FM 12 - Rise of the Spartans

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oct 15, 2012
Well what have we here?

Hartlepool's Callum Hassan has agreed to a deal that brings him in on loan for the next three months. Not going to be a worldbeater for us most likely, but he gives us more options up front at least.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oct 16, 2012
David Knight, Danny Groves, and Carl Jones were selected in the BSBP Team of the Week first eleven.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oct 16, 2012 (evening)
Blyth (2-5-6, 21st) at Salisbury (6-1-6, 9th)

With the winless streak finally broken, maybe we can at least get back to stealing a point here & there. Salisbury has won 2 of their last 3, not scoring a ton but keeping opponents in check (4-3 over 3 games). Their 4-5-1 formation concerns me a little bit, getting the ball might be a problem for us based on past experiences. I'm tempted to switch formations myself but decide to stick with the 4-4-2 & Counter to open. They're 1:2 faves, we're 9:2 dogs.

GK: Hartley
D: Giddings, Jones, Purvis, Sinclair
MF: Phillips, Sawyer, White, Groves
F: Armstrong, Mole
Bench: (Kulsten, Matondo, Hassan, Whiteley, McDonald)

*I notice here that they're going with a 4-4-2 today instead of the 4-5-1 I was worried about

1:50 - White with a great pass ahead to Mole, runs into the area deep ... shot gets turned round the post just barely

24:15 - Williams with a lightning quick centering pass to Stockley, Hartley had no chance there (0-1)

27:30 - Sawyer takes a big knock, need to sub so Whiteley on for Sawyer

Halftime - Staff is pissed at the "garbage" performance, I didn't think we were that terrible frankly. Outshot 6-3 but we have 52% poss & are doing just about everything else as well as they are. I tell them to keep going, we can still win this. Have to talk individually to several players who are either nervous or close to losing discipline, team is all over the play mentally/emotionally tonight. We'll switch to Standard to start the half, I think we've got a chance here honestly.

64:00 - Sub Matondo for Philips ... switch to Control (poss. is slipping away)
66:42 - Williams runs right past defenders onto a pass by Stockley, shoots from the arc and scores ... (0-2) Looked like Sinclair fell down before he could make a challenge & from there it was easy.

72:00 - Williams just weaves into the area past Jones & shoots (0-3) Awful excuse for effort defensively there.
77:00 - Sub Hassan for Armstrong, switch to Attacking
82:20 - Phillips with a corner to the far post ... Purvis is there for a header (1-3)

Fulltime - Decent first half turns into a dismal display in the second. Our back line played like crap all night, although the goal masks Purvis' rating. Outshot 11-8, we totally gave away the ball in the 2nd half, ending up with only 45% of total poss. I let the team know clearly that I'm far from pleased & they appear to mostly be motivated by that reaction.

Hartley 6.4
Giddings 6.1, Jones 5.7, Purvis 7.5 & 1 goal, Sinclair 6.3
Phillips 6.1, Sawyer 6.3, White 6.7, Groves 6.9 & 1 assist
Armstrong 6.0, Mole 6.7
Subs: Matondo 6.5, Whiteley 5.9, Hassan N/A

Oct 16, 2012 (postmatch)
The loss leaves us 2 points behind Welling to get out of the drop zone. Gee, think our next match will feel big?
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Sam Sawyer will miss 4-5 weeks while being treated for a pulled hamstring suffered early in the match.

Stockport has fired their manager, 22nd place isn't agreeing with them.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oct 17, 2012 (morning)
Recently signed MF Nathaniel Wedderburn has been handed a further two match suspension for his sending off in the reserve match against Sheff Utd. I didn't appeal the original since it appeared deserved but maybe I should have, this is rather excessive.
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We played a Reserves friendly tonight since there was a week off & match fitness continues to be a major problem for us. Considering the number of potential/expected first team performers we dressed, a 1-1 draw at Lower Division side Whickham is pretty disappointing. Even more when you realize the draw was courtesy of an own goal in the 90th minute. Quiet a few familiar names just mailed this one in. apparently.
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Oct 19, 2012
Welling has been made a narrow 5:4 favorite against us tomorrow. I ease through the prematch presser.
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Our U18s beat Esh Winning 1-0 on the road thanks to a Billy Lobjoit goal in the 9th minute. Tamer Dalton combined with Alex Archer for the clean sheet. MOM was D Callum Wilson (7.4)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oct 20, 2012
Blyth (2-5-7, 21st) vs Welling (4-1-9, 20th)

A win today at home & we climb out of the drop zone. A loss & we could be more than one match away from moving up. Not thrilled with the lineup frankly but performances have been so erratic I'm not sure whether it matters which player fills certain spots anymore. We've seen Welling before, a 4-2 loss in the 4th Qual. Rd of last year's FA Cup. We know they can score, led by the dangerous 22 y/o ST Loick Pires (7g/3a in 11 starts), going to need to either shut him down or find considerably more offense than usual. We'll open up 4-4-2 Standard, although I'm sorely tempted to play more defensive despite being at home.

GK: Knight
D: Kulsten, Jones, Antwi, Purvis
MF: Matondo, Morrison, White, Richards
F: Mole, Stamp
Bench: (Giddings, Slaughter, Groves, Hassan, Dovey)

11:45 - White hits the crossbar with a shot from the arc
23:10 - Richards freekick from the point hits the crossbar
25:00 - Morrison lays pass into the area for Matondo ... he shoots to the near post ... GOAL ! (1-0)
29:00 - Stamp runs right through a challenge and finds himself alone in the arc ... GOAL !(2-0) beat the keeper on his right side with just a tiny space to work with

Halftime - A dominating half, outshooting them 8-1 with 61% of poss. We've better considerably better so far, just have to keep it up. I keep the speech upbeat though, don't want them to start worrying, just keep playing. We'll open Attacking & try to put this away

47:00 - Richards get clattered hard & has to come off ... referee has a long talk with Paul Terry who brought him down ... and there's a red card.
Sub Groves for Richards
50:21 - Kulsten spots White on the left side of the area ... he turns & fires ... GOAL ! (3-0)
74:00 - Sub Hassan for Mole ... Sub Slaughter for Matondo ... switch to Standard

Fulltime - Both sides seemed to play out the string after we got the third goal but I suppose I can live with that. Outshot them 10-6, 53% poss, passed better than usual. And then I screw things up in the locker room by mentioning what a good performance it was & wondering why we don't play that way consistently, pissing off roughly half the side (while motivating a few others). I managed to smooth things over with everyone except Morrison. Ah well, deal with it.

Knight 6.8
Kulsten 7.5 & 1 assist, Jones 7.1, Antwi 7.8, Purvis 7.4
Matondo(MOM) 7.9 & 1 goal, Morrison 7.1 & 1 assist, White 7.9 & 1 goal, Richards 6.8
Mole 6.7, Stamp 7.7 & 1 goal
Subs: Groves 6.8, Slaughter/Hassan 6.6

Oct 20, 2012 (postmatch)
The win lifts us to 20th, by GD over Stockport (-5 to -7). We're a point behind Forest Green, two pts back of Darlington, 3 back of Bath & Lincoln.
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The news from the physios isn't good. Jordan Richards will miss 7-8 weeks recovering from a severe ankle sprain. At most we might see him in another match or two before his loan expires.

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Got asked an unusual question in the post match presser, about my relationship with the team President. I try to be positive but reserved, saying that I think we understand each other & that when we happen to disagree we discuss things in a civilized manner.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oct 24, 2012
Our Reserves played at Harrogate tonight, settling for a 2-2 draw after blowing an early two goal lead. Hands scored on a penalty just 2' in, Mellish added a header at 26'. Harrogate rallied with a goal at 40' and then a disastrous own goal suffered by Mellish brought things level. Despite the latter, Mellish was MOM (7.3).

Oct 26, 2012
Food poisoning has taken LD Matthew Martin out of training for roughly a week.
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We've been made 4:7 favorites over Weston-super-Mare for tomorrow's FA Cup Fourth Qual. Round.
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Oddly, W-s-M manager Kevin Gray decides to take a shot at me in the press, saying that I'd have my work cut out for me "having such a weak team to work with". I take a couple of shots back about him, making sure to keep my remarks about Gray rather than his club or players.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oct 27, 2012 (morning)
Our U18s beat Barnsley 1-0 thanks to a Dennis Robson penalty kick at 70'. Tamer Dalton posts another clean sheet, D Rory McKeever(7.2) was MOM

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oct 27, 2012 (evening)
Blyth (20th in BSBP) vs Weston-super-Mare (N/A in Southern Premier) - FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round

To meet board expectations, we have to win, simple as that. W-s-M has played well getting through two qualifying rounds with 2-1 and 3-0 wins but on paper (4:7 favorites) we should be able to take care of business here. We've got a full week off before resuming league play, so we'll roll with whomever we want out there. 4-4-2 Control to open.

GK: Knight
D: Giddings, Jones, Antwi, Purvis
MF: Matondo, Hands, White, Groves
F: Armstrong, Mole
Bench: (Kulsten, Slaughter, Whiteley, Sinclair, Phillips, Taylor, McDonald)

13:00 - Switch to Attacking
22:51 - Mole with a pass from deep on the right side ... into the box for Armstrong for a sliding left footed shot ... GOAL !(1-0)
25:30 - Ingram plays a cross into the box .. it hits Antwi's leg and goes straight in ... an own goal (1-1) Are you kidding me? Did that really just happen?
29:55 - Matondo with a left side corner ... to the far post ... Antwi is there! (2-1)

Halftime - A 9-1 shot edge on 52% poss. Productive in that sense, although only 2 shots on target thus far. We're dominating in the air and have disrupted their offense throughout the half. If not for the bad break suffered by Antwi, this would feel a lot better, although I do admit that I love his recovery from it. Switch to Standard strategy.

55:00 - Sub Whiteley for Hands(tiring)
64:50 - Knight has to make a quick save on a shot from the top of the area
65:00 - Switch to Attack
67:30 - Armstrong is denied a point blank try on a nice aggressive grab by their keeper
75:15 - Jones intercepts a pass inside the area, plays a long ball downfield to Armstrong ... who finds Mole open down the middle ... starts in, sees the keeper coming and lobs one up from 30 yards out ... GOAL ! (3-1) Switch to Counter ... Sub Slaughter for Giddings (tiring), Sub Phillips for Mole (Matondo to F)
79:00 - Antwi takes a hard knock and has to come off ... suddenly we find ourselves a man short for the remainder of the match ... switch to Defensive, move Groves to the back line, leave Armstrong alone up front

Full time - Mission accomplished. We had too much for somebody for a change, a nice feeling. Ended up outshooting them 12-6 on 54% poss. Dominated the air, passed better than usual (60%) on the back row.

Knight 6.9
Giddings 6.9, Jones 7.1, Antwi 7.9 & 1 goal, Purvis 6.8
Matondo 7.9 & 1 assist, Hands 6.9, White 7.0, Groves 6.9
Armstrong 8.1, 1 goal & 1 assist, Mole(MOM) 8.2, 1 goal and 1 assist
Subs: Whiteley 6.8, Slaughter/Phillips N/A

Oct 27, 2012 (postmatch)
We have been awarded $22.06k for winning in the 4th Qualifying Round
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Antwi will miss two weeks while being treated for a sprained wrist suffered after taking a fall during the match.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oct 28, 2012
The FA Cup First Round draw was held this morning. We'll play at BSBN side Alfreton Town on Sat Nov 17th. The Reds were relegated from BSBP after last season but are bidding to make a quick return, currently sitting 3rd in BSB North.
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Oct 29, 2012
Peter Hoy wants to see me. Gee, wonder what this might be about.

Hoy: I'm good enough & might have to leave to find first team soccer.
Me: Last time I gave you a chance you didn't perform (5.3). You need to show me why I should pick you, not moaning that you want to leave.
Hoy: Do you really want an unhappy player disrupting the club?
Me: No, what I want is a professional player getting on with his job My favorite answer of any interaction I've had so far, spot on perfect
Hoy: Maybe I am being unprofessional but you left me no other choice
Me: No other choice but to let you go
Hoy: Something that sounds a lot like blah blah blah to me.
---
Gosh, I'm just devastated about the opportunity to remove $275/wk of essentially dead salary from the books. A chance to correct one of the mistakes I made in the off-season.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 1, 2012
Training feedback
Good - Jamie Mole (tactics)
Bad - Vipond (strength), Armstrong (Ball Control), Kulsten (attacking)
Youth Good - Rhys Paul (strength), Theo Brown (strength), Louis Wallace (aerobic)
Youth Bad - Rory McKeever (aerobic)

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Mansfield winger Louis Briscoe is named BSBP Player of the Month with 3 goals in 4 appearances
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Wrexham FB Greg Butler is the BSBP Young Player of the Month
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Histon coach David Livermoe is BSBP Manager of the Month
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Board confidence update
The board is pleased with my leading of the team, underlined by the fan's joy over the 3-0 win over Welling. They remain disappointed about the loss to Hayes & Yeading however. We lost $22.94k last month.
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We've been made 4:1 underdogs for tomorrow's match against Mansfield, who sit in 3rd place in BSBP.
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Nov 2, 2012
We put out notice to clubs that Peter Hoy is available.
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November 3, 2012 (morning)
ST Lee Peacock has completed his trial period & left the club.
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Young winger Dean Goodall has the flu. Send him home to recover, be back in 6-9 days.
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BSBN side Chester has offered $150 for Peter Hoy. (He's valued at $180, I set the asking price a bit low in order to help move him). We accept.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 3, 2012
Blyth (3-5-7, 20th) vs Mansfield (9-3-3, 3rd)

Tough team coming in today. The Stags are led by ST Ben Hutchingon (9 goals) and MF Louis Briscoe (8 goals), with solid defenders like Paul Dummett (7.29). Matters are compounded by today being the first of three matches in eight days, so the lineup is a bit mix & match. We'll open 4-4-2 Counter and hope to steal a point from a club playing very well so far this season

GK: Hartley
D: Kulsten, Jones, Purvis, Sinclair
MF: O'Connor, Morrison, White, Vipond
F: Matondo, Mole
Bench: (Breckin, Phillips, Hassan, Slaughter, Dovey)

13:00 - O'Connor gets the ball with room to run into the left channel .. crosses for Matondo deep in the area ... shoots... GOAL ! (1-0)
29:40 - Cross the right side of the area for Briscoe, his header hits the crossbar ... the rebound comes squarely back to Briscoe who buries it this time around (1-1)
42:00 - Osawe gets a little pass from Hutchinson and runs into the area on the right ... shoots ... scores (1-2) He beat Purvis to make some room & didn't waste it.

Halftime - Outshot 11-2 with just 43% poss, we may be lucky to be this close. Not much we can do about it I'm afraid, they look very good up front. I tell the boys we've had some bad luck but to keep plugging away. They seem encouraged.

54:10 - Hutchinson shoots with two men marking him ... it's off Hartley's hands, off the crossbar, and in. (1-3)
Switch to Standard
55:20 - Matondo gets a good look but puts it into the side of the netting
64:00 - Matondo gives the ball up to Mole in the area ... he muscles his way past the defender Holland and shoots for the narrow angle to the near post ... GOAL ! (2-3)
66:30 - Sub Breckin for Jones (5.3) ... move Matondo to LM, White to F, O'Connor to RM, Vipond to RCM
73:00 - Sub Hassan for Morrison (tiring) ... Hassan to F, White back to MF
76:10 - Osawe with a short pass to Hutchinson, who turns & finds himself with some room near the top of the arc ... Hartley coming out, Hutchinson lobs ... scores (2-4) Switch to Attacking
78:45 - Roberts free kick from the left channel ... Riley header ... oof (2-5) Sub Dovey for Hartley
88:15 - Hassan with a through ball to Mole on the left side of the area ... plenty of room ... misses wide left

Fulltime - That got ugly in the second half. For the match, outshot 18-6, only 43% poss. I praise the overall team effort but light into the defenders a bit, as they were pretty ineffective all day. Also speak to several players to praise their individual performance

Hartley 6.0
Kulsten 5.2, Jones 5.3, Purvis 6.0, Sinclair 5.4
O'Connor 6.8 & 1 assist, Morrison 6.7, White 6.1, Vipond 6.2
Matondo 7.8, 1 goal & 1 assist, Mole 7.1 & 1 goal
Subs: Hassan 6.7, Breckin 6.3, Dovey N/A

Nov 3, 2012 (postmatch)
The loss sends us back down to 22nd & into the drop zone. We're a point behind both Forest Green & Stockport now but at least we're four points up on Braintree & Ebbsfleet.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 4, 2012
After yesterday's match, we reached agreement with Lee Peacock on a contract that will pay him $230/wk. Maybe he'll provide some offensive spark.

