Thetownend.com

Good luck tomorrow guys.

Rochdale 0-1 Swindon att: 2,833 (876 of us)

1-1 draw in front of 2,845 (794 Swindon).

Piece of piss. 1-4

Stayed in Bristol last night so decided to travel up today on a cheap ticket.
Serendipity in action. The local Camra branch deserve credit for having the foresight to schedule the Oldham beer festival this weekend.
If this was a repeat of last season & with the Power shower mob still in charge, then would also have spent tomorrow afternoon supping ales as well.

As it is, looking forward to the game after the enforced break.

I have 3 tickets available for this game if anyone wants them

Declan Bourne is the ref for this game.

He has officiated 20 matches so far giving out 84 yellow cards and 2 red cards so far.

He gives an average of 25 fouls per game.

He has given 10 penalties in his previous 20 games.

At least we know Bourne's Identity.

Fuck, wrong thread.  I'll get me coat.

728 advance sales, plus POTD available.

Excellent as meeting a Mate and will be coming go to game.
He was expecting to have to go in the home end.

has there been word if Barry and Tomilson are back?  if they are in we win 2-1, if not lose 2-0

not having Mckirdy will really hurt getting ball in the net.

what is a beer festival?  do you just sit around and drink different types of beers or is there entertainment?

Both available.

oh good...so i guess we win 2-1...done deal!  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

I fear Crawley part 2.

First 15 mins looking superb followed by a mistake then chasing the game. Huffing and puffing before a calamitous mistake or two kills us off.

Depends on the size. A few have a band, but most is drinking different types of beer.  Lovely stuff.

Pubs putting on a 'beer festival' (which is a bit of a grandiose term, if I'm honest) will have a much larger selection of beers on tap than usual.  Very often (but not always) served in half pint glasses, instead of the usual pint.  The thinking being getting smashed on 18 half pints makes for a more interesting session than sinking 9 pints.  (Numbers used for illustrative purposes only.  9 pints would kill me.)

Steams on this year!!!!

Don’t care how we win. Just win. Come on you fucking reds

This

Pre match looking for the biggest aspidistra in the world in The Regal Moon.
Well, a reference to our Gracie is preferable to one for a former local MP.

If Gothic revival architecture is your thing then look no further than Rochdale Town Hall.
So fine that even Hitler wanted to move it to Berlin.
And the Parliament scenes from Peaky Blinders were filmed there as well.

So by the same token plus some faulty intelligence it's possible that the new Ivan the Terrible could be persuaded to have the SBC civic offices and the bus station relocated to Red Square & spin it as a glorious victory.

Anyway, pretty much a must win today.
Great to have Barry & Tomlinson back.
We've done ok here before despite losing on last 2 visits.
The 4-0 in 2016 must have been so bad that it's been wiped from the memory.
Hold on people, squeaky bum time is here.

100%, every game is a must win game a winner take all style cup tie. With so many teams around us having to play each other in the final run in the opportunity to capitalise on draws especially is like an open goal.

On the train on my way to meet the Wobbly One for a half pint or two of shandy. I am optimistic today and think we will be up for it. We have the minerals to do this even without Harry. COYR

One before Burton Albion at their brewery you got a pint glass given to you and could order a pint, a half or a third. A lot of people ordering thirds of different beers.

I've got a bad feeling about this

I assume you meant feeling, yes I am not in a positive mood about todays prospects, too many injured players or players returning from injury and no McKirdy makes me wonder where the goals will come from, Davsion scores a few but rarely looks a genuine threat in front of goal.

But who knows, grab a couple of early goals on the break and anything can happen.

Can’t see it happening for us. 3-0 defeat

Will be watching  from NZ with fingers crossed
2 - 1 Town
COYMRs

You miserable lot. :)

If we don't win today then Audrey will be running around The Merlin with his willy hanging out before Newport next week.

Draw. 1-1

Nobody would notice, tbf.

Depends on the air temperature I expect.

From the Rochdale forum.

Mrs Audrey will be accompanying me. Don’t think she trusts me.

I am usually very optimistic but I fear that the home side will come away with the three points today.

I hope they co-operate and give us three points.

Ah yes, Taylor Curran's old man wasn't it?

Massive respect for the die hard Rochdale faithful.
So many years in the 4th tier without a sniff of promotion & resisting the temptations of the PL behemoths nearby.

Absolutely.

It must be difficult being a Rochdale fan as you state with so many teams close by who ply their trade in higher leagues, even neighbours Oldham have been to the Premiership!

Never getting higher than Div 3 in their history but also never having dropped out of the league.

doubt that's result dependent tbh.

forgot he was over. may venture down

I doubt he would have got his willy out with this week ends cold temperatures!

how can you tell?

Any guesses on the line up?

Surely common sense prevails

              Wollacott
Hunt Conroy OBrien Tomlinson
     Aguiar Payne Iandolo
      Barry Davison Williams

Maybe

assuming everyone is fit, as above. the midfield looks light but I can't think how I'd change it other than East for Aguiar

Close, but not quite from what I have heard.

