Lets clarify something for those who are drawing conclusions purely from the scoreline, Worthing were country miles better than us today.
The fuzzy haired number 11 for them (Lewis White) was a thorn in our defences side all afternoon.
Pretty much as he was against us at home last year.
In view of this, the amount of freedom he was given was worrying.
Feeney should have drilled this threat into the back four, if he hadnt already.
The confidence Worthing showed on the ball, and the ability to pass and move, made us look like a Sunday morning side.
All we could offer was hoofing it long on the hope Azeez could pull a rabbit out the hat.
If we manage to get to a position of safety in this league, we immediately need to drop whatever players we dont foresee in the following seasons team.
We have got to get a squad that have the potential of a few years together.
Dont get me started on Curran, my god that bloke is poor.
Getting substituted at half time in our opener at Taunton, should have been enough to have got shot of him before August was completed.
I can only assume he is under contract? If this is the case, whoever gave him it needs to give their heads a wobble.
Maybe the Paynes and the Currans have got a villa rental in the Canaries for the next couple of weeks?
Either that or Feeney had us down to lose, and brought him on to safeguard his bet.
Hope that doesnt leave me open to libel court punishment.
Now we are half way through the season we can see strengths and weaknesses more clearly. Our meet the manager meeting was a mix, private in a way, but was also a bit formal, as it was filmed, and some went online after.
Before that meeting lots of people here said sack the manager, but in the meeting that opposition was invisible. In football there are 3 possible results, win, lose, draw, after 24 games we have an equal 8 wins, losses and draws, so one could say average results, which depending on ones viewpoint is good or bad. Warren showed in the meeting he can hold his own. When I have been in roles where things were difficult it was helpful for me to talk with others. Rather than this silliness of people passing on messages, threats being made, people getting frustrated at things continually going wrong, everyone meeting face to face will show we all want the same thing - Welling to succeed - and see what combined thinking can come up with to help increase that happening, and clear the air.
Just a suggestion. I learned from difficult work situations I have been in sometimes it is great for opposing people or confused people to meet and not stop until they have hammered out their differences and reached an agreement. I wonder if this would work with the forum members and the manager and chairman/ board members whoever signs players all in a meeting for a 100% private, unrecorded off the record talk, for a really constructive honest discussion about what problems are seen and what possible fixes can be made. Nothing to lose from doing this, lots to gain.
Mr Feeny seems to be content with the effort and performance today, which seems to be at variance to what I have heard. ''We will win more than we lose" with such performances was his view. I wasn't there today but all I can say is that we seem are so inconsistent that you never know what will come next. Further match reports and views from those there, will be interesting.
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In three words I can sum up everything i've learnt in life; it goes on.
Yesterday's game reminded me a lot of Eastbourne last season where we were a long way off it and could have been four or five down and yet, on that occasion, we stole a draw and we nearly did again yesterday!
However, make no mistake, we were outplayed yesterday for the vast majority of the game and the final score flattered us and not them! Worthing are a very good side when they get it right - they play a high risk game at times but when they get it right they look very good. I think it was the right tactic to press them but it has to be a team effort and if players are unwilling or simply unable to press each and every time then you come unstuck very quickly and the second goal yesterday was a prime example of that. As in the game at PVR back in August the little left winger was their star man closely followed by the bald number 4 playing the quarterback role in front of the back four. We knew the dangers, where they would come from yet we still didn't cope with them at all..?!
First goal was a goalkeeping error but he has saved us multiple times (and he did again yesterday) so no criticism of him. Indeed he made two saves before the third goal and might have felt entitled to a bit more help in front of him. And to top the afternoon off another red card to add to our portfolio. I didn't have a clear view of the sending off but the manager is clearly incensed about it so presumably we can get some video evidence, the player will be exonerated and any ban rescinded...
Perhaps we got too ahead of ourselves after two good wins against Tonbridge and this was a reality check in just how far we still need to go to compete at this level.
Just seen the highlights. I cant see a yellow card for Curran so a red is beyond belief. The officials have been very poor this season and yesterdays clown has form with us. I hope the club appeals that one. The game itself never seemed to be within our grasp after going 3-0 down but surprisingly we had a chance or two to get a draw at the end. Overall I thought we were well beaten though and need someone in the middle to either support the back four and/or pick out some simple passes.
-- Edited by GaryH on Sunday 8th of January 2023 08:08:45 PM
Even at half-time, I still thought we could get a result from the game. I still wince when I see teams playing the ball out from the back generally but Worthing did it yesterday very well. Mind you, and in doing so, you could have driven a bus through our midfield for particularly their second goal.
I've looked at the highlights several times in slow motion, and I still can't work out what the red card offence was supposed to be. Maybe there is some hidden league rule he was following, that the ref has to send off a Welling player each game?! But after only scoring once in a game since September, this was now the second game in a row we scored more than one, so an interesting start to the second half of the season. I saw an interview with a Tonbridge player, who said we had shown more desire than them in both halves of the pitch, and that feedback was nice to see, as the loan guys have freshened things up.
Great news on Daniel extending his loan to the end of the season, as up til now we have been light in attack if Ade or Stefan miss a game, and Daniel made a really big difference so far in his games with us. A fan of another team made a good point about the difference an effective attack makes in our league, quite accurately saying about this season, "This league is just much of a muchness. Nothing between the team in 4th to the team 4th bottom to be honest, and the bottom three aren't that far behind. As for the top three, we've played them all and whilst they aren't that far ahead of the rest of us they all have that little bit more up front and that's what money gets you, end of." It's why I think a top 7 finish is still a possibility, if we finally start getting more players into the opponents' box.
-- Edited by Johnny Hartley on Tuesday 10th of January 2023 04:44:15 PM
I've looked at the highlights several times in slow motion, and I still can't work out what the red card offence was supposed to be. Maybe there is some hidden league rule he was following, that the ref has to send off a Welling player each game?! But this was the first time since September we have scored more than once in a game, so an interesting start to the second half of the season.
Didn't we score twice in the previous game at home to Tonbridge?
We do people keep going on about getting a play off place and promotion do you really think our ground and team are good enough for top league! My be in 5 years or so! Let's build a team and ground first
Thanks Mark, my mistake, I have corrected my post now, it is promising we have now scored twice two games in a row. I get your point Welling68, but it is easy to forget how comparatively young and inexperienced our side is, with lots of young players who haven't really played that many matches in their careers, so there can be lots of potential improvement still in them, so we could be good enough for the top league, but it would only be possible to tell if we were to be there.
The record of promoted teams staying up is really good, but Maidstone have just sacked the manager that got them promotion last season, as they are having a tough season now, but it is important to have clear targets, and football is so funny and unpredictable, Dartford were in relegation spots earlier this season then fixed their problems and now look at them, so who knows, if we can just string a strong second half of the season together who knows how it will end. It's still all in our hands really. We have fixed some of the things wrong in the first half season, so let's not despair yet!!!
