I wrote the following on Tuesday afternoon, then realised that I'd forgotten about the prestigious London Senior Cup game against Hendon that was due to take place that evening, which had the potential to change my thinking about the possible line-up for the Mansfield game. Which it did, but rather than re-write the whole post before publishing it, I've decided to leave it as is but add some extra notes at the bottom.
With the news that St. Terry will rotate his squad over the bank holiday weekend, and that advance terrace tickets for the Mansfield game will only be a tenner, it is safe to assume that the team appearing in yellow and blue won't be the strongest one available.
But that's a good thing for lots of people, such as bloggers who can write many words on the possible permutations available to TB and how we've now got a very strong squad indeed. But more important even than bloggers (is that possible?), it's good news for the players who might otherwise not have had a chance to show what they can do ahead of the play-offs.
The main battle is for midfield places. Not so long ago, the thought of entering the playoffs without any of Christian Jolley, James Mulley, and Rashid Yussuff in the starting eleven would have been unthinkable, but the injury to Christian, the suspension of Mulley, the return of in-form Wellard and fit-again Minshull, as well as the signing of the lively Mo mean that those three face an uphill struggle to start the first play-off game.
As well as the Jolley/Mulley/Toks combo (which makes for a very decent midfield already), I'd expect to see Reece Jones give a start against Mansfield. He looked very good after coming on at half-time against ten-man Eastbourne, so after limited (i.e. no) opportunities since then, he will be keen to show he can perform against better opposition.
Elsewhere, I wouldn't be surprised to see Ryan Jackson get a start at right-back, playing behind another man with a point to prove - Kirk Hudson. Ryan's form has dipped since the heady early days of the season when he was a regular in the starting eleven, so he'll be keen to avoid becoming the forgotten man of this season's campaign. As for Hudson, I'll try to be positive. He might just be given enough time and space to show what a good right foot he has, and he might just link up well with an overlapping Jackson. And that's about as much positivity as I can muster for the useless twat.
Up front, I expect Nokkers to be given a start, and at the back I would expect to see the growling, grimacing face of Jamie Stuart beside whichever of Johnson and Yakubu has less need of a rest. It won't matter to the massively competitive Stuart that this is, on paper, a meaningless game between a team guaranteed a top-three finish, and a team guaranteed a mid-table finish.
The only positions where there doesn't seem to be meaningful competition are left-back and goalkeeper. If Gwillim does get injured or suffer a massive loss of form, Brett Johnson can cover at left back, leaving Stuart and Yaks in the middle. And while TB may give Jack Turner a run-out, he'll only feature in the play-offs if Seb gets injured.
So my starting eleven would be:
Brown (sub Turner 45); Gwillim, Johnson, Stuart, Jackson; Jolley, Mulley, Yussuff, Jones, Hudson; Nwokeji.
It's an attacking line-up, so there is an argument for putting Minshull in as holding midfielder at the expense of Reece Jones. Either way, I could see both of them playing some part in the game, very possibly with one replacing the other.
I should probably write something about Mansfield, but to be honest, the fact that they're destined/doomed to finish in mid-table is all we need to know. They may have an inkling of a revenge mission after the 5-2 stuffing we dished out at their place back in October, but the story of this game will be the how the 'reserve' Dons take their chance to shine. It might not be the Dons' first choice eleven, but it's still a very good one and will be fully motivated. I predict goals. For a tenner, this match could be an absolute blinder.
Notes after LSC game:
Given that Ryan Jackson, Reece Jones, Kirk Hudson, and Mark Nwokeji all played at least 113 minutes on Tuesday, I don't expect them to start against Mansfield. Judging by comments on the Old Centrals board, none of them did themselves any favours with their performances either - the one player to come out of the game with any credit was Christian Jolley, previously picked out by TB as the man to give us an extra spark in the play-offs. As he only came on at half-time for Mulley, I'd still expect both of them to start tomorrow.
So my amended expected starting line-up now includes Minshull as holding midfielder, Mo on the right (interchangeable with Jolley on the left), Hatton at right-back, and Keds up front:
Brown; Hatton (sub Jackson), Stuart, Johnson, Gwillim; Minshull, Jolley (sub Hudson), Mulley, Toks, Mohamed; Kedwell (sub Nokkers)
I still predict goals - especially with Keds up front rather than Nokkers. (Cue drab nil-nil with a completely different Dons line-up to the one I've just predicted - which is just fine so long as no-one gets injured).