Are we presuming the player who will be missing due to illness is probably down to Covid?

TOWN STARTING XI 👥 | Wollacott; Iandolo, Conroy (C), Baudry, Davison, Payne, Barry, Williams, Tomlinson, Hunt, Aguiar.

SUBS - Ward, Odimayo, Mitchell-Lawson, Egbo, East, Parsons, Minturn.

Thought Odimayo would have replaced JOB

no JOB, baudry in 🤔

No Harry McKirdy

That's a very attacking line up.
Good stuff.

we knew this 2 weeks ago :) But it was confirmed yesterday in the presser

No Dave Bamber!

that one, less reported

I see the game has sparked the imagination of the Dale fans on their forum. One thread, 2 posts!

Yeah, I just typed it out in the tone of his chant - if that makes sense

Another key player injured. Getting ridiculous now

Most clubs have key players out. Just have to suck it up and be grateful they’ll be fit for the POs!

ooooooh!

it's not you it's me

We don't look like scoring yet!

Yes,but the same sustained length of time and amount of bodies as us? Not so sure

Oh a huddle, that’s new.

Dale pressing us high.

Barry with a deep cross straight at the keeper.

We will get a penalty today, go on to win the game but make extremely hard work of what should be an easier affair.
2-1 Town

Corner for Town.

Payne has a go from 20 yards but its blocked.

Ooh, sound's gone

Not for me

Jojo with a terrible pass to Baudry puts us under pressure.

Williams fouled just outside the corner of the box.

Fannying around with it at the back. First mistakes made by Hunt, Baudry and Wollacott. But they haven't cost us

Defender booked.

great control by williams

Booking for Dale

Good delivery from Payne but the defender heads it over his own bar, corner.

" a hopeful chat about no pushing" ..that is funny...love the commentating

Payne shoots on the volley from 20 yards but its high and wide.

looked like a pretty shot!!!  just a bit high.

Away comms. Know their stuff

Without JOB we don't have much of a threat in the box at set peices.

rough surface is not the place to try to keep possession in the back!!

Fannying around part Deux!

Tranmere 1 up

Oldham beating Stevenage, in the odious manager derby

Williams with an awful pass there puts us under pressure again at the back.

Putting it mildly!

Had a listen for 10 mins, they are pretty knowledgable TBF.

Need to send ball deep to counter their press on the defense....need to stretch them some.

Barry does great until his final ball in the box, good chance for Town.

Aguair gives away a foul even though it didnt look like it was.

We are creating our own problems, but have started to run with the ball going forward, which has relieved it a bit

Fucking awful pass from Iandolo nearly cost us a goal.

these short passes in the back, the need to restart the free kick without a look around or deep is going to cost us.

playing ok imo. just not in final third. knocking but not creating

Salford 1 up

Oldham beating Stevenage. I don't care if the shezarection happens, he's still a cunt in stfc context

Great effort by Tomlinson who the keeper pushes it onto Davison but makes a double save, great chance for town.

Port Vale 1 down

Barrow 1 up v Port Vale

Mansfield 1-0 Cobblers

Tomlinson shot from miles out bundled out by keeper to Davison, who shoots, but keeper saves it while still sprawled on the floor at the edge of 6 yard box

It sounds like the only way Rochdale will score is from us messing around at the back.

ooooh tomlinson, etc etc (feed is behind)

careful.

our MO had been to start well for 30 then stop

Not at all, Rochdale arent a bad side TBF.

Click on the LIVE button and it will catch up

He can't from the way he watches the game :)

Going on what Caddis keeps saying! Where's Rob these days🤔

aah :)

shhhh

you ain't seen me. right

Tomlinson with a 20 yarder just over the bar with the keeper well beaten.

Tomlinson with another 30 harder which only just goes over the top while the keeper watched it without moving

I travel to Atlanta every Saturday just to watch the game - where is your commitment man :)

I do similar in the Netherlands :)

Am I the only kosher iFollower

Just need that bit of magic in the final 6th. Approach play is good,

Town given a FK just outside the box for a foul on Barry.

:)

Oh! Barry fouled at edge of area. Davison poss fouled in the area. Free kick.

Salford 2 up

Whinging little midget Rochdale player!

Just saw that's and didn't realise they are on the same points as us at it stands

Great effort by Tomlinson saved in the top corner.

Saved from Tomlinson

Payne shoots from after the corner but the keeper saves it again.

Save from Payne

Their keeper having one of the games of his life so far.

Most efforts have been straight at him tbf, we have made it pretty easy for him so far

Most have but hes dealth with everything thrown at him so far. One good save from the FK.

Kovar showed that even shots straight at a keeper can often results in a goal!

69% possession we need to score

Where have I read that before

Nearly every week😀

Hmmm we've lost with similar stats 🤔

Yes. That's where we lack quality. Shots and passing around the final 3rd

Corner to Dale.

Rochdale just knock it wide, inches away.

Gave the ball away from a a goal kick. But their finishing is as good as ours!

Cross accross our box but nobody there to put it in luckily.

Hawes just pointed out that Williams always has 3 players around him when we play out from the back.

