The Lounge

[rob]

I’ve now seen Wimbledon 4 times in the last few weeks – Oxford, Bury twice and Oldham – and not seen them lose yet! Obviously the Oxford game was a rare event when you score 3 goals before half time away from home. Both Bury performances were solid and to fight back from 2 down was really impressive. The Oldham game was 2 points lost. Having dominated the first half the game should have been over but it was still 0-0. The second half started well but by the end we relied on James Shea to make a couple of fine saves.But overall it was disappointing not to score when we were clearly the better side. The transformation in our play from this time last year is remarkable. A year afgo we were nowhere near where we are now but the personnel hasn’t changed dramatically. The absolute key is the workrate – starting with Reeves and Bulman in midfield and the icing on the cake is Elliot and Taylor. Taylor works his socks off and has scored 8 goals from a position which often resembles right midfield.Elliot has been awesome. Those 2 frontmen are still better than Barnett and Poleon.Dom Poleon has had limited chances but doesn’t look happiest at tracking back. It is unlikely he will get a much game time until he starts being as selfless as Taylor. The defence has been solid with the occasional error but overall all 4 central defenders seem able to perform at this level. James Shea has been great – I never really understood why Neal didn’t fancy him much. So overall a lot of optimism from my perspective. Just sort the home form out and it could be a very good season.

[Colum]

Just about to leave for the latest round in the Bury rubber. If we play like we did on the away league fixture, we’ll be OK. If we play like we did in the first 45 of the cup leg, we won’t.

Perhaps the worrying signs are the number of niggling injuries that seem to be taking their toll recently. Shea and Meades have all missed games in particular. Even Fuller seems to be struggling a little. Up front Elliott may not play. That would be a big loss.

Hopefully by 10pm we’ll be celebrating a Poleon or Barrett hattrick and a clean sheet to boot.

[Colum]

That has to go down as the most one sided game of football I’ve seen in ages. With the exception of some early doors pressure resulting in a good Shea save, Bury were woeful.

You could tell it wasn’t going to be their night when they had to make a tactical substitution after 35 minutes only to go 3-0 almost immediately afterwards. Then early in the second half, a ricochet landed at a Bury player’s feet 20 yards out. With no one within five yards of him he decided to shoot. I use that word unwisely, as Shea had time to trap the ball with his foot and wait five seconds to pick the ball up.

Seeing Andy Barcham go off was a worry, but his replacement Don Poleon changed the game. The first time he received the ball he beat two players out wide and set up a chance for Lyle Taylor Baby. After that he was on fire, causing all sorts of problems. Bury had no answer to his close ball control.

Lyle Taylor Baby winning man of the match was probably deserved, but I have to single out George Frankham. Filling in at left back again, he was excellent in the first half. To be honest if he any defending to do in the second half, he’d have been my man of the match. As it was he could have gone home early. Yes Bury were that bad.

As a fan there are days when you wished you’d stayed at home. A long midweek ride back up north after a drubbing, must be right up there. Bury will have to get their minds in shape again quickly if they aren’t to suffer a similar fate on Saturday. We may have had no Elliott, but we could have played a one legged Joe Sherrin tonight and still one.

[Singapore Don]

Agreed Colum, that was indeed as one sided a game as you’ll ever see. Bury were dreadful. Having said that, we were as good as I’ve seen us all season.

The stand out players for me were Taylor and Poleon, who as Colum said changed the game when he came on. Now Azeez is gone, the “on fire” song should surely be young Dom’s – except he already has his own fans chant. He was clinical in his finishing, made a goal, and was worked his socks off for the team. If he’s to challenge LTB and Taylor, it’s the work rate that Poleon needed to improve – and he demonstrated last night that he can do just that.

As for Taylor, well what a change to the half hearted, sauntering player of the start of the season. He plays now with a fire and passion that clearly fires up the whole team. I was delighted he got his goal to cap a man of the match performance, but it was his constant harrying and hassling and pressing of the opposition, his readiness to get back to defend, his overall octane fuelled energy that made him the stand out player of the night.

It’s unfair though to single players out, because last night was all about a well oiled, highly charged team that operated as a lean, mean machine. Everyone played their part, and we can be proud of a squad that clearly has depth to out in the performance it did without key players like Meades and Elliott. (Does Robbo see himself as an Elliott stand-in?! It was a delightful centre forward lay off to Poleon which gifted Dom his first goal!).

Of course Bury will have a point to prove on Saturday, some pride to restore, so I don’t expect to see a repeat score line or performance at the weekend. But for last night, it was so enjoyable to be able to relax for 90 minutes and know the win was never in doubt. After a difficult week in northern Iraq, it was the perfect tonic. I’d love to have another on Saturday. To bury Bury twice in a week really would be a tonic for the Dons troops – boom boom!!

[liamwimbo]

After Tuesday night, the Bury players must surely be psychotically damaged – just like the Australian cricket team, ha ha ?. So form suggests an easy win, especially with Tom Elliott likely to be back in the lineup. The Dons seem to be coping with injuries to players like Meades and Charles, with the encouraging signs that the youngsters coming through are performing well. The two dangers are Bury getting a new manager bounce and complacency by the Dons. But Ardley is doing such a good job at the moment that the latter is unlikely. Probably won’t be 5-0 again, but the Dons should be good enough to get the three points.

[Colum]

“OK lads. Forget about last Tuesday. It was a fluke score line. Today is a new start. It’s a clean slate. Let’s play like that cup loss didn’t happen.”

Whatever the pre match team talk in the Bury dressing room, it didn’t work. To be fair to Bury, just like last Tuesday, they started brightly. For 20 minutes they caused us issues.

Then Poleon chased a lost cause from an over hit cross, whacked the ball into the box and Whelpdale was in the right place. How would Bury react? They rolled over and let us tickle their belly. To be fair, there was nothing anyone could have done about our second. Poleon burst past the centre back and whacked the ball into the top corner. A 20 yard contender for goal of the season.

Our third was another cross which Elliott couldn’t miss. Three goals in three minutes, and the game was over. Time to get the coach engine going.

Our fourth, penalty, seemed a little soft. If anything it was a clumsy coming together of two players running across each other’s path. How good was this?

Bury had the temerity to try and make a game of it in the second. With nothing but pride to play for, they scored, and well taken it was too. Credit to them for keeping going. A well worked fifth came after that by way of a response.

Don Poleon won man of the match for that goal, and his two assists. Seth Owen looked fairly solid in his left back debut. Jackie Reeves controlled the midfield as always. Even Whelpdale actually started to look like the player Neil Ardley says he is.

Bury must be thankful they won’t have to play us again this season. Four games and 15 goals conceded. They are a club in crisis. It is a shame to see, but we know what it is like. If he was watching today, David Flitcroft would have been excused for saying, “See it wasn’t all my fault.”

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