Can we do it on a wet, cold evening in Accy ✅

 During a league campaign, you have defining games or ones that as fans, you can see what the team is made of. Last nights win at Accrington Stanley, was possibly one of those and could be argued as the best performance under Robbo since he became Head Coach in February.

Last night’s win was Robbo’s 49^th game and his 18^th victory and a win percentage of 37%. Some fans were becoming restless at the end of October with a solitary 1-0 win against a team three divisions below us amongst four defeats. Another international break could be a turning point as it gave us valuable time on the training pitch and also for the club to clarify the recruitment process, the long term plan and Robbo asking for the team to get behind the team like they were in September. 

 

Of course the team needs to do its part on the pitch and a late winner for Pompey after the international break could not takeaway the improved performance on the pitch. We had recovered our mojo and played on the front foot with a high and aggressive press that gave Pompey problems all afternoon. Since then, three wins and a draw, with 11 goals scored has totally transformed our season and the atmosphere at home to Cheltenham on Saturday and the 100+ at Accy last night shows that we are again all pulling in the same direction.

 

Whilst I felt the Q&A from the club a few weeks ago was a bit condescending and was telling us what to do, rather than asking us, it certainly got the message across. This is a new era for Wimbledon with a new ground, a new management team and a new style on the pitch with a young team, so its not surprising that us fans need to be fed the detail of what we are trying to achieve as its not going to suddenly appear. We will no doubt have another bad run at some point this season, yet I think we can all see now that this process is working and we are progressing rather than just surviving. 

 

I listened to the Accy commentary last night as its always nice to hear what they think about us. The commentary last season from then was very complimentary during our 5-1 win and last night was no different. Brett Ormerod was co-commentator and he was impressed by the energy levels and our right hand side with Osew and Assal.  Ayoub was breathtaking last night and this followed on from his two goals from Cheltenham on Saturday. Both of Accy’s bookings were from fouls on Ayoub due to his aggressive and direct play that commits defenders. Our front four as it looks nowadays gave Accy problems all game and have been instrumental in our improved form. 

 

Another clean sheet also which is probably the best to date with a strong wind in the second half and Accy constantly delivering balls into the box. Accy are a big, physical team yet this was an evening when we stood up to everything that was sent our way. Nik Tzanev is arguably one of most important players in the team and at 24 years old, has a bright future in store and is now looking to be another player that will reward us handsomely when he decides to move on.

 

After 19 games we are 17^th in the league on 24 pts, scored 28 and conceded 30.  

 

At the same point last season we were 18^th in the league on 21^st, scored 24 and conceded 31. Its always interesting to look back on previous season as it can give you a little bit of an idea of progress made. This time round though stats are just a back up to what we can all see on the pitch. The interchanging of Rudoni, McCormick, Assal and Palmer against Cheltenham was breathtaking! They have 22 goals between them and 12 assists in all competitions which shows there importance but also highlights the importance of keeping them fit over the Xmas period where loads of points are up for grabs before going into our third round tie away to Boreham Wood. 

The draw gives us a great opportunity of progressing to the forth round and it should hopefully be chosen as a live game for TV. Interestingly that there is only one reply from the second round with Ipswich travelling to Barrow and this will be on TV. Arguably more money can be made in a cup run for lower league teams by having a few games selected for TV and this includes replays. 

 

This year a Third round game shown live on TV will reward each team with £144k with any replay shown live rewarding teams £72k. 

 

So far Wimbledon have received £94k in prize money before any gate receipts have been included. If we get chosen for the live game and win, our reward would be £135k and if you add the TV money on top of the prize money already won, it would generate us £373k in addition to our Carabao Cup money and then we add the FA Cup gate receipts. 

 

The challenge now to this team is can we go to Wycombe and stand up to the physicality and gamesmanship and gain the consistency needed. When I looked at the December and January fixtures during our bad run in early November, I struggled to see where we got maximum points or even pick up some draws. Now the games against Pompey, Charlton, Ipswich, Oxford and Plymouth I see ways that we can get points and then go into 2022 with a positive approach and excitement as to what we will see on the pitch. 

 

Oh and Happy Birthday Robbo and it wasn’t a bad couple of days ‘Up North’