Hello friends, its time for another month of updates for my Thurrock story. Even though we are lying close to a play-off spot this season but i feel we could do better. This month will probably see us rotating tactics between standard 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 formation. The reason is that i feel even though we are controlling the game but playing with a lone striker up front has saw us missing a lot of clear cut chances. Thanks to Sears, so most likely we will opt for a 4-4-2 formation at home while we will be playing 4-2-3-1 at away or i will drop the attacking midfielder to a 3 men midfield for some steel. So now lets get straight to the result which we will meet 1st place Bristol city in our first game.

October Results

2 wins, 2 draws and a loss. We had fairly even results. I am glad that we were able to win against Bristol City but disappointed at only gaining one point each in the last two games.

Away at Ashton Gate

We had a difficult game coming up as we were up against 1st place Bristol City. They should be full of confidence after few games unbeaten and playing at home. But we showed them we were not pushovers when John Leonard showed his skills to dribble past two defenders to give us the lead. He showed his composure in the 25th minute when he coolly angled a shot past their goalkeeper to doubled our lead. Things were looking good for us as we went into the break with us leading by two goals. Bristol City did have chances to score but the defenders did a good job in restricting them from scoring. We still managed to have an injury time goal scored by Jim Beardsley to give us a solid win.

Rebutted Interest in West Brom Vacancy

After the Bristol City game, for the first time i was speculated to take over the job in West Brom who sacked Michael Owen recently. There was no way i will join other club especially West Brom is now lying in 22nd place in Championship. The board was clearly delighted that i showed my commitment in denying the job vacancy.

Home against Doncaster

Next was against 15th place Doncaster. It was a frustrating night for us as we were controlling the game from the start but conceded a goal in 12th minute after we failed to track the run of their striker. Jose Pinto who played in right back had an awful outing. He had the same problem with Jorge Duarte having problems settling in Thurrock. It seems Portuguese players can’t blend into Thurrock team. We found ourselves a goal down going into the dressing room. It was the same scenario in the second half but unable to capitalize. To further worsen the morale, we conceded a freekick in 62nd minute and we couldn’t find a way back into the game. I was very disappointed as once again inconsistency seem to struck the team.

Home against Leicester

Next was another home game and we were playing against the bottom team Leicester. We played a 4-4-2 formation here at Ship Lane. Leicester had suffered six straight defeats prior to our meeting and looked likely to relegate to league 1 if things doesn’t improve for them. Just one minute into the game, we hit a blow on them as John Leonard set off our convincing win with the first goal. Colin Madden was controlling the midfield with his presence and twice he split the defence open and supplied the perfect pass to Gary Lewis to give us a very comfortable lead in the first half. There was no goals to show our complete dominance after the break though it was a comfortable win for us.

Away at Fossett’s Farm and St James Park

Next two games was against 15th place Southend and 11th place Newcastle Utd. We were playing both games away. The quality of both games was poor throughout. Although we were the better team in these two games but we were unable to have a breakthrough. The defensive players were playing well but the attacking players were guilty of some poor performance. We were able to restrict their attacking display but disappointedly we could not turn our superiority into wins.

Table

Although our results is decent but that is surely not enough if we are to mount a challenge at the top. We drop to 9th place in the table though we are only 6 points behind 1st place Wolves. I am very please with our defensive display but disappointed that we are not clinical enough in front of goal. Left back Andy Holsgrove is the player who stands out this month with him having a rating of 7.44 in the last 5 games though John Leonard is awarded the young player of the month. He is sound in defence and always run up to support Moreno Marra in the left flank putting some dangerous crosses.

I had to deny another interest that links with Stoke City after the Newcastle game. Seems like i am in popular demand now. But there is no way that i will leave Thurrock. I love this club too much to leave them for another club.

November Fixtures

There are a lot of points up for grab next month. Looking at the table, it seems the team that we are facing is not strong as only Derby lies in the top half. We need to take note of complacency and improve our attacking side in November so that we can keep close at the top.

Wrap Up

Its a bit disappointing that we are not lying in the play-off spot after three months into the season. But i still think we have a decent chance if we can improve and the players put in more effort on the field. Lets hope we can do it. Dear friends, this is the October updates from me. Thanks for reading and see you soon.