Graham Westley's favourite fixture (Stevenage v Carlisle)

[shoddycollins]

Fred title is a reference to the fact that Westley always seemed strangely obsessed with us and had many a meltdown when this fixture approached for both Stevenage and Preston. I wonder if simply the fact this game is being played will cause him to have a brainfart at Posh and call us a massive club out of the blue in his press conference. As much as I disliked the guy, playing Stevenage just isn't the same without our old adversary Chris Packham lookalike in the opposition dugout. I think he never really got over us beating his Stevenage in the playoff final that year, even despite him catching us up, overtaking us to get into the League One playoffs and recording some good victories over us.

It would be just like us to throw this one away, but as with all games in our current situation, we must win to banish the old consistently inconsistent tag, and we must win well at least once. I really cannot even begin to predict the final score, it could be anything.

As could our starting line-up, not necessarily a complaint, we have a big deep squad and must use it or lose it.

 

[Brox]

Carlisle are 5/2 - lump on job.
Double up with Exeter (7/4) to win at Newport
£10 returns just under £100 - worth a punt IMO.

We'll lose if we play anything like we did tonight.

 

[daviejones]

It's so nice getting to this point in the season and not being relegation fodder. We could easily win this, don't even care what KC chooses to do with the team any more because the man is a hero. In the past three games he's been sent to the stands and caught calling Liverpool players shite. I wouldn't care to guess the team because we've got so many players who can slot into different positions that I'll inevitably be wrong.

Hala Keith Curle.

 

[cufc17]

Reckon this is a winnable game, Stevenage haven't started the season too well whilst our away form is surprisingly good.

Will be a tough game though, and I'm not expecting Stevenage to just roll over. Hopeful we can get a narrow win.

As above, it'll be almost impossible to guess the starting XI, but I think Hery will be back in the team.

 

[GrahamSFC]

Reckon this is a winnable game, Stevenage haven't started the season too well whilst our away form is surprisingly good.

Will be a tough game though, and I'm not expecting Stevenage to just roll over. Hopeful we can get a narrow win.

As above, it'll be almost impossible to guess the starting XI, but I think Hery will be back in the team.

We rolled over at home to an extremely average Mansfield team last night, and unfortunately it wouldn't surprise me if it happens again on Saturday, can't see as keeping a clean sheet or scoring a goal at the moment, hardly a great sign!

 

[SF_]

Fred title is a reference to the fact that Westley always seemed strangely obsessed with us and had many a meltdown when this fixture approached for both Stevenage and Preston.

What did he say when he was with us? I don't recall that at all.

He had a meltdown about every team.

 

[shoddycollins]

What did he say when he was with us? I don't recall that at all.

He had a meltdown about every team.

Maybe he didn't say anything in the build up when he was Preston, but after returning to Stevenage he referenced that 3-3 Boxing Day fixture before most games, because we took a lot of away fans, he seemed to think we take almost 5000 to every away game.

 

[shoddycollins]

We rolled over at home to an extremely average Mansfield team last night, and unfortunately it wouldn't surprise me if it happens again on Saturday, can't see as keeping a clean sheet or scoring a goal at the moment, hardly a great sign!

I can certainly see you scoring a goal. I think Stevie Wonder can see you scoring a goal.

 

[StagsForLife]

We rolled over at home to an extremely average Mansfield team last night, and unfortunately it wouldn't surprise me if it happens again on Saturday, can't see as keeping a clean sheet or scoring a goal at the moment, hardly a great sign!

There's a reason we're 7th and you're near the bottom and it isn't because we're extremely average. Should try having shots at the goal rather than attempting shots after being a sore loser.

 

[Brox]

Being 7th in this league is nothing to write home about, we were fucking wank for 80% of last season and we actually finished in the play-offs.

We were so bad last night that by the end of the evening it was actually pretty comical, watch the highlights on youtube, our defending was atrocious, the fact we had so few shots at goal (something that's becoming all too frequent) is evidence of how poor we were, we rarely created anything meaningful from open play, we're totally devoid of ideas, and looked clueless all over the park.

When you play as badly as we did yesterday, it's difficult to gauge just how good the opposition are, don't get me wrong you deserved to win, no doubt about that, but don't kid yourselves in to thinking that Mansfield are some sort of League 2 version of Barcelona because you're not.

Forgot Jabo played for Carlisle, guaranteed to score on Saturday.

 

[cufc17]

Being 7th in this league is nothing to write home about, we were fucking wank for 80% of last season and we actually finished in the play-offs.

We were so bad last night that by the end of the evening it was actually pretty comical, watch the highlights on youtube, our defending was atrocious, the fact we had so few shots at goal (something that's becoming all too frequent) is evidence of how poor we were, we rarely created anything meaningful from open play, we're totally devoid of ideas, and looked clueless all over the park.

When you play as badly as we did yesterday, it's difficult to gauge just how good the opposition are, don't get me wrong you deserved to win, no doubt about that, but don't kid yourselves in to thinking that Mansfield are some sort of League 2 version of Barcelona because you're not.

Forgot Jabo played for Carlisle, guaranteed to score on Saturday.

Jeez, you must be bad if you reckon he'll score from the treatment room

He's injured, and will almost certainly not be involved in this match.

 

[GrahamSFC]

There's a reason we're 7th and you're near the bottom and it isn't because we're extremely average. Should try having shots at the goal rather than attempting shots after being a sore loser.

