TW3

That Was The Week That Was:

A great night for my picks on Tuesday night -

Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League and can still qualify.

Southend travelled all the way up to Oldham and came away with a 5-2 victory.

Exeter travelled to Mansfield and were also victorious, this time the score was 2-0.

Finally Weston-super-Mare took on Havant & Waterlooville, winning 3-2 TYVM.


Come the weekend and we find that Arsenal are playing today (Sunday).

Brentford in the Championship are playing Monday night football this week.

Southend United drew 0-0 at home to Wigan.

Exeter City drew 1-1 at home to Bristol Rovers.

Torquay United drew 0-0 away to Braintree Town.

Weston came up trumps for the second time in a week, winning 3-2 at home to Hitchin Town.
This means qualification for the next round of the F.A.Trophy.

Bideford went away to Maidenhead United in the F.A.Trophy and are now out having lost 4-0.

Tiverton Town beat North Leigh 2-1 in the Southern League South & West Division.

Barnstaple beat Bradford Town 3-2 away in the Western League Premier Division.

Exmouth Town travelled to Torpoint Athletic in the South West Peninsula League and lost 2-1.

Now I can settle down and watch the Arsenal match.

Testing Times

I struggled with my open university course this week.

Many matches were postponed due to the weather in midweek and many F.A.Vase matches were postponed for the same reason on Saturday. The midweek match that survived was Tiverton Town's home match against Shortwood United. A 4-1 win sees Tiverton nicely placed near the top of the table in the Southern League South & West Division.

Tiverton followed this up with a 0-0 draw away at Winchester. A point away from home will do.

Barnstaple lost in the F.A.Vase 2-1 to Hengrove Athletic so that is their cup ambitions over for the season. Exmouth Town travelled to St. Blazey and came away with a remarkable 5-1 win. I must get to see this team before the season is out.

Bideford had a nightmare at home in the Southern League Premier Division. Kings Lynn Town turned up and went home happy with a 5-0 victory.

Exeter are very pleased with themselves as they won the local derby winning 2-1 away at Plymouth.

Southend won the battle of the seaside towns, beating Blackpool 1-0 at home.

Brentford produced a third league win in three beating Nottingham Forest 2-1. A good win.

The real failure of this week is Arsenal going to West Bromwich Albion and losing there for the first time since 2005 and to make matters worse Santi Cazorla missed a penalty. It would seem that he cannot score even if his life depends upon it. I would not have let him take that penalty.

Tomorrow is another day, this week sees some European action, and I got 22 out of 24 in my weekly test so the struggle was worthwhile.

F.A.Trophy weekend

With the internationals against Spain and France for the England team there is no football at the highest level this weekend. I shall therefore concentrate my focus on another competition, the F.A.Trophy competed for by teams from level 5 to level 8 (Step 1 to Step 4 of the non league game).

I had two teams in the competition at this stage as the Conference teams have not yet been required to play (just like Premier League teams do not enter the F.A.Cup until the third round). Bideford and Tiverton are up against opposition from levels 7 and 8 so I need to do some research to find out what happened.

Bideford managed to beat Brentwood Town 3-2 so continue their run in the F.A.Trophy. The information that I have been able to find one day after the match is ..... zilch. Interconnectedness on the internet does rely on the enthusiastic followers of football clubs updating the information early. Not every club has the right level of enthusiast attached.

Tiverton Town travelled to East Thurrock and managed to lose 5-0. Not surprisingly the information I have been able to find out online is .... zilch, but then who wants to write up a report about a bad defeat on the road. The enthusiasts are probably still drunk, trying to forget, and on their way home.

So much for the F.A.Trophy then. How about my other selected teams?

Southend and Exeter both drew 2-2. Southend were away at Sheffield United and Exeter were at home to Crawley. Torquay travelled to Barrow and lost 4-0 so relegation is a definite possibility. Weston-super-Mare had one of those days, losing 1-0 away at Gosport Borough. Bideford and Tiverton you know about, well all the information I could find anyway. Barnstaple Town followed last week's 2-0 over Bristol Manor Farm with a 6-0 win over Roman Glass St George. All teams with silly names should be given a damn good thrashing. Exmouth Town entertained Camelford in the South West Peninsula league and won 4-3. There does seem to be some good entertainment down there and I know the pubs are good.

Now, I have to put the bed back together after taking it apart. My Mrs has decided to move rooms.

Where are my teams at the start of November?

Everton have just beaten Sunderland 6-2 and Arsenal Ladies are leading Notts County ladies 2-0 with 5 minutes to go. I should be getting on with my university studies but I prefer to blog about football and at least it keeps me in active mode.

Pick 1) Arsenal are second behind Manchester City and in a good position to challenge for the title.

Pick 2) Brentford are in 11th place, 4 points off the playoff places and 10 points above relegation.

Pick 3) Southend are also in 11th place, 4 points off the playoff places and 8 points above relegation.

Pick 4) Exeter are in 14th place, 4 points off the playoff places and 13 points above relegation.

Pick 5) Torquay are at the top of the four teams occupying relegation places. The drop is possible.

Pick 6) Weston-super-Mare have been bottom but are now one point above the relegation places.

Pick 7) Bideford are firmly in a relegation place and are 7 points from safety at this early stage.

Pick 8) Tiverton are nicely placed in the playoff places and are 5 points from automatic promotion.

Pick 9) Barnstaple Town are in 6th place and 6 points off the only automatic promotion slot.

Pick 10) Exmouth Town are in 12th place, 20 points from promotion and 14 points from relegation.


N.B. Arsenal Ladies are winners of the Continental Cup so that is another chance to celebrate.

6-3-1

Yes, you guessed, I found another unpublicised match.

Barnstaple Town travelled to Horndean and won the match 3-1 so Barnstaple are through to the next round of the F.A.Vase.

With Tiverton through and Bideford still fighting in the F.A.Trophy that is three chances of reaching Wembley. I might even purchase a ticket if one of my teams gets there but the coverage is so much better with a lot more information provided if you watch the match on TV.

So a very positive weekend with a double bonus in the cups.

Now to get on with my open university studies. I see they are now doing a course on football. I have already signed up, as I have a passion for it. I just have to make sure that learning about things does not kill the passion as it always did in school and at university.

5-3-1

It is easy to miss things with so much going on and particularly where the F.A. are concerned. The cups they run are certainly special but the publicity is miserable to the point of non existence.

I found that Tiverton Town were also in the F.A.Trophy away at Peacehaven & Telscombe. A solid 3-0 win has put the Southern League South & West side into the next round, and my score for the weekend just went up.

Now to check the F.A.Vase just in case I missed another one.

Four wins, three draws and one defeat

A second results service and this time ... on the same day ... although it includes the result from last night. Four wins from eight matches played and I have to be happy. Three draws, but that is football, and one defeat (the crowd will be down next week then).

Arsenal travelled to Swansea and beat them 3-0 with goals from Giroud, Koscielny and Campbell. This Campbell is not one of those that killed the Macdonalds but he is the one that killed Swansea.

Brentford won the local derby for the first time in 50 years I am told. The Judge and Djuricin combined to pass judgement. Queens Park Rangers were despatched as 1-0 losers.

Weston-super-Mare have not been having a good season but travelled to Brighton to take on Whitehawk and managed a 2-0 victory in the Conference League South.

The fourth win was by Exmouth Town who travelled south to Stoke Gabriel where they won 2-0 in the South West Peninsula League Premier Division. A level 10 league.

 The three draws were Southend at home to Rochdale, where both sides scored two goals, Torquay away at Altrincham with both sides scoring a single goal, and Bideford in the F.A.Trophy taking on Farnborough at home where the match finished 1-1. A replay in the week will have to be added to my fixture list.

