Dulwich v Ebbsfleet 24 Jan 2023

[Bugpowder Dust]

Got to cut out the red cards, crippling us. I thought we should have put a sub on immediately after the card, because it meant Felix had to drop back when he was our best attacking threat.

We desperately need a new centre defender. Holland has been at the heart of the defence for the latest run of shipping goals and questions need to be asked. Quade not a centre back in this division either. Ming has checked out and can't be a regular starter, while Vint has probably reached the end of his NLS career, time to drop down.

Krasniqi not up to it either. Hard to assess the new guy, he didn't have much time.

More than a bit worrying, this relatively new thing of conceding every 15 minutes

 

[The new one]

All about opinions just take time to look back at our best spell this season and look at our back 4 and who played in the games

 

[EDC]

Two wins in a row is hardly a best spell.

 

[The new one]

Our many points November and December.

 

[Bugpowder Dust]

Form is consistently inconsistent as someone said on the terrace last night.

But it seems we either win, or lose by a hatful of goals. Something is causing that and I've no idea what. So if not players, then it's coaching.

But there's no getting away from the damage of all the red cards, the double whammy of losing a player for a chunk of the game and then the following suspension.

 

[The new one]

Form is consistently inconsistent as someone said on the terrace last night.

But it seems we either win, or lose by a hatful of goals. Something is causing that and I've no idea what. So if not players, then it's coaching.

But there's no getting away from the damage of all the red cards, the double whammy of losing a player for a chunk of the game and then the following suspension.

Totally agree

 

[Pink Panther]

Three wins and two draws up to and including New Year's Day; 20 points from 10 games until four days ago. Two defeats in a row, one against the best team in the division, and some people seem to have forgotten that.

I don't think we were ever good enough to sustain that form for the rest of the season, or to gatecrash the play-offs, but I think we have the quality to see off enough opponents to finish safely in mid-table. It's frustrating to have made so little progress since promotion but the current manager has little option than to work with what he's got until the summer.

 

[AveryDave]

As much as Barnes’ more expansive approach is enjoyable to watch when it gets a result, when it doesn’t work it tends to lead to a bit of a battering, and it feels like opposing teams have started to work that out - Farnborough being one example, when by Barnes’ own admission they beat us tactically within the first half an hour.

If you only get the chance to train the players for one evening a week (which I believe is the current set up, happy to be corrected), it’s probably easier to focus on staying organised and trying not to concede than getting on top of the opposition and out scoring them. Constantly changing the team around to accommodate suspensions can’t help with trying to get more complex ideas over either.

The last couple of years of Rose’s time felt like he was using his one day a week to make his team hard to beat and hitting Danny Mills as the attacking route to maybe grab a goal - which obviously played out as it did.

But maybe Barnes needs to be a bit more pragmatic, especially against the better sides in the League or when away from home, and not try and beat every team at his own game.

A rough estimate suggests we would need six more wins to stay up in most recent seasons - there’s plenty of time to get those and more, but you start to worry that it’s going to be tighter than you’d like if teams that are organised and disciplined are able to put two or three past you most weeks.

 

[Al Cunningham]

One player isn't a team but Felix comes pretty close to it. Without him I think we would be closer to the bottom. Again last night he played right back/midfield/wing and not surprisingly looked knackered if not injured when taken off. Another good performance from Powell. Looks a good replacement for Clarke and great determination and ability to score another goal. Also best performance from Smith yesterday I thought . Missed a few chances but now looks fully fit from injury and combined well with Powell.. All season we have missed that strong midfield presence alongside Raymond. Shame Comley has not got fully fit. Also need a solid partner for Holland. That might be Hill when he returns. On the negative side I feel Krasniqi, Taylor and Vint struggle for fitness and ability at this level.

 

[EDC]

So many short or misplaced passes ladt night, the players looked scared of Ebbfleet’s presence. Their lad on the right was allowed to run into the box so many times.

 

[Ben Caldecourt]

So many short or misplaced passes ladt night, the players looked scared of Ebbfleet’s presence. Their lad on the right was allowed to run into the box so many times.

Their lad on the right being Darren McQueen?

 

[Moroccan Sunset]

Agree with PP. I think if Barnes was a total dud, we would be in the same position we were in when he took over - there would be no tangible signs of improvement, or new and effective ideas. But we are in a higher league position than we were and our win rate has improved dramatically.

Think it's worth pausing on the players he's brought in. Powell and Eweka are the two that I would say have played a core role in the starting 11 during their time with us. Both, I think it's widely agreed, improved the side when they play/played. If Barnes was totally inept, I don't think he'd be that good at finding players that make a very clear difference to our performances.

We are stuck with many of the players we signed at the start of the season unfortunately, and again he can't be blamed for that. He's clearly having to work on a reduced budget as well: Deadfield, Hill, and Akanbi haven't had direct replacements, which implies he's under orders to reduce the weekly bill. On top of that Kalala is out long term and so his wages are tied up too.

I think we're on a bad run, and it was always going to hit at some point - because it happens to every club in every season. We're not the highest budget in the division and we clearly don't have the resources of teams like Ebbsfleet, H&W and Dartford, so it would have been an unbelievable achievement for Barnes to drag us into the play offs with a set of players that he did not recruit.

