Too ambitious? - Wilson denies fitness issue after another late blow (From Swindon Advertiser)

Well, as an exiled fan I am still happy to where we are in the table. At the end of the day the Town in my book have exceeded all expectations so far this season.One more point ans we are safe, ok who know's we may reach the play offs come april.
Just think back to seasons where we were playing catch up to survie the drop???
Yes it's bad news to let late goals in this can be rectified am sure DW and his team will sort it out.
Lets not forget as a club in my opinion we have a good manager a decent Chairman and Board who are steering the club to a healthy standing.
So lets see the Town win on Tuesday and continue on there quest for promotion, at the end of the day they still have a decent shot at the play offs let's get behind them.As to the Booing on Sta was pure frustration from fans, to be honest I have supported Town since 1961 and there the only club who can be 3 up and your worrying about drawing or getting beat 4-3, still for us fans you just love them and hate them at times ,however most of all we are SWINDON TOWN FANS
Good luck Tuesday

Still in a bit of shock from Saturday that could concede so late again. Think that is now 6 post 90 mins for the season.
I have been deabting it with my mates and had always come down on the side of its just tactical and a mental issue rather than fitness. Maybe thats what I wanted to believe as we had the same issue last season, all be it to lose games rather than draw.
Saturday though convinced me it is fitness as well as tactical. Yes the adver they have played a lot of football but that's there job. They did not have a midweek game (as Charlton did) and therefor had seven clear days to sort it out.
Maybe this is a lesson for the board to spend heavily on strength and conditioning coaches and take a very scientific approach. After all uts good enough for Utd Arsenal and the like. And when I say spend heavily we are not talking big numbers when compared with the players salaries even in our league.
We are still looking good and I still believe we have a chance of automatic promotion but lets sort this out boys.

Think Danny has hit it on the head - we're too open at the end of games. We need to keep possession in the opponents' half. Keep the ball out near the corner flag - whinge to the referee, take time taking throw-ins and free kicks, go down injured a few times.
Basically, do all the things other teams do to us - frustrate them! This is called being professional - its not pretty, but it gets you points.

draw was a fair result, just a shame to let that goal in the last minutes.

Charlton manager said " we know that Swindon tend to let in late goals so we really had a go in the last 10 minutes" How many other managers have sussed this out ?

dreamofacleansheet2 wrote:
Still in a bit of shock from Saturday that could concede so late again. Think that is now 6 post 90 mins for the season. I have been deabting it with my mates and had always come down on the side of its just tactical and a mental issue rather than fitness. Maybe thats what I wanted to believe as we had the same issue last season, all be it to lose games rather than draw. Saturday though convinced me it is fitness as well as tactical. Yes the adver they have played a lot of football but that's there job. They did not have a midweek game (as Charlton did) and therefor had seven clear days to sort it out. Maybe this is a lesson for the board to spend heavily on strength and conditioning coaches and take a very scientific approach. After all uts good enough for Utd Arsenal and the like. And when I say spend heavily we are not talking big numbers when compared with the players salaries even in our league. We are still looking good and I still believe we have a chance of automatic promotion but lets sort this out boys.

What do you think Dave Morrison does? He is the fitness and conditioning coach.

Dont think Charlton deserved a point.Good education for some of our less experienced lads,so draw not the end of the world.Agree with dreamof automatic promotion still possible,however at least 3 decent players needed in emergency loan window.Starting Tuesday night JPM,Ward Greer,Austin should be rested Macklin,Obrien,or Marshall,Morrison Pericard (if fit)to start should still beat Oldham no problem.Shows how far we have progressed last seasons lot would have lost to Oldham tues night,these guys won't predict2or 3 goal victory.

Shaner
Thats my piont is Dave Morrison good enough? We can judge the manager on the players he brings in tactics etc, the players on how they perform on the pitch. But's its difficult for us supporters to judge something most of us haven't a clue about.
I'm just putting it out there. I think its an area we should strive to be as good as we can be as its (relatively) little cost and may return a huge amount (of points).

I wouldn't begrudge Charlton their point, any more than I would begrudge Southend theirs the week before. They were both second best to us for most of the game but they both fought back well in the last few minutes. We weren't strong enough to hold on, so they deserved their share of the spoils. If the roles were reversed we would all be applauding our boys for their strength of character. As someone once said... funny old game!

