Playoffs Schedule

[Shredding Green]

1 hour ago, Irishadrian said:

5 penalties not converted in that shootout

Dartford  x x + + x     2

Chippenham x + x + +  3

Apart from Maidstone United, National League South clubs have been very unpredictable this season.

But Dartford's end of season four match run tops it all :-

Slough Town  0  Dartford  6 : Dartford regained the preferable third place in the table from Ebbsfleet United

Dartford  0  Braintree Town  1 : Dartford slip back to fourth place in the table

Eastbourne Borough  2  Dartford  7 : But Ebbsfleet United beat Chelmsford City 2-1 to secure third place

Dartford  0  Chippenham Town  0 : The match that Dartford hoped to avoid after their 0-6 win at Slough. They are out of the play-offs after Chippenham Town won 2-3 on penalties.

But we know that Chippenham Town are a high quality side : they took six points off Slough Town!!!

[Shredding Green]

Thursday's play-offs attendances :-

1,325 : NLS Dartford  0  Chippenham Town  0 (Chippenham Town won 2-3 on penalties)

3,921 : NLN Kidderminster Harriers  1  Boston United  2

[Reading Rebel]

6 hours ago, Shredding Green said:

Thursday's play-offs attendances :-

1,325 : NLS Dartford  0  Chippenham Town  0 (Chippenham Town won 2-3 on penalties)

3,921 : NLN Kidderminster Harriers  1  Boston United  2

Traditionally Northern crowds have always been larger than in the South.

Dartford v Chippenham was not a great attendance for a play-off game but I would say expected given that Chippenham are one of the lower supported clubs and the distance to travel in midweek.

[Reading Rebel]

Somewhere around 50 players used, pots of money spent and they fall at the first hurdle against little old Chippenham.

Not sure Steve King will survive this latest disastrous result.

[C'est la vie]

34 minutes ago, Reading Rebel said:

Somewhere around 50 players used, pots of money spent and they fall at the first hurdle against little old Chippenham.

Not sure Steve King will survive this latest disastrous result.

How many times is it now he has  failed in the play offs as a manager? Must be 4-5 times??

[GlenSTFC]

40 minutes ago, Reading Rebel said:

Somewhere around 50 players used, pots of money spent and they fall at the first hurdle against little old Chippenham.

Not sure Steve King will survive this latest disastrous result.

I think he signed a 3 year contract sometime this season so it’ll be a hefty pay off to get rid of him. It’s likely he’ll just be given even more money for another go.

[SloughFlyer]

On the ex-players topic, I see that Dan Roberts started for Dartford last night (apparently for the first time since he returned from loan).

I still fancy Dorking to win it all, now the 1st round/quarter finals have gone by, what does everyone else think?

[SloughFlyer]

On the topic of attendances, Dorking v Oxford is sold out already.

[Reading Rebel]

I think Dorking must be favourites along with Ebbsfleet but I wouldn't underestimate Oxford to spring a surprise.

[SloughFlyer]

49 minutes ago, Reading Rebel said:

I think Dorking must be favourites along with Ebbsfleet but I wouldn't underestimate Oxford to spring a surprise.

So picking any 3 of the 4 left RR, very bold???

[Stuntman Mark]

I wouldn't rule out Chippenham either, they are on a great run of results against very good sides.

However, if I had to bet on it, I'd go for Dorking to beat Ebbsfleet in the final.

[Irishadrian]

The problem with Dorking is that when they lose they tend to do it against the lower teams Tonbridge x2 Hungerford Concord Chippenham 4-1  etc  You never know what their mindset is.

There are 10 pages on Dartford forum split fairly evenly between  those who would out the manager and the keepers

[Curtis]

Dorking 3 Oxford 0

Goals in the 8th, 19th & 48th minutes, so looks like it was comfortable.

[Irishadrian]

Yes Curtis  must agree with you having read both twitterfeeds 3 goals and a lot more chances to Dorking   Oxford did net twice but both ruled out for offside without much Oxford protest

Dorking now have home advantage in the final.

[Guest Wycombe Rebel]

On 13/05/2022 at 12:14, SloughFlyer said:

On the ex-players topic, I see that Dan Roberts started for Dartford last night (apparently for the first time since he returned from loan).

I still fancy Dorking to win it all, now the 1st round/quarter finals have gone by, what does everyone else think?

