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Re:OGAT:Difficult Second Season? Six and out?
- Thread starter pafcprogs
- Start date
No, not the latest Sam Jones hashtag, but Derek takes his four on the spin resurgent Pilgrims to the only League ground named in his honour. Indeed Adams is always given. rousing welcome by the Chairboy faithful, and after a warm throat shake by aged, does my hair look greasy in this leather jacket, rock star cum manager Gareth Ainsworth, and a jovial chat about where their respective Christmas cards to each other ended up, then hostilities will commence.
Adams Park is ground Argyle have done well at over the years, and although honours against Whycome are exactly even with nine wins , nine draws and none defeats in total, (c GOS...lifesavers), DA has yet to taste defeat at his namesake ground. The ground itself is at the end of footballs longest cul de sac, ( NB Cul from the word Cull...organised slaughter, usually of innocents, and de sac, derived from pertaining to the holding of testicles, Scottish bawbags ) with driving out after the game taking even longer than the time that should have been added on for time wasting by the well drilled ne'er do wells in blue quarters. Indeed you could walk round Ade Akinfenwa quicker than you can exit Adams Park.
Whycome themselves having started the season in fair form ( and until recently remarkably good at home, presumably as exhaustion sets in for the travelling players and officials) have had a four match run of defeats before winning their last two....coming from 2-0 down v Doncaster.....however DA seems to have =switched things around . His focus seems to have already moved onto pre season where we will apparently be playing two matches at Home Park, possibly against people who have actually played football before. More controversial is the little known plan to improve early season results by running out to January buy Pilot instead of Semper Fi. That will return, ironically in January.
The recent resurgence has also led to a resumption of the look at my odds and marvel at how the bookmakers queue to give me money threads on past. Whilst it is true, there are money making bets out there Whycome are still evens to win whereas we are odds against. Other value bets for Saturday exist at the specialist odds makers. Notable ones are listed below for those who wish to take a gamble
1-4 Ruben Lameiras to be the first player fouled
1-3 All eleven player in the Whycome team to have fouled Lameiras by half time
1-2 Ruben Lamerias to be yellow carded for breaking a Whycome players shin guard with his forehead
Evens Akinfenwa to be reclaimed from pitch rolling duties at the Windies Test Match to come on if Argyle are winning with twenty minutes to go ( MB Twenty minutes to go is defined by WW as 85 minutes played plus stoppage time for time easting)
2-1 Argyle to introduce Ruben Lameiras face masks to confuse the Whycome players.
Whycome have also gone against previous precedent and signed a footballer, Luke Bolton from Manchester City. I wonder how Pep will feel when he reports back with a neck injury from gazing into the skies wondering if the ball will ever come down to him.
Of course, as we will deliver one of the larger away followings to Adams Park, there is the risk of crowd trouble. In this case however it is likely the Whycome faithful rebelling against the Fan Trust Board, who controversially have recommended the approach of two Americans who recently loaned the club 500K secured against the ground ( possibly in contravention of the Whycome trust rules) and in the face of another bid by local ex Player Andrew Harman who wants to take a minority share and set up an Academy . If all parties a re in the directors box it could get a little tense.
How about
We'll give you ten quid
We'll give you ten quid
Your clubs for sale.
We'll give you ten quid
COYG
Onwards and upwards
Adams Park is ground Argyle have done well at over the years, and although honours against Whycome are exactly even with nine wins , nine draws and none defeats in total, (c GOS...lifesavers), DA has yet to taste defeat at his namesake ground. The ground itself is at the end of footballs longest cul de sac, ( NB Cul from the word Cull...organised slaughter, usually of innocents, and de sac, derived from pertaining to the holding of testicles, Scottish bawbags ) with driving out after the game taking even longer than the time that should have been added on for time wasting by the well drilled ne'er do wells in blue quarters. Indeed you could walk round Ade Akinfenwa quicker than you can exit Adams Park.
Whycome themselves having started the season in fair form ( and until recently remarkably good at home, presumably as exhaustion sets in for the travelling players and officials) have had a four match run of defeats before winning their last two....coming from 2-0 down v Doncaster.....however DA seems to have =switched things around . His focus seems to have already moved onto pre season where we will apparently be playing two matches at Home Park, possibly against people who have actually played football before. More controversial is the little known plan to improve early season results by running out to January buy Pilot instead of Semper Fi. That will return, ironically in January.
The recent resurgence has also led to a resumption of the look at my odds and marvel at how the bookmakers queue to give me money threads on past. Whilst it is true, there are money making bets out there Whycome are still evens to win whereas we are odds against. Other value bets for Saturday exist at the specialist odds makers. Notable ones are listed below for those who wish to take a gamble
1-4 Ruben Lameiras to be the first player fouled
1-3 All eleven player in the Whycome team to have fouled Lameiras by half time
1-2 Ruben Lamerias to be yellow carded for breaking a Whycome players shin guard with his forehead
Evens Akinfenwa to be reclaimed from pitch rolling duties at the Windies Test Match to come on if Argyle are winning with twenty minutes to go ( MB Twenty minutes to go is defined by WW as 85 minutes played plus stoppage time for time easting)
2-1 Argyle to introduce Ruben Lameiras face masks to confuse the Whycome players.
Whycome have also gone against previous precedent and signed a footballer, Luke Bolton from Manchester City. I wonder how Pep will feel when he reports back with a neck injury from gazing into the skies wondering if the ball will ever come down to him.
Of course, as we will deliver one of the larger away followings to Adams Park, there is the risk of crowd trouble. In this case however it is likely the Whycome faithful rebelling against the Fan Trust Board, who controversially have recommended the approach of two Americans who recently loaned the club 500K secured against the ground ( possibly in contravention of the Whycome trust rules) and in the face of another bid by local ex Player Andrew Harman who wants to take a minority share and set up an Academy . If all parties a re in the directors box it could get a little tense.
How about
We'll give you ten quid
We'll give you ten quid
Your clubs for sale.
We'll give you ten quid
COYG
Onwards and upwards
No, not the the England cricket score ( yet although I am sure they will manage that at some point of the current tour). No, the shock news that after criticising, well everything, about his favourite club that he has apparently always supported, Steve Evans and his faithful teammate headbutting Muttley, Paul Raynor have had their services dispensed with. Having trucked up at London Road , seemingly en route to China from Mansfield, Evans has signed two full teams plus two subs in his time at the club and left them, well pretty much where they were when he arrived.
Sounds like just the man to satisfy the moaning Minnies who demand that each transfer window is an opportunity to refresh the entire squad. With a two in three out window and a casualty list that seems to remain at three no matter what the physios tell him Derek will take his squad on the ten hour journey to Pish (last year accidents and traffic, this year snow and ice) looking to avenge the 5-1 home drubbing and to wash the sour taste of a trip to Bucks out of their mouths.
In the mean time third time lucky Darren Ferguson has returned to take over for the rest of the season, so instead of sniping comments from the bench the match officials may have to deal with real sniping from the trigger happy leader. Still at least the club Christmas card budget remains intact at zero.
You know it is a quiet window when the Heralds leading stories a re about fans not seeing players and deciding that sufficient evidence for your leading scorer to be off to the other end of the country, and linking the club to Anderlecht because Bolasie is heading off there from Everton ( just his fourth club since he left then).
Meantime, the ones who think we need a fresh intake are now waiting on the Masonic handshake to complete a hattrick of returning players after Lloyd Jones came back from his tour of L clubs to bolster the defensive options, Oscar continue his bench warming duties and Joe Mason returned from Pompous only to have his contact torn up.
