I was so confident we would turn over Forest Green Rovers last night that I had already bookmarked my Good Beer Guide on the Bath section.

Looking down the list, it brought back memories of a great night out around some cracking pubs when we were down there to face Team Bath last time and I had already started to look forward to a pint of Bellringer!

But this wonderful game of ours has a habit of kicking you into the teeth and, boy, is my jaw aching this morning!

Forest Green had played some decent stuff in both games with Stags so far and recent reports on them stated they had not been getting what they deserved and were better than their league position suggested.

Sadly they chose last night to produce the victory their form had threatened against a Mansfield side that seemed frankly complacent in the first 45 minutes.

On a miserable damp, cold night, it seemed both fans and players thought they only needed to turn up to book that date at Bath.

There was a lack of atmosphere on the terraces and a lack of spark on the pitch.

To be fair Stags didn’t start off that badly and had Jake Speight scored that first minute chance it might have been a very different night.

But that early promise soon faded fast as Rovers began to give us a footballing lesson with crisp first touch passing as they walked through our midfield as if it didn’t exist.

They could have been two or three up at half time and had the game secured.

Thankfully Louis Briscoe’s introduction ignited us and he played like we all know he can and how he will have to continue playing to keep Craig Dobson on the sidelines.

I must admit I wasn’t looking forward to extra-time and penalties but it would have been better than the agony of how we went out in stoppage time.

What a scrappy goal to lose by! Whether it was Conal Platt or Paul Heckingbottom who got the final touch is immaterial. If I was Hecks I would be very happy to let Platt claim it, to be honest.

David Holdsworth always looks to take positives out of every game and I think he can now use this one as an example to hold up to his players every time we play a ‘lesser light’ and point out what can happen.

I certainly think it will be enough to gee us up to two excellent displays against Eastbourne and Luton and, with measure of luck every side needs, I think we can win both.

The only other positive from last night is that we won’t have to drive all the way down to Ebbsfleet on a Tuesday night if it had been postponed due to extended FA Cup involvement.

But they don’t sell Bellringer in Ebbsfleet!

There’s more wrangling on the BBC about the possibility of High Speed Two, an actual, real, cross-country service to improve on the fact that we have a piddling 68 miles of track reserved largely for Eurostar in the whole country. Even if it does go pretty much from my house in Ashford.

The service, which would go roughly from London to Edinburgh/Glasgow through Leeds/Manchester – unless its creators were totally stupid and only took it to Birmingham, as has been suggested – would cost a huge amount of money. Since it’s estimated the Birmingham section alone would take until 2025, I’m not inclined to trust figures. An article only a few months ago says the line would be open by 2023. Heard of inflation at all?

But I think it needs to be done. And why? Because, like with any special commuter time-saving investment, like a bridge (hooray for the £5.40 Severn crossing!) the government makes the money back not just through taxes, but tolls.

Not many outside Kent know Southeastern charges a whopping £8.10 supplement on a ticket that costs around £14 for a young person if you want to ‘upgrade’ to a high speed return – not only have fares in Kent risen more than the rest of the country on average, but you pay on top of them to get what they’re actually paying for, too.

So what’s the problem with investing the money? Just like with the banks (who by the way have received far more than High Speed Two will) it’s an “investment”. They’re not handing money out on a platter – they’re going to get it back.

And besides, if we have a new fares algorithm to get us up to Scotland, then perhaps it’ll spare us things like this. See below. I think I’d rather buy my own train.

Britain's first £1000+ rail fare

From the brilliant superlambanana to the Magic Roundabout, Britain’s cities are stuffed with weird and wonderful creations. Click here to take a peak as I have a look at some of the most iconic sculptures in the UK.

What do you reckon of the superlambanana? Is the Angel of the North a cultural wonder, or just a great towering piece of rubbish? I love it. But what’s your take? Read on and let me know.

The piece was originally intended for Substance magazine. Substance is a current affairs title for young people that I helped produce.  But we couldn’t fit any more copy in the issue.

So readers of this blog get to see it first in another blog exclusive.

One of the big challenges in recent months has the issue of the home ground at Stonebridge Road.  Currently leased for the next 16 years, it’s not really the most attractive sporting venue in the world, though the pitch is immaculate, maintained by the rapping groundsman, Peter Norton.  The Club were looking at a new stadium before MyFootballClub took over, and discussions have continued since then.

These seemed to fall through in August when the local councils (Kent County and Gravesham Borough) and  said they would not support a community stadium on the old A2 site.  Following this blow, the freehold was put up for sale by the owners, Land Security, who also gave the club the opportunity to make an offer before the 21st Sept auction.  A group of MyFC members, directors and other supporters of the club got together to raise the funds – not an insubstantial amount, somewhere between £400-600,000.

New Player

And that was going reasonably well until Gravesham Borough Council stepped in on the 17th September and bought the ground.  This has changed the game again, as there are now two options:

1) Continue to raise the funds in order to buy the ground from the Council
2) Take up the offer of long-term, peppercorn rent

Learning to Juggle

Both have their good and bad points, but I feel that the Society Board members should not be pushing one argument over another, which has happened before and cause a lot of division.  Instead they should be monitoring the debate, providing information where needed and pushing things through at the club on behalf of members.  Despite the usual circular and emotive debate, thankfully both sides have been allowed to discuss the options.

As an organisation, we’re still struggling to deal with more than one item at a time, a shame as important issues are neglected whilst everyone’s energy is focused on the Big News.  Again, this is something that I was hoping for from the new Board – to each take ownership of different areas and foster groups of members to deal with the issues and come back to the Society.

Good news in this regard is that the Operator is planning a revamp to the website which should make this more of a reality.  This should also improve communications, allowing casual members to easily see what’s going on and feel involved.  This is essential for maintaining and growing membership beyond the hardcore MyFootballClub fans and local Ebbsfleet fans.

MyFootballGround

Incidentally, funds for the ground purchase are still being raised by the new company, MyFootballGround.  Going on what we’ve done before and the way the forum discussion’s been going, if the full amount isn’t reached MyFG will probably continue and become the company that develops the stadium.  All quite exciting, whatever the outcome!

If you’re interested you can email 0800 334 5605 or e-mail Trustboard@myfootballclub.co.uk

One of the more puzzling tactical decisions from Graham Westley so far this season has been his reluctance to give new midfielder Stacy Long a run in the team, especially as the creative side of Boro’s game is not quite where it should be. It’s been more long ball than Long. 

Stacy moved to Broadhall Way in the summer after a successful spell at Ebbsfleet United. In his time at Stonebridge Road, Long won the FA Trophy at Wembley and was the star player in Liam Daish’s side. A lot of teams in the Blue Square Premier were after the former England youth international  in the summer when it became apparent that he was on his way out with the club in financial difficulties. Boro beat them all to his signature, with Long stating that GW ’sold’ him the club when the pair spoke about the transfer.

However, things haven’t turned out like many thought they would. When Boro announced they had signed Long I thought that it was a signing that would add a creative quality to the Boro midfield and add to competition for places which could also mean GW moving Bostwick to centre back when he wanted to knowing that he had the midfielders available to come in. Instead, Westley has opted to play either Joel Byrom or Lawrie Wilson with Darren Murphy in the midfield which wouldn’t of been first choice to many. Long started the season on the left wing, but I’m not sure he would of even played then if Mitchell Cole hadn’t got injured in pre-season.

I think Long can add a lot to the Boro midfield. He is an attack minded player who I think would form a good partnership with Michael Bostwick who is more defensive minded. He could also slot well into a 4-5-1 formation away from home being the ’support’ player for either Griffin or Boylan. His versatiltity is a very handy thing to have available in the squad, but it’s not being used for reasons unknown. Whether GW is preferring to go with the more ‘tried and tested’ players I don’t know, but why sign a player, who must also be on quite high wages and then not use him.

