Educated Hick Posted May 31, 2006 Author Share Posted May 31, 2006 May came and the board pounced themselves delighted with my performance. However, the club finances were a mess, with us having lost 74,000 pounds for April. The final match day arrived and it would be a fun one. The Conference title was still up for grabs. Currently, Shrewsbury were leading with 80 points. Chester were second with 79 points, Barnet was next with 78 and Scarborough fourth with 77. The relevant match-ups were as followed: Shrewsbury away at tenth placed Gravesend, Chester home versus 12th placed Woking, Barnet away at seventh placed AXFC and Scarborough away at 11th place Northwich Vics. This was setting up to be an explosive day. For our part, I was ready to spoil Barnet’s day. For once, I would be checking the halftime scores via the ticker on my cell phone. Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium was dry and cool. All the regulars got the nod for the last home game of the year. There was palpable excitement in the air as everyone knew what this game could mean for the league title. The fans knew what was up, which is why we had a crowd of just over 3400 on hand. Barnet, no surprise, came out swinging for the fences. They attacked desperately, piling chance after chance after chance. But, for the most part they were scattering their shots everywhere but the goal. Browne only roused himself on three occasions, preferring to watch their forwards bang shots off the crossbar or whistle way over his head or to his left and right. Our veteran defenders, aged 25, 25, 38 and 36 also coolly watched the Barnet offense struggles. Our offside trap was working wonders, consistently stopping Barnet from getting into a rhythm. Our offense was limited, but we did try to create some chances and were pretty efficient in doing so, but we failed to score. As we went into the break still at 0-0, players began checking the tickers looking for results. Gravesend was up 3-1 on Shrewsbury, Chester was knotted 0-0 with Woking and Scarborough were 0-0 with Vics. As we stared at the results, we knew the second half was going to be hell. Barnet were not going to let up, not when they had a chance to win the Conference. I sent the side back out intact and we gritted our teeth and prepared for a grim half. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 2, 2006 Author Share Posted June 2, 2006 As predicted, Barnet didn’t let up and on 54, they got the goal they had so assiduously sought when Cist nailed a volley. At 70, with twenty minutes left to go, I pulled Apilinga and Gordon for Todd and Law. At that moment, the scoreboard flashed the news that Gravesend were now up 4-1 on Shrewsbury, but that Chester and Scarborough were still fighting scoreless draws. As I sent my subs in, I told them to pick up the tempo and to attack. I didn’t want to be the manager who would create the winner of the Conference. From that moment on, we poured fire on Barnet. They were unable to cope well with holding the lead, but they kept coming at us as well. We finished 6-10 for shooting and Barnet 8-17. The offensive fireworks kept exploding in those final 20 minutes as Barnet were torn between guarding their lead and adding to it. With the crowd behind us howling for the spoiler, we kept a hand on Barnet’s throat, trying to strangle and kill their league title. In injury time, Howard broke into the clear when he dashed through and potted the ball to give us the 1-1 draw. As the game ended, heads turned in unison to the out of town scoreboard. Shrewsbury had somehow drawn 4-4 with Gravesend with three goals in the late minutes, Chester had lost at home 2-0 to Woking and Scarborough had drawn 0-0 with Vics. Shrewsbury was going back to the league only because of our efforts against Barnet. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************************************************************ English Conference - Saturday 4th May 2002 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2001/2 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Shrewsbury 42 17 3 1 44 17 8 3 10 31 37 81 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Chester 42 14 3 4 43 21 9 7 5 36 27 79 3rd Barnet 42 15 6 0 43 17 7 7 7 34 32 79 4th Scarborough 42 14 4 3 39 17 8 8 5 31 24 78 5th Dag & Red 42 12 8 1 34 14 9 6 6 31 24 77 6th Telford 42 13 6 2 47 26 8 5 8 27 29 74 7th AXFC 42 9 10 2 37 26 7 6 8 26 27 64 8th Stevenage 42 7 11 3 35 30 9 3 9 30 29 62 9th Farnborough 42 11 7 3 44 26 4 7 10 33 44 59 10th Gravesend 42 8 5 8 35 30 6 9 6 34 33 56 11th Northwich Vics 42 10 5 6 29 19 5 6 10 30 36 56 12th Woking 42 6 7 8 34 34 7 8 6 29 24 54 13th Morecambe 42 7 6 8 38 35 8 3 10 29 35 54 14th Exeter 42 8 7 6 37 30 5 7 9 25 28 53 15th Burton Albion 42 10 3 8 36 38 3 8 10 25 39 50 16th Tamworth 42 10 9 2 38 17 1 7 13 27 48 49 17th Accrington 42 8 5 8 24 25 5 4 12 18 36 48 18th Hereford 42 9 2 10 33 33 4 6 11 24 48 47 19th Halifax 42 6 5 10 28 33 5 2 14 19 40 40 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20th R Forest Green 42 8 5 8 26 30 1 6 14 19 49 38 21st R Aldershot 42 4 6 11 19 33 2 6 13 10 31 30 22nd R Leigh RMI 42 5 5 11 25 39 2 4 15 22 48 30 ************************************************************************************************ American Exiles Football Club - Saturday 4th May 2002 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2001/2 Senior Club Stats ================================================================================================ No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Allcock, Adam - - - - - - - - ---- - Apiliga, Moses 21 0 0 0 6 3 1 0 6.67 - Asser, James 13 (1) 1 0 0 4 0 0 1 7.07 - Bradley, Lee 15 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 6.67 - Brook, Robert 10 0 9 0 1 0 0 0 6.80 - Browne, John 36 0 50 0 0 1 0 2 6.89 - Burke, Graham - - - - - - - - ---- - Byrne, Matty - - - - - - - - ---- - Chandler, Jeremy 11 (1) 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.67 - Cooley, Declan 16 (5) 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.24 - Crossan, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Dallas, Andrew 7 (3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.20 - Duffy, Chris 23 3 0 0 7 1 0 2 6.83 - Durkin, Neil 35 2 0 3 (2) 2 1 0 0 6.29 - Elliot, Dominic - - - - - - - - ---- - Ellison, Gavin - - - - - - - - ---- - Evans, Lee - - - - - - - - ---- - Farid, Shuvo 19 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 6.53 - Fennelly, Clark 5 (3) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7.00 - Flynn, Dónal 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 - Gordon, Chris 41 11 0 0 3 1 0 2 6.93 - Howard, Jonathan 35 (2) 19 0 0 2 0 0 6 7.11 - Jones, James 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00 - Jones, Sam - - - - - - - - ---- - Kelly, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Kelly, John - - - - - - - - ---- - Kirkwood, Glen 26 (5) 7 0 0 1 1 0 1 6.87 - Law, Gareth 3 (7) 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 7.10 - Lissa, Ciarame - - - - - - - - ---- - Lynch, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Lyne, Neil 17 (7) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.17 - Mallard, Simon - - - - - - - - ---- - McKillop, Daniel - - - - - - - - ---- - Mitchell, Brian 38 0 0 0 3 5 1 1 6.53 - Motaleb, Fharhad - - - - - - - - ---- - Paisley, Stephen - - - - - - - - ---- - Pomroy, John - - - - - - - - ---- - Purcell, Jason 11 (14) 7 0 0 0 1 0 1 6.76 - Robinson, Carl - - - - - - - - ---- - Sadler, Adam - - - - - - - - ---- - Skelly, Lee - - - - - - - - ---- - Speight, Richard - - - - - - - - ---- - Thomas, Stephen 10 (1) 1 0 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 6.18 - Thornber, Steve 35 2 0 0 1 2 0 2 6.31 - Todd, Mark 11 (7) 3 0 0 2 1 0 0 6.61 - Truman, Danny - - - - - - - - ---- - Wade, Glen 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 6.00 - Ward, Steve 9 (1) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.20 - Young, Stephen 19 (3) 4 0 0 1 2 0 2 6.68 </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 With that, the season was over and I could relax for a couple of weeks. However, big things were afoot in the US. The congressional midterms were coming up in November of 2002. The six friends who had started this venture in early 2000 and who had not seen each other since that fateful meeting decided to meet once again in early May to plan strategy. Since we were split among Britain, Holland and Italy, we met somewhere completely neutral, Spain. We would have met in the US, but we ended up rejecting that idea because we figured we were on some Homeland Security list or another. Spain was a reasonable compromise as it was easy to travel to and most of the six would not have to change currency. What a difference the EU has made in the area of mobility. If nothing else, Europeans are now more able than ever to go any place at any time on the continent. We assembled in a quiet inn in the center of Spain. At first, the conversation was light small talk, focusing on how we were all doing in our various enterprises. For my part, I gave a quick run-down of the American Exiles FC. Finishing in the top ten of the Conference as an “expansion†franchise was really remarkable, a testament to how well our youngsters and veterans had gelled. Then the conversation turned to a far more serious topic, politics. The real subject of the meeting. Given how well Bush had handled the recent events of September 11, we knew there was no bloody way that the Republicans were going to lose Congress. They were too formidable a machine, which spoke volumes about their minority status in the past. The conservative revolution had taken shape when the GOP had lost control of the House of Representatives in 1952 along with the Senate. In addition, the President, Eisenhower proved to be a lukewarm Republican, a man who put practicality ahead of ideology. Faced with the prospect of losing everything in politics, a small coterie of Republican intelligentsia (yes, they do exist, they just don’t show themselves to the party base) set about reshaping the party. They articulated a platform that contained a radically different platform than the Democrats. Over the next few decades, as the Republicans remained a minority party, they developed the tactics that enable a minority party to achieve goals, namely tight political discipline and an unwillingness to negotiate core party principles. The Republicans received a gift in 1964 when southern Democrats left the party over the Civil Rights Bill. Though few Democrats in 2002 would be willing to admit it, the fact remains that the Democrats retained control of politics because they relied on the Southern block. Once civil rights were made law, this wing of the party bolted to the GOP, who welcomed them with open arms and used them to fashion a new conservative e ideology. The GOP made steady gains over the couple of decades, but was set back by scandals that beset Nixon and Reagan. Then, the roof fell in on the Democrats in the late 80’s as their own corruption was revealed. Their coalition finally fell in 1994 when the Republicans seized the House and Senate. Once they took the majority, the GOP used the minority discipline they had developed and used it to make sweeping changes. That trend was not going to change in 2002. So, our mission at this meeting was to see if we could come up with a way to gradually regain power. The problem was that national security was the issue in this upcoming election and the Democrats had no creditability on the issue. In truth, the only way the Democrats were going to regain power was if they could regain the conservatives they had lost, and with people like Nancy Pelosi, Tom Daschle and Howard Dean running the party, that was not likely to happen. After some desultory comments, we broke up the meeting and headed our separate ways once more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 5, 2006 Author Share Posted June 5, 2006 We received 80,000 pounds for finishing seventh in the league. Rochdale would join the Conference from the League next year and Forest Green would drop down with Leigh and Aldershot into lower league obscurity. Once the season ended, the first task was to jettison a few players from the first team who had done zilch this season. That meant Cooley, Thomas, Ward, Lyne and Dallas were let go as was, in a surprise move, Purcell. Once that was done, I looked at our reserve stats and videotape to figure out whether any of them were ready for the show next season. Then we set up the youth training schedule for the summer. Looking at the reserves, we figured there were about four players, Skelly, Fennelly, Wade and Elliot were penciled in for next years first tea that left right back and center back open for new veteran signees. Of course, if my scouts any good cheap player, U would sign him. About all I had left to do for the early part of the off-season was to send my scouts out to look for players in anticipation of the transfer deadline being lifted. We also went looking for a new goalkeeper coach. The day after Liverpool won the Premier Division, Darren Beattie joined us as one of the goalkeeper coach. In other finals, Inter won the UEFA Cup, Woking won the FA Trophy, and Juve beat Milan on penalties to win the Champions League. The scouts quickly fanned out through the Isles and it wasn’t long before we struck gold. The Ireland scout called with a glowing report on a 20 yr old named Sean Moran. It appeared that the young lad had blazing speed and passing ability. He had apparently never played with a pro team. My scout saw him at a University game and reported back that the kid, if signed, would challenge Howard for the AMC spot. When I saw the tape of Mr. Moran, I turned into a true believer. We offered the Irish lad a contract immediately. The Conference end of year awards came in. Jimmy Quinn, the Shrewsbury manager, on the MOY. Oddly enough, Browne and Asser won the May POM award. We signed Moran, who would report on June 4 when the deadline lifted. June brought with it the board update. They were happy with my performance as manager, but were distressed by our finances, which had now exceeded “safe debt†once again. We were now over 350K pints in debt. When the deadline passed, Moran joined us. I hadn’t decided where he would play yet, but he was definitely on the first team. As might be expected, all soccer business ceased while the World Cup was being played. My scouts were continuing to find good young players and we signed a couple and short-listed others. In the middle of June, the fans voted for the Supporters play of the year, naming Howard as their man. That was the official end of the 01/02 season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 7, 2006 Author Share Posted June 7, 2006 The 02/03 season started nicely as we received 100,000 pounds for TV rights. We needed that money to help cut our debt and I was hoping that with season ticket revenue, we would be able to purchase players again. The four new teams in the Conference for this season were Canvey Island, Halesowen, Rochdale and Southport. Hayes told me that the board would be happy if we managed to avoid relegation. Me, I was aiming for a top five finish. I wasn’t sure we had the players to win the Conference, but I did feel we were good enough to finish high in the standings. On Saturday the 22 of June, I called around to set up a preseason exhibition schedule set to begin on August 1. The idea was to play four matches, two home, two away to give the first team games and to help establish the regular lineup for the season. I knew who I wanted on the first team, but I wasn’t sure who would be the regulars. None of the League sides were willing to play us, so I turned to non-league competition. The friendly schedule would be as followed: Aug 1- Away at AFC Wimbledon, Aug 4, home against Nuneaton Borough, Aug 7 away at Dover and Aug 10 home versus Bradford Park Avenue. We had some player news near the end of the month. Brian Mitchell decided to retire just before players were due to show up for training camp and 16 year of central defender Richard Richardson became the first player to graduate from the youth academy. Young retired soon after, leaving more gaps in midfield that would need to be filled. We kept the scouts out there, hoping they could find some decent free agents. July arrived with little fanfare. The board was eagerly anticipating the new season, but they were still concerned about the finances. We had lost just over 900,000 pounds last season. Continued financial hemorrhaging like that will cause us to go bankrupt. Of course, the ideal solution would be to win the Conference and go into the League, but to do that, you have to have good players. To get good players, you either have to wait a few years for youngsters to develop or buy good players off the market., both of which costs money. So, it’s a Hobson’s choice, which is to say, no choice at all. We were just going to have to gut our way to the top. I finally started following the World Cup when the quarter-finals. England had made it that far, and the media, schoolyards and pubs were buzzing of nothing else. The mood turned from giddy to black in a heartbeat as Russia scored a goal in extra time to sink England’s ship 3-2. At least I could now ignore the WC if I so chose. Portugal ended Russia’s run with a 2-1 win in the semis. In a shock, Italy creamed Brazil 3-0 in the other semifinal matchup. Italy took that momentum into the final and they beat Portugal 2-0. The day after the WC final, Thornber came into my office and told me he was hanging up his boots. I wished him the best of luck, but the retirement meant that we only have one DC on the first team at the moment. I immediately started calling free agents both recommended and un-recommended. On July 21st, we signed 19 yr old Brian Taylor. His forte was tackling. He’ll be on the first team. Two days before the friendlies were set to begin; we had another player promoted from the academy. Barry Smart, a 16 yr old English/Jamaican forward, looked like he could become a serviceable player, if he ever got off his lazy ass. The preseason schedule began on August 1 as we traveled to AFC Wimbledon for an afternoon match. The weather was cool and dry and a respectable crowd of 3600 showed up. The two sides battled to a draw in the fist half. Possession was 50/50 with the only difference between the teams being that AXFC had four chances to AFC’s none. The second half was all AXFC. I sent in a wave of subs on 54, shortly after Kirkwood blasted in a rebound to make the score 1-0. Ten minutes later, another wave of subs took the pitch and the new faces confused the team’s rhythm. Twenty minutes later, it coalesced in a drive up the pitch that saw a positive result as Law drilled a daisy-scorcher into the net to make the lead 2-0. Howard got the last word a minute before time expired when he took a half volley off an Asser cross and potted it to make the final 3-0 AXFC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 After the game, the board met and said they remained delighted with my performance on the job, but remained concerned about the fiancés as we had just dropped another 75 grand. On the 4th, we hosted Nuneaton Borough at Yankee Stadium. It was a hot humid day by English standards. Perhaps that was why only 573 fans showed up to witness a dominating performance. Law nailed a skidder on 11 to give the home side the lead, 1-0. Moore answered for Nuneaton seven minutes later. The game slowed down then until the half hour mark when Wade nailed another skidding shot to regain the lead for AXFC, 2-1. The second half proved a battle as Nuneaton kept fighting. I sent in the first wave of subs on at 68. Nuneaton tied the game 2-2 on 75 when Night gale put a shot just beyond a diving Brook. More subs can in on the kick-off and the game looked to finish as a tightly contested draw, when two minutes to final time, Duffy put the ball into his own net to give the visitors the 3-2. I wasn’t worried about the home loss as these games were more for the players rather than the standings or the crowds. On Monday, we signed 20 yr old Scot Jim Reilly. He would be in the mix for a first team regular DC spot. A good deal of the regulars were set already, particularly in midfield, but all of the defense were sighting for regular status, AMC was a battle as was one of the forward spots. So, for followers of the team, there was plenty of intrigue surrounding the selection of the team. On Wednesday afternoon, a warn day by English standards, we traveled to the Crabbe Athletic Ground to take on Dover. Only about 550 fans turned up to watch as the home team got thoroughly dominated in the first half. We only scored one goal, Todd on 12, a header off a James Jones corner that gave AXFC the 1-0 lead. We didn’t take many shots after that, but we held the edge on possession and were constantly in the Dover area, putting pressure on them. Dover picked up the pace in the second half, getting a few chances and finally getting a goal on 80 when Collier blasted a ball into the top corner that leveled the game 1-1. I had sent in my wave of subs at the 75 mark. We had one more friendly to play, a home game against Bradford Park Avenue, and then would have a week off before starting the Conference season. A day before the BPA game, my youth scout called to tell me of a 17 yr old Irish kid with skills. If signed, and we offered him a contract pronto, he would be the starting right back. Yes, he was that good. Much like Moran, it seemed we had a knack for finding under the radar Irish youngsters. The Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium was a hot breezy affair. Only 280 souls felt like turning out for the contest, which was pretty much over from the beginning. Howard drilled a shot on 2 to give us the 1-0 lead. We coasted from there, preventing BPA from doing any damage. BPA got with it in the second half and began playing with more cohesiveness. Holmes tied the game on 50 with a nifty strike. I sent in the subs at 71 and they put some life into the team, enough to give Kirkwood a chance to score on 83 to give us the 2-1 win. With the friendlies over, it was time to crunch the data and set the first team regulars for the first half of the Conference season. We had a week to do this before traveling to Burton Albion for the season opener. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 13, 2006 Author Share Posted June 13, 2006 The biggest consequence of the fist team shakeup was that I put Gordon on the transfer-list since he hadn’t beaten Kirkwood out for the starting forward slot. Gordon drew immediate interest from a number of teams, and I felt that we could get a 100G for him. The Wednesday before the Conference season opener I posted the first team regulars list. Only a few positions had been u for grabs, but there was a small current of grumbling nevertheless. Few athletes, unless they are old duffers eking out a paycheck, or who are strictly specialists, detest sitting on the bench. This is normal and competition for spots keeps players on their toes. So I ignored the griping, there are no Chesterfan2’s in this reality and if there was, he’d be shown the door. The squad was as followed: GK: John Browne Robert Brook DL: Jeremy Chandler Neil Durkin DR: Gary Kavanagh James Jones DC: Glen Fuff Brian Taylor Paul Dodds Jim Reilly LMC: James Asser Clark Fennelly CMC: Moses Apilinga Shuvo Fatid RMC: Chris Duffy AMC: Glen Wade Sean Moran FC: John Howard Glen Kirkwood Gareth Law Chris Gordon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 15, 2006 Author Share Posted June 15, 2006 It's hard to belive that I've been posting this story for exactly two months. I think this might be the longest running story I've ever done timewise. Saturday afternoon at Eton Park was a hot and windy affair. All the regulars were out there in force, eager to get the new campaign underway. Just over 4000 fans were to provide the most important part of opening day. We often forget that it is the ubiquitous fan that is the most integral part of the sports world. Without their money and patronage, there would be no professional sports. Burton Albion had several chances in the opening half, but managed to get only one on target. For our part, we showed no cohesion whatsoever. Any positives we garnered from the friendlies were quickly lost in this plodding half. We had no attack of any kind, and to add injury to insult, forty minutes in, Taylor pulled up lame and was replaced by Dodds. At the break, the score was still 0-0. Our offense was more effective in the second half as we landed a few shots, but none of them for goals. Our defense was doing a superb job, forcing turnover after turnover, but we couldn’t turn them into opportunities. With sixty three minutes gone I pulled Kirkwood for Law, hoping that the change would spark the offense. It didn’t happen, and with a flurry of activity late in the game coming to naught for each team, the game ended a scoreless draw. We had a quick turnaround, however, a home game on the following Tuesday evening against Exeter. On Sunday morning, as I walked into the office, the trainer gave me the news. Taylor would be out for three weeks with strained knee ligaments. That’s never an easy injury to deal with, but especially not for a young player this early in the season. There was the chance that he would try to come back too soon and injure some other part of his anatomy as he compensated for the original ailment. I wondered if this was just a freak injury, or whether it was the start of a downhill slide. Only time would tell. We made offers to a couple of players to join the club, 31 year old right back Dave German and young forward Bob Shaw, who had great finishing. We were certainly keeping busy early in the season. Tuesday August 20 arrived quickly. Since this was the home opener, all of the regular eleven got the nod despite a number of them being unfit. Dodd took Taylor’s place in the lineup. The evening was dry and only slightly cooled off from the heat of summer. Just over 2000 fans crowded into Yankee Stadium. They saw a rather disappointing first half. Exeter jumped out quickly and opening accounts on 4 when Devine broke free and nailed a shot past Browne to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We spent the rest of the half trying to catch up. We got a couple of good chances, but the Exeter keeper, Johnston, was having a good game. We had the edge in possession, but we couldn’t do anything with it. It was a frustrated, angry team that met in the dressing room at the half. On 48, that anger boiled over as Wade smashed a rebound back by Johnston to make the game a 1-1 tie. We continued to pile chance after chance, and all were good, we shot 6-7 for the game. Johnston refused to crack however and on 85, I made my roll of the dice. I pulled Apilinga, who wasn’t playing well, for Fennelly. Howard and Duffy, who were fatigued, came out in favor of Law and Moran respectively. With time running out, Exeter launched a last minute effort to bag a goal. As I watched in disbelief, with one minute remaining, Scarlett drove the ball past a stunned Browne to give Exeter the 2-1 victory. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 20, 2006 Author Share Posted June 20, 2006 We did some reserve pruning, releasing a few guys that weren’t ever going to get a first team look. That would open the door for a few more academy grads, or more useful players. Shaw joined us on Saturday morning before we traveled to Scarborough. Saturday afternoon at Scarborough the weather was dry and ideal, reasonably warm. Most of the regulars were given the nod except for Apilinga, who was replaced by Fatid. I was really hoping that we could pull ourselves together for this game. Just over a 1,000 fans turned out for the contest. As had happened, last game, our opponent struck quickly just two minutes in. Pounder crossed in to Whitman, who blistered it past Browne for the 1-0 Scarborough lead. Scarborough continued to put pressure on us throughout the rest of the half, which limited our offense. They were dominating the possession game and they were getting plenty of good shots. Fortunately Browne had settled down and he began to play with more confidence. We were having trouble creating chances for ourselves, but just after the half-hour mark, Wade took a ball headed down by Kirkwood, found he open, and blasted the shot through to tie the game 1-1. At the half, the trainer informed me that Duffy probably had a shin injury, so I sent in Moran for the second half. Scarborough continued to pepper us with off-target shots. We hung in there, trying to find some spark. Chandler pulled up lame ten minutes into the half. He was replaced by Durkin. We tenaciously hung to hold onto the draw until 77, Fatid was part of the free-kick wall, Quayle’s shot deflected off the young Scot and into the goal to give Scarborough the 2-1 wins. Near the end of the game, I pulled a struggling Dodds for Fennelly. Chandler would be out for about a week and a half with a gashed leg. Our next game was in four days on Wednesday evening at Yankee Stadium against Barnet. We were stuck in 19th place in the Conference and we really needed to get it going. 31 yr old right back Dave German joined us on Monday, which meant he became the starter at right back, with Kavanagh the backup and Jones returned to the reserves. With more players coming in, a few of the reservists found themselves released. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 23, 2006 Author Share Posted June 23, 2006 Wednesday evening in London was hot and steamy. It had rained over the last couple of days and the Yankee Stadium grounds were wet and damp. The defense saw some new faces in the lineup. German took over at right back as the new regular, Durkin took over for the injured Chandler and Fennelly took over at center defense for the struggling Dodds. The rest of the regulars got the start. Just over 3400 fans turned up for this London derby. Both teams couldn’t hit the broad side of the proverbial barn. Barnet had six shots landing one. We had four chances landing two. Both teams were attacking well, just couldn’t get around the other’s defense. As such, by the time the half arrived, the game remained scoreless at 0-0. Apilinga looked like he had a potential shin injury and was replaced by Fatid. The dearth of good shots continued as Barnet peppered shots at us. We peppered right back, but neither team did any damage. On 60 I sent in Gordon for Howard to try to spark the offense. We continued to play uninspired ball so on 75, I sent in Moran for Wade. It looked to be a draw and I wasn’t going to complain about that. Then, in injury time, Stevens volleyed a low shot past Browne to give Barnet the 1-0 win. We had one more game in August on the 31st against Morecambe at Christie Park. We had three days to prepare for the contest and we would need them badly. Saturday afternoon on the last day of August was not a bad day for football. The temperature was in the 70’s and the pitch was dry. Several of the regulars got the day off. Kavanagh played at right back, Fennelly got the nod at LMC, and Moran at RMC. Still filling in for the injured Chandler was Durkin. Perhaps this mixed lineup would see us through to a win. We certainly couldn’t get much worse. Only about 900 fans showed up for the contest. They saw yet another game of misfiring offenses. Both sides had plenty of chances in the first half. The two teams went up and down the pitch and consistently misfired. Our defense was doing a creditable job, but our offense was failing to rise to the occasion. Morecambe’s Morrison managed to slip a shot past Browne at the end of the first half to give the home side a 1-0 lead. At the break I told my lads to start attacking. I also removed Howard because it seemed that he could have a possible groin injury. Gordon would take his place for the second half. Our attacking woke up our offense, but our disregard for defense helped out Morecambe. Both teams raced up and down the pitch, hammering shots at goal. I sent in Fatid for Moran on 60 and Duffy for an overmatched Wade eight minutes later. Ten minutes after that, Kavanagh put in a low cross to the box that Kirkwood guided into the net to tie the game 1-1. The score remained that way till the final. At least we’d gotten a point and would have something to look forward to for September Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 26, 2006 Author Share Posted June 26, 2006 Our league campaign got an early start in September on Monday evening, the 2nd. We faced Conference newcomers Canvey Island, who were sitting 5th in the league. Yankee Stadium was cool and dry. In fact, it was the first cool match day of the year and the air felt good on my arms as I walked the sideline while my players warmed up. Most of the regulars got the start, but there were a few lineup changes. Chandler and Taylor were still out with injury and were replaced by Fennelly and Dodds respectively. Fatid took over at CMC for an unfit Apilinga, Moran replaced an ineffective Wade and Gordon got the nod instead of Kirkwood. Just over 2300 loyal AXFC supporter filled the stadium, desperately hoping that their side could do something. For nearly a half, the game resembled our first five games. Both teams got their chances, but good work by the goalkeepers on both sides kept the scoreboard empty. We were showing more harmony on offense though and it was just a matter of time now before our engine would start to fire on all cylinders. Finally, on 388, Howard collected a loose ball off an inaccurate Fatid pass and blew it by Newell to end his scoring drought and give AXFC the 1-0 lead. The crowd went nuts as Howard let loose a primal scream of joy. The halftime horn sounded a few minutes later, but we went to the changing room feeling positive for the first time all season. Unfortunately, both Howard and Fatid had to be lifted before the second half as both looked pretty injured, and there was no need for them to gut it out. Law and Apilinga took their places. Canvey tried to get back in the game, but all of a sudden, we were playing inspired ball. On 57, Fuff took the ball off a free-kick by German and potted it smoothly to give us a commanding 2-0 lead. We coasted from there, reveling with our fans over our first win of the season. The board had been vindicated over their decision to remain happy about my performance. Now we just needed to carry our new-found momentum into the away match at Accrington on Saturday September 7. The week leading up to our next match was uneventful. One of my scouts had completed a youth sweep and was now assigned to the England beat. Defenders Chandler and Reilly resumed full training, meaning I should have a fit first team for the Accrington match. Saturday afternoon at the Crown Ground was a humid rainy affair. The pitch was not in good shape, conditions which would favor Accrington. On the plus side, all the regulars but Taylor (replaced by Dodds) got the starting nod. We hoped to extend our winning streak to two games. Close to 1900 fans showed up for the contest. We started things less than five minutes in, when Howard blasted in a shot off of a German header to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. As the team’s re-started action, Fuff limped off and was replaced by Durkin. We continued to play well and on 18, Wade took control of a loose ball and put it in to give AXFC the 2-0 lead. That would be the last time we even had a shot in the first half. Accrington swiftly took control of the game. They refused to quit and it paid off for them on 28 when Robinson put a shot past Browne to pull the home side within one, 2-1. Browne’s day worsened four minutes later when he allowed a soft goal to Williams which let Accrington draw level at 2-2 to make it a brand-new ballgame. Apart from the goals, the vast majority of the match was spent slogging around the sodden midfield. That kept the score tied as the first half ended. Things didn’t change much in the second half. Accrington were determined to keep the draw and kept the ball in midfield. Browne shook off the first half and played competently throughout the second half to hold up our end of things. Moran and Fennelly, who came on for Asser and Duffy at 70 were unable to break the deadlock, but we happily took the single point from the 2-2 tie. We now sat in 20th place, the top spot in the relegation zone, but our form was improving. Our next game was a home game against Halesowen Tuesday evening next. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 29, 2006 Author Share Posted June 29, 2006 The Halesowen match arrived quickly. Conditions at Yankee Stadium that evening were wet and damp. I could almost visualize the mold growing on the concrete. A few changes were made to the usual starting eleven. Brook drew the start in goal, Kavanagh at right back, Reilly at center back for the injured Fuff and Fatid, were the changes to the lineup. 1401 fans came out hoping that we could continue to amass points. The only excitement in the first half was occasioned eighteen minutes in when the Halesowen keeper Spittle(love that name) was sent off for handling the ball outside his area. Personally, I thought it was a bad call, but I wouldn’t argue with a break that came our way. As expected, a man down, Halesowen started to play defensively. For our part, we wasted several chances and were unable to take advantage of the situation. We were able to control possession, but Halesowen kept clogging up the scoring lanes. At the half, I subbed in Durkin for Chandler. We poured pressure on the Halesowen side the entire second half, shooting 7 of 9 for the last 45 minutes. They somehow held up well, backup goalie Wilkins put on a bravura show, earning the MOM, despite cracking on 64, when Howard gathered a throw-in and buried it to give AXFC the 1-0 win. At that point, I subbed in Fennelly for Fatid and Moran for Wade. They helped keep us fresh for the remaining half-hour as we consolidated the win by constantly attacking. The win vaulted us seven places to 13th, heading into the weekend fixture at Tamworth. In the run-up to the Tamworth game Taylor resumed full training. That meant my regular eleven would be fit for the game. Saturday afternoon conditions at Tamworth were ideal. The pitch was dry and the temperature quite comfortable. All but two of the regulars were penciled in on the lineup card. The exceptions were Fuff, who was still nursing his injury, and who was replaced by Reilly and Asser who simply needed a game off and was replaced by Fennelly. 