17/10 match thread!

[Ian Richardson]

We are playing some good stuff. Under Todd. Just need to keep a few clean sheets. Great day yesterday

 

[Greenacres]

For the opening 40 minutes this was one of the most one sided games I have ever seen. Tranmere were first to everything. Wow, what a beautiful part of the country Forest Green is in, never come across anything like this in football before. Wondered where the feck the sat nav was taking me going through Nymphsfield village and on to a pot holed single track road, and then there it was, the New Lawn, the only flat piece of ground for miles around. Even passed some Llama's in a field!
What a good set up FGR is and must be the best playing surface in this league, you could play bowls on that pitch.
Can we play all our away games in Gloucestershire please.

Have to say that I agree with every word of that. My team dominated for the five minutes up to half time, without really threatening to score a goal, but that was it. Tranmere pressed hard, our defence barely had a chance to think when they had the ball, a long punt upfield was often the result. Never trust a satnav, we have seen coaches trying to take the same route you did, then struggling down the hill to the ground. I agree with you about the beautiful part of the country bit, it truly is stunning, maybe you will understand why so few of our fans are willing to leave it to travel to an away game! The llamas seem to like it around here, at least they aren't bothered by living at altitude. The pitch is good and has won awards in the past. This may account for the fact that we have become an opponent of choice for Premier League sides, for pre-season friendlies,at least they know their players won't disappear into a pot-hole or have to play on a bone hard surface.

The only crumb of comfort I can gain from yesterday is that at least Mangan wasn't fit to face us, he would probably have added to our misery. Play like that for the rest of the season and you will make the play-offs at a minimum.

 

[Boz]

Yes dominated from the off really- Taylor Fletcher needs some Grecian 2000 for Christmas, Nors is definately not a CF- he is much better coming through with runs that scare and unsettle the defence for him as well as others to score the goals ahead. Fair play to the lad, glad our best player scored the goal and assist. He did nearly get sent off for fighting with Kelly, but saw sense just in time....
Additionally I am sure Tranmere would like to subscribe to our managers welfare fund for playing our midfield player on the wing and our winger as foreward. Fair play to your support as well, cant think why they sung so much, it was rather a shock to us reading the Guardian, just put us off our stride.
Not sure the oat milk poison has gotten into the dressing rooms, on this showing its just our lads that have to endure its pleasures.....

Have seen the highlights and Norwood got a lot of booing from the home fans eg when setting up the first goal. Was a bit surprised at this.

 

[Tranmerewhite]

Taylor Fletcher needs some hair first before he invests in some Grecian 2000!
For the opening 40 minutes this was one of the most one sided games I have ever seen. Tranmere were first to everything.
Wow, what a beautiful part of the country Forest Green is in, never come across anything like this in football before. Wondered where the feck the sat nav was taking me going through Nymphsfield village and on to a pot holed single track road, and then there it was, the New Lawn, the only flat piece of ground for miles around. Even passed some Llama's in a field!
What a good set up FGR is and must be the best playing surface in this league, you could play bowls on that pitch.
Can we play all our away games in Gloucestershire please.

Not too different to the route into Yeovil then!

 

[Greenacres]

Have seen the highlights and Norwood got a lot of booing from the home fans eg when setting up the first goal. Was a bit surprised at this.

The booing only came from a few, he got applause when his name was announced in the line ups before kick-off. I was sat in the main stand, not far from the away bench, and most people around me applauded his goal and again when he was subbed.

 

[Chris FGR]

Have seen the highlights and Norwood got a lot of booing from the home fans eg when setting up the first goal. Was a bit surprised at this.

Agreed very poor. All clubs have knuckle draggers unfortunately, including us. Nors rose above the idiots though, and quite a lot of our fans applauded him when he scored and went off as well tbf.

You completely dominated and should have won by more. We really are crap at the moment, without Parkin or O'Connor we're toothless. Taylor-Fletcher looks a class addition, with him Nors and Mangan you've got an unbelievable front line for this level.

3rd highest crowd in the league yesterday, with once again nearly 1700 home fans in attendance. Not bad for a tinpot village club eh?

 

[Back in the DHSS]

Have seen the highlights and Norwood got a lot of booing from the home fans eg when setting up the first goal. Was a bit surprised at this.

To be fair he did get an ovation from most of the home support when he was subbed.

 

[Sparrow]

Not good enough but once again get screwed over by these shit refs and linos in this league, absolute stonewall pen not given for the second time in 5 days which cost us the game. If it wasn't for the refs then we'd have 4 points instead of 1 from these two games, that is a fact. I'm sure it happens to many other clubs but it really is a fucking embarrassment for these incompetent twats to be employed for these games. Also the lino missed probably the most blatant corner i've ever seen for us in the first half and gave a goal kick, the ref looked like he'd overrule the lino but done fuck all once again.

This isn't a coincidence now. The Conference are reffing out 'unpopular' part-time teams from results against the full-timers. It's only a matter of time until Bromley and Dover are reffed out of the top 5/10.

