Thetownend.com

The battle of the railway towns!

Crewe, is a medium sized town, described by Bill Bryson as "The armpit of Cheshire".

Interesting facts about Crewe:
Bentley cars are manufactured here.

There is a crater on Mars named the Crewe crater, named after the town.

It is classed as one of the top three "Working class towns" in England, based on a ratio of people to bookmakers, pubs and kebab shops.

They are currently rock bottom of League One. On paper, this should be our easiest game of the season.
So we'll probably get fucking beat.

However, i'm confident of a victory.
2-0, with goals from Obika & Robert.
6,572 with 106 from Cheshire.

1-0 win. Scrappy game. Red card.

Have to win this one. No excuses.

If we start with tempo and without any ridiculous errors at the back then I will go for a 4-0 to the Town. If we give away another goal I can see it being very difficult to break Crewe down. Here hoping for a win and the game to go ahead if the pitch isn't frozen! :(

Max temperature forecast today is 3°C.  Could be touch & go.

Play our own game, and the points are ours.

We need and we will win this game - probably 3-0 but for predication purposes I shall opt for 2-0. Lovely day for footy match...

Routine 2-0 win. Goals from Doughty and Obika - crowd 6781

We're are bound to win this because I can't make it today :(

 Crewe are a bit similar to us, in that they're a bit better away than at home.  Whereas we've managed to improve the home form recently Crewe haven't, hence rooted in the basement.

Should they win today their away record will be same as ours. 

I'm assuming we had the frost covers on the last couple of nights..... :hmmm:

So an interesting game ahead, what we do know with our side is we're capable of anything from very good to very bad, not only within games, but within runs of games....so no idea, could be anything today, including late postponement.

Hopefully,we can have this match put to bed into the second half so that Jordan Stewart can get a decent run out. Not too confident though but will go for 3-1 Ajose 2 and Robert

Going to be cold in the arkells today but hopefully a good performance and a win will warm the cockles!

Im going for 3-1 with Ajose 2 and Robert 1 and a crowd of 6,967 (cant see Crewe bringing many and cold may also put some peole off)

Hoping for a 2-0 win today, important to get 3 points

Unchanged first XI:
Vigouroux; Barry, Branco (C), Turnbull, Ormonde-Ottewill; Traore, Rodgers, Kasim, Robert; Obika, Ajose

Nathan Thompson makes the bench, no place for Michael Doughty
TOWN SUBS - Belford, Thompson N, Brophy, Balmy, Iandolo, Hylton, Smith

Doughty ill then. That's a good start.

Knowing the luck we have had this season he will have come in with something highly contagious and they will all go down with it!

Ebola

I was going to say that but feared I may get leapt upon for bad taste.....

Doughty by name...

1 - 0 Ajose!

Yet another Barry assist. That boy might turn out good you know.

Might be able to sort out that goal difference in this one.

HAVE to keep hold of Ajose.

1 - 1. Mistakes were made.

Another mistake.

Not least by you...

Good start then a cock up at the back again.

I retain I was correct by saying "Might" rather than "Will"

1 - 2. Wow.

WHoopsie

it's not like last week, but two shocking individual errors. looked too easy at times then bang, bang, shot both feet

Oh dear.

Unbelievable.  Pissing about at the back again and Rodgers gives it away.  From being in total control we're somehow losing.

(https://i.imgur.com/vuZwIyy.jpg)

Every fucking week.

Getting spanked by Crewe at home...............................

1-3. Pathetic.

Utter shite.  The defence is non existent. We seem to have lost the plot completely.

So, won't be Williams then...

After the first 15/20 the rest of the half has been fucking embarrassing

oops, good first 15 then spanked by Crewe. can't remember such a shit defense, even Elkins and reeves.

This.  I find it quite ironic that part of the reason El Abd went back was because he couldn't be guaranteed a first team place.  I'd put him ahead of this lot any day of the week.

Can't understand how we go from looking like world beaters to absolute rat shit at the flick of a switch. It's very nearly impressive.

Surely we don't believe that line?

I'm not really a conspiracy theorist but that statement made absolutely no sense... at any point.

This is absolutely terrible. Started very well first 15, looked like it was going to be 4 or 5. Now it looks like it's going to be 4 or 5 to Crewe. Long way back, can't see us getting anything now

From the good view I have here, I'd say that was jitters setting in as soon as something goes wrong. What you get with kids. They'll get better if we have the patience to stick with them.

