Lord Crumb Posted September 5, 2005 Author Share Posted September 5, 2005 The Board don’t have great ambitions for Hornchurch, Calder will be happy with a Mid-table finish. After last seasons heroics I expect promotion! The exodus begins. Paul Rickers, Shaun Wray and John Blake have been released. Rickers provided good cover for Lynott, however he is getting a little long in the tooth now and in Scharrenburg I have a much better replacement. Wray scuppered his Hornchurch career with his poor disciplinary record and Blake was a player promoted through the youth setup who never really figured in my plans. Mark Ovendale requests a transfer and I let him go. A host of clubs come in for him and it is finally Macclesfield that win his loyalties. Gavin Skelton also moves away. He has been a useful utility player but he is falling behind talented players such as Phillip Cousins. The best thing is to allow him to pursue a career elsewhere. Leyton Orient pay 10k for him, yet another player who has advanced to league football. Reservist Gary O’Brien is released on a freebie. He never really figured in my plans.! I scout the latest talent to emerge from the academies, for the first time I also buy players from overseas. Five players sign on, two of them will be automatic first team starters. Karl Holmes A very young goalkeeper who has the potential to become my number one, eventually. Pretty decent all-round stats and a good talker. My only concern is that he is a little lightweight and not so good in the air. He has plenty of time to develop though. Gary Burt A left winger with the instincts of a striker. A very determined player, I intend to convert him to a strikers role. At 16 a definite talent. James Singh Only 15 years old, this Right Winger could be a future star. Only his pace and ball skills are developed, I’m sure he can become something special though. Dennis Scharrenburg A Defensive Midfielder who had plied his trade in the Netherlands. Not as good a passer as Lynott he is fast and more assured in the challenge. A rival for that slot in front of the defence! Keith Kelly A right winger who I expect to slot straight into the team. An international who has six caps for Jamaica. Has splendid technique and should terrorize the defence. All I await is the work permit. The friendlies commenced and my players would have a chance to impress me. I would basically play an A-Team and a B-Team, switching every half. Hornchurch 1) 1-1 (1 Darlington A familiar face in the shape of Ian Duerden returned to Hornchurch in this game. He didn’t make much of an impact in a pretty dull 1-1 draw. Karl Holmes had a good second half, being awarded the man of the man of the match. Gareth Law scored our only goal of the match, a fine individual effort. We have trouble getting a work permit for Keith Kelly. I’ll persevere though, I think he’ll make a real difference to the side. Hornchurch 0) 0-1 (0 Man Utd Reserves A respectable performance against a Utd team that included Anelka, Kleberson, Cavenaghi and Rincon. We matched them for most of the game and only the brilliance of Kleberson won the match for them. Hornchurch 0-0 Shrewsbury I experimented with a 5-4-1 for this game and it had a mixed effect. We kept the ball well but were not very effective in front of goal. Definate potential though. My appeal against the refusal to grant Keith Kelly a work permit is rejected. I’ll have to look elsewhere for a right winger! Carmaethen 1) 1-0 (0 Hornchurch A frustrating game, we had a number of good chances to score but were denied by poor finishing and a goalie at the top of his form. The new formation is looking promising though. Holmes, Burt and Singh will spend the first 3 months of the season on loan at Conference South outfits. Singh joins Harvey at Redbridge whilst Burt goes to Bishops Stortford. Holmes also looks likely to go to Redbridge. Hornchurch 1) 1-0 (0 Wolves Reserves Our best performance of the Pre-season, Gareth Law put us ahead after just two minutes and we never looked back. My experimental 4-5-1 worked really well, we should have scored a lot more goals! Wealdstone 0) 1-2 (2 Hornchurch Not a convincing performance from the team but we managed to win, thanks to a long range shot from Tolley and a deflected Barnes free-kick. We are now ready for our second season in the conference, haven’t been able to recruit as many players as I would like and one promising deal has already fallen through, however I’m confidant that we can prosper this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted September 6, 2005 Author Share Posted September 6, 2005 Halifax Town 1) 1-3 (2 Hornchurch I was short both Grant and Brand for this game, so I replaced them with Culshaw and Tolley. Halifax can feel aggrieved that they got nothing out of the tie, they had plenty of chances to score. Our finishing though was far superior. Tolley got the ball rolling for us, he was the beneficiary of some excellent work by Barnes on the wing, he showed sheer guts and determination. Tolley picked up the ball in the area and had a simple finish. Halifax began to pressurize our defence, on 24 minutes they were gifted by Marshall, who dwelled on the ball far too long. Haslam energetically ran into our box and powered the ball past Allaway. Not long after though we went back in-front. The architect was once again Barnes, his cross found Law, who beat the keeper to the ball and nodded it in. Halifax continued to pressure us but Hornchurch’s finishing was far more accurate. On 55 minutes Law grabbed his second, Tolley teed him up this time. Law cheekily rounded the keeper and scored. The game was put beyond doubt when Joe Dolan was sent off for dissent. Halifax stayed on the defensive for the rest of the game. A good win in which Barnes and Law were instrumental. The downside was a dreadful performance from Marshall, I don’t have anyone to replace him with unfortunately but I’ll make my displeasure known! Hornchurch 2) 2-0 (0 Canvey Island I made no changes to the team to face Canvey. Grant and Brand were still injured. Marshall keeps his place, he’d better not foul up this time. A dull uneventful game, our goals were both scored from range. Law with a wonder effort from 35 yards, Ben Woods with a direct freekick from 30. The best chance of the game fell to Canvey. A goalkick beat all my players and fell to Finnegan, who blasted wide. Ben and Scott Woods were the stars of the show for me, a pretty workmanlike effort it has to be said! Sutton Utd 0) 0-1 (1 Hornchurch Our busy start to the season continued, with a trip away to newly promoted Sutton Utd. I continued with the same lineup that had already granted me victory in the previous games. We were lucky to be ahead in the first half. Sutton were promising in the attack, only some brave keeping from Allaway kept them out. Our goal was scored by Law, another long range effort. Both Marshall and Scott Woods picked up injuries. I had to replace Woods with Heathcote just before half time, due to injury. All part of Sutton Utd’s tough tackling style! The second half was a quiet affair, punctuated by the occasional Sutton Utd attack. Salt was instrumental in controlling the midfield though. The final 15 minutes were a little tense, we lost Barnes to injury and had no-one to replace him. We held on for victory though. A good performance from the team. Salt was simply outstanding.! After the Sutton game I received a report from my Physio. The news was bad. Marshall would be out for a week, Scott Woods for two weeks and Wayne Barnes for almost a month. I would have to loan some players to cover my gaps. Hornchurch 0-0 Crawley Town An injury ravaged team took the field to face Crawley. I handed young 16 year old Nick Mitchell his first team debut at Right Back, Beckford was at Left Wing and Heathcote replaced Scott Woods. I did welcome Grant back to the fold though. A pretty poor game, the finishing from both sides was poor, Tolley missed a hatful of close range chances. The first half was a forgettable affair, the game only picked up once I spread the play a little! Ben Woods was our most effective player, he terrorized the Crawley defence and provided many a good chance which my forwards didn’t take full advantage off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted September 13, 2005 Author Share Posted September 13, 2005 Barnet 0) 0-2 (1 Hornchurch Coburn returned to the Right Wing for this game, I decided to give him another chance. As it happens he did himself a favour with his performance in the game. We got off to a nervy start, Barnet played a 4-2-4 and really wanted to rock us. However our defence stood firm and Coburn put us ahead with a fabulous freekick after 18 minutes. Barnet found it very hard to break us after that. Barnet saw a lot of the ball but our defence firmed up in the final 3rd and denied them the space they craved. The introduction of Woods meanwhile gave us an extra option upfront. Gareth Law finished the game in Stoppage Time, he was set up by Townley and had a simple finish. That put the game beyond doubt! Most of the team played well, with the exception of Tolley, who was Off Colour again. He needs to pick his form up fast! Colin Doherty signs his first Professional Contract with Hornchurch. I hope to mold his creative skills into something useful. Hornchurch 0-0 Scarborough S.Woods, Brand and Barnes returned to the team. They failed to lift the side in what was a pretty poor performance. Scarborough were the better team and can consider themselves unlucky not to have left the Stadium with more than a point. Phil Salt had a poor day in Midfield and had to be taken off injured at half time. Dagenham & Redbridge 0) 1-1 (1 Hornchurch[/b] It took just 30 seconds for us to take the lead, Tolley was the beneficiary of a spilled Law shot and he had the simple task of placing the ball in a gaping net. We should have finished the game before the interval. Law was free in the area but was forced onto his weaker foot and blasted wide. Tolley had no such excuse, his feeble shot was parried by the keeper. D & G were restricted to speculative efforts. Predictably Dagenham equalized soon into the second half, Chris Moore found space behind my defence and had no trouble scoring. The rest of the game went quietly, the most noteworthy thing about it was the number of yellow cards handed out, eight. On the plus side Scharrenburg had a good game, being awarded the man of the match. LDV Vans Trophy First Round Southern Section Bournemouth 1) 3-0 (0 Hornchurch A totally unfamiliar team took the pitch to play Bournemouth and they managed a respectable performance, even though they were outclassed by Bournemouth. The only player who disappointed was James McKay, who ended up getting sent off for a second bookable offence. I of course took the liberty of disciplining him! So 7 games in and undefeated. We have the best defensive record in the league, though our goalscoring record could be better. We currently lay second, a point behind Nuneaton Borough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted September 14, 2005 Author Share Posted September 14, 2005 Ricardo Beckford is unhappy with life at The Stadium. He went to the papers and complained about his lack of action and about my attitude. He even said that he’d go or I’d go. Such a delusional character. I hope that a spell in the reserves, a large fine and his name on the transfer list helps to reassert his grip on reality! Tamworth 2) 2-2 (1 Hornchurch My defensive posture played into the Home Teams hands, they saw plenty of the ball and were able to use it to good effect. They took the lead within a minute, fortunately a Wane Barnes inspired breakaway soon leveled the match, Tolley finishing the move off. Tamworth continued to dominate so I took the required measures. My players were told not to sit behind the ball and were instructed to play higher up the pitch. The tactic seemed to work and we saw more of the ball, things began to happen. Unfortunately it was just as we were getting up on our feet that Tamworth went ahead, a Brian Bull header left Allaway standing. The second half was a dull affair, fortunately Tolley continued his return to form and blasted in our equalizer, created thanks to the vision of Law. We managed to scrape a draw in this tough game, Tolley has thankfully rediscovered the form that made him a hit last year! Hornchurch 2)3 -2(1 Hereford Utd This game started very promisingly for us, Law scored 25 seconds into the game. We had the better of the first half and were unlucky to lose the lead, Allaway seemed glued to the spot when a routine Craig Stanley header was aimed at him. Tolley put things to right though, a Salt shot ricocheted of the post and Tolley lapped up the rebound. Advantage Hornchurch! We dominated the second half, Gareth Law scored his second of the game with a sweet 30 yard strike. Appropriate that such a nice goal also happened to be his 50th league goal for Hornchurch. We only started to suffer in the final minutes, Hereford pulled out all the stops