vs Hitchin

[GlenSTFC]

If we get the 3pts we deserve v Banbury (btw how long is this taking???) and win our game in hand on the teams above us we could be in a play off position!

[Stuntman Mark]

Good to be nowhere near our best and get the points. Cracking goal from Ed Smith.

[Mr Rebel]

Generally we come under a lot of pressure from teams who have a lot of movement and energy off the ball allowing more options therefore making it easier to keep the ball. Think it is an aspect we struggle with a bit not enough people working to give options to the player in possession.

 

That said we restricted hitchin to barely any chance of note and other than the soft goal we conceded we were never in too much glaring danger

 

We spent the early part of thr season saying we were getting punished by teams being ruthless and taking their chances however rare they were and that is exactly what we did yesterday. Good to see the team appears to be learning week after week how this level works.

 

To be 8th at this point is a superb start to the 1st season at a new level

[Reading Rebel]

Generally we come under a lot of pressure from teams who have a lot of movement and energy off the ball allowing more options therefore making it easier to keep the ball. Think it is an aspect we struggle with a bit not enough people working to give options to the player in possession.

 

That said we restricted hitchin to barely any chance of note and other than the soft goal we conceded we were never in too much glaring danger

 

We spent the early part of thr season saying we were getting punished by teams being ruthless and taking their chances however rare they were and that is exactly what we did yesterday. Good to see the team appears to be learning week after week how this level works.

 

To be 8th at this point is a superb start to the 1st season at a new level

 

 

I must of been watching a different game Mr Rebel.

 

Especially first half when Hitchin had quite a few good chances and must have wondered how the score was still 0-0.

 

Certainly agree with the rest of your post.

Edited November 23, 2014 by Reading Rebel

[Reading Rebel]

A bitty game where both side strengths and weaknesses cancelled each other out.

 

Slough just about deserved the win down to a better second half and some good finishing.

 

Looks like Simon Martin is still as clueless as he was at Slough.

 

 

To give Simon Martin a bit of credit, one thing he does do well is win the ball in the air and yesterday he proved to be more than a handful when the ball was lofted up to him.

[Reading Rebel]

Have to agree about Matt Lench.

 

I thought he looked lively all game and posed some real problems for us.

 

Hitchin certainly belied their league position (probably due to injuries) and if they continue playing as they did yesterday I'm sure they will start to climb the table.

Edited November 23, 2014 by Reading Rebel

[Bernie Gogan]

As we know you are only 2 or 3 injuries from breaking any momentum you may have. Good luck to Hitchin a good club and one I personally always feel an affinity with.

 

KEEP HITCHIN TOWN AT TOP FIELD...........

 

.....and TIME FOR OUR CLUB TO COME HOME TO THE TOWN OF SLOUGH (what the hell's the hold up red tape people or did Gove throw away the plans before he left?).

[Mark44]

are we expecting a ground update soon?

 

Im lost on whats meant to happen next

[Reading Rebel]

As we know you are only 2 or 3 injuries from breaking any momentum you may have. Good luck to Hitchin a good club and one I personally always feel an affinity with.

 

KEEP HITCHIN TOWN AT TOP FIELD...........

 

.....and TIME FOR OUR CLUB TO COME HOME TO THE TOWN OF SLOUGH (what the hell's the hold up red tape people or did Gove throw away the plans before he left?).

 

 

Perhaps that's because you played for Hitchin Bernie  

 

And yes, you're right, it's about time we heard something about the Arbour Vale site being transferred to the Council.

 

It was supposed to be done by this Autumn if I remember rightly from the meeting and it's now nearly Christmas!

Edited November 23, 2014 by Reading Rebel

[HorshamRebel]

That's lawyers and the government system for you

[Don Juan DeMarcus]

To give Simon Martin a bit of credit, one thing he does do well is win the ball in the air and yesterday he proved to be more than a handful when the ball was lofted up to him.

However he was the playing "marking" Jeffreys when bj (new nickname) scored...

[3spirit]

Have to agree about Matt Lench.

 

I thought he looked lively all game and posed some real problems for us.

 

Hitchin certainly belied their league position (probably due to injuries) and if they continue playing as they did yesterday I'm sure they will start to climb the table.

 

I,too,thought Matt Lench had a great game.On the day certainly looked the best Hitchin player.

 

I've always felt some Slough fans fail to appreciate Simon Martin.

Obviously he's not getting any younger and is nearing the end of his playing days,so, of course,he isn't the player he once was but those who knock him should take a look at his non-league playing record,as he's not the mug they make him out to be.

