2020/21 General Match Thread

[joethegill]

We're starting to get rewards for our performances at home, which we didn't get earlier on in the season against the likes of Ipswich and Peterborough in particular. Next two at home are MK Dons and Rochdale, both winnable, so we could get up to 7 home wins in a row come the turn of the year, potentially with 7 clean sheets which is remarkable. Away games are much tougher, with Fleetwood and Ipswich to come before the year is out.

As we've known all along, we're a striker short. If we had a good League One striker then we'd be troubling the play-offs, no question. Look at Bristol Rovers who are right up there - I personally think we have a better squad all round, bar Clarke-Harris up front. A bit of clever investment and we could see an exciting second half to the season.

 

[Camborne Gills]

We're starting to get rewards for our performances at home, which we didn't get earlier on in the season against the likes of Ipswich and Peterborough in particular. Next two at home are MK Dons and Rochdale, both winnable, so we could get up to 7 home wins in a row come the turn of the year, potentially with 7 clean sheets which is remarkable. Away games are much tougher, with Fleetwood and Ipswich to come before the year is out.

As we've known all along, we're a striker short. If we had a good League One striker then we'd be troubling the play-offs, no question. Look at Bristol Rovers who are right up there - I personally think we have a better squad all round, bar Clarke-Harris up front. A bit of clever investment and we could see an exciting second half to the season.

The pessimist in me is still looking down, although we do have a 10 point gap now. Would be happy with 7 or 8 points from the next four fixtures, then i may look up the table.

 

[joethegill]

The pessimist in me is still looking down, although we do have a 10 point gap now. Would be happy with 7 or 8 points from the next four fixtures, then i may look up the table.

Can't see us getting dragged into the relegation fight this season, too many poor teams between us and that. Although I think we ought to start changing our name to 'A poor Gillingham side' in response to the amount of opposition fans who call us that once we've beaten them...

 

[Camborne Gills]

It would be nice if we could be safe before the penultimate round of matches this year.

 

[Gassy]

We're starting to get rewards for our performances at home, which we didn't get earlier on in the season against the likes of Ipswich and Peterborough in particular. Next two at home are MK Dons and Rochdale, both winnable, so we could get up to 7 home wins in a row come the turn of the year, potentially with 7 clean sheets which is remarkable. Away games are much tougher, with Fleetwood and Ipswich to come before the year is out.

As we've known all along, we're a striker short. If we had a good League One striker then we'd be troubling the play-offs, no question. Look at Bristol Rovers who are right up there - I personally think we have a better squad all round, bar Clarke-Harris up front. A bit of clever investment and we could see an exciting second half to the season.

Can't comment on overall squad as I don't know anything about yours, but I completely agree on a midtable team being propped up by a top striker.

The league this season is very tight/poor (take a pick, both even) and one stand out player can really accelerate you up the table

 

[Shrew_fan]

Sam Ricketts is the latest proponent of anti football then with Shrewsbury and coupled with a very weak Referee, Craig Hicks, they got away with the constant cynical fouls. They got a burst of yellow cards at the end but if the Ref had dealt with it earlier then it wouldn't have happened. I just want to re-iterate that the Ref was utterly weak.

Blah blah....

Ah bless. Sorry we didn't turn up and roll over to have our tummies tickled. After the first 20 minutes (where we dominated and should have put ourselves in front) you dominated possession BUT you created barely any chances of note. We looked pretty comfortable other than the goalmouth scramble at the end.

When moaning about the ref I notice you didn't seem to mention the shirt pull on Norburn when in on goal or the fact that your who ended up with broken ribs did so by trying to break our players legs!

The game itself... well deserved point and we kept a previously free-scoring Oxford at arms length.

In summary Oxford fans being incredibly bitter, were obviously on a good run and expected to blow us away. That said, I am very happy with the point as Oxford are flying this year and have some really good players.

 

[eric read]

Ah bless. Sorry we didn't turn up and roll over to have our tummies tickled. After the first 20 minutes (where we dominated and should have put ourselves in front) you dominated possession BUT you created barely any chances of note. We looked pretty comfortable other than the goalmouth scramble at the end.

