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Fri 28/04/2006

Season Summary
We finished second in the Sportsmanship league, falling agonisingly short of top spot, averaging 8.80. The top side were Burwash, who finished on 8.88.
Our opponents next weekend, Beulah, finished in the bottom four of Division 3 while their second team finished 3rd in Division 6, conceding fewer goals than anyone else.

Posted by: Steve Mumford

Wed 26/04/2006

2nd Team Training
We will be holding a 2nd Team training session on Monday from 4.30pm-6.30pm at the Rec. It is a bank holiday so please try and make it if you are hoping to play in the game v Beulah.
We will be running through all sorts of things like positions, set-pieces, formations etc so it will be a really useful couple of hours.
Any 1st teamers are welcome to come along for fitness and to provide an opposition.

Posted by: Steve Mumford

Sun 23/04/2006

PROMOTION!!!
Following our fantastic result against St Helens last Saturday (see all the details and match stats by clicking on FIXTURES and read the match report), I've finally started to realise that we ARE actually promoted - no doubts!!!
So I've let myself begin to look forward to next season.

Playing for either Punnetts Town or Battle Baptists for the last 4 or 5 years I've become all too familiar with the same old clubs. So I'm really excited now about visiting some other venues.

It looks like JC Tackleway and Athletico will get promoted from Div 3 to 2 and Pebsham Sibex and Westfield are already relegated from 3 to 4. All the other clubs except for Wittersham are also very familiar to me from days spent playing for Claverham FC all those years ago.

I'm sorry to say, we've got some awful pitches to play on. Burwash's pitch slopes wildly form one end to the other and resembles the North Face of the Eiger. Magham Down and Little Common aren't that much better either.

Old acquaintences will be renewed at our friends Beulah and also at our close neighbours Catsfield, where the changing facilities are an experience not to be missed - don't bring a large bag or towel.

Mayfield are relegated from Div 2 to 3 so we can look forward to scrambling about for the ball in the brambles that line one side of their pitch. I'll be praying that their notorious defender 'Mad Dog' isn't still playing for them, having suffered a serious knee injury when he tackled me about 3 days after the ball had gone. That was about ten years ago.

The other team to be relegated from 2 to 3 is Cranbrook - remember the atrosciously muddy game we had at Angley School last season - we'll be playing their 1st team now, but it's actually thier only team since their second team folded last year.

Herstmonceux, who we played in a cup competition this year, have got a good pitch. It's very large and level but the grass can be long there, especially if the sheep have been grazing in a different field! It's also quite a trek from the changing room across fields and a style.

Then of course there's our fellow promotees (is that a word?) Hastings Rangers, so with Beulah that's at least 2 visits to Bulverhythe next season.

I know I make it sound rough and in some ways it is. But actually I'm just full of sentimentality for these places because I love playing in the East Sussex Football League and I'm so looking forward to our next season in Division 3.
Thank You to everyone who has contributed to a fantastic 2005/6 season that has enabled it all to happen.
God bless all of you!!!

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Sun 23/04/2006

TICKETS ON SALE
Tickets are now on Sale for the End of Season Presentation on June 10th, £10 each.
We have lots to celebrate and be thankful for. Please get your tickets early and invite friends too. They won't have to enjoy football to enjoy this event.
Let's make it a fantastic evening for everyone associated with our Club!!

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Wed 12/04/06

Team To Play ST HELENS - Sat 22nd April, 2006. - Home - KO 3pm

 

1.Simon Cutler

2.Owen Davies, 5.Gary Wenham, 4.Doug Morris, 3.Darrell Hartley

11. Dave Mills, 9.Gary Walsh, 7.Andy Mills(c), 8.Pete Cooper,

10.Dom Fowler, 6.Tom Frere-Smith,


Subs: 12.Paul Ford, 13.Adrian Gaylon, 14.Chris Mammone, 15.Gary Williams, 16.Richard Ahsam.

Meet at the Rec by 2pm.

