One Game at a Time
Fleetwood Town (H) February 18th
Nostalgia, it isn’t what it used to be, goes the old chestnut, but with events in midweek taking a turn for the conspiracy theorists who now seem to predominate in S6, one can almost make a case for the return of Crime Watch, last seen on our screens in 2017. Or maybe even the calm and reasoned tones of the late Shaw Taylor in Police 5, asking our crowds to “keep ‘em peeled.”
The reason for all the gnashing and wailing in the Hillsborough region is the ongoing, and now manifestly unsubtle attempt by the EFL to unravel their procession to the League One Entitle. The first clear evidence of this was their failing to censor the referee and lineman for knowing the rules which resulted in them disallowing an offside goal that in the end had no bearing on the result against us.
Next in this litany of persecution is the decision to charge Marvin Johnson with misconduct for his elbowing, or, as it is perceived in Sheffield, the gentle and reasonable brushing off of an assailant, as happens fifty times in every game, admittedly in this case by use of the left and right elbows.
The evidence appears to have in large part been provided by mobile phone footage of an Ipswich persuasion. The injustice of only receiving a penalty (subsequently saved) for the offence was clearly not sufficient in blue eyes, and so the footage was uploaded and sent to the EFL.
So, what is clear, if indeed anything is, from the footage, is that Wes Burns is undoubtedly holding Johnson’s shirt (a foul), and one that preceded the award of the penalty for the elbowing or otherwise. That said the use of one elbow could be considered unwise. To follow up with another means that any punishment descending on Johnson is entirely self-inflicted. It is by no means the first time this kind of retrospective action has occurred. James Wilson was punished last season after the home game against Cambridge in similar manner.
Judging by the reaction on the Wednesday forum, MKD are going to be the most filmed side in League One history as the persecuted Owls seek to find another scapegoat or three to be similarly punished. Although the home fans could start with the mobile footage of Josh Windass’s swatted in handball goal in the last minute of their comfortable three nil win over Morecambe from the cross by the should have been suspended Johnson. Swings and roundabouts.
If the persecuted Owls are still maintaining their serene disposal of lower table opponents at Hillsborough, their persecutors from Suffolk were having to deal with some mobile phone footage fall out of their own, following a disappointing goalless stalemate with the Gas. At the end of the game, captain and midfield enforcer Sam Morsy, no doubt distraught at failing to trigger his two-match holiday by not getting a yellow card in the 90, set about berating fans who were unhappy at the outcome and were letting him know about the fact. Morsy has since issued a public apology for his behaviour, but as the pressure ramps up on the pre-season favourites, now a troubling fourth behind Bolton who they have still yet to visit, time is running out for Morsy to trigger his suspension to make sure it occurs in their run of easy games, or as they call them in Ipswich, disappointing draws. A run of FGR, Accrington and Burton are followed by five in a row against their promotion rivals and by the end of that we will see what you most likely get for circa five million and change.
Bolton continue their momentum with a second consecutive five nil win, this one remarkable for the fact that all the goals came from their back five. With form like that it makes the point grafted from them last month look ever more impressive. Bolton have now overtaken the suddenly stumbling Derby, who drew against Lincoln one apiece (or nil-nil if you consider the after-game proof that both goals were in fact offside) for a second successive draw.
All this makes the Argyle victory over an Oxford side for whom the wheels have well and truly become detached, and which in truth, was harder work than it should have been, with Eastwood making several very good saves from players of both sides in the United goal, even more creditable. If attention was paid to the acknowledged error by replacement keeper Burton for United equaliser, then those whose opprobrium for someone who will play a key part in our promotion campaign, might consider that so far Argyle under Cooper average just over a goal a game conceded in the league. Under Burton so far, just under one per game.
A second successive season double over a club that in past seasons have been regulars in the play offs was made sweeter by the footage of under pressure U’s boss Karl Robinson where he predicted at a fans forum that we would drop off over the rest of the season, but also that our model was some form of homage to the United model he was deploying.
Shall we simply say that the regular followers of United felt that his arguments were unconvincing. Much like his transfer signings and match tactics have been.
