Boozing from 4pm had quickly speed read the first half of match thread before going out (some comedian said sessegnon scored , when the spurs one had , yeah good one zzzzz ) and feared the worst but that’s a miracle turnaround and so important to give everyone a lift .
scum losing palace losing us winning if carlsberg did football results
I thought Stockley would struggle with link up play and not have the work rate required for this system, but if we put the ball on his head in the box he would still score. Was the opposite today but I think the goals will come for him as he’s getting the chances
Stockley is not yet converting chances - but he's still busting a gut to get into the right place at the right time. If he keeps doing that, the law of averages dictates that he'll score plenty over the course of the season.
Of course, one factor may be ..... as he's dropping deeper to link up play, obviously he's having to run further at speed to get into the box and get on the end of chances at full stretch - which often will affect a player's composure and accuracy.
Lifelong Addick Ricky Law surprised his girlfriend Amanda with a proposal at half-time at The Valley yesterday...
She said yes!
Congratulations, guys! #cafc
She couldn’t really say no could she, imagine what would’ve happened had she?
Derby seemed aware of Stockley's link up role of dropping short to receive a straight out-ball from the defence and was beaten to the ball every time in the first half. I think their pressing was encouraging that ball out of defence as a tactic to get a turnover.
The centre back also gave him a hard time in the air. Made Stockley look ineffective, and with his misses thought at the time I wished Leaburn would come on to replace him.
Respect those who saw it different but I really didn't think he had good game overall apart from winning more second ball and flick ons later in the game. Can see him getting on the score sheet eventually because of his ability to get into scoring positions but would like to see what Leaburn could do in the same position down the middle.
Agreed
Curtis Davies out muscled him with the physical side, while on the deck he was too slow to get into the box, and indeed looked tired for much of the second half.
It makes you wonder if Stockley is fully recovered from last season's debilitating back injury or whether he's still needing pain killer injections before a match?
In the dugout final whistle video after the game, I thought he was walking a bit awkward and stiffly. I may be reading too much into it, of course.
As much as I like Wollacott I think the praise is a bit OTT. He seemed glued to his line on numerous occasions and not always convinced by his decision to punch rather than catch. A good shot stopper but for me has weaknesses.
His goal kicks are rubbish. Most never left the floor or were 2ft off it. I don't know if people remember MacGillivray's first few games at home. He had a blinder in a couple & made saves just as good, if not better, than Woolacott. Apart from the latter coming off his line a few time to claim the ball I couldn't really see any difference.
Great video, and love the tunnel jump, just a shame JoJo wasn't involved after the one man show in the first half, would have been great to see him included..
Lifelong Addick Ricky Law surprised his girlfriend Amanda with a proposal at half-time at The Valley yesterday...
She said yes!
Congratulations, guys! #cafc
She couldn’t really say no could she, imagine what would’ve happened had she?
No need to imagine. If she'd said no, they probably wouldn't be getting married.
Is it me or do those shirts look a bit, dare I say it, orange? 😎
As much as I like Wollacott I think the praise is a bit OTT. He seemed glued to his line on numerous occasions and not always convinced by his decision to punch rather than catch. A good shot stopper but for me has weaknesses.
His goal kicks are rubbish. Most never left the floor or were 2ft off it. I don't know if people remember MacGillivray's first few games at home. He had a blinder in a couple & made saves just as good, if not better, than Woolacott. Apart from the latter coming off his line a few time to claim the ball I couldn't really see any difference.
Thought there'd be a bigger crowd today, any thoughts?
Really, I am surprised it passed 17k
Edit, just read Airman’s comment on another thread saying “actual” crowd was more like 13k
Looks like we are reverting back to the old way of announcing attendances
I’m told we have close to 8,500 STs and the actual was about 14,000. I do think that will be as good as it gets (giveaways apart) for some time, as that is probably the biggest fixture of the season. You won’t get more full paying home fans for Plymouth (midweek), Cambridge, Exeter or Forest Green (midweek) regardless of results.
I think that if results and performances keep up it will improve, I think attendances are always a little low in school holidays as so many people (myself included) are away. Gutted to miss it, but I nearly swerved off the road and into the Angel of the North in celebration listening to the commentary when we scored our goal!
Seen brief highlights and that first save by Woolacott was out of this world!
I totally agree with Garner’s assessment of that first half being a hangover from last year. So many times we heard the manager say we trained well through the week and then they produced rubbish on the pitch.
Get a couple of new faces in for the Wednesday game and it will cap off a wonderful couple of weeks. Onwards and upwards. 👍
This isn’t the case, although it’s a popular myth. You tend to get a lot of match ticket sales for the first game of the season (from people who aren’t away!), other things being equal, and that did happen yesterday. It does look as if there were between 2,000-2,5000 season ticket holders missing, the rest will be unused comps.
