Wealdstone v. City

Phillips, Gallinagh,Adelsbury, Smith, Ball,Williams,Watkins, Artus, Pratt, McCootie, Mohamed. subs - Chas, Yeoman, John, Simmo.

Interesting with Benny at centre back.

I suppose he will add some height, but I wonder if we might play a 3-5-2 with Gallinagh, Smith and Ball at the back? Much as I am no great fan of his, without Ashley Kington we seem to lack a holding midfielder. With our reluctance to use subs I don't suppose it matters that there are only four, although not sure how fit Chaz and Simmo are. Hopefully somehow we can find our way to 3 points.

Last eight games LDLLWLDL. - Relegation form and simply not good enough.

3 points dropped. I genuinely don't know how we managed to lose that.

A big effort put in by the players and no reward.

Well we did well in playing the ball about in pretty patterns, but I thought we were completely toothless again. Presumably their keeper was made MOM through his ability to stay awake. And this regular conceding of an early goal suggests the focus is not there at the ko. There's a hell of a lot to put right in training this week or our Trophy run is going to be a very short one.

We had four strikers on the pitch and yet none seems to be in form. It is a bit of a mystery.

It sounds like a truism but today had 0-0 written all over it if it hadn't been for the two goals. Wealdstone supporters didn't think it was a penalty when I spoke to them (they thought the foul was outside the box). Two pretty poor teams - the home one in its general play, the away one in its inability to make any inroads upfront. The ref didn't look like he was going to book anyone until he realised that Frankie needed his customary one. How Pratt missed that header in the second half from 6 inches away beggars belief. It was the most miraculous defensive header a player could make.

To me it was pretty well summed up by a Wealdstone supporter who came up to me after the game. He said 'I think your in trouble, we (Wealdstone) were awful, you dominated possession, but we still managed to beat you 2-0'.
As Comrade says lots of pretty patterns but no end product, no conviction at all in the penalty area.

Our last 12 games have yielded 8 points. If we carry that on to the end of the season we'll end up with 42 and will probably go down. Last time this league had 22 teams Hayes finished 3rd from bottom with 45.

Something needs to change.

By change, you and many others presumably mean in the team's management. That is most unlikely with the present set up of those controlling the club.

I just hope we don't have a procession of excuses for yesterday. Yes, we were missing key players; yes, both the award of the penalty could be questioned (not by me) and whether the ball went out of play before the second. In fact the latter would have made no difference to the result and it seems rather unprofessional for half our team to stop playing and plead for the lino to raise his flag.

Perhaps yesterday was not another day to criticise our midfield, or lack of it, with so many changes made. I suppose there was little alternative to Artus at left back, but without him we were pretty clueless. And of course he is now suspended for Bognor.

One moment summed up for me how far we have slipped since August.  Despite the amount of room he was given, I thought the Oxford second goal last week was an excellent effort - the one where he lost his marker and headed strongly into the far corner. However, I don' think we would have conceded it three months ago and there was no evidence of it being put right in the following week.  A free kick from exactly the same position, arrowhead into the box - Wealdstone player unmarked just misses the far post. We should be getting such basics right.

comrade powell wrote:By change, you and many others presumably mean in the team's management. That is most unlikely with the present set up of those controlling the club.

Unfortunately the supporters don't seem to have the drive anymore to protest against the current set-up. We just seem to be happy with the dross being served out on the pitch and from the dug-out.

What the loyal supporters are prepared to put up with doesn't really come into the equation. The real question is how much are the board of directors prepared to put up with. If they are happy with the 'dross', the situation will continue - the real problem I fear is that it will continue even if they are unhappy with it...

Ashley wrote:Our last 12 games have yielded 8 points. If we carry that on to the end of the season we'll end up with 42 and will probably go down. Last time this league had 22 teams Hayes finished 3rd from bottom with 45.

Something needs to change.

