Slough Town 1-3 Chesham

[Chris]

Probably the start of a long post!

 

Mixed emotions really. Played like a sunday league side in the opening 20-30 minutes, but after (and i'm probably in the minority here) I thought that we battled well and had all the play, but at 3-0 you could say the game was all but over and Chesham were defending their lead. Shame we could not have scored the pen, would have been a great finish to the game.

 

Must say the 'up-tempo' start Chesham made was what I thought Burnham would do to us early in the game last Tuesday had it been on. They were at our midfield and did not give us any time or space at all - something we like. I think we really struggle against that at times, and the better teams have exploited that against us this season. Hence our poor record against the top sides. Were very good on the ball when we have time and space in midfield against the lesser sides, but against the better sides when time is at a premium we struggle. That type of play is what we'll possibly come-up against in the play-off's (if we make it) and is what worries me and i'm not sure we can handle that.

 

Bates will probably be the first to admit he got the tactics wrong at the start, but in fairness he's done little wrong in a year in charge so far. However, how ever good a player Steve Wales is I don't think we should have transformed our team tactically just for him. Sweens cut inside all the time on his right foot and we looked lop-sided. Sincs also had a torrid time as a wing-back early on and by worrying so much about Wales we nullified our own best attacking option.

 

With the start we made I think it's obvious to all now we need a new player in central midfield - a player in the style of Leon Hibbert/Darron Wilkinson. Clark, Edgey and Kean are too similar. We desperately needed someone in the early stages to put in a few cruching tackles to let them know we were there, and those three are all players who like to get on the ball with time and space and pass it. Even when Harper went in there 2nd half it made a difference as we had a presence there. For me we need this type of player as soon as possible. The third goal could have probably been avoided had we had a player like this.

 

I'd also like to see us go to the back four of Sweeney, Harper, NBH and Murphy. Yiads has done nothing wrong since he's joined us and looks a good player, but for me we looked much more of a better unit at the back with this combination and looked less likely to concede goals, which we have done of late with the changes in the back four.

 

I also don't get the Dwain Clark thing. We have a player who not so long ago played in the Conference sitting on the bench for weeks and has hardly been given a sniff, yet Herron's out and he's still not picked?

 

One thing is for sure, we must improve our record against the big-boys!

Edited March 2, 2010 by Chris

[A Rebel and a Saint]

Very poor night all round. Chesham got in our faces early and we never recovered from going 2-0 down. Just as we were getting going and creating chances they popped up to score their 3rd just before half time. Second half they were still containing us and cleared a couple more chances off the line. We then scored through Bowden-Haase, before an awful penalty from Martin was saved.

The overall performance was poor, and Chesham knew exactly how to contain us, with a little help from a very inconsistant referee. But the chances were there, we just didn't take them. Chesham cleared a few chances off the line either by keeper or defender.

Need to pick ourselves up for the next month or so before we have to face up to the top 3 again.

[Staines-upon-Thames Rebel]

Well, where do you start, NBH gives away a soft penalty after 7 mins. – 1-0

 

The defence allow a ball all the way across the goal mouth and all they do is watch and Perks half attempts to stop it – 2-0. And Perks then bites well and truly on the Chesham’s fans bait! They have hooked him!

 

Then a soft shot bobbles over Perks who helps it on its way 3-0 and it’s not even half time!

 

Half time and questions are asked of Bateman to see if he has a “plan B”

 

An allegedly injured Murphy comes on second half – why did he not start?

 

A solid head in from NBH and we are back in business.

 

Penalty won and the clown called Martin steps up – and yet again he bottles it! Its Hitchin all over again – he should be in the circus!

 

Harper is now in the middle and the defender shows the midfield what it’s all about.

 

Game over and Chesham take their second 3 points off Slough this season.

 

In a game where a “plan B” was required Bateman, Salton and Lawford fail to come up with anything new.

 

At this rate we will struggle to make the play offs and that might not be a bad thing as on this form we don’t stand a chance of beating any of the top teams!

[Ian]

I'm sorry but that was just pathetic. It was blatanty obvious from about the second minute that the formation put out tonight wouldn't work. Stick the ball into the space where the full backs should be. Simple. The only surprise was that it took Chesham seven minutes to score. Sweeney is not a left sided wing back. Sinclair is not a wing back. If injury forced Murphy's ommission (more of that in a second) then why not stick with a flat back four and put Harps in?

