The Lounge

[Singapore Don]

Windlesham and I met with friends before the game at Kingsmeadow, and predictions of defeat abounded – indeed there was one 1-4 scoreline which was spot on. I was the only voice of optimism going for a 0-0 – such are the highs of our positivity these days! But my optimism was terribly misplaced, and we were put to the sword by a very good Barnsley team, the best footballing side I’ve seen at KM all season. It was a well deserved win.

Wally’s 4-2-3-1 formation with Nightingale and Oshilaja sitting front of the back four worked well in the first half. Will in particular looked very comfortable in the role, playing with high energy and aggression, closing down the opposition to great effect. In the first half this formation worked well for us, but the Barnsley manager clearly clocked our control of midfield by substituting on a midfielder for their goalscorer number nine – and that turned the tide in Barnsley’s favour, allowing them to get a grip on midfield which they used to their advantage in the second half.

Clearly the talking point of the game, and probably turning point of the game, was Jervis’s horrendous miss from two yards in front of an open goal just before half time. It was right in front of me in the JG stand, and I still cannot fathom how on earth he missed it. It was on a par with his dreadful miss from pretty well the same spot in front of goal down at Plymouth back in October, another horror miss which I witnessed for myself. It has sealed his fate as the boo boy, a role he’d already pretty well made his own before Barnsley when he outraged the Dons faithful by giving them the hands to ear treatment after scoring in a previous game. I wonder how he would have felt if the whole crowd had given him the ear treatment back after yesterday’s suicidal miss. Because suicidal it was. If that effort had gone in, we would have gone in at half time at 2-1 and with a big psychological boost to give us something to fight for and defend in the second half. It was a crunch moment and you could feel heads and hearts drop on and off the pitch when his side footed effort whistled past the post on the other side of the goal to where he was. The biggest mistake I made this season was spending a sizeable chunk of my dosh sponsoring Jervis’ shirt. A complete waste of money!

The other continuing negative remains Tennai Watson, who game by game is proving beyond doubt that he is not a very good right back. It’s our real weak spot in the back line, and it was exposed time and time again yesterday.

The positives? Well Will Nightingale as I said was impressive, and his 25 yard screamer just before half time was worthy of winning any best goal contest – if only their keeper hadn’t pulled off a top drawer save to somehow tip it over. It looked for all the world to be heading in to the top corner. A class strike. If only others would have a go from the same distance.

Young Paul Kalambayi is also another major positive. He looks assured, big, strong, and intelligent on the ball. Every game he grows taller and taller in confidence and ability, and will be a real asset for our promotion push from League Two next season (more on that in a moment!).

We got another glimpse of the impressively lightning quick Dylan Connolly, who terrorised the Barnsley left back with mesmerisingly fast runs at the back line – delivering decent crosses to boot after those runs. Again, another real asset as we look to rebuild this summer.

The one other real positive which we probably won’t benefit from next season is Aaron Ramsdale. I lost count of the number of brilliant saves he made yesterday, absolutely top class; on top of which he’s vocal, commands his box, and in the mould of George Long is a great motivator and solid presence between the sticks. He looked genuinely gutted at the final whistle, a player who clearly puts his heart and soul in to every match.

My overall take-out from the Barnsley game is that barring a miracle we’re getting relegated. The optimists can believe we’ll do it, but realistically the haul of points we now need is looking more and more unattainable. Not only do we have to win well over half of our remaining games, but we need to rely on four other teams to plummet as well. And there is just no sign of that at all with those struggling alongside us yet again picking up points to open the gap wider. Oxford and Plymouth won, but more annoyingly Walsall and Wycombe also won – and they were two sides who seemed to be heading towards some sort of freefall but have staved off that downward spiral. Rochdale and Scunthorpe also picked up a valuable point.

Anything other than a win against Fleetwood on Tuesday night and we can pretty well surrender to the reality of relegation. Yes, yes, there’s still a lot to play for and all that. But come on, it would require a miracle of us going on a Manchester United style seven game winning streak combined with four other teams going on a long streak of defeats to give us any chance of avoiding the drop. And right now, that just seems fantasy land. I’ll still be there willing us on, home and away, but deep down it feels like a losing battle. Oh how wonderful it would be to be proved wrong!

[Windlesham Don]

Nicely summed up, Pete, saving me writing any match report!

Certainly Tuesday is a must-win fixture now, let’s hope that WaG come up with a tactical plan to get us the three points otherwise I will start planning for life back in League 2.

I’d add to your player assessment plus points for Terrell Thomas, who seemed to fit back in alongside Kalambayi very well, and the new loanee Seddon, who seemed unphased by moving from League 2 to Championship quality opposition.

