Thetownend.com

Headlines from Richie Wellens' pre-match press conference today:

- Dion Donahue signing not able to be registered until 2nd January, now confirmed.
- Keshi Anderson will return to the squad for Oldham game
- Player injured in training today, will mean the first XI will need to change for Oldham (albeit - pinch of salt - Richie loves a pre-match mind game!)

I'm hoping to attend the next 3 home games  :pint: :spoton:

Down the years Oldham at the CG has been the good, the bad, and the ugly.

 My first memory was a 6-3 win in Dec 66.... we went 1 down were 2-1 up at half time, and then 5-1 up before Oldham hit back to make it 5-3 then the Don completed his hat trick. 3 years later we rolled them 5-1 with Chris Jones scoring a hat trick. That was good. 

Bad was losing to them in the last minute on the Prem CG debut... small crowd and any feelgood factor long gone.

Ugly.... anything recent.

Headlines from Richie Wellens' pre-match press conference today:

- Dion Donahue signing not able to be registered until 2nd January, now confirmed.
- Keshi Anderson will return to the squad for Oldham game
- Player injured in training today, will mean the first XI will need to change for Oldham (albeit - pinch of salt - Richie loves a pre-match mind game!)

Hopefully not too serious. Fryers injury would be bad we’ve had a great record with him and Baudry together.

I would add Doughty to the key players list.
Winning run started with him coming back in?
No real like for like replacement without having to tweak the system?

Obviously discounting the useless Adam May who wants to cut short his loan early to go back to Pompey before January.

We’ve had some bad loanees down the years but he must be amongst the worst. Absolutely no redeeming features to his play and terrible in every appearance for us.

Hes certainly up there, absolutely dire in every game. He must have the lowest pass completion of any Town player in donkeys years.

And only tackle he’s made was on Woolery in a home game.

I reckon we have 3 ‘key’ players - Doyle, Yates and Grant. So it’s one of them. Anyone else we have adequate cover for.

Oldham’s official supporters coach (singular) has been cancelled due to lack of numbers!

Commented underneath on social media by a town fan
" who are swindon going to play saturday now then "

Mind you she is on that Facebook page

Based on nothing, I'm guessing Doughty.

Yates or Doyle.

Are you Dan the Fan?

Oh Fuck !!!.

It's no coincidence that we've gone top since my return  :icecream:

Doyle and Wellens win player and manager of the month.

We’re doomed on Saturday!

Worth mentioning the road between Beckhampton and Swindon is closed tomorrow which I would never have known if I hadnt gone that way yesterday!

Details below from http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/roadworkstraveldisruptions.htm

Description   Works Category = Major. Carriageway restriction = Road closure. Works description = SD0413 Carriageway Reconstruction 60mm patching + Surface Dressing + Road Marking and associated works. Eurovia Specialist Treatments, Steve Hawkins: 07834 503477, [email protected]. Works Reference = UK600AV6203000001799
Location   SD0413 A4361 Swindon Road, Winterbourne Monkton View on map
Type   BBC - ROADWORK
Delay   Severe
Planned start   14/12/2019 00:00
Planned end   14/12/2019 23:59
Diversion Route   -
Diversion in force   No
Promoter / Contractor   WILTSHIRE COUNCIL

In more "failing to engage with the community" news, the club are doing a Snowglobe (no, I don't know either), Santa's Grotto, Mulled Wine and some kind of choir before the game tomorrow behind the Arkells.

See you there  :)

tbf, Wellens has won Manager of the Month so you can hardly curse it any more :)

The old negative negative equals a positive  ;)

Oldham are unbeaten in their last 7 matches at the CG with our last win being in 2010 but overall we have won 13 games at the CG between the sides and Oldham have won 10 times with 7 being drawn.

Anyone notice if Doyle was limping  :doh:

Is the chippy back open yet? I’ve missed my football special.

How do we not know who the injured player is? Surely someone from the adver or a supporter has been to training and said player has been conspicuous by their absence?

Don't think so,  was still closed last home game,   you'd have thought that they would have got it open ASAP,  surely match days are the 'good earner' days.

