Budget Cuts.

Following two disappointing away defeats at Dover & Staines plus two postponements which have clogged up the fixtures schedule the curtain has come down on the play offs and we now aim towards the London Senior Cup to salvage some pride.    

Dover saw Joe Welch sent off and he will face a one game ban for this a week on Saturday when we travel to Weston Super Mare. Staines saw us capitulate after going in front early on and missing a penalty, we certainly need to get a good performance under our belts this weekend to arrest the decline.  

The rumours going round of budget cuts and possible player departures have turned out to be true, Ali Fuseini the highest profile departure so far. There is still an extensive injury list too and we had to name a very young bench for Tuesday’s game with more Academy lads being signed on forms this week. The season could be coming to a very disappointing end after some notable achievements in the cups at the end of 2012. We’ve flirted with relegation and the play offs in recent times, but now neither look a possibility to again I hope MG does the right thing by the fans and fields the strongest team available for the Wingate & Finchley semi final on 9^th April.

Ahead of that we host strugglers Eastbourne at home on Saturday and then travel to AFC Hornchurch on Easter Monday, what kind of fight we put up against sides desperate for points remains to be seen, but to use a seasonal term out eggs all appear to be left in one basket as far as 2012/13 is concerned.           

Silverware or Fools Gold?

After a stylish 4-0 win over Truro we consolidated our ninth place in the league, there has been talk of the play offs, but really this is fools gold given the small squad we have, the injury list and the fact we are seven points off the last place.

On Tuesday Mark Goldberg took the gamble of playing a young reserve side in the London Senior Cup Quarter Final, this time the gamble paid off with a 2-0 win over Tooting with some good displays from reserve and academy players. We now travel to Wingate & Finchley in the semi’s on 9^th April, only a week before the final. The advantage of this is that we will know where we are in the league by then and hopefully put a strong enough team out to get into the final where if successful we would face either Cray, Dulwich, Hanwell or Kingstonian. It’s been six years since we lifted a trophy and the fans deserve a good night out, although sadly the supporters seem to be very low on MG’s priority list.

On Saturday we travel to fifth placed Boreham Wood and then to Dover on Tuesday, a couple of wins would keep the play off talk alive for a few more days, but with only one recognised centre back fit a couple of points would be a good result against two strong sides.     

Time to Start Another Run

After another impressive win on Saturday over an in form Dorchester we moved up to ninth place and the relegation fears of a month ago were lifted, sadly we couldn’t make it six games unbeaten on Tuesday as we lost away at Sutton 4-3. With Moses Swaibu & Liam Harwood injured out teenage centre backs were unable to cope with the power of Craig Dundass and Sutton’s set piece delivery. There was a 15minute flicker of hope when we came back from 2-0 down to 3-2 up, but then again the home side showed they wanted it more and could have won by more in the end, eventually scoring the winner in the 95^th minute.

Saturday sees Truro City come to Hayes Lane, the Cornish side look certain for relegation after financial problems and a points deduction, but they have not rolled over for anyone this season. With Elliott Buchanan scoring off the bench in the last two games it would be good to see him given a start alongside Louie Theophanous and us taking a more attacking approach.

Following that Tooting & Mitcham Utd rock up for a London Senior Cup Quarter Final on Tuesday, arguably the most important game we have left this season given it’s the only thing we can still win and a mid table finish now looks assured. The fans deserve a cup final to end an interesting season on a high, let’s hope MG sees it the same way.

Response

Two consecutive wins over Essex opposition has lifted the relegation fear for now and shown a real spirit in the squad again. The 3-2 win at Billericay came via an injury time penalty from Danny Waldren, but we’d played well against a very strong direct team for the whole game against a side that had beaten us well at our place not so long ago. Then came a very satisfying 2-0 home victory over perennial chokers Chelmsford who were surprisingly poor at the back given the budget and league position.

