It is of course possible to be critical of the team/style of play and be over the moon when we get the 91st minute winner.
A number of people I was sitting with and spoke to in the 48 hours after the game all said the same thing that the game , especially in the first half, felt like it was either a training session or a preseason friendly such was the pedestrian pace and the lack of urgency by our team particularly when it came to taking set pieces and throw ins.
That’s not to say that this wasn’t all part of the master plan but the frustration the perceived lack of urgency was understandable. So there were some cries of “get on with it “frankly I would’ve been staggered if there weren’t. We pay our money we are entitled to have our say. Yes, we are still in a great position in the league, but the frustration stems from the fact that we want to stay there
I never boo our team and from my seat in the middle of the FA stand I think I only heard one or two boos at the end of the first half. They were brief and half hearted.
Of course we all cheered as one when the goal went in the relief was almost touchable
Speaking personally of course I want us to get promoted and I believe everybody in the crowd wants it as well. To say that some people were disappointed that we won the game and it spoiled there afternoon is frankly ridiculous.
That is not to say that I still have misgivings about what has happened in the club over the last few months.
Losing an absolute legend who has taken us to the top of the league in very odd circumstances and of course signing two players for over 1 million quid who don’t even get on the bench would make anybody more than a little concerned Hopefully we will look back in 12 months time and realise it was just a rather awkward transitional period.
I was in the upper tier of the stand saturday, I am usually in the terrace. I agree with those posters who thought the crowd were generally very supportive. I thought the half time boos were mainly at the officials, the only time in the second half was when Norris ignored Leahy and then cleared to their keeper. I also thought we played out from the back a lot less than recently, a good balance between playing out and clearing long. The main frustration is the lack of finishing off chances, not the creation of chances themselves. Since his injury, Kone’s has seemed less sharp, which has contributed tto our lag of goals.
I am now much more positive of us getting the second in the league spot.
I have spent the last two days, (on and off), reading every post on here. I really can’t believe the detail into which some posters go. Football is an emotional sport, as such one can express their delight at scoring a goal for example or alternatively the disappointment at a mistake that leads to a goal. Nobody wants to see the latter but it happens.
I personally never boo or criticise the players, simply encourage, it really doesn’t do the player or team any favours to moan like an old fishwife. There is a chap who constantly screams “forwards” every time one of our defenders receives the ball, clearly he doesn’t understand the game in that keeping possession and making their forwards work is all part of it. I do though share the frustrations of many in that it shouldn’t be just keeping the ball for the sake of it. Maybe we could vary it a bit. I noticed that Kone and Udoh made the odd run in behind their defence but rarely did a defender take the option of pumping the ball into the channel. Surely it keeps the defenders guessing and would worry them, “will he go long or will it be a sideways pass”. We seem to have given up on playing through the middle for some reason which to me was what made the football so exciting to watch in the first few months.
I have to confess that I was so bored by the fare on offer Saturday that I left early and missed the goal, but I have been so miffed at the servings on offer the last few games, I didn’t care. My first reaction was, “oh well, I will see it on the highlights later”. Listening to many fans on Saturday, I have to confess that I agree with many in that I hope we don’t go up as we will get murdered should we carry on as we are and I have had a season ticket for 30 years plus and seriously considering if I should carry on, it is no longer “entertainment”.
As for “chew gate”, words almost fail me, I really don’t care. What I do care about is how I don’t really know when we are next at home, it has become a chore to attend, especially as I can with every match on Sky sports+.
The irony is that if fans stay home because the product on the pitch bores them, there would be angst over why attendance is so low (there already is, to be fair). You can’t really have it both ways - if the product is dull, people can’t be expected to spend a fair chunk attending each game AND act like a seventeen year old American cheerleader at a pep rally for ninety minutes.
Absolutely agree. I feel it has become such a borefest that I went with my wife and son and two of us left early and went to the allotment and I hate that more. 
It would be interesting to read the players tweets if everybody cheers wildly for 80 minutes during the next game then walks out if it’s still 0-0 with ten to go.
As per the Not The Top 20 podcast today - since the start of March, Wycombe have the second highest “xG for”, and the lowest (best) “xG against” rating in League 1.
I wonder what Mr xG himself would make of that?
All I know is I’ve been going to watch Wycombe for the best part of 40 years now and when that goal went in on Saturday it felt every bit as exhilarating as it always has done and yes, the 90 minutes that proceeded it and indeed the Shrewsbury and Reading before that contributed to that feeling
I’ve always said that being a football fan is far more about how it makes you feel than anything else. It’s putting us through the entire range of emotions this season. What else can do that?
