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Reply | Refwatch - Maidenhead United v Rochdale
at 11:06 24 Mar 2025
I think everyone is as you say going round in circles.
The central question nobody is answering is whatever it takes to achieve promotion in 1, 2 or 3 years-
Do we want more of Jim`s football for up to 3 more years? |
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Reply | Refwatch - Maidenhead United v Rochdale
at 13:48 23 Mar 2025
We have 10 games left, more than any other team. 5 at home: 5 away.
York-Aldershot-Eastleigh-Hartlepool-Fylde at home.
Woking-Solihull-Braintree-Sutton-Altrincham away.
The only teams there showing any great form are Aldershot and Braintree. 5 of the others have only won 1 of their last 6.
So reaching the 7th spot should be well achievable.
But how will Jim view it? |
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Reply | Refwatch - Maidenhead United v Rochdale
at 13:28 23 Mar 2025
Lets be honest.
Dont you remember the Stockton game when we drew 0-0 and scraped through 4-3 on penalties?. We also beat Leamington and Worthing before a very creditable home win against Altrincham.
But hardly a march down Wembley lane And Spennymoor to come!
I have waited 60 years for my team to win anything, so this would be great if we can do it, but lets not kid ourselves. Jim has struggled with results increasingly, and doesnt seem to learn, even when he gets it right. So my comments that he has lost it. You can see it in the players. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Maidenhead United v Rochdale
at 13:14 23 Mar 2025
You ask what are the fans` expectations.
I think the fans are expecting some improvement over the course of the season. We started well enough but there has been a decline in the second half so far- 30 points down to 27.
Surely you can see the quality of play is poor or at least dull, and it is no surprise attendances are static at best. Also I think the overall quality of the opposition I have seen is not as good as last season.
This is entirely Jim`s signed up team except for Hendo. And having survived the off-field horrors of last season , with a new contract under his belt and with a unique knowledge of the inner workings of the club over the last 5 seasons, Jim was in a unique position for a new manager. Most are pretty well thrown in at the deep end to resolve a crisis.
All of which IMO add to the fans expectations. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Maidenhead United v Rochdale
at 12:55 23 Mar 2025
Having watched absolute dross played yesterday, and for the first 70 minutes of the previous game, I have to admit for the first time in 60+ years as a devoted fan that I felt ashamed of my team yesterday. To see Hogan and Waller stood with their foot on the ball while the seconds were ticking away near the end proved how much urgency there was in the players.
Lets be honest, Maidenhead were a very poor team of part-timers. Even in Div 2 we were playing vastly better footballers. Jim has lost it. When Hendo went off the only spark was extinguished. He has scored 5 league goals from 4 league starts. Doesn`t that mean something? .Jim seems to be a very timid manager.
East and Gilmour no longer create very much and merely circulate the ball. I don`t think Mitchell won a single ball in the air, and very little on the ground either. He is not a No 9. Adu-Poku had a strong attacking game against Boston, far better than Tobi yesterday, and promptly got dropped. I think Jim is in a turmoil.
Wembley- would that be a good substitute for the playoffs.? If we get there of course I will go. The last time there was in 2008 when we lost 3-2 to Stockport in the playoff. I still hate the name Dickenson.
But it won`t compare for me with at least making the playoffs. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Rochdale v Boston United
at 15:09 19 Mar 2025
Jim was completely outthought last night. Coughlan had them tearing into us right from the start, pressing high and breaking fast on the ball. We cannot match for speed of attack but we can pass quicker moving forward.
3 things stood out to me.
Firstly why revert to a lone striker? It has not worked all season, and is placing too much reliance on Bird, who has made a dream start but needs help up front. I,m not convinced that Jim was even bringing Hendo on so early until he saw Bird was still limping after the break. What a difference it made and with Mitchell added they were overwhelmed. All 3 contributed to the goals. Boston looked pretty exhausted by then, but for a part-time team playing far from home midweek, they could just defend for a result. It helps a little when you are 3-0 up.
Secondly for sure why break up a back line that has performed so well so far? I don`t accept for a minute what Jim says about Kingdon needing a break. He wanted EEL back, and I agree with others who said he wasn`t ready. He is slow but then so is Hogan. The combination was not good. Crazy to change things.
Finally what was going on with the corners- I counted 11, all, I think taken by East and all aimed at the near post area. No variety. Surely in training they try different things.
One plaudit. I admired the effort and attacking intent of the new boy. He had a tough debut but was responsible for getting most of the corners in battling with the fullback.
Jim -the Oldham and Boston results have cost us 5 points. Blaming the referee for this one doesn`t cut it. It`s time you admitted when you got it wrong. The fans know where the blame lies. Lets try attacking early, Control isn`t everything. Boston didn`t have control in midfield. |
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Reply | Oldham Match Thread
at 17:40 16 Mar 2025
I don`t see midfielders having shooting very often. This is a defensive midfield- one concerned with holding onto the ball rather than releasing forward. The midfielders have scored 13 goals from 138 league appearances. That is very poor, and much worse than the Keohane/Lund/Sinclair days in a much higher standard. Couple that with only 2 goals in 84
appearances from the defenders -set pieces??
Either the players concerned are not encouraged to score, or they do not have the talent in their lockers. |
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Reply | Oldham Match Thread
at 15:34 16 Mar 2025
Can`t help wondering if we had that 3rd striker at the beginning of the season rather than multiple midfielders, we might have been up with the top 3 teams now. It always seemed an unbalanced squad to me. What a difference Bird has made in just a few outings.
