We now meet one of the better teams from last year
Last season we lost away 21-09-2013 with 0-2 and at home we drew on 15-02-2014 2-2 with 2 goals from Frankie our captain
They finished last season just outside the Play off places on place 7. They have 2 top scorers in the team : Rhule and Saraiva.
They had already some remarkable results this year : Winning at home 6-0 against Three Bridges, 4-3 against Redhill and last Saturday for the FA cup away they won against Ringmer 0-4.
Hopefully we get a good result against Worthing so we will start with confidence this game. Hope many will come to The Pilot Field this evening and let's hope Terry and his team will give us something in return !
I will be there hoping for a win as usual. Disappointed to only get a point against Worthing! Must start winning again. Like to see King back in line up!
Think this could be a tricky one. In hindsight we have a strong squad as should ease in to three points, but, we keep saying that, and hindsight is a wonderful thing...
Well I guess that's what you call a footballing lesson. Merstham were the best team I saw last season and easily the best this. They were fitter, quicker, stronger and quite simply better all over the pitch. Certainly no lack of effort from the team but as for quality there was light years between the 2 sides and if Merstham hadn't lost their heads I think they would have won comfortably. First half it could quite easily have been 3 or 4-1 and although the 2nd half was much closer it still looked like men vs boys at times. Slick passing, quick out wide, defenders who can run out with the ball at pace, it was a joy to watch at times, and I would guess everyone there tonight is relieved with a point.
TW has massive problems now as does the chairman. We can't keep saying someone is going to get hammering soon, or we will definitely be up there at the end of the season. We don't look as fit as most sides, we certainly lack in quality and not sure we have the leadership either. Frankie is out of form and doesn't come over as a natural leader Although understand he may be carrying an injury at the moment.We are hovering over the relegation places and there is no sign of improvement. Enjoyed the game tonight but for all the wrong reasons. 10/10 for effort 5/10 for quality. All very depressing.
-- Edited by johnw on Monday 8th of September 2014 09:47:15 PM
Must admit I thought it was a fair result, but we don't seem capable of creating chances, its obvious however we are light years away from a promotion winning side, we may have good players but we don't look a good team
I think its a bit unfair to say we don't create chances Chris when you look at the highlites of recent matches it's those that we are creating we have to start taking and winning games, I agree though we didn't create that many tonight and I'm happy with a point against probably the best team I've seen this season, I can see Merstham being there or there abouts at the end of the season. They are very quick in getting the ball forward but am I the only one who thinks that they can whinge for England? Their bench wasn't any better either.
I think we were much better second half and as Chris said probably a fair result. Young Sam had another good game despite a few moments of naivety but is coming along a treat in my opinion.
I know we aren't where we want to be but it's a marathon not a sprint, yes we have some issues to address but I believe we will get there.
Wow! I don't what shocks me more, my old mate Barry agreeing with Chris on something or people saying a draw was a fair result. They could have been 3 or 4 clear at half time and yes the 2nd half was more even but we barely had a shot on target. Will be interested to see the match stats. Effort was great but supporters cannot be happy with what they saw tonight and how we struggled to pass the ball around.
I hope you were sitting down John lol. As you know mate I don't ever get to watch much of the first half so I can only comment on what I saw. They still looked dangerous with 10 men, they are a good side without a doubt.
They have pace and can pass, but no end product, we were mainly caught out when we conceded possession. John how many saves did Josh make it wasn't that many, most efforts from both sides were from long range.
Agree with Chris - they didn't have much of an end product with possibly a handful of meaningful shots all game. Thought they were going to over run us in the first half with their pace - especially their number 7 who was a headache. Second half I thought was much more even and it was a good old fashioned end to end contest which ended as a fair result.
I'm also gonna agree with Chris b! Merstham always looked dangerous because of their pace but didn't have the quality in front of goal, but john is also right that we are just not creating enough clear cut chances.
I thought Sam c had a great game. Wouldn't it be great if he could play centre mid and provide a bit of creativity?
With the squad we've got I also expected us to score a lot of goals from set pieces with Razor, king, cook, olerundas x2. Doesn't seem to be coming to fruition though.
As for fitness, Ronnie was blowing out if his arse at the end, but he'd put a real shift in. I'm not unhappy to see players trudging off with nothing left in the tank.
First of all let me put it on record that I desperately want Terry to succeed. He seems a good man, excellent coach and very passionate. Is he a good manager? his record would say average, but what do I know, I've never sat in a changing room and listened to him, I don't know how good his tactical and motivational skills are. In the after match interviews the players seem to have respect for him and seem confident of success this season despite the poor start so the team does seem together.
We have for many years now been regularly one of the lowest scorers in the league, we seem to struggle to keep clean sheets and our passing is very average on one of the best playing services in the country. We could have quite easily won every game this season including the 4-1 defeat at Burgess Hill but at the same time could have lost every game bar the opener at Walton. Last nights game for me was your typical Hastings game. Passionate support, 110% effort from the players, lack of passing ability, no cutting edge centre of the park, don't take enough half chances. I still stick by my comment that we were fortunate last night, based on the first half alone and the fact is that we have now won two out of eight games against the teams 19th and 24th.
