Thursday 29th & Friday 30th December 2022

[Si Robin]

The red card incident was so preventable had he given a free kick for the obvious shirt pull on Shipley seconds before, which he ignored. He then somehow missed the awful tackle by Raglan and played on, which resulted in the melee. Haven't seen what Leahy was sent off for, but he was edge all night getting frustrated. He then restarted the game with a drop ball back to Cheltenham, so couldn't have sent Raglan off for the foul! 10v10 Cheltenham saw the game out fairly comfortably.

A lad who does a vlog on Youtube has caught the incident quite well. In the melee afterwards, Raglan and (I assume) Leahy come together. Rags then leans in with his head, but doesn't make contact and then it gets pulled apart.

I assume Rags was, rightly, sent of for the attempted butt. I don't see that Leahy does much though, unless he's done similar and I've missed it.

The tackle was bad, and looks worse in slow motion - but the ref had lost it by then.

Regarding the indirect free-kick in the box, I actually don't think Southwood was penalised correctly. Every time he moved to kick the ball, your striker got in the way of him. He took a step to the right, your striker moved, he went to the left, he did exactly the same. Twice Southwood put his hands up to the ref, then the next thing you know he's blown for a free-kick. I must stress though, this was the only time I would defend Southwood. He makes Scott Brown (and Vale fans will know what I mean) look like an amateur when it comes to time-wasting.

 

[Bartonyellow]

I didn’t go last night, prefer to go to morecambe instead NYD, so interested to hear from FGR fans what they thought last night.
Don’t think we played well, but we are now in survival mode so we need points not plaudits.

 

[mozzavale]

We massively lack quality in midfield to control games. Strange one last night, we were so poor first half just kept losing the ball, yet probably should have gone in 1 each. Stupid lack of concentration gifted them the penalty. For 20 mins of the 2nd half we were on top. Again Harrison fails to hit the target, Benning should have put his foot through it instead of passing, then from nowhere another Conlon mistake and Smith hits a peach to really knock the wind out of our sails.

Felt like we threw away a decent chance of getting a great point. But then I can't help but think Wednesday never really got out of 2nd gear and still got what looks like a comfortable 2 - 0 win. If they needed to could see them stepping it up another level.

Great 1st away day though with my Daughter. She loved it despite the result.

 

[valefan16]

We massively lack quality in midfield to control games. Strange one last night, we were so poor first half just kept losing the ball, yet probably should have gone in 1 each. Stupid lack of concentration gifted them the penalty. For 20 mins of the 2nd half we were on top. Again Harrison fails to hit the target, Benning should have put his foot through it instead of passing, then from nowhere another Conlon mistake and Smith hits a peach to really knock the wind out of our sails.

Felt like we threw away a decent chance of getting a great point. But then I can't help but think Wednesday never really got out of 2nd gear and still got what looks like a comfortable 2 - 0 win. If they needed to could see them stepping it up another level.

Great 1st away day though with my Daughter. She loved it despite the result.

Yeah I can’t understand the meltdown on OVF and the socials that we aren’t good enough for league one, half our players are crap, we play with 10 men everytime we start Conlon etc. we are literally 9th in league one! 12 months ago we were losing to the likes of Newport and Salford!

 

[Chris FGR]

I didn’t go last night, prefer to go to morecambe instead NYD, so interested to hear from FGR fans what they thought last night.
Don’t think we played well, but we are now in survival mode so we need points not plaudits.

Well you looked better then us, but that isn't saying much. First half in particular you had a lot of the ball but the standard was awful from both teams, was fitting the goal came from poor goalkeeping from a corner as neither side looked remotely like scoring a goal from a bit of quality.

Was interesting that you played a very high line with your keeper as a sweeper, meant a lot of our balls over the top were ineffective as he got to most of them first or we were caught offside. Second half we finally worked out you need runners to come from deep to beat a high defensive line and looked slightly more likely to create something even though still not a lot. The pen was soft and then pretty poorly struck which summed us up tbh. After that you dropped a bit deeper and your second goal came after we'd thrown a lot of bodies forward but was fairly well worked although bit of luck to get the rebound. We kept going and got a consolation but tbh the result was fair. Btw I see Maamria is still a proper whinger, kept on at the officials all game. I suppose that's still better then standing there with your hands in your pockets looking clueless though.

