We are still third in the league - few would have predicted that in June.
Yet somehow concerns have crept in.
For me at least for a team riding high in the league, whatever the excuses attendances have been disappointing. (yeah I know I cant talk....)
The teams we put out both on Saturday and yesterday felt weird. GA is an amazing manager but maybe he has been distracted by the Lincoln talk and was trying too hard. He is only human after all.
Anxiety over investment and implications either way can only build now that the ball has been set running.
fixtures ahead look quite tough
really could do with a win on Saturday.
The mood certainly darkened unexpectedly on Saturday and, in his post-match interview, GA looked like a man with quite a weight on his shoulders. Several players have taken a bit of a battering lately both physically and psychologically. I’m not sure that Fred, for example, was fully fit at the start of last night’s match and the “close attention” he received more or less from the kickoff from a very physical Accrington side undoubtedly took its toll.
We certainly missed Alex Samuel and Scott Kashket, who had a great game (again), was forced to do more than his fair share of defending, especially in the second half. As others have said, he needs to be in the opposition box as often as possible. He came very close to scoring twice in the first half, once with a shot from just inside the box that went inches over the bar and also with another effort which went narrowly wide.
It was disappointing not to see Curtis Thompson on the bench as last night was the kind of in yer face battle (including a couple of knees in back) in which he revels. Hope he hasn’t had a setback. On the positive side, @rmjlondon’s diagnosis of a broken foot sustained by Paul Smyth seems to have been based on misleading evidence.
Roll on Saturday (I think!) and let’s hope we’re all feeling more upbeat after the Fans’ Forum tomorrow evening.
What was crying out for last night was the presence of a target man and I assumed Parker would get a game to show us what he can do over 90 minutes. We seemed to have a gaping area up front, I just didn’t understand Ainsworth’s team selection. Much improved when Bayo filled that gap. Man of the match for me was Stewart, immense in the first half and his defending could well have saved us from going three down.
@Username said:
I'm sorry, but the drummer has become a real problem on the terrace.
His enthusiasm is great.. Sometimes.
He needs to learn that he doesn't need to bang the drum incessantly for 90 minutes, over the top of other chants, and often completely out of time. If he can't learn quickly that you have to work with the rest of the terrace to create a good atmosphere then there's going to be ugly scenes at some point this season
Maybe you should go abroad and watch other teams that do it incessantly i.e fc Frankfurt , psv , Bayern m ,. or lower league teams in other leagues abroad. just get behind the blinking drummer because he much better then that other one. we got huge game on Saturday and pompey going to be so loud. you will prob here incesstant noise from them so don't abuse the other drummer he really nice and my son gets on well with him.
For the first 10 minutes I thought we would roll them over we looked fast and skilled and It looked only a matter of time before one of our chances went in. Suddenly we seemed to have a crisis of confidence starting at the back and it wasn’t until Bayo came on that the ship steadied.I couldn’t understand with Kasket and Fred Up front and without anyone to lay the ball off to them to be launching it toward their box.
@NorsQuarters said:
Tbh looking around the Terrace there are plenty of ugly scenes already... but I digress. The drumming does help the atmosphere, giving a baseline to chants. I can concede that it is overbearing at times but overall does a fantastic service.
Funny how one point from a possible six is followed by infighting...
its only overbearing because people don't join in. I see people on there phones and not joining in and getting behind the team. maybe that might be the question
@buckz_no1 There's a balance between people encouraging people to stop gawping at their phones and engross themselves in the game, and also the drummer pointlessly continue to drum when clearly no one is joining in. I'd say that doing that makes it far harder for other chants to start up by themselves.
Having a drummer works best when they join in with chants started elsewhere rather than trying to dictate what gets sung.
@ReadingMarginalista - well said. I sensed before kick-off, when Wilco/Bragg's Hoodoo Voodoo came over the tannoy, that the whole ground was about to join in and it would be our anthem forever - our own Delilah, Never Walk Alone, Eton Boat Song, or whatever... Only for the drum to interrupt my reveries.
