Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: selby on August 31, 2024, 09:33:42 pm
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The biggest question will be what team strength both sides bother to put out on Tuesday.
At least unlike other seasons we have players who are good enough for the first team but are not in the starting line up at the moment and I hope will show they want to be starters if selected on Tuesday.
So speculation about what team we put out I will leave to Grant, or will it be Cliff at the helm as last season?
Huddersfield after three straight wins in their first three league games surprisingly lost 2-1 to Rotherham today to burst their bubble and will probably want to see some of their fringe players while getting back on track in this game, so I am expecting between the two sides quite a few changes from todays teams, but for once probably for the right reasons not just to dis respect the competition, and still two decent sides with individual players having a reason to do well.
For instance all our subs at Port Vale would form a decent nucleus for a decent second division side all of them good players on their day, and others not involved in todays squad if not injured will want to put themselves in the shop window.
Huddersfield are mostly in the same position as ourselves with a strong squad some of which will be wanting to force themselves forward after the result today and will see this game hopefully as an opportunity.
What do you think? not the most attractive competition, but one that changed our season somewhat last year when our league form was terrible and we needed a boost and gave us the first indication of better things to come.
Some supporters are still at odds with the competition but attendances seem at last to be getting bigger and playing u21s teams from Premiership sides looks a fixture we have to endure so are you going to the game? do you accept the competition now?
Lots to talk about this game, in a week when with the Gillingham game next weekend could really set us up as a force to be reckoned with at this level, although I find it hard to remember ever seeing a decent game of football v Gillingham, to me the epitome of anti-football over many years, always dour, invented the tactical foul, and just horrible to watch teams.
First things first, Huddersfield, and hopefully away to a decent start in the competition and an enjoyable game to watch,
Please have your say.
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We are not blessed with enough players to change the entire team, but the rules don’t allow it anyway. I can see Lawlor coming back in with Nixon, Senior, Olowu and maybe McGrath being the defence.
Midfield, from what GM has previously intimated, will have the return of Close, probably accompanied by Bailey and S’barra.
Up top probably Yeboah, Hurst and Ironside?
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We know we’re in a good place to make 6 changes to a first team squad ala Everton. So much the same for Udders.
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Shouldn’t have thought it would be a priority for them to play him, but Herbie Kane is at Huddersfield Town now.
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Ands for those that may have forgotten, it’s a 7PM kick off
COYR
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What’s happened to Sbarra? He was meant to be one of our main signings
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When he has played he has looked neat and tidy and has done OK without setting the world on fire.
He will settle into the formation, he has talent and a good engine on him and has a part to play this season when he gets a chance he has to take it which will not be easy with competition in the team for a starting place.
Its just the way it should be
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Is this a match we can watch with a match pass ?
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What’s happened to Sbarra? He was meant to be one of our main signings
Not sure he suits what McCann likes in midfield which is a deep passing midfielder and 2 box to box runners. Sbarra from what I’ve seen looks a proper 10.
Whenever he’s come on you can tell he has ability and will have a part to play
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We are not blessed with enough players to change the entire team, but the rules don’t allow it anyway. I can see Lawlor coming back in with Nixon, Senior, Olowu and maybe McGrath being the defence.
Midfield, from what GM has previously intimated, will have the return of Close, probably accompanied by Bailey and S’barra.
Up top probably Yeboah, Hurst and Ironside?
I nearly agree with you suggested team but I dont think Bailey will start more likely Broadbent from the start.
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Maybe go with the everton line up.. it will be strange watching a johnsons game with out half a dozen u18s in the squad..
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Maybe go with the everton line up.. it will be strange watching a johnsons game with out half a dozen u18s in the squad..
It wouldn't surprise me if Sam Straugham-Brown is at least on the bench
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Bessie, we have to be mindful of the rules of the competition. Plus, I don’t think GM will want to be without his skipper! I agree, he probably could do with putting his feet up for this one, but will GM think the same?
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We are not blessed with enough players to change the entire team, but the rules don’t allow it anyway. I can see Lawlor coming back in with Nixon, Senior, Olowu and maybe McGrath being the defence.
Midfield, from what GM has previously intimated, will have the return of Close, probably accompanied by Bailey and S’barra.