IMO we sit back and invite teams on to us for the last 15 mins of the game, we stop pressing so far up the pitch and start sitting on top of our defence, this invites teams onto us and they know they can score in the last ten mins as we do concede late goals.

It is what it is, but should be worked on, I was gutted at that late goal because they didn't deserve it....

dreamofacleansheet2 wrote:
Shaner Thats my piont is Dave Morrison good enough? We can judge the manager on the players he brings in tactics etc, the players on how they perform on the pitch. But's its difficult for us supporters to judge something most of us haven't a clue about. I'm just putting it out there. I think its an area we should strive to be as good as we can be as its (relatively) little cost and may return a huge amount (of points).

I believe he is good at his job and he has also bought some science into it (like in pre season).But yeah,something needs doing about the late goals going in.It was definately tactical on saturday and not fitness the cause of the late equaliser,we were all out of shape at the back and we could all see it coming.
The reason i think the fitness is not a problem is because they run their socks off right from the start,as of the MM days,the lads didn't run around and put the work in like they do now.

Is that you Lovesey wrote:
IMO we sit back and invite teams on to us for the last 15 mins of the game, we stop pressing so far up the pitch and start sitting on top of our defence, this invites teams onto us and they know they can score in the last ten mins as we do concede late goals. It is what it is, but should be worked on, I was gutted at that late goal because they didn't deserve it....

Agree with you totally.With the excellent management team we have this should not be an insurmountable problem.We definitely started panicking Saturday,resorting to aimlessly hoofing the ball upfield rather than our usual keep ball style that we generally employ.Result we get penned back too deep,to much space between midfield,and front two,I felt that they were inevitably going to score which as you say they didn't really deserve.

Charlton did their homework alright and it paid off , they still have that Prem mentality to go soak it up away from home for 40 mins first half then go for it , soak it up 30 mins second half then go for it , we could all see it coming on Saturday we were flat at the back and getting pushed to our own 18 yard line and Charlton looked quick and threatening at end of both halves . I guess all in all we would have all liked the thought of 4 points from Leeds and Charlton before the games .Now the real work begins we have to dig deep against the Oldham the Carlisle and the Stockports these will be frustrating games , not so open and could easily slip up .
Gate was a bit dissapointing Saturday too , I guess we will get less each week again now , keep it up reds its still looking good .

stroudred1959 wrote:
Dont think Charlton deserved a point.Good education for some of our less experienced lads,so draw not the end of the world.Agree with dreamof automatic promotion still possible,however at least 3 decent players needed in emergency loan window.Starting Tuesday night JPM,Ward Greer,Austin should be rested Macklin,Obrien,or Marshall,Morrison Pericard (if fit)to start should still beat Oldham no problem.Shows how far we have progressed last seasons lot would have lost to Oldham tues night,these guys won't predict2or 3 goal victory.

With respect stroud, if we rest those players we will probably get beat! Just because Oldham are down bottom of League 1 dont think for a minute this will be an easy game, better to put out a full strength team and get the 3 points than start messing about and either draw or lose? And...Aljofree will have a point to prove, i have read some posts on here that say they will be weak in defence because he is playing, i think the opposite is the truth, he will probably play the game of his life and be desperate to help Oldham get something from this match. As for these late goals we keep letting in, i dont think it is anything to do with fitness, more a frame of mind, the players need to be mentally stronger and more professional. If we have any aspirations of a top 2 finish then we need 3 points tomorrow evening and 3 points next Saturday against Huddersfield, i will be there at Huddersfield and am desperate to see us get back to winning ways.

Lazaat wrote:

stroudred1959 wrote: Dont think Charlton deserved a point.Good education for some of our less experienced lads,so draw not the end of the world.Agree with dreamof automatic promotion still possible,however at least 3 decent players needed in emergency loan window.Starting Tuesday night JPM,Ward Greer,Austin should be rested Macklin,Obrien,or Marshall,Morrison Pericard (if fit)to start should still beat Oldham no problem.Shows how far we have progressed last seasons lot would have lost to Oldham tues night,these guys won't predict2or 3 goal victory.

