Barton v Slough

[Tom]

Updates available via twitter @sloughtown

 

Currently winning 2-1 after going behind.

 

Buchanan and Edgeworth with Slough's goals.

 

Harper having a penalty saved on his 100 appearance, Buchanan's follow up also saved.

[Tom]

Barton equalised about 15mins ago.

 

Lacking width since Sinclair was forced off due to injury apparently.

Edited March 23, 2010 by Tom

[Tom]

In other news, Chesham are winning.

[Tom]

Barton 3-2 Slough

 

Penalty conceded and scored.

[Tom]

Harper picks up a 2nd yellow and is sent off.

 

Season is imploding at the moment.

[CheshFan]

Final Score Romulus 0 - 1 Chesham

[Tom]

Bateman equalises in dying moments. 3-3

[Tom]

FT: Barton 3-3 Slough

 

2 MASSIVE points dropped.

[Staines-upon-Thames Rebel]

Barton have only won 2 and drawn 6 this season, and having only scored an average of one goal a game.

 

Yet tonight Steve Bateman takes a team pushing for a play-off place there with one of the coaching staff making up the numbers on the bench and Barton triple there average goal rate and Slough drop 2 vital points.

 

Whats gone wrong Steve and what are you going to do about it?

[CheshFan]

FT: Barton 3-3 Slough

 

2 MASSIVE points dropped.

 

 

Thanks

[Matt]

Performance was every bit as poor as the result. Lacking width and no shape to the team. Where are Sealey and Sharif? Both should have started tonight.

 

If we don't make the playoffs then we can have no arguments with results like this.

[Chris]

Just what has gone wrong since the start of 2010 for us?

 

Were a shadow of our former selves. Take tonight game and the Biggleswade games at home and away could not be more contrasting from the start of the season where we battered these teams at Holloways Park.

 

Yes we have been hugely unlucky with injuries, but that's what the squad is for and it's probably the biggest in the league.

 

For me i've never seen us play well playing 3-5-2 under Bates as we did tonight. I always think Harper and Sweeney look awkward playing this formation. We should in my opinion play 4-4-2 always, even if if means sticking Elliot on the left (if there is no other option) and Kean on the right. The balance of the side looks all wrong when we play 3-5-2. Sweeney IMO is the best right back in the league, but every time he plays on the left or part of the back three for me he does not play well.

 

I also think it's time for Jacko to come back. Nothing wrong with Ricky's catching, coming for crossing, shot stoping etc but his kicking again tonight was awful and sadly shows no sign of improvement. Personally I think he's better than Jacko in every aspect apart from communication and kicking, but his poor kicking is costing us as it did tonight with the penalty given away.

 

As mentioned behind the goal there is a clear lack of width and creativity from midfield. For me Steve has to get on the phone and beg/drag Tyron & Mo Sharif on the coach to Bromsgove as our midfield tonight were all the same type of player after Sincs went off injured.

 

I'm hugely worried about us now and on this form we won't make play-off's.

Edited March 23, 2010 by Chris

[Mark44]

I agree, lets get Sealey and Sharif out there, Kyle jeffery to start and for god sake lets give Jacko a chance.

 

He IS the better keeper.

[Martin]

That performance was shocking and was not masked by the late late equaliser from Sam Bateman.

 

There was no shape to the team and there seemed no real plan of attack. We didn't seem to have a clue how to break them down. I know that sounds ridiculous when we scored three but the goals were a moment of magic from Elliot, a regulation scrappy goal from a corner and then finally when Elliot went wide a good cross for Bateman to score a very good header.

 

But at stages during that game Barton were playing with 10 men behind the ball and rightly so. They were ahead twice. We started poorly again and were a goal down within seconds. The wheels have well and truly fallen of the bus. I don't know what's gone wrong but it is hugely frustrating. After Biggleswade, Atherstone and Barton we should be seven points better off than we are. We have made this extremely hard work for ourselves and I now think all talk of the play-offs should stop.

