I think I’ve run out of Plymouth-related play on words. Hell, there’s only so many “pilgrim” quips…
If you’ve woken up this morning with an odd redness around a certain part of the body, it might be down to excessive self-pinching.
Which you can’t really blame anyone for. After all, this wasn’t supposed to be happening.
You know the drill by now. Cut adrift, no wins or goals, like punching a baby, Franchise replacing us etc etc.
We’ll stop mentioning it when we stop winning games.
That said, we can allow ourselves a little bit of a glance at the league table, which shows us joint fourth with Stockport.
They’ve put us in fifth place behind County, because we’ve lost more games but won more and drawn less. Despite like-for-like goals for and against.
That we’re even talking about being put down to fifth because we just couldn’t hold on against Luton and Cardiff may explain the whole pinching thing.
But we’re up there by right. While the division may not be great – it’s the third tier of English football, it’s never been a land of giants.
People think it’s full of ex-Premier League and Championship sides, but it’s as much full of the likes of us, Burton, Stockport and Doncaster as anyone.
Coming from behind against Plymouth is a good result, but it shouldn’t be considered a fluke. Hard fought, yes, but no shock.
I wasn’t working yesterday, but the 10+ hour round trip to a venue I’ve been a few times before didn’t appeal. Even if they sell pasties outside the ground.
It wasn’t the best of starts, going a goal down. And you could be forgiven for thinking that reality was starting to bite, that this was the start of us losing a run of games.
But cometh the hour, cometh Omar Bugiel. Or something like that any way.
Your editor has long believed that first half injury time goals are an under-appreciated killer in football.
We all know how devastating a late goal at the end of a game is, ditto the goal that makes a 2-0 lead a 2-1 scoreline.
But a goal before the interval changes not only the score but how managers approach half time.
In our case yesterday, it must have boosted everyone in the dressing room (while slapping the Pilgrims down), and it might not have been a surprise that Browne got us the winner.
I don’t doubt it was a bit hairy at times (Bishop was better at blocking the ball with his feet than he was kicking it), but we’re not in L2 any more.
When the full time whistle did blow, it didn’t sound like it was a smash-and-grab at all.
It was quite amusing reading reactions from Plymouth fans afterwards. While most accepted that we were physically stronger (oh, how nice to hear), more organised and efficient, a couple sounded like it was August 2011 again.
They’re not still pissed off with Wombley in 2016** are they?
** – a thought occurred while typing that bit. It really is nine years since that fateful day, and I reckon the club has been forced to change so much since then.
Not for the worse, either.
Actually, Plymouth are a bit of a weird club. They should be in the Championship if you consider crowd size and “potential” but on-field they’ve long been on a par with Exeter.
I don’t know if it was the case yesterday, but the last time I went to Home Park I was surprised at how much older the home support was, compared to a lot of places.
A lot of people seem to retire down to the west country, so maybe that explains a lot. Wonder if they sell Complan at the kiosks?
Anyway, JJ looked happy afterwards. Very happy, as it goes, and you can’t blame him one bit.
He is in charge of a side that is six unbeaten in the third tier, playing well and looking like a team.
Top of the form table, no less.
Our last defeat was the Bolton clusterfuck, and we’ve done very well to get that out of our system so quickly.
That could have festered for the last few games, our confidence taking a massive dent and suddenly finding points hard to get.
It’s a bit like last season, where we were never on a losing run for long. We always regrouped and won when we needed to (last March/April was a good example of that), and we’ve continued that.
And really, this is just proving something SW19 has said so many times – League One really isn’t all that, and it’s not a division to be scared of.
At some point, the world will reassert itself and we’ll finish nearer 15th than 5th. Or will we…?
Finally, the next SW19 update won’t be next week but from the 29th October onwards. I’m away, and trying hard not to create an international incident in the former Soviet Union.
The Burton game is also my birthday, and as anyone who gets to celebrate it on a game day – you’ll know what a double edged sword it is.
Win, and it becomes a very happy anniversary. Lose, and you might as well have Koppout and Hammam turning up to your evening drinks…