Darlo Uncovered

Well after the anti-climax of Saturday hopefully we can avoid any pitch drama and get back to playing again on Tuesday night. Always a tough (and long) trip to Brackley but in this case we have the benefit of a rest having not played, while Brackley were getting a 1-1 draw with Kettering. Not a great result for them but in the 5 game form table they are the form side in the league with 13 points from their last 15 available. Admittedly we are currently 2nd in the 5 game form table with 12 point from our last 15 available so nothing to be scared of.

Unless we sign a keeper tomorrow, then looks like Saltmer will get another chance. Hope he does well. He’s our contracted keeper after all and in all honesty he hasn’t done much wrong this season. Not sure on Storey’s situation re travel. If it doesn’t suit him at the minute then Reid is a good enough replacement. Guessing Holness hasn’t shaken off his thigh injury to let us play our best midfield 3. If not I’d bring Atkinson in and ask him to play the sitting role in a midfield 3, free up Wheatley to use his energy around the pitch. I’d rather we were solid, a draw away at Brackley isn’t a bad result. Upfront you can’t drop O’Neill after his last performance, so Charman comes into the squad on the bench. If Hedley isn’t fit enough for the bench the. Swap him out for Hudson.

————-————— Saltmer ————————-
McMahon —— Hunt — Reid ——— Liddle
—— Hatfield —Atkinson —Wheatley ——
Sousa ————— O’Neill ———— Campbell

Subs: Watson, Hedley, Rivers, Maguire, Charman

O'Neill won't be playing unless his loan has been extended, it ended on the 2nd Jan.

super_les_mcjannet wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 03, 2021 9:25 pm

O'Neill won't be playing unless his loan has been extended, it ended on the 2nd Jan.

Arghh, we have been here before! The lad had just found his best position & starting to play really well then he gets recalled. Shame for both us & the lad.

jjljks wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:45 am

super_les_mcjannet wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 03, 2021 9:25 pm

O'Neill won't be playing unless his loan has been extended, it ended on the 2nd Jan.

Arghh, we have been here before! The lad had just found his best position & starting to play really well then he gets recalled. Shame for both us & the lad.

"Had just found his best position"? Think we all knew what his best position was so be more accurate to say we finally got the best out of him by playing in his best position? No one knows what AA didn't make that decision earlier.

Hopefully AA can get his loan extended

bga wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 04, 2021 8:16 am

jjljks wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:45 am

super_les_mcjannet wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 03, 2021 9:25 pm

O'Neill won't be playing unless his loan has been extended, it ended on the 2nd Jan.

Arghh, we have been here before! The lad had just found his best position & starting to play really well then he gets recalled. Shame for both us & the lad.

"Had just found his best position"? Think we all knew what his best position was so be more accurate to say we finally got the best out of him by playing in his best position? No one knows what AA didn't make that decision earlier.

Fair comment. Think AA wanted to give Maguire some time up front, plus the absence of Charman (& Holmes).

Really surprised we haven’t heard anything regarding O’Neil as yet

His loan was due to expire on the 2nd Jan so thought we might have heard either way by now

Fingers crossed we can keep hold of him until the end of the season

So following tonight's anouncement Elite Sport can continue. When does the National League funding run out end of this month was it?

I think any new funding has to be fair and based on actual financial losses through the gate ie fan numbers over a season entering through a clubs turnstiles. Not at the whim of someone unscrupulous with only their own attachment to certain clubs thus tilting the sharing of any funds unfairly in favour of their attached though loosely clubs. Any sharing has to be unquestionably fair. If there's any.

We have had all the initial funding we are getting.

The next set of funding is largely loans with small amount being grants, however the National League haven't confirmed anything to the clubs as yet. So the clubs have no idea what they will be given or what they can loan.

It's ok though as the National League don't want to share the independent report as yet, on the initial funding allocations.

https://www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.c ... tribution/

bga wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 04, 2021 8:35 pm

So following tonight's anouncement Elite Sport can continue. When does the National League funding run out end of this month was it?

