Match Day Thread : Stevenage

Match Day
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I’m not surprised the players are frustrated / defensive about any jeering because I’m sure they are trying their best and the effort is there and they are following a game plan that their manager is giving them which is their professional job to do, and we have a fantastic group of professionals in that dressing room.

However I don’t believe any of our attacking players enjoy playing to the tactics we now employ - arguably our midfielders too - based on their body language. If Kone is allowed to throw his toys out of the pram in frustration, then so can the fans.

The Norris thing was not just about today, the low tempo to our play often starting with the ball at his feet has been pissing lots of people off for weeks and over time the groans are building up and getting louder which is natural. Personally I don’t blame Norris or the players at all, I think it’s down to the plans they are being asked to follow.

Whilst I do totally get the point to have the fans remaining positive, the club and players need to be very careful with communication via posts on social media in particular or the atmosphere could nosedive quickly.

It’s a very difficult watch and has been since Dodds took over and that’s the club’s problem to find a balance to be successful on the pitch and to entertain the paying public. If they can’t then the paying public will vote with their wallets and feet which appears to be happening to some degree.

I’d say we’ve thoroughly bossed just 2 matches since MB’s final game against Portsmouth, and these were against awful Burton and Shrewsbury teams.

Personally I fall into the category at this point in life of picking and choosing which games to attend based on finances, and as much as I deep down adore the club I am in absolutely no rush at all to fork out the money required to pay for me and my 2 kids to attend, not even just myself if I’m honest. I’ve been to lots of games on free tickets which I’ve been extremely grateful to friends for, but have found myself leaving before full time quite often which I’ve never previously done.

I’m really not taking to Dodds I’m afraid. Whilst he comes across very well in interviews as he is a very likeable person, his team is playing uninspiring and boring football and his open mouthed actions when chewing his gum is utterly disgusting. There is no other way of putting it about this bad habit and someone at the club needs to tell him.

We hear nothing from the owner, nor the interim chairman, our 20 year legend leaves and immediately talks of feeling ‘wanted’, we sign a load of players when managerless and have the Danish Mystery to try and solve without word from the club, have no idea what’s happening at Harlington and Marlow Road. Communication, in whatever it’s form, needs to go both ways.

If this team ends up in playoffs and a Wembley final, I’d wager that the attendances in the Wycombe stands will be much lower than our most recent play off semi final and final appearances.

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I think we’re in danger of being a bit misty eyed about WWFC’s recent relationship with ‘entertaining’ football. It didn’t last long and it’s being reminisced like a teenage summer holiday romance.

In 25 years of watching the Blues, only Gorman’s side has been a consistently attractive watch. Others were more successful but characterised by their effectiveness and collective.

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Exactly. We played highly attacking football for about 3 months at the start of the season. That was at a time when other teams were still coming together and finding their rhythm.

How many teams at any level of English football play high octane attacking football over an entire season? Maybe Liverpool and Man City?

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None of our other teams had the level of resources this outfit has, and many have stated this is the best squad we’ve ever had.

Plenty of Ainsworth and O’Neill teams were not great on the eye, but that final season when Mehmeti was on fire and Wing with Scowen under Ainsworth was excellent and a lot more enjoyable to watch.

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Controversial opinion, but I think much of our play in recent games has been entertaining and incisive. We just haven’t got the goals to show for it, which is what’s leading to the frustration and sense of boredom

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Think it was after the Lincoln home game that Dodds said the problem with our first half performance was a lack of tempo. Not the formation or the tactics. The frustrating thing for me yesterday was the general lack of urgency. For much of the 90 mins it didnt feel like a must win game. For example when Stevenage attacks broke down we seemed to allow them time to get back into their defensive shape. Surely where the opposition is set up to stifle us we should be looking to break quickly to make the most of such situations. Another gripe - the number of throw-ins where we gave the ball away. Seemed to be making it up as we went along rather than having any particular plan (like Ainsworth’s throw it down the line to Bayo and feed off the scraps).

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Exactly this. We were far to ponderous in our build up 1st half. Noticeable how that changed in the 2nd half, certainly the early stages. It’s quite clear Dodds doesn’t want us to play slowly, he’s stated that often enough in post match interviews. Not sure if its confidence, or it might be a bit if fatigue. Might have to get used to us being solid and playing in spells for the remaining games.

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Our reluctance (or inability) to try and get wide and beyond the edge of the box, if not to the by line, before getting a cross in is resulting in teams packing the middle of the box and making any chances we do have highly contested. This means Kone has a crowd of people around him rather than being able to use his movement and power to get past people.

If you want to get early crosses into a box, that’s fine but you need a Vokes/bayo on the pitch that can impose themselves on players and hold the ball up linking the play. I don’t think that’s Kone/udohs strength.

That’s where my frustration was/is from yesterday for me.
Fred had their left back on toast in his first 2 attacks and then seemed to stop doing it.
Leahy tried over and over again to slip Udoh in with a quicker long ball which was easily cut out most of the game.

One of the few times we got the ball to the byline and cross we get a goal.

