Slough 1 Beaconsfield 2 AET

[Don Juan DeMarcus]

So what's changed this seasonif he got the best out of them last year? In my opinion we were very defensive this year expecting Sean and Danny to score almost all our goals!

[Cookham Rebel]

Another example is Stuart Swift, 1 league goal this season, 10 league goals last season!

 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if we had gained promotion we probably wouldn't be talking about any of this as we'd all be saying how wonderful we are but had Sinclair, Logie and Swift reproduced last seasons goal scoring exploits where our motto was attack, attack, attack we may have won the league!

 

It just seems we have gone from one extreme to another with no in between!

[Cookham Rebel]

So what's changed this seasonif he got the best out of them last year? In my opinion we were very defensive this year expecting Sean and Danny to score almost all our goals!

 

We leaked too many goals in Bateman's first 2 seasons Marcus and scored a hatful! This season our defence was the polar opposite to the previous 2 seasons and even the midfield were better defensively but our attacking game suffered as a result, we just didn't strike the right balance!

 

I remember when Dave Russell came in and we played 3-5-2, we scored goals but we conceded a lot too, mainly because Catlin and Sayer played in the middle with Graham Roberts and then Tony Dell, we were too attacking for that formation! McDermott played it too, defensively we were awesome but didn't create a lot and won a lot of games 1-0 or 2-0 or 2-1 but when Stowell or McGinnis didn't play, Hercules and Angus were so out sync it was ridiculous in a 4-4-2!

 

3-5-2 is a pretty alien formation in this day and age, the only team I've ever seen win anything by playing it were Brazil at the 2002 World Cup, for the first time in their footballing history, they had 3 very good centre backs but the wing backs were Cafu and Roberto Carlos, and we all know what they were, attacking full backs who could also defend, their engines were unreal!

 

It's about striking the right balance in any formation, this season we didn't get the attack right but lessons can be learned from that, onwards and upwards!

Edited May 6, 2012 by Cookham Rebel

[3spirit]

So what's changed this seasonif he got the best out of them last year? In my opinion we were very defensive this year expecting Sean and Danny to score almost all our goals!

 

We leaked too many goals in Bateman's first 2 seasons Marcus and scored a hatful! This season our defence was the polar opposite to the previous 2 seasons and even the midfield were better defensively but our attacking game suffered as a result, we just didn't strike the right balance!

 

I remember when Dave Russell came in and we played 3-5-2, we scored goals but we conceded a lot too, mainly because Catlin and Sayer played in the middle with Graham Roberts and then Tony Dell, we were too attacking for that formation! McDermott played it too, defensively we were awesome but didn't create a lot and won a lot of games 1-0 or 2-0 or 2-1 but when Stowell or McGinnis didn't play, Hercules and Angus were so out sync it was ridiculous in a 4-4-2!

 

3-5-2 is a pretty alien formation in this day and age, the only team I've ever seen win anything by playing it were Brazil at the 2002 World Cup, for the first time in their footballing history, they had 3 very good centre backs but the wing backs were Cafu and Roberto Carlos, and we all know what they were, attacking full backs who could also defend, their engines were unreal!

 

It's about striking the right balance in any formation, this season we didn't get the attack right but lessons can be learned from that, onwards and upwards!

 

Think it was David Lay and Neil Catlin not Andy Sayer.

[Sir Rebel1965]

St newts had a 3 to 1 ratio of goals scored to conceded. Slough have only managed a ratio of 1.75 to 1 ratio, they also have 4 players in the leagues top scorer list - we only have Danny and Sean.

[3spirit]

So what's changed this seasonif he got the best out of them last year? In my opinion we were very defensive this year expecting Sean and Danny to score almost all our goals!

 

We leaked too many goals in Bateman's first 2 seasons Marcus and scored a hatful! This season our defence was the polar opposite to the previous 2 seasons and even the midfield were better defensively but our attacking game suffered as a result, we just didn't strike the right balance!

 

I remember when Dave Russell came in and we played 3-5-2, we scored goals but we conceded a lot too, mainly because Catlin and Sayer played in the middle with Graham Roberts and then Tony Dell, we were too attacking for that formation! McDermott played it too, defensively we were awesome but didn't create a lot and won a lot of games 1-0 or 2-0 or 2-1 but when Stowell or McGinnis didn't play, Hercules and Angus were so out sync it was ridiculous in a 4-4-2!

 

3-5-2 is a pretty alien formation in this day and age, the only team I've ever seen win anything by playing it were Brazil at the 2002 World Cup, for the first time in their footballing history, they had 3 very good centre backs but the wing backs were Cafu and Roberto Carlos, and we all know what they were, attacking full backs who could also defend, their engines were unreal!

 

It's about striking the right balance in any formation, this season we didn't get the attack right but lessons can be learned from that, onwards and upwards!

 

England played 3-5-2 quite well with it under Glenn Hoddle.

 

3-5-2, 4-3-3. 4-4-2 etc can work if your players believe in the cause,team tactics and the manager's directions and their own ability.

Edited May 6, 2012 by 3spirit

[Irishadrian]

B&C This season we conceded 13 goals less than last season and scored 15 less than last season (72-41 and 87-54) ratios very similar Obviously Woodford away not included

[Cookham Rebel]

So what's changed this seasonif he got the best out of them last year? In my opinion we were very defensive this year expecting Sean and Danny to score almost all our goals!

