Thetownend.com

Mansfield have only won 4 out of 17 games at home this season in the league. We need to get back to winning ways with our away form, here's a good opportunity for a beefy away win. Problem is since the new year they beat Bradford 3-0 and Newport 1-0  :hmmm:

Mansfield 1-4 Swindon att: 4,746 (897 of us)

 It's an interesting game.... given as Wellens has pointed out they're one of a number of clubs who have a bigger budgie than ours, you have to wonder, other than they messed up by sacking Flitcroft, what has gone wrong at the Stags....


I thought they caused us plenty of problems at the CG, which meant Wellens bringing on Broadbent to shore us up at the back from the aerial bombardment. 

Don't know if they're still the same under Coughlan.... but sometimes under achievers can find a bit of redemption by putting on a good show against the league leaders

Probably the best team I’ve seen at the CG this season - they missed a host of chances with Maynard being the biggest culprit.

Obviously a bit of a flashin the pan as subsequent results have show , but they were unfortunate at Numb last Saturday. Dont know if Preston is out injured or just not being picked but he’s taken a fair bit of flak from Stags fans.

We’ve just got too much for most teams in this league so - 3 points incoming!

There's nothing to suggest they're anything but completely shite this year. Four wins all season at home.

Anything other than a win is disappointing.

I was at the corresponding fixture and agree I was quite impressed with Manfield. As you say Maynard didn't have his shooting boots on that day or we would have been in trouble.

Err we won our last away game..

Yep, but I mean consistency.  Before that it was LLD.

I don't think there is any bird in the league as big as Rockin Robin .

Are you using LL's phone?  :)

Actually, you two never appear to be online at the same time  :sherlock:

Mansfield 0-0 Swindon in front of 4,865 with 861 Town fans there.

Just got my ticket,  looks like it could well be another 1,000+ awayday. Looking forward to this one,     3-1 to us would be nice but settle for any result as long as it's 3 points to us.

From Mansfield Manager Graham Coughlan.

Yep and thats a big ask to have a team sat in 21st place to have a whole team of 8 & 9's.


Well you have to improve as there are only 3 teams lower than you in the table!


Up against Doughty and grant plus possibly Lyden he is going to have to be at the top of his game!


You can guarantee he will play then!


Or Nigel as the other players call him! I want him to play hes a walking red card!

Kellan Gordon another guaranteed starter then, And he been smoking weed too? tut tut.

Any recommended options for parking near the ground?
Ta

The station is right next to it.

Just park in PC World or Sainsburys on Nottingham Rd (the main drag) and nip in pre match for a browse. Don't park in the Retail Park next to the ground as enticing as it is. They're cunts for clamping. Other place is Squire Musters. Come off the M1 early at Junc 27. Well worth it if you like a good beer. It's next to the WMC too so you can park there. Bout 10mins drive from the ground. Badger Box is good too.

Do you know if there are any time limits on parking in PCW or Sainsburys ??.

Couldn't guarantee for PCW but most Sainsburys don't really notice as a lot of people spend a good 1-2 hrs getting their weekly shop. Think the official line from Sainsburys is 3hrs. There's an Aldi nearby too.

Another windy one apparently. Getting annoying now even though we've coped well with it up to this point.

2 early goals 1-1 until Admiral sneaks a late scrappy winner.

I’ll park up at my mates house in Kirby in Ashfield and go in his motor. Unless he’s not up for it in which case I may not go.

When will we have a game that isn't wind affected again? I don't remember the last one that actually wasn't.

I blame Brexit.

(https://i.postimg.cc/ZnWNwP4x/FB-IMG-1582712342977.jpg)

Spotted this yesterday

Well, yeah, but it's put 7 or 8 on the gate, so you know, swings and roundabouts. Not that either would be safe to use in the stormforce gales lashing the nation

Good news for Tuesday's game v Scunny (as it stands) - no wind and dry!

Thanks,   problem is nowadays that most places rely on cameras,  you don't know you've been nabbed until the envelope hits the mat.
Will have to suss it out when I get there.

Or, have a read of this  ;)

https://www.footballgroundguide.com/leagues/england/league-two/field-mill-mansfield-town.html#adirections-and-car-parking

You'll be fine with Sainsburys.

