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Time to look at the bigger picture | Gillingham 0-1 Barrow (FA Cup First Round) · Blood, Sweat & Gills

• BSG FA Cup Barrow H: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Blood, Sweat and Jills from Jills 365. I'm Simon from Jills 365, and I'm joined as always by Matt from Jills in the Blood TV. And sometimes when we talk about these shows, we talk about how we're we're unpacking a victory or we're talking about a defeat. And in some cases we we internally refer to some of these things as therapy sessions. This might fall into that bracket because at the weekend Gillingham knocked out of the FA Cup. At the first round stage for the third year in a row, this time by a non league side, albeit one that was competing on the same level as us just a few months ago. Barrow came to Priestfield and Sucker punched us in stoppage time in after a a game where we had enough chances to win it. We conceded a late corner through a great save from from Ollie Wright. We nodded off at the corner, corner was taken short. Shot goes in the box, ends up in the back of the net. The interesting thing from this game, Matt, was the response to it. We had lots going on during the game. We had lots going on after the game. But let's talk about the the result first in the context of the season. How important was this game in the context of the season and maybe in the context of how how people view Gareth Ainsworth? Because I I I looked at the reaction online. And it seemed it seemed for some this was the straw that broke the camel's back. But I'm looking at the bigger picture and thinking, why are why are why are people getting so bent out of shape about this? Okay, yeah, it was a bad day at the office and we're out of the cup, and that's bad. But we're still close to the playoffs. You know, there's a lot there's a lot going on that's positive, but there are other things going on as well. So what's your overall sort of Top top down view of this whole situation right now. Well, it's interesting because you said in terms of Gareth Ainsworth, and it's probably a different answer in terms of Gareth Ainsworth and in terms of the bigger picture, like you say. I personally didn't understand the reaction at full time, like booing. If you want to boot blaz at full time, I've no issue with that. Like you pay your money, you go in there, you have your opinion. personally I I didn't think it was boo worthy. Similar to the game against Paul Vale a couple of weeks ago, I didn't think was boo worthy. If we'd been playing, say, I don't know, a National League South side, a National League North side, or an Isth and Premd there or so, and we'd got turned over 2-3-0 and not been at it, then I could say, yeah, I understand it. But you've alluded to, we're playing a side that's top seven or eight in the National League, in a league that I think is at least 95% full-time, in a league that's probably not too dissimilar. To League Two, which we're in. And as you say, a side that was in good form coming into the game as well. Twenty-two points from the last twenty-four and offer they've taken, seven wins and a draw. So we weren't just playing, the dog and duck. No disrespect to any pub named dog and duck that's got a football team. but we said before the game this was going to be a test. It wasn't gonna be a case of of turning up and we're just gonna roll them over. And I think if you go back twenty years A Division Four team against a GM Vauxhall conference team, dare I say it, for those that are old enough to remember, it would probably been more of a disaster. And of course, if we want a cut run, because we've not had one for so long, it helps financially. It a win would obviously have been a great way to build on last week's victory in the league. And judging by the reaction, it suddenly becomes huge in the perspective of Gareth Ainsworth's reign, because That was very clear to everybody in the ground what what what certain elements of the fan base fought. But I couldn't understand it in the sense that all last week, all the sounds coming out of everything that I'd seen on social media was the league's more important. Rest our best players, wrap in cottonwold. No need to play James Brophy, no need to play Ronan Hale. And then come full time and Saturday evening and Sunday. You'd think we'd lost the most important game in the club's history. I just I just didn't understand the thought process from the one nil defeat to get into that reaction. As I say, everyone's entitled to their opinion. You pay your money to go in the ground. But it it just it just didn't quite add up for me in terms of everything we'd seen pre-match to then what we got at full time. Embarrassing, we were labelling him, he's not fit to wear the shirt, sacked in the morning, all that type of nonsense. It's just eight days ago, we were all singing Gareth Ainsworth Barmy Army after winning at at Shrewsbury to put us within two points of third and Surely if you ask a hundred Jules fans, and I'm not answering for them, but I'd if I had a spare fiver, I'd bet if you ask them, would you rather be top ten slash top seven at the end of the season or get to the second or third round of the FA Cup, I think people would or I think the majority would lean towards having a right go at the playoffs. Yeah. The thing that I sit in a different part of the ground to you. I sit in Bloxy of the Medway stand. Where the atmosphere is very different to the Rainer Mend. we've got we've we've got some lively ones in the block. It's all good all good fun and games and all the rest of it, but it is very different. So when there's a a a reaction at full time in any game, like the apex of that reaction is always the Rainer. That's that's where that's where the the main reaction comes from, positive or negative, right? And I've I'm springing this question on you a little bit. can you remember the last home game that we lost where the crowd didn't boo? We got slaughtered Saturday. Rightfully got slaughtered against Grimsby. Which goes back to my point. I've got no issue with booing and and voicing your displeasure at full time. You can't, you're not affecting the game then. we got booed off after Port Vale, which I didn't think was right. I think we got booed off after a nil nil with Newport. So then you've got to go back to first game of the season and my memory's not that good. I'd imagine there was a smattering of booze at least. Go back to the back end of last season, Grimsby slapped us, second to last home game, got booed off. So no is probably the short answer. Yeah. And that's that's what I wanted to come to is the and and and you talked about singing Gareth Ainsworth's Balmy Army up at Shrewsbury. The away