Aldershot (H)

[stanton101]

I'm just amazed it's taken some people this long to fathom out that the manager is hopeless. I'm all for giving people the benefit of the doubt, but with eleven games left!!
Never mind spunking money on journeyman players, get a manager in who knows wtf he's doing first, the rest of it will fall in to place.
You have to really look at who employs the manager, it's not rocket science is it.

[DaggerJoel11]

During half-time of the live stream, highlight's were broadcast from our 6-1 victory in the corresponding fixture last season. This performance was to be as stark a contrast from that as you could possibly fathom, ultimately illustrating that for all the investment placed in the club throughout the seventeen months since, nothing much has changed.

Report and player ratings from a bleak afternoon at Victoria Road - https://dagnificent.weebly.com/match-re ... rshot-town

[Alan]

I don’t understand why Balanta gets a pass from so many people. He’s been as ineffective as McCallum.

The recruitment was terrible. We have not improved at all from last year and is it really any better than the dross Taylor served up when we were going bust? To my mind, it isn’t. Thanks Daryl, but you’ve had your chance and blown a lot of money to achieve nothing.

[IanC]

Totally agree with first paragraph

[Diggerthedog]

Balanta is the only decent player we have, he was dropped earlier in the season and had played in positions that are not for him not sure he can be put in the same column as McCallum.

Any striker will look crap when not provided with any service and this is exactly whats happening with our front two. How many sitters do they both miss? Not many. You can’t play these two in the same side it just does not work, it’s all down to the manager and his crap recruiting.

This club astounds me, yet another manager who is crap and yet they all sit on their hands doing nothing happy to plod along being crap, owners have been great but under the surface it’s the same old crap dinosaur running it.

What’s happened to Croll, Deering and Brundle? Can only assume they’re all furloughed as yet again the communication from the club is non existent, once again same old secret squirrel nonsense of no updates.

Good luck selling season tickets next season, even to diehards like me is a tough sell.

[Auntie Merge]

Balanta is the only decent player we have, he was dropped earlier in the season and had played in positions that are not for him not sure he can be put in the same column as McCallum.

Any striker will look crap when not provided with any service and this is exactly whats happening with our front two. How many sitters do they both miss? Not many. You can’t play these two in the same side it just does not work, it’s all down to the manager and his crap recruiting.

This club astounds me, yet another manager who is crap and yet they all sit on their hands doing nothing happy to plod along being crap, owners have been great but under the surface it’s the same old crap dinosaur running it.

What’s happened to Croll, Deering and Brundle? Can only assume they’re all furloughed as yet again the communication from the club is non existent, once again same old secret squirrel nonsense of no updates.

Good luck selling season tickets next season, even to diehards like me is a tough sell.

I was thinking the same.

And as for the stream, often its a good time to do some housework with the commentary on in the background.
As much as I am desperately missing all the people at the club and especially those I sit near (waves to John, John, John, Oliver, Ray etc) i am extremely grateful for not having to travel to games and endure what has been served up for most of the season as entertainment.

[Pablo]

Sorry don't agree about Balanta at all. His ball control and ability to spot a telling pass are streets ahead of the rest though he can be too subtle for them at times. He has never been an out and out striker but has usually played behind a front two. He is being forced to play further up because in effect we have no one else. It looks like he will still end up our top scorer At times it seems to me that he, Justham and to some extent Weston and Robinson have been playing the opposition on their own. I think Mccallum has had service from Balanta and Weston but isn't positive or aggressive enough to make use of it and he has missed numerous chances within the six yard box. His effort too seems demonstrably lacking.

[Mark]

Some of the things Balanta can do are way above this division. There's obvious downsides such as his lack of pace and missing a few too many chances, but he's well worth a place. I think he's playing quite well and putting a shift in at the moment.

Trouble is, can he and McCallum ever play in the same team effectively? Balanta as a 10 wants runners in behind - this means a striker who plays on the shoulder and wingers who try to get in behind. We don't have those type of players. Boreham sometimes stuck him as a nominal left winger with no defensive duties, but we don't play wide men in that way either.

I don't see how Daryl thought this system would work with the players he acquired in the summer. We're playing a lot better now but still can't score goals, and I don't think they're ever going to come without a fair amount of changes. If he wants McCallum to work then I don't think there's any option but to play 4231 or 442 with proper wingers. Balanta may fit into the 4231 as the number 10, but he'll be a bit restricted by only having the wide men as passing options. He might score more arriving late onto crosses though. That system would also leave us vulnerable in the middle and likely expose our total lack of pace down the spine of the team.

[Alan]

I think the point I’m making is that we have not played to McCallum’s strengths and he gets skated, but we haven’t played to Balanta’s either and so they are equally ineffective but Balanta doesn’t get the criticism McCallum gets.