Rocky Baptiste

[Guest]

Gate fans need to give Rocky a break. About 90% of the posts on this forum are about how poor Rocky has been lately. He might not be playing as well as last season but he's still setting up and scoring a fair amount of goals. He's also playing a different role in the team. Last year he was playing just behind the striker/s. This year he has been playing as a striker and until recently the service to him has been awful. If Gate fans keep giving him stick he may decide to leave.

[MargateFan]

I am with you on this one, Richard, what short memories people have. Both our strikers have exceeded last season's top tally with only half the season gone and both look as if 20 goals apiece would not be unattainable this season.

If the amount of goals we are scoring (and our score rate is becoming pretty impressive) is not giving us emphatic wins each game, every game (which is perhaps a suspect ambition in any case) perhaps we ought to focus more on our leaky defence.

I have noticed a tendency of some of the posters, not all, over the course of all the forums ( or should that be forae - my Latin is a bit rusty!) we have had, to pick on one player as the focus for all their grief and gripes and say that every fault in the team is down to them. This is both silly and unfair. I seem to recall that about this time last season it was Ports. That was silly and unfair too.

There are Conference National clubs that would bite MFC's hand off to get Rocky. Very few clubs at our level have such a player. CK has the expertise to choose the top combination for our strike force, has chosen it, and I am more than perfectly happy to support that decision.

[JohnKirby]

Couldn't have put it any better!

[TonyM]

The trouble is MF the people that post on this forum saying unkind things about our players have never kicked a football in there lives,sure they think they know everything about football,they know jack s##t.

[Cookie]

Hiya Tone. Some of us HAVE kicked a football and even been further than that. Others may not have, but that dosent mean we haven't got eyes in our heads.It is a fact about football that certain players who do under-achieve for long periods do get stick. I was one who slated porter and stadhart for going through bad spells. Porter was good once but i.m.o. is now making more mistakes then ever and thats probably because of his age. Che though has since come into form and so now he gets my applause for picking up his game. Its all part and parcel of the game and things supporters do. We are only giving our honest opinions (I hope).

Che works harder than Rocky. Rocky does seem to be a little lazy lately. No I was not there yesterday so can't comment on that game but in the games I have seen him play his work-rate has been lacking.

I expect he will get his form back but he has to get to the ball first and try harder i.m.o.

A little extra effort will erase all of these bad remarks he may be getting from some of us. When he DOES get back to some kind of form I expect of him rest assured he will get my backing. It does work both ways. I wouldn't say we are slagging the players off but just commenting on their form as and when they are doing it/not doing it.

[Guest]

Wow! Thanks for the supporting comments, agree with you all 100%. We should be cheering Rocky on.

[Cookie]

Oh I for one will still be cheering him on regardless of my remarks. He is still part of Margate football club and team, therefore he still gets the same applause as others.

[TonyM]

Agree with you tone but just when you post,the last anonymous pri#k takes the pi#s

[michael]

Imo also Rocky is fine.

 

Everyone has different styles, an as above, he has scored more goals this season than out top league goalscorer last season(think that was Clarke ironically).

 

Che and Rocky have different styles and have 17 league goals between them-superb-superb.

Watson is equally quality.

 

We are priviledged to have imo the best 3 forwards in the league.-well done CK and the players for their loyalty.

Neither is he lazy-his style is languid-nothing wrong with that.

 

A bit of improvement in midfield and Rocky will get even more goals, and it will also assist the defence leaking goals if we can get someone to hold the ball up more in midfield

[michael]

I think that another thing that alot of us recognise is that whilstit may not happen this season(but we can but try),the squad that CK has assembled(midfield still work to do) is capable of holding its own at conference national level.

 

Many of the players are good enough individually,just need to get the concentration levels better.

[knighty101]

what i dont like is the fact that athough having a rough spot this last few months he was the guy who turnd lastseson around remember? knocks on peps heads.

like it or not, whats sad is the people saying rocks out! are the same sad people who said we should release Che Stadhart last season.. now they are now che`s biggest fans go figure.??!!??

 

(part of this post i used in another thred)

[michael]

Not too much of a rough spot is it when he has got 7 league goals, will injury/suspension apart, get over 20 ,has made many others for Che.

 

When was the last time we had two strikers who will probably get over 45 goals between them, and super sub Darren who must have the best scoring record anywhere in terms of goals/minutes played

[knighty101]

i didnt mean rough as in only scored 7 goals i ment it in a way that even tho scoring he isnt on lastseasons form.

when hes back on form there will be no stopping the che/rocks duo

 

still 1st team choice by far.

[michael]

With you all the way,and even thouh i am a big fan of Darren W., Rocky and Che are doing the business.

[ooh!!bodyform]

i for 1 have not been too impressed with rocky this season BUT...... regardless i think he will come good again and the fact that his body language on the field looks lack luster might contribute to peoples feelings of him, sometimes he looks like he cannot be bothered but then i thought that of the great phil collins and he became a hero for the gate

 

i dont think the problem is at the front but defensively and in midfield we have become complacent(i'm sure that's spelt incorrectly)but hey although we are letting goals in at least we are putting them away

 

UP THE GATE

[Guest]

Sometimes players need a kick up the [****!!****]. A bit of stick from the crowd can do them good. It worked with Phil Collins.

[blueblood]

you said it ooh!!bodyform, its the Mittenesk body language,its the 1st 15 to 20 minutes it takes to get him wound up ,to go that extra yard into a 50/50 situation.There is no doughting his technical abilities, it is the physical presence especialy at this level that is lacking. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/bow.gif" alt="" />

[alan the fly]

I think people expected rocky to get goals every game becuase we all know he is better than this level of football. Now hes getting use to it the goals are coming and if we continue to support him (and the rest of the team they will continue.

 

If there is any problem imo it is in midfield no striker whatever there ability can score goals with out decent service.

[michael]

Agree Alan.

 

Also ,any defence will continue to leak goals if under alot of pressure because the ball is not held up/stopped/cut out/ played around in midfield.

 

 

 

Midfield is our one real weakness still.

 

Otherwise, this team as assembled is definately top 8 and maybe better.

[Guest]

Interesting points of view. But do you realise that if you compare this year to last year after 17 games (and I know it's not an entirely fair comparison since our demotion), we have:

 

scored 9 more goals;

conceded 8 more goals;

accumulated 4 more points.

 

I don't know what it means, but there it is!