ARCHIVE NEWS JAN 09 to JUNE 09

28 June I have temporarily removed the line ups as having done more checking there are still a number of gaps to fill. You can become word blind when doing these things and it was only when I was doing some checks that several inaccuracies have come to light..

27 June. I have added a random option on the PREDICTION LEAGUE for 2009/10 for those who want to support the competition but can't be bothered working out the positions! Just write random in the box as shown and a random number generator will be used to allocate your positions. Don't forget to include your name and pay me at one of the friendlies.

Non League Programme List  pdf list. Updated stocks. Please enquire if you need any further information. I can offer bulk deals of surplus stock to dealers or anyone wanting to take some of the excess stock off our hands. Use the usual e-mail address or ring 077900-41514.

Good to see that Warwick Monk has made contact with his sister and sounds to be safe and well.

After weeks of painstaking research I will soon be in a position to publish our complete match list with every line up we have ever used in every Non League game we have played, that's 1801 games. I am still missing the 7 attendances and I am a bit uncertain about some of the match dates which differ in various reports but I am happy they are as accurate as possible. It is a 31 page pdf file copyrighted to sfcstats. I will happily send a copy to anyone who wants one (for a donation to TIY).

With Farsley announcing yesterday that they are having financial problems and face administration, Hyde's future uncertain, Stafford also in difficulty and Northwich starting on minus 10 points it surely has to be time to get this sorted out once and for all. Those nasty people at HM Revenue & Customs are starting to get tougher (it's about time "we" did!) and I'm sure it won't be long before a "big club" goes under.

26 June A friendly at Chorley has been arranged for July 11th.

I'm sure every Southport supporter is hoping Warwick Monk turns up safe and well. He has been missing since Wednesday. Anybody with any information should contact Southport Police immediately.

25 June The Conference site is saying the fixtures will be out on Wednesday 2nd July. Considering the 2nd July is a Thursday it is still unclear whether it will be Wednesday 1st July or Thursday 2nd. Whichever day it is they will all be on here in the evening of their release. I am trying to get it clarified!

23 June The PSF v Cammell Laird scheduled for July 11th has been cancelled which is a blow as it would have been a new ground!

Celebrations in the Urwin household tonight as I finally got the one line up I have been missing! The curse of all programme collectors are those people who write the team changes on the programme but for once I have been eternally grateful to whoever it was as it has completed the collection. I now have every line up for all our 1801 matches in Non league Football. Just 7 missing attendances to go now but, as stated on 21 June, I don't think I will ever get these.

I am still getting a few enquiries about the Trust in Yellow NL History book. We do still have a few copies available at £12.95 plus £3 P&P. Let me know if you require a copy and I will arrange to send one out on receipt of payment.

22 June The first set of odds have been published for the BSN courtesy of Blue Square.

21 June The work to complete the full list of line ups continues and I am now just one game short of having a record of every game we have played as a Non League club and I am hopeful that I will have the missing game by the end of the month. I am missing 7 attendances, all from "second class" games and I have a feeling these are simply not available but I will keep trying until I am certain they can't be obtained.

FA Trophy and FA Vase Finals Programme list added to shop. I have every final from 1970 to 2005 available for sale with all proceeds going to Trust In Yellow. By the end of the month I am hoping to have every Non League Programme we have listed in the shop. If you are looking for any NL programme, let me have your list and I will check it off against our stocks.

Also by the start of the 2009/10 season the site will have had a full sweep to clean out any old and out of date items and "audit" everything on it. If you have seen something that you know is wrong or a link doesn't work please let me know.

19 June SFC STATS and The Official Site are pleased to be able to give supporters the chance to win a great FA Cup history book.

The first ever FA Cup final was played in 1872 between Wanderers and Royal Engineers - two teams of Victorian amateur gentlemen. The FA Cup has changed enormously in the years between then and now. Contemporary reports of that historic period have been few and far between ... until now!

This is your opportunity to win a copy of a rare, almost forgotten 100+ year old collectible booklet covering the teams that won the English FA Cup in its first 30 years, available again after many years - an incredible insight into the way the game was played. The echoes of a bygone age showing how football developed from its amateur roots to a professional future. 

Excerpt from page 3: "The final-ties in these early years were fought out with tremendous vigour. The first final of all, in 1872, between the Wanderers and the Royal Engineers, at Kennington Oval, provided an historic struggle. They were the two most powerful clubs of the day, and the meeting between them excited great interest. The Engineers, owing to the more limited extent of their resources, were favoured by popular sympathy: indeed, they were considered to have the better chance of winning, on the supposition that they were fitter and had better combination. It is curious to note that even in these early days, when the force of individual play was paramount and combined tactics had been reduced to no sort of system, the idea of the advantage of combination was present to the minds of critics." 

