Tue 11th & Sat 15th Jan

[AdamStag]

Yeah definitely not the worst to be fair. I meant in general its never good listening to the opponent comms when you lose.

What did irritate me, was the need to mention who was sponsoring the players being subbed on and off.

'Replacing Rhys Oats sponsored by P&Q solutions is Jim Smith sponsored by Dunfermline Stags'.

It came from last year when there were no crowds we still sponsored shirts, but though the stadium announcer was there, he couldn’t be heard on i follow so they did it on there to make up for it (i’m one who sponsors rawson - the green dragon stags). They’ve carried it on from there - though i appreciate not particularly useful if you’re an away follower and really couldn’t give a fuck

 

[Agombar stool]

It came from last year when there were no crowds we still sponsored shirts, but though the stadium announcer was there, he couldn’t be heard on i follow so they did it on there to make up for it (i’m one who sponsors rawson - the green dragon stags). They’ve carried it on from there - though i appreciate not particularly useful if you’re an away follower and really couldn’t give a fuck

Different I suppose!!

 

[Conker]

Throughly deserved win but we keep making it more difficult, probably was more like a 4-1 game instead of 3-2 but we missed some chances and then gave away a very poor second goal to make it nervy at the end. Got to add we have a few other chances needlessly away too but thankfully Swindon didn’t take advantage.

Cannot fault our form though, Oates and Bowery are doing great upfront, O’Toole may be gone soon and that could hurt us.

 

[AdamStag]

Throughly deserved win but we keep making it more difficult, probably was more like a 4-1 game instead of 3-2 but we missed some chances and then gave away a very poor second goal to make it nervy at the end. Got to add we have a few other chances needlessly away too but thankfully Swindon didn’t take advantage.

Cannot fault our form though, Oates and Bowery are doing great upfront, O’Toole may be gone soon and that could hurt us.

agreed, that mckirdy seemed to think a lot about
himself, especially his post after the game (apparently were a shithole).

Maybe he should have been looking at the 4/5 mansfield players who were better than him tonight than daft comments and attitude problems.

 

[Conker]

Just shows what a reprobate he is, he goaded the fans after he scored and he got it back plenty too which is all good, you should leave it once game is done though

Next time Mansfield come across him he’s going to get a record amount of pies and yorkie bars lobbed at him now

 

[AdamStag]

Just shows what a reprobate he is, he goaded the fans after he scored and he got it back plenty too which is all good, you should leave it once game is done though

Next time Mansfield come across him he’s going to get a record amount of pies and yorkie bars lobbed at him now

Thankfully not the type of player clough would tolerate, a bad egg who’d cause problems.

 

[Stringy]

I thought McKirdy was hilarious. Waxy as anything, a terrible ponytail and exceptionally mouthy.
That persona would make a good television villain. I would cast Michael Sheen in that role

 

[leedsvaliant]

No complaints about tonight, thought Mansfield played very well from back to front and probably should have won by more. Final few minutes were exciting but if we had gone a point it would have been undeserved. Mansfield very impressive, definitely promotion contenders.

Not nice to listen to the Mansfield comms on a defeat either.

I said when Vale played them earlier in the season that they'll come good. They ended last season strongly and have strengthened with a good manager in charge.

Vale fans were moaning that we only managed to draw with them because at the time they were second bottom. Played us off the park though and in Hindsight looks a very good point.

Would not surprise me if they finished second or third (looks like Forest Green have pretty much tied up top spot).

 

[RLC]

A real battle tonight against Salford in pretty dire conditions, with not much football played by either side. You can see why they have a decent defensive record, but they offered very little in the attacking third, so it is slightly frustrating that we gifted them their goal through a goalkeeping error. However, a draw was probably fair overall.

The unbeaten run is maintained and we are still looking very solid.

 

[The Jovial Forester]

Falsely nine points clear with a game in hand, when will this travesty end?