The defeat came for my home town club Exeter, who are expecting to lose to Didcot Town in the first round of the F.A.Cup just like they did to Warrington, and who today travelled to Barnet and lost 2-0.

A, broadly speaking, good set of results. Did you like the comma after one letter?

Results Service

While Arsenal were beating Bayern Munich, Southend United were losing 3-0 at Chesterfield and Bideford were beating Frome Town 2-0 at home. One day later Brentford beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 away and Exeter beat Cambridge United 1-0 at home.

The weekend that saw Arsenal beating Everton had Brentford beating Charlton Athletic 3-0, Southend and Exeter drawing 1-1 with Gillingham and Notts County respectively. Weston-super-Mare went out of the F.A.Cup 2-1 away at St. Albans City. Bideford drew 2-2 away at Bedworth United. Tiverton and Barnstaple both won 2-0 with the opposition being Bashley and Hallen. Exmouth Town travelled to Callington Town and came away with a 3-1 victory.

While Arsenal were jacking in the Capital One Cup Bideford drew 1-1 at home to Cirencester Town and Tiverton beat Slimbridge 1-0.

That brings us up to date and tonight Brentford are beating QPR 1-0 with 85 minutes gone.

Judge and Djuricin

The Brentford pair combine to score the first goal. 1-0.

Part of the QPR team

Part of the QPR team.

Chery, Luongo.

Brentford

Well, as my number one team are obviously rubbish having played in black and blue and performed like a bunch of newly promoted lads who have never played together before ... er .... Arsene? ... I think it is time to watch my number two pick, Brentford who are on Sky Sports tonight against Queens Park Rangers.

Red and White stripes take on Blue and White hoops. It looks good on a green and green surface.

The Brentford team comprises: Button, Yennaris (seen him before somewhere), Dean, Tarkowski,

Bidwell, Woods, McCormack, Diagouraga, Swift, Judge and Djuricin. I will let you know if anyone stands out in the next 90 minutes.

The QPR team comprises: Green Onuoha, Hall, Hill, Konchesky (familiar), Tozser (really?), Henry, Phillips, Chery, Luongo, Emmanuel-Thomas (seen him before as well).

So far there is a lot more enthusiasm than skill and with 10 minutes coming up Djuricin is caught offside but only by about 15 yards, so no problem there then.

Brentford have just had a period of dominance but it only led to a cross and a misdirected header.

I will come back to the game I hope but for now I leave you wanting the result.

Arsenal

Well, I have to be happy this week. So much could have gone wrong, but it didn't.

Three goals away to a team that had only conceded one goal at home all season, proof that Arsene IS capable of learning lessons from other teams as we played second best and beat Bayern Munich, then the beating of Everton, and holding onto the lead after a tough week of competition.

Why come down off my high by checking other results? I can do that when we take on Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup tomorrow night. I have also started an open university course and that will take up some of my time from now on.

The F.A.Cup first round draw took place this evening without Sporting Khalsa but congratulations to them for reaching the fourth qualifying round. Southend United are away to Scunthorpe and Exeter City take on Didcot Town who now have the chance to "do a Warrington".

The week reviewed

The week was boring. I spent most of my time in the office. There has to be more to life than this ... and there is ... Football! Four of my pyramid picks played on Tuesday night and I almost missed the Tiverton Town result as they drew 0-0 with Taunton Town in the Red Insure Cup. This was followed by a 3-0 defeat on penalties. I think penalty practice is the order of the day this week.

Woking hosted my Vanarama team Torquay and an honourable 2-2 draw was played out.

Barnstaple beat Clevedon Town 4-0 in the Western League Premier Division so I am happy with that.

Finally Exmouth Town beat Witheridge 4-2 in the match I almost attended. It would have been good.

And then Saturday comes:

Arsenal beat Watford 3-0 after Watford eventually tired. They played well for the first two thirds. Brentford beat Rotherham 2-1 and Southend beat Barnsley 2-1. Exeter travelled all the way to Carlisle and lost 1-0. Torquay were held to another draw, this time 1-1, by Grimsby. Weston went to Maidenhead United and lost 2-0. Bideford travelled to Chesham United and lost 3-1. Tiverton Town held Burnham 0-0 away. At the end of the list Barnstaple had a second win in a week, this time it was 2-0 away at Bridport.

Now it is time to settle down with my Mrs as we are watching series 5 of Game of Thrones once again. Tyrion and Mormont have just been attacked.

Grand Western Canal

So on non league day I chose to spend my time with friends and family on a horse drawn barge starting from Tiverton and ending in the middle of nowhere with the view of an aqueduct that allows tractors to traverse the water course via a short tunnel. I have photographs.

I did think about the F.A.Cup several times but you know how it is, family and friends sometimes have to take precedence. So how did my teams to this week?

Southend United beat Crawley 3-0 in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. Exeter took on local rivals Plymouth Argyle in the same trophy and lost 2-0. So Southend march on and Exeter march out.

Torquay entertained Dover and chose to lose 3-2. My choice for the Conference South next season may have to change from those Seagulls that I have yet to go and watch live.

The Seagulls went away to Wingate & Finchley in the F.A.Cup third qualifying round and managed a 3-1 victory. It was expected as the opponents are an Isthmian League team. Weston-super-Mare can now look forward to the fourth qualifying round when victory may see them up against Football League opposition.

Bideford managed a 1-1 home draw with Stratford Town but when you are in a relegation battle every point is gratefully accepted.

Tiverton Town performed one better by managing a 2-2 draw away at AFC Totton.

 Barnstaple lost 2-0 in midweek to Buckland Athletic but when I check the competition it is only in the Devon St. Luke's Bowl which really does not concern me much. The good news is that the defeat seems to have produced a reaction as my Barnstaple boys travelled to Welton Rovers and thrashed them 7-0. It is a small but gratifying high point in this week's blog.

Exmouth Town who started the season so brightly seem to be struggling at the moment. In midweek the team travelled to Plymouth Parkway and lost 4-2. Yesterday the lads travelled to Tavistock and lost 5-1. I cannot blame them as Tavistock is beyond the back of beyond. They still burn peat there.

I have to report that although I have now covered all of my top ten picks, my number eleven choice, Exwick Villa, who I have watched live managed to beat Tiverton Town Reserves 9-0 in the cup. I have no idea what cup but it would have been a good day to support them once again.

And ..... to end things for today ..... I have just watched Exeter City on television and the TV voodoo seems to have struck again but not so vehemently as a 3-3 draw at home to Stevenage was achieved.

I have matches listed for Torquay, Tiverton, Barnstaple and Exmouth listed for midweek. It is about time I visited the home of Exmouth Town.

October starts well

Arsenal have just beaten Manchester United 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium as I sit down to write about my pyramid teams. My number one pick are easy to follow as they are almost always shown live on TV making an inroad into my living room that I just cannot ignore.

My number two pick Brentford seem to be going through a bad patch as they sink down the league.Twentieth position in the Championship is just above the relegation zone. Buck up Brentford.
Losing 2-0 away at Derby County is not what the doctor ordered.

Southend United travelled to Burton Albion and managed to lose 1-0. This places my league one pick in 11th place in the table.

Exeter City managed to get a 1-1 draw away at Newport County and also sit in 11th place in their league.

Torquay United lost at home to Aldershot in the National League and are now firmly in a relegation position in 22nd place. Conference South here we come unless there is a dramatic change in fortune.

Weston-super-Mare have crept off the bottom of the table while I looked the other way so I guess the result yesterday was not a bad one. Sure enough the long trip across country to Margate resulted in a 2-0 win for the seagulls. Who in the world likes seagulls?

