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ARCHIVE NEWS: SEPTEMBER 04 to DECEMBER 05 JANUARY 06 to APRIL 06 MAY 06 to AUG 06 SEPT 06 to DEC 06 JAN 07 to JUNE 07 JULY 07 to DEC 07 JAN 08 to JUNE 08 JULY 08 to DEC 08 JANUARY 09 FEBRUARY 09 MARCH 09 NEWS ARCHIVE JULY 07 to DECEMBER 07 31 Dec Goalkeeper Steven Drench signs on loan from Morecambe and will probably make his debut against Burscough tomorrow. Terry Smith goes on loan to Fleetwood. Kevin Lee will miss the Marine and Hucknall away games after his red card on Saturday. Unfortunately he can't count the Marine game towards his suspension. 30 Dec I am now delighted to have every single line up from all our first class (Lge, FA Cup and FA Trophy games) Non League games. This is due to the kindness of Mick Ratcliffe who has provided them for me. I was planning on spending a considerable amount of time going through the Vis archives in the library so that I could include them in the NL Book but Mick has made the job so much easier. As well as all the first class games 78/79 to 87/88, I also have already got and included on here all the line ups from all games from 87/88 onwards. I will be updating the site with the 78/79 to 87/88 line ups in over the next few days. 29 Dec Home v Barrow. Thankfully the torrential rain of last night stopped around 8.30 and it has been dry and windy since so hopefully all set fair for later. SOUTHPORT 1 BARROW 1- A goal 3 minutes 38 seconds into the 4 minutes of added time gave Barrow a well deserved point in another game played in absolutely awful conditions. It was a shocking mistake by Rick Whiteside that cost us this one. I had moved around the side to get ready to open the shop up and was right in line with the player who scored and it wasn't a foul, it was a horror gaffe by Rick. Kevin Lee then got himself sent off for dissent which we can ill afford. Our goal came in the 78th minute from a Robbo header from a corner. Just 1 game at home in our next 7 matches, I have a feeling we will know our destiny at the end of that run of games. Hyde play Harrogate(2-2) in the days top game, Kettering are at Tamworth(2-1) and Telford(3-0) travel to Worcester. PREDICT COMP UPDATED-It's chopping and changing by the game as you would expect. The team that has really thrown everyones predictions out are Hinckley. 28 Dec I will be in the Club Shop from 2 until 6.30, feel free to pop in and say hello, buy something, join TIY or even sponsor me for the walk!!! Arrived at the ground at 2 and had a look at the pitch which was looking good. By the time we left at 6.30 it was obviously dark but the deluge of rain that hit the ground between 5.30 and 6.30 (and as I type at 8 it is still going strong) must have taken its toll so once again please check before travelling from any distance tomorrow. I know our pitch can take a lot of water but the monsoon at 6.15 was quite something. Let's hope for a dry night and morning. 27 Dec Match at Stalybridge rearranged for 12 February. 26 Dec Home v Burscough Weather set fair, very mild and pleasant, all set for a game of football at last! SOUTHPORT 1 BURSCOUGH 0. A goal from the highly impressive Paul Barratt after 59 minutes was enough to give us all three well deserved points. I remarked at the start of the game that every time I had seen Tony McMillan, the Burscough keeper, he had made a howler to give us a goal, he certainly didn't today and was by far the overall MOTM making some excellent saves. For me Paul Barratt played his best game yet and well deserved his goal. An enjoyable game overall particularly the second half when to get the win was the most important thing and we achieved that. The gate of 1707 was our 18th highest at home in NL League matches so now enters the Top Twenty. There were 120 standing Burscough fans and a few in the stand but they did seem very subdued. Trust In Yellow official opening of new office by Eric Redrobe. PREDICT COMP updated and yet another change in leadership, it's getting quite exciting now! 22 Dec Away at Stalybridge. Coach departs Ainsdale (The Arion) at 12.10, The Crown at 12.20, The George at 12.25 and Haig Ave at 12.30, £8 TIY Members £10 Non Members PITCH INSPECTION AT 9.30. Forecast is for hard overnight frosts but a lot milder day on Saturday. With a pitch inspection at 9.30 it will be unlikely the frost will have got out of the ground at that time. Just depends if they are prepared to give it another couple of hours to see if it thaws? UPDATED-Temperature is supposed to get up to 8 degrees by midday so it may stand a chance but I understand it was rock hard at 3pm today. MATCH OFF-On another day when we could easily have played at Haig Ave we have another blank Saturday and a further midweek game to arrange. PREDICT COMP UPDATED and we have a new leader. Every now and again I carry out an "audit" of the site to make sure everything balances and it usually does but today I was checking one of the pages and it has taken me hours to find the mistake. It was only a missing goal but could I find it? Finally at 9.43pm it was there so after nearly three hours of checking I finally had the required balance.....and people say I'm a statto....maybe!! 19 Dec Alfreton game rearranged for Tuesday 4 March. Rossendale arranged for 8 January. 18 Dec Away Alfreton FA Trophy-weather permitting, the forecast isn't that good and an evening game is in more risk of falling to the frosts so I have a feeling this one may fall by the wayside as well. No idea when it would then be played. UPDATED-Slightly more promising forecast with the temperature staying above freezing all day in Alfreton according to the Met Office website. Another game I will miss tonight, this one because of commitments at work and the short notice. I hate midweek away replays or rearrangements!!!!! ALFRETON 1 SOUTHPORT 0-Not at game so no comments from me on this one. My contact says we were outmuscled from the start. The gate of 187 was the 5th lowest we have played in front of in FA Trophy games. Only "bettered" by the 85 at Bridlington, 90 at Mexborough, 155 at Tow Law and 108 at Alnwick. We will need to rearrange a game for January 12th now. There are a couple of options that I can see, Hinckley and Boston will be without games that day and we could rearrange those?
17 Dec FA Trophy Draw::
New ground if we get through and if it's Farsley. With Hyde, Harrogate, Kettering and Telford all out of the competition we are the only team in the top 5 left running at the moment. 15 Dec MATCH OFF FA Trophy 1st Round Away at Alfreton. Went to watch Bamber Bridge v Rushden & Diamonds to clock up a new ground, number 165. The match wasn't bad at all with BB twice taking the lead before losing 3-2. R&D always looked the better side but BB made a real fist of it and could have snatched a draw late on. Looks like our game was one of the unlucky ones today scheduled to be played in that area as the rest of the country all seemed to get the go ahead. PREDICT COMP UPDATED 14 Dec Official site says no weather problems anticipated but if you look at the Met Office forecast it drops to -3 tonight and doesn't get above freezing until 3pm so I think it may be worth a check before travelling. 13 Dec TIY Meeting at Grandstand Club. Sad to hear the news that Chris Holland's dad has died suddenly. Mr Holland senior was a great supporter of Chris and the club since Chris moved to Southport and was a regular in the Club Shop. Deepest sympathies to Chris and his family. 11 Dec Lancs Junior Cup. Home v Rossendale. MATCH OFF, TO BE PLAYED 18 Dec 8 Dec Home v Harrogate-A massive match that if we win could see us go top if Redditch can hold Hyde. Redditch v Hyde is off so a win will take us to the top. Weather update-Heavy rain at 11.00am with more to come but still on at present. UPDATED 11.40-Rain stopped and actually brightening up a bit. SOUTHPORT 0 HARROGATE 0 Considering the atrocious conditions it wasn't a bad game taking everything in to account. The pitch held up remarkably well but looked like a quagmire by the end so Tuesday's game must be in doubt unless the forecast is wrong. Robbo hit the post and Chris Lever should have scored in the first half but chances were few and far between. Harrogate look a good solid side who had obviously done their homework on our strengths and closed us down as fast as any team have done all season and they fully deserved the point and with better finishing could well have won. I'll happily take the point and on a day when games all around were being called off or abandoned it was good to have such an entertaining game of football to watch. Attendance of 1023 wasn't too bad considering the dreadful weather but I'm sure we could have been around the 1200 mark given a decent day. PREDICT COMPETITION UPDATED-New second place and a great challenge being launched from 4th. 7 Dec Danny Holmes signs on loan from Tranmere. Did the Club Shop tonight and it was very busy with plenty taking advantage of the new Credit/Debit card facility. Had a quick look at the pitch when I arrived and it looked in good nick considering all the overnight rain. The only problem will be the amount of rain to fall on it tommorow, let's hope the forecast isn't correct and the downpours stay away. 4 Dec Home v Barrow Setanta Shield Round 3 7.45pm Kick Off. SOUTHPORT 2 BARROW 3 After extra time. Karl Noon got both our goals in a lively end to end encounter but a winner in extra time from the hugely impressive Nick Rogan puts us out of the competition. 