Expecting Mystic Batch to say we're not out of this yet...

obika + Ajose + Crewe  defense as good as our own.

if we score next we'll get a point

It does seem odd, but why say it?  Just be honest if there's another reason. We've looked far less capable and nervy at the back since he's been gone.

Crewe came out with nothing but defeat on their mind and we've given them an almost certain 3 points...so bloody annoying!

Haha

Good start to the second half.

Not a win?

Why do we make everygame so bloody difficult for ourselves

3-3!!!

at least a point :)

lolz

Anything else you wanna add, Batch?  You're having a blinder!

Gladwin and Storey playing for them I see.

(http://cdn2.24live.co/images/2016/01/17/1452960950221427.jpg)

Just need two more now to counter the almost inevitable defensive mistakes to come

Ridiculous game again  :)

We'll win 8-6

We show good character to come back from positions we should never bloody be in.

Don't fuck up at the back again you twats

Don't you get tired of all those 5-5s?

:D

like a different team

Maybe Williams should give his half time team talk before the start of the game next week :D

Thompson coming on. Risky.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CY2wH5_WAAElIZD.jpg)

Tweet by Jaybox
I think some #Stfc fans are trying to light up the penalty box...

He's got a point
1. WTF is that all about?
2. Our Floodlights still look poor..

I've seen people try this at a few grounds now.

It's going to be all the fashion.

Almost guaranteed he'll break down

AJOSEEEEEEEEEE!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

4 - 3. Overly intense.

Yeeeeeees

Fuck about, we do like doing it the hard way don't we?

Yay yay Ajose!!

13 goals at the CG in the last 2 games, both games behind by 2 goals and end up winning. We have to do it the hard way  :nod:

biting boring Swindon!

It's what we do, put everyone through the ringer😬😬

Don't mention ringers, mines still twitching

It's safe to say that we won't get away with this every week.

Phew and YEY!

Urgh, do I not like the official Twitter's ever increasing use of the word "scenes" (as in "absolute scenes").

I am most pleased with the win though.

I'm gonna be negative more often, it works a treat!

Unbelievable. Whatever our failings our, we have two red hot strikers at the moment, and a bit of character. I'd be interested in people's reports of where the defence is going wrong - is it individual mistakes, or tactical?

My Mrs. had to remind me that I'm supposed to be drinking. I forgot. FFS Swindon

Did we win? Yay. :pint:

Pure fucking pantomime!!  Three defensive errors against a team that looked bloody poor!  An og, a referee change - we had it all this afternoon, not forgetting a late, late winner.

As I said could be anything today....our kamikaze football is mental, but great fun. Been trying to recall another example of being 3-1 down and winning 4-3, yet to come up with one, I thought maybe a game at Millwall in 62, but we were only 3-2 down before winning 4-3.

The individual mistakes are a consequence of the tactics in my opinion. Centre backs should not be so involved with the ball, the pressure builds on them and Vigouroux while we have proper footballers like Kasim and Robert haplessly waiting for a kick. Appreciate what we are trying to do but it's all about playing in the right areas. Get the ball into midfield and go from there.

Anyway, the second half was magnificent and how we need to try and play for 90 minutes. Quick balls into feet, look for the man in space and build the pressure. When we attack like that I'm confident there's not a team in this division that could cope with it.

Shattered after that but well worth it.

A bit of both, Turnbull's weak header back to Vigs, losing possession from a free-kick on the half-way line and then not finding a man from our throw two-thirds of the way up the pitch - and then Turnbull slipped and lost his man as he chased back.  Full of character to come back like that!  But we should never have been in the position we found ourselves in - they were poor!

Williams sounds to me as though he's always on the verge of breaking down in tears.

Grimsby away in 67 we were 2-0 and then 3-1 down and came back to win 4-3. And no i didn't know this, got it off the excellent site below.

http://www.swindon-town-fc.co.uk/MatchCentre.asp?MatchID=19670136

Amen.

Cheers I'd forgotten that one....that 66/67 side was an odd team, could absolutely blow teams away, or struggle to score.

13 times scored 3 or more, 13 times failed to score.

Its a funny old game. This one was like they took the last 15 minutes of last weeks first half and slid it to the beginning of this weeks.

Total dominance, then an individual error and an inexcusable backwards free kick and we are on the back foot. Every counter attack ans we looked in difficulty and it was no surprise they added a third. In truth that susceptible to the counter aspect never really went away.