support and the home support are very different. The dynamic between the fan base that travels and the team is seems to be very different from the dynamic of the fan base that is at Priestfield and the team. Now that's not to say that the home fans and I class myself as one of these by the way. I I had through work I'm not able to travel to away games. So there is there is a it it it appears a group of Jills fans who s presumably don't go away because these reactions aren't happening when we lose away from home as far as I can make out. These these this this reaction is very much a home thing, right? So I just I just wonder there's there's different things at play here. Obviously people have made their minds up about the manager before the start of this season and we had some pretty rough, rough results last season under under Ainsworth. There's no there's no sugarcoat in it. And people have some people I think have made their minds up. And therefore, as soon as there's a result that is not a win, that basically opens the door for them to to express their displeasure at the manager. So the question I've got is what what are we doing as a fan base? Like I understand if people are if if we've absolutely gone out there and laid an egg and we've, you know, the players haven't delivered or they've they've not not put in the required effort and all the rest of it, booing the players I think is an effective form of communication to let them know, oi, you need to raise your game that wasn't good enough, right? But if a team's gone out there and the effort is clearly there on the pitch and they've the shots just haven't gone in or, you know, for whatever reason, we just haven't quite been at it. But that y you can see the effort's gone in. I wouldn't I I d I hate booing anyway, but I understand those that do, right? So but I think there needs to be like a threshold for when you do and when you don't. And it shouldn't just be the score line. It's not just we lost, therefore, boo. It should be Did they go out there and give it everything they've got? If ever if they've gone out there and given us everything, I don't think you should be booing the team. Now, I might be on an island with this, I don't know, but I think you boo players in yeah. I I think I think you boo players in the same way a jockey whips a horse, right? You you if it if if the horse isn't doing what it's supposed to be doing, it gets a little whack with a whip, right? And that's what that that's basically the b the You the boo should be that reaction is like you aren't putting in the required effort. We're letting you know about it. But to just boo a result, I don't get it. And the Jills Barrow game, yeah, we weren't we weren't at our we weren't at our best. But there wasn't a a downing of tools. We're we're we've seen cup games over the years where we just haven't looked up for it at all. not at all up for it. And a non league team, I remember the Dover game, th they turn up and they were bang up for it. And we really weren't we, we we weren't at all that day. This wasn't one of those games. This was a competitive game of football between two teams who were relatively well matched. We had a bit more about us than they did for large portions of the game. Our chances came and we didn't take and they nick nick one at the end. So Is that worth booing? I don't know. I don't think it is. I think it this is more to do with the manager than it is to do with the team on the pitch. And that's what worry that's what that's what worries me. I think a lot of it is a preemptive impression of the manager. And you say, it's just then being used as a stick to beat him with. And that's fine if people don't want the manager. I get that. No problem at all. But to use your analogy about whipping a horse, whip a horse too much and it it just stops it'll just stop running. It'll stop galloping for you. So, and then that brings us on to another point, which we'll probably be talking about in a second, which is is whipping a horse before it's even started. And we'll talk about that in a minute. but like you said, in terms of the performance, we could have been two or three up at the break. All right, we could have been three one up. There was one that got flashed across our six old box and the the centre forward summoned the nutmeg himself and step over it. But I don't remember Oli Wright making a save first period. we put together some really good stuff. First half. I think there's about a dozen passes for the Ronan Hale chance. and he has to do better. He's got to hit the target, bare minimum. For me, he should score. He's our top scorer. I think. We went along side of the keeper. Yeah, he seems to have gone near post, which is weird. I think you just whip it that other side, and even if the keeper pushes it out, you've probably got a cylinder or someone running in to tap it in. Harry Waldock then is through on goal and falls over his own feet or stands on the ball. That's a clear cut chance. And and Robbie Mackenzie's got to do more with his as well. He's one on one with a keeper. He doesn't change the angle. He doesn't get his shot off quick enough because he wants an extra touch, which allows Winterbottom, I think it was, to come out and smother it quite comfortably in the end. I think we had another one, Silla drove straight at the keeper. I'm not classing that as a clear cut chance, but we could have been two up at the break and no one would have batted an eyelid. And was that performance, and this is my question, it that much different to Shrewsbury last week? Gave up a lot of territory in periods of the game, gave up half chances, but came out on the right side. I think if you look at the two performances, I don't think there's a load of difference. Yet because we lost, treat people are treating it like we got beat 9-0 or something ridiculous. And we just I see comments like tagging me in things on social media after full time saying barely created a chance. But I'm thinking, we've had three or four really good ones first half. With it the post second half. For me, I thought both teams were evenly matched, but in different ways. First half, both sides got into good areas, created drama for the defensive side of each team. Second half, it all became a bit stop start and a bit scrappy, but it was still two sides that were having a go. Ultimately, our downfall again was we didn't take our chances when they came along. They were probably slightly braver with their changes in chucking two on up top. But we changed the shape, and this was another thing that made me laugh. Ainsworth doesn't change the shape. Well, we went to four three three or four four two with about half an hour to play. so I I don't think we could have done any