Which means other players must be free to exploit the space!

Some desperate defending by Dale.

as did the Rochdale Comms!

Dale arent pressing us so high as they did at the start, they seem to be tiring a bit already.

We've never not been comfortable.  Davison sometimes a little isolated, but Payne looking lively from a little further back.  We're looking solid, but we're going to have to cut through.  Feels like a game where one goal could be enough.

1 min added.

Tomlinson with a really sloppy ball to them but he gets away with it.

HT 0-0

we've actually played quite well, especially in the first 30..

but probably not quite creative enough. at 0-0 I'll be nervous.

Dale fans sound upset

I was just going to say that Tomlinson had been our player of the half, but the ball he gave away should have resulted in a goal for them.

We have been as we are every week. Slow building from the back playing pretty football from box to box.

At the back we have made 5-6 errors, which against a better team, would have resulted in us being 1 or 2 down.

Our attack has been mostly from long shots. But as has already been pointed out, the keeper looks good, as we keep shooting at him or close to him. To give him credit, he did make a good double save from a long shot and a Davison toe poke.

Interesting to see who tires first. A little bit of quality in the final third could win it for either team.

Fancy Tomlinson to score after his few "markers"

695 Town fans in attendance.

Midweek game for them so will be leggy in 2nd half.

We should be fresher than a field full of mad March hares.

Slow start from us

Rovers 1 down against the Bantams

It now comes down to how much the players want it

Davison inches away from scoring from 1 yard after a great pass from Barry.

 :pint: :pint: :pint:

Rovers losing

think it is obvious, need to target barry with tomilson supporting....

Barry is slightly frustrating. Always wants to cut in on his right. Want him to mix it up a bit more and go on the outside. Like the first goal vs Walsall.

Williams can't really get into the game on the right touchline. Immediately marked as soon as he receives it. I wonder if him and Payne swapping positions could favour us.

We miss the threat of McKirdy in behind. Still think we can nick a goal but whether we can keep them out is another matter.

Take a scrappy 1-0 all day long.

Williams fouled for the umpteenth time.

Hope these misses don't come back to bite us.

Payne with a cross shot inches from Davison, another great chance.

for fuck sake....give up your body and score the fucking goal!!

Iandolo gives away a foul by pulling again and in a dangerous position.

Wolloacott a long way from that cross but luckily the header is wide but we still give away a corner.

Lost my connection for a bit. Now back.

Lovely pass on the break by Iandolo but the pass after that was terrible.

McKirdy would have taken that on his own and scored!

the pitch is obviously crap so hard to send a good pass at speed..

Another petulant needless foul by Iandolo in the middle, booking.

Awful finish by the Dale striker easy save by Jojo, great chance.

Williams fouled again

Williams fouled for the umpteenth +1 time!

Bloody hell!
Thought Tomlinson had given away a penalty!

Thank god the striker who wasn't marked tamely knocked it into Wollacotts arms

No McKirdy, no urgency
No urgency, no goals
No goals, no win

Twine nets for Dongs

His legs must have more scars than a butcher's block

Rovers 1-1

Rovers and Vale equalise

So, JML for who today?

Williams or Barry?

We're sitting 10th in the league currently😡

Carlisle equalise against Tranmere

Barry I think.

Pilgrims beating piss stains  :pint:

We are losing the midfield. We only seem to have Payne there.

Aguiar is struggling in there, I would get some fresh legs in there

no idea what this means....

Plymouth(Pilgrims) beating Oxford(Piss stains).

Can Egbo change this game?

Nowt to lose in trying.

 :D

definately worth a try..has seemed energetic and a smart player

Sorry I thought you were Forum trained😀

Tranmere now 1-1 with Carlisle

learning slowly...i thought maybe you didnt want to leave watching the match and were having some small issues.. :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

Egbo on for Aguiar.

i like this change..

Conroy very sloppy bringing the ball out.

He doesn’t half play some hospital passes.

Payne should have scored

Payne has a half shot straight at the keeper.

Oh FFS!

the finishing has been awful

Why are we having a break?

Cold weather 😀

Dales best defender (Dorsett) down injured.

Snatch 3 points today would be a huge bonus given the other results currently

Dorsett wilts.

Berk :)

Nowt wrong with him!

JoJo hasnt seemed willing to quickly send those long balls ...always the little drop it in our box

Hampstring?

Rovers winning

Rovers 2-1 up

FFS town.

Great chance for Barry.

Bloody hell!

damn almost

Good cross from Payne to Egbos head and then Barry hits the post.

FGR 1 up

We'd be in the autos if we tucked away some of our great chances this season.

That was fucking close to a penalty.

Exeter 1 up over Newport

Indeed we would.

Exeter 1 up now

pretty sure it wasn't close to

I thought it was a pen tbh, but I'll take it

This game sums up our season - close, but no cigar

9,186 bless em.

They have a reduced capacity

Great tackle by Baudry there.

We will be lucky to get a point from this

Cobblers down to 10

…and they are level on points with 3rd place.

