The Lounge

[Windlesham Don]

Today is the first of three absolutely vital matches over Christmas. In my opinion it is not an exaggeration to state that these matches could define our season.

Anything less than 4 points and I believe that we will be doomed to relegation. Realistically, we probably need two wins.

To date, sadly, the squad has shown us nothing to allow us to believe that we are capable of escaping the mire.

Wally has had another full week with them – we now need to witness some defensive organisation, some midfield tenacity and some attacking confidence. Otherwise we might just as well have stuck with our previous manager…

COYD!!

[Windlesham Don]

Well that was a pleasant surprise! The team finally seemed to show the fight and determination that has been missing for most of the season. We also looked dangerous in attack, with Hanson and Appiah complementing each other.

One swallow does not make a summer, of course, and defensively we still allow too many crosses into our box and lose too many defensive headers. Personally, I am not convinced by Nightingale and Thomas as centre backs, both are inconsistent and liable to make goal-gifting mistakes.

Hopefully Wagstaff isn’t out for any length of time, as we will miss his energy, but at least we have Pinnock to return on Boxing Day.

A major bonus for me yesterday was the performance of Wordsworth, who seemed to be involved in most of our good moves. If he can play to his potential then it may solve one of our central midfield issues.

On to Boxing Day and a monster bottom of the table clash against Plymouth. Our record at KM against them is poor, but if we can get off to a positive start then their lack of confidence may be key.

As I suggested on Saturday, two wins out of the three Xmas games is what we need to go into the January transfer window with some confidence that we can avoid the drop. If the second win is against one of our relegation rivals then so much the better.

Wishing all WDSA readers wherever you may be in the world a Happy Christmas and a peaceful, prosperous and healthy 2019. COYD!!

[liamwimbo]

After all the doom and gloom of recent months and the debate over Ardley In/Out, we finally have something to cheer about. Two wins in a row have lifted us off the bottom of the table. No doubt it will be a tough task to keep this going but we now have hope of staying up going into the second half of the season. The big change on the playing front is the decision to not play the ‘wardrobes’ and it seems to be paying off. Also good to see young Tyler Burey get a run out. I saw him play in the pre-season game v Reading and thought he was excellent. Hopefully a good future for him at the club.
Best wishes to Singapore and Windlesham for their contributions on here – very much appreciated by us Wombles Down Under.

Happy New Year to Wombles everywhere.

[Colum]

Liam is spot on. Not playing the likes of Trotter and Soares is paying off. I have to say young Hartigan is a joy to watch. He’s an unassuming player, who doesn’t really get the credit he deserves. He does the simple stuff well, but it’s his vision that really makes him stand out. I hope he continues to get a run in the team.

Up front Appiah and Jervis had good games. Jervis in particular had his best game since arriving in the summer. Yes his passing is still ropey at best, but his aggressiveness was good to see. Same for Appiah.

So with seven points from a possible twelve since Wally arrived, things are looking up. There’s a long way to go, but finally we’ve got a smile on our faces. Long may that remain so. But with Blackpool and Portsmouth to come, can we expect the naysayers to make a return?

[liamwimbo]

Hi Colum, thanks for the mention. We are looking forward to games for the first time in ages. Would obviously love us to win tonight but a point wouldn’t be the end of the world. Hope you had a good Christmas and best wishes for 2019. COYDs

[Windlesham Don]

When I posted pre-Wycombe that I felt we needed two wins from the next three games I had no confidence that we would achieve that goal. Having achieved it with still a game to go is amazing to me!

Boxing Day was a very good performance, certainly the lethargy of the last days of Ardley have been swept away by the new management team, who seem to have freed up the players to enjoy their football.

Our hearts sank when Plymouth scored a ‘worldy’ of a goal – no idea why Fox tried a shot from where he did, but 9 times out of 10 it would have elicited a guffaw from the Chemflow end. Sadly, this was the time when the ball swerved and dipped into the corner of the net. For me, no blame attached to King.

We got back into it before half time with a ‘worldy’ of our own (or should I say ‘woody’?). Wordsworth with a sweetly struck volley from outside the box.

Second half and we largely took control, inspired by the excellent Pinnock. It was fitting that he scored the winner. If he continues to play as he did on Boxing Day then we will need to improve his contract, as the vultures will be circling.

On to today and the prospect of three wins on the spin is so foreign as to be beyond contemplation. With 5 players out injured, including two strikers, I doubt that our fire power will be enough to break down a tight Blackpool defence. I also worry about another of our nemeses, Amand Gnanduillet, who has been a constant nuisance to our defence for a number of clubs – and us with 2 centre backs on the injury list…

All in all I’ll take a draw, probably 1-1, although I am hoping for a little bit of Pinnock magic…

COYD!!

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