Bideford are similarly one place above the bottom of the table in the Southern League Premier Division. Losing 2-1 away at Slough Town certainly will not help the attempt to rise up the league.

Tiverton Town were involved in the F.A.Trophy yesterday and spent their time beating AFC Totton 2-0 to go through to the second qualifying round. The 1-0 win over Yate Town on Tuesday was enough to see them into fifth place in the Southern League South & West Division.

Barnstaple Town were involved in the F.A.Trophy yesterday. They managed a 4-1 win away at Ivybridge Town. Their position of fifth in the league matches Tiverton and just behind the promotion places is a good place to be at this time in the year.

 Lastly, at level 10 in the South West Peninsula League Premier Division I am following Exmouth Town and have already missed two chances to watch them live. They sit in ninth position and with no match yesterday I shall reserve judgement until the next match.

Now to follow my heart down to levels 11-21. You don't get to hear much about those teams though.

End of September

The introduction to the 2015/16 season ended on Tuesday 29th September with Arsenal losing at home to Olympiacos by 2 goals to 3. Walcott missed a couple of early chances and he does need to sharpen up if he wants that strikers role.

Brentford lost 2-0 at home to Birmingham and then I see with pride two of my teams caused upsets.

Southend United won 2-1 at Crewe Alexander.

Exeter City won 2-1 away to League Leaders Portsmouth.

Lower down my pyramid Bideford lost 2-1 at home to Poole and Tiverton Town lost 1-0 away at Yate Town.

October promises lots more football, and that includes Arsenal at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Arsenal away to Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup.

My plans to watch more live football keep being affected by family and life events but maybe perhaps I will have more interesting stories from the lower echelons to entertain you.

Vardy 2 Arsenal 5

In busy times I revert to type and follow my one and only.

Alexis Sanchez scored a hat-trick. Giroud scored at the end with Walcott opening the account.

Life twists and tries to grind me down. I get flu. Missed two local matches.

What did I do wrong? I chose Torquay, Weston-super-Mare and Bideford. That's what.

Spurs 1 Flamini 2

Any win against Tottenham is a good win.

Chelsea v. Arsenal (The Second Half)

Chelsea must be favourites now. Costa header. Pedro shot. Arsenal survive.

Commentator magic: Costa looks like the villain from a spaghetti western.

Ozil battles for the ball, creates a chance for Sanchez who is upended by Ivanovic. Card for Ivanovic.

Ozil lines up for a left footer. Sanchez lines up for a right footer. Sanchez hits the wall. Corner.

Chelsea break quickly from the Arsenal corner and Costa fails to deliver.

Matic shot. Blocked. Arsenal attack. Chelsea attack. Frenetic stuff.

ZOUMA SCORES. Chelsea 1 Arsenal 0. Great delivery from Arsenal legend Cesc Fabregas.

Many times in the past it has taken a goal by the opponents to stimulate Arsenal into action.

It will not be easy today.

Hazard shoots. Cech saves.

Bellerin tries to cross. Aspilicueta blocks.

Big chance for Sanchez who does seem to be below par today. Could it be the Stamford Bridge crowd or is he carrying an injury?

Ifoulavic, Cuntsta, some interplay, eventually Walcott gets a cross shot over the bar.

Eden Hazard dances through the Arsenal defence and shoots wide.

Glenn Hoddle says Chelsea are getting closer (when is Klose signing?).

Olivier Giroud is now warming up on the touchline. Get him on. Costa misses a chance.

It IS all Chelsea at the moment.

Cazorla to Walcott but he cannot find Ramsey.

Chelsea break but Pedro shoots high and wide.

Does anybody care? What is life all about? Who am I? Go Gunners!

Arsenal are controlling the ball at last, around their own penalty area.

It has all gone a bit quiet. Chambers gets a yellow after he loses the ball ahead of himself.

Chelsea are in complete control at the moment and I blame Maccabi Tel Aviv.

At the start of the match I was prepared to settle for a narrow defeat but after watching the Costa antics I really want us to hurt Chelsea. Sadly, life rarely works that way.

Corner to Arsenal. Come on lads, let us prove that we are not useless at set pieces.

Head, head, head, head and Chelsea are safe.

Cazorla takes a second yellow and now a red card.

It is not a good day at the Arsenal office.

10 minutes left to get something out of this game.

9 men to do it with.

I 8 football sometimes.

Matic shoots, Costa leaves the field. Loic Remy comes on.

Football makes me 6 sometimes.

This is an epic battle. Most decisions have gone the way of the blues.

Chelsea seem to have more men than Arsenal. Oh. They do. Two more.

Come on you reds. One good break will do it.

Hazard gets a free kick on the edge of the box.

The wall does its job.

Mourinho says stop playing and hold onto the ball for a draw.

One minute plus injury time left. One quick break is all it takes.

Chelsea score a second to seal the match. It goes in off Chambers.

FIVE minutes of injury time to score three goals. Has it ever been done?

Arsenal throw.

Giroud to Walcott and Ramsey cannot get there.

Ramires gets a shot in. Corner.

It's a day for the blues. Mourinho has still never lost to Wenger in matches that really matter.

Not a good result but certainly a competitive match well worth watching.

CHELSEA 2 ARSENAL 0

Chelsea v. Arsenal (The First Half)

It's only a game. That much is true, but it is a game that many people care a lot about.

Blog as you go is the way forward, or perhaps it is just the way of the moment but I am now watching on BT Sport having enjoyed a lovely lunch down by the waterfall on the river at the Mill on the Exe.

We were so enjoying the food that when I checked my phone the time was already 12:45 so kick off was missed. On the 5 minute journey back in car I heard that "Walcott has beaten the Chelsea defence once again." so I assume that he has missed two chances already. He does need to improve his conversion rate.

As I write Santi Cazorla has just left a foot in the way of Pedro who goes over leading to a yellow card for the Arsenal midfielder.

Now Petr Cech (I had to look that spelling up) has thrown himself at the feet of Petro to save the day.

Gabriel now shepherds the ball into touch but in the replay it looks more like he shepherded that bloke in blue into touch as the ball drifted away from him.

Zouma shoots high from just over the half way line and people ask questions of his sanity.

Pedro shoot wide from just ahead of where Zouma shot from.

I hope these are the boots that Chelsea continue to shoot with as shots off target never lead to goals.

Walcott breaks and Zouma makes a supreme tackle to win the ball.

Commentator notes that Arsenal have three consecutive clean sheets to their name in the league.

Monreal earns Arsenal a corner.

Cazorla crosses, Ivanovic heads clear and sprints forward.

Ozil across goal. Ramsey fails to beat the defence.

Fight in the penalty area as Cech gets the ball out.

Costa hand to the face on Koscielny. Costa then chests Koscielny to the ground. Gabriel intervenes.

Yellow cards for Costa and Gabriel. Chelsea win that one as Costa should be off.

What has happened is that Gabriel is sent off for a second yellow card. The referee is a homer.

Costa is clearly a man in the mould of Mourinho.

The second half will now be Chelsea's 11 against Arsenal's 10 men.

Chelsea in the ascendancy and Arsenal on the moral high ground.

How often do morals win matches?

Last Night

Tuesday 15th September hid some football that crept up on me while my life was spinning out of control. Well, not really out of control but very busy.

Walcott has just got a goal back for Arsenal with 12 minutes to go.

Brentford travelled to Middlesbrough and were comprehensively beaten 3-1. Torquay earned a very creditable 2-2 draw away at Kidderminster. Weston were at home and given the early results did well to hold Truro at 2-2. Bideford beat Hamworthy United 3-1 and I can find no mention of the match between Street and Barnstaple which is on my spreadsheet so I shall assume it never happened.

