World Cup, Local Cups, Charity Match!

A month of football is well under way and some interesting goings on at the World Cup in South Africa!

The biggest shock of the tournament so far was yesterday's defeat of Spain by minnows Switzerland.  An error by Iker Casillas of Real Madrid, so often Spain's saviour, gave the Swiss a 1-0 win.  It makes their last group game against Chile more than a little interesting!  Even more baffling is keeping Cesc Fabregas on the bench... he's scored more goals this season than the entire starting midfield!  Does Vicente del Bosque not like him or something?

It was amusing seeing Mexico bring the French to the brink of elimination though.  Thoroughly deserving of their 2-0 win, despite a slightly offside second goal (possibly, maybe).  They cheated to get there anyway, so here's hoping one of my sweepstake teams, Uruguay, go through instead!!

My home nations, England and Nigeria, aren't really having the best of times.  England drew a fairly one sided, but flat, opening game against the Yanks (immortalised here in Legovision).  We should still go through though, as the other teams in the group look even worse!  I just hope we win the group... Germany look awfully good, so I'd rather not meet them in the second round.  Save them for the final!

Nigeria find themselves on the brink of going out.  A narrow defeat to Argentina in game one was today followed by another loss, this time to Greece - who'd never ever won a game at the Finals!  It was Sani Kaita's fault.  A shockingly reckless kick got him sent off and cost the Super Eagles the match... they were easily in control, and leading, up until that point.

Not that I entirely blame him.  The Greek he kicked probably would have got a push from me too, if he'd shoved the ball into my chest!  I too have been petulant in matches before... the odd retaliation tackle (notably, I fractured a kid's arm when at school) or flailing elbow (well, if Mr. Peters will insist on tugging my shirt...!).  It's not big, it's not clever, but it does feel good for a split second.  Until you see the red card (which, somehow, I've not seen).


Before the world's biggest competition started, there had been mixed fortunes for my local teams.  Both reached their first cup finals, both were unlucky to lose.  Chawton Athletic were robbed by shocking refereeing in the Runwick Cup Final and Rockbeare Rangers lost in extra time in the Geary Cup Final.

Even more sad, for me, is he news that the Rooks will not be continuing in their current form.  After the gaffer, Ian Keenan, quit due to work commitments, nobody came forward to manage and run the Club.  The brain-child of me, Gofer, Ed and MattD has ceased to exist.  And the swanky new Nike kit I single-handedly got the club is been sold... unworn by Rangers!  That's a tad gutting!

There is hope that the name may live on.  Plans are afoot to resurrect the club, but it won't be until at least the 2011/12 season.  News on that, for those of you that care, when it arises.


This summer's main match is the charity match I'm playing in.  The match forms part of a "family fun day" at Feniton FC, in aid of the Special Care Baby Unit at Derriford hospital.  The SCBU saved the lives of a mate's very premature twin boys and thus he raises money every year.  This year's highlight is a charity match between S.C.B. U-nited and the Exeter City Legends.  Being a massive City fan, I'm well excited!

Scooby United, as I call them, are having some friendlies, to ensure we don't get completely dicked!  Last weekend's friendly was my first, a 6-6 draw with a Taunton charity team that included former England cricketer, Andy Caddick.  I got a goal, had another heinously ruled off for a non-existent offside by the cheating linesman, and overall had a good game.

The fun day (link requires Facebook, I think) is on Sunday 1st August from 10 til 4.  Kick off is, I think, at 10:30...

Squeaky Bum Time in the Footy Season!

A little over a month to go until the end of the football season and it's getting tense for all my teams!


In the English Premiership, Arsenal are surprisingly mounting a title challenge.  They may be third at the moment, but the top three are separated by just three points.  Arch-rivals, Spurs, have the chance to decide the title as they have to play all three of the title challengers!  Arsenal are the first to play their dirty North London rivals with Chelsea and Manchester United to follow.

Cesc Fabregas' injury means he;ll miss the rest of the Gunners' season.  And he ain't the only one!  There's also long term injuries to a host of other first team players, meaning others like Niklas Bendtner, Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott (left, no excuse needed to put a pic of his other half on here!) need to step up to the plate!