Not a great stamping ground for Argyle over the years London Road was scene of one of the greatest inept feats of crowd behaviour I have ever witnessed. In the 74/5 season the infamous last game where some 7,000 Argyle fans descended on London Road, my mates and I witnessed a Pish fan attempt to squeeze through the turnstile( the ones that rotate and fill the whole space. After a good ten minutes he was firmly lodged and stuck and hung their like a fish out of water until the arrival of the turnstile staff , loudly declaiming he had never got stuck before. he will be a pensioner now, although I like to think he probably cracked a couple of years later at a ill attended league Cup Tie when they just left him. there and he starved to death.
Speaking of Death, the Lazarus like goalkeeper of Whycome Timewasters has now received the results of his emergency spine scan at Stoke Mandeville specialist hospital. Sadly they can still find no sign of any backbone at all.
Time to take the initiative and continue up the league, so the Dour Scot derby ( c Jeff Stelling/ Sky Sports) is a chance to put aside the negativity of the Whycome result, and indeed the negativity of Whycome. So lets enjoy a swathe of green cutting through the opposition with courage and panache, almost as if they have fifteen men. Oops, thats Ireland v England in Dublin.
COYG!
Sounds like just the man to satisfy the moaning Minnies who demand that each transfer window is an opportunity to refresh the entire squad. With a two in three out window and a casualty list that seems to remain at three no matter what the physios tell him Derek will take his squad on the ten hour journey to Pish (last year accidents and traffic, this year snow and ice) looking to avenge the 5-1 home drubbing and to wash the sour taste of a trip to Bucks out of their mouths.
In the mean time third time lucky Darren Ferguson has returned to take over for the rest of the season, so instead of sniping comments from the bench the match officials may have to deal with real sniping from the trigger happy leader. Still at least the club Christmas card budget remains intact at zero.
You know it is a quiet window when the Heralds leading stories a re about fans not seeing players and deciding that sufficient evidence for your leading scorer to be off to the other end of the country, and linking the club to Anderlecht because Bolasie is heading off there from Everton ( just his fourth club since he left then).
Meantime, the ones who think we need a fresh intake are now waiting on the Masonic handshake to complete a hattrick of returning players after Lloyd Jones came back from his tour of L clubs to bolster the defensive options, Oscar continue his bench warming duties and Joe Mason returned from Pompous only to have his contact torn up.
Not a great stamping ground for Argyle over the years London Road was scene of one of the greatest inept feats of crowd behaviour I have ever witnessed. In the 74/5 season the infamous last game where some 7,000 Argyle fans descended on London Road, my mates and I witnessed a Pish fan attempt to squeeze through the turnstile( the ones that rotate and fill the whole space. After a good ten minutes he was firmly lodged and stuck and hung their like a fish out of water until the arrival of the turnstile staff , loudly declaiming he had never got stuck before. he will be a pensioner now, although I like to think he probably cracked a couple of years later at a ill attended league Cup Tie when they just left him. there and he starved to death.
Speaking of Death, the Lazarus like goalkeeper of Whycome Timewasters has now received the results of his emergency spine scan at Stoke Mandeville specialist hospital. Sadly they can still find no sign of any backbone at all.
Time to take the initiative and continue up the league, so the Dour Scot derby ( c Jeff Stelling/ Sky Sports) is a chance to put aside the negativity of the Whycome result, and indeed the negativity of Whycome. So lets enjoy a swathe of green cutting through the opposition with courage and panache, almost as if they have fifteen men. Oops, thats Ireland v England in Dublin.
COYG!
So after an unexpected winter break ( Tobago....high spot..visiting tourist attraction the Argyle Waterfall...low spot...wifi terrible 
) a return to One Game at a time for an unusual match opportunity...that rarity this season of the chance to do the double over a team.
Fans of a certain age will always reminisce over the 5-0 drubbing of Rochdale that saw the debut of one Paul Mariner, and this week sees the return of the Tony Waiters team that won promotion in 1975. Of course when comparing the teams Waiters remarked he felt the 74/5 team would just edge the current team by the odd goal...although he did point out they were all in their sixties now.
Under pressure Dale Manager, the former Argyle centre back Keith Hill brings a team bang out of form and having just lost a seven goal thriller to a late penalty ( not Whycombe late but late enough) to bottom club Wimbledon. With Argyle holding the Indian sign over Dale historically , and on a decent run since the turn of the New Year there is only one result according to bookies, so bang your wedge on a. goalless draw!
Argyle enter the match with a bizarre foot in each camp...win to go close to top half, lose and get pulled back into a mire. The is made even more complicated by the potential loss of a club at either end of the table...Oxford face a winding up order from former owner Firoz Kassam and Coventry have until March the 5th to find a home to play at or risk expulsion with Wasps refusing to play ball ( at least one that bounces properly). Owners eh....what are they like!
Still like the first cuckoo of Spring, the elimination table has appeared on Pasoti, as has the first free agent. Paul Anderson has taken a break from his Resident Evil directing to resume a football career after a spell in the zombie backwater of Mansfield. Previously the closest he has got to Argyle was having his arm broken in a a challenge by Paul "Shelley" Connelly in his Derby days, and whilst not prolific, jhe once paid for the damage caused by an Ipswich fan who punched a hole in his ceiling when Anderson scored against arch rivals Norwich, so if he does score you can afford to go a little mental with the furnishings!
So can Argyle return to winning ways against a friendly foe?
Will the curse of losing to the "likes of Argyle" hit an ex player turned manager Hill?
Will the inspiration of the team of 75 bring home the bacon?
We can but hope.
COYG/Oh Billy Billy/ Mariner...la la la!
) a return to One Game at a time for an unusual match opportunity...that rarity this season of the chance to do the double over a team.Fans of a certain age will always reminisce over the 5-0 drubbing of Rochdale that saw the debut of one Paul Mariner, and this week sees the return of the Tony Waiters team that won promotion in 1975. Of course when comparing the teams Waiters remarked he felt the 74/5 team would just edge the current team by the odd goal...although he did point out they were all in their sixties now.
Under pressure Dale Manager, the former Argyle centre back Keith Hill brings a team bang out of form and having just lost a seven goal thriller to a late penalty ( not Whycombe late but late enough) to bottom club Wimbledon. With Argyle holding the Indian sign over Dale historically , and on a decent run since the turn of the New Year there is only one result according to bookies, so bang your wedge on a. goalless draw!
Argyle enter the match with a bizarre foot in each camp...win to go close to top half, lose and get pulled back into a mire. The is made even more complicated by the potential loss of a club at either end of the table...Oxford face a winding up order from former owner Firoz Kassam and Coventry have until March the 5th to find a home to play at or risk expulsion with Wasps refusing to play ball ( at least one that bounces properly). Owners eh....what are they like!
Still like the first cuckoo of Spring, the elimination table has appeared on Pasoti, as has the first free agent. Paul Anderson has taken a break from his Resident Evil directing to resume a football career after a spell in the zombie backwater of Mansfield. Previously the closest he has got to Argyle was having his arm broken in a a challenge by Paul "Shelley" Connelly in his Derby days, and whilst not prolific, jhe once paid for the damage caused by an Ipswich fan who punched a hole in his ceiling when Anderson scored against arch rivals Norwich, so if he does score you can afford to go a little mental with the furnishings!
So can Argyle return to winning ways against a friendly foe?
Will the curse of losing to the "likes of Argyle" hit an ex player turned manager Hill?
Will the inspiration of the team of 75 bring home the bacon?
We can but hope.
COYG/Oh Billy Billy/ Mariner...la la la!
