Saturday 16th December Fixtures

[AmberAndy]

First home game under Harris. Looks tough on paper but I fully expect us to come out all guns blazing, get 2-0 up at half time, then give away two late goals to draw 2-2, the exact opposite of last week at Charlton. Blackpool will know they have been in a game for sure.
On a personal note first time I’ve seen us play the Tangerines in the league in 50 years of supporting the club, think we have only been in the same league for 5 seasons or so.

 

[Tangerine_tart]

First home game under Harris. Looks tough on paper but I fully expect us to come out all guns blazing, get 2-0 up at half time, then give away two late goals to draw 2-2, the exact opposite of last week at Charlton. Blackpool will know they have been in a game for sure.
On a personal note first time I’ve seen us play the Tangerines in the league in 50 years of supporting the club, think we have only been in the same league for 5 seasons or so.

My first visit to your ground tomorrow. I agree with your score prediction of 2-2 . It's always difficult to play against a side with a new manager and from all accounts you played well at Charlton.

 

[Luke Imp]

Not too sure about a false position unless I’ve missed some sarcasm, they’d be 20th and out of the drop zone on goal difference with 4 points added

For some reason I thought they had 8/10 deducted, similar to Wigan!

 

[LordJord]

We’re going up Jord

You are right, my mistake! Will at least be looking forward to seeing the burden lightened from Super Sam if we get one of the two forwards rumoured we are in for.

 

[Pompeyblueboy]

Stevenage 5-0 Exeter
Jamie Reid hat-trick

You'rer as bad as the Carlisle fan...Keep the faith mate

 

[denzel ecfc]

You'rer as bad as the Carlisle fan...Keep the faith mate

You haven't seen us lately.
Carlisle can spend their way out of this too.

 

[Floreat Salopia]

Pompey at home.

Although I never fear anybody when we’re at home, after our recent good run of results this is a free hit for us tomorrow. Haven’t seen anything of Pompey this season, but they’re obviously top of the league on good merit. Christian Saydee should he make an appearance off the bench will get a good reception, did very well here on loan last season. Would love to have him back down the Meadow one day!

Salop 0-1 Pompey (late goal after relentless pressure)

 

[Bar Carousel]

Pompey at home.

Although I never fear anybody when we’re at home, after our recent good run of results this is a free hit for us tomorrow. Haven’t seen anything of Pompey this season, but they’re obviously top of the league on good merit. Christian Saydee should he make an appearance off the bench will get a good reception, did very well here on loan last season. Would love to have him back down the Meadow one day!

Salop 0-1 Pompey (late goal after relentless pressure)

Did Saydee often play the full 90 minutes for you last season?

We love the way he just bulldozes his way through people but seems to be more effective coming off the bench for the last 30 rather than when he starts and then seems to tire after an hour.

 

[Floreat Salopia]

Did Saydee often play the full 90 minutes for you last season?

We love the way he just bulldozes his way through people but seems to be more effective coming off the bench for the last 30 rather than when he starts and then seems to tire after an hour.

Yeah he would start the majority of games alongside Rob Street. He was only brought in on deadline day last September after Dan Udoh did his ACL. Saydee was much the better striker compared to Rob Street who is now at Cheltenham. Guess it says it all when one is now at the top of the league and the other at the bottom.

 

[dannylad01]

Did Saydee often play the full 90 minutes for you last season?

We love the way he just bulldozes his way through people but seems to be more effective coming off the bench for the last 30 rather than when he starts and then seems to tire after an hour.

Largely the same for us, usually lasted up to about 70 minutes before going off. From memory he started the majority of games for us when fit, but we didn't have too many options.

Tough game today. We've won 6 of the last 7 at home in all competitions, the defeat being against Bolton. I imagine Pompey will have all of the ball and we'll try and hit on the break. As always with us, first goal is crucial. In the 21 league games to date, we've lost 10 of the 12 games we've conceded first without scoring (Cambridge away 1-1 and Reading at home being the exceptions 3-2), but we've won every game that we've scored first (7 games), not conceding an equaliser. That record has to end sometime.

