Swindon Town 0-1 BFC, Saturday 30th January 2016

‘Don’t sell Winnall, Sammy Winnall
I just don’t think you understand
That if you sell Winnall, Sammy Winnall
You’re gonna have a riot on your hands’

Welcome to ....

This little ditty has been going round and round my head all weekend.  Goalscoring wunderkind Super Sammy Winnall (SSW) has only gone and done it again, scoring his 9^th goal in 5 games to ensure a deserved, if late, victory at Swindon.  Can anyone stop him since yours truly bet a tenner he’d not get to 20 goals this season?

Well, seems there is hope.  Dirty Leeds have only gone and made a bid.  How much can we rob them?  And will we have Slacki cheering on his goals for DL in hope of winning his money?  Do Leeds realise they’ll need to buy Marley Watkins as well, if Winnall is to function?  Still, class is permament, form temporary; let’s sell him now while the going’s good!

The Arkell's Stand

In more betting news, I have deviated from my normally pessimistic stance;  I heard pre-match we were 33s for promotion; I thought this a decent bet, given our current form. All we need to do is sneak into the play-offs…. Anyway, Pompey offered me 100/1, so I’ve put a pound on and he says he’ll be delighted to pay out.  (I’ve got to scrape back that Winnall cash somehow.)

To the game.  Good pre-match, a decent turnout in the Glue Pot and it’s real ale. And a tremendously hungover Jack, with tales of his latest ‘conquest’.  No Selwood though.  Rumour had it that he’d hired a classic car for Le Weekend and it had broken down.  Classic.  But Molly had come down to celebrate his birthday and BFC made it go with a bang.

The gladiators enter the arena

We bossed the 1^st half.  I’ve no idea how we didn’t score, but it struck me that if we have the same chances at Fleetwood, we’re going to Wembley.  Watkins had a one-on-one saved; same for Hourihane on the left.  Winnall headed over from Hourihane’s drilled-in cross.  Mawson jinked his way past a defender and hammered one narrowly over; Brownhill ‘Ronaldo’d’ a free kick narrowly over, stabbing it into the floor and making it dip suddenly, while Hourihane blazed a free kick out of the ground, after I’d confidently predicted which seat in row Z he would hit.  (Actually, it narrowly cleared the bar, bounced up the steps behind the goal and dribbled out of through an exit.)  So, somehow 0-0 at the break.

After the interval we allowed Swindon some kicks of the ball.  We stopped giving the ball to Isgrove, our main threat 1^st half, and let Swindon come on to us. Even then, Davies only had one half decent stop to make at his near post.  With tremendous backing from the away support, on came Josh Scowen for the disappointing Fletcher.  And who was that, whipping in a teasing cross which missed everyone apart from SSW who banged it home with the confidence of a Young Jack in a field in Barnsley, midweek?

The County Ground, bathed in sunshine

A few minutes remained and Swindon came at us, once.  A ball was laid back and with the goal gaping, that man Scowen threw himself across to block the shot (I’m cheating here, I thought it was a centre half, but it looked like Scowen on TV).  We appear to have a TEAM willing to do whatever is necessary to win a game.  Were we lucky? Well, wasn’t it Gary Player who once said ‘Yes.  And the harder I work, the luckier I get.’  Well done BFC, a tremendous victory.

*** Watkins. 

** Isgrove.  

* Scowen.

Londontykes' Top 3:
1. Watkins / Isgrove
3. Mawson / Brownhill  

Despatches:

Drink du jour: Verdett Belgian witte bier in the pub, followed by a disappointing array of strong but s*** lager.  Kroney, Stella and something Polish on the train. 

Away: 477.  Great atmosphere from the off.  Made a change standing at the back with the vocalites.  Andy and I still can’t bring ourselves to join in anything approaching worship of Little Lee though.  All he’s doing is what we said he should have done months ago.  (Bah humbug).  You know, 2 up top, others joining in the attack, kicking the ball forwards not sideways, etc

The Damage:
30 travel
25 ent
3.80 an abysmal hotdog which had obviously been sitting for a while.  40 mins in and the ‘steak and ale pie’ had run out.  I’ll try not to let it ruin my day.

