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Greyfriars Bobby · 12-13-2018, 10:16 AM

1 December 2018

Another month passes by, and we're still on top of the league. We've had to play very well to retain our position, because Forest Green Rovers and Chester are in excellent form, too. The title fight looks like it's going to be closely contested and very exciting.

I didn't field full-strength teams for either the FA Cup or Southern League Cup ties. Several promising young players--defenders Matthew Sullivan and Kieran Burke, midfielders Sean Boshell, Nathan Nicholl, and Luke Beauchamp--made their first team debuts.

Draws against Burton and Dartford bracketed three big wins in league play. We certainly should have had a result against Dartford, who are in the relegation places, and we didn't look great against Burton, either.

The Canvey Island match was a different story. Tomasz Wisniewski provided the biggest highlight, scoring a hat trick within the space of nine minutes. None of the goals were cheap. On the first, he met a Malte Seidel throw-in and assertively headed it home. Then, Lloyd Unsworth nodded Paul Douglas's corner across the face of goal to Tomasz's feet, and he scored with a nice half-volley. Finally, he reacted quickly when Douglas hit the post with a free kick, and he lashed the ball past a sprawling Gulls 'keeper. I'm used to Big T asserting his will on a game defensively, but watching him turn goal scorer was a treat.

Speaking of goal scorers, Paul Douglas is banging them in at a rate unlike anything we've ever seen from him. His four goals in November give him 10 in 17 appearances. A few months ago, I was wondering if his days in a Wantage shirt might be drawing to a close, if the combination of his increasing age and the quality of the competition he faced in the Conference Premier might be too much for him. Now, there's a "Captain, Leader, Legend" banner with Paul's initials and shirt number hanging from the rail at Alfredian Park on match days.

And, while we're on the topic of goals, look what wide man Aiden Harris did this month!

Both goals were indeed terrific, and the first one allowed us to escape the Burton match with a point.

Amidst all this good news were a few less positive tidings. As we've grown as a club, some of our players are being targeted by even bigger teams. Perhaps it's not surprising that a few of their heads are being turned.

Dominic Hutchinson was the first. Tranmere Rovers put in a pathetically low £500 (!!) bid for his services, which I immediately turned down. Then I saw what they were up to. Their interest unsettled Dominic, who came to me asking for a transfer. I managed to get the League One club to pay us £16,000 for him, which I didn't think was a bad piece of business under the circumstances. He'll be leaving on 1 January.

A few days later, Tom Wilkinson came to me, expressing his desire to play for a bigger club. I managed to convince him we were on our way to even bigger things, but he says unless we're promoted again this season, he'll be on his way out.

Losing Hutchinson is one thing. He's been at Wantage Town since 2015, when his contract with Brackley Town ran out and we signed him on a free. That's a decent run in the team, but he's still not completely "ours."

Wilkinson is from the nearby town of Abingdon. He supported our club as a boy, came up through our youth system, and is serving as our vice captain this year at age 20. The opportunity to watch players like Tom develop into stars and establish themselves as club icons is part of what is making my time at Wantage Town so much fun. If we lose too much of that vibe, I might start thinking about trying my luck somewhere else.

We'll see what happens over the next few months.

12-13-2018, 10:16 AM	#54
Greyfriars Bobby College Prospect Join Date: Sep 2013	1 December 2018 Another month passes by, and we're still on top of the league. We've had to play very well to retain our position, because Forest Green Rovers and Chester are in excellent form, too. The title fight looks like it's going to be closely contested and very exciting. I didn't field full-strength teams for either the FA Cup or Southern League Cup ties. Several promising young players--defenders Matthew Sullivan and Kieran Burke, midfielders Sean Boshell, Nathan Nicholl, and Luke Beauchamp--made their first team debuts. Draws against Burton and Dartford bracketed three big wins in league play. We certainly should have had a result against Dartford, who are in the relegation places, and we didn't look great against Burton, either. The Canvey Island match was a different story. Tomasz Wisniewski provided the biggest highlight, scoring a hat trick within the space of nine minutes. None of the goals were cheap. On the first, he met a Malte Seidel throw-in and assertively headed it home. Then, Lloyd Unsworth nodded Paul Douglas's corner across the face of goal to Tomasz's feet, and he scored with a nice half-volley. Finally, he reacted quickly when Douglas hit the post with a free kick, and he lashed the ball past a sprawling Gulls 'keeper. I'm used to Big T asserting his will on a game defensively, but watching him turn goal scorer was a treat. Speaking of goal scorers, Paul Douglas is banging them in at a rate unlike anything we've ever seen from him. His four goals in November give him 10 in 17 appearances. A few months ago, I was wondering if his days in a Wantage shirt might be drawing to a close, if the combination of his increasing age and the quality of the competition he faced in the Conference Premier might be too much for him. Now, there's a "Captain, Leader, Legend" banner with Paul's initials and shirt number hanging from the rail at Alfredian Park on match days. And, while we're on the topic of goals, look what wide man Aiden Harris did this month! Both goals were indeed terrific, and the first one allowed us to escape the Burton match with a point. Amidst all this good news were a few less positive tidings. As we've grown as a club, some of our players are being targeted by even bigger teams. Perhaps it's not surprising that a few of their heads are being turned. Dominic Hutchinson was the first. Tranmere Rovers put in a pathetically low £500 (!!) bid for his services, which I immediately turned down. Then I saw what they were up to. Their interest unsettled Dominic, who came to me asking for a transfer. I managed to get the League One club to pay us £16,000 for him, which I didn't think was a bad piece of business under the circumstances. He'll be leaving on 1 January. A few days later, Tom Wilkinson came to me, expressing his desire to play for a bigger club. I managed to convince him we were on our way to even bigger things, but he says unless we're promoted again this season, he'll be on his way out. Losing Hutchinson is one thing. He's been at Wantage Town since 2015, when his contract with Brackley Town ran out and we signed him on a free. That's a decent run in the team, but he's still not completely "ours." Wilkinson is from the nearby town of Abingdon. He supported our club as a boy, came up through our youth system, and is serving as our vice captain this year at age 20. The opportunity to watch players like Tom develop into stars and establish themselves as club icons is part of what is making my time at Wantage Town so much fun. If we lose too much of that vibe, I might start thinking about trying my luck somewhere else. We'll see what happens over the next few months. Last edited by Greyfriars Bobby : 12-13-2018 at 10:18 AM.