We Are The Wood

Back On The Horse - FA Trophy preview ,recent happenings - All aboard the Boreham Bus!

2011-11-25T03:11:00.000-08:00

Hello again - missed me?

In the weeks since we last spoke, it's been a rollercoaster time for Wood. The fantastic winning streak came to an end, one of our midfielders played in a World Cup qualifier, the Inih Effiong saga was FINALLY resolved and one of our highly rated youngsters is on the verge of joining a top end Championship team. Crazy times indeed. Let's get down to business.

How have Wood been getting on in the league?
Well, since we last spoke...

+ Wood had two wins on the bounce, a 2-1 victory over Bromley at home, followed by a cracking 4-2 win against Saturday's opponents Dover. Bromley were dispatched with goals from David Bryant (who had picked up his BSS Player of the Month award before the game) and Luke Wilkinson. Bromley responded with a 35 yard howitzer from Danny Waldren. I brought a record EIGHT friends along with me to the game. Murray demanded I mentioned his Hot Dog. There you go.

+ The 4-2 win against Dover was highlighted by an impressive hattrick from young striker Michael Thallasitis, who had hit a hattrick the previous week for the reserves. Joining on the score sheet was, you guessed it, David Bryant. The pair have struck up quite the partership in their brief time together, with Thallasitis' ability to drag defences out of position crucial in helping Bryant add to his goal tally. Wood played the majority of the game with 10 men after Luke Wilkinson's dismissal in the 17th minute. Club Captain Luke Garrard made his first team return after 3 months out injured which was a big boost to the side.

- Sadly the good run had to come to an end, and after 5 successive wins (and eight games unbeaten overall) in the league, Wood went down 2-0 away at Welling United. To lose to a team who are second in the league and are unbeaten at home all season is no disgrace, and with Wood's side learning with every game, there were plenty of positives to take out of the game. Lee Clarke grabbed both goals for the home side.

The defeat at Welling was followed with a battling 1-1 draw away at Basingstoke. Both teams had good chances to take all 3 points, so by all accounts a draw away at a team who were sitting in sixth in the league (and have a 14 match unbeaten run in the league!) is nothing to be sniffed at, and shows the continued improvement in the side since the poor start to the season - much like Arsenal! Wood fell behind to a Toby Little screamer, only to snatch a deserved point through returning Captain Fantastic Luke Garrard, whose good finish from 10 yards gave Wood a valuable point and the man himself a rare appearance on the scoresheet. Welcome back, Luke!

Has it all been league action?

No! Wood made their first appearance of the season in the Hertfordshire FA Senior Challenge Cup, sneaking a 2-1 win after extra time against Hertford Town. Wood fell behind to a Mark Draper goal (no, not THAT Mark Draper), but were soon on level terms with a Chez Isaac penalty. 90 minutes could not separate the two teams, but in the 99th minute, 17 year old Dean Rubinia latched onto a long ball and cooly finished to send Wood through to the next round.

Any comings or goings in the team?

Good news from Meadow Park is that Chez Isaac, Simon Cox and Michael Thallasitis, who have all been very instrumental in recent good performances, have agreed to extend their recent loan spells at Wood. Joining them is Inih Effiong, who has returned from his spell at Concord Rangers, and is immediately back in first team plans. Let's hope his spell away did him good. There has also been a significant move made for one of the stars of the season, Pelly Ruddock.

Oh really, where is he off to?

Well, he has had a trial at West Ham, with rumours of interest from Crystal Palace and QPR. The trial was initially meant to only be for a week, but The Hammers were so impressed they extended it by another week, and a deal has been 'Agreed in Principle' for Ruddock to join an as yet undisclosed team, who must be West Ham. This is a fantastic move for both player and club, and again goes to show how fruitful the Wood PASE scheme has been, developing exciting and talented youngsters for a career at a higher level. This deal is really a credit not only to the player, but everyone involved in his development. Best of luck, Pelly - I'll keep an eye out for you!

Back to Inih Effiong - has that whole saga been resolved?

Yes, at long last - after a tribunal held at Wembley, Boreham Wood FC were said to have been very pleased by the 'fairness shown' by the FA in their verdict, which turned out to be a £1,500 fee with a 20% sell on fee. Ian Rodley, chairman of St Albans, had been looking for £5,000 and 50%, so I imagine he wasn't leaving the home of English Football best pleased. In a statement, Wood Chairman Danny Hunter drew a line under the matter, saying the following

“As I said clearly in my only statement on this way back on August 3^rd. St Albans City’s Chairman Mr Ridley, will not be judged by making huge issues or unrealistic demands over Inih Effiong that’s just a distraction. He’ll be judged by the St Albans City supporters on what he achieves on and off the field over the coming years and by the success he brings to them and the appointments he makes.”

“However, contrary to what some people think, I genuinely wish the Saints board and their supporters well. People should remember my father Micky Hunter managed St Albans City in the 70’s for a short time. Although Dad tried very hard, he couldn’t be the success he or we as a family, had hoped he’d be at Clarence Park and this obviously cost him his job, but that’s football.

"I now live in the St Albans area, as do my kids, my brother, my nephews and nieces and a good working relationship with St Albans is great for everyone, so let me emphasise again, let this now be the end of the matter and let’s hope both clubs have a successful end to the season”

What's this I hear about a Wood player playing in a World Cup Qualifier?

Justine Cochrane, who returned to Meadow Park this season, flew out to Antigua and Barbuda to represent his adopted nation in their big qualifying match against Haiti. The Antiguan minnows actually ran out 1-0 winners in a famous victory. If selected, Cochrane could now go on to face Jamaica, Mexico and the USA in the next round. Everyone at Wood is very proud to have a full international in the squad.

I hear there is yet another PASE success story?

You don't miss much, do you? Indeed, Charlie Hunter and Ruddock Yala are both through to the final trials of the English College selection process. Both players are in a 18 man squad which will go to Lilleshall between 9-11th December, where the full squad will be picked. Best of luck to both lads involved - do us proud! Cameron Baker-Owens and Harvey Scott-Morris were also selected for trials. Again, a wonderful advert for the PASE scheme.

Finally - what is this about a blog who have taken on Wood as their team to follow? I hear that you are on a podcast as well?

Oh you. Yes, the guys over at Dodgy Knees and Dirty Balls have taken on Boreham Wood as their chosen team - 'All aboard the Boreham Bus'! We also have a fortnightly podcast where I update the team on Wood's latest goings on, as well as giving my forthright views on other matters. Our last podcast got up to second in the amateur sports podcast, behind the Alan Davies fronted 'The Tuesday Club', which is an Arsenal podcast and has the weight of the star of QI behind it. Our pod can be found on itunes or on the blog itself, so please help support us! We even have a day out at a Wood game planned, which should be a decent drink up to say the least!

WAIT! Are Wood playing today?

Yes! We are at home to Dover in the FA Trophy. COME ON WOOD!

That's it from me - again, apologies for a lack of updates recently - personal matters sometimes come in the way of these things. I can be found here in the comments section, on twitter @wearethewood and via @DodgyKneesBlog as well (I don;t man it, but can be found in and around there). Please continue to share, RT etc - I really appreciate it.

Until next time.....

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Two wins from Two, Two new signings and Two departures - Recent happenings at Wood

2011-11-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

Reinvigorated from a not even mid season break, let’s get back into the world of Wood, shall we?

Since we last met Wood have gone from strength to strength with two more victories in a row, leaving them with an impressive 16 points from their last available 18. The games went as follows:

Dorchester 0 Wood 1 – In a game which I couldn’t attend, Wood came out one nil winners courtesy of David Bryant’s looping header in the 36^th minute. From all accounts it was a tight game with not too much in the way of clear cut chances, but also a game Wood never looked like losing. This game was notable for the debuts of Sam Cox and David Hutton, who joined the team from Barnet (Cox, on a one month loan) and The Glenn Hoddle Academy (Hutton). The two debutants, who had never even trained with the team before, came into the side and helped Wood to a valuable win. Wood boss Ian Allison remarked afterwards:

“ (It was) Thoroughly deserved. We were organised and strong today. Once we got in front we looked a hard side to break down. Credit must go to Sam Cox and David Hutton. They played their part commendably considering they have never trained with us. I only met Sam before Kick Off! Special praise must also go to David Bryant whose goals have earned us back to back wins on the road. With six players to come back at some stage from injury I feel we will only get stronger.”

Wood lined up as follows: Putnins, Sankofa (Sub – Hunter 79 mins.) Jones, Cox, O’Loughlin, Wilkinson, Lechmere, Isaac, Thalassitis (Sub – Ruddock 48 mins.), Bryant, Hutton.

Subs (Not used): Akinola, Martin, Baker-Owers.

I returned to Meadow Park the following Monday, for the home game against Maidenhead United. This game was of added importance to me as my colleague Phil is from Maidenhead and so any chance to gloat is warmly received. Taking my usual place (5 rows behind the home dug out), I anxiously awaited my first game in a while. It was perhaps this anxiety to get as much out of the game as possible that I failed to notice two stars of the game sitting nearby. Dave Beasant had made the trip to see his son keep goal for the visitors (in the line of Father/Son goalkeepers – Peter and Kasper Schmeichel, John and John Jr Lukic, er…..), and Glenn Hoddle came down to see how David Hutton was faring. Stevenage’s Graham Westley was also in attendance.

This game was a stark reminder of the opening few weeks of the season, as it was absolutely dreadful, but Wood managed to hang on under severe pressure and take hiome the three points. With both sides playing 2 games in 3 days, there were a lot of tired legs out there. Again, both of the new signings started, with Sam Cox spending a lot of the first half chasing the ball ,being caught out of position on a number of occasions to the point where player coach Luke Garrard had to have a word as the half time whistle blew to go over his positioning. This seemed to spur Sam on, as he was fantastic in a second half that would soon descend into niggly fouls and on a couple of occasions, near full squad brawls.

The first half was quite one sided in Maidenhead’s favour, and overall quite poor. Wood’s best chance of the opening stages fell to the in form David Bryant, who saw an effort cleared of the line after finding himself free at a corner. This was a rare chance for the home side who had been under pressure from the opening stages. First, Charlie O’ Loughlin made a fantastic saving challenge with a Maidenhead striker bearing down on goal, and later picked up a yellow card for stopping the same player with a less than fair challenge. However- and this should come as no surprise to those who have been following this blog, Elvis Putjnins was the man who kept Wood in the game with a series of outstanding saves. The first came with Manny Williams bearing down on goal, only for Elvis to make a brave stop at his feet with the goal at Williams’ mercy. Wood looked likely to concede, with Cox as noted struggling to adjust to the pace of the game.

Our other new signing was to grab what turned out to be the winner just before half time. After a long ball into the box, danger man David Bryant was hauled to the ground in a manner normally seen in a WWE wrestling ring as opposed to the Blue Square South. The offender managed to stay out of the referee’s notebook and Sam Hutton slammed in the penalty, despite young Beasant getting two firm hands on the ball. Wembley 88 this was not.

Unfortunately this is where the game began to turn sour. Nevin Saroya, who was lucky to escape without a booking for the penalty incident, absolutely crunched Michael Thalassitis just before the break, and picked up a yellow card in the process. It was a shocking challenge which could have seen red if the official was competent, but alas…. No, I’m not going to get into this again.

Following the half time interval, Maidenhead came out looking for an equaliser, as well as blood it seemed. Within a few minutes Thalassitis was again on the receiving end of a shocking challenge, this time from Bradley Quamina, and tempers began to flare. In the second half alone there were at least 3 opportunities for players to see red on both sides, and it turned into an ill disciplined affair which I assume both managers will not want to see. Sam Letchmere, who minutes before had seen a sensational overhead kick saved following good work from Osei Sankofa, almost had his season ended with another disgusting challenge from the visitors, this time from Reece Tison-Lascaris. In the ensuing melee a Maidenhead substitute managed to get booked, adding to the chaos. To round off a game filled with aggression, play was stopped for what seemed like an eternity as an almost full scale brawl broke out, which amounted to nothing more than a lot of shirt grabbing and the odd shove. The referee had long before lost the respect of the players, and did not handle this well.

With the game nearing it’s conclusion, it began to become more and more stretched. Maidenhead tested Wood on at least 3 occasions, but that man Elvis was in supreme form, denying them on each occasion. On the one time he was beaten, from a deep corner headed across him, Charlie O’ Loughlin was there to clear off the line, despite the protests that the ball had indeed crossed. Wood survived, and even wasted a chance to go two up when sub Pelly Ruddock sprung the offside trap and was clear through on goal, only to shoot straight at Beasant. The referee announced seven minutes for stoppages, in which I must have screamed ‘BLOW UP’ at least 47 times, but Wood held firm and picked up a crucial three points to put them up to seventh in the table (for 24 hours at least).

Dashing to make my train (I decided halfway down the road to stay at my parents house), I missed the post match fracas involving Manny Williams, who decided not only to confront the Wood bench at full time, but also kick in a few advertising boards at the same time. Stay classy Manny, stay classy.

Man of the Match was, AGAIN, Elvis Putnis, who produced another performance worthy of a much higher league than this one. Here’s hoping QPR don’t get wind of this and we get to keep him for much longer.

Wood lined up as follows:

Team: Putnins, Sankofa (Sub – Hunter 77 mins.), Jones, Cox, O’Loughlin, Wilkinson, Lechmere (Sub – Ruddock 64 mins.), Isaac, Thalassitis (Sub – Akinola 90+5 mins.), Bryant, Hutton.

Subs (Not used): Martin, Baker-Owers.

In other Wood news:

· David Bryant was named ‘Blue Square South Player of The Month’ for his goalscoring heroics throughout October, which have seen Wood’s season turn around. Much deserved (although it could have been a joint award with Elvis) – well done David!

· We have had to say goodbye to Nathan Koranteng, who returned to Woking after a successful one month loan at Meadow Park. Nathan was always a threat down the left and gave us real width, and will surely be remembered fondly for a spell which included a rasper against Dartford, as well as a fantastic assist against Hampton. Cheers Nathan, all the best for the rest of the season (accept against us!)

· Joining Nathan out the door, albeit ion loan, is Inih Effiong, who has joined Concord Rangers. I’ve expressed many a time how frustrating Inih can be, as well as how much talent he has, so I hope the loan spell does him well and he returns to Wood with renewed vigour. Ian Allinson has stated that Inih is still definitely in his first team plans.

· The Wood youth team crashed out of the FA Youth cup in the first round after a fantastic run, away at Thurrock. Thurrock took the lead in the 78^th minute and killed the game in added time. A tough break for the youngsters but well done on a good run to get to the first round.

· Wood’s game at Basingstoke has been moved to Tuesday 22^nd November, which is a royal pain in the arse.

This Saturday sees my return to Meadow Park, to hopefully exact revenge on the Bromley side who humiliated us 4-0 in the second game of the season (see previous posts for that one). Bromley are currently preparing themselves for a FA Cup first round tie away at Leyton Orient, after beating Dartford in the last qualifying round. Sitting 5 places below us in the league in 14^th, Bromley have had an inconsistent season after such a strong start (having said that we were utterly dire at the start of the season). With Wood on such a good run and Bromley surely thinking of Brisbane Road, I’m hoping and expecting a home win tomorrow. I will have at least 5 mates with me at the game tomorrow, so it should be a good laugh. Full match report on Monday.

Thanks as always for all your support - My self imposed break has got the writing bug back so I am looking forward to more updates over the next few weeks, including an on-going Football Manager blog as I attempt to guide Wood out of the BSS on the new version of the game. Please share, comment, debate, argue – I can be found on twitter @wearethewood, in the comments below and at all home games and most away ones. Cheers!

One last Plug - I'll be appearing on the Dodgy Knees Podcast this weekend (up early next week on itunes), where I will be discussing Wood and other football issues. More details when I have them.

Until next time….

WE ARE THE WOOD!

The Week at Wood: Away win at Hampton, Dorchester preview and News Round up

2011-10-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

With both teams not participating in the weekends FA Cup features, Wood were on the road last weekend for a re-arranged fixture against Hampton and Richmond Borough.

One of the major plus points of my recent move to South London is that most of the away games are easily commutable from Waterloo, and Hampton was no different. With a door to door journey of just under an hour, my trip to The Beveree was pleasant, quick and thankfully didn’t involve First Capital Connect in any way, shape or form.

The ground itself was a gentle 5 minute stroll from the station, but, me being me, I was still concerned I was going the wrong way (seriously, my sense of direction is so awful that once I had to get a cab, A CAB, from Liverpool Street to Fenchurch Street. That’s not a long journey) so I asked the nearest person who looked like they were heading for the ground if I was going on the same route. Thankfully he was, and as we walked towards the ground we chatted about the game (I think it was obvious I had come from Borehamwood), and he revealed that he was there on a scouting mission for Welling, who were Hampton’s next opponents. We then proceeded to spend the next 40 minutes (up until kick off) chatting about various teams in the league, our sides respective chances and other players who we have seen at this level (there was a surprising amount of vitriol spewed towards Rocky Baptiste at this point). Despite my lack of knowledge (but growing by the week!), I managed to hold my own in the chat and enjoyed a few shared anecdotes. As kick off approached, we parted ways as we had different jobs to do (he scouting, me swearing and occasionally eating) for the next 90 minutes.

The Beveree itself is exactly what you would expect a ground to look like in Hampton. It was charming, with a nice backdrop, and at times you felt as if you were watching a game in a nearby mansions back garden. The main stand was divided into one large stand and one smaller stand put right next to it. I took my seat in line with the half way line, and despite a pillar being a bit in the way, had a good view of the game.

The match itself was very much a ‘smash and grab’, to use a tired football cliché. Wood made one change to the side that beat Dartford, with Charlie Hunter in at right back due to Daniel Brathwate’s knee injury (when I spoke to him at full time he was unsure of how bad it was – insider gossip right there), with Mark Jones switching back to his natural role at left back.

The first half was scrappy at best, marred by, you’ve guessed it – another poor refereeing performance. I won’t go too much into detail here but although this referee looked like Pieruigi Collina, he certainly wasn’t and made some shoddy decisions for both side, most notably in the first half when he booked Justin Cochrane for the heinous crime of winning the ball cleanly in a challenge. That was sadly the main contribution from the skipper, who limped off early to be replaced by Pelly Ruddock, giving an already young side an even younger average age. Ruddock handled himself admirably in replacing Cochrane, using the ball smartly and always looking to get forward.

With the game drifting towards half time, and David Bryant and Mark Jones exchanging words on more than one occasion (Bryant was justly annoyed at a lack of support, Jones was basically calming him down), the ball broke to Nathan Koranteng down the left hand side in space. Bringing the ball forward, Koranteng whipped a perfect ball in, Bryant nipped in with no pressure from the home defence and headed home his 6^th goal of the season, which puts him clear leader at the top of the Wood goalscoring charts. The referee blew up for half time shortly after and Wood were just about value for their lead.

At half time I decided to check out the club house, which had it’s own curry service going, which makes a change from pies and hot dogs (which were also available)! A colleague at work, with whom I would have gone to the game if it had of been on it’s original date, advised me that the local curry house was sensational, but sadly I had a big breakfast and as such didn’t quite fancy a Tikka Massale (not that down for the record books). I settled instead for a pint of Magners (£3.60 a pint at Non League Football? Outrageous) and headed back to my seat, with the drinking regulations seemingly relaxed in this part of the world. I wasn’t complaining.

I needed the drink it turned out, as the second half was far more nervy than the first. Hampton came at Wood for most of the second half, but Wood started brightly with Chez Issac’s long range effort being beaten out by Hampton keeper Mark Lovett. From then on, it was mainly the Elvijs Putnins show, as he kept the hosts at bay with a series of outstanding saves, including one which I have to put down as my save of the season, keeping out Charlie Moone’s rasper that was headed for the top corner with an athletic one handed stop. It was a performance of real assurance (bar one mishap with a passback which was hastily put into touch) from the on loan Latvian, and if it wasn’t for him Wood would have easily lost by at least 3. Bravo Elvijs.

There were a couple of chances at the other end, the best one falling to Michael Thalassitis, who capitalised on a poor back pass to round the last defender and the goalkeeper, only to put it over with an open goal facing him. In his defence it was from a tight angle and under pressure, but I am sure he would have been disappointed with that one, to put it in the dullest, blandest Alan Shearer analysis.

With Nathan Koranteng coming off with a knock, Jordan Lawal came on and quickly adapted to the pace of the game, making a few good runs and using the ball wisely with Ruddock. With time ticking away a Hampton ball into the box eluded everyone and drifted just wide, as half the players were ready to wheel away in celebration. However, it wasn’t to be and Wood left Buckinghamshire with 3 points and an away clean sheet. A great day out all’s told! My day out finished with another conversation on the way home with the Welling Scout (whose name I didn’t pick up, sadly), offending a few AFC Wimbledon fans along the way. I could do with more away trips like this!

My Man of the Match award is obviously to Elvijs Putnins, who gave his performance of the season and kept Wood in the lead with his stunning saves. Well done that lad. Other shout outs go to Mark Jones, whose experience was invaluable on the day with such a young team, as well as centre backs Charlie O’ Loughlin, who was dominant in the air, and Luke Wilkinson, who read the game well and snuffed out danger well. Their partnership will become key as the season progresses. In midfield, everyone worked hard, and Isasac and Ruddock particularly impressed, the latter in an unusual role in the middle of the park. Nathan Koranteng looked threatening again, and added an assist to his goal against Dartford, and up front both Bryant and Thalassitis worked tirelessly, with the former showing his knack of being in the right place at the right time to nod in the winner and move Wood up to 16^th place.

