North Western Railwaymen vs Great Western Railwaymen

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Crewe vs Swindon, will be in lovely old Cornwall for this game so missing this one.

Imagine the team will be a 4-3-3 thanks to Dull Davis stubborn philosophy: Garratt, Turton, Ray, Nugent/Davis (depending on Davis Jnr's fitness) Kingsley, Fox, King, Atkinson, Inman, LDV, Colclough.

Heard something that King will start every game for us if fit else we owe Swansea £3000, if it's one of those loan deals, why did we sign him in the first place?

Swindon have a bad record at our place and so I reckon this'll be another tight game at GR between our two sides, I reckon a 1-1 draw in front of a sub 4000 crowd that will only get lower if the dull one isn't sacked.

Will be on the Doom Bar if he gets his P45 post match though!

 

[Bottega Don]

Such a lame title.

Vintage TNO that.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Such a lame title.

Vintage TNO that.

Man is back on track with his puns...

 

[Bottega Don]

Man is back on track with his puns...

Full steam ahead with these puns.

 

[Indian Dan]

Not sure if we'll have a team for this one. Sales, injuries and call-ups have decimated our already small squad.

There's a good chance we will have no strikers at all.

We seem to have gone off the rails and fear we could get shunted into the sidings in this one.

 

[Fedora Dale]

Are traditional colours being worn for this one? (Shiny black with red/white pinstripes vs green with brass trim)

Either way, I reckon both sides will be chuffed with a point. ..

 

[This Charming Mike]

Put your money on Crewe getting their first win of the season here. Town rarely fare well at Gresty Road and could be without as many as six first team players - Kasim, Williams and Stewart are all on international duty while Thompson, Hylton and Obika will again miss out through injury. Add to that the deadline sale of Nathan Byrne and we're in pretty bad shape going into this one.

 

[JJ1532]

Put your money on Crewe getting their first win of the season here. Town rarely fare well at Gresty Road and could be without as many as six first team players - Kasim, Williams and Stewart are all on international duty while Thompson, Hylton and Obika will again miss out through injury. Add to that the deadline sale of Nathan Byrne and we're in pretty bad shape going into this one.

Why didn't you ask for the game to be postponed if you've got 3 players on international duty?

 

[JJ1532]

Not saying much, but we've got to be looking at getting our first win here. Swindon are in a massive squad upheaval and have important players missing all over the pitch. We are missing Haber and Wilson, but hopefully LDV can prove he can play down the middle. Cooper would easily be a better option than Atkinson, but hey, I'm sure Steve knows what he's doing.

Optimistic about this one, worryingly.

 

[dh625y]

Why didn't you ask for the game to be postponed if you've got 3 players on international duty?

If I understand the rules correctly, Stewart doesn't count as he wasn't a Swindon player when called up. I'm not certain on that, perhaps someone more knowledgeable can confirm.

 

[This Charming Mike]

Why didn't you ask for the game to be postponed if you've got 3 players on international duty?

A previously unknown rule dictates that players called up before transferring to another club don't count towards said club's international quota, apparently.

Just 14 first team players available at the moment, including several with little to no Football League experience. Our sole fit striker signed today and should hopefully be able to play.

 

[dh625y]

I expect Swindon to win this 2-0. Sure we have 6 players otherwise engaged, but we can still put out a team, 'course we can:

Vigouroux​

Barry Branco Turnbull BOO

Traore Rodgers​

Obika Robert Stewart

Thomas​

Subs: Belford, Randall, Marshall, Brophy, Ojamaa, Balmy

Oh, before I forget, just a few points ...

• I'm a bit worried with Barry, if it is him who gets the nod.
• I assume we get no injuries from the JPT tie.
• I assume BOO has recovered from his illness.
• I assume Obika has recovered from his injury and knows how to play wide right.
• I assume Ojamaa is signed Thursday (free agent) and fit. Never seen him, he's probably shit hot.
• I assume Balmy is fit. Never seen him, he's probably shit hot.

No problem, what can possibly go wrong?

 

[Big Bird]

0-2 Super Wes double!!!

I like Doombar.