Now, Arsenal, you have 7 minutes left to earn a draw. I shall stop blogging and will the ball into the Zagreb net.

Following Ten Teams

Following one team is easy and all fans know their last result and next fixture. Sometimes you have a mental block when work pressures get to you but the information is in there somewhere.

With ten teams to follow (and I watch out for local league teams as well) there is some effort required. Arsenal beat Stoke 2-0 at the weekend and there are no problems finding out as match of the day will always cover the Premier League. I buy the "Football League" paper to cover the next three levels and the "Non League" paper is full of life around the country. It is this last newspaper that has all the best stories.

Arsenal have just gone 2-0 down to Dinamo Zagreb and with Giroud off the field thanks to a red card it looks like Arsenal will have to do it the Arsenal way and come back from a first match defeat.

Brentford travelled to Leeds and drew 1-1. Southend lost 1-0 at home to Shrewsbury. Exeter beat the mighty Hartlepool 1-0. Are you reading this Jeff Stelling? Torquay earned a 1-1 draw away at Welling. Weston-super-Mare travelled to Dartford to lose 2-1.

Poole Town beat Barnstaple 1-0 in the F.A.Cup and I love watching the minnows progress so I hope we get a few cup upsets this year. There have been a few already but it is only when the non-league beat the league that it makes the real newspapers.

My final result for this post is Exmouth Town who beat Godolphin Atlantic 4-3. I have a feeling that I should go and watch Exmouth before too long.

Worthing v. Thamesmead Town

While visiting mother this last weekend I had the chance to watch a Ryman South team in action.

The match was an F.A.Cup Qualifier and Worthing were taking on Thamesmead Town from the Ryman North. The quality of the football was a jump up from my previous live experiences as you would expect and I was very happy with the value for money as I paid £8 each for my wife and I.

Following on from my last post and looking at the head of this blog I must give a shout out for one of the young Worthing players. BEN POPE danced through the Thamesmead defence for his first very well taken goal then added to it with a perfectly taken free kick around the wall.

My wife was first to notice that we had arrived at a stadium using the latest artificial 3G surface. She was fascinated and got closer than me. She described it as little lumps of rubber. I noticed that the ball was bouncing higher than on a conventional pitch and although it is the same for both teams I am sure the home team gains an advantage by understanding the bounce.

There was a strong wind from left to right as I watched from the grandstand but all the goals were scored kicking into the wind. Worthing took the two goal lead thanks to young BEN POPE. The match had plenty in it but it then settled down to what looked like a comfortable win until .........

The announcer stated that as the match had a definite result there would be a league match on Tuesday. Thamesmead took that as an invitation to score their goal and although the 90 minutes were up we all know that teams can score in injury time. The announcer told Thamesmead that they had two more minutes.

It got better as the next announcement was that the opponents on Tuesday were Dorking and as they were drawing in the cup there may not be a match on Tuesday. This was followed by another quote that they had in fact scored and the match on Tuesday was back on.

I know that teams at this level need support but that set of announcements did get me chuckling and thinking that a single announcement after the match would be better.

As it happens some friends of mine went to the match on the Tuesday and it was abandoned due to floodlight failure.

A good experience, particularly the two cups of tea at £1 a cup.

Gimme some names

You have probably heard of Olivier Giroud, you should certainly have heard of Alexis Sanchez, all fans are aware of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain, and as an Arsenal fan I could name all the Ozil players as well, but now for some unknown names.

My number 10 pick Exmouth Town beat Tavistock 4-0 last night and I thought I should seek out a match report online. No luck there but I did find something on the facebook page and that is the name of the goalscorers.

Remember these names if you ever go and watch Exmouth Town:

Aaron Sowden

Joe Bushin

Karl Rickard

Jordan Hopkins

These are the first names I have introduced to this blog and I hope to check up on their progress in years to come. I have no knowledge of their ages so they may be on their last legs or they may be the new and upcoming stars of the future.

A 4-0 win for the only one of my teams in action has to be a good night.

England or Exmouth

Tonight I had to make a choice. Should I stay at home and watch England play Switzerland or should I drive the half hour to Exmouth and watch my number 10 pick for the first time. The Exmouth opposition is Tavistock, that team from the other side of Dartmoor.

England are drawing 0-0 at half time and I cannot see any information on the internet for Exmouth. The teams at the lower levels do not get much coverage and usually when they do it is a day late. Let me see what I can find out now that I have chosen not to travel:

Wikipedia says that the colours are all blue at home and all red away. No news. None expected.

Twitter last feed was yesterday talking about a pub crawl on the way back if you support them by coach on Saturday.

Pitchero was last updated one month ago and contains no information.

Facebook has a post on 6th mentioning the match against Tavistock. Worth watching in future.

The South West Peninsula League site has the fixture but I do not expect the result until tomorrow.

So now we know ... nothing!

Maybe we could start a match tracking site. I did some work on text to web some years back but then the sites started wanting lots of money for the service. Does anyone know any good text to web providers?

Southend United = Commentaminute

Opinion: Ben Coker was my man of the match (and last season's playoffs).

Southend v. Peterborough – United in football

1: Familiar face spotted from the playoffs at the end of last season, Ben Coker the left back.

2: Peterborough free kick headed over the bar.

3: It is all Peterborough.

4: Timlin challenge results in a free kick.

5: Peterborough corner taken short and wasted.

6: Dave Robertson, Peterborough manager, whistles at his players.

7: Ryan Leonard of Southend aims a shot at the moon.

8: Two players on the ground in the Peterborough area but nothing is given.

9: Santos of Peterborough blocks the shot.

10: Peterborough earn yet another corner.

11: Timlin heads the ball off the line to save a certain goal.

12: Mooney heads a decent cross over the bar.

13: Mooney v. Santos battle results in great noise from the crowd as Santos pushes Mooney over.

14: Ricardo Santos is shown close up after Michael Timlin shows the referee what he did.

15: Great free kick down the wing comes to nothing.

16: Hunt and Mooney get in each other’s way as a good chance results in no goal.

17: Santos clearly shoves Mooney to the ground. Southend free kick.

18: Midfield challenges demonstrate that both teams want to win this.

19: Free kick to Peterborough near the centre circle.

20: Peterborough goal kick.

21: Corner to Peterborough.

22: Daniel Bentley punches the ball clear.

23: Leonard wing to wing pass to Worrall who passes back to White who then crosses to Mooney.

24: Peterborough’s Jon Taylor hits the side netting.

25: Ben Alnwick in the Peterborough goal holds onto the cross.

26: Another Southend attack comes to nothing.

27: Phil Brown appears with a notepad while shouting at his players.

28: Joe Gormley controls the ball into touch.

29: Nothing happened.

30: Good move by Peterborough but no strike on goal.

31: GOAL FOR SOUTHEND – Adam Barrett hacks the ball in.

32: Phil Brown puts that happy frown on his face.

33: Mooney shoots and Alnwick saves.

34: Peterborough shot into the upper tier of the stand.

35: Ball across the Southend goal but no Peterborough players to connect with it.

36: Maddison shot blocked by the defender.

37: Barry Fry is sat in the stands admiring his Peterborough team.

38: Washington fouls Coker to give Southend a free kick.

39: Leonard proves that shooting is not an easy skill as he passes to the grandstand.

40: Brain dead now.

41: GREAT tackle by Southend.

42: Peterborough get a free kick.

43: The game is looking tired now.

44: Maddison shot well saved by Daniel Bentley.

45: One Minute of Time to be added.

46: The first half peters out with Southend 1-0 up.

SECOND HALF

46: Hectic but uncontrolled start to the second half.

47: They are changing the football as something is wrong with it.

