'Oh When The Saints Go Marching In' - A St. Albans City Story

PREFACE

A few of you might remember my epic game with the mighty Saints on FM 07 (link: The Saints Go Marching up The Football League). I had been away from the CM/FM series for a few versions and was just starting to pick it up again. I had wanted to start near the bottom of the English football pyramid and work my way up with a local club and yet my main expectation was of abject failure and mediocrity.

At the time, I had just moved into the area and decided that the Saints would be my Football Manager 'guinea-pig' club. Little did I realise that the game would last so long or to make any kind of impact on my life in the way that it did. The game was eventually a success (with plenty of ‘oh so nearly’ moments of frustration to keep it interesting). FM07 also got under my skin and, although I was following City in real life before FM, the game reinforced my feelings of partisanship and emotional attachment to the Saints. I have since become a more fervent supporter of the club (and of the non-League scene in general), as well as volunteering for the Saints FM research position and writing match reports for City games.

For FM08, I decided against resurrecting my ‘Saints go marching...’ story. I felt that starting the same kind of game again so soon after my enjoyment of the 07 version could ruin the memory. Instead, I pursued a few different career games and had some fun. However, at the end of the life of 08, I was desperate to try again with the mighty Saints.

I cannot promise that I will reach the dizzy heights of the Premier League again. I am apologetic in advance if I fail miserably. I can, however, promise that I shall play the game in the spirit of realism, without editors and without unrealistic loan signings, for instance. Tactics will all be of my own creation also. As with my other ‘story’, I want to write the journal of a lower league football manager and that shall be the style of the narrative and the aim will be to achieve some level of realism.

I apologise for any inconsistencies or incongruity, plus the inevitable bad grammar and spelling. All that remains to be said is ‘come on you Saints’!

Game info: FM09 patched to 9.2, all English leagues loaded, all English players loaded, players retained at all non-League step 3 and 4 clubs.

CHAPTER 1 - CASTLE RESIGNS AS CHAIRMAN GIBSON THREATENS TO GIVE WAY

NEWSFLASH (5th July 2008):

Steve Castle has sensationally handed in his resignation at St. Albans City following another problematic and difficult week behind the scenes at the Hertfordshire club.

The young manager seemed to have performed nothing short of a miracle last season when he kept the Hertfordshire club in the Blue Square South with an impressive unbeaten run at the end of the season. This achievement earned him a manager of the month accolade and the backing of the St. Albans fans. However, following a turbulent season at the Hertfordshire club, Castle has prematurely ended his tenure at Clarence Park.

This news comes a few days after Saints chairman John Gibson revealed that he is disillusioned with life at Clarence Park and considering his future in light of increased supporter criticism.

The London businessman saved the Saints from liquidation in 2002 and took the club into the Nationwide Conference for the first time in its history when the club won promotion from the Conference South in season 2005/06. However, St Albans were relegated after their first season in the Conference and the club has since struggled to recover following attempts to rebuild the team within the limitations of a severely reduced wage budget.

Following a difficult campaign last season in which St. Albans battled with relegation from the Blue Square South, supporter opposition towards Gibson has proved increasingly hostile. In particular, the chairman’s decision to employ and then sack two managers during the first half of the 2007/2008 season was met with consternation and dismay by the St. Albans supporters. When prompted on this matter, Gibson stated, ‘I have to admit that the criticism lately has been starting to get to me a little and I have begun to wonder if this is all worthwhile.’

Gibson went on to ask the supporters ‘to get behind the team and give some true and proper support’ and suggested that the search for a new manager was already underway. St. Albans will hope that they can consolidate in this their centenary season. The club moves forward into a new century at a very challenging time.

PERSONAL JOURNAL:

6th July 2008 - Read in the St. Albans Review today about John Gibson's search for a new manager at the Saints. What a poisoned chalice that is. Three managers in one season, I make it. Nearly two relegations on the trot if it wasn’t for Castle coming in and steadying the ship at the beginning of the year.

I’ve been waiting for a chance in management for too long. I was a rubbish player but good at observing, advising and instructing. My first coach told me, ‘you’re a good tactician son but that’s not enough’ and sent me packing. It was true; I loved thinking about the game in an abstract way but didn’t have any technical ability. I talked myself into various coaching roles afterwards. But it has never been enough. I have always wanted more. Could this Saints job be the right opportunity for me?

I visited St. Albans City this afternoon and put in an application announcing myself as 'young, ambitious and hungry' to manage the club. Perhaps no other fellow will want the job considering the circumstances. Maybe this is just the break I need. Imagine me managing in Hertfordshire's famous and historic Roman city.

7th July 2008 - To my surprise, I received a phone call from Gibson this morning requesting that I visit the club at the earliest opportunity. I travelled to the club early in the afternoon and met with the man himself. Walked around the terraces with him. Upon seeing the hallowed turf of Clarence Park, I was sure that this was the place for me to build a managerial career. With the old trees looming large on the horizon and the old-fashioned, traditional feel of the ground, I began to feel rather romantic. I talked far too much. Presume that Gibson was either impressed with my eloquence or disgusted at my impertinence. He was quiet, said very little. Felt rather foolish after our meeting.

8th July 2008 – Gibson has telephoned and offered me the job, much to my astonishment. Could barely speak but managed to articulate my acceptance. Cannot quite understand how I was accepted. Perhaps I am thought of as a fool who can be manipulated? Is Gibson really that calculating? He seems amiable enough. I have my concerns about the recent news stories emanating from the club about his commitment. Does he really want to leave? He has suggested that he is ‘happy to stay’ which doesn’t sound especially convincing to me.

I have agreed terms of £275-a-week. Better than my coaching role at Hitchin Town. Spoke to the captain and vice-captain, Ben Martin and Lee Clarke. Both good fellows. Need to look at the squad now. No funds available. One in, one out requirement. Very excited. Will not be able to get any sleep tonight.

9th July 2008 – As is my custom when I begin a new employment, I have made some notes about the club which I will reproduce here in my journal.

Club Information

Club: St. Albans City

Nicknames: 'The Saints' or 'City'

Stadium: Clarence Park

Club Colours: Traditionally yellow and blue, however for this season only City will be playing in a blue strip with gold trim, gold shorts and blue socks. This is because it is their centenary season and this is a replica of their 1908 kit.

Claim to fame: You'll like this one. I promise. This proud Hertfordshire club has a major claim to fame. Wilfred Minter, a legendary forward who turned down the opportunity to play professional football to stay with his hometown club and work for his father's family business, holds the record for the most goals scored by one player in an FA Cup tie. This feat took place in City's most famous match on November 22, 1922 in a first round FA Cup tie. Having been held by Dulwich Hamlet to a 1-1 draw at Clarence Park on November 18, the replay drew a gate of 4,060. City's New Zealand-born goalkeeper W. Tennant did not appear, his place taken by Alf Fearn who was usually a half-back with the reserves. Dulwich put eight goals past him, the winning goal coming in near darkness at the end of extra time. What put the game in the record books was that City scored seven times, with all seven goals being scored by Wilfred Minter. His feat remains the highest tally by a player on the losing side of an FA Cup tie. Brilliant! Equally as eccentric, up until the late 90's the ground was famous for having a large oak tree that sat in the middle of the Clarence Park Terrace (the away end). It was not unknown for visiting goalkeepers to get the odd acorn thrown in their direction! Alas the oak tree became diseased and was swiftly removed by the management.

Favourite supporter chants:

Among the more witty and original songs:

- 'We've got a cathedral, we've got a cathedral, la la la laa laa, la la la laa laa' etc. (sung to any club in a location without a cathedral)

'Our ca-the-dral, is bigger than yours, our cathedral is bigger than yours' (to tune of 'Saints go marching in' and sung to any club in a location with a cathedral)

- 'We're rich and we know we are' (Well, it is St. Albans so this is generally true!)

- 'We all shop at Waitrose, we all shop at Waitrose'! (see above)

- The supporters also do a nice rendition of 'Hey Jude' which they have renamed 'Cit-eh'.

Rivals: Boreham Wood (fierce), Stevenage (other), Bishop’s Stortford (other), Hitchin Town (other).

Division: Blue Square South

Transfer Budget: Yeah, right! Chairman says no money available. Wage budget is tight.

Key Players: Paul Hakim (ST), Hassan Sulaiman (MR), Ben Martin (captain and DC), Lee Clarke (injured at present, vice-captain and AMC/FC).

Good Points: Having looked at the squad, I think there is a good basis here for building a side that could challenge in the BSS. A solid defence that can dominate in the air. Good attacking players like Sulaiman and a good goalscorer at this level in Paul Hakim.

Bad Points: Lack of money. Had a poor season last time around so predicted by the media for lower table/survival. Lots of new signings so squad will need time to gell. Need to be strengthened in the middle of the park. Requirement for a strong second striker to support Hakim.

Best Competition History: Runners-up Conference South in 2006

Additional Information: It is a centenary season for the Saints. To mark the occasion, City will be playing in a blue and gold replica of their original 1908 football kit.

Saints have not had a dull moment in the last three seasons. They were promoted to the conference in 2005/06, relegated back to the conference south in 2006/07 and nearly relegated again last season. I will need to steady the ship and consolidate after a disastrous campaign in 2007/08.

The BSS is a very close division this year, so with some canny management and a few signings, we could push on for a promotion spot. I will keep this to myself, however, as expectation among the fans is too high considering the budgets. Need to play it down.

10th July 2008 – Found some information on the Internet about St.Albans last night on the Tony Kempster website, which I quote here at length:

‘St. Albans is a beautiful, historic city with roman ruins and museums juxtaposed with suburban housing provided for the inevitable overflow from London. With a population of 130,000, the city has undoubted potential in terms of its base of footballing support. Yet, the locals mostly defer to nearby north London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, or local sides Luton Town and Watford.’

The brief for this first season in charge is to avoid relegation. I hoped the fans would get behind me immediately because I felt the club needed that 'twelfth man' element, especially with City being predicted to finish in 19th place.

CHAPTER 2 – SEASON 2008/2009 BLUE SQUARE SOUTH

Pre-season journal: The fans are cautiously optimistic about my appointment. Read on the sacfc.co.uk forums, only to see that the majority of fans are sceptical about my appointment and that that it is a mistake by a chairman lacking in ambition. A small minority support my appointment, if only to be different to the rest.

With this statement of confidence firmly rooted at the back of my mind, I began preparations for the new season. I didn't want to change too much at once and felt that the best way forward would be to cut a few fringe players and then use the generated wages to strengthen the squad with some minor signings. Absolutely key for me is the central midfield, which looks extremely weak to me with no depth. Then there is the need for a partner to play deep and support Paul Hakim up front. Finally, it might be wise to bring a centre-back in at some point due to current injuries in that position.

Having brought in my own backroom staff and settled other minor affairs at the club, I set about the serious business of pruning the squad. I needed to free-transfer some of the players who were otherwise destined to be perennial reserves. I was reluctant, at first, to let many players go without giving them a few games. After getting through some of the pre-season programme, and conducting an interview with my new assistant Dave Horrocks (perhaps the Jeeves to my Wooster), I released 5 players, some on mutual terms and others for free due to their non-contract status.

Some of the wage budget had now been freed. I set about increasing this by renegotiating some contracts at a lower wage. The wage budget was further reduced by this method as I found, to my surprise, that a number of players would accept small cuts in their weekly pay.

I then set about bringing in some players to strengthen, and add depth to, the side. My scouts had been busy attending trial days and scouting across England and I managed to trial a number of free agents as well. Players of note coming into the side included: Lewis Hamlin (a 23-year-old versatile winger), Jonathan Pringle (a 19-year-old creative striker) and Kieran Hall (a 23-year-old creative midfielder). My signings were rounded off with Jefferson Gowland (a 20-year-old defensive midfielder).

All in all it's 7 players in and 5 players out, £0 spent, £0 recouped and the wage budget in a much better state than previously.

Pre-season squad draft:

* - indicates new signing

& - indicates long-serving player

GK 	& Paul Bastock	     	38 yo veteran keeper, English
DR 	Alex Bailey		25 yo fullback, English
DL 	& Scott Cousins	     	25 yo fullback and long-serving Saint, English
DC 	& Ben Martin	      	25 yo defender, captain and Saints hero, English
DC 	Ryan Frater	      	23 yo defender, huge and massive centre-back, English
MR 	Hassan Sulaiman	   	23 yo winger and former Arsenal scholar, English
ML 	* Lewis Hamlin	     	23 yo winger, English
MCd 	* Jefferson Gowland	20 yo defensive midfielder, English 
MCa 	* Kieran Hall		23 yo attacking midfielder, English
ST 	& Paul Hakim	        26 yo striker, super Saint! English
ST 	* Jonathan Pringle    	19 yo striker, English

Best of the rest:
GK	* James Waggett		19 yo goalkeeper, English
DR	James Fisher 		24 yo fullback, English
DR/DM	& Chris Seeby		23 yo versatile defensive player, English
DL	Adam Everitt 		26 yo fullback, English
DC/DM 	James Quilter 		24 yo versatile defensive player, English
DMC	* Andy Ritchie		19 yo defensive midfielder, English	
AMR/ST 	Gary Cohen		24 yo versatile attacking player, English
D/AML	Sam Hurrell		20 yo winger, Football Icon winner, English	
AMC/FC	& Lee Clarke		25 yo attacking player, vice-captain. N. Irish
ST 	& Simon Martin		29 yo striker and local lad, English 

So it is a squad of 21, with a few youngsters in the reserves and youth for further backup. It feels like a good squad to me but I think they may need time to gel.

I stick with a trusty 4-4-2 formation, with one of the midfielders playing a very defensive role and the other given creative licence to bomb forward, wander and roam the pitch. Tactically we will approach most games playing a balanced system, keeping it tight at the back and playing at a decent tempo.

Ben Martin will remain as captain, with Lee Clarke keeping the vice-captaincy. Scott Cousins will be in reserve for these two. All are long serving players and thus, I hope, this will ease the change of management and playing styles.

I am feeling cautious about the prospect of this squad. I expect Ben Martin to do well, Kieran Hall to come in and shine in a creative role, and Paul Hakim to score plenty.

The pre-season programme has gone ok. We won three against inferior opposition and lost three against superior sides. How much we can tell from pre-season, I don’t know. The most disappointing game involved a 3-0 loss at home to county rivals Stevenage.

This season, I would like us to consolidate and establish ourselves again in this division. A good cup run would be beneficial too. I feel this is achievable. Anything else will be a bonus.

Media prediction: 19th place

Chairman and fans: Fans and board want to avoid relegation

Manager: We should be able to get mid-table with this squad

SEASON REVIEW 2008/2009

AUGUST 2008:

This would prove a challenging start to the season. In August, we would meet five sides that were expected to be operating at the opposite end of the division this season. Hayes & Yeading (home), Eastleigh (home), Team Bath (home) along with Hampton & Richmond (away), Chelmsford (away) would all be chasing promotion this season.

I felt we could compete at home but didn’t expect a lot from the away games and so I targeted a minimum of 6 points.

SACFC 0 - 0 Hayes & Yeading (Blue Square South)

Well, my very first competitive match at Clarence Park and it was somewhat of a disappointment as Hayes & Yeading took a fortuitous point. We looked confident from the off and defended particularly well, with captain Ben Martin picking up the man of the match award as he dominated in the air. This is a good opening point from a tricky game.

Saints MoM: Ben Martin.

League position: 14th - 1 point from 1 game.

SACFC 1 – 1 Eastleigh (Blue Square South)

Another home fixture and another winnable game. We started well, keeping the ball and creating plenty of chances. Sam Hurrell shone on the wing and we really ought to have been leading by half-time. We looked in absolute control of things after half-time and so you can imagine my horror and disbelief when Eastleigh took the lead on 77 minutes. I urged the players forward to aggressively attack Eastleigh and was delighted when Gary Cohen popped up with a goal on 92 minutes to save a point.

Saints MoM: Sam Hurrell.

League position: 13th - 2 points from 2 games.

Hampton & Richmond 2 – 0 SACFC (Blue Square South)

The less said about this, the better. We were totally outclassed from the start. The shots rained in on our goal and while we were able to keep the ball pretty well, we didn’t create a decent chance all afternoon. Hampton won it at a canter.

Saints MoM: Captain Ben Martin.

League position: 19th - 2 points from 3 games.

NEWSFLASH – Saints have strengthened their squad with two short-term loan signings. Striker Bradley Gray rejoins the club from Leyton Orient after his loan period last season under former manager Steve Castle. Defender Lewis Christon signs up from Wycombe. The St. Albans management said, ‘we needed to bring in a few players to cope with injuries. Goals have been hard to come-by so far this season, so hopefully Gray will be able to make an impact. Christon should go straight into the team alongside Ben Martin'. Both players sign for three months.

Chelmsford 1 – 1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

Chelmsford are one of the best sides in the division, so this performance cheered me considerably. I put loanees Christon and Gray straight into the side. I was really forced to do this due to injuries but Gray was mainly brought in due to the worrying lack of cutting edge in front of goal. We matched Chelmo in every way, creating just as much as them on their ground. Paul Hakim scored a great goal on 81 minutes and we thought we’d done enough to get our first win of the season. Chelmsford came back strong, however, and scored through Chris Moore 3 minutes before the final whistle. I’m certainly encouraged by this result when I had expected the side to get beaten.

Saints MoM: Bradley Gray.

League position: 17th - 3 points from 4 games.

SACFC 1 – 3 Team Bath (Blue Square South)

An absolutely disastrous first-half ruined this game for us. Team Bath were all over us and scored in the first 10 minutes. We grew in confidence and equalised on 30 minutes through Jonathan Pringle (his first goal for the club). But Team Bath scored again through Marc Canham just before half time. After the break, Marc Canham quickly made it 3-1 and despite the fact that we actually played some great stuff and seemed to equal Team Bath for long periods of the game, we lost. It was a harsh result but we had clearly failed to take our chances and Team Bath had been far more clinical.

Saints MoM: Jonathan Pringle.

League position: 20th - 3 points from 5 games.

MANAGER JOURNAL FOR AUGUST:

We end the month in the relegation zone, which is not quite how I expected things to go. The Saints fans are already on my back and are particularly disappointed with the Hampton & Richmond performance. That was, really, the only game in which I have been truly upset with the side and the level of commitment shown. In every other game, I have felt that we have competed and matched our opposition. I believe we have been extremely unlucky in picking up only 3 points from our first 5 games. We must improve our finishing and be more clinical in front of goal. Hopefully Bradley Gray will help with this. I’m not panicking yet as I believe we have had a tough start against some very good sides. Next month will be key.

SEPTEMBER 2008:

This month brings two tricky looking away fixtures in Newport Co. and Maidenhead. However, two home ties against Weston-super-mare and Welling look winnable. Towards the end of the month we also have a tough draw in the FA Cup against Chelmsford. I am targeting two home wins and, at the very least, an away draw in the league. An ambitious 6 points from 4 games, I hoped, would be achievable. In the FA Cup, I am desperate to progress for both the money and the glory. However, I am just looking for an excellent performance against Chelmsford and the hope that we might snatch the result. We kick off with a Setanta Shield tie away to Braintree.

Braintree 1 – 3 SACFC (Setanta Shield S 1st Round)

I put out a strong team in the Conference version of the League Cup. Braintree are predicted for mid-table but are struggling and their manager is under pressure. I feel this is a winnable cup tie and that we can take the game to them. My side start off really well and take the lead in just two minutes thanks to a goal from Jonathan Pringle. However, Braintree equalise minutes later. Things seem fairly even between the sides and we are lucky to re-establish our lead on 20 minutes through Pringle again. After the break, our defensive midfielder Andy Richie gets a straight-red for an appalling challenge. However, a Paul Hakim effort goes in ten minutes later and we seem to be home and dry. With some good defending, we go through and I am delighted to have my first win as Saints manager. Can we now turn the corner and record a win in the league?

Saints MoM: Jonathan Pringle.

League pos: N/A - Through to next round of the shield.

Newport Co. 3 – 1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

I regret that we couldn’t follow up our cup heroics with a bread-and-butter win in the league. Newport County are really a mid-table side and we should really aspire to be at the same level as them this season. Our first-half performance is very poor and Newport have scored three goals in 20 minutes. Some harsh words at half-time saw us dominate the second-half but we were never going to come back from three down. Jonathan Pringle scored in the last minute of the game to restore a little bit of our lost dignity.

Saints MoM: Jonathan Pringle for the third time in a row.

League pos: 19th - 3 points from 6 games.

SACFC 2 – 0 Weston-Super-Mare (Blue Square South)

This comes as a huge relief but it was awfully hard work getting the points in the bag despite dominating from start to finish. Weston-Super-Mare are predicted for relegation this season, just like us, making this somewhat of a six-pointer. A win was essential for us after our poor start. Thankfully for us, WSM were playing really poorly and were rock bottom of the table. We dominated from start to finish and scored first through that man again, Jonathan Pringle. The second goal, however, just wouldn’t come and I had my worries about the side seeing the game out. However, Lewis Hamlin converted a penalty late on to put the points in the bag. My first competitive home win and my first three points in the league. I hate to say it but is this going to be the catalyst for our season? Can this victory send us forward with confidence?

Saints MoM: Lewis Hamlin.

League pos: 17th - 6 points from 7 games.

Maidenhead 0 – 3 SACFC (Blue Square South)

Maidenhead have had a stuttering start much like ours and are another side who are predicted to finish safely in mid-table. Much to my surprise to be perfectly honest, we took the momentum from the last game into this one and totally outplayed them. Here was the creativity we had been lacking and suddenly the side showed the sort of clinical finishing that we had needed in previous games. Lewis Hamlin scored first with a penalty. Pringle followed it up with a fine finish just before half-time. Then Sam Hurrell, on as a substitute, scored the third in the last 10 minutes to end all hopes of a Maidenhead rival. It was an emphatic victory and I enjoyed every second of it. I felt that a result like this had been coming and finally the lads were playing with confidence.

Saints MoM: Scott Cousins (two assists).

League pos: 13th - 9 points from 8 games.

SACFC 1 – 0 Chelmsford (FA Cup 2nd Qual Rnd)

I had been dreading this tie considering how good Chelmsford are and how bad our league form had been but now, after two wins in a row, I was looking forward to it. It was a very even and edgy game. Both sides had about the same amount of chances, although we edged the possession. Much to my delight, Kieran Hall popped up for his first goal of the season on 72 minutes and we held on to send ourselves into the next round. I was absolutely delighted and hoped for a kinder draw in the 3rd qualifying round.

Saints MoM: Kieran Hall.

League pos: N/A – Through to 3rd Qual. Rnd of cup.

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City are drawn at home to Gloucester City in the 3rd Qual. Rnd. The St. Albans management commented that his side would be looking forward to the tie but warned that there were no easy games in the FA Cup and that his side would have to put in a performance of the highest quality to win the game.

SACFC 1 – 0 Welling (Blue Square South)

Back to the league and I wondered could we keep this little run going. I went into the game with an unchanged side and was punching the air in celebration when Kieran Hall, hero of our last game, scored a terrific goal before half-time. I was delighted to see him receive the ball from Pringle, trap it and cut dangerously past two defenders before powering into the net. However, I was shortly to be incredibly disheartened when Hall, clearly our most creative player, was injured just before half-time. Lee Clarke, still not 100% fit, replaced him and I had my concerns but he put in an admirable performance as we dominated possession. The second goal, however, just would not come but we were never in danger of losing it. Another win to please the Saints fans, who I think I might just be starting to endear myself to.

Saints MoM: Jonathan Pringle (provided the assist).

League pos: 10th (dizzy heights indeed) - 12 points from 9 games.

MANAGER JOURNAL FOR SEPTEMBER:

All in all, a much better month and the points tally exceeded my expectation considerably. Nine points from four games was terrific stuff really. That’s promotion form. There were some terrific displays as well, plus the emergence of a fine deep-lying striker in Jonathan Pringle (contributing goals and assists) and a tricky winger in Lewis Hamlin. Both seemed to be excellent signings. Equally as important as the league form was progress in the two cups. I have to be honest and say that I could take or leave the Setanta Shield but the FA Cup was another story entirely. I really wanted to make the 1st round, if it was at all possible. What also delighted me this month though is that I got third place in the Manager of the Month award. I want to win one of those sooner rather than later.

That's a really comprehensive start to your story. I look forward to more. KUTGW

i was going to do a city one, but u beat me to it

i'll keep watching this though, as it's way better than mine would have been and you seem way more detailed than me

nice one!

ps, i can't seem to get city going either... when i get my new pc 2moro im starting again

Good start. KUTGW. Will keep an eye out for this one.

Good work in September there, Crouch, good luck next month!

[Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement guys. Nice to have another Saints fan reading my story Ryan_SACFC and also another Blue Square South supporter in Gareth-S0 too. Last but not least, thanks to Spav and Stoehrst for your interest and positive comments too. I am currently trying to get a few months ahead of my story before I post again. Really enjoying this save so far and once again finding myself totally addicted to FM. Will hopefully get some decent sessions in this weekend and will update the story in the next couple of days. ]

A good start - love these low starting clubs myself KUTGW

OCTOBER 2008

October is a long month with six games in all. AFC Wimbledon away would start the month and that was going to be an extremely difficult game indeed. In truth, I expected little of my side against the superior resources of AFC Wimbledon, who I predicted would win promotion to the Conference this season. The other away ties in the league would be Fisher and Bognor Regis and I hoped for some points from these games. At home, we would host just one game against Dorchester and I wanted three points from that. I set an ambitious target of 7 points for the league as I hoped to continue where we left off last month. I also had to turn my attentions to the cups where we would play a tricky away Setanta Shield tie at Team Bath (who had thrashed us at home in the league in August) and an equally tricky FA Cup home tie against Gloucester City where any notions of complacency could not be entertained. I wanted progress in the FA Cup but would field a reserve side in the Setanta.

AFC Wimbledon 3 – 2 SACFC (Blue Square South)

The scoreline indicates that this was somewhat of a thriller but, in reality, I didn’t find it thrilling at all. In truth, the ‘mighty’ Saints had nothing short of a group breakdown for 45 minutes. I played a fairly defensive system against AFC Wimbledon and therefore I wasn’t best pleased to find that they were two up in twenty minutes and coasting. City were truly awful and it is only by some miracle that we managed to keep the score down in the first-half. For good measure, the lads went and buckled under the AFC Wimbledon pressure again just before half-time to concede the third. Things did not look good. The game was as good as dead. I expressed my disappointment at half-time and asked them for more. In the second-half, they duly responded and Paul Hakim scored after 5 minutes to give us a goal back. It was a fine finish by Hakim, powering home on the edge of the box. Bradley Gray, on as a substitute, then got us a second goal and we looked well on our way to an incredible and unlikely comeback. We were dominating the game, making chance after chance and pegging Wimbledon back in their half. I couldn’t understand why we couldn’t have played like this from the beginning of the game. Had we been fired up and played like this, we would surely have won it. Much to my disappointment, the equaliser would just not come. In truth, Wimbledon were so superior in that first-half, that it would have been more than a touch fortuitous for us to have come away with something out of the game. They were still creating chances and playing well while we were dominating the game. Sometimes in football, you just have to say that the better side won. However, we can be proud of that second-half performance and we can also take note of AFC Wimbledon because they are at the level we are ambitiously aspiring to be at in the future.

Saints MoM: Paul Hakim.

League pos: 13th - 12 points from 10 games.

Team Bath 2 – 3 SACFC (Setanta Shield S 2nd Rnd)

I felt that this was an unwanted distraction really and so I rested a few players. I never want to be knocked out of a competition and I obviously want to win every game. However, I would lose no sleep if we were not in the hat for the next round draw of this particular competition. I rotated like crazy, bringing in several reserves and resting a number of key players. It was not a luxury I could normally afford but I hoped that the reserves would come in and battle for a place in the first team. I did not see this game as a chance for revenge for the league defeat in August but expected more of the same. So when Team Bath went 1-0 up, I was somewhat resigned to losing the game. They were in charge of affairs for a majority of this tie and we seemed to take a back seat. 10 minutes from time, an equaliser looked unlikely, but I urged the players forward anyway. In the 4th minute of added time, Bradley Gray popped up with a last gasp equaliser to keep us in the tie. Extraordinary.

Extra-time followed. The side was tired and all substitutions had been already made. I gave the players the most motivating team talk I could think of but I was secretly thinking that we had nothing to lose. The lads went back out and played wonderfully. First, Jonathan Pringle scored to put us in the lead. However, Team Bath equalised at the beginning of the second period of extra-time. But Bradley Gray did it again by scoring in the very last minute of the extra-time allowance to make it 3-2 and to send us through. I know I said I could easily cope without this Shield but that was before a terrific victory like this and by a team made up mostly of reserves. An exceptional effort but Team Bath had every right to feel robbed. I did not mind and I congratulated the players on making it to the next round.

