Some kind soul has sent me a Chelmsford report (with pic as well). Now, that’s what I like to see from the SW19 readership 🙂
Enjoy…
Well, a disappointing day all in all. We were slow out of the blocks and fell behind midway through the first half as Chelmsford pounced on the loose ball following a decent block from Andy Little. Matters were made worse shortly after as Steve Butler was given a straight red for a mistimed tackle in the middle of the park. We came out for the second half and to our credit looked a lot more dangerous, only to let ourselves down with poor finishing. A second red card, this time for Anthony Howard after picking up his second yellow card of the afternoon, all but ended the match as a contest.
Plus points: Gave a good account of ourselves in the second half despite having ten men, and then nine men.
Minus points: Dropping all three points when really we should have been looking to win this sort of fixture. Yet another player picking up a serious injury, this time new signing Sweeney who will apparently be out of action for a couple of months. Two dismissals and ultimately two more suspensions. A less than awe-inspiring turnout.
The referee’s a: Oh god. I’m starting to grow tired of seeing referees intent on making a name for themselves. This guy was a textbook example. An utter tool. I didn’t think Steve Butler deserved to walk at the time and the video highlights confirmed my suspicions. A bad decision as early as that was always going to mean that we’d struggle to get back into the game and so it proved.
Them: Pretty average if truth be told. We (along with the ref) successfully managed to make them look a whole lot better than I suspect they actually are. To be fair to them, they had decent support there despite it not being their home town. So their impressive form continues though on this evidence they’ll struggle to maintain it when they meet the likes of Worthing and Fisher.
Truth is stranger than fiction: With all these midfielders we seem to have in the squad, why do we play centre backs (or Steve Butler to be precise) in midfield? During his brief spell on the pitch he looked lost, and could be said to be at fault for the goal. We still don’t seem to be playing to our full potential. Now is this down to the tactics? Or are we seeing too many average performances? Either way, even a play-off spot now is looking increasingly unlikely.
Anything else: As mentioned above, the attendance was less than spectacular, and that included a few hundred from Chelmsford. So why are attendances falling? Well I guess it could be attributed to a number of reasons. Is the novelty factor beginning to wear off? Are people put off by the less than attractive style of football we seem to adopt? Was Saturday just one trip to Essex too many? One thing is clear though, it’s a worry, and one which if the club has any sense, it’ll look to address in the near future.
In a nutshell: We must start winning these ‘must win’ games.
Was it worth it: Does the Pope shit in the woods?