2300 watched their home side pull off a nice defensive effort in the first half. Tamworth came out determined to shut us down. They succeeded, keeping control of the ball at midfield for most of the half. We had a few shots, but nothing that caused the Tamworth supporters any suspense. Tamworth took an occasional shot at Browne and even scored a goal late, only to see ruled invalid due to being offside. By the half, the score was still 0-0. I told my lads to start attacking in the second half. Apilinga came in limping slightly, so Fatid replaced him for the second half. The second half was frustrating for AXFC. We got plenty of shots, but most were off-target and Tamworth defense was excellent. At the hour mark I sent in Moran for Duffy to see if fresh legs would change anything. It didn’t as neither side yielded. Five minutes to the end, I brought in Law for Kirkwood. In injury-time, Taylor was ejected for a goal-saving knockdown of One. The game ended shortly after that, still a scoreless draw. We had a whole week off before having to face Stevenage at home next Saturday afternoon, the 21st of September. The FA was generous. They only suspended Taylor for one game. I decided not to appeal, figuring one game was nothing. Near the end of the week, we released a couple of reserve forwards who weren’t going to make it anytime soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted June 30, 2006 Author Share Posted June 30, 2006 Saturday afternoon in London was dry and pleasant. All the regulars except for Fuff, who was suspended and Reilly continued to hold that spot down. Just over 1800 attended the game and they got their money’s worth for the first time all year. We started the carnage early. Two minutes in, Howard nailed a follow-up shot to give AXFC the 1-0. Bradshaw responded for Stevenage just three minutes later when he took a deep cross and blasted it in past Browne to tie the game 1-all. What followed was one of best offensive performances of my tenure as manager. At 17, German headed in a cross from Asser to give the home side the 2-1. But, we weren’t done yet. Seven minutes later, Asser laid in another cross to the near post. This time Wade was the recipient and he obligingly headed it in past West head to give us the 3-1 lead. At that point, I signaled my players to take our foot off the gas. They did, but that didn’t stoop us from making the score 4-1 with one minute left in the half. Asser collected a loose pass from Apilinga and blasted it top corner. We walked into the dressing room at the half feeling very good about ourselves. It seemed the team had finally started jelling and was finally running a corner. The second half saw both teams going up and down the pitch, thrilling the fans with spectacular shots that went nowhere. On 60, Stevenage missed a penalty; it was just that kind of day for them. On 68, I subbed in Fennelly for Apilinga and Law for Kirkwood. We held on for the victory. The big win moved us up to 11th in the standings. We had little time to celebrate as we had to prepare for an away game against Dag and Red on Tuesday night in three days. The board was pleased with our win, as well they should be. The day before the match, Durkin showed up late for practice. He was promptly reprimanded. He didn’t say a word to anyone about my harsh words. Tuesday evening at Redbrige was a hot and windy place to play a game. All the regulars, except German were fit enough tore the starting lineup. Kavanagh took German. Just shy of 1200 fans showed up at Victoria Road to cheer their side on. As had been the case in the last couple of games, we came out swinging and struck quickly. Twelve minutes in, Duffy headed in a beautiful deep cross from Kavanagh to give AXFC the 1-0 lead on the score sheet. Dag and Red were not scared easily and two minutes later, Sills broke through the defense with the ball and nailed a fire volley to tie the game 1-1. For the next few minutes neither team could convert its chances, but Dag and Red moved ahead just before the half-hour mark when Bruce squared a pass to a wide-open Turner who applied the simple finish for the 2-1 lead. The two teams traded chances for rest of the half. Both teams were efficient with chances and possession. Dag and Red had just been a bit better in the half. Once again, just as in the Chester game last year, my players seemed to check out mentally. This time, the culprits were Chandler, Fuff and Wade, none of whom would see action on Saturday when we played Rochdale at Yankee Stadium. With a quarter of the season over, we stood at three wins, three draws and five losses. There wasn’t any doubt that this was going to be a long season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 1, 2006 Author Share Posted July 1, 2006 The afternoon of Saturday September 28 came soon enough as there was not much team news. As was usual, there was plenty of turnover in the reserves as better youth players arrived each day. Yankee Stadium in London was dry and warm (for late September). The lineup card for the game saw some changes. Taylor, who was suspended and Fuff, who had played poorly, were held out of center defense. Reilly and Dodds took their place. Durkin got the nod at left back since Chandler had been ineffective and Seam Moran got the start at AMC due to Wade’s lousy play in last game. The rest of the lineup was all regulars. Just over 2500 faithful came out to cheer us on and they were not disappointed. Rochdale got things going on four when Beech headed in a corner to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We didn’t panic. Instead, throughout the rest of the half, we patiently built up attacks and shots. We were 7-8 for the half and it was only a matter of time before we got on the scoreboard. But, while we were focusing on attacking, our defense slipped a notch and we allowed Rochdale to bang away at our goal. Fortunately, Rochdale was not that accurate after the first goal and they were unable to add a second. On 39, Moran got a rebound and put it back into the net past Edwards to tie the score 1-1. AXFC scored again late in first half injury time. Moran collected another Edwards rebound and sent it in to make the score 2-1 at the half. The second half saw us focusing on defense. Even so, both teams continued to get excellent chances and only good work by both goalkeepers kept AXFC and Rochdale off the score sheet during the half. On 68 I sent in Todd for Apilinga. Todd was just now making his first appearance of year because he had injured his knee early and was just now recovered. We managed to get through the rest of the game unscathed and won it 2-1. We had a win off until next Saturday, October 5th when we would travel to Farnborough. Tuesday October 1st, the board met and pronounced themselves happy with my performance. Thanks to a sizable cash injection during the last month, AXFC’s once again had debt it could handle safely. Near the end of the week, the FA Cup Qualifying Round was drawn. We would face Lancaster at the Giant Axe on October 19th. It was at this point that I began to think that AXFC could benefit from some veteran help. Only two players were available as free agents that fit my requirements and neither Lee Ashcroft nor Paul Byrnes was remotely interested. They demanded six-figure salaries. Still I thought it might be possible to wear them down. After all, how could they be that good if they remained unsigned at this juncture in the season? Saturday afternoon in Farnborough was dry and cold. Fall had definitely snuck up on us. With the exception of Taylor, who was now injured and who was replaced by Reilly, the regulars got the start. Just over 1200 attended this contest. Farnborough seemed to be on the defensive from the get-go. They were unable to mister any sort of attack, but that might be because we were pelting them with shots of our own. We converted a chance on 22 when Asser chipped a pass into the penalty area that Wade drove into the net to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. From that point on we concentrated on keeping the ball in the Farnborough half. We were successful in keeping them from our net. We went into the half pretty much controlling the game. During the break, I put in Gordon for Howard, who appeared to have a foot injury. The second half was all ours. Despite playing defensively we continued to pile up chances. None of them went in for a goal, but at least we were forcing Farnborough to play defensively. On 68, I sent in Todd for Asser and Moran for Duffy to put some fresh legs out there. The outcome of the game was not altered by these subs and we won out 1-0 to move up to tenth place in the Conference. We had a home game in a week against Halifax, who were sitting in the cellar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 2, 2006 Author Share Posted July 2, 2006 The week passed with no incidences, as expected both Byrnes and Ashcroft spurned our offers, but I kept them in mind, figuring they might sign one day. After all, they surely wanted to play football again at some point. London on the afternoon of October 12th was dry and cool. It hadn’t rained much, so the pitch was dry. All the regulars, Dave for the injured Taylor, got the starting nod. Just over 2300 fans crowded the park. Halifax struck quickly. On 11, Lee headed in a Bevan cross to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. Both teams continued to battle in midfield as each tried to clog the other’s attack. This worked fine until 32, when we got a chance to attack. Halifax keeper Jon James brought down Kirkwood intentionally and was ejected. German scored the penalty to give us the tie, 1-1. We took advantage of being a man up on our opponents when, at 38, Duffy sent in a cross from the right that Kirkwood quickly put into goal to give us, AXFC, the 2-1 lead. We killed clock in a second half that was rather pedestrian in character. The win put us in seventh place in the Conference. Now we had to prepare for our FA Cup game against Lancaster the following weekend. The week before the game was only eventful because Dodds turned up late for practice on Wednesday. I gave him the riot act and he promised to improve his behavior in the future. FA Cup Saturday afternoon in Lancaster was wet and cold. All our regulars got the start. I spent a good amount of time during the warm-ups trying to figure out why Lancaster sounded so damn familiar to me. Was it a famous place in history? Was it a part of Middle Age rebellions, or the Civil War? I never did figure it out and it was annoying me. Nearly 2000 fans turned out to cheer their side to the upset victory. To be honest, I spent more time thinking about why I’d heard of Lancaster than I did watching the first half. We were firmly in control and took the lead on 19 when Asser dribbled his way through the defense and potted the shot perfectly to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We continued to control the half as Lancaster had no shots whatsoever. In fact, their team stat sheet showed one foul and one throw-in and the rest were goose eggs. We continued our mastery in the second half. While Lancaster got a couple of shots on Browne, there was really no doubt about the outcome. At the hour mark, I subbed in Moran for Wade and Todd for Duffy to inject fresh blood into the game. At 70, Fuff sealed the game for good when he took a pass off a German free-kick and blistered it through the net to give us the 2-0 lead and the win. We had good momentum heading into an away match with Chester next Saturday afternoon. On Sunday the first round of the FA Cup first Round. We drew fellow Conference side Exeter and the game was to be played at Yankee Stadium on Saturday November 16. The week also showed that Roman Abramovich was slightly insane as he sacked Jupp Heyneckes after hiring him at the end of the 01/02 season. For the record, Chelsea was third in the Premier and had only one league loss. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 5, 2006 Author Share Posted July 5, 2006 We traveled to the Deva Stadium on a rainy, cold Saturday to face Chester. All the regular starters got the call for the game. I wasn’t about to mess with a winning combination, though a healthy Taylor reclaimed his starting spot from Jim Reilly. Only about 850 fans turned up for the game, but they probably included a younger Chesterfan2. The first half was strange. Both teams were attacking reasonably well, each taking good shots in turn. Both teams had goals ruled offside and so there was no official scoring until just before the half-hour when Middleton crossed to Rapley, who powered a header at goal to give Chester the 1-0 lead. The next fifteen minutes passed without incidence. Chester pretty much controlled the second half. On 64, Stamp nailed a fine strike to give the home side the 2-0 lead. At that point I pulled Duffy for Todd and four minutes later, Wade pulled us back within one as he top cornered a rebound to make the score 2-1. I replaced Howard with Gordon as the teams resumed play. The move did no good as Chester’s keeper kept us at bay. With the loss, we dropped to ninth place in the standings. Worse, we had two weeks to think about the loss as we didn’t have a game until Saturday, November 9th at Yankee Stadium versus Northwich Vics. On November 1st, Chelsea hired Fulham’s Chris Coleman as their new whipping boy. The board met and issued a press release saying that they were happy with my performance as manager. However, as usual, the finances were again dire. All I knew was that it was getting damn frustrating trying to find good free agents who could come in and contribute immediately. The way things seemed to be going it didn’t look like we were ever going to make the League. We were on the national Conference game of the week, so we were slated to play on Saturday morning. London that morning was dry and cold, at the Yankee Stadium pitch was in good condition. All the regulars got the nod for this one. They didn’t appear to be nervous in front of the TV cameras that snaked their way thorough the grounds. The 1900 fans seemed to be impressed with the cameras and generally made like idiots during the panning shots. We got the game going early. On 4, Howard headed in an Asser corner kick to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. The Vics weren’t intimidated and kept pressuring us with the occasional good try. On 21, they took advantage of their own corner when Garvey swung it in to Came, who headed it in to knot the score 1-all. The rest of the half saw both teams taking good chances, but the goalkeeping had stiffened and neither team could take advantage. Play flowed smoothly and it really was a good match for TV viewing. The second half mirrored the first in the style of play. Both teams put in a good offensive show, but both goalies refused to budge. At the 75 mark I pulled Wade for Moran. By then I figured it was going to be a dare, but in injury-time, Chandler lobbed a ball from the left that Howard leaped and nodded into goal to give us the late 2-1 win that put us in seventh place in the league. Next weekend was the start of the FA Cup as we prepared to play Exeter at home. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 6, 2006 Author Share Posted July 6, 2006 Saturday afternoon brought a surprise as we were entered into the Vans Trophy Southern section draw. We got a home game against struggling D2 side Wycombe. The day after that, we were entered into the FA Trophy with an away match against Halifax. FA Cup Saturday afternoon arrived. Yankee Stadium was damp, wet and cold. Not all was lost however as we’d drawn a referee named Elvis. All the regulars were penciled in. Despite the weather, we had a complete sellout. All 5000 seats had a live body occupying it. It was an unbelievable atmosphere. The first half was an exercise in futility. Exeter made it clear that they were going to do nothing but defend and that they did. They took no shots during the first half and gladly let us dominate the ball. We took advantage, mounting attack after attack that broke against the shore of Stuart Fraser. As I paced the sideline, I kept spitting tobacco juice in the direction of the Exeter half to make it plain just how I felt about their chicken-livered tactics. The half mercifully ended and we got a chance to regroup. I told my AXFC team to attack with abandon during the second half. We poured on pressure and abuse on Exeter in the half as they finished the game not having taken a single shot. We finally broke through on the hour mark when Howard smashed in a mis-hit German pass to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Shortly after, I pulled Wade and Kirkwood for Moran and Gordon. It was the young Irish lad who sealed the game for us four minutes from the end when he headed in a pass from Asser to give us the 2-0 win. The board loved it as we had set an attendance and revenue record thanks to the Cup. We had the FA Trophy match at Halifax the following Saturday. Sunday produced a bit of luck. Our second round match would be away at either Doncaster or Mansfield, both D3 teams. Saturday morning in Halifax was rainy and cold. The regulars got the start. To be fair, we could have cared less about this FA Trophy match. Just shy of a thousand fans braved the rain to watch a rather dull half. The only excitement came on 6, when Thomas and Wade were ejected for fighting. After that, both teams settled into a plodding style of play reminiscent of “hairy-arse caveman football.†At the half-hour mark, Asser launched a deep cross that Kirkwood buried to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. By the end of the half, Exeter still had a blank stat sheet. We sealed the win five minutes into the second half when Asser swung in a corner that Fuff headed into goal to give AXFC the 2-0 lead. We tacked on one more goal at the 75 minute when Asser delivered his third assist of the day to Kirkwood, who volleyed the shot in to make the final 3-0. Our next match was the following Saturday against Hereford at Yankee Stadium. The FA suspended Wade for one game for his part in the altercation. Round three of the Trophy would see us traveling to Chippenham. During the next week, I made a move that probably perplexed AXFC fans. I made Howard available for transfer. I reasoned that he would bring good value to the club right now and we had a few good forwards in the reserves that could fill his place more than adequately. We also received word that we would play Mansfield at the Field Mill on December 7. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 Our match with Hereford was the national Conference Game of the Week; so once again, TV cameras filled Yankee Stadium that Saturday morning. The weather was dry and pleasant for the last day of November. All the regulars got the start. We were on fire, and I wasn’t going to mess with the lineup at this point. Nearly 3000 fans came out to watch what turned out to be a very dull first half. Neither team seemed to want to be there nor did it show in the play. Neither wanted to attack and so the ball circulated around midfield. We had good chances with the three shots we took, but the Hereford keeper saved each. Hereford, for their part, only managed two shots that Browne didn’t even have to contest. At the half, I subbed in Fennelly for Taylor, who was extremely fatigued. I also told the boys to attack. Even attacking, AXFC had a hard time putting anything together despite a surfeit of chances. Finally, Asser broke through, gathered a loose ball and stuck it into the net to give us the eventual 1-0 victory. On 68, Fennelly went down to injury and was replaced by Moran. Hereford never challenged us, getting only one shot off in the half and we walked away with a victory that put us in sixth place in the Conference. The bad news was that Fennelly had torn his groin and would be out for three months. Young Scot Fraser Smith was called up to take his place on the first team. As December began, I was notified that I had won the Manager of the Month award. Late in the week, Howard signed a contract with American A-League side Hershey. We would receive 110K pounds if the deal went through on January 9. The board, were, as usual, happy with my performance. On Friday, to cap off a busy week, AXFC made its first ever Bosman signing, 28 yr old left back Derek Fleming of Partick Thistle. He would join us on June 3, 2003. FA Cup Saturday rolled around and we traveled to the Field Mill to take on Mansfield. Conditions were dry, cool and the pitch was in good shape. That was about all we could ask for. All the regulars, except the suspended Wade got the nod for this game. I was reasonably confident that we could be competitive. Around 4250 showed up for the match. Any notion of being competitive was quickly disabused as Mansfield cored via Curtis on 20 and Foley on 25 to give Mansfield the 2-0 lead. It seemed that several AXFC starters had picked this game to take an off day. We were unable to rally back and went into the half behind by two. So many players were dogging it on the pitch that I couldn’t sub them all out. So they remained, though I tersely told them to switch to an all out slack in the second half. We performed much better on offense in the second half, but to no avail. Mansfield’s defense had tightened and we were unable to crack it and were bounced from the FA Cup by a 2-0 score. We didn’t have time to stew, however, as we had the Vans Trophy game on Tuesday. Several players would not get the start in that game, even if they were fit enough. Tuesday evening in London was not good weather. The temperature was in the mid-20. It was snowing lightly and the pitch was frozen. Yeah, it was great weather to play football in. Several changes were made to the lineup due to fitness problems or incompetent play. The lineup that took the field was a new one. Brook in goal, Durkin and Kavanagh at the fullbacks, Reilly and Fuff in center defense, F. Smith, Asser and Todd in midfield, Wade at AMC and Kirkwood and Law at the forwards. No one wanted to brave the bad weather and only 160 souls showed up. Not that anyone missed much. From the opening whistle. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the AXFC and Wycombe players not to do much as neither side wanted to be here at this time. Accordingly, the first half went by in a rote manner. Only one shot was tried all half and it was shanked badly. Kirkwood slipped on the ice on 34 and had to be helped off the field. He was replaced by Gordon. I lit into my players during the break and they responded. We had five of eight chances during the second half. Unfortunately, Martin Taylor was having a brilliant night in goal and he stopped us cold. Meanwhile, Wycombe only had two chances, but they made the one they needed count as on 71, Last broke loose and put the winner in past Brook to give Wycombe a 1-0. At least we could now go back and focus on the Conference campaign. Kirkwood would be out a week and half with a bruised shin. We remained at home for our next game, a Conference contest against Burton Albion on Saturday December 14th, four days hence. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 8, 2006 Author Share Posted July 8, 2006 Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium in London was not all roses. It was in the mid 30’s and it was raining, a damn near freezing rain that chilled to the bone. At least the pitch was normal and playable. All the regulars save for the injured Kirkwood, who was replaced by Gordon. Just over 2300 fans came out for the game. It seemed our crowds had grown more this season, always a good sign. It was disappointing half for us. We got a few chances, but were unable to put any of them away. Burton Albion had the same number of chances, but they did far more with them. They score first just after twenty minutes when Corbett bagged a rebound to make the score 1-0 for the visitors. They added to their lead 25 minutes later when Corbett laid a ball across to Shilton who nailed the shot to make the score 2-0 Burton Albion. We had the edge in possession, but couldn’t break the Albion defense. We were discouraged at the half, and I told my AXFC team to attack in the second half. I also put in Todd for Asser, who was simply fatigued. We tried to follow through in the second half, but failed miserably. Our chances kept getting foiled by the Albion defense. Even after subbing a fresh Law fort Howard, we failed to achieve anything. We were just outplayed and all we could do was wait for the next game in a week at Telford to redeem ourselves. The loss didn’t hurt us in the standings as we remained in seventh place. Saturday afternoon at Telford, four days before Christmas, was not a great day. It had rained the night before and the pitch was still wet and damp. Besides that, it was cold, in the mid-30. All the regulars were penciled in on the lineup card. But, some of them had to be nervous because the halfway point of the Conference season was approaching and that is always a good time to re-evaluate the regular lineup. Just over a 1000 turned up for the game only to see their Telford team not get the breaks in the first half. Telford pretty much dominated the first half. They had a number of shots, but were unable to get them around Browne. We were not playing all that well, seemingly cowed by the opposition. However, it was us, AXFC, who got on the scoreboard first. Early in the game, Asser took the ball, dribbled it in past the Belford defense and placed it neatly into the goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We held on to the lead throughout the rest of the half as Telford was unable to take advantage of their good play. At the half, I noticed that Chandler had a potential knee injury, so I put Durkin in there for the second half. Telford essentially sealed their fate when right back Leeson was sent off two minutes info the second half. We continued to scatter shots as Telford attempted to regroup. They were unable to do so and on 80, I sent in Todd for a weary Duffy. We fended off a late Telford surge and got the 1-0 road win. We had five days off until our next game on Thursdays, the day after Christmas, a home contest against Southport. Thursday evening came soon enough as the holidays kept everyone busy. At least the weather was great, if a bit cold, but we’d had winter weather enough by now, so it shouldn’t have been a problem. All the regulars, except for a slightly unfit German, got the start as Kavanagh replaced German and Gordon continued to fill in for Kirkwood. Just shy of 2000, turned out for the game gains the Conference cellar-dwellers. Of course, Southport played like they were the league leaders and not the doormats. They bottled us up in our half, keeping an unrelenting pressure on. We managed to break through on 25, when we quickly struck up the pitch in a concerted effort. Duffy sent in a cross that Gordon took, and losing his man, blasted into goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Southport grimly stuck with their game plan, continuing to pressure us and they finally got their breakthrough on 44 when Sullivan dribbled through and smashed the ball in to tie the game 1-1. The half was generally entertaining for the fans as both sides were shooting well. At the half, the trainer informed me that Wade had a possible foot injury and so I sent in Moran for the second half. The second half continued to be an offensive showcase for the fans. On 52, Gordon got a cross delivered by Asser and struck it home to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. However, Southport’s Sullivan answered promptly, three minutes later when he beat Taylor in the air and nodded the ball past Browne to tie the game 2-2. As the rest of the game ground on with neither team managing much, I subbed in Moran for Wade tem minutes to time. Then, the ref gave us a break in injury time. The ref awarded AXFC a penalty off an unfair jump violation and Moran deftly struck it to give us an undeserved 3-2 win. Our next game was in two days against Exeter at St. James Park on Saturday afternoon. The game would mark the halfway point in the Conference season, so perhaps it was appropriate that the backups would play in that game. The morning of the Exeter game, Barnet came in with a bid for Gordon, which I accepted. Exeter’s St. James’s Park was extremely wind, but at least it was warmer than usual. The only regulars to get the start were German and Kirkwood. The rest of the lineup was filled out by backups. Just over 2100 fans came out to the park to watch their home team continue the defensive tactics they’d frustrated us with in the FA Cup. Exeter again went defensively and once again, we couldn’t do much to counter it. They had no shots at all during the half, preferring to kick it long. We had a few shots, but we couldn’t do anything until a half-hour had passed. When Kirkwood took a Moran pass and blasted it with venom through the Exeter goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. The rest of the half passed uneventful as the Exeter deep-freeze continued. Exeter got with it in the second half, but we put on a stall of our own that kept them off the board despite 4-7 shooting. We hung on, blunting their attack and sealed the win on 77 when Todd sent in a corner that Dodds headed in to make the score 2-0 AXFC. We coasted from there and walked out with our third win in a row, which put us in fourth place in the Conference at the halfway point of the season. We had four days to sort out the second half lineup. Fittingly enough, our next game would take place on January 1, 2003. On the 29th, Gordon was sold to Barnet for 45,000 pounds. The move, plus Howard’s departure would mean radical changes up-front. The depth chart would change in every area except in goal. The other positions would be as followed for the second half: DL: Chandler Durkin DR: Kavanagh German DC: Fuff Reilly Dodds Taylor LMC: Asser Fraser Smith CMC: Apilinga Mark Smith RMC: Duffy Todd AMC: Moran Lynch FC: Kirkwood Speight Bradley As you can see, Fatid was sent back down to the reserves along with Law. Both needed to revive their seasons in the reserves. Replacing them would be replaced by talented players who were having great seasons in the reserves. Another call up was Lee Bradley, who had revived his first team hopes by playing well on the second team. Everyone was ready and rested for the New Years game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 8, 2006 Author Share Posted July 8, 2006 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************************************************************ American Exiles Football Club - Saturday 28th December 2002 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2002/3 Senior Club Stats ================================================================================================ No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Adamson, Carl - - - - - - - - ---- - Apiliga, Moses 21 (1) 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 6.91 - Asser, James 23 4 0 0 9 0 0 3 7.17 - Bradley, Lee 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Brook, Robert 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7.25 - Brown, Steven - - - - - - - - ---- - Browne, John 22 0 22 0 0 0 0 1 7.14 - Byrne, Matty - - - - - - - - ---- - Campbell, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Chandler, Jeremy 20 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 7.00 - Chapman, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Cooper, Craig - - - - - - - - ---- - Dodds, Paul 8 (1) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33 - Donnelly, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Duffy, Chris 23 (1) 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.50 - Duncan, James - - - - - - - - ---- - Durkin, Neil 5 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.67 - Evans, Lee - - - - - - - - ---- - Farid, Shuvo 4 (3) 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.43 - Fennelly, Clark 4 (6) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - French, Scott - - - - - - - - ---- - Fuff, Glen 21 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.76 - German, Dave 18 2 0 1 (1) 2 0 0 0 6.67 - Gordon, Chris 4 (6) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 7.20 - Gordon, Malcolm - - - - - - - - ---- - Howard, Jonathan 24 7 0 0 0 0 0 3 7.13 - Jones, James 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Kavanagh, Gary 8 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 7.00 - Kelly, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Kirkwood, Glen 22 5 0 0 2 0 0 1 7.27 - Law, Gareth 2 (7) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.67 - Lissa, Ciarame - - - - - - - - ---- - Lynch, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - McMahon, Jack - - - - - - - - ---- - Moran, Sean 5 (12) 4 0 1 (1) 1 2 0 1 6.76 - Powell, Neil - - - - - - - - ---- - Reilly, Jim 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.56 - Richardson, Richard - - - - - - - - ---- - Rowe, Robert - - - - - - - - ---- - Sadler, Adam - - - - - - - - ---- - Shaw, Bob - - - - - - - - ---- - Smart, Barry - - - - - - - - ---- - Smith, Fraser 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 - Smith, Mark - - - - - - - - ---- - Speight, Richard - - - - - - - - ---- - Stannard, Wayne - - - - - - - - ---- - Taylor, Brian 13 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 6.15 - Todd, Mark 2 (8) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.60 - Truman, Danny - - - - - - - - ---- - Wade, Glen 22 6 0 0 0 2 1 0 6.45 ************************************************************************************************ English Conference - Saturday 28th December 2002 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2002/3 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Barnet 21 8 3 0 18 7 6 3 1 19 10 48 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Rochdale 21 9 0 1 20 6 5 3 3 17 10 45 3rd Woking 21 5 3 2 19 15 6 5 0 24 15 41 4th AXFC 21 8 0 3 18 11 3 4 3 10 9 37 5th Dag & Red 21 5 2 3 16 12 6 1 4 20 16 36 6th Scarborough 22 6 2 3 11 7 4 4 3 10 8 36 7th Chester 23 8 1 3 28 13 3 2 6 17 27 36 8th Canvey Island 22 3 5 3 22 18 6 2 3 20 14 34 9th Farnborough 22 6 3 2 16 8 2 5 4 18 23 32 10th Telford 22 6 4 2 14 9 3 0 7 11 17 31 11th Burton Albion 23 5 3 3 18 17 4 1 7 19 22 31 12th Stevenage 21 4 3 4 19 18 4 3 3 21 23 30 13th Morecambe 22 4 3 4 9 10 4 3 4 14 16 30 14th Hereford 22 5 2 4 15 17 3 3 5 11 15 29 15th Exeter 23 4 4 3 20 17 3 3 6 17 20 28 16th Northwich Vics 22 3 4 4 15 15 2 4 5 9 11 23 17th Accrington 22 3 3 5 13 16 2 4 5 9 17 22 18th Tamworth 22 2 5 4 7 12 2 4 5 9 19 21 19th Halifax 22 3 2 6 17 25 3 0 8 12 16 20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20th Gravesend 22 2 4 5 15 18 2 3 6 10 14 19 21st Southport 23 3 2 7 17 24 2 2 7 11 21 19 22nd Halesowen 22 2 1 7 12 21 3 0 9 8 16 16 </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 9, 2006 Author Share Posted July 9, 2006 That Wednesday evening was played in below freezing conditions, but the pitch was nice and dry. All the regulars, including the new ones got the start. We were at Gavesend’s Stonebridge Park. Nearly 3300 figured that watching a soccer game in person was a nice way to celebrate the New Year. We got a ton of chances but we fell woefully short of good shots. We kept attacking, but again, nothing was doing. We did force Gavesend to focus on defense to the detriment of their offense, but that was it. We did manage to finally score at the 31 mark. Asser broke down two defenders and blasted it in to make the score 1-0 AXFC. The second half was a repeat of the first as we continued to spray shots around the park. Asser again broke down the defense on 68 to give us the 2-0 lead. At that point I subbed in Todd for Duffy and Bradley for Speight. We went into shutdown mode and ran out the clock. It was a nice way to start the New Year off. Our next game was on Saturday afternoon on January 4th at home against Morecambe. The board met and said they were still delighted with my performance. Saturday afternoon arrived swiftly. Yankee Stadium was filled with nearly freezing rain, but at least the pitch was in good shape. Only two starters, Apilinga and Moran, did not make the cut for this game. Their spots were filled Mark Smith and Gary Lynch respectively. Both fill-ins had had nice seasons at the reserve level and both deserved first team looks over the second half. Just over 2200 fans turned up for the first home game of the year. We got things going in a hurry as two players got the first goals of their pro careers. Speight, our phenom, set his feet and leaped; headed in a corner from Mark Smith on 4, giving AXFC the 1-0 lead. His fellow rookie Gary Lynch got into the act eleven minutes later when he was the beneficiary of another Smith corner to make the score 2-0. We tailed off reap idly after that mad Morecambe took control. However they were unable to do much and we retained our two goal lead into the half. Morecambe continued their dominance, shooting 9-16 for the game, but Browne was just on another level, making save after save, including a couple of spectacular variety. Our chances seemed to dim when Speight limped off just three minutes into the half, but the defense held steady. Monson did pull one back for Morecambe on 63 when he slipped the ball in to make it 2-1. Browne’s transcendental performance carried us through to the win. Our winning streak put us in third place. We would next face Woking at their park on Wednesday evening at their place. Speight would be out two weeks with strained knee ligaments. Just after the game, we received word that we had made another Bosman signing, this one 33 yr old Scot Michael Teasdale from Caley Thistle. He would join us on July 1. The Wednesday evening match at Woking was quickly upon us. We would be playing while it was sleeting and below freezing, but at least the pitch would be dry. Howard replaced Speight in the lineup for what would presumably be his last game in an AXFC uniform. Otherwise, the regulars got the start. Nearly 1500 crowded the Kingfield Sports Ground despite the crappy weather. The first half really belonged to Woking’s forward Foyewa, who scored goals on 7 and 27 to give the home side the quick 2-0 lead. The first was a loose ball shot and the second off a Banger cross from the right. Except for the quick strikes, the half was fought at midfield as neither side really had many chances in the foul sleet. We made good on our one try at the half-hour. Moran headed in an Apilinga lob to put us back within one 2-1. The rest of the half ground by in a haze of ice, as neither team was able to warm up. At the half, I subbed out Reilly for Durkin. Both of my central defenders were struggling badly and neither, unless they picked up it in the second half, would get the start next game. The second half was merely a time-waster. We were unable to do anything with the ball as Woking focused entirely well on defense and kept us away to preserve their 2-1 win. We would go right to a weekend afternoon game at fellow Londoner’s Canvey Island. On January 9, when the US leagues were able to make transfers again, Howard left for Hershey Pennsylvania for 110,000 pounds. That brought down our debt to just less than 150K in the red. Gareth Law was called back up to fill the first team roster spot. He would also start games in Speight’s absence. Canvey Island was dry and cold when we arrived there on Saturday afternoon. Several changes were made in the starting lineup. Dodds and Taylor got the nod in center defense, Fraser and Mark Smith replaced Asser and Apilinga respectively and Lynch at AMC. These backups were integrated into the lineup mostly out of fitness concerns. Nearly 1400 fans came out and saw an exhibition of good goalkeeping. Both teams came out shooting and shooting well. Play flowed up the pitch seamlessly for both teams. Both keepers had to scramble to make good saves. AXFC got on the board twenty minutes in when Kavanagh launched a deep cross to the far post to a sitting Lynch. Lynch rose into the air and hammered it home via his melon to give us the 1-0 lead. Canvey were unable tie the game, though not for lack of trying. Canvey got on the ball 13 minutes into the second half when Weatherston smashed in a shot to tie the game at 1-1. A minute after play resumed again, Law smoked his shot in to give AXFC the lead again at 2-1. But ten minutes later, Dinning drilled another shot past Browne to even the game up 2-2. That was the final as the last 25 minutes passed without incident. Everyone seemed satisfied with the draw. Our next game would be on the following Saturday against Chippenham in the FA Trophy contest. During the next week, I attempted to sign a couple of veterans who had been released by their clubs. I felt my first team was entirely too young and I wanted to bring more veterans to mentor the youngsters. On Thursday, 26 and 28 yr old Irishmen Goodwin and Fanning joined AXFC on free transfers from Waterford United. Goodwin would be a regular, partnering Fuff in central defense. Dodds would drop to the reserves, where he would see more playing time. Fanning joined the first team squad at forward where he would backup the regulars. Law would drop to the reserves, where he would get more playing time. Saturday afternoon in Chippenham turned out to be remarkably close to a spring day. It was warm, windy and raining, but the pitch was in good shape. Except for Speight, who was still recovering from his injury all the regulars were set to go. Fanning took Speight’s slot in the lineup. Nearly 800 people came out and saw a very boring first half. AXFC came out firing blanks. We couldn’t have hit the E on an eye chart if we tried. Chippenham wasn’t playing all that well either and the two teams stalled out at midfield for most of the half. Moran was playing his worst game of the year and I subbed him at the break. Lynch would take his spot in the second half. Oughton and McGregor scored for Chippenham in the second half to give the home side the 2-0 victory. I didn’t care that they had won. As it meant we were done with extraneous competitions for the year. Our next match was January 22 at home against Scarborough. The brutal Wednesday evening and the game that had to be played arrived much too quick for my liking. The sleet was nasty and the cold was intense. All the regulars but Speight got the nod for the game. Fanning took over Speight’s forward spot for the match. If the nearly 2800 fans expected a shootout, they were disappointed. 