City v Hemel Hempstead

[2weirdtown]

Nothing in the Chron about tonight.  What with a couple of disappointing performances, cold damp weather and financial gloom, this could be a very low attendance.  Hope not.  I'm normally Mr positive but just lately ..........

[Mark Tanner]

It's featured on the best alternative to the Chronicle:

http://www.mtannersports.com/football-tuesday-25th-nov-14/

Need to get the team selection right tonight, one eye will be cast to Saturday though with the suspensions though!

[stillmanjunior]

I didn't realise you had a website!

[Mark Tanner]

It's shameless promotion but that's how you get it off the ground, it will be phased out eventually....

[kermit]

It's featured on the best alternative to the Chronicle:

http://www.mtannersports.com/football-tuesday-25th-nov-14/

Need to get the team selection right tonight, one eye will be cast to Saturday though with the suspensions though!

Or Sunday!

[cannonball]

Nothing in the Chron about tonight.  What with a couple of disappointing performances, cold damp weather and financial gloom, this could be a very low attendance.  Hope not.  I'm normally Mr positive but just lately ..........

I agree - nothing in the Western Daily Press today either despite all the other local clubs, some at lower levels than us, getting a mention and a bit of game publicity for tonight.

The PR at the club is appalling.....what other business would not advertise an event in the local press with team updates etc when it needs to attract people to bring some income in????

The business model for success at Twerton Park seems to be paralysed with apathy and indifference when it comes to promoting the product on show to its customers/fans.....

[Mark Tanner]

Knowing Howells it'll be Saturday Rob! ;-)

I agree with Cannonball, I would have thought during the club's restructuring that would have been looked at and appointments made. Having said that the local press are certainly lacking at going out and getting stories, hence the creation 6 months ago of a certain website....

If you write a press release you'll most likely get it printed near on word for word! I did a very small piece for Keynsham Town at the weekend and it was printed in the Sunday Somerset Independent, very easy!

[SteveS]

Yes, PR and Publicity has been zero. Afraid I shall not be venturing out tonight in the rain, had a busy couple of days and tired. Now gone past the stage of feeling guilty about it.
The final straw for me is the benching of the one player who can really lift the crowd, he is not going to produce every game (he would not be playing for us if he did) but if he can do it more often than not he should play - especially at home. What makes it worse is I believe the reasons are not footballing ones but down to personalities.

[Twerton Parker]

City 1 - Hemel 0 !!!

[2weirdtown]

Attendance 289 - an all time low?
Stearn came on just in time to take a free kick before ref blew for full time.
Enough said.

[comrade powell]

You forgot to mention that Hemel were down to 8 men by that 90th minute. Hardly a boost for Stearn's confidence.

[stillmanjunior]

I had a quick look through the records when I had the attendance texted through and it was our lowest home ever in Conference South, our first sub-300 since a home game against Farnborough in Feb 1996 in the Conference (290) and lowest since 277 turned up for an end of season clash with Telford United in 1987.

I think our previous lowest at home in the league at this level was against Bishop's Stortford in April 2009. 310 saw us throw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2.

I also don't recall seeing us have three players sent off against us in one game before.

[Ashley]

And how many red cards against us is that already?? I think its 8 but I could be wrong.

[stillmanjunior]

8 is correct - the same number of players Hemel had left at the end. Neat.

So the last time we played in front of a sub-290 home attendance in the league was 27th April 1987. Joe Hart was days old, The Simpsons had just made their first appearance on the Tracey Ullman Show, Madonna was at number one with La Isla Bonita, Nintendo released the first ever version of Zelda games and Scott and Charlene (Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue) were soon to be married on Neighbours.

And I was still crawling around probably.

[comrade powell]

Hemel actually looked a better team after they went down to 10 and we were hanging on when facing only 9. We really do have to take our chances to avoid these nail biting finishes. Hopefully Walsh will return on Sunday but I thought Big Chaz did well as a stand in centre back.

[Marc Monitor]

Well, it wasn't boring. A goal line scramble that didn't result in a goal for us, a shot against a post, a penalty scored, a sending off, another sending off, yet another sending off, some excellent saves from their keeper and they still could have got even.

