Thetownend.com

So what do we think today then.

No Nat Dog or Sendalls- White. Formation 4-4-2. Who will partner Turnbull ?

Hopefully Obeka is back and we will bounce back today.

Going for a 3 -1 win to the Town.

Totally forgot we were playing.

No Nat Dog or Sendalls- White. Formation 4-4-2. Who will partner Turnbull ?




[/quote]
Presume Branco will partner Turnbull. Get Fridays game out of the system with a 2-0 win, Doughty and Branco

Scunny only one defeat in 11 games even though 6 of the last 7 have been draws....we have too many key players missing and we have only won there twice in 49 years the last being in 2006 when Ricky Shakes scored the winner.

I see a 2-0 defeat.

This is a vey poor league. As long as Scunthorpe didn't watch Fridays fiasco we could get a no score bore. Here's hoping.

Turnbull and Branco centre back pairing worries me significantly. Would happily take a draw. Please don't start all 3 of Thompson, Doughty and Rodgers!!

1-1 with Ajose to score a freekick.

This is a no pressure game.  Looking forward to it for that alone.

I'd say there is a bit of pressure to get Friday's limp showing out of the system....we don't want a late season slump, a point would be very acceptable.

One of my favourite away days was watching Simon Cox bag a sublime hattrick at Scunthorpe. A lack of leadership in the team today concerns me - think Branco is key; if he has a decent game then we have a chance of leaving with a point.

Sounds really pessimistic doesn't it? Just think we may be licking our wounds after the Good Friday Massacre (that's an Ice Hockey reference, no idea why it sprung to mind)

For your enjoyment as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9tWthvFVK8

Pre match fuelling in The Blue Bell.
Once classed as a PVC toxic hotspot, the town that is, not the pub.

Hoping for a positive reaction after Friday.

10th place would be a decent achievement this season,
with hopefully one or two of the youngsters given some game time before end of the season.

Given the weather and selection of real ales on offer, tempted to spend the rest of the day in the pub.

Draw. 1-1

The good people of Scunthorpe, have a deadline coming up on the closure or otherwise of the steelworks.

Things not looking good....as we know when we lost the Works, a town can lose its identity as a consequence of such an event. The FC, can help and Scunny do have plans for a new, new ground. 

The Old Show Ground, had Britain's first cantilever stand, as a reflection of Scunny's steel making heritage.

The design of their new stadium looks impressive, with a nod to their steel making heritage.

As you say, their situation is not dissimilar to that of our town when faced with the closure of its main industry.

I'm assuming that they will look to expand on the existing food processing, distribution and retail industry already already in place.

Still loads of iron ore in the ground around here, but possibly a very long time , if ever, before it becomes viable to extract it again.

Just arrived in delightful scunny, think we will lose 3-1 today unfortunately!

That's been the score on our last 2 visits, and we've conceded 3 in the last 3, but the Coxy hat-trick got us a point.

More or less 31 years ago to the day we went there and got beat 6-2. Unusually Scunny had 6 different goalscorers....Lou got sacked as result, only for us fans to point out the Board hadn't a clue with a protest at the CG, and as they say the rest is history.

From a local "i dont really know much about swindon, but because of that I'm guessing you arent all cunts".

If only he was right  :D

Belford, Barry, Branco (C), Turnbull, Brophy, Traore, Thompson L, Doughty, Robert, Ajose, Hylton

Subs: Henry, Ormonde-Ottewill, Rodgers, Marshall, Balmy, Iandolo, Cooke

hmmm, suppose with limited options there isn't much choice.

already said in the wigan thread that the strikeforce doesn't work too well. not sure about Hylton myself, reminds me of kaid  Mohammed. but that may be a bit unfair, he's not had a run and needs to play along side an Obika type.

In a season of inexperienced benches, that must be near the top.

Can't see that team getting anything from the game, hope I'm wrong but think we will lose by at least 2 goals.

We need Obika back to give us an option to hold the ball up

I'd be happy with that 11 if we had Obika up front, hylton/ajose are both small players and similar in how they play.

Better than the side against Wigan ie no Rodgers,  plus Bob and Traore start.

Apart from missing super John I reckon that's an OK team.

With Obika still out why don't we recall Miles Storey. Other teams have done it to us. At least we would have another option and he has bags of pace.

 
Hes not very good

Plus...if its an international accross borders loan isn't that not allowed?

It is also obvious from his Tweets he will never play for Swindon again.

Miles Storey as the second striker pahaha pull another one. We need a target man as a foil to Ajose not someone who'd spend all game playing with his hair. Move on!

Oh and as Tans says he is pretty awful. It's a bit of myth that he is doing well in Scotland. 10 goals in 30 games in a poor league is hardly that impressive!

You lot don't know what you are talking about.

We'd be nailed on for promotion with HIM in the team.

Are they broadcasting on STFC Player via a potato? Quality is awful!

It is fucking quiet today and keeps cutting out as per norm.

 :headhurts: One is a good goal scorer and the other is no where near. Usually our fans are quite quick to slate players so im suprised hylton doesnt ever get criticized. He has done absolutely nothing and he has had minutes when we have had injuries and never looks like he will ever force his way into the team through ability.

(I hope he scores today)

This sounds a yawnfest so far.

0-1

load of bollocks

Bodin scores for Rovers...cue "we should never have let him go" comments. ;)

we should never have let him go

(http://i.imgur.com/qsEhoM7.gif)

Are we winning? :D

(http://cdn2.list25.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/benchflip.gif)

We got 70K, good business.

Williams out

Oh dear 0-2

FFS

Lack of depth.

Mistake by Belford on a cross/shot apparently.

Belford is not good enough even at this level. Cant believe he was on Liverpool's books.

Fucking Williams out   bullshitting cunt

 Scorer Clarke gets the 3rd goal of his career all v STFC  :)

(https://i.imgur.com/QY4LmUu.gif)

Good to see you waited to base this judgement on evidence.

This is fucking shit. Awful all over the park

Irony?

Harsh to pin their 2nd on Belford, in my view.  Crept in top left, and prob wind assisted.  Difficult to see how he could have done anything with it.

Second season running that we've come here and been made to look very ordinary by a very ordinary Scunthorpe side.  Maybe we're ordinary.  The innovation is still there though.

 :D

Obviously I am not there just going by what SSP said, which was Belford was definately at fault for his positioning.

Just imagine if we had Storey and Bodin up front - we'd already be up by now  :no:

PdC manager too and Ritchie on wing etc etc ;)

 Do you mean we find new ways of conceding goals?

Good grief 3-0

Oh dear.

soapy tit wank

Just as bad as last Easter.

Fucking abysmal. Can't string a pass together and they haven't turned up at all this half. And its 4 as i type

0-4 awful.

(http://i.imgur.com/fjd1avy.gif)

Oh dear. Sounds like a bit of a shocker. Can't say I am surprised though. I expect a defeat every time Belford plays. As I am typing this we have just conceded again. Does anyone on here genuinely rate Belford? I suppose I could probably tolerate him a bit more if he didn't have such a shit beard.