I would personally put Long in against Rushden alongside Bostwick and see how it gets on with Cole and Drury on the flanks. Although Long is more attack minded, he can play a ‘box to box’ role as we have seen down the years when we’ve played Ebbsfleet United. I remember him doing this very well when the Kent side hammered us last August 4-0 at their place.

“Stacy Long was also impressing in the Ebbsfleet midfield. He was involved in most of their good attacking play.” Taken from last season’s report

It will be interesting to see how Long’s role within the team develops over the next few months, but I think again he will be another good footballer that doesn’t get on with the manager. We’ve seen in the past that similar players like John Martin and Daryl McMahon haven’t been favourites with the boss and it looks like the same is apparent here. I hope I’m proved wrong as I think he can offer a lot to this team, but I think we could see Long move on sooner rather than later.

Five games into our second BSP Season and I’m sure everyone agrees – it’s going well. We have enjoyed good wins against Crawley, Barrow and Ebbsfleet - not forgetting the hard fought 1-0 win over Salisbury!

The Players Go In For A Friendly Hug With Sammy The Stag! (Photo By Dan Westwell)

We have seen plenty of celebrations after goals, including the players wanting a friendly hug with Sammy the Stag! We have even heard the fantastic banter from the training camp: Louis Briscoe’s Take That tribute had me in tears of laughter!

Besides the blip at Luton, Holdsworth’s boys have won every game – putting the Luton game into the category “Irrelevant”. Having played three home games and only two away, it’s time to even it out, a trip to troubled Chester City is next up – this was the first game I looked for when the fixtures came out, as I’m sure a few of you did.

Let me take you back to the 2007/08 season - yes that’s the one; relegation. After a freak goal gifted Rotherham a 1-0 win at Field Mill, our relegation fate lay in the hands of Stockport county. If they could win midweek at Chester City, we would have one last chance. Relegation fate would be down the wire on the last day of the season.

I tuned into a special radio programme on Mansfield 103.2 whilst simultanaeously keeeping the BBC’s score updates on my computer screen. Stockport, chasing a promotion place, threw everything at Chester, but somehow failed to score. With five minutes left our fate was almost sealed. Stockport, if memory serves me right, hit the woodwork with minutes left. If I had been hooked up to a heart-rate monitor it would have exploded. Into extra time the radio went silent for a minute while linking up for the last few minutes of commentary. I could hear the rain crash against my window, then I heard the referee’s whistle and the commentator say something along the lines of,“That’s it, the game is over - Chester somehow draw and stay up, while Mansfield town are relegated.”

I stood up, lost in the moment and eventually ended up outside, where I found my dad, who had also been listening to the game. What happened next was pure madness, I was outside at 10PM, wearing my Stags shirt, crying in the rain.

Tuesday 29th April, 2008, 10pm, crying in the rain – over football!

Tuesday 29th April 2008, Chester City 0-0 Stockport County, 77 Years of Football League history put to an end.

But now we get the chance to take revenge on Chester in the best way possible: by winning!

Had Chester lost and Mansfield survived on the last day, things could now be a lot different - but in a bad way. A certain Mr. Haslam could still be owner of our club. We could have a rubbish team, made up of drop-out last minute signings, we could be scraping the barrel in League Two – taking beating after beating, week in week out. We may never have got David Holdsworth. For the last point alone, I would like to thank Chester City. We may have been down, which hurt at the time, the memory of which still does (I bet you got a cold shiver reading my previous paragraph).

We now have a super squad that excels in every area. We have a gifted manager who one day is destined for bigger things and this season we should be enjoying success. Hopefully we can take our home form, unstoppable goals and fantastic defending and tactical play, and unleash it on Chester! 

Rob Duffy Celebrates Opening The Scoring Vs Ebbsfleet (Photo By Dan Westwell)

Rob Duffy has scored 2 goals in 2 games. Lets hope he keeps it up. Jake Speight has done the same coming from the bench! Daryl Clare is on the goal trail to! And last but not least Kyle Perry, who hasn’t scored since Salisbury (our last away outing) but possess such power upfront- Holdsworth has one huge headache!

Haunted by the memories of April 29th, I cant wait to get Chester out of the way and return home with three points. If we can do this, it will help us to keep up the pace in the league and maybe regain top spot, should the leaders slip up.

Thanks as ever, for reading, and thank you for all the comments- please keep the coming!

See you at Chester, for a game that for me at least is worth a lot more than three points!

Craig

Three goals, three points, a clean sheet and a good performance to go with it as Boro crushed Ebbsfleet 3-0 tonight at Broadhall Way. Graham Westley’s side continued their steady improvement and showed a clinical edge in front of goal this evening to win the game and install some confidence into the side ahead of the trip to Oxford on Saturday.

The Boro boss brought in summer signing Chris Beardsley in place of Charlie Griffin while Lee Boylan also returned to the starting eleven. Ashley Bayes continued in goal with Chris Day still out with a thumb injury. It was a better team selection than the Barrow game, with the team looking much more balanced throughout. Ebbsfleet looked totally different from the last time we played them, playing a lot of youngsters who struggled to make an impact as the game went on. Darius Charles captained the side alongside Leon Crooks, while goalkeeper Lance Cronin also took his place between the sticks. Other than that, Liam Daish’s side was totally different.

Stevenage began the game at a high tempo and were rewarded with a goal just 8 minutes in when a long ball by Roberts found Wilson who nodded it down to Chris Beardsley and the former Mansfield striker slotted home. It was a simple move, but at the same time it was exactly what the team needed after a lean spell in front goal. That goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Ebbsfleet and they were barely a threat for the rest of the 90 minutes, although they did make Bayes pull off a good save 10 minutes before half-time. Boro dictated the game and could of added more goals before the interval with both Mark Roberts and Beardsley again going close.

The second half was more of the same. Boro were knocking the ball about and Ebbsfleet were chasing it down. Daish opted to play a 4-5-1 formation with Magno Vieira up front on his own and Ricky Shakes playing off him and it didn’t work. Ebbsfleet played the long ball up to Vieira and Ashton had him beaten every time, although in the end the referee booked Ashton for apparent constant fouling. I think it was a harsh decision to book the former Rushden man. Joel Byrom came on and Bostwick moved back to centre half and this seemed to improve Boro further. Byrom played a few nice touches before getting his goal with 15 minutes remaining. A ‘corner’ was given when it was clear it had touched Wilson before crossing the line. From there the ball found its way to Byrom who netted his first Boro goal in the league. Game over.

After the second goal, Stevenage played the game out well and there was even time for Man of the Match Lawrie Wilson to power his way through and thump in the third for Boro. Wilson was exeptional tonight on the right wing. He was up and down the right all evening, putting in some fantastic crosses as well as backing up Ronnie Henry too. He’s certainly Boro’s most improved player so far this campaign. It sealed a good night for Boro who travel to in form Oxford next. The U’s top the table after smashing crisis club Chester 4-0 at the Kassam. Arguably it will be the first real test of the season.

Its the battle of 17th versus 18th in the Blue Square Premier tomorrow night. Boro are still unbeaten, but have struggled so far this term, while opponents Ebbsfleet are still finding their feet after a traumatic summer which saw just 3 players remain from last season’s squad. Even their official website is having problems at the minute! The MyFC experiment doesn’t seem to have worked as hoped and due to a lack of interest, budgets were slashed across the board in the summer. Liam Daish was left with a fraction of the budget he had last season and been forced to allow players to leave the club as a result.

Both sides are still looking for their first win of the season, with Boro drawing all 3 of their games so far this campaign and Ebbsfleet drawing 2 and losing 1. It looks like tomorrow night’s game has a draw written all over it?

