My view and thoughts on everything!

The following is the article I wrote for the home game against Forest Green Rovers at the end of March: The last couple of weeks have certainly been crazy to say the least.  The lads had a fantastic 4-1 victory over Southport and were 10 minutes away from a stunning away win at Cambridge United.  However, in the scheme of things a draw was a very creditable result. Then came the wasted journey to the North West of England to Barrow.  The heavy snow meant that the game was called off.  The players then had to face a long journey back to Kent with the prospect of a future Thursday night game against Barrow, to be followed less than 48 hours later with another game!  As our International goalkeeper, Preston Edwards, stated on Twitter that surely now the Football Authorities should consider extending the season by a week. This view took on further credence following the postponement of the mid-week away game at Luton Town.  This time due to a waterlo...

The following is the article that I wrote for the home game v Southport in March: As we reach Mid-March we are certainly coming to the pointy end of the season.  The pre and post Easter period is certainly a make or break time for most football teams the length and breadth of the country. This is the time to stand up and be counted – regardless of whether you are a player or a fan.  We all have an important role to play from now until the end of the season.  With just over 10 games to go, there are three distinct groups of teams in the Blue Square Premier League.  There are those teams that are vying for promotion to the ‘Promised Land’ that is League 2, those that are comfortably sitting in mid-table and are tentatively thinking about next season, and then there are those battling to save themselves from the dreaded drop to a lower league.  Unfortunately for us, Ebbsfleet United fall squarely in the last group! The fixture list shows that we have man...

The following is the article I wrote for the New Year's Day local derby between Ebbsfleet United and Dartford.  Ebbsfleet came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2.  Firstly, a very Happy New Year to all the supporters of Ebbsfleet United and Dartford.  Here’s hoping that 2013 is a fantastic year, not only for you personally, but also for both of our North Kent clubs.  I also hope that you didn’t all get too merry last night, especially when the clock struck twelve! The Festive Season is certainly one that involves an abundance of food, drink, family time and relaxation.  It is also fair to say that the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day football matches are part of that tradition too.  Nothing beats getting away from the house to go to the local football ground to support your team to a win. Before I go any further, please spare a thought for me.  I have had to spend Christmas and the New Year here in Australia.  As you can imagine it is a tough...

The following is the article I wrote for the Ebbsfleet United v Grimsby Town Match-day programme.  It seems like only a couple of weeks ago that the Blue Square Premier League season 2012/13 kicked off.  But here we are in December and fast approaching the halfway mark of the season.  I am sure that both managers will have differing views about how the season has gone thus far.  As we know, Grimsby Town are flying high at the top of the BSP, whilst Ebbsfleet are just above the relegation zone. I am sure that the Mariners joint managers, Rob Scott and Paul Hurst, together with our own Liam Daish will agree on one thing – A win today!  At present a mere three points separate the top five teams , and only four points separate the bottom seven teams.  So it is a very tightly contested league at present. At this time of year the general thoughts of most people turn towards Christmas. In less than a month, a rather portly old man with long ...

The following is the article that was mainly used in last week's Ebbsfleet United matchday programme. Today is a very special day.  Not only for Ebbsfleet United, but for all non-league clubs across the country.   Today has been designated ‘Non-League’ Day.  An annual event which aims to celebrate the lesser footballing lights in England.  It takes place when there is a break in the Premier League due to international fixtures, and gives those fans the chance to go along and watch some true grassroots football. Here at the Fleet we have fans who travel far and wide to cheer on the lads.  Even if it is a winter mid-week game away at Barrow AFC, you can be sure that there will be a few die-hards making the long trek from North Kent to Cumbria.  Having done a Carlisle round trip in a day, I can tell you it is dedication of the highest order.  It is also a great feeling if your team wins, as the journey back home feels all that much sweete...

The following is my article from the Ebbsfleet v Barrow AFC game which took place recently.  Unfortunately, the Fleet lost 4-2!  Football and music are, in my opinion, a marriage made in heaven.  Both offer passion, a feeling of happiness, and are definitely at times thought provoking.  It struck me, whilst listening to the radio, that there are songs that indirectly have football connotations.  So without further ado, here is my list of songs that could have been recorded especially for the Beautiful Game. The first song is the obvious ‘We Are The Champions’ by Queen.  No doubt this epic will be sung the entire length and breadth of the country come April.  Next on the list is a nod to all the Managers out there.  I wonder if Liam Daish has picked up the phone and uttered the words ‘You’re the One that I want’ to a potential signing.  I’m not sure that John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John ever thought about football when they were...