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Wimb The Barman Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 heh, as a LLaMa i don't agree with Editors *burn* but it's still a good interesting read kutgw Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 10, 2006 Author Share Posted July 10, 2006 Cheers Barman... That Frank can sure spit can't he? Neither team wanted to do much in the sleet and cold. Both sides had a number of chances, but failed to make hay while the ice came down. Action was up and down the pitch as players tried to make a break. Finally, half an hour in, Kavanagh took an Asser pass and buried it into the goal to give the home side AXFC the 1-0 lead. At the half, I subbed in Durkin for an extremely fatigued Asser. We managed to stop Scarborough from doing any damage in the second half. For their part, our opposition seemed to decide that they weren’t going to really try and gave up. The result was a turgid second half that saw the minutes tick by slowly. We finally left the pitch with the 1-0 win. Our next game was against our London rivals, Barnet at Underwood. The three days til Saturday passed by quickly. That afternoon, London was in the grip of near-gale force winds. In addition, the pitch and the stadium were wet and the pitch was damp, but at least, it was warmer than it had been. Still, no one really relished playing in those aforementioned conditions. All the regulars, with the exception of Moran and Apilinga, who were replaced by Lynch and Mark Smith respectively, were penciled in on the lineup card. Just fewer than 2000 fans turned out for the derby. Both teams got a few chances in the first half, but the goalies prevented anyone from taking advantage. Play was up and down, as the two teams sought to find an offensive rhythm. AXFC got two breaks in the half. First, on 9, Lynch pounced on a loose ball and put it back to give us the 1-0 lead. Second, at the half-hour mark, Barnet’s right back Hendon made a vicious challenge on Kirkwood and was ejected from the proceedings. Now a man up, we spent the rest of the half protecting our slim lead. The second half shot my plans all to hell. Five minutes in Goodwin was ejected for pushing a player and in addition, the referee gave Barnet a penalty. I sent in Durkin to replace a hapless Duffy and reorganized the formation. Saunders nailed the penalty to tie the score at 1-1. Ten minutes later, Hawes scored to give Barnet the 2-1 lead which they maintained long enough to win the game. We were simply punch-less. The loss put us in fifth place. At least we had a week before having to face Accrington on Saturday February 1. The day following the Barnet match, I appealed the three game bans on Goodwin and also bitterly complained about the ref to the media, which earned me a rebuke from the FA, They dismissed my appeal, so Goodwin was out for three games. February marched in and with it came the Saturday afternoon game. We hosted Accrington. London was suffering the usual February weather, which meant rain and wind. Our pitch was soaked through. All the regulars got the nod for this one. Everyone was fit and ready to go. Nearly 2300 fans saw us put the game way early. We came out shooting accurately. Ten minutes in, we scored our first goal when Fuff took a Kavanagh corner and calmly potted the shot to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. A few minutes later, Kavanagh scored a goal himself to make our lead 2-0. Since Accrington seemed not be in the game, I signaled my team to play defensively. We ran out the clock on the first half, with nary a protest from Accrington. However, by ten minutes into the second half, they had tied the game back up with goals from O’Brien and Homer. They were getting way too many chances. We pulled ahead on 80 as Duffy took an Asser pass and banged it in to give is the 3-2 win. At that point, Kirkwood limped off the field and was replaced by Bradley. We held our lead for the final ten minutes and got the win. We now had week and half off before traveling to Stevenage on Wednesday evening February 12. On February 4 Clark Fennelly returned to full practice after recovering from his groin injury. Fraser Smith was sent back down to the reserves. Wednesday evening, two days before Valentine’s Day, we traveled to Stevenage for a Conference tussle. The weather was lousy, sleet and cold made the game not fun to play. All the starters except for the suspended Goodwin (replaced by Reilly) and the injured Kirkwood (replaced by Bradley). 1312 fans braved the conditions to watch a game that must have kept them warm with heartburn. Neither team managed to get many chances. That really didn’t mean much as we opened the scoring five minutes in when Moran headed down a ball for a wide open Speight who nailed the half-volley to make the score 1-0 in favor of AXFC. We spent the rest of the half pressuring Stevenage in their half and making their defense work overtime. Thus, even only getting three shots, we managed to do well. The only time the home side threatened us was on a couple of counter-attacks. One of those came late in the half as Bapiste sent a cross in that Bradshaw gathered in and put it past a diving Browne to tie the game 1-1. The second half saw both teams ramp up the offense. Both teams were aggressively seeking goals and taking good chances, though Stevenage still seemed to be still counter-attacking. It worked for them as Watson drilled a shot in to regain Stevenage the lead at 2-1. At that point I subbed in Lynch for Moran and Todd for Apilinga. The fresh players seemed to make a bit of difference, though as the game ticked on, I figured it probably wasn’t our night. On 84, Asser managed to land a free-kick into the goal to tie the game 2-2. That’s were the score stood at the final whistle. We were holding onto fifth place in the Conference as we had a game on Saturday at home against Dag and Red. Saturday afternoon in London was a drizzly day, but at least the pitch was dry and the temperature was reasonable. The same lineup was slated to start this game with one exception, Fennelly started in place of Asser. Nearly 2900 fans were willing to get wet to see these two teams play. It was a midfield slugfest. Neither team got many chances. Attacks were far and few between. We only had one measly off-target shot to our credit. Dagenham did a bit better and they took the very early lead two minutes in when Myall drilled a surprise shot past Browne. They retained the lead throughout the first half. We looked extremely shaky and it showed. We came out much better in the second half, amassing chances, but they were mostly off the mark. Dagenham did a great job of snuffing our attacks. I subbed in Durkin for Apilinga and Fanning for Bradley at 72. However, we failed to do anything in the last twenty minutes and we lost, at home, 1-0. That loss put us, AXFC. Now in sixth place, we would face Halesowen at their place next Saturday afternoon. Saturday February 22, 2003 arrived soon enough. We traveled to the Grove in Halesowen. Conditions were great, cool and dry. All the regulars except for Goodwin, who was still suspension and Kirkwood who was still injury, earned the start. Reilly continued to fill in for the former and Fanning got the nod for the latter. 835 fans turned up to see a competitive match. Both teams came out playing defensively. Neither team got many chances, though action was spread across the field. The defense and the unwillingness to make a mistake ruled the half. As a consequence, the score at halftime remained 0-0. The second half continued this trend. We started getting shots off, but we were very inaccurate. Halesowen were playing the counter-attack and succeeded ten minutes to the final when Giddings took a pass from Burke and nailed the shot in to give Halesowen the 1-0 wins over AXFC. Given that Halesowen was fighting a relegation battle, it was no wonder they had more fire than we did. We had a chance to redeem ourselves the following weekend with a game at Yankee Stadium versus Tamworth. March began with a Conference game for us. We had an afternoon game against Tamworth at home in London. All the regulars got the start, as Goodwin and Kirkwood returned to the match pitch. It was a pleasant day and all conditions were good. 2224 fans saw a cracking match. AXFC started out well when on 4. Speight dribbled in, weaving around defenders like cones and potted his shot neatly to give us the 1-0 lead. The action didn’t stop there. Both teams were playing well and putting shots on goal. Tamworth tied the game on 18 when Marsh centered a ball that Sylla headed past Browne. We kept attacking, and it paid off at the half-hour mark. Duffy lobbed a ball that Moran ran onto and sent screaming into the net to regain AXFC the 2-1. Tamworth themselves kept attacking as we tried to hold the lead. They succeeded in knotting the game at the close of the half. Sylla had a hand in the goal when he crossed to Walsh at the far post and who headed the ball into the net to make the score 2-2 at the half. It was an appropriate end to an exciting half. It was just a shame that this game wasn’t on national TV. The second half was more of a midfield slog. Both teams slowed the pace and started getting sloppy with shot selection. We pulled out a win on 69 when Asser buried a direct free-kick into the Tamworth goal to give us the 3-2 win. At that point, I sent in Bradley for Kirkwood and Todd for Apilinga. Over the next twenty minutes, we managed to hold onto the lead and seal the win. We had a national TV game the next weekend at Halifax. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 11, 2006 Author Share Posted July 11, 2006 The board met on March 2 to commend my performance and discuss the finances which were not good. We still had a roughly 87,000 pound profit for the year, but we were still nearly 300,000 pounds in overall club debt. Saturday morning at the Shay in Halifax was cool and dry. All the regulars got the starting nod. Nearly 1150 saw a rather frustrating first half for the home side. Both teams were making good attacks, and taking good shots. It was more luck than anything else that we went ahead of Halifax at 24 when Moran headed down a ball that Kirkwood blasted the ball in to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. The rest of the half was spent holding off an increasingly-frustrated Halifax. They were cracking shots at goal, but Browne was on-form. We held on to that slim lead during a dull second half. Our win kept us in 6th place with nine games left in the Conference season. Our next game was in three days on Tuesday evening at Yankee Stadium vs. Farnborough. The evening of Tuesday March 11 in London was a slightly chilly night at Yankee Stadium. Most of the regulars were selected in the lineup except for Apilinga, Moran and Speight, who were all slightly unfit. They were replaced by Mark Smith, Gary Lynch and Lee Bradley respectively. Just over 2500 decided to spend their evening at the park. We controlled three games from the first minutes, taking the early lead five minutes in. Lee Bradley volleyed in a pass from Mark Smith to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We increased that lead just free minutes later. On 18, Lynch snagged a rebound and blistered it past Harpur in goal to give us the 2-0 lead. We dominated the rest of the half. Farnborough were never really in the game properly and we had our way. We continued to play exceed well in the second half. We added our third goal on 58 when Bradley took a Chandler cross and blasted it past a standing Harpur. We continued to blast away, as did Farnborough, but Browne was on and he handled all the shots well unbelievably, especially to the screaming fans, we added a fourth goal on 82 when Fuff chipped a pass to Kirkwood, who dribbled in and sent the ball into the net to cap a 4-0 victory. This was our best game by far this season. We had four days to enjoy the win before heading to Rochdale for the weekend matchup with the second-placed team in the Conference. If the rain in Rochdale wasn’t bad enough on Saturday afternoon wasn’t and enough news worse came just before the game when word circulated that we had drawn the harshest ref in the league. I told my players to play their regular game. I was prepared for the worst and I was prepared to scream to the media til I was fined if need be. All the regulars drew the start and I wished them luck as they went out. To say I had foreboding about this game would be an understatement. Just over 2500 fans showed up. We actually got the scoring at nine minutes when Speight leaped and headed in a Kavanagh throw-in to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. That was the last, and only shot we had at the Rochdale goal. Not that Rochdale was playing brilliantly, they weren’t, but they were holding the ball better than we were. They attacked three times and got results twice. First, their forward McEwilly blasted a rebound back through Browne to tie the game 1-1 at the half-hour mark. Late in the half, on 39, McEwilly nailed a penalty to give the home side the 2-1 lead. We improved slightly in the second half, getting two more shots, both on-target. We cashed in on one of those on the hour mark when Kirkwood teed up Asser, who took the ball and cut through the Rochdale defense and buried the shot in low to tie the game 2-2. We managed to hold off a ferocious attack by the home side and we escaped with the 2-2 draw. Our next match was a home game against Chester on the next weekend. Saturday afternoon in London was a cool, drizzly day. At least the pitch at Yankee Stadium was in good shape. All the regulars got the nod for this game. Some the regulars were starting to get nervous. They knew that their play down the stretch would determine whether they were with AXFC next season. Cutting time was almost at hand Just over 2400 braved the rain and turned out for the contest. We started out inauspiciously as Chandler pulled up lame on 12 and was replaced by Durkin. Three minutes later, Moran fired a shot into goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. A few minutes after that, we scored again on 23when Moran laid the ball off to an onrushing Kavanagh who cracked a beautiful shot into the goal to give us the 2-0 lead. At this point Chester collected their wits about them and began to string together some attacks. They were remarkable efficient with their shots, getting 90% of them on-target. That helped them to score on 34 when Higgins slashed and burned our defense to pull Chester back 2-1. Ten minutes later, Higgins again cut through the defense off the dribble and passed the ball off to a wide open Brodie, who sank the shot to tie the game at 2-2. The second half was all about us trying to score and Chester trying to preserve the draw. On 62, I sent in Todd for a struggling Apilinga. We continued to pelt the Chester goal, but to no avail. At 75 I sent in Lynch for Duffy and shifted Moran to RMC so that Lynch could play AMC. The deadlock was broken on 84 when Moran headed in a Lynch free-kick to make the score 3-2 in favor of the home team. We staved out the last minute rush by Chester and won out. That win put us in fifth place with 36 games played. Our last game in March would take place the next weekend at Hereford on the 29th. Chandler was done for the year as it turned out he had suffered a torn groin muscle. He would have to start getting ready for the 04 season. Friday March 28, the transfer deadline, passed without much notice by AXFC. Saturday afternoon in Hereford was pleasant enough as it was dry and cool. Durkin took Chandler’s place as the regular at left back for the remainder of the season. As such, it was all regulars who got the nod for the game except for Apilinga, who had played badly last game. He was replaced by Mark Smith, who was making a serious case to be a first-team regular next season. Just over 1500 fans came out to show their support for the home side. Hereford decided that the best tactic to use against us would be to play defensively. Accordingly, they badly did anything on offense, getting only one shot for the half. On the other hand, we, AXFC, got plenty of chances and most of those were right on target. Unfortunately, Hereford keeper Alan Watts was enjoying the best day of the season. He made three spectacular saves to deny our forwards. We continually pressured Hereford, but Watts refused to crack, which meant halftime arrived with no score. By the hour mark this had all changed. Two minutes into the restart, Smith sent UN a corner that Goodwin headed home to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We effectively sealed the game off on 61 when Speight struck home a Kavanagh throw-in to give us the 2-0 lead. Hereford never challenged us in the remaining thirty minutes, though I did have to replace an injured Fuff with Fennelly on 67. With this easy victory, we were ready to face Gravesend in London the next weekend. That weekend, Liverpool beat Chelsea to win the League Cup. On March 30, I received a nice surprise. I won the Manager of the Month award for March. The board was happy with my work, but finances remained a grave concern as we now had a debt load of over 350,000 to deal with. The afternoon of Saturday April 5 was a dry and cool day at Yankee Stadium. All the regulars, except for a still-injured Fuff were named as the starting eleven for the game. Reilly took Fuff’s place in the lineup. Just over 1800 came for the game. Much like the last game, we came out firing in the first half. We got plenty of shots and managed to put most of them on-target. Action was spread out evenly through the entire pitch as Gravesend showed more attacking nerve than Hereford. Still, AZFC didn’t have to worry much about Gravesend, just about ourselves as the forwards couldn’t get the ball past the Gravesend keeper, who was on-form. With five minutes to go in the half, Duffy managed to put us on the board when he nailed a shot off a Kavanagh corner. At the half the score remained 1-0 in favor of AXFC. The second half was a completely different story. Both teams opened the throttle, firing shots one after the other. Gravesend proved to be sterner stuff than most of our recent opposition, they scored three straight goals: Thompson on 53 tied the game with a blast off a Pinnnock corner. Piscopides put Gavesend ahead 2-1 on 68 when he got space to receive a low cross from Pinnock. The last Gravesend goal came on 72 when Alimi broke down our defense and hit a scorcher into goal to give Gavesend the 3-1 lead. While all this was going on for the visitors, we were trying our best to score, but we failed as the Gravesend keeper remained on-form. I sent in Bradley for Speight on 74 for naught. We did score once more on 80 when Kirkwood banged in a Moran header to make the final 3-2 Gravesend. The loss spoiled our outside bid for the Conference title, but at least the pressure was off. Furthermore, the fans couldn’t complain that they hadn’t seen an exciting match. As it was, we only had two days until our next match, an away contest at Northwich Vics. In a nice gesture, John Browne was selected to the All-Conference team by his peers, the first AXFC player so honored. Monday evening in Northwich was drizzly and cold. The only regulars to draw a start were Goodwin, Asser and Speight, every other position was filled by a backup. I wonder if that’s the reason the Conference Pooh-Bahs schedule these tight evening matches that ensure that backup players get games. Who knows? We under 850 fans were there to support Northwich. I though the game was over fifteen minutes in. Northwich’s Teather headed in a Stevens comer on 6 and on 15 Teather passed into the area to a wide-open Whitehead, who calmly potted the shot to give Northwich the commanding early 2-0 lead. However, that was the last anyone heard from the Northwich offense for the rest of the half. Meanwhile, my AXFC side begins to regroup and began to get plenty of chances starting twenty minutes into the game. The attacks began to pay out on 34 when Lynch buried a rebound to pull us back one, making the score 2-1. Then, late in the half, we got a corner and Mark Smith directed a floating comer that Asser headed into goal to knot the game at 2-2. The second half was a holding action. Northwich finally broke our defense on 75 when Thompson headed in a goal to give the home side 3-2. Near the end of time, Speight limped off the field to be replaced by Fanning. Northwich sealed the win in injury time when Wright let loose a blast that an agitated Brook merely waved at to make the score 4-1, our worse loss of the year. To be fair, we had a ton of shots, but we were unable to do much with them and Northwich made us pay for that. Our next match was against league leaders Woking at Yankee Stadium. Speight’s injury would shelve him for three weeks, effectively ending his season at this late date. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon in London on the 12th of April as we prepared to face Woking at Yankee Stadium. All the regulars save for Speight, who was replaced by Bradley, were selected for the lineup. Just over 2000 watched we take on the Conference leaders. We got a surfeit of chances in the first half and we were remarkably efficient with them. However, Woking was very good in defense and in goal and they prevented us from doing much damage. For their part, Woking only got off three shots and missed all three. The upshot was that the half was dominated by the two team’s defenses. However, play was spread out evenly over the entire pitch and neither dominated the ball. Still it was AXFC who got on the board first, albeit late in the half. Bradley was pushed by Woking defenseman Thomas and we were awarded a penalty. Moran took it and his aim was true to give us the 1-0 lead at the half. During the break U outlined the strategy for the second half (defensive play) and sent them back out with the lineup intact. We clung ferociously to our slender lead during the second half. The watchword was defense. Woking seemed content to help us out. They weren’t getting their myriad of chances on goal and the home crowd thought we had the game in the bag. On 66, I subbed in Smith for Apilinga and Fanning for Kirkwood. The fresh energy brought a new vigor to our play, but, giving Woking’s ineptitude, perhaps we became just a bit too casual. On 80, Nicholls put in a low cross to a breaking Foyewa, who buried the tying, shot to make the game 1-1. Woking ran out the clock and escaped with a draw/ our next game was two weeks away at Southport. Despite the draw, we held onto fifth place in the Conference. After that latest round of games, Gravesend was relegated, despite having three games to play. Shrewsbury would be rejoining the Conference, just having been relegated with three games to go in the Third Division season. The next week saw nothing but injuries. Both Apilinga and Asser would be out for a time, but the hope was that they would be able to return for the final game of the season. In the Vans Trophy Final, Grimsby beat Luton 1-0. The afternoon of Saturday April 26 was a drizzly day at Haig Avenue in Southport. Most of the regulars got the start, but Apilinga, Asser and Speight were all still injured, meaning that Smith, Fennelly and Bradley drew the starts at those positions. Just over a thousand folks were at the park to watch their team try to avoid relegation. Southport had a lot more riding on this game than we did and it showed in the first half play. They were playing determined football, focusing on defense and counter-attacking. Their defense continually swallowed our rather impotent offense. Southport also took more care with their chances. While we gunned down the pitch and shot wildly at their keeper, they patiently built up an attack in midfield and bided their time til they could strike quickly. That they did near the end of the half when they moved with lightening precision. Sullivan gathered in a long ball, broke down the AXFC defense on 44 and buried the shot to give Southport the 1-0 lead at the break. The second half was frustrating for us. We were getting good shots throughout, but Southport’s goalkeeper Keith Gardiner was playing inspired and he and his defense kept us off the scoreboard. Ten minutes to the end I made a triple substitution, putting in Fanning for Bradley, Lynch for Moran and Todd for Duffy to no avail Southport was determined to get their 1-0 win and they did. As I said earlier, the game meant more to them than to us. We would finish the Conference season with a game against Telford at Yankee Stadium on the following weekend. On May 1st, the board pronounced them happy with my performance, but had grave concerns about the financial situation, which had gotten bad again. The last match day of the Conference season was clear and dry in London where we were to play Telford. The race to promotion from the Conference was only a two horse affair this year. Rochdale led with 81 points and Woking had 80. Both were playing away on this day. Rochdale at Stevenage and Woking at Scarborough. Rather than worry about that, I worried about our last home game. All the regulars got the nod and a couple of them knew if was likely to be their last game with AXFC. Only just over 1600 fans came out for the game, a sure sign that this game was worthless. With nothing at stake, both teams just played soccer. There was no strategy to consider, no long term implications to worry about. Just 22 men playing a game they loved. On 27, Speight picked up a rebound and put it back in to give us, AXFC, the 1-0 lead. However, Telford made adroit use of counters, getting goals from Mills on 33 and Brown on 44 to give Telford the 2-1 at the break. During the intermission, we saw that Scarborough and Woking were in a 0-0 draw and that Stevenage was beating Rochdale 2-0. If this held up, Woking would be the champs. During the break, I made a rather gutsy trifecta substitution, putting in three guys who were likely playing the last half for AXFC, Brook, German and Todd... I could only hope their last was their best. It wasn’t and Telford’s Moore added two more goals in the second half to make the score 4-1 Telford by game’s end. At least the season was done with. Woking held on to win promotion whilst Southport and Burton Albion joined Gravesend in going down to lower-league obscurity. We were awarded 85K ponds for finishing 6th in the final Conference standings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 13, 2006 Author Share Posted July 13, 2006 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************************************************************ American Exiles Football Club - Saturday 3rd May 2003 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2002/3 Senior Club Stats ================================================================================================ No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Adamson, Carl - - - - - - - - ---- - Apiliga, Moses 37 (1) 0 0 0 5 1 0 1 6.71 - Asser, James 42 (1) 10 0 0 12 0 0 5 7.14 - Bradley, Lee 6 (5) 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 6.91 - Brook, Robert 5 (1) 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - Brown, Steven - - - - - - - - ---- - Browne, John 43 0 50 0 0 0 0 3 7.02 - Campbell, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Campbell, Thomas - - - - - - - - ---- - Chandler, Jeremy 36 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 6.89 - Chapman, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Cooper, Craig - - - - - - - - ---- - Cooper, Gordon - - - - - - - - ---- - Dodds, Paul 9 (1) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.40 - Donnelly, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Duffy, Chris 44 (1) 3 0 0 3 1 0 0 6.49 - Duncan, James - - - - - - - - ---- - Durkin, Neil 10 (9) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.58 - Evans, Lee - - - - - - - - ---- - Fanning, Colin 3 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.43 - Farid, Shuvo 4 (3) 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.43 - Fennelly, Clark 7 (7) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - French, Scott - - - - - - - - ---- - Fuff, Glen 40 4 0 0 1 3 0 0 6.60 - German, Dave 19 (1) 2 0 1 (1) 2 0 0 0 6.65 - Goodwin, Gerry 15 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.93 - Gordon, Malcolm - - - - - - - - ---- - Jones, James 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Kavanagh, Gary 29 3 0 0 5 2 0 1 7.00 - Kelly, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Kirkwood, Glen 40 8 0 0 3 2 0 1 7.15 - Law, Gareth 3 (7) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.70 - Lissa, Ciarame - - - - - - - - ---- - Lynch, Gary 5 (5) 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.90 - Mason, Kevin - - - - - - - - ---- - McMahon, Jack - - - - - - - - ---- - Moran, Sean 22 (12) 9 0 2 (2) 5 3 0 2 6.68 - Powell, Neil - - - - - - - - ---- - Reilly, Jim 17 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.35 - Richardson, Richard - - - - - - - - ---- - Sadler, Adam - - - - - - - - ---- - Shaw, Bob - - - - - - - - ---- - Smart, Barry - - - - - - - - ---- - Smith, Fraser 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33 - Smith, Mark 6 (1) 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 7.14 - Speight, Richard 15 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.33 - Stannard, Wayne - - - - - - - - ---- - Taylor, Brian 14 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 6.14 - Todd, Mark 3 (14) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.47 - Truman, Danny - - - - - - - - ---- ************************************************************************************************ English Conference - Saturday 3rd May 2003 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2002/3 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Woking 42 14 3 4 43 26 9 9 3 41 30 81 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Rochdale 42 15 1 5 37 22 10 5 6 34 24 81 3rd Barnet 42 13 6 2 33 17 9 6 6 32 25 78 4th Dag & Red 42 13 5 3 40 19 9 4 8 32 32 75 5th Chester 42 15 3 3 51 24 6 5 10 35 47 71 6th AXFC 42 14 1 6 38 27 6 7 8 25 25 68 7th Scarborough 42 11 5 5 21 9 7 7 7 16 14 66 8th Morecambe 42 11 4 6 34 25 8 4 9 33 35 65 9th Stevenage 42 9 6 6 40 29 8 6 7 37 40 63 10th Tamworth 42 10 7 4 29 19 6 6 9 21 29 61 11th Telford 42 9 9 3 27 18 7 3 11 32 36 60 12th Northwich Vics 42 8 6 7 35 31 7 4 10 25 31 55 13th Halifax 42 10 4 7 35 32 6 2 13 27 34 54 14th Exeter 42 9 7 5 36 27 4 5 12 25 39 51 15th Farnborough 42 10 5 6 38 27 3 6 12 27 42 50 16th Canvey Island 42 5 9 7 32 31 7 3 11 26 40 48 17th Hereford 42 6 5 10 25 36 6 6 9 23 34 47 18th Accrington 42 8 5 8 28 28 3 6 12 21 41 44 19th Halesowen 42 7 5 9 27 34 4 3 14 14 27 41 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20th R Southport 42 5 6 10 26 35 5 4 12 21 34 40 21st R Burton Albion 42 6 4 11 28 41 4 6 11 24 38 40 22nd R Gravesend 42 3 5 13 29 42 6 4 11 28 35 36 </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 14, 2006 Author Share Posted July 14, 2006 The housecleaning began the day after the season ended. Brook, Durkin, German, Duffy, Todd and Kirkwood were released, along with a couple of reserve players who were never going to make the grade. The board wasn’t happy with the releases, but we had guys in the reserves ready to take over those spots, along with two Bosmans. In addition, I had decided to carry a 25 man first team next season, instead of the 22 man squad I had been carrying. The extra defender, midfielder and forward would help with depth and enable more guys to get playing time in the reserves. On Saturday May 10, Tottenham beat Blackburn 3-2 to win the FA Cup. In the UEFA Cup, Roma defeated Lyon 2-0. That same day, Manchester Untied won the Premier Division. As May progressed, we again tried to sign Stuart Yong and Paul Byrne to no avail. In the last round of matches that concerned English clubs, Barca beat Arsenal 1-0 to win the Champions League and Rochdale beat Stevenage 3-1 to win the FA Trophy. Now the off-season could really begin, though the fun wouldn’t really start until June 4th, which was when the transfer deadline was lifted for English clubs. June brought with it the monthly board evaluation. Hays and company were happy with my performance, but the finances were the worst they had ever been. AXFC was now 608,000 pounds in the red. The only way we were going to turn a profit was if we could make the League. On the fourth, Derek Fleming moved to AXFC from Partick Thistle. The 29 yr old Scottish left back would be the regular at that position. On June 19th, Kevin Allan, a 31 yr old Scottish central defender joined us on a free. This move would allow me to send Brian Taylor down to the reserves. Also the Supporters club selected James Asser as the Player of the year. We also received a hundred grand in TV money, though it would not help much. The board were expecting yet another difficult season. They seemed to have no confidence at all in the team. A day later the 03/04 Conference schedule was released. Most of the new teams in the Conference this year were familiar faces. Shrewsbury were back from the League, Aldershot and Nuneaton Borough got another chance to play. The only new face was Hastings Town. As June wound down, we signed veteran defender Colin Vowden from Cambridge College. The move would allow us to send Jim Reilly down to the reserves. My plan was to sign veteran defenders to compensate for how young the projected first team was at every other position. At the start of July, we signed veteran Martin Teasdale from Caley Thistle, which completed the overhaul of the defense. The board met and were only pleased with my job performance. Mind you, they had just injected 450K into the club coffers, so one couldn’t really blame them for being a bit peeved. On July 5th I opened training camp for everyone. Two weeks of conditioning would begin, followed by two weeks of skill and shooting drills, followed by two weeks of “regular season†practice. On July 10 we added veteran midfielder Gordon Armstrong from Accrington to be the utility midfielder on the first-team. In mid-July we signed our fifth forward 26 yr old Prince Moncrief from Hyde United on a free. A few days later, we completed our first team signings by acquiring utility man Dave Munster from Crusaders and right back Thomas Stewart from Hinckley on free transfers. As a result, the first team squad was now a good blend of youth and experience. In fact, the squad looks like a combination of the two paths of Bob’s “Ages†challenge. August arrived, bringing the opening day of the Conference in roughly two weeks. Firs, however, the board met to discuss my off-season performance as manager. They were happy enough, but not as enthused as they had once been. Perhaps the reality of running a club had caught up with him. They had sank more investors’ money into AXFC and had yet to see a profit. I didn’t tell the board, but privately I did express the goal of winning the Conference this year. I had built the roster to really compete for the title during the next two seasons. The last few weeks of training camp produced nothing but injuries, including calf stains to both first-team goalkeepers that would cause each to miss a month of action. I didn’t quite trust my reserve keepers, so I went looking for a goalkeeper to bring in on loan. I found one in Derry City’s veteran Allan Gough. We offered a two month loan contract and quitted for his acceptance. We were stunned when Derry rejected out bid, but we simply turned to another option. With our other options getting rejected, and Browne resuming light practice a few days before the Conference opener, we figured Wilkins from the reserves could start a couple of games. A few days before our season opener at rivals Barnet, I posted the first team squad list with regulars in bold: GK: John Browne (31 Irish) Adam Sadler (23 English) DL: Derek Fleming (29 Scot) Jeremy Chandler (31 Welsh) DR: Gary Kavanagh (18 Irish) Allan Davies (31 English) DC: Gavin Fuff (28 English) Colin Vowden (31 English) Gerry Goodwin (26 Irish) Kevin Allan (31 English) Utility Defender- Michael Teasdale (33 Scot) LMC: James Asser (20 English) Clark Fennelly (20 Irish) RMC: Fraser Smith (20 Scot) David Munster (24 NI) CMC: Mark Smith (19 English) Moses Apilinga (24 English) Utility midfielder- Gareth Armstrong (36 English) AMC: Sean Moran (21 Irish) Gary Lynch (20 