48: Maddison goes down in the area and Southend get a goal kick.

49: Southend are offside.

50: Peterborough kick the ball out.

51: Southend get caught, recover and play the ball back to Bentley.

52: Peterborough corner comes to nothing.

53: Peterborough hit the crossbar.

54: Peterborough get another corner.

55: Peterborough get another corner.

56: Alnwick makes a great save to keep Peterborough in the match.

57: Bentley catches the ball one handed to prevent a Peterborough chance.

58: Peterborough corner played short and shot over.

59: Phil Brown croaks something unintelligible.

60: Period of to and fro.

61: Ben Coker heads a shot off the line.

62: Long throw from Leonard leads to a headed chance for Southend.

63: Ryan Leonard dives in the box and gets booked for trying to con the referee.

64: Ben Coker controls the ball back to Bentley with his chest.

65: Wordsworth shoots the ball over the bar.

66: Peterborough work a chance but shoot across the goal.

67: Wife interrupted my viewing and I am not going to rewind.

68: Thank you wife for this lovely cup of tea in front of me.

69: Hunt heads Southend into a two goal lead.

70: Replay shows an inch perfect cross from Ben Coker onto Hunt’s head.

71: Michael Timlin is lucky to get away with a robust challenge.

72: A quiet minute.

73: Another quiet minute.

74: Timlin shoots over the bar.

75: Mooney puts a great chance just wide of the post.

76: On Target stats appear – Southend 7 Peterborough 1.

77: What do you call a group of bankers? A wunch!

78: Lovely tippy tappy stuff from Southend, I could watch this lot.

79: Ben Coker tidies up nicely once again.

80: Southend knock the ball across the face of the Peterborough net.

81: Free kick to Peterborough.

82: Quick break from Southend looks good but comes to nothing.

83: Joe Pigott comes on as substitute for Noel Hunt.

84: Free kick to Peterborough in the centre circle.

85: Southend clear easily with a solid defence.

86: WORRALL and WHITE work a good chance but it travels across goal.

87: Stephen McLaughlin comes on to replace David Worrall.

88: Word is passed that there will be 4 additional minutes.

89: McLaughlin gives the ball away and Maddison scores for Peterborough.

90: Luke O’Neill comes on for David Mooney, a defender for a striker.

91: Ryan Leonard races from the half way line to take the ball into the corner.

92: Maddison shoots over the bar for Peterborough.

93: Foul by Peterborough on McLaughlin near the corner flag.

94: Two Peterborough players manhandle a blue shirt in the corner.

95: Peterborough Corner with Alnwick in the Southend area.

The referee blows the final whistle and Southend have won 2-1.

3 = Southend v. Peterborough

The first action is to check out who might be playing on the recording that I am about to watch. 

Could someone please pronounce the name of the Peterborough number three for me.

Southend United    Peterborough United 1 DANIEL BENTLEY 1 BEN ALNWICK 2 JOHN WHITE 2 MICHAEL SMITH 3 BEN COKER 3 KGOSI NTLHE 4 ANTHONY WORDSWORTH 4 SHAUN BRISLEY 5 ADAM THOMPSON 5 GABRIEL ZAKUANI 6 LUKE PROSSER 6 JACK BALDWIN 7 DAVID WORRALL 7 JON TAYLOR 8 MICHAEL TIMLIN 8 MICHAEL BOSTWICK 9 DAVID MOONEY 9 KYLE VASSELL 10 JACK PAYNE 10 ERHUN OZTUMER 11 MYLES WESTON 11 MARCUS MADDISON 12 WILL ATKINSON 12 RICARDO SANTOS 13 TED SMITH 14 CONOR WASHINGTON 14 KEVAN HURST 15 JERMAINE ANDERSON 15 CIAN BOLGER 16 HARRY BEAUTYMAN 16 NOEL HUNT 17 ALEX DAVEY 17 STEPHEN McLAUGHLIN 19 JOE GORMLEY 18 RYAN LEONARD 20 HARRY ANDERSON 20 GLEN REA 21 TOBI ADEBAYO-ROWLING 21 PAUL SMITH 22 LEONARDO DA SILVA LOPES 22 GARY DEEGAN 24 LEE ANGOL 23 JOE PIGOTT 26 DION HENRY 24 LUKE O'NEILL 27 KIERAN SADLIER 26 ADAM BARRETT 28 SOULEYMANE COULIBALY 30 JONATHAN EDWARDS 31 JACK COLLISON 32 CALLUM ELDER 33 CHRIS FORRESTER

Saturday 5th September

Time for my blog. The TV just magically switched from the football analysis to "Strictly Come Dancing" so I guess the wife has been at the controls while I was not watching. England have just beaten San Marino 6-0. This was a chance for San Marino to learn and a chance for us to try and score as many goals as possible. I have to be impressed that Theo Walcott scored a couple of goals but I cannot say the match gripped me at all.

This has been a busy day as my daughter just completed her maiden skydive in tandem with a chap who held a wrist camera to capture all the photographs. The company did well out of me as they got an extra £50 to take her up to 15,000 feet and when we saw the photographs my daughter simply had to have them costing me an extra £99. It is good to see her so happy though so I am convinced it was worth it.

Now I can settle down a bit and check up on all my pyramid teams. I have recorded Southend United who were on television at lunchtime. I may get the chance to watch them tomorrow morning but I heard the result on the radio as we were returning from Dunkeswell and they won 2-1. Listen to my language as I am aware that using the words we and us means you are a true dedicated fan but I am using the words they and them making me no more than an observer which is true.

Arsenal and Brentford have no matches as this is an international weekend and Premier League fans hate these weekends without "real football". The internationals are no longer a national obsession and as a result they pass many people by. This is a chance for my injured Arsenal players to recover a bit and I hope they make the most of the opportunity.

The best news for me this weekend is that my bottom of the table team Weston-super-Mare in the Conference South have won for the first time this season. This was 1-0 away from home at a place called Bishop's Stortford. Are they rubbish or did my pick simply have the luck of the chances taking the one needed to score the only goal?

The guys at work are going to be happy on Monday as Exeter beat Leyton Orient 4-0. The report on the radio suggested that Exeter were not worth that margin of victory but we all know that it is the result that counts not the performance. I know that most painfully as I am an Arsenal supporter.

Torquay United have not been producing good results recently so my expectations have been dropping and as they are one of the most hated teams in my office (local rivals) I am not sure that a positive 1-1 draw at home against Guiseley will go down well.

After recent weeks with poor performances from my league selections you will notice that all the above has been positive, including Torquay changing from defeats to a draw. I now look down at the Southern League results and see that Bideford lost 2-1 at home to Hungerford Town. The draw on bank holiday Monday was a blip in a series of defeats. Do I really want to go and watch them live?

Tiverton Town have been producing positive results. The latest defeat was in the F.A.Cup. Beating Swindon Supermarine 2-1 at home should put "us" in a good position in the table ... checking ... this result should be enough to put us in the playoff places depending on other results.

My Western League pick Barnstaple travelled to Bristol Manor Farm and earned a point in a 2-2 draw. That result keeps my team just behind the leaders and in touch such that a couple of wins can put us in contention.

I have saved the best till last. Exmouth Town travelled to Saltash United in a clearly Devon v. Cornwall clash. Looking at the result I see that the score was 3-3 at the end of normal time. You already know from my language at the start of this paragraph that my boys Exmouth scored the winner in extra time to win 4-3.

For the ladies, who should not be reading this blog, they are still announcing the pairings in Strictly Come Dancing. I think I will go and put the kettle on.

