A couple of non league snippets

[Irishadrian]

The latest prediction final table after todays games has us missing the playoffs by one place!

[Irishadrian]

Torquay must be worried  Yesterday they had one more point deducted for fielding a suspended player This isnt reflected yet in the tables They now have just 47 pts and not out of danger!

[Matt]

1 minute ago, Irishadrian said:

Torquay must be worried  Yesterday they had one more point deducted for fielding a suspended player This isnt reflected yet in the tables They now have just 47 pts and not out of danger!

And they are away at Taunton on Tuesday night!

[Irishadrian]

Dorking W  and Kidderminster H both relegated after todays games.

Maidenheads revival continues now in the top half of the table!

Edited April 13 by Irishadrian

[Kaiser Gibbs Batman (KGB)]

6 hours ago, Irishadrian said:

Nobody mentioning Bernie Gogan?

His name is also on the list.

13 minutes ago, Irishadrian said:

Dorking W  and Kidderminster H both relegated after todays games.

Maidenheads revival continues now in the top half of the table!

Another blow to the attempt to recreate the old Corinthian League in the NLS.

[Nathan]

2 hours ago, Curtis said:

Dan Lincoln has conceded 28 goals in 21 league matches, but we have conceded 40 goals in our other 23 league matches.

It would be great if we could have him for a full season….. in theory we could concede 9/10 less goals. 

A decent defence is usually a prerequisite for a play-off push, so it'll be interesting to see if Dan Lincoln's cricket commitments impede on this at all.

Looking at the league table and the teams in the top-seven, the Goals Against column reads as 44, 42, 70, 39, 51, 49 and 51 (we've conceded 68, or 70 if you count the 2 from the Bath game). Worthing's (who could yet finish as runners-up) 70 really sticks out like a sore thumb (to put that into context, Dover have so far conceded 73, so only 3 more and Taunton 68, so 2 fewer, albeit with 2 fewer games played), but have been carried by their 100 goals scored.

[GlenSTFC]

I like Dan Lincoln and think he’s a decent goalkeeper but if he stays what’s everyone’s opinion on his availability issues? He’s obviously signed informing the management this would be the case but it’s not ideal especially if we’re looking to mount a play off challenge next season. You wouldn’t be able to give every player the same opportunity so in a way he’s getting special treatment. By the way does Hugo not play for anyone else?

[Nathan]

On 02/04/2024 at 20:14, Reading Rebel said:

Boreham Wood have sacked manager Luke Garrard.

This sacking will come into effect after the final game of this season.

They now seem to be making a late dash for safety, beating Aldershot 3-0 tonight. 

Coupled with York beat Woking today, it's "squeaky bum time" for all three, so we could yet be reunited with Woking next season. 

[Irishadrian]

Torquay administrators have announced that theyve found a viable preferred buyer for the club that they believe will succeed!

[Curtis]

I thought Hugo Sobte had signed for Ascot at the beginning of the season.

He’s only played 5 matches for us, but we are unbeaten with two wins & three draws.

[Curtis]

1 hour ago, GlenSTFC said:

I like Dan Lincoln and think he’s a decent goalkeeper but if he stays what’s everyone’s opinion on his availability issues?

I think Dan Lincoln is National League standard but doesn’t want to play full-time…. he’s done a fantastic job for us when we had significant issues in that position.

I would be delighted if he signed for next season, and I’m confident with plenty of notice Scott could cover when he’s not available.

Regarding potential play-offs, I would suggest putting Dan on generous play-off match payments to persuade him to make them a priority if they arise.

Edited April 13 by Curtis

[Reading Rebel]

2 hours ago, Curtis said:

I think Dan Lincoln is National League standard but doesn’t want to play full-time…. he’s done a fantastic job for us when we had significant issues in that position.

I would be delighted if he signed for next season, and I’m confident with plenty of notice Scott could cover when he’s not available.

Regarding potential play-offs, I would suggest putting Dan on generous play-off match payments to persuade him to make them a priority if they arise.

I'm sorry but that's a risk I don't think we should take.

We are lucky this season that we have Hugo to fill in, if not we would be relying on a young lad who's inexperienced at this level.

We cannot afford to have our main keeper possibly missing for games at the beginning, middle and end of the season if we are serious about the play-offs.

BTW Dan missed today due to a bad back but is due to play cricket tomorrow for Berkshire. 

 

[Reading Rebel]

11 hours ago, Grant Brown said:

What you are referring to is a needle in a haystack, and yes I have spoken to supporters who think the club’s budget is capable of affording the impossible signing without realising what a lot of players demand these days.

When everyone talks about a striker, they are doing Nathan a disservice. He has scored goals on a par with strikers earning double, maybe treble, what he does.

Saying we need a another striker is doing Nathan a disservice?

With Ogbonna and Abisogun both wide players our two main central strikers are Minhas and Spasov.

Slavi is a young player who shows promise but going by his track record does seem a bit injury prone.

The same way we've brought in Trae over the past couple of months, in my view if the budget is there this leaves space next season for at least one more striker if we are to be serious about the play-offs.

 

 

 

[Grant Brown]

6 hours ago, Reading Rebel said:

Saying we need a another striker is doing Nathan a disservice?

