From the Fringe- Holyhead Hotspur

[Dixie Flatline]

Good start to a promising career! Liking the story, and thanks for the ladder update - I was wondering whereabouts you were on the table.

[Faramir]

Thanks Dixie

***

1.4.06

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Gainsborough (0)

I will give visting Gainsborough a lot of credit. Despite a struggling season they gave us a difficult match. The lone goal of the match came from Jason Osborne as he deflected a cross from Michael Tuohy past Jamie Holmshaw. We had much better chances the rest of the match, but couldn't find a way to score past Holmshaw. Stuart Cain earned the clean sheet with a good save on Danny steadman late in the match to preserve the close win. Stafford could only manage a scoreless draw hosting Redditch, so we now hold an 11-point margin atop Conference North.

[Faramir]

4.4.06

Stafford (3) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

Our unbeaten string ended and Stafford kept their hopes alive as they handed us a deserved 3-1 loss at Marston Road. We never played well defensively the entire match and paid the price right away when Peter Thomson scooted past Adrian Bristow to score on a drive past Paul Nicholls. We pegged them back immediately as Michael Tuohy crossed and Ben Woods drilled a shot inside the right post for his 20th goal of the season. That was all for our highlights as Stafford took complete control of the match. Thomson made it a brace when he escaped a Bristow tackle again and they polished us off late in the second half when Dave Walker deflected a cross past Nicholls. Though they moved 8 points back of us, we did clinch at least a playoff spot today.

***

8.4.06

Jason Osborne didn't show up for practice today. He has been unhappy about not starting every match and I am tired of his attitude and now his actions. We don't need this kind of distraction as we make our stretch run, so he has found a place on the transfer list- and the Reserves- for the rest of the season. Despite his talent and Mark Bradshaw's belief he could become a club legend, Christopher Gilligan really has won the leftwing role on the basis of his play.

[Faramir]

8.4.06

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Redditch (0)

We righted ourselves after the loss to Stafford, but it certainly wasn't an easy match. Redditch played determined defense throughout the match and there weren't many quality chances to be had. We missed close twice in the first half and finally struck gold on a counter-attack in the opening moments of the second half. Craig Mitchell lofted a ball down the right and MOM Neil Teggart outraced their backline for it. Teggart moved in and put away a shot past Nathan Vaughan for what would be the games only goal. They appeared to equalize about ten minutes later, only to see it waved off when Paul Moore was deemed offside on the play (much to my relief). Stuart Cain earned the clean sheet in the match. Stafford beat Alfreton 1-0 to remain 8 points adrift of us.

[Faramir]

15.4.06

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Alfreton (1)

The stats tell you what kind of match this was for us- we outshot visiting Alfreton 13-3, but lost thanks to them working a set piece to perfection and a MOM performance from their Keeper Shaun Bodkin. In truth, we didn't make the most of our chances today and looked out of sync most of the match, but Bodkin did make several saves that looked to be goals for us. Their goal came midway through the first half when Liam Powell slipped in unmarked to deflect Chris Bettney's free kick past Paul Nicholls. It was a disappointing result for us, but wasn't too costly as Stafford only managed a home scoreless draw with Lancaster and remains 7 points behind us in the table with 4 matches remaining.

17.4.06

Lancaster (0) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

Wasteful is the word that best summarizes our performance today. Despite seeing Alistair Clarke leave with his 2nd yellow card midway through the first half, we were unable to score. Part of the credit goes to keeper Ryan Yeomans who made several timely saves in each half to keep us off the scoreboard. The other half of the equation was our poor finishing as we squandered a handful of beautiful chances with dodgy shooting. It wasn't even close to our best effort and I was disappointed in the result. Craig Mitchell did stand out on our side for his play and he earned MOM honours. Stafford failed to gain ground on us as they also managed a draw while visiting struggling Nuneaton.

***

18.4.06

A new home at Connah's Quay will make Jason Osborne much happier as we completed the transfer sale that will occur on June 1st. We won't get too much- around 16K with a sell-on clause- but I don't need unhappy players lingering around as we try to build Holyhead Hotspur into something.