And then there's the disappointment of the stuffing Lionel Messi's Barcelona side gave them this week!  The side probably won't need to gee themselves up for the derby match, but they will need to up their game.  Messi was quality, but the Arsenal defence also gifted the Spaniards possession in dangerous positions... do that against Spurs and Defoe will be a happy man!

Exeter City have seen themselves fall into the League One relegation zone recently, but four points over Easter have seen them catapult up a very competitive table.  But any two of six or seven sides could join Wycombe and Stockport (who are all but down, it seems) in League Two next season.

City's hopes of survival took a big dent this week, with the sad news that East Devon Grecians' sponsored player, Adam Stansfield (right), is suffering from bowel cancer.  Stanno has the right fighting mentality to beat the illness though, so hopefully he'll be back to play the Argyle scum next season!  I wish him a speedy recovery...


My local sides have had mixed seasons too.  Rockbeare Rangers have made it to the semi-finals of the East Devon cup, their best ever run and one game away from their first final!  In the league they have loads of games in hand, and could still mount a promotion challenge.  This week's defeat to Bampton didn't help the cause, but if they players can knuckle down they can achieve good things!


Chawton Athletic have gone one better, albeit with less rounds, by reaching their first ever cup final.  In two weekends time, they will travel to their conquered semi-final opponents' ClubSoreLoser Hartley Wintney's ground to play Royal Oak in the Runwick Cup final.  The club hope to have a large supporting contingent for the game, which kicks off at 14:00 on the 25th April.

After five weeks without a game (I was inadvertently left on the bench last time out), I had a starting berth last Sunday.  Unfortunately, five weeks out took it's toll!  I was disappointed with my level of fitness, so have been for a few runs since then and some training on Wednesday.  I don't expect to keep my place, but am still hopeful I can convince Matt I to start me in the final - I have, after all, started each Runwick Cup match so far!  I gotta put some real work in first though...

Before the final, we have the last league game of the season, against our closest rivals in the league, Royal Exchange.  That game could decide whether Chawton finish bottom of the league for the second successive season, or make it one position better!

New Season, New Housemates.

Ah, gotta love Autumn! It means football's back with a bang!

In the professional game, my teams are having mixed seasons.

Arsenal have started

well, despite not really strengthening the team. Kolo Toure was replaced by Thomas Vermaelen, who looks pretty awesome, but Adebayor was not... time will tell how important that decision will be. Through to a fairly easy group in the Champions League and only beaten by a lucky Manchester United team in the league means we have set a good found

ation in the first few

weeks.

The diving issue reared it's ugly head though. I hate diving. I am actually happy that Eboue got a yellow card for it and that Eduardo got a two match ban. I am really irritated that Wayne "Shrek" Rooney has gotten away with it. He was practically on the floor before Almunia got near him against Arsenal and was at it again with England tonight... although his shirt wa

s tugged by the Slovenian, another foul that is under-punished.

I have had the pleasure of visiting the impressive Emirates Stadium this week. Absolutely amazing place. My brother, Tim, and his wife, Julia, bought me the tour for Christmas and I chose to go on my 31st birthday. And my lovely Phee bought me a personalised Arsenal shirt too, to make it a birthday to remember!

Exeter City have just been enjoying life in League One. They managed to pick up their first win all the way up in Carlisle United, but have found other points tricky to come by and now sit just above the relegation zone. It's going to be a tough season, but I am confident they'll stay up with Paul Tisdale at the he

lm.

It's good to see the League One highlights on the BBC. They're doing a good job! I know I'm biased, having starred in the adverts for it. The day out in London filming the ad was great fun... in fact, being a mascot actually is great fun! And it's such a good bunch of people. Everybody gets on with everyone else, like a big family (and I know all about them!).

Playing wise, I ready for it! I have been playing 5-a-side for the Pit Club side in the Sidmouth Indoor League randomly over the summer. With that and going to the gym (let's not mention the treadmill incident), I'm kept my fitness right up. And with the 11-a-side kick off this weekend... it's all systems go!

Rockbeare Rangers, the team in Devon I'm President of, got under way this afternoon and started with an excellent 3-1 victory at the newly named Silver Lane Ground. The awesome Bryn Lister got the final goal... and I always enjoy seeing him on the score sheet. He's been a great player for the Rooks over the last two seasons and it's good to see some of the original squad still in the team... Rob, Matt S, Matt D, Si, Mike F and Ed are all still involved.

