MotM: 23-03-24 Wealdstone (A) Hemmings

[tonythescout]

I think we’re down to be honest. We aren’t good enough in final third to punish teams.
They will be the worst team of o run in and we didn’t win and didn’t deserve to.
We need four wins mate be 3 and a draw could do it but where are they going to come from.

[andrewb]

a few people scored points for correctly predicting the 1-1 score - special grats to Robbo and teejae who got the score correct and named Hemmings as first (and only) goal scorer

[Grenoble Harrier]

Yep, I'm an eternal optimist with this team, but today was the defining day where we needed those 3 points. Listening to Millerman coverage, it sounded like we didn't take our chances, even if we did come back into it second half. In simple terms, (and it hurts to say it), we're not good enough for this league. Tonight is the first time this season I've resigned myself to life back in the pit that is the NLN. Please may I be proven completely wrong!

[TWG85]

[harry211]

Diabolical first half. Improved second but not good enough.

[Bewdleyharrier]

This inevitable relegation is on Penn and Lanes refusal to pull the trigger a month earlier

[garthrockett]

The Dagenham and Redbridge 0-1 loss on 18 November was for me the turning point.

[ograzebrook]

Surprised by the resignation here. We picked up a point while most others around us lost... only 2 points from safety. Its still in our hands.

[tonythescout]

Four of our five last games are against teams in the top 8 two of them needing wins to get in the play offs. Chesterfield will want to continue to keep their foot on the gas I imagine. Barnet May rest players but that’s no given, those three games against Fylde dorking and yorknhave comeback to bite us.
Agree re the comments on keeping Penn too long he should have gone after the Dagenham game instead we kept him and pissed big money up the wall in a panic signing who hasn’t pulled up any trees and the current manager clearly doesn’t rate enough which I agree with

[Marcus Garvey]

Surprised by the resignation here. We picked up a point while most others around us lost... only 2 points from safety. Its still in our hands.

We still have a chance and looks like 3 from 4 now but;
3 months on and Byrne, Leesley and Brown still not replaced.
3 months on and still can't win at home.
3 months on and still virtually all rests on Hemmo and Morgs.
Flid, Ebbsfleet and Woking were all in the same position and are now safe.
We have gone for quantity over quality. Bellis no goals or assists, Griffith (?!), JET may be fit by Autumn, Bromley duo no improvement on what we have, Otomayo frozen out. 24 fit players but little has changed in the key areas and the first 11 hasn't improved.
Talking a good game doesn't win games.

We now need to win at least 2 of the next 3 home games, it usually takes us over half a season to do that! After the initial bounce, we are now treading water when you would have expected steady improvement. Dorking, York, and Flid simply not good enough.

Regardless of what happens now, serious thought needs to be given on the direction of the club for next season and the new management team. I suspect we will have suffered another large loss this season and home performances remain disappointing to say the least.

[Swansea Harrier]

Putting any recriminations to one side (that's one for the end of the season should we go down...), I think if there has been a turning point in the Phil Brown era it's been the injury to Shane Byrne in the second half of the Woking game.

It's been somewhat understated, but looking on from afar it seems the midfield hasn't been the same without him. We haven't won a game since.

Obviously, March has really made things difficult. No wins, four draws, one defeat, games all against teams in that congested bottom half.

But I would say that one win can change so much - look at York. I'm told they looked pretty poor at our place, playing for and clinging on for a 0-0. Got smashed 6-1 a few days later at Altrincham. But then a last minute winner versus Aldershot gave them the confidence to do a job on Bromley yesterday.

Alty at home next week is a really tough game - but they aren't unbeatable. We deservedly beat Oldham and Solihull - Alty will come to play, and that might just give us more opportunities.

Not giving up hope yet - certainly not when we're so close. For the umpteenth time in the past few weeks, yesterday was one of those occasions when one more goal would have seen us out of the bottom four. I think if we eventually cross that psychological and literal barrier, we'll see a different team.

