Darlington v Brackley Town

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BaronsCourtQuaker
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by BaronsCourtQuaker » Mon Nov 06, 2017 11:18 am

Saturday was quite a chastising game and result. The positive would be that Brackely were a good side and at times you just have to hold up your hands and say well done to the opposition. I think it can say a lot when you see teams at this level playing 3-5-2 and making it work so well. The negative though was really how easily they rolled us over. I actually don’t really fault the effort from the players on Saturday, can’t think of any that didn’t look to be trying but that’s the real worry for me.

Individually, Cartman ran is socks off as ever (and that’s why fans like him). I think and particularly for his size he holds the ball up well when its hit to him on the floor or at head height but once you’re asking him to win a ball 6 foot plus in the air he is going to struggle. Turnbull and Portas too also put in a shift, at times Turnbull was trying to do too much and thus detrimentally effecting the shape of the team. Whilst Collins had another good game until he went off injured, I really hope he is not missing on Saturday and beyond. I’m not going to be critical of individuals as at the moment I’m not sure they need to hear it, I think they will all be aware of their own shortcomings.

I’m not sure what has happened to our set pieces, we used to be so dangerous at these. Yes missing Browns long throws but Galbraiths corner and free kick delivery have gone away (is it as he is CB they don’t want him taking them?). At this time though set pieces become really important, they can help create some pressure if nothing else.

I’m convinced though that this squad is 100% good enough not to be looking at relegation. Injuries are hitting us hard but it’s trying to find a way out of this rut with what we have. On Saturday like Loid Lucan says ‘we didn’t make the best of what we have’ there is more in that side.

Presuming Collins is fit come Saturday I’d be tempted to look and these options during the week in training.

Bartlett
Marrs Burgess Collins Galbraith
Thommo Portas Turnbull Gillies
Cartman Syers

The obvious is getting a back 4 playing in there more regular roles. I can see the temptation to keep Terry in the middle and Scott at left back but for me the back 4 on the whole looks better with Burgess in at CB and Galbriath LB. We miss Galbraith getting forward and effecting the play in a positive way for us. In the absence of Beck then Syers has to start to offer some form of aerial presence (even just at set pieces). Whether you play Cartman in behind to help the midfield is an option, though I would rather keep him up top and try to have more play in the opponents half.

Bartlett
Marrs Burgess Collins Galbraith
Turnbull Portas
Wheatly Caton Gillies
Syers

Alternatively away from home I would be tempted to go narrow. With Turnbull & Portas sitting I would hope Marrs and Galbraith can offer some width at times. Whilst the deeper role would hopefully allow Turnbull a little more time and space on the ball to get the play moving with Portas providing a little steel. Wheatley, Caton and Gilles may be able to create something in tight spaces behind Syers and offer runs beyond.

I’m sure people will be quick to pull this apart but what were currently doing is not working.

spen666
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by spen666 » Mon Nov 06, 2017 12:08 pm

I saw Brackley earlier in the season when they beat Spennymoor at Brackley.

They were a good, well organised side. They all knew what each other were doing and played together well. They didn't play with great flair or skill, but did what they needed to.

They are best team I have seen at Step 2 this season

Brackley will almost certainly be in the Play Offs come the end of the season.

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MKDarlo
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by MKDarlo » Mon Nov 06, 2017 12:15 pm

spen666 wrote:
Brackley will almost certainly be in the Play Offs come the end of the season.
We wont. We are in a relegation scrap.

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loan_star
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by loan_star » Mon Nov 06, 2017 12:31 pm

Darlogramps wrote:
QUAKERMAN2 wrote:Think you are referring to Gray, why 2 year contracts and not 1 year can only be answered by him.Just what the hell he was thinking defies logic and has given Tommy a big headache going forward but every confidence with Whitey they will get us back on track.Us fans will have to show patience.

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Interesting you think our board had no say in this.

I know Gray is everyone's favourite bogeyman right now, but I'd be staggered if our board had no say in handing out the two year deals.
If we had message boards back in 1991 I'm pretty sure Brian Little wouldnt be looked back on as well as he still is. He dished out contracts to players whose level was no higher than division 4 then did a runner to Leicester leaving Frank Gray to deal with players that just weren't up to the level they were now at.
Martin Gray has shown the same loyalty to some of his players and is being lambasted for it but has done no different to Little who is still a hero.

H1987
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by H1987 » Mon Nov 06, 2017 12:56 pm

I'd like to see us use Wheatley more.... and Thompson can't cut it at this level, sadly. Wright needs to have some time to figure things out. We should have more than enough quality to avoid a relegation battle, but totally agree with folk saying you can forget the playoffs.

Watching the highlights again, that second goal is ridiculous though. How you can't give that foul...

H1987
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by H1987 » Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:07 pm

Oh, and while we're on the subject of forwards, i'd have sooner kept Fenwick and let Caton go. I know he has to run the rule over him, and frankly see if we can get something out of him, as i suspect he's one of our more well paid players.... but every time i see him, he's distinctly underwhelming.

Cartman gives 100%, and does contribute some day, but i'd also echo others that i'm not sure he can quite do it at this level. Not consistently, but he does have his days. He's probably up to this level as a squad player. As is, we're totally reliant on him, thanks to the mess left by Gray.

