Them or us?

One thing that struck me after reading the FGR and H&Y boards is that both sets of fans seemed fairly livid with how badly their teams played against us. And I didn't see a single compliment in our favour.
We, on the other hand, have been waxing lyrical about how great we've been playing.
So which is it?
Is it that we're playing so well now that we're making them look poor? Or is it that both teams have had bad performances when they came up against us?

I think the latter case would be something of a coincidence, as I browsed through their boards prior to both games and the feeling seemed to be that they were playing very very well and, as we know, both had been picking up some good results to back this up.
So was it a coincidence that they both had their bad (maybe worst) performances on the day they played us?
Or maybe they've seen our league position and the Braintree result etc. and figured we are a poor side this season who they should've done much better against (oh the irony!)?

I suppose there's no way of knowing for rsure whether it was us or them, but what do you think? It's obviously a very important question as if it was them playing especially poorly it could mean that the last 2 results will turn out to've been a bit of a false dawn. Personally I don't think it is though, I have to say. But then look at the predictions league thread and you'll see I know naff all about footy  

I think, had we played Fleetwood and Darlo yesterday it would have been a completely different result.A couple more good results and we should be up there wiping that smug grin off that twit Brodies face.Come on Town - UTM !

Quoted from ponnyfan

I think, had we played Fleetwood and Darlo yesterday it would have been a completely different result.A couple more good results and we should be up there wiping that smug grin off that twit Brodies face.Come on Town - UTM !

That's just what I was hoping Ponny. Maybe as I said it's just that their fans were expecting better cos of where we are?
Usually oppostion fans give credit when it's due, in amongst the obvious bias. But there just wasn't any.

Of course sometimes a team can play so well, they make the other team play and/or look poor.

I bet that Hayes and Yeading forum is busy.

Quoted from Jimmy_Hills_Chin

I bet that Hayes and Yeading forum is busy.

Always is.

maybe the 5-0 at braintree was a cunning plan.... maybe we should rename them blackadder & baldrick!

Quoted from Jimmy_Hills_Chin

I bet that Hayes and Yeading forum is busy.

lol. Every forum in this league is crap tbf, barring ours and maybe Luton Outlaws.

Mind you there are some I can't read cos you have to register just to read the feckin things! What's the point in that!

Quoted from codcheeky

maybe the 5-0 at braintree was a cunning plan.... maybe we should rename them blackadder & baldrick!

Definitely was. No doubt about it

Quoted from upthestripes

lol. Every forum in this league is crap tbf, barring ours and maybe Luton Outlaws.

And Darlo Uncovered. And Stagsnet. Etc.

Quoted from Quakerz

And Darlo Uncovered. And Stagsnet. Etc.

Darlo's is rubbish. That's why you're on here  

A good question UTS.
Maybe a bit of both ?

Quoted from Quakerz

And Darlo Uncovered. And Stagsnet. Etc.

I do pop onto your forum quite often, but it's not that busy tbf. That's not a dig, just the way it seems to me.

Quoted from 1600

A good question UTS.
Maybe a bit of both ?

You're probably right mate.
Still a little bit of a coincidence that their bad games were against us, but coincidences happen I suppose.

We made them look poor Ian,

So thier fans call their players but it was because WE WERE GOOD !!!!!!!!!

At FGR I felt they started well enough and looked confident as they passed the ball however when we repelled their attacks and took the lead, they ran out of idea's. They then went long ball. I would definetly say we made FGR perform as they did.

As for yesterday i just didnt think they were very good and the final league table will confirm that!

As they say you can only beat what is in front of you. Hayes and Yeading were no pushovers and kept plugging away, but town were on the front foot for most of the game, right from the first whistle. Town played very well as a team and created umpteen chances. Good saves by their keeper and some good defensive blaocks kept the score down. Going forward they did not manage to create any good chances. Town's defence dealt well with their forwards. Nearest they came was from a freekick just outside the area in the first half which McKeown saved very well. They had a young looking fair haired lad, looked quite frail playing at 10, but who I thought showed good control, good touches and awareness, Williams I think he was called. They were not a great team but town would have given anyone a run for their money on yesterday's showing. They played some good stuff, very skillful at times and worked really hard as a team.

Quoted from upthestripes

You're probably right mate.
Still a little bit of a coincidence that their bad games were against us, but coincidences happen I suppose.

It's a very fair point to make.
I'm certainly not getting carried away with "the victory" but liked some aspects of our play too which gave me hope.

