HerrLjunga
Vital 1st Team Regular
The amount of seismic changes this club undergoes between some of these match threads is surely unprecedented amongst our fellow basement-dwelling sides. Surely there's few clubs who subject their fans to sackings, appointments, upswings in form, capitulation, relegation, public statements and boardroom change quite as regularly as we have in the last six months?
The Rochdale thread saw me feeling apprehensive, but the post-match reports (and upon viewing the extended highlights) following our 1-0 win unanimously indicated that we played far better than we have for eons and should have won by more. Things suddenly looked a little rosier in garden Priestfield, a win, a clean sheet, a team playing for each other, Rainham End in good voice with no toxicity off the pitch, hurrah onto the next match...
Then came the news late on Sunday night that PDPS had finally stomached sufficient shit from sections of our fanbase and was withdrawing from the limelight in favour of another Paul. Cue conspiracy theories aplenty and obstinate refusal to accept that anything had changed from the SOBs, with cautious optimism and a tinge of disappointment at the manner of (possibly) reaching the end of an era from elsewhere. Put in perspective, PDPS has been in charge of the club for a more than a fifth of its entire existence and given it the majority of its greatest moments; all the positives may be at least a decade past, but it should never have ended with "f*ck off, Scally" ringing in his ears. Some of our "supporters" are an embarrassment to the process of evolution, let alone our club.
So, after three days of conjecture, speculation and suggestions for the new CEO, we can now turn our attentions to the increasingly superfluous Carabao Cup (eurgh, that name) and a second trip to the leafy 'burbs of South London in the space of the first three games to take on AFC Wimbledon.
The Dons, having comfortably dispatched us 2-0 on the opening day, played out a goalless draw away at Hartlepool while we were beating Dale and are therefore yet to concede in their two games so far. This is our third trip to their new gaff and we've lost one and drawn one, third time lucky perhaps? One thing is for sure, we won't have nigh on 1200 filling Plough Lane's away end tonight.
The chance to play one of the smaller "big boys" in Round 2 is not seen as a massive priority for Neil Harris (quelle surprise) as he concentrates on the league. Changes to the side have been promised tonight, although our lack of recent new arrivals coupled with niggles to O'Keefe and Jefferies leave options looking thin. The likes of Alexander, Tutonda and Turner may well find themselves starting the game, with the chance for a few younger faces on the bench.
Frankly, Tranmere at the weekend is a far more pressing concern for us as we look to build on Saturday's positivity, but winning breeds confidence, so a victory for us tonight would obviously be the desired outcome with the chance of a reasonable draw in Round 2 potentially giving us some budgetary wriggle-room.
Safe travels all those making the relatively short trip tonight, enjoy the game and let's hear you on the radio/iFollow!
COYG!
The Rochdale thread saw me feeling apprehensive, but the post-match reports (and upon viewing the extended highlights) following our 1-0 win unanimously indicated that we played far better than we have for eons and should have won by more. Things suddenly looked a little rosier in garden Priestfield, a win, a clean sheet, a team playing for each other, Rainham End in good voice with no toxicity off the pitch, hurrah onto the next match...
Then came the news late on Sunday night that PDPS had finally stomached sufficient shit from sections of our fanbase and was withdrawing from the limelight in favour of another Paul. Cue conspiracy theories aplenty and obstinate refusal to accept that anything had changed from the SOBs, with cautious optimism and a tinge of disappointment at the manner of (possibly) reaching the end of an era from elsewhere. Put in perspective, PDPS has been in charge of the club for a more than a fifth of its entire existence and given it the majority of its greatest moments; all the positives may be at least a decade past, but it should never have ended with "f*ck off, Scally" ringing in his ears. Some of our "supporters" are an embarrassment to the process of evolution, let alone our club.
So, after three days of conjecture, speculation and suggestions for the new CEO, we can now turn our attentions to the increasingly superfluous Carabao Cup (eurgh, that name) and a second trip to the leafy 'burbs of South London in the space of the first three games to take on AFC Wimbledon.
The Dons, having comfortably dispatched us 2-0 on the opening day, played out a goalless draw away at Hartlepool while we were beating Dale and are therefore yet to concede in their two games so far. This is our third trip to their new gaff and we've lost one and drawn one, third time lucky perhaps? One thing is for sure, we won't have nigh on 1200 filling Plough Lane's away end tonight.
The chance to play one of the smaller "big boys" in Round 2 is not seen as a massive priority for Neil Harris (quelle surprise) as he concentrates on the league. Changes to the side have been promised tonight, although our lack of recent new arrivals coupled with niggles to O'Keefe and Jefferies leave options looking thin. The likes of Alexander, Tutonda and Turner may well find themselves starting the game, with the chance for a few younger faces on the bench.
Frankly, Tranmere at the weekend is a far more pressing concern for us as we look to build on Saturday's positivity, but winning breeds confidence, so a victory for us tonight would obviously be the desired outcome with the chance of a reasonable draw in Round 2 potentially giving us some budgetary wriggle-room.
Safe travels all those making the relatively short trip tonight, enjoy the game and let's hear you on the radio/iFollow!
COYG!
