So, how are we all feeling then?
Optimistic? Pessimistic? Fair to middling? All a bit 'meh'?
I have to admit my own frame of mind has varied between all four of those states since the end of last night's game.
The bottom line is that we were lucky to get away with 1-0, and we are still in the game, despite a pretty average overall performance.
I have seen our display described as 'awful', and various worse adjectives than that which would require liberal use of the asterisk on a family-friendly blog such as this.
Personally, I don't think it was that bad. Average, okay, not great yes, but awful, terrible or worse? No, I don't think so.
Several key players failed to make much of an impression on the game, and lost their individual battles, which had a big bearing on the result, and that was especially true in the wide areas.
Mark Yates made what some might suggest was a bold decision to play two forwards in Paul Benson and Byron Harrison, and employ again the 4-4-2 which succeeded at Sixfields in December.
It worked then thanks to the supply - Darren Carter had a particularly good game that day - but in the 90 minutes last night we gave the pair of them only two decent passes.
Both of those came from Keith Lowe, the ball to Benson for his golden chance straight after the Northampton goal, and then a cross which Benson headed at Nicholls, also in the first half.
But that was that.
Conversely, there is the argument that we played 4-4-2 in a game where the main priority is not to lose - while last week, in a game we had to win to stand a chance of a top-three place, he played 4-5-1...
Everyone knows we struggle to score goals, and much of that blame is laid at the strikers' door.
Harrison is now copping flak because he has only scored once in nine starts, and the clamour is that Shaun Harrad and Darryl Duffy should get a chance on Sunday.
But would they fare any better? I doubt it very much.
Northampton's win last night was set up by their wide players, and Chris Hackett in particular.
Every time he got the ball, he had one thing in mind - beat his man, and get a cross into our six yard box, looking for Big Bayo.
He did it very well. I would say about 70 per cent of his crosses hit their target and Bayo should have a had a hat-trick. Browny made two saves, one fabulous and one a bit fortunate, and there was a second-half header which went over the bar.
Sido had his hands full, and poor Billy Jones when he came on was given an even more torrid time.
Contrast that with Northampton's full-backs - who were midfielder Ben Tozer and centre-half Lee Collins, but were barely tested by our wide men.
Jermaine McGlashan got past his man once, and shot, forcing Lee Nicholls into an easy tip-over, deep in the second half.
But he compounded his miserable display by getting caught offside and earned himself a right earful from Jason Taylor - and rightly so. Rather him than me on that one.
No crosses at all - and the same was true for Kaid Mohamed.
Both are frightening to defenders with the ball at their feet running at them, but neither has what Hackett, and the likes of Jennison Myrie-Williams have got - end product.
They might score more goals than Hackett or Myrie-Williams will over the course of a season, but their prime job in the team is to supply crosses for the forwards, and they are not doing that.
Neither, on too many occasions last night, did they do the hard yards and help out their overworked full-backs, putting added pressure on our back four.
Jermaine also needs to be careful. He is starting to get into that habit of throwing himself down whenever he loses the ball in the hope of getting a free-kick or penalty.
Referees seem to be becoming aware of it and he will start getting a reputation as a diver, which won't help him or the team, so it needs to be addressed somehow.
The back four had their work cut out all night, but for the most part I thought they stood up to it well.
Steve Elliott and Michael Hector had their hands full with Bayo early on, but I felt that after around 20 minutes they got to grips (in more ways than one) with him.
Losing Hector was a massive blow. I thought it was a head injury when he first went down, then when he crumpled again after coming back on it was obvious there was a problem.
Quite how the referee Mick Russell could rule that he had fouled Clarke Carlisle while sustaining badly bruised ribs in the process is beyond me...
Hector's loss was a blow, and we will muss him if he is out on Sunday. Keith Lowe took time to settle in alongside Steve Elliott, but then did okay, and we know he won't let us down.
While the wingers were having an off-day, so did Marlon Pack. He has been superb since January, but last night he was barely in the game from an influential point of view, bar one cross which Benson nearly got on to at the far post.
We know Northampton are very direct, so the midfields were never going to be in the game much - but when they were Luke Guttridge and Ben Harding had the better of it.
Pack had few chances to get on the ball, while alongside him Russ Penn - after an over-exuberant start when he was in danger of getting a bit carried away - settled in to another all-action show.
The goal we conceded was a poor one though. Bayo had time to take it on his chest, and hook it round to Hackett, who beat his man and crossed to Roy O'Donovan, who was able to volley it goalwards.
Scott Brown got a hand to it and couldn't keep it out. It didn't seem that fierce a shot, and I think deep down that Browny, by his standards this season, will feel he should have done better.
But despite all that pressure, Browny only had one other save to make - the trouble is, so did Nicholls in reality, the one from McGlashan's one moment of impact on the game.
The rest of the time, we gave Nicholls routine catches or what little threat we had was mopped up easily enough by their back four. That needs to change on Sunday, or we are done for.
In the second half, we offered little coming forward. I thought Benson and Harrison linked well in the first half, but it was a struggle in the second.
Overall, the display mirrored our whole season - all hard work, and a bit of a slog, and not the easiest, most flowing performance to watch.
The supporters at Sixfields were superb. The noise levels were excellent, even after we fell behind, and even when we were under the cosh, the encouragement kept coming. More of the same on Sunday.
They were also restrained (bar the smoke flare) when Northampton fans invaded the pitch to celebrate their first-leg success (the key words here being 'first leg'...) which was mostly good natured I think, bar the usual bravado from a few taunting our fans.
But there is hope that these 'celebrations' could blow up in their faces in two days time..
We got away with a 1-0 defeat. Northampton could have been out of sight, as Yatesy, Penn and Benson all admitted after the game.
On the plus side, Their away record is not great, even worse than ours, while we have a good home record.
However, on the other hand, we have to score twice in 90, or 120 minutes. We have scored twice in our last 360 minutes, one of those from a centre-back and one from a central midfield player. Not a great omen is it?
So, in the next 48 hours or so, Yatesy has to come up with a formula to combat their direct style while freeing up some supply to our starved strikers, or our season is over. Good luck with that gaffer.
It's now or never...
Friday, 3 May 2013
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Playing the lottery
Ah well, it was always unlikely.
We turned up, more in hope than expectation, looking for an unlikely miracle, and until news came through midway the second half of Jonny Mullins' goal at the New York Stadium, it was on.
After that news, the game turned into a bit of a damp squib, and when all is said and done, we couldn't break down a Bradford side showing eight changes and with 10 men for half an hour.
It was great once again to see the ground packed - 5,888 turned up, but from my position on the halfway-line gantry, it was the 1400 or so Bradford fans who made all the first-half noise.
It was a dead rubber for them - we were the ones who had it all to play for, who needed to win, yet it all seemed a bit muted, as though most of our fans didn't really believe it was going to happen.
But when it got to half-time, and both games which mattered were 0-0, then it seemed that a bit of belief went round the ground.
There seemed to be a realisation that maybe, just maybe, it would all work out for us, and the noise levels from the home end seemed to go up a notch or two.
The red card helped, then Mark Yates threw on Paul Benson to join Byron Harrison to look for that elusive goal, just in case Aldershot could do the seemingly impossible.
But just as the atmosphere got to where it should be for such an important game, news of Mullins' goal went through, the home ends went flat again and the Bradford fans had the decibels to themselves again.
The noise stopped, and the whole game degenerated into an end-of-season affair.
There was the sub-plot however. With Burton winning, we dropped a place and the play-off permutations would match us with Northampton, and not hand us three games in eight days with Bradford.
So despite Marlon Pack hitting the post with a header late on, maybe a 0-0 and a fall to fifth was not such a disaster - the post-match consensus seemed to be that most were happy to avoid the prospect of Thursday at Valley Parade in front of 20,000 screaming Yorkies in favour of two games with the Cobblers.
I didn't feel that were in danger of losing the game - Scott Brown had no saves of note to make and only Nathan Doyle's late shot wide of the post presented any threat to his 20th clean sheet of the campaign.
Matt Duke at the other end had a few saves, Pack hit the post and Steve Elliott had a header which he put wide but should have buried - but I don't think we did enough overall to win it, either.
However, Yates seemed happy enough with the performance of his team - but less so with the display from the pitch and the fans - not the first time he has been critical of these two things.
The pitch didn't seem any worse than it has in recent weeks and Yatesy seemed to base his mini-rant on the incident near the end where Kaid Mohamed got a terrible bobble as he broke away then tried a cross which he shinned horribly.
The fans I have mentioned earlier - strangely subdued at the start, loud for 20 minutes after the break, then understandably subdued again after Rotherham scored... Yates subsequently admitted that his players also went into their shells after the Rotherham goal news, so it was obviously catching.
I am not comfortable with Yates criticising pitch or fans though. The pitch is what it is. We share with Gloucester, solely, it seems, because doing so helps your playing budget, it has lots of games on it, the weather has been rubbish - deal with it.
The fans pay their money. If they don't want to scream and shout all game, that's up to them. You can't make them. Some of the youngsters do their best and should be commended (but unfortunately too often get slagged off) for trying to get behind the team and make some noise.