 

[hellogregory]

Northampton at home in what will be another demoralising defeat.

As I said last week, this team is done, finished. I firmly believe we’ll lose every remaining game in December until we can get some new players in January.

Have a feeling today will be the day we end up where we deserve to be, bottom of the league. If not today then we certainly will be by next week.

Carlisle United 0-2 Northampton

 

[EricSabin]

Northampton at home in what will be another demoralising defeat.

As I said last week, this team is done, finished. I firmly believe we’ll lose every remaining game in December until we can get some new players in January.

Have a feeling today will be the day we end up where we deserve to be, bottom of the league. If not today then we certainly will be by next week.

Carlisle United 0-2 Northampton

Are your crowds dropping off at all or is the enthusiasm still there from the takeover and everyone is just willing their way to Jan?

Can’t see we’ll be contributing many to the number, 300 or so. Bitch of a trip week before Christmas.

 

[hellogregory]

Are your crowds dropping off at all or is the enthusiasm still there from the takeover and everyone is just willing their way to Jan?

Can’t see we’ll be contributing many to the number, 300 or so. Bitch of a trip week before Christmas.

The crowds have averaged around 8k all season with a few 10k plus games, but we’d been competitive in games until recently. I wouldn’t be surprised if the 5-1 and 3-0 hidings we’ve had knock a couple of thousand off the gate today.

 

[Tallow]

Are your crowds dropping off at all or is the enthusiasm still there from the takeover and everyone is just willing their way to Jan?

Can’t see we’ll be contributing many to the number, 300 or so. Bitch of a trip week before Christmas.

The enthusiasm is still there, still early days after all with the takeover, but crowd today will be relatively low with Xmas just around the corner and people will have bought tickets already for Wigan and Fleetwood away.
As for todays game, we're in poor form and Northampton having a good spell lately looks like an away victory, but I think Simpson is a fighter and he'll have his team fired up after last week.
Keeping the faith.

 

[valefan16]

Best half of the season by us by a mile that. We’ve absolutely torn into them there and deserve the 2 goal lead. Much maligned Gav Massey has been unplayable with Debs and Blaster is oozing his class.

Big second half here now though as these can’t be as bad second half but we need to ensure we don’t self destruct as we so often seem to do under Crosby.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Seemed to be an even but dull game, until Aitchison gets himself a second yellow for complaining about a challenge. Then they score.
Game over, but Caldwell will stay, no doubt. Depressing this.

 

[valefan16]

Nearly an absolute travesty through two lapses out of nothing but up popped Chissy for his hatrick! Hit the bar, post and hammered them largely from minute from 1 to 97. Even Lofty was immense when he came on.

Play like that every week we will be more than fine. Onto the quarter final.

 

[CTFCfan99]

That's a tough one to take. We controlled that game with 10 men for most of it and completely shit the bed in the last few minutes. Can't afford to be dropping points in games like that in our situation.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Well, something must have happened in the changing room at half time. Much better second half.
How poor must Stevenage be though?
We limp on to Cambridge next week

 

[kieran_vale]

Played very well for the most part and ultimately deserved to win. Really good attacking football from Vale which hasn’t been said often in the last few months. Did nearly do a Vale and throw it away but great finish by Chislett on the winner. One difference we kept the likes of Devine and Arblaster on rather than go for these planned substitutions and I think that helped get us over the line.

Look forward to Tuesday against Boro now, just got to give it our best shot and see what happens.

 

[Gassy]

What a win! Bolton couldn’t have complained if we were 3/4 up at half time tbh.

They were improved second half and we sat back and bar a few moments, we looked comfortable.

Taylor looks like he’s getting the potential out of this squad, we’ve looked so fast and clinical going forward it’s been a joy to watch.

 

[Bar Carousel]

Only watched ours on the tv but a very comfortable game from our point of view and didn't really break out of second gear. Might not be fantastic to watch with a lot of possession football played in our half a lot of the time but we controlled the game from start to finish. I am starting to believe that we might actually do it this season.