 

[FGR Stroud]

SkyBet odds for Saturday

 

[kieran_vale]

Should be a procession really for FGR at this point to the title you’d think. At the rate they’re going they could be on for over 100 points even if I think they’ll likely hit a sticky spell at some point as all teams do.

Massive game between us and Swindon on Saturday. Just hoping for no players having to isolate and a full week of training and am pretty hopeful we can win.

 

[AdamStag]

I said when Vale played them earlier in the season that they'll come good. They ended last season strongly and have strengthened with a good manager in charge.

Vale fans were moaning that we only managed to draw with them because at the time they were second bottom. Played us off the park though and in Hindsight looks a very good point.

Would not surprise me if they finished second or third (looks like Forest Green have pretty much tied up top spot).

despite being out of the playoffs on GD, i don’t personally think we’d end in them.

We’ve played 14 games at home to 9 away for a start, it looks like o’toole will probably be off which will be a massive loss for us he’s been immense since he joined.

Clough and sharpe (the DOF) have got the last 2 transfer windows badly wrong, get this one right and who knows….

But yeah 8 wins out of 9 in the league, the form has been amazing and a brilliant turnaround

 

[MadJohn]

All looking very nice for FGR. It's not done and dusted, as we know only too well having taken a 14-point lead into March 2003 only to stumble and finish 2nd, but their progress is looking serene right now.

 

[MadJohn]

We go to Bristol in defence of one of the season's more quirky records. You can split the league table into three sections for us. There's the bottom five, the top eleven, and the rest.

We have a 100% record against the teams currently sat between 12th and 19th. Seven games, seven wins.

Our record against the rest of the division, the top 11 and the bottom 5, is horrific. One win in 16 (thanks to a Dave Challinor tactical switch vs Northampton), and four draws (including three dismal goalless affairs against the current bottom two).

Bristol Rovers are 18th. Happy days.

 

[FGR Stroud]

All looking very nice for FGR. It's not done and dusted, as we know only too well having taken a 14-point lead into March 2003 only to stumble and finish 2nd, but their progress is looking serene right now.

I agree, far far too early in season to make firm forecasts.
In last month FGR have done fair to good although not always best team on the pitch.
But as they say, luck always falls into the lap of teams at the top.

 

[Stringy]

That Port Vale game was a turning point for us. We’ve been good since that game.

I agree with Adam though. We probably can finish in the play-offs but it’ll be less likely without a good transfer window. We need more quality in a number of positions.

On last night’s game, both goals we conceded were really poor. The first Bishop got beat easily at his near post, getting his angles, positioning and how he was set all wrong which is normally his strength. Then the second I was far away from it but it looked to be very poor defending jumping in and allowing the player to run with the ball into the space behind.

 

[northstandexile]

All looking very nice for FGR. It's not done and dusted, as we know only too well having taken a 14-point lead into March 2003 only to stumble and finish 2nd, but their progress is looking serene right now.

We still have to play FGR twice so that is six points they aren’t going to get.

 

[BarraMatt]

Obviously everyone would like to win the league but what do FGR see it as, as I'd primarily be looking at it in terms of being 12 points clear in the auto spots.

 

[Agombar stool]

Thankfully not the type of player clough would tolerate, a bad egg who’d cause problems.

From a Swindon perspective McKirdy is very much a pantomime villain that frustrates and delights in equal measures. When things are going well it's great, but when things are going bad it's cataclysmic. Before his 4 goals against Northampton he wasn't playing that well but after that game and his goal against Man City his confidence has gone through the roof. Clearly his goal was helped by ropey goalkeeping positioning and he nearly scored another from distance that Bishop put out for a corner. But I really hate how close to the edge he is, (it's part of his character I suppose) winding up the away fans after scoring is something I cringe about and it came back to bite him in the arse in the end. He also has this irritating trait of mouthing off to refs and linos which is just asking for cheap yellow cards. And what he posted on instagram about Mansfield being a shithole for me is just ridiculous, you are a professional footballer, not a 12 year old boy!