With a scoring full debut for Saxon Earley, another from the Schuey playbook of unexpected selections, plus a first club goal for Matt Butcher, putting in back to back excellent performances, and a superb cameo from Callum Wright , who set up one for Hardie, almost set up another and could have scored with a screaming shot that Eastwood did well to keep out, the foggy ride home would have been one with much happiness.
With the season now two thirds complete we enter the sharp end of the Championship race, and where fans start to feel the pressure. In a race that has been as relentless as any I can recall it feels like individual results can assume greater importance that the reality that each game is still only worth three points. The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and later manager Tommy Lasorda summed it up thus:
“Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking about pressure it's because you have started thinking about failure.”
On Saturday Argyle get the chance to right a wrong from the early part of the season, when they allowed a point to slip away through a late Fleetwood winner. Much has changed since that day, not least of which being a completely different striking duo for the Cods in Marriott and Stockley, expensively acquired from Posh and Charlton respectively. Add in some regular goals from the exotically named Promise Omechere and Carlos Mendes Gomes, means the Cods arrive on the back of the three-game winning streak, which includes a victory over the Wendies (or at least their reserves) in the FA Cup that earned them a match against local rivals Burnley in the next round.
Club owner Andy Pilley remains embroiled in a court case regarding his energy supply company BES but continues to build his football empire. As well as Town he owns Waterford, Fleetwood United who remarkably are competing in the Dubai League second division, and a club in Africa. Players are already interchanging between clubs, and Waterford recently flew to the UAE to play a friendly against Dubai based United. Naturally enough the game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch!
One player we will not have to face will be the other exotically named striker Admiral Muskwe, who returned to parent club Luton Town, but who does sound remarkably like a fish headed Rebel Alliance commander from Star Wars who found his spiritual home with the Codheads.
Despite their current good run, the Cod Army lie 17th, below even Oxford, with expectations therefore that all the three home sides from the top four ought to gather three points. Bolton play Why Come in the Wanderers head-to-head at Adams Park, while Derby host Charlton and Barnsley trek to Cheltenham.
Pressure. Of course. But Tom Kite, the US Open winning golfer summed up what that means.
“The only thing that relieves pressure is preparation.”
Over to you, Schuey.
COYG!!
Fleetwood Town (H) February 18th
Nostalgia, it isn’t what it used to be, goes the old chestnut, but with events in midweek taking a turn for the conspiracy theorists who now seem to predominate in S6, one can almost make a case for the return of Crime Watch, last seen on our screens in 2017. Or maybe even the calm and reasoned tones of the late Shaw Taylor in Police 5, asking our crowds to “keep ‘em peeled.”
The reason for all the gnashing and wailing in the Hillsborough region is the ongoing, and now manifestly unsubtle attempt by the EFL to unravel their procession to the League One Entitle. The first clear evidence of this was their failing to censor the referee and lineman for knowing the rules which resulted in them disallowing an offside goal that in the end had no bearing on the result against us.
Next in this litany of persecution is the decision to charge Marvin Johnson with misconduct for his elbowing, or, as it is perceived in Sheffield, the gentle and reasonable brushing off of an assailant, as happens fifty times in every game, admittedly in this case by use of the left and right elbows.
The evidence appears to have in large part been provided by mobile phone footage of an Ipswich persuasion. The injustice of only receiving a penalty (subsequently saved) for the offence was clearly not sufficient in blue eyes, and so the footage was uploaded and sent to the EFL.
So, what is clear, if indeed anything is, from the footage, is that Wes Burns is undoubtedly holding Johnson’s shirt (a foul), and one that preceded the award of the penalty for the elbowing or otherwise. That said the use of one elbow could be considered unwise. To follow up with another means that any punishment descending on Johnson is entirely self-inflicted. It is by no means the first time this kind of retrospective action has occurred. James Wilson was punished last season after the home game against Cambridge in similar manner.
Judging by the reaction on the Wednesday forum, MKD are going to be the most filmed side in League One history as the persecuted Owls seek to find another scapegoat or three to be similarly punished. Although the home fans could start with the mobile footage of Josh Windass’s swatted in handball goal in the last minute of their comfortable three nil win over Morecambe from the cross by the should have been suspended Johnson. Swings and roundabouts.