----
Promising GK Tamer Dalton will be out two weeks after suffering a strained neck during practice.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 6, 2012
Chester has agreed to terms with Peter Hoy, paying us $150 for the transfer.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 8, 2012
Blyth (3-5-8, 22nd) at Newport Co (5-3-8, 16th)

First of four straight on the road, as we visit The Exiles. Not a spectacular club by any means but they've managed to keep themselves midtable. They're missing a couple of starters due to injury today, maybe we could steal a point. They play a 4-1-2-2-1, not sure how we'll handle that, it's the kind of thing that tends to give us trouble. We'll open in 4-4-2 Counter, see how that goes.

GK: Knight
D: Giddings, Jones, Purvis, Sinclair
MF: Phillips, Hands, Whiteley, Groves
F: Mole, Hassan
Bench: (Martin, Matondo, Stamp, Slaughter, McDonald)

2:00 - Jones gets beaten in the air on a long pass ... Thompson is one on one with Knight ... lobs ... scores (0-1)
06:20 - Hassan plays one through to Mole ... he's in on the keeper ... Yakabu tackles it away from behind cleanly

Halftime - We outshot them 3-2, have 55% of possession but have never looked like a serious threat. The early goal has put us in a tough spot. We'll go 4-4-2 Standard & see what happens next.

47:00 - Phillips picks up a yellow card for tripping
50:00 - Giddings clears a dangerous ball off the line
56:15 - Hassan breaks the trap, gets stoned by the keeper on a one -on one
61:00 - Sub Matondo for Phillips
65:15 - Knight denies Morgan in the box
66:00 - Hassan shoots high from left edge of the area
66:45 - Sinclair gets a yellow for a shove
71:00 - Sub Stamp for Hassan ... switch to Attacking
74:00 - Hands get a yellow card for a rough challenge that forces Hendrie from the game
78:50 - Groves muscles his way down the right sideline ... crosses to Stamp about 8 yards out ... GOAL ! (1-1) an ugly one-hopper that bounced past the keeper after it hit Yakubu on the leg
87:00 - Switch to Counter
88:00 - Groves gets a yellow for protesting a foul that wasn't called on some rough play in the box

Fulltime - Well we got a point on the road, and that's a good thing. Outshot them 8-5, maintained 55% of poss, really feels like we could have had more than just a draw here frankly. And that's in spite of netting only an own goal thanks to Yakubu.

Knight 6.9
Giddings 6.9, Jones 6.9, Purvis 6.9, Sinclair 6.0
Phillips 6.9, Hands 6.8, Whiteley 6.9, Groves 6.9
Mole 6.8, Hassan 6.6
Subs: Stamp 6.5, Matondo 6.9

Nov 7, 2012 (postmatch)
The single point keeps us 22nd, two behind Welling at #20. It moves us three ahead of Ebbsfleet & four up on Braintree, but we need to gain ground on the other relegation candidates and may have missed a good chance here today.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 10, 2012 (morning)
Our U18s went on the road to beat Hull 3-0. Laste Dombaxe put us in front at 26'. Rory McKeever added insurance at 64' and Dennis Robson got the capper with a penalty shot in extra time (95')

Nov 10, 2012 (afternoon)
Blyth (3-6-8, 22nd) at Tamworth (7-3-7, 10th)

Short turnaround before another league match on the road. The Lambs are led by do it all forward Jean-Paul Marna (16 goals) who is running away with the goal scoring chase in BSBP so far, leading the next closest scorers by 5 markers. If we can keep him off the scoresheet, we might have a chance. The oddsmakers think so too, with Tamworth as only a Pick 'Em favorite today. We gamble a bit, use McDonald in goal instead of the slumping Hartley. We also play a hunch & give the newly signed Peacock a start up front. 4-4-2 Standard, as I'm feeling froggy today, this might be a decent offensive lineup ... by our standards anyway. They play a 4-4-1-1 and we might end up switching to match them at some point.

And we just discovered that the dangerous Marna is not in their starting lineup, nor is he on their bench.

GK: McDonald
D: Martin, Jones, Breckin, Slaughter
MF: Matondo, Morrison, White, O'Connor
F: Peacock, Armstrong
Bench: (Groves, Wedderburn, Mole, Abraham, Hartley)

16:00 - Matondo sails a free kick horribly wide & high
19:00 - O'Connor misses from the edge of the area, also badly off target
34:00 - Morrison either missed horribly with a cross or a shot, so bad I couldn't really tell which
36:45 - St.Aimie suddenly shoots from 25 yards out ... and catch McDonald offguard (0-1)
39:19 - White spots Armstrong in the area, good chance denied by the keeper
Halftime - Outshot 6-4, not putting much on target. We're still in this match, they haven't looked gangbusters either.

57:30 - Sub Groves for Slaughter (6.2), Sub Abraham for Peacock, shift Matondo to F

64:00 - Abraham takes a knock and has to come out. Sub Mole in, move Matondo back to ML
73:00 - Switch to Attacking, we're doing nothing the entire half offensively
89:00 - 3mins of extra time ... switch to Overload

Fulltime - What an abysmal second half performance. We were outshot 10-0 in the final half, 16-4 for the match. Only 39% poss. Didn't complete a single cross all day. Couldn't pass (56%) from the back line. Conceded FOURTEEN CORNERS without getting a single one ourselves. And my coaching staff is telling me we should be pleased with the effort ! I just calmly acknowledge that they gave it their best & everyone is delighted. Unfortunately, days like today our best simply isn't very fucking good

McDonald (MOM) 8.1
Martin 6.1, Jones 7.1, Breckin 6.5, Slaughter 6.0
Matondo 6.6, Morrison 6.6, White 6.8, O'Connor 6.2
Peacock 5.9, Armstrong 6.4
Subs: Groves 6.4, Mole 6.4, Abraham N/A

Nov 10, 2012 (postmatch)
With the loss we actually moved up to 21, as Stockport now has a worse GD (-9 vs -8) than us. We're still a point behind Welling, just two behind Bath with a game in hand on them.

The injury to Jack Abraham is to his hip, and we'll spend the money ($1k) & send him to a specialist for treatment that should have him back in three months. Treatment by the club would have had him out 5-6 months.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 11, 2012
A note from the Premier League where 9th placed Chelsea has fired Roberto Di Matteo.

Nov 12, 2012
Looking at the scouting report on our next opponent, Alfreton Town, in the 1st Round of the FA Cup. They've been red hot for quite a while now, haven't lost in over 2 months, going 7-7-0 in their last 14 matches. They've got 6 players with 3 goals or more. Of particular concern is their strength in the second half, where they've outscored recent opponents 19-6.

Nov 13, 2012
Nathan McDonald was named in the BSBP Team of the Week first eleven.

Nov 14, 2012
Our Reserves went to Bradford and came away with a surprising 4-3 win. A pair of own goals helped us to a 4-1 lead and then we withstood a furious rally to steal the victory. We were outshot 22-8 for the match goals by Lobjoit and Janneh (MOM 8.1) were enough to keep us in front.

Nov 17, 2012
Our U18's beat Darlington at home 1-0. Laste Dombaxe continued his recovery from injury with a goal at 26'. Alex Archer posted a clean sheet.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 17, 2012
Blyth (21st in BSBP) at Alfreton (4th in BSBN) - 1st Round FA Cup

Hard luck to play a good team on the road, this won't be easy. They're 5:4 favorites, we're 7:4 underdogs. 4-4-2 Counter.

GK: Knight
D: Kulsten, Jones, Antwi, Purvis
MF: Matondo, Hands, White, Groves
F: Stamp, Mole
Bench: (Giddings, Phillips, Armstrong, Slaughter, Vipond, O'Connor, Dovey)

10:30 - Mole to Matondo deep on the left side ... back to Mole in the area ... out to Hands who dribbles right & shoots .. GOAL ! (1-0) One of the prettier goals you'll see from us

Halftime - They slowed us down considerably after the early display, but we're holding on despite being outshot 5-3. Just have to keep it going, stay the course for now.