While Ebbsfleet have struggled to keep their squad together, the opposite has happened at Broadhall Way although the departure of one particular player from Hertfordshire is having a bigger affect than some had previously thought. The biggest problem so far this season for Graham Westley’s side is scoring goals. It was always going to be difficult to replace Steve Morison, but Boro have struggled to adapt to life without the confident captain. It just shows now how much Boro miss Morison. In fact it was the same problem this time last season. Morison got sent off on the opening day against Wrexham and missed the next 3 matches as a result. Boro didn’t function at all in them 3 games and lack of goals was the main problem too.

Westley has to address the problem sooner rather than later. The Griffin project hasn’t worked so far because the way Boro play doesn’t suit his style. GW is trying to adapt the whole way Boro play rather than sign a striker that suits Boro’s style of last season. I think that is why the attacking unit is suffering at the minute and is finding it difficult to find the net. That is obvious when you look at how Boro’s 2 only goals have come about. One was from the penalty spot while the other was a bit of individual quality from Andy Drury.

Chris Day is expected to miss out again through injury so Ashley Bayes will again deputise. Other than that, Stevenage look to have a fairly fit squad and players like Boylan, Drury, Long and Byrom will all be looking to win their places back in time for tomorrow night. Ebbsfleet have a very unfamiliar looking side this year and it is quite unexperienced too. Darius Charles and Leon Crooks are big players for them this season and they will be looking to Ricky Shakes and Magno Vieira to score them the goals to stay up.

I think this will be the game where Boro will record their first win of the season and all them early doubts will be erased, hopefully, with a comprehensive victory. I think GW will go with a more tried and tested side and style of play and that should be enough to beat Liam Daish’s young side.

Stevenage Squad

Ashley Bayes, Simon Rayner, Lawrie Wilson, Scott Laird, Ronnie Henry, Jon Ashton, Mark Roberts, Mark Albrighton, Eddie Odhiambo, Michael Bostwick, Stacy Long, Peter Vincenti, David Bridges, Darren Murphy, Andy Drury, Joel Byrom, Mitchell Cole, Yemi Odubade, Lee Boylan, Charlie Griffin, Chris Beardsley

Prediction: Boro 2-0 Ebbsfleet

The games come thick and fast at this time of the year and on Tuesday night we have another full programme.

Here are my predictions: -

• AFC Wimbledon vs Salisbury D 2-2 This could go either way so I will go for the draw with goals, expect a 0-0 now.
• Altrincham vs Histon H 2-1 Alty have started strong so will go for them
• Cambridge vs Crawley A 1-2 Think Crawley will sping a suprise here
• Forest Green Vs Luton A 0-4 Luton seem to found the goal scoring route and it should continue here.
• Gateshead vs Tamworth H 1-0 A tight game with Gateshead edging it
• Grays vs Eastbourne A 0-2 Think Eastbourne will win at grays as grays appear to be in problems at the mo.
• Kiddiminster vs Kettering D 1-1 a tight game with points shared
• Mansfield Vs Barrow H 2-0 Mansfield to be to strong for barrow
• Oxford vs Chester H 3-1 Chester still finding their feet and Oxford very strong
• Rushden vs Hayes D 1-1 Could go either way
• Stevernage vs Ebbsfleet H 2-0 Stevernage to be to strong for Ebbsfleet
• Wrexham vs York H 3-1 two strong teams but I think Wrexham at home will edge it.

Luton - the weirdest place I will ever visit (Photo by Craig Priest's Trusty New Phone!)

The Stags are now one week into the 2009/10 Blue Square season. This time last week we were sitting top of the table after brushing aside Crawley Town 4-0 at Fortress Field Mill.

Three days later it was the start of the away campaign, a trip to BSP new boys - and one of last season’s relegated teams, Luton Town. I won’t dwell on the Luton result - a 4-1 defeat where everybody lost their heads – not what we were expecting! Fair play to Luton, they are a strong outfit and their season last year could have been all too different had it not been for that points deduction.

I have one thing to say to Luton – sort your ground out! It just doesn’t seem right having to walk through what once was somebody’s back garden to get to the stand - that was a new experience! A few seasons ago I thought Bradford City’s ground was weird, but at least it made sense once you got inside. Luton’s never will, no matter how many times I think about it (or look at the fantastic photos that appeared on Facebook).

In those few days after the defeat to Luton all the positive energy seemed to have disappeared. Why!? Yes we lost, but the score is deceptive – it makes us look poor, but the game was a different story. A few people were calling me mad on the way home and via the Facebook page for this blog- “Defeat will do us no harm” is what I typed in the status update, just gone midnight! To my credit I did explain.

There are two definitions of “Winner” to me. The first is “Unbeatable - better than everyone else, too good for anyone to come close.” This to me is arrogant, and I feel if we had beaten Luton then continued on a winning run, it might be what we believed. But as many people will tell you, arrogance will get you nowhere in life. Yes you will be a “Winner”, but you’ll be a lonely one. The second definition of “Winner” is this: “A true winner can accept defeat, a true winner understands the hurt and slight shame of defeat, a true winner can bounce back stronger once they have tasted the upset they inflict on others.” This is a loved winner, this is a brave winner, and deserves the title- this is the “Winner” I think we will become.

 The next step towards this would be bouncing back at Salisbury, the team who gave us our first ever away BSP Victory last year under Billy McEwan. With a ground in practically the middle of nowhere, you want to visit on a nice day, which thankfully it was. Salisbury’s pitch is not one for fast football –  the grass is longer than my local field (which hasn’t been cut in years!), it’s hard to play a pacey passing game. Salisbury seemed to play ‘ariel football’ - getting the ball out quickly and then trying to get crosses in the box, or take a long-range effort if there was no possibly of wing play.

Goal Scorer Kyle Perry Takes A First Half Shot At Salisbury (Photo By Craig Priest)

Before sounding too much like a scout, my point is that Mansfield were not fully able to play the fast-paced football such as that in the victory over Crawley at Field Mill. We had to battle to show our true quality - and in the end we did. A solitary goal from Kyle Perry in front of the Stags faithful ensured three points were heading back home with us. Kyle tried to set the ‘high-five’ record with his celebration, ‘high-fiving’ every supporter who was at the front. Top stuff.

 It has been said before – ‘A week is a long time in football’. This past week us Stags fans have experienced the downright weird (Luton’s ground) and the wonderful (an early away win in the sun), and in true fashion a mixture of both, as the supporters’ bus slowly rolled out of Salisbury’s car park, the players were doing their warm down and clapped / waved to the travelling fans - weird because I have never seen that before and wonderful why? Because that sums up Mansfield Town Football Club at times, just wonderful.

Next up for the Stags it’s Barrow and Ebbsfleet both at ‘Fortress’ Field Mill. The team have two jobs to do: 1) Keep our record going and 2) Chase the top spot again. Which of course leaves one final job for us supporters to do: get down to the Mill and create that wonderful atmosphere again.

 See you there, and ofcourse thank you for reading.

 Craig

 “Mansfield Town FC; True Winners?”

Today is the first weekend where all 24 clubs in the Blue Square Premier will play, following the news that Chester can start the season on -25 points.

So here we go for my predictions for today’s games: -

Barrow vs Stevernage (H) 2-1 Barrow had that great result last weekend and stevernage have had 2 draws but home advantage should see them get the points.

Chester vs Cambridge United (A) 0-2 with Chester having played very few pre-season games and with all the turmoil going on they will be overrun by Cambridge.

Crawley vs Wrexham (A) 1-3 Wrexham will be looking to continue the strong start of last weekend

Eastbourne vs Rushden (H) 2-1 having seen Eastbourne in midweek I think they will be strong at home and edge this one.

Ebbsfleet vs Kiddiminster (A) 0-2 Ebbsfleet seem to be having big problems so Kiddimister should get all the points.

Hayes & Yeading vs Altrincham (D) 1-1 Hayes will be looking to get as many points as possible when playing at home so this maybe a game where they try to shut up shop.

Histon vs Oxford (A) 1-3 Oxford are one of my candidates for top 5 side and will be to strong for Histon.