I wish more of the fans would join in, as it would make Whaddon a more hostile place for away sides - look at the noise Bradford's contingent made, as it seemed that all 1400 of them, young and old, were joining in with the clapping and chanting.
But overall, while I can take his point to a degree that he wants noisier backing for his team, I think his comments were ill-judged coming soon after the Plymouth contretemps, and with the need to get everyone in the club united for the play-off push.
Someone said to me post-match that Saturday was microcosm of our season - we had a job to do, win - but failed to do it against Bradford's reserves, and 10 men for a third of the game.
A bit harsh maybe - but also true. If the Shots had done the job up North, we would have fallen short, and think how sickening that would have felt, especially against a weakened side and with numerical superiority...
But anyway, that's all done with now, and we look forward to Thursday and Sunday, and the two games with Northampton.
In our favour is the fact that we have done the double over them this season, and go into the games with three successive clean sheets and an impressive unbeaten home record.
A good omen too is that we have the away leg first - as we did in our previous two successful play-off campaigns, when we won at Wycombe and drew at Hartlepool before drawing both home legs but getting through to the final.
But despite the win at Exeter, our away form is not exactly convincing, and there is also Mr Akinfenwa. He hasn't scored for a while... on the plus side, we kept him quiet on Easter Monday.
Talking of goals, and the lack of them, that is my main worry as we go into these two games.
In recent games, and it was true again on Saturday, our premier goal threat has been from set-pieces with our centre-halves getting on the end of something.
Our last two home wins have been 1-0, thanks to first Elliott, then Michael Hector scoring from a corner, and but for Billy Jones' deliveries at the weekend, we would not really have looked like scoring.
For all his endeavour and work-rate, Harrison didn't at any stage look like breaking his home duck for us, and that is something which has to change if we are to get through.
It's not all his fault. He cannot magically conjure up chances on his own - he needs some help from the midfield and out wide.
He is six foot four inches tall - yet how many times since he has been with us has he been able to say there has been a decent cross put into the box for him, excluding a set-piece, to get on the end of?
He scored with a fantastic header for AFC Wimbledon against us earlier this season, so we know he can be a threat, but we are not using it with our inability to deliver from out wide.
For all their undoubted threat when they get the ball down and run at people, and they do scare defenders judging by the number of free-kicks they win, but Jermaine McGlashan and Kaid Mohamed need to improve their crossing.
It is such a frustration to see them tear past someone, then deliver a tame cross which goes behind everyone, or even worse doesn't beat the first defender. It undoes in an instant all the good work that has gone before.
Also, I remain unconvinced by Russ Penn being the right man to be playing just behind the main striker if we are to play one up front. Two league goals in 70-odd starts is not conducive to a second goal threat, and he doesn't always make those runs needed to read any flick-on from Harrison, or whoever the 'one' is.
I am sure Yates will play 4-5-1 on Thursday. 4-4-2, while it might on paper increase the goal threat with Benson or Shaun Harrad up there, might also leave us a bit open to midfield runners, and you-know-who.
In the 3-2 win earlier this season, Keith Lowe was used as a midfield holding man, and it worked well once he and everyone else got used to the idea, but now with Jason Taylor here, I am sure he will be used in that role.
They will be tight games, make no bones about it. Northampton are very direct - they will sling high balls and long throws at us. But I think they are prone to leak a few goals, and as we are a team of few chances, we will need to take the ones which come along.
This whole season has been hard work - nothing seems to have come easily, almost every result we have earned seems to have required a monumental effort, and this will be no different.
We haven't always been an easy team to watch, and that will go on in the next 180 minutes, and we all have to stick together and give the team our backing - after all, we all want the same outcome.
So it has been slightly disappointing to see some fans criticising others for not buying tickets for Thursday and Sunday, citing the fact that Northampton's tickets have been selling quicker.
They are at home in the first leg, so buying a ticket for them carries no risk. It's 0-0. I suspect many of our fans are waiting for the result of the away leg before committing fully - nothing wrong with that, their prerogative, etc.
As for our away leg, it is on a Thursday night. Only on Saturday afternoon did we know for sure that we were going to be needing it.
Therefore, time off work, families, cost all becomes an issue for many. Northampton fans buying for their away leg do not have that issue, and it is on a Sunday before a bank holiday, so they can buy straight away as not many of them will need to get time off etc.
So if you can afford to go, get the time off work, and don't have any family issues, then great - get down to Sixfields and shout yourselves hoarse - but don't have a go at those who can't as they are no doubt wishing they could join you.
We turned up, more in hope than expectation, looking for an unlikely miracle, and until news came through midway the second half of Jonny Mullins' goal at the New York Stadium, it was on.
After that news, the game turned into a bit of a damp squib, and when all is said and done, we couldn't break down a Bradford side showing eight changes and with 10 men for half an hour.
It was great once again to see the ground packed - 5,888 turned up, but from my position on the halfway-line gantry, it was the 1400 or so Bradford fans who made all the first-half noise.
It was a dead rubber for them - we were the ones who had it all to play for, who needed to win, yet it all seemed a bit muted, as though most of our fans didn't really believe it was going to happen.
But when it got to half-time, and both games which mattered were 0-0, then it seemed that a bit of belief went round the ground.
There seemed to be a realisation that maybe, just maybe, it would all work out for us, and the noise levels from the home end seemed to go up a notch or two.
The red card helped, then Mark Yates threw on Paul Benson to join Byron Harrison to look for that elusive goal, just in case Aldershot could do the seemingly impossible.
But just as the atmosphere got to where it should be for such an important game, news of Mullins' goal went through, the home ends went flat again and the Bradford fans had the decibels to themselves again.
The noise stopped, and the whole game degenerated into an end-of-season affair.
There was the sub-plot however. With Burton winning, we dropped a place and the play-off permutations would match us with Northampton, and not hand us three games in eight days with Bradford.
So despite Marlon Pack hitting the post with a header late on, maybe a 0-0 and a fall to fifth was not such a disaster - the post-match consensus seemed to be that most were happy to avoid the prospect of Thursday at Valley Parade in front of 20,000 screaming Yorkies in favour of two games with the Cobblers.
I didn't feel that were in danger of losing the game - Scott Brown had no saves of note to make and only Nathan Doyle's late shot wide of the post presented any threat to his 20th clean sheet of the campaign.
Matt Duke at the other end had a few saves, Pack hit the post and Steve Elliott had a header which he put wide but should have buried - but I don't think we did enough overall to win it, either.
However, Yates seemed happy enough with the performance of his team - but less so with the display from the pitch and the fans - not the first time he has been critical of these two things.
The pitch didn't seem any worse than it has in recent weeks and Yatesy seemed to base his mini-rant on the incident near the end where Kaid Mohamed got a terrible bobble as he broke away then tried a cross which he shinned horribly.
The fans I have mentioned earlier - strangely subdued at the start, loud for 20 minutes after the break, then understandably subdued again after Rotherham scored... Yates subsequently admitted that his players also went into their shells after the Rotherham goal news, so it was obviously catching.
I am not comfortable with Yates criticising pitch or fans though. The pitch is what it is. We share with Gloucester, solely, it seems, because doing so helps your playing budget, it has lots of games on it, the weather has been rubbish - deal with it.
The fans pay their money. If they don't want to scream and shout all game, that's up to them. You can't make them. Some of the youngsters do their best and should be commended (but unfortunately too often get slagged off) for trying to get behind the team and make some noise.
I wish more of the fans would join in, as it would make Whaddon a more hostile place for away sides - look at the noise Bradford's contingent made, as it seemed that all 1400 of them, young and old, were joining in with the clapping and chanting.
But overall, while I can take his point to a degree that he wants noisier backing for his team, I think his comments were ill-judged coming soon after the Plymouth contretemps, and with the need to get everyone in the club united for the play-off push.
Someone said to me post-match that Saturday was microcosm of our season - we had a job to do, win - but failed to do it against Bradford's reserves, and 10 men for a third of the game.
A bit harsh maybe - but also true. If the Shots had done the job up North, we would have fallen short, and think how sickening that would have felt, especially against a weakened side and with numerical superiority...
But anyway, that's all done with now, and we look forward to Thursday and Sunday, and the two games with Northampton.
In our favour is the fact that we have done the double over them this season, and go into the games with three successive clean sheets and an impressive unbeaten home record.
A good omen too is that we have the away leg first - as we did in our previous two successful play-off campaigns, when we won at Wycombe and drew at Hartlepool before drawing both home legs but getting through to the final.
But despite the win at Exeter, our away form is not exactly convincing, and there is also Mr Akinfenwa. He hasn't scored for a while... on the plus side, we kept him quiet on Easter Monday.
Talking of goals, and the lack of them, that is my main worry as we go into these two games.
In recent games, and it was true again on Saturday, our premier goal threat has been from set-pieces with our centre-halves getting on the end of something.
Our last two home wins have been 1-0, thanks to first Elliott, then Michael Hector scoring from a corner, and but for Billy Jones' deliveries at the weekend, we would not really have looked like scoring.
For all his endeavour and work-rate, Harrison didn't at any stage look like breaking his home duck for us, and that is something which has to change if we are to get through.
It's not all his fault. He cannot magically conjure up chances on his own - he needs some help from the midfield and out wide.
