#afcb 0 v 1 #dcfc

My pre-match ritual was boosted today by meeting Blandford Phil and Posh Amy, one telling of their being violently ill and hung over and the other their sporting prowess – not the way round I was expecting…..

Wrapped in 12 thermal layers the game started with O’Kane rushing at the Derby defence.

As the back four opened, he tore through and as he reached the penalty he unleashed the expected shot passed it wide and lost the ball

I would say that this was to become a theme – getting a chance and not shooting. But I’d be lying. The theme was actually established last game, or was the game before, or the one….

Those first few minutes were very much the exception for the first half as we were transported 200 miles or so away to play at Pride Park and Derby assumed their position of the home team, with AFCB playing very much on the break

Derby had read the “Beat Bournemouth” manual and pressed all over the pitch which we coped with poorly.

Lots of hurried passes at the back resulted in lost ball in dangerous areas, constantly putting us under pressure.

In Ward, Derby possessed their equivalent of Fraser, as he was BEFORE his injury, and his speed and trickery caused no end of problems.

Their midfield, led by the young Scandinavian looking Hughes were quicker, cleverer and most importantly stronger than our pairing of MacDonald and O’Kane which meant that the ball was often quickly robbed by Derby and then moved so quickly there was a lot of shadow chasing

Both Martin and Ward had chances having been put through the slow-turning defence before Rantie had Bournemouth’s best chance on 18 minutes.

A long clearance from the Ward chance had Rantie sprinting past their defence and hammering a low shot at the near post, which their keeper did well to parry.

Hitting on the break as we were, when we weren’t getting bumped off the ball, we did get the ball wide and put in some great crosses – but we just never seemed to have anyone in the box to put the final touch to it

I would say that this was to become a theme …. Oh well, you get the point

I don’t normally give ANY praise to opposition teams but I have to today. For me, this was the best team I’ve seen at Dean Court. Tireless with and without the ball, clever passing and full of attacking options – it would be a team I’d happily pay to watch

With Bournemouth under a lot of pressure, mostly brought on themselves by being so well pressed while sitting back and not pressing AT ALL, it was Bournemouth that could have gone in 1 up

In the 45^th minute a long Cook throw in caused panic and as the ball fell to MacDonald, he crashed the ball at goal and while I was about to cheer the net billowing, a last ditch defensive block set the ball wide

Half Time 0-0

At the beginning of the second half, Camp showed the benefit of his Jalal like (haha) good distribution as his throw out (NOT the blinking awful tactic of whacking it wide for a flick on to no-one) had Grabban scampering down the right and his cross was met by Pitman on the half volley but he blazed over

On the hour mark, though, Derby showed how good play SHOULD be finished off

Impressive one touch football down the left had the ball fired in across the 6 yard box and the very impressive Ward was there to shoot in off the post

Derby were 0-1 up and thoroughly deserved it

A few minutes later Pugh and Rantie were off and Fraser and the Scarlet Pimpernel, Ritchie, came on

How can one player, sidelined for the whole season through injury, come on to the pitch of players who’ve had 15 games on the “learning curve”, and be the best player we’ve got?

The crowd sensed it immediately and upped their game, to be rewarded by him (and Fraser, truth be told) actually making runs up front and being able to keep the ball.

All, I repeat All other clubs have players that when the ball is cleared, will get to the ball first AND KEEP IT but in Ritchie, maybe we can start to compete

His footwork and work rate were exemplary and had he been passed in on 77 minutes, which was the obvious ball completely missed by O’Kane I am convinced that we would have actually worked the keeper

This was shown just 2 minutes later as he took things into his own hands, cut in from the right and instantly smashed the ball at goal.

Yes, it did get deflected wide, but he took the responsibility of having a go – something that a few of our other players need to look inside themselves and ask – am I stepping up to the plate?

Derby then professionally saw the game out and it went from bad to much, much worse for Bournemouth as Cook was badly injured in a “kitchen sink” moment as he span and clashed totally accidentally with a defender

It was his leg and it looked bad

Next week the CB partnership could be Elphick and Addison – I’ve got my tin hat on order already…

Final Score 0 - 1

Summary – Derby were just better than us – simple as that. Better pressing, passing and ideas. We weren’t awful – just not good enough on the day.

The huge positive that is having Ritchie back (and it is huge) for me has been more than wiped away with the injury to Cook.

We all knew it was going to be a long, hard winter and right now I’d still settle for survival in this league.

Derby are one of the teams  that will be right up there at the end and there’s no disgrace in this loss – but 0 goals in the last 2 home games and very few shots on target tell its own story – all need to be improved – and quickly

Star Man – Ritchie – showed more intent, skill and passion in those 20 minutes or so than we showed in the previous 70

Amazing Away Support

East Stand

Main Stand

South Stand

North Stand

 

 

#afcb 0 v 2 #bwfc

So it was true – the ironically named Legends was gone. More importantly to me, a pre-match routine I’d developed with my autistic lad was gone forever.

Thanks for the consultation – thanks for the notice – thanks for nothing!!!

A new routine was needed and so the bar at Fitness First was the destination. Apart from the fact they don’t serve diet coke (I did confirm they were actually a gym) – it doesn’t seem too bad a switch.

