Dartford v Eastbourne Borough Mon 1 Apr 2024

[Mark Sweet]

As frustrating as it is, gamesmanship is part of the game and if we were smart enough to use it we wouldn't have thrown away as many leads/points as we did in the first half of the season.

[Spike]

I will travel the length and breadth of the country to support this club and I will always do my best to get behind the team in the hope that our support might just make the tiniest difference and help bridge the gap when we're struggling to get some sort of positive result. The truth however, is that the gap we are trying to bridge is not "tiny", it's a bloody great gaping chasm that would be a stretch even for the James Webb Space Telescope to see the other side.

In my opinion, today's game was our last realistic glimmer of hope and once again, we blew up in catastrophic style. Our proficiency at karaoke has not been enough to offset the comedy errors, incompetence and lack of fitness that has been our trademark for most of this season. But recently, for some players, it would appear that apathy and disinterest has been added to that list. Okay, that probably isn't really the case, but it does for all the world look like it from where I'm standing. If Eastbourne had been remotely competent in front of goal, then they would and should have run 5 or 6 past us. Thankfully, their preoccupation with laying on the floor and feigning injury coupled with the fact that they couldn't hit a cow's arse with an army of professional banjo swingers, meant that the final score looked plausibly respectable (at least, from a suitable distance). Sure, we should have had a penalty, but I'm not even convinced we'd have had the confidence to take the shot even if it had been awarded.

Pedantic mathematicians to one side, we did, in my opinion, get relegated today. As such, I don't think there is any point in sugar-coating the truth any longer. Handing out the "player of the season" voting slips today was not something I enjoyed as it mainly consisted of an hour and a half of being subjected to sarcastic comments (most of which I agreed with) from disgruntled fans. It seems the overwhelming majority of Darts' fans believe that the squad is pitifully sub-standard for this level, possibly even the level below. Until today, the fans have been backing the team to the hilt and applauding the effort at the end of each failure, but today that patience finally snapped and the team were actually booed at the end of the game. I think we all knew relegation was a done deal.

I understand Ady Pennock's public positivity, but truthfully, many of us don't believe we will get another point this season, let alone avoid the drop, and more importantly, I don't think our players believe we will either. Ady has an absolutely massive task on his hands and will in all honesty have to do an etch-a-sketch reset and start again from scratch next season. I just hope he has the contacts because recruitment was Dowse's single biggest failure and let's be honest, that is a very long list of failures from which to choose. I will still attend the remaining games, but mostly for a day out and a chat with my mates as I have completely accepted we are now getting relegated. So why are we in this mess? Well as Park Life pointed out to me today, the two teams with the worst current form in the division are ourselves and Hemel. Hmmm ...

MOTM Olly Box, the one fella on the field whose head never goes down and is always looking for a chance to score.

[Mark Sweet]

All of Ady's signings have been underwhelming and simply not good enough.

I dont believe he should even be in the dugout next season in the Isthmian. But then again I don't trust the board to recruit a suitable replacement anyway.

Did I read somewhere he has been given a 2 year contract? So we will have to pay a termination fee if we want to make the change. Laughable.

[Spike]

As frustrating as it is, gamesmanship is part of the game and if we were smart enough to use it we wouldn't have thrown away as many leads/points as we did in the first half of the season.

I have to agree. If we can't be good, we could at least have been a bit nastier. We look so naive at times and get bullied by teams. That's all part of the same problem, we've got no growlers in the team. Oh for a Lee Noble or an Elliott Bradbrook. Lee would have had half this squad pinned up against the wall in the dressing room at half-time as he famously once did to a team mate who was perceived as not giving his best.

[Spike]

All of Ady's signings have been underwhelming and simply not good enough.

I dont believe he should even be in the dugout next season in the Isthmian. But then again I don't trust the board to recruit a suitable replacement anyway.

Did I read somewhere he has been given a 2 year contract? So we will have to pay a termination fee if we want to make the change. Laughable.