47:15 - White plays a quick pass deep in the area to Mole ... left footed shot toward the right post ... GOAL (2-0)

51:30 - Darko puts up a 25 yard try ... it's in .. (2-1) He got up a head of steam & put a lot on the shot

63:00 - Switch to Defensive
64:30 - Sub Slaughter for Matondo (tiring/knocked)
67:30 - Darko draws the defense ... plays a pass to Jarman and his rocket beats Knight (2-2)
77:00 - Sub O'Connor for Stamp; White to F, Groves to CMR, O'Connor to MR
Switch to Counter
80:25 - Jarman battles with Antwi after making a long run ... Antwi wins the ball & gets flattened for his troubles ... That's a red card for Jarman, he's sent off ... Switch to Standard ... Sub Armstrong for Hands (tiring)
86:00 - Antwi hacks a loose ball off the line after a dangerous shot by Alfreton
92:30 - Kulsten crosses for Armstrong ... wheels & fires ... just inches wide

Fulltime - I'm not sure whether to be happy or disappointed. Lousy to blow a lead like that, good to still be alive. Outshot 11-7 but we did a number of things right.

Knight 6.8
Kulsten 6.8, Jones 6.9, Antwi 6.9, Purvis 6.1
Matondo 6.9, Hands 7.3 & 1 goal, White 7.2 & 1 assist, Groves 6.9
Stamp 6.7, Mole 7.9 & 1 goal & 1 assist
Subs: Slaughter 6.7, Armstrong/O'Connor N/A

Nov 17, 2012 (postmatch)
The replay has been set for Wed Nov 28th. That shoves our league match against Lincoln to Wed Dec 5th.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 18, 2012
If we survive the replay, we've got a pretty good draw ahead in the 2nd round. The winner of our match will face BSBP Stockport Co

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 19, 2012
Promising GK Jack Dovey is unhappy at the lack of first team action. Our private chat was rather tense.
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Promising young MF Andrew Higgins has joined the club on a free for a youth contract. The 19 y/o Australian has some skills with the ball but needs to work on his physical abilities.
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We've also signed 18 y/o striker Jonson Clarke-Harris. The former Coventry prospect is more of a pure scorer than some of our other forwards - or at least that's what we're hoping - but he still has much work to do in other aspects of his game. He's in for $250/wk through next season. He's also now the highest valued member of the club at $140k, supplanting Reece Hands for that distinction.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 21, 2012 (morning)
Recent acquistion Andrew Higgins played poorly (5.8) for Australia's U21s yesterday in a 4-0 loss to Finland.

Nov 21, 2012 (evening)
Our Reserves managed a 1-1 draw against Rotherham. We trailed from 19' but drew level on a goal by Shane Bennett at 66'. Bennett, Rickard, Seery and McGovern all stood out with ratings of 7.1 or higher.

Bad news from the physios, Rickard injured his elbow during the match & will be 2-3 weeks for treatment.
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After the match, we release ST Glen Taylor on a free. He'd been playing with the club on a month to month basis but we've reached the conclusion that he will not be a key contributor to the club going forward.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 24, 2012 (afternoon)
Blyth (3-6-9, 21st) at Aldershot (15-0-3, 2nd)

Nothing like an uphill climb just a few days before a Cup match, but that's the deal. Virtually their entire starting lineup has a rating over 7.0, they've got 3 players with 6 goals or more. This is going to be awfully tough. We'll play mostly reserves here, and do so in a Defensive 5-3-1. Who knows, maybe it will confuse them. They're heavy 1:6 favorites, we're 10:1 longshots.

GK: McDonald
D: Martin, Breckin, Stevenson, Mellish, Sinclair
MF: Phillips, Wedderburn, Vipond
F: Peacock, Hassan
Bench: (Kulsten, Janneh, Lobjoit, Sawyer, Hartley)

6:30 - Rodman found himself one on one with McDonald & beat him rather easily (0-1)
24:15 - Rodman with a free kick from beyond the arc ... a rocket beats McDonald (0-2)
Switch to 4-4-2 Standard
44:00 - Sinclair picks up a yellow card for pushing, that'll be a suspension for our next match
45:45 - Herd crosses into the box for Richards, a diving header is too much (0-3)

Halftime - We're simply outclassed here. Outshot 15-0 thus far with only 35% poss, barely half our passes have even hit their mark. We go 4-4-1-1 Standard to open the 2nd half ... Sub Lobjoit for Peacock.

47:45 - Wedderburn gets off our first shot of the day, an effort that was high & knocked away easily
64:41 - Vipond in the right channel ... cross into the area on the left side for Phillips ... he controls & shoots immediately... GOAL (1-3)
Sub Sawyer for Breckin
72:00 - Sub Janneh for Sawyer (injured)
82:30 - Switch to Attacking

Fulltime - I'm glad they backed off a little. I'm glad we looked at least a little better in the 2nd half. Hard to look good when you're outshot 20-4. Ugly loss but honestly I don't think our very best lineup would have fared much better.

Nov 24, 2012 (postmatch)
We slip 3 points back of #20 Bath. We're down to 22nd place & in a 3-way tie with Stockport & Ebbsfleet for last, our GD keeps us ahead of them.

Sam Sawyer injured his elbow, will be out 2-3 weeks for treatment.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 27, 2012
We announced an agreement with 32 y/o MF Danny Whitaker that will bring him to the club on January 1st, 2013. He's a veteran of League 1 & League 2 and potted 15 goals for Chesterfield just a couple of seasons ago. We're hoping he's a solid option at MR & brings a number of needed technical skills with him.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nov 28, 2012
Blyth (22nd in BSBP) at Alfreton (4th in BSBN) - 1st Round FA Cup Replay

We're narrow 5:4 favorites at home. 4-4-2 Attacking to open

GK: Knight
D: Giddings, Jones, Antwi, Groves
MF: Matondo, Hands, White, O'Connor
F: Stamp, Mole
Bench: (Purvis, Morrison, Chinthengah, Kulsten, Slaughter, Armstrong,Hartley)

19:30 - Mole deep into the right channel ... cross to Matondo .. GOAL ! (1-0) Ran right onto the ball & actually appeared to knee it in
24:45 - Knight makes a save on a short range shot by Darko
34:54 - Hands with a corner to the near post ... Jones is there ... GOAL (2-0) Caught the keeper guessing the corner would go to the other post
Halftime - Only 3 shots apiece, but two of ours have found the net. Our margin for error is still narrow but if we could maintain the edge in possession (62%) we might have something here.

63:00 - Giddings stays down after taking another knock. Sub Kulsten for him & hope he's alright... Switch to Control

82:00 - Sub Slaughter for Hands (tired), Sub Purvis for Stamp (tired) ... White to ST, Groves to CM, Purvis to RD ... Switch to Defensive

86:12 - After a throw-in near the corner, Purvis crosses to Mole for a header ... he banked it in off the far post (3-0)

Fulltime- Now that was efficient. Outshot 7-4 but we tally three goals. Great performance, something positive for a change.

Knight 7.0
Giddings 7.1, Jones 8.0 & 1 goal, Antwi 6.8, Groves 7.6
Matondo 7.9 & 1 goal, Hands 6.9 & 1 assist, White 6.8, O'Connor 6.9
Stamp 6.9, Mole(MOM) 8.2 & 1 goal & 1 assist
Subs: Purvis 6.9 & 1 assist, Kulsten 6.8, Slaughter N/A

Nov 28, 2012 (postmatch)
We've been awarded $31.7k for the win. We'll next play Stockport County on the road on Dec 1
---
Bad news, Jason White has bruised ribs & will be out 9-12 days for treatment.
And more bad news, Stuart Giddings will be out 3-4 weeks to recover from a thigh strain.
----

Our league match against Cambridge has been rescheduled for Wed Dec 12th due to conflict with the 2nd Rd FA Cup match.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 1, 2012
Training report
Good - Janneh (attacking)
Bad - Groves, Phillips, Stamp
Youth Good - Ferguson (tactics), McKeever (Strength), Robson (tactics)
----

Grimsby striker Liam Hearn earns BSBP Player of the Month
Dag & Red FB Femi Ilesanmi earns BSBP Young Player of the Month
Dag & Red's Jez George is BSBP Manager of the Month
----
Dec 1, 2012 (morning)
Our U18s lost at Newcastle 2-0.
----
The board is pleased with my leading of the team. Highlight is still the win over Welling, the loss to Aldershot is the big disappointment. We lost $12.24k last month.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 1, 2012
Blyth (23rd in BSBP) at Stockport (24th in BSBP) - 2nd Round FA Cup Replay

They're 1:2 favorites, we're 9:2 underdogs, but I tell the club I expect a win. 4-4-2 Counter to open

GK: Knight
D: Kulsten, Jones, Antwi, Purvis
MF: Phillips, Matondo, Morrison, Whiteley
F: Mole, Armstrong
Bench: (Groves, O'Connor, Chinthengah, Sinclair, Slaughter, Clarke-Harris, Hartley)

0:35 - Disaster as Clark gets into the box & scores easily. He was clearly offside but our protests fall on deaf ears. (0-1)
16:00 - Sheridan's freekick from the point hits the crossbar
18:00 - Clark rockets another shot off the crossbar
We're being dominated, switch to Control
20:45 - Clark from beyond the area ... beats Knight (0-2)
27:45 - Switch to Attacking ... we've been outshot 9-1 to this point
36:30 - Kulsten fires a free kick over the goal
43:00 - Clark hits the post

Halftime - Egads. We sucked. I tell them to show me something different. We got our asses handed to us by a team that's in the f'n cellar, outshot 13-2, they had 2/3rds of possession. That was just turrible.