835 tickets sold so far.

No wind tunnel.

I fear we'll be exposed for the classless cloggers we really are.

Top of the league that is woeful.

I’m sure the final figure will be in excess of 1000 which is more than respectable given it’s hardly our closest trip, or the most attractive away match in the league!

What's it like to get to from Swindon via public transport, I had a look as I have a free weekend and I cannot reasonably do it in a day from here.

Really? From your end Liverpool Lime/Manc Picadilly to Alfreton (direct I believe, poss change at Sheff) then one of the regular nines buses to Mansfield.

Isn’t horlock07 up in the lakes somewhere? So that’ll potentially be an extra change or two to get to Manchester

Ahh yes. I believe so. But I've no idea whether he's closer to Carlisle than say Fylde/Lancaster?

Can't speak for public transport but I drove up last week (sister lives there) and it took about 3 and half hours with one stop for lunch. 155 miles, A417, M5, M42, M1. Boring as fuck. Shitloads of flooding.

Some interesting stats here about our players.

https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/159/Show/England-Swindon

8 assists for Woolery - not bad, that.

6 for Hunt - probably our most underrated player

Hunt is for me the most consistant performer in our team alongside Grant, its rare for Hunt to give a below average performance.

Anderson and Woolery have improved no end under Wellens. Long may it continue. Hunt’s decent, not surprised he has chipped in with that many assists.

Donohue is high up that list. Has he been sentenced yet?

Some time in March IIRC.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/18169517.dion-donohue-admits-mansfield-affray-gbh/

March 13th.

Storm Jorge hitting this weekend. Deja vu!

2 Questions. Why are storms always at the weekend?

And how come it isnt storm Edna if they are alphabetical?

Because life's a bitch

Because the Spanish Met Office got in before us and named the storm.

We didn't vote for Brexit so that the Spanish could name our storms... >:(

We had Storm Ellen last weekend. This one should be "Storm For Fucks Sake!". Followed by "Storm, God Alive, not another one"

There'll be an inquisition

I'm not expecting one... not sure anyone else is...

Cardinal Fang

https://yarn.co/yarn-clip/8c36e3b9-48db-42c9-ab2a-ff150eb9bfa5

:)

In almost any other season he would have walked away with POTY...

Win. 2-0

The forecast of more bad weather makes this another slightly tricky forecast.
 Whilst as others have said, Mansfield had chances to have taken a point at the CG, I’ve checked back to the home game thread and it was a game where an injury (Lyden) disrupted us a bit, and we also had first half chances.
Their league position suggests they aren’t a good team - 21st after 3/4 of the season, with 35 points from 35 games, 46 goals for and 54 against tells us that too. Also, remembering the criticism on here and elsewhere of LP when they splashed out on Maynard in the summer, they are a salutary reminder that expensive signings are no guarantee of success, you need the right players and blend.
Whilst all the stats, including their recent form, tell us we should win this comfortably, I am feeling slightly uneasy - I think we may get a frustrating 0-0 draw tomorrow.
The next few weeks with games on 3 of the next 4 Tuesdays will test our squad, and RW will need to use the depth we have now to get through that.
Finally for today, I agree with comments above about Rob Hunt’s excellent season - he has been overshadowed by a number of others, but has performed consistently well this season, despite having to play a fair chunk of it on what for him isn’t his natural side of the pitch. 

Got a dodgy feeling about this.

Anything but a win is disappointing, but going for a 1-1. Yates. 1001 away fans.

Think we'll go with Lyden in the middle and Doughty further forward again. Yates, Doyle, Isgrove.

I'll always take a point away. But I really want to see a gap opening. 

Absolutely this.

I know a website for that

1-2 Town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpaOy8b8X6A

Is it this one?

http://www.sheelanagig.org/wordpress/

I visited Winterbourne Monkton back in December.... an interesting font, but not wholly convinced it's a Sheela

I don't do buses!


We are bottom end of the lakes (Cartmel peninsula), I can get a train direct to Manchester from the station in the village (although they are crap at the weekends), getting to Mansfield would be fine, back much less so with 5 changes, some dodgy connections which could leave me stranded, a walk across Warrington at 9 o'clock at night, a bloody RRB and if all went to plan (unlikely with northern involved) back here at 0009.

