F.A.Cup 4th Qualifying Round

The F.A.Cup results stolen from Flashscore are below:

I will analyse the interesting scores after you read out line by line .....

	5.10. 15:00	Finished	Alfreton	2 - 2	Gateshead
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Altrincham	3 - 1	Matlock
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Barrow	2 - 1	Tranmere
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Beaconsfield	0 - 5	Brackley
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Boreham Wood	3 - 0	Hendon	(1 - 0)
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Braintree	4 - 2	Bromley
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Burgess Hill	0 - 5	Dover Ath.
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Chesham	1 - 0	Potters
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Dagenham & Red.	3 - 1	Wealdstone
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Eastleigh	6 - 0	North Leigh
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Egham	0 - 1	St. Albans
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Harrogate	0 - 2	Halifax	(0 - 0)
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Harrow	2 - 2	Margate
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Kidderminster	6 - 0	Weymouth
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Lincoln City	0 - 0	Guiseley	(0 - 0)
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Lincoln Utd.	0 - 3	Spennymoor
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Maidstone	3 - 1	Billericay
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Merstham	2 - 1	Ebbsfleet
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Nantwich	1 - 3	Stourbridge
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	North Ferriby	1 - 4	Macclesfield
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Solihull	3 - 1	Kettering
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Southport	1 - 0	Chester
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Stamford	1 - 1	Wrexham
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Stockport	2 - 0	Bishop Auckland
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Sutton	2 - 1	Forest Green
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Taunton	0 - 0	Hemel
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Tonbridge	0 - 3	Dartford	(0 - 1)
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Torquay	1 - 1	Woking
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Welling	0 - 1	Whitehawk
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	Westfields	2 - 1	Leiston
	15.10. 15:00	Finished	York	1 - 1	Curzon

So ,,,, my thoughts are .....

It is good to see Braintree progress since they lost last season's manager to Lincoln.

Dover Athletic were the other minnow vying for promotion last season.

My Weymouth selection got battered away at Kidderminster.

North Ferriby got beaten at home by Macclesfield.

Forest Green are now free to concentrate on the league.

Taunton live on into the first round draw but have to go to a replay against Hemel Hempstead.

There is so much more I could say and I am sure you want to hear it but real life is calling.

Today - Saturday 15th October

I have just listened to the Arsenal TV broadcast as my main team struggled to hold on to a 3-2 lead. It sounds as if Swansea, if they had had a good finisher, would have won the match by several goals. This may be the natural pessimism of football supporters (the match is commentated on by fans) so I shall watch the match later on to determine whether the opinions of the commentators were accurate.

Brighton were at home in the Falmer Stadium taking on Preston North End (whatever happened to Preston Central and Preston South?) and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

Southend United were also at home and beat Chesterfield 1-0 at Roots Hall.

Exeter City continued a trend which has seen their best results coming away from home. If I were them I would agree to play all matches away. Travelling to Barnet they managed a convincing 4-1 away win which will help to ease their relegation fears.

North Ferriby United were in the F.A.Cup fourth qualifying round so I will leave them until my F.A.Cup review. It does mean that the draw for the first round proper is imminent.

Weston-super-Mare travelled to East Thurrock and got completely stuffed 5-1.

Weymouth are another team that played in the F.A.Cup so you can wait for their result as well.

Tiverton Town beat AFC Totton in the Southern League South & West.

Bridport were taking on Odd Down in a cup match today and I can find no trace of the result on the internet. Such are the problems the lower down the chain that you go.

Exmouth Town were not playing a league match and I can find no mention of a cup match so I have to presume that they were having valuable rest time.

Now I can look at the F.A.Cup. A tournament I do enjoy as the different levels take each other on.

Box Life

I got to watch my first live football of the season today. It is my fault as I have been focussing on the garden and my wife and the television. It was a pleasure to watch Barcelona judging Scottish football and I thought City deserved to beat United. Leicester was undoubtedly the most feelgood factor this week as Bruges buckled under the pressure of Jamie Vardy and his cohorts.

My experience was a treat granted by my company who wanted volunteers to fill their box at St. James Park in Exeter. The original list offered the treat was not the same as the final list of those who accepted as there was a better option available at Sandy Park where Exeter Chiefs were taking on Harlequins. I met some new faces as we settled down to empty the fridge of alcohol and accept the main meal on offer which was acceptable but certainly not restaurant standard.

Following the refreshment we stepped out to occupy our seats. Within minutes the Plymouth attack in the shape of Garity had given deadly rivals Plymouth Argyle the lead. A second goal followed and from that point on the match was never in doubt. Exeter threatened the empty spaces and the fans wide of the two posts but the goal remained completely unassaulted. As a resident here I was embarrassed by the lack of quality that my home team showed.

As far as value for money is concerned I only payed for parking which was slightly more than I would have liked but that is Exeter for you. The experience was a pleasant one ruined only by the performance of my home team. I would probably accept if the offer came up again, but I think they keep a list and my turn will not come for another few years.

I was not convinced that I should pay for the experience.