 

Finally, I've got to say something about the Harper sending off. It was needless and utterly reckless. It shows why he ISN'T captain material. He was playing his hundredth game for the Rebels and should know better. I understand why it happened, he was as frustrated with the performance as we were and he took a poor tocuh. But kicking the guy up in the air and getting sent off isn't going to help. It was particularly mind boggling when you consider we have NBH out for the season and Yads suspended imminently.

 

I think we have the squad to recover from this but we are desperately missing width and Sincs has been carrying an injury for some time. We need Mo and Tyron back pronto. We must also play 4-4-2.

 

If you look at it we have the following options:

 

Jacko/Perks

 

RB: Sweeney/Seeby/Kyle

 

LB: Murphy/Kyle

 

Centre Back: Yads/Harps/Seeby/Edge/Sweeney

 

Right wing: Sincs/Mo/Hayes

 

Left wing: Clarke/Sealey/Murphy/Buchanan

 

Centre Mid: Kean/Edge/Clark/Bates/Duncan/Seeby

 

Strikers: Sipps/Sonner/Martin/Hayes/Buchanan

 

Even with the injuries a combination of those players has always been available and they are all positions that the players can naturally play.

 

Last night it was screamingly obvious that Elliot should have gone wide left and maybe Sonner wide right and to get Martin and Sipps up front. We had chances to make those changes but didn't. Frustrating.

[Mark44]

Agree martin

 

We need something quick, another player who was exceptional earlier in th year was grant avis. maybe he is worth a shout

[Tom]

In my eyes it looks as if Bateman is falling down the same route Sweetman went down, trying to accommodate too many players.

 

Currently with the players available its clear that 3-5-2 won't work, but in the future it could as it looks as if Bateman wants to move towards playing:

 

 

Perks/Jacko

 

Sweeny - NBH - Yeboah

 

Sinclair - Seeby - Edgeworth - Duncan - Murphy

 

Buchanan - Sonnor

 

 

Moving towards this half way through the season seems to have caused upset and has changed the flow the team had earlier on in the season, especially when persevering with it due to the injuries at the moment.

 

Given the amount of games in quick succession and the lack of training time it might have made sense to move to this at the close season. Although, I don't think Bateman is helping himself with the lack of options from the bench and what seems like stubbornness by not recalling Sealey or Mo.

[Ted]

Not sure I agree with Elliot playing anywhere but up front. I do think we need someone big and good in the air in attack though, as our other strikers all have ability, but Sonner apart, rarely attack the ball, and Sonner is a bit small for a target man. I think we have good strikers, but not a combination that work well together.

 

My other observation is that we are truly poor at corners and crosses. Corners frequently do not get past the first defender, and sometimes don't even reach knee height. This isn't helped by someone different taking the corners each match. There is a lot of skill in our team, but at the moment it isn't gelling at all.

 

Last night we were extremely lucky to get a point, however keeping things in perspective, its a lot better this season than last season. The bad news is that at the moment, we look little better than last seasons side, and we seem to be regressing rather than progressing.

[Reading Rebel]

Right, I promised myself that I wouldn't comment anymore on team selection, performance etc because the bottom line is we have players who are either out of form or major players who are either injured or carrying injuries i.e. Sincs, Nbh, Edgeworth Herron, Edwards etc and it is very difficult to legislate for this but out of sheer FRUSTRATION I have to give my tuppence worth.

 

We are leaking goals for fun at the moment, so whether we are playing Barton, Atherstone or the Girl Guides we are struggling to pick up even a point so we have to give the opposition the respect they deserve and set the team up accordingly to try to stem the soft goals we are currently conceeding.

 

So, we start the game last night with 3 at the back, Sweeney on the left, Harper on the right with Edgey in the middle and promptly conceed a goal in the first 30 seconds.