Worst game I've seen in a long long time. I'm not sore, Mansfield deserved the win, if you'd have been made to get out of anything more than first gear you probably would've looked impressive, as it was you looked a fairly ordinary side.

 

[shoddycollins]

Worst game I've seen in a long long time. I'm not sore, Mansfield deserved the win, if you'd have been made to get out of anything more than first gear you probably would've looked impressive, as it was you looked a fairly ordinary side.

You'll see much the same written on Orient's forums about last night's game, or any forums that I've read from opponents we've beaten... or probably any forum in League 2... it's quite a close league this year, anyone can beat anyone and the consensus seems to be, because everyone is shite.

 

[Brox]

Jeez, you must be bad if you reckon he'll score from the treatment room

He's injured, and will almost certainly not be involved in this match.

He has more chance of scoring than one of our strikers!

 

[Brox]

You'll see much the same written on Orient's forums about last night's game, or any forums that I've read from opponents we've beaten... or probably any forum in League 2... it's quite a close league this year, anyone can beat anyone and the consensus seems to be, because everyone is shite.

This league is shite, was the same last season. Mansfield are turd like the rest of us

 

[shoddycollins]

This league is shite, was the same last season. Mansfield are turd like the rest of us

Yet our lord Rakish plays in this division... go figure.

 

[Brox]

Yet our lord Rakish plays in this division... go figure.

He blanked against us, he's shite

 

[shoddycollins]

He blanked against us, he's shite

YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!

Rakish he knoweth not what he say, please spare this humble forum.

 

[hellogregory]

I have a feeling we'll win this game.

The fact that I'm optimistic worries me slightly and I can't explain why.

I'm going to be cautious and predict a score draw. 1-1

 

[hellogregory]

This league is shite, was the same last season. Mansfield are turd like the rest of us

It's better than the conference though yeah? Remember that?

 

[Brox]

League Two is better than the Conference, doesn't stop this league being shite though, we're all like turds rolled in glitter, we might look sparkly but we're still turd at heart.

 

[hellogregory]

So when do you stop being shite? League One, or do you have to get top half of League One, or even Championship?

 

[Brox]

You can be a good side at the level, the top five last year were decent teams and Wycombe were the unfortunate side not to be promoted, I felt the rest of the division was a much of a muchness, we finished in the play-offs having been absolute wank for most of the season, look at our match with you at Brunton Park, or our game vs Burton where we managed to win despite having no shots at all (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29670136).

I just haven't been that impressed by any of the opposition this season, aside from Notts County who looked half decent in truth. Maybe the 3 or 4 years of watching shite football has led to me being overly critical and incapable of offering praise to others, maybe I take comfort in labelling everyone as being shite and it makes me feel better or maybe we're all a big steaming pile o'shit. Who knows...

 

[shoddycollins]

You can be a good side at the level, the top five last year were decent teams and Wycombe were the unfortunate side not to be promoted, I felt the rest of the division was a much of a muchness, we finished in the play-offs having been absolute wank for most of the season, look at our match with you at Brunton Park, or our game vs Burton where we managed to win despite having no shots at all (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29670136).

I just haven't been that impressed by any of the opposition this season, aside from Notts County who looked half decent in truth. Maybe the 3 or 4 years of watching shite football has led to me being overly critical and incapable of offering praise to others, maybe I take comfort in labelling everyone as being shite and it makes me feel better or maybe we're all a big steaming pile o'shit. Who knows...

Perhaps teams who have recently come down from League One are more prone than others to call the standard of League Two shite. Half of League One may also be shite but you're regularly playing some proper footballing teams. You've got Carlisle and Stevenage (only teams left here from last seasons 'intake'), as well as Orient, Notts, Crawley and Yeovil probably thinking the same. God only knows what the Tranmere fans are thinking right now.

This season does seem to be more of the much of a muchness than last season though. Those good teams have gone up and been replaced by teams who aren't much different from the rest, and apart from maybe Portsmouth, nobody has drastically improved their squad. The fact that we're level on points with the play-offs despite having the worst defence of the whole 92 kind of says it all.

 

[Aber gas]

I'm loving this season, perhaps a season in the conference has had a humbling effect but the quality is refreshing compared to the conference. There is a big gap, perhaps not for the top sides but I watched a lot of terrible crap last season.

 

[hellogregory]

Stevenage signing Loza from Norwich today makes tomorrow's task more difficult. You'd expect he'll be too good for League 2 level.

I'm still sticking with my 1-1 prediction, but I'm not as confident now.

 

[cufc17]

Same starting XI as Tuesday.
Must be the first time we've done that in a while. Hopefully we can get the 3 points.

 

[Brox]

Better looking side for us today. Let's hope for a better performance than Tuesday!

 

[shoddycollins]

Same starting XI as Tuesday.
Must be the first time we've done that in a while. Hopefully we can get the 3 points.

Shock of the season that...

A midfield 'box' with Dicker and Joyce behind and Sweeney and Kennedy in front supporting Asamoah... hopefully some incisive passing from Dicker and Joyce, both of whom are well capable of it.

One of our centre backs today (Miller) has as many goals for the season as the whole Stevenage starting lineup

 

[cufc17]

Gillespie saves a penalty!

Still 0-0.