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Post by phantom on Feb 3, 2007 17:04:53 GMT
Full Time - Hayes 1 Eastbourne Borough 1 (Harding 84)
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Post by shadwellarmy on Feb 3, 2007 17:11:20 GMT
A draw at Hayes is not a good result, but just about acceptable.
Other games gone our way in general - Lewes lost 3-0 at Eastleigh (ha ha), Newpost lost 3-1 at Thurrock, Cambridge and Fisher drew, as did Bishop Startford (with WSM).
So we are still in contention, now in probably a slightly better position than we were a couple of hours ago. Bring on the rest!
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Post by Jim "Convertedeagle" Stewart on Feb 3, 2007 21:29:15 GMT
A draw at Hayes was far from ideal, a bit after the Lord Mayors show of the match with Fisher. We also seemed to be dragged down to the Hayes mentality rather than rising above with the class we possess. Having to contend with what must rate as the worst officials we have encountered for many a season didnt help either. Was Pat Hardings first strike off side?? Divided opinons all round on that one... Must say that we didnt really come alive until Pat and Paul Armstrong came on in 2nd half... Was Rambo not fully fit?? Would like to have seen him start or at least have come on at Half time to give such much needed muscle upfront. Sorry, but Tait still not at the races.... Thought that the Hayes number 3 was a very classy player and he sure tested Hooky in 1st half with that powerful drive from best part of 35 yards out. Good that results went in our favour today and guess all the time that happens we can keep creeping up to that play off spot...
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Post by vern on Feb 4, 2007 10:03:56 GMT
I thought that we didn't look as organised as we have been in our recent games. Hayes didn't give us any time to settle in to any rhythm, as they harrassed and harrassed and spoiled. The Officials were poor and stopped the run of play needlessly and let dangerous tackles go. I'm not sure abour the Harding first goal (disallowed) as I wasn't looking at the line, although I was standing with Con'Eagle and John right in line with it...John was paying attention and said that the Lino called it correctly. Allan Tait still hasn't shown his goal scoring (for fun) promise, that is the reputation he came to The Sports with. He scored a fabulous goal against Grays - preseason and an injury time goal against Salisbury City. But, he hasn't threatened the 18 yard box since. He does a lot of lay offs but never seems to be at full tilt. Attacks seem to breakdown or come to nothing as a burly defender swats the attack. ON the other hand, Harding has become, is becoming a real threat in front of goal, making good runs to find space and put the ball in their net twice yesterday, having come on in the last 20 odd minutes of play. IMO Harding and Ramsay or Atkin are the best of attack and then Tait coming on late on, if needed, from the bench. Adam Wilde made some great runs down the left and delivered some great balls into the danger areas. Pat Harding ( thank you for shutting up the Hayes vocal minority of homophobes giving Lee Hook abuse for wearing a pink shirt) / IMO Adam Wilde shared MOM... A game of 8 yellows and 1 red ( A Raeburn saw the red given, I didn't). The red for their Coach (staff) for attacking our bench. The game wasn't as bad tempered as the flurry of cards would have you think.
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Post by Trevorfuggle on Feb 5, 2007 15:29:19 GMT
In the form table Hayes are above us and have done really well recently. So realistically a draw is a pretty good result - ask Dorchester if they would have taken a point the week before!
I think a draw was a fair result on balance of play. Hayes stopped us playing the football we have seen in the previous two games. I did notice their coach get sent off but didn't see what led to it and think the referee did seem to have problems controlling things in the second half. It certainly wasn't a dirty match and all I can think is that he was getting some verbal from some of the players.
As for the streaker - what was that all about?