more with the personnel we had available to try and win the football match. Our biggest frustration is we switched off again in injury time, and it felt like we were just sort of waiting for extra time rather than trying to get it done in 90 minutes. Whereas Barrow went, I don't want an extra 30 minutes, I'm gonna go for the throat. And they got their rewards. Yeah. Yeah. And weren't only League Two side to leagues to non non league opposition this week. No. No, and the like the the thing with this is it isn't an enormous giant killing. This is this is a game that would have been a league game last year, you know? and you know, looking at it on paper, they were in much better form than we were coming into the game. Now I'm not This is not me making excuses for losing the football match. We should have won the game. We created the chances to win the game. We didn't take our chances. We lost the game. That's what happens if you don't take your chances and you nod off in the last minute, right? That's what happened. So those individual moments are what basically defined the game. The rest of the game was a scrappy, typical two lower level teams playing each other in an FA Cup game. There wasn't there wasn't, you know, it wasn't like one way traffic that we were sort of battening down all the hatches trying to to defend for our lives or anything. And likewise, it wasn't a case of us battering them either. It was a competitive game. The thing I wanted to ask you about, and you referenced it slightly earlier, was we brought on our money little late on in the game and there were audible boos from certain areas of the ground. And I thought to myself, look, I get he's not everyone's cup of tea. I'll be honest, he's not mine, right? I'm not gonna I'm not gonna boo him onto the pitch, for goodness sake. He's not done anything wrong, if he and and I don't know, I feel like I feel like there is whether it's a sense of entitlement or whether it's just a I don't care, I don't like this person, therefore I'm gonna boo at any opportunity. It's like, why are you you are you supporting Gillingham Football Club? That's the question you've got to ask. If that's what you're doing, are you supporting Gillinger Football Club? You're not really. The question to ask is who does that benefit? It's not us as a fan base. It's not Gareth Ainsworth, our manager, it's not Armani Little's teammates, and it's not Armani Little. So all you're doing is giving opposition a leg up by booing a player coming on. I for me, he's not even in the squad when everyone's fit. So and everyone knows my opinion on Armani Little. So it's not like I'm sitting here and and people can accuse me of defending my favourite player or something like that. I I I think he's only backing involved because St. Alburris has been out injured. Bradley Dak's been injured. James Brophy has to keep being shunted wide because Conor McMallus goes away with international duty. for me, he shouldn't have stayed at the end of last season. There's been rumours on social media that appearances triggered the extra year, which so what can you do? But it helped absolutely no one aside from from Barrow booing a player onto the pitch. It just doesn't make any sense to me. It's like, what's the thought process behind this? Do you know what I mean? It's like, that that's that's a rhetorical question because there isn't one, right? But I just don't under like if you sat someone down and did that go, okay, why are you doing that? I'd I'd genuinely like to know why you're doing I get it if you don't want him in the team. I get it. I if my preference would be that he's not in the team. But you once you know he's in the team, if he's got a blue shirt on and he's crossed the white line and he's on the pitch, back him till the four time whistle. And then have you he is our guy until such time that the game's over. And if he's laid an egg on the pitch again and he's had a nightmare or he's cost us a goal or whatever he's done wrong, okay, if you feel the need to boo him afterwards, fine. That's an appraise of An appraisal of what he's done on the pitch. You don't, you don't criticize the guy before he even starts his job. Do you know what I mean? It just doesn't it it's nonsensical to me. I don't get it. And I think it's all it's all down there. We've got people here who are part of our fan base. They obviously they love Gillingham Football Club. That's why they go, right? But there's ways of doing things, and I just don't understand what the What the ROI is on doing this in a game. Do you know what I mean? It's like it doesn't make sense to me. Whether you're booing the team after every single game we lose. If we've laid if if we've been awful, yeah, boo the team. But it is possible to lose a game and not be absolute the pits of hell. Do you know what I mean? Which I thought Saturday was. I I I got to the point where I thought I'd watched a different game. Because if you read social media or you listened to the reaction at the end. Like you said, you'd think we'd been absolutely woeful and and been bashed off the park to the tune of three or four. But I don't think we had. And if we'd won that game 1-0, say Ronan Hale or Harry Waldock or Robbie McKenzie take their chance first half, and we win that, but the performance is exactly the same, are people moaning about the performance? That's it's it's crazy. the thing with the defeats, right, and this is I in some ways I can I I see where things are leaning in that. We've got this habit in the league at the moment of when we lose, we really lose. Right. Right, right. We we we we we really make sure we lose when we lose and Or we've coming out of the ground to someone and said, in the last two weeks we've ticked off winning and losing a narrow football match. That was the only two things left. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But it's like but it's it's it's we've we've been beaten by a few goals in a lot of a lot of games when we've lost. But over the course But you look at the bigger picture, we're also winning games as well. Would you rather would you rather we just drew every game? Statistically, you wouldn't, right? You'd much rather win one, lose one than draw, draw two. That's just how the point system works in football, right? But but because of that, and Ainsworth referenced this in his interview after the game, that what it means is we've got this horrible sort of zigzag sort of peaks and peaks and valleys kind of situation with the With it when it comes to performances and what we need is a bit of consistency. And that's that's that's obviously the the holy grail for any team at this level. If you draw every game, you flatline. Yeah. Yeah. But it's like it it I understand I understand if if we lost that game on Saturday it like by by two or three goals and we weren't in the game, I could understand. But to lose one nil in stoppage time in a game that we probably should have won. Where the performance was okay. Not brilliant. the first half was way better than the second half, let's be honest. First half way better than the second half. I that's the same for both teams as well. Hmm. But it's like, I don't know. I I think I I don't know why, but it feels like we're losing perspective and we're losing that ability to just take a step back and go, Okay, this game, this happened, but we've got a forty six game football season that that's what really counts here. And you can only lose if you lose a football match, you're just depriving yourself of three points. That's all that's happening. And it doesn't matter whether you lose one nil or twenty one nil, you it doesn't actually change how many points you have. Right? Same as if you win ten nil or one nil, you still get the same amount of points for it. You've just got to you it's it's all about perspective and and I feel like we're losing it a bit as a fan base. It's like how but I guess The next question I've got is how long does this continue before people in sort of higher management start thinking that this is becoming too toxic and we're gonna have a problem with this? Because from a football standpoint, you look at where we are in a league, we're we're we're we're okay. We're okay. The performances might be up and down, up and down, but It's like the guy with his his head in the oven and his feet in the freezer, right? On average he's doing okay, right? So he's sleeping with one leg outside the duva, yeah. Right. It's it's like that. And and but if if all you're doing is seeing seeing the feet in the freezer, or you know what I mean? It's it's I don't know. I don't know. You've got you've gotta see everything to cast a judgment. That doesn't mean you have to go through all the games. You just have to you just have to have a an awareness of what's happening and I just feel like I don't know why it's as much as we'd like to have a cup run, we're not going to win the FA Cup. And I'm not saying we're going to win League Two, but we've got a far greater chance of success in the league this season in a very open division than we have in the FA Cup. Because all right, if we'd won Saturday and then we got a winnable tie in League Two and we might have got our lovely draw in the against the Premier League side in in round three. And I understand that that builds momentum, I get that entirely. But at some point, probably before spring, that FA Cup run ends. And then the caveat is you might then have a fixture pile up in the league. So then it makes that difficult. course we all want a cup run. We all want to go to Man United away or host Arsenal at home. We've seen Fleetwood the other week in the League Cup. What a magical night for their fans. Totally get that and I'm not saying a cup run isn't important. But if we win Saturday at Colchester, this quickly gets swept under the carpet, which for me again makes the reaction just a little bit weird. Let me let me counter that. Does it though? Because it's an away game. Right. And and away games and home games, they seem to be completely different animals right now. I think we need to win a home game. And I think that's the thing. Do you know what I mean? So if we win Saturday, we could be Absolutely. I was gonna say then you can't money, but but some might find a way. Yeah, it's I mean Yeah yeah, if if if if you sat me down and said, What would you rather have? Would would you rather have your your name in the hat for the next round of the cup or would you rather have a win next weekend? It's kinda sad, but I'd rather have to win next weekend. Because that's our win with my cup. Because that's that's our that's our stated aim for the season is to go as high as we can in this division and try give ourselves a chance to maybe even get out of the division, right? Now we might not make we we might not make it as far as that, but we that if we want to give ourselves the best shot, then that's what we do. And and cup competitions, lovely though they are, ultimately don't hold a lot of tangible benefit for us other than a few quid in the bank if we get a big draw. It gets more opportunity to get players injured, it's more games on the on on the fixture list. And I'd love a cup run, of course I would, but you've got to be a little bit pragmatic at the same time and say, What okay, why are we here? What have we bought our season tickets for? What is it that we're we're here to do? We've got forty-six league games, aiming a game, get out of league two. That's the plan, right? and if anything's gonna get in the way of that, then that's surely has to be secondary. Gareth Ainsworth before the cup game was speaking in almost romantic terms about the FA Cup, it was great to hear because it's something that's sort of dying out a little bit, like the the love for the cup. And it was really, really lovely to hear it. And he went strong with his team selection. A lot of managers in his position wouldn't have done and would have rested more players and would have rotated the squad more. so he gave it all the respect he he, you know, well the fixture deserved. We were further hamstrung by by more injuries as well, weren't we? This is we turned the ground and there was no Bradley Dak, there was no Tom Eaves. So yeah, and I I I agree, I liked listening to Gareth before the game. It's a cup competition, I think, our era really love still. we remember not to say an old kit, but the good old days, when FO Cup final was was all day and it kicked off at three o'clock and all that type of thing. but yeah, we were limited in what we could do again and Is there a case to say that that that also played a part in in why they won the football match? They were able to bring on three or four attacking players. I don't know loads about their squad. Did you I recognise the name of the score. I think he played in League Two last season, the lad who scored the winner. But we're bringing on who did we bring? Gareth McCleary. McCleary came on. Martin Little, who was getting hounded before it even started, and and an eighteen year old in Sheldon Kendall. After that, there wasn't a lot. It was it was all youth team players and It's a lot of kids on the bench on Saturday. We were very young again, weren't we? Which is and I said walking out of the ground, we we lacked a we lacked a Tom Eaves or a Will Goodwin, I thought, in the last half an hour. I thought Silla was really good. then you had to blame slightly out of position when we went to a 4 3 3. if you could have just gone to that system or a 