That's a bit harsh Mark. I don't think Pep Guardiola could have managed this lot to safety. I agree that most of Ady's signings have been little better than what we already had, apart from Nelson, who I would say is the best by some margin and a decent partner with Rooney. I don't think we should judge Ady's signings until he's had a proper pre-season and a chance to shop in a bigger market.

[Skip]

As frustrating as it is, gamesmanship is part of the game and if we were smart enough to use it we wouldn't have thrown away as many leads/points as we did in the first half of the season.

I have to agree. If we can't be good, we could at least have been a bit nastier. We look so naive at times and get bullied by teams. That's all part of the same problem, we've got no growlers in the team. Oh for a Lee Noble or an Elliott Bradbrook. Lee would have had half this squad pinned up against the wall in the dressing room at half-time as he famously once did to a team mate who was perceived as not giving his best.

I can confirm that Nobes is still playing (I had a good chat with him recently) and Ady should definitely consider giving him a call to return for a season. If nothing else, it might remind everyone the fella is long overdue a testimonial for 10 plus years of very loyal service. Something the current squad can only dream of.

[Top Cat]

As frustrating as it is, gamesmanship is part of the game and if we were smart enough to use it we wouldn't have thrown away as many leads/points as we did in the first half of the season.

I have to agree. If we can't be good, we could at least have been a bit nastier. We look so naive at times and get bullied by teams. That's all part of the same problem, we've got no growlers in the team. Oh for a Lee Noble or an Elliott Bradbrook. Lee would have had half this squad pinned up against the wall in the dressing room at half-time as he famously once did to a team mate who was perceived as not giving his best.

I can confirm that Nobes is still playing (I had a good chat with him recently) and Ady should definitely consider giving him a call to return for a season. If nothing else, it might remind everyone the fella is long overdue a testimonial for 10 plus years of very loyal service. Something the current squad can only dream of.

If Lee was given a testimonial I recommend paying at the gate given many of us have still got tickets for Elliot’s testimonial that still hasn’t taken place covids been over for two years now and still no sign from the club when and if this will ever take place

[tommytollbooth]

I felt sorry for our keeper he is what he is a young lad on loan from Orient learning the game. I don't think it did much for his confidence when Ady shouted at him "next time punch the f*cking ball" after he let in the first goal. A great shame Dowse let Dan Wilkes go. Injuries and bad luck continue to plague us with Block and Barzey going down and I was surprised the winger we got from Sevenoaks didn't play. Ollie Box and Alex Wall seem our only real options upfront and its only a matter of time before Ollie is snapped up by a bigger club. Tonbridge seem to make a habit of unloading their Donkeys on us first Carl Rook now Jordan Greenidge, If Ady can save us it will be a miracle.

[Harry]

Poor result, poor performance.

I just hope we can somehow get a result in the same way Dover did yesterday, literally out of nothing without anybody giving us a chance.

Second hope is that we can possibly take it to the last game of the season but I appreciate it will take an incredible up turn in our fortunes and performance as individuals and a team.

One other positive was the attendance and healthy crowd, a great incentive by the board.

[Dave T]

How much abuse will I get for this post I wonder. How anyone can have an ounce of positivity left in them after what I saw today I don't know. That could have been 5-0 we got lucky it was only 2.

Absolutely woeful. Never looked like scoring and MOST of the players simply do not care and aren't good enough. Box the first to clap the fans at the end of the game, Coulson actually made an effort to go over and have a conversation with a group and Rooney always puts in 100% effort despite being played out of his position, which shows those three do care. Other than that the rest of them made it look like an effort to come over and clap us and cannot make a case for any of them actually caring for the shirt they put on.

Pennock on the other hand, what an awful appointment he's turning out to be. We look worse than we ever did under Dowson and Burman. The board should be ashamed in taking 2 months to appoint him. Whatever recruitment process they had in place has clearly been a massive failure. We don't look like scoring, the players don't have any idea what their roles are half the time. There's no off the ball movement, they're too slow in tracking back etc etc I could go on all day.

We seemed to have got another keeper with poppadom wrists. Couldn't catch anything today, no command of his area whatsoever and a massive error for the first. I questioned Beeney at the start of the season, however aside from Sandford he's the best keeper we have had all season.