Dan Roberts is playing at least 2 divisions higher than he should be, amazed he’s lasted this long!

[Shredding Green]

45 minutes ago, CookhamRebel said:

Dan Roberts is playing at least 2 divisions higher than he should be, amazed he’s lasted this long!

In my opinion, he looked in the right division when he was playing for Slough Town and to suggest that he should be playing in a division below Isthmian and Southern League Premier Division level I find utterly ludicrous.

[3spirit]

22 minutes ago, CookhamRebel said:

Dan Roberts is playing at least 2 divisions higher than he should be, amazed he’s lasted this long!

So you don't think he was good enough for Slough, Cookham Rebel?  

Having watched football for so long now, it isn't always easy to spot who can step up and play higher and who can't. A lot of players, most would think deserved the chance - don't get offered the chance, and players that often do get picked up/scouted are not always the most obvious, to fans.

When I think of Dan Roberts I always liken him to Tony Boot who went higher to play for Dagenham and Redbridge, both little wilo wisp types/lightweights but both with an uncanny knack of finding the back of the net. I was flabberghasted when Tony Boot got signed for a higher team, as he never offered much else to his game but he carried on scoring when he stepped up higher.

In regards to Dan Roberts, I wouldn't write him off yet. It may not have worked out for him at Dartford but he has a lot of attributes other Step 2 or Step 1 managers may see as worth a punt on. If Slough got offered him back, I would take him. Like you, Cookham Rebel, I'm not 100 per cent convinced he is everything I would want in a striker but he certainly has enough going for him to be worth a place in a good team's squad.

To be honest I'm undecided on Dan Roberts,as I've not seen him play for near on two seasons but in his first season with Slough I liked what I was watching with him,as his movement was good,he was confident in his own ability and he did create space for himself, and most importantly he managed to put the ball in the net!   

[Guest Wycombe Rebel]

48 minutes ago, Shredding Green said:

In my opinion, he looked in the right division when he was playing for Slough Town and to suggest that he should be playing in a division below Isthmian and Southern League Premier Division level I find utterly ludicrous.

I don’t! Always flattered to deceive and nowhere near strong enough to lead the line… He’s punching above his weight and will drop to his natural level eventually, he ended on the bench at Carshalton having dropped down a level on loan, says it all!

[Guest Wycombe Rebel]

25 minutes ago, 3spirit said:

So you don't think he was good enough for Slough, Cookham Rebel?  

Having watched football for so long now, it isn't always easy to spot who can step up and play higher and who can't. A lot of players, most would think deserved the chance - don't get offered the chance, and players that often do get picked up/scouted are not always the most obvious, to fans.

When I think of Dan Roberts I always liken him to Tony Boot who went higher to play for Dagenham and Redbridge, both little wilo wisp types/lightweights but both with an uncanny knack of finding the back of the net. I was flabberghasted when Tony Boot got signed for a higher team, as he never offered much else to his game but he carried on scoring when he stepped up higher.

In regards to Dan Roberts, I wouldn't write him off yet. It may not have worked out for him at Dartford but he has a lot of attributes other Step 2 or Step 1 managers may see as worth a punt on. If Slough got offered him back, I would take him. Like you, Cookham Rebel, I'm not 100 per cent convinced he is everything I would want in a striker but he certainly has enough going for him to be worth a place in a good team's squad.

To be honest I'm undecided on Dan Roberts,as I've not seen him play for near on two seasons but in his first season with Slough I liked what I was watching with him,as his movement was good,he was confident in his own ability and he did create space for himself, and most importantly he managed to put the ball in the net!   

He wasn’t good enough 3spirit, if he was our excellent managers would’ve kept him and rightly let him seek other opportunities.

13 goals in 56 appearances, 1 goal in 4 roughly, nowhere near good enough!

[GlenSTFC]

17 minutes ago, CookhamRebel said:

He wasn’t good enough 3spirit, if he was our excellent managers would’ve kept him and rightly let him seek other opportunities.

13 goals in 56 appearances, 1 goal in 4 roughly, nowhere near good enough!

But it’s unlikely we can attract or afford a 1 in 2 striker or if we somehow did he wouldn’t be with us for long! I wouldn’t agree on his ability as given his age and experience at our level to get 13 goals was a very good return. With an experienced target man you never know, he could have been prolific. I think he’ll still be at our level next season, but with who…