3 MORE home points lost!

[Staines-upon-Thames Rebel]

Lost 3-1 at home to Rugby - yet another side who wanted it more!

[Ian]

Just awful again today. Loads of chances but no confidence in front of goal. That coupled with silly goals conceded means another defeat. Tuesday at home to Burnham is now a must win from a confidence building point of view. They got tonked 8-0 at Arlesey today. I know i'm in the minority but I do believe that a change at the top is needed. This can't continue.

[Nathan]

Yet again, we were well beaten by a side who played well together and who knew each other's strenghts and weaknessess.

 

As each game passes by, I get more and more convinced that the management simply do not have a clue. Their sheer stubborness in playing certain players when most fans can see they quite clearly aren't good enought, playing tacitcs that don't suit anyone (3 short strikers AGAIN!!!) and the management's total lack of dynamism in their reluctance to change this.

[hotspur]

Yet again, we were well beaten by a side who played well together and who knew each other's strenghts and weaknessess.

 

As each game passes by, I get more and more convinced that the management simply do not have a clue. Their sheer stubborness in playing certain players when most fans can see they quite clearly aren't good enought, playing tacitcs that don't suit anyone (3 short strikers AGAIN!!!) and the management's total lack of dynamism in their reluctance to change this.

 

Its as I said a while back, the team keeps changing every game, so you will never get consistant performances.

Forget the play offs think about avoiding relegation !

You are right about to many small forwards-even the great little strikers, Jimmy Greaves etc had a tall bustling partner to play off.Kegan had Toshack .

[Staines-upon-Thames Rebel]

Ian you are not in a minority - it is the forum mafia that wont allow anything negatives to be said about the management who try to hush it all up.

 

I was going to give Bateman till the end of December, but with performances like today the amount of damage that could be done in that time might be terminal to the season and we end up in a bottom end relegation war.

 

Why did Bateman have Gumbs and Lawford on the bench - why not bring in a couple of youth team players - just goes to show Batemans pig-headedness is f'ing up the season!

[Staines-upon-Thames Rebel]

Just seen the leauge table we are now 13th behind Bedfont, and 20 points behind Hitchin.

 

The numbers speak for themselves!

[Ted]

One good season, followed by what looks like being a poor season shouldn't necessarily threaten the manager's position, especially this early in the season.

 

However 3 things seriously worry me.

 

Firstly Steve Bateman is too loyal. He has kept 2/3 players from last season who are clearly not good enough for this level. They weren't good enough last season and they still arn't. If he cannot see that, then things won't change.

 

Secondly I don't buy the 'be patient, it will all come good line'. If he cannot see the side is losing games because its poor, then nothing can change. The reason for it being poor? I think the tactics and signings have been wrong. Admiting that mistakes have been made would be a good starting point in putting things right. Good, attacking football? I havn't seen much recently (though I did only see the second half today).

 

Thirdly, Bateman and Anderson seem to have quite different ideas according to this weeks Express and Observer. Of course I shouldn't believe everything I read in the papers,and I'm probably reading too much into it, but a united front wouldn't do any harm.

 

For me, if Steve Bateman can accept that he has got it wrong in some areas, then I'll happily give him time to put it right. If however he cannot see the mistakes, he isn't the person to right them. And I'm convinced mistakes have been made.

[Irishadrian]

Ive just been taking a close look at the league table No team as won fewer points at home than Slough We are absolute rock bottom on our own ground No wonder casual support is dwindling rapidly What appals me most is the lack of activity from the dugout when clueless classless rubbish is being played Glum miserable faces and no helpful input to players With things the way they are even a mid-table place is unlikely.

[Bernie Gogan]

Ive just been taking a close look at the league table No team as won fewer points at home than Slough We are absolute rock bottom on our own ground No wonder casual support is dwindling rapidly What appals me most is the lack of activity from the dugout when clueless classless rubbish is being played Glum miserable faces and no helpful input to players With things the way they are even a mid-table place is unlikely.