The beer was cheap(ish), the footy was on and the toilets clean – it could never have the atmosphere but the rest was good enough

I was looking forward to seeing our loanee keeper Camp but I couldn’t take my eyes off the Bolton keeper as they came out. Was there one person sitting on another’s shoulders or was he really that freakishly tall?

Let’s hope we test him, I thought……..

The game kicked off and it was clear that Francis was still on the spin cycle of getting rinsed against Leicester’s Dyer as he came up against Bolton’s side-show Bob (Lee).

Within the first minute Francis was turned inside out and back again but fortunately for him Lee was so weedy that a strong round of applause sent him sprawling – so started the battle of the fast against the strong

Bournemouth had the first chance as a pass to Rantie’s feet saw him turn smartly, move past one defender and smash his shot goalwards only to be blocked by the covering defender

Three minutes later, Danns was sent through a static defence and with Camp rooted to the spot, we all watched as the shot luckily was dragged wide

On 11 minutes Camp was called upon properly for the first time as a stinging shot from Ream was arrowing into the top right corner and it was only Camp’s strong hand that kept the ball out – a great save

Bournemouth then had 5 or so minutes of pressure which resulted in a couple of long throw opportunities – but I ask you – what is the point?

So often we didn’t even challenge for the ball being thrown in, we might as well have just given the ball back. I’m not sure what we need to do to make people put their head in where it hurts but the formula needs to be found soon as these long balls and crosses are just a waste of time without someone trying to get on the end of them

Fifteen minutes of very frustrating play came next as Bournemouth decided that tippy tapping the ball at the back was entertainment enough until it was time to either launch a 40 yard ball, in the swirling wind, to the crowd (normally) OR try to thread the ball through the eye of a needle which Messi couldn’t have made

A time in which the only highlight was a massive Arter block on 27 minutes after Francis was bemused again and the ball crossed from the left as the Bolton midfielder strolled forward and crashed the ball at the goal from 20 yards

Both Grabban and Rantie then had shots, but both were blocked without the keeper having to make a save

This was to be a theme – say what you like about Bolton, they defended like their lives depended on it – whereas, Arter and Cook aside, we looked like losing would mean they’d be limited to just one all-expenses VIP trip to the Rome health clinic.

Why is it every team look fitter than us? I know it’s a harder league – but surely we are all eating the same things and all have the opportunity to go to the gym etc? – I just don’t understand

Then it happened. On 36 minutes N’Gog went through with Camp again rooted to the spot. This time, Camp was rounded and as N’Gog sliced the ball towards goal, Cook came sliding in but overestimated the speed of the ball – hitting the back of the net himself before the ball did

Half Time 0-1

The words from “Confused Rich” were “command your box” – and how true these words were. How are we coaching our keepers? Camp has only been with us for a few days and yet he’s already followed Jalal and Allsop in the “nothing shall move us from our line” mode.

Second half and I’ve got fewer notes than the minute waltz

Bolton backed off. We huffed and we puffed but ultimately we could have played for the next month non-stop and we wouldn’t have scored.

Bolton closed down so well and just defended their 18 yard box and we had so little movement that even Arter’s guile could not figure out a way through. Without people actually moving, Bolton’s job was made a lot easier

Even Camp was getting frustrated when he got the ball that he had no-one to pass to – you can kind of see why Allsop looked so indecisive with his distribution.

When we did have a chance, we simply wouldn’t shoot but instead look to the next pass, which inevitably went awry.

We are not Arsenal, We cannot just walk through a championship side and walk the ball into the net. Our last 2 goals, from our winger, not striker, have been where the boot has been put through the ball – why our strikers are so shy baffles me.

Even when Pitman and Thomas were brought on for Fraser and Rantie, although our ball retention did improve, our shot to possession ratio was just awful

Our 2 best chances came from free kicks earned around the box but with Pitman insisting on taking them all, even when a left foot from Daniels would have suited the chance better, the keeper still wasn’t worked

Then, deep into injury time, a long clearance punted the ball up to Beckford, who, under pressure from TWO defenders, shrugged them both off and smashed the ball past Camp – very reminiscent of the Clarke goal against us for Coventry last season

That’s what we are missing. Someone fast, strong who knows where the goal is. He didn’t need anyone else – he just believed in himself, backed himself, shot and scored

Full Time 0-2

Summary – A disappointing game but I was left more than disappointed to have Willo’s words echoing in my ears that AFCB fans have their expectations set too high.

If, by expecting professional players to run to make space, be able to pass the ball simply between them and having the occasional shot on goal when the chance presents itself, I am expecting too much – then I plead guilty

I’m not looking for Bournemouth to get promoted, I’m looking for us to survive in this league and while I’m paying money and giving my time to travel all over the country, I want to see us at least do the basics

Is that really too much to hope for?