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Monday, 18 April 2011
Histon 0 AFC Wimbledon 4 - not a match report
If you read my preview to this game, you'll know I wasn't going to it, so for me to do a match report would merely involve copying and pasting lots of text from here, here, here or even here.
What I will do though, is to copy and paste text from my own preview: "If I was [Terry Brown], I'd play the same eleven again against Histon. Take the three points, ensure the top three finish, and then worry about resting players by rotating the squad during the last three games." And then feel a bit smug and not bother writing anything else.
What I will do though, is to copy and paste text from my own preview: "If I was [Terry Brown], I'd play the same eleven again against Histon. Take the three points, ensure the top three finish, and then worry about resting players by rotating the squad during the last three games." And then feel a bit smug and not bother writing anything else.
Friday, 15 April 2011
Histon preview
The review of the SGM I didn't attend will have to wait, as time is running out for me to preview a match which I also won't be attending (an old uni mate is having a house party which kicks off at the same time as the match - Histon away seemed a less enticing prospect than trashing an old mate's house, thus offending the family-centric attendees, all after getting fuelled up on food and drink kindly provided by aforementioned old mate).
Fortunately, I have the advantage of actually having attended the Cambridge match, where for 80 minutes everything that could have gone right, went right (with the possible exception of some less than ruthless finishing by the Dons). The weather was warm, the playing surface was large and in very good condition, the opponents were obligingly reluctant to take any goalscoring chances they managed to fashion, Drewe Broughton had returned whence he came, and Kirk Hudson was only on the bench.
There was so much good stuff about our play that it's difficult to know where to start. So I'll start with a player that I rate very highly, despite the fact that many Dons' fans see him as a lightweight liability. Step forward Ricky Wellard, whose movement, touch, and passing off both feet was as good as ever. Not only that, but he showed himself willing to track back, even made a couple of tackles, and broke his previous record by heading the ball twice in the same game. If he can maintain this form, our chances of winning the play-offs will increase dramatically. Whilst Toks is a good player, I'd pick Wellard over him any day, leaving Toks to his most effective role - as an impact substitute.
It was my first view of Kaid Mohamed in a Wimbledon shirt, and I was very impressed. Always threatening, he linked well with Keds up front, and as soon as he brushes up on his finishing when in a one-on-one situation, he'll be another match-winner.
Cambridge was also the first time I'd seen Lee Minshull start a game in midfield, so for the first time I got to see what caused other fans to see him as the great white hope. Strong and powerful, with no little technical ability, he looked like a beefy Lewis Taylor.
The fact that we lost our way a little after the substitutions doesn't bother me too much. They were made in order to rest players - if this had been, say, a play-off game, then I don't think Terry would have made those substitutions. What bothers me is that Kirk Hudson is still sniffing around the first team.
As you'll have noticed, I'm assuming we'll make the play-offs. It's not mathematically certain yet, but I don't think I'm tempting fate too much by suggesting that either we'll get 3 points from our remaining games, or that neither Kiddy or York will win every one of their remaining games.
If the Histon game came at any other time in the season, team selection would be much easier. I'd simply pick the same team again - if it ain't broke, don't fix it, never change a winning team etc etc. But with a play-off place almost certain, there are other considerations. Keeping the same team in place for the rest of the season risks injuries (and makes play-off opponents' scouting missions easier), while players like Mulley, Jolley, Toks et al need minutes on the pitch to avoid getting rusty. It's achieving that, while maintaining our recently rediscovered winning habit in order to boost confidence going into the play-offs, that is TB's big test for the next 4 games.
If I was him, I'd play the same eleven again against Histon. Take the three points, ensure the top three finish, and then worry about resting players by rotating the squad during the last three games. Strangely, I'm happy the last 3 games are all within eight days, as it gives Terry the chance to give plenty of players minutes on the pitch within a relatively short period of time before the play-offs.
Fortunately, I have the advantage of actually having attended the Cambridge match, where for 80 minutes everything that could have gone right, went right (with the possible exception of some less than ruthless finishing by the Dons). The weather was warm, the playing surface was large and in very good condition, the opponents were obligingly reluctant to take any goalscoring chances they managed to fashion, Drewe Broughton had returned whence he came, and Kirk Hudson was only on the bench.
