Many Thanks to Brewers fan Rob Seamark for helping us with this edition of Trash Talk (Take 2). Rob had given us his response to the postponed fixture and thankfully he was on hand to help us out again…. interestingly he has changed his match prediction.
1 – We are at the halfway stage of the season, has it gone about how you expected for your team so far, has it been better, or turned out to be a bit of a car crash season?
So, like my answer before really (before the game was postponed). I think we’re about bang on where I expected us to be. We’re currently 11th, got a game or 2 in hand on a few ahead of us, unbeaten in 4 and have seen a decent bit of business in the last couple of weeks so, all good really. Having had that turnaround last season it would have been easy to get ahead of ourselves this time around, but I think this season there are a lot of different factors to consider that weren’t there last season (new players, no “Great Escape”, longer term policies being implemented etc).
So, all in all, I think there is a lot to be positive about for this season and, hopefully, beyond.
2 – As fans we are never 100% happy about our club, is there something about your club that really annoys you?
I wouldn’t say there is anything that really annoys me to be honest as I think as a club we do a lot of things right, especially the community focussed stuff. For a club of our size and budget I think we seem to put a big emphasis on that kind of thing and that’s good to see. But if I had to pick something I’d say I’d like to see more go into attracting fans to come to the stadium. We have a capacity of around just under 7000 and we average less than half that. So more in the stadium would be good, and that needs to be led by initiatives from the club.
3 – All fans love an away day; can you tell us which ground you have enjoyed visiting the most and why, on the flip side which ground turned out to be a real disappointment?
I haven’t been to many away days with Burton, but I have been to a fair few ground earlier in my football fan life (before having a kid!) and the best ground I remember feeling impressed by was Sunderland. Not for the facilities or anything but the atmosphere they built before the game was excellent and by the time the players came out it was really something. I think it was Flight of the Valkyries that they played and gradually turned the volume up as it got closer to kick off. The worst was Filbert Street as we had darts thrown at us and were just told to run by the police after the game!
4 – Most fans have a special piece of memorabilia in their collection, a unique item that means something special to you, do you have such an item?
I did have a Burton shirt signed by Brian and Nigel Clough from the 99/00 season. I thought that was a but special, but I gave it to the club over lockdown to auction off to raise funds for their charity. I have a squad signed shirt from last season’s “Great Escape” which is a nice piece to own. I have also recently got a Burton Albion Subbuteo team from last season that’s been properly painted and that’s kind of cool. Reckon I’ll give that away at some stage if I can get somebody at the club to sign it.
5 – Every team has their own bogey club they just cannot seem to beat, who do you think yours is?
We beat Ipswich earlier this season, but I had seen a stat before that where we had played them 8 times previously and lost 7, drawing 1. In recent times we have been turned over a bit by Oxford the last few times we have played them too.
6 – Throughout the course of the season, victory over which club gives you the biggest buzz?
I know for a lot of fans it is any side managed by Steve Evans. I few years ago when he was at Boston, he described Burton as a pub team which hasn’t been forgotten. It was such a great shame to see him sacked recently by Gillingham. For me personally though it’s Sunderland. Even after what I said about the Stadium of Light atmosphere, I just don’t like the club so any opportunity to see them fail is gratefully received! Although my dislike of them goes back about 28 years now, it got a nice boost in the arm from “Sunderland till I die”. Obviously good people at the club but always fun to watch them steam into another avoidable car crash.
7 – Which player for your club is likely to be the biggest factor in success or failure of the result after 90 minutes?
This is a tough question for us as I don’t think we have one standout area. Daniel Jebbison is a very good player for us, and his energy can set a tempo for things around him, particularly when we’re without the ball. Jonny Smith is another who, when the wind is blowing for him, can make good things happen. But I’d have to say Ben Garratt in goal. He’s been excellent since the turn of the year, and I really think we’d miss him if he wasn’t in the side for any reason.
Things seem to click well for us when Tom O’Connor plays too. I think we’ve won 5 of the last 6 he’s played, drawing the other. Although clubs seem to be looking at him, so we have to say that carefully now.
8 – Is there any MK Dons player you feel could spoil your day?
Last time I didn’t want to be boring and say Scott Twine, so I went with Matt O’Riley. Obviously, that has aged badly so this time I’ll go for Theo Corbeanu. Only 2 games in for you but certainly looks a dangerous player from the bits I have seen.
9 – We know its early still, but do you have any nailed-on selections for promotion and relegation?
I’ll stick with my original picks of Rotherham and Wigan, who I think will be strong through the run-in and now have games in hand. I like Rotherham as a club, and I think the continuity they have will serve them well over the busy periods. There’s always somebody who puts a run together and, although recent form isn’t great, I think this year it may finally be Oxford’s year also. I did say that I thought Doncaster would move away after the change but they’re looking doomed now, although I see you had a poor result on Saturday against them, and I can see Gillingham and Shrewsbury (who have since put some form together) being 2 of the sides to drop this year.
10 – Many thanks for taking part, all we need now is a prediction for the game?
I’ve changed my prediction to a score draw from a defeat now. I think we can get to you at the Pirelli, but your fire power will be tough to combat. You’ll score against us in the opening 15 minutes. Everybody seems to!