That ST absentee number is a relatively high one for this fixture (reflecting holidays) but it is not an untypical number through the season given the L1 fixture list. There will likely be 3,000 or more missing for the midweeks, while the likes of Cambridge and Exeter won’t sell anything like as many match tickets, home or away. You can only really offset that shortfall with price offers or industrial scale free tickets. The higher prices will also hurt the potential for growth.
Results don’t really change that until the business end of the season - not saying they make no difference, but they won’t offset opening day enthusiasm. See also the Sheffield Wednesday crowd a year ago.
I think there are plenty of people (like me) abroad for the summer, non season tickets holders watching on stream who would’ve been there. I know a few
I’m sure, but the point people miss is that match by match purchasers are much more likely to attend the first game than a September or October one because of the school summer holidays, the summer break and the weather, so although people will be away the pool likely to buy match tickets for the first game is much bigger.
If for argument’s sake there are 6,000 people on principle willing to buy the first game against Derby and 3,000 willing to buy for Exeter in September, the fact that 1,500 of the original pool may be on holiday in early August will not produce a bigger sale in September.
Most of AB's posts are really sounding like 'TS this' and 'TS that'.
Fact is he anticipated a crowd of 14k and it was 17k so a bit wide of the mark again
I dont believe you were there yesterday. If there was 17k in three then my grandmothers an alien. Just take at look at the highlights video which shows heaps of empty seats in the West & the quadrants. 14k is going some in itself.
Watched the game on a stream - first half from Barcelona and the second half from, I believe, Sydney!
I really can't explain the first half other than the message to the Derby players must have been to think 45 minutes was the length of the game and give it all, hoping they would be two or three up (which they could have been). They looked cattled in the second half and we played some lovely stuff. Special mentions go out to Dobbo, Clare and Albi - and Wollacott of course. I would add though that the 15 mins or so from the 80th minute through to the whistle were perhaps the slowest 15 minutes of my life.
I genuinely think that we can do something this year and a top six finish is more than doable.
(P.S. I wasn't going to do it as I rarely get down to The Valley these days, but last night I renewed our STs! Not the same seats, they have gone, but still Block D Lower West couple of rows down in front of the Directors Box rather than to the side where we were.)
For a player whose stock in trade is his heading prowess that really was some miss by Stockley. I suppose they don’t all go in but a free header from a perfect cross just a few yards out should have been a goal.
While I agree but at the same time one has to give some credit to the goalkeeper for making a very good reflex save.
Interesting when Wallocott did the same at our end everyone rightly acknowledged what a good save it was, no doubt the Derby fans may have been calling their player involved, a donkey!
What looks simple in the stands is not always the same in the moment on the field.
Derby have made a lot of new signings so I’m guessing they haven’t had a proper pre season as a squad. You could tell second half, they completely lost their buzz.
One particularly pleasing thing second half was the tempo. It was doubtless helped because Derby persisted in trying to come on to us, which made space, but there was a zip and urgency to our play. Most of of players were receiving passes on the half turn and facing their goal as soon as they could, then not hanging onto the ball for longer than by needed.
Will be tougher to do against a team that parks the bus, but I know I’m not alone in worrying that our strategy for high possession could see us become stodgy and predictable so it was good to see this tempo.
Most of AB's posts are really sounding like 'TS this' and 'TS that'.
Fact is he anticipated a crowd of 14k and it was 17k so a bit wide of the mark again
I dont believe you were there yesterday. If there was 17k in three then my grandmothers an alien. Just take at look at the highlights video which shows heaps of empty seats in the West & the quadrants. 14k is going some in itself.
i was there yesterday and i didn't say there was 17k there - the question the other day was what will the gate be and the gate was 17k which includes, as it always does, absent season ticket holders - airman thought 15-16k would be a stretch when i forecasted it and said 14k tops or similar, but it exceeded it - doesn't matter really but he's always putting a downer on the gates and ticket prices and anything else the club does but he got that wrong didn't he? - very simple really - many more bought on the day than he thought would.
For a player whose stock in trade is his heading prowess that really was some miss by Stockley. I suppose they don’t all go in but a free header from a perfect cross just a few yards out should have been a goal.
Should've been a goal, but at least it was a quality save... their boy missed an equally easy one at 1-0 that he put wide. Pretty sure Stockley will come good again, but we need to be creating more than 1 chance per game for him given that's how we're set up.
Had a chance in the second half, but again, found the keeper. He was getting more into the game as it progressed, with some decent link up play.
Derby have made a lot of new signings so I’m guessing they haven’t had a proper pre season as a squad. You could tell second half, they completely lost their buzz.
As a betting man, nothing will convince me you can rebuild a team in 2 months and be successful. Powell team was a one off and haven’t seen anything like that in football league since.
