ARCHIVE NEWS

31 Dec As we approach this year end we are next to bottom, last season at this time we were, next to bottom. We are now full time and had great expectations of a better season but so far it's not worked out that way and the fans are sadly staying away. Our average attendance is down and our home performances with perhaps two exceptions have not been good. There have been a number of things that have conspired against progress. Liam's late departure and the belated appointment of a new manager gave him very little time to rebuild and we have been left with a patched up team. Hopefully the coming month will see new players brought in who can ensure our survival in the Conference, it is so vital that we do survive this season to enable us to push on to better things next season.. On the positive side, we have shown we can compete with the best and with the exception of Grays and Weymouth (I know that one was only 2-0 but it could have been 10) we have never been hammered. Off the pitch we have just about got it right with Haydn doing a great job trying to get the club back into focus within the town. It's time for our chairman to back Mr Cook this month and go all out to give him the cash to ensure he can bring in the players that we need. The problem there is who will sign on for us on what is likely to be a short term contract. I can't see us offering anything more that a contract to the end of the season just in case we don't survive. I suppose we could add in a clause that offers a decent bonus and an extended contract if we do stay up.? I had been lifted by the good performances at Dagenham and Forest Green and the win over Droylsden but in reality Forest Green were shocking and Droylsden are in a division below us. The performance against Morecambe was excellent but we lost. We have Dagenham, Oxford, Burton, Weymouth and York all to come to Haig Ave, it is going to have to be another battle for survival, will we do it? My forecast is that we will get 23 points (see below) from our remaining matches which sadly isn't going to be enough. Let's hope my notoriously bad predicting will be wrong and we bring in the players we need to turn that 23 points into the 30 we are likely to have to get.

30 Dec Home v Kidderminster Harriers 3pm SOUTHPORT 0 KIDDERMINSTER 1 What a dreadful afternoon that was both from a weather point of view and the match. After promising so much against Morecambe this proved to be a real anti-climax. Arriving at the ground at 1 the heavens opened on an already saturated pitch and the game was in some doubt but it went ahead. Dino misses a pen and picks up his 6th booking in what could well be his last game for the club. Once again Bakes stood out a mile as the best player on the pitch but the conditions made it hard for his skills to be fully utilised. Dino had an off day. Disappointing crowd of 1016 which included 136 from Kidderminster so big drop from Boxing Day. Not a lot you can say about this game, it was poor and that's about it. We remain second from bottom and somehow one win could see us move up to 19th so it remains very tight at the bottom. Onwards to Northwich on Monday, weather permitting.

27 Dec The morning after the day before and it still seems unbelievable that we lost that game and even having spent a boring day in work it still feels rough. Interesting reading the very long thread on Port Chat about the trouble yesterday which seems to have been blown up out of all proportion. The Morecambe "fans" shouldn't have been in the home end and stood were they were was a recipe for trouble, no excuse. If the stewards knew they were there why weren't they removed. Once the stewards did get involved why did our fans have to "help" them by spitting, throwing coffee and throwing badly aimed punches at the Morecambe "fans" Ok, so they were goading the Southport fans and asking for trouble but that was for the stewards to handle not our supporters.Things are put in perspective when you hear of at least 5 people being killed in Morecambe Bay in a helicopter crash, what happened yesterday has little significance anymore somehow.

26 Dec Home v Morecambe 3pm. After today we will have played each team once.

40 years ago today since the Main Stand burned down.

Carl Baker's 24th birthday.

SOUTHPORT 1 MORECAMBE 2 How on earth did we contrive to lose that? Unbelievable. We sure didn't deserve to lose it but lose we did and at the end of the day it's results that matter. Bakes, on his 24th birthday, scored a lovely goal and was my MOTM by a street, when that lad is on song he is awesome. 3 disallowed offside goals (rightly) the woodwork hit twice, 4 excellent saves by their keeper say it all. It also seems like the second Morecambe goal saw the ball go out of play before it was pulled back so you can say we were unlucky to lose but that's football. We were up against 10 men for all the second half as well but you got a feeling that our failure to capitalise on the chances would see it all go horribly wrong and it did. However we played well in front of our 12th highest NL league gate of 1804 which included 310 standing Morecambe fans and an estimated 150 seated. That doesn't include the 4 Morecambe idiots who came in the home end. I'd missed Dino getting booked, it was his 5th of the season so he will have a suspension to face.

Oxford shatter the Conference attendance record with a gate of 11,065 for their match against Woking which ended 0-0. I bet the 4260 at Telford v Hednesford is not far short of a Unibond record ether? Also finished 0-0. Maybe the 2889 for Hinckley v Nuneaton is close to the Conf North Record as well, this finished 2-2. UPDATED Not quite, second best Northwich v Stafford attracted 3154 last season.

25 Dec Merry Christmas!

24 Dec I will be helping in the Club Shop all day and will be happy to take any coach bookings or payments. TIY goods will also be available for sale. Interesting day spent at the Club, spent half an hour watching the lads train and the rest of the day in the shop. Had a brief chat to Mr Cook.

21 Dec Looks like Dino could be on his way to R&D, nothing agreed yet though.

18 Dec Paul Harrison's 22nd Birthday.

FA Trophy Draw sees us drawn away to Salisbury City, only a mere 220 miles! For anyone contemplating the train, it can be done in the day from Liverpool for £74.80 but there is a very tight connection on the way home at Coventry.

16 Dec Home v Droylsden in FA Trophy 3pm. Cook and Pace on the benches could make for interesting watching. Droylsden are currently top of the Conference North and in fine scoring form. Steve Daly bagged a brace last Saturday. If a replay is required it will be on Monday, you may hear a big groan from me if that happens as I am due to be in Glasgow until 4 so it will be a very fast train to Preston and a chauffeur driven Fiesta waiting to take me onwards to The Butchers Arms. Any suggestions as to how to get out of an "important" meeting early if it's a draw, do you tell the truth and face accusations of lack of commitment, do you lie and say you have to be home to look after the children whilst the wife tends to an ill relative and win a sympathy vote or what. A dilemma! Let's hope Daly doesn't do to me what he did last season in the game against Hucknall and score in added time to send the game to a replay which I had to miss.