10 = Exmouth Town

This post is in anticipation of the F.A.Vase first qualifying round which takes place on 5th September. The only one of my teams in the first qualifying round is Exmouth Town who are away at Saltash United. It could have been a nice drive down the A38 to Plymouth, over the bridge then brake hard. Unfortunately my daughter is jumping out of an aircraft on Saturday so I have agreed to be there ready to catch her.

Barnstaple receive a bye through to the second qualifying round so will not appear in this competition until 3rd October.

Exmouth lost 1-0 to Saltash on 8th August so I hope they learned a few lessons from that match. Their second match was a defeat to Ivybridge Town but since then they have beaten Launceston and Elburton Villa. Good luck in the Vase Exmouth.

12 = Exwick Villa 2nds

Having enjoyed the lads night out at Exwick Villa before my summer holiday I returned determined to watch some more. My internet browsing revealed that there was a match at the same ground because the Exwick Villa 2nd team were playing against another local team, Heavitree United.

I had paid £3-50 for the chance to watch the first team, but that was in the semi-professional South West Peninsula League. This match in the Premier Division of the Devon & Exeter League was free so I was able to amble in and settle on the boundary with a friendly chap who was approaching the end of his playing days. We both enjoyed a competitive and entertaining match and commented about the changes over the years. Some fouls given in this game would not have been fouls 20 years ago.

Heavitree United took the lead and we were deep in conversation when Exwick Villa equalised. I saw Heavitree taking a kick off from the centre spot and drew the only possible conclusion but with these live matches there are no action replays to find out what happened. If you miss it you miss it and we both missed it. The match stayed level until half time and we agreed that Heavitree had the best of it.

The second half livened up a bit and I felt that Exwick were more determined to win as several players in dark blue (Heavitree) hit the ground and rolled around a lot. The referee did have the option and we formed opinions about which late tackles deserved a booking and which hard challenges should have been punished with no more than a free kick. The match was becoming great entertainment.

I suppose that the high point has to be near the end. Time was ticking away and my friend for the night suggested that Exwick had missed their last chance. I thought from what I had seen that Exwick were getting stronger as the match wore on and could get one or perhaps two more chances. They used up both of those and then just to prove us both wrong scored with a lob over the keeper.

The last minute or two was played up the far end of the pitch with 21 players in the box and one taking the corner. Confusion reigned as the referee ran over to the linesman as the corner was taken and in that confusion the match ended.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable match with a great finish and tremendous value for money. I paid two pounds for a couple of strips in the 50-50 draw. I shall return.

Bank Holiday Weekend

Saturday 29th August started a busy weekend. You might all have seen Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain score the goal that won Arsenal their match at Newcastle although it deflected in off that bloke in black and white stripes. In the world of the football fan we don't care about the opposition.

I could go through the leagues in order but this weekend was also an F.A.Cup weekend as the qualifying matches have to take place before the minnows get their chance against the big boys. My teams had mixed fortunes. Tiverton Town lost 4-1 away at Plymouth Parkway while Barnstaple won 2-0 away at Bridgwater Town.

Now I can give you all the bad news. Brentford lost 3-1 at home to reading while Exeter travelled to Wimbledon to be defeated 2-1. Torquay took on Cheltenham at home and lost 3-0. Weston travelled to Oxford City for a 3-0 defeat. Bideford hold the record as they managed to lose 5-0 at home to Histon. Bideford were pissed on by Histon.

There were some better results for teams I am following in the Devon & Exeter League but they are not for this blog unless I actually go out and watch them in which case you will hear all about it.

Bank Holiday Monday was much better for me but there were still no wins to celebrate. Southend travelled to Coventry in the evening and managed a 2-2 draw. Earlier in the day Torquay lost 3-2 away at Eastleigh, a club thriving in the shadow of Southampton. Weston were at home to Bath City and managed to maintain their consistency by losing 1-0. In the Southern League Bideford drew 0-0 away at Paulton Rovers and Tiverton drew 0-0 away at Bridgwater Town.

On Tuesday Exeter qualified for the next round in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy by beating Portsmouth 2-0 at home. That concludes a very boring report. Maybe I should get out more.
  

Disappointing weekend

So the weekend matches concluded with my top team, Arsenal, failing to score against a Liverpool side that earned a point at the Emirates stadium.

Most of the matches were played on Saturday and do not make good reading. Brentford travelled all the way to Burnley to be beaten 1-0. Southend took on Swindon at home but also lost 1-0. Exeter performed better by drawing 0-0 at home to York City.

In the conference Torquay earned a creditable 2-2 draw away at Grimsby while Weston lost 2-1 at home to Eastbourne Borough. In the Southern League Bideford lost 2-1 away at Leamington and we have to drop to the Southern League South & West before we find a victory. Tiverton Town beat Marlow 2-0 at home.

In the Western League Barnstaple beat Shepton Mallet away with a 2-0 victory, and in the South West Peninsula League Exmouth Town beat Elburton Villa 3-0 at home.

My lower ranked teams saved the day on this occasion but I only earned 12 points out of a possible 30. If I had any competition they would have won hands down.

A Mystery

Project Pyramid takes a level of effort. Supporting a single team can be hard enough. I list fixtures in advance to make tracking easier. This week was a footballing week with many matches.

Arsenal had no match which is disappointing for me as I miss out on the chance to watch my heroes qualify for Europe. That "Fourth place trophy" was two extra matches and more money for the club.

Brentford had no match either, but my other pyramid teams saw action.

Southend United drew 0-0 away at Doncaster.

Exeter City went away and beat Dagenham & Redbridge 2-1.

Torquay United lost 1-0 at home to Woking.

Weston-super-Mare were due to play but no result appeared on any sport website. A Mystery.

Bideford entertained Weymouth at home and lost 1-0.

Tiverton Town travelled to Shortwood United and beat them 1-0.

Barnstaple travelled to Buckland Athletic and lost 1-0.

Exmouth Town at the bottom of my pyramid had no match like the top two teams.

Now for that mystery. Sure enough the Weston website had the information. They were 2-0 down away at Ebbsfleet when the floodlights failed at half time. They now have to travel the width of the country again in order to complete the fixture.

Exwick friends

Exwick Villa Ground

11 = Exwick Villa

So much for the top 10 levels of football. That is enough for most people but I want to understand the football pyramid and I noted that we in this small part of Exeter have our very own semi professional team. Exwick Villa play in division one East of the South West Peninsula League.

I got hold of a couple of neighbours and persuaded them to join me in an evening assessing our local heroes. They brought their sons with them which made it a pleasant evening of entertainment and chat.

I had done my research, as far as I could on the internet this far down the food chain. The team had played two matches away and won both of them 2-0. A win on a Monday night and we would go top alongside the St Martins team, a team my wife had heard about. She told me they have been very good for a very long time.

The match was colourful as I discovered that our local boys play in deep purple from head to toe. The opposition, Crediton United, turned up in all yellow from head to toe.

The entrance fee proved to be £3.50 for adults with free entry for children. The entrance fee included a program that was much better for this level than I was expecting. It contained all the information that I needed and a list of players but with no numbers leaving me to try and work out who was who. I never did.

The match started well and Exwick showed a degree of skill that I was not expecting. What was missing was the final ball, as two clear cut chances went begging because the ball was passed behind the onrushing attack. On one occasion two players sprinted past the path of the incoming cross and both of them would have had an open goal with just the keeper to beat.

After 20 minutes we were talking about a team that we could come and watch every week, and once we went a goal ahead everything seemed to be in complete control.

Crediton started to come into the game after the Exwick goal and the second half of the first half belonged to them. They equalised while I was watching and I was told that they had two good chances at the end of the first half but I had left for a pint in the pub over the road so that we could be back for the second half. All clubs need a bar to boost profits and keep fans and that is sadly lacking at the moment.

