TALKING POINTS

Chris Wade – @tufcchris

Chris looks ahead to the NLS game

PROTECTING A LEAD

Ah blimey. With the dust starting to settle on Saturday’s latest relinquishing of a two goal lead, we need to look at how we can see matches out. Whilst Paul rightfully said that game management and how you do that is something that we are still learning, we have to figure out a way to play when ahead. It sounds like a good problem to have, but it is really causing some strife in the league table now. But it’s true that there is art to how you do it. The puzzling thing is we have no issues playing football and produced two lovely first half moves and finishes. But the mentality clearly shifts when we are ahead and we have something to lose. It’s costing us at the moment. Big time.

TRUE QUALITY

We are very lucky to have players of the quality of Jordan Young and Matt Jay. Watching them link up seamlessly again at the weekend made you realise how well we have done to get them to our club. Young is full of touch, control and guile on the ball, Jay lots of clever flicks, turns and vision. The fact that Jay has found his scoring boots now too is making the move look even better. Three beautifully taken goals in a week. And we’ll need more of that in the week to come. Young is clearly playing with an injury, so managing that whilst still delivering will be vital for the final eleven matches.

HOW MANY POINTS?

As we head towards the final furlong, I have had a look at how many points we will need. Yeovil won NLS with 95 points last season, but there is no way that anybody is getting that this season. Second and third places went to Chelmsford and Worthing, both with 84 points, but a figure around that may win the league this time. So for us to aim for around 84 sees us need another 25 points from 11 games, and the away form is key. There is a fair argument that we could/should win our last 5 home games against Salisbury, Bath City, Chesham United, Slough Town and Weymouth. In an ideal world where we do, that leaves us needing another 10 points. So, can we win three games away, starting at Chippenham Town on Tuesday night?

AWAY FORM

The away form is a topic of discussion amongst the Yellow Army at the moment. No wins since Enfield Town on 30 November, two frustrating trips last week, and two more to come this week. Whilst our away form against teams in the top 7 is tidy, it’s games like these that are holding us back. Teams on the edge of the playoffs, who probably won’t make it but aren’t bad enough to go down. We simply have to start winning these games to both secure a play off position, and retain any hope of winning the title, which feels pretty vague at the moment. Chippenham were well beaten at Plainmoor back in September, and more of the same is needed on Tuesday.

THE OPPOSITION

The last six games show why Chippenham are on the very edge of the play off race. 2 wins 2 draws and 2 defeats in their last six kind of sums up the division in a lot of ways, Some good days, some goods days and every day where everybody can beat everybody. They rescued a point in stoppage time on Saturday against relegation battling St Albans, and there is no reason why we can’t go there and win on Tuesday. However, can we? Will we? Let’s hope that this is the start of a glorious last eleven games.