On this showing, we're going to have to forget the play offs.  Someone break it to Reg, pls.

(https://media.giphy.com/media/IcBwdDf9H88lW/giphy.gif)

He may have a point.  SSP will read a game better than I will.

We need to get back into this fairly quickly otherwise we may be heading for a defeat

You know the game is shit when the commentator is talking about watching the trains go past rather than the actual game :(

 :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

(http://i.imgur.com/quUm2C6.gif)

Is he playing them on his own then.

Shows how much we miss vigouroux

Didn't turn up at the start of the 2nd half against Wigan, hope this isn't another trait we are strating to get into!

And Obika and NT

 :suicide:

There we go 5

I know Williams wants a tight knit small squad but we need depth.

5-0 ffs

blimey

5-0. Honestly could not see the margin of defeat being this large if Vigs had played. Obviously it sounds like everyone is having a mare though, not just Belford.

I know we had a spell of coming back from 2 down, but I think this is pushing it a bit.

Buzzing for my 5 hour drive home at the end, worst I have seen in years.

(https://media.giphy.com/media/EO78JiLpVmhtS/giphy.gif)

Worse
Last easter were two 3 nil reverses against 2 teams that got promoted.
Wigan you can understand as again will be a promoted team but Scunny ffs, and 5 ( so far )

At 5-0 down, we've started to give it a go.  Encouraging.

:D

It should be more than 5.

5 fucking 0..... ??? Come the fuck on Town.

Sounds like we've started shutting down for the season.

That would be staggeringly disappointing as I've got tickets for Bradford and Bury  :suicide:

 Can we emulate or worse the game when Lou got sacked when Scunny had 6 differnt scorers. 5 so far....tbf if Power has any decency the travelling fans will be compensated by some free tickets or something.

(https://media.giphy.com/media/26tPgOD5tdTmFt4fC/giphy.gif)

You would like to think so.

Fucking inexcusable.

Fucking cunts.

I'm not sure whether or not I should put mustard on my ham and cheese sarny.

He hasn't

So you don't give a shit - well fucking done.

How about mustard AND pickle...I know! extreme!

Mmmm the afternoon's major dilemma. Never gone for mustard with cheese personally.

People like you are what's wrong with the world.

I'm trying to work out if this counts as my all time worst away game.  Only Forest 7-1 STFC and Cheltenham 5-0 STFC last (?) season coming close.  Only way out that I can see is to demand a reply on the grounds that Belford's (purple) top is a little too similar to their home strip.

666666666

6-0.....Belford almost kept it out...progress

6-0

Utterly fucking embarrassing TBH.

Fucking joke

Bantz

Marmite with cheese is good in a crisis.

What type of cheese?

 Jesus wept, 8 goals conceded in two games. Shows how paper thing our squad is and how fortunes can change like the flick of a switch.

Not surprised by the Wigan result. and I have no idea whether Scunny deserve this trashing. But I thought we'd sorted our defending out, I really did. Hey ho.

Hold on, its 6, I popped for a piss and missed two. Embarrassing.

I think the last two games tell us that Ty Belford (as lovely as he is) is not a League One Goalkeeper....

You did miss one but that still makes it 10 in 2 games ;)

You missed two. 4+6=10

I corrected it as you posted, and you aren't making it any better.

Gotta look on the bright side :)

Could be losing 7-0 to fucking Scunthorpe?

Exactly!

Lets look at the positives today.....

1. I didn't go.

That is all.

We should have predicted this outcome based on his previous appearances for Town. Colchester at home springs to mind. The squad just looks like it is lacking quality though. Barry can't defend, Branco is passionate but a liability, Turnbull is hot and cold and Hylton is anonymous. I wonder whether Williama will say that Scunthorpe are an exceptional side and that this is an anomalous result...

Not all Belfords fault though is it, he can only work with whats in front of him. I actually feel a bit sorry for him, his confidence is going to be fucked now.

From what SSP has said only 2 of the goals were directly related to Belford, we are just a bit shit defensively at the moment to say the least.

More work is needed on the training ground, I hope it doesnt rip the confidence out of all the young players and actually gives them a kick up the arse.

Only 9 points in front of Oldham in 21st :pint:

Fuck me, how long does Williams need to sort it

Yeah, collective blame on this one until I see otherwise.

Oh FFS, 5 minutes stoppage time.

Its not all belfords fault whatsoever, the defending in front from all the outfield players has been atrocious. Our insistence on playing out from the gk when 6-0 down is comical

Afternoon all...

(https://media.giphy.com/media/fDO2Nk0ImzvvW/giphy.gif)

Bye!

Fully agree. Wigan were closing us down so the only option was to lump it up to two strikers, who wouldn't win a header to save their lives, so the ball comes straight back. Sounds like Scunny have done the same as Wigan...and we haven't got a Plan B

Thing is, recently the "concede 2 goals a game" bollocks seemed to  have been addressed. Seems not, or at the very least lose a player or two and we are fucked.

Lets just get to 52 and bin this season.

Noted, but still 6 v Scunthorpe. It's hardly back up keeper quality.

Williams has been hear for a number of years...and we still don't know how to defend.

And we play them next week...

AMEN brother.

(https://media.giphy.com/media/doUu2ByZDbPYQ/giphy.gif)

Backups are just woeful, shows the value of Obika, Vigs and Thompson and how key they are.

But Belford has never been good enough, you get shot down on here because he's a 'nice guy' and deserves a chance but he's played 20 odd games for us now and has never looked anywhere near professional football standard. It's not just about whether a goal is directly the keepers fault it's the impact they have on the whole defence as he clearly doesn't install confidence. Vigs took a lot of criticism for a lot less, but I'd wager he goes on to have a very good career. Belford is just another Storey....

Thank fuck for that. All over.

We need a commanding centre back for next season with some experience,  and a new keeper. Oh and a defensive coach please Mr Power sir.

I think we all know that's very unlikely.

Absolutely disgusted with that.

We need a complete overhaul in the summer.

Will be interesting to see what Williams says.

Cooper would have said I thought we played quite well today and was unlucky today !

Agree completely. I've barely seen him make a decent save. The one at Coventry probably is the only example I can think of.

Fleetwood and Oldham up next.

Lose both them . . .

Usually a strong tangy cheddar or on occasions  cream cheese.

That was simply extraordinary.

Belford was awful, it's true.  But he was not alone.  Focus too much on the keeper, and we won't draw the right conclusions from this.

What the holy fuck happened? I'd forgotten again we were playing until 2 minutes ago, and logon to find we shipped 6.

Williams ducked the question on the radio @ Wigan game, lets hope he doesnt today for those who travelled to suffer that shambles and he gives some honest feedback on why ..... i dont buy this tight squad cover for Power that Williams has suggested, as evidenced by the last games, where without 3 key players were flyweight in our tactics and personnel.

Williams.