 

[Clarkey_GTFC]

He's also the only manager in the division who will get criticised a) for consistent top 5 finishes (despite never having the best budget in the division) and b) when his team are on an 11 match unbeaten run with the best goal difference in the division.

But there's far too many draws in this unbeaten run and the goal difference is largely made up of the odd hammering instead of consistency. I'm trying my best to reserve criticism as we are slowly improving but we should be closer to the top than we are. We're lucky that nobody wants to run away with it this year so a draw at bottom 4 Torquay can be masked as a good result when in reality it really isn't.

 

[BarnwoodCTFC]

A little concerned after yesterday, we simply looked shattered and out of energy. Eastleigh were better than most teams to come here this season without being particularly good but we were a yard off the pace all over the field and ended up hanging on towards the end.

 

[CrazyImp]

This isn't a coincidence now. The Conference are reffing out 'unpopular' part-time teams from results against the full-timers. It's only a matter of time until Bromley and Dover are reffed out of the top 5/10.

Oh dear. I'm going to regard that post as only semi-serious.

IT'S A CONSPIRACY.

 

[Monkey Tennis]

This isn't a coincidence now. The Conference are reffing out 'unpopular' part-time teams from results against the full-timers. It's only a matter of time until Bromley and Dover are reffed out of the top 5/10.

Can't tell if that's a joke or not.
Every team has their grievances after almost every match - it's got nothing to do with how many times they train per week.

 

[Davidimp]

Well we're full time and the number times I've seen the 'brave' part-timers not get punished for the same thing we are is scary.
The Altrincham game at our place being a prime example.

 

[Sparrow]

Oh dear. I'm going to regard that post as only semi-serious.

IT'S A CONSPIRACY.

Huge clamp down by the Conference this season.

 

[B2TF]

We're on our way now.

 

[The_Boss]

Have you picked up those winnings yet

Yep all of, didn't even need to leave the house for it!

Sounds like we played fairly well but keeper pulled off some worldy saves. Ah well.

 

[Shotsfan1993]

Referees are incompetent at this level but to say they are biased isnt fair. A terrible decision either benefits a team or costs them but sometimes that is simply down to luck of the draw as to when the referee makes a mistake

 

[Vanni]

He's also the only manager in the division who will get criticised a) for consistent top 5 finishes (despite never having the best budget in the division) and b) when his team are on an 11 match unbeaten run with the best goal difference in the division.

Come on SOC, you can do much better than that, and your reply is disappointing. I agree with 99% of your posts, but not on this one I'm afraid.

Unbeaten runs are great of course, but you need to put things into perspective. An 11 match unbeaten run by a side like Boreham Wood or Southport would be seen as a great achievement, and quite rightly so, but a similiar run by a Grimsby or a Cheltenham doesn't exactly raise eyebrows, though it's never a bad thing of course to go one such run.

You've also got to take into account the number of wins and draws in such runs. Grimsby's run is 5 wins and 6 draws, and in itself, that's decent. Problem is that when one looks at your away record, and see that you've only won twice away, with 6 draws and a defeat. More worrying is the goals scored column, as your lot have only scored 13 goals on the road, and that includes a 4-0 win at Southport. I'm not saying that result doesn't count, but if you take those 4 goals out of the equation, you'd get 9 goals in 8 matches, and that is simply not good enough for a promotion seeking side.

Grimsby may not have had the best budget in this division over the years, but it's always been a top 5 budget according to those itk guys, so 'consistent top 5 finishes' is hardly surprising. Add a very healthy home average attendance, and the financial benefits this brings to the club, and it makes it even less so.

I know how your manager sets his side up for away matches, and that's the problem. Hurst seems to be only interested in making the play offs, and to me that's not the right approach to take. It would make sense if this league still had the likes of Fleetwood, Stevenage or Crawley, but it doesn't have such strong consistent sides anymore, so the title's up for grabs if Hurst decides that making the play offs isn't good enough.

He can get the ball rolling by abandoning his cautious approach and go out for the 3 points irrespective of whether the game is a home or away one. What I'm saying is only what every neutral fan thinks. Speak with fans of any club and they'll all tell you that this is, and has been for some time now, the major stumbling block to Grimsby winning the title.

 

[Davidimp]

Referees are incompetent at this level but to say they are biased isnt fair. A terrible decision either benefits a team or costs them but sometimes that is simply down to luck of the draw as to when the referee makes a mistake

Spot on

 

[PaulHaddock]

Come on SOC, you can do much better than that, and your reply is disappointing. I agree with 99% of your posts, but not on this one I'm afraid.

Unbeaten runs are great of course, but you need to put things into perspective. An 11 match unbeaten run by a side like Boreham Wood or Southport would be seen as a great achievement, and quite rightly so, but a similiar run by a Grimsby or a Cheltenham doesn't exactly raise eyebrows, though it's never a bad thing of course to go one such run.

You've also got to take into account the number of wins and draws in such runs. Grimsby's run is 5 wins and 6 draws, and in itself, that's decent. Problem is that when one looks at your away record, and see that you've only won twice away, with 6 draws and a defeat. More worrying is the goals scored column, as your lot have only scored 13 goals on the road, and that includes a 4-0 win at Southport. I'm not saying that result doesn't count, but if you take those 4 goals out of the equation, you'd get 9 goals in 8 matches, and that is simply not good enough for a promotion seeking side.

