Team for today

[Slartibartfast]

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FleetFanatic said:
So being full-time is a waste of time for us then.

As part-timers in this league we took great pleasure in occaisionally turning over a full-time outfit so it should come as no surprise if the boot is sometimes on the other foot now.
I wonder how many fans of other Conference sides have called for their managers head after getting stuffed by lowly Gravesend & Northfleet.
Turning full-time should give us more chance of avoiding relegation as invariably the bottom of the Conference is made up mainly by the part-time sides. With our current levels of financing and attendances and because of those our squad size we may be able to compete with the bigger sides in a one off match but not over a whole season.
Mid table obscurity may not be fantastic but it is better than relegation and its better than bankruptcy.

[Hempstead Gaz]

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Wobbly Wayne rides again said:

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So being full-time is a waste of time for us then.

FFS can't we just enjoy it.



Up the Fleet

Not quite the adjective I would use to describe my trips to Stonebridge Road recently.

[Vera]

I tend not to comment on the forum as I do not consider I am competent enough to criticise too much various decisions made by the chairman or the manager, but I do remember that when Liam was chosen the firing squad was out before the court marshall had been held. There were one or two people who seemed to think that we should be bringing in a bigger name, but we had to cut our coat to the size of the cloth and too many clubs go to the wall by trying to have what they can't afford. I remember when we were very near to going bankrupt when Lionel Ball stepped in and got us on the right track financially. I think that Brian has the ability to look after the finances and also has ambition which is very important. I would say that when we nearly went bankrupt a large factor in this was the fact that we paid a certain manager far in excess of what we could afford and more importantly far more than he was worth. Incidentally, he was a big name to a club such as ours.

[Jimmy]

I went along with 25 others - the "comedy" Altrincham golden goal seller saying that there were almost 20 of us when I walked in had no comment when asked where he was at our place or when the rest of the home fans were turning up. It's a good job the Fleet crew did turn up or the attendance would have been even more dismal.

 

First half wasn't helped by the conditions - standing water down both flanks - Watkins and then Hawkins at fault for the goals. Kerr possibly a little too far off his line for the second but then he probably thought Hawkins would deal with the ball rather than wander around with it and scuff a clearance straight to Little - decent enough strike though.

 

James Smith took his goal well - basically Altrincham stood still and left him unmarked 6 yards out.

 

The pitch improved in the second half as did the performance - Altrincham tired out with a few of their players a little out of shape.

Blatant penalty with the keeper deserving to be sent off.

Neither team deserved to win or lose so a draw was fair enough. Both teams lacking quality but enough determination in the performance to mark it out as an improvement on recent weeks.

 

Bobby Bowry was exceptional - perhaps those doubting his input should watch a video of this game.

[Unrecognized Genius]

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Chatham Gary said:

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Wobbly Wayne rides again said:

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So being full-time is a waste of time for us then.

FFS can't we just enjoy it.



Up the Fleet

Not quite the adjective I would use to describe my trips to Stonebridge Road recently.

Sorry to be pedantic, Gary, but "full" is the only adjective in the post extract quoted. "Enjoy" is a verb.

Parts of speech lessons anybody? Only £40 an hour. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

EC

[jc]

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Jimmy said:Blatant penalty with the keeper deserving to be sent off.

Definitely a penalty, but personally I think you can see why the referee didn't dismiss Coburn. For it to be a professional foul, Coburn would have had to have denied Moore a 'clear goalscoring opportunity', and with the foul being committed just inside the left edge of the box as one looked at it from behind the goal, it's hard to tell whether it really was one.

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Jimmy said:Neither team deserved to win or lose so a draw was fair enough. Both teams lacking quality but enough determination in the performance to mark it out as an improvement on recent weeks.

Bobby Bowry was exceptional - perhaps those doubting his input should watch a video of this game.

An excellent summing-up. Bobby makes the NLP Team of the Day today - bizarrely, though, it's as a centre-back. Nice to see him making a particular effort to applaud the travelling fans too.

Jukebox returned yesterday, but is probably still not fully fit yet, judging by his relatively subdued display. That's the dilemma we face with so many injuries - players will often be rushed back owing to a sheer shortage of numbers.

P.S. Some spot-on points from Wobbly and Slarti above - there's no reason, in terms of overall stature, why we should expect to beat teams like Tamworth, Forest Green and Alty comfortably.

[Richard C]

Agree re Bobby. Was not their to watch yesterday unfortunately, but he is a league above the rest of our squad when it comes to reading the game. He doesnt need the pace as he knows what he is going to do when the ball comes to him. McKimm, Bobby, Jay, Slatter, Drury, Jackson, Johnson is probably one of the very best midfields in this league - something to build on!?

[Hempstead Gaz]

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Hirsty said:
Well done CG.......hope you had a bet on it ?

Regards,

No chance mate. I only escaped from hospital on Sat. lunchtime, having spent a week incarcerated there!! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
Mind you, I also predicted the National Winner at 11/1, but was feeling too ill to get to the bookies. Would have made a good weekend double. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
Now to get fit for our next game!! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

[Hirsty]

Thought you might have had an account and the ability to bet on line ?