So as the season enters its final two months ( plus Star Wars Day) an upwardly mobile 1700 strong Green Army marches Paul Whitehouse like to Fortress Stadium of Light hoping for a spoiling cameo on the second instalment of the Sunderland Netflix journey. Still at least Kris Kamara will be able to notice the fans this time....
So do we travel in hope or expectation
Team that has scored in every game this season...tick
Team with new owners and millions of pounds in parachute payments...tick
Team with a four million pound forward...tick although Charlie Wyke has been dieting hard I hear....
Team unbeaten at home ....tick
Luckily we enter at the peak form for the team....Freddie is on form having netted yet another brace, although sadly his next brace appears to be on his knee
Our Portuguese Man O'Score has turned provider and the best supporting pass Oscar on the week of the Oscars went to Ruben for his pass to Oscar ( that's enough Oscars.....)
Midfield dynamo Antoni Sarcevic buttoned his lip and pulled out of countless pointless challenges only to fall foul of pernickety pseudo ref Chris ( I see no Ball Boy) Sargisen, and misses two matches against two of the top three for the heinous sin of being kicked and falling over....( Ok we might need another Oscar winning performance after all then )
So we and the players can see what all the madness is about. A 49,000 capacity stadium for tier three football, players sitting around earning annual salaries a week for doing next to nothing, and a club that despite the Netflix millions doubtless paid for the right to observe their timeless fall from grace, which still loses money.
Still the SOL is actually a happy hunting ground ( 2 wins in three) for Argyle, and as we all know we are now in that strange twilight zone where Argyle players decide they can play where the evenings and indeed the match threads become shorter and shorter as the reporter trolls decamp to their winter training to practice their diatribes for the start of the 19/20 season.
Indeed the first "Carey Gone" should be spotted any day now but in the meantime we in the far South can only peer hopefully at the 3PM horizon and watch for hopeful smoke signals from the Land the Football Forgot.
COYG and my respect to those who travel the distance.....
So do we travel in hope or expectation
Team that has scored in every game this season...tick
Team with new owners and millions of pounds in parachute payments...tick
Team with a four million pound forward...tick although Charlie Wyke has been dieting hard I hear....
Team unbeaten at home ....tick
Luckily we enter at the peak form for the team....Freddie is on form having netted yet another brace, although sadly his next brace appears to be on his knee
Our Portuguese Man O'Score has turned provider and the best supporting pass Oscar on the week of the Oscars went to Ruben for his pass to Oscar ( that's enough Oscars.....)
Midfield dynamo Antoni Sarcevic buttoned his lip and pulled out of countless pointless challenges only to fall foul of pernickety pseudo ref Chris ( I see no Ball Boy) Sargisen, and misses two matches against two of the top three for the heinous sin of being kicked and falling over....( Ok we might need another Oscar winning performance after all then )
So we and the players can see what all the madness is about. A 49,000 capacity stadium for tier three football, players sitting around earning annual salaries a week for doing next to nothing, and a club that despite the Netflix millions doubtless paid for the right to observe their timeless fall from grace, which still loses money.
Still the SOL is actually a happy hunting ground ( 2 wins in three) for Argyle, and as we all know we are now in that strange twilight zone where Argyle players decide they can play where the evenings and indeed the match threads become shorter and shorter as the reporter trolls decamp to their winter training to practice their diatribes for the start of the 19/20 season.
Indeed the first "Carey Gone" should be spotted any day now but in the meantime we in the far South can only peer hopefully at the 3PM horizon and watch for hopeful smoke signals from the Land the Football Forgot.
COYG and my respect to those who travel the distance.....
So as the charge to top half safety was derailed by a horde of black cats getting in the way, and last seasons keeper crisis reasserted itself when unlikely saviour and saver Kyle Letherens departure caused palpitations in the Argyle massed ranks and an urgent thumbing of the loan recall and emergency keeper regulations on the Argyle coach on the way home.
Despite a disappointing defeat, and two of the rest refereeing decisions of the season, the first of which saw Argyle denied a clear goalscoring opportunity, albeit at half time as part of the entertainment and which has subsequently gone viral, followed by the most blatant penalty of the week ( I am looking at you Manchester United.....seriously they should do the lottery this week...a quadruple rollover to follow the PSG rollover...I mean the French surrendering in Paris without a decent shot on target...what are the odds.....) being denied....
So from third to first, the opposition keeps getting better and with a freak set of results could see Argyle pulled back into the tire. To the joy of tattoo parlours all over the south West walking mosaic Sonny Bradley returns to try and haunt his old club, and break his scoring duck....not necessarily a bad thing as Sonny, like any ex West Country dweller, has the odd oggie in him.
A sold out away section guarantees a healthy contingent of MI5 attendees as they monitor the smallest collection of brain cells in a single space as the EDF supporters of new Ukip leader in waiting Tommy Robinson ( what is wrong with being called Yaksley -Lennon BTW?) travel to see if they can continue their scoring spree (although of late they have spluttered and misfired against the likes of Coventry and Rochdale). Knuckle scrape marks all over the away end for the apprentices to clean up on Monday then.
On Monday they get to see their new home approved by the local council, although the town is still rocked by the shock news that local eatery 5 guys named Mo has closed down....one can only hope they realised it was a burger joint and not a halal eatery but you can never be sure.
To be fair, the club have not suffered from the loss of esteemed leader and failed Argyle applicant Nathan Jones deciding that Stoke on Trent was the more attractive option ( a condemnation of its own in so many ways) than Lootown. With former centre forward and yardman/psychopath Mick Hartford glowering from the touchlines they have maintained their form and now look a nailed on bet for promotion.
So avenging a 5-1 ritual disembowelling will be the order of the day, and with both managers dodging the manager of the month curse ( leaving Jack Ross to endure the longest 127 minutes of his life at Whycome in all probability) it will be all hands to the pump, crayons at the ready to finish colouring in the Bradley mosaic and potentially a top half position could be ours at last....
Now that is a belated Christmas present if it arrives
COYG!
Despite a disappointing defeat, and two of the rest refereeing decisions of the season, the first of which saw Argyle denied a clear goalscoring opportunity, albeit at half time as part of the entertainment and which has subsequently gone viral, followed by the most blatant penalty of the week ( I am looking at you Manchester United.....seriously they should do the lottery this week...a quadruple rollover to follow the PSG rollover...I mean the French surrendering in Paris without a decent shot on target...what are the odds.....) being denied....
So from third to first, the opposition keeps getting better and with a freak set of results could see Argyle pulled back into the tire. To the joy of tattoo parlours all over the south West walking mosaic Sonny Bradley returns to try and haunt his old club, and break his scoring duck....not necessarily a bad thing as Sonny, like any ex West Country dweller, has the odd oggie in him.
A sold out away section guarantees a healthy contingent of MI5 attendees as they monitor the smallest collection of brain cells in a single space as the EDF supporters of new Ukip leader in waiting Tommy Robinson ( what is wrong with being called Yaksley -Lennon BTW?) travel to see if they can continue their scoring spree (although of late they have spluttered and misfired against the likes of Coventry and Rochdale). Knuckle scrape marks all over the away end for the apprentices to clean up on Monday then.
On Monday they get to see their new home approved by the local council, although the town is still rocked by the shock news that local eatery 5 guys named Mo has closed down....one can only hope they realised it was a burger joint and not a halal eatery but you can never be sure.
To be fair, the club have not suffered from the loss of esteemed leader and failed Argyle applicant Nathan Jones deciding that Stoke on Trent was the more attractive option ( a condemnation of its own in so many ways) than Lootown. With former centre forward and yardman/psychopath Mick Hartford glowering from the touchlines they have maintained their form and now look a nailed on bet for promotion.