 

"You can't start a player if they're injured", one of the coaching staff told me at half time. But hang on, he played 45 minutes so if he was fit enough to play 45, why not play him the first 45 rather than handing the initiative to the oppostiion from the start playing a formation that was clearly alien to the players? Why bring on an injured player to chase the game? Does playing the second half make him less prone to troubling the injury than playing the first?!

 

Where's this great squad that Bateman has supposedly built? Who is defensive cover for right back? Dean Harper. For centre back? Dean Harper? For left back? Oh yes, that'll be Dean Harper. Meanwhile we have a bench full of strikers who let's face it, couldn't hit a cows [****!!****] with a banjo. Harsh? No, harsh was having to watch us throw away more points at home. If Murphy was injured, where the hell is Ryan Fenton? Our season is petering out to nothing and our chances in the playoffs (assuming we hang on for them) are non existent as we cannot beat any decent team.

 

People will say this is still a better season than in recent years. True but watching poor players play poorly is not half as frustrating as having decent ones and watching them play poorly, not that I blame the players for tonight's debacle however.

[Tom]

I for one don't like criticising Bateman because of the job him and his team have done this season, but I feel tonight's defeat was down to the change in formation and tactics used in the 1st half.

 

The switch to wing backs in what seemed like combating Steve Wales backfired and cost the game in the opening 20mins. Bowden-Hasse's reckless challenge for the penalty and poor defending for the 2nd were basic errors, the 3rd was comedic. I know many people will no doubt blame Perks for the goal, but for them to travel from a poorly taken corner to Slough's penalty area was nothing short of pathetic, a "tactical" foul on the half way line was what was needed.

 

A positive note, Harper's performance in the 2nd half as a defensive midfielder was excellent and I feel as a stop gap he could make an impression there.

 

You have to wonder what has happened since the opening days of the season and the wonderful run the team went on. Too many players perhaps? I do believe at times a number of players who joined in the summer are being carried by the team through their "reputation" and have yet to show their worth.

 

I also feel Chris has hit the nail on the head with regards to performances against the top sides and why the record is so bad. Slough coast games with no variation in pace. In the last few games it has been plain to see with the loss against AFC Sudbury, the draw against Sutton Coldfield and tonight's loss, that if teams come at Slough and give the midfield no time on the ball they can be beaten.....easily.

[the optimist]

all i can say is look how far we have come in a short space of time

yes we will have ups and downs

but rome was;nt built in a day

but it probably had better foundations than holloways park

[Ted]

Yes, we have come a long way, but it is also clear that we still have quite a way to go before we are a really good side, even at this level. Tonight was really quite a feeble performance. Earlier on in the season we seemed to have more resiliance--even if behind, a last minute equaliser was usually on the cards. We seem to have lost this somewhere, and I don't think that the changes to the midfield have really helped.

 

I think it will be at least another season before we end up with a promotion team, and that a few younger players are needed.

[HP9]

Dean Clark was not the player Slough needed as he is either lazy, not fit or one paced at best. ( Slow, and always looking for glory balls without ever making a tackle ) Harper is a much better choice.

Edited March 3, 2010 by wcw

[Mark44]

I think that a lot of the players have become lazy and do not have the resilience of earlier in the season.

[Martin]

A week and a half ago Bateman was being criticised for being too predictable and not having a plan B. He tried something different last night and it backfired so he is criticised again. You can't have your cake and eat it.

 

The formation last night clearly didn't work but it was deliberately intended to counter the opposition and give us the best chance of taking something from the game. I am sure that Steve would not have expected our best defender to dive in and concede a sloppy penalty after 7 minutes. We were on the back foot for the first 25 minutes as we struggled to adapt to the formation we were playing.

 

However, we then got into the game and started creating very decent oppportunities. We had two cleared off the line first half, Sonner forced the keeper into a decent save, Yads missed a free header and the sainted Dean Harper had a good opportunity from seven yards that was blocked. Second half we didn't create much until NBH scored, he had at least three headed half chances thereafter and managed to fluff a penalty. The positive from the game is that we created more than enough chances to win it whilst playing poorly.

 

We should take a lot of confidence from that game. We had disasterous 25 minutes and ended up giving promotion chasing opposition a three goal head start and we can still walk a way from the game thinking if only.

 

I do think we need a destructive midfield player and if we can't sign anyone it may be worth giving Harps a go there.

 

I am not trying to be positive for the sake of it, the performance was immensely frustrating and not enough of the players turned up with their a game. But even when we are playing badly and losing there are a hell of a lot more positives than anything I've seen for the last three or four years. Christ it is March and we are still in with a shout of promotion!!