SOUTHPORT 1 DROYLSDEN 0 and Carl Baker has gone from being my hero to my superhero! Thank you Carl! It wasn't the best of games but the goal was worth the wait and was certainly celebrated loudly by me! Had a chat to Dales and Terry before the game and both seem to be enjoying themselves at Droylsden. Terry was particularly impressed with the photo of his record breaking goal which I have framed and he autographed. He wants his own copy. The Bloods started the game with Dales, Fearns, Williams, and Lynch in their team but only Lynchy was on the pitch at the end. Jimmy was sent off and Dales and Terry were subbed. Typical Dave Pace was moaning at the ref at the end of the game, he really is a nasty piece of work that man.

I was also introduced to Harry Boyle at the end of the game.

15 Dec The Official Site reports that at 4.30 Barry Hedley reports the pitch is ok which considering the amount of rain that has fallen today is quite remarkable. The forecast is for better weather tonight and tomorrow so the game may stand a chance of going ahead, best check before travelling.

12 Dec Interesting statement from Mr Cook on the official site who is thanking the fans for their support at Forest Green. He also seems to be winning a few more fans over judging by the comments on Port Chat but then again some opinions change with each result.

10 Dec There is some good stuff in the Club Shop in time for Christmas, well worth a visit. Open afternoons this week.

9 Dec Away at Forest Green Rovers. Our 1200th NL match and a visit to a brand new ground. It is also our 3400th League game of all time. FGR 1 SOUTHPORT 2. A very enjoyable game with a great result at the end of it. Goals from Lee Hoolickin (that is not a misprint) and a superb finish from Sean Doherty give us a very comfortable, apart from the last 2 minutes of the 5 added on, win. Some very good displays today from Bakes, Dino and Kevin Lee probably had his best game in a Southport shirt to date. I'm not getting carried away as frankly Forest Green were shocking but a win is a win and you can only beat what is put in front of you. The gate of 1090 included a very vociferous group of 78(counted) Sandgrounders including a good number of our exiles who had a good day out. It was indeed a "beautiful day" The coach was certainly bouncing on the way home.

5 Dec Lancs Junior Cup Home v Burscough Kick Off 7.45pm. SOUTHPORT 1 BURSCOUGH 3. Well that's another cup we exit at the first hurdle and whilst this one matters not a jot it is quite an alarming scoreline. We hit the bar twice, the post once and had one cleared off the line. Goalscorer was Ciaran Donnelly after great work by the very promising looking Sean Doherty. The only problem with Sean is that he thinks far too quickly for the players around him and nobody can keep up with him. Liam Watson scores Burscough's third goal and why one or two found it necessary to boo Liam is beyond me. It takes all sorts I suppose.

Southport are drawn away at Tranmere in the other meaningless County Cup.

4 Dec Today's rain, and more forecast for tomorrow must put the Burscough game in some doubt.

What is it about Robert Pell and debuts, he scored two on his debut for Guiseley on Saturday, I wonder just how many times he has scored in his first game, must be some sort of record in there somewhere.

2 Dec Away at Dagenham & Redbridge-sadly, I will be missing from this game so no updates. Site update will however be quicker! It's hard sitting at home when your team are playing! DAG & RED 0 SOUTHPORT 0. At least I didn't miss a goal so my record of seeing every league goal since March 04 remains intact. An excellent point gained. Considering The Daggers position in the table the crowd of 1285 was very disappointing, only 20 more than last season. Awaiting confirmation of away numbers. My source tells me no more than 30, where was everyone?!

28 Nov What a brilliant forum Port Chat is, it keeps me entertained for hours. When you look at other club forums even for some of the "bigger clubs" they don't have the same buzz that comes from Port Chat. I know some of the posters get tedious rolling out the same thing over and over again but there is still some great reading on there. Ralphy Rylance has surpassed himself today with some of the stats he has provided, brilliant stuff. Bob Dave Bacon's spelling and grammar is a joy to behold. The optimism of some of the posters is also refreshing, good on you for having the belief. I'd love to find out who some of these people are.

27 Nov FA Trophy Draw Home v Droylsden!!!!! What a draw, I'm sure we will all have a lovely welcome for David Pace esq! It will be great to see Dales, Terry Fearns, Jimmy Williams and Lynchy back at Haig Ave. Incidentally Fearns and Daly were the last two players to score FOR Southport in an FA Trophy match in the 2-2 draw against Hucknall in the 2004/05 season.

Official Site reports Joe Fowler is suspended for Saturday's trip to Dagenham after picking up 5 bookings. I only have 4 recorded so I am obviously missing one somewhere.

25 Nov Home v Cambridge United 3pm. Cambridge seem to have a major injury crisis, this is a very winnable game and I think we will win. 13/10 on Bet 365. SOUTHPORT 1 CAMBRIDGE 2 Well, I did think we would and we did win the first half but we just can't put two halves together. We looked good in the first half but yet again we just couldn't hold it together for 90 minutes, why? I didn't think we were that bad today and quite enjoyed the game but the end result is what mattered. Why oh why was Rowland at left back, the guy was immense last week at Aldershot as a centre half and today we change it round. Kirkup and Rowland as the centre back pairing for me any day. I can only assume Blakes was injured to be subbed. Did Donnelly offer more than Carl? It was his first game so benefit of the doubt. I thought Boydy did ok today, he is carrying too much weight but the lad is a quality player. At least we got through this game without a sending off, as soon as I saw who the ref was I feared the worst as Mr Halliday likes sending off and booking 'port players but I thought he was excellent today.

Of the 13 goals we have conceded at home 12 have been scored at the Scarisbrick Road end.

23 Nov Ciaran Donnelly signs on loan from....... no, Blackpool!!

Just been doing a bit of analysis on our squad. We have 24 players on the books which includes 4 keepers and 7 players on loan. It also includes Francis Barry and Dan Bromilow who are unlikely to feature much. Deadline day has passed so this is what we have until January 1st.

My Starting X1 in 4-4-2 formation, doesn't look too bad on paper. Robinson Lane Kirkup Rowland Clancy, Baker Donnelly Blakeman Doherty, Maamria Gray Subs Dubourdeau (GK) Paterson, Fowler, Powell or Boyd & Tait.