[Faramir]

22.4.06

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Nuneaton (1)

Another result that left me shaking our head. Nuneaton outplayed us for portions of the match, but we could easily have taken all three points for the win. Rob Walker made an ill-advised challenge at the edge of our area in the early minutes of the match and Martin Reeves calmly converted the penalty kick past Stuart Cain for the lead. We tried to rally, but kept wasting our passes as our timing was off once again. Cain came up with a brilliant save on Lewis Field late in the half to keep us from falling further behind. We opened the second half with more spark and after James Pike missed wide with a sitter, he made up for it by deflecting a cross from Ben Woods past Adam Capp for his 10th goal of the season. We had a couple more good opportunities, including Pike missing another easy chance, before Nuneaton really pressure us at the end of the match. Cain was brilliant in keeping us in for splitting the points in the match with our 1-1 draw. We weren't at all ready for the ensuing celebration that occurred at The New Oval, as no one had thought to keep tabs on Stafford and their scoreless draw with Vauxhall Motors ensured us as Champions of Conference North with two matches remaining.

[Faramir]

25.4.06

Vauxhall Motors (5) Holyhead Hotspur (4)

It was certainly entertaining to the Vauxhall faithful and they got their desperately needed win as they fight for a playoff spot, but it was more disappointing performances for us- dotted with a brilliant match by Ben Woods. Woods scored in the 1st and 6th minutes of the match, but we gave each goal back just as quickly and found ourselves even at 2-2 in the second half. Unhappy Andy Love played himself out of future plans with a horrid second half as he yielded two goals he shouldn't have. He wasn't helped by Gary Fitzgerald who scored an own-goal. We managed to stay in the match thanks to Woods finishing his hat-trick and a long cross that Christopher Gilligan was able to deflect in. We haven't really played well in our last few matches, but fortunately for us at this point- the match really meant nothing to us.

[Faramir]

29.4.06

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Hednesford (0)

We closed out our season with a closely played win over visiting Hednseford. It was a difficult match and the difference was Ben Woods. Woods scored his Conference North leading 24th goal of the season off a good pass from Carl Murkin. We kept the pressure on the visitors in the second half and Paul Nicholls earned his clean sheet with couple of excellent saves late in the match. Lloyd McGowan earned MOM honours for us.

Conference North Table- Final

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

1- Holyhead Hotspur 87 pts (+54)

2- Stafford 79 pts (+23)

3- Hinckley 72 pts (+21)

4- Alfreton 70 pts (+17)

5- Vauxhall Motors 70 pts (+15)

</pre>

[Faramir]

Summer 2006

Some decisions need to be made this summer as we ready ourselves for promotion to Confernce National Play. Which forwards do we need to keep and focus on? Do we have enough depth in the midfield? Is our backline steady enough presently or do we need help? Do we need another keeper?

The good news is that we have everyone under contract at least for another season and quite a few that I was sure I wanted to develop under contract through 2008. We are in solid financial shape and show 783K in the bank. I also still have a goodly amount of transfer funds- 268K. I have been warned by the Board that the FA can be a bit dicey about awarding any prize money for our finishes, due to our grounds, so we might have to go without factoring any of that in. The Board did assure me we would receive any TV money due us.

[Faramir]

7.5.06

I was surprised once I made my choices how easy it was to actually find new homes for several players. Ben Krauss signed on with Crewe and that choice will earn us 70K from the tribunal. Crewe also came calling for Soloman Henry and we worked out an 150K purchase price for him to join them. John Connors will be leaving for Preston for 100K. Tom Byrne will join Burnley for 130K. Andy Love will net us 5K from Thurrock. All of those departures will help clean up the roster some and give us more working capital once they occur in July.

***

13.5.06

Alfreton defeated Vauxhall Motors to claim the Playoff spot from Conference North.

In other news, Scott Hayhoe will be moving to Solihull next season as we accepted an 8K transfer bid from them and they promptly worked out a contract with him. I am getting closer to the lean roster I wanted for next season.

[Faramir]

24.6.06

We signed 10 fifteen and sixteen year old players- all of them newly professional- to help bolster our Under-18 side. I have hopes that several of them can develop into impact players for us down the line, but for now we will work on developing them together.

***

1.7.06

After a quiet month and a half, we completed our sales of players and our bottom line looks quite good. Just as the Board predicted, we didn't receive any prize money for our first place finish, but we did receive 150K in TV money for the upcoming season. I took advantage of the major sides releasing players from their youth programs to sign several youngsters that should help us. The most surprising of them was 17 year old center defender Jack Hobbs. Liverpool released Hobbs after paying Lincoln 1.1 Million to sign him as a 16 year old. Also arriving are 18 year old leftwing Kieran Lee (from Manchester United), 18 year old leftwing Jamie Mullen (also from Manchester United), 18 year old rightwing Jay Simpson (from Arsenal), 18 year old center midfielder Michael Terrell (from Newcastle) and 18 year old center mid/rightwing Dean Furman (from Chelsea).

