Half Time

[Tony]

With exactly half of the league programme completed, we sit in a very handsome and perhaps unexpected 2nd place. Whilst no prizes are handed out in December, it's hard not to have elevated expectations for the second half if we can keep the current form going. But back in September when we sat in the bottom four and limped out of the FA Cup at Lewes with an abject performance, most of us would have been more than pleased with a bit of mid table obscurity. For those first dozen or so games we looked under-cooked perhaps a result of a rather short and indifferent pre season, a few injuries to key players and the enforced requirement to play our first seven games away from home. The new recruits, Hall, Seymour and Bloomfield seemed to hardly ever be on the pitch at the same time and goals and chances were hard to come by. George Hunt didn't make an appearance until the second half at Lewes and Jordan Cheadle was spending a lot more time on the bench than on the field. Only Adam Debois, who started as back up to Alan Julian until Alan hurt his back in the warm up at Eastbourne, showed the sort of consistent performance levels that has made him an automatic first choice.

Lewes was in hindsight the turning point and Mel made clear that some words were had between the players at half time. Whatever was said, it had an impact as we got back to a better style of playing and tightened up defensively to grind out a couple of wins which started to bring back confidence. For me the Torquay win was significant and we followed that up with a 5-2 demolition of Maidstone, games that showed there was a real team out there that was equal to most sides in the league. A 0-0 draw away at runaway league leaders Yeovil showed how far we had come in just three short months.

So can we sustain the form into the winter months when the bigger sides tend to show the depth of their resources and power away from the rest of the division? For the first time Mel has dipped into the loan and transfer market to fill some gaps and strengthen in certain positions. We will need that as a congested fixture list in January and February will test the depth of the squad. We'll need to have some luck with keeping key players fit and still maybe need a third striker to cover for Seymour and Bloomfield, the latter who seems to be somewhat injury prone. Realistically I think it will be hard to overtake Yeovil and I still expect Torquay to push hard for second despite some mixed recent results. A play off place though does seem a real possibility if we can keep the foot on the gas. Our home form has been excellent and we have a number of home games coming up to compensate for the first seven away fixtures so that is a slight in-built advantage. Only 10 points between 2nd and 12th place right now so things can change quite quickly. A bit of judicious spending might also be in order if we are still in with a shout by the end of February.

[TW10]

Good write up Tony..am i alone in thinking we have ridden out luck a few times this season and come away with 3 points? I suppose you make your own luck in football and perhaps it’s not luck at all when Dubois pulls off some great saves or Hall fizzes in a free kick and it goes on off a defender. There is no doubt Mel knows a good player and has them very well organised. Also when things wer’nt going well he was calm and stuck with the same players and it all came good. Under similar circumstances Dowse would have changed half the team and Gary perhaps wouldn’t have kept the faith in the way Mel did. There is no doubt we have some exceptional players, as good as any in the league in the likes of Seymour, Gray, Bloomfield and Inman and that those around them have raised their game.. just look at how well Sam Deadfield is playing these days. So i suppose this squad has felt adversity and bounced back and so can do so again when we inevitably go through a bad spell. Also the gates are amazing.. though was there really 1300 there yesterday?…, question for people, is this side stronger than the side that lost on pens in the play off final under dowson?

[Shepperton Supporter]

Two very good well thought out comments which I would endorse. Looking at a couple of points raised.
Yes we do need another striker for the reasons already outlined, he may not be available except at a price but this is the obvious area that needs strengthening.
Mel has said about a slow buildup, it might be that we will start to see players being given contracts for next season, and signings that are happy with our training regime.
The number of spectators has been speculated upon this season. Having watched games at a Beveree over many seasons I still find it difficult to assess. Perhaps is the large standing area , yesterday in the second half the area at the Alan Simpson stand ends looked fuller than I have seen it for some time. Don’t forget there are now a lot of families with young children to boost numbers. Most tickets are electronically recorded I would tend to accept the published numbers. Fictional numbers attracts extra VAT.

[Tony]

Our best league finish was 4th in the year we got to the play off final. Too early to say this is a better side until we see how we finish. Three from that side went on to play league football which shows the quality plus the likes of Shandon Baptistery who was on loan and now plays for Brentford in the Premier League .

[TW2-Beaver]

Our best league finish was 4th in the year we got to the play off final. Too early to say this is a better side until we see how we finish. Three from that side went on to play league football which shows the quality plus the likes of Shandon who was on loan and now plays for Brentford in the Premier League .

We finished 3rd in 2007/08 and 2nd in 2008/09

[Lord Elpus]

Good write ups and many valid points raised. I can see us making the playoffs at the end of the season but before then it'll be interesting to see how we react if/when we lose a league game. Plus, I do think we need a bit more competition up front, or someone to step in if Seymour gets injured. Mel clearly knows how to get the best out of players, which I'm not convinced Dowson always did and McCann often didn't.
I thought we'd get relegated based on the form up to, and especially including, the Lewes game but what a turnaround since.

[RogerB]

Talking of competition up front, where is Connor KB these days? Is he injured?

[GRTourist]

Talking of competition up front, where is Connor KB these days? Is he injured?

Yep. He was out doing drills while the players were warming up yesterday, but with heavy bandaging on his left knee.

[Tony]

Our best league finish was 4th in the year we got to the play off final. Too early to say this is a better side until we see how we finish. Three from that side went on to play league football which shows the quality plus the likes of Shandon who was on loan and now plays for Brentford in the Premier League .

We finished 3rd in 2007/08 and 2nd in 2008/09

Quite right. The old memory failing me again!

[ExRef]

Do people remember previous seasons where on Beveree Chat we have been keen to get around 40 points which might just have been enough to avoid relegation? What a turnaround !