Also neither Mitchell nor Rodney are natural leaders of the line, able to hold the ball up or turn with it. Jim is totally defence-minded, hence the slow buildups in possession.
We have to go for 3 point games now. Draws will not help. Home advantage in the playoffs will be key. Hopefully Jim has seen the light with recent successes. |
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Reply | Match Thread, Dale v In form top of the table Barnet
at 12:05 23 Feb 2025
Another factor re Jim`s tenure is that he has now been with the club as player and manager exactly 10 years. You would think this would have given him a great advantage over most new managers coming into a new club usually in difficult circumstances. But I wonder if that is such a good thing. Is he too comfortable- 3 year contract as well. There are so many references to him being a nice guy-he is certainly loyal to his players- except for Hendo I think they are all his signings (April 23 onwards). This is a very unique situation for an unproven manager. Forget last season- he probably did well to keep the results coming with all the background problems, but he doesn`t seem to have any attack-minded flair.
If he is losing the dressing room, and it certainly looks that way on the pitch, then he is in great danger of losing the crowd support as well. |
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Reply | Match thread Halifax Town
at 12:38 20 Feb 2025
Only just seen McNulty`s post-match interview.
He seems to be completely deluded.
He said it was a good performance.
He said they showed bravery and took risks- He wasn`t referring to the risks the defenders continue to take in their own penalty area. And Halifax were more cautious.
He said he was excited about meeting Barnet on Saturday (managed to get in an aside that they were undefeated in 18 games- preparation for a thumping?)
Well Jim, I`m excited as well but not I think for the same reasons.
He repeats ad nauseum how good the players are on the training pitch.
To join in with earlier posts, what they are playing at the moment can only be described as boring, Do any of the 900+ that went last night disagree? |
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Reply | Match thread Halifax Town
at 12:18 20 Feb 2025
On the 11th February, 9 days ago, Hendo played a full 90 minutes against Wolves u-21s and scored 2 goals.
You can`t tell me he can`t do a lot more than 5 minutes at the end of a game.
Unless he has some private agreement with McNulty. |
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Reply | Tonight’s games
at 11:03 12 Feb 2025
All the more curious he has just brought in an extra defender on loan, and played both Kingdon and Ferguson as subs in the Ebbsfleet game. Surely one of the many midfielders or a junior striker-Kelly? |
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Reply | Oldham game
at 14:19 5 Feb 2025
Jim implied in his interview that he did not approve of the long ball used by the team.
Q Why did he not stop them? |
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Reply | Oldham game
at 12:11 5 Feb 2025
The really big statistics this season so far are the results against the top 6 sides.
Out of the 6 games played we have scored 2 goals and conceded 5, won 1, D1 and Lost 4.
This sums up where this team is this season. Fine in defence but woefully short in attack and goalscoring in particular. All season we have been short of that 3rd effective attacker.
I don`t know our shots on goal statistic but its a fair bet it is very low.
Team tactics must certainly be mainly responsible for this IMO.
Time for a change J Mc. Your tactics have got us this far, but the fans deserve better. |
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Reply | Southall bankruptcy
at 14:20 29 Jan 2025
This is a great read if only to remind ourselves just how much worse things could have been,
Cheer up the grumblers and groaners. |
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Reply | Forest Green away thread
at 12:46 19 Jan 2025
Having started the season with only 2 full-time strikers we now find ourselves unsurprisingly with a goals shortage. But all is not what it seems. Although Mitchell and especially Rodney may seem wasteful of their efforts, in fact 18 combined goals from 37 league starts is a fair result.
What has been a disaster is the lack of goals from midfield. With the honourable exception of McBride with 4 league goals from 14 starts, the other 9 midfielders have scored a paltry 6 league goals from 104 starts.
Compare this with some midfielders in the past 4 seasons:
Lund 10 league goals in 2021
Keohane 10 goals in 2021 and 7 in 2024
Sinclair 10 goals in 2024
Hayes 7 goals in 2024 (in 22 appearances)
In 2022 and 2023 the goals scored dropped badly in all areas.
Imagine how a few extra goals from midfield could have made a points difference in so many of our narrow defeats this season.
I also think starting Henderson in only 1 league game has not been a good solution, though presumably Hendo is happy with the arrangement. He is still our only natural striker positionally. |
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Reply | Pitch update
at 10:33 7 Jan 2025
No complacency here.
Not after 60 years. |
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Reply | Pitch update
at 09:44 7 Jan 2025
Despite some people`s gloom, just think how lucky we are still to have a club.
If this pitch problem had happened last January, after Simon Gauge had admitted he had run out of funding to keep the club afloat, Chris Dumphy had offered to take over the club then changed his mind, and there was no sign of the Ogden family on the horizon, then the cost of the pitch and the lost income would almost certainly have seen the end of things.
We should all be grateful for our good fortune.
UTD |
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Reply | Fylde away match thread.
at 11:52 28 Dec 2024
This was the Ryan East from last season. Looking for the through ball rather than a sideways pass. So much more effective with Rodney and Mitchell ahead.
Special mention for Okeke who got involved in most of the dangerous moves. |
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Reply | Norman Bodell RIP
at 22:24 15 Dec 2024
Forgot about Frank Lord and Brian Green.
And probably others. |
| | samueloneils
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