NLS: Tonbridge Angels v Torquay United 3pm 16 March 2024

Well considering we'd lost the last 7 matches I'd attended without scoring I'm looking at yesterday's goal as being a step up personally. #positive thinking! Looking forward to seeing you all over the Easter holidays 😀

We have enough decent midfielders, forwards and a reasonable ‘keeper to get sufficient points. Lapslie, Dawson, WJD, Hall, Archer, Stobbes, Jarvis and Ash have plenty enough quality for this level when fit.

Pete’s right in saying defence is the real issue. The recruitment has been poor. Booth as we know, impressed for Taunton earlier in the season and there is a player in there. Like most, his confidence seems shot. And when the going gets tough, McGavin floundering about in front of whoever forms the back 3 or 4 is no substitute for a solid two of Dawson and Lapslie, as Jon says.

Tomlinson has gone backwards and been at fault for a lot of goals in a short space of time recently, Marshall is error and rash tackle prone and Moxey reads things much quicker than his legs can sometimes take him these days. It’s only really AJB that is ‘above this level’. Moxey needs to be in the centre owing to pace, and we don’t then have a left back in the squad, as Martin is never available. Which has led to AJB on the left and a square peg in on the right. Neither of those ‘fixes’ helps matters.

I believe being set up differently by a firefighting appointment - no money - could change results, but it’s incredibly hard to set yourself up as difficult to beat, when you are either pace challenged and/or error prone at the back.

There’s no choice now but to go with the players already at the Club and hope one or two of the ‘good enough’ don’t leave owing to off field issues in the interim. The only real shuffling of the pack possible is on the coaching (and selections) front now. Be that same coach different tactics or coach replaced.

Suggest somebody at the club gives Neil Warnock a call. No harm in trying.
No wages...but a chance to be a Plainmoor legend.

Just to play devil's advocate: if we had a midfield and a back four that didn't part like the Red Sea to allow opposing forwards in on goal like a hot knife through butter, maybe the keeper would stand a better chance. Unfortunately we don't!

Halstead has demonstrated enough times that he can play well to make me wonder if the times he doesn't play well are entirely his fault. We'll never know until we get a manager who can organise the defending of the back and middle four.