Wood lined up as follows:

Team: Putnins, Hunter, Jones, Isaac, O’Loughlin, Wilkinson, Lechmere, Cochrane (Sub – Ruddock 28 mins.), Thalassitis (Sub – Effiong 86 mins.), Bryant, Koranteng (Sub – Lawal 64 mins.).

Subs (Not used): Akinola, Jordan.

This weekend sees Wood travel to The Avenue Stadium and Dorchester Town, in a game that sadly I will not be able to attend as I simply cannot make the journey down there. Dorchester sit just one place above Wood in the league, which adds more importance to the game. To say they have been inconsistent would be an understatement, winning five and losing eight of their opening league fixtures, so maybe a draw is not the best bet tomorrow (or is it?)!

Dorchester have injury worries surrounding their captain Mark Jermyn, who picked up a knee injury in their 3-2 defeat at Welling, and had been targeting this game as his return to the team. Hopefully this game may be one too far for him!

Town’s main goal threat comes from Ryan Moss, who has 4 in the league this season. Moss, in his 3^rd spell at the club, is a ‘very strong, quick target man’, who should give Wilko and Charlie some trouble on Saturday and so the centre backs will need to be on their toes from the first minute (thankfully Wood’s lacklustre starts seem to be fading somewhat). He is joined up front by former Crawley front man Chris Flood, who will look to race onto any knock downs from Moss to exploit his pace.

PREDICTION: With Wood on such a good run, with 10 points from their last possible 12, I’m going to stick my neck out and predict that we will continue this good form with a solid away win. Blue Square Bet has us at 7/4, which must be worth a fiver of anyones money, maybe even mine.

In other news from the club:

The official website ran an interesting article in regards to the current youth movement at Meadow Park, including an interview with new assistant manager Daryl McMahon. More of this please!

The Youth Team themselves marched into the first round of the FA Youth Cup where they will travel to hurrock in a game they will fancy winning, This comes after a 2-0 at home to Billericay on Thursday evening.

And that’s about it! Thanks as always for reading, much appreciated. Please continue to share, RT, comment etc. I can be found on twitter @wearethewood, and enjoy all interaction with followers, be they wood players or opposing fans!

Until next time…..

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Wood 3 Dartford 1, Part 2 - Youngsters run riot, Possible Turning Point?, Mini Hampton and Richmond Preview, Match thoughts

2011-10-14T08:20:00.001-07:00

Onto the game itself…

As I sat and discussed the Chairman’s article with the locals, someone said ‘Oh here he is’ and I was met with the nauseating sight of Teddy Sheringham and what I had assumed was his daughter but turned out to be his girlfriend. He was of course there to see his son Charlie line up as the dangerman for Dartford. I’m delighted to say that I doubt Teddy had too much fun at the game as Charlie and Dartford had a day to forget. With a youthful line up on display, including debutant Michael Thalassitis, who joined the club on loan on Friday from League One Stevenage Town, Boreham Wood were looking to get 3 points on the board and start turning their season around.

Wood got off to a blistering start within 40 seconds, as Chez Isaac, in his first contribution to what would be a man of the match performance, received the ball 35 yards out, looked up and unleashed an absolute howitzer into the top corner, leaving Dartford Keeper Andrew Young helpless as he dived in vain to try and keep out the shot. 1-0 with a Goal of The Season Contender! A fine and unexpected start to say the least.

Unfortunately the lead was only to last 5 minutes, as Dartford equalised due to some shambolic defending from a set piece, with a corner (which was given after a lapse of concentration from Daniel Brathwaite almost led to a goalscoring chance) being allowed to pinball around the box before being fired home by Elliott Bradbrook. The groans of frustration could be heard from the stands as we thought it might be a case of ‘Here we go again’, but thankfully it wasn’t to be.

The next 10 minutes were all Dartrford, and Elvis Putnins was called upon on more than one occasion two keep the scores level. First, he dived low down to his left to keep out a goal bound deflection, and secondly showed both excellent bravery and agility in making a double save from point blank range . Three vital stops which gave Wood confidence and perhaps shook Dartford a little, as they were being repelled by Putnins and his backline, who after a shaky start (sound familiar?) were beginning to hold their own, with O’ Loughlin and Wilkinson imperious at centre back, as well as Mark Jones playing out of position at right back, but coping admirably.

Wood’s second was a product of skill and endeavour. David Bryant, who again ran tirelessly whilst showing some excellent touches and is seemingly coming into his own up front, worked his way through three Dartford defenders, before the ball broke loose to Michael Thalassitis, who showed great composure in front of goal to bury it into the bottom corner for 2-1. A debut goal, and a well deserved one at that. The initial loan period we have is one month, but judging by Thalassitis’ endeavour, skill and finishing ability, Wood will look to keep hold of him for longer. Again, at 18 he is another youngster in the setup, but importantly he is one who is looking to prove himself and give his all for the team (Maybe a certain Mr Effiong could take notice?). Bryant then had a great chance to make it 3-1, with two chances in quick succession, but both were foiled by a combination of goalkeeper and defenders. As the half came to a close, Bryant almost turned provider again for Justin Cochrane, enjoying his second spell at the club and the captain’s armband, but the midfielders shot was deflected just wide for a corner. Wood went into the break 2-1 up and deserving of more, and I must admit I was fearing our prolifigacy in front of goal would come back to haunt us. Still, 2-1 up against the team sitting in second was a good start for me.

Thankfully my fears were ill founded as would put on a dominant display in the second half and never really looked like losing. With Chez Isaac outstanding in the middle of the park, both in defence and moving forward, Wood began to move the ball around freely and create more chances. After Luke Wilkinson failed to capitalise on time and space with a poor shot, Wood went 3-1 up with a moment of quick thinking genius. Nathan Koranteng, who had looked threatening if a little clumsy in the first half, picked up the ball just inside the Dartford area, brought the ball on 20 yards, and with the crowd and Dartford expecting him to cross, caught The Darts cold with a left footed drive which rasped into the bottom corner. It was a great strike and a great moment, as it came by complete surprise and the joy on the scorers face was clear to see for all the fans as he raced to celebrate with his team mates. It was also clear to see the relief from Ian Allinson, who had to have been feeling a lot of pressure with the recent result at Slough and the Chairman’s comments prior to the game.

Save for a worrying moment when Ryan Hayes saw his curling effort hit the inside of the post and roll along the line and out, Wood shut up shop and were very good value for their win. It was a true team performance, which given the noise around the place beforehand was probably the only option. Both O’ Loughlin and Wilkinson excelled at centre back (O’ Loughlin was a big miss in the loss to Slough), both Koranteng and Sam Lechmere ran constantly at Dartford’s defence, causing problems all game. Mark Jones, despite being on his weak side all game, was exceptional and kept the Dartford forwards relatively quiet down his flank, and both David Bryant and Michael Thalassitis (who had a debut to remember) were excellent up front, full of running and ingenuity. My man of the match award was a very close run affair, with Elvis Putnins, who made at least 4 outstanding saves, missing out to Chez Issac, whose all round display was Wood’s best of the season. Getting Wood off to a great start with a wonder strike, mopping up in midfield and always looking to start an attack, the young Watford loanee was fantastic. Well done that lad. The fact that it came in front of Wood’s largest crowd of the season (due to the travelling support) made it all that much sweeter. Not to mention old Teddy.

Wood lined up as follows

Team: Putnins, Jones, Brathwaite, Cochrane, O’Loughlin, Wilkinson, Lechmere, Isaac, Thalassitis (Sub – Effiong 79 mins.), Bryant, Koranteng (Sub – Beckford 84 mins.).

Subs (Not used): Hunter, Akinola, Jordan.

This Saturday sees Wood travel to Hampton and Richmond Borough for a re-arranged game due to both teams exits from the FA Cup. How embarrassing. I will be making the journey down to the Beveree Stadium for the game, and am very much relieved it’s been moved to this Saturday as the country approaches Winter.Maybe Vince Cable, patron of the club, will be in attendance so I can share my forthright views on his part in the absolute state the country is in. But I digress.

It’s a game Wood will be looking to win, with Hampton sitting bottom of the league with just 6 points after 11 games so far this season. Wood, having shot up to the heady heights of 17^th will surely see last weekends result against Dartford as an opportunity to springbnoard their season and push on. With no injury/team news coming out of Wood, the team that beat Dartford should be more than capable of going down to Hampton and coming back with the three points. Blue Square bet have Wood at slight favourites at 13/10, and I’m going to go with them for an overdue away victory for Wood.

Admission is £11, and the journey is only 40 minutes from waterloo (actually easier for me than going to Meadow Park!), so if you are stuck without something to do, why not pop along? I’ll be the one shouting too much in the away end.

As always, thanks for all support, reads, RTs, shares etc. It is always appreciated, trust me. I can be found on twitter @wearethewood, or in the comments section below. Or even at a game, just come up and say hello! All constructive criticism will be met with me rushing to the toilets to have a good old weep.

Until next time…..

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Wood 3 Dartford 1, Part 1: The Chairman Speaks, The Backroom re-shuffles

2011-10-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

I bloody knew I should have tipped us to win in the preview blog…

I strolled into Meadow Park last Saturday (after negotiating a disgusting service from First Capital Connect) in a confident mood. Maybe it was because I didn’t have a hangover on a Saturday morning. Maybe it was because I was asked on the way in if I was the physio’s boyfriend (for the record, I am not). Or maybe, just maybe, it was because despite their respective positions in the league I fancied Wood to pick up all 3 points against Dartford.

For the first time this season I purchased a programme. I’m not normally a programme person, in fact I often find them a waste of time (I have been brought up on Arsenal’s ‘tow the line’ approach to programmes where nothing approaching an opinion is allowed in). However, with the recent soundbites of ‘disruptive influences in the dressing room’, I thought I would chance my arm and see if there would be any follow up to this. I was glad I did.

In a two page statement called ‘A Progress Report’ (I believe these appear regularly), chairman Danny Hunter got straight to the point in a manner not normally seen from club chairmen - complete honesty. Selected highlights from the article include:

'With myself and the staff at the club putting so much work into improving things in pre-season, perhaps I have, as Chairman, taken my eye off a few things since, and although I have observed situations of late that haven't been acceptable to bringing success on the field, I haven't dealt with them quickly enough'

'When I read John Mead's recent match report on our performance at Slough last week, it was emotive, provoking and passionate, but it also asked more questions than it answered...which got me thinking that our supporters needed to be kept informed of the clubs problems from time to time, as your understanding is essential. So perhaps what's needed is a dollop of truth, and perhaps it needed to be aired constructively, by myself, to the gaffer and to the dressing room.'

'As such we all had a very positive meeting here at the club on Monday evening prior to their training. We discussed expectations and the clubs ambition, the standards required, the consistency needed at this level and the problems collectively we've encountered this season. We discussed injuries, players making themselves unavailable and certain senior players and staff being disruptive, we discussed indiscipline and with some a lack of desire to progress with us as a football club.

'Apart from perhaps Woking, Dover and Dartford, we can compete with the other clubs in this division on a level playing field. No disrespect intended to Sutton United, Welling Basingstoke, Bromley, Farnborough, Havant, Salisbury, Eastleigh, Eastbourne or even Chelmsford, who I suppose are the next crop of contenders. As long as we are a united club, with a great changing room spirit, we can, with hard work and good players, challenge!'

'Yes, those clubs get 300 more than us, but that's 25 times a season, and this equates, at a rough £10 split, to around £70,000, which we can and do make up elsewhere. It's simple.'

'...we have a profitable club, we are also desperately trying to progress and we are ambitious enough to have a go!!'

'Quite rightly this week has seen some soul searching, certainly from myself, so I hope that everyone can now accept that we can all do a lot better from top to bottom with a clear resolve to improve things across the board.'

Quite the statement (and this was the abridged version) I think you’ll agree. Let’s look at some of the key points and ramifications:

‘Perhaps I have taken my eye off the ball/haven’t dealt with problems quickly enough’

Straight to the point – things had begun to fester at Boreham Wood, and the chairman has admitted that he has maybe not been as close as he should have been to nip this in the bud. The acknowledgement is the key part. No head in the sand here.

‘which got me thinking that our supporters needed to be kept informed of the clubs problems from time to time, as your understanding is essential. So perhaps what's needed is a dollop of truth, and perhaps it needed to be aired constructively, by myself, to the gaffer and to the dressing room.'

Two points here – firstly, the fans could be doing with being updated on a more regular basis, particularly with the high turnover in players we have had this season. It’s a tough job with a seeming revolving door at times at Meadow Park, but a few lines on the website or even a weekly re-cap of comings and goings wouldn’t go amiss (particularly for those of us who like to write about the team) . Secondly, I wasn’t too sure about the whole dishing out the truth message coming from Hunter himself, but in any case it seemed to do the trick on Saturday. I just hope that it doesn’t become too regular an occurrence!

‘We discussed injuries, players making themselves unavailable and certain senior players and staff being disruptive, we discussed indiscipline and with some a lack of desire to progress with us as a football club’

This is where the real changes started to be seen – it seems as if Darren Currie, who came to the club in the summer from Rushden as player/assistant manager, was the negative and disruptive influence in the dressing room, as he has been replaced by Daryl McMahon as assistant manager! Again, no statement has been made from the club regarding this, but it was a quick transition as I found out by looking at the squad page of the programme! Obviously I have no idea about the goings on behind the scenes when it comes to these matters, but his reaction to being taken off at Chelmsford (one which I mistakenly took for passion) was in hindsight an obvious example of his disruptive influence. As for players making themselves unavailable – Stephen O’ Leary being the obvious example, not showing up against Staines and then not being seen again, I can appreciate that it can be hard at times for players with other commitments be it work or study, but for those who flat out refuse or do not even show up, the club is far better off without them. It seems a hard line approach is now in place at Wood, with hungry young players looking for their chances to shine in the first team. With only 4 certain starters in the team, competition is rife and players cannot afford to be in any ways not giving 100%.

'Yes, those clubs get 300 more than us, but that's 25 times a season, and this equates, at a rough £10 split, to around £70,000, which we can and do make up elsewhere. It's simple.'

'...we have a profitable club, we are also desperately trying to progress and we are ambitious enough to have a go!!'

This was a very interesting few paragraphs, as it’s not often you see a chairman come out and explicitly talk about financial matters, especially when it comes to how better off you are than a lot of your rivals! Whilst I don’t think it will do Hunter’s reputation amongst rival fans much good (and I suppose if you make comments like these you are hardly likely to care), it does give Wood fans reassurance that Wood can and will compete with the majority of the league. I know the injuries have been talked about again and again, but it has been very cruel this season, and with a full squad to pick from I’m sure we would be pushing at least the play offs now. With key players returning at Christmas and with the club seemingly turning a corner, this could be the start of something good at Meadow Park. It’s just a shame that we have to rely on outside business interests and not people through the gate to help us compete…..

All of this made for fantastic and encouraging reading before the game, which I will be reviewing in Part 2 of this blog (I didn’t want to smother you with 10,000 words) along with a preview of Wood’s trip to Hampton and Richmond this Saturday.

Until then….

WE ARE THE WOOD!

FA Cup Exits and Dartford Visit: This Week at Wood

2011-10-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

I was on a balcony at a wedding reception in Cornwall when I found out Wood had been knocked out of the FA Cup at the first attempt, millions of miles (or so it felt after driving down from London) from Beaconsfield where the game took place. By all accounts Wood were awful and didn’t deserve anything, but after two great results back to back it is so frustrating to go out in such a sloppy manner. The season may still be young but it is being characterised by Wood’s amazing ability to take two steps forward and one step back.

Alas, I can’t comment too much on a game I wasn’t at, but highlights of the game are here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbnT0rqi0EA&feature=youtu.be

The first goal aside, Wood should be very disappointed with the sloppiness of the goals conceded against them, as well as the countless chances allowed to their lower league opposition. It is this lacklustre approach which is undermining Wood’s start to the season, no matter how bad our injury crisis may be (Charlie O’ Loughlin, one of our mainstays at centre back was missing, and Elvis Putnins got held in traffic before the fixture). It’s the simple things that need sorting out, and at this level the simple things should come naturally (although having watched Arsenal capitulate in the North London Derby maybe I am being a bit too harsh). What’s more disappointing is that a half decent cup run can bring in some good money to the club, as well as bringing in some more people through the gates, some of whom may return. Again, I wasn’t at the game so I can’t go on.

Ian Allinson, however, was obviously at the game, and had this to say:

"Slough Town were always going to be a threat to us today as I warned the players. It is a shame that they did not take heed but it was always going to be difficult with the absence of central defender Charlie O'Loughlin and with goalkeeper Elvis Putnins arriving at the ground after the team sheet was put in on top of all the other walking wounded."

"This is the worst FA Cup result in my career as a manager. We should be beating sides like Slough with or without injuries. We are a Conference side and today we totally failed to show our pedigree. In my opinion we were not good enough and it hurts."

"At present we are bringing in new faces due to our injury problems and today against lower opposition it was evident that some of the squad do not show the desire to play at this football club and they'll be gone before Saturday.

"One or two of our senior players have become disruptive as individuals and we never defended from the front.

"Just how we can go out and defend like we did against Welling United and Chelmsford City and take 4 points, then turn in a shambolic performance like this defensively is unacceptable."

Strong words indeed. I cannot comment on who the senior players who have become disruptive are, and as of yet there is no news coming out of Wood as to new signings being brought into the club, but it is reassuring to see Allinson recognise the weaknesses in the team (both on and off the pitch) and not dress up his words. Hopefully with the backing of Danny Hunter he can put a stop to these problems and get the season going, as the cash cow of the cup is now a memory.

It’s a real shame for me personally as I love the FA cup, particularly in it’s early qualifying stages. A few years ago, a few of us decided to follow Dulwich Hamlet in their first round qualifying match, and if they were beaten we would follow the winner, and so on and so forth until we couldn’t go any further. If you like the sound of this idea, I implore you to do this. It was one of the best times of my life, travelling to unknown grounds, meeting local fans, mourning at the losses of local legends, and getting to the point where you follow a small town just outside Walsall away at Port Vale. We kept a blog for the journey, and looking back through it the other day I must admit I got misty eyed. Ignore the bit about an FA Trophy run, that was nonsense.

Now that Wood can ‘focus more on the league’, our opponents tomorrow are Dartford, who come to Meadow Park sitting pretty in second place in the Blue Square South, level on points with current leaders Woking. They also have in their ranks the league’s 2^nd top scorer Charlie Sheringham, who, you might have guessed, is son of Teddy ‘I’m a complete and utter cretin’ Sheringham. Sheringham Jr has 8 goals to his name in the league so far this term, and will definitely pose the biggest threat to the Wood backline who are looking to get back to some of the defensive solidity they showed against Welling and Cheltenham. That’s not to say that Sheringham is not the only threat, as strike partner Elliott Bradbrook has also started the season with a flourish, and between them the pair have scored 18 times in all competitions. The Wood defence will need to forget about the Slough result in a hurry and remember how resolute and brave they were against Chelmsford.

With Dartford losing just once all campaign, tomorrow promises a bit of a struggle for a Wood team who will likely be set back after last week’s poor showing. However, if there is something to show for the season so far is that Wood tend to raise their game for the bigger sides and generally do well (I doubt anyone would have predicted a 5 point return for games against Woking, Welling and Chelmsford, particularly when the Woking and Chelmsford games were away), so I’m not going to give up hope just yet. The draw is 11/4 with Blue Square Bet and I reckon it’s worth a few quid.

I can’t wait to get back to Meadow Park tomorrow and hopefully see the boys pick up a valuable point or win. Following both t6eams exit from the cup, Wood will be away at Hampton and Richmond next Saturday, which hopefully will tuen into a blessing in disguise as the games begin to build up later on in the season. The only other bit of news, thankfully good this time, is the youth teams progression to the third and final qualifying round of the FA Youth Cup, after beating Bishops Stortford 1-0, with Harvey Scott-Morris grabbing the winner. The youngsters now go on to face Billericay Town, a win away from the big boys. Let’s hope they can make it through.

As a last piece – please go here http://consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/bbc/localradio/ and help The Non League Show be saved from the savage cuts facing the BBC thanks to the current seventh circle of hell government. They are on BBC London, so please click there and answer the relevant questions. Non League Football doesn’t have a great voice in the media, and even if it’s not everyones cup of tea it still offers a place for non league fans to share their thoughts. Don’t let it die.

As always, thanks for all your continued support. I’ve been so busy the last few weeks that I’ve been restricted to one update a week, but now the social calendar is drying up and there isn’t a wedding or a festival every weekend, I can start to focus more on getting back to the blog. I can be found on twitter @wearethewood, and all shares, RTs, opinions are always welcome.

Until next time….

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Chelmsford 0 Boreham Wood 0: Excellent Point, Excellent Day

2011-09-29T13:02:00.001-07:00

A vital away point, a clean sheet and my brother wins the raffle? I got a lot more than I bargained for on my first trip to Chelmsford City.

