rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Aug 21, 2014 7:12:36 GMT
After a mid week breather, the club head up to Dartford for the first of a bank holiday weekend double header! This Kent club, established 1888, earned a reprieve last year after finishing in the relegation zone. They were promoted to this division in 2012 for the first time since 1985 and only achieved promotion to the conference south in 2010 and in fact were only promoted to the division below only two years before that!
It looks like they may struggle again this season with only a point against Woking and going down by a solitary goal at home to Wrexham and away to Kidderminster. However, they have got some good players with Michel - King formerly of Wimbledon the most familiar! They have also signed experienced midfielder Peter Sweeney, also from Wimbledon who was released after breaking a bone in his foot earlier this year! Obviously, they benefit from their geographic position somewhat!
I suppose this is a match we should be looking to win but will be tough without Bowman although I was encouraged by the reports of O'Achie on Saturday and think he will leading the line. Will Ajala, another former Wimbledon player get a start? Also Harding is a doubt in the middle and Richards will probably get a deserved start. Surely Pearce will get to play although ironically our much maligned defence come into this on the back of two clean sheets. So all in all, two enforced changes and options for a couple more.
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petef
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Post by petef on Aug 21, 2014 10:01:24 GMT
Was it really a year a go on Saturday that we won away at Northampton?
Easy to remember I was at Dawlish air day watching the amazing Vulcan bomber fly over when I heard the result. The 2-1 win came as a huge relief after a our dodgy start and we were all looking for an upturn in performances and results that sadly never transpired. Ironically I reckon this set of players would have kept us in the football league. Whether they are good enough to take us back up though remains to be seen.
Again we face a side we are expected to beat but this division as I expected is tough and difficult to predict especially at this early stage. Hopefully we can continue with the form we have shown in the last two games push on and get stronger as we go deeper into the season, vital if we are to challenge.
Bowmans sending off I thought was harsh looking at the video he made no contact whatsoever. The "victim" of this assault knew exactly what he was doing putting his arm around his shoulder to provoke a reaction. Clever, unfortunately Ryan fell for it and so did the ref. Ryan must learn and counter this by rolling around in agony on the deck after the first challenge and not do the manly thing!! Thats how silly the games got, its gone tame from the game I grew up with just have a look at a seventies match with Norman Hunter and Franny Lee going at it full on
Now this is a proper assault! A must watch if you were not around at the time
Slagged off by some even before he has played a full match O'Archi looked the part which is encouraging and I reckon given the right coaching and support he will do well for us. The only thing I fear is that we will start humping long balls because of his height.
Hopefully we will get a result of some sort and the important thing is not to underestimate any side.
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Post by gullone on Aug 21, 2014 16:21:23 GMT
PIC 2  |
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Post by gullone on Aug 21, 2014 16:30:55 GMT
It is almost 24 years since i last went to Dartford to see Torquay lose 1 4 to Maidstone in an FAC 1st round game. Maidstone were using Dartfords old Watling Street ground at the time. It will certainly be another new ground for me on Saturday. This programme is from the 30s when our reserves made the long trip for a southern league fixture.  |
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hector
TFF member
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Post by hector on Aug 21, 2014 20:31:55 GMT
Was it really a year a go on Saturday that we won away at Northampton? Easy to remember I was at Dawlish air day watching the amazing Vulcan bomber fly over when I heard the result. The 2-1 win came as a huge relief after a our dodgy start and we were all looking for an upturn in performances and results that sadly never transpired. Ironically I reckon this set of players would have kept us in the football league. Whether they are good enough to take us back up though remains to be seen. Again we face a side we are expected to beat but this division as I expected is tough and difficult to predict especially at this early stage. Hopefully we can continue with the form we have shown in the last two games push on and get stronger as we go deeper into the season, vital if we are to challenge. Bowmans sending off I thought was harsh looking at the video he made no contact whatsoever. The "victim" of this assault knew exactly what he was doing putting his arm around his shoulder to provoke a reaction. Clever, unfortunately Ryan fell for it and so did the ref. Ryan must learn and counter this by rolling around in agony on the deck after the first challenge and not do the manly thing!! Thats how silly the games got, its gone tame from the game I grew up with just have a look at a seventies match with Norman Hunter and Franny Lee going at it full on Now this is a proper assault! A must watch if you were not around at the time Slagged off by some even before he has played a full match O'Archi looked the part which is encouraging and I reckon given the right coaching and support he will do well for us. The only thing I fear is that we will start humping long balls because of his height. Hopefully we will get a result of some sort and the important thing is not to underestimate any side. Superb action from Franny Lee - looked a real street fighter in the 2nd bout of fisticuffs. You wouldn't see too many top-flight forwards with his build nowadays either. He looks about 52 in that footage. |
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hector
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Post by hector on Aug 21, 2014 20:33:56 GMT
I too was at that Maidstone cup tie when we lost 4-1. I seem to remember it being one of the most one-sided games I had seen and by that I mean it was all Torquay. They had 4 shots that all went in.