Since MG criticised the fans in the paper after the draw with Boreham Wood we’ve gone another three games unbeaten, Mike Jones inclusion has really helped as has having a stable line up, formation and tactics for the first time this season. If we can keep this squad together and stay injury free hopefully we can aim for that highest ever league finish and possibly have a shot at the London Senior Cup. First things first though we have in-form Dorchester at HL on Saturday and then a local derby at Sutton on Tuesday if we can come out of those unbeaten then we’ll be doing ok.

MG has said in an interview that there was lots more to come from this team he’d built from scratch and that fans expectations were high because they could see the quality he’d brought in. Let’s hope he is right…           

Shouldering The Blame

So here we are again, two points picked up from the last two games and three points off the drop, but once again the manager has scored a PR own goal by criticising the fans in the News Shopper. Apparently we have had a good season given the two cup runs and we all think we can do better, but he failed to mention the league position or the fact we have only won four home games all season in the league and eight in the last calendar year. A few grumbles from the stand as the players walked off on Saturday and MG has seen fit to go to the press to voice his frustration at some understandable discontent from a section of supporters, just as he did last January when there was some anger voiced after 15 game of a 17 game winless streak.

The fall out from his comments has seen a number of fans refusing to attend games, including one who has been going since 1978 and many others refusing to back the manager, but still support the team.  

Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Boreham Wood saw us play ten men for 30minutes, but still go behind and only grab a point thanks to a late Mike Jones strike. Then on Tuesday we played much better at Hayes & Yeading’s rented ground, but failed to take our chances drawing 1-1 again, with the ‘home’ side scoring from one of only two efforts on target all game. Sadly the improvement in play failed to paper over obvious discontent in the camp with one dropped player refusing to take his place on the bench and sulking in the bar all game. Mike Jones’ performance was a real bright point, his commitment and effort in an unfamiliar position lifted the side and he linked up well with PJD & Louie.

Saturday sees up travel to third bottom Billericay before we then host perennial under achievers Chelmsford on Tuesday, a couple more points from these two games should keep the wolf from the door, but it won’t heal the rift between the manager and the fans.                     

Back in The Mud

Another poor home performance losing 2-1 to Basingstoke saw us slip further down the table and then with the game at Staines postponed results elsewhere went against with us now only one point off the relegation zone in sixteenth.

Mark Goldberg has brought in another midfielder in Ishmael Welsh from Chelmsford obviously hoping that he can rediscover his form that saw him once play in the football league and help give us more attacking edge down the left with Max Noble now suspended and Albert Jarrett still injured long term if returning at all.

Next up is Boreham Wood at Hayes Lane on Saturday before a trip to Hayes & Yeading’s temporary home in Woking on Tuesday, three or four points from these games would be a much needed tonic, but most importantly a decent home display to keep the increasingly restless fans onside.

For all but the last 20minutes on Saturday Bromley were very poor, the squad appears to be very strong on paper and should be capable of reaching the play offs, but something is obviously not right and needs to be sorted quick.            

Looking Over Our Shoulder Again

After two league defeats and a Kent Cup exit we now find ourselves reassessing the season once again. A disappointing home defeat to Weston followed by a courageous, but fruitless performance at Salisbury sees us ten points off the play offs and only three off relegation. With third bottom Basingstoke visiting on Saturday it’s important that MG can get his side motivated for a home league match, something which often seems to be lacking given we have only won four Conference South games at home this season so far. Surely a key factor in the crowds at Hayes Lane dropping to under 350, which is the real hardcore support, in January.     

The Kent Cup exit, 5-1 after extra time at Tonbridge, is probably best forgotten about, but new signing Max Noble will now face a ban after a straight red just before the end of normal time. Hopefully MG will see fit to put a full strength team out for the London Senior Cup Quarter Final game at home to Tooting in March as this looks to be the only chance we have of finishing the season on a high note.

Before that we must try and get some league points on the board, especially at home if we want to bring the fans back in numbers.