Saturday 26th August Fixtures

[SVH]

 

[folletto]

Charlton desperate for a win but never win at Oxford. Our defending has left a lot to be desired so far so I'm pretty worried Oxford could expose it heavily

 

[Moomin]

Reading at home. They’ve sold out their allocation and we’re likely to sell out too, so all good.

I actually think we’ll win this. We’ve started quite well and looked good at home vs Blackpool. Hoping Niskanen will be eligible to play and there’s always a chance of a new face to come in by the weekend.

2-1 City. Trevitt and Cox for us.

 

[91SPP]

Peterborough away for us - tough game and we're not in a good place at the moment. We are hoping to bring in a few players this week, hopefully we can get them in and training so they can get themselves acquainted and throw them in the deep end. Not sure that's Warne's usual style, but needs must.

I think we've landed on something with Rooney and Thompson, so both of them will no doubt come in. I really hope we can bring in a centre midfielder to replace Smith in the team - he's ok off the bench, but really doesn't add much and is far too careless on the ball. Fornah rumours aren't going away and we're expecting to announce someone today. We will see.

I'm still fairly confident that Peterborough will be rubbing their hands after watching us in the opening few weeks of the season. They have pace in their side and that's something we just aren't geared up for - comfortable Peteborough victory 2-0, 3-1...etc.

 

[valefan16]

Carlisle at home, my first home game of the season (in fact only one I have been at we lost 7-0 so missed all the good bits!)

Tricky game, they've 3 ex players in Holy, Butterworth and Edmondson, Edmundson especially was very popular for his application and efforts with us in securing promotion.

After expecting 0 points from 4 league games we've got 7 and looking a half decent outfit, especially in midfield with Chislett and Arblaster looking very good signings and Ojo revitalised but that's in games where we are expected to lose so have been more solid in how we've set up, at home we will be expected to have more of the play so interesting to see if we go 2 up top or keep doing whats been working.

Usually a tough game against the Cumbrians and expect no different here, have some good players and manager and a result here will be as hard to come by as any.

Would be nice to win this though and be 20% of the way to safety already!

Not going to call it as this is League One and Vale for a start so you just know after 4 good results we are due a shitter!

One positive is with a week off we should be able to go full strength rather than rotate how we have and all being well injury wise actually start with 2 full backs rather than shoe horning in.

 

[AmberRich]

Probably one of the highlights of the fixture list whenever we play Orient. Always a fun away day. Train strikes always seem to happen when we have London away trips, but still a sold out away allocation, and any returns that get put back on the website are selling in seconds.

Given the way we've both started the team must fancy their chances, however apparently Wellens said something last season about Orient getting 6 points off us so we'll see how that goes.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

We need a good response to our first defeat of the season and what better way than to do it against our friends at Wycombe.
No doubt Luke Leahy will be up for it as well as Brandon Hanlan, neither unfamiliar with scoring against us in recent times!
Bogarde will need to start and replace Finley. Calls around here for Barton to drop Collins but he isnt going to suddenly improve sitting on the bench so need to play him into some form.
Wycombe are one of those sides we dont generally do well against but ill go for a 2-1 gas win this time.

 

[kieran_vale]

From a distance it looks like Carlisle so far are finding it a challenge to score but have been competitive in all games so far. Maybe also learning the way we did last season the kind of mistakes you’d make in L2 you are less likely to get away with now.

See a close fought game. Our last few games we’ve been happy to concede the bulk of possession to the opposition and hit them on the counter. Whether we do that here we’ll see.

 

[valefan16]

From a distance it looks like Carlisle so far are finding it a challenge to score but have been competitive in all games so far. Maybe also learning the way we did last season the kind of mistakes you’d make in L2 you are less likely to get away with now.

See a close fought game. Our last few games we’ve been happy to concede the bulk of possession to the opposition and hit them on the counter. Whether we do that here we’ll see.

Interesting to see what we do with strikers...

Wilson now is in contention and scored a good header, Thomas comes on and does the impossible... sets us up to score from an opposition corner which is usually something we'd give away! Will Ellis be back or will he be gone... do we go 2 up top or keep Chislett and Garrity and one out and out striker just in front.

Just nice to finally see us having pace going forward after lacking any for what seems like since the Myrie-Williams/Ashley Vincent days!

 

[BRFC_Gas]

From a distance it looks like Carlisle so far are finding it a challenge to score but have been competitive in all games so far. Maybe also learning the way we did last season the kind of mistakes you’d make in L2 you are less likely to get away with now.

See a close fought game. Our last few games we’ve been happy to concede the bulk of possession to the opposition and hit them on the counter. Whether we do that here we’ll see.