When moaning about the ref I notice you didn't seem to mention the shirt pull on Norburn when in on goal or the fact that your who ended up with broken ribs did so by trying to break our players legs!

The game itself... well deserved point and we kept a previously free-scoring Oxford at arms length.

In summary Oxford fans being incredibly bitter, were obviously on a good run and expected to blow us away. That said, I am very happy with the point as Oxford are flying this year and have some really good players.

I think you're missing the point.

Nobody expected to "blow you away" and most people I spoke to prior to the game had a slight feeling of unease regarding the game, due to the number of injuries to senior players we've got and the slight rustiness we've shown in our last couple of games.

As it turned out they were right, and we were off it, partly due to square pegs in round holes and injuries, partly due to Shrewsbury's tactics not allowing us to settle into any sort of rhythm for the first half hour or so and then the constant time wasting after that, and partly due to a referee who allowed all of those dark arts to be employed without punishment.

Well done, seems as though you got what you came for, but fuck me I wouldn't want to watch that every week. It was total anti-football. Ricketts seems like a complete bell end in his post match comments and you sound as if you've got the same sort of chip on your shoulder.

We've only lost one at home this season, to a very well organised Burton side, early in the season, and if you read our fans' comments about that game you will see that they were given full credit, no "bitterness" toward them at all. You see it's not the fact that we didn't win, but the manner in which you achieved it and then pretty much everything we've read and heard from Shrewsbury since.

Couldn't care less about you before Saturday, but I shall look forward to well and truly turning you over in the return game.

 

[Davidimp]

Some have played 16 and some 20, weird

 

[Shrew_fan]

Well done, seems as though you got what you came for, but fuck me I wouldn't want to watch that every week. It was total anti-football. Ricketts seems like a complete bell end in his post match comments and you sound as if you've got the same sort of chip on your shoulder.

Couldn't care less about you before Saturday, but I shall look forward to well and truly turning you over in the return game.

Haha. We seem to have really rattled you by getting a draw at your place. Other than that you're fine though yeah?

 

[Marked Ox]

I think you're missing the point.

Nobody expected to "blow you away" and most people I spoke to prior to the game had a slight feeling of unease regarding the game, due to the number of injuries to senior players we've got and the slight rustiness we've shown in our last couple of games.

As it turned out they were right, and we were off it, partly due to square pegs in round holes and injuries, partly due to Shrewsbury's tactics not allowing us to settle into any sort of rhythm for the first half hour or so and then the constant time wasting after that, and partly due to a referee who allowed all of those dark arts to be employed without punishment.

Well done, seems as though you got what you came for, but fuck me I wouldn't want to watch that every week. It was total anti-football. Ricketts seems like a complete bell end in his post match comments and you sound as if you've got the same sort of chip on your shoulder.

We've only lost one at home this season, to a very well organised Burton side, early in the season, and if you read our fans' comments about that game you will see that they were given full credit, no "bitterness" toward them at all. You see it's not the fact that we didn't win, but the manner in which you achieved it and then pretty much everything we've read and heard from Shrewsbury since.

Couldn't care less about you before Saturday, but I shall look forward to well and truly turning you over in the return game.

Yes, they are completely missing the point and clearly didn't read what was written in the whole post.

Agree with your points especially about watching that on a weekly basis. That Shrewsbury failed to try to win against a makeshift midfield after 20 minutes that then had to make 2 later changes would have irritated the hell out of me in reverse. It is not as though our injury issues are secret, unless Ricketts and his coaching/scouting staff live in a vacuum for the rest of the time.

If the poster is happy watching that god awful style of anti-football on a regular basis then good luck to them as they clearly have a very low threshold.

 

[Marked Ox]

Haha. We seem to have really rattled you by getting a draw at your place. Other than that you're fine though yeah?

Rattled? Hahahahahahaha.

 

[eric read]

Haha. We seem to have really rattled you by getting a draw at your place. Other than that you're fine though yeah?

