todays game

[oxo]

Without doubt in the last couple of games since the new manager arrived the effort and workrate has risen and it seems pretty clear the penny has dropped very quickly that its, give it 100% or your out. To be fair almost everyone has upped their game but to me one player in particular has made one hell of a diferrence in the last couple of games, and that player is Ben Milnes, from being a good young prospect but one who was easilly muscled off the ball, he seems to have suddenly blossomed into a battling ball winner who has begun getting between both boxes yet still playing some lovely passess, the through ball to Marc Jones for his second today was exquisite, particularly in those conditions. Yes without doubt we still need strengthening in some areas but I am sure the manager now knows this and will act when able to do so. Looking forward to Corby and another test for our who  team I feel are on the up.

PS Good to hear Paul Holden is home recovering, All the best to him and look forward to his first appearance.

[B Grimes]

Only my third game of the season and courtesy of xmas at mums in bury my first home match and i dont know what the moaning has been about

collectively i thought thre lads were brill, noone can knock the general work rate at all, bar perhaps newsham who i thought even allowing for the fact that he did what hes good at putting the ball in thre old onion bag, i thouight could have worked a lot harder. mom to me and by miles was Ward and perhaps another experienced left sided CH next to him would shore up the defence.
I also thouigt the game changed when Jones came on who showed great guile and attitiude, and if any future signings drury makes are going to have the impact of smith then i say bring them on. apparently he is a wheeler dealer, probably one of tghe biggest reasons her got the job and i reckon 2,3,4 new players may arrive next month
But really enjoyed it inspite of a really boggy pitch and considering the awful weathet the fact that nearly 900 turned out to watch it suggests a lot more have the feel good facter now the new manager is in place
Hope to get to corby tuesday and if they play like that again i can smell a real tanking coming on...what a smashing day out, all that was missing as the singing in the rain chant which I used to love

[kingofnaves]

Without doubt in the last couple of games since the new manager arrived the effort and workrate has risen and it seems pretty clear the penny has dropped very quickly that its, give it 100% or your out. To be fair almost everyone has upped their game but to me one player in particular has made one hell of a diferrence in the last couple of games, and that player is Ben Milnes, from being a good young prospect but one who was easilly muscled off the ball, he seems to have suddenly blossomed into a battling ball winner who has begun getting between both boxes yet still playing some lovely passess, the through ball to Marc Jones for his second today was exquisite, particularly in those conditions. Yes without doubt we still need strengthening in some areas but I am sure the manager now knows this and will act when able to do so. Looking forward to Corby and another test for our who  team I feel are on the up.

PS Good to hear Paul Holden is home recovering, All the best to him and look forward to his first appearance.

totally agree Mel!
Its a shame it needs a sacking to get the players performing 100%

[BosLeake]

Like the fact we actually come out with some spirit in the second half , the amount of times under JL we just gave home games away in the second half without a fight.

GD is good entertainment at one stage I thought he was playing.

[woad_pilgrim]

We dominated possession yesterday especially first half, but didn't create the chances we did against Corby. Out of the 2 thought the Corby performance was the better but we still played well yesterday on a tricky pitch.

Oxford were very poor, one of the worst we have played this season, really not sure how they are top half based on the 2 games we have played against them. Take nothing away from the lads though are great team effort from every one, pleased Ross has knuckled down and decided to figt for his place in the team. I've been critical of him but he's had 2 very good games under GD although I thought the new lad Jordan Smith edged him for MOTM.

Good point raised about our second half performances in the last 2 games, under JL we nearly always had a poor second half undoing any good work we put in the first. Also a great celebration from GD for the second goal, that enthusiasm must rub off on the players.

All in all very optimistic that results and performances will continue to improve, the atmosphere is also returning - the doom and gloom around the ground is thankfully lifting. All very encouraging 

Edit: picking up on a few other points raised:

1) I would have estimated crowd at 900-1000, so just under 900 is about right. It was clearly down by a few hundred from boxing day.

2) Free comps is something I have been saying for a while needs to be looked at. Personally anything above what is officially required (players, press etc.), I would try to knock on the head if it was up to me. Can't see what the club gain from programme and 50/50 sellers, what they gain from this is almost all swallowed up in losing entry fees. Other clubs these jobs (and many more) are done by volunteers which is one of the reason clubs with 200/300 compete with us.

3) The ref was poor today. At least 3 times one of our players slid in, won the ball cleanly and a free kick was given. Have to say he let a few sliding tackles go the other way. I find generally we get more decisions when we play away from home, I think refs go out of their way to make sure they are not labelled "homers" but go too far the other way. This is something I have noticed for a while.