On the other side of the coin, he has scored 10 goals this season so he must be doing something right. Garner must have huge patience to deal with McKirdy, clearly Port Vale didn't but if you are able to manage him you do get a very decent League 2 player that offers energy hard work and goals, but with all the baggage that goes with it.

 

[kieran_vale]

From a Swindon perspective McKirdy is very much a pantomime villain that frustrates and delights in equal measures. When things are going well it's great, but when things are going bad it's cataclysmic. Before his 4 goals against Northampton he wasn't playing that well but after that game and his goal against Man City his confidence has gone through the roof. Clearly his goal was helped by ropey goalkeeping positioning and he nearly scored another from distance that Bishop put out for a corner. But I really hate how close to the edge he is, (it's part of his character I suppose) winding up the away fans after scoring is something I cringe about and it came back to bite him in the arse in the end. He also has this irritating trait of mouthing off to refs and linos which is just asking for cheap yellow cards. And what he posted on instagram about Mansfield being a shithole for me is just ridiculous, you are a professional footballer, not a 12 year old boy!

On the other side of the coin, he has scored 10 goals this season so he must be doing something right. Garner must have huge patience to deal with McKirdy, clearly Port Vale didn't but if you are able to manage him you do get a very decent League 2 player that offers energy hard work and goals, but with all the baggage that goes with it.

With us it was a case that Askey who was the manager when he was brought in wasn't really strong enough to deal with him and led to him being de-registered even if DC brought him back into the squad at the back end of the season. It seemed the dressing room wasn't a good place to be in pre-DC either with others like Pope clearly acting up so not really an environment for him to be a part of. For what it's worth I never really saw the appeal of him as a player at Vale. Seemed to do a lot of step-overs etc that looked good but never led to anything worthwhile. Swindon clearly have a system far more suited to him than we did.

He's bound to score and try and incite the home fans on Saturday though. I think our strategy with him may well be to get someone like Smith to give him a reducer early and try and get him to retaliate and get an early bath.

 

[BogDaddyO]

Had planned to go Oldham away back when the fixtures were released but we're so painfully average right now I'll be giving it a swerve.
Painful season overall, we seem capable of performances like beating Swindon 4-1, then lose 3 in a row and never ever look like scoring.
I think I'd prefer it if we were actually dire as opposed to this frustrating situation.
Mid table all day for us, no signings, no goal in 3 or 4 games aside from one lucky cross that happened to go in, really really hard to be positive about us at the moment.
Hope Oldham get a point for their current troubles.

 

[Conker]

That Port Vale game was a turning point for us. We’ve been good since that game.

I agree with Adam though. We probably can finish in the play-offs but it’ll be less likely without a good transfer window. We need more quality in a number of positions.

On last night’s game, both goals we conceded were really poor. The first Bishop got beat easily at his near post, getting his angles, positioning and how he was set all wrong which is normally his strength. Then the second I was far away from it but it looked to be very poor defending jumping in and allowing the player to run with the ball into the space behind.

The second was ridiculous, the guy who scored had three stags players around him and they all just eased off him in the box to give a free shot, they were worried about him falling down and getting a penalty.

 

[valefan16]

With us it was a case that Askey who was the manager when he was brought in wasn't really strong enough to deal with him and led to him being de-registered even if DC brought him back into the squad at the back end of the season. It seemed the dressing room wasn't a good place to be in pre-DC either with others like Pope clearly acting up so not really an environment for him to be a part of. For what it's worth I never really saw the appeal of him as a player at Vale. Seemed to do a lot of step-overs etc that looked good but never led to anything worthwhile. Swindon clearly have a system far more suited to him than we did.

He's bound to score and try and incite the home fans on Saturday though. I think our strategy with him may well be to get someone like Smith to give him a reducer early and try and get him to retaliate and get an early bath.

I imagine part of the problem was we had a lot of experienced pro's in the team, lads like Legge, Scott Brown, Popey, Joyce, Worrall and players like Conlon and Gibbons who are massive pro's then you have someone like McKirdy in there who's clearly massively immature and a bit of a tool... can't imagine he was great for the dressing room and obviously there were various rumours last winter.