I don't miss that away end.  In winter.  With horizontal snow.

Hometime.

It's cosy in 'ere.

Magnificent silhouettes

Behind the goal, pre-match

Back of the Arkell's

Swindon Town 2-0 Barnsley, Saturday 7th February 2015

"My grapes are like rhubarb."

Welcome to Swindon!

I can't really disagree with Andy's concise version of events.  We entered the game with the minimum of ambition and the game plan lasted all of 14 minutes before they scored and ended any hope we had. Thereafter, it was damage limitation as we chased shadows, Turnbull saved a penalty and a one-on-one and the closest we came to a goal was a 4 on 1 break which we completely ballsed up.

*** No-one
** Turnbull - see above
* No-one

Londontykes top 3:
1. Turnbull
2. No-one
3. M'Voto

One satisfied customer...

Despatches:
Waring - he's cack.  Can't win a header,or hold a ball up (apart from when I'm not looking - Andy couldn't wait to point out something useful he did, but I was texting Salisbury at the time).  And the one time a peach of a cross was delivered into the box (from Smith) he was nowhere to be seen.  I must see a different player to the rest of you (and Danny Wilson).  As Andy said, new superstar Scowan was so invisible he could have been mistaken for Berry, the man he's replaced. Indeed, I didn't know he was playing till I noticed his number, 70 minutes in.  Digby really was appalling, so much so he got dragged off at half time.  So much for giving him a run of games - we can't even trust to give him 90 minutes.  At least Wilson finally benched Hourihane but then brought him on for 45 anonymous minutes of his own.  When we had the 4 on 1 break, thanks to a misplaced Swindon pass, I presume it was Conor who elected to cut inside and hit it with his left off the defender, rather than pass it to any of the THREE other Reds players who'd have been clean through? Lalkovic again looked our most likely attacker, so again was dragged off.  Did I mention Jennings came on?  You'd never have known.  Smith was this week given a runout in midfield. How's he ever gonna learn to be a fullback at this rate?

A rabbit died for that hat.  True.

The vocal element were in no doubt as to our downfall, chanting "4-4-2, 4-4-2" at Wilson. Seemingly, 8-1-1 is not a formation which offered much chance of a goal.  Mind, Swindon are the best side I've seen this season (home and away) and perhaps 'having a go' might have resulted in us losing by 5 or 6.  Then what?  Sam Winnall was also more popular than ever, by dint of never even getting on the pitch.  The more matches he misses, the better he becomes.  He'll be the new Marco Van Basten by April.

Oh yes, the goals.  Swindon took a short corner and their player waltzed past Digby and Smith before pulling it back for it to be hammered in. Oats so simple.  Then Digby chops their bloke in the box, but Turnbull pulls off the save (highlight of the match) before, late on, spilling a 20 yarder into the net. Shame, he was the one player keeping us in it.

I once sat here, in the away end.

Drink du jour: Lager lager lager.  Started at the Gluepot, then a cheeky Franziskaner (wheat beer) at the Jury's Inn on the way to the ground.  Bit of a result that.  Then back to the pub at the railway station, to ignore the rugby, before a can or 2 on the way home.  And yes, despite dashing home once at Paddington, I fell asleep on the bus and ended up at New Cross.  What do you call that sleeping disease?  Opposite of insomnia?  Anyway, I've got it. BUS NARCOLEPSY!  Summat like that.

Away: c.300  Good to see Stu be allowed a runout, as well as Loko, popping in on the way back from the Wales-England rugby. I wonder which he enjoyed more!?

Damage: 
30 quids train fare. Robbed.
25 quids entry.  Robbed.

I once sat here, in the away end.

I once stood here, in the away end.

Game over.