Kettering vs AFC Wimbledon (D) 1-1 This will be a real test for us Kettering traditionally one of the strong teams in the league bringing a point back will be a good result.

Luton vs Gateshead (H) 4-1 Luton at home this year will be even harder than on the road and thats going to be hard enough they should win this fairly straight forwardly.

Salisbury vs Mansfield (D) 2-2 The first two leaders of the season meet and will share the points.

Tamworth vs Grays (H) 2-0  Grays another team having big problems so Tamworth here.

York vs Forest Green (H) 3-1 Although they only have a point between them I think York will be to strong for Forest Green.

I will post the results of these and the midweek games that took place earlier in the week tomorrow morning.

Once again Chester have had there match called off this time when they were due to host Gateshead and therefore we only have 10 games being played tomorrow. So here goes with my predictions

• Barrow vs Altrincham H H 2-1 Good result for Barrow at the weekend and home advantage should be enough.
• Crawley Town vs Forest Green D 1-1 Both teams Lost at the weekend and so a point here.
• Eastbourne vs AFC Wimbledon D 1-1 Still finding out what this league is like so playing safe with this one.
• Ebbsfleet vs Cambridge A 1-2 Bad result for Cambridge and they will be desprate to get points on the board
• Hayes & Yeading vs Stevernage A 1-2 Think Stevernage’s experience will tell on this one.
• Histon vs Grays H 2-0 Histon usually strong at home and Grays first game of the season after lots of changes.
• Kettering vs Oxford H 1-1 Two strong teams in this one difficult to split.
• Luton vs Mansfield H 2-1 Cant see Luton going two games without a win but with Mansfield getting a good result at the weekend this could be close.
• Salisbury vs Kiddiminster H 1-0 Home advantage to see Salisburys good start continue.
• York vs Rushden & Diamonds H 2-0 York to get a result after the close defeat at Oxford on Saturday.

The Tamworth vs Wrexham match has been moved to another date.

I wonder how I will do this week.

So now we are right on the verge of the season so on a weekly basis I will try and predict the results and scores from each of the games let’s see how good, or bad I am at this lark.

Saturday has a Full Programme now as Chester have just been given confirmation that they can start the season, but it’s going to be a very long season for them as they will be starting on minus 25 points! 10 for going into administration before the end of last season and a further 15 today for not being out of that administration status.

Here goes, Last years psotions in brackets

• AFC Wimbledon (P) Vs Luton (R) D 1-1 bit of a cop out on this one will Luton be ready for the Blue Square Premier

• Altrincham (15) vs Ebbsfleet (14) H 2-0 Ebbsfleet have lost a number of players over the summer

• Cambridge United (2) Vs Barrow (20) H 2-1 Lots going on at Cambridge at the moment but should be ok

• Forest Green (18) Vs Kettering (8) A 0-2 I think kettering will be one of the strong teams this year

• Gateshead (p) vs Histon (3) A 1-2 Histon’s experience from last season should be the difference.

• Grays (19) vs Chester (R) D 1-1 This result really could go anyway Grays 9 new players against the shock for Chester of the points deduction.

• Kiddiminster (6) Vs Hayes & Yeading (p) H 2-0 This is a real guess based on a strong Kiddy team last year

• Mansfield (12) vs Crawley (9) D 1-1 Talk the other night that Mansfield may have budget problems.

• Oxford (7) Vs York (17) A 1-2 Two teams I expect to be in the fight for playoff placesboth have signed lots of players.

• Rushden & Diamonds (11) vs Salisbury (16) H 1-0 Salisbury have had problems over the summer

• Stevevenage (5) vs Tamworth (p) H 2-1 Stevernage could also be in the shake up this year

• Wrexham (10) vs Eastbourne Borough (13) H 2-0 Dean Saunders seems to have got a good squad together.

Do you think my predictions are ok or well off the mark, be nice to have some comments on these.

I keep moaning about how MyFootballClub doesn’t always engage the principle of Wisdom of Crowds, but I neglected to mention this year’s kit manufacturer vote.  It’s a process I think we should have been shouting from the rooftops.

Similar to how Dave Pollard described in this post from 2004, the crowd (members) were employed to provide opinion and make the final choice, with the experts (The CEO and Chairman) using this information when going through the confidential tenders, but presenting an impartial summary back to the members.  This was a completely different approach than the previous season’s decision.

08/09 Nike Vote
In March 2008, shortly after taking over Ebbsfleet, we were approached by Nike, who offered to run our club shop, provide a wide selection of merchandise and all kinds of goodies, including the chance to choose a kit design.  It was a take it or leave it vote.

Like the spotty geek invited to the prom by the Netball captain, we jumped at the chance, though almost 10% of those that voted didn’t want it: Nike were too big, unethical, and that we were being pressure into making the decision.

In the end the chosen kit designs meant that a 3rd kit was required later in the season, because of colour clashes.  Nobody at the club or Society saw coming, but one might expect Nike would be aware of that kind of problem.  At the end of the season, there were piles of unsold shirts that the club still had to pay for, despite the promise of levels stock based on demand.

Oh, and the no penalty opt-out clause were told about – we’d “misinterpreted” this (and that’s not necessarily Nike’s fault, I hasten to add).

09/10 Ebbsfleet Kit Manufacturer process

As the time for exploring the contract approached, the Board and CEO drew up criteria list and asked individual members to rank them.   These included cost of kit, prestige of manufacturer, local supplier, variety of additional merchandise amongst others.

When three suppliers tendered for the contract, the CEO and Chairman used their judgement to give a point score for each criteria for each company.  There was a clear distinction between the three, with some companies scoring high on some criteria but low on others.

The results and a summary of the reasons for the point score were given to members.  The terms of each deal were confidential, but the companies agreed to demonstrate the expected profit to the Club at varying levels of merchandise sales.  The members were allowed to make their choice from the three (we chose Vandanel).

As far as I know, this was the first time a commercial decision has been made in such an open way from start to finish, passing back and forth between non-expert crowd and experts at the club.  We should try to do more business this way.

With the season gets under way next weekend I thought I would have a look at a few things involving the division.

• Total approximate return millage for the 23 away games 5,400
• Average return millage 234
• Longest return Journey Barrow or Gateshead that are both approximately 600 miles
• Around 1/4 of the teams have Football League experience

Taking the map from the “Non League Matters” website if you were to split the country into 4 with a straight forward centre point of Birmingham you would have the following allocation

• North West (4) – Barrow, Wrexham, Chester, Altrincham
• North East (4) – Gateshead, York, Tamworth, Mansfield
• South West (3) – Kiddiminster, Forest Green Rovers, Salisbury
• South East (13) – AFC Wimbledon, Hayes & Yeading, Oxford, Luton, Kettering, Cambridge, Histon, Grays, Eastbourne, Crawley, Ebbsfleet, Rushden & Diamonds, Stevenage

So although we are now in a national division the majority of the games are still in the south east quarter of the country but it just reaches all boundaries of the south east region.

With most teams having finished or about to finish pre-season matches a couple of score lines surprised me a bit first up and one of note for us was Luton losing at Hampton & Richmond looking at the Luton site Mick Harford made a couple of interesting comments.

“We go to Hampton & Richmond on Saturday, and no disrespect to them, we want to take our players to a non-league ground and give them experience of playing against a very good side who have been unlucky not be promoted in the last two seasons”

I can only think of a couple of  grounds that come anywhere near to the “Non League ground”  level of Hampton. I wonder if Luton think that all non lague teams play like Hampton? Luton also managed to miss two penalties during the game.

There seemed to be a number of matches of teams we played last season against teams we play this season

• Bromley beat Grays 5-1.
• For Eastbourne Jamie Taylor scored twice in a 3-1 victory against Havant & Waterlooville
• Eastleigh beat Salisbury 1-0

Londonist today published a piece about, er, me.