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Aug 21, 2014 21:12:49 GMT
its gone tame from the game I grew up with just have a look at a seventies match with Norman Hunter and Franny Lee going at it full on Roger Davies who scored the winner for Derby had been on the verge of signing for Torquay before Derby paid silly money for him. Fighting so out of character for Leeds. Mind you Bobby Gould had a face that wanted slapping. |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Aug 21, 2014 21:29:28 GMT
It is almost 24 years since i last went to Dartford to see Torquay lose 1 4 to Maidstone in an FAC 1st round game. Maidstone were using Dartfords old Watling Street ground at the time. Tommy's birthday. |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Aug 21, 2014 21:41:16 GMT
This programme is from the 30s when our reserves made the long trip for a southern league fixture. Brilliant gullone. The great Albert Clarke at inside left. This was from our one and only season in the Southern League's "Central Division" which included clubs from both Eastern and Western sections. In 1936, the two regional sections merged which meant another seven visits to Dartford (1936-39 and 1947-51). It was a long way home after a thrashing!  |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Aug 21, 2014 22:06:32 GMT
Five weeks after Tommy's birthday we were back for a league match - and Phil Lloyd suffered the shocking tackle that effectively ended his career.
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Post by Ditmar van Nostrilboy on Aug 22, 2014 8:29:06 GMT
Did I hear on the radio that they're travelling to Dartford tomorrow? If that's the case, good luck with the traffic guys!!!!
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Post by stefano on Aug 22, 2014 8:48:45 GMT
Did I hear on the radio that they're travelling to Dartford tomorrow? If that's the case, good luck with the traffic guys!!!! Exactly. A crazy decision. The area is congested at the best of times and this is a Bank Holiday weekend. If there was any truth in the promotion budget nonsense we were fed that budget would include a cheap and cheerful guest house for an overnight stop and time for a leg stretch and some light training the following morning. As it is we will step off the coach and just about straight on to the pitch, giving Dartford an excellent opportunity to be a couple of goals up whilst the minds of our players are still on the coach. A long way to go on and off the pitch before we will ever be promotion contenders in a highly competitive league! |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2014 8:55:52 GMT
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Post by gullone on Aug 22, 2014 15:05:09 GMT
I too was at that Maidstone cup tie when we lost 4-1. I seem to remember it being one of the most one-sided games I had seen and by that I mean it was all Torquay. They had 4 shots that all went in. Thanks to Jon for putting those highlights up which brings it all back. Seem to remember a good following from Torquay crammed in a covered stand on one side of the ground making plenty of noise! |
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hector
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Post by hector on Aug 22, 2014 18:26:06 GMT
It is almost 24 years since i last went to Dartford to see Torquay lose 1 4 to Maidstone in an FAC 1st round game. Maidstone were using Dartfords old Watling Street ground at the time. Tommy's birthday. It's lucky Tommy Tynan didn't have that cake knife instead of his kettle, later that season. |
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