Harrow V Blues .. Scores

[Brightside Bloke]

HB 0 -1 BTFC OG 20 Min.

HB 1 - 1BTFC 37 Min.

HB 1 - 1BTFC HT

HB 2 - 1BTFC 65 Min.

HB 3 - 1BTFC 75 Min.

HB 3 - 1BTFC Full time.

 

 

 

 

 

[Simon BTFC]

Really angry about this one. No excuses - we got what we deserved and were rightly punished for not wanting the win enough. We were sloppy in front of goal and at the back, squandered a number of good chances and gave away some shocking goals. This is not the first time we have seen this kind of "performance" away from home - I make it the fifth (C*nv*y, Concord, Hastings and Ashford being the others) and that is not good enough.

[Adam.S]

I agree with Simon. We have no excuses, apart from the bench, we had a full strength squad out for today's game and we were definately capable of winning the game.

 

We need to be scoring! Especially with the chances we create but we are not doing that. Also at the back, why are we leaking goals again? Especially when we had 2 experienced centre back's, this should not happen, especially in the way we conceded today.

 

I don't understand why we changed formation at half time from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2.

 

We really have no excuses for today, even the ref was good I thought.

[Rick the Dick]

Most dissapointing. Moments of pure quality going forward, and spells in the first half where you'd have thought we'd win by a decent margin.

 

But an innability to convert the many great chances we created with our attacking play meant Harrow were always in the game. Our lack-lustre efforts on the few occasions they threatened our goal sealed our fate.

 

Not sure where we go from here.

 

Were Ferggie & Big Dunc injured?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Adam.S]

Yes rick, Ferguson and Big Dunc were both injured.

[Sticks]

Really should have been out of sight by the time Harrow equalised. There were so many decent opportunities squandered that we go what we deserved. I don't think a player wearing a white shirt would have scored if the game was still being played now.

 

A game that really should have been won if the play offs are / were a realistic target.

[Adam.S]

Tony 'Tash' has vowed not to go to any more games this seasaon due to the teams incredibly poor performance/attitude. He thinks certain players not giving 100%. Feels ripped off.

[jl]

For the first 15 minutes we looked quality but we made the mistake of taking the lead and proceded to down tools thereafter.

 

Harrow offered nothing in any department and yet they still came out comfortable winners. The only player who played well for us is playing for a move - that sums it up. As Simes mentioned (and I think you can add Hx in the Cup to them) we have suffered more than our fair share of away-day debacles this season so it is little surprise that the numbers of travelling fans is dwindling away.

 

I don't know whether we expect too much from our team, maybe we do, but I cannot accept that we are not at least as good as all of the teams listed on Simon's roll of shame.

 

Winning is difficult, losing is easy and in many departments we do not seem strong enough to be winners at the moment.

 

This train must be getting close to Epping.

 

Signing off

Not Happy Bunny

 

 

 

 

[GazzaBTFC]

Sorry but I findimentally disagree with the statement "we were rightly punished for not wanting the win enough". I don't believe that is true. I also disagree that you can put yesterdays game in the same "bracket" as Ashford, Hastings or Canvey (Si, I'm sure you were at Concord and putting that game as a comparison does the nine players who battled for most of the game to keep the score at 1 zip, a diservice). As with managing our expectations, I think we need to manage our disapointment.

 

Yesterdays game was frustrating as well as disapointing but it certainly wasn't the worst performances of the season. It was a game that showed that the lessons of the season had not been learned certainly. We had chances galore to score and only managed one (albeit from the Harrow No. 4). Harrow had as much luck defending their goal as we had bad luck attacking their goal, with the ball bobbling about and not going to feet. The lesson of "if you don't take your chances" is one that every team, in whatever league, gets taught during the season (hey, if it didn't, supporters around the country would be denied the sage like repeating of the phrase).

 

For me personally, the worry is the defence and the nhabit of not defeding our lines and making mistakes which lead to goals. Dover would've been a different prospect as would yesterday. But hang on, as much as we are not managing our expectations, we are also underestimating our opposition (we accuse Dover for being arrogant but are we not displaying the same by the fact of underestimating teams?). Harrow are a big, physical side, nothing has chnged over seasons and they will attempt to muscle people off the ball and yesterday, that was the battle that was won.

 

Since Ashford, we have lost two games, yesterdays and Dover. It can be argued that the enforsed lay off coutosy of the weather (and floodlight faliure) has not helped us and we have lost a certain amount of momentum.

 

We still have games in hand and we still have plenty of the season to play for, so lets get behind the players (from the ko) and enjoy our football for the rest of the season.

[Adam.S]

Since Ashford we have only lost two games, which like gazza said, was Dover and Harrow.

 

However when Adrian Deane was playing, we had our best spell this season with 5(i think) unbeaten games.

 

Since Adrian has gone, we have lost 2/2.

