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Post by pinewalker on Aug 28, 2021 20:11:53 GMT
The pitch played well. I have attended a few first matches on new pitches in my time so I am used to chunks of turf coming loose, divots displaced and players slipping. None of that in evidence at GGL. A very good job.
I read criticism here that the grass was too long. It would be standard practice on a 100% grass pitch to leave a new pitch with longer grass. When the density of grass thickens then it could be cut shorter. But perhaps someone who knows can say whether GGL pitch is a hybrid or 100% grass. I believe the plan was to get a hybrid. If so the grass may never be scalped, because the artificial tufts won't grow back.
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Post by garethl on Aug 28, 2021 20:27:02 GMT
No room for sentiment if we want to stay in this league, mistakes and missed chances cost matches. Today we lost at home to a club who had lost their previous 4 and were low in confidence. I am not worried about possession that doesn't cost or make points, putting the ball in the net and stopping the ball going in yours is what really matters especially at this level. We are desperately missing Tanto up front with his cool clinical finishes, and I am afraid we can't afford keeper errors week after week. The body language also says a lot, our last home game Hartlepool was a world away from the game today against a Oldham side who are not as good as Pool. Confidence plays a massive part in the game and if you miss chance after chance and your keeper drops the ball you simply are not going to have any. Fully agreed. I cannot see Bouzanis bouncing back from this anymore, we need another keeper by Tuesday. Olaofe as well is much needed, however if I was to choose comes second to a decent keeper who does not make at least one major mistake per game. Defence is good, but if they fear any shot or cross might be a goal they will not be that good anymore. He has at least five goals to which had contributed, this is way too much, keeper usually get replaced at second or third mistake. How about we simply back our player who has had a tough opening to this season but has otherwise been superb for us? Didn’t we keep many clean sheets last season? Complete hyperbole bs to suggest he makes a mistake a game, he’s had a small run where he has been making errors after a consistent season with maybe a mistake every 15-20 games!!! It’s not like the mistakes wouldn’t have been mistakes a league lower, there has been nothing about him that has been ‘found out’ a level up. Couple of good games and I’m sure he’ll be up and running again. |
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Post by Amber Aleman on Aug 28, 2021 20:27:38 GMT
I've not seen replays yet, but I'm not sure that Dean Bouzanis (playing against his former club) was at fault for either of the Oldham goals today.
There were still lessons to be learned from this game. We had far more of the ball today than in any of the previous matches, which is unsurprising given Oldham's situation. They would probably have been happy with a draw after withstanding early Sutton pressure. But once David Ajiboye had given us a second-half lead they had to push forward more, while we (once again) sat deep. They had already hinted at an equalier before Carl Piergianni - who'd scored against us before when at Salford City - headed in via a post in the 89th minute. Sutton naturally wanted to find a winner in the seven minutes of stoppage time, but perhaps sent too many men forward for a corner. When Oldham broke out we were under-manned in our own half and some swift running and passing led to their winner.
Game management aside, I thought the defence and midfield played well, but we needed a bit more from the front two. (A returning Tanto could make a vital difference.) And our delivery from free kicks and corners could do with some more work.
Overall, this was still a memorable day for the club. I know there have been some teething problems, but the step up has been made!
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Post by halftimet on Aug 28, 2021 20:32:42 GMT
The pitch played well. I have attended a few first matches on new pitches in my time so I am used to chunks of turf coming loose, divots displaced and players slipping. None of that in evidence at GGL. A very good job. I read criticism here that the grass was too long. It would be standard practice on a 100% grass pitch to leave a new pitch with longer grass. When the density of grass thickens then it could be cut shorter. But perhaps someone who knows can say whether GGL pitch is a hybrid or 100% grass. I believe the plan was to get a hybrid. If so the grass may never be scalped, because the artificial tufts won't grow back. A hybrid pitch. It may be to do with bedding in the surface but the Etihad and Anfield are also hybrid but the grass much shorter. Interesting that sand was being applied by bucket at half time. |
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Post by halftimet on Aug 28, 2021 21:08:17 GMT
EFL rules do not allow any standing at the pitch side fence along the goal line touchline, everyone must be behind the crush barriers. Along the long touchlines limited standing is permitted at the fence at the discretion of the club but if the Ground Safety Officer considers too many people are standing at the fence or are blocking the view from the terraces then he will instruct the stewards to move people on. Standing is not allowed in front of the wheelchair platform. We were asked to move back from the barrier on rec side just before kick off having spent an hour there before kick off. Needless to say everyone returned to the fence at the start. Must say stewards allowed standing against the fence behind the GGL goal in the second half and did not prevent intruders onto the pitch from the away fans. One of whom gave some comments to Dean. Stewards do not seem strong enough or knowledgeable enough to deal with situation in my opinion. |
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Post by halftimet on Aug 28, 2021 21:15:56 GMT
Is everything greener in the EFL?
No shoebox, no standing against the fence, no bar at halftime, no smoking and no 3G.
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Post by sufc1898 on Aug 28, 2021 21:31:06 GMT
Oh behave will you
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Post by Andy K on Aug 28, 2021 21:51:35 GMT
Here we go again, we lose a game at home against a club who were bottom and suddenly the nonsense comes out.
We're on game 4 in the league. Some already think we're going down. Some are already looking for a scapegoat.
