us against Sheff Utd!

Anybody know who the 2 fellas were in the dugout on Saturday?

Both wearing Samsung puffas and before kick off Cooper had a longish talk with them.

Not youngsters by the look of it either

Agreed. For most of this season he has been the oldest squad member by a good few years (though, at 28, he should still be at or around his peak), and he's got loads of lower league experience. His status, combined with his evident high wage, should make him a real leader.

Unfortunately not. He's quite the opposite, and it's hardly a surprise that he never gets the armband. In my opinion, if there's anyone in the side who's half-arsed on the basis that they will be off in the summer, it's him.

You really think there will be a queue for him offering anywhere near the mullah he's on at the moment?

He's a L1 striker. We've already got in his replacement - Hylton.

Probably not, plus his career history suggests he'll want to stay in the south west or thereabouts.

Not disputing for a moment that Hylton can replace him. The only question is whether we still have both (and hence all 4 current strikers) here in August.

Power has already said we can't afford Willo on current wages. I'd be surprised if we were still his best offer.

He's clearly a good striker when he's on it. Someone will pick him up.

If you watch the TV highlights its worth keeping an eye on him when he missed the penalty on Saturday, you could see him mentally deflate as soon as it hit the bar and whilst it was pinging about a bit immediately after he just looked uninterested.

Back to Bristol Rovers if they gain promotion from the depths of the Conference.

Yep, and the response to the other sitter he missed was fairly similar.

I appreciate that he did well from August til mid-January, but, especially when wages are factored in, I think he's generally been a poor signing over these 3 years. The fact that a striker of his size has never scored from a corner or free kick must say something about his interest levels. I won't be sorry to see the back of him.

....

I'm genuinely lost for words.

He's the top scorer in the league you daft git. He's not in the class of an Austin or Cox, but a poor signing on a free?

I can't help but think that Williams would be on 30 if he took all his chances. Saying that he's scored some very good goals (Oldham at home, Fleetwood away). He's frustrating.

There has never been a striker in the world who's taken all his chances let alone one playing in the 3rd tier of English football. He's a little out of sorts at the moment but has reached the 20 goal benchmark and had a pretty good season IMO.

I could say that there are some right tools that post on this forum........

Nahhhhhh..

Fuck it, why dont we have a go at Wes for not saving every shot he's faced? He looked disinterested after we let in the 3rd against the Shitheads. Shit signing.

I didn't really mean that. Of course every striker misses chances. He seems to miss more sitters than others to me, might just be me who thinks that though.

Fenella Fielding..mmmmmmmmm

"Do you mind if I smoke?"

Fenella

(http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/fenella.png)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nFqIfcKOFK4