3 Dec The arguments about the goal on Saturday rage on. There is a very lively thread on the Boston forum whilst the one on the Conference North site has been locked after it got slightly abusive. Why do I always miss out on these things?! It also appears the TIY coach was attacked and according to one wag on the forum some Southport fans were attacked in their car. A lively day all round by the sound of it. Not being there makes it hard for me to comment. If it had happened the other way round I guess we would have been unimpressed. I still remember Daryl Clare cheating his way to umpteen penalties whilst playing for Boston though and receiving bookings for diving so the Boston fans who are calling us cheats need to think on that one. 1 Dec Away at Boston United. Coach will depart Ainsdale (The Arion) at 9.40, The Crown at 9.50, The George at 9.55 and Haig Ave at 10.00 Price £15 to TIY Members £18 Non Members. Bookings can be made in the Trust Office at the ground on a matchday or by phoning Alan Scarisbrick on 07980-911693. BOSTON 1 SOUTHPORT 2-Illness meant I was unable to attend so no first hand match details. Reliant on listening to the commentary on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. Sounds like a lively end to the game. My reporter at the game reports 90 minutes of dross followed by 5 minutes of mayhem at the end of the game and a very lively finish. There is a totally unbiased report available on the official Boston United site!! 29 Nov Youth Team at Home v Wren Rovers-MATCH OFF Change to Play off Dates as noted below. Now, Weds 30 April, Sunday 4 May and the Final will be on Thursday 8 May at a venue still to be arranged. 27 Nov I will be testing out another web design programme over the next few weeks which hopefully will improve the design of this site, some things may go missing at times but it will be worth it in the end, so I'm told. Barrow bounce back in style with a 4-1 win over Burscough in a game that saw Liam sent to the stands and Moogan also sent off. Barrow's lowest gate of the season 696. 26 Nov Just checked about the Play Off dates in response to a number of queries. The 1st Legs will be on Bank Holiday Monday 5th May with the 2nd Legs on Saturday 10 May. The final will take place on either 17/18 May. These dates are of course subject to change and possible TV coverage of the matches. At least the draws stops the possibility of 7 home games on the bounce, could of course still be a replay to consider! FA TROPHY DRAW
25 Nov Nightmare scenario! The possibility of 7 home games on the trot and 7 programmes to do before the printing deadline of 18 December. If anyone has anything they would like in the programmes, now is the time to submit your articles to me....PLEASE! 24 Nov FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round Away Barrow. BARROW 2 SOUTHPORT 3 On an incredibly windy afternoon we progress into the First Round Proper to be played on December 15th. Two goals from the impressive Liam Blakeman and one from Kevin Lee. Once again we had to come from behind despite taking the lead as early as the 4th minute. Michael Powell picks up his fifth booking of the season. It was quite an enjoyable game considering the wind and we just about deserved the win over the 90 minutes. Not the biggest of away followings but a number were sheltering down the side I believe so probably in the region of 100 in total. Elsewhere Burscough lose at home to Leigh in the surprise result of the day with Kettering winning 3-0 at Harrogate, Vauxhall beat Hyde 1-0. 22 Nov TIY MEETING GRANDSTAND CLUB 7.30 20 Nov Home v Vauxhall Motors. The 172nd person through the turnstiles today will be the one millionth to watch us play. After Hyde's win last night we can't move up the table but it will make things interesting up there if we do win tonight. SOUTHPORT 3 VAUXHALL 2-End to end, thrill a minute second half. The scouts were out in force to watch the superb Paul Taylor but I wonder which Southport player caught their eye tonight...I just hope he makes us a lot of money, if not just yet I'm sure he will in the future. I thoroughly enjoyed this game. It certainly wasn't the walkover we expected and in all honesty I thought VM belied their league position but it was easy to see why they have conceded more goals than any other team. To come back twice is always a good sign and once again we got that late goal to edge the win. No doubts whatsoever about my MOTM it has to be Mark again and he is getting better by the game. Our millionth watcher duly arrived and was suitably rewarded with champagne and a signed shirt from Dav, Andy Mutch, Sandy The Lion and Haydn. The gate of 808 on a very wet night puts our average below the 1000 mark at 993. Very few as expected from VM but their team must be good to watch with the style of play the adopt. 18 Nov There are times when you really do despair at some of the comments on Port Chat. A young lad, the youngest player to play for us in over a century comes on gets in a great position twice to score and someone says he is naive, immature and we shouldn't be playing kids! You really can't win with some people. I would love to have more Southport born players and Josh, Mark and Mike Powell are players we should be getting behind and doing everything we can to encourage, not start knocking them after 16 minutes of a debut at the age of 16!!! It seems there are one or two who just don't want us to do anything to encourage our youngsters, well that is a very sad state of affairs. Yet another change on the leader board in the Prediction League. 17 Nov Home v Blyth Spartans. SOUTHPORT 2 BLYTH 1. It's three points in the bag but it was hard work and not the best of performances. You know it's been a struggle when the MOTM is your keeper. Goals from Chris Lever and Mark Houghton (that's another £5) both with their third of the season put us two up before Blyth made it 2-1 to ensure a tense last 20 minutes. Josh Hine makes his debut to become player number 575 and becomes the youngest player at 16 years and 258 days to start in NL football and indeed the youngest since we became a Football League Club in 1921/22. Elsewhere Harrogate get back on winning ways with a 3-2 win over Tamworth, Kettering are held at home by the improving Alfreton, Hyde win 4-1 at Hucknall but AFC Telford are hammered 4-0 at Barrow, it's amazing what a change of manager can do although a new man has not yet been appointed. 15 Nov Jerome Watt is released at the end of his two month contract. 14 Nov Boston lose at home to Hucknall 3-2. It is Boston's first home defeat of the season and of more importance it now means we have joint leaders in the Predictions Competition 13 Nov Home v Burscough (Setanta Shield) Robbo is cup tied for this game having already played for Burscough in the previous round. SOUTHPORT 3 BURSCOUGH 2 The winner coming two minutes into added time with a super strike from Neil Prince. It was an enjoyable game and Burscough showed just why the are up at the top end of the table playing some neat football at times. Two Mark Duffy goals the first from the penalty spot and the winner from Neil put us through to face Barrow in the next round. A very pleasing gate of 577 which was better than I thought it would be included 68 standing Burscough fans. Good to see David Prout start again and we have a great replacement for Chris Holland whilst he is out injured in Prouty. Paul Barratt again looked a quality acquisition and had a good game. We could have done without the disgraceful tackle (and gestures) by Chris Price towards the end of the game, challenges like that can easily break a players leg and considering the linesman was right next to it I was amazed Price didn't see a red card. 12 Nov Southport Stats Guru Rob Urwin is how I'm described on the official site and I am responsible for ensuring Mark Houghton gets the goal on Saturday credited to him....never in doubt despite it costing me another fiver! The official club statistician is less than impressed though, he thinks it should be an own goal and a battle of wills is underway. A decision has to be made and the decision from the club is that the goal is credited to Mark. I had an earlier argument over the goal at Workington when it was suggested that the own goal scored that night should be credited to Neil Prince. I wasn't prepared to accept that one as the ball was going nowhere near the goal until the defender intervened whereas on Saturday Mark's shot was on target and that is my criteria and one shared by the dubious goals committee in the Premiership. On this occasion I am happy to go along with that! 10 Nov Away Hyde United. Mark Duffy will miss this one through suspension. HYDE UNITED 1 SOUTHPORT 3-A cracking first half display saw us go in 3-1 up and didn't we enjoy Chris Brass's own goal. It got better when Chris Holland scored his first ever goal for the Sandgrounders to earn the trust £100 and then topped off by Mark Houghton getting his second goal of the season to make sure I had to pay another £5. Mark's goal was initially credited as an own goal by Earl Davis and the Press Association seem to be wanting to give it to Neil Prince. It was definitely Mark's goal. I was surprised how poor Hyde were at the back but the Robbo/Houghton partnership worked a treat and we got in behind then on countless occasions with Mark utilising his pace to good effect and earning another MOTM award. We could have scored more in the second period and it was a fairly comfortable win. Kettering win at Telford and Burscough beat Harrogate in what was a real top 6 showdown day. The gate of 611 was Hyde's best of the season and contained around 150 travelling fans. To go to a team like Hyde who after all were third and have scored 35 and conceded 18 and come away with such a good win made for an enjoyable game. PREDICTION COMPETITION UPDATED-New Second Place and New Wooden Spooner. It's got a lot closer at the top as well. 9 Nov Paul Barratt signs from Worcester City. Somebody has gone on the Hyde forum saying we will be taking 2-300 tomorrow and if we were going well we would take a lot more than that. Obviously someone who doesn't follow us away that often. Whilst we do get a good followings away from home that is a touch ambitious. 