Bristol City’s flying winger Albert Adomah has indicated that he fancies playing for Ghana in the 2014 World Cup campaign.
Adomah, 23, was born in London and played for Barnet before moving to the Robins last summer and has dual nationality. Albert proved himself at Championship level last season and gave a number of defenders headaches when I saw him play. He’s still not the finished article, but has stacks of pace and trickery. From what I saw he still needs to improve on his final ball and decision making, but they are things that come with maturity.
Former Liverpool and Newcastle midfielder Didi Hamann has now been linked with the vacant manager’s job at Swindon. The former German international is currently employed in a coaching capacity at Leicester City and joins Paolo di Canio, Paul Buckle, George Burley, Paul Trollope, my mum and numerous others in the running for the job. Meanwhile defender Michael Rose looks to be off to Colchester. The 28 year old former Stockport defender joined from Stockport last summer and was fuming earlier in the season when Danny Wilson dropped him to the bench after the arrival of Alan Sheehan. He told me: “I didn’t come to Swindon to sit on the bench – not at my age.” It looks as though he won’t be hanging around for more of the same treatment.
Bristol Rovers are also in for Buckle once his play-off involvement with Torquay is over.
Oxford boss Chris Wilder has signed Eastbourne Town’s Ryan James, a 21 year old central defender. James played youth football for both Millwall and QPR. James combined playing for Eastbourne with work for the Nike Academy which helps young players join professional clubs. He has been given a six month deal.
I've set up this blog (Monday-Friday) to give extra coverage to teams I cover for the national press. Any views and opinions are all my own. Best wishes, Jeff. Follow me on Twitter and I'll update you each time I blog. http://twitter.com/JeffTaplin P.S. During the summer break I reserve the right to ramble on about anything and everything!
Showing posts with label Paul Buckle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Buckle. Show all posts
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Cheltenham Town 2 Torquay United 2 - Last Minute
I never learn.
Sitting in the Whaddon Road Press Box last night I had my report pretty much sorted out by the 66th minute when substitute Ben Stevens added a second goal to Jake Robinson’s 14th minute opener. At that point you couldn’t see Cheltenham fighting back and so the introduction my report read:
“Danny Stevens’s super strike was too hot to handle as Torquay edged closer to the play-offs.”
Keeper Scott Brown had already made two great saves in the game, but could only palm Stevens rapier-like 20 yarder over his head, off the post and into the net. You could see that Brown was trying to deflect the ball over the bar and – in fairness – he did what he could, but the shot was just too powerful.
Even though Brown also got a hand to Robinson’s opener, he stood no chance with this one either – the striker’s 2nd goal in six games since joining on loan from Shrewsbury (where he had scored nine goals in fourteen games) until the end of the season.
Gulls skipper Lee Mansell’s free kick from the right picked out the unmarked Robinson on the opposite wing and he took one step in-field before unleashing and great shot from the angle of the box.
All sorted then. An easy night and the deadline to get the report over to the paper “on the final whistle” looked comfortable.
Step up Jeff Goulding in the 73rd minute to volley home a weak punch clear from under pressure keeper Danny Potter. From 12 yards and having made some space for himself, Goulding wasn’t going to pass up on his 10th goal of the season.
It had been strange to see Jeff playing wide left in the game as the understanding he has with Wes Thomas up front seemed good earlier in the season, but if he fancies getting his striking role back from Oxford loanee Matt Green, he certainly sent out the right message to boss Mark Yates.
Nice to see the Robins get a little something out of the game though, I thought to myself. The report was still looking good and I was at peace with the world ... until the 94th minute.
Now don’t get me wrong, Wes Thomas is a lovely lad, but at that moment I could have throttled him! Suddenly the Press Box resembled New York’s Fifth Avenue during a ticker tape parade as I tore up my notebook.
Fortunately the report was only a tiddler (see below), but I remember being at one game many moons ago when the way side came back from three goals down to win it in injury time. In those days newspaper technology wasn’t what it is now and each goal entailed a call to the desk with details while trying to do a large re-write at the same time.
Yates was by far the happier of the two managers at the end of the game and rightly said:
“Points wise it’s not what we would have wanted, but I thought we deserved at least a draw from tonight. We were the better team against what is a very good side. I told the lads to keep knocking at the door and that’s what they did.”
I also had a brief chat with Mark about the pitch which really deteriorated during the game and he agreed with me that it is now “terrible”. If Cheltenham miss out on a play-off spot – something they are more than capable of doing – they may look back at the surface and have a case for pointing the finger of blame in that direction.