....would have given us a rest for a bit !!

 

Glad you are out & about again....

 

Cheers,

[Wobbly Wayne rides again]

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Hirsty said:

Well done CG.......hope you had a bet on it ?

 

Regards,

 

 

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No chance mate. I only escaped from hospital on Sat. lunchtime, having spent a week incarcerated there!!

Mind you, I also predicted the National Winner at 11/1, but was feeling too ill to get to the bookies. Would have made a good weekend double.

 

If yer bat phone can post the [****!!****] you post on here I am sure it could have found a bookies to lay the bet for yer.

 

Up the Fleet

[Slartibartfast]

Hey C.G. seeing the countdown you have on your signature and reading the tone of your posts over the last month can we expect to see you on the new series of grumpy old men? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[FleetFanatic]

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Graham S said:
PS. Incidentally, in terms of heritage, we are Johnny come latelys compared with Altrincham. When the original Alliance was formed they were the dominant force in non league football for years & we never beat them. I remember going up there in 1980, I believe, & being soundly thrashed by a hugely superior team.Graham S

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Wobbly Wayne rides again said:
Exactly - I also remembering watching them wrap up the Alliance league at Stonebridge Road , I think 79/80 season. At that time they were the best of all the non league outfits and if automatic promotion to the footie league was in place then, who knows where they might be now.

Alty were a big team in the Alliance Premier?
You don't say. Big deal - 16 years have passed since then.
Past history counts for nothing in football.

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jc said:
P.S. Some spot-on points from Wobbly and Slarti above - there's no reason, in terms of overall stature, why we should expect to beat teams like Tamworth, Forest Green and Alty comfortably.

All 3 teams are more or less 'relegation candidate standard'.
If this is where some of you see us 'being on the same level as', then so much for ambition.

I don't expect the club to storm to the top of the conference.
I don't really expect us to make the playoffs, let alone win them - yet - maybe in the future.

What I do expect though is not what we've had this season.

[Hempstead Gaz]

Nah, Slarti,, but Daishy has aged us all by 10 years - we now have a groundfull of grumpy old men & women!!! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Hirsty]

Well b*gger my old boots......a surprise post from CG !

 

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ !!!!!!

 

<img src="/forum/images/graemlins/sleeping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/sleeping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/sleeping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/sleeping.gif" alt="" />

[Unrecognized Genius]

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FleetFanatic said:

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Graham S said:
PS. Incidentally, in terms of heritage, we are Johnny come latelys compared with Altrincham. When the original Alliance was formed they were the dominant force in non league football for years & we never beat them. I remember going up there in 1980, I believe, & being soundly thrashed by a hugely superior team.Graham S

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Wobbly Wayne rides again said:
Exactly - I also remembering watching them wrap up the Alliance league at Stonebridge Road , I think 79/80 season. At that time they were the best of all the non league outfits and if automatic promotion to the footie league was in place then, who knows where they might be now.

Alty were a big team in the Alliance Premier?
You don't say. Big deal - 16 years have passed since then.
Past history counts for nothing in football.

Why the "Big Deal" & the generally obnoxious tone towards your fellow supporters? As far as I can see, they were simply passing comment on the rise & fall of fortune in football.

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FleetFanatic said:

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jc said:
P.S. Some spot-on points from Wobbly and Slarti above - there's no reason, in terms of overall stature, why we should expect to beat teams like Tamworth, Forest Green and Alty comfortably.

All 3 teams are more or less 'relegation candidate standard'.

If this is where some of you see us 'being on the same level as', then so much for ambition.

As WW pointed out earlier, despite their current poor run of form, Altrincham have a pretty respectable record at home. w7, d5, l7. Even if we'd been play off hopefuls, I'd have been reasonably happy with yesterday's point, yet you make no comment on the determination that saw us come back from a semmingly hopeless situation. Before you criticise others for lack of ambition, you should question your own inability to praise your own team when praise is due. You may want to see the manager go, but is your own ego so big you have no word of praise for the players, many of them very young, who showed great maturity & spirit?

Your insistence on putting a negative spin on yesterday's game gives you away. You might think you're always right, but I'm sure I'm not alone in becoming increasingly bored with your arrogance, negativity & total inability to respect anyone's view but your own.

EC

[FleetFanatic]

It's called debate. One person puts his opinions, others put their own.

I find it more respectful to respond to people rather than ignore their posts.

So my 'arrogant ego' will ignore your point of view on that part.

 

For the rest of your post;

the reason I say 'big deal' is where is the relevance in Alty being a big club 16 years ago? They aren't now & in my own, insignificant-to-you, opinion they are the teams we should be capable of beating, along with Forest Green & Scarborough in recent weeks.

We didn't manage to beat them either, I seem to recall.

 

As for the fightback, yes well done to the team for that.

But should we really be happy with a point? Yet again, 2 goals in a short space of time caused the situation in the first place.

 

So how many points does that make?

17 from the last 51? 14 from the last 42? 7 from the last 33?

Impressed? Of course, you are.

