Silly me, I was looking for some comment on the Histon game elsewhere and here it is on the 'Iggy' thread
I was on the Downs taking pics of the Skateboard World Cup race on Saturday morning so decided that as I had my camera, and with Taffy as a more than able deputy on the PA, that I would go pitch-side with my camera (pics to follow soon, honest).
The reason I mention this is that a) it was interesting to be so close to the action for a change; be) looking back at photographs reminds you of players who were most involved in the action.
I am another who finds hard to comprehend some of the anti-Tait comments. Sure, he is inclined to moan and express his frustration from time-to-time, but from where I was sitting, I thought he had a very good game on Saturday, as he did vs FGR as well. The photographic evidence also clearly demonstrates that Garry's complaints about a penalty not being awarded for a push on Tait were justified.
Having said that there were excellent performances throughout the side in the 1st half especially, when we didn't really allow Histon to play their John Beck-inspired route one game and it was really nice to see us playing a neat passing game of our own. The equaliser we conceded was disappointing, and the photographs appear to show a couple of players at fault: Jack Midson wasn't really challenged, and the far post should have been covered better.
Traditionally supporters, and especially those at Priory Lane, love to see exciting players that run at defenders: Stuart Danbury (remember him?), and of course the Brothers Crabb. Andrew Raeburn will chuckle at this
but I would have liked to see Matt introduced down the left after Histon equalised - just a fresh pair of legs to run at defenders; whilst although he has scored twice this season, I still think Nathan is a better impact player at present. He ran around a lot on Saturday but was up against a couple of class players in Matt Langston and Patrick Ada who pretty much nullified any threat.
As for 'Iggy', well again it's difficult to be critical as he didn't have a lot of time to make an impact, and also didn't really get the service when he did get on. Perhaps a start up front for him with Tait, whilst Atkin and Sigere are still sidelined?
Finally, just a note about some supporters' comments ...
As the final whistle blew I heard a couple of supporters say "rubbish". I've ceased to get irritated now as it's better to laugh at them. I think it's true that there are some who can't appear to tell the difference between a County League and BSP game; and others who love to moan whatever. However (and this is a generalisation) the majority of supporters tend to watch their
team, or focus on
particular players, rather than watch the
match. It's the same as punters not watching a
horse race, but only concentrating on the
horse they have backed ... they inevitably don't seen the bigger picture. That's why professional punters often go to a meeting and watch, without betting ... they are looking for the horse that gets shut in, or is taking a pull etc. ie. one that will start at a false price on another day.
As someone who used to work for a bookmakers and used to follow racing pretty seriously to the extent of going racing several times a week (and successfully too), this is something I learned from experience. Similarly, once I had to write match reports from a vantage point in the stand, I also learned to watch the
match and not the
team I was supporting.
The point I am trying to make, albeit in a rather convoluted way is that it can be difficult for some people to be objective when watching a football match (or a horse race) when they have a vested interest; hence the ill-formed c**p one often hears from the touchline.