Grimsby may not have had the best budget in this division over the years, but it's always been a top 5 budget according to those itk guys, so 'consistent top 5 finishes' is hardly surprising. Add a very healthy home average attendance, and the financial benefits this brings to the club, and it makes it even less so.

I know how your manager sets his side up for away matches, and that's the problem. Hurst seems to be only interested in making the play offs, and to me that's not the right approach to take. It would make sense if this league still had the likes of Fleetwood, Stevenage or Crawley, but it doesn't have such strong consistent sides anymore, so the title's up for grabs if Hurst decides that making the play offs isn't good enough.

He can get the ball rolling by abandoning his cautious approach and go out for the 3 points irrespective of whether the game is a home or away one. What I'm saying is only what every neutral fan thinks. Speak with fans of any club and they'll all tell you that this is, and has been for some time now, the major stumbling block to Grimsby winning the title.

A lot of what you're saying is pretty biased. To say our goals scored column is worrying when we've scored 38 goals is just a bit silly really. Unless you've seen our games this season, I don't see how you can know Hurst still has a cautious approach; in 18 games, we've only not scored in 3. If you're going to use stats to your advantage, so will I: at home, W5 D3 L1 F25 A10. Kind of disproves the whole 'Hurst always sets up for away games'.

It's our defence that has let us down this season as we didn't keep a clean sheet for the first 11 games.

 

[redsoc]

As expected, Wrexham won. Our second choice midfield three didn't create enough. Another stonewall penalty not given to us for the second game in a row - we really are the unluckiest club ever. Looked like we might get something with ten players after Brian Saah got sent off. For some reason Wrexham dropped deeper and stopped passing it for the last 15 minutes. Feels like we should have got something from the game given our penalty robbery

Just watched the highlights on the woking website, no way a penalty. Your lad catches the back of Nolans leg and goes down.

 

[Monkey Tennis]

Further disproving the bias towards full-time teams, turns out our would-be-winner was wrongly ruled out (4 mins into the vid):

We could be so much higher in the table if not for crap officials, and I'd imagine a lot of teams could say the same.

 

[Vanni]

A lot of what you're saying is pretty biased. To say our goals scored column is worrying when we've scored 38 goals is just a bit silly really. Unless you've seen our games this season, I don't see how you can know Hurst still has a cautious approach; in 18 games, we've only not scored in 3. If you're going to use stats to your advantage, so will I: at home, W5 D3 L1 F25 A10. Kind of disproves the whole 'Hurst always sets up for away games'.

It's our defence that has let us down this season as we didn't keep a clean sheet for the first 11 games.

Sorry, but Instead of saying I'm biased, you should have bothered to read my post properly. The stats you've quoted are completely irrelevant as you've managed to completely miss my point. I am/was referring to away games ONLY and the way Hurst approaches away games.

Btw, I can't see where I said 'Hurst always sets up for away games'.

 

[PaulHaddock]

Sorry, but Instead of saying I'm biased, you should have bothered to read my post properly. The stats you've quoted are completely irrelevant as you've managed to completely miss my point. I am/was referring to away games ONLY and the way Hurst approaches away games.

Btw, I can't see where I said 'Hurst always sets up for away games'.

Fair enough that you were only talking about away games, I didn't catch on to that and I apologise for it.
What I will say that you were still being biased because you weren't referring at all to our form at home this season, something which Hurst has improved on since last season.
IMO, our poorer away form comes down to poor performance, not so much as setting up defensively. At Altrincham, Chester and Braintree, we were woeful. Down to Hurst? Possibly. He was not setting up the team for the point in these games.

 

[CTFCfan99]

Further disproving the bias towards full-time teams, turns out our would-be-winner was wrongly ruled out (4 mins into the vid):

We could be so much higher in the table if not for crap officials, and I'd imagine a lot of teams could say the same.

To be fair that's a very close one and you can see why it's been given, I'd say he's leaning into an offside position.

 

[Gashead]

I'm not actually sure the refs at Conference level are good enough to be biased, are they?

 

[GuiseleySteve]

I do laugh at all these conference ref comments, you should try conference north - or maybe not!

 

[Jemfy]

You should try dropping down a few more on top of that. We had several games at UCL level where one or more of the officials were openly Kettering fans. If fans of your local rivals are officiating your match then you have a much better shout for bias...

 

[Gashead]

You should try dropping down a few more on top of that. We had several games at UCL level where one or more of the officials were openly Kettering fans. If fans of your local rivals are officiating your match then you have a much better shout for bias...

Incredible. Surely these things are brought up before games are designated? Obviously not!

 

[Jemfy]

Incredible. Surely these things are brought up before games are designated? Obviously not!

I can only assume that the league/local FA decided that there was no conflict of interests.

To be fair while there was a general pattern of decisions going against us, I'm not sure it could be separated from the effect of incompetence judging by the average refereeing at the level.

One game the first half lasted 58 mins I think it was because the referee had screwed up with his watch.