 

I've always thought he's a hard working,decent,honest player and sometimes it's not just about banging the ball in the back of the net as a forward,it's about being a nuisance to defenders and putting yourself about and thus creating space for your other attacking players.

Admittedly,he is prone to missing a sitter but as we've seen with many strikers,they all do that from time to time.

[Reading Rebel]

However he was the playing "marking" Jeffreys when bj (new nickname) scored...

 

 

I didn't realise that but it was a superb delivery from Knighty and great anticipation by Jeffers at the back stick. 

Edited November 23, 2014 by Reading Rebel

[Reading Rebel]

That's lawyers and the government system for you

 

 

Hopefully Steve Easterbrooke is being kept in the loop as promised by Rob Anderson at the pre-season meeting. 

[HEAVY TRUCKER]

i know neil i am a bit harsh but they are young boys and should be able to cope.

[Neil Baker]

They are young men, and most have families, work commitments and other things going on in their lives also, so when they have to put in such a monster effort in an evening on a very tough surface to play 90 minutes, then if we feel it is right to give them the Thursday night off we will.

 

To be honest we can only remember once or twice over the last year that we have lost after doing so, I can guarantee that despite what the Corby manager said he will give them the night off on a Thursday at some stage in the season, if he believes it is the right thing to do, makes no real difference to the performance.

 

Is all about knowing your players and what is right for them... and tbh despite the performance we got it correct as we won another 3 points.

[Matt]

I think the managers got it tactically spot on in the second half by withdrawing Parsons and Dobson, even though both were having good games, and making us play more narrowly by bringing on two central midfielders. And Knight, of course, put the ball in for Jeffreys to score the winner.

 

The main area I think we need to beef up is wide players though - of course we are missing Warren Harris, and if Dobson is unavailable then it severely restricts us as an attacking force down the wings. I'm sure the managers have been looking around, as playing the likes of Rumbold or Knight out there won't be as effective. I do understand though, that in this league we have to be more compact at times as playing with too much width can leave us exposed.

[Jon Underwood]

Some good points raised Matt.

 

Bakes and I have always favoured an attacking 4-4-2 with natural width either side and a big part of our success last season came from playing Wheeler/Dobbo on left and Wazza/Jake on the right. However this does leave you very open in midfield. This wasn't such an issue at the level below as generally we were able to hurt teams more than they could hurt us but at this level so many teams play a narrow 3 in midfield and sometimes even a narrow 4 and this means you can get overrun playing the way we like to.

 

We are having to adapt now and we have already played 4-4-2, 4-5-1, 4-3-3 and 3-5-2 this season. The good thing is we have a number of players who can play different roles and it's up to me and Bakes to get the tactics right on the day depending on our opponents and what players we have available. The good thing is we can change during a game as we did on Saturday if we feel we need a Plan B. Hitchin played 3 central midfielders plus a naturally wide player in Lench who came in off the wing and often played behind the 2 strikers making 4 in midfield which did cause us a problem and we did need to tighten up in the 2nd half as at 1-1 they were looking the more likely to score and at this time a point would have been a decent result given we were having an 'off day'.

 

We both agree that having one more natural wide player would improve the balance of the squad and this is something we have been looking at for a while now. The fact is however, in our opinion, the options here are limited. We have actually enquired about two wide players this season already, both very good players currently playing at this level but unfortunately we discovered they were both on contract so there is nothing we can do there this season. We also looked at a loan option from a higher level but this fell through as well when the lad starting getting in to the side at his club.

 

The likelihood is it would need to be someone from Step 4 or someone who can't get in at a Conf South side. We know every club in the local area, watch a lot of games between us and speak to a lot of players and managers so it's fair to say our finger is on the pulse but the right option just hasn't presented itself at the moment.

 

Having said that we are very happy with the squad we have at the moment and where we are in the league but we will continue to keep our eyes and ears open and try to improve our options whenever possible without upsetting the balance of the squad, the togetherness we have and of course the budget.

[Don Juan DeMarcus]

Have to agree with Matt. At the time I felt the withdrawal of the wide players was going to be a "pack the midfield" option and "hold on for a draw" however it seemed to work very well and I stand corrected, well done neil and jon it worked perfectly (to be fair your subs usually do)

[Neil Baker]

Have to agree with Matt. At the time I felt the withdrawal of the wide players was going to be a "pack the midfield" option and "hold on for a draw" however it seemed to work very well and I stand corrected, well done neil and jon it worked perfectly (to be fair your subs usually do)

Apart from when we brought Hatchett on and they scored within 5 seconds