Wooooaaaah, we're half way there

I didn't go to Eastbourne on Saturday, but by the sounds of things it was the usual story of the team having to dig themselves out of a hole after conceding sloppy goals.

With all due respect etc etc you've got to look at it as another two points dropped against a side who have just four wins on the board this season, although as we haven't won an away game since August, they probably feel the same. Highlights again nicked from Matbro51's youtube channel, and very good highlights they are too:



Fair play to Lingy for bringing Ives in for Reason, though whether he will be brave enough to stick with a relatively untried player for the upcoming games against far superior opposition remains to be seen. Personally I think Ives deserves an extended run in the side, but would also understand if Lingy decided to opt for the more, ahem, bulky, figure of Reason.



We're now half way through the season, and to be honest so far it's been about as exciting as the average episode of Home and Away, with a top five finish looking less and less likely as the games tick by and points are squandered against mediocre opposition. Last year a total of 81 was needed to reach the play-off's, meaning we will need to improve considerably in the second half of the campaign if we are to be in with a shout of promotion. Not an impossible task, but not an easy one either, especially considering we have yet to meet three of the current leading quintet - Oxford, Stevenage, and Mansfield.

The most pleasing things about the season so far has been the progress of the youngsters - with Ives in particular already looking like a bonafide first team regular - and the extra resiliance that the side has been displaying of late. This is one area where Lingy is certainly superior to his predecessor; I often felt Brabin struggled to influence games once they were underway, whereas Ling's team talks and substitutions seem to have the desired affect more often than not. Hopefully this will be a particularly useful skill when he gots more of his own players in, be it in January or over the summer.

Still, we can leave the serious business of the league behind for a couple of weeks now and concentrate on the big prize, the FA Trophy. After all, we're only four games from Wembley...