He is six foot four inches tall - yet how many times since he has been with us has he been able to say there has been a decent cross put into the box for him, excluding a set-piece, to get on the end of?
He scored with a fantastic header for AFC Wimbledon against us earlier this season, so we know he can be a threat, but we are not using it with our inability to deliver from out wide.
For all their undoubted threat when they get the ball down and run at people, and they do scare defenders judging by the number of free-kicks they win, but Jermaine McGlashan and Kaid Mohamed need to improve their crossing.
It is such a frustration to see them tear past someone, then deliver a tame cross which goes behind everyone, or even worse doesn't beat the first defender. It undoes in an instant all the good work that has gone before.
Also, I remain unconvinced by Russ Penn being the right man to be playing just behind the main striker if we are to play one up front. Two league goals in 70-odd starts is not conducive to a second goal threat, and he doesn't always make those runs needed to read any flick-on from Harrison, or whoever the 'one' is.
I am sure Yates will play 4-5-1 on Thursday. 4-4-2, while it might on paper increase the goal threat with Benson or Shaun Harrad up there, might also leave us a bit open to midfield runners, and you-know-who.
In the 3-2 win earlier this season, Keith Lowe was used as a midfield holding man, and it worked well once he and everyone else got used to the idea, but now with Jason Taylor here, I am sure he will be used in that role.
They will be tight games, make no bones about it. Northampton are very direct - they will sling high balls and long throws at us. But I think they are prone to leak a few goals, and as we are a team of few chances, we will need to take the ones which come along.
This whole season has been hard work - nothing seems to have come easily, almost every result we have earned seems to have required a monumental effort, and this will be no different.
We haven't always been an easy team to watch, and that will go on in the next 180 minutes, and we all have to stick together and give the team our backing - after all, we all want the same outcome.
So it has been slightly disappointing to see some fans criticising others for not buying tickets for Thursday and Sunday, citing the fact that Northampton's tickets have been selling quicker.
They are at home in the first leg, so buying a ticket for them carries no risk. It's 0-0. I suspect many of our fans are waiting for the result of the away leg before committing fully - nothing wrong with that, their prerogative, etc.
As for our away leg, it is on a Thursday night. Only on Saturday afternoon did we know for sure that we were going to be needing it.
Therefore, time off work, families, cost all becomes an issue for many. Northampton fans buying for their away leg do not have that issue, and it is on a Sunday before a bank holiday, so they can buy straight away as not many of them will need to get time off etc.
So if you can afford to go, get the time off work, and don't have any family issues, then great - get down to Sixfields and shout yourselves hoarse - but don't have a go at those who can't as they are no doubt wishing they could join you.
Friday, 26 April 2013
Holding out for a hero
Paul Connor.
Steve Guinan.
Two names from the recent Cheltenham Town past who would not feature too highly in those 'best ever XIs' that we all like to pick from time to time, usually after about five pints.
But they are heroes. Players whose names will always crop up when we sit down and look back to those memorable games or days in our history.
Who could forget Connor, much derided by fans back then, swooping like a predator to hammer in that winner against Doncaster to keep us in League One.
We had got there thanks to Guinan - brilliant with his back to goal, but not so great when he turned the other way. Yes it was a cross, but who cares - I still remember the hangover.
So will one of our current crop be the hero tomorrow? Or will we find that hero some 150 miles north at the New York Stadium?
We need to, as we all know that things are not in our hands.
Two more oft-derided names from our past could come back and give us that shove we need back up the ladder - Jeff Goulding and Craig Reid.
Goulding, often mercurial and inspirational, and very definitely frustrating - the true definition of a Marmite footballer, could be the man, as could Reid, a finisher not given enough of a chance in my view.
It's all down to who handles the pressure. 99 times out of 100, Rotherham will win tomorrow (apparently the bookies rate it at about 69 times out 100, but you get the gist), and book their place in League One, and we will face the lottery again.
But there is that one chance. Aldershot are practically doomed. They have to go there and win - they will be going for it, but in turn that will leave them vulnerable.
And what about this for another scenario - Andy Scott, the former Rotherham manager, going back to his old club and scuppering their promotion chances. The plot thickens...
With the recent run of games we have had, I think we have done well to take it to the last day.
After the Gillingham win, we had to go to Exeter and put an end to their play-off chances, which we managed to do.
Last Saturday was hell for me. It was the first game I have missed all season, and I was at my Mum's 80th birthday party trying desperately to be nice to relatives I haven't seen since I was in shorts while being more bothered about events in Devon.
Thank goodness for Twitter, that's all I can say. I couldn't be rude enough to walk around in headphones with the radio commentary on, so that's what I had to rely on.
When news came in of Russ's goal, my son and I let out a little cheer, but as full-time approached I had a speech to make so it was few minutes after the final whistle that I found out we had hung on.
I am assuming we hung on, anyway. I have no clue how comfortable or otherwise it was, and to be honest I don't care. 1-0, take that and on we go to tomorrow.
I get the feeling that most people are resigned to the play-offs, and if things go out way tomorrow, that will be a massive bonus. I have no problem with that - that's the way I am looking at it.
Rotherham should beat Aldershot. But we have to make sure our attitude is right and that we are in a position to take advantage if they lose.
There would be nothing worse than Goulding or Reid nicking a 1-0 at the New York, only for us to draw or lose - that would be gut-wrenching, and might also be a big confidence knock for the play-offs.
The picture is clouded even more by the fact that Bradford are our most likely play-off opponents. We could play Northampton, but the permutations gave me a headache when I tried to work them out.
So the most likely scenario is three games in eight days against Bradford.
They have secured their play-off spot, and rumblings are that Phil Parkinson might rest a few tomorrow to keep them fresh for Thursday and next Sunday.
We don't have that luxury for two reasons - one - our squad is not big enough anyway, and two - we still have that bigger prize dangling like a tantalising carrot.
As Mark Yates has said, we can't worry about Rotherham, we have to take care of ourselves and do our job properly.
If things are going well, then, and only then, we can take stock of what is happening at the other game.
If they are 3-0 up, then we might be able to give a few a breather ready for the semis.
If they are 3-0 down, then we could be getting ready for a party.
It is good news to see the seats sold out, and with the Bradford contingent also coming down in numbers, it is odds on for 5000-plus crowd tomorrow.
That can only be good for our lads, who deserve that backing. I am hoping for the same noise as we had against Gillingham, even with there being no pantomime villain to boo and hiss at.
That game showed that our crowd can be noisy and hostile when they want to be, and it spurred our team on, so let's have more of the same please.
We fans have a big part to play in what happens to our club over the next 48 hours, or the next three weeks or so.
In the manner of Connor and Guinan, there could be another hero waiting to be crowned...
Steve Guinan.
Two names from the recent Cheltenham Town past who would not feature too highly in those 'best ever XIs' that we all like to pick from time to time, usually after about five pints.
But they are heroes. Players whose names will always crop up when we sit down and look back to those memorable games or days in our history.
Who could forget Connor, much derided by fans back then, swooping like a predator to hammer in that winner against Doncaster to keep us in League One.
We had got there thanks to Guinan - brilliant with his back to goal, but not so great when he turned the other way. Yes it was a cross, but who cares - I still remember the hangover.
So will one of our current crop be the hero tomorrow? Or will we find that hero some 150 miles north at the New York Stadium?
We need to, as we all know that things are not in our hands.
Two more oft-derided names from our past could come back and give us that shove we need back up the ladder - Jeff Goulding and Craig Reid.
Goulding, often mercurial and inspirational, and very definitely frustrating - the true definition of a Marmite footballer, could be the man, as could Reid, a finisher not given enough of a chance in my view.
It's all down to who handles the pressure. 99 times out of 100, Rotherham will win tomorrow (apparently the bookies rate it at about 69 times out 100, but you get the gist), and book their place in League One, and we will face the lottery again.
But there is that one chance. Aldershot are practically doomed. They have to go there and win - they will be going for it, but in turn that will leave them vulnerable.
And what about this for another scenario - Andy Scott, the former Rotherham manager, going back to his old club and scuppering their promotion chances. The plot thickens...
With the recent run of games we have had, I think we have done well to take it to the last day.
After the Gillingham win, we had to go to Exeter and put an end to their play-off chances, which we managed to do.
Last Saturday was hell for me. It was the first game I have missed all season, and I was at my Mum's 80th birthday party trying desperately to be nice to relatives I haven't seen since I was in shorts while being more bothered about events in Devon.
Thank goodness for Twitter, that's all I can say. I couldn't be rude enough to walk around in headphones with the radio commentary on, so that's what I had to rely on.
When news came in of Russ's goal, my son and I let out a little cheer, but as full-time approached I had a speech to make so it was few minutes after the final whistle that I found out we had hung on.
I am assuming we hung on, anyway. I have no clue how comfortable or otherwise it was, and to be honest I don't care. 1-0, take that and on we go to tomorrow.
I get the feeling that most people are resigned to the play-offs, and if things go out way tomorrow, that will be a massive bonus. I have no problem with that - that's the way I am looking at it.
Rotherham should beat Aldershot. But we have to make sure our attitude is right and that we are in a position to take advantage if they lose.