The second half was underway when we returned so I had to check that the score was still 1-1. There were moments of individual brilliance but they were few and far between. We watched the level of effort and control diminish as the game went on. In the end I think the result was fair and maybe slightly flattered Exwick but this is early season and things will change when it gets cold and wet.

It is in the cold and wet of the English winters that the Great British centre halves thrive and the skilful little wingers are driven out of this wonderful game. Yes, I was a winger a long time ago.

1 = Arsenal

Arsenal are my main team. That will not change. If Brentford gain promotion they will be dropped from my pyramid list. I do not need to tell you all about the Arsenal pre-season as we have all been able to watch the lot on television.

WE WON THE BARCLAYS ASIA TROPHY
Singapore Select XI: 4-0 WIN
Everton: 3-1 WIN

WE WON THE EMIRATES CUP
Lyon: 6-0 WIN
VFL Wolfsburg: 1-0 WIN

WE WON THE CHARITY SHIELD
Chelsea: 1-0 WIN

The last two matches settled us nicely into the old adage and chant "1-0 to the Arsenal".

The the real season began:

9th August: West Ham United (H) 0-2 DEFEAT

The media seemed shocked. I was not. Arsenal like to start slowly and it often costs us.

Our second match is today away at Crystal Palace.

2 = Brentford

When Brentford came up and Yeovil went down I switched the divisions but kept the teams. Having noted that Yeovil seem to be on a big downward spiral I have dropped them as a team to follow.

Brentford were selected purely on the basis of the Szczesny connection but I have watched a few TV highlights programs and been impressed by the Bees. So how have the team fared this season?

Three wins in the first three friendlies were followed by two defeats then the real action started.

August 8th: Ipswich Town (H) 2-2 DRAW

August 11th: Oxford United (H) Capital One Cup 0-4 DEFEAT

I hope this one was an aberation as it does not look good on paper.

August 15th: Bristol City (A) 4-2 WIN

As all good managers will say "We can concentrate on the league now."

3 = Southend United

The first pre-season friendly was against a team I have known since I was a youngster. We used to play our football matches on the field next door to the Great Wakering Rovers home pitch. Southend beat Great Wakering 1-0 to start the pre-season with a win.

Defeats to Braintree Town and West Ham United were followed by a 4-0 win over Canvey Island. The team from Canvey is another one I have watched with interest as they have progressed. After losing to Leyton Orient the real work began.

August 8th: Fleetwood Town (H) 1-1 DRAW

August 11th: Brighton (H) Capital One Cup 1-0 DEFEAT

August 15th: Walsall (H) 2-0 DEFEAT

Apart from a natural aversion to Phil Brown I look forward to the adventure of following my old home town team.

4 = Exeter City

I know as a football fan I should go and watch my local league team more often than I do but I did try once a season a few years back and the entertainment I got was simply not good value for money.

The team this season had a pre-season tour of Scotland then came home to beat Weston-super-Mare in a friendly. Six more friendlies followed so Exeter should be the best prepared of all my selections.

A visit to St. James Park to see the Grecians is a must this season. I will save up my hard earned pennies and let you all know whether the value of the entertainment has improved.

The important results so far are:

August 8th: Yeovil Town (H) 3-2 WIN

August 11th: Swindon Town (A) Capital One Cup 2-1 WIN

August 15th: Northampton (A) 3-0 DEFEAT

Maybe the Capital One Cup would be a good match to watch, but Sunderland is a long way to go.

5 = Torquay United

Living in Exeter I am expected to hate our local rivals Torquay United and Plymouth Argyle but as I was not born here I have not grown up with the youth culture of "us and them". Torquay has always had a problem for me and that is the road to get there is always jam packed and slow. A little village known as Kingskerswell is a bottle neck on the route and I have always praised it as a good way to keep the people of Torquay down there in the British Riviera.

The authorities in their wisdom have at long last started to build a new road which should shorten journey times and once it is built I shall go and watch a Conference National game. BT Sport have promoted this level of the sport and I have enjoyed watching the highest level of non league football.

I spoke to a diehard fan about their match against F.C.United of Manchester last season and I love to follow teams that are coming up through the ranks. I should blog about some of them another time but this fan said that FCUM (a team that can be pronounced in a football fan sort of way) are going places and should reach the league before long.

Torquay themselves have the bonus of supporter Helen Chamberlain appearing on national TV in the popular Soccer AM series, but the results are what count so how are they doing?

August 8th = Beat Macclesfield 1-0 at home.

August 11th =  Lost 3-1 away to Wrexham.

Today (August 15th) the club travelled all the way to Halifax Town and won 3-2.

That concludes my early season reports on the non league clubs. More tomorrow.

6 = Weston-super-Mare

The Conference South is a level that I have so little knowledge of , partly because it is not local and it is not national. Who would play at this level? Well it seens that small and medium sized towns do.

I linked up to the Weston-super-Mare website a couple of seasons ago as they were the nearest club to me at this level. There have been updates informing me of transfers and signings but I really have been too busy to take it all in.

Maybe this season I will finally pop up the M5 and take a look at this team but they have not started the season well. The results so far are:

August 8th = 4-1 defeat away to Concord Rangers.

August 11th = 4-0 defeat at home to Gosport Borough.

Today (August 15th) the team welcomed Hemel Hempstead Town and lost 4-2.

I expect them to be the strongest team in the league now (holding all the others up).

7 = Bideford

Bideford is not so far from Barnstaple so see the nearby Barnstaple post for travel information.

I would have to go by car to see this club but that is not so much of a hardship and there is a shopping arcade known as "Atlantic Village" that is another attraction in this area. The only other things that I know about the area are that the bridge is worth a photograph and there is a very unusual town name nearby that although obvious is very unusual. I must visit "East the Water" just to photograph the town name.

Bideford's friendly matches include a 3-1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle and a 3-1 win over Torquay United. At this point I realise that I do not yet know the result of today's match so I need to quickly divert to another internet session.

Bideford have started the season with one of each:

August 8th = 4-4 draw at home to St Neots Town.

August 11th = 2-0 away defeat to Chippenham Town.

Today (August 15th) saw the long long long trip to Kings Lynn Town (Why are they in the same league? The F.A. still has a long way to go to sort out travelling costs.) result in a 1-0 victory.

I expect to watch a match or two here this season.

8 = Tiverton Town

Tiverton is the place where my blog really started as I attended a Western League fixture there before Elmore Eagles moved to the South West Peninsula League and subsequently folded at that level.

For 10 years I have "intended" to go and watch a level 8 fixture. Tiverton Town have patiently waited at that level for me to do so. I wonder if I actually do whether they will be promoted or relegated.

I note that in their friendly matches the team has beaten Axminster 7-0 and they also beat an Exeter City XI 5-3. They did lose 3-2 to Torquay United though.

In the Southern League they have lost 2-0 away to North Leigh and 3-1 at home to Mangotsfield United. Today, however, saw a home win as they have beaten Cinderford Town 2-1.

Tiverton is only a half hour drive with a lovely pub on the way so I can see this being the season I attend a fixture there. I have has this same thought in past seasons though and it has yet to pass.

9 = Barnstaple

Exeter to Barnstaple can be an interesting journey.

There is a railway line known as the "Tarka Line" and enthusiastic youngsters can collect pubs between the two towns by doing the "Tarka Trail". Get your card online then go from pub to pub collecting stamps but be warned that some pubs have a habit of losing their stamps. It is a great excuse for a pub crawl and there is time to sober up a bit on the train.

