Messages

901

The B-Ark / Re: HEARTBREAKER

« on: January 25, 2010, 07:41:07 PM »

Not sure if this is something you have considered, Chris, but it struck me that there'll be a coach load of Boston fans arriving back from Kendal on Saturday night and presumably getting back into town too late for the scheduled 20:30 entertainment start time. After a long day on the road most will be glad of a couple of pints, though the £3 admission fee is likely to act as a deterrant to them using the Social Club given that they will have already missed some of the entertainment.

Could the club offer some form of concession to entice its travelling supporters into the Social Club on arrival back into town? They are afterall already supporting the club in other ways, and any such move may pay for itself - if not on the door then certainly at the bar.

902

The B-Ark / Re: New player on loan

« on: January 23, 2010, 10:58:56 AM »

What is the difference between a work-experience loan deal and an ordinary loan deal?

Will the new player be involved in odd jobs around the stadium, etc., aside from any involvement on the playing side? Is he going to be helping Jason with the washing?

I remember Ryan Clarke (first time around) joined us on Work-Experience loan from Notts County, but can't say I've ever fully understood what it entails.

903

The B-Ark / Re: Prediction League - Boston United vs Durham City

« on: January 22, 2010, 01:26:41 PM »

I'm struggling with a virus and won't be going to tomorrow's game - I think it'll be only the second home match I've missed in about 20 years. Hope the lads win and win well, but equally I'd be grateful it they could be considerate and not go beyond the 10-1 FA Cup thrashing of Sudbury a few years ago! I feel bad already, and any scoreline beyond that would be a total sickener.

I'd be happy with:

Boston United 6 Durham 0
Attendance: one less than usual, let's go 1,230

904

The B-Ark / Evans' three spells at Boston

« on: January 21, 2010, 06:24:18 PM »

Just read the following article on a Swindon Town web page...

http://www.swindon.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=185412

The first paragraph caused a furrowed brow:

Talking exclusively to the official Crawley Town website, the Red Devils manager Steve Evans (who famously had three spells with Boston United) revealed that Danny Wilson had made an approach for their centre forward Charlie Ademano.

Just when exactly were Evans' three spells with Boston? I thought there were only two, but I must be mistaken given that he famously had three spells with Boston United.

Incidentally given that this came from a story on the official Crawley website, I wonder how much of it is true and how much is spin?

905

The B-Ark / Re: Congratulations....

« on: January 20, 2010, 06:24:14 PM »

I hope people will go out and buy this magazine, as it is yet again an excellent read. Buying it from the club also helps club funds and, whilst geographical issues prevented me from doing that this time around, I now know for future reference that the club will mail copies out. But hopefully Boston-based fans will start forming a steady stream at the ticket office over the next few days.

I fully agree with Church's award. We've now had both Tom Evans and Anthony Church named in respective "Dream Teams" and in the interests of fairness I hope Shaun Pearson makes it a hat-trick of United players next month.

It's a shame that the magazine didn't quite gets its facts straight in relation to Churchy. It claims he has been ever-present for us this season, but unless I'm mistaken he was definitely suspended at the beginning of the campaign.

Its also worth extending the congratulations to Luke Clayton, who features as a fans' profile within the same magazine. Great article and thoroughly deserved. Well done, Luke!

906

The B-Ark / Re: New Midfielder ??

« on: January 19, 2010, 10:52:30 AM »

Last season's squad also had players with Football League experience - like Bloomer, Rowan, Ryan, Talbot, Farrell, etc - and look where that got us.

I'm not sure it necessarily matters how old a player is, or what level of experience they have had at Football League level. It's more about their hunger and desire to progress and move up to the next level.

907

The B-Ark / Re: New Midfielder ??

« on: January 17, 2010, 09:38:36 AM »

Milly isnt the same type of player as church,as good as he is

On looking at yesterday's game I didn't feel that Davies was the same type of player as Church either. This is certainly no criticism of him, but Davies reminds me more of a young Paul Raynor. He's never going to make gut bursting box-to-box runs and he'll spend most of his game twenty yards either side of the half-way line. But he can look after himself physically and can pick a pass.

I do have one question though, why doesn't Jamie Clarke get a run out?  Surely he could have got a few minutes at least in the second half.

I agree. I thought Danny Davidson didn't do himself any favours when he came on as a sub in the previous game against Stocksbridge. All he seemed to do was flick the ball on into "no man's land", and quickly concede possession. I would very much doubt if those were the instructions given to him by the managers. And yet yesterday it was again Davidson who got the chance from the bench.

908

The B-Ark / Re: New Midfielder ??

