V Hampton&Richmond A 9th February

[Reading Rebel]

3 minutes ago, kirk said:

I stick by what I have said before we struggle against poor weak sides.we don't seem to see out a winning position. to me that is tactics wise a poor show.

So you agree with our managers?

[kirk]

10 minutes ago, Reading Rebel said:

So you agree with our managers?

if you mean taking it to the corner then yes.

[3spirit]

17 minutes ago, kirk said:

I stick by what I have said before we struggle against poor weak sides.we don't seem to see out a winning position. to me that is tactics wise a poor show.

I know I can be viewed as contrary but Bakes and Unders can do nothing right in your eyes,Kirk. As Chas and Dave sang there 'Ain't No Pleasing You' !

The only thing I thought the managers got wrong yesterday, was the change of formation late in the game, nothing else. For the first 85 minutes everything was going well and to plan. I thought the substitions were the correct ones, I just thought they should have been like for like replacements rather than moving the team around to the 4-5-1 but that's life, we are all human beings and we all make errors of judgement. Show me someone who hasn't, and I'll call them a liar.

Before the game had kicked off I thought a 1-1 draw would be quite sufficent for the result but it was only when I saw how bad Hampton were on the day that I changed my mind and then thought Slough ought to get the win. It was not to be, so not worth getting worked up about. 

 

[Stan]

I too stand by what i have said previously.

Given that i have said we :-

should always have a go for another goal,/ always protect a 1 goal lead and take it to the corner

always smash teams once ahead / just get 3 points no matter what the oppo do

never make a tactical change when ahead / always make a change to protect a lead .

( delete as appropriate) 

so looks like im right again !!!!

[Reading Rebel]

We did play well and were the better side for practically the whole 90+minutes.

TBH my initial reaction to the change in formation to 4-5-1 was that it was not the right call but on reflection I don't think it cost us the game.

Whether you agree with it or not playing the ball into the corner in the dying seconds would almost certainly have won us the game.

We changed formation and brought on Sean Fraser to shore things up so why were we still bombing forward when the game was almost over?

You've also got to say that despite the fact that we were much the better side we've still only scored one goal.

If we'd have got the second goal the result wouldn't have been in doubt. 

For me the two outstanding players for us were Lee Togwell and Matt Lench with Togs getting the nod for MOTM.

 

[Reading Rebel]

8 minutes ago, Stan said:

I too stand by what i have said previously.

Given that i have said we :-

should always have a go for another goal,/ always protect a 1 goal lead and take it to the corner

always smash teams once ahead / just get 3 points no matter what the oppo do

never make a tactical change when ahead / always make a change to protect a lead .

( delete as appropriate) 

so looks like im right again !!!!

Nice one Stan  ? 

[3spirit]

RR, when you say we were bombing forward ,it was from the half of the pitch we were defending, it wasn't into the Hampton half as Tommy Wood looked isolated late on. That being so, it gave the Hampton defenders the opportunity to bring the ball out from their half at will. That's why the game changed,as before the change, we had been controlling the play by keeping it simple, passing the ball effectively through midfield and to the flanks and taking the game to them.

By going 4-5-1 our team condensed itself into operating within our own half [except for the young Tommy Wood] and invited Hampton to attack.

If we were going to mess about wasting time in the corners we should have played safe by putting it into the corners at the Hampton end, thus keeping the ball away from our penalty area/goal line.

Couldn't agree more,when you say Slough should have been after a second goal, not looking to defend a slender lead. Hampton were there for the taking but we blew our chance.

To be fair, the substitutes that did come on didn't quite match the players efforts that went off. Tommy Wood was the more successful of the three but struggled to really impose himself, Sean Fraser found himself between a rock and a hard place and looked like he wasn't quite sure where he was playing, and Louis Soares was largely anonymous. Always difficult to fill Wazza's boots, as he will do defensive work as well as push forward but Louis came on and hardly got involved but for all that, I still thought we should have had enough about us to get the win.

The Hampton fans afterwards couldn't believe their luck with their goal. One older Hampton fan, as I left the ground,  said that the current Hampton team was the worst he had seen in 20 years !  I don't know about that but the statement didn't make me feel any better, being that Slough couldn't beat them.

One bright spot is Manny Williams got the star player award in the Non League paper today, for his efforts for Basingstoke, as he scored two goals and set up another five in the 10-3 win against Staines !  Hope he is around for us on Tuesday.      

 

 

Edited February 10, 2019 by 3spirit

[Reading Rebel]

9 minutes ago, 3spirit said:

RR, when you say we were bombing forward ,it was from the half of the pitch we were defending, it wasn't into the Hampton half as Tommy Wood looked isolated late on. That being so, it gave the Hampton defenders the opportunity to bring the ball out from their half at will. That's why the game changed,as before the change, we had been controlling the play by keeping it simple, passing the ball effectively through midfield and to the flanks and taking the game to them.

By going 4-5-1 our team condensed itself into operating within our own half [except for the young Tommy Wood] and invited Hampton to attack.

If we were going to mess about wasting time in the corners we should have played safe by putting it into the corners at the Hampton end, thus keeping the ball away from our penalty area/goal line.

Couldn't agree more,when you say Slough should have been after a second goal, not looking to defend a slender lead. Hampton were there for the taking but we blew our chance.