Don't understand poor performance
Missing key players
Lack of concentration/minds wandering as nothing else to play for. Unacceptable
Questions wether one or two players 100% focused
Should be able to compete on level footing with Scunthorpe
Belford looks like confidence gone
One or two players can come out of game with pride intact
Number of players find it difficult to throw weight about, put challenges in
Shocked at some of the lack luster performances
Apologizes to fans
No one back for Fleetwood

Paraphrased Williams:

Don't fully understand reasons for incredibly poor performance..know we are missing players but don't think we should perform that badly..

Can only think its a lack of concentration thinking nothing to play for...not acceptable

Yeah, no need to tear people apart - the truth is enough - too many not performing at level ...

May be a bit of a hangover from Wigan game, but if you want to be a top player you can't do that..should still be good enough to compete with Scunthorpe

(in relation to 2nd/6th) Ty looked like confidence had gone (after it)

There were (only) one or two that can come out of it with pride.

Tried to put some fresh legs into the team - but it didn't look like we had fresh legs out there.

Has to go and lead by putting sessions on training pitch to....help them be competitive in next game. Only so much you can do, they have to respond..

Hard to accept players not tearing back into position - we had some that looked like that today.

Surprised this group, who have shown they'll work hard in for the team, not looking interested today. Totally unacceptable and showing when things get tough you are not prepared to dig in.

Went over to the fans at end to apologise. They expect total commitment and didn't get it...

No players expected back for Fleetwood - JSW aside.

Vigs- still struggling - looking at progress tomorrow.

To be fair Luke Williams did front up on the radio and apologise to the fans for the performance .... only sendles white to return..... no obika or vigs for fleetwood, which is worrying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjnkV_tsjn0

We've lost to them both already this season....Fleetwood got 5, so they'll be licking their lips. 

Oldham's pitch was described as heavy, due to having no grass....they do draw a lot, and a point would help edge us to 52.

I wonder if the players were set a target of 50 points....when 52, is usually enough, but sometimes 53/54 required ?

Doubt it Reg. Think they are just human in thinking 52 points is a formality. Just like us fans really.

It would be the biggest shit run in history not to make 52.  Hopefully the last two games will give us the kick up the arse we need now.

so we are mathematically safe :no:

Can we still make the play offs!?
FFS!
Cool about Wigan but that IS dogshit
Or were we unlucky and NOT that bad.
Three points required asap....please!!

Nevertheless....I know we're STFC but we really don't want to be risking something like a 96/97 slump, when we only picked up 2 points from the last 8....only scoring 2 goals and getting dicked for 5 at Boundary Park.

3 points and fucking hurry up.

That's exactly what this is reminding me of Reg.


Cunts. Cunts. Cunts.

Cunts.

Bunch of fucking cunts.

And it's not like we can dip into the loan market as the window closed last Thursday.

Well I underestimated just how shit we could be.

Saw a tweet from a Scunthorpe fan saying that he'd just witnessed the worst goalkeeping performance ever.

Any news on how many went?

Williams is beginning to sound as boring and clueless as Cooper ever did in the post match interview.
Gawd help us!

That just sums up how impossible fans are to please.  You keep a clean sheet, the team wins 6-0, and there's still a fan out there on twitter slagging you off.

Good god alive.  Forgot we were playing,  got in and turned to sky sports and wish I'd remained in blissful ignorance.  Didn't listen, so can't really comment on how we played, but 10 goals conceded in 2 games tells its own story.

It's all very well Williams wanting a tight squad, but the the back up players should be able to step in and do a job when required.  Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be the case.  Key players are always going to pick up injuries, so if we're genuinely going to challenge next season, better squad players  need to be brought. Also as others have said, we really could do with a couple of more physical players, we're just too lightweight which means we'll always struggle against the bigger teams.

 ;D

In fairness he did say he felt sorry for Belford, and that we should have taken him off.
Guess he didn't realise that we don't have any other options:(

Seemed to be around 250 maybe but very difficult to judge. Disgraceful performance today, absolutely fuming with the ineptness shown. Not sure which playerscan come out with any pride - we got dicked 6-0 and they were all shite.

Day would have been even worse were it not for the very attractive female in the town crowd!

Grrrr 4 hours to go

That's the spirit....

 All these "plastic fans" who didnt even know we were playing! ;)

Haha I have to admit I forgot too! Ignorance was bliss!!

I'd guess about 250.

And only about 130 will come back...

For those that can stomach it

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/competitions/league-one/10221300/scunthorpe-6-0-swindon

For those with loose motions

52 - NO TEAM RELEGATED WITH THIS TOTAL
51 - Safety 2013, 2015 
50 - Safety 2012, 2014 
49 -
48 - Safety 2011
47 - Predicted Safety 2016

Oi. The trains are fucked but we're on our way...

Good Lord. That is woeful viewing. Where do you start with that. Were they all fucking drunk or something ?

My judgement may be questionable

No disrespect to Belford, but he has to be off his line quicker. Needs to narrow the angles for 4 of those goals. You could clearly see his confidence was shot.

Poor defending also didn't help him.

I'd only really put the 2nd goal down to Belford.

We know our defensive play is inept.....and it's 8 games too early for a review of the season, but as things stand, there's a lot for the owner and staff to contemplate, if we want to avoid another season of struggle in 16/17.

Hello.

I spent the day driving up to Glasgow and getting stuck on the M6.  I was going to take a detour to the match but was running a bit late.

Did I miss much?

A day you wouldn't forget,  that's for sure

The second and 6th Belford could have done much better but Jesus wept what was Branco doing for the third. Absolutely awful defending.

And the 6th, he dives over the top of and misses the ball, almost comical. Also as Sippo says he's always routed to his line, as a team that plays almost a sweeper keeper system that's gonna cause some issues.
All 6 were embarrassing though when you look at the half hearted 'tackles'.

"Oh Balford...oh Branco, for god's sake Robert get up and run, shocking defending, god Belford choose another career" Batch_Jr on the "highlights".
--
The defending and half arsed nature of it was very poor. Yeah TB was not great, but the level of protection he got was just as bad.

 :hmmm:

We got relegated in 81/82 with 52, and were joined by Wimbledon on 53, who went on goal difference.

Had Rovers not lost 2 games in hand at home in 01/02, we'd have gone on 52. A draw in either would have kept Rovers up on goal difference.

Our goal difference was looking OK but -9 over 2 games is damaging.

I am loyal enough to watch those highlights all the way to the end and you can clearly see the home fans barely celebrating the 6th goal.

Moral victory there.

Even I can't defend this one.

You'd fit in well with our defence.

I still think that only the 2nd, can be obviously put down to Belford error.

We know we can ship a few because we're trying to be attacking or play some sexy football, but albeit in a short lowlights package, most of those looked like the white flag had been raised and Scunny players were being ushered through to the Belford coconut shy....which is not acceptable, at any level of football.

Truly dismal from Branco. The second was a cross, so I don't blame Belford too much for that, but I guess I'm in a minority (of one?). I spent all day getting home from Carlisle, which as crap as it was seemed a better use of my time.

I passed you on my way up to Glasgow.  Traffic looked shitty.  But more fun than the football im sure.

53 will be enough this year.

Anyone who thinks we're going down now really is a miserable twat.