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Post by vern on Feb 5, 2007 17:07:17 GMT
In the form table Hayes are above us and have done really well recently. So realistically a draw is a pretty good result - ask Dorchester if they would have taken a point the week before! I think a draw was a fair result on balance of play. Hayes stopped us playing the football we have seen in the previous two games. I did notice their coach get sent off but didn't see what led to it and think the referee did seem to have problems controlling things in the second half. It certainly wasn't a dirty match and all I can think is that he was getting some verbal from some of the players. As for the streaker - what was that all about? It was after their goal - he got a bit over excited and unfortunately a bit premature, ;D
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Post by grumps on Feb 5, 2007 18:19:58 GMT
I have to say I dont agree with Vern, the problem all year has been the forwards are not being supplied the ball from the midfield. How many times do you see the midfield having a go at scoring instead of passing to the strikers. I am informed that all the strikers past and present have complained about this poor situation and it's about time the midfield was sorted.
I said this at the beginning of the season and nothing has changed, but of course the players don't read the web. Maybe nobody does!
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Post by vern on Feb 5, 2007 19:37:19 GMT
I have to say I dont agree with Vern, the problem all year has been the forwards are not being supplied the ball from the midfield. How many times do you see the midfield having a go at scoring instead of passing to the strikers. I am informed that all the strikers past and present have complained about this poor situation and it's about time the midfield was sorted. I said this at the beginning of the season and nothing has changed, but of course the players don't read the web. Maybe nobody does! Harding's goals (2 scored, only one given) were, if memory serves me right, due to service from Jay Lovett and Adam Wilde. He wasn't on the pitch that long and did the business from crosses into the box. In contrast Allan is stacking up the minutes on the pitch without converting, with the same players in midfield to work with. Harding turns towards goal and Allan shields the ball and lays the ball off; that seems to me to be the difference. When I saw Grumps on this thread I did think that there would be a disagreement....forums are great aren't they? I think that the attacks are a bit laboured, or in other words, that they are telegraphed to the opposition. We don't know whether this is due to the midfield being cautious and not supporting quick enough, due to instruction? THe manager is defence minded, but having said that we haven't conceded many goals. Maybe it is the payoff - defence minded means not too many goals due to gap between midfield and attack. OUr top scorers are Scott on 6 and Pat on 6 in the League. Rocky Baptiste is on 17 But, Pat and Andy have scored recently with the service that is available. But it is also true that the Boro scorers are not necessarily the forwards. This being the case doesn't, as a matter of course, suggest that your point is correct...nor mine for that matter. I guess it depends on your perspective.
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Post by grumps on Feb 5, 2007 20:37:48 GMT
No dissagreement I just say what I and others think. Most of us like the manager, but he is not on the pitch. Does your real name begin with A by any chance? he was the only one that caused any problems and I dont believe I have ever written anything contraversial on the forum.
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Post by sam on Feb 5, 2007 21:18:20 GMT
Agree with Taffy on current form a draw with Hayes was a good result. Can't say I agree with Grumps point about forwards getting a lack of supply from the midfield. In a small squad we have Wilde Crabby and Jay who have consistenly been delivering quality from out wide. Not sure how playing two genuine wide players fits with Verns comment about the manager being defence minded. I think its more a case of building on a strong back four which all successful teams do
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Post by Jim "Convertedeagle" Stewart on Feb 5, 2007 21:27:56 GMT
I have to say I dont agree with Vern, the problem all year has been the forwards are not being supplied the ball from the midfield. How many times do you see the midfield having a go at scoring instead of passing to the strikers. I am informed that all the strikers past and present have complained about this poor situation and it's about time the midfield was sorted. I said this at the beginning of the season and nothing has changed, but of course the players don't read the web. Maybe nobody does! Matt Smart, Ben Austin and of course in the past Tucky... I dont ever remember seeing any of our strikers rushing up to any of those I listed saying, " I say old fruit, smashing strike that , and you nearly ripped the net off the posts, but in future, be a good chap and give it to one of us strkers... we are meant to score the goals you know, cant have you midfielders getting above your station" I find it refreshing tht we have a midfield that feels it has the capabilites to take these shots and score!!! Only my humble opinion, and hey, what the hell would I know, I am just a coach driver!!!
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Post by sam on Feb 5, 2007 21:53:42 GMT
Good point. I've found myself getting frustrated when midfielders get into good positions and don't shoot. Not sure I understand Verns point about Allan. Since when has having a forward with the ability to hold the ball up been a bad thing?