As with most non-league visits, this one began in the pub. I was joined on my trip to Melbourne Park by two Toms - a brother and a friend. Forgoing all normal decency and meeting in the nearest pub to the station (this was surprisingly lovely however), the two Toms were introduced and the drinks began to flow (I had given my brother a truly special treat for his birthday - a day at Chelmsford City with a few beers thrown in). Soon, it was time to catch a taxi to the ground, taking in the view along the way. I had been warned that Melbourne Park wasn't in the most desirable area of Chelmsford, but was pleasantly surprised when we got to the ground. This was a professional looking setup, and the swelling attendance of over 1,000 only added to this.

After paying for entry (£11.50 standing, £12.50 for the privilege of a seat), we sought a programme seller, but were met with a fine man called Bill, who would turn out to be a lucky charm for our day. Bill is one of those people you would only find at a Non League ground - a true custodian who did a bit here, a bit there and had been around for years. His role today was to sell raffle tickets for the draw, and his charm and quick wit had convinced my brother to buy an extra ticket off him, with me and the other Tom waiting behind to grab one ourselves. After some more decent banter exchanged, we went inside to sample the club bar.

Now this was nice - a large open bar, with a queue system and a variety of decent drinks on tap, including Chelmsford's own 'City Ale', which although coming in at a cheeky 6%, was a big hit with Tom A (for the sake of not calling him 'other Tom any longer. I know far too many Toms for the record). With a couple of pints consumed, we made our way out to pitchside for the game to kick off.

In my last post, I had expressed how concerned I was at the prospect of watching a game from behind a running track, so imagine my delight when I discovered that you could stand behind either goal in a designated area which was inside the running track! Hooray! We took our place in the away end (I think there was 10 of us?) for the first half, behind the goal which Boreham Wood were attacking.

'Attacking' is somewhat of an understatement, as Wood were on the backfoot for 95% of the game. This was expected, as Chelmsford were heavy favourites who were looking to end a poor run of form, and despite Wood's excellent win against Welling nobody was really giving us a chance. In what was a phenomenal defensive showing, Boreham Wood managed to keep Chelmsford at bay and come away with a fantastic away point, and almost as important, a clean sheet. Working as a unit and at times riding their luck big time, this was the best defensive performance I have seen from Wood by a country mile. With O' Loughlin and Wilkinson now firmly established as the first choice pairing at centre back, and with Charlie Hunter (who continues to impress at right back and might just be a find in that position) and Daniel Brathwaite excelling in their roles at full backs, this looks like the makings of a very settled Wood defence. Add to that the defensive cover of captain Justin Cochrane and new boy Chez Issac,Boreham Wood look to have a very solid core to the side for the time being.

The first half was a blur of almost relentless Chelmsford attacking, with Michael Jordan being called into action on more than one occasion to deny the hosts, for whom Cliff Akurang, Kezie Ibe and Ricky Modeste were threatening throughout. Wood were fortunate to go in at half time on level terms, with Chelmsford having at least six decent chances to score. Wood's best chance being a snap shot from Nathan Koranteng, which was a welcome distraction from Chelmsford's constant possession and chances, including a succession of corners which required two goal line clearances from either full back to keep the scores even. This was one way traffic, make no mistake, but Wood were holding firm and frustrating City. Wood's main outlet was David Bryant, who gave another tireless performance upfront, chasing and harrying play without any real support. With my brother expressing the now traditional opinion on the standard of play, we crossed the ground to get a half time burger (cheese and Bacon - 8/10) and pints. On our way we saw Bill, with whom we exchanged some more banter, before getting the round in.

Bill returned about 5 minutes later with the board detailing who had won the pre-match raffle. Of course, it was my brother who claimed the prize, with his winning ticket being the extra one he bought because Bill had been such a good laugh. I don't think I need to tell you that if he hadn't of done that, I would have been £135 better off, with my number being next.

As my brother sauntered off to pick up his winnings in the boardroom (he was presented with his winnings by the Chelmsford Chairman - pictured above), we had a chat with a couple of local disgruntled fans about the game, many of whom bemoaned Chelmsford's lack of sharpness in front of goal (with good reason). Switching ends, as in tradition, we awaited the second half.

The second half was much the same as the first, and it took another goal line clearance from Daniel Brathwaite to save Wood's skin. However, as the game went on, Wood grew into the game and actually managed to push forward. Sensing blood, Ian Allinson threw on Inih Effiong for Darren Currie, who took his frustration of being subbed out on an unsuspecting water bottle. I'm not going to criticise Currie as it was obviously frustration, and if a player was happy at being subbed then you probably wouldn't want him at your club. Sadly Inih had resorted to his past form, of making one good contribution and then sauntering around without too much exertion. Wood's best chance came to Sam Hurrel, who managed to round Chelmsford keeper Carl Pentney but managed only to find the side netting, much to the away supports frustration.

With the game reaching it's closing stages Chelmsford won a hotly disputed free kick near the edge of the area after what seemed like a fantastic Luke Wilkinson challenge. With all of us fearing the worst after the Truro match, thankfully the ball was cleared and Wood held onto a precious point, much to my delight. It was a disciplined and professional performance from a team that had been sloppy for the opening stages of the season. I cannot express how solid and committed the back four were, and they have every right to feel proud of themselves. A draw was probably not the right result in terms of chances and possession, but was definitely earned with a classic backs to the wall performance from Wood.

Wood lined up as follows:

Team: Jordan, Hunter, Brathwaite, Cochrane, O’Loughlin, Wilkinson, Lechmere, Isaac, Bryant, Currie (Sub – Effiong 58 mins.), Koranteng (Sub – Akinola 90 mins.).

Subs (Not used): Sankofa, Beckford, Putnins.

With the game over and the side applauded off the pitch, we again returned to the bar to have a chat with the locals (including Bill of course), and I even managed to catch a great 10 minute chat with left back Daniel Brathwaite, where we discussed the game, his brothers progress at Hendon and general thoughts on the season so far. Daniel was a great guy to chat to, answered any questions and was very honest - just a shame I didn't have anything to bloody record our chat with! This was the essence of what makes this level so different to the higher leagues. Here we were, in the away bar, mingling with other fans and chatting with the players. It was so refreshing to be a part of, and hopefully it will continue as the season goes on.

A massive thank you to all at Chelmsford for making us feel welcome and for a great day out. If you ever get a chance to go down to Melbourne Park, I would highly recommend it. With crowds of over 1,000 there is a great atmosphere, coupled with good beers, good burgers, pic and mix sweets and with lots of kids wearing Chelmsford kits, a real family feeling around the ground. Highly recommended.

Wood travel to Slough on Saturday in a FA Cup qualifier, as I travel to St Austell for a wedding. Nevertheless, I shall write a brief preview tomorrow morning before I set off.

Thanks as always for your support, comments, shares, RTs etc, it is always appreciated. I can be found in the comments section below or on twitter @wearethewood.

Until next time....

WE ARE THE WOOD

Wood defeat Welling, Cruel Fate and Chelmsford Preview

2011-09-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Life is cruel for most people. For a wannabe Non League fan in his first season of following his hometown team, it can be a proverbial kick in the balls.

When I first decided to buy a season ticket and follow Wood, I expected there to be a few clashes initially with the social calendar. A wedding here, a festival there, a moving day the following week. Plans had been made well in advance, tickets had been booked, trains had been paid for, my apparent whim could not disturb these. Despite making every home game, I had not been to anywhere near as many away games as I would have liked (a measly one, the 4-0 destruction at Woking), but I was at every home game, shouting, gesticulating, weeping.

Imagine my surprise then when I was struck down with a bug on Sunday evening, thus leaving me incapacitated for the home clash with Welling, who were clear leaders of the Blue Square South.

A game which I didn’t have much hope for Wood to be honest, coming off yet another loss away at Eastbourne.

A game which Wood, OF COURSE, went on to win 2-1 in what has to be the shock of the season so far.

This was a massive win for Wood, and I felt so terrible that I wasn’t there to see it. I don’t feel justified in writing a report about it so you can read the official one here. I’m just really really gutted that the first time I have been ill in AGES, this happens. The win brought Wood up one place to 19^th in the league, albeit for one day, before dropping back into the relegation zone. Darren Currie kept his nerve to score 2 penalties, Justin Cochrane returned to the side as captain for the day and there was a debut for yet another new face, Nathan Korateng, who joins Wood on loan from Woking (where else). What a game to have missed.

All is not lost though - as you can enjoy EXTENDED MATCH HIGHLIGHTS here:

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/wellingutd/videos/boreham-wood-v-welling-united-18045.html

I return to live action tomorrow afternoon, in a game I have been craving since the fixtures came out – Chelmsford away. As I have stated before in this blog, my oldest brother is somewhat of a local to Chelmsford, so this gives us a chance to catch up, have a pint, and then spend 90 minutes hurling abuse at each other from opposing ends of the ground (I actually have no idea who he is going to support on the day).

Chelmsford have a good reputation at this level, and their ranks contain a man many Wood fans will be familiar with, Greg Morgan. I wrote one of my very first articles about Greg and how he ran rings round me in a work game once, so I can only pray that the same thing doesn’t happen tomorrow afternoon (provided he plays of course). I was very sad to see Greg go at the beginning of the season, and I feel his pace and delivery, as well as his eye for goal would have been a real asset to Wood in their games so far this season. Another former Wood man now plying his trade at The Clarets is Joe Benjamin, whose loan spell at Wood in 2010 brought 6 goals in 6 games. Again, let’s hope he has left his shooting boots at home, or at least swapped with Inih Effiong. Looking through the squad lists, the only other player who stands out is Aiden Palmer, who is getting his life and career back on track after 22 months in prison for gang related activity. Since his sentence he has spent time at Cambridge and Watford most notably, before joining The Clarets this season. Sadly not in the crowd tomorrow will be Caroline Barker, host of the excellent BBC Non League Show (did I tell you I was on it before?) and a Clarets fan, but here’s hoping I’ll be able to tweet her an update of a Wood victory.

As for the ground - quick moan here (there’s a surprise) – I really dislike grounds with running tracks around the pitch. I appreciate that some clubs need to be used for athletics, but it detaches the fans from the action, and at this level where there can be, shall we say, periods of quiet, I like to be as close to the players as possible. On the plus side Melbourne Park, home of our opponents tomorrow afternoon, are doing a ‘pre match special’ of £2 a pint for IPA or Fosters. It would only be rude not to partake and get my moneys worth (6 pints?).

Blue Square bet have Chelmsford as unequivocal favourites at 8/15, with Wood being offered at 9/2. The draw comes in at 11/4. Wood are coming off their best result of the season, but desperately need to start finding some more consistency. Chelmsford meanwhile, despite sitting 6^th in the table threw away a two goal lead at Tonbridge in the last minute last time out, so will be looking to get back on track with a win.

PREDICTION

Oh boy, this really is a tough one to call. Wood can get real momentum if they pick up a result here, yet Chelmsford have a fantastic record on their home turf. In a possible moment of weakness I am going to go for a 1-0 AWAY WIN, purely because I can picture the taunts I can give my brother afterwards. Of course if you were a sane, betting man you would likely put the farm on Chelmsford, but this isn’t a Chelmsford blog now is it?

There hasn’t been much of an update this week as I have been ill and then busy with work. There hasn’t been much coming out of the club in way of news, unless you want to enrol your kids on a football course? Hopefully now that this illness is out of my system I’ll be able to get a few more pieces up. For some alternative reading, why not try my friend over at Whitmarshwhiskers, whose excellent blog on Hendon and all things Ryman league comes very highly recommended, or for something from the top end of the football pyramid, have a look at Where were you when we were sh*t?, another good friends account of QPRs first season back in the premier league.

I’ll be back next week with a FULL MATCH REPORT, hopefully with pictures, and any other business that comes from the game. As always, thanks for your views, shares, Re-tweets, links etc, it is really appreciated. I can be found on twitter @wearethewood or in the comments section below.

Until next time….

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Weekend Preview: Eastbourne away

2011-09-16T06:48:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow afternoon Wood make their way to East Sussex to take on a team that should be known as 'The Pensioners', Eastbourne Borough FC.

I once went to Eastbourne as a child, and remember being quite bored. The highlight was catching an episode of 'Why Don't You?' on the telly in our hotel room (showing my age). It was full of old people. It still is. This is probably the most sweeping of generalisations about the place (although facts do suggest that is has a larger proportion of +60 year old people than the majority of the UK), but if we played a game of word association and I said Eastbourne you would most likely say 'old people', and not 'Eastbourne Borough FC'

I digress. Eastbourne Borough FC, having suffered relegation from the Conference last term, have got off to a mixed start, with only 10 points from their first 8 games, and they find themselves in 15th place. There have been some notable performances from the sea side club, namely a 5-0 victory over the Bromley side that stuffed Wood so comprehensively at the start of the season, but these have been matched with some disappointing results, highlighted by a 3-1 home defeat to Chelmsford City.

Having a look through their team, the name that stands out is that of Gary Hart, who plied his trade for many years at Championship pace setters Brighton and Hove Albion, and actually scored against Eastbourne in the first game at Brighton's new Falmer Stadium, where the Gulls Reserves beat Eastbourne reserves to win the coveted Sussex Senior Cup. Hart is seen as somewhat of a legend at Brighton, and was released and then brought back to the club on more than one occasion. A versatile player, he can play anywhere from right back to Striker (which is his listed position on the Eastbourne Website), and his experience should pose a threat to a Wood side lacking in confidence after the current string of results.

Prediction

With both teams looking for some consistency after a rocky start, this is a really hard one to call. Wood have found it hard to score this season, (joint lowest in the league), but Eastbourne seem to have quite the leaky defence which could be exploited with some better finishing (Wood could have been 5 points better off at least with a bit more killer instinct in front of goal, although that would have only have put us level with Eastbourne in 15th!). If Wood can keep there heads for the first 20 minutes and not concede, then surely there has to have been enough positives from the Truro game that can encourage them forward.

As it is I'm going to go for a plucky 1-1 draw. Eastbourne are 4/5 favourites (with good reason), with Wood being 11/4 outsiders. Draw is 13/5 (all odds are taken from Blue Square). I'm mainly going for a point here because I can't sit here with a straight face and expect us to beat Welling on Monday - more of that before the game.

Hope you have a great weekend, whomever you support *cough*, and here's hoping for a better result from Wood.

I can be found on twitter @wearethewood, and as always thanks for your support and feedback.

Until next time....

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Injuries and Injury Time Defeats - It's hard being a fan sometimes (Wood 1 Truro 2)

2011-09-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

This post has been a while coming, mainly because I have been so busy at work and at home (oh to be a journalist, where I could waffle on for a living), but partly because I didn’t really want to go over Saturday’s game at all. It was, and this is the first time I have felt this since following Wood, pretty devastating. The result did detract from what was a really great game of football and a nice day all round, so let’s get into it, shall we?

I took my now usual place (behind the home dugout, about 7 rows up) for kick off, where I struck up conversation with a gentleman who turned out to be centre back Charlie O’ Loughlin’s dad. A fine man, we spent most of the game passing comment on the action and discussing Charlie’s various moves around the country, what brought him to Wood (a chartered surveyors job in Welwyn Garden City) and his thoughts on the people behind the scenes (‘They are good people here, I can tell from a mile off if they aren’t’). I was worried that if there was any defensive howlers, I would have to bite my tongue, but Mr O’ Loughlin was first to acknowledge if his son was not up to scratch, which was very rare in his defence!

With Wood ravaged by injuries (much more on that later), it was quite the experimental side put out by Ian Allinson. New signing Mark Jones, an experienced left back from Braintree started at right back, Luke Wilkinson was pushed into a holding midfield role and out wide Sam Lechmere made his home debut, having also joined Wood from Braintree alongside Jones.

Despite the arduous journey that Truro had to make to Meadow Park, they shot straight out of the blocks with some flowing interchange that wouldn’t have been out of place in the Champions League, let alone the Blue Square South. With Barry Hayles working as the target man up front, this allowed Andy Watkins and Les Afful the opportunity to drag the Wood defence all over the pitch. Despite only being able to play with the ball at his feet, Hayles had that extra little bit of class I had feared, and gave his side time to move into threatening positions whilst he expertly held the ball up. Together, Watkins and Afful were a different class and looked threatening right from the off. It was therefore no surprise when Wood conceded their now customary early goal, with Marcus Martin allowed time and space to head in Scott Walker’s cross in the third minute. Wood were yet again caught cold from kick off, and this has become a real problem already this season. Whether this is down to sharpness, a lack of concentration or whatever, it needs to be eradicated soon because this season Wood have often found themselves with mountains to climb after only 10 minutes, particularly with clubs who can effectively shut up shop after taking a lead, as was seen with Havant in the opening game of the season.

In all honesty, Wood could have and should have been 4-0 down within the first twenty minutes. Unable to cope with the fluid passing and quick movement of Truro, Wood were carved open time and time again and Michael Jordan was called upon on more than one occasion to make a crucial save. In a unfamiliar role of holding midfield, Luke Wilkinson at first struggled to find his feet and positioning, but as the half went on he grew in confidence and drove the team forward. However, Wood were really on the cosh and myself and Mr O'Loughlin both agreed that if Wood could get to half time only one goal down , then perhaps things could change in the second half, particularly with the strong wind that would be supporting them. Our wishes were answered and Wood could not get down that tunnel quick enough after quite an abject first half performance.

Big changes were needed at half time, and Ian Allinson was brave enough to take a chance in the hope of salvaging a result. Daniel Brathwaite, who spent most of the first half making me think the wrong brother was released, was replaced by Inih Effiong, he of all attitude and no effort from my last visit to Meadow Park. With Mark Jones switching to his natural left back position, Charlie Hunter dropped into right back with Daniel Bryant dropping back into midfield to partner Wilkinson. The changes were bold, but they paid off and Wood looked like a completely different team in the second half, with Effiong do a superb job of leading the line. Constantly encouraged by Assistant Manager Darren Currie, Effiong put in the sort of performance that made you understand why there was so much fuss around his transfer from St Albans. Always looking for the ball, Effiong held it up well, kept play flowing and had an array of tricks and flicks, all of which amazingly came off. It was fitting then that he was the man to equalise for Wood, running through from a long ball from Charlie Hunter to finish with the utmost of calm, chipping the onrushing keeper without breaking stride. A fantastic goal and a glimpse of the sort of player that lurks inside Effiong when he wants to play.

With much more of a natural balance in the team following Hunter's move to right back and Jones to left back, Wood began to dominate proceedings, and should have put the game to bed. Sam Hurrell blasted over when well placed, and perhaps the best chance of the whole game fell to Sam Lechmere, who had all the time in the world to pick his spot, perhaps too much time, but fired his shot wide from 15 yards out. By this point you could sense that if Wood didn't finish Truro off soon it would come back and haunt them, and this was only reinforced when Luke Wilkinson, who once he had found his feet put in a sterling performance, drilled a shot from 25 yards only an inch wide. Wood had Truro on the ropes, but could not finish them off. Almost predictably, the Cornishmen had managed to play rope a dope and were soon to deal a knockout blow.

Deep into injury time, and with both sets of fans likely happy with a point after an end to end battle, Wood gave away a free kick about 25 yards out from goal. Do I really need to tell you what happened next? Well, I suppose I have to.

Turning to Mr O' Loughlin, I expressed my concerns with language that would likely not be allowed pre-watershed, and he responded with, 'I would be absolutely gutted if this went in'.

Truro's Scott Walker then proceeded to curl a beautiful freekick into the top corner.

My stomach sank and I held my head in my hands. I was absolutely gutted. It was at this point that I realised that I had actually begun to form an emotional bond with this team. The final whistle went shortly after and I applauded a proud effort, despite massively hurting inside. I said my goodbyes, stopping to chat to Colin Perry who became the first person to recognise me from this blog, and I can only apologise Colin if I wasn't great company. Colin himself is a local lad, whose blog Stag of Herts is a very good read, mainly focusing on Mansfield Town's trials and tribulations. Check it out. As I made my way back to the station, I rang my dad to tell him about the game, and even he could detect how gutted I was. It was another example of how cruel football can be, at all levels of the game. And no, I won't be making any jokes about how the sun ain't gonna shine anymore.

The main positives from the game were Inih Effiong's excellent showing, which I hope is kept up, and the composure of Charlie Hunter when switched to right back. His ability to find a forward with a cunning pass was much needed in the second half, and he wasn't afraid to get stuck in as well, despite his lack of height, especially going in on established veterans such as Barry Hayles. Other notable performances came from Luke Wilkinson, Mark Jonesand Sam Lechmere, who look to be astute signings from Braintree. One last shout out to the travelling fans from Truro, who sung their hearts out and are a credit to their team. I look forward to the return match!

Wood lined up as follows:

Team: Jordan, Wilkinson, Jones, Hunter, O’Loughlin, Smith, Lechmere, Brathwaite (Sub – Effiong 45 mins.), Bryant, Akinola, Hurrell.
Subs (Not used): Scott-Morris, Yala, Currie, Putnins.

The news only got worse for Wood as it was confirmed that Marion Noto, Daryl McMahon and Luke Garrard are all out until possibly December, which is obviously awful news for the club. Noto has never fully recovered from the injury picked up in the friendly against Arsenal, and it seems as if the only course of treatment is for him to have an operation on his ankle. Joining him under the knife is Wood's other main creative source, Daryl McMahon, who has also had some problems with his ankle, this time with a ruptured tendon. Thankfully it doesn't look like Luke Garrard will need surgery, but will still need some hard rehabilitation before rejoining the team, possibly in late November.

