Team v Leighton

[Slough Match Sec]

Warrington, Sweeney, Murphy, Burgess, Brown, Woozley, Sinclair, Swift, Burnell, Sonner, Edgeworth.

 

 

Subs,-- Herron, Abbey, Bateman, Blount, Andrews.

[Cookham Rebel]

Edgeworth???????

 

Where are Coyne and Anderson???

[Cookham Rebel]

St Neots 2-0 up with 10 minutes played!!!

 

Barring a miracle, they are now champions!!!

[Irishadrian]

St Neots now 4-0 up

[Irishadrian]

16.23 and St Neots now 6-0 up!

[Mr Rebel]

Anderson was about but only in his normal clothes presumably injured

 

Coyne was at a wedding

 

the performance was diabolical

[Ian]

I don't normally comment on individuals but I'm going to make an exception. I hope Steve Sinclair never pulls on a Rebels shirt again.

 

In the week when we said goodbye to our dear friend, Chris, and talked about how he served with honour to then see a Slough player behave in that way was disgraceful. It was unnecessary, petulant and unprofessional....and this from a player who's already been red carded once after the final whistle this season.

 

In terms of where we go from here I think we need to revert to the formation and personnel who served us so well during that run of clean sheets......even if that means dropping players who would normally expect to be first choice. Playoffs are about momentum and sticking with the same players isn't going to give us that.

[Ted]

Something has certainly gone wrong somewhere over the last couple of months.

 

Only 2 wins in our last 7 home games (one of which was the thoroughly undeserved daylight robbery against Biggleswade), and 7 games since we kept a clean sheet. The way we are currently playing, we don't deserve to be in the play offs, let alone be promoted.

 

We know the team can do much better, and if they play to their potential, can win the play offs, but we seem to have lost the shape confidence and belief we had until a month or 2 ago. I don't know why. Were we just plain lucky earlier on?

[Saints alive]

You weren't just lucky your a good side but play a stereotyped style of football which always leaves you open to others that play that way as well. It evens it out a bit.

Just look at where you dropped points.

St Neots have trouble playing teams that are good at that style of play but overcome it because they are always going to score goals as they have with 113 this season

Hope you win the play offs.

 

[readingrebel]

I think we could all rubbish that performance but IMO now is not the time.

 

We have finished the season in our best position for many years and now need to get behind the team more than ever.

 

Yes, IMO we need to go back to the formation we had before the North Greenford game and again become hard to score against if we are to have any chance of winning the play-offs.

 

We will either play Uxbridge, SYCOB or Northwood in the semi final.

 

On paper it looks like we will be playing SYCOB but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

Uxbridge have definately finished 4th or 5th.

 

If Uxbridge lose on Saturday and SYCOB win Uxbridge will play us and SYCOB will play Bedworth so don't be surprised if Uxbridge throw that game in the hope that SYCOB win.

[PremiershipJoyRider]

Our strength this season has been our defensive record - but having leaked 8 goals in the last 2 games we are really struggling. I always think the teams that win play off games are the teams that go into the play offs in some sort of form and that is certainly not us.

However, IF we play to our very BEST form we can still win the play offs.

Without checking the records I feel that we have occupied FIRST or SECOND place in the table virtually all season and I will be gutted if we don't go up.

[Cookham Rebel]

Agree RR, time to get behind the team and go for it!!!

 

Every chance we could be promoted 2 weeks Monday!!! There is a reason St Neots were pre-season favourites and that tag is well proven now, we always had to go some to win the league and it is quite a feat that we kept it alive for so long, yes things haven't been great for a few weeks but I'm sure the St Neots fans would say the same about their form, we have nothing to lose now and maybe the players can relax and play like we know they can for last 2 possibly 3 games!!!

[Rebel Kay]

Agreed, today was poor, but it isn't over and reading some of the comments on the other thread you would think we had been relegated, not finishing second in the league.

 

Get behind the team, support them and save the post mortem for afterwards.

 

A fair amount of effort will go into some of us getting to Woodford next week, I expect that effort to be replicated on the pitch and on the terraces too.

 

Irrespective of today there would have been one person right behind them, supporting them regardless. We all need to fill that role now.