 

[E10rifle]

Absolute shit. Completely undeserved win vs. the bottom of the table team who had 10 men for 80 minutes. Best midfielder shifted to right back to accommodate a 38 year old clogger. Best creative player sitting on the bench. Not got a striker worthy of the name. Zero shots on target. Own goal and a massive deflection steal it late on. Dreadful stuff.

 

[CTFCfan99]

Absolute shit. Completely undeserved win vs. the bottom of the table team who had 10 men for 80 minutes. Best midfielder shifted to right back to accommodate a 38 year old clogger. Best creative player sitting on the bench. Not got a striker worthy of the name. Zero shots on target. Own goal and a massive deflection steal it late on. Dreadful stuff.

Proper smash and grab wasn't it. We just ran out of steam last 10 minutes and you could see the goals coming. We're a better side now than our league position suggests but still plenty of catching up to do and today doesn't help.

 

[hellogregory]

2-2

A real kick in the bollocks to concede so late but it was a brilliantly worked and executed goal to be fair. The first however was a shambles and a disgrace to football. A new goalkeeper should be right near the top of our Jan shopping list.

I expected nothing so a point is one more than expected, but to lose the victory like that is hard as I thought we were the better team. Credit to Northampton though, that kind of thing is why they’ll stay up and we’ll go down.

 

[SVH]

If I were a Blackpool fan I would feel very aggrieved today.

They were much the better side in the first half but somehow we were level against the run of play and then got a soft penalty.

The ref had lost the plot and sent off Digby when he clearly got the ball. Blackpool didn’t do enough in the second half but like I say they must be fuming with the referee in the first half.

A big 3 points for us and you can already see the affect Harris has had on this squad that were clearly underperforming under Bonner.

We lose that game 2 or 3 under Bonner but all of a sudden we look a different team. 4 points from Charlton away and Blackpool at home will do very nicely and feel we’ll start to look up rather than down under Harris.

 

[Brox]

Disappointing draw today. 11 vs 11 was very little in it, Exeter go a man and a goal down before the break and it looked like we'd be set for 3 points. Fair play to them, they got a leveller just after half time. It gave them something to hold on to and to their credit they defended well and offered something on the counter. We had the better of it after that but barely worked the keeper, not good enough from our end but despite that still had a couple of chances that really should have been goals. Definitely a case of two points dropped but can't really have any complaints with the result.

 

[Randolph Haggerty]

Vale fans , we must be feeling better now?
I went Tuesday, we were desperately unlucky not to win that.
We’ve been playing well.
The worst we’ve been was last week against nearly Cornwall , and we won.
We’ll be fine.
Great game today.
Crosby in.

 

[thewwfc]

Morale-boosting draw away to Derby, great battling performance and we banged in a pen to equalise with literally the last kick of the game.

I literally can’t remember the last time a stoppage-time sickener went for us, rather than against us.

Definitely a point gained, even if we still look like we can’t score from open play for shit.

 

[valefan16]

Vale fans , we must be feeling better now?
I went Tuesday, we were desperately unlucky not to win that.
We’ve been playing well.
The worst we’ve been was last week against nearly Cornwall , and we won.
We’ll be fine.
Great game today.
Crosby in.

The ability in the squad wasn’t in question but today with the shackles let off and getting it forward quick we got the performance we’ve wanted for a while.

When Arblaster and Devine are both on it then that midfield is unplayable like against Mansfield, we need to pray come Feb both are still here, they were on another planet today to Wigan’s midfielders.

That has to be the marker for the performance levels now, just need to cut the lapses which let them score two very undeserved goals pretty much out of nothing. Balmer had a mare for the first but flip side we should of scored 6 or 7 today and Wigan could have had no complaints had we done so.

Chuffed for Chissy today and Massey who’s had pelters. Good to see Loft getting the fans going flying into blocks etc at the end to ensure they didn’t get out too. Hopefully the last week is a turning point.