 

[Chris FGR]

On another note things becoming a bit toxic here right now, lots of Burchnall out and even anti Vince chants, players arguing with each other a lot and our captain Jamille Matt and one or two others having strong verbals with fans in the south stand at the end of the game and needing to be held back, which was pretty ugly.

 

[Greenacres]

On another note things becoming a bit toxic here right now, lots of Burchnall out and even anti Vince chants, players arguing with each other a lot and our captain Jamille Matt and one or two others having strong verbals with fans in the south stand at the end of the game and needing to be held back, which was pretty ugly.

Last night was awful wasn't it, pretty clueless on the pitch, some of our players looked like they had already thrown their hand in...which for me is more sad than anything else...although we do have a few that probably aren't 100% anyway, I'm still not convinced that Matty and Dokes are ready to return and their use smacks more of desperation than anything else. When Dokes went through the gears a few minutes after coming on, leaving his marker for dust, I was really worried he would pull up having done his hamstring again...fortunately he didn't.

The chants are telling, a mixture of humour, displeasure and desperation...not sure that any of them will make a difference, IB is probably safe in his job and Vince seems the sort of bloke who when receiving criticism of any kind will take the view that he is doing his job perfectly...mind you, if the South Stand up the volume of chants against him it is only a matter of time before the rest of the ground join in...maybe then he will get the message, or maybe not!

If we start badly on Sunday, which is of course possible, then it could be pretty unpleasant.

 

[K-Win]

A point keeps us ticking over nicely. Pompey will be nowhere near the top 6 based on that. Need a number 9 in January though

Yes, very lucky point for us. 30% possession at home. Yikes!

I agree that top 6 looks a long way off for us. At least we're close to the transfer window so it's possible the Cowleys might be able to improve things. Just one League win now since 13th September.

 

[Bartonyellow]

Well you looked better then us, but that isn't saying much. First half in particular you had a lot of the ball but the standard was awful from both teams, was fitting the goal came from poor goalkeeping from a corner as neither side looked remotely like scoring a goal from a bit of quality.

Was interesting that you played a very high line with your keeper as a sweeper, meant a lot of our balls over the top were ineffective as he got to most of them first or we were caught offside. Second half we finally worked out you need runners to come from deep to beat a high defensive line and looked slightly more likely to create something even though still not a lot. The pen was soft and then pretty poorly struck which summed us up tbh. After that you dropped a bit deeper and your second goal came after we'd thrown a lot of bodies forward but was fairly well worked although bit of luck to get the rebound. We kept going and got a consolation but tbh the result was fair. Btw I see Maamria is still a proper whinger, kept on at the officials all game. I suppose that's still better then standing there with your hands in your pockets looking clueless though.

Our manager is a shithouse and I’m still not convinced on him at all. If he keeps us up - great. But I’d still move him on next season. In fairness to him though, he has steadied the ship after the master tactician that is JFH.

 

[Chris FGR]

Last night was awful wasn't it, pretty clueless on the pitch, some of our players looked like they had already thrown their hand in...which for me is more sad than anything else...although we do have a few that probably aren't 100% anyway, I'm still not convinced that Matty and Dokes are ready to return and their use smacks more of desperation than anything else. When Dokes went through the gears a few minutes after coming on, leaving his marker for dust, I was really worried he would pull up having done his hamstring again...fortunately he didn't.

The chants are telling, a mixture of humour, displeasure and desperation...not sure that any of them will make a difference, IB is probably safe in his job and Vince seems the sort of bloke who when receiving criticism of any kind will take the view that he is doing his job perfectly...mind you, if the South Stand up the volume of chants against him it is only a matter of time before the rest of the ground join in...maybe then he will get the message, or maybe not!

If we start badly on Sunday, which is of course possible, then it could be pretty unpleasant.