Yeah I'm rattled.

It's a fucking disgrace only getting a draw against such a dog shit team as Shrewsbury.

 

[Kim Mitten]

Some have played 16 and some 20, weird

yep and Southend have a very kind Xmas/New Year coming up. We should have been playing Bury on the 29th, so that's now gone and with Gillingham getting to the 3rd round of the cup the game on the 4th of January is off as well.

So between the 26th of December and 10th of January we've just got Milton Keynes Dystopia on boxing day and Wimbledon new years day.

Sadly our players haven't been doing anything since last May so it's not like they even need a rest.

 

[Shrew_fan]

Well well Oxford fans are a bit precious aren't they! There is a certain satisfaction about going away and completely shutting out a previously rampant team with a solid defensive display - I can appreciate a well drilled and committed defence but perhaps that's just me...

Also what is so wrong about what our manager had to say?

'I thought we were outstanding first half against a team that I think are up there with some of the best teams in the league so I'm really pleased '

'I thought we were well worth our point today. I thought for the first half we were by far the better team. '

'A couple of their players spoke to me after the game who I don’t know and said what a good team we are and it’s always a good respect when the home side say things like that '

Finally, you are only 5 points above us in the table - don't go making out you're Barcelona. You're a slightly above average L1 side in what is a fairly poor division quality wise this year...

 

[eric read]

Well well Oxford fans are a bit precious aren't they! There is a certain satisfaction about going away and completely shutting out a previously rampant team with a solid defensive display - I can appreciate a well drilled and committed defence but perhaps that's just me...

Also what is so wrong about what our manager had to say?

'I thought we were outstanding first half against a team that I think are up there with some of the best teams in the league so I'm really pleased '

'I thought we were well worth our point today. I thought for the first half we were by far the better team. '

'A couple of their players spoke to me after the game who I don’t know and said what a good team we are and it’s always a good respect when the home side say things like that '

Finally, you are only 5 points above us in the table - don't go making out you're Barcelona. You're a slightly above average L1 side in what is a fairly poor division quality wise this year...

So, you didn't read anything I said in my original post, other than my comment about Ricketts?

Or did you actually think my second post was for real and not a piss take?

No. I just think you're looking for reactions by saying things like "precious" and "slightly above average side." Where has anyone said we're Barcelona? Nowhere, and they certainly won't be saying it about Shrewsbury.

It's not worth trying to have a conversation with someone like you, as you've already made your mind up that we're precious or arrogant, whilst having some huge inferiority complex and chip on your shoulder.

I'll revise my new on Shrewsbury for you though. You're not just a dog shit team. You're a dog shit team followed by dog shit fans like you. Bye.

 

[Shrew_fan]

I did read the whole first post but it was dripping with so much bitterness that I put it down to a home fan being frustrated that you couldn't break down a resolute away side.

I have no chip on my shoulder at all. I know what we are which is an average L1 team who is very strong at the back but struggling to get the right balance currently with the attacking side of our game. That will come but sorting out the defence was the priority which we have largely done. I would have been happy with a point before the game kicked off and I'm happy with a point now - it was hard earned. We did have a go in the first half hour, and it's a shame we couldn't get in front, but then you got on top, so to say we didn't show any ambition is wrong.

We are undoubtedly a smaller club than you with a much lower budget so I guess we are 'inferior' in many ways - hence why I am pretty happy with a point.

Good luck for the rest of the season

 

[eric read]

I did read the whole first post but it was dripping with so much bitterness that I put it down to a home fan being frustrated that you couldn't break down a resolute away side.

I have no chip on my shoulder at all. I know what we are which is an average L1 team who is very strong at the back but struggling to get the right balance currently with the attacking side of our game. That will come but sorting out the defence was the priority which we have largely done. I would have been happy with a point before the game kicked off and I'm happy with a point now - it was hard earned. We did have a go in the first half hour, and it's a shame we couldn't get in front, but then you got on top, so to say we didn't show any ambition is wrong.