I'd like to take a squad photo before the game on Saturday. If you are reading this and you have played for us at all this season, please be at the pitch by 2:30pm so that we can fit in the shot before kick off.

The pitch is hard now and it probably won't take a stud by Saturday. At training it was great down the wings but very hard and bobbly down the centre. The grass has been mowed.

Also remember to take a voting paper for the annual awards. I'd prefer if you returned your paper on the day, but if you want to take away your voting paper to think at your leisure. don't lose it and kake sure you return it to me by 6th May.
We will be collecting in the annual trophies that were presented last year so give them a good dusting before you return them.

Tickets for the presentation Evening on the 10th June will be on sale from Saturday...price £10. Please buy them early and ask friends & familiy to come along as well. Last year it was a really enjoyable evening and you don't have to enjoy football to have a good time. As well as the awards, there will also be other forms of entertainment to keep you amused...and that's on top of a sumptuous meal which is worth the entrance alone.

Training on Wednesday was really useful. After conceding 2 goals from set pieces last week we worked on physical contact. Football is a contact sport and it's important that players are not in fear of body contact. Especially in the 18 yard box, players must expect to mark and be marked so closely that contact is likely. I'm not encouraging fouling - that's not what we're about and we must be careful not to concede free kicks or penalties unnecessarily. But we do need to mark more tightly to ensure that forwards aren't allowed to head or shoot unchallenged.

We also talked about throw-ins again to refresh ourselves on the team's strategy. Although we didn't practice it, it's something we need to work hard on in the match.

It's also great to see the younger players improving and growing in confidence. There are not too many candidates this year for Young Player of the Season but there's plenty of potential onshow for the future.

God willing, we can secure a result this weekend that will put us clear in second spot without any doubt at all. It's been a fantastically wonderful season and I for one will be able to enjoy our achievement more once our final position is absolutely clear.

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Tue 18/04/2006

AWARDS NOMINATIONS
If you didn't get the chance to return your nominations for the major awards, you have until Friday this week to get in touch with me to let me know.
Final nominees will be decided on Friday so that voting slips are available at Saturday's game.

If you're wondering why there aren't more awards...there will be.
I'm organising for the players votes to be collected for the major awards ( the ones that have an annual trophy). Richard will be organising other awards.

Tickets for the Awards Evening on Sat 10th June will also be available to buy at the game this Saturday.
We've kept the price down to £10 per ticket to encourage as many people to come as possible. We want lots there to enjoy what will be a great end of season celebration.

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Mon 17/04/2006

SQUAD TO PLAY ST HELENS - Sat 22nd April. 2006. - HOME - 3pm KO

Simon Cutler, Paul Ford, Ian Nunn, Owen Davies, Darrell Hartley, Doug Morris, Gary Williams, Gary Wenham, Dave Mills, Adrian Gaylon, Andy Mills, Chris Mammone, Dominic Fowler, Gary Walsh, Tom Frere-Smith, Luke Miller, Richard Ahsam, Pete Cooper, Steve Mumford, Ollie Jeffs.

The final squad will be posted by Thursday night, following training on Wednesday.

BEST LAID PLANS…
Saturday’s last gasp equaliser by Northiam totally spoiled my master plan for the end of season. For everyone (especially Luke, Chris and Richard) who was disappointed, I’d like to attempt to explain what was in my mind when I didn’t play all the subs.
A comfortable lead would have enabled me to play 3 subs and leave me out of the game altogether. The game however was never comfortable. Even when Tom scored the second goal, the game was still very tight. I decided that if we could get the win, it would secure the League situation and I would be able to play those that missed out in next week’s game.

The Northiam goal broke my heart, and St Helens have appealed against the League’s decision to award us the 3 points when St Helens failed to provide nets (although I don’t know who they can possibly think is responsible for ensuring the pitch is ready when everyone turns up for the game).
All this means that we are now only 2 points in front and need another point to secure second. There’s now a different complexion to this Saturday’s visit of St Helens.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and it’s easy to regret not making changes last week. Please be patient and keep faith with me and the decisions I make.