The "direct" route is a very winding twisty road that has a reputation for putting motorcyclists in hospital because of the blind bends as the road winds through the woods. It is a pleasant drive if you are in no hurry as the woodlands are reasonably attractive and you see the occasional posh property on the way. All the same pubs can be found on the way but don't stop as you are driving this one.

The quick and boring route uses the M5 and the North Devon Link Road. That road has ruined the North Devon environment as they are now connected to civilisation, and some of them have learned to communicate. I was so close to actually attending a match of theirs last season when a mini crisis diverted my attention. I hope to get there this season.

8th August = 2-1 Home win against Bradford Town

11th August = 4-0 Away win against Willand Rovers

15th August saw the start of the F.A.Cup and the very last teams drawn in match No.184. were

Barnstaple v. Willand Rovers

That midweek match may have had an influence but Barnstaple have today won 2-0.

This club have a winning start to the season and are therefore a must to visit soon.

10 = Exmouth Town

Western League Division One was worrying me and I could not choose between AFC Wellington (a Somerset club) and Chard (another Somerset club) so a sudden realisation took place that in my area (region) the South West Peninsula League Premier Division is at the same level as the Western League Division One. Armed with this information I sought an alternative and found one of my wife's favourite places, Exmouth Town, on the list. I even found that our favourite pub, The Grove, is sponsoring this season. Most importantly, Exmouth is in Devon. Sold!

How have this club fared so far. They have a second team that I will examine later but the first team has had a poor start to the season.

8th August = 1-0 Home defeat to Saltash United

11th August = 2-1 Home defeat to Ivybridge Town

This could lead to some supporters at some clubs swapping the terraces for the local hostelries.

Today, however, I notice that away from home the performance was much better:

15th August = 2-0 Away win at Launceston.

The season is up and running. This is a club I expect to watch a few times.

2015-16 Season

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Having seen a large hole in the road in Manchester and called it the road to hell I now turn to this blog that I have always intended as a means to attract people to football at the lower levels.

My dream is that you follow teams from different levels of the football pyramid in your area because you are a fan of the sport. Football can be depressing when you turn out in the cold of winter to see your team lose a match they were expected to win, but it can also be a source of great inspiration when you watch a player perform a piece of magic on the pitch.

My selections for this season are similar to before but there are some changes that may be of interest to those who follow the various levels of the most popular sport in the world.

1 = Arsenal in the Premier League
2 = Brentford in the League Championship
3 = Southend United in League One
4 = Exeter City in League Two
5 = Torquay United in the Conference National
6 = Weston-super-Mare in the Conference South
7 = Bideford in the Southern League Premier Division
8 = Tiverton Town in the Southern League South & West
9 = Barnstaple in the Western League Premier Division
10 = Exmouth Town in the South West Peninsula League Premier Division

In past seasons I would have looked at the Western League Division One and this season I checked out the nearest teams, AFC Wellington and Chard, but their websites were too Somerset centric for me to consider them. It's a speedway thing.

If you want to join my quest pick 10 teams of your choice and follow them reporting what you can given the paranoid nature of many footballing directors. Remember that without their money we would not have a sport to watch.

Conference on the Conference

So Grimsby beat Eastleigh 3-0 on the day and 5-1 on aggregate to reach the final against Bristol Rovers.

FINAL: Bristol Rovers v. Grimsby Town 17th May 14:00


In the Conference North Barrow are promoted.

Playoff Semi=Finals:
AFC Fylde v. Guiseley:  Guiseley 1 Fylde 0, Fylde 1 Guiseley 2
Boston United v. Chorley: Chorley 0 Boston 0, Boston 2, Chorley 2, Chorley 5-4 on penalties.

FINAL: Chorley v. Guiseley 9th May 15:00


In the Conference South Bromley are promoted.

Playoff Semi-Finals:
Boreham Wood v. Havant & Waterlooville: H&W 0 Boreham Wood 2, Boreham Wood 2 H&W 2
Basingstoke Town v. Whitehawk: Whitehawk 1 Basingstoke 1, Basingstoke 0 Whitehawk 1

FINAL: Boreham Wood v. Whitehawk 9th May 15:00

That is the information at the top of the tables.


Relegated from the Conference North prior to all the political manoueverings are:
Colwyn Bay
Leamington
Hyde

Relegated from the Conference South prior to all the political manouevers are:
Farnborough
Staines Town

That concludes my conference about The Football Conference.

Conference Play-offs Semi-finals 2nd leg Sunday

Now I know why most bloggers do it early in the morning.

Many of my posts are triggered by the subject matter being on television at the time of my blog.

Today I have just watched Bristol Rovers beat Forest Green Rovers 2-0 to win the tie 3-0 on aggregate so they are heading for Wembley with the hope of returning to the football league after just one season at this level.

The teams are now preparing for the second match, Grimsby Town v. Eastleigh, with Grimsby leading 2-1 from the first leg. If I remember I will update you with the result of this match.

So, let's have a look at the situation at this point in time:

Barnet have earned automatic promotion to the football league.
Bristol Rovers have reached the play-off final.
Eastleigh and Grimsby are competing for that second place in the final.

LEAGUE TWO
Cheltenham and Tranmere are now Football Conference teams

Automatic Promotion to League One for Burton, Shrewsbury and Bury.
There is a certain Burr in that list of teams. Oddities like that fascinate me.

In the play-offs Wycombe take on Plymouth and Southend take on Stevenage.

LEAGUE ONE

Bristol City and Milton Keynes Dons are now Championship teams.

Preston take on Chesterfield and Swindon take on Sheffield United in the play-offs.

The four relegated teams are Notts County, Crawley, Leyton Orient and Yeovil.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Bournemouth and Watford are promoted to the Premier League.

Norwich take on Ipswich (nice!) and Middlesbrough take on Brentford in the play-offs.

Millwall, Wigan (on the way back down) and Blackpool are the relegated sides.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Chelsea top the English pyramid, with QPR and Burnley looking downwards but there is still plenty of football to play at this level.

Now to watch the Grimsby and Eastleigh contest.

Conference Play-Offs

I watched the other match last night: Forest Green Rovers 0 Bristol Rovers 1.
Bristol Rovers have to be favourites after the number of chances that they missed.

Tonight we have Eastleigh v. Grimsby in the first leg of the other semi-final.

The Grimsby coach was delayed so it got me to thinking about this blog. The match will start at 8:00pm and the cameras are exploring the dressing rooms. Coventry colours for Eastleigh and Newcastle colours for Grimsby. I think I have to get my own teams playing in Purple and Pink.

The sun is setting over the grandstand as the players line up in the tunnel so I can now settle down to watch the match. Conference play-off semi-final here we come. Maybe I will try and find some twitterers to talk about the match.

Derby v. Brentford

Pritchard scores for Brentford to put my second choice team ahead by one goal to nil. The away strip is yellow tops and white shorts against the Derby colours of white and black giving this match a certain limited colour look.

The quality is high, the pace is high, the tackling is robust. I have a break from real life for a change. It has been a busy winter. I think I will now just sit back and enjoy the spectacle.

F.A.Trophy Final

It is great to see a team that have come up through the ranks taking on an established top welsh team. Wrexham of the Football Conference were 2-0 up against North Ferriby United (see another post by me) of the Conference North. Ferriby fought back to 2-2 and in extra time are now 3-2 up.

We all love to see the underdogs do well so I hope the green and whites (English National Anthem at the start) beat the red and blacks (Welsh National Anthem at the start). The full time conference team should start to assault the part timers goal now and we just have to hope the defence can hold tight and hang on. There have already been some important tackles made.

Wrexham have now equalised making the score 3-3. There may be another twist in the last couple of minutes but it is looking like penalties will decide this one now. High pressure for both sets of players. There goes the final whistle so we have a penalty shootout to thrill the crowd.