Yesterday

[Eldonavenue]

As you can see from my posting history I am a relatively rare visitor here. But I have seen many (not all) of the games this season, and having read some of the comments on yesterday thought I would post.

Firstly, I thought Bradford deserved to win. I also thought they were a good side. Not a great one in terms of flowing football, but they did the basics very well, were solid at the back, and had a good midfield- their no 8 was the best player on the pitch by a mile- his run back to tackle Vassilev showed the type of box to box midfielder that we probably lack. That is the type of team that can get out of this division- think Accrington a few years back. They are on a terrific run and played with a fair bit of confidence. They were one of the better sides we have played on that showing- but when I saw the game at Bradford they looked one of the worst. They have also had the money to bring in some experienced players in the window- Canavan, Cook and Rowe would not come cheap (by contrast we have brought in three youngsters). Sometimes you need to give credit to the opposition. Yes we weren’t great, but they didn’t allow us to be- at 2-0 they managed the game very well, just like we did at Harrogate and Walsall (and perhaps in some of the games I haven’t seen too).

Secondly, over a season, we are going to get the odd performance like yesterday. Under Duff in the last two seasons we have had very few of these to be fair. We were unbeaten in eight- these runs eventually end- look at Brentford, unbeaten for 20 odd games and now three defeats. I didn’t think we were shocking, and on another day the game is very different if Wright shoots in at the start of the second half to make it 1-1 or May scores when put through at 0-2. We are going to lose games, like everyone else- what makes it frustrating of course is that the league is there for the taking, and after those two away wins you want to capitalise on this. But home advantage isn’t what it is with no fans, and the reality is that if in the next 18 games we win two and lose one every time, we will be promoted. I would rather take the pain of six defeats rather than draw every time, even if it doesn’t help me enjoy the weekend. We were excellent at Walsall and resilient at Harrogate, the wheels haven’t come off after one bad performance

Thirdly, we are unlucky with injuries - to key players. Of our side arguably the key players are the three central defenders, Hussey and Sercombe. Perhaps May too. We miss Sercombe and we will miss Boyle too. And it does not help that with six midfielders (which should be plenty) we have three out- with only Sercombe coming back soon for what is a critical run of Sat-Tues-Sat with loads of games to be played. I don’t think you can complain about a squad of 2 senior goalkeepers, 8 defenders (accept Bowry hasn’t played) 6 midfielders and 6 strikers plus some youngsters like Horton and Chamberlain. Yes Bradford and Bolton (both of whom are on great runs) can afford to have bigger squads, but we can’t. I want us to go up, and this really is the chance with the league being so open (I am biased but believe we are the best footballing side in the league) but don’t want to bankrupt the club.

Fourthly, by the nature of the club we are, we will get in young players. They will make mistakes (as will senior players). So the first goal yesterday- could Griffiths have done better- probably, should Freestone have been tighter, probably, should Wright have scored at 0-1, probably. But people, just like all of us make mistakes. Now is the time to rally round and get behind the team. It will be a very hard six weeks with all the injuries, and the ask must be to stay in contention until we get some of those players back, and the youngsters get more experience. But we have as good a chance as anyone. It is human nature to look to blame others when things go wrong- and some of the stuff I see (not just about CTFC) on social media is shocking. We are supposed to be ‘supporters’. Now is the time to rally round, accept that we are in a great position, with a terrific manager and some good players and see where it takes us.

To be honest I could not have been as considered last night because I was frustrated- but in the morning things often look different. This could still be our year- and we would all have taken where we are at the start of the season.

[vickeryc]

Good, balanced, post. Fully agree.

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

A rare and well expressed post. I think all fans should, and hopefully would agree. A rallying call to us all!

[Nesty]

good post, I didnt see the game but listening to the commentary it summed it up well

[pas]

Excellent post. Couldn't agree more.

[PittvillePundit]

Well said. Some seem to forget L2 is highly competitive (v few have won +50% of games) and even the top teams will lose plenty by the end of the season.

[Eldonavenue]

After yesterday’s outstanding performance and result against the odds, it reinforces the fact that ‘win two , lose one’ will get us promotion. That does unfortunately mean the pain of losing some- but at the risk of stating the obvious it is better to have won one , lost one of our last two games than two draws- all the better that the win was against one of our key rivals. I cannot remember (perhaps NL season) but didn’t someone used to post a ‘wins required thread that was updated regularly- that seemed to be a great idea.
Also to the person who posted put money on Bolton- that looks a really good shout- they are really gelling.

[Shade]

After yesterday’s outstanding performance and result against the odds, it reinforces the fact that ‘win two , lose one’ will get us promotion. That does unfortunately mean the pain of losing some- but at the risk of stating the obvious it is better to have won one , lost one of our last two games than two draws- all the better that the win was against one of our key rivals. I cannot remember (perhaps NL season) but didn’t someone used to post a ‘wins required thread that was updated regularly- that seemed to be a great idea.
Also to the person who posted put money on Bolton- that looks a really good shout- they are really gelling.

The "wins required" thread, otherwise known as RCS's countdown, is just a few threads down from this one (at the time of posting) and has been around every season since the promotion season, I believe. Also, thanks. I put a tenner on Bolton after I mentioned it. £150 return if they do it.

[Eldonavenue]

Got it- thanks, sorry don’t read every thread. And will take any other good tips- that would be a good return and an underpriced bet. Great odds.