Sunday, Monday & Tuesday

Sunday was Arsenal day.

The early afternoon saw the women take on Manchester City in the top of the table clash. Arsenal battled out a narrow 1-0 win to catch Manchester City on 12 points. The only club above these two is Chelsea who inflicted the one defeat Arsenal have suffered so far. It should be a good season.

The Arsenal goalscorer was none other than Vivian Miedema who has a strong goalscoring record. She ran onto the pass and hit her shot first time to beat the keeper at her near post.

In the early evening match Arsenal men took on Crystal Palace and went into an early 2-0 lead. This is usually the signal for the lads to sit back and allow the opposition to come at us. That was not the case this time and we made several good chances. The winner in this match was VAR. I know I am biased but Wilfried Zaha saw the leg of Callum Chambers hanging and clearly dived over it. The referee correctly booked him but then the Mike Dean of VAR overturned that decision. There was no advice to "look for yourself". VAR got it wrong. Zaha bought a penalty and it will encourage him to continue diving. Watch out for more dives in future.

Arsenal than had two good goals disallowed. The second one saw Callum Chambers jostled by three players and VAR decided that he was at fault. Does Mike Dean really hate Callum Chambers that much? The VAR referee has anonymity so can reverse any decisions and we have no idea who he is or why he made that decision. The original decisions should have stood as there was no clear and obvious mistake. Arsenal were cheated out of a win by a corrupt VAR official and there should be an investigation as to what Mike Dean was doing in the VAR studio.

Rant over we move onto Monday.

Brentford travelled to Queens Park Rangers and went 1-0 up in the first half. I checked the result just after half time and the Rangers had equalised. I then had an early night expecting the home side to go on to victory but I was delighted when I woke up to find that Brentford has won 3-1.

Tuesday saw Torquay in action against Wrexham. This match ended 1-0 to Torquay.

Two wins at the lower levels still do not make up for what I witnessed on Sunday.

Rain, rain & more rain

Most of my fixtures were postponed today thanks to the precipitation.

Only one of my local league matches was played and nothing happened all the way up to Southern League level. So we start in the National League South.

Weymouth beat Braintree Town 3-0 at home.

Torquay United beat Barrow 4-2 at home.

Exeter beat Plymouth Argyle 4-0 at home. A result that will go down well with the locals.

Southend United cannot have pleased Sol Campbell with a 3-1 home defeat to Ipswich.

Arsenal play tomorrow and Brentford play on Monday.

Arsenal women take on Manchester City before Arsenal take on Crystal Palace.

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday

The highs and the lows of a football fan are manifold. You're riding high in April, shot down in May.

THREE NIL

This week I was pleased to see Brentford travel to Swansea and come away with a 3-0 win. A goal apiece for Said Benrahma and Bryan Mbeumo sandwiched an own goal to produce this result.

Then I turned to Southend and got a shock. My old mates in Southend were posting up about the worst result of the season. Southend were taking on Doncaster Rovers at home and went down 7-1.

SEVEN ONE

Was it the Sol Campbell influence? This guy is so soft we don't have to put any effort in? Isaac Hutchinson scored from a free kick in the 11th minute but after that it seems that Southend were inviting Doncaster to score which they did with alacrity.

It seems that Gary Waddock was indeed a Gary Wassock and his tenure as manager has ended. The report I read states that Sol Campbell was appointed 30 minutes before the Doncaster match. Maybe, therefore, it was the fact that there was a managerial vacancy that led to the score. I think 30 minutes is insufficient to drill your squad to play the way you want them to. If Sol tried, he clearly failed.

More to the point, the fact that Southend had two men sent off and were playing with nine players is more likely to have predicated the result. Over to you Sol. There is clearly plenty of work to be done.

THREE ONE

Next up came Exeter travelling to Scunthorpe. The ex league leaders seem to have hit a rut and are not winning like they used to. A 30 yard screamer gave Scunthorpe the lead but Exeter quickly came level within 3 minutes. Matt Jay found the bottom corner with his cross shot.

Leaving the English Football League behind we turn to the Southern League.

THREE TWO

Tiverton were involved in a see-saw match at Weston-super-Mare. Weston took the lead from the penalty spot. Not to worry, Josh Key and Jordan Bastin put Tiverton into a 2-1 half time lead. Sadly the second half belonged to Weston and the home side came away with a 3-2 win.