So its a no from me, which probably for the best as I haven't seen us win since the PdC promotion season!   

Not to mention the weather !!!!!!.

Talking of which,  looking like thermals will be needed tomorrow.

Mansfield fans suggesting the game may be in doubt tomorrow due to the due adverse weather conditions, thats all we need with the midweek fixtures starting to pile up.

As long as they don't leave it until 2pm to call it off   ;)

885 tickets sold in advance....

No plans for a pitch inspection yet ?, anyone know ?.

I think considering thats a 3 hour trip each way and 160 miles each way thats a pretty good following, add in the probably poor driving and playing conditions makes it an even better effort. Putting it into context Northampton in 7th place only took 860 to Walsall 2 weeks ago a trip of just 55 miles.

It will easily be our biggest following there since we won the Div 4 championship on 19th April 1986 up there when we took well in excess of 2,500 and probably nearer 3,000 fans as no official figure was ever given out, the attendance that day was 8,416 in total and there was not an inch of space in the crammed away end.

Still one of my all time favourite away games ever, always great to be there when your club finally win their first Football League title. Also the memory of Mansfield playing "We are the champions" over the tannoy post game sends shivers down the spine.

(https://i.postimg.cc/SR3Cjf2X/1.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/KzsgsD59/2.jpg)

http://youtu.be/Tmj-hWcZ0DI

Pitch inspection 9.45 in the morning.

Trying to call the game off because of a bit of wind and rain. You wouldn't catch us trying to do that  :toocool:

Dry and bright in Mansfield from 11am tomorrow, but rain all night.

Fingers crossed it's on, could do without another midweek game.

Would ordinarily agree - particularly as tickets bought for tomorrow. However if it goes ahead, the game is likely to be severely impacted again by very strong winds and the playing surface doesnt look the best on which to play a passing game, which will not help us. Also we now have a very strong squad that should be able to cope with a run of Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday games, with cover in just about every position. The weather will hopefully improve from next week, when I am confident we will see a return to the slick passing football we withessed before the storms hit. Irrespective of whether tomorrows game goes ahead, we will be champions come the end of the season.

Fucking hell,  will be halfway there by then !!.

Although it has been pissing it down, this way (and pretty much everywhere) there is no sustained rain forecast from 9am through 4pm tomorrow. The wind is forecast to be around 20mph with the odd 30mph gust but 20mph will be the sustained wind speed. That'll help suck up some of the fallen moisture overnight. If it's off, it won't be the wind, it'll be due to a waterlogged pitch caused by today's rain. Like to think the grounds team at Field Mill will be doing what they can. No flood warnings or alerts in Mansfield itself though.

Forecast for KO:

Early morning rain, tailed off from the previous evening will make way for a chilly 6c but clear day, with sunny spells. A moderate to fresh breeze will be present but nothing too strong for our darlings. There will be a chance later on in the afternoon for a rainy shower or two, sometime later in the 2nd half. High of 9c but it'll feel more like 3c and towards dusk, it'll feel more like -3c. Take a hat, gloves and a raincoat (just incase) for that short sprint between stadium and car, coach or train station.

Note for travelling fans: The wind will be predominantly from the SW. While Field Mill is a very exposed ground (another three sider), their main stand sits with it's back to the SW, so may offer some protection. If it does whip over, it'll be straight into away fans faces, in the North Stand.

Sorry I'm not as good looking as Lucy Verasamy but better looking than Michael Fish.

Good post but the wind speed predicted on the BBC weather app is worse than you have stated. it's saying the wind speeds will be 12:00- 42mph, 13:00 -45mph, 14:00-47mph, 15:00-46mph, 16:00-44mph 17:00-42mph so another disrupted game possible if it goes ahead

There's always controversy around BBC weather forecasts since they stopped using the Met Office and went to the Dutch Meteogroup. Personally wouldn't trust the BBC on weather any more than politics.

Not disputing what you're saying but I've kept a close eye on the app for several months and I have found it to be really accurate especially with any strong wind or heavy rain in the forecast

Just spoken to family just outside Mansfield and they are saying it's currently horrendous,  heavy snow and rain, seem to think there's little chance of it going ahead.   Hope they're wrong, but 9.45 is a bit late for an inspection either way.