Tranmere winning

Its time we started Egbo from the off in a game. He offers something very different to what we have got at the club. Fuck it I would try him at CF :)

Agreed and showing fighting qualities when needed.

i agree

att: 3,720

That's big for them

Feels like next 15 minutes defines our season... COYRs

I fear it will - nearly but not quite!

payne just seems to be kicking the ball without purpose sometimes this game...doesnt seem like him normally....

the balls across to the middle on the ground 40-45 yds out dont make sense

It is, their average is 2,700 and their 4th highest of the season.

My feelings for the season.

it must be a team rule you are not allowed to cross a ball that is over 6ft off the ground. 

Egbo needs to shoot there

Lovely take by Egbo but his pass is just behind everyone.

Chelsea 4-1 down at home to Brentford 😲

you would think someone would be crashing to the goal though so normally would have been a good pass.

Williams scored in the 93rd minute of the home game, still plenty of time for our winner ;)

Third biggest team in West London next season!

Vale now winning

PV now winning

egbo, learn to cross for fucks sake

Parsons on for Barry.

Parsons for the ineffective Barry

We want bottle not pretty football

4 mins added.

Cardiff 0-4 Swansea  :)

Marvelous

He's a winner  ;)

All winning above us except Northampton, shit!  >:(

Lots of o/t for the Welsh constabulary this evening😀

:D

Get up Williams

Good saving header by Baudry.

He's played well

He has.

Gas have had 29 shots. Only 7 on target though  :D

Tranmere down to 9 men

FT 0-0

fucks sake.

Opportunity missed

A draw not enough I fear

Ffs another missed opportunity

I'd be happy with that especially as they're winning.
We're fucking toothless that is points dropped again today

Season over.

Sigh. Think that may be it for this season. Other results couldn't have gone any worse.

matches like this infuriate me way more than getting beat by 3 goals....

so many opportunities..so many silly mistakes..

Garner moaning to the 4th official after the game about that by the looks of it. Obviously thinks it's one of the 10 penalties we should be given every match.

Really? Many more twists and turns to come. McKirdy back and who knows?

Rochdale have won 1 in the last 8 FFS. Should be winning these games. Newport will batter us next week

Williams’ diving is one of the worst parts of this season.

lots of matches left...who knows...and either way...been a good season really...

I hope I'm wrong, but when it comes to games where you think we could push on, we don't.

no it isn't. not even close. but pressure is building and we are stalling.

not enough quality and strength in depth up top. crossing and wastefulness from it wide today. no goalscorer anyway

close, so frustratingly close

Lots still to play for if we can score goals........

As good as he is, and as much as I like the player he does go to ground far too easily. Very frustrating

4 points off autos. While that may be a step too far,play offs are by no means out of reach in my opinion.As I said a lot depends on McKirdy's availability but the fact that no other team up there has shown consistency gives me hope

Thought we actually played quite well considering we are missing our 2 best players.
Reed back next week will help, and hopefully McKirdy sooner rather than later.

We'd be a lot worse off without him this season is my honest opinion

Thought we showed a lack of fitness in the 2nd half.  

You need that as a minimum if you can't keep possession.

Dale were eminently beatable but were in fact the better side in the 2nd half.

Baudry - defender doing defending - was enough to win MOM today.  With little competition - bar Egbo's cameo.

We showed a lack of midfield and a lack of quality in the final third.

Agree with that. Baudry and Hunt were our stars.

I went Baudry too, closely followed by Tomlinson, thought he did ok

That's the problem - We can't!

Some people pulled me up for my criticism of JML. That's fair enough but I think we should be grateful to have a player of Williams' quality

Newport next week has become a massive game for both teams.

Tomlinson was good shooting in the first half, but dead dodgy defending. Last touch by us of the first half and I'm shocked that the ref didnt give one of two penalty shouts from him in the second.

Only if he performs the name alone isn't enough to guarantee promotion!

He is quality and showed it in the first half.  However he was one who faded, imo. He may well have more of an excuse than most for any lack of apparent fitness.

But its no good having someone as slippery and tricky as him if you don't have a midfield around him giving him room to play.

Mirrors the season. We won't get anything now.

Calm down 4D go and have a glass of sherry theres still plenty to play for😀

Unless McKirdy is back and full fit for the next game we are done for this season.

Again, the only player who wants to take the ball forward and isn’t afraid of losing it

sorry garner, but we did get where we deserved. A point.
---
if mckirdy has a grade 2 calf he's got 2 or 3 weeks left minimum..

