Exciting. Invigorating. Edge-of-seat stuff. Just three expressions you couldn’t use when describing Green 2 Amber 0. I have no idea about the first half, I spent it talking about North Eastern cities with somebody, which was far more interesting. In fact, the only thing I remember was the much maligned Richard Butler looping over and then kicking the post in frustration. Nearly broke it (and his foot). I was convinced that I had some mental condition that made me miss all the good stuff (my mum thinks I have ADD), though as the half time conversations in the bar/bog were about Amir Khan’s first round KO, obviously I didn’t. Second half I don’t think had much more going for it. None the less, things did liven up when Robert Ursell did a nice bending free kick to make it 1-0. It followed with a good shot in the box by Martin Randall to make it 2-0. And apart from a good Naisbitt save, that really was that.
Moving on…
Plus points: A win. Competent. Good RU free kick. Bit easier than last Saturday.
Minus points: Dull. Defence looks panicky at times.
The referee’s a…..: It must have been a dull game, I don’t think anyone talked about him at all. I can’t even use my “he was as reliable as an Olympic judge” soundbite.
Them: They certainly weren’t a patch on last season. Either that or we’re better (see “Point to ponder” below). Forced Naisbitt into making a good save but that was about it. Oh, and there’s a Banstead fan in the road near me. Shall I stand outside his house and chant abuse?
Hang the DJ: Unusual voice on the PA last night. I thought somebody from Pathe News had taken over . Very plummy voice, almost Mr Cholmondeley-Warner like. I half expected him to call us the Association Football Club of Wimbledon, refer to the MoM as Matthew Everhard – “h” included – and ask the crowd’s appreciation for a good competitive game. Anyway, the announcer in question was the club journo’s old man, who I believe is a thespian of some sorts. Apparently stepped in at a late stage because nobody else was able to do the PAing*. At least he spared us some songs from a young American vocalist called Perry Como.
* – apparently, not everyone can do the PA, they have to be considered “broadcastable” enough to get people out in an emergency. Which not only destroys the moneymaking wheeze that they ought to raffle PA places, but also destroys the fun image I have of somebody with tourettes doing it.
Rod Steward: See that now we’re in league game territory again they’re being a bit more “professional”, shall we say? Scabs. Incidentally, thanks to the many (OK, two) people who pointed out that for Horsham the AFCW were being employed in a more private capacity. Don’t particularly like “stewards” and “private capacity” somehow – for those with long memories, wasn’t that the cause of the problems we had at Portsmouth?
Point to ponder: Last season we played Banstead in whatever cup it was. We played well, in fact we played out of our skins that day. But we lost because they got two goals at the end. Last night, we looked the higher division side and more than deserved our win. Now, even now I still hear cries that we never gave last season’s CCL team a chance to prove ourselves in the higher level. Well, the two performances I’ve just mentioned nailed it down for me : I’m glad we got rid of most of last season’s squad as we wouldn’t be 12 points from 12 if we’d kept them. We also have new heroes – Ursell, Naisbitt, and even the much maligned Richard Butler isn’t quite so maligned (now that people have stopped blaming him for the temerity of replacing KC).
Truth is stranger than fiction: For some reason I wrote down 3-0 in my notes. The game wasn’t that hallucinatingly bad was it?
Franchise watch: Arse, they won in the Fizzy Lager Cup against Peterborough. 3-0 as well. Doubtless we’ll get the millions of Frenzied loyal supporters telling – no, lecturing – us that they’re on the up again and they’ll surely be in the Premiership next season. They remind me of England fans.
Anything else? Two things. One, I note that Jamie Taylor wasn’t exactly being praised as he went off by many. Secondly, Jones B’s absence has come about for a disiplinary reason. For those who can’t be arsed to read the OS, he was given a one month suspension for – I quote – “an off-the-ball incident with a member of the opposing team during a pre-season friendly”. Hmm. He’ll be back on September 20th, though with the way DA seems to operate, if somebody just as good and – just as important – reliable comes along, I get the feeling Jones B will be in the Andy Clarke/Gareth Ainsworth file of “Promising but….”.
So, was it worth it? Urm…
In a nutshell: Ho hum. Suppose it beat watching Liverpool vs AK Graz.
And finally: Believe it or not, today is the 20th anniversary of my first ever Wimbledon game. Wimbledon vs Man Shitty it was, a bright sunny day, plenty of people and many Chelski outside wishing to discuss the weather with the Shitty fans. I’m not totally sure what to make of it all 20 years on, but this brought it home yesterday : there are plenty of people who started watching us in the Isthmian League, and somehow they feel happier watching us in the Isthmian League in 2004…