So playing top of the league on Saturday, who have won their last 6 league games on the bounce, are the highest scorers in the division, have our ex favourite ginger one on fire who has netted 17 times in 16 games this season, and have our berated ex manager in charge who has the hump with Al.... What could possibly go wrong!!  

Should be several nil, but wouldn’t put it past us to somehow come away with a smash & grab 1-0.

We'll either lose by a little or lose by a lot here, I'm afraid.  

If we keep them (Doyle) down to three, I'll class it as a result.

Swindon are a division 2 not a Premieship team, yet we seem to be treating them as unbeatable.
We have seen Doyle score goals here, but let's not forget he was anonymous in many games.
Be just like Latics to sneak a 1 nil win.

Swindon are a 2nd division team you are spot on. They also happen to be a darn sight better football side than us as well.  

Generally, I have been optimistic, even when we've struggled. But I've always looked to see if I can spot something positive on the horizon.
I've never in my life felt like deserting the club I've loved for so long, but since AL and ML took over, I just don't recognise it any more.
We've got a team of misfits that the Brothers Numbnuts think are world beaters. Not from what I've seen, they're not.
I'll go to Swindon with hope of a result more than expectation and I guess it would be just like us to sneak a scrappy 1-0 win, but I just don't see it happening.  

When we won 1-0 at Newport, we caught them in a bad patch of form - they've just lost their last 4 in succession, including against us. Contrast that to Swindon, who are in a superb run of form and I just can't see us getting anything

As an aside, it really does make you wonder what went on regarding Wellens. He had us playing excellent football initially - and then it just nosedived, leading to relegation. Presently, he looks like an accomplished manager. We'll probably never know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Whilst Swindon are top and are registering a few good wins with Doyle apparently in great form again under Wellens, Latics have throughout history always managed to throw in the odd really unexpected cracking result.  I can't see us going toe-to-toe with Swindon under Maamria or with the players at our disposal - think we will try and sit in and frustrate them and try and pick them off via Smith (not much else in the team looks dangerous going forwards).

I think they have recently had trouble despatching teams at home, their good wins tend to be away so I am not totally writing this one off. Equally I have seen nothing yet in this Division, every team is pretty much of a muchness, although I have to say I think Latics league position is probably a fair reflection of our ability.

Wellens seems to struggle to find a Plan B if things are not going well on the pitch hence he is in league 2.

He's in league 2 because he was truly shafted by the ownership when he was here and is rebuilding a fledgling managerial career and doing superbly. Was a huge mistake letting him go.

I say apparently because I have not seen Eoin play for them Danny, from newspaper reports they were a bit fortunate on Saturday at Grimsby but they ran out 3-0 winners so can't argue with that.

FWIW I would have kept Richie Wellens on but I think there is an issue about his plan B - he couldn't manage to get a squad of decent players (albeit one with no harmony) up to winning at least 1 of last 10 fixtures and so took us down to basement division for first time since 1971.

Wellens will try and take the game to us and alot will depend on how we can counter attack with Wilson and Smityh we do have abit of pace on the counter.

I saw them earlier in the season at Exeter and they were the best team I've seen in the league this season.  They dominated the first half and should've been well clear, 2nd half was even and good quality.  Doyle scored a typical Doyle goal late on and obviously he'll be a threat on Saturday, but he's scoring loads because he's got a lot of help around him.  Yates up front has scored steadily in the last 2 seasons at this level, Woolery, Isgrove and Anderson are direct wingers who have pace and Doughty's creative in the centre of the park.  They take a few risks playing it out from the back but they've got players who can do it well.

Dino says all Swindon's goals have been scored from inside the box, so he's going to play a high line to try and keep them out. Most clubs will have tried that already, but Swindon have succeeded in getting around them. The longer the game goes on the more pressure they will put on, and our high line will drop deeper and deeper.    

I don't pay as much attention to other teams as many but I'm sure I even saw Doyle score one for them from outside the box on a highlights programme.

