Aldershot Town 2-2 Braintree Town - Tuesday 14th January 2025 (Match Day Thread)

[Silasgoldeen]

Trying to work out why it was so bad. Our best 2 players, Tetek and Ryan Jones, we're very poor relative to their own high standards, and obviously our other top player this year, Hargreaves, was on the bench.

Braintree seemed to pack the midfield a bit, which probably explains why Tetek had no room. And maybe this led to us having an extra man at the back which we didn't really exploit until Armitage found a bit of confidence in the second half and brought the ball out, which I suspect is what he was picked for to begin with.

I did think Akpan played well but they all have to be braver. I think goals come when you are decisive and sometimes you have to be able to risk something to get something, particularly in the final third. They wait for a perfect opportunity that'll never come. I'd rather a good cross didn't quite connect than just recycling the ball back. Maybe next time the cross will connect.

[Alex]

Looks like the attendances are going to start dropping then if people are thinking about not coming anymore this season.
I know people have choices,but throwing the towel in now seems a wee bit odd to me but each to their own I guess.

Some of us have just about had enough.

When you see things like Akpan, Maghoma and Theo selected once again, there’s no sign of anything changing/improving any time soon you have to wonder what’s the point?

We need to be told things like why Theo always plays despite offering absolutely nothing, and why Stuttle never gets a look in.

Fed up with hearing “we have starters and finishers” as some players are no good for either and others should be part of both!

Also you have the factors of making an effort to get to games straight from a long busy day at work and poor entertainment etc. Sometimes all just doesn’t feel worth it, especially after seeing team selection!

Why continue to stand on the Eastbank getting angry, annoyed, bored and frustrated?

I can’t go to Oldham, but will probably give the players one last chance against Tamworth at home.

[Sean Chambers]

Looks like the attendances are going to start dropping then if people are thinking about not coming anymore this season.
I know people have choices,but throwing the towel in now seems a wee bit odd to me but each to their own I guess.

Some of us have just about had enough.

When you see things like Akpan, Maghoma and Theo selected once again, there’s no sign of anything changing/improving any time soon you have to wonder what’s the point?

We need to be told things like why Theo always plays despite offering absolutely nothing, and why Stuttle never gets a look in.

Fed up with hearing “we have starters and finishers” as some players are no good for either and others should be part of both!

Also you have the factors of making an effort to get to games straight from a long busy day at work and poor entertainment etc. Sometimes all just doesn’t feel worth it, especially after seeing team selection!

Why continue to stand on the Eastbank getting angry, annoyed, bored and frustrated?

I can’t go to Oldham, but will probably give the players one last chance against Tamworth at home.

That’s fair enough and we are all hacked off about what’s going on at the club and I totally agree there have been some bizarre decisions made regarding team selection etc.
However I was brought up not to quit when the going gets a wee bit tough, I don’t know perhaps that’s becoming a rare commodity in society these days.

[Alex]

Looks like the attendances are going to start dropping then if people are thinking about not coming anymore this season.
I know people have choices,but throwing the towel in now seems a wee bit odd to me but each to their own I guess.

Some of us have just about had enough.

When you see things like Akpan, Maghoma and Theo selected once again, there’s no sign of anything changing/improving any time soon you have to wonder what’s the point?

We need to be told things like why Theo always plays despite offering absolutely nothing, and why Stuttle never gets a look in.

Fed up with hearing “we have starters and finishers” as some players are no good for either and others should be part of both!

Also you have the factors of making an effort to get to games straight from a long busy day at work and poor entertainment etc. Sometimes all just doesn’t feel worth it, especially after seeing team selection!

Why continue to stand on the Eastbank getting angry, annoyed, bored and frustrated?

I can’t go to Oldham, but will probably give the players one last chance against Tamworth at home.

That’s fair enough and we are all hacked off about what’s going on at the club and I totally agree there have been some bizarre decisions made regarding team selection etc.
However I was brought up not to quit when the going gets a wee bit tough, I don’t know perhaps that’s becoming a rare commodity in society these days.

It’s not just ‘a wee bit tough’ though is it?