  3 of the 4 times we've had a recentish season which has contained shipping 10 goals in 2 consecutive games, we've been relegated.

  The particular Hall of Shame this squad has entered isn't a pretty place

   81/82  losing 5-1 at home to Uddersfield on the Saturday, then a calamitous only 2nd ever league defeat at the Manor
 on the Tuesday 0-5...we went down with 52

   93/94 the Prem season, we only managed it once, early doors 0-5 to Liverpool backed up in mid week by 1-5 at The Dell, but 100 goals conceded

   98/99 0-4 at Loftus Road, then 0-6 at the CG v Ipswich...we still stayed up, so it can happen.

   The Iffy season 05/06, having got up the table, a key game at the CG v Rotherham is lost 2-3 and backed up by the 1-7 at Forest...these 2 basically undermined the previous good work and took us down.
 

Football isn't a statistically predictable science Reg.
If it was nobody would bloody watch it.

Who cares what happened in 1998? I was still watching the teletubbies, I can assure you I'm not now (much.)

However there are certain patterns and tendencies which stats throw up....namely, in this case, it's unusual to ship 10 goals in back to back games, and if you do it tends to indicate you're in danger of relegation.  So given we've spent most of the season in a relegation battle, it's not altogether surprising.

Some of our back 4's purchases under McMahon resembled Tinky Winky, Dipsy, LaLa and Po. 

Still think it was harsh to pin that on him.  It was a complete fluke.  Summed up our day really.

Just got back.  It's not every day you that you clock 475 miles and a 6-0 defeat.  One game where a pre-match beer or 3 really would have come in handy.  All of which means that this game is going to be rather memorable.  Brilliant.

And we're not going down.

And you got home a bit quicker not going via Reading. :-)

Just about to pull in now. Big thanks for the offer of a lift mate. As I said, much appreciated.

People love Belford because he is a nice dude on twitter, but unfortunately he is a shite goalkeeper

Not at all.

Glad the trains got you back OK.

I'm still waiting for the predictable tweets from the players.

 

Another awful Easter weekend from us. Seen a few Scunny fans on social media ask why we always pass it out from goal kicks etc. Its cost us so many goals this season, surely even Power should be able to see that we need to mix it up more to be succesful at this level? We are too predictable and the squad isnt good enough in the defensive areas. Need lots of movement in the summer both in and out.

We would have to pretty much lose all of our remaining games to go down and the other teams would have to hit form.

We are safe, so I guess the players can turn their attention to their holidays/next move.

think after today silence is the best policy

We've 8 games left, already this season we've had a run of 8 games with 1 point taken, so it can happen, and 51 might not be enough. It certainly shouldn't happen...and drawing v Fleetwood and Oldham, would do very nicely thanks, then the players can unwind.

No good coming on here to cheer yourself up. Reg is in his element!

Shocking result and performance today. Belford looked woeful, then again, he didn't have much in front of him defensively, so it's hardly his fault that we shipped 6 goals.

As I've said, I'm as grateful as anyone that we've managed to do enough to stay up this season, but with Arthur Daley looking to turn a profit on a struggling League 1 club such as ours, is anyone really that surprised that we blow hot and cold with a such threadbare squad that costs him peanuts?

Williams must be embarrassed. He can hardly come out now and say that his squad is too small, can he?

Cue the sound of the resident fuckwitts and Hodgetts-club badge wearers shouting; "what's your alternative / who else will run the club / Power is the only game in town / the club is non-profitable / it loses money every year" etc etc.

Yawn.

I don't like it, but put me in the fuckwit pile because I don't see a lot of choice right now.

Of course if we really are running at so-say break even then I guess losing Power wouldn't knacker us financially, but it may be harder to recruit and maintain break even.

OK then smart-arse, what is the fucking answer then?

They've already been unwinding by the looks of it.

We're safe, I don't think we won't win again and that's all we need (1 win) but I feel a bit disappointed, it looked like we were heading for a decent end of season run, which has been halted pretty brutally. Just end the fucking thing now...

Although I am still weirdly confident for next season. No idea why!

Think that's me done for the season now. Not in a sulky way but after the Wigan game i think the players know now it's a pointless last 8 games so in that sense if they can't be fucked i can't. Anyone who knows me knows i am a balanced fan but one thing i can't be fucked with is players not giving a shit.

Only thing that may change my mind is if Williams plays the youths

Unfortunately that option is ruled out for now. The back to back fixtures v Fleetwood and Oldham, 4th and 5th bottom on 41, means we could easily be only 6 points better off than these with 6 games to go....and that however people want to view it is very much back in the mix.

With the squad we have I think we have overachieved so far this season and whilst Easter has been disappointing, me and the old man have said all season with our defence as bad as it is a decent team could easily put 4 or 5 past us.

League 1 has been at it's weakest in years which is

a) Lucky for our squad
b) Incredibly frustrating that Power has built by far the weakest team we've had since he's been here. Minus our strike force I think it could be weaker than the 10-11 relegation season.

The following players are just no good enough to mount a serious promotion bid next season.

Barry, Branco, Boo, Rodgers, N.Thompson (As a CB), Hylton, Belford, Turnbull.

That's 4 or 5 regulars in that list that are just no good enough and should be released\sold at the end of the season.
Thompson is an excellent RB and needs to be reverted back to his natural position.

3 or 4 more points and that will be enough to keep us going for another season in League 1.

I still haven't renewed my ST and am 50\50 as to whether I will.
£375 seems alot of dosh to watch the likes of Barry, Branco, Rodgers & Co.
With a little one on the way I just don't feel like I can justify the outlay for the product currently being served up.

That's how I feel mate.

While I'm sure I would have felt differently if I had gone, I really couldn't give a flying one about yesterday. It had might as well be a friendly, the result is meaningless. Dunno if I'll bother tuning in for the next match, depends on the line-up.

Barry has improved significantly this year and I believe is top with assists for us. I think he's got potential. Same with BOO, however I'd like to see a lot more cover at full back (although Brophy is another I have a lot of hope for)

Rodgers - agree. Good back up but don't like him as a regular starter.

Nate - you can't be serious? We are FAR more likely to go up with him in the backline (yes, as a CB) than without.

Hylton - Struggled to make the step up, again probably better as an impact sub.

Belford - Half decent back up, that's it. If Vigs isn't fit, a youth teamer should start in goal v Fleetwood.

Turnbull - There is a player in there but he's so inconsistent. I would be happy to have him back permanently though and I do think he'll end up as a regular at Championship level (or above).

It's boring to keep on repeating, but it's true. And it's not necessarily just about whether he "could have done something" about the goals (which at least 3 of them should have been saved) - it's the processes and the phases of play that the team goes through before it gets to that point.

I don't believe in coincidences. We've conceded more goals in the last two than the previous ten before that. Yes I'm aware the defence hasn't been great, and that TB was in goal v Cov... but he's not good enough. He can't jump, he needs to spend far less time in the gym as he's too wide, too short, too slow and too stodgy. He plays like his goalmouth is a sand pit.

Desperate for a permanent number 1 in the summer, and a better number 2 too.