[Faramir]

1.8.06

We played a difficult series of friendlies and though we didn't do particularly well, I do feel they have helped us get ready for the season. Our current depth chart as we get ready to host Shrewsbury to open the Conference National campaign:

Holyhead Hotspur 2006-7

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

GK

Paul Nicholls

Stuart Cain

Jason Evans

DR

Stewart Morris

Carl Murkin

DL

Carl Murkin

Mark Studley

Karl Vernon

DC

Jack Hobbs

Adrian Bristow

Rob Walker

Ian Burns

Michael Merrick

MR

Dean Furman

Jay Simpson

Michael Tuohy

ML

Chrisopher Gilligan

Jamie Mullen

Keiran Lee

Jamie Ougham

MC

Andy McGregor

Lloyd McGowan

Aaron Nowacki

Craig Mitchell

Michael Terrell

Lewis McGugan

Danny Walshe

SC

Ben Woods

Danny Morgan

Neil Teggart

James Pike

Steve McDonald

</pre>

***

7.8.06

Conference National Odds by Totalbet.com

Hereford 6-4

Halifax 6-4

Stevenage 6-4

Scarborough 7-4

Morecambe 5-2

Dag & Red 3-1

Holyhead Hotspur 40-1

[mark wilson27]

cant wait for the next installment....

[Gennaro08]

Fantastic Stuff!!

Good Luck Faramir and Holyhead Hotspur!!

[Faramir]

Thanks mark w and gennaro- I appreciate the support

***

12.8.06

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Shrewsbury (2)

It could have been a nice win to begin the season with, but we allowed Shrewsbury to fight back to earn a 2-2 draw after we led by two goals. A well-timed header by Dean Furman allowed him to score in his debut as he deflected the kick from Carl Murkin past Joe Hart. A nicely executed counter attack in the opening moments of the second half found Andy McGregor deftly laying the ball for Danny Morgan to score. MOM Adrian Forbes got one back shortly after, though I swear both he and Scott Fitzgerald were offside on the play. Forbes then launched a centering pass that Colin McMenin deflected past Paul Nicholls for the equalizer. We came close to taking the match, but Aaron Nowacki's blast was wide in the late moments.

[Faramir]

15.8.06

Dag & Red (3) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

The score certainly indicates that the Daggers walloped us, but this match was closer than that. We lost because they scored on three set piece situations and our shooting was poor. MOM Ashley Vickers gave them the lead midway through the first half when he slipped Karl Vernon's ineffectual marking and deflected a free kick past Stuart Cain. They converted a corner early in the second half as Anwar Uddin outleapt Rob Walker and headed it past Cain. Their last goal was a Scott Grifiths free kick that Uddin missed heading and it instead caught the goal behind Cain. We didn't play well on offense and wasted our chances as we couldn't get any of shots on goal. It was a disappointing effort and a deserved loss.

[Flying_Fin]

Hey hey, Faramir

Looking good as always - good luck!

By the way, thought of starting a story on FM 07 yet? I can't keep myself from playing it ^_^

[mark wilson27]

bring on the next game..........how dio you get a non league team to play in a league.say like my local non league team matlock town who currently play in the unibond premier

[Faramir]

Thanks Flying Fin- glad you are enjoying things I have been playing FM 2007 extensively (Have to write up a review soon) and also have a new story ready to go- I think I will wait another week or so before starting it, but it is a new Harrow Hill in 2007 story

Mark W- To get Harrow Hill and Holyhead Hotspur in involved using the editor to swap them into a Conference and swapping another club out (this is a lot easier with my new PC- used to take a half-hour to load the DB with my old one). I also removed existing players, but in FM 2007 found that doesn't completely start you with nothing- since it populates with youth players and staff anyways.

***

19.8.06

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Grays (1)

Our struggles continue as we found a way to lose despite seeing Lee Matthews sent off at 22 minutes for a cynical foul. We blew our coverage on another set piece and Gary Hooper rammed home the rebound for what would be the only goal of the match. We had plenty of chances to equalize, but either we were just off the mark in our shooting or keeper Ashley Bayes- who earned MOM honours- came up with a terrific save. It was another match in frustration on the bench as we seemed so close to breaking the match open- but never did.