John Maggs was allegedly given the push because he didn't or couldn't attract suitable quality to push the club on. TW has done that, and he should be commended for that. Including friendlies he has had the team together for 16 games now so have we gone forwards or backwards? The fact is that the FA Cup game vs Eastbourne was Terry's 30th game in charge the same as Maggs reign. Here is how they compare up to last night.
Terry
League P30 W11 D6 L13 F46 A45
Cup P2 W1 DO L1 F3 A3
Total 32 12 6 14 49 48 WIN % 37.5%
Maggs
League P20 W11 D3 L6 F31 A28
Cup P10 W6 D0 L4 F20 A11
Total 30 17 3 10 51 39 WIN % 56.6%
Supporters can make up their own mind as to which direction we are going.
Obviously the stats don't lie but you only have to look at teams like Corinthian Casuals,Whitstable,Chipstead etc. who have kicked on from last season.We have been lead to believe that we are stronger than last year so where is the evidence? To many teams much better than us to even think that we will make the top ten.Once again a lack of goals will be our downfall.You only need to look at the table to see our problem
Stats don’t lie John of course - what I would say is that post Maggs- Terry inherited the thin end of the wedge a bit with the lack of signings and the usual winter injuries. I remember Maggs last game at Leatherhead when we got thumped with a few youngsters on the bench – Terry inherited that and it was nigh on impossible to get any other players in. I guess what I am saying is that I would judge Terry on what has been played since the summer break as he has had full control of who he brings in etc. Even saying that, It’s not the start that either he or any of us would have hoped for but we have now not been beaten in 4 games after 3 poor defeats. This is an absolutely critical time as we have stopped the rot as it were, but we must build now and start kicking on up the table as the points gap is already significant. I still absolutely believe he can do it, but of course I am worried like everyone else.
Pat, I remember that game well as I stood with you in the 2nd half and it wasn't great. Remember the mother of all thunderstorms on 90mins?
The team that day and the players inherited by Terry were.
Pelling
Darby
Henson
Timmy O
Dolan
Kelly
Ellis
Camara
Pogue
Adams
Vickers
Subs Cruttwell, Corrigan, Woodley plus 2 youngsters
Injured players were Judge, O'Connor, Sawyer and McCreadie
7 of those players started last night so I think he should be judged on last years results as well this years, and if you count McCreadie and Vickers you could say the squad was just as strong as this years.
Actually, not quite correct, I think Terry may have brought Frankie in just after along with Josh Jirbandy unless I'm corrected. Was that not the start of both the McCreadie and Kelly problems and perhaps the start of our decline. Nevertheless he inherited a very strong squad and added two massive players almost immediately.
I remember the thunderstorm well John. Not easy driving home completely saturated to tyhe skin. The seat heaters gave us an appearence of smoking....
It was a stronger team than i thought but the bench (apart from Crutwell) showed just how threadbare we were in my opinion, so strong 11 maybe but not squad. That said - i think he should be judged on this season as this is his team and no-one elses. Chris - have we improved on first game - probably not. We got worse in fact, then i think have brought ourselves back to where we were. Now we need to kick on.
Thought Merstham showed better fitness and passing accuracy. We should improve ours if we are serious about promotion. It certainly looks a long way off at present. Would like to see Josh play ball out quicker to wingers with less passing back when we are in good forward position. Saturday cup match should break from pressure so let's go there and win for team and travelling supporters. Come on Uuuu's.
Not sure that you can blame Terry for McCredie leaving, he doesn't have a good track record for staying at clubs. I am not happy with our start but having interviewed and spoken to Terry and several players I can assure you that they are intent on improving the situation asap.I think that we all need to stop being negative and give our usual great support to the team and help them push on for the rest of the season.
-- Edited by FatherXmas on Tuesday 9th of September 2014 01:59:41 PM
Not going to put a time limit on my support for the team. If the club sack a manager they get called hasty yet the same people are now calling for Terry's head in early September.
-- Edited by FatherXmas on Tuesday 9th of September 2014 09:02:21 PM
Chris, thanks for your reaction and can i describe it as a little bit more constructive criticism ?!
After i got home last evening and still overwhelmed by the welcome and friendly Hastings supporters it is obvious that the team is not so far already. Effort : 10/10 Quality 8/10 Team result 6/6.
We have very good players but they have to gel. The time we need for that? I really don't know but the players are confident it will come fine within reasonable time. Merstham had a very good side with two excellent wingers. That is a bonus we haven't so we have to play different. I support the manager and the team 100%. Only when it is obvious that players are not 100% behind their manager anymore then it will be a different situation. Till then :
100% ! Thanks again and hopefully i can come back again this season to watch a promotion game or champions game ! Enjoy and please support your team.
Steve, wasn't asking you to put a time limit on your support for the team, was asking how long you would accept our poor results for, you have to be realistic, what we are paying players we are the equivalent of Chelsea / Man City of Ryman south, so you can't accept being in the bottom half for long.
Chris, I think the last thing needed is more pressure being put on players and management. It has been a criticism of the club in the past of not giving people long enough to see the job through. Terry is an honest guy and if you speak to him, as I have, you will see that he is passionate about the club and it's future and will be busting a gut to get things right. I am not complacent and as unhappy with our start as anyone but still think we will get it right soon and start moving up through table.
-- Edited by FatherXmas on Thursday 11th of September 2014 11:17:07 AM
