Let's talk about the Walsall game

[selby]

  An unusual Friday night game that are now a rarity, under flood lights that will cost a fortune at todays prices, and no doubt an ever smaller crowd with interest waning after two out of three abysmal performances and the hope gained by a good performance at Grimsby immediately followed up by another performance like the one v Kings Lynn.
  The new manager uplift that other clubs seem to have if we ever had one has all but disappeared in short time, and at times our own style of play looks to upset our own players rhythm more than the opposition, if we get into a rythm that is, in fact by being so slow at getting the ball forward we set up the other teams attacks much better than our own.
  Meanwhile Walsall will come to us on top of the world having beaten Carlisle where we got mullered with two very late goals one by Andy Williams earlier of this parish winning a game very late on that always leaves teams on top of the world, I hope they get the money spinning tie we always lose out on in the next round.
  Our season is going to take some pulling around, to say we are only a result away from enough points to be in with a shout of the playoff places is testament to other clubs ineptitude not our good play or consistency both being sporadic events which seem to be becoming rarer as the other clubs realise how we struggle to overcome their tactics and some poor quality players we have, we certainly are not good enough to play most of the game in our own half of the field with the lack of pace we have at the back, a seventeen year old from Barnsley reserves demonstrating that some months ago.
   Hopefully Rowe is fit to take some part in this game, I would find a place for Faulkner if he is still here and not farmed out on loan as he is our one proper defender apart from Anderson, gives us pace the others don't have, and has also shown his worth in set plays early in the season in the oppositions box, something when we have rarely got up there in recent games we have been poor at.
  Walsall on the other hand will come to us top of the world, have a manager who at Newport at least asked players to do what they were capable of doing, has made a habit of success in cup football allowing his clubs to flourish on the money they have gained doing so, and fields teams that are uncompromising and stick to doing the basics well.
  Which team we have turn up, the one at Grimsby or the Kings Lynn version is in the laps of the gods, and creates interest if nothing else.
  So once again all the usual questions can be put forward for this game, what team would you play? what team do you expect to play? will we change tactics? does anyone know what our best team is? lot's to discuss lot's of questions to ask and try to answer, please have your say.

[Branton Rover]

Christ sake have you got the Samaritans number? Things really ain’t that bad. We’ve now got a definite way we set up 3-4-3 & it’s going to take time to bed in & Schofield is trying to implement his ideas without having his signings in through the door. If it was 12 months down the line & no progress was obvious then it’s time to stress & worry. Speaking personally I’ve got much more faith in us being successful with Danny at the helm than anytime under the previous youth coach. We have to be patient. Inconsistency is the name of the game with young players like what we have.

[roversdude]

Selby you ok you’re not usually this downbeat

[Ukrairover]

Well I'm really excited for this after a nearly a month without live football. Friday night, few drinks in town before the match. We've had some extra time with no FA Cup match to train and be sharp. Bring it on!

[selby]

  Don't worry lads I am still going Friday and all the home games and watching a hell of a lot of football from junior football to professional non league at all levels, that gives me the feeling,  yes the manager has a clear mind of how he wants to play, but seeing other teams the realisation that we may not have the players to be consistent enough, tallented enough or have the pace to enact the plan he has in mind.
  January is going to be absolutely so important to the club, getting players out as well as in.  we have a lot of deadwood that needs improving on IMHO. and getting them out could be crucial now the income stream of any cup run has disappeared again before it got started.
  This game on Friday could hold a lot more importance to the clubs future than a lot of people realise. We currently have a lot of disaffected fans who's support financially to the club is very important and a squad worth next to diddly donk in the transfer  market apart from a player we are now marginalising, Knoyle and Olowu at the stage of their contract that is reducing by the day their value to us, and Millar probably the only one other clubs might pay for, the rest coming to the end of their careers or bang average players who might have one good game in four.
  There is nothing more I would like than for the majority of those players to stand up, prove me a fool and make a fist of the rest of the season, and that is what I see this forum as a vehicle to express opinions and discuss, and that is how I see this team and this season. 
  As far as hanging myself and supporting them while on the field of play nothing will change, I won't, I have seen far worse before, and I will support them while they play the game 100%, but I will express an opinion, and I hope it encourages others to discuss in a proper way.
  If you disagree please say so and explain why, that is what this thread is all about I hope, opinions.