That's us down. I'll be shocked if we manage a win for the remaining games. Hopefully we have a complete clear out in the summer and that includes the manager.

The board need to take a long hard look at themselves also. They have to take a large part of responsibility for this season.


MOTM Block. None of the rest of them deserve it

Rooney is wasted at Centre Half, he should be playing further forward.

I have been critical of your negativity over recent weeks Mark, but even l have to agree with most of this post. I've listened to Ady's post match interviews, and l think he is making a good job of masking his disappointment and frustration with the players, and trying to remain positive, outwardly at least!

That really was the most abjectly disappointing performance I've has the misfortune to witness all season. How Eastbourne only managed 2 goals is amazing, we deserved to lose by 4 or 5, and would have done so against a half decent side.

What's most disappointing for me is that the only real difference between two pretty poor, relegation threatened sides, was their desire and our utter lack of desire. That hurts. Really hurts. I can accept us losing to stronger, more able sides, but to just go through the motions, like several of our players did yesterday, was shameful. It was like they were thinking to themselves, just four more games with this lot, them l'm off anyway.

We can moan and beef about the dreadful referee and their cheating/gamesmanship, feigning injury to run the clock down, but it's all sour grapes really. Sadly most teams do this when leading (sorry, l can't remember if we did when we used to win games) and it's a cancer in football generally these days, but it can't and shouldn't be used as an excuse to mask our own woeful shortcomings.

The one aspect I disagree with in Mark's post though, is the criticism of Ady's appointment. I do think the board took way too long to dismiss Dowson and far, far too long to appoint his replacement, but the "crock of shite" squad he has inherited, and the lack of availability of potential recruits who are remotely interested in joining our failing team at this stage of a car crash of a season has been pretty limiting, to say the least.

I could, but l won't, name several players who really looked like they were just going through the motions yesterday. We lacked any leadership whatsoever on the pitch, and whilst Luke Coulson is a quality player (head and shoulders above anyone else in the team), he is clearly not a captain. Personally though, l hope we can keep him next year along with Box and Block, but frankly there is no-one else that I hope stays.

Like the the team evidently, l can't wait for this disastrous season to end. See you in the Ryman League next year.

[Dart of Herts]

As frustrating as it is, gamesmanship is part of the game and if we were smart enough to use it we wouldn't have thrown away as many leads/points as we did in the first half of the season.

This is spot on. Nobody enjoys diving but we have to accept that it is part of the game. As noble as it is to stay up even with contact in the area (Barzey could have easily gone down in the 2nd half v Chelm) the reality is that it puts us at a disadvantage and has no impact on a referee’s perception of the players.

It works the other end too. Need to be smarter to avoid cheap penalties, free kicks and cards, and still not lose our heads when they get given.

[The Duke]

Whilst I agree with the previous posts I dont agree with the criticism of Ady as he [ as we all know] inherited a " croc of s..t] with little time to really make a difference and providing he stays for Ryman football there is no reason as to why he doesnt have a good chance of doing well next season ALSO
the vast majority of the current[gutless] squad should be "shown the door " but I would also keep Shomotun as whilst he is not currently proven NLS quality he has potential and a season in the Ryman could well be the making of him

Its just amazing that 1300+ fans turn up to watch the worst ever Dartford team I have ever witnessed , just imagine IF Ady can get it right on the pitch and the Board can get the policy on the Youngsters right ???????

Might just turn up for the last game [Truro] to have a chat with the lads who have suffered with me this season and take a positive view on next season , it certainly wont be for the joy of watching the Darts !!!!!!!!

[Tony H]

Whilst I agree with the previous posts I dont agree with the criticism of Ady as he [ as we all know] inherited a " croc of s..t] with little time to really make a difference and providing he stays for Ryman football there is no reason as to why he doesnt have a good chance of doing well next season ALSO
the vast majority of the current[gutless] squad should be "shown the door " but I would also keep Shomotun as whilst he is not currently proven NLS quality he has potential and a season in the Ryman could well be the making of him

Its just amazing that 1300+ fans turn up to watch the worst ever Dartford team I have ever witnessed , just imagine IF Ady can get it right on the pitch and the Board can get the policy on the Youngsters right ???????

