Saints 4 Ash Trees 0

[Swifty]

I've been granted permission for the next two sentences by Alan Constable...

 

Terrible performance.

 

We need a miracle.

 

We turned up in a mixture of home and away kits (azure shirts, black and white shorts, tangerine socks) and looked like a pub team. Our defending for the unmarked header from ten feet out in the 5th minute and (admittedly beautifully taken) header in the 22nd matched the kit. We played with tenacity for both sets of ten minutes before and after the break and played well enough in the second half to deserve a goal and make it tighter for the home team, but it never came and we never caused their keeper to move to make his saves. While chasing the game we left a forward unmarked for an 84th minute far post tap-in, and then...

 

In the last minute, Saints played a through ball just inside their half, at which point a key defender two feet inside our half stood still with his arm raised as if he needed to be excused. The forward ran onto the through ball and tucked it home for 4-0. Rule one of football - play to the whistle. PLAY TO THE SODDING WHISTLE! I was told certain people at the club gave me dagger stares after my comment following that goal, but tough. I don't regret it. I care.

 

We were so poor overall that, when one particular player was subbed, I thought he was actually coming on as his replacement looked very similar facially and said subbed player had been so ineffective as to be anonymous. Talking of subs, I was surprised Jav got subbed as he tried really hard.

 

In fairness, the pitch was incredibly heavy due to the rain and must have been a nightmare to run on. Remember the old-style First Division grounds? You get the picture. The trouble was, the home team had a load of well built shire horse types who are probably used to that pitch, whereas our mixture of old lags and inexperienced lads would have been done in by the final whistle due to the conditions. Also in fairness, the game was played in very good spirit apart from an incident where Perry ended up wearing a shirt open necked almost to the navel. I'd rather watch St. Ives Town than Marlow, any day.

 

A home fan said afterwards it could have finished 10-3. Fair comment. Tyler was our best player by some margin - without having to dive, he made a load of superb reflex saves. Apart from Jav, I thought Cyril and Joe tried their best up front, but they didn't get the service they needed.

 

Big thanks for Shropshire Bob for the lift home and for the trip back through various unplanned bits of the British countryside - he lost his way twice, or maybe Bob just enjoyed the company and wanted to stroll it back! Talking of which, I'd prefer the Hellenic League next season - nicer countryside en route to away games.

[Green Pea]

I know I will likely be shot down for this comment but speaking from experience of being involved at a club at the same level who have battled relegation (with £0 budget last time), the team needs an experienced Manager to come in and bring players with him.  Not youngsters who show good potential for their respective Reserves or U18s but men who are equipped to get points on the board for the club ASAP.  For example, Cyril sounds like he's one of the few bright sparks at the moment yet in Bedfont Town's final season he was a regular in the Reserves after trialling!  Recruiting players from step 5/6 is okay if you have enough quality in the team already and the time to bed them into the higher standard of football, we do not.

 

This is in no way an attack on Ben, I hear he is a very good coach coach and an excellent volunteer at the club (and an all round nice guy) but like Burgo before him he needs somebody with him who gets some quality players through the door and keeps them there.  A black book with names in it who will come running when called is essential at this point in time.

 

I appreciate I'm stating the obvious and looking at the table it probably WILL take "a miracle" to climb out of the relegation places at this stage but doing nothing is the same as accepting it.  And before somebody says it's easy to post a comment such as this on a forum without offering a possible solution, these type of guys ARE out there.

 

Anyway, I hope no offence is caused, ATMFC is a fine club with traditions and I have the utmost respect for those on the board/committee who want only the best for its members.

 

Happy New Year...

[lazarus]

By way of clarification, I mentioned to Eddy yesterday that he and anyone else is entitled to express their opinion on this forum, that's what its for.  However, I stated that I was very much against individual players being slaughtered in print, as happened last week, as it does not help either the club or the player concerned.

[Green Pea]

Hi Alan - feel free to delete my post, just sorry to see the recent results and comments so had a little ramble...

[lazarus]

Nothing there to delete.  Not everyone will agree but what you have written is perfectly constructive.

[Swifty]

Alan, just to clarify, I try to praise players individually and criticise collectively, as you know.