With respect stroud, if we rest those players we will probably get beat! Just because Oldham are down bottom of League 1 dont think for a minute this will be an easy game, better to put out a full strength team and get the 3 points than start messing about and either draw or lose? And...Aljofree will have a point to prove, i have read some posts on here that say they will be weak in defence because he is playing, i think the opposite is the truth, he will probably play the game of his life and be desperate to help Oldham get something from this match. As for these late goals we keep letting in, i dont think it is anything to do with fitness, more a frame of mind, the players need to be mentally stronger and more professional. If we have any aspirations of a top 2 finish then we need 3 points tomorrow evening and 3 points next Saturday against Huddersfield, i will be there at Huddersfield and am desperate to see us get back to winning ways.

Take your point about Aljofree should think he will play out of his skin against his former club esp,as we terminated his contract.Still feel we should be able to rest a few ,and win the game though.Don't think Danny is going to rest anyone though,and of course he may well not have the choice with injuries to Pericard,O'brien etc

hertz wrote:
Charlton did their homework alright and it paid off , they still have that Prem mentality to go soak it up away from home for 40 mins first half then go for it , soak it up 30 mins second half then go for it , we could all see it coming on Saturday we were flat at the back and getting pushed to our own 18 yard line and Charlton looked quick and threatening at end of both halves . I guess all in all we would have all liked the thought of 4 points from Leeds and Charlton before the games .Now the real work begins we have to dig deep against the Oldham the Carlisle and the Stockports these will be frustrating games , not so open and could easily slip up . Gate was a bit dissapointing Saturday too , I guess we will get less each week again now , keep it up reds its still looking good .

Good measured post Hertz. Another reason we were pinned back late on is that we made an ineffective substitution. Macklin may yet prove to be a good player but at the moment he doesn't have the strength or confidence to hold the ball up. He needs to be given his chance as a sub when the points are already in the bag, not when we are holding on under pressure. I agree that it's still looking good. Can't see Oldham rolling over but with a full strength team we should get the points.

It’s not only in defence where we can under perform in the closing minutes of the game. How many times have we scored in the final 10 mins of a game this season, not many I’ll wager? This provides additional impetus to any team playing against us to try and grab a goal. They know we concede late goals but don’t score many in the latter stages of a game. So there’s no need for them to worry too much about defending. This isn’t down to lack of fitness imo., it’s down to tactics. We need to apply more pressure on the other teams’ goal in the closing minutes. Instead of getting 11 men behind the ball and trying to defend and hoofing the ball anywhere, we should still be looking for opportunities score. To use a well worn cliché…. attack is the best form of defence.

If you look at their goal the ball was passed out to BP and their defender nipped in front of him to get the ball normally Billy would chase him back and put him under pressure but he didn't and when the ball went into the box Jean Francois wasn't marking his man (ball watching) lack of concentration at the back was the reason ball watching and not going with the players.
Charlton thought christmas had come early getting that goal. one thing i don't understand is like most people have stated we invite pressure on to us we had no outlet for the last 5 minutes at lease if we do that they have to at least one man marking our guy on the halfway line if they are fully commited going for an equaliser but i thought we played straight into their hands again and they got a point they didn't deserve.

lack of concentration comes from tiredness = lack of fitness?
or do we just have bad tactics most games?

The reason we conceded is because we weren't trying to get the second goal! Not because we were Danny.. For some reason we decided to sit deep and defend for the last 15 minutes, I dont think the ball was played out of defence once within this time, we just kept blindly lumping it forwards (Lecs mainly) and it just kept coming straight back at us. Just watched the goals and it is terrible defending.. You can Greer bust a gut to get goal side of his man but unfortunately lescinel doesn't track his man, he doesn't look to his right even once, the guy just runs into the box completely unmarked and gets his shot off, school boy really. Thats my only gripe!

Best form of defence is attack....sitting on a lead is a rexcipe for disaster.

There may be another factor. I accept that we needed fresh legs on Saturday-our midfield had played brilliantly and had run their socks off, but I feel that DW was reluctant to bring on the subs he had available in midfield. This may be because it has not worked when Timlin and Easton have been brought on to defend a lead.
Our squad is small -just compare ours with Charltons in Saturdays programme-and Danny is trying to address the issue, he has said correctly that he only wants quality. It is the next phase of the building project he has started, which for most Robins fans is faster and better that we could have wished for.
Who would have thought at the start of this season we would have played Leeds and Charlton off the park!!!!!!!!
Patience and trust in DW