May as well try Doherty and Donnelly as they have some pedigree and we are lacking wide left and as much as I am a Boyd'y fan he hasn't been at his best in the last few weeks. Accy fans seem less than impressed with Doherty though so we'll see how he gets on.

This leaves Bagnall Barry Bromilow Harrison Hoolickin Lee and Olsen kicking their heels.

22 Nov Danny Kirkup is back at the club after his 3 game suspension. Sean Doherty and Francois Dubourdeau sign on loan from..... Accrington. Looks like Mr Cook's vast network of contacts is finally paying dividends. Doherty is a left sided midfielder and Dubourdeau is a keeper. It seems Ryan Robinson won't be able to play after 2nd December due to the strange rules that govern loan signings but it looks like he will be signing on when the transfer window opens on 1 January. What a nonsense this transfer window is at our level, totally unnecessary!

20 Nov Boxing Day will see the 40th anniversary of the stand burning down and I am looking to produce a programme article to "celebrate" the event. Anyone who has pictures or memories of the day that they would like to share please get in touch with me. Thank you

19 Nov Just noticed that the ref yesterday was the same one who reffed the match at Aldershot last year. I personally thought he was excellent yesterday as he was last year refusing to be swayed by the enthusiastic Shot's supporters and I don't think anyone could argue with last years sending off of Chris Brass following his wonder save!

We have now conceded 1599 goals in NL League games.

18 Nov Away Aldershot. ALDERSHOT 2 SOUTHPORT 2. Mixed emotions. A real sickener to concede 2 mins 27 secs into the 3 mins of added time but at half time to think we would get anything from the game was unthinkable. We were dreadful in the first half, nobody appeared to know what position they were playing and we were all over the place. What a transformation in the second period after what must have been a half time rocket from PC. We went at them, attacked and had players up front and supporting from midfield. Blakes had his best game this season by far and we came so close to snatching the win. After going 1-0 down after just 6 minutes it looked bleak but we somehow managed to hang on until half time. A super finish by Dino followed by an 89th minute own goal after excellent work by Blakes looked to have given us all 3 points but for the third time this season we were denied victory by an added time goal. The gate of 2290 included 58 Sandgrounders. It was our 85th gate over 2000 in NL football we have drawn the last 5, the last 3 of which have been 2-2. A gutsy battling show today which was good to see, the real blow came when we heard the other scores and found ourselves further behind in the table. All in all it was a good day though, we had a great journey there and back and the atmosphere created by the Aldershot fans is the best in the league and worth going for alone. The own goal was our 32nd in NL football and I'm sure you will sleep much better for knowing that.

16 Nov Looks like we could have a few of the injured players back for the game at Aldershot. Aldershot's minds on the FA Cup with a passage to the 3rd round beckoning, not in the best of form, unlikely to be in the League mix, Southport 7/2 to win, maybe just maybe?

15 Nov The Southport Old Boys win 8-2 at home last night to Kendal with Robbo, Robbie Booth, Leady and FitzH on the scoresheet. Very quiet on the player front but the Official Site does report that Paul Cook is looking to strengthen his squad for the weekend. I'm sure we have heard that one before somewhere.

11 Nov No game due to our exit from the FA Cup. St Albans get a point at Forest Green to put us bottom of the table again but the draw is not a bad result for us. Kettering go down 3-4 against Oldham with the Oldham winner coming in the 91st minute, the attendance was 3481.

10 Nov We are playing Burscough at Haig Ave in the Lancs Junior Cup, I wonder if it will be all ticket! Likely date is 5th December, with Gary Brabin having signed for Burscough today and all the other ex Southport players in their squad it could be an interesting night.

9 Nov Trust in Yellow EGM at Grandstand Club 7.30. Thank you for all the votes to elect me to the committee.

8 Nov Thanks to Ken Hilton for supplying the away attendances at Haig Ave this season, these will appear on my results page from now on and in the Matchday Programme. They are only intended as a guide and won't include any away fans who sit down. I have requested our figures from the clubs we have visited so far and some have responded.

7 Nov Paul Tait becomes my favourite player. I discovered today that his sister-in-law is one of my staff at work!

5 Nov Firework display at Haig Ave. An excellent turn out which must have been around the 4000 mark, the queues at the food stalls were unbelievable, the only complaints I heard were that it was overcrowded which is something we won't see much this season. Great display which is something else I haven't said this season!!!! Seriously this event was a huge success and something to build on for next year. Once again we get an off field activity right which is testament to the progress Haydn has made in such a short space of time.

4 Nov Home v Tamworth- SOUTHPORT 1 TAMWORTH 0 A most welcome win, it wasn't pretty but that matters not a jot. In our position any win will do. Headed back post goal by Liam Blakeman sealed it after a superb run and cross by Bake's. MOTM Ryan Robinson for three excellent saves. We move off the bottom which has to be progress. I'm not getting carried away as frankly Tamworth were as bad as we have seen all season but at least we beat them. Considering we didn't have a recognised centre half on the pitch and the number of injuries we had including yet another early departure for Dino it was, all in all, a valuable 3 points. The gate of 1014 included 103 standing Tamworth fans.

We only have one more guaranteed home game between now and Christmas, we could have two if we get a home draw in the Trophy.

Elsewhere Oxford record the 4th highest ever Conference gate with 8185 attending their game against Aldershot.

3 Nov I think the 10 page (and growing) thread on Port Chat covers everything from last night so no need for me to elaborate any more. I'd like to thank the people who have e-mailed me today to say thanks for trying to get the Dicko situation cleared up. I was not trying to cause any trouble, it is just that Dicko and his Mum and Dad tell a different story to that which I was told last night so somebody is not being completely truthful. Can I also remind people of my disclaimer highlighted at the top of this page.

