Views from the Sieve

We are playing a team five points behind us but with three games in hand. Only a week ago they beat Hornchurch so cannot underestimate them. We have a number of injuries but after a great win in midweek at Chesham need to follow that up with three points tomorrow.

Apparently they are also absolutely riddled with injuries including Vigrass who came on for just a few minutes in midweek before being forced off. Despite getting a red card their 12-goal top scorer Tony Lee can play due to that weird seven day rule which we're very familiar with this season.

This is a massive chance to put ourselves in the pack and really establish some distance over Totton. They're one of a few sides who have several games in hand but aren't in overly compelling form. Points on the board are preferable to a congested few weeks on end.

I was surprised to see that by basically every rolling five game form guide up to 20, we are right up there - it certainly hasn't felt that way. I'm still in no way convinced by anything we do but the stats are better. As they should be, let's be honest.

Hopefully though we can make it five home victories in a row, then start to record some better results against the better sides, towards which Tuesday night was a good start.

How are we only 2 down at HT?
Being played off the park by another bunch of plumbers and postmen, when will Bradbury put us out of our misery and feck off

Totton haven’t won an away game since September.

That was awful to watch. We were well beaten and although they scored two in the first half it could have been more. We hardly had a shot on target and I can only remember their goalkeeper making one save. We desperately missed Joe Haigh and cannot possibly understand why we would loan Rashawn Scott to Chippenham because we were crying out for someone like him today.

The loaning of Scott is baffling especially considering that absolute bag of brown stuff that was served up today. How he can't get in that team is equally baffling.

I went to a game today for the first time since September.

1. There was zero atmosphere and when did the walk out noise change? That wasn’t music that helped build an atmosphere or excitement.
If it isn’t going to be London Calling can we have Samba de Janeiro back please?

2. The ground looked empty at 2:50 pm. It might have filled up a bit by 3:05 pm but that didn’t look like1247.

3. I had a burger. It was tasteless. I mean really tasteless. You couldn’t taste the thing that was meant to be meat in the middle. I won’t buy one again.

4. The first 5 minutes I thought we were okay and a couple of our players put in some smart runs. Our number18 for instance. I felt we could have been 2-0 up. But then we started playing like we were just having a kick around with no urgency and no real formation. I wish i could comment more but our football was so forgettable- hardly any stand out moments.

5. Bradbury spent most of the first half annoying the 4th official. Every single call that went against us, he would go and complain to the 4th official. He also tried to complain to the lino on our side, but he told him to shut up. I don’t know if he was told off by the officials at half time, but he hardlly spoke to them at all in the second half. He seems clueless, completely clueless. Does anyone know how long his contract is? He has to go.

6. It was lovely seeing so many friends today despite the atmosphere throughout the game being flat and zero excitement. The new owners have got a mountain to climb if they want to try and bring back the match day atmosphere; at no time did it feel like Dagenham.

First time back since Maidenhead home (injury) and today was extremely as bad as first away last Saturday Maidenhead! Nothing changes even after a good midweek win? Were the most inconstitant team I ve ever set me eyes on, something aint been right for ages, why did we sit back and let them dictate the game to us? Bad marking up both their goals 3 points away now what?

Would be surprised if more than 800 were in there. No atmosphere whatsoever.

Football was dire once Totton weathered our early pressure. Terrible game with hardly any quality.

The food has long been dreadful, must be one of the worst value in the division. Some of our rivals serve up some really decent stuff.

Probably the worst performance I’ve witness for about 30 years when we were last at this level, 4 loans starting all little kids in a man’s league. Add in short term signings and you have a recipe for disaster. All boils down to really poor recruitment last summer by the manager and his staff, injury prone players and players that don’t fit the preferred formation. You would get a better tune out of a Sunday league side all hungover. An absolute shambles for a professional football club.

The new owners have a big tasks on hand and it’s starts with the sacking of this manager immediately, even if we have a caretaker for the rest of the season. Get him gone now, season it’s done. The new owners statement is about sustainable club etc well we have to be part time next season as crowds will be even lower than now.

Best bit of business was not buying a season ticket, most games I’ve managed to borrow from those no longer bothering who did buy one otherwise I wouldn’t be there, I now won’t waste my time for the remainder even with the offer of free tickets.

Club was on life support but the powers just gone off.
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Has he gone yet ? The club is dying. Might as well make Andy Carroll player/manager until the end of the season and
Before people start jumping on the bandwagon, we don't need another "Young". we won't, this bloke (Carroll) has been about a bit ,eg will have better contacts.Have a punt, can't be any worse. Boring, bland, defensive football, yeah that will get the crowds back.
Anon

The chance to kick on and we wilt like always. After a lively start, we completely lost our way and surrendered control to a side who'd lost eight straight away league trips dating back to September. It could have been four or five by half time considering the efforts off the line. Absolutely embarrassing.

Then you're looking at the bench for a game changer and the only real one we had was shipped to Chippenham on loan that morning. In the absence of Haigh, nobody was trying to make things happen.

After relegation, rightly or wrongly, the depressing anecdote was about how we're gonna be losing to teams like Totton with twenty away fans laughing at us. Well, yesterday that quite literally happened. Nothing against them whatsoever, we don't look down our nose at anyone, but how depressing all the same.

We're just absolutely dreadful. We'll conjure up the odd result but it'll always come back to this, and it's nowhere near good enough. There are no better times coming under this manager.

Lumpit wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2026 10:17 am Has he gone yet ? The club is dying. Might as well make Andy Carroll player/manager until the end of the season and
Before people start jumping on the bandwagon, we don't need another "Young". we won't, this bloke (Carroll) has been about a bit ,eg will have better contacts.Have a punt, can't be any worse. Boring, bland, defensive football, yeah that will get the crowds back.
Anon

I think Andy Carroll, Anwar and Terry Harris could make a great management team, even on a temporary basis.

You have a week at work and you want to be entertained on a Saturday afternoon. Gary Hill giants, those supporters at Charlton that glorious day 25 years ago, couldn't think it could get any better than that. John Still fantastic team that took us into the football league, With the structure in place with the pitch and the stadium, surely, there must be some ambitious young manager out there, who could take this club by the scuff of it's neck and give us something we can cheer about. Ted Hardy must be turning in his grave.

Lumpit wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2026 3:22 pm You have a week at work and you want to be entertained on a Saturday afternoon. Gary Hill giants, those supporters at Charlton that glorious day 25 years ago, couldn't think it could get any better than that. John Still fantastic team that took us into the football league, With the structure in place with the pitch and the stadium, surely, there must be some ambitious young manager out there, who could take this club by the scuff of it's neck and give us something we can cheer about. Ted Hardy must be turning in his grave.

Since Dave Andrews stepped down, this club has completely lost it's way. Short sighted and badly run with some diabolical managerial appointments and now the worst player recruitment the club has ever witnessed. I really hope that Anwar has the bollox to get rid of all the dead wood and start again with a fresh new dynamic. It's more likely to happen under him than it was ever going to under a dumb playboy like Freund or a bunch of American lawyers who know absolutely nothing about 'soccer'.