So avenging a 5-1 ritual disembowelling will be the order of the day, and with both managers dodging the manager of the month curse ( leaving Jack Ross to endure the longest 127 minutes of his life at Whycome in all probability) it will be all hands to the pump, crayons at the ready to finish colouring in the Bradley mosaic and potentially a top half position could be ours at last....
Now that is a belated Christmas present if it arrives
COYG!
Possibly one of the low water marks of the first half of the season was the shoddy capitulation at Shrewsbury, which included one of the worst foul throws ever taken from Tafari Moore and a performance which fairly brutally ended his run in the first team to occasional bench warmer.
So it is with a higher degree of confidence that the Greens take on the return Tuesday night fixture, in the teeth of a gale with no less than four ex Shrews likely to be lining up against their ex employers. Riley Sarcevic Ladapo ( on loan naturally) and Canavan have all donned the amber and gold....
Sarcevic has been promised a swift elevation back to the first team with Dereks praise ringing in his ears as one of our leading players....which with our Machiavellian leaders history could be clever psychology to gee him up and a clear sign he will be on the bench!
Certainly things need to improve offensively...whilst five goals in the last four games sound OK, unfortunately they all came in the same game against a woeful Rochdale, and so a couple of goals would not go amiss. Luckily the Shrews arrive having been tamed by the same Rochdale we thumped at the weekend....and whilst struggling to match the surprise run to the play offs last season that at one stage looked like being an automatic promotion charge...have pulled off some decent results ( beating Doncaster and Peterborough) and a fair few draws.
Now led by Sam Ricketts after the mid season discarding of new manager John Askey whose performance, whilst eclipsing that of former manager Paul Hurst at his new pastures of Ipswich, left much to be desired with the win over Argyle on of only five in his 21 match tenure. Ricketts a decent full back in his day and Welsh International joined from Wrexham who were riding high in their quest to get back to the EFL and his departure caused something of a furore in its handling at the time. Since arriving performances have at best been mixed with the locals protesting some of the selection decisions and rotations.
With the table compressing week by week and the top half proving stubbornly out of reach no matter how hard we try, a win against the Shrews would be no bad thing.....and as they have some tough fixtures in the coming weeks ( as do we ) then no doubt they feel the same...
The fixture list throws up a few of the fabled six pointers ( despite only three being available) and with Sporting Whycome at home we should have a better idea of the table come 11 PM and the final whistle versus Accrington. Thats assuming the Wanderers can field a starting XI with suspensions starting to bite. Luckily for them Lazarus Allsopp recovered from a number on injuries during the Sunderland game ( the first after only four minutes) and will be available to crumple in a heap between the posts if the wind proves too strong.
Meanwhile we simply have to feed Freddie the raw meat that appeared to be lacking from his pre match meal v Lootown and hope Salop OB can press home the advantage against their Alma Mater.
COYG!!
So it is with a higher degree of confidence that the Greens take on the return Tuesday night fixture, in the teeth of a gale with no less than four ex Shrews likely to be lining up against their ex employers. Riley Sarcevic Ladapo ( on loan naturally) and Canavan have all donned the amber and gold....
Sarcevic has been promised a swift elevation back to the first team with Dereks praise ringing in his ears as one of our leading players....which with our Machiavellian leaders history could be clever psychology to gee him up and a clear sign he will be on the bench!
Certainly things need to improve offensively...whilst five goals in the last four games sound OK, unfortunately they all came in the same game against a woeful Rochdale, and so a couple of goals would not go amiss. Luckily the Shrews arrive having been tamed by the same Rochdale we thumped at the weekend....and whilst struggling to match the surprise run to the play offs last season that at one stage looked like being an automatic promotion charge...have pulled off some decent results ( beating Doncaster and Peterborough) and a fair few draws.
Now led by Sam Ricketts after the mid season discarding of new manager John Askey whose performance, whilst eclipsing that of former manager Paul Hurst at his new pastures of Ipswich, left much to be desired with the win over Argyle on of only five in his 21 match tenure. Ricketts a decent full back in his day and Welsh International joined from Wrexham who were riding high in their quest to get back to the EFL and his departure caused something of a furore in its handling at the time. Since arriving performances have at best been mixed with the locals protesting some of the selection decisions and rotations.
With the table compressing week by week and the top half proving stubbornly out of reach no matter how hard we try, a win against the Shrews would be no bad thing.....and as they have some tough fixtures in the coming weeks ( as do we ) then no doubt they feel the same...
The fixture list throws up a few of the fabled six pointers ( despite only three being available) and with Sporting Whycome at home we should have a better idea of the table come 11 PM and the final whistle versus Accrington. Thats assuming the Wanderers can field a starting XI with suspensions starting to bite. Luckily for them Lazarus Allsopp recovered from a number on injuries during the Sunderland game ( the first after only four minutes) and will be available to crumple in a heap between the posts if the wind proves too strong.
Meanwhile we simply have to feed Freddie the raw meat that appeared to be lacking from his pre match meal v Lootown and hope Salop OB can press home the advantage against their Alma Mater.
COYG!!
So as we enter the end of season sprint that means either safety, mid table mediocrity, ludicrous Skybet odds on a play off place or simply the ignominy of finishing below Sporting Whycome. The symmetry of last season reemerges with a last minute Carey penalty winner securing a valuable three points against the Shrews, redemption for our talismanic Irishman who unfortunately when he gets into the penalty area (ours) simply becomes manic.
Despite finishing the first half only a goal up , where with cooler heads and a less impressive goalie might have left us out of sight, we head to take on the mighty Cod Army in confidant mindset thinking they are still in with a shout of forcing their ways into the play offs. Given a win for us leaves us a point behind them they a re either a) massively misreading the league table, b) massively misreading their form table or more likely c) both!
After two straight Midlands defeats at Walsall and Coventry Homeless, and with injuries biting, the Trawlermen will be hoping for the bounce back led by charming Ched Evans and frequent nemesis of the Greens Paddy Madden. With spiky Joey Barton on the sidelines to spur his charges on, his has been a relatively low key first season as manager which in itself might be regarded as a success story.
The idiosyncrasies of the fixture computer send Argyle back to the same neck of the woods in a fortnight to take on the Oystenless Tangerines. It really doesn't seem to much to ask to try and get two such fixtures back to back in a a season with plenty of Tuesday night action, but hey ...what do fans know! We love service stations!
Our nerve racking ascent through over half the table since New Years Morning, combined with the potential additional revenue from a spanking new Grandstand has already seen debate turn to the who will stay and who will go come July, sen though we rain almost equally poised between safety and disaster. With 12th to 24th covered by 11 points ( the same as 12th to 6th by coincidence) and perhaps more importantly 21st to 12th covered by a mere five points, anyone who puts together a bad run will be fearful of being dragged back into danger. And that is before any random EFL points deductions.
So the key questions remain:
Is Freddie a homer? So many goals at HP versus just a couple away?
How long will Maceys new found confidence last, and will we ever follow penalties in so he can save them without feeling let down!
Will Foxy ever score a tap in?
Finally should the ball boy who returned the ball for the quick corner be given half an assist for the opening goal v the Shrews?
All in all when the Herald is speculating on our first premier League opponents ( albeit in next seasons friendlies) rather than fishing for clickbait on who will replace Derek at the helm os SS Argyle we are but three good wins away from planning for a better Start to the season!
As for Fleetwood, imagine your last game of the season being a dead rubber against the only team likely to still be time wasting despite there being nothing riding on it. Although of the Whycome freefall continues at the Shrews even I might be tempted to trot along and cheer them down!
COYG!
