MATCH: Yeovil Town (H) 21/09/24

[spanishfly]

Chuffed to bits for Fondop; well done and he deserves to enjoy some precious time with his Dad.

 

Regarding Forest Green, they've just had a long trip to Gateshead and then another reasonably long trip to us Tuesday. That has to be to our advantage and we need to make it count.

 

Our defence has generally looked solid too so I'm expecting our 3rd win on the bounce.

 

Edited September 21 by spanishfly

[TheBigDog]

On 9/20/2024 at 7:34 PM, TheBigDog said:

I’m not convinced that there are many Fondop ‘haters’…

just many who see that he is a wholehearted but limited player.

He is an instinctive footballer who sometimes lets himself down - far too often caught offside or failing to hit the target but he should be seen as a valued member of the squad - he chips in with goals and is also an asset in the air when we are defending. I actually think that he is getting better at leading the line too.

 

He will play some part tomorrow and I hope he gets a goal in front of his dad

 

Some analysis huh? 

 

Great height on the leap for the goal too…

 

And, according to the match stats, not a single offside means either Fondop is learning or they played very deep

Edited September 22 by TheBigDog

[Lags]

29 minutes ago, TheBigDog said:

Some analysis huh? 

 

Great height on the leap for the goal too…

 

And, according to the match stats, not a single offside means either Fondop is learning or they played very deep

 

I was just about to post.  I hadn't realised at the game just how high Fondop got off the ground.

[Armchair]

Surprised at some of the negativity here. I don’t think you’d see many more one sided 1-0 results. We were on top for the vast majority of the 90…. Which has only happened maybe twice in the first 10 games.

 

Almost every time we lost the ball there was an Oldham player all over them trying to get it back. We created good chances and should have won by more. 
 

I’m happy and can still see things moving in the right direction.

[Lukers1]

17 minutes ago, Armchair said:

Surprised at some of the negativity here. I don’t think you’d see many more one sided 1-0 results. We were on top for the vast majority of the 90…. Which has only happened maybe twice in the first 10 games.

 

Almost every time we lost the ball there was an Oldham player all over them trying to get it back. We created good chances and should have won by more. 
 

I’m happy and can still see things moving in the right direction.

I’ve just watched the highlights and it could have been 5.0

[AndyB2]

21 minutes ago, Armchair said:

Surprised at some of the negativity here. I don’t think you’d see many more one sided 1-0 results. We were on top for the vast majority of the 90…. Which has only happened maybe twice in the first 10 games.

 

Almost every time we lost the ball there was an Oldham player all over them trying to get it back. We created good chances and should have won by more. 
 

I’m happy and can still see things moving in the right direction.

Agree. I thought it was a good performance.

 

lundstrum looked better but our midfield still doesn’t  have the presence about it which I would like. Second balls arent being swept up enough.

 

Conlon was the weak link first half. He improved second. Thought Hammond looked a threat and he will be good for us over time. Needs to eat more
 

as for Norwood. Not at the races again. Totally ineffective and looks past it to me. Coming back from injury so will give him the benefit of the doubt. Fondop starts over him at the moment 

 

defence. Bloody hell they are solid aren’t they. 

Edited September 22 by AndyB2

[yarddog73]

Whilst we could have won by more we didn't and could have even walked away with another 1-1 had the ref punished Raglan deep in to injury time, it would have been undeserved but whilst we are only scoring the one goal or less which we have in 80% of our games it leaves us open to dropping points.

 

It won't be popular opinion after a win but I still think we are lacking in the final third, Dolan provided much needed quality on the ball and positivity but other than that we really struggle, Lundstrum played a bit deeper first half and he's limited with the ball at his feet, shocking at times he and Hammond go to pieces in and around the box and I'm not sure that's something you can coach in to them, really need Charsley and Kay back in that respect because players like Norwood have got no chance trying to read what your Fondops and Lundstrums are going to do. Hammond is a bit tidier on the ball than Lundstrum but between them they'll create and score very few. Other issue in the middle is Conlons lack of mobility and his inability to support our attack at times, he just doesn't get involved enough for me and it's disappointing particularly from your Captain, Cooper isn't a patch on Conlon ability wise but he put him to shame yesterday performance wise, hopefully Conlon will come good in the coming weeks.

