Very harsh pen for handball but all in all not a great performance. Midfield lacked composure and energy and some sloppy play even from our most experienced player Ben Judge which was surprising.
Too many long balls which on a short pitch went straight through to the keeper and Kenny Pogue was caught offside several times.
Positives were only that Pelling played well enough and Matt Maclean got into the right positions several times but not quite finished things.
Jamie Crone looked sharp when on bit unfortunately tripped on ball when clean through.
Judge played alongside Gilbert which left the centre defence looking a bit short in height, looked better when Sean Kelly joined him and provided a taller presence.
Very shocking pitch aswell from what i remember when I last played on it so that wouln't have helped i'm sure , but 1-1 against Crowborough ? Seems like a similar story in that we can beat better teams then us but then struggle against lower teams , we need consistency for promotion but that's not happening at the moment... Hopefully more effort and commitment in the league next week ... We shall see !
Not enough talking for my liking, far too quiet, Felt a bit for Jamie stumbling on the ball just as he was getting into a dangerous position. I have to agree that the pen was very harsh indeed. Why is it referees are scared to get the cards out in friendlies not just for Crowborough but us too. Kenny must be more aware of the line got caught offside far too many times in my opinion.
I can see where Rimsey is coming from although we need to hit the floor running starting next week, in theory should be 9 points from 9 in the first three fixtures got to put the ball away though.
Yep 7 out of 9 points at absolute minimum is required though 9 should be very achievable bearing in mind they are 2 of the bottom 3 of last year and a promoted side.
From what I seen in friendly games we are not good enough to get promoted. I dont think we would get promoted from county league no chance in ryman south. Mid table at best with management team we have and players they have put together. Hope im wrong but dont see it
Well wont be long till we find out how we cope in RS now, friendlies have been a mixed bag and last two not so good really but we did have a great preseason last year and finished bottom so who knows?!
Think the fact that almost all players are local will be training together a lot more than last season will help but with so many new players and no time to settle down as we need to hit the ground running will be a tough ask.
Like the look of Maclean particularly this preseason, always looking to get into the right positions and not afraid to have a pop, having him and Sam Adams in the side will ensure goals from the midfield, Bailo should chip in with some too so just hope the central striker ( Pogue or Crone currently ) can find their finishing boots quickly.
Think the return of Danny Ellis from suspension will help along with Sean's return from injury / suspension.
So do we think we're going to get a possible starting eleven for the beginning of the season against newhaven, I personally still can't make my mind up on the forwards.
Thanks Lenny this club is new to me, used to watching slightly higher lever where the team is a bit more obvious by this stage of preseason. Also from the first game do he players keep that shirt number for the season? Or is it 1-11 every game
The pitch was id good condition so no excuse there. Several players look nowhere near fit enough and some simply aren't good enough. Unless Ryman South is even worse than we think we will be mid-table at best. Where are the goals coming from?
I cannot believe people are talking about us getting 9 out of 9 points or 7 out of 9 as a minimum I will be amazed if we we get 3 out of 9 with the squad we have assembled. And how worrying that supporters are now saying we don't even look fit enough! Yes, its only pre-season but like last year we have been unable to keep any clean sheets, conceding 3 against Gillingham C team and goals against 3 County league sides, two of which we were unable to beat. We have a center forward who couldn't even make double figures at County league level and a team made up of solid, decent players who couldn't win the County league at Rye. What does anyone expect?
And Sindy, 3 weeks ago you said on another thread " As for a prolific goalscorer just wait and see, Sean has it sorted and you will all be eating your words". Well Bailo had already signed, Kenny was already huffing and puffing and being caught offside, so what info did you have? was it another goalscorer who turned us down once he had spoke to us?... please elaborate because we were starting to get excited after your comments.
So I'm with Peter, I hope they prove me wrong but I don't think we have a hope in hells chance of promotion and I know most of the regulars feel the same way. Comparing the 2 squads and signings I actually think Rye look stronger than us and I think we have a long, long season ahead.
well john I have to admit it looks like I got it wrong as if players aren't signed by now we will have to wait a month or so for players elsewhere getting fed up with not playing higher level and happy to get game time dropping a level or two.i apologise I listened to a rumour that was obviously pie in the sky.
John, the three sides we face first are the two that finished in the bottom three last year ( Walton were only saved due to another club being prevented promotion ) and a promoted side. done my research on them and they have their own issues as well in terms of squads hence why i would be very dissapointed not to get 7 from 9 against those particular sides esspecially with 2 games at home. Up to the team to follow it through though.
Personally I just want to get the season under way. Always difficult to gauge a side in pre season at any level of football. Normally 6 weeks into the season you get an idea of how we will do. I am not doom and gloom but on the other hand I accept that this season will be hard. Don't forget we will be "the team to beat" after our cup exploits last season.
I didn't think the Crowborough game was particularly inspiring, but at times we played some neat stuff. Agree with Dan about Midfield lacking composure, but that could be said for the whole side at times. Though Crowborough played really well so can't take anything away from them. It felt at times they wanted it more, which I know was only a friendly but feel that's the problem we'll face from everyside this season. We will be the team to beat personally not so much from last season league form but the publicity we received and created from our cup run. Plus traditionally we are one if not the biggest team in that league. Hardly any of them have played much higher then county league let alone RS. So there will be a lot of big games this season. I didn't come away from Saturday thinking we'll walk the league, actually thought we looked a little worse then last season not to be negative. We need a left back, we miss cox at right back massively. That so far has been our biggest loss. I think we'll do ok up front, I have faith in Sammy and Bailo and Kenny. Think Maclean will chip in with goals to and timmy. Its very early to judge, I hope for Seans sake we do well and we don't miss to many players from last year. Only time will tell, for now i'll just try and stay positive.
'