Saints MoM: Bradley Gray with his two last minute goals.

League pos: N/A – Through to next round of the Shield.

SACFC 2 - 0 Gloucester (FA Cup 3rd Qual. Rnd)

This was far more edgy and nervous than it needed to be for the mighty Saints. We gave Gloucester too many chances and we would have been punished by better opposition. Things went well early on when Scott Cousins scored a cracking free-kick with his left foot. But the second goal never came and Gloucester looked more and more dangerous in the second-half. Some of the players started to look nervous and I made a few changes and went more defensive to see the game out. The really bad news for us was that we lost Ben Martin to injury in the second-half. However, James Quilter came on as a substitute and performed well enough despite not being a ‘natural’ centre-back.

As Gloucester pushed forward, they left gaps at the back and we punished them in the last minute of the game. A Hassan Sulaiman cross was met by the head of Lee Clarke who sent the ball past the Gloucester keeper. I’m both relieved and thrilled to be in the hat for the 4th qualifying round. The £7.5k is pretty handy too (that’s £12k from the FA Cup and £4.5k from the Setanta - £16.5k from the cups so far!)

Saints MoM: Scott Cousins.

League pos: N/A – Through to the 4th Qualifying Round.

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City fans will be cursing their luck today after news of captain and favourite Ben Martin’s hip injury. The giant defender is set to miss a minimum of three months with the St. Albans management predicting that he could be out for up to six months.

St. Albans are set to search for a short-term loan to cover for Ben Martin. Ryan Frater, who has recently recovered from an injury of his own, is likely to start against Fisher this weekend. Either Lee Clarke or Scott Cousins will take over the captaincy in Martin’s absence. The Saints management admitted that this was a big blow and confessed that losing both a leader on the pitch and a key player was, in fact, a double-blow.

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City are drawn to play Oxford United away from home in the FA Cup 4th Qual. Rnd. The match takes place at the end of October. The St. Albans management commented that this would be a real test for his side and that they would be able to see how far they have come by playing against the quality of the Blue Square Premier team.

Fisher 0-0 SACFC (Blue Square South)

First of all, let me say that losing captain Ben Martin was a huge blow. He’d been absolutely solid all season and is much admired by the Saints fans for his calmness, composure and no-nonsense approach. I hope that this season is not marred by the absence of our captain. I brought in Ryan Frater, returning from his own injury, in Ben’s place. I need not have worried about him. His performance was solid as was his dominance in the air. The captain’s armband went to Scott Cousins this afternoon.

Second of all, I must say that this match against Fisher was a case of two points dropped for us. Fisher failed to create anything remotely worthwhile against us. They have major financial worries at the moment and have a poor side. We dominated the game and spent most of it in their half. 60% possession in our favour. We also had a plethora of chances to put this game to bed but, I regret, that we just couldn’t finish them. Fisher even had a player sent off in the last ten minutes and I encouraged the team to go all out for a goal. Alas, some woeful finishing meant that we missed the chance to win. Extremely frustrating. At the moment, it feels like we take one step forward and then one straight back to the beginning again.

Saints MoM: Lewis Hamlin.

League pos: 12th – 13 points from 11 games.

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City are drawn to play Ebbsfleet United at Clarence Park in the Setanta Shield 3rd Round. The match takes place at the beginning of November. The St. Albans management commented that playing a Blue Square Premier team was a positive challenge for the players. The Saints management are justly proud of their recent cup successes.

SACFC 4-0 Dorchester (Blue Square South)

Dorchester are somehow sitting in 3rd place when we meet them but I take a look at their squad and feel that they aren’t anything special at all. They were predicted to struggle this season and I believed that we were capable of beating sides like this. Whatever I could accuse the side of being in the last match against Fisher (perhaps goal-shy or profligate) I would have to take back this afternoon. We romped home in some considerable style. Jonathan Pringle got me the first hat-trick of my managerial career – the first of many I hope. The first was a great run from deep that sent him one-on-one with the goalkeeper and his finish was cool and showed his class. The second was another great finish, this time from after Lewis Hamlin had played him through. For the third, he showed great anticipation and movement to get on the end of Hassan Sulaiman’s pass to score. He would have got more, no doubt, if he had stayed on the pitch for the full 90 minutes but he was injured after only an hour. The last goal came from Jefferson Gowland who struck a powerful shot from the edge of the box to make the victory an emphatic one. Jefferson Gowland and Bradley Gray joined Pringle on the injury list during this game and I now have some major worries. I have no idea of the extent of the injuries at the moment. I just hope they aren’t serious. This is a fine victory, the best so far in performance and result, and I don’t want it to be spoilt by finding out that we have new injury concerns to add to that of our captain Ben Martin.

Saints MoM: Jonathan Pringle – a great hat-trick and a 9.4 rating as well.

League pos: 9th – 16 points from 12 games.

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City have today confirmed the severity of the injuries sustained by Jonathan Pringle and Bradley Gray in the victory against Dorchester last weekend. Hat-trick hero Pringle will be out for up to 3 months with a broken jaw after he was the victim of an accidental elbow during an aerial contest with a Dorchester defender. The news is worse, though, for Bradley Gray, who will be out for a minimum of 4 months with a torn calf muscle. Pringle and Gray join Saints skipper Ben Martin on the injury list. The St. Albans City management said, ‘at the moment we are suffering from a serious injury crisis. Pringle has been excellent for us this season and will be sorely missed. We are currently in discussion with Leyton Orient about Bradley Gray and it is possible he will return to them for treatment. We did, however, have the intention of trying to bring him here on a longer deal but we will have to re-evaluate now. Hopefully this is an opportunity for Simon Martin and Gary Cohen to push for the positions up front. We cannot deny that this is another serious blow to our hopes this season though.’

Oxford United 4-2 SACFC (FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round)

Before this game, I turned my attentions away from searching for a replacement for Ben Martin. I had confidence in Ryan Frater and believed that he was back to full fitness. I was also far more concerned about the injuries to Pringle and Gray. Other players in the squad could step in, however I thought that Gary Cohen was more effective on the wing due to his pace rather than in a forward position where he showed a lack of composure in front of goal. Also, I saw local lad Simon Martin as a useful substitute and impact player but not as a first-team regular with the pressure of scoring goals. At least we still had a fit Paul Hakim and yet he had not quite found his feet yet with a return of 3 goals in 10 not quite as prolific as I expected from him.

I turned my attentions to this game which was billed as ‘minnows St. Albans face the impossible’ in the press. We were available at odds of 13/1 so that gives you some idea. I played down our chances in a meeting with the media prior to the match in the hope that it might take the pressure off the players. It seemed to have the opposite effect however, as I noticed that some of the players were not reacting well and looked nervous in training leading up to the game.

As a result of this, I decided not to go with my new favoured partnership of Hakim and Cohen. Hakim seemed to be having a bad reaction to my comments in the media and I felt he might be better on the bench for this game. Instead, in lieu of Pringle and Gray, I put in Simon Martin and Gary Cohen. I wanted to get to the 1st round proper desperately as I felt it would be a wonderful occasion for all involved with the club and give us a chance of glory, not to mention some much needed cash. I didn’t know what to say to them in the changing room. This was a big cup tie for us and a huge opportunity. I wished the players luck and hoped for the best. We were set up playing a defensive 4-4-2 and hoping to catch Oxford out on the break.

The scoreline for this game doesn’t tell the whole tale at all. However, the first-half really was like some kind of bad dream. I expected the lads to be fired up and instead they were well and truly put in their place by an Oxford United side that are currently in 3rd place in the BSP (that’s 29 league places above us). They were 2-0 up in after twenty minutes but I felt that as long as we could get in at half-time only two goals down we might just be able to get back in the game after regrouping during the break.

During the second-half, we looked a little more up for it. However, the Cohen and Martin partnership just wasn’t working, so I switched Cohen to the wing and brought on Hakim. Hakim made an immediate impact with his movement and running. We looked a much better side. On 71 minutes, Kieran Hall received the ball just outside the box and smashed one past the Oxford United ‘keeper and into the back of the net. 2-1. Game on.

I urged the lads forward now and could not believe our luck when the ball fell to Simon Martin in the box after a corner and he fired home an equaliser! 2-2! I feel guilty now for suggesting that Simon hasn’t got what it takes to be a first-teamer. I just don’t think he has the physical side to his game and his pace and ability in the air really let him down. However, one thing I can’t deny is that he is a real poacher and a fox in the box. Give him half a chance at this level and he can put it in. Never going to be prolific but always reliable. Anyway, 2-2, what a comeback. Normally never showing much emotion, I allow myself a celebration. I feel the occasion warrants it.

Oxford United came at us straight away though. We haven’t regrouped properly and they put it straight in the back of the net. A devastating blow. It was a goal that really hurt. 3-2 to Oxford. Again, I urged the lads forward but we shortly got caught out again at the back. 4-2 and game well and truly over. So close to at least a replay and yet so far. This was never our best performance but I think it was still admirable. It was always going to be a big ask to win this game, or even draw it, especially without our captain and two of our best attacking players. We say goodbye to the FA Cup but we’ll be back next season and I’ll be hoping we can go further.

Saints MoM: Kieran Hall with a goal and an assist.

League pos: N/A – knocked out of the FA Cup at 4th round qualifying.

Bognor Regis 0-1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

We’ve been trying to get a short-term loan signing in to help with the forward situation but, regrettably, we just haven’t been able to find anyone. We were beaten to the one target we did have by Bromley. With us looking short upfront, I decided to start with yet another combination. This time it was Hakim playing as the advanced striker, with Lee Clarke playing deep in support. The two had played together a great deal in the past and been rather prolific but this was before Lee Clarke’s injuries and fitness issues. Clarke was really considered more of a creative midfield figure these days but I believed he could also do a job up front. Simon Martin moved to the bench to figure as a potential ‘super-sub’.

We really were expected to win this one comfortably against the side who were predicted to finish bottom of the pile and were currently sitting in 20th place. With our current injuries, I wasn’t so sure. However, we started encouragingly and forged ahead after only 20 minutes through a Lewis Hamlin goal.

There was nothing pretty about this game. Clarke and Hakim seemed to link up well but have little positive effect. I later switched Clarke to his favoured midfield role and brought Simon Martin on but we couldn’t get the second. Indeed, we were fortunate to come away with the points because Bognor Regis made more chances than we did and should have taken at least a point. We surely would have been punished against a better side but a win is a win and we’re doing rather well right now. I make that unbeaten in three games. Not bad for a ‘little’ team from Hertfordshire predicted to struggle at the beginning of the season. However, I warned the side against complacency.

Saints MoM: Lewis Hamlin.

League pos: 7th – 19 points from 13 games (5 points away from the playoffs).

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City striker Jonathan Pringle claimed the October Player of the Month award after scoring three goals in three appearances. Unfortunately, Pringle, a new signing at Clarence Park, is currently injured and be out for up to 3 months.

MANAGER JOURNAL FOR OCTOBER:

Steady progress in the league as we achieved the 7 points I targeted at the beginning of the month. We are now sitting in a more than respectable position. Not too bad in the cups as well, with a surprise Setanta Shield win and a decent run in the FA Cup coming to an unfortunate end against a much superior side in Oxford United. However, the real story of this month was the injury crisis. Our wins against Gloucester City and Dorchester ended up being Pyrrhic victories for us. Captain and Saints hero Ben Martin is ruled out with a hip injury. New signing and creative striker Jonathan Pringle is ruled out with a broken jaw. And loanee Bradley Gray is ruled out with a torn calf. All would not play any more football in 2008. I had decided not to bring in a short-term loan at the back and to trust Ryan Frater to step in after his injury. Similarly, I had now reached the conclusion that I should use the squad and give Lee Clarke the chance to partner Paul Hakim up front, with Simon Martin pushing for a place too. We had a small squad but with enough versatility to give us the depth to cover this kind of injury crisis. I hoped I would be proved right about this in November.

NOVEMBER 2008

November brings some tough fixtures, which will certainly prove more challenging than October. We kick off by entertaining Worcester City at home, which will be an interesting tie as they are at the same kind of level as us, i.e. predicted to finish mid-table and performing as well as us (they are just 3 points below us in the table). Other home ties included Bath City, currently in 2nd place, and the highlight of the month against Hertfordshire rivals Bishop’s Stortford – a game that will be a county derby. The away games are going to be really challenging against much favoured Havant & Waterlooville and Braintree Town. Considering our home form is pretty good at the moment, I targeted 7 points from the three home games. Away from home, we’re pretty average, so I put a somewhat more pessimistic target of 1 point down due to us playing very good sides. That’s a pretty ambitious target of 8 points from 5 games, which would be an excellent return, especially considering our current circumstances in terms of injuries (I don’t like to mention it too much!) We also had our Setanta Shield South 3rd Rnd tie against BSP side Ebbsfleet United. This would be another big challenge but I would consider about rotating the squad for this game to save tired legs for later in the season.

SACFC 2-1 Worcester (Blue Square South)

Quite how we won this, I will never know. So much conspired against us and yet we came through and got the points. I hope we aren’t using up all of our luck at this early stage of the season. We had a mere 41% of possession today and really created less than Worcester over the course of the game. Lucky for us, we got ourselves ahead early. Hassan Sulaiman scored first and Paul Hakim doubled our lead before half-time. I was particularly cheered to see the latter score, as I was hoping that this would send him on a little goalscoring run. Hakim is one of those confidence players who needs goals and games to get going. Once he is on form, there aren’t many better than him at this level.

Worcester were a very physical team today and they put in some hard challenges to knock the wind out of Ryan Frater, Hassan Sulaiman and Kieran Hall. All three had to come off as they were clearly not in a condition to continue playing. We generally looked more and more tired as the game went on. Worcester pulled one back in the second-half and should probably have scored at least one more to take a point. Things went from bad to worse for us when our goalkeeper had to be stretchered off. We had no substitutions left and brave defensive midfielder James Quilter had to go between the sticks for five minutes. Still we held on. A fortuitous win but I will take them any way they come. The tenacity of this side is extremely impressive and our home form is now looking absolutely awesome.

Saints MoM: Hassan Sulaiman.

League pos: 7th – 22 points from 14 games (2 points away from playoffs).

NEWSFLASH: FA TROPHY CUP DRAW – St. Albans City have been drawn to play Merstham away from home in the FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round. The St. Albans management had this to say: ‘This is a competition that we really want to do well in, even more so now that we are out of the FA Cup. The trophy always has a special feel about it and we will be aiming to compete and do as well as we can in the competition this year. We will be looking forward to visiting Merstham and hoping that we can get a result to take us into the next round.’

NEWSFLASH: FUTURE BRIGHT AT ST. ALBANS – St. Albans City youth are currently topping the table after winning 7 of their 8 games this season. This has prompted the St. Albans management to offer contracts to two of the leading players in the squad. Striker Shaun Johnston (from St. Albans) has scored 4 goals in 8 games for the youth side this season and is delighted to have signed for the club. Equally pleased is fullback Brendan Skinner (also from St. Albans). The St. Albans Management made this comment about the two 16 year olds: ‘Here we have two excellent local lads who are working hard for the club. I feel that they are both quality prospects for the future. Johnston can, in my opinion, go on to be as good as Paul Hakim. Equally, Skinner has all the qualities required to match Scott Cousins. I have told these two players to shadow their senior equivalents and I hope that the experiment is a positive one. If they keep their heads down and keep doing well, I will have to give them some game time in the first-team eventually but we need to take it one step at a time.’

SACFC 1-2 Ebbsfleet (Setanta Shield South 3rd Round)

In view of our injuries and also as a result of a general sense of tiredness that seemed to have spread through the first-team, I decided to make some major changes to the side for this cup (Shield?) tie against Ebbsfleet. Essentially, I changed the whole side apart from sticking with Lee Clarke and Paul Hakim up front. In came substitutes and reserve players to provide fresh legs for this game. The Setanta Shield came last in my list of priorities but I did, however, put out a side that I felt would give it a go and try to compete with Blue Square Premier side Ebbsfleet. The major squad news was that I decided to give a debut to 16-year-old Brendan Skinner at left-back. This young lad looks extremely promising and I felt that he could make the step up for today’s game. I also named our other young prodigy, striker Shaun Johnston, among the substitutes. My feeling was that I would give him a chance during the course of the game, if the circumstances permitted, in order to ascertain whether he might be a useful prospect to help out with our current injury crisis in the forward positions.

We started extraordinarily well and did not deserve to fall behind just before half-time. I was impressed with my second string and felt that Ebbsfleet were fortunate to have gone into the lead. In the second-half we looked equally impressive and we finally got the breakthrough and equalised through Sam Hurrell on 79 minutes. Regrettably, as happened in our last cup tie against a BSP team, we spontaneously combusted straight-away. We gave away a silly penalty and were left chasing the game after Ebbsfleet scored it. Shaun Johnston had come on as a substitute earlier in the game and he looked imposing and confident straight-away. Yet, there was to be no fairytale ending to this tie. I sympathised with the team after the game. We had matched our opposition admirably and the two youngsters had given me two solid debuts. We certainly have two for the future there.

Out of another cup on the negative side but now we can concentrate on having a good run in the FA Trophy and the Blue Square South. Feedback from the boardroom is that they are pleased with our runs in both cups and we have surpassed their expectations in the Shield.

Saints MoM: Sam Hurrell.

League pos: N/A – knocked out of the Setanta Shield in South 3rd Rnd.

Havant & W 3-0 SACFC (Blue Square South)

We get a week off before this game, which gives us a chance to regroup and get some rest. It is just as well because I see this as a really tough fixture and a chance for us to see how far we have come over the last couple of months. Havant & Waterlooville are predicted to finish 1st in the division and are currently sitting one place ahead of us in the table. Two points separate us.

I changed the team back to my preferred eleven, with the exception of Lee Clarke who had picked up a minor injury and defender Lewis Christon who was suspended. Thus, we would start this game without our captain and vice-captain. After a decent performance in his last game, I took a risk by giving young striker Shaun Johnston the nod with reduced options up front forcing my hand to a certain extent. I had nobody with the sort of strength and creativity for the deep-lying role and I felt that Johnston was a decent option for that position. Reserve defender Michael McLeary came in for suspended Christon.

Havant & Waterlooville are, of course, famous for their 3rd round cup tie at Anfield last season. Today, I heard their vociferous home support singing ‘Liverpool, Liverpool, Liverpool’ with dodgy Scouse accents. I can only assume this was intended to remind their players of the occasion and hope that its memory would spur them on to victory. Perhaps it was just to remind the mighty Saints of their giant-killing status. They need not have reminded us because, in the end, they showed us their qualities on the pitch.

In a dull and dismal first-half, we equalled them and, in fact, were the better side in my opinion. The possession and chances stats actually back me up in this assertion. I was surprised to see them playing defensively at home. However, their counter-attacking was particularly dangerous, with the pace of strikers Paul Booth and Luke Nightingale. Both scored in the second-half. Ryan Frater, our giant defender, had a dreadful afternoon. Excellent in the air he may be but he is rather ponderous and sluggish on the deck and he just could not cope with Paul Booth. Havant & Waterlooville scored their third while we were chasing the game, which was inevitable really because pushing up meant that Frater would be even more exposed.

This was always going to be a difficult match but we really suffered without our captain, vice-captain, best centre-back and two of our best attacking players. I can blame the injuries all I want, of course, but that doesn’t change the result. We simply must not dwell on this misleading result. To be fair to us, Paul Hakim was denied twice by the opposition goalkeeper, who won the man of the match award, so that tells its own tale. It was simply not our afternoon.

Saints MoM: Alex Bailey.

League pos: 9th – 22 points from 15 games.

Braintree 1-1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

The defeat at Havant and Waterlooville was our first defeat in five league games so I tried not to worry too much. I was determined to begin a new run this afternoon against a mid-table Braintree Town side who were predicted to do better at the start of the season. The only change to the side was Lewis Christon who returned from suspension and slotted back in alongside Ryan Frater. I kept faith in Shaun Johnston (in lieu of the injured Lee Clarke) despite his rather disappointing performance in the last game. I hope this is not a sign of my sentimentality as a manager. I am keen for him to succeed especially because he is a local academy player.

This was an extremely even game, which really could have gone either way in the end. We went ahead as early as 7 minutes with a Lewis Hamlin goal. This 23-year-old winger and versatile attacking player, signed on a free, is proving to be one of the best deals of my fledgling managerial career. Braintree really came at us in the second-half and always looked likely to equalise as we began to tire. They did so after 60 minutes. Braintree looked just as happy with the point judging by their shameless time wasting towards the end of the game. My target for the away games was just 1 point and we have achieved this today. We had to work extremely hard for it but we can be pleased with the performance and encouraged by the result.

Saints MoM: Lewis Hamlin.

League pos: 10th – 23 points from 16 games.

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City have today confirmed the short-term loan signing of Luton Town’s 17-year-old defender Harry Hogarth. The St. Albans management confirmed the transfer following their inability to secure Lewis Christon for a further loan period. ‘We were trying to renew our loan of Lewis Christon but we have had several approaches rejected by his club Wycombe Wanderers. Therefore, we decided to contact other local clubs in the area in order to evaluate any other short-term loan options. Luton Town were happy to accept a bid for defender Harry Hogarth. We are delighted to have him on board and this is a particularly crucial signing considering the loss of our captain Ben Martin.’ It is widely expected that Harry Hogarth will start this weekend’s FA Trophy game against Merstham.

Merstham 1-2 SACFC (FA Trophy 3rd Qual. Rnd)

The FA Trophy is a hugely important competition to me. It is one that is considered significant by the majority of non-League fans and these cup ties tend to generate good atmospheres. It is a competition which, like the FA Cup, can generate some revenue, bring in the supporters, put the club on the map. It gives a chance of glory and I want as good a run as is possible. Thus, I intend to stick out my strongest side today in the hope that we can get through to the next round.

A little word should be recorded here about the loan system before I talk about the game. I’m not 100% keen on using loans all of the time because I prefer to have a squad working together long-term and gelling as a team. However, it is obviously essential at this level to be able to get in the odd deal here and there to support the squad. Bradley Gray and Lewis Christon have both returned to their respective clubs now and while I am delighted to have signed Harry Hogarth, I would have preferred to have kept Christon on for consistency. Unfortunately, Wycombe made it clear that they didn’t want to let him out on loan again and so we have been very disappointed. I suppose at least it is a very short journey for Harry to move to us from Luton Town. We’re only ten miles down the road from the Hatters. Anyway, Harry Hogarth goes straight into the side alongside Ryan Frater this afternoon. Otherwise the side is unchanged from last weekend’s draw against Braintree in the BSS.

Apparently Merstham is a village in Surrey with a population of 7,385. The club are in the Isthmian League Division One South, which is the 4th tier of the non-League game (i.e. the very bottom tier that will be competing in this competition). This is what I liked about this competition; that you could end up playing smaller sides you might never have otherwise played against. 183 people watched us nearly fluff our lines at Moatside this afternoon. I should point out that Merstham were only recently promoted to the 4th tier and wouldn’t have even been playing in this competition last season. I mean, they were 50/1 to get the win. We should have been much more comfortable than this.

We took the lead just before half-time through defensive midfielder Jefferson Gowland and looked totally dominant going into the break. Merstham were resisting us somehow but I expected that we would huff and puff and well and truly blow their door down in the second-half. However, on 75 minutes, with the score still at 1-0, we conceded a stupid penalty, which they duly converted. I made two substitutions, bring in Sam Hurrell and Gary Cohen, the latter of which saved us from the ignominy of being forced into a replay against this tiny village side. Cohen set up Paul Hakim for the winner on 88 minutes. All I can say is phew. Merstham can be proud of their performance against us and we can breathe a sigh of relief because we will be in the hat for the next round.

Saints MoM: Jefferson Gowland

League pos: N/A – through to FA Trophy 1st Round.

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City have been drawn against AFC Wimbledon in the FA Trophy 1st Round. The tie will take place at Clarence Park in December. The St. Albans management had this to say: ‘This is a tough draw but we are at home and we will have our fans behind us. We look forward to playing AFC Wimbledon and I’m sure it will be a great occasion and a good cup tie.’

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City fans were extremely excited today as the St. Albans City management announced the signing of striker Nathan Jarman. The ex-Barnsley and Grimsby youngster signs until the end of the season with the aim of resurrecting his career and re-evaluating in the summer. ‘Following Bradley Gray’s injury and subsequent return to Leyton Orient we have been looking to make a permanent signing for the forward position. Nathan Jarman has not been playing regularly for Grimsby and he showed an interest in dropping down to play for us on a part-time basis. Nathan is a quality young player who has aspirations to be successful in football. This deal suits both parties, as we will be getting a quality forward who will bolster our options in attack. Nathan signs until the end of the season and then has the option to move to a football league club. We feel that Nathan will score goals at this level and prove an invaluable addition to the team.’ Nathan is expected to be on the bench at next weekend’s game against Bishop's Stortford.

SACFC P-P Bath (Blue Square South) – Game re-arranged for the beginning of December due to our progress in the FA Trophy.

SACFC 1-0 Bishop’s Stortford (Blue Square South)

I have the adulation of the fans at the moment after the signing of Nathan Jarman. I didn’t really want to bring in anyone new unless it was an absolutely terrific deal and great value for the club. I feel that this signing is exactly that. Nathan is all about pace and will give Hakim some real competition for his place in the side following the departure of Bradley Gray. Lee Clarke returns to the side after injury to partner Paul Hakim up front, which means that youngster Shaun Johnston’s run in the first team ends. Nathan Jarman is named among the substitutes today.

This is a county derby and the nearest thing to a rivalry we have in this division. Our Hertfordshire rivals have a similar record to us in the league and sit one place and one point below us. This game represents the opportunity to pull away from them. Stortford are really the same kind of club that we are and I guess that we both want to win this one as it always hurts to lose to a club of a similar stature. You can also add the fact that this game is being billed as the battle for the pride of Hertfordshire. We want to be the pride of Hertfordshire today, that’s for sure.

This game started off with a pace and intensity to match its billing as a Hertfordshire derby. In the end, however, this was a poor match devoid of creativity. We played pretty poorly and, in truth, Stortford probably deserved a point. The only goal of the game came after 18 minutes when Hassan Sulaiman went on a trademark meandering run and found Lewis Hamlin who placed his shot and beat the Stortford ‘keeper. I’m a bit concerned by the lack of goals coming from our strikers and also by the number of 1-0s. I suppose I should just really be grateful for the points but at the moment it feels as though these excellent results are covering up some of our deficiencies. I must, of course, remember that we are missing a number of key players at the moment and also that this squad is still gelling. This is really an excellent three points and there even more satisfying against our county rivals.

Saints MoM: Lewis Hamlin.

League pos: 9th – 26 points from 17 games.

MANAGER JOURNAL FOR NOVEMBER:

Well, I targeted 7 points from our three home games and in the end we only played two of those due to the game against Bath being rearranged. Thus, we managed 6 points from 2 home games and that is an excellent return. We have really made Clarence Park into a bit of a fortress so far this season and long may it continue. The away form, however, was just as I expected. We only picked up a solitary point on the road but then we were playing two very good sides. A total of 7 points from 4 games is good enough as far as I am concerned, especially considering the players missing through injury.

We’ve been knocked out of the Setanta this month but we aren’t too downbeat about that because we have progressed in the FA Trophy and that is far more important to the club.

I have my concerns about the lack of goals from the forwards and I have taken action by bringing in Nathan Jarman. At the moment, winger Lewis Hamlin is our second top scorer (behind Pringle, who is injured) and that says a lot about the lack of goals from our strikers. I hoped that our luck would improve in front of goal in December. All in all, this can be put down as a good and solid month of progress.

DECEMBER 2008

December was my favourite part of the season as a football supporter. I particularly loved the Boxing Day fixture and the atmosphere as the fans always seemed in good spirits. I hoped it would still be enjoyable as a manager. We would kick off at home with that postponed tie against Bath City. Bromley would be our other opposition at home later in the month. Away from home would be games against Thurrock and Basingstoke who were both sitting towards the bottom of the table. I set a rather ambitious target of taking full points from our home games and at least 3 points from our away matches. This was a target of 9 points out of a possible 12. I realised it was very ambitious but I felt that the fixture computer had been kind to us this Christmas and that we had winnable games at home and away.

The FA Trophy, however, was a little different. We had that tricky tie against AFC Wimbledon to play. They would be favourites for that and we would find it difficult to compete with a club that are financially so far out of our league. They would be out of a league in a literal sense if they kept up their form in 2009 as they were currently sitting at the top of the Blue Square South. It would be a huge game, anyway, and so I targeted a good performance and hoped it would be enough to see us through.