Chawton Athletic start their Farnham Sunday League campaign tomorrow morning. We will be hoping to do better than last season, where we finished bottom with three wins all season. It looks like I may well be starting on the left wing, in front of the gaffer's brother Paul Ireson... a full back who rarely runs forward. This suits me down to the ground, as I can concentrate more on attacking!

My aims for this season are to be on a winning team (I didn't manage it at Chawton last season!) and to get on the scoresheet at least once. I will take the lead and go for all penalties and free kicks if I can... my dead ball shooting is pretty good, certainly better than most I've seen at Chawton!

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This weekend saw some of the new housemates move in and I'm hoping to be better accepted this year. After the antics of last year and all it's ignorance and hypocrisy, the signs are good. Jamie has moved in and Phee and I have been getting on well with him, even sorting out the brief power cut Farnham seemed to have!

Erin also popped round to move some of her stuff in, before finally moving in next weekend. Again, we all seemed to get on like a house on fire. This year is going to be a definite improvement on the last one, enjoying the company of people who are easy going. We might even get to hang out at the UCASU without me feeling like a leper... (although I feel duty bound to point out that Phee's closest friends, Abbie and Rebecca, never made me feel like that).

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On a final note... I have found a darts team! Woo! The practice night for the Alton Cricket Club darts team is Friday 18th September, with our first league game of the season the week after! Thanks to John and Jamie at work, I have my board up in the house so I can get some practice in and not look too out of sorts. This first season is all about getting to know the side and enjoying myself... with the games will come the scores, hopefully, and the wins.

Football... WHY!?!

Why does it have to be so bloody heart-wrenching! This season, I've suffered both highs and lows. Mostly lows, it would seem! And this week I've had both extremes. So here it is, my football season's review, even though in some cases it hasn't quite finished...



Exeter City have exceded almost all expectations this season, mine among them! Manager Paul Tisdale has a reputation for achieving promotion, following his very successful stint with Team Bath before we snapped him up. And this season, he followed up last year's Conference Final win at Wembley, but repeating the feat of promotion... but without the lottery and potential heartbreak of the play-offs.

I remember thinking, on a murky November afternoon at Aldershot's Recreation Ground where City lost 0-1, that given our form at the time, scraping the play-offs would be a tricky task. But a rich vein of form at just the right time has helped erase the memory of that defeat and the even more painful defeat to Curzon Ashton in the FA Cup!

Needing a win away at Rotherham United to guarantee automatic promotion, it wasn't until way into the second half when BBC Sport finally told me Exeter had taken the lead. I bounced up and down on my comfy bean bag, frantically texted Wayno at the game (which, due to money issues, I was unable to attend - grrr!) and started chanting loudly... alone in the house!

When the final score came up, I immediately ran downstairs to the (sexy new) car and put my ECFC scarf on the parcel shelf... I'd never been as proud to be a fan of the Grecians!



Compare that to three days later. The last hope Arsenal had of winning any silverware this season evaporated before my eyes! Needing to turn around a 0-1 first leg deficit, Arsenal came out of the blocks, all guns (pardon the pun) blazing! And then Kieran Gibbs fell over. Fan-fucking-tastic. The fact that the whining, crying, arrogant, Portugeuse, diving wanker rifled in that free kick made it even worse (although not for John, who won the next goalscorer sweepstake!).

Arsenal had long been out of the title race, although had scraped a Champions League spot for next year. They'd looked capable of winning both domestic cups, but blew it when the got close to the final. I'd pinned all my gooner hopes of the Champions League trophy... and the bastard Manc scum took that away from me too! Thanks for that!

Still, we can get some kind of revenge at Old Trafford in a week or two and we have Chelski this weekend. 3rd place in the league is sneakable... and would make the season a little easier to swallow.



The fact that I was watching the Arsenal-Man Utd match at all was because my new 5-a-side team couldn't raise a side! Chawton Athletic Fives was started up as a means of getting through the off season. The first three games were a mixed bag... a horrendous 0-21 opener against the Alton Tuesday Fives League champions, was followed by a credible 1-1 draw. This was followed by another heavy defeat!

This week's game, however, had to be fortfeited. From a growing squad that is now probably double digures, I could only muster three of us. A very poor showing for a team that was well up for it before the season began. And three points given away to a team that, when we get used to playing together and get fitter, are most likely beatable!