I nearly went to the Wednesday match but my wife booked me in for a flu jab and I was notified when our next door neighbour could not get home that the main road that I would have had to use was closed in both directions. I missed a good one.

FOUR TWO

There is too little information on this match but I did find something on facebook.

"2-1 down to a dubious penalty. Three goals in five minutes see Town to a fully deserved 4-2 win. A brace from Ace a header from Callum and a 28 yard stinger from Jordan."

The last match in this section is the one I was looking forward to as Arsenal took on Vitoria from Portugal last night.

I was able to watch it live on BT Sport and was slightly stunned when Vitoria took the lead. Gabriel Martinelli scored the equaliser before Vitoria retook the lead in no time. Arsenal do seem to have this schoolboy habit of relaxing once they score. For most of the rest of the match Vitoria defended well and Arsenal could find no way through. The introduction of Ceballos and Guendouzi promised some service for the front men but they made little difference although Guendouzi earned the free kick that led to the winning goal.

The star of the show was Nicolas Pepe who came on late and scored from a well taken free kick in the 80th minute. Then, after Guendouzi had won the free kick in the 90th minute repeated his feat from the dead ball situation. At long last, Arsenal have somebody who is a threat from free kicks. I used to wonder why Arsenal always took free kicks quickly and starting passing moved immediately. Now it is obvious. We never had anyone who knew how to kick the ball. WE DO NOW!

So, a week of a mixed bag but it ended Thursday night with a last minute winner. Great watching.

Monday Night

Arsenal lost 1-0 to Sheffield United.

Whilst not wishing to diminish the achievement of Sheffield United in reaching and competing at this level it does seem that since the Kroenkes took over the club has become decidedly Cronky.

I am so glad I have a team at every level that I can support.

I will not attach my emotions to any one club as that can lead to depression in a bad season. A young man needs the highs and lows to experience a full life but I am content to sit back and appreciate the best that football has to offer.

That is very often at the lower levels of the professional game and certainly in the F.A.Cup where the various levels come together to battle it out. A low level team beating a high level team is one of the best experiences any football fan can experience ... but then we are British and we love a plucky underdog.

I have my eyes set on the F.A.Vase clash between Bovey Tracey and Abingdon United on Saturday. That is in fact two teams at the same level competing for a place in the next round and the best football is always experienced when two teams are evenly matched.

So, having said that, what have I watched this season that matches those two experiences?

Exmouth Town beating Yate Town Must be the best of both. I am so glad I saw that game. The two teams were evenly matched although Yate Town had more of the ball being the senior of the two teams and ultimately Exmouth came out on top which must class as a "giant killing" or at the very least "hurting the big guy".

Not having Sky television means that I cannot watch Arsenal as often as I would like to and I have to admit that my support for them has diminished slightly as I am unable to watch. I wonder how much damage is being done to the football support as a result of the big money.

A few matches are happening this week and I look forward to watching my beloved gunners when they appear on BT Sport against Vitoria in the Europa League on Thursday.

Results Service

Friday Night:-

Tranmere Rovers 1 Southend United 1

Tom Hopper chipped Scott Davies for the opening goal in the ninth minute. Southend remained in the lead at half time and throughout most of the second half. Tranmere substitute Paul Mullin scored an 85th minute penalty to level the scores.

Saturday:-

Brentford 3 Millwall 2 (see Football Pyramid on facebook).

Cambridge 4 Exeter 0 (the League Leaders fail miserably).

F.A. Cup Results:

Torquay 3 Boreham Wood 2

Weymouth 1 Dover 2

Southern League Results:

Tiverton 2 Swindon Supermarine 0

Barnstaple 1 Winchester City 6

So far, so 50/50. Win, Loss, Win, Loss, Win, Loss.

Keynsham Town 1 Exmouth Town 0 (sequence broken).

Ilfracombe Town 2 Elmore 0 (second defeat in the pair).

It took a while to track down this next result but I found it on the Devon FA website:

Liverton United 0 Lakeside Athletic 7 (no surprise, except for the fact that I missed it).

The local league matches have a mix of wins, losses and postponements.

See you tomorrow for the F.A.Cup First Round Draw.

F.A.Cup & Other Things

I notice that there is a fixture on my spreadsheet with no team attached. The mystery was resolved when I noted that this is an F.A.Cup 4th Qualifying Round match. The rounds before the First Round are very nearly over now.

