Morning all. I think this week (and before that to be fair) has proven that if we do go down to L2 after all, I won't be nearly so scared about doing so now...

Not sure really Trig, maybe ask Wally and see what he thinks.

Morning all, I am stupidly running London Marathon again (this is the last time honest) raising money for the Ms Society since Kelly now has MS and Ollies Star who most know the story of. I am holding a raffle with 17 prizes in total, full list is on my Twitter page [Link]

I really hope if we stay up we invest in a genuine mid table squad this time

Joe 'Icardi' Pigott

What’s your point Alan IOW? Are you suggesting we’re going through all this just to go through it all again next season? 😁

Think we should treat this Saturday as a quasi ‘promotion’ game. Beat the Gills and we’re then looking at winning 3 more and drawing 1 - ie 1.4 points per game to achieve L1 football for next season.

How important is that we keep it going?

L1 is just a microcosm of Championship. Some teams at the top who're really from the division above. Some at the bottom who got lucky to get out of the division below. And much of a muchness in the middle.

Certainly the standard of L1 is hardly the promised land we were all hoping for during the thankfully-short-but-horizon-looming L2 years. Main difference is one or two fewer absolute clogger cheating teams that the refs seem to just let go. So i’m happy not fucking around it and playing effective football rather than expected goals football.

Joe Piggott is a natural goal scorer, he is not a target man but he is a nuisance. Totally different to Lyle but get him in the box in front of goal and he will score.

Joe Piggott has plenty of football league experience [Link] I like him, he’s fine for us, just needs the right partner up front.

Whatadom I actually think we’d be better putting the ball off the park up near their penalty area than hoofing high balls for Pigott and Folivi to get bullied on.

Trigger I think the fact we can now threaten teams means they can’t just throw their whole outfield at us all game. So less goals conceded and more chance that nicking a goal wins it.

We’re a league one side, this well often have to resort to a bit of hoofball. I wouldn’t say it’s all we do but if your gonna compete you need target men who can compete with central defenders or at least win 1 in x long ball attempts

Wally's at the wheel

Weird isn’t it? That’s been a problem since Bayo left and yet suddenly we’re winning games without having fixed it. That’s what clean sheets can do for you.

KT6 I agree, he's been poor, playing a different position to what he's good at. For me the issue is why we're playing hoofball to a guy who isn't very good at it and noticeably we've even started hitting high balls for Folivi to try to win in the air.

I actually think Piggott's general play has been pretty poor recently. Luckily he keeps popping up with a goal though so can't really complain.

Red Kite-I was thinking more stta that said it, so there’s definitely at least two of the opinion!

Our key in the summer (for me) is find a fit target man to play alongside Pigott (on top of Hanson being here), so we can create those chances for him to be against isolated defenders or on the keeper. (If Hanson gets fit and stays fit then fine, share the load but we have to get another target man).

Wazza, I'm assuming that people repeating that are having a dig at Kenty not Pigott :)

I think the comment that Pigott is a poacher is spot on. Same as way we fucked up with McDonald (1/3 for Gillinghgam in L2 and L1) playing them as a target man when you need to put balls across/between the centre backs, inside the box, near the 6 yard box but not near enough for the keeper to claim. Could write a whole thesis on this but essentially only 1 pairing has gelled all season - Pigott and Hanson and they've played maybe 10 games together?

the way he chased down a lost cause was non league so that is correct wazza.

Joe not far off the same record as Lyle but at League 1 level, yet he’s a non league striker ‘cos one person thinks so so it’s repeated as fact