We know what we are, pressure our back line and it will shatter into 1000 pieces. Thankfully if you pressure Crewe's, it shatters into 1001 pieces.

Thankfully the half time team talk saw a different Town appear. And with Ajose and Obika  in the team you always have a chance against a poor defence. And so it transpired. Fair fucks for the determination and grit to get the win.

After the last two games I'm still not 100% on whether we are going to climb to mid table comfort or sink at any moment!

First goal was a Turnbull header back to the keeper that didnt reach the keeper.
Second goal, Rodgers lost the ball to put them 3 on 1 at the back and score
Third goal we got caught on the counter.

Strangely didn't feel despondent at half time despite being 3-1 down.
I even looked on my phone to see what odds we were to win, we were 11-1.
Had I had any money in my William Hill account I would've put a bet on us.

We controlled the 2nd half and was a great watch and to get a last minute winner is always fucking ace.

Robert was class, BOO was very good too as was Traore who looked absolutely fucked towards the end as he didn't stop.

Two games in a row we are two goals behind and go on to win, have we ever done that before!?

The bottom three seem to be drifting away and we are well clear of them so only possibly one relegation place up for debate at the moment?

7 points off the playoffs, 8 off relegation, we are Jekyll and Hyde, but becoming more and more like Jekyll. Be very surprised if we got dragged back to the bottom, that would need us to have a whole team out injured..

I hadn't realised how much of a gap there was to the bottom 3.

It's pretty obvious that we need some additions to the squad, we've managed to pick up maximum points by the seat of our pants, with no manager and having let 7 or is it 8 players leave. I think, we assume, that we'll see those additions over the next couple of weeks.

Next up Blades, who themselves score and concede for fun...could be 6-6.

And only Burton have collected more points than us last 10 games, so a good indicator there.

soapy tit wank

Shrewsbury seem to be struggling, having got shot of Collins and Barnett, could be financial problems. Had we lost the last 2, which at certain stages of the games looked likely we'd now be 2 points off the drop zone, so still work to do.

A good way to celebrate

Neither did I until I looked, plus the bottom 4 have abysmal goal difference as well whilst ours isn't to bad.

Had some money on the win at halftime. Off for some Steak and Beers now  :pint:

https://youtu.be/w826qm1XIaY

What odds did you get?

I looked and we were 10/3 at 3-2

Apologies if it's already been posted, but what was the deal with Nate Dogg's programme notes?

Well i wasnt far out with my crowd prediction and i got the result right and said Ajose would get two but that aside im not sure how to describe todays game, maybe from the ridiculous to the sublime  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

I have to say Brad Barry impresses me more and more each week, he seems to be growing each game. Thats as good as I have seen Ottewille play as well and thankfully we have two strikers in the goals, i wont describe the situation at the back as im feeling in a positive frame of mind and dont want to spoil it!

Please elaborate?

Well I don't know, that's why I'm asking, seen a few enigmatic tweets about the programme notes being 'very interesting' and that sort of thing

Basically disagreed with the booing last week, to sum it up.

It's an absolute shit nickname for Nathan Thompson I think.

he moaned about people booing last week, apparently.

seemed to work to me, we then scored 4. besides which they boo'd  the continual short goal kicks despite having already conceded from one. actually I think we got  the mix right today.

Cannot disagree, should point out that Rodgers lost possession from our free kick on the half way line fannying about, and the third goal we had a throw in and lost possession again although Turnbull's slip gave their guy a free run and with a man free on the penalty spot it was slam, bang!

I thought our fans booed a lot, why is last week special?

Hope you have done the lottery tonight!

As Sam Parkin said at half time, if you're going to be 3-1 down let it be to Crewe, there's always a chance of a win

At 3-2 to Crewe with a few mins to go, 'Goal: Nugent' flashed up on my phone so I thought 'fuck it, we've managed to lose 4-2 to the worst team in the division' and went out.  Nice surprise when we got back in.  :)

If i'm unable to attend and at home I sit with the BBC text showing just the shots etc. I had no idea for ages it was 3-3 as our shots on targets didn't go up :)

It was Rodgers who lost possession, but he was the only one making himself available. Watch the highlights, he sprints back to get the ball from Vigs. Admire him for that but it was a poor pass to give the ball away

This is the bit of our short goal-kick routine we seem to need to practise.

They do on here, at games not so much.
He was right to have a go (if he even did, I haven't bought a programme in years) but good to see him get some time on the pitch tonight.

