Liams team

[Slartibartfast]

With the likes of Jacko, Skins and Proths being left out yesterday it was very noticeably Liams team rather than the side that Andy Ford built.

The only A.F. players in the side were Jukebox and Jay, neither of whom particularly impressed, Jukebox is a bit hit and miss at the best of times and Jay doesn't look like the force he was last season at the moment.

So what about Liams men, Charlie Mac, Ross Smith and Bobby Bowry are excellent, the 'brothers' Johnson are ok but I am not sure they are better than Skins and Jacko likewise Scott Goodwin did alright yesterday but his distribution is poor and with Bobby Bowry pulling the strings we need full backs who can contribute going forward as well as defensively, Coleman put a lot of effort in and didn't let anyone down but didn't look likely to set the world alight either. It was good to see Slats back and I didn't see enough of Hodgson to form any opinion.

It was a good three points yesterday although not a particularly impressive performance our next four matches are all potentially winnable although NigelCloughsBurtonAlbion have been our bogey team, I suspect the results we get from those matches will determine whether the second half of the season is going to be exciting or not.

[carjam]

Who knows what will happen after these four games. No games are easy. Liams team is looking pretty good at present. Maybe he deserves some praise.

I dont believe the division is as strong this year and do believe a play-off place is possible. This is a strong side, Consistency is the key along with home form. Charlie Mac leads the top goalscorers, we havnt had that for a while and Bobby Bowry is looking better every game. Would love to see a challenge for a top 5 place and a long run in the trophy. That especially could provide extra funds for the next campaign.

 

Oh and are the crowds coming back. Attendances have risen in the last couple of home games....when you condsider the away followings. There are a few more than 750 fleet fans coming through the turnstiles all of a sudden. Need a whole lot more in the future.

[Richard C]

I have to say though, the team we have now is starting to impress and work well together. I think its a good thing If Jacko and Skins are being kept out. It means we have superb experience and quality on the bench.

 

Johnsons x 2 both looked good, liked the left back more so.

 

Agree about Coleman. But he never had any chances to slot away . .

 

I think Liam and the players are improving with every game at the moment.

 

Thought Gooding was immense yesterday as was J Smith.

[kmj]

The problem of leaving Jacko on the bench is that we miss his quality crosses. Drench hardly had to move a step to collect the few crosses made yesterday. Bowry, Charlie and Ross Smith were in my opinion our best players, but despite lacking sparkle for much of the second half, it was an allround decent team effort and 3 well earned points. Hopefully NCBA will be distracted by the FA Cup draw when we play them next Saturday and we can come away with the points.

[jc]

Quote:

carjam said:Oh and are the crowds coming back. Attendances have risen in the last couple of home games....when you condsider the away followings. There are a few more than 750 fleet fans coming through the turnstiles all of a sudden. Need a whole lot more in the future.

Er, that wouldn't have something to do with free tickets being given to youngsters, would it?

Quote:

Slartibartfast said: Scott Goodwin did alright yesterday

Stuck in a three-year timewarp, Slarti? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Quote:

Richard C said: I think its a good thing If Jacko and Skins are being kept out. It means we have superb experience and quality on the bench.

This much is true. The thing that concerns me, touched on by Slarti, is that Jacko and Skins have ostensibly done little wrong, and are being replaced by players that appear to be of a similar standard (impressed as I am by them both, Bradley in particular), and who may be departing at the end of their loan spells, meaning the team will have to be changed again, which could prove disruptive. A further problem with loans is that you feel obliged to play the players you bring in because you may not have them for long. That said, Brett's alleged versitality at the back could come in handy over the Christmas period if injuries set in.

[Hempstead Gaz]

It's a tough call for Liam. He's damned if he doesn't bring in new blood, and then damned because he is obliged to play them.

Hopefully things will settle down during the transfer window - I expect a couple of players to depart, free up some cash and a couple of new players to join. I would definately like to see Brett Johnson stay, he looks a very fine athlete, tall and strong, and will only get better as Scott appears to be doing.

 

But don't expect me to guess who is likely to leave...............except his name starts with B and he couldn't score in a brothel.

[Drummer Scott]

I don't think it will be too long until we see Ben Surey depart.

[Hannah]

I think the Johnsons look good at present,with Gooding also impressing, Daish has done well with the new signings.He just needs to make sure he uses Jacko at some point when he is a sub because we need his great crossings!

[Andy Y. (G&NFC)]

Can never remember which "Brother Johnson" is which but I was a bit worried about the positional play of the one who played left wing back. (Number 31?) the big guy Blackburn had acres of space to use yesterday but it was our good fortune he had a crap game!