As we know, St Helens have strengths and they will no doubt be spurred on even further by recent events.
They are strong in central midfield where their captain, Joe sets a fine example with his high work rate, determination and encouragement. This will be an important area for us to win.
In attack I was impressed by the tall attacker who chased everything and put himself about physically. Equally the pace and anticipation of the blond-haired, short fellow in defence caught my eye when we played them before. This gives their team a good ‘spine’ with the exception of the keeper who I thought was slow to come off his line.

We have a few changes for St Helens to cope with, because, as you may know, some players decided not to take part in the fixture last time once it became a friendly kick-about. I expect to start with a different line-up to last time.

Wednesday, TRAINING is at the Rec now , beginning at 6:30pm sharp (to make the most of whatever light there is).
After conceding both goals from set pieces, we’ll need to talk and practice how we respond to these situations. We also need to revisit throw-ins. Try to be there if you can possibly make it. One reason for naming 5 subs when only 3 can play is that these players get to hear the game plan and are able to fit into the way the team plays when they do get their chance on the pitch.

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Mon 17/04/2006

BBFC Site Update

After the draw with Northiam everything is now updated, with the relevant stats, reports, pictures and player profiles.
For a match report and a look at today's details go through the fixtures area and click on the score, or Click Here.

Stats:
By appearing in the match Darrell Hartley reached 50 League and Cup appearances.
Darrell's stats:
Seasons: League Appearances League Goals Cup Appearances Cup Goals
2004/5 25 0 5 0
2005/6 15 0 5 0
Total 40 0 10 0


Posted by: Steve Mumford

Sunday 16/11/2006

CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Two Tom Frere-Smith goals in a wintery ding-dong 2-2 draw with Northiam yesterday gave us the 1 point we needed to secure the runners-up spot in Division 4.

Our neighbours, Battle Rangers also did us a favour by drawing 3-3 with Hawkhurst making it impossible for the Kent side to overtake us and claim second in the League Table.

The only piece of news to sour the day was that St Helens intend to appeal against the League Management Committee's decision to award us the 3 points after St Helens failed to ensure that goal nets were provided for the fixture back on the 1st April. I can't see that the responsibility for the oversight can be given to anyone else but St Helens Football Club, and this does seem to be an extended April Fools joke.

It does mean that our celebrations will need to be delayed until we either beat St Helens next Saturday or we hear that their appeal has been unsuccessful.

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Good Fri 14/11/2006

POST-MATCH SATURDAY
It has been suggested that we should do something on Saturday to celebrate.
I'm very nervous about planning anything because I don't want to take anything for granted.
A few of us always go to the Squirrell after the game to share a friendly drink and disect the game. I'd be really pleased if everyone could join us this week. Granville, the Landlord, is certain to put on some food. We usually leave the pub at 6 to 6:30.
Alternatively (or in addition), we can spontaneously plan something for the evening. A curry has been suggested and I like the idea of a celebratory meal IF we get the necessary point. Friends, partners spouses could also be involved. The more the better.

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Good Fri 14/11/2006

SPACES FOR SPORT
Good News is coming thick and fast at the moment. We heard yesterday that our Spaces for Sport application to Barclays Bank has been successful.

We will receive a whole host of training and match day accessories as well as coaching jackets, fleeces and other sportswear.
This is a great boost for the Club, but particularly for 2nd team as they start to plan for their opening season.
Big THANKS and congratulations go to Steve Mumford for all his hard work on the successful application.

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Wed 12/04/06

Team To Play NORTHIAM - Sat 15th April, 2006. - Home - KO 3pm

 

1.Simon Cutler

2.Owen Davies, 5.Darrell Hartley, 4.Doug Morris, 3. Paul Ford

11. Dave Mills, 6. Adrian Gaylon, 7.Andy Mills(c), 8.Pete Cooper,

10.Dom Fowler, 9.Tom Frere-Smith,


Subs: 12.Luke Miller, 13. Gary Walsh, 14.Chris Mammone, 15.Ian Nunn, 16.Richard Ahsam.