Up top probably Yeboah, Hurst and Ironside?
I nearly agree with you suggested team but I dont think Bailey will start more likely Broadbent from the start.
On a separate note; has Bailey still started every match since god was a boy ?
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Look forward to seeing Herbie if he plays at some point.
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There’s been another hint put out today by GM, via the FP, that Sam Straughan-Brown could play some part tomorrow night. Most probably, from the bench I would have thought and to cover for Ben Close.
It appears there is quite a bit of interest in Sam, from non league clubs, to take him on loan. Watch this space.
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The win at Port Vale was a good three points won, and the clearance off the line by McGrath rightly praised, but the fact is the keeper came for that regulation cross with not a lot of traffic in front of him and completely missed the ball with his punch and allowed the header on goal.
Not the first time in this or other games he has done that, but seems to get away with the pelters from some supporters that Lawlor and Jones get.
Probably being from Chelsea gives some lee way, personally not convinced but hopeful.
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The win at Port Vale was a good three points won, and the clearance off the line by McGrath rightly praised, but the fact is the keeper came for that regulation cross with not a lot of traffic in front of him and completely missed the ball with his punch and allowed the header on goal.
Not the first time in this or other games he has done that, but seems to get away with the pelters from some supporters that Lawlor and Jones get.
Probably being from Chelsea gives some lee way, personally not convinced but hopeful.
Totally agree Selby. I am surprised nobody has mentioned it before. I think if Lawlor has a decent game tomorrow then he could well start on Saturday.
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I too share concerns over TSL. However it’s early days, I hope he can improve in what is now a proper coaching set up. I don’t think Louis has substantially improved enough on his weaknesses, over quits a long time, though tbf to him, probably down to our poor coaching set up an over the last 3 years or so.
At the minute I see Lawlor and TSL as similar standard, certainly not in the same class as TLT.
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I think I’ve voiced my concern on other threads, but his only saving grace is its early days, yet. We can’t be too critical at this stage, but I agree with other posters, he’s not a TLT - yet!
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The win at Port Vale was a good three points won, and the clearance off the line by McGrath rightly praised, but the fact is the keeper came for that regulation cross with not a lot of traffic in front of him and completely missed the ball with his punch and allowed the header on goal.
Not the first time in this or other games he has done that, but seems to get away with the pelters from some supporters that Lawlor and Jones get.
Probably being from Chelsea gives some lee way, personally not convinced but hopeful.
I mentioned it first time I saw him and got slated
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The posters on the Huddersfield forum are not looking at this game as important, especially as they look to already have a long injury list, so might be well below full strength despite having to field so many starters from the Rotherham game at the weekend.
Both teams however have started the season reasonably well and should want to keep things going. That is how I see this game for us anyway keep standards and enthusiasm high by winning games and build the supporter base as these games seem to attract youngsters more than older supporters.
When the draw was first published my first inclination was we had been drawn in a hard group we would do well to qualify from, so this home game and the one against the u21s side are important to pick up some points, whoever plays let's just go for it.
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Shouldn’t have thought it would be a priority for them to play him, but Herbie Kane is at Huddersfield Town now.
He wasn’t in the squad against Rotherham so he may be injured or he could play this evening
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We are not blessed with enough players to change the entire team, but the rules don’t allow it anyway. I can see Lawlor coming back in with Nixon, Senior, Olowu and maybe McGrath being the defence.
Midfield, from what GM has previously intimated, will have the return of Close, probably accompanied by Bailey and S’barra.
Up top probably Yeboah, Hurst and Ironside?
I nearly agree with you suggested team but I dont think Bailey will start more likely Broadbent from the start.
On a separate note; has Bailey still started every match since god was a boy ?
Bailey can get rested now with the squad we have.
He hasn’t been at what is his best IMO so keep him fresh for the big game Saturday.
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I too share concerns over TSL. However it’s early days, I hope he can improve in what is now a proper coaching set up. I don’t think Louis has substantially improved enough on his weaknesses, over quits a long time, though tbf to him, probably down to our poor coaching set up an over the last 3 years or so.
At the minute I see Lawlor and TSL as similar standard, certainly not in the same class as TLT.