There was so much good stuff about our play that it's difficult to know where to start. So I'll start with a player that I rate very highly, despite the fact that many Dons' fans see him as a lightweight liability. Step forward Ricky Wellard, whose movement, touch, and passing off both feet was as good as ever. Not only that, but he showed himself willing to track back, even made a couple of tackles, and broke his previous record by heading the ball twice in the same game. If he can maintain this form, our chances of winning the play-offs will increase dramatically. Whilst Toks is a good player, I'd pick Wellard over him any day, leaving Toks to his most effective role - as an impact substitute.
It was my first view of Kaid Mohamed in a Wimbledon shirt, and I was very impressed. Always threatening, he linked well with Keds up front, and as soon as he brushes up on his finishing when in a one-on-one situation, he'll be another match-winner.
Cambridge was also the first time I'd seen Lee Minshull start a game in midfield, so for the first time I got to see what caused other fans to see him as the great white hope. Strong and powerful, with no little technical ability, he looked like a beefy Lewis Taylor.
The fact that we lost our way a little after the substitutions doesn't bother me too much. They were made in order to rest players - if this had been, say, a play-off game, then I don't think Terry would have made those substitutions. What bothers me is that Kirk Hudson is still sniffing around the first team.
As you'll have noticed, I'm assuming we'll make the play-offs. It's not mathematically certain yet, but I don't think I'm tempting fate too much by suggesting that either we'll get 3 points from our remaining games, or that neither Kiddy or York will win every one of their remaining games.
If the Histon game came at any other time in the season, team selection would be much easier. I'd simply pick the same team again - if it ain't broke, don't fix it, never change a winning team etc etc. But with a play-off place almost certain, there are other considerations. Keeping the same team in place for the rest of the season risks injuries (and makes play-off opponents' scouting missions easier), while players like Mulley, Jolley, Toks et al need minutes on the pitch to avoid getting rusty. It's achieving that, while maintaining our recently rediscovered winning habit in order to boost confidence going into the play-offs, that is TB's big test for the next 4 games.
If I was him, I'd play the same eleven again against Histon. Take the three points, ensure the top three finish, and then worry about resting players by rotating the squad during the last three games. Strangely, I'm happy the last 3 games are all within eight days, as it gives Terry the chance to give plenty of players minutes on the pitch within a relatively short period of time before the play-offs.
Thursday, 14 April 2011
By way of introduction
Welcome to the latest AFC Wimbledon blog. The latest of three current English blogs* -as far as I'm aware - the others being SW19's ARMY and The Anonymous Don, following the sad demise of the Big Tissue. Now those blogs are all very well if what you're after is informed and interesting comment from people who actually go to all (or at least most of) Wimbledon's games and have been doing so for many years, thus building up an extensive knowledge of Wimbledon football club, and the people involved in running and playing for it. But, I hear you ask, what about the voice of the ill-informed, 'occasional' fan, who doesn't go to every game? Does his (or her) opinion not count for as much? Well, objectively, you'd have to say not, but it doesn't mean that such a fan shouldn't, in this age of the interweb and mass communication, be able to spout as much nonsense on the subject of AFC Wimbledon as anyone else. And I am that fan. I don't even go to most games (current tally is thirteen league games this season - W5 D4 L4), so you'll have the privelege of reading a number of opinions written without the advantage of having witnessed the events I'm writing about. Instead, I'll mostly be relying on the official website, existing blogs, the Old Centrals Repository, and AFC Wimbledon TV. For extra inaccuracy, I might also rely on the BBC website match reports, but that would probably be taking things a bit too far.
So sit back, relax, and read on, safe in the knowledge that even though I go to less games than some, even though I don't know as much of the club history as some, even though I don't know as many of the people involved in the club as some, MY OPINIONS ARE STILL RIGHT BECAUSE IT'S MY F***ING BLOG, OK?
*honourable mention to Maliniok's blog, which must be the best Polish-language blog about an English non-league football team you could ever wish to read. It got me wondering if many English people have ever blogged about Dalin Myślenice or MKS Stąporków. Probably not.
So sit back, relax, and read on, safe in the knowledge that even though I go to less games than some, even though I don't know as much of the club history as some, even though I don't know as many of the people involved in the club as some, MY OPINIONS ARE STILL RIGHT BECAUSE IT'S MY F***ING BLOG, OK?
*honourable mention to Maliniok's blog, which must be the best Polish-language blog about an English non-league football team you could ever wish to read. It got me wondering if many English people have ever blogged about Dalin Myślenice or MKS Stąporków. Probably not.
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