2 Nov A lively and interesting Meet The Manager session at the Grandstand Club tonight. The Paul Cook fan club were out in force which included a few surprising members, some of those who are quite vociferous in their condemnation of him at matches were his best mate tonight. I thought he handled the night quite well and that's despite me having a disagreement with him over the way the Dicko situation was handled, he does quickly get aggressive if you challenge him though. There were some forthright views exchanged. It looks like he has the support of more people than I thought and certainly those connected with the club seem to be fully behind him so looks like he is here to stay for a while longer yet. I remain concerned and even more so after tonight about our ability to get the players in that we need to help us survive, we appear to be hitting a brick wall every time we attempt to sign someone and that is a worry. Around 30 people attended. I took several pages of notes but there was nothing new or that we haven't heard before but a few matters were cleared up. Gary Brabin has left the club completely and has had his contract terminated. Paul Cook has a contract that can be terminated at any time. There is money available to buy players. Carl Baker turned up the worse for wear at training hence him getting suspended. There are a few more that I will add tomorrow when I can decipher my notes. Paul has to be applauded for going through with this, not many managers in our position would have the guts to do it and it is to his credit that he went through 90 minutes unscathed. He didn't get anywhere near as hard a time as I thought he would which shows that either people don't have the balls to confront or everything in the garden really is rosy and we will get out of the mess we are in at present. I'll be there on Saturday as usual willing us on to victory as I will at Aldershot, Dagenham etc, let's hope for a turnaround in our fortunes quickly so that the next MTM night is actually looking forward to better times ahead. I went tonight quite open minded, my views on PC are well documented in this diary and I remain unchanged in my stand, he has got us in this mess he should be allowed to try and get us out of it unless there is a miracle worker waiting to step in.

30 Oct Quite a debate raging on the sgb forum about the merits of our club. You can tell there are a few on there who have never attended a game but there are some interesting views all the same. Mark Jackson has departed to Leigh RMI

28 Oct FA Cup 4th Qual Round-Home v Kettering Town 3pm. SOUTHPORT 0 KETTERING TOWN 1-So it's not going to be our FA Cup year this year but in all honesty did we ever think it was. I love the FA Cup and always find defeat in this competition hard to take but it was a resigned acceptance in this one. Just 943 bothered to turn up of which nearly 200 came from Kettering. 750 Southport fans at a 4th Qualifying Round FA Cup tie, we took almost that many to Ramsbottom a few years ago and certainly more than that to Marine in 2001. It was our lowest home FA Cup gate at this stage since 1988. What's more it was the flattest atmosphere in an FA Cup tie involving Southport that I can ever remember. There was surprisingly very little reaction at the end of the game, I think people have just got used to losing. I dread to think what the gate will be next week. I'm sure Mr Cook will be spending a lot of time on his phone this week trying to attract the 4 quality players we need as he has for the last 8 weeks but we must not worry because that's all that is needed and we will be ok. We may have gates around the 750 mark by then but we will be ok. I am starting to wonder why we can't attract these "quality players" what is wrong with the club. Every other Conference club has managed it why can't we? What makes this defeat worse is what we have missed out on. £10,000 for winning today and a bumper home gate against Oldham Athletic, probably upwards of £60,000. It's all very well saying that the cup can be a distraction but that kind of money isn't to be sniffed at. I spend all week working with people who don't have a clue how to get the best out of people and really look forward to my weekend football to get rid of the frustration I feel and then after this you end up feeling even worse. Oh I need a lie down! Struggling to select a Man Of The Match today. Did anyone do anything that stood out?

27 Oct Welcome to Paul Tait who has signed on loan from Boston United, hopefully could be the first of the 4 quality players PC has said we need. Paul is cleared to play in the FA Cup tomorrow which seems odd but is most welcome. Tait and Maamria up front should prove an interesting combination with Paterson and Gray also in contention. Must be something in the water in Southport and the surrounds but there is actually an air of optimism about tomorrow on Port Chat with a few positive postings. Even Mellow is having second thoughts about staying away! I am not Mr Cook's number one fan but Southport FC is bigger than any one person and the supporters need to stick with it. £10,000 prize money is worth having in our position and whilst long term the league is 10x more important we all love an FA Cup tie don't we, tomorrow is a big day, win and we could be playing Nottingham Forest, lose and who knows. The one result I don't want is a draw, Kettering on a Tuesday night, that could be a tester.

23 Oct Foolish as it might sound I placed a bet on Southport to win at Altrincham. On checking my account the bet hadn't registered but I did receive an e-mail from Skybet explaining that they thought it must have been a mistake so they refunded my money. Don't know what to make of that.

22 Oct I have now added all the Fan Profiles I have received with apologies for the delay. Paul Aird's is a particularly good read.

21 Oct Away Altrincham. ALTRINCHAM 2 SOUTHPORT 1 Att 1336. Alty's best gate of the season. A superb turn out from the travelling faithful, 252 in the away end plus around 50 in the stand shows just what potential support we could have if we were going well. It was better than last week and at least there wasn't a 7 1/2 hour journey at the end of it but once again we simply were second best. With 20 minutes to go I honestly felt we could have played all day and never scored but the forced introduction of Chris Lane seemed to fire us up and we had a decent last 15 minutes and very nearly snatched an unlikely point. Sean Paterson scored on his debut, the first to do so since Nick Rogan last season. No sign of Mike Marsh today?

You really could tell the division in the fans today, the Cook must stay faction against the Cook must go brigade, It's amazing how there is such a split in the fans but then again thinking back to last season it was there with Liam Watson but never to this extent. Things got a touch heated at times on the terraces and I understand a punch was thrown. A build up of frustration that has been coming for some weeks. If Mr Clapham insists that Mr Cook is the right man and is staying, tell us all and we will know and all the speculation about his future can end. If he has doubts, don't leave it any longer act now to arrest the slide. The thing that concerns me are the number of stories doing the rounds about Mr Cook, if just one of them is true I don't honestly know how he can stay in post. I don't possibly think that any of them can be true, if they were he would surely be out the door by now. One thing is for sure we need to get something sorted out soon.

What next? After the "hive of activity" last week I guess it will be a fairly quiet week on the player front as there won't be many clubs wanting to loan players out to get them cup tied. Will Blackpool allow Paterson to play in the cup match? Danny Kirkup? Danny Ventre? Ryan Robinson?

Where has Millster's blog gone?

19 Oct Sean Paterson, a 19 year old striker from Blackpool signs on loan and Gary Finlay is appointed as Coach/Scout.

18 Oct Lots of rumours surrounding players leaving the club at the moment, the latest being Carl Baker, nothing has been confirmed. Alex Smith's whereabouts also appear to be unknown. Nothing on the official site as yet so no further comment from me as I am sure it is just scaremongering because we couldn't possibly be stupid enough to let our main asset go.......could we? Official Site puts my mind at rest, Carl is only suspended for a week due to a breach of club discipline. Thank goodness for that.