[roversdude]

I agree we may need a change in some of the personnel to activate DS game plan in full. There still seems to be some sort of mentality problem in this squad. When it’s good it’s good but we need to have some consistency. Looking forward to one of our few home games under the lights

[Draytonian III]

Friday night football, brilliant

[ncRover]

Friday night football, brilliant

Time to break out the long johns and double up on socks

[selby]

Doesn't look to be a lot of interest at all in this game to me, and might be an indication of what to expect the rest of the season.
  There is a lot more pressure on this game than meets the eye to me, a bad result combined with another abject display could start a rapid decline in our home games supporter base, and the inevitable reduction in the club's income and ability to fund better players coming to the club.
  We need very much a good result combined with a better display by the players, something not very hard if the displays v Kings Lynn and Colchester are considered the low mark.

[les@donr]

I've got a bad feeling about this game, hence predicting Lose in PvO. Don't often do that! They are on a high after winning their FA Cup game.

[Padge_DRFC]

Despite what everyone has said. Everyone is massively into the world cup. I'm going Friday however I expect our first sub 5k crowd with about 200 from Walsall attending.

[ForsolongaRover]

The only thing going in our favour is that we are at home or perhaps I should say Walsall are away, because they have not won away in the League since August!

[ravenrover]

Typical, love a night game but can't make this one tickets for Gaz Brookfield booked a long time ago

[monkeytennis]

Well we seem to alternate good and bad games so I think we’re due a good performance.

Looking forward to the first ‘winter’ game so it’ll be thermals, proper parka and a flask of hot coffee.

[roversdude]

I was pretty confident until a read Forsolonga’s comment that they haven’t won away this season.
Seriously hoping we can replicate the  Grimsby performance

[Donnywolf]

Despite what everyone has said. Everyone is massively into the world cup. I'm going Friday however I expect our first sub 5k crowd with about 200 from Walsall attending.

Might creep above that as it's the Lottery free tickets game .

Don't know the take up but I managed to give mine away

One positive though as mentioned above ... If we have alternate good / bad games then it's time for the good one. 

[selby]

  That "they have not won an away match" statement has sent a shiver down my back, a good chance now that we will get them back on track.
   We are just the team for that, over many years we have eased the suffering of many teams, and it could be classed as unfair to Newport after giving Hartlepool and Colchester a leg up this season if we actually tonked them, although I live in hope.
 

[DearneValleyRover]

I’ve given my 2 free tickets away so that’s 2 extra on the attendance

[roversdude]

Ooo forgot about those tickets

[roversdude]

Molyneux out but Tommy, Reo and Olowu available

[scawsby steve]

Despite what everyone has said. Everyone is massively into the world cup. I'm going Friday however I expect our first sub 5k crowd with about 200 from Walsall attending.

Suzanne from the ticket office said today that Walsall have sold more than 500, so that might boost the attendance a bit.

[selby]

  Not surprising to me as they have had a massive lift reaching the third round of the FA cup, we on the other hand have forgotten what a cup run does for a club and the financial gains they can bring in.

[scawsby steve]

  Not surprising to me as they have had a massive lift reaching the third round of the FA cup, we on the other hand have forgotten what a cup run does for a club and the financial gains they can bring in.

Brian, you're banging on too much all the time about cup runs. Yes, they can be handy for bringing in extra revenue, but getting out of this bloody awful league is much, much more important than a cup run.

I'd take a win against Walsall tomorrow against their FA Cup 3rd round tie any day of the week.

[LincolnDonny]

Wife and I will not be going as was expecting it to have been played on the saturday and so booked a friday/saturday and sunday away with the proviso that we could popback for a few hours in the saturday afternoon .while the Friday event booked for cant be changed

Pammy said the way we are playing at the moment and the apathy by many of us towards our Rovers maybe just as well

[NickDRFC]

  Not surprising to me as they have had a massive lift reaching the third round of the FA cup, we on the other hand have forgotten what a cup run does for a club and the financial gains they can bring in.