English) Forwards: Richard Speight (18 English) Gareth Law (20 English) Lee Bradley (21 English) Colin Fanning (30 Irish) Prince Moncrief (26 English) Saturday afternoon, August 16th was the opening day of the Conference season. We traveled across London to play Barnet at Underhilll. The day was dry and hot and most of the regulars got the start. Wilkins drew the nod in goal as both Browne and Sadler were unable to play. Nearly 2000 fans came out for the derby. Barnet looked completely out of synch. They were unable to muster any sort of offense and so spent the half trying to find their way. AXFC, on the other hand, exploded offensively. We had tons of chances and made most of them good chances. Only a good day by the Barnet keeper kept the score down. As it was, we scored twice in the half. Our first goal came on 18 when he pounced on a rebound and stuffed it back in to give us the 1-0 lead. Twenty-five minutes later, Moran had to leave due to injury and was replaced by Lynch just before first half injury-time commenced. During those minutes, Asser gave us the 2-0 lead when he stuffed another rebound past Chatfield, who was having difficultly holding onto the ball. Ten minutes into the second half, despite our defensive play, Speight sealed the win when he headed a Kavanagh to make the score 3-0 AXFC. On 60, I pulled Fraser Smith for Fennelly. The move did nothing to stop our flow as ten minutes later, Law volleyed in a Fuff pass to make the score 4-0 AXFC. Then, things got a bit strange. I used my last sub ton bring on Bradley for Speight on 72. Then on 83 Law limped off the field, which put us down to ten men as all the subs had been used. Never mind that, on 84, Lynch broke down the Barnet defense with his feet and blasted a shot in to make the score 5-0 in our favor. To this point Barnet had yet to even take a shot in the game, but then they started taking advantage of their extra man. Koppinger scored a nice consolation on 85, but it really was too late for Barnet, though they put on a few nice attacks toward the end of the game. We walked out of Underhill with a rather convincing 5-1 victory that announce our arrival as Conference contenders. Our home opener was Tuesday evening against Accrington. The injuries suffered during the Barnet game weren’t overly severe. Law was out for two weeks with a twisted knee and Moran a few days with a leg contusion. The next day, former Leeds youth product JP Mills joined the team. He would get the RMC staring spot, which meant Fraser, went back to the reserves. Tuesday arrived quickly enough. We were excited to start our home opener, though a full lineup was not going to happen. Most of the regulars did start, but Wilkins, Apilinga, Lynch and Bradley drew the nod. Mark Smith got the start at RMC. Conditions were ideal. It was balmy and dry and I hoped for a good-sized crowd. Just over 2000 showed up, a slightly disappointing size as I had expected at least half of the stadium would be filled. We continued our good play from the last game. We got our chances in the first half, and got them on target. The Accrington keeper and defense were doing nicely, so we were kept off the board. Accrington played defense for most of the half and thus, only threatened once on offense, which was an easy save for Wilkins. We just didn’t get the breaks during the half. The second half was almost a carbon copy of the first as we continued to pound Rusty Tucker, who stubbornly refused to yield a goal. Accrington was playing for the draw and continued not to do much offense. At 68, I subbed in Fanning for Speight, but the move failed to spark a goal. The time was winding down when Tucker parried an AXFC shot that Lynch pounced on and blew by Tucker in the net to give us the 1-0 win. We were leading the league now and had played well in two games so far. I was hoping that we could keep it up. I was also hoping that the injuries would start clearing up soon. Our next game was against Scarborough on the following Saturday afternoon. A few players did return from injury. Saturday afternoon at the McCain Stadium was hot, wet, steamy and damp. So, not the best, but could be worse. Most of the regulars got the nod for this one including new RMC JP Mills. Fanning got the nod for the injured Law and Wilkins continued to hold down goal. Nearly 3000 fans turned up to watch a rather dull half. The first half was a midfield battle, though we constantly pressured Scarborough, but we were unable to get anything going on the goal as we only had one shot on goal. Scarborough countered a couple of times, manufacturing a couple of shots late in the half. They were unable to cash in however, and tat the half; the score remained 0-0. At the break I subbed out Moran and Fanning, who were both extremely fatigued. They were replaced by Lynch and Bradley respectively. We came out sizzling in the second half. We poured pressure on the Scarborough D, but keeper Robert Wilson held up well. We kept at it since Scarborough weren’t troubling our defense and the boys in red finally cracked on 82, JP Mills sent a ball in for the run of Lynch. Lynch was in the open and shot quickly, getting the ball past Wilson to give us yet another late 1-0 win. We next had a home date with Halifax in the evening of August 27. Yankee Stadium on Wednesday evening was cool and dry. Great conditions to play ball in. Browne returned to the starting lineup which meant the only regular still out was Law, who was replaced by Fanning. Fleming was unfit and was replaced by Chandler. Otherwise all the others in the lineup were regulars. Fewer than 2000 fans came out to the park and watched an offensive show. Defense was a dirty word in the first half. Both teams raced up and down the pitch taking plenty of shots. Halifax had a bunch of chances, but were not particularly accurate, which had to be a relief for Browne in his first game of the season. We had had fewer chances than our opponents, but we were far superior at hitting the target. Still, the Halifax keeper was on-form and we were unable to get the score going until late in the half. On 41 Moran took a lob from Mills and drove it past Jon James to make the score 1-0 AXFC. Halifax came back one minute into the second half when Irvine broke through our defense and spun the ball past Browne to make the game level at 1-1. There the score remained though both teams continued pelt the goals with many a shot. Shooting percentages were even worse this half, so either goalkeeper was under serious pressure. I sent in Bradley for Fanning and Munster for Mark Smith on 75. The subs failed to spark the offense and the game ended as the 1-1 tie. We next had a game against newcomers Hastings Town in their ballpark on the next Saturday afternoon to wrap up the August portion of the schedule. We made pudding out of the Hastings Town reserves, defeating them 5-0 at home. On the Friday before the first-team match, reservist James Duncan missed training and was promptly fined a month’s worth of pay. Naturally, he though this was unfair, but I ignored his complaints. I did not tolerate unexcused lateness or absence from practice. On Saturday afternoon we were at the Plot Field in Hastings. The day was cool and dry, lovely weather indeed. Most of the regulars got the start except for Moran and Mills, who were deemed unfit for the game and were replaced by Lynch and Munster. Law was still out and was replaced by Bradley. Just over 1300 Hastings faithful came out to the grounds. We put our stamp on the game early. On 8, Smith took a corner and sent the ball to Fuff, who gathered it in and shot true to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We continued to put a great deal of pressure on the home side, keeping the ball in their third of the pitch and taking many a chance. However, goalkeeper Virat Vaughan, a 12-time Thai national team member, kept us off the score-sheet for the remainder of the half. For their part, Hastings was content to play defense and only took one shot all half. We effectively sealed our win an hour into the contest. On 63, Asser collected a loose BAL, sticking it back into the net and on 66, Speight headed in a Fleming ball to make the score 3-0 AXFC. Following that, I pulled Speight from the game in favor of Moncrief and followed up on 70 by subbing in Moran for Lynch and Fennelly for Bradley. None of these moves made the slightest bit of difference. We ran out the clock on our win with little protest from Hastings. Our next game was in two days on September 1st against Stevenage at Yankee Stadium. I won the August manager of the month award, not a great surprise considering our performance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 17, 2006 Author Share Posted July 17, 2006 Monday evening at Yankee Stadium was a cool clear night. The storyline for this game was provided by Stevenage’s Ricky Bapiste, who had just set a Inference record in his previous game by scoring five goals in that contest. He would be starting against us, though hopefully too tired to cause much of a threat. We started mostly backups for this game except for Browne, Fuff, Vowden, Smith, Mills and Moran. Nearly 2600 fans came to watch a rather tired side. It was nice that the fans were finally noticing that we were second in the league. Both sides seemed to be tired and unmotivated. Everyone was attacking, but neither side seemed to be able to finish, or even get a shot off. Action was all over the place, but defense ruled. Neither goalkeeper had much work as there wasn’t a single shot on goal. Therefore, the score remained 0-0 at the break. The second half saw both teams pick it up offensively, but this time the goalkeepers were ready and prevented any damage. At 75, I subbed in Lynch for Moran to see if the offense could be sparked into action. It couldn’t, but we got a cheap goal on 81 from Mills, who pounced onto a rebound and sizzled it back in to give AXFC the 1-0 win. We remained in second pace behind a red-hot Rochdale team that had won six straight. Our next game was on Saturday afternoon at Farnborough. The board was delighted with our start to the season, but concerned about the finances, which were hovering around the 250K debt mark. Prior to the game, we released Lissa, who we thought might develop into something, but never did. It was a scorcher at Farnborough on Saturday afternoon. It was easily above 95 on the thermometer and a hot wind was drifting through the stadium. All the regulars made their first start as a complete unit. Only about 900 fans decided to swat the game out. The game was a bit sloppy from the beginning. We scattered a few shots here and there, putting pressure on the Farnborough defense. We kept the ball in their third for a good third of the half. We managed to open things on 27 when AXFC won a corner. Mills swung the ball in and Moran headed it home for the 1-0 lead. We added another goal in a burst of confidence on 36. Speight headed down a ball for Asser who dribbled in and banged a shot to give us the 2-0. Farnborough wasn’t able to muster any offense the rest of the half and we retained the lead going into the intermission. During the break the trainer advised me that Mark Smith looked like he had a shin bruise that was paining him. Therefore I subbed Smith out and brought in Munster for the second half. I also told the boys to play defensively from here on out. We continued to scatter shots in the second half, doing minimal damage to the opposition. Farnborough decided to go into a shell and not come out. The half passed swiftly and fifteen minute in the end I pulled off Law and Fleming, replacing them with Bradley and Fennelly. We tacked on another goal on 77 when Mills sent in another corner, this one headed in by Speight to give us the 3-0 win. We were rolling at this point in the season. We next had a Tuesday evening match at home versus Shrewsbury. The air was much cooler on the evening of the 9th as we got ready to play Shrewsbury at Yankee Stadium. Most of the regulars were fit enough to play. The only backups in the starting eleven were Lynch for Moran and Bradley for Speight. Just over 2800 fans crowded in to watch us dominate Shrewsbury. It was clear that we were on-form as a team. We answered the opening bell with a flurry of shots. We got chance after chance after chance, putting all but three on the goalkeeper. We controlled possession and forced Shrewsbury to focus on defense, which limited their offensive output to one shot. With all the chances were getting, we were bound to score and we did on 23 when Asser sent a ball in from the left to Bradley who potted the shot to give AXFFC the 2-1 lead. Bradley wasn’t done scoring as he bailed a rebound in first half injury time to give us the 2-0 lead. We were so dominant that nobody noticed the goose egg that Fuff was laying in central defense. He was pulled off for Fennelly at the half. The second half saw us continue to overwhelm Shrewsbury, who were now merely trying to hold on to their sanity. On 56 and 66, Gary Lynch reserved Bradley’s scoring pattern by first betting a rebound and then by taking a corner from Mills ten minutes later to give us the 4-0 win. All I could say to the performance was, wow, we were really playing good ball at the moment. I could sense a new swagger this season, almost like my knew that they could control the game and win, no matter the opponent would be Exeter away on Saturday afternoon. Our convincing win had put us in first place in the Conference. Saturday afternoon in Exeter was another windy 90+ scorcher. This time a heat wave had swept England and as a consequence, the pitch was parched and baked. It looked downright ugly. Fuff was the only regular not to make the starting lineup and he was replaced by Goodwin. Just over 2000 showed up for a dull first half. Exeter failed to take a single chance in the first half and AXFCC only got three. That’s the story of the half right there. Both teams kept turning the ball over in a defensive struggle. We did get the early goal, however, as Law hit a vicious shot off a Fleming ball to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. The rest of the half was a slog. We opened the floodgates during the second half, all three goal being added roughly ten minutes apart. On 65, Mark Smith scored his fist ever goal for AXFC when he hit a nice shot off a Kavanagh header. On 75, Speight redirected a parried ball back past Grant. Lastly, five minutes later, Lynch went on a spectacular run with the ball from our half and ended it with a blistering shot to give AXFC the 4-0 win. Armstrong and Moncrief played the lat ten minutes in place of Smith and Speight. We continued to hold on to first place via goal difference against Rochdale. Both teams had 25 points, or seven more than the third placed team. Saturday afternoon at the Grove in Halesowen was warm and dry. All the regulars got the start except for Moran, whose poor performance in the last match kept him out. Lynch took his place. Just fewer than 900 fans came through the turnstile. We showed an offensive-mind game early, getting a surfeit of chances and making most of them count. Halesowen too, got a few chances, but they were unable to do much with them. The star of the half for AXFC was Asser, who notched a goal on 27 when he broke down the defense off the dribble and planted a low shot into goal to give us the 1-0 lead. Asser again broke the defense a few minutes later when he put in a high hard one that gave us the 2-0 advantage. Goals were certainly easy to come by this year. At the break I sent in Bradley for a potentially-injured Speight. Bradley iced the cake for us on 57 when he headed in a Vowden cross to make the score 3-0. We took our foot off the gas then and fifteen minutes to thee game’s conclusion, I subbed in Moran for Lynch and Munster for Smith. Our next game was three days away on Tuesday evening, when we were slated to face Nuneaton Borough at Yankee Stadium. Our win against Halesowen turned out to be a club record setting sixth win in a row. One roster move was made during the run-up to Tuesday evening. I named Lynch as the regular at AMC. He was clearly out-performing Moran and was more naturally fit than Moran. Moran would do better as the backup. Tuesday evening brought the first truly cool evening in the autumn. It was dry as well, so all in all, these were ideal conditions at Yankee Stadium. Several regulars got the night off, including Fleming, Vowden, Asser, Mills and Speight. They were replaced by Teasdale, Allan, Fennelly, Munster and Bradley respectively. Nearly 3000 showed up to watch the contest. I was pleased to see that the winning was finally producing better crowds. It was about time. We made a dynamic start as we had in many of the games in our winning streak. We fired shots without hesitation or care and forced Nuneaton to play back on their heels. We opened the scoring on 22 when Munster took a pass from Kavanagh on the right and buried the shot in to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, Kavanagh laid the ball off to Law, who ran forward and smashed the ball into the net to give us the 2-0 lead. The rest of the half was uneventful as our defense kept Nuneaton off the board. Armstrong came in for a fatigued Munster at the half as we prepared to play defensively for the rest of the game. The second half was an offensive gem late, but the first half-hour proved to be dull. Then, on 72, Lynch broke down the defense and scored to give the home side the 3-0 lead. At that point, I subbed in Moran for Fennelly and Davies for Kavanagh intending to run out the clock. But Nuneaton had other ideas. They ratcheted up tier attack in a hurry. Powell appeared to score a mere consolation off a rebound. However, with one minute left in regular time, Harris took a Dunkley pass and hit a fine strike past Browne to make the score 3-2. That last couple of minutes were frantic; as the visitors gamely tired for the draw, but we hung on to win. We retained the top spot with the win, but Rochdale was keeping pace. Both of us had identical 10-1-0 records and both of us were now nine points ahead of the third-placed team. This year was quickly shaping up as a two-horse race. We had a home game next against Northwich Vics the following Saturday afternoon. England was really suffering an Indian summer. The tempter in London was roughly 90 degrees and the wind was whipping through the stadium. In addition, the pitch was baked brown. In short, this was not normal weather for September 27. All the regulars got the nod for this game. Nearly half the seats at Yankee Stadium had a body filling them. Eight minutes into the contest Gary Lynch went down and I replaced him with Moran. We opened the score line two minutes later when Mills, passing up a good shot, slipped the ball to Speight, who promptly buried the ball into the top corner to make the score 1-0 AXFC. We added another goal within three minutes of our last one when Moran headed in a floating cross from Fleming to give us the 2-0 lead after just 15 minutes of play. We shifted to a defensive mentality, letting Northwich control the pace of the match. They spent the rest of the half patiently building up play, which paid off on 36 when Thompson nailed a volley off a Whitehead flick to make the score 2-1. Both sides amped up play a bit in the second half, but neither team was able to convert their chances. Action did flow up and down the pitch, with plenty of excitement, but the goalkeepers earned their pay and kept the 2-1 score to the final whistle. Our next match was home contest against Chester on October 4. Lynch had suffered a twisted ankle and would be out for three weeks. At the end of September, the monthly awards were announced. I won the Manager of the Month award for the second straight month and Speight became the first AZFC player to win a monthly achievement by bagging the Young Player of the Month award. The board met and pronounced themselves delighted with my performance. They cited the growing turnstile numbers as the reason. Even the finances weren’t as bad as usual as we continued to make a profit for this fiscal season, though we were still 400K in overall debt. On the morning of Friday October 3, I got a surprise phone call. Dillingham was making a bid for Bob Shaw. I told them I’d sell if they made the bid ten times higher. Later that day, the FA Cup Qualifier. Rd. was drawn. We were slated to face Hendon, a fellow London team, at their pitch on Claremont Road. Saturday afternoon in London finally resembled fall. It was cool, wet and pitch was damp as we prepared to face Chester at Yankee Stadium. Moran took his old spot in the lineup along with all the other regulars. Just over 2800 crowded into the park for the first match of October. Chester shocked us on 6 when veteran midfielder Butterworth headed in a Heckingbotham corner to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We were stunned, but regrouped quickly as we were handed a penalty by a usually lenient referee ten minutes later. Moran converted it to tie the score 1-1. From that moment forth we pounded the Chester goal trying to break the deadlock to no avail. Steve Wilson was having a good day in the Chester goal and made a couple of great saves. For their part, Chester focused on defense and only attacked a couple of times. We were dominant, but couldn’t break an inspired Chester team as we went into the half still knotted at 1-1. Three minutes into the new half, we broke the tie when Moran hit a rebound back past Wilson to give the home side the lead 2-1. We settled in for a defensive battle as Chester surged ahead. They got another corner on 78 that Combs headed past Browne to retie the game at 2-2. Before Chester could get back on defense to hold onto the draw, Law took a Kavanagh cross on 79 and smashed it in to give AXFC the lead back and the win at 3-2. With the win, we remained ahead of Rochdale on goal difference. Both of us had 37 points, 12 points more than third-place Shrewsbury had. Our next game was in a week against Morecambe at their place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 18, 2006 Author Share Posted July 18, 2006 Gillingham made a final offer of 250K for Shaw, which I accepted. Shaw quickly came to terms with them and the deal was consummated in the middle of the week. The deal lightened our overall debt to just over a hundred grand. Towards the end of the week, reserve defender Steven Brown turned up late for training and was unrepentant about it, which earned him a pink slip. Saturday afternoon at Christie Park in Morecambe was cool and dry, good soccer conditions. All the regulars got the start as Moran continued to fill in for Lynch. Just over 2100 Morecambe faithful watched their team not get the breaks in the first half. Morecambe out played us in the first half. We had finally reached the point where complacency had set in. We allowed the home side to attack us at will an only exceptional play from Browne kept them off the scoreboard. Our attack was virtually non-existent, but we managed to score goals with our only two chances of the half. On 18, Mills got open after taking a Smith pass and put in a nice shot to give AXFC the undeserved 1-0 lead. We tacked on another goal at the half-hour mark when Mark Smith turned on a ball from Vowden and smashed it in to make the score 2-0. At the half, I sent in Armstrong for a limping Fleming. The second half again saw Morecambe outplay us, but our lead was too great and it held up nicely. On 74 I sent in Bradley for Law and Fennelly for Moran, who was streaking up the pitch with his lousy play. We ran out the clock with ease and got away with three points that we shouldn’t have. FA Cup Saturday arrived and we traveled to Claremont Road to face Hendon in the Qual. Round. Most of the regulars, except for Moran, were penciled in on the lineup card that was handed to the ref prior to the game. Munster took the AMC spot in place of Moran. The weather couldn’t have been better as it was cool and dry. Just over 3000 crammed the park. The game was a contest for all of ten minutes. On 3, Kavanagh threw in a pass to Speight, who, finding himself open took a shot and scored to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later, Asser got a rebound and put it past Woodman to give us the 2-0 lead. Eight minutes after that, Speight scored again when Kavanagh threw in another ball towards him and he volleyed it in for his second goal and the 3-0 lead. After that, we just played defense as Hendon gave up. They had one shot all game. At the half, I put in Fanning and Teasdale for Law and Fleming respectively and then on 80, Fennelly for Smith. Speight completed his hat-trick on 83 when he and Kavanagh hooked up on another throw-in. The final score was 4-0. The only spark of life for the home side was at the beginning of the second half when Hardy was ejected for punching Kavanagh in the face. Obviously, Kavanagh didn’t let it affect his play. We would resume Conference play on the following Saturday when we would face Aldershot at home. On Saturday evening, Watford called in a bid for Smith. I told them to make the offer ten times what it was since they were a First Division club with good finances. On Sunday, the first round of the FA Cup was drawn. We would face non-league side Moor Green at Yankee Stadium. Watford thought my price for Smith was ridiculous and refused to pay it, dropping their interest in him. Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium was dry and cool. Lynch was finally recovered enough to reclaim his AMC spot and joined all the other regulars on the pitch. Nearly 2700 filled the Yank for this one. It seemed like the crowds were finally coming out in droves to see us. Aldershot got things going on 11 when Tilson got himself open for a pass and smoked the ball past Browne to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. That lead didn’t hold up long as we same back to score on our very next possession when Lynch put back a rebound to tie at 1-1. On 23, we took the lead when Vowden smashed in his first ever goal for us to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. Ten minutes later, Law found Speight open and lobbed the ball to him. Speight obligingly headed home the pass to make the score 3-1. By this time we had taken complete control of the game. We were shooting well and had the edge in possession. Aldershot merely looked disorganized and confused. They weren’t putting up much of a fight. At the half, I sent in Fanning for Speight. We played lockdown defense in the second half, which was slightly spoiled on 79 when Lynch again pulled up lame and Moran took his spot. In injury time, Smith smashed in a goal through the top corner to make the final 4-0. We had now been unbeaten in 15 game s straight. Aldershot had never really looked like they were the game. With the win, we finally pulled ahead of Rochdale on points. Lynch would be out for two weeks with foot damage, but our next game wasn’t scheduled until two weeks hence against Telford at New Bucks Head, so there was a good chance he’d be fit for match. To no one’s great surprise, I won the September Manager of the Month award. The board was containing to praise my performance, particularly the high fan counts. Even the club finances were improving as we were now only 130,000 pounds in debt. In the week prior to the Telford game, reservist James Duncan turned up late for training and thought my reprimand was out of order. Therefore, he was released as I don’t tolerate much malcontent-ness. November 8 duly arrived and we traveled to Telford, at team who had always given us trouble. Our last game against them, as you’ll recall, saw us get pasted 4-1. Conditions were normal, cool and dry. All the regulars got the start, including newly fit Lynch. Just over 2000 came out to see if Telford could halt our unbeaten streak. Telford simply outplayed us from the beginning. We were flat and uninspired. Our attack was anemic as we couldn’t push the ball past midfield. Meanwhile Telford was heaping shots and pressure on Browne. He proved his mettle by conceding only one goal to the home side on 25 when Mills managed to round him and put a chance in to make the score 1-0 Telford. AXFFC was so awful, that, by rights, we should have been down by more than one goal at the half, but as it was the score remained at 1-0. We remained unable to crack the Telford defense in the second half. We did put some shots on target, but Graham Potter stopped any from going in. At 65 I sent in Bradley for Law and Armstrong for Smith, but the subs made little difference as we crashed to out first loss of the season. We remained in first place, though we were now once again, tied with Rochdale on points. The following Saturday was FA Cup day so we got a bit of break, facing Moor Green at home. To make things more fun, we were entered into the Vans Trophy once again, drawing a home game versus D2 side Swansea. A couple of days later, the FA Trophy round was drawn. In that competition, we would start with a game at Accrington. On November 12, Speight went down for a month after suffering a groin strain in that day’s practice. I wasn’t sure who would replace him, but it looked like all three backup forwards would now get games. FA Cup Saturday was cool and wet, with the pitch being rather damp. I fielded a full strength lineup for the game against Moor Green with Bradley taking Speight’s spot. Nearly 3800 crowded into Yankee Stadium to watch the contest. To tell the truth, it was hardly a fair contest. We simply overmatched our non-league opponent. We pounded their keeper with 8 of 9 shots and scored on four of those in the first half alone. Lynch opened the books with a shot off a Kavanagh pass. Lynch added another goal four minutes later with another drive off a Kavanagh cross. Vowden chipped in his contribution on 21 with a header off a Mills corner and lastly, a half hour into the game, Asser found Law in the area and Law broke down the defense to plant a wide open shot that made the score 4-0 AXFC. With the game won by halftime, I pulled Mills and Fleming at the half for Armstrong and Teasdale. The boys in Green got a few shots in the second half after getting nothing in the first, but they were never a real threat. We kept the ball at midfield and ran out the clock to earn a berth in the second round. The second round draw placed us against Swansea at Yankee Stadium. But, our more immediate concern was the FA Trophy match versus Accrington on the next Saturday morning. We traveled to Accrington on the 22 of November. It was cool and drizzling at the Crown Ground. The starting eleven was comprised entirely of backups since this was not a game I particularly cared about. Besides, the backups needed some game time in order to remain reasonably sharp. Nearly 900 fans turned out for a very dull first half. You could tell AXFC had put out a backup lineup. We got a few chances, but were unable to do anything with them. For their part, Accrington was playing defensively and only took one shot at Sadler, our goalkeeper. Thus, the ball spent the vast majority of the half being kicked around midfield and by the break; neither team had managed to score. Accrington produced some chances in the second half, but failed to capitalize. We continued to miss spectacularly as well and the result was a dismal second half that saw no scoring or action. Because of the 0-0 draw, we would have to replay the game at Yankee Stadium. The replay would take place on the following Wednesday. The winner would go on to play Telford at New Bucks Head in the Third Round. Replay day at Yankee Stadium soon enough. I continued to use the backup lineup. It was a cold, dry morning. Just fewer than 850 saw the most boring half of my brief managerial career. Neither team got a shot period, though action was pretty much evenly spread over the entire field. The second half would have been the same story except that Accrington’s Ben Smith converted a penalty ten minutes into the second half to give the visitors the 1-0 win. I wasn’t disappointed as it meant one less competition to worry about. We would return to Conference action on the weekend with a game against Dag and Red at Victoria Road. Saturday afternoon in Dagenham was a nice day. It was dry and cool and ideal. All the regulars were rested and fit for the resumption of Conference play. Just over 1500 fans saw their home side perform cooly under pressure. We should have had at least a 3 goal lead over Dag by virtue of the 12 shots we aimed at them during the first half. Instead, thanks to good defense and inept finishing, we had to settle for just a one goal lead. We put tons of pressure on Dag in their own third of the pitch. They managed to do a bit of counter-attacking, but it went for naught as Browne kept his nerve. AXFC got the line goal of the half at the half-hour mark when Lynch flicked a header forward to an open Fuff, who slammed home the shot to make it 1-0. At the break in play, I subbed in Moran for a limping Lynch who was still bothered by his injured foot. The second half was all Dagenham. They put pressure on us for a change and we hard a tough time coping. We kept our heads and played solid defense, but our offense round to a halt with only one shot the entire half. On 64 I sent in Fanning for Law, but the move made no difference. Still we were on the brink of snatching a 1-0 win, when in injury time, Browne knocked a ball into the path of Brown, who obligingly put it back in to steal the 1-1 draw. The single point dropped us to second place behind Rochdale, who had won their game. They would have to get a new manager though, since Steve Parkin took the vacated Torquay job, so their was no guarantee that they could continue to play well. Nevertheless we once again put aside the Conference season, this time o play Swansea in the FA Cup second round. On November 30, the board met and decided to throw 3.4 million pounds into AXFC’s coffers. That left me with a whopping 800,000 pounds to spend in the transfer market. I decided to spend as little as I could. I filled out the trainers and the scouting department before making any other use of the money. December began with a jovial board meeting as they continued to be delighted with my performance. With the new investment in the club, we now had 3.2 million in the bank. By the end of the week, we had filled out the scouting department and the training personnel. FA Cup Saturday was a dreary and rainy afternoon in London and it was cold as well. At least the pitch in Yankee Stadium was dry as we prepared to face Swansea. All the regulars got the nod for this important game. We nearly had a complete sellout as 4977 fans jammed the park. Swansea was a D2 team and they showed their advanced skill just five minutes in when Holmes took a cross and put it past Browne to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. After that, both teams started to take plenty of chances at regular intervals. Despite the fact that AXFC put immense pressure on Swansea, their veteran keeper Andy Marshall refused to yield a goal and so the opposition remained ahead by halftime. We contained to hammer away at Marshall during the second half, but the man and the Swansea defense showed iron will and courage in dealing with our 12 for 17 shooting. At 65 I sent in Munster and Fanning for Mills and Law, but it didn’t dent the outcome. Then, on 70, rolling the dice, I sent in Moran for Bradley and moved Lynch to Bradley’s spot. As the last twenty minutes drained away, we continued to get no joy in our attacks. The fourth official added the time and the game went into that. At the beginning of the added time, Kavanagh got a header from Fanning and the young Irish lad dribbled in and potted the tying shot. We now had a draw in hand. Then, the next possession down, Munster fired in a cross from the right that Fanning headed past a shocked Marshal to give AXFC 2-1 lead. Fanning chose a great time to score his first ever goal for us. Then, on the next trip down the pitch, Moran potted a shot to make the final 3-1 AXFC. All three subs contributed directly on all three injury-time goals. We would get a repeat of the game as Swansea would come back in three days for the Tuesday evening Vans Trophy game. We made just shy of 35,000 pounds in gate receipts, a new club record. Even more interesting news broke that evening as Swansea canned Brian Flynn. I felt sorry for hastening his demise, but he really should have led his club to victory against us. We also got a dream matchup for the FA Cup Third Round. We would be facing Chelsea at Yankee Stadium on January 3, 2004. Tuesday evening in London was dry and the temperature was below freezing. Knowing that a few of my players could use the rest, I gave a good portion of my regulars the game off. Fennelly, Apilinga, Munster and Moran gave the starting lineup an all backup midfield. The rest of the regulars were just fit enough to play. If there was any doubt as to the prestige of this game, it was answered when only 178 dedicated season-ticket holders came to watch. To be fair, the people who didn’t show did not miss much. Once again, Swansea jumped to a quick 1-0 leads five minutes into the game when Thompson just embarrassed Browne by flicking a soft goal into the net. From there, the game regressed into a midfield war. Neither our opposition nor we got more than two chances in the half. We managed to counter-attack late in the half on 44 when Kavanagh sent in a corner that Fuff headed past Andy Marshall to tie the game 1-1 at the intermission. At that time I pulled Moran for Lynch and Kavanagh for Teasdale due to fatigue. By the time the second half ended, it was clear that Browne had had the worst game of his professional career. He let in two more easy goals to Thompson and Evans, so that by 70, the game was effectively over. Teasdale got a goal on 82 to make the final score 3-2 Swansea. After the game I delivered a sharp reprimand to Browne for his lack of concentration. To add injury to insult, Lynch had injured himself again and would be out a week. His contract was up at the end of the season and neither he nor Fennelly was going to be resigned. We would have our third home fixture in a row on Saturday afternoon as we hosted Barnet in Conference play. 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Educated Hick Posted July 19, 2006 Author Share Posted July 19, 2006 Saturday afternoon in London was windy and rainy, but at least the temperature was back up to “cool.