Well you go out to work these days and come back wondering whatever next. Accusations of monitoring posts on Port Chat, Port Chat only allowing registered users, long standing supporters saying they will never go again. Where will it all end. I personally think the worst thing anyone can do is stay away, if you want to protest get to Alty and protest, show the strength of feeling that there is but don't stay away. If we can get a couple of hundred to go to Alty (there is still time to book on the second coach which will go if we can get 25 more people) then they can make enough noise to make those that count get the message a message that is getting stronger by the day and a message that must soon be listened to. Support the team at Alty, have your protest but go to the game to do it!! I do admit to a chuckle though at some of the people who say they aren't going anymore, they never went to away matches in the first place!

Even jonny smith is getting in on the act, yes that jonny smith who claims on the Alty forum to go to most games home and away. The net is closing in jonny because if you were at Weymouth there were only a couple of people I didn't recognise!!!!!

17 Oct Might pop along to Rossett Park tonight to watch Marine v Burscough and pop along I did to see Burscough come back from 2-0 down at half time to win 3-2. Must have been an inspired half time team talk from Liam.

16 Oct FA Cup 4th Qual Round Draw. My dream is for Guiseley away, coaches streaming out of Southport to pay tribute to Dicko, we win with a last minute penalty and draw Bury at home in the 1st Round which we win we then draw the lowest ranked team left and beat them. We then get a home tie against Liverpoo who decide to field their 8th team and we beat them before going out 37-0 at Old Trafford having made over a million from the cup run which will allow the by now new cult hero, Paul Cook to go out and buy the best players that he can get. Not before telling the hordes of waiting press just how good the Southport fans have been to him since he took up duty. Having seen Cook's success in the cup run Liverpoo just can't resist poaching him and their decline to League 2 gains momentum. With Martin O'Neill now in charge at Haig Ave we swap places with Liverpoo and take our place in League 1................It was a dream after all. UPDATED Guiseley go out so it all falls apart! Next best Droylsden? Or Kettering!!

15 Oct The official site states that Paul Martin has been released. Now let's have a think about that one. He was one of PC's better acquisitions and he has been released? I am at the stage of despair and this just tops the lot. Granted Paul Martin is injury prone but that was well known before he came so why bother? What is going on. What is happening with Alex Smith who looked a class act at first but has recently gone down hill and was "unavailable" yesterday. Mark Boyd probably the best of PC's squad looked very heavy whilst he was warming up yesterday and despite the NLP giving him the MOTM award he failed to do much to impress me, then again he was the only player to get a shot on target so maybe that swayed it for him.

Who scored this goal?

Mr Cook you state, in yet another swipe at the fans "We need experience and strength. I have said all along that the squad was put together in a hurry during the summer from scratch. Some of our supporters seem to forget that" Your choice and your decision to do it the way you did so you fix it before our gates plummet any lower and you see us in Conference North. Has any manager alienated such a large group of supporters so much in our history. I sat and listened to a lot of talk on the coach yesterday some of which to me was an over the top reaction but you can understand it, we are frustrated, bottom of the table with a manager who has lost the fans. He does however "want to thank the supporters who travelled to Weymouth which is a massive commitment"

Quite a reaction on Port Chat, phew!!! Even the pro-Paul Cook brigade seem to have turned against him now. I do think that this reaction is a build up of frustration, we were expected to lose yesterday, the squad was down to the bare bones and Weymouth are going well. Now if Alty beat us on Saturday, I dread to think what will be said.

Just spent 10 minutes reading the Weymouth forum and amongst the comments slating our team and the linesman was this nice one "For a team third from bottom, I thought their fans and Directors were a credit"

I think football fans need to read up on the rules of offside, it happens here at Southport as well. The linesman should only raise his flag when the player becomes active. Yesterday the Weymouth players were clearly standing offside and then running back before getting involved in play and whilst it looks like they were on side they weren't and certainly in the first half the liner was right on every occasion and I suspect in the second as well.

14 Oct Away Weymouth. TRUST IN YELLOW are running a coach to this game ONLY £25 Max, reduced if more travel. With Dean Howell and Lee Elam in the Weymouth team, it's a game to look forward to. Departs Haig Ave at 7am. Ainsdale 6.40 and The Crown at 6.50. WEYMOUTH 2 SOUTHPORT 0 Full update of website on Sunday as it looks as if Rob won't be in much before midnight tonight. She was right it was 12.35am and what a long day it was 18 hours in the name of "football". It was made worse knowing we had gone bottom after another woeful display. I actually felt some sympathy towards the lads on the pitch yesterday, they battled but simply, Weymouth outplayed us. To see one of my all time favourite Southport players in Lee Elam tear us apart made me envious. His sublime finish was first class and he fully deserved his MOTM award even though he was taken off after 75 minutes to spare us any further embarrassment! We were down to the bare bones yesterday so PC will have his excuses. He can't blame the fans today nobody got on his or the players backs. We had travelled a round trip of 600 miles (our driver went the long way round) to support the team so he can't complain at anyone having a go but they didn't. It would have been easy to after he appeared to snub the fans as he came out before the game but no the comments were made quietly amongst the travelling faithful, 65 in the ground and I was advised "a few" in the stand. It was described to me as like being at a funeral. Nobody knew what to say in case you offended anyone so it was best to stay quiet hence the subdued atmosphere. The drum got a few half hearted bangs, the Weymouth players got some stick but all in all it was very flat. At the end of the game we were 24th, bottom of the table and thoroughly fed up. The coach journey home was LONG but I reconciled myself with the fact that it was another ground to add to my collection and it was our longest trip of the season out of the way. Plenty of time to reflect and the updates from Port Chat via the phone kept us entertained along with the Swindon v Southport, Port Vale v Southport and Peter Kay DVD's.

11 Oct Quite a reaction on Port Chat and on southportgb to last nights defeat and the comments by PC on the official site. It will be interesting to see how things develop in the next couple of weeks but having got us in to this mess surely he should be allowed to get us out of it for just a little bit longer. Granted it may be too late but unless there is a ready made replacement who can step in immediately then I suggest no hasty action is taken.

