No Internet Radio covereage today, Boreham Wood are pathetic

Don't worry got it here
Mellor, Simpson, Ball, Keary, Gallinagh, Adelsbury, Stearn, Artus, Pratt, Watkins, Kington Subs: Slocombe, Hemmings, Bowman, Rollo

Slocombe came on for Ball again. Artus off for Bowman. Stearn off for Hemmings.

Great stuff and well done to all. The season has started and we can push on now!

The crucial thing for me besides the win is that we came from behind. That is the sort of thing that builds team spirit.

Hopefully it will give us impetus to kick on from here.

Looks like it was a proper 4-4 2 formation as well.

Richard111 wrote:

pete mac wrote:When will this change? If not today then it has to be next week. In the bottom 3 after say 10 games and the season will be difficult. Something has to change and soon..

Nothing will change.

Sounds (no pun intended) like a decent performance and very good win against a side who had started the season well.

I think to anyone with a bit of objectivity neither the players or the management were as bad as the first four games suggested so hopefully with a boost in confidence from today we can go on a decent run now.

What was the gate - the ground looks deserted.

they assumed they could listen to kerslake's commentary!

I think the gate was recorded at just over 200. Good result, hopefully this brings a great deal of confidence and also hope ball and artus are ok. Seemed a slim squad anyway with jim and big chas in the bench. Anyone know where joe Burnell and Chris Allen were today?

yuffie wrote:

Richard111 wrote:

pete mac wrote:When will this change? If not today then it has to be next week. In the bottom 3 after say 10 games and the season will be difficult. Something has to change and soon..

Nothing will change.

Sounds (no pun intended) like a decent performance and very good win against a side who had started the season well.

I think to anyone with a bit of objectivity neither the players or the management were as bad as the first four games suggested so hopefully with a boost in confidence from today we can go on a decent run now.

Hold on, anyone with a bit of objectivity would think that we weren't as bad as four games without a win and however many goals shipped and yet one win seems to indicate we can go on a decent run?

A great win but I don't think that those worrying about our form before are the ones over-reacting.

You'll note I said 'hopefully' we can go on a decent run. I'm not claiming one win means we will, but I genuinely think this performance and result is more indicative of the team than the previous games. I guess the next five or six games will show whether my positive outlook is justified.

Certainly you can't help but feel if our squad is better utilised we shouldn't be in a relegation scrap this year. Delighted with the win Hopefully scoring the winning goal and setting up another will give our Ross a chance of consecutive starts!

And I hope Hodgson was watching!

I didn't see the concord game but that obviously affected confidence. Basingstoke the shape was all wrong and the Hemimings experiment didn't work. We don't seem to know how to use him and he possibly isn't fit. Chelmsford we should have won but it was apparent that we were very low on confidence.
I think the management have made a few mistakes but also several key players from last season were misfiring, Ball, Gallinagh and others looked a shadow of themselves.
Hopefully now with a system the players understand and a lot more confidence we can put some performances together. I still feel we are a bit lightweight in midfield when we play adelsbury and Allen as central midfielders. Hoping Burnell is fit enough to play as Kington looks decent and artus excellent.

Mcnulty wrote: hope ball and artus are ok.

Why did they go off with injuries?

I didn't see the game but heard from the' commentary' that both went off with knocks . Hopefully nothing serious.

Marc Monitor wrote:A great win but I don't think that those worrying about our form before are the ones over-reacting.

I understand where Yuffie is coming from. The quality of our play is better than it was this time last season. We have been creating chances without scoring and defeats have come from dreadful defending from players who are better than that.

The back four we played yesterday looks pretty good on paper and could be a solid unit. They just need time to gel together which hasn't been forthcoming because of all the changes.

None of those points I disagree with (although not starting Bowman was odd) and, of course, I want us to kick on from here. I was someone who wasn't suggesting getting rid of the management after 4 results (and 3 and a half dreadful performances) but waiting a few more matches. As such, however, I am also not going to believe that everything is rosy in the garden after one good result and seemingly a good performance.

I think if we play 4-4-2 (as I think we did yesterday) Bowman is going to be the one who misses out as Ball and Simpson are better defenders.

I agree on the 4-4-2. I thought we looked good last season when we had the players for the 3-5-2 all fit but without an out and out ball winner in midfield we seem to struggle with it this year. Allen is too lightweight and adelsbury seems off the pace. Bowman was a revelation last year but not sure he fits in a 4-4-2, he's a good man to throw on with 20 minutes to go.

I think that Bowman is too good a player to just put on for 20 minutes. Either we make a place for him in midfield or we, shudder, try 5 at the back. However, I seem to remember Bowman being effective and able to get forward in a back 4 last season on occasions and he worked well last week when we went to a back 4 in the second half until he was inexplicably substituted

Bowman looked good when he came on albeit for a cameo yesterday, playing in front of Simmo. One player who didnt impress was Kington. Couldnt get in the game, didnt influence, at times looked frustrated. No doubting Artus is classy, I wonder whether we are good enough to take advantage. Addlesbury put in a shift in 2nd half.

Wood didnt offer much beyond long high balls, willing athletic runners looking for a knock down. 2nd half got into a pattern after Stearn's well taken goal of us giving them a third of the pitch and lining up to resist them. Which is what we did, numerous headers were won, battles fought, key challenges made. Amazing what a difference a couple of well timed goals make. Relief and joy palpable at the end on and off the ptich with a goodly number of City fans behind the goal and in the impressive new Wood stand.

Bowman in front of Simmo is a great fix but that is a position that Stearn takes up effectively. We could go with a 4-3-3 (for me, knocking Adelsbury out) which has been our most effective period of football this season when we effectively played it for the second half last week (with the "Until the 80 minute substitutions" proviso). Either that or we go to 4-4-2 and put Stearn and Pratt upfront and drop Watkins. He's a good player but, until the introduction of Stearn brought him into the game last week, he looked anonymous. What was he like yesterday?

Gah, you have got me talking about tactics. "Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in"

Interesting about Watkins. 1st half he seemed reluctant to keep hold of the ball and beat his man, like he did so effectively to score at Wood last season, and is his normal game. Think he seemed to have the malaise that most of the team had in the 1st half, all corrected by Pratt's equaliser.
2nd half offered more, but hugged the touchline almost throughout leaving Pratt as the lone front man. To be fair he did his share of harrying and closing which was vital, and he will always be a potential for the out ball due to his speed, but like the rest he was increasingly funnelling back to resist the Wood attacks yesterday. All that said, he would be pretty much the 2nd name on the team sheet for me after Pratt.

Barring injuries I would like to stick with yesterday's team (and formation)and try to build on that.

My own feeling re Bowman is that he too rarely delivers a final ball. In this respect he needs coaching and until he gets it there are more reliable performers in the queue ahead of him albeit offering less excitement.

To be honest the day we drop Watkins is the day I join the "management out" group. To me he's the most talented all-round centre-forward we've had since Scott Partridge.

4-3-3 is the one formation that I don't think the squad has the personnel to play effectively. We tried it (to my surprise) at Concord on the opening day and it failed miserably. I still think 3-5-2 is our best line-up (although slightly less so without Walsh) with any two of Ball, Slocombe or Bowman at wing-back. Of course, that formation tends to leave Stearn as the odd man out so if he 'must' play as some supporters insist it's back to the tried and tested 4-4-2.