TT PREVIEW

Billy talks about The Stones

ABOUT ME

I’ve supported Maidstone United since 2012 when they returned to the Gallagher Stadium in Maidstone. Then in 2020 I became a commentator on Stones live.

SEASON SO-FAR

It’s been a frustrating start to the season. 3 defeats at home has meant we have struggled to get going but we are undefeated away from home, so it’s not all bad.

RECENT FORM

Recent form is good. A 2-0 win away at Worthing and a 1-1 draw at Dorking after going down to 10 men on 30 mins were good performances. Along with the 2 home wins and draw v Slough puts us top of the 5 game form table with 11pts from a possible 15.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT

The highlight was the 3-0 4th qualifying round over local rivals Ebbsfleet in the FA Cup. After last seasons exploits I think it was important to make the 1st round proper. Another statement performance was the 2-0 win at Worthing. It was good to get one over them after last seasons playoff heartache.

KEY PLAYERS

The front players in Aaron Blair, Jon Benton & Antony Papadopoulos get all the plaudits and rightly so. Since they have been in the team we’ve looked a much more effective unit going forward. For me though our key player is midfielder Sam Corne. He got injured at the start of the season but since he’s been back in the team we have been a lot more balanced. Good in defence and he also gets forward and chips in with goals. He is also our captain and longest serving player and is an inspiration to our younger and newer players.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

George Elokobi & Craig Fagen are a good management team. Both have played in the Premier league and bring that experience to the squad. In recent weeks we’ve settled on 4 2 3 1. Will be interesting to see how they play on Tuesday evening as our big centre back Reece Greenidge starts the 1st of his 3 game ban for the sending off at Dorking.

TEAM SELECTION

As mentioned Recce Greenidge starts his 3 game ban on Tuesday evening so I would imagine Charlie Seaman will drop back into defence and play right back whilst we might start with two up top we could also bring another midfielder. It would also depend really on how Torquay set up against us. One thing is sure we won’t be sitting back and going for a point like a alot of teams this season. He’s talked a lot in recent weeks about being positive, playing on the front foot and taking the game to the opposition. So I don’t see that changing on Tuesday evening.

AWAY FOLLOWING

Obviously will be less on a Tuesday evening but I’m still expecting 40-50 to travel. I shall be there commentating for Stones Live.

TORQUAY DANGERMEN

For me it’s more about a player that hasn’t impressed in Ben Seymour. He caused us problems last season while playing for Hampton & Richmond but doesn’t seemed to have settled for you. Cody Cooke is another player that you know what you getting from him and has scored against us in the past. For me however Jordan Young is the real standout signing and could be the player that’s takes you back to the National League.

PREDICTION

As I’ve said before we certainly won’t be coming to plainmoor for a draw and like a lot of teams this won’t be our cup final. We have a good record against Torquay over the years. Of the 16 games we have played we’ve won 12, drew 2 and only lost 2. Hopefully we can also continue to remain unbeaten away from home this season. I’m going 3-1 Maidstone.