Meet at the Rec by 2pm.

We had a great training session tonight...it's good to be back on the turf at the Rec. Although we finished earlier because the light eventually faded, the quality of the football was much better and more true to life. Training at the Rec gives us much more flexibility in the activities that we can do.
Having said this, we only have a few more weeks to the end of the season when we will need to take a well earned rest and recuperation period. This 6 week rest is important to all players who have played throughout the season, enabling their bodies to recover properly from the strains and aches that they have carried week to week.

With the advent of the 2nd team however, there may be some interest in continuing to train in a way that allows these players to come together as a team. Please make your wishes known either to myself, Steve Mumford, Ian or Richard.

It's with great regret that I bring the following news to you.
I have had to discipline one player for the things he has said to me about team selection this week. His punishment is yet to be decided but he may never play for the Club again (unless a full and faithful apology is received).
I decided not to start him this week because I want to give others a chance and he has a sore shoulder from the Hawkhurst game and his knee still hasn't recovered fully from the Punnetts Town match. I preferred to play Darrell at centre-half and I've picked Tom and Dom to play up front. I expected a more mature response from a senior player with 25 years of experience in mens football, but he took the news very badly, threatening physical violence, a players' boycott and, most sinister of all, to spike the water bottles with engine oil.

If you're still guessing who the player is and haven't worked it out yet, this final clue should give it away. The last thing he threatened me with was to not bring his trolley to the game this Saturday.

Back to being serious for a while, we have 2 games of the season left and who to pick and who to leave out remains a sticky decision. If all goes to plan, we enjoy a great afternoon of football, win the game and get the point we need for promotion, leaving a game to spare.

BUT THE BIGGEST DANGER IS COMPLACENCY!!!
Northiam always play with determination and endeavour. They need points from us to avoid relegation. They will not be push-overs.

All the things we have learned over the season we will need to put into practice on Saturday. Hunting in packs... John Smiths... defend from the front... mark tighly... throw to feet...work hard throughout for the sake of the last 20 mins...build a wall...get the ball forward...encourage others...get goal side...mark tightly...anticipate the 2nd ball...etc ect
These are all familiar to us and should have meaning if you've played throughout this season. Whereas they had to be talked about regularly, they are starting to become second nature and are the essence of the success we have enjoyed. They all amount to a playing style that the team knows well and works towards. Put yourself into another dressing room and you will hear a different playing style.

Whatever Division we end up in, we will continue to develop as individuals and as a team. Our style will develop too and we experience different situations togehter. How many of us would have trembled with fear 2 years ago if the League had put us in Division 3 at our start. It's a measure of our progress that here we stand with the greatest chance we could imagine of securing that achievment.

I AM disappointed not to be selected to start and I'm desperately eager to play against Northiam...like all the other players who don't make the starting 11. But I'm totally confident that we are a better team and that if we approach this game like any other, with a competitive spirit and a smile on our face, we can enjoy another great game and, God willing, we will win!

...and just in case there's someone out there who still didn't get the name of the errant player, it's me!

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Tue/11/2006

SPORTSMANSHIP TROPHY
We are now 2nd in the Sportsmanship League with an average of 8.72 points per match. Great News...well done players, officials and supporters!!!

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Tue/11/2006

WEST HAM v ARSENAL
We have managed to get 20 tickets for the Reserves fixture on
TUESDAY 25TH APRIL at the ground of DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE.

Hopefully the night won't be as bitterly cold as the last trip to Motspur Park but we'll have an equally good time and see a great game of fotball.

Anyone intersted in going, put your name down on the list to book your ticket. £5 to cover the petrol is all we'll ask.
We do, however, need some volunteers to drive.