 

[Lambourn Red]

Looks like Ajose is coming in as well as some Estonian International Ojamaa from Legia Warsaw who are both out of contract . I dont think Obika or Thompson will be back for Saturday but you never know , I would take a draw now so I will go for 1 - 1.

 

[Big Bird]

Vigouroux

Barry
Branco
Turnbull
BOO

Traore
Rodgers
Stewart

Ajose
Thomas
Robert

Mainly a youth bench which will hopefully include Ojamaa. Obika might make it but the pressure has been taken off rushing him back with Thomas signing.

Pretty strong side with Thompson, Kasim, Williams, J Stewart, Hylton not involved through injury/international call ups.

 

[dh625y]

So Crewe's saviour last season, top scorer with 8 goals in 27 games, comes back on a visit with Swindon (10 goals in 21 games 2013-2014 season). What are the odds on a debut hat-trick?

 

[Crewealexfan123]

Ahh Nicky Ajose, the man who looked an absolute masterstroke for a little while after we signed him and after a few weeks of working with Dull Davis ended up looking like Anthony Ending.

Guaranteed he'll be the sharper version tomorrow mind..

 

[Crewelad87]

Usually do well vs Swindon at home. They look abit weaker than previous years aswell and missing kasim due to internationals will be a blow for them. Thomas, Obika and Ajose is a very good strike force at this level though.

Crewe 2-2 Swindon (LDV, Colclough, Thomas, Ajose) 3,944 (500 Swindon???)

 

[Lambourn Red]

Usually do well vs Swindon at home. They look abit weaker than previous years aswell and missing kasim due to internationals will be a blow for them. Thomas, Obika and Ajose is a very good strike force at this level though.

Crewe 2-2 Swindon (LDV, Colclough, Thomas, Ajose) 3,944 (500 Swindon???)

Thankfully for Crewe we have lots missing through injury, international call ups and international clearance not come through (8 players). Once we get the the full squad back I can see someone getting a cricket score against them. I still fancy us to get a point today with the new strike force of Thomas and Ajose , still worried about the lack of depth at the back.

 

[Big Bird]

Despite the two new lads up front Crewe have undoubtedly caught us at a good time with so many unavailable. The squad next week at Barnsley will look very different.

Confident we have enough firepower to cause them problems but may struggle at the other end.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Confident we have enough firepower to cause them problems but may struggle at the other end.

San Marino U-9s have enough firepower to cause us problems.

 

[This Charming Mike]

Brilliant win, given the sheer number of players we have missing. Sounded like Crewe probably edged it, but I guess that's why we've brought Wes Thomas in, to score goals from nothing and nick points here and there. The Ajose goal was the icing on the cake. Chuffed for Tom Smith as well, another academy kid with a lot of potential.

 

[dh625y]

1-3 FT, Thomas & (of course) Ajose on the score sheet.

I wasn't there, but listening it sounds like Crewe were in it, and on top, for most of the game, and deservedly went ahead. So they can be pretty unhappy about that.

But now we have a forward line, promotion challenge here we come.

 

[Indian Dan]

Well, roger me rotten, that was a mighty good 3 points with 8 players missing!

 

[JJ1532]

Gutted. For the first hour, we were by far the better team. Created chances, played some good attacking football, were in control of the game. We'd restricted Swindon to a couple of half attempts at best(bar an incredible 50 yard sitter that Ajose put wide). Got the goal our play had deserved and looked good to pick up our first win.

But we conceded a poor goal from a multitude of errors, including the keeper who failed to hold onto the initial shot. Great finish by the youngster Smith mind, really good finish. But we should never have conceded it, got to be mentally tougher and weather those initial storms. After that, I thought we never recovered and it wasn't really a surprise when Swindon went ahead. Good build up and a tidy finish by Thomas. Again, never looked like equalising, although George Cooper missed a presentable chance when he couldn't control the ball. They finish it off with Ajose, which made things looks far more comfortable than they really were, but hey, they took their chances.