Nice to see mostly well- balanced posts here instead of the understandable but rather hysterical posts (not to mention the un deserved booing by some!) straight after the match.
Like everyone else I too have been disappoined by the late conceded goals that have spoiled some very good performances - including Saturday. As I walked to the car after the match I felt like I had won the lottery but had lost my ticket!
But that didn't stop me reminding myself how far we have come with this board, this manager, and some fine young players.
Fact 1 - we have one victory and two draws with two of the best three teams in this division and were only just beaten by Norwich at their place.
Fact 2 - We are in 6th place with games in hand to most teams around us - after last season who would have believed we'd only have 4 defeats by this stage of the season.
Fact 3 - We've been able to keep all our best players for the rest of the season despite a lot of interest from other clubs.
I, for one, am increasingly positive about what thsi side is capable of under Danny Wilson - I can't remember when I last felt this positive - if we can just stop conceding these last minute goals!
If we can get one or two good loan signings I still think automatic promotion isn't out of the question - hopefully starting with 3 points from Tuesday's game with Oldham. I can't get there but I hope the lads get a rousing reception to make up for the ill-advised boos on Saturday.
I may be dreaming about the automatic place but isn't that what supporting your team is all about?

One thing for sure we have to get behind the lads tomorrow and we have to try to raise the noise level toward the last 20 minutes of the game to give them that 12th man lift , the hum of moaning around the ground won't help their confidence when they need it most . Good long chant of Red Army works wonders and warms your hands and feet , seeemples

I feel that the team we saw against Leeds just didn't perform anywhwere near as well. It looked as if they were not up to it. Douglas looked tired and it showed, as did Austin and Paynter. I don't know if this is fitness or what. Feel that Greer kept us from losing and was mom. Just think the whole team had a 'bad day'. The ref didn't help - trying to be Mr Nice Guy and letting far too much go.

has danny admitted to being an inept manager as i called him with his tactics (pre austin)? as you all no. being called everything on here.im just praying after post austin he changed 100%, and yes i love watching our great club playing great football, which we have not seen for many years. so please please danny stop doing stupid subs late on.we are still all shell shocked after the game, and this is not good for our health,as i said im 100% behind you so give us something to cheer about once more on tuesday.
good luck against oldham

Whilst the result was not what we wanted I do feel it was our finishing that let us down a bit. Charlie had one shot which he badly skewed wide but he surely can be allowed that and I think it was Ward who should have buried a goal mouth scramble. Charlton were very rough and ready and got away with murder with that pathetic referee and of course bought on the theatrics as soon as they realised what a joke the ref was.they were rolling around poleaxed yet again. On another day there would have been bookings galore and even one or two red cards. First half hour we were brilliant then I feel the game deteriorated as the ref offered no protection to our players and they were kicking lumps out of Charlie.I feel personally that the referee ruined the game and was a complete jellyfish no backbone whatsoever. OK yes we did our usual sit back near the end but Charlton like any team know our record in the last 10 minutes and went for it. While a draw was disappointing blimey we are sixth in the table with one or two games in hand. Fans need to get real as we are not going to win every game but reality is we are not loosing them either so are our expectations too high. Yes I think they are and when fans boo at the end of the game then I really have to question what world these fans are living in go and find the perfect club and team to support that wins every single game then come back when you realise there aint none.

apart from this season this is the states at the end of last season which no one has taken into account
feb 14 king leicester 86 min
feb 17 henry millwall 90 min
feb 24 clark hartlepool 90 min
mar 14 beckford leeds 90 min
mar 24 anya northampton 87 min
apr11 diker brighton 90 min
2 may keates peterbourgh 90 min
plus all THIS seasons last min goals
hope we are not a laughing stock of the division? and i mean that like arsenal are becoming on break aways. its fact. and wenger still thinks hes going to win the league.if danny says hes going to sort it make sure you do, and dont dream like wenger

hertz wrote:
One thing for sure we have to get behind the lads tomorrow and we have to try to raise the noise level toward the last 20 minutes of the game to give them that 12th man lift , the hum of moaning around the ground won't help their confidence when they need it most . Good long chant of Red Army works wonders and warms your hands and feet , seeemples

Well said that man and totally agree. Too many morons at the end booing. Yes you pay your money but to boo players off at the end when we are in the playoff positions is mind boggling. Town will not win every game and the sooner you realise that the better. I am more than happy at our season as a whole but there is still along way to go. I'm sure the booing will cure the players of these last minute goal giveaways. Come on fans get real we are in with a great chance of play-offs and the team need yor support through thick and thin so that means good or bad.

dirty stan wrote:
draw was a fair result, just a shame to let that goal in the last minutes.