There would be nothing worse than Goulding or Reid nicking a 1-0 at the New York, only for us to draw or lose - that would be gut-wrenching, and might also be a big confidence knock for the play-offs.
The picture is clouded even more by the fact that Bradford are our most likely play-off opponents. We could play Northampton, but the permutations gave me a headache when I tried to work them out.
So the most likely scenario is three games in eight days against Bradford.
They have secured their play-off spot, and rumblings are that Phil Parkinson might rest a few tomorrow to keep them fresh for Thursday and next Sunday.
We don't have that luxury for two reasons - one - our squad is not big enough anyway, and two - we still have that bigger prize dangling like a tantalising carrot.
As Mark Yates has said, we can't worry about Rotherham, we have to take care of ourselves and do our job properly.
If things are going well, then, and only then, we can take stock of what is happening at the other game.
If they are 3-0 up, then we might be able to give a few a breather ready for the semis.
If they are 3-0 down, then we could be getting ready for a party.
It is good news to see the seats sold out, and with the Bradford contingent also coming down in numbers, it is odds on for 5000-plus crowd tomorrow.
That can only be good for our lads, who deserve that backing. I am hoping for the same noise as we had against Gillingham, even with there being no pantomime villain to boo and hiss at.
That game showed that our crowd can be noisy and hostile when they want to be, and it spurred our team on, so let's have more of the same please.
We fans have a big part to play in what happens to our club over the next 48 hours, or the next three weeks or so.
In the manner of Connor and Guinan, there could be another hero waiting to be crowned...
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
One Hec of a header...
I enjoyed Saturday's win. A lot. I am not ashamed to admit it, but I broke the protocol.
As soon as the whistle went, off came the headphones, down went the mic, and I allowed myself three or four fistpumps. Not very professional, but there you go.
It wasn't just because of the bloke in the away dugout and how he took my football club to the brink - it was also about the bloke in our dugout and his players showing they were not the pushovers some of us thought they were seven days before.
It was also about the fans, who came out in good numbers and yes, gave you-know-who some verbals but more importantly, also raised the noise for their team and made for a cracking atmosphere. So, can we hear you every week??
But anyway, back to him - let's get this out of the way and then talk about what really matters, our team, our players and our prospects for the next two games.
We had a brief chat after the game, and as it turns out it seems this blog might have been read a few times down there in Kent over the course of this season...
Mr Allen was coming out of the away dugout where he had been conducting his post-match interview, and Jon Palmer, Peter Matthews and myself were waiting to talk to Michael Hector, Scott Brown and Russ Penn about our win.
He spotted us, and (grinning from ear to ear I hasten to add) he said: "Mark Halliwell - you've been writing some things about me, haven't you, you naughty boy...."
"You've read them then Martin," I replied. "Yes," he said.
"What did you think?"
He thought for a second, and said: "Some of it was correct. Some of it was unfair I thought, and some I wish you'd rung and had a conversation about."
Not really the idea when you are writing a blog, I thought, and I said: "Would you have told me about it all?"
"Not really as I signed a piece of paper when I left so I can't talk about it, but it will all be in my book," to which I replied "I look forward to reading it." He offered his hand, so I shook it.
My next thought was firstly that if he signed a confidentiality agreement what would the point have been in me phoning him, and also how he could conceivably write a book about it... but there you go.
He then went on to say he had a 's..t team' when he was with us. No s..t Sherlock. It's taken us the past three years to recover from it, and Saturday's win was cathartic as it got over the obstacle of him coming back here and also showed in spades what a better club we are now.
Mr Allen's record in the away dugout at Whaddon is now played two, lost two, scored nought, conceded six, and he finished by saying "Your team played bloody well today though." For once, how right he was.
Whether it was all another of his PR stunts, or a series soundbites to try and appease our fans into giving him an easier ride, his pre-match admission that he made mistakes and did not do a good job when he was here was also good to hear.
It was never going to stop the abuse he got, and, let's face it, he deserved it. But I was glad that it did not go on and on throughout the match, and that the fans listened to Mark Yates' call to channel the noise towards those in ruby.
But Saturday was not all about him. It was our last chance to stay in the top-three chase. Lose, and we could forget it, draw and it was probably the end of the line, but win and it was still very much on.
Our 18-match home record on the line against a promoted side, beaten once away from home, and hoping to be crowned champions, backed by 1400 fans and with our supporters having a pantomime villain to hiss and boo at. It all added up to a cracker, and that's what we got.
I thought it was the best game I have seen all season, and it was definitely our best 90 minutes.
After the Home Park shambles, we looked like a team on a mission. Our players were fired up, as if they knew how much this meant to the fans, and that they knew this was the last-chance saloon.
Four changes... The grit of Russ Penn and Jason Taylor, the steadiness of the boyhood Gillingham fan Billy Jones, and the directness of Kaid Mohamed all thrown back in.
You could see why Gillingham have been hard to beat away. The imposing figure of Nelson in goal, two decent full-backs in Martin and Fish; Barrett's experience at the back. Then, on the counter, Whelpdale and Lee supporting the target man in Kedwell and the elusive Burton.
The first half was pretty nip and tuck. We struggled to get behind them as Martin was coping with McGlashan and Fish doing the same with Mo.
Only once did it happen, when Pack put a fantastic pass - probably the ball of the season - between Barrett and Martin, McGlashan got on to it and sent a ball across the six-yard box which no one could convert.
Most of our efforts were from long-range, Taylor having the best, forcing Nelson to push it away, while at the other end a Kedwell overhead kick was tipped over by Brown.
Nelson went into the game with 18 clean sheets to Brown's 16, so it was never going to be a 4-4 draw - a one-goal game was always likely.
The loss of Martin before half-time was a plus for us as he was not only looking after McGlashan, but also getting forward well to back up Whelpdale and Lee on our right-hand side.
Frampton dropped into left-back and was nowhere near as effective, allowing McGlashan, Jombati and, at times, Penn to get more joy down that side.
We were the better side in the second half. Our midfield, with Penn a lionheart and Taylor (in his best game for us so far) a more than able lieutenant, was on top, and in Harrison we had a willing worker up front.
Nothing against Paul Benson, but Harrison is much more suited to that 'lone frontrunner' role.
He chased lost causes, won flick-ons, kept the centre-backs busy, was a target and outlet when we need one, and brought others into play. I can see why Yates was so keen to get him here and I am sure he will become a real asset to us.
I know he has only got one goal, and I know the jury is still out for those who judge strikers solely by how many goals they score whilst ignoring how hard they work, how they run the channels, how they bring others into the game, create space for runners, how they occupy defenders and all the other traits a good striker has, but I am convinced the goals will come for him.
There was another key figure in the game though. The referee. The Gills fans were not impressed, and their chant suggesting he was the man of the match, soon after Michael Hector was announced as the sponsors' choice, was good, sharp banter - and I have some sympathy.
Mr Allen was irate at a tackle by Mo on Charlie Lee, which left the Gills man down, and eventually forced him off. I thought it was a bit late, and Mo was lucky to get away with it, as was Penn for a challenge on Burton as he went through.
Also, Pack fired a free-kick into touch but was given another chance for an apparent rolling ball (how often are those brought back??), and when Brown made a hash of a clearance, he was let off the hook by an alleged foul by Burton.
No doubt in my mind that we did get the rub of the green from Mr Ward in that second half - but we've earned it over the course of the season...
The goal which decided it for us was a great header after Penn won a corner. Billy Jones did what he does best - fired the ball in to the near post, and Michael Hector did the rest, rising to find the postage stamp in the top corner. Unstoppable.
There were one or two little scares, notably Fish's cross-cum-shot which Brown tipped over, but otherwise Gillingham, even after going to 4-3-3, did not really threaten an equaliser, and but for Nelson's great block from Penn, we would have had a second.
I am going to give Nelson the credit for a good save rather than blame Russ for not scoring - and Mo deserves praise for a great run, and then looking up to see Russ and playing him in with a great pass.
Our win, and Port Vale's draw means we also stopped them taking the title, for now. So it prevented any worries about Mr Allen and his team celebrating on our pitch.
They will win the title, and good luck to them - over the course of the season they have been the best team, as the table shows - but we have taken four points from them, and kept two clean sheets.
That's more points than we took from York, or Accrington, or Dagenham, or Plymouth.
It just goes to highlight the inconsistency. No other team in League Two has lost less home games than our two, yet the away record is 11 points from 48.
One week we surrender meekly to a Plymouth team which could play Welling United next season, the next we play with pride, passion and drive against a Gillingham team, which might be facing Wolves.
That's why we are still sitting here chewing fingernails and pulling out what little hair we have left.
You cannot put your finger on it. Yates has been accused of picking the wrong team sometimes (but don't ask him about it in radio interviews...!!) but surely it has to be also down to the mindset of the players on occasions. The manager can only do so much.
Once they cross the white line and all that...
Whatever it is, we got it right on Saturday, and need to bottle it for Exeter next weekend, and then Bradford. Six points from those games and we might see Mr Allen back here again next season...
I won't be at Exeter, and am gutted to miss my first game of the season, but it's my Mum's 80th birthday, so that has to come first.
Instead of sitting next to Pete in the St James' Park commentary box, I will be talking with family members I haven't seen for years with the radio commentary in my ears, hoping that we keep the dream alive for that Bradford game, which, if results fall right, could end up being a top-three shoot-out. Now that would be special.
