Thimble Keegan
Remy LeBeau
What an all round disaster today has been. We turned in a rather shabby performance and watch as all but one of the relegation fighting teams picked up points. We should not be hitting the panic button just yet but after our 2 good wins and sitting pretty we now have to keep a wary eye on the pack behind us.
With our 2 wins confidence should have been very good but it is now left in a fragile state. If we get a result down at Plymouth next week then today can be classed as a blip and we can carry on our survival bid...If we lose next week then confidence slides and we will start to sweat!!
I am going to start the football side of this report with something I am not happy with. One thing I do not like doing is having a pop at the ref as I understand their job is difficult and made even worse with the financial rewards for winning greater which leads to teams being under more pressure. This pressure transforms itself into a desperation to win and in turn to the ref being surrounded by players mid-game (just like Man U) or attacked through the media (Souness, Warnock, etc). For this I am normally very tolerant of ref's and never moan unless they really have made a glaring error...I can handle them getting minor things wrong as this gives us things to talk about in the pub and so on. Anyway, like I said I am normally tolerant...But today that tolerance snapped as we came across a complete arse of a referee.
The ref today was total log but was consistent as he was crap for both teams. He gave us free-kicks we blatantly should not have had and vice-versa. Like-wise in letting things go for both sides which should have been pulled up for. Luckily for them he was worse for us!!!
Being fair we were pretty poor today and were not at the races in the first half. It was a complete collective off-day with so many not performing. Throughout the match Nicolas looked decent and Knight worked hard and that is all I can say about our midfield and attack. This probably explained why we hardly troubled them at all in the first half.
Defence was a strange one as Butters & Hinshelwood looked assured and defened stoutly whilst up against some considerable pressure. Stoke were on top and had us pinned back for much of the first 45 but and this was compounded by our 2 full-backs not being on top form. This was none more shown up by Stoke's Kevin Harper who got past Harding time and again as they got in behind us.
Depite the pressure they had and the 'one-way traffic' feel to the game it prehaps should have finished 0-0 as they really looked like they had trouble hitting the target. Funny seeing as they have just sold a forward!!
That said we did not deserve anything today so fair enough I suppose...But the manner of the defeat was hard to take. What seemed like a normal 50-50 challenge in our box with McCammon and a Stoke player saw their bloke just fall down rather to easily and get a penalty. 1-0.
Five minutes later a ball comes into the box and a City player committs hand-ball but yet they get a penalty for it. 2-0. Bollocks.
By now Mchpee had already been subbed as he was slightly annonymous but really most of the team were having a stinker.
At half time McGhee brought off McCammon. Now a lot has been said about McCammon and recently some humble pie has been consumed on this subject. Well today that same pie can be regurgitated projectile vomit style. He was very poor but I do not want to go on about it too much as he was one of many.
The second half started better with a couple of shots on goal but it soon fizzled out. In truth we were more brighter in the second half but against a defence as mean as Stoke's it was a big ask for a come-back...Also we deserved nothing from the game.
A crap day really and I hope we do not see that ref anytime soon.
Albion & England forever.
Thimble Keegan
Worthing BHA
With our 2 wins confidence should have been very good but it is now left in a fragile state. If we get a result down at Plymouth next week then today can be classed as a blip and we can carry on our survival bid...If we lose next week then confidence slides and we will start to sweat!!
I am going to start the football side of this report with something I am not happy with. One thing I do not like doing is having a pop at the ref as I understand their job is difficult and made even worse with the financial rewards for winning greater which leads to teams being under more pressure. This pressure transforms itself into a desperation to win and in turn to the ref being surrounded by players mid-game (just like Man U) or attacked through the media (Souness, Warnock, etc). For this I am normally very tolerant of ref's and never moan unless they really have made a glaring error...I can handle them getting minor things wrong as this gives us things to talk about in the pub and so on. Anyway, like I said I am normally tolerant...But today that tolerance snapped as we came across a complete arse of a referee.
The ref today was total log but was consistent as he was crap for both teams. He gave us free-kicks we blatantly should not have had and vice-versa. Like-wise in letting things go for both sides which should have been pulled up for. Luckily for them he was worse for us!!!
Being fair we were pretty poor today and were not at the races in the first half. It was a complete collective off-day with so many not performing. Throughout the match Nicolas looked decent and Knight worked hard and that is all I can say about our midfield and attack. This probably explained why we hardly troubled them at all in the first half.
Defence was a strange one as Butters & Hinshelwood looked assured and defened stoutly whilst up against some considerable pressure. Stoke were on top and had us pinned back for much of the first 45 but and this was compounded by our 2 full-backs not being on top form. This was none more shown up by Stoke's Kevin Harper who got past Harding time and again as they got in behind us.
Depite the pressure they had and the 'one-way traffic' feel to the game it prehaps should have finished 0-0 as they really looked like they had trouble hitting the target. Funny seeing as they have just sold a forward!!
That said we did not deserve anything today so fair enough I suppose...But the manner of the defeat was hard to take. What seemed like a normal 50-50 challenge in our box with McCammon and a Stoke player saw their bloke just fall down rather to easily and get a penalty. 1-0.
Five minutes later a ball comes into the box and a City player committs hand-ball but yet they get a penalty for it. 2-0. Bollocks.
By now Mchpee had already been subbed as he was slightly annonymous but really most of the team were having a stinker.
At half time McGhee brought off McCammon. Now a lot has been said about McCammon and recently some humble pie has been consumed on this subject. Well today that same pie can be regurgitated projectile vomit style. He was very poor but I do not want to go on about it too much as he was one of many.
The second half started better with a couple of shots on goal but it soon fizzled out. In truth we were more brighter in the second half but against a defence as mean as Stoke's it was a big ask for a come-back...Also we deserved nothing from the game.
A crap day really and I hope we do not see that ref anytime soon.
Albion & England forever.
Thimble Keegan
Worthing BHA
Last edited: