Elite_pie

That's the Richard Butcher I remember, skillful and offered a goal threat, but lightweight and often anonymous. Strange how we can see players so differently!

I don't bother with social media, and if there really are fans on there who want the club to fail then I won't reconsider, because that notion is beyond me. While I'm here, another term I'm not comfortable with that has been mentioned on this thread is "Ardley haters". Neal Ardley is clearly a decent bloke, but I have been critical of him solely because I don't think he's the person to take our club forward. I find the idea of hatred towards him just bizarre!

Wow! I'm amazed to see Richard Butcher being described as a 'workhorse style' player, because he was the exact opposite. His main quality was arriving in the box late and applying the finish, he had the ability to time his run and pick his spot. Tackling was something he wasn't good at, in fact one of McParland's regular quotes back then was "Butch couldn't tackle a square meal"! Neal Bishop along with Ryan Yates were the best in that role, while Ricky Ravenhill deserves a mention. I do agree it's an area where we are currently found wanting, it makes us too easy to play against.

No, and no. I've had zero confidence in him for 18 months now, but I would love him to prove me wrong.

I must be one of the clowns / muppets / sad single blokes / knee-jerk reactionaries that people have mentioned, because I think that sticking with Neal Ardley is a big mistake. I lost any confidence I had in him when we were stuffed at home by Newport in the relegation season, and would have shown him the door after the final whistle blew at Swindon on 4th May 2019 and our relegation was confirmed. I know there were many problems in that season, but I don't think his task of finishing above just two other clubs was a difficult one, especially with the backing Hardy gave him in the January tr

Covid-19 is a very complex and unprecedented problem, and even Einstein would struggle to get all the answers right. That still doesn't excuse a government who have got nearly all the answers wrong. This crisis has shown Boris Johnson up for what he is - an incompetent bull sh!tter. He won an election by clenching his fist and repeating "We will get Brexit Done" many times. It convinced many voters. We probably will get Brexit done, but at what cost to the average working family? Now with regard to coronavirus he clenches his fist and repeatedly says "Together, we will beat this". Again

I would usually be happy to fill in the survey, because both football and betting are big interests of mine but this survey seems very intrusive. I don't want to register or provide a password to withdraw, I just want to answer any questions anonymously to aid your research. This won't let me do that, so I will politely decline.

I think Rose tends to be underrated because his main attribute is doing the 'dirty work' in midfield. By that I mean winning tackles and headers and stopping the opposition playing. It won't get you on the edge of your seat, but it's something all teams need and I thought he fulfilled his role adequately yesterday, which few others managed to do. His passing can be poor and he is sometimes indecisive when on the ball, but if he leaves us I predict it will be to go to a higher rather than lower level.

Decided I wouldn't bother with these because it's too painful, but now there's a topic here goes: Slocombe 6 - no saves of note, but couldn't be faulted for their goals. Brindley 5 - started slowly, and didn't speed up much. Lacey 6 - nothing too bad, but only average. Turner 5 - looked off the pace from the start. Bagan 6 - a bit mixed, but a promising kid who will play above this level. Roberts 6.5 -anonymous for large parts, but showed his quality with the goal and the shot that nearly got us level. Rose 6.5* - competed well and played some of our best forward passes. Doy

Hard to give ratings from a computer screen, but this is what I saw: Slocombe 7 - only one save to make, but it was a good one. Brindley 7 - got into some good forward positions and solid defensively. Lacey 7.5 - looks a class above this level. Turner 7 - the Turner we saw before his injury. Just does his job well. Bagan 7 - a potent forward threat first half, good defensively in the second. Roberts 7 - took a while to get into the game, but when he did he showed his class. Rose 7.5 - showed his value today. Won loads of challenges and helped us win the midfield battle. Doyl

McDonnell 6 - hard to mark high or low because he only had one routine save to make. Brindley 6.5 - had a fair game but on current form DKE looks the best option at right back. Rawlinson 7 - another good, solid performance. Lacey 7- see above. Bagan 6.5 - not a lot between him and McCrory at left back, a good example of the squad depth we have. Roberts 7.5 - sometimes takes the wrong option and not everything worked today, but what a player! I love it that his first instinct is always to go forward, there's a real sense of expectation whenever he gets the ball. Doyle 7.5 - showed w

Silly kick off times. I like 3pm on a Saturday or 7.45pm on a Tuesday.

It doesn't matter, because there was no recall option in Tyson's loan to Chesterfield.

Slocombe...6 - Let down by his defence for the goal, nothing to do otherwise. Brindley.....5.5 - poor game defensively and going forward. He is better than this. Bakayogo...6 - Average game, unlucky to be taken off. McCrory.....6 - gave their forward too much space for the cross the led to the winner, otherwise ok. Turner.......6.5* - basically did his job well, my MOTM award is more down to the lack of opposition. Rose..........5 - again dithered on the ball and too many poor passes. Doyle........6.5 - always available for a pass, but offered nothing creatively. Dennis......5 -

Interesting discussion to be had on the subject of exactly what means what regarding match ratings. If you make the scale 0-10 then that gives 11 possible ratings, so it could be argued that 5.5 is the mid point. To be honest, my ratings conform to the Sunday paper ratings I grew up with in the 70s, when a zero rating wasn't an option. I always try and keep it rational, so my ratings are usually between 4 and 8, which gives a bit of leeway for an exceptionally good or bad performance. I love these ratings threads for two reasons - firstly it gives me an idea if people saw the game as I saw