The Independent Voice of Ilkeston Football
1 of 1- Matchman
- Member
Offline 
- Registered: 26/2/2016
- Posts: 13,769
Next four league games
After the completion of our first months fixtures we have 8 points from 6 games and are mid table. Two wins, two draws and two losses is a steady return but given the short amount of time we had to put together a team and the little knowledge we had of our league we are in then maybe we should not have expected more.
After six games we now have a better idea of what is expected but the next four games in September appear to be against more difficult opponents.
Sep 02 Bolehall Swifts (home) currently 6th with 11points
Sep 16 Atherstone Town (away) currently 9th with 9 points
Sep 23 Hinckley AFC (home) currently 8th with 9 points
Sep 30 Leicester Road (home) currently 7th with 10 points
The outcome of these four September fixtures should give us an indication of whether we are capable of making a promotion challenge. It's still early days but we must become more ruthless and not drop unnecessary points. In my opinion to be champions we have to win our home games and then take at least a point from our away games . Then we may be in with a shout.
- Matchman
- Member
Offline
- Registered: 26/2/2016
- Posts: 13,769
Re: Next four league games
Steve Chettle is quoted as saying that he is trying to bring in new players. There is always room for improvement in any team but in order to attract the right calibre of players we will have to show that we are ambitious and going flat out to achieve promotion. That means winning games. We have the advantage of having a nice ground and a good pitch to play on and good support. But in my opinion, what really attracts good players is playing in a winning team.
- •
Thread Starter- Matchman
- Member
Offline
- Registered: 26/2/2016
- Posts: 13,769
Re: Next four league games
At this early stage of the season, rather than looking at the league table from a points gained perspective, it is probably more meaningful to look at points dropped. Walsall Wood have a 100% record having dropped no points in their 5 games. Studley have played 7 games and dropped 5 points so far. Chelmsley Town have dropped 6 points from 7 games. Heath Hayes and Racing Club Warwick have both dropped 7 points from 6 games.
This compares with 10 points dropped by Ilkeston so far.
Studley______________ P6 W5 D1 L1 Points 16 Points Dropped 5
Walsall Wood_________ P5 W5 D0 L0 Points 15 Points Dropped 0
Chelmsley Town_______ P7 W5 D0 L2 Points 15 Points Dropped 6
Heath Hayes _________ P6 W3 D2 L1 Points 11 Points Dropped 7
Racing Club Warwick___ P6 W3 D2 L1 Points 11 Points Dropped 7
Ilkeston Town__________P6 W2 D2 L2 Points 8 Points Dropped 10
If only the top team in our league is automatically promoted then looking at our early promotion rivals this way shows that we have to pull back 10 points to catch Walsall Wood. Of course it is early days yet and things can quickly change but we already are needing Walsall Wood to drop 10 more points than us. We cannot let this gap get much greater if we are hoping to finish champions. But with Alan Hardy's backing, and if Steve Chettle is able to gradually strengthen the team, automatic promotion will always be a possibility.
- •
Thread Starter- Matchman
- Member
Offline
- Registered: 26/2/2016
- Posts: 13,769
Re: Next four league games
Confidence must be high after Ilkeston's comfortable win against Bolehall Swifts. There is a blank Saturday coming up but then we go to Atherstone Town who have moved into 4th position after their 2-0 win against bottom club Cadbury. Atherstone have a point more than us having played a game less and have won 4 and lost 2. This looks likely to be a tough test but one we should be looking to win. After losing our first game at the NMG we have gone on to win our last three without conceding a goal. By contrast our three games away from home have yielded only 2 points so a win is needed to improve our away record. It's not that we have played badly in our away games but we have to pick up the points to match the performances. A win at Atherstone would be a terrific result and would send a message to other promotion hopefuls.
- •
Thread Starter