First published in 1902 in the auspicious Strand magazine, The Teams that Won the World's Greatest Football Competition 1871 - 1901 is a classic reprint of one of the earliest historical reference materials of the early years of the FA Cup and gives football historians and supporters the opportunity to own a really important historical account of the world's greatest football competition.  

To win a copy of this classic reprint just answer this question:"Who won the very first FA Cup Final in 1872? Clue: you'll find the answer at http://www.cinneide.net/facup/". Answers should be emailed to info@cinneide.net with the email subject 'Southport Competition' Closing Date Sunday 5th July

16 June It is sad to hear about the death of Tony Kempster. As a regular visitor and subscriber to his site he will be badly missed by all of us statos. His passing has been mercifully quick. Reading his site on a regular basis when he was first diagnosed it sounded as though he would pull through but it soon became clear that he didn't stand a chance and he was talking about not seeing 2010 but it has all happened so quickly and he passed away at the weekend. RIP Tony.

The PSF v Morecambe has been put back to Thursday 16 July from Tuesday 14 July.

14 June. It has been quiet on this site this week but I have been doing a lot of work on sorting out of errors and omissions on the Cup Matches line ups as well as trying to find a few more missing attendances. I have also been carrying out extensive research to acquire the line ups for every single match we have played as a Non League team and after a lot of searching and visits to the library I am almost there. Another decision I have taken is to now include Lancashire Floodlit Trophy games in my records. This now means we have played 1801 Non League games. Complete lists will be on here over the next few weeks.

13 June Conference AGM-No changes to the structure of the league so it is safe to start putting the entries in to the PREDICTION COMPETITION FOR 2009/10

10 June Club AGM 6.30.

8 June Season Ticket sales start today.

7 June Football League Programme list added. 599 programmes on pdf list all available for sale. Offers accepted. All proceeds to Trust In Yellow.

If anyone has contact details for Neil Goatman could they please let me have them or get him to contact me. I have a number of programmes for him but don't have an address.

5 June Trust In Yellow have received another huge programme donation which includes a large number of Football League programmes. The whole collection must be worth around £1000.

2 June The result of the ballot of TIY members re TIY funding of reserves was 80 in favour 11 against. Discussions with the club will now start in earnest.

1 June Closing date for receipt of TIY reserve team voting papers.

30 May FL Away programmes added to shop. I have one copy of Football Manager 2009 unopened and sealed if anyone is interested £10 plus £2. P&P. Let me know by e-mail and I will reserve it. First come first served.

29 May A reminder that Monday is the closing date for receipt of the reserves voting ballot papers. There is an awful lot of conjecture, mainly by non members. I hope those members that have contacted me and other TIY board members to seek clarification have had the position fully explained  to them. I can only guess that those making wild assumptions don't know how tightly the TIY purse strings are guarded by our Treasurer. I have to provide a receipt if I buy a stamp so the thought of any money being paid over to the club without invoice or proof of purchase etc is wide of the mark. The costings were provided to the Trust and were put out to members as requested by the club. I have personally done an "essentials" costing and it comes out at c£8950 using the essential amounts on the club list and other reasoned guesses at what the costs may be. Until we know the make up of the league it is impossible to know the travel costs so an estimated figure has to be used for that. I think most members are happy with the plans but we won't know the final outcome until Monday evening.

The list of proposed teams for Conference North that I did on 4 May below remains correct after the league met to allocate placings. However, there may still be changes due to club's going into admin, resigning from leagues etc etc. You may still be best advised waiting a little longer before doing the prediction competition for 2009/10.

I have added the Football League Homes we have in stock to the SFC STATS SHOP. All proceeds to TIY.

I'm sure any Southport fan who made the trip to Gloucester City in the FA Trophy will be interested in this story http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/sport/gloucestercity/Inside-Meadow-Park/article-1024261-detail/article.html    I don't think we will be visiting that ground next season.

26 May The SFC STATS SHOP is back with a few more items available for sale. I will regularly be adding to it. Most items being sold are for Trust In Yellow. I have a few club articles and one or two of my own bits and pieces in the shop. If you are looking for something in particular please let me know.

23 May My hit count has certainly gone down since the comments stopped, they will be back but maybe a touch more circumspect in certain areas.