For any team to have their two main creative midfielders and their main holding midfielder out is cruel, and Wood are really feeling it. Despite Luke Wilkinson's impressive efforts in the holding role, he is a centre back out of position and is needed back at the heart of the defence. Noto and McMahon are desperately missed going forward, particularly in dead ball situations. Their losses are also felt because they are three senior players in a young team, with Noto and Garrard being Team and Club Captains respectively. In a rare piece of good news, Elvis Putnins is close to returning after a back injury, and was on the bench vs Truro, and Osei Sankofa, whose energy at right back was missed in the first half against Truro, should soon be joining him after recovering from a groin strain.

To help ease the pain of these losses, Wood Chairman Danny Hunter has loosened the purse strings to bring in a number of fresh faces. Joining Mar Jones and Sam Lechmere will be Karl Beckford, formerly of AFC Wimbledon, Kettering and Aldershot, as well as Chez Isaac, who has joined the club on loan until January from local friends Watford. It was mentioned in the programme notes on Saturday that Justin Cochrane had returned to Meadow Park, although I am waiting for this to be confirmed with my own eyes, as no mention of this has been made on the website. I welcome all of these players to Meadow Park, and hopefully they can help Wood move in the right direction. With Isaac and Beckford both signed to fill roles left vacant by the injuries detailed, this should hopefully bring a better balance to the side. More on the injuries and new signings here.

Wood travel to Eastbourne next, with a preview up tomorrow. As always, thankyou for your continued views and support, and please continue to share this blog amongst friends, bloggers, boards and rich Saudi investors. I can be found on twitter @wearethewood, as well in the comments section below.

Until next time....

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Match Preview: Truro Come to Town

2011-09-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

After the thrills and spills of meeting Ian Selley, passing a project management course and going to a festival, I finally return to Meadow Park this Saturday for somewhat of a historic game, as Truro City FC become the very first side from Cornwall to make the trip to Boreham Wood.

Wood go into the game in, to be frank, an utterly dire patch of form. Last Saturday not only saw them lose 4-1 to Weston Super Mare (two goals in added time for the home side gives a bit more of a gloss to the scoreline than it first seems), but also saw their injury list reach Arsenal heights with the walking wounded including Elvis Putnins, Mario Noto, Luke Garrard, Daryl McMahon and Luke Wilkinson, who effectively make up Woods spine, as well as Osei Sankofa, who has been steadily improving so far this term. Without making too many excuses, the injury crisis has been very cruel on Wood, and the sooner we can get these players back fit and playing the sooner we can really kick off our season, as Wood currently find themselves in 20^th position, only a point ahead of the only team we have beaten (Thurrock) and 3 points clear of bottom side Hampton and Richmond Borough. For a team that has invested in the way that Wood have over the summer, results need to pick up quickly otherwise the pressure could really be on Ian Allinson in the Boreham Wood hot seat. As I have said before I can’t really comment too much on a game I wasn’t at, but the official report can be found here.

Thankfully, Boreham Wood’s opponents this weekend Truro are on a terrible run of form themselves, with four consecutive defeats seeing them drop to 13^th in the table after a good start to the league in which they won their first three games. This is a very exciting time for the men from the land of clotted cream, as they have reached the Blue Square South after an astonishing 5 promotions in 6 seasons. The change in fortune for Truro came after the introduction of Kevin Heaney as owner and chief financier of the club. Somewhat of a Non-League Abramovic, Heaney has steadily invested in the club to bring them where they are now, as well as heading up a consortium to buy Plymouth Argyle for an alleged £6 million pounds (The consortium would own Home Park and the land around it, whilst selling the football club itself to the ever popular Peter Risdale for 75p and the promise not to pay Seth Johnson £45,000 a week). Where this would leave Truro is they were to be in the same league as Plymouth is up for debate, but I assume there would be no conflict of interest as Heaney would only own Plymouth’s ground and the area around it, not the footballing operation. Perhaps there could be room for a future ground share? Who knows, but for the meantime Truro have the luxury of a sugar daddy, but the disadvantage of playing their home games on the edge of the known universe, making any away fixture a decent 5-6 hour journey on average. On the other hand, I suppose this can work in their favour as most teams will likely not have the finances to travel down the night before, stay at a hotel and then come back afterwards. In fact, looking into going to the away game in March (On a Tuesday night. A TUESDAY NIGHT AWAY AT TRURO), I discovered the best way to get to their ground would be to first fly into Newquay airport (it does exist) then make my way from there!

Looking through the Truro squad, one man stands out, and that is former Fulham star and Jamaican international Barry Hayles. Despite pushing 40, Hayles has been in great form since he joined Truro, notching 21 goals in 31 appearances, and if fit will pose real problems for a Wood backline already troubled with injury.

PREDICTION – With both teams in such bad form I imagine a bore draw is on the cards, but I am going to stick my neck out and go for a plucky 2-1 home win. Wood are actually 13/10 favourites for the game with Blue Square Bet, but 5/2 for the draw is definitely worth a fiver.

In other news:

Wood’s youth team picked up an impressive win in the FA Youth Cup, destroying Hoddesdon Town 8-0, with the winners of Brentwood vs Ilford awaiting them in the next round.

Any Wood season ticket holder (all 17 of us) can get free entry into the WSL Continental Cup Clash between Arsenal Ladies and Lincoln Ladies on Sunday at Meadow Park. See you there.

Wood are currently a cool 33/1 to win the Blue Square South with Blue Square Bet. £5 e/w anyone?

I’ll be back with a full match report of the game next week. Once again thank you for all of your views – the Ian Selley piece set records in terms of pageviews, and it has been much appreciated, as well as all of the recommendations, re-tweets and nice comments I have had so far. I can be found on here or on twitter @wearethewood and I am always glad to hear from people.

Until next time….

WE ARE THE WOOD!

From Arsenal to Non League: A Chat with Ian Selley

2011-09-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

I wasn't at Wood's 2-1 loss away to Staines on Bank Holiday Monday (bad fan), as I travelled to Tooting and Mitcham to see the home side take on Kingstonian FC. After Kingstonian's 4-1 win and in keeping with original theme of the blog (Arsenal and Non League), I spent twenty minutes with their skipper and former Arsenal midfielder Ian Selley to discuss life in Non league, life at Arsenal and the difference between the two. The chat came the day after Arsenal's mauling at the hands of Man United, so the topics of strengthening the side and where they had gone wrong the day before were up for serious discussion. This is what Ian had to say:

Having started at Arsenal, what was the biggest difference you noticed when you started playing at this level?

It's a tough league, people expect the players who have played at the highest level to come in and for it to be easy for them, but it's not. Y'know, you've got to work hard, it's quite physical and it's tough. It takes a while to adjust really, it took me 6 months to fully adjust, and if you come with a bit of a reputation teams just want to boot you all over the place.

For you though, was it hard coming down to a level where players aren't as good as the ones you are used to playing with?

I think the lower you go down the leagues after the premiership, where you have two or three options to pass it, and if you give away the ball you're a bad player, whereas lower down the leagues you can take a touch, look up and you might only have the one option, and at this level sometimes you won't have anybody and you've got to take another touch and another touch and that's when you probably give it away. It's hard, it's not an easy league and you just have to be consistent really - the teams that have done well have just ground out results.

The thing I have noticed about this level is that if you have a decent, organised team then you are going to get a result, and the better teams tend to be able to shut up shop.

Yeah, you really have to work hard for the 3 points.

You played some really good stuff today, is that the sort of play encouraged?

It is, the management likes ball players, but even though we haven't started too well, we've played some good football, created chances but they haven't gone in, but now it's starting to click. It's a new team, it takes time to gel and if we can carry on from today, touch wood we'll be in the playoffs.

One thing that we noticed today was Martin Tyler on the bench! What's it like having him on the sideline?

He's enthusiastic, he cheers the lads on and obviously he knows the game obviously with how many Premiership games he has covered so he knows what he is talking about, and in the changing room he is a great help, particularly for the young boys out there.

Have you ever heard him lose his rag?

Errrr...touch wood not yet, no! He's gone close a couple of times but I've not quite seen him throw the cups around the changing rooms just yet!

So what's your weekly routine like, because you're coaching over at Woking as well aren't you?

Yeah, the manager sorted us out 3 days a week over at Woking academy, for the 17-19 year olds, as well as the work over at Kingstonian, so just filling my week up really.

Do you enjoy it?

I really enjoy it, it's one of those things that when you come towards the end of your playing days you think, 'Are you going to be any good at coaching?', and I think if I gave up football completely the missus would start to hate me! (laughs)

Gets you out of the house!

Yeah yeah, I've enjoyed it, and as well I've had a lot of injuries in my career so that's why I'm trying to get into coaching as well now, and as long as I can get through games as well now it's good.

So how's it been going trying to play regularly? Because you've had a couple of really, really bad injuries...

I've broke my leg, I've done my achilles so..

90 minutes is a good run out then?

Yeah, I'm at the age of 37 now, so I take each game as it comes now, and as we play Saturday and Mondays it's obviously quite hard, so with the coaching side of it, it stops you from just standing about and loosens the body up a bit.

Good lads down at Woking?

Yeah, they have a really good set up, with 90 kids over there so lots of coaching.

Their first team won 6-3 today

Oh really? They've had a decent pre-season and I expect them to do well.

Bamos - One of the things I noticed today was that compared to Tooting, your players had a good two inches on them. The subs you brought on really helped with their size.

Yeah, I think it's useful to bring those lads on if you are chasing a game as they are a real handful. We've got two ways of playing - we can knock it about a bit but if we need to go direct we can. We haven't scored that many but we are creating more and more chances.

It was never really in doubt today though

No, but I think they'll be there or there abouts at the end of the season.

How about the set up down here? Obviously you don't have the day in, day out facilities that you had before - what's your normal training week like?

We train Monday evenings and Thursdays, we train at Kingston College which has good facilities, the pitches are nice etc. Kingstonian try and do it the right way, I think they are trying to run it as full time a professional outfit as they can but it's difficult - you do your Mondays and Thursdays but when the games start coming in, Thursday you work on your set pieces and get yourself a bit loose really. I've been around the Conference and Non League for a while now, and the clubs I tend to go for are ones that are obviously run the right way. I went to Croydon because one of my friends was running it down there, and even though it was a lower level league it was run the right way in terms of facilities - lots of clubs don't have the money so they try and do the best they can to run it the right way, and if they do that then they'll attract the bigger players anyway.

In terms of your Non League career, what's been the highlights?

Probably the time I had at Woking, I spent four years there, and with me being from the area we had some good times, it was a good squad and the team always socialised together, it was good times and I had a lot of friends there.

Do you get more of a team spirit down here? More camaraderie?

Yeah, that's what the manager is trying to get going down here, he wants the team to go for a curry every two or three weeks, let the lads have a night out and it goes a long way. I think a team needs to go out and have a social side to them, when it gets to winter and you know you are up against it, you know you'll want to be able to rely on a mate.

Going onto Arsenal - yesterdays result....

It was shocking, I've watched it again now and there just doesn't seem to be the passion there. They have the privilege of putting on the Arsenal shirt and they should be going out there and fighting, do what ever they can. I know they had a lot of players out and it's against Man United, but it's 11 vs 11 out there.

No disrespect but I wouldn't expect Kingstonian to go up there and lose 8-2..

Exactly, it was just the way they did it, a lot of the players just looked disinterested. It's even more disappointing as someone who has played there, you now what is expected and you at least go up there and get in someones face and make yourself a nuisance.

It's completely different from your time at Arsenal, I mean, there seems to be a real lack of character there. As someone who played under George Graham, obviously the team wasn't known for being the best in terms of style but they were always tough to play against and got results when it mattered.

That's it.

Do you keep in touch with any of the lads from that team?

I keep in touch with a few of the old boys, yeah. We play a charity game every now and again on a Sunday, lads like Paul Davis, Chris White and Perry Groves, even Ralf Little turns up every now and again (at this point you can hear me groan). It's fun, we get a few trips away and the club tends to look after the old boys a bit. Brian Hornsby runs the team, and he always has some tickets when we want to go up there and see a game, so I've gone with the wife quite a few times.

Been up recently?

Yeah, we normally get box tickets. We were in the directors box and that's a different world in there!

I went once to a match and sat in a box and when I came out I said the first thing I'd do if I won the lottery would be to get a box there!

(laughs) exactly, it's a lovely stadium and you're not going to find any better than that.

In terms of your career highlights at Arsenal - Parma in 1994?

I think Parma, beating Spurs in the semi final of the FA Cup at Wembley in 1993, and it all came so fast as I broke into the team when I was 18.

I was actually at your first game against Blackburn. I was seven years old.

Oh was you? Blimey (laughs) - cheers for that (laughs). Blimey, long time ago.

Any stories that you can commit to tape? Did you used to go out with the Tuesday club?

Well I was only young, so I was in and out of it, not really a regular like Tony Adams and Ray Parlour!

Do you think that sort of thing is missed now?

The thing is, when the boys used to go out you could pretty much do what you wanted, but nowadays there is too many press about, too many kiss and tells and to be fair you have to be fit nowadays because the game is totally different. When we used to play at Highbury, win lose or draw Tony would come in with two crates of beer down on the bench and you'd tuck into a few cans of lager, and then you would go upstairs to the lounge to see your family and friends and you would have another few beers and then you would normally end up going out. You'd never see that now, it's completely different.

You were there when Arsene Wenger came in, weren't you?

Yeah I had six months under him, and even though I left the club he was always fair with us - I knew deep down that with the players he was bringing in I wasn't going to be a part of his plans, he was up front and said Fulham have come in and made an offer for you and we've accepted.

What was the main difference when he came in?

The training. No disrespect to George Graham because he gave me my chance, but he'd do work on keep ball for an hour, hour and a half and after ten minutes the lads would lose interest. Under Wenger took over it was five minutes, stop, get a drink, five minutes etc. At the peak you'd be flat out, whereas George would drag it out. Arsene changed the game when he came over.

Do you think it's gone too far now with Arsenal? I mean, you see all the injuries they pick up..

Well yeah, but the game is a lot quicker these days and you have to be the elite of the elite really. He's under pressure to bring players in at the moment and I don't think there is anything else he can do at the moment, when he is quizzed on it he seems to stutter, I know he has signed a lad from Monaco, but you look at someone like Cahill and they are offering 7 million below his valuation and sometimes you think just give them what they want. Normally he is spot on but I don't know if he has played it right this time..

Bamos - where do you think they'll finish this year?

I still think they'll be in the top six, but they need to get started really - I think the fans are getting despondant, and when they start to turn it's trouble. If he starts pulling players in and out then fair play, but I don't now what players are out there to bring in.

If you had to sign three players for Arsenal now, who would they be? Ian Selley from Kingstonian?

He's past it (laughter) I don't know to be honest, the whole Nasri and Fabregas thing got dragged out for far too long, there is no point having players there who don't want to be there. I don't understand why he dragged it and dragged it.

As someone who has played for the old guard, what's your opinion on the modern premiership footballer?

It's totally different - like I've said you have to look after yourself and you can't get away with anything.

Think they get paid too much? I suppose we would all like to earn it....

We all say it but if someone offers you five times your salary are you going to tell me you would say no? It has gone mad, but if clubs can pay it and can afford to pay it, then it's up to them. You can't blame the players for demanding money, everybody wants a payrise. The real problem is that there is no loyalty at clubs anymore.

Look at Jack Wilshere, young lad and a local, loves the club.

There is a lot of weight on his shoulders, he's a quality player and will be a world class player one day. He's only 19 and people are expecting him to run the show.

Did you feel much pressure when you came into the team?

Not really, it was more of a shock. I went to Norway in pre-season, did well, and after some lads went down with injuries George threw me in. I didn't play particularly well on my debut, but George was always fair with us. If I played well in the reserves and did well in training, he always gave me another chance. It was a good club to be at, hopefully they can turn it round now. I'm pretty sure they can, but it's going to take a lot of hard work and a few new players in.

Do you think there will be another time when you'll have so many local lads in the team?

I think they should limit it to the amount of foreigners they do play to help the young talent come through. It's hard because do you want to go out and spend or let the talent come through? The easy option is to go out and spend it on getting someone else in when there is talent in the squad already.

Any crazy gang stories from your time at Wimbledon?

A lot of the boys were leaving when I first got there, but there was still fires in the changing rooms and tires let down, and that was the sort of stuff you would expect when you first joined a club like Wimbledon back then. But I don't think it would happen anymore.

Any other highlights outside of Parma and beating Spurs?

I think it was just the privilege of playing for Arsenal, I was never the best of players but I always had a good attitude and I always worked hard at what I did, and that's what frustrates me when you see players in the team now - they have the quality but their attitude doesn't seem to be there. All the fans want is someone who'll run around, smash a few people and take an interest in who they are playing for.

I've never been to a Non League game before - sell me on coming to Kingstonian.

I think it's a club that is going to go places. The manager has done a lot of work for the club getting sponsors and finance in, and it's nice family club. It's a nice setup, we are obviously renting the ground at the moment. I think they are getting free rent on the ground after selling it to AFC Wimbledon, but in the next 2 or 3 years they'll be hoping to buy it back.

What do you feel about AFC Wimbledon?

Well, it always means the pitch is nice (laughs), and the grounds looked after.

We'll round it up now! Toughest opponent?

John Moncur, believe it or not. He wasn't a hardman, you just couldn't get near him! People are always surprised when I say that. Desailly was a decent player, but John Moncur was such a tidy player on the ball I couldn't get near him!

Outside of Highbury, best ground you've played at?

San Siro, definitely.

Non League? Kingstonian aside.

Woking, actually. Lovely set up.

Well, we'll wrap it up there. Thanks very much Ian, it's been an absolute pleasure.

Cheers.

I just want to thank Ian again for being an absolute gent in accommodating us for a chat and being nothing but honest. I wish him and Kingstonian all the best for the coming season, and who knows, maybe at the end of the season we can have another catch up to talk about how both Arsenal and Kingstonian have got on during the season. Ian can be found on twitter @Ian_Selley, and from first hand experience I would suggest a day at Kingstonian as they play some great stuff, and you could even meet Martin Tyler!

Hope you have enjoyed this read, please share with your Arsenal or all other footballing friends. I'm on twitter @wearethewood , and all RTs, feedbacks, reposts and comments are welcome. I'll be back with a Wood update before Saturday's game with Truro. Until next time..

WE ARE THE WOOD!

A view from the other side: Non League Day and why you should get involved.

2011-08-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

Whilst I am away in North Dorset this weekend, you could be taking my place at Non League Day. Our friend over at Whitmarsh's whiskers explains the background behind the scheme, as well as offering advice as to where to spend your hard earned:

This weekend sees the return of Non League Day after its successful introduction last season. With the Championship and Premier League fixtures not happening because of the international break, and England playing on Friday evening against Bulgaria, Non League clubs up and down the country are offering promotions to fans of these clubs to come and sample the delights of grass roots football in the hope that they enjoy themselves and come back from time to time.

The idea was the brainchild last year of James Doe, who watches Harrow Borough when he’s not following QPR, and was enthusiastically backed by many clubs. Hendon were one such club and benefited from perhaps 15-20 extra people through the gate for our home match against Carshalton Athletic last season. Although it’s questionable whether or not we benefited in the long run particularly, but that extra £100 does make a real difference to a club like Hendon, who rely completely on whatever income they can generate through sponsorship and Matchday revenue.

Those who did attend Vale Farm in September last year weren’t treated to a classic by any means – the game was settled late on by a spectacular scissors volley from Mariusz Serwin in Hendon’s favour – but it gave fans who may not be used to Non League football the chance to sample what its like and just how it differs when you can get ‘that’ close to the action.

This season Hendon, who are owned fully by the Supporters Trust, have had to move their top of the table clash with Lewes, who are a Community owned club, to the Sunday due to Wembley’s FA Cup commitments. This, I hope, will work in our favour as we will be able to target fans of those clubs in League 1 and League 2 as well as those higher up the pyramid, and given our location close to the Overground, Jubilee Line and Picadilly Line, Vale Farm is quite easily accessible to fans of a number of clubs. The game has even been advertised on the 1st QPR Supporters Trust website. Any publicity is good publicity (perhaps this piece might help a little too!).

Why then, if you’re a fan of a club in the big leagues, should you bother with the pub stuff served up at level 6, 7 or lower. You may just be surprised. Reasonably priced beer (at some clubs even allowed on the terraces), decent food that hasn’t been vacuum packed, the ref able to actively hear you question the quality of his parentage, the lumbering number 5 with his belly hanging over his shorts, the mercurial 37 year old ex pro who now fancies himself as a ‘libero’, the 18 year old livewire up front who wants to be the next Jermaine Beckford or DJ Campbell, real terrace wit that makes players laugh from time to time, linesmen enjoying a joke with the supporter who tracks him up and down the touchline to confirm every offside decision, the archetypal unwashed anorak that seems to breed under the terraces of every Non League club, sharing a post match pint with the manager and players in the bar and the odd bit of genuine quality. If none of that is enough to whet your appetite, then perhaps the promise of 90 minutes football for the price of a bottle of beer at Wembley Stadium will do the trick. Just consider that when your missus is pointing out the shelves that you still haven’t put up, or the overgrown hedge in the garden that really really needs cutting back or even, heaven forbid, when sheasks you to go shopping for a new outfit for the Xmas party season already. I think you know what’s right.