10 Oct Home v Stevenage Borough 7.45pm. SOUTHPORT 1 STEVENAGE 2 A sparkling first half showing was followed by a second half of mediocre proportions, in fact it was utter rubbish. Heads dropped after going 2-1 down and we were never in it in the second period. How can a team produce such a different performance in two halves is beyond me. Another interesting interview with Paul Cook can be heard on the official site. It's all the fans fault again. More will follow tomorrow evening, I need a lie down after that. Ref tonight was our friend from Halifax earlier this season.

8 Oct Checked out the status of Dino's "goal" at Oxford with Ken Hilton. It is officially given as Maamria goal. Always a dilemma for us Statto's because it clearly wasn't a Dino goal but I will take the official verdict until I am told otherwise.

7 Oct Home v St Albans SOUTHPORT 1 ST ALBANS 1-It was a case of after the Lord Mayor's show. Expectations were high after the great draw at Oxford but it all fell very flat. St Albans scored first and missed a pen before we started to show any signs of urgency and Tony Gray scored despite looking a yard offside to give us a share of the points. We very nearly snatched a victory in the closing stages when Hooly forced a great save out of the keeper and Blake's hit the post but it was two more points dropped. We stay in 22nd which in effect is 23rd because of the Crawley situation. The gate of 1005 included 47 St Albans fans that I counted. MOTM for me was Bake's but nobody really stood out.

5 Oct Oxford's relentless march towards the Conference title carries on with a 5-1 victory at Forest Green in front of a ground record crowd of 3021. Makes our result look even better does that.

4 Oct I really can't believe that there are one or two people urging people to stay away from Haig Ave until Paul Cook is sacked. What good will that do? A true supporter gets behind their team through thick and thin and now is the time that they need all our support. I am the first to admit that the way Mr Cook has gone about things has certainly not endeared him to me and I don't like his style of management but I would never stop supporting the team. Every player who has ever put on the yellow shirt has had my support (well maybe Rigoglioso was an exception but he did only last 90 minutes) and they will continue to do so. Of course people should be free to choose whether they attend matches or not and not everybody will be able to get to the away games but surely we should continue to support the 11 players that step out on the field. I myself may miss a few, the games at Aldershot and Dagenham could be in jeopardy if a coach doesn't go but I will, good health permitting never miss a home game through choice. We may not be overly impressed with Mr Cook but we must surely get behind the players?

Some restless natives in Burscough today I see.

There is obviously some deep secret doing the rounds at the moment, Post on Port Chat "Too many blinkered people on here. Makes you laugh. I think the overall picture, one that may one day come out, is what gets peoples backs up and gets threads like this started" So. come on, tell all instead of winding people up!

3 Oct Away Oxford United-Tickets are best bought in advance for £16. Could our all time NL League attendance record go tonight? Currently stands at 4727 at Yeovil so must be in with a chance. I'd best not mention the score on that occasion but it was a very long journey home. Full Site update Wednesday but Mrs U will be doing regular updates during the match. Current odds on SKYBET are 4/11 Oxford 13/2 Southport with 3/1 the draw. I am actually looking forward to this trip, new ground and a decent atmosphere hopefully and us to pull off the shock result of the season well, two out of three are definite. OXFORD UTD 2 SOUTHPORT 2. Well it was nearly three out of three! 81 Southport fans in attendance with a great atmosphere. I think I'll stay away from all matches in future because they always seem to play better when I don't go-Mrs U.

Now that was much better and for the first time this season I will say that Mr Cook got it spot on tonight with his tactics, I have been quick to criticise but this was good stuff and certainly the most enjoyable 97 minutes of football I have witnessed this season. Well done to all the lads on a tremendous comeback after the last two horror showings. Yes we only had 21% possession but Oxford didn't threaten us much despite that stat. A great atmosphere from a vocal Oxford crowd made for a special night. As Julia has reported above the 81 Sandgrounders in attendance gave the lads a well deserved standing ovation at the end and I was delighted that our all time NL League attendance record finally got beaten. It was the highest league gate we have played in front of since our last ever football league match at Watford in the 1977/78 season and as a NL Club, only the 26837 that attended the FA Trophy final at Wembley has bettered tonight's gate. Thank you Oxford fans! A great day out and ground number 155 for me. It was hard to pick a MOTM tonight, I went for Dino for his goals but Michael Powell did a splendid man marking job and the player who is particularly impressing me at the moment is Joe Fowler and he again had a very good game. Having just watched the goals and pens for the 25th time, Dino's first "goal" is an own goal, the first pen isn't a pen and the second one is in my view. Just shows, I thought the first was nailed on with the second dubious.

30 Sep Home v Exeter City 3pm SOUTHPORT 0 EXETER 1. Yet another disappointing home showing when apart from the first 15 minutes it was not the best of games. Another strange team selection 5-4-1 at home again with the 1 being Tony Gray. Dino was used as a defensive midfielder, for goodness sake! We are now 22nd and face a trip to runaway leaders Oxford on Tuesday night. I actually feel so sorry for some of these lads, they seem to be trying their best but they just simply aren't up to the rigours of Conference football and the bemused looks on their faces at the ever changing formations says it all. It says a lot that the most consistent player this season is Chris Lane who last season very few had a good word to say about, oh and he is Part Time. Action is needed to arrest this slide, it's all very well Mr Cook saying we'll get it right in the end, at what cost, gates are down and the fans disillusioned. After his midweek outburst, the fans responded with positive support but a combination of disbelief at the team selection and a poor performance soon sent the crowd quiet with a strong feeling of here we go again. Exeter this season weren't a patch on Exeter last season and were there to be beaten today. I wonder if we will have a 5-5-0 formation at Oxford, I also worry that if we go a a goal down early just what the score might end up as.

A very impressive 462 York fans made the trip to Oxford yesterday for their game, hopefully we might take 50, midweek, no coach but a few exiles will no doubt make the trip.

