V Cheltenham (H) 19.45 28th February

[jimtastic56]

3 minutes ago, Crewton said:

It was a cold, damp, horrible night and quite a few people obviously decided to stay at home in the warm and watch it on TV. It's nights like last night when the televising of games has a major impact on both attendances and atmosphere, unfortunately. 

It was still 1,500 more than "the Massive" got on a Tuesday night in early October and larger than in all but 8 of their home league fixtures, just to put it in context. 

I didn’t mention the crowd size. I was talking about Tiredness. Sky always talk about how exiting games are “under the lights”. This season is a hard slog.

[Crewton]

2 minutes ago, jimtastic56 said:

I didn’t mention the crowd size. I was talking about Tiredness. Sky always talk about how exiting games are “under the lights”. This season is a hard slog.

True, but you mentioned the lack of atmosphere. 

I don't personally find the season any more of a slog than the championship, but it's obviously a tough one for our small squad. 

[HorsforthRam]

As some have mentioned, there was a lack of intensity. It was very frustrating sitting in the East Stand at 0-0, boos ringing out because of the time Cheltenham were taking for goal kicks and throw ins. Then we have a throw in and blimey, we’re taking an age to fetch the ball and deciding who is going to take the throw. It might seem trivial but I feel it really affects the mojo of the team when our own players are doing things at walking pace when the crowd is berating the opposition for doing it!

[kevinhectoring]

They need a more contemporary image        
              

[RamDotFi]

First half wasn't good, for some reason we kept ignoring our midfield and kept looping long balls to our top three. Hourihane was too deep and Knight's passing was pretty bad. NML couldn't get past his man and basically the only bright thing prior to our goal was Dobbin. We were lucky with the goal but Dobbin did really well and the movement McColdrick made in the box was brilliant.

Second half was better, Knight improved though he still kept losing the ball too much. White was better also, he has some bite to him which is good. Dobbin kept going well and NML also improved. Second goal was important and well taken.

Thommo put in the best sub performance and others did their jobs as well. I was hoping to see more from Sibley in his favoured position but he didn't really impress. His better games this season have been at left back imo.

Anyways, as others have said, win is a win and three points, clean sheet, well done.

Edited March 1, 2023 by RamDotFi
Typo

[valakari]

We have a small group to pick from, and most don't get a rest...its starting to show...and highlights the 'Warne way of high intensity'...like Bielsa...players run out of steam in the latter stages of the season.

Luckily we have McGoldrick, and his ability masks others deficiencies.

Regardless of which division we are in next season, i expect many of this seasons' squad will be replaced with more athletic and durable players, aged between 22 and 29!

 

[duncanjwitham]

24 minutes ago, valakari said:

Regardless of which division we are in next season, i expect many of this seasons' squad will be replaced with more athletic and durable players, aged between 22 and 29!

Good luck with that, if we can only still sign free transfers and loans.  Loans are going to be youngsters looking for first team experience, and the majority of free transfers are going to be older players who have been released by clubs.  Players in-between don't often leave on frees (or loans), since clubs either want to keep them and extend their contracts, or sell them on before their contract expires.  And those that do, we've going to be competing on wages with other clubs when we're still restricted on that too.  We can probably outbid most league One teams, but at Championship level we're up against teams with parachute payments.  Odds are, the squad is going to have a similar overall makeup next season as this one, no matter what division we are in.

[OssieEnd]

4 hours ago, Wistaston Ram said:

Decent crowd in the end, despite the ground looking very empty half an hour before kick off. Second biggest crowd of the night (25k Bristol City v City the best) and better than Leicester and Stoke (12k for a fifth round FAC tie against premiership opposition!). I drive back through Stoke, so was pleased to have a quiet run home.

This season's  attendances have been fantastic. Amazing support. Both home and away. 

[OssieEnd]

11 hours ago, Mr Tibbs said:

Comfortable win in the end, despite it feeling like a grind at times. Still, exactly what we all wanted pre-kick off so will take it all day long. I’m in no rush to get back to losing at home to Preston, Cardiff and all the other boring teams we’ve played a trillion times this millennium.
No problem taking in another season of routine wins whilst we get a squad together and some restrictions lifted, if that’s what it comes to. 

Davey McG is a joke. Thought he had a quiet first half but he’s the most gifted player in the league that I’ve seen so far.  Murdered that defender, who looked about half his age, for the second goal. 

Dobbin played well. Looks world class and non-league in the same phase of play but it’s certainly effective at this level.  

Tough game Saturday but hopefully that’ll kick us on a bit. 

I can see your point regarding staying another season in L1, but I want to get out of this division as soon as possible.  Bring on the Cardiffs and Prestons , they're just a stepping stone onto getting this club back to where it truly belongs. 

 

 

[Mucker1884]

14 hours ago, Caerphilly Ram said:

 

"Someone told me Bolton have lost..."

#forumstalker!  ?

[May Contain Nuts]

There was talk on the Barnsley thread about the balance of decisions going in our favour.

I think we might have got one yesterday for the first goal - it just depends on whether NML got the slightest of touches on the ball when the cross came in, or whether just his attempt to get a touch on it would count as interfering with play.

Very hard to tell for certain on the highlights but I'm sure it if VAR had its dirty mitts on League One they'd have found a way to overrule it.

Edited March 1, 2023 by Kokosnuss

[VulcanRam]

4 hours ago, jimtastic56 said:

I didn’t mention the crowd size. I was talking about Tiredness. Sky always talk about how exiting games are “under the lights”. This season is a hard slog.

It was freezing cold, hardly any away fans and the game was boring = zero atmosphere.

I actually didn't think it was that bad, I'm sure it's been quieter this season.