That's the way Cambridge are having some success at the moment. Wont work for long though every side needs a plan B which we didn't have on Saturday.
Unusual for a home team to setup so defensively but have to overcome that sort of thing

 

[huddsmoose]

All of our three 2-0 wins so far have have been pretty much identical - you (Rovers, Oxford, Fleetwood) have the ball and pass it aimlessly around your CBs for ages. We'll nick it, score and then sit back and see if you're good enough to break us down.

Too many teams in this league try to be like Man City. That's ok if you have the budget and players Ipswich or Wednesday had last season, but noone this season does.

We'll lose plenty of games this season but typically it'll be the Stevenage types who are physical and play a quick ball behind our veteran CBs or get behind and cross it in, that'll cause us most problems.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

All of our three 2-0 wins so far have have been pretty much identical - you (Rovers, Oxford, Fleetwood) have the ball and pass it aimlessly around your CBs for ages. We'll nick it, score and then sit back and see if you're good enough to break us down.

Too many teams in this league try to be like Man City. That's ok if you have the budget and players Ipswich or Wednesday had last season, but noone this season does.

We'll lose plenty of games this season but typically it'll be the Stevenage types who are physical and play a quick ball behind our veteran CBs or get behind and cross it in, that'll cause us most problems.

Yes we tried to play through midfield which was massively congested and diagonal balls tended to go out for a goal kick.
I dont know what the dimensions of your pitch are but it seemed to be quite tight, or maybe that was just how it looked with a low block

 

[SVH]

That's another tactic of Bonner's, the pitch size. We reduced it the season we got promoted to ensure we make it as tight and compact as possible for teams who like to try and play it out from the back.

 

[bigfatron]

The Abbey is a pretty standard pitch - it feels small because the stands are quite tight to the playing surface.
Decades ago the Aston Villa manager had a massive whinge about our 'small pitch' - it was politely pointed out that it was exactly the same size as the pitch at Villa Park!
Van Gaal had a similar moan in 2015 - it was bollocks then too...

 

[coronakopite]

Yes we tried to play through midfield which was massively congested and diagonal balls tended to go out for a goal kick.
I dont know what the dimensions of your pitch are but it seemed to be quite tight, or maybe that was just how it looked with a low block

We narrowed it down for our first season in L1.

As SVH says, Mark said (with a nudge and a wink) it was to improve sight lines for the camera in our gantry. It has been effective in stifling the play of teams who like to work through the thirds and switch play wing to wing - like yourselves, Wednesday, Ipswich, Bolton, etc.

Ours is 67 m wide - only a metre narrower than the Mem.

There are 3 in L1 at the absolute minimum of 64 m - Stevenage, Fleetwood and Exeter.

Football Pitch Dimension Rules | Why are Football Pitches Not all the Same Size? - Football-Stadiums.co.uk

We’ve all been there. Watching our team in an away game on a Saturday afternoon and aware of the fact that the players seem to be absolutely knackered. We’ve probably called them lazy and used some other choice language to make our feelings about them known. But did you know that not all pitches are

www.football-stadiums.co.uk

 

[leedsvaliant]

All of our three 2-0 wins so far have have been pretty much identical - you (Rovers, Oxford, Fleetwood) have the ball and pass it aimlessly around your CBs for ages. We'll nick it, score and then sit back and see if you're good enough to break us down.

Too many teams in this league try to be like Man City. That's ok if you have the budget and players Ipswich or Wednesday had last season, but noone this season does.

We'll lose plenty of games this season but typically it'll be the Stevenage types who are physical and play a quick ball behind our veteran CBs or get behind and cross it in, that'll cause us most problems.

I'm at a loss as to why division 3 managers think that knocking it about around the back is a good idea. These players are nowhere near up to playing it. It's so easy to counteract...you just let them knock it about until they give it to the defender who is least comfortable on the ball and press. Often, these same managers will say they controlled the game because they made about 3000 passes along the back 4.

There's nothing wrong with a passing style of play of course but it needs to be mixed up. Otherwise you consistently turn possession over.

 

[leedsvaliant]

Quite a few familiar faces for Carlisle. Holy was crap for us but seems to have found his club in Carlisle. What I do remember is that he was really slow to get down to low shots (unsurprising given his size) and in spite of his size he didn't really command his box off corners and free kicks (see Colchester away in our promotion season).

Edmondson was a good lad. Real grafter and always put a shift in. I never thought he was quite good enough technically for this level and he's more of a grafter than a goalscorer but I liked him and he has a good attitude.

Callum Guy is often a player that comes up when we're thinking about signings. Really liked him when he was with us earlier in his career. A good footballer.

Butterworth did OK for us last season but I'm not surprised that we weren't back in for him. Shows flashes of exciting, direct play but never got involved anywhere near enough. He'd be decent in league 2 but you just can't rely on him week in week out.

Carlisle don't seem out of their depth
Impressive draw against Wigan who have started well. If we're at our best, we should win but as so often happens we can throw in an utter shit show when expectation is higher.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

That's another tactic of Bonner's, the pitch size. We reduced it the season we got promoted to ensure we make it as tight and compact as possible for teams who like to try and play it out from the back.