Been awful for too long now!

If we were selecting our best XI every game, and having a right good go then I’d be happier and more willing to accept some poor results.

But as others have mentioned, team selection continues to be bizarre, not all players are giving their all, and performances just aren’t good enough.

[Sean Chambers]

Fair enough it’s more than a wee bit tough then.

[Preston Shot]

On a positive note we are 5 games unbeaten in all competitions........

[MikeB]

Looks like the attendances are going to start dropping then if people are thinking about not coming anymore this season.
I know people have choices,but throwing the towel in now seems a wee bit odd to me but each to their own I guess.

Some of us have just about had enough.

When you see things like Akpan, Maghoma and Theo selected once again, there’s no sign of anything changing/improving any time soon you have to wonder what’s the point?

We need to be told things like why Theo always plays despite offering absolutely nothing, and why Stuttle never gets a look in.

Fed up with hearing “we have starters and finishers” as some players are no good for either and others should be part of both!

Also you have the factors of making an effort to get to games straight from a long busy day at work and poor entertainment etc. Sometimes all just doesn’t feel worth it, especially after seeing team selection!

Why continue to stand on the Eastbank getting angry, annoyed, bored and frustrated?

I can’t go to Oldham, but will probably give the players one last chance against Tamworth at home.

That’s fair enough and we are all hacked off about what’s going on at the club and I totally agree there have been some bizarre decisions made regarding team selection etc.
However I was brought up not to quit when the going gets a wee bit tough, I don’t know perhaps that’s becoming a rare commodity in society these days.

It's true that resilience and endurance are valuable character traits. But only for the important stuff like relationships, difficult tasks, facing adversity. Not for something that's supposed to be entertainment.

If I start watching EastEnders and then decide I don't like it, I stop watching and do something I enjoy instead. The same with football matches. It's just a game.

[MidlandsShot]

Tonight was a huge disappointment. Do the club realise we're in a relegation battle?

Selection was all wrong. I know they both scored but tonight was another example of why Barrett and Henry should not play in the same XI. Far too slow and we lacked any ability to hold the ball up. To be fair at least Josh runs about and gets involved with play and creating chances, but Henry probably watched more of the game than most of the supporters. I know he took his goal well but Henry was a passenger for nearly all the game.

The back three was puzzling. Maghoma's strength has been dealing with big experienced strikers, and he has little ability on the ball, so is much better suited in the middle of the back three than on the right. Conversely Armitage was playing his first game for us, so let's give him John Akinde to deal with rather than on the right which was a better match-up for him.

I didn't think Theo was as bad as is made out, but with both Henry and Barrett on the pitch we needed more mobility. I thought Jones and Akpan worked very hard and put serious shifts in. Dewhurst was a little disappointing for me, particularly his kicking.

Next game has to see Stuttle start alongside Barham. We've been crying out for a striker to hold the ball up for a while now, yet now we have one we refuse to play him? Absolutely madness. I'd play him alongside Barham with Barrett in behind.

Credit to Braintree, I thought they had their moments with some nice moves, and they made us work hard for our point.

Polite question, having watched him as closely as possible this evening.

What am I missing?

I thought he made a couple of important tackles, and some important passes to start off attacking moves. He had his blunders e.g. the swing and miss in the first half, and his periods of passivity, but I don't think he deserved to be singled out. Maybe it seemed alright compared to what I'm used to seeing with him.

Henry seems to get a free pass because of his goal but he spent the whole time watching the game. Tetek had a poor game and gave the ball away for the second goal, and it was a good decision to sub him off on a booking. Dewhurst seemed a bit flappy and his distribution was poor. None seem to be getting the stick Theo is for last night.

[steveshot]

And I was brought up believing there’s no point flogging a dead horse.

[Dom Sterlings Left Leg]

Let's face it the club on and off the pitch is rotten. It desperately needs new ideas.

In the past 10-11 years we have had 2 spells where we have done well, the first under Waddock was clearly financially ruinous and we had last season..

In between times the club has been a shambles.

Only Aldershot can make the most money financially one season and then look like a basket case the next.