and actually pulled a goal back, however we managed to hold on for our first win in four games. Hornchurch 0) 0-1 (1 Wycombe Wanderers A tough game versus top of the table Wycombe and we were unlucky. Hornchurch had little in the way of good opportunities, Wycombe had none and only won thanks to a 18th minute freekick that Allaway really should have done better with. Wycombe were very tight in defence and restricted us to long range for the most part. A very frustrating game. That defeat dropped us to 3rd, its very tight at the top at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted September 14, 2005 Author Share Posted September 14, 2005 Burton Albion 0-0 Hornchurch We were handicapped for this game with the loss of Salt in midfield. I had Cousins fill in for him. The rest of my team was unchanged. An eminently forgettable game which at least saw my side regain their defensive skills. Both sides were restricted to long range efforts, Law in particular was innaccurate with his shooting today. At least this game enabled me to catch up on my sleep. Also Allaway and Brand putin good defensive performances. That draw dropped us to 4th, we have the worst goal scoring record in the top seven but the second best defensive record. Something has to change soon. Our FA Cup adventure will begin with a home again against Graveseng. We soon have a chance to set things right, 3rd place Nuneaton are visiting, I demand a win from my players. Hornchurch 2) 2-0 (0 Nuneaton Borough We were unable to defeat Nuneaton last season, things had to change in this game. Nuneaton are one of our main rivals. We made a bright start, Cousins went close with a long range effort but it was Tolley who broke the deadlock after just 8 minutes. He was on the end of a superb Scharrenburg through ball and made no mistake from close range. Nuneaton began to threaten but they risked getting caught out and Brand was the man to catch them in the act. He dispossessed a player on the edge of the area and launched Law on a run. Law’s pass to Tolley was perfect and Tolley’s finish was superb, a shot which curled away from the keeper and into the far corner. At this point Nuneaton began to rush their players forward, with a two goal cushion I saw no reason to play recklessly. I decided to keep my players behind the ball and stifle the life out of their attack. For the most part it worked in the first half. Nuneaton continued to press and Tolley continued to search for his hattrick. Neither succeeded in their aims and we meandered to a comfortable 2-0 win. A win that puts us back in amongst it! We are now up to second, Wycombe defeated Bury at home and enjoy a 2 point lead over us. FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Hornchurch 1) 1-1 (0 Gravesend Phil Salt was welcomed back to the team and he made an appearance on the subs bench. No other changes needed to be made. Gravesend threatened early on in the game, they swamped the midfield with bodies but eventually we began to cope with their pressure. Shane Tolley was the man who broke the deadlock, he was released by Barnes and scored a simple finish. His good form continues. Law almost put us further ahead but his shot hit the post and was guided out of play by 2 Gravesend defenders. I am sorry to say that I was slow to react to the change in Gravesend’s second half tactics. Gravesend piled on teh pressure and finally managed an equalizer on 60 minutes, their Captain Jay Saunders capitalizing on some sloppy defending from Burwood and Grant, they allowed Saunders to get in-between them. Disappointing that we have to go to a replay. Won’t help my players recover their condition. If we defeat Gravesend in the replay we’ll face either Vauxhall Motors or Sutton Utd in the replay. We seem to face Sutton wherever we go! Hornchurch are well represented in the goal of the month Competition for September. Law’s strike against Hereford and Tolley’s against Nuneaton are included. FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Replay Gravesend 0)0 - 2(0 Hornchurch Due to fitness issues I rest Scott Woods, Coburn and Scharrenburg. They are ably replaced by Heathcote, Ben Woods and Lynott. Phil Salt returns to the setup. The first half is reasonably exciting but lacks a goal. Gravesend trouble us with their attacking 3-5-2. The best chances fall to us however, Law forces a good save from their keeper and Tolley blasts over from a Heathcote freekick. Gravesend best chance falls to Pinnock, whose finish is somewhat lacking. Its in the second half that things go right for us. It doesn’t begin promisingly, Gravesend have a succession of corners but eventually we get our act together. Gareth Law begins the festivities. He is recipient of a superb Woods through ball. His finish is composed and unerring. After that goal I slow things down. My midfielders enjoy the slower pace and take the time to string together some nice passes. It all comes to good two minutes from the end, when Cousins, playing in an unfamiliar striking role, sets up Tolley, who has a simple finish. An easy win for us. I expected a much sterner challenge fromt he home team, I’m also very relieved that the match didn’t go to Extra Time, I don’t need the hassle. In the next round we’ll face our old nemesis Sutton Utd. They disposed of brave Vauxhall Motors 4-1 after extra time. Joff Vansittart was their unlikely hero, scoring a Hattrick from the centre of defence! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted September 28, 2005 Author Share Posted September 28, 2005 My players were still a wee bit tired after their midweek efforts at Gravesend.. I welcomed back some regulars though, Scott Woods, Scharrenburg and Coburn were much the better following their midweek nap. Leigh RMI 0-0 Hornchurch Despite a shaky first half I’m disappointed that we didn’t come away with all the points. We were totally dominant in the second half, the Leigh keeper Dunbavin was in sterling form and prevented us from grabbing the points. Gareth Law will be disappointed. He hit the bar with a long range effort and generally failed to match his usual high standards. The defences for both sides had a busy time. Brand and Allaway were our star performers. However it was Dunbavin who walked away with the plaudits. No rest for my team, we’d next have a tough game against Bury, who we defeated in the Playoffs last season. I elected to stay with the same team that faced Leigh. Hornchurch 0) 0-1 (0 Bury A very disappointing performance from the team. Bury controlled the game and only a good performance from Allaway kept them out. We had troubling breaking them down, our only chance of the game fell in the final minutes, Law blasting wide from an acute angle. Not only did we fall down the table, we also lost players to injury. Tolley will be out for a month, I’ll also miss Wayne Barnes for a week. I don’t really have any quality cover for his position, I’ll use Townley and recall Beckford to the first team. We drop from 3rd to 6th. Bury now occupy our old spot. Next up was a trip to our old adversaries, Sutton United. Yet another cup game. I was hoping to maintain our 100% record against them! FA Cup First Round Sutton United 2) 2-2 (0 Hornchurch Townley and Ben Woods were my first team choices for this game but they really didn’t figure in what was a hugely entertaining game. My tactical choices would range from stupid to inspired. Sutton were all over us in the first half, we made little headway with our standard formation and soon went behind to a Bailey goal, so had to throw out the rulebook. My slightly more attacking formation didn’t work either and just before half time we fell further behind thanks to some slack defending from Burwood and Grant. Only Allaway prevented things from getting any worse. Ten minutes into the second half things hadn’t improved. It was at this stage that I changed to a 4-3-3. I brought on Kemp and Cousins and removed both my wingers. Scharrenburg moved up to Central Midfield. I saw a drastic effect instantly. Kemp and Law proved a real handful and our central midfielders proved adept at finding them. Still with 15 minutes to go we hadn’t got a goal back. I brought on Beckford to replace the tiring Scharrenburg. Beckford’s presence would prove very important, he didn’t provide any killer balls, Salt and Cousins were far more adept at that. What he was handy for though was drawing away defenders then allowing the more accomplished midfielders to work their magic. Law pulled the first goal back with just nine minutes left. A powerful finish from the edge of the area. We continued to pile on the pressure and eventually gained our reward. the impressive Kemp sneaking the ball beneath the despairing Haystead to bring us level. Both teams pushed for a winner in the final minutes but goals were not forthcoming. The coincidences continue. In the second round we’ll face either Barrow or Peterborough, a team who we defeated 3-0 in the First Round last season. Hopefully we will be in a position to meet them. Morecambe 0-0 Hornchurch A return to the league program with an away game at Morecambe. Townley picked up a slight knock in midweek, so I left him out in favour of Beckford. The game got off to an awful start when Brand get two quick yellow cards within the first quarter of the game. Jim Hubbard was very card happy, showing the Yellow 6 times in the first half, all to Hornchurch players. Brand had no excuse though. Despite their advantage Morecambe failed to capitalize on their numerical advantage. We limited them to long range efforts which failed to test Allaway. Our only chance came when Law, our lone striker since I took off Woods for Marshall, went on a good run and scored. Sadly he was ruled offside. Our woes continued when Cobrun was stretchered off with a injury. The second half continued on from the first with Morecambe continuing to attack us. Allaway giftedd them the best chance of the match when he passed the ball straight to Twiss. Fortunately he tried to round the keeper and Allaway redeemed himself with a fine point blank save. We went down to nine men when Sub Cousins was taken off with an injury. For the final 15 minutes we had to weather a storm. Fortunately we made it, Allaway did really well to keep Morecambe at bay. We dropped to 7th place, 4 points behind the leaders Halifax. We now have a real injury crisis. Coburn is out for a month, Cousins is sidelined for a fortnight. Things are looking bad I’ll look at loaning in a Central Midfielder and a set of wingers. FA Cup First Round Replay Hornchurch 0) 0-2 (0 Sutton Utd I thought this would be a good game in which to experiment. My change to a 4-3-3 saved the game at Gander Green Lane, so I hoped it would win it for me here. Such players as Richard Carter and Colin Doherty would be brought in as subs, I was hoping to impress the faithful with a new era of attacking football. My defeat in this game sent me into a bout of depression. It was an exciting game, which Sutton edged, obviously in scoreline but also in chances. They had the added bonus of a resolute Danny Haystead in goal. Tonight nothing would get by him. The first half was goalless . I think we lost our competiveness in the second half. Bringing on Doherty and Carter I think undone us. They didn’t play badly, they were outmuscled by their more experienced Sutton Counterparts though. Both of the Sutton goals were due to their aerial dominance. An area of the pitch in which we were lacking that night. Both Ben Woods and Law failed to take advantage of the new formation, they just didn’t seem to perform well. Tom Kemp was more effective though. Altogether a disappointing match, another cup run ended prematurely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 1, 2005 Author Share Posted October 1, 2005 Rochdale 0-0 Hornchurch An exciting game that really shouldn’t have been scoreless, just as well it was, Rochdale had the better of this game, their dominance in the first half was total. Our defensive unit was buoyed by the return of Burwood and Brand, they had a major part to play in our salvaging of a point. Despite their ample time on the ball Rochdale landed very few shots on target. Our best chance fell to Law, who forced two saves out of their keeper in the second half. Our performance in that half was much better. Still Rochdale can feel aggrieved that they failed to collect the spoils of their dominance. Brand, Allaway and Salt all had good games . Phil Salt was the star though, another good game in Central Midfield. Ben Woods had a poor game on the wing, he had picked up a knock though. Law was also quiet, his indifferent form recently is starting to worry me. My injury woes continue. Brand is out for a week with a damaged wrist. At least I have Marshall to back him up. Ricardo Beckford continues to test my patience. Due to circumstances I have been forced to play him in the first team. However on Sunday afternoon he showed his gratitude for his extended run in the team by going AWOL. He won’t get paid for two weeks. Hornchurch 0) 2-1 (0 