Anyone looking for 2008/09 details can use the A-Z INDEX and scroll down to the block headed 2008/09 and everything is there. I am trying to get ahead of myself this season by getting all the pages set up in plenty of time.

22 May Trust In Yellow have started balloting all members about the funding of a reserve team for 2009/10. All members who have an e-mail address recorded with TIY should have had a ballot paper sent on Friday evening. If you are a TIY member and have an e-mail address but have not had a ballot paper you can e-mail me at rob@southportfcstats.co.uk and I will issue one to you. Please head up your e-mail TIY RESERVES. Members with no e-mail address will have their ballot paper posted out to them and allowing for the Bank Holiday they should arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday. The closing date for receipt of completed papers is 5pm on June 1st.

19 May Trust In Yellow members are being asked to consider a proposal to fund the running of a reserve team for 2009/10. The proposal is for the Trust to fund a maximum of £12000 in the first year. TIY members will be able to vote on this proposal in the next few days. Any money given to the club will be in the form of the purchase of shares which if it gets the green light will see TIY become one of the largest shareholders in the club. Liam is urging every supporter to become a member of Trust In Yellow and demonstrate their support for both the Trust and the prospect of being closely involved with our exciting youth/reserve set up. Anyone wanting details of TIY membership can contact me and I will pass details on to the new membership secretary, Bill Sloan. Thank you to those who have signed up since the idea was publicised last week.

From The Official site:

Haydn Preece said "We have given the costed out figures to Trust in Yellow. We have plenty of experience funding squad's with the King George V Development squad entering it's ninth season and our SSES squad. The Trust have been given a figure of £12,000  at last Thursday's meeting to consider as a genuine figure to run a reserve squad professionally and effectively. The club's figures project the running of a squad to be higher than £12,000, however I can assure all Trust members that the £12,000 figure is the maximum amount requested and no further requests would be made from the club for next season."

Liam Watson added "The enthusiasm at the Trust meeting last week was very apparent. The reserves would give us a real boost with natural progression from our youth development. But I have to be realistic. Financially the Chairman and Vice Chairman have backed my squad strengthening and the first team budget cannot be reduced for a reserve squad-that is fact. Across the country this close season managers have had their budgets cut, our finances are sound, they are based on reality. I would like to see every supporter join the Trust and participate in fund raising. This proposed reserve squad could act as a focus for all supporters. I know from Allan Smart we have talent to nurture and that will increase at a faster rate with a reserve squad in place." 

17 May Torquay v Cambridge BSP Play Off Final. Torquay beat Cambridge 2-0 to regain their place in the Football Laegue.

16 May Bolton v Hull City and ground number 175. A great game of football which Hull should have won after an excellent second half showing. They had a great, vociferous following who ensured it was a crackling atmosphere. I think however, the only thing I would like that the Premiership can offer is the atmosphere at the grounds, it was superb today. The build up to the game was buzzing with everyone joining in. You almost felt guilty for being quiet. I was sat amongst the Bolton fans and just about contained myself when Hull scored but when I thought they had got the winner it was a near thing. The hour to get out the car park, the £6 parking fee, and the cheating that was going on was to be seen to be believed. As for the Hull number 28 Manucho, he must be the laziest player you have ever seen in your life, he was rubbish. I hope nobody reports that comment to Phil Brown!!

15 May As it stands Gloucester City (who currently play in Cirencester 169 miles from Southport) will be in BSN Next season. This is subject to King's Lynn failing with their appeal against demotion. I wonder who will get the Boxing Day Derby with them! Blyth to Cirencester, 275 miles, 5 hours 6 minutes in a regionalised league? Oops, there's another comment........I am getting back in the swing again now!

14 May Trust In Yellow Members meeting. Haydn Preece and Liam Watson will be in attendance at this meeting to talk to TIY members.

Rob Marsh-Evans signs from Vauxhall. I can't help but comment on this one. I was asked at Farsley which players I had seen this season that I would most like in our team and R M-E was my immediate response. A very impressive signing. He will join Marc Lloyd-Williams as only the second double barrelled named player that has played for us in NL football.

11 May Chris Simm's date of birth is 10 April 1984. It was reported as 1/1/80 but Ken Hilton has confirmed 10/4/84 as being the correct date.

9 May THE SOUTHPORT STORY of our Pre Football League Days written by Michael Braham that I ran in the Matchday Programme is now available HERE as a pdf document.

8 May Gateshead v AFC Telford in BSN Play Off Final 7.45pm Kick Off. GATESHEAD 1 AFC TELFORD UNITED 0. The attendance was an excellent 4121.