Get used to it. We're not a side that at the moment will be challenging for the title. And if you think it's because of our keeper then you're mistaken. Today was a good example. We're having opportunities yet we're not testing the opposition keeper, 15 goal attempts, 2 on target. Passes and possession much lower again than our opponents. Away from home this isn't such a problem, but at home?
There was one move that summed us up today. Sometime after we were 1 up, and were we're in a good attacking position. We're knocked it about to all the front players, all of which had an opportunity to shoot or break. What did we do? We played it further and further back so it ended up with Bouzanis who kicked it forward and we lost possession. That was an example of how we contrived to make an attacking possibility and turned it into giving it to the opponents. This isn't a keeper lacking confidence, this is more a side lacking confidence.
For me, I thought we were lost when we subbed Enzio for Smith. Not specifically those players. It was more moving Harry out to the left, which left us exposed at Scunthorpe and did so again today. Harry is great but naturally moves inside and as a result a big gap develops. For me that sub changed the feeling of the game.
I don't want to be too negative and I seriously can't be negative about either Milsom or Barden. Both were superb today. But changing the keeper won't solve our current issues. Having Olaofe back won't do either. It's more deep rooted than that at the moment and a bit concerning when it's been with a pretty much fully fit squad to pick from.
Still, we're currently 1 place higher than we finished last season.
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Post by shaneaib on Aug 28, 2021 22:07:40 GMT
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Post by steveo77 on Aug 28, 2021 23:10:45 GMT
Is everything greener in the EFL? No shoebox, no standing against the fence, no bar at halftime, no smoking and no 3G. Wasn’t too bothered about no bar today but I think this is going to be a big loss going into the winter. Always liked popping into the bar half time, checking on the other scores as well as a quick drink. Don’t suppose it is possible to put in a passage way into the ground ? |
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Post by ADMIN on Aug 29, 2021 0:23:01 GMT
Well done to all for getting the ground ready and I was concerned that there were going to be massive que and was impressed at how quickly we got into the ground even at 2.45. Nice to see the ground so full it was like a cup tie! I had a chat with the groundsman after the game and he said the pitch really needed another 3 weeks before it was ready properly so kudos to them for getting it looking so great. Grass was a tad long but I assume there are reasons for this.
On other days luck would be on our side and we would be looking a lot healthier than the table looks right now but I think we can all take heart from the opening 5 performances and we are going to go on a winning run soon for sure!
Referee today was awful btw...thought he looked really aggressive with the way he dealt with players, got loads wrong and generally added nothing to the game. No surprise in the fact this was the referee who was involved with the incident at Ipswich.
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nonsuch
Youth Team Player
Posts: 131
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Post by nonsuch on Aug 29, 2021 4:11:13 GMT
Seeing the highlights, an apology is needed, The goal was indeed not down to the keeper but more to Ben Wyatt being too easily passed (I had a bad feeling seeing Milson go, Ben is all heart but maybe not strong enough for this level).
I recall very well the moment described by Andy K where from a chance to strike we just ended up giving the ball away. But it was indeed unlucky especially the second goal when we recovered well from the counterattack and a unlucky deflected shot put them in front of Bouzanis.
Let’s hope luck and inspiration turn back as they did in May after the poor run of April this year.
And both there goals could have been disallowed - for the first, the goal scorer must be holding Ben Goodlife down (the angle does not help, but he does not jump at all) and at the second an Oldham attacker stops the ball with the hand. Not only luck but also refs went pretty much against us in this starting games...
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Post by toothman on Aug 29, 2021 7:30:17 GMT
First match at GGL in the EFL - despite the result an historic occasion.. felt very similar to our first game in the NL home to Solihull Moors on the 3G - we lost that one and we played better relative to that game today.
Attended the match with a Brentford season ticket holder who was able to make some impartial comments . The fundamental difference between EFL at our level and higher is not necessarily skill but the speed of decision. I’m sure when the boys look back at the video they would have seen a pass here , a ball in a different direction that wasn’t obvious at the time in the match. We are having less time on the ball to think than we did last season so we are making what looks like more mistakes and being punished for them. Matt needs to try and play his best team whenever he can and that might mean that players who were first on the team sheet aren’t this season. An example, personally may be that Harry hasn’t performed at levels we saw last season is Smith a better option , or Milsom to play in mid field? We haven’t seen Kizzi at all - he may be better than our regular staters. The grass did look too long , so the ball didn’t run as we normally expect and didn’t help us. We need to be more imaginative at free kicks and corners- too predictable. But the biggest negative has to be the PA system it is simply appalling and must be upgraded as soon as we can afford it. Nothing was intelligible and it detracted from the whole experience. looking at the speakers we were right under , them I don’t think they’ve been changed in 25 years .
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Post by davef on Aug 29, 2021 8:04:54 GMT
The speakers are about 7 years old. 2-3 weeks ago the whole system worked fine when tested, so we are not quite sure what happened but we know what needs doing and our comms specialist is booked to undertake repairs in the next week or two.
A passageway wouldn't solve the problem of access because the tickets are still single scan and there needs to be a means of preventing access from the bars by people who have not bought tickets. The longer term solution, hopefully, is to make a new facility part of the planned redevelopment of the park side.
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Post by halftimet on Aug 29, 2021 8:10:46 GMT
Could it be microphone technique? The music sounded fine.
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