On which subject, I'm now bidding for, "A candy coloured clown they call the Sands Man/Tiptoes to my room every night ...".
@ReadingMarginalista said: @buckz_no1 There's a balance between people encouraging people to stop gawping at their phones and engross themselves in the game, and also the drummer pointlessly continue to drum when clearly no one is joining in. I'd say that doing that makes it far harder for other chants to start up by themselves.
Having a drummer works best when they join in with chants started elsewhere rather than trying to dictate what gets sung.
Look ok .he not trying to start an argument he brilliant fan he more dedicated then most of us on here. maybe you should understand he got issues, disability issues and mental health problems, yes he don't care bout the people around him he cares bout football. He trying to do it because he wants to win the game nothing to upset you fans. apparently he puts his footy before anything else and tbh i think he crazy but he brilliant and lovely to talk. Maybe talk to him nicely and you never know might get nice response
@mooneyman said:
The loss of El Abd's organisation and leadership is going to be critical for the rest of the season.
I don't think it's necessarily just his leadership - losing his, but being without Charles' or JJ's yesterday was a killer in the first half. The two new boys being on the same side looked without any sense of where to go and what to do.
Same back four that featured against Reading - looked solid on that occasion to my memory.
I think everyone knows that the drummer has learning difficulties (along with a few of his friends) , and that's the only reason he's not had the sticks taken off him already.
The other drummer is far better and understands how to work with the crowd, not just drum for his own group, little drummer boy clearly can't or won't do this and that's almost certainly going to lead to him getting banned at this rate
For the first 10 minutes I thought we would roll them over we looked fast and skilled and It looked only a matter of time before one of our chances went in. Suddenly we seemed to have a crisis of confidence starting at the back and it wasn’t until Bayo came on that the ship steadied.I couldn’t understand with Kasket and Fred Up front and without anyone to lay the ball off to them to be launching it toward their box.
I’m afraid Scotty and Fred were far from “up front” most of the time (especially in the second half). I agree with @MBS about the gaping area up front (Alex Samuel was sorely missed) and also with his choice of Anthony Stewart as Man of the Match. Immense once again.
Josh Parker has filled the target role in the past, I believe, but of course by the time he was introduced in the 85th minute Bayo was already there. Not a happy cameo for Josh who is much better than that as we will no doubt see when he gets more game time.
@ReadingMarginalista said: @buckz_no1 There's a balance between people encouraging people to stop gawping at their phones and engross themselves in the game, and also the drummer pointlessly continue to drum when clearly no one is joining in. I'd say that doing that makes it far harder for other chants to start up by themselves.
Having a drummer works best when they join in with chants started elsewhere rather than trying to dictate what gets sung.
Look ok .he not trying to start an argument he brilliant fan he more dedicated then most of us on here. maybe you should understand he got issues, disability issues and mental health problems, yes he don't care bout the people around him he cares bout football. He trying to do it because he wants to win the game nothing to upset you fans. apparently he puts his footy before anything else and tbh i think he crazy but he brilliant and lovely to talk. Maybe talk to him nicely and you never know might get nice response
I think this is my favourite use of "apparently" that I have ever seen
@eric_plant said:
yeah, that's a bonus point for us really.
I hear what people are saying about Samuel, and to an extent I agree but the players we are really missing are Smyth and Aarons. Players of that class will be the difference between winning and not winning games in this division, and I just hope they are back very soon.
By the way, I was very impressed with their no. 7, Clark. He had the better of us all night.
Very much lacking match winners like you said..Samuels won't get you the goal but he very much helps us play.Fred only just back from injury plus arrons to come back with Smyth.
@ReadingMarginalista said: @buckz_no1 There's a balance between people encouraging people to stop gawping at their phones and engross themselves in the game, and also the drummer pointlessly continue to drum when clearly no one is joining in. I'd say that doing that makes it far harder for other chants to start up by themselves.
