Monkhouse and Brown in today's Non-League Paper Team of the Day. Outside the top two divisions only four clubs had higher attendances than us yesterday, and two of those were in the 8,000s like us! .........and Barnet's attendance yesterday in their title-chasing match v Halifax? 2,150!
CJS I always keep my promises so I will not be at the MEM until next season, which is a bit of a shame as I wanted to see the last game in the conference as well as the first. Still I can cope with watching league 2 again I suppose
Great stats p49! Barnets attendances are shocking although I forget that they are close to bigger and better clubs so people in their area would obviously choose those sides. Fair shout to the faithful that they do have. But is is still poor though, especially seeing where they are in the table! Has there attendances been this poor for years or is it just because they are now in the conference?
Check out the latest from these cockney ****ers. http://www.onlybarnet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9274
In all honesty I dont know if you can argue with that 'one song' thing, it does get a little repetitive after a while and it would certainly make a refreshing change if some of the Blackthorn warblers could come up with a couple of new tunes !
There are a few new songs. Im still trying to understand a few of the words to be honest as some sound mumbled due to how much alcohol they have drunk before kick off
Marcus Stewart does not expect Dover Athletic to lack motivation when Rovers continue their bid to land the Vanarama Conference title at the Crabble on Saturday. Rovers make the long trip to Kent determined to claim a victory that would serve to keep the pressure on Barnet, who currently top the league table by a solitary point with two games of the season to play. Dover have little left to play for after their faint hopes of earning an unlikely play-off place were finally ended following a 3-1 defeat at the hand of Chester last weekend. Stewart said: “I don’t think that will have any bearing on the game and we are certainly not thinking in that way before we go there. People will say they have nothing to play for at this stage of the season, but they are not a team to be taken lightly. I highly doubt they will be lacking any motivation considering that some of the players may only have a couple of opportunities to earn a contract for next season. They will want to be professional and if I were in their shoes my motivation would be to try and halt our promotion hopes. That was always my motivation when I played in games like these during my career.”
Darrell Clarke, meanwhile, is under no illusions as to what sort of test Dover will pose after going head-to-head with them in the 2013 Conference South play-off final during his time in charge at Salisbury. Clarke had the better of Dover boss Chris Kinnear on that occasion following a thrilling 3-2 extra-time victory. Clarke said: “I was pleased that Chris managed to get Dover promoted the following season. They ran us very close that day and I did feel sorry for Chris because I have great respect for him as a both a manager and as a person. Any manager that can get a part-time team up into the Conference and then keep them there on limited resources is doing a great job. They were struggling to find their feet when they came to play us earlier in the season, but I wasn’t fooled by that. It is no surprise to me that they have made good progress up the league since then and they also enjoyed an run to the third round of the FA Cup, so we know we are facing a good side. Every game away from home is tough, but our record on the road this season has shown that if we are on top of our game then we are more than capable of winning the game. Some good results and performances from the lads over Easter has probably taken a bit of an edge off our situation. We know what we have to do in that we have to win our two games and then we will see if that is enough for us to win the title. If we have to do it through the play-offs then we will be ready for that, too. There is nothing to be worried about or to fear. It is going to be an exciting end to the season and I want the players and our supporters to enjoy it.”
Sometimes teams with nothing to play for are more relaxed and give it a real go. I think Dover are a tough test and the lads need to be on their mettle. Let's hope that Kidderminster and Gateshead have a real go at Barnet too! I think there's a good chance of Barnet dropping points and we need to be in there to take advantage.