4 4 2 and got a Tom Eaves up front or a Will Goodwin, it would stuck in the final third, which it didn't, second half. It could have been different. But if some butts mean not a lot. Goals win games, we didn't take our chances and and they found a way to take theirs. So Yeah. what I would say is we created chances in that football match. we would the move that the move that was it was it the move that put Hale through the the little back hill? Absolutely lovely, lovely little move, lovely bit of football. And also when when Mackenzie went through, it was a really good move that that put him through and it's Unfortunately, that was where Waldog, I think, ran seventy yards with a ball from his own box and and held off spring players and played him in. Yeah, really good. And and it's just unfortunate. On the day we didn't have to finish in touch. We're a we're a league two football team. We don't have Champions League standard finishers who are gonna put these away every single time. So that's what happens in these situations. Sometimes you miss chances, sometimes you get punished. That's what happened. But yeah. The cup's done now. We've got we've got the we've got the big one. Tuesday. We got the the the EFL trophy or the Jersey Mike's trophy, whatever you want call it, on Tuesday night. I think a draw will put us through, is that right? I think a draw puts us through. I think I read I think I read anything from a one-nil defeat better puts us through because Brighton helped us out by getting slapped six nil last week. So we actually jumped in the second dip with without playing. Cool. So fingers crossed we don't lose two nil. and then and then we'll get through. And that, you know, it gives it it's good developmental time for some of our younger players and players who are working their way back from fitness. So that's a real benefit to having that competition and and staying in. Fingers crossed we do. But the bread and butter is the league. The bread and butter is the league and we've got Colchester United and we've got we've got some big games coming up. Once we get past Colchester, fingers crossed we can do okay against them. away away games seem to be more conducive to a better performance from us at the moment, which is bizarre. So Colchester away, if we can put in a performance against them, that would be a a good start and a good reaction to what we had on Saturday. But then we've got two really big games. We've got Crew at home, Salford away. And can you imagine the just the general vibe around the fan base if we produce three wins out of those three or we get, I don't know, four out of six points from those three games. or sorry, f sorry four out of nine. Four out of nine. I think four out of nine would be okay from those three games, to be honest. yeah, we spoke this last week, didn't we? So then if we well, we're not saying Salford would be a free swing, but we said if we can go Cole You and we and I fancy has to win away more than at home at the moment for for more than one reason. I think we're more suited to playing away and I think like you've already alluded to, fan approach I think plays a big part in that as well. It seems to be that there's more tolerance to tough periods in games away from home. and I get we need to be more front footed, and Players have to give us something to cheer about. it's it's chicken and situation a little bit, isn't it? But the just the thing I couldn't get over on Saturday was what I thought was an overreaction to an okay performance, like you've said, and that the booing of a player coming on before he's even kicked a ball was was was mind blowing to me. Well, I say, each to their own. It's we all see things different and that's what makes the world go round. But yeah. Colchester, definitely probably the most winnable of the three crew, I'd say is probably the hardest now, based on the fact that we've not won a home game since September in the league, Bristol Rovers. Yeah, and also the other thing with this is if you're an opposition manager, then you're pr you're you're preparing your team to come to Priestfield and play Gillingham. under previous regimes or in distant dim and distant past, take take it way back to the Pulis days or the Peter Taylor days, or even the Andy Hess days when when when we were doing well, the managers would be like, This, you know, this it's gonna be an intimidating atmosphere. You're gonna have to you're gonna have to be mentally strong. This is a a a sort of a real sort of vocal, vocal fan base. They're gonna, you know, they're gonna get after it. Now The team talk's different. The team talk is let's frustrate these lads. The fans will turn on It'd just be in the game of sent for seventy-five minutes gone and the crowd will the crowd will turn on them, yeah. Force a few mistakes, lads, and the crowd will turn. And that becomes part of the game plan. And then if if if you are part of the game plan and it isn't in a positive way, then there's something wrong, right? So so I don't know. It's it's what what we wouldn't give for a a really good home win. Where we can just go out there and just spank someone, two, three, four, and then it'll just let everything calm down a little bit and say, okay, look, we'll it isn't as bad as people think it is. because one minute we're winning by a couple, the next minute we're losing by a few. And then there's no there's no middle ground at the moment. It's very binary. So we'll just have to see how it goes. But we've got issues with team selection now. Players are injured. Interesting what Gareth Ainsworth said after the game. He mentioned some injured players. Obviously Conor McManus was injured, picked up a knock. That's why he didn't play, apparently. and went away with Republic of Ireland last time. There's something's not right with that for me. I'm wondering whether it w I think I think they're ra I think they rested him. And he kinda hinted that they rested him. he had a little knock and they rested him. We're paying his wages. If he's available for selection before he goes away, he should be in the squad. I don't I'm not a fan of that, if if that's what's happening, or really not, because it's hindering us again. It's the same way as we're moaning about fans booing players before they come on at detriment to us. If we're simply not selecting a player so he doesn't get hurt for international duty or he's pulling out, then that's at detriment to us as well. I don't understand that. Yeah, I'd like to know more about that. And then the other two names were Tom Eaves and Bradley Dak. And when he initially mentioned the group of player that that trio, he said one of them is is is is a big injury. He suggested one would be quite a long term injury. So