To be fair, the substitutes that did come on didn't quite match the players efforts that went off. Tommy Wood was the more successful of the three but struggled to really impose himself, Sean Fraser found himself between a rock and a hard place and looked like he wasn't quite sure where he was playing, and Louis Soares was largely anonymous. Always difficult to fill Wazza's boots, as he will do defensive work as well as push forward but Louis came on and hardly got involved but for all that, I still thought we should have had enough about us to get the win.

The Hampton fans afterwards couldn't believe their luck with their goal. One older Hampton fan, as I left the ground,  said that the current Hampton team was the worst he had seen in 20 years !  I don't know about that but the statement didn't make me feel any better, being that Slough couldn't beat them.

One bright spot is Manny Williams got the star player award in the Non League paper today, for his efforts for Basingstoke, as he scored two goals and set up another five in the 10-3 win against Staines !  Hope he is around for us on Tuesday.      

 

 

For most of the match we were after a second goal but it didn't come which ultimately proved to be a major reason why we didn't get all three points.

Doesn't matter what quality of team we play if you don't score when you are quite clearly the better side the oppo are always in the game with a chance and so it proved yesterday.

[Irishadrian]

3 Spirit

You're certainly correct about the Hampton fans Take a look at their fans forum  A large number of comments with two main themes. "How did we get a point from that game ?" And "Why is our team the poorest for years and not impoving"  Most contributors  think we were the better team and should have won

[Reading Rebel]

TBF it's a bit harsh on Hampton considering Gary McCann has had to build a team from scratch with the exodus of players when Dowson left.

If Hampton stay up I think their fans should consider it job done.

Edited February 10, 2019 by Reading Rebel

[3spirit]

17 hours ago, Reading Rebel said:

TBF it's a bit harsh on Hampton considering Gary McCann has had to build a team from scratch with the exodus of players when Dowson left.

If Hampton stay up I think their fans should consider it job done.

I think Gary McCann is a good manager but clearly he has problems with his Hampton team at the moment. I think the Hampton fans are on his back because they have over achieved under Alan Dowson and Alan Devonshire, so they've been use to success. They should be more tolerant with Gary McCann, as he's stepped up a division, and as you say, RR,has had to start from scratch with the teambuilding. They started the season well, and because they were nearer the top than the bottom, I think Hampton fans got a false perspective of what their team would do this season. I always thought they would be nearer the bottom, come the end of the season,than the top. In fact, I mentioned this on this forum at the start of the season.

Our team is in a different position in the fact that we have managers who have been at our club awhile, who have been clever in not making huge changes to the team that won us promotion to the Conference South. We have stability and a good base to build on.

We played well for most of the game against Hampton but for some bizarre reason started to negate our attacking play, and then became overly cautious. I know wins in the  Conference South are hard to come by but what on earth are we doing playing one up front against the struggling Hampton team ! 

I know wins are important but are we really that desperate. We were all over Hampton for most of the game and had we been more positive in our substituitions I think we would have scored another goal or two. I know people will point to the fact that Tommy Wood is a rookie and our players were tiring on a heavy pitch but we had options on bench. Louis Soares/Matt Lench could have been put up front even Nathan Smart could have done a job there, as he has got a fearsome shot and is as strong as an lion. Sean Fraser could of gone on the right wing or into his favoured position at right back and we could of pushed Josh Jackman onto the right wing but no, we wanted to shut up the shop and ended up throwing away our dominance and our lead. Nothing says Hampton wouldn't have scored at some point, what ever we would have done but least, had we plumped for adventure, we would have felt that we did our utmost to get the win. I came away from the game thinking we handed the point to Hampton.        

Anyway, we move onto Gloucester City at home. I expect Slough to show a lot more flair in this one.

[3spirit]

On 10/02/2019 at 15:30, Irishadrian said:

3 Spirit

You're certainly correct about the Hampton fans Take a look at their fans forum  A large number of comments with two main themes. "How did we get a point from that game ?" And "Why is our team the poorest for years and not impoving"  Most contributors  think we were the better team and should have won

Irishadrian, on page 2 of the Slough match thread on the Hampton fans forum, there's a post from a chap called Steve M who nails it for me. I pissed myself laughing when I read it just a minute ago,it could have been written by me. Take a look if you get a chance.

Edited February 11, 2019 by 3spirit

[sdelaney]

Well done to Lee in National South team of the Week-end immense performance.

 

[Irishadrian]

27 minutes ago, 3spirit said:

Irishadrian, on page 2 of the Slough match thread on the Hampton fans forum, there's a post from a chap called Steve M who nails it for me. I pissed myself laughing when I read it just a minute ago,it could have been written by me. Take a look if you get a chance.

Read it  at the time 3 Spirit

 

[Bernie Gogan]

If Sean had scored there would be none of this! Fine margins.

[Irishadrian]

I hope those suggesting that we've given up on this season are wrong I'm encouraged by Neil's comment earlier in this thread that we still have a chance for the playoffs Neil/Jon know that we have been well below our usual performances lately We are well capable of finishing in the top third and making playoffs

[Curtis]

4 hours ago, Bernie Gogan said:

If Sean had scored there would be none of this! Fine margins.

True..... but he didn’t, and he hadn’t done so in his previous 59 appearances either.