TIY Race Night at 7.30 with Paul Cook and the players attending. Tickets are only £1 if bought in advance or £2 on the night. A buffet will be available. A great night was had by all. Thank you to everyone for their support and to Mr Cook and the players for taking the time to attend. The players who were left at the end, Carl, Michael Powell and Laney enjoyed the auction race I think! Great to see Awen Douglas stay to the end as well, he looked a bit lost at times but everyone seemed to be doing their best to include him and Collo's attempts to have him believe that if his shot that hit the post from 35 yards against Northwich had gone in it would have qualified for one of the all time great Southport goals certainly had him blushing, I think!

28 Sep TIY Meeting at Grandstand Club.

27 Sep Southport Youth v Nantwich Youth 7.45pm FA Youth Cup-Southport win 5-0 with a couple of highly promising youngsters on show.

26 Sep Home v Northwich 7.45. A win tonight could see us move up to 13th from 20th but sadly a defeat keeps us in 20th place. SOUTHPORT 1 NORTHWICH 2. A first half horror show with an improvement in the second but it wasn't enough to peg back the two goal deficit. Northwich also missed a pen and what a miss it was! We hit the woodwork twice, the second a stunning shot by Awen Douglas which took us all by surprise. Comedy moment was the crowd chanting Dougie, Dougie give us a wave and him not appearing to understand until Laney showed him what to do, priceless! Mr Cook's ill informed comments after the game, available on the official site have not gone down well with the fans. A very disappointing night all round, I thought we'd get around the 1200 mark but only 1059 turn up with 170 from Northwich and apart from a 15 minute second half spell it was all very flat again. The booing when Northwich scored their second was a sign of the feelings and it was fortunate we scored when we did to lift the spirits because I could hear the knives being sharpened.

Website's 2nd Birthday.

24 Sep Regular readers of the confguide forum will be well acquainted with a York City fan who seems to have an opinion on just about every subject under the sun. It's our turn to feel the blast of his vitriolic tongue, what an absolute prat this guy is. He condemns our pitiful support on Saturday which with 142 in the away part plus several in the main stand accounted for around 15% of our average home gate. I could remind him of the support York used to get when they were struggling but I wouldn't stoop so low. He condemns our tactics on Saturday. The time wasting was excessive I agree but to say our players were feigning injury? Did he see Boyd's leg? He goes on to say how much he hates Southport (I have deleted his expletives) for this reason and that which I am sure we are all really concerned about. With this guys track record I would be very worried if he showed any kind of affinity towards us!

23 Sep Away York City 3pm. YORK CITY 2 SOUTHPORT 2-A superb first half of football from both sides, one of the most open, entertaining 45 mins I have watched for a good while, end to end and we somehow managed to go in 2-1 up despite being under constant pressure. At last we played 4-4-2 when we all thought it would be 4-5-1 again. The one surprise was Laney on the bench with Steve Rowland at Right Back but then again I'm not that surprised! The Stats say Southport 4 shots 2 goals with York on 14 shots and 2 goals. The second half failed to match the first but just when we looked as though we may hang on, Hoolie in trying to clear the ball headed into his own net, it was an unfortunate own goal but if he had left it there was a player ready to nod it in so he had to try. This was the first time we have scored 2 goals away from home since our win at Forest Green which was the only time we did it in a League game last season. Michael Powell was outstanding today having his best game ever in a Southport shirt and Paul Martin finally got a game at the back and looked much more at home. Probably a fortunate point but a very welcome one and the fighting spirit was today there in abundance. We stay 20th but it is very tight and a win on Tuesday against our bogey home team and we can go up to 13th. I actually enjoyed today, a cracking first half that had everything, brilliant weather and a good run home with a totally unexpected point.

22 Sep Robbie Booth has his contract terminated by mutual consent. Robbie had made 9 full appearances with 21 subs. I'm sure everyone at Haig Ave will wish Robbie well. Never quite came up to expectations whilst he was with us but a great lad. I'll not even say who he has signed for, I'm sure we can all guess! I do wonder though, Robbie Booth or Mark Jackson as a Carl Baker alternative? I know which one I would have kept.

We are down to 20th after Cambridge somewhat surprisingly beat Aldershot 2-0 tonight.

19 Sep Kidderminster 2 Southport 0-It wasn't very good with team selection once again baffling. Jackson wide right with Dino on his own up front. We later went three up front with Gray, Douglas and Dino and the comedy moment came with all three going into the same area for the same ball. Night made worse when Kevin Lee was stretchered off with what looked like a serious injury and Steve Rowland was obviously in pain for the last 15 minutes but having used all our subs he had to stay on. One positive that came out of last night, the catering at Aggborough is probably the best you will find at any Conference ground.

Just reading the Kiddy forum, they were not impressed by our showing and they are impartial. It looks like the injuries are piling up so from having a near to fully fit squad we are down to the bare bones again.

What a great service Oxford United provide. I ordered the tickets on line on Saturday evening for all the people who had approached me and paid and they have arrived today.

18 Sep From The Official Site Nigerian striker Awen Douglas signed Nationwide Conference forms this morning after a weeks trial. Awen Douglas flew over from Lithuania last week. He last played in Lithuania. Secretary Ken Hilton confirmed all Awen's international clearance was through and he will travel to Kidderminster tomorrow. Paul Cook is likely to put Awen on the bench. At 6' 3" the striker will add options as he adjusts to Conference football. He has been on trial in the past with Brentford and Derby County.

16 Sep Home v Crawley 3pm-Referee the one and only Colin Harwood, it's a good job Liam is no longer with us. If you can get a bet on a sending off or the added time running over 10 minutes get your money down now!

Southport 3 Crawley 1-A scintillating first half display which saw us score 3 goals ensured we took a most welcome 3 points. Alex Smith took the honours of scoring our 900th home non league goal. Dino Maamria got the other two, his 4th and 5th for the club in his two spells with us. Some of the football in the first half was great to watch and we were well worth our 3 goal lead. There were some heart stopping moments in the second half but we battled it out and hung on in there. No real controversial decisions from our friend Mr Harwood but I think if that penalty had been awarded against us we would have been a bit unhappy. Good to see Clancy and Hoolickin played in the correct positions today. I was surprised that after last weeks show Paul Martin didn't start but I understand he is injured. I also understand the tea cups were flying in the Crawley dressing room at half time which is not surprising considering the horror showing but I'm sure Mr Hollins would have been happier at the end of the game. Well done to the lads today lets hope we can carry it forward against a struggling Kidderminster side on Tuesday.