Most of the booing today was thankfully directed at BOO, who played well, but we actually started playing the ball down the left to him. I'm sure this isn't the "Swindon way"  :zipped:

except this was a free kick we had on half way that should of gone forward into the crewe box but Rogers took it short got into a mess and it ended back with keeper. Rogers on receiving the bal then passed it blind and lost possession

video up on sky

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/competitions/league-one/10133512/swindon-4-3-crewe

It ends before the winner!

Two things.

1. Fair play to sky for getting the highlights up early.
2. The boo's sound childish and like a couple of kids. Reminds of the boooourns sketch from the Simpsons.

Almost a carbon copy of last week. Good second half and only ever one winner, but we can't keep giving teams leads to battle back from.

I f you want to see real comedy defending watch Cov v burton..

Nate brought up goal kicks and at one point used the word "disgusted" about the booing reaction and those who did it.  He also said he'd like to show the vids justifying how building from the back rather than 50:50 punts into the middle of the park could end up putting you right under pressure again.  Keep it all back till the end of the game was his appeal.

I felt the same about the booing today and especially appreciated the (real) Townend for getting the atmosphere going second half.  Shows what can be done when team and crowd work together.

That was about as league 1 as it gets.

It's not the first time he has passed it blind and then it costs us a goal.  If he was close to the oppositions box then fair enough but not in our half of the field.

To question the theory a bit, if we pass out because due to the height of our forward players, why pass up good opportunities on free kicks to get it in the mix and cause some problems? Turnbull and Branco could get themselves in like with corners. Our free kicks are not so much an advantage we use them to pass back and start again.

Not sure if mentioned but how come everyone got there phone lights out on 60th min?

Enjoying the attacking play that we can create. Best strike force in the division, stop giving gifts away and we may see some easier wins.

6 wins from safety. Would have taken that a couple of months ago. Closer to play offs than relegation. Beat Sheffield United next weekend and we go within 3 points of them. 7 wins in 10 league games.

Just some random facts which show we're not doing badly. Stop the faffing and we should be looking at a top half finish.

The game changed when Traore and Rodgers started staying deeper when we attacked so instead of them countering 3v2 it was 3v4 and low and behold we began winning the ball  back (particularly through Traore)

The club saying the passing out from the back is 'our style' is too simplistic; I get the philosophy but there are times when Vigs, Branco etc do not have the technique or compusure of Fods, NT, Stephens..Yes it is our style but it has to evolve with the personnel

Just imagine last year's squad playing this kamikaze style though! It would have been so entertaining

'Nate Dog' is a fucking terrible, over familiar, cringeworthy nickname if ever I heard one. I've no idea why you persist with it Nemo.

Nathan Thompson's program notes are arrogant. He's not a bad player, but as we all know his young brother showed him a clean pair of heels in all departments a long time ago - hence him getting a decent move to Norwich, and I don't think Nathan has ever got over it.

He clearly thinks that the position of club captain entitles him to have his say, which it does, to a degree. However, when you spend most of your time pissing about on the treatment table, on your arse or on the golf course, spouting off about fans vocalising their disgust with a few boos now and then isn't going to endear you to everyone, and in any other walk of life would be classed as an abuse of position. His comments definately fall short of what I'd expect from a club captain anyway.

For a player who showed so much promise in his early years, Nathan has become a bit of a liability on the pitch, is unreliable, and is in danger of turning into a whining, bitter cunt.  He's not as good as he thinks he is and by slating our fans on a couple of occasions now it seems that he's taking himself a bit too seriously and is taking the adulation for granted.

If he concentrates on getting back into the side with a run of consistent games and shuts his mouth, he'll get my support.

Anything else and he can do one.


 

There's nothing wrong with the club captain..pointing out that a lot of our fans are mongs, because it's true. Nathan is a class act, you should embrace him.

If he's saying leave it until the end, then I think the vast majority would agree with that.

Yep, in predicting that anything could happen you were bang on the money  :)

Another 3 points towards the dogfight, anyway.

Liability on the pitch? How's about revelation in a new position last time he was fit? Wasn't it Bolton looking last season? He has had interest - we're the beneficiaries of the fact he had hamstrings that have cost him a lucrative move away.

As fans, we complain endlessly that players don't care for the club. In the Thompson's we have two players that care as much as we do. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I've not read comments so wide of the mark on here (in my opinion) for a very long time.