A month ago I wanted to give the new high-speed domestic rail service a try on its first day of operation (particularly since I needed to be in the St. Pancras area that evening anyway), so I caught the train from Crayford to Northfleet and walked from there to the Ebbsfleet station, which is just 400 metres away as the crow flies.

How hard can it be to get from here to there?

Sadly, by the slightly misguided route I took, it was 1.6 rather unpleasant kilometres; even by the shortest possible walking route, it’s 1.2km, and there’s not even a pavement at the entrance.

You can read Londonist’s post about this, and follow my journey that day through my Flickr photoset. (Best read one photo at a time, in sequence. Warning: may contain rotting fox.)

So, overall, fellow Bexley-dwellers, you’re probably better off sticking to one of our three slow railway lines for getting into London, rather than venturing a few miles outside the borough in the hope of speeding past – although it is an enjoyable ride if you do.

The service launches fully in December (at which point rail links to the place become a bit better, if you don’t mind going a little past it and back when coming from London) but the Monday-Friday preview services are running during the day until then.

Der Film “Us Now: The Power of Mass Collaboration” zeigt, wie das Netz grosse Communities voller informellem Wissen schaffen kann, was diese Communities alles anstellen können und wohin dies noch alles führen könnte:

Video: Us Now: The Power of Mass Collaboration

Wir präsentieren euch unten einige Zitate aus dem Film. Und sind daran interessiert, was ihr von diesen Aussagen haltet. Ist das alles Utopie oder ist da wirklich was dran am Knochen? Wir glauben an Letzteres …

(Zitat Nr.)/(min. Video) – Thema

1 / 0:53 – Politik 2.0
Don Tapscott (Autor und Business Stratege):

Es entsteht gerade ein ganz neues Modell, in dem wir Teil der Regierung werden.

2 /         – Web 2.0
Mikey Weinkove (The People Speak):

Ich denke, wir haben die Technologie mit der jede Abstimmung vor dem Parlament dem ganzen Land angeboten werden könnte.

3 / 1:21 – Neue Werkzeuge, neue Verhaltensweisen: eine Revolution?!

Eine Revolution geschieht nicht, wenn die Gesellschaft neue Werkzeuge übernimmt, sie geschieht, wenn die Gesellschaft neue Verhaltensweisen annimmt.

4 / 1:37 – Die neuen Werkzeuge (Web 2.0)

Diese Werkzeuge haben die Kosten, Dinge zu tun, so weit verringert, dass unser Wille, uns miteinander zu beschäftigen, ausreicht, um die Dinge geschehen zu lassen. Und zwar auf grossem, gesellschaftlichen Niveau anstatt gewissermassen nur auf dem Niveau von Familie und Freunden.

5 / 2:18 – Unser Drang nach Anerkennung

Unser Drang nach sozialen Kontakten, nach Verbindung, nach Anerkennung … nach sozialem Status kommt mithilfe dieser Technologie viel einfacher zur Geltung als es in der Welt der Rundfunkmedien könnte oder in Zeitungen oder Massenkommunikation im Sinne des 20. Jahrhunderts.

=================================

6 / 15:09 – Wie wir uns heute regieren lassen … und wie wir zusammenarbeiten können

Diese sehr zentralisierten Ansätze (d.h. die heutigen Regierungsformen) bergen eine grosse Gefahr und ich denke sie übersehen die Tatsache, dass Menschen von Natur aus gemeinschaftlich und kooperativ sind und dass verschiedenste Versionen der selben Technologie heute für jeden verfügbar sind. So können Menschen zusammenarbeiten auf eine Art und Weise, die tiefgreifend die Rolle der Regierung hinterfragt.

7 / 15:37 – Die alten Institutionen … und wir sie, indem wir zusammenarbeiten, konkurrenzieren können

In der Vergangenheit waren wir auf Institutionen angewiesen. Heutzutage stehen uns allen (technische) Mechanismen zur Verfügung, die eine Menge von Individuen zusammenbringen können, basierend auf ihren eigenen Interessen, die nun konkurrenzfähig mit den staatlichen Organen sind.

8 /            Charles Leadbeater (Autor, We-Think):

Hierarchien sind sehr ineffizient. Sie reagieren meist sehr langsam, sie konzentrieren Leistung und Information an der Spitze und hindern Leute oft daran, ihre Chance zu nutzen, die Initiative zu ergreifen, Ideen zu teilen und selbst nach Lösungen zu suchen. Und oft nehmen sie den Menschen da Gefühl der Zuständigkeit.

9 /            Clay Shirky (New York University):

Die grosse Veränderung im Moment ist die Vorstellung, dass jeder zum Handeln in der Gruppe verfügbar ist. Das bedeutet nicht, dass jeder sich an der Gruppenaktivität beteiligen wird; es bedeutet nicht, dass alle gleichviel beitragen werden – aber es bedeutet, dass jeder sich einbringen kann.

=================================

10 / 16:26 – Bsp: Ebbsfleet United, ein englisches Fussballteam, das von einer Online-Community von 30′000 Mitgliedern geleitet wird

11 / 17:18   Paul Miller (School of Everything):

Man kann Institutionen auf den Kopf stellen mithilfe des Internets. MAn kann Systeme und Institutionen von der Basis aus gestalten und sie sich selbst organisieren lassen.

12 / 18:17   Clay Shirky (New York University):

Auf gewisse Weise ist es weniger persönlich, sich von 30′000 Leuten beraten zu lassen anstatt von einer arroganten Person. Und, wenn du es richtig machst, dann erhöhst du durch den guten Rat von 30′000 Leuten die Chance, dass nicht ein Einzelner irgendeinen katastrophalen Fehler macht. Ich bin sicher, dass es sich für die Manager sehr anders anfühlt.

13 / 22:53   Charles Leadbeater (Autor, We-Think):

Meg Whitman, dem mal Ebay gehörte, sagte, es sei, als führte man eine Gemeindeversammlung. Das heisst gewissermassen, dass wenn man die Führung übernimmt, ein politischer Job daraus wird. Denn womit man es hier zu tun hat, das sind keine keine Menschen, denen man Anweisungen geben kann. Man muss sie überzeugen und ihre Unterstützung gewinnen.

14 / 26:01   William Heath (Ideal Government):

Falls Ebbsfleet ein echter Erfolg würde, dann wäre das der Beweis, dass der partizipative Entscheidungsprozess gute Ergebnisse bringen kann.

15 / 26:27    Charles Leadbeater (Autor, We-Think):

Letztlich funktionieren Communities nicht, wenn keine Entscheidungen getroffen werden So wie die Kommunen der 60er und 70erin Amerika; tausende Kommunen gingen unter; vor allem, weil sie keine Entscheidungen treffen konnten.

=================================

16 / 19:40 – Bsp: Open Source Software (Linux) vs. Microsoft
Charles Leadbeater (Autor, We-Think):

In diesem selbstorganisierten System kann es sehr bilig und sehr effizient sein verglichen mit “oben-unten” bürokratischer Hierarchie. Vergleichen Sie nur Open Source Software mit Microsoft.

=================================

17 / 29:07 – eine partizipative Regierung(sform)?
William Heath (Ideal Government):

Die Vertreter von partizipativer Regierung könnten sagen: Hier ist der Beweis, dass die Weisheit der Massen (d.h. “Wisdom of the crowds”) recht hat und es eine gute Idee ist, auf alle zu hören. Und  STATT GESTELLTER UMFRAGEN sollte es wohl echte Umfragen geben über Dinge, die die Menschen wirklich beschäftigen.

18 /          Lee Bryant (Headshift):

Die grösste Veränderung ist, dass Institutionen jetzt in Ihren Machtstellungen gefährdet werden von Individuen und Gruppen, die sich für Veränderung wirklich organisieren können.

