Well I for one rather gobsmacked and puzzled where that result came from.........Accrington have a good home record.........only five teams have won more home points than them, and Southend the same........... Only two clubs have won less points away from home than Argyle. Accrington with a new manager......so you expect them to play out of their skins to impress him........surely he couldn't have dragged them down so quickly. Or was it that Argyle played out of their skins.....who the hell knows........what we do know is that Argyle got their second clean sheet in a row.......first time this season. Maybe Argyles next two games will answer the question.........big,big games, home to Dag & Red.........and away at Macclesfield........the old clich'e...........six pointers........if that makes sense.......Tuesday week at 10pm.....and we might know the answer.......or be disappointed again.
There maybe is some room for optimism,heard Fletch on radio Devon this morning,sounding focussed basically saying good result played more as a team-lets move on to the next game.Well basically thats it,play well, win and get to the next game.can't say i was gobmascked at all,although was quietly thinking could snatch a 1-0 win.Given who we are playing in the next two matches,i think it's nigh on impossible to predict outcomes,both teams like us with their backs to the wall can find inner strengths or give in on the day.The Daggers are below us and just been drubbed 5-0, but they could come out at 3pm on Saturday, either like raging tigers or sick pussycats.What will save us is playing like a team,something that has eluded us most of the season and achieving some kind of run.At last we have some quality in the team and we are starting to play more cohesively-so who knows.Anyway lets enjoy the moment-for now.
To be honest they are all big games between now and potentially the end of the season. We could win the next 3 or 4 and then lose the following 5 or 6. Similarly the whole bottom section of the league could go on a winning spree except us and we would be back in the mire as quickly as being out of it. It is one game at a time and see how it goes for us. The one thing this side has been unable to do all season is put in back to back performances. I was not shocked at Argyle winning on Saturday if a little stunned at the scoreline which I doubt even Fletcher saw coming in his wildest dream. We are capable of those sorts of performances and have done it before this season. It is the belief by the squad that they really are a reasonable side that is paramount in this and not to come out for the next game with doubts again. The results of late show we can compete with the best in the league so it is in them to keep this going now. I think in Argyle's history they have not done a magic act to scrape out of the **** when in it so it is that which keeps the supporters a little in the Doldrums even after a great result. Even in the second promotion year I think a lot were expecting the wheels to come off as it was Argyle and they just don't do easy. Perhaps the psychi has changed who knows. I certainly don't intend to count any chickens for a while.
Remember Malcolm Alison, sensible? I seem to recall he dug us out of the brown stuff a couple of times. No matter, though, that was then. Right now we have to keep picking up points and forget the other teams. We got caught out two seasons running by falling apart at the end of the season. Every game is vital from here on in and avoiding defeat as much as possible with a good sprinkling of wins should see us safe. We haven't been thrashed by anyone since Oxford and are a different team today with a solid core of experienced players. Hopefully we are the 'form team' at the bottom and pull clear but consistency must be the aim.
Hello Westernmac, nice to hear from you again. Hope you are keeping well. There are always exceptions to the rule I know but generally Argyle have not been the team to make the great escape from anything. But, as said, we are where we are now and I agree that racking the points up consistently is the name of the game. A couple of seasons ago we were not hammered by anyone much either just consistently lost by the odd goal each time. At least this time those sorts of matches have been turned into drawn ones rather than no points at all. I've said before that I think this season will see a very low score for relegation points wise. None of the clubs in and around us have turned on the style yet and show no signs of doing so. Even those that have put a few results together have not gone on with any sort of run and are still close enough to be dragged backwards.
I remain at "We're All Doomed" status at least until 5pm on Saturday 28th - 2 good results against Dagenham & Redbridge and Macclesfield would be a huge boost if other results go our way as they did on Saturday. However, I'll say 3 things: MacDonald looks like a born goal scorer but don't mention it on the Burnley board. He was the only one to react on either side to the rebound for his second goal and that's the mark of a 6-yard box predator. Can we keep him at least to the end of the season? The WMN describes Argyle as "magnificent", noting that's an amazing thing to be saying after what's gone before. Ignoring the 4 goals, it says that the Accrington centre-forward looked as though he would have been dangerous except he appeared to be "chained to Darren Purse". A performance like that must prove to players that they CAN do it. Once that basic question over their ability as a team is out of the way, what may follow?
We really need those 6 pts....probably 2 of Argyle's most important games to date but nothing less than 4pts is a must! The players must have great belief and encouragement from the Stanley game and should start as they left off, attack and get the ball to the forwards...no sitting back as can prove costly also have a crack at any opportunity...something that seems to be dying out these days. Hope the Green Army turn out in force too!
We certainly need the results but we would also like tonights results to go the right way as well which would be useful.
May be even more important now for Saturday following Northampton's win tonight. On balance I'm not too unhappy with their win as it drags Macclesfield even closer and we have them next week and they should lose on Saturday. We could pass them on Saturday if all goes well. But this is Argyle and their luck we are talking about.