My feeling is that Nathan Thompson's value to the club is more than just on the pitch.  His passion and loyalty speak volumes of the man.  He was the first to approach Jordan Turnbull at the end of yesterday's game with a few words and an arm around the shoulder. 

On a similar note, I was impressed with Branco when he was trying to gee up the crowd after Turnbull's blooper.

It's been a long, long time since the club had a true legend in the likes of Calderwood, Digby etc. It's good to see that we have a likely candidate with N Thompson.

Spot on Reg. If you're one of those "supporters" who gets upset by his programme notes then they're probably directed at you. Maybe you should take that on board rather than spout shit on here.

And as much as the howlers at the back are frustrating - it is because they look so awful. His point that hoofs upfield can be just as dangerous is valid, it's just that a defender doesn't get criticised for it and nobody picks apart the game in sufficient detail (other than the coaching staff) to show that is the case.

Yep, I agree.

We lose almost every ball we play long, but they hardly ever result in a goal against

Maybe not directly, maybe after a couple of phases - having given possession away. Our game relies on possession, so the theory of keeping the ball from the back is valid. The practice needs improvement, clearly. The onus has to be on the full backs ( both new) and sitting centre mid (Kasim, Rodgers, hopefully Stephens by next week...) to show themselves. Playing devils advocate to an extent here - let's not all pretend that Williams is a fool and that there's not a very good reason for playing that way.

Giving the ball away also means you're not going to score yourself.

Agree, just saying one is a lot more visible than the other.

Some interesting points on the last few pages.
Regarding going short from the keeper, building from the back and then creating an attack is what we'd all like to see. It's the perfect and most pleasing football on the eye when it results in a goal.
The trouble with it is that doing it all the time means teams will press you and losing the ball there is dangerous. A ball lost on the edge of their box is better than on the edge of ours.

On the occasions I've seen Vigarous go long from a pass back I think his kicking has been erratic and is a flaw in his game. Difficult one really. Results have been decent lately so that's what matters really isn't it ?

I always enjoy reading delta's posts but think he's wide of the mark with much of his criticism of Nathan Thompson. The lad would have nothing but pride in his brother's success. There won't be a shred of jealousy or envy. I do think he can be liable at times but he's a defender in league 1 so that is to be expected.

 Many of our fans are fucking cretins so fair play to him. Clueless twats screaming abuse and booing from the stands at players who clearly have a far superior knowledge of the game is going to grate a bit isn't it?

The only time I personally would agree with booing is when a player isn't giving their all.

But looking at his stats debut at 19 but only 116 games by age 25 shows how injury prone he is.

Some interesting points on the last few pages.
Regarding going short from the keeper, building from the back and then creating an attack is what we'd all like to see. It's the perfect and most pleasing football on the eye when it results in a goal.
The trouble with it is that doing it all the time means teams will press you and losing the ball there is dangerous. A ball lost on the edge of their box is better than on the edge of ours.

On the occasions I've seen Vigarous go long from a pass back I think his kicking has been erratic and is a flaw in his game. If you're going long then make it a long accurate pass and not a hoof up the park. Difficult one really. Results have been decent lately so that's what matters really isn't it ?

I always enjoy reading delta's posts but think he's wide of the mark with much of his criticism of Nathan Thompson. The lad would have nothing but pride in his brother's success. There won't be a shred of jealousy or envy. I do think he can be liable at times but he's a defender in league 1 so that is to be expected.

 Many of our fans are fucking cretins so fair play to him. Clueless twats screaming abuse and booing from the stands at players who clearly have a far superior knowledge of the game is going to grate a bit isn't it?

The only time I personally would agree with booing is when a player isn't giving their all.

Problem is there are fan who will believe that the boos at half-time were justified as Town came back in the second half... That and numpties like Andrew Steele-Davis stating that boos were fair.

Can we update the OP with the score?

Also what was the score? I can't be arsed to click through bbc.

What i find amusing is that fans can scream abuse and slaughter a player (in other words give their opinion) yet if a player gives their opinion those same fans go mad about it?! Nathan didnt stand in front of the crowd during the game making gestures, he merely gave his opinion in a calm structured article in the programme.

From the way Nathan comes across in the media or if you meet him (bumped into him a few times) you couldnt find a less arrogant man/player. He is honest, committed and loves Swindon and is as passionate to do well as much as any fan out there.

