Topics

1

The B-Ark / Technical support - Monday's game

« on: December 18, 2019, 09:14:24 PM »

Boston don't appear on Live TV too often, so I've tended to record the matches whenever they do. I've got copies of three or four Conference fixtures from the title winning campaign, a league game against Yeovil and the Setanta Shield game against Kettering. Some of them are on VHS, others are on DVD, depending on the technologies of the day.

I recorded Boston v Rochdale on my BT Box on Monday night and want to transfer it from the box to DVD so that I can keep it with the rest of my collection. Not tried this since having the BT Box (we've not been on TV in that time) , and am getting an encryption error message when I try to link the box to an external DVD recorder via SCART. Anyone on here know how to get around that?

Obviously I can keep the match on the box itself, but at some point in the future that'll get superseded by an even newer technology. Would much rather therefore transfer the footage to DVD rather than keeping it on the box. Also eliminates the possibility of accidentally deleting it.

Pretty annoyed at BT for stopping people from doing this. I know they don't want people to rip them off by making illegal copies or reselling recordings, but when it's for personal use you ought to be able to make a one off copy onto a portable media.

Only one other thought... is there any way of purchasing the BT match video from anywhere?

2

The B-Ark / Jordan Thewlis

« on: May 10, 2019, 06:59:33 AM »

I see Thewlis has been released by Harrogate at the end of his contract.

Craig Elliott publicly stated that he tried to sign him last summer but the move didn't come off. We then signed him on loan in December, only for a bad injury at Chorley to end his spell with us minutes into his debut. He's fit again now, has been back in the Harrogate first team, scored for them and even played in the playoffs.

Thewlis needs a new club. We need new strikers. He's presumably in our catchment area for players. Our manager likes him and has been known to resign players he's worked with before. What happens next?

3

The B-Ark / Needham Market withdraw from FA Trophy

« on: December 17, 2018, 10:15:36 PM »

Needham Market were due to have played away at Weymouth in the FA Trophy on Saturday. It appears they travelled down to Weymouth, but the match was postponed relatively late due to a waterlogged pitch.

The FA have ruled that the match has to be replayed tomorrow night (Tuesday). Because of the distance involved, the Needham players coach would need to leave at 11am and wouldn't get home until around 5am on Wednesday morning. Their players are all part time, and the club feels it is unreasonable to expect them to book two days holiday so close to Christmas. It is unfair on the players' employers as well as the players. Given weather forecasts, Needham aren't confident that the game would even go ahead on Tuesday.

Needham have asked the FA to arrange the replay for a Saturday between now and the next round, but the FA have refused. In response, Needham have issued a statement that they now wish to pull out of this season's FA Trophy, handing a bye to Weymouth into the next round. It also means Needham can't recover any of the costs from their aborted coach trip on Saturday.

What a mess, and you have to feel sorry for Needham in all of this.

Could the FA Trophy be restructured?

Why not start the competion earlier in the season and then spread the rounds out more?

Why not then have a window either side of the Christmas period when clubs play league matches only? Reduced travel during bad weather periods for clubs like Needham. Plus reduced pressures on groundsmen to get pitches playable for extra unscheduled matches during the winter.

Why not have a 10 day gap between initial round dates and replay dates? Recognise that players are often part time and give them more chance of getting time off work. Same applies to supporters.

 I'm sure the competition used to be more spaced out than it is now.

4

The B-Ark / Snow

« on: November 21, 2018, 06:45:35 AM »

Under normal circumstances, my direct route to Ashton United on Saturday would be over the Woodhead Pass, and am pretty sure other fans from the East side of the country would use the same route. Radio has just reported that it is currently snowing in northern Derbyshire, and obviously Woodhead route can be closed in bad weather. We might need extra time for the trip or a different route. If anyone on here lives in the area or is passing between now and the game, can they post updates?

With Ashton not too far from north Derbyshire, does the weather pose any risk of a postponement?

5

The B-Ark / Southport v Stockport Crowd Trouble

« on: January 21, 2018, 03:25:16 PM »

Just read the report on Southport v Stockport - it sounds like a Stockport supporter entered the playing area and physically assaulted one of the Southport substitutes as he was warming up. Led to some kind of fight which ended up attended by the police. I wonder if either club will face any sanctions?

6

The B-Ark / Andi Thanoj

« on: December 14, 2017, 07:24:53 PM »

Midfielder, signed from Redditch. Ex Grimsby and Harrogate. The first Albanian to play for the club?

7

The B-Ark / Kalern Thomas to Solihull Moors

« on: May 26, 2017, 07:41:59 PM »

Confirmed on their twitter feed. Believe we offered him terms, so presumably we will get a transfer fee as he's under 24 (I think).

8

The B-Ark / V Halifax

« on: March 03, 2017, 06:56:36 PM »

Can any of the Yorkshire based Pilgrims fans comment on the weather in the Halifax area? Any risk of waterlogging? Hopefully this can turn into the matchday thread!

9

The B-Ark / Biggest collections of ex BUFC players at other clubs

« on: January 27, 2017, 07:15:47 PM »

Quite a gathering of ex Pilgrims assembling at Coalville currently. They have signed Malachi Lavelle Moore today, and already had Rory Coleman, Jack McMillan, Ryan Robbins and Messiah McDonald. Are there any other clubs out there with similar numbers of ex Pilgrims?