†All the regulars except three got the nod for the derby. The exceptions were Browne, replaced by Sadler, Lynch, replaced by Moran and Speight, replaced by Moncrief. Just under 4300 were at the stadium despite the weather. Barnet jumped to the quick 1-0 lead when Clark slapped a shot past Sadler. However, Mills answered on 12 to tie the game 1-1. After that, play settled down. Both Barnet and AXFC took few chances, but when they did, they were good shots. Play went smoothly, with neither team gaining much of an advantage. At halftime, the score remained 1-1. The second half saw our offense explode. On 49, Moncrief headed a ball down for Moran, who buried the shot to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. Then, twenty minutes later, Moran completed his brace when Law fed him the ball to give AXFC the 3-1 lead. At that point, I sent in Munster for Moran, Fennelly for Asser and Bradley for Moncrief. Despite playing defensively with no intention of running up the score, our offense continued to trouble Barnet. Five minutes after coming onto the pitch, Bradley scored a quick goal when Harding let the ball slip from his fingers. Then, on 83, Fleming crossed in a hanger from the left that Bradley headed into the goal to give him two goals and AXFC the 5-1 win. Barnet were stunned by the clock-cleaning as we served notice that we were ready to run the Conference table again. With the win, we took back first place from Rochdale via goal difference. We had yet another home game next, on December 20 vs. Canvey Island. It was a wet and cold day as we prepared to face Canvey Island at Yankee Stadium on the afternoon of December 20. Every regular was fit for battle as Speight was finally recovered from his injuries. Nearly 3400 came out to watch a frustrating first half. Canvey Island’s keeper Patrick Martin was on top form that Saturday. We kept attacking his goal with regularity, mostly getting our shots on the button, but the young Irish lad was in the zone, stopping us with ease. We were unable to break through. Canvey, knowing their best chance was a draw, dropped back on defense to help out Martin. As a result, their offense consisted of two off target shots. We went into halftime still scoreless. At the half I sent in Armstrong for a tired Asser. The second half was a reprise of the first. No matter how much pressure we put on Martin, the lad took it stoically. On 68 I sent in Moran for Lynch. The next 20 minutes were pure frustration for AXFC supporters as they watched Martin handle everything but the kitchen sink. I merely paced the sideline, watching in admiration. I’d take a scoreless draw; it was the least that the kid deserved for his efforts. However, in injury time, Martin made a mistake, he pushed a Law shot away, right into the path of Moran, who calmly scorched the return past a diving Martin to give AXFC the 1-0 win. Our next match would be the following weekend at Rochdale that would decide who the favorite was going into the second half of the season. Both teams had 50 points. During the week we announced that we had resigned James Asser to a contract extension. So far, of the players whose contracts were expiring, he was the only one we had resigned. The most important game of the year arrived and we traveled to Sportland in Rochdale to play it on an ill-looking Saturday afternoon. The grounds were wet, the pitch damp and the air cold. All the regulars were fit and I sent them out to warm up and reminded them of the importance of this game to our second half chances of making the League. Perhaps it was fitting that we wore our red uniforms for the first time this season. Only about 2500 fans turned up to watch this decisive game. As twas expected, both teams were reasonability matched. Neither took a real advantage in the first half although Rochdale had a slight edge in possession and had one more shot on target than we did. To balance the ledger, ewe managed to put lots of pressure on the Rochdale defense when we had the ball. This led to the first goal of the match 22 minutes into the game, Asser lobbed in a pass from the left that Lync smoothly gathered, beat his marker, and volleyed into the goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Rochdale didn’t panic, they merely worked the ball into our third, where Howells, managed to break our defense off the dribble and potted the shot to tie the game on 34. The 1-1 tie held up for the rest of the half. We continued to put pressure on the Rochdale defense, which held up well. On 59, I subbed in Moran for Mills. Five minutes later, Lynch got a rebound and blasted it back through to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. Rochdale were unable to do much damage and so with the win in hand, we took sole possession of first place. Our next match, away at Accrington would take place on Tuesday evening on December 30. That match would represent the halfway point of the Conference season. The three days leading up to the match were eventful. Paul Mortimer, a veteran Scottish midfielder agrees to move to AXFC on a Bosman after the season was over. We also made a bid for Paul Rodden, a 21 yr old forward who plied his trade with Albion Rovers. The young lad wanted to move to a bigger club and wanted first-team status, so we put in a 10K bid. Contract talks with Rodden broke down quickly because of status issues and so we resolved to try again later. A couple of more AXFC players had expiring contracts. Apilinga would not be resigned, but we tried hard to extend Speight’s contract. The young man, however, refused to re-negotiate for the time being. Amidst all this player activity, Tuesday evening arrived and we went to the Crown Ground in Accrington. It was warmer than usual for a December evening, but that cheery thought was tempered by the rain and wind that descended onto us as we stepped onto the pitch. Since this was a mid-week fixture, several of the regulars were unfit to play a starting role. So it was that Chandler, Teasdale, and Goodwin joined Fuff in defense, Fennelly, Apilinga and Moran jonnie Mills in midfield and Bradley joined Law upfront. Nearly 2400 Accrington fans came out to the game were they saw their side play rather ineptly. By five minutes in, AXFC held a 2-0 advantage over the home side. First, Moran had nailed a penalty awarded on 4 and on the very next AXFC possession Bradley headed in a Mills ball from the right. At that point, not wishing to run up the score, I told the boys to play defensively. Accrington failed to marshal any kind of attack and kept the ball at midfield for most of the half. On 45, Mills sent in another ball from the right on a rare attacking sortie for AXFC and Bradley headed it in to get a brace and to make the score 3-0. At the half, I sent in Munster for a fatigued Teasdale. Ten minutes into the second half, Munster headed a ball down for Mills, who took a vicious cut at it and sent if past a dazed Tudor to give AXFC the 4-0 lead. Again, we spent most of the half trying to run out the clock and on 77 I sent in Lynch and Fanning for Moran and Bradley. We got one more goal after that, as the Accrington keeper was mired in a nightmare of a game. On 88, Browne took a goal-kick that bounced around for a while before Law picked it up, took off with it and buried it into goal to make the final a rather embarrassing 5-0 victory. It was a great tune-up for our FA Cup match against Chelsea on Saturday. The end of December was good for us. I won the Manager of the Month award and left back Derek Fleming won the Player of the Month award. Even better was that Fleming in an interview with the local press, cited me as a key contributor to his award-winning form. January brought with it, an extremely favorable board meeting. We also brought up two reservists, midfielders Carl Adamson and Fraser Smith, both of whom were ready for first team trials in the second half. To make room on the first team squad for these two young men, Apilinga and Armstrong were released. Adamson would backup Smith at the CMC spot and Fraser Smith would serve as the utility midfielder and AMC. The board wasn’t happy over the Armstrong release, but they let it happen anyway. All attention now focused on the looming match with Chelsea. I was curious to see who they put out on the pitch. Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium was a mad-house. The joint was jumping. It was a breezy cold day. All the regulars for us were primed and fit to go. It looked like Chelsea brought in a number of their “A†players, the ultimate mark of respect. Duff and Cole were injured, so they weren’t there, but it appeared everyone else was. Chelsea was in the 4-5-1 Norway formation so it went: Cudicini in goal, Mills, Bridges, Terry and Gallas in defense, Geremi, Van Der Vart, Lampard, Park and Gronjker in midfield and Mutu all by his lonesome up front. This was indeed a scary lineup, but it was beatable in my opinion. We would have to play a perfect game, while they had an off-day, but it was possible. We stunned Chelsea in a hurry on 2, when Lynch gathered a loose ball, and then beat Bridges off the dribble to plant a shot into the goal to give AXFC the 1-0. For a few minutes, Chelsea seemed to be disoriented, but they gathered their wits about them and began to pour pressure on our defense. They dominated the game, if not the score line and on 31, Parker broke through to whiz a shot past Browne to tie the game 1-1. That’s the way it was when the game went to halftime. At the half, I subbed in Bradley for a struggling Law, who was just unable to cope with the defense that was facing him. The second half saw Chelsea continuing hammer away at Browne with shots, but the Irish veteran kept his poise. He handled everything thrown at him. On 58, I sent in Munster for Speight. Then, we caught a break as Danny Mills was red-carded for taking out Lynch with both feet. That left Chelsea with none upfront, which eased the pressure on us considerably. At that time, I sent in Moran for JP Mills. As it was the game wound down after that with no real action. We were happy to take a 1-1 draw and a replay at Stamford Bridge. After all, we had the moral victory. It must have been galling to Premierships and European darlings Chelsea to get a 1-1 draw with a lowly Conference side. Our next game was a Wednesday evening contest against Tamworth at home. In order to keep my regular eleven fresh for the Chelsea, the backups would take the next couple of games. Wednesday evening in London was dry and it was below freezing. At least there was no wind chill to worry about. Backups comprised the entire starting lineup for us. Just over 2660 fans turned up to watch us get our asses kicked in the first half. We got the chances in the first half, but were unable to finish any of them. Meanwhile Tamworth got few chances, preferring to play defense, but they made the most of what that got, turning both of their on-target shots into goals. First, Byrne dribbled in, faking out Fraser Smith, and blasted the ball low to give Tamworth the 1-0 lead over AXFC on 24. We continued to try to tie the game, but poor finishing did us in and Tamworth added another goal, a shot by Dryden, which gave them the 2-0 lead at half. During the intermission, I told the lads to attack more in the second half, but made no subs. The second half continued to be a nightmare for Sadler as he let in two more goals on 72 and 78 to give Tamworth the 4-0 lead and eventual margin of victory. Despite my orders to attack, the AXFC side still couldn’t finish off a shot. Still, we managed to move the ball well and the lineup, which would play again on Saturday at Halifax. On Saturday we traveled to Halifax to take on the 5th placed team in the Conference. Conditions were good, dry and just above freezing. Once again, I threw a lineup of backups into the Conference fire. That would leave the regulars well-rested for the Wednesday game at Stamford Bridge. A crowd of nearly 1500 came out to witness the match. The backups were far more competitive against Halifax than they had been against Tamworth. While we allowed the home side to get plenty of chances, Sadler was far better in goal that he had been previously. We were also far better at offense, but we still were unable to score a goal. Even with the lack of offense displayed by both sides, the game still flowed up and down the pitch, with neither team holding the edge in possession or field position. The only downside to the half was that Teasdale pulled up with an injury on 8 and had to be replaced by Davies. The second half was a dull affair. Again, neither team could finish off the other. As a result, the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Not our best game, but better than a loss. The only thing bad about the draw was that it allowed Rochdale to catch up with us in points again. We were still ahead by virtue of goal difference, but, at least, the regulars would be fully fit for the Wednesday evening showdown versus Chelsea. We traveled to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday the 14 for our FA Cup Third Round replay against Chelsea. All the regulars were primed for this match and it didn’t hurt that the weather was accommodating for January, high 40’s and breezy. Chelsea fielded virtually the same lineup as they had in the previous game, except that Duff and Melchiot were added. We would be facing the largest crowd we had ever seen, nearly 42400. For all the hype and buildup the first half was not a brilliant game by any stretch of the imagination. Chelsea was superior but they spent 60% of the time in midfield. Both sides only had two, off0target, chances. It was obvious that Chelsea was getting ready to unleash their fury in the second half. I knew it was coming and I hoped my players would keep cool. To that end, during the break I subbed in Fraser for Mills, who had let the enormity of the game get to his performance. I also told the boys that it was time to attack. It came as predicted, but the veteran AXFC defense and goalkeeper were calm and composed as our midfield completely went to pieces. Mark Smith and Asser had to be lifted on 58 for Moran and Fennelly. We were unable to generate any offense, so we gamely hung on, hoping to get the game to penalties. As it was, the hour and a half of regular time ended as a scoreless tie. In extra time, Lampard finally broke through with two goals to give Chelsea the late 2-0 win. They had shot 7-17 and were bound to score at some point. We could now look forward to an easier time against Scarborough at Yankee Stadium three days later on Saturday afternoon. Saturday morning in London was a gusty, warn day. Our match against Scarborough was the national Conference Game of the Week. We started mostly backups for this contest as most of the regulars were still unfit from the battle with Chelsea. The only regulars to draw the start were Browne and the three regular midfielders. A crowd of nearly 2950 turned up, no doubt to look likes blithering idiots in front of the TV cameras. We soon showed that our form of late had been an aberration. Our offense had plenty of chances and made the majority of them count. Our defense prevented Scarborough from getting a shot off, though the visitors did control the ball about as much as we did. Both teams kept the ball moving around the pitch so the TV audience wasn’t bored too much. We jumped out in front early on 18, when Bradley took a header from Moran and zinged it into the net to give us the 1-0 lead. AXFC scored again fifteen minutes later when Mills sent in a corner from the right side that Goodwin headed into the goal for the 2-0 lead. At the half both Moran and Fanning looked winded, so I sent in Fraser and Law in their place. Scarborough came out attacking very well in the second half. They out every chance they had directly on goal, but an on-form Browne managed to keep them off the board. Meanwhile, we killed as much time as we could amid the Scarborough forays and managed to close out the 2-0 victory. We next had another home game against Hastings Town the following Wednesday. On January 21, Hastings Town came to Yankee Stadium for a Conference match. The evening was clear and cold as the players warmed up on the pitch prior to the game. Worse, we had drawn an exceedingly harsh ref to oversee the match, which meant someone was likely to be ejected. All the regulars were penciled into the lineup. Only 2500 fans showed up for the game against the last-placed team in the conference. As it was, it was a disappointing first half for us. The regulars seemed to have checked out mentally for the day and Hastings took full advantage. On 20, Read took a cross from the right and knocked it past Browne to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We were unable to answer because we couldn’t get any chances. Our offense was terrible, there was not much player movement and the attacks lacked cohesion. Things got worse for us on the half-hour when Kavanagh pulled up with an injury. We were unable to answer because we couldn’t get any chances. Our offense was terrible, there was not much player movement and the attacks lacked cohesion. Things got worse for us on the half-hour when Kavanagh pulled up with an injury. I sent in Fennelly, the only defender on my bench for him, but the young Irish lad would be playing out of position on the right. We continued to have problems on offense, but things did brighten a bit when Hastings defender Anderson was sent off near the end of the half. We continued to have problems offensively in the second half. Hastings grimly hung onto their precious lead as the clock ticked away. We were getting plenty of chances this half, but few were on-target and we failed to take advantage of being a man up on the visitors. On 57, I sent in Moran for a struggling Lynch. We still mis-fired on our shots, but at least Moran was playing better than the man he replaced. As time wound down, Moran flicked a desperate pass that found Law, who blasted it into the net as injury time expired to salvage the 1-1 draw. The verdict on Kavanagh was that he had strained ankle ligaments and would be out for a month. The backup right backs were suddenly going to find themselves having to play actual games in a hurry, starting on Saturday afternoon at Shrewsbury. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 19, 2006 Author Share Posted July 19, 2006 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************************************************************ American Exiles Football Club - Thursday 1st January 2004 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2003/4 Senior Club Stats ================================================================================================ No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Adamson, Carl - - - - - - - - ---- - Allan, Kevin 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 - Apiliga, Moses 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.60 - Armstrong, Gordon 0 (6) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33 - Asser, James 21 6 0 0 4 0 0 1 7.43 - Bradley, Lee 9 (9) 8 0 0 0 1 0 2 7.17 - Browne, John 21 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 7.14 - Campbell, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Campbell, Thomas - - - - - - - - ---- - Chandler, Jeremy 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.67 - Chapman, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Collins, Chris - - - - - - - - ---- - Cooper, Craig - - - - - - - - ---- - Cooper, Gordon - - - - - - - - ---- - Davies, Allan 2 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33 - Donnelly, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Evans, Kevin - - - - - - - - ---- - Fanning, Colin 5 (7) 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 7.00 - Fennelly, Clark 4 (7) 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 7.00 - Fleming, Derek 20 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 7.55 - French, Scott - - - - - - - - ---- - Fuff, Glen 24 3 0 0 2 3 0 0 7.04 - Gallagher, John - - - - - - - - ---- - Goodwin, Gerry 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.75 - JP Mills 20 4 0 0 9 1 0 1 7.40 - Kavanagh, Gary 23 1 0 0 11 0 0 1 7.65 - Law, Gareth 20 6 0 0 4 1 0 1 7.30 - Lynch, Gary 13 (6) 12 0 0 0 0 0 1 7.26 - Mason, Kevin - - - - - - - - ---- - McColl, James - - - - - - - - ---- - McMahon, Jack - - - - - - - - ---- - Moncrieffe, Prince 3 (2) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.40 - Moran, Sean 13 (9) 11 0 2 (2) 0 0 0 1 6.95 - Munster, David 7 (6) 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.85 - Naylor, Phil - - - - - - - - ---- - O'Connor, Liam - - - - - - - - ---- - Powell, Neil - - - - - - - - ---- - Robson, Russell - - - - - - - - ---- - Sadler, Adam 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6.67 - Smart, Barry - - - - - - - - ---- - Smith, Fraser 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8.00 - Smith, Mark 23 3 0 0 2 0 0 2 7.00 - Speight, Richard 16 9 0 0 1 0 0 5 7.56 - Stannard, Wayne - - - - - - - - ---- - Teasdale, Michael 5 (3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - Truman, Danny - - - - - - - - ---- - Turner, Harry - - - - - - - - ---- - Vowden, Colin 23 2 0 0 3 1 0 0 7.26 - Wilkins, Robert 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7.33 ************************************************************************************************ English Conference - Thursday 1st January 2004 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2003/4 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st AXFC 21 9 1 0 25 8 9 1 1 29 4 56 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Rochdale 21 10 0 1 22 7 7 2 1 21 10 53 3rd Halifax 21 6 3 1 19 12 5 3 3 17 12 39 4th Shrewsbury 22 5 2 4 19 13 6 3 2 19 12 38 5th Dag & Red 22 6 4 1 17 9 5 1 5 13 13 38 6th Stevenage 21 6 3 1 20 8 4 4 3 23 15 37 7th Canvey Island 23 6 3 2 16 11 5 1 6 19 19 37 8th Morecambe 21 6 1 4 13 9 4 2 4 12 9 33 9th Tamworth 22 7 2 3 24 15 3 1 6 12 18 33 10th Scarborough 22 5 1 4 14 9 4 4 4 14 15 32 11th Northwich Vics 22 6 3 2 14 7 2 5 4 13 18 32 12th Telford 22 8 0 3 18 10 1 5 5 9 18 32 13th Nuneaton Borough 22 7 3 2 18 15 2 2 6 9 23 32 14th Barnet 21 9 0 2 24 12 1 1 8 10 24 31 15th Exeter 23 7 1 4 22 15 2 2 7 11 21 30 16th Farnborough 23 5 1 6 21 21 2 0 9 11 20 22 17th Chester 21 3 4 3 22 25 2 1 8 10 22 20 18th Halesowen 22 1 5 5 14 20 3 1 7 12 16 18 19th Hereford 22 4 1 6 12 17 1 2 8 10 18 18 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20th Aldershot 22 3 2 6 6 15 1 2 8 5 21 16 21st Hastings Town 22 2 3 5 7 18 1 3 8 10 27 15 22nd Accrington 22 3 3 5 11 18 0 0 11 5 23 12 </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 23, 2006 Author Share Posted July 23, 2006 The Gay Meadow in Shrewsbury was buffeted by strong winds as we went through our pre-game warm-ups. Most of the regulars were unfit to play, so backups took many spots. The only regulars to earn the start were Browne, Vowden, Fuff and Law. The 1300 fans that turned up were treated to a defensive struggle. As seemed to be of late, our offense struggled to look respectable. We failed at that modest goal, only getting one shot off during the half. Shrewsbury attacked our goal with slightly better accuracy, but it still wasn’t anything to write home about. The vast majority of the half was spent in midfield, with both teams trading possession often as each team tried to break the deadlock. Neither team was able to break it however, and the first half ended the way it had started, a 0-0 tie. The second half was as bad as the first for AXFC. We were simply unable to muster any offensive punch whatsoever. We had two more off-target chances in the second half. Shrewsbury, realizing that we were impotent on offense, began to press their advantage and peppered Browne with a number of shots. Finally, on 72, Rodgers took a lob from Warner, broke through our defense and drove the ball past Browne to give Shrewsbury the 1-0 win. The triple substitution I made at 77 failed to turn the tide and we limped out of the Meadow with a loss, somehow, we remained a point ahead of Rochdale, though the margin was even thinner than normal since we had played 26 games to Rockdale’s 25. Meanwhile, the Conference schedule continued to offer no respites as we had a home match against Hereford in four days on Wednesday evening. The Hereford game arrived quickly, at least it was at Yankee Stadium so no travel was involved. The evening was cool and windy. Most of the regulars were fit enough to play; with Teasdale filling in at right back for the injured Kavanagh Nearly 2850 fans filled the stadium for this contest. We quickly proved that our slump of late was not a cerement trend. On 3, Fleming sped up the pitch with the ball and sent in a cross from deep on the left to a racing Mills on the opposite side. Mills jumped and blasted the header past the hapless keeper to give us the 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later, AXFC took the 2-0 lead when Lynch blasted a rebound past the Hereford keeper once more. After that, we settled down to play superb team defense as we bottled the ball in midfield. Hereford failed to launch a single attack against us. We went into the half feeling confident once more. At the break I sent in Adamson in for a tired Teasdale. Mills moved back to take the right back position while Adamson lined up alongside Mark Smith in midfield. The second half was nothing special. We still played superb team defense and shut out Hereford completely. They did not even attempt a single shot all game and never threatened as we ate clock. On 77, I sent in Bradley for Speight. The move affected nothing and we were easy winners. Our next game was on Saturday January 31st at home against Farnborough. Conditions weren’t the best on the last afternoon of January. The wind was blowing rather hard, the grounds were wet and the pitch soaked through. At least the temperature was in the 50’s which was reasonably warm for this time year. A few regulars sat out the match due to unfitness. Chandler, Fennelly, Fraser Smith (Mills) and Bradley (Speight) were all penciled into the starting eleven. Nearly 2800 fans crowded into the park. We were drawing nice crowds these days, a perk of leading the division. We continued our offensive revival in unusual fashion. We were having difficulty scoring, so we just made the Farnborough keeper earn his paycheck by bouncing balls off his body. The man was keeping the sheet clean, but was paying a price to do so. Farnborough themselves got a couple of chances, but were unable to do much with them. The ball was bandied about I midfield for about half of the first 45 minutes. We finally broke the Farnborough keeper on 41 when Lynch gathered a loose ball caused by a tackle and singed it past Harpur to give AXFC the 1-0 lead at the half. During the intermission, I subbed in Moran for Fraser Smith at RMC. We continued to pound Harpur with shots during the second half, but the South African lad kept us from adding to our lead. Meanwhile, Farnborough began to string together some offense, making Browne work on our side of the pitch. Browne was more than equal to the task and kept the visitors off the board. On 73, I sent in Adamson for Fennelly. On 88, Lynch added another goal, pushing back a rebound to make the final score 2-0 AXFC. We now had a two week vacation before having to face Exeter at Yankee Stadium on Valentine’s Day. February started with rave reviews from the board. Our finances are in terrific shape for entry into the League, if that occurs. That same afternoon Carl Adamson requested a private meeting with me. He told me bluntly that he wanted to move to a bigger club and asked to be transfer-listed. I acceded to his request since the bloke wasn’t a large part of our future plans. About a week later, Adamson withdrew his request and wanted to stay. That was fine with me. Valentine’s Day in London was definitely not a day for a lover’s stroll. The afternoon was drizzly and colder than it had been for quite some time. All the regulars except for the still-injured Kavanagh (replaced by Teasdale) got the starting nod against Exeter. Over 3000 came out to watch the game and they were not disappointed with their holiday treat. We had an unbelievable number of chances in the first half. We shot 10-14 in the first 45 minutes of play. In addition, we dominated possession by a large margin. Things didn’t start well for the visitors as Tommy Ryan, a central defender, picked up two yellow cards in the first 12 minutes. He was quickly tosses from the game and we began pressing our man advantage. However, Exeter goalkeeper Matt Ghent, a former Aston Villa youth player, was having his best day of the season in the net. He stopped us cold time and time again. Lynch managed to get a pass from Fleming, break down the defense and score on 27 to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Exeter managed to do some attacking of their own, but nothing that gave Browne much trouble. The second half was a rout. We shot 7-12 for the half and Lynch completed a hat-trick on 59 and 84. The first of the second-half brace was off a Teasdale cross and the second off a Law lob. We didn’t end the scoring there. On 89, Law took a pass from Teasdale and blasted it in to give AXFC the 4-0 win. Rochdale had now played the same number of games as us, but had lost two more than we had. That gave us a four point advantage over them going into our next Conference game on Wednesday evening at Northwich Vics. Wednesday evening we traveled to Northwich to play the Vics. The night was clear and cool. All but four of the regulars were selected for the starting lineup. The exceptions were Fleming (Chandler), Kavanagh (Davies), Asser (Fennelly) and Speight (Bradley). Three of the four were unfit and the fourth, Kavanagh was still bothered by his sore ankle ligaments, though he was close to a hundred percent. Just over a thousand crowded into the stadium to watch the game. We did not start out that entire well. We got a few chances and made them count, but Brian Rogan refused to concede a goal. While AXFC were struggling, the Vics were playing reasonably well. They held the edge in passion and were attacking well, getting a number of chances, though they weren’t the most on-target of shots. All they needed was one shot on-target try and they got it on 23. Wright hammered in a Beasley corner on 23 to give the home-side Vics the 1-0 lead. Though we tried, we couldn’t equalize and went into halftime still tailing by a goal. The second half was slightly more successful for us. We began putting together a more attacks and chances. The Vics went into a shell to protect their lead and we took advantage, but Rogan continued to be a stone wall. On 60, Law pulled up with an injury and I subbed in Moncrief for him. We kept getting chances with no results and on 84, I sent in Munster for a struggling Smith and Moran for Lynch. The subs didn’t change much though we did break through on 88 when Moncrief corralled a loose ball and centered it to an oncoming Fennelly, who lobbed the ball over Rogan’s reach and into the goal to make the game a 1-1 draw. We had little time to recover, having a Saturday afternoon at Steerage. Law would be out for a couple of weeks due to a gashed leg. The weekend came around before we knew it. Stevenage was a sodden mess as the grounds were wet. At least it was cool. Not only did we have pleasure of playing on wet turf, but we had drawn a harsh ref, meaning someone was likely to be tossed from the game. I could only hope it was a Stevenage player and not one of us. All but three regulars were penciled into the starting Evelyn. Kavanagh (Teasdale) and Law (Fanning) were still injured and Smith (Adamson) was slumping as of late. Just over 2000 Stevenage faithful attended the game. We started out well, getting an early goal less than ten minutes into the game. On 9, Lynch gathered in a loose ball and fired it into the net to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. The rest of the half was rather quiet. Both teams tried attacks that were spoiled well before good shots were possible. The defenses ruled the pitch and neither side was able to put together many chances. Some excitement was caused near the end of the half when a Stevenage forward was ejected for kicking the ball away after an offside cal. Even I, the opposition manager, though that was an unfair call and resolved to complain about the referee later. The seconds half was a holding exercise as neither team continued to be unable to put much offense together. Stevenage were just trying to stay in the game and they accomplished that with ease. We had checked out of the game and were just trying to eat up the clock and take the win. At 84, I sent in Bradley for Fanning, but the offense remained tepid. Stevenage rallied late, when Huckerby raced up the pitch and slotted a shot past a shocked Browne during injury time to scrape a late 1-1 draw. The draw left us tied with Rochdale on points with 72 each, though we held the decisive edge on goal difference. We would have our third straight away match the following weekend at Nuneaton Borough. We complained about the ref to no avail. The FA stood by the man’s idiotic decisions. Late in the week we signed Monaghan’s defender Che Bunce on a Bosman. The Kiwi international would be a good backup for our central defenders next season. Bunce became our second Bosman signing for next season. On February 28, we traveled to Manor Park to take on Nuneaton Borough. It was a dry cool day, perfect for this time of year. Kavanagh was finally fully recovered from his ankle injuries and thus, the only regular left out of the starting lineup was Law, who was replaced by Bradley. The nearly 1750 fans saw a good offensive show during the first half. The draw dropped us to second place as Rochdale won their match. Both teams made the most of their limited offensive chances. The ball spent the majority of the half in midfield as both teams vied for attacking opportunities. Nuneaton got theirs ten minutes into the game when Harris found Eddie Jackson wide open and Jackson tapped in the finish to give the home side the 1-0 lead. AXFC answered just ten minutes later when Fleming sent in a cross from the left that found the head of Lynch, who nodded in his 21st goal of the reason to knot the game one-all. Nuneaton were not discouraged and came right back five minutes later as Harris added a goal to his assist to make the score 2-1 Nuneaton. The sides settled down to a midfield battle after that and the rest of the half was uneventful. During the second half we increased our shot total dramatically as the Borough were focusing on defense. The increased shots paid off early in the half, ten minutes in as Lynch went on a run from midfield and ended by drilling a low shot hard to tie the game again at 2-2. Five minutes later I sent in Munster for Smith, but Munster was unable to make much of a difference. Nuneaton clung tenaciously to the draw and they got the point as their stalwart keeper held up under immense pressure. March blew in with a glowing review by the board. We opened the schedule with a Saturday afternoon matchup on the 6th as we hosted Morecambe. The afternoon was a cool damp one in London. All the regulars drew the start. Just over 2800 fans came to watch. We started out well, peppering the Morecambe goalie with a number of shots. We opened the score line on 22 when Lynch fired in a direct free-kick to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We continued to pour pressure on the visitors, but they stubbornly held on and kept thwarting us. Their tenacity was rewarded late in the half on 44 when Morson dribbled in and planted a shot past Browne to tie the game at 1-1. We came right back on the restart when Mills took the ball raced up the pitch and swung in a pass that Speight headed into goal to give us the 2-1 lead. The second half saw a bit of a reversal. Morecambe started taking more chances. Their increased output paid off just after the hour mark when Martey retied the game 2-2. But, once again, we scored on the restart when Lynch banged in a header off a Speight pass to make the score 3-2. We continued to play well, preventing Morecambe from tying the game again. Bradley went in for Law at 66. We ran out the clock and escaped with a much-needed win. We remained in second place as Rochdale won their game. Our next game was away at Chester on Tuesday evening. The Morecambe game saw a couple of new club records set. Lynch scored his 21st league goal of the season a new season high. In addition, Lynch passed Howard to become the AXFC career leader in that department. Tuesday evening in Chester was a cold and dry night. Most of the regulars got the night off with Browne Fuff Smith and Law being the only regulars in the lineup. Chester continued to show why they were dead last in average attendance this year as only 854 bothered to turn out. Chester got off on the wrong foot just four minutes in when Costello sent Law to the deck and was ejected for a “professional foul.