Yep pretty bad all round really, fans having a go at the owner, manager and players, a few players having a go back including our captain telling fans to fuck off and some of our fans scrapping amongst themselves at the end of the game. Laughable really.

Heard Vince was still very chipper though, so he doesn’t seem to be too bothered.

 

[Si Robin]

Just had a message on one of my Whatsapp groups where in his interview Burchnall has said:

"We feel that in general, the moment the game goes slightly awry, the place is negative, and the players feel it, I feel it, it's very tough when it's like that".

So it's not the his or the player's fault, it's you bloody FGR lot!!!

I also heard DV said his job was completely safe last night.

A lot of Cheltenham fans used to say they'd only be worried about FGR getting to League 1 when Cooper was sacked, and so it proved. I daresay the only hope FGR has of safety is sacking Burchnall.

Edit - another baffling quote:

“I put Matty Stevens on maybe a little earlier than I would’ve liked to really in terms of his rehab because I felt like we needed to get the fans with us and that as a substitution might do it."

 

[Chris FGR]

He did a runner straight to his office last night, and left the team and coaches to take the flack. I doubt he’ll be sacked any time soon, so you don’t need to worry about us staying up.

I just saw the post match quote about the fans negativity/putting Matty Stevens on. I mean that really does seem desperate if he’s pushing long term injured players back too quickly just to try and get the fans onside doesn’t it?

Knowing Vince, if we don’t somehow turn it around he’ll either sack him once we’re already doomed or keep him next season in League 2 just to show he knows better then everyone telling him he’s appointed a dud.

 

[thewwfc]

For those asking, apparently Tjay De Barr is OK having been taken to hospital as a precaution.

 

[Boletus Edulis]

For those asking, apparently Tjay De Barr is OK having been taken to hospital as a precaution.

I am pretty sure he was released from Derriford last night and has returned to Bucks. Glad he seems alright, was a bit worrying.

 

[stevowanderer]

Omg we’ve scored a set piece!

 

[stevowanderer]

Bitty game this. Lots of niggly fouls. Lincoln working so so hard as we’ve had all the ball. They must start to tire soon surely.

 

[stevowanderer]

And now a red for Lincoln. You could see them getting more and more frustrated as we kept possession. Lincoln’s bench going mad. They’ve come for a fight

 

[stevowanderer]

When are they going to stamp out time wasting by the gk taking goal kicks? Lincoln Gk wasted about 10 mins in that game. Including 2-3 mins in second half injury time and he didn’t add on any extra to the 6 he’d added after a red card and multiple breaks in play. Happens week in week out. A point against someone unbeaten at home isn’t a bad result on paper but in reality we should have won that against 10 men.

 

[kieran_vale]

Just from a distance Bolton don’t half seem to make hard work of a lot of games that if they did have designs on automatic promotion they should be winning especially if against ten men.

 

[YEO YEO YEO]

Another home draw, however thats a big result after conceding and going down to 10 men with 30 to go.

Bolton were poor first half, was comfortable going in 1 up.

Poor from Walsh to get 2 quick fouls (yellows). Only one outcome with the red. Just don't understand how Walsh is carded for the first, and their player is not.

Bolton kept piling on the pressure and made sub after sub. They had so much possession but very few efforts at goal, lots of balls into the box (defended well), just the 1 noticeable effort at the end just past the post.

Good turnout from Bolton, less said about the ref the better.

 

[SuffolkBlue]

Another home draw, however thats a big result after conceding and going down to 10 men with 30 to go.

Bolton were poor first half, was comfortable going in 1 up.

Poor from Walsh to get 2 quick fouls (yellows). Only one outcome with the red. Just don't understand how Walsh is carded for the first, and their player is not.

Bolton kept piling on the pressure and made sub after sub. They had so much possession but very few efforts at goal, lots of balls into the box (defended well), just the 1 noticeable effort at the end just past the post.

Good turnout from Bolton, less said about the ref the better.

Bit of a tight turn around for you guys on Monday afternoon. How many home games have you drawn now?!