Apologies I should really have posted this under the "National League Lottery Funding" thread. Be interesting see if the Leagye take into account any of the Independent review findings.

How we are allowed, or even expected to travel down to Brackley tomorrow and Weymouth in a couple of weeks during a National Lockdown is absolutely absurd.

AndyPark wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:57 pm

How we are allowed, or even expected to travel down to Brackley tomorrow and Weymouth in a couple of weeks during a National Lockdown is absolutely absurd.

You have called it absolutely spot on Andy our players are being sent to the very parts of the country where the new variant is running rampant. The entire league should have been locked down for the whole of January and extended a month with next season kicking off later once more though common sense gets thrown out of the window.

AndyPark wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:57 pm

How we are allowed, or even expected to travel down to Brackley tomorrow and Weymouth in a couple of weeks during a National Lockdown is absolutely absurd.

Agreed it is bizarre.

Old Git wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 04, 2021 10:27 pm

AndyPark wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:57 pm

How we are allowed, or even expected to travel down to Brackley tomorrow and Weymouth in a couple of weeks during a National Lockdown is absolutely absurd.

Agreed it is bizarre.

More than bizarre. It is stupid.

Either we are in a national lockdown, which I 100 per cent agree we should be, or we are not. But to have to travel to Weymouth in such a situation is ridiculous.

Typical of HMG, contradictions & exceptions when it suits them. Another example, keeping primary schools open but total closure of soft play centres.

jjljks wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 5:51 am

Another example, keeping primary schools open but total closure of soft play centres.

What do you think happens in schools? The same activity as a soft play centre?

Mister e wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 04, 2021 10:27 pm

AndyPark wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:57 pm

How we are allowed, or even expected to travel down to Brackley tomorrow and Weymouth in a couple of weeks during a National Lockdown is absolutely absurd.

You have called it absolutely spot on Andy our players are being sent to the very parts of the country where the new variant is running rampant. The entire league should have been locked down for the whole of January and extended a month with next season kicking off later once more though common sense gets thrown out of the window.

From somewhere at the back of my mind, is there not a FIFA rule that when they have tournaments the national season has to finish prior to it's start? Sure I heard this during the arguments about Qatar.

Not sure how we will manage to travel to Weymouth as I would have thought it would be extremely difficult to stay overnight. Will any accommodation even be open?
If we had to travel on the day it would mean a really early start about 6am possibly and not getting home until the early hours of Sunday. Presumably motorway services are affected by COVID rules as well.
On a brighter note AA says in his interview prior to Brackley game that he is expecting Tyrone to sign a loan deal until the end of the season.

Couldn't the league have switched Hereford's away game at Brackley on Saturday to tonight instead of them travelling to Spennymoor and then we could have played Spenny tonight.

Spen - Hereford off. Both teams now have cases.

I’m not sure how the league is going to sensibly continue without a delay of the season tbh. There’s no mass testing of players. So now those two can’t play at all for two weeks.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we either see a break, or, the league need to have a think about scheduling. Move the end of the season back, otherwise teams are going to have absurd backlogs.

They say they'll end it in May whatever. There will be 2 options then - PPG, which depends on how many games have actually been played, or, if enough have not been played, then null and void the season. I wonder if the Trophy will also be paused.

The silence from them suggests they are adamant about continuing.

I find it all a bit perplexing tbh. I can't go to my office (haven't been in since March and have to work from home) yet I can go and film a game of football. Very weird to me.

They'll say we're elite but the reality on the ground is anything but. There is no test (or more accurately no support from the league for testing). So clubs have no idea what is going on within them until the point when someone tests positive. You've got players who work day jobs so they aren't really in a bubble like professionals are. Then you've got clubs at this level which are dependant on volunteers and they are being put in a difficult situation.

