Best Of

I may be naive in my thinking but MB saying he's not involved in player recruitment negotiations doesn't necessarily mean he hasn't been involved in the process of identifying potential targets.

I'd much rather our head coach focus on the players we have - tactics, line-ups, opposition analysis, training etc. - and leave contract negotiations to others.

Think this means it's pretty obvious Joe is on his way, 2 new center backs. If we don't think we can get Taylor back then I'd still be looking to go for the Exeter lad on loan if we can

Our first six million player? 😊

Fred could have done much better on the goal.

In the lead up to the corner when the ball goes wide he should have gotten tight much quicker and forced them backwards. He took an age to communicate with (I think) Low behind him to pick up the winger. In the end he leaves their player too much time on the ball, never closes him down and is then nowhere when the ball goes down the line. As a result Low is pulled out to the ball, leaving the near post exposed. We only avoid conceding then due to a good save. From the resulting corner Fred is again on his heels and does nothing to disrupt the shot.

These are quite small details and in both cases he probably couldn't have totally prevented the action. But he could have ensured they were performed under pressure, with less time and off balance. All of which could have prevented the goal.

We were moaning behind the goal (or at least I was) that he was far too slow to get out to challenge the ball in the build up to the corner. So it was all pretty obvious at the time.

My prediction is for Sonny to be a real star player in the second half of the season.

Hartridge is banned for this one, so Harvie plays unless we go Leahy at LB I guess

That's just as I saw it. Then I realised you were standing next to me!

@Erroll_Sims the better goalkeeper is always on the bench...or at another team. ☺️

I thought Franco had no choice but to punch in that throng and no time to recover before the shot came in, but I am no expert. I thought Allsopp was a good keeper.

It’s a good thing I’m not making these decisions because I’d currently be driving to Bolton with a truck full of cash.

Welcome @ChairboySupreme . I hope you stick around. We'll have you assimilated in no time as long as you promise to work on your cheese puns and join both prediction contests next season.......

We have had an amazing season but have now hit a comparative rocky patch. It happens. The few games will be a test of how good a manager Matt Bloomfield is. He is proven he can ride a wave. Now he needs to show he can turn around a less good patch. If he can do that as well, he may well have a long managerial career hopefully here and potentially at higher levels.

I do find depressinng the increasing tendency both in society generally and reflected on football fansites towards extremes, conflict and conspiracies. Some seem to revel in spreading negativity, some need to find scapegoats for every problem. We have performed beyond our expected level in the first half of the season with a team playing good football and owners seemingly willing to provide a very high budget for a team of our size. Is everything wonderful - probably not. Is it pretty good - yes absolutely. My expectation is that automatic promotion is beyond us this season at least but I may be pleasantly surprised. We would need a major collapse to miss out on the playoffs so I think we'll probably achieve that. Playoffs are pretty much a lottery so who knows how we would fare in that but of the four teams that qualify I would not expect us to start as one of the favourites. That's cool.

For many of us who started out in the Isthmian League, competing at the top of the third level and agonising on whether we may or may not reach the Championship (or Division Two as I still sometimes think of it) is beyond even the wildest dreams I would have held back then. I intend to enjoy the footballing ride whatever it may bring while reserving my angst for the future of our world as it lurches ever further into fear, hatred and possibly increased conflict. Never too high.................