Despite finishing the first half only a goal up , where with cooler heads and a less impressive goalie might have left us out of sight, we head to take on the mighty Cod Army in confidant mindset thinking they are still in with a shout of forcing their ways into the play offs. Given a win for us leaves us a point behind them they a re either a) massively misreading the league table, b) massively misreading their form table or more likely c) both!
After two straight Midlands defeats at Walsall and Coventry Homeless, and with injuries biting, the Trawlermen will be hoping for the bounce back led by charming Ched Evans and frequent nemesis of the Greens Paddy Madden. With spiky Joey Barton on the sidelines to spur his charges on, his has been a relatively low key first season as manager which in itself might be regarded as a success story.
The idiosyncrasies of the fixture computer send Argyle back to the same neck of the woods in a fortnight to take on the Oystenless Tangerines. It really doesn't seem to much to ask to try and get two such fixtures back to back in a a season with plenty of Tuesday night action, but hey ...what do fans know! We love service stations!
Our nerve racking ascent through over half the table since New Years Morning, combined with the potential additional revenue from a spanking new Grandstand has already seen debate turn to the who will stay and who will go come July, sen though we rain almost equally poised between safety and disaster. With 12th to 24th covered by 11 points ( the same as 12th to 6th by coincidence) and perhaps more importantly 21st to 12th covered by a mere five points, anyone who puts together a bad run will be fearful of being dragged back into danger. And that is before any random EFL points deductions.
So the key questions remain:
Is Freddie a homer? So many goals at HP versus just a couple away?
How long will Maceys new found confidence last, and will we ever follow penalties in so he can save them without feeling let down!
Will Foxy ever score a tap in?
Finally should the ball boy who returned the ball for the quick corner be given half an assist for the opening goal v the Shrews?
All in all when the Herald is speculating on our first premier League opponents ( albeit in next seasons friendlies) rather than fishing for clickbait on who will replace Derek at the helm os SS Argyle we are but three good wins away from planning for a better Start to the season!
As for Fleetwood, imagine your last game of the season being a dead rubber against the only team likely to still be time wasting despite there being nothing riding on it. Although of the Whycome freefall continues at the Shrews even I might be tempted to trot along and cheer them down!
COYG!
So after an eventful week where we didn't gain any points but did appoint a new CEO and Derek got a budget so we can start getting properly nervous about the transfer window approaching OGAT puts itself firmly into relegation watch mode.
Normally relegation watch from the top half of the table means exactly that, a relaxed watch from a distance while the strugglers struggle
Oh no. Not this season. From 12th to 24th is in play, and joy of joy ...we are twelfth. Not only that but the Sky supercomputer has worked out that we have the hardest run in of all, and our goal difference is worse than everyone bar Scunthorpe down to 20th.
So a visit from Argyle Legend led Gas , who are presently in a decent run of unbeaten form kicks off the official Squeaky Bum time.
The good news is we have a decentish run ourselves, especially at home, so if we simply maintain form we will be safe enough. Even Wimbledon have put together a run of form that gives them a fighting chance having looked doomed....
the problem is so many teams a re involved with so few points between us a bad run will quickly see a plummet. Just ask Warsaw and Sarfend...both currently diving faster than a British submarine thats been spotted by the Russian fleet. the problem is you don't need to put t a run together to change your league position substantially...you just need to win a game and as you can see from the table shamelessly stolen from the gas site there are a lot of those games coming up.
The playing in group number is how many games each team have playing teams in the group Plymouth down to Bradford
Rovers (Games 9) Plymouth A: Doncaster A: Luton H: Coventry A: Bradford H: Wimbledon A: Rochdale H: Fleetwood A: Barnsley H: 4 Home / 5 Away Current Points 44 Playing teams in group 4
Bradford (Games 8) Blackpool H: Charlton A: Doncaster H: Rovers A: Coventry A: Gillingham H: Scunthorpe A: Wimbledon H: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 36: Playing teams in group 4
Rochdale (Games 9) Scunthorpe H: Gillingham A: Accrington A: Sunderland H: Portsmouth A: Wycombe H: Rovers A: Southend H: Charlton A: 4 Home / 5 Away Current Points 38 Playing teams in group 6
Oxford (Games 8) Coventry A: Wycombe H: Walsall A: Wimbledon H: Charlton H: Shrewsbury A: Doncaster H: Luton A: 4Home / 4 Away Current Points 43 Playing teams in group 4
Wimbledon (Games 8) Gillingham H: Scunthorpe A: Accrington H:Oxford A: Rovers H: Luton A: Wycombe H: Bradford A: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 39 Playing teams in group 6
Shrewsbury (Games 8) Portsmouth H: Southend A: Scunthorpe H: Gillingham A: Barnsley H: Oxford H: Coventry A: Walsall H: 4Home / 4 Away Current Points 43 Playing teams in group 5
Accrington (Games 10) Burton A: Fleetwood H: Sunderland H: Rochdale H: Wimbledon A: Walsall H: Luton H: Doncaster A: Plymouth H: Portsmouth A: 6 Home / 4 Away Current Points 44 Playing teams in group 4
Walsall (Games 8) Barnsley H: Doncaster A: Oxford H: Accrington A: Southend H: Wycombe A: Peterboro H: Shrewsbury A: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 42 Playing teams in group 5
Scunthorpe ( Games 8) Rochdale A: Wimbledon H: Shrewsbury A: Burton H Blackpool H Charlton A Bradford H: Plymouth A: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 44 Playing teams in group 5
Gillingham (Games 8) Wimbledon A: Rochdale H: Peterboro A: Shrewsbury H: Plymouth H: Bradford A: Charlton H: Blackpool A: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 44 Playing teams in group 5
Wycombe: (Games 8) Charlton H: Oxford A: Portsmouth H: Southend A: Rochdale A: Walsall H: Wimbledon A: Fleetwood H: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 44 Playing teams in group 5
Plymouth (Games 8) Rovers H: Blackpool A: Charlton H: Doncaster A: Gillingham A: Barnsley H: Accrington A: Scunthorpe H: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 45 Playing teams in group 4
Our friends from Sporting Whycome are fixtureless this week meaning six draws and a win for walsall can send them into the drop zone....
So not an ideal time to welcome Cocko for his follow up job interview , having missed out to Derek previously. Appointed after a dreadful run for darrel Clark he steadied the ship and despite a wobble has recently steered a safe course of wins and draws to bring them close to our lofty heights....
With Jonson Clark-Harris scoring for fun in recent games and a tight defence, no doubt roared on by a decent away following for one of their longest and our shortest away trips, expect a nervy and tight game....
thats aid recent form , especially home form should hopefully bring us home and in reality given the number of draws likely we are hopefully three wins a way from safety....how nice to be able to say two wins after Saturday
Of course then focus will shift to rebuilding , and the financial realism that we are not yet financially self sufficient ( although nowhere near the financial basket case of likely next season opponents Bolton) the EFL continues its campaign to discourage B teams with Bolton Birmingham and Blackpool all under threat of points deductions. Blackburn managed to burn through 187% of it's turnover on players salaries alone as they clambered out of the same league last season...food for thought...that's a lot of dead chickens!
So after Derek got a dressing down on appropriate behaviour from, yep Joey Barton, and a windswept green army endured a near chanceless away day, we can only hope that the chances we created and spurned in the first half v the Shrews are taken this weekend and we enjoy a relaxing view from the heights before heading up the Blackpool Tower.
COYG!
Normally relegation watch from the top half of the table means exactly that, a relaxed watch from a distance while the strugglers struggle
Oh no. Not this season. From 12th to 24th is in play, and joy of joy ...we are twelfth. Not only that but the Sky supercomputer has worked out that we have the hardest run in of all, and our goal difference is worse than everyone bar Scunthorpe down to 20th.