56:00 - Sub Sinclair for Antwi (5.7)
64:30 - Matondo blasts one off the crossbar
64:45 - Purvis goes down injured ... Sub Groves on
67:30 - Whiteley crosses for Mole near the box ... his shot is just inches wide
68:30 - Armstrong is livid, wanted a penalty to no avail
70:00 - Phillips with a corner into the box ... Halliwell makes a great play to snatch it
86:00 - Sub O'Connor for Whiteley (tired) ... switch to Overload

Fulltime - An embarassing effort. I'm in some faces after the match about just how far from pleased I am. I lack words to describe that displeasure adequately after being outshot 18-6 with only 41% poss against a shitty team like Stockport.

Knight 6.6
Kulsten 6.7, Jones 6.7, Antwi 5.7, Purvis 6.2
Phillips 6.8, Matondo 6.8, Morrison 6.7, Whiteley 6.1
Mole 6.6, Armstrong 6.6
Subs: Groves 6.9, Sinclair 6.9, O'Connor N/A

Dec 1, 2012 (postmatch)
I'm told that Jalmard Kulsten let the media know about my butt chewing. I have a similar tone to my presser.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 3, 2012
The FA Trophy First Round draw was held this morning. We get Cambridge United at home to start the competition.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 4, 2012
Time to figure out what I can do to get this ship turned.

-- Moved D Ian Breckin to reserves (3 lg matches 6.07 rtg). He's not happy about it, I tell him to be a professional & show some respect. He backs down.
-- Moved D Jordan Mellish to reserves (3 lg matches 6.13)
-- Elevated Michael Pearson & Lloyd Foot to first team
-- Moved ST Lee Peacock to reserves (2 lg matches 5.85). Same conversation as Breckin, same outcome
-- Moved Callum Hassan to reserves (5 app 6.4). He gets all testy & I let him have an earful, including the low standard of his play. He seems to maybe have gotten the message, we'll see. He's only here for another month on loan anyway.
-- Elevated ST Billy Lobjoit to first team

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 5, 2012(afternoon)
Blyth (3-6-10, 23rd) vs Lincoln (4-10-6, 17th)

Probably isn't a lot wrong with me (or the club) that a few wins wouldn't fix. Today would be a great time to start getting well. We're at our lowest standing of the season, and even a win here wouldn't pull us out of the drop zone ... but it would help. With Ebbsfleet coming up next, we've got a real chance to improve our status IF we can hold serve at home. They're 4:7 faves, we're 4:1 dogs. Two players will make their first starts of the season, trying to find a spark somewhere. 4-4-2 Standard to open.

GK: Hartley
D: Slaughter, Jones, Foot, Groves
MF: Matondo, Hands, Wedderburn, O'Connor
F: Mole, Lobjoit
Bench: (Antwi, Sinclair, Clarke-Harris, Morrison, Dovey)

Halftime - Yes, it was that uneventful. We outshot them 6-2, had 51% poss. We need to be doing better in the air, otherwise, they appear content for a draw and we're not doing much to prevent that from happening. No changes, not just yet anyway.

53:00 - Good chance on a cross by Matondo, O'Connor's header was saved well enough though

64:00 - Sub Morrison for Wedderburn (tiring)
69:00 - Mole & Lobjoit play a nice two-man game until O'Connor breaks free in the area for a pass ... but he's offside
72:10 - Foot fouls Smith in the area ... penalty given
73:00 - Nutter on the PK ... buries it top right (0-1)
Sub Sinclair for Foot ... Switch to Attack
87:00 - Switch to Overload
87:55 - Mole from the arc ... wide right
89:00 - 3min added
91:48 - Sinclair long ball downfield to Lobjoit ... shot is parried out for a corner

Fulltime - Sigh. Outshot them 9-6 but conceded too much possession in the end (46%-54%). Just the one mistake, and that cost us dearly.

Hartley 6.7
Slaughter 6.6, Jones(MOM) 7.6, Foot 5.4, Groves 6.7
Matondo 6.6, Hands 6.1, Wedderburn 6.9, O'Connor 6.8
Mole 6.6, Lobjoit 6.5
Subs: Morrison 6.4, Sinclair N/A

Dec 5, 2012 (postmatch)
I get through the presser without saying anything to get fined over. Now officially tied for last place with Stockport, but five ahead of them on GD. Doesn't matter of course, it's 20th place we need to avoid relegation, not "anything better than 24th".

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 6, 2012 (morning)
Gavin Fell says it's time for a team meeting. I encourage them to come together as a team and rally to stay up. Everyone liked that speech save for a single player (Carl Jones). I look around the room, decide to let our captain Frank Sinclair speak. He echoes my words, encouraging the team to pull in the same direction & reap the rewards. I think it's time to get out of here before something goes wrong.

Dec 6, 2012 (afternoon)
Our Reserves beat Whitley Bay 1-0 in a friendly that I scheduled for fitness reasons. Vipond scored in the 9th minute & it held up

Dec 7, 2012
Our U18s lost badly in a fitness friendly at Billingham Town, 3-0. Bad form was pretty much the rule of the day, we only managed 2 shots to their 9 and didn't look very good at all.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 8, 2012(afternoon)
Blyth (3-6-11, 23rd) vs Ebbsfleet (4-10-6, 17th)

Would you believe they're on a six match streak without a loss? That's why they're four points ahead of us now (although with a match in hand for us). We need to score early & make them sweat, they've only managed 13 goals in 21 games, even we've done better with 20 in 20. Problem is tired players & the need to be able to have lineups that can contend with Cambridge in b2b matches on Wed & Sat, first a league tie and then an FA Trophy matchup. 4-4-2 Attacking to open.

GK: Knight
D: Kulsten, Jones, Antwi, Sinclair
MF: Phillips, Morrison, Groves, Richards
F: Armstrong, Clarke-Harris
Bench: (Purvis, Matondo, Stamp, O'Connor, McDonald)

8:30 - They cross into the box & rattle a shot off the golapost
11:30 - Armstrong with a chance for us but he's offside
17:00 - Switch to Standard
20:30 - Morrison gathers a loose ball in the arc ... and FIRES ! (1-0)
29:00 - Ebbsfleet on the counter ... rattled the post again
45:00+ - Added time winding down ... Phipp shoots from the left side of the area ... Knight punches ... Phipp gets another try on the rebound & doesn't miss (1-1)

Halftime - Sigh, we must hate leads. Been outshot 9-2 so far, maybe we just hate offense.

55:00 - Switch to Attacking again
61:45 - Morrison thinks about a shot from the arc ... waits ... spots Armstrong and hits him ... into the box .... GOAL ! (2-1) That one was set up by an aggressive run down the left channel by Groves after a takeaway in our half.
64:00 - Switch to Counter
70:00 - Sub Stamp for Armstrong (tiring,knocked) ... Sub Purvis for Sinclair (tiring) ... Sub Matondo for Groves (tiring)
71:48 - Purvis with a quick lob into the area ... Phillips header ... GOAL ! (3-1)
79:00 - Switch to Defensive
79:30 - Stone in traffic out in front ... left footed shot ... it hits his teammate Lorraine and ricochets in past Knight (3-2)
83:15 - Willock gets loose on a breakaway ... Knight blocks it ... loose rebound ... Willock again toward an empty net ... it's wide right
88:00 - Switch to Contain
88:45 - Phillips with a corner to the far post for Antwi ... saved .. rebound to Jones ... GOAL ! (4-2)

Fulltime - I'll take it. To win like that, outshot 16-7, completely unexpected. I don't care.