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City have taken defenders Jack Pearson, 19, and Chris Pendleton, 21, on trial. Pearson has been without a club since the summer after being released by League One side Nottingham Forest. Pendleton has been without a club since 2007 when Luton Town released him. The St. Albans management said: ‘We have been looking to bring in a new defender if the right kind of candidate happened to be available. Both Pearson and Pendleton have had experience of the Football League and therefore we have brought them in on trial to see what they can offer us. We hope that both will feature for our reserves and we will make a decision about their future after our staff have had the chance to work with them.’

SACFC 2-0 Bath City (Blue Square South)

When I targeted full points at home at the beginning of this month, I was being really ambitious. Bath City are an excellent side, sitting 3rd in the Blue Square South and are one of the best teams in the league. I felt that this might be a struggle but I had supreme confidence, at the beginning of the month, in our home form. At Clarence Park, we have only lost one game and it was to that other team from Bath, Team Bath, funnily enough.

So you’ll understand me when I say that this victory was huge for us and I felt really excited by how far we had come this season. I can say that Bath City are the second best team we’ve hosted this season (Team Bath, sitting 1st in the league, being the best). Bath City matched us in every way and at some points in this match I couldn’t see us ever getting a point. It took until the 78th minute for the first goal to come and it was us who broke the deadlock. I was about to substitute Lewis Hamlin but was waiting for a break in play. Luckily, I didn’t manage to get him off when I wanted too, because he popped up with a goal for us. The young winger has proved to be an extraordinary success and I hope his form continues long into 2009. Our second goal came as Bath City pushed for an equaliser. Nathan Jarman, on as a substitute, showed his composure, finishing ability and pace by running onto a through ball and calmly slotting past the goalkeeper. It was an outstanding moment and had me punching the air with delight. Another excellent win at home. Come on you Saints!

Saints MoM: Lewis Hamlin (fast becoming a fans favourite I would guess)

League pos: 7th - 29 points from 18 games (2 points from a playoff place).

Thurrock 2-1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

I make two changes for this game against 18th placed Thurrock. Nathan Jarman will start with Lee Clarke dropped to the bench. I play Jarman and Hakim together for the first time with the worry that they are similar types of players. I intend to ask Hakim to play in a deeper role and to bring in the creative side of his game and use his strength to support Jarman. This is not what I would normally suggest for Hakim, who is a natural goalscorer and the kind of player you want breathing down a defender’s neck, but, without Pringle, we are really missing that deep-lying and creative forward who can make things happen and make runs from deep positions. I hope Paul Hakim can fill in today and I know he will be able to make some good runs from deep. Lee Clarke has not been playing well and I figure it is time to try something different.

This game is absolutely devastating for us in the end. We have a poor first-half and find ourselves 1-0 down. I give the team a piece of my mind at half-time and we improve in the second-half. Paul Hakim scores the best goal I’ve seen anyone score this season for the equaliser when he picks up the ball from deep, runs with it and then unleashes a 25 yard rocket that flies into the net. Then we manage to lose it all in 10 minutes. First of all, Paul Hakim is brought down in the box. Ref says penalty. Scott Cousins steps up and fires straight at the goalkeeper. We carry on pushing and a few minutes later Paul Hakim rounds the ‘keeper and shoots across the goal mouth. We look like the only side in it at this point and yet there is a cruel twist of fate for us. In the last minute of the game, Thurrock score. Another miserable day for us away from home. This defeat particularly hurts given the fact that Thurrock are a poor team. I can’t help feeling that today we weren’t attacking enough and that I should have had more confidence in my team. I have a lot to think about because I can’t see where our next points are going to come from away from home. If we want to even entertain the idea of a playoff position, we have to improve on the road.

Saints MoM: Paul Hakim.

League pos: 7th – 29 points from 19 games (now 4 points from a playoff place).

SACFC 2-3 AFC Wimbledon (FA Trophy 1st Round)

I’ll let you into a secret: my birthday was the day after this game and and all I wanted as a present was to be in the next round of the FA Trophy. However, thanks to some calamitous defending, we ended up out of the cup.

Following on from my thoughts about having more confidence in my team and encouraging them to attack, I sent the lads out to have a go at AFC Wimbledon today. The truth is that we dominated the game and made as many chances as our opposition. However, we weren’t as defensively sound and that is why we ended up conceding three goals. It all started off promisingly enough with a fine goal by Nathan Jarman. However, Jefferson Gowland headed into his own net later in the first-half to give AFC Wimbledon an equaliser. They then went 2-0 up thanks to some woeful defending by Ryan Frater. However, he made amends in the second-half by scoring a goal from a corner. This made it 2-2 and it was now game on. Yet, disaster was just around the corner as our defence and goalkeeper got themselves into a right mix-up and gave Wimbledon the winner. In the last ten minutes we had two penalty appeals turned down. I was devastated by this result but it just showed me that we were looking weak at the back and needed improvement there. We must, of course, remember that AFC Wimbledon are a better side that we are and that this was always going to be tough. Out of all of the cups now and we haven’t done too badly in them, I suppose. As the old cliché goes, we can now focus all out energy on the league. I didn’t get my birthday present in the end.

Saints MoM: Scott Cousins (2 assists).

League pos: N/A – Knocked out of the FA Trophy at the 1st Round stage.

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City have announced that they have agreed terms with trialist Jack Pearson. The 19-year-old defender has been without a club since the summer after being released by League One side Nottingham Forest. Chris Pendleton’s trial has finished and he has left the club. The St. Albans management said: ‘We have managed the wage budget shrewdly this season and are therefore able to bring in Pearson to provide extra cover for our injured Captain Ben Martin. Pearson is a young player who we believe could have a very successful future at our football club. This means that we now have a good sized squad of 23 players. We can feel pleased with the depth and quality in the squad and this gives us a real chance to continue our excellent performance in the Blue Square South this season.’

SACFC 1-1 Bromley (Blue Square South)

Jack Pearson isn’t match fit and hasn’t played any competitive football since the summer. However, I’m willing to take a risk on him as I feel our defending has been awful for the last two games where we have conceded 5 goals. This is not something I would normally do but as a manager you have to take risks sometimes. I gave Jack a run out in the reserves in mid-week and he seems to have recovered well so I am going to put him straight in the side and hope that he will be able to improve our fortunes. He looks like a solid centre-back but I worry about the mental side of his game. After all, he is a young player and still developing in that sense. We will see what he is made of today. This is a big risk. Other than this change, I am keeping the same team. Consistency is the key, I feel. Again, I encourage the players to attack today and to get at Bromley with a quick tempo.

I feel that the inclusion of Jack Pearson may well have unsettled the defence as we found ourselves behind very early on. After that, it was always a struggle to break down a very defensive and physical Bromley side. I felt that for long periods of the first-half, Bromley out-muscled us and seemed to want the ball more. The pitch conditions at Clarence Park are not particularly good at the moment and I feel that this probably contributed to making the game more physical. It probably didn’t suit the sort of football I was trying to get us playing lately either. I decided to speak to the chairman about this during the week (but later found out that nothing will be done about it until the end of the season). Anyway, we finally got our breakthrough on 76 minutes through Nathan Jarman. Bromley had only 1 shot all afternoon and we made so many chances that we could have won by 4 goals. Sometimes that’s just football, I guess. This is turning out to be a bit of a disappointing month thus far. We must do better in our last game of 2008.

Saints MoM: Lewis Hamlin.

League pos: 9th – 30 points from 20 games.

NEWSFLASH: St. Albans City have confirmed that defensive midfielder Jefferson Gowland will be out for up to a month with a pulled hamstring. The St. Albans management refused to issue a comment about the loss of their midfield anchorman and whether or not it would have an effect on their ambitions this season.

Basingstoke 1-0 SACFC (Blue Square South)

This is the last game of 2008 and I wanted to finish the year with a win. However, this seemed unlikely to happen considering that we have failed to come away victorious in our last four league games away from home. You have to go back to October for our last away win, which was an unconvincing victory over a poor Bognor Regis side. However, I felt optimistic today and believed that I could spur the side on to victory.

Jack Pearson had had solid debut in his last game and, after 180 minutes of football split between the reserves and the first team over the last week, gained match fitness. Thus, I saw no reason to change things, the only exception being that an injury to defensive midfield Jefferson Gowland forced me to alter the midfield. I brought in Andy Ritchie as his replacement.

I gave the side a very encouraging, arm-round-the-shoulder, style team-talk today. Losses to Thurrock, Wimbledon and a home draw against Bromley had taken its toll on my squad’s morale. It didn’t show in our performance today though and that’s why the final result was so mystifying. The first-half was all ours and when Basingstoke went ahead, just after half-time, it was their first shot at our goal. It was to be only one of two shots they had all afternoon and it was a freak goal caused by an error by Kieran Hall. We had managed 8 shots and with possession of 55%, you can see that we bossed the game and played them off their own park. I was hugely disappointed with this and I sympathised with the players. Sometimes football is like this but I was still worried about the lack of away wins. This really wasn’t the best way to see out 2008. We needed a fresh start in January and I hoped the New Year, arbitrary conception that it is, would give the players a chance to forget this rotten month and to move into 2009 back on form.

Saints MoM: Jack Pearson.

League pos: 10th – 30 points from 21 games.

MANAGER JOURNAL FOR DECEMBER:

I’m feeling philosophical and calm at the end of a very disappointing month. It was a month that had seen three losses but I felt that a combination of injuries and players coming in and going out had hit us this month. We had recorded 4 points from 4 games, which while not particularly good, isn’t the end of the world. We had missed my target of 7 by some distance in the end. The cups were well and truly over for us now after defeat by Wimbledon but I guess you could say that they hadn’t been too rotten for us. We have performed respectably.

At the start of the season, I predicted mid-table and that is where we are at the moment. I cannot be too disappointed about that. However, sometimes I have felt that this squad is capable of more in a league where most sides are very equal in terms of quality.

Going into 2009, I felt that with the signings of Jarman and Pearson, along with my pre-season buys, I had finally made the team ‘mine’. Tactically, I now felt quite settled. I believed that I had brought my own tactical philosophy to the side. This was mainly in the form of a hard-working culture, with the wingers tracking back and the whole side defending from the front by pressing in the opposition half. I was also flexible enough to play with more defensive, balanced or attacking systems but kept my hard-working philosophy in mind at all times, as well as my other main theory, which was to give attacking autonomy and creative freedom to our attacking midfielder, Kieran Hall. I also gave a certain level of freedom and autonomy to our deep-lying forward, Pringle (when available), and our right-winger Hassan Sulaiman. This had resulted in some efficient attacking play and I hoped our style of football would get better as the team gelled. We played a fairly mixed passing game as I wanted my side to get the ball on the deck where possible but I was also practical enough to know that a level of directness was at times necessary, both in a technical sense and in a circumstantial one. In short, my tactical philosophy was one of hard-work, efficiency, practicality and team-work, balanced out by the cautious encouragement of individual talent. This all fits in with my fastidious, obsessive but artistic nature.

I was happy with the quality and depth in the squad and I wanted to keep this team together so that they could grow together and gel. I was looking forward to the return of creative striker Pringle and Captain Ben Martin in the New Year and I felt that the club had a lot to feel positive about. We were consolidating in the division and heading in the right direction.

JANUARY 2009

I’m not normally vulgar and I apologise in advance but what a b****** of a month this was going to be. Again, I offer my regret over that Joe Kinnear-like outburst. I like to consider myself somewhat more eloquent than that but the fixture computer has forced me into using expletives this month.

This is basically almost an exact reverse of our August schedule. That month we played Eastleigh, Hampton & Richmond, Hayes & Yeading, Chelmsford and Team Bath – all of which we would now face again. You will remember, no doubt, that we only managed 3 points during August as we struggled against these top sides.

This time we have to play Hampton & Richmond and Chelmsford at home. There is also an additional game in the shape of playoff chasing Newport County at home. Then we face the might of Eastleigh, Hayes & Yeading and, shudder, Team Bath away. I shudder particularly at the mention of the Scholars, as Team Bath are commonly known, because they are performing wonderfully in the league at the moment. It really is between Team Bath and AFC Wimbledon for the title this season.

I target 4 points at home this month, which I feel is both ambitious and achievable at the same time. We have beaten Chelmsford in the FA Cup and I feel that we can match them on our home ground again. Hampton & Richmond may be more challenging and the same with Newport County. As for our away games, I am feeling really concerned. I target 3 points and hope that we can pick up a win from one of those games. That’s a target of 7 points from 6 games, which is basically lower-table type form. That will do us this month as this is a challenging schedule. So much for Happy New Year. 2009 was looking tough.

Eastleigh 1-4 SACFC (Blue Square South)

Well, 2009 has started wonderfully for us. Are all of my fears unfounded? Are we really this good? This is a terrific performance and we have finally won away from home at the fifth time of trying.

I stuck with the same team as I felt consistency was the key. We played a balanced 4-4-2 and I told the lads they could win this one. The game started dreadfully for us as we conceded an early goal and I thought, ‘oh here we go again’. But then Nathan Jarman scored a first-half brace and we went into the break 2-1 up and very pleased with ourselves. In the second-half, we eased to victory thanks to a stunning goal from creative midfielder Kieran Hall and another decent goal from Lee Clarke. The only bad news today was that we lost Paul Hakim to injury in the second-half. We hope his injury isn’t too serious. Otherwise this is a terrific day out for our fans and a fabulous result to get us going this year. Saints to fire on all cylinders in 2009? You bet.

Saints MoM: Nathan Jarman with a terrific brace.

League pos: 10th – 33 points from 22 games.

[if you will excuse me for ‘breaking the fourth wall’, as they say in theatre and literature, and addressing my reader at this stage in the narrative, I would like to point out that as I write this St. Albans City have played the same amount of games in real life (at the time of this posting), i.e. 22. They have 1 less point than I do in my fictional world, i.e. 32 points, and they are sitting in 10th place just like my fictional City side. So by hiring me instead of sticking with Castle, the mighty Saints have got a whole extra point. Good choice, I think? ]

[P.S. Perhaps this actually shows that the St. Albans City researcher is pretty spot on with his data too. ]

NEWSFLASH: One in, one out for City – St. Albans City lose Paul Hakim to injury after he left the field of play at the weekend with a damaged heel. Hakim is expected to be out for 1 to 3 weeks with this minor injury. Saints fans can be cheered, however, by the return of Jonathan Pringle, who returned to full training this week. The St. Albans Management has this to say: ‘It’s wonderful to welcome Jonathan back to full training and we hope that he will soon be scoring goals again for the first team. First of all, we will be expecting him to regain some match fitness with the reserve side but we hope that he can feature for our first team as soon as possible. This is excellent news for the club.’

NEWSFLASH: Another Casualty for the Saints – St. Albans City have reported that vice-captain Lee Clarke has sustained a gashed leg in a training match. He will be out for up to a month with this injury. The St. Albans Management made this statement: ‘Obviously we’re disappointed to lose Lee as he has been featuring regularly due to the absence of Jonathan Pringle. This, and the recent injury to Paul Hakim, may now force us to bring Pringle back into the first-team sooner rather than later. Pringle will feature for the reserves in mid-week and we will see how he is after that game.’

SACFC 1-0 Hampton & Richmond (Blue Square South)

We had attackers Paul Hakim and Lee Clarke, defensive midfielder Jefferson Gowland and, of course, defender Ben Martin all out with injuries at the moment. Creative striker Jonathan Pringle won a man of the match award for the reserves in mid-week but unfortunately does not look to have come through that game in decent enough condition to start today. With no other deep-lying forward available, I call in local youth striker Shaun Johnston for only his third start in senior football. Pringle makes the bench but is doubtful to get on this afternoon. Other than that, this is the same squad that won so convincingly last weekend. I set up with the usual 4-4-2 but with the intention to play a fairly quick tempo attacking game to ensure that we get at Hampton & Richmond from the off. I felt sides had been coming to Clarence Park to defend lately and that we needed to be more assertive in our approach.

We dominated this tie with lots of possession and some good chances, although Hampton & Richmond had a decent number of shots as well. We took the lead after 20 minutes when tricky winger Hassan Sulaiman ran through and shot past the oncoming ‘keeper. We couldn’t seem to get a second goal and I felt worried that we were going to chuck our lead away as the game progressed. The visitors were coming into the game more and more. Eventually, I made the brave decision to make a triple substitution. Off came Sulaiman, Hamlin and Johnson and on came Hurrell, Cohen and Pringle. This was a risky business and the sort of decision that you get praised for when it goes right or lambasted for when it goes wrong. Luckily for me, there were no negative repercussions as we held on for the three points. It was hard work though and we got men behind the ball and played backs to the wall for the last 10 minutes of the game. This result actually puts us above Hampton and Richmond in the table, which is terrific stuff.

Saints MoM: Hassan Sulaiman.

League pos: 7th – 36 points from 23 (2 points from the playoffs).

Hayes & Yeading 0-2 SACFC (Blue Square South)

Hakim is back but not fit enough to start. Pringle is now looking match fit and he is the only change to the first eleven, coming in for youngster Shaun Johnston. I’m trying to keep things consistent at the moment and it seems to be paying dividends considering our recent results. Injury-wise, I don’t want to tempt fate, but we are doing ok now and only have captain Ben Martin and vice-captain Lee Clarke out. I send the lads out to play a brand of attacking football, with attacking midfielder Kieran Hall as the focal point, operating on with lots of creativity in a free role. Our recent success has given me the confidence to try out a more adventurous approach.

Ironically, the goals came not from our creative midfield, nor from our clinical strike force, but instead from both of our usually goal-shy centre-backs. Harry Hogarth, on loan from Luton Town, scored with a header from a corner late in the second-half. Hayes & Yeading then threw everything at us but we battled well at the back and in the middle of the park. New signing Jack Pearson put the icing on the cake in the last minute of the game when he scored from close range following a set-piece. This is another brilliant result and we can be delighted with our performances so far this month. Three wins from three games. Outstanding.

Saints MoM: Harry Hogarth.

League pos: 6th – 39 points from 24 games (2 points from the play-offs).

NEWSFLASH: Saints Icon Paul Bastock to see out career with the club – The St. Albans management have today announced that goalkeeper Paul Bastock (known by the fans as ‘Bazza’) will see out the remainder of his career with the club. The 2007/2008 fans’ player of the season has also taken onboard recent comments by his manager that have encouraged him to think about taking on a role as a goalkeeping coach after he hangs up his boots. The City management said, ‘Bazza has been great for this football club and is a Saints icon. Obviously, at 38 years old, he is reaching that age now where we needed to start thinking about his future and our future in terms of filling the no. 1 shirt. James Waggett has come in this season and both he and Bazza have rotated and shared the role this season. Waggett is only 19 years old so it is great for him to have someone like Bastock to look up to. As I have said before, I’d like to keep Bazza on as a coach, if possible, in the future. At the moment, we are honoured that he has decided to see his career out with us. He is a great example to our young players of a professional approach in the part-time game.’

SACFC 1-1 Chelmsford (Blue Square South)

Andy Ritchie had picked up a thigh strain so he was out of this game. Jefferson Gowland, now fully recovered from his injury, came back into the side. I was keen to keep everything consistent now that we were on this three game winning streak. As the proverbial saying goes, ‘never change a winning team’. While we were playing like we’ve been playing lately, there was no reason too.

Well, the winning streak, modest as it was, ended here and much of it was to do with our tiredness and yet another injury problem. It was a very even match, with both sides creating plenty of chances. We went 1-0 up through Nathan Jarman after about half an hour. I felt we might just hold on to our lead and scrape a victory but when Jack Pearson had to come off with an injury, I feared the worse. James Quilter, not really a centre-back, came on to fill in but I felt that he lacked confidence. We looked tired in the middle of the park and a few players just weren’t giving their all today. Rather than replace the tired players, I subbed off those who I felt weren’t pulling their weight this afternoon. Perhaps this was the wrong choice because we lost the midfield battle due to tired legs. Chelmsford equalised ten minutes from full-time. In truth it is a fair result. We’ve had some great results this month and I originally targeted 7 points. So far we’ve picked up 10 points from 5 games, which is promotion form, and so anything more is a bonus now. It’s just a shame we couldn’t keep up our chase for a playoff place. Things are going well though and I hope we can keep these players fit and together for the rest of the season.

Saints MoM: James Waggett.

League pos: 7th - 40 points from 25 games.

NEWSFLASH: Pearson out of Team Bath showdown – St. Albans City have reported that Jack Pearson picked up a groin strain in the game against Chelmsford last weekend. Defender Pearson, a new signing at Clarence Park, will be out for around three weeks and will miss the game against Team Bath this coming weekend.

Team Bath 1-1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

Team Bath are second in the league, one point behind AFC Wimbledon. They are a unique club as many of you will know. They are affiliated to the University of Bath and draw little support as a result of this. Apparently, the manager of their side claims that they find it easier to play in front of a small crowd and that they struggle with bigger games due to not being used to supporter noise. They have a unique setup in non-League football where they take on young players trying to make it in the football league and give them scholarships at the university. Sort of like an academy I guess. Anyway, they’ve been an unknown quantity this season and they’ve proved to be too good for most in this division.

They’ve already beaten us at home in the league this season, although we did get our revenge in an away Setanta Shield tie. In a meeting with the local press prior to the game, I try to tone down our recent form and to take the pressure off the players going into this game.

The only change was to take out the injured Jack Pearson (who had started his career with the Saints in excellent fashion) and to put in Ryan Frater. Tactically, I stuck to my usual hard-working and efficient ethos. I didn’t want to be too defensive against Team Bath as I felt that would invite pressure and so I set up a balanced system for this game.

With Hakim still recovering from injury, I’ve got Pringle and Jarman up front and I must say that the two of them are performing awesomely together. Pringle seems to revel in a deep-lying role, holding up the ball and making runs starting deep in the midfield. It is one of his trademark deep runs that opens the scoring for today. We create plenty and outplay the Scholars and I can say honestly that we deserve to go in at half-time 1-0 up. I encourage the players at half-time and I feel that we can go on and win this.

Unfortunately, Team Bath equalise early in the second-half with a freak goal from a cross that sails over the head of our ‘keeper. Team Bath came back stronger in this second period and my main concern was our tiredness and whether we would be able to hold on to the draw. We’ve got a squad with good stamina and I ask them to work extremely hard on the pitch in terms of their pressing. We are normally able to cope well but sometimes look tired during mid-week games like this one, where the players haven’t fully recovered from their exertions in the Saturday game. Our lack of squad depth doesn’t allow much in the way of resting players or rotation.

In the end, we can say that this was a fair result. We matched Team Bath and we can be very pleased with the point.

Saints MoM: Pringle – looking back to his best.

League pos: 7th – 41 points from 26 games (3 points from the playoff positions)

SACFC P-P Newport County (Blue Square South) – Game postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

This is really tough game to end the month on because I am desperate to keep our momentum going. Therefore, I am not totally displeased that this is postponed into February. We finish the month on a high due to our excellent unbeaten run.

League pos: 8th – we slip one place due to not playing. We are still three points from the playoffs with a game in hand over some of the clubs above us.

NEWSFLASH: Saints defender Harry Hogarth wins the player of the month award for January. The City centre-back is on loan from local League Two side Luton Town. He is likely to return to the Hatters, who are only 10 miles down the road from Clarence Park and currently sitting in 24th place in the bottom football league division, in February. The St. Albans Management said, ‘Harry has been excellent for us as a short-term signing while Ben Martin is out. It seems Ben will return for us sooner rather than later, so we are unlikely to renew Harry’s loan deal. However, our lads have been joking that if we manage to get promoted this season, we may well meet Luton Town, and Harry, next season in the Conference division! We have our fingers crossed!’

MANAGER JOURNAL FOR JANUARY:

At the start of the month, I was absolutely dreading playing some of the best teams in the league. Now we’re at the end of the month, I am delighted that we have not only held our own against some of the best that the Blue Square South has to offer, but we have managed to go the whole month unbeaten. This is an exceptional run of form and I’m excited now about the potential of this squad. We’ve got a terrific 11 points from 5 games in the end, which is far more than I imagined us getting from these games.

From a more sceptical and doubting point of view, we can now say that we just about safe from relegation in terms of our points total. This may seem like an overly negative point of view but I have always worried that with a few injuries and a few defeats, morale could take a dive and we could really fall down the table. To be sure of staying up, a side normally requires a minimum of an average of just over a point a game and we are pretty much in touching distance of the required total now. From a very positive point of view, we are currently sitting 3 points away from a playoff position, and the optimist in me believes that, if we can take this momentum into February, then anything is possible. The league is so close this season in terms of quality and the table reflects this. There isn’t very much at all between 5th place and 12th so anything really is possible. Come on you Saints!

Nice one Crouch. I'll be looking forward to more of this. Your last St Alban's story was great. Similar success would be awesome

[Cheers for your comments williamshankley - I'm just hoping for some entertaining seasons and not expecting too much too soon this time! ]

FEBRUARY 2009

Well, February starts with captain Ben Martin back in training, which is really good news. On the negative side, Ryan Frater had picked up a suspension and Hassan Sulaiman was likely to miss a game or two with a gashed leg. Other than that, things were looking rosy.

I was asked in the media about our new found harmony in the dressing-room lately and I agreed that this had been a big factor in us finding our form lately. I spoke to my assistant, Dave Horrocks, about this and he said that he felt the players had attained a good level of understanding over the last month. My idea was not to spoil this by bringing in any new faces this season unless it was absolutely necessary.

This month brought some more challenges our way, beginning with that postponed game against Newport County at fortress Clarence Park. We would also play Maidenhead and table-toppers AFC Wimbledon at home. I targeted 6 points out of 9 from these games, with AFC Wimbledon (who have beaten us home and away in cup and league respectively already this season) giving me some concern. Away from home we would face trips to Weston-super-Mare and Welling United. We could beat the former but might struggle against the latter, who were sitting in 6th place. I felt that 4 points was both ambitious and achievable. That was a total target of 10 points from 5 games. In other words, I was asking the side for promotion form to keep our playoff dreams alive.

SACFC 1-1 Newport County (Blue Square South)

Newport County are chasing the playoffs just like we are. In fact, they are on the same number of points as us but one place below due to goal difference. This will really be a test of our ambitions this season.

Out went the suspended Ryan Frater and in came Michael McLeary. Out went the injured Hassan Sulaiman and in came Gary Cohen. Otherwise all was unchanged for this all important clash. I sent the lads out with a positive message and told them to play high tempo attacking football.

We were absolutely awful in the first-half though. Probably down to a mix of nerves and complacency. Newport dominated and had a real go at us. They took the lead through a calamitous own-goal from James Waggett. I urged the side to be more cautious and just hoped that we would only be 1-0 down at half-time. It was a case of damage limitation.

I was livid at the break and let the players know it in no uncertain terms. I sent the side back out to attack again and to get back into the game. However, after 60 minutes I had seen no improvement so I took the unprecedented action of making an emergency triple substitution. Off came Hamlin, Hall and Jarman. On came Hurrell, Clarke and Hakim. There was an immediate improvement and we fought back. Finally the equaliser came on 81 minutes through Gary Cohen. We still could have lost this game in the last few minutes as Newport missed a few chances to take all the points. We had suffered a thrashing against Newport away from home at the beginning of the season and they are clearly a good side. Only Team Bath and Bath City have impressed as much as them. This game has shown us that competition for promotion is going to be fierce this season. We get a point from this game and I’m pleased we’ve managed to take something out of it despite playing badly.

Saints MoM: Gary Cohen.

League pos: 7th – 42 points from 27 games (2 points from a playoff place).

Weston-super-Mare 2-1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

I tried to motivate the players by criticising some of them and praising others in the local press this week. I feel that it might have made a difference and that morale may have gone up a little in the side. Nevertheless, I make some changes today. Ryan Frater returns at the back after his suspension. Andy Ritchie is in for Jefferson Gowland as I seek to shake things up in the middle of the park a bit. This game, against the team in 21st place in the league, is one we really should win.

I’m livid with this result, especially the way we threw it all away. Weston-S-M scored after half-an-hour with a freak goal and it only took us 3 minutes to reply. I then asked the side to be a little more cautious as I thought we would win it without pushing too hard. However, this was a complete and utter mistake. We ended up failing to score and conceding in the 80th minute. The actual performance today was very good but the result leaves me extremely upset. We were beaten by Thurrock earlier this season and now we’ve been beaten by another poor side. We’ve thrown away the points today and we’re falling away from the playoff dream. This is very disappointing indeed. That’s only 3 points from the last 4, which is relegation form. We must turn this around.

Saints MoM: Kieran Hall.

League pos: 10th – 42 points from 28.

SACFC 3-1 Maidenhead (Blue Square South)

I feel like this run of poor form is my fault. I’m clearly not managing things well. Stability and encouragement are the key to success and, regrettably, I’ve been changing too many things and probably been too harsh on my players. So, with this in mind, I brought Jefferson Gowland back into the midfield. However, I did see fit to take Nathan Jarman out and put Paul Hakim in. Jarman hasn’t been playing well and I know that Hakim will be ready to get back on and score goals for City.

