Monday Morning Quarterback 2019-20 Season – Issue 17

Monday Morning Quarterback 2019-2010 Issue 17 Upon Further Review

Well having taken the Christmas and New Year period off, this week’s article could not come at a more worrying time for the club. Back to back humiliating defeats at the hands of Winchester and now Sholing, along with other teams at the bottom picking up points we are rooted to the bottom of the table.

Yes we have half the season still to play, but when you have lost your last four league games to a combined score of 17-4, things don’t look too rosy for the rest of the season.

What is also noticeable is the simple lack of tackling, or actual marking of the opposition is frightening, the number of simple tap in’s at the far post continues to go unchecked and is a result of our team, not just the defence not actually marking or following the player. Too much ball-watching, allows the opposition to take advantage and boy, have they recently.

Sholing’s small band of travelling fans must have left Winchester on Saturday evening, hardly believing how easy it was to pick up three points on the road, and any team facing us now, will simply start with the confidence that chances will come their way. That simply needs to stop and stop now, not in March or April, when it’s too late to pull us away from dropping down another league.

Recent performances, have also seen a number of hardy long-suffering Basingstoke fans, check their diaries to see if going shopping with the wife or any other excuse is better than what they currently doing coming 15 miles down the road.

Our fans who have suffered far more than most clubs having already seen two relegations in recent seasons, no home we can call our own and whilst our last owner refuses to do the right and moral thing, no sign of it on the horizon either.

Things simply need to change and change now. How this is achieved is a question I leave open to you?

Ok, looking at the rest of our league, we now have a new leader as Thatcham Town have continued their strong run, although not blowing teams away as they did earlier in the season, they still eke out wins.

What we have seen is the rise and now the fall of Frome Town, who have lost two of their last three games and having played more games than anyone else in the promotion pack, will start to worry they could be caught by the likes of Winchester and the new chasing team Larkhall Athletic.

Indeed Larkhall have now five out of their last six games, behind striker Lewis Powell’s goals, including a hat-trick at Highworth Town on Boxing Day. Their rise has lifted them over Paulton Rovers, who have now lost three on the bounce, as striker Ben Baments goals have started to dry-up.

Winchester City who put five past us, could only manage a goal-less draw at AFC Totton on Saturday.

The Top Five in Our League

The Division One South league goal-scoring chart.

Thatcham’s Kyle Tooze continues to move up the league goal-scoring chart with a brace of goals in their last two games.

At the bottom of the table, we have failed to pick up a point in the two games since the new year (in fact once our point deduction comes into effect, we will have lost points), whilst our opponents in five days-time, Barnstaple have picked up back-to-back wins. AFC Totton have picked up four points in the last two games, including a 0-3 win at Moneyfields who have slipped back into the relegation battle.

The Bottom Five in our League Now Looks Like This

Basingstoke Town Goal Scorers Chart

There are no league games this week, however our last two victors Winchester City and Sholing go head-to-head, on Tuesday evening in the League Cup third round.

Ok whilst we are on the long 150 mile road-trip to Barnstaple, the other games affecting us at the bottom are;

Larkhall Athletic vs AFC Totton (18th)

Moneyfields (17th) vs Bideford

Sholing (16th) vs Mangotsfield Utd

Anyway after Barnstaple we face the tough challenge of hosting league leaders Thatcham Town, Tuesday week.