6 Nov Away Lancs Junior Cup Atherton Collieries-New ground for me (164) and they will become our 239th different opponents. I wonder if our lowest ever attendance record could go tonight. There were 70 at the Atherton game against Rammy on Saturday and with what some may see as a counter attraction of Liverpoo on TV then it could well be very low. ATHERTON 0 SOUTHPORT 1. A Robbo goal from a follow up to his missed penalty. The full site update will be on Wednesday evening. Certainly didn't beat our lowest ever attendance, there were more than 52 from Southport, it was an impressive 129 in total. Nights like this are what football is all about. Cold, dreadful pitch, a different sort of ground and whats more a new one for me, some "lively" tackles going in, banter with the players and not the best of games but it is football at its best grass roots level and far better than staying in watching Liverpoo fluke a win over Besiktas. A draw in their next game should hopefully see them knocked out. I understand the draw is on Friday night for the next round, let's hope for another different location to go to 5 Nov FA Trophy Draw sees us drawn away at Barrow. FA Trophy Draw For CN Clubs Gateshead v Boston United 3 Nov Home v Tamworth. Kevin Lee will be suspended for this game. I'd like to see David Prout given a start in midfield, time will tell. SOUTHPORT 2 TAMWORTH 2-A great second half comeback sees us grab a late goal to earn a well deserved draw. Sean Newton who will be leaving the club at the end of the week, scored a cracking free kick to bring us back into it after 66 minutes and Adam Dugdale's second late goal in a week saw the points shared and cue wild celebrations on the pitch. Tamworth were 2 up after 6 minutes and early on looked to be running away with it but, after the first 15 mins, we gradually pulled ourselves together in what I thought was a decent game and showed good battling qualities to get the point. The attendance total for our NL League games is now on 998,305, looks like the million mark could well be reached in the VM game. The leader changes again in the Prediction League
28 Oct If anyone wants a Gift Voucher for the Club Shop I have a supply available in any denomination you require from £1 upwards, just get in touch with me via e-mail to make arrangements. 27 Oct FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Home v Northwich Vics 3pm SOUTHPORT 1 NORTHWICH 3-OH Dear! After an excellent first half when we were very unlucky to go in one down the second period was a shocker. The players with the exception of Duff and Chris Holland didn't even look interested, something looked badly wrong in that second half. Tony Gray's missed pen seemed to be the turning point, the heads just seemed to drop after that miss. A decent gate of 1232 with a good away following. Going out of the FA Cup is always a blow, I love the competition so a defeat is always harder to take. The worrying thing was that Northwich, in the first half, showed exactly why they are bottom of The Conference and without a win, they were there for the taking but we didn't capitalise and paid the price. They didn't look that good in the second period either but we were dreadful and got what we deserved as they grew in confidence and ended up in total control. Tait scoring and Dino coming on just added to the pain. It's time to put it all behind us and come out with all guns blazing next week against Tamworth in what becomes a big game. Duff picks up his 5th booking of the season and we drop to 5th as Telford beat Stalybridge 3-0. 26 Oct TIY Battle Of The Bands Over 18's. Club Shop will be open from 12.00 until 6.30pm. Spent a great day at the Club today doing some programme articles, watching the training, chatting to Dav, watching the Soccer Camp matches and doing the shop. Time absolutely flew by from 9.30am to 6.30pm, longer than a day in work but 100 times more enjoyable! 25 Oct TIY Meeting Grandstand Club 7.30pm. Neil Robinson re-signs from Burscough. Interestingly Leady has signed for Skem and Burscough look like they will be getting Craig Noone, who impressed so much in the game against us, from Skem. 24 Oct I can't believe the knives being out already for Dav but then again looking at who is writing it on Port Chat maybe nothing should surprise me. I was frustrated last night and I feel he got a couple of things wrong but there is no way we should even be discussing a managerial change. Whatever happens this season he must be given the time to build his team and squad and be judged when this is complete. It's great to hear Dav so upbeat in his podcast, he recognises we aren't that far away and knows exactly were the problem lies, let's all just hope we can get that gap filled as quickly as possible. We are edging ever closer to the one million mark for fans to have watched our home and away league games. The total now stands on 997,297, it's still looking to me that the million will be cracked at Boston but it will obviously depend on our progress in the FA Cup. 23 Oct Away Harrogate Town 7.45pm. HARROGATE 1 SOUTHPORT 0 A superb free kick from Chris Bettney on 35 minutes gives Harrogate the three points and they retain their 100% home record. It was a frustrating evening to say the least, why so many balls pumped high into the middle of the defence against the excellent Mark Hume? He won the Harrogate MOTM and deservedly so but if he couldn't beat our strike force in the air then he may as well give up. The time has come to get a striker in and quickly if we don't we can kiss goodbye to the play offs this season. I know we have tried and tried but surely there must be someone out there who will sign for us? We have got away with it so far against weaker opposition but we've been found out in the last two games in a big way. If Karl Noon isn't going to start a game when we have only one other striker, what is he doing at the club? Neil Prince isn't a central striker so why did he start there? Unbelievable moment of the night was when the "out and out defender" Adam Dugdale came on for the last 75 seconds to play as a striker! Why? I know Mark Houghton is inexperienced but why not start him alongside Tony Gray if Noon isn't considered? We all suspected that this would happen once the better teams came along but hoped that the fact we were doing well and had confidence it would carry us forward, it looks like our fears are well founded. How many chances have we created in the last two games with no goals scored from open play? I still maintain we are good enough to be in the mix at the end of the season IF we get the right player up front alongside Tony, the defence are solid, the midfield are as good as any in the league but if we can't get this sorted out soon we will slowly slip away. Despite views to the contrary I felt the ref was excellent last night apart from missing what looked like a decent shout for a pen at the death although he was right on the spot and looked over to the linesman who was also in line so they obviously didn't see it through my ever so slightly tinted glasses. A superb midweek following of around 150, gave Harrogate their best gate of the season but what a subdued crowd they are, there was hardly any noise when the goal went in and they were quiet throughout which considering their position was a bit surprising. It's not noise or crowd size that counts though, it's the product on the pitch and they certainly have that in abundance and providing they stay injury and suspension free I would be very surprised if they don't last the pace. Dino Maamria was keenly taking notes in the stand, they would make interesting reading, let's hope we surprise him with a more suitable style on Saturday. 22 Oct Adam Dugdale signs from Crewe. On loan last season made 7 appearances with 1 sub. In the 7 appearances we won 1 drew 2 and lost 4. Had a nightmare at Stevenage if I remember rightly but apart from that put in some solid performances in the centre of defence. 21 Oct There is a new leader in the SFCSTATS Prediction League All the papers seem to be saying that Worcester's second goal was scored after 73 minutes, it wasn't, it was 83. 20 Oct Away Worcester City 3pm-Any TIY Member travelling on the TIY coach to Worcester and Harrogate can do so for just £20, an absolute bargain! WORCESTER CITY 2 SOUTHPORT 1. Disappointing defeat against a strong and mobile Worcester team. The first half was a non event with neither side doing very much. An enjoyable second period when we played much better but ended up losing. Our first penalty of the season was duly despatched by Tony Gray in the 65th minute. I thought it was a blatant penalty as he was taken out of the game but others have a different view. Worcester fought back well and deserved their win, the first goal appeared to be a keeper error whilst the second was a shot from 30 yards and worthy of winning any game. The attendance of 855 contained around 80 travelling Southport fans. Harrogate win again and we travel there on Tuesday to a team with a 100% home record and a 4 point lead. Hyde go second and Kettering 3rd. 19 Oct TIY Battle Of The Bands Under 18's. 18 Oct Vauxhall Motors game rearranged for 20 Nov, this gives us the potential of 7 home games on the trot! Programme contributions encouraged and welcomed please!! 