 

I know Mellon touched on negativity in his interviews but I'm seeing none of that in the ground, if he's referring to twitter, Facebook and forums then that's a fact of life these days, everyone has an opinion and generally I think our fans are pretty fair, it's clear we still have issues in certain areas and to kick on they need addressing and it could be argued should have already been, we are being carried by an unbelievable back three at the minute but are lacking in key areas particularly in the final third where we have no pace and little creativity. 

 

Saying all that I'd class our first ten games as satisfactory, I'll still maintain we should have at least four points more but we are back in the mix again now which is good to see.

[AndyB2]

14 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

Whilst we could have won by more we didn't and could have even walked away with another 1-1 had the ref punished Raglan deep in to injury time, it would have been undeserved but whilst we are only scoring the one goal or less which we have in 80% of our games it leaves us open to dropping points.

 

It won't be popular opinion after a win but I still think we are lacking in the final third, Dolan provided much needed quality on the ball and positivity but other than that we really struggle, Lundstrum played a bit deeper first half and he's limited with the ball at his feet, shocking at times he and Hammond go to pieces in and around the box and I'm not sure that's something you can coach in to them, really need Charsley and Kay back in that respect because players like Norwood have got no chance trying to read what your Fondops and Lundstrums are going to do. Hammond is a bit tidier on the ball than Lundstrum but between them they'll create and score very few. Other issue in the middle is Conlons lack of mobility and his inability to support our attack at times, he just doesn't get involved enough for me and it's disappointing particularly from your Captain, Cooper isn't a patch on Conlon ability wise but he put him to shame yesterday performance wise, hopefully Conlon will come good in the coming weeks.

 

I know Mellon touched on negativity in his interviews but I'm seeing none of that in the ground, if he's referring to twitter, Facebook and forums then that's a fact of life these days, everyone has an opinion and generally I think our fans are pretty fair, it's clear we still have issues in certain areas and to kick on they need addressing and it could be argued should have already been, we are being carried by an unbelievable back three at the minute but are lacking in key areas particularly in the final third where we have no pace and little creativity. 

 

Saying all that I'd class our first ten games as satisfactory, I'll still maintain we should have at least four points more but we are back in the mix again now which is good to see.

We are lacking in the final third. But our defence will see lots of 1-1 become 1-0s. 

[Hemel latic]

51 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

Whilst we could have won by more we didn't and could have even walked away with another 1-1 had the ref punished Raglan deep in to injury time, it would have been undeserved but whilst we are only scoring the one goal or less which we have in 80% of our games it leaves us open to dropping points.

 

It won't be popular opinion after a win but I still think we are lacking in the final third, Dolan provided much needed quality on the ball and positivity but other than that we really struggle, Lundstrum played a bit deeper first half and he's limited with the ball at his feet, shocking at times he and Hammond go to pieces in and around the box and I'm not sure that's something you can coach in to them, really need Charsley and Kay back in that respect because players like Norwood have got no chance trying to read what your Fondops and Lundstrums are going to do. Hammond is a bit tidier on the ball than Lundstrum but between them they'll create and score very few. Other issue in the middle is Conlons lack of mobility and his inability to support our attack at times, he just doesn't get involved enough for me and it's disappointing particularly from your Captain, Cooper isn't a patch on Conlon ability wise but he put him to shame yesterday performance wise, hopefully Conlon will come good in the coming weeks.

 

I know Mellon touched on negativity in his interviews but I'm seeing none of that in the ground, if he's referring to twitter, Facebook and forums then that's a fact of life these days, everyone has an opinion and generally I think our fans are pretty fair, it's clear we still have issues in certain areas and to kick on they need addressing and it could be argued should have already been, we are being carried by an unbelievable back three at the minute but are lacking in key areas particularly in the final third where we have no pace and little creativity. 

 

Saying all that I'd class our first ten games as satisfactory, I'll still maintain we should have at least four points more but we are back in the mix again now which is good to see.

I guess pace and power are at a premium at any level but the failure to add pace in particular to our attack remains the outstanding failure of this summer's recruitment for me,

[TheBigDog]

1 hour ago, yarddog73 said:

 I'd class our first ten games as satisfactory, I'll still maintain we should have at least four points more but we are back in the mix again now which is good to see.