Brian, you're banging on too much all the time about cup runs. Yes, they can be handy for bringing in extra revenue, but getting out of this bloody awful league is much, much more important than a cup run.

I'd take a win against Walsall tomorrow against their FA Cup 3rd round tie any day of the week.

Also blindly ignores the fact that we reached the 4th round only 2 years ago and the 5th round 4 years ago. This year was also only the 2nd time in 15 years that we’ve fallen at the first hurdle.

[selby]

  Nick I don't ignore it at all, in fact I was exstatic seeing as how I was there as an eight year old the last time we got that far in the 1954/55 season take a minute and let that sink in, I hope you have better luck and don't have to wait as long as myself for a run to the 5th round.
 On a more serious note I always especially at that time saw Lincoln, Rotherham, Chesterfield, and Barnsley as our near neighbour foes roughly on the same standing.
  Since that heady day we have added two more cup competitions to the season and I would hazard a guess that all those teams have easily earnt well over a million and probably a couple of million pounds more in crowd's built on visits to Wembley league play off competitions and cup prize money, while we have succumbed to teams like Notts county when they were on their uppers Rochdale on more than one occasion when they were on their uppers Oldham a couple of times when they were struggling Grimsby when in free fall and the latest a National League North side all games I was at, and games where prize money as well as cup glory and the extra support they bring was on Offer.
  The former clubs have made a relatively regular fist of doing well in one or other of the competitions and the relative trajectories' of those sides really reflect the difference between us and them.  Chesterfield as an example could well come into this division next season if we don't get out of it with bigger crowds money to spend off a cup run and could come up with money from a playoff competition while we will probably be cutting our budget on the playing staff if we don't get up, and if we don't get some consistency and improve we will not.

[Bailey Vickerage]

Walsall have sold out their initial allocation.

[selby]

   Could anyone honestly say they could see that before their win in the FA cup last week, and we actually have supporters who are not bothered.

[danumdon]

I think its also a symptom of having such a long gap between home games(or any game for that matter)

Fans can be very fickle these days and such a layoff takes the club outside a lot of supporters mindsets, nothing a good win tonight would not correct but we are in a reconstruction stage and a bit like when SOD first arrived we need to find that consistency of performance to get the place buzzing again. Like you said the transfer window cannot come to soon for us and its vitally important we have the strategy in place to make the difference or we can say goodbye to any hopes this season of creeping into a position where we could challenge.

Very important few weeks ahead, starting with this game.

[scawsby steve]

  Nick I don't ignore it at all, in fact I was exstatic seeing as how I was there as an eight year old the last time we got that far in the 1954/55 season take a minute and let that sink in, I hope you have better luck and don't have to wait as long as myself for a run to the 5th round.
 On a more serious note I always especially at that time saw Lincoln, Rotherham, Chesterfield, and Barnsley as our near neighbour foes roughly on the same standing.
  Since that heady day we have added two more cup competitions to the season and I would hazard a guess that all those teams have easily earnt well over a million and probably a couple of million pounds more in crowd's built on visits to Wembley league play off competitions and cup prize money, while we have succumbed to teams like Notts county when they were on their uppers Rochdale on more than one occasion when they were on their uppers Oldham a couple of times when they were struggling Grimsby when in free fall and the latest a National League North side all games I was at, and games where prize money as well as cup glory and the extra support they bring was on Offer.
  The former clubs have made a relatively regular fist of doing well in one or other of the competitions and the relative trajectories' of those sides really reflect the difference between us and them.  Chesterfield as an example could well come into this division next season if we don't get out of it with bigger crowds money to spend off a cup run and could come up with money from a playoff competition while we will probably be cutting our budget on the playing staff if we don't get up, and if we don't get some consistency and improve we will not.

I was also there that day, Brian. It wasn't 1954/55, it was 1955/56, against Spurs in front of more than 30000 people.

However, that was when the FA Cup was the most important competition in the country.