Of course, I would urge anyone at a loose end to come and watch Hendon on Sunday. Admission for anyone who holds a season ticket or ticket stub from a League club this season will be just £5, as opposed to our full price of £9. Full details can be found on the front page of http://www.hendonfc.net . If you’re unable to come down on Sunday but still fancy a game on Saturday, then all fixtures and promotional details being run by various clubs can be found on the Non League Day website http://www.nonleagueday.co.uk

Try it, you might just enjoy it.

Many thanks to Whitmarsh's whiskers, a blog I can heartily recommend following Hendon FC and life in the Ryman Premier. It really is a great read about a great little club. Let's hope some of you out there take up the chance to go out and support your local team this weekend.

First Win + Another Defeat = Topsy Turvy Bank Holiday Weekend For Wood, plus news and views.

2011-08-30T14:08:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy few days so let's get straight into it...

WE WON! WE FINALLY WON! Here's how the day unfolded:

I arrived in Borehamwood on Saturday afternoon nursing quite the hangover, and was relieved to say the least when my brother offered me a lift to the game (It's a 15 minute walk, but I was just getting over the brick wall). With kick off approaching within the next fifteen minutes, we took advantage of my FREE CAR PARK SPACE and pulled up at the ground. Optimistic of a positive result, I took my now traditional seat behind the home dugout (for optimum comedy moments) and waited for the game to begin (My brother had to stifle his laughter as the players lined up to face at most 75 people in the main stand during the pleasantries before kick off).

Wood put out one of their strongest sides so far this season, with their (hopefully) now established defensive line of Brathwaite, O' Loughlin, Wilkinson and Sankofa providing the steel at the back, McMahon pulling the strings in midfield and the tireless David Bryant giving his all supporting the forwards. The only surprising admission was Pelly Ruddock, who started on the bench after impressing so much in the previous fixture at home against Basingstoke, replaced in the side by Simeon Akinola,

It only took four minutes for my hangover to intensify ten fold when a complete lack of communication between Elvis Putnins and his defence allowed Alex Osborn to fire home from close range. I must admit I lost my rag a bit (I know, I'm such a rational person normally), with my anger aimed directly at our loanee goalkeeper. For all his qualities (and he showed many of them in this game) he simply has to be more dominant in his area. Don't let your defender make his mind up, get rid of the bloody ball. Argh, it can be so frustrating seeing these same simple mistakes undermine the teams performance, yet I suppose I should sort of be used to it by now. Sharpen up Elvis, before you leave us in the Heartbre..... no I'm too good for that. In his defence he almost redeemed himself shortly afterwards with a fantastic one handed save after more hesitancy at the back, but still - lessons must be learned from if we are to improve.

Do you know what else cropped up again in this game? AWFUL REFEREEING. I know I say this every week but this referee was easily the worst I have seen at every level. I'm surprised it didn't end in a situation like this, such was the quality of the officiating. It got to the point where I had to sit back and laugh at this incredibly inept attempt to keep order, whilst both sets of benches were left caught between dumbfounded and auditioning for a role in Sexy Beast 2. The players took the leniency as an indication to kick lumps out of each other, and at times I was surprised that the game didn't end up 9 vs 9. Whilst I am all up for a game with a few meaty challenges (check out the fight at 1:23), there was obvious recklessness going out on the field, and it wasn't only physical. Daryl McMahon took offence at one of the referee's many poor calls and openly shouted in his face, along with pointing his finger. Mario Noto came over to restrain and calm the fiery Irishman, and even then it took a while for him to simmer, luckily escaping with a yellow card in the process.

Thankfully, McMahon channeled his aggression and from here on in gave his best performance of the season so far. He was everywhere, looking for the ball, wanting set pieces, backheeling past defenders and looking generally a cut above the rest. In the 25th minute, Mario Noto won a free kick on the edge of Thurrock's half. McMahon took it and placed it beautifully onto the head of the towering Luke Wilkinson, who firmly headed it home to level up the scores. Wilkinson has quickly re-established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet and is a natural leader at the heart of the defence. In fact, I would be very surprised if he wasn't recalled by January, but fingers crossed he'll stay at Meadow Park. I mean, it's got to be nicer than Dagenham, hasn't it?

After the referee failed to give the most blatant spot kick of all time for a foul on David Bryant (imagine Ronald Koeman on David Platt, except Koeman is actually a professional wrestler and spears Platt to the ground), and Inih Effiong wasted at least 187 goal scoring chances (more on him later), Wood took the lead. Effiong's quick free kick released McMahon, whose trickery bought him enough time to put in a superb cross with his weaker right foot onto David Bryant's head, who made no mistake to pick up his second goal in as many games. Wood went in at half time good value for their lead.

We were joined at half time by Brooner, who cycled from Caledonian Road to catch the second half. Yep. He cycled. From Caledonian Road. To Meadow Park. I can't even walk up a flight of stairs without the need for an oxygen tank, let alone ride a bloody bike from Holloway to Hertfordshire. I recovered from this stunning revelation by enjoying a well earned burger and cup of tea. Burger was pretty good, as I come to expect now, and the tea was a pleasant surprise, as I could tailor it to my milky and sugary needs , and even use a teaspoon! I'll be popping over there again next half time.

After watching 20 minutes of the second half from behind the goal (a novel approach that resulted in exactly 0 goal scoring chances), we returned to our usual place to see out the game and Wood's first valuable three points of the season. Outside of the ever ludicrous display from the man in black and his Chuckle brother assistants, the only real chance to add to Wood's tally came from substitute Pelly Ruddock, who broke away following a Thurrock corner, only to take one touch too many, allowing the Thurrock keeper to block his attempt. When the final whistle blew, the sense of relief was noticeable among the players and management side (NB:Darren Currie is great value on the sidelines), as well as the pitiful attendance, which may have been the lowest I have seen at a game, yet was reported to be in the 180 range. Must have included both teams, all the backroom staff, the catering and the PA then.

Positives from this game - the defence looked good again, and Wilkinson and O'Loughlin again looked to be forming a decent partnership. But the star of the show was Daryl McMahon, who finally began to show his true class with a great display and two assists. Great stuff.

Negatives - here we go.....

It's perhaps a bit harsh to start laying into Wood after their first win, but there were some noticeable faults out there:

Elvis Putnins' lack of command in his area, which cost us an early goal.
Mario Noto and Daryl McMahon cannot play together: Play one, but two creative midfielders who want to play the ball in midfield sometimes leaves us stretched, as noted on this day. A true Lampard/Gerrrard conundrum for Ian Allinson.
Inih Effiong: I could have written a whole post about how apathetic Inih was in this game. This was a true non league Emmanuel Adebayor performance, meaning that there was largely no effort and a lot of attitude. Inih is only 19 but could play at a higher level if he put in a bit of graft and actually ran a bit. Lamentable finishing aside, the amount of times where wide men would get the ball into a decent area only to see Effiong trundling up to the edge of the box was so frustrating it was unreal. My general feeling of ill will towards him was only heightened by the news that St Albans are to be paid compensation after The FA ruled in their favour after a lengthy row (see my previous posts for full details).

Wood lined up as follows:

Team: Putnins, Sankofa, Brathwaite, Bryant, Wilkinson, O’Loughlin, Akinola (Sub – Ruddock 76 mins.), McMahon, Effiong (Sub – Palmer 81 mins.), Noto, Hurrell.

Subs (Not used): O’Leary, Smith, Hunter.

As has been the case with Wood this season, my hopes were too high for their trip to Staines, who were languishing below Wood in the league on Bank Holiday Monday. Staines shot out of the blocks and were comfortable 2-1 winners, with Simeon Akinola scoring the consolation goal in injury time, his first for the club. The match report can be found here.

Whilst I was not at the game (and there is a good reason, which will be shared with you fine readers next week), I was disappointed to read that Stephen O'Leary, a recent signing from (eurgh) Luton, failed to turn up for the game after only one match for Boreham Wood. I am yet to hear the reasoning behind the no show, but I can only assume it must have been serious for such a poor show of professionalism. To add to Wood's woes, Elvis Putnins was injured in the warm up, leaving Michael Jordan, who I believe had been told to find a club to go out on loan to, to make his first appearance of the season. Wood boss lamented the side's poor display up front (again), stating,

"Our forward play was poor all afternoon as we are playing off the back foot all the time. Add to that the fact that some of the team are giving away possession in key areas continuously we need to evaluate where we are as quickly as possible.”

Wood now find themselves languishing in 20th place, and 'quickly as possible' will come this weekend, as Wood travel to Weston Super Mare, a game I am gutted I cannot be at as I am at the End of The Road festival, like the awful Non-League fan that I am. In brighter news the Staines game saw Mark Jones make his debut for Wood, having joined from Braintree, where he spent 11 successful years. Welcome aboard Mark!

That's it from me for today, and this week - but there will be another post before I depart, as a fellow Non League fan tells you why you should spend a day this weekend at Non League Day, and in particular, Hendon FC.

As always, feedback is appreciated, and your continued support even more so. I've got a really exciting post coming up next week which should make for some good reading if I say so myself, and hopefully this will be the start of this blog really going somewhere! I can be reached here on on twitter @wearethewood.

Until next time....

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Basingstoke, Better Performances and a BBC Appearance - Things Are Looking Up

2011-08-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I hadn't quite expected the week to have gone quite the way it has...

As I pondered in my last entry, stranger things have happened than the prospect of Wood (played 2, 0 wins, 2 defeats, goal difference -5) going to league leaders Woking and coming away with a good result, and it turned out I was right, as Wood came back home with a very good point, as well as a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw. Sadly, due to my removal man being delayed I didn't get all my stuff into my new home until 2:30, thus missing the game. This was of course a blessing in disguise as I have not exactly been a good luck charm thus far, and by all accounts Wood gave an excellent account for themselves, creating eleven chances in the game at The Kingfield Stadium, exactly eleven more than I had seen in their first two games of the season (I jest).

As discussed before, with the spine of the team missing against Bromley Wood were easy pickings, but the return of Luke Wilkinson and Super Mario Noto brought a sense of calm to the team, with Wilkinson picking up the Man of The Match award after another accomplished display. I feel a bit of a fraud reporting on a game that I wasn't at, so the report from Wood's official site can be found here. The only other thing to add (according to what I have read of course) to the game was that Wood could have won if Inih Effiong had converted one of his host of chances created on Saturday. Still, a great point in anyone's book, with Wood showing some great unity at the back and flair going forward. Most encouraging.

Monday saw my return to league action, with the visit of Basingstoke to Meadow Park. I got there early so I could FINALLY pick up my season ticket, after seemingly every passport photo machine in London and Borehamwood was knackered. Stepping into one of the portacabins used for the PASE scheme as well as a general office for the physio etc, I stumbled upon Daryl McMahon, Darren Currie and Luke Garrard doing their day jobs (McMahon and Currie waiting for a training session to start, Garrard taking care of PASE matters), with a decent bit of banter flying about, even at the expense of yours truly ('Big Browne to his friends' was one of the comments). Such a dressing room insider, I know.

Whilst waiting for my season ticket to be laminated, I listened to Garrard explain his injury to one of the PASE academy students, and was saddened to hear that it was a partial tear of the achilles (is that my first EXCLUSIVE?), and that he was due to see a specialist this week. After passing on my best wished to the club captain ('Get well soon Luke!') I had time for a quick trip to pick up my post (not a euphamism) and then headed back to Meadow Park for the visit of Basingstoke.

I decided to shake things up a little bit and sit somewhere different for the game (I know, I've always lived on the edge), and it was as if fate had lead me to my seat as before kick off I was asked by the man sitting next to me, 'Has Effiong played league football?' This in itself would have been mildly ludicrous as it was without the fact that the man asking me had an almost gruff European accent. Answering in the negative, I began to chat about Inih and his transfer saga, and amazingly my new found friend did not immediately get up and leave the stadium. It turned out that this man (Peter) had come all the way from Switzerland to have a 3 week British football tour, taking in at least one game every day if possible, and that Meadow Park was the 675th European ground he had visited! Over the 90 minutes we had a fascinating discussion over the grounds he had been to (every ground in the top 7 tiers of English Football, all 4 divisions in Scotland, was just about to complete the top two leagues in Wales, all of the Irish Premier League grounds in both South and North, the list went on and on), best games he had seen (Switzerland 4- Sweden 2 in Hodgson's reign), other friends who did the same (a German lady who had been to FIVE THOUSAND GROUNDS) and favourite grounds in England (sadly he said Anfield with the old kop). I could have sat with this man for a good few days and just chatted football, and I was sad when we had to part ways. Peter, best of luck to you my friend, and I hope you enjoyed Kettering tonight,

The first half was very tight, with both defences performing superbly, especially both pairs of centre backs. Luke Wilkinson again looked outstanding for Wood, and his partnership with Charlie O'Loughlin looks to be the start of something very special for Wood. In midfield, Super Mario was back and looking to pull the strings, with new signing from Luton Stephen O'Leary replacing the injured Daryl McMahon. They were joined by the fantastic Pelly Ruddock, who even at the tender age of 18 looked very much the part down the right hand side, both going forward and in defence, where his last ditch challenged foiled David Pratt (a true Sensible Soccer name) from opening the scoring. His link up play with Osei Sankofa was at times telepathic, and can hopefully be built on as the season progresses. Up front, Effiong looked good in spells and downright lazy in others. His physical strength was such that he was constantly targeted from the Basingstoke defence, who climbed over him at every opportunity, but he was not protected as the evenings game was officiated by Mr Bean. I could rant for 1,000 words as to the amazing incompetency of the match officials but I fear it would be revisiting old ground, so I won't. Still, Christ almighty the officiating was dreadful. The teams went in at half time 0-0, with Effiong's turn and run from the halfway line resulting in a limp finish being the main highlight of the half, outside of the Some Mothers Do 'Ave Em school of refereeing.

Going into the second period, and with my conversation with Peter showing no signs of petering out (that pun is wasted on you guys), the game began to open up as both teams started to look for what would likely be the winner. After a couple of chances for Wood, Basingstoke went ahead with an absolute pig's ear of a goal, coming from Delano Sam-Yorke following a scrambled corner. 'FFS' as the kids say, and I was now facing the real prospect of another game without seeing a goal or evn a draw this season. Thankfully, the evening was about to change in a grand manner.

After 347 minutes of league football, Mario Noto's corner was met with a fine header from David Bryant, the smallest man on the field, to send the home support into rapture. Finally we had seen a goal, and it was well deserved for Wood's endeavour in the second half. Just as Bryant's equaliser hit the back of the net, my phone rang with the second significant question of the evening,

'Hi Richard, are you ready to go on The Non League Show in a couple of minutes?'

Yes my friends, I made an appearance on BBC Radio London's Non League show with Caroline Baker, giving my views of the game, the season so far and a few other bits and bobs. It was an absolute pleasure to be on the show, and whilst I was put on the spot with the opening question, I think I handled myself fairly admirably. You can judge for yourself and listen to the whole show over at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/nonleague

(I appear at the 59 minute mark - the show also appears on itunes so you can download the podcast and have my dulcet tones on your MP3 Player FOREVER)

The game ended up fizzling out into a 1-1 draw, but still, first home point, first goal and an appearance on BBC Radio London? I'll take that for an evenings work. I wished Peter all the best with his travels before heading home, furiously ringing the people who would care about me being on the radio (my parents and my girlfriend). To round it all off, I met a man at the train station who was over from NORWAY to see English football. My brain almost melted, but I managed to hold a similar conversation as I had with Peter. Ole, hope you enjoyed Hayes and Yeading.

Ian Allinson told the club's website afterwards that it was:

“A pleasing result given the quality of the opposition. We did not give up and had several players lacking match fitness. Stephen O’Leary missed the whole of last Season, Sam Hurrell has been away in America and Mario Noto has just missed three weeks through injury. Our defensive work is good, now we need to work on improving things in front of goal as a priority. I am looking forward to the team firing on all cylinders.”

Can't really add to that much more, Wood are looking good at the back (Puntins was again excellent and hopefully we can keep hold of him until the end of the season) but need some work going forward. Hopefully with a full strength team returning and some work on finishing, Wood can start getting the wheels in motion for a better season after a rocky start.

Man of the Match - a three way tie between Luke Wilkinson, Charlie O'Loughlin and Pelly Rudoock. Wilkinson and O'Loughlin were dominant at the back, and Ruddock was easily Wood's best player going forward, and with a bit more composure could have added a goal and an assist to his performance. Good stuff all round.

Wood lined up as follows:

Putnins, Sankofa, Brathwaite, O’Leary, Wilkinson, O’Loughlin, Ruddock (Sub – Akinola 80 mins.), Bryant, Effiong (Sub – Palmer 78 mins.), Noto, Hurrell (Sub – Hunter 90 mins.).

This Saturday sees Thurrock come to town (presumably to mock The Boulevard), and a full report will be up next week. As always, thanks for reading and feedback is always welcomed. Please continue to share this among your friends/forums/freemason groups - get the word out there! I can be found in the comments page below, or on twitter @wearethewood.

Until next time.....

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Bromley 4 Boreham Wood 0 : Woof. Woking up next.

2011-08-18T05:52:00.000-07:00

Well, this certainly wasn’t the start I was expecting….

I arrived in Bromley South just after 6pm on Monday night, eagerly awaiting Wood’s first away fixture of the season. After meeting Thom, we headed for the local Lloyd’s bar where we were joined by his sister and his dad, to give the evening a true family feel. Dinner was quickly consumed (mixed grill and a pint for £6.50, VALUE) and we headed off to catch the short bus up to Hayes Lane, home of Bromley FC.

The first thought that came into my head was that the long driveway up to the ground made it look like you were going to a driving range, not a Blue Square South game. That aside I was very impressed with the facilities on hand. Whilst I am still trying to get to grips with paying £12 for tier 6 football, the ground itself was quite the delight. As soon as you enter through the main turnstiles you are met with a burger van, an ice cream van and a programme shed. Having just inhaled a mixed grill I was quite alright for snacks, but was sad to see that all the programmes had sold out. Maybe Wood are a bigger draw than I thought (Not that it was reflected in the travelling support, who were about 30 at most).

Despite my disappointment at the lack of programmes, I was delighted with Bromley’s selection of bars. The first bar we visited was ‘The Sports Bar’, and sat just inside the halfway line. With it’s designated area outside for drinking, it was refreshing to have a pint whilst watching the game, something which strangely was not allowed at Meadow Park on Saturday. Turns out I should have asked for something a lot stronger than a Strongbow, as Wood were run absolutely ragged for 90% of the game.

With Saturday’s Man Of The Match Luke Wilkinson joining Luke Garrard, Mario Noto and Simeon Akinola on the treatment table, Wood were left without the core spine of their team and it showed. A bright start saw Darren Currie round the Bromley keeper and cut back from a tight angle, but Ali Chaaban was not quick enough to react and the chance went begging. Chaaban spent a lot of the first half looking threatening but without any penetration, and often found himself running into blind alleys and losing possession, much to the annoyance of his team mates, who had made their feelings more than clear against Havant in regards to his dilly dallying on the ball. Wood’s only other good chance of the half fell to David Bryant following good work from Daryl McMahon, but his effort was blocked by the legs of Dean Santangelo (great name).

After Wood’s good start, Bromley took the lead against the run of play and never looked back. The opener came in the twenty second minute when poor defending from Charlie O Loughlin allowed a long clearance to fall into the path of Hakeem Araba, who finished with aplomb. It was all uphill for Wood afterwards, but they somehow managed to weather the storm and go in at half time only one down. Surely some harsh words at half time would do the trick?

At half time we took the opportunity to sample the delights of Bromley’s other bar, which gave us both a nice pint and a view of the pitch, albeit behind some thick glass rendering any atmosphere outside impotent to those upstairs. A projector screen was showing the Arsenal vs Udinese game, and whilst both of my teams were struggling, at least Arsenal were 1-0 up. Hoping for a change in fortunes we headed back pitchside for the second half.

Having not learned my lesson from the first half , I should have ordered a pint of Gin to help alleviate what was to follow. Bromley shot out of the blocks and Wood were second best in every department. Their second came eight minutes into the second half, and sadly Elvis Putnins (whom the family with me had a vested interest in being ardent QPR supporters), was at fault, letting a very comfortable effort from Danny Hockton somehow get past him. A real ‘Chocolate Wrists’ moment for the Latvian Under 21 international who otherwise was the standout performer for Wood, and in fact made one of the best saves I have ever seen live (only behind this), tipping a goalbound Bromley header onto the bar from all of 3 yards out. He was exposed time and time again by a poor Wood backline missing any real leadership but repelled at least six clear goal scoring chances, and whilst his distribution was better, his lack of communication with his defence could have been punished further. Maybe I am being overly critical, but certainly food for thought.

Following the second goal, Wood reverted to a disastrous 3-4-3 formation, with dire consequences. Following an exceptional block from Daniel Brathwaite which saved a certain third, Orlando Smith (another great name) danced through the Wood defenced and fired an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner. Game, set and match, and even I had to applaud the goal, even if the Robbie Keane-esque forward roll was unnecessary in celebration. By this point Inih Effiong had replaced the largely ineffective Ollie Palmer, with Pelly Ruddock coming into the fray, replacing Darren Currie. Neither offered any hope of even a brief comeback, and Bromley went on to complete the rout with what was described as a ‘David Beckham style’ goal from Gareth Williams from a local fan. I had unfortunately missed the final nail in the coffin as I was in the toilet.

Wood lined up as follows:

Putnins, Sankofa, Brathwaite, Yala (Sub – Lawal 64 mins.), O’Loughlin, Hunter, Bryant, Chaaban, Palmer (Sub – Effiong 62 mins.), McMahon, Currie (Sub – Ruddock 62 mins.).