Makes sense as there was no room to really play our normal game and it snuffed out any attacking threat from us especially down the wings where we are usually more productive.
We need to plan for that though, as it was clear from your previous wins that you concede a lot of possession but still score when you need to.

 

[coronakopite]

Makes sense as there was no room to really play our normal game and it snuffed out any attacking threat from us especially down the wings where we are usually more productive.
We need to plan for that though, as it was clear from your previous wins that you concede a lot of possession but still score when you need to.

The Mem is only 1 metre wider. But we have managed to make it feel tighter.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

The Mem is only 1 metre wider. But we have managed to make it feel tighter.

Probably because you are the first side that has sat back and let us play around in our own half, wasnt much space to work with. Fair play to be able to that and still have an attacking threat. that said, Collins scores that chance and we probably go on to win.
We do it occasionally at home but only against top sides like Ipswich last season

 

[denzel ecfc]

A week is a long time at the moment, who knows who will be lining up against Reading - Nombe? Kieran Phillips? Niskanen? Someone else.
I think this will be tough but can see a similar performance as Blackpool, and therefore a tight 0-0 or 1-0.

 

[SVH]

Probably because you are the first side that has sat back and let us play around in our own half, wasnt much space to work with. Fair play to be able to that and still have an attacking threat. that said, Collins scores that chance and we probably go on to win.
We do it occasionally at home but only against top sides like Ipswich last season

Do you usually play out from the back? Your CB’s looked clueless on the ball.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

Do you usually play out from the back? Your CB’s looked clueless on the ball.

Yeah but without you coming at us they had nobody to pass it forwards to, apart from midfielders who were marked with their backs to goal, so inevitably get it back pretty quickly.
It was a very young back line. Once Wilson comes back in he will organise things a lot better. Barton was spot on, we were very naive

 

[kieran_vale]

That's the way Cambridge are having some success at the moment. Wont work for long though every side needs a plan B which we didn't have on Saturday.
Unusual for a home team to setup so defensively but have to overcome that sort of thing

Depends I guess how much of it is matchup based. Certainly in the case of Blackpool and Reading we’d looked at them and came to the conclusion that just let them knock it among the backline incessantly and wait for the error. Especially in the case of Blackpool they did it for a while then their centre back Ekpiteta would invariably knock it out of play or lose possession. Until a team shows they can deal with it then keep doing it to them I say.

 

[thewwfc]

We need a good response to our first defeat of the season and what better way than to do it against our friends at Wycombe.
No doubt Luke Leahy will be up for it as well as Brandon Hanlan, neither unfamiliar with scoring against us in recent times!

Wycombe are one of those sides we dont generally do well against but I’ll go for a 2-1 gas win this time.

Yeah, I definitely would be backing a Gas win too if I were a betting man.

Despite having some decent players, we simply haven’t clicked as a team so far, and I don’t expect that to have magically changed by Saturday.

About the only bonus of the impending defeat is that the knob Barton won’t be quite as bitter as usual.

 

[HutchECFC]

Reading (H)

I read online that Reading are 24th on the Expected goals conceded with 2.3, ourselves 23rd with 2.7. The two lowest in the league.

So it’s written to be a 4-4 draw.

 

[E10rifle]

apparently Wellens said something last season about Orient getting 6 points off us so we'll see how that goes.

I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about.

 

[E10rifle]

All of our three 2-0 wins so far have have been pretty much identical - you (Rovers, Oxford, Fleetwood) have the ball and pass it aimlessly around your CBs for ages. We'll nick it, score and then sit back and see if you're good enough to break us down.

Oh your lads will be licking their lips, then. We fucking love fannying about with it. Dread to think how easy we’re going to make it for you, though much will depend upon how many of our multitudinous crocks we get back.

Only thing in our favour will be the huge pitch. Always plenty of space, no matter how disciplined a low block teams try to play with.

 

[AmberRich]

I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about.

It's what someone said on our forum, "Wellens and the Orient staff wanted us to stay up last season because they thought we'd be easy to get 6 points off".

Couldn't find it on Google so maybe it's not true or maybe he's itk and it wasn't a public comment, I don't really know.

In fairness we were an easy win for a lot of last season, so they aren't completely wrong if they did think that.

 

[AmberRich]

Oh your lads will be licking their lips, then. We fucking love fannying about with it. Dread to think how easy we’re going to make it for you, though much will depend upon how many of our multitudinous crocks we get back.

You can't be that bad surely? You were the best team in League 2 last season and many predicted you to finish the highest out of the new promoted teams.

Not been a great start for you points wise, but 3 of the 4 teams you've played are aiming for the promotion fight. 3 out of 4 games away as well. From what it sounds like you've not had the best luck.