ARCHIVE NEWS SEPT 04 to DEC 05

30 Dec 05 Home v Accrington Stanley Kick Off 7.45pm-MATCH OFF DUE TO A WATERLOGGED PITCH.

29 Dec Disaster. Computer crashes! Many thanks to drpc though who has me back up and running in 24 hours. A great service and thoroughly recommended for emergency repairs and upgrades. Robbie Booth is 20 today.

27 Dec Just read the news on Port Chat about Alan Prole's accident at Haig Avenue yesterday and that he is in intensive care. I hope he pulls through and send my best wishes out to him and his family. I have spent many hours with Alan in the past when he was the Southport Visiter reporter for the club and he was a great bloke to talk to. Get well soon.

Having had a chance to sleep on it and calm down after yesterday's debacle it still doesn't look any better! I still believe we should give Liam the chance to bring in the players of the quality we now know we need. I would feel aggrieved if I had worked with players who sadly are not up to it and then not be given the chance to bring in players who could pull us through. I always maintain that despite public pressure the decision to sack Phil Wilson was wrong at the time without a ready made replacement let's not make the same mistake again?

Port Chat and Shrimps Voices make interesting reading at the moment, the Morecambe fans comments range from dire to poor, "Their left back Fitzgerald was probably one of the worst players I have seen for a long time, useless. 4 or 5-0 to us really wouldn't have flattered Southport, if Chris Brass who was c*** at York in all aspects, can be their midfield general and assistant manager then they will be going to the Conference North" As for Port Chat, a mixed reaction, those that seem to enjoy seeing the club struggling are out in force, "Badboy" makes an appearance to tell us all he told us so. Yawn!

26 Dec Home v Morecambe Kick Off 3pm. I'm sure all the doom and gloom that is around at the moment will put a few people off coming to this one but never has our support been more needed than now so, keep the faith, put aside all the grudges and let's get behind the lads 100% and cheer us on to victory. Get all the Harrogate glory seekers out of their bunkers, bring a friend and we may get that magical 2000 gate particularly as Morecambe must bring a few with them. (I am not Haydn in disguise, honest!) Having said we may get 2000 our record is dreadful in front of 2000+ gates so let's close the turnstiles at 1999.

Carl Baker is 23 today.

SOUTHPORT 0 MORECAMBE 3-Can it get any worse? I am starting to wonder. Morecambe simply strolled through this game and won it with ease. How many chances did we create again, very few. The best attendance of the season 1807 (our 11th best in the league) included probably around 600 Morecambe fans so on a Bank Holiday the Southport fans are starting to vote with their feet, I wonder just how many are going to be there on Friday. 7 consecutive defeats is a new Non League Record. 776 minutes without a "first class" goal is also a new club record and 5 league games without scoring equals our worst run of goalless games set in the desperate days of the 79/80 season. If it wasn't for Dicko where would we be? His 261st appearance, just 2 short of Gambo's all time Non League record was as steady as always and kept the goals down to just 3, goodness knows what the count will be in the return fixture next Monday and on Friday against the league leaders Accrington. I'm losing heart now, we simply aren't good enough. What do we do, the moaning brigade who were even having a go at Liam last season are in their element now but would a change of manager do any good, we have fallen into that trap far too often in my view.  I know I'm not doing my chances of having this site recognised by the officialdom (do I care) within the club by being negative but if anyone can turn today into a positive, I'd like to see it.

From Posh and others On Shrimps Voices:-

As we've got a few fledglings who don't remember the Southport glory days when they were a mid-table Conference side I would suggest the following tips.

1. Don't buy the food - because it is the worst in the Conference
2. Don't buy the food - because their sausages are the wurst in the Conference
3. Don't buy the food after 3.01pm - because they will have sold out (last time everything went by 2.54pm).
4. If it is raining you are going to get very wet unless you take other measures
5. Mind your backs - juveniles in the field throwing bottles
6. Take a good map - it is a bugger of a ground to find
7. If we're 3-0 and cruising to victory and we bring Alan Morgan on - panic
8. If we then take Alan Morgan back off again - relax and enjoy the cruise despite now being at 3-2.
9. A gigantic banner with 'Mellow Yellow licks Liam's Bum' never fails.
10. A gigantic banner with 'Charlie Clapham sounds like a Music Hall act' will probably get you thrown out.                                                                                                                         11 dont bring a drum it will get confiscated(sabs??)
12 remember to stroke sandy with your big yellow mitts                                                                                                                      13. Don't drive over one of the cleverly placed traffic cones which are too small to see from the average hatchback, as having to remove one which is stuck in your wheel arch in front of a police car can be rather embarassing.

25 Dec Merry Christmas to all SFCSTATS readers. The answer to the teaser posed on the 18th Dec is Haydn Preece.

I think my obsession with Southport FC is getting a bit much, I received an SFC pen, SFC coasters, SFC bookmark, SFC Special Edition badge, SFC T Shirt, a number of yellow and black DVD cases and a very large yellow and black umbrella.

24 Dec Steve Pickford is 28 today.

22 Dec Thank you to the Official Site for the publishing the details of the SISA Public Meeting on 18 January. To have this site acknowledged by the Official one is welcome progress indeed. The I of SISA is even left in this announcement!

Dominic Krief, Farrell Kilbane & Kevin Lynch all leave the club. I'm sure all supporters will wish them well particularly Faz and Lynchy who contributed so much to our promotion last season. A great pair of lads who never gave less than 100% for the team.

20 Dec FA Trophy Replay Home v Halifax Kick Off 7.45pm. For anyone who has forgotten how to get to Haig Avenue, the directions are on the Club Details page. It was 19 November when we were last at home against.......Halifax. I bet there are not too many at this one.

Just 589, which included 52 standing Halifax fans, attend to see another drab game and us lose 1-0 to a 80th minute goal. 686 minutes without a "first class" goal is I think a new all time club record beating the previous "best " of 644. I do need to get clarification on this though. I will be checking this out more thoroughly tomorrow. Not a lot to report, few chances, players played out of position and a disappointing show all round.

I understand Radio Merseyside was interesting tonight when the interview with Haydn had to be cut short as he was getting barracked and on returning to him he stated that he was getting some stick about unofficial websites. It wasn't me honestly. Our PR man then stated that unofficial websites are ok as long as they are positive so " In a glorious display of open attacking free flowing football Southport go down to a very unfortunate goal just 10 minutes from time, The whole team played as though their lives depended on it with every player looking comfortable in their position and they were devastated to suffer such an unlucky defeat. The crowd roared the team on inspired by the commitment the players showed which will surely bring the crowds flocking back to Haig Avenue and must surely see a gate of 3000 plus on Boxing Day"!!!