There were multiple opportunities for a little bit quicker play and thinking would have advanced us up the pitch but we went with the “retain control/possession” option and passed backwards. Thats where I felt a lot of the frustration around me was from - and this did culminate in the awful pass by Norris being jeered/boo’d/feelings known.

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Either the players are nervous and it’s starting to get to them or they’re creating a ‘us against the world’ fighting spirit which is probably unique in using their own fans as the baddies.

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Wrexham and Charlton have got very tough games next, against Rovers and Northampton respectively; both fighting for survival. I think, ironically, we may play Bolton at a good time.

And then of course,Wrexham still have to play Charlton after we play them.

One game at a time

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I do find the reaction to a few people getting frustrated and the players seem to be reacting that the WHOLE crowd was booing and jeering them a bit interesting.

There’s a very interesting interview by Robin Van Persie talking about how is son was blaming everyone else for the teams poor performance rather than asking “what could I have done better”.
His view was that looking outward and blaming others rather than looking at your own performance was the attitude of a loser.

I get the players don’t like boos or jeers. And maybe the majority of it was unwarranted. But it certainly wasn’t the entire crowd booing half time or full time.

The coach himself publicly said we have played with the handbrake on. We, as fans don’t have the luxury of giving press interviews and in a moment of frustration a boo or a “for fucks sake” or “get it forward/stop going backwards” is going to come out.

There’s also something to be said of them only listening to the echo chamber of themselves/the manager saying there are doing great.

Sometime they/anyone, needs an outside voice telling them they can and should be doing that job better. That they aren’t performing at the level we know they are capable of.

And other than forums the only chance we have of that is vocally at a game.

So I respect the “you shouldn’t boo” people but I suggest you’re wrong. People boo or jeer because they want us to do better. And they think the players can do better.

The alternative is encouraging mediocracy

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The amount of whinging from supporters of a side one point off automatic promotion is absolutely staggering

Yesterday was every bit as tense as you’d expect when the stakes are this high. And the way it ended made it a brilliant day.

The greatest game of football I have ever seen is the Wimbledon v Wycombe FA Cup replay. If people had been watching that on TV and sharing their every thought they’d have been saying what a shit game it was.

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Remember the Orient game last season when Matt Bloomfield was verbally abused by some fans despite being a club legend? Now a newcomer called Mike Dodds is getting criticism despite a record of W6 D4 L3 and you think the club should speak to him about his gum chewing technique! Some people need to look at the bigger picture. There are seven clubs below us who have played in the Premier League and I’m sure the majority of their fans would be delighted to be in our position even if it meant putting up with boring games and a manager who doesn’t chew gum properly.

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I just don’t understand that post, especially from the captain. He’s praising one moment of good play from Norris and to be fair it was a great save which the crowd did pick up on, so surely we also have the right to be frustrated by an absolutely embarrassing attempt of a long ball after totally ignoring Leahy right in front of the family stand and then holding the ball for ages to achieve nothing. Jack himself is lucky he doesn’t get more stick because he’s a liability on the ball in this system but of course is still good off it and for leadership reasons. Not being able to take any criticism for genuinely dire moments is a weak, loser mentality as you should be saying the same things to yourself which we’re vocalising as people who have paid money to see it. The crowd was arguably a net positive today and the gasroom certainly seems more open to Dodds after we’ve picked up 13/18 points since the Wrexham loss. I guess being told something you did (remember they’re someone who plays football basically every day and is paid to do it) wasn’t good enough once or twice far outweighs every time we applaud or praise from the stands…

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I’m not overly convinced by Dodds but football is about results.

His PPG of 1.69 is only fractionally below the 1.74 magic number of the 2019-20 promotion-winning season.

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I think this post is overly harsh but there was very little negativity in the crowd yesterday, quite the opposite, so somewhat baffled by focus on this.

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In a lot of recent games it is the lack of urgency when drawing the match that has been frustrating.
Goal kicks and throw ins we are walking to get the ball then delaying up to the 80th minute then after that we seem to get a move on.
I understand being patient and keeping to our “beliefs” which you can do whilst also showing some urgency.
For me it is the lack of energy to get the ball back in play that is frustrating a lot of people, me included, in the crowd.
Norris getting upset with a ball boy for not getting a ball when Norris was much closer to the ball than the ball boy sort of sums it up to me.
By all means slow things down once we are ahead but until that point let’s look like we want to get on with it.
All the best teams down the years have looked to suffocate the opposition and piling the pressure on until they take a lead. I’d like to see us do the same.

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We do seem to be playing Bolton at just the right time, Morley looks like he is out for the season and they have some other major injury worries ahead of Friday. If they lose on Friday and Reading win then Boltons season is all but over, especially with such a poor GD.

I fully suspect Wrexham to win and easily, Charlton’s game is more difficult and Stockport go away to Posh who have nothing to play for and could be on the beach after a possible Trophy triumph.

Bloody love April’s games when you have something to play for.

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I agree, and then the club post a picture of Will Norris saying hes only conceded 4 in open play…yes that is true, but 50% of those 4 goals he basically threw in his own net!!! (Birmingham and Rotherham)

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You suspect Wrexham will beat Rovers, who have been dreadful lately. But maybe dropping into the bottom four may spur Rovers on?