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don'tbuythesun
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by don'tbuythesun » Mon Nov 06, 2017 3:53 pm

Hmm, winter in Darlington or Malta. That's a tricky one.

princes town
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by princes town » Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:33 pm

banktopp wrote:
theoriginalfatcat wrote:Quite a few people have been predicting 2000 plus crowds for our move back into Darlington, however things since the move haven't gone smoothly.

Banktop wrote this in January --

"Some folks need to give their heads a good shake.
Already this season at H.P we have had gates of 2001, 1996, 1730, and 1729.
Many people vowed not to watch us again until we were back in town, and with two guaranteed full houses against F.C.U.M and Harrogate , late season home games with Telford and Tamworth which should produce big gates as we will be fighting for a play-off place, there is no doubt that average home gates will be in excess of 2000 if not nearer 2500.
Darlington F.C did not come into existence in the Northern League in 2012. There are a lot of latent supporters who will be tempted back by a successful team."

--- but I'm not criticising him, as it's all just guesswork, it's impossible to predict the future.
Quite true, guilty as charged m'lud.
The lack of interest in D.F.C. coming home has been most disappointing. The match day experience at Blackwell Meadows although better now, has not helped and even last year when we were playing well attendances dropped off. To my mind atmosphere at a ground counts for a lot on how you perceive a match and your enjoyment. Feethams was good, Arena nil, Heritage Park good, Blackwell Meadows poor. All subjective of course.
The first home game at B.M when many latent supporters came along and could not see properly, will have prevented them coming again.
Also in my optimistic outlook I neglected to take account of the missing digits.
Under Darlington 1883 we had a fantastic run of success after success. Now back as Darlington F.C. ( Yippee ),with a few brief exceptions for over a hundred years we have been shite. But it is those brief exceptions that make supporting D.F.C worthwhile. Oh for a cup run to make B.M rock.
The expectation of bigger crowds speeded up our move to BM when it was patently clear the ground was not up to standard to cater for 3k+ crowds. The men with clip boards can say what they like. I prefer to listen to the people who have to watch the game. My most vivid recollection of the day being 10 kids peeing about around the red seats with an old guy asking why they were doing it. "Might as well as we can't see naff all". I quote exactly. As for the spike in attendance moving to darlo, I've never really understood the problem of travelling a few miles to support you team in this day and age of mobility so was always a little suspicious. I know some people who make incredible sacrifices to watch the team so I was sceptical about a 9 mile trip to bishop as an excuse. Attracting more youngsters to the ground is a more viable strategy as the costs of watching league football have become so ludicrously high. I'm hoping the new committee will give this top priority as a working strand. Youth support is also less sensitive to results. It would be great to see data on the age distribution of our fan base and benchmark our young support against our peer group.

Feethams 1966
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by Feethams 1966 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:44 am

I think we just need to give the new management team time, it must be only the third or fourth time they've seen us play.
It's not long since people on this forum were desperate to get Cartman back; some people have short memories.
He gives 100% and is Darlo through & through like a stick of black and white rock. Not his fault he hasn't the height to compete when he's played up front on his own, so needs support. Once he's got the ball at his feet he's a handful for any opposition.

Darlo_Pete
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by Darlo_Pete » Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:56 am

Feethams 1966 wrote:I think we just need to give the new management team time, it must be only the third or fourth time they've seen us play.
It's not long since people on this forum were desperate to get Cartman back; some people have short memories.
He gives 100% and is Darlo through & through like a stick of black and white rock. Not his fault he hasn't the height to compete when he's played up front on his own, so needs support. Once he's got the ball at his feet he's a handful for any opposition.
I don't think anybody is really having a go TW & AW, as you say they have only just taken over. A lot of our problems can be put down to MG and the over generous lengths of contracts given to players that are now struggling at the level we find ourselves in.

Darlogramps
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by Darlogramps » Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:08 am

Feethams 1966 wrote: He gives 100% and is Darlo through & through like a stick of black and white rock.
Ping! Congratulations, you've won the Pointless Cliche Prize for today.




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Last edited by Darlogramps on Tue Nov 07, 2017 4:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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jjljks
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by jjljks » Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:31 am

Darlogramps wrote:
Feethams 1966 wrote: He gives 100% and is Darlo through & through like a stick of black and white rock.
Ping! Congratulations, you've Pointless Cliche Prize for today.

Didn't realise Darlogramps was Chinese & called Ping ;)




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QUAKERMAN2
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by QUAKERMAN2 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:06 am

Darlogramps wrote:
Feethams 1966 wrote: He gives 100% and is Darlo through & through like a stick of black and white rock.
Ping! Congratulations, you've Pointless Cliche Prize for today.




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Gramps why don't you just belt up and let people have opinions without your sarcastic replies.

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Darlo_Pete
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by Darlo_Pete » Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:10 am

QUAKERMAN2 wrote:
Darlogramps wrote:
Feethams 1966 wrote: He gives 100% and is Darlo through & through like a stick of black and white rock.
Ping! Congratulations, you've Pointless Cliche Prize for today.




