City v Chippenham

In my experience, and I do have some, it doesn't take that long although there is a maximum of 30 days.

As a club you need to chase it through and it can happen a lot quicker as a result.

Luton Roman wrote:Big leap there Bonker, might be that international clearance still awaited?

He was also nursing a groin strain so could have been that too.

I think going 4-4-2 was a bad idea. Lacking a really combative midfielder so I was surprised to not see Case play in the Chas Hemmings role.

Agree with the comments about Welch-Hayes. Would it be too drastic to put him back on the left and then Rigg at right back? Then, Straker on the left wing?

GO said he's going to make changes so Saturday could be very interesting.

Bonker wrote:In my experience, and I do have some, it doesn't take that long although there is a maximum of 30 days.

As a club you need to chase it through and it can happen a lot quicker as a result.

As far as I'm aware, the club have been chasing relentlessly for it to happen. We had this problem a couple of years ago with a loan player, it took about two weeks to be sorted.

I cant imagine he would have been left out of the 16. I know Gary has often preferred to name a keeper on the bench but in this case I think Compton would have got the nod. Having worked so hard to sign him I wouldn't expect him being left out without a good reason. Probably should have asked on Tuesday when interviewing him.

The whole international clearance ruling is ludicrous. I probably need to achieve one to play in a friendly next week because I played for our supporters team in Italy.

Re international clearance.
At 6.40pm on Tuesday, I was outside Paul Wiliiams office collecting my box, float etc prior to going onto the gate. Gary came into the office and asked Paul Williams about whether clearance had come through yet.
Paul immediately made a call and 30 seconds later the answer came back no.
I believe FA/Conf rules say that we have to submit our team sheet to the ref 1 hour prior to kick-off.
I have no idea who the clearance was for, who the call was to, the nature of the conversation or when the last time was that the question has been asked.
But clearly whoever this clearance we for, this was being chased at a very late juncture and no doubt this wasn't the first time it had been asked to whoever was on the other end of that call.

In the past we've had problems with getting international clearance from the Welsh FA - Scott Walker springs to mind - and in the 21st century it does seem farcical that whatever that clearance process is, it can't just happen at the click of a mouse button. But it clearly doesn't and its a situation that we have to deal with.

Is it still done by fax?

Carrier Pigeon!

Bonker wrote:In my experience, and I do have some, it doesn't take that long although there is a maximum of 30 days.

As a club you need to chase it through and it can happen a lot quicker as a result.

Maybe Paul and Q's years of experience in dealing with these matters isn't enough. So as you appear to be the expert perhaps you can contact the club asap to help them out.

That aside, given a lot of this thread is concerned with the (supposed) lack of fitness of Jones, I'm not sure how a player who didn't play a single minute of football pre-season is supposed to suddenly be the answer to all our problems.

And on the subject of the (imo) moronic abuse coming from the terraces, that was the reason I moved from behind the goal in the last 20 minutes or so. The pick of the clueless shouts was for Owers to get another striker on - we had Rigg, Case and a goalkeeper on the bench. And whoever it was whose vocabulary was mainly reduced to the f-word and c-word should have been thrown out. At one point a steward did go over there but didn't appear to actually speak to anyone.

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That aside, given a lot of this thread is concerned with the (supposed) lack of fitness of Jones, I'm not sure how a player who didn't play a single minute of football pre-season is supposed to suddenly be the answer to all our problems.[/quote]

So he play 180 + minutes in FOUR days.

I'm referring to Compton.

Interesting points on the thread. The only game I was able to get to last season was the first home game against WSM, and it was like deja vue. Slow, plodding, bewildered, Chippenham were physical, hard, fast, chasing, the complete opposite. We were meant to be at home!!
The crowd looked like 2000 to me, people in the stands and all over the stadium. Where did they get the 1250 from?
The only plus was the cracking atmosphere of the old ground.

yuffie wrote:I'm referring to Compton.

Yes, but the same applies to Jones - almost.

Can't disagree with most of the comments on here.

I do think the half-time substitutions sent out the wrong message - to take both strikers off at 3-1 down and the effectively play 4-5-1 (with Marvin the 1!) suggested we weren't looking to get back into the game, just hold things as they were (which clearly didn't work). The frustration was that the Chippenham defence didn't look that sound - particularly the keeper - but we never put them under any real pressure.

Will be very interesting to see how we line up on Saturday.

It seems the consensus on here is to revert to the players we all know and love. Certainly there is nothing I have seen from the new recruits that says any must play. I have been most impressed by Case and would like to see more of him, but he is another who is a fairly quiet character and I think GO has been looking for a vocal motivator on the pitch.

Agree that it was not good management to take both Lucas and Jarvis off together as it seemed to lay the blame at their door. Furthermore the team is short of goals and we need at least one of these to start firing them in, so they need to play. But not together.

As LB says it will certainly be very interesting to see who is selected.

4 in 2 games is not short on goals. Think our concern is defence and battling/ creative midfield.
Saturday can't come quick enough.

Here's what Gary had to say:

https://soundcloud.com/bath-city-internet-radio/owers-chippenham

A candid and honest interview by Gary, at least he had the backbone to front up and not hide away. The worrying thing is that the players that were second best in every department are players that he has assembled and put on the pitch. This wasn't a pre-season game against XYZ, this was the first home game of the season against our local rivals. If the players, and more importantly Gary can't inspire the players, to be up for a game like that, what chance have we got??

Gary is, obviously, a good manager and that cannot be denied. However, he does have a tendency to stick by players who aren't performing - Morgan being a case in point. Looking at the goals on Saturday, I think that Case (and, to an extent, Straker) were at blame for the first two goals and perhaps an earlier shot which could have been a goal so I can't blame him for dropping him. However, Batten was partly responsible (along with Straker) for the second and third goals and, it could be said, could have done better with the first. Before the fourth goal, there is a bit which sums up Jones' display (while he can't be said to have been directly responsible for any of the goals). Batten does well to kick the ball into touch from a long ball into the channel. Jones trundles back from a position where he couldn't have covered Batten and then bollocks Batten for a good minute instead of organising the defence for the corner. He then loses his man at the corner (who wasn't the one who scored). Batten looks absolutely devastated. As the saying goes, some players react to a bollocking, some to an arm around the shoulder. Well, Batten didn't react to the former.

As far as Saturday goes, I think what Owers does with the centre backs is key, not only to the game but to his man management. I would go with Ball and Batten, even taking into account what I have just said about Batten being at fault for two of the goals. I have seen it mentioned that Batten looked nervous not playing his normal side at centre back. I think revert him back to his normal side with Ball beside him and he is going to be more confident and the team are going to feel more confident with those two behind them as we know that they are proven partnership.

If, however, Owers tries to find some way to accomodate Jones, we will know that he is reverting to the type that has seen him field Morgan consistently with no apparent reason.

I find the Jones type player interesting. GO tried the other season with Matt Taylor? and every other club we struggle against seems to have a fat boy who gets in the referees face and generally breaks up play.

Maybe that is the plan......

Surely, he is supposed to break up the opposition's play, not ours though?