We are undoubtedly a smaller club than you with a much lower budget so I guess we are 'inferior' in many ways - hence why I am pretty happy with a point.

Good luck for the rest of the season

Fair enough, thanks.

Not so sure about the budget though. We hear this a lot, and the perception is that our budget is a lot higher than it actually is. There are some in this League with far higher budgets than ours.

 

[Camborne Gills]

Put it this way, i wouldn't be rushing to include Shrewsbury on any BTTS coupons or over 1.5 goals in a game.

Only 16 goals, and 10 of those came in just 3 games.
The only team in the division not to average at least 2 goals in your fixtures.

 

[Shrew_fan]

Yep - we are certainly not exciting this season! Tight at the back though fortunately.....

 

[Marked Ox]

I did read the whole first post but it was dripping with so much bitterness that I put it down to a home fan being frustrated that you couldn't break down a resolute away side.

I have no chip on my shoulder at all. I know what we are which is an average L1 team who is very strong at the back but struggling to get the right balance currently with the attacking side of our game. That will come but sorting out the defence was the priority which we have largely done. I would have been happy with a point before the game kicked off and I'm happy with a point now - it was hard earned. We did have a go in the first half hour, and it's a shame we couldn't get in front, but then you got on top, so to say we didn't show any ambition is wrong.

We are undoubtedly a smaller club than you with a much lower budget so I guess we are 'inferior' in many ways - hence why I am pretty happy with a point.

Good luck for the rest of the season

No bitterness at all. Amazed that your team didn't try to win after 20 mins against a very depleted team and focused on such negative football, and yes with no ambition after that 1st spell. Those first 20 minutes showed you could get at our defence but just stopped trying.

 

[dannylad01]

A draw was certainly a fair result IMO at Oxford Saturday. It is slightly frustrating that we sat back in the 2nd half, but I expected that from the start given Rickett's pre match comments. To have clean sheets against both Oxford and Peterborough and preventing both teams from having clear cut chances shows where our strength is. Add a few goals and we would be right up there.

Interesting the comments 're the "dark arts". Every team does it to some degree. It just frustrates you more if you're not winning. Yes Love was stealing yards from a throw in (30+ was an exaggeration), but there will barely be a throw in taken from the correct place at any game. The Oxford keeper tried taking a free kick for an offside near the corner flag from near the penalty spot. I thought the ref was one of the better ones we've had recently.

What I would agree on was the kicking the ball away. I've not noticed us do it so much before, and I can see that being the one thing to wind the Oxford fans up. If I had my way is change the rule so that if the ball is deliberately moved towards their own goal (kicked or picked up) after the whistle is blown then the attacking team can have the free kick from where the ball ends up.

Ricketts doesn't have all of the fan base on board, partly due to the lack of goals scored and in some people's eyes because he's not Paul Hurst. He's trying to build from the back. I think we're moving in the right direction, even if it can be hard to watch sometimes.

 

[Robie]

The issues with the throw ins was taking them quickly from miles away, to throw the ball out of the furthest touchline miles away from any of your players to delay the taking of them knowing they will just get pulled back and retaken... The ref allowed this to happen until it was too late to make a difference.

 

[codaplenty]

Another tough game coming up against the Gills who are in good form.We are only where we are in the league because of our excellent home record so thats a big positive. Ched Evans needs to step up and get some goals, and a start for Ash Hunter would go down well with many Fleetwood fans. There wont be much in this and going for a narrow 2-1 home win.Safe journey to all the travelling Gills fans, a warm Lancashire welcome awaits you !

 

[joethegill]

Another tough game coming up against the Gills who are in good form.We are only where we are in the league because of our excellent home record so thats a big positive. Ched Evans needs to step up and get some goals, and a start for Ash Hunter would go down well with many Fleetwood fans. There wont be much in this and going for a narrow 2-1 home win.Safe journey to all the travelling Gills fans, a warm Lancashire welcome awaits you !

We've been very good at home of late but not so great on the road so most signs would point to a home win. Agree that I don't think there will be too much in the game, and probably would also agree with a home win by the odd goal.