 

Why play 3 at the back when you are leaking goals and if you do, why not play those 3 players in there best positions? Sweeney on the right with Harper alongside Edgey in the middle. For my money It does smack of showing a lack of respect for the opposition. This would have worked earlier in the season when we had every player fit and firing but not at this present time. For my money we have to firstly try to stop conceeding soft goals and start games with a solid 4-4-2 formation.

 

Another niggling point is our centre of midfield last night. Robbie Kean, Sam Bateman and James Duncan. Not so much lightweight but more featherweight. Nothing against James Duncan because he does the simple things quite nicely when he's got time on the ball but he's a bit too similar to what we've already got and imo is not the answer to our midfield problems.

 

Lastly, I agree with Staines. We have supposedly one of the biggest squads in the division and last night we couldn't muster up 5 subs. Where was Dean Clark, Dwaine Clark, Jacko, Sealey and Mo Sharif?

[Rouser Rebel]

Right, I promised myself that I wouldn't comment anymore on team selection, performance etc because the bottom line is we have players who are either out of form or major players who are either injured or carrying injuries i.e. Sincs, Nbh, Edgeworth Herron, Edwards etc and it is very difficult to legislate for this but out of sheer FRUSTRATION I have to give my tuppence worth.

 

We are leaking goals for fun at the moment, so whether we are playing Barton, Atherstone or the Girl Guides we are struggling to pick up even a point so we have to give the opposition the respect they deserve and set the team up accordingly to try to stem the soft goals we are currently conceeding.

 

So, we start the game last night with 3 at the back, Sweeney on the left, Harper on the right with Edgey in the middle and promptly conceed a goal in the first 30 seconds.

 

Why play 3 at the back when you are leaking goals and if you do, why not play those 3 players in there best positions? Sweeney on the right with Harper alongside Edgey in the middle. For my money It does smack of showing a lack of respect for the opposition. This would have worked earlier in the season when we had every player fit and firing but not at this present time. For my money we have to firstly try to stop conceeding soft goals and start games with a solid 4-4-2 formation.

 

Another niggling point is our centre of midfield last night. Robbie Kean, Sam Bateman and James Duncan. Not so much lightweight but more featherweight. Nothing against James Duncan because he does the simple things quite nicely when he's got time on the ball but he's a bit too similar to what we've already got and imo is not the answer to our midfield problems.

 

Lastly, I agree with Staines. We have supposedly one of the biggest squads in the division and last night we couldn't muster up 5 subs. Where was Dean Clark, Dwaine Clark, Jacko, Sealey and Mo Sharif?

 

 

Have to agree with your comments very unbalanced selection if we are to play 3 at the back it should be Sweeney on the right with Harper in the middle and Edgeworth on the left, but what is Edgeworth doing at the back anyway? would have been IMO better to start with Murphy left of the 3 natural left foot!! . As you say the midfield 3 are to similar. Looks like Herron has a longterm injury and the earlier remark about Avis is interesting as I am sure he signed for Burham about 6 weeks ago so we are stuggling for width.

 

Ian your remark about the sending off is interesting as I was on that side and it appeared Harps was sold short by a pass think it was Jeffery and looked like he had no where to go but bring the player down so perhaps not as synical as suggested, although it has to be said he doesn't mind a tackle.

 

As for the forwards I accept it's difficult to change the situation once Sinclair got injured but Buchanan is still more effective down the middle and the bench did seem rather strange, where is everybody??

[chris sliski]

I have to agree with most of what has been said on this forum...we were Rebels with out a clue in the second half...

 

just played into Barton's arms..with high balls and hit and hope ... This is just not our way...so why are we doing this ...

 

Missed pen (save twice) plus we and they had stonewall penalities turned down...in the second half and again Slough down to 10 men..

 

I dispaire at time's like we all do, but Ted & Martin are right , overall its been a good season and we have time to sort it for sure, lets just play

 

for hounour and pride ..again a large following last night to the depths of bedfordshie...even steve was there from Yeovil ! so come on

 

you Rebels...we know and hope we can do better.. see you at the Bromsgrove match ...come on you Rebels..

 

chris s