Southend A much changed team faced second placed Southend with many players making their league debut. I was forced to make the changes due to injury or lack of fitness. Marshall was in for the crocked Brand. Townley replaced Beckford and Danny Harvey made his first team debut at left back. Harvey is a very talented player, his debut has been overdue. Ian Clarke replaced the unfit Kemp to partner Law. The first half was a struggle and we were lucky to go in at half time level pegging. Scharrenburg made things really difficult for us half an hour into the match when he was sent off for a second bookable offence, though his challenge was so bad he’d have deserved to go off for that alone. I replaced him with Lynott and took off the ineffective Clarke. I knew the second half would be a tough affair. I changed tack for the second half. I brought all my players behind the ball and relied on counterattacking football. Southend continued to dominate the game. however we had chances of our own and Gareth Law chose the best time to rediscover his scoring touch. His first goal was provided by Ben Woods, Woods intercepted a throw and delivered a fine ball to Law whose shot was went beneath the keeper and trickled in off the post. The second goal was provided by Townley, a superb through ball that found Law in space. Laws finish was clinical. Southend continued to pressure for an equalizer. They grabbed a lifeline when Allaway made a inexplicable boob and tumbled Eastwood over in the box, far away from harm. Eastwood converted the penalty himself. Despite their pressure however, Southend didn’t find their way back into the match, we held on for a much needed victory. Most of the team played well, I was happy to see Law rediscover his touch, I think it had something to do with me playing him as the right striker. Most of the debutants did well, apart from Clarke, who was taken off when Scharrenburg got himself dismissed. Hornchurch 0) 3-0 (0 Accrington Stanley Scott Woods, Tom Kemp and Beckford were welcomed back to the fold for this game. However Scharrenburg was out due to suspension, so Lynott returned to the team. It was a tight first half and we almost went down at the beginning, Allaway scrambled the ball away in a very undignified manner. It took about fifteen minutes for us to make our mark, from then onwards we were never troubled. Our best chance of the half fell to Ben Woods, whose freekick thudded off the bar. We’d have to wait till the second half to make an impact. It was in the second half that things took a turn for the better. Tom Kemp was our inspiration. He has been a lot more prolific for the first team than he has been for the reserves. His first goal was a simple tap-in, his second was a ferocious strike that impressed everyone. Lee Grant put the game to rest with a simple finish from a Woods freekick. Altogether a satisfactory game against reasonably strong opposition. The team put in a good performance, apart from Law, who was subdued again. Gravesend 2) 2-1 (1 Hornchurch Gary Burt replaced Beckford on the wing. It wasn’t a happy debut, we were outplayed by Gravesend and failed to get back into the game in the second half. Gareth law equalized an early Gravesend goal but they won the game just before half time and once again we were lacking in invention. With that defeat we drop top 4th. A big gulf is opening up between us and the top teams, Halifax and Sutton Utd. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 2, 2005 Author Share Posted October 2, 2005 Hornchurch 0) 0-2 (2York City York City were responsible for our biggest humiliation the previous season, with a 3-0 win at the stadium. I was hoping to turn the tables this time round. I made a number of changes. Scharrenburg returned to Centre Midfield, Heathcote replaced the weary Scott Woods and Beckford returned to the Left Wing. We didn’t get our revenge, what we did get was another substandard home performance. The team just didn’t fire on all cylinders and York had the match wrapped up by half time. Allaway had a stinker in goal and can take a lot of the blame for our defeat. Having said that we did not deserve anything from the game. With our current form I sincerely cannot see us achieving anything this season, I need to make a major rethink of my tactics. Hornchurch 1) 2-1 (0 St Albans We needed a win against bottom placed St Albans. We got it but the style of our win gave me no cause for happiness. We played the better football in the first half but found chances few and far between. My strikers were marked out of the game and both succumbed to injury by half time. We only took the lead thanks to Ricardo Beckford, who was unmarked on the wing. By half time we were ahead but labouring. For the second half I tried to open up the game by pushing my players forward. It didn’t work at all well. St Albans enjoyed the extra space. Ben Abbey proved especially dangerous. He enjoyed the extra space in midfield and set up Offiong for the St Albans equalizer soon after the interval. We continued to press but caused little trouble to our opponents. Fortunately Ben Woods was in good form and he managed to find space just two minutes from time. He put us ahead but the final few minutes were torrid indeed. The defence were stalwart. A game we shouldn’t have had trouble with, yet St Albans gave us plenty of it. The defence played well, my attackers for the most part were ineffective. Ian Clarke made his 3rd sub appearance and yet again was totally ineffective. He is obviously not Conference Standard. We have a busy schedule ahead of us. Our next game is a biggie, another home match against league leaders Halifax Town. Hornchurch 1) 3-1 (1 Halifax Town After our recent awful form I decided to change our style. Hornchurch would play counter attacking football. At home! We were buoyed by the return of Barnes, Tolley and Cousins. Barnes and Cousins would be placed on the bench. I decided to place Tolley right in the thick of it. The opening minutes of the half were see-saw. However things soon settled and in the 19th minute we made our first breakthrough. We had been trying out a corner routine for the last few matches. I had seen no sign of success up until this game. Gareth Law was left unmarked on the edge of the area and his shot deflected off a defender and went in. Of course he claimed it. Halifax piled the pressure on us and equalized 9 minutes later in emphatic fashion. O’Reilly charged down the wing and whipped in a superb cross which Fitzgerald didn’t even have to direct. 1-1. The first half continued at breakneck pace but it wouldn’t get anywhere near the drama of the second half. Wayne Barnes made his return from injury and made an impact early on with some incisive runs. However it was an old familiar pairing that did the damage for us. Law seemed to be revitalized with the return of his old partner in crime Tolley. However Tolley would never have been able to set him up in the first place without the help of Ben Woods. Woods intercepted the ball in a defensive position and released Tolley, who in turn delivered a tempting ball just in front of Law. He managed to shrug of the attentions of two defenders and finished sublimely. I had to take of Law soon after because he was knackered but he really deserved the standing ovation he received on his exit from the pitch. Halifax attacked our goal with pure fury. However they were wasteful and rarely troubled Allaway which was just as well, Sean was having one of his more erratic games in goal. His tendency to deliver kicks direct to the opposition was especially irritating. Halifax would pay the price for their gung-ho assaults. Barnes was very good at intercepting the ball and it was one of his interceptions that set up Tolley for his 10th goal of teh season. It was a splendid through ball from Barnes and a clinical finish from Tolley. That goal ended the match and we strolled to a superb and uplifting victory. My team played very well, Tolley and Law were especially praiseworthy. The only bum note was blown by Allaway, whose distribution was awful. Canvey Island 1 ) 1-1 (1 Hornchurch With an away game on the cards I saw no need to change the style of play that had won me the Halifax game. Even if Canvey were in relegation trouble. I made two changes for this game. Culshaw replaced the unfit Burwood and Wayne Barnes returned to the left wing role. The game got off to a nervy start, Boylan headed over an easy chance, however the home team must have been in a worse state of nerves, because Tolley and Law pressured them into a dreadful mistake just 8 minutes into the game. Tolley burst through the Canvey defence and forced a save from the keeper. the ball returned to Gill but Law was hot on his heels. In a panic Gill attempted to clear the ball but put it into his own net. Law almost doubled our advantage a minute later with a shot that rebounded off the post. Canvey caused trouble of their own however and half an hour in, Philips equalized with a superb long range shot. The rest of the half fizzled out in very unexciting fashion. The second half was very unexciting as well. Canvey came closest with a mad scramble at a corner early on. However chances were rare after that. A dull game and only a point, however Hornchurch didn’t play badly. We are now in joint 3rd, level on points with Rochdale. Halifax and Bury lead the pack, there is a mere 2 points between 1st and 4th. A very tight title race appears to be in the offing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 3, 2005 Author Share Posted October 3, 2005 Our busy Christmas season came to an end with the visit of 7th placed Sutton Utd. I hoped for a much better performance than the last one I had to suffer through. Hornchurch 0) 2-0 (0 Sutton Utd Burwood returned to the side and Scott Woods was once again lacking fitness so Danny Harvey made his second appearance for the team. Apart from that my side and tactics were unchanged. The first half was a dull spectacle. Hornchurch had the better of the chances but they found Danny Haystead in fine form. Sutton’s chances were few and far between, we had them well under control in the first half. With no breakthrough in the second half I decided to change tack. My players would now take the offensive to Sutton. Didn’t work too well though, Sutton enjoyed the newfound space on the pitch and adjusted accordingly. Allaway began to get busy. We finally did manage to make a breakthrough. It came from our corner routine and I had Law to thank for the finish. He picked up the ball on the edge of the box, wrongfooted the defender and scored from range. Once that goal went in I returned to my defensive football. Our only worry was when brand gave the ball away to Sweet. Fortunately his volley was wild and only troubled a few passing pigeons! Law settled the game just before the end. A long range shot teed up by Barnes. I’m so glad he’s found his form at last. A good win against a top 10 side. Law and Barnes were my main performers. Even better, Hornchurch are now on top of the table, a point ahead of Halifax. Crawley Town 1) 1-3 (1 Hornchurch I made no changes to the team to face bottom placed Crawley. I did change their style of play though, I expected more attacking enterprise from my squad. Crawley found us very tough to deal with in the first half and it wasn’t long before we took the lead, Tolley threaded a ball through to Law and he stroked the bal into the net. We could have been 3-0 up within the first 20 minutes. Tolley headed a easy header well wide and Law was denied in a 1 on 1 situation by the keeper. Crawley were restricted to freekicks, which bothered no one. Tolley missed another easy chance just before Crawley equalized. A Danny Marney freekick wrongfooted Allaway and went in. Things didn’t look so good for us now. We continued our pressure into the second half. Law was denied a few times by their keeper. It took one of their own players to put the ball into the net. Law was clean through on goal but under pressure from Hemsley. His shot was parried by the keeper and rebounded of Hemsley’s shins, then went in. What a way to fall behind. That goal deflated Crawley and we began to run riot. We only managed to add a single goal to our tally though, Tolley with a fine finish near the end of the game. Another superb team performance. My players enjoy coming to Crawley, Tolley was especially worthy of praise. Hornchurch 2) 3-0 (0 Barnet I brought in Culshaw for Grant and Scott Woods returned to the side. Barnet would be a tough nut to crack, they lay 6th in the league. We dominated our opponents in the first half but showed little accuracy at close range. Law missed a hatfull. Fortunately our long range shooting was much better. Tolley put us ahead with a 25yard screamer with just 3 minutes on the clock, and 17 minutes later Law scored from a corner, he was left unmarked on the edge of the box. Wayne Barnes collided with a Barnet player soon after our second goal, I was left with no choice but to take him off. Danny Harvey came on in place. Barnet began to threaten more after this, they went all out with a 4-2-4 but we were able to contain them in the first half. The second half was a more even affair. Allaway had to make 2 good saves from Grazioli and Bailey, whilst Kemp had two good chances at the other end. It was Tolley who killed off Barnet though, the pass from Harvey was superb, Tolley didn’t have to put much effort into his finish. There wasn’t much to the game following that. The home fans went home with a warm glow in the stomach! Ben Woods was very influential on the right wing. Though he had no assists to his name, he started off a lot of the moves that won us the game. He is solidifying his place in the team. We are still at the top, with a point advantage over Halifax, it’s very tight in the Conference! Next up for us was a change of pace, an FA Trophy game home to Nuneaton. FA Trophy 3rd Round Hornchurch 2) 3 -1 (0 Nuneaton Borough Brand had picked up an injury, so Lee Marshall made his first full appearance in quite a while. Otherwise the team was unchanged. Nuneaton have faded in the league since our last encounter and now lie in 16th. The game got of to a tentative start, Ben Woods gave me early hope with a mazy run on the right wing. He got into the box and rifled in a shot that just went wide of the post. Nuneaton posed very little threat in the second half, Hornchurch had chance after chance. My wingers had grand fun running down the channels and in the 70th minute Barnes set up Tolley for his second and our third of the game. Just before the final whistle Nuneaton grabbed an undeserved consolation. Allaway fumbled a cross and the very prolific Gez Murphy put the ball into the net. Didn’t change the outcome of the game though. Halfway through January and the worst seems to be behind us. Through in the FA Trophy, what lies ahead! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 4, 2005 Author Share Posted October 4, 2005 I was at the FA headquarters on Tuesday to find out who we had drawn in the next round of the FA Trophy. I was quite pleased when Boreham Wood were drawn out of the hat. They are struggling in the Ryman Division 1 and we should win , even though we will be away. I might blood some of my reserves for the game, though recalling what happened in the past, I won’t go too overboard! Scarborough 1) 1-4(2 Hornchurch Meanwhile our mind was back on the league program. I kept the same team that had dealt so handily with Nuneaton. Scarborough are really languishing at the foot of the table and we ought to win. We won with style. We opened them up on the counter and they just couldn’t match us. Tolley had already grabbed 2 within the first 15 minutes, bog-standard opportunistic strikes. Tyrone Thompson gave them hope with a long range strike that Allaway really should have covered. However at half time we had the advantage. It was in the second half that we took them to the cleaners. Every ball they sent into our half of the field was intercepted by a Hornchurch player. With 55 minutes gone Tolley completed his hatrick, soon after Law added a 4th with a long range shot that went through the keepers legs. That goal rounded off an emphatic victory. It was a strikers game. Law was superb but Tolley grabbed the accolades. Not only did he score a hatrick, he also scored his 50th goal for Hornchurch. Well done Shane. James Singh has begun to develop at a impressive pace. Over breakfast John Cockerill urged me to give him a slot in the team. I’ll put him on the subs bench for the upcoming game against Dagenham. Ahead of our match John Still decided to taunt me. He hasn’t learnt his lesson from the last time he did that. It’ll be my pleasure to teach him it again. Hornchurch 1) 2-0 (0 Dagenham & Redbridge James Singh was on the Subs bench for this game. Otherwise the team was unchanged. Dagenham lay 16th in the league and really need a win. Football wasn’t in the minds of the Dagenham players, for 25 minutes the game was dull and meaningless. It took a mistake to liven things up. The Dagenham fullback passed back to Carl Emberson in goal, Tolley intercepted and finished with ease. The rest of the half continued in its dull way. Dagenham seemed to have no interest in getting back into the game. That would change in the second half, they failed to trouble us though. The game was finished 10 minutes from time, when sub Tom Kemp latched onto a lofted Scharrenburg through ball and blasted the ball home. A comprehensive if unexciting victory. John Still ate his words yet again. Sadly I was misquoted by the press. They stated that I thought that Dagenham would stay up. Hopefully the mixed signals will fry his brain. The guys had to quickly limber up for their next tie, a trip to the West Country in the shape of Hereford Utd, always a tough game! Hereford Utd 1)2 -2 (2 Hornchurch Burwood was rested for this match, I replaced him with Culshaw. Singh was once again on the bench. I’ll probably give him his debut at Boreham Wood on Saturday. Ed Brand was fully fit and replaced Marshall at rightback. Hereford may be in mid-table. However our games are always close and I’ll take nothing for granted! It’ll be a tough game. We made a promising start to the game, Salt had a couple of speculative shots. We came close 15 minutes in when Tolley was put clean through, his shot was saved and it rebounded to law. Sadly his control let him down and the ball rolled back to the keeper. Hereford didn’t have much in the game, so it shocked me when they took the lead. Their lead up was beautiful to behold. The ball bobbed fluidly between their players, true one touch football. Purdie received a cross in the area and headed against the bar. Hereford retrieved the ball and patiently waited for the next chance. Fordacye received the ball on the edge of the area and blasted home, a well worked move. Even I could appreciate it. We were quick to respond though. Wayne Barnes sent a lovely through ball to Tolley, which he slotted in nicely. This happened a mere minute after Hereford took the lead. We had the best of the half and deserved to take the lead on 28 minutes. Once again we were lucky though, we forced our 3rd own goal of the season and this one was truly bizarre. Law was released by Scharrenburg and only had the keeper to beat. The keeper did very well to save it. The ball rebounded to D’Laryea and he passed it. To Tom Smith who, was on the goal line! Officially Smith was credited with the own goal, though D’Laryea showed awful judgment in passing it. We almost went 3-0 when Law was one on one with the keeper but yet again Nick Culkin did well to keep it out. Hereford played a lot better in the second half and we had to weather a storm. They fully deserved their equalizer in the 54th minute, Adam Stansfield was unmarked at a corner and his finish was true. Hereford piled the pressure on but we survived. Another entertaining encounter between us. Wayne Barnes was fantastic on the left wing and Tolley was his usual reliable self. However Gareth Law will be disappointed, he spurned 3 good chances to score and was taken off later on. FA Trophy 4th Round Boreham Wood 0) 0-1 (1 Hornchurch Singh made his full debut in this game. I made a number of changes so that weary players would be rested. Harvey came in for Scott Woods and I swapped Grant for Burwood. Boreham Wood fought bravely but the outcome was never in any doubt, Tolley out us ahead with a header from a Barnes cross and we managed to hold on afterwards. Boreham played well but lacked accuracy. Their best chances came courtesy of mistakes from our defenders. Meanwhile at the other end Law had another frustrating game. At least we are through though. 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Spav Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 This is a very enjoyable and comprehensive write-up, LC. Pity about the play-off failure, but hopefully a good run of form this season will see you move up to the top of the table and thus render the play-offs irrelevant to Hornchurch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 5, 2005 Author Share Posted October 5, 2005 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Spav: This is a very enjoyable and comprehensive write-up, LC. Pity about the play-off failure, but hopefully a good run of form this season will see you move up to the top of the table and thus render the play-offs irrelevant to Hornchurch. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks Spav, I've run into good form as of late, so hopefully I'll avoid the playoffs this time round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 5, 2005 Author Share Posted October 5, 2005 Hornchurch 1) 2-0 (0 Tamworth A return to the normal league program with a match against struggling Tamworth. The team returned to full strength, with Scott Woods, Ben Woods and Lee Grant all returning to the lineup. I intended to play more entertaining football for this game. We got off to an excellent start for within a minute John McSporran received two yellow cards. One for holding back Barnes, then arguing about the decision. Already a major advantage handed to us. Despite our man advantage we had trouble breaking Tamworth down. It was only when I changed to a 4-4-2 that we began to make our pressure tell. Our goal came just before half time. Barnes was once again the provider. He whipped in a fine cross that Tolley managed to squeeze in between the keeper and left post. A deserved lead and it put us in a commanding position before half time. The second half was as tight as the first, well tight for chances anyway. I don’t think Tamworth ventured into our half once, they certainly didn’t have any shots on goal. Gareth Law finished off the game with a goal that he personally needed, Tolley set him up with a simple finish from close range. A simple game for us, though who knows how it would have gone if McSporran had stayed on the pitch? The game left me with selection problems for the next match. Barnes picked up a suspension for his 5th yellow card and Ben Woods was injured. My wingers would have an unfamiliar look for teh next game. Shane Tolley’s performances have been magnificent and League clubs are beginning to take an interest in him. West Ham scouts were present for the Tamworth game. Who’ll be in the crowd when we visit Wycombe. Wycombe Wanderers 2) 2-4 (3 Hornchurch Townley replaced Barnes and Marshall came in for Ben Woods. Also I swapped Culshaw for the tired Burwood. I think they’ll be unhappy to have missed such an exciting game. It was Wycombe who made the brighter start. Tyson was like a shark amongst sardines! Scharrenburg was dragged out of position and Tyson pounced with great aplomb, a fine finish and we were in trouble. It only took ten minutes for us to reply, Tolley poached both the goals. Indeed he scored both of them from very similar positions. Salt provided the first and Law the second. Things got even better 12 minutes later. Scott Woods started the move with a long ball deep in his own half. Law ran down the wing and finished superbly. A fantastic strike. Wycombe provided a lot of excitement of their own though. Five minutes later they pulled back a vital goal. Ian Stonebridge took advantage of a chaotic goalmouth scramble and stroked the ball in. Wycombe were not finished yet. The second half was a very exciting affair. It bounded from goalmouth to goalmouth, tough challenges were made and the ball was scrambled away following numerous last ditch challenges. It was a joy to watch for the neutral and quite nervewracking for me. The game was finally ended just before the final whistle. Tom Kemp had come on for Tolley and he impressed with his skill. It was a fine run and his finish was assured. It capped off a very exciting game! Yet another strikers game. Tolley was superb, Law was out of the world. This win now takes us 6 points clear at the top. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 10, 2005 Author Share Posted October 10, 2005 Yet another League Club headhunts me. The Mansfield town Chairman personally visits the stadium and offers me the job. The fact that Mansfield are in debt and have only 20k to spend on players doesn’t really tempt me. It would take a lot to prise me away from Hornchurch. Hornchurch 1) 1-0 (0 Burton Albion It wasn’t a good performance by any stretch of the imagination but today luck was on our side against 9th placed Burton Albion. We were once again beneficiaries of a bizarre own goal. I have been unable to craft an effective attacking formation, especially in the second half we were subdued. Burton had plenty of chances to score. Our only goal came in the 35th minute, Colm Murphy will be furious with his keeper, who wasn’t ready for a backpass and just watched the ball go in. A very unsatisfactory win! League 1 team Hartlepool were interested in my managerial abilities, surprising considering they had someone watching the Burton game. They are in League 1 but I still refuse to join. I have many years at Hornchurch yet. James Singh must be a player of potential, Brighton in League 1 wanted to take him on loan and I accepted, what a marvelous chance for him to develop. Hornchurch 1) 3-0 (0 Leigh RMI My team returned to full strength and this was a much improved performance against lowly opposition. We were aided by the 8th minute dismissal of David Bagan. Leigh posed very little threat to us, however it took half an hour for us to break them, Phil Salt on the end of a Ben Woods cross. We continued our domination into the second half, I had replaced the injured Salt with Cousins and he scored his first ever Hornchurch goal, a long range effort that Dunbavin palmed into the net. Our victory was rounded off by the ever reliable Shane Tolley. He received the ball in the area and Leigh were treated to his usual close range knife work. A satisfactory victory and a good team performance. With that win we maintain our 5 point advantage over Rochdale. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 11, 2005 Author Share Posted October 11, 2005 I begin my clearout. Four players are put on the list. Ian Brown, Nick Mitchell, Ian Clarke and Peter Wilkinson. None of them have figured in my plans and I don’t think they will ever make the first team, so the best thing to do is lose them. There is also intense media speculation about Shane Tolley. It is public knowledge that West Ham want him. In my interview with the press I state that I don’t want to lose him but if a big offer comes in I can’t keep him at Hornchurch. Accordingly I up his asking price to 500k. He is valued at 140k. FA Trophy Fifth Round Leigh RMI 1) 2-2 (0 Hornchurch My entire defence needed a rest, so I heeded my physio’s advice and rested the entire first team for what I considered a not so important game. The reserves would get another tryout. We had just beaten Leigh in the league easily, so I was hopeful of a win on this day. We well dominated this game but spurned our chances to do it. Nick Mitchell had a dire game in attack, missing two good chances to score. It took 40 minutes for a goal to be scored and it was achieved by the home team. Jamie Scothern connecting with a cross in spectacular fashion, a fantastic diving header. Leigh carried their lead into the interval. Our second half got off to a poor start when Townley got injured. I brought on one of our regulars in the shape of Ben Woods. It was Woods who finally grabbed our equalizer on 61 minutes, Kemp passed to him on the wing and Woods ran into the box and slid the ball into the right corner. A deserved equalizer. Soon afterwards Nick Boothby gave us the lead with a header from a Danny Harvey cross. We were now in control. Predictably Leigh upped the tempo. Their equalizer was unexpected and undeserved. James Booth crossed the ball into the six yard box but it took an unexpected trajectory and surprised Holmes at the near post. Only 8 minutes to win the game. We were not equal to the challenge and there will be a replay in the week. A mixed performance from my reserves. Beckford, Holmes and Mitchell were poor. The good performers were such players as Cousins and Heathcote who are on the fringes of the first team. Shane Tolley has now made his position clear. He is interested in West Ham. Well if the price is right he can go! FA Trophy 5th Round Replay Hornchurch 0) 0-1 (0 Leigh RMI (AET) The reserves took the pitch again and they failed to cover themselves in glory. We dominated most of the game but their keeper was in superb form and Abdi Ahmed was a constant thorn in our side. Their breakthrough came int eh Second Half of Extra Time. I’d brought on Tolley, Brand and Salt to add some mettle to the team, they could only stand on and watch as Abdi Ahmed danced through my defence and set up Glynn Hurst with an easy tap in. Their defence was tight for teh last 8 minutes, all we could manage was a speculative Tolley shot from about 40 yards. Very disappointing. I offer a contract to Simon Kelly, an Irish right winger. He is a talented player who could add another dimension to the right wing. Bury 1) 1-3 (2 Hornchurch A full strength team was available for the game at 8th placed Bury. The only change was that I left out Brand and used Marshall in his place. The first ten minutes were exciting and yielded a goal apiece. We grabbed the first, Scott Woods hit them on the counter and released Ben Woods on the wing, he passed to Salt, who set up Law superbly. Within a minute Bury had levelled, a Darren Wilson looping header that took Allaway by surprise, it had looked to be going over. Hornchurch had the better of the half, hitting the hosts on the break. Gareth law grabbed our second in the 28th minute, superb wingplay by Barnes setting him up. Bury were unable to respond before half time was blown. The second half was much duller, Law went on to grab his hat trick though and near the end the Bury keeper was sent off for bringing down Kemp following a superb Hornchurch move. Sadly Burwood missed his first ever Hornchurch penalty. A superb team performance. We now head the table with an 8 point margin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 11, 2005 Author Share Posted October 11, 2005 It looks like Shane Tolley won’t be long for Hornchurch. He made it clear to me in a meeting that he wanted to leave the club. I reluctantly put him up for sale, I’ll be searching for a left footed striker soon. Richard Carter wants to leave Hornchurch, I place him on the least and it isn’t long before clubs begin to sniff around him. Teams are also interested in Ricardo Beckford. Irishman Simon Kelly confirms his Hornchurch player. He will be valuable on the Right Wing. Nuneaton Borough 1) 2-1 (1 Hornchurch My players were weary and they really didn’t appreciate a midweek visit to Nuneaton. At least I’d have Brand returning to the team. The home team made a bright start and just after 4 minutes they rattled the crossbar with a splendid long range strike from Handford. We reacted in suitable fashion and took the lead a minute later, Ben Woods surged down the right wing and whipped in a fine cross for Law, whose header defeated their keeper. Nuneaton kept on the pressure though and struck the bar soon afterwards, Noon this time striking the ball. Nuneaton retained the ball and Fitzpatrick had a close range effort that was well saved by Allaway. Allaway turned from hero to villain. He climbed over Fitzpatrick in the box 5 minutes later and conceded a penalty. Curtis stepped up and earnt Nuneaton a well deserved equalizer. Nuneaton continued to dominate the second half, we were very subdued! Our second half performance wasn’t bad, however we lacked penetration. Nuneaton had a hail of chances and Gez Murphy put them ahead on 60 minutes. We were unable to claw our way back into the game and lost our unbeaten run after 16 games. I hope this isn’t the start of another slump! Despite losing and being dominated the team actually played well. I have no understanding of the contradiction. Rochdale drew their game so we are 7 points in front. Brighton & Hove Albion are interested in my services. They are 19th in Division 1 but I reject their offer. Hornchurch 1)2 -0 (0 Morecambe Another tough game against Morecambe, 9th in the league and enjoying a decent run. I rested quite a few players for this game, I wanted to easy weary legs. We played reasonably well in the first half. We didn’t overwhelm Morecambe but we were good value for money. Shane Tolley grabbed our only goal of the half, he ran onto A Law through ball and squeezed the ball past the keeper. Morecambe had few efforts of note in the half and weren’t really a threat. The second half was in the same mood as the first, until Morecambe changed their formation. When they went to 4-2-4 they had an initial surge of chances, forcing some very good saves from Allaway. However we soon neutered them and the game was finished off in very unusual style. Bizarrely Lee Grant wanted to try his luck from a freekick. He stepped up and his effort was superb. The game was finished. Another decent team performance. I’m happy with the way things are going. The following week was very busy in the way of transfers. Beckford signed for Wrexham, Carter went to Billericay. Both of these transfers were expected, however the major sale was Shane Tolley to Aldershot for 500k. Truly the end of an era and I now have a major gap to fill. I think it was worth it for that amount of money though! Southend Utd 2) 3-0 (0 Hornchurch The first game post Tolley and the signs were not at all encouraging. Southend almost totally dominated this game, Hornchurch were utter crap and I was most angry, not to mention worried following the game. We held out for half an hour, then the floodgates opened. The first goal was a bizarre deflection of Lee Marshall. Not long afterwards Southend grabbed a second and that ended all resistance. The injury to Allaway in the second half just made things worse. Lynott played in goal and was actually pretty respectable. A dire game I want to forget. Hopefully it isn’t the game that marks a dramatic slump. God I hope not. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 17, 2005 Author Share Posted October 17, 2005 Just five more games to go this season. There are plenty of teams who are within range of us but realistically the only side that can catch us is Rochdale. We have a 7 point advantage over them and the next game is crucial. We face Rochdale at home. I wasn’t hopeful for the match! We had played dreadfully against Southend and now we faced our closest rivals. It would be a stern test but I was struck by a double bombshell on Friday. Gareth Law was out for a month, Lee Grant would be injured for 2 weeks. Oh woe! They both picked up niggling training injuries, Law missed a significant portion of my last campaign, now he’d be missing for a crucial part of this one! So ahead of a game that will decide our season, Hornchurch were denied the services of vital players! Hornchurch v Rochdale Most of my first team was available but key positions were weakened. The erratic Culshaw replaced the reliable Grant. My forward line was worst hit of all. Tom Kemp is a good performer but he is hardly prolific. Ian Clarke is simply not good enough for this level and I have listed him! A toughly contested game that was decided by bad luck!. We got off to a terrible start. 12 minutes into the game Kemp was carted off with an injury inflicted by Raven, it looked pretty bad. I only had one recognized striker now and he wasn’t particulary good. I brought on Cousins and changed to a 4-5-1, Cousins slotting into his preferred central midfield role. I was hoping to contain Rochdale, however my formation instantly paid dividends. Clarke received the ball in the area, he didn’t have an angle so he passed the ball to Salt who volleyed............... and scored. The ball took a deflection of Raven on the way in and that was enough to fool their keeper. We now had a tight cohesive shape to our game and 5 minutes later we struck again. A long range Cousins shot that deflected off Brisco and went in. Yet another deflected goal helped us on our way. Rochdale poured more effort into their attack and were unlucky. Simmonds forced a close in save from Allaway, whilst Holt hit the post with a snap shot. Before the half was out we finished the game off though. Ian Clarke may not be the best of players but he does have his assets. Apart from being the apple of my chairman’s eye, he also has unusual strength for a 17 year old He used that strength to shoulder through the Rochdale defence and score a goal. He did well. The second half was a sedate affair compared to the first and was much tighter. Near the end we lost another player to injury, Dennis Scharrenburg. We had done the damage though. Destiny was in our hands. Hornchurch 3) 3-0 (0 Rochdale A satisfactory performance, Clarke played surprisingly well and Cousins was commanding in Midfield. If Rochdale lose the next game, all we need is a draw. It will be tough though, we face Gravesend! Rochdale have an easier tie away to 21st placed St Albans. Hornchurch v Gravesend With Tom Kemp out I was forced to make changes. Luckily Simon Kelly was available for the Right Wing, so I was able to move Ben Woods to his old position of Striker. The rest of the positions were unchanged. As expected it was a tight game, Gravesend are never easy and this game was no exception. They pushed us hard. The opening minutes gave me cause for optimism, Clarke had a good chance to score but volleyed the ball straight at the keeper. However Gravesend didn’t take long to pull themselves into the game and in the 19th minute disaster struck. There was the usual pushing and shoving at a corner situation. Nathan Bunce shoved into Burwood and Burwood shoved back. Bunce made the most of it and soon after a penalty was awarded. Dean West made no mistake from the spot. Gravesend defended very tightly and it took us a while to gain more meaningful chances. We had a breakthrough on 37 minutes, a Barnes cross found Clarke on the edge of the area and he half volleyed in. We had