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Post by shadwellarmy on Feb 5, 2007 22:41:53 GMT
IMO the problem is with the front line, not the midfield.
Both Crabby and the Wilde Man have been supplying numerous, very well delivered crosses each game, and Jay is getting onto the act more and more. I don't see any problem with delivery, in quantity or quality. What we don't have is a real clinical finisher to capitalise on it.
The fact that so many goals come from midfield (and even from the defenders!) is a good thing. We have about eight players capable of putting the ball away, but what we are missing is a specialist who can do it week in, week out. It is one of our strengths that we can score from almost any outfield position; it is our weakness that we have to!
Tait has been a big disappointment. No doubt he is a quality player, but he just hasn't been involved in most games. He has played well in patches, against NV and Fisher especially, but just isn't providing the goals, which is what he is meant to be there for! Rambo is a great leader at the front, he can really motivate the team when he is on song, and he is a good striker, but he will never be a great one. We miss him when he is not playing, but he'll never be the division's top scorer. Harding is not yet the finisher article, but he is showing every sign of making a truly great player, midfield or up front. Jay, Crabby, Wilde Man are all good finishers, but it is not their main role. I think that our best striker at the moment is Andy Aitkin, but to be fair I think he'll be best if he was playing as a support striker, backing up an out-an-out num,ber nine.
But all that said, the team are playing fantastic football at the moment, good and solid at the back, pretty much dominating midfield and going forward well, especially down the flanks (and the left especiallY), but we are lacking that final touch.
We could also do with a bit of extra height at the back on occassion, mainly when defending against set-pieces. Mind you, it would be a nice start just to have enough players so as to be able to fill up all the places on the subs bench!
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Post by grumps on Feb 6, 2007 0:07:02 GMT
Whilst I enjoy to see a decent goal from the midfield I still believe we would get more goals if the midfield tried to be less greedy and pass more to the front line. Goals from the midfield are impressive when they hit the target, but few do, we would score more if they delivered to the front line as they are supposed too! Far to often you have see the front line going back to get the ball, instead of having it delivered to them. Ideal world situations are created, by teamwork!
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Post by vern on Feb 6, 2007 7:57:17 GMT
No dissagreement I just say what I and others think. Most of us like the manager, but he is not on the pitch. Does your real name begin with A by any chance? he was the only one that caused any problems and I dont believe I have ever written anything contraversial on the forum. Hello, does your real name begin with G and end in rumps? I don't think so. It's good to be controversial, it stimulates discussion. THe Readers Digest is safe and harmless...moving on swiftly - My point is that Allan seems to receive the ball and shield, which is a good attribute for a forward to have, but it must be the timing that is bad, as he lays it off there seems to be the entire opposition behind the ball, and the attack breaks down. Or else the wide midfielders come racing down the wing and then deliver a dangerous cross, but there isn't anyone, or not enough players in the box to put it away at Hayes....unlike in the Fisher game when there was - Atkin and Lovett. MAybe the midfield and forwards need to seemlessly choreograph their attacking play to make the most efficient use of each attack. That was my point. The Forwards and Midfield don't always seem to be linked, but, Pat exploits his moments much more effectively than the experienced Allan Tait.