As for the team, after Walsh got subbed early on (I am not sure why), Hemmings went back to centre half and, after dropping him back further and further, I think we have found a new bad position for him. Midfield is definitely the optimum position for him. Aside from that, McCooty - one good cross aside - just isn't with the game. If I were him, I would feel a touch embarrassed playing alongside Pratt chasing down everything. Perhaps because of the conditions, everything was disjointed and scrappy tonight from both sides. Our standout players were Pratt (obviously), Bowman who was running at players and putting some great balls into the box and man of the match Simpson who just did everything he needed to do simply and very well.

[Luton Roman]

Just to be clear, agendas aside, we won 1-0. Good. Bounce back v form team

[comrade powell]

8 is correct - the same number of players Hemel had left at the end. Neat.

So the last time we played in front of a sub-290 home attendance in the league was 27th April 1987. Joe Hart was days old, The Simpsons had just made their first appearance on the Tracey Ullman Show, Madonna was at number one with La Isla Bonita, Nintendo released the first ever version of Zelda games and Scott and Charlene (Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue) were soon to be married on Neighbours.

And I was still crawling around probably.

And my son, Ross, was just 5 months old having been born in....

Hemel Hempstead

[Marc Monitor]

Attendance 289 - an all time low?
Stearn came on just in time to take a free kick before ref blew for full time.
Enough said.

I was going to mentioned that. As I have said on another thread, for the last ten games that Stearn has come on as a substitute, he has come on progressively later and later. Tonight was, I reckon, 50 minutes which is almost rubbing his nose in it. Even then, he didn't have a bad free kick with his only touch.

I know we won tonight but it was touch and go and McCooty was again off the game and even Watkins was a touch anonymous tonight. Stearn would have introduced fresh legs, a different attacking option and kept Hemel on their back foot when they had one man sent off let alone three.

[comrade powell]

Walsh suffered a bad cut to the head.

[Ashley]

8 is correct - the same number of players Hemel had left at the end. Neat.

So the last time we played in front of a sub-290 home attendance in the league was 27th April 1987. Joe Hart was days old, The Simpsons had just made their first appearance on the Tracey Ullman Show, Madonna was at number one with La Isla Bonita, Nintendo released the first ever version of Zelda games and Scott and Charlene (Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue) were soon to be married on Neighbours.

And I was still crawling around probably.

And my son, Ross, was just 5 months old having been born in....

Hemel Hempstead

I wasn't born...

[yuffie]

Just to be clear, agendas aside, we won 1-0. Good. Bounce back v form team

Another first half where we should have been out of sight but either spurned changes or were denied by some great last ditch blocking. Frustrating to lose Walsh so early but I thought Hemmings was excellent in dropping back to replace him.

Signs early in the second half that Hemel were a threat and even after the penalty and red card (foul possibly just outside the box and poor penalty from Pratt that slid under the keeper) to their credit they continued to commit men forward and risk us catching them on the break. Which is exactly what McCootie - who I thought looked much more of a threat tonight that recently - should have done when he raced clear from in his own half.

Even after the second red card how Hemel still went for it and how that shot didn't go in with a few minutes left I don't know.

Then we break away from a corner with their keeper up and a rugby tackle that wouldn't have been out of place on the Rec to complete the sending offs.

A win is a win and I think you have to give Hemel credit for continuing to go for it even with ten then nine men.

[Marc Monitor]

Just to be clear, agendas aside, we won 1-0. Good. Bounce back v form team

I am not sure what agendas there are. IT was a win but certainly not a good one although their keeper did make a couple of great saves and we hit the bar.

I am not really surprised by the attendance. I mean it is incredibly low but the weather was awful tonight and we have lost two on the bounce. Unfortunately, the European Cup on the TV may have had an effect as well. Even at the ground, the Man City match was on in the chip bar and people seemed inordinately interested in the Chelsea score, for some unknown reason.

[comrade powell]

Another positive is that we leapfrog Hemel to go 10th, our highest position of the season...

[pete mac]

Always a lively debate about Stearn. When you are under the cosh the reaction is not to bring a player like him on.

Quiet a thing when even the Chronicle report doesn't acknowledge that he actually came on as a sub.

lets hope we can hit the target on Sunday. Since maidenhead when it all flew in we have failed to convert!

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