Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Man of the Match

Poll ended at Tue Mar 07, 2023 4:53 pm

Ben Dudzinski
0
No votes
Jordan Wynter
0
No votes
Connor Essam
10
59%
Tom Bonner
4
24%
Luke Coulson
1
6%
Alex Wall
0
No votes
Keiran Murtagh
0
No votes
Isaac Ogundere
0
No votes
Jack Smith
0
No votes
Pierre Fonkeu
0
No votes
Jernade Meade
1
6%
Malachi Napa (Sub)
0
No votes
Luke Allen (Sub)
0
No votes
Obi Onyeagwara (Sub)
1
6%
 
Total votes: 17

Tony H
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Tony H »

Oz, I believe the reason we’re still second are twofold. Firstly (sorry to state the obvious, and I’m not being cheeky or disrespectful!) but we’ve amassed more League points than those below us and secondly, those below us have failed themselves to capitalise on our dip in form and haven’t shown any consistency themselves (excepting Braintree who, though it pains me to say it, are on an exceptional run of form and could be an outside bet for promotion - again!!!!)

I’ve watched the highlights and must say Tom Blair for Weymouth is an exceptional player -took his two goals very well. Defensively for us - two silly challenges, one by Connor to give away the penalty, and one by Tom to give away the free-kick that led to their third goal.

Bobby Wilkinson’s a proper manager (I saw some of his work at Bracknell) and, whilst it’s taken him some time getting Weymouth to play and get results, he will keep them up!

It’s all about us though, and we must eradicate some of those silly mistakes (yes, by experienced players) and shorten up our game too. Oh, and yes, from what I saw on the highlights, that was a stone-wall penalty to us in the first half when Jack was scythed down.
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Park Life
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Park Life »

Taunton Dart
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Taunton Dart »

Their goalie said it was a penalty and couldn't believe they got away with it. He said that after Weymouth had been given a penalty of their own.

Must say their goalie enjoyed the banter and gave some good comments back
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Park Life
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Park Life »

Tony H wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 10:38 am Oh, and yes, from what I saw on the highlights, that was a stone-wall penalty to us in the first half when Jack was scythed down.
Must admit i wasn't 100% sure at the time but watching that back it's an absolute stonewall penalty, ref looked to have a clear view as well :x :x
Ajaxman DFC
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Ajaxman DFC »

I am looking for a volunteer in the National South to join Ebbsfleet United in the National League next season.

This in turn will save our supporters the cost of throwing more money down the drain, being taken for a ride on expensive away days and not just by King's Ferry either.

Should your club be interested in taking up this fantastic opportunity then please declare your interest to the National League as soon as possible.

Thank you

Ajaxman DFC
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ozymandias
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by ozymandias »

Tony H, I don't think you're being cheeky or disrespectful at all. You only stated what I'd been saying for a while.
How we amassed the points before Christmas is beyond me, but then to play as we did AT Christmas I started to believe in something. And yes, for the way the chasing pact have failed to get near us since Christmas is also beyond me.
Tony H
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Tony H »

ozymandias wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 12:42 pm Tony H, I don't think you're being cheeky or disrespectful at all. You only stated what I'd been saying for a while.
How we amassed the points before Christmas is beyond me, but then to play as we did AT Christmas I started to believe in something. And yes, for the way the chasing pact have failed to get near us since Christmas is also beyond me.
Oz, to try and answer your question, and I’m no expert:
1. Maybe this Division isn’t as strong as it has been in recent seasons, particularly last season and
2. All teams from us down are, for whatever reason (apart from Braintree!) struggling to find any sort of consistency.

I’ve said in many previous posts that consistency is the key formula for achieving success in any competition.
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Sleightly Deceptive
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Sleightly Deceptive »

I went yesterday and, once more, drove for three and a half hours wishing I hadn’t bothered and gone shopping in Bluewater instead. Nothing to add regarding our utter shit performance and Dowse needs to look in the mirror and ask himself some serious questions! It’s all gone tits up since Wilks has been sidelined and I don’t agree with it at all. Wilks, player of the season last year and one of the best keepers we’ve ever had - I just don’t get it. We’ll end up losing him to a rival in the summer, and I’m dreading it. As for the other end of the pitch - what a calamity! Wall on his own is a waste of time. We need TWO strikers not one. Bring back Danny Roberts and let’s hope Charlie recovers. At least he shows some fighting spirit. Anyway, onwards and upwards eh? We’ll be in the playoff for sure - but don’t go expecting us to go up. :-).
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ozymandias
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by ozymandias »

Tony, I agree with your second part in a way. At the start of the season I said that Havant would be up there and that Worthing were going to be the 'dark horses'. Both have proved true to some extent. I agree that maybe Braintree are the form team at the moment but as said, next Saturday we entertain Farnborough who are also looking lively Not an easy game.
I also felt that Ebbsfleet were going to walk it.
At no time, to be honest, did I feel we were going to be top of the league going into the new year.
Which is my answer to you for your first part. I thought we had a poor squad and when we started to get the points we had at Christmas I was very surprised. Carruthers was the star player for us and many teams thought that if they stop him they stop the team. But to be honest even Samir's form has dropped off.
Anyway, I am happy with the teams position at this point but do feel had we won games while others were floundering we and Fleet would have been out of sight and second place would have been a said.
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Sennocke
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Sennocke »