[Gennaro08]

A new Harrow Hill story

I am still to read the last one and the East Stirling story.

[Faramir]

26.8.06

Hereford (1) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

Another set piece goal- this time an 88th minute match winner- highlighted another match where our poor finishing doomed us. We had the chances again today, Neil Teggart had a couple superb opportunities, but we haven't been able to put the ball into the goal and that is killing us in our lack of good results. Paul Nicholls played really well in goal in earning MOM honours, but Tony James deflected a corner past him for the dramatic goal. We have to start playing better, because we really haven't played a good match yet this season.

[Faramir]

28.8.06

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Halifax (2)

Steve Metcalfe's horrific debut at rightback was very costly as he contributed directly to both goals Halifax scored in beating us 2-1 at The New Oval. MOM Chris Senior had an easy time slipping past Metcalfe to head in a cross from Marcus Gayle in the 2nd minute as the visiting side was off on a flyer. We showed the same problems as previous matches as we continually wasted passes- our poor passing is really what is keeping our offense from doing much. Metcalfe lost the ball to Senior when the last man back, mishandled it to him and Senior made it a brace in the opening moments of the second half as the frustration continued. We finally scored shortly after when Ben Woods fired a sharp angled shot past Gavin Ward, but we again couldn't find the equalizer in another difficult to take 2-1 loss.

[mark wilson27]

thanks for the advice mate, hope your season gets better....

[Faramir]

Thanks Mark...

***

2.9.06

Canvey Island (1) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

After a month of struggle, we finally broke into the win column in Conference National thanks to a great effort by Ben Woods. It looked all too much like another match of disappointment when James Pike's poor clearance allowed Ben Sedgemore to drill a 25 yard shot past Stuart Cain in the opening moments of the second half. That was a bitter pill as we had played well to that point- but still had nothing to show for it. Woods took charge and gave us the offense needed when he took a pass from Dean Furman and burst past his marker. Woods took the ball past keeper Richard McKinney and rifled it into the goal for the equalizer. It appeared Paul Jenkin would be in free when tripped from behind by Ben Chenery late in the second half. Chenery received an immediate redcard and Woods made the call doubly important as he fired the 25 yard free kick past McKinney from the dangerous center of the pitch location. We helped Cain close the match out and we finally gained a much needed win.

[Faramir]

5.9.06

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Rushden (2)

Rushden showed us clearly how far we have to improve our play if we want to survive in Conference National as they thumped us 2-0 at The New Oval. Our backline play was atrocious- again- and they scored both goals on unmarked headers from crosses. If Stuart Cain hadn't made several fine saves in the match, the scoreline would clearly have been much worse. Our midfield showed life, but our forwards didn't as we managed only a bare few chances due to them being marked out.

A couple things are clear after this match. One is that although we were fast enough to make our offense work in Conference North, we are not cutting in Conference National. The other clearly evident fact is that until we develop some of our promising youth players, we are just going to have to try and hold on. We haven't shown anywhere close to the level of execution we did last season and our backline play is really holding us back. We will just have to fight for points and see if we can rise above the relegation muddle while marking time until we have players that can make this attack work- both offensively and defensively.

[Faramir]

9.9.06

Alfreton (2) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

A game we should have won against an opponent that was certainly beatable. Instead, Carl Murkin played his worst match ever for us and handed them both their goals- leaving us to fight back to earn a split of the points. The first half wasn't great for either side, but at least we did have some chances. Ben Woods- seemingly our only offense- gave us the lead when he drilled in a 25 yard free kick past Greg Smith. We immediately gave that goal back as Murkin passed directly to Neil Ross and he had an easy time beating slightly injured Paul Nicholls with a shot inside the right post. Less than five minutes later found Murkin wandering aimlessly in our area and the unmarked Ross behind him hammered another shot past Nicholls for a brace. We managed to battle back as Dave Robinson took down Aaron Nowacki in the area- earning himself a redcard and us a penalty kick. Gary Fitzgerald calmly converted the penalty kick for his 1st goal at Holyhead and we were equal. We came close to taking the match, but Michael Terrell sailed a shot just over the bar when he had a great chance to score. Smith made several other good saves on Woods, another key factor in us only earning a draw. Stewart Morris earned MOM honours.