It's very easy for fans to slag off individual players....but because of our model, these lads will always have times where their form can dip right down....which is exactly what we're seeing now. 

The only way for them to get the level of consistency of proper hardened pros is by playing....just about all of our squad have shown some decent form or progress at some point this season, and shipping them out en masse and bringing in another batch would be completely illogical. I'm sure Power and Williams know this, nevertheless a review of the season in May, will hopefully lead to the conclusion that we need some significant reinforcements if another season of struggle is to be avoided.

I pretty much agree with Tails on most points.

BOO and Barry will come good for us but they are young and still learning but need consitancy in their performances which will come with age and experience.

The same goes for Brophy he needs game time and finding if his position is left wing or wingback.

Rodgers I feel is not good enough and should be offloaded as I do Hylton who has not progressed as much as he should have.

Belford is adequate back up but nowhere near the quality we need for our first team regular, if his confidence hasnt been totally ruined by yesterday.

Turnbull is a wierd one, some days he is very good, away at Coventry he was outstanding but he has cost us a LOT of goals this year and last and is at his level and IMO will not progress past L1.

Nathan.....WTF seriously get rid of him? course not....the man just needs to calm himself down at times and he is regularly going into tackles studs up and he needs to improve his timing. With a half decent defensive coach he would get that. His running with the ball is at times far better than any other L1 centre back/sweeper/RB which could be his problem, he needs to find his best position and stick to it. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is a great club servant and will get better.

Sendles-White I do hope we sign this lad on for a few seasons as he looks calm and collected and he could be future captain material IMO.

Branco is playing at his level and will get no better, I would offload him and look for two new CB's in the summer.

Our season is pretty much over now and it is time to blood a few of the youngsters to see how they fare.

There are many bug bears I have with where we are currently that I've noticed over the last season or two.

Our set pieces (particularly corners) are dreadful, it looks like we do little to no training at all on set pieces which is hugely frustrating. Same with throw ins, we seem to be the only team where all the players run away from the throw in taker and then stand around, leaving him with little options.

I do applaud the model of playing total football, but it's so easy to play against, press us high up the pitch meaning we inevitably lose the ball and get on the back foot. It seems to me to be churlish to not switch tactics at all, meaning our opponents don't exactly have to do much homework on us. A Scunny fan said that he couldn't believe we didn't change the way we played in the second half when it was clear that it wasn't working.

We've been bloody lucky we've nicked a load of points with last minute goals this season, millwall and Crewe at home spring to mind, otherwise I think we could have been very much in the mire.

The sky commentator in the Wigan game commented on our 1.5 million budget which he said is basically a league 2 budget so I guess if we stay up we can consider it a job reasonably well done. Next season is going to be very interesting indeed in the post season.

People are worried Power will inevitably sell off Ajose during the summer but the opposite may be the case.

If you're a 20 plus goals a season striker would you want to stay at a club that looks like it is going nowhere?

Is it likely Power would make wholesale changes to a desperately thin squad, most of whom are under contract?

Personally, I cannot see how perservering with the perilous way of defending is ever going to work yet Williams seems content to continue with it whatever the cost.

At the moment we are between a rock and a hard place. Players not good enough to play out from the back and a lack of physical presence up front to play it longer even if we wanted to.

So, what would I like Power to do? Flog Ajose for £1m plus, and reinvest the proceeds into George Moncur, that Irish CB and obviously an Ajose replacement.

I think there could be some bids for Obika too.
Then we could be left with only the mighty Hylton up front.
Whoopy doo.

Both Barry & BOO are better going forward, which suits a formation with 3 at the back.

With both Nathan & JSW missing we had no choice but play 4-4-2.

With two full backs who are better attacking than defending (Brophy fits this as well) & Twi Centre Halves that are better in a three we were always going to struggle at the back.

As for Belford, I just think his positioning is a bit suspect and that's possibly why it always looks like he has no chance with shots. His reactions are ok if the ball is close to him.

But of course we wouldn't be left with only Hylton would we, because like every other fucking club in the land, we'll sign players and players will leave this summer.

As for Belford, I just think his positioning is a bit suspect and that's possibly why it always looks like he has no chance with shots. His reactions are ok if the ball is close to him.

Perhaps we should ask the opposition to give him a chance and shoot straight at him.   :(

Shouldn't back up players be able to step in and do the job properly with the modern squad use in football ?
Is there even such a thing as back up players nowadays? First year pro's maybe but I don't buy into back up players anymore.
This is even more relevant with such a tight budget.
You could argue that there will always be a no1 keeper but I wouldn't trust the current goal custodian to catch a cold.
Doesn't look good enough to even be classed as 'back up'.

This is where the problem of no reserve fixtures kicks in, how are the fringe players going to improve or even keep sharp when they don't play for weeks?

I remember one season 86/87, when Chalkie was leading scorer for the Stiffs and first team, he was often overlooked for Bamber and Quinn up front.

Talking of Bugs, when did scoring late on become lucky, what about a show of character and keeping going to the end.

Pretty much my thoughts, for the cross that went over his head yesterday he didn't even get off the ground and watching it again it wasn't even in the top corner so he should have easily got to it. He just doesn't look like a professional goalkeeper and clearly doesn't play like one.
Scunthorpe fans have said it's the worst goalkeeping performance they have ever seen which speaks volumes.... If you add up all the goals he's conceded in his 20 odd games for us it averages out at about 3 a game and whilst there's reasons for some of them it isn't just a coincidence.

Just made myself watch the goals from yesterday, look just as bad as they looked at the time.

Feel the same as one of the previous posters about not going again this season. I had a few games pencilled in that I wanted to go to, yesterday has put an end to those. Not wasting my money/time travelling up to see the dross that was served up yesterday.

He just doesn't seem to have much agility and for a somewhat bulky player a hell of a lot goes through him, perhaps because he is so large he cannot get down quickly?


Will he get better though, he is 25 now and no longer a youngster, he is very short to play at CB and I suspect he would be better at RB? I do think he gets away with a lot of his suspect tackles and needless bookings as he is 'one of us' all this youngster done well and heart on the sleeve stuff means he gets less of a battering than many and avoids being the designated scapegoat that our fans love.

No reason to get rid, but equally he needs to start to show what he is made of, having the captain at the back one would expect the defence to be organised and marshalled at least to a degree, this doesn't seem to be happening and any amount of badge kissing should not be allowed to hide that!

some very good keepers have struggled with the high ones. Well David Seamen, oh and Peter 'best before Italia 90'  Shilton, at Italia 90.

I'll defer the rest of his performance evaluation to those that went.

while I share reservations, a jittery crowd on Saturday isn't going to be helpful, as understandable as it may be.

Belford is hilariously bad. Like a short Fola Onion Bhaji but in goal.

Our defence is much better with him in than without. I doubt we'd have conceded 6 with him in the side yesterday.

I agree totally. He needs to show restraint. I do think at 25 there is plenty of room to improve, look at Jamie Vardy who at 25 was playing for Fleetwood.