If you read Luke Williams notes as he put it, either way you play there are risks involved. I maybe corrected here but if my old mind remembers correctly didnt their first goal come from us hitting a long ball, it coming back at us and Turnbull made a hash of the header?

thanks.

The crux with our style at this level is that defenders and keeper will tend to be at the limit of their playing ability (if they can play the ball well they will usually be playing at a higher level) so mistakes will be made. The counter to this is its difference between our style and others means teams not used to such style may struggle to defend against us.

Whenever we're losing by more than one goal, I tweet "that's that then.."

With that, we always seem to win..

You're all fucking welcome.

Agree. If you have a group of players with some clearly having the ability to step up then you'll get success with them until they leave (last season for instance)
I think this year we have a team of players at their level so it will frustrate fans at times.

Also worth noting that last season, with 3 at the back plus wingbacks, we had one man extra to be available, which meant we rarely lost the ball in those positions. In a 4-4-2, two strikers close two centre backs, wingers push into full backs, centre mids cancel each other out - and there's no spare man.

How many times this year have we seen charging runs forward from the back? Thompson and Stephens excelled at it last year, because there was also a spare man. If we are to play out from the back (which I'm in favour of) then maybe the shape needs to be adjusted for that phase of play - drop a striker wide, so a spare midfielder can drop deep to receive the ball - Williams will sort it.
If we can see it, he will.

The boos at the Southend game in the first half were justified. Personally I think the "blame" boos for such a moronic approach, kicking short after being caught out by a clued up and pressing opposition numerous times, purely at the coach. They sorted it out this week.

This week, a disappointing first half to say the least against a terrible Crewe side - I can see why there was frustration. I think, as has already been mentioned, most people were of the opinion that we should get behind the team after half time and cheer them on - fucking moron fans.

But NT can have his say, fans give it out so they should take the criticism but ultimately will, as we know, probably ignore it. I'm not sure the comments were that helpful.

A fit NT should walk into this side. I've been really impressed with how Barry has grown into a pretty useful player going forward. We've finally started to use width given by him and BOO to damage the opposition - something the Crewe fans seemed (un)impressed with leaving the CG car park. But NT is a better overall player, unsurprisingly.

What did Nathan Thompson say in his programme notes?

I'm not claiming that NT is a shit player, or captain - clearly he's not. Both Thompson's have passion by the bucket load and without the injuries, there is little doubt that Nathan would have got a move similar to his little brother.

Also, I'm not defending the booing fans - I fucking hate that shit, even after a game, and I never do it. Ever.

But, in my opinion Nathan isn't the player he thinks he is. Whether or not that's because of the injuries I don't know, but his position as club captain does not entitle him to take a swipe at fans.

As well as making snide comments, he's done the sarcastic, ironic slow hand clap bullshit on a couple of occasions when fans have vented there anger at shit performances, at the end of games, not during them, and although his comments may resonate with those who abhor booing the players, I don't happen to think they are helpful. Any player worthy of wearing the captains armband should be careful with their words and actions, not free with them.

I completely get the adulation; Local(ish) brothers breaking into the first team during the same era, both fully committed, both prepared to run through brick walls for the cause. Honestly, no argument from me on any of that, but they get handsomely rewarded and get all the trappings of success at our level, so its not all one way.

My problem with him is that I believe he's over stepping the mark and abusing / taking for granted the adulation and goodwill that he gets.

And if we're drawing comparisons with other STFC 'armband legends' show me where the likes of Sean Taylor or Colin Calderwood ever had a pop at the fans. Both were proper legends, had the same attributes as the Thompsons on and off the pitch, but they also knew how to conduct themselves with fans, sponsors and in print - regardless of their private opinions.

They were shit first half, they were bood off the pitch and rightly so. They came out 2nd half and the fans were right behind them from the kick off its not as if it was relentless it was a reaction to utter shite.

Booing never seemed to be so prevalent after just 45 minutes as it does nowadays. That's within football in general.

I'm not sure that's true. I can remember booing and the odd round of "What a load of rubbish" on many occasions during almost 40 years of following Town.

Going back to yesterday's game a big problem I saw was the fact that we were often 2 v 2 at the back (someone has eluded to this). Have no qualms with pushing the full backs on and them contributing to attack - it's probably essential that they do given that the midfield 4 is a narrow 4 and the full backs offer us width.