TSL is so much younger than Lawlor and significantly younger than Jones. You can blame a GK for every goal he concedes, but we must take account of the quality of the effort he makes to save them. Despite his age he seems at least imposing if not more so, quicker and decisive.
The weakness in dealing with crosses is general (set-piece coaching shortcomings??), but he displays more inclination to leave his line to take them, an attribute that the other two don’t always display.
Even if his ability were precisely the same as the other two, he would still be my choice because already I think he has improved from how he began. Comparably he is at least as athletic if not more so, than IL and especially LJ and surely has more potential to improve than either of them.
Lawlor’s history is evidence of never quite being the dependable first choice, but as back-up at this level he seems acceptable.
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The main thing about the competition is how seriously the management of sides take it.
And in our case the difference in class of player some teams in the competition can put out even with quite a few rested, which was evident when a few years ago both Barnsley and Rotherham were in a different class to us talent wise and gave us a good hiding.
That position I feel is where we have improved our squad greatly and are now no longer the push over we were, and can now make some changes without losing so much class of player.
and can give teams a much harder time of it.
That makes the games so much more attractive, is a competition we can do well in while trying different combinations and if reaching the final stages the club benefits financially.
I hope we just play attacking football and go for a win and enjoy what is a free hit which can benifit the club.
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Just realised it’s 7pm ko, do they not want people that work to attend, it’ll be Sky for me tonight then
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Lots of talk about having to play a strongish line up. We can of course still make plenty of changes. Here's the actual rules:
Each club is required to field a team that includes at least four "Qualifying Players" in the ten outfield players named in the starting eleven. A "Qualifying Player" is defined as one who meets one of the following criteria:
- Started the immediately preceding first team fixture
- Starts the immediately following first team fixture
- Is among the top ten players with the most starting appearances for the club in the same season
- Has made 40 or more starting appearances in first-team fixtures or international equivalents
- Is on a standard loan from a Premier League club or any EFL club operating a Category One Academy
The 40 or more starting appearances in first-team fixtures gives us a fair bit of freedom.
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He gives me the impression of being self confident and is good in most aspects , distribution and athleticism being natural talents .His timing on crosses can be coached and he seems to not be shy to speak his mind to co defenders .
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I like Teddy. He's the best we have, no question.
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One thing we could really do with is Joe I getting off the mark. Give him a full ninety and let him have a bash at penalties too. He seems to have been the forgotten man recently with Billy, Molly and to a degree Gibson getting a lot of focus.
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Joe will be fine.
He is experienced enough to,know his worth and that his chance will come, as will the goals.
If we get a penalty with both him and Billy on the pitch, I fully expect that Joe will take it.
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Joe will be fine.
He is experienced enough to,know his worth and that his chance will come, as will the goals.
If we get a penalty with both him and Billy on the pitch, I fully expect that Joe will take it.
Good call!
Anything to get Joe off the mark.
Well, a wins a win. Also Yeboah breaking his duck too.
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MOM Ben Close who played the midfield anchor well , smooth performance throughout .Broadbent will have to apply himself more assiduously to this the challenge to get a starting place ahead of Westbrook and now Close .Shaun- Brown was up to his challenge 100 % tonight .
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Good performance tonight. Very impressed with Close, Olowu, and Sterry.
McGrath was good apart from the howler in the first half. Lawlor and Ironside both had solid games.
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Good performance tonight. Very impressed with Close, Olowu, and Sterry.
McGrath was good apart from the howler in the first half. Lawlor and Ironside both had solid games.
Agree with all of that other than Sterry, really? Another goal from a man totally free at back post. Been happening for last 18m. Walking back again?!
Am I missing summat?????
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MOM Ben Close who played the midfield anchor well , smooth performance throughout .Broadbent will have to apply himself more assiduously to this the challenge to get a starting place ahead of Westbrook and now Close .Shaun- Brown was up to his challenge 100 % tonight .
Some people might laugh at this but Sam looked a better player than Broadbent tonight.
A bright future awaits
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Good performance tonight. Very impressed with Close, Olowu, and Sterry.
McGrath was good apart from the howler in the first half. Lawlor and Ironside both had solid games.