Knight 6.8
Kulsten 6.9, Jones 7.5 & 1 goal, Antwi 6.9 & 1 assist, Sinclair 6.9
Phillips 7.7 & 1 goal, Morrison(MOM) 8.6, 1 goal & 1 assist
Groves 6.7, Richards 6.9
Armstrong 7.2 & 1 goal, Clarke-Harris 6.8
Subs: Purvis 6.9 & 1 assist, Matondo 6.9, Stamp 6.9

Dec 8, 2012 (postmatch)
We're still in much danger, 22nd place with 18 points, 1 behind Ebbsfleet & more importantly 4 behind #20 Kidderminster ... but the climb out has to start somewhere.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 11, 2012
Our Reserves got their butts handed to them 3-1 in a fitness friendly at Spennymoor. I screwed up here & forgot that R friendlies wold be handled by the staff, so most of the players I wanted to get fitness time didn't play like I wanted.


Dec 12, 2012(afternoon)
Blyth (4-6-11, 22nd) at Cambridge (7-3-11, 16th)

Scheduling quirk where we play these guys tonight and then again Saturday afternoon in the 1st Rd of the FA Trophy. Probably a better chance to win at home next time but we certainly could use at least a point here today. Instead of cherrypicking my lineup accordingly for either purpose, it'll probably be determined more by who's rested & who isn't. They're 4:7 faves at home, we're 4:1 dogs away. 4-4-2 Standard, mostly because I haven't had the team training Counter this week.

GK: McDonald
D: Martin - Antwi - Stevenson - Purvis
MF: Matondo - Hands - Vipond - Morrison
F: Mole - Lobjoit
Bench: (Sinclair - White - Stamp - Groves - Hartley)

5:00 - We dodge a bullet as they dribbled right past Purvis but missed the shot wide left pretty badly
32:00 - Matondo deep down the left side ... beautiful cross into the box ... we had nobody there to do anything with it
32:30 - McDonald denies their leading scorer Marriott on a breakway
34:30 - McDonald denies him again, this time in the box
37:30 - A corner gives them a great chance, they hit the crossbar
45:00 - Hands takes a knock, has to be subbed ... White on for Hands
Halftime - It's a pure miracle we're still in this one after being outshot 11-0. Only 33% poss for us, only 49% passing. Switch to Counter, tweak our passing mixture.

47:20 - White with a free kick from the right channel .. plays it to the opposite side of the area for Vipond .. controls & shoots .. GOAL!!! (1-0) Out of nowhere, completely unexpected all the way round
51:10 - Marriott vultures a rebound of a shot by Pugh ... tie game (1-1)
55:27 - Vipond takes a corner to the far post for Stevenson ... header misses horribly
60:55 - Atiku works a give & go with Marriott ... and we left Atiku all alone (1-2)
73:00 - Sub Sinclair for Stevenson (5.7) ... Sub Stamp for Mole (5.6) ... switch to Attacking (might as well)
89:00 - 2 mins of added time
94:00 - A corner produces nothing of interest, and that'll finish it.

Fulltime - My staff says we should be pleased with the effort. Apparently they hate offense. We got outshot 17-2, barely completed half (55%) of our passes, a truly embarassing offensive show. Overall I tell the team that we were unlucky, to some extent that's true I suppose. Individually I express my displeasure to those who simply sucked out loud - Stevenson, Martin, and Mole.

McDonald 6.3
Martin 5.7, Antwi 7.1, Stevenson 5.7, Purvis 6.8
Matondo 6.8, Hands 6.9,Vipond 7.3 & 1 goal, Morrison 6.6
Mole 5.6, Lobjoit 6.6
Subs: Sinclair 6.9, White 6.9 & 1 assist, Stamp 6.4

Dec 14, 2012 (postmatch)
We're now in a 5 point hole to get out of the drop zone and with one match left before the halfway point, my optimism is fading. We're simply not getting any better, nor looking any more competitive than we did early on.

And it's not getting any better.

Reece Hands will be out two months with a sprained ankle suffered during a heavy landing just before halftime.
Will Antwi will be out up to a month with a groin strain suffered just before the end of the match.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 14, 2012
Our U18s lost a fitness friendly 2-1 at Consett. Our offensive woes are present there too, our only score game in extra time by Kaine Sheppard. In fairness, we were a man short for much of the night after Andy Williamson was sent off at 31'

Much worse news was the injury to Laste Dombaxe, who will miss 4-5 months with a torn calf muscle. 15(2) appearances in non-competitive matches, with 2 goals, 2 assists, and a 6.74 avg rtg.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 15, 2012
Blyth (22nd in BSBP) vs Cambridge (14th in BSBP) - 1st Round FA Trophy

This time they're 4:6 favorites, we're 7:2 underdogs. 4-4-2 Attacking to open.

GK: Knight
D: Kulsten, Jones, Sinclair, Groves
MF: Phillips, Morrison, White, Whiteley
F: Mole, Clarke-Harris
Bench: (Slaughter, Purvis, Armstrong, Wedderburn, Dovey )

0:30 - Clarke-Harris breaks free off the kickoff and is denied on a fair chance one-on-one by the keeper
16:00 - Clarke-Harris hobbles off for a bit of treatment
21:00 - Clarke-Harris slides to his left in the area to avoid a tackle ... shoots .. wide right
28:30 - Clarke-Harris runs down the middle ... shoots ... wide left, badly

Halftime - Shots are even 4-4, Poss. is ours (55%), passing is much improved (74%) ... and still we're scoreless. And Clarke-Harris is almost spent, tried his best to get us going.

49:20 - Clarke-Harris with a nice run deep into the area ... crossing attempt is blocked ... Morrison pounces on the loose ball at the arc ... dumps a pass to Phillips in the area to his left ... off the post

57:00 - Pugh in the area for a try ... Knight blocks it ... Groves bumps into Pugh on the rebound ... foul ... Penalty! WTF? Oh come on, are you kidding me?
57:30 - Atiku steps up for the try ... fires ... BLOCKED by Knight ... cleared to the touch by Phillips ... Switch to Standard, probably just for a bit, we're getting awfully tired
59:15 - Atiku finds himself somehow alone in the area, one-on-one ... again Knight denies him
61:45 - Morrison taps a pass to Mole at the arc ... he taps to Clarke-Harris nearby, he'll turn and shoot ... a reflex save denies him again
66:05 -- Clarke-Harris weaves in traffic down the middle ... knocks a pass toward the right corner to no one ... Whiteley catches with it & hoofs a near desperation cross toward the box ... it hits a defender ... and goes in !!! (1-0) An own goal suddenly puts us in front.

Sub Wedderburn for Clarke-Harris (spent), Sub Slaughter for Kulsten (spent)
Switch to Counter

71:10 - A corner to the far post ... Hudson is there for Cambridge ... his header is true (1-1) ... Dammit. Switch to Standard
73:00 - Mole to White on the left side ... shot ... punched away
73:30 - Phillips with a corner to the far side for Sinclair ... header comes up short & bounces .. Atiku clears it off the line
85:00 - Sub Armstrong for Whiteley (exhausted) ... Groves to MR, Sinclair to RD, Wedderburn to DC, White back to CM ... switch to Attacking
89:00 - Pugh whistles a shot that Knight can only tip over the bar ... Slaughter clears the ensuing corner
89:00 - 3mins added time
91:00 - Armstrong in tight ... tackled out for a corner
92:15 - Slaughter with a long throw into the box ... they knock it out

Fulltime - So close. So very close. I tell them I'm happy with the performance & for the first time in a while I actually mean it. Got outshot 11-8 but we gave them all they wanted for sure. And screw the match ratings, Clarke-Harris put on one of the finest performances I've seen from any player since I arrived at Blyth. Alas, in the end we still didn't score a goal for ourselves & all we get is a replay on the road.