Star Player – Arter – A surprise choice I’m sure as some (only some, mind you) of his passing had to be seen to be laughed at – but the passion that he showed in BOTH defence AND attack showed me that above all, he really WANTS this opportunity and with better choices, will succeed

East Stand

Main Stand

 

North Stand

 

South Stand

 

Amazing Away Support

 

#lcfc 2 v 1 #afcb

Away Days – I love them!! @poolefoxkurt had passed on his local knowledge as to where to park and where to drink – although admittedly when he said he goes to Kazkazini it did rather sound like he was just using up the letters he had left from a rather difficult game of scrabble

However, both were there and after a 4 hour drive, both were very welcome

The Foxes’ fans were full of questions as to how long it took and which route we took, all eagerly looking forward to a weekend in the sunny south later in the season.

That’s how it should be – a bit of banter and the realisation that we are all just people – no need for the anger and “hatred” so often seen in the actual stadium – however mocked up we pretend

A lot of people like the “old school” stadiums, but not me – I like to sit in a stadium where all the gaps are plugged and their set up of having lots of home fans both to the left and right suited me perfectly.

Yes we were in the corner – but I had a great view – no complaints. So glad I wasn’t seduced by the cheaper price of the “mixed” area – seeing all those kids waving their scarves around and screaming would have driven me mad.

After the warm-up all the players came over and threw their tee-shirts into the crowd. What a shame Addison wasn’t there – we could have used his shirt as a stadium display like we do with the giant flag….

The Foxes fans, less in numbers than Forest, which was a bit disappointing considering they started third, were much more vocal. That doesn’t say much, I appreciate, as the City ground was the proverbial library but there were a good variety of songs.

If I was totally picky I’d say that 23,000 should make a hell of a lot more noise than they did – but being the home team doesn’t guarantee noise – we of all teams should know that

The game started with some early AFCB pressure but Allsop was called to make the first save as the impressive Dyer swept through and smashed the ball point blank at him. He took it in the stomach and it was hit so hard it winded him – I think it would cut me in half

This was to prove a theme. Leicester were so much quicker and more fluid than last week and in Dyer, not only did he torment Francis so badly he didn’t know his ar$e from his elbow, he totally negated the attacking threat of returning Fraser as he constantly had to cover back to help Francis out.

If our right was a worry, at the back in the middle, Ward might have well been wearing oversized shoes and a big red nose. He was so far off the pace it was laughable, making the job that Cook did even more impressive, doing his own job while carrying Ward all over the pitch.

I don’t, however, want to turn this into a negative report – because those points apart, there were plenty to be happy about.

Arter and Collison looked excellent in the middle and Pugh is in the best vein of form I can remember for a couple of seasons – especially good with Daniels back in the side.

It was a Pugh and Daniels combination that fired a low cross to Grabban deep in the box. Turning his man brilliantly he inexplicably fired wide from 8 yards.

I’ve never seen a front 2 so lacking in confidence. I’m not going to fault their effort but they both need a goal so badly it hurts.

Like two World of Warcraft geeks suddenly presented with a living, breathing woman, their over-eagerness buggers up their first touch and it’s all over, for the worse, all too quickly

Straight after the Grabban chance, Leicester tore upfield and the hapless Ward brought down Vardy

Yellow card . tick, tick, tick

Three minutes later, AFCB were 1 down. Dyer rinsed Francis again, cut inside and passed to supposedly out-of-form Nugent. A quick look up and from the left side of the box, he curled a beautiful shot just inside Allsop’s right post

From that goal, even though no blame whatsoever could be levelled at Allsop, like a tall pack of cards, he just fell apart.

He looked like he was seeing ghosts in front of him, so scared did he look and proceeded to pass out hospital ball after hospital ball, putting the already woeful Ward under even more pressure.

This was such a shame because as soon as we got the ball to midfield, we looked fast and spirited and caused all sorts of problems down both left and right – just a shame we had the cutting edge as sharp as a blamange

On 38 minutes a disputed free kick on the half way line had Ward kicking the ball away. All 1007 AFCB fans held our breath. How can someone with his experience be so monumentally stupid?

The referee approached and took him to one side………and just talked. Thank God for that. Tick, tick, tick…..

On 40 minutes, more good work on the right by Rantie and Grabban had the ball quickly move to the middle to Pugh.

As the ball rolled to him, Pugh span a 1000 times in a second, emerging wearing a giant S on his chest and smashed the ball into the top left corner, beyond Schmeichel’s  reach.

What a goal – the AFCB fans, who quite frankly were magnificent the whole half, erupted in a frenzy – we were back in the game !!!

Half Time 1-1

A quick mention of the toilets at the KP Stadium. If I’d wanted an advanced trigonometric  work-out I’d have applied for the Krypton Factor – they had the weirdest angles ever which meant getting in and out was nigh on impossible – I was lucky to make it for the start of the second

Which was just as well, as AFCB were SO much better. Leicester are a good, flowing, attacking side – but so are we – and we really started to show it.

But for some heroic blocking, maybe Rantie or Grabban could have given their confidence a well deserved shot in the arm

Despite all the good play, it was an old fashioned hoof that was Bournemouth’s undoing. On ran Vardy but the ball was well over-hit

Unfortunately, Allsop was in the middle of a thrilling game of Stuck in the Mud with Ward and hadn’t been tagged so of course he didn’t move – he’s no cheater. Surely that is the ONLY reason why a championship keeper doesn’t walk out 5 yards and collect the ball?

Instead, the never say die Vardy collected the ball, rounded the statue and slotted the ball away.

