The Lounge

[Windlesham Don]

There is definitely an air of depression hanging over the club at the moment. After the euphoria of the end of last season there was some hope that WaG would build on the spirit and teamwork during the summer and produce a side capable of a mid-table finish.

Sadly that has not materialised. The budget situation seems to have been worse than any of us fans imagined and this has been compounded by a couple of factors – injuries to key players Nightingale and Wordsworth, and a failure to kick on of those players signed last season (Connolly, McLoughlin and Pinnock aren’t holding down places).

At the moment it means that we are left with a squad without a solid spine and without any leaders to galvanise the youngsters.

Replacing Ramsdale and Seddon was always going to be tough, they had quality and they had personality to match. We wait to see the quality of Trott, but I doubt that he will have the confidence to organise his back line, nor the dominance to command his box.
Guinness-Walker looks promising, but he has only played at Ryman level and he will make mistakes.

So today is an important game, against opponents who are liable to struggle with us – they have lost their first two of the season. I’m not expecting much, as Accrington are always competitive and always attack us at Kingsmeadow.

My hope is for a scrappy score draw and a swift return for Nightingale and Wordsworth…

[Devon Womble]

OK… So let me see if I’ve got this straight…
We play a relegation candidate.
We have home advantage.
We command for 45 minutes.
At 61 minutes we gain the advantage of a sending off.
THREE minutes later they equalise.
At 85 minutes we have our backs to the wall.
Oh Woe, Oh Woe, Oh Woe is me.
Don’t leave it till February to wake up guys, because we won’t be so lucky this time…
Is it too late to change my place forecast for the Dons???

[MacWomble]

The team is not firing yet, and the delights of Ipswich and Sunderland won’t help matters. Looks like the team is settling down for a repeat of the last few seasons. I dunno, but from a distance, I get the feeling the league is tougher this year. I was looking at the tables around the country and had not picked up that Bolton, as well as Bury, had been deducted 12 points for financials. The game is in a dire state outside of the premiership and the top championship clubs. Being from Scotland originally, I notice barely a sprak is nowadays registered when complete garbage results and play, as shown by Aberdeen and Celtic, occur in the european competitions. The game up there is is a woeful state. It’s like clubs like Wimbledon have to survive on the scraps left over after Man City and Chelsea have gorged. But at least we are quite literally building for the future (well, I hope the work has commenced and they are not our on strike over smokeo breaks). C’mon Wally, sign up someone from Botswana or Sierra Leone, who can knockj in a goal and fancies a visa to Blighty.

[Singapore Don]

Very happy to have enjoyed a great day of Ashes test cricket at Lords rather than have endured yet another serving of frustration at KM. I’d forgotten what it was like to have fun at a sporting event! Hard to see it happening any time soon for us Dons fans 🙁

[Windlesham Don]

These are bleak times on the pitch. Up against a poor Accrington side who are liable to be battling the drop come April, we couldn’t even hold on to a lead against 10 men.

What concerns me at the moment is a complete lack of ideas or tactical ability. WaG may not have any budget, but they are seasoned coaches at a good level and should be able to find an effective method of play with the squad at their disposal. At the moment we are clueless, with our main tactic being hope that the opposition make a mistake. There is no creativity, no leadership.

Last season we sleepwalked into the relegation zone under Ardley and Cox. This season a repeat of the struggles is already laid out in front of us – an 8 month battle to avoid the drop. Excitement will be at a premium, frustration will abound…

WaG have many ‘brownie points’ in the bag after last season’s miracle, but yesterday their substitutions were perplexing. Looking for an important 3 points against 10 men, Appiah, Connolly and Roscrow were left to warm the bench as Pinnock, Osew and McLoughlin were introduced – the result being that we never looked like claiming a winner.

Trips to Ipswich and Sunderland next week and I will be staggered if this squad is good enough to return with anything more than zero points.

August is obviously too early to panic, but the management team must be hearing alarm bells already. Things may improve once Nightingale and Wordsworth return, but this squad is simply not good enough for League 1 as it stands. WaG may now have a database of almost 1000 players, but those recruited since their arrival have not been undiscovered gems. Connolly, McLoughlin and Roscrow have shown little, other than an ability to use up valuable budget.

With Bury almost gone and Bolton struggling with kids, it may be the case that we only need to be better than two teams to survive. Sadly, it is difficult to find those two teams at the moment…

[Devon Womble]

Browsing the infernal net last night, I see that Me Bang-yin Goaks is available from North Korea for seven pot noodles a week and a full length picture of his leader.
Meanwhile, Baolo Innetto says he is fed up with playing in the Campari and Soda Sunday Liga Sardinia and has ambitions to move to England. Not sure if we can afford the Fiat 500 he wants although I think we could swing the year’s supply of spaghetti…

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