Put it this way though, I'll be a LOT more confident about our promotion chances etc when we open up and take the game to the opposition AWAY from home and dominate and beat them well.

Yes we've already done well away from home securing 3 points, but I can't see this tactic of "trying to nick it" away from home being successful in the long haul - from that point of view maybe you've made a point about Forest Green. i.e. Were they so poor on the day we managed to sneak over the line ? Even Scott said WE weren't at our best....
To be fair though, can anyone tell me if we were unlucky and deserved 3 points vs Gateshead ?
Sounds a bit like it but I really don't know if it's objective or not.

With two wins under our belt I now personally think we need to open up more (as opposed to keeping things tight), bury these away ghosts/fears and then the sky could be the limit.  

If we nick Stockport 1-0 in another defensive display then we'll have chalked up 3 wins which is great but I still won't be entirely convinced we're one of the big boys and a team not to be messed with (which I'd like to think would be our aim)

For various reasons I feel Stockport is a key game - win that convincingly and maybe anything(even winning the league) is possible !

UTM.

Quoted from grimsby pete

We made them look poor Ian,

So thier fans call their players but it was because WE WERE GOOD !!!!!!!!!

Well they did get a draw with Luton Pete, and a win at Tamworth!
Got a feeling Tamworth will start to slip away though. I'm sure they had a good first half last year but did the sae.

I didn't think Hayes and Yeading looked a very good team.

Without wishing to be negative, I would like to see Town being more ruthless, more organised, more confident, stronger, quicker and more skilful and much more clinical in front of goal.  Perhaps I am being too demanding?  Then again, in pre-season people were saying Donny Rovers looked like a very good team and I didn't think so...I just thought they looked better than us.

Don't get me wrong, I was happy enough with yesterday, and obviously it was very good compared with some games we've played, but I'd like to see us do better and think perhaps we can.  

Don't be so apologetic marinette - you want your team to continue to improve more, be the best they could be or even win the league ?
How dare you !!!  
Hang your head in shame

Confidence breeds confidence and momentum helps achieve it - it's not necessarily where we are NOW, it's whether we might be as we gel, gain some momentum and like you say, keep improving.
So your points are all very valid - it's not "negativity" to say there is further room for improvement, it's reality !

I say sod those people who may wrongly assume it's a case of "putting the team down" (or even creating false dawns or over-hyping expectations) - no-one should be getting carried away or expecting success, it's simply a case of wanting the very best for our club and trying to help it to get to where it also wants to be.

If that's "over demanding" well pardon me for being such a rubbish fan that wants us to do well...  

So never feel guilty or greedy about wanting more - just because we've been starved of success it shouldn't mean we should always feel guilty about wanting to eat...

It's all a bit confusing.  In the past I've been able to see the glimmer of something positive when everyone else is condemning the whole performance, usually after a defeat.  And yet now, when we've won by a convincing margin, I'm a bit underwhelmed, not quite convinced, and it's not really done it for me.  I can't even think of a man of the match from yesterday.  My reaction is all back to front and inside out compared to everyone else's.

I'm not apologising for having high expectations or wanting the best for Town - that goes without saying.  I'm just wondering if I've missed something, and really don't like being a damp squib when everyone else is rejoicing.  Yesterday, for me, Town were dominant, but lacked any real quality.

But the other side of me just thinks I should be grateful for the three points and have done with it.

Just glad you're still with us Marinette, was beginning to think you were going off the Mariners a bit (heaven forbid!)

Quoted from upthestripes

Just glad you're still with us Marinette, was beginning to think you were going off the Mariners a bit (heaven forbid!)

Nah, perhaps it's just the incessant changes year upon year upon year - it takes me a while to get used to new players and we've had a lot of them this season.  I've got to stick with it anyway - bought my season ticket so it would be a waste not to.  

Quoted from marinette

It's all a bit confusing.  In the past I've been able to see the glimmer of something positive when everyone else is condemning the whole performance, usually after a defeat.  And yet now, when we've won by a convincing margin, I'm a bit underwhelmed, not quite convinced, and it's not really done it for me.  I can't even think of a man of the match from yesterday.  My reaction is all back to front and inside out compared to everyone else's.

I've been there too - 4 pts from 6 after the York 0-0 where I wasn't convinced one little bit. Was a huge backlash on here against me !
Always difficult to speak out when you're not convinced after a win - I don't go along with your view but I can certainly see why you have it and I'll stick up for anyones right to have an honest opinion.
If people are blatantly sh1tstirring wanting us to fail then it's a different matter.