Having Gloucester City share the ground is not doing them any favours at all, but- as I mentioned in yesterday’s post – beggars can’t be choosers and a small club like Cheltenham need revenue from whatever source to survive.
Paul Buckle was left shell-shocked by the last-gasp equaliser and groaned:
"We've drawn, but it feels like a defeat because it was a game we controlled. Cheltenham pushed a lot of balls up, but they didn't really hurt us. Ours were two good goals and there was a lot of good play from us on a poor surface, but we're disappointed because we know that was a game that was there for the taking.
At two goals up we were coasting and then the ref goes and gives a free-kick when the lad has won the ball and from that they score. We only had ourselves to blame at the end and we have to learn from that."
Sitting in the Whaddon Road Press Box last night I had my report pretty much sorted out by the 66th minute when substitute Ben Stevens added a second goal to Jake Robinson’s 14th minute opener. At that point you couldn’t see Cheltenham fighting back and so the introduction my report read:
“Danny Stevens’s super strike was too hot to handle as Torquay edged closer to the play-offs.”
Keeper Scott Brown had already made two great saves in the game, but could only palm Stevens rapier-like 20 yarder over his head, off the post and into the net. You could see that Brown was trying to deflect the ball over the bar and – in fairness – he did what he could, but the shot was just too powerful.
Even though Brown also got a hand to Robinson’s opener, he stood no chance with this one either – the striker’s 2nd goal in six games since joining on loan from Shrewsbury (where he had scored nine goals in fourteen games) until the end of the season.
Gulls skipper Lee Mansell’s free kick from the right picked out the unmarked Robinson on the opposite wing and he took one step in-field before unleashing and great shot from the angle of the box.
All sorted then. An easy night and the deadline to get the report over to the paper “on the final whistle” looked comfortable.
Step up Jeff Goulding in the 73rd minute to volley home a weak punch clear from under pressure keeper Danny Potter. From 12 yards and having made some space for himself, Goulding wasn’t going to pass up on his 10th goal of the season.
It had been strange to see Jeff playing wide left in the game as the understanding he has with Wes Thomas up front seemed good earlier in the season, but if he fancies getting his striking role back from Oxford loanee Matt Green, he certainly sent out the right message to boss Mark Yates.
Nice to see the Robins get a little something out of the game though, I thought to myself. The report was still looking good and I was at peace with the world ... until the 94th minute.
Now don’t get me wrong, Wes Thomas is a lovely lad, but at that moment I could have throttled him! Suddenly the Press Box resembled New York’s Fifth Avenue during a ticker tape parade as I tore up my notebook.
Fortunately the report was only a tiddler (see below), but I remember being at one game many moons ago when the way side came back from three goals down to win it in injury time. In those days newspaper technology wasn’t what it is now and each goal entailed a call to the desk with details while trying to do a large re-write at the same time.
Wes won’t get many easier goals this season. He pounced to spring the offside trap and poke the ball home for his 17th of the season from about eight yards out.
My clipping from this morning’s paper
Yates was by far the happier of the two managers at the end of the game and rightly said:
“Points wise it’s not what we would have wanted, but I thought we deserved at least a draw from tonight. We were the better team against what is a very good side. I told the lads to keep knocking at the door and that’s what they did.”
I also had a brief chat with Mark about the pitch which really deteriorated during the game and he agreed with me that it is now “terrible”. If Cheltenham miss out on a play-off spot – something they are more than capable of doing – they may look back at the surface and have a case for pointing the finger of blame in that direction.
Having Gloucester City share the ground is not doing them any favours at all, but- as I mentioned in yesterday’s post – beggars can’t be choosers and a small club like Cheltenham need revenue from whatever source to survive.
Paul Buckle was left shell-shocked by the last-gasp equaliser and groaned:
"We've drawn, but it feels like a defeat because it was a game we controlled. Cheltenham pushed a lot of balls up, but they didn't really hurt us. Ours were two good goals and there was a lot of good play from us on a poor surface, but we're disappointed because we know that was a game that was there for the taking.
At two goals up we were coasting and then the ref goes and gives a free-kick when the lad has won the ball and from that they score. We only had ourselves to blame at the end and we have to learn from that."
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Cheltenham v Torquay - Chasing the dream
I have one of my increasingly irregular trips out to Whaddon Road tonight and I’m looking forward to seeing how the Robins are getting on when they face fellow play-off chasers Torquay.