So a visit from Argyle Legend led Gas , who are presently in a decent run of unbeaten form kicks off the official Squeaky Bum time.
The good news is we have a decentish run ourselves, especially at home, so if we simply maintain form we will be safe enough. Even Wimbledon have put together a run of form that gives them a fighting chance having looked doomed....
the problem is so many teams a re involved with so few points between us a bad run will quickly see a plummet. Just ask Warsaw and Sarfend...both currently diving faster than a British submarine thats been spotted by the Russian fleet. the problem is you don't need to put t a run together to change your league position substantially...you just need to win a game and as you can see from the table shamelessly stolen from the gas site there are a lot of those games coming up.
The playing in group number is how many games each team have playing teams in the group Plymouth down to Bradford
Rovers (Games 9) Plymouth A: Doncaster A: Luton H: Coventry A: Bradford H: Wimbledon A: Rochdale H: Fleetwood A: Barnsley H: 4 Home / 5 Away Current Points 44 Playing teams in group 4
Bradford (Games 8) Blackpool H: Charlton A: Doncaster H: Rovers A: Coventry A: Gillingham H: Scunthorpe A: Wimbledon H: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 36: Playing teams in group 4
Rochdale (Games 9) Scunthorpe H: Gillingham A: Accrington A: Sunderland H: Portsmouth A: Wycombe H: Rovers A: Southend H: Charlton A: 4 Home / 5 Away Current Points 38 Playing teams in group 6
Oxford (Games 8) Coventry A: Wycombe H: Walsall A: Wimbledon H: Charlton H: Shrewsbury A: Doncaster H: Luton A: 4Home / 4 Away Current Points 43 Playing teams in group 4
Wimbledon (Games 8) Gillingham H: Scunthorpe A: Accrington H:Oxford A: Rovers H: Luton A: Wycombe H: Bradford A: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 39 Playing teams in group 6
Shrewsbury (Games 8) Portsmouth H: Southend A: Scunthorpe H: Gillingham A: Barnsley H: Oxford H: Coventry A: Walsall H: 4Home / 4 Away Current Points 43 Playing teams in group 5
Accrington (Games 10) Burton A: Fleetwood H: Sunderland H: Rochdale H: Wimbledon A: Walsall H: Luton H: Doncaster A: Plymouth H: Portsmouth A: 6 Home / 4 Away Current Points 44 Playing teams in group 4
Walsall (Games 8) Barnsley H: Doncaster A: Oxford H: Accrington A: Southend H: Wycombe A: Peterboro H: Shrewsbury A: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 42 Playing teams in group 5
Scunthorpe ( Games 8) Rochdale A: Wimbledon H: Shrewsbury A: Burton H Blackpool H Charlton A Bradford H: Plymouth A: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 44 Playing teams in group 5
Gillingham (Games 8) Wimbledon A: Rochdale H: Peterboro A: Shrewsbury H: Plymouth H: Bradford A: Charlton H: Blackpool A: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 44 Playing teams in group 5
Wycombe: (Games 8) Charlton H: Oxford A: Portsmouth H: Southend A: Rochdale A: Walsall H: Wimbledon A: Fleetwood H: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 44 Playing teams in group 5
Plymouth (Games 8) Rovers H: Blackpool A: Charlton H: Doncaster A: Gillingham A: Barnsley H: Accrington A: Scunthorpe H: 4 Home / 4 Away Current Points 45 Playing teams in group 4
Our friends from Sporting Whycome are fixtureless this week meaning six draws and a win for walsall can send them into the drop zone....
So not an ideal time to welcome Cocko for his follow up job interview , having missed out to Derek previously. Appointed after a dreadful run for darrel Clark he steadied the ship and despite a wobble has recently steered a safe course of wins and draws to bring them close to our lofty heights....
With Jonson Clark-Harris scoring for fun in recent games and a tight defence, no doubt roared on by a decent away following for one of their longest and our shortest away trips, expect a nervy and tight game....
thats aid recent form , especially home form should hopefully bring us home and in reality given the number of draws likely we are hopefully three wins a way from safety....how nice to be able to say two wins after Saturday
Of course then focus will shift to rebuilding , and the financial realism that we are not yet financially self sufficient ( although nowhere near the financial basket case of likely next season opponents Bolton) the EFL continues its campaign to discourage B teams with Bolton Birmingham and Blackpool all under threat of points deductions. Blackburn managed to burn through 187% of it's turnover on players salaries alone as they clambered out of the same league last season...food for thought...that's a lot of dead chickens!
So after Derek got a dressing down on appropriate behaviour from, yep Joey Barton, and a windswept green army endured a near chanceless away day, we can only hope that the chances we created and spurned in the first half v the Shrews are taken this weekend and we enjoy a relaxing view from the heights before heading up the Blackpool Tower.
COYG!
So, ironically after a last minute plan change which meant I was away from my computer for the pre weekend and unable to deliver my thoughts re the Donkey Lashers ( probably something about making sure we didn't repeat last seasons 2-0 up, 2-2 last minute equaliser...oh hang on) it is squeaky bum time ( or if you are a Badford fan dustbin lid sixpence time).
Of course Argyle could be in a false position, given that three of the clubs above them face various problems and penalties...Oxford face their 5th winding up order ( are you Bolton in disguise?) as their Tiger owner fails to pay some staff and their former owner twists the knife. Lucky Ridsdale didn't manage to bring him into the ownership equations.
Coventry continue to cast around them for a patch of grass and some jumpers for goalposts that will satisfy the EFL fit and proper stadium rules....which if they are as strict as the owner rules mean they could be playing at Higher Home Park after the DJM have finished their matches....
Blackpool still wait to find out their punishment for having been owned by near certifiable money grabbers...so in truth, given the wrong result for Badford means they could become the first club that cannot catch us this weekend, it means with the right ( or for the clubs wrong) set of legal outcomes we could be safe by Saturday evening.
With so many of the bottom 13 playing each other over the next month the recent two last minute equalisers could easily have cost Argyle comfortable safety, the loss of four points combined with the Gas gain of one means that we are still two wins from relative security....
Home against the the Valley boys, themselves coasting gently to a play off place, and with ex Argyle full back Ben Purrington on loan having already lost at Home Park this season with the Wombles, the Potential QPR Next Manager Derby ( c J Stelling/Sky Sports) sees 25-1 shot Derek take on 16-1 shot Lee Bowyer ( ironically a similar derby takes place at the Timex stadium where Sporting Wycombe take on the Pompous who will be parading their fabulous Checkitsreal Trophy no doubt where the same odds grace Aimsworth v Jackett).
The six pointers this week are Walsall v resurgent Oxford, Afc Wimbledon v Accrington and Shrews v Scunny so between 6-9 points are definitely to be grabbed amongst the teams below us as we would Valiant be against the Valiants.
Form team Whycombe ( well its crap form, but it is consistent, no wins since they did for us) have two tricky consecutive home fixture as Charlton trek up in midweek after Pompeys visit...assuming there is anything left of the away end after their visit. If Sporting W lose them they will fall below one of Accrington and Wimbledon whatever the result...a win for Walsall and a point for Scunny at the Shrews would mean only Southend and Rochdale cannot overhaul them ( forget Badford as they are almost gone...) Rochdale have a massive home game v Sunderland but also trek to Stanley midweek....thats still leaves Southend who have a tough match at Fleetwood who will struggle to catch them.
Next Saturdays six pointer....Southend v Whycombe so three defeats from 23rd! That is worth waiting to the 108th minute for.
