Thatcham thread.

[brighton_rebel]

1-0 down. Goal from a free kick. We've hit the bar twice.

About 100 Rebels there.

[Guest Anonymous33]

anyone got the team plse?

[brighton_rebel]

2-0 down.

[brighton_rebel]

Lost 2-0

[Tom]

[****!!****] performance.

 

2 goals conceeded from set pieces, and it should have been more. Are these not practiced at all at training? That 4 in 2 games.

 

Midfield is shocking and needs changing, Roddis is quite possibly the most ineffective player and least committed in the team. I havent seen him play anything decent in terms of passing, and he seems to wonder the pitch with no passion at all.

 

George stuck on the wing is a waste, he gets into space and is completely ignored. Stick him in the middle where we need some fight and someone that will want to win the ball.

 

Up front is pathetic, enough said.

 

This seasons [****!!****] v Thatcham:

 

France, Daly, Harper, Duncan, Moleski, Metcalfe, Roddis, Woodruffe, Miller, James, Davies.

[Woody SUFC]

Because you asked!

 

What Did you Expect!

[Martin]

Ok it was not a great performance but Thatcham did well last season and have started well so who knows how bad that result will be at the end of the day. First half we did ok and were unlucky not to score. After getting caught cold and falling behind after two minutes we could have equalised almost immediately when we hit the bar twice in the space of five seconds. Second half was a non event.

 

I don't know where Lee Charles is but we either need him or someone else up front. Someone big and able to hold the ball up but with abit of skill.

 

Otherwise I think the squad is strong enough to be competitive in this division. Although I'd have Mills playing and rejig the midfield so that George is in the centre and more able to influence games. I think there have been positives despite the nul points thus far.

[Don Juan DeMarcus]

Tom,dont think ive ever seen you that stressed about ANYTHING. Glad i was busy by the sound of it, thx Mart for the updates.

[Tom]

Pent up aggression Marcus. Works wonders once released.

 

It was dire though.

[Ted]

We have a nucleus of players who should be able to perform well at this level. So far it hasn't happened and I rather doubt it will.

[Reading Rebel]

Absolutely gutted by such an inept performance against imo another very average looking team.

 

I think we looked what we are, a team of clueless misfits that have been cobbled together.

 

Clueless defending, nobody marking from set pieces and conceding very soft goals.

 

Two players in midfield who are too slow and past their sell by date.

 

And a forward line that are too small and lightweight and we continually pump balls in the air to them.

 

2 nil down and not a shot on target in the second half, sounds a bit too familiar to me.

 

I don't know what they do in training or what Wilko tells them but I think it's bleeding obvious that unless we play balls to their feet we are wasting our time.

 

I asked Paul Lillywhite where Lee Charles was and he said he was on Holiday but he didn't sound too convincing.

 

I know it's early days but we've already got the look of a team thats only going one way.

 

 

 

 

[A Rebel and a Saint]

I have to agree with Martin here, yes it was not a great game, but there was still a small sign of potential(a lot less so than on Saturday, but still there), but lacking any final product.

 

We were so unlucky to hit the bar twice, and then miss from 3yards (i dont know how someone didnt put that in!!) not long after.

 

We had no decent first touches last night, if we can get simple things like that sorted it will go a long way to helping the results come through our way.

 

We need a tall centre forward (nothing against Deaner but he was not good last night, hes slow and his heading was poor because he always jumped too early), and a right sided player so that George can go back into the centre in place of Roddis (who I agree has not been great). Also we need Mills back in the defence.

 

The first goal was terrible, no marking and that left the keeper completely stranded.

[Crazy Fool]

The back line?!

 

3 main centre backs at the back. We have a right footed youngster who needs a confidence boost on the left. A short full back(our best player by fay on tuesday) in the middle. On the right an old man noted for his heading prowess, reading the game but not his pace! This back three is not balanced. Get Daly in the middle, duncan on the left and the young lad on the right.

In fact, drop the bloody wing back system anyway!

Our one battling, give all, fighting midfielder is stuck on the right wing, not getting passed to......George in the middle with metcalf for me. Have been dissapointed with Roddis.

We constantly attacked on the left, and got nowhere, when george sparodically got passed to he managed to get some kind of attack going, so we kept going down the left or lumped it.....just plodding along with no change in tactics or giving Bartley a run out.

Again, our strikers are not getting proper service. We keep resorting to playing high balls to them, Just what Miller needs! It worked when Deaner came on, and he did alright, at least he battled in the air for the ball.

 

When we kept the ball on the floor, we looked ok. I like Terry, but he must shut up , stop trying to be flash and keep it simple.

 

 

Rav and Bartley did ok for us last year, and are now stuck on the bench, they can both play down the right!

 

My 4 4 2

Rav Daly Mills Duncan

Bartley Moleski Metcalfe Davies

Miller Charles(if he hasn't gone already)

 

or, if we have to play wing backs

Mills Daly Duncan

Bartley George Metcalf Davies Woody

Miller Charles

 

Where is Jeffies, he looked a good little player last season?