 

Is/was Adrian the key player to our season?

 

 

 

 

[GazzaBTFC]

IMO, I think it short sighted to hinge a seasons performance on one player.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Adam.S]

I'm not saying the season is played around 1 player..

 

Im just saying, look at results, we had our best spell when he was with us.. Now he's not with us, look at how the results have gone.

[GazzaBTFC]

Going out with the attitude that we should beat Harrow can be considered as arrogance jl...that is my point. Expecting to win every game and displaying the sort of disapointemnt that would put a child to shame could be considered as arrogance as well (not aimed at your good self, I add). No team has a divine right to win any game and as you said, winning is hard work.

 

IMO, over the 90 minutes, both teams showed a will to win the game, jl. We still had chances to pull one back in the last five minutes as did Harrow. If you disagree (as I am sure you do), that is your privilege, as is mine.

 

Hey, if we won every game, what would the "doom and gloom" merchants have to discuss?

 

We all look at the game differently as well as the club, team, players and the like...it's an opinion and I dare say that my opinion is (once again) out of sync with the majority but hey ho...

 

Two games Adam...two games. Both different, both against different styles of opposition and with different cicumstances...Sorry but we have won games without Adrian Deane and whilst I think he is a good player and when with us gave us something different, we have what we have now...The way is forward...not behind.

 

 

[Brightside Bloke]

The first twenty minutes we were all over Harrow, The lad's out skilled them in every department,

TT never had to make a save nor did our defense have much to do (Just as well really)

The Number 4 scores an OG and instead of us making the most of it we lost the plot.

It was not a case of Harrow stepped up a gear it was more we lost our gearbox.

And for those reasons i think (IMO) that Harrow deserved the win

 

We still (IMO) had the skill and quality to take on Harrow and any other team in this league but what we don't have is any really strong players other than Tim Cole and Big Dunc.

 

Harrow used the big Beefed up players to take the game and it worked, It worked because they wanted it more.

I noticed their manager never sat in the dug out all trough the game and was constantly instructing his players.

 

Not having Big Dunc at the back was unfortunate, He is a natural leader and is always rallying the lads this was sorely missed yesterday.

 

I think in all we had about twelve clear chances to score and they had four at best and made three of them count.

 

Yeah it was yet another bad day at the office but it won't stop me from going to games and Supporting the Blues.

 

 

 

[jl]

I deleted my last post because I can't be arsed to get into a pointless argument.

 

If supporters can't expect to beat Harrow then we might as well get our Ryman 1 North mileage charts out now.

 

 

[GazzaBTFC]

It's a discussion jl, not an arguement. Just cos we disagree, doesn't mean that it's an arguement.

 

I just feel that some people over react to defeat. As BB said, another bad day at the office but I for one won't stop supporting the club, home or away (and I dare say, neither will you) as the club offers more than the football...like friends.

[Brightside Bloke]

I agree with you JL

 

We should with our squad be well capable of playing Harrow off the pitch,

Even if that pith looked like Hill Piling had just finished working on it.

 

 

[Pooch]

Well, I've just finished editing the photos. Goals apart, I've one photo of TT making a save and countless photos of our players one on one with the goalie or defenders. It looks like we were incredibly unlucky not to put 2 or 3 of those great chances away. Perhaps the Harrow defence well and truly had luck on their side yesterday.

 

One advantage of editing the photos is that you can see the effort put in by individual players. Players sliding into tackles, great runs, great headers etc.

 

IMO, it seems we played so well in the first 20 mins, we all expected this to be a walkover. I think we were a bit shell shocked and unprepared when the game went 1-1, meaning the players lost composure and started to panic and the fans felt very disappointed.

 

The game is gone now, we can only learn from it.

 

And yes - win, lose or draw playing well or not I will still be there for the next game.

[Rick the Dick]

If you'd picked a "Best XI" from the 22 players who started yesterday how many red shirts would you have picked?

 

Our superiority showed at the outset and although our opener was an own goal it was the result of considerable pressure we were applying.

 

From then on we went backwards. I wouldn't like to say if the problem was "attitude" or organisation. More knowledgeable heads around me were complaining that we lacked the discipline to maintain our shape with players drifting out of position. If that's the case perhaps we have a leadership issue.

 

I genuinely don't understand how such a bunch of talented individuals can put in such a dire team effort.

[Simon BTFC]

I can only ask for peoples advice as to how I manage my expectations.

 

I expect just one thing when I turn up to a Billericay game - that the players go out there and give 100%. I don't expect us to win every game, but I do expect us to try to. I do expect us to want to. I can even say that I've been around the club long enough to know that once or twice a season we will have "an off day" where nothing goes right. I can accept that. What I cannot and will not accept is coming away from yet another away game with the solid and unshakable conviction that the players have not given everything in the search for a win.

 

Am I being unreasonable here?