I know getting on Allsop’s back isn’t going to help him, but I think being around the likes of Jalal is having an adverse effect – as being tied to his line was one of his problems

Two minutes later, the game was over. The ticking time bomb that was Ward stuck out a leg and down fell their attacker. I couldn’t see whether he actually made contact – but it almost didn’t matter. He gave the ref a decision to make and after the kicking the ball away incident, the yellow was obvious to all who watched.

Even though the game was effectively dead, with Pitman, Thomas and Elphick coming on – I really did enjoy the way the lads banded together.

There were times that you didn’t know that we were a man down as everyone raised their game. I will say, having Pitman on the pitch, someone who can hold the ball and win headers , really brought a better dimension to AFCB’s game

That should be a real head scratcher for Howe

Final question of the day – when are the training coach going to turn to page two of the long ball manual?

AFCB have definitely got the long ball to the likes of Pugh, Francis and Pitman and they often win the header

Unfortunately, it is on page 2 where all the other players learn to anticipate winning the ball. Without that, let’s face it, rather crucial element, what exactly is the point?

Full Time 2-1

Summary – The irony is that AFCB played a LOT better than last week, yet walked away with nothing. The game was turned on 2 errors. One minor in that Ward really should have been subbed – he was red man walking and Howe was the only one not to see that Hollands’ moment  repeating itself.

The second, more catastrophic error was in Allsop’s decision making. If that had been Rantie running through, Scmeichel  would have kicked both ball and player clear out of the stadium – you don’t get time to dwell at this level

Star Man – Pugh – Excellent going forward AND defending and a goal that just looked so pretty you could dress it up and take it to dinner

 

#nffc 1 v 1 #afcb

The alarm woke me unceremoniously at 6:30 but for the first time in a month I literally jumped out of bed - it was #afcb away-day time

The driver, Matt, was prompt at 08:00 and we were on our way. The first away game since Watford - it couldn't be that bad again, could it .....?

We stopped off at Cherwell services for a usual pre-match fill up

Matt forgot it was a football day and bought sushi. We all just stared - each of us trying to calculate exactly what we could get away with saying without endangering our seat in the car

In the end we bottled it. Said nothing and reached Nottingham by 12:45

Notts county had the brilliant business idea of opening up their sports' bar to the #afcb fans

Although Hooters was appealing..... we took the Magpies up on their offer and I have to say, atmosphere apart, it was by far the best away bar I'd frequented. Good beer and tv's in each booth showing the Blackpool game - bravo

We walked to the City Ground and it wasn't like just stepping up a league, more like 2 or 3 - very impressive

I also got to meet the Forest mascot, Robin Hood - so basically my day couldn't get any better, or so I thought....

As the game was just about to start, Mull of Kintyre came on and just before the whistle went the music stopped and the fans carried on singing - awfully

I'm not sure what affiliation Forest have with the far reaches of Scotland but if they are going to sing that they should at least sing the same verse!!

After sharing half chances, AFCB had the first chance on 6 minutes as Rantie burst through one on one with the keeper but the keeper managed to tackle him before he could get a shot away

Straight from that Cox fired a low shot which Henderson parried and as Cox came in for the ball the players collided and it looked like Henderson might have popped a shoulder

Off he went and Allsop replaced him

The first half then fell into a pattern whereby each AFCB player could either hold the ball up but not pass, or simply could not hold the ball up

This meant that apart from the occasional break, Forest had wave upon wave of attacks as we simply could not keep hold of the ball

Pressure was mounting but with Cook in outstanding form at the back, AFCB kept Forest at arms' length apart from when Cox was put through and shot wide

That was, however, until the 38th minute

A Forest long ball was headed out an fell to Lansbury 

He controlled the ball and sent a 25 yard curling shot into the top tight corner

He'd solved the mystery of how to score (Lansbury - mystery - oh please yourselves....)

I was ready to rant that a keeper Allsop's size should never get beaten from that range but the ground's excellent screens showed the replay and I think even if Flahavan had been sat on his shoulders, it would have still gone in

Fearing the worst the team rallied a little and could even have gone in level

With just seconds to go a long Cook throw caused mayhem in the box and Grabban (I think) swung and hit he ball against the foot of the post

To be fair it was by far the best  thing he'd done all half - he seemed to physically repel the ball

At least, though, he was still better than Surman, who seemed to be pulling a sack of coal around with him

Others had lesser bags but most still seemed to be carrying...

Half Time 1-0

In an ode to 'Confucius says' , at half time, 'Confused Rich says' ... "they whipped us like a tied up goat" - wise words indeed

The second half saw Daniels replace Harte which immediately improved our play down the left but we still sat too deep, gave the ball away too often and invited them on

On 61 minutes Forest had their best chance to seal the game as a player was sent though (couldn't see who) and he rounded Allsop skilfully

Stood in front of a gaping, empty goal, inexplicably he struck the ball wide

Hahahahhahaha

Prior to this I had turned to my fellow travellers and said that I'd never been in a crowd that was SO big, that made so little noise

At that precise point, you could have heard a mouse fart

From that moment AFCB started to BELiEVE

Success was being gained down both left and right and if we actually had someone in the middle.....