After our three year ,double relegation hurt time in the national league I have always thought that our board are now comfortable and happy at this level and are not really wanting promotion. We flirt with playoffs most years but i really feel that the ambition is not really there ..
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Park Life
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Park Life »

Sennocke wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 6:05 pm After our three year ,double relegation hurt time in the national league I have always thought that our board are now comfortable and happy at this level and are not really wanting promotion. We flirt with playoffs most years but i really feel that the ambition is not really there ..
I'm sorry mate but that couldn't be further from the truth.
I personally know these guys and have done for donkeys years and they are desperate to get back in the NLP.
I'm sure if you go speak to them at the next game you will be left in no doubt as well.

COYD
Undercover Elephant
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Undercover Elephant »

Sennocke wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 6:05 pm After our three year ,double relegation hurt time in the national league I have always thought that our board are now comfortable and happy at this level and are not really wanting promotion. We flirt with playoffs most years but i really feel that the ambition is not really there ..
Maybe you should speak to one or two of the directors and give you opinion, I think you will find it’s not what you believe it is?
BRASSNECK
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by BRASSNECK »

Park Life wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 7:16 pm
Sennocke wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 6:05 pm After our three year ,double relegation hurt time in the national league I have always thought that our board are now comfortable and happy at this level and are not really wanting promotion. We flirt with playoffs most years but i really feel that the ambition is not really there ..
I'm sorry mate but that couldn't be further from the truth.
I personally know these guys and have done for donkeys years and they are desperate to get back in the NLP.
I'm sure if you go speak to them at the next game you will be left in no doubt as well.

COYD
Spot on,Sennocke you could not be any further wrong than you are.
KentC
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by KentC »

Park Life wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 7:16 pm
Sennocke wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 6:05 pm After our three year ,double relegation hurt time in the national league I have always thought that our board are now comfortable and happy at this level and are not really wanting promotion. We flirt with playoffs most years but i really feel that the ambition is not really there ..
I'm sorry mate but that couldn't be further from the truth.
I personally know these guys and have done for donkeys years and they are desperate to get back in the NLP.
I'm sure if you go speak to them at the next game you will be left in no doubt as well.

COYD

I too agree with Sennocke. I have had reasons to believe him to be right.
However if parklife says he knows it’s not true then I will absolutely accept that because I know he knows what he’s talking about.
The fact is some people are allowed to feel this way and are not unfair in doing so.
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Sleightly Deceptive
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Sleightly Deceptive »

KentC wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 10:52 pm
Park Life wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 7:16 pm
Sennocke wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 6:05 pm After our three year ,double relegation hurt time in the national league I have always thought that our board are now comfortable and happy at this level and are not really wanting promotion. We flirt with playoffs most years but i really feel that the ambition is not really there ..
I'm sorry mate but that couldn't be further from the truth.
I personally know these guys and have done for donkeys years and they are desperate to get back in the NLP.
I'm sure if you go speak to them at the next game you will be left in no doubt as well.

COYD

I too agree with Sennocke. I have had reasons to believe him to be right.
However if parklife says he knows it’s not true then I will absolutely accept that because I know he knows what he’s talking about.
The fact is some people are allowed to feel this way and are not unfair in doing so.
Exactly Kent. Spot on. It’s all about opinions and I’ll bow my head to the more ‘qualified’ people on here like Park Life et al. I love our board but I sometimes, privately, wonder what is going on in their minds and just where, exactly, they see DFC’s comfort zone. Having said that, there is a huge gulf in quality now between the two leagues. And it’s getting worse. It wasn’t as bad last around, in my humble opinion. Just a shame it came ‘too early’ for us then. But we’ve tasted it and we should be better prepared next time. I think we’ll go up as champions next season. If we can keep Tom and Wilksy.
Last edited by Sleightly Deceptive on Mon Mar 06, 2023 12:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Ajaxman DFC
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Ajaxman DFC »

No excuses next season. Alan Dowson will have a full pre-season to assemble a Championship winning squad.
Apparently we have good players but truly good players consistently perform week in week out.
There were two outstanding teams in this league last season. The football might not have always been pretty but they got the results.
Dorking have an incredible history getting promoted every other season, stability followed by promotion.
I agree the National League is tougher than it was in 2010 but just look at the crowds some of these clubs are attracting. In turn this entices more coverage from broadcasters etc.
Plus only one FA Cup round to get through to enter the draw for that plumb tie.
Who doesn't want some of that?