19 Dec FA Trophy Draw sees the winner of the replay at home to Hereford on January 14th.

18 Dec A Christmas teaser for everyone:-

I recently decided to have a good sort out in the loft and came across some of the Southport FC memorabilia I have accumulated over the years. Of course that was it, no more sorting for the next 2 hours, just a great time reading all the old newspaper cuttings etc. bringing back both happy and sad memories. A lot of the cuttings were about our fight for survival in the Football League during the 1970’s and the subsequent eviction from it. Amongst all the cuttings was a copy of a letter written to the Southport Visiter by a 16 year old supporter. I have reproduced the letter below for you all to read:

" Speaking as a season ticket holder I find it hard to believe that football at Southport may soon die. I remember vividly those glorious days when the ‘Port headed the Fourth Division.  Unfortunately, Southport have had a bad run and are struggling against economic crisis. I plead with the public of Southport to save our team from extinction.  If it dies, a lot more people will miss the little club that has brought publicity to the town, especially in 1972-73. Someone, somewhere, surely could reincarnate our own club. I have spent the winter watching the team fighting for survival and I thought a new season could be the season for good things. We have a new goal scorer in the veteran George Jones and a new ambitious manager in Hugh Fisher. A lot of people can remember that spring day back in 1973 when we drew 1-1 with Hartlepool and won the fourth division title. Surely we have not lost those winning days for good. The public in Southport must realise that this town needs football and it must not be lost through two bad seasons. In such a prosperous town as Southport, football must survive and the next few days will surely test Southport’s loyalty to Southport Football Club. A few miles away the Liverpool teams have just missed the chance of a treble – surely a team so near cannot die in the same season! Someone help our football club" 

A dejected, sad football fan.

Any guesses who wrote it. It wasn’t me! I will reveal all on Christmas Day, I've got to do something to escape the Mother In Law!

17 Dec FA Trophy 1st Round Away at Halifax Town. The Halifax Official website states that prices have been reduced to just £10, £5 and £2 for the match, well done Halifax, there is also a chance to win two free tickets if you can be bothered registering, these Premium TV sites are a pain. The original £13 admission the week before Christmas, could have seen a pretty dismal attendance figure.

Halifax 0 Southport 0 A game of few chances on a bitterly cold afternoon but we did have some openings and when Leady hit the post on 85 minutes it's the closest we have been to scoring a goal for a long time. Mark Roberts again impressed and was my MOTM. The attendance of 1101 included a good number of travelling fans, probably around the 100 mark. Still six "first class" games without a goal (a total of 596 minutes) though but we looked solid and quite effective going forward. Chris Brass seemed to be leading the warm up. The ref today was the same one that added the 9 minutes on at home to Tamworth. He only managed 3 today! 2 more bookings, Lane and Leadbetter bring the total to 49 for the season.

15 Dec Sensational news in the Echo says we are going full time. The details remain sketchy but I'm sure the Visiter will reveal all tomorrow. Let's hope the public of Southport show their support and respond in a positive way by turning out in big numbers for the Morecambe game.

Southport away to Barrow in Lancs Junior Cup QF. That could well put paid to my attempt at seeing every game this season! Barrow, midweek for a Junior Cup match?? It is scheduled for w/c 16 January but as we are playing Hereford at home on the 17th not sure which gets priority. Full Draw:

Burscough/Clitheroe v Accrington Stanley

Barrow v Southport

Kendal v Bamber Bridge

Marine v Lancaster

14 Dec SISA Meeting. 7.30pm at The Mount Pleasant Pub, Manchester Road, Southport. An excellent first meeting. A packed room heard a very interesting talk from Jacqui Forster of Supporters Direct followed by a lively open and frank discussion about the way the group wants to progress in the coming weeks. The first big event will be a full public meeting on, provisionally, Thursday 19 January at a venue to be advised. More details will be available on here and Port Chat in the next couple of days. It was agreed at the meeting that I would set up an e-mail group to keep people informed of events so if you want to be included and are happy to have e-mails sent out.

13 Dec Away at Squires Gate Lancs Jun Cup 2nd Round. SG have a highest league crowd of 85 and a lowest of 49. They have totalled 439 so far this season and lost 4-0 in a league cup match at home to Curzon Ashton last Tuesday in front of just 23 fans. However Saturday saw them beat Skem in the FA Vase, 2-1 in front of 102 fans, that is an excellent result and shows they are not to be underestimated. Could the all time low gate of 65 gate at Nelson be beaten? Beaten it was with an official gate of just 52 hardy souls (there were a lot more than that in the ground but that was the official attendance) witnessing a 3-2 win after extra time for The Port. Goals from Steve Daly, Kevin Leadbetter & Nick Rogan see us scrape through but my oh my what a struggle against a fairly physical SG team who were more than up for this one.  Team was Speare, Lane, McGinn, Roberts, Powell, Brass, Booth (Pickford) Krief, Daly(Robinson) Rogan, Leadbetter. Unused subs Dickinson, Morley & Fitzgerald.

Forest Green's win means we are now bottom of the league for the first time for a very long time, any offers as to when we were last bottom of any league?

12 Dec Paul Futcher resigns as manager at Ashton United. I know he was not the most popular figure at Haig Ave but as I have said before he was responsible for two great SFC moments in my life, Wembley & Mansfield so to me he will always be a top bloke!

11 Dec Phil Wilson is appointed as manager of Barrow. Chuckle!

10 Dec Away Aldershot. Not one of our luckiest grounds, Played 15 Won 1 Drawn 4 Lost 10 but we have never played Aldershot in NL football before. I wonder if the thug that stole my scarf when I was selling programmes back in the 70's still attends their games! I've been to Aldershot before so this was on my list of possible games to miss and our recent performances don't fill me with any confidence but all being well I'll be there with the 8am start from Haig Ave as usual, thanks to Mark again.

Steve Daly is 24 today.

