Post by skally on Mar 14, 2006 20:06:07 GMT
Hello and welcome to Gay Meadow for this vital match against Leyton Orient. Six months on from our fantastic 1-0 victory at Brisbane Road and both sides find themselves in a healthy league position. Orient are 5th with a real chance of grabbing an automatic promotion spot and we sit in 13th place, 8 points from the play-offs but more importantly a comfortable 11 points above the drop-zone.
We now enter the month of March which traditionally is a time when one mid-table side in each league mounts an end of season surge for the top 6. Can it be us this year? Well, I would say the chances are slim but a chance is there nevertheless. With 11 matches remaining I would estimate that we would need to win about 8 of them to give ourselves a chance to grab a late play-off spot, which would seem to be a bit of an uphill struggle. GP is quite rightly far more concerned with ensuring our safety at the moment and reaching the magic 50 point mark. This is only two wins away however, so it would be great to achieve it quickly then have a real go at promotion. Fortune favours the brave!
I fear that our problems with consistency this season may ultimately cost us a top 6 league place. Just look at all the frustrating points we have dropped against the bottom sides. In the 8 games we have played so far against the bottom 5 teams we have failed to win a single one of them. On the other side of the coin we have only once lost a game to a team in the top 7 positions. Infuriating indeed but it’s also important to remember how inexperienced our team is. As well as having so many young players in our side, several of our first team regulars are still in their first season at the club. Sharp, Sorvel, McMenamin, Stallard, Herd, Hope and Burton are all newcomers so we must give the team time to gel together before we judge too harshly. If Liverpool or Man United had as many new faces in their line-up then Rafa and Sir Alex would be constantly reminding us of the fact after every poor result, so well done to GP for not doing the same. It’s easy to forget what a great achievement it is to be in this mid-table position, us football fans tend to get greedy! I personally cannot wait for next season. With a couple of new faces brought in this summer I think that we could see some pretty exciting stuff next season here at the Meadow.
I am very much looking forward to next week’s trip to Wycombe Wanderers. It will be a special one for me as it is the only League Two ground I have not yet visited. Next season it looks as though I could be making first time visits to places like Milton Keynes, Rotherham and Swindon as it looks likely that they will drop from League One, so lots to look forward to on the horizon!
Away trips have taken on a new level of excitement after our back-to-back trips up North to Carlisle and Darlington. Two brilliant, entertaining trips with 4 points won was a great reward to the fans that parted with a lot of money and gave up a lot of time to support the team. The night at Carlisle was particularly special. We were up against it from the very first minute against the top of the league side with an injury depleted team. When we went 1-0 down inside 2 minutes we all feared the worst but a fantastic team performance followed and in the end we were extremely unfortunate not to win the game. I’m sure we would have all taken a 2-2 draw before kick off though, lots of excitement, lots of drama, just the way football should be.
Mark and I spent our afternoon off wisely on Monday and ambled down the Meadow to watch our ‘star-studded’ reserve team take on Sheffield United reserves. It was a great opportunity to see new-boy Jamie McClen play alongside usual first teamers Jamie Tolley and Dave Edwards. Town won a lively game 4-1 and were much the better side throughout against a youthful opposition. Nice to see young striker Marco Adaggio on the scoresheet twice and with solid performances from the likes of Gav Cadwallader and Steven Leslie at the back it looks as though the future of our team is in good hands. The highlight of the game for me though was when I eventually worked out that the Sheffield United manager was Scott Sellars, Mark had earlier confused me by claiming it was Steve Sedgely! I don’t often make the effort to watch the reserves play but have to decided to more often now as I enjoyed the afternoon. If only Mark had remembered the season tickets it would’ve been free!
Hope you all enjoy today’s game. Let’s roar the lads on to a much needed 3 points. Special mention aswell for CT on the Wakeman end today, STFC’s very own good luck charm!
Keep the faith!
Skally
www.themightyshrew.co.uk
We now enter the month of March which traditionally is a time when one mid-table side in each league mounts an end of season surge for the top 6. Can it be us this year? Well, I would say the chances are slim but a chance is there nevertheless. With 11 matches remaining I would estimate that we would need to win about 8 of them to give ourselves a chance to grab a late play-off spot, which would seem to be a bit of an uphill struggle. GP is quite rightly far more concerned with ensuring our safety at the moment and reaching the magic 50 point mark. This is only two wins away however, so it would be great to achieve it quickly then have a real go at promotion. Fortune favours the brave!
I fear that our problems with consistency this season may ultimately cost us a top 6 league place. Just look at all the frustrating points we have dropped against the bottom sides. In the 8 games we have played so far against the bottom 5 teams we have failed to win a single one of them. On the other side of the coin we have only once lost a game to a team in the top 7 positions. Infuriating indeed but it’s also important to remember how inexperienced our team is. As well as having so many young players in our side, several of our first team regulars are still in their first season at the club. Sharp, Sorvel, McMenamin, Stallard, Herd, Hope and Burton are all newcomers so we must give the team time to gel together before we judge too harshly. If Liverpool or Man United had as many new faces in their line-up then Rafa and Sir Alex would be constantly reminding us of the fact after every poor result, so well done to GP for not doing the same. It’s easy to forget what a great achievement it is to be in this mid-table position, us football fans tend to get greedy! I personally cannot wait for next season. With a couple of new faces brought in this summer I think that we could see some pretty exciting stuff next season here at the Meadow.
I am very much looking forward to next week’s trip to Wycombe Wanderers. It will be a special one for me as it is the only League Two ground I have not yet visited. Next season it looks as though I could be making first time visits to places like Milton Keynes, Rotherham and Swindon as it looks likely that they will drop from League One, so lots to look forward to on the horizon!
Away trips have taken on a new level of excitement after our back-to-back trips up North to Carlisle and Darlington. Two brilliant, entertaining trips with 4 points won was a great reward to the fans that parted with a lot of money and gave up a lot of time to support the team. The night at Carlisle was particularly special. We were up against it from the very first minute against the top of the league side with an injury depleted team. When we went 1-0 down inside 2 minutes we all feared the worst but a fantastic team performance followed and in the end we were extremely unfortunate not to win the game. I’m sure we would have all taken a 2-2 draw before kick off though, lots of excitement, lots of drama, just the way football should be.
Mark and I spent our afternoon off wisely on Monday and ambled down the Meadow to watch our ‘star-studded’ reserve team take on Sheffield United reserves. It was a great opportunity to see new-boy Jamie McClen play alongside usual first teamers Jamie Tolley and Dave Edwards. Town won a lively game 4-1 and were much the better side throughout against a youthful opposition. Nice to see young striker Marco Adaggio on the scoresheet twice and with solid performances from the likes of Gav Cadwallader and Steven Leslie at the back it looks as though the future of our team is in good hands. The highlight of the game for me though was when I eventually worked out that the Sheffield United manager was Scott Sellars, Mark had earlier confused me by claiming it was Steve Sedgely! I don’t often make the effort to watch the reserves play but have to decided to more often now as I enjoyed the afternoon. If only Mark had remembered the season tickets it would’ve been free!
Hope you all enjoy today’s game. Let’s roar the lads on to a much needed 3 points. Special mention aswell for CT on the Wakeman end today, STFC’s very own good luck charm!
Keep the faith!
Skally
www.themightyshrew.co.uk
