1 November 2012
I decided I wanted to write a little less often, because I get caught up in the game and don't want to stop playing. 
The month ended with us in fourth place, three points behind leaders Ardley United. We rose as high as second, but as you'll see, if you don't come away from a match with three points sometime, you won't stay up with the leaders.
On the 13th, we lost 1-2, away to Cheltenham Saracens. It was a match I thought we'd win, and so did everyone else. Conor O'Donnell and Sam Wilson were still away on international duty, but we should have had enough to beat them.
Our goal was scored by
Chris Hall, whom we brought in from Spalding United to shore up our attack, after Richard Claydon left us for league rival Newbury. Since Wilson will be away with Northern Ireland at the U-19 International tournament from time to time, Chris will get a decent amount of playing time up front.
Hall is 29 years old, and he can play anywhere from striker to the defensive m midfield, on either wing, or in the center. His technical skill is very good (Corners 12, Crossing 11, Dribbling 11), and he plays with Creativity (10) and Flair (11). I imagine we'll use Chris in several positions, almost like a super-utility player.
Anton Sambrook has found several other enticing young players, and we signed two of them: midfielder
Bobby Medjedoub and full back
Chris Sim. They are both 18, and we will give them some first team action while we groom them for the future.
After our loss at Saracens, we spent the next two weeks getting knocked out of cup competitions. We lost our Hellenic Challenge Cup tie to Tuffley Rovers; after neither side scored in 120 minutes of play, we lost on penalties.
Three days later, still worn out from that grueling contest, we lost 1-2 to Molesey FC. Center backs Michael Jatto and Geraint Price, who had been brilliant against Tuffley Rovers, were simply too tired to play their usual games, and Molesey scored twice in the second half. Jo Tessem pulled one back, but we weren't able to equalize.
After that loss, I called my first team meeting, and it went well. We also had five more days to recuperate before returning to Hellenic League play, hosting Slimbridge FC on the 26th. A brace by Jack Adams and another outstanding game from Jatto were the keys to a 2-0 victory; O'Donnell had to make only two saves the entire afternoon.
I'm still struggling with my strategic decisions. We get good results from an attacking style at home, like we displayed against Slimbridge. However, when we play away, it seems anyone can beat us. I've been using Control against bottom-of-the-table teams away, but I might start going with something even more defensive-minded. I feel like the weaker teams are "parking the bus" and congregating around their goal, and taking advantage of the fact that our back line is pushed fairly far up. We give up easy goals when our opponents get a man behind our back line in a position to score.
It's a fun challenge, trying to figure out what works best.