Did I miss the announcement that today was Drama Queen day. :D

No but it is im still really fucked off i made an 10 hour round trip to watch a 6-0 defeat in which they were fucking pathetic day today.  :nod:

Just watched all the goals from the weekend.

To be fair to Belford there wasn't much he could do against Wigan... But as for yesterday, how is EVERYTHING going through him? I mean it's not as if he had much help in front of him but you expect your keeper to be able to make some saves at least!

A positive response on Saturday and all will be forgiven I expect.

Nathan Thompson is a far better RB than a CB.

His lack of positional sense and height is exposed when he plays as a CB.

Move him to RB, he's good on the ball, quick and a far better player defensively than Barry.

It's my ball and I'm going home.

Pleeeassee I was there at Middlesbrough (6-0), Forest (7-1), Cheltenham (5-0), Ipswich at home (6-0) and countless others and kept going. Getting the occasional drubbing is part of the fun right?  :pint:

And I was at 3 of those as well, still cba for the rest of this season though!

Just watching the highlights and getting angry about Belford. How many times does the ball hit him on the chest? He seems to almost pull his hands back out of the way. Really weird.

Fucking jinx

Yay, these are the sort of performances that I used to remember oh so well. I'll have to start attending again.

Nathan has played 15 league games this season we've lost 3.  He plays as a sweeper, the other 2 big units are meant to do the heading.

There's no real reason why he couldn't play in a back 4 as CB....PdC used Alan Mac there, Javier Mascarano is smaller than NT and Fabio Cannavaro no bigger.

Why were so many shots allowed to be taken at his chest?  The defenders in front of him were absolutely shit yesterday - I guess a scapegoat is needed!

I hate scapegoating as much as the next guy but Belford had an awful game. The defence were shit granted, but Ty should have kept more of those out.

Thinking that the 6-0 at Scunny was worst ever result in my supporting lifetime, with the reasoning that Ipswich, Boro, Newcastle and Forest were all at least "bigger" clubs than us. Actually I think Bolton 7-0 away in McMahon first season back in Div 2, which remains only game I have ever left early, probably tops it for crapness. Looking at the record books we did actually win the very next game after that 1-0 v Stoke, but then failed to win any more that season. Including as Reg said the 5-1 thumping at Oldham, which is also probably is in the top 10 bad Town performances I have ever witnessed. With no opportunity to strengthen and morale probably low could this rival 96-97 for dismal season end? Hylton having been hauled off at half time will certainly be in no mental state to provide Ajose with the partnership he needs up front if Obika's hamstring injury proves longer term, and we already know Nathan's (usually} calming presence at the back is going to be absent for the next 2 games.

Are you really directly comparing NT to those two international players....

Doctor - Reg has finally gone mad!  :D

Ardiles is my scapegoat for this pre match post yesterday.....


Williams used it in his team talk.

Not a scapegoat but he seems to have bulked out enormously and lost any agility that he had - keepers have bad days and he deserves better protection from his defence, but the amount that went under/through/over him is a concern.

Honestly think he could do with getting some weight or muscle off if nothing else?

Exactly - get out of the gym, or at least get off the chest press and onto the box jumps!

Many, many moons ago we had a keeper called O'Hara - could be brilliant one day and crap the next - a couple of heavy defeats and a much more vociferous Town End finished him!  Whilst Vigs is injured we have no alternative I fear.

One positive, not one of the players has dared post anything on Twitter yet since the result!

Sounds a bit like Talia. Although every time I think about old Frank I'm reminded of that absolutely heroic display away at Charlton.

The 5 at Fleetwood this season has to also feature I guess?

Thing is with goalkeepers, is that when they they have  a "bit of a mare" it really sticks in peoples minds and everybody remembers.
A striker could miss numerous easy looking chances throughout a game but if he scores a last minute winner,he"s a hero.

Was that Belford in goal?

It wasn't - at least he hasn't conceded an OG yet this run. Something to look forward to for Saturday perhaps!  :girlgiggle:

when is Lawrence back ?

He was being assessed today re progress, but Williams did say there be may none of the absentees available for Sat.

So very true and how come Scunny were allowed so many shots on target?

I wasn't there but from what I have seen of Belford he probably won't cut it in the FL and would be better off gaining more playing experience in the Conference. 

We've had no 2 keepers who have had to be quite important in having to step up regularly such as Nicki Hammond and Smithy who, whilst they showed they were No. 2 for a reason, were also capable of match winning displays in their own right (well beyond Belford's one, late save at Coventry)

Yep, I phrased that very badly. My aim wasn't to scapegoat, I was instead questioning Belford's technique in the examples showed on Player. I'm not blaming Belford for the number of shots - that comes from an entire team's efforts - I am question how he tried to deal with a sample shown.

This is getting very Storey-ish in its level of polarised debate.

Fair enough, a lot of people are blaming Belford but the sorry tale is that we had 51% possession but only 1 shot on target - perhaps we should all start to blame Ajose who failed to score seven!!!

I know that was tongue in cheek... but Ajose's scoring record is sublime. He's the top goalscorer in the division despite playing considerably less and having fewer shots.

Belfords record in goal for us is pretty terrible.... I don't like scapegoating at all and I'm not blaming him entirely for the defeat but he should be doing a lot better with some of those chances. I like the guy, you can't question his commitment and he has a lot of time for the fans but is he good enough to ever be our number 1? I can't see it, and I'm sure Ty won't want to be no. 2 for his whole career.

I've not seen the highlights, and don't think I'll bother, but it's not scapegoating if he's just not good enough. 

 What is now certain is that we've a massive game on our hands on Saturday.

We need a reaction we need to see some sort of competence in performance and not to ship goals harum-scarum. Williams is a rookie manager, and if he had any self doubt about his suitability for the post, this will certainly exercise his mind.

The good thing is, a win isn't imperative, a point will do.

Not Belford's fault we lost, it was always likely to happen with the defence we had.
The thing that concerns me is that he does seem to let in a high proportion of shots on target in.
Against Wigan at one point they had scored with 4 out of 5, and Scunthorpe was 6 out of 10.

Looking at him I am just worried that Belford may have eaten him.....

I've not actually seen anyone blaming the defeat on him they've just pointed out that he had a terrible game and questioned whether he is actually good enough to play league football as in the past a lot of people have claimed he should be playing ahead of Vigs. Based on evidence to date you can see why even when Vigs was making mistakes Belford never got a look in....

Belford is just your average reserve keeper, good enough maybe for Div 2.
That is a comment I would give to 50% or more of our squad.
I think they have been sucked in my opposition managers stating Swindon are good side, we are not a good side but a very average one dimensional side who can easily be blocked out.
How lucky we had that good run, would like to see us in a dog fight.
Fleetwood and Oldham are really fighting for their lives, loose these with the fixtures to follow, we will be in that fight as well, and I pretty sure we haven't got the stomach to have the fight.

The talent we had at this club last season should have won this division by April.

I'm not knocking Belford by the way, it is always easy to blame the keeper even if he is average.
Let's hope we can pick up three points from the next two games.