As for Argyle, we have a decent record v Charlton at Home Park, and with crowd favourite blonde bombshell Lyle Taylor making his return after his preening pose for the Wombles and penalty miss at the Valley what could possibly go wrong....
With right back up for grabs again after Joe Rileys unfortunate break will the crowd be content to hold on to a one nil lead rather than the terrifying spectacle of the third successive 2-0 collapse?
A win would see us almost home and hosed.....
Now who wouldn't have grabbed that with both hands at Christmas?
COYG!!
Of course Argyle could be in a false position, given that three of the clubs above them face various problems and penalties...Oxford face their 5th winding up order ( are you Bolton in disguise?) as their Tiger owner fails to pay some staff and their former owner twists the knife. Lucky Ridsdale didn't manage to bring him into the ownership equations.
Coventry continue to cast around them for a patch of grass and some jumpers for goalposts that will satisfy the EFL fit and proper stadium rules....which if they are as strict as the owner rules mean they could be playing at Higher Home Park after the DJM have finished their matches....
Blackpool still wait to find out their punishment for having been owned by near certifiable money grabbers...so in truth, given the wrong result for Badford means they could become the first club that cannot catch us this weekend, it means with the right ( or for the clubs wrong) set of legal outcomes we could be safe by Saturday evening.
With so many of the bottom 13 playing each other over the next month the recent two last minute equalisers could easily have cost Argyle comfortable safety, the loss of four points combined with the Gas gain of one means that we are still two wins from relative security....
Home against the the Valley boys, themselves coasting gently to a play off place, and with ex Argyle full back Ben Purrington on loan having already lost at Home Park this season with the Wombles, the Potential QPR Next Manager Derby ( c J Stelling/Sky Sports) sees 25-1 shot Derek take on 16-1 shot Lee Bowyer ( ironically a similar derby takes place at the Timex stadium where Sporting Wycombe take on the Pompous who will be parading their fabulous Checkitsreal Trophy no doubt where the same odds grace Aimsworth v Jackett).
The six pointers this week are Walsall v resurgent Oxford, Afc Wimbledon v Accrington and Shrews v Scunny so between 6-9 points are definitely to be grabbed amongst the teams below us as we would Valiant be against the Valiants.
Form team Whycombe ( well its crap form, but it is consistent, no wins since they did for us) have two tricky consecutive home fixture as Charlton trek up in midweek after Pompeys visit...assuming there is anything left of the away end after their visit. If Sporting W lose them they will fall below one of Accrington and Wimbledon whatever the result...a win for Walsall and a point for Scunny at the Shrews would mean only Southend and Rochdale cannot overhaul them ( forget Badford as they are almost gone...) Rochdale have a massive home game v Sunderland but also trek to Stanley midweek....thats still leaves Southend who have a tough match at Fleetwood who will struggle to catch them.
Next Saturdays six pointer....Southend v Whycombe
so three defeats from 23rd! That is worth waiting to the 108th minute for.As for Argyle, we have a decent record v Charlton at Home Park, and with crowd favourite blonde bombshell Lyle Taylor making his return after his preening pose for the Wombles and penalty miss at the Valley what could possibly go wrong....
With right back up for grabs again after Joe Rileys unfortunate break will the crowd be content to hold on to a one nil lead rather than the terrifying spectacle of the third successive 2-0 collapse?
A win would see us almost home and hosed.....
Now who wouldn't have grabbed that with both hands at Christmas?
COYG!!
So, off to the land of cobbles, barm cakes, whippets and , oh Emmerdale so that buggers up the Rovers Return reference, but in truth after a run of results that just go to prove that stats mean nothing , it is the final score that counts. Still at least we now know it is possible to hold a lead. All you need is skill, confidence, and to be playing us.
It may well be that the loss of our statistical wizard is hurting us, and now Derek has realised that 100% possession means nothing if it is only in the pre match warm up, lets hope for some sheer bloody minded grinding out of the result that will leave us almost safe.
Still it could be worse, we could be Whycome, who take the second worst current run of form to the team with the worst run of current for in Southend with the players basking in the knowledge that with the collapse of their proposed US investment, they might be working longer hours than anyone else in football for nothing....
As for the rest of the relegation battle ( or bottom half as Sky Sports call it in all the others divisions) our tough away fixture could mean an alarming lurch downwards if accrington Brizzle and Scunthorpe register wins or draws...In truth a draw would be a decent result but can there be any r=teams whose fans get more nervous when they go two up away from home than the Green round the Gills army.
It is three weeks to the end of a mediocre season, and whilst the end will be exciting, I for one preferred it at the other end where failure to reach the play offs was disappointing but I did manage to catch a rubber ring round my neck in the pre match shenanigans at Priestfield which almost made up for it. defeats for Rochdale and Wimbledon will still leave seven or eight teams scrambling to escape the final drop place and the EFL are being no help at all by, correctly, absolving Blackpool fans from the sins of their owners.
On the positive side it is never too early to start speculating about the retained list, so we can all play whose leaving bingo, safe in the knowledge that we don't have a clue and most of the posters who claim inside knowledge a re simply attention seeking wind up merchants ( unless they happen to guess luckily...)
With Donny lacking their headstrong striker James Coppinger, nursing a sore head after a battering at Badford, all we have to do is contain pacy right sided attacker Mallick Wilks, the Leeds loanee to ensure we can at least nick a 0-0....oh if only it was that easy.
Will Derek speculate to accumulate and introduce Corporal Nathan Jones to restore camm to the "Don't panic" central defence pairing? if so who drops out...both Edwards and Canavanarro have found the net in recent weeks, admittedly not always the right one in the case of Naill.
With Barnsley to come on Easter Monday and that long distance haul to the Gills we really don't want to be heading into the final two games winnable as they are needing wins....
COYG
It may well be that the loss of our statistical wizard is hurting us, and now Derek has realised that 100% possession means nothing if it is only in the pre match warm up, lets hope for some sheer bloody minded grinding out of the result that will leave us almost safe.
Still it could be worse, we could be Whycome, who take the second worst current run of form to the team with the worst run of current for in Southend with the players basking in the knowledge that with the collapse of their proposed US investment, they might be working longer hours than anyone else in football for nothing....
As for the rest of the relegation battle ( or bottom half as Sky Sports call it in all the others divisions) our tough away fixture could mean an alarming lurch downwards if accrington Brizzle and Scunthorpe register wins or draws...In truth a draw would be a decent result but can there be any r=teams whose fans get more nervous when they go two up away from home than the Green round the Gills army.
It is three weeks to the end of a mediocre season, and whilst the end will be exciting, I for one preferred it at the other end where failure to reach the play offs was disappointing but I did manage to catch a rubber ring round my neck in the pre match shenanigans at Priestfield which almost made up for it. defeats for Rochdale and Wimbledon will still leave seven or eight teams scrambling to escape the final drop place and the EFL are being no help at all by, correctly, absolving Blackpool fans from the sins of their owners.
On the positive side it is never too early to start speculating about the retained list, so we can all play whose leaving bingo, safe in the knowledge that we don't have a clue and most of the posters who claim inside knowledge a re simply attention seeking wind up merchants ( unless they happen to guess luckily...)
With Donny lacking their headstrong striker James Coppinger, nursing a sore head after a battering at Badford, all we have to do is contain pacy right sided attacker Mallick Wilks, the Leeds loanee to ensure we can at least nick a 0-0....oh if only it was that easy.
Will Derek speculate to accumulate and introduce Corporal Nathan Jones to restore camm to the "Don't panic" central defence pairing? if so who drops out...both Edwards and Canavanarro have found the net in recent weeks, admittedly not always the right one in the case of Naill.