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Mon 10/04/2006

SQUAD TO PLAY NORTHIAM - Sat 15th April. 2006. - HOME - 3pm KO

Simon Cutler, Paul Ford, Ian Nunn, Owen Davies, Darrell Hartley, Doug Morris, Steve Chapman, Dave Mills, Adrian Gaylon, Andy Mills, Chris Mammone, Pat Mammone, Dominic Fowler, Gary Walsh, Tom Frere-Smith, Luke Miller, Richard Ahsam, Pete Cooper, Steve Mumford, Ollie Jeffs.

The final squad will be posted by Thursday night, following training on Wednesday.

REMEMBER: TRAINING IS AT THE REC. THIS WEEK, STARTING PROMPTLY AT 6:30PM
We only have about 1 and a half hours of light.

I never ever thought we'd be short of a centre half but with Gary Wenham away this weekend, Gary Williams in Romania after his brief return last weekend, and Steve Chapman doubtful with a calf injury, it leaves me with a decision to make about who will partner Doug in the defence this weekend. With Tom available and Dominic in goalscoring form, there's a possibility that I could play centre half myself. Alternatively, Darrell would also do a great job there and Paul plays left back.

Tom, Chris and Pat are back this week and Adrian came through the second half last Saturday without breaking down his injury. This means we have a very strong squad to pick from.

This week we need to keep our eye on the ball and make sure we're not lulled into believing that we've already made it to Division 3. This is the best opportunity of the 2 remaining games to get the one point that we need to secure promotion and we don't want to miss it because of complacency.

Of course, there's more to how a team plays than the talent of it's individuals. This was illustrated clearly by our performance last Saturday when we struggled in the first 30 minutes to hold onto the ball and mount any attacks. We were really very blessed that Old Cents didn't make more of their territorial advantage. Had their striker scored the open goal opportunity, it may have been a different contest.

But again we learn! I was delighted with the way we stuck at the game. We had to work really hard to compete and tackle. We defended resiliently, and as the game went on, we started to look a better side. We won't always be able to go out and blast the opposition away with quick goals. Our determination and stamina on Saturday was impressive. We could have (and should have) scored more goals in the end.

Northiam are second bottom, facing us this weekend then Hastings Rangers in their last game. It's a daunting task and I expect them to be fighting hard to earn the points that might get them out of trouble. The way the bottom of the Division is, there's plenty of hope. However, if we do manage to get 2 or 3 goals ahead I can imagine the game going the same way as last week, when we created our best opportunities in the last 25 mins of the game.

Whatever happens now, even if we were somehow to lose our last 2 games, the worst we can finish is third and at the end of the season, we'll be reflecting on a fabulous season. I'm seeing many players whose football is developing...as well as some who are hanging in admirably and setting a great example.

With the end of the season just 2 games away now, please start to think about nominating players for the end of season awards. These include Player's Player, Sportsman of the Season, Most Improved Player, and Young Player of the Season. There will of course be plenty of other awards (for example Player Who Contributed Most Hong Kong Dollars) and these will all be presented at our Annual Awards Evening which is on the 12th June...a date that should be firmly placed on your Calendar as the highlight of the whole year.

Another date that's just been confirmed is the Neville Barnett Trophy which will take place on the 6th May at Battle recreational Ground.
For those who are unfamiliar, Neville Barnett is a retired pastor of Beulah Baptists. He put up the Trophy 4 years ago to be contested between Beulah and Battle Church teams (before either started playing in the East Sussex League).
Historically, this has been a 2 leg affair but this year, because both Clubs have new players that want to start playing for the 2nd teams, we will play 2 games on the same afternoon.
The first game will pit the 2nd teams together and the last game will be for the 1st teams. Scores will be aggregated at the end of the afternoon and the winner takes the trophy

The Neville Barnett Trophy is a splendid family afternoon and usually attracts large crowds as the membership of both churches come out in support of their football team. This year will also be a great afternoon...6th May!

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Sat 11/03/2006

BBFC Site Update

After our win at Centmodians everything is now updated, with the relevant stats, reports, pictures and player profiles.
For a match report and a look at today's details go through the fixtures area and click on the score, or Click Here.