Maidenhead United were predicted to be mid-table this season but they are currently sitting in 5th place. This is another big test for us but we come through it admirably and end our run of poor form. Jonathan Pringle scored early on with a typical elegant finish. Paul Hakim, on his return to a starting place, showed his class 3 minutes later with a characteristic cool finish. We looked like we were coasting through this.

Maidenhead came back strong in the second-half and scored on 60 minutes. However, we never looked in danger of losing the points and Harry Hogarth grabbed us a third in the 90th minute. Harry is due to go back to Luton Town soon and I’m not sure whether or not to renew his contract. He was only here to cover for Ben Martin but with our captain still not back in full training and with our other first-team defender Jack Pearson out, I might look to keep him for another month if possible. It’s easy to forget that we’ve played the last four months without our first choice centre-back combination. In fact, we’ve had so many injuries and suspensions at the back that we’ve been changing things far too often. If we can get our first choice combination centre-backs together, we might just push on.

Saints MoM: Harry Hogarth.

League pos: 9th – 45 points from 29 games.

NEWSFLASH: HARRY HEADS BACK TO LUTON – Harry Hogarth has today made the 10 mile journey from St. Albans to return to his League Two club Luton Town. The St. Albans management made the following statement: ‘Harry has been terrific for us and we’d like to wish him all the best at Luton Town. Jack Pearson has just returned to full training and Ben Martin is well on his way to recovering now. Harry was brought in as cover for our injuries and we’re very grateful for his hard work and excellent performances for us during his three month stay with the club.

Welling 1-1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

We said farewell to Harry and called him a Luton cab to take him back to Kenilworth Road. Jack Pearson returned and would play alongside Ryan Frater for this tough game against playoff contenders Welling United.

Welling are all over us in the first half and I feel like we might be on the end of a rout if things continue in the same way. So when Paul Hakim and Jonathan Pringle combine, with the latter putting the ball in the back of the net, I was pleasantly surprised. We go in 1-0 up at half-time.

Strangely, the opposite happens in the second-half, i.e. we play really well but this time concede. Football really is a funny old-game. Isn’t that why we all love it though? It’s tough to be calm and philosophical when you’re on the receiving end of a goal against the run of play though. Anyway, this game is terrific to watch. End to end stuff and either side could win it. It ends 1-1 and I feel very satisfied with the performance and the point.

Saints MoM: Jonathan Pringle.

League pos: 10th – 46 points from 30 games.

SACFC P-P AFC Wimbledon (Blue Square South) – Postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

League pos: 11th – 46 points from 30 games. We drop one place due to not playing today.

MANAGER JOURNAL:

Well, we faltered in a bad way this month, especially in that loss at Thurrock, and any vestiges of hope regarding the playoffs are beginning to fade away. We couldn’t keep things consistent at the back with our injuries, suspensions and whatnot. It really showed, as we conceded in every game and lost a total of 5 goals in 4 games. Furthermore, there was the embarrassing defeat to relegation battlers Weston-super-Mare. This month sees us get a total of 5 points from 4 games. We’ve got nowhere near our ambitious target at the beginning of the month. Worst of all, the playoffs have got further and further away as we have lost more ground on the teams above us. It looks as though we’re all set for mid-table mediocrity this season, which I guess we should be quite pleased with in this rebuilding season where our main aim was to consolidate and re-establish ourselves in this division. There is still plenty to play for, of course, and we can look forward to the return of our captain Ben Martin in March.

Absolutly love this and will follow closely..very good start to your career and I hope you sneek into the playoffs. Also kudos to you on the layout. I am currently playing my way through my 1st season with Alfreton and will be beginning my story off my success (or lack of) in the forthcoming days, this has given me a few ideas as to how I can set up an interesting and clear story. Apologies in advance if i steal any of your writing techniques

[Hey owen10ozzy - thanks for your comments. It's always great to receive some feedback. I'm glad to hear that I have inspired you in some small way to start your own story. I will watch out for it and I look forward to seeing what you come up with. ]

Latecomer to this story ... two things for you. First, this is a nice, clean read. Well done! Second, congratulations on having the best S/N on FMS.

[tenthreeleader - thanks for your comments. I only wish I knew what an 'S/N' is? :confused: Hopefully something good, right? ]

MARCH 2009

We have a tough start to the month against the might of AFC Wimbledon at Clarence Park. However, after that we stay at home for another couple of games to play Fisher and Bognor Regis. We should aim to win those games and use this little run of games at fortress Clarence Park to pick up some momentum. I target 6 points from the three home games. The end of the month sees two tricky aways in Dorchester and Worcester. Both are mid-table sides, like us, and therefore I feel this might be a difficult couple of games. I’m going to target 3 points, hoping that we can beat the Magpies who didn’t impress at Clarence Park in our last meeting. That’s a total target of 9 points from 5 games.

SACFC 4-3 AFC Wimbledon (Blue Square South)

I don’t really want to play AFC Wimbledon. They’re 2nd in the league, only due to goal difference, and are level with Team Bath on points. We’ve met Wimbledon twice already this season, once away in the league and once at home in the FA Trophy. Both were what you might call ‘thrillers’ ending 3-2. I didn’t find them too thrilling though seeing as we were on the losing side both times. AFC Wimbledon are a unique club in this division. A side with an average attendance of well over 2,000, compared to ours of around 600 when playing well. They’ve got 1,300 season ticket holders and we’ve got 81. They’ve got players on £1,000 a week while we are paying merely £350 for our top players. I could go on but it just sounds like bitterness and, of course, it is. We realise that AFC Wimbledon are not here, in non-League, for the long haul. Everything about the club says that they are not of this level. They’re just passing on their way through to the football league. They should make the Conference this season as nobody in the division seems able to match with them and Team Bath (who are another unique club with an advantage over the rest of us).

I name an unchanged side for this game, which is something I’m pleased to be able to do for the first time in a while. I hope the stability will help the players to do well against the might of AFC Wimbledon. I decide to play a balanced system against them and I try to encourage my players by telling them that we can win this one.

It’s an incident packed opening five minutes. AFC Wimbledon are 1-0 up after only 2 minutes. Then, out of nowhere, we’re on the attack and Sulaiman is taken down in the box. Penalty! Lewis Hamlin duly converts to make it 1-1. This one looked like it might be a ‘thriller’ too. I couldn’t cope with much more of this excitement.

On half-an-hour, the first five minutes of the game seems to replay itself almost exactly. AFC Wimbledon take the lead again before we quickly score through an own-goal by an opposition defender. It’s now 2-2 and this is far too exciting for me. Why can the Saints never make it easy on themselves? At least our goal is an instant reply and we’re still in this.

At half-time, I’m full of encouragement in the dressing-room, telling the players that they can do this. I also ask a few of them to prove their point in the second-half. I believe we can do better and raise our game higher. And we do! We take the lead for the first time in the game, with the lads pinging the ball around in AFC Wimbledon’s half in the build up to the goal. It really is a terrific bit of play from us as we cut them apart with some creative and artistic passing. Eventually Cousins passes to an onrushing Pringle in the box and he fires home. 3-2 to the mighty Saints!

It doesn’t take too long for AFC Wimbledon to make it 3-3 though. It’s some poor defending by Pearson and we basically gift them a goal, not for the first time today I might add. At this point, I think it’s probably all over really and I hope we hold on for the point. However, Sam Hurrell has other ideas and in the last few minutes of the game, he makes a dangerous run and crosses into the box, only for an AFC Wimbledon player to meet the ball and send it into his own net. 4-3 to City and with minutes left! We put everyone behind the ball and held on to record a famous victory! We had matched the might of the Dons and won. This is rather like the Premier League equivalent of your team beating Manchester United. It’s a wonderful day for all concerned at Clarence Park. And what a way to win too! Our three games against the Wombles this season had resulted in no fewer than 17 goals! I knew which game I preferred out of the three of them though.

After the game, the local press and NLP asked me what I thought of this match and I told them, ‘this was something pretty special’. This was an awesome performance, a wonderful game of football and an announcement from St. Albans City that we aren’t in this division to make up the numbers. We want to compete and tonight we have shown that, on our day, we can compete with the best this league has to offer.

Saints MoM: Pringle.

League pos: 9th – 49 points from 31 games.

NEWSFLASH: CITY CAPTAIN RETURNS TO FULL TRAINING – St. Albans City captain Ben Martin returned to full training today after spending five months out of the game with a serious hip injury. The St. Albans management have announced that they are delighted that their skipper is back. The Saints manager said, ‘we will have to be cautious with Ben and make sure he gets match fitness with the reserves before bringing him back into the starting eleven. Nevertheless, this is a step in the right direction and is excellent news for the club.

SACFC 1-0 Fisher (Blue Square South)

I name an unchanged side again and, quite frankly, who in their right mind would change a squad who had beaten one of the two best teams in the league in their last match? However, against Fisher (one of the poorest sides in the division in both a financial sense and in terms of their quality) I devise a system based upon counter-attacking. My theory was to let Fisher overexert themselves and then to punish them on the break with our superior finishing. We would play slow tempo, keep the ball and then hit them with pace and precision. Would I be proved justified in making this tactical switch? At the moment, I was feeling rather cocky and I felt that this was another masterstroke. I tell my players to relax and bide their time and that the result will come with patience.

In all truth, my tactical experiment wasn’t a total disaster but then it wasn’t a total success either. I think I might have been a touch overcautious but I didn’t want to see the good feeling from our wonderful win against AFC Wimbledon undone by a poor result today. We created enough chances to win by a few goals today and had plenty of the ball. We took the lead through a quick break by Hassan Sulaiman who set up Lewis Hamlin for his goal. We were never in danger of losing and in total control. Indeed, we should have won this by a few and Paul Hakim, in particular, had a bit of a shocker, missing a number of clear chances. In the end, it’s a dour and efficient performance in many ways but a win is a win.

Saints MoM: Jack Pearson.

League pos: 8th – 52 points from 32 games.

SACFC 2-0 Bognor Regis (Blue Square South)

Kieran Hall picked up a knock in the game against Fisher so I’m forced into a change. I bring vice-captain Lee Clarke into midfield. Other than that, I’m not prepared to change a side that have won two games in a row. This is a rare third game in a row at home, a freak occurrence due to games being rearranged, and I want to make the most of this. We play against another side in the relegation zone. Bognor are a long way off the pace and look like survival is beyond them, even at this early stage. I decide to play an attacking and patient short passing game today. I want to thrill the fans with some pretty football and a good solid result. This is a bit of a change in style for us because we’ve been playing a fairly mixed and occasionally direct game. Today, I want the ball on the deck, lots of possession and some lovely passing. Bognor are playing a 5-3-2 and clearly planning to sit behind the ball and defend. We might need something special to break them down, so I give Lee Clarke and Hassan Sulaiman lots of creative licence today. Again, I tell the players to be patient and that the win will come.

The tactic system works and we play some wonderful football. In fact, I’m not sure the ball actually left the Bognor half for the whole of the first half. At half time, we had 77% possession and our goalkeeper hadn’t even touched the ball. However, we didn’t have a goal and you don’t get any points for impressive statistics.

We got the breakthrough in the second-half when defensive midfielder Jefferson Gowland was taken down in the area. Lewis Hamlin put the penalty away to make it 1-0. Jefferson Gowland then finished the job off himself by scoring with a long-range effort to make it 2-0. Bognor had only one shot, way off target, all afternoon and a mere 39% possession. I felt sorry for them but they did make it difficult for us and defended resolutely. It’s another three points in the bag and I’m starting to get excited.

Saints MoM: Jefferson Gowland.

League pos: 7th – 55 points from 33 games (3 points from the playoff positions).

Dorchester 2-1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

All of a sudden we’re having a bit of an injury crisis in the middle of the park. Kieran Hall, James Quilter and Andy Ritchie are out with minor problems. Meanwhile, Jefferson Gowland and Lee Clarke are both looking tired. I bring Chris Seeby, returned from a long-term injury, back into the first team squad for the first time since the summer of 2007. I put Lee Clarke on the bench, hoping that he will have enough fuel in the engine to make a second-half appearance if we need some more creativity in midfield. The good news for us is that captain Ben Martin makes the bench today after five months out with a hip injury. It’s back to a balanced 4-4-2 here and I tell the lads we can win this game.

We go 1-0 up in just 11 minutes thanks to a wonder goal from Paul Hakim. He shoots from outside the box and puts the ball in the top right corner of the net. Terrific stuff. Nathan Jarman can’t get back in the team at the moment because Hakim and Pringle have really hit it off.

In the second-half, our midfield is looking really tired and, somewhat inevitably, we concede within about 5 minutes. Eventually, I deem that it is time to bring on vice-captain Lee Clarke. Hopefully, he still has enough energy to bring to our very tired midfield. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work for us and when Scott Cousins scores an own goal on about 70 mins, it seems to be game over. We just haven’t got anything left to give. We’re too tired.

In all truth today, bringing Chris Seeby in to play out of position in midfield was a bad choice. I think it probably also upset the balance of the team. But then, I had absolutely no other possibility due to injuries.

Dorchester picked this match for a fan day and we were watched this afternoon by an impressive 969 fans. I can’t help feeling this might have been a contributing factor to Dorchester mustering up the win. Perhaps their 12th man helped them over the finishing line. This is a huge disappointment for us because we’ve been playing so well lately. This is our first defeat in six games and it brings a winning streak of three games to an end. We will just have to learn from it and move on. The playoffs look a long way off now.

Saints MoM: Paul Hakim.

League pos: 8th – 55 points from 34 games.

Worcester 2-2 SACFC (Blue Square South)

I wanted to finish the month on a high. Vice-captain Lee Clarke returned to the midfield. Seeby was dropped to the bench. I aim to play high tempo, attacking football and to take the game to Worcester.

We take the lead on 18 minutes when winger Hassan Sulaiman first heads straight at the ‘keeper and then volleys the rebound into the net. Worcester equalise twelve minutes later. 1-1

At half-time I encourage the players and tell a number of them I have faith in them. In the second-half, we look a good side and take the lead with a wonderfully worked goal. Pringle typically surges forward from his deep position and plays in Paul Hakim, who in turn rounds the ‘keeper and fires into an empty net. A classic goal makes it 2-1. However, Worcester are very quickly level, much to my dismay. 2-2. And as the game goes on, we begin to fade and wither away. We end up extremely lucky to escape with this point.

Saints MoM: Jonathan Pringle.

League pos: 8th - 56 points from 35 games.

MANAGER JOURNAL:

This was a good month, which I think could have been a truly excellent one. I feel as though tiredness just took the edge off us in the end and I’m particularly disappointed with the result against Dorchester and the performance against Worcester. Still, we got 9 points out of 9 at home, which is a terrific return. Away, we got a solitary point from two games and I had hoped for more. However, 10 points from 5 games is nothing to be disappointed about, quite the opposite in fact. This is supported by the fact that I have come 3rd in the manager of the month award for the second time this season. Our rivals, Bishop’s Stortford, had their manager Martin Hayes winning the award and I was intensely jealous. But, nevertheless, my 3rd place shows that this month was decent for us and I think that if it wasn’t for our slow start this season we would be contending for a playoff place. As things stand at the moment, it looks a bit beyond us.

Tiredness looks a big problem for us at the moment and I have taken the decision to use the loan system to bring in a couple of fresh faces. We will look at our local clubs and investigate who might want to join until the end of the season. I feel that the midfield is a priority in terms of getting some fresh legs in. Next month is the most crucial month of the season and will see six games. I want us to finish the season as strongly as possible. My feeling is that I haven’t been managing the squad well enough over the last few months and that I need to rotate the players more often in order to reduce fatigue. With so many games in April, this will be of the utmost importance. I will attempt to cope with the dual-task of trying to rest players and trying to provide the required consistency in order to keep the momentum going. If I succeed, we might have one last shot at the playoffs.

S/N would be screen name. So yeah, it's good! Best wishes for the promotion push!

Hey crouchaldino, absolutely loving this story. Not too much information, just the right amount and as a fellow Conference North/South supporter in Stalybridge Celtic, I'm intending to maybe follow in your footsteps.

Keep up the good work. I'll keep commenting if you keep reporting! ;-)

As 10-3 says, good luck on the promotion push, im sure you will make the play offs

Great story again mate. KUTGW.

Well done, Crouchy. The standard has been just as high as when I first read this story and made a comment. KUTGW, you lanky Brazilian.

[Thanks to you all for your kind comments. I look forward to reading your BSN story CarlosEsDios. Glad that tenthreeleader and Spav seem to enjoy my ironic username! Thanks to ssestig and M0nk3yFac3 for generous feedback. The next update is coming soon, so watch this space...]

APRIL 2009

This is a huge month in our season and will make or break our increasingly unlikely playoff dream. An extraordinarily good run, such as that of last month where we averaged 2 points a game, might just see us challenge for 5th place. However, a poor month could see us fall right down the table. Things are very close in this division with the exception of the bottom three (we are mathematically safe) and the top two.

The home games this month see us pitted against Havant & Waterlooville, Braintree, Thurrock and Basingstoke. I feel all are winnable games. The game against Havant & Waterlooville takes on special importance as they are above us and contending for 5th spot in the league. Given our home form, I confidently aim for 7 points out of 9.

The away games look really tough, with Bath City and Bishop’s Stortford also both contending for 5th place and the latter providing us with a county derby. I’m targeting a win from one of those matches, 3 points from 6, which is ambitious given our trials and tribulations on the road this season. So we are aiming for a total of 10 points from 6 games. I’m not sure it would be quite enough for us to challenge for the final playoff place but I’m hopeful that other teams will drop points at this difficult time of the year. We do have the advantage of having a lot of home games this month.

At the moment, we’re looking to bring in a few loan signings to help us cope with the business end of the season. I’m hoping for some fresh legs in the middle of the park. This month is going to see me experimenting with rotation as I seek to keep the side fit. I’m hoping to avoid a tail off similar to that experienced at the end of last month. We must keep the side in good condition, especially considering our hard-working stamina-based tactical philosophy.

SACFC 2-1 Havant & Waterlooville (Blue Square South)

We’ve had little luck on the loan front but Kieran Hall has returned to training and that is enough to make me feel a little more positive about our midfield. There seems to be a lot of competition for loans at the moment, as you might expect at this time of the season, and we are losing out to our rivals.

The major news pre-match is the return of club captain Ben Martin. He is finally ready to step back into action after injuring his hip in an FA Cup qualifier in October. That’s more than five months out of the game. I told him there was no pressure today and hoped he would quickly regain his match confidence.

Havant & Waterlooville are currently sitting in the much-coveted 5th place. There is actually about five sides trying to play catch up and chasing the playoff dream. We are one of them and a result in our favour today would really help. So when Paul Hakim puts us 1-0 up after 20 minutes, you’ll forgive me for admitting that I went totally crazy by the dugout and celebrated like a fan rather than a manager. However, in typical Saints style, we shortly concede an equaliser. It’s 1-1 and there isn’t a lot in this match. At half-time, I tell the side we can win.

It’s edgy and tense in the second period. We’re tiring quickly again and so I make all three substitutions, spacing them out in the half. The fresh legs really help and one of those substitutions really works for us. Sam Hurrell, playing on the left-wing, picks up a great pass from Pringle and puts the ball in the back of the net five minutes from time. As you’d expect, it’s all men behind the ball, time-wasting and desperate defending for us until full-time. They push and push but somehow we keep finding the answers and finally we hold out for the 3 points.

What a win this is for us against the 5th place team. Suddenly it looks like we have a real chance of challenging for the playoff spots. With captain Ben Martin back, we’d looked solid and more resilient. It’s a massive win for us but we’ve got to keep things heading in the right direction against Bath next Saturday. It’s another crucial game against a team above us.

Saints MoM: Sam Hurrell.

League pos: 7th – 59 points from 36 games (3 points from the playoffs).

NEWSFLASH: SUPER SAINT SULAIMAN OUT – St. Albans City have confirmed that Hassan Sulaiman is out for the rest of the month after injuring his hamstring during the match at the weekend. The St. Albans management have admitted that this is a blow, especially with Gary Cohen, the manager’s second choice for this position, also out with injury.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS STRENGTHEN FOR PLAYOFFS PUSH - St. Albans City have today confirmed that no less than three players have joined the club.

- 29-year-old left-winger Johnny Banks signs on a free transfer from Sutton United. The St. Albans management have explained that, with no out and out left-winger in the squad, they had been watching Banks for some time and felt that now was the right time to bring him to Clarence Park.

- 21-year-old midfielder Ian Snodin signs on a free transfer. He has been out of the game for a couple of years since being released from Doncaster. Although having trained with a few clubs, Snodin has played no competitive football for 2 years. The St. Albans manager said that Snodin would need to be introduced slowly to first-team duties and explained that he adds much needed depth to the midfield.

- Finally, left-sided defender and midfielder George Purcell joins the club from Blue Square Premier side Ebbsfleet on loan for the rest of the season. The St. Albans manager said that Purcell is a very versatile player and that he had been signed to boost his options down the left side.

St. Albans currently sit 3 points from the playoff positions and are hoping that this gamble on fresh faces will pay dividends for the last six games of the season.

Bath 1-1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

We go into this game sitting in 7th and Bath City are above us in 6th. They are three points above us and level on points with the team in 5th place. I go into this game knowing that my City side need a result today to keep the dream alive. The only change to the squad is the removal of Hassan Sulaiman who is injured. Lewis Hamlin switches to the right-side and Johnny Banks comes in on the left for his debut.

Johnny Banks clearly has one of the best names in football ever and I think this is probably important in some sense. When you think of the best players in the world, there is normally a sense of rightness about their names, perhaps exotic, heroic or just plain cool. Just look through a list of the best players of all time and you’ll see what I mean. Anyway, Johnny has a name like an old-fashioned English football hero and so clearly I have done something right here. He also looks like he can play and should do well at this level.

Things go pretty badly early on as we go 1-0 down. We’re misplacing too many passes and Bath are all over us. I figure that we really need to slow it down a little bit and so I indicate to the players to take up a more normal tempo. Perhaps the lads just aren’t technically adept enough to play at a quick tempo. We’ll have to keep things at a more normal tempo from now on so that we can keep the ball better.

Eventually this change pays dividends and I feel that we equal Bath City in terms of the game and the stats. Nathan Jarman, on as a sub, does really well and gets us the equaliser. It’s a satisfactory point for us today. We needed to take something from the game to keep our ambitions alive and we had done exactly that.

Saints MoM: Nathan Jarman.

League pos: 7th – 60 points from 37 games.

SACFC 2-0 Braintree (Blue Square South)

The St. Albans board has picked this game as a fan day so I’m really hoping we can put on a bit of a show to wow any potential new fans and make sure that they come back to Clarence Park for their football fix again. We’ve got an average attendance of 634, which makes us the 6th best supported club in the league. This is, no doubt, down to our fine form at home this season.

St. Albans City have always had difficulty in attracting supporters to the club, even when in the Conference a few years ago. This is due to the fact that the club are based in an area that mostly shares its support between nearby Watford and Luton Town. We’re also so close to London that a lot of the locals follow Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea. Indeed, Arsenal actually have a club shop in St. Albans city centre, much to my disgust. As manager of the club, I’m determined to put together a successful team playing some decent football in order to bring in the punters.

I really want the city to get behind its football club. There is a population of 64,000 in the city itself and in the City and District of St. Albans a total of 130,000. That’s a whole lot of potential support to draw upon. I feel as though this club, should it attract the right level of support, could easily sustain a club with Conference or Football League status. I’m obviously getting too far beyond myself here but the point is that I’m delighted that the board are putting this fan day on and I’m hoping to do my bit to attract new fans to the club by putting on a good show.

The difficulty I face today is that I have a very tired first eleven, so I have to balance my desire to entertain with the more pragmatic realisation that we need to rest a number of first-choice players. This gives players like James Fisher, Adam Everitt and Chris Seeby the opportunity to step in and prove themselves in this must win game.

I’m really thankful for an early goal by our deep-lying forward, the masterful Jonathan Pringle. We score again before half-time when captain Ben Martin nods home from a corner. However, in truth we play quite poorly today and give the ball away far too often. James Fisher is particularly guilty of regularly gifting possession to our opposition. I long for us to score a third goal to please our supporters who number an impressive 937 on this fan day. Later on in the game, Paul Hakim misses a penalty and we just can’t manage to put the icing on the proverbial and metaphorical cake.

After the game, the board report that the match was a disappointment and that they are unsure if the event will boost attendances. I’m a little disappointed, if not unsurprised, by this reaction. However, the important thing is another win in the bag.

Saints MoM: Ben Martin.

League pos: 63 points from 38 games (3 points from a playoff position).

Bishop’s Stortford 2-1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

Bishop’s Stortford, despite pre-season predictions of a mid-table finish, are sitting in an impressive 3rd place. This county derby has a bit of extra significance as we both needed, and wanted, to win this game for the sake of trying to take a playoff place this season.

Having cleverly rested some key players in the last game against Braintree, I can now put out my best team in this game, safe in the knowledge that they are raring to go.

I am at a total loss as to how we managed to lose this game. It just shows you everything you need to know about our away form this season. The only explanation can be that I am putting too much pressure on the lads when we’re on the road. It’s the only explanation that I have at present. We’ve done enough good things today to have won this game and yet we come away with a defeat thanks to conceding a penalty in the first-half. It really is beyond my understanding at the moment.

Not only is this a painful defeat by our Hertfordshire rivals, it is also, I fear, where our playoff hopes end. We’re too far away now and would probably have to win every game as well as hope for other results. I think we can say that it is over.

Saints MoM: Captain Ben Martin.

League pos: 7th – 63 points from 39 games.

SACFC 3-1 Thurrock (Blue Square South)

I think some of our problems away for home are tactical. I think we may be playing too deep and inviting pressure. I believe that it is important for me to instruct the side to make sure our defensive line is in keeping with our overall mentality. So I spend some time going through this before today’s game.

Today’s game against Thurrock has been picked for another fan day and I am encouraged by this. It appears that the chairman and board really do want to try to bring in the punters and to get the club moving in the right direction. I really want a good win today to cheer our supporters and, most importantly, leave them wanting more.

Let us not forget that Thurrock have beaten us this season in the league. I make several changes from the last game but make sure to pack the bench with attacking talent. There we have Lee Clarke, Johnny Banks, Lewis Hamlin and Shaun Johnson all possibilities to come on and change the game. On the field, we have the likes of Paul Hakim, Kieran Hall, Jonathan Pringle and Nathan Jarman. When you look at the attacking talent we have at our disposal now, I firmly believe we can be successful next season. I tell the side to attack and I hope that we can manage to entertain our supporters this afternoon.

The game begins really well for us and we find ourselves in the lead following a sensational goal by Kieran Hall. We really ought to be more than just one goal up at half-time but we just can’t seem to score a second. During the break, I encourage the team, knowing that we need a big win to send the fans home happy.

918 fans have come out to watch us today and I feel as disappointed as them when we concede a goal just after half-time. 1-1. This isn’t how it is supposed to be.

But we end up saving ourselves, first through Nathan Jarman and then through our top scorer, the ever reliable Jonathan Pringle. It puts a gloss on this game that we probably don’t deserve. Most importantly though, the board think that our latest fan day has been a success. Let’s hope the punters come back for more in the future.

Saints MoM: Jonathan Pringle.

League pos: 66 points from 40 games (4 points from the playoffs)

SACFC 2-1 Basingstoke (Blue Square South)

This is our last home game of the season and I want to end the season at Clarence Park with a solid win. Mathematically, of course, the playoffs aren’t quite beyond us just yet but it would take some extraordinarily favourable results elsewhere to keep the dream alive. Also, we would have to win here today. I prefer to just concentrate on ending the season in the best way possible as I think it is now beyond us.

After some careful rotating this month, I’m able to put out our strongest team here. We are all over Basingstoke in the first-half and finally get the breakthrough when our quick striker Nathan Jarman beats the defensive line and fires past the Basingstoke ‘keeper. It’s 1-0 at half-time and looks comfortable.

In the second-half, it’s more of the same as we dominate and we manage to get a second quite quickly. It’s from an unlikely source as our right-back Alex Bailey turns his man and blasts it into the net. We are now coasting to victory. So much so that I make a triple substitution and amongst the players coming on is our local youth academy forward Shaun Johnson. It would be a perfect ending to the season at Clarence Park if he were to score his first ever senior goal for the Saints.

However, it was a surprise goal from Basingstoke that followed and it was to give us an uncomfortable end to this match. We had dominated today and yet we now spent the last 10 minutes defending our narrow lead. Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve in football. We really had to hold on and defend for our lives to get these three points.

Saints MoM: Alex Bailey.

League pos: 7th – 69 points from 41 games.