Mark Byrne suffered a season ending injury last time out against Sunderland which is very disappointing all round as he's a key part of how we press, but O'Keefe and Matty Willock both come back into contention so we have plenty of bodies in midfield areas.

I'd imagine:

Bonham
Fuller - Ehmer - Tucker - Ogilvie
Jones
O'Keefe - O'Connor
Lee
Mandron - Hanlan
​

Walsh, Hodson, Willock, Marshall, Ndjoli, Cisse and Jakubiak on the bench.

That team has played a lot of football of late as we've remained relatively unchanged, but I think this weekend is a bit too early to start chopping and changing for the Xmas period. Paddy Madden loves a goal against us so I'm putting him down for one, and I really rate Hunter so he'll have the second - Lee with the solitary reply for us.

It's a shame Fleetwood away keeps getting scheduled this time of year and/or midweek - would love a return visit at some point, but not this year!

 

[Luke Imp]

Tranmere for us.

We're without Shackell, O'Connor and Andrade who would all certainly start and are basically the spine of the team. We've hardly been able to field our strongest CB and CM partnerships this season so far (Shackell and Bostwick, O'Connor and Morrell) because of injuries and international call-ups. No Freck either.

Appleton is preferring 18-year old Chapman to Pett in central midfield over the last 3 or 4 games, which is a surprise for me and having to throw Bostwick straight back in after 2 months out isn't ideal either albeit off the back of a half at Burton.

Akinde and Hesketh got the nod over Walker and Payne last week, but in the former's case I'm pretty sure that was down to being away from home and wanting a more physical presence up front. I'd be amazed if Walker didn't come back in tomorrow.

As I said earlier in the week, we've only conceded 7 at home this season but 6 were in one game.

Could do with something from this ahead of a terrible run of fixtures over Xmas and New Year.

 

[DearneValleyRover]

We never do well down the common I’m sure the Wombles will role us over, Anderson serving his final game ban doesn’t help the only silver lining is the return of Ennis and Taylor although only likely to make the bench.

 

[codaplenty]

We've been very good at home of late but not so great on the road so most signs would point to a home win. Agree that I don't think there will be too much in the game, and probably would also agree with a home win by the odd goal.

Mark Byrne suffered a season ending injury last time out against Sunderland which is very disappointing all round as he's a key part of how we press, but O'Keefe and Matty Willock both come back into contention so we have plenty of bodies in midfield areas.

I'd imagine:

Bonham
Fuller - Ehmer - Tucker - Ogilvie
Jones
O'Keefe - O'Connor
Lee
Mandron - Hanlan
​

Walsh, Hodson, Willock, Marshall, Ndjoli, Cisse and Jakubiak on the bench.

That team has played a lot of football of late as we've remained relatively unchanged, but I think this weekend is a bit too early to start chopping and changing for the Xmas period. Paddy Madden loves a goal against us so I'm putting him down for one, and I really rate Hunter so he'll have the second - Lee with the solitary reply for us.

It's a shame Fleetwood away keeps getting scheduled this time of year and/or midweek - would love a return visit at some point, but not this year!

Very impressed mate by the pin point accuracy of tomorrow's goal scorers,please let me have some lottery numbers, perhaps by 5 O'Clock Saturday !

 

[Davidimp]

Beat 10 man Tranmere 1-0 with our only shot on target.
Glad I was working at didn’t sound much of a game but two wins without letting in a goal after the run we've had is a huge bonus.
15th now

 

[Back in the DHSS]

Beat 10 man Tranmere 1-0 with our only shot on target.
Glad I was working at didn’t sound much of a game but two wins without letting in a goal after the run we've had is a huge bonus.
15th now

Glad I didn’t go too. Apparently the Tranmere fans who went by train didn’t make it today as the service was up the wall between Manchester and Sheffield, followed by cancellations to Lincoln from Sheffield.

 

[Shrimpurh]

A good point today and a fairly solid performance. I think Sol is going to get his first win soon.