[Faramir]

16.9.06

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Farnborough (1)

We should have won this match. We played well enough to win this match- until the last two minutes. Showing more life and verve than in any other match of late, we generated good scoring chances throughout the match, but our finishing was poor- again. Ben Woods set us up for the win with a rocket 25 yard free kick past Kevin Scriven for his 5th goal of the season. We tried to hold on- but our backline let us down again. Sam Mullarkey cruised in- unmarked and fired a shot off the inside of the left upright past Stuart Cain for the equalizer in second half injury time. Another wasted opportunity for us as we continue to muddle along. If we can only convert some of this improved play into goals- we might be a lot better off than we actually are.

[Faramir]

19.9.06

Holyhead Hotspur (2) Cambridge (2)

I guess I should be pleased that we showed some of last season's heart and determination as we fought back to earn a 2-2 draw after a disastrous first half. I can't help but think it was another wasted match and that we were fortunate our backline didn't blow it at the end- because they certainly tried. We fell behind when another giveaway by our backline allowed Kevin Smith to score past James Evans. Evans then handed Smith a second goal a few minutes later when he dallied on the ball and Smith took it away from him to loft a 30 yard blast into the goal. Down 2-0 at halftime, I still could see the life we had- we had played a solid first half except for our errors. We got a goal back early in the second half when Steve Metcalfe lofted a cross to the far post and saw it slip into the goal for his 1st for us. Neil Teggart earned his MOM honours by skinning Gary Sawyer and firing a shot past Ross Standen for the equalizer. Our attempt to win the match was short-circuited a bit when Jamie Ougham earned his 2nd yellow card. Despite being down a man, we kept attacking and came close twice to gaining the lead. Our backline showed a complete lack of composure again as the match wound down and we were extremely fortunate their shooting wasn't more accurate as we survived until the final whistle for splitting the points.

[Faramir]

23.9.06

Altrincham (0) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

Finally. It was a hard earned win, but one we deserved. We made it harder on ourselves by not converting a late penalty kick, but we found a way to get the goal we needed and for once were able to hang on for a much needed win. The first half was well played on both sides. There were plenty of fine tackles that thwarted many scoring chances. The second half continued on in that vein, though we were very disappointed when Stuart Coburn managed to smother a ball before Christopher Gilligan could whip it past him with an open goal. MOM Jack Hobbs set us up for the win with a lofted pass down the center of the pitch. Ben Woods turned on the jets and ran the ball down before slipping past an attempted tackle by James Olsen and then firing the shot past Coburn at 88 minutes. We kept them from gaining a good scoring chance and Stuart Cain put up the clean sheet.

[mark wilson27]

hows the league looking and how are alfreton town doing, there pretty close to were i live

[Faramir]

mark w- Well, I can't exactly tell you- since I am well past that point in actual play. I usually do the first table update around mid-season, but I am not sure that I did a table then for this story because of my struggles

***

26.9.06

Cambridge City (2) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

We took a 1-0 lead in to the last 15 minutes of play and lost again. We seem to make terrible decisions when we try to hold leads and that was the case again today. Steve Metcalfe made a brutally bad backpass to Stuart Cain off a goal kick to him. Cain compounded the error by not kicking the ball away and Greg Ball blasted the ball in for a 30 yard goal to nullify the lead we had gained on a nice goal from Neil Teggart in the first half. They made us pay further when Mark Molesley had an easy time outmuscling Carl Murkin to deflect in a cross from Adam Smith to give them the late win in a match I thought we were going to win. Our fullback play, other than Stewart Morris- who was resting today- has been completely unacceptable this season and I really need to look at how to fill those spots going forward. With Nicholls out, we also have not received steady keeping and that is another huge problem for us.

[mark wilson27]

no worries mate, keep the story going really enjoying it

[Faramir]

Thanks mark- glad you are enjoying it

***

30.9.06

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Burton (1)

It isn't saying much to call this our best match of the season, but given I considered it a must win match against another struggling club- I will certainly be happy with the win. We still looked disorganized at times and yielded another setpiece goal as Jon Shaw gave them the lead when he deflected a free kick from Adam Layfield past Karl Wills- who was making his debut in our goal. We fought back and earned a penalty after Ben Woods was tripped in the area by Ryan Austin. Carl Murkin converted the penalty kick past Nicky Beach and we were even. Our backline continued to look like it had no clue at times and Wills was called on for a trio of good saves to open the second half. We were finally the beneficiary of an opponents bad play when Beach came out to play a ball and it bounced past him. Woods turned on the jets to outrace two defenders to the loose ball and slam it into the goal for a lead and help him earn MOM honours. This time we didn't hold back with the lead and were rewarded when Jamie Mullen deflected a cross from James Pike past Beach to finish off the scoring in only our 3rd win this season.

