Pre-Hanwell Match

As you have probably ascertained from Justin's post on the message board, i am having to climb up in the attic this week searching for the old sheepskin jacket, in readiness for my return to the front line this coming Saturday!!!. Like many people in the game, im not the best watcher of football matches unless im involved but i have done my best to get out and have a look over the last few weeks (in between catching up with all the years of decorating that is!!).

All joking aside, with Justin away on business and Fordy unavailable, i have been asked to step back into the breach and i'm happy to help out. Those two guys have done a really sound job in turning things around and we will all be doing our level best to ensure that we keep things ticking over for them in their absence.

Good to see another new arrival in the shape of the talented Liam Malone, who joins us from Ardley United, having had a short stay at Abingdon United earlier in the season. Everyone at the City wishes him well and we hope that he has a long and successful stay with the club.
This Saturday we welcome Hanwell, with whom we had two cracking games last season. Results haven't been gone too well for them to date and although they suffered a 3-0 home reverse against Uxbridge last night they did get a good point at Lymington last weekend, and coming back from two down in that game will have given them great confidence. They will, i'm sure, prove very difficult opponents for us this weekend.

Many people have asked me if i am missing the hurly burly of football management and i would think an honest answer would be, in parts!. Like all football people, when you are not involved directly, the thing that you miss most is the dressing room and the banter that goes about within it. There is not a better place to be than in the dressing room of a winning football team but I have to admit i have not missed the politics or the constant juggling of football with work commitments.

The scheduled January opening of the new Children's Hospital and West Wing up at the JR is taking up quite a bit of my time, as the logistics involved in this are considerable. So I am keeping myself busy and besides watching the odd game I am working with Managing Director Colin Taylor on developing commercial ideas, a side of the job that i have always enjoyed. I am also looking at ways of trying to improve the clubs disciplinary record and again Colin and myself are bouncing some ideas around.

As i see it there are faults on both sides, sometimes officials are inconsistent with their interpretation of the rules, especially with regards to simple things like not retreating 10 yards at a free kick/kicking the ball away and the amount of verbal exchange they will tolerate. This leads to players not knowing where they stand and nothing throws them more than that. Players and us managers on the other hand, have to learn that in 99.99% of cases a referee will not change his mind, so we are effectively wasting our time and energy by keeping on at them. I will defend any player to the hilt for the odd mistimed challenge but you cannot condone constant verbal abuse of officials. We all do it from time to time, in the heat of the battle and without passion the game is nothing, but lessons have to be learnt.

Occasionally things happen like they did with Ray Spence at Bishops Cleeve and you really do question the integrity of the game (the injustice of that incident really upset me and still rankles after all this time) but in general, most officials are doing their level best and we have to work with them to find a resolution.

In the past i have presented to and conducted question and answer sessions with referees associations and they have proven very rewarding and enjoyable-we will probably be looking to get involved with similar groups again, as its good for them to understand the pressures managers and players are under to deliver results and vice versa.

It now seems as if we are likely to be directed, by the powers that be, towards a "captain only" communication channel, as they have in Rugby. The idea seems logical enough but i guess the proof of the pudding as they say...........................

Newport IOW reaction

What a truly magnificent result that was for Justin, Fordy and the boys last night. It's hard for the manager to come on and blow his own trumpet!! so, on this occasion, i will do it for him.

Although not enjoying the best of current form, Newport are always a handful on their own ground, especially with the advantage of it being midweek. Getting players to take time off (their bosses permitting) is always difficult, as some of them don't have flexible jobs. To field such a strong line up is a credit to the management and the spirit that is currently running through the side.

I can recall my first trip to the Island in midweek when i was manager of Witney. We went by coach and then ferry but i think there was only me, the bare eleven, one committee man and one of the Alder brothers driving the bus!! Needless to say we were just fulfilling the fixture.

Over the years i learnt to make it a special trip, something that we really looked forward too and we enjoyed a terrific record on the island. Many a young lad has had to hide in the boot because they forgot their passport!!

I was over the moon when Justin text me the result last night, that's three cracking wins on the belt and has put the team back into the challenging pack, where it fully deserves to be.