Hard to know what to make of that. To play so well for 60 minutes, go ahead and to then collapse so badly is hard to take. Had we seen out the period after we scored, I think we'd have got something from the game. But to let the lead slip so quickly killed us. Gave Swindon the confidence boost and they duly built on that. Felt we yet again ran out of steam a bit in the last 10-15 minutes, which was partly why we couldn't mount a comeback after falling behind. We seem to lack the mental tenacity to see out games like this. Gone ahead against Bury, pegged COventry back twice and now gone ahead against Swindon. Managed 1 point from those 3. But on the plus side, we are seemingly getting better. The football is improving and we aren't a million miles off being where we want to be. But we're still losing and have now gone longer than it took us last season to win a game. We look like we need another striker(with a bit of physical presence, but also not a big 6ft3in lump like Haber) and that probably needs addressing soon. Dalla Valle by himself won't cut it. Nor will Haber. Really really hard to swallow that, but nobody to blame but ourselves.

As for Swindon, they were pretty poor for the first 60 minutes, but their quality told in the final 30 once they pegged us back. Never controlled any portion of the game, but in Thomas and Ajose they have a pair of strikers who can win you games at this level. At the risk of sounding like Davis, we can't compete with that sort of financial clout, especially when you are hearing Power come out and say Swindon had to break their budget to get Thomas. Swindon on this basis will make the top 6. Got some quality firepower and in the end had too much for us in terms of the lethalness of their finishing. 3-1 flattered them, as did a win I suppose. But they did have 5 players missing from last week's squad, 8 players missing in total, so you can see why they were perhaps not at their best today. When they have the likes of Kasim, Obika, Stewart and co back, they'll be hard to stop I think. Be surprised if they can't make the top 6(and maybe even challenge for the top 2) with this squad.

Really tough game to lose, should have got something from the game. Must win next Saturday now. No other way of putting it. People will obviously say "how can the 7th game into the season be a must win?". Well because we've not won any of the previous 6. Grinding out draws from poor performances, playing well but losing in our last 2. The lack of wins isn't going to cut it anymore. Win by any means against Millwall, otherwise Davis really should be looking for a new job this time next week.

 

[This Charming Mike]

'Financial clout' is probably incorrect. Prior to our deadline day dealings, Town's playing budget was around the £1m mark according to Power. That's a small budget for this level. He did indeed suggest that Wes Thomas' signing had broken our wage structure but the playing budget will likely still be one of the lowest in the division. Let's not forget that Town have made money this Summer - the sales of Luongo, Gladwin and Byrne have generated a decent sum of money for the club and, through various add-ons, will continue to do so. Power always said that he would use some of the money if and only if the right player were to become available and I think he did just that with the signing of Thomas.

 

[Indian Dan]

And Ajose. I reckon he cost Power the thick end of £200,000 to get him out of his Leeds contract. Byrne money well spent.

Power has seen how poor the league is compared to past seasons and is going for it. Our squad is better by far than last year's.

I'm off t'Barnsley next Saturday and hoping to see what the actual 1st XI can do.

 

[JJ1532]

'Financial clout' is probably incorrect. Prior to our deadline day dealings, Town's playing budget was around the £1m mark according to Power. That's a small budget for this level. He did indeed suggest that Wes Thomas' signing had broken our wage structure but the playing budget will likely still be one of the lowest in the division. Let's not forget that Town have made money this Summer - the sales of Luongo, Gladwin and Byrne have generated a decent sum of money for the club and, through various add-ons, will continue to do so. Power always said that he would use some of the money if and only if the right player were to become available and I think he did just that with the signing of Thomas.

There's a difference between spending beyond your means and having financial clout. You have the latter and it's well earned from the aforementioned player sales. I have no problem with it, simply acknowledging that your financial muscle in getting in Thomas and Ajose played a part today.

 

[TimeyWimey]

First match of the season for me. Listened to Radio Stoke on way home. Given up on Davis going any time soon. Completely baffled by the optimistic reaction following yet another defeat and yet another 3 goals conceded.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Glad I wasn't there today. Only ambition deprived Crewe fans will accept playing well and failing to win any of our first 6 games. We could be winless all season passing teams off the park and fans will still think Davis is Dario mark two.

Win or bust next week Steve.