=================================

WIRTSCHAFT

19 / 38:16 – die Kraft der Transparenz zwingt Unternehmen und Wirtschaft, ihr Verhalten zu ändern
Don Tapscott (Autor und Business-Stratege)

Es gibt seit langer Zeit eine Redensart, dass “es gut läuft, wenn man Gutes tut”, und ich glaube, das war früher nicht wahr. Bei vielen Firmen liefs gut, obwohl sie sehr Schlechtes taten. Indem Sie Monopole errichteten und furchtbar mit Beschäftigten umgingen oder lausige Produkte hatten, die sie für viel Geld bewarben und vertrieben. Und die Unternehmen müssen saubermachen – nicht wegen der Regulierung. Sie müssen aufräumen wegen der Marktkräfte und der Macht der Transparenz. (…)
So wird jedes Unternehmen nackt. Und wenn du nackt sein wirst, dann ist Fitness keine Alternative mehr. Wenn du nackt sein wirst, dann solltest du besser durchtrainiert sein!

20 / 40:48   Don Tapscott (Autor und Business-Stratege):

Es geht nicht mehr darum, sich online zu treffen oder eine Garten-Community zu erstellen. Hier entsteht eine neue Art von Produktion die fundamentale Änderungen an unseren bisherigen Mitwirkungsmöglichkeiten in der Gesellschaft hervorbringt: Die Art und Weise, wie wir neue Dinge und Dienste erschaffen. Und die Gesellschaft ist meiner Meinung nach dabei, den grössten Wandel eines Jahrhunderts zu erleben. (…)

=================================

DEMOKRATIE & POLITIK

21 / 41:36 – Die Beziehung zwischen Bürger und Regierung
Don Tapscott (Autor und Business-Stratege):

Der Wandel in der Beziehung von Kunden und Unternehmen SPIEGELT SICH IN DER BEZIEHUNG ZWISCHEN BÜRGERN UND IHRER REGIERUNG.

22 / 41:47 – Wisdom of the crowds = “fantastic policies”?

Wenn es möglich wäre, diese eigene Intelligenz zu vereinigen – die Millionen der verschiedenen Meinungen von Menschen mit unterschiedlichen Perspektiven – würde dabei eine fantastische Politik entstehen.

23 / 42:09 – Politik, wie sie bis anhin funktionierte, und wie sie ab heute funktioniert …
Don Tapscott (Autor und Business Stratege):

Wir kennen das Modell, wie Politik entwickelt wird. Es ist eine zweifelhafte Demokratie, ein “Broadcast”-Modell, das folgendermassen funktioniert: Ich bin ein Politiker. Hört meiner Werbung und Debatten zu, dann geht und wählt für mich, und dann texte (d.h. eben das “Broadcast”-Modell) ich euch während vier Jahren zu, und dann tun wir das gleiche ein neues Mal. Ihr wählt, ich bestimme.
Dieses Modell ist ungeeignet – für das 21. Jahrhundert! Ich spreche nicht von Lobbies oder Gruppen, die versuchen von aussen die Regierung zu beeinflussen. Ich spreche davon, in gewisser Art und Weise aufzuschlüsseln und neu zu definieren, was eine Regierung ist.

24 / 43:19   Saul Albert (The People Speak):

Ich denke, es existiert ein grossartiges Potential dafür, Entscheidungsfindung zu starten auf einer Basisebene, auf einer viel weniger grossen Bühne als wenn das Parlament einen Entscheid fällt über Einwanderungsgesetze. So etwa der Ansatz des partizipativen Budgets (“participative budgeting”).

25 / 48:26   Don Tapscott (Autor und Business Stratege):

Demokratie ist weit mehr, als dass die Mehrheit auf einer (…???) Basis entscheidet. Die Technologie wird für Millionen von Menschen zugänglich werden, um eine Unterhaltung miteinander zu führen.

26 /               Clay Shirky (New York University):

Die Vorstellung, dass die Leute einbezogen werden, verbreitet sich so weit und so nachhaltig. Das wird ein grosser Antrieb für Regierungswandel werden. Das wird nicht nur passieren, indem es für die Leute in gewählten Regierungspositionen zu einer Option wird, die sie mitbedenken müssen, sondern es wird zu einer Erwartung der Bürger, die sich durch die Politiker vertreten lassen.

27 /               Lee Bryant (Headshift):

Heute haben wir eine massive Konsumenten-Technologie, die das unterstützt. Und wir sind erst gerade dabei zu entdecken, was wir damit alles tun können.

28 / 49:09   Tom Steinberg (They Work For You / MySociety):

In einem Land, in dem die Wahlbeteiligung ziemlich tief ist, wo viele Leute denken, dass Politiker nicht für die Bürger arbeiten, wo viele Leute denken, dass was sie tun, keine Rolle spiele, in keiner Art und Weise etwas bewirken kann, würde es den Bürgern viel Macht verleihen, wenn sie Sachen wüssten, die versteckt, geheim gehalten werden. Aber es würde auch die Politiker befähigen, viel besser zu regieren. Und das ist eine Sache, die Politiker meist nicht glauben – dass Transparenz besser ist. Geheimniskrämerei mag im Moment nützlicher erscheinen, aber sie kreiert nur den Stoff für massive Skandale in der Zukunft.

=================================

REVOLUTION

29 / 52:05 – eine neue Form von Demokratie, Entscheidungsfindung durch die Bürger?
Paul Miller (School of Everything):

Ich denke, die repräsentative Demokratie wurde auf der Idee aufgebaut, dass die Leute (…???) sind. Aber das stimmt nicht! Ich denke, dass noch viel radikalere Dinge passieren werden, grundsätzlich einmal werden die Leute an der repräsentativen Demokratie vorbei gehen und weniger Aufwand dazu verwenden, Einfluss zu nehmen auf die Politiker und ihre Entscheidungen im Parlament, als vielmehr die Entscheidungen selbst zu treffen.

30 /            Lee Bryant (Headshift):

Was wir erleben werden, ist, dass die Aufgaben und die Durchsetzungsmacht der Regierung in den öffentlichen Raum wandern und dass sie dort besser erledigt und angewendet werden, als sie es durch die Regierung wurden.

31 /             Paul Miller (School of Everything):

Stellen Sie sich vor, Sie wollten eine neue, schnellere Eisenbahnlinie zwischen Birmingham und London bauen. Wie viel würde das kosten? Im Moment ist der einzige Weg, das zu tun, Steuern zu erheben und sie dafür einzusetzen. Nun, wenn sie www.thepoint.com benützen würden, um dies zu tun, dann könnten sie es tun – und zwar komplett ausserhalb der politischen Ebene.

32 / 53:18 – die neuen Möglichkeiten und die Parteien?
Don Tapscott (Autor und Business Stratege):

Breitere Schichten von Menschen können mit einbezogen werden in die Ausarbeitung von politischen Programmen und Massnahmen. Die Grüne Partei Kanadas zum Beispiel hat ihr Parteiprogramm über ein Wiki aufgestellt, in dem alle Mitglieder der Grünen wie auf Wikipedia zusammenkamen und gemeinsam das Programm schrieben. Und das hat ziemlich gut geklappt.

33 / 54:42 – die neuen Möglichkeiten und die Regierung, der Staat?
Don Tapscott (Autor und Business Stratege):

Anstatt dass Regierungen alles selbst tun würden, könnten sie vielmehr eine Plattform aufbauen, auf der sich Bürger und andere selbst organisieren könnten, um besseren Wert zu schaffen, als gegenwärtig existiert.

Stacy Long signed for Stevenage Borough today on a two year contract. The Comet had previously announced the deal as a one year contract, but the official site confirmed that the ex Charlton trainee has in fact signed a 2 year deal and becomes Graham Westley’s 5th signing of the summer. It’s a good move for both I think. Boro have brought in a very talented midfielder who once played in the same England Youth team as Wayne Rooney. Long has impressed whilst with Ebbsfleet, making 122 appearances and scoring 22 goals from midfield in the Blue Square Premier. 15 of them goals were in the 2007/2008 campaign, where he gained recognition with a place in Paul Fairclough’s England C squad.