I've already booked May 2 off work for the play-off final first leg, but that is one day that I wouldn't mind making the trip up the M5 to Worcester for a day sat at my desk.
Oh - and Martin, hope you enjoyed reading this...!
As soon as the whistle went, off came the headphones, down went the mic, and I allowed myself three or four fistpumps. Not very professional, but there you go.
It wasn't just because of the bloke in the away dugout and how he took my football club to the brink - it was also about the bloke in our dugout and his players showing they were not the pushovers some of us thought they were seven days before.
It was also about the fans, who came out in good numbers and yes, gave you-know-who some verbals but more importantly, also raised the noise for their team and made for a cracking atmosphere. So, can we hear you every week??
But anyway, back to him - let's get this out of the way and then talk about what really matters, our team, our players and our prospects for the next two games.
 |
| Martin Allen and I having our post-match chat |
Mr Allen was coming out of the away dugout where he had been conducting his post-match interview, and Jon Palmer, Peter Matthews and myself were waiting to talk to Michael Hector, Scott Brown and Russ Penn about our win.
He spotted us, and (grinning from ear to ear I hasten to add) he said: "Mark Halliwell - you've been writing some things about me, haven't you, you naughty boy...."
"You've read them then Martin," I replied. "Yes," he said.
"What did you think?"
He thought for a second, and said: "Some of it was correct. Some of it was unfair I thought, and some I wish you'd rung and had a conversation about."
Not really the idea when you are writing a blog, I thought, and I said: "Would you have told me about it all?"
"Not really as I signed a piece of paper when I left so I can't talk about it, but it will all be in my book," to which I replied "I look forward to reading it." He offered his hand, so I shook it.
My next thought was firstly that if he signed a confidentiality agreement what would the point have been in me phoning him, and also how he could conceivably write a book about it... but there you go.
He then went on to say he had a 's..t team' when he was with us. No s..t Sherlock. It's taken us the past three years to recover from it, and Saturday's win was cathartic as it got over the obstacle of him coming back here and also showed in spades what a better club we are now.
Mr Allen's record in the away dugout at Whaddon is now played two, lost two, scored nought, conceded six, and he finished by saying "Your team played bloody well today though." For once, how right he was.
Whether it was all another of his PR stunts, or a series soundbites to try and appease our fans into giving him an easier ride, his pre-match admission that he made mistakes and did not do a good job when he was here was also good to hear.
It was never going to stop the abuse he got, and, let's face it, he deserved it. But I was glad that it did not go on and on throughout the match, and that the fans listened to Mark Yates' call to channel the noise towards those in ruby.
But Saturday was not all about him. It was our last chance to stay in the top-three chase. Lose, and we could forget it, draw and it was probably the end of the line, but win and it was still very much on.
Our 18-match home record on the line against a promoted side, beaten once away from home, and hoping to be crowned champions, backed by 1400 fans and with our supporters having a pantomime villain to hiss and boo at. It all added up to a cracker, and that's what we got.
I thought it was the best game I have seen all season, and it was definitely our best 90 minutes.
After the Home Park shambles, we looked like a team on a mission. Our players were fired up, as if they knew how much this meant to the fans, and that they knew this was the last-chance saloon.
Four changes... The grit of Russ Penn and Jason Taylor, the steadiness of the boyhood Gillingham fan Billy Jones, and the directness of Kaid Mohamed all thrown back in.
You could see why Gillingham have been hard to beat away. The imposing figure of Nelson in goal, two decent full-backs in Martin and Fish; Barrett's experience at the back. Then, on the counter, Whelpdale and Lee supporting the target man in Kedwell and the elusive Burton.
The first half was pretty nip and tuck. We struggled to get behind them as Martin was coping with McGlashan and Fish doing the same with Mo.
Only once did it happen, when Pack put a fantastic pass - probably the ball of the season - between Barrett and Martin, McGlashan got on to it and sent a ball across the six-yard box which no one could convert.
Most of our efforts were from long-range, Taylor having the best, forcing Nelson to push it away, while at the other end a Kedwell overhead kick was tipped over by Brown.
Nelson went into the game with 18 clean sheets to Brown's 16, so it was never going to be a 4-4 draw - a one-goal game was always likely.
The loss of Martin before half-time was a plus for us as he was not only looking after McGlashan, but also getting forward well to back up Whelpdale and Lee on our right-hand side.
Frampton dropped into left-back and was nowhere near as effective, allowing McGlashan, Jombati and, at times, Penn to get more joy down that side.
We were the better side in the second half. Our midfield, with Penn a lionheart and Taylor (in his best game for us so far) a more than able lieutenant, was on top, and in Harrison we had a willing worker up front.
Nothing against Paul Benson, but Harrison is much more suited to that 'lone frontrunner' role.
He chased lost causes, won flick-ons, kept the centre-backs busy, was a target and outlet when we need one, and brought others into play. I can see why Yates was so keen to get him here and I am sure he will become a real asset to us.
I know he has only got one goal, and I know the jury is still out for those who judge strikers solely by how many goals they score whilst ignoring how hard they work, how they run the channels, how they bring others into the game, create space for runners, how they occupy defenders and all the other traits a good striker has, but I am convinced the goals will come for him.
There was another key figure in the game though. The referee. The Gills fans were not impressed, and their chant suggesting he was the man of the match, soon after Michael Hector was announced as the sponsors' choice, was good, sharp banter - and I have some sympathy.
Mr Allen was irate at a tackle by Mo on Charlie Lee, which left the Gills man down, and eventually forced him off. I thought it was a bit late, and Mo was lucky to get away with it, as was Penn for a challenge on Burton as he went through.
Also, Pack fired a free-kick into touch but was given another chance for an apparent rolling ball (how often are those brought back??), and when Brown made a hash of a clearance, he was let off the hook by an alleged foul by Burton.
No doubt in my mind that we did get the rub of the green from Mr Ward in that second half - but we've earned it over the course of the season...
The goal which decided it for us was a great header after Penn won a corner. Billy Jones did what he does best - fired the ball in to the near post, and Michael Hector did the rest, rising to find the postage stamp in the top corner. Unstoppable.
There were one or two little scares, notably Fish's cross-cum-shot which Brown tipped over, but otherwise Gillingham, even after going to 4-3-3, did not really threaten an equaliser, and but for Nelson's great block from Penn, we would have had a second.
I am going to give Nelson the credit for a good save rather than blame Russ for not scoring - and Mo deserves praise for a great run, and then looking up to see Russ and playing him in with a great pass.
Our win, and Port Vale's draw means we also stopped them taking the title, for now. So it prevented any worries about Mr Allen and his team celebrating on our pitch.
They will win the title, and good luck to them - over the course of the season they have been the best team, as the table shows - but we have taken four points from them, and kept two clean sheets.
That's more points than we took from York, or Accrington, or Dagenham, or Plymouth.
It just goes to highlight the inconsistency. No other team in League Two has lost less home games than our two, yet the away record is 11 points from 48.
One week we surrender meekly to a Plymouth team which could play Welling United next season, the next we play with pride, passion and drive against a Gillingham team, which might be facing Wolves.
That's why we are still sitting here chewing fingernails and pulling out what little hair we have left.
You cannot put your finger on it. Yates has been accused of picking the wrong team sometimes (but don't ask him about it in radio interviews...!!) but surely it has to be also down to the mindset of the players on occasions. The manager can only do so much.
Once they cross the white line and all that...
Whatever it is, we got it right on Saturday, and need to bottle it for Exeter next weekend, and then Bradford. Six points from those games and we might see Mr Allen back here again next season...
I won't be at Exeter, and am gutted to miss my first game of the season, but it's my Mum's 80th birthday, so that has to come first.
Instead of sitting next to Pete in the St James' Park commentary box, I will be talking with family members I haven't seen for years with the radio commentary in my ears, hoping that we keep the dream alive for that Bradford game, which, if results fall right, could end up being a top-three shoot-out. Now that would be special.
I've already booked May 2 off work for the play-off final first leg, but that is one day that I wouldn't mind making the trip up the M5 to Worcester for a day sat at my desk.
Oh - and Martin, hope you enjoyed reading this...!
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Top three gone?
Three games to go, and after a topsy-turvy few weeks which has polarised our inconsistency perfectly even I - the eternal optimist - is ready to accept that automatic promotion has gone.
Recently, we have brushed Rotherham aside, and battled past Northampton - two good results against rivals for a top-three place, where we looked like true candidates ... but then we have gone to Burton and started well before gifting them the points, doing the same at Port Vale after a stirring comeback.
But it was at Plymouth on Saturday where the door finally closed. As insipid a performance as we have seen all season, up there with the surrenders at Rochdale and Chesterfield and the slogfest at Dagenham for the moniker of 'worst display of the season'
However, Home Park is only one of the games we will look back on at the end of the season and say 'if only...'.
A look at the table sees Argyle, Accrington, Aldershot, York and Dagenham as five of the teams still looking over their shoulders, unable as yet to put away the directions to Braintree and Alfreton.
Since Christmas, we have played all five - Argyle, Accrington ad Dagenham away, and York and Aldershot at home, and picked up three points from 15. These are the 'if only' games.