Subs (Not used): Jordan, Walker.

All in all, pretty terrible stuff. Bromley were as good as Wood were poor, although in their defence Wood were missing 3 key players in Garrard, Noto and Wilkinson, and I believe with their experience and leadership they would have made a big difference. Man of The Match was undoubtedly Elvis Putnins, who kept the scoreline from become a cricket one with a series of fine stops. Again, up front Ali Chaaban continued to frustrate, and in midfield Daryl McMahon has not shown his true class yet in a competitive match, whilst Charlie Hunter, despite being very good in possession and surprisingly in the tackle, just doesn’t have the physical presence yet to make a real difference in the centre of the park. I feel for him as he hasn’t received too much protection in there, so hopefully Luke Garrard’s absence is not too long so he can slot back into his position in the middle of the park. Creatively, Noto was missed again, especially in set piece delivery, and whilst Darren Currie looked good again it is unreasonable to expect a 36 year old to complete 180 minutes in the space of a few days. Official match report and reaction can be found here.

Bromley Ratings:

Ground: 7/10 - Nice and friendly, covered, good pitch

Bars: 8/10 - Choice of two, big screens, views of pitch, outside drinking allowed

Location: 6/10 - Short bus ride from Bromley South station, which is 20 minutes from Victoria.

Main Gripe - Programmes sold out!

Things are going to get harder for Wood before they get easier, with a trip to title favourites Woking on Saturday. Christ almighty. Woking have got off to a 100% start, with a 5-0 demolition of Sutton United on the opening day followed by a 2-1 on Monday evening against Hampton and Richmond. Playing flowing, attractive football, Woking possess a number of dangerous players in their ranks, including former Fulham and Leicester striker Elvis Hammond, former Pompey man Paris Cowen-Hall and tricky winger Dale Binns, of whom I have heard a lot about from various Hendon and Lewes fans. It’s a big ask for Wood to travel there and come away with a result, but stranger things have happened and hopefully we’ll have a number of key players back and can at the very least give a decent account of ourselves.

Sadly I will not be at the game, as I am moving house this weekend. Booooo. This could turn out to be a positive for Wood, as I have been a jinx so far this season. That being said, I expect to be moved by 1pm on Saturday, and I am only two stops on the tube from Waterloo. Hmmmmmmmmm……

As always, thank you for reading and please continue to share amongst friends and fans alike. Over the next few weeks I will hopefully have some exciting pieces coming up, but I’ll keep those under wrap for the time being as I do not want to jinx myself. Comments, feedback are welcome, and I can be found on twitter @wearethewood. Thanks for the continued support from all of you out there.

Until next time….

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Boreham Wood 0 Havant and Waterlooville 1: Not good enough

2011-08-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

The first day of a new football season brings about a wide range of emotions. Optimism, excitement, even despair - the spectrum of feelings is varied to say the least.

I awoke on Saturday morning extremely excited. In fact, I was so excited that I got up at 8am when I had been longing for a lie in all week. Not being able to nod back off, I got out of bed, showered, had breakfast and headed off to get my hair cut all before 9:30am. After my lethargy towards football over the final four months of last season, I was taken aback by just how thrilled I was that it was the opening day of the season. But that's what the opening day of the season does to you - it lures you in with a false sense of security that things are going to be different and then kicks you square between the legs and delivers the same old rubbish but on a different day in a different setting.

I'll make no bones about this - the 180 minutes of Wood vs Havant and Waterlooville followed by Newcastle vs Arsenal was absolutely offensive, but at least I was half expecting the first game to be pretty bad. I can only apologise to my companions for the day, who took the feast of bad football with good grace and never complained once.

Onto the game - Wood lined up with a couple of new faces in the side. With Mario Noto in the stands (and sporting a very smart suit), new player/assistant manager Darren Currie lined up in midfield to add a creative spark, and to my surprise, completed a full 90 minutes. Despite his aging legs, Currie looked very good and you could tell that he has that extra bit of class that comes with a long career in league football. He always appeared to have an extra few seconds on the ball, but was sadly let down by his team mates, and let his obvious frustrations show on more than one occasion, mainly at Ali Chaaban, whose constant need to take five touches too many seemed to grate on Currie.

He was joined in the side by Latvian Under 21 International Elvis Putnins, who returned to the club on loan from QPR, leaving Michael Jordan, who had largely impressed during pre-season, on the bench. Whilst his ability to come and claim crosses was far superior to what I have seen from Jordan, his distribution left a lot to be desired. In fact, on more than one occasion it was dreadful. When the home side were pushing for an equaliser, there were times when Putnins could not have gotten rid of the ball any slower, and it looked like his confidence had been knocked following a number of poor clearances.

Putnins didn't stand a chance with Havant's winner, which came after only two minutes. Lee Peacock, who I noted in my last blog as Havant's key dangerman, blasted the ball into the top corner from the penalty spot following Craig Braham-Barrett's cut back. It was the worst possible start, especially after Luke Garrard, captain for the day, limped off in the first minute after over exerting himself in a foray forward. Wood never really recovered from this early double blow, and with a well organised Havant side closing off play very effectively, the game was as good as finished within the first few minutes.

That's not to say it was all bad, just mostly. Luke Wilkinson impressed after taking the armband, and looked very composed on the ball and in the air, and even added a sense of urgency going forward when Wood began to chase the game. Despite a surprisingly quiet game, Daryl McMahon almost produced a piece of magic midway through the first half with a thunderous free kick that came off the upright with the Havant keeper scrambling across his goalmouth. Unfortunately he then spent the rest of the game committing a series of reckless fouls, culminating in an awful lunge from behind late on that should have really seen red. The more eagle eyed readers among you will have noticed that this isn't the first time I have said this about the Irishman. Needless to say tackling is not his forte, and no, I don't mean that in a chuckling 'Paul Scholes can't tackle' whilst he maimed another opponent - I mean McMahon really needs to watch his challenges if he doesn't want to watch more games from the stands.

The only other positives on the pitch came from the introduction of Olly Palmer for the largely anonymous Inih Effiong. Almost immediately after his introduction, Palmer created a fine chance for Pelly Ruddock with a deft movement away from his marker. Unfortunately Ruddock could only fire straight at the keeper. Palmer then had a couple of chances that resulted in him heading against the crossbar from about a yard out, which was less than he deserved for his industrious efforts after coming off the bench. I look forward to seeing more of the loan man in action.

Havant, to their credit, were an extremely well organised team and this was the difference between the two teams, with Wood largely playing like a team of strangers, with Noto especially missed from the side. Solid in defence, good on the break and adept at holding onto the ball, they were deserved winners on the day. They should also be commended for their travelling support, who brought a huge flag and were in good voice all through the game. One of them was even sporting a jester hat. This was probably my highlight of the second half. I think that if Wood had of played for another 90 minutes, they wouldn't have scored, and that is credit to The Hawks for a very solid display.

Another thing that dawned on me was that the difference between league and non league football is not just seen in the players or in the facilities - it also stretches to the officials. Even though it didn't end up having a huge impact on the game, the referee and his two assistants were absolutely dreadful. I mean, hilariously so. They felt the wrath of both managers on occasion, and it was entirely deserved. I don't advocate severe abuse or intimidation of officials, but I feel both managers were well within their rights to show their anger here. A truly inept showing.

Wood lined up as follows:

Team: Putnins, Sankofa, Brathwaite, Hunter, Wilkinson, O’Loughlin, Ruddock, Garrard (Sub – Chaaban 6 mins.), Effiong (Sub – Palmer 62 mins.), McMahon, Currie.

Subs (Not used): Yala, Lawal, Jordan.

Ian Allinson told the clubs official website that the game was “a reasonable score line given our first half showing. That said I felt we had the better chances whilst they had the majority of the possession and to their credit they closed us down well. We are missing five key players now and that possibly left us short in some areas. We did not play well, yet we did not get battered, in a game where we were forced deep and gave the ball away for fun.” A very honest assessment indeed.

All in all a very disappointing performance from Wood, with a few positives to take from the game. Wood will look to bounce back against Bromley tonight, a game I will be attending with Bromley man and Richard Browne lookalike, The Telegraph's own Thom Gibbs. I am hoping that Wood pick themselves up and do not subject me to a humiliating trip to deepest South London, and hopefully with a reshuffled side, potentially with Ollie Palmer up front, Wood can get back on track with a win. Bromley themselves have had an excellent start, winning away at Hampton and Richmond on Saturday, and will be looking to start their home campaign with a win. I'm just hoping that come the final whistle I won't be cursing myself for not staying in and watching Arsenal vs Udinese. But then again.....no, I won't get into that. It's far too late. Actually, I already covered Arsenal in a piece for Dodgy Knees Blog, so check that out.

Thanks for reading and as always, feedback is greatly appreciated. I can be found on here and on twitter @wearethewood. I've hopefully got some exciting things in the pipeline for this blog, but I'll keep them under wraps for now.

Until next time...

WE ARE THE WOOD!

It's Finally Here: Havant and Waterlooville Preview

2011-08-12T05:04:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is the big one, the start of the 2011/2012 season. My God I can't wait.

Like a kid at Christmas I have been getting more and more excited about the new season, which is a bit silly as I could potentially be spending the next 9 months watching some of the worst football I have ever seen. Having said that, I am confident that this will not be the case. Wood have got a good footballing philosophy, with Ian Allinson encouraging his players to get the ball down and play, and with the new recruits brought in over the summer, Wood should play some attractive stuff.

The first league game of the season brings Havant and Waterlooville to Meadow Park. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a bit of a fond spot for Havant after their plucky efforts in the FA Cup in 2008, going ahead twice at Anfield in round four before ultimately succumbing to Liverpool's superior class. They were also the subject of one of my favourite stories of the Non League Pre-Season, as they stepped in at the 11th hour to face the mighty Real Betis in a friendly after Portsmouth got stranded in the USA. Betis unsurprisingly ran out 7-0 winners, but it was a great day for all concerned, and it's not often that you get a large Spanish side (who once held the world record transfer for Denilson - no, not THAT one) turning out at a Blue Square South ground. That is, of course, until Barcelona face up to their one true rival in European Football and bring Messi, Iniesta et al to Meadow Park.

Looking through their squad list, one name jumps out at me - that of Lee Peacock, who joined the side over the summer. Having played at, amongst others, Manchester City, Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday, Peacock brings vast experience to the Havant side, and should be a real danger to the Wood backline tomorrow afternoon. Due to their locality there is also obviously a Portsmouth connection with the club, not only through manager Shaun Gale, but also in their goalkeeping coach, Pompey legend Alan Knight. They will however, be feeling the loss of Guiseppe Sole amongst others, who left after one season to try and gain promotion at title favourites Woking. I imagine the Havant fans would like to call upon Dean Holdsworth, Liam Daish and Rocky Baptiste (remember THIS?) in their prime to help out now, who are listed amongst the notable players to have turned out at Westleigh Park.

PREDICTIONS

Wood will have a lot to prove this season after heavy investment, and certainly chairman Danny Hunter will want to see his outlay repaid in good performances on the field. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say by the end of the 2011/2012 season, Wood will have been pushing for, if not in the Play Offs. Wood have bought well, and the signs from pre-season were mostly encouraging. With the likes of Daryl McMahon and Mario Noto pulling strings in midfield, as well as the significant work done on the back line in the form of goalkeeper Michael Jordan and defenders Charlie O' Laughlin, James Smith and the return of Luke Wilkinson, Boreham Wood now have the right balance and a strong spine in the side, not to mention up and coming prospects such as Inih Effiong waiting to grab their opportunities in the first team.

As for tomorrow, I'm expecting a decent game , with both sides looking to put a marker down for the season to come. Wood will want to impress their fans on their first competitive fixture of a largely new side, whilst Havant will want to ease the fears of manager Shaun Gale, who recently got the dreaded 'Vote of Confidence' from his board. I'm going for a 2-1 victory for Wood, to get their season off to a flyer.

Thanks for reading, and as always, feedback is appreciated. Best of luck to all Non League teams (except against Wood) and fans for the coming season and if you are not at game yourself, why not pop along to Boreham Wood? It's easily accessible by train (25 mins from Kings Cross) and car (just off the A1), and with first class facilities for food and drink, you'd be hard pressed to find a better set up at this level.

Enjoy your weekend, enjoy your games - please tell your friends about this blog! I can be found on the comments section or on twitter @wearethewood.

Until next time…

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Pre-Season Continues: Effiong signing ignites local rivalry, Currie delivered to Meadow Park

2011-08-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

I tell you what, the timing of this blog has been poor to say the least. Anyone who has been through the process of moving home knows what I mean - from viewings to sorting all your stuff out, it never seems to end. Add into this a few days of riots across London, and you get one delayed blog. Anyways, on with the show - thankfully my new home looks like it follows one of my original rules for following a team, as it is an easy commute into Borehamwood (a DIRECT train! Imagine that! This will likely never run on the weekend but one can dream, can't they?), so win win all round.

This Saturday sees the dream begin in earnest, as Boreham Wood start their league campaign against Havant and Waterlooville. I will post a full preview tomorrow, as there has been much a brewing in the world of The Wood.

Firstly, and most importantly - I was thanked on the club's official website for the purchase of my season ticket! Boreham Wood, let's face it, are not going to be drawing up waiting lists any time soon, so it's a nice touch for those who have decided to invest their time and money into seeing them to get a thank you in return. I think the most you would get from Arsenal is 'your money is due in 5 days, pay up in full now or we'll take it off you'.

Now, onto more pre-season business…

'Tapping Up' is a phrase that I associate with the Barcelonas, Real Madrids, Chelseas etc of the footballing world. It's certainly not a phrase I would ever expect to hear in the Blue Square South, which is why the accusations made by St Albans towards Wood were surprising to say the least. Let's have a look at the situation…

Over the last couple of weeks, Boreham Wood completed the re-signing of Inih Effiong from local rivals St Albans City.Having already featured in pre-season, Inih is a young, pacy, exciting striker who has shown both for and against Wood that he can be a real danger in the box. 19 years old, and a local lad (just up the A1 in Hatfield), the announcement of his signing was met with joy from Wood fans, and anger from St Albans City chairman, Ian Ridley.

You may remember Ian Ridley for a number of reasons. You may remember him from being a football journalist for amongst others, The Daily Mail. You may remember him from writing, in conjunction with Tony Adams, the excellent 'Addicted'. And if you are a Non League fan, or in particular a Weymouth fan, you may remember him from taking over the seaside club in 2003, appointing Steve 'Contrary opinion for Cash' Claridge as player/manager and almost getting promotion to the Conference in the process. As previously mentioned, Ridley is chairman at local rivals St Albans City, who are currently languishing in the horrifically named Evo-Stick League Southern. Effiong's departure to Wood, and not Farnborough as they expected, brought out quite the reaction in Ridley, who, assumingly using his links, began to intimate through the press that there was foul play on Boreham Wood's behalf in their quest to sign the youngster. The St Albans City FC official site carried the following statement:

"Supporters, quite rightly, will be wondering what has happened to Inih Effiong and the club feels the time is right to explain as fully as we can, given the limitations of proceedings that are in motion.

At the start of pre-season training, the player made it clear that he no longer wished to play for St Albans City FC.

We were disappointed about that, especially as we believed that the player would make good progress under our new manager David Howell, who has a track record of bringing on young players and helping them find places in the full-time professional game, to the benefit of all parties.

Nevertheless, we respected the player’s wishes and allowed him to talk to, and train with, other clubs. The understanding was always that these clubs were aware that St Albans City were due compensation for the player under Football Association regulations, since the player was Under 24 and had been offered terms for re-engagement at the end of last season.

The player began training with Farnborough, who conducted themselves correctly and contacted St Albans City FC. Acceptable compensation was amicably agreed between the two clubs.

We have now had it confirmed, however, that the player has signed for Boreham Wood FC.
Not having received an offer of compensation for the player, we have now taken the decision to report the matter to the Football Association and we expect a tribunal to be established that will rule on the level of compensation that St Albans City FC is owed. "

Ooof. Strong words indeed, and the threat of FA involvement and a possible tribunal was surely a worry. However, there was something which I believe St Albans did not understand - the difference between a player being out of contract and a player being offered 're-engagement' terms. Now, don't look at me as I'm likely as confused as most of you, so please consult the following link for The FA's wording . Still confused? Don't worry.But this seems to be the crux of the argument- was Effiong was under contract, offered re-engagement, accepted re-engagement or a whole mixture of all of them?

Wood chairman Danny Hunter responded to these claims, which were fast spreading across non league websites, papers and messageboards, with a quite brilliant lengthy statement aimed at Ian Ridley in particular, with the aim for quashing these rumours once and for all. The full statement can be found here, but here are some choice cuts:

“It’s very simple really, Inih’s contract ran out on April 30th 2011, which was confirmed by the Football Association. St Albans say they offered him re-engagement terms, which is totally different to a player being on contract. If Inih was offered re-engagement terms, he did not accept or respond. Which means that 28 days after any re-engagement offer, a player is free to speak and sign for who he pleases – in Inih’s case, he chose us!”

“Let’s be clear about Boreham Wood’s conduct, we only spoke to the player in mid July, ten weeks after the end of last season. Unfortunately since then I’ve had nothing but phone calls and threats of malpractice from St Albans City Chairman Ian Ridley, who doesn’t seem to want to listen or understand the rules set out by the F.A.”

Continuing on , and in regards to Ian Ridley, this was my personal favourite passage:

“Mr Ridley has also left me messages on my phone accusing my secretary of falsifying a pre season team sheet at Billericay, which again is nonsense. Mr Ridley has accused BWFC of illegal payments to Inih, which after last year’s payment problems at St Albans City, is rather rich.”

“Their Chairman clearly has to grasp, that it is not in anyone’s interest for Boreham Wood Football Club and St Albans City, not to have a reasonable relationship, as we are neighbours for God's sake!”

Finally, speaking in regards to youngster Lee Close turning out for St.Albans after being offered re-engagment terms, Hunter stated;

“All I’ve asked of Lee is that he speaks to whoever he is eventually going to sign for and let them know BWFC have offered him re-engagement terms, as laid out by The F.A… Unlike Mr Ridley, I did not begin to verbally bully a youngster. I certainly did not begin a website or media circus and I did not wrongly claim that I had a player contracted, when we are talking about re-engagements.”

This will probably sound extremely childish on my behalf, but I absolutely love stuff like this. Accusations of tapping up, falsification of documents, public statements denouncing each other, it all makes for a very entertaining read. The fact that it involves our local rivals, in my opinion, makes it even better. Now this isn't me using a platform to stoke up rivalries to get people to act in a stupid manner, it is just that I think most people enjoy local rivalry, and things like this, however frustrating they may be for the losers, should be taken at face value and well... just laughed off a bit. Of course if this was the other way round I would probably be outraged, but for now I can enjoy the pantomime surrounding a 19 year old's transfer from one non league team to another. And at the end of the day, it is more exciting then the whole Cesc Fabregas transfer saga, eh?

Effiong's controversial re-signing meant that Wood's other recent dealings in the transfer market went largely unnoticed. Over the summer months, Wood have brought in eleven new players to Meadow Park, of varying experience but comparable abilities. The latest signing is perhaps their biggest coup of the window altogether, which is saying a lot considering the caliber of some of the arrivals this summer. Following the news that Jason Goodliffe had to sadly stand down due to family and work commitments (something that is oft overlooked at this level - most players and staff still have to work), Wood announced that Darren Currie would be taking his place as Player/Assistant Manager, and also joining Luke Garrard, Super Mario Noto and Daryl McMahon as part of the PASE coaching team.

Currie brings league experience to Wood, having played for Shrewsbury, Plymouth, Barnet, Wycombe, Brighton, Ipswich, Coventry, Derby, (sadly) Luton, Chesterfield and finally Dagenham and Redbridge. Like Daryl McMahon, Currie is a playmaker and his experience will be invaluable to a team looking to push forward this season. How many games he will play in his duel role remains to be seen, but you would imagine someone with such talent and experience would appear more often than not, despite his aging legs. Welcome aboard Darren, and all the best in your time at Meadow Park. For the rest of you, here is a youtube compilation of Darren.

In pre-season friendly action, Wood rounded off their campaign with defeat at Tooting and Mitcham on Saturday. I don't think I can quite match the official sites report in terms of hilarity, so I won't bother. The report can be found here.

That's all from the latest round up of pre-season news and feuds from me, join me tomorrow for a preview of Wood's first home game of the season, which brings the visit of Havant and Waterlooville. As always feedback is appreciated, and please continue to share this blog amongst friends and other fans. Although it's a small number, we have surpassed the 1,000 views mark which was very pleasing to me. I can be found on twitter @wearethewood, as well as the comments section below.

Until tomorrow….

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Pre-Season Continues: Boreham Wood 1 Arsenal XI 7

2011-08-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

After all that…there were no tantrums.

No screams, no shouts, no accusations containing the words 'Silver Platter' or 'bottle'. None. Last Friday I went to Meadow Park and instead of screaming and shouting, I sat back and watched a thoroughly entertaining game which the Arsenal XI won at a canter, 7-1. It was clearly a men against boys type of match, with the twist being that the men in this game were at most 21, and some probably have only just done their GCSEs. The utter bastards. I had decided that there are better ways of venting my frustrations than ruining a family evening at Meadow Park, and took my seat with minimal fuss, to the relief of those with me. I always was a keyboard warrior. This sudden laid back reaction was mainly due to the fact that before the game I finally purchased my season ticket. Yesssssssssssssss.