So, how did the mystery team get to this point in the competition? F.A.Cup spreadsheet time. Oh No! I need to update it. That explains why I have no idea at the moment. ... Hang on people.

Sorry about that delay, although in terms of you reading this I bet you hardly noticed. I now have the full list of matches for the fourth qualifying round and I was going to work back to the very start of the F.A.Cup but in the case of Torquay United they get a BYE to this round and so do their opponents Boreham Wood so it is two National League teams that meet to determine who will make the First Round proper.

The Weymouth path is more interesting although they take on National League side Dover Athletic on saturday. They got to this stage by beating St Albans City in the last round and Sholing in the second qualifying round which is where they started. Sholing beat Bradford Town in the first qualifying round, Hamble Club in the preliminary round and Tadley Calleva in the extra preliminary round.

In the last couple of nights I have had three of my teams playing.

Ilfracombe Town beat Elmore 2-0 in the South West Peninsula League Premier East.

Yate Town won 2-0 when they visited Tiverton Town in a match I was tempted to attend because I saw Exmouth Town beat Yate Town not so long ago.

Exmouth Town themselves won 5-0 in their match against Street. I wanted to be there but felt too tired after a long day out. Too bad, but I hope somebody recorded the goals and will put them on You Tube for me to enjoy.

Tomorrow night two teams with a long history of Friday night matches meet on a Friday night. Southend United who played to avoid clashes with the London teams travel to Tranmere Rovers who play to avoid clashes with Liverpool and Everton.

On saturday Brentford take on Millwall, Exeter are matched with Cambridge United, Tiverton try to recover from their shock defeat with a match against Swindon Supermarine. Do they make boats? Barnstaple are at home to Winchester City, Exmouth away to Keynsham Town and Elmore travel to Ivybridge Town in the South West Peninsula league.

Liverton are away to Witheridge and I can only hope for a score less than double figures against us.

In my local matches only one team are taking a rest so I will have plenty to check up on come Sunday. I have to wait until Monday for my main team to start playing again. Arsenal are up against one of the newcomers, away at Sheffield United.

F.A.Vase Day

I had made a note on my spreadsheet that I would either go and watch Barnstaple in the F.A.Trophy or Exmouth Town in the F.A.Vase. I chose well and took my Mrs to the Exmouth match.

This was a competitive game and some tasty tackles were the order of the first half. Portland United had brought several substitutes and they warmed up by shooting at an empty net while the main team was being briefed in the dressing rooms. Every single shot found the back of the net and some were at good pace. I decided that we did not want to have to take on any of these substitutes.

The first half proved very entertaining and could have gone either way but the Portland main team missed their chances while Exmouth took two in a hotly contested penalty area. The loud cheer that greeted the second goal must have been a boost for the Exmouth players because they gained strength as time went on.

The second half was not so good but that was about game management and I saw a maturity in this team that led to the corner flag near the end of the match. There were still several chances for Portland but they all flew over the bar and some into the field next door.

I checked the other results when I returned home.

Southend managed to lose 4-1 at home to AFC Wimbledon.

Exeter beat Forest Green Rovers 1-0 in the top of the table clash in League Two.

Torquay United travelled to Notts County and went down 2-0.

Weymouth achieved a creditable 2-2 draw away at Dulwich Hamlet.

Tiverton travelled to Wimborne Town and beat them 3-0.

In the match I wisely chose to avoid Barnstaple went down 3-1 at home to Thatcham Town.

The other matches on my list were postponed presumably because of the recent heavy rainfall.

Three of the nine local league matches were also postponed leaving only six to be played. I am afraid that Westexe 2nd team that I would like to see reach the Premier League have a long way to go. They lost 12-1 away to Braunton 3rds.

Non League Day

Go and watch a football match.

Yes ... even YOU!

Friday Report

There were three matches this week.

Exeter City travelled to Newport County in the Leasing.com trophy and came away with a 2-0 win.

Torquay United travelled to Ebbsfleet in the National League and managed a 4-2 win.

Those two matches took place on Tuesday and on Wednesday Elmore took on Stoke Gabriel on their home patch and went down 2-1.

Three away wins reported on.

Tomorrow Southend take on Wimbledon, Exeter take on Forest Green Rovers and Torquay travel to Notts County where they still play in black and white because they are so old.

Weymouth are away to Dulwich Hamlet, Tiverton are away to Wimborne Town and Barnstaple are at home to Thatcham Town in the F.A.Trophy Preliminary Round.