[A Rebel and a Saint]

Very frustrating as everyone knows that the players we have are capable of so much better. Even more frustrating to see Sinclair get sent off after the game again.

 

It's got to be time to go back to the basics from the start of the season, get back to the 5-3-2 that served us so well in the first half of the season and go from there. Trying to catch St Neots (congrats to them on being champions) by changing the formation and the players didn't work, so now it's time to go back to what we know.

 

We've got to believe and get behind the team, starting at Woodford next week. The time for moaning is after the playoff final if things don't go the way we hope, not now. COYR!

[Nathan]

The time for moaning is after the playoff final if things don't go the way we hope, not now. COYR!

 

I might hold you to that ARAAS! (though hopefully it won't be necessary)

[3spirit]

You weren't just lucky your a good side but play a stereotyped style of football which always leaves you open to others that play that way as well. It evens it out a bit.

Just look at where you dropped points.

St Neots have trouble playing teams that are good at that style of play but overcome it because they are always going to score goals as they have with 113 this season

Hope you win the play offs.

 

Couldn't agree more about our stereotypical football.If we tried playing our players in different ways to what Bateman thinks they have to play,we would be dynamic and effective and a much greater threat to many of the sides we've played this season.

 

Yesterday,we were awful but were missing five of our better players in NBH,Coyne,Anderson,Logie and Perkins.With these in the team,Leighton wouldn't have had such an easy ride.

 

My point,though,is that we are not using our players to better effect.Why do we persist in playing Steve Sinclair on the right wing in a too deeper role.He needs to be higher up the pitch,not be running from the halfway line trying to go past every Leighton player.

I'm at a loss why we haven't used him in the 'hole' behind the front two.He knows how to score,can dribble past a player and can pass a ball.He's wasted on the wing every game. Having two excellent full backs in Simon Sweeney and Danny Murphy and our current midfielders we could easily play a 4-3-1-2 formation,yet we've never tried it all season.

I'm afraid as much as I like Steve Bateman as a nice bloke,he does seem stuck in a timewarp when it comes to trying anything remotely exciting in relation to how the team operates.

His fixed ideas on substitions are staid and always dull. Why does he persist in taking Danny Murphy off of late,when he is our fittest player? He and Chris Herron in the 2nd half would have created us space and chances.They are a good attacking combination.

 

As it was our last home game, yesterday, before the play-offs and we were crap in the first half, so we should have introduced two or even all three subs straight after half time to change our shape and the way we were playing. We chose to do nothing and was never in the game and got what we deserved-nothing!

 

There's no doubt that Slough have had a good season finishing second but we have definitely lost momentum in winning games and are looking unlikely play-off winners and are short of confidence.We need positive input from our management duo to stop the rot and a forward attacking approach needs to be addressed but we also need to go back to the defence that weren't leaking goals for fun.

My team for first game play-off would be a 3-4-1-2 of

Warrington

 

Brown NBH Woozley

 

Sweeney Coyne Swift Murphy

 

Anderson

 

Burnell Sonner

Subs Herron, Logie, Sinclair, Burgess, Abbey

[Cookham Rebel]

Think it's about time Ben Abbey got a chance now 3spirit, and he should start the remaining games this season in tandem with Anderson!

[3spirit]

Think it's about time Ben Abbey got a chance now 3spirit, and he should start the remaining games this season in tandem with Anderson!

 

Ben Abbey should have replaced Danny Burnell yesterday.Burnell was never at the races.Mind you Sean Sonner never had a good game either but what player did!

 

For the play offs we need to play our best players.Jerome Anderson has to start.Burnell will sulk if he isn't picked from the off.Ben Abbey won't,that makes him an ideal sub.

[Sir Rebel1965]

So if you sulk or moan you get in the team? - why am I not in the team - I moan enough!

[Cookham Rebel]

If, barring the Perkins injury, the whole squad is available, the team for Woodford and the play off semi final should be:

 

Warrington

 

Brown NBH Woozley

 

Sweeney Coyne Logie Swift Murphy

 

Anderson Abbey

 

Subs: Jackson, Sinclair, Burgess, Burnell, Sonner

 

I doubt it will be but that would be the best starting 11 in my opinion!