 

First game since Marlow away for me, which was of course an excellent perfomance. You can't tell me the management have lost it completely since then. Let's remember the players make mistakes, get booked and sent off and therefore banned, not the management. Let's also remember the club isn't awash with money such that it can acquire the so called players that will eradicate the aforementioned.

 

I can't really see what the management could have done better with the players available, in fact our first half performance was good, we were very very unlucky in front of goal. Unfortunately our achilles heel is our defending. Two goals inside 3 minutes, both completely against the run of play barring the first 10-15 minutes, killed it for us. Most teams seem to know how to kill games off from winning positions unlike ourselves. It was the Daventry game again, same score. The second half we just were not allowed to get into it and they were always dangerous on the break. Perkins ran out of steam and we had nothing on the bench to change it.

 

I'm sure the manager recognises all this and more.

 

If we are still aiming for the play offs we need to turn this around sharpish, because at the moment we can't buy a win.

[Ian]

If the suggestion is that the management couldn't have done any more with this group of players then that is saying that these players are not good enough. I fundamentally don't believe that to be true. We've lost another game today where if you look through the opposition you wouldn't swap too many, if any, of their players for ours. That's been true of several defeats recently.

 

Barring one or two changes I firmly believe we have got a good enough squad to be pushing Hitchin. The fact that we're not and are playing so poorly suggests that the management are not doing the right things in terms of the personnel they are putting out, the shape they're setting them up to play or their ability to motivate them. I don't subscribe to the opinion that it's too early to look at a change as despite getting to the playoffs last year we also played poorly for a large part of the season.

[Irishadrian]

Dont understand the " dont panic this early in the season" comments We have played 12 games almost 1/3 played Our first 6 went like this P6W4D0L2 17-11 the second 6 went like this P6W1D1L4 5-10 thats an obvious and worrying trend Im also fed up reading that we were "unlucky in front of goal" and everyone else's goalie "plays a blinder" its not rocket science to score you put the ball where the goalie isnt Our forwards arent unlucky they are incompetent and once again today several players clearly ran out of steam and lack of fitness and stamina is definately a management failing

[Mark44]

I don't really know what to say. I have missed the last two games but we can forget the playoff's. I agree with one comment here and that's the comment regarding our two management having different ideas. What is going on, maybe there is a disturbance in the backroom staff.

 

Despite all this the one person I have faith in is steve easterbrook and he is ultimately who will make a decision if some of the rather drastic comments regarding sb need to be made

[Leicester Mike]

Really enjoyed the first 30 or so minutes. Really thought we were going to score several in that time. When the first goal finally went in, I thought great, this is the start of it.

 

However, as usual, it was the start of the end for Slough. How many times do we concede not long after scoring ourselves? I had barely finished sending a text about the first goal! To concede a second one so soon after that killed the Slough team.

 

 

[brighton_rebel]

The first half was really enjoyable with Slough playing some good football, Rugby supporters we spoke to after the game agreed and said we could have easily been a few goals up. Their third goal was a killer blow to the team and us supporters. No pressure, but Burnham only lost 8-0 so god knows what to expect Tuesday!

[A Rebel and a Saint]

I thought the whole game was a much improved performance, especially going forward. Their keeper had a very good game and the ball just wouldnt fall for us at the right times, we should have been several goals up. It's just the silly mistakes at the back costing us, which is annoying because I think our defence has some very good players in it.

 

I'm not sure about this 4-3-3 formation, I think we need to go back to the 4-4-2 with Swift and Sinclair, with Bateman (who looked very good yesterday) and Logie/Coyne. This would hopefully help to cover the back 4 especially down the wings.

 

We definately need to put a few past Burnham on Tuesday, the next 3 games are going to be important with Arlesey and the Marlow cup game to come.

 

 

[Martin]

Slough did play well in the first thirty five minutes but two of the Rugby goals came within seconds of us missing a good chance. We seem to be hit on the break too easily as our midfield is bypassed and our centre backs are too slow. The real problem is confidence, as soon as the second goal went in heads dropped and the third goal killed the game stone dead and we then seemed utterly devoid of ideas.