Then for me, the pivotal moment. The truly awful Surman went off and Pitman came on and he went straight up front

Finally, someone to hold the ball up and knock on headers

From that moment instead of playing with 10 and carrying 1 - we looked like a team and more importantly, we looked like a threat!!!

The home fans were now not just quiet but nervous

All of a sudden the players weren't as assured and AFCB were picking up more than their fair share of second balls - but time was running out

Shots and headers went close the AFCB fans outsang a 27000 strong home support but it just wasn't happening

Then, in the 91st minute the ball was played up to Rantie's feet

A slight mis-control, a turn then a pass to the left and Pugh was on his own just inside the box

He swung his right peg and scuffed the ball towards the near post

Everything went into slow motion . The keeper moved to the right, the ball went closer and closer and I swear Chariots of Fire was being played over the tannoy

It BLOODY WELL WENT IN!!!!

The crowd went MENTAL - I was jumping up and down throwing my daughter in the air as she screamed in my ear

Neither of us came away with any dignity from that moment - but who cares - we'd equalised!!

The final 3 minutes were akin to water-boarding as we all prayed for the whistle

Their keeper, previously booked for obvious time-wasting suddenly was running to take the kicks like life depended on it but it was too little too late

"Little Bournemouth" as described in the Nottingham Post had come, and they'd got a point

Final Score 1-1

Summary - The fitness coach needs shooting. Miles slower and less energetic than Forest. With that lack of fitness, touch was often poor so we made it so much harder for ourselves than we needed to

BUT and it is indeed a big BUT we have come to Forest and we have competed enough to take a share of the honours

The fans believe, we just need the players to believe that they are not here just for the ride but because the DESERVE to be in the Championship

If the psychologists can sort that out and our key injured players can return, who knows what we can achieve

Star Man - Cook - simply magnificent 

Life doesn't get any better ...

#afcb 5 v 2 #millwall

Walking into the stadium, something was different. Normally, after partaking of a sweet sherry I don my tin hat as I try to get to my seat without being smashed in the face by an errant AFCB shot during the warm up.

But not today – huge nets were behind the goal to protect the long suffering early entrants. It made me think, bit by bit, we are on the up, then as I moved to my seat thought nah, we’re always shit at shooting –this will stop the injury lawyers from getting their share of Max’s millions

At the risk of sounding like Bradbury, for the first 4 minutes, I thought we were very good. The irony. Henderson was quick distributing the ball and Arter snapped into a couple of early challenges and we moved the ball quickly.

Then, on 5 minutes, a long hoof from Millwall was headed straight up in the air, putting AFCB under pressure as it was picked up high in midfield. The ball was quickly slipped through on the left to Waghorn who coolly slotted it past Henderson.

Bugger – still – I’d rather concede early than late.

The crowd, who were excellent before the goal, took it up a notch. Why we are not this loud every game I have no idea but today the atmosphere was excellent, despite Millwall selling out and producing their own fair share of noise.

When I read the line up and saw Arter was in midfield, I thought Howe, master of misdirection, had done a Paul Daniels and pulled a rabbit out of the hat. He was back and raring to go without the press getting a sniff of it.

I was right, but only partially. Raring he was , ready he wasn’t. His injury clearly had reduced his fitness by 50% and his early dashing around quickly had him blowing out of his ar$e.

It was while he was taking his oxygen that the ball came to him. When fitness goes, you lose that time on the ball and with that, control.

Instead of passing back to any of the waiting defence, he passed to the opposition who (again) cleverly passed though to Trotter who finished exquisitely by chipping over Henderson.

This is the difference between League 1 and the Championship. In league 1 you can have a bad half and still win – here, we have a bad 5 minutes and we’re 0-2 down.

To balance the books on Arter, after that howler he started to pace himself better by not running at 100 miles an hour and gradually, through him and Collison in the middle and the running of Fraser, Rantie and Grabban, Bournemouth started to get back into the game.

The defence still made my sphincter constrict every time we were attacked, but we WERE getting through both on the left and right (especially once Fraser and Pugh had swapped sides) but there was one big problem. Actually, there were 2 small problems, our attackers.

Either they were so far off the pace they never made it into the box in time, or they made it there in time only for the ball to sail over their heads. We have 2 of the best wingers in the league but if there’s no-one in the middle, what’s the point? Foreplay without the finish – very frustrating

Fraser, young lad that he is, must have been feeling it more than most and so he took it into his own hands, so to speak….

On 43 minutes, fed up of crossing the ball to the Marie Céleste, he cut in from the left and curled his right foot shot into the bottom left corner of the goal. A fantastic goal and so well deserved on his first half performance

Half Time 1-2 : we were back in the game.

At half time Rich, disappointed last week after I’d forgotten his half time words of wisdom, again offered his Solomon like appraisal – “lacking height up front”. Difficult to argue – I’d like the stats of how many crosses we make to no-one.

On the plus side, in Grabban and Rantie, we have very fast, willing runners and any ball over the top gives us half a chance. If I was to be at all critical, I’d say that they are still not working as an attacking “unit”.