Knight 6.8
Kulsten 6.8, Jones 6.8, Sinclair 7.0, Groves 6.8
Phillips 6.7, Morrison 6.6, White 6.7, Whiteley 6.6
Mole 6.6, Clarke-Harris 6.4
Subs: Slaughter 6.5, Wedderburn 6.4, Armstrong N/A

Dec 15, 2012 (postmatch)
Won't take long for the replay, it's next Wednesday Dec 19th. That in turn shifts our league match against Stockport to Sat Dec 22nd.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 18, 2012
The winner of our FA Trophy replay against Cambridge now knows that they would meet Histon in the 2nd Round.

By the by, Cambridge is a 1:2 favorite this time around, we're 9-2 dogs.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 19, 2012
Blyth (22nd in BSBP) vs Cambridge (14th in BSBP) - 1st Round FA Trophy

I wonder how often you see the same club in three consecutive matches?
What the hell, we'll open 4-4-2 Attacking again today, despite being on the road.

GK: Knight
D: Slaughter, Jones, Sinclair, Purvis
MF: Matondo, White, Wedderburn, O'Connor
F: Mole, Lobjoit
Bench: (Vipond, Groves, Armstrong, Phillips, McDonald)

0:00 - Playing this one in a light snowfall
14:00 - Switch to Standard
24:30 - Switch to Counter (they're coming at us hard)
34:10 - Mole has a shot tipped over the bar for a corner ... we send that over everyone for a turnover
44:15 - Lobjoit has a go at it ... cracks it off the crossbar

Halftime - Possession was 50-50. Outshot 8-4 but only one shot on target apiece. And we actually had 2 clear cut chances to their none. I tell the boys that if we could get a goal I make us favorites to win. Switch to Attacking to open the half, maybe they'll believe that I meant what I said.

55:00 - Switch to Counter
68:45 - Gibson takes a nice centering pass from Atiku and is ready for it (0-1) Switch to Attacking
84:00 - Pugh pots an easy goal ... won't count, offside
84:15 - Sub Phillips for Slaughter (exhausted), Sub Armstrong for Lobjoit (yellow card & 6.0), Sub Groves for Purvis ... Switch to Overload
89:00 - 3 mins of added time

Fulltime - Damn. Ended up outshot 13-6, actually had 53% of possession. Just that one play we didn't defend well.

Knight 6.2
Slaughter 6.7, Jones 6.8, Sinclair 6.7, Purvis 6.9
Matondo 6.6, White 6.6, Wedderburn 6.8, O'Connor 6.7
Mole 6.3, Lobjoit 6.0
Subs: Armstrong/Groves/Philips N/A

Dec 19, 2012 (postmatch)
I tell the presser I say it's time to move on & focus our attention elsewhere. I'm thinking a golf course might be a nice focal point.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 22, 2012 (morning)
Our U18s lose to York 2-1. A penalty at 42' put us down a couple, Ashley Wheeler got on back at 55' but we could get no closer, managing only 4 shots for the day.

[JonInMiddleGA]

NOTE: It's been a couple of weeks since I've had a chance to even touch the game, nothing to do with the game really, just life getting in the way of gaming.

I think I'm going to at least experiment with shortening my game day writeups for a while, for a couple of reasons. 1) We suck, and at this point I expect relegation, which I don't know whether I'll survive with my job or not. 2) I'd like to pick up the pace a little bit, at least for now, to see if I can get back in the flow of things more quickly.

So if you pick up with the resumption & think something seems off in my posts, that's what's going on. I might find that I hate it & switch back quickly, but I'm gonna at least give it a try.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 22, 2012 (afternoon)

Blyth (4-6-12, 22nd) at Stockport (4-6-12, 23rd)

We reach the halfway point of the season today, on the road against a team that we're in a virtual tie with, up one place in the standings due to GD (-11 vs -17). It begins a critical stretch for us with 6 matches in the next 2 1/2 weeks, including games against teams in the drop zone like we are. If we're ever going to get points, we've got a chance to do it now.

They're a 1:2 favorite, we're 9:2 dogs. We'll start in 4-4-2 Standard.

GK: Hartley
D: Kulsten, Jones, Sawyer, Groves
MF: Phillips, Morrison,Vipond, Richards
F: Armstrong, Stamp
Bench: (Sinclair, Matondo, Clarke-Harris, Purvis, Dovey)

Halftime: Blyth 1 - Stockport 1
Vipond tied the match at 41:00 with a blast from the point following a throw-in by Sawyer that was batted around for a bit. We trailed for most of the half after giving up an easy goal in the 7th minute to Noble-Lazarus
We were outshot 8-2, had only 43% of poss & had switched to Counter at around 10'. Our back line has played poorly, can't pass, can't win in the air.
I tell 'em I'm pleased thus far (which is true enough) and to keep it up, club looked happy with that. Let's at least get out of here with a point is what I'm thinking.

76:00 - Sub Clarke-Harris for Stamp, Sub Matondo for Phillips

Fulltime: Blyth 1 - Stockport 1
Not exactly a stellar day but a point is better than what we've been getting lately. Very quiet second half, we actually outshot then in the final half 3-1. Possession ended up 49-51. Our back line improved their play but still couldn't pass for crap.

Hartley 6.6
Kulsten 7.0, Jones 7.2, Sawyer 6.8, Groves 7.1
Phillips 6.8, Morrison 6.9,Vipond 7.3 & 1 goal, Richards(MOM) 7.4 & 1 assist
Armstrong 6.8, Stamp 5.9
Subs: Matondo(76') N/A, Clarke-Harris(76') N/A

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 23, 2012
Our Reserves loses a tough 1-0 decision at home against Hartlepool. D Michael Pearson played well (7.1) while ST Leeroy Chinthengah played badly (6.10).

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 26, 2012 (afternoon)

Blyth (4-7-12, 22nd) at Darlington (5-8-10,19th)

Second half of the season begins with a chance to pick up badly needed points against a team struggling almost as much as we have. They average less than a goal a game, a little offense might be enough, but we've had our share of problems finding even a little.

They're a 1:2 favorite, we're 9:2 dogs. We'll start in 4-4-2 Standard.

GK: Knight
D: Giddings, Jones, Purvis, Sinclair
MF: Phillips, Matondo, White, O'Connor
F: Mole, Clarke-Harris
Bench: (Wedderburn, Whiteley, Lobjoit, Groves, Dovey)

Halftime: Blyth 1 - Darlington 0
Matondo put us in front at 22' with a wonderful goal from the area, set up by a blocked header by O'Connor. We struggled with them a bit in the latter part of the half, which led to us being outshot 8-5 and with only 42% poss. We'll switch to Counter to open the 2nd half, see if we can take advantage of their aggression.

74 sub Wedderburn for Giddings sub Groves for Purvis
89 sub Whiteley for Phillips

Fulltime: Blyth 1 - Darlington 0
The lone goal held up but it wasn't easy til the final whistle, a potential equalizer for Darlington banged off the post in extra time. Knight came up big, so did the woodwork which denied them three times. On the day we outshot them 13-12, had 49% poss.

Knight(MOM) 7.8
Giddings 6.9, Jones 7.1, Purvis 7.1, Sinclair 7.3
Phillips 6.9, Matondo 7.6 & 1 goal, White 6.8, O'Connor 6.9
Mole 7.3 & 1 assist, Clarke-Harris 5.6
Subs: Wedderburn(for Giddings 74') 6.9, Groves (for Purvis 74') 6.9
Whiteley (for Phillips 89') N/A

Dec 26, 2012 (post-match) The win doesn't get us out of the cellar but it does put us within a point of both Darlington & Newport Co and within 2 points of Bath in 19th place.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 27, 2012
Our Reserves lost to Hull Reserves 3-0 . Amazing that it was even that close since we were outshot 23-2. Our forwards (Rickard, Hassan) were abysmal, our midfield wasn't much better.

Our U18s managed a 1-1 draw against South Shields in a fitness friendly. Adam Drury scored for us in the 16th minute, they equalized at 63'.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 28, 2012
Jordan Richards has completed his loan assignment and returned to Hartlepool. He made 6 appearances fo rus with an average rating of 6.8 and had 2 assists. He was unwilling to remain for another loan period.

D Ian Breckin wants to talk. He wants first team football, doesn't care for my pointing out that he sucked when he was last given a chance at that, don't let the door hit you if you want out. He's little more than dead salary to me at this point and I'd be happy to see him off the books.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 29, 2012 (afternoon)

Blyth (5-7-12, 22nd) vs Gateshead (9-9-6,9th)

We come off a win and run headlong into our fiercest rival. They whipped us thoroughly at their place earlier in the season, 3-0, and I'm not sure anything short of a miracle will produce a different result today.