Mark Yates boys are looking for their first win in seven and they have alternated between draws and defeats in the last six games – should they continue this run they should lose tonight!
But like Yates, I believe that they are good enough to turn things around. And it’s not too late.
Cheltenham are still only seven points off the play-off places and a win against Torquay will see the Gulls reeled in. The visitors are currently on 43 points compared to Cheltenham’s 40, but have a much better goal difference.
Cheltenham midfielder Marlon Pack recognises how frustrated the home support are, but has said to the local media (link to full article below):
“There is nobody more frustrated than us. We just need to put our finger on what's been going wrong and get a scrappy 1-0 win to get confidence back and kick on for the rest of the season."
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/sport/Cheltenham-Town-Players-frustrated-8211-Pack/article-3248637-detail/article.html
Young Blackpool loanee defender Ashley Eastham has already been ruled out by the club after finding himself in a car accident at the weekend, but fortunately he is physically unharmed. Unfortunately winger Josh Low remains sidelined with an injury and so it will be down to his midfield colleagues to supply hot shot striker Wes Thomas with his ammunition. Thomas has already scored 16 League and Cup goals this season.
Torquay boss Paul Buckle’s major injury concern is striker Billy Kee, 20, who suffered an ankle injury during Saturday’s game against Southend and the Torquay boss will be hoping that the lad – who has scored six goals in eleven League starts – makes a speedy recovery.
It’s true I haven’t been to Whaddon Road as much as I would have liked this season, but during my last visit I noticed that the pitch was starting to cut up more than it had in previous seasons.
Cheltenham have developed a reputation over the years for having a great playing surface – which would certainly suit Yate’s style of play – but like many other clubs who share their grounds (in this case Gloucester City FC) the pitch has suffered this term.
Down at Bristol Rovers it won’t be too much longer before the Mem resembles Derby’s Baseball Ground in the winters of the mid-70s which in turn looked like a Somme battlefield.
Of course the problem these clubs have is to balance the needs of the parent club with the much needed revenue a ground share can provide. It’s a tough call for the directors, but worth bearing in mind when the odd pass goes astray or a player blazes over the bar when the ball rises up at the most inopportune moment.
Maybe Mark Yates would be well advised to bring in a couple of non-league cloggers to see the Robins through their home fixtures.
Mark Yates boys are looking for their first win in seven and they have alternated between draws and defeats in the last six games – should they continue this run they should lose tonight!
But like Yates, I believe that they are good enough to turn things around. And it’s not too late.
Cheltenham are still only seven points off the play-off places and a win against Torquay will see the Gulls reeled in. The visitors are currently on 43 points compared to Cheltenham’s 40, but have a much better goal difference.
Cheltenham midfielder Marlon Pack recognises how frustrated the home support are, but has said to the local media (link to full article below):
“There is nobody more frustrated than us. We just need to put our finger on what's been going wrong and get a scrappy 1-0 win to get confidence back and kick on for the rest of the season."
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/sport/Cheltenham-Town-Players-frustrated-8211-Pack/article-3248637-detail/article.html
Young Blackpool loanee defender Ashley Eastham has already been ruled out by the club after finding himself in a car accident at the weekend, but fortunately he is physically unharmed. Unfortunately winger Josh Low remains sidelined with an injury and so it will be down to his midfield colleagues to supply hot shot striker Wes Thomas with his ammunition. Thomas has already scored 16 League and Cup goals this season.
Torquay boss Paul Buckle’s major injury concern is striker Billy Kee, 20, who suffered an ankle injury during Saturday’s game against Southend and the Torquay boss will be hoping that the lad – who has scored six goals in eleven League starts – makes a speedy recovery.
It’s true I haven’t been to Whaddon Road as much as I would have liked this season, but during my last visit I noticed that the pitch was starting to cut up more than it had in previous seasons.
Cheltenham have developed a reputation over the years for having a great playing surface – which would certainly suit Yate’s style of play – but like many other clubs who share their grounds (in this case Gloucester City FC) the pitch has suffered this term.
Down at Bristol Rovers it won’t be too much longer before the Mem resembles Derby’s Baseball Ground in the winters of the mid-70s which in turn looked like a Somme battlefield.
Of course the problem these clubs have is to balance the needs of the parent club with the much needed revenue a ground share can provide. It’s a tough call for the directors, but worth bearing in mind when the odd pass goes astray or a player blazes over the bar when the ball rises up at the most inopportune moment.
Maybe Mark Yates would be well advised to bring in a couple of non-league cloggers to see the Robins through their home fixtures.
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