Talk about a game of 2 halves
That’s how the old adage goes isn’t it? For Cheltenham Town 2011 has without doubt been a year of 2 halves, a quite bizarre turn of events from this very day last year. Our yearly record is a very modestly average Played 54 Won 22 Drawn 11 Lost 21. However, the story is a slightly more bizarre one. If you split this into their various seasons between January-May then August-December you get this:
January to May: Played 26 Won 5 Drawn 7 Lost 14
August to present day: Played 28 Won 17 Drawn 4 Lost 7
Could you ask for a bigger swing? So what’s changed? Going by the team line ups, on New Years day of this year just 3 of the line up remain in first team contention. Another overhaul in the Summer of 2011 was needed (not quite so to the extent of the season before but still neccessary), there was a basis there but this needed building on, and how Mark Yates has so far suceeded.
Jimmy Spencer working away at Luton in the FA Cup
My monthly updates are starting to become a tedious love in for Gloucestershire’s only football league club, but as I stated a month ago, When times are good, SHOUT, we still are don’t worry about that. Not only that but we have one of the most exciting days in our history to look forward to on January 7th 2012. A day that will live long in the memory of all Cheltenham Town fans no matter what the scoreline, for the scoreboard at White Hart Lane (or as us Chelties have decided to rename it due to the hefty nature of the away support, Ruby Hart Lane (see twitter #rubyhartlane!)) will show the visitors as being Cheltenham Town. After winning impressively at Tranmere, we eventually negated our way past an impressive Luton side at Kenilworth Road who never gave in. Thankfully, our quality shone but Luton can proudly boast to being one of Cheltenham sternest opponents all season, proving just how tough the Blue Square Premier is to get out of. Having led twice, Aaron O’Connor twice levelled for the home side only for 2 of Cheltenham midfield trio struck to seal the Hatter fate. Luke Summerfield scoring a measured effort from the edge of the box and Russ Penn bagged his first Cheltenham goal having stepped away from his man before curling into the top corner. The draw awaited, and we got our reward.
Over 5,000 of the Ruby Army will fill White Hart Lane on January 7th 2012
After the draw for the FA Cup 3rd round was made obviously all eyes went straight onto planning the day, or even weekend out. However, the players and management had to immediately switch focus to the following game, a blockbuster home clash with the then league leaders Southend. A true test to how far Cheltenham had come, could we match the big boys? You bet. Yet another scintillating display of pass and move had the Cheltenham faithful purring and the eventual final score of 3-0 was thoroughly deserved. Key players such as Marlon Pack, Daryll Duffy, Jack Butland and Sido Jombati, already writing themselves into Cheltenham folklore with many fans believing the current squad as a whole being the best we’ve ever had in terms of quality.
Can we keep them all together in January? This remains to be seen. With success comes interest and there is no doubt scouts from clubs in the 3 higher divisions will be sniffing around our prized assets however the current squad togetherness seems at an all time high. With the winning nature and mentality of this squad only silly money or a big club could tempt our stars away.
After winning manager of the month in November Cheltenham fans were all too aware of the curse that followed… not this time. Another unbeaten month with 3 wins and 2 draws in all have lead the Rubies to just 3 points off the summit and already 5 points INTO the automatic promotion spots and even more impressively 9 points into the play-offs.
Mark Yates has also moved quickly to sign impressive loanees Jimmy Spencer and Luke Garbutt on extended deals and the jury remains out on whether England U21 Goalkeeper Jack Butland will return. There will no doubt be business in January, not excessive, but the sending out of fringe players on loan seems inevitable, and the inclusion of maybe 2 more new faces could be on the agenda but providing this squad remains together and untouched come February 1st, the sky’s the limit and the unthinkable, may just become a real possibility.
Who knows, by the time the next post comes along Cheltenham could well be in the hat for the 4th round of the FA Cup… OK, getting ahead of ourselves a bit, but what’s that about the magic of the FA Cup?
Tags: aaron o connor, cheltenham town, daryll duffy, luton town, mark yates, marlon pack, southend, spurs, tottenham hotspur, white hart lane
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