Hmm.... this really was a game we didn't want to lose to avoid getting sucked in near the bottom. Confident that Dan can turn this round once he gets everyone fit. I think the goals against column is a worry and largely due to lack of a midfield anchor sat in front of the back four or five for that matter.
Goals against column has been a problem all season, sadly. Somehow a 5-0 thumping at home has turned into what seems a very poor 2-4 loss today. 2 points from 12, sees next game vs Didcot as a "must win" to stop the rot before we really do get sucked into a relegation dog fight. Thought the squad early season was far too good to go down, now I`m wondering. Can`t keep using injuries as an excuse, haven`t won since beginning of November.
Dan now has a huge job on to lift the squad and grab three home points next Saturday.
Well that run of 5 'easy' games before Totton, Salisbury and Merthyr hasn't really turned out that well.... anything less than a win next Saturday would be a disaster.
Results since Winchester (9 points out of 39) have quite simply been relegation form, bad misses, injuries or not. No way to sugar coat that.
I hope Stocky is right about turning this around, the alternative is too depressing to think about.
We have to be better than this, even with injuries!
Post by westernwaycasual on Dec 16, 2023 19:44:19 GMT
Awful result which confirms we're in a relegation scrap, if we didn't know already.
One point from Harrow and Beaconsfield simply not enough with much, much tougher tests to come. We could feasibly play well against those teams and still get nothing.
Trying to keep the faith but these are worrying times.
What a rotten game, No passion, no desire to get to second ball & would all rather just watch it, Why are we so bad at taking corners? Probably one of the luckiest teams out there to have 2 slabhead centre backs & every corner flys over & out, So frustrating! Defo looking down now instead of up, Plymouth in 17th have SEVEN games in hand on us, hanwell in 19th have 3 as do the rest...Squeaky bum time guys! We go again.
Maybe we are being alarmist because of 2018/19 when we got relegated on last day having never been in bottom 3 the entire season (incidentally with 49 points when 38 was enough for Hendon to stay up last season, even with 4 now relegated)
Looking at remaining 19 games , 12 are against teams above us (including 6 in current play off places) so just 7 against teams currently below us. The last 2 weeks were a huge missed opportunity to take pressure off but still chances to turn this around , although might get worse before it gets better..
On the basis of last four games, playing those around/ below us may not bring out our best! Perhaps we can get up for tougher games instead. If we don`t get key players back soon (defensive midfield, Dan Rowe), Dan has to shop for sure. 53 conceded now, the worst in the division, even recognising more games played. I guess a real concern is that the issue has been there for months - Shoreham anybody? And no action to address as we continue to ship nearly 2.5 goals a game.
Just seen the side, and Martin`s report. I`d say seven of that side are first choice starters, eight if Cal or perhaps Kai had started rather than warm the bench. Nathan is a BTFC legend, but should not be starting at this level. So, increasingly hard to blame the injury list. Stefan`s quote makes grim reading too. Really do need a response on Saturday.