Aldershot 2 Southport 0-Let's just say the first half was a shocker but the second got better and we had our first serious threat on goal in 2 games. We have now equalled our worst ever NL losing streak of six games and have failed to score for 390 minutes. 51 Southport fans in the attendance of 2066. Away Days report here. The overall club record for successive defeats is 11 games in 1975/76 and I saw every one of them too! Also, our record in minutes for not scoring is 644 so we have a long way to go yet.

From ShotsWeb: "Usually I have a good humoured giggle about the comments made on here about the errors in the programme, but today's is nothing but a disgrace and an insult to Southport. They've travelled 300+ miles and on our back cover it says:  APPEARING AT THE REC...Aldershot Town Vs Forest Green Rovers"  It was a particularly error ridden programme.

This was also on Shotsweb:

"Your right mate were absolutely sh** and your absolutely battering us according to the text commentary. We dont belong in this league yet were simply no way good enough good luck shots"

I'm sure you can tell by the lack of literacy skills who wrote that, yes the one and only jonny! Southport's most die hard and loyal fan.

Interesting to read though that they had on line sales of over £1000 in the last few days. I wonder how much we have taken in our on line sales!!

9 Dec If there are any creative people out there who fancy designing a logo for SFCSTATS I would be very grateful. I keep having a go but I am not a particularly artistic person so I need some help, please!

Just seen the article on sgb about Phil Thompson signing his book in Smith's and the picture of the queues. Personally I'd rather have Liam Watson sign my programme than that, Liverpool can do no wrong Muppet but whatever rocks your boat I suppose!

8 Dec-This is taken from the superb Accrington official site:

Reduced admission prices
Admission prices for Stanley's Lancashire FA United Co-op Challenge Cup 2nd Round have been further reduced to £8 for adults, £5 for concessions and £3 for children under 12.
Speaking about the move Stanley Chief Executive Rob Heys said "A lot of supporters felt that the initial prices were a little high, hopefully this will help to ease the situation. We always listen to supporter feedback and while we can't always change things we always do our best to be fair.

Could you see us listening to the fans and reducing prices? I know we do reduce the prices for the "minor cup" games but listen to supporter feedback?

It's a joy to read the bonds that exist between fans and the clubs at Alty, Accrington & Morecambe, let's hope SISA will soon see this at Southport.

6 Dec Away Burscough Liverpool Senior Cup-MATCH OFF due to Burscough's involvement in the FA Cup. I was wondering if there was any scope to bring forward the SG game a week but having checked the fixtures SG have a League Cup game that night so it looks like no game. Match now provisionally arranged for 10 January.

Altrincham pick up a surprise point at Grays, an excellent result for them.

Burscough's dream of a game against Manchester United is over after crashing out 4-1 at Burton Albion. I feel sorry for the genuine week in week out Burscough supporters that they have missed out on fulfilling a dream but for those that have attached themselves to the club of late let's see how many of you stick with them now! Good luck to Burton Albion, enjoy the day.

4 Dec Burton or Burscough v Manchester United should add a few to the gate on Tuesday! I see some are suggesting Southport as a venue if Burscough go through. I thought all the nonsense about clubs switching venues had been stopped. Why should it get changed, you enter the competition knowing that you could get a big draw and if you do you play it at your ground. You can tell I'm still bitter after nearly 30 years about the day we moved our league cup match at home to Newcastle.

3 Dec The Hereford game scheduled for today is off as Hereford are in the 2nd Round of the FA Cup.

Accrington go top after a 1-0 win over Altrincham. Somehow their crowd manages to drop to just 1436 despite playing for top spot and after such a super display against us last week, it must be very frustrating for their owner. Canvey pull off the shock of the day and win 2-0 at Exeter City. In the FA Cup Northwich hold Woking to a 0-0 draw away from home whilst Tamworth win 2-1 at Hartlepool.

What to do on a day without a match? I decided to tour Ainsdale and see who would be wiling to display our match day posters. Almost 100% success with just Spar refusing due to "company policy" Those that are displaying are, The Filing Station Sandwich Shop, Graysons Bakers, The Chocolate Box, Hirshmans Chemist, Motor Shack, The Barber Shop, Many Happy Returns Travel, Bargain Booze, Busy Bee Chippy, Capitonas, Ainsdale St Johns C of E School, The Railway Hotel and Kwik Save. Thanks to all. I didn't go in to every shop so if anyone else is willing please let me know. I'll have another wander round in due course. Quite an interesting reaction with a lot of positive comments and willingness to support the cause and they all agreed to put a poster up for all the forthcoming games.

2 Dec Don't you just hate it when there's no 'Port game to look forward to on a Saturday. In view of the high cost of games recently and those coming up it's an afternoon in front of the TV with my fixed odds coupon trying to win some much needed cash to fund trips to Burscough, Aldershot, Squires Gate, Halifax and Morecambe!

We have lost our last 5 League games, one more and we equal our worst ever run of defeats in NL football. This was in the 1982/83 season, a run that went   H v Gateshead 0-2(300), A Macclesfield 2-3(478), H South Liverpool 2-3(400) A Hyde 0-3(574), H Grantham 0-2(192) and H Kings Lynn 0-1(232). It ended with a 2-2 draw at Oswestry(167) but was followed by a 4-1 defeat at Buxton in the last game of the season. It was pretty grim watching us in that period I can assure you.

1 Dec Many thanks to Daniel Hayes for loaning me his Southport programmes to try and get some of my missing match and player details together. I'm now missing just 3 line ups from the last 3 matches of the 88/89 season to complete them all from 87/88 to date. A quick trip to Southport library should get that sorted.

30 Nov Finally found the Jose Mourinho team talk record that those who went to Canvey had a good laugh about.

29 Nov Ron Ellis's match report from Saturday certainly pulls no punches this week.  Could be interesting to see if there is any reaction to that me thinks!

28 Nov FA Trophy Draw sees us drawn away at Halifax. This means we will be playing 1 home game out of 9 matches played. The only previous time we have played at The Shay in a Trophy game came in the 95/96 season when in front of 966 fans we lost 2-1 with Andy Whittaker scoring our goal.

Not that we particularly want reminding but KIPAX has the usual excellent selection of photos from the game on Saturday. Some interesting T-Shirts on display and a great one of "Wombat" in full voice, no doubt abusing the linesman.

27 Nov There is a superb post on Port Chat from CFORD6 entitled "an analysis of where we are and where we need to go"  Read it here. Says it all really doesn't it.

