Swindon Town vs Barnet Official Matchday Thread

[Batch]

He actually stayed the whole season but barely featured. He did admit he wasn't performing though.

Like you said, you could see he was once very good, he was just a season and a bit past it.

[A Gent Orange]

Good points, Robert. My worry is that Dunne goes off his feet too easily and Linganzi has little idea of his cover shadow to make a great pairing.

[swindonmaniac]

It is usual, for the early gates to be a bit higher, when people have a look, if it's crap they fall away. I'd imagine a fair few who went yesterday won't be bothering for Stevenage, who are flying, whereas we could be in the drop zone.

Fortunately unable to go yesterday due to prior commitments, thank goodness,  people think that the gate yesterday was down,  lets remember there must have been quite a few there who only paid a tenner,  can't see thèm coming back paying £20+ per ticket after todays performance.         Dread to think how low the Stevenage gate will be if results don't improve over the next two away games.
Still plenty of time to turn it around,  think we have the squad to do it but positional problems need to be addressed ASAP.

[REDBUCK]

Haven't seen anything in the two home games I've attended that Linganzi is anything other than a passenger in our  midfield, both games have gone on around him so far. Can't remember anything that suggested he is the stopper / protector of the defence that people suggest he is.

His tackle count is as low as anything last season.

[Anteater]

So far from what I have seen, and these have been the home games only, Purkiss and Taylor look less mobile than me and I need ops on both of my dodgy knees.
Hussey hasn't looked as good as intial hype suggested. He and Purkiss look seriously suspect defending, and 99% of his deadball delivery has been disappointing
Agree with one poster regarding Norris. I really can't inderstand the general expectation that Norris would somehow be a boon in this division, and that he had an acceptable performance yesterday (even with scoring), only my opinion of course.
Worrying was Flitcrofts team selection with the inclusion of Taylor and leaving out Mullin who has stood out as one of our positives.
Early days I know, but already worried.

[johnritsons toupe]

It's not time to hit the panic button just yet, as Flitcroft has demonstrated on a couple of occasions he can make the side difficult to beat, especially when we take the lead.

However, looking at a couple of the posts here today and yesterday I've been reminded that he did have that shocking run at Bury with 11 consecutive defeats, which ultimately lead to their egotistical Chairman firing him.

A quick trawl through a couple of their Player TV videos made during that horrendous run brings up a few similarities to the last two home defeats here;

His team constantly knocking on the door without scoring - usually first 20 mins or so
An inability to defend
'Large holes' inexplicably opening up 'in the middle and at the back'
Him being exasperated, frustrated and at a loss to explain it, other than to point out the quality of the opposition strikers, and, most importantly, an inability to make effective enough changes to halt the slide, which makes me wonder if the 'billy big bollocks' tag is true, in that he try's to make up ground (losses) after defeats by going all out, rather than fixing the problems, stemming the bad results and then building upon that.

It's a worry, especially as our crowds are plummeting. It's also worrying that he made the comment about finding out 'which players want to play at home'  ... wtf?

I'd certainly be playing Tom Smith as of now, I'd prey that Goddard gets over his injury sometime soon and I'd get Brophy into the gym on a bulk-up plan as he's the only natural ball player who can run at the opposition with the ball at his feet. If he wasn't so easily knocked off the ball, I have no doubt he'd be playing at a higher level.

Also, Woolery needs to man up and start contributing a lot more too. Noriss may not be the best, but he puts a shift in and never gives up.

And whilst I'm concerned about Flitcroft's judgement in bringing Taylor in (or was that a Power signing - we were linked with him as a possible player/manager during the back end of last season) based upon on his first two outings for us he should do the decent thing.

His legs have clearly abandoned him. That's not his fault, it's merely part of the human ageing process and I admire him hugely for stepping down the leagues to continue playing the game - that's proper passion that's sadly missing in the game nowadays, but the guy simply cant run.

Am I the only one who actually feels sorry for him?

[reeves4england]

Some good points there, although I can't say I share your trust in Brophy, and I think calling out Woolery so early is harsh.

[Tails]

Should have been 1 up before we gifted them a goal. Ref gifted them a second. McDermott ensured they'd get the 3 points... What more can you do? I don't think some people realise that in trying to claw a game back (particularly with 10 men) you will always leave space. Barnet weren't a bad team but still, losing 4-1 to them (even with 10 men) just isn't acceptable. Would it have been different if we'd capitalised early? Maybe.

Flitcroft has some work to do. Linganzi needs to be dropped. I don't think there's too much need to push the panic button yet but I don't think we've seen our best XI yet. I thought Anderson and McDermott (pre daft challenge) were pretty lively and Norris worked his arse off (deserved his goal). Not sure the 3 in midfield is working as our back 4 are exposed (and very slow). Having said that I thought Purkiss had a pretty decent game. Hussey was cross shy, why?! As soon as he whipped it in we scored.

Still 11 months since I've seen us win a game. Maybe I should stay away more often.

[fittons_coaching_badge]

I thought Saturday was fucking hilarious.

[Panda Paws]

Maybe PDC wasn't quite the bell end that he's portrayed on here  after all ?

No, he was.

[Peter Venkman]

No, he was.

I think bell end is a bit strong wording but he did have some issues with his own mental wellbeing at times, almost like some form of Hypomania.

[Flashheart]

Fuck knows how PDC's character is relevant.

[Peter Venkman]

Fuck knows how PDC's character is relevant.

Nor me but going off at tangents is all part of TEF threads lately it appears.

[Reg Smeeton]

Fuck knows how PDC's character is relevant.

People hark back wistfully to the last season in Div 4, when we could concede 8 goals in a season at the CG not the first 3 games.

Think the reality of our present situation is starting to fully sink in, and it's a bit of a shock to some. Very much a case of fight or flight, and looking at the gate on Sat it's the latter.

[horlock07]

he did have some issues with his own mental wellbeing at times, almost like some form of Hypomania.

Possibly why he appealed to much of our fan base....