Having followed the Arsenal youngsters fairly closely, mainly through the excellent Young Guns Blog, I was familiar with the majority of the starting XI. For the casual fan, the most notable names on the team sheets would have been Henri Lansbury, back at the club following a loan spell at Norwich and being a member of the ill fated England U21 squad this summer, and Sanchez Watt, who impressed whilst on loan at Leeds United last season.

Wood lined up with two new signings. The first, Luke Wilkinson, was already familiar following his loan spell at Meadow Park, and is warmly welcomed back for another loan from Dagenham and Redbridge to add some steel at centre back. The second, Ollie Palmer, arrives on loan until January from Woking, and offers something different up front, with his height and strength, as well as his ability to hold the ball up on show in flashes during the game. The team was as follows:

Team: Jordan (Sub – Baker-Owers 80 mins.), Sankofa, Brathwaite (Sub – Walker 61 mins.), Garrard (Sub – Akinola 45 mins.), Wilkinson (Sub – Kamara 80 mins.), Hunter (Sub – Yala 61 mins.), Chaaban (Sub –Ruddock 73 mins.), McMahon, Palmer (Sub – Effiong 45 mins.), Noto, Bryant (Sub –Scott-Morris 73 mins.).

The Arsenal youngsters had not conceded during their pre-season campaign thus far, but this record fell after thirteen minutes. I don't think I need to tell you who scored, do I? Yes, it was 'Super' Mario Noto, whose quickly taken free kick caught Arsenal cold and left me regretting even more any negative words I have previously said about him. 1-0 Wood!

It was not to last. By half time it was 3-1 to Arsenal, with Watt, Luke Freeman and Henri Lansbury (with an absolute SCORCHER) scoring for The Gunners. In truth, Arsenal were streets ahead and probably should have gone in six or seven up. The very entertaining first half was mainly sound tracked by Arsenal cult hero Marina's cries of 'COME. ON. YOU. GUNNNNNERS' echoing throughout the ground (Quick aside - this woman is a hero. She is at every game (to my knowledge at least), home and away, and if you listen out on live coverage of Arsenal you can often hear her cries. I salute you Marina, if there were more like you at The Emirates I'd probably be there with you). Boreham Wood's other best chance of the half came from an excellent Charlie Hunter effort from a well worked corner, but otherwise they were mainly chasing shadows.

At half time, we (myself, my girlfriend Sarah and our friend Tunde) stopped for a drink in the supporters bar, which I have not visited in years. Once I was in there, I could see why it was so highly thought of - it's big, comfortable and with a round of 2 pints and a vodka and coke coming back with a bit of change for a tenner, not bad value either. Also, and this is probably the most important part, you can take a pint back in with you and watch the game whilst having a drink. Now, this is the norm at most Non-League grounds I'm sure, and I have on many occasions enjoyed a NL match with a pint or a glass of Baileys in hand, but it remains a novelty for the time being.

Tunde himself had taken a shining to the facilities, but it was a different kind of bar he was infatuated with - the burger bar. By the time the match was over he had gotten through three quarter pounders, which speaks volumes of both the quality of the catering at Meadow Park and the man's ability to eat. I can vouch myself that the burgers were indeed of very high standard, so expect an additional few extra stone put on over the course of this season. Sarah went for a cup of chips, the quality of which I cannot comment on.

The second half saw Arsenal move the ball about with ease, and the last 25 minutes were basically a passing exercise for him. Sanchez Watt went on to complete a Hat-trick, with Serge Gnarby (with a HEADER) and Kyle Ebecilio completing the rout. Most worrying from the second half (aside from Tunde's ability to inhale burgers) was an injury to Man of The Match (for Wood) Mario Noto, who appeared to badly damage his ankle in the build up to Watt's 3rd (the last kick of the game) and had to leave the pitch on a stretcher. I've heard no official word as to the actual diagnosis, but I am hoping that it is nothing more than a sprain and he'll be ready for the start of the season. Almost as bad as Noto's injuries was the conduct of three idiots in attendance, who seemed to take great satisfaction in mocking Noto whilst he lay in obvious pain. I have no time for Morons like this and hopefully won't encounter them again this season (especially if they read this).

There isn't much you can take out of a game like this - Arsenal were always going to win very comfortably. Noto was Wood's standout performer, and Simeon Akinola again impressed from the bench, but you can't judge them against this quality of player, even if they are youth/reserves. The experience gained from this game should help, and with half the proceeds of the game going to The Peace Hospice, as well as a family atmosphere inside the ground, it was just a nice evening of football. Not often you can say that.

As an added bonus - HERE ARE SOME MATCH HIGHLIGHTS.

Wood continued Pre-Season the next day, with a win at London Colney. The match report can be found here. Last night, they travelled to Hemel Hempstead, and came away with a 2-2 draw. Again, the match report can be found here. I will say that despite not being at the away friendlies, it is encouraging to hear of the form of Charlie Hunter and Inih Effiong in these games, which will hopefully be reflected in first team minutes and goals. With a team like Wood, who have had a number of fresh faces coming into the squad over the summer, these pre-season matches are mostly important for getting the team to gel, as well as getting that sharpness back ahead of their first game, which is rapidly approaching.

Whilst the subject of new signings is in the mind, be sure to check out my next post, where I'll be looking at all our new recruits, and how even at this level of football, you are not far away from a 'tapping up' story.

Feedback welcome as always, either here or on twitter @wearethewood. Please continue to share the blog, even if it's to say it's a bit rubbish.

Until then (most likely tomorrow)

WE ARE THE WOOD!

(Picture owned by and courtesy of Tunde McKay)

Releases, Realisations and Rants: Pre-Season continues, Arsenal XI preview

2011-07-29T08:08:00.001-07:00

In my first few weeks of following Boreham Wood, I have made some initial judgements on a number of players who I have been impressed with, as well as those who have not been that easy on the eye as of yet. This is the thing with going from watching Premier League football to Non League - I haven't seen these players before, or know that much about them outside of the odd opinion you hear now and again. And of course, you are bound to get some things wrong. And boy, have I. Thankfully I am big enough to admit when I have made a mistake, so let’s look at them shall we.

Last Saturday Wood went to Billericay and came away convincing 4-1 winners. I was not at the game, but inside the official site's report (which can be found here), can be found a couple of examples of initial reactions being not quite what they seem.

You will remember (hopefully) from my post covering the Dagenham and QPR games that I was extolling the virtues of Elliott Brathwaite, a young, tall, strong centre half who looked like he could be something if he ironed out the creases in his game. I also touched on how Lawrence Yaku was possibly older than time itself and had missed an absolute sitter to the sound of laughter/frustration from the crowd. So it was with mixed emotions that I read the following:

'Lawrence Yaku and Elliott Brathwaite were released from the Club midweek as part of the long term plan. '

Now, I fully understood the Yaku release - he was very old and not good enough for the Blue Square South, and this seemed to be an opinion shared by many outside the club as well. But Brathwaite was quite staggering, to me at least. Here is a player who looked like he could have a real go at making a name for himself, only to be released. Now, I don't know anything that goes on behind the scenes, so maybe there are other reasons behind his release, but minus a few blips he had impressed me in pre-season. Incidentally, both turned out for Hendon last night, and by all accounts acquitted themselves rather well. I wish them both all the best in their futures away from Meadow Park.

Joining Brathwaite and Yaku for Hendon last night was one Elliot Godfrey, which was as much a surprise to me as Brathwaite's release. Quickly dashing to open up a new browser on my laptop, I checked the Boreham Wood website to see if they had any statements up, but nothing. Thankfully, the great guys who man the Hendon FC Twitter page informed me that a non contract player such as Godfrey can have dual registration, as long as the two clubs in question are not in the same league. Fascinating stuff, and I would be interested to see how the mechanics work as to who has the player when etc.

The egg was well and truly on my face when I delved a bit deeper into the Billericay match report and discovered the following:

'Two minutes later and Wood were flying into a two goal lead thanks to a quite fantastic piece of skill from Noto. Deep in his own half he spotted Morgan off his line and struck the ball from the edge of the centre circle fully sixty yards into the net.'

So yeah, the flashy man with no end product who looked like being surplus to requirements with Daryl McMahon becoming the key influence in the side decides to score from 60 yards. Well, I'll stick to my guns here - in the games I've seen him play in, bar the free kick he hit against Watford he has not impressed, so I sincerely hope this will be the start of a purple patch of form, where he scores backheels and 60 yard lobs in every game, and makes me look like a complete fool (not a hard task) for the rest of the season. Go on Mario!

Wood followed up their four goal haul with another at Potters Bar on Wednesday night, with Charlie Hunter amongst the scorers with what was by all accounts a wonderful free kick. The match report can be found here.

So onto tonight - Boreham Wood vs Arsenal XI. I've discussed how odd these fixtures can be in a prior post, and with the Emirates Cup taking oplace this weekend, I can only assume we will get to see the likes of Sanchez Watt and the reportedly Newcastle bound Henri Lansbury strutting their stuff tonight. It's a strange on for me as I am instantly put in a position where I have my two teams facing off just a matter of weeks after deciding to support Wood this season in a fit of anger at an Arsenal team that had been underperforming for years.

Now, friendly, kick about or Champions League final, I want Arsenal to win every single game they play in. But this one is a bit different. It almosts brings to ahead why I am doing this in the first place - a chance to go and shout at the Arsenal youngsters, 'I'd rather be here than at The Emirates'. A chance to sit there and shake my head at a team that will likely consist of players who may get a Carling Cup run out at best, yet still have a lavish lifestyle and if careful can be pretty well set up for life if they spend a few years in the reserves, plodding along until their eventual release. It's not a reaction at the players per se, but a general backlash at the lifestyles that they are afforded, when a player who at 18 has never cleaned a a pair of boots but can drive around in a top of the range sports car, despite the fact that the closest they have got to the first team is occasionaly training with them.

And this is the crux of where this whole project is coming from. As reserves, they are just cogs in the huge machine that Arsenal have become: the tours to China, the bastardisation of the club crest, the fawning to the middle and upper classes who not only don't know any of the players but never see out a match, leaving before the final whistle. I don't want to try and make myself out to be a working class hero because that is far from the truth, but I will take great pride in sitting in the east stand at Boreham Wood tonight, watching my home town team, and for the 90 minutes they are on the pitch, friendly or otherwise, 11 vs 11 against Arsenal. It will make no difference to anyone at the club that I am at Meadow Park instead of The Emirates, none at all, but personally I had to take a stand. And I don’t think I'll be the last one either.

I hope you have enjoyed and continue to enjoy reading this blog. Please spread the word! I can be found on twitter @wearethewood or on the comments section below. Feedback as always is appreciated, so untikl next time:

WE ARE THE WOOD!

From The Other Side: A Hendon Fan's Perspective on the Wood vs Hendon Friendly

2011-07-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

So yes, as mentioned in the last blog post, sadly I missed the friendly between Boreham Wood and Hendon due to a prior commitment in Manchester. Thankfully, THANKFULLY, my friend and Hendon supporter Phil Rogers was there, and kindly agreed to write up a report for me. It's always good to get opinions from other fans, and with Phil being a lifelong Hendon fan and therefore very knowledgeable about this level of football, I was delighted to get his take on the game at Meadow Park. Without further ado, here is Phil Rogers on Boreham Wood vs Hendon:

As a somewhat committed non-league fan, there's usually a sense of anticipation for me about the start of pre-season. While many see July and August as full of pointless fixtures with between teams of trialists and mismatches between teams half a dozen divisions apart, to me it provides a good chance for a first sight of new signings and to visit clubs I'd never get the chance to travel to; one of the best away days of recent years for me was an all day 4 team pre-season tournament at Amersham Town... a club we'll most likely never face in competitive football in my lifetime.

And so it was that I ended up looking forward to the announcement that Hendon would be starting our pre-season this year at Meadow Park - not only less than five miles from my flat, but also tied in with the chance of meeting up with Rich (WeAreTheWood), with whom I formed a formidable defensive partnership for 3 non-competitive games in 2010 and have shared far more sambucas than is good for any aniseed hating man.

Unfortunately, plans to meet up beforehand for a few brews went awry when it turned up that through a spectacularly bad piece of planning, this was the one pre-season fixture that Rich wasn't going to be able to make - leaving me to concoct something approximating a report in his absence. With the relatively short distance involved, I decided this might be a good time to dust off the bike and cycle over to Borehamwood, neglecting to remember that I hadn't cycled for two years and virtually the whole journey was uphill. Nonetheless, 25 minutes later, and with a great deal of effort expended, I arrived early enough to spot both squads warming up in Meadow Park. A quick look for new faces warming up with the Hendon squad (spotting surprisingly few) and a wander past the 3G pitch on which Wood's PASE side were in the middle of a game of their own (4-1 down unfortunately) and I headed in - through the exit gate so I could keep hold of my bike - and round to the far side to await kick off.

Wood lined up with what looked to an unseasoned observer to be a strong side on paper, including a combination of both names known to me previously - the likes of Ali Chaaban, Luke Garrard and Daniel Braithwaite all having lined up against Hendon more than once in the past - and trialists previously unknown to me, although with no worse a pedigree; Luke Wilkinson and Moses Ademola all having recently turned out previously at Farnborough, Dagenham & Redbridge and Woking respectively. The visitors only had two new faces in the first eleven, midfielder James Archer and former Wood defender both on trial.

The home side unsurprisingly started by far the stronger with 180 minutes of football already under Boreham Wood's belt, while Hendon looked as ring rusty as you'd expect from a side who haven't played in over two months and Chaaban was at the centre of much of the early play. It took just three minutes for him to force a save from visiting 'keeper Barclay Laurencin and within three more minutes he had the ball in the net. Charlie Hunter threaded the ball through to Ademola who reached the ball just ahead of a hesitant Laurencin. Ademola was brought down just inside the area and Chaaban made no mistake with his penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way.

Wood continued to dominate the early exchanges and spurned several chances to extend the lead, with Chaaban continuing to pull the strings on the right wing, delivering a number of dangerous balls into the box. Around the quarter hour, yet another delivery from wide found Ademola in the middle of the penalty area and the trialist had the presence of mind to play the ball behind him to help it to David Bryant, unmarked at the far side of the six yard box. Unfortunately for the home side, Bryant spurned the chance and blazed over when it looked easier to score before Daryl McMahon made Laurencin plunge to his left to prevent the second.

Midway through the half, the Greens began to find a little rhythm and began to compete, with the remainder of the half largely being seen out in midfield. Boreham Wood certainly still dominated possession, but the leaks in the visiting defence had been plugged so they were reduced to long range pot-shots which failed to trouble the goal.

The second half saw a raft of substitutions that Sven Goran Eriksson himself would have been proud of, Hendon making seven changes and Boreham Wood three at the interval. Both sides were evidently weaker overall for the changes, but the match opened out, with the odd chance being created at either end. Hendon's best spell came early in this period, with a couple of comfortable saves forced from Michael Jordan, but more impressively, despite the lack of work throughout the game, the keeper had stayed alert enough to be able to intercept a dangerous through ball to young forward Aaron Morgan - had the bustling striker got there first, he'd have been favourite to equalise.

Six more changes were made between the two teams on 70 minutes, five for Wood and old fan-favourite Junior Lewis making his return for Hendon after the best part of a decade at a whole series of clubs with Peter Taylor. The changes certainly reinvigorated the home team, with Lewis' first contribution having to be a thumping defensive header to clear a dangerous looking set piece, and Simeon Akinola forcing Laurencin back into work. However, neither side managed to bother the other unduely in the remainder of the game, the only real points of interest late on being a further three substitutions - Hendon replacing the remaining two outfield starters, and sub keeper Cameron Baker-Owers getting a couple of minutes at the end of the game, only to remain rooted to his line as three consecutive corners into the six yard box were capably dealt with by his defenders.

Certainly not a classic game, by any measure, but it was a reasonably absorbing 90 minutes for such an early pre-season tie. Both sides will take positives, with Hendon getting those early minutes out of the way and settling in and Boreham Wood taking away a clean sheet. Perhaps early signs of things to work on too though - neither side was able to force the pace particularly following those initial twenty minutes, and for Wood there could be a worry that the inability to put away the early chances could haunt them come the start of the season. Both managers appeared happy at the final whistle though, and there's plenty of time to iron out those early issues.

Now just that cycle ride home to think about...

For more info on Hendon, Phil can be found as one of the team manning the Hendon Twitter page. Many thanks again to him for his words, and best of luck to all at Hendon FC next season.

Pre-Season continues: Dagenham and Redbridge, QPR XI Reports.

2011-07-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

This post has been a long time coming, so I hope I haven't kept you all on tenterhooks waiting for my latest insight into the latest goings on at Meadow Park. I didn't want to turn this blog into effectively just another news site, as there are numerous sites that provide such a service as well as the fact that I don't think my writing style really lends itself to that sort of thing. Anyways, on with the show, apologies for the delay, and I hope you enjoy what I have to say.

I always find pre-season a strange mix of exciting and downright tedious to be honest. When it comes times for friendlies, the old bug gets going and you realise that even though it hasn't been that long since the previous season has ended, you've missed football and you need it back in your life. But outside of that, pre-season is achingly dull (as I type this, Sky Sports News has 'Breaking News' that Nigel Reo-Coker is in talks with Bolton) for me personally, as boring transfer sagas roll on day after day, with various tabloids somehow managing to spin new stories out of 'Barcelona in for Fabregas' or 'Tevez - I QUIT'. This is another reason why I am finding the step back into Blue Square Football so bloody refreshing, as I know that I probably won't be subjected to 'Lewes eye swoop for key man' or some such. The only real transfer saga, and I don't know if you could even call it that, was surrounding Adam Birchall's slightly protracted move to Gillingham, which caused a decent amount of ill feeling from those on the south coast. Maybe that is doing it a disservice to those who were angered by the move, but after years of having to put up with the rumour mill I am finding it a lot less infuriating.

Anyways, mini rant over - back to the action eh?

I suspect that after the Watford game, my spirits were slightly too high and I could have been accused of jumping the gun somewhat in terms of what Wood could achieve. But hey, it was my first game of the season, I was full of hope, and a bit of optimism never killed anyone, did it? (I assume there are many instances of optimism leading to death, but leave me be) So when I headed back to Meadow Park, via my parents house (too late to catch dinner, sadly) for the visit of Dagenham and Redbridge, only a few days after the draw with Watford had filled me with early season excitement, I was expecting a Wood victory.

And this is where the reality check kicked in. Despite the fact that at times during the Watford game Wood dominated possession and played some great football, I had to still understand that the teams visiting are actually professional footballers, who do it day in, day out as their sole job. Most of the team at Meadow Park are not (and for those who are, their jobs are involved on the coaching side with the PASE scheme). So why there will be spells where Wood will show that they are talented, the fact of the matter is that the extra bit of sharpness, as well as class will always be the difference in the end. This was definitely evident against The Daggers.

The Dagenham game saw Wood very flat after the previous weekends showing against Watford. The Daggers were first to every ball, had a good tempo about them and most importantly took their chances when they came. Damien Scannell (who, after checking, is indeed the brother of Crystal Palace's Irish international Sean) was extremely impressive, and gave the Wood defence a number of headaches with his mazy runs and all round play. Whilst it is obviously never fun coming up against players willing to take you on and beat you, it's a good learning experience for some of the younger players in terms of positioning and jockeying (what a ludicrous word), which they will hopefully learn from in the forthcoming season, as well as the more senior heads, who were at times given a bit of a run around, all things told.

One of the young defenders on show for Wood was Elliot Brathwaite, who I have been very impressed with in the games I have seen him in. Only 21, the centre back has most of the key attributes it takes to succeed at a higher level. Tall, strong and good in the challenge, Brathwaite cuts an imposing figure. However, and of course, there is always a however, there are parts of his game that need improvement, but with age on his side he should be fine. The first of these is his temperament, which flared up in the Dagenham match with a huge roar of 'FUCK OFF REF', which luckily for him only brought him a yellow card. The red mist can descend on all of us, but aggression needs to be controlled on a football pitch. Of course, you see the Rooneys and Gerrards of the world regularly scream obscenities in a referees face, but that is another matter for another blog.

The second of these, and crucial to the Dagenham result, was a hesitancy to take control of a defensive situation. After 16 minutes, there was a breakdown in communication between Brathwaite and Michael Jordan (who as both keeper and the senior player in this situation should have taken responsibility) on the edge of the area led to a hashed clearance straight to Medy Elito who finished into an empty net from 25 yards. An absolute shambles of a goal, but hopefully one that won't happen again.

The Daggers second was an example of the extra piece of class I was alluding to earlier that separates Wood from their League Two counterparts. Gavin Tomlin, who along with Scannell had been causing the Wood defence all sorts of trouble, took the ball down on the left hand touchline halfway inside Wood's half, and proceeded to beat three men before curling a shot into the top corner that left Jordan with no chance. The 80 odd in attendance were unanimous in their appreciation.