 

I made sure not to name the subbed player in my earlier comment as only those of us who were there at the match will have an idea who I mean, and it should stay like that.

 

For what it's worth, I've encouraged the lad by name at a couple of recent matches and I'm desperate for him to show his potential, starting on Wednesday.

[ZolaPower]

Green Pea maybe you should put up or shut up because for someone with alledged experience with £0 should look at what we have as a club !!! People like yourself really annoy me as they talk but cant do the walking, If your good enough then your old enough.The problem was created by Burgo not making the right decisions, so leave the younsters alone and hand over your so called black book and lets see who wants to come and play with no money !!! enough said. Its the youngsters that are actually showing the better at the moment !!!! and also there are some very young faces with enough experience at this level and without them we have no squad. look around and see all the other clubs squads getting older we will have completed the rebuild and watch the others fall. Get a grip man as cannot stand negative comments from certain individuals who do not have a clue.I never comment on here just laugh at some of the posts but this is at another level now.If we are doomed as certain people seem to have accepted then you will feel the loss of a lot of these boys because the majority are all good enough to compete and achieve at this level and without them there would be no Team.

[fatboyatmfc]

Nobody has ever said you can't say what you want on here.

We all want the team to succeed and constructive criticism is good. However, if we start picking individual players out for criticism it will be counter productive.

 

I think we are desparate for a couple of experienced defenders and a striker. Personally, I think we can still get out of it but we need to stop shipping goals and grind out some 1-0's rather than trying to outplay teams.

 

One things for sure, if we turn on each other on here it will just damage the moral of the club which has come on in leaps and bounds in recent weeks.

[Green Pea]

Green Pea maybe you should put up or shut up because for someone with alledged experience with £0 should look at what we have as a club !!! People like yourself really annoy me as they talk but cant do the walking, If your good enough then your old enough.The problem was created by Burgo not making the right decisions, so leave the younsters alone and hand over your so called black book and lets see who wants to come and play with no money !!! enough said. Its the youngsters that are actually showing the better at the moment !!!! and also there are some very young faces with enough experience at this level and without them we have no squad. look around and see all the other clubs squads getting older we will have completed the rebuild and watch the others fall. Get a grip man as cannot stand negative comments from certain individuals who do not have a clue.I never comment on here just laugh at some of the posts but this is at another level now.If we are doomed as certain people seem to have accepted then you will feel the loss of a lot of these boys because the majority are all good enough to compete and achieve at this level and without them there would be no Team.

I cannot believe you have read & understood what I have written otherwise your response would be constructive and not a narrow-minded naive barrage of insults.  I just hope you do not have a serious role within the club else there are bigger problems than desperately trying to win football matches.

 

@ Ben, the squad & the board/committee - no offence was intended by my post, I hope to see the fortunes on the pitch turn around as soon as the next supporter and was simply offering a view based on what I'd experienced first-hand elsewhere and for the benefit of some that don't read so well that wasn't as a manager as we all know.

[Beano]

Actually, GP, I thought that the initial post was both fair and constructive.

 

I also applaud ZolaPower's passion and acknowledge that there are some very promising youngsters in the squad as ZP mentions. However, we can't wait to "complete the rebuild" - we are 10 points adrift! Therefore, the point is valid - if we can find some experienced players to help the youngsters, then there is still more than enough time to resolve the situation. I think Dan is right in that we really need some additional experience in defense and someone to stick the ball in the net, but I also know that Ben and his management team will be working hard to do what they can to strengthen the group.

 

If we can get something at Egham on Wednesday. (even a point would do at this stage) then that might be a springboard to greater things. But the situation is what it is and I think it is unrealistic to expect that after the team have conceded four goals in each of the last two matches that there wouldn't be even one word of criticism or even maybe some suggestions as to how things might be improved. We have six points from half a season's football, therefore "negative comments from certain individuals" are probably inevitable! 

[Green Pea]

Hey Beano - if I can get cover for my standby shift I'll try and get over on Wednesday, not just to cheer ATMFC on but to see half of the Egham team who are ex-Bedfont Town players who I haven't seen for a while.

 

Hopefully catch up then.