The more I think about last season the more I think it was achieved more by luck than judgment. If you think about the best most consistent players (Frost, Glover, Harfield, Barham, Stokes and Tolaj) 4 of those were all at the club already.. we seemed to have 1 in a million luck with the signings of Stokes and Tolaj who were both miles too good for this level and carried the side. The rest (which we are largely left with) were NLS standard. The Theo issue is a farce.

Tommy has staked a lot on his 'recruitment' ability, well this season it has been poor, maybe he's been found out. He has gained a reputation but his managerial record doesn't back it up.

This season is a carbon copy of waddocks last. I can only assume it's financial, the club seem oblivious to the situation as they were when waddock got us relegated and I can't see anything but the same outcome.

They all need to go from top to bottom.

[Sean Chambers]

Some of us have just about had enough.

When you see things like Akpan, Maghoma and Theo selected once again, there’s no sign of anything changing/improving any time soon you have to wonder what’s the point?

We need to be told things like why Theo always plays despite offering absolutely nothing, and why Stuttle never gets a look in.

Fed up with hearing “we have starters and finishers” as some players are no good for either and others should be part of both!

Also you have the factors of making an effort to get to games straight from a long busy day at work and poor entertainment etc. Sometimes all just doesn’t feel worth it, especially after seeing team selection!

Why continue to stand on the Eastbank getting angry, annoyed, bored and frustrated?

I can’t go to Oldham, but will probably give the players one last chance against Tamworth at home.

That’s fair enough and we are all hacked off about what’s going on at the club and I totally agree there have been some bizarre decisions made regarding team selection etc.
However I was brought up not to quit when the going gets a wee bit tough, I don’t know perhaps that’s becoming a rare commodity in society these days.

It's true that resilience and endurance are valuable character traits. But only for the important stuff like relationships, difficult tasks, facing adversity. Not for something that's supposed to be entertainment.

If I start watching EastEnders and then decide I don't like it, I stop watching and do something I enjoy instead. The same with football matches. It's just a game.

Surely though as a supporter you don’t walk away in the toughest times.

[Sean Chambers]

And I was brought up believing there’s no point flogging a dead horse.

As I said earlier each to their own.

[Sean Chambers]

Let's face it the club on and off the pitch is rotten. It desperately needs new ideas.

In the past 10-11 years we have had 2 spells where we have done well, the first under Waddock was clearly financially ruinous and we had last season..

In between times the club has been a shambles.

Only Aldershot can make the most money financially one season and then look like a basket case the next.

The more I think about last season the more I think it was achieved more by luck than judgment. If you think about the best most consistent players (Frost, Glover, Harfield, Barham, Stokes and Tolaj) 4 of those were all at the club already.. we seemed to have 1 in a million luck with the signings of Stokes and Tolaj who were both miles too good for this level and carried the side. The rest (which we are largely left with) were NLS standard. The Theo issue is a farce.

Tommy has staked a lot on his 'recruitment' ability, well this season it has been poor, maybe he's been found out. He has gained a reputation but his managerial record doesn't back it up.

This season is a carbon copy of waddocks last. I can only assume it's financial, the club seem oblivious to the situation as they were when waddock got us relegated and I can't see anything but the same outcome.

They all need to go from top to bottom.

Unless the BOD actually put the club up for sale then they are going nowhere.

[Mytshot]

Unusually I was behind the dugouts for the game last night. TW appeared with about 15 minutes to go and quite frankly should’ve been stopped. He spent the time lecturing the substitutes, berating players and generally stressing the whole place out. There appeared to be nothing constructive going on that would help us win the game.
On a human level I would worry about his recuperation and ongoing health if he’s going to continue like that.

[JOELC26]

I have a season ticket holder but it’s really tough going at the moment when you can’t agree with the management teams selections. If we can all see it why can’t he?

The question I ask myself is how can this management team turn it around when then continue to pick favourites? We don’t really have key injuries or players to come back and failing to win games has become a habit.

I suspect there’s a lot of disharmony and frustration in the squad and wouldn’t be surprised if a new manager bounce occurred purely because players were picked on merit and not the name on their shirt.