Stats:
By appearing in the match both Gary Walsh and Owen Davies reached 50 League and Cup appearances, joining the Mills brothers at that mark.
Gary's stats:
Seasons: League Appearances League Goals Cup Appearances Cup Goals
2004/5 24 11 3 4
2005/6 16 3 7 2
Total 40 14 10 6

Owen's stats:
Seasons: League Appearances League Goals Cup Appearances Cup Goals
2004/5 23 3 4 0
2005/6 17 2 6 0
Total 40 5 10 0


Posted by: Steve Mumford

Sun 09/04/2006

WHAT A DAY!!!
Yesterday's 2-0 win against Old Cents was a fine result. We started very sluggishly but recovered to win easily with goals from Dave Mills and Pete Cooper, and several opportunities to make the scoreline even better.
The 3 points were all I really expected from the day and I would have been happy at that.

At 7:05pm however, I logged onto the ESFL website to get the other scores from Div 4.
To my delight, I saw that Punnetts Town had drawn against Red Lion...a real bonus on the day.

Then as I was still studying the newly created League Table, which showed us in THIRD, Darrell rang to say that we were in SECOND. On refreshing the page, there we were with 39 points. We assume that the points against St Helens HAVE been awarded to us after all!...leaving us in clear second place.

WHAT A GREAT SATURDAY!!
Thank You Lord.

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Thur 06/04/06

Team To Play OLD CENTMODIANS - Sat 8th April, 2006. - Away - KO 3pm

 

1.Simon Cutler

2.Owen Davies, 5.Gary Wenham, 4.Doug Morris, 3. Darrell Hartley

11. Dave Mills, 6. Steve Chapman, 7.Andy Mills(c), 8.Pete Cooper,

10.Dom Fowler, 9.Gary Walsh,


Subs: 12. Luke Miller, 13. Paul Ford, 14.Adrian Gaylon, 15., 16..

Meet at the Church by 1:45pm.
Alternatively at Tile Kiln, Hastings by 2pm...but tell me first!
Tile Kiln is near Tesco’s. It’s where the Helipad is. That’s where we played Peche Hill last season.

Some pieces of NEWS to start with:
Starting next week, training on Wednesdays will be at the Rec. again.
Bring boots (if the ground is soft enough). Be prepared NOT to use the pitch if the ground is too soft.
We want to start as close to 6:30pm as possible because we only have an hour and a half of light. Please get there promptly.

Yesterday I posted off the CLUB PORTFOLIO which we were asked to submit in support of our application to the East Sussex Football League for a second team next year. The League require information on the Officers of the Club, who the players are likely to be, the Club’s financial position, where the teams will play etc. etc.
The next stage is that representatives of BBFC will be invited to a meeting with a League sub-committee whose job is to interview us and make a recommendation. This is likely to happen sometime in May and we would normally hear within a matter of weeks whether we have been accepted and which Division we have been placed into.
Without wishing to sound presumptuous, it’s most likely that we’ll be put into Division 6, although when this happened to the 1st team two years ago, we received a letter 2 weeks later informing us that we’d start in Division 5 (promotion without kicking a ball – not a bad start eh!)
I’ve just been looking through the League Handbook to find that there are several Clubs whose teams play at different home pitches, so I don’t envisage a problem with the 2nd XI playing at Claverham whilst the 1sts play at the Rec.