16 Oct Steve Bleasdale appointed manager of Leigh RMI again. 15 Oct FA CUP 4th Qualifying Round Draw Southport v Northwich Victoria if Northwich survive a winding up order by those nasty people at HM Revenue & Customs!!! I have a feeling it will be the usual adjournment myself which means the game will go ahead and we'll see Paul Tait and Dino Maamria back at Haig Ave. Should a replay be necessary it will take place on Tuesday 30 October. 14 Oct Who next? A home draw would be nice but if we do get drawn away a trip to either West Auckland or Bamber Bridge, Rushall Olympic, Harrogate RA will do for me, new grounds and games were we stand a good chance of progressing. The Kettering fans seem a bit unhappy today. I thought that Port Chatters were overly critical but my goodness how quickly have some of their fans turned on them. The games against the better teams start to come along now as we are away to Worcester and Harrogate, home to Tamworth and away at Hyde in quick succession. I would think at the end of that lot we will get a good idea if we really are good enough to be up there. 13 Oct FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round Belper Town v Southport. We are playing in white and the kick off is at 3pm. It will be the 54th time I have seen us play in an FA Cup match and ground number 163. BELPER TOWN 0 SOUTHPORT 3 Two goals from Tony Gray, his first after just 54 seconds and one from Mark Duffy give us a passage into the 4th Qualifying Round. Solid if unspectacular and Belper certainly looked better than their league position but we are through and that's what counts. The gate of 382 was better than I expected and contained around 150 from Southport. Lovely ground, nice mild day, a great way to spend an October afternoon. COACH TO BELPER Departs Ainsdale 10.40, The Crown 10.50 The George 10.55 and Haig Ave at 11.00 Price to TIY Members £12 Non Members £17. Filling fast, only a few seats left. Bookings can be made by ringing Alan on 07980 911693. 11 Oct Just checking our disciplinary record and we have gone through the last 3 league games without picking up any bookings, I'm sure that doesn't happen too often. Kevin Lee still leads the way with 4 yellows. Neither Chris Lever or Sean Newton have picked up any cards at all. 8 Oct 250,000 hits on the site, thank you! Belper fans and officials are less than impressed at our refusal to change the kick off time for Saturday's match. It's a shame a compromise couldn't be found, I for one wouldn't want a Friday evening kick off but a Sunday would have done for me. I'm not overly bothered about watching the England game and would have travelled back straight after the game and listened to it on the radio in the car if it had kicked off at 1pm. I can understand their annoyance as they will lose out on supporters staying behind in the bar to watch the match. At the end of the day though, If Dav feels a 3pm kick off is in the best interests of the team then I fully respect his decision. Progression in the competition is important from a financial point of view. Liam Watson is Manager Of The Month for September and Ciaran Kilheeney Player of The Month. The Burscough record in September, Played 6 Won 4 Lost 2 including a defeat against Bamber Bridge. Our record, Played 6 Won 5 Drawn 1. The panel must be basing the decision on things other than results this season. 6 Oct Home v Hucknall 3pm SOUTHPORT 5 HUCKNALL TOWN 0. A super all round display from defence to attack. Some great flowing football and easily the best display of the season. Goals from Tony Gray, Chris Lever and two from my MOTM, Liam Blakeman plus one of the best own goals you will see completed the rout. Dav certainly seems to have settled on his best starting X1 with the only doubt being Prince or Watt. I was delighted to see Dave Prout finally make his debut (Player 573). He really impressed me in pre-season and in the time he was on today I wasn't disappointed, good to have back up like him on the bench. Just watched the goals again (and again and again!) Excellent work by those involved on the official site to get them on so quickly and the own goal is worth watching. Another entry on my Goal Of The Season list, Blake's second is a lovely finish. PREDICTION LEAGUE UPDATED Summary below:-
Belper draw 1-1 with Willenhall in the FA Trophy. Kettering lose 2-0 at home to Hyde whilst Harrogate steal a last minute victory with a 3-2 win at Hinckley. We stay third on the strength of scoring one goal fewer than Kettering. 4 Oct A few choruses of The Marseillaise went down well in the office today! 2 Oct We now know we are playing Burscough at home in the Setanta Shield on November 13th. Skem beat FCUM 3-1 in front of just 617 (could that be down to Man U being on TV I wonder-surprise) and Tony Evans scores a hat-trick. I think having seen Skem on Saturday they look a decent side and I'm surprised they are so far down the table could be a good late bet to be up there at the end. Belper draw 1-1 at home to Grantham with a gate of 120. In the cup Harrogate Town go through at the second time of asking but Alfreton lose at home to Hednesford. Guiseley beat Prescot with Dominic Krief the scorer in the 1-0 win. 1 Oct FA CUP 3rd Qualifying Round Draw. Let's hope for a home draw or an away match at Clitheroe, Bamber Bridge, Belper, Harrogate Railway, Guiseley all new grounds to me. Ones to avoid for me would be Fleetwood, Kettering and Barrow! Thank you! Belper it is.
30 Sep SFC STATS Player of The Month for September is Kevin Lee 29 Sep FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round. Skelmersdale United Away. SKEM 0 SOUTHPORT 1-What a poor game that was but we are through thanks to a goal not worthy of the game. A great overhead kick by Tony Gray after 7 minutes was all we had to show and we were hanging on grimly at the end and in honesty Skem would have deserved a replay out of the game. It will be interesting to see what action will be taken against Dav after his sending to the stand, I have a feeling he will be in for quite a long ban from the touchline! Not sure how Foster escaped with just a yellow card but Dav's reaction was not the best. A win is a win and we go through to the draw on Monday which is the main thing. I'm struggling to name a MOTM today as nobody particularly stood out but I'm going for Sean Newton who after some sticky performances of late had a very solid game at left back and looked much more composed than in recent games. THE MOTM had to be the mightily impressive Craig Noone the Skem number 11 who despite looking as though a puff of wind would knock him over caused us problems all afternoon. Conference North teams to go out are AFC Telford beaten 3-1 by Matlock, Redditch who lost 3-1 at Kettering, Hyde who lost 1-0 to Stalybridge, Hucknall who lost 2-1 at Belper, Leigh who lost 4-1 at Harrogate Railway and last but not by any means least Burscough who went crashing out 2-1 at Bamber Bridge. Harrogate face a replay after drawing 2-2 at home to Nantwich. One result of note was Vauxhall's 3-1 win at freescoring Gateshead. Having listened to Dav's Podcast on our official site he is stating that the person who fell over was bumped into so maybe it wasn't quite as bad as it appeared from my vantage point which is good news although Old Frank Hughes at Skem seems to have another view of things if you read their forum. 28 Sep According to The BBC Sport website the season has been rescheduled to finish a week earlier with the home match against Leigh being brought forward to Tuesday 22 April from the 26th and our final game at Vauxhall is now a week earlier on Saturday 26 April 27 Sep TIY MEETING GRANDSTAND CLUB 7.30PM. 26 Sep SFC STATS is 3 years old today. "Happy Birthday sfcstats" - Julia Thank you to everyone who e-mailed to wish the website a happy birthday. There are some sad people out there!! Seriously, your comments are appreciated it makes doing the site worthwhile. I can assure everyone that SFCSTATS will continue. I have eased back on some of the FAN ZONE content and updating the photo gallery but the stats will always be kept up to date. I try and get things done on the day of the match when possible but because I travel to all the games the updates are done on my return, hence the delay on occasions. 24 Sep Prediction League updated based on positions now. In 1st place is Paul Aird with 412 points 2nd is Adam Harlow with 400pts and 3rd is James Whitelaw with 390pts. The wooden spoon is currently held by Phil Richards in 58th place with 332 points. There is a very long way to go and the positions change virtually match by match. 