Agree with all of that other than Sterry, really? Another goal from a man totally free at back post. Been happening for last 18m. Walking back again?!
Am I missing summat?????
I mainly meant going forward, which he's often effective with. However, I agree with you about his defensive positioning, which is suspect.
I think Nixon's better defensively, so GM's got a bit of a selection poser there when Tom returns from injury.
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MOM Ben Close who played the midfield anchor well , smooth performance throughout .Broadbent will have to apply himself more assiduously to this the challenge to get a starting place ahead of Westbrook and now Close .Shaun- Brown was up to his challenge 100 % tonight .
Some people might laugh at this but Sam looked a better player than Broadbent tonight.
A bright future awaits
If you watched the game he was better than Broadbent and Sbarra who was not very good
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Just realised it’s 7pm ko, do they not want people that work to attend, it’ll be Sky for me tonight then
I believe that this is the long end game of the monopoly.
Show as much lower league games on TV, f**k about with ko times, have more people watch from home than the stadium.
Eventually clubs will be reliant on TV money because people will get out of the habit.
Clubs go bust, people need their football fix so watch more top end games.
Just my theory of course.
f**k sky TV.
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My MOM's Ironside and Olowu also only two up against their best players in Ward up front and their No4 central defender Pearson two good individual contests within the game both acquitted themselves well in, McGrath was sloppy when caught in possession
that could have cost us big time and we were lucky to get away with it,
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Other than his brain fart, I thought Mgrath looked the part, Selby.
I’ve seen people praising the return of Close, words like ‘stand-out performer’ come to mind, but come on, partnered with Broadbent and S’barra what did we expect?
The latter two have got their work cut out to get in the first 11. On the evidence so far, I can’t see what anyone saw in what S’barra might bring? Equally, Broadbent is not going to fill the void left by Craig! Nowhere near aggressive enough or commanding enough to claim a place in our midfield.
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When not in possession Sbarra was probably our best player, certainly in midfield putting a foot in and disrupting the flow of the game with the tactical foul when Huddersfield looked to attack our back line.
Football is not just about pushing the ball about ten yards square, that was not how the world cup was won, or the Champions League, and the players that can stop the players that play the ball about are just as important in todays football.
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Extended highlights with much more action.
https://youtu.be/qoEtSz72Ehk?si=WvWY7w-k5uenz4uc
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I didn't rate Close last night - he's one of least brave players I've ever seen, doesn't tackle, doesn't track, doesn't try to break the lines or be creative, just happy to sit deep, pick up the ball then drop it back in to the defenders. He's well behind Bailey, Sbarra, Kelly, Westbrooke and Clifton for me. We looked much more dynamic when Straughan-Brown came on, who looks like a really good prospect to me.
Ironside worked his knackers off as always and scored an amazing pen, Olowu and Lawlor also very good, thought Senior also did well - looked to be a loud voice on the pitch trying to organise. McGrath slipped once but otherwise I thought he did well and looks the tidiest defender we've had since Matt Mills.
Decent result especially as they through everything at us last 20 but we held on and battled well.
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My MOM's Ironside and Olowu also only two up against their best players in Ward up front and their No4 central defender Pearson two good individual contests within the game both acquitted themselves well in, McGrath was sloppy when caught in possession
that could have cost us big time and we were lucky to get away with it,
Of course McGrath was sloppy and could have cost us....... now where is Bobby ?
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I thought the back line performed well last night with Olowu the stand out defender.
Up top Ironside put away his penalty with aplomb and how he gets his head to the ball is pretty incredible. On the downside his lay offs were either underhit, overhit or not anticipated by others. Hurst put in a lot of effort - a good performance I thought.
In midfield Close was on a different level to everyone else and for his first game back that was a top drawer performance - fully deserved his MOM. If he can keep injury free he will be key to making the midfield and hence the team tick, but that will make him a marked man by the opposition and he will be lucky to avoid the hard knocks.
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Amazing how opinions differ on the same players.
Both Olowu and Anderson have both been through periods when they were subject to criticism and have come through to prove they are still important members of the squad. This means however, they are marked men and any mistakes tend to be highlighted more so than if other players made the same mistakes.
