Sprout is back with his 2nd SFTW
Hi there and welcome to the second instalment of this year`s something for the weekend. This should have been the third obviously, but I was somewhat sidetrack picking up in-laws from airports and my sister giving birth again. Alas I`m back and ready for some deadline day thoughts on BRFC.
Obviously it was great to get our first point on the board against Barnet and for Matt Harrold to open his account for the new season, rolling nicely into Saturday`s game against Wycombe and us to build on that. However before getting on to that subject lets roll back a bit. After the Oxford game, it was finally declared that our interest in James Constable was over and Mark McGhee has decided/continued to put his faith in the forwards we currently have and backed Eliot Richards to bag some goals for us. I don`t think many of us doubt his ability, but Mr McGhee has said a few times in the recent past that Eliot has to work harder and give himself to the game to be the real player he could be and he got a chance to start and prove his worth after new signing Gary Kenneth had to pull out of the starting line-up who will subsequently be out for a few more weeks. This is a blow as we obviously look to build a solid defensive unit, especially now we have managed to prise away Tom Parkes from Leicester City.
I think Tom looked a good prospect when here on loan and think he is an excellent signing that will boost are defence (and possibly our bank balance in a few years) and I think most fans would say the same. Hopefully when Kenneth and Danny Woodards are back fit we will have plenty of options and competition for defensive places.
Anyway Eliot Richards got his chance and this leads us back into the Wycombe game which all sounded very good judging by what I was hearing and reading and it was great to hear Lee Brown score before Eliot took a couple of cracking chances which looked like taking us on to a great away win and our first three points and then it rained hard, the players were taken off and then the game got abandoned. There is obvious confusion and contradictions about what happened and how the game was called off, not to mention a lot of irate fans helping to cloud the issue. Whatever happened and why it happened is one thing, and whatever our annoyance/disappointment we have to pick ourselves up and go about our business. The players and managers are professionals and have to focus on the next game, and we fans have to do our bit and channel our efforts into getting behind the team starting Saturday. If we are going to be the team that everyone hopes and wants us to be then when the rearranged fixture shouldn`t be a problem when it rolls around as we continue our promotion push *fingers crossed*.
Starting on Saturday we are going to have a busy week as we host Morecambe, followed by a JPT game against Yeovil on Tuesday and then Aldershot at The Mem next Saturday. I know it`s early in the season but it`s time to roll out the clichés and say this is a big week coming up. 6 points from the league games and advancement in the paint pot would, you hope kick our season right into life. It`s not the end of anything if we don`t, but we I am sure would at least like to see some performances that will show we look like we have it in us to achieve something over the season.
Transfer deadline day will have past (nearly) by the time you read this and it is unlikely we will have done any business and if needs be we will have to dip into the loan market. I am not sure that we need anyone as such, however maybe some cover in defence until Gary Kenneth and Danny Woodards are ready to come back might be useful. We have what we have and I do believe there is some quality there and that with games under our belts and a few players coming back we have a decent squad to at least push for the play-offs. As we head into Saturdays game we have to take the positives from the performance from the Wycombe game before the abandonment and show that we have that killer instinct and to take the 3 points we all want as we look to get our first notch in the win column.
The weather is supposed to be good Saturday so I hope to see all in good spirits and raring to go at The Mem come 3pm. Come on you Blues! UTG!
Simon ‘Sprout` Phillips
Quality stuff Sprout