[pershoreharrier]

Could so easily have been 3 down at half-time and out of the game but for a couple of excellent saves from Dibble and some frantic clearances from within our 6 yard area. Opened up time and again in that first half by some good Wealdstone play especially down their right hand side. To go in at half time only 1 nil down still gave us some hope to turn things around second half and at least we achieved that as the game became even before we finally began to dominate.

Another draw though in the task of staying in this league - my word do we need a win though if we are going to beat the drop. Although we have a difficult run-in especially with away trips to Chesterfield and Barnet we still have opportunities to complete the Great Escape. I still think we can do this but being Kidderminster Harriers we will string it out to the final day - just like last season. Why do things the easy way when you can do it the hard way?

[tonythescout]

Putting any recriminations to one side (that's one for the end of the season should we go down...), I think if there has been a turning point in the Phil Brown era it's been the injury to Shane Byrne in the second half of the Woking game.

It's been somewhat understated, but looking on from afar it seems the midfield hasn't been the same without him. We haven't won a game since.

Obviously, March has really made things difficult. No wins, four draws, one defeat, games all against teams in that congested bottom half.

But I would say that one win can change so much - look at York. I'm told they looked pretty poor at our place, playing for and clinging on for a 0-0. Got smashed 6-1 a few days later at Altrincham. But then a last minute winner versus Aldershot gave them the confidence to do a job on Bromley yesterday.

Alty at home next week is a really tough game - but they aren't unbeatable. We deservedly beat Oldham and Solihull - Alty will come to play, and that might just give us more opportunities.

Not giving up hope yet - certainly not when we're so close. For the umpteenth time in the past few weeks, yesterday was one of those occasions when one more goal would have seen us out of the bottom four. I think if we eventually cross that psychological and literal barrier, we'll see a different team.

Is the midfielder weaker without Shane Byrne? Yea. Is it a turning point? I don’t think so. Remember we won at oldham and Solihull with griff and brown in there both doing very well.
Our main issue which has been there since the start of the season is our goal scoring. I know our scoring was low, but I didn’t realise until last night when a mate sent me a message saying we’ve only scored 35 in 41 games. 7 of those were against aldershot and Oxford. 20% in 2 games.
Difficult bringing in players mid season especially when brown come in, so it does go back to the decisions made in the summer. It’s goals that win you games and that’s the critical area we have struggled in all season. Yesterday prime example. Lamberts ball across goal second half, where was ams cos he wasn’t where he should have been (back post? Same with hemmos ball across goal first half, Bellis was no where to be seen. Gold wouldn’t have made an ounce of difference. There’s a reason he’s been frozen out. It’s because he’s not good enough

[Sheffield Harrier]

Surprised by the resignation here. We picked up a point while most others around us lost... only 2 points from safety. Its still in our hands.

We still have a chance and looks like 3 from 4 now but;
3 months on and Byrne, Leesley and Brown still not replaced.
3 months on and still can't win at home.
3 months on and still virtually all rests on Hemmo and Morgs.
Flid, Ebbsfleet and Woking were all in the same position and are now safe.
We have gone for quantity over quality. Bellis no goals or assists, Griffith (?!), JET may be fit by Autumn, Bromley duo no improvement on what we have, Otomayo frozen out. 24 fit players but little has changed in the key areas and the first 11 hasn't improved.
Talking a good game doesn't win games.

We now need to win at least 2 of the next 3 home games, it usually takes us over half a season to do that! After the initial bounce, we are now treading water when you would have expected steady improvement. Dorking, York, and Flid simply not good enough.

Regardless of what happens now, serious thought needs to be given on the direction of the club for next season and the new management team. I suspect we will have suffered another large loss this season and home performances remain disappointing to say the least.

Perfectly put. Others have got out of it, we haven’t.
We aren’t good enough.

Poor summer recruitment. Negative, cautious football. Lack of expansive players. Too slow to make a change.

Injuries to Byrne and Leesley have cost us.

We are going down and the future is very uncertain. We have a random cast of players including many that know they won’t be here next season. I wonder if some of them care that much. Brown and McDonald will be on their way. We’ve thrown some money at it (probably wasted) and I expect Lane will be cutting his/our cloth accordingly (but don’t expect the admission prices to go down).

[Phil]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0LNDsYQJSc