Enfield Town v Folkestone Invicta

[The Crowing Cockerel]

29 minutes ago, andyetfc said:

Please define ‘long term project’.

12-15 years.

[andyetfc]

19 minutes ago, The Crowing Cockerel said:

12-15 years.

Better keep an eye on the under 8s team then.

[4wembleyfinals]

 

Sorry Andy I can't wait that long!!

But then most of what I have read recently doesn't sound too optimistic for the immediate future. 

Now well into my 2nd year of non attendance it may be regarded by some that I am being a bit presumptive with my views. Which are based on what I am hearing. It seems to me that we are still crying out for a midfield play maker and leader. Something we have not had since the days of Billy Crook. Perhaps Gavin could have a word for old time sake!!

I know that such players at this level are hard to find but within the club, as a whole, surely there is someone who shows signs of having the capability to take over this role. It would be interesting to hear if anyone thinks there is such a player!!

Failing this perhaps the coaching staff could think up a revised formation so that the ball is recycle quicker going forward.

Tuesdays match is going to be a difficult one and any points would be gratefully received. 

Finally I am sure no one is more frustrated than Gavin as I believe the majority of supporters feel that he is doing a good job. If he and his staff can get the players to up their game a bit more and maintain a position with in the play-offs then he should be applauded. 

Once the winter ends I have hopes of seeing a few of the home games. 

 

Edited January 14 by 4wembleyfinals

[Barney]

I'm going to put my neck on the line here and say that we didn't actually play that badly on Saturday, especially in the second half - on another day, we could have got something out of the game, in spite of the 2 early goals conceded. Also maybe not a popular view, but I'd much rather we went backwards to retain the ball and shift it across the pitch to change the angle of attack than just aimlessly go forwards and lose possession. Although we do set up to be defensively compact, and hard to break down, this hasn't always worked out and giving a side like Folkestone a 2 goal lead is giving us a mountain to climb. Had we nicked a goal with one of the many chances we had (e.g. Alves blasting over early in the second half when he should have hit the target), the outcome could have been different. That said, I don't think we can have too many complaints about the loss - both goals were avoidable, and the second especially was an absolute comedy of errors. You can't give any side in our league a 2 goal head start and after that, Folkestone put their bodies on the line, and competed fantastically all over the pitch. Whilst we dominated possession and were knocking on the door for most of the game, they kept us mostly to half chances, and for them not to come away with 3 points given their work-rate and defensive commitment would have been harsh on them (although I don't like to see time wasting tactics, I'd expect our keeper to be doing exactly the same in that situation, so no complaints there apart from maybe wishing the ref had tried to speed things up at times, or added more time on).

Although neither of the wide players had their best games, I can see why Gavin likes them in the team, they both work incredibly hard, and bring a lot to our defensive shape. Knight adds more than DAH going forwards, and his delivery is usually top quality, although I'd agree he didn't have his best game on Saturday. When we're 0-0, or protecting a lead, Dylan is the perfect right midfielder for the system: he tracks back well, is fit and mobile and defensively very good. When we're chasing a game, he isn't going to go past players as well as Obi does and it was the right move to make the double substitution at half time - horses for courses. Maybe worth calling out Gavin as well for making that double change - I lost count of the number of times that Andy left changes too late, and I think there was an acceptance that our standards weren't good enough in the first half, and a willingness to change things up. Alves also looks a good addition, he's mobile, attack minded and wants the ball at his feet - he almost scored a wonderful free kick as well (not sure how far wide it was, but it looked close and so well struck), and in my mind he's knocking on the door for a starting place based on that showing, and the need to shake things up.

Good to see 4WF posting again, as is usually the case after a defeat (less so when we're winning), but that said I do completely agree with him that we're probably a midfield technician away from being a very good side. Someone in the mould of Crook (although clearly not Crook, who seems to be on a downward trajectory) would be a fantastic addition. The ability to keep the ball, show for passes to give options, dictate the tempo of the game and find that defence splitting pass is probably what we were missing most on Saturday. We did move the ball around, but at times it was ponderous (first half especially), and there weren't enough options for balls to feet to players in space (to an extent, credit has to go to Folkestone for closing us down, and working very hard). The midfield 2 do compliment each other well, Thomas is positionally very good, breaks up play and moves the ball on to allow Youngs to get forward more and get into spaces around the box where he can be dangerous, but it didn't quite seem to click for Sam on Saturday. It might be a case of teams wising up to what we're doing, or the fact that Sam and Marcus are so high up in the league scoring charts, but neither of them were afforded any space at all, and I'm sure by their own admissions, neither of them had their most effective games (same could be said of the Harringay game in the week). We are clearly very reliant on goals from these two, and when they're not coming we need a spark or a piece of quality from elsewhere on the pitch, which didn't happen for us.

With all the above said, I still think we're in a decent position, and some of the posts are a little over the top - of course it's disappointing to lose a home game 0-2 against a side near the bottom (equally bad coming so soon after the same scoreline against Cray), however I still find myself enjoying watching this team a lot more than previous seasons. I like the manager a lot, I like his honesty in interviews, his willingness to change things up and accept where we have limitations, I like the fact that we seem much better drilled and tactically aware and I like the squad he's assembled. It's a tough league this season, and we're competing at the right end of it still - cut out those silly mistakes, find a way to get back to winning ways, get our goalscorers firing again and I think we should be in the mix for a play off place. If you'd offered me that at the start of the season with the change of manager, I'd have bitten your arm off - throw in the fact that we're playing better football to boot, and I'm not unhappy with where we seem to be heading. We could of course be a lot worse off - take for example the case of one of our regular guest posters on here, who is having to celebrate our slip-ups as there's very little to shout about with their own team 🙄. Onwards and upwards, let's hope for fewer silly mistakes and getting back to winning ways next match.

[4wembleyfinals]

Thanks Barney for your very erudite discourse. It was only a coincidence that I wrote my piece after a "loss". Mainly based on the fact that many of the previous posts sounded a bit despondent. 

However, most of what I had read previously have been upbeat. As I said since I am still not fit enough to attend I think it would be presumptuous for me to make any comments on games.

I still remain a member and will continue to take a keen interest on everything that goes on.