†The game turned into a midfield contest as neither team was able to generate much offense. Each team had only two chances. We took advantage of the extra man when Law took a Davies pass and buried the shot to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. But Law must have banged his shin on the play or picked up the knock from Costello. He came off shortly after his goal and was replaced by Fanning. The second half was dull as we couldn’t add to our lead despite getting a bunch of chances. Meanwhile Chester was just trying to survive the game unscathed. The result was a long and tiring half as we nailed down the 1-0 victory. The win put us back in first place as Rochdale lost. Our next game was on the weekend at Yankee Stadium against Halesowen. Law would be out a week and a half with a bruised shin. The weekend arrived quickly. London was windy and rainy and as expected our pitch was damp. All but two regulars were penciled into the lineup. Law and Vowden were out with injuries and Fanning and Goodwin took their places. Yankee Stadium was about half full for the game. We dominated the first half. We got it going early when Asser took a free-kick that deflected off the wall and into the path of Goodwin who calmly drove it in low to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Ten minutes later, we took a 2-0 lead. Kavanagh launched a deep cross from the right that Speight powered into the goal. Halesowen began to get themselves organized and got a goal on 22 from Quigen, who took a cross from Bryan and placed a shot deftly past Browne to bring the visitors within one 2-1. Five minutes later, on 29, Speight pounced on a loose ball and drove it home to give us the 3-1 lead. We continued to pepper the opposition goalie with a number of shots. At the half I put in Munster for Fanning who was tired. We continued to pelt Halesowen with shots but none went for a goal. Halesowen got a few chances but were unable to put them on-target. I subbed in Moran for Lynch and Adamson for an injured Mills on 73. We kept Halesowen off the board. On 88, Goodwin went down with an injury and I had to fill the backline with Munster. The game ended without further incident and we went away with the 3-1 victory. Our next game would be the following weekend at Tamworth. As it turned out, Mills would be out for a week with a bruised thigh and Goodwin out three weeks with strained knee ligaments. Mills resumed full practice in time for the Tamworth game, but was unlikely to be chosen for the side as it was not fit for match duty. The weather in Tamworth on Saturday afternoon was cool and dry. All the regulars except for Mills made the start. Munster replaced Mills in the lineup. Just over 2900 fans showed up for the game. Tamworth came out playing defensively, trying to keep us off the board. They only took one chance all half and it didn’t do much for them. We were having some difficulty breaking the Tamworth D and only managed three shots all half. We did control the midfield and did keep the ball moving around, but we were unable to cash in on any of our chances until midway though the period. On 25, Lynch took a header from Law and volleyed it into the net to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. The rest of the half passed without note as both teams struggled to string together a coherent attack. The second half saw both teams pick up the offensive pace. Chances began to fly back and forth between the two teams as Tamworth started to counter-attack with vigor. We still controlled the midfield and were virtually unchallenged in our own third of the pitch as Tamworth’s counters were snuffed by our defense and Browne. On 66, noticing that we were still having a bit of difficulty attacking, I sent in Bradley for Law and Adamson for Munster. The double sub and an immediate impact as our offense really picked up steam. The move really paid off 75 minutes in when Kavanagh aimed a cross for Bradley, who headed into goal to give the visitors the 2-0 lead. We sealed our win in injury time when Adamson put back a rebound to make the final 3-0 AXFC. Our next game was in a week. We would host Telford. The game saw another new club record set as Cavanaugh’s 13 assists was a new season record. London on Saturday was warm and dry. The weather was moving into lovely spring weather and everyone was cheerful as we prepared for Telford. All the regulars were in the starting lineup as everyone was fully fit and free of injury. Just over 2100, a small crowd by this season’s standards, came out to cheer on their heroes. We dominated the game from the beginning as Telford looked dazed on offense. We took advantage of their confusion early on 14 when Mills sent in a corner that Speight nodded into the goal to give us the 1-0 lead. A minute later, <Mark Smith was sent off for pulling the shirt of one of Telford’s players. Even a man down, we dominated, snuffing out Telford’s offense before they could advance very far. We took the 2-0 lead right before the end of the half when Fuff converted a penalty. Though Telford did get a few second half chances, the game was basically over as we played ball control to keep them from being much of a threat. Any hope of a Telford comeback was squashed on 73 when Hunter passed the ball back into his own net to give us the 3-0 lead. At that point I made a triple substitution, pulling Asser, Lynch and Speight for Fennelly, Moran and Bradley. We ran out the clock after that and sealed the win. At this point, with only five games remaining in the season, we were in first place, four points clear of Rochdale. Our next game was in April, an away contest at Aldershot. The game saw another new club record set as Speight collected his seventh man of match award to become the new all-time season leader in that department. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 24, 2006 Author Share Posted July 24, 2006 We did make one roster move after the game. I sent Mark Smith down to the reserves so that the 19 yr old, who was not playing well, could revive his form. He would remain in the reserves until further notice, with Adamson taking over the starting CMC role. With forwards Speight and Law both refusing to extend their contracts at the moment, it was a relief to see goalkeeper John Browne sign a new four year deal. Late in the week I was awarded the Manager of the Month award for March and Speight won the Player of the Month award as well. The board continued to be happy with my performance, though they were a bit uneasy about the financial loss that the club took in March, having lost about 70,000 pounds. We still had 3.9 million in the bank however, so the loss was not too unsettling. The main thing was to have enough funds for a stadium expansion if we made the League. Spring was well and truly in the air as we traveled to Aldershot on Saturday afternoon. There was a breeze running through the stadium and the temperature was a balmy 70. All the regulars got the start for us. There were nearly 2600 fans in attendance, a surprise since Aldershot was bottom of the table at the moment. The home side was battling desperately to avoid relegation for a second time, so it was not surprising that they came out fired up. On 6, Dobson concluded a furious Aldershot attack by sticking the ball into the net to give them the 1-0 lead. What was more surprising was AXFC’s inability to draw the game level. We seemed happy to keep the ball at midfield and to put no pressure on Aldershot. We only got two chances in the half and did nothing with either one. Frankly, I think the players thought this would be an easy game and when Aldershot surprised them, they simply folded. Aldershot dictated terms the rest of the half, getting a couple more attacking chances, but Browne kept them from doing more damage. We went into the break still trailing 1-0. During the intermission I replaced a clearly unmotivated and unfocused Mills with Munster. The second half saw both teams trying to attack the other with more force. We were still trying to organize our offense and failed to do much for the first 20 minutes of the half. Then, on 64, Munster took a Fleming lay-off and buried it into goal to tie the game 1-1. Just before the restart I pulled Adamson who was not playing up to snuff for Moran. Our offense did not improve over the last minutes of the half as Law looked as shaky as Mills and Adamson had. Still, our defense was working the offside trap to perfection and I felt we might escape with a draw. However, I underestimated the home side’s resolve and watched on 79 as Tilson slotted home a nice goal to give Aldershot the 2-1 victory. They needed it and they earned it. We stayed four points clear as Rochdale lost at home to Stevenage which was lucky break for us. Our next game was in two days on Monday evening when we would face Dag and Red at Yankee Stadium. On Sunday afternoon Everton won the League Cup over Blackburn on penalties after a 2-2 draw in playing time. Monday evening in London was cold and there was a shower in progress as we warmed up before the game. Worse, we had drawn a very harsh ref, so I had complete confidence that someone would be tossed from the game. We started an all-backup starting lineup. I hoped that the nearly 3300 fans that came weren’t too disappointed at not seeing the regulars, particularly after the way the first half went. If nothing else, the fans saw an entertaining offensive show. Both teams got plenty of chances and were putting them on goal. The teams split possession and action was spread all along the pitch. Dag and Red just did a better job of taking advantage of their opportunities in the middle of the half when, when their striker, Michael Turner scored a brace of goals ten minutes apart on 34 and 44 to give the visitors the 2-0 lead. In both cases, Turner had shredded the defense with his dribbling ability before rounding a confused Sadler. We did score a goal in first half injury time when Allan drilled a free=kick to make the score 2-1 at the half. We did get a bit better on offense in the second half, taking advantage of better possession on 71 when Bradley headed a bal down for Fanning, who blasted the ball into the top corner to make the game a 2-2 draw. We kept Dagenham from regaining the lead and got the point we needed. Rochdale won their away contest at Exeter which put them two points behind us with three games to go. We next had Hereford way on the weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 On April 7, for the second year in a row, John Browne was the lone AXFC player selected to the All-Conference team. The day of the Hereford match was a clear and cool afternoon. Munster would start the last three games at CMC for us as he joined the rest of the regulars on the pitch for the game. Just over 1550 were in attendance. It wasn’t much of a first half for either team. Hereford controlled possession and in doing so, bottled the ball up in midfield. We were only able to attack twice and failed to do much with the chances. Hereford only took one shot, but they made it count as on 37 Hunter capped a patient Hereford team move by scoring to give the home side the 1-0 lead. We couldn’t equalize and so went into intermission still behind. During the second half, Hereford continued to dominate possession and to keep the ball at midfield. Both teams did get a few more chances, but were unable to do much. I sent in Bradley for Speight at the hour mark, but the move failed to energize our offense. Hereford ran out the clock and got the 1-0 win. Rochdale won their match with Northwich to take a one point lead in the Conference. In two weeks we would face them at Yankee Stadium in the next to last match of the season in a game that would be for all the marbles. The latest round of games had also clarified the relegation picture. Aldershot and Hastings Town were going back down to real non-league obscurity while the last spot was likely to be one of four teams: Accrington, Chester, Farnborough, and Halesowen. The Vans Trophy was won by Bradford on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Cambridge United. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 The big game with Rochdale arrived with much fanfare in the local press. London was wet and cool on that Saturday afternoon for the last home game of the year. Fleming was injured so Chandler took his place in the lineup. None of the players needed any reminders of how important this game was and they were all fired up. 3, 250 fans showed up for the vital match. I would have hoped for a sellout, but you take what you can get. Rochdale clearly wanted to avoid a loss, so they played cautiously and refused to take any chances. They had three chances, but failed to capitalize on them. Their main objective was to shut AZXFC down and this they succeeded in, limiting us to one off-target shot. We tried to break their defense, but it remained staunch throughout the half. As a result, the halftime score was 0-0. At the half, I merely told the lads to get off their asses and to play attacking football. We needed a win here, nothing else would really suffice. Our destiny was in our control right now. Anything but a win meant that we would be letting other teams control our chances of winning the Conference. Both teams picked up the pace in the second half as chances began to develop. We were still not playing all that well, so I made my first sub ten minutes in as I sent in Fennelly for Asser. Fifteen minutes later, which no change in our favor, I sent in Moran and Fanning for Mills and Law respectively. A minute later, I stared in disbelief as Conner beat Browne to a rebound to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. Fuming, I stomped the sideline, but I needn’t have worried. Eleven minutes later, much maligned forward Colin Fanning became a hero to the AXFC fans when he stuffed a rebound back into the net to make the game a 1-1 draw. Rochdale stayed one point ahead of us going into the final match day. We had an away against Canvey Island and Rochdale had a home contest against Halesowen. Halesowen would be fighting for their Conference lives and were a reasonable bet to get a draw out of the game. Rochdale had no choice but to beat Halesowen to ensure their league title. If we won against Canvey or drew with them and Rochdale lost, we would be the champs. If we drew and Rochdale lost, we would go through on goal difference. If we won and Rochdale drew, we would get through. If both teams won, drew or lost, Rochdale would go through. So, the pressure was on. On the morning of May 1rst, the last match day of the year, Kingsway Olympic, an Aussie side, made a bid for Fanning, which was accepted forthwith. Saturday afternoon on Canvey Island was beautiful. It was breezy and in the mid-70’s. A few surprises were in store for the lineup. Fleming returned from injury, but Lynch and Law were dropped for poor performance of late. Instead, Moran and Fanning got the nod alongside the rest of the regulars. We would start this game attacking as we had no other choice, and try to run up the score. Canvey had nothing at stake so I wasn’t sure how fired up they would be. 1717 filled the park for the game. Despite our attacking, Caney held us off. We were keeping them at bay, with our defense doing an excellent job of stopping them, but they were doing the same to us. Both sides got chances on counters, but were unable to convert. The ball remained in midfield for most of the game and so we went into the half at 0-0. Thankfully, Rochdale and Halesowen were tied at 1-1, so we still had a chance. The second half however, saw the end of our season as Aldridge scored on 50. At that point, I sent in Lynch for Moran and Bradley for Fanning, but to no avail. Junior added a goal on 60 and we were finished. Lynch scored a goal late, but it wasn’t much consolation. Rochdale beat Halesowen 2-1 to solidify their Conference title. Accrington were relegated on the last day too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************************************************************ American Exiles Football Club - Saturday 1st May 2004 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2003/4 Senior Club Stats ================================================================================================ No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Adamson, Carl 5 (4) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.56 - Allan, Kevin 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.20 - Asser, James 37 (1) 6 0 0 4 1 0 1 7.11 - Bradley, Lee 17 (16) 10 0 0 1 1 0 2 7.12 - Browne, John 41 0 32 0 0 0 0 2 7.17 - Campbell, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Campbell, Thomas - - - - - - - - ---- - Chandler, Jeremy 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.71 - Chapman, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Collins, Chris - - - - - - - - ---- - Cooper, Craig - - - - - - - - ---- - Cooper, Gordon - - - - - - - - ---- - Davies, Allan 7 (2) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.22 - Donnelly, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Doyle, John 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Evans, Kevin - - - - - - - - ---- - Fanning, Colin 11 (10) 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 6.81 - Fennelly, Clark 11 (11) 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 6.77 - Fleming, Derek 34 0 0 0 8 2 0 1 7.35 - French, Scott - - - - - - - - ---- - Fuff, Glen 43 4 0 1 (1) 2 4 0 1 6.88 - Gallagher, John - - - - - - - - ---- - Goodwin, Gerry 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.89 - Hough, Dave - - - - - - - - ---- - JP Mills 36 5 0 0 11 5 0 2 7.14 - Jones, Steven - - - - - - - - ---- - Kavanagh, Gary 35 1 0 0 13 0 0 1 7.49 - Law, Gareth 35 (1) 9 0 0 7 1 0 1 6.94 - Lynch, Gary 29 (8) 26 0 0 1 0 0 4 7.19 - Mason, Kevin - - - - - - - - ---- - McColl, James - - - - - - - - ---- - McMahon, Jack - - - - - - - - ---- - Moncrieffe, Prince 5 (3) 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.75 - Moran, Sean 20 (18) 11 0 2 (2) 0 0 0 1 6.71 - Munster, David 16 (12) 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 6.75 - Naylor, Phil - - - - - - - - ---- - O'Connor, Liam - - - - - - - - ---- - Powell, Neil - - - - - - - - ---- - Robson, Russell - - - - - - - - ---- - Sadler, Adam 6 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 6.67 - Smith, Fraser 6 (2) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.63 - Smith, Mark 37 3 0 0 2 0 1 2 6.68 - Speight, Richard 31 (1) 13 0 0 3 2 0 7 7.38 - Stannard, Wayne - - - - - - - - ---- - Teasdale, Michael 12 (3) 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 6.67 - Truman, Danny - - - - - - - - ---- - Turner, Harry - - - - - - - - ---- - Vowden, Colin 40 2 0 0 3 1 0 0 7.00 - Watson, Paul - - - - - - - - ---- - Wilkins, Robert 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7.33 ************************************************************************************************ English Conference - Saturday 1st May 2004 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2003/4 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Rochdale 42 17 0 4 39 19 13 4 4 37 20 94 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd AXFC 42 16 4 1 48 19 11 5 5 39 14 90 3rd Halifax 42 12 7 2 38 21 11 5 5 38 25 81 4th Stevenage 42 12 7 2 46 21 9 6 6 42 28 76 5th Barnet 42 17 0 4 46 22 7 4 10 26 37 76 6th Dag & Red 42 14 4 3 36 16 6 6 9 28 31 70 7th Canvey Island 42 11 3 7 34 25 10 2 9 30 33 68 8th Tamworth 42 12 4 5 36 23 7 3 11 25 31 64 9th Scarborough 42 10 4 7 26 19 8 5 8 27 28 63 10th Morecambe 42 11 4 6 25 16 7 4 10 23 23 62 11th Northwich Vics 42 9 7 5 28 22 7 7 7 27 28 62 12th Shrewsbury 42 10 3 8 34 31 8 4 9 28 32 61 13th Telford 42 11 4 6 26 17 4 6 11 16 30 55 14th Hereford 42 11 2 8 30 26 4 4 13 19 33 51 15th Exeter 42 9 3 9 31 27 4 5 12 23 48 47 16th Nuneaton Borough 42 9 6 6 34 35 2 8 11 17 44 47 17th Chester 42 6 9 6 43 42 4 2 15 28 45 41 18th Farnborough 42 7 3 11 35 40 4 3 14 23 41 39 19th Halesowen 42 3 10 8 30 39 5 4 12 28 36 38 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20th R Accrington 42 9 6 6 23 23 1 2 18 11 38 38 21st R Aldershot 42 5 6 10 18 30 1 7 13 14 36 31 22nd R Hastings Town 42 4 6 11 17 35 2 6 13 19 42 30 </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 27, 2006 Author Share Posted July 27, 2006 To say I was stunned would be an understatement. I had fully expected us to make the League the following season and so I did not quite comprehend another season in the financially-strapped apex of non-League soccer. I’ll be honest; I looked at taking another manager’s job. We were awarded 110 thousand for finishing second, but the money was barely noticed for the first couple of days. We were in shock and it wasn’t until a week or so later that the check was deposited into the bank. It was also at that time that I began pure paring the roster for next season. In the initial purge, Sadler, Chandler, Davies, Allan and Fennelly were released. This was a clearing of the deck for two Bosmans to join the first team along with a couple of great reservists. We also weeded out the reserves to create more roster space. At least three players from the reserves would be on the first team next season. The first big move of the off-season was that Fanning moved to Australia for 20,000 pounds. Then I met with the scouts and sent them off on their summer assignments. After that, I had a meeting with the board to discuss expanding the stadium and practice facilities. Both requests were ignored as the board felt there was little point to expanding anything at this juncture. They told me that they would rather see me spend the 1 million ponds they had allotted for transfers. I agreed and set out to fulfill three key needs. A big-time forward, a big-time attacking midfielder, a backup goalkeeper and a backup midfielder. To accomplish these goals, began with several phone calls to see who was interested. The interest was disappointing, but I made do. We put in bids for a couple of players to fill the forward and AMC spots, which were our most pressing needs. We quickly agreed to terms with our targeted forward, Ian Little of Caley Thistle. He would join us on June 1 for 110,000 pounds. A few hours later, we made our second signing, acquiring AMC Dean Martin from Rotherham for 65 grand. He would join us on June 1 as well. Wrapping up the first two weeks of May was the FA Trophy final, which was won 2-0 by Telford as they defeated Tamworth. The other final on Saturday May 15 was the FA Cup final which Chelsea won 2-1 over Everton. Later in May, Newcastle beat Blackburn on penalties in an all-English UEFA Cup final. About a week later, Man U stomped Liverpool 4-0 in the Champion’s League final. This was probably the first time in history that the two major European club finals had been all-English. This was a telling commentary on the strength of the English leagues at the moment. A day later, one of my scouts recommended that we sign a Hull midfielder by the name of Andy Dawson. After reviewing the report and the videotape, I agreed that Dawson would be a good CMC and we made Hull an offer. It only took a couple of days for Dawson to accept our contract offer and we eagerly awaited his arrival on June 1. On June 1, Bunce, Dawson Little and Martin all arrived at the AXFC grounds. The board remained delighted with my performance as manager and our finances were still very good. We also signed 20 yr old goalkeeper prospect Gareth Fuller from Braintree for 22K. We filled our LMC backup first team spot by signing 32 yr old Andy Roddie for 5K from Peterhead. On the 5th the European Championships started, though there were no unexpected results during the first few matches. On the 6th, we rounded out our goalkeeping corps for the upcoming season by signing veteran Northern Irish keeper Richard Robinson on a free transfer. On June 7, we allowed Gary Lynch to become a free agent, because he had had one great season, and we didn’t think he could repeat his success. Finally a surprising result emerged from the Euro championships when in the second set of group matches, Russia beat Holland 1-0 to clinch qualification to the second round. The final go-round of group matches saw Russia and Portugal qualifying from group 1 with Turkey and Holland heading home. Group 2 was Denmark and Italy with the Czechs and Finns ousted. Interspersed with the competition was the fact that Fanning left for Australia and Law and coach Nick Cusack left as free agents. Group 3 saw England and Germany qualify over Norway and Ireland. Lastly, Group 4 was Spain and Greece ahead of France and Bulgaria. While this was going on, the new 04/05 season for everyone in Europe. That meant the ten newest members of the EU joined the football portion of that structure. The first EC quarterfinal saw Portugal beat Denmark 1-0 in extra time. In more domestic news, AXFC fans named Richard Speight the 03/04 season. The next quarter-final saw England beat Greece on penalties after a 0-0 draw. The preseason of the 04/05 Conference season began with us getting 100K for TV rights. The board was expecting us to finish in the top 5 in Conference play. The four new members of the Conference this season were Hays, Kettering and Stalybridge from the lower leagues and Macclesfield the resident refugee from League football. In international play, Germany beat Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw. The last European Championship saw Italy beat Russia 1-0. While that was happing, we received news that should bring a grin to many CMS regulars: Paul Gascoigne was signed by Halesowen. Paul Mortimer joined us on a Bosman late in June, which completed the first team squad for the beginning of the season. That completed the first team with ten days to go before the beginning of training camp opened. We were getting close now. In containing European Championship action, Germany beat Italy 1-0 in the first semi-final. In the other semifinal, England beat Portugal 1-0. In the final, England pulled off the nice feat of beating Germany 2-0. So England won both Euro club championships and the continental version. Not a bad summer for St. George fans. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 29, 2006 Author Share Posted July 29, 2006 On June 29, Speight was allowed to become a free agent, since he refused to sign a new contract. On that day too, we opened training camp. We would start with two weeks of conditioning drills. Then we would have two weeks of technical drills and wrap up with two weeks of regular-season practice. We had six roster spots left, so the scouts were beating the bushes for youth prospects. July brought with it a glowing review from the board. Not much else happened in July as we spent the month in training camp getting ready for our opening match, which would take place on August 14, at Tamworth. However, on the 19th, Teasdale came to my office after practice and informed me that he was retiring from professional football. I shook his hand, thanked him for his contributions to the club, wished him the best and immediately went looking for a utility defender. Just a few days later, we had found Teasdale’s replacement for 9,000 pounds as defender Phillip Holmes joined us from Welsh side Connah’s Quay. Then, on the 25, came a nasty curveball. Wayne Standard’s agent told the media that his client would soon make a move to Oxford. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I chose to ignore the speculation. As August started, we switched to our regular season practice schedule. The board was happy with my performance, and I was eager to get the new season underway. On the fourth, we got some bad news. David Hough, a promising forward in our reserves landed wrong on a diving header and fractured his skull. He would be out for seven months, or essentially the season. What a lousy break for the kid. Fortunately, no one was predicting long-term damage from the devastating injury. A couple of days after the brouhaha died down over the injury, I got a call from new Swindon doss Alan Shearer. After commiserating about Hough, he informed me that he wanted to buy reserve midfielder Harry Turner and named a price. I told him to up the fee substantially and I would sell. He rang off without comment. Later in the week, Shearer called to say that he was no longer interested in Turner. That news was fine by me. Shortly before the season began, I made the decision to find another forward for the first team. With Hough out for the year, Chapman would be able to get more playing time in the reserves again and the lad was only 19. I decided to pursue Bari Morgan, a forward for Aberstewyth Town, offering 35K for him. The morning of Opening Day saw the AZFC lineup listed in the paper the regulars listed on first at each position. GK: John Browne (32 Irish) Robert Robinson (29 Northern Irish) LB: Derek Fleming (30 Scots) Wayne Standard (17 English) RB: Gary Kavanagh (19 Irish) Kevin Mason (21 English) DC: Che Bunce (28 New Zealand 16 caps) Gavin Fuff (29 English) Colin Vowden (32 English) Gerry Goodwin (27 Irish) Utility- Phillip Holmes (31 Welsh) LMC James Asser (20 English) Andy Roddie (32 Scottish) CMC: Andy Dawson (25 English) Paul Mortimer (24 Scottish) RMC: JP Mills (22 English) Carl Adamson (21 English) AMC: Dean Martin (31 English) Sean Moran (22 Irish) Utility- Fraser Smith (21 Scottish) Forwards: Ian Little (30 Scottish) Lee Bradley (22 English) David Munster (25 Northern Irish) Prince Moncrief (27 English) Opening afternoon in Tamworth was dry and balmy in the mid 70’s. With three seasons of Conference play behind us, we had a reasonable amount of games played against most of the teams. With regard to Tamworth, the two teams were even in the series, with each having 8 points off of identical 2-2-2 records. All our regulars got the opening day start with the exception of Asser, who was nursing a bruised jaw from practice earlier in the week. Therefore, Roddie got the nod at LMC. Nearly 3400 turned out for the game. Tamworth came out playing cautiously, controlling possession with ease. They were good with the few chances they took, but Browne kept the nets clean. We were also playing patiently, putting the shots we got on-target as well, but ailing to do anything of note. With such play as the mindset of both teams, it came as no surprise that the half was a midfield battle most of the time. Neither team wilted, so the game remained scoreless going into the half. AXFC managed to control the ball much better in the second half, but we were unable to do anything worthwhile with it. Both teams opened the throttle a bit and the game flowed a bit better than it had in the first half. Both team continued to shoot well, but both goalies were on-form already and prevented either side from notching a victory. Hoping to kick-start the offense, I made a triple substitution on 77, sending in Munster, Moran and Adamson for Little, Martin and Roddie. The subs made no difference however and the game ended in a scoreless draw. Our home opener was next on the schedule for Tuesday night. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 30, 2006 Author Share Posted July 30, 2006 Saturday evening, Aberystwyth Town accepted our offer for Morgan and we offered a contract. A day later, Thompson of Sheffield Wednesday was the first manger sacked in the new season. On Monday, Morgan came to terms with us and joined us in time for the Tues night game. He would be a regular at forward, taking the spot from Bradley, who would continue to be a backup on the first team. Tuesday evening in London was dry and comfortable. Over the past three seasons, Dag and Red had had our number, winning three, drawing two and losing only once to give them an edge on points, 11 to our 5. Surprisingly, all the regulars except for Asser were fit for the home opener, even new acquisition Bari Morgan. Roddie continued to hold down the LMC fort. Only 2150 showed up for the match, a bit of a disappointment. The small crowd was rewarded however. We came out clicking on offense. On 11, Morgan, a 23 yr old Welshman, washed no time in making an impact for AXFC. On 11, he sent the Yankee Stadium fans into cheers of delight when he nailed a diving header off a Mills cross to give the home side the 1-0 lead. We continued to pepper the Dag and Red goal with shots throughout the half. Our defense was stifling, refusing to allow the visitors even a shot even though both teams handled the ball an equal amount of time. In short, we beat Dag and Red like a drum. We poured much pressure on Dag and Red in the second half, spending most of the time in their third of the pitch. However, they struck just after the hour when Bruce nailed a free-kick to level the scores. We seemed unable to get past their keeper and with ten minutes left, I pulled Dawson and Martin for Adamson and Moran. Three minutes later, Moran snapped up a loose ball off a Morgan free-kick and drove it past the visiting keeper to give AXFC the 2-1 home opener wins. We would play Hereford next on Saturday afternoon on the 21 of August at their place. Saturday afternoon in Hereford was a breezy and warm day. We had thoroughly dominated Hereford in our previous six matches against them, winning four, drawing one and losing one to take 13 points to Hereford’s four. All the regulars except for an unfit Kavanagh got the start as Asser had recovered from his bruised jaw. Kevin Mason made his AXFC first-team debut at right back in front of 2200 opposition fans. Neither team was brilliant on offense in the first half. Both teams received and wasted a number of chances. The only difference was that we at least, got a couple of shots on goal whilst Hereford were unable to put anything near Browne. We opened the scoring ledger on 14 when Fleming sent a free-kick towards goal that Little picked up and buried past the scrambling keeper to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Hereford continued to hold the lion’s share of possession, but we kept them off the scoreboard. We added to our lead late in the half when Morgan picked up a loose ball and drove it through to make the score 2-0. With a comfortable lead, the second half was spent playing defense and ball control. We continued to threaten the Hereford goal and though we failed to score further, we kept the home side from doing much on offense. At the 75 mark I pulled Martin, who couldn’t seem to get anything going, for Moran as we ran the clock out on our 2-0 win. Our next match was a Wednesday evening game at Yankee Stadium versus Telford in four days. The next manager to get handed his pink slip was Charlton’s Danny Wilson. That same day, August 21, Sheffield Wed. hired Woking’s Chris Waddle as their new boss. Woking were a feel good story. They had finished second in the Third Division, after winning promotion from the Conference the previous year. Woking was now 10 in the Second Division so far this season. Upon studying the club, I decided to apply for the job, seemed to be worthwhile to at least try. I wasn’t the most ambitious of souls, but at least I could say I was interested in moving on at some point. Wednesday night in London was calm, dry, and a bit warmer than usual, even for August. Telford had given us trouble over the years, winning four of six from us to take 12 points to our six for the series. All the regulars except Fleming and Dawson got the nod. Standard and Mortimer joining the regulars. Just over 1350 turned out to watch. Morgan continued to make an impression in his third game with AXFC. On 14 he gave us the 1-0 lead when he gathered up a throw-in from Kavanagh, stopped the ball and went on a quick run that broke down the Telford defense. Morgan finished the short run by blasting the ball into goal. We put a lot of pressure on Telford from then on out, keeping an edge in possession and keeping the ball on their side of the pitch. Telford was forced to play defense most of the time and were only able to attack once with an off-balance shot. When Morgan added a penalty conversion on 34 to give us the 2-0 lead, we went into the half feeling good about ourselves. Telford came out playing much better in the second half. They got a few chances and gave Browne some work to do in protecting the lead. They held the ball better than we did and tried to attack. However, Browne was able to save their opportunities and kept Telford off the board. At 70, I put in Moran for an infuriating Martin and Fraser Smith in for Mills. We held on to our 2-0 lead for the last twenty minutes and got a nice win. Our next game was in three day on Saturday the 28 at Nuneaton Borough. On Saturday morning, Chapman’s career at AXFC came to a screeching halt. He had turned up late for practice and had been unfit during his time on the training field. I gave him a dressing-down afterwards and he complained that I was being harsh. I promptly then released him. I don’t tolerate malcontents on my club and he was such. Saturday afternoon in Nuneaton was dry and comfortable. We had played three previous matches against Nuneaton and had split those games, wining one, losing one and drawing one to give each side four points. All but three regulars got the nod. Little and Morgan were both a bit unfit and so were replaced by Bradley and Munster. Martin had been ineffective, so he got the day off while Moran started. 2150 turned up at Manor Park. The first half was a rout and we cleaned the home side’s clock with ruthless scooting, 9-11. We kept control of the ball for about 60% of the time and kept the pressure on Nuneaton in their third of the pitch, making it the home for 45% of the half. Needless to say, Nuneaton were not able to put together any attack or even catch a breather. Mills opened the scoring on 20 when he took a Browne goal-kick and dribbled it in, planting the ball solidly for the AXFC 1-0 lead. Twenty minutes later, Munster passed up a chance and slid the ball left to a cutting Asser, who drilled it low to give us the 2-0 by halftime. Both Mills and Asser had picked up their first goals of the season. Nuneaton was able to get back on the wagon during the second half as they threatened Browne with a couple of chances. Browne coolly handled those chances and kept the shutout intact as we strove to kill clock. Though Nuneaton held the ball for the vast majority of the half they did no damage. We didn’t do any further damage ourselves and twenty minutes to the end, I made a trifecta substitution, sending in Holmes for Fleming, Fraser Smith for Asser and Martin for Moran. The fresh legs helped us preserve the 2-0 win. With approximately an eighth of the season gone, we were in second place behind Stevenage as we prepared to face Morecambe at home in two days on Monday evening. Monday morning saw Woking hired Derek Whyte as manager and Charlton hired Neil Thompson as their new boss. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted July 31, 2006 Author Share Posted July 31, 2006 Monday evening in London was dry and touches coolers than it had been in the previous week. We had played seven games against Morecambe during my time and had dominated the series winning five, drawing one and losing one against them. That gave us the 16 to 4 advantage. Since we were coming off a weekend game, I decided to rest almost everyone. The only regulars to get the start were Browne, Martin, Morgan and Little. 