I think Ian Allinson summed this game up perfectly when he commented to the clubs official website that it felt 'like the day after The Lord Mayor's show'. Wood were pretty lifeless, not creating much and second to every ball. This is all quite understandable as we are talking about a Non League team playing their 2nd game in four days after a summer break, so I was not ready to be overly critical of the performance, especially against a team that is looking to bounce back into League One following relegation. My only real grievance, apart from the sloppiness of the first goal, was Mario Noto's performance for the first 65 minutes. As I mentioned before in a previous article, and this of course is purely a first impression I am getting, it again appeared that Daryl McMahon's signing has seen Noto threatened as to his role in the team, with McMahon being the main creative focal point. Whilst I appreciate players always wanting the ball and wanting to be involved (which is very useful at this level), Noto was out of position far too many times, and it definitely seemed to irk Allinson, who had to remind him of his duties one more than one occasion. He improved in the second half, and at times looked the only player capable of getting on the score sheet for Wood, so hopefully it will just be a blip and by the start of the season he will be on the same wavelength, as he has lots to offer.

Wood lined up as follows:

Team: Jordan (Sub – Lewis 82 mins.), Kamara (Sub – Matthews 45 mins.), D. Brathwaite (Sub – Walker 65 mins.), Garrard, O’Loughlin (Sub – Hunter 57 mins.), E. Brathwaite, Akinola (Sub – Yaku 65 mins.), McMahon, Bryant, Noto, Godfrey.

After missing the Hendon game due to being in Manchester to see Icelandic international Bjork (shit fan etc), I returned to Meadow Park this last Wednesday to see Wood take on a QPR XI. I was accompanied to this game by my good friend Brooner, who was enjoying his first taste of The Best Ground In The Blue Square South, to give it it's official title.

The funny thing about matches versus *Insert Club* XI is that you genuinely don't know what sort of team is going to be on display. The first time I saw an Arsenal side come to Borehamwood, it contained Nicolas Anelka. I've seen Dennis Bergkamp strut his stuff at Meadow Park. But most of the time you get a mixture of under 18s and reserves turn up. Sadly, this was the case for the QPR XI when they came to take on Wood. This could have been the youngest side I have ever seen put out in a friendly. Taking my seat, I had a glance at the team to see if there were any faces I recognised from the R's championship winning side. I couldn't see any. Danny Shittu? Nope? Come on, at least Patrick Ageymang must have made the trip? Sadly, he was not there. Instead, the QPR team had an average age of what looked like 12, but was around the 18/19 mark at most. Now, I'm only 26 but it still didn't stop me shaking my head and looking at my belly, cursing these young kids. I mean, they were all born in the 90's for crying out loud. That's just wrong.

Whilst they looked like they would laugh and deride me if I asked them if they remembered Euro 96, this group of youngsters were certainly not at Meadow Park to get rolled over. Before the game started, I said, somewhat confidently (and this should be a good sign of the complete opposite happening) to Brooner, 'Whilst I expect QPR to be faster and better on the ball, Wood should be able to impose themselves physically on the game'. I was very wrong. From the off, QPR were strong, fast, good on the ball and Wood were a distant second for the first half hour. Despite the fact that they were academy and reserve players at a Premier League team, even I was surprised at the level and tempo that QPR were playing at. They worked hard for each other, always looking for the ball and not afraid of taking on their counterparts. It was all very impressive, and I had obviously done the young side a great disservice by thinking that they could be knocked about. Wood looked a bit shell shocked by the quality of the opposition, who were at times light years ahead of the home side. This was emphasised when Daryl McMahon committed a reckless and cynical challenge from behind which would have seen an instant red in a league game, and in truth probably should have seen the same here. It was a shame as McMahon was again the Boreham Wood man of the match by a wide margin, with his wide range of passing on show, as well as his ability to retain possession whilst looking to create making him the standout performer again.

QPR didn't take long to open the scoring, and when it did it elicited a slight yelp from yours truly. I'm sure I am not the only person who, when watching a game, will scream 'HIT IT' when a player finds himself in space 25-30 yards out, and in the 9th minute I found myself making the very same plea (even though I shouldn't really) when Brad Simmons found himself with time to unleash an absolute piledriver into the top corner. 1-0 QPR, and very much deserved.

With Antonio German leading the line magnificently for The Hoops, Wood were finding it extremely hard to get any sort of foothold in the game and on 22 minutes they were further behind. Bruno Andrede, who my brother told me to keep an eye on, skipped past two challenges before being felled with a rash challenge. It was a clear cut penalty, and German sent Jordan the wrong way with minimal fuss.

Thankfully this gave Wood a good old kick up the arse, and they started to get the ball down and play some good stuff. McMahon was instrumental in all the good play, including an Arsenal-esque 8 pass one touch move which led to a goal scoring chance.On 41 minutes, Elliot Godfrey reduced the deficit with an exceptional back heeled goal from Ali Chabaan's driven cross. It was deserved for their improvement in the latter parts of the first half, but QPR went in with the lead at half time.

The second half was a completely different story, with Wood dominating from the off and having the majority of the possession. It was encouraging to see the side regroup and focus on what they do best. As noted, McMahon was the instigator of most of the good play, and had a fantastic effort tipped over from the QPR keeper Deane. Further pressure followed in the closing 20 minutes, with Wood having an effort from Akinola cleared off the line, before Lawrence Yaku, the oldest man in Britain, shinned an absolute sitter wide from all of 4 yards out (may be a slight exaggeration). It really was an abysmal effort, and I am confident if it fell to any other player on the park, or indeed any spectator in the stand, at least a save would have been required. (Incidentally last night I was discussing Yaku with Hendon Phil, and he was perplexed as to why he was still at this level)

It was a shame then that, somewhat against the run of play, QPR scored a third. Connor Hubble glanced a beautiful header from a cross down the right, leaving Cameron Baker-Owens rooted to the spot. It was cruel on Wood after their industrious play during the second half, and I was left shaking my head at the fact that the goalscorer was probably not old enough to shave yet (although I've been shaving since I was 12, so maybe my judgement is clouded). All in all this was easily the most entertaining of the three games I have seen so far and was well worth the £10 admission fee. Wood had picked themselves up from the Dagenham match, and showed everybody that when they get it down and play, they are a very good team. If I was a QPR fan, I would be excited about a number of the team on display, most of all German who looks like he could be a real star in a few years. Keep him away from Patrick Ageymang at all costs. All in all, I left Meadow Park encouraged after feeling let down following the Dagenham match. More like this please Wood. Brooner and myself returned to my parents house for a brief visit, where we enjoyed a cup of tea and pleas from my mother to shave my beard off. A good evening.

Wood lined up as follows:

Team: Jordan (Sub – Baker-Owers 81 mins.), Sankofa, Kamara (Sub – Hunter 45 mins.), Garrard, Smith, E. Brathwaite (Sub – D. Brathwaite 45 mins.), Matthews (Sub – Ademola 45 mins.), McMahon, Chaaban (Sub – Yaku 73 mins.), Godfrey (Sub – Akinola 73 mins.), Delgado (Sub – Lawal 45 mins.)

But wait, I hear you cry (I don't hear it), what about the Hendon game? Well, that is covered in the very next blog, with Hendon Phil Rogers giving us a view from the other side of the fence.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog, and have not been too sad waiting for it. As always, feedback is always welcome, and please tell all your friends, relatives and church groups about me. Hell, even put it on forums for derision (probably shouldn't have said Hell after saying church groups).

I can be contacted here, or on twitter @wearethewood, so get in touch! Until next time:

WE ARE THE WOOD

Boreham Wood 2 Watford 2 - Encouraging Start (plus brief D&R preview)

2011-07-12T08:48:00.001-07:00

'Are you having breakfast?'

Ah, yes. Pre-Season has finally begun, and my first visit to Meadow Park this year was preceded by an excellent fry up courtesy of my good mother. Hopefully this will be a recurring theme of the new season (I must ring her to remind her I'm at the Dagenham game….).

Following our feast, the good lady and myself wandered the 5 minutes down the road to Meadow Park, home of Boreham Wood FC. Following her shock of having to pay £12 to see my local team (but that is a different story for a different day) we took our seats. The first thing to strike me was just how busy it was in the stand, with us being fortunate to find a pair of seats together. Between us, we managed to estimate there were around 350 there, and I was rather stunned when I later found out it was in the region of 850, which should signal a very healthy return for The Wood, especially when residuals such as food, drink programmes etc are taken into account.

After watching the teams warm up, and listening to requests for a silver Vauxhall to be moved from the car park immediately, the teams came out to mildly rapturous applause, and the pre-season fixtures were finally underway. Boreham Wood lined with 4 of their new signings on display - Jordan, Smith, O'Loughlin and McMahon, all of whom I was very interested to see perform after writing my last article. Watford's XI was mainly made up of youngsters, with the notable names on the teamsheet being Lloyd Doyley and Cult Hero John Eustace.

Watford immediately put Boreham Wood under pressure from the kick-off and had their first real chance in the third minute, with Marvin Sordell blazing the ball out of the stadium from approximately 5 yards. Maybe he was distracted by the demands from the PA that if the silver Vauxhall wasn't moved it would be clamped (his Vauxhall?). Wood soon fought back and started playing some great stuff of their own, and it was at this point where I realised that Daryl McMahon was playing at a different level to his Boreham Wood team mates. His first touch after 2 minutes was a sharp Cruyff turn to avoid a challenge, and most of Wood's good play was coming through him. After some good skill in and around the area from McMahon, Wood won a free kick on the edge of the box in the thirteenth minute (the attempted Watford clearance went straight into the back of the referee's head - one of the simplest joys in life). Mario Noto stepped up and curled and absolute pearler into the top corner, leaving the Watford keeper no chance: 1-0 Boreham Wood.

Wood were to hold this lead until the half hour mark, although Watford did have their chances to level before then. Debutant Michael Jordan kept out a deflected effort that looked like it had him beaten, as well as a couple of chances that demanded last minute blocks from The Wood's rearguard. Their quality in possession was beginning to show, with their passing game constantly stretching the home side. That being said, Boreham Wood weren't afraid of knocking it about themselves, with a lovely move resulting in David Bryant having a shot turned round the post. Again, Daryl McMahon was instrumental in most of Wood's better play going forward.

However, the equaliser was coming and when it arrived it was both spectacular and deserved. A half cleared landed on the barrel chest (hark at me) of John Eustace, who controlled well and volleyed in from 25 yards, leaving Jordan no chance. 1-1.

Shortly afterwards followed a spell of real domination from Watford, with Jordan being called into action twice to make good stops. On the counter, Wood nearly nicked the lead with a great effort from McMahon, who was causing real problems for the championship side. Shortly before half time, Watford were made to pay for their wastefulness when Jordan's long clearance made it's way to Chaaban, who finished well to give Wood the lead going into the break. Despite Watford's possession and chances, Wood were value for the lead, as they were really taking it to their championship opponents who were perhaps taken aback by the tempo set by the home side. It was a very entertaining first half after not really expecting too much exertion in the opening friendly fixture.

Watford effectively had a brand new team out for the second half, and their freshness was evident from the start. On 49 minutes Piero Mingola fired a low shot through a crowded penalty area, and from then on in Watford had the lions share of the possession. From here on in, the game unfortunately lost it's rhythm as substitutions came thick and fast leaving the game stopping and starting at regular intervals. This was not helped by the PA system having a bit of a meltdown leaving it impossible to know who was coming on. Of those who did come on, I was impressed with Charlie Hunter's ability on the ball, but fear for the physical side of his game. However, he is still extremely young so hopefully this will come before he is thrown in at the deep end. Akinola showed good energy when he made his appearance from the bench, but wasted a good chance to win it with a header wide. Watford continued to press and Jordan was called upon twice to make very good saves, as Boreham Wood eventually hung on for a 2-2 draw.

Overall, it is obviously a good result, friendly or not. This was Boreham Wood holding their own against a Championship side, who, although not full strength, showed their ability in large portions of the game. Of the debutants, Daryl McMahon was the standout and looks like he will be a fantastic signing for Wood next season. His ability on the ball is of a level higher than BSS (with all due respect), and he also has that extra few seconds on the ball that decent players seem to have. If Borehamwood use him as their primary playmaker next season they should be fine in terms of scoring chances created. In contrast, despite his goal (and it was exceptional) Mario Noto seemed almost threatened by McMahon, and there were a couple of times where it seemed to me he was trying to prove something by playing a flashy long ball (which never came off), as well as a shot from 30 yards which ended up in the car park behind the ground. Ian Allinson looked extremely annoyed at times with him, and had to remind him to keep to his role so that the team weren't stretched.

Michael Jordan had a busy debut, and pulled off some great saves, so his performance must be counted as a positive. However (there is always a however), he did not look comfortable with crosses at all and this could be a problem as the season progresses. I'll happily reserve judgement for now and look at the positives, as his shot stopping was first rate. Charlie O'Loughlin and James Smith both looked solid if unspectacular on their debuts (they are defenders after all) and the return of Ali Chaaban was welcome, as was his goal and all round display. Luke Garrard looked solid sitting in front of the defence as well, composed on the ball and in the tackle. So all in all, a lot of positives to take from the game, even if it died a bit in the second half (I caught the other half looking at her Kindle on a couple of occasions) The Wood lined up as follows:

Team: Jordan (Sub – Baker-Owers 81 mins.), Kamara (Sub – Matthews 45 mins.), D. Brathwaite, Garrard, Smith (Sub – Walker 75 mins.), O’Loughlin (Sub – E. Brathwaite 62 mins.), Chaaban (Sub – Yaku 45 mins.), McMahon, Bryant (Sub – Akinola 71 mins.), Noto, Godfrey (Sub – Hunter 62 mins.).

Tonight sees the arrival of League Two side Dagenham and Redbridge, who should again pose a stiff test for The Wood. Having been relegated last season, The Daggers will be looking to hit the ground running, so it should make for an interesting evening. I would expect to see a fair amount of rotation, as a few players played the entire 90 minutes on Saturday and so I doubt they will do the same tonight. Last season saw The Daggers win in a 4-0 rout, but I'm sure Boreham Wood have enough in them now to match or even better Saturday's result. I'm going to sit on the fence and say a 1-1 draw (as I did last week), but hopefully we will see an entertaining 90 minutes at Meadow Park. I would be very surprised if McMahon was involved as much after Saturday, so this could give Mario Noto the chance to remind everyone what he is all about, as well as seeing some more of the younger players at Boreham Wood give manager Ian Allinson some food for thought.

That's it from me for now, I'll be back with a report of the game and a look at Wood's highly successful PASE scheme. As always feedback is most welcome, and you can find me on Twitter @wearethewood. Please continue to share the blog, we've had over 500 views so far which is fantastic.

We are the wood!

New signings, Watford preview (ish) and Mark Kinsella

2011-07-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

[Opening NB: This post will probably be a bit dry, as you have to understand that I am just beginning to get to know the squad. Please accept my fullest apologies if this reaches tedious levels, but persevere with me. RB]

This summer has already been a busy one for The Wood, both in signings, retention of current players and staff, and departures.

Looking to build on last seasons solid progress, manager Ian Allison, along with assistant Jason Goodlife and first team coach Martin Paine all signed new deals at Meadow Park to bring an air of stability in a level of football where, like their league counterparts, changes can come all too frequently. This platform will hopefully allow The Wood to build a more consistent team who will look to make some real noise in the Blue Square South.

To facilitate this the club has been busy in both recruitment and renewal of players. Following on from last season's 14th place finish, the club secured the futures of Elliot Godfrey, Gareth Risbridger, Nicky Nicolau, Team Captain Mario Noto and Club Captain Luke Garrard. This news was warmly received as for a club to move forward and progress, a core of players who have been together for a while is crucial.

Noto has become a firm favourite at Meadow Park since his arrival from Chelmsford, and many will be relieved at his decision to stay with The Wood. Last season saw Mario , who started his career at Tottenham and also has had spells at Reading and Crystal Palace, pick up 4 awards at Boreham Woods traditional end of year ceremony, including “Supporters Player of the Year”, “Players’ Player of the Year”, Leading Goal scorer and a 100 appearances award. His abilities were key to helping BWFC settle in the Blue Square South after a rocky start to their life in the league, and here's hoping for more of the same next season from the team captain. Praise must also be reserved for Club Captain Garrard, who picked up both 'Manger's Player of The Year' and 'Player's player of The Year' last season. Garrard, who also doubles up as a PASE coach alongside Noto, will be an instrumental figure both on and off the field in the forthcoming campaign.

Joining those who have re-signed are four exciting talents who will surely help Boreham Wood over the coming 9 months. The first of these is Charlie O’Loughlin, who signs for The Wood from Blue Square North Solihull Moors FC. Standing at an imposing 6' 4", Charlie started his career at Port Vale before moving to Hertfordshire via Hinckley (loan), Nantwich Town, Ilkeston and finally the aforementioned Moors. His height and presence will be useful both in defence and attack next season.

The quartet is made up by the exciting triple signing from rivals Farnborough. The first of these is goalkeeper Michael Jordan (must not make Basketball pun, must not make Basketball pun…), who started his career at The Home of Football, Arsenal, where he represented England at both under 17 and under 19 level. Following his release from The Gunners in 2006, Jordan had spells at Chesterfield and Lewes (where he picked up a Blue Square South winners medal in 2009) before joining Farnborough in 2009, where he tasted success in the Zamaretto title winning side of 09/10, before tasting cruel defeat on penalties in last seasons Blue Square South play off final against Ebsfleet, after finishing the season in 2nd. A Non League keeper of real pedigree (although in conversations I had with a Woking fan over twitter I have heard he's can be weak on crosses - must have learnt that at Arsenal) , Jordan should be a great investment for The Wood.

Joining Jordan in the back line will be England C International (and sometime Captain) James Smith. Smith comes with an impressive Non League record, having tasted success in the FA Trophy in 2008 with EbsfleetTown as well as his international honours. Starting his career with Cambridge United before joining Ebsfleet via a brief loan stint at Margate, Smith was part of the defence that saw Farnborough nearly clinch promotion last season. At 26 years of age, and with a 2 year deal in the bag, this is a fantastic signing for The Wood.

Finally, and possibly the biggest cop of all, Boreham Wood's midfield next season will be bolstered by the signing of Daryl McMahon. Ranked by The Non League Paper as one of the top 20 midfielders in all of Non League football, McMahon comes to Meadow Park with a fantastic reputation. Beginning his career with West Ham, the Dubliner left Upton Park for Leyton Orient, where he notched up over 70 appearances before joining Stevenage Borough. His time at Stevenage was a successful one, where he picked up a FA Trophy winners medal in 2009, a year after fellow signee James Smith tasted victory in the same competition. His switch to Farnborough coincided with their rise to runners up in the Blue Square South and eventual play off loss, with the creative midfielder pulling the strings. This is a magnificent capture again for The Wood, with the player approaching the peak of his career at 27, we can only hope he can help drive Boreham Wood forward in the 2011/12 season. McMahon's role will not only be on the field however, as he also joins the PASE scheme as a coach, passing on his experience to tomorrows stars at Meadow Park.

Tomorrow sees the Pre-Season campaign kick off in style, with the arrival of Watford FC to Meadow Park. In a fixture that has been played many times down the years, it is always a pleasure to play the Hornets. With Watford having gone through a few big changes over the summer, namely the departure of manager Malky Mackay to Cardiff and star striker Danny Graham to Swansea, it is again a period of transition for the Hornets.

Personally, whilst I am very excited to get pre-season underway after a hellish gap since the end of last season, I'm not expecting too much from the game. Both teams will be wanting to impress their respective managers ahead of the new campaigns, but I often find these matches to be slow paced (for fear of injuries early in the season) and broken up by the numerous substitutions that allow the squad to get a decent run out. It will be good to see the new signings on display, and of course with a decent Championship team visiting it should push the squad on to show Watford that they are no pushovers. I'll be there, with my (soon to be long suffering) girlfriend, whose first taste of football with me involved Watford at Meadow Park.

One night we were walking to my folks house when I noticed a match was in progress at Meadow Park. Popping my head in to see who it was, I discovered that Watford reserves were meeting their Charlton counterparts. Excited by this (after all I had spent a while following The Addicks, as mentioned elsewhere) we sat down to watch what was, of course, a tepid affair. But we stayed until the end because I wanted to get a team sheet signed by then Charlton reserve coach Mark Kinsella, as a birthday gift to my good friend and long time Charlton fan Tom. As the final whistle blew, I approached Kinsella and asked him to sign for my friends birthday. After four abortive attempts at using my girlfriend's pen (which resulted in a look from me which was colder than some Siberian sunbathing), Kinsella told me to wait for ten minutes so that he could give the team talk, after which he would sign my sheet.

So we waited….and we waited. Despite please from the missus I stayed, because dammit, Mark Kinsella was a good man, and he wouldn't stand me up. After about 25 minutes he called out to me, and as I approached him I realised he had a Charlton shirt with him and a marker pen. Asking for Tom's name, he wrote 'To Tom, Happy Birthday. Best Wishes, Mark Kinsella'. He shook my hand, thanked me for my fledgling support and even said it was a pleasure to meet my girlfriend (well, it was). So when people complain about the Rooneys and the Terrys of this world, I always like to think that there are still some Mark Kinsellas left in modern football.

I hope this hasn't been to longwinded and painful for you, and thanks for all the feedback so far. I'm going for a 1-1 draw tomorrow afternoon, and will update as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter, where I will no doubt make some awful puns in the name of Non League Football. Please help me spread the word by sharing this blog with your friends or enemies.

Next week, I shall be reviewing the Watford game as well as taking in the Dagenham and Redbridge friendly, and will also be taking a look at Boreham Wood's hugely successful PASE system. Until next time....

WE ARE THE WOOD!