22 Sep Away Redditch United-I wonder if the bloke with the air horn will still be there, the memories of Redditch come flooding back, one of them was, but not the "main man" REDDITCH UTD 1 SOUTHPORT 1-Disappointing result and performance. Two points lost in a game that once we scored I felt we should have gone on and won. Once again we come up against a big tough side and find it hard to cope. Looking at our lads against their back four today made you realise just how small we are and far two many balls were pumped high in the air which the defence coped with easily. I still think there is nothing wrong with having small players but you have to play the right balls in to them. My MOTM was Michael Powell, once again outstanding in his best position. I think the fact that he was played in midfield today and not switched to right back until late shows that he has finally settled in that position. On reflection, Redditch are unbeaten at home, we've got my target of 7 out of the last 9 points, we had several players carrying knocks and we go into the October in third place after 10 games so all in all a quite satisfying position to be in. Elsewhere, Kettering and Harrogate both win 3-1 whilst love them or hate them you have to admire Burscough after their super 2-1 win over Boston United. Hucknall finally get a win whilst AFC Telford suffer their first defeat of the season with a 1-0 defeat at Hyde United. 21 Sep The computer upgrade took a bit longer than expected. The update to the site will now be carried out after the game at Redditch. Normal Service will be resumed Saturday evening. 18 Sep Home v Hyde United 7.45pm Third v Fourth. It's a pity that there is, what some may see as, an alternative way of spending an evening in front of the TV watching Liverpoo tonight, we could have had a decent gate without that. Let's hope people come to their senses and get down to Haig Ave and support the team. SOUTHPORT 2 HYDE 1 Two late goals for us for once, the winner coming 3 minutes 38 seconds into added time. 17 Sep Draw for FA Cup 2nd Qual Round sees us drawn away at Skelmersdale United. Kettering only draw 0-0 at Hinckley. 16 Sep A couple more Fan Profiles have been added. Please keep them coming, they sometimes take a while to go on to the site but as long as all the questions are answered I will include yours. Looking at the results around the country, Kettering finally drop points with a 1-1 draw at Workington who got a late goal and could have won the game late on. Talking of late goals, our visitors on Tuesday scored 3 minutes into added time to deny Burscough a point. Harrogate keep on going, they won again at Alfreton. In the FA Cup FCUM are out as they lost 2-1 at Fleetwood Town in front of 3112, Fleetwood's biggest gate for 42 years 15 Sep SOUTHPORT 3 SOLIHULL MOORS 2 An enjoyable game and another win which keeps us in third place. Kevin Lee gets his first ever goal for the club and then follows it up with another. His celebration almost saw him decapitate himself on the goal nets mind you. Kev was my MOTM but Michael Powell ran him a close second as he was again outstanding and scored for the third game in succession. Kevin did pick up his fourth booking of the season so will have to be careful in what is likely to be a lively game against Hyde. It was our 50th Conference North game. We have won 31 drawn 10 and lost 9 scoring 100 goals and conceded 52 which makes a total of 103 points. The Race Night-After a horrible start when DVD problems delayed the first race by 45 minutes the night was a great success. The players certainly played their part and appeared to be enjoying themselves!!!!! I always thought that Chris Holland was a quiet bloke but that opinion has now changed! Thanks to everyone who supported the night which saw well over £1000 raised, the final figure will be announced later. TIY Race Night (In Association With Peter Grayson Racing) and Meet The Players-first race 7.30. Tickets £1 in advance and £2 on the night. We are expecting a sell out crowd so please get your tickets in advance. 14 Sep We sign a player, Jerome Watt who has recently been released from Rochdale has signed on, initially for a month. Jerome played for Rochdale in the pre-season friendly at Haig Ave. 9 Sep The Leigh fan seems to have got himself into a state about the game on Friday. His report on the Leigh site makes for quite an interesting read. I know we all write biased reports to suit our clubs readers but that one is amazing. His inference is we over celebrated our goal and at the end of the game. I'm sure we would all like to apologise for this and in future a few polite rounds of applause will be the order of the day. 8 Sep Carshalton Athletic v AFC Hornchurch for me today and ground number 162. 7 Sep Away Leigh RMI-Friday 7.45pm Kick Off. Coach departs Ainsdale at 5.40 and Haig Ave at 6.00. Fare is just £6 to TIY members. £10 Non Members. LEIGH RMI 0 SOUTHPORT 1-A rather one sided 1-0 win in a full blooded match. Michael Powell gets the goal in the 77th minute, reports say 68 but I am certain it was on 77? The gate of 553 includes around 400 travelling fans which gave Leigh their highest home gate since the last game of the 2005/06 season. 2 Sep Predictions in The SFC STATS Prediction League are now shown HERE. I will update them based on the positions at each month end starting at the end of September. 1 Sep-SOUTHPORT 4 HINCKLEY UNITED 0-A very comfortable victory with Chris Lever, Michael Powell an own goal and a very special moment, Mark Houghton's first ever goal for the club. I know how much that goal will mean to Mark, a Southport lad , who has always wanted to play for the club and to score such a special goal as his first must have been one great moment. It's something I always wanted to do but never got the chance! I was absolutely thrilled for him and the £5 I pledged to TIY for every goal he scores this season will be one of the nicest fivers ever spent. Julia was on hand with the camera to capture the moment as well and looking at his celebration photo's I think he enjoyed it somehow! It was 11 October 1994 when we last won 4-0 at home in the league which I find quite amazing. We also don't get many goals scored by our defenders. Mark Birch got one at R&D last season as did Lee Hoolickin but he was playing as a midfielder at the time. Before that, you have to go quite a way back. Elsewhere, Kettering maintain their 100% start to the season with a 4-1 win at our next opponents, Leigh RMI, Burscough win 3-1 at Solihull and Harrogate lose their 100% record with a 1-1 draw at Worcester.
30 Aug TIY meeting 7.30 in the Grandstand Club. 29 Aug Jonathan Smith joins The One Game Wonders list. 28 Aug A famous victory is how Radio Cumbria have described Barrow's win. They also paid tribute to our excellent travelling support and thankfully as neutrals they thought we looked a good team in the second half who would be up there challenging so I am advised. It's interesting to see how people who are neutral view our team. We tend to be ultra critical but when you think about it, we are in Conference North, the football isn't going to be the best and we have no divine right to anything just because we are full time. In some ways that makes it harder as everyone wants to put one over the full timers, we did ourselves a couple of seasons ago. Time to move on to the Hinckley game and three points to put the wheel back on. 27 Aug-Bank Holiday Monday Away Barrow 6.30pm. What a nonsense of a kick off time. I was hoping for a later evening kick off if it had to be an evening so that we could take in Cartmel Races in the afternoon. Struggle to get from Cartmel to Barrow in an hour in all the traffic. Cartmel remains to this day the only course that I have ever got all 6 out of 6 winners at. AMENDED COACH DETAILS Ainsdale Arion 2pm, The Crown 2.10pm, The George, 2.15pm Haig Ave 2.20 and Crossens, The Plough 2.30pm £10 TIY Members and £15 Non members. To book, phone Alan Scarisbrick on 07980-911693 or call in to The Club Shop on a matchday. BARROW 1 SOUTHPORT 0-A painful night. The first 75 minutes were shocking and the night was only salvaged by a fighting last 15. Why was Blake's played at left back in the first half? He can't defend, is not a left back and it is a waste of a good midfielder in that position. Francis Smith preferred in midfield to Blake's? We really missed Tony Gray in a big way, the usually fluent movement upfront was lacking until Mark Houghton came on and caused the problems. If we haven't got defenders who can defend, then play to our strengths and alright we might concede some goals but go at the opposition and let them worry about us? The Barrow back line had it easy last night until that last 15 minutes. The two Barrow players who were sent off fully deserved their dismissals, head butts play no part in the game. You would think they would learn as it was only last season that they had a player jailed for something similar on a football pitch. We are going to have to be careful though as it won't be long before we come off worse for retaliating to these teams. I thought the ref did well in the face of some pretty strong challenges going in by both sides. The disallowed goal in stoppage time? I was behind the goal so couldn't comment but the flag did go up straight away. A bit of a delay on the M6 coming home meant a later than hoped for return. Elsewhere I'm sure the Burscough fans who appear to be taking a keen interest in what I write on here will be delighted with our slip up particularly after their great point in a 0-0 draw against Vauxhall earlier in the afternoon. That's Vauxhall who had conceded 17 goals in their previous three games. That means The Linnets are now just 3 points behind us. Kettering and Harrogate maintain their 100% records and are now 5 points ahead of us but after some strange results over this last two days we somehow manage to stay in third place in the table. 