MANAGER JOURNAL ENTRY:

After the game, I found out that other results had gone in our favour and that we were somehow still in with a chance of getting a place in the playoffs. 5th place Welling and 6th place Bath had both drawn their games meaning that we gained them both by two points.

It now looks like this from 5th downwards:

5th 	Welling	        71pts
6th 	Bath		71 pts
7th 	SAINTS		69pts

Getting this result means that it all comes down to our last game of the season, which comes in May.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS MANAGER WINS APRIL MANAGER OF THE MONTH – The St. Albans City manager has won the manager of the month award for April after recording four league victories in six games. This is the first award of his career and he is reported to be delighted with his side’s form this month. The Saints are currently sitting in 7th place in the Blue Square South.

MANAGER JOURNAL FOR APRIL

Well, in the end we’ve managed full points from our home games, which is very impressive indeed. That’s 12 points from 12 at fortress Clarence Park. We have the 2nd best home record in the league this season, which is absolutely fantastic. If we can just get the away form sorted out, we could be a real threat in this division.

The away form this month was awful again. Only 1 point recorded from a possible 6. I have made a few decisions after analysing our away performances this month and I think if I reduce the pressure on the lads away from home, as well as ensuring our defensive line isn’t too deep and inviting opposition pressure, we could improve. Unfortunately, it’s a bit late for this season, although we have one game left on the road to try my new ideas out in.

This month has seen us record 13 points from 6 games, which is terrific form. I win the manager of the month award for April and I am absolutely delighted. It is the first of my career and I hope it is the first of many. I just hope the so-called curse of the award will not strike at this crucial time. I’m proud of the lads and, no matter the result in our last game of the season away at Bromley, I believe we have a squad capable of challenging next season. I’m hoping we can get the win against the Ravens to finish the season off on a high. We’ll have to pray that other results go our way and I’m glad we’ve taken it down to the last game of the season. One game left and all to play for.

Talk about leaving it on a cliffhanger Crouchaldinho!! You are worse than a 2 part Drama on ITV! On one hand I want you to get in the Playoffs on the other hand I don't because I read too many stories on here where clubs just happen to always get promoted in the end! (i'm not suggesting anything underhand is going on here don't worry!) KUTGW

CarlosEsDios

[CarlosEsDios - Glad I've got you hooked! As for happy endings, I've often found that the mighty Saints always make it hard for themselves (see my FM07 story)! I'm afraid you will have to wait and see what happens in my next installment. ]

I'm very amused that you signed Johnny Banks because he's my left-winger in my Chimney Corner FC save in 09. He's a livewire down that side at that level, so I imagine he'll be pretty solid for you even though the quality in the Blue Square is a little better than NI2. Congrats on all your success!!!

[Cheers Stoehrst - hopefully Johnny will do the business for us too!]

MAY 2009

Well, there isn’t a lot to record in my journal for May. One fixture, away to Bromley, which is a game that will decide our fate this season. There can be only one target this month and that is full points from our only game.

Now for the maths part: Welling and Bath must both fail to win their last games of the season away to Basingstoke and at home to Worcester respectively. It seems a lot to ask for to me but then stranger things have happened in football before, and stranger things will, no doubt, happen again. I feel Basingstoke can do us a favour against Welling but I’m not so sure that Bath will fail to win at home to Worcester. However, we can forget about all of that. We just have our job to do and that is to win.

Bromley 2-1 SACFC (Blue Square South)

As you know, winning was the requirement today and this is something we have failed to do in the last 7 games away from home. However, I felt more positive today, knowing that I would support my players in the team talk and ensure that we were tactically solid in terms of our overall defensive positioning. I hoped positive results would ensue. The team is unchanged from the win over Basingstoke.

The first-half is painful to watch as we seem to be in control but miss several chances to take the lead. Johnny Banks is the worst offender as he misses an absolute sitter. Bromley score the opening goal just before half-time and I’m seriously worried. We need to win today but we’re failing again away from home. I demand more from my players in the dressing room at half-time. I still optimistically believe we can pick up the win.

On 52 minutes, Alex Bailey takes down his opponent in the area and we concede a penalty. Bromley make it 2-0 and we’re sinking without trace now. It looks like it is all over.

However, ten minutes later we’re level through Nathan Jarman. It’s 2-1 and I still sort of believe that we can get back into it. Clutching at straws, I make a double substitution and bring on City old boys Lee Clarke and Paul Hakim. As the game goes on though, it dawns on me. It’s just not going to be our day. I urge the lads forward but chance after chance goes begging. We’ve had 59% possession and more chances than our opposition. I could bring out all of the football clichés in the world right now. But, I guess we simply weren’t good enough. The dream is over but we’ll be back next season.

Saints MoM: Jack Pearson.

League pos: 7th – 69 points from 42 games.

MANAGER JOURNAL

I found out, after our last game of the season had ended, that Welling had put the race for 5th place beyond all doubt anyway. I was still disappointed with this game against Bromley as the last game of a long season. The away form had not improved and that was something we would clearly need to work on for the future. This really is an anti-climax for the end of the season. I had hoped to at least end with a win but we will now have a long summer with which to ruminate over our poor results away from home.

SEASON 2008/2009 SUMMARY:

Final league pos:

Pos   	Team	 	Pld	Won	Drn	Ls	For	Ag 	G.D.	Pts   
7th	St. Albans	42	19      12    	11   	61    	44    	+17  	69

FA Cup: Knocked out at 4th Qualifying Round (eventual winners: Chelsea)

FA Trophy: Knocked out at 1st Round (eventual winners: Rushden)

Setanta Shield: Knocked out at South Third Round (eventual winners: Oxford)

Fans’ Player of the season: Scott Cousins

Signing of the season: Jonathan Pringle

Top goalscorers: Jonathan Pringle – 16 (13 in the BSS)

Most Assists: Scott Cousins - 13

Most MoM awards: Lewis Hamlin - 5

Best Average Rating: Jonathan Pringle 7.06

Average Attendance: 665

Wage budget & finances:

- Approximately £1,000 under the wage budget after renegotiating contacts.

- Currently £35,000 in the red.

Season Best XI: (4-4-2) Waggett, Bailey, Cousins, Frater, Martin, Sulaiman, Hamlin, Gowland, Hall, Pringle, Hakim.

All-time Best XI: (4-4-2) Waggett, Bailey, Cousins, Frater, Martin, Sulaiman, Hamlin, Gowland, Hall, Pringle, Hakim.

City Legends: Wilfred Minter, Steve Clark, Phil Wood.

City Icons: Colin Lippiatt, Lee Clarke, Peter Risley, Kevin Mudd, Richard Evans, Paul Bastock.

City Favourites: Paul Hakim, Ben Martin, Simon Martin, Scott Cousins (new for 08/09).

Additional:

- St. Albans City reserves achieve 7th place in their league.

- St. Albans City youth are champions after winning their league comfortably.

Other News:

- Blue Square South:

o AFC Wimbledon win the title. Havant & Waterlooville are promoted via the playoffs.

o Fisher, Hayes & Yeading and Bognor Regis are relegated.

o St. Albans City are the ‘overachievers’ of the Blue Square South in the end of season summary. Jonathan Pringle wins the signing of the season award.

- The Big Boys:

o Chelsea win the Premier League,

o Rest of the top 4: Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool.

o Relegated: West Ham, Stoke, Hull.

o Promoted from Championship: QPR, Coventry, Birmingham.

o Chelsea win the Champions League,

o Tottenham win the Uefa Cup,

o Chelsea win the FA Cup,

o Man Utd win the League Cup.

- Local Interests:

o Our local rivals Stevenage win the BSP and are promoted to the Football League as champions, much to my disgust. This means that we now have no chance of meeting them in the FA Trophy or Setanta Shield.

o Luton Town go the other way as they finish in 24th place in League Two. They will be a Conference side next season.

o Watford finish in a safe mid-table position in the Championship.

- Ex-Saints:

o Jonathan Hunt, sold to Northwood at the beginning of the season, played 17 games for them and had a decent season.

o Other youth players released from their contract have not found new clubs to join.

Manager Achievements:

2009 - Manager of the Month Award for April

Overall Progress:

League         Season    Finished   Achievements
------------------------------------------------
BSS            2008/09    7th	       None

MANAGER JOURNAL

We have achieved a great deal this season and managed to consolidate in the division just as desired. Not only that, we have actually overachieved with this fine and respectable league position of 7th place. We must take into account the injuries to Ben Martin and Jonathan Pringle that really caused us some difficulty this season. Although, I was terribly disappointed that we didn’t make the playoffs after getting so close, I am also realistic enough to know that we aren’t quite ready for a promotion push and that another season or two in this division will do us a lot of good. In conclusion, the most important thing was that we had had a successful centenary year, stabilised the club and ensured that St. Albans City FC were heading in the right direction as they entered a new era. I hoped that I would bring success to the club in its new century.

I have already started to renegotiate contracts with every player at the club. I feel that we need to keep this squad together and let it continue to gel. I envisage that these players will be successful and I don’t want to make any changes over the summer if it can be helped. I really think we have a team in place that could really do well next year. It was going to be a very positive summer break and I couldn’t wait for pre-season to come around again.

Great write up crouchdinho.

A shame you couldn't win on the last day however a season is over 42 games and not 1 game. You didn't have much luck with injuries however your standing in the game should be slightly better now as you were rightfully awarded the Overachievers of the year award.

I love all the additional information you provided because when you finish next season you should be able to compare easily to the season just gone.

Keep up the good work.

Carlos

Unlucky on the last game of the season. Been there IRL with Newport for the last 2 seasons so I feel your pain. Good luck for next season.

CHAPTER 3 – SEASON 2009/2010 BLUE SQUARE SOUTH

Pre-season journal:

As I suggested at the end of last season, I wanted to keep this squad together and I had faith in the players at the club. I managed to agree new contracts with every player and I saved the club some money too by getting some players to sign for lower wages. However, the club still announced a loss of £110k for the season, which is absolutely shocking. The wage budget has been reduced by £500 but I am still about £250 under the limit. I don’t plan to bring anyone else significant in now as I am satisfied with the squad. Any injuries or other problems will have to be covered with loan signings. Personally, I feel we’ve got the right players to succeed already, and my assistant Dave Horrocks agrees with me.

The one player I do bring in is ex-Saint Jonathan Hunt. Call me soft and sentimental but Hunt is without a club and I feel he will be a good man to have at the club due to his experience. The main reason I bring him in is because I want to convince him to become a coach at the club. His contract is insignificant and therefore I feel I can take the risk.

Joining the Blue Square South this season after being promoted are Farnborough, Maidstone and Merthyr. Grays and Eastbourne Boro join after their relegation from the Conference. Team Bath, Grays, Eastbourne Boro and Chelmsford are favourites for the promotion this season.

John Gibson has offered me a new contract, this time for three years, on the same wage of £275. This is despite the fact that I had 12 months to run on my current one, which leads me to believe that Gibson is pleased with our progress. I rather optimistically attempt to get Gibson to offer me a five year contract and then a four year one. He is no fool though and makes me a final offer of three years, which I duly accept. Gibson tells me that he is ‘happy to stay’ at the club, which has echoes of his comments when I first joined, and doesn’t sound utterly convincing to me. Still he is here now and I hope he will support me while I try to push the club onwards and upwards this season.

Our players report back and the major disappointment is to hear that Kieran Hall has reported back injured and will be out for 3 to 4 months with a broken leg. This puts him out until November time, possibly later, and it means that we will have to work without him in the meantime. I believe we have enough depth to cover for his absence but I am still frustrated by an injury to one of our best players.

I arrange a pre-season cup tournament, which I am hoping to establish with some regularity in the coming seasons and which I hope might become a tradition. I call it the ‘Hertfordshire Challenge League’ or ‘HCL’. The teams I invite will always be our local rivals: Stevenage Boro’, Boreham Wood and Hitchin Town. This year, for the very first HCL, I manage to get all three of these clubs to participate in the tournament, to be held at Clarence Park.

Below are the results from the inaugural ‘Hertfordshire Challenge League’.

SACFC 4-0 Hitchin Town (HCL)

Comments: Won this at a canter against our Hertfordshire rivals.

Saints Goals: Pringle, Hamlin, Jarman, Hurrell.

Saints MoM: Lewis Hamlin.

Other game in round 1: Boreham Wood 3 – 4 Stevenage

SACFC 2-0 Boreham Wood (HCL)

Comments: Good and solid derby win against our fierce arch-rival Boreham Wood.

Saints Goals: Snodin 2.

Saints MoM: Ian Snodin.

Other game in round 2: Hitchin 2 – 3 Stevenage

SACFC 1-2 Stevenage Boro’ (HCL)

Comments: We go close against the now Football League team and our local rivals Stevenage. They score late on to win it.

Saints goal: Jarman.

Other game in round 3: Boreham Wood 2 – 2 Hitchin

HCL Final standings:

1. Stevenage 9

2. St. Albans 6

3. Boreham Wood 1

4. Hitchin 1

We finish in second place with Stevenage winning the very first HCL competition. It has been a good competition but has finished predictably according to current rank. I feel pleased with all of our performances in the competition and I hope we can take this form into the Blue Square South.

The rest of pre-season is not so good. We draw 1-1 against Grays and lose 2-3 to Stafford, with both games being played at Clarence Park. Lewis Hamlin is the best performer in pre-season.

Pre-season squad draft:

* - indicates new signing for this season

& - indicates long-serving player

(YPx) – indicates a product of the youth academy, with the x being the year of intake.

GK	James Waggett		19 yo goalkeeper, English
DR 	Alex Bailey		25 yo fullback, English
DL 	& Scott Cousins		26 yo fullback and long-serving Saint, English
DC 	& Ben Martin		26 yo defender, captain and Saints hero, English
DC 	Jack Pearson		19 yo defender, English
MR	Lewis Hamlin		24 yo winger, English
ML	Johnny Banks		29 yo winger, English
MCd 	Jefferson Gowland	20 yo defensive midfielder, English 
MCa 	Kieran Hall		23 yo attacking midfielder, English
ST 	& Paul Hakim		27 yo striker, super Saint! English
ST 	Jonathan Pringle	20 yo striker, English

Best of the rest:
GK 	& Paul Bastock		39 yo veteran keeper, English
DR	James Fisher 		25 yo fullback, English
DR/DM	& Chris Seeby		24 yo versatile defensive player, English
DL	(YP0) Brendan Skinner 	17 yo fullback, English	
DL/ML	Adam Everitt 		27 yo fullback, English
DC	Michael McLeary		20 yo defender, English
DC 	Ryan Frater		24 yo defender, huge DC, English
DC/DM 	James Quilter 		25 yo versatile defensive player, English
DMC	Andy Ritchie		20 yo defensive midfielder, English	
MC	Ian Snodin		21 yo, midfielder, English
MRLC	Jonathan Hunt		37 yo journey midfielder, English
MR 	Hassan Sulaiman		23 yo amr & ex-Arsenal scholar, English
AMR/ST 	Gary Cohen		25 yo versatile attacking player, English
D/AML	Sam Hurrell		21 yo winger, Football Icon star, English	
AMC/FC	& Lee Clarke		25 yo attacker, vice-captain, N.Irish
ST	Nathan Jarman		22 yo striker, English 
ST 	& Simon Martin		29 yo striker and local lad, English 
ST 	(YP0) Shaun Johnson	17 yo striker, academy player, English

So it is a squad of 29 for this season, which is bigger that last season, although there a couple of academy players who have been promoted in local lads Brendan Skinner and Shaun Johnson. Also, we have a number of young players in the squad generally. However, it is still quite a big squad for this level and I have high hopes that we will do well because of this depth. I have remained loyal to all of the players who achieved 7th in the league last season. The general strength and depth of the side is, as far as I am concerned, really good. I look forward to working with these players this season.

Youth academy player picked out by my assistant: Charlie Tromans – 16 yo AM/FC from Borehamwood. My assistant tells me that he has the potential to be one of the best players at the club. He has lots of creativity, is decent in the air and has exceptional technical ability for this level plus excellent work-rate. He looks like he would make an excellent number 10, i.e. a creative forward player. I think that he will be involved at some point this season. I’m excited about this young player.

Anticipated tactical philosophy:

Here at St. Albans we have a hard-working culture, with the wingers tracking back and the whole side defending from the front by pressing in the opposition half. I’ve got my defensive, balanced or attacking tactical systems but the hard-working philosophy is in mind at all times. 4-4-2 will be formation but the notation doesn’t do justice to our overall tactical shape. We will, in reality, play with a ‘diamond’ effect in midfield, where one central midfielder is more defensive and holds the ball, and the other makes forward runs and plays behind the front two. In addition to this, one of the front two will drop deep to play between the lines and act as both a creative outlet and a holding player. As you can see, our tactical shape is far more complicated than 4-4-2 indicates. Absolutely essential, in an attacking sense, will be our attacking midfielder and our deep-lying forward (number 8 and number 10).

This season, I want the side to attempt a shorter passing game as I wanted us to get the ball on the deck more often due to us not having much ability in the air in the forward positions. I think this side has enough technical ability and talent to pass it and play in an attractive way. The overall tactical philosophy will be hard-work, efficiency, practicality and team-work. This will be balanced out by the cautious encouragement of individual talent, with my attacking midfielder and deep-lying striker being given some creative autonomy.

The Final Word:

As our centenary season has passed, the club now returns to traditional colours of yellow and blue. The club commissioned a well-known company to design and manufacture our new replica for season 09/10.

[breaking the fourth wall again – it was me what did it! I made it myself! See the following post for more details and a screenshot: St. Albans City Official Thread - Kits for 2009/2010 ]

I was delighted to be involved in the process and the board and I eventually agreed on a basic retro-style shirt. The kit was, in part, based upon a combination of one or two of our past kits. Our new top is yellow with thin blue stripes on the shoulders running down the arms and also down the sides of the shirt. The shorts are plain blue and the socks are yellow with one blue stripe. We retain our sponsorship deal with the local Oaklands College, which remains the sponsor on our shirts. Everyone at the club is pleased with the new kit and we hope that this new design might prove a lucky omen for us this season. I secretly hope that this might be the kit that we get promotion in.

Media prediction: 8th

Chairman and fans: Respectable position

Manager: I want to push for a playoff place

AUGUST 2009

I’m excited to begin a new season and looking forward to seeing what this side can achieve. It’s been a fairly decent pre-season and the squad is looking fit and ready for the challenge this season. We have some tough looking games to kick-off with this month. Two clubs that will be in and around the playoffs this season, Welling and Bath City both visit Clarence Park. Our other game will see us face our bogey team, Thurrock, who we slipped up against away from home last season and who were lucky to escape relegation. I target 7 points from our home games, hoping that our home form from last season will be carried into this one.

Away from Clarence Park, we visit Chelmsford, predicted to finish 4th. We also have a trip to Weston-super-Mare, who will be battling down at the bottom of the table this season. W-S-M are another bogey team for us and they recorded a win over us last season. Taking this into account, and the fact that we didn’t do very well away from home last season, I’m targeting a cautious 3 away points this month. I feel we can beat Weston-super-Mare but might struggle in Essex against Chelmo.

All in all, we’re aiming for promotion form to get the season well and truly underway for us. We are aiming for 10 points from 5 games. Come on you Saints!

SAINTS 1-1 Welling (Blue Square South)

We kick of the season against Welling, with the mighty Saints looking resplendent in their new yellow and blue kit. Kieran Hall is unavailable for selection due to his injury and so Ian Snodin is set to make his debut in his place. In addition to this, last season’s top scorer Jonathan Pringle is also out with injury and so academy product and local lad Shaun Johnston comes in up front alongside Paul Hakim. We have a minor injury crisis in midfield, which means that a new youth academy player, 16-year-old Charlie Tromans (from Borehamwood) will be on the bench today. We have obviously stolen him from under the noses of our rivals, the Wood. He looks like a decent prospect and before the game I joke that he is going to be our secret weapon this afternoon.

The season gets off to the worst possible start after only 4 minutes as we fall behind. However, in the middle of the first-half, Johnny Banks equalises after some good work by local academy product Shaun Johnson.

As the game goes on, its looks pretty even with neither side look like they’d get a winner. I bring secret weapon Charlie Tromans on for the last 20 minutes but he can’t make a difference. The game ends in a draw, which you have to say probably isn’t such a bad result considering that they are a good side and this is the first game of the season.

Saints MoM: Johnny Banks.

League pos: 14th – 1 point from 1 game.

NEWSFLASH: YOUNGSTER TROMANS SIGNS PRE-CONTRACT WITH SAINTS – Academy player Charlie Tromans has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Saints after the manager deemed him to be a young player with immense talent at this level. The City manager said of the local lad, ‘he looks like a real prospect and I felt it was important to get him to commit to the club as soon as possible. I feel that Tromans could be a huge player for us’. When asked if Tromans would play much senior football this season, the Saints boss had this to say: ‘Tromans is a versatile attacking player and so I see him featuring in the squad this season. We will probably look to ease him in this year and he is unlikely to start but he is going to be really useful to us due to his ability to play in a few different positions. I see him as a good number 8, bombing forward and playing in advanced positions and controlling the game in midfield. However, he is also an ideal number 10, the sort of creative forward who can play between the lines, in the hole, and create something out of nothing. I hope for good things from this lad but we must not hope for too much too soon.’

Chelmsford 0-1 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

Lee Clarke and Jonathan Pringle return to training and a hastily arranged friendly for the reserves sees our vice-captain Clarke gain some match fitness. He makes the bench today and I decided to take a risk on starting with our young prodigy Charlie Tromans in the number 8 position. He replaces the recently rather languid looking Snodin. Unfortunately, Pringle is not in good enough condition to feature today. Academy product Shaun Johnson continues in his place.

I have some nerves going into this game against a Chelmsford side expected to challenge for promotion this season. I wish the team luck and tell young Charlie and Shaun that there is no pressure on them today. I’m worried that I have pushed them both in too soon but injuries are forcing my hand at the minute. I know these two will work hard for the team.

Our away form has been the subject of great concern for me and we haven’t won a game away from Clarence Park since January. Since then we’ve drawn 4 and lost 4 that’s a total of 4 points taken from 24. I hoped today that would change.

It’s a dream start for our young talented attacker Charlie Tromans in front of 1,409 at the Chelmsford Sport & Athletics Centre. After just 5 minutes, Scott Cousins whips in a cross from the left and Hamlin shoots straight at the ‘keeper. Our young hero, Tromans, is on hand to pick up the loose ball and fires home. 1-0. Get in!

We dominate the rest of the half and play some good stuff, yet Chelmsford are always dangerous and create several chances of their own. At half-time, I offer the lads some words of encouragement and offer some praise where it is due too.

In the second-half, we battle against wave after wave of Chelmsford attacks. We’re put under some real pressure and I feel sure that we will concede at some point. It’s backs to the wall and, for the last ten minutes especially, we are really holding on for the points. We’re made to work even harder when Shaun Johnson goes off with an injury and we’re down to 10 men due to having already used our substitutions. But we make it through the storm and we can be extremely proud of this performance.

The game itself could have gone either way but the lads showed remarkable determination to hold on to our lead. Charlie Tromans, who came off later in the game to be replaced by Lee Clarke, has had the perfect full debut. Getting the early goal was incredible and he looked solid for the rest of the game. All in all, this is a terrific afternoon of football for us. It may be early in the season but I hope that this is not a freak result and is a sign of things to come.

Saints MoM: Centre-back Jack Pearson.

League pos: 5th – 4 points from 2 games.

SAINTS 0-0 Thurrock (Blue Square South)

Relegation battlers Thurrock provide our next test on the Tuesday evening after the Chelmsford win. I rotate the squad for this game where we are expected to get a result. Cousins is replaced by academy product Brendan Skinner. Hassan Sulaiman and Sam Hurrell come in for Hamlin and Banks. Ian Snodin is brought back into the side in place of Charlie Tromans. Nathan Jarman gets his first start of the season in place of the injured youngster Shaun Johnson. It’s a lot of changes but the team look really tired after their last game. I’m not a Rafael Benitez and I’d rather not be chopping and changing but I deem this necessary today.

Thurrock are our bogey team and they took points against us last season in an embarrassing defeat. This is a dire game and one that desperately needed a goal to bring it to life. The truth is that we just couldn’t break them down. During the second-half, I asked the side to be more patient and to play possession football, waiting for the opportunities to present themselves.

What has suddenly happened to our home form? Things finally seem to have sorted themselves out away and now we can’t pick up the points at home. Again, you have to go back to January to find the last time we drew twice in a row. It’s the first 0-0 at Clarence Park since August 2008! I’m starting to get a little worried about the lack of goals but the clean sheets in the last two games are pleasing.

Thurrock are our bogey team and we will just have to accept this as one of those results. We will still regret this as a two points dropped however.

Saints MoM: Jack Pearson for the second game in a row.

League pos: 10th – 5 points from 3 games.

Weston-super-Mare 1-0 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

W-s-M are another side predicted to be battling at the bottom end of the table this season and another side that managed to beat us last season. I want revenge today. Scott Cousins, Lewis Hamlin and Johnny Banks return to the starting line-up. I’m disappointed to find that Pringle is still struggling for match fitness despite playing and scoring for the reserves in mid-week. I don’t want to risk him at the moment.

The game starts well enough for us and we dominate and create plenty. Paul Hakim is at the centre of all the talking points of the half. He hits the bar, is the subject of a penalty claim by the Saints players and also misses a sitter towards the end of the half. I feel like goals will come from him if I give him time. He is one of the best strikers at this level.

Yet, the pain and the agony continues as we miss chance after chance and it just seems inevitable that Weston-super-Mare will go up the other end and score in the last few minutes. Of course, they do. We have no time to get back at them and in the end we fail miserably.

This lack of goals is a real worry but I think we are just paying the price for the injuries to Kieran Hall and Jonathan Pringle, both two very creative players for us. I want to scream at the players but I resist the temptation. I think things are best dealt with in a calm fashion. The players have performed well today and they need my support while things aren’t going well. I sympathise with the lads. To be honest, I feel that this is a bit of a freak result anyway as we dominated possession and made more chances. The least we deserved was a draw and yet, not for the first time in my time at the club, come away with a loss away from home.

Saints MoM: Captain Ben Martin.

League pos: 13th – 5 points from 4 games.

SAINTS 1-0 Bath (Blue Square South)

I can’t help but feel that there is more to our lack of goals than just a few early season freak results. My feeling is that we need some physical presence up front; someone strong in the air and a focal point for the team. Both of our youth players, Charlie Tromans and Shaun Johnson, have that kind of ability. Charlie also has the ability to play extremely creatively and I think that he could make a real difference up front for us. I decided to start with Charlie Tromans up front. I also drop Paul Hakim, who hasn’t been playing too well, and put Jonathan Pringle in the role of advanced striker. Lee Clarke also returns in central midfield to take the number 8 shirt. I plan to play a high tempo game against Bath, who are predicted to finish in the playoffs. I want our side to take the game to them.

We take the lead in just 7 minutes thanks to Lewis Hamlin’s through ball, which Jonathan Pringle ran onto and fired home. My decision to start with Tromans is paying dividends and he is at the centre of things today, winning headers, running with the ball and trying through balls. He plays a total of 4 key passes today and was one of the most productive members of the team.

A second goal just won’t come for us, however, and even introducing Paul Hakim doesn’t make the difference. We dominate today with 7 shots on target, 3 clear cut chances but only 1 goal to show for it all. We end up defending resolutely in the last 10 minutes to ensure that we take all of the points. Three points is three points, of course, but where have all the goals gone? That’s what I’d like to know.

Saints MoM: Lewis Hamlin.

League pos: 8th – 8 points from 5 games.

MANAGER JOURNAL:

I wanted 7 points at home this month and we’ve ended up two points short thanks to a draw against our bogey team Thurrock. Even worse though, our other bogey team, Weston-super-Mare, took all three points from us in our away game against them. However, we managed my target of 3 points in the most unlikely fashion against Chelmsford.

I don’t know quite what to make of this side at the moment. Inconsistent is certainly a word I would use. We’ve beaten two excellent sides in Chelmsford and Bath but failed to beat two poor sides in Thurrock and W-s-M. Still, the first month of a new season is always a strange one as the side get into the rhythm of playing regular football again. Also, I still need to find my best eleven.

The lack of goals is worrying me but we have Jonathan Pringle back and I feel that he will really help. I have also decided to try to use a focal point for attacks, with Charlie Tromans currently sitting deep, winning the ball in the air, or holding it up on the ground and using his creativity. It seems important to me to have more of a physical presence up front, especially in terms of winning headers, which is something we haven’t had over the last year. I hope that successful performances and result may ensue due to this new approach.

We must remember that this time last year, we had only 3 points at this stage, so there is a huge improvement there. Overall, I’m happy with only 2 goals conceded in 5 games, but not so happy with only 3 goals scored in 5 games. There is work to be done in training, that’s for sure.