Yes, I know if we win our last three games, we could still sneak in, but are there many out there who can see our Jekyll and Hyde side beating champions-elect Gillingham, a maverick Exeter who seem to have the deckchairs out already and a resurgent Bradford team who seem to be this season's Crewe? I don't think so.
I hate being negative about our chances. It is not in my mindset, and I would love to be sat here on April 28, extremely hung over eulogising about our season and hailing Yatesy and the players as heroes.
I know teams around us still have to play each other - but looking back at it we should not be in the position where we are relying on others for handouts.
I just can't see it - and, let's face it, does a frustratingly and at times ridiculously inconsistent team like we have really deserve that ultimate accolade of a top-three finish.
We have done half the job. An 18-match unbeaten home record is fantastic and has not got the credit it deserves, mainly because on the flip side our form away from home has been so dreadful.
Our home record is the third best in the division - away from home we sit 16th. On the road we have the same number of points (23) as the bottom two, York and Aldershot.
The first six away games brought three wins and three draws - since then, we have won two away games (Northampton and Southend) since October - in that time taking 11 points from a possible 48 on the road - won two, drawn five, lost nine.
I am not going to go into the whys and wherefores, wondering if it is all down to the manager's tactics and team selections, player mindsets, or blaming overnight stays, players missing team buses or whatever - but that is where the automatic promotion bus has been missed.
Our home record is better than last season's at the same point (13-6-2 compared to 11-5-5) but away from home we had a record of 9-3-9 at this point, compared to 5-8-9.
The overall points tally is the same - we also had 68 points at this time last season, but from one fewer game, and we are one place better off in the table this time around.
Is it a poorer league this season? Maybe, but I think it is a more even league. That is borne out by the scrap at the bottom, where the usual first target of 50 points for survival may not even be enough this time around.
Aldershot are bottom on 45, and Dagenham, who have 51, cannot yet consider themselves truly safe from the drop.
Going back through the teams I have seen, I cannot say there has been one or two really poor sides. Practically all of the sides we have played have been tough nuts to crack, or have played well against us, at least in patches of the game.
Wycombe in the two games we played them were probably the worst side, yet they sit happily in mid-table not going up or down.
It really has been a curate's egg of a season. From one week to the next, we have not known what we are going to get from our team - and even during matches a good start has turned into a dismal finish or vice versa.
The same side which battled its way to beat Northampton then surrendered meekly at Plymouth; a team which could have been four down at Vale then hit back to lead before giving it all away again. Is it any wonder fans and managers lose their rag sometimes...?
Overall is not automatic promotion credentials and is why we are looking at the play-off lottery once again as our salvation, unless we can win the last three...
One more win should be enough to cement us in that top seven. Of those outside the zone, Chesterfield and Exeter can get 72 points, Fleetwood and Southend 69, with us on 68, but if we get to 71 that should be that.
It goes without saying that Saturday would be the sweetest time to get that sorted. Yes, they are going to win the league and everyone's favourite former manager will win some silverware but it would be nice to end their long unbeaten away run.
I am not going back over why the Gillingham manager is not my cup of tea (I did that HERE) and I am sure our Radio Glos effects mic will be busy on Saturday but in all the willingness to give him some much deserved flak, I hope people remember our players need backing to win an important game.
We will need to go into the play-offs (if that's where we end up) with some momentum, and a win over the champions-elect would be a good way to start.
Recently, we have brushed Rotherham aside, and battled past Northampton - two good results against rivals for a top-three place, where we looked like true candidates ... but then we have gone to Burton and started well before gifting them the points, doing the same at Port Vale after a stirring comeback.
But it was at Plymouth on Saturday where the door finally closed. As insipid a performance as we have seen all season, up there with the surrenders at Rochdale and Chesterfield and the slogfest at Dagenham for the moniker of 'worst display of the season'
However, Home Park is only one of the games we will look back on at the end of the season and say 'if only...'.
A look at the table sees Argyle, Accrington, Aldershot, York and Dagenham as five of the teams still looking over their shoulders, unable as yet to put away the directions to Braintree and Alfreton.
Since Christmas, we have played all five - Argyle, Accrington ad Dagenham away, and York and Aldershot at home, and picked up three points from 15. These are the 'if only' games.
Yes, I know if we win our last three games, we could still sneak in, but are there many out there who can see our Jekyll and Hyde side beating champions-elect Gillingham, a maverick Exeter who seem to have the deckchairs out already and a resurgent Bradford team who seem to be this season's Crewe? I don't think so.
I hate being negative about our chances. It is not in my mindset, and I would love to be sat here on April 28, extremely hung over eulogising about our season and hailing Yatesy and the players as heroes.
I know teams around us still have to play each other - but looking back at it we should not be in the position where we are relying on others for handouts.
I just can't see it - and, let's face it, does a frustratingly and at times ridiculously inconsistent team like we have really deserve that ultimate accolade of a top-three finish.
We have done half the job. An 18-match unbeaten home record is fantastic and has not got the credit it deserves, mainly because on the flip side our form away from home has been so dreadful.
Our home record is the third best in the division - away from home we sit 16th. On the road we have the same number of points (23) as the bottom two, York and Aldershot.
The first six away games brought three wins and three draws - since then, we have won two away games (Northampton and Southend) since October - in that time taking 11 points from a possible 48 on the road - won two, drawn five, lost nine.
I am not going to go into the whys and wherefores, wondering if it is all down to the manager's tactics and team selections, player mindsets, or blaming overnight stays, players missing team buses or whatever - but that is where the automatic promotion bus has been missed.
Our home record is better than last season's at the same point (13-6-2 compared to 11-5-5) but away from home we had a record of 9-3-9 at this point, compared to 5-8-9.
The overall points tally is the same - we also had 68 points at this time last season, but from one fewer game, and we are one place better off in the table this time around.
Is it a poorer league this season? Maybe, but I think it is a more even league. That is borne out by the scrap at the bottom, where the usual first target of 50 points for survival may not even be enough this time around.
Aldershot are bottom on 45, and Dagenham, who have 51, cannot yet consider themselves truly safe from the drop.
Going back through the teams I have seen, I cannot say there has been one or two really poor sides. Practically all of the sides we have played have been tough nuts to crack, or have played well against us, at least in patches of the game.
Wycombe in the two games we played them were probably the worst side, yet they sit happily in mid-table not going up or down.
It really has been a curate's egg of a season. From one week to the next, we have not known what we are going to get from our team - and even during matches a good start has turned into a dismal finish or vice versa.
The same side which battled its way to beat Northampton then surrendered meekly at Plymouth; a team which could have been four down at Vale then hit back to lead before giving it all away again. Is it any wonder fans and managers lose their rag sometimes...?
Overall is not automatic promotion credentials and is why we are looking at the play-off lottery once again as our salvation, unless we can win the last three...
One more win should be enough to cement us in that top seven. Of those outside the zone, Chesterfield and Exeter can get 72 points, Fleetwood and Southend 69, with us on 68, but if we get to 71 that should be that.
It goes without saying that Saturday would be the sweetest time to get that sorted. Yes, they are going to win the league and everyone's favourite former manager will win some silverware but it would be nice to end their long unbeaten away run.
I am not going back over why the Gillingham manager is not my cup of tea (I did that HERE) and I am sure our Radio Glos effects mic will be busy on Saturday but in all the willingness to give him some much deserved flak, I hope people remember our players need backing to win an important game.
We will need to go into the play-offs (if that's where we end up) with some momentum, and a win over the champions-elect would be a good way to start.
Friday, 8 March 2013
Swings and roundabouts
A few weeks ago, we all trudged out of Whaddon Road shaking our heads in disbelief after Ollie Norburn's thunderbolt soared past Scott Brown, carrying two precious promotion points with it into the net.
That old footballing adage says that these things even themselves out - and that's what happened on Tuesday when Paul Benson's header glanced past Tommy Lee, and we got those two points back - just like we did when Chris Zebroski scored late on to sink Burton, effectively cancelling out Fleetwood's late leveller earlier in the season.
There is another on that list of pretty annoying sayings surrounding the game, that one about 'finding a way to win' or 'grinding out a result'. No doubting that this was one of those.
As 'precious wins' go, this was right up there, as, let's face it, it was time to think of all those adjectives to describe a bad game, and multiply them by 100. That's how bad it was.
I can't recall Lee or Scott Brown being really stretched to make a save throughout the 90 minutes. I also can't recall either side having a concerted spell of pressure or building up anything vaguely resembling a head of steam.
Ok you get the drift. It was pretty rubbish. But we won, and kept a clean sheet, so we can (sort of) put the memory of the dire fare to one side.
Among the 'highlights' of the opening 91 minutes was the performance of Chesterfield's Mario Balotelli clone Armand Gnanduillet, a rangy striker, and another of these French/Afrcian youngsters who somehow manage to pop up in lower division football, a la Mathieu Manset and others.
He was one of those players so unpredictable that you did not know what he was going to do - and I sensed that he wasn't sure either.
Therefore, he was a handful for Michael Hector and Steve Elliott, who had to be on their guard in case he fell over the ball, which he did a couple of times, or looked capable of pinging in a 35-yard screamer, which, thankfully, he didn't.