reason to hope. Half time arrived and the game was still level. I checked up on the St Albans/Rochdale game and noticed that things were level. Holt had put Rochdale ahead within a minute, Cuirsey equalized for St Albans a few minutes before the interval. If both games stayed the same we would be the champions. The second half was a tight game bereft of chances. Gravesend had the better of the chances, Omiyini missed two open goals. We were able to hang on though, the game ended in an unsatisfying 1-1 draw. Gravesend were the better team. Hornchurch 1) 1-1 (1 Gravesend Ian Clarke is putting in some good performances, he may be soon to leave, his goal was very useful though It was the goal that won Hornchurch promotion to the Football League Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 17, 2005 Author Share Posted October 17, 2005 Just as well we have won the league because our final set of games are rather tough. Away to Playoff chasing York City, a side that walloped us last season. Then away to in-form Accrington before visiting the improving St Albans, who are fighting tooth and nail to retain their Conference status. York City v Hornchurch Simon Kelly picked up a injury in training, so I recalled Marshall to the Right Wing and kept Ben Woods up front, I had no need for other changes. We made a bright start to the game, coming close twice, however it wasn’t long before we were on the backfoot. York had retained memories of their victory last year and wanted a repeat performance. It didn’t take them long to set off on that road. Just 17 minutes into the game, Gavin Skelton fired in a freekick from 25 yards. We were in trouble. York continued to pile on the pressure, Skelton had another long range shot and Pead should have done better with the goal at his mercy. It was the run of play that we scored, the goal was of course a fluke. A Barnes freekick found Woods in the area. He intended to control the ball but his control lacked for once and the ball dribbled free, past the keeper who was expecting a header or cross. A bizarre way to equalize. York continued to pressurize but failed to breach my defence. It was a tough half for us though, York were in control. The second half began in a similar fashion to the first, York had plenty of chances. We eventually managed to dominate the midfield though, despite the loss of Salt to injury. Cousins was more than capable of covering for him. Twenty minutes form the end we earnt our breakthrough. Marshall intercepted the ball down in defence and sent an imperfect ball to Cousins. Cousins was far too greedy and was muscled off the ball. Fortunately Harvey picked up the loose ball and scored his first senior goal. I concentrated on my defence for the rest of the game and we held the home team at bay rather comfortably. An excellent win. York City 1) 1-2 (1 Hornchurch A great team performance. Scott Woods, Marshall and Barnes were excellent, Burwood was outstanding in defence but the real star was Ben Woods, he terrorized the York defence with his superb attacking runs. The only disappointment was a poor performance from Allaway. He’s needs a rest anyway and Holmes needs to be blooded in a league match. I begin to think of the future. I put in a request to approve the training facilities. Calder is all too happy to agree, may have something to do with the fact that I caught him canoodling with Ian Clark in the office. No need to tell Carlos yet. The sale of Tolley has freed up a lot of money for wages. I hire an extra coach, Paul Dunlop, who hasd excellent all round skills. I expect him to make a positive impact. Accrington Stanley v Hornchurch With nothing to play for I thought this game would be perfect to experiment. I gave Karl Holmes his league debut and tried to play a different type of football. I kept the same formation but instructed my team to play at a slower pace, I wanted a deliberate continental style of play. The new style didn’t really work out, though Holmes did have a decent debut. The major problem was that we failed to create much in front of goal. Accrington took the lead after 24 minutes, we failed to clear the lines after Holmes batted away a freekick and we paid the penalty. Michael Wilcox dribbled the ball around a stranded Holmes and scored. Accrington were dangerous in front of goal and deserved our victory. Technically our performance was good, however we couldn’t convert our technical superiority into goals! Accrington Stanley 1) 1-0 (0 Hornchurch Not long to the end of the season and it still matters for many teams. Six teams are still battling for a Playoff place whilst at the bottom St Albans and Scarborough battle to stay in the division. Both teams will have a difficult job, Scarborough are at home to Playoff chasing Morecambe, while St Albans face Hornchurch St Albans v Hornchurch St Albans were let down by woeful finishing in this game, they had their chances but didn’t make much of them. Unfortunately we were no better in that respect. It was a very competitive match, St Albans had two players carted off and another player was dismissed in the last moments of the game. Hornchurch put in a very good defensive performance. Our defense affected the relegation struggle, Scarborough pulverized Morecambe and stayed up. Morecambe will spend at least another year in the Conference and St Albans will enjoy life in the Conference South! St Albans 0-0 Hornchurch Our season is over, the rebuilding begins. Division 2 here we come! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 19, 2005 Author Share Posted October 19, 2005 The standard Final Tables <UL TYPE=SQUARE>Holders - Man Utd | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Man Utd | | 38 | 27 | 6 | 5 | 73 | 24 | +49 | 87 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Arsenal | | 38 | 27 | 3 | 8 | 85 | 43 | +42 | 84 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Liverpool | | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 68 | 29 | +39 | 73 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Chelsea | | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 73 | 35 | +38 | 73 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Aston Villa | | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 57 | 35 | +22 | 69 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Newcastle | | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 63 | 42 | +21 | 67 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Tottenham | | 38 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 62 | 58 | +4 | 61 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Fulham | | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 55 | 44 | +11 | 58 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Blackburn | | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 47 | 46 | +1 | 58 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Nottm Forest | | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 38 | 44 | -6 | 54 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Middlesbrough | | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 50 | 58 | -8 | 46 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Wolves | | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 53 | 71 | -18 | 45 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Everton | | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 49 | 60 | -11 | 43 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Birmingham | | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 32 | 47 | -15 | 42 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Leicester | | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 45 | 50 | -5 | 41 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Bolton | | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 35 | 44 | -9 | 41 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Portsmouth | | 38 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 36 | 63 | -27 | 32 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | R | West Brom | | 38 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 36 | 76 | -40 | 27 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | R | Southampton | | 38 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 34 | 77 | -43 | 26 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Charlton | | 38 | 3 | 10 | 25 | 24 | 69 | -45 | 19 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 19, 2005 Author Share Posted October 19, 2005 Holders - Man City | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Man City | | 46 | 29 | 13 | 4 | 79 | 28 | +51 | 100 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Leeds | | 46 | 26 | 15 | 5 | 69 | 25 | +44 | 93 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Derby | | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 82 | 50 | +32 | 87 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | P | West Ham | | 46 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 77 | 48 | +29 | 84 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Coventry | | 46 | 24 | 10 | 12 | 65 | 42 | +23 | 82 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Wigan | | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 67 | 41 | +26 | 80 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Sunderland | | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 67 | 46 | +21 | 79 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Crystal Palace | | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 78 | 47 | +31 | 78 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Q.P.R. | | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 71 | 53 | +18 | 72 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Sheff Utd | | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 47 | 54 | -7 | 65 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Gillingham | | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 58 | 67 | -9 | 63 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Stoke | | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 43 | 50 | -7 | 62 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Millwall | | 46 | 18 | 6 | 22 | 67 | 61 | +6 | 60 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Preston | | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 70 | 80 | -10 | 58 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Watford | | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 70 | 79 | -9 | 57 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Norwich | | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 53 | 65 | -12 | 57 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Reading | | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 52 | 58 | -6 | 53 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Tranmere | | 46 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 43 | 72 | -29 | 49 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Ipswich | | 46 | 9 | 20 | 17 | 54 | 73 | -19 | 47 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Cardiff | | 46 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 57 | 80 | -23 | 47 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Swindon | | 46 | 8 | 13 | 25 | 41 | 71 | -30 | 37 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | R | Rotherham | | 46 | 7 | 15 | 24 | 31 | 73 | -42 | 36 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | R | Plymouth | | 46 | 9 | 9 | 28 | 48 | 91 | -43 | 36 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | R | Bristol C | | 46 | 5 | 16 | 25 | 34 | 69 | -35 | 31 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Holders - Burnley | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Burnley | | 46 | 29 | 13 | 4 | 74 | 20 | +54 | 100 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Brentford | | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 73 | 43 | +30 | 89 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Swansea | | 46 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 91 | 60 | +31 | 83 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Sheff Wed | | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 64 | 52 | +12 | 74 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | P | Luton | | 46 | 18 | 19 | 9 | 53 | 37 | +16 | 73 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Peterborough | | 46 | 17 | 22 | 7 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 73 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Crewe | | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 71 | 53 | +18 | 72 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Blackpool | | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 68 | 54 | +14 | 70 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Chesterfield | | 46 | 16 | 20 | 10 | 51 | 45 | +6 | 68 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Oldham | | 46 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 60 | 48 | +12 | 65 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Doncaster | | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 69 | 60 | +9 | 65 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Hull | | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 