If they want to continue then fair enough, but they need to be doing like the EFL is doing and testing.

All I can see at the moment is cases and postponements increasing. As usual though its silence from the league. They are less than useless. Don't get me wrong I want the football to continue as its a massive help to people but I think the league have a duty of care to its players, particularly at North and South level.

TFDM wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 1:40 pm

The silence from them suggests they are adamant about continuing.

I find it all a bit perplexing tbh. I can't go to my office (haven't been in since March and have to work from home) yet I can go and film a game of football. Very weird to me.

They'll say we're elite but the reality on the ground is anything but. There is no test (or more accurately no support from the league for testing). So clubs have no idea what is going on within them until the point when someone tests positive. You've got players who work day jobs so they aren't really in a bubble like professionals are. Then you've got clubs at this level which are dependant on volunteers and they are being put in a difficult situation.

If they want to continue then fair enough, but they need to be doing like the EFL is doing and testing.

All I can see at the moment is cases and postponements increasing. As usual though its silence from the league. They are less than useless. Don't get me wrong I want the football to continue as its a massive help to people but I think the league have a duty of care to its players, particularly at North and South level.

Interesting post. I hadn’t thought it through in detail but I kind of thought the club would make sure all players and staff were regularly tested and especially before jumping on a bus to travel. The fingers crossed method (if that’s what is happening) is asking for it at present.

The club are doing everything they can in fairness. They've got a rules and stuff which they follow and people are being careful. But at the end of the day there is only so much they can do. And they aren't been given any help from the league. None of the clubs at this level are. Its been pathetic from day one.

O’Neil till the end of January

TFDM wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 1:40 pm

The silence from them suggests they are adamant about continuing.

I find it all a bit perplexing tbh. I can't go to my office (haven't been in since March and have to work from home) yet I can go and film a game of football. Very weird to me.

They'll say we're elite but the reality on the ground is anything but. There is no test (or more accurately no support from the league for testing). So clubs have no idea what is going on within them until the point when someone tests positive. You've got players who work day jobs so they aren't really in a bubble like professionals are. Then you've got clubs at this level which are dependant on volunteers and they are being put in a difficult situation.

If they want to continue then fair enough, but they need to be doing like the EFL is doing and testing.

All I can see at the moment is cases and postponements increasing. As usual though its silence from the league. They are less than useless. Don't get me wrong I want the football to continue as its a massive help to people but I think the league have a duty of care to its players, particularly at North and South level.

I'm not sure the EFL are really testing that regularly.

Some of their clubs might be but the league aren't. I am pretty sure it was a single start of season test and then a mid-season test. At least they were the early suggestions it may have moved on.

Pretty sure that is why PL clubs paid for EFL clubs to be tested when they were playing in the whatever the Autowindscreen is called now.

Andy Holt at Accrington has confirmed that they have to pay for them if they get them done.

The Championship match officials have only this week done a their second test. As in one at the start of the season and a mid-season test.

I've got a feeling the recent uplift in positives in Championship (60 cases) is because a round of testing has been done.

Am I the only one not sure why we have signed O’Neill for the season? Got huge potential and on his day is a match winner, no doubt. But so are Charman, McGuire and Campbell who can all play his position and are actually our players.
Yet surely other areas of the pitch need strengthening ahead of centre forward.
That said, hope he scores the winner tonight!

Quakerlad wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 6:37 pm

Am I the only one not sure why we have signed O’Neill for the season? Got huge potential and on his day is a match winner, no doubt. But so are Charman, McGuire and Campbell who can all play his position and are actually our players.
Yet surely other areas of the pitch need strengthening ahead of centre forward.
That said, hope he scores the winner tonight!

He's only here till end of January.. for now.

Team for the evening:

Saltmer, McMahon, Reid, Hunt, Watson, Hatfield, Wheatley, Rivers, Sousa, O’Neill, Campbell

Subs: Storey, Hudson, Maguire, Charman