 

Heads up for Saturday all round. Come on you Rebels.

[Rebel Yeller]

A lot of good points on here and most of them are true.

 

What I couldn't understand was why Martin was allowed to take the penalty. We had Buchanan and Harper on the pitch who are pretty good at them so why let a poor player low on confidence who has only been on the pitch for five minutes take a vital spot kick. If that had gone in we'd have got a point, I'm sure of it.

 

Most of our players are better than last year but some aren't, and Martin is one of those. He reminds me a bit of Andrew Deaner in his playing style. I suspect that he is in the squad only because he is an ex-Hemel man and was brouight here by SB. I think our manager, for all the good work he has done, has a little bit of a blind spot here. I believe that this accounts for the limited use of Fenton, Jackson and Harper. I assume Jordan has left the club - surely his honeymoon can be lasting this long. After a number of poor displays by Perks surely Jackson deserves a few games in goal. If he doesn't get them now then what's the point of him being here.

 

We must get some wins soon or the play-offs will be gone. That might be a blessing in disguise but it will still be hard to take. Just imagine the gloating from Jarvis.

[Tom]

I think there is a lot of unfair criticism of Martin on this forum.

 

He has just under a 1 in 3 goal scoring record for Slough, is Slough's 2nd best goal scoring striker and 3rd currently overall. He just seems unlucky in that the misses he has had have come in "high profile" games and has suffered a string of injuries that have kept him from having a consistent run.

 

I certainly believe there are currently worse players on the pitch at the moment who are living off their previous reputation and you can begin to understand why some of the Hemel fan's weren't overly bothered by them leaving. Perhaps Bateman should freshen things up by seeing if some of the fringe players can make a difference with the likes of Sealey, Clarke, Harper, Jackson, Avis, and Sippetts given a run out.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Tom

[Chris]

A lot of good points on here and most of them are true.

 

What I couldn't understand was why Martin was allowed to take the penalty. We had Buchanan and Harper on the pitch who are pretty good at them so why let a poor player low on confidence who has only been on the pitch for five minutes take a vital spot kick. If that had gone in we'd have got a point, I'm sure of it.

 

Most of our players are better than last year but some aren't, and Martin is one of those. He reminds me a bit of Andrew Deaner in his playing style. I suspect that he is in the squad only because he is an ex-Hemel man and was brouight here by SB. I think our manager, for all the good work he has done, has a little bit of a blind spot here. I believe that this accounts for the limited use of Fenton, Jackson and Harper. I assume Jordan has left the club - surely his honeymoon can be lasting this long. After a number of poor displays by Perks surely Jackson deserves a few games in goal. If he doesn't get them now then what's the point of him being here.

 

We must get some wins soon or the play-offs will be gone. That might be a blessing in disguise but it will still be hard to take. Just imagine the gloating from Jarvis.

 

1) Martin has been our first choice penalty taker since the start of the season, and as of yesterday had not missed. Some people say Dean should take it, but remember Dean also missed last season. Eliot took the kick last week to get his hat-trick.

2) Martin did not play for Hemel.

3) From all the time of watching Slough there's always 'one player' who some fans 'pick-out'. Martin seems to be this player. This annoys me and find some postings pathetic. For me, Martin has done alright this season and scored nearly one every 3. He missed a pen last night. We've all done it. He's played at a high-level and he's not played there by chance.

4) Who cares what Jarvis thinks. Only reason he talks about us so much is because most people in Burnham (where I live) could not even tell you where the gore is to go there and support them.

 

Again, as with comments in this thread Sweetman is proved right by the way he said there's too much pressure by the fans on the players. Were in with a play-off shout and where have we been in recent seasons?? What do some people expect?

 

Chris

Edited March 3, 2010 by Chris

[Mr Rebel]

Martin your absolutely right about the fact that yes it was hugely frustrating but we did have enough chances to possibly even win the match. how we didn't score first half i do not know. once Perks let their 3rd go in though it was a cruel killer blow to us

 

its the spells when we are not on the front foot that are just hard to watch. we need to learn how to inflict prolonged spells of pressure on opponents defences more often as it seems to come naturally and with ease for all of our opponents.