They're a Pick'Em favorite, we're 11:5 dogs. We'll start in 4-4-2 Counter, try to absorb their first punch before shifting gears.

GK: Knight
D: Kulsten, Jones, Sinclair, Purvis
MF: Matondo, Morrison, Vipond, Groves
F: Armstrong, Mole
Bench: (Slaughter, Phillips, White, Giddings, McDonald)

Halftime: Gateshead 1 - Blyth 0
Oudubade got free inside & put them up at 15'
We were outshot 6-0 in the half and I lit into the team, questioning their passion and whether they even wanted to win the match. That's a speech they haven't heard from me before & it seemed to motivate them at least.

Fulltime: Gateshead 2 Blyth 0
Carole scored his first ever goal for Gateshead at 53' after a nice centering pass. At 65' we pulled Purvis (5.9) and Mole (5.8) in favor of White & Slaughter. It didn't matter one bit. We were outshot 15-0, only had 40% poss, gave up 10 corners while getting just 2.

Knight 6.4
Kulsten 6.7, Jones 6.6, Sinclair 6.2, Purvis 5.9
Matondo 6.2, Morrison 6.5, Vipond 6.5, Groves 6.8
Armstrong 6.6, Mole 5.8
Subs: Slaughter 6.5, White 6.7

Dec 29, 2012 (post-match)
The fans are very unhappy & so am I. That's 9 games & counting without a goal from Jamie Mole, but when we can't even generate a shot ... just damn.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dec 30, 2012
We're desperate for offense, we bring in 21 y/o Djeny Bembo-Leta on trial. He's a former Oldham prospect who scored 11 goals on loan with Staylbridge last season in BSBN. Craig Howard likes him but we've made so many mistakes with quick signings, let's see what he looks like on the pitch first.

Dec 31, 2012
We extend the contracts of scout Craig Howard and physio Ewen Fairgreave through next season for minor salary increases.

Jan 1, 2013
New year, ton of awards to note
-- Lionel Messi of F.C. Barcelona claimed both the World Golden Ball award and the World Player of the Year honor
-- African Footballer of the Year is Stephane Mbia of Olympique de Marseille
-- Asian Player of the Year is Wigan's Server Jeparov
-- Asian Young Player of the Year is Ji Dong-Won of Sunderland
-- Irish PotY is Kevin Doyle of Wolverhampton
-- Irish U21 PotY is Aidan White of Leeds
-- Irish Young PotY is Cillian Sheridan of CSKA(Sofia)
-- Welsh Footballer of the Year is Gareth Bale of Tottenham Hotspur

On a much smaller stage, GK David Knight is named to the BSBP Team of the Week first eleven.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jan 1, 2013 (afternoon)
MF Danny Whitaker has joined Blyth. We signed the 32 y/o several weeks ago but he joins now as the transfer window reopens. He can play any position past the back line & we hope to get him into match shape & contributing as quickly as possible.

F Louis Almond has agreed to join us on trial. Craig Berry likes the 20 y/o former Blackpool youth, we'll see how & where he might fit in.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jan 1, 2013 (afternoon)

Blyth (5-7-13, 23rd) at Forest Green (8-5-11, 16th)

It's gotta get better, right? We played them to a 1-1 draw in the first encounter, I'd take that today on the road.

They're 1-2 favorites, we're 9-2 dogs. We'll start in 4-4-2 Defensive, then roll from there. Young Rhys Paul will make his 1st team debut today.

GK: Hartley
D: Martin, Jones, Paul, Pearson
MF: Phillips, White, Wedderburn, O'Connor
F: Mole, Lobjoit
Bench: (Purvis, Whiteley, Stamp, Slaughter, McDonald)

Halftime: Forest Green 3 Blyth 1
Quick counterattack, Kabba simply beats Hartley at 5'
Middleton gets free & clear down the left side inexplicably at 8'
Styche in the box to beat Hartley at 34'
Mole ends his drought after a nice long ball by Phillips at 36'

We outshot them 6-4, we simply gave them too many easy opportunities. Our passing is crap, our tackling is worse. I'd like to see something different in the second half.

Fulltime Forest Green 6 - Blyth 1
Styche scores easily off a corner at 60'
Rowe fires home a free kick at 81'
Bangura pots a rebound after Purvis missed an interception at 86'

Have I mentioned that I think our problem may simply be that we're not very good? Just awful beyond words today. We didn't even take a shot in the second half.

Subs: Purvis for Pearson at 53', Whiteley for Martin at 69', Slaughter for Paul at 75'

Hartley 5.9
Martin 5.9, Jones 5.4, Paul 5.3, Pearson 5.5
Phillips 6.8 & 1 assist, White 5.3, Wedderburn 5.5, O'Connor 5.7
Mole 7.1 & 1 goal, Lobjoit 5.6
Subs: Whiteley 6.5, Slaughter 6.4, Purvis 5.6

Jan 1, 2013 (postmatch)
Rhys Paul suffered a twisted knee & will miss a month for treatment. I'm honest at the presser & call today an embarassment.

Nathan McDonald wants to bitch about playing time. I'm not in the mood, he can go screw himself for all I care. I put him on reserve duty, he comes BACK to cry again. I tell him to shut up & prove himself.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jan 2, 2013
Our Reserves got a very welcome 3-0 win at Scunthorpe Reserves. An early red card helped us extend a 1-0 lead (Harrison) to a pair (Brown) by the half, a late goal at 80' (Seery) finished things off. MF Jack Harrison was MOM (8.9), Theo Brown (8.4) was also excellent. Danny Whitaker impressed as well (8.1).

Phil Stevenson will miss two months for treatment of strained knee ligaments suffered in the second half.

Jan 4, 2013 (morning)
22 y/o ST Troy Hewitt joins us on trial. The former QPR prospect could add some badly needed pace up front but we'll see how he looks with the reserves before making any decisions.

Jan 4, 2013 (afternoon)
Our U18s managed a 2-2 draw against Newcastle Benfield in a fitness friendly. Adam Drury put us in front at 5', they drew level at 40', Trevor Mutero put us back in front at 43', they tied it with a penalty at 48'

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jan 5, 2013 (afternoon)

Blyth (5-7-14, 22nd) vs Kidderminster (8-5-12, 18th)

At home, against a bottom half club, this is a chance to put the abomination of a few days earlier behind us. But can we? The pundits say no, we're 4:1 dogs at home. We'll go 4-4-2 Attacking to open.

GK: Knight
D: Kulsten, Jones, Sinclair, Groves
MF: Matondo, Morrison, Vipond, O'Connor
F: Mole, Lobjoit
Bench: (Slaughter, Phillips, Clarke-Harris, Wedderburn, Dovey)

Halftime: Blyth 0 - Kidderminster 0
A busy first half, we were outshot 7-2 & only had 43% of poss but actually played pretty well. We just need to create more chances.

Fulltime: Blyth 2 - Kidderminster 0
Lobjoit works himself past the keeper & scores after a nice pass by Vipond at 53'. Nearly offside but no call.
Mole takes a penalty at 77' and calmly sticks it into the left side of the net, keeper never moved

Outshot 10-7 but we made ours count.

Knight 7.0
Kulsten 7.3, Jones(MOM) 8.0, Sinclair 7.2, Groves 7.2
Matondo 6.8, Morrison 6.9, Vipond 6.9 & 1 assist, O'Connor 6.8
Mole 6.9 & 1 goal, Lobjoit 7.6 & 1`goal
Subs: Wedderburn (for Vipond 68') 6.9, Slaughter (for Matondo at 71') 6.9

Jan 5, 2013 (postmatch)
That was Lobjoit's first career goal for Blyth, after more than 400 minutes scoreless ... The win doesn't move us up in the table but does get us within three points of Newport Co (two in hand on us), Darlington (1 in hand) and Bath (same number played)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jan 6, 2013
Our Reserves beat Billingham Syn 2-0 in a fitness friendly. Trialist Troy Hewitt (7.2) had a goal (44') and Dean Goodall added insurance with a penalty (77'). Trialist Bembo-Leta (6.9) and Louis Almond (6.8) played okay but MF Theo Brown (7.3) was MOM.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jan 8, 2013
22 y/o ST Marlon Jackson comes to us on trial. Scout Craig Howard gave excellent marks to the former Bristol City prospect but we want to see how he looks with our reserves before making any decisions.