ARCHIVE NEWS

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!

Hit Counter Webmaster Rob Urwin Contact rob@southportfcstats.co.uk