However, someone (probably Rodgers) has to drop back to assist with the centre backs to save it being 1 against 1 on the counter. Even feel like we got away with it a fair bit in the second half and there was one time where Branco was pushed up leaving 3 on 1 against Turnbull.

As for Nathan Thompson, I actually see him more of a centre back than a full back and his pace can help us when we are exposed on the counter. I'd personally keep Barry in the side as his performances have warranted it and bring Thompson in for Branco, who IMO is bringing Turnbull down.

I'm not saying it didn't exist but now teams challenging for first place are being booed at half-time.

This is a general observation, not just at the CG.

Serious question, when did he tell you how good (or otherwise) he thinks he is? What did he say exactly?

Perhaps he was standing up for the players, who play in front of fans who don't understand the intricacies or intentions of the way they are told to play? If I was a player, I'd certainly see that as part of my captain's role.

I think this conversation shows that fans need to understand that there is often a very good reason for certain things players do that may go unseen or be too subtle for the boo boys and the 'forward' bunch. Equally, players must understand that booing is never based on logic, it's a spontaneous show of frustration - when things go against us - and doesn't necessarily mean those fans don't care. Quite the opposite, it's just that it doesn't do any good.

I've taken to booing whenever I receive less than satisfactory service or those around me fail to reach my unbelievable standards of expectation.  It really does motivate and inspire people to do better.

It's not the fucking panto so please don't do it.

If you receive bad service in a restaurant or see a poor theatre show, do you stand up and boo?

One day, and maybe not too far in to the future, both of our Thompsons will have left...and we'll miss them like you wouldn't believe.  A common/persistent complaint these days is that some players don't 'get' the Club and don't identify with the fans.  Well Nathan & Louis have turned that upside down and inside out.  Nathan doesn't need to play like Messi every week for me.  His worth to the Club is so much more than his performances.

They may both move on, but I'm quite sure they'll come back as well.  One or both will be involved at Club in some capacity in 25 or 30 years from now.

I do.

I said earlier that you get these sorts of mistakes with kids, but remember that Byrne and Gladwin didn't impress from the start. The good news is that some of these boys playing their first full season are definitely improving: Barry, BOO, Branco (compared to his cameos last year). Could be one season away from cashing in big again.

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/competitions/league-one/10133512/swindon-4-3-crewe

Looking at the goals against yesterday..
1st just uillustrataes what can go wrong when you go long and fail to win the header, comes back at you rapidly, defensive mistake goal, not really anything to do with tactics, just a fuck up.

2nd - There is just fuck all movement, one can assume firstly from the strikers or midfielders getting forward to receive the free kick in the first place, hence it going side ways and then we start fucking about with no movement and outlet for the man on the ball meaning that its so easy for them to know where its going and thus close that man down before he even receives it, Rodgers comes from so far away that he can easily be tracked, one would have thought his movement would create space, but if it did no other midfielder exploited it to give the man with the ball an outlet. - and to be fair their lad did some good work although once he was in the box no one could tackle him (see yesterdays discussion).

3rd... How much space and time does the bloke in the middle need, no one seems to be tracking back until Barry and Branco arrive late in the day, we may have been pressing but you would expect better positional play than that?

The recurring thing seems to be naivety at the back and lack of movement and cover from midfield, its bloody hard to defend when you have runners which no one is tracking coming at you (yet the defender tends to get the blame, whilst also never being provided with an 'out' ball, especially if ball playing is not your thing.

On a bit of a side note anybody read Nathan's Thompsons comments in the captains column for this game. The bit that really stood out for me was his opinions on the negativity the players received in the last game after coming unstuck when playing it from the back "however the fans did not feel this way and from that moment forward the negativity every time Lawrence had the ball in his hands was, quite frankly, disgusting in my eyes. And I don't say that lightly"

In all honesty I have mixed feelings about this in some ways I agree but should he be having a pop like this at the fans. Is this not just as bad as those fans having a go.

I don't agree with the way they play around at the back.

Nah, nobody has mentioned it.

This... They will develop overtime.

I recall the absolute hammering McEveley got at Preston a few years back when he got beaten for a header after tracking back following various midfield and defensive fuck ups, the ball should never got there in the first place but as he was the chosen scapegoat at that time the dogs abuse he got was ridiculous, we do seem to love to choose a scapegoat and then go after them!

Ultimately if we have a goal keeper and defensive unit with an average age of what feels like about 18, being terrified to receive the ball as they know they will get booed if it goes wrong its never going to end well.