Wellens is no god, where would he be in the league without doyle!? People have short memories, shez signed doyle and Byrne and Bryan . The up lift in form was shez team and take away doyle from the Swindon team, u have a very different lay on land. Wellens is a Chancer,  who couldn't get one win from ten. Hes playing attractive attacking football, yep. But were 5 points clear of relegation with a team of absolute shite, anyone with a bit of cash could walk this league.

Fancy us for all three here. Not a happy clapper by any stretch but sitting in and showing no ambition suits us. 0-2 latics.

Wellens, although doing well, Really fell into a barrel of roses after leaving here, swindon have always been a decent set up and had he gone to a lesser club, then, I still think the same problems that dogged him here would be laid bare once more. Let's see if he ever steps up from this temporary lofty position

Always been a decent club? One of the select few that have managed to find their way from the Premier League to here.  

"They're the best team in the league right now. I think that if you look at the players they have, Mathieu Baudry has won promotion from this level twice in the last three years with Doncaster Rovers and Franchise and they've got Michael Doughty in the middle of the park with a terrific left foot, terrific box-to-box player.

"Also, they've Anthony Grant and he has won many promotions with different clubs and he's been around the block and their front three Kaiyne Woolery, Eoin Doyle and Jerry Yates they all can score and create goals and they're a real force going forward and they're a very good team."

I am going to hazard a guess and say its Doughty or Fryers.

I still haven't given up hope of some classic Wellens injury fake news shithousery.

I’m more reassured that their manager appears to think Woolery scores goals. All his shots look like he’s kicking beach balls. Go ahead and double up on him Latics.

Is the chippy back open yet? I’ve missed my football special.

Just watched football focus where they interviewed two Peterborough strikers who have scored 13 goals each,saying they are the "most prolific strike partnership in the top 4 tiers of English football"
Dan Walker then said only Leicester come close.
Am i missing something here???

Just watched football focus where they interviewed two Peterborough strikers who have scored 13 goals each,saying they are the "most prolific strike partnership in the top 4 tiers of English football"
Dan Walker then said only Leicester come close.
Am i missing something here???

28 for Doyle/Yates, surely.

Yates has a cup goal.

Lot of good that did!

Yates has a cup goal.

Lyden out with a slight knock. Wtf was Wellens on about?

With Doyle,Yates, DJ, Woolery, Doughty and Caddis coming at them, you'd hope their defenders will get a right workout today.

I would say show me where Richie Wellens says that a player is out for a "substantial" amount of time...

"Such is the extent of the mystery key player’s injury, Wellens stated he will work on a couple of options moving forward – suggesting a new addition may be required when the upcoming January transfer window opens. "

The Adver commented "SWINDON Town fans have a nervous three-day wait to find out which key player will be missing from Richie Wellens’ team for a substantial period of time. "

Again. Show me where Wellens says something instead of the Adver implying it.

Wellens stated he will work on a couple of options moving forward – suggesting a new addition may be required when the upcoming January transfer window opens

It is entirtely plausible that it's shoddy reporting from the adver.

It is also very plausible that Wellens was just fucking with us and/or Oldham. I like that option.

Is there no live match video avbl today?

20 minutes in, Oldham have been time wedding since the 2nd

20 minutes in, Oldham have been time wedding since the 2nd

Benda has got me cacking me pants

His distibution has been terrible today.

Wind-related or just having a bad day?

DJ doing well today

Their manager was right

A bit against the run of play but I will take that all day!

You will never see a better struck shot.

He's got a foot like a traction engine.

Not so sure, we dominated the last 20 and they resorted to ridiculous time wasting, we had some good chances. That’s their game plan fucked now!

Looking at the replay, Doughty's pass for the goal is sexual.

When is Doyle going to score?

Feels like a game we'd definitely have thrown away late in previous seasons. Let's hope this year's side has a bit more about it.

http://youtu.be/iNe5npkid-s

FT 2-0.

7 league wins in a row.

9 consecutives scoring matches for Doyle.

Another clean sheet making it 3 in a row.

Top of the league.

Not a great performance but a win is a win and they all count.

Thank you Swindon Town.

For you Mark, love you mate.

http://youtu.be/iNe5npkid-s

It had to be done.  :(

FT 2-0.

7 league wins in a row.

9 consecutives scoring matches for Doyle.