63 | 59 | +4 | 65 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Bristol Rovers | | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 60 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Bradford City | | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 45 | 57 | -12 | 55 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Barnsley | | 46 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 60 | 65 | -5 | 54 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Oxford | | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 50 | 60 | -10 | 53 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Huddersfield | | 46 | 11 | 19 | 16 | 37 | 52 | -15 | 52 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Walsall | | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 46 | 66 | -20 | 52 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Brighton | | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 49 | 74 | -25 | 48 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Hartlepool | | 46 | 9 | 19 | 18 | 37 | 51 | -14 | 46 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | R | Torquay | | 46 | 10 | 15 | 21 | 51 | 81 | -30 | 45 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | R | Cheltenham | | 46 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 39 | 62 | -23 | 43 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | R | Rushden | | 46 | 8 | 18 | 20 | 33 | 51 | -18 | 42 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | R | Wrexham | | 46 | 5 | 13 | 28 | 31 | 80 | -49 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Holders - Bournemouth | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Bournemouth | | 46 | 25 | 13 | 8 | 71 | 41 | +30 | 88 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Darlington | | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 60 | 47 | +13 | 83 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | P | Notts Co | | 46 | 24 | 8 | 14 | 80 | 58 | +22 | 80 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | P | Boston Utd | | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 77 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Northampton | | 46 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 69 | 55 | +14 | 77 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | MK Dons | | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 60 | 43 | +17 | 76 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Stockport | | 46 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 60 | 47 | +13 | 72 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Port Vale | | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 66 | 58 | +8 | 72 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Cambridge | | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 61 | 47 | +14 | 70 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Leyton Orient | | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 71 | 62 | +9 | 68 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Lincoln | | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 57 | 59 | -2 | 63 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Grimsby | | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 62 | 66 | -4 | 61 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Colchester | | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 44 | 46 | -2 | 60 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Stevenage | | 46 | 17 | 8 | 21 | 55 | 62 | -7 | 59 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Aldershot | | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 61 | 60 | +1 | 58 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Scunthorpe | | 46 | 13 | 18 | 15 | 58 | 60 | -2 | 57 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Kidderminster | | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 49 | 59 | -10 | 56 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Shrewsbury | | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 54 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Carlisle | | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 53 | 60 | -7 | 54 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Macclesfield | | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 52 | 72 | -20 | 53 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Exeter | | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 58 | 75 | -17 | 50 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Chester | | 46 | 11 | 11 | 24 | 48 | 74 | -26 | 44 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | R | Mansfield | | 46 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 46 | 71 | -25 | 40 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | R | Yeovil | | 46 | 8 | 11 | 27 | 46 | 81 | -35 | 35 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Holders - Hornchurch | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Hornchurch | | 42 | 23 | 12 | 7 | 66 | 31 | +35 | 81 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Rochdale | | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 73 | 44 | +29 | 71 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Southend | | 42 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 58 | 48 | +10 | 68 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Burton | | 42 | 17 | 16 | 9 | 62 | 35 | +27 | 67 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | P | York | | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 59 | 41 | +18 | 66 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Gravesend | | 42 | 16 | 18 | 8 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 66 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Halifax | | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 68 | 50 | +18 | 64 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Morecambe | | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 57 | 52 | +5 | 64 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Accrington | | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 44 | 50 | -6 | 61 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Wycombe | | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 54 | 48 | +6 | 59 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Bury | | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 58 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Barnet | | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 54 | 56 | -2 | 57 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Sutton Utd | | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 55 | 63 | -8 | 57 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Nuneaton | | 42 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 52 | 52 | 0 | 56 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Hereford | | 42 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 56 | 56 | 0 | 55 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Tamworth | | 42 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 55 | 72 | -17 | 51 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Dag & Red | | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 45 | 48 | -3 | 50 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Canvey Island | | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 38 | 58 | -20 | 46 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Scarborough | | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 41 | 56 | -15 | 43 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | St. Albans | | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 36 | 59 | -23 | 42 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | R | Leigh RMI | | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 46 | 71 | -25 | 40 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | R | Crawley | | 42 | 5 | 14 | 23 | 33 | 80 | -47 | 29 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Holders - Hyde | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Hyde | | 42 | 18 | 17 | 7 | 58 | 31 | +27 | 71 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Kettering | | 42 | 18 | 17 | 7 | 55 | 41 | +14 | 71 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Lancaster | | 42 | 17 | 16 | 9 | 57 | 42 | +15 | 67 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Barrow | | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 57 | 44 | +13 | 67 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | P | Northwich | | 42 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 61 | 40 | +21 | 63 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Southport | | 42 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 63 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Hinckley | | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 56 | 48 | +8 | 63 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Gateshead | | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 49 | 48 | +1 | 62 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Stafford Rangers | | 42 | 14 | 17 | 11 | 50 | 44 | +6 | 59 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Droylsden | | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 59 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Burscough | | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 57 | 55 | +2 | 58 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Moor Green | | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 58 | 56 | +2 | 57 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Altrincham | | 42 | 13 | 18 | 11 | 50 | 53 | -3 | 57 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Gainsborough | | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 58 | 64 | -6 | 54 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Ashton Utd | | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 51 | 48 | +3 | 53 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Alfreton | | 42 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 51 | 59 | -8 | 48 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Marine | | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 62 | 78 | -16 | 47 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Hednesford | | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 40 | 52 | -12 | 46 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Vauxhall Motors | | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 36 | 51 | -15 | 44 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Harrogate Town | | 42 | 9 | 16 | 17 | 39 | 58 | -19 | 43 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | R | Worksop | | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 52 | 75 | -23 | 41 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | R | Wakefield & Emley | | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 40 | 63 | -23 | 40 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Holders - Hendon | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Hendon | | 42 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 65 | 34 | +31 | 82 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Halesowen | | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 65 | 37 | +28 | 79 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Forest Green | | 42 | 19 | 16 | 7 | 50 | 28 | +22 | 73 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Margate | | 42 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 57 | 48 | +9 | 70 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Harrow Boro | | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 61 | 53 | +8 | 64 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Dorchester | | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 52 | 48 | +4 | 64 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Havant & W | | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 59 | 51 | +8 | 63 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Woking | | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 54 | 48 | +6 | 60 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Bath | | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 39 | 45 | -6 | 57 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Welling | | 42 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 43 | 45 | -2 | 56 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Farnborough | | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 51 | 59 | -8 | 56 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Kingstonian | | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 54 | 52 | +2 | 55 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Worcester | | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 57 | 59 | -2 | 54 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Weymouth | | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 51 | 53 | -2 | 54 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Grays | | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 56 | 61 | -5 | 53 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Redbridge | | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 52 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Lewes | | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 47 | 59 | -12 | 51 