Having a drummer works best when they join in with chants started elsewhere rather than trying to dictate what gets sung.
Look ok .he not trying to start an argument he brilliant fan he more dedicated then most of us on here. maybe you should understand he got issues, disability issues and mental health problems, yes he don't care bout the people around him he cares bout football. He trying to do it because he wants to win the game nothing to upset you fans. apparently he puts his footy before anything else and tbh i think he crazy but he brilliant and lovely to talk. Maybe talk to him nicely and you never know might get nice response
When he's been supporting the team for more than 40 years, he can call himself more dedicated... when he has, come back and tell me.
Btw... is the S button not working on your phone ?
Forgot to add, he could do with caring about the people around him.... one of my mates( who doesn't come on here) has recently stated, "if he doesn't shut up soon those sticks are going to go up his arse"
For the first 10 minutes I thought we would roll them over we looked fast and skilled and It looked only a matter of time before one of our chances went in. Suddenly we seemed to have a crisis of confidence starting at the back and it wasn’t until Bayo came on that the ship steadied.I couldn’t understand with Kasket and Fred Up front and without anyone to lay the ball off to them to be launching it toward their box.
I’m afraid Scotty and Fred were far from “up front” most of the time (especially in the second half). I agree with @MBS about the gaping area up front (Alex Samuel was sorely missed) and also with his choice of Anthony Stewart as Man of the Match. Immense once again.
Josh Parker has filled the target role in the past, I believe, but of course by the time he was introduced in the 85th minute Bayo was already there. Not a happy cameo for Josh who is much better than that as we will no doubt see when he gets more game time.
Yes Alex was missed he just makes work for opposing defenders
Comments
Funny how the mood can change so quickly.
We are still third in the league - few would have predicted that in June.
Yet somehow concerns have crept in.
For me at least for a team riding high in the league, whatever the excuses attendances have been disappointing. (yeah I know I cant talk....)
The teams we put out both on Saturday and yesterday felt weird. GA is an amazing manager but maybe he has been distracted by the Lincoln talk and was trying too hard. He is only human after all.
Anxiety over investment and implications either way can only build now that the ball has been set running.
fixtures ahead look quite tough
really could do with a win on Saturday.
Calm down Dev, everyone's fine
The mood certainly darkened unexpectedly on Saturday and, in his post-match interview, GA looked like a man with quite a weight on his shoulders. Several players have taken a bit of a battering lately both physically and psychologically. I’m not sure that Fred, for example, was fully fit at the start of last night’s match and the “close attention” he received more or less from the kickoff from a very physical Accrington side undoubtedly took its toll.
We certainly missed Alex Samuel and Scott Kashket, who had a great game (again), was forced to do more than his fair share of defending, especially in the second half. As others have said, he needs to be in the opposition box as often as possible. He came very close to scoring twice in the first half, once with a shot from just inside the box that went inches over the bar and also with another effort which went narrowly wide.
It was disappointing not to see Curtis Thompson on the bench as last night was the kind of in yer face battle (including a couple of knees in back) in which he revels. Hope he hasn’t had a setback. On the positive side, @rmjlondon’s diagnosis of a broken foot sustained by Paul Smyth seems to have been based on misleading evidence.
Roll on Saturday (I think!) and let’s hope we’re all feeling more upbeat after the Fans’ Forum tomorrow evening.
Comma after “Samuel”, start of second paragraph, please.
What was crying out for last night was the presence of a target man and I assumed Parker would get a game to show us what he can do over 90 minutes. We seemed to have a gaping area up front, I just didn’t understand Ainsworth’s team selection. Much improved when Bayo filled that gap. Man of the match for me was Stewart, immense in the first half and his defending could well have saved us from going three down.
