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Reply | Altrincham FA Trophy Match Thread
at 12:02 2 Mar 2025
I’m not so sure after seeing a couple of post match interviews with the Altrincham manager.
He says he’s very disappointed as they were fully aware that Rochdale play to a “rigid system which they seldom deviate from” and he prepped his team accordingly.
In particular he singled out that he had warned his defenders about the threat down the right from Gordon and TAR.
You can bet that he’ll be reinforcing that message before the league games. |
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Reply | Altrincham FA Trophy Match Thread
at 21:41 1 Mar 2025
Crazy game, football.
Booed off the pitch seven days ago, cheered to the rafters a week later.
But that game today had everything you could ask from your team.
Guts, determination, skill, commitment.
The right team selected, more or less the right subs.
Altrincham I thought played really well today. Going what I’ve seen recently I’d back them to beat either Oldham or Halifax if they encountered them in the playoffs.
Don’t forget they could have been two up in the first five minutes.
Linney himself could have had a hattrick today.
Much is made of Waller’s phenomenal save from Newby but equally crucial was the save midway through the first half when Linney was clean through with only the keeper to beat.
And Gordon was as good as ever today. His positioning is impeccable, it’s strange to think that he was temporarily without a club when Fylde released him a little over twelve months ago.
He’s not scared to mix it either as witnessed at the end of the game!
I just worry how many are starting to carry knocks. Beckwith and Gilmour both looked leggy towards the end (the latter was tireless today) and they are two players with no direct replacement in the squad.
Off the pitch, and this is not presumptuous in any way, Andy Duff needs to be planning ahead once the draw is known for the semifinals.
I did a little bit of consultancy work for Leeds RLFC when they were used to reaching cup finals and they had full contingency plans in place for implementation as soon as the final whistle had blown on a winning semifinal.
Souvenir merchandise provisionally ordered, ticket details and arrangements in place, hospitality packages in place, coaches booked, all to be announced on the same day.
I’m sure that the likes of Crown Oil, Castleton Timber and JW Lees not to mention the Ogden Trust could be tempted to entertain at Wembley. Executive coach travel, exclusive seats and hospitality for perhaps £400 per head? Milk every available commercial opportunity because this sort of occasion doesn’t happen regularly.
Today has rejuvenated the season, I just hope we don’t run out of steam.
The last couple of playoff places are still up for grabs and knows what may happen then? |
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Reply | Altrincham FA Trophy Match Thread
at 10:40 1 Mar 2025
Will be interesting to see if the atmosphere is better or worse today as the young lads from the Sandy have tickets for the Pearl Street end as a one-off and the club have apparently granted permission for the drummer to take it in there with him.
From what I can gather their ambition is to make the move permanent next season, ideally in the block of seats nearest to Willbutts Lane.
What the club decide to do with visiting supporters if this happens is another matter. |
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Thread | Altrincham FA Trophy Match Thread
at 20:48 28 Feb 2025
Does anyone know if, should the teams be level after 90 minutes, the tie goes straight to penalties or would the teams play 30 minutes extra time?
Just trying to assess travel options. |
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Reply | Time to go Jim. The turning point
at 13:34 26 Feb 2025
The ironic thing is that I remember reading an interview with BBM in an Irish newspaper when he got the job at City where he said that his footballing philosophy was partially moulded by Hilly who force fed them videos of the original Pep Barcelona team, enthusing how they’d footballed opponents to death. |
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Reply | This evening's matches.
at 20:00 25 Feb 2025
Neither Newby nor Linney are in the Altrincham side tonight, presumably rested for Saturday. |
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Reply | TAMWORTH
at 19:49 25 Feb 2025
Just defend those long throws from Tonks for a start…. |
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Reply | Match Thread, Dale v In form top of the table Barnet
at 12:16 23 Feb 2025
I fear you may be right about BJ beginning to lose the crowd.
I spoke to a family member yesterday who has been a seasonticket holder for years and has only missed a handful away games in a decade.
He has deep reservations about renewing next year and even about going next Saturday.
“I simply don’t enjoy it anymore,” he said.
The acid test for Jim is if he loses goodwill from the young lads in the Sandy. Should that happen he’s toast. |
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Reply | Sack McNulty
at 11:54 23 Feb 2025
I’m beginning to wonder if any research and homework had been done before playing recruitment on how successful teams win promotion from the NL? And I don’t mean throw money at it like Wrexham.
Gateshead seem to be the model; did BJ decide that his style of football would trump everything else and proceed accordingly without being practical about it?
We’re nearly at the situation where all three games in hand will have to be won to get back into those playoff places.
If nothing else, being in the top seven at the end of the season could bring a welcome financial bonus from a shared gate at somewhere like York, Oldham or Halifax for example. |
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Reply | Match Thread, Dale v In form top of the table Barnet
at 20:53 22 Feb 2025
To be honest I’ve seen some abject performances over the years.
Nightmares in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s but that display that afternoon is up there with the best (or worst) of them.
Anyone else remember 6-0 drubbing by Plymouth around 1973?
And I recall Lincoln turning up around 2005 and paralysing us.
The difference is that the expectations are much higher these days, fuelled by a spell in League 1 and by the acquisition of the club by the Ogden family.
Today has been coming for months though. My wife, who has no interest in football decided to come to the Braintree game at the end of September. Her immediate reaction was, “is it always this boring?”.
The writing was on the wall then and we are also suffering from a chronic lack of activity in the transfer market.
I can only presume that BJ was told that the budget didn’t allow any recruitment in January because money had to be spent on urgent work to the pitch.
There are plenty of bodies in the current squad but they’re all clones. The only selection issue is seemingly which two players can be permed from around six to play on either side of Mitchell.
Barnet were impressive but nothing like as good as the likes of Wrexham, Notts County and Stockport have been at this level in the recent past.
They were helped by the gift of an early goal of course. Beckwith is a shadow of the player he was in the autumn.
The second came when Tarryn lost possession but I’m still not sure why he was where he was to receive the ball in the first place.
The game had gone then.
And we effectively surrendered by bringing off East and Gordon in the closing stages. The footballing equivalent of throwing in the towel.
Will BJ fall on his sword? Highly unlikely, he’s a year into a three year contract with a wife and young family to support. Will he be pushed? Not in the foreseeable future in my opinion. The board may well be influenced by his seemingly continued love in with the Sandy and the chairman on the ground hasn’t a good record in sacking managers at the right time. There is a shortage of prospective caretakers in the building as well, no equivalent of Tony Ellis. Would Hendo relish the task?
The worry is that BJ is allowed to oversee recruitment in the summer which could subject us to another season of boredom. |
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Reply | Toilet Gate
at 16:17 21 Feb 2025
There were a couple of police officers filming from the front of the stand for most of the game as well. |
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Reply | Hughen Riley R.I.P.
at 20:40 20 Feb 2025
I think he played number seven in a midweek game at Doncaster? I couldn’t go as it was a school night! The team were short of goals and Joe Fletcher had a handful of games there as well before Norman Whitehead reclaimed that particular shirt. |
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Reply | Hughen Riley R.I.P.
at 19:45 20 Feb 2025
Think he started off as a forward but was converted to a midfielder and took Vinny Leech’s number 4 shirt. |
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Reply | Hughen Riley R.I.P.
at 15:51 20 Feb 2025
This maybe a complete urban myth but I’m sure that I read somewhere when he was playing that before he’d signed for Dale as a youngster that he’d worked on the bins in Accrington? |
| | EllDale
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