given what he later said about McManus in in in the same same interview about he's picked up a knock. I don't know whether he's still going to do international duty or not. that suggested to me that he's got a niggle of some description. We don't know how big of an injury it is, but not a big one, right? Is it Bradley Dak again? Is Tom Eaves pick something up? Which one can we do which one which one could we least do with being out of the squad? Is that even proper English? Which one would we which one would we miss the least if they were out long term? That's probably the best. Yeah, that's the best way to Probably I I think honestly at the moment, and I love Daky, but we'd miss Tom Eaves more than we miss Bradley Duck at the moment, purely because of of what Tom offers at the top end of the pitch. We don't have it at the moment without him and Will Goodwin. We have players like James Brophy that can play in that ten, we've got him, we've got Waldock. We'll hopefully have other players coming back soon, like Zacobiero and and Sam Dubaris, which frees up Nick Freeman. I we keep saying that eventually we'll be right, but if if to me now, if you put a vote out and said you have to lose either Tom Eaves or Bradley Dak for a month or more. I I'd I'd rather lose Bradley Dak. And I that with the most respect to Daky because I love him and I think obviously the whole fan base does because of who he is and and what he's been for us. But Tom Eaves is a far more important player to us at the moment in terms of how we play. Yeah. And I a allied to that is what is going on with Will Goodwin? w with you know, I know the club aren't that aren't that I think if we've come in some with injury news, then there's a real concern. I'm hoping we see him though for some minutes and hopefully if it's one or the other that's long term, then hopefully Tom Eaves gets seen on Tuesday night as well. But yeah, you'd just like to see one of them two available. You'd like to see maybe Albarez get more minutes or a Tabares be in the squad, just so we know that and we're not saying that the club's lighting. But you always feel a bit better when you see him on the pitch. It's like being told that a signing's ninety-nine percent complete, but you're always waiting to see him holding the shirt or the scarf in front of the Raidermen before you go, lovely, it's done. Yeah. Yeah. And another little interesting tidbit from that interview, he referred to Zane Albus as one of his star signings. which I think tells you where he sees him in the midfield pecking order. I think when he's fit. he's likely to come back into the team once he's fully fit and ready to go. He was on the sub's bench on Saturday. I think he probably took the view that I don't want to run the risk of just throwing him on. Andy Smith was on the bench and he wasn't fit to play from what I could make out. He was there for for emergency purposes. which is why he wasn't picked to start. He wasn't rotated out. He was he I think he said he had an ankle injury. He picked up an ankle knock, I think. He thinks he'll be good to go for the weekend, but he just needed needed a a a game out to rest. So so yeah. We've got to try and piece together a team. And with Connor McManus missing, we know he's gonna be missing one way or another, whether he goes on international duty or not. Cause if he doesn't, it means he's yeah. So he ain't gonna be available for for Cole U on on s on Saturday. We'll forget about the Northampton game for now. but the How do we solve this? 'Cause if there's one area of recruitment where we've probably let ourselves down is we do not have fullback cover. or wing back cover, really. We have to kind of manoeuvre the rest of the team around to sort of cope. We can't just plug and play another one from the bench. no, we probably did if if they'd not got injured, I suppose, 'cause if you'd had two monitors the team would fit, then you've got two either side to play wing backs. But certainly as orthodox fullbacks, we're very light. We've only got Sam and and Connor, but You're obviously going to be with about three of them probably at the weekend. So how would you given given the knowledge that we have, which is not complete, we acknowledge this. We don't you know, we don't know who might become. We have a lot of knowledge. We don't like to profess to be we don't like to overpromise and under deliver, do we? Underpromise Under under underpromise and under deliver. Yeah. No how would you how based on who we think is gonna be available? How would you like to see us line up on Saturday against Colchester? I've got some post-it notes. Right. So let's assuming we're going to play the same system because we played it in the league every season every game. I think it's reasonable to expect that to be the same, right? Yeah. So Ollie Wright is in goal. Yep. Andy Smith comes back into the back three for me. Logan Dobbs reverts to the left side. So that's your three centre backs. Yeah. Nick Freeman starts as your right wing back. Ethan Coleman starts as your holding midfielder. Mm-hmm. Hale and Silla start up top, because they're probably the only two that are fully fit at the moment. And they they've actually looked all right together as well. So that leaves left wing back and a couple of midfield positions that we're looking at. Yeah. So you want to try for me, you want to be as close to the makeup and the type of player of that three that we had at Shrewsbury, which was Coleman the sitter. Wall dot the legs and Brofi the technician and the creator. Right. So and then you've got Chuck in the added thing that that Harry Waldock might not be fit. 'Cause he came off injured at the weekend. Well, let's work on the basis that he's not fit then. Let's pick a team without Harry Waldock in it. 