 

i would also like to say we shouldn't get on Simon Martin's back. yes the penalty wasn't very good at all but he still i believe brings a better option of holding the ball up than probably any striker we have currently and his scoring record ain't bad. looked like Buchanan was going to take the penalty but having given up a penalty vs Beaconsfield to Buchanan, Simon Martin pleaded his case and got the ball off him. no one would mention a thing if he had scored but of course football is like that hero to villain and back again in minutes.

 

the comment of reputations keeping players their places is very true unfortunately in some players cases

[Mark44]

I dont see how anybody can have a go at Simon Martin and praise Danny Jordan. Im sorry but they are practically the same player.

[Ian]

A week and a half ago Bateman was being criticised for being too predictable and not having a plan B. He tried something different last night and it backfired so he is criticised again. You can't have your cake and eat it.

 

 

It's not about a plan B from the start, it's being able to adapt the team during the game when you can see it isn't working. More than one team has done that to us this season. It was obvious from the first few minutes that this formation wasn't working but we persisted with it to the point where the game was beyond us. The predictability comes in the form of the manager unable to retrieve the game. Sorry if that's negative but that's the way I see it.

[chris sliski]

Well good points made on this forum..plenty of interesting one's and good debate...this is more like it ... Martin I know we dont see eye to eye much but your comment s are true and vaild - we basically got the plan wrong it back fired and we gave them a 3 goal start - then frustration set in and we did created many many chances on some nights these would have gone in and it would have

certainally been game on - we now really have to get some points on the board and maybe this game will stir the rebels into what we know they are capable of

 

chris s

[Staines-upon-Thames Rebel]

We didin' play very well last night but we could still have drawn/ won IF we hadn't given away the penalty and what sounds like the third soft goal hadn't been given away. Also when Buchanan was through 1 on 1 at the end of the second half and the ref blew for half time, if the ref had waited 3 more seconds Buchanan could have scored and when he wasn't even given the oportunity you could easily tell he was fustrated and even there keeper said straight away it was a very harsh decision by the ref.

 

Still not sure why Martin decided he could score a penalty by tapping the ball softly but to be honest it was a very very soft penalty as from where i was Martin did look like he had dived.

 

 

Still we are likely to be in the hunt for promotion at the end of the season. everyone knows that if we were given that oportunity at the begining of the season we would have all taken it.

 

every time we have played the top sides we have always come close so i still believe that we can beat on of them eventually.

 

 

 

by staines rebel Jr

Edited March 3, 2010 by Staines Rebel

[Rouser Rebel]

I'm sorry but that was just pathetic. It was blatanty obvious from about the second minute that the formation put out tonight wouldn't work. Stick the ball into the space where the full backs should be. Simple. The only surprise was that it took Chesham seven minutes to score. Sweeney is not a left sided wing back. Sinclair is not a wing back. If injury forced Murphy's ommission (more of that in a second) then why not stick with a flat back four and put Harps in?

 

"You can't start a player if they're injured", one of the coaching staff told me at half time. But hang on, he played 45 minutes so if he was fit enough to play 45, why not play him the first 45 rather than handing the initiative to the oppostiion from the start playing a formation that was clearly alien to the players? Why bring on an injured player to chase the game? Does playing the second half make him less prone to troubling the injury than playing the first?!

 

Where's this great squad that Bateman has supposedly built? Who is defensive cover for right back? Dean Harper. For centre back? Dean Harper? For left back? Oh yes, that'll be Dean Harper. Meanwhile we have a bench full of strikers who let's face it, couldn't hit a cows [****!!****] with a banjo. Harsh? No, harsh was having to watch us throw away more points at home. If Murphy was injured, where the hell is Ryan Fenton? Our season is petering out to nothing and our chances in the playoffs (assuming we hang on for them) are non existent as we cannot beat any decent team.

 

People will say this is still a better season than in recent years. True but watching poor players play poorly is not half as frustrating as having decent ones and watching them play poorly, not that I blame the players for tonight's debacle however.

 

I couldn't make the game on Tuesday but from reading these reports it sounds like Harper actually started a game(was there ever areason to leave him out)and gave his usual heart on the sleeve performance what is it about Slough Town and Harper, a shame some of the others don't show his apparent affection for the club and the fans, which I understand from some of the messages on the site are mutual, but will he start Saturday of be back on the bench because we have a rightback, centre back left back etc?

[Tom]

I would start him as a defensive midfielder.

 

Apparently Bateman is now on the look out for one, if that is the case he could do no worse than play Harper there as a stop gap or perhaps to even fill the role permanently. Although this would have to be at the expense of either Kean or Edgeworth. The only issue with him playing that role is the disciplinary side.