We've definitely missed Simpson who was capable of scoring a goal from nothing.

yeah. agreed

in many ways Davison is a better footballer. But not a scorer. And not as strong (obvs)

Spot on

Garner:
- Misfortune in the game
- Pleased with performance and amount of opportunities we created. Its just down to lady luck
- A little bit of bad luck. Barry flashed one across in 2nd half. Payne hit one across goal and Davison couldnt get to it
- Difficult pitch but played good football
- Sometimes you dont get what you deserve
- Very good first half. Rochdale changed shape to make it difficult for us
- Got in good positions. Could have created more
- Didnt get finishes right and keeper made good saves
- A little bit too open and end to end ofr 10 mins
- Started 2nd half well. Could have been 2 or 3 up
- Dry, bumpy pitch
- Diagonals was where the space was. Tried to find them early. Went away from it later on
- We were inches away from scoring
- JOB is unwell. Hope he'll be training next week
- Everyone contributed today. Wollacott didnt have much to do
- Positive away performance and following
- Egbo is pushing for a start but hasnt played 90 mins since November. Need to keep developing him
- Any team would miss McKirdy. He would have made something happen today
- Wollacott is top of the world for what hes done. Players watched draw with him last night and cheered him on
- Pointed out he might face Ronaldo first off

Generally speaking,he does.Makes things happen on a regular basis

Davison offers the team more. Simpson a much more potent striker.
Think they’d be pretty dangerous as a front two or even with McKirdy as a front three

Yeah, imagine that as a front three.  With Simpson as the forward and Davison and Mckirdy work rate either side, that would be a mental attack, good enough for next level up as well

agreed DV.

had we kept Simpson things would look very different. But Ipswich were twats about it...

needed another striker in to replace him, with Davison strengthening further

Big problem with us is we are too reliant on loans to make up the spine of the side- it’s a high risk strategy that’s come to bite us on the ass.

Next season I would like to see maximum 2 loans to complement the side- we need to build our own spine of a team to push on.

Oh and not sure Garner watched the same game- we got what we deserved a point. Not clinical enough

Most of today's attendances. Newport v Exeter & Mansfield v Northampton disappointing.

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/fixtures/_/date/2021000402

it's not simple though. we have a very limited budget.

oh so close this year.

Two interesting games on Tuesday,   Vegans v Stags &  Salford v PV.

It did take time with Simpson though, 3 goals in his first 16 games compared with Davison 4 in his first 13. Unfortunately we don't have much time for Davison to reach the levels Simpson attained before his depature

Absolutely agree with this. I think there needs to be a change where teams can only field 2 or 3 loan players in first team squad.

We definitely want a vegans win and probably a draw in the other game.

Trouble is that its all about the money.

Heavy reliance on loans will continue to be the norm for most div 3 and 4 teams.

Even championship teams with Notts Forest proof of that.

I am calm  :) just my genuine opinion on things. Hope I'm wrong.

All good fun and who knows if right or wrong😀

As an aside I note the o-x-f, o-r-d song was sung today. I really am not comfortable with references to Joey Beachump being 6 feet deep. I think that’s very distasteful. Perhaps we could refer to Tommy Mooney having VD?

How disgusting if true and would love any of the idiots to explain their behaviour on here and to also get banned from the County ground.

Agreed.

song just needs retiring. Mooney isn't Oxford, Mooney was money.

Maybe you are right: in any case it shouldn’t be about JB in my opinion.

I'm normally quite positive, but not optimistic now. Too many teams above us on good runs, 4 point gap. Think we've blown it, sadly. Would love to be wrong.

There was a time and a place for those sorts of songs. They are in the past.

I wouldn’t be too saddened to see this one retired. Certainly rather that than disrespecting the dead.

Another 2 points dropped against another poor side.
Without Reed we only have Conroy who can place decent passes. Unfortunately our midfield lacks that physical presence and game management. Maybe time to reflect that we are where we are.
Simpson is a better footballer than Davison.

We’ve had some challenges and are still in it, next Saturday maybe the must win game.
First 25 minutes today absolutely bossed it but our final ball and thinking was poor.
Barry needs game time, not right that gobshites abuse an 18 year old and maybe should look at the negative impact it has on Young kids wearing the shirt.

What Supporters need to understand they are told to play the way they are set up for. “Get it forward” is not the instruction, thus getting on their backs not right.

Met the players and Management team after the game at Keele services, certainly not throwing the towel in. Good travelling numbers again today.

Loyal Supporters - doing what we do best Supporting. Finally if right that some were signing about Joey Beauchamp then fuck off, brain dead morons.

This 100% - absolute scum and an embarrasment  to the club. Any of you on here sang that you are a cunt and can fuck off.

abusing Barry? He was frustrating at times and I'm sure he knows his final ball wasn't right.

but shouting abuse at him? no.

nothing new, got into an argument of similar manner with Lucas jutkiewicz 15 years ago. I'm sure it's happened before that and will again

Managed to conquer a chicken tikka naga in the excellent Pavilion restaurant after the game.
A pity that the team were not able to subdue an equally lively opponent on the pitch.

A few head in hand moments.
Could Davison have got to the one that came across the box early in the 2nd half?
Would a more predatory striker have anticipated & been on hand to finish.
Big miss for them as well with shooting straight at JJW.
Also thought that they might have had a pen as well.

Never mind the 2pts dropped at Colchester, we've not won any of the games that Reed was suspended for.
If he comes back & plays like a man possessed in the remaining games then that might be enough to get us where we need to be.

Good turnout yesterday.
Not sure that some fans understand how a football season works.
Turning up & expecting a win every time is fine, picking on certain players when things don't go according to plan is not so good.
The passion either burns itself out eventually or a more considered approach to supporting the team is adopted.