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Post by shadwellarmy on Feb 6, 2007 9:39:30 GMT
Whilst I enjoy to see a decent goal from the midfield I still believe we would get more goals if the midfield tried to be less greedy and pass more to the front line. Goals from the midfield are impressive when they hit the target, but few do, we would score more if they delivered to the front line as they are supposed too! Far to often you have see the front line going back to get the ball, instead of having it delivered to them. Ideal world situations are created, by teamwork! I agree that we would see more goals if more efort was given to providing the strikers with the ball, [be][/be] but [be][/be] for that to work we need to have strikers who will score! As I said before, I don't see any problem with the delivery. Against Lewes I counted no less than eight quality crosses in from the Wilde Man in less than fifteen minutes; earlier in the season, Crabby was producing the same work-rate against Sutton and WSM. The same could be said for Fisher (home and cup away), NV, Hastings and several other games. What we lacked was a front man who can put the ball away! Tait doesn't seem to be able to do much up front. He gets the ball often enough but, as Vern says, he then keeps it and waits for support, or snatches at a half-chance. I have to say, as someone brought in to score goals, he's proven (so far) to be a worse finisher than Crabby, Jay, Wilde Man, Harding, as well as Rambo and Aitkin. I still hold that Aitkin is not an out-and-out striker, but a fantastic second man up front, Rambo is a little slow to be a great striker and, although his passion and effort can't be forgotten, he isn't able to play as a lone striker and isn't the best choice at this level, and our only other players capable of getting the ball in the net are midfielders. If we stil had Yemi, we would be top of the table today. Our defence is superb and as close to water-tight as you can get (set pieces aside!), our midfield has a fantastic work rate, gets back to cover quickly and breaks down the wings with awesome speed and lays in numerous quality crosses, the whole squad is playing for each other and not trying to do everything on their own (which a few did at the start of the season), they have a great spirit, the last ten games or so have shown a real improvement in our taking of set-pieces, no longer being the one option of 'smash it hard in the general direction of their net', now there are some quality variations being tried out, a couple of players seem to be curbing their anger-management issues, and all being done with a paper-thin squad. The only problem is scoring goals! There have been too many draws where we have dominated, and too many times that we have lost by one goal with the oppossition goal under siege for 70 minutes. Sorry Grumps, but the buck has to stop with the strikers. That is the weak link in the Borough team. Tait had at least six good goal-scoring opportunities against Fisher, three times being supplied with a ball that left him one-on-one with the last defended and twice with just the keeper to beat. He hit the crossbar once (but the top of the bar, it never really looked like a goal), just about passed the ball to the keeper once, gave the ball away once, and twice stood there with the ball, waiting for a chance to pass it to someone else. And, of course, there were numerous corners, freekicks, goalmouth scrambles, long balls to chase, crosses to jump for and so forth, and he didn't look dangerous even once with any of them. Pretty much the same against NV. And these have been, far and away, his best games! It's not lack of supply, it's lack of finishing. The Wilde Man came into the squad to supply the ball to the front line, which, after a couple of quiet games, he has done brilliantly. I don't think he has gone more than fifteen minutes in any game without providing a quality cross or creating a goal-scoring opportunity, but very little comes of it due to a lack of quality up front. I know some fans have been giving him stick because he hasn't scored and has only been the assist a couple of times, but imo he has done everything we wanted, and more, is proving to be one of our top players, but is getting let down by poor finishing. With Rambo out, we have strikers who seem to be afraid of taking a shot! Mind you, in the past Tait has shown himself to be a quality player. Maybe we could get Oxford to do a swap for Yemi? OK, rant over!
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Post by sam on Feb 6, 2007 23:12:31 GMT
Some good points made Shadwellarmy. All I would add is as you say Tait has shown himself in the past to be a quality player and he hasn't become a bad player overnight. Garry has made numerous astute signings recently and I think it's too early to write Allan off. A prolific striker would be great but can we afford one? I doubt they come cheap and it is a competitve league this year. Prolific strikers in the past eg Nightingale and Booth both only have 8 goals a piece this season.
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Post by Trevorfuggle on Feb 7, 2007 22:52:15 GMT
The Hayes result at Weston tonight (5-0 victory) proves that the draw at Hayes on Saturday was not such a bad result. It's a shame we are not playing Weston down there soon. They have conceded 10 goals in 2 games whilst they are doing well away from home. They have Histon at home on Saturday. Another 5 goal defeat??
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Post by sam on Mar 28, 2007 10:27:41 GMT
Some good points made Shadwellarmy. All I would add is as you say Tait has shown himself in the past to be a quality player and he hasn't become a bad player overnight. Garry has made numerous astute signings recently and I think it's too early to write Allan off. A prolific striker would be great but can we afford one? I doubt they come cheap and it is a competitve league this year. Prolific strikers in the past eg Nightingale and Booth both only have 8 goals a piece this season.
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