A home game for you?
Hopefully you will be joining us tomorrow if the game goes ahead.
If so I'll keep an eye out for the serial talker.
 :beers:

I agree 09:45 is too late it should have been an hour earlier. Also still no mention in the Adver and they always seem to be behind with their news these days!

On that basis that adver will probably let us know around 11oclock.

Best check the official Mansfield website or Twitter feed.

You sure that's not kph as that would figure closer to the mph conversion? 42kph is around 25mph. They couldn't be 20mph far apart instrument reading wise. In any case, 47mph hits about 9 on the Beaufort for strong gale and we're talking sustained winds not occasional gusts.


Trouble with our area, being just SE of the bottom of the Pennine chain there can be quite contrasting weather differences from even in the same town. Amber Valley sits in a weird bowl (like a mini Sheff for terrain). A lot of those towns "sit" on the sides of the bowl so when weather hits, even a town can be protected on one part and not on the other. Amber Valley and Ashfield play a part in neighbouring areas to the east.


I'd planned to be and it would be my "home" game but I'll be further North near my rents. Had other stuff going on this month and into March so unfortunately miss out (if it's on). Have a pint of Plum Porter in the Squire Musters for me :pint:

Yeah,  but still going to be 10ish I should imagine.   As l'm an hour south of Swindon it makes it all a little tight.  Even leaving Swindon at 10 it will still be 1-1.30 before getting there,  and that's assuming there will be no problems on the M1.

the met office web site is pretty inaccurate in my experience. The BBC TV weather is still much better. Not used their website much though.

Never trusted them since Michael Fish

There's always controversy around BBC weather forecasts since they stopped using the Met Office and went to the Dutch Meteogroup. Personally wouldn't trust the BBC on weather any more than politics.

What? I don’t believe what I’m reading. Your beloved left wing BBC giving money to a European company? I’d have thought you’d be purring like a cat over that piece of business. However, let’s face it, you don't trust anything or anyone, I doubt you trust yourself.

As much as I dont like the BBC reporting the weather is spot on 99% of the time> Didn't know the dutch were responsible. That might explain it.

Wetter.com forecasts wind speed of 34 kph and gusts up to 83 kph for Mansfield tomorrow afternoon :-(

Weather wise - these guys are very accurate
https://www.yr.no/place/United_Kingdom/England/Hertford/
Apparently they have an algorithm that looks at all the global forecasts and, based on their track record etc makes a call.
Usually pretty much right

And the Mansfield forecast doesn't look too bad
https://www.yr.no/place/United_Kingdom/England/Mansfield/hour_by_hour.html

I thought you were just talking about Mansfield

This almost correlates with exactly what I put. Funnily enough mine used combined data from Yr, Raincast and another :)

Just checked the rainfall radar site and it's just started pouring down in Mansfield! Looks dry for the rest of the day but you'd imagine the pitch will have a lot of water on it at 9:30.

FGR v Orient - off

Mansfield forum saying the rain has stopped and its blustery

It's off.

Club tweeted its postponed

Waterlogged pitch

Heading for some serious fixture congestion here. Good that it was called off early though.

Rather play them in better weather on a better surface anyway.

Crewes game is still on?

Sorry you're right as I was looking at something else and thought they were away at FGR

Pre ma.. aw fuck.

Long weekend in Nottingham so no problem, we will win dees league anyway.

A midweek return visit will be a pain in the arse and the run in becomes more difficult.

A shame for Football Phil as well, who on the 29th Feb could well have been fielding marriage proposals from the lovely locals.
More wedlock by headlock by the look of things though.

Anyway, as my old boss used to say, it's the weekend so drink as much as you can.

Ball bags. Hopefully rescheduled during that 2 week break we have in April.

The congestion doesn't concern me too much we have a hell of a lot of options now after our good jan window.

A townless saturday does make for a much more boring Saturday though

You would have thought all the money Mansfield have they would have invested in some decent covers for the pitch

Yes totally!

I remember going to Field Mill around 76/77 and you couldn't see past the half way line because of fog and never got to see our goal when we scored

 I really put the mockers on it, pointing out 2 and half weeks ago that we'd done well out of getting thus far with no postponements  :(

 3 since.  Conventional wisdom is you want to be playing, but we'll soon find out.