In contrast there is one on sgb which defies belief and is obviously not written by a supporter of the club "Those floating supporters looking for a festive game should stay away from watching the Port, unless they want to witness what is fast becoming the best horror show in football" That really will help the cause won't it. It is now the club needs the 1300 fans who turned up at Harrogate, where are they now? For goodness sake get behind the team and get down to Haig Avenue on Boxing Day, put aside the differences and SUPPORT the team now.

Southport 2 Liverpool 0-doesn't that make nice reading, ok, it was the supporters team but all the same! Well done to all involved.

26 Nov Away at Accrington Stanley, our shortest away trip of the season. We have played Accrington 4 times in NL league matches, all of which have ended in draws. Ground number 148. Hopefully we will take a decent support to this one, a game that promises to be very tricky. One of the best things about this game is that I know we will get superb photos c/o KIPAX, if anyone hasn't visited his website at www.kipax.com and likes football photos it is well worth a visit.

Accrington Stanley 4 Southport 0

Oh Dear Me! What a disaster this was, the 274 Southport fans in a smaller  crowd than I would have thought of 1630, considering Accrington could have gone top, left this one bitterly disappointed. My first visit to The Interlink Express Stadium and I was not impressed. Firstly the ground was a disappointment, the car park a disgrace, officious stewards, and £12 to stand in a shed where you couldn't see the far side of the pitch because of the dreadful floodlights and low terracing was to say the least a rip off. If Accrington have Football League pretensions they have a lot of work to do. Then there was our totally inept performance to consider, what a shocker it was, with just two shots in the whole game tame efforts from Rigoglioso & Lynchy that brought ironic cheers from our fans. I'm never one to get on players backs at matches and I get frustrated with people that do as I feel it is counterproductive but I got close today. What was Rigoglioso doing on the pitch. I don't think I have ever seen such a useless performance in all my life, it was embarrassing.

I have to admit I was worried just watching us warming up. I'm not sure who was running the warm up session, even Jamie Speare didn't know who it was, just known as Andy, but the bemused look on the players faces at times and the total disorganisation was worrying to say the least.

Leady picked up another booking, his fifth, so he will miss the game at Aldershot. Dominic Krief picked up his first booking of the season which considering his disciplinary record at Harrogate is some going, he was my favourite to get the most cards this season. Chris Brass was lucky to stay on the pitch after a shocking challenge although the lighting didn't afford me the best view so it may not have been as bad as it looked to me. Our last point was on the 7 October when we beat FGR 3-1, with the fixtures coming up I'm not sure where the next one is coming from. The biggest worry was the usual fight wasn't there today and something was badly missing.

Brass, Roberts and Rigoglioso become players number 524,525 & 526.

The 4-0 defeat was the 11th time we have lost by that scoreline away from home.

We have now scored 1 league goal in the last 516 minutes of football and no league goals at all in the last 300 minutes.

We now have to contend with the moronic element of fans who feel Liam has to go. What more can the man do? Today we had key players missing due to injury and suspension, we were playing a very good side and our confidence is low. Liam can only work with the budget he is given. If the town won't support us is that Liam's fault? Even when we were going well in the Conference in  2000/01 we were averaging just 1400 fans and that was boosted by some decent away followings. It is clear we can't compete with full time teams week in week out but what do we do? Liam has made mistakes but he is learning and we must get behind him all the way. Who would come in and do better with the financial constraints we operate under?

Frustrated again tonight as you can probably tell!

Some decent gates in the Conference today with Burton, Stevenage, Hereford & Scarborough all recording their highest of the season so far.

25 Nov Looks like the 65 at Nelson has been confirmed as the official attendance and so becomes the lowest gate we have ever played in front of.

24 Nov Southport Youth Team are at Cogenhoe United in the 2nd Round of the FA Youth Cup. Cogenhoe, (pronounced Cook-no) are in the United Counties Premier Division and the village is situated 10 miles South East of Northampton. Sadly, the lads lost 3-0.

The 2nd round draw for the Lancashire Junior Cup was made at 6.40pm and Southport were drawn away to Squires Gate. The match is to be played week commencing 5th December. I am nearly sure that this will be yet another new ground for Rob (he's in Newcastle overnight so I'm doing today's update - Julia) as it is for Liam according to the interview he gave on BBC Radio Lancashire straight after the draw.

Not sure which takes precedence Liverpool Sen Cup at Burscough or Lancs Jun Cup at SQ?

Full Draw: Accrington Stanley v Ramsbottom United
Squires Gate v Southport
Kendal Town v Radcliffe Borough
Leigh RMI v Marine
Burscough v Clitheroe
Bamber Bridge v Chorley
Blackpool Mechanics v Barrow
Lancaster City v Daisy Hill or Morecambe

Also today, Chris Brass has signed on loan from York City with a view to making it permanent when the transfer window opens in January and Farrell Kilbane has gone to Stalybridge Celtic on loan for a month.    

23 Nov A busy day today with Adriano Rigoglioso from Doncaster and Mark Roberts from Crewe both signing on loan.

22 Nov Away at Nelson in Lancashire Junior Cup. Southport are comfortable 3-0 winners with goals from Nick Rogan on 25 & 28 mins and substitute Dave Brooks on 83 mins. An Away Days report is here. Liam spends the whole match in conversation with Chris Brass, make of that what you will. If the gate is confirmed as 65, that's what the gateman told us had passed through the turnstile, it is the lowest ever gate that we have played in front of.

DEATH OF FORMER PLAYER, GEORGE BROMILOW -From Ron Ellis CHAMPION NEWSPAPERS.
One of the best footballers ever to play for Southport, George Bromilow, died last Saturday from cancer, fifty years to the day since he scored 5 goals in the 6-1 defeat of Ashton United in the FA Cup. He would have been 75 next month.
A centre forward, George played for the club from 1955 to 1959, scoring 37 goals in 84 games. He was an England Youth International and represented his country at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Football was not his only sport. He was also a useful all-rounder at Southport and Birkdale Cricket Club and, in later life, took up golf.
In his ‘day job’ he was a well-respected local schoolmaster, teaching at first Churchtown and then Meols Cop.

20 Nov It's a funny old game. Everybody seems to have differing views on the sending off, some say definite red, others no way. In retrospect and in the cold light of day it was a foolish tackle to make and whilst some refs would have gone for a yellow, Carl has only himself to blame. Would you really want to be a ref?! I was laughing at Andy Gray in the Middsbro v Fulham game today, when after the 25th time he had seen the incident he decided the referee's assistant had got something wrong. Referees give it as they see it and whether we agree or not, we are biased and they aren't.