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Newport Co | | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 44 | 45 | -1 | 49 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Hayes | | 42 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 37 | 46 | -9 | 47 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Thurrock | | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 52 | 65 | -13 | 47 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | R | Bishop's Stortford | | 42 | 7 | 13 | 22 | 45 | 72 | -27 | 34 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | R | Basingstoke | | 42 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 33 | 64 | -31 | 32 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 19, 2005 Author Share Posted October 19, 2005 The season was drawing to a close and I had achieved promotion for Hornchurch. Now would begin the period of consolidation and rebuilding. There were definitely players I would have to let go, and positions that would require strengthening. Bringing in more youth players would be a definite priority. First I’d have to free the funds to bring them in. Fortunately our financial situation was very good. The sale of Tolley has secured Hornchurch’s finances. Calder had already agreed to upgrade the training facilities, so my team would be able to get the most out of my players. Before the season had finally finished I had released three more players. Despite winning us the league I let Ian Clarke go. He just doesn’t have the quality I am looking for . Ian Brown and Mark Curtis joined him. They came up through the Youth system and to be honest were never going to make the grade. I attended the usual back slapping festivities that occur at the end of the season. I wasn’t surprised to win manager of the, it is to be expected after winning the championship. Hornchurch players also figured strongly in the Conference Select. However the positions they put my players in surprised me. Burwood, Barnes and Law were put where I would have expected them to go. However Ben Woods was placed as Law’s partner, very surprising considering he spent most of the season on the right wing. Gareth Tolley was slotted in as a central midfielder, a position he has only ever been used in by his current club Aldershot. Gareth law also had a goal listed amongst the strikes of the season. The judges were impressed with his 30 yarder against Hereford right at the start of the season. He was also yet again the fans player of the year. As soon as May rolled over into June I began to search for new talent. I would be indiscriminate in my hunt for youth talent, going for those players who I thought may develop into stars. I couldn’t afford to be so scattershot with the senior squad though. I was mainly looking for more cover for the central Defence, rightback and left wing positions. My main aim was to get a left footed striker. I needed a natural to partner Law. The search for first teamers was to prove very frustrating. Despite being a League club hardly anyone wanted to come to Hornchurch. Even players like Bas Savage at Kingstonian wanted ridiculous money and refused to negotiate. I also looked at Ben Burgess at recently relegated Yeovil and Kevin Braniff at Carshalton. No luck, even with Braniff who was on stupid money for a Ryman Premier team. I had more luck searching for Youth Talent. I brought in several players. In Darren Gregory I have a potential Premiership player, he is already the most skillful player at Hornchurch and he is only 16! Sam Hunt A skilful creative right sided midfielder who can be converted to Right Back if I wish, since he has very good defensive qualities. I’ll keep him as he is for now though. Gary French One of two defensive midfielders that I brought in, very good passer of the ball, needs to work on his defensive skills. Darren Gregory Simply a superb all round striker. I broke my wage limits to bring him in, he’s on £700 a week but he’s well worth it. The best player at Hornchurch and possibly future premiership standard. I’ll keep a close eye on him. Chris Baldwin A pacy striker who needs to work on his finishing skills. Has potential though. Mark Corbett My second Defensive Midfielder., very creative but lacks defensive qualities. If his defending skills improve he will become the ideal player to start off our attacks. Dave Allen Named in honour of the Pensioners favorite comedian. Good on the ball will be developed as another left sided midfielder. Ryan Pearson I intend to promote Holmes to the senior squad so this guy will be ideal in the Reserves. I don’t think he’s as talented as Holmes or Allaway but it’s always handy to have extra keepers. With these new players in place I was ready to begin the Pre-Season friendlies. I had a great interest in seeing how the newbies fared. Hornchurch 0) 2-0 (0 Walsall A tough match against a team a league senior to us. My new starlets played decently, though none of them really shone. It was an old starlet who set us on our way. Gary Burt was freshly converted to the striker role and he enjoyed attacking the defence. Halfway through the second half he was set up by Gregory and muscled his way through the defence before scoring with a well placed shot. Lee Marshall finished the game off with a penalty. The following day it was Gary Burt’s birthday and he decided to celebrate it by walking out on Hornchurch. He released himself on a free and refused to negotiate. There are League 2 sides interested in him and if he signs for one of them I will be extremely annoyed. I’m peeved off as it is. Hornchurch 1) 2-0 (0 Wrexham Another tough match in which few players really impressed. Law gave us an early lead form a corner and Kemp finished the game off in the second half. Hornchurch 1) 1-2 (2 Chelsea Reserves I played a weaker team for this match, trying to ensure that all my players got some exposure. I played the same slow boiling game I used in the first two games. It was a mistake. Chelsea had Gudjoinsson in attack and for the first 15 minutes we were destroyed. Cole had 3 clear chances to score and missed the lot. Chelsea did score through Warren and A Boothby deflection. We had to play a more tentative game and our performance improved much after the changes were made. We got back in with an own goal of our own. However the Chelsea defence was very tight for the rest of the match and we were unable to make any headway. An unimpresive performance. Halesowen 0) 0-2 (1 Hornchurch Another tight game for us. Halesowen were unlucky not to promoted to the Conference last season and certainly made a good case for their progresion in this match. Tom Kemp put us ahead in the first half and Darren Gregory scored his first Hornchurch goal in the Second Half. The first of many I hope. Barry Town 0) 0-3 (1 Hornchurch A game of two halves. In the first half we were poor, in the second I swapped the team around and we were superb! We were lucky to go up before the first half. Barry were playing well and we were having trouble containing them. Our first goal was a Gregory Baldwin combo, with Gregory setting up Baldwin for the goal. In the second half I played a mostly regular first team side. The difference was startling to behold. Salt and Ben Woods scored for us and it should have been more but Burwood missed a penalty. We are looking in good shape for the start of the season. 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Lord Crumb Posted October 19, 2005 Author Share Posted October 19, 2005 Hornchurch V Kidderminster Our first game of the season was home to expected relegation battlers Kidderminster. I was hoping for a good performance my team. I had everyone available. Simon Kelly started on the right wing and Gregory was on the bench raring to go. The first half was encouraging but frustrating. We caught the visitors on the break many times but sadly Law’s and Wood’s finishing was not up to par. The amount of shots I saw go over was ridiculous. Law tended to blast the ball too hard whilst Woods shots were weak. I had to take Woods off at half time. He had picked up an injury and hadn’t played too well anyway. I went optimistically into the second half. Sadly we got off to an awful start in the second half. From a set piece Iyesden Christie headed into the net. The rest of the game saw Kidderminster clam up. We failed to create in front of goal. I was very disappointed. Phil Salt had a good game in central midfield. The rest of the team made no impact, Allaway carried on his indifferent form from last season. Hornchurch 0) 0-1 (0 Kidderminster Ben Woods is out for two weeks, it looks like Gregory will get his call up much earlier than expected. Colchester Utd V Hornchurch A difficult away game for us. I was forced to pair Kemp and Gregory in attack, due to Law being too tired to participate. We got of to a very bright start, we had 3 good chances to score within the first 5 minutes. Gregory had a few good chances but his finishing was wayward. Eventually Colchester were able to dictate the tempo though and they began to pressurize us. The last ten minutes were very torrid for us indeed and we were very lucky not to go behind. Things would have to improve for the second half. Just like in the last game we lost our way in the second half, veteran Kevin Watson put Colchester ahead with a superb 30 yard strike. We proved unable to respond adequately. Colchester finished the game off with a rebound following a flowing Colchester move. As I pushed more men into midfield our performance improved, however we were never equal to the task and were deserved losers. Colchester Utd 0) 2-0 (0 Hornchurch The Colchester manager Chris Kinnear decided to rub it in by stating that he expected Hornchurch to get relegated back to the conference. I was most unhappy with his statement but failed to find a sympathetic ear. Hornchurch V Torquay A game we really needed to win. Torquay are a mid table team and we need to arrest the awful start that we have made. Gareth Law returns to the setup. I expect him to help our recovery. A very tight game few on chances. We made most of the running, whilst Torquay tried to hit us on the break. We made our breakthrough in the 32nd minute. Law was brought down in the area ad Burwood converted the penalty. We had taken a deserved lead. Torquay failed to pose a threat to us. Anything they did get was contrived by our own players. Halfway through the second half they got their goal. Sean Allaway came rushing out of goal as a cross came in for Danny Haynes. Danny Haynes nodded the ball past the stranded Allaway and earnt Torquay an undeserved equalizer. Our attempts to regain the initiative were thwarted by injuries to Gregory and Scharrenburg. We were unable to regain the advantage. Hornchurch 1) 1-1 (0 Torquay Very disappointing not to in this game. Sean Allaway is solely to blame for not picking up maximum points. He has made a very poor start to the season and finds himself relegated to the bench for the next game. I also gave him a verbal warning. Just 1 point out off 9. I reckon we were worthy of wins for two of those games so it seems we were unlucky. Our luck has to change otherwise Chris Kinnear’s prediction may come true! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Well done on winning the Conference title. I'm sure things will settle down after you adjust to Division 2 and the team will register a good position in their first season in the Football League. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 20, 2005 Author Share Posted October 20, 2005 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Spav: Well done on winning the Conference title. I'm sure things will settle down after you adjust to Division 2 and the team will register a good position in their first season in the Football League. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I certainly hope so, we have played pretty well at home, the away performances haven't been so good though. I have a lot of work to do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 20, 2005 Author Share Posted October 20, 2005 No more updates I'm sorry to say, I smashed the disc again. I was getting incredibly ****ed off with losing, nothing I do seems to stend the tide of everlasting ****. It may have been a very juvenile thing to do but I feel a lot better now. Rather my disc than another dent in the wall or snapped off CD-Rom tray. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Oh dear. Is that the end of your FM days or will you buy FM2006 and just go through it all again? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacemaker7 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Thats a shame cos you weren't doing too badly. Mibbe you need to take it less seriously Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Crumb Posted October 20, 2005 Author Share Posted October 20, 2005 I don't think I'll be buying 2006 for a while, I'll wait until I stop associating it with failure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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