Conference South will arrive before the new ground at that rate.

How many points will we get from Southport, battling for their lives to stay up?

Woking? Morecambe? Halifax? Burton?

 

'Unlucky with injuries' cries Daish.

Not much cover provided up front by his signings though.

'Lack of experience' cries Daish.

Again, down to the players he signed.

 

This season, the football has been dire.

Attendances have nose-dived partly because of it.

Dartford won't be groundsharing once their new ground is ready.

Gladwish won't be coughing up his cash anymore, it seems.

Things don't add up in the Protheroegate saga either.

Supporting the club doesn't mean you have to back the manager;

managers come and go - it's the football that remains thereafter.

 

Now I admit, a lot of my ranting is fuelled by disappointment.

I think it's a good sign of how far the club has progressed that expectations are higher than simply avoiding relegation.

At the same time, I must have missed the match where the club gave out the rose-tinted glasses.

[Unrecognized Genius]

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FleetFanatic said:
It's called debate. One person puts his opinions, others put their own. I find it more respectful to respond to people rather than ignore their posts.

It's not the fact you respond that's the issue; it's the "how can you be so stupid?" attitude.

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FleetFanatic said:

For the rest of your post; the reason I say 'big deal' is where is the relevance in Alty being a big club 16 years ago? They aren't now & in my own, insignificant-to-you, opinion ...

My point was that I didn't believe anyone was trying to extract any relevance from Altrincham's heady status over a decade ago. It simply serves to illustrate how temporary such seeming dominance can be. Look at Enfield, Sutton, Farnborough ... or the old big boys of the Southern League such as Gloucester & Worcester, even Chelmsford.

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FleetFanatic said:
But should we really be happy with a point? Yet again, 2 goals in a short space of time caused the situation in the first place.

I'm happy with the point. Long trip. Filthy weather. Opposition desperate for points. I share your concern about our alarming tendency to ship goals in multiples, but this won't stop me recognizing the spirit which enabled us to fight back.

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FleetFanatic said:
So how many points does that make?
17 from the last 51? 14 from the last 42? 7 from the last 33? Impressed? Of course, you are.

No, I'm not. I referred to spirit earlier & I was appalled by the lack of it evident against Aldershot. I left that match convinced we were going to be relegation fodder next season, especially with all the financial implications you refer to. I was determined until the Monday afternoon of the Grays game to stay away deliberately from a home game for the 1st time in over 30 years of watching the Fleet. However, leaking goals aside, there has been enough in the last 2 matches to make me think maybe I was wrong. There is clearly still spirit there. Whether there will be enough resources or the current squad & mamgement have the ability to keep us comfortably clear of trouble next season, well I'm not so sure.

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FleetFanatic said:

Supporting the club doesn't mean you have to back the manager; managers come and go - it's the football that remains thereafter.

100% agree, but praising the team when they thoroughly deserve it does not automatically mean one is kissing the manager's posterior.

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FleetFanatic said:
As for the fightback, yes well done to the team for that.

I'm sure you care passionately about the team & this is genuine, but why not include this praise in your initial response to the match? It's as if you're so negative about the management on (& off?) the field at the moment that any positive feelings about the Club have to be squeezed out of you.

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FleetFanatic said:

Now I admit, a lot of my ranting is fuelled by disappointment. I think it's a good sign of how far the club has progressed that expectations are higher than simply avoiding relegation.

You're entitled to be disappointed with how things have gone over the last dozen or so matches & with the style of play evident for much of the season, which I agree has helped to drive less committed support away. We have come a long way. Let's just hope events don't prove it to be a little too far. Some people believe we're only a Conference South Club in terms of our true potential. I'd like to believe they're wrong.

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FleetFanatic said:
At the same time, I must have missed the match where the club gave out the rose-tinted glasses.

I might have to wear glasses to see events on the pitch properly, but I can assure you there's nothing rosy about what they show me. Just because you're not ferociously negative all the time doesn't mean you're some kind of Happy Harry Half Wit. (No allusion to HJA intended here!)

Blimey. this debating game can be bloody time consuming. Back to work before the IT spies spot what I've been doing, if they haven't already.

EC

PS What were you doing posting at 3.20am?

[John Pearce]

Looks like its get at Fleet Fanatic time.............

 

still it keeps the rose tinted glasses crew off of my back for a change.

 

Fully agree with your earlier comments though FF.

[Hempstead Gaz]

Keep going, Daz, keeps the wolves off my back (until my next posting)!! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Unrecognized Genius]

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White Van Nistelrooy said:
Looks like its get at Fleet Fanatic time.............

still it keeps the rose tinted glasses crew off of my back for a change.

Fully agree with your earlier comments though FF.

Don't try & turn Dazza into some kind of hero-come-martyr. He's much happier playing a straight Simon Cowell role.

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Chatham Gary said:
Keep going, Daz, keeps the wolves off my back (until my next posting)!! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Oi! Between you, FF & WVN, guess that makes me a wolf in rose tinted spectacles. (As for these, see Stu M's response in your last 10 minutes thread thread.)

EC