Maidenhead v Torquay Utd - BH Mon 10th April 3pm

[toastkid]

Just filled out a league prediction website. By my reckoning, 50 points, we stay up, but only just, Maidenhead going down, or course we'd rely on results. 51 points and we look way safer. 49 points won't be enough. If Scunthorpe find a result somewhere, that's a bonus. Also I've included a draw between York and Aldershot, but a win for either might be better, as my prediction shows them both beat us by a point. Anyway, 50 points could be enough.

[desperado]

Think it's asking a lot to expect York or Maidenhead to lose all three games , I always used to think 50 points is enough but not sure it will be this season.

[Mr Tea808]

Sorry Toastkid, let me explain, most fans after 10 to 12 games realised McGavin,Hanson,Crowe,Andrews,Marshall,Wyatt,Omar,plus later on Mensah,Fadhunsi and a stack of loanees-whatever happened to Welsh hotshot Crole??,to realise they weren't up to it, it feels like a giant experiment of a season, many fans could see it was pretty obvious, throw in the judge me after 10 games/marquee signings cobblers, using nearly 40 players this season alone-last 4 games, superb, but don't tell me this was GJ masterplan, no way, up until 3 weeks ago the season was shocking, and like I say, as great as the last 4 games have been, we are still in the drop zone.

[culmstockgull]

Yet again and oddly after four straight wins we are are laying into each other with a vengence.
Osborne is yet again the source of all our ills and Johnson is the manager we are so lucky to have, neither are in anyway accurate.
Last summer,Osborne seeing his dead in the water business plan for torquay and plainmoor no longer a reality could have just shut up shop and saved himself the thick end of a million, but then there are those that suggest he has had an eleventh hour epiphany and the club would after all be better off in the national and as a result has given Johnson some pocket money.
Johnson stated in the feburary before last that that he wanted a bigger squad for the upcoming season and he got his way, he signed quantity over quality, players unfit for this league ,eight or nine players that I know of are playing no part in the team or even the squad, but all on precious wages, one or two you can put down to a calculated gamble, a punt, that they may come good but over a third of the squad reflects on a manager who is past his sell by date.
Our survival is totally dependent on others above and around us and that is never a good place to be for any team, the nominal safety factor of 50 points is totally dependent on the three clubs on 49 losing all their remaing fixtures,on the very slim chance we survice, Johnson will yet again become the messiah and people will ignore everything in front of their eyes.

[SuperNickyWroe]

Yet again and oddly after four straight wins we are are laying into each other with a vengence.
Osborne is yet again the source of all our ills and Johnson is the manager we are so lucky to have, neither are in anyway accurate.
Last summer,Osborne seeing his dead in the water business plan for torquay and plainmoor no longer a reality could have just shut up shop and saved himself the thick end of a million, but then there are those that suggest he has had an eleventh hour epiphany and the club would after all be better off in the national and as a result has given Johnson some pocket money.
Johnson stated in the feburary before last that that he wanted a bigger squad for the upcoming season and he got his way, he signed quantity over quality, players unfit for this league ,eight or nine players that I know of are playing no part in the team or even the squad, but all on precious wages, one or two you can put down to a calculated gamble, a punt, that they may come good but over a third of the squad reflects on a manager who is past his sell by date.
Our survival is totally dependent on others above and around us and that is never a good place to be for any team, the nominal safety factor of 50 points is totally dependent on the three clubs on 49 losing all their remaing fixtures,on the very slim chance we survice, Johnson will yet again become the messiah and people will ignore everything in front of their eyes.

How about the fact that Osborne didn't put his hand in his pocket - which at the time would have ensured his "plan" would have happened?
I am referring to when we were top of the NL, points in front, but picked up injuries to crucial players. If he'd have spent some money on players then, then we would have been back in the FL well within his "5 year plan" (of which since we have heard nowt about btw) and who knows what would have happened.
Also, Osborne won't walk away - he's too money orientated, and would hate to lose the money that he has already put into the club.
I would suggest that you look at the the accounts, because by digging into them you see how he has funded the club.

[brucie]

I think that the signing of Nouble has just shown that we've been relying on Jarvis for far too long. That we've been struggling without any striking options for half the season must be the fault of the manager - it cant possibly down to anyone else.

Our current form is incredible - we had zero chance of staying up three weeks ago. Its even more hard to believe as we have managed those 4 wins without any striking option on the bench - a further illustration of the managers chronic mismanagement of the squad throughout the season.

Our upturn in form is due to quality loan signings Lawrence, Dawson, Stobbs and Collins (with Evans who is actually half decent as well) and also the return to fitness of the likes of Lapslie and Hall, plus of course the addition of Nouble.

Unfortunately its also an indication of what dire recruitment we had prior to this and the mess we are left in when most of the aforementioned players leave at the end of the season.

Lets also remember the league has been a two horse race all season - look at the teams in the play off positions Woking, Eastleigh and Boreham Wood for example.

The quality of teams is just not there - that we are unlikely to finish above Aldershot, Dorking, Gateshead and Maidenhed just isnt good enough I'm afraid.

I hope that Johnson somehow pulls it off, but blindly saying you support him when he has got us in this mess in the first place is nonsensical.

[Yellow6]

Was it confirmed how many went to Maidenhead yesterday? I wonder how many (like me) watched it on TV too?? Superb effort by those that travelled.

