The Lounge

[Devon Womble]

(Caution: Armchair viewing!)
Well, I guess I should start by commenting on the Ref… For most of the first half he appeared to think he was in control of a non-contact sport. If we’d attacked the Southend players with a feather duster, they’d still have got the free kick. Such was the Refs support for Southend that he even helped break down a clearance by the Dons; neatly trickling the ball to one of the Southend players in the process. Thankfully in the second half he finally realised he wasn’t supposed to be that biased.

As for our performance, well, the first half could be summed up in two comments:
“Oh Sh*t, I’ve got the ball! Got to get rid of it quick to no-one in particular”, and,
“Oh Sh*t, I’m twenty yards from goal, best wait until all my team mates are around me and the opposition is ready for my cross.”
Yeah, we did have a couple of almost surprising efforts, but by and large our shots would never have hit a barn door at ten paces.
Somehow though, we went down the tunnel 0-0 at half-time.

And so to the second half, and the inevitable Southend goal, and deserved it was; they had, after all been in command of the game for perhaps 75% of it up to this point.
Yes, we had a couple of great chances that, on a day with a little more luck, would have meant it was us going home with the three points, but, frankly, I don’t think we would have deserved it. Our passing was woeful, our ideas lacking, and our ability to string anything together, missing entirely.
It is as though we are playing with eleven individual players, each on their own wavelength.
I’m afraid, NA tops off my criticism though with a couple of trademark too late substitutions; his selections clearly changing the game but having no time to take charge of it during their nine minute cameos.

Of our players, McDonald’s performance was poor, his yellow card about his only contribution to the game, while Francomb summed up most of the rest with his scintilating run past three Southend players, only to do a complete 180 degree turn and punt the ball back to a colleague, fully the entire distance he had just covered. Hopeless! Only the forever free running LTB, ever improving Parrett, and the accomplished Long, who also acted as his own highly effective back four during the last ten minutes; appeared to show any command of what was required of them.

Ultimately, NA might rue the day he declared this squad as the best we’ve ever had, because on this form, albeit with only ten games gone, I believe they are already strong candidates to be remembered by the rest of us as the squad that got us relegated from League One.

[Colum]

Windlesham. You missed the police shutting off Kingston Road for 20 minutes after the game to traffic AND pedestrians just so the 100 odd frannie fans could reach their coach safely. There were loads of them holding arms across the road both in front and behind a row of their fans. I think they must have been looking at video reruns of the 80s miners strike or something!

[Colum]

In my book, Saturday is a must win game. Lose and we could end up in the dreaded relegation zone. Buy hey as I’m yet to see a Dons win this season – I missed the Donny game – I’m sure the boys will do us proud. Why? Because I can’t make it this weekend either.

Hopefully the mood at Sunday’s minithon will be positive. I’ll be there running my first event for a year. I’ve been the Jon Meades of the McAndrew household since Christmas, and have only recently been able to do proper runs. Here’s hoping the weather stays like it is.

[Windlesham Don]

Tomorrow’s match has a special significance for me. A group of friends won the raffle to sponsor the match and we are going to sponsor it in honour of a good friend of ours (and lifelong Womble) who lost his battle against cancer last year.

If you are looking down, Andy, please have a word with Footballing Gods and ask them to give us some breaks tomorrow!

So it’s lunch in the carvery and Pressy Lounge for me, and an opportunity to help pick MotM – let’s hope that there is strong competition for our favours!

Thinking about a starting line up, I would play the guys in form and build a formation around them. Although we need to score, we cannot afford to give up on the defensive solidity that has kept us in games this season, so given the choice I would play a 4-2-3-1 formation (reverting to 4-5-1 when out of possession) as follows:

Long,
Francomb/Fuller (RB), Charles, Nightingale, Oshilaja (LB),
Abdou and Hartigan (holding/playmaking),
Forrester, Barcham, Parrett (Advanced Midfielders),
Taylor.

Of course there is no chance of NA going with this formation, or personnel, as it would mean no place for Robbo (sadly one season too many), Trotter (overpaid waste of space), Soares (anonymous last season) and McDonald (getting worse with every game he plays).

Rochdale will attack us, and if last season is anything to go by they will dive and try and play the ref, who sadly is Chris Sarginson, the ‘infamous’ man in black from the Sutton FA Cup Replay debacle last season…

None of the omens are good, but I will be looking up to the heavens and hoping that Andy is looking down on us and bringing us some good fortune.

2-1 to the Wombles…

[Devon Womble]

Well, we played a mediocre team and utterly failed to make an impression, despite being in control for virtually all of the second half.

At first though, it was the Ref who made an impression… by giving Rochdale a wholly undeserved free kick right on the edge of the box. I thought, oh here we go again, but no, even though he made another ludicrously bad call in the second half, Rochdale were poor enough not to take full advantage of his decisions…. and therein lies the worry…
Despite how bad they were, we demonstrated emphatically once again that we have zero finishing ability… something NA has had all Summer to resolve, but which, his fanfare buy-ins have failed to put to rest. (Haven’t we been here before?)

In his post-match interview, NA revealed his belief that if we got near the penalty spot we would get on the end of something. Well, if that’s all his goal-scoring philosophy amounts to, then it’s little wonder we are in trouble. Does he not think that other Managers would realise that too, meaning that the spot would also be the best defended? As it was, I lost count of the number of corners and crosses we had, but to a one they either landed in the thick of Rochdale players, or ballooned their way across to, in one case, the far post… not of the goal, but the one with the flag on it. I confess I completely lost it the third time a cross went begging for a goal poacher. (Wasn’t that one of NA’s Summer buy-ins?)

Our best chances actually came from some of the partnerships that at last seem to be developing. Francomb and Barcham linking up, while LTB, Fuller, and Parrett all worked well together. LTB’s sublime backpass resulted in one of our best chances on goal… the important point being that it was read, albeit probably the only one that was.
At the back, Nightingale, Deji and Long also seem to have got it together.
Speaking of Deji though, frankly I think the man is hopelessly underused. His control of the ball, even under pressure, was in a different league; he appeared to have all the time in the world to pick his shot. Sublime. My question then is, why isn’t he used as a bit of a playmaker? A bit of a Sweeper to coin an old expression, one who can break down attacks and create them? I don’t think he broke a sweat today. LTB too, is simply not in the right place. He is an out and out striker who NA has relegated to the task of crossing balls to non-existent recipients, when he is the one who should be receiving them.
Elsewhere though, it’s clear that the new boys, are the ones still not sure what to do; something you’d have to say NA should have got sorted by now.

Ultimately, Rochdale will be well pleased with the point, but I suspect those Dons fans not already half way home with ten minutes to play; those who stayed to slow hand clap and boo the players off; were really directing that attention towards NA. I sure as hell would have been.

[MacWomble]

Reads like a miserable game. However, we are only 4 points adrift of where we were last season, so it is all redeemable. It is a tad worrying though that 40% of our goals have come against just Doncaster Rovers and attendances are down. But I suppose the club is totally skint and pinning all hopes on the return to Merton – though what has happened of late? Booing the Gaffer ain’t going to do us much good. There is no one better out there surely?

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