26 Aug Interesting reading the Telford forum, they criticise everything from the price to get in (I think we will have to get used to that this season) the food (we are well used to that) the ref (we always hear that) the programme (huh, the cheek) our support, our fitness, the open terrace and our smoking stewards! No worry though Bob Dave Bacon has acted as our spokesman so everything will be ok! They are now upset about our supporters responding to the chant of you scouse b******s with the retort of you Welsh b******s! Oh the irony! On a lighter note, Sandy The Lion should be more worried about wearing a Liverpoo shirt than being set up for a photo by sgb. I thought our mascot was a Southport fan but to see him in a Liverpoo shirt before the game is far worse a crime than anything I can think of! What next, Millster coming to Haig Ave, with his Burscough shirt on! 25 Aug Home v AFC Telford United 3pm. 2nd v 4th, both unbeaten, should be a good test today. The Telford fans seem pretty confident when you read their forum. You have to laugh at some of the directions they have posted for getting to the ground. I'm not sure where one set would see you finishing at but it isn't Haig Ave. Could be some late arrivals, their coaches are not leaving until 12 (updated just seen they have brought it forward to 11.30) and with the traffic likely to be coming in to town this weekend it could be leaving it late. SOUTHPORT 1 TELFORD 1-A late equaliser, 38 seconds into added time brought all the old demons back to haunt us. It was a point that Telford deserved in all fairness. 10 out of 12 points is not a bad start and I would have settled for that as the season kicked off. A third goal of the season for Neil Prince looked like it would be enough but sadly it was not to be. The gate of 1338 was not bad particularly as the 600 forecast from Telford turned out to be 238, not sure if that includes the moronic element who were climbing over the walls to get in, some nice characters amongst that little group. Dav seems a bit unhappy with the referee if you listen to the Podcast, he was a touch inconsistent and could do with learning the advantage rule. I think we are going to have to get used to our pacy, skillful players getting kicked this season. Telford are the best we have played this season and we nearly beat them so it's looking good. Kettering and Harrogate still have 100% records and our friends from down the road had a very good 3-2 win at Nuneaton, the injury crisis seems to be clearing up! Hucknall remain the only team without a point as Alfreton beat Tamworth 1-0 in the major surprise result of the day. Great to see the back of the shirts sponsored by Dixon, Raven's solicitors. 24 Aug Once again I will be in the Club Shop from 4.30pm to 6.30pm for coach bookings, sale of race night tickets, horses, jockeys etc. 23 Aug Telford are expecting up to 600 to travel on Saturday, should ensure the programme is a sell out! They have an excellent official website and look to be a well run club. Should make for a cracking atmosphere. 22 Aug Excellent day at Carlisle Races today, lost on every race but superb weather and a good days racing what more could you want. I did come close with a 9/1 short head second but a miss is as good as a mile. Mark Birch was in attendance. Please get your facts right Fruitbat (Millster) before you post on sgb. 21 Aug Notice of TRUST IN YELLOW RACE NIGHT & MEET THE PLAYERS SATURDAY 15th SEPTEMBER 7.00PM FIRST RACE 7.30PM Tickets Priced £1 if bought in advance or £2 on the night. Tickets will be available from Friday 24 August in the Club Shop and from any TIY Committee member. Owner, who gets to name the horse £3, Jockeys £2, Race Sponsorship £25. Winning owner and jockey will receive a bottle of wine. Contact any TIY committee member if you are interested in sponsoring a race or "owning" or "riding" a horse. 20 Aug The game at Barrow will now kick off at 6.30pm, coach details amended above. 19 Aug Sounds like Carl has acquitted himself well to life in League 2. Was MOTM against Preston in the CC as well I believe. Also the much maligned Jon Newby seems to have made quite an impression up there. I always said he was better than he was given credit for at Haig Ave. I know I was biased having seen him at his peak with Bury but the guy had quality. Lots of other ex Sandgrounders on the scoresheet yesterday. Rob Styles is my new hero, what a decision, a cast iron penalty if ever there was one absolutely no doubt about it. No idea what the Liverpoo players, fans and manager are arguing about. 18 Aug Away at Alfreton 3pm. ALFRETON 1 SOUTHPORT 2-Another welcome win on a day when again we didn't play that well but came away with the points. Just 324 in attendance, the lowest gate we have played in front of since the 217 at Spennymoor in March 04. There were 92 from Southport that Len and I had counted which probably means there were more as we don't know everyone! Goals from the impressive Prince and Gray on an atrociously wet afternoon sealed the victory. I started the week saying I wanted 7 out of the 9 points available, to have 9 without firing on all cylinders is a brilliant start. There are definitely going to be tougher tasks ahead but Gainsborough are 6th and Workington beat fancied Nuneaton today so it's looking good. I do feel though that the gulf between Conference North and Conference National is enormous, there is no way Tony Gray or Neil Prince would have been given the time and space they got to score those goals today in the National division. The defending of all the teams I have seen so far has left a lot to be desired. Maybe it is early days but that is the thought at present. Kettering record a 6-0 win against Vauxhall and go top on goal difference from us in second with Harrogate the only other team with a 100% record. Burscough record their first win 2-1 v Worcester to leave Hucknall and Alfreton as the two teams yet to gain any points. The SFCSTATS Prediction League is now Closed. The predictions will be on here in the next few days 17 Aug I will be in the Club Shop from 4.30pm to 6.30pm when as well as club goods being on sale, bookings can be made for forthcoming coach travel and TIY memberships renewed. 16 Aug Joel Byram is Joel Byrom. Spent the morning at the club today getting a few details together for the next programme. Dav was missing at first due to a stomach upset but turned up later for the photo shoot. It was very clear, being present at training and at the photo shoot that the team spirit at the club is excellent, lots of laughing and joking and taking the micky of each other but a strong team bond was evident. They made you feel very welcome and all of the players had time for you, even Tony Gray smiled once! Looks like I've upset one of Southport's most loyal fans in Millster who has taken it upon himself to post a thread on the Burscough forum about my anti Burscough comments on this site. I wonder if I can get a thread all about my anti Liverpool comments on the Liverpool forum. I'm not the slightest bit bothered about what Millster writes about me but why the need to bring "my spouse" into it? How does he know what she is thinking, she has never written a word about anything anywhere so that is totally uncalled for. I make no bones about my intense dislike of all things Liverpool Football Club, Burscough, I couldn't really care less about but they are now in our division and our most local rivals and I hope they do go straight back down as I know an awful lot of other Southport supporters do too. The Burscough fans were quite rightly revelling in our relegation last season, it's what rivals do. Good to see though that the Burscough fans seem to have our Millster sussed already, I'm sure they would also love to read his feelings towards Liam Watson in 2005/06. Millster also suggests "It would be fun to ban him (me) from the Burscough vs Southport fixture and let him include that to the sad gits stats" well if all supporters start getting banned for making comments about their rival teams there will be a few empty football grounds around the country. I gave up on Millster when he started urging people to boycott games last season (like every true supporter does) and then kept turning up at them, maybe somebody should make sure the Burscough fans are aware of just how much loyalty he has to their cause and advise Liam to watch his back. 15 Aug A few days away and Internet problems are the reasons behind the slow updates on here. Can I just say thank you to everyone who has contacted me about Saturday's programme, your comments are much appreciated. As for my "deliberate mistake" in the article about Carl Baker, it's funny what the memory does to you when you get close to 50. I could have sworn it was MLW at the end of the cross but as he wasn't even at the club in the game I described I am obviously wrong. I can still remember it though and looking at the line up from that day it could only have been Dales....well they did have one thing in common! Looking at the results after two games it is going to be another strange season. We beat Gainsboro who then hammer Blyth, Tamworth beaten by Redditch, Hyde come back from 3-0 down to score 6 in the last 25 minutes. The good thing to see is Burscough losing both their opening games and having an injury crisis, long may it continue. 