 

[Moroccan Sunset]

And I cant help but think that the leaky defence is down to the number of suspensions and injuries that we're getting at the moment. A defence relies on familiarity and relationships, but if its being changed every week its not going to build those bonds.

I think there's some senior players in this squad that are liabilities, and need to stop the silly bookings and sending offs. I suspect they're all bloody contracted though.

 

[editor]

Agree with PP. I think if Barnes was a total dud, we would be in the same position we were in when he took over - there would be no tangible signs of improvement, or new and effective ideas. But we are in a higher league position than we were and our win rate has improved dramatically.

Think it's worth pausing on the players he's brought in. Powell and Eweka are the two that I would say have played a core role in the starting 11 during their time with us. Both, I think it's widely agreed, improved the side when they play/played. If Barnes was totally inept, I don't think he'd be that good at finding players that make a very clear difference to our performances.

We are stuck with many of the players we signed at the start of the season unfortunately, and again he can't be blamed for that. He's clearly having to work on a reduced budget as well: Deadfield, Hill, and Akanbi haven't had direct replacements, which implies he's under orders to reduce the weekly bill. On top of that Kalala is out long term and so his wages are tied up too.

I think we're on a bad run, and it was always going to hit at some point - because it happens to every club in every season. We're not the highest budget in the division and we clearly don't have the resources of teams like Ebbsfleet, H&W and Dartford, so it would have been an unbelievable achievement for Barnes to drag us into the play offs with a set of players that he did not recruit.

But conceding 15 goals in just four games is appalling and worrying. Have we ever leaked so many goals so quickly?

 

[Paula_G]

If you only get the chance to train the players for one evening a week

Seriously? I train as often as that with Goal Diggers and almost as often with Peckham Town! Struggling to believe that after all the forward momentum on moving closer to a semi-pro set up over the past few years plus the acquisition of the training ground that the players are training that little. That said it’s been a while since we’ve had a Tuesday night without a scheduled game.

 

[AveryDave]

But conceding 15 goals in just four games is appalling and worrying. Have we ever leaked so many goals so quickly?

On a very quick check, not since November 2013.

 

[AveryDave]

Seriously? I train as often as that with Goal Diggers and almost as often with Peckham Town! Struggling to believe that after all the forward momentum on moving closer to a semi-pro set up over the past few years plus the acquisition of the training ground that the players are training that little. That said it’s been a while since we’ve had a Tuesday night without a scheduled game.

Pretty sure I read somewhere that in a normal week, so no postponements or other disruptions, the first team trains on Thursday evenings. But as I say, entirely happy to be corrected on that.

 

[The new one]

Should of played mills he would of destroyed solly. Like Alex wall did for Dartford against him

 

[Moroccan Sunset]

But conceding 15 goals in just four games is appalling and worrying. Have we ever leaked so many goals so quickly?

No, it's clearly a lot. But as above, I don't think it's a coincidence that it's happened at a time when Vint, Blackman, Wood, and Holland have all been out injured, when we've lost Eweka, and been forced to play Taylor in what I think everyone now agrees is not his natural position.

And maybe we are too open at the back too, that is a tactical thing, and that is down to Barnes, but I don't think it's fair to say 'we're hemaerrogaing goals and it's all Barnes's fault'. This isn't his squad and we've had a lot of enforced changes at the back.

 

[Moroccan Sunset]

Pretty sure I read somewhere that in a normal week, so no postponements or other disruptions, the first team trains on Thursday evenings. But as I say, entirely happy to be corrected on that.

We train Tues and Thurs evenings. Obviously only Thurs evenings if we have a game on Tues.

 

[AveryDave]

We train Tues and Thurs evenings. Obviously only Thurs evenings if we have a game on Tues.

Appreciate the correction on that, thank you.

 

[baleboy_93]

Pretty sure I read somewhere that in a normal week, so no postponements or other disruptions, the first team trains on Thursday evenings. But as I say, entirely happy to be corrected on that.

We train twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays

 

[baleboy_93]

Should of played mills he would of destroyed solly. Like Alex wall did for Dartford against him

Mills was due to be rested at Slough on Saturday to give him a much needed break. Only played there due to Nana being unavailable through a family illness last minute. The 3G surface flares up old knocks and he was feeling it afterwards. Would rather rest him last night and not have him burn out from playing every week like what happened last season.

Thought Porter and Smith worked incredibly hard up front last night, real workhorse performances from both. As poor as we were at Slough, last night I felt we were just beaten by a better side, who should win the division, and there is no shame in that.

 

[Cyclodunc]

We train on Thursdays and Tuesdays.

 

[The new one]

Bale boy. Thanks

 

[The new one]

Our long training sessions 2 hours ? And where do u know

 

[Paula_G]

We train twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays

Thanks, that’s what I thought was the case. I would have been rather surprised to hear that had changed even with the difficulty in obtaining suitable pitches these days something I’ve become only too acutely aware of trying to source training pitches for women’s football.

 

[Christian Burt]

My guess is Dulwich win a few and lose a few until the end of the season, with enough wins to land around 14-16th.
Defeats against Ebbsfleet aren’t really the barometer at this point of the season, we will need to beat those around and below us in the table.
Next season is when we likely see if Barnes is a good appointment, my spidey sense feels he might do well given time.