Take our wingers. Every single one of them has different skill set; CBT raw pace, Kirk very clever with the ball. DJ is probably most defensive minded, Leaburn is very powerful and palace kid probably be best technically. You cant build a balance team in a short period of time, and use them tactically enough to be successful. Genuinely think we will finish above Derby. However, don’t think that will guarantee us top 6 IMO.
I agree with the poster above. It would be really helpful if when posting on the match/post match thread people indicated where they are/were sitting. I viewed the match from the upper west on the centre line. Based on some of the comments on individual performances on this thread and the match thread I find it difficult to believe I was watching the same match.
For a player whose stock in trade is his heading prowess that really was some miss by Stockley. I suppose they don’t all go in but a free header from a perfect cross just a few yards out should have been a goal.
Should've been a goal, but at least it was a quality save... their boy missed an equally easy one at 1-0 that he put wide. Pretty sure Stockley will come good again, but we need to be creating more than 1 chance per game for him given that's how we're set up.
Half chances and then one clear-cut, bread-and-butter chance per game is pretty decent service, isn't it? Even if you miss half of those easy ones, you'll score 23 a season. The two he has had so far, he should have scored.
I'd love to see the stats but I can't imagine too many strikers at our level will be having it to laid on a plate for them twice a game.
Lifelong Addick Ricky Law surprised his girlfriend Amanda with a proposal at half-time at The Valley yesterday...
She said yes!
Congratulations, guys! #cafc
She couldn’t really say no could she, imagine what would’ve happened had she?
I filmed an episode so Surprise Surprise in about 1983, when almost exactly that happened.
They’d sent a guy to his girlfriend’s house in a roller, with flowers, champagne, and the ring, all beamed back to the studio ‘as live’. He knocked on the door, she opened it, he went down on one knee and said, “darling will you marry me”? (or words to that effect). She “No, I won’t!” and slammed the door on him. To cap it off, the main features was an old boy who hadn’t seen his family since WW2, and when they walked on to the set for the reunion, he had a heart attack, and sadly died. That episode was never broadcast, obvs.
Had a pint afterwards with the fella who used to read the football results.
Most of AB's posts are really sounding like 'TS this' and 'TS that'.
Fact is he anticipated a crowd of 14k and it was 17k so a bit wide of the mark again
I dont believe you were there yesterday. If there was 17k in three then my grandmothers an alien. Just take at look at the highlights video which shows heaps of empty seats in the West & the quadrants. 14k is going some in itself.
i was there yesterday and i didn't say there was 17k there - the question the other day was what will the gate be and the gate was 17k which includes, as it always does, absent season ticket holders - airman thought 15-16k would be a stretch when i forecasted it and said 14k tops or similar, but it exceeded it - doesn't matter really but he's always putting a downer on the gates and ticket prices and anything else the club does but he got that wrong didn't he? - very simple really - many more bought on the day than he thought would.
Had the gate been announced on the same basis the club adopted last season it would have been 14,000. I’m not sure how I am supposed to anticipate the club switching between one method and another.
As much as I like Wollacott I think the praise is a bit OTT. He seemed glued to his line on numerous occasions and not always convinced by his decision to punch rather than catch. A good shot stopper but for me has weaknesses.
His goal kicks are rubbish. Most never left the floor or were 2ft off it. I don't know if people remember MacGillivray's first few games at home. He had a blinder in a couple & made saves just as good, if not better, than Woolacott. Apart from the latter coming off his line a few time to claim the ball I couldn't really see any difference.
Mood sponge alert. I knew I wouldn't have to wait long to.say it!
Comments
scum losing
palace losing
us winning
if carlsberg did football results
If he keeps doing that, the law of averages dictates that he'll score plenty over the course of the season.
Of course, one factor may be ..... as he's dropping deeper to link up play, obviously he's having to run further at speed to get into the box and get on the end of chances at full stretch - which often will affect a player's composure and accuracy.
In the dugout final whistle video after the game, I thought he was walking a bit awkward and stiffly.
I may be reading too much into it, of course.
Is it me or do those shirts look a bit, dare I say it, orange? 😎
If for argument’s sake there are 6,000 people on principle willing to buy the first game against Derby and 3,000 willing to buy for Exeter in September, the fact that 1,500 of the original pool may be on holiday in early August will not produce a bigger sale in September.
Was a great day...Great weather, great game and we rode our luck but we scored and defended superbly to get that well earned win.
Onto the next!
Will be tougher to do against a team that parks the bus, but I know I’m not alone in worrying that our strategy for high possession could see us become stodgy and predictable so it was good to see this tempo.
I'd love to see the stats but I can't imagine too many strikers at our level will be having it to laid on a plate for them twice a game.
To cap it off, the main features was an old boy who hadn’t seen his family since WW2, and when they walked on to the set for the reunion, he had a heart attack, and sadly died.
That episode was never broadcast, obvs.