Chris Simm signs from Hyde United.

7 May Telford have closed the bookings on coaches for tomorrow at 16.

Adam Flynn has signed for two more years and Zak Aley is given a two year contract.

6 May I have set up the 2009/10 APPEARANCES AND SCORERS Chart to keep track of who we have on the books. I will update it as news emerges throughout the close season.

Telford have so far filled 12 coaches for the trip to Gateshead on Friday night. That is mightily impressive.

5 May Paul Barratt is the first signing of the close season.

4 May Cambridge beat Stevenage 3-0 to go through to the Play Off Final. Histon beat Torquay 1-0 but Torquay win 2-1 on aggregate.

I have had a huge number of e-mails in the last 10 days from literally all over the world asking me to continue with my News & Views page and to continue the views aspect of it. I am presently reviewing the position and will decide what to do over the next few weeks.

What our Conference North opposition could look like next season with mileages shown. FULL SEASON BY SEASON MILEAGE CHART IS HERE I'm not sure how Gloucester City have suddenly come into the North. If Telford beat Gateshead then the mileage will obviously increase and be greater than 2008/09, it is currently 17 less. I am sure that this will not be the final composition by the time the AGM's are held.

3 May Play Offs second leg. Gateshead v Southport. Kick Off 5pm.

GATESHEAD 1 SOUTHPORT 1. Aggregate 2-1. Southport goalscorer Robbie Booth in the 52nd minute after Lee Novak had scored in the 24th. Attendance 1408 included close on 200 travelling Sandgrounders.

2 May  SFCSTATS END OF SEASON AWARDS

Player Of The Year 1st Adam Flynn, 2nd Steve Daly, 3rd Matty McGinn Goal Of The Season Kevin Lee v Torquay, Best Home Match Torquay FA Trophy, Best Away Match Wrexham Setanta Shield, Best Team Seen, Alfreton.

Thank you to everyone who voted. Kevin will be presented with the Trust In Yellow goal of the season award as soon as possible.

There will be at least two new grounds to visit next season if we don''t go up. Eastwood and Ilkeston have both been promoted. If we do go up I will have, Histon, Eastbourne and Luton plus whoever comes up via the BSS play offs. There is some talk of Corby moving North and Worcester returning North. I thought if you were moved you had to have a three year guarantee of a stay in the new league but that may be wrong.

It is very sad to read that Tony Kempster is freezing his excellent NL Stats website at the end of this season and even sadder when you read about the circumstances. Tony has been told he is unlikely to live into 2010 and may have a lot less time than that. His cancer has got progressively worse and has reached the point were nothing more can be done. I'm sure all Non League statto's wish Tony well. It does put life into some perspective when you read about his battle with the cancer on his website. It is a remarkable account of the last few years since he was diagnosed. Tony is also featured in the NLP this week.

Congratulations to Exeter City who today were promoted to League 1 just two years, virtually to the day, since they were playing us in our last  Conference game in front of our highest ever NL away crowd. What a difference two years in football can bring.

1 May The Telford fans are suggesting that if they play Southport the game will be played on Sunday 10th May at Telford. If they play Gateshead it will be at Gateshead on the Friday as originally planned. This is unofficial chat and may have no substance.

29 April Play Offs first leg. Southport v Gateshead 7.45pm. POSTER HERE

SOUTHPORT 0 GATESHEAD 1 & AFC TELFORD 2 ALFRETON 0.

Bookings are being taken for a second coach to Gateshead on Sunday.

27 Apr Thank you to everyone who has contacted me since yesterday about the News & Views being removed. I know it was the most popular page on the site from the hit stats I get and I apologise to all the regulars for doing this but sometimes it just isn't worth the hassle I can assure you. I will be putting the News Archives back up, gradually, from when the website started over the next week or so.

26 Apr Closing Date in SFC STATS End of Season Awards-RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON SATURDAY MAY 2ND.

With immediate effect this part of my website will be a News and Updates section only, no more views! They get me into far too much trouble!!!!!! If I have removed something that anyone wants please let me know.

25 Apr Away Farsley 3pm. 

FARSLEY CELTIC 5 SOUTHPORT 1. We finish in fifth place and will face Gateshead in the two-legged semi before going on to an away final on Friday the 8th May at either Telford or Alfreton. Goalscorer was Zak Aley after 2 minutes 23 seconds before Farsley hit back with five more including two pens. Our other 5-1 league defeats were:

The Prediction Competition winner is.......