« on: January 16, 2010, 11:41:50 AM »

I had a quick look on the Matlock Town webpage because I had an inkling that Davies may be ineligible for today's game - if he'd already played for them in an earlier round. But it doesn't look like they've entered the competition yet...

http://www.matlocktownfc.co.uk/fixtures.html

How does that work? Surelly all Premier Division clubs should enter at the same time?

909

The B-Ark / WARNING - Plymouth in Financial Trouble

« on: January 13, 2010, 06:47:42 PM »

There's a headline floating around the internet entitled "MORE FINANCIAL WOE FOR PILGRIMS", which caused a bit of a panic when I saw it. Fortunately, though I wish no ill on any other club, it relates to Plymouth Argyle...

http://www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk/football/TROUBLE-PILGRIMS/article-1701206-detail/article.html

Where will this all end?

King's Lynn and Newcastle Blue Star, amongst others, are no more.

Portsmouth players never seem to know if they'll get paid or not.

Chester City are one of several clubs that might not see the season out.

A report on the news over the weekend stated that Rotherham's succession of weather-related postponements has caused a severe loss of income that is jeopordizing the club's entire future.

Accrington have had to arrange high-profile friendlies and a series of bucket collections just to survive.

Darlington are struggling with their finances.

And now Plymouth.

I wonder if anyone at Manchester City ever gives a passing thought for the problems elsewhere? Can anything be done?

910

The B-Ark / Re: Retford team Photo

« on: January 11, 2010, 06:36:33 PM »

Back: Ryan Hindley, Dan White, Will Tomlinson, Ben Chambers, Matt Fisher, Michael Simpkins, Duncan Bray (now Ossett).
Middle Row: Nathan Millington, Ryan Ford, Stuart Ludlam, Ross Turner, Chris Kingston, Paul Keeling, Ollie Chappell, Tom Cowan, Michael Staley (now Selby Town).
Front Row: Christine Christie (Sports Therapist), Paul Grimes, Mick Godber, Peter Duffield, Neil Tooth, Lee Whittington, Steve Owens.

Duffield's head is tiny.

A lot of the players have got one shoulder smaller than the other. Look at Tom Cowan and Michael Staley.

And wouldn't you have thought they could have replaced Duncan Bray and Michael Staley with Lee Thompson and Paul Ellender?

I'm glad nothing like this ever happens with Boston team photos.

911

The B-Ark / Re: Kendal

« on: January 06, 2010, 07:13:12 PM »

AJH has made a number of very valid points and has put them across very eloquently. Congratulations to him - he clearly would have been an A-grade English student even before GCSEs were made easy.

There is only one comment within the post that I would slightly disagree with:

Quite how anyone can look back on his time in charge from February 2004 to July 2007 as exciting is beyond me. We played tireless, long-ball football.

There were occasions within that period when actually the football was exciting. To give one example, I'd have to say that the 4-3 win (after extra time) in the Carling Cup against Luton Town was amongst the most exciting matches I have ever seen.

I think also you have to compare the style of football under Evans against that which we played under his predecessor, Neil Thompson. Thommo is someone I will always hold in the highest regard for the way he took up the reins and coped with everything that was thrown at him. He has more integrity in his little toe than Steve Evans has in his entire oversized body and it was shameful how Thommo was treated to accommodate Evans' return. But equally I felt that too often Thommo picked sides with the intention of "not conceding" a goal. If we didn't score, then so be it. It was all a bit too defensive and unambitious for my liking. Evans' return gave us more attacking presence for a while, and signings like Danny Thomas and David Noble made us a more exciting side to watch. Were they good value for money? Absolutely not. Was it good management to bring those type of players and salaries to the club? Clearly not. But I think it would be slightly unjust to say that we weren't excited at the time.

912

The B-Ark / Re: Fc United Of Manchester

« on: January 05, 2010, 06:23:44 AM »

For the last match against Stocksbridge Park Steels the game was able to go ahead, but the Town End had to be closed on safety grounds - due to ice on the terraces.

What would our contingency plan be to accommodate the FCUM travelling support - just in case we find ourselves without the Town End again? If the pitch were playable but the Town End remained unsafe, could the game still be postponed?

913

The B-Ark / Re: Todays Game

« on: December 28, 2009, 04:44:33 PM »

Right, time to add my own opinion. But where do you start after a game like that?

Firstly, a big thank you to all the volunteers who turned up on the morning of the game to help clear the pitch. A lot of credit also needs to be passed on to the club's groundstaff. When you consider the numbers of games falling foul of the weather recently and the state of pitches at places like Matlock, the York Street pitch really is something else that gives us pride in our club.

Boston were the best side in the first half, though in my view the three goal half-time lead probably flattered us. Stocksbridge created their fair share of chances in the first half but failed to convert any of them; Boston probably didn't create that many chances over and above the goals we actually scored, but crucially we were clinical in front of goal.