19 Nov From The Official Site "Assistant Manager Neil Whalley left the club after today's game against Halifax Town. He stated that he was leaving due to work commitments. Neil would like to make it known that he could not give the job the required time due to changes at work with his job. There has been no falling out and Liam and Neil are still the best of friends. Everyone at the club is very sorry to see Neil leave and offer him very best wishes for the future"

Home v Halifax sees us lose 2-0 after three minutes of madness, 2 goals, and a harsh straight red card for Bake's, between the 20th and 23rd minutes put us on the back foot and despite a rally in the second half when Leady should have done better with two glorious chances we were always second best. The gate of 1402 looked very generous but was boosted by a healthy but very quiet away contingent. This was the first time we have ever lost to Halifax at home in NL football. We drop into the bottom two for the first time and today along with last weekend at Crawley have really set the alarm bells ringing. There needs to be some changes but who is going to come on a part time basis into a struggling team. I hate to say it but a Mike Marsh (that hurts) or even a fully fit Steve Soley style player is desperately needed in midfield together with a Phil Bolland style centre half.

I do worry now. Seventeen games in it is clear that the gulf between full and part time is huge and we are struggling to compete but what can we do? Today's gate of 1402 contained 250ish Halifax Town fans. There is no way we can sustain full time football on gates of around the 1000 mark. We should be ok for the next couple of games against Morecambe and Accrington, the gate should stay above the 1000 but after that, Dag & Red followed by Hereford on a Tuesday night will see the attendances plummet unless we hit a winning streak soon. I do wonder at some Southport fans though, there was a guy stood behind me today who seemed to think Liam was on his way out if we didn't win today. For goodness sake give the man a chance, if we survive this season we will do well.

I do feel though that we have to take full stock of things in the club and look at ways of making our off field activities much more attractive and lucrative to get things back on a level playing field by looking at full time football, the gates won't sustain it so something else needs to be done.

It is quite scandalous that it took fans of the club, via Port Chat, to launch a poster campaign around the town, something that surely should be done by the club? You can see via the early days of SISA that there are lots of ideas out there, now is the time for the club to harness these ideas and give the supporters of our club a voice which should in turn see more people show a willingness to get involved. I admit I am frustrated tonight and can see all the superb work that Liam has done thus far falling down around us but I and many others have spent many hours and lots of cash in the last 7 days following the team and we do not fancy relegation again, action is needed now.

18 Nov Neil Robinson is 26 today.

Accrington go top after beating Forest Green 2-0 which will also ensure we won't be bottom on Saturday night.

16 Nov Arrived back at 17.30 from the Woking game last night!

A message to all our exiled fans, there were obviously quite a number in attendance last night. I'd love to know why you support Southport, when you moved down there etc etc. Please contact me and I'll put a feature on our fans in exile on the site.

15 Nov Away to Woking FA Cup 1st Round Replay. Jerome Fitzgerald's 27th Birthday. Travel arrangements made. Leaving Liverpool 14.15 train (£16 single to Woking) staying overnight in a Travelodge in London at a bargain £26. Travel back on 7.30am from London to Nottingham as I have to be in Nottingham for a 9.30am meeting the next day, madness!!  I understand the referee is Mr R Lee who is "card happy" let's hope we have learned a lesson from Saturday.

Well we don't seem to have done with another six bookings tonight. (a very enthusiastic ref was responsible for this and I am sure Leady's could be rescinded if we are allowed to appeal it but as can be seen here our tally is adding up-Rob) A very disappointed Rob is now on his way back to the hotel. My thanks (and a lot of other fan's too I suspect) go to County Sound Radio who had a full match commentary on line. Some of my favourite quotes from the commentators were "Davis is a quick defender", "Quick, sharp, solid, mobile and tenacious" to describe our defence and "Pickford is the weak link in defence" - they obviously hadn't done their homework on which positions our players usually play in. No criticism really, they made me smile and I was just glad to be able to follow the match instead of having to wait for the phone to ring.

Woking 1 Southport 0 After Extra Time-What a sickener this was and for those who did not attend I can assure you that every single player who took part gave 100% and their reaction at the end of the game was quite emotional. To see them ALL sprawled flat out on the pitch absolutely worn out after battling so hard and giving their all was a moment you don't forget. I was gutted but I, along with the rest of the superb travelling support stood and applauded every single player. An Away Days report is here, it's quite a long one!  It's funny how people see the game, I thought Syd was outstanding but Julia reports the commentators as saying he was our weak link. Earl was tremendous but a couple of howlers stopped him from getting the MOTM from me.

14 Nov-From Today's Times. Southport became foolishly frustrated. They picked up a series of yellow cards and Billy Lane was sent off shortly before half-time when recklessly taking out Cade on the touchline. “The first 45 minutes were as poor as any performance in the past two years,” Liam Watson, the manager, said. “We were second to the ball, sloppy and lacked discipline

13 Nov The report in the NL paper makes interesting reading, particularly the player markings. I agree with Dicko as MOTM but to give Neil Fitzhenry,who had a nightmare, Farrell Kilbane, Kevin Lynch and Robbie Booth (who I hadn't realised was on the pitch until the last couple of minutes 6 and Mike Powell only 5 is laughable. They also reckon we only had 3 players booked. Wrong. It is a very biased report from someone who was not taking too much notice of the Southport team. Yes we were dire but if you are going to report on a game at least get the facts right.

I think I must have been one of the only Southport fans to pay to get in yesterday. It seems there were free tickets galore which probably explains why there were so many kids in the ground.  Interesting reading the Crawley Town forum. They rightly picked out Dicko as the star but someone seems to think we played some nice football at times?

The NLP shows Terry Fearns playing in goal for Droylsden!

12 Nov Away at Crawley. 8am start from Haig Ave for me, thanks again to Mark for the lift. I will be armed with my Route Planner maps this time though!