My Saints player of the month: Defender Jack Pearson is our best player this month with some great performances at the back, especially against Chelmsford.

Other news: Surprisingly Dorchester sit at the top of the Blue Square South at the moment, with newly promoted Maidstone pointless and sitting bottom.

Local club, Luton, have had a decent start to life in non-League; they are sitting in 7th.

Our rivals, Stevenage, are not doing so well in League Two though; they are bottom with only 1 point.

SEPTEMBER 2009

September is looking like our toughest month of the season. We have away games against Hampton & Richmond, recently relegated Eastbourne Boro and Eastleigh. All are promotion hopefuls this season. I know that this is going to be a tough run of games away from home and so I target 4 points. This seems quite ambitious enough for a side that don’t normally travel well. At home, we play one game in the league, against Newport County. This is a winnable game, as far as I am concerned, and I target full points. That’s a total target of 7 points from 4 games, which would be terrific if we could pull it off.

We also play Maidstone, bottom of the BSS currently, in the Setanta Shield this month. I want us to get to the next round and will probably play a strong team at Clarence Park for this tie.

SAINTS 1-0 Maidstone (Setanta Sheild S 1st Rnd)

I’m being a bit too sentimental by sticking with Paul Hakim while he is playing so poorly. There is loyalty and then there is sentimentality and a good football manager must ensure that he keeps an equal distance between the two. Hakim is on the bench today.

I take the opportunity to rest a few players today with Sulaiman, Hurrell, Snodin, Jarman and Johnson all getting starts. I hope that one of two of these players can stake a claim for a permanent first team place with a good performance today.

It’s the ever present Ben Martin, our captain, who heads us into the lead from a Scott Cousins cross though. The goal comes just before half-time and we look in total control.

I’m not happy with either of the forwards this evening and I pull them both off in the second-half and reunite the old Saints partnership of Lee Clarke and Paul Hakim. I’m not rewarded for my loyalty as both play poorly and we fail, once again, to get the second goal.

This is a win but not as convincing as I might have liked. The performance isn’t even particularly good and I’m starting to have concerns about my side this season.

Saints MoM: Captain Ben Martin.

League pos: N/A – through to Setanta Shield S 2nd Rnd.

Hampton & Richmond 2-1 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

Having rested players in the Setanta Shield, I can now put out my strongest team today. Johnny Banks, Lewis Hamlin, Lee Clarke, Jonathan Pringle and our young prodigy, Charlie Tromans, all return to first-team duty.

We know that we really must do better away from home this season if we are to challenge the top 5. I see today’s game as a very important one for this reason. I instruct the team to play attacking football but I lower the tempo. I feel that we’ve been playing too quickly lately and that this may be having an effect on our accuracy in front of goal.

We start awfully and, so typical of us away from home, we concede very quickly. We find ourselves 1-0 down after 5 minutes due to a Ben Martin error. The game is quite even and there isn’t a lot in it. Still, we aren’t playing well enough, so at half-time, I demand more of the team.

Disaster well and truly strikes when we go 2-0 down 15 minutes into the second-half. This time it is Lee Clarke’s fault. I’m as angry as can be. However, we’re playing really well and when Jonathan Pringle scores a goal for us, I feel we should get an equaliser too. Charlie Tromans hits the bar and chance after chance comes. However, we’re left wanting at the end of the game and I’m devastated with yet another loss, especially when the performance was good enough to take at least a point. We outplayed them, created as much as them and had 4 clear cut chances today. However, two mistakes by our captain and vice-captain mean that we lose, again, away from home. After the game, I’m livid with Ben Martin and Lee Clarke. I sympathise with a lot of the team as I feel a number of them have played well today. It’s difficult for me to do so when I am feeling so utterly lost as to why we have failed to win a game in which we really performed well. It is happening far too often.

Saints MoM: Youngster Charlie Tromans, provided the assist and was at the centre of everything for us today.

League pos: 11th – 8 points from 6 games.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS GET BOSTON UNITED IN THE CUP – St. Albans City have drawn BSN side Boston United in the FA Cup Second Qualifying Round. The St. Albans management said, ‘it will be a good challenge to play against newly promoted Boston, especially away from home. I hope we can progress in the FA Cup because it is very important to this football club and its fans’.

SAINTS 1-1 Newport County (Blue Square South)

I feel as though this poor run of form has a lot to do with our tactical approach. The truth is that we are trying to play attractive football and not being rewarded for it. The performances have been good but the goals haven’t been coming. Somewhere along the line, I’ve lost the plot a little bit. We’re playing too wide, too attacking and our short passing just won’t cut it at this level. We’re trying to be Arsenal and we’re a million miles away from that. However, we don’t have to lose our principles entirely. I instruct the players to be a little bit more compact, a little deeper and a little longer in their passing. I feel that we have reached a good compromise. It hasn’t been a terrible start to the season but I hope that we can make it better today and maybe score some goals too.

We’re unchanged today for this game against mid-table Newport County. Before the game, I tell the lads they can win it and I demand more from our vice-captain Lee Clarke. He has been poor lately and I want to see improvement from him today.

The game starts well with the mighty Saints on top and we get the lead on 20 minutes. Centre-back Jack Pearson is up for a free kick, suddenly finds the ball at his feet and blasts home at the near post.

Once again, the second goal just will not come. I lose count of the misses. How are we failing to put the ball in the back of the net?

Newport really come at us for the last 5 minutes and we concede the equaliser. I’m frustrated and disappointed. We should have been clear in this game by half-time. We’ve had 7 clear cut chances today, most of the ball and twice the amount of chances. Again, I can do nothing but sympathise with the players after the game. The performance is excellent, the result not so good. We should be winning these games. I feel like we’re getting closer and that we’re going to really give someone a thrashing soon. It’ll come good in the end if I remain calm and patient.

Saints MoM: Jack Pearson.

League pos: 13th – 9 points from 7 games.

Eastbourne Boro 1-2 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

It’s our hardest test of the season so far, on a Tuesday night, at Priory Lane. I feel we need to prove our credentials here. However, we’ve got a lot of tired legs at the moment and I am forced into making major changes for this one. Out go Cousins, Hamlin, Banks, Clarke and Gowland. In comes youth academy player Brendan Skinner, Sulaiman, Hurrell, Snodin and Ritchie respectively. It’s a big test for the depth of our squad.

We open the scoring with a wonderful worked goal that culminates in Hassan Sulaiman running through and placing the ball into the far corner of the net. Less than 10 minutes later, it’s all level again, as Eastbourne Boro take advantage of our lack of pace at the back. However, Andy Richie smashes the ball home from just inside the box to send us in 2-1 up at half-time. We’ve been the better team and we deserve it.

The second-half is all about St. Albans City and the team I want them to be on a regular basis. We keep possession well, make plenty of chances and look confident. Our job is made easier when one of the opposition players is dismissed. I tell my side to slow things down, play patient and probing football and see the game out. We should score more but I am satisfied when the final whistle goes. It is a thoroughly deserved away win, which shows that we are putting last season’s woe on the road behind us. I’m particularly delighted that we dominate possession today. Still no goals from the strikers though and I’m starting to wonder what has happened to Jonathan Pringle. This is a great win and I feel we are finally making progress. Come on you Saints!

Saints MoM: Hassan Sulaiman.

League pos: 7th – 12 points from 8 games (3 points from a playoff position).

Boston Utd 2-0 SAINTS (FA Cup 2nd Qual Rnd)

With our home form looking rather shaky at the moment, I’m actually pleased to be going away in the cup. However, I could have wished for an easier 2nd Qualifier than this. I put out my strongest team because I love the FA Cup and I want us to go as far as we can in it this season.

I feel that I make a mistake today by giving a poor pre-match team talk and putting too much pressure on the players. In truth, we create very little today despite having a lot of the ball. We have a goal disallowed early on and things go from bad to worse when we concede in the second-half and never look like getting back into the game. To make matters worse, we lose our young hero, Charlie Tromans, to an injury in the middle of the half. I hope that’s not a serious one but I always get worried when a player gets stretchered off like that.

We push forward for the last 5 minutes and Boston take advantage of this on the break and score a second. To be utterly honest, they deserve it. We were lacklustre and I am absolutely gutted to be knocked out of this cup.

This cup means a lot to me. It gives the chance of money and glory. To be knocked out at this stage and in this manner is really disappointing to me. I believe that this might hit us hard financially as well. We’ve got to try to pick ourselves up now and make the best of the league, the FA Trophy and the Setanta. I’m livid with the players after this defeat and they will perhaps have to take some time to recover from my vituperation.

Saints MoM:

League pos: Knocked out of the FA Cup at 2nd Qualifying Rnd.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS YOUNGSTER RULED OUT FOR SIX MONTHS – Charlie Tromans broke his leg in the FA Cup defeat to Boston United at the weekend and will be out for up to six months. The 16-year-old academy youth player was considered a ‘secret weapon’ by the St. Albans management and had recently made his breakthrough to the first team. The Saints manager has this to say, ‘this is Ben Martin all over again, and by that I mean to say it’s another major injury to an important player who will miss the majority of the season, just as it happened to us last year with Ben Martin. It’s very disappointing because Charlie was just starting to make his mark in the first team. We will do all we can to aid him in his recovery. Meanwhile, we may look to bring in a loan player to cover this injury.’

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS MANAGER TO SERVE TOUCHLINE BAN – The St. Albans City manager is set to serve a one match touchline ban after claiming that the referee had made a major error in disallowing his side’s early goal in the FA Cup match against Boston United. It was deemed that the manager’s comments were inappropriate and he will now miss City’s next match against Eastleigh. He is said to be distraught at the FA’s decision.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS MANAGER STORMS OUT OF PRESS CONFERENCE – The St. Albans City manager stormed out of a meeting with the local press this evening after a journalist pressed him for a comment about his relationship with Boston United manager Andy Preece. The Saints manager refused to answer the question twice and then, when pressed for an answer, stormed out of the room. He later admitted to the local press that this had been the worst week of his career so far, with his side having been knocked out the FA at the first hurdle, followed by news of the injury to Charlie Tromans.

The Saints fans are extremely disappointed with the exit from the FA Cup and have made their voices heard on the SACFC.co.uk forum. Furthermore, the St. Albans board are said to believe that their manager is not performing well enough this season and must improve. The pressure appears to be getting to the young manager who is expected to guide the Saints to a respectable league position this season.

Eastleigh 1-3 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

I’m delighted that this Tuesday evening game comes around so quickly. I feel that we, i.e. both me and the team, need to put things right with a good performance and result. Yet, this is a tricky game to play when you are having a mini-crisis at the club.

Going out of the FA Cup is not the end of the world and having a disappointed board and fans is something that happens to every non-League club that gets knocked out at this stage of the season. However, losing Charlie Tromans has exacerbated the situation for me and I feel disappointed regarding my conduct. I lost my cool when talking about the referee and when pushed by the journalist. In truth, I was absolutely livid at the time and I couldn’t help it. Anyway, a good result today would put all of that to bed.

I’ve got a touchline ban today and so my assistant takes charge of first-team affairs. The referee insists that I watch the game away from the dugout and so I am forced to sit in the stand behind it, still within shouting distance of the pitch. I have selected the side and tactics today and I hope my assistant, Dave Horrocks, will make good decisions on my behalf for the rest of the game.

We have a goal disallowed and a claim for a penalty refused in the first-half tonight. It seems that referees really are against us.

Eastleigh open the scoring just after half-time and I’m, by this point, really struggling with not being able to influence the game. Less than five minutes later, we’re level, after Sulaiman finds Lee Clarke in the box and he fires home a classy finish.

Our left winger with the name of an old-fashioned football hero, Johnny Banks, scores a cracking goal to put us 2-1 up on 75 minutes Then Pringle goes and puts the icing on the cake with a sublime finish on 95 minutes to make it 3-1.

We were excellent today and I’m left wondering if I shouldn’t leave my assistant in charge for every game. Of course, it was my tactics and my team selection that won us the match though. That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway. It’s a great win and should go some way to mollifying those disappointed fans.

Saints MoM: Jack Pearson.

League pos: 6th – 15 points from 9 games (level on points with 5th placed Bromley).

MANAGER JOURNAL:

This turns out to be both a wonderful and terrible month, all at once. I targeted 4 points away from home and we’ve ended up with a terrific 6. I wanted progress in the Setanta Shield and we got through against Maidstone. I also wanted to be in and around the playoffs and we are wonderfully placed at the moment.

However, we’ve been knocked out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle. We’ve lost our young talismanic forward, Charlie Tromans, for up to six months. We failed to win our home game this month and we still haven’t recorded a convincing win there all season. This has also seen one of the most difficult weeks of my time in charge at St. Albans City.

I guess we just have to count our blessings this month. We have come through a tough set of games in the league and achieved the target of 7 points out of 4 games. Our away form continues to astound me considering our ineptness on the road last season. I’m still hurting after our FA Cup exit but I’m determined to turn it into a positive. We must concentrate our energy on the league now and do as well as we can. We continue to shows signs of considerable promise.

My Saints Player of the Month: Jack Pearson is our player of the month again. The centre-back is on awesome form and even got a goal against Newport County.

Other News: Believe it or not, newly-promoted Merthyr and Farnborough are sitting in 1st and 2nd place respectively having both had excellent runs of form at the beginning of their BSS campaigns.

Local club Luton Town have moved up to 2nd in the BSP. Our local rivals Stevenage have moved off the bottom of League Two and are 3 points from the relegation zone. Our other rivals, Hitchin Town, are having a good FA Cup run and are through to the 3rd round qualifiers.

OCTOBER 2009

October, as usual, is a busy month. We’ve got some winnable games this month though and I feel that we can continue our upward momentum. At home we play newly promoted Merthyr, Hertfordshire rivals Stortford and recently relegated Grays. Our home record is currently one of the worse in the league, with only 6 points recorded from a possible 12. It’s about time it changed and I feel that we’ve got a real chance to take full points this month. That is my ambitious target. We need to get back to winning ways and make Clarence Park and fortress again.

Away we have Dorchester and Bromley. Both are playing quite well at the moment but I feel that we can take some points from them. I target a win and a draw from these two games.

That makes a total target of 13 from 5 games, which would be an awesome return. My message to the players is clear, let’s put this show on the road and show everyone in this league that we are aiming for the playoffs this season.

My other business this month is to bring in a new face. The injury to Charlie Tromans means we are short on players who can fill our number 10 shirt and play in the deep forward role. I have decided against Pringle in this position as I feel he is better as a poacher in the number 9 slot. Shaun Johnson can do the business here but he is young and will need to be rested and used with circumspection. I feel that a loan will do the job but my assistant and my scouts are not providing me with many leads. We may have to bring someone in. In that case, this would involve me freeing up some of the wage budget. I have already released Troy-Oham Strachan, a young player who was here when I joined the club on a large youth contract. He did not make the grade. I am contemplating the sale of Simon Martin and James Fisher to give the wages necessary to bring in someone to help in Charlie Tromans’ absence. We will see what my assistant’s loan report has to say first of all.

SAINTS 3-0 Merthyr (Blue Square South)

I put out my strongest team today, hoping to record only our second win of the season at Clarence Park. It is clear that we haven’t been good enough at home in the league and we need to rectify that immediately. Academy youth product Shaun Johnson takes the number 10 shirt today. Otherwise, I play the strongest team available to me.

Newly-promoted Merthyr are flying in the league in the early part of this season, however, I wonder if their lofty position belies their ability somewhat. They have had a favourable start to the season. That said, they give us a difficult first-half here and I fear the worst when Jonathan Pringle has to come off with an injury. I have no out-and-out striker to replace him, so I move the versatile Lewis Hamlin up front.

Alongside him local lad and academy product Shaun Johnson is still waiting for his first senior goal. He gets it today, just before half-time, and I am ecstatic for the lad as are the home fans. The supporters always like to see a local lad being successful and I’m no different. His goal is the difference at half-time. I encourage the lads and ask for them to finish off the job. I’m secretly worried that we’ve been here before this season and ended up throwing away points. With no Pringle and with Johnson looking tired, I’m worried about where the goals will come from in the second-half.

We look to be tiring as the game goes on. Lucky for us, we manage to get a second thanks to a penalty. Shaun Johnson is taken down on the edge of the box and it looks like it is outside of the area to me. Despite Merthyr protests, Lewis Hamlin steps up and converts the penalty. Late on, Hassan Sulaiman puts the gloss on this result by adding a third from close range. In the end, this is a really good win and finally something to cheer about at home. It’s the first time we have won by more than 1 goal at home since pre-season so it was well overdue. I praise the lads enthusiastically for a job well done and another three points.

Saints MoM: Hassan Sulaiman.

League pos: 3rd – 18 points from 10 games (1 point from 1st place).

NEWSFLASH: PRINGLE RULED OUT – Saints striker Jonathan Pringle has been ruled out for a month with an ankle injury. The City manager said, ‘we’re obviously disappointed to lost Pringle but this gives Hakim and Jarman the chance to push for a first team place’. The Saints are currently on a four match unbeaten run in the league.

SAINTS 2-1 Farnborough (Setanta Shield S 2nd Rnd)

The Setanta Shield has taken on greater importance for us now that we are out of the FA Cup. However, I still decide to rest some players for this game against newly-promoted Farnborough. It’s seems prudent to give a few players some time to recover from our recent hectic schedule. In comes Brendan Skinner, Gary Cohen and Sam Hurrell. I also give Paul Hakim a chance after his recent dire form for us. Partnering him up front will be a lad from our youth academy called Dale Friend who looks like a decent young player. He gets the chance to impress me this evening.

We take the lead very early in the game thanks to some great work from our experimental strike partnership of Friend and Hakim. They both combine with some clever passes and then setup Gary Cohen to run on and slot home. The rest of the half is very quiet for both sides.

In the second-half, we look lacklustre and it seems inevitable that Farnborough will score, which they do on 69 minutes. However, we improve as the half goes on and we are the better side and deserve it when midfield Andy Ritchie gets us a winner with 5 minutes to go.

Saints MoM: Young academy product Brendan Skinner.

League pos: Through to the South Third Round.

NEWSFLASH: HALL BACK IN TRAINING – Attacking midfielder Kieran Hall is back in training after 5 months out with a thigh injury. It is though that he will feature in a Saints reserve match in order that he might get some match fitness. The Saints manager said: ‘This is great news for us as we have really missed Kieran in the middle of the park. We look forward to his return to first team duties.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS AND WEYMOUTH TO RENEW RIVALRY – St. Albans City have been drawn against Weymouth in the Setanta Shield South Third Round. The two sides were once rivals in the Conference South attempting to achieve promotion to the Conference. The St. Albans manager had this to say: ‘Weymouth have moved on since our great games with them four years ago. They are now a Blue Square Premier side and we are determined to join them there in the feature. This is an awesome tie for us, especially seeing as we have been drawn at home. I’m really pleased for the fans who deserve a good cup tie at Clarence Park and I hope that we can deliver a performance worthy of their support’. The game takes place at the beginning of November.

Dorchester 1-0 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

We didn’t play last weekend due to it being reserved for FA Cup fixtures. This was a painful reminder that we are no longer in the competition, however, it was also a positive chance for us to get some rest and take advantage of the extra preparation time (Dorchester were busy in the cup last weekend).

After being drawn against Weymouth in the cup, we’re now set to play their fierce rivals and a club just down the road from them in Dorchester Town. It’s back to our strongest starting eleven for this one, with Nathan Jarman in for the injured Jonathan Pringle.

In the first-half we are really poor and Dorchester deserve to take the lead. We don’t play with enough passion and there are too many players who don’t appear to have turned up today. In truth, we are lucky to go in at 1-0 down.

I demand more of the players at half-time and they perform better in the second-half. However, we are always chasing this game and we never look like getting back into it. There are a few players today who really performed poorly and I am particularly angry with Jefferson Gowland. Captain Ben Martin and Shaun Johnson are among the players who did perform well today and I am please with them. This is a poor loss in a game where we have been outplayed and I’m extremely disappointed at the nature of this defeat.

Saints MoM: Captain Ben Martin.

League pos: 6th – 18 points from 11 games (level on points with team in 5th place).

NEWSFLASH: BROWN SIGNS FOR SAINTS – Former Eastleigh striker Jamie Brown has signed for St. Albans City after a trial period for the club in which he scored for the reserve side. The St. Albans manager said: ‘Jamie is a great signing for us. He is a strong striker who is excellent in the air and capable of creating plenty for his teammates. We were surprised to see that he had been released by Eastleigh. Brown comes in at a crucial time for us after the injury to Charlie Tromans. We were hoping to bring in a loan player but when that fell through, we decided to look at Jamie and I felt that he was the right kind of player to bring to the club’. Brown signs a contract until the end of the season. The City manager refused to confirm whether or not any current playing staff would have to be released or sold following Brown’s signing. It is felt that the wage budget is currently under control but that it is close to its limit and that any further signings would be practically impossible.

SAINTS 1-0 Bishop’s Stortford (Blue Square South)

An injury to Lee Clarke rules him out of today’s Hertfordshire derby. After Jefferson Gowland’s poor form, I bring in Andy Ritchie to take his place. Paul Hakim gets yet another chance from me and partners deep-lying forward, Shaun Johnson. Hassan Sulaiman replaces Lewis Hamlin on the wing. These changes are made after the disappointment of our defeat against Dorchester. I feel that it was necessary to freshen things up and make some changes. New signing Jamie Brown is not fit enough to start today.

The second-half goes by with little to report and I’m concerned at half-time. I can’t see where the goals are going to come from and the lads up front are having a shocker. However, I keep faith in them.

Things are made easier for us in the second-half when a Stortford player is sent off for a second bookable offence. Immediately, I instruct the lads to play patient probing football and it pays dividends straightaway. Paul Hakim scores for us only a few minutes later and we look in charge now. Hakim runs over to the bench to celebrate and I think that is a clear message to me to give him the chance to play regularly.

After the game, the press say it was a poor match, but I’m just happy with the points. Stortford did little to threaten us today and we dominated the game. I have my concerns that we didn’t create quite enough chances but otherwise I’m happy with this win over our county rivals. Come on you Saints!

Saints MoM: Paul Hakim – at last, he has his first goal of the season.

League pos: 3rd – 21 points from 12 games (4 points from Grays in 1st place).

Bromley P-P SAINTS (Blue Square South) - postponed due to Bromley’s progress in the FA Cup.

League pos: We remain in 3rd position despite not playing today.

SACFC 2-0 Grays (Blue Square South)

Grays are on a 10 match unbeaten run and we are clearly meeting them at the wrong time. They were relegated from the BSP last season and are on a mission to get back there as soon as possible. The good news for us is that Kieran Hall is finally back in contention after getting match fit with the reserves. New signing Jamie Brown is on the bench today.

We get an early lead thanks to a terrific goal from youngster Shaun Johnson. It’s the second goal of his short career and I’m delighted to see him punching the air in celebration. Kieran Hall sensationally makes it 2-0 after Johnson holds up the ball in the box, turns and finds him with a great pass. Kieran Hall is back and our local academy lad is having the game of his life. At half-time I tell him I’m delighted with him and I tell the team I am pleased with their performance.

In the second-half, with us looking comfortable, I bring on new signing Jamie Brown. He’s a bit short of match fitness and his performance is solid if unspectacular. But overall it is an awesome performance today and we beat one of the favourites for the BSS title. A word here for local youngster Shaun Johnson for an extraordinary performance in which he scored one and setup one. The 17-year-old is currently looking excellent for us and improving all the time. Overall I’m totally thrilled with today and I feel that we are starting to show what we’re capable of in this league.

Saints MoM: Shaun Johnson (first MoM for our youth product).

League pos: 4th – 24 points from 13 games (3 points from the top with a game in hand).

MANAGER JOURNAL:

I wanted us to really turn it around at home this month and we did so by recording maximum points in the league and also winning our Setanta Shield 2nd Round tie. The defeat away to Dorchester was disappointing due to the nature of the performance. I felt we hadn’t competed. Our game against Bromley was postponed and so we only had the one away game this month.

Overall, we can be pleased with the very solid if not spectacular progress being made. We’re doing just enough to win games at the moment and I want a little more from the players, especially at Clarence Park. Now that we have Kieran Hall back, I feel that we have a side that could really surprise a few people this season.

I regret that I will be looking to sell some players this month. Our squad is too big and although we haven’t gone beyond the limitations of our wage budget, we are nearly at the maximum now. The time for sentimentality is past and I have to be ruthless and try to cut a few fringe players from the squad. James Fisher, Adam Everitt and Simon Martin have been transfer-listed and I will be actively seeking to sell them in the coming months.

On the positive side, some of my players are excelling this season and my coaches report great things for them. Usually, I offer one year contracts to minimise potential risk but I have now offered contracts until 2012 to Kieran Hall, Jack Pearson, Johnny Banks, Jonathan Pringle, James Waggett, Andy Ritchie and Lewis Hamlin. I believe this to be a talented bunch of players who will serve the club well in the coming seasons. I also offer extended contracts to our trio of youth academy products, Charlie Tromans, Shaun Johnson and Brendan Skinner. All 10 players accept the terms of their contracts without compromise. I feel that this shows the commitment and the togetherness of the team and our desire to achieve promotion to the Blue Square Premier division.

Finally, I feel as though the squad and I have come through the first genuinely difficult challenge of our time together so far. Last month’s FA Cup exit followed by my outburst and subsequent suspension and then Charlie Tromans injury could have had a really bad effect on the club’s fortunes. In addition to these issues, the fans had turned on me and some of the players. Since these disappointments, the team have manage to win 5 games out of 6 and the board and fans now report that they are happy with me as manager. They are also delighted with the form of Ben Martin this month. I am really pleased with this turnaround. Let’s hope we can keep this momentum going in November.

My Saints Player of the Month: Captain Ben Martin – Mr Reliable. Some great performances from a Saints favourite.

Other News: Merthyr are still top of the BSS with Grays second. In the BSP, local side Luton are still doing well and are in 2nd. Our local rivals, Stevenage, have continued their improvement in League Two and are now sitting comfortably 5 points from the drop zone.

Three BSS sides have made the FA Cup 1st round (Hampton & Richmond, Bromley and Dorchester). Our county rivals Hitchin Town were knocked out to Bedford in a local derby.

NOVEMBER 2009

We start the month with that huge Setanta Shield tie at home to Weymouth. I’m suddenly feeling enthused about this competition due to missing the FA Cup. I feel as though we have a chance against the Terras at a packed Clarence Park and I hope that we can continue to make progress with a win to please the fans.

In the league, we have the unusual and unwanted situation of having to play three away games in a row with no respite in the form of a home match at all this month. We start with the rearranged game against Bromley and then play Worcester and Basingstoke. All three club are predicted for mid-table and I want us to prove ourselves away from home this season. I target promotion form, i.e. 6 points from the 3 games.

SAINTS 3-2 Weymouth (Setanta Shield South 3rd Rnd)

We’re really up for this tie and I field the strongest side available to me. Alex Bailey and Jonathan Pringle are currently out and are replaced by Brendan Skinner and Nathan Jarman respectively. Young academy forward, Shaun Johnson, continues with new signing Jamie Brown on the bench today. I ask the side to play attacking football and instruct them to really have a go at Weymouth. I tell them to do this for the fans.

At the beginning of the first-half, we don’t look quite up to the challenge of overcoming a Blue Square Premier side. We look a little sloppy and give them several chances. So when we take the lead against the run of play, I’m totally thrilled. It’s an unlikely headed goal by Scotty Cousins who emerges out of nowhere at the back post to head in. Come on you Saints!

However, the Terras are all over us straight after our goal and they quickly equalised thanks to a stunning strike. We’re back level and I feel things can only go one way from here. I hope that I can get the lads in at half-time to regroup with us still level. Weymouth have a goal disallowed for offside a couple of minutes later and we’re being put under a lot of pressure. They finally get the lead just before the half-time whistle. We go in 2-1 at half-time and it looks to me a long way back.

At half-time, I tell the side that we’re still in this and we can win it. I’m not sure I totally believe it myself. However, we’re on top at the beginning of the second period and I go totally crazy when James Quilter, on as a sub, sets Nathan Jarman on his way. Jarman unleashes a thunderbolt, easily the best goal we’ve scored this season, and we’re back in this at 2-2. Get in!

We are finding our confidence and are absolutely awesome this half. It takes us until the 88th minute to score again but we could easily have got the lead before then after missing a number of chances. Finally, substitute Sam Hurrell comes in from the left and smashes the ball home from close range. 3-2 and it’s time to concentrate and defend well now to see out the game. We have to play through 5 minutes of injury time but some shameful time-wasting and good defending see us through!

After the match, I tell the lads I am very proud of their comeback. In the end, we’ve outplayed Weymouth and our players have shown that they can do it against a Blue Square Premier team. That’s where our players and the club want to be and so it is wonderful to see that we can match a professional BSP side. This is a great day for all fans of the club and it goes some way to making up for the ignominy of our FA Cup exit this season.