[BP1960]

3 hours ago, Lags said:

 

I was just about to post.  I hadn't realised at the game just how high Fondop got off the ground.

 

They had 3 players numbers 7, 9 and 10 better than ours, that's about all. 

[Norewgian Gunnar]

I thought we played we overall. First half was a bit of a non event but we upped the game in the second half and certainly deserved the win.

 

Pleased for Fondop as many are. His passion and desire are to be respected and he should now be on team sheet from the off and not an impact sub for all games. Not sure about Norwood at the moment. He has scored two but overall he is not offering a lot to the team. Maybe when Charsley is back he will get better service for his style of play.

 

I felt Lundstrum did well enough yesterday. The back three did well again but their number 10 was a handful at times. 

[Dick_Valentine]

1 hour ago, Norewgian Gunnar said:

I thought we played we overall. First half was a bit of a non event but we upped the game in the second half and certainly deserved the win.

 

Pleased for Fondop as many are. His passion and desire are to be respected and he should now be on team sheet from the off and not an impact sub for all games. Not sure about Norwood at the moment. He has scored two but overall he is not offering a lot to the team. Maybe when Charsley is back he will get better service for his style of play.

 

I felt Lundstrum did well enough yesterday. The back three did well again but their number 10 was a handful at times. 

Was the second goal at Woking given to Norwood I take it? 

[Lags]

1 hour ago, Dick_Valentine said:

Was the second goal at Woking given to Norwood I take it? 

 

Yes it as been. 

[JumpingJoshLundstram]

Big win. If we'd not managed to win that and it had finished 0-0, feel there'd be a different mood around the place and on here.

As someone mentioned think FGR on Tuesday might suit us if they come to play.

 

4 points off top. League is wide open. 

 

As others have said, our defence for this level is immense. Shipped 6 goals in 9 games if you take out the Aldershot game. We do need to score more than 1 a game though as it opens us up to dropping more points. 

Still feel we're on the right path and come Xmas we'll be bang in the mix with 2 or 3 other teams. 

 

Chance to put a mini statement down Tuesday .. then follow it up Saturday on tele (if you can call it that!)

[Guy Branston Pickle]

Cracking header but a lovely ball in from Ogle (I think) too, what a player he is.

 

We probably need another striker, I don't feel like any of our current ones are capable of getting 15-20 goals and that can make the difference. Maybe Norwood when he gets up to speed but he looks off it at the moment. Or we need more players chipping in from midfield. The defence looks solid, the big concern now is regularly scoring goals.

[Dave_Og]

2 hours ago, Guy Branston Pickle said:

Cracking header but a lovely ball in from Ogle (I think) too, what a player he is.

 

We probably need another striker, I don't feel like any of our current ones are capable of getting 15-20 goals and that can make the difference. Maybe Norwood when he gets up to speed but he looks off it at the moment. Or we need more players chipping in from midfield. The defence looks solid, the big concern now is regularly scoring goals.

For all that recruitment was poor under the previous regime they did try to get Ogle 

[Guy Branston Pickle]

15 minutes ago, Dave_Og said:

For all that recruitment was poor under the previous regime they did try to get Ogle 

He's brilliant, him and Monthe are the best signings we've made in years I reckon 

[AndyB2]

32 minutes ago, Guy Branston Pickle said:

He's brilliant, him and Monthe are the best signings we've made in years I reckon 

Monthe particularly. Excellent player for us at this level  

[Worcester Owl]

11 hours ago, yarddog73 said:

Whilst we could have won by more we didn't and could have even walked away with another 1-1 had the ref punished Raglan deep in to injury time, it would have been undeserved but whilst we are only scoring the one goal or less which we have in 80% of our games it leaves us open to dropping points.

 

It won't be popular opinion after a win but I still think we are lacking in the final third, Dolan provided much needed quality on the ball and positivity but other than that we really struggle, Lundstrum played a bit deeper first half and he's limited with the ball at his feet, shocking at times he and Hammond go to pieces in and around the box and I'm not sure that's something you can coach in to them, really need Charsley and Kay back in that respect because players like Norwood have got no chance trying to read what your Fondops and Lundstrums are going to do. Hammond is a bit tidier on the ball than Lundstrum but between them they'll create and score very few. Other issue in the middle is Conlons lack of mobility and his inability to support our attack at times, he just doesn't get involved enough for me and it's disappointing particularly from your Captain, Cooper isn't a patch on Conlon ability wise but he put him to shame yesterday performance wise, hopefully Conlon will come good in the coming weeks.