Life v. Blog

I am sat down watching Torquay v. Lincoln to catch up and see how Danny Cowley is getting on now that he has moved from Braintree to turn professional. As he says himself it is a very insecure existence as he is only six matches from dismissal. His team, however, are already 1-0 up thanks to an early penalty.

My garden now has a new wall and the system I have been testing had its first success on Friday. Life can take over from the serious issue of blogging sometimes and perhaps I should set aside a particular time to keep this site updated.

I may have abandoned you, my reader, but I have set up my spreadsheets for all of the F.A. tournaments, Cup, Trophy and Vase, my selections spreadsheet, I have added the EFL Cup to the list and my team tags (teams attached to leagues) spreadsheet is now down to level 11 (County Leagues).

There is some good quality football being demonstrated at the moment on screen but it is still the first half and the players have not had a chance to get tired yet.

My life is still more important than this blog but I hope to be here more often as the winter nights and winter weather focus my attention more on football and less on being active outside.

I do think North Ferriby have reached the limit of their climb now but it may just be a case of getting aclimatised to the altitude.

Early Season Results

My main team Arsenal start the campaign tomorrow at 4pm but all my other picks have begun;

Brighton have drawn away at Derby County, beaten Colchester United 4-0 in the League Cup and got an impressive 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on the TV last night. I may have made a good choice here.

Southend United have started in relegation form. After losing to Gillingham 3-1 in the league they lost to Gillingham 3-1 in the cup. Some might see this as consistency. Today they travelled to Port Vale and lost 2-0. My old home town may have been a bad choice in League One.

Exeter seem to be a cup team at the moment. Between losing 2-0 to Blackpool and 2-1 to Hartlepool they beat championship side Brentwood 1-0 in the cup. My home town team need to buck up although there is a new 15 year old superstar on the scene.

North Ferriby drew the opening game of their season 0-0. Braintree Town have new management but my pick at National League level have to face Lincoln City next.

The team that has grown on me from nothing have started the season well. This National League South club have beaten Whitehawk 3-1, Bath City 2-1 and Welling United 2-0. Keep this up and Weston-super-Mare will be challenging for promotion rather than battling relegation.

In the Southern League Weymouth have beaten Biggleswade Town 3-1, lost 4-1 to Chippenham Town and today beat Redditch United 1-0. A mix of results points at mid table form.

The Southern League South and West Division has seen Tiverton beat relegated club Bideford between two draws with Larkhall Athletic and Bishops Cleeve.

My late choice of Bridport in the Western League lost to Alresford Town in the F.A.Cup and then Buckland Athletic in the League but today managed to beat Clevedon Town 2-1.

Exmouth Town started their South West Peninsula League Premier Division campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to St. Blazey but have since won twice, beating Ivybridge Town 4-0 and Launceston 5-0.

It always takes a long time to set things up at the start of each season so I cannot blame anyone for not following ten teams, but I once again wish to promote BT Sport for covering the National League better than any other provider in the market.

Kick-Off = August 6th

The short close season is now at an end.

The countdown has begun.

The new football season starts for real on Saturday August 6th with the F.A.Cup Extra Preliminary round. My last minute selection Bridport are at home to Alresford Town and it would have been a great way to start but I am visiting family to celebrate a birthday. I may have to look for a match to watch in the area I am visiting.

Exmouth Town are also in action. A home match against Saint Blazey. That could also have been a great start to the season.

In the Southern League Weymouth take on Biggleswade while Tiverton take on Larkhall Athletic.

Another possible great start to the season is at Weston-super-Mare where they take on Whitehawk in the National League South. So many good choices and I am at a family function.

North Ferriby United are at home to Braintree Town in the National League. I fancy them to win as the Braintree management left the club at the end of last season. I wish my choice at this level the very best of luck as they strive for Football League status.

In the league Exeter are away to Blackpool, Southend take on Gillingham at home, Brighton travel to Derby County and we know that the Premier League does not start until next week so I get to watch Arsenal take on Manchester City in a friendly in Sweden.

Let battle commence.

Almost Finalised Picks 2016-17

I had a look at Willand and somehow took a disfancy to them. I could find very little online.

My next job was to look at the Western League Premier Map. It can be found here:

http://www.footballgroundmap.com/grounds/england/western-league-premier-division

As I live in Exeter I looked at the nearest options as I do want to watch some live football this year without having to bust a gut travelling long distances. Those days are gone.

I checked out Buckland Athletic who I followed a while back but their offerings were not much better.

I have, therefore, on the basis that there is some pre-season information, gone for Bridport.


I also had second thoughts about putting a reserve team in my top 10. I think I am missing my own point, which I have not clearly defined, that I want people to get around and see what is on offer in the world of football.

I did not manage to see Exmouth Town last season and as they are neatly positioned at the end of a local branch line I shall aim to get a train ride and live football in this season.

So, with a couple of days to go and nobody to stop me, my selections are now:

1. Arsenal
2. Brighton
3. Southend
4. Exeter
5. North Ferriby United
6. Weston-super-Mare
7. Weymouth
8. Tiverton Town
9. Bridport
10. Exmouth

The season is fast approaching.