14 Aug Away at Workington 7.45pm Coach departs Ainsdale at 3.30 The George 3.40, Haig Ave 3.50 and The Plough at 4.00 Price £8 or if you go to this game and Alfreton by coach it will be just £15 for the two games. This price is for TIY members only, Non members price is £12 or £20 for the two games. Bookings can be made by ringing Alan Scarisbrick on 07980 911693 or call in to The Club Shop on any match day. My 900th game all being well. WORKINGTON 2 SOUTHPORT 3 Another 3 points and whilst we tried our best to lose a three goal lead, we managed to hold on which hopefully augurs well for the season. Everyone thought the late goal curse was going to hit again but thankfully not this time. Goals from Liam Blakeman, Joel Byram and an own goal gave us the victory. At 3-0 up we were cruising but Workington, who I thought looked decent going forward, as did we, fought back well. Match number 900 ends in a victory which was better than match number 1 which was the FA Cup defeat at Hull in 1966 although anyone who has read my life story on this site will know that I was a Hull fan at the time. You will be able to read more about the Workington trip in "Travellers Tales" in the matchday programme. Great support of, I counted, around 85 Sandgrounders which for a wet Tuesday night in Workington was first rate. 11 Aug SEASON STARTS Home v Gainsborough Trinity 3pm-will be interesting to see what the gate is for this one, very few normally travel from Lincolnshire. Here's hoping for a good start. It will be my 899th Southport match. Where better would you like to celebrate your 900th game than a Tuesday night in Workington. SOUTHPORT 3 GAINSBOROUGH 0 A great start. Goals from Tony Gray, Neil Prince and Joel Byram gives us maximum points. A good solid showing. Not sure what happened to Richard Whiteside today, he dropped the ball a bit and having looked like he would never drop a ball in his life in the pre-season games he seemed to come over all shaky. Having said that he is still to concede a goal in all the games he has played for us. Great performances from Chris Holland as you would expect and my MOTM Neil Prince.Good to see two wingers being used. I get the feeling again we are more likely to win games 3-2 than 1-0 but that will suit me. Decent gate of 1051 with just 22 coming through the away turnstile, a taste of things to come I fear. Good to see Burscough getting off to a losing start and where did Morecambe find 3663 fans from, that was a very impressive gate. The black spot of the day was Liverpoo winning but you can't have it all. 10 Aug Club Shop will be open 9.30am to 5pm. We are giving the shop a good pre-season clean and tidy up so please wipe your feet before coming in! What a day, you don't realise how much junk you accumulate in a Club Shop. Well worth it and we finished at 5.45 with it looking good. Thoroughly enjoyed the day, we had plenty of callers including Dav boss and Huw. Programme arrived at 5.30 and although I say it myself I think it is probably the best programme we have ever done! It does look good and will sell out tomorrow I hope. Mitchell & Wright have really done a superb job in pulling it all together! 9 Aug Trust In Yellow Meeting 7.30pm Grandstand Club. Sean Newton is signed on loan from Chester City. 7 Aug Franny Smith and Chris Lever sign today and other signings are on the cards. 6 Aug Just been looking at the best odds available on promotion and based on these we are now joint favourites at 7/1. The Conf North forum brigade also seem to think we are the most likely to win the league. Not too sure what this is based on but nice to see others are confident as I am still unsure. The basis is there. I think Tony Gray will get us a lot of goals this season, we have two solid central defenders, the midfield is the best in the league which leaves us two full backs, a strong powerful striker and some useful squad players short of winning the league. I am noted for being a pessimist, it's years of watching us that does it but I remain confident we will be in the top 5. Time will tell but I can't wait to get going again! 4 Aug I have a full set of home programmes available for sale from the 06/07 season at face value, there are 25 progs at £2.50 and 1 at £1 which totals £63.50. This includes all the sell out games. The money will be donated to Trust In Yellow. Contact me by e-mail if you are interested. Closing date for expressions of interest is 9 August. If I get more than one it will be decided by ballot! There are also a number of home programmes available from the 2006/07 season priced at just 50pence each. Bargain Bundles are also available (13 programmes) for £5. The matches against Woking, Crawley, Morecambe, Aldershot, Burton Albion and York City were sell outs. There is only 1 programme left for the matches against Oxford, Forest Green and Burscough. Limited stocks of away programmes are also available for just 50pence. Call in to the Club Shop on matchdays, ring me on 077900-41514 or write to me c/o Southport Football Club, Haig Avenue, Southport PR8 6JZ. P&P or appropriate sae should be added to all postal orders. Subscriptions to our 2007/08 Matchday Programme are still being taken. The cost will be £67.20 which includes first class postage on the day of the game or in some cases the Friday before the game. This is for league games only. Individual matches can be ordered at £3.20 per programme including postage. Cheques made payable to Southport Football Club should be sent to Rob Urwin (Programme Subscriptions) Southport Football Club, Haig Avenue, Southport PR8 6JZ. To ensure you get the full set please have your orders in by 11 August. Anyone who wishes to subscribe without the postage costs to ensure they get every programme can do so for £52.50 and you can pick up your programme on a matchday from the Club Shop. Mark Birch has signed on a season long loan for Northwich Vics. Burscough beat Blackpool's tenth string team 3-0 and Marine beat "a very physical" Telford team 2-0. My reporter at the Marine game assures me it was ""Crap v Dire, we have nothing to fear from Telford and the final blood count was two broken noses" 2 Aug Friendly Home v Morecambe 7.30pm. SOUTHPORT 0 MORECAMBE 1. A late David McNiven goal created by Jon Newby gave Morecambe victory in a dour game. We pretty well held our own for the main part. The physical strength and size of the Morecambe team was very noticeable and I'm sure something we will have to get used to this season. Starting X1 was Whiteside, Forsyth, Beeley, Hocking, Lee, Prout, Francis Smith, Blakeman, Gray, Noon and Prince. Used subs were Marc Baker, Terry Smith, Mark Houghton, Xavi Barro, Kris Liptrot, Mark Duffy and Chris Lever. Not long to go now!
28 July Friendly Home v Macclesfield 3pm. SOUTHPORT 2 MACCLESFIELD 0 Goals from Rodney Jack and Tony Gray in the first 12 minutes seal a comfortable victory for The Sandgrounders. Today's starting line up was Terry Smith, Jeff Forsyth, Sean Beeley, Michael Powell, Kevin Lee, Chris Holland, Francis Smith, Liam Blakeman, Tony Gray, Rodney Jack and Neil Prince. The used subs were Prout for Holland, Sean Wright for Jeff Forsyth, Mark Houghton for Jack, Tony Evans for Blakeman, Krystian Liptrot for Kevin Lee, Chris Lever for Michael Powell and Karl Noon for Tony Gray. Another useful workout with the starting X1 starting to take shape, just a left back needed now and we have a good X1. Based on what I have seen so far my starting team would be Rick Whiteside, Sean Beeley, AN OTHER, Matt Hocking, Kevin Lee, Mark Duffy, Chris Holland Liam Blakeman, Neil Prince, Tony Gray and Mark Houghton with Michael Powell, Tony Evans, Karl Noon, Dave Prout and Terry Smith as subs. If Rodney Jack does stay at the club then he would probably be preferred to Mark but I would like to see him given a chance at some point in the season. The left back could be filled by Michael Powell as a stop gap but I would prefer a left footed left back. 26 July I think we found the answer to our quest to find a club anthem at Fleetwood on Tuesday night. The theme to Captain Pugwash was played every time they scored and very effective it was too. Children and grown men alike were humming and jigging along and it certainly sticks in your head. Maybe that is the answer, a totally off the wall tune that is catchy appeals to the kids and gets on your foot tapping!!! 25 July Friendly Home v Tranmere 7.30pm. SOUTHPORT 1 TRANMERE 0. A goal by Tony Gray, his fourth in the pre-season games seals a well deserved victory against quite a physical Tranmere Rovers team particularly late in the game. Rodney Jack comes on as sub and creates the goal. Much more recognisable team tonight which is starting to take shape nicely. Still a few areas to sort but things are looking better all the time. What a super talent Mark Houghton promises to be, the lad has pace, control and can pass the ball. Needs strength building up a bit but that will come, destined for great things in the game and he is Southport born and has wanted to play for us for as long as he can remember. A star in the making I think! It's quite strange reading the comments on Port Chat, some from people who have not even been to the matches and some from people who are judging after seeing just one game. You wonder why players bother even coming to Southport sometimes. Having seen every pre-season friendly so far I am heartened by what I have seen, there's lots of work still to do and a couple of areas that particularly still need working on but it is falling in to place. Only two more friendlies to go and then it's the real thing. 