Eastleigh FC (THTS) The Return Flight to Sunderland Thread

[Bee_Forever]

So..... Tuesday sees the bees return to Hive comforts where we have functioning toilets (for a diabetic this matters..) good seats and more than one turnstile (usually) as we take on McCallum FC.

After hundreds of bees fans turned up and then watched in stunned silence as the team did not it will be good to be able to focus on the league, which is normally the pat cliche which people use, but with our team in the playoffs it is absolutely true.

After running the club as a NLS outfit on financial terms following Donald Bucks departure to Sunderland, Eastleigh sacked Ben Strevens who had achieved a 40% win ratio with scant resources. His replacement Lee Bradbury was sacked after a win ratio of 35% proving the grass is not always greener, especially when your grass is covered by an airport carpark. After another caretaker spell by Richard Hill who is the Spitfire equivalent of Paul Fairclough in that he emerges from his caretaker shed every couple of seasons, they made the leftfield appointment of local boy Kelvin Davis, who has not had a football role since leaving Southampton over 4 years ago. Results have been mixed with two wins, a draw and a defeat but it has been enough to drag the team 4 points clear of the relegation places.

As was the case earlier in the season Eastleigh are a poor team with two excellent strikers in McCallum and Quigley who invariably get them out of trouble. Stewart Donald, who stole our manager and consigned us to relegation, manages his football clubs like a spotty teenager playing football manager buying the two best strikers then leaving the team to scrape around for the rest of the players needed. At Silverlake this proved enough as McCallum and Quigley rescued a point for them from 3-0 down and it as a worry with our patched up defence that we could be in for a repeat. Alot will hinge on whether Thompson is fit to lead the defence. In the desperate hope that he is I would go:-

---------------------------------Keeley----------------------------------

----------------Wynter---------Thompson-----------Coker-----------

------Hall-Johnson-----------------------------------------Pritchard--

-------------------------Hartigan----------Gorman---------------------

------------------Brunt---------------------------------Freeman---------

-----------------------------------Stead------------------------------------

Subs: Kabamba, O'Donkor, Armstrong, Shaking, Cropper

I am doing this one. Hoping we can put the Bromleyshambles behind us and push on for 2nd place.

COYBS

[Tickets]

591 home , 20 away.

2nd in the league...

[CrawleyBee]

591 home , 20 away.

2nd in the league...

Pretty depressing but not shocked. Don’t think 2nd in the league makes any difference.

[hoofer2]

We have to start Kabamba in my opinion. Think it was DBs concern of plastic why did not start on Saturday.

The fringe players contained Bromley pretty well, and disappointing more chances were not fashioned with the subs that were brought on.

Keeping McCallum quiet will be the biggest challenge which is why Kabamba has to start as is our first line of defence

[Big Bondz NGala]

Cool heads needed. John Dunleavy needed.

[Sam_BFC]

That's enough now Toby.

[Big Bondz NGala]

John Dunleavy the straw to break the camel’s back- a fitting end. But messrs Kefalas, Harper and Adjeman-Pandoe will be disappointed.

All the best!

[jerroll]

John Dunleavy the straw to break the camel’s back- a fitting end. But messrs Kefalas, Harper and Adjeman-Pandoe will be disappointed.

All the best!

As will Dion Dublin and the late Francis Joseph!!

[Sam_BFC]

John Dunleavy the straw to break the camel’s back- a fitting end. But messrs Kefalas, Harper and Adjeman-Pandoe will be disappointed.

All the best!

Actually I was more upset that you didn't comment on any of my own suggestions. Minutiae from Jerroll has been good.

[ninestein]

Is Jeremy DeMeghales fit yet? Or is he still in the Kabba room?

[Sam_BFC]

Did Fairclough once say he is what we had been missing since Simon King left the club. I am not sure I ever saw him play, nor if he had any starts other than a 1-5 or similar at Chester.

[jerroll]

Did Fairclough once say he is what we had been missing since Simon King left the club. I am not sure I ever saw him play, nor if he had any starts other than a 1-5 or similar at Chester.

He played in that awful 0-0 at Port Vale which was one of the worst games I have seen in over 1900 games!

[Big Bondz NGala]

I love it!

[11bee717]

591 home , 20 away.

2nd in the league...

Can’t quite put into words how disgraceful this is. People moan about all the factors etc but the bottom line is people just don’t make an effort anymore. Sad, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.

[PBBee]

591 home , 20 away.

2nd in the league...

Can’t quite put into words how disgraceful this is. People moan about all the factors etc but the bottom line is people just don’t make an effort anymore. Sad, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.

It seems at the moment we have about 600 core fans that don’t miss a home game & go to a lot of big away games, then a sliding scale of attendance up to 2000 that go to a handful through the season & more likely Saturday games.

The problem is only the 600 have season tickets & don’t even have to think about buying tickets, the rest are forking out £22 a game in this weather. Bromley & even Woking away is probably more appealing than Eastleigh at home in front of 1000 unfortunately.