I was thinking of doing the same calculation as our trajectory is clearly downwards.  I have friends who are fans who quote me how few points we are off the play-off places.  I am generally optimistic but find myself looking at how many points we are from the relegation places.  And before I get accused of being an hysterical doom merchant read those stats above and ask yourself, who (on or off the pitch) has the ability to alter the current trajectory, what do they need to do and how are they going to do it?

Although after winning our first six games no one calculated the points we would finish on then.

On a positive note I thought Gallinagh played his best game so far this season.

For me the Bognor game won't be a defining moment should we lose, but the Hayes home game is a must win. This has to be the point of the season we start collecting wins as the Christmas period looks challenging

I disagree. The East Thurrock disaster knocked the stuffing out of team and supporters and was only put right by the trophy run. For me the Bognor game is very much a defining moment and I fear the fallout from it should we lose. The way we are playing at present, just about every team will be a huge challenge whether they be Hayes or the rather superior team who follow them!

comrade powell wrote:What the loyal supporters are prepared to put up with doesn't really come into the equation. The real question is how much are the board of directors prepared to put up with. If they are happy with the 'dross', the situation will continue - the real problem I fear is that it will continue even if they are unhappy with it...

The Directors of the club should by definition run the company/club in a forward thinking, professional manner and in the best interests of its shareholders/members......and although technically this may not be 100% true this really means the last bunch of loyal supporters.

I agree with Elmore James that many have just given up thinking anything will change and just turn up out of habit.

I know many people who used to follow the club at home games and just don't bother anymore because of this seasonal cycle of negative player man management, excuses and more excuses, failed and flawed player recruitment, lack of any real 'game changing players' who stay with the club long enough to make an impact before being shunted off elsewhere, the lack of opportunity for younger Academy or local players and really a huge lack of an overall strategy for taking the playing side forward to get the long suffering fans on-side with the management rather than this feeling of the world is against them each week and 'what excuse is Lee Howells going to come up with this week' type of thinking...... the list goes on as does the feeling that the management just pay lip service to the dwindling bunch of fans and really don't care what they think because they are just supporters and don't really know what they are watching!

I accept we haven't got any money but we have a playing budget to work with so lets just get on with it and make it the best we can in the circumstances. We have many players in the current squad who are talented, good players at this level but too many of them under perform every week, get told in the local papers that they are not good enough because they are all we can get for the money available and the body language and motivation on the bench and with the players on the pitch is just awful a lot of the time. The management team are stale, past their sell by date and seem to be devoid of any new ideas to change the downward spiral.

I really thought we might have turned a corner earlier this season after the exciting 5-0 thrashing of Havant but in all truth the team played poorly at WSMare after that and haven't really strung together anything of any note since, been knocked out of the FA Cup by a very average lower league team and are basically in League free fall.

I have been supporting & watching Bath City for 50 years now and my company has been involved in many thousands of pounds worth of sponsorship over the years, but with the current Directors, for whatever reason, not willing to change anything about this under performing merry-go-round which happens each season, I am now very reluctantly going to join the many other stay away fans until something does change.

As the long suffering Comrade Powell has said, the team is producing mindless 'dross' most of the time and it just is not good enough whichever way you try and dress it up and for a club of Bath City's perceived standing and history in local football it is very sad and yes the Bognor game next week is certainly a season defining and hopefully a 'management team' defining game.

SteveS wrote:To me it was pretty well summed up by a Wealdstone supporter who came up to me after the game. He said 'I think your in trouble, we (Wealdstone) were awful, you dominated possession, but we still managed to beat you 2-0'.
As Comrade says lots of pretty patterns but no end product, no conviction at all in the penalty area.

Actually, another Wealdstone supporter I overheard put it very well. "We[aldstone] were rubbish but three points are three points. We couldn't pass to a blue shirt in midfield but our defence was good". I am not really sure whether the defence were genuinely good or whether we made them look so but their tiny keeper didn't have to do much.

