Disappointing

[andyetfc]

to say the least that we lost the last two games to teams below us in the table. I doubt if there is anyone who can paint a good picture of yesterday's game. We didn't appear to have a game plan after Adam went off and there seemed to be a lack of desire, especially in the second half.

 

Carshalton were not the best team we have played this year but at least they tried hard and had it not been for Noel, then they could have had another three goals.

 

Changes need to be made otherwise we will be in this same position next season.

 

Why was Hope taken off. Goal scorer. Nearly scored with a great header. Then substituted!

 

At the end of the game the Carshalton players went over to their fans and applauded them. Most of our players just walked off.

 

No doubt some will say we can only afford certain players because of our budget but just look what East Thurrock did over the last few months after beating us. A run of something like 20 odd games with a couple of defeats. It can be done with the right systems in place.

 

 

[Arthur Salisbury]

Completely agree - Adam and Imber were the only ones who looked up for it yesterday. And I have no idea why Hope had to come off - it pains me to say it, but Matata is just not good enough. God knows why Lee Allen was man of the match. Very anticlimactic end to the season, but credit to the Carshalton fans, who were ace

[Father Jack]

And while the Carshalton fans sang non-stop for 90 minutes, ours spent the second half abusing our own players or singing songs about Barnet. Well thanks a lot.

[andyetfc]

I don't think all our supporters sang songs about Barnet FC but quite a few were enjoying hearing about their score and where they were going to be playing next year. Seems odd really.

[Arthur Salisbury]

We spelt out E-N-F-I-E-L-D at one point, but there was a heavy emphasis on Barnet. The singing has been a problem all season (in that there's not enough of it), but I don't buy into this argument that you shouldn't have a go at your own players. If they look like they don't want to be there, what can you expect from the fans?

[Tom S]

- it pains me to say it, but Matata is just not good enough.

 

Given that he's basically been recovering from injuries all season, made very few starts and only came on as sub in games where we were already struggling I don't think he's had a chance to prove it one way or the other. Let's see what happens if he can get a full pre-season under his belt and start off somewhere close to full fitness.

Edited April 28, 2013 by Tom S

[Steve Newing]

Steve and Jason weren't happy with the second half performance either after speaking to them in the bar last night. Steve wanted the lads to put on a good show yesterday and finish off in style. It didn't happen and after controlling the first half we were awful in the second half. I think after relegation had been avoided some of the lads couldn't get going and certainly the loss of Adam affected the dynamics of the team. Steve will be looking to improve the squad for the next campaign I am sure and if it can be improved it will be. It's a shame about the last two results but the lads and the management have retained our Ryman Prem status and finished above a handful of clubs with bigger finances ( budget wise ) than us. It could be worse we could be in either Carshalton or Hastings position right now and looking forward to fixtures at Redbridge etc.... . I personally think a few of the lads have run out of steam , quite a lot if them have played the majority of our matches and by the end the squad was quite small in terms of fully fit players. Re Liam Hope yesterday he was struggling with a knock that is why Steve took him off. The side that played the last two games was the side that won the previous Saturday at Hendon to ensure safety. Making changes / keeping if the same what to do either way he probably would have received criticism. Lets look forward to another Ryman Prem campaign when many others can't. Going up a league , staying up is always going to be difficult unless you have a money man to fund as per say a Whitehawk. Look at Billericay and AFC Hornchurch up and straight back down. Being second bottom at the halfway point to finally finish 16th in my opinion a good effort by all involved.

[Steph]

Andy - You will recall that I said that we should give other squad members a chance and you criticised me. However we didn't give others a chance and still lost.

 

I agree with Tom that Matata has not been given a crack of the whip however it is not the forward line that is the problem. There are only nine teams that have scored more than us. It is the defence that presents a problem. There is a clear lack of pace which needs to be dealt with. Also whilst Lee Allen is the best that we have seen lately for being a holding midfield player his distribution is not up to Andy Jones standard. Jonathan Hunt's performance yesterday was poor and though Joe O'brian did well in the first half he seemed to fade second half.

[CD Towner]

Andy Jones distibution? It really is a game of opinions Steph!

[andyetfc]

Steph. Criticise you? I passed a comment on what others may say if we made wholesale changes at a critical time of he season. Now is the time to reflect on the season as a whole and make the necessary changes in order to make a difference.

[andyetfc]

I thought the referee did an excellent job yesterday. Good all round performance and everyone knew where they stood.

[StoneCold]

I thought Lee Allen has been 1 of only 2 or 3 players in this past month that has shown any kind of commitment and desire and it was no surprise to me that he was given MOM yesterday.

 

I have said before that we have a good 8 or 9 players with a few decent subs, we don't need a big 'overhaul' but a couple of players need to be told/shown that a few bad games and they wont be first choice. Tyler & Hunt have been very disappointing in the run in, Tyler has been non existent for far to many games this season and Hunty when he plays well he's a joy to watch but when he plays bad he is awful. Watching him I compare him to Mark Pye, very talented on the ball if given time but when he's hurried he panics and isn't that quick at trying to win the ball back.

 

I think 3 or 4 players with real quality that improves the team (not just the squad) will see an improvement in the side and league placing for next season, no need to get players in like Laird who hasn't had any impact on the team.

 

Finally it's been said many times that the singing is very quiet, we have one of the best crowds in the league yet probably one of the quietest, I used to be a regular in the earlier Town days at Brimmo and many many years following Enfield both home & away and the crowd was noisy and the drum was loud, now unfortunately the moans are more loud than the cheering....and as for signing about Barnet, why not? They are our rivals why shouldn't we 'gloat' in their relegation? Every club has rivalries and fans will chant about other teams misfortunes so why shouldn't we? It's not as if we were signing homophobic or racist songs towards them?

[Father Jack]

Sorry, but how exactly are Barnet our rivals?

[Arkwright]

Sorry, but how exactly are Barnet our rivals?

 

We played them in a friendly once I suppose.

[MbrunoB]

Steve was right to stick with the usual first team selection for the last two games as they were against relegation threatened teams and we owed it to the other teams to carry on as we had.

 

Just think if we and Lewes had been in each others position and we found out that Lewes had put out a squad/youth team and been beaten by enough goals to sink us on goal difference, The moans there would have been about it.

 

If we had been playing a mid table side it would have been different.

[StoneCold]

Sorry, but how exactly are Barnet our rivals?

They are our LOCAL rivals. It is a well known football fact that local teams have rivalries. Just because we are not in the same league does not mean they are not our rivals.

Maybe we should adopt Leiston as our rivals then after all they were the 'traditional' Boxing day derby!!

[Tom S]

Surely our 'local' rivals are Cheshunt, Waltham Abbey and Potters Bar.

[Father Jack]

No they are NOT our rivals! They inhabit a different footballing world to us, and we have played them once, in an unmemorable friendly. If physical proximity was a criterion, we might as well call Arsenal and Spurs our rivals

[Electrickgreatcoatman]

As far as I and many other Town fans are concerned, Barnet ARE still our rivals, Neither I, nor the other fans who actually make the effort to sing, need you to tell us who are our rivals are and what we can and can't sing.

 

I would rather hear anti Barnet songs than listen to the embarrassing and moronic abuse that some people seem to think is ok to dish out to visiting goal keepers.

[Father Jack]

With you on the second point 100%.

No-one is telling anyone what or what not to sing.

However, compare the atmosphere behind the respective goals on Saturday in the second half. Had I been a neutral, I know which end I'd rather have been standing