So, based on that, the talent we had last season didn't have the stomach for a promotion push.

 

I've not changed my mind since January, keeping Obika and Ajose fit gives us a chance against most.  Take them away and we'd be in a right proper relegation scrap.

It may be obvious, but that's where our squad is at IMO.

That's not to say it hasn't improved over the seasons and that there isn't potential there for next. Its just not there yet.

I think he's just saying the league is weaker this year, which it is??

edit: oh wait, I read that as last years talent in this years league, not last years talent in last years league. So ????

just watched the highlights and although i bow to anyone's opinion who was actually there but how can any of those goals apart from the cross/shot be blamed on belford?

He dives and misses the ball for the 6th, should have been an easy save.

That's how I read but change should to would and it reads different. However I still don't think that's true either, how weaker do you think this season league is, we obviously are and our many long term injury's made it worse but it can only be last years top three.

I'd say the division is significantly weaker. Last year there were 4 very good sides going for 3 promotion spots. This year you've got Wigan who seem to be turning it on late, and a bunch of teams who are nothing special but play reasonably well on a consistent basis.

I'd have to say that assessment would be true.

We bottled all of the big games in the 2nd half of the season.

(Franchise at home, Bristol City away, Preston at Wembley)

When the pressure was on the boys didn't cope well.

But I do agree the league is much weaker this season, the quality at the top is nowhere near the standard of last year.

1st goal is well placed.
2nd a cross should never go in.
3rd his attempt to save is awful. He should have got down to save that, or at least tried.
4th he could do nothing about
5th goes through his legs
6th goes through his arms

The defending is god awful, but he should have kept AT LEAST 3 of those out.

The defending and goalkeeping was diabolical.
They're all to blame.

@tails nice to see ty getting games at marine by the way.

Yeah agree with that. Just highlighting where Belford could have done better.

Thanks mate  :)

If it was Vigs nobody would question the goals just blame the defence sadly, shame that Belford is getting a lot of the stick (even if he was at fault for 1 or 2) rather than the defence in front of him that just seemed to part and leave him exposed.

I don't really know how many more times anyone can say that Belford isn't solely to blame here....

Would you lot expect the players to have been in training on Tuesday after that shambles?

Yep, Without a doubt, bet they weren't mind

After two games in four days? Bit old school Morsy? Maybe best to give them a break to help them turn a new page. If people in the know say Williams is an outstanding coach, I'll go along with his view. Would expect the rest of the week to be pretty thorough though.

No 2 games over a weekend probably means rest is required

Give him a break, Sam is writing pieces for the Mail now, he has to be outraged about something?  :D

Interesting. They didn't, apparently, and I'm surprised a little. Not necessarily to do explosive stuff but when you've only got four days to sort that out before the next game (against a team you shipped five against earlier in the season), I'd consider having an analysis session or light shapework. Might be in the minority.

I think he is gaining Storey or Cooper status on here now though.

FWIW the whole defence and goalkeeping area was a shambles that looked neither interested nor arsed to do anything, I suspect that 'he' (I think that's the correct term for our deities) is getting certain attention because a) due to the shambolic performance most of the highlights showed the ball going, over, under and through him and b) he just seems to look incredibly overweight and showed no agility in trying to save anything really.

I played keeper at Sunday league for many years and fuck me you can have a shocker where nothing goes right, but he just didn't seem capable of getting down quickly which is a real worry, possible needs to spend less time in the gym or selling motors on Twitter and more time getting some bulk off?

Or they could have been forced to watch the video/DVD of the Wigan and Scunthorpe games in full to show how inept they were.

I like it that an indirect result of the "media ban" is that the TEF now gets direct any scoops that Morsy can't flog to someone. Keep it coming, Sammo. We're happy with scraps.

I agree with that, he has the agility of an aircraft carrier, he is slow to get down to low shots and keeps his legs wide open in one on ones, his kicking is very poor to say the least and he punches rather than catches the ball as well as his propensity to let the ball hit him on the chest before gathering it.

That said I am sure he can buckle down and get better, he is still very young for a keeper but you do have to question how he is being coached.

That is unless Steve Hale thinks he cannot claim crosses well enough so insists he punches the ball rather than trying to catch and dropping the ball in precarious positions.

Been out the country last couple of weeks so wasnt at either game but have seen highlights, bit surprised main bulk of this thread is about an inexperienced second choice keeper who i guess doesnt cost us much, shouldnt the main concern be about established first team regular players defensive capabilities? We have conceded too many goals all season, not just recently

Going in a slightly different direction, if we get possibly one more win we are probably safe, wouldnt it be worthwhile seeing the likes of Marshall, Cooke, Young, Smith given some action to see if they are up to first team football?

What on earth do you expect? We shipped six in our biggest defeat for a decade and quite rightly the 'keeper who was culpable for 3 of the goals is being raised as a concern, the rest of them have received plenty of criticism also.

Whether Belford is the highest earner or paid peanuts, this is a match day thread and his wage or experience shouldn't excuse him.

Utter rubbish.

I think the main gist of my thread was more aimed at the fact he is a second choice keeper whose only played a few games so its hardly expected that he is the next Joe Hart, isnt the bigger concern first team regulars not defending well enough as out of 10 goals generally most people say he was down for 2-3 so that leaves 7 that have come down to other players?

He has started around 20 matches for us - hardly a kid thrown in at the deep end. No expectation of him being the next Joe Hart, but a competent back up should not be too much to ask.

In regards to the other goals we shipped, I can barely bring myself to relive the highlights. It certainly seems Branco was back to his comedy best on Monday.

What about the other defenders and midfielders over the two games or generally over the season, your thoughts?

Amen.

Paul Mason:

Barry - remains somewhat of a defensive liability so is often targeted by the opposition but there has been a marked improvement when he was written off by many (including myself) at the start of the season. Impressive going forward and has contributed quite a few assists. I would like to see Thompson start ahead of him in that position next season but he will do for back up.

Turnball - has unfortunately gone backwards since last season but still capable of the odd solid display, was superb at Coventry. I would like us to look to sign him permanently as we know what he can do over a season in a decent side.

Branco - meh, started the season well, do I trust him? Not as a regular and we do seem to ship more goals with him present.

Thompson - when fit, often a class act who is missed. We would have more points on the board if he wasn't absent.

Boo - similar to Barry, a bit too lightweight for my liking but has improved.

Sendles-White - I have been impressed with him, looks solid and assured and based on his early performances he should be starting ahead of Branco.

Brophy - out of his depth at left back, I think he would have promise if played in a more advanced role but certainly should not be starting and would benefit from a loan spell I think.

The midfield? All far too inconsistent, no real stand out performer. Robert has shown class but lacks consistency and Doughty started superbly before appearing to down tools last weekend - it would be interesting to see if we get him back.

Ultimately, we saw almost £5 million of midfield talent depart last summer and replaced on a shoe string, so our current position does not surprise me.

It's a shame we have been unable to take advantage of a free scoring strike partnership and the weakest league 1 in memory and it will take some decent recruitment to avoid a struggle next season.