 

[stevowanderer]

Just from a distance Bolton don’t half seem to make hard work of a lot of games that if they did have designs on automatic promotion they should be winning especially if against ten men.

Yeah that’s exactly why we won’t be in the automatic promotion conversation this season. Leaving too many points on the table. Not taking our chances. Playoffs is still realistic but it’s frustrating atm.

 

[YEO YEO YEO]

Bit of a tight turn around for you guys on Monday afternoon. How many home games have you drawn now?!

11 home league games played, 2 wins, 9 draws!

 

[stevowanderer]

Another home draw, however thats a big result after conceding and going down to 10 men with 30 to go.

Bolton were poor first half, was comfortable going in 1 up.

Poor from Walsh to get 2 quick fouls (yellows). Only one outcome with the red. Just don't understand how Walsh is carded for the first, and their player is not.

Bolton kept piling on the pressure and made sub after sub. They had so much possession but very few efforts at goal, lots of balls into the box (defended well), just the 1 noticeable effort at the end just past the post.

Good turnout from Bolton, less said about the ref the better.

Pretty much agree with all of this. First half we were tidy but offered very little. You definitely came for a fight though… which isn’t a criticism but ref lost control of the game and it just descended into a niggly game. You were working so hard and I was expecting us to start opening you up as you got tired but never really happened. My only real criticism is the gk time wasting. I know that’s what teams do especially after going down to 10 but it was getting ridiculous. How he wasn’t booked I don’t know.

 

[YEO YEO YEO]

When are they going to stamp out time wasting by the gk taking goal kicks? Lincoln Gk wasted about 10 mins in that game. Including 2-3 mins in second half injury time and he didn’t add on any extra to the 6 he’d added after a red card and multiple breaks in play. Happens week in week out. A point against someone unbeaten at home isn’t a bad result on paper but in reality we should have won that against 10 men.

I agree with this! We were laughing at how long our keeper was taking. Surprised how quiet the Bolton fans were regarding it. I'm sure if they'd have made some noise, the ref would have acted. It's down to the ref to take action, but he had a poor game all round. He defo should have stamped it out, but ref didn't even speak to him about it.

 

[YEO YEO YEO]

Pretty much agree with all of this. First half we were tidy but offered very little. You definitely came for a fight though… which isn’t a criticism but ref lost control of the game and it just descended into a niggly game. You were working so hard and I was expecting us to start opening you up as you got tired but never really happened. My only real criticism is the gk time wasting. I know that’s what teams do especially after going down to 10 but it was getting ridiculous. How he wasn’t booked I don’t know.

We are a team that loves the press. This worked well in the first half and went in very pleased at half time. Knew Bolton were going to react 2nd half, it was stupid from Walsh to get sucked in for the 2nd yellow having only been booked a few minutes prior. I think that's out first red of the season. With 30 to go, and Bolton just equalised and down to 10 men, I fully expected a Bolton win (especially with all the attacking changes).

I'd argue the nigglyness threw us off to begin with. It led to you equalising from the set piece. As the game went on, we were going for anything we could to break the game up.

Good game, good atmosphere. The ref turned it into a bit of a feisty game 2nd half.

 

[thewwfc]

I am pretty sure he was released from Derriford last night and has returned to Bucks. Glad he seems alright, was a bit worrying.

Yes, sorry, you’re right, my last post didn’t make it that clear he’d been taken to hospital and then released.

 

[Laker]

Derby weren’t on it but they still had too much for us tonight. We’re just too injury ravaged to cope, we only named five subs tonight and one of those was a youth teamer. Another injury in midfield puts us down to 13 fit senior players for the trip to Hillsborough which should be fun.

My first away game of the season. The effort was good but we lacked any real quality and never looked like scoring. We contained them relatively well but gave a very easy goal away.

Losing at Derby won’t relegate us. Not getting some more bodies in during January will though. Big month for us coming up.

 

[Stroud]

 

[Luke Imp]

Bit of a tight turn around for you guys on Monday afternoon. How many home games have you drawn now?!

It's a Saturday/Tuesday type turnaround so not too tight a one.