I thought we started brightly, with Sam Deering again at the heart of it, and he is now rivalling Jermaine McGlashan as the man who can do no wrong in most supporters' eyes.
He was everywhere in the first 20-25 minutes, but then Chesterfield did a good job of nullifying him, and as the game wore on he struggled to have the same impact.
The same could be said for the rest of our midfield. Marlon Pack had the quietest game since all the Swindon furore died down. Darren Carter was also peripheral, and Russ Penn and Jason Taylor also toiled away to little effect.
That was no help to Benson, who admitted to me after the game here that was pretty rubbish, and if he had been in Mark Yates' shoes would have substituted himself. Good job you are not the gaffer Benno.
As it was, the eventual victory was based on the rock-like displays of Hector and Elliott at the back, and although flavour-of-the-month Deering rather predictably got the man-of-the-match awards I would have chosen one of these two.
As well as Monsieur Gnanduillet, they had our old target and nemesis Marc Richards to look after, then that wily old fox Jack Lester, who had one shot on the turn just wide, and they carried on from where they left off on Saturday, when Gary Alexander was effectively shut out.
They protected Brown superbly, and fully deserved their first clean sheet as a partnership, and let's hope they can keep a few more in the coming crucial weeks.
Overall, I didn't feel was passed it as well as we have in the previous two games with this starting 11 and formation.
Yatesy gave his view as to the reason for that - the worn Whaddon Road pitch, and I hope that doesn't become a convenient excuse if we falter in the coming crucial home games.
Same for both sides, and all that... and, let's face it, we cannot expect to be playing on a carpet in early March after w inter of snow, rain and frost, no matter whether we share the ground these days or not. Terry Roberts is very good at his job, but a miracle worker he is not.
A quick look at the Football League Show on a Saturday would tell you that there are far worse surfaces than ours elsewhere in the League - imagine if we had Blackpool's pitch for instance.
Promotion-chasing sides have to adapt to whatever is put in front of them - and it's not going to get any better between now and late April, so we have to get on with it.
Yatesy did get his substitutions right however, and they were all positive changes which improved our performance.
Benson looked happier with Byron Harrison next to him, and I thought Harrison was a good physical presence, winning some flick-ons and showing a good touch on occasions as well.
I know some have already started to write him off as he hasn't scored yet but he is still bedding into the team and system and deserves more time to prove himself. Whether he will get it, we will have to see.
McGlashan has been disappointing in my view recently, but did give us a spark and occupied the Chesterfield defence a bit more.
One terrific turn of speed got the left-back a booking and at last we looked capable of getting behind them and creating something clear-cut.
But all night our final ball, and especially our crossing was a disappointment - bar the one from Billy in the last minute, when our third sub, Kaid Mohamed, put him in down the left.
The celebrations after Benson's goal were superb, and considering there was little over 2,000 home fans in the ground, everyone made good noise.
It was also fitting for my BBC Gloucestershire colleague Ian Randall to be able to describe the goal in the final minute of his final commentary with the station. A nice moment.
The goal kept the positive runs going - unbeaten in six, one defeat in 12, unbeaten in 16 at home (won 10 drawn 6), and back to back wins for the first time since Barnet and Northampton were beaten before Christmas.
But now it is crunch time.
Burton tomorrow, and Rotherham next Saturday as we start our final nine games, with six against rest of the top seven, and one against Bradford, who aren't out of it yet.
In between those games, we sit out due to the National Hunt festival having played Chesterfield a week early, while the rest of the division plays, so we might slip out of third spot.
Unless Southend and Fleetwood buck their ideas up, and Bradford use their games in hand well, then the top seven is starting to take shape, and it is just a case of what order they will finish in.
Last March, we saw our top-three hopes come unstuck. This time around, we have a chance to make amends, and results-wise we have started well...
That old footballing adage says that these things even themselves out - and that's what happened on Tuesday when Paul Benson's header glanced past Tommy Lee, and we got those two points back - just like we did when Chris Zebroski scored late on to sink Burton, effectively cancelling out Fleetwood's late leveller earlier in the season.
There is another on that list of pretty annoying sayings surrounding the game, that one about 'finding a way to win' or 'grinding out a result'. No doubting that this was one of those.
As 'precious wins' go, this was right up there, as, let's face it, it was time to think of all those adjectives to describe a bad game, and multiply them by 100. That's how bad it was.
I can't recall Lee or Scott Brown being really stretched to make a save throughout the 90 minutes. I also can't recall either side having a concerted spell of pressure or building up anything vaguely resembling a head of steam.
Ok you get the drift. It was pretty rubbish. But we won, and kept a clean sheet, so we can (sort of) put the memory of the dire fare to one side.
Among the 'highlights' of the opening 91 minutes was the performance of Chesterfield's Mario Balotelli clone Armand Gnanduillet, a rangy striker, and another of these French/Afrcian youngsters who somehow manage to pop up in lower division football, a la Mathieu Manset and others.
He was one of those players so unpredictable that you did not know what he was going to do - and I sensed that he wasn't sure either.
Therefore, he was a handful for Michael Hector and Steve Elliott, who had to be on their guard in case he fell over the ball, which he did a couple of times, or looked capable of pinging in a 35-yard screamer, which, thankfully, he didn't.
I thought we started brightly, with Sam Deering again at the heart of it, and he is now rivalling Jermaine McGlashan as the man who can do no wrong in most supporters' eyes.
He was everywhere in the first 20-25 minutes, but then Chesterfield did a good job of nullifying him, and as the game wore on he struggled to have the same impact.
The same could be said for the rest of our midfield. Marlon Pack had the quietest game since all the Swindon furore died down. Darren Carter was also peripheral, and Russ Penn and Jason Taylor also toiled away to little effect.
That was no help to Benson, who admitted to me after the game here that was pretty rubbish, and if he had been in Mark Yates' shoes would have substituted himself. Good job you are not the gaffer Benno.
As it was, the eventual victory was based on the rock-like displays of Hector and Elliott at the back, and although flavour-of-the-month Deering rather predictably got the man-of-the-match awards I would have chosen one of these two.
As well as Monsieur Gnanduillet, they had our old target and nemesis Marc Richards to look after, then that wily old fox Jack Lester, who had one shot on the turn just wide, and they carried on from where they left off on Saturday, when Gary Alexander was effectively shut out.
They protected Brown superbly, and fully deserved their first clean sheet as a partnership, and let's hope they can keep a few more in the coming crucial weeks.
Overall, I didn't feel was passed it as well as we have in the previous two games with this starting 11 and formation.
Yatesy gave his view as to the reason for that - the worn Whaddon Road pitch, and I hope that doesn't become a convenient excuse if we falter in the coming crucial home games.
Same for both sides, and all that... and, let's face it, we cannot expect to be playing on a carpet in early March after w inter of snow, rain and frost, no matter whether we share the ground these days or not. Terry Roberts is very good at his job, but a miracle worker he is not.
A quick look at the Football League Show on a Saturday would tell you that there are far worse surfaces than ours elsewhere in the League - imagine if we had Blackpool's pitch for instance.
Promotion-chasing sides have to adapt to whatever is put in front of them - and it's not going to get any better between now and late April, so we have to get on with it.
Yatesy did get his substitutions right however, and they were all positive changes which improved our performance.
Benson looked happier with Byron Harrison next to him, and I thought Harrison was a good physical presence, winning some flick-ons and showing a good touch on occasions as well.
I know some have already started to write him off as he hasn't scored yet but he is still bedding into the team and system and deserves more time to prove himself. Whether he will get it, we will have to see.
McGlashan has been disappointing in my view recently, but did give us a spark and occupied the Chesterfield defence a bit more.
One terrific turn of speed got the left-back a booking and at last we looked capable of getting behind them and creating something clear-cut.
But all night our final ball, and especially our crossing was a disappointment - bar the one from Billy in the last minute, when our third sub, Kaid Mohamed, put him in down the left.
The celebrations after Benson's goal were superb, and considering there was little over 2,000 home fans in the ground, everyone made good noise.
It was also fitting for my BBC Gloucestershire colleague Ian Randall to be able to describe the goal in the final minute of his final commentary with the station. A nice moment.
The goal kept the positive runs going - unbeaten in six, one defeat in 12, unbeaten in 16 at home (won 10 drawn 6), and back to back wins for the first time since Barnet and Northampton were beaten before Christmas.
But now it is crunch time.
Burton tomorrow, and Rotherham next Saturday as we start our final nine games, with six against rest of the top seven, and one against Bradford, who aren't out of it yet.
In between those games, we sit out due to the National Hunt festival having played Chesterfield a week early, while the rest of the division plays, so we might slip out of third spot.
Unless Southend and Fleetwood buck their ideas up, and Bradford use their games in hand well, then the top seven is starting to take shape, and it is just a case of what order they will finish in.
Last March, we saw our top-three hopes come unstuck. This time around, we have a chance to make amends, and results-wise we have started well...
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Serving up a win
Sorry Benno - it was great to see you back at Whaddon, but we needed the win.
It didn't matter to me how it happened, the most important thing was to get the three points.
As it turned out, we played well for about an hour, before our Achilles heel of conceding poor goals made the last third of the game very jittery, but we got there.