[culmstockgull]

Supernickywroe, all your comments are supposition, mine were fact, johnson cannot be trusted in the main to acquire good players,unless you include those he blagged from city when his son was in charge. you assume that osborne refused to back johnson when we were top of the national but on recent experience would he have got the right players,doubtful to say the least. how do you know that osborne refused to support johnson at that time when johnson himself states the owner has always been supportive ,perhaps johnson said no we can cope with this.
Please enlighten us with your inside knowledge on how osborne funded the club,you seem to suggest you know something factual the rest of us do not. was it a case of pinching from peter to pay paul, isnt that what every household does week in and week out. As for Osborne not walking away because he is too money orientated, how is he going to get his money back from a club with no known assets or is that something only you are privy too as well.

[DevonBee]

Sorry Toastkid, let me explain, most fans after 10 to 12 games realised McGavin,Hanson,Crowe,Andrews,Marshall,Wyatt,Omar,plus later on Mensah,Fadhunsi and a stack of loanees-whatever happened to Welsh hotshot Crole??,to realise they weren't up to it, it feels like a giant experiment of a season, many fans could see it was pretty obvious, throw in the judge me after 10 games/marquee signings cobblers, using nearly 40 players this season alone-last 4 games, superb, but don't tell me this was GJ masterplan, no way, up until 3 weeks ago the season was shocking, and like I say, as great as the last 4 games have been, we are still in the drop zone.

100% correct Mr Tea808 the above mentioned are not up for it and never will be. I would not even consider any of them for NLS as we need a complete clear out of these losers.

[exilegull]

I would suggest that you look at the the accounts, because by digging into them you see how he has funded the club.

He's put in loans. So what? As the expression goes you cannot get blood out of a stone.

[SuperNickyWroe]

Supernickywroe, all your comments are supposition, mine were fact, johnson cannot be trusted in the main to acquire good players,unless you include those he blagged from city when his son was in charge. you assume that osborne refused to back johnson when we were top of the national but on recent experience would he have got the right players,doubtful to say the least. how do you know that osborne refused to support johnson at that time when johnson himself states the owner has always been supportive ,perhaps johnson said no we can cope with this.
Please enlighten us with your inside knowledge on how osborne funded the club,you seem to suggest you know something factual the rest of us do not. was it a case of pinching from peter to pay paul, isnt that what every household does week in and week out. As for Osborne not walking away because he is too money orientated, how is he going to get his money back from a club with no known assets or is that something only you are privy too as well.

So how do you know that he would have exactly either?
No he didn't - GJ actually said that we needed replacements.
I haven't said that I know anything "factual" about the finances - If you care to look at the accounts, its there for one and all to see - If you can be bothered that is.
Its obvious - he won't. If you had actually read what I said, I said he won't walk away as he'd lose money and past experience of him has shown he doesn't like doing that.

[SuperNickyWroe]

He's put in loans. So what? As the expression goes you cannot get blood out of a stone.

And your point is?
One of his companies did perhaps.....

[exilegull]

I think that the signing of Nouble has just shown that we've been relying on Jarvis for far too long. That we've been struggling without any striking options for half the season must be the fault of the manager - it cant possibly down to anyone else.

Our current form is incredible - we had zero chance of staying up three weeks ago. Its even more hard to believe as we have managed those 4 wins without any striking option on the bench - a further illustration of the managers chronic mismanagement of the squad throughout the season.

Our upturn in form is due to quality loan signings Lawrence, Dawson, Stobbs and Collins (with Evans who is actually half decent as well) and also the return to fitness of the likes of Lapslie and Hall, plus of course the addition of Nouble.

Unfortunately its also an indication of what dire recruitment we had prior to this and the mess we are left in when most of the aforementioned players leave at the end of the season.

Lets also remember the league has been a two horse race all season - look at the teams in the play off positions Woking, Eastleigh and Boreham Wood for example.

The quality of teams is just not there - that we are unlikely to finish above Aldershot, Dorking, Gateshead and Maidenhed just isnt good enough I'm afraid.

I hope that Johnson somehow pulls it off, but blindly saying you support him when he has got us in this mess in the first place is nonsensical.

Wholeheartedly agree with this and the posts of others. This seasons debacle rests entirely on Johnson. It was clear before the a ball was kicked this season that the recruitment was wrong and utterly obvious after 10 games - I'm not sure whether it was a limited network or ultimately just hubris that led Johnson to think it was possible to build mainly from cast offs form football league youth systems. It just doesn't work and I actually feel sorry for a lot of these young players who were just left to flounder and have their confidence shot to pieces. That we then seemed to stick with that strategy for most of the season makes it worse. Outside the top teams it is a poor division this season which makes the performance shocking - it hasn't been rocket science to turn it around. the key pieces have been a 32 year old picked up from the division below and an out of favour journeyman striker - 3 or 4 of those types of players signed instead of a load of untried youths would likely have resulted in a safe midtable position and maybe one of two of the younger players could have shined as Collins, Evans and Stobbs are now showing.

I don't say this with any malice, its been mostly a good ride under Johnson, but it still looks highly likely we will end up back where we started when Johnson took over, which ultimately means the square root of FA has been achieved under Johnson, which is ultimately failure.

[exilegull]

And your point is?
One of his companies did perhaps.....

SNW - you were the one that brought up the method of financing. Its been made by loans from another company - so what? This is still Osborne bankrolling Torquay United, unless you can indicate what significance you think it all has?

[Donuts76]

How many owners thought this would be the year to push the boat out and go for it. Maximum two i suspect.