A disappointing showing, particularly in the first half, sees us go down 2-0 with 5 players booked and Chris Lane sent off at the end of the first half in what wasn't a particularly dirty game. The Crawley players were going down like they had been pole axed on some occasions and a very weak official fell for it every time. There was more fight in the second half but not good enough is the verdict today. Having said that, the lads never gave up and battled to the end but at half time today it was the first time I had really felt that relegation could be on the way. A full Away Days report is here with some photos available at www.ctfcphotos.co.uk/2005southporthome  The attendance of 2055 was the highest league attendance since that fateful day at Stevenage. The last time we won a league match in front of more than 2000 was at Yeovil in the 2000/01 season. Dave Brooks 45 second debut makes him the 523rd player to have played for us in NL football. He is definitely not the youngest to make his debut, Tony Evans beats him to that but I am unsure who is the overall youngest NL player to play for us. Any ideas?

11 Nov I know the official site has taken a few knocks of late but I must applaud the news coverage it is much much better and regularly updated. I know the overall content is poor, still no admission details etc but for news it is improving all the time.

9 Nov Southport gb are showing the dates of all the rescheduled games. Remember we won't be playing at home to Hereford on 3 December as they are definitely through to the next round of the cup.

7 Nov Rochdale Youth v Southport Youth FA Youth Cup 1st Round Proper. What a sensational score Rochdale 0 Southport 1. That must rank as quite a giant killing!

I hadn't realised until looking through all the FA Cup match details today that the attendance on Saturday was the third lowest of the round and the lowest ever FA Cup 1st round attendance we have played in front of at home. The game at Havant & Waterlooville in the 00/01 season attracted only 1118 and remains the lowest ever. I guess the counter attraction of Burscough v Gillingham attracted the floaters but it was still very disappointing, down 628 from last season's game against Hereford.

One stat c/o Geoff Wilde-this was the first time we have played a Conference Team in the 1st Round or beyond and not lost. Please be very careful if using the official site for our future fixtures!

For anyone who hasn't yet seen the FA Cup goals on TV there is a link on Port Chat and you can download them from there.

6 Nov Quite a run of away games coming up with, dependant on FA Cup outcomes, only the one home match guaranteed, against Halifax on 19 November, between now and Boxing Day.

FA CUP DRAW: Woking or Southport v Northwich Vics

5 Nov FA Cup 1st Round Home v Woking. As Nick Rogan played for Lancaster in their FA Cup match against Hyde he will be cup-tied. Can I please ask that we don't draw this game as I am pretty sure I won't make the replay! I have even predicted a draw here and on sfc.com to ensure it doesn't happen. I may even bet on it to make triply sure. I'm not sure why but Skybet have Southport at 5/4 favourites to win the game with Woking at 7/4, seems odd looking at current form.

Thank you very much!

Southport 1 Woking 1-Despite my pleas this one ended in the draw! Leady equalised on 64 minutes after Woking had taken the lead in the 22nd minute. Leady also hits the bar with virtually the last kick of the game. We had the better of the game and deserved more than the draw but it was not to be. The gate of 1417 was lower than it looked to me. I have awarded Leady my MOTM. Our home record in all games against Woking now reads P13 W8 D4 L1 F26 A8. Earl Davis's booking was his fifth of the season.

Congratulations to Burscough on their 3-2 win against Gillingham in front of an impressive gate of 1927. The radio commentators seemed to be very impressed with Mark Byrne.

4 Nov

30 Oct Are Grays the best ever NL team to come to Haig Avenue? I can think of a few rivals, Macclesfield in 96/97 Kidderminster at their peak and the promoted Yeovil team weren't bad, that 6-0 defeat at Huish Park still hurts and ranks as the best display I have ever seen against Southport, but Grays are up there with them. Alan Jones's superb report on sgb says it all though "Money may not buy you love, to judge by a muted clutch of travelling Grays Athletic supporters, but it can certainly deliver success"

Southport slip to 18th after Burton beat Altrincham 1-0.

I've just been examining the stats for my site, for anyone who doesn't believe in Port Chat I can advise them that 86% of the referrals I get to here are from the link on Port Chat. The next best is sgb then Google. Thank you Port Chat.

29 Oct Home v league leaders Grays Athletic-Kick Off 3pm. This will be our first ever meeting against Grays and they will become the 161st team we have played since entering the world of Non League football. We also played Canvey Island for the first time recently and our trip to Crawley in two weeks time will also be a first timer. Our matches against Aldershot, Exeter, York, Tamworth, Cambridge & Accrington are firsts in the Conference but we have of course played these teams in either the Football League or NPL football.

Southport 1 Grays Athletic 4-There are times when you just have to stand back and admire the quality of the opposition and today was one of those days. Totally outclassed apart from a 5/6 minute spell before and straight after we scored. Nick Rogan scores on his debut (player 522 with squad number 9) after coming on as a second half substitute. As I commented to one of the 52 Grays fans on the way out of the ground, hurry up and get promoted and out the way as we just can't compete with that! The midfield duo of Thurgood and Martin were as good as they get, Oli was outstanding and the general movement was simply superb. I think the 5/2 on Grays to win the league is very tempting. On the Southport side, Bakes had a decent game and despite a howler for the 4th goal Dicko kept the score down but Nick Rogan, for his debut goal and despite only playing the 2nd half is getting my MOTM award. The Port played the last 20 minutes with 10 men as Laney had to go off to have stitches inserted in a head wound following a clash of heads with Earl Davis. I'm pretty sure the last Southport player to score on his debut was Terry Fearns in the first game of last season and who ironically is the player Liam says Nick has been brought in to replace.

Thanks to Sam Moran who has pointed out that Mike Powell against Leigh and Martyn Lancaster against Burscough both scored debut goals last season in Junior Cup games. It seems to have generated quite a batch of e-mails this scoring on debut idea. I am going to add a section in STAT ATTACK to cover it for the future. Any others anyone can think of in NL league games, please let me know. UPDATED-Mike Powell actually made his debut in an LJC match v Colne on 11 November 2003.

The NLP finally run the story "Port fans fume over website cash snub"

28 Oct I understand the NLP is going to be an interesting read today along with the letters page in the Visiter-UPDATED-Maybe not! Nick Rogan has signed from Lancaster.

I see Burscough are charging £12 for their FA Cup match against Gillingham. I was also reading the Burscough forum and saw the number of people that their PR man, Neil Leatherbarrow, I remember him when he was a Southport fan, has contacted to publicise the game, a very impressive list, well done to Neil for making so much effort to give their big day maximum publicity.

27 Oct I have made my first ever Port Chat Post today that is anything other than factual, reproduced for all below!

This is my first ever post on Port Chat that is opinion rather than fact but the time has come to speak out!!