With Ogbonna and Abisogun both wide players our two main central strikers are Minhas and Spasov.

Slavi is a young player who shows promise but going by his track record does seem a bit injury prone.

The same way we've brought in Trae over the past couple of months, in my view if the budget is there this leaves space next season for at least one more striker if we are to be serious about the play-offs.

 

 

 

I am only going by the various comments made about Nathan throughout the season when he’s actually done very well, that’s what I am referring to. Someone posted a retained list for next season with everyone but Nathan, bloody harsh!

Yes, another option up top would be a bonus but a prolific striker at this level commands a lot of money.

If it could be done, bring back Trae on a season long loan, then the striker department would be set in my opinion.

Edited April 14 by Grant Brown

[Sir Rebel1965]

What everyone is ignoring is that some of the existing squad will probably not be with the club next season, as those not on a contract have had a better offer, or another club buys those on a contract out of their contract.

Some players were put on contracts early, as the club under the new ownership structure saw there was a risk of them being tempted away and that they had a value on the transfer market, and therefore can generate an income from the sale of players as part of their financial plan.

This is apparent when you consider that Temi Eweka signed for the club from Maidenhead United for an undisclosed fee in August 2023, and as those who have been talking about player wages at this level have now shown, that this league is now financially driven.

Expect to see changes.

[Holyport Rebel]

It was so very nice to be able to enjoy the game yesterday in what felt like the first time in absolute ages that we had a warm sun on our faces.
And that's the thing. 
We could enjoy it.
The only "pressure" on us was to try to win some more points to get as high up in the table as possible, and end the season well.
Hemel fans couldn't enjoy the day as we could.
They were desperately hoping to earn a point or three to ensure their safety for this season.
Lots of other fans of National League South clubs went into their clubs matches yesterday's fearful of what might befall their team at 5pm.
It was/is fantastic not to be in that position.
A brilliant Johnny G strike, a great finish from Trae and a Johnny on the spot finishing touch gave us a 3-2 win. ( Despite our dodgy kit ! )
Walking out of the ground at the end of the match in the sunshine with another good away win under our belts was such a lovely feeling.. 
Next week we have a great chance to end the season on 70 points.
Seventy !
To me if you get to 70 points at the end of a season then that is a notable indicator that it has been a very successful league campaign.
Even more so when we all know how our league season started.
And we have scored, if you include the four we managed v Bath, 84 league goals.
84.
Second highest in the Division.
More than the season long, 'running away with the league' full time Champion team Yeovil.
Yes I know we have let in a few, but all the "experts" say that scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in football.
I think I'd rather try to solve a problem of stopping goals going in then trying to work out how to score them.
So next Saturday is our last game for this season.
It would be so satisfying to get the 3 points on offer to get to that 70 points mark, keep our unbeaten home record to carry on into next season, and end this season on a big high.
There's quite a few National League South clubs and fans that would love to be in our position.
   
    

Edited April 14 by Holyport Rebel

[Reading Rebel]

3 hours ago, Grant Brown said:

I am only going by the various comments made about Nathan throughout the season when he’s actually done very well, that’s what I am referring to. Someone posted a retained list for next season with everyone but Nathan, bloody harsh!

Yes, another option up top would be a bonus but a prolific striker at this level commands a lot of money.

If it could be done, bring back Trae on a season long loan, then the striker department would be set in my opinion.

So we agree that supporters talking about the club getting another striker in is not doing Nathan a disservice.

Nathan has done ok for his first season at this level and if he's a part of our squad for next season hopefully he'll do even better.

Trae could be an option but that will probably depend on whether the new management at Wealdstone want him as part of their match day squad.

[GlenSTFC]

11 minutes ago, Reading Rebel said:

So we agree that supporters talking about the club getting another striker in is not doing Nathan a disservice.

Nathan has done ok for his first season at this level and if he's a part of our squad for next season hopefully he'll do even better.

Trae could be an option but that will probably depend on whether the new management at Wealdstone want him as part of their match day squad.

Now Nathan has 17 goals not sure I’d agree he ‘has done ok’. Remember this is his first full season at this level, the highest he’s played at. It’s going to take time to get used to the standard and pace and he’s made mistakes of course. But this season will have been a great learning experience for him hopefully meaning an even better 2024/25 season. That’s if he stays of course!!! 

[Reading Rebel]

1 minute ago, GlenSTFC said:

Now Nathan has 17 goals not sure I’d agree he ‘has done ok’. Remember this is his first full season at this level, the highest he’s played at. It’s going to take time to get used to the standard and pace and he’s made mistakes of course. But this season will have been a great learning experience for him hopefully meaning an even better 2024/25 season. That’s if he stays of course!!! 

Not only Nathan but any striker we have should be ultimately judged on their league goals as that is their bread and butter and what will hopefully help get the club into a play-off position.

So 14 goals to date for a striker in his first season at this level is an ok return.

 

[GlenSTFC]

3 minutes ago, Reading Rebel said:

Not only Nathan but any striker we have should be ultimately judged on their league goals as that is their bread and butter and what will hopefully help get the club into a play-off position.

So 14 goals to date for a striker in his first season at this level is an ok return.

 

Be fair and include all goals scored RR! Next you’ll be saying Goddard had an ok season too!