Alfreton Town - not necessarily as good as statistically suggested

[threenil]

At the risk of having egg on my face at 5pm on Saturday, I would like to point out that Alfreton aren't necessarily all that good.

The teams they have played are as follows:

Hinckley Utd
Redditch United
Hyde
Gainsborough Trinity
Blyth Spartans
Stafford Rangers
Vauxhall Motors
Nuneaton Town

Nuneaton are the highest in the league at present at 11th (I realise they beat us), so Alfreton have yet to be properly tested.

That said, they could be brilliant!

[Carl Newell]

Very good point I'm guessing they will see this game as a test against a top team just like us.

[Chelsea]

Good point but you can only beat the teams you play ( Chelsea for example)

[threenil]

Good point but you can only beat the teams you play ( Chelsea for example)

A good point well made sir.

[father Ted]

I think it SHOULD  / and WILL  be a real test . .and occasion !
 Teams can learn more after tough matches than the easier ones .
   The Team is performing well ..but  the money situ will dictate  establishment at any higher level .
       

[BostonGoals]

Last season they showed they were a good team and have probably improved over the summer, so it will be our biggest test so far. Both teams full of confidence though, should be a good game.

[Burton Pilgrim]

Threenil is quite right - Alfreton have only really played Nuneaton so far who are likely to finish in the top half, so we don't know how good they really are.  Workington's first real test was against us, and look what happened to them.

But teams like Redditch, Stafford and Hinckley could argue that they are only in the bottom half because they've played against the top teams like Alfreton and Boston!  It's a bit early in the season to judge some teams.

Alfreton are likely to be one of the main contenders for promotion - let's hope we show on Saturday that we will be right there alongside them!

They might have a strong defence, but with Darren Stride in the middle they might just be vulnerable to the pace we have in our front four.

[father Ted]

 I  expect  Stridey is a bit slow . . but then there's p o s i t i o n i n g

[leicester pilgrim]

They might have a strong defence, but with Darren Stride in the middle they might just be vulnerable to the pace we have in our front four.

Darren Stride was a very good player for Burton Albion, a one-club man and the first name on their team sheet for many years. He was Burton's equivalent to Paul Ellender and should have played at a higher level than he did. But when midfielders (or strikers for that matter) move back into the centre of defence it generally means only one thing - the legs have gone! The pace and movement of our strikers will be important on Saturday.

I don't think anyone else has yet mentioned the ex-Pilgrim in the Alfreton Town squad, namely Ian Ross. He looked a class act when he joined us on loan from Sheffield United a few years ago and scored a lot of goals from midfield. It's a mystery of the game how players with potential such as that end up at Alfreton via Gainsborough, and for that matter tend to be on the bench more often than they play.

[Burton Pilgrim]

Agree on both points.  When we won the Conference I hoped we would sign Stride.  I don't think he wanted to give up the day job to go full time, otherwise he could easily have played in League 2.

Ross was (too briefly) one of the better players we had during the League 2 years.  I think he's had injury problems since, but like you I'm surprised he is only on the bench for Alfreton.  Still wouldn't back against him coming on and scoring from a free kick