Might just turn up for the last game [Truro] to have a chat with the lads who have suffered with me this season and take a positive view on next season , it certainly wont be for the joy of watching the Darts !!!!!!!!

Ryman stopped sponsoring the Isthmian League at the end of the 2016-17 season. It’s now the Pitching In Isthmian League.

[Taunton Dart]

Shows how good the Ryman sponsorship was if people are still using it

[Dave T]

Shows how good the Ryman sponsorship was if people are still using it

Or more to the point Brian, it shows how long ago it was that I had the remotest bit of interest in that league!

Hashtag United.... my arse?!!!!

[ozymandias]

I have said for some time that the majority of players that Dowse signed in the summer were of Isthmian league standard. I agree with Duke that we ought to keep Fumnaya and possibly Coulson.
But do you think that a lot of them will be gone as they think they are better than Isthmian standard? That could be the case.
If players of the likes of Rooney think they would be better off in the Isthmian they would probably have to take a wage cut. Oh dear. Barzey, Miller Rodney, Oduado, Maloney, Box and Nembhard would probably be good to keep. How many of those can you see staying?
Ade has his work cut out.
For me, this team is down.
Isthmian league awaits.

[The Duke]

Just noticed that Jordan Wynter got MOTM , incredible , they were ALL pretty dire but he sits in front of the back 4 , hardly breaks sweat, doesnt tackle , only passed safe balls sideways or back and all season has been full of mistakes , I can only assume Wynters family or friends sponsored the match , worth noting that ONLY 1 Darts fans voted for him on the forum

Parklife will love me for this but I dont give a f... !!!!

[Lol]

I appreciate this could well be in the wrong thread, but here goes: reading through, there is a lot of justified criticism of the 1st team (players and performance). As we near the end of a dismal season for them, we are also nearing the end of what could be a very successful season for our Women's team. Currently sitting on top of their league and two Cup finals to look forward to. Please would you consider watching the ladies and cheering them on? Team spirit amongst them is second to none and they really deserve as much support as possible whilst wearing the Dartford shirt. Upcoming fixtures:
7th April. Fulham (a) @ Craven Cottage.Ko 14:30 Coaches from Princes Park. Book coach here: https://t.co/nDaZ7bpWse
17th April. Ebbsfleet (h) 19:45
21st April. League Cup final v Saltdean @ The Gallagher Stadium, Maidstone. 14:30
28th April. Dorking (h) 15:00
2nd May. Kent Cup final v Aylesford @ The Gallagher Stadium, Maidstone. 19:45
5th May. Crawley (a) 13:30 Last game of the season.
Hope to see as many of you there as possible. If you don't try, you will never know.
Thanks.

[Park Life]

[KentC]

I appreciate this could well be in the wrong thread, but here goes: reading through, there is a lot of justified criticism of the 1st team (players and performance). As we near the end of a dismal season for them, we are also nearing the end of what could be a very successful season for our Women's team. Currently sitting on top of their league and two Cup finals to look forward to. Please would you consider watching the ladies and cheering them on? Team spirit amongst them is second to none and they really deserve as much support as possible whilst wearing the Dartford shirt. Upcoming fixtures:
7th April. Fulham (a) @ Craven Cottage. Coaches from Princes Park. Book coach here: https://t.co/nDaZ7bpWse
17th April. Ebbsfleet (h)
21st April. League Cup final v Saltdean @ The Gallagher Stadium, Maidstone.
28th April. Dorking (h)
2nd May. Kent Cup final v Aylesford @ The Gallagher Stadium, Maidstone.
5th May. Crawley (a) Last game of the season.
Hope to see as many of you there as possible. If you don't try, you will never know.
Thanks.

It’s worked on me, I may take in a game. Are home games on the 4g?
Appreciate wrong thread bu it’s just one question.