Another clean sheet making it 3 in a row.

Top of the league.

Not a great performance but a win is a win and they all count.

Thank you Swindon Town.

For you Mark, love you mate.

http://youtu.be/iNe5npkid-s

Yep :nod:... add to that...7 points ahead of 4th...

Edit: FH beat me to it...you can't get fed up with seeing it though ;)

oh and Caddis was good

In other news, water is wet. 

:)

Doyle: This is a great team to play in...I want to be here...I LOVE being here...as far as I'm concerned it's a season long loan and I'm here 'til the end of the season.

He said that today?

Yep, on BBC Wilts post match about 10-15mins ago :)

The home performances are still worrying me a bit. We’ve played, and beat, some of the right old shite at home recently. Get one of the better sides here and we’ll struggle.

The home performances are still worrying me a bit. We’ve played, and beat, some of the right old shite at home recently. Get one of the better sides here and we’ll struggle.

The home performances are still worrying me a bit. We’ve played, and beat, some of the right old shite at home recently. Get one of the better sides here and we’ll struggle.

Oldham can be a very good side if they weren't so negative from the start. Time wasting from the kick off  :no:, Ill be pissed off if Town ever decided to play like that from the word go.
I'm surprised any Oldham player would agree to play that style.  :suicide:

If we can keep racking up the wins v the lower orders of Div 4, then we can maybe afford a few draws against the upper echelons, of the current sides directly below us, we've visited 4 of them.

20 yards out on the angle.

A lot of teams are going to come and play like that at our gaff. We dealt with Oldham.

Flash's stinky guts got us through that.

I think it's also easy for some to forget sometimes that when playing teams in the, let's say bottom six, they can be just as difficult matches and very poignant wins. For they need the points too.

This season does change a little in that sense, since only one will go down but 3pts are just as valuable wherever they come from.

Let's say we will be on 46pts after 23 games. You like to mention that we tend to do worse in the second half (some could argue this is down to games:weeks ratio as well as fatigue creeping in, amongst lots of other factors) of the season. If we were to only replicate the first half at a rate of 50% it would see us finish on 69pts. I think, with this season being so tight in the PO spots currently (due to inconsistency I believe), that 69pts would obtain the final PO spot.

Still, Morecambe could mathematically get to 90pts yet so keeping our feet on the ground, we're currently nearly halfway to securing football league safety :)

If you can’t get excited when you are top the league and have had 7 wins on the spin football probably isn’t for you.

PO's are no use to us, it's auto or bust. ATM we are developing the habit of winning without necessarily being at our best, this is exactly what's needed, but uncertainty over what January will bring still means we shouldn't get too excited.

Bit optimistic (spolling) for you Reg

We struggled for 20 mins until RW adjusted the formation from 442 to 451 (or 4231).

PO's are no use to us, it's auto or bust. ATM we are developing the habit of winning without necessarily being at our best, this is exactly what's needed, but uncertainty over what January will bring still means we shouldn't get too excited.

I was basing that on a fairly realistic "worse case" scenario of only managing another 8 wins or equivalent, in the second half of the season. POs would be our worse case. Since we are opening up a gap, not only from 8th down but also from the auto spots too. It's points on the board that matter and we find ourselves in a position where even teams with GiH can't catch us. It will be down to game by game. As long as we keep putting points on said board, the rest have to play catch up.

On the point of say Doyle returning to Bradford; was interesting to hear Wellens bring up Theo Robinson, during post match. I have a feeling even if we didn't retain the services of Doyle, there would be a raft of capable strikers wanting to help us get over the line and add a promotion to their CV. A Paul Benson type of cameo. Finding someone capable of getting just half of Doyle's tally would be decent enough for the rest of the season. I see Obika scored a brace for St.Mirren today. What's your favourite, Nicky Ajose up to lately?  :hmmm:

I only deal with facts.

Here's a fact: We ARE top of the league.

FUCK YEAH!

Theo I think is a no no having played for 2 clubs already. NA we discussed a while back he's been injured and had an op.

Wasn't suggesting Theo, as he started at Sarfend this season, before experiencing racist abuse...from his own fans. Genuinely, just wondered what NA was up to.