Quote: Ultimately, we saw almost £5 million of midfield talent depart last summer and replaced on a shoe string, so our current position doEs not surprise me.

This.....for me.

That's why I'm not bothering to renew. I will go to 90% of the matches...but will not commit.

Power won't ref loanees and threadbare squad....so I won't...

Ajose is top scorer in a mediocre side, so I fully expect him to be the sacrificial lamb close season.

I hope it all improves next term.

Get another win and we can all look forward to who we will play next season.

Good synopsis, agree with all that.

You won't spend money to watch Town because Power won't? what exactly do you intend to achieve by not buying a ST? Genuine question.

I'm shocked, I totally agree with Chang. I wasn't there on Monday but that is a fair summary of those players IMO from what I've seen this season.

The thing is guys unless you or we have the money to buy Lee power out we are stuck with him doing whatever he wants ,the way he wants and how he wants . 1 million % in it as a businessman he has said .Wants to get to championship then sell.In the meantime he will cut his cloth accordingly(I have no prob with that at all as it's important we have a club at whatever level)and as a business that's what keeps it sustainable.BUT he has made no community effort or spent any cash around the stadium (Fitton and wray sorted all red seats and at least painted and made certain areas presentable)and their plan included stadium development and or a new facility )We can all have our opinion but if we are not really happy about our club being run this way there are choices --Don't go to games or give any money at all .If 500 or 1000 people made a stand on a reqular basis (from our present very loyal following) the saleable asset would decrease any profit v turnover . For 43 years we have had no assets( stadium) no money and the same level of football and attendance and I should know as that's when I first started going .Sooooo people what are we going to do about it ?

What the fuck are you on about?

We've got new floodlights and are getting a new training facility, no?

People aren't going to stop attending because they want to get rid of Power - they will stop for the same reasons they have always done - having an unsuccessful team.

It's a natural reaction which will no doubt manifest itself on Saturday when we will probably scrape just over 6000 against Fleetwood.

Note that despite Blackpool fans boycotting their home games there is no sign of Oyston legging it any time soon.

What fans of any club want is hope. Hope that things will improve, hope the calibre of player gets better and, in our case, hope they can somehow sort out the lack of any semblance of a functioning defence.

Our home games against Bradford, Crewe, Southend, Coventry, Millwall all have one thing in common. We started with 3 at the back, got tonked in the early stages, reverted to the good old 442 - diamond or otherwise -  played some good stuff and retrieved the situation.

Which begs the simple question - why don't we just start off playing a system that obviously suits us better.

The slagging off of players  needs to be tempered with the roles they are being asked to fulfil. It's the staff's job to either recruit players capable of performing a certain role or improving existing players through coaching.

Our back 3 for the majority of the past 2 seasons - Branco, Turnbull and Thompson - have not improved playing this system and are unlikely to do so.

Something needs to change - either personnel or system - as it seems certain that we will never rid ourselves of our defensive frailties.

I am no mathematician but I don't think Power can actually be in for anything 1 million%?

As for his aim being to get us to the championship and sell won't that actually achieve a lot of fans objectives in getting us promoted to another level and rid of asset stripping Power?

In short...save myself some money.

I knew for a few seasons now that I miss a few games but was relaxed as an ST saved me queueing and all that bollocks pre match and that was worth a couple of missed matches to me....now I can get tickets online and decided to go that route.

Power is here....fine by me. We have a club to support and not pissing money away wildly nilly....great.

I lost the buzz after the Wembley shambles and the 'not our day' post match shit rubbed salt in the wounds. Already got an ST then, otherwise I wouldn't of bothered.

I like the football but we cut our cloth SO fine that a couple of injuries and we are fucked. It's all Jekyll and Hyde.
Williams seems to know what he's doing and is honest post match.

I will still go to the majority of games, it's a lot about the whole day in the pub for me as much as the football.

Why not make all the season tickets £1000 and if you don't buy one you're a cunt who doesn't support the team and doesn't want promotion.
A line needs to be drawn, I've drawn mine. Doesn't make me right .... or wrong.
I'm not trying to make a statement to Power.
I respect people that have got one and those that haven't.
If we go on some storming cup run and I miss out on a home ticket.....that's my look out!

See you Saturday.

Fucking happy clapper

If he goes to "90% of matches" without buying an ST then ticket price alone suggests that he may well spend more money at the club, depending on the home:away ratio.

Correct.

Fair play. I got the wrong impression from your post, that you were joining the "I won't be renewing while Power is still here" club. Should have known better!

I'm quite looking forward to Saturday. Nothing to play for but a lot to prove.

Actually power himself owns the training ground not the club and also the new floodlights were a football league requirement.As for the maths the % quote came from power on the radio .As for being happy with championship football it would not be sustainable with our current budget ,income and business plan (our attendances alone would be an embarrassment )Still hopefully in time we will all see the bigger picture.Hopefully we will still be at least league 1 and average 7 k as we did at my first game in 1976.Now that's progress !!!

The attendances aren't Powers fault. If the people of Swindon aren't prepared to support their football team there's not a lot anyone can do... and I don't blame people for not wanting to get involved when even fans of x amount of years (and boy when they're pissed off, they'll be sure to tell you just how many years they've been supporting the club as if its some sort of validation for their petulance) are willing to turn their back on their own club because they're not happy with how its being run (ie, we're not winning every game and spending millions and owners are having the audacity to sell players to ensure the clubs survival).

Quite.
:albert brind emoji:

(http://i.imgur.com/JtFZQtQ.gif)

It might be time in the summer to bring in some additional coaching experience. Williams and Embleton haven't got long league careers behind them and maybe they need an experienced coach or ex manager to steer them through the pitfalls of managing League 1 footballers.

I sense Williams is a football purist and maybe he needs someone alongside to say 'Luke what about doing this or I think X is taking the piss or Y needs dropping'. It worked quite well at Rovers with Paul Trollope and Lennie Lawrence.

Whether Power would want someone around like that I don't know. It's a shame it didn't work out with Lingy to have that balance. I guess we could wait for Tim Sherwood's stock to fall so much that he takes a League 1 job.

Maybe we could have spent more on players or made tickets cheaper if Lee Power didn't invest in these things eh?

Paul Hart was experienced.

I'd rather stick with Williams than an overpriced, unproven, overrated name.

Sadly pie man I think you are missing the point .Powers  investments will only benefit him in the long term as he is trying to increase the business value at less cost .Now that works in most businesses but football and us as fans know that it's a whole different ball game.( pardon the pun)

Also the Fitton wray mob looked at stadium development and re engaging with businesses and the community . Now they were or are significantly financially better off than power and did improve the playing budget and all round appearance of the ground and feel good factor amongst us fans . Their objective was to sell eventually too but at least they made an effort with the customer base ( us as fans)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doHQjoQmr1E

frankly I'm not sure I would bother with our moaning half arsed support either

This.

I'm not sure where the over inflated opinion some fans have of the clubs stature comes from. Other than the 4 play-off campaigns we've been mid-table league 1 or lower over the last 16 years with crowds of less than 4000 for some games in the early 2000's.