It’s all very well just turning and running, but they tended to work in unison, whereas when you watched Blackburn, their attackers worked together to pull the defence apart and offer themselves up to passes from the back. That, though, I believe will come as they develop the kind of working relationship I think could shake this league up

The second half started with AFCB at full throttle as both Collison and Rantie went close in the opening minutes, with Rantie’s chance going behind for a corner.

Harte trotted over and I must admit I thought there was more chance of Tindall turning up to a game white as a sheet than us getting anything from it but I was proved so happily wrong.

Harte fired it in and Cook rose, unchallenged, to powerfully head the ball in off the cross bar. It was only bloody 2-2 . “Two nil and you F***ed it up” rang round the stadium. Not yet, I thought – that’s just the type of thing to bite us on the ar$e

I needn’t have worried. 3 minutes later, Harte himself saw his left sided free kick crash against the bar with the keeper stranded. This was cleared but it was only delaying the inevitable.

An attack on the right saw the ball bounce out to Arter on the edge of the box, who hit it on the volley, curling it into the far left corner, giving the keeper no chance. The place erupted and the noise was deafening – what a come- back.

Today Arter was AFCB’s Le Tiss – a luxury player for most of the game (as he was at 75% at best) but when it mattered, he shone

Three short minutes later, yes, we are still at 57 minutes, a long AFCB throw in from the right (it was bloody long too ) caused confusion in the Millwall box and Dunne seemed to handle the ball. In fairness, it might have been another offence but as I’d not brought my binoculars and all of the action was at the other end, it was tricky to see.

A second yellow was produced and he was off and a penalty given. How many red cards and penalties have there been in AFCB games this season??? It seems unbelievable.

Grabban stepped up and slotted it into the bottom right corner.

If I was in my early 20’s and had gotten the dog’s abuse the whole game, then scored against my former team, maybe I too would have run to the Millwall fans to celebrate.

Not his proudest moment, I’m sure, but as I say, we were all young and stupid once….

The fans’ reaction too, was, to a certain extent, expected. The rush to the front to shout some more was easily handled by the police / stewards. The throwing of objects, one of which caught Cook on the head, can not be so easily dismissed.

Before the game I was more worried about aging AFCB fans wanting to “relive their youth” so I am, like I believe 99% of their fans, disappointed by the 1% who let their club down

I did, however, enjoy, AFCB fans repeating the Millwall song of “Grabban, Grabban what’s the score” – I think he was more than aware that from 0-2 down, it was now 4-2

The game then petered out as a contest, as AFCB slowed the game down and played keep ball.

There was time for 2 other points of interest. The first came on 87 minutes as Pitman, on a minute earlier for the absolutely knackered Arter, decided to show that he really wanted to be in the starting line-up.

Having lost the ball, he sprinted, and I mean sprinted, full pelt to get the ball back. I have NEVER seen him run so fast. Sure, most of the stewards would still have beaten him but it was still a statement of intent. I haven’t laughed so much in ages

The second was in the 90^th minute as Fraser ran into the box and chipped the ball over the defender’s tired lunge. Having missed the ball, he thought “Sod it, I’m going to connect with something” and he just followed through and took Fraser out.

Now if I was being generous, I’d say that Grabban wasn’t given the ball because of crowd worries, but big cynic that I am, there was no WAY Pitman wasn’t going to take it – it wouldn’t have mattered who he’d have had to punch, that ball was his.

Justifying that decision, Pitman sent the keeper the wrong way and put it into the empty right hand side of the goal

Full Time 5-2

Summary – A very ordinary first half where we made an average side look good. The second half showed glimpses of what talent the players have and what could be achieved. At the moment though, and I appreciate that it’s still early days, we are playing like 11 individuals that need to be introduced to each other in the pre match huddle

We have 2 weeks now (international players apart) to get to work with each other and start to build the understanding that all good teams need to not only play for themselves but to play for the team.

The “team” will be greater than the sum of the parts and when you think of the individuals we have now, and those that are to come back, we could be in for an even better season than I’d have dared hope for

Star Man – Fraser – the catalyst for the best come back I’ve seen at DC and tirelessly selfless in his running

North Stand

Away Fans

East Stand

Main Stand

Millwall do a funny half time dance

South Stand

 

 

#afcb 1 v 3 #brfc

This is a different kind of match report for me – I’ll say that straight off the bat. The reason? – because normally I detail what AFCB do well and, in an unapologetically biased way, couldn’t care less what the opposition do, or even who they are (player-wise)

Circumstances dictate, however, that for this report, I change my tact.

If I kept with my normal formula, I’d already be on the Star Performer section, as there was very little to be thankful for, but I will try my best…….

Blackburn lined up against Bournemouth and shook their hands. That was problem number 1. Each and every player from the grim north was bigger, stronger, faster….better…..

According to the Howe interview afterwards, the crowd’s nervousness adversely influenced the players. Bollocks – it was those handshakes and the fact that we were playing “Blackburn” – a former premiership side.

While we continue to play as “Little Bournemouth lucky to be breathing this rarefied air” rather than “we are Bournemouth who deserve to be here” –THIS is what we are going to get

It took just 9 minutes for Blackburn to take the lead. A cross from the left looked innocuous enough to the Bournemouth faithful, as we expect bugger all happening in the box.