I know it would seem cardinal sin to some but Obika might fancy coming on loan to Town and getting a promotion on his CV. Let's face it, he's winning nothing but local pride at St. Mirren. Plus, he's only 29.

Doughty’s assist for the first goal 😍

Their keeper being serenaded off with ‘it’s not your fault’ was gold. Football pantomime at its best

Wasn't suggesting Theo, as he started at Sarfend this season, before experiencing racist abuse...from his own fans. Genuinely, just wondered what NA was up to.

I know it would seem cardinal sin to some but Obika might fancy coming on loan to Town and getting a promotion on his CV. Let's face it, he's winning nothing but local pride at St. Mirren. Plus, he's only 29.

because he is injury prone

He’s also playing for St Mirren because he is injury prone and no other fucker would have him.

No thanks

Or prone to getting 'injured' when things are not going his way.

I’m sure Obika would fancy it, but Wellens certainly would not! Sights would be set somewhat higher.

Or prone to getting 'injured' when things are not going his way.

What is that in the corner of the screen? A Nose, a chin? Or a deformed cock? Freaky.

https://t.co/cnaz7ZmAnk?amp=1
https://t.co/cnaz7ZmAnk?amp=1

Not entirely sure how they ended up with all 11 players on the pitch at the end... well, standard shite reffing helped. Grant was a delight to watch when he just started giving as good as we were getting, not sure many of their players didn't end up on his studs! Started poorly, got better once the formation switch came, happy with that!

We’ve had some bad loanees down the years but he must be amongst the worst. Absolutely no redeeming features to his play and terrible in every appearance for us.

Saw Wellens, Hunt and Mildy out in Bath last night. If they thought they could have a low profile drink there it was a bad choice as half of Swindon seemed to be out there too

Can’t quite remember the detail but I think Mildy told one of my mates that the players had flown up to Scotland for their Christmas do!

https://t.co/cnaz7ZmAnk?amp=1
https://t.co/cnaz7ZmAnk?amp=1

Great win yesterday.
Not at our best for the first 30 or so, improved after that.

Clean sheets stacking up as well.
Three in first 10 games, five in next 11.

Most of the teams I've seen so far have been ok until the final third, then it's hope for the best after that.
Oldham were no different.

Hopefully this will be season of two consistent halves and not two very different ones.
1982-83. Second going into Christmas, lost a key game at home to Wimbledon. Faded and finished eighth.
No guarantees of anything at the moment.

We'll need to start clocking up some wins against direct rivals.
The upcoming fixtures mean that we'll have to.

Anyway, I'm off for a sip from a water bottle, hopefully without picking up an 'injury' in the process.

Oldham can be a very good side if they weren't so negative from the start.

Is Hillier back doing the attendances?

You watching on iFollow JJ? If so what VPN you using?

Hello by the way, long time no see. Hope you're ok  :-[

I thought we were the better team in the first half. We went at them from the kick off and they didn't like it. Any touch on them and they simply fell over.

It was good pressing, neat and tidy passing, and their keeper had a couple of heart in the mouth moments. With someone who could put half chances away, we could have been two or three up before they really threatened us.

Their goal came from leaving Woollery the freedom of Swindon; he was never going to miss. We didn't deserve to be behind at half time.

Wellens must have shot a rocket up their collective arses, because they came out fired up for the second half and we completely lost our shape.

Our attacks became fewer, were weren't winning second ball (and sometimes not even the first). It was as though the fight had been knocked out of us. We still had the odd chance but, apart from that miss from 5yds out from Iacovitti, we didn't look like scoring.

We gifted Doyle his goal with that awful pass from Wheater (why didn't he just lump it anywhere?) and the ginger one was never going to miss.

So, a very disappointing result because, despite Swindon being top of the league, we could have won it had we kept the first half momentum going and not been so sloppy defensively.

"That was the best football I ever watched at Oldham, under Wellens". Granted not a high bar, but nice tribute nonetheless

Loving Marley and his alternative commentaries...

https://twitter.com/marleystfc/status/1206163830583242753?s=09

 :clap: :)