If the persecuted Owls are still maintaining their serene disposal of lower table opponents at Hillsborough, their persecutors from Suffolk were having to deal with some mobile phone footage fall out of their own, following a disappointing goalless stalemate with the Gas. At the end of the game, captain and midfield enforcer Sam Morsy, no doubt distraught at failing to trigger his two-match holiday by not getting a yellow card in the 90, set about berating fans who were unhappy at the outcome and were letting him know about the fact. Morsy has since issued a public apology for his behaviour, but as the pressure ramps up on the pre-season favourites, now a troubling fourth behind Bolton who they have still yet to visit, time is running out for Morsy to trigger his suspension to make sure it occurs in their run of easy games, or as they call them in Ipswich, disappointing draws. A run of FGR, Accrington and Burton are followed by five in a row against their promotion rivals and by the end of that we will see what you most likely get for circa five million and change.
Bolton continue their momentum with a second consecutive five nil win, this one remarkable for the fact that all the goals came from their back five. With form like that it makes the point grafted from them last month look ever more impressive. Bolton have now overtaken the suddenly stumbling Derby, who drew against Lincoln one apiece (or nil-nil if you consider the after-game proof that both goals were in fact offside) for a second successive draw.
All this makes the Argyle victory over an Oxford side for whom the wheels have well and truly become detached, and which in truth, was harder work than it should have been, with Eastwood making several very good saves from players of both sides in the United goal, even more creditable. If attention was paid to the acknowledged error by replacement keeper Burton for United equaliser, then those whose opprobrium for someone who will play a key part in our promotion campaign, might consider that so far Argyle under Cooper average just over a goal a game conceded in the league. Under Burton so far, just under one per game.
A second successive season double over a club that in past seasons have been regulars in the play offs was made sweeter by the footage of under pressure U’s boss Karl Robinson where he predicted at a fans forum that we would drop off over the rest of the season, but also that our model was some form of homage to the United model he was deploying.
Shall we simply say that the regular followers of United felt that his arguments were unconvincing. Much like his transfer signings and match tactics have been.
With a scoring full debut for Saxon Earley, another from the Schuey playbook of unexpected selections, plus a first club goal for Matt Butcher, putting in back to back excellent performances, and a superb cameo from Callum Wright , who set up one for Hardie, almost set up another and could have scored with a screaming shot that Eastwood did well to keep out, the foggy ride home would have been one with much happiness.
With the season now two thirds complete we enter the sharp end of the Championship race, and where fans start to feel the pressure. In a race that has been as relentless as any I can recall it feels like individual results can assume greater importance that the reality that each game is still only worth three points. The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and later manager Tommy Lasorda summed it up thus:
“Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking about pressure it's because you have started thinking about failure.”
On Saturday Argyle get the chance to right a wrong from the early part of the season, when they allowed a point to slip away through a late Fleetwood winner. Much has changed since that day, not least of which being a completely different striking duo for the Cods in Marriott and Stockley, expensively acquired from Posh and Charlton respectively. Add in some regular goals from the exotically named Promise Omechere and Carlos Mendes Gomes, means the Cods arrive on the back of the three-game winning streak, which includes a victory over the Wendies (or at least their reserves) in the FA Cup that earned them a match against local rivals Burnley in the next round.
Club owner Andy Pilley remains embroiled in a court case regarding his energy supply company BES but continues to build his football empire. As well as Town he owns Waterford, Fleetwood United who remarkably are competing in the Dubai League second division, and a club in Africa. Players are already interchanging between clubs, and Waterford recently flew to the UAE to play a friendly against Dubai based United. Naturally enough the game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch!
One player we will not have to face will be the other exotically named striker Admiral Muskwe, who returned to parent club Luton Town, but who does sound remarkably like a fish headed Rebel Alliance commander from Star Wars who found his spiritual home with the Codheads.
Despite their current good run, the Cod Army lie 17th, below even Oxford, with expectations therefore that all the three home sides from the top four ought to gather three points. Bolton play Why Come in the Wanderers head-to-head at Adams Park, while Derby host Charlton and Barnsley trek to Cheltenham.
Pressure. Of course. But Tom Kite, the US Open winning golfer summed up what that means.
“The only thing that relieves pressure is preparation.”
Over to you, Schuey.
COYG!!