On the negative side I would add Mitch Pinnock. Although his delivery remains good, his first touch is poor, his decision-making is too slow and his defensive duties appear to be ignored most of the time. For long periods in open play he looked out of his depth – let’s hope he has the ability and desire to improve, as I am sure that Wally and Glyn will be working on him.

Roll on Tuesday. Let’s hope the entire squad are fully focused on the three points on offer, as IMO this game is far more important than the cup game on Saturday.

[Colum]

Here’s my best moment of Saturday’s game. Ramsey’s knee slide to the edge of the area when we equalised. He really does seem a quality keeper, and I love it when players show some emotion.

My worst moment has to be THAT miss by Jervis. We could easily have gone in at HT 3-1 up. Sure Ramsey was by far the busiest keeper in the first half, but most of the saves he had to make were fairly routine.

Finally my definition of optimism. In the second half, the Barnsley keeper was being heckled by a wit during a stop in play when we were 1-3 down. “We’re going to win 4-3 keeper. Jervis is coming for you. Here he comes. You may as good surrender.” It continued along these lines for several minutes.

I doubt Jervis would have seen the funny side had he heard it. He looks totally shot of confidence. His movement is virtually non-existent, and that in my opinion is at the heart of the miss. Had he actually missed onto the ball, rather than waiting for it to come to him, it would have been much more difficult not to score. But with Jervis, maybe he’d have found a way.

Pete is spot on. We are (and will be) a League Two club. I just can’t see us getting the required points, and even if we did we’re relying on others to continually slip up.

One other observation. Would Ardley have played two central defenders in midfield at yesterday’s game? Hell no. We’d have witnessed the wardrobes we’ve become used to seeing. Would Ardley have played the development squad players like Kalambayi and Hartigan. I doubt it. Wally and Glen seem to recognised that we can’t buy our way out of this mess. They have to rely on what we have, and aren’t afraid to mix things up a bit to get the result. I like that!

[Devon Womble]

Well that’s that then guys. League Two here we come. With the worst record in League One, everyone around us getting better (with the possible exception of Rochdale), and now everyone above us with a game in hand, I really cannot see any way back for us. Yes, miracles do happen and I still hope for one, but to go down 3-0 at home to a team we only recently beat 3-2 on their own turf is unfathomable… especially now that we are more or less back to full strength.
I seriously hope WD has a sizable hairdryer because he’s going to need it. I also recommend he obtain a large axe because clearly there is a lot of dead wood still hanging around the dressing room that simply has to go.
If there is any consolation to this shambles, it’s that with the pressure now off; WD can concentrate on getting our youngsters and those that consensus considers capable of demonstrating a desire to play with not a little skill, into some sort of team fit for keeping us in League Two… surely now the next major concern. (Wonder if we can lease Plough Lane back to the Greyhounds?)
NA may have got us to League One, but he sure as hell is also responsible for getting us back out of it.

[Singapore Don]

That was as shambolic and woeful a performance as I’ve seen at KM in a long, long time. Utterly dire, we were quite frankly an embarrassment. Only Aaron Ramsdale seemed to display any passion or fight. The ten outfield players to a man were a disgrace. The defence was crap, the forward line non existent. Pigott game by game is being exposed as the non league player he was a year ago. Pinnock looks equally lightweight and clueless. The side that played tonight would struggle in League Two. It was painfully clear across the team that we lack any sort of ability, any sort of quality. The Dons’ football was non league at best, some of it schoolboy like at time. We made Fleetwood look like Barcelona. It was shameful.

Is the Wally honeymoon over? Seven goals shipped at KM in the last two games, only one scored. The crowd was teetering on the brink tonight. Plenty of boos and “you’re not fit to wear the shirt”, and it’s spreading. Personally, I felt less angry. The hope had already died for me before tonight. Expectations are zero, so when a pile of rubbish is delivered like tonight, it doesn’t hurt anymore. But that in itself is so sad. I’ve alway been an impassioned soul, shouting and willing on the team. Tonight, I felt the fight in me die. Resignation set in. That team tonight is not capable of spiriting up a miracle. We’re going down.

[Singapore Don]

I should add: spineless midfield. No fight, no control, no energy. We have a team that cannot pass a ball. And there is no one to take the game by the scruff of the neck and impose some authority and creativity. We desperately lack any sort of playmaker or midfield dynamo. Only Dylan Connolly offers any sort of hope of something happening when he gets the ball. Otherwise, it’s a team of plodding ineptitude. In defence, midfield and attack, we’re clueless. And Wally seemed to have no answers tonight. His biggest failing could well be his failure to recruit in this January window. We needed a striker and creative midfielder desperately, and despite his positive soundings at the end of December, nothing has happened. Any signing now will be too late to have any sort of meaningful impact. On this account, the WaG copy book has been blotted.

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