Quoted from marinette

I didn't think Hayes and Yeading looked a very good team.

Without wishing to be negative, I would like to see Town being more ruthless, more organised, more confident, stronger, quicker and more skilful and much more clinical in front of goal.  Perhaps I am being too demanding?  Then again, in pre-season people were saying Donny Rovers looked like a very good team and I didn't think so...I just thought they looked better than us.

Don't get me wrong, I was happy enough with yesterday, and obviously it was very good compared with some games we've played, but I'd like to see us do better and think perhaps we can.  

I should hope Donny Rovers were better than us when they're three divisions higher and have a striker who is worth more than our entire squad put together. Hardly a fair comparison.

Do you think Braintree were saying weren't Grimsby poor the night they beat us 5-0? No, they'll have been on their forum saying how well they played that night.

Yesterday looked a better performance for me, but just as I wasn't saying we were going down after 4 games, I'm not shouting from the rooftops we're going up now.

Do I think we're better than the start of the season? Yes. Do I think we're playing well enough to reach the play-offs? Not yet for me but if the improvement continues maybe... just maybe.

It's interesting how we as fans filter out the bits we don't want to consider. I nearly posted a week or so ago when, with GTFC on 4 points from 18 with 3 goals in what was then 9 hours of football, I was intrigued how 20% felt we had a 'much stronger' squad than last year. 2 games later that looks a more credible assessment.

Similarly, the fans treatment of Liam Hearn is, I would suggest, massively dependant on results. Generally, fans have been very supportive and positive about him (which I agree with). Had FGR got a late equalizer and/or H&Y held out for a stalemate I feel there could have been many posts now saying he should be dropped.

Personally, as long as the team is winning it would be silly to change. However, if his scoring output remains low and we were to endure another difficult run, his place would have to become vulnerable. Ultimately, his season will be judged on goals.

as football fans it our duty to be fickle, everyone is optamistic now, if we lose the next 2 we will be a disgrace to football..... tis the beauty of having a big belly and a small keyboard

Quoted from gtfc71

Personally, as long as the team is winning it would be silly to change. However, if his scoring output remains low and we were to endure another difficult run, his place would have to become vulnerable. Ultimately, his season will be judged on goals.

See what you mean but disagree to be honest...

Confident it'll just be a matter of time but if not then I wouldn't see the point in dropping what would probably be one of our best players just because he wasn't scoring - you'd weaken the team IMO.

I gave him more MOM than any other player in pre-season so it's no suprise to see him make such a good overall contribution, I've come to expect it cos he's clearly a lot more than just a goalscorer.

If people judge his season for just for his goals then they shouldn't IMO.

Put it this way - if I knew he wasn't gonna score a goal all season I'd still have to think carefully about leaving him out the team....

Not getting too carried away just yet as H&Y are one of the teams who usually make up the bottom half of the table and their away form is very dodgy,but last year we couldn't beat them at all,so that is an improvement in itself.

What heartens me is the performances.We are starting to look like a team instead of 11 players,which we have done all too much in the past.If our strikers had hit the ground running,we would definitely be in the top 5 by now.

I think we shouldn't let our expectations get too high and feel that the play offs are a formality.It's time we showed a bit of patience and let the management build a good,competetive side and if it doesn't happen this season,then so be it.

Having said that,the league looks a lot more open to me than last season and i can't see anyone running away with it ala Crawley.If we keep improving as we have,then the play offs are a reality.Consistency is the key now and if and when we finally win three on the spin,i will be a bit more optimistic of our chances.

Quoted from codcheeky

maybe the 5-0 at braintree was a cunning plan.... maybe we should rename them blackadder & baldrick!

Quoted from ginnywings

Not getting too carried away just yet as H&Y are one of the teams who usually make up the bottom half of the table and their away form is very dodgy,but last year we couldn't beat them at all,so that is an improvement in itself.

What heartens me is the performances.We are starting to look like a team instead of 11 players,which we have done all too much in the past.If our strikers had hit the ground running,we would definitely be in the top 5 by now.

I think we shouldn't let our expectations get too high and feel that the play offs are a formality.It's time we showed a bit of patience and let the management build a good,competetive side and if it doesn't happen this season,then so be it.

Having said that,the league looks a lot more open to me than last season and i can't see anyone running away with it ala Crawley.If we keep improving as we have,then the play offs are a reality.Consistency is the key now and if and when we finally win three on the spin,i will be a bit more optimistic of our chances.

Good post ginnywings