 

I know it's an early season moan, I know we have no money,and a limited squad, but think we are just playing it all wrong!

[GarySTFC]

Jeffreys currently has an injury and hasn't been able to fully train recently. I think he will be a key player for us this season.

 

I don't think Roddis and Metcalfe works in the middle of a park, and certainly isn't suited to a 4-4-2. By having those two behind either George or Terry in an advanced midfield position, it works slightly better.

 

The inclusion of Charles into the starting eleven will make a difference to the front line as well.

[A Rebel and a Saint]

While Lee Charles is out, would it not be worth trying putting Barts down the right, George as the attacking midfielder behind Miller and Davies, and playing the ball along the floor/ over the top for Terry to run onto? He definately looks like our most dangerous player, he seems a little bit restrained playing in the central midfield area.

[Reading Rebel]

I not so sure that we were unlucky with the two headers that hit the bar, they were virtual open goals and we managed to miss the target both times.

 

I think we need to get the defence sorted first to try and stop giving away soft goals.

 

I noticed it particularly in the first half that Daly was continually switching from central defence to the right back position at the same time pushing up into midfield leaving Harper and Duncan as the central partnership.

 

Daly is too slow and not fit enough (not enough pre-season games and is he attending training?). I think the answer is to go back to a flat back four of Woody on the left Daly & Mills in the middle with Duncan at right back. As far as I'm aware Duncan is a right back so why he was playing more in the centre than Daly only Wilko knows.

 

[3spirit]

I can't for the life of me see how no one on here has picked up on Christian Metcalfe.What did he give us last night?His only contribution was one of his cowardly tackles from behind on one of Thatcham's young players.If he was any good,he wouldn't of been playing for Hanwell last year.

Baring in mind,Nick Roddis only played 3 games[1 as sub]last year for St Albans,I thought,at least he played some good balls in an offensive way.When has Metcalfe ever passed a ball forward?

While I've got a lot of time for Matt Miller as a person,I do think he's finished as a player,he's yards off our pace!and doesn't look remotely like scoring.And one other thing,why is Terry Davies taking the corners,when he's the only one who is likely to put the ball in the net for us!Surely Woody or Duncan could take a corner.

[Crazy Fool]

Ah! the metcalf argument again. Not mets best game. last season was his first back from a long injury lay off. That why he was at hanwell, nobody was sure he would last a season. Thought he was our best player against Taunton. Roddis kept giving the ball away on tuesday, and was poor.Davies kept trying to be clever(which he can try sometimes, but not all the time!) and lost the ball whilst doing this. A lot of them were poor. Mets included, but he wasn't the worst, and thats why nobody has picked up on him.

Miller didn't look like scoring, granted, but with no service and balls pumped into him at height what do you expect. Give Matt a chance and he will score...remember that Lob at hampton? One quick half chance and Goal! ( I was right behind the goal when he hit the bar, the ball came to him really quick off the bar, and I thought he was unlucky, he had to react really quickly and nearly did so)

Terry is the best crosser we have of the ball. makes sense he takes corners, unless you miss his height?!

All supporters see different things, even people stood next to each other.

To me there was one player on the pitch who was pizz poor, again, but at this stage I am not going to name names because we need all the help we need,and I'm not going to start slagging idividual players off yet.

I said Roddis has dissapointed me, but thats just because i am expecting more.

So we have someone from hanwell playing for us this year, where do you suggest we get players from? Liverpool? Charlton? Watford? By your argument I could say if Roddis( sound like I'm picking on him now!) was any good he would have played more games for St albans last season?

Have you seen what division we are in? Hanwell are not a million miles below us!

 

 

You obviously thought we defended well and that running up dead ends on the left worked well then?As did lumping long aimless punts up field, bypassing the midfield?

 

Or was that Metcalfs fault?

[charlie]

Sorry 3spirit, disagree with you entirely on the Metcalfe/Roddis front - Roddis was in my humble opinion, the worst player on the pitch on saturday (can't comment on tuesday as i wasn't there) whereas Metcalfe brings a calming influence to the midfield. He may not be the quickest but at least his passes are accurate and keeping possession is more important than constantly passing the ball forward.

 

Miller is not "yards off the pace" and regularly provides the drive to pick the others up by, for example, chasing down on balls which others would call 'lost causes'. He won at least two corners doing that on Saturday.

 

Speaking of corners, i agree that perhaps Davies should relinquish these to another player, though if he is the most accurate one we've got he should stay there. He is after all a small lad and not much of a target to aim for in the box compared with the likes of Daly/Deaner/Metcalfe/CJ etc

[BFR]

Metcalfe made it into the box twice in the second half which rather belies the statement that he made no contribution. On one occasion the ball didn't get to him, on the other occasion he got off a shot. You need midfielders who make runs into the box - Mets isn't the quickest but the effort was there.

 

It was a poor performance as a team - I'm not sure any of the players were worthy of praise but I really don't see that Miller and Mets are due the criticism levelled at them by 3spirit