 

I have to admit to being a big fan of Jacko and to a lesser extent Skins(never thought I would admit to that!) and the defensive qualities of those two would be preferable in my opinion to the new boys when we are playing some of the better teams. Ok Morecambe were in the top 6 but I'm talking about the likes of Stevenage and Hereford.

 

 

That said, although we are not as pretty to watch as I would like, we are grinding out results and its about time Liam was given some praise. Remember when Fordy left we were in freeall and this squad certainly looks a lot fitter and more professional than we were this time last year.

[John Pearce]

I was quite impressed with Coleman. Worked hard and there were signs of a good partnership with Macdonald.

 

He did fade a bit towards the end, but he said himself that he hadn't trained that much recently due to injury.

 

He certainly has a lot more potential than Omoyinmi and if the opportunity presents itself I for one would like to see Daish sign him permanently in January. That is if Lincoln City will let him go?

 

Thought that Ross Smith was the best player on the pitch by the way.

[FleetFanatic]

Well last year when we were awful under Daish, I said we couldn't blame him as 'it wasn't his team'.

 

Start of this season, away at Grays and the worst performance in a long, long time left many of us with grave concerns about the season.

 

We now appear to be grinding out results without setting the world alight, which means when the really good performances arrive, a few teams might be in for an annihilation!

 

Well done to Liam and the boys so far & that is coming from one of those calling for his head after the Grays massacre.

 

The crucial period now looms - December, through Christmas and the New Year into January.

 

Many would argue that it is this period that can make or break a team's promotion hopes for the season, with one team putting together a run that takes them on for the rest of the season into the promotion / play-off spots.....

 

.....will that team be Gravesend & Northfleet?

[UP FLEET]

theres still quite a few people on here that cant wait to get the knives out every week.

We are never going to be top quality every week, but we are holding our own even after a few losses, we manage to claw some points back, so long as we keep mid table and above it keeps the optimisium(spelling) alive.

Looking at the fixture list, there is no reason why we cant get max ponts over the holiday period up until the exeter game.

[Unrecognized Genius]

Quote:

Chatham Gary said:

But don't expect me to guess who is likely to leave...............except his name starts with B and he couldn't score in a brothel.

Presumably the houses of disrepute in Basingstoke are more to his liking. Either that or he likes getting one over on his old team mates. He scored for Basingstoke against Welling, in a 2-2 draw in the league, the other Tuesday. Header from a corner or free kick I believe. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

As for the team this season. Definitely stronger than for a long time. Intelligent snapping up of loan players from league clubs has helped enormously, though obviously before we can consider a serious play off challenge we need to have a squad of our own which doesn't need loan additions to keep it in good shape.

To be honest, I'd be a bit nervous if we scraped into the top 5 before we were ready for life in the League, although keeping in contention definitely helps keep the attendance up. Like others, I'd love a decent Trophy run this year. Last year's exit has to rank as one of my lowest moments in 33 years of watching the Fleet.

EC

[Hempstead Gaz]

Well said, Darren. Whilst I still have some sceptism and concern over Liam's tactics and substitutions, I have no doubt he is a truly top class talent spotter.

That said, I would far rather we are grinding out results by playing this brand of football than lots of slick passing, fleet of foot dwarves losing heavily each game because they are not physically up to it.

Liam's team is starting to take shape.

Whether the likes of Jacko, Skins, Prothers, Drury,Porter and Surey have a long term future is open to debate. At least it can be said that the players Liam has brought in, albeit on short term loans (Sodje excepted) are as good as, if not better than those being left on the bench.

[Slartibartfast]

Quote:

jc said:

Slartibartfast said: Scott Goodwin did alright yesterday

Stuck in a three-year timewarp, Slarti? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Its a fair cop jc, when you get to be my age you might have trouble with your memory too, senility can be a right bugger.
<img src="/forum/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

[JFW]

It seems logical for Liam to use his full-time players as much as possible as they are able to train together more often. I think we are likely to see Jacko, Skins and Proths more and more on the subs bench and as support for the PACE players in the reserves.

[jc]

Quote:

UP FLEET said:Looking at the fixture list, there is no reason why we cant get max ponts over the holiday period up until the exeter game.

It's possible, particularly given that it may well be a good time to play Dagenham (twice) given their poor form (i.e. one point from the last six league games).

[Riverview Red]

Who's Porter Chatham Gary ?

[Hempstead Gaz]

Apparently he is still on the payroll. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

[jc]

Back to the original theme, it's interesting to note Liam's comments on the possibility of a 100% full-time squad for next season on the BBC website:

 

'By next season, Daish hopes the Kent club will have gone all the way [i.e. fully full-time].

 

"We have gone full-time for a reason and I would like to think we can have all the players on a day-to-day basis when we want them, which will be a big help," he said.'