Oh, and don't take Sky's word for anything - they'd tell you a snail race was the most exciting thing in the world if it helped with subscriptions and viewing figures. 

Edited March 1, 2023 by VulcanRam

[Tamworthram]

3 minutes ago, Kokosnuss said:

There was talk on the Barnsley thread about the balance of decisions going in our favour.

I think we might have got one yesterday for the first goal - it just depends on whether NML got the slightest of touches on the ball when the cross came in or not.

Very hard to tell for certain on the highlights but I'm sure it if VAR had its dirty mitts on League One they'd have found a way to overrule it - he could be considered to have interfered with play by attempting to get his head on it.

Steady on now or we’re going to have to stop singing the **** the EFL song every time a big decision goes against us. ?

[May Contain Nuts]

24 minutes ago, Tamworthram said:

Steady on now or we’re going to have to stop singing the **** the EFL song every time a big decision goes against us. ?

There's also potential to disallow the 2nd for Knight controlling the ball with his arm. It would definitely be harsh, but the distance between his arm and the ball when it was played (although his momentum shortened that distance rapidly) wouldn't be considered too close for him to take evasive action (which he sort of does, but sort of doesn't at the same time - his body turns but his arm still goes toward the ball)

If I was a Cheltenham fan I'd be making the case that both goals shouldn't have stood.

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by Kokosnuss

[admira]

Made it to this one last night with a couple of fellow Suffolk Rams. Glad I wasn't driving as we got home at 1.15am due to the A14 resurfacing diversion.

Bit of a nothing game really. Never looked like we were going to lose and Cheltenham were pretty poor.

Atmosphere was quiet as others have stated but it was a cold Tuesday against not very glamorous opposition and another home game is due on Saturday, so may have stretched the purse strings for some.

Possibly opening up an old discussion again here but there were three 13/14 year old girls sat to my left who spent the entire game glued to their phones watching tik tok videos. I know you 'pay your money, you take your choice' but not really sure why they didn't sit at home in the warm aand do that. It was a little distracting for those around them.

[PistoldPete]

1 hour ago, Kokosnuss said:

There was talk on the Barnsley thread about the balance of decisions going in our favour.

I think we might have got one yesterday for the first goal - it just depends on whether NML got the slightest of touches on the ball when the cross came in, or whether just his attempt to get a touch on it would count as interfering with play.

Very hard to tell for certain on the highlights but I'm sure it if VAR had its dirty mitts on League One they'd have found a way to overrule it.

Decisions going in our favour? Having seen highlights again I think Cheltenham were very lucky not to go down to 10 men in the first half .ref was good though , for a woman I mean. 

[MadAmster]

3 hours ago, valakari said:

We have a small group to pick from, and most don't get a rest...its starting to show...and highlights the 'Warne way of high intensity'...like Bielsa...players run out of steam in the latter stages of the season.

Luckily we have McGoldrick, and his ability masks others deficiencies.

Regardless of which division we are in next season, i expect many of this seasons' squad will be replaced with more athletic and durable players, aged between 22 and 29!

 

I'd like to agree @valakari but to get 22 to 29ers in we'd probably have to pay fees and, unless the EFL relents a little, we still won't be able to. Stuck with a mix of young guns and wrinklies for another year I'm afraid.

Roberts is a decent player and I'm not slating the lad but... I lost count of the times he refused some killer crossfield passes and chose instead for a 30 yard back pass. I know he can use his right foot. He just seems to not have sufficient confidence in it. If only he could get that confidence he'd be excellent.

Rebecca Welch? Certainly one of the best refs we've had this season. If she and Stéphanie Frappart, the French female ref at the world cup, are indicative of the female refs progressing through the ranks then.... gimme more.

[MadAmster]

44 minutes ago, Kokosnuss said:

There's also potential to disallow the 2nd for Knight controlling the ball with his arm. It would definitely be harsh, but the distance between his arm and the ball when it was played (although his momentum shortened that distance rapidly) wouldn't be considered too close for him to take evasive action (which he sort of does, but sort of doesn't at the same time - his body turns but his arm still goes toward the ball)

If I was a Cheltenham fan I'd be making the case that both goals shouldn't have stood.

 

 

 

If we're case making. Jackson could have gone for deliberate hands. Didzy's offside on 34:04. Hard to tell from the still but it was certainly close if he was off at all

[Srg]

4 minutes ago, MadAmster said:

If we're case making. Jackson could have gone for deliberate hands. Didzy's offside on 34:04. Hard to tell from the still but it was certainly close if he was off at all

Looks like the left centre back plays him on. Feet look the other side of the right centre back, maybe leaning beyond him, but the left centre back looks deeper than that. Obviously, without the line drawing gubbings of VAR, I think this looks perfectly fine.

[OssieEnd]

31 minutes ago, admira said:

Made it to this one last night with a couple of fellow Suffolk Rams. Glad I wasn't driving as we got home at 1.15am due to the A14 resurfacing diversion.

Bit of a nothing game really. Never looked like we were going to lose and Cheltenham were pretty poor.

Atmosphere was quiet as others have stated but it was a cold Tuesday against not very glamorous opposition and another home game is due on Saturday, so may have stretched the purse strings for some.

Possibly opening up an old discussion again here but there were three 13/14 year old girls sat to my left who spent the entire game glued to their phones watching tik tok videos. I know you 'pay your money, you take your choice' but not really sure why they didn't sit at home in the warm aand do that. It was a little distracting for those around them.

It was always going to be a ' nothing'  game , and after last Satdee last night was always going to be worse. 

 

We came thru. Got the three points. Over 23k  in attendance ( who can boast that in this league ??)  and we move on.

 

 

You guys travelling from Suffolk ? Wow. Just wow. Hats off to you all.