Rhodes, a proper goal poacher/scorer, had different ideas. As the ball skimmed over shin high, he dived and headed in front of the statuesque defence to glance the ball into the bottom right corner. A fantastic finish – I couldn’t deny 0-1

Groves had clearly been giving some “inspirational” team talks as the back 3 (God I hope that’s the last time I use that term) and Allsop decided to play keep ball between them.

There are 2 problems with this train of thought:

1                     Every, and I mean EVERY, team press harder than we do as they seem to be stronger, fitter and hungrier than we are, so that puts us under a lot of pressure

 

2                     We haven’t got players that are comfortable enough on the ball to cope with that

Looking more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs the back 3 (shit I’ve done it again) fumbled and bumbled the ball between them and Allsop and we were getting absolutely rinsed down our right by King and Best as they both kept playing their “you can’t tackle, stop, impede me” card.

Blackburn’s second goal actually came from their right as slick passing and interplay cut the Bournemouth defence apart, allowing Best to slide in an easy close range goal

The East stand were LIVID (tutted quite loud) about the first or second passes not being given offside – but it was no more than they deserved 0-2

The difference between the sides, apart from the 2 goals, then became apparent to me. Where we took 10 passes to get close, to bugger it up, they took 2, and were through on goal. We were so slow a pub side could have defended against us

The 3^rd goal was no surprise except by how it happened

Josh King was sent through and Elphick, darling of the NS, just bowled him over. Some of the NS complained – but it was nailed on – King was going nowhere and yet was still fouled  - ridiculous

Rhodes scored the penalty  - of course he did. He sent Rocky the wrong way and put it in the bottom left 0-3

At half time one of our fans hit the cross bar and the ball went in – get him on, I thought, as apart from the offside Rantie goal on 5 minutes, that was the closest I’d seen to a home goal

Within 5 minutes of the restart, Hughes, the “experienced” campaigner of the team (who had replaced the injured Macdonald) had been booked for a high challenge, then booked again for a late tackle – so for all that “experience” he’d been sent off – brilliant

As I was googling “what is the biggest winning margin in a Championship game” the star of the season, for me, started to shine.

Fraser had come on for Pitman because the team weren’t strong enough to carry Brett a moment longer – and what a difference he made

With his pace and direct running, the massive Blackburn defence suddenly looked breachable

Trouble was with him on the right and Pugh on the left, who incidentally had the best game I’d seen without Daniels, what was the point in actually crossing the ball? There was never any one in the box?

Fraser must have thought that himself as he tried a couple of speculative shots- but to no avail

I did wonder whether the strikers were somehow allergic to the box as they seemed so reticent to go to these pastures green, but you’d have thought the ball just being there so often would encourage them

It was a different game. Sure, they were still cutting us open like a hot knife through butter,  but we were doing the same at the other end – except we just couldn’t put that final pass to feet

Playing so much better with 10 you really have to question the 3-5-2 start as playing 4-4-1, with Grabban dropping back worked SO much better

Bournemouth even got a goal back – with Rantie magnificently turning and nut-megging  in one movement before sending the rampant Fraser through.

He, in turn, tore through the defence to take the ball early and coolly slot the ball past the keeper’s left. Such a clinical finish – the first of many. I hope

And this was after Pugh had managed to hit the post minutes earlier - was there still time for a monumental come-back?

No

Final Score 1-3

Summary – I’d like Leon Best to be allowed into the home changing room. In there, I’d like ALL of the Bournemouth players to look, touch, feel, smell, lick WHATEVER THEY NEED TO DO to realise he is only human!!

No team in the Championship deserve so much respect that we should not compete – and yet that is what we failed to do in the first half.

Unless we shake off this small club syndrome, any team with a big past will beat us – because we have already beaten ourselves

If we don’t think that we deserve to be here – then we should just bugger off back to a lower division and continue to play the Groves-esque tippy tappy football at the back that gets us absolutely nowhere

Anyone can see how paper thin our squad is so I really hope we can use the loan market well. I fear it will be too little too late for Tuesday – but there is still time for the players to grow a pair and step up to take responsibility for what needs to be done in a game – including reading the game and comparing that against the instructions that have been given, if those instructions are just not working

Star Player – Pugh – best game he’s had without Daniels as his wing man. Fraser has the fans’ vote – and I get that – although once you’re 3 down, the pressure is effectively off J

Away Support - Excellent

East Stand

Main Stand

North Stand

Who ate all the pies?

South Stand

 

#afcb 1 v 0 #tykes

They tried it again – that Cherries anthem. A call from yesteryear to get the crowd going which resulted in 2 old guys clapping along hoping for Vera Lynn to come on next.

I’m all for us finding our own identity and galvanising the crowd into song, but no-one under 40 will have heard of it and they certainly won’t be joining in. I hope that we can get a song together, just something that doesn’t make us sound like we’re off to play with our woggles afterwards….

The game started brightly for me. In the first minute Ward did what he failed to do for 90 minutes on Saturday and try to thread Grabban through after he’d spun off the shoulder of the nearest defender. Sure the pass was over-hit – but I don’t care – at least he saw the opportunity

Now I’m sure that Pugh’s new child is absolutely beautiful but she must certainly have a set of lungs on her to keep the whole team up for the last few nights.

