Stafford Updates

[piearce9]

A much-improved performance last night but I do still fear this is the smaller glimmer of optimism in our "one step forward, five steps back" routine. I'm looking down the fixture list and it's hard to see many points coming our way soon. We will need something from Witton next Tuesday as I just can't see us picking much else up in September.

I'm losing track of who's who in the midfield but, on the positive, we looked more assured there last night. And I have said since pre-season that we need a big old brute in the back line and Dominic Smith does appear to represent someone in that mould. Solid debut from him.

Have to say I was really irked in the final minutes when the bench took FOREVER to get a ball for our throw-in and thenm in the closing seconds, we won a free kick by the corner flag which hardly anyone went up for. Looked to all the world that we were playing out for a draw when, realistically, it was a very decent opportunity for a valuable three points.

[YeltzDoc]

Att:- 261. Now that is poor when one considers the wonderfully named Exodus Geohaghon was on show for Stafford!

I wondered what had happened to him. Everyone's favourite Irish Rastaman

We should sign him!

Why not? Everyone else has!

And yet, the BCR co-commentator still couldn't pronounce his name yesterday.
"Guh-Hargon" was the best he could manage, despite Adam Parkes trying on several occasions to drop an iron-clad hint by repeatedly saying it correctly straight afterwards...
Still not a patch on the bloke who did him previously on The 'Bridge as "Geee-o-hag-hon" for an entire match, even pausing to comment at one stage that he wasn't sure it was right, but he was going to stick with it.

I'm not casting shade at BCR particularly, as they do a job in bringing local non-league to those of us exiled in funny places, but when it's a player with a fairly common surname who's been around the Midlands scene for more than a decade (and even if he was called "Xpscaghkd", you'd have thought he could have checked the best way to say it before going on-air) it really does make me want to tear my ears off.

[JayTwiggy]

I agree with piearce9, we did look like we were playing for a draw after they scored.

I can't get my head around how inconsistent we are. When we won the ball back we passed it around and played good football in parts. But everytime we got a goal kick it was hoofing it up to Spray who was outjumped and they had another 2 minutes possession. They'd worked it out after the first kick. I can only assume Platt has been told to do this, as other than that, again he looked solid. Chilton caused them problems all night as well.

After we'd scored we always looked like conceding, we never looked like we could close the game out or go on and get a second. We've got to work on our set pieces as we either didn't beat the first man or it went straight to the keeper.

I can see why a lot of fans are staying away and it really is a shame. You could see how much the first goal meant to John and Matt but I agree with the majority, thank you very much for the hard work and promotion but I think now is the time to take a step back. A lot of people go on about the budget but if that's the case, get someone in who can compete at this level with our budget. Easier said than done, but there will be young managers out there with connections to players who would love to give it a go. I believe there is enough talent about within our budget who can have a real go of it if they're allowed to play football and not hoof-ball.

Overall a much better performance. But the FA Cup loss put the nail in the coffin for me.

[piearce9]

Thanks JayTwiggy- you've just reminded of something else that left me baffled.

Spray and Udoh had good games but were replaced late on by Shearer and Agbor, as well as Cameron Steele replacing Hear'Say. This means our front four is now made up of three ankle-biters and the not-so-target-like Shearer. You could stack them up on one another's shoulders in a big rain mac and they'd still get beaten in the air.

Did this stop us playing big whacking long balls? Absolutely not. Was like watching Land Of The Giants.

[The Reasonable Man]

Att:- 261. Now that is poor when one considers the wonderfully named Exodus Geohaghon was on show for Stafford!

I wondered what had happened to him. Everyone's favourite Irish Rastaman

We should sign him!

Why not? Everyone else has!

And yet, the BCR co-commentator still couldn't pronounce his name yesterday.
"Guh-Hargon" was the best he could manage, despite Adam Parkes trying on several occasions to drop an iron-clad hint by repeatedly saying it correctly straight afterwards...
Still not a patch on the bloke who did him previously on The 'Bridge as "Geee-o-hag-hon" for an entire match, even pausing to comment at one stage that he wasn't sure it was right, but he was going to stick with it.

I'm not casting shade at BCR particularly, as they do a job in bringing local non-league to those of us exiled in funny places, but when it's a player with a fairly common surname who's been around the Midlands scene for more than a decade (and even if he was called "Xpscaghkd", you'd have thought he could have checked the best way to say it before going on-air) it really does make me want to tear my ears off.

More often than not I've heard it pronounced as "Gee-oh-hay-gun", with two "hard" Gs. I have no idea whether that's right or wrong, but it seems to be commonly accepted.

Personally, if I'd never heard of him before and I saw it on paper I'd assume he was Irish and it was pronounce "Gay-gun" (again, two hard Gs).

[YeltzDoc]

It's never occurred to me that it's anything other than "Gay-gun" (stop sniggering at the back) like Simon Geoghegan the rugby player. And I'll eat several hats and humble pies if it isn't.
I suspect people struggle as they recognise it as an Irish name, but it comes as a bit of cultural curve-ball when paired with "Exodus".

Still not my favourite bit of BCR shenanigans though.
One of your matches, away at Ashford I think, was covered in their updates, thus -

"Stourbr*dge are all over them, we've had several chances to score and should be 2-0 up blah blah".

Followed, somewhat sheepishly in the next bulletin by -

"Actually Ashford have had by far the better of it, I got the shirts the wrong way 'round...".

He must have been drinking in the bar with Higginson beforehand...

[The Reasonable Man]

Whoever it was, it can't have been Ashford. We've never played them!

[Noggin]

Showing my ignorance here (nothing unusual I hear someone say) but I always thought it was pronounced to rhyme with Keegan (as in Kevin of that ilk)

[YeltzDoc]

Whoever it was, it can't have been Ashford. We've never played them!

Ashton?

[The Reasonable Man]

Whoever it was, it can't have been Ashford. We've never played them!

Ashton?

Quite likely, especially if it was last season when we wore our lesser-spotted grey "third" kit at their place.