24 July Friendly Away at Fleetwood 7.45pm Fleetwood 3 Southport 0. A team full of trialists, unknown players went down 3-0. There were some of the regulars on display as well but all in all a disjointed night which in all honesty was probably a useful exercise for the manager but nobody else. Better than a night in front of the TV though. 23 July Karl Noon, Richard Whiteside and David Prout all sign up. Having seen Prout and Whiteside in all their games so far I am more than happy about these signings. I know nothing about Karl Noon but my contact at Marine says he's a decent player. 21 July Friendly Home v Rochdale 3pm GAME ON as long as the water that is standing on the pitch can be forked away, this is July for goodness sake. I foresee a lot of postponements this coming season, our pitch is usually perfect so imagine what some of them are like by now. SOUTHPORT 2 ROCHDALE 0 and a pretty impressive showing. Goals from Tony Gray on the stroke of half time and Tony Evans who had come on as sub gave us a well deserved victory in front of a gate of 806. Dave Prout was quieter than in the previous games but still looks a good prospect. A left back and an experienced no nonsense striker and we are there, nearly!! Thanks to everyone who came in the shop to renew their TIY memberships and also to have a word about the programme, your best wishes were appreciated and keep the ideas coming, the first programme could be filled three times over with all the ideas and contributions I have had but every single one is valued, thank you. 20 July I hope the "two months of rain in one day" that is threatened for today stays away from Haig Ave so we can get a game on tomorrow. Lots of TIY memberships to renew! 19 July Friendly Away at Prescot Cables. PRESCOT CABLES 0 SOUTHPORT 2. Goals scored by Tony Gray after 54 mins and Neil Prince with virtually the last kick of the game. Team was Rick Whiteside, Michael Powell, Kevin Lee, Dave Ridler, Russ Hitchen, Chris Holland, Mark Baker, Tony Gray, Mark Duffy, Tony Evans and Neil Prince. The used subs were Liam Blakeman, Dave Prout, Matt Hocking, Mark Houghton and Sean Ferguson. Once again even though he only played a small part, Prout looks a good prospect and Tony Evans was again impressive. Pleasant night out. 18 July Stan James are offering 9/1 on us winning the league whilst most of the other bookies are around the 6/1 mark. 17 July Friendly Away at Chorley finishes 2-2. 2-0 up after 65 minutes, a series of substitutions disrupts the flow and Chorley fight back to earn a well deserved draw. The starting X1 was Terry Smith Russ? Hitchen, Graham Law, Dave Ridler, Matt Hocking, Liam Blakeman, Jon Dillon, Prout? Neil Prince, Tony Evans and Tony Gray. Subs included Mark Duffy, Sean Ferguson and "Joe from Jersey" Apologies for the vagueness and uncertainty about soem of the names but it's getting better. Both goals were scored by the impressive looking Tony Evans. The other stand out player to me was Prout but I can't be sure that is his real name or spelling!!
16 July
THE SETANTA SHIELD DRAW
2007-2008 15 July There is a great predictions competition at http://www.wessexfantasyfootball.co.uk/index.html For every entry, £2 goes to the team you support. If anyone has a go remember to put Southport as the team you support. It is £5 to enter. You can also run a mini league from it. 14 July Southport are playing the Raith game on Vauxhall Motors astroturf pitch kicking off at 11.45am. Well, what a day. After thinking we would be washed out all weekend we end up playing two games. The morning game played on Vauxhall Motors superb astroturf surface saw us beat Raith 3-1 with Tony Gray, the promising looking Sean Ferguson and a player from Raith who played part of the game for Southport called Jamie McKie on the scoresheet. It proved a useful workout. The afternoon saw us play a hastily arranged friendly at Litherland Sports Park against Bootle and we emerged 3-0 victors with 2 goals for Joe somebody or another and one for Mark Houghton. Players to feature who were with us last season were, in the morning, Terry Smith, Chris Holland, Liam Blakeman, Kevin Lee, Tony Gray and Mark Houghton. The afternoon team saw Mark Houghton (again) Mike Powell, Mark Duffy and Emeni Agdenbero. The two games were put together so quickly it left us short of players as the lads had all expected to play last evening and some had made alternative arrangements for today that couldn't be changed. An enjoyable day all round with two games of football, six Southport goals and Steve Whitehall missing a penalty that flew miles over the bar. Some of the new faces looked promising but hard to judge on a first look. Raith were especially grateful to the club for all the trouble that they went to to find a venue for the game and made a special presentation to Charlie Clapham as a gesture of thanks. The travelling Raith fans were also delighted to have seen some football having made the long journey south and a friendly bunch they were too particularly the ones in the kilts! There was some talk today that the Bank Holiday game at Barrow could be switched to the Monday evening. That could tie in nicely with a trip to Cartmel Races in the afternoon. Having checked the Barrow website it does say the club are looking to possibly change because of the aforementioned Cartmel Races and also the BAE workers having to work. 13 July Friendly Home v Raith Rovers-MATCH OFF-Possibly being played tomorrow at Noon. What a great start to the season that was. I was sat in the office in Liverpool today thoroughly depressed as usual looking out of the window (what else do Civil Servants do) watching the rain pelting down and thinking that the game could well be off. It was only when I got on the train and saw the state of the golf courses on the way home that I realised that it really could be off and off it was, what a day. Will this rain ever stop! As I look out the home window now at 8 o'clock it is battering down again. Poor old Raith, they come all this way and have both games called off as their match at Chester has also fallen foul of this monsoon. Hopefully it may clear up for tomorrow but I'm not holding my breath. 12 July Trust In Yellow Meeting 7.30 Grandstand Club.
11 July
From The Official Site: Subscriptions to our 2007/08 Matchday Programme are now being taken. The cost will be £67.20 which includes first class postage on the day of the game or in some cases the Friday before the game. This is for league games only. Individual matches can be ordered at £3.20 per programme including postage. Cheques made payable to Southport Football Club should be sent to Rob Urwin (Programme Subscriptions) Southport Football Club, Haig Avenue, Southport PR8 6JZ. To ensure you get the full set please have your orders in by 11 August. Anyone who wishes to subscribe without the postage costs to ensure they get every programme can do so for £52.50 and you can pick up your programme on a matchday from the Club Shop. 9 July A reminder to anyone who entered the PREDICTIONS LEAGUE when Altrincham were still shown. You can still change your entry to include Boston. If you don't the position you had Alty will be switched to Boston. Amendments to any entries can be made up until 3pm on 18 August. 8 July All TIY Members who have advised me of an e-mail address should have received their membership renewal notice. A large number of renewals will be hand delivered or handed out at the forthcoming friendlies. I will be in the Club Shop at all the friendlies, just call in and renew at any time. My appointment as Programme Editor is announced on the Official Site. As always I will be happy to include any ideas people have for improving the programme. All articles will be greatly appreciated. I have already had some offers of help but the more people who contribute the better. Please contact me by e-mail at rob@southportfcstats.co.uk if you think you can help or give me a call on 077900-41514. 5 July Still struggling to find all the BS Conf North Club details such as prices etc. Some of the websites are dire and so out of date it's untrue. 3 July FIXTURES ARE HERE Very kind to us if you ask me. Only Workington and Harrogate away on a Tuesday night both in school holiday time as well! The visits to new grounds will be late with the fixtures at Solihull, Nuneaton and Hinckley all coming well into the season. Blue Square have wasted no time in getting the odds on line for the first round of matches, we are 4/7, the draw is 13/5 with a Gainsborough win being offered at 4/1. 1 July Congratulations to Steve and Alison Wignall who tied the knot yesterday. Steve has really got involved with helping Trust In Yellow and is also a regular matchball sponsor. Thanks to Steve for making the shoot out game and thank you for the wedding night invite, it was a lovely evening even if we were still drying out from our drenching in the afternoon! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Carl
finally signs for Morecambe for an undisclosed fee. I wish him well and thank
him for all his great service to our club. I'm sorry to see him leave us but it
was inevitable I'm afraid. Hopefully we will be playing them in the 2008/09
season! The club record transfer fee received is apparently broken. I never
bother with transfer fee records and speculation as you never know the true
figures. I just hope we did well out of the deal and appropriate sell on clauses
are included.