Dorking remind me of Wealdstone. They are finding their feet at the level and I'm sure they will stay up. Unlike Maidstone who have f****d it up. Which if their game plan was anything like their crowd safety policy then I'm not in the least surprised.
I've got a lot of respect for Marc White who I used to think was a gobby so and so and was always waiting for him to fall flat on his face. I only used to watch his post-match interviews when his team lost. But my estimations of him rocketed, especially during Covid.
He's got a lot of good local sponsors behind him. Which leads me to wonder if there is more potential for us to do the same.
I'm sure the sponsors we have on board so far are very good.
Bericote must be an excellent assett to have behind us if it was worth changing the name of the stadium for.

As the town continues to grow it will create more untapped opportunities for investment in the club.
I was surprised the plans for the town centre were blocked on the grounds that Dartford is a market town.
Well it's not any longer, unless you believe having a glorified boot fair on Thursdays and Saturdays, on a disaster of a pedestrianised high street, that's being constantly dug up and used as a race track at night, qualifies as a market town.

I was born in Dartford and remember when it was a real market town. And it didn't involved two shopping centres charging exhorbitant rents either.
Infact the area which is now the Priory Centre used to be a proper farmers market including livestock. In those days we could have done a Hereford and paraded a bull around the pitch on match days.
Although after saturday's performance maybe a couple of donkeys would be more appropiate.
Sennocke
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Sennocke »

Park Life wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 7:16 pm
Sennocke wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 6:05 pm After our three year ,double relegation hurt time in the national league I have always thought that our board are now comfortable and happy at this level and are not really wanting promotion. We flirt with playoffs most years but i really feel that the ambition is not really there ..
I'm sorry mate but that couldn't be further from the truth.
I personally know these guys and have done for donkeys years and they are desperate to get back in the NLP.
I'm sure if you go speak to them at the next game you will be left in no doubt as well.

COYD
I bow to your inside knowledge , didn't mean to cause any offence ,its just a feeling that we never quite "Go for it" ..
Mark Sweet
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Mark Sweet »

For what it's worth I think the current squad we have is quite a way weaker than those of previous seasons and Dowse and his staff have done a fantastic job so far to get us into 2nd place and it is arguably an overachievement.

Obviously it would be disappointing to lose 2nd position but don't think we should be TOO harsh on Dowse. We need to support him going into next season whatever division we are in.

Sorry but just seen some comments on twitter about this season and it's wound me up!!
Last edited by Mark Sweet on Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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The Duke
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by The Duke »

IF we manage to get promoted to the NLP then Dowse will really have to show his class cause just how many of our current squad are good enough to play at that level , I suspect Dowse will need some serious cash for player recruitment ????
Tony H
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Re: Weymouth v Dartford Sat 4 Mar 2023

Post by Tony H »

Ajaxman DFC wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 8:47 am No excuses next season. Alan Dowson will have a full pre-season to assemble a Championship winning squad.
Apparently we have good players but truly good players consistently perform week in week out.
There were two outstanding teams in this league last season. The football might not have always been pretty but they got the results.
Dorking have an incredible history getting promoted every other season, stability followed by promotion.
I agree the National League is tougher than it was in 2010 but just look at the crowds some of these clubs are attracting. In turn this entices more coverage from broadcasters etc.
Plus only one FA Cup round to get through to enter the draw for that plumb tie.
Who doesn't want some of that?

Dorking remind me of Wealdstone. They are finding their feet at the level and I'm sure they will stay up. Unlike Maidstone who have f****d it up. Which if their game plan was anything like their crowd safety policy then I'm not in the least surprised.
I've got a lot of respect for Marc White who I used to think was a gobby so and so and was always waiting for him to fall flat on his face. I only used to watch his post-match interviews when his team lost. But my estimations of him rocketed, especially during Covid.
He's got a lot of good local sponsors behind him. Which leads me to wonder if there is more potential for us to do the same.
I'm sure the sponsors we have on board so far are very good.
Bericote must be an excellent assett to have behind us if it was worth changing the name of the stadium for.

As the town continues to grow it will create more untapped opportunities for investment in the club.
I was surprised the plans for the town centre were blocked on the grounds that Dartford is a market town.
Well it's not any longer, unless you believe having a glorified boot fair on Thursdays and Saturdays, on a disaster of a pedestrianised high street, that's being constantly dug up and used as a race track at night, qualifies as a market town.

I was born in Dartford and remember when it was a real market town. And it didn't involved two shopping centres charging exhorbitant rents either.
Infact the area which is now the Priory Centre used to be a proper farmers market including livestock. In those days we could have done a Hereford and paraded a bull around the pitch on match days.
Although after saturday's performance maybe a couple of donkeys would be more appropiate.
Crikey, that reads like an article I’d find in a (quality) Sunday supplement! Only joking Ajaxman.

Anyway, thanks for stirring that up Sennoake, but I for another one know you are’nt quite accurate with your thoughts. And to all those other “dissenters” when is the right time for promotion? Just ask both Maidstone and Dorking. Also take the very good example of Maidenhead United who have slowly but surely built as a solid, perennial NL tenant on a limited budget. (Btw, Maidstone will come straight back down again but Dorking have enough to stay up and may very well become the next Maidenhead).

For Dartford, clearly a very different business operating model will be essential if we’re promoted, but let’s get there first.
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