Saints MoM: Scott Cousins.

League pos: N/A – through to the Setanta Shield South 4th Round.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS SETANTA SHIELD DRAW – St. Albans City have been drawn to play away from home against BSP side Havant & Waterlooville in the Setanta Shield South Fourth Round. The game will be played in December. The St. Albans manager said, ‘we are enjoying this competition and want to go as far as we can. We look forward, especially, to the challenge of Havant & Waterlooville as we would very much like to follow their footsteps into the Blue Square Premier. This will be a great challenge for my players to show their worth and to show me that they can do the business at this level’.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS FA TROPHY DRAW – The mighty Saints have been drawn at home to Bradford Park Avenue in the FA Trophy Third Qualifying Round. The game will be played later this month. The St. Albans manager said, ‘we want to progress in this competition. As I’ve said many times before, this is a terrific competition and always engenders a special atmosphere at non-League clubs up and down the country. We will be doing everything we can to ensure that we are in the hat for the next round’.

Bromley 2-2 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

I call in Sam Hurrell and new signing Jamie Brown in for this match so that I can give Johnny Banks and Shaun Johnson a rest on the bench this evening.

The last time we met Bromley was on the last day of last season and we needed to win to stand any chance of making the playoffs. Bromley ended up beating us to end our hopes and I want my revenge today. We’re a different team this season and we seem more resilient and difficult to beat on the road. I instruct my players to attack Bromley and tell them we can take the win today.

But we’re not at the races today. In fact, we look like we don’t even know that there are races on today. That’s how bad we are. We are 2-0 down after 20 minutes and Bromley are cruising here. Is the curse of Bromley beginning again?

As the half goes on, we begin to play better and better. Finally, we get a goal after new signing Jamie Brown nods the ball down for Nathan Jarman to run on to and he calmly finishes the job off. That’s 2 goals in the last 2 games for Nathan now and I start to wonder if we have finally found an in-form goalscorer for us this season.

It’s 2-1 to Bromley at the break and we need to comeback in the second-half. I am very positive in the dressing-room and, instead of getting angry, I tell the side that I think they can win it. It worked in the last game against Weymouth and I feel that it might work again today.

The second-half is really entertaining with end-to-end action. One minute we look like we’re going to equalise, the next minute it looks like Bromley are going to finish us off. But I am really delighted when, with 5 minutes left to play, youth product Shaun Johnson scores with a low drive to make it 2-2. It’s a thrilling end to a cracking game and we almost get a winner. I’m really pleased with the comeback and with the fact that we’ve ended up being the better side today. We could easily have won. This can be looked upon as an important point whereas last season we probably could have capitulated in the end. Progress has clearly been made.

Saints MoM: New signing Jamie Brown.

League pos: 3rd – 25 points from 14 games (2 points from Merthyr in 1st).

NEWSFLASH: EVERITT MOVES ON – Brentwood Town of the Isthmian League Division One North have signed Adam Everitt from St. Albans City. The St. Albans manager had this to say: ‘It was time for Adam to move on and he has welcomed the chance of a fresh start. With the emergence of youth academy player Brendan Skinner at fullback and the competition for places we have at the moment, Adam was not getting much first-team action. In addition to this, we needed to reduce the wage bill and so when Brentwood made an offer it was difficult to turn down. We wish Adam the best in the future’.

SAINTS 5-0 Bradford PA (FA Trophy 3rd Qual. Rnd)

Bradford PA are newly promoted to the BSN and seem to be finding life pretty comfortable in their new surroundings. They are currently sitting in a respectable mid-table position. I stick with the same team here and, as I have said before, this is because I want to progress in this excellent competition.

We make easy work of Bradford PA, with Shaun Johnson and Nathan Jarman looking increasingly like my best strike partnership at the moment. Indeed, it is Jarman who opens the scoring on 16 minutes. Kieran Hall then gets us a second on 22 minutes with a great finish.

Bradford PA rarely threaten us today and it is beginning to look like a routine win for us made all the more special by a second goal from Jarman. That’s a terrific brace from him today and he is beginning to look like the goalscorer that we’ve wanted all of this time.

Jack Pearson scores us a fourth from a corner to make it 4-0 but the humiliation isn’t over for Bradford PA just yet. Johnny Banks latches on to a cross and blasts the ball in the far corner of the net to make it an emphatic 5-0. It’s an absolute rout and my biggest win as St. Albans manager. This is terrific stuff and I tell the squad that they were sensational today.

Saints MoM: Nathan Jarman with his brace.

League pos: N/A – through to the FA Trophy 1st Round.

Worcester P-P SAINTS (Blue Square South) – Postponed due to Worcester needing a replay in their FA Trophy tie.

League pos: We fall to 4th place due to not playing today. We’re 5 points from 1st placed Merthyr with a game in hand.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS FA TROPHY DRAW – St. Albans City have been drawn to play Matlock Town at Clarence Park in the FA Trophy 1st Round. The manager said: ‘It’s a good draw for us, of course, seeing that we are at home again but we will have to be on our toes and not take anything for granted. We really want to keep going in this competition and we can’t be complacent against Matlock Town’.

Basingstoke 1-0 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

I don’t make any changes today and I hope that we can continue our great form of late. Basingstoke are a decent side this season and they have a few high profile loans at their club. I feel that this will certainly be a challenging game.

We start very poorly and find ourselves behind just before half-time and it is Scott Cousins’ fault as he misses an interception in the build up to the goal. We’re having plenty of possession but just not convincing in the final third.

Unfortunately, that’s the way it continues for the rest of the game. We play better in the second-half but we just can’t get back into it. We can’t be too disheartened today. Basingstoke are a very good team this season and have played the loan system really well. I can’t help but feel that they will be in and around the playoffs at the end of the season.

Saints MoM: James Waggett.

League pos: 6th – 25 points from 15 games (5 points from 1st placed Grays).

MANAGER JOURNAL:

Due to rearranged fixtures, we only play two league games this month and we can only manage to pick up 1 point. I admit that it isn’t a particularly good return but we were playing away from home against two good sides in Bromley and Basingstoke. The Bromley comeback was very good and we can be pleased to have got a draw. The Basingstoke game is a bit of an aberration really. Perhaps we were overconfident going into that game but we were also up against some quality loanees from higher divisions.

In the cups, we make terrific progress with the win against Weymouth and the emphatic result versus Bradford PA.

All in all, we’re doing well and I’m not too concerned about the away results in the league. You need to win at home and draw away to be in with a chance of challenging for promotion. Our home form is improving with each game and I have the feeling we will pick up the odd result on the road too. I’m staying positive and hoping to keep the players confident going into December.

My Saints Player of the Month: James Waggett – our keeper has had a busy month facing the likes of Weymouth and Basingstoke. The lad has done really well.

Other News: Grays are top of the league with Merthyr a close second. Local side Luton Town slip to 3rd in the BSP while our local rivals, Stevenage, remain in a comfortable position in League Two sitting 5 points from the drop zone.

Hampton & Richmond have made it to the FA Cup 3rd Round and are the lowest ranked team left in the competition. They will be delighted to have been drawn against Aston Villa at home. What a big day for their club. I’m very jealous.

DECEMBER 2009

December is always one of the hardest and most gruelling months of the season. We’ve got 5 league matches and 2 cup ties to get through.

At home in the league, we’ve got Team Bath, Braintree and Farnborough. I think all of these games are winnable and I am targeting full points.

Away from home, we face Worcester and Maidenhead. Given our recent poor form on the road, I am going for a target of 2 points from these games.

That makes a total target of 11 points from 5 games, which would be excellent.

We also have the small matter of a huge tie away to Havant & Waterlooville in the Setanta Shield. We’ve come pretty far in this competition and I’d like us to go further. We’ll give it all we’ve got. We also have a home game against Matlock to look forward to in the FA Trophy. Again, getting through that is very important to the club. We’ll certainly need to use the squad and rotate this month to keep players fit. This could be a crucial time for our league campaign particularly.

Havant & Waterlooville 2-1 SAINTS (Setanta Shield S 4th Rnd)

We’ve only had two days rest between games and so I have to rotate and bring in some fresh legs today. Hassan Sulaiman comes in for Lewis Hamlin and Ian Snodin replaces Kieran Hall. New signing Jamie Brown starts up front in place of our youth product Shaun Johnson. Havant & Waterlooville were promoted to the BSP last year and are sitting in a decent mid-table position in their first season in the division. Thus, today represents another chance to test ourselves against a Blue Square Premier club and I wish our lads luck.

Somehow, we find ourselves 1-0 up after just 8 minutes with an unlikely goal. The ball comes out to Ian Snodin who drives forward, picks his spot and places his shot past the ‘keeper. We play the better football and although Havant & W make a few chances of their own, we’re the superior side. At half-time, we’re 1-0 up and I feel we just need another to seal a victory. I encourage the players and then send them out for the second-half.

Disaster strikes immediately as Havant & W break our defensive line far too easily. They have the ball in the back of the net but I am relieved to find that it is ruled out for offside. It is a warning for us. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to take any notice of it and Havant & W manage to get back into the game. It’s soon 2-1, after some woeful defending from Ben Martin and I am absolutely livid that we have thrown our lead away.

We push forward but can’t get back into this one and I can’t help but feel that we’ve been robbed today. We’ve matched them in every way and probably should have won the game. We’re out of another cup but I suppose at least we can be proud of this performance.

Saints MoM: Ian Snodin.

League Pos: N/A – Knocked out of the Setanta Shield.

SAINTS 2-2 Team Bath (Blue Square South)

After our disappointment in the Setanta Shield, it’s time to concentrate on the league again. We’ve been faltering a little bit lately and we need to record a win here to get ourselves heading in the right direction again. We setup fairly cautiously against Team Bath as they are an attacking side and I know they can hurt us. We also need to get some confidence back in the team and so I’m looking for efficient and effective today rather than aesthetic and attacking play. It’s back to my strongest team for this afternoon’s game.

We start the game poorly but take the lead against the run of play. Nathan Jarman pops up and scores a goal that shows all of his qualities as a striker. It’s 1-0 to us but we don’t look at all convincing.

Our unconvincing performance continues into the second-half and in the 62nd minute we, quite unbelievably end up 2-0 leaders. This is thanks to a goal from our young local lad Shaun Johnson. We’re winning this match somehow despite Team Bath’s dominance. A couple of minutes later, we are nearly 3-0 up. Lewis Hamlin gets tripped in the box then steps up to take the penalty. Unfortunately, he fires wide. Then, shortly after that, Team Bath finally get the goal that their dominance has deserved and it is 2-1. We’ve been pegged back and I now feel that our lead is a rather fragile one. It’s now end to end stuff and I’m not sure I can take much more of it. This really is one of the most bizarre games of football I’ve seen in a while. Team Bath eventually equalise through an own goal by Scott Cousins and I am absolutely livid with my team.

At the end of the game, I’m disappointed with my players. However, Team Bath have an excellent side at the moment and this isn’t such a bad result. We do need to start pulling it together at home a bit better though.

Saints MoM: James Waggett.

League Pos: 7th – 26 points from 16 games.

NEWSFLASH: FLACK JOINS SAINTS – MK Dons defender, Daniel Flack, has jointed St. Albans City on loan for 1 month. The St. Albans manager indicated that he wanted to bring in a defender on a short-term loan to cover for Jack Pearson’s suspension.

Worcester 3-2 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

As far as I am concerned, this is a winnable game. Worcester are playing poorly this season and quite a number of players left St. Georges Lane over the summer. They aren’t the side they once were.

The game starts well enough and we take the lead when Kieran Hall plays Lewis Hamlin in and he scores will great finesse. Worcester are quickly level though and our hard work in getting the lead has come undone thanks to an own goal from Jefferson Gowland.

Five minutes later, Johnny Banks scores an absolutely sensational goal, with a meandering run from midfield all the way into the area where he fires confidently past the goalkeeper. However, once again our lead doesn’t last long and Worcester quickly find an equaliser. Worcester then find themselves 3-2 up totally against the run of play and we look totally rattled. How have we managed to throw away two leads this afternoon?

I’m at a total loss to explain how we fail to pick up some points here. We make all the chances, have all the possession and yet fail to do the basic thing of putting the ball in the back of the net. It’s a freak result. I just can’t understand where we are going wrong at the moment. One thing is for sure, we are conceding too many goals and that has to change.

Saints MoM: Johnny Banks

League Pos: 7th – 26 points from 17 games.

MANAGER JOURNAL ENTRY: We now haven’t won for 4 games in the league and I am starting to get a bit worried. Our start was pretty decent this season but we have fallen away. Luckily for us, there are no clubs pulling away at the top of the table this season. Chelmsford have just taken the top spot though and look like they are finally coming on to some good form. Grays aren’t far behind them either. Looking back at last season, we have exactly the same record after 17 games. I wanted to make progress this season and at the moment we appear to be in stasis. We have seen a minor improvement on the road but our home form has gone downhill.

I start to analyse our last few games because things have clearly gone wrong somewhere. I feel that our tactical system is pretty solid but I’m concerned that I am instructing my players to do things that they are not technically able to do. I think we need to go longer with the passing, especially at the back, and try to play a more direct game. I will immediately go about making these changes for our next few games and look for improvement in terms of performances and results.

SAINTS 4-0 Matlock (FA Trophy 1st Rnd)

With our form faltering at the moment, I see this as an ideal opportunity to get back on track. We’re strong favourites to beat Matlock Town, as you would expect when a BSS side meets a Northern Premier League team. I make an enormous amount of changes mostly due to player fatigue. I also want a reaction from some of the squad players today to see if they might fit into my plans for improving our performance in the league this season.

Initially, I think we go too attacking today and I quickly instruct the players to sit a little deeper and play slightly more cautiously. There is an immediate improvement and we quickly find ourselves 1-0 up thanks to a series of great passes with Scott Cousins, having wandered forward from the fullback position, finishing things off. Shortly afterwards, we go 2-0 up after Gary Cohen scores. Then literally minutes later it becomes almost embarrassing for Matlock as they concede a penalty. Scott Cousins steps up to score his second of the match.

In the second-half, we look complacent and I’m disappointed by the attitude of the players. However, one player who doesn’t disappoint is young striker Shaun Johnson, who scores a wonder goal to make it 4-0.

Overall, we do the business today without ever really excelling. At least we are through to the next round. I’m still looking for improvement from this squad though.

Saints MoM: Scott Cousins.

League Pos: N/A – through to FA Trophy 2nd Rnd.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS DRAW IN FA TROPHY – The mighty Saints have been drawn to play Torquay United away from home in the FA Trophy 2nd Rnd. The City manager said, ‘it’s always great for our lads to test themselves against professional BSP quality players. We look forward to this match, which should be a great occasion and we hope we can put in a performance to be proud of’.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS BRING IN NEW LOAN PLAYER – St. Albans City have signed up Michael Galloway on loan until the end of the season. The 16-year-old fullback moves less than 10 miles down the road from his contracted club Watford. The St. Albans City manager had this to say: ‘We were looking at adding to the squad to bring someone in and shake things up a little bit. We enquired at the local clubs in the area regarding potential loan players and made an offer at Watford for Michael Galloway. We have a good relationship with Watford, often having played pre-season friendlies against them, and we are delighted to bring in Michael and aid in his development. Hopefully he will help us in our mission to finish in a playoff position this season’. It is thought that Galloway will not be fit enough to start against Braintree this weekend.

SAINTS 2-0 Braintree (Blue Square South)

It’s back to my strongest side today to take on mid-table Braintree Town. A win here would go some way to increasing my confidence in the side who, of late, have been profligate in attack, languid in defence and lacklustre in midfield. There has been some poor performances this month and we didn’t even look convincing in our 4-0 win over Matlock Town. Today, I feel, things must change.

The lads show immediate improvement today with Kieran Hall, Stuart Johnson and, finally, Nathan Jarman providing some great interplay before the latter puts us ahead. This is after just 5 minutes.

We look like a really good side today and I feel that our more direct passing style is paying dividends and creating more opportunities for our forwards. The good thing is that we don’t appear to be giving up too much possession. It seems that we have made a good compromise between directness and possession football. In truth, we’re excellent today and before the half is out, Kieran Hall has scored a stunning goal from long-range to make it 2-0.

All in all, it’s a terrific performance today and, although we don’t manage to extend our lead in the second-half, we’re in total control and well worth the win.

I feel as though we have reached a turning point in our season and that we can go on a little run now. Haven’t we been here before though?

Saints MoM: Nathan Jarman.

League Pos: 5th – 29 points from 18 games.

Maidenhead 0-0 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

I believe that today’s game will show us how far we have come. It’s the big Boxing Day fixture and all I want is a win today and three points as a belated Christmas present. The side are looking fit and raring to go today. It’s my strongest team and it is a big challenge for them today. Maidenhead United are a decent team but they aren’t having a good season and I want my lads to record a win today.

It is a solid if unspectacular first-half performance. I feel the fans must be pretty bored by a dire game with both sides creating little but I’m happy to get in at half-time still level. I think our performance has been decent enough to make a real go at winning this match in the second period.

In the second-half, we start to carve out chances and we’re really unlucky not to end up with a win today. It’s a 100% improvement on our recent efforts on the road and our best result away since our draw with Bromley at the beginning of November. It’s also the first clean sheet away from home since the middle of August. I think this is real progress and, despite the fact that we haven’t exactly thrilled the fans at Christmas time, I’m pleased with the performance.

Saints MoM: Johnny Banks.

League Pos: 6th – 30 points from 19 games (1 point from 6th place).

(N.B. we are only 1 point better off than we were this time last year).

SAINTS 2-0 Farnborough (Blue Square South)

Newly-promoted Farnborough are one place ahead of us in the table and lead us by a point going into this game. They have had a terrific start to their campaign and are looking like a difficult team to beat. We have met them once before during my time at the Saints, when we recorded a narrow win over them in the Setanta Shield last season. I want a more convincing win today. It’s also important for us to continue getting better at home as we have not been good enough at Clarence Park so far.

Our first goal this afternoon takes a long time to come. It’s a goalless first-half in which we absolutely dominate and look like scoring a hatful. It takes us right until the last quarter of an hour to take the lead. It’s substitute Jamie Brown who scores a belter for us. We quickly follow it up with a second from Nathan Jarman who finally seems to have found his scoring boots.

It’s a terrific performance today, plenty of chances for us and lots of possession. All in all, we thoroughly deserve the 3 points.

Saints MoM: Nathan Jarman.

League Pos: 5th – 33 points from 20 games (7 points from 1st placed Grays).

MANAGER JOURNAL

It’s been a funny old month really with not much festive cheer in the first half of it but plenty during and after Christmas.

We started off poorly with a draw and a defeat in the league. We also got ourselves knocked out of the Setanta Shield. Then we had a bit of a reorganise that seems to have made a difference. We’ve ended up with a terrific four clean sheets in a row, made progress in the FA Trophy and managed to go on a three game unbeaten run.

In terms of my monthly targets, we’ve not managed my ambitious objectives. In the end, we’re 2 points sure with 7 out of a possible 9 points at home. Away from home, we’ve been pretty dismal, with just the 1 point to show.

However, I’m not too disappointed as I feel we have turned things around at the end of the month. We’ve had a nice little run and four clean sheets in a row means that I am feeling calm and philosophical. We’re sitting in a playoff spot at the end of December and I want us establish ourselves in the playoff positions next month.

My Saints Player of the Month: Scott Cousins – our ever reliable fullback has had a decent month and even managed to get on the score sheet with a brace against Matlock Town in the FA Trophy.

Other News: Grays are top of the league with Dorchester a close second. Chelmsford are also closing in.

Local side Luton Town have fallen away to 5th in the BSP while our local rivals, Stevenage, are now enjoying life in League Two and are a comfortable 8 points from the drop zone.

Chelsea are top of the Premier League going into the New Year with Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool predictably making up the top four. West Brom, Coventry and QPR are all in the drop zone.  

JANUARY 2010

The New Year doesn’t provide any respite whatsoever and we have a busy looking fixture list with 7 games to play in all.

Away we have Maidstone, Welling, Thurrock and Bath. Some tough games there, especially against the latter three. Welling and Bath will be challenging for the playoffs this season and Thurrock are having a good year and are also our bogey team. I want 4 points from these games.

At Clarence Park, we have Chelmsford and Weston-super-Mare to play. It’s a tough month with so many games on the road and our home games don’t look like they will offer us any relief. Chelmsford are an excellent side, currently sitting in 3rd place. Weston-super-Mare have beaten us already this season and are another bogey side for us. Still, I want full points from these two games. It is imperative that we keep up our drive for promotion this season. It’s a total target of 10 points from 6 games. This would be a very good return considering the difficulties we face this month.

We also have a FA Trophy tie against Torquay which is going to be extremely tough. They are a professional former football league outfit and we will need to put everything into this game in order to stand a chance.

We have good memories about this month from last year as we played really well but tailed off towards the end. January is always tough month and a real test of the depth of the squad. We will have to rotate carefully to ensure we keep the players fresh and in good condition. This will be the key month in our season.

Maidstone 1-1 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

Maidstone have been taken over since they’ve been promoted to the league. It’s common knowledge that they are now rich. They haven’t spent a lot of money though and they aren’t doing too well this season. I think we can take the points today.

Things start really badly for us and we find ourselves behind after only 4 minutes. We’re back on top of things quickly though and look like we’ll score any minute. Finally, after half an hour, our on form striker Nathan Jarman puts us level.

We’re the better side today on a windy day at Bourne Park and we should really get a winner. However, life is made difficult for us when our holding midfielder Andy Ritchie goes off with an injury. We’ve made all of our substitutions and we’re stuck with 10 men. Johnny Banks slots into a central midfield role and manages to do ok. We keep the ball down the right flank, where we still have a wide player, and manage to keep going for around 25 minutes. Still we look like the better side but a winner won’t come. It’s particularly telling that their ‘keeper wins the MoM this afternoon for an outstanding display that earned Maidstone their point.

Overall, it’s a decent draw and I’m pleased that we are finally picking up points on the road even if it is just one at a time. I’m pleased with the performance and I tell the lads that it is a job well done today. A useful point keeps us on this little unbeaten run.

Saints MoM: Brendan Skinner.

League pos: 5th – 34 points from 21 games (7 points from 1st placed Dorchester).

NEWSFLASH: RITCHIE OUT – Saints midfielder Andy Ritchie has been ruled out for up to five months with a torn calf muscle, which occurred during the game against Maidstone at the weekend. The young midfielder will be very disappointed to be injured after having recently made the step up to the first team. The Saints manager said, ‘Andy will be gutted about this as the young lad was starting to establish a place in the team as a holding midfielder supporting our more attacking midfielder Kieran Hall. He has been playing well this season and so it is disappointing for us to lose him. We will be doing everything we can to aid his recovery and we hope to see him back in a yellow and blue shirt soon’.

NEWSFLASH: FLACK RETURNS TO MK – Defender, Daniel Flack, has returned to MK Dons after his loan deal at St. Albans City ended. The St. Albans manager said, ‘we wanted to bring in Flack for a short-term loan due to injuries and he has been a useful addition to the team during the last month. We wish him the best at MK Dons in the future’.

Torquay 2-3 SAINTS (FA Trophy 2nd Rnd)

The not so mighty Saints are available at a huge 10/1 today, which gives you some idea about the task we are facing. Torquay are promotion contenders in the Blue Square Premier and at least half of their squad could walk into our first eleven. The match is being billed as ‘Saints face the impossible’ and so I am feeling somewhat circumspect today. For us to stand a chance I will have to make some perfect decisions this afternoon and the players will have to excel in every area of the field.

The injured Andy Richie is replaced by Jefferson Gowland. Captain Ben Martin is suspended, which makes our job all the more difficult. I regret having let Flack’s loan deal end now, however we do have Ryan Frater to come in to the starting eleven and I hope that he will be up for this challenge. Due to an injury to super sub Sam Hurrell, I name a left-sided youth player called Michael Smith on the bench for this match. What a game this would be for him to potentially make his debut in.

There is a name in the Torquay line-up which fills me with nostalgia. Robbie Fowler is lining up for the Gulls today and has recently dropped down to non-League to continue playing the game he loves. Excuse me if I get a little bit star struck. As a child I was a Liverpool fan and Robbie Fowler was one of my absolute favourite players. I even met him once, as a teenager, in Liverpool. Robbie has clearly still got it despite not having the fitness to play at a higher level anymore. I think of our young lads like Brendan Skinner and Shaun Johnson up against him today. What a fantastic experience for them.

I set up with quite an attacking tactic today as I want to really have a go at Torquay early on. I tell the players that they have nothing to lose and that there is no pressure on them. Come on you Saints!

It’s a really close first-half and I’m so impressed with my players. We are really unlucky to find ourselves a goal down after 20 minutes and, despite this, I see a really good performance so far. Nathan Jarman hits the post before the half is out and we have some really good chances to equalise. We’re probably the better side but we need to score.

At half-time, with us 1-0 down despite a good display, I sympathise with the team. I feel we should be at least level and I feel that a bit of support is the best way to get the best out of them in the second-half.

Youngster Brendan Skinner has had to come off with an injury and another youngster has replaced him in debutant Michael Smith. It is much earlier than I would have liked to have used him in this match. We also have to bring another youth academy product Shaun Johnson off due to him having received a knock. Jamie Brown comes on for him. With us having made two subs already, I feel that player condition and tiredness may count against us in the second-half against this team of full-timers.

The second-half starts at a frenetic pace and we have the better of the opening exchanges. When Johnny Banks is tripped on the edge of the box on 54 minutes, I feel we have made a bit of a breakthrough and I realise we must score the resultant penalty. Fortunately, Lewis Hamlin takes the penalty confidently and we find ourselves level.

Six minutes later, I am extremely animated and excited to see Nathan Jarman score an absolute wonder goal. He picks up the ball breaking the defensive line and then fires an unlikely long-range effort past the Torquay ‘keeper. Suddenly, we have an unexpected lead here. Whatever I said at half-time has clearly motivated the players. 2-1 to the mighty Saints!

But Torquay are looking dangerous and they crack a shot against the bar a few mins later. It’s a warning sign. Robbie Fowler soon has the ball in the back of the net for them as he scores from close range to make it 2-2. This is turning out to be quite some game.

Five minutes later, substitute Jamie Brown ends up as a hero for us. He breaks through the opposition defensive line on the left-side, runs with the ball tentatively and then drives it with power into top corner. It’s a sensational goal with echoes of that fourth England goal in the 1966 World Cup Final.

For us, the game is far from over but Torquay look tired and I feel we can go on to win from here. Nevertheless, it is a ‘backs to the wall’ job for the next 15 mins as we defend resolutely in the face of a great deal of pressure from the BSP side.

When the final whistle goes, it’s an incredible relief. What an epic encounter and an astonishing 3-2 victory for the mighty Saints!

Perhaps the drizzle and the poor conditions had contributed to our win to a certain extent this afternoon and it had also made this an entertaining game. But, at the end of the day, to use that ubiquitous football cliché, we dominated and outplayed Torquay, with 57% possession. Our lads had risen to the occasion in front of a crowd of 1,020. We had been outstanding and we deserve to go into the last 16.

Saints MoM: Johnny Banks.

League pos: N/A – Through to FA Trophy Third Round (last 16).

Welling 1-0 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

Captain Ben Martin returns to the centre of defence. Lewis Hamlin, scorer of the penalty against Torquay, is rested, with Hassan Sulaiman coming in on the right. I want to keep up our momentum in the league and so I aim to attack Welling from the off. I expect big things here after our cup heroics. We want to give Welling’s Charlie Sheringham, son of Teddy, a difficult time this afternoon and so I instruct my players to go in hard on him.

It’s not Sheringham, but his strike partner, who puts Welling into a 1-0 lead. It’s a drab first half with very little excitement. We have slightly more of the ball and two good chances, both of which are missed. I’m not sure what to say to the players at half-time. That is, whether to be supportive or whether to indicate my disappointment and demand more. As the performance has not been too bad, I decide to sympathise with them, as well as reproaching those who are not performing well enough.

I regret to say that things did not improve in the second-half. Our strikers were profligate today with Nathan Jarman the most wasteful of them all.

The nature of defeat today was not as terrible as the narrowness of the result. It really could have gone either way and we will feel that we at least deserved a point. Our cup heroics have well and truly faded into the background after this loss. This sees a run of 6 games unbeaten in all competitions come to an unhappy end.

Saints MoM: Captain Ben Martin.

League pos: 5th – 34 points from 22 games.

SAINTS 2-0 Chelmsford (Blue Square South)

It is important for us to get back to winning ways and this game takes on extra importance seeing as they are sitting in 2nd place now with 7 points more than us. I want a win at Clarence Park today to reduce this gap. However, they have a side with some real quality.