[Johnny Pilgrim]

cracking result today and the manager is really ticking all the right boxes with me    plenty of passion on the sideline, done a fantastic slip and slide on ya ass celebration ( anyone see it ? ) after our second and looks to have got us playing some good stuff once again. was anyone surprised with the official announcement on the gate total at the end ?? to me, and those around me, we all agreed there looked a lot more in the ground that was stated !!!!  maybe its the usual freebie guys getting extra's for there mates now 
time the club looked into this, as its costing us money. any turnstile operatives that are letting in "friends" should be sacked too ( it does happen !! )  anyway , back to the positives of today, 3 well deserved points

if you know that this is happenng you should report it to the Club immediately.....I believe that the guys on the gates are volunteers and they   do an excellent job for the club.....Im sure that they would be concerned aswell if they knew that one of their colleagues are letting people in for nothing....wih respect get your facts correct and inform the club....without delay

[yam man]

noone can knock the general work rate at all, bar perhaps newsham who i thought even allowing for the fact that he did what hes good at putting the ball in thre old onion bag, i thouight could have worked a lot harder.

You've summed him up perfectly!

[Pilgrim86]

Newsham looks like he doesn't work hard, but he is often moving around, trying to find gaps to exploit... give him the ball in the penalty area with a yard of space and he'll get his shot on target the vast majority of the time.

[Cavalier]

The only thing we need worry about with Newsham is being joint 2nd highest goalscorer in our league and therefore on the radar of any club looking for such a player.  He works hard for the team in a controlled and disciplined manner, obviously keeping something in the tank for when he gets a sniff of a goal.

[howmanynames2pick]

Newsham looks like he doesn't work hard, but he is often moving around, trying to find gaps to exploit... give him the ball in the penalty area with a yard of space and he'll get his shot on target the vast majority of the time.

has Newsh ever been spotted in the centre circle with his hands on his hips?
i really dont know why he gets slagged off
hes nearly a goal a game man and he pops up in BOTH Penalty areas!
how does he get from to other...taxi?
i guess he'll be one of the players appreciated more when hes not here

[Bostonshire]

Newsham looks like he doesn't work hard, but he is often moving around, trying to find gaps to exploit... give him the ball in the penalty area with a yard of space and he'll get his shot on target the vast majority of the time.

has Newsh ever been spotted in the centre circle with his hands on his hips?
i really dont know why he gets slagged off
hes nearly a goal a game man and he pops up in BOTH Penalty areas!
how does he get from to other...taxi?
i guess he'll be one of the players appreciated more when hes not here

I dont think p86 was slagging newsh more defending him in regards to the many comments of weekly idiots who seem to slate his work rate etc week in week out.

[green hats mate]

The one thing H & S did not deliver when here was a quality big strike partner for Newsham .  After all the dominence against Corby and only one goal return it was good to see a big striker with finesse do the business yesterday .   Can see Newsham and Jones pairing carrying us to the play-offs ,   SWD used as a tactical change when needed .

[howmanynames2pick]

Newsham looks like he doesn't work hard, but he is often moving around, trying to find gaps to exploit... give him the ball in the penalty area with a yard of space and he'll get his shot on target the vast majority of the time.

has Newsh ever been spotted in the centre circle with his hands on his hips?
i really dont know why he gets slagged off
hes nearly a goal a game man and he pops up in BOTH Penalty areas!
how does he get from to other...taxi?
i guess he'll be one of the players appreciated more when hes not here

I dont think p86 was slagging newsh more defending him in regards to the many comments of weekly idiots who seem to slate his work rate etc week in week out.

Sorry P86 if I appeared to disagree with you.
I was actually underlining your statement.

[kingofnaves]

cracking result today and the manager is really ticking all the right boxes with me    plenty of passion on the sideline, done a fantastic slip and slide on ya ass celebration ( anyone see it ? ) after our second and looks to have got us playing some good stuff once again. was anyone surprised with the official announcement on the gate total at the end ?? to me, and those around me, we all agreed there looked a lot more in the ground that was stated !!!!  maybe its the usual freebie guys getting extra's for there mates now 
time the club looked into this, as its costing us money. any turnstile operatives that are letting in "friends" should be sacked too ( it does happen !! )  anyway , back to the positives of today, 3 well deserved points

MyLeftFoot never used my freebie yesterday! It was torn up and thrown in the bin!

If I were you I'd amend that post re the gate, I've had phone calls from the club in the past, they are VERY sensitive on this issue.........and the gatemen are volunteers, they give up their time to do that job so be careful there, I know I'd be pi$$ed off if someone accused me of fiddling when I was doing something for free.

But I agree, the freebie culture needs knocking on the head, when I came to the Chester game with my cousin we were offered 4 or 5 freebies in the club, this can't be right. Players should get 2 max for FAMILY only and the programme sellers/50/50 sellers matchday helpers should also get in free but after that I see no reason why anyone should be allowed in free, be it through friend or family connections. If they want to support the club pay like the others, don't turn up expecting a free ticket, its not supporting the club, its freeloading.

KON, you listening?   

[Lord Cutler Knobhead]

Newsham? Lazy?  Been saying it for months