Speaking of which, hopefully the JB song will never get another airing.
Ever.

Over and out & will be meandering back to the City of Culture 2500 shortly.

Refreshing summary.
Watched Barry yesterday only feet away and a vocal gobshite hurling abuse directly at him.
Young 18 kid, learning his trade, been out for 3 weeks is that really constructive- just doesn’t wash with me.
I know football is about opinions but sometimes you do think whether some really understand that this is league two.

Unbelievable if a fan was shouting abuse at Barry, just shows the stupidity of some of our fans I guess.

Hes young and raw and has soem touches of absolute brilliance, as you say hes been out for 3 weeks so is not fully fit too, for me hes as good a prospect as KKH.

Youngsters come to us to learn their trade and get game time, you get some good and some bad bits, but look at our whole team, thats pretty much the same for everyone.

We are in L2 because last season we deserved to be relegated, the players are in L2 because that the level they are able to ply their trade at, some due to ability and some due to injury history or consistancy.

Its just a shame that many of our injuries/suspensions seem to have come at such a vital point in the season.

Therein lies part of the problem. I refer to them as the Carling Sky brain dead. There is so much top flight football on TV now that I feel their perception of the game and the realities of it are skewed and cannot distinguish between what we see live in L2 and what they see on TV.

There’s a few players in the PL who get regular abuse, too. It seems to a default position for some fans.

As many have said 2 dropped points against a poor side. Gave Davison the benefit of the doubt for the rebound chance in the first half but he has to score the one flashed across the box by Barry and I thought he could have slid in for the one where Payne dragged it across the box too? Unfortunately, he's just not good enough, on his heels often and tends to watch the defender more than the ball leaving him pretty heavy footed.

Still in the mix but looking harder and harder, McKirdy injury probably the final nail in the coffin but still a chance of sneaking the playoffs.

Was frustrated yesterday at lack of subs, thought it was worth giving Parsons 15 or so and playing a 4-2-4 as they were really poor and there for the taking.

Let’s be fair, we’d have chewed anyones arm off up to the shoulder back in August for a play off spot.

Aye, this. Had a guy behind me at the Man City game going apoplectic because Crichlow wasn’t defending very well against bernado silva and gabriel jesus

Which in a way IMHO backs up my Sky Carling comment. The teams above us have won more games or drawn a few more, either way they are above us on merit. Are they better than us? Maybe, maybe not but it is consistency that gets a team promoted or relegated. Last season we were consistently shocking. This year inconsistently very good.

The fact that there are only 4 points between 3rd and 10th shows most teams are pretty inconsistent to be honest

But not all, cream always rises to the top.

When the cream is off it's a little heavier and bobs a tad below. Or as some may say "Close but no cigar"

Not sure it necessarily does. I mean it shows they haven’t been consistent for the whole season but few teams ever are.

For example, whilst we are very much a few steps forward, few steps back team - other teams will have started poorly and then go on/be on a good run of form. Rovers being a good example of this.

They are of similar league standing to us but right now they aren’t inconsistent because they are on good form, if that makes sense

This league has shown there isn't much between the teams. Rovers and Mansfield are two teams that suddenly came good. Why?
After trouncing us 3-0 Tranmere went on to win just 2 of their next 10 games after looking a very strong side.

Frustrating listen that on Saturday.

When i looked at the highlights i felt worse...Davison really has to dive in for that cross that seemed to elude him.

Lets see what pans out but im delighted at our league position from last season and pre season positions. Added to that the CG is coming back i feel positive and thats a rare feeling following the Town.

Be nice to sneak in those play offs.

I will be at Walsall whatever and i will be happy but i hope im going bat shit crazy instead though....

There is definitely emerged a pattern of our games that have become frustratingly familiar. On Saturday we weren't amazing, or terrible but whilst we had most of the play Swindon never actually ever look that dangerous. We never seem to continually create openings or pepper shots on goal in a 20/30 minute spell. We play some good football that eventually leads to a half chance that Josh Davison invariably doesn't take, but you wouldn't ever call us a dangerous side.

Again first half hour we were the better side, prompting and probing and actually forcing their keeper into a couple of good saves. Davison has to score his chance but give credit to the keeper for a smart save. As always, the opposition then gets a little foothold into the game and our lack of being able to do anything when we have dominated possession, whilst not coming back to haunt us, makes things harder. Second half was like a dull boxing match that probably would have been a draw on both judges scorecards. Neither team really looked like scoring, aside from the openings Davison had/didn't have.

Rochdale at home actually have a good record against the top sides and so I guess a draw isn't the worst result in the world but at this stage, where we really should be putting these sides to the sword. I dare say having McKirdy available might have made a difference, but Rochdale were organised at the back so maybe not. I think we miss Reed of course, without him we never seem to win (Not sure if that's a fact or not) and he really makes the side tick. If fit enough I'd be tempted to start Egbo on Saturday as he looks miles more of a threat than Hunt on the right, shame about his final delivery however.