All our remaining League fixtures are now on the ESFL website. The good news is that they are all Saturday’s – no midweek games (unless bad weather causes further postponements). The not so good news is that, despite the awful organisation of St Helens last week, we are now due to play the away fixture against St Helens on 29th April. This puts the end of our season back a week and we will have to rethink/rearrange our Charity Match and the annual Neville Barnett Trophy fixtures.
Sat. 8th April – Old Centmodians - away
Sat. 15th April – Northiam – home
Sat. 22nd April – St Helens – home
Sat. 29th April – St Helens – away

Regarding this week’s game against Old Cents, we have a powerful team out, despite being without the services of Chris, Tom or Pat.
We beat Old Cents 4-0 back in November with a gritty performance in which we scored at fairly regular intervals during the game. Mike Gould got 2 goals, Gary Walsh and Dave Mills scored the others.
Both Gary Wenham and Andy Mills were booked in that game - those who played will probably remember the nature of the opposition, who have several rough-edged players. We’ll must remain fair and competitive and have our very best Sportsmanship hats on. Pray that the referee is decisive and strong.

Old Cents' record is very unusual! On 20th March they were lying mid-table (7th) with 23 points from 16 games. This week they have 18 points (yes eighteen) from 19 games. (I might suggest to the League that the asterix next to their name that denotes ‘points adjusted’ should grow larger and bolder if points have been adjusted more than once). With 7 wins and 3 draws, they should still be lying 7th with 24 points but with the deductions, Old Cents are right down in the drop zone, 4th from bottom and needing points.

The upshot of all this is:
1.They are a much better side than their lowly position reflects – don’t underestimate them.
2.They are a tough physical side and we must be competitive in response –prepare to be friendly in an unfriendly situation.
3. They are still fighting for their place in Div 4 next year – it’s sure to be an exciting game.

At the end of a season in which some teams haven’t achieved much, they raise their game because beating a team at the top of the Division gives them that sense of achievement. I hope Old Cents are able to raise their game on Saturday because we always play well against good opponents.

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Sun 02/04/2006

SQUAD TO PLAY OLD CENTMODIANS - Sat 8th April. 2006. - AWAY - 3pm KO

Simon Cutler, Paul Ford, Owen Davies, Gary Wenham, Darrell Hartley, Doug Morris, Steve Chapman, Dave Mills, Adrian Gaylon, Andy Mills, Dominic Fowler, Gary Walsh, Luke Miller, Richard Ahsam, Pete Cooper, Steve Mumford.

The final squad will be posted by Thursday night, following training on Wednesday.

I know that there was plenty of disappointment in the air of the dressing room at about 4:45pm on Saturday. Looking from the sidelines it was hard to spot someone enjoying the game.

Given the situation though, when at twenty to three, we're all set for a game of football and suddenly the game is cancelled, I think we would still make the same decision to play. It was a situation we should not have been put in.

St Helens are responsible for the mess up. Their organisation was the reason we found ourselves in that awkward situation but if we reflect positively on the game, we can learn a great deal which we can take into our final 4 matches.

Firstly, we played so well in the initial part of the game and this is very encouraging! When Tom hit the post at 2 nil, we were looking like we would win very comfortably. Midfield was under control. We were dangerous every time we attacked and we snuffed out their attacks even before they reached our penalty area restricting them to hopeful long-range shots.
It was great football to watch.

Then we stopped doing the simple things that had given us the upper hand.
Here are some examples of what I observed. We stopped marking closely, allowing players to run past. We began to run with the ball instead of passing it to teammates. We attempted long throws when a short throw to feet would ensure we kept possession...etc.

Bill Shankly once said: 'Football is a simple game, complicated by fools'. What he was saying was that great football is played when players do things simply and work hard together as a team. This is especially true in Division 4 where you don't have to perform a brilliant trick to open up a defence in the same way that you would in the Premiership.

Hopefully we understand now how to 'hunt in packs'. I first heard Glen Hoddle use this expression when he was England manager. (We did this much better in the second half after we'd talked about it at half time).
When an opponent has the ball, if one player decides to run into a situation alone, the opponent will wait until the defender is in no-mans land (somewhere in between 2 players) and then simply pass the ball around the defender to the next team mate. Then the next defender commits himself in the same way and the ball is passed around him too. You can see that, one by one, the defenders are picked off until the final pass creates an opening to score.