And then on to the second half.....

From my position Church's tackle looked like a bad challenge, and I wasn't surprised when the red card came out.But in all honesty a number of the Stocksbridge challenges in the build-up to that incident appeared equally reckless, and yet went completely unpunished. That is my main gripe with the referee.

After Church was sent off we made a number of substitutions, with Camm and Davidson being called upon. Personally I didn't think either substitute performed particularly well. Camm does not "boss" the midfield in the same way that Church does, and for me "went missing" for the remainder of the game. (I didn't see too much of Newsham or Sleath in the second half either). When Davidson came on I wanted to see him hold the ball up to help in easing the pressure on our defenders. What I saw instead was a series of flick-ons which only found Stocksbridge defenders. Davidson was the furthest man forward, so for him to continually flick the ball further forward merely conceded possession and resulted in our defence being put under more and more pressure. I understand that the managers seem to prefer "like-for-like" substitutions and Davidson generally only replaces Suarez (or vice versa). But we were reduced to ten men and effectively playing with a lone striker; Davidson's first touch sometimes lets him down and I'm not convinced he was suited to that role in that formation. Jamie Clarke would have been the better option.

Suarez has played well in a number of games and has deserved some of his man-of-the-match awards. But on Saturday Tom Evans should have won the award - absolutely no question.

Other people have intimated that they are going to write and complain about the referee's performance. Quite honestly I wouldn't bother wasting your time! A few years ago Boston played away at Hartlepool in the FA Cup. The weather was bad and all of our official supporters' coaches were held up due to there having been a number of crashes on the A1. My understanding at that time was that Boston had asked for a delayed kick-off, Hartlepool had agreed with the request but the referee on the day had insisted on a three o'clock kick off. The result was that 200+ Boston fans missed the opening 30 minutes, and that there was a surge on the Hartlepool turnstyle as soon as the coaches arrived. I felt there was a very real danger of a "crus", and after events like Hillsborough I thought the ref had acted irresponsibly in insisting the game kicked off on time. I wrote to the Football Association to tell them what I thought. My letter had absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with events on the pitch. I eventually received the response from the FA, but it was a "bog standard" automatic response talking only about referee's decisions on the field of play being final, etc, etc. They hadn't even considered the safety concerns I'd raised and quite frankly it felt like they hadn't even properly read my letter. The authorities that govern football in this country are just as much a joke as some of the officials who run out on a Saturday afternoon.

If anyone does write a letter of complaint then I'd be very interested to hear what response they get. But I'd expect they'd only receive an automated reply that quite frankly isn't worth the paper it is written on.

One of our supporters snowballed the linesman during the second half, and I'm slightly concerned that this could put our club into more trouble - particularly if the referee mentions the incident in his report.

Church will no doubt get a three game ban and that will leave us short in midfield. I'm not convinced that Camm is the answer and wonder how close to match fitness Adam Millson is? Spalding may have had a few postponements, but in my view the door is now wide open for Millson to make his return.

The managers have spoken recently about the need for some more experienced heads to guide the younger players, and I don't know what the budget situation is regarding bringing in a new face. We do however have two managers on the bench, both of whom were player-managers at Ilkeston last season and either of whom could potentially fit the bill. I understand there may be contractual issues with Ilkeston which have prevented both from so far playing for Boston, but I wonder if those issues are resolvable? If Rob Scott plays in the same spirit that he manages, then he may just be that extra bit of steel that our team needs between now and the end of the season.

914

The B-Ark / Re: A Decade of Boston United on Endeavour Online

« on: December 26, 2009, 01:02:37 PM »

This promises to be a very interesting programme.

My only criticism - which is also something I've aimed at Radio Lincolnshire in the past - is the time of day that the broadcast will be taking place. Many supporters may already be enroute to the match, making it problematic to listen in at the same time. Equally the people who remain at home and able to listen in may not necessarily be the ideal target audience.

Will there be an opportunity to download the programme afterwards?

915

The B-Ark / Tom Evans named in Unibond League "Dream Team"

« on: December 20, 2009, 04:43:10 PM »

I've picked up a copy of the second edition of the new Non-League 24 magazine, and noticed that they are again naming a Unibond League "Dream Team." More interestingly they've named Tom Evans as its goalkeeper, the only Boston player to make the selection.

Congratrulations to Tom!

I have to say I'm a little suprised though. I think he's made one or two mistakes - particularly in the away games at Burscough and Lowestoft. Maybe I'm being harsh as goalkeeper errors tend to stick in memory than mistakes made by outfield players and Tom has put in a number of good displays in other matches. But if any Boston players were to be picked for a Unibond League Dream team, I would personally have thought Mssrs Pearson, Church and possibly Newsham would have been in front of Evans.

Any views?