??? you and I must have been watching a different game...

Add to our last-minute defensive failings the lack of late winning or equalising goals.

Something is wrong with fitness, mindset or both. Just hope DW can work it out.

And booing isn't supporting...

back to 6500 tomorrow then, that'll be a bit of a shock after 2 decent sized crowds in a row.

cant see oldham bringing more than about 300, if that. cant see all the leeds fans coming back for this one lol...

still i see a 4-0 in the offing.

mallorca wrote:
Well, as an exiled fan I am still happy to where we are in the table. At the end of the day the Town in my book have exceeded all expectations so far this season.One more point ans we are safe, ok who know's we may reach the play offs come april. Just think back to seasons where we were playing catch up to survie the drop??? Yes it's bad news to let late goals in this can be rectified am sure DW and his team will sort it out. Lets not forget as a club in my opinion we have a good manager a decent Chairman and Board who are steering the club to a healthy standing. So lets see the Town win on Tuesday and continue on there quest for promotion, at the end of the day they still have a decent shot at the play offs let's get behind them.As to the Booing on Sta was pure frustration from fans, to be honest I have supported Town since 1961 and there the only club who can be 3 up and your worrying about drawing or getting beat 4-3, still for us fans you just love them and hate them at times ,however most of all we are SWINDON TOWN FANS Good luck Tuesday

Nice post Mallorca!! :-)

Just sitting watching Colchester v Southend on Sky and I have to say - =====>
What a GREAT groundstaff we have at Swindon!!! Well Done Team!!!!
=====>
Colchester's pitch on TV is more akin to Stockport County's i.e. with more sand than a beach volleyball comp - but I'm more than happy that these contestants aren't wearing bikinis!! - Mind you so are they in this temp probably!! :-) Come on you Reds!

mikek wrote:

hertz wrote: One thing for sure we have to get behind the lads tomorrow and we have to try to raise the noise level toward the last 20 minutes of the game to give them that 12th man lift , the hum of moaning around the ground won't help their confidence when they need it most . Good long chant of Red Army works wonders and warms your hands and feet , seeemples

Well said that man and totally agree. Too many morons at the end booing. Yes you pay your money but to boo players off at the end when we are in the playoff positions is mind boggling. Town will not win every game and the sooner you realise that the better. I am more than happy at our season as a whole but there is still along way to go. I'm sure the booing will cure the players of these last minute goal giveaways. Come on fans get real we are in with a great chance of play-offs and the team need yor support through thick and thin so that means good or bad.

You should read our very own shareholder LondonRed's defence of people who boo in the match day thread.....just not justified I'm afraid.
Let's not under-estimate Oldham.. they aren't the bogey side they used to be but they never cease to be a thorn in the side!

We should still be able to beat Oldham comfortably tommorow night,even if they have the awesome Aljofree!Dont think it will be that easy though,and of course Aljofree will probably have a stormer against the club that terminated his contract.Predict 2-0, or 3-1 victory with Oldham coming to fraustrate and stiffle us.

I think any booing was directed at the incompetent ref and the linesman running by the Don Rogers stand - not our team. They gave some dreadful decisions between them. If the ref had shown any strength Charlton would have had loads booked for all their niggly little fouls and dreadful gamesmanship. No wonder they had 2 sent off last time. I'm glad we don't play like that - I'd sooner draw than see us resort to those kind of tactics. We play football as it should be played and in the right spirit. Our current team make you proud.
I think all of us at the Southend match were choked when they equalised and again on Saturday - it was almost like we had lost.
Maybe it is a fitness issue as well as tactical - when Macari was here and we ran for miles in training we scored loads of goals late on when other teams tired. Remember the match against Wigan in the play offs when we scored 3 goals in the last 11 minutes to win 3 -2? Mind you it wasn't very attractive football!
On the plus side this is the best team we've had for ages and they are obviously a tight knit unit. I like the fact that Danny is keeping a consistent team selection each week - the way they play together now is fantastic because they know each other's game. I hope Macklin continues to make his comeback after his leg injury - he had a fantastic game at MK early on in the season, took his penalty well at Wolves and the way the kid stayed on the pitch at Brentford in agony after breaking his leg showed real guts.
Come on you Reds.