Team v Radstock Town

Stearn maybe, Rollo aye, McCootie with his injury no, loan players no and I doubt their parent clubs will want them playing county cup games. Play the youth team and spare the lads any more injuries in the squad

The only away game I can walk to!

Palms wrote:Play the youth team and spare the lads any more injuries in the squad

With a far more important game for them and the club on wednesday, I trust the youth players won't be used tonight. And whoever represents us, I hope the instruction will be 'make sure you lose'! Victory will mean a home tie with Shepton Mallet on 11/11, which presumably means that night is not an option for playing the Gosport fixture, which of course was postponed because of the county cup. And should we progress to the FA Cup 4QR, a replay would presumably mean the S Mallet game being moved and leaving less options for rearranging our postponed visit to Ebbsfleet. I hope Ashley enjoys his stroll tonight and roars his home club on to victory!

Good point well made, I'd forgotten the fa youth cup. We need 3 county cup games a year though so Jim can reach 500 by the time he's 50

Normally these games are ideal to give any first team players who have been on the bench a run out but given how few there are at the moment that's not really an option.

I guess Jim might get a game but the way I read a tweet from Ross suggested he's not going to be playing tonight.

As for the youth team game on Wednesday that does present an unusual clash. Not quite sure how we can get round that without assuming 17-18 year olds can cope with 2 games in 3 days.

Hopefully we will get through whatever team we field as an extra game in November would be useful when, hopefully, the majority on the injured players are back and any extra game to help recover match fitness can only help.

yuffie wrote:Normally these games are ideal to give any first team players who have been on the bench a run out but given how few there are at the moment that's not really an option.

Don't you find it odd that the management dislike playing western league teams in pre-season friendlies, for the understandable reasons of substandard pitches and the possibility of our players being clogged, and yet the same venues and opponents are deemed ok for bringing a player back from injury?!

I guess Jim might get a game but the way I read a tweet from Ross suggested he's not going to be playing tonight. Imagine stearn being unavailable v Shortwood because of being injured tonight.

As for the youth team game on Wednesday that does present an unusual clash. Not quite sure how we can get round that without assuming 17-18 year olds can cope with 2 games in 3 days.  well if our senior players can't, it seems very unfair to expect youngsters to.

Hopefully we will get through whatever team we field as an extra game in November would be useful when, hopefully, the majority on the injured players are back and any extra game to help recover match fitness can only help. see below!

I made a mistake in my post above - a county cup game with Shepton would not clash with a possible cup replay as the previous Saturday is the 1st round proper, for which replays are at least 10 days later. So, here is a list of the Tuesdays before the end of November, by which time the Gosport match has presumably got to be played...

14/10 possible cup replays for both clubs
21/10 free for us, county cup for Gosport
28/10 possible cup replays for both clubs
4/11 free for both
11/11 home to shepton if we win tonight
18/11 possible cup replays for both clubs
25/11 free for both (maybe county cup for gosport)

(Interesting that the Hampshire FA appear to allow 3 weeks for each round of matches to be played.)

The autumn is notorious for cramming cup and trophy replays into midweeks - presumably the reason why the Conference sensibly don't schedule league fixtures after this week until December. It seems ridiculous that because of the county cup tie causing the Gosport game to be postponed, both clubs are faced with a problem which could be avoided if the much lesser competition was organised for a time when most clubs are not involved in other competitions. But I fail to see how these extra games are 'useful' for our very small squad. I'm sure a friendly can be arranged to give the likes of Walshy and Allen a run out if necessary.

comrade powell wrote: Victory will mean a home tie with Shepton Mallet on 11/11

Oh stuff that, it'll be about -20 degrees and I'll have to waste about an hour of my life compiling a programme for it. I'll take a 0-3 tonight and hope the Shortwood scouts rock up.

Whilst I said in my column last week that these sort of games should be reserved for pre-season, I admit they can be quite useful for giving fringe players a game. Unfortunately we have hardly any of those as they're all playing in the first team! Whilst Stearn hasn't had much action recently it'd be infuriating if he was ruled out for a few weeks by some Western League nobody.

My guess is it'll be an evening of people following Paul Williams for a teamsheet and working out who half the players are. And yes, I am going - it's 15 minutes down the road and I haven't done anything else today!

I think we are all agreed that the Somerset Cup is a pain in the a**e.

Loan players are ours to use unless there are conditions to their loans, although I accept relations between the loan clubs and ourselves may be soured, but that is a personal thing between Adie / Lee and the loan club management; so I would use them as they desperately need competitive games. Friendlies are no use to anyone as proved by our awful starts year after year; pass to junior and comrade to find one where after say the first six to eight games we have more than 75% of the available points?

[quote="comrade powell"]

yuffie wrote:Normally these games are ideal to give any first team players who have been on the bench a run out but given how few there are at the moment that's not really an option.

Don't you find it odd that the management dislike playing western league teams in pre-season friendlies, for the understandable reasons of substandard pitches and the possibility of our players being clogged, and yet the same venues and opponents are deemed ok for bringing a player back from injury?!

Not really, as it is a bit different wasting one of just 5 or 6 pre-season matches playing a game that has no benefit (if that is what they view a match against a Western League team), compared to a match that can give a few players a run out.

I guess Jim might get a game but the way I read a tweet from Ross suggested he's not going to be playing tonight. Imagine stearn being unavailable v Shortwood because of being injured tonight.

Agreed - given the current injury list it is not worth risking anyone who may play a part on Saturday

As for the youth team game on Wednesday that does present an unusual clash. Not quite sure how we can get round that without assuming 17-18 year olds can cope with 2 games in 3 days.  well if our senior players can't, it seems very unfair to expect youngsters to.

Well, I would think the majority of the youth players would welcome the chance to represent the first team even if it is two days before a big cup game. And with all due respect to the youth team - and I will probably go on Wednesday to cheer them on - if we have to risk further progress in the FA Youth Cup to protect 1st team options then so be it given the lack of a third option.

With no more League Cup (and I guess given it is now six years since it disappeared it won't be back) it is now just one competition that normally we should be able to fit in amongst league (two less this year) and FA competitions. I do agree that it shouldn't take priority over originally arranged league games and clearly the timing this season couldn't be much worse, but I still hope we get through this evening and go on to win it.

Of course, when we all arrive in a couple of hours we might be stunned to find a full-strength line up!

Regardless, it's Radstock Town, we're the mighty Bath City, whatever side we put out should beat them at least 10-0, it'll be an absolute disgrace if they don't...