Tuesday 31 March for this one, I reckon. Not the home game I wanted to get in but, hey ho, at least I’ll get 2 games during my trip!

[quote="]Not the home game I wanted to get in[/quote]
??????????

bugger. one thing we've not been good at*  is when the fixtures have been Tuesday/Saturday

*I've not looked to see if the facts fit this

It could be Tuesday 10th March and if so would mean 3 away games in a week!

Yeah. I’ve booked to come over 27 March to 7 April but the home game v Salford is off - so, atm, I’ve only got Walsall away.

ah ok. I read it as through you though Mansfield was a home game.

bit of a bugger, but Walsall away is always a good one.  ah well, I'll buy you a pint when you come over to celebrate your bet winnings ;)

Just saying.

What makes a little bit of a mockery is that Notts County's home FA Trophy tie, versus Aveley still goes ahead. Wobbly Bob, head over there and watch Doyle take part in his 800th career appearance...actually scrap that they have just kicked off!

The interviewer certainly likes ask all the waterlogging questions you can think of ..

https://www.facebook.com/155468114909/posts/10158005455449910/

Did view the pitch yesterday whilst still up there.   Game would have been playable in my opinion had it not been for the waterlogging, yes there was a wind, nothing we couldn't have coped with,  there was more rain on the way up but most of the afternoon was dry, however,  there was absolutely no way that the match could have been played on that swamp.  Don't think there was a patch that wasn't waterlogged.  I was told it had been covered Friday night and that they now plan to renew the drainage system.   I know that the weather has been exceptional,  however there were only 4 games off in the top 4 divisions,  IMO knowing the forecast at the beginning of the week,  had the pitch been covered then, the game would have gone ahead.

I read somewhere that only part of the pitch was covered

Unless you have of those inflatable covers that stop water setting on the covers and help dry out the pitch then covering it would have done more damage than good. The weight of the cover and water compresses the surface and then you absolutely ruin the surface when you remove the covers and inadvertently end up flooding certain sections removing the covers. Just look at the section they did cover, the pitch was effectively sludge at the edge of the cover.
If the pitch is already fucked and isn’t draining then covers or no covers the match would still have been off.

Surely they've know about the drainage issues for a few years so it makes you wonder why the wealthy owners haven't sorted it out and developed a pitch similar to our own

I thought as much. Which is why I said wind wouldn't affect the game. I also mentioned that I hoped the Ground Staff at Field Mill would be doing all they could to get the game on. We all had a good idea of the forecast, as Grounds staff they certainly would've too.

Wouldn't get that kind of behaviour from Butch and the Sundance (literally) Crew  ;)

Their groundsman went through this. The pitch has decent drainage but the top 4 inches is capped and as it has been non stop rain for weeks they haven’t been able to get a machine on the pitch to punch holes. Beaten by the weather, can’t really blame anyone.

Garden bloody fork, the lazy...  :soapy tit wank:

I go past Millwalls ground every morning. Most days they have large portable racks of what appear to be hydroponic lamps burning away.

Can you see the microphones dangling from the roof in the dockers stand placed to pick up any racist chanting

I thought that was a myth and they are actually intended to boost atmosphere by amplifying acoustics? Both method would work though.

Isn't Millwall mostly just wannabe little boys and dried up ex "fackin' ooligans" who want one last chance of a hemorrhage?

I think you're right and it's still a horrible place to go and probably the only ground where you advised to take the safe fenced off path from Bermondsey station rather than walk through the streets

I went the other week with a Baggies mate.  I felt no more threatened than I have at any ground.

Couple of Burberry boys shouting 'carnts!' and waving arms around doing throat cutting gestures behind a row of coppers, but nothing more than that.  And the supposedly intimidating chanting was a bit crap as well.  Bunch of baggies jumping around shouting boing boing was more disturbing.

Im sure I could find a pub round there to get my head kicked in but I can probably do that at most grounds these days.  Its was all pretty funny to be honest.  And it was rainy so everyone went home cos serious farking naughtiness cant be done in the rain.

That's real nawty taking the mick out of those Bushwackers!

Rearranged to 31st march

Yay! I can make that one.