Exmouth Town are in the F.A.Vase Round One at home against Portland United. I think I will probably go to that one if the rain stops lashing down. Elmore are away to Torrington and thankfully I will not have to watch Liverton lose as they are not playing.

There is a full list of fixtures from levels 12 to 20 for me to check at my leisure after the weekend.

First Bury, now Sidlesham

You learn by reading.

You learn more about lower league football by reading Twitter and Facebook than you ever would by reading the local or national press.

Sidlesham have withdrawn their first team from the Southern Combination Division One. The reason seems to be that their local council have withdrawn permission for them to use the pitch that they have been using.

I tracked back and it seems that they complained about a local farmer spreading his muck so thickly in the field adjoining the pitch that the health of the players was in danger. Some farmers do have undue influence when it comes to their friends on the council and I hope that  this is not the case here but there must be some reason why permission to use the pitch was withdrawn. The club have wisely declined to comment on the matter.

So ... two clubs down in the top ten levels of English football. I expect there to be more.

Note: Level 11 leagues next.

This Weekend

Today (Sunday) I watched as my long time favourite team achieved a "One Nil to the Arsenal" to beat a Bournemouth team that had some good periods and decent shots but no luck. The only goal of the game was a header by David Luiz from a corner taken by Nicolas Pepe.

On a day when Manchester City lost at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United lost away at Newcastle I will take a narrow victory over dangerous opponents. Bournemouth will not go down if they continue to play with the same quality that they showed today.

The other of my teams playing Sunday were Exmouth away at Wellington.  The only information I have at this point in time is that the attendance was 315 but am I being lazy? Hold on while I dig deeper. Aaron Denney tees up Jordan Harris for the first goal (thanks twitter) and Ace High threads it through for Aaron Denney to slide it past the keeper. This side is fast becoming "My Team".

Yesterday (Saturday) my teams achieved the following results:

Nottingham Forest 1 Brentford 0 ... Move on.

Gillingham 3 Southend United 1 ... Simon Cox scored the Southend goal.

Crewe Alexandra 1 Exeter City 1 ... Dean Moxey got on the end of a Nicky Law cross for the goal.

Torquay United 2 AFC Fylde 1 ... The BBC reports:-

Matt Buse scored in added time to seal Torquay's National League victory over AFC Fylde at Plainmoor.

Kalvin Kalala's stunning volley from the edge of the box opened the scoring for the Gulls in the eighth minute.

Fylde refused to lie down, though, and grabbed an equaliser when Jordan Williams rounded Lucas Covolan Cauagnari and converted into an empty net after 52 minutes.

The Coasters thought they had picked up a vital point in their battle against relegation but were undone when Buse headed home in injury time.

Weymouth 4 St Albans City 1 ... Weymouth get through the third round qualifying of the F.A.Cup and are now into the Fourth Qualifying Round draw. One more win and they may get a Football League team.

Tiverton Town 2 Dorchester Town 1 ... The table shows that Tiverton are now top on 18 points.

Barnstaple Town 0 Moneyfields 3 ... Barnstaple continue the losing streak and are now in the relegation places with a goal difference of -18. The next worst goal difference is -7.

Honiton Town 3 Elmore 2 ... The Honiton Town page on Pitchero reported thus:-

Town welcomed Elmore to Mountbatten Park in the South West Peninsula East Division Fixture.

There was nothing to split the teams in the league table and the first half proved this with both teams cancelling themselves out. the teams went in level at half time 0 - 0.

Town came out for the second half and were the dominant side for the first 10 minutes. Owen McCreadie Taylor opened the scoring in the 49th minute when he had his back to goal and managed to loop the ball over the away keeper. Almost immediately after Harry Leisk had a great chance that he hit hard, but the Elmore keeper parried the shot away.

Slightly against the run of play Elmore equalised with a quick break from a Honiton attacked. The attacker managed to get the ball across from the right hand side by line and the ball found its way into the back of Hippos net. Elmore upped their game and grabbed their second in the 64th minute with an almost identical goal, which was tapped into The Hippos net.

Two minutes later McCreadie was through and ended up on the floor, with the home supporters screaming for a foul. The ref just waved play on to the despair of the home side.

Gaffer Doble made a few changes being Billy Knox and Cody Skinner on.