Being a football fan is one of the best things there is
We’ve got 81 points with 12 more to play for. We’ve hardly dropped out of the top 3 since late September. It’s been a testing, tumultuous campaign for sure, but it’s sad that so many seem unable to enjoy what are indisputably some of the best times in the history of our great club.
Apparently 858 tickets snapped up for Orient (A) after the first day of general sale.
Obviously this doesn’t mean that we won’t sell out in the end, but I thought that demand would be higher, even this early - perhaps people are just waiting for the outcome of the Easter weekend games to see whether this is set to be a crunch game in the autos battle, or whether it’s truly out of our hands by then?
Even if we are play-off bound though, you’d think people would want to back the team to go into the play-offs with max momentum.
Anyway - this isn’t supposed to be some sort of soapbox post, Orient is my easiest of any league ground to get to so it’s a no-brainer for me, not having a pop at anyone who picks and chooses their games.
https://x.com/wwfcofficial/status/1911858243116388383
Half-time whistle blows just after the 2:00 minute mark in this video. Maybe only half-hearted applause as would be expected whilst still 0-0 in a game we needed to win, but certainly no loud chorus of boos like some people seem to be making out.
I must admit that i was screaming my head of shouting pass it to Leahy at the time and i also groaned when he kicked it straight to their keeper after hanging on to the ball for what seemed an eternity. But i also spent most of the game joining in with the clapping and singing. I also went berserk when we scored. Thinking about it later i thought that maybe Norris didn’t pass to Leahy as he was out of position as in the right back position and he might have thought that it was a bit risky, after all it’s his job to stop the opposition scoring and that would make sense. I would rather win every game 1-0 till the end off the season than lose every game 5-4. At this stage off the season it’s 3 points that matter.
If we lose both Easter games and Wrexham win both theirs, our match at Orient is largely meaningless. But if we win both our Easter games and Wrexham only get one point, we will win promotion at Orient! That’s the margins so it doesn’t surprise me that people are waiting before committing.
I personally have got tickets for Orient but not sure over other commitments yet.
The advent of watching from Vipienne/Sky Sports + and the delights of the Adams Park Wi-Fi make the in-game threads a real-time journal of people’s emotions - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Stuff gets said, some sticks, some doesn’t, and then we all move on. That’s football fandom.
But even over an extended period, we’ve always flipped and flopped about players and managers.
Gorman - “best football I’ve ever seen!” / “he’s too nice, lacks the cutting edge needed”.
Lambert - “a great young coach” / “can only do cup runs, can’t stick it over the course of a season”
Taylor - “pragmatism ftw!” / “worst promotion ever!”
Waddock - I can’t really remember many opinions of his tenure tbh.
Ainsworth - “it ain’t pretty but it’s effective, the big boys hate us, legend” / “hoofball rubbish, I can’t keep watching this”.
Bloomfield - “he’s destroyed all of GA’s hard work and legacy” / I’m so glad we gave him time, October-November 2024 was the best period of my life”.
A good old dose of revisionism and balance always evens things out over time.
Even I’M going to Orient! Sort it out, UK residents!
Great post, though to be fair I think things are often two sides of the same coin. In the midst of everyone loving GA, I still remember awful games where everyone was pretty much in agreement, 0-0 at home to Birmingham in the Champo being the obvious one. There is always nuance, because we are dealing with humans. Bloomfield is one where it was a character arc from unproven and (apparently) flailing to proven and incredible.
I think a key is being able to discern the difference in these two sentences and accept that many fans will hold both views at the same time:
- I don’t enjoy this style of play/this particular game is dull.
- I still enjoy and celebrate us scoring/winning, and I very much want us to get promoted.
On a similar note, the following two can be true too:
- I have not warmed to Doddsball yet.
- I fully support him, acknowledge his pretty decent results, and can see him doing even better given time.
I think too many people think that if you hold either of the #1s as an opinion, you can’t possibly also hold to #2.
My easiest game to get to also. I think you’re right, people will see how the Easter games go.
Going back to this game, had it all planned out for months, was going to Romford for some food and pre-match drinks and a couple of pubs and a hop on the Lizzy Line to Stratford. Now it’s moved to 1230 those plans are rather scuppered!
I’d prefer it if the team maximised their chances of winning such an important game. To me, that doesn’t involve camping themselves in their own half for the first half (after the first few Fred minutes). Yes, this time, it worked but it won’t always!
Forest playing Man City at Wembley that weekend…bound to cut our crowds 