The last time we were 3-0 up at half time was at Harrogate. The Forest Green game saw us 3-1 up (thanks for the correction Andy) which was also the last time we scored 3 goals in a league game.

At this point last season we had 7 points and were 19th. The gate a year ago was 1423 but was boosted by a substantial following from Exeter.

15 Sep Ryan Robinson rejoins on loan from Morecambe. Ryan didn't concede a goal in his two games at the start of the season so this is a real boost and with players returning from injury we could be a good bet. Checking Skybet for the odds tomorrow, we are missing from the coupon, could it be that the news of Robbo's return has seen a flood of big money bets and the bookies are running scared? Stan James have us as favourites at 5/4 with Crawley 7/4 and the draw 12/5. Not bad odds for Crawley when you think we are 18th and they are in effect 7th but I never back against us.

More news than ever on the official site, excellent work by all involved.

14 Sep Posted on Port Chat by Billy Austin "My thoughts have also turned to people like Mellow, Englishr and Rob Urwin. Long standing fans with massive enthusiasm for SFC. I don't know any of them personally but they all seem to be a little disenchanted with recent proceedings"

I can handle people saying I am disenchanted but my name being used along with Mellow and Rob English? Please!!!

I am finding it hard at the moment and coming back on the coach on Saturday I really started thinking about whether or not I fancy taking 15 hours out of my day and spending a lot of money to go to Aldershot, Dagenham, Crawley etc? Saturday was poor but Grays were a decent team. Of course I will continue to support the team, the current spell is Premier League compared to what we had to endure in the first few seasons of Non League football but I can't help it. Big mistakes have been made in my opinion and if that has left me disenchanted well so be it. If the departing players had been replaced by better ones I could understand it, they haven't, but I will still be getting behind them on Saturday, at Kidderminster on Tuesday and at Weymouth in a months time. Whether I will go to the games at grounds I have already been to? I'm not sure and yes Billy is right I am a touch disenchanted by it all. What I won't do however is moan (out loud) at players on the pitch, ever! It's a shame that on field things are causing this because there is so much good work being done off the field, Haydn has been a revelation and some of the comments by posters on sgb are so far wide of the mark it is untrue. Why don't those who criticise actually get of their backsides and see the good work that is being done. Look at what he has achieved already and anyone who attended the first CE forum knows how much he wants to make Southport FC a club to be proud of. I am happy helping with the the programme again and helping out in the club shop, you actually feel like you are doing your bit and it is quite rewarding. With TIY making rapid strides and more to follow the future looks good. My concern remains that if I am disenchanted and I am "Hardcore SFC" will the less committed keep going?

13 Sep Just checking out the official site. What a great round up of news there is on there at the moment. Excellent work by Haydn. I am sure most fans will agree that from a news angle it is getting much better and we are certainly being kept informed. Shirts available in the town centre and souvenirs in the tourist information office is mega progress.

12 Sep-Full round of Conference matches tonight except for us as the Cheshire Senior Cup has priority, what a nonsense!

11 Sep TIY Meeting Railway Club 7.30pm

9 Sep Away Grays Athletic 3pm-my first match on the TIY coach so plenty of bookings please to make sure it runs. It will leave Ainsdale (The Arion at 7.40) Birkdale (The Crown at 7.50) and Haig Ave at 8.00am. The fare is an absolute bargain at £15 which will reduce to £12 if we get over 40 bookings. Bookings can still be made by phoning 077900-41514. Alternatively I will be in the Grandstand Club between 7 and 9 on Thursday 7 Sep at Haydn's forum.

Grays Athletic 4 Southport 0

Rob is not impressed with today's performance at Grays Athletic. Full update on his return home. No, Rob wasn't impressed not just with the performance but the team selection. Our best defender on the bench and when he did come on he went up front. Carl Baker only sub along with Alex Smith who if he was never going to play why was he on the bench. Exasperated to say the least and to all those that think watching this is better than last season I would urge a rethink. To all those who went to Grays on 25 April and saw us battle our way to survival compare that to today and we look like we are going backwards. PC has a lot of work to do, he knows it but what can he do. It was a long day today leaving home at 7.30am and getting in at 10.45pm made even longer by the poor showing. Time for a lie down.

5 Sep A reminder to anyone going to Oxford. If you buy your tickets in advance you can obtain them for £16 otherwise it is £18 or £20. I will be sending my order off after the Crawley game so if anyone wants a ticket let me know (and pay me) by the end of the Crawley match and I will place an order. My contact number is 077900-41514.

3 Sep We go up to 15th today on the strength of Alty losing 5-0 at home.

2 Sep Home v Gravesend Southport 2 Gravesend 2. All four goals were scored in the first half with Mark Boyd getting another cracker, this time from a free kick and Michael Powell getting his first ever league goal after 31 games (18+13 as sub) before becoming our third player to receive a red card this season for the most stupid of tackles after having already received a yellow card. The game only got the go ahead shortly after 2 following some excellent work by the ground staff to clear water from the pitch. To those arriving at 3 it looked immaculate but it had certainly taken a battering from the rain and we were very lucky that there were no further major downpours after 2.30. The gate of 861 was disappointing but with the awful weather, the confusion over the kick off time, several people turned up at 1, and the England game on TV at 5, it was perhaps expected. I don't know about anyone else but it seems very flat to me at Haig Ave these days, not sure why but that buzz has gone. Every team that played today had their lowest crowd of the season whilst all but one who played last night had their highest gate, there is a moral in that somewhere.

1 Sep With 7 matches in September I'm sure that we will have a good picture of how our season is going to pan out by the end of the month. No deadline day transfer activity gives us cause for concern. We have now gone 15 games since we scored more than 1 goal in a game, the last time being at home to Accrington Stanley. The defence which we all thought was going to be a concern has certainly looked pretty solid though. Interesting month ahead which sees us playing some of the better sides in Grays, York and Exeter. Crawley and Gravesend haven't started off too badly either and Kiddy gave us a good tonking at Haig Ave last season.

David Owens is the latest addition to the One Sub Wonders list following his return to Wigan.

Watching the scores coming in tonight I see that Blackadder has scored for East Fife, now there's a name to conjure wit

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