In the 70th minute, left back Blake Freemantle found himself about 25 yards out, with the ball at his feet he hit a fantastic shot which sailed into the Elmore net. 2-2.

Give Elmore their due they pushed on, and Luke Ashford in the Town goal made a selection of great saves to keep The Hippos in the game. Both sides wanted the win. Not to be outdone Elmores keeper made a great save.

Double rolled the dice for the last time when he took goal scorer OMT off and brought on Peter Knox in the 84th minute. As the clock was clicking down, he won the ball on the edge of the 18 yard box, twisting and turning he was trying to find a path to goal. Former Elmore player, Ash Small was free on the right, Knox played the ball across. Small again twisted and turned and slipped the ball into the corner of the net in the 88th minute pass the keeper.

Elmore immediately pushed to try and grab the equaliser, but The Hippos kept them out to win 3-2.

Man of the match for Honiton was their keeper, Luke Ashford, who made a number of excellent saves and also got studs across his chest after a high tackle from an Elmore player, who received a yellow card for his efforts

Town travel down to Plymouth Marjons next Saturday for their next fixture, hoping to put right their result a few weeks ago when they beat The Hippos in the cup.

Liverton United 0 Heavitree United 6 ... I watched my local side and to be honest there was some improvement. The home keeper managed to shout at the defence enough to keep them somewhere near the goal. Unfortunately none of them bothered to challenge the opposing forwards when needed. The absence of a defence is clearly a problem but shooting also needs more practice. The only powerful shot on target was straight at the keeper. I enjoy my football and one day I hope to see this team produce a match winning performance like the one away at Bovey Tracey.

My results from level 12 to 20 are my business.

Missing Teams

It is normally about the end of September when I look through the manifold leagues that I keep on spreadsheets to try and find the first club to disappear. This year has seen a very high profile club, Bury, disappear from League One. The main advantage of this is that when I search for "Bury" I do not have to go via "Shrewsbury", "Sudbury", "Tilbury" and "Banbury" among others.

The football league issued the following statement about the situation at Bury:

In response to recent commentary about the future of Bury FC, the EFL Board would like to provide clarification on a number of relevant points and address suggestions that the Club should be admitted to EFL League Two for the 2020-21 season.

• The EFL Board reached the decision to withdraw Bury FC’s membership in accordance with the Articles of Association as adopted by the EFL and all member clubs. With regret, this action was taken in the absence of evidence of Bury FC’s ability to meet its financial commitments, whether by the current ownership or any other credible buyer for the Club. Withdrawal of membership was a consequence of severe financial problems at Bury FC over an extended period of time, which had recently led to an insolvency event and a 12-point deduction.

• The Board recognises the efforts being made by supporters’ groups, local authorities and political leaders and their desire for Bury FC to re-enter the EFL from the 2020-21 season. However, the only established procedure for entry to the EFL is through promotion from the National League as part of the wider football pyramid. There is no precedent for a Club to enter the EFL directly through an application for admission or readmission following withdrawal of membership.

• In the current circumstances, the process by which a former EFL Club would obtain re-entry to the league system in England is via an application to the Football Association. On consideration of that application, the FA would determine the appropriate League for entry, subject to them meeting the relevant entry requirements of that League.

• Notwithstanding the above, and in acknowledgement of the extreme nature of the problems at Bury FC, the EFL Board had agreed it is appropriate to discuss the matter with member Clubs. This is a complex situation that raises questions of due process, precedent and fairness as well as financial implications. The EFL will consult with its Clubs over the coming weeks.

• Prior to formal consideration by any league competition of an eventual application from Bury FC to return to league football, clear evidence would be required of the Club’s financial viability and its ability to fulfil its ongoing commitments. 

The EFL hopes that this statement provides clarity for the current efforts being made on behalf of Bury FC.

I have read somewhere that when other football league clubs were contacted the end result is that Bury will not be allowed back into League Two at the start of next season. They will be treated like a new club and be placed according to their resources and club facilities. It is no surprise that other league clubs wanted to deny Bury immediate re-entry. They all think of themselves and having a team capable of challenging them is not something they want. It is also a warning to all other clubs that try to live beyond their means that this will not be tolerated.

So ... depending on the generosity of the Football Association look towards the Northern Premier League or even the North West Counties League for the resurrection of Bury football club.

I have so far not found any other missing clubs which is good for this time of year.