'Cause if he's fit, he's in, right? He's probably one of the first names on the team sheet at this point. Well, this is where we'll go rogue then. If Harry Waldock's not fit. And I know it means it might be a slightly square peg round hole situation. Yeah. I would put Jack Diley at left wing back. And then I would have Ethan Coleman sitting with Zane Albarus and James Brophy in front in a three one three one two two ish formation. So you've got Ethan sitting, Zane will be the legs to replace Waldock, albeit slightly different player. And James. So you could you could almost go Zane next to Ethan then and then James Brophy as an orthodox number 10 behind the front two if we've got no McManus and no Waldock. I've got a ever so slightly different lineup to that. Good one. trying to make sure we've got legs in the midfield. Yep. I I would and it's a very offensive switch. I would play Gareth McCleary on the right and I would put Nick Freeman in the middle and pay free Freeman Coleman Brophy as the as your as your as your triumvirate. With Brophi on the tip of the diamond. Sorry, not Brofi. no, I'll c I've just looked at my team and I've got Brofi in there twice. There we go. Well done. Well done, Sy. Yeah, no, Bro Brophy would have to play left wing. Well, yeah, no, you could do that if you played Jack Daly at left wing back. If you play Jack Daly at left wing back. Yeah, that's the right manner, so you've got no I you're gonna have to put your mate out there. Let's do that. Let's do that. We have Jack Daly at wing back on the left. You have McCleary at wing back on the right, and you've got Freeman So you've got Coleman holding with Freeman as the legs. And Brofie as Brofi. Bro Brophy still in the ten role and Hale and Siller up front. That is, I think it's an offensive way of doing it. obviously you've got like Robbie McKenzie will be available to play. I would imagine he will get picked. I would imagine he will play. but I wouldn't mind seeing that. And it's a front foot change. How will Jack Daly do at left wing back? I think he might do okay out there. I think I think he's got he's got that little bit of adventurousness about his about his play. I think he would probably relish having a little bit of room in front of him. I thought he was better with the ball than defensively at the weekend. He had a torrid time against the nineteen. He didn't know whether to start to let him run past him and he he got absolutely turned inside out. But I thought there was a couple of occasions where he stepped into midfield with the ball and punched balls in through the lines and I thought he looked okay. So that was my thinking. But of course you'd like Harry Waldock fit, I think, and then obviously it gives you a couple more options. Yeah, I'd love to s I don't know how I would how I would do this at the moment, but I'd love to see Sheldon Kendall get a bit more football because I like him every time he's on the pitch. I think I think the only thing about his contributions at the moment is that they're very fleeting, so it's hard for him to get a real foothold in games. But I just I just like his movement a lot. I just w I watch him quite closely and his movement's really good. and quite often. And he'd probably be back on the bench for the weekend though. Yeah, yeah. I think I think he he obviously he's not he's not gonna be in front of Hale and Silla in the pecking order. you know. I do think at some point Hale might need a rest. I feel like he's he's played a lot of football, he's played a lot of it injured as well at the start of the season. He's put playing through injuries and stuff. Mm-hmm. But I think I think we're just trying to play him into goal scoring form. He started to score. He he obviously probably could have should could have should have scored at the weekend. But yeah, he's I I'll I'll I'll worry about burning him out. but we don't have a lot of options at the moment. I don't think playing Siller and Kendall is necessarily the right combination. But I'd be more inclined to play Kendall if we had a big lad up front playing with him. And then you can rotate if you want to, but Hyle is still our number one striker, I think. absolutely. We we just need to get him get him in the and also he is now starting to play in the right areas of the pitch. I feel like he's playing mu further forward than he did at the start of the season. So, he's getting a bit more further forward and I think the chances are coming his way a bit more frequently. But yeah, so we could so we've we've I mean, if the team I'm looking at here on my screen is a major piece of midfield surgery there where we've basically changed three out of the four midfielders. if you count Brofi as a number ten and not a midfielder, we've got McCleary, Freeman, Coleman, Daly. And Freeman's obviously moved in from the right. How did you have the right hand side? You have Freeman on the on the on the right. Who was in the middle with Coleman? With no Waldock, I had Freeman and Daly as the wing backs and then Ethan sitting and then Brophy and Zane just in front of him. Zane, yeah. That's probably more likely, if I'm honest. But then obviously if Waldogs are fateable, then it it frees us up 'cause you can play if you s stick to Jane to Jack Daly at wing back, then you can get to that midfield three that we played at Shrewsbury, which would be Coleman sitting with Waldok and Brophy in front, or If don't want to play daily as the the left wing bat, you put Brofi there and then you play Zane and Harry Waldock off of Ethan Coleman to give you loads of legs. So it'd be a slightly different game if you went with him, because you'd lose that technical ability of James in the middle, but you'd have so much energy and and drive from the middle of the pitch in terms of Zane and Harry. So it'd be a more of a running game, I think, if they played there. One hundred percent. And, you know, not not not to dig him out too much. Brofi was the man who got caught napping for the corner when when we when we conceded on Saturday. Yeah, Beckles was in I think Beckles was in in in the heart of the penalty area and he might have lost his man a little bit, but he was a driven ball in. But it was it was the fact that we were just slow to react to a short short corner that that w really sort of opened it up. But yeah, like Brofi Brofi's best contributions are in the other end of the pitch, without doubt. And his best performances for us have been in that 10 role. So it's just he's it's a bit like in years past where Robin McKenzie was our most consistent performer a few years ago. He was a bit of a victim of his own versatility. He would always be the one shunted out to fill in a gap somewhere. And Brofi's had to do that this season. So fingers crossed we can keep him in that 10 role. And we can we can get ourselves back on the back on the tracks again and and pick ourselves up a win at Colchester because I think we get a We get a win. Have we even come off the tracks? This is I'm not sure we come off the tracks. N not in a league. We're we're we're heading in this on the back of a win, right? We're in winning form in the league. So, you know, this will be back to back wins if we beat Colchester. So, you know, and then then we're we're going into the crew game with a little bit of momentum, you know, some some wind at our back. And then, you know, all all things all things are possible then. So we'll just have to see. But I just wish that I just wish that we could have a bit more perspective. I don't know. Maybe I'm being too unrealistic and I understand if you've made your mind up about Ainsworth, that's fine. And I've made my mind up about managers in the past as well. But all the while we're