Match Thread vs. Wealdstone FC 13.03.21 [NL]

[laddo]

It will indeed, especially against a far superior side.

It's a collective effort obviously and recently the manager has let down the players and the players have let down the manager.

The one thing we can't see again is the level of lack of effort that we all saw in the Halifax game. Unacceptable. That combined with low confidence produced the worst display of the season I've seen.

[durhampie]

It will indeed, especially against a far superior side.

It's a collective effort obviously and recently the manager has let down the players and the players have let down the manager.

The one thing we can't see again is the level of lack of effort that we all saw in the Halifax game. Unacceptable. That combined with low confidence produced the worst display of the season I've seen.

Yesterday you could see the difference in the amount of effort the player put into the game compared to Tuesday. Maybe it was their way of telling Ardley that the style of football he wanted them to play wasnt working...

[SwalePie]

Reading these threads sometimes I feel like an alternative universe exists on NCM. Suddenly, because we won, the players have apparently taken over from the manager, the players' meeting is a bad thing rather than a good thing, NA has lost the dressing room etc., etc. As far as I'm aware none of these theories/rumours are based in any fact or actual knowledge. These are just the latest chapters of this enthralling but fictional psychodrama, it has been happening for donkeys' years.

It makes for a fascinating and entertaining read wondering where this rabbit hole of invented story lines will go next but blimey it's surreal and weird to watch these things sustain a fictional life of their own. Long may the entertainment continue!

COYP! Viva NCM!

[Glad2BeAPie]

You dont.
You sack the manager and replace him with one that is paid to manage.
The lunatics have taken over the asylum..
One for you laddo , an eighties classic....name that band.

Fun Boy 3

[matt_magpie]

Reading these threads sometimes I feel like an alternative universe exists on NCM. Suddenly, because we won, the players have apparently taken over from the manager, the players' meeting is a bad thing rather than a good thing, NA has lost the dressing room etc., etc. As far as I'm aware none of these theories/rumours are based in any fact or actual knowledge. These are just the latest chapters of this enthralling but fictional psychodrama, it has been happening for donkeys' years.

It makes for a fascinating and entertaining read wondering where this rabbit hole of invented story lines will go next but blimey it's surreal and weird to watch these things sustain a fictional life of their own

COYP!

We're just in a sticky patch but I guess the worry is can we get out of it. There's clubs in this division, similar budgets and all having inconsistent performances and results and against lower positioned teams too. A lot of this is because of the standard of football in this league and I think our situation is compounded by our relegation under Ardley that his stocks not very high. I don't think he's lost the dressing room at all, yesterday was a massive result, yes they weren't a great team and it wasn't a champagne performance but sometimes when confidence is low you can't buy a win, we just need to build on it now.

[SwalePie]

We're just in a sticky patch but I guess the worry is can we get out of it. There's clubs in this division, similar budgets and all having inconsistent performances and results and against lower positioned teams too. A lot of this is because of the standard of football in this league and I think our situation is compounded by our relegation under Ardley that his stocks not very high. I don't think he's lost the dressing room at all, yesterday was a massive result, yes they weren't a great team and it wasn't a champagne performance but sometimes when confidence is low you can't buy a win, we just need to build on it now.

I wasn't specifically talking about the current storyline but rather the interesting phenomenon whereby one poster says something which becomes a 'truth' by repetition and then others join in and a story becomes the accepted reality, despite the fact that the origin was merely a rumour or idea. It is fascinating really, and I guess not unique to NCM.

[Woodsetts_Pie]

Yesterdays performance was a huge improvement on the 2 or 3 that went before. The reason for this I feel was obvious. JOB in midfield has a forward thinking mentality. Gone was the pirouette backward pass. Combine that with the solidity of the back 3 that included Ellis (not to mention the long throws - always a bonus) and we looked a much better outfit. I know the oppo was part-time, but we actually looked sharper, and that we wanted it more. Lets see now if we can continue this into Tuesday, or if NA bows to the temptation to return to the previous midfield dullness. I hope not.

Also, can you imagine what a field day Cal would have had yesterday?

[MAD_MAGPIE]

As a club if we want our philosophy to be based around one that plays football on the ground and out from the back and pass and move that's fine by me. At the other end of the spectrum you will have clubs who generally play very direct and get the ball into the final third as much as possible for someone to run onto. We've seen different managers adopt differences in approach over the years between the two spectrums. All have advantages and disadvantages.

Playing football on the ground and passing is the hardest way to play football, but when it does work it's the best kind of football. We've seen these players have the ability against Barnet and the excellent passing team goal we scored that led to the phrase "Ardleyball" being coined.

I think the issue recently has been largely a mental one in which over the games confidence has eroded, we've had some new players fill in due to injuries that won't have played together before. Then there has been cumulative fatigue. It became a perfect storm which led to what we saw on Tuesday.

What we do have though is height and strength in this side with quite a number of players over 6ft, but they are also physically big. This by default leads us towards a natural plan B which is what I think we saw yesterday. The change in formation also gave us an insurance policy in defence with the addition of Ellis which then allows the likes of DKE to push further up the pitch. Likewise the extra man in midfield creates a robust unit in the centre of the pitch.

Yesterday it was all about getting the result. We will face tougher opposition next but maybe that's where we utilise the likes of Rodrigues if we adopt the 3-5-2 again to give us a more creative midfield, although JOB did well yesterday driving us forward and is not afraid to take risks and try things. The only thing with the 3-5-2 is we have four central defenders in Rawlinson, Lacey, Turner and Ellis and with so many games coming up three central defenders twice week might put a strain on those, so it might only be a stop gap while we get back on form? Or that might be the reason why Ellis was brought in to allow us to play this formation?

[matt_magpie]

I wasn't specifically talking about the current storyline but rather the interesting phenomenon whereby one poster says something which becomes a 'truth' by repetition and then others join in and a story becomes the accepted reality, despite the fact that the origin was merely a rumour or idea. It is fascinating really, and I guess not unique to NCM.

Yeah I know :-) Found it interesting on the commentary yesterday when the guy said we had got squad of 40 players to pick from, last time I looked we had 25 odd of which a few are loans.

[SwalePie]

Yeah I know :-) Found it interesting on the commentary yesterday when the guy said we had got squad of 40 players to pick from, last time I looked we had 25 odd of which a few are loans.

Yes, another example of a guess becoming a truth