Nathan is more of a town fan than the minority of fans who boo and as captain of the squad was critical of the effect of that reaction during the game, taking the argument as to why the system works overall and how the pressure of booing transmits to young players.  It was intelligent, a tad controversial for those who like platitudes in their program notes and in line with how STFC from Power, through Williams play, so Delta's personal attack was seriously misplaced imo.  The murmurings were audible on any passback  to Vigs even when he was under no pressure which created pressure in itself and yes, one of Crewe's goals did come from a long clearance being headed straight back towards the Town area by  a Crewe player.  Feel free not to like the system but don't single out NT for writing an intelligent piece in line with club policy.

From those highlights, it seems as though B-O-O had a decent game..

Did anyone notice that the Football League program on Channel 5 has changed. Split into 2 shows now, it seems.

A 1 hour one 9-10 (The Championship), then a half our one 10-1030 (for those who are incapable) for Leagues 1&2.

And it's still a shit programme 😳

They didn't need to back in the day because fans (across the UK not just us) didn't behave like this.
We were called supporters and not customers for a reason...

And he's written gently about the same topic for a couple of years now and got nowhere.
So good on him.
Imagine what home games across the UK will be like in 10 years time if this crap carries on.
Not to mention the managerial turnover if that trend also carries on.

They do seem to have got rid of the living background dummies though.
Apart from the front ones who present it....

NT has got something to prove in terms of form and fitness this season. The starting at Wembley when clearly not fit was a farce and was that the club captain having too much influence or just poor/risky team selection?.

Barry has taken his chance well and developing into a good overlapping full back. He doesn't deserved to be on the bench for the rest of the season. Maybe a few cameos from NT as a sub in the next few weeks especially to close out games or if we need to change formation.

We need to see if NT returns to the same full back we saw in 2012/13 that's assuming he returns to that position. I can see a compromise coming where we revert to 3-5-2 and NT goes to back sweeper. I think he's a better full back than sweeper though.

How many assists does Barry have now? His delivery from the wing is brilliant.

I really enjoyed watching our second half passing football yesterday, accuracy, pace, penetration, variety.  About as good I can expect at this level, I don't know what others think.

kind of agree normy, passing with pace and purpose.

they still had a couple of half chances where they outnumbered us when attacking though, half expected us to screw it at the death.

thought Kasim was much better yesterday too,  the cynics may say that's because the transfer window is open :)

His impending move to a Premier League team may have put his spirits up..

mwhahahaha premier league my arse. I don't care if power did claim it..

Did Power specify which Premier League it was?

Of course he didn't, because it's probably nonsense. However, one can only speculate....

(https://backofthenetblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/eddie-howe-bournemouth_2945965.jpg?w=300&h=225)

What a fairytale!

To be fair Kasim has looked a lot better last 2 games. That through ball to Obika yesterday :eek:
Maybe the incentive of Premier League is boosting performances

For what it's worth I was the bloke last week in the don Rogers telling anton to play forwards and keep it simple after he sold boo short when we went 3-2 up.He gave me some back (respect for that too) but did it whilst the game was going on behind him.I never boo our players as it is wrong but the short goal kick with Branco achieves nothing when with the return pass vigs kicks it long.I am all for possession football in the right areas (ossie did this with Lou's team)but Lee p needs to realise we have have good players in our team that we trust ( a word used a lot by Luke Williams )Yesterday boo barry Branco Robert anton ( my mate who can pass  ,always wants the ball but can't tackle head it and his recovery is slower than Ross mclaren)beaker are right up there with the best in league 1 . Add Nicky ajose and his goals and we have an above top 10 team.Eliminate us giving away the ball in our final 3rd and we make the top 10 easily .When we move the ball forwards quickly no team in this league can stop us .

Or maybe he's struggled for most of 2015 with niggly injuries and has finally overcome them to put together some form? Although of course we're far more likely as a fanbase to think poorly of sooner than give them the benefit of the doubt.

Have you been to a lot of games?
I'm usually the first to excuse a player if he's been injured, but Kasim has been lazy for too long now. If injury was a reason then he wouldn't have played so many minutes. He used to be a creative midfielder and now he just goes through the motions if we're lucky.

Of course, didn't you know that's how it works?

He's not injured, he just doesn't give a fuck... Just like Charlie Austin purposely missing that penalty when he was leaving..

According to anyone other than parts of our fan base?

It doesn't matter what they think/prove. We make the rules..