 

Honourable mention to Sam Bateman who I thought was excellent and exceptionally unlucky with the shot that hit the post.

 

 

[Staines-upon-Thames Rebel]

I am now rather feed up with comments along the lines of "we had more chances than them but they scored more goals"

 

Its no good having all the chances yet not converting, whilst conceding silly goals.

 

Agree with Brighton Rebel that Tuesday will be an intresting measure considering Burnhams current form - however will Jarvis raise his teams game as they are playing us, and will Bateman have a response?

[Reading Rebel]

Yet again, we were well beaten by a side who played well together and who knew each other's strenghts and weaknessess.

 

As each game passes by, I get more and more convinced that the management simply do not have a clue. Their sheer stubborness in playing certain players when most fans can see they quite clearly aren't good enought, playing tacitcs that don't suit anyone (3 short strikers AGAIN!!!) and the management's total lack of dynamism in their reluctance to change this.

 

 

Nathan, are you talking about 'stubborness in playing certain players' yesterday or in general because yesterday, as options, we only had 1 out-field player on the bench not counting Logie who is injured and Gumbs and Lawford who at 40+ really shouldn't be anywhere near the bench.

 

As for 3 short strikers, I'm not so sure we did play 3 strikers because Sean Sonner, especially in the second half, spent most of his time down the left hand side either defending or in midfield.

 

Again, as for a big striker what options do we have in the squad? Simon Martin is the only big striker we have and when it comes to jumping for the ball Sean Sonner out-jumps him easily.

[staines_rebel_Jr]

It is really onnoying when all the opposition goal keepers are having good games against us, the first half Sam Bateman was seriously unlucky his shot hit the post as the goalie was planted, then the matrix like save the keeper made from perkins's header which everyone just behind the goal was certain was going in he saved (i liked sonners comment to the keeper after that save which sumed it up "how the F*ck did you save that"). And also every parry he made ended up at their defenders feet or just past our strikers and also one time when th ball went through the keepers legs he fell back and his backside stopped it. Generally fustrating to fans and players when a keeper is as lucky as this.

Any other day and we would have been at least 5-6 goals to the good.

 

 

Logie was injured as was Byrne, Coyne was suspended, Swift was on baby duties and i have no idea what has happened to Kean but atm we are really short on midfeilders.

 

 

When Gumbs came on (after the supporters called for him) why did he play in defence and not upfront? he is not quick so him and yads would have been F*cked on a fast counter attack and he is our only tall striker who can and will jump for a header.

 

MotM has to go to Sam Bateman who has been incredible (in my view) the last few weeks.

 

 

My team for burnham (if i could choose from any of our players) would be.

 

 

Jacko

Sweeney Yads Seeby Murphy

Sinclair Logie Bateman Swift

Sonner Mendy(under 18 player)

 

 

Bench: Perks Coyne Burnell Byrne Gumbs (subbed on last 15-20 mins if we need to win, has to go upfront aswell)

 

 

[Mr Rebel]

i too thought after weathering the storm the first 10 minutes or so we was in complete control. we wasn't even letting them barely get into our half for a good 20-30 minutes. when we finally scored i thought this is it we are back in business. but after nearly going 2-0 up we gift 2 chances that were clinically taken with ease

 

4 shots on target they had and scored 3. if only we could convert that many. i know its easy to say we were unlucky in front of goal but yet again the deflections and parries just didnt fall for us at all near their goal. thats way it goes when in bad form BUT maybe we should be pressuring and backing up better i dont know

 

we definitely wasn't playing 4-3-3. Sonner was playing left midfield on the left and then switched to the right

 

Sam Bateman was superb. Perkins got some unfair stick from behind goal. considering been out a while he done pretty well

 

Burnell now misses Tuesday i believe and that worries me greatly. no one looks more likely to score than him