Wednesday & Thursday = Recovery

On Wednesday night the Elmore first team travelled to Axminster Town and came away 3-1 losers.  The team is showing inconsistency and may not have recovered from that injury I saw when the game was abandoned back in August. Four defeats and a draw is not good, the two wins coming in consecutive matches against Plymouth Marjon and Holsworthy.

Brentford took on Bristol City and earned a 1-1 draw. The BBC reported it like this:

Bristol City scored a late equaliser to extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to nine matches as they drew at Brentford.

Josh Dasilva's superb curling left-footed effort into the top corner put the Bees ahead with 27 minutes left.

It looked as though Brentford would win back-to-back games for the first time this season until Andreas Weimann's 87th-minute equaliser, the Austrian heading home Jack Hunt's deep cross.

The hosts almost won it in the 90th minute, but David Bentley made the last of several fine saves to tip over Henrik Dalsgaard's deflected cross.

The point sees City move up to seventh in the Championship, a point off the play-off places, while Brentford stay in 15th position.

An even first half saw both sides have chances to score - Bentley saved well from Julian Jeanvier after 17 minutes with Antoine Semenyo clearing Ollie Watkins' effort off the line from the resulting corner.

At the other end, David Raya had to be at his best to save Kasey Palmer's effort after Semenyo had intercepted Rico Henry's pass and started a three-man break just before half-time.

City boss Lee Johnson replaced Semenyo and Taylor Moore with Famara Diedhiou and Niclas Eliasson at half-time, but it was Brentford that took control after the break.

Bentley made more good saves to keep out Sergi Canos, Christian Norgaard and Watkins before Dasilva broke the deadlock.

On Thursday night the depression was lifted as a young Arsenal team took on Standard Liege who put a few good moves together but these usually ended with the ball being passed into touch. Gabriel Martinelli looks like a quality purchase as he scored the first two goals early in the first half. One was a deft flick with his head and the other was a well placed shot into the corner of the net. Joe Willock repeated the shot for the third goal and Dani Ceballos forced the fourth goal home with his studs.

The Arsenal first team appears full of fear but here were the youngsters playing freely and enjoying their football. An odd selection was Ainsley Maitland-Niles picked to play up front. I think Unai Emery has recognised a footballing talent but has no idea how to utilise him.

Monday and Tuesday = Depression

On Monday night Arsenal travelled to Manchester to take on United. We, the fans, were hoping for a good showing against a side that are struggling this season. Instead, we played defensively and let slip a golden opportunity to kick a side when they are down. This is a sign that we lack ambition although you will find we have not lost in the league this season (apart from Liverpool away which is kind of expected).

It remains to be seen whether we take on Liverpool in the Carabao Cup as they fielded an ineligible player in their match against Milton Keynes Dons. If it was a club further down the pecking order they would be kicked out like Bury have been from the league but Liverpool are at the top so they can more or less do whatever the hell they like.

The match on Monday was another one won by V.A.R. Arsenal scored a goal that was given offside. I am pretty sure David De Gea stopped when he saw the flag but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put the ball in the net and V.A.R. ruled that the goal was not offside. This earned us a 1-1 draw.

A point away at Old Trafford should be a cause for celebration but sadly it was just NOT this time.

On Tuesday Southend United took on Brighton & Hove Albion U21s in the Leasing dot com Cup. The Premier League youngsters took my League One team apart and won the match 2-0. Defeat.

In the Southern League Cup Barnstaple Town, or Barum as they like to be known , took on Truro City at home and went down by 2 goals to 5. Another defeat for another of my teams.

Exmouth were due to be playing Bridgwater Town in the Western Premier League but Bridgwater were too busy beating Frome Town in the Somerset F.A. Premier Cup to come to Southern Road and be thrashed by an in form Exmouth team. Match postponed. Disappointing.

The one bright spot in my spreadsheet is that Elmore 2nds beat University of Exeter 4ths in Division Two of the Devon & Exeter League. This 4-0 victory is the seventh straight victory for this side. If I want to watch winning football perhaps I should make the effort here.

Tonight Elmore take on Axminster Town away while Brentford in the Championship are at home to Bristol City, while tomorrow Arsenal are at home to Standard Liege and I can watch that on BT Sport. I applaud BT Sport for winning the European contract. The football at this level is simply the best. Serge Gnabry against Tottenham Hotspur was inspirational.

Note: The real reason for depression was the kidnapping of my car for a week to change the clutch.