We’re undergoing a minor injury crisis at present, with 5 players out of this game. We also have a number of players who are looking tired after the Welling game. Chris Seeby and youth academy player Michael Smith start at fullback. Lee Clarke comes into midfield with James Quilter. Jamie Brown replaces a tired looking Shaun Johnson up front. Chelmsford are favourites today but I aim to attack them from the off on our home ground.

We go 1-0 up early on thanks to a through ball by our usually perennial substitute James Quilter, which Jamie Brown makes perfect use of as he drives a shot past the stranded Chelmsford ‘keeper.

We soon double our lead thanks to a defensive mistake by Chelmsford that lets in Nathan Jarman, who comfortably finishes from close-range.

It’s a quiet second-half but we’re calmly and quietly in control of this match, so much so that Chelmsford fail to get a single shot on target this afternoon.

Our home form is now the second best in the league behind, funnily enough, Chelmsford. We just need to start pulling off more results away from home. Same old story as last season but I hope we can change it.

Saints MoM: Chris Seeby.

League pos: 5th – 37 points from 23 games.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS DRAW IN THE TROPHY LAST SIXTEEN – St. Albans City have been drawn to play Accrington Stanley at Clarence Park in the English FA Trophy Third Round. The St. Albans manager said that he was delighted to get a home draw against the former League Two side. The tie will take place at the end of January.

Thurrock 2-1 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

Although we have some minor injury worries at the moment, we’re looking pretty strong and I feel that we have to get something from this game against Thurrock. They are one of our bogey sides, always a potential banana skin for us, and we have already dropped points to them this season. Today, I was in no mood for a repeat performance or result.

It is to my deep regret that I find us, once again, surrendering to the curse of Thurrock. They are 2-0 within 20 minutes and we’re a no show today. I can’t work it out.

At half-time, I am livid with the team and they return to the field and up their game in the second period. Lewis Hamlin pulls one back for us on 75 minutes but it’s too little, too late. We’ve thrown this one away, much to my complete and utter frustration.

There was a feeling of complacency about the side today and I think perhaps I have failed to motivate the team. The other issue I have after today’s game is that both of Thurrock’s goals have come from counter-attacks, i.e. quick breaks that have taken advantage of our poor organisation at the back. I have been trying, rather optimistically, to get the side to play with an offside trap, and I think it has failed miserably today. I think perhaps we don’t have the right quality players to employ this kind of system. The lads at the back don’t have the kind of mental stats required and aren’t making the right decisions and anticipating the opposition attacks. Thus, I feel that I need to do some tactical tinkering before our next game.

Today’s result and performance were poor against our bogey side. We must improve and start to grind out results away from home if we want to have any chance of promotion this season.

Saints MoM: Lewis Hamlin.

League pos: 5th – 37 points from 24 games.

SAINTS 2-1 Weston-super-Mare (Blue Square South)

Weston-super-Mare are our other bogey side in this division and they took all three points when we played them away earlier in the year. I never look forward to playing them and I realise that we must work hard to banish this poor run of form against so-called ‘lesser’ sides.

Our injury situation means that young academy player Michael Smith gets a start on the left side of midfield today. Ryan Frater comes into central defence as I decide to rest captain Ben Martin. Lee Clarke comes into midfield for Kieran Hall for the same reasons. In addition to these changes, Shaun Johnson is rested and Jamie Brown comes in to replace him. It’s quite a few changes but it seems necessary this evening to rotate the team and keep the side fresh.

We start well and go ahead after about 9 minutes thanks to a Scott Cousins corner that is headed in by Jack Pearson. So far, so good and we get to half-time still 1-0 up. I encourage the players to go and get a second.

However, the goal doesn’t look like coming in the second-half. Then the curse of Weston-super-Mare strikes us as they score in the 67th minute. I’m left asking myself, why can’t we beat this team?

We finally rescue the victory in the third minute of injury time thanks to Johnny Banks. It really shouldn’t have been this close but at least we have got there in the end. Our performance deserved much more today but at least we limped over the winning line in the end. This is a vital 3 points for our playoff hopes. I warn the side against complacency.

Saints MoM: Jack Pearson.

League pos: 6th – 40 points from 25 games.

Bath P-P SAINTS (Blue Square South) – match postponed due to our progress in the FA Trophy.

League pos: We remain in 6th.

SAINTS 2-1 Accrington Stanley (FA Trophy 3rd Round)

It’s part-time Saints versus BSP league leaders Accrington Stanley. We couldn’t possibly pull off another upset, could we? A quick look through their squad shows that their whole first eleven could walk into our team. I’m not feeling too positive. Nevertheless, it’s back to my strongest eleven today and I am looking for a good performance at Clarence Park this afternoon. I wish the side luck, believing that we are facing our most difficult test of the season so far.

Things start off incredibly well for us as, about 7 minutes in, Johnny Banks plays in Shaun Johnson from the left. The young striker runs onto the ball and calmly finishes past the oncoming ‘keeper. 1-0 to the mighty Saints!

However, just before half-time Accrington get back into the game with a goal that make us look like a totally inferior side. It’s 1-1 at the break and all to play for.

At the break, I feel as though the tide has turned and that we will be very lucky to get anything out of this game. I optimistically tell the players they just need another goal to win it.

Our life looks like it might be made easier though when Accrington have a man sent off about 15 minutes into the second-half. I resist the temptation to go really wide and attacking because I feel that they are still a huge threat, even one man down. However, with 10 minutes left, I decide that this might be the best opportunity we have of getting through and so I ask the players to switch to our most attacking system. Unbelievably, with only 3 minutes left, Scott Cousins swings a corner in and Ben Martin runs across the ‘keeper and it’s in! At first, I can’t see what has happened. It looks to me as though Martin has got a touch but it seems that what has actually happened is that Cousins has scored directly from the corner, probably wind assisted. It’s a freak goal but I don’t care how they go in at the moment! We’re in the lead and there is no time for Accrington to threaten our goal! Again, we had played in the gale and rain and that had probably helped us but the truth is we had played some good stuff today and been the better side. We equalled them in attack and outdid them in defence. A wonderful victory and our cup run goes on!

Saints MoM: Scott Cousins.

League pos: N/A – Through to the 4th Round (last 8).

MANAGER JOURNAL

Well this has been a rather long and eventful month. I wanted to average a point a game away from home this month and we haven’t managed that. In fact, our form on the road has gone from bad to worse and we’ve had to suffer defeats to Welling and Thurrock. At home, things have got better and better though. I wanted full points in the league and we did it. However, due to our away form, we’ve picked up only 7 points from 5 games, which is not promotion form.

We have far more to shout about in the cups though. Not only did we win away at Torquay in the FA Trophy, we then followed it up with an unlikely result against Accrington Stanley. Two incredible victories see us into the last 8 of the FA Trophy and it has been a great cup run for the club.

Next month, we must continue to make progress in earnest and I am determined that our away form must improve. Hopefully, some new tactical instructions for the team will help us in this quest.

Points tally compared to last season: We have exactly the same points as at this stage last season, i.e. 40 from 25 games. This is rather disappointing as it shows that we have made no progress at all in the league.

My Saints Player of the Month: Scott Cousins – it’s been a really solid month for our ever reliable attacking fullback.

Other News: Grays are top of the league with Dorchester still a close second. Chelmsford are third but are some way behind the top two.

Local side Luton Town are still in 5th place in the BSP. Meanwhile our local rivals, Stevenage, are in a safe mid-table position and should easily stay in League Two.

Chelsea are top of the Premier League, with Man Utd, Arsenal and Aston Villa making up the top four. West Brom, Coventry and QPR are still all in the drop zone.

In the FA Cup, Hampton & Richmond put in an excellent display against Aston Villa in the 3rd Round and narrowly lose 2-0.

FEBRUARY 2010

I have decided that February is going to be a lucky month for us. I don’t know quite what I am basing this on but I am determined that the side will improve in the league. It will be an arduous and challenging month though as we have three games away from home. We play Newport County, Bath and this season’s surprise package Merthyr. I want a minimum of a point a game away from home, so I target 3 points. At home, we will have Hampton & Richmond and Eastbourne Boro. They are both mid-table sides and therefore I want wins in both of these games. It’s a target of 9 points from 5 games, which would go some way to keeping us in and around the playoffs.

We also have our FA Trophy game to look forward to this month. It’s going to be one of the most exciting days for the club under my management. I hope that we can give the fans something to cheer about by putting on a great performance in that game.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS DRAW IN TROPHY 4th ROUND – St. Albans City have been drawn to play fellow BSS side Grays Athletic in the 4th round of the FA Trophy. The match will take place at Clarence Park in the middle of February. The Saints manager had this to say, ‘Well, it’s a good draw from our point of view. No disrespect to Grays but we have beaten them already at home this season and it gives us a real chance of getting to the semi-finals. It’s going to be a tough game but we’ll give it everything we’ve got’.

SAINTS 4-1 Hampton & Richmond (Blue Square South)

I’m starting to get a little frustrated with Nathan Jarman lately and so are the fans. His performances haven’t been good enough so I’m looking for a big improvement from him today. Other than that, I’m feeling confident today for this match against mid-table Hampton & Richmond. I tell Jarman that I expect a performance today.

We fall behind to an early goal but never look in major trouble and when Jarman goes one-on-one with the ‘keeper I hope that this will be the start of him coming back to form. Thankfully, our top scorer this season slots the ball away nicely and we’re all level. On the half an hour mark, things get even better when Scotty Cousins, not content with having won my player of the month award for January scores a belter with his left foot to put himself firmly in consideration for February as well.

Nathan Jarman wonderfully puts us three up shortly afterwards with a typical cool finish to get his brace. Then, believe it or not, we manage to get the score to 4-1 just before half-time thanks to a header from a corner by Ben Martin. We couldn’t have wished for a better half of football. I’m full of praise for the side at half-time.

In truth, we’re in cruise control in the second-half and, although we don’t score again, we look very comfortable and never under threat from the opposition. I’m delighted with the result and especially pleased with the reaction from Nathan Jarman. This is a great start to the month.

Saints MoM: Nathan Jarman (with a brace).

League pos: 4th – 43 points from 26 games.

NEWSFLASH: TROMANS IN TRAINING AGAIN – Saints fans everywhere will be delighted to hear that their young prodigy, Charlie Tromans, is back in light training and will be back in full training in 4 weeks. The City manager said, ‘we’re delighted to see Charlie back but we’ll be sure to take things slowly. When he is back in a yellow and blue shirt, we will be ever so pleased, because he was in excellent form for us early in the season. It’ll be like having a new signing at the club’.

Newport Co 1-1 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

Here is the real challenge then. Since the loss at Thurrock, we’ve turned it around with 3 straight wins in all competitions. None of those games have been on the road though and today is our first away game since the disappointment against Thurrock. It’s an opportunity for my players to prove themselves to me and also for me to test my new tactical instructions on the road.

The game looks fairly even in the first 45 minutes but we still fall behind just before half-time. It’s a devastating blow and in the dressing-room during the break I demand more from the players.

The second-half sees us improve without getting the goal we need. Captain Ben Martin makes things even more difficult for us when he kicks out at an opposition defender and gets himself sent off. We sacrifice a winger to bring on a defender and focus the ball down the right through Hassan Sulaiman. The sending off seems somehow to galvanise the team and when Nathan Jarman is tripped in the box, we get a penalty. Jarman himself converts and we’re back in it.

We might even have got a winner today but I was satisfied by the point. It shows that we have improved and we can be pleased with the performance today. The only real disappointment is the sending off of our captain, who will get a fine from his manager after the game.

Saints MoM: Michael Galloway (our fullback on loan from Watford).

League pos: 6th – 44 points from 27 games.

Bath 0-2 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

It’s another challenge for us away from home. Bath are struggling this season and so I feel we have a chance in this one. I will aim to attack from the off and tell the players that they can win this game.

Youngster Brendan Skinner is back from injury and comes in at left-back. The other major team news is that Ryan Frater comes in for the suspended Ben Martin.

I’m thrilled to see us take the lead in this match after about 15 minutes. Nathan Jarman makes a great run and then plays the ball across the goal mouth. Shaun Johnson runs to the back post and manages to nudge the ball home and we’re 1-0 up, much to the delight of our ever faithful travelling support.

We double our lead on the half-hour mark thanks to Nathan Jarman, who times his run to perfection, dummies the ‘keeper and then finds a gap to fire the ball into the net.

At half-time, I’m disappointed to learn that both of our centre-backs have picked up knocks and will have to come off. As a result of this, we are forced to bring defensive midfielder James Quilter and fullback Michael Galloway into the centre-back positions. We have no recognised central defenders on the pitch and I have plenty of concerns about the second-half.

Bath put a great deal of pressure on us in the second-half and, despite our difficulties with injuries to both of our centre-backs, we perform admirably and hold on to our lead. It’s our first away win in the league since September! It’s been a long time coming and I couldn’t be more delighted with this resolute and tenacious display. At last, the travelling Saints fans have something to cheer about. A great display and, dare I suggest it yet again, a corner turned?

Saints MoM: Brendan Skinner .

League pos: 6th - 47 points from 28 games.

SAINTS 1-1 Grays (FA Trophy 4th Round)

Well, this is a huge game for both clubs. Only one of us can make the semi-finals of the FA Trophy. We have been excellent at home all season and I have my hopes that we can continue that trend today with a big victory for our club. However, we are slight underdogs for this game and we will have to put in a high quality performance to have any chance of success.

We come into this game with a major injury crisis at the back. Jack Pearson is out with an injury and captain Ben Martin is out with his suspension. In their place, we will play Ryan Frater and fringe player Michael McLeary. With Johnny Banks looking tired, we also bring in youngster Michael Smith for this huge tie.

With our defensive frailty, I feel like we will concede today and this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when we go 1-0 down after half-an-hour.

The youngster Michael Smith looks nervous the whole game and eventually he has to come off. We’re on top in this match but struggling to find the goal. Eventually, Nathan Jarman runs through and scores a terrific finish for us to keep us in the tie. However, we can’t do anything more than that today. We suffer an injury to Hassan Sulaiman and the whole side looks tired despite rotation. We’re fortunate, in the end, to take this to a replay. This was not how it was supposed to be.

Saints MoM: Michael Galloway.

League pos: N/A – we now play against Grays in a FA Trophy 4th Round replay.

SAINTS P-P Eastbourne Boro (Blue Square South) – postponed until March due to our replay in the FA Trophy

Grays 1-0 SAINTS (FA Trophy 4th Round Replay)

The fans are pessimistic tonight as we go to the Recreation Ground in search of a win to take us through to the semi-finals. Grays are second in the BSS with a game in hand on the top team. They are firm favourites for this cup tie. They have an excellent side and I feel slightly pessimistic myself going into this evening’s game.

First choice centre-backs, Jack Pearson and Ben Martin, are still out. Ryan Frater and Michael McLeary come in to the side. The defence is an area I would like to add more depth to in the future. The current situation has left us with a weakened back four.

The other major team news is that Lewis Hamlin comes in for the injured Hassan Sulaiman and Johnny Banks is fit enough to start again tonight. Paul Hakim, who has been out of the first team for some time, is on the bench for this match. I wish the lads luck today in this absolutely huge match.

Some poor, absolutely woeful defending let’s Grays in for their first goal. Michael McLeary is clearly at fault and he spends so long deciding what to do that, in the end, he just does nothing but watch the opposition score.

All in all, this is an awful first-half performance and we ought to be dead and buried really. It was always going to be a big ask for us to go out and win this evening, but I thought we’d give it more of a go than this. We’re fading and quickly so I tell the side that I want to see more from them in the second-half.

We improve 100% in the second 45 minutes but it didn’t take much for that to happen. To be absolutely honest, we never looked like winning, or even drawing, this game. It’s a poor performance and I’m disappointed with the lack of efforts on goal. In the end, we limp out of this competition when I felt we had the potential to go to another round at least. I guess we can say that we enjoyed our run while it lasted. This still hurts though and I am left extremely disappointed. However, we have been beaten by a superior side and can have no complaints after we failed to win the home tie.

Saints MoM: Michael McLeary.

League pos: N/A – out of the FA Trophy at the 4th Round.

Merthyr 1-0 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

This takes on added significance today as we have drifted further away from the playoffs after our cup run. Merthyr are in 3rd spot and they look like they have a really good side. This league is looking very competitive this season and I feel that we may need to strengthen to really be able to make a challenge. It is up to us today to bounce back from our disappointment in the cup and to concentrate firmly on getting ourselves a playoff spot now.

Captain Ben Martin is back from his suspension. Jack Pearson is still out with his injury so Ryan Frater partners Martin at the back. Due to tiredness and injuries, Paul Hakim, Lee Clarke and Jamie Brown all get starts today.

It’s another disappointing performance to us today and we eventually capitulate on the 75minute to a Merthyr goal.

Although this is our first league defeat in five games, I’m beginning to feel that some of our squad just aren’t up to it. We don’t look strong enough at the back and certain squad players aren’t looking strong enough to come into the first team as far as I am concerned. All in all, a disappointing end to February.

Saints MoM: Captain Ben Martin.

League pos: 6th - 47 points from 29 games.

MANAGER JOURNAL

Well, we ended up with 7 points from 4 games in the league, which isn’t too bad I suppose considering that we played 3 games away and only one at home.

We got our target of maximum points at home and we managed to get 4 points from our away games, which is better than the desired 1 point a game average. So, despite the disappointing ending to our month, we can be please with that at least.

I don’t want to be too hasty in wielding my axe or bringing in new players. However, it does look like we aren’t strong enough to really challenge in the division. I still believe that we can get a playoff place but, judging by recent results, we would probably struggle if we got there. I will certainly be looking to use the loan system this month and I will also be looking to transfer list a number of players who I don’t think can make the grade anymore. I will have to be ruthless, which is something I’m not very good at.

Points tally compared to last season: We are two points better off than at this stage last season, so some small progress has been made this month.

My Saints Player of the Month: Loanee Michael Galloway has played every game and put in some solid performances.

Other News: Dorchester are top of the league with Grays tied on points but in second due to goal difference. Merthyr are in third and doing well but the other sides have fallen away somewhat.

Local side Luton Town are still in 5th place in the BSP and are a long way from automatic promotion. Meanwhile our local rivals, Stevenage, have fallen down the table but are still a long way from the drop zone and should easily stay in League Two.

Chelsea are top of the Premier League, with Man Utd, Arsenal and Aston Villa making up the top four. West Brom, Coventry and QPR are still all in the drop zone.

C'mon Saints, just a couple of places higher on the table please. KUTGW crouchy.

[Cheers Spav!

I'm trying, I'm trying! ]

MARCH 2010

I’m determined not to let our playoff challenge fall away like it did last season. I criticise Nathan Jarman in the local newspaper for his recent poor form. I want to try to get a reaction out of him. I also ask my assistant to prepare a report on Watford’s potential loan players as I believe that we could do with bringing someone into the squad. In addition to this, I transfer-list Simon Martin, believe that it is the right time to let him go.

This month sees us finally catching up on our home games and I see it as a terrific opportunity to improve our league position. We play 4 games at Clarence Park this month and I am targeting full points to keep our playoff dreams alive.

Away from home, we have two games; the pick of the bunch is against Bishop’s Stortford, which is a Hertfordshire derby. The other away game is another visit to Grays where I hope we can get some kind of revenge after they knocked us out of the FA Trophy. I am aiming for the usual point a game average.

That means that we are targeting a total of 14 points from 6 games this month. It would be a terrific return and could send us up the league and confirm us as playoff challengers.

NEWSFLASH: SAINTS MAKE TWO LOAN SIGNINGS – St. Albans City have today confirmed the loan signings of Watford’s Aaron Beech and Ewan Clarke for one month. The Saints manager said, ‘last month, with so many games coming in quick succession, we felt the limitations of the squad. I felt that bringing in two loan players would add some freshness and give us a little extra push as we enter this key part of the season. Aaron is a defender and will give us extra cover in that position where I feel we are short. Ewan is a forward and he will provide some extra competition for positions up front. We have the option of extending one of these two loans until the end of the season, so we will see how things go over the next month’.

SAINTS 2-1 Eastleigh (Blue Square South)

We have two new members of the squad, at least for the next month, from our neighbours, Watford. Both Aaron Beech and Ewan Clarke are match fit and so they both come straight into the side today.

Eastleigh take an unexpected lead after half-an-hour and we’re left wondering how they’ve managed to score with their only shot of the match so far. At half-time, I’m really worried about the lack of chances we’re creating. I am angry with the players and I demand more from them and tell several of them to prove a point out there.

The second half beings well, with debutant Ewan Clarke scoring a well placed effort. Ten minutes later, youngster Shaun Johnson put us in the lead. We dominated the rest of the game and Eastleigh did not create any opportunities in the second-half. 2-1 flatters them and we deserved more, however, we can just be pleased with this vital win.

After the game, Brendan Skinner credited my half-time talk as the reason why we came from behind to win this one. That’s always pleasing to hear.

Saints MoM: Johnny Banks.

League pos: 6th – 50 points from 30 games.

NEWSFLASH: TROMANS BACK IN FULL TRAINING – St. Albans prodigy Charlie Tromans is back in full training after recovering from a broken leg. Tromans also came through 45 minutes of a reserve match in midweek as he looks to gain match fitness. The Saints manager had this to say: ‘obviously we don’t want to rush Charlie back but I feel he could be a really important player for us this season. We’ll get him match fit and I hope we’ll see him in yellow and blue for the first team as soon as possible’.

Bishop’s Stortford 0-2 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

This is the Blue Square South’s Hertfordshire derby. So far, these games have been rather dull under my management, with three 1-0s having been played out over the last couple of seasons. Today, I really want a victory against Stortford to keep up our momentum. Therefore, I don’t change the team and stick with my strongest side despite a little bit of tiredness setting in.

I’m so pleased by our opening goal today that I can barely contain my excitement. I’ve felt, for a long time, that we pay the price for not having a quick striker up front. Jarman and Pringle don’t have enough pace, while Johnson (and Tromans when fit) are the perfect deep strikers who can play through balls to a fast striker. Finally, with Ewan Clarke in the team, I have the perfect combination of tall and quick. Our first goal encapsulates this perfectly. Johnson wins the ball, controls it well and plays a ball through to Clarke, who runs on to it and fires past the goalkeeper. I wonder if this is why we have been lacking in the goals department? Because all of the time, I have been asking my slower strikers to play on the last man and it just hasn’t been effective due to their lack of pace.

We have to wait a long time for the second goal and this time it is Shaun Johnson. He gets his foot to an unlikely and hopeful through ball and taps it past the ‘keeper. It’s Shaun Johnson who gets the Man of the Match award today for his assist and goal. There can be no doubt about the reason for this. His partner, Ewan Clarke, has injected some much needed pace into the side up front. We look like a different side and it has really showed today. A terrific win and I now have a lot of thinking to do about Ewan Clarke and the forward positions.

Saints MoM: Shaun Johnson.

League pos: 6th – 53 points from 31 games.

NEWSFLASH: CLARKE LOAN EXTENDED – St. Albans City have confirmed that they have extended the loan of Ewan Clarke until the end of the season. The Saints manager said, ‘I felt that this was a good loan signing for the club. Clarke has come in and scored 2 goals in 2 games, plus he has revitalised our attacking play. His pace has really made a difference and we feel this might just be the signing we need to push on in the league’.

SAINTS 1-1 Dorchester (Blue Square South)

This match has had to be moved to a Tuesday night due to a waterlogged pitch at Clarence Park. It has, however, given us a few more days to prepare.

Dorchester are currently top of the league and a whole 9 points ahead of us in the league table. This evening’s match represents a last chance to cut that gap and catch up with them. It’s a huge opportunity to let our intentions this season be known.

The big news for us today is that Charlie Tromans is match fit and makes the bench. He might feature at some point tonight. Otherwise, we’re unchanged from our wins over Eastleigh and Bishop’s Stortford.

We go behind after just 10 minutes to a soft goal and I’m cursing our luck. However, 15 minutes later, Ewan Clarke runs on to our goalkeeper’s clearance and manages to finish past the opposition ‘keeper. It’s a strange goal but we’ll take them anyway they come. It’s all level at the halfway mark and it’s a fairly even match. We need to up our game in the second-half and this is my message to the players.

It’s still all level with 15 minutes to go and so I bring on Charlie Tromans to see if he can make a difference. It’s his first appearance for the first team since the middle of October. He comes on in the number 10 position. Unfortunately, not even the return of our teenage prodigy can change this game and so we end up with a disappointing draw.

We’ve dominated the game today and it says everything that their ‘keeper wins the MoM award. This is a great performance and we can take that, and the point, from this match. We remain 9 points from the top spot.

Saints MoM: Ewan Clarke.

League pos: 6th – 54 points from 32 games.

SAINTS 1-0 Bromley (Blue Square South)

This one really is a huge game for us. Bromley are one place below us in the league and they are also pushing for a playoff spot. A win for either team today could see the end of the other’s hopes for the playoffs this season.

I name my strongest team today, minus Lewis Hamlin who is unfit. Paul Hakim comes into the first eleven. Tromans is on the bench as he is still regaining fitness.

Our opening goal comes from some calamitous defending from the opposition. Shaun Johnson fought for the ball, won it and stabbed the ball towards Clarke, who needed no invitation to fire a shot at goal. He hit the back of the net with an excellent strike. The young striker is on fire for us.

We play very poorly today and the second goal never looks like coming. Indeed, it looks more likely that Bromley will equalise. In fact, they have it in the net in the 2nd minute of injury time, only for it to be disallowed for offside. I think perhaps the weather conditions had an effect on our performance today. Bromley had more success with their passing that we did and this is something we really must consider in the future. It could have cost us today.

Saints MoM: Ewan Clarke.

League pos: 4th – 57 points from 33 games.

Grays 2-0 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

It’s another potentially huge game today. Grays are second in the league and 7 points ahead of us. A result here could really help our playoff hopes. We would also like to take revenge after being beaten here in the FA trophy last month.

The major team news today is a starting place for Charlie Tromans. He comes in to play alongside Ewan Clarke up front. It’s our strongest team out today in order to try to get a result. Shaun Johnson is on the bench.

We deserve something from the game today but we are really unfortunate when James Waggett picks up an injury. I’ve got Bastock on the bench but he hasn’t played a game all season and I’m not sure I want to risk him straight away. Bastock is now 40 years old and physically isn’t good enough to play for us anymore. However, he is the only backup we have at the moment. I leave Waggett on into the second-half and I deeply regret it. Grays end up scoring two long-range efforts and it is clear that Waggett isn’t fit enough to continue. By the time I bring Bastock in, it is too late and we have really lost the game.

The performance today is superb though. In truth, we deserve to win this one. We have 55% possession, 2 clear cut chances and look the better team. We’re just unfortunate today. It’s a freak result. The knowledge of this and the performance today are enough to stop me from becoming too disheartened about this loss.

Saints MoM: Brendan Skinner.

League pos: 5th - 57 points from 34 games.

SAINTS 0-0 Eastbourne Boro (Blue Square South)

Eastbourne Boro aren’t having a good season and I really want a result today but we stutter again and fail to get the win. It’s a dire game, with few chances, but we’re clearly the superior side. We haven’t got our finishing boots on though and the win just won’t come. I feel that we’ve really missed an opportunity to move onwards and upwards.

Saints MoM: Jack Pearson.

League pos: 5th – 58 points from 35 games.

NEWSFLASH: BEECH SIGNS FOR TWO MORE MONTHS – Aaron Beech has signed on for another two months loan with St. Albans City. The Saints manager said, ‘Beech has done enough to warrant another few months with us, which will keep him with us until the end of the season. We’re delighted to have him at the club and we feel that he will help during our promotion push over the next few months’.

MANAGER JOURNAL

We targeted full points at home and only managed to get 8 out of a possible 12 points. Away from home, we targeted 2 points and ended up with 3 out of a possible 6. So, that’s a total of 11 points from 6 games, which isn’t too bad. The defeat against Grays was painful but I think we can look at that as a freak result. More disappointing were the two home draws, both of which we felt we could have gone on to win.

We end the month in a playoff position but only just. Next month is going to be absolutely crucial to our season.

My Saints Player of the Month: Jack Pearson – some solid displays by our centre-back as we kept 3 clean sheets this month.

Points tally compared to last season: We end the month with 1 more point than we had at this stage last year.

Other News: Dorchester are top of the league with Grays tied on points but in second place due to goal difference. Team Bath have had a good month and are up to third.

Local side Luton Town are suddenly emerging as title prospects after a great month that sees them take up 2nd place in the BSP. Meanwhile our local rivals, Stevenage, are still in a safe position and look like they should easily stay in League Two.

Man Utd have overtaken Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa making up the top four. West Brom, Coventry and QPR are still all in the drop zone.