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Gramps why don't you just belt up and let people have opinions without your sarcastic replies.

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Opinions on a MB, surely there's no place for that. :lol:

Darlogramps
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by Darlogramps » Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:35 am

QUAKERMAN2 wrote:
Darlogramps wrote:
Feethams 1966 wrote: He gives 100% and is Darlo through & through like a stick of black and white rock.
Ping! Congratulations, you've Pointless Cliche Prize for today.




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Gramps why don't you just belt up and let people have opinions without your sarcastic replies.

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It's my opinion that Feethams1966's opinion is lazy, pointless and cliched. Are you saying he's allowed to express his but I can't express mine?

I'm not saying Feethams1966 can't have that opinion, but I'm also allowed to say I think it's a s***, meaningless opinion.

It's this wonderful thing we have called Freedom of Speech. Telling people to "Belt up" because you don't like what they say, while also proclaiming people should be allowed to say what they want, is fairly ironic in my view.
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D_F_C
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by D_F_C » Tue Nov 07, 2017 1:03 pm

what makes a player darlo through and through? I've always wondered because IMO the term gets banded around too often. Just like the word 'Legend'

BUSHEAD
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by BUSHEAD » Tue Nov 07, 2017 2:31 pm

I could give 100% , but i'd still be crap ! ( Not saying Cartman is crap btw, just incase anyone doesn't realise)

It means nothing. In fact I expect nothing less than 100% effort from any player playing ever.

Also see 'tries hard', 'always does his best' and 'works hard'.
Think before posting

Quakerz
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by Quakerz » Tue Nov 07, 2017 4:19 pm

Feethams 1966 wrote: He gives 100% and is Darlo through & through like a stick of black and white rock.
Actually he is Halifax through and through like a stick of blue and white rock.

Not saying he doesn't give 100% in effort for Darlo though.

One thing all the "Carts" lovers are forgetting though - his confidence in front of goal has deserted him. We can make excuses for him all day long about being on his own up front, or playing the wrong tactic - and whilst there is a bit of truth to that, the problem is that when he does get chances he normally misses them. He didn't pull up any trees whenever he's played next to Beck either.

I think he's found his level although I'd actually love him to succeed and prove me wrong.
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m62exile
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by m62exile » Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:53 pm

Cartman is always going to struggle in a team with zero width and who can barely even get the ball in the oppositions final third, which is what we’ve been for most of this season.

Darlo_Pete
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by Darlo_Pete » Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:54 pm

Well like it or not Cartman is our sole recognised striker for now, don't fancy our chances at Kidderminster on Saturday.

darlo reborn
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by darlo reborn » Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:58 pm

Just do a Mourino and park the bus and hope for a point

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divas
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by divas » Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:54 pm

divas wrote:
I'm sure there will be some unpopular decisions having to be made in terms of tweaking the squad soon. We may have to move players on who many would like to keep simply because they are the only ones who we can move on in order to rectify the unbalanced squad. It's ok saying let X,Y,Z go because they're not performing but if they're not performing and have relatively high wages it's difficult to move them on.
:shifty:

Beano
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by Beano » Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:08 pm

divas wrote:
divas wrote:
I'm sure there will be some unpopular decisions having to be made in terms of tweaking the squad soon. We may have to move players on who many would like to keep simply because they are the only ones who we can move on in order to rectify the unbalanced squad. It's ok saying let X,Y,Z go because they're not performing but if they're not performing and have relatively high wages it's difficult to move them on.
:shifty:
It'll all soon be forgotten quickly if we start regularly winning games again.

Feethams 1966
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by Feethams 1966 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:35 pm

Feethams 1966 wrote:
He gives 100% and is Darlo through & through like a stick of black and white rock.

I thought I had made a fairly innocuous and innocent comment. Having thought about it and reviewed it again at some length I consider that to be still the case; after all, as someone has already said, it is just my opinion.
And of no more or less value than anyone else's.
If I used a cliche (of which I was unaware) which others find annoying, then that is a surprise to me but was not intentional; furthermore I shall not lose any sleep over it.
In comparison to some of the bile and vitriol which appears periodically in these pages, I shall rest easily.
It is always my intention when I scribe to these pages to write objectively, constructively and with respect. On this matter I shall not be commenting again, but would simply suggest that we are all on the same side, supporting the same team, and each other (aren't we)?

moz1963
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by moz1963 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:56 pm

Beano wrote:
divas wrote:
divas wrote:
I'm sure there will be some unpopular decisions having to be made in terms of tweaking the squad soon. We may have to move players on who many would like to keep simply because they are the only ones who we can move on in order to rectify the unbalanced squad. It's ok saying let X,Y,Z go because they're not performing but if they're not performing and have relatively high wages it's difficult to move them on.
:shifty:
It'll all soon be forgotten quickly if we start regularly winning games again.
:clap: :clap: :clap:

princes town
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Re: Darlington v Brackley Town

Post by princes town » Wed Nov 08, 2017 9:47 pm

H1987 wrote: Watching the highlights again, that second goal is ridiculous though. How you can't give that foul...
ridiculous decision or non-decision. Even so we defended it poorly.

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