The main thing I think that is missing from us is our intensity. The way we set out is to dictate play, pull the opposition out of position and punish them. But I don't think we play with enough intensity to actually do that. Let's not forget these are L2 players and so playing a possession game means not losing the ball and the more intense you play, the more likely you are to lose the ball. Newport is now massive on Saturday. Not quite a winner takes all, but as I mentioned in the MDT, the loser is really playing catchup as we move into Hot Cross Bun territory.

Excellent post.

Play well for long spells without causing panic to the opposition.

Which is why we miss McKirdy.

Ugh, that's not great to read but unfortunately not surprising. Wasn't there a ditty about Martin Aldridge aired at the CG when he was killed in a car accident?

Unrelated to us but I saw someone throwing some broken glass from a bottle at Ibrox yesterday. Some of the people that go to football are just sub-human.

....and a goal scoring centre forward.

Ultimately it comes down to squad depth to cover injuries and suspensions  - the back ups for Reed, McKirdy, Gladwin and Tomlinson are not of the same standard - so we miss them in particular if they are unavailable, and a smaller squad limits rotation options when we play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday- a number of our players’ fitness records (Williams and Gladwin the two obvious ones) mean if asked to play all three their performances dip.
This of course is linked to budget constraints - my guess is Mansfield and Rovers have bigger budgets than many others - Tranmere probably smaller budget.

It’s feel at times like we’re a team of stat padders.
The more passes the better. The more possession the better.

We don’t have enough players who want to (maybe allowed to?) take a gamble.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the player that loses possession for us most often is McKirdy because again he’s the only player we have with any impetus to run forward with the ball & try to create something. Obviously that’s a gamble, it might work - he might lose possession but you have to take those gambles if you want to win games.

Passing back 5 yards to Reed is only going to get us so far.
I’m not in the ‘get forward’ all the time every time aimlessly but there is no harm in mixing it up. It’s how we got the win against Sutton.

Don't know if fotmob app is accurate, but...

I want to see us play again like we did at home to Northampton.

I could understand the complaints if other stats didn't back up why we play like it. We are second in the scoring charts and  in chances created and shots . We have 2 strikers with 28 goals between them from open play as well. With a team that has had to play some of the players we have had to this season we are doing fine. Defensively we are totally shite though

Given the way we are, defending is clearly the problem and has been all season.  You should not have 60% possession in games and concede as many as we have.  That puts the pressure on the Frontline.  On that front, McKirdy and Reed drive the team.  One makes us tick and the other must have nearly 40% of our total shots this season.  We are not quick enough to open teams up with regularity so having someone who can do it on their own makes a difference.  Like losing KKH who didn't really have the end product but scared the shit out of defenders.  That alone makes a difference in creating space and moving defenders out of shape.

How come we can hit 66% accurate long passes but only 17% accurate crosses? That’s where the problem lies going forward.

There’s nowt much a few tweaks and a couple of player upgrades won’t fix for next season.

As for the defensive weaknesses - it’s because our defenders primary responsibility is to help launch attacks not actually defend. Until that is solved, that particular problem will remain - no matter who the players are.

If the Rochdale game is anything to go by, it's because there's barely ever anybody in the box to pick out with a cross.

Unfortunately it’s going to be one big rebuild next season.

Well, the 'positive' way of looking at that is:

We built a team this year. It wasn't quite good enough to go up. So, rebuilding it to make it better for next year is good.....as long as the team is BETTER than what we have now (unlike the team that was built for L1 last time).

I assume you are expecting a few to not sign new contracts then?

More about costs.

It sounds like we're going backwards again and makes you wonder If we're equipped to go up should it happen.

Good.  If we don't go up this season then we need better

Not necessarily a bad thing. We did it this season and we'll be in a much better position to do it 'properly' next. If we can continue to attract the calibre of players we did this season I can't see any reason why we can't do it better next.

3/4 of our passing in our own half, whereas Rochdale's was less than half.

I'd be interested to see Leyton Orients passing stats since wellens went there

I hope they doesn't mean a team of kids/loan kids.

we've had a good mix this season.

Surely other teams costs have gone up too? We might be offering less but that must apply to the vast majority of clubs.

We’ve had more money flowing into the club this season then for years - crowds up substantially, high profile money spinning cup game, Twine money and a restrictive wage limit. If we could afford to sign the players we did for this season, I’d expect at least similar, if not more, next season.

Maybe Clem wants to claw some money back.

I think it will be very much like this year but less loans

that's brilliant then

Agree- we must get the most money in gate receipts in the whole division. Yes Bradford average 15k to our 9k but they sell their ST for £200 average, only 54% value of ours

Its been a relatively free hit this season, sure we still have some skeletons to clear.
However the club have been backed superbly this season off the field. The tide will turn if the embargo is lifted and our budget remains at the low end of the league.
Unfortunately I see younger players and more loans.

I remain unconvinced until I see the intent.
As a start let’s just see if they are prepared to offer long term deals to this seasons stand out performers?

You are spot on.
Yet we don’t compete with Northampton Town ....As said let’s see the intent close season.
Unfortunately I remain sceptical.

fair enough Duke. Sceptical and Swindon Town go together like...