I remember Carlisle coming down VP the season before and he was just throwing himself over the floor rather than getting on with the game. The fact he's lasted a season wherever he has been and moved on probably says most you need to know. Carlisle fans didn't exactly love him, I think DC referred to him as a maverick and wanted a crack at getting it to work with him but after re-registering him he barely got a look in bar being played randomly at left wing back against Mansfield on the final day.

He's got the talent but just needs to grow up a bit otherwise he will drop out, I was surprised he got an EFL club in the summer, but if he can grow up a bit he has the ability to have a decent career.

 

[Huntsman94]

If we can win against Rochdale on Saturday then that’s a good point yesterday against one of the leagues form sides. In the end we gifted them their goal but we move on.

Forest Green look to be running away with it so two auto spots left to play for really!

 

[FGR Stroud]

We still have to play FGR twice so that is six points they aren’t going to get.

FGR have been extraordinarily fortunate in first half of the season with the fixture list.
They've not had many away games against other top of table teams.
But of course if FGR, with 9 points and massive GD ahead of 2nd place, do not lose against them in 2nd half of season they can be confident of a place in the play-offs if not auto promotion.

 

[Bottega Don]

Exeter are going to maul us.

They've already beaten us 4-0 once this season, can see a repeat of that

 

[MadJohn]

FGR have been extraordinarily fortunate in first half of the season with the fixture list.
They've not had many away games against other top of table teams.
But of course if FGR, with 9 points and massive GD ahead of 2nd place, do not lose against them in 2nd half of season they can be confident of a place in the play-offs if not auto promotion.
View attachment 16354

It's the old adage... "you can only beat what's in front of you"

You could equally argue that they've played most of the weaker sides away from home and still have the home game to come. As long as they continue to put away the strugglers with the ruthlessness they've shown so far, they'll be fine even if they lose a handful of the trickier games.

Last season Sutton were National League champions. Until they slipped up at rock-bottom Barnet on the last day of the season when they'd already won the league, they didn't lose a single game against a team outside the eventual top 9. Their record against the other eight members of the top nine was actually pretty ordinary. Six wins, three draws, seven defeats. But it didn't matter because of the avalanche of points they had accumulated against everyone else (W19 D6 L1)

 

[FGR Stroud]

It's the old adage... "you can only beat what's in front of you"

You could equally argue that they've played most of the weaker sides away from home and still have the home game to come. As long as they continue to put away the strugglers with the ruthlessness they've shown so far, they'll be fine even if they lose a handful of the trickier games.

Last season Sutton were National League champions. Until they slipped up at rock-bottom Barnet on the last day of the season when they'd already won the league, they didn't lose a single game against a team outside the eventual top 9. Their record against the other eight members of the top nine was actually pretty ordinary. Six wins, three draws, seven defeats. But it didn't matter because of the avalanche of points they had accumulated against everyone else (W19 D6 L1)

The next 6 games will be the telling ones for FGR: -
Northampton [a], Mansfield [h], Carlisle [h], Tranmere [a], Port Vale [a] & Newport [h].

Five of those opponents have ambitions and the capabilities to reach the play offs /auto promotion.

So Saturday night on 5th of February [in less than a month's time] will offer a clearer view on FGR’s promotional prospects.

 

[kieran_vale]

The next 6 games will be the telling ones for FGR: -
Northampton [a], Mansfield [h], Carlisle [h], Tranmere [a], Port Vale [a] & Newport [h].

Five of those opponents have ambitions and the capabilities to reach the play offs /auto promotion.

So Saturday night on 5th of February [in less than a month's time] will offer a clearer view on FGR’s promotional prospects.

Honestly I think it will be a mere formality for you. I'll put it like this I've stopped viewing you as a promotion rival and am more viewing if as you doing us a favour now if you can beat any of Northampton / Mansfield / Tranmere / Newport. To miss out now you'd have to go to relegation form for the rest of the season and if you keep hold of Cadden etc that is simply not going to happen.