Close of course comes into that category as now does Sterry and Broadbent. They may not be everyone's cup of tea but we can't expect flawless performances from them but of course we expect them to contribute to our overall success.
We can debate how much TLT, Haks and Craig contributed to last seasons 'success' and while individually they may be better than players currently competing for their positions, the teams results will ultimately determine whether they've been adequately replaced. We have to adapt and perform with who we've got and so far, we're not doing too bad. Plus, there's plenty of room for improvement as we find the right blends as the players gell even more as a group.
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Thought we played really, Olowu looking really strong & seems to be maturing into his role now. Close played well & his fitness looked good so that's another bonus. Really good win & more confidence to take into Saturday.
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Thought it was a very good performance barring the first 5-10 mins of each half where we were a bit sloppy.
Olowu MOTM for me just ahead of Close (great to see him back and don’t have to rush him either with the other options) and Sterry who also had a good game. Ironside also good up top and a great penalty to get him off the mark, not been many better penalty takers in our history than him.
Was impressed with 2 youngsters when they came on, especially Sam Brown who I thought was excellent, composed on the ball and great with the press off it.
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Amazing how opinions differ on the same players.
Both Olowu and Anderson have both been through periods when they were subject to criticism and have come through to prove they are still important members of the squad. This means however, they are marked men and any mistakes tend to be highlighted more so than if other players made the same mistakes.
Close of course comes into that category as now does Sterry and Broadbent. They may not be everyone's cup of tea but we can't expect flawless performances from them but of course we expect them to contribute to our overall success.
We can debate how much TLT, Haks and Craig contributed to last seasons 'success' and while individually they may be better than players currently competing for their positions, the teams results will ultimately determine whether they've been adequately replaced. We have to adapt and perform with who we've got and so far, we're not doing too bad. Plus, there's plenty of room for improvement as we find the right blends as the players gell even more as a group.
Very good post that DBR
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I’ve seen people praising the return of Close, words like ‘stand-out performer’ come to mind, but come on, partnered with Broadbent and S’barra what did we expect?
I can’t get my head around the mental gymnastics here Alan.
That’s Close’s first game in 8 months but you give Patrick Kelly more credit for having a bad game than Ben having a good one.
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According to Michael Duff on my Google news page, they dominated throughout, and Chapman only had two saves to make. Bemoaning having 4 midfield players out due to injury and Intl. call-ups. Same for the forwards, players out, so he had to change things by bringing in young players to make up the team. Another one,
here, never mentioned us by name once, and only acknowledged us once by saying Chapman couldn't do much about the first goal.
For all their perceived dominance doesn't he realise that we scored 2 goals and they only scored one?
From my point of view, I thought the first half was ours, and after the break they did look threatening and worked a very good goal within 4 mins, albeit with some sloppy marking from Broadbent. After that, I thought they would dominate us and go on to win, but that never happened and we dug in and held on for a good win.
Strange how some coach's can only see a game from their point of view and don't see anything from the opposition in trying to beat their team. Weird.
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I remember at Anfield in 1974 Liverpool fans near me saying that they had reserve players in. I said that you are telling me that your reserve players aren’t good enough to beat a bottom of the league 4th division team? They shut up after that plus their team had Clemence, Thomson and Keegan in the side to name just three. They admitted later that it was their hardest game before winning the cup.
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From memory they also had Hughes, Cormack and Heighway. Kitch hit the bar in the last minute. Would have been the greatest giant killing act ever.
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A lob. Right onto the top of the bar...
BobG
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i was stood with a group of Askern buddies near the tunnel where the players came out and when we went 1 down I turned around and said they will get six now.
A little old scoucer heard me and turned around and said no no you have some good young players and are playing well
When we went two up while we were celebrating the same little guy turned on me and said, " you dirty set of bas***S your kicking the F**K out of us". we were laughing our heads off.
Another one was at Bradford Park avenue talking to a supporter who said watch our No 10 Kevin Hector he is the best in this division, one of the lads said watch our No 10 he would have been the best in the world, King Alick scored a blinder, the Bradford fan said " I see what you mean"
Having mixed crowds was not all bad, and part of the game them days.