The sad events of recent weeks have caused people to seriously think about their involvement in a number of things at the club. I myself have withdrawn my voluntary services to the programme and I know of others who have stopped buying the programme, golden goal tickets, using the bar and supporting various other off field activities.

I have been inundated with messages via SFCSTATS supporting my stance which have been appreciated. However I feel we now have to look at ways of turning this round and getting everyone back together.

It has been mentioned before but the idea of setting up Southport Independent Supporters Association (SISA) is one which has to be pursued, not with the intention of working against the club but with clear aims and objectives that allow the club to see the desire the fans have to see OUR club succeed. It would not be the place for those who wish to carry out a vendetta against Mr Clapham, people like that are not needed. The club owes a lot to him and I think the best way of letting him see we are normal fans is to work in a constructive and positive way to demonstrate our commitment to and desire for the club to move forward. I have already offered space on my site to publicise this and take it forward and I am sure Port Chat would remain the main channel of communication. I am happy to take on a role within SISA as I know a number of others are too so let’s get it sorted out!  At first I thought the idea of SISA would not work but the more I have had chance to think about it the more positive I have become. It is important we show our strength of feeling on this issue and we have an ideal opportunity coming up. I think it was Mellow who suggested doing the sponsored walk in the opposite direction and meeting mid way with pistols drawn. Well, without the pistols, we could use this as an ideal way to show the officialdom just what they are missing out on. If we could encourage as many people as possible to get down to the Sands in Ainsdale (the finishing point) on the day I’m sure that would send a powerful message out. We could get photos taken and get as much publicity as possible and I would also see this as an ideal way to launch SISA. We don’t even have to do the walk but we do show our feelings. Each person attending could pledge £10? to become a life member with the money being used as the starting up funds. I’m sure I could produce some membership cards etc and would happily have a “roll of honour” included on SFCSTATS. People who are unable to make The Sands could still pledge the money and let’s see how much we can make? The money would still be going to the club long term because SISA would be working WITH the club. You can argue that this is working against an official club event. It would be a one off, a, to demonstrate our strength of feeling and b to get SISA up and running. I may be naïve but I’m sure the club do want to build bridges with the fans. I am as angry as anyone, I’ve been called a parasite, I happily voluntarily supplied a lot of info to the programme to have it thrown back at me by the club declaring they wanted nothing to do with unofficial sites but I will always support Liam and the team as the club is bigger than any one person

I sit back and await the views!

The Lancashire Junior Cup now known as the United Co-operative Challenge Trophy sees Southport drawn away at Nelson with the match to be played in the week commencing 14 November. If there is an FA Cup Replay needed I am assuming this will take place on 15 November so the Lancs Cup match would need to be changed.

Full Draw:

Atherton Colls v Radcliffe Borough
Blackpool Mechanics v Atherton LR
Chorley v Bacup Borough
Clitheroe v Rossendale United
Daisy Hill v Morecambe
Fleetwood Town v Kendal Town
Great Harwood Town v Marine
Holker Old Boys v Ramsbottom United
Lancaster City v Darwen
Leigh RMI v Colne
Nelson v Southport
Skelmersdale United v Barrow
Squires Gate v Padiham

I've decided to extend my details of all the players who have played in our NL days to include dates of birth and death if appropriate, I thankfully can't think of any player who has played NL football for us that has passed away? I'd like the opportunity to do a NL update of "The Book" but it will take a lot of work, maybe one day! If anybody has old programmes that have the lists of players in that show the dates of birth could you let me know please. I will happily pay any photocopying costs if they could be copied for me. How I regret selling my programmes. I've managed to pull a few d-o-b's together by visiting websites but I have loads to go. It's very interesting visiting a number of league clubs sites how many of their official ones are run by Premium TV that you then have to register for. It certainly puts me off going any further as a casual visitor.

The LEP reports we are signing Nick Rogan from Lancaster City tonight.

26 Oct Congratulations to Earl on his call up to the England squad joining Carl Baker for the match on 15th November in Belgium. I wonder what happens if we are involved in an FA Cup replay that night?

25 Oct I've just been looking at our yellow card list for this season. Chris Lane, my favourite at the start of the season to have the most bookings has not yet picked up a single one.

Good luck to all at Burscough tonight in their FA Cup replay against Hucknall, the thought of a home match against Gillingham in the first round must be very tempting. What a great win, 6-2 to set up a bumper pay day. I wonder if they will get TV coverage? It's a pity our games clash as I am sure a number of Southport fans would have made the short trip up the road.

Great to see our Youth Team progress through to the first round proper of the Youth Cup after a penalty shoot out victory over North Ferriby. They now play Rochdale away.

I ended up listening to the penalty shoot out of the Alfreton & Hereford game via the Internet on BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester. What excellent Non League coverage they do, every local score, reports and details from all the local NL games. I couldn't see Merseyside doing that for us.

24 Oct I'm still reeling from being called a parasite so much so that I have had to take the week off work to recover! If only those concerned could see the harm that has been done by all this. There is a need for people to start talking before the whole situation turns very ugly indeed or at least uglier than it is already. The official letter has been received from the club about refusal to accept the money under the name of Port Chat as the club wants nothing to do with unofficial websites. That is £170 turned down by the club all for the sake of a name. It was great to see on Saturday that all the remaining player sponsorships were taken, the sceptical amongst the crowd questioned this but if it means that there is more money coming in to the club than they need well that can't be bad. I would urge people to think carefully before acting. The last thing I'm sure anyone wants is for Liam or the team to suffer and to stop buying the programme, golden goal tickets etc is going to be counterproductive. I think, without naming people, we all know who is responsible for the present mess, let's hear something from him directly. I've just realised though having written this that as nobody at the club wants anything to do with unofficial websites it won't get read!

I'd like to clarify one other point that I have been contacted about. The photos I take are "illegal" I wrote to the club early August about the possibility of having a license as I used to contribute to the programme. I still await a reply! It hasn't made much difference though but it would have been nice to get a response, in fact some of my photos have actually appeared in the official matchday programme.

The Power Of The Internet-I have been corresponding with the Granddaughter of William "Salty" Halsall a famous ex Southport player of the 1920's over the last few weeks. Marie lives in the US and she contacted me via this site to ask if I had any details about her Grandfather. One call later to Geoff Wilde and we had amassed a fair collection of cuttings and photos which I have today e-mailed to Marie. We also discovered that a regular present day supporter is a great nephew who will now be making contact as well. All through SFCSTATS! I may start up SFC Fans Reunited next!