[Beano]

I can't go! I'll be in Liverpool for New Year, visiting Steph's family. However, one of the BamBeano's godparents is an official at Egham who will be keeping me updated. We will catch up soon, though.

 

Egham being my hometown club, and the one where my football life began, I am every bit as desperate as the players (and everyone else) that we get a result there and, as my train home departs Lime Street just as the full-time whistle will be due to blow, my journey will be defined by the game.  I am hopeful that the first day of 2014 is the start of the comeback!

[Swifty]

Talking of strikers and scorers, I think it speaks volumes that our top goalscorer so far this season with five is Samad Kazi - who left in September.

 

Joint second with four are Joe Hughes, recalled by Staines Town, and Mark Bitmead, who also left in September, giving the club a week's notice that he was going to Australia for a year. Mark would have known for weeks, maybe months, beforehand that he and Rob Curtis were off to Oz, but they selfishly said nothing and kept their places rather than tell the truth and ask to help out as squad players or impact subs while we filled their gaps during the close season.

 

I think Javan deserves a run up front now, as he has a bit of spark and he's a trier, and Cyril's giving it a go. Cyril actually needs to play by instinct rather than think too hard about what to do next as he loses his way, but the lad's only 17 and he's been one of our more promising players this season. At least those lads are still here, unlike various who couldn't hack the travelling, got sent off twice and then said they weren't enjoying playing for us, had a hissy fit at being subbed, couldn't take competition for their position or caused disruption in the changing rooms. 

 

While we haven't kept a single clean sheet in the league this season, due on several occasions to awful defending, I think the midfield also needs to beef up and both protect the defence and be more proactive and feed the forwards. Hopefully, Weighty can avoid any more stupid red cards and forge a more assertive midfield partnership with Dan Hughes and Elliott Jones. You've got the talent, lads. We believe. Prove me right.

 

St. Ives Town away was more like Players' Dads than Readers' Wives. Kudos to Mark Tobin for driving the minibus, great to see Graham Bennett wearing an Ashford scarf, and sad to see hard man Chad Beadle close to crying in the clubhouse after the game. These lads care as much as their sons do.

 

And as for Egham Town? Their home form in the league this season is won 2, drawn 3, lost 7. Nothing to fear, lads. Self-belief. Confidence. Teamwork. Concentration. You can bring the points back across the Thames. 

[Tel]

The game is opionated, the very young squad will need lots of time to blend,maybe this season will be too short for them to find their feet, but hey, is relegation that bad.

 

A season or two at the next level, the team winning games will add

confidence to the young team and another chance in the Vase.

 

Teams seem to be folding due to finances but with Sue & Phil at the helm, I am sure the future of

Ashford is BRIGHT.

[Swifty]

One of the most frustrating points is that, for the 14 seasons since we left the Combined Counties, we've only suffered about a season's worth of poor results - the first 16 games in our fledgling season in Ryman Div 1 South (when an almost complete clearout of players did the trick), the last ten matches of our final season in the Ryman Premier (when lack of finances resulted in a player exodus), and this season so far, and yet we're facing a return to the CoCo or equivalent.

 

We've never been involved in annual relegation escapes, unlike a number of clubs, and we've only finished in the bottom six once in the last 13 seasons. The other bitter pill is that we made our ascent to the Ryman Premier when it was four steps above the CoCo, and now it's only a two division drop back. Not only that, with just one team promoted from each feeder division (and, back in our CoCo days, a top three finish made you eligible for promotion) it's more difficult to move back up the pyramid. Don't forget there are no playoffs in the level below us. Also, there are a large number of local clubs in our area who might make it difficult to assemble the quality or depth of squad we need.

 

Sue and Phil have worked wonders with the finances, but the higher up the pyramid we are, the more likely we'll play teams with bigger away followings or a higher level of local derby sides, and the higher the gate receipts would be. Admittedly, you can get excellent crowds in the leagues below us (231 for Westfield v. Windsor last Saturday as an example) but that isn't a 'gimme'.

 

Mind you, if the worst came to the worst, I'd enjoy us being back in the FA Vase. That was a highlifght of the season in the old days, and the FA Trophy's a farce now. How many rounds do you have to win these days to finally be in the draw with one of those precious Conference National sides?