It’s taken until today to actually get our heads around winning a game…
So, the Friday after a win, and potentially another similar game tomorrow. Maybe this might turn out to be a good week after all?
Now that I’ve said that, get your money on Fleetwood to win 4-0. They’ve just sacked Simon Grayson as well…
But sometimes, you need to face an opponent like the Railwaymen. A team that are genuinely shite, and who we should beat.
Of course, “should” is a very big word, and in the real world it never quite works like that.
A bit like when people say it’s inevitable we’ll give someone a hiding, or gone through against a side like Guiseley comfortably, instead of scraping through.
As you probably don’t know, I wasn’t there on Tuesday** and so missed what many are describing as being back to early season form.
** – I am there tomorrow though, as a punter no less. Old skool match report on Saturday evening/Sunday morning as per usual.
To hear from those there that it could have been 9-3 to us is good to know, I suppose.
Going on the front foot is by far our best approach, although it does help when Ollie Palmer is fit and scoring.
But then, I don’t think we would have had much choice other than to have a go against Crewe.
Lest we forget the backdrop to the Tuesday just gone – defeat at Pompey, increasing disquiet and MR himself having to do a different type of interview beforehand, because the big Q&A rubbed so many up the wrong way.
And not in a good way, either.
We responded to that though, even if it did turn out a lot less comfortable than it should have been.
That ultimately won’t matter if we do the business again tomorrow.
The team itself should be buzzing, to use the modern footballer vernacular, and they should take the same approach tomorrow.
Do that, and the confidence returns. Which is something we’ve lacked for a little while.
Of course, we’ve shit the bed in these very situations before, and I think Robbo knows that.
His pre-game interview about giving the players a 20-minute video montage on Fleetwood (and warning them of the post-sacking bounce) may be part of the “it’s not all down to me” approach.
But he knows that another win tomorrow makes his life a lot easier.
We head into the Fleetwood game with Assal available again, as the FA have helpfully overturned his potential six-match ban.
Those there and who saw the incident in front of them (almost literally) were saying afterward that it wasn’t a red card.
Gobbing is a pretty nasty thing to do, although is it worth more than properly injuring somebody?
Even so, losing him until January (assuming it didn’t cover the FAC) would have been a tough one to take.
AA has got away with it a bit though, his tackle by itself could have given him a yellow.
He looked a bit arsey when OP got the ball for our penalty, and one wonders if he’s learning the other side of the game now.
Namely, what you do when it’s not going so well.
Granted, he’s 19 years old and didn’t even feature much until early March 2021.
It’s testament to how well he’s done since then that he plays regularly and we don’t even think much about it these days.
But grow up he must, because right now, it’s a case of when – not if – he gets suspended.
Other than that, I’m quite looking forward to my first league game at Plough Lane since we beat Oxford.
It’s going to be a new experience, with the cold weather and dark evenings, and I’ll be interested to see how much the experience has changed now we’re settling down.
Though I still fully expect not to find anywhere selling a cup of tea outside the south stand…