Response from Marie:

23 Oct I understand I'm a Parasite!

22 Oct Home v Kidderminster Harriers FA CUP 4th Qual Round. Home fans £10, away fans £16 as the terracing will be closed down because being a part time club we can't get enough stewards to supervise the hordes of travelling fans and those we can get will make sure they are as unwelcoming as possible and sit amongst the fans to ensure they don't stand up. No, that wouldn't happen in the Conference would it?! I'm sure we will give Mr Norgrove and his fellow board members a fitting welcome when they arrive. The Kidderminster boss isn't half piling the pressure on himself and his team by talking about how essential it is for them to progress, let's hope he is disappointed at 4.50.

This is our 86th FA Cup game as a Non League Club. We have been drawn at home 35 times and away 37 times with 14 replays.

The AFC Southport team are playing a friendly against their Kidderminster counterparts on the morning of the match, kick off 11am at Rufford Road. I'm sure they would welcome any supporters.

Southport 1 Kidderminster Harriers 0-What a sweet victory this was. An inspired substitution by Liam taking a toiling Robbo off and replacing him with Matty McGinn worked wonders. The team seemed rejuvenated and after offering very little they suddenly sparked into life and created a number of chances. A goal from Chris Lane who became the first defender to score for The Port (in a Lge, FAC or FAT game) since Tony Hallam at Frickley on 25 October 2003. Laney last scored in the league match at Farnborough in December 02 but is most remembered for his FA Cup cracker against Notts County which came just 28 days earlier. He now has 11 career goals. I got the feeling he enjoyed this one a bit as well! The gate of 1108 included just 76 Kiddy fans stood up with a few in the stand, but not many, where were they all? Dom Morley was once again awesome in midfield and was my MOTM. Incidentally the goal was number 2402 in all competitive NL games.

I hope Kidderminster recover from the well publicised financial blow that this defeat will cause them but as they say, what goes around comes around so little sympathy from me I'm afraid.

Southport draw Woking at home in the 1st Round Proper, a team against whom we have a good record at home, Played 12 Won 8 Drawn 3 Lost 1. Great to see everyone getting behind the team and putting off field differences behind them. The PORTCHAT banner was well received by all and was right opposite the press box so I am sure it was seen but I doubt it got officially photographed. However Mrs Urwin did take the picture exclusively for SFCSTATS! There is also a cracking picture of Laney's goal

Following a meeting with Mr Clapham, Rob English has advised (via PortChat!) that the Club's policy on unofficial websites will stand. Pity really, I quite enjoyed doing things for the programme and I know from the feedback I get that people enjoyed reading them, even Mr Clapham himself has said how much he enjoyed my ramblings but I'm sure those responsible for the official site, which by the way doesn't even show the cost of admission or who our chairman is, will be able to provide all the stats and details from now on. Now let's just check when our reserves are playing next or where they are in the table!!!

20 Oct Whatever nonsense has gone on this week with the Club's attempts to alienate as many fans as possible I hope everyone will get behind the lads and especially Liam on Saturday. Let him see that he has the full support of the fans. I for one will be there, I will still buy the programme which is the last I will be contributing to (I had already sent the details for this one) unless a few things change. I think for Liam's sake nobody should even contemplate being anything other than positive in their support for him and the team. I know a few "There's only one Liam Watson" are well deserved this week believe me. As for Mr Norgrove and the Kidderminster board well........

I'd like to thank everyone who has contacted me this week with supportive messages. I don't have any intentions of doing anything to damage the club and never would but there is a need for people to work together and if one person thinks they are bigger than the club then it's a sad day.

One thing that is making me laugh a bit is the fact that the club were very quick to put the review of the official website that appeared in the Scarborough programme both in our matchday programme and on the official site, they may care to check who wrote that review and then just look at how foolish they look with the stance they are taking against Port Chat.

18 Oct I am lost for words, for once! Taken from the official site:

CLUB WEBSITE & PROGRAMME ADVERTISING POLICY

As a policy the club does not advertise alternative websites to the club's website for good commercial reasons. The club are seeking to drive traffic to the club's website in order that we can build up a site that is not only the first site that we want our supporters to visit for up to date and accurate information, but also so that going forward, we can commercialise the site with our periphery advertising. If any individual supporters would like to support the club under their own name as so many good supporters already do then of course we would be delighted to take that up as and when opportunities come along.

This in effect means they are turning down player sponsorship (from Port Chat) and as they don't want anything to do with unofficial sites the official site can now provide all the stats and various articles for the programme. A master stroke, well done to whoever has come up with this one.

What a difference in attitude, I have been reading the superb Altrincham official site a lot over the last few days and their attitude to their supporters is so different, they are even quoting posts on our forum and there is a sense of involvement between club and fans.

15 Oct Away at Altrincham, a nice local Saturday game for a change should see a few make the trip. I really would like to see coaches (plural) being organised for this game which promises to be huge and this is a chance for everyone to rally round and get behind the team when they need us most. Harrogate was easy, now is the time to see who the true supporters are! The team the last time we played at Altrincham when we lost 2-1 was Dickinson, Pickford, Mortimer, Kilbane, Davis, Morley, Price, Lynch, Fearns, Robinson & Mulvaney with the subs Baker, Daly, Lancaster, Williams & Lowe. Not too much change.

Altrincham 1 Southport 0-a second half horror show sees Southport go down. After a promising first half display when Leady, Dales and Lynch all went close we appeared to switch off at half time and the second half was as bad as it could get. A healthy following of around 300 in a crowd of 1225 were left bitterly disappointed. MOTM was announced as Leady by the match sponsors but I opted for Dom Morley who was commanding in midfield. It took Alty 24 minutes to get the ball in the Southport box in the 1st half and Pam Hitchcock's shout to Dicko "come and join us up here" with him responding " I may as well" summed up what was going on at the time. I felt that a few players were off the pace today, Bakes was shackled throughout the game and nobody else took responsibility. I'm sure Liam will not allow things to go unchecked. Our so called easier run is now over, we have leaders Grays next and that will test us to the limit. Let's just hope it was a bad day at the office and we bounce back next week. Only £10 entry and the programme which I didn't think was quite as good as in the past was £2 and not £1.50 as advised to me