2340 fans came out for the contest. It was not an offensive showcase for sure. We had no shots at all and looked confuse when we had the ball. Morecambe weren’t much better. They only had three chances, but the held the edge on possession and they made one of their on-target shots count early. Ten minutes in, Carlton lobbed in a cross that Perkins volleyed past Browne to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We couldn’t do much in the half after that. We were stunned that the doormats had risen and wrapped us up tight. We managed to produce a bit more offense in the second half, but we weren’t able to cash the opportunities. At 63 I pulled little for Munster, then on 70 put in Smith for Adamson. None of this made any difference. We were flat and Morecambe inspired. They were getting a surfeit of chances, but they were all off-target which kept their lead at one and they preserved that lead to win 1-0. We would face Macclesfield at their field on Saturday September 4. The next manager to get the sack was Paul Groves of West Ham. In the end of month awards Gary Kavanagh won the Young Player of the Month. On September 1, the board met. They were happy with my job performance, but the club was starting to hemorrhage money again. We had lost 135, 00 pounds so far in the season. We were back down to just over 3 million pounds. We were safely in the black, but I don’t like losing money. Saturday afternoon in Macclesfield was warm and wet. The pitch was damp and the dugouts soaked, though it wasn’t raining at game time. We had never played this team, so our scouting report was somewhat vague. All the regulars got the nod for this game. We broke out our red uniforms for this game for the first time this season. Close to 1850 fans came out to the park. Neither team was brilliant on offense. Both teams only got a couple of chances each. The only action in the half went to the home side, which controlled the ball for most of the half. It was us, however, who took our chance and made it count. On 27, Morgan continued to goal-scoring binge when he nailed a diving header off a Mills pass from the right to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Both teams continued to produce mediocre offense the rest of the half. Five minutes from the break, Asser went on a run, the kind we hadn’t seen from him in a couple of seasons, and capped it by booming the ball into the net to give us the 2-0 lead. We switched to defense and even so, managed to get 15 shots and 9 on target for the game. I pulled Dawson at the hour mark, putting Mortimer in his place. Then, 15 minutes to the end, I pulled little for Bradley. Neither moved made much of a difference as we coasted to the easy win. We next had to go too the Deva Stadium on Tuesday evening to face Chester. Tuesday evening in Chester was cool and dry. Autumn was fast approaching as the temperatures continued to drop. We had played six times against Chester in the past and the series was relatively even. We had won three, lost two and drawn one against this opponent, giving us ten points to Chester’s seven. All but three of the regulars made the starting lineup. Many weren’t completely fit, but the made the start anyway. The three who did not start were Fleming, Martin and Morgan, who were replaced by Standard, Moran and Bradley respectively. For the first time in AXFC history, we wore our red uniforms in back to back games. For once, Chester had no trouble pulling in the fans for this one as 1375 were on hand. We opened the scoring in less than ten minutes. Bradley buried a top-corner shot off a little pass to give AXFC the 1-0 lead with just mine minutes gone. Chester didn’t panic and came storming right back on 13 to tie the game. Brodie drilled a shot off an excellent Miles feed. After this initial spate of goals, both teams settled down. We continued to get a few chances, and put them on-target. Chester focused on defense, and ball-control, which they succeed in doing. On 31, our patience paid off when little got and knock down pass from Asser, found himself open and neatly put the ball away to give us the 2-1 lead. At the half it looked like Bradley had a possible injury of some sort, so Munster replaced him for the second half Five minutes into the second half, we were awarded a corner. Mills took it and sent the ball towards Asser, who nodded the ball into the net past Steve Wilson to give AXFC the 3-1 lead. A few minutes later, I sent in Mortimer for Dawson. We were still pounding away at the Chester goal despite playing defensively. Chester, by this point, weren’t really in the game and was just trying to save their dignity. Munster tagged a superfluous goal on 82 when he put back a rebound for his first goal of the season to make the final 4-1. Our net competitive game was against Farnborough at Yankee Stadium on Saturday September 11. During the week several players were promoted from out youth academy, but only one had the talent to stick with the reserves. The rest were promptly released. As a general principle, about one player from the academy sticks with the reserve team each year. The rest of the reserve spots go to youth players that my scouts uncover. This year, however, there seemed to be a paucity of youth talent in Britain as by youth scouts weren’t turning up much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted August 2, 2006 Author Share Posted August 2, 2006 September 11 in London was a scorcher. The temperature was easily in the 90’s and the pitch at Yankee Stadium was about as soft as a brick. We had played six earlier games against Farnborough and we held the decisive edge in the series. We had won four, lost one and drawn one to give us, AXFC, the points margin, 13 to 4. All the regulars were fit and raring to go for this game. 1950 loyal fans came out to watch us endure another gritty half. Io be honest, we put the kibosh on Farnborough from the opening whistle. We held onto the ball more than 60 percent of the time and kept the opposition from even attempting a shot all half. Furthermore, we kept up a steady stream of pressure against their keeper, making him work on every shot we took. Nevertheless, despite all these advantages, AXFC could only net one goal, which came near the half hour when we were awarded a corner. Mills sent in the ball, which Bunce rose up and nodded into goal to give the home side the 1-0 lead. We kept the lead for the rest of the half as Farnborough struggled to get their attack up and running. The second half began with us on cruise control. We were just trying to get the win and go home. Things went awry on 57 when Bunce made a bone-crunching tackle that earned him a red and instant ejection from the game. I pulled Martin and sent in Munster to shore up the backline. Farnborough, sensing opportunity here, began to pour pressure on us. In thirty minutes of action, they controlled the game, sending number of chances Browne’s way. Browne prevented any of them from getting past him. We managed to survive the late on-slaught and escaped with the 1-0 win. We would finally get a week’s worth of brethren as we did not have to play under the next weekend against Exeter at home. As expected, Bunce was banned for three matches. It would at least allow our backup defenders to get more playing time. On Saturday morning, one of my youth scouts called me. Voice shaking with excitement, he recounted a pub league match he had gone to the night before. An AMC named Adam Johnson had played and my scout was salivating at the 19 yr old was the complete package. The scout also recommended a goalkeeper from the same match. We made offers to both players that very day. The afternoon was perfectly normal in London as we prepared to take on Exeter. The weather had returned to balminess and the pitch was dry and lush. In seven prior contests against this team, we had won six and lost one for a pretty lopsided series. All the regulars got the nod, though their were rumors of team changes after the match. 2480 crowded into the park for this one. The game was effectively over after just fifteen minutes of action. On 3, Morgan stuffed back a rebound to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Little followed up on 12 when, off a Mills corner kick, he hit a bullet header past the keeper to give us the 2-0 lead. Exeter never recovered for the rest of the half. They looked sloppy on offense as we continued to pound away accurately at their goal. E also controlled the ball exceptionally well, avoiding any untimely turnovers. At the break, Morgan looked more fatigued than I would have liked, so out he went for Munster. We played defensively in the second half, but that did not stop us from scoring more goals. Five minutes in, Marin scored his first goal for AXFC on a simple rebound finish to make the score 3-0 and Munster iced the game three minutes after the hour when he took an Asser pass, dribbled in a bit and nailed the shot to make the game and final 4-0. Exeter gave up after that and both sides ran out the clock. The win put us in first place in the Conference, with a quarter of the season played. We would play at home against Canvey Island on the following Tuesday evening. It seemed like this was the most Tuesday night games we had ever played. The rumors of impending team changes were just that, an unfulfilled rumor. The men on the bubble, Martin and Little were finally pulling their games together and getting used to the system. In far more danger were men like Adamson or Moncrief, neither of whom had played well this season. Tuesday evening in London was balmy and dry, ideal soccer conditions. Most of the regulars were fit to play against Canvey, though few were a 100%. The only regulars held out of the lineup were Fleming, replace by Standard, Dawson, replaced by Mortimer, Martin, replaced by Moran and Little, replaced by Munster. In four games against Canvey, we had won two, drawn one and lost one, giving us a 7-4 lead on points. 2960 fans came out to Yankee Stadium, but in all fairness, they didn’t miss much. The first half provided little excitement. Both teams were patiently probing the other and as a result, neither side took more than two chances apiece. The game got even duller twenty minutes in when Mills made a hacking tackle on Tony Lynch and was summarily ejected. Down a man, AXFC could only try to play more defenses and get a draw out of the contest. Canvey Island obliged by refusing to attack our weakness and the half ended in a scoreless tie. The second half was just as uninteresting as the previous one. We added three off-target shots to our totals and generally looked like we were out of it. On 60, I sent in Martin for Moran and on 75 sent in Bradley for Morgan, but neither move made the slightest bit of difference. The game ended in a scoreless draw as CI proved equally unwilling to take any chances the second half. We next played Halifax at their place on Saturday the 25. The news was a bit grim. Mills was banned for three matches, which meant Adamson would get more playing time. Worse news was that a youth prospect from Ireland had rejected our offer in favor of one from Shelburne, the first time that had ever happened to us. On the 23, both Rowland and Johnson came to terms with us and we added them to our reserve team. The rain was pouring down on Saturday afternoon as we prepared to face Halifax and the temperature was cool. In seven previous matchup against this team we had beaten them five times and drawn twice. This gave AXFC a 17 to 2 point difference against Halifax. All the regulars except for Bunce, who started his suspension with this game, got the nod. Goodwin took Bunce's place in the side. Around 1700 came to watch. We struck quickly just three minutes into the contest. Asser picked up a loose ball in the area and drove it home to give us the 1-0 lead. Booth goalkeepers settled in after that and prevented any scoring in the remainder of the half. Both teams did get good chances, but neither was able to convert. The ball moved fluidly up and down the pitch as the two teams entertained the fans with consistent attacking. So, it was not a dull half and the fans were appreciative as the teams went into halftime. We really turned on the spigots in the second half, relentlessly pounding the Halifax goal with pressure and shots. We spent 40% of the half in their third of the pitch and dominated possession 60% of the half. The wonder was that we didn’t add more than on goal to our lead. Morgan, however, was having a pedestrian game and I lifted him for Munster on 68. A few minutes later, Mills laid the BAL of to Munster and the Northern Irish lad fired it into goal to give us the 2-0 wins. We ran the clock out after that last goal. We got a week off before having to face Scarborough the next Saturday, October 2, in London. Adam Johnson made his reserve debut on Wednesday at Scarborough, scoring all four of our goals himself. This prompted some speculation that the kid was ready to contribute to the first-team right now, but ignored it. If he continued to light the reserves up like that, he would get called up pretty soon, but we needed more than a one-game sample to be able to tell how good he really was. But, if I were Dean Martin, I would be worried, very worried indeed. The end of September brought with it the monthly awards. I won Manager of the Month and Kavanagh won his second straight Young Player award. The board was delighted with my job performance, but the club was continuing to lose money at a fast clip. October signaled the beginning of colder weather in London on Saturday afternoon as the temperature was in the low 50’s, but at least the pitch was dry. In six previous games against Scarborough, we had beaten them three times drawn twice and lost one, giving us an 11 to 5 edge in points. All the regulars got the nod for the game as Goodwin continued to fill in for Bunce. 2300 turned out for the first game at Yankee Stadium for the month of October. We came out flat-footed and uncharacteristically disorganized. We kept turning the ball over and lacked much control. We failed to put together more than two attacks and were just bad. Meanwhile, Scarborough seemed to feed off our confusion and gained in confidence as the half wore on. Their defense proved to be tight; they controlled possession and kept the ball bottled up in midfield for most of the half. They made their second counter-attack near the end of the half pay off when Karl Rose took a Pounder pass and dribbled straight through our defense, then hit a scorching grounder past Browne to give Scarborough the 1-0 lead. We came roaring back just two minutes into the second half when Morgan passed to Little, who broke free from his man and hammered the ball into the goal to tie the game at 1 apiece. Our attacking was instantly revived and we began to play like we were capable. We poured in shot after shot at Scarborough and took control of the possession game. On 78, little took a Fleming cross and blasted it in to give us the 2-1 advantage. At the kick-off, I subbed in Moran for Martin. We shut down Scarborough for the last ten minutes. They seemed shocked and deflated and they did not give us much of a fight as the game ended. We got the win but remained second to Stevenage, who had yet to lose a game. We got the next week off, not having a game until the weekend when we would go to Underhill in London to face Barnet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wimb The Barman Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Continues to be a good read Mr Hick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted August 2, 2006 Author Share Posted August 2, 2006 Cheers Barman I still find it amusing that a LLMa would enjoy this story. On Sunday, the qualifying round of the FA Cup was drawn. We would travel to Harrow to face the Borough team there in about two weeks. On Monday morning, Division Two side Luton, called and made a bid for Turner. I told them to up the bid. Saturday afternoon arrived without further noteworthy events occurring. London that day was dry and cool as we headed across town to play Barnet. They were our rivals and the rivalry was a pretty even one. We each had won two, lost two and drawn two for an equal eight points apiece. A competitive rivalry is always the best kind. All but two of the regulars got the nod. Goodwin continued to fill in for Bunce, who was serving the last game of his suspension. Adamson filled in for Mills, whose three game suspensions was just starting. 2635 filled Underwood for the contest. Both teams were a bit scatter-shot during the half as both got a few chances and failed to seize opportunities. We struck quickly five minutes in. Kavanagh delivered a cross to the post that little leaped and nodded in to give AXFC the early 1-0 lead. After that, Barnet took control of the half, holding onto the ball and bottling the game at midfield. We got a couple of chances on quick sneak attacks, but they went for naught. A half-hour in, Fleming limped off the field and I replaced him with Holmes. The second half displayed more excitement than either team would have liked. Five minutes after the restart, Coppinger drove a free-kick over out wall and past Browne to tie the game 1-1. A few minutes after that, Goodwin got his revenge on the Barnet forward, sliding viciously into Coppinger with both feet. For this ugly tackle, Goodwin was ejected from the game. I sent in Moran for Morgan and did some formation shuffling to minimize the advantage Barnet possessed. We need not have worried as 15 minutes later, Martin headed a ball that found the feet of Little, who carried it into the penalty area, then hit a skimmer that skipped past Harding in goal to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. Now it was Coppinger’s turn to snap as on 72, for no apparent reason, he head-butted Adamson, earning himself a red card and an early dismissal. The evened up sides spent the last twenty minutes of the game at midfield. This time it was us who were controlling the ball and tempo at midfield, neatly preserving our win. We had nice momentum going in the next game, the away match at Harrow. The win came at the cost of losing Goodwin for three matches, but Fleming was likely to only miss the Harrow game. In other news, England demolished Slovakia 6-0 in WC qualifying, which was a modern record. On Friday, there was an article in the paper about our good form and the supporter goodwill we were generating. Maybe now ticket sales would go up. We could use any extra revenue that could be gotten by positive press. Saturday afternoon at the Earlsnead in Harrow was cool and rainy. The drizzle could be felt and the pitch was damp. This was the first ever meeting between AXFC and Harrow. All the regulars got the nod except for the suspended Mills, replaced by Adamson and Fleming, who was replaced by Standard. Nearly 3030 fans crammed the Harrow Park, with meant the home side would get good money out of this as a consolation if they lost. Harrow lost their chance to play level with AXFC just four minutes into the match. Winstone made a dangerous tackle that put Dawson on the ground writhing. The offender was promptly sent packing. We dominated the half after that, pouring shots and pressure on the Harrow team, spending nearly 40 percent of first half in their third of the pitch. It was almost inevitable that they would crack, and they did so on 22 when little volleyed in a Kavanagh pass to open the AXFC account 1-0. Five minutes later, little scored again, this time off an Adamson lob to make the score 2-0. At this point Harrow conceded defeat and began to go through the motions. We killed clock the entire second half and Harrow barely tried to stop it. On 67, just before a corner was taken, I subbed in Roddie for Dawson. A minute later, Kavanagh swung in the corner the ball found the feet of little, who let fly and bagged his hat-trick, making the game 3-0. Ten minutes later, I pulled little for Munster and that was all she wrote. We returned to Conference action on the following Saturday with a home game against Shrewsbury. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted August 3, 2006 Author Share Posted August 3, 2006 On Saturday evening, Wigan manager Johns was the next to be sacked as they resided in 24th place in Division One. I applied for the job as they were a “rich†team with plenty of money to work with, much more than I currently had with AXFC. The FA Cup First Round was drawn and we got lucky with a Yankee Stadium game against D2 side Preston. The afternoon of Saturday, October 23rd was a cool dry day in London. Autumn and definitely arrived as the days were consistently in the mid 50’s, but at least, the usual fall rain was being held in abeyance. We had faced Shrewsbury four times so far in the series and each team had identical records of two wins and two losses apiece. All the regulars except for the suspended Mills were penciled onto the lineup card, with Adamson filling in once more for Mills. The seats at Yankee Stadium were less than half-full for this match. We opened the match by dominating possession from the very start. In addition, we pounded the Shrewsbury keeper with a high number of on-target shots. It was evident that we would score at some point, so no one was surprised when, on 13, little guided a Brock parry back into the net to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We focused on keeping the ball at midfield after that and succeeded for the most part. Shrewsbury was only able to get two chances off their attack and Browne coolly dealt with both. We added to our lead late in the half when Bunce tapped in a rebound to make the score 2-0 at halftime. The second half was a cakewalk. We controlled the ball an astounding 70 percent of the time during the half and we continued to hammer Brock with shots. On 72, little created himself room off of an Asser pass and blasted the ball past Brock to make the score 3-0. Seven minutes later, I sent in Moran for Martin and ten minutes after that, Little bagged a hat-trick in injury time when Asser fed him a cross from the left that Little simply shoved into goal to make the final score 4-0. We had the next two weeks off, until we had to face Halesowen at the Grove. During the two week break between games, I resolved to sell Martin. He had been a pure bust all right. It isn’t that he was playing badly; it was that he seemed to be incapable of playing well. I put him on the market at a reduced price and a couple of clubs were interested. Near the end of the week, Wigan announced that they had hired Walter Smith as their new manager. Smith had a mixed record. He had been hired as Walsall manager back in 01 and had stayed there until 03, when he moved to Kilmarnock. Smith had made a hash of that job and was sacked two years later. He had been unemployed for three months when Wigan hired him. At the end of October I won the Conference Manager of the Month award and little won the Conference Player of the Month. In early November the board met and claimed they were delighted with the job I was doing for AXFC. They seemed pleased that the crowds were starting to come out to the Yank once more. However, the team was not making money this year. In fact, we were losing about twice as much as we were earning. Our balance was still over 3 million pounds, but it wouldn’t be for much longer if the current outgoings kept their frenetic pace. Saturday afternoon, the sixth of November was dry and cool in Halesowen. While the weather was all right, we had drawn one of the harshest refs in the Conference, so I figured someone would be ejected, given that both teams tended to tackle hard. We had played Halesowen four times in the series and we had won three and lost one. All the regulars got the start as Mills was able to return from his suspension to take part in the match. For the fourth time this season, a record, we wore our red uniforms. 1750 showed up for the game. The first half was not much for brilliant play. Both teams got a number of chances, but failed to put all that many on-target. The teams spilt possession on relatively equal terms, though the ball itself spent most of the half in the Halesowen zone. Neither team seemed to want to open an account until 35 when Asser passed to Morgan, who moved the ball in and took a vicious shot that found the net to give AXFVC the 1-0 lead. The last ten minutes of the half passed without comment and everyone slunk off to the locker-room. We ratcheted up the offense during the second half, operating together a much more stable attack and we blew the game wide open on the hour mark. I subbed out little and Mills, who were off-form for Munster and Moran respectively. A minute later, on 58, Kavanagh whipped in a corner that connected with the head of Dawson, who nodded it into goal to give us the 2-0 lead. Three minutes later, Asser took the ball at midfield, made a weaving run through the defense and firmly planted a shot into the net for a 3-0 lead. That lead held up as Halesowen spent the next thirty minutes shooting wildly. We let them shoot and ran out the clock ourselves. Our next contest was in a week at home versus Stalybridge. The Vans Trophy draw gave us D2 side Swindon at their County Ground on December 7. The backups would play the game since the Trophy was irrelevant to me. Saturday evening saw Nottingham Forest sack their manager Chris Turner. I immediately applied for the job. On Sunday afternoon we were entered into the FA Trophy draw. We would get Barnet at Yankee Stadium on Saturday November 27. This game posed a lineup puzzle. Ordinarily, I would play our backups in the game, but Barnet is a rival of ours. That meant, no one would be happy or understand if we lost. So, a challenge and a decision were in hand. I’d figure it out later. On Friday, the day before our next game, Watford fired Graham Taylor and I applied for the job. It seemed to me that a lot of Division One teams were getting fed up with their managers this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wimb The Barman Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Heh its interesting from a story POV not by LLaMa standards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted August 4, 2006 Author Share Posted August 4, 2006 Fair enough Barman, but I should point out that I follow 90% of LLM precepts. November 13 in London was damp [, wet and cool. We had never faced Stalybridge before ago the faithful at Yankee Stadium were seeing the opposition for the rest time. We also drew one of the harshest referees in the Conference. All the regulars except for Mills got the start. Adamson replaced Mills. 1815 fans, which was a disappointing turnout in my opinion, came out on the very wet day. The empty seats were the majority, which was a shame as the home-side lads put on a nice show. The game was over just 25 minutes in. We only took five chances, but all were crisp, on-target and they all gave the Staley keeper trouble. Little got the ball rolling on 12 when he ran through, collected a Fleming pass, and smashed it in low to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Morgan added to the lead when he nailed a rebound back to make the score 2-0. Then, ten minutes later, Morgan hit a glancing header off a Dawson lob to get his brace and ice the game 3-0. Stalybridge didn’t provide much for the rest of the half. They only got two chances and neither was converted. The game devolved into a midfield battle as we tried to burn clock. The second half was not noteworthy as we didn’t do a thing but keep the ball at midfield. Staley got a few more shots, but didn’t do anything with them. The two sides played out the game in silence, and twenty minutes from the end, I pulled Asser and Morgan for Roddie and Munster. The game need without controversy and we turned out attention to our next game. It would be FA Cup weekend and we would face Preston at Yankee Stadium. That night, Nottingham announced that they had hired former English international Nigel Clough, who had been managing, at Scottish side Stranraer, as their new gaffer. Mid-week saw an unusual situation. We had young Scottish goalkeeper Mark Peat of Hearts on our short-list. Two English Divisions one teams, Crystal Palace and Coventry made transfer offers for the lad. Hearts accepted both offers, but Peat rejected both contract offers. This showed tremendous loyalty to Hearts, to whom he was a backup keeper. On Friday Watford hired Nigel Martin from Division Two side Chesterfield. FA Cup Saturday in London was a dry and cool day as we prepared to take on Preston at Yankee Stadium. This would be the clubs first ever meeting. Preston was struggling in D2, currently in the top-most relegation spot, so they would be a dangerous team as they looked salvage the season with a good Cup run. All the regulars, except for Kavanagh who was injured, got the nod for this one. Kevin Mason got the start at right back. The fans responded to this game by filling the stadium to just one short of capacity at 4999. Preston showed the ultimate when on 9 they took their one shot of the half and made it count, Robinson driving the ball past Browne to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We fired shot after shot, but the Preston keeper never wavered. He held firm and broke our attack time after time. Paul Gerrard, the former Everton keeper was schooling our young players. I hoped my reserve keepers were in the crowd taking notes. At the half, I sent in Holmes for the struggling Bunce and I told my team to go on the attack. We came out in the second half determined to test Gerrard. He gamely hung on and made save after save, showing why he had been a Premier Division keeper. Meanwhile Preston was trying to add to their lead, but was hardly giving Browne much difficultly at our end. Finally, on 88, Little gathered in a loose ball, Gerrard was caught out of position and our forward smashed in the shot low to make the score 1-1. We survived the last few minutes and emerged with a draw. We would have to replay the round at Deep dale. The next game would also be at Yankee Stadium against Barnet in the FA Trophy match. On the Friday before the game with Barnet, Derby County announced that they were sacking George Foley from his job as manager. I naturally applied for the job. On Saturday morning, AXFC lost a coach to Nottingham Forest, for which we were compensated with 24,000 pounds. Also in the morning came bids for Martin; the bids were negotiated. Saturday afternoon in London was dry and cool. All the backups started this game as I usually have it for these competitions. Under a thousand showed up for the game, which says it all about the meaning of the game. The first half was full of offense. Barnet’s Beadle opened the game five minutes in. He took a Coppinger feed and blasted it past Robinson for a 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later, Holmes took a free-kick, launching it toward Munster, who leaped and headed the ball in to tie the score 1-1. The offensive fireworks continued. On the half-hour, Roddie pounced on a loose ball and stuck it into goal to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. The lead helps up til the end of the half. In injury time. Barnet’s Williams put in a low cross into the box that Clark sent screaming past Robinson. Both teams got plenty of chances and made good on them. This was a rare treat as usually one team on and one team off. This half at least, both were on. The display continued into the second half. Both teams continued to attack up and sown the pitch, taking a myriad of shots. With twenty minutes left, Adamson laid off a ball for Roddie, who ran up and blasted it in to give AXFC the 3-2 lead. On 79 Barnet were awarded a comer. Heath sent it in and Graham nodded it in to knot the score once again, this time 3-3. We weren’t done and on 87 when Adamson lay off another ball. This one for Mortimer, who carried it forward a bit, planted his feet and let fly to give us the 4-3 win. Munster told me after the game that he would be out three weeks after suffering damage to his foot during the match. Our next contest was the FA Cup replay on Wednesday December 1. The Trophy draw as on Sunday and we found out that we would play Droylesden at their park. The day after the draw, I began looking for a new coach and a new assistant manager. I found candidates for the jobs and began interviewing. In addition, Paul Groves was hired as Chesterfield manager. In addition, Mick McCarthy was sacked from his second go-round with Sunderland. On Wednesday morning, Sunderland announced that they were hiring Livingston’s Alex Totten as their new boss. I then applied for the Livi job. Wednesday evening in Preston was the coldest match day of the season so far, but it wasn’t really all that bad as it was the high 40’s. In addition it was dry as we prepared to face Preston in the FA Cup replay. The first-team squad had suffered a rash of injuries lately so a couple of regulars weren’t able to go. Both Kavanagh and Fuff were battling injuries and were held out, Mason and Goodwin taking their places in the starting lineup. Every other regular made it into the lineup as this was a reasonably important game. Only about 6450 showed up, an indication that Preston fans weren’t about to take us seriously. Boy, did we prove those fans wrong. We thoroughly and surprisingly took control of the half. We attacked fairly often, putting three of our five chances where we wanted them. We managed keep the ball at midfield or in Presto’s side for most of the half and Browne never even had to contend with a shot. We took the lead 28 minutes in when Asser took a Morgan pass, slipped past his marker and blasted the ball into the net to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Preston looked discouraged and unorganized. The second half was much the same. We had the game well in hand and on 74 Mills lofted a pass to a sprinting Morgan, who gathered it in and shot true to give us the 2-0 lead. A few minutes later, I made a triple substitution. Smith came in for Asser, Moran came on for Dawson and Holmes came in for Mason. Two minutes later, Browne received a red card for a professional foul in the penalty area. Instantly, the game shifted. I had to put little in goal and pack the defense. Preston got two goals in the last tem minutes then they scored twice more in overtime to win the game 4-2. To say I was hopping mad would be the understatement of the year. U lost my cool as I chewed out Browne in the locker room. Not only that, but I fined him a month’s wages for his bone-head decision. He was the sole reason we lost. He had to know that I had made a triple sub and to play cautiously as a result. He would have been better off letting the goal score than make a foolish challenge. 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Educated Hick Posted August 5, 2006 Author Share Posted August 5, 2006 Naturally, Browne thought I had gone over the top, and perhaps I had, but I didn’t care. The only thing I did to support Browne was to complain about the ref in the post-game press conference. The FA certainly found Browne at fault as they banned him for three matches. But we had more immediate concerns as we had a home game against Kettering on Saturday afternoon as we resumed Conference play. As it transpired, the FA thought the referee had made the proper call. On Wednesday evening, the board met and gave their usual positive reviews of my job performances. The finances were continuing to decline, but we still had just over 3 million pounds in the bank. On Thursday, Martin was sold to Stockport for 22,000 pounds and I began to look for another AMC. By the weekend, we had our two new staff in place. Alex Denver came over from Newry to be my assistant manager and Tom Kelly cam from Crusaders to be the coach. We had also decided to bring up Adam Johnson from the reserves to rotate with Moran at the AMC spot. Johnson was too talented to sit in the reserves when we had a vacancy at the position. Saturday afternoon in London was full of showers, but the temperature was reasonably warm for this time of year. This was our first-ever meeting with Kettering. All the regulars except for the injured Kavanagh and Fuff got the start. Mason and Goodwin continued to fill for those two players. Moran got the start at AMC, pursuant to the rotation policy I had set up at that position. Over 2050 fans came out to Yankee Stadium, a sign that the fans were starting to take more of an interest in the team. Despite being tired from playing three days earlier, the AXFC regulars managed to control the game from the opening kick-off. Ten minutes into the half, Moran delivered a beautiful ball to little, who headed it into the Kettering goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We prevented the visitors from scoring, limiting them to one shot all half. The action, however, was not static. Play was up and down the pitch as neither team had a significant possession edge. We did pound away at the Kettering goal, but failed to add to our lead. The free play continued into the second half as neither team was able to hold the ball for a decisive chunk of the time. Ten minutes in, Moran stuffed back a redound to make the score 2-0. However, a few minutes later, Kettering answered when Nowland stuffed a rebound past Browne to make the score 2-1. At that point U signaled for the AXFC to play defensively and ten minutes later, I sent in Bradley for little and gave Johnson his debut as he came on for Moran. Kettering didn’t do much in the last fifteen minutes or so and we went away with the victory. Our next game would see the backups playing at Swindon in the Vans Trophy match on Tuesday evening. In the short run-up to the match there was some news in the national press that actually caught my attention. First, Craig Brown was sacked from his second go-round with Preston, due to a series of losses. Derby County hired Ian Thompson from Grimsby. Thompson was a hot young manager. He started the same year I did in the same league as me with Chester. Now, roughly three years later, he was manager of Derby, a rich Division One team and I was still stick in the Conference. On Sunday, e aggressed to terms with Stoke central defender Wayne Thomas, who would join us on a Bosman in the summer. That evening, the managerial sackings reached into the Conference as Telford boss Jones was let go. Also, Stoke hired Frank Yallop, who had been without a managing job for two years after being fired by MLS side San Jose back in 2002. Tuesday evening arrived and we traveled to Swindon, where it was bitter cold, below freezing, but it was dry at least. This would be our first match against Alan Shearer’s boys. They weren’t doing particularly well in D2, sitting in 15th place. We started all backups which is the usual policy for lesser cups. Shearer, however, made the start for Swindon, which made me nervous. I wasn’t sure how my team would react to playing again an England legend. Nearly 4000 showed up to watch Shearer. We didn’t play badly as a team. Our keeper Robert Robinson had a nightmare of a game. Swindon took 5 shots all game and netted goals on four of those shots. The game was effectively over at the half-hour mark when Swindon scored their second goal. After that, it was a mere race to the finish. We, AXFC, got a number of chances and put a reasonable number of them on target, but were stymied by a stout keeper for the home side. To make a long game short, we lost 4-0, with Shearer scoring a goal late to send the home fan away happy. After the game I gave Robinson a lecture about motivating one’s self for matches. Robinson bitched about my lecture, which earned him a spot on the transfer list. I was eager to get rid of him that I offered him for free to anyone who would take him. Our next game was on the weekend as we faced Hayes at their park. Saturday afternoon, the 11th of December, was rainy and cold in Hayes as the temperature was just above freezing. We had never faced Hayes before. They were sitting in 20th place, the highest spot in the relegation zone. For the first time in a long while, every regular was fit to start, with both Kavanagh and Fuff recovering from injuries in the last few days. Moran drew the nod at AMC as it was his turn to start there. Just over 1800 loyal supporters turned out on a miserable day to watch their outgunned team perform. The game was essentially over after just twenty minutes of play. AXFC opened the scoring just four minutes in when Moran headed down a pass for little, who took the pass and buried it into goal to give us the 1-0 lead. The next few minutes flew by as neither team managed to dominate the ball. Both teams were getting chances and being very accurate with them. Then on 20, Asser got clipped by Mathers as Asser tried to go past him. Mathers was sent off with a red and we were awarded a penalty. Morgan converted it to give us the 2-0 lead. At that point we began to play defensively, but that didn’t prevent Morgan from adding a rebound goal to his total just two minutes later to make the 3-0 lead. Even down a man and three goals, Hayes fought on. On 31, James Allen went on a run that broke our defense and potted a shot to make the score 3-1. We spent the last fifteen minutes of the half playing keep-away. We took charge of the ball for most of the second half, but Hayes continued to fight hard. They picked up another goal on 51 when Henry sent a free-kick deflection whizzing past an out of position Browne to make the score 3-2. We were shaken out of our defensive torpor and began to probe the Hayes defense again as well as press and trap them. Thus, we managed to hold them off. Twenty minutes from the end, I sent in Adamson and Johnson for Dawson and Moran to get some dress energy on the field. Four minutes from the final whistle, Asser ended hopes of a Hayes comeback when he hit a pass intended for Johnson. The ball overshot Johnson and gently bounced across the goal line to make the final 4-2. Our next game would be in a week, a home game against Northwich Vics. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted August 6, 2006 Author Share Posted August 6, 2006 Saturday evening saw the next English manager sacked from his post. This time it was Mansfield manager Spakeman who got the boot. This was one firing that made sense as Mansfield seemed destined to drop from the League and into the Conference. Telford hired former English international Mark Wright as their boss. Wright had taken a year off from pro football after being sacked by Southend in December 2003. Preston appointed Dave Jones to be their new gaffer two months after Wigan had let him go. On the night of December 16, Grimsby announced that they were hiring St. Johnstone’s Allen Pardew. St. Johnstone was third in the Scottish First Division. On Saturday, we received word that Hough was ready to begin light training after recovering from his fractured skull. Our game with Northwich was the Conference Game of the week and as such, we had to be ready to play them Saturday morning. The weather wasn’t really cooperating in London. Rain and cold were felt on the pitch as we went through pre-game warm-ups. In six games against the Vics, we had split the contests 2-2-2, giving each side eight points in the series. All the regulars, except for Browne, we had begun his suspension, got the nod for the lineup. Robinson got the start in goal with Fuller backing him up. Johnson took his turn at AMC. Only about 1950 fans came out for the match. We dominated the ball from the onset, controlling it for 60% of the half. We took good shots and the game was pretty much finished by the half-hour point in the game. Johnson scored his first goal of his first-team career on 21. He took a pass from Mills on the right and hit a beautiful half-volley to give AZFC the 1-0 lead. Johnson added a second goal a mere five minutes later when he put back a rebound to make the score 2-0 AXFC. But we weren’t done just yet. On 30, Morgan made his contribution to the score, heading in a Kavanagh cross to make the score 3-0. At that point, I told the team to play defensively. No reason to deliberately run up the score. Northwich only managed a token attack for the half as they got one shot off. We punctuated our win less than five minutes into the second half when Morgan headed in a Johnson lob to make the score 4-0. We spent the rest of the game making sure that the Vics didn’t do much with their attacks. They got five shots, but only made Robinson work on one of them. They looked a bit better organized, but it came too late for the visitors. At 70, I pulled Johnson and Morgan for Moran and Munster. The last twenty minutes passed without note and we got yet another convincing win. Our next game was on Wednesday evening at Stevenage. That game would mark the half-way point of the season. On Sunday, the next managerial casualty was announced as the Lincoln board fired Scots international Paul Lambert. On Tuesday we completed the signing of 23 yr old Crewe defender Ryan Moran for 45,000 pounds. Moran would step into the starting lineup in place of Fuff. To make room on the first-team roster, Vowden was released. Wednesday evening arrived in good order. The evening in Stevenage was not a pleasant one as the temperature was below freezing. At least it was dry. In six games against Stevenage, we had the decisive edge having won three and drawn three with this opponent, giving us 12 points to Stevenage’s three in the series. We started all the regulars in this game, including new acquisition, Ryan Moran. Browne was serving the second game of his suspension, so Robinson, once again filled in for him. Moran took his turn at AMC. Nearly 2800 fans came out to watch this game. We came out smoking on offense. We nailed 8-10 chances for the half, keeping the home-side keeper Westhead busy. Furthermore, we had an edge in possession, which allowed us to pressure Stevenage in their third of the pitch for about a third of the half. Given this, it was not surprising that we scored early on 14 when Ryan Moran sent in a cross from the right that was perfectly placed. All little had to do was tap the ball in to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Roughly fifteen minutes later, Asser hit a cross into the box for Mills, who fluked in a shot to make the score 2-0. Ten minutes after that, our lead increased to 3-0 when Dawson’s feet found a free-kick deflection (from Morgan) and sizzled it low into the net to give us the 3-0 lead at the half. For their part through all the carnage, Stevenage did produce a bit of offense, but their there shots were surprisingly snuffed out by Robinson, who seemed to be reasonably on-form. At the half, I pulled Morgan, who had a potential foot injury in favor of Munster. I instructed the lads to play defensively in the second half. We bottled up the ball in midfield in the second half. We took only to additional chances, missing on both, and kept Stevenage from pulling together their attack. Mills went down with an injury right before injury time, and Adamson replaced him, but that was it for events in the second half. The first half of the Conference season was over and it was clear that we had dominated it this season. After the match, Wayne Standard’s agent called to say his client would sign a new two year deal with us. A day or so later, Mansfield hired David Platt as their new manager. Platt had previously managed NI side Glenavon for a spell. Our first match of the second half quickly arrived. It was a Sunday contest, a day after Christmas. We would face Nuneaton Borough at Yankee Stadium. The Sunday in question was wet and one degree above freezing. The pitch was damp and crunched underfoot. We had beaten this team earlier in the year. All but three regulars were penciled into the starting lineup for the game. Browne was serving the last game of his suspension, so Robinson got the start once more. Asser was slightly unfit and was replaced by Roddie and Mills was injured, replaced by Adamson. It was also Johnson’s turn to start at AMC. A crowd of 2350 came out, a good omen for crowd size in the second half. We should have done more in the first half than we accomplished. We had 11 shots on goal, six of which landed. In addition, we piled a ton of pressure on the Nuneaton side, keeping the ball in third of the pitch about 40% of the time. Despite this, we only managed to score in the opening minutes. On 9, Johnson picked up a goal-kick, went on a run and capped his superb play by driving the ball low into goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Nuneaton came right back, however. They scored on their sole shot as on 17 as Jackson laid a beautiful ball for Meade, who crashed it into the net to tie the score at 1 all. We were unable to break the deadlock in the remainder of the half and went into the break feeling frustrated with our lack of success. During the intermission I subbed in Munster for Morgan, who was still nursing a foot injury even though he was playing through the pain. Just four minutes into the restart, Bunce found Johnson with a pass and the youngster immediately went on another superb run, crowning it with a vicious top-comer blast to break the impasse and give AXFC the 2-1 lead. From that moment on, our priority was keeping Nuneaton from drawing level again. It was quite a task as Nuneaton gamely fought on. They controlled the ball for most of the half, putting pressure on our defense and Robinson. They got five minutes all told and three of them were on-target. However Robinson managed to guard the goal well and we survived to the on-slaught to pull out another win. Our next game would come in a hurry as it was on Wednesday evening at Dag and Red. The next managerial sacking came that evening. Talk about a lousy Christmas present as Steve Evans was relieved of his duties as Wolves manager. Evans became the ninth or tenth D! Manager to be sacked this season. I applied for the job. A couple days later, Lincoln hired ex-Norwich boss Peter Reid their new manager. On Tuesday, we confirmed that we have signed Glasgow Rangers forward Stuart McLean on a Bosman. On Tuesday evening, Iain Dowse was sacked from Aston Villa. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted August 7, 2006 Author Share Posted August 7, 2006 Wednesday evening in Dagenham was below freezing, but mercifully, dries. We had beaten Dag and Red in our first game of the season. With Browne back from suspension, only two regulars were held out of the starting lineup. Kavanagh was slightly unfit and replaced by Mason. Mills was still out injured and was replaced by Fraser Smith. Sean Moran took his turn at AMC. I would continue the rotation policy at AMC unit the last ten games or so. I didn’t want Johnson to get overload in his rookie season even though he was playing just fine. Nearly 2500 came out for the game. It was a frustrating half for AXFC. We got plenty of chances, but couldn’t hit the broad side of a bench with a shotgun blast from five feet out. We had only one shot on target and that one was an easy save. For their part the home team focused on defense, concentrating on keeping us from doing any damage. They only got one shot the entire half. The combination of lousy shooting and good defense meant a totally clan sheet at halftime. We continued to spray shots wildly in the second half. We simply could not shoot straight. Dag and Red kept their defensive posture, though, sensing weakness, they were more aggressive in their attacks. But Browne and the offside trap kept the home side from grabbing a goal. At 66, I subbed in Roddie for Dawson, hoping to spark the offense. It never happened and AXFC had to focus on keeping Dag and Red from sneaking in a goal. That we managed to do and got out of there with a scoreless draw. We would open 2006 on Saturday afternoon with a game against Tamworth at home. On the 31 of December, Stephen O’Donnell of Dundee United agreed to join us on a Bosman during the summer. He made the third Bosman signing of the season with one or two more possibly forthcoming. It was the cheapest way to upgrade the roster for entry into the League which seemed reasonably assured. The end of December brought the awards. Johnson won the Young Player of the Month award. The afternoon of New Years Day was windy and rainy, but in compensation, the temperature was markedly warmer than it had been. We had endured a scoreless draw the last time we had played Tamworth. Only three regulars were fit enough to take the field for this game, Browne, Kavanagh and Dawson. The rest of the lineup was filled out by the backups and Johnson took his turn at AMC. Just over 1900 fans crowded into Yankee Stadium for this game. For the second game in a row, we couldn’t shoot straight. We got a number of chances, but were woefully inaccurate with them. Tamworth was willing to allow us to dictate the tempo of the match and this we did by controlling the ball for most of the half. But our attacks came to nothing. Tamworth was defense-oriented, only attacking occasionally. Their last try in the half did get a result as Butler nailed a volley off a Joyce pass to give Tamworth the 1-0 lead just before half-time. The second half was a repeat of the first. We dominated the ball, even more so than we had earlier, but we continued to be inaccurate with our shots. At 54 I subbed in Munster for Bradley and ten minutes later, subbed Sean Moran for Johnson. Neither move made much difference as Tamworth tenaciously guarded their lead. They spent most of the half hoofing the ball up field out of their zone. The tactic worked and the got out of Yankee Stadium with the 1-0 win. I wasn’t overly concerned about the loss and I turned my attention to our next game which was a week away. We would face Telford at New Bucks Head on the 8th. On January 3, we signed our fourth Bosman signing, getting Andrew Lawry from Falkirk. On Friday, Aston Villa announced that they were hiring Mick McCarthy as their new manager. Saturday afternoon in Telford was wet and cold, an abrupt return to the usual January weather. We had beaten Telford earlier in the season 2-0 in the home leg of the series. All but two of the regulars, plus Moran, were penciled into the starting lineup for this game. Bunce and Mills were still nursing injuries and were replaced by Fuff and Adamson respectively. 2500 fans came out to watch this match. Our offense, after two games off, CAE roaring back with a vengeance. Actually, both teams were on top of their games offensive as there was nary a missed shot. All of Telford’s four and our five shots were true. Both keepers certainly earned their paychecks. Oddly enough, however, most of the action was at midfield as the teams conserved their attacks until they were sure of the outcome. Telford struck first on 19 when Hulbert finished off a nice run by avoiding Asser and burying the ball into the net to give the home side the 1-0 lead. We didn’t panic and ten minutes later, made the scores level when Adamson stuffed a rebound back past Potter. Ten minutes after that, AXFC took the 2-1 lead on 38 when little, shaking off a slight slump, sent another rebound whizzing past Potter. All in all, it was one of the more entertaining halves of the season. At the half I subbed Morgan and Dawson for Munster and Mortimer. The two regulars had possible injuries. I was getting worried about Morgan. Hr had seemed hobbled by a foot injury in his last few outing and it seemed that he was trying to tough it out. But I was going to have the trainer look the foot over and tell me what was wringing. We didn’t need Morgan to win games and if shelved, he would be ready for our probable League campaign next season, when we would need him. The second half saw Telford attack with frantic haste as they attempted to tie the game once more. They held possession for most of the half and made us sweat particularly as our offense was non-existent. However, Browne coolly handled everything and we went out the 2-1 winners. Our next match was the FA Trophy third round match at Droylesden the following weekend. All three trainers examined Morgan and found nothing seriously wrong with the foot. It was just one of those nagging things that would clear up in time. On Sunday, Wolves accounted they were hiring Cambridge United boss Martin Ling as their new boss. On Monday, Peterborough announced that they were hiring veteran Sheffield Wednesday player Steve Showery as their new manager. On Tuesday, we added our fifth Bosman of the year, striking a deal with Stirling Albion forward Steven Kerrigan. A day later, we completed our sixth Bosman signing, getting Kevin Martin from York. Saturday the 15th, was a wet and windy afternoon in Droylesden as we prepared to take them on in the FA Trophy Third Round. This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams. As our opposition didn’t seem all that brilliant, I started an all-backup eleven, using the game to get the part-timers some playing time. The 600 fans who came to watch saw there home side play well. Droylesden were not intimidated by us and they came out firing. They put the majority of their chances on the money and it was they who scored first, twenty-five minutes into the game. Haarhoff sent in a pass that Streeter gathered in, turned on, and then sent it screaming into the net to give the home side the 1-0 lead. Just a few minutes later, we caught up with them when Bradley launched a free-kick that Munster nodded into goal to make the game 1-1. The rest of the half went by swiftly as both goalkeepers showed good skills in saving a number of chances. Droylesden get control the tempo of the half and made us work to catch up to them in terms of possession. During the second half, Droylesden fought to keep the score level. They focused entirely on defense and filed to launch a single chance for themselves. To be fear, we had open-ended up the offensive throttle and were putting all sorts of pressure on their keeper. Despite all this, the home side managed to hold on to the draw until 74 when Munster put back a rebound to make the score 2-1 AXFC. Just two minutes later, Munster wrapped up a hat-trick when he drilled in a high shot off a Standard cross. At that point, Droylesden seemed to wilt and the two sides spent the last fifteen minutes kicking the ball around as we coasted to the 3-1 finish. Our next game was a return to Conference action as we faced Macclesfield at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday evening. On Sunday we drew a home game against Weymouth in the fourth round of the FA Trophy competition. On Sunday evening Cambridge United announced the hiring of Crewe’s John Askew as their new manager. On Wednesday evening, the match with Macclesfield was re-arranged due to bad weather, meaning our next game would turn out to be on Saturday afternoon at Morecambe. In the entire hubbub, no one noticed me quietly applying for the Crewe job. On Thursday, the new Cambridge United manager made his presence felt personally as he offered one of my coaches, McCabe, a job on their staff. On Friday morning, in what was proving to be an eventful week, Luton came in with a bid for Asser. I told them to revise their offer significantly upward if they wanted to deal. Saturday afternoon in Morecambe was dry and cold, one degree above freezing. Morecambe had beaten us 1-0 in our last match with them. All the regulars except for the injured Bunce got the nod for this game as Fuff continued to hold down Bunce’s lineup spot. We had drawn a notably harsh ref, so everyone was expecting fireworks. I suspect that was why 2500 fans came through the turnstiles. If they were expecting fireworks, the first half was a major letdown. Defense ruled in the half as neither side got that many chances to work with. We reverted to shooting wildly, and missed all but one of our chances. Morecambe, shooting one fewer than us, was more accurate in their tries. The game action was spread all over the field and possession was virtually equal. This resulted in a lot of action, that bored the fans as their was little offense. AXFC lucked out late in the half when, on 45, Asser struck a fierce shot off a Kavanagh cross to give the visitors the 1-0 lead going into halftime. At the half, I subbed Adamson in for Mills, who had possibly picked up another injury, this time to his thigh. The second half wasn’t much of an improvement. There were fewer chances for either team and we proved we were incapable of landing a shot on-target. Morecambe increased their possession of the ball, but failed to capitalize and harry Browne all that much. Just before the hour mark, I subbed out little, who was having a pedestrian game, For Munster. The moved changed nothing about our inept offense. However, on 74, Morgan managed to direct a free-kick into the net to give a 2-0 lead and eventual win. It was not a win to be proud of as it was quite possibly our worst win of the year. My thoughts turned to our next game, which would be on Wednesday January 26 at home versus Macclesfield. This was the rescheduled game from earlier in the week. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************************************************************ American Exiles Football Club - Wednesday 22nd December 2004 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2004/5 Senior Club Stats ================================================================================================ No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Adamson, Carl 7 (4) 0 0 0 3 1 0 1 6.82 - Asser, James 21 7 0 0 9 0 0 2 7.62 - Bradley, Lee 4 (4) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00 - Browne, John 22 0 9 0 0 0 1 0 7.32 - Bunce, Che 20 2 0 0 1 4 1 0 7.00 - Campbell, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Campbell, Thomas - - - - - - - - ---- - Collins, Chris - - - - - - - - ---- - Cooper, Gordon - - - - - - - - ---- - Dawson, Andy 21 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.90 - Donnelly, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Doyle, John 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Fleming, Derek 19 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 7.21 - French, Scott - - - - - - - - ---- - Fuff, Glen 20 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 6.95 - Fuller, Gareth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Gallagher, John - - - - - - - - ---- - Goodwin, Gerry 6 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 6.67 - Holmes, Phillip 2 (4) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.83 - Hough, Dave - - - - - - - - ---- - JP Mills 19 2 0 0 7 3 1 2 7.42 - Johnston, Adam 2 (2) 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 7.25 - Kavanagh, Gary 19 0 0 0 5 2 0 2 7.63 - Little, Ian 22 18 4 0 3 1 0 7 7.86 - Mason, Kevin 7 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7.29 - McCullough, Mark - - - - - - - - ---- - Milne, Scott - - - - - - - - ---- - Moncrieffe, Prince 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - Moran, Ryan 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8.00 - Moran, Sean 6 (11) 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 6.76 - Morgan, Bari 21 14 0 2 (2) 2 0 0 5 7.62 - Mortimer, Paul 5 (2) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00 - Munster, David 3 (11) 4 0 0 2 1 0 0 7.14 - Murphy, John - - - - - - - - ---- - Naylor, Phil - - - - - - - - ---- - O'Connor, Liam - - - - - - - - ---- - O'Neill, Jonathan - - - - - - - - ---- - Robinson, Robert 4 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 6.25 - Robson, Russell - - - - - - - - ---- - Roddie, Andy 5 (2) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.43 - Rose, Ben 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Rowland, Andrew - - - - - - - - ---- - Simpson, Jamie - - - - - - - - ---- - Smith, Fraser 1 (5) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33 - Smith, Mark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Stannard, Wayne 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.71 - Turner, Harry - - - - - - - - ---- - Watson, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Watson, Paul - - - - - - - - ---- ************************************************************************************************ English Conference - Wednesday 22nd December 2004 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2004/5 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st AXFC 21 9 1 1 24 4 9 1 0 24 4 56 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Dag & Red 21 7 1 2 22 12 6 2 3 19 12 42 3rd Stevenage 20 5 2 2 17 9 6 3 2 14 8 38 4th Chester 21 7 3 1 26 16 4 2 4 14 12 38 5th Hereford 21 8 1 2 20 10 3 3 4 10 12 37 6th Northwich Vics 21 5 3 2 15 11 6 0 5 17 16 36 7th Morecambe 20 5 3 3 15 10 4 4 1 7 5 34 8th Halifax 20 5 2 3 14 14 5 2 3 17 16 34 9th Tamworth 21 3 3 4 9 10 6 3 2 23 11 33 10th Scarborough 21 4 5 2 16 14 4 3 3 11 8 32 11th Shrewsbury 21 4 4 2 13 12 2 3 6 10 15 25 12th Halesowen 20 3 3 3 10 13 4 1 6 11 16 25 13th Canvey Island 21 5 2 4 14 8 1 4 5 5 11 24 14th Barnet 19 3 4 4 9 11 3 1 4 10 12 23 15th Nuneaton Borough 21 2 4 4 15 18 3 4 4 14 17 23 16th Kettering 21 3 4 3 12 13 2 2 7 11 19 21 17th Macclesfield 21 2 2 7 8 20 3 3 4 10 13 20 18th Farnborough 21 3 2 6 12 20 2 2 6 10 18 19 19th Telford 21 2 3 6 8 20 2 3 5 9 13 18 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20th Stalybridge 21 2 3 5 7 11 1 5 5 10 18 17 21st Hayes 21 2 1 7 5 14 2 3 6 10 17 16 22nd Exeter 21 2 2 6 11 15 1 4 6 19 29 15 </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 On Monday, Crewe hired Hamilton manger Mark Rankine. On Tuesday, McNab left for Cambridge United and we were 6,000 ponds in compensation. I immediately set about hiring a new coach. After a couple of interviews, I decided to offer 39 yr old Welshman Andy Edwards the job. Wednesday evening in London was breezy and the sky let loose with showers, but warmer than it had been. All the regulars were fit for the contest and got the nod. We had beaten Macclesfield earlier in the year. Nearly half of Yankee Stadium for the game, which says a lot about the fans. They sat in the rain, watching an opponent that was trying to stave off relegation. Once again, the game was not a pretty sight. Our offense, as it had done so often lately, kept misfiring. We were piling up the chances, but seemingly couldn’t hit the target. Macclesfield wasn’t much better. They were focusing so much on defense that they forgot to attack and therefore only got one shot off. We controlled the pace and tempo of the game, which was the only saving grace of the half for us. On 23, Asser, who was on fire right now, took a Fleming knockdown and drilled it into goal to give AXFC the 1-0. Asser seemed to be justifying the high fee I had asked Luton to pay for him. The second half was even less of a contest. Macclesfield failed to muster any kind of attack or service, basically going through the motions. We weren’t much better as we couldn’t hit a cow’s backside with a banjo. On 88 we iced the game when Morgan headed in a free-kick from Bunce to give us the 2-0 win. It was yet another uninspiring performance, but a win is a win. We had a week off before having to face Hereford at home on the following Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, we completed our seventh free agent to be signing, getting 23 yr old midfielder Neil Quinn from Cliftonville for a measly 5,000 pounds. A couple of days later, Richard Edwards accepted our offer of a coaching position and arrived soon thereafter to take up the task of coaching tactics and our keepers. At the end of the month, Kavanagh won the Young Player of the Month award for January. On that day, Preston made the national headlines when it was announced that a new board of directors had taken over. The board review came along with the beginning of February. They were, as usual, extremely happy with my performance and the rapport I had built with the fans. However, the club with still losing money hand over fist and our finances dipped to under 3 million pounds in the bank. We desperately needed to get to the League, where revenue flowed in like a river and not a dry stream. Wednesday February 2, or Groundhog Day arrived. It was a clear cold evening as we prepared to take on Hereford at Yankee Stadium. We had beaten them earlier this year, 2-0. All the regulars were selected in the starting lineup with the exception of Dawson, who had been injured during practice a few days earlier. In his place was Mortimer. Johnson took his turn at AMC. Nearly 2500 fans, of which I estimated 500 as band wagon fans, filled Yankee Stadium to half-capacity. We came out shooting well. We battered the Hereford goal time and time again, taking 12 shots. However, the Hereford keeper, David Williams, was in the zone and blithely stopped everything kicked his way. His performance inspired his teammates who began to take charge late in the half. They attacked often, getting three shots for their efforts. It paid off for Hereford in injury-time play as Francis whistled a shot past Browne off the Crawford pass to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We continued to pound away sat the Hereford goal in the second half, eventually shooting 15-23. With numbers like that, it was perhaps identifiable that we would score. This we did on 54 when Morgan blasted back a rebound to tie the game at 1 all. Hereford and Williams desperately tried to salvage the draw, but we were just shooting much for that to happen. The Hereford defense was simply incapable of stopping us. On 74, Mills took a corner and sent it Mortimer’s way and the midfielder slotted it into goal to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. At 80, with ten minutes left, I made a triple sub, sending in Munster for Bunce, Adamson for Mortimer and Moran for Johnson respectively. The fresh legs helped us to kill the clock and grab yet another victory. Saturday would bring the FA Trophy fourth round against Weymouth at home. Saturday afternoon in London was dry and cold, just one degree above freezing. We had never played Weymouth before, but as they were a non-league side, I wasn’t expecting much difficulty from them. I started and all backup side. Just over 700 came out for the match. Weymouth set about making me eat my words from the previous paragraph. They crisply outplayed us, countering with efficiently. They grabbed the lead on 24 when Kalmia, an 18 yr old forward with legit finishing skills, blew a shot past Robinson to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We continued to play sloppy football, and were unable to put any of our chances on-target. As a result, we went into the half still one down. Matters got worse just five minutes into the second half as Goodwin went down, forcing me to send in Fleming. We dominated the possession game, but were just unable to put many of our chances on-target. It didn’t help that Weymouth was playing their hearts out, determined to win the game and beat the Conference leaders. AXFC, on the other hand, was just not playing well. We looked uninterested and lethargic. Given all this, it was no surprise that when the final whistle blew, Weymouth had pulled off the 1-0 upset, beating us in our own stadium. Our next game was a return to Conference action against Exeter at their park on Wednesday evening. Wednesday evening in Exeter was windy and warmer than usual as it was in the mid-forties. We had hammered this team 4-0 in our previous encounter. All the regulars, save for the still injured Dawson, were fit to play and get the nod. Mortimer replaced Dawson and Johnson took the AMC spot. Nearly 2400 filled St. James Park for the contest. We regained our offensive touch quickly in the first half, pressuring the Exeter defense from the get-go. We hounded their keeper with shot after shot, and the lad, Matthew Ghent, held up reasonable well. Exeter was set back on their heels, unable to create much offense, though they did have a couple of chances. It was a wonder we didn’t run riot on them. But, we only had one goal to show for our efforts as on 32, Bari Morgan drove in a header off a Mills cross from the right to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Things got far more interesting for the spectators in the second half. We finally began to really expose the cracks in the Exeter defense as we poured in shot after shot, eventually shooting 11-16 for the game. The increased offense paid off for us on the 65 minute when the referee awarded us a penalty. Johnston converted to make the score 2-0 AXFC. At the resumption of play, I sent in Smith for Mortimer. Exeter supersede their fans by nailing a comeback goal about team minutes later as Brisling sent in a soft volley off a Copier pass to make the score 2-1. We would playing too well to be denied however, and we sealed the outcome in the 80’s as first, Johnson took a long ball from Smith, broke down several defenders and planted the ball past Ghent on 82. Then, seven minutes later, Mills fired in a low cross that little gathered in and shot true to make the final a 4-1 AXFC rout. Our next game would be on the following Saturday afternoon at Farnborough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted August 9, 2006 Author Share Posted August 9, 2006 On Friday the 11, Leicester offered a contract to Kavanagh. That was fine with me as I wasn’t planning on resigning the lad. Kavanagh has all the physical attributes to be a top-flight fullback, but he has extremely poor on-field judgment. He was dominating the Conference through brawn, not brains. Leicester would find out soon enough for them while we would take the 36,000 pounds in compensation and laughing. Saturday afternoon in Farnborough was windy and cold. We had beaten them 1-0 in our last game. All the regulars were fit enough to play and the same lineup used against Exeter, with the exception of Moran in place of Johnston, took the field. Only about 1650 showed up for the game. Neither team was brilliant offensively as both sides strove to attack, but each time faltered against a tough defense. Chances were far and few between as neither team could really get within shooting distance. Farnborough was able to take advantage of a counter on 28 when McMahon raced down the left and delivered a ball to Belgrade who slotted it past Browne to give the home side the 1-0 edge. We did not react well to being behind and we continued to **** about the pitch and seemingly going though the motions. At the half, the trainer informed me that Asser had a potential foot injury so I replaced the lad with Smith. We managed to pull ourselves together in the second half and began attacking well, getting a few chances and putting them on the target. However, Masalin was on-form and turned away all our efforts. Meanwhile, Farnborough did a great job of eating up the clock and before we knew it, there was only 15 minutes left in the game. At that point, I sent in Holmes for Ryan Moran, but the move failed to spark any changes and the game wound down to a 1-0 Farnborough victory. We got a week off before having to face Chester at Yankee Stadium on February 19. The major news of the week was that Van Gaal had finally resigned as manager of Fulham. He had been on the hot seat for abut a year and when the news broke that the Fulham dressing room was close to revolt, the embattled Dutchman had finally had enough. On February 16, Hough returned to full practice after recovering completely from his fractured skull. On the evening of the same day, Kavanagh agreed to terms with Leicester and the deal was slated to go through on June 10. London was suffering through a drizzling rain as we prepared to play Chester at home. At least the day had warmed up to the mid-forties again. We had drubbed Chester at the Deva Stadium 4-1 in our last game against them. All the regulars except for Dawson were fit for the contest and got the nod. Johnston took the AMC spot. Slightly more than 2100 people decided to turn up for the game. We were dominant from the start of the game. We controlled possession 60 percent of the time and we made five of our seven first-half chances out. The game was pretty much done fifteen minutes into the thing. On ten, little buried a rebound back past Wilson to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, Morgan knocked the ball down for Johnston, who carried it though and hit a screamer past a hapless Wilson to give us the 2-0 lead. We eased up a bit after that, but Chester looked stunned and disorganized. They were unable to attack and find any sort of rhythm. Little sealed the win for us on 39 when he blasted a Fleming square-off high and hard past Wilson to give us the commanding 3-0 lead. At the half I put in Sean Moran for a fatigued Johnston. Chester shot them in the foot gain just ten minutes into the half when a frustrated King yanked on Lytle’s jersey and was promptly sent off. We had eased up quite a bit on our opponents, so we didn’t make hay at the time. However we did add a goal on 6665 when <Morgan took a free-kick that defected off the wall and into Ryan Moran’s path. Ryan quickly took a shot and it went past Wilson to make the score 4-0 AXFC. There the score remained and twenty minutes to the end, I sent in Munster for Little and Holmes for Fleming. The game ended without further note. We would next play Canvey Island at their place on the following Saturday. The Chester game saw a new AXFC club record set as Ian little earned his eighth man of match award of the season. On Sunday evening, my coaches informed me that Gary Campbell had, once again, turned up late for training and was not in shape. I had had trouble with Campbell ever since he joined the club. It seemed that the youngster had let professional football go to his head. I called him to my office, closed the door and handed Campbell his release. I then wished him luck and motioned him to get off the premises. Since he was still young at 18, I figured Campbell would return to Northern Ireland and play there. I made a note to check up on him in a year or so. On Thursday, Fulham hired Dundee Unity’s Ian McCall to be their new manager. Conditions at Canvey Island on Saturday afternoon were dry and pleasant. The temperature was slowly beginning to warm up as spring advanced. We had drawn nil-nil with this team the last time we had met. All the regulars, including the just recovered Dawson, were penciled into the starting lineup. Just over 1700 filled {ark Lane. By rights we should have blown out the Islanders early. We had ten chances in the half and put seven of them where they should have gone. But, Gary Baker made save after save, with a bit of help from his defense. CI was focused on defense for the entire half and only managed one shot of their own. But, we were frustrated as well, proving unable to net a goal despite our sterling performance. We did finally break through Baker five minutes before half-time. Asser took a Fleming pass twenty-five yards out, then went on a run that saw him beat two or three defenders and then slam the ball home to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We essentially sealed the game with two quick strikes in the opening minutes of the second half. On 47, Morgan took a grounder from Little, turned on the ball and sent it flying past Baker to make the score 2-0. Then, five minutes after that, Mills laid the ball off to an onrushing Fleming who used his momentum to pelt the ball goalward for the 3-0 lead. At that point, I told the team to ease up. CI took advantage of this to score a goal on 58 when Gregory rounded Browne to brig the home side back one, 3-1. About twelve minutes later, I sent in Smith for Asser and Munster for Little. Three minutes after the sub, Canvey chipped away some more at our lead, when Junior beat Browne for a jump-ball and nodded the ball in to make the score 3-2. Canvey’s comeback ended there however and we were able to kill the last fifteen minutes off the clock to preserve our win. The next game on our schedule would be in a week on March 5. It would be a derby contest with Barnet at Yankee Stadium. On the last day of February the monthly awards were announced. I had won the Manager of the Month and Johnston had won the Young Player of the Month. As March began, the board met and discussed my job performance. As usual they were quite happy with me, but again, as usual, reiterated their concerns about the finances, which were dwindling rapidly. On Wednesday, March 2, I got a surprise report from my assistant, Alex Denver, telling me that I should give reserve midfielder Scott Milne some first-team action. The 18 year old Scot had been impressive in reserve games, playing in 19 contests and earning four Moons. Regardless of that, I decided to wait until next season to give Milne first team playing time. He looked like he could be the CMC of the fattier and I did not want to rush the lad’s development. Just before the weaken, Crystal Palace announced that the were hiring the currently unemployed Iain Dowse as their new boss. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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