Football is all about taking your chances and from a situation where we couldn't hit a cow's ar*e with a banjo the lads are now punishing the opposition and as a result getting points back on the board.

This Saturday they make the relatively short journey to Thatcham Town and they need all the support they can get-so make sure you fill your cars and get over there! I enjoyed many a tussle with Thatcham as a player and more recently when i was manager of their greatest rivals AFC Newbury. They have done terrific as a club and in Jason Braidwood have one of the brightest young managers in the game at this level. He has built a good, young, fit and energised side with a terrific team ethic and spirit. Many of these lads have come through the age groups together, by virtue of the excellent youth structure that the club has had in place for years.

Saturday will be a real test for our boys but they will go into the game with a high degree of confidence and another three points is certainly attainable.

Back to back wins...

Back to back Southern League wins have lifted the spirits throughout the club and it was good to see Ray Spence back on the goal trail once again.

I took in the Watlington v Nomads Senior Cup tie and credit to the lads, after the usual nip and tuck of the first twenty minutes, they settled down to play some decent football and ran out comfortable winners. Games like that, away from home, in any cup competition, are always going to be tricky but the boys stuck to their passing game and in the end there was an evident gulf in quality between the two sides.

I ran into one of my mentors, the legendary Brian Smith at the game and the first thing he did was have a pop at me for resigning!! Typical of Smudger straight to the point! He lives in Reading now but seems to pop up everywhere.

Young Michael Betnay caught the eye at right back. He took up some good positions, was always available to support the man on the ball and rarely gave it away when he had it. Once the game opened up a bit Aaron Williams showed some touches of real class and Jon Hawkins did well going forward, in an unaccustomed role at left back. Both of these players have that magic ingredient of being able to open out their bodies quickly, move the ball out of their feet and go by people at will.

The Nomads now face Ardley United at home in the next round.

This week Justin and the lads face a couple of tough away games. Firstly they travel over the water to Newport I-O-W, before meeting Thatcham on Saturday, both of these sides are difficult to beat on their own ground but the team will travel with renewed confidence.
The Nomads face a midweek trek to Shortwood in the floodlight cup. On their own tight pitch Shortwood are always a difficult side to beat but again the lads will travel full of confidence and the experience they gain will set them in good stead for the future.

League form, players...

Justin and Fordy will have been greatly lifted by Tuesday's terrific win and im sure that the team can and will now kick on and climb the table. They could not have had a harder start, Taunton away in midweek is a stinker and Hilling don remain a bogey team to us, doubtless well motivated by us taking the league title from them last season.

As for Bashley that was always going to be tough because we absolutely battered them at their place in the F A Trophy replay, so they were bound to have been stung by that. On reflection we were probably playing on the adrenalin from last season at the start of this one and we were grinding out results, achieving a start that was probably a wee bit deceiving.

We haven't allowed the grass to grow under our feet however, and have tried hard over the last month or so to bring in new players to spice things up and give us an edge but it hasn't materialised. Having said that the signing of Billy Beechers last week was an inspired one from Justin.

I had spoken to Peter Rhodes-Brown a couple of weeks previous about the possibility of a loan player but to be fair most that are available are fairly untried and probably no better than what we have. We made decent offers to bring in Ryan Curtin and Justin Miller and credit to the club for making the funds available.

Unfortunately we were unable to agree transfer fees with Abingdon and Highworth. I am a big fan of Curtin and of course the magical Muttley and i was convinced they would bring that extra bit of craft and guile to the side. We also went in looking for a loan for striker Yashwa Romeo at Maidenhead. Yash was with me at Newbury but with a new manager just installed at Maidenhead the timing was not right from their prospective.

Justin and me have had several long discussions about who is about and what we need and i am going to get out and about and cast my eye over a few prospective players in the next few weeks.

This Saturday I intend taking in the Nomads game at Watlington in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup, there are several youngsters who are having good seasons in the Nomads and its no good us looking elsewhere if one or two of the answers lay on our own doorstep.

Justin is keen that we leave no stone unturned.

I have always loved the Senior Cup and all the excitement and bragging rites it provides locally, we went out early last season so lets hope we get a run to the final this time around.

Who knows it could yet be Oxford City v Oxford Quarry Nomads in the later rounds!!

Andy Lyne