Until all Court issues are clear, until all subsequent claims have ended I just can’t get optimistic.
After all the “friends” group were all in this together previously.
Can only hope one day mate we can enjoy a trouble free football club.

I get the impression you aren’t Clems biggest fan, Duke.
At the very least, don’t trust him?

Surely the issue for this season’s stand out performers - eg JoJo, Payne and Reed - is whether we’re in L1 or still in L2.

McKirdy signing is a big statement.

Whatever the numbers, surely we’ll be miles better off next season than the beginning of this.

I'll get the beers in

there's also Standing and Austin. And I'm still not sure what happens financially if Power wins his case. does the club have any liability.


one hopes everything is as it seems, so far so good really. Things look good, one or two oddities aside

You have to remember debts are being paid off.

Happy with where we are considering the circumstances in July.

If we don’t go up this season anything but challenging for autos next season to me won’t be acceptable.

And this summer must be the last big rebuild- you can’t gain any momentum and move on as a club like that- as we found out in the Power years.

Would also like to see less reliance on loans- this has come back to bite us this season

I guess once the debt is gone we will be better off than most in this league. Unfortunately as the shadow board minutes show, there's a bit to go yet.

until then it's going to be a bit of a balancing act.

It’s not that I don’t trust “him” it’s the band of brothers that hasn’t really changed bar one and he has not disappeared completely.
I want to trust and believe the club but sadly recent times and certain involvement holds me back.

Only knows what the future has yet to throw out.

What makes you think those in contract won’t be sold?
This is the intent I want to see. Can understand other clubs having similar constraints but would be intent to see a few longer term deals after the embargo. Loans and kids surely not the only option.

Who have we got in contract that’s worth anything. The 3 I mentioned are all OOC at the end of the season so if they don’t wish to sign they’ll be gone on a free.

100% this.
If we can’t compete with budgets against clubs that pull in 4,000 crowds then it needs questioning?

Is it better than 12 months ago, million miles better.

We are under embargo. We can’t pay more than 1.2k per week or whatever it is, whereas other clubs with smaller crowds can. Money talks I’m afraid.

ut-oh

It sounds depressing  >:(

This season embargo season. £1,300 per week I recall, one year deals.
Next season we should have this lifted, you would expect that to be the first priority.
If our crowds hold up relatively unscathed then I would expect us to have a competitive budget. I guess right now we can only wait and see.

It’s been depressing since 75 mate 😂😂
It will take me in the end.

73 for me apart from a few blips😀

Know as fans we always want a big competitive budget, but I guess considering there will still be >£1mn of outstanding loans to be paid next season and the CG purchase, a lesser than expected budget maybe needed if these are the priorities.

I've liked the 2 Ben's recruitment so far, especially under the embargo constraints, so have some faith that even if our budget isn't as high as we hope, we can still recruit well and unearth some gems.

The comment from DOB about costs was an interesting one and obviously something that everybody in this country is going to be affected by.

I can't even begin to imagine the annual electricity bill for the floodlights alone, which whilst iconic I suspect aren't overly efficient. I wonder if we might get to a stage where they are turned on as late as physically possible next season to try and save money on what must be an eye-wateringly expensive bill.

When it comes to wage expectations of our better players, it's been alluded to that because of the umbumgo we are limited to paying £1,300 pw. You would expect that to be able to sign players like Wollacott, Reed, Gladwin, Williams etc and keep Jack Payne that there must have been a 'gentleman's agreement or something that they would be guaranteed x if we get promoted, or that they would be welcome to speak to other clubs if we didn't. From memory Gladwin, Parsons and McKirdy are signed up for next season and I would be amazed to see Payne and Reed here next season, they surely have suitors higher up the food chain.

Our Break Even point was already at a very ambitious 9,000 home fans this season. If that number is to be maintained then I fear that given the increase in costs, our budget is going to have to be decreased and that's going to mean wheeling and dealing central. Obviously we aren't the only club that is in the same boat, there are going to be hard decisions made by players who are going to be expecting x but being offered x-a chunk.  

Are you sure it was as high as 9000? That sounds over ambitious, unless that's been adjusted as to actual break even as and when new debts were unearthed.

Good news on the floodlights - can't be cheap but Power had to replace the actual lights bit a while ago as the old ones didn't meet regs. I assume they are at least LED now.

It's not the black and white though. It's not a case of "you have more crowds and therefore more money". There's a bunch of different circumstances that affect the revenue a club brings in. Also, if a club is willing to lose money each year and write it off then they will likely spend more than another club, who may have more income, but want to break even.

We're still spending money clearing up the last mess. I do agree in general though, that we should be at the high end of the food chain in this division.

Maybe I am getting muddled re the 9,000 figure. Perhaps that was a target rather than a break even point. I'll have a look back at some of the advisory board minutes. Edit - yeah the 9k was merely a target rather than a break even point, which I am not sure has ever been stated. Apologies for that confusion!

Don't forget the cream of the Karachi FC academy as well!

Salfords 20/21 accounts have been released. For every £100 of income £143 is spent on wages. Madness.