 

We leaked too many goals in Bateman's first 2 seasons Marcus and scored a hatful! This season our defence was the polar opposite to the previous 2 seasons and even the midfield were better defensively but our attacking game suffered as a result, we just didn't strike the right balance!

 

I remember when Dave Russell came in and we played 3-5-2, we scored goals but we conceded a lot too, mainly because Catlin and Sayer played in the middle with Graham Roberts and then Tony Dell, we were too attacking for that formation! McDermott played it too, defensively we were awesome but didn't create a lot and won a lot of games 1-0 or 2-0 or 2-1 but when Stowell or McGinnis didn't play, Hercules and Angus were so out sync it was ridiculous in a 4-4-2!

 

3-5-2 is a pretty alien formation in this day and age, the only team I've ever seen win anything by playing it were Brazil at the 2002 World Cup, for the first time in their footballing history, they had 3 very good centre backs but the wing backs were Cafu and Roberto Carlos, and we all know what they were, attacking full backs who could also defend, their engines were unreal!

 

It's about striking the right balance in any formation, this season we didn't get the attack right but lessons can be learned from that, onwards and upwards!

 

Think it was David Lay and Neil Catlin not Andy Sayer.

 

If you cast your mind back 3spirit, Lay didn't sign until half way through the season, up until that point Sayer played behind West and Bushay, and it was a role Leo absolutely thrived in. When Lay joined, it was he, Sayer and Catlin as the midfield 3! Lay was another play with the Slough Town curse, prolific for Marlow, did nothing for us!

[epicrebel]

You can make stats mean anything,

In the fair play league Hayes & Yeading 7 sent off 79 bookings us 4 and 81 and they finished 4th.

If St Neots didn't splash the cash and didn't come up and going up we would have been champions by 6 points with a game to go.

[Irishadrian]

I believe we could and should have been champions and our failure seems to have been attitudinal We never gave lesser teams the respect all teams deserve We played at times with an arrogance when we had little to be arrogant about Ive never believed the oft repeated theory that teams raise their game against us You cant level up.We ease up against teams that the players percieve to be less able and get punished We lost three home games to teams that finished 13th 15th and 18th St Neots lost to teams finishing 2nd 3rd and 8th The tipping point of our season was the home loss to NGU just after we had beaten StNeots and retaken the top spot (this was the game Bateman didnt attend) there didnt seem to be any commitment or belief after that.

[Ian]

....didn't attend because he had a pre-arranged work commitment when the game was re-scheduled for that evening. You can't blame him for everything.

[epicrebel]

I believe we could and should have been champions and our failure seems to have been attitudinal We never gave lesser teams the respect all teams deserve We played at times with an arrogance when we had little to be arrogant about Ive never believed the oft repeated theory that teams raise their game against us You cant level up.We ease up against teams that the players percieve to be less able and get punished We lost three home games to teams that finished 13th 15th and 18th St Neots lost to teams finishing 2nd 3rd and 8th The tipping point of our season was the home loss to NGU just after we had beaten StNeots and retaken the top spot (this was the game Bateman didnt attend) there didnt seem to be any commitment or belief after that.

I believe we could and should have been champions and our failure seems to have been attitudinal We never gave lesser teams the respect all teams deserve We played at times with an arrogance when we had little to be arrogant about Ive never believed the oft repeated theory that teams raise their game against us You cant level up.We ease up against teams that the players percieve to be less able and get punished We lost three home games to teams that finished 13th 15th and 18th St Neots lost to teams finishing 2nd 3rd and 8th The tipping point of our season was the home loss to NGU just after we had beaten StNeots and retaken the top spot (this was the game Bateman didnt attend) there didnt seem to be any commitment or belief after that.

you forgot to add St Neots lost to 22nd place and we didn't , as I said you can make up what ever stats you like

[Irishadrian]

epicrebel my post was clearly about home games I didnt look at away games but since youve raised it I will and nothing Ive quoted is anything but fact.

[Irishadrian]

epic rebel Sadly the pattern is the same away from home St Neots lost 3 away from home to the teams finishing 2nd (us) 7th and 14th (dont know where you got 22nd from)We lost 4 to teams finishing 3rd 12th 15th and 20th the point I made is valid St Neots lost very few points to teams in the second half of the table We lost a lot of ours to the basement teams Thats not made up statistics thats how it happened.

[epicrebel]

Irishadrian they lost to Marlow 22nd

 

They lost 7 we lost 7

Edited May 6, 2012 by epicrebel

[Sir Rebel1965]

Does not matter who lost to who, the main difference is the St Newts will be playing in the premiership and we will not - after our 3rd chance in 3 years.

[epicrebel]

Years gone by Slough would loose to the top teams and get nowhere, in the league this year out of the 8 games we played against the top 4 teams we only lost 1 game.

[Irishadrian]

epicrebel No Marlow didnt beat StNeots away they lost 6-0,at home it was 0-0 ! Your observation that we did much better than usual against the top is the reason many people are both gutted and angry that we didnt become champions after all we beat the team who became champions twice and threw it away against the lowly teams.

[epicrebel]

sorry my mistake I was thinking of Hayes they lost to

[Saints alive]

Not that it matters but St Neots lost to Bedfont when they were bottom, drew with north greenford when they were bottom,drew with Marlow when they were bottom

They also kept 8 clean sheets out of their last 9 games.

Over the season they had 20 clean sheets.

They also averaged nearly 3 goals per game

Also lost only 2 games in their last 26

So maybe some of you are being a little hard on your team.