[mark wilson27]

thats another local team youve got points off lol

[Faramir]

mark- thanks for pointing that out- I hadn't realized it was local

***

7.10.06

Accrington (3) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

This match could just as well summarize our season to date- pourous backline, dumb mistakes and inconsistent play- as we lost another match that we played well enough offensively to merit a better result. I don't know how to solve our backline at this point, but we are playing brutally bad back there and it is costing us entirely too many goals. David Brown scored to give them the lead after Rob Walker missed a simple interception. We equalized when Danny Morgan ghosted into their area on a free kick from Jack Hobbs and fired a shot past John Whitehouse. They took the lead again as Carl Murkin exhibited a complete lack of vision by backpassing to Karl Wills. Wills then held on to the ball too long and of course it was taken away with Brown scoring his second goal. This must be at least a half-dozen times our keepers have given away goals this season. Despite losing Ben Woods to injury we fought back to even it at 2-2 when Andy McGregor scored his 1st goal of the season. It didn't last as Walker didn't mark Matt O'Neill and he deflected a corner past Wills for what would be the match winner. All I can hope for at this point is that we survive until early January and then I can begin promoting some of our just turned 17 year olds to replace what is right now a very disappointing and underachieving group of players. I don't want to promote them as 16 year olds, because it would be easy to lose them to a bigger club and they have a lot of talent.

[Faramir]

14.10.06

Holyhead Hotspur (4) Tamworth (0)

Maybe something clicked in our post-match dressing room meeting after the Accrington, because we were an entirely different team today as we stomped on Tamworth for 4 first half goals to easily defeat them 4-0. Ben Woods was right on top of keeper Robin Hallam when he mishandled the ball and fired it in to get us off on a flyer. Danny Morgan showed some of the scoring ability I had hoped to see with a precision shot inside the right post to put us up 2-0. Morgan then deflected a cross from Christopher Gilligan past Hallam for his brace and Gilligan capped off the excellent first half with a blast past Hallam in injury time to make it 4-0. We tried to add to the goals in the second half, but Tamworth had steadied and Karl Wills earned his clean sheet with a superb save on Matthew Blinkhorn late in the match.

[mark wilson27]

good win there just need to keep it up

[Faramir]

mark- You're right, we need a few more like that Thanks for the support.

***

15.10.06

With the season about 1/3rd done (we have played 15 matches of 46), we have managed to move up to 17th out of the 24 clubs in Conference National. We have 4 wins, 4 draws and 7 losses and we have worked our goal differential back up to -2, so on an overall basis we have improved some from our terrible start this season. Problems remain though and a quick synopsis of our positions would be helpful.

Keepers- With Paul Nicholls missing much of the season injured, none of the other keepers have really stepped up- though Karl Wills is going to get a full trial at this point. Stuart Cain was very hot and cold and has taken a step back in my opinion. Jason Evans is back on the Reserves replacing Wills. My main hopes for the future is promising 16 year old Robert Clarke. Clarke will be 17 in late January, so may yet see some Senior time this season, though my preference would be to keep him playing on Under-18s and Reserves as they experiencing a lot of success and then bring him up to the Senior side next season.

Backline- A mess. I had counted on the steadiness of the backline play that they had shown me last season, but there has been precious little of it this season. Young Jack Hobbs has been the best of the lot and will keep playing a lot in the center. Finding someone to pair with him has been a problem, because Adrian Bristow, Rob Walker, Michael Merrick and Gary Fitzgerald have all taken a turn in the barrel and none of them has really played very well. Fullbacks have also been a problem. Stewart Morris has been the steadiest, but that isn't saying much. Carl Murkin, despite his value as a captain for our young side, is close to playing himself into a gameday sub role. Mark Studley, Karl Vernon and Steve Metcalfe have all been bad so far. Mark Hall has been one of our best players on Under-18s and may well make the move up to the Senior side in February when he turns 17. Darren Barnes, Lewis Foster and Brian Mills all have potential, but won't be ready to help us until next season.