Hunting in packs means that you don't send one isolated player in at a time. Instead 2 or three of the defending team approach the situation together so that it's difficult for the man on the ball to make a clear pass. And if he does make the pass, one of your teammates can close down the ball very quickly. Watch out for it happening on the TV. Sometimes you even see an attacker not even bothering to close down ball-carrying defenders because he knows that he's isolated and will just waste energy running around from player to player.

What we also learned yesterday is that we must give 'due respect' to our opposition. All our opponents have players that are capable of creating and scoring goals against us if we allow them to play. St Helens, Old Centmodians and Northiam will all have some great players who are very influential in thier team. It's important to make these players less effective by marking them industriously, forcing them to pass and keeping the ball away from areas of the pitch where they can influence play.
The St Helens captain, Joe, is a good example. He plays in central midfield and he set a great example especially when his team were two goals behind. He worked hard and battled for the ball, then passed it well.
We were able to identify his threat but we didn't make the most of our wide players, keeping the ball away from central midfield.

Sometimes when you start playing the game on a Saturday afternoon, you will realise soon after kick off that the fellow you're up against is one of the best players in the other team. You may even believe that he is a better player than you are. In these situations there is great satisfaction to be gained by preventing this player from having a big influence on the game. Sometimes you will sacrifice your own play because you know that, man-for-man YOUR team is better and as long as you do your job well, the game will be won because a team mate will have a greater advantage somewhere else on the pitch.

Our team is blessed with lots of talented players. Man-for-man I haven't seen a team in Division 4 that matches us. I truly believe that! Hastings Rangers are a good example. They have 3 great players who have a massive inpact on their play. When we played them away, we won partly because BBFC players were successful in marking these key players lessening their influence, and partly because we made bigger gains in areas where WE had the advantage. It was truly a great team performance.

I've gone on a bit tonight! - I wish there was more opportunity to talk like this. There's more I could say about Saturday.
I'm not taking it all too seriously...I merely want my football team to develop their skills and play better football. I pray this is not sinful.

Looking forward to training on Wednesday.

Posted by: bbfcmanager

Sun 02/04/2006

ST HELENS FIXTURE POSTPONED!

The game against St Helens (away) was postponed yesterday. We all trotted out expectantly onto the William Parker School pitch at 2:40pm, only to find that the home team hadn’t realised the goals didn’t have nets. As a result, the referee declared that he could not play a League fixture.

According to Joe, the St Helens captain, who telephoned the school caretaker to see what was happening, the School decided on the previous Wednesday that the pitch would not be fit to play on at the weekend and had decided, at this very early stage, that the game was off. No-one however had been able to contact the St Helens Secretary to inform him. The St Helens secretary himself seems to have been negligent. He is supposed to confirm the fixture both with the Referee and Gary Wenham (our Sec) by Monday, but he failed to do so. The St Helens Sec did however confirm the fixture on Thursday night when Gary became worried and rang him. Looking back at the experience, it appears that the whole sorry situation could have been avoided if St Helens had acted competently with their pre-match administration.

The pitch was certainly fit to play on and, thanks to the generosity of the referee, who took the risk of playing, we went ahead with a friendly fixture. However, Simon Cutler, our goalkeeper and myself were both nursing injuries and did not feel it was sensible to risk playing.

Having arrived at the pitch, changed for a game and prepared to play, no-one wanted to leave without some sort of fixture so the game went ahead with Steve Chapman volunteering to play in goal. Early goals from Dominic and Andy put us into a two goal lead but with substitutions happening left right and centre (the opposition made about 12 substitutions altogether) the game didn’t have a normal aire about it and it was 2-2 by half time. The game finished 3-2 after St Helens got a goal in the second half.

The non-game means that instead of closing the gap on Red Lion, we actually drop a place in the League as Hawkhurst beat Travaux 2-1.

The good thing is that we still have all our games in hand. We have to wait now to see if the League Management Committee agrees that we deserve the points. It wouldn’t surprise me though if St Helens gets away with it, and we have to play the game at a future date.

Posted by: bbfcmanager