The signing of Long certainly increases competition for places in the Boro squad. Darren Murphy, Michael Bostwick, Peter Vincenti, David Bridges and Joel Byrom can all play in the midfield and Long isn’t going to want to just sit on the bench at Broadhall Way. Apparently Long rejected deals from AFC Wimbledon and Crawley to join Westley’s side. I’m pretty sure he would of been one of the first names on the teamsheet for them two teams, so he must be looking for a regular spot here. Money, of course would of been taken into account and with the FA Trophy run and play-off finish, then I’m sure our budget has been a little higher than it would of been and that may have helped lure the talented playmaker to Hertfordshire.

For those that don’t know that much about Stacy Long here is a quote from Liam Daish when he brought in the then 21 year old from Notts County.

“This is a significant signing for us. Stacy has impressed me in training and the last 3 games he’s played for us. He is a creative midfielder, but also gets back when he needs to. He will give us a better balance in the middle of the park.” Daish on Long signing in 2006

The article on the official website also states that all juniors have been released from the club. I don’t know whether that means that every player under both the Youth and EFCO scheme are no longer with the club or just the SBFC Youth side has been released, but it’s certainly an interesting bit of news considering Phil Wallace and the club have spent quite a bit of time revamping the whole youth system at Broadhall Way. If there’s anyone who can shed a bit more light on this situation then it would be very much appreciated?

The club announced this afternoon the pre-season friendlies that they will be facing in preparation for the 2009/2010 Blue Square Premier campaign. As expected Peterborough and Millwall will be making trips to Broadhall Way, as well as League 1 side’s Brighton and Southend. The away trips include Chelmsford City, Cambridge City and as confirmed a week or so ago, Blue Square South outfit Woking. Seven games in just over 3 weeks for Graham Westley to put his squad through their paces as they look to win promotion to the football league.

The schedule looks good in my opinion. The home games will be good, competitive tests against football league opposition. Of course it will be interesting to see how George Boyd and Steve Morison fair against some familiar faces. The Brighton and Southend games look good too, but I doubt I’ll be making an effort to see all the home games, so I’ll probably just go to the Millwall and Peterborough games and see how the squad is fairing going into the new season. Our last game before the first league game of next season is away at Woking and that, again will be another tough game. Woking are hot favourites already to be promoted straight back to the BSP, as long as they don’t return by default in the AGM Cup.

One difference I have noticed is that so far less games have been organised against lower league clubs. Last season saw Boro making trips to places like Boreham Wood, Hitchin, Bognor Regis, Ware and Slough, just to name a few with Boro playing a game more or less every 2 days. This schedule looks far more organised and hopefully will be enough to give the squad a good start to the league season.

The signing of Stacy Long should be completed in the next few days or so. The former Ebbsfleet midfielder is currently on holiday after his release from the Kent club and has spoken about his situation.

“The club is obviously in a lot of trouble financially and it is unfortunate the team Liam built last year can not stay together. It is a real shame because there was a lot of potential there with young players who wanted to stay. I honestly believe everyone there last year did want to stay, including me. I don’t know how they are going to do next season. It was always tough for Liam anyway financially but now it is going to be much harder.” Long on Ebbsfleet

“I’m on holiday at the moment but I understand it is all going to be ironed out with Stevenage in the next couple of days”. On the move to Boro

It all sounds as if it’s a done deal. I assume as soon as Long comes back from his holiday then he’ll sign a contract and become Graham Westley’s 5th signing of the summer so far. Looks like his first game in a Boro shirt will be away against Chelmsford City on the 15th July.

There is nothing much happening at Boro at the moment, that we know of. I’m sure there are talks with players, both with the club or not, going on all the time, but nothing has been announced since the signing of Chris Beardsley from Kettering Town halfway through last week. Graham Westley and his staff must be enjoying a far more relaxing summer this year after having to assemble a whole new squad last season. With four signings already made since winning the Trophy 3 weeks ago, GW has moved quickly to bring in players he wants as he looks to push for promotion next season.

A deal which could be announced soon is the possible signing of Ebbsfleet midfielder Stacy Long. The ex Charlton and Notts County player’s contract runs out this summer and there are financial restraints at the Kent club at the minute, due to the Myfc experiment not working out quite as well as it was hoped. It’s possible Long could join Boro without a fee going to Ebbsfleet and it would be a major coup for Westley’s side as he is rated as one of the best midfielders outside the football league. The Comet have said that we’ve beaten off a lot of other clubs for Long’s signature, but nothing has been confirmed by either club yet.

Long would complete the midfield with Michael Bostwick, Darren Murphy, David Bridges and Peter Vincenti already fighting for places at Broadhall Way. With Joel Byrom and Andy Drury also able to play in the centre of the park, then you can’t help thinking that Peter Vincenti may be used in a more advanced role next season?

I’ve rated Stacy Long for a couple of seasons now and he has always impressed me when playing for Ebbsfleet. He totally controlled the game last September when the Kent side beat Boro 4-0 at Stonebridge Road. He also scored a long range effort in the 1st leg of the FA Trophy Semi Final against us. He would be a very astute signing for us if his signature is confirmed and I expect it will in the next 24/48 hours or so.

Other than that there isn’t much to report on really other than Iyseden Christie will be looking for yet another club this summer after he was released from newly promoted Torquay United. I didn’t think he could cut it in the Blue Square Premier last season, so League 2 next season will be a bit of a struggle I think.

Boro confirmed today that midfielder John Martin has been released from his contract. It’s a disappointing end to Martin’s career after a fantastic start which saw him an integral part of the club’s amazing start to the 2007/2008 season under Mark Stimson, particularly impressing alongside Stuart Lewis in the Boro midfield. Martin started the season as a regular in the side under Graham Westley, but along with Daryl McMahon was transfer listed in November with the club in mid-table. While McMahon moved to Cambridge, Martin didn’t leave, although a move to Grays was rumoured. After the January transfer window shut, Martin moved to Ebbsfleet United on loan where he was going to stay until the end of the season, until an injury crisis hit Boro in April and Westley reluctantly recalled him. He came back and played 2 games, very well and that was the last we saw of John Martin in a Boro shirt.

I always rated Martin in the Boro midfield and think if him and Bostwick were given more time together then that midfield partnership would have been one of the best in the division. I think Martin’s creativity would go well with the box to box style of Bostwick. However, with poor results that partnership never really got a chance to flourish and Martin was told he was free to leave the club in November. He came back after a loan spell at Ebbsfleet in April and gave two very good performances, helping Boro get vital points in the play-off run in. He could really help take Boro to the next level I think, but as we all know when Westley’s mind is made up on a player then it is not going to change.

So where now for John Martin?

Talk of a return to Ebbsfleet has been mooted and is possible although the Kent side have some financial restraints for next season with the Myfc thing not working out quite as planned. Apparently the club only have a £4k budget per week next season? Another club that has been rumoured is Barnet, who lost Neil Bishop to Notts County today. Bishop was a defence midfielder at Underhill and has moved to Notts so he can relocate back up North. Paul Fairclough is a big fan of Martin and has picked him for past England C teams. Although Fairclough’s power is limited at Barnet these days, it’s still possible he may recommend JM to Ian Hendon and he could partner another ex Boro midfielder Mark Hughes in League 2 next season. Gillingham may be another destination if, hopefully, they don’t go up through the play-offs.

I wish John Martin all the best in his future career.

Mansfield Town Football Club: Into The Unknown The first taste of supporting a non-league club. Written By Craig Priest.

The idea.