22 Apr Congratulations to Tamworth on winning the league. As it stands the play offs would be Alfreton v Gateshead and Telford v Southport in the first legs.

There is a brand new leader in the PREDICTION LEAGUE. He has left his charge late. However with every place still undecided apart from 1st, 20th, 21st and 22nd there could still be a few changes.

21 Apr Away Blyth 7.45pm- BLYTH 1 SOUTHPORT 0

20 Apr The website clean up starts today and will go on for a few weeks. You shouldn't notice any major differences at first but a lot of the large size photos are being removed and the photo gallery will be taken down to revamp. If I do remove something anybody needs please get in touch and I will be happy to assist.

18 Apr Last Home League Match of Season v AFC Telford United. We could be top by 4.50pm tonight! Then again we may stay in third place.

SOUTHPORT 1 AFC TELFORD UNITED 1.  It looks like it is all over but with games to come against Blyth and Farsley who are both now safe following the relegation of Hyde and Burscough (No Boxing Day walk this year) we must try and finish in second place. We need to win by two goals on Tuesday to move into that second spot.

The gate of 1305 was our second highest of the season boosted by the 227 travelling standing fans. This brings our average up to 899 a drop of 115 on last season but in the grand scheme of things that isn't quite as bad as it may have been as we have had three gates over 1300 in the latter part of the season that have helped the average considerably. We did of course lose our NYD game which would have helped. There is an average drop of 149 across the league.

17 Apr Trust In Yellow 3rd Birthday Party in Grandstand Bar 7.30 start. Quiz, auction and several former players including Steve Haw, Colin Alty and THE Man Eric Redrobe will definitely be in attendance. This evening is also a fund-raiser for Sudden Adult Death Syndrome and Steve Haw whose son tragically died from SAD will be bringing other former 'Port favourites along with him. A full line up will be announced. Tickets are now on sale £1 to TIY Members if bought in advance, £2 Non Members and on the night price. All proceeds from the ticket sales will go to SAD.

Thank you to everyone who came to the event tonight. Slightly disappointing attendance but it was great to have Eric Redrobe, Colin Alty, Steve Haw, Allan McDonald, Kevin Mooney, Steve Joel, Derek Goulding and the one and only (thank goodness!!) Paul Moore in the club again. Mooresy really is a great character and makes sure everyone has a laugh. The spirit of the 92/93 players is very strong to this day and they are a great group.  The final total raised won't be known until all the auction money is paid in but it will be in the region of £500. Once again thank you to everyone who made a donation. Steve and Kevin are keen to link in with the Trust to organise more events at the club which was good to hear so hopefully we will be able to do more with them in the future. They are really keen on having a match on the pitch involving supporters which can be explored further. The quiz went down well with all 100 questions being bought. There were a lot of correct answers and everyone had a go which was good to see. Thank you to everyone who said how much they enjoyed it. It makes doing it worthwhile.

15 Apr Away Hyde United 7.45. This becomes another massive match. Win and we go second and we can put a lot of pressure on Tamworth. Hyde winning at Gainsborough on Monday has probably given them a lift and they remain in with a chance of staying up so it won't be an easy 90minutes. We could still have quite a say in who goes down.

HYDE UNITED 1 SOUTHPORT 1.

14 Apr You can start voting in the SFC STATS End Of Season Awards today.

I thought the goal of the season was going to be straight forward this season but every vote received thus far has been for a different goal!

Ordered my tomato plants from Roy Holden today for the greenhouse and he has done me a special yellow one for this year knowing my dislike of anything red!!

Supporters Player Of The Year is Adam Flynn who joins an illustrious group.

AUCTION ITEMS FOR FRIDAY NIGHT e-mail bids accepted up until 8pm on Thursday evening. e-mail to rob@southportfcstats.co.uk

13 Apr Easter Monday Away at Fleetwood 3pm Just £5 on the TIY coach, only a couple of places remain on the second coach. FLEETWOOD TOWN 1 SOUTHPORT 1. Phew, that was a close run thing! The goal came from a penalty 2 mins 47 seconds into 3 minutes of added time. A fighting, battling performance and a very hard earned point.

Given that there were 98 on the two coaches and plenty traveling by car I would estimate a following of around the 175 mark, there were a good number in the stands as well as the ground. The children on the Conf North Forum are having a ball!

Look at the run of games Farsley have coming, they could still be dragged down.

11 Apr Home Stalybridge 3pm SOUTHPORT 2 STALYBRIDGE CELTIC 0 What a difference a week makes.