Maybe you should go abroad and watch other teams that do it incessantly i.e fc Frankfurt , psv , Bayern m ,. or lower league teams in other leagues abroad. just get behind the blinking drummer because he much better then that other one. we got huge game on Saturday and pompey going to be so loud. you will prob here incesstant noise from them so don't abuse the other drummer he really nice and my son gets on well with him.
see you Saturday
For the first 10 minutes I thought we would roll them over we looked fast and skilled and It looked only a matter of time before one of our chances went in. Suddenly we seemed to have a crisis of confidence starting at the back and it wasn’t until Bayo came on that the ship steadied.I couldn’t understand with Kasket and Fred Up front and without anyone to lay the ball off to them to be launching it toward their box.
its only overbearing because people don't join in. I see people on there phones and not joining in and getting behind the team. maybe that might be the question
Is it "pretend to be someone else when everyone knows who you really are" week on the Gasroom?
@buckz_no1 There's a balance between people encouraging people to stop gawping at their phones and engross themselves in the game, and also the drummer pointlessly continue to drum when clearly no one is joining in. I'd say that doing that makes it far harder for other chants to start up by themselves.
Having a drummer works best when they join in with chants started elsewhere rather than trying to dictate what gets sung.
@ReadingMarginalista - well said. I sensed before kick-off, when Wilco/Bragg's Hoodoo Voodoo came over the tannoy, that the whole ground was about to join in and it would be our anthem forever - our own Delilah, Never Walk Alone, Eton Boat Song, or whatever... Only for the drum to interrupt my reveries.
On which subject, I'm now bidding for, "A candy coloured clown they call the Sands Man/Tiptoes to my room every night ...".
Sing along, now.
Look ok .he not trying to start an argument he brilliant fan he more dedicated then most of us on here. maybe you should understand he got issues, disability issues and mental health problems, yes he don't care bout the people around him he cares bout football. He trying to do it because he wants to win the game nothing to upset you fans. apparently he puts his footy before anything else and tbh i think he crazy but he brilliant and lovely to talk. Maybe talk to him nicely and you never know might get nice response
Why are you talking like a cartoon caveman?
Same back four that featured against Reading - looked solid on that occasion to my memory.
I think everyone knows that the drummer has learning difficulties (along with a few of his friends) , and that's the only reason he's not had the sticks taken off him already.
The other drummer is far better and understands how to work with the crowd, not just drum for his own group, little drummer boy clearly can't or won't do this and that's almost certainly going to lead to him getting banned at this rate
@BuckinghamBlue said:
I’m afraid Scotty and Fred were far from “up front” most of the time (especially in the second half). I agree with @MBS about the gaping area up front (Alex Samuel was sorely missed) and also with his choice of Anthony Stewart as Man of the Match. Immense once again.
Josh Parker has filled the target role in the past, I believe, but of course by the time he was introduced in the 85th minute Bayo was already there. Not a happy cameo for Josh who is much better than that as we will no doubt see when he gets more game time.
I think this is my favourite use of "apparently" that I have ever seen
I think they call him day release where I sit !!
Double post
'yes he don't care bout the people around him'
This is the crux of the problem. He's only going to become more and more unpopular whilst he maintains this attitude.
If you're drumming when the crowd don't want it, what's the point?
really, the crowd ought to be mainly silent so that the players can hear when any of us want to have a go at them
Seems like GA has had a look and doesn't fancy him for the first team yet.
not a chance of JGS being involved in the 1st team
Very much lacking match winners like you said..Samuels won't get you the goal but he very much helps us play.Fred only just back from injury plus arrons to come back with Smyth.
When he's been supporting the team for more than 40 years, he can call himself more dedicated... when he has, come back and tell me.
Btw... is the S button not working on your phone ?
Forgot to add, he could do with caring about the people around him.... one of my mates( who doesn't come on here) has recently stated, "if he doesn't shut up soon those sticks are going to go up his arse"
Yes Alex was missed he just makes work for opposing defenders
Hard fought draw last night though eh? Showing fighting spirit? Getting a resulit when it looked unlikely? No? Just slag off another player then.
Certainly looks like it.