Very impressed with Wealdstone the club again. It is a really great club. Nice ground, excellent clubhouse, friendly supporters, humorous stewards, brilliantly abusive juvenile delinquent oiks. Brains SA on tap and lovely burgers. IT just shows that you don't have to be a Clapton or Dulwich Hamlet to be a great non-league club. Yesterday's 600ish is down on their usual average attendance of 700ish as well. This is in an area that is over-run with other football clubs, let alone other sports clubs and leisure activities.

comrade powell wrote:By change, you and many others presumably mean in the team's management. That is most unlikely with the present set up of those controlling the club.
.

Not necessarily that, as with our finances is there anyone we could afford who would do a markedly better job?

We have some excellent players but they always seem to go backwards playing for City.

I would have liked yesterday to see us try something different when what we were doing wasn't working. Even throw Chas up front or something to try and get a knockdown, just try something different.

There is no two ways about it, the unbeaten run at the start of the season had so much to do with Steve Phillips, it is ridiculous. However, the latest bad run can't be down to him doing anything wrong. Can anyone really see a better keeper that would come here? Therefore the problem is in front of him. As has been said, we have some really good players but that so many aren't playing well can only really be put down to the management. If the whole team has a 'mare for one game maybe even two, you can put it down to a bad day at the office, superior opposition or both. If a player has a bad run, you can put it down to form, confidence, injuries or bad management. If you have a whole team having a bad run, it has to be down to the management.

I know that I am saying, when we were good, it was down to the players (or, in this case, Phillips) and, when we are bad, it is the management but it is true this season. I have given credit to the management for our great style of play that we have played over the years at our best (especially the first season and a half in the Conference) and, usually, it is when we move form this that we underperform. This season is a sign of what possibly would have happened without the Trophy bounce last year.

Last week, we were beaten by a superior team and fair enough. On its own, yesterday could just be bad day at the office and again fair enough. Put these fixtures in the context of the latest run and, has been mentioned, it looks like relegation form. We have gathered 11 points home and away out of a possible 30 from teams around us. Even if you look at the usual and more realistic target of trying to win all your home games and draw your away, that should have been a target of 22 from the teams above and around us and we have half of that. We have had that sort of pattern of results against the teams in the bottom third. Indeed, we have only lost one away and none at home against those teams and have won a couple away. However, something like the Basingstoke home game 0-0 is a bloody major trip-up.

We only have two games before the end of the year so, if we don't win both of those and also have some sort of strategy for away games, we could be in very desperate straits come the New Year.

Ashley wrote:

comrade powell wrote:By change, you and many others presumably mean in the team's management. That is most unlikely with the present set up of those controlling the club.
.

Not necessarily that, as with our finances is there anyone we could afford who would do a markedly better job?

Always the issue though, isn't it? If you have someone who is free or, at least, cheap (there was talk that they were getting paid this season?) and are in the financial position we are on, it is difficult to pay more (or anything). To be honest, even if they were to put their faith in a untried coach with only junior coaching qualifications and experience <cough>me<cough>, my daily rate as a supply teacher would be more than they are paying. However, you always get what you pay for especially when it is free.

comrade powell wrote:What the loyal supporters are prepared to put up with doesn't really come into the equation.

I think you'll find it does. Especially when fans start voting with their feet. There are a growing number of supporters considering not turning up until something changes. Bit of a body blow to the 'Back the Bid' team when they're trying to launch 1000BC.

The belief that changes should not be made because there's no one out there any better is wrong. If the board think the management are no longer the answer, then it is the board's responsibility to put an end to the present arrangement and find a suitable replacement. This is what Cannonball was saying in his excellent post. And if the opposite is the case, perhaps the board should make a public statement of support. Either way, supporters, shareholders and sponsors need to see that the board is making a response to what is happening.

Maybe it's time for the dreaded vote of confidence!! Difference being this one wouldn't be a one game from being sacked warning...