Colum

The BBC has exclusive access to all FA Cup games at the moment, so expect unless there’s a Don’s fan with an illegal live video feed, you’re stuffed. Guess you could always try iWollow if they cover cup games.

I think it’s about time to remember Barnstonworth United. Compared to them, our plight isn’t half as bad. Just look at the first 7-8 minutes to cheer yourself up 🙂

Take the positives. We scored a goal and we’re not bottom of the table, but that’s it. The players tried hard, but came up short again. We were good in the first 45 without being outstanding, but for all the pressure and possession, we didn’t really have that many chances. Hanson scored a goal and the Shrews didn’t seem to show any real threat.…[Read more]

Eric’s statement was interesting on a couple of levels.

1. It appears to have come about because of supporter unrest at the radio silence. Surely it should have happened organically without the need for the fans to let their feelings be known. This does somewhat back up the feeling that the FCB and DTB are aloof from most of the fan base.
2. Reading…

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Here is an item of discussion that was doing the rounds on Saturday. Were we right to reject recent transfer requests for players? Let’s say we were offered £500k for Oshilaja, couldn’t we have done some better transfer business? Same with players like Elliott and Taylor. Should we have let them go when clubs like Charlton and Millwall initially…[Read more]

Today’s game had a strange atmosphere. Before the game, and until we went 1-0 down, Neal Ardley’s name was repeatedly chanted in a positive way. It seemed like the majority of fans were willing to let him get us out of this almighty mess.

That all changed with the goal. It was a sloppy goal really. Our midfield went missing – where did we hear…[Read more]

What’s sad to me is that I’ve stopped caring about the results of games I can’t attend. I’ve an air of acceptance of an early goal caused by a defensive mistake, followed by countless wasted chances, and a breakaway goal to complete the defeat. That way should we gain a point, it seems so much better.

We’ve said in the past that the AFCW Board…[Read more]

If there is one thing we should all learn about the first half against Pompey, it was that starting eleven should never have started. Like Windlesham, it was clear that a change of formation and a more robust approach almost made the difference. Against a weaker team, we’d have got something out of that game. Trouble is we can’t keep giving the…[Read more]

I wouldn’t compare the leagues of 25 years ago to today. Football is a very different beast.

I unsubscribed from the various online forums a couple of weeks ago. This is the only one I now frequent. This was brought about by the totally unpleasant atmosphere and downright abuse on just about every post. It’s not helpful to anyone, including the…[Read more]

I agree with a lot of what others have said, but our problems aren’t just in midfield. There are big problems right through the spine of the team.

Clearly the arrival of Tom King hasn’t worked. McDonnell has done really well so far, but it was clear that wasn’t the original plan.

In defence Oshilaja has been mistake prone, but he’s the captain…[Read more]

Last night we witnessed a woeful performance that perfectly highlights why we’ll be in yet another relegation battle this season. It wasn’t as woeful as the Oxford game, but that would take some beating.

To be fair, we took the game to Bradford. The trouble was we didn’t threaten them anywhere near enough. Yes we had one cleared off the line, and…[Read more]

Well that was a relegation battle if ever there was one. Just thank Christ it wasn’t in April! We were pretty bad, but Oxford were worse. Talking to some Oxford fans before the game, they said their problem was lots of endeavour with little end product. Sound familiar?

Well this was the day when the roles were reversed. Thanks to a stunning early…[Read more]

Another defeat and were sitting just about the drop zone. Sound familiar? After the early season optimism, talk in the online forums is depressingly familiar. So much so, that I’ve stopped visiting them.

So on to Oxford which has to be a must win game. It’s at home and they’re playing even worse than us, so this should be a banker home win. But,…[Read more]

I’ve been winding up my wife about buying a flat at NPL. I even managed to get some of the family involved at a recent get together. She thought I was serious for awhile, but I went too far when I said I’d stay there (note the singular) every Friday night to Sunday afternoon!

It’s not nearly as good a wind up as my sister’s friend who made his…[Read more]

It’s the same every year as the Meet the Manager event approaches. The Gaffer must dread these attempts at transparency. He knows he has to deliver, but with the resources he has available, he also knows how difficult that is.

Things are looking slightly better than a couple of weeks ago though. Meades has resigned, and we’ve three new signings…[Read more]

Worried? No. Anxious? Yes. Maybe all our potential signings are so good, they’re still hopeful of getting an emergency World Cup call up for their country 🙂

It’s a shame if Darius has been offered reduced terms. If so, he will almost definitely go. I would if I were him!

Whilst it’s a shame, the writing could have been on the wall. He could be a very moody character, especially when things didn’t go his way. I remember the L2 promotion season. We didn’t start too well, and I sensed he was…[Read more]

Just when we’re all waiting with baited breath for a new signing, we get one. It’s just not what we all wanted. The OS has officially announced that Deano has upped sticks to Gillingham. That can’t be anything more than a better wage packet, as you can’t really see the Gills doing that more better than last season.

I’ve said in the past that…[Read more]

To add to Devon’s musings:

– Fuller probably gone to free up some budget. I’m sad to see him go, but we can hopefully find a young, promising and cheaper full back with the same capabilities.

– Slightly surprised about Francomb. He was a good backup option at either full back, but he’s probably also too expensive for that role.

– Poor old…[Read more]

Yesterday’s game had a strange feel to it. Maybe we’re just used to nail biting tension of late, but yesterday had none. There wasn’t even a party atmosphere really, just relief that we didn’t have to get anything from the game. Not even the caterers selling “Franchise Burgers – Goes down easily. May contain nuts” seemed to do anything other than…[Read more]