Surely that is the only explanation for such a lack lustre first half. With the exception of Grabban and Fraser, the rest of the team ambled about like a scene from Sean of the Dead.

Barnsley, like every team we have played so far, pressed all over the pitch whereas we just sat back and invited them on, applying no pressure on them whatsoever.

When we did get the ball, we were so deep that there wasn’t an effective outlet and so pretty soon, we’d find the ball coming back at us.

Another thing I’ve noticed about this league, players are adept at shielding the ball – we are not. Our touch was too often too heavy and if we were fortunate to control the ball, the next pass could go anywhere

Saying all that, we did keep having patches of 5 minutes at a time where balls where being passed and moved sharply and we cut through the Barnsley defence, only to overplay and lose the chance to shoot

The nearest Bournemouth came to scoring was from a Daniels’ long throw which bounced waist high to Fraser. No, I’m going to have to rephrase that – it bounced waist high on Grabban, but to Fraser it was nearer throat high so his swing at it resulted in the expected shot over the bar.

That was the nearest the Keeper had to dirtying his kit – his mum’s going to be so pleased

Barnsley on the other hand weren’t the side I was expecting at all. Led in the middle by a Billy Idol mini-me (11) they skilfully mixed direct route one football with patient and clever passing – I was expecting a bruising encounter, but they came to play.

They had an overwhelming victory if you go by chances gained and none were better than 1 minute after Fraser’s ballooned effort

From a tight angle on the right the post was struck by a stinging shot and as the rebound fell straight to an on-running  attacker, we all feared the worst.

With the goal at his mercy he chose this moment to show he hadn’t taken his OCD medicine today and as hitting the post once was an odd number he decided to hit it again to even it up.

The Barnsley fans were disappointed, but he felt a lot better inside

Half Time 0-0

At half time Howe had desperately tried to find an octagonal room so that 8 of them could sit in the naughty corner and that humiliation clearly worked as Bournemouth came out firing

Within a minute Grabban and Pitman combined for a one-two to put Grabban through one on one. His shot (yes I am going to call it a shot – we need it for our stats) dribbled past the left post like he’d shanked it with his ankle.

A glorious opportunity missed and it would capped a good performance but it wasn’t to be.  I may have been less charitable at that time and I do apologise to all those I may have offended at the time …

Daniels then went off (injury) and Elphick came on, with Cook going to left back. This ended our threat on the left. You don’t fully appreciate what Daniels does for Bournemouth as an attacking force until he’s gone.

Then the surprise substitution. Rantie came one (no that’s not the surprise – we were ALL hoping for that) and Fraser went off. Fraser was our main threat – so maybe he’d picked up a knock ??

Anyway, Rantie was on and the crowd, who I think were tremendous anyway, took it a notch higher.

Had Rantie scored with his first touch as he turned the defender inside out and fired just wide right of the goal, the noise would have woken Poole (not quite loud enough to fully wake Pitman though)

It still raised the excitement off the pitch and the players responded on the pitch. Rantie looks so fast and at last we were pressing from the front, which put their defence under pressure, which, surprise surprise, gave us more chances

Bournemouth were now in control and were getting lots of success down the right with Francis and Pitman firing crosses over and causing mayhem in the Barnsley box

It was from one such cross on 77 minutes that a scrambled clearance found Pugh on the left in the box.

Like a snake charmer he weaved from the right to the left, back again and again and again until the defender eventually fell catatonic which allowed him to push past and absolutely smash the ball into the left of the goal 1-0

The last 15 minutes or so we got a glimpse of what Rantie will bring for us – and he had an effect I hadn’t thought of. Not only was he a great outlet with amazing pace which actually encouraged our players to stop fannying around (one for Nikki) and get the ball to him, but it gave extra space for our other speedster, Grabban, to run into.

Yes, I know that that should have been obvious, but one player making another player more effective in such a small timeframe makes me salivate at what the season might bring.

As with and Bournemouth performance, we were always going to have 1 scare before the end.

For this match it came with just 5 minutes left on the clock as Barnsley broke quickly on the right. A low cross was cleverly dummied to the free man over, on the left.

As the striker wound up to score, or kill Allsop trying, Ward donned his superman outfit and threw himself in front of the ball’s path, taking it full in the face – a true “take one for the team” moment – and one that also proved to be telling

Full Time 1-0

Summary – I’ve seen Bournemouth play a lot better than this and get nothing. Sure we rode our luck, but we can’t be as sloppy as we were in the first half again, can we? We are guilty of trying to overplay but I really do admire the ambition to avoid the long ball hoof

We do need to press harder and stop the worrying passes at the back but going forward we really do look good although worryingly this good play doesn’t lead to as many shots on/off target as it should.

We are, however, missing Arter and Ritchie and with Rantie getting a starting place (this is a certainty, sooner rather than later) I think we will raise our possession to shots ratio – and with that our goal difference

Star Man – Grabban – despite the howling miss, played the 90 minutes like he gave a damn and wanted to prove that when Rantie comes into the side, HE will be his striking partner

 

Main Stand

 

East Stand

 

South Stand

 

Great Barnsley Support