Personally, I've not been doing too bad. My stints in goal haven't been too costly, outfield I've been getting stuck in (maybe too stuck in at times) although I have yet to score a goal. Having said that, the team have only scored three in total!



The 11-a-side Chawton Athletic team we take our name from didn't fare much better! Although we did manage a couple of wins in the season (none that I played in!), there were quite a few shoeings. This led to people dropping out, which led to more shoeings. A nasty vicious cycle. And bloody annoying at that!

Again, personally I had a really good season. I joined the team halfway through the Farnham and District Sunday League season, and instantly made myself a first team regular... not that we had any subs! As versatile as I am, it meant I was able to ensure that come next season, I should be in the starting XI. And I intend to stay there!



A stark contrast to Rockbeare Rangers where, despite starting up the Club in the first place, I never held down a regular starting place. I was happy taking my twenty minutes at the end of games!

This season has been another season of changes for the Rooks. I am now (Honorary) President of the Club I helped form with a few of my closest friends. I did even manage to make one appearance too, in a match I helped turn around and win 2-1.

The Club's Board has been taken over and it is now moving forward. Something I initially did not like the sound of, but have grown to accept as the best way forward. That aside, there were some sneaky side-shooting tactics employed when push came to shove... a move that wasn't "anything against me as a person". Indeed not; I can clearly see what the game was. And as it really made no odds, I did take it a little personally, though never showed it to anyone else...



So goodbye to 2008/09 (well, almost). Next season I doubt I'll play for Rangers (although I will sign on anyway) as we have a huge squad. I will instead be concentrating my efforts on both Chawton Athletic sides. Keep up to date with manager, Matt Ireson's blog for the 11-a-side match reports! Meanwhile the 5-a-side team also have a website!

Let's see if City can make it three consecutive promotions and if Arsenal can finally get their hands on some silverware!

The New Life.

So, it's been almost a year since my last blog! So much for keeping everyone up to date, eh!?


Well, the move itself went well. I had ample help from Tim, Julia, Ant and Steve and the van(s)! I didn't have much time to settle in before starting my new job at Wettone Matthews, a small firm of accountants in public practice. I'd had seven years experience in the field and so could fit in well!


The job itself has been going very well. I have made some new friends, in particular Aldershot fan John and the two younger ladies in the office, Hannah and Ellie-Grace. My bosses are quite easy going and very understanding (but more on that later). Through John, I have been able to get some vague type of social life back... playing for a few football teams.


I first joined the 5-a-side team he played for, Voyager. They played in the Basingstoke Powerleague, although we rarely won any games! I made a good impression and was soon an important member of the side. But alas, when the captain moved to Hong Kong the team soon folded!

Since them I have been playing some 5-a-side on a Wednesday night and have joined a Sunday league team, Chawton Athletic, who play in the Farnham and District Sunday League. They were short of players when I joined, and have been since. I've played on both wings and at right back so far, and been playing fairly well so hope to keep my place in the side. I've also made a good friend in George Petrie, who alternates the wings with me!


The new housemates are a mixed bag. On the one hand you have the very laid back James. He likes to chill out in his room, playing on his synthesiser and generally has a relaxed attitude to cleaning! Taras, or "The Russian" as I often refer to him, is a huge bloke who looks a little like Hagrid from Harry Potter, but without the beard! It's hard sometimes to understand each other, but having learnt two foreign languages I usually succeed. Then there are the two girls, Katie and Sidonie. One is a self-confessed arrogant rich girl who wants for nothing, the other is the most bizarre OCD-sufferer I've ever come across. And here stems a lot of the problems in the house... of which there do seem to be many. But again... those run-ins will be discussed in another post!

The house itself is old. Victorian, I believe. And it often shows. The landlord, Derrick, is quite helpful and often gets the numerous faults quickly sorted. Occasionally, he does seem to take the cheap way out, but the two rooms Phee and myself occupy seem fine now. We did have to redecorate ourselves (something I won't ever offer to do myself again!) but the rooms are now as we'd like them... albeit still very cluttered!

The bedroom is fairly simple. We have a new bed, white and metallic, and a few random furniture bits for clothes etc. The "office", as we refer to the larger room, is extremely cluttered. This is mainly due to the TWO computer desks and the quite large TV stand, complete with shiny new Xbox360! Incidentally, SabreWulf7 is my XboxLive handle!