I am Craig priest, a young Mansfield town supporter aged 18. I have always had a keen interest in writing and over the past 5/6 years in football. I have always said support your local club – you get more of a buzz out of watching your local team then spending ridiculous amounts of money following a so called “bigger club” and only getting to see 5 games a season. When my beloved club was relegated from the Football League, I chose to write a diary week by week about my experiences following a non-league team. I kept to that promise until mid-November time when unfortunately my hard work and effort was wiped out by a computer virus. Two moths later I began writing this blog/ diary for the www.chad.co.uk, and this has given me the inspiration to complete my story and share it with you. After moving house I came across the file I thought I’d lost on disk and now with help from websites and others I will tell my story to you. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

 77 Years, Too Many Tears.

Tuesday 29th April 2008, a date which will always be remembered for the wrong reasons – Mansfield Town Football Club relegated out of the football league after a proud 77 year stay, all without even kicking a football. The venue was the Deva stadium, home to Chester City who were staring relegation in the face. Their opponents that night and the team we needed to win was Stockport county, a team riding high in the play-off spots. If Stockport won, Mansfield would have to win on the last day of the season away at Dagenham & Redbridge and Chester would have to lose. If Chester grabbed a draw against Stockport then Mansfield would be down with no way of escape. Stockport threw everything at Chester that evening but were unable to score. The game ended 0-0 and we got relegated. Most Mansfield fans were tuned into the local radio station (Mansfield 103.2) who had a reporter at the ground, they went live for the last ten minutes and when the referee blew his whistle to end the game, I froze. I got up and paced around my bedroom, looked out of my window and watched the rain get faster and faster over Mansfield. I ventured outside and stood in the rain, perhaps to cover the tears and even though I had turned the radio off I could still hear the Chester celebrations. I could picture their fans invading the pitch, smiling and crying with relief, running around with the players as if they’d just won the cup. Back in the Mansfield rain, I sent a “round robin” text message to every Stags fan I know. “Are you crying?” Every single reply was “yes.” The end. Mansfield Town were down and out, and the fantastic supporters who were there every step of the way, through the last 3 or 4 years of misery, were speechless, breathless and fed-up. The end.

Or was it? Mansfield still had one League game to finish, the above mentioned Dagenham, a former non-league team with a non-league ground, a taste of things to come. The game itself had nothing to offer, a drab team losing 2-0 and putting our dreadful season to an end. No fight, no energy, no nothing. Making our way back to the coach for our long trip back, “Daggers” fans offered messages of support and wished us well – that was nice. I still had a little tear, it was all so final. From the highs of Middlesbrough in the FA Cup in front of TV millions to the dizzy heights of Barrow & Histon in front of barley hundreds, all within the space of 6 months. What had we become?

The Bit in-between;

At the end of the 2007-08 Season, Mansfield Town was owned by businessman Keith Haslam, who 14 years previously had bought the club for £1. Blaming a lack of ambition for the club, as well as major financial disputes, fans began to fall out with Haslam and the last 2 years were the worst, with protest marches, failed takeover bids, hate campaigns and boardroom break-ins just some of the goings on, and the atmosphere around the club was negative to say the least. Perhaps it rubbed off on the players, because they certainly performed like it. A few people had said that if the club was relegated haslam would sell-up, and he did during the summer. On 3rd July 2008 three local businessmen dubbed “The Three Musketeers” finally got “Haslam Out!” and a new era began. The Three Musketeers - Andrew Perry, Andrew Saunders and Steve Middleton quickly set about getting the club ready for the 2008-09 campaign, and their first job was to relieve legendary club servant Paul Holland of his duties. Holland was replaced by former Stags player and respected and experienced coach Billy McEwan (who shall be referred to from this point on as “BM”). BM had a big job on his hand, to get a set of players ready for the new season, seeing as there were only four senior players still at the club. Would BM succeed, or would the Stags slip further away from the promised land? Only time would tell.

The Pre-season Shop Window;

As previously stated BM was left with only four players from last year. We needed a new squad and fast, but BM was insistent he would not ‘panic buy’ players - he wanted them to be right for Mansfield Town. Needless to say this got a mixed reaction. It was shop window time for players to earn a contract at Mansfield Town. The successful were:

Goal Keepers: Paddy Gamble (Loan), Luke Herriott.

Defenders: Gary Silk, Aide Moses, Alan O’Hare, Alex Jeanninn.

Midfielders: Matthew Somner, Tom Shaw, Gavin Hurren, Michael Blackwood. Strikers:

Mark Stallard, Aaron O’Connor, Anthony Robinson, Jason Lee.

They joined Jon D’Laryea, Nathan Arnold, Jason White and Chris Wood, plus youth teamers.

Stags had mixed fortunes of results with hardly a settled squad playing together for more than 45mins a game. The fixtures had been released and Stags were due to kick off their campaign away from home at FA Trophy winners Ebbsfleet United. Personally I wanted to get started and watch the Stags win. How long would I have to wait.

Although the Stags had little time to really plan their pre-season, they managed to secure a pretty decent away game, which only two seasons previously was a well contested football league fixture. Now Boston are playing their football in the UniBond Premier League after suffering automatic relegation from the Blue Square Premier & Blue Square North for financial reasons. At the time of visiting Boston we ourselves were having financial difficulties in the aftermath of the Haslam era, struggling to get a squad ready in time for the big kick-off. Could we be “the next Boston”? I hoped not. The state of the ground was rapidly worsening, with less supporters filing through the turnstyles, less money coming in. It just goes to show how a year or two away from the Football League can either make you or break you. Unfortunately for the followers of Boston United, the relegation has just about broken them - hopefully it wont do the same to us.

As for the game itself Boston deserved their victory, as we fielded a side who perhaps had no idea who the other players were. I felt sorry for the goalkeeper, Jamie Annerson, who was only playing for us as a favour, after our loaniee keeper from Nottingham Forest Paddy Gamble had taken ill and was unfit to play the game, and with no keeper we perhaps had no hope. Jamie actually played very well, saving a penalty in the second half, but was unable to keep out the rebound. I hoped we would see more of Annerson and got the feeling we might one day. Oh well a poor performance and a defeat, we were all to used to this by now! The game and the day really did make me think of how bad things could get in the Blue Square Premier if you didn’t handle them. Was I worried about Mansfield’s future? Just a little, but as they say, nothing ventured nothing gained.

Kick Off Time;

Saturday 9th August it all began, the Blue Square Premier Campaign was underway. As the supporters coach pulled up in Ebbsfleet. I was shocked to see the condition of Ebbsfleet’s stadium, it looked tired and run-down, not what you want to see on the opening day of the season! How I longed to be back in the Football League. Welcome to the Blue Square, I suppose! I was surprised to hear that only one member of staff was behind the bar in the local pub, apperently they weren’t expecting Mansfield to bring too many supporters. Are you kidding? We have just come from the football league! There was only one way to fix the problem, get some Stags fans behind the bar! It worked a treat and perhaps doubled the pub’s takings! Stags’ community spirit rising to the top again, quality. As for the game it was a 2-2 draw, bad defending and a lack of fire power proved our undoing in the first half, 2-0 down. The second half we fought back, grabbing a points thanks to Michael Blackwood and Mark Stallard (or was it Jason Lee, we will never know!) At least we had picked up a point in our first ever game out of the Football League. I remember thinking the following day whilst reading the non-league paper, would we sort out the mistakes? We would see.

 The end of part 1!So from that dreadful night, way back in April, to the start of the season in August, it seems a long time, especially with so much heartbreak in between - the worst feeling I have ever felt was not on the night of the relegation but on the day of the Dagenham game, the whole atmosphere I felt just summed it up! Especially when they scored the penalty – that did really knock the stuffing out of us! Ever time I think about it, I get that long, cold, dull shiver down my spine, instead of the warm feeling of celebration I long for with promotion.

Thank-you for reading Part 1 of into the unknown. I am glad Ive been given the chance to share it with you.

Craig. (Rainworthstag14)

“Mansfield Town FC; The Journey had only just begun”