Midfield- The one area where our depth has helped, but still not quite playing up to its potential. Some of the problem is this is the area where most of our new players came in, so that threw things into a bit of a flux. So far our new wingers- Jay Simpson, Jamie Mullen and Dean Furman have played solid when not hurt. Christopher Gilligan has been one of our steadiest players. Michael Tuohy and Jamie Ougham haven't improved from last season and are both now injured. I just called up D'Juvane Davidson to take a lot at for right wing, in hopes that he is mature enough at 17. Center midfield has seen Andy McGregor start slow but play better of late. Michael Terrell has been a good signing. Aaron Nowacki hasn't taken the next step, nor has Lloyd McGowan. Craig Mitchell and Danny Walsh haven't shown me much this season. Kieran Lee is back on the Reserves after not impressing me much and young Steve Ryan has looked good at leftwing on the Under-18s, but is a long way from being ready for Senior play.

Forwards- Ben Woods has been our best player this season and our only offense in many matches. Danny Morgan is finally showing signs of life after a slow start. James Pike has played a few impressive matches, but remains inconsistent. Neil Teggart has been hurt most of the season so far. The remaining forwards on the Senior side- Steve McDonald and Paul Jenkin have shown me nothing worthwhile yet. We are anxiously awaiting Michael Holmes, who turns 17 in early January. Daniel Hayes won't be ready until next season, but has a lot of talent. Steve Hurst and Nathan Geary are two other youngsters that may yet see some Senior time this season.

[Faramir]

21.10.06

Slough (0) Holyhead Hotspur (2) FA Cup 4th Round Qualifying

We benefitted from an awful match by key Slough defender Michael Gillan as we were able to edge Slough 2-0 to move on in the FA Cup competition. Gillan gave us a lead in the opening moments as he tried to push a loose ball outside of the post, but instead it sailed past Dave Poole. Both sides had chances to score more in the first half, but neither was able to. MOM James Pike capped the scoring in the match as he drove past his marker to fire it past a diving Poole. We also missed a penalty kick in the first half as Gary Fitzgerald was wide right.

[Faramir]

28.10.06

York (3) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

We allowed York to fight back after we had gained a 2-1 lead and they took full advantage of our generosity as they edged us 3-2 in a match we deserved a better result in. Steve McDonald headed past David Stockdale on a cross from James Pike early in the first half. They answered that with a Joe Tillen header past Karl Wills. We moved back in front after Darren Hollingsworth knocked down Pike in the area. MOM Carl Murkin converted the penalty kick to make it 2-1. They came back to even at halftime when Lewis Spence slipped past everyone to deflect a ball past Wills. The match winner came Spence laid the ball off and Clayton Donaldson drilled a shot past Wills. We couldn't find another goal and suffered another in the disappointing series.

[Faramir]

4.11.06

Holyhead Hotspur (3) Witton (1) FA Cup 1st Round

It wasn't a thing of beauty, but it also wasn't a bad performance as we defeated Witton 3-1 at The New Oval to move on in the Cup competition. We got off on a flyer as Danny Morgan deflected a Dean Furman cross past Jon Kennedy in the opening minute of the match. We failed to add to that before halftime, but in the opening moments of the second half Matthew Wicks tripped Nathan Geary. Michael Merrick converted the penalty kick to make it 2-0. They pegged us back right away as Alex Kevan shook loose at the far post and slotted home a pass from Michael Turner to ruin Stuart Cain's bid for a clean sheet. We added a final goal as Geary cemented his MOM selection by scoring in his debut as he deflected a short cross from Steve Metcalfe.

[Faramir]

7.11.06

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Stevenage (2)

A bad break cost us the match, but we really did it to ourselves before the break made the difference. We played a good first half- with the exception of Stewart Morris knocking down Sean McAllister in the area. Marvin Robinson converted the penalty kick past Karl Wills and we trailed. We got back to even at halftime when Ben Woods scored as he put away a pass from Danny Morgan late in the half. They took the lead again early in the second half when a shot took a crazy bounce off Jack Hobbs, then off the crossbar and then Jon Nurse whipped the rebound in. We tried hard, but could not score again and were left with a disappointing 2-1 loss at The New Oval.

[Faramir]

15.11.06

Holyhead Hotspur (0) Gravesend (1)

For the second match in a row, Stewart Morris cost us a loss by giving away an unneeded penalty kick. Andy Drury converted the penalty past Stuart Cain in the second half and that sent us crashing to another loss. We lost Ben Woods to injury in the first half, but still came close to scoring a half dozen times. All those chances left on the table came back to haunt us and we showed little of the fine spirit evident in the first half after falling behind. We have basically wasted our last two home matches in these two close losses.