The following is the article I wrote for the Ebbsfleet United v Braintree Town match.  Unfortunately, the Fleet lost :-( Now that the euphoria of the London Olympics is slowly dying down, we can all turn our attention to the Blue Square Premier League and our first home game of the season.  Before going any further, I would like to send out a huge ‘well done’ to Team GB on their massive haul of medals.  They certainly did us all proud!  The GB football team did fairly well too, until that deadly quarter final penalty phobia struck again! For Ebbsfleet United, and all teams nationwide, the football season is like an Olympic marathon.  It’s all about pacing yourself so that you can get to the finish line well ahead of your rivals, and thus ensuring a great final position.  In the case of an athlete, the goal is to get onto the winner’s podium with a gold, silver or bronze medal around your neck.   In our case, the gold medal equivalent would...

The following is my latest piece for Ebbsfleet United, and was published in the programme for the game v Telford on the 14th April.  I hope you all enjoy it! Spring time is here again. It’s that time of year when you can feel the warmth of the sun, the days are getting longer (yay!), birds are chirruping in the blossomed trees, and you can hear the distant sound of a ball hitting willow – as another shot from the dodgy centre half misses the goal completely, and hits the advertising board near the corner flag! Yes, it’s that time of year again, folks.  If the football season was a restaurant menu, we would now be entering the deserts section.  Having started out with our prawn cocktail entree, through to our chicken tikka masala and pillau rice main course, and are now picking up the desert spoon and about to attack and devour the ever so inviting sticky date pudding!   Over the last week or two, teams the length and breadth of the country have been playi...

Following Ebbsfleet United, or indeed any English football team, in Australia is quite an experience.   For starters, there is the obvious time zone issue.   What this means is that living in Sydney (as I do) the time zone difference can vary from 9 – 11 hours depending on the time of the year.   For those of you who are wondering, Sydney is currently 11 hours ahead of the UK. Then there is the lack of football coverage here that you take for granted back in Blighty.   The top English and European teams get a lot of coverage in Australia, but outside of that you will not find out much about say, a Crewe Alexandra or even our beloved Ebbsfleet.   Nowadays, this is less of an issue due to a wonderful thing called the “internet”.   If you haven’t heard about it then please check it out!   This has been a major boost for all ex-pats living not just in Australia but around this amazing world of ours. However, if you go back not too many years the ea...

"I would love to see new members from Cairo, Belo Horizonte, Wagga Wagga, Ulan Bator and even Bognor Regis" The following is my article that was published on the My Football Club website (MYFC). As background information, I was approached by a board member recently to do some articles on Ebbsfleet United, who have just won promotion back to the Blue Square Conference League (yay!). I have reproduced it as unless you are a member of MYFC, you will not be able to read it. If you want any further information about becoming a member then please email me through via this blog or via Twitter @main_man. Enjoy! The future is bright (I gotta wear shades – honest!) Phew, what a great season that was for Ebbsfleet United! Rewind back to last July and it did not look like the Fleet would have a team to run out onto Stonebridge Road for the first game. However, that expert magician Liam Daish put together a team of virtual strangers and made them into a powerhouse in the Blue Square S...

"For whatever reason my sleep state then made out that I was a David Beckham like superstar. The only thing missing was his skill, the tattoos and his bank balance!...Sure enough, there they were next to my boots on the passenger seat seemingly grinning at me like a Cheshire Cat I recently had a dream. Now that is not unusual, you might say, but for me I seem to have them very infrequently. Maybe I actually dream more than I realise but when the alarm goes off most mornings my main thoughts are on waking up and getting ready for the day. As some of you would know I am one of 31,000 co-owners of Ebbsfleet United Football Club in England (if you trawl through my blog site you will find some blogs about 'the Fleet' and the MYFC setup). Anyway, for whatever reason my dream revolved around this fine football club. In this dream I was a member of the coaching staff and also a registered player. From what I could recall I was working as the second in command to Liam Daish the hea...