With Barnsley to come on Easter Monday and that long distance haul to the Gills we really don't want to be heading into the final two games winnable as they are needing wins....
COYG
So Easter arrives, and along with better weather ( or is that climate change) the decisive weekend of death and resurrection was never more apt as Argyle take on fellow strugglers Gillingham, who like ourselves just cannot generate enough impetus to escape the pull of the second largest black hole in the Universe, League 2.
Alongside the religious desire to escape, and where one win seem to transform the potential for survival ( damn you Wycombe at Southend) Argyle have entered the mother of all slumps, as we limp Ness like to the end of the season struggling to score. Combined with a defence that has lost its solidity of late, consistently letting in two goals no matter what the stage of the game....early or late you can bank on Argyle allowing a double at present, like an over eager dart fan.
Off then to the home of the hoodoo, Priestfield, where despite its religious sounding name we have an unholy bad record ( not counting when we stuffed Brighton there when they were homeless. Whatever happened to them?
38 years of hurt, probably isn't gong to inspire a Baddiel and Skinner homage, ( Mayflower on the shirt, Golden Hind still gleaming, 38 years of hurt, never stopped me dreaming....no stop it) but the cross country traffic fest of all time ( well until Ipswich next season fingers crossed) is probably not how the Green Army would have planned their Easter manoeuvres and a defeat with battered Barnsley trekking down for Monday would make the pulse run just a little quicker.
So with the debates of Macey v Letheren, Ladapo v Taylor, Ness v the Physio still to be settled a win or even a draw today gives some hope that we can pluck the requisite impetus to drag ourselves a way from the energy sapping vortex of the relegation spots...Badford look gone....probably at least one of Walsall and Southend and maybe both but form indicates we need at least one more win and no-one in that zone with the possible exception of Rochdale, who escaped on the final day of the season last year, is currently less impressive that we have been for the run in....
On a positive note we do at least have an inside leak on the recruitment plan for next season, as Argyle finally plan to scout overseas.....with goals at each end a problem this season have we stumbled on the solution in Algeria.....
https://twitter.com/footbalIfights/stat ... 3898739712
(I hope this link works!)
COYG
Alongside the religious desire to escape, and where one win seem to transform the potential for survival ( damn you Wycombe at Southend) Argyle have entered the mother of all slumps, as we limp Ness like to the end of the season struggling to score. Combined with a defence that has lost its solidity of late, consistently letting in two goals no matter what the stage of the game....early or late you can bank on Argyle allowing a double at present, like an over eager dart fan.
Off then to the home of the hoodoo, Priestfield, where despite its religious sounding name we have an unholy bad record ( not counting when we stuffed Brighton there when they were homeless. Whatever happened to them?
38 years of hurt, probably isn't gong to inspire a Baddiel and Skinner homage, ( Mayflower on the shirt, Golden Hind still gleaming, 38 years of hurt, never stopped me dreaming....no stop it) but the cross country traffic fest of all time ( well until Ipswich next season fingers crossed) is probably not how the Green Army would have planned their Easter manoeuvres and a defeat with battered Barnsley trekking down for Monday would make the pulse run just a little quicker.
So with the debates of Macey v Letheren, Ladapo v Taylor, Ness v the Physio still to be settled a win or even a draw today gives some hope that we can pluck the requisite impetus to drag ourselves a way from the energy sapping vortex of the relegation spots...Badford look gone....probably at least one of Walsall and Southend and maybe both but form indicates we need at least one more win and no-one in that zone with the possible exception of Rochdale, who escaped on the final day of the season last year, is currently less impressive that we have been for the run in....
On a positive note we do at least have an inside leak on the recruitment plan for next season, as Argyle finally plan to scout overseas.....with goals at each end a problem this season have we stumbled on the solution in Algeria.....
https://twitter.com/footbalIfights/stat ... 3898739712
(I hope this link works!)
COYG
So it wasn't supposed to look like this with three games to go. Scrabbling a round for good news, we are left with the classic "at least it is still in our hands" , albeit the choice of whose hands seems a little fraught as the replacement of consistently conceding two goals Matt Macey , only led to the a three goal Kyle Letheren.
The other saving grace, believe it or not, is that amongst those most likely to be struggling to keep their heads above water , our goal difference whilst bad, isn't the worst....so thats worth a point.
On the negative side, with games running out , we do need to grab point or three from somewhere and with the Gillingham debacle, where we were 45 minutes from three points at that start of the second half and seemingly a million miles away by the end of it being over and done with, we bring on second place Barnsley.
Led with Teutonic efficiency by Daniel Sendal, Barnsley have quietly and efficiently BMW'd their way into second place ahead of the giants of Slumberland and Pompous. Nothing seems to knock them from their stride, although Joey Barton, who found Dereks pitch side demeanour a little to rough for his liking, tried his hardest after their game at Oakwell, although the outcome remains sub judice for now.
The away game at Oakwell was notable for the resurgence of , until then oddly out of favour Portuguese Man O'Score Ruben Lameiras, and boy could we do with a twisty, turny, jinky scoring turn from him today. Historically our record against the Tykes is not too bad , but just as we look at tough games for Wimbledon and Accrington on Tuesday at Luton and Donny, as well as Scunnys trip to Charlton, so they will look at todays future as a likely chance to claw away or past us.
With six pointers at Whycome and Brizzle against Walsall and Rochdale respectively meaning someone will be gaining points around us today would be a one day to upset the form book.
It is hard to see the funny side of a scrap which according to pundit Stephen Warnock on Quest, we were officially safe from three weeks ago....and with the Adams Out versus the Derek Forever debate being as unilluminating as ever on Pasoti we seem to be a house divided. Of course with the juggernauts of Liverpool and Manchester City showing us al what a simple game it is we can but hope that a small amount of Lady Luck falls our way, and an unexpected three points allows us to relax and enjoy the last couple of matches against fellow strugglers to start the pre season for next season nice and early....
COYG!
The other saving grace, believe it or not, is that amongst those most likely to be struggling to keep their heads above water , our goal difference whilst bad, isn't the worst....so thats worth a point.
On the negative side, with games running out , we do need to grab point or three from somewhere and with the Gillingham debacle, where we were 45 minutes from three points at that start of the second half and seemingly a million miles away by the end of it being over and done with, we bring on second place Barnsley.
Led with Teutonic efficiency by Daniel Sendal, Barnsley have quietly and efficiently BMW'd their way into second place ahead of the giants of Slumberland and Pompous. Nothing seems to knock them from their stride, although Joey Barton, who found Dereks pitch side demeanour a little to rough for his liking, tried his hardest after their game at Oakwell, although the outcome remains sub judice for now.
The away game at Oakwell was notable for the resurgence of , until then oddly out of favour Portuguese Man O'Score Ruben Lameiras, and boy could we do with a twisty, turny, jinky scoring turn from him today. Historically our record against the Tykes is not too bad , but just as we look at tough games for Wimbledon and Accrington on Tuesday at Luton and Donny, as well as Scunnys trip to Charlton, so they will look at todays future as a likely chance to claw away or past us.
With six pointers at Whycome and Brizzle against Walsall and Rochdale respectively meaning someone will be gaining points around us today would be a one day to upset the form book.
It is hard to see the funny side of a scrap which according to pundit Stephen Warnock on Quest, we were officially safe from three weeks ago....and with the Adams Out versus the Derek Forever debate being as unilluminating as ever on Pasoti we seem to be a house divided. Of course with the juggernauts of Liverpool and Manchester City showing us al what a simple game it is we can but hope that a small amount of Lady Luck falls our way, and an unexpected three points allows us to relax and enjoy the last couple of matches against fellow strugglers to start the pre season for next season nice and early....
COYG!