The area around here is nice. We have been on a few walks to the Frensham Ponds and also to Waggoners Well. Basingstoke is just a half hour drive away and is our preferred destination for both shopping and entertainment, as the cinema is large and fairly cheap! Farnham itself is okay, and the Marlborough Head has footy on TV to keep me happy! Alton, where both Phee and I work is also a nice little market town.


Back home, I'm pleased to see the mighty Rockbeare Rangers finally going from strength to strength. After being accepted into the Lucozade Sport Performance League and Cup, there's a real buzz about the Club. Although there has been some managerial turmoil this season too! I'm struggling to drum up interest in the clothing range, despite the fact that the stuff MattD, Ed and I got is bloody awesome! And I miss being a part of the day-to-day stuff! But I keep myself involved by doing the website and being the PR guy. It works for me, it works for the Club. It's also nice to see that people at the Club still view my opinion and seek out my help from time to time!


Right... that's all for now. The next post (coming soon) will be documenting what's NOT right with both Phee and myself right now. That's coming soon.

Surrey Calling!

I am making a big change in my life. It is bigger than anything I have done before. I am upping sticks completely and moving to Surrey!

Sophie is at University in Farnham, at the U.C.C.A. there. She's going to (hopefully) be there for another two years. That's a hell of a long time to be travelling up and back from Devon... it's hard going more than a few days without seeing her. My solution: Move there.

First off, I wanted to find a place to live. Being a non-student (and seeking a job), I thought this might be difficult. Indeed, Sophie's first phone call involved a woman laughing at her, telling her she'd never heard of such a thing and that we'd need luck. Thankfully, the next call proved more positive!

The tenancy agreement is signed and ready to go and we will have a "two room suite" in a five bedroom shared house in Hale Road, Farnham. It will be redecorated too, and we have the opportunity to add our personal influence to the house, as the landlord is very open to what we want to do. That includes putting my dartboard up and hopefully improving my form!

As well as a house, I needed to sort a job out. How else would I be paying the rent; Sophie's loan won't cover it! I took a couple days off and had three interviews. At the second interview, for a firm in Alton, I felt right at home as soon as I sat down. Wettone Matthews' office is very similar to Easterbrooks' Sidmouth office. Thankfully, they liked me as much as I liked them and offered me the position of Trainee Accountant. I will be starting ACCA training next year and will be getting a nice pay rise!

What else in my life will change with this move?

Well, my duties with Rockbeare Rangers Football Club will reduce drastically, as they have already begun to. As of next season, I shall merely be Webmaster. And President or Non-Executive Director! I want a poncy name after being one of the Club founders! I will miss playing, especially with Ian on board to change the Club's fortunes...

Goodridge (link requires Facebook account) will also be doing without my services! They have replaced me with Johnny Beer and I guess he can do the job! I will be getting a team shirt and might play the occasional game when I'm back visiting any weekend! My testimonial will be coming up soon, hopefully against Mikey P's team.

I will not text my postcode to 66611 and neither should you. But I digress.

Darts is taking a back foot. Which it needs! Instead, I shall help Sophie improve her game. She's really keen to get better. Actually, I think she just wants to beat me!

I'm leaving my friends and family behind. It's lucky most of them are on my Facebook really! It's going to be difficult at first, knowing only Sophie's Uni mates, my new housemates and my new work colleagues. This is the only scary bit of the move really. My increasing social anxiety worries me, as I don't want to freeze among new people. First impressions mean a lot!

The move is the weekend of 19th July. My new job started on Monday 21st July. I think I'll start a Facebook group. I mean, you'll wanna know when the Leaving Do, Housewarming and other such parties are... right?

My Life in Thirty Seconds...

Which is probably how long it'll take you to read this post!

My life is far more complicated than is absolutely necessary, usually by my own doing. I take a lot on, often too much at once. I help people out, as I feel I am a naturally caring person, and this has led to me getting shafted by various people.


Rockbeare Rangers are having a mixed season. And I've certainly had my ups and downs at the Club. I've given my two penny' worth to people that have asked, but for those of you that haven't, here's the quick version:

I helped form the Club, with Mark Walters (Chairman) and Ed Haine (Club Treasurer), as a number of us fancied playing regular football in the league. Some of us had played before and weren't happy with where we were, some of us fancied a change, some of us had never played league football before.