 

I know Mellon touched on negativity in his interviews but I'm seeing none of that in the ground, if he's referring to twitter, Facebook and forums then that's a fact of life these days, everyone has an opinion and generally I think our fans are pretty fair, it's clear we still have issues in certain areas and to kick on they need addressing and it could be argued should have already been, we are being carried by an unbelievable back three at the minute but are lacking in key areas particularly in the final third where we have no pace and little creativity. 

 

Saying all that I'd class our first ten games as satisfactory, I'll still maintain we should have at least four points more but we are back in the mix again now which is good to see.

I think that’s an excellent all round analysis of where we are at the moment. The bits in bold are spot on for me - we’ve made a decent start, but this league is so hard to get out of as we know, so we have to kick on and demand better. And demanding better is not being negative.

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

6 hours ago, JumpingJoshLundstram said:

We do need to score more than 1 a game though as it opens us up to dropping more points. 

 

We should have put that game to bed much earlier than we left it given the chances we were offered. Fondop had three missed headers which I'd describe as fairly guilt-edged chances before he finally accepted the brilliant cross from Ogle.

 

Whist always reserving a modicum of scepticism, we do look like pieces are starting to fit and MM's best team is beginning to emerge. It's encouraging that teams are not viewing us as a soft touch any more in the way they set out. Too many took the game to us on our patch. The only one to do that this season was Braintreen and they were dismantled ruthlessly. If we carry on this sort of home form until November I suspect mentality weaknesses will start to be more visible with teams expecting to be beaten when they arrive in some cases.

 

Back to Fondop, he's the only player on the pitch who you forgive for missing so many of those chances. Loads of misty-eyed socials footage of him and his dad and he deserved every bit of it. Lundstram is growing in stature in each match and Hammond is filling the Charsley role nicely, forcing errors with his press. Dolan stepped that up a gear which shows we now possess that strength in depth. 

 

Personally, I thought Ogle couldn't handle Frank Nouble and needed cover from Raglan to help him out on occasions. That said, the delivery for the goal was delightful and he brings so much to the table with his danger from throw ins.

 

A fantastic, if unspectacular, win. Has to be followed up with a positive result on Tuesday to further root ourselves in the top six.

[League one forever]

28 minutes ago, Frankly Mr Shankly said:

Back to Fondop, he's the only player on the pitch who you forgive for missing so many of those chances. Loads of misty-eyed socials footage of him and his dad and he deserved every bit of it.

I think that puts him on four. . he’s nearly one in two.

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

8 minutes ago, League one forever said:

I think that puts him on four. . he’s nearly one in two.

I hope he gets 10+ as long as that's backed up with healthy returns from Norwood and Stones or Garner.

[Monty Burns]

Love Fondop, me.

 

players like Kay, Dolan, Khan, Garner, Hobson, Charsley not even in starting XI shows how strong we are.

 

Champions

 

[Andy-latic]

On 9/21/2024 at 7:38 PM, yarddog73 said:

Their fans moaning like fuck, fucking hell they came for a 0-0 and got what they deserved, fuck all.

 

We weren't at our best but at least we had a go, at the end they are claiming for a pen but there were fouls on each side everywhere their keeper for a start was just backing through players and commiting fouls, if he'd give that and they stole a point it would have been unfair.

 

Don't get me wrong the ref was out of his depth but he's missed key decisions all day, best one was when we were on a promising attack the ball strikes him as Lundstrum releases Kitch and he gives them the ball back, makes a change us getting the rub of it (if we did).

 

 

He got a lot wrong all afternoon but ‘technically’ he got that one right… because it got a slight flick off the Yeovil man (even though the pass was still clearly going through to Kitching), he had to give the ball to them as they had last touch before it hit him.

 

Don’t know why I’m sticking up for him though, he was generally dogshite all afternoon like 90% of the refs in this league.