Jamie Yates, Marc Newsham and Cameron Johnson are at Matlock, but that's only three.

At one time Stamford had about eight of our old players, but that was a few seasons ago.

10

The B-Ark / Dispute at Nuneaton

« on: January 13, 2017, 08:56:15 PM »

Just reading about Nuneaton. It seems that the rugby club and the football club (who share grounds) have fallen out with each other. The rugby club have now blocked some of the entrances and exits with skips, and a safety board has had to reduce the capacity of the ground to little more than a thousand.

11

The B-Ark / Adam Chapman

« on: December 22, 2016, 08:03:26 AM »

http://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/gainsborough-trinity-repel-raids-on-squad-ahead-of-boxing-day-derby-clash-with-boston-united/story-30001815-detail/story.html

It seems another Conference North club wants to sign Adam Chapman from Gainsborough. That would be the same Adam Chapman that was playing for Mansfield last season. I wonder which Conference North club it could be?

12

The B-Ark / Kirby Muxloe

« on: September 15, 2016, 10:44:49 PM »

I can offer a bit of local knowledge on this one.

For those travelling to Kirby Muxloe by car, I'd advise getting on the A46 and then heading round towards the M1 southbound. Don't join the M1, but take the last exit off the A46 which reads "non motorway traffic". You'll then pick up the Kirby Muxloe signs easily enough.

Kirby is a small place (smaller than Quorn for those that went there), and the ground is easy enough to find from the centre of the village. It's on Ratby Lane.

It is only a small village, and there won't be a lot of choice in terms of places to eat or drink outside of the football ground itself. There's certainly no McDonalds, KFC, etc. If you're looking for that type of thing, you're probably best off taking a slight detour onto the Beaumont Leys retail park about 4-5 miles short of Kirby - there's a McDonalds there as well as a fish and chip shop, Greggs, Subway, Costa Coffee and a few other options. There's also a range of shops there, a small market and also a Tesco petrol station. Plenty of free parking available if anyone does stop there.

Kirby Muxloe does have a castle which was built in 1480, though it's unfinished and won't be open to the public at this time of year (summer months only).

13

The B-Ark / National League considering changes to play-offs

« on: June 19, 2016, 02:33:27 PM »

According to today's Non-League Paper, the National League are considering some changes to the play-offs. Proposals are as follows:

(I) Moving next season's Conference North and South play-off finals to Wembley Stadium. This would replace the existing format which guarantees the highest placed team a home tie in the final.

(II) Playing all three Conference play-off finals (Conference Premier, North and South) on the same day - one game after another - in a similar format to how this season's FA Vase and FA Trophy operated.

(III) Removing extra time from the play-off finals to allow three matches to be fitted into one day. Any ties level after 90 minutes would go straight into a penalty shoot-out.

(IV) For the season after next, having six play-off places in each league instead of four. The teams finishing fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh in the table would play-off in a knock-out format whilst the teams finishing second and third receive a "bye" into the semi-finals. 

Any views? My own opinions:

Moving the finals to Wembley will only work if all three ties are staged on the same dates. Would supporters stay to watch all three matches? Whilst the combined FA Vase and FA Trophy finals were well supported, what percentage of Hereford fans stuck around to watch Grimsby versus Halifax? If fans only stay for their own sides' match, wouldn't Wembley have been looking a bit empty for AFC Fylde versus North Ferriby?

The play-offs have largely led to the demise of the FA Trophy. The Conference sides don't seem to take the competition as seriously as they used to - prioritising play-offs as these give a route to the Football League as well as to Wembley. Would a Wembley final also diminish the competition in the eyes of Conference North and Conference South clubs.

What would be the kick-off times for the three finals? Presumably the Conference Premier final would be the showcase final and would take place last - I'm guessing a 5pm kick-off. That could mean 11am and 2pm kick offs for the Conference North and South finals. But if Truro (say) reached the Conference South final and Darlington the Conference North, would either of their sets of supporters be able to get to Wembley for 11? Equally, if Barrow were in the Conference Premier final, would their fans be able to get back to Cumbria afterwards?

Removing extra-time? This would mean more matches being settled by penalty shoot-outs - which are a lottery at the best of times. Why not have an option whereby the lower placed team had to win a play-off match to progress? If matches remain drawn, the side with the higher placed league position goes through / up. This option isn't on the table, but I'd rather do something like this than have games go straight from 90-minutes to a penalty shootout.

Let's not consider the idea of six teams in the play-offs. For the season just gone and using Conference South as an example, it would have meant that Maidenhead United could have sneaked promotion ahead of second placed Ebbsfleet. But Ebbsfleet ended the regular season with 25 more points than Maidenhead! Extending to six clubs wouldn't be right - keep it at four.

14

The B-Ark / Two new signings

« on: February 11, 2016, 09:29:50 PM »

Judging by a post on Twitter we may have signed Stephene NGamvolou and Joe Burgess.The first is a French midfielder who played against us for Hednesford. Not sure who Burgess is, but there's a player with the same name in Ilkeston match reports.

15

The B-Ark / Sam Vince to Hyde United

« on: December 30, 2015, 08:36:16 PM »

According to the Hyde website ...

http://www.hydeunited.co.uk/news/hyde-sign-sam-vince-plus-ben-woods-1545706.html


I thought he was contracted to us for the rest of this season? Given his age, shouldn't we get a transfer fee?