We needed someone to take control, and given my extensive Football Manager knowledge, I thought I'd have a go. A few positive friendlies later, I fuck up the start to our season by changing formation. I wonder if it would have made a difference.

After five or so games, the so-called Player Rep decides he's taking over. No discussion with the Board, just the players. And so begins the internal war. Now, I distanced myself from the Club for a bit by spending time with Sophie in Farnham. I still went to training (was injured for one week) but I was never likely to make the first XI. I was fine with that.
But the Board as whole were becoming more and more annoyed by the players trying to run the Club we had started. And not for the right reasons. So the Manager was replaced, in the proper manner.

This Manager subsequently left for personal reasons! We have now found an experienced Coach to come in and show us what has been going wrong. And after one training session and one half time team talk, things are already being learnt! We have a tough match at home to Awliscombe United tomorrow, who beat us 1-5 at their place. The report will be on the site on Monday!

We currently sit fifth from bottom in Inter 2. We have the promise to finish higher...


Money is a real concern right now. My "friend" Codge has his Mum die in October 2006. I leant him my Credit Card to help pay for the funeral. See? A nice guy, I am.
He screws me over. I'm left having to pay £125 a month to pay off his Credit Card debt, while he gives me between nothing and £300 a month... usually nothing. This leaves me a tad short, given I have my own debts to contend with!!

In addition, my previous house has outstanding bills. One of my former housemates is rubbish with money, choosing mainly to spend his on drugs. It leaves the rest of us trying to keep the debt collectors at bay.

Help will be at hand in May, when I upgrade my o2 mobile phone account. I'm thinking of getting a Sony Ericsson k850i, the latest model in my current phone's range on Online 30 (24 month tariff) as it includes unlimited o2 to o2 calls. I shall read the small print before I do...!


My love life really couldn't be better! Sophie and I have been together for over a year now and are closer than we've ever been. I could gush about how great she is, but you may be eating so I'll direct you to my Facebook profile if you wanna know how fantastic she is. Having started as a long distance relationship (she's originally from Hull), we have gone full circle while she is away at Uni in Farnham. We spend every weekend together though and are constantly on the phone or MSN to each other.

We do make the most of our time together, and try very hard not to take it for granted. We go for drives in the country, try to visit our families (mine is easier to visit as they're closer) or just stay in and enjoy each others company. Needless to say, we have an amazing sex life! We are so in tune with each other and that makes all the difference.

Sophie is currently doing a three year university course in journalism at Farnham UCCA. If she follows the journalist route, she would need to live quite close to London. To this end, I shall be attempting to relocate to Farnham in the summer. For someone who has never lived more than 14 miles from his place of birth, this represents a huge step. This is proving rather difficult though, as changing jobs and houses at the same time is nigh on impossible sometimes. It's all very much in the mixer at the moment, nothing is definite, apart from the intent!


Darts isn't going well. As many people know, I've played darts for over half my life... and once upon a time I used to be quite good at it. I've represented my county at Under-21 level and have gotten to the second round of the National Youth Competition. I captained my own side in the Sidmouth League for many years and now loosely captain a team in the Honiton League, not by choice! But my season has been appalling. Never have I suffered from such nerves. I am confident in my ability and know I can beat a lot of players in the leagues in which I play. But recently, my nerves have cost me games and I even missed the board completely going for bull!

So I'm taking a step back. Regardless of what happens in the summer, I will not be playing league darts next season. I will practice, play for fun and teach Sophie how to play. The way it's been going, I have not been enjoying my darts. And that's despite playing with two teams of people I really gt on with (mostly). Playing for fun is the only way to get my enjoyment of the game back...!


Work is alright. We've just had a hectic January at Easterbrook Eaton Limited. But on top of that I have a few personal clients. For privacy reasons I won't go into detail, but taken on this work outside of my usual office hours has been a little stressful! I can't help that I'm so damned good at it...

If I do end up moving, I will look at what I want to do. No doubt I won't change vocations just now... but a man of my intelligence should probably put it to the best use possible. I will apply myself more!


Well, there's a short (!) look at my life. I know... it's not that bad really!