***

16.11.06

It is time to begin the weeding out process as we try to trim players who won't be part of our future and also those unhappy about their playing time. First on to the transfer list were unhappy midfielder Danny Walsh and leftback Mark Studley.

[Faramir]

18.11.06

Morecambe (3) Holyhead Hotspur (1)

We were behind in the 2nd minute thanks to an idiotic Rob Walker trip in the area. Michael Twiss converted the penalty kick past Stuart Cain and they had an instant lead. We fought back and equalized when Andy McGregor made a nice pass up the middle and Neil Teggart rounded Ryan Robinson before scoring. Walker's poor clearance allowed Twiss to pot his brace and return the lead to them. Leroy Williams- who looked to be far offside, but nothing was called- then scored on a counter-attack to leave us down 3-1 at halftime. We played hard in the second half, but couldn't get anything accomplished offensively. I have seen enough of Rob Walker and despite his youth and talent- he can find a new home as he will be on the transfer list tomorrow.

[Faramir]

25.11.06

Woking (1) Holyhead Hotspur (2)

Finally, another win in the books. It took a great performance by Stuart Cain as our backline play was unsteady at times and we left him to make a couple big one-on-one saves and his MOM was well earned. Cain made one mistake in the match when he mishandled a hard shot from the side and it bounced in front of the goal. Our backline stood watching as Lloyd Blackman hammered his shot into the goal in the 10th minute. We hit back immediately as Danny Morgan drove home the rebound after Clint Davies got a hand on Neil Teggart's initial blast. The eventual match winning goal came courtesy of an excellent scamper down the right by D'juvane Davidson. Davidson found the hole on the near post and scored his 1st goal past Davies. Woking had the better of the chances after that, but we also had a few of our own. Neither side could change the scoreline and we had a desperately needed win in the books.

[mark wilson27]

great stroy still, who you got in next round of cup, or are you keeping us in suspense, lol....

good win against Woking btw

[Faramir]

No suspense mark- here you go...

***

2.12.06

Holyhead Hotspur (1) Southend (3) FA Cup 2nd Round

Division 1 Southend wasted little time proving they had much more class than we did. They were off on a flyer when Jamaal Campbell-Ryce raced away and blistered a shot that Karl Wills got a hand on, but couldn't stop from going into the goal. Rafik Djebbour then put the sword to our struggling backline with a quick brace as he found himself unmarked each time. We didn't show a lot of life in the first half, but at least showed a dim glow of desire in the second half when Jay Simpson scored his 1st goal for us past Darryl Flahavan. That was as close as we could come and we were broomed out. Southend skipper Kevin Maher earned MOM honours.

[mark wilson27]

maybe i shouldnt of asked.........2nd round though good going

[Faramir]

Thanks Mark- no worries though- I knew our chances were slim facing Southend...

***

6.12.06

Holyhead Hotspur (4) Scarborough (0)

We rebounded from our FA Cup loss with one of our finest matches of the year as we overcame Scarborough 4-0 at The New Oval. Our pressure created the first two goals as a trip by Carl Pettefer on Danny Morgan led to Carl Murkin converting a penalty kick past Matthew Gregg as we gained the lead in the 7th minute. Stuart Cain was extremely sharp in the first half and it was only through a trio of excellent saves that we were able to keep the 1-0 lead to halftime. Our second goal came because Darren Craddock handballed a corner kick in their area. Carl Murkin made it a brace of penalty kicks as we moved ahead 2-0. We turned that into a quickfire double and a 3-0 lead as Ben Woods celebrated his return from injury by scoring off a cross from Morgan. Woods then made it a brace when he used a burst of speed to jet away and beat Gregg cleanly to cap the 4-0 win. Jack Hobbs earned MOM honours in the match.

[Faramir]

9.12.06

Southport (1) Holyhead Hotspur (0)

In a match I dearly wanted to win against a club lower than us in the standings, we lost. They played better than we did and finally turned one chance into gold as Richard Offiong crossed to unmarked Chris McPhee and he pushed it into the open left side of the goal past Stuart Cain. We didn't play well offensively and had a difficult time breaking the ball out against their pressing forwards. To compound our disppointment, Jamie Mullen injured his achilles tendon and will miss the next three months.