Over the past few weeks, the run of frustrating, contrasting draws seemed to lead to a lot of faith in the team's promotion chances ebbing away bit by bit amongst many supporters.
Anything but a win here could have made that drip-drip effect into a torrent, and - with other sides having a lot of games in hand - it might have spelt the death knell for top three chances.
However, such is the ridiculously inconsistent nature of the division that the win was combined with some slip-ups for many of the teams around us, and we now find ourselves back to within a point of third place, and seven points clear of eighth.
This game was even more important as we have still got to play all of the other teams in the top seven, along with Bradford, who I am not ruling out, so this was one of the few games against 'lower' clubs.
After the game at Fleetwood, I mused about possible changes, and whether Mark Yates would go for a second striker. I wanted him to keep the same side, and he did.
But as I walked on to the gantry before the game, a fan stopped me and asked "why are we playing one striker at home." I argued that this team had played well on Tuesday, and looked much more dangerous than in recent weeks, but he wasn't having it... and it is a debate which is sure to rumble on and on.
We needed the early goal, and got it - Billy Jones finding his range and Steve Elliott's unmarked head from about six yards for a goal.
After that, we settled down and started to dominate passing and territory, but never really threatened Neil Sullivan's goal.
Once again, as he had been on Tuesday, Sam Deering was at the heart of it, buzzing around, finding space and looking to be the link between Paul Benson and the midfield.
Given the insurance of Jason Taylor behind him, Marlon Pack was finding his range, with one exquisite half-volley pass a particular highlight.
Taylor, Russ Penn and Darren Carter were also prominent, and it seemed that we were looking comfortable - but still not finding that real threat on goal.
Such is the dilemma of the one-up-front-or-two conundrum. Benson was working hard as usual, but not getting much change out of the defenders, or many real sights of goal.
Most of our chances were coming from midfielders, or defenders getting on the end of set-pieces. While we won the game this time, against 'better' opposition you feel we need to find a solution.
The threat from Wimbledon in the first half was negligible. I expected more from Gary Alexander, but Elliott and Michael Hector did a good job to keep him quiet.
Jack Midson was, for some reason, playing out wide, and although Jesse Darko started brightly, I thought he faded pretty quickly, while Luke Moore was not in the game much.
Most of my first-half frustration was on the referee - he should have booked Harry Pell for clattering Deering, and gave Sammy Moore about three warnings, while Penn was also lucky to escape a yellow.
But he kept his cards in his pocket - then after the break for about 15 minutes, decided to book everything that moved - most ridiculously of all Carter, for colliding with Pim Balkestein, and none of the yellows were as bad - in my view - as Pell's challenge on Deering.
It is this inconsistency which maddens supporters, and I haven't even started on the penalty we should have had when Penn was tripped.
The priority for me after the break was a second goal - and it took 11 minutes to arrive, after a great ball from Hector (a long ball...) to Penn. He burrowed sideways along the 18-yard line before finding Carter, who produced a superb finish. It also kept him on the pitch as Yatesy had Kaid Mohamed ready to replace him.
That should have been that, but come on, you didn't expect it to be that easy did you?
Credit to Neil Ardley for his substitutions, but I was left wondering why Kevin Saint-Luce (in particular) and Brennan Dickenson hadn't started the game.
Dickenson scored with his first touch after Deering allowed Chris Hussey to get possession too easily and he burst forward. His cross was allowed to find the incoming Dickenson, and to be fair to him it was an excellent finish.
Not surprisingly, they had their tails up, and we faced a battle, with Saint-Luce giving Jones problems, and but for a horrendous miss from the usually lethal Midson we could have lost two points.
But this time, the fortune went with us, and, but for some better passing and decisions on the counter-attack, we could have had a third.
Two such examples saw Taylor guilty when he and Mohamed broke away, but the pass was poor, then Deering shot from an impossible angle with Byron Harrison waiting for a tap-in.
A couple of crosses went begging with no one in the box, and a bit more thought is needed from some players in those positions. Such openings cannot be squandered against the likes of Rotherham, Gillingham and Northampton in the coming weeks.
It was nervy stuff, and it should not have been, but we held out and got the win, Alan Bennett got the ovation he deserved from the fans, and now we go on to Chesterfield tonight.
Five games at home, no wins and no goals is hardly the best omen, but another win tonight and we really will have something to play for in the coming games.
Paul Cook's Accrington and Chesterfield teams have had a bit of an Indian sign over us, but these sorts of records have to be forgotten about and broken.
From now on in, it's all about the wins, and another one tonight would be priceless.
It didn't matter to me how it happened, the most important thing was to get the three points.
As it turned out, we played well for about an hour, before our Achilles heel of conceding poor goals made the last third of the game very jittery, but we got there.
Over the past few weeks, the run of frustrating, contrasting draws seemed to lead to a lot of faith in the team's promotion chances ebbing away bit by bit amongst many supporters.
Anything but a win here could have made that drip-drip effect into a torrent, and - with other sides having a lot of games in hand - it might have spelt the death knell for top three chances.
However, such is the ridiculously inconsistent nature of the division that the win was combined with some slip-ups for many of the teams around us, and we now find ourselves back to within a point of third place, and seven points clear of eighth.
This game was even more important as we have still got to play all of the other teams in the top seven, along with Bradford, who I am not ruling out, so this was one of the few games against 'lower' clubs.
After the game at Fleetwood, I mused about possible changes, and whether Mark Yates would go for a second striker. I wanted him to keep the same side, and he did.
But as I walked on to the gantry before the game, a fan stopped me and asked "why are we playing one striker at home." I argued that this team had played well on Tuesday, and looked much more dangerous than in recent weeks, but he wasn't having it... and it is a debate which is sure to rumble on and on.
We needed the early goal, and got it - Billy Jones finding his range and Steve Elliott's unmarked head from about six yards for a goal.
After that, we settled down and started to dominate passing and territory, but never really threatened Neil Sullivan's goal.
Once again, as he had been on Tuesday, Sam Deering was at the heart of it, buzzing around, finding space and looking to be the link between Paul Benson and the midfield.
Given the insurance of Jason Taylor behind him, Marlon Pack was finding his range, with one exquisite half-volley pass a particular highlight.
Taylor, Russ Penn and Darren Carter were also prominent, and it seemed that we were looking comfortable - but still not finding that real threat on goal.
Such is the dilemma of the one-up-front-or-two conundrum. Benson was working hard as usual, but not getting much change out of the defenders, or many real sights of goal.
Most of our chances were coming from midfielders, or defenders getting on the end of set-pieces. While we won the game this time, against 'better' opposition you feel we need to find a solution.
The threat from Wimbledon in the first half was negligible. I expected more from Gary Alexander, but Elliott and Michael Hector did a good job to keep him quiet.
Jack Midson was, for some reason, playing out wide, and although Jesse Darko started brightly, I thought he faded pretty quickly, while Luke Moore was not in the game much.
Most of my first-half frustration was on the referee - he should have booked Harry Pell for clattering Deering, and gave Sammy Moore about three warnings, while Penn was also lucky to escape a yellow.
But he kept his cards in his pocket - then after the break for about 15 minutes, decided to book everything that moved - most ridiculously of all Carter, for colliding with Pim Balkestein, and none of the yellows were as bad - in my view - as Pell's challenge on Deering.
It is this inconsistency which maddens supporters, and I haven't even started on the penalty we should have had when Penn was tripped.
The priority for me after the break was a second goal - and it took 11 minutes to arrive, after a great ball from Hector (a long ball...) to Penn. He burrowed sideways along the 18-yard line before finding Carter, who produced a superb finish. It also kept him on the pitch as Yatesy had Kaid Mohamed ready to replace him.
That should have been that, but come on, you didn't expect it to be that easy did you?
Credit to Neil Ardley for his substitutions, but I was left wondering why Kevin Saint-Luce (in particular) and Brennan Dickenson hadn't started the game.
Dickenson scored with his first touch after Deering allowed Chris Hussey to get possession too easily and he burst forward. His cross was allowed to find the incoming Dickenson, and to be fair to him it was an excellent finish.
Not surprisingly, they had their tails up, and we faced a battle, with Saint-Luce giving Jones problems, and but for a horrendous miss from the usually lethal Midson we could have lost two points.
But this time, the fortune went with us, and, but for some better passing and decisions on the counter-attack, we could have had a third.
Two such examples saw Taylor guilty when he and Mohamed broke away, but the pass was poor, then Deering shot from an impossible angle with Byron Harrison waiting for a tap-in.
A couple of crosses went begging with no one in the box, and a bit more thought is needed from some players in those positions. Such openings cannot be squandered against the likes of Rotherham, Gillingham and Northampton in the coming weeks.
It was nervy stuff, and it should not have been, but we held out and got the win, Alan Bennett got the ovation he deserved from the fans, and now we go on to Chesterfield tonight.
Five games at home, no wins and no goals is hardly the best omen, but another win tonight and we really will have something to play for in the coming games.
Paul Cook's Accrington and Chesterfield teams have had a bit of an Indian sign over us, but these sorts of records have to be forgotten about and broken.
From now on in, it's all about the wins, and another one tonight would be priceless.
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