going out there and we're we're doing okay and we're we're producing performances, you say fair enough. you don't boo every time there's a there's a result that doesn't go our way. It's just I don't know. It just seems a little bit A little bit unnecessary, but maybe that's just maybe that's just me. I don't know. I'm getting old, mate. Yeah. but I think I think that might just about cover things up. I feel like that was a bit of a therapy session. I feel better from our conversation. I don't know about you. I feel I I really enjoy it. Like it doesn't matter whether we get beat or we draw or we win. I always enjoy doing these 'cause I think giving it a couple of days, it it just gives you an idea and a chance to sleep on it and breathe, like we said a couple of weeks ago. And and just look back with a more well, with more perspective, like you've kept saying. It's of course we all get and this is why I understand it. So we all we're all angry at full time or frustrated or disappointed or upset or whatever we feel. Yeah. But I think with the benefit of a couple of days, maybe I'm not talking for the fan base, like before I get accused of that, but I I certainly don't think that that performance was as as bad as the reaction at Falls I'm like I've said earlier, if we'd won one nil, you're saying it's a very good home performance and a and a well deserved clean sheet, but Barrow fans are probably saying it's the perfect away performance and a well-deserved clean sheet. So sometimes you have to give your opposition credit and and just say fair play. if that makes me a happy clapper, then so be it. Happy clapper. deary me. don't even get me starred on stuff like that. But yes, it's god. We are we are we are we are heading into An important runner fixtures in the league. When are they not important? But we we are in winning form in the league. Let's let's just restate that. We are in winning form in the league. We won our last game. We are sitting outside of the playoffs only on goal difference, right? we are for a team that has as banged up and has battered and bruised and injured and knackered and bereft of some of our better players. We're eighth in league two. And we've got players coming back. I even mention Liam Gold. there we Sorry, haven't you mentioned Liam Goldon yet? The skipper probably will I I s when when they they showed the the video of him training, notably without the ball, but they just showed him running around some cones at a a pretty gentle pace. But they were just showing him that video could have been three weeks ago, and I think it might have been. I got I've just got a fit I've just got a feeling that video wasn't taken last week. I think he's been working with the Plate team. I think he's been on the ball. I think he's been crew or Salford. I think I think I think we'll bring him back for the crew game if he's if he's if he's good to go. I think we'll bring him back for the crew game if Colchester doesn't go the way we want it. I think we might delay until Salford if we win against Colchester. Yeah, I just I just hope that I hope I mean like bringing him back for the home game is just I just I think it gives everybody a bit of a boost as well. You know, the skippers back. It's something for the fans to be a little bit happy about, which would be nice. And you know, fingers crossed that can then inspire us to a home win over one of the better teams in the division. and then all of a sudden things look a little bit more rosy than maybe they did at ninety minutes on Saturday. So but yeah. You know, Mr. Ainsworth himself said don't get too high, don't get too low. The great Rajar Kiplin said, Tri take triumphant disaster and treat those two impostors just the same. That's what we need to do. We need to heed these wise words. Rajar Kiplin, Gareth Ainsworth. They were never used in a sense of our younger listeners probably think Rajar Kiplin makes exceedingly good gunks. That's the trouble. I'm very, very old school there. it's one of one of the great pieces of poetry of our times. Well, isn't our time, is it? It's way before our time, but yeah. If you don't know it, find it. If by Roger Kipling. If by Roger Kipling. Classic. But yeah, we just need to just take a beat, take a breath, look at the big picture. We're eighth. We're out of the playoffs on goal difference. We've got some games coming up that can really do some good for our season as we head into that busy festive period. So fingers crossed, we're out of cup. We're always out of cup. We're out of cup last year. And the year before. And the year before that. It is what is. It is what it is. And where it's at is the league. So let's let's get stuck into the league and see how it goes. I think that'll do. This short podcast has gone on for 52 minutes, which is stunning. so I think we'll we'll we'll put a bow on it and wrap things up. You can follow everything that Matt is doing on Jills in the Blood TV on the YouTube. Subscribe if you don't already, I'm sure you do. But yeah, and and don't forget. Was it like, comment, subscribe and hype? I've never seen the hype button by the way. I've never seen it. I don't know where it is. I've just got to Actually don't. I saw it once. Tell tell a lot. I saw it once. And since maybe it's because I've clicked it once, I don't get it again. I don't know. But I've I've not seen it on any of your videos since. It must be there for different people. But anyway, share and and support everything that Matt is doing over on YouTube. Check out our coverage on Jills365 at Jills365.news. We will have plenty more coming your way and working on one or two things behind the scenes to try and beef things up. So the coverage will start to increase over the coming weeks. Fingers crossed. But that's all we got for you on Blood, Sweat, and Jills this week. Bit of a bumper addition as we sort of got things out of our system a little bit. And have a good rest of the week. Enjoy Tuesday night. I think we're live on Skype. So check that out on Tuesday night. The the Jersey Mike's subs trophy. Great name for a trophy. and then we're back to we're back to League Matters, Colchester United. At what used to be Layer Road. I don't know what it's called now. Is it the community stadium or something? Your observe community stadium, I think, yeah. There you go. Horrible. Horrible. Matt loves his sponsored stadium now. But anyway, fingers crossed that it all goes well, and then we can come back to the MEMS Priestfield Stadium and take on Crew Alexandra and give him a royal walloping. Hopefully with Liam Gordon back in the team. You never know. Enjoy the week, ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy Colchester, and we'll speak to you next week. And one more thing, other jills.