Post by Amber Aleman on Sept 6, 2009 21:30:29 GMT
It may only be early September, but we're already one sixth of the way through our league fixtures. Three wins and four defeats (still no draws!) have left us with 9 points and 11th in the table. Overall that's a rather disappointing start to the season.
I think most of us are looking for the team to improve on last April's fifth placed finish. I'm therefore going to start benchmarking our progress in 2009/10 against where we were at the same stage in 2008/09. Even though we were reckoned to start last season slowly, we actually got 11 points from our first seven games then. So already we've got some catching up to do.
There are some bright spots in the gloom. Our goal difference is currently +4 (joint second best in the division!) whereas a year ago it was -3. That was because last season our early wins were all by single goal margins (2-1 or 1-0) while we suffered bruising 4-2 and 4-0 defeats. This season almost the opposite is true. Our defeats have all been by just one goal, while we've recorded handsome 4-0 and 4-1 victories. So our goals to game ratio has been much better, but the goals have been less helpfully spread!
Last season we didn't score more than three goals in any of our matches (including cup matches). This season we've already scored four goals twice (thanks in no small part to the signing of Stefan Payne). Against that, in 08/09 we only lost once at home in the league all season, and that wasn't until late January. This season we've already lost at home twice.
if we're going to finish in the top five then we probably need to average over 11 points per seven games. (We just managed that last season.) So to make up the ground already lost we should be looking to pick up thirteen or more points from our next seven. That's quite a tough proposition, as those seven games include fixtures against five of the current top six. But if we can't beat the other leading sides then we might as well forget about promotion anyway!
It's still early days, and a glance at the table from twelve months ago shows how things can change over the rest of the season. Then, Tonbridge Angels were 11th (where we are now!) and they finished 3rd. Dartford were second bottom and finished 8th (and now top the table). And top of the heap then were...Ashford Town (Middx), who finished 10th.
I think most of us are looking for the team to improve on last April's fifth placed finish. I'm therefore going to start benchmarking our progress in 2009/10 against where we were at the same stage in 2008/09. Even though we were reckoned to start last season slowly, we actually got 11 points from our first seven games then. So already we've got some catching up to do.
There are some bright spots in the gloom. Our goal difference is currently +4 (joint second best in the division!) whereas a year ago it was -3. That was because last season our early wins were all by single goal margins (2-1 or 1-0) while we suffered bruising 4-2 and 4-0 defeats. This season almost the opposite is true. Our defeats have all been by just one goal, while we've recorded handsome 4-0 and 4-1 victories. So our goals to game ratio has been much better, but the goals have been less helpfully spread!
Last season we didn't score more than three goals in any of our matches (including cup matches). This season we've already scored four goals twice (thanks in no small part to the signing of Stefan Payne). Against that, in 08/09 we only lost once at home in the league all season, and that wasn't until late January. This season we've already lost at home twice.
if we're going to finish in the top five then we probably need to average over 11 points per seven games. (We just managed that last season.) So to make up the ground already lost we should be looking to pick up thirteen or more points from our next seven. That's quite a tough proposition, as those seven games include fixtures against five of the current top six. But if we can't beat the other leading sides then we might as well forget about promotion anyway!
It's still early days, and a glance at the table from twelve months ago shows how things can change over the rest of the season. Then, Tonbridge Angels were 11th (where we are now!) and they finished 3rd. Dartford were second bottom and finished 8th (and now top the table). And top of the heap then were...Ashford Town (Middx), who finished 10th.