Nick Hegley, probably our best player, shouldn't have been available for our games over the festive period. He was due to go on honeymoon. Thankfully, for us, he can't go, due to the weather. At least, that's the scoop in this week's Your Medway;
http://www.yourmedway.co.uk/p_143/Article/a_10076/Foley_not_concerned_by_blunt_Chatham_attack
Nice to end an article on a light hearted positive. Its the first thing I thought to mention. Of course, there's no need to mention the fact that scoring just 18 goals in 19 games this season, and that we've won just twice in the last eleven league games. Oh, there is need to mention it - its the bulk of the article.
Paul Foley says he's not worried. We've got Billy Shinners and Leroy Huggins. Have to agree, to an extent, but its been obvious that the frontline is a problem pretty much all season. Its been a while since we've had a home game, so its not fair to say too much, but I'm looking forwards to a reversal of fortunes in the second part of the season. We're as close to the play offs, on points, as we are to the foot of the table, despite being 18th. We can still turn this round. We need to settle, show some bottle and go out and start winning some games. And we need some home games to be on - money must be getting tight!
Thursday, 23 December 2010
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Whitehawk 4 - 1 White Road
I'd have loved to have gone yesterday. Whitehawk, also known as the roughest part of Brighton, hosted Chatham Town. I was supposed to have gone to Brighton last week, to visit a friend, and of course take in the delights of nearby Worthing. The weather did for it. And yesterday, the weather was that sort of perfect winter's day football weather - cold and sunny. Would have been perfect.
Of course, the result would have ruined it. 4-1. Not good. Whitehawk are something of a suprise package, sitting, as they do, in 3rd place. They were the first side to beat Met Police midweek. They weren't the first side to unpick us.
Another reason I'd have liked to have gone is the ground, set as it is in a natural bowl at the foot of the downs. It has a standing area built into the grass bank, adding an elevated view not generally found at this level. I'd like to say always next season, but I can see this lot going up, a la Croydon Athletic last year. Also, its rumoured they're moving out for a couple of years to ruin / redevelop the ground. Where's the money coming from? The attendance yesterday was 68. Maybe someone hopped the train from Croydon...
The result leaves Chatham 18th in the table, a comfortable 10 points off the drop, and 11 points off the play offs. We're the lowest scoring side in the league though. Goals have been a problem all season. Needs addressing really. We're at home to Chipstead next saturday, weather permitting. Its free entry for those who paid £4 in programme costs for the games in November, or £2 for everyone else. Season Ticket holders get a free pint. I don't have a season ticket, so will happily pay. Get as many along as you can next week to cheer on the Chats for a festive three points. Its been too long without football for some of us - lets just hope the game's on!
Of course, the result would have ruined it. 4-1. Not good. Whitehawk are something of a suprise package, sitting, as they do, in 3rd place. They were the first side to beat Met Police midweek. They weren't the first side to unpick us.
Another reason I'd have liked to have gone is the ground, set as it is in a natural bowl at the foot of the downs. It has a standing area built into the grass bank, adding an elevated view not generally found at this level. I'd like to say always next season, but I can see this lot going up, a la Croydon Athletic last year. Also, its rumoured they're moving out for a couple of years to ruin / redevelop the ground. Where's the money coming from? The attendance yesterday was 68. Maybe someone hopped the train from Croydon...
The result leaves Chatham 18th in the table, a comfortable 10 points off the drop, and 11 points off the play offs. We're the lowest scoring side in the league though. Goals have been a problem all season. Needs addressing really. We're at home to Chipstead next saturday, weather permitting. Its free entry for those who paid £4 in programme costs for the games in November, or £2 for everyone else. Season Ticket holders get a free pint. I don't have a season ticket, so will happily pay. Get as many along as you can next week to cheer on the Chats for a festive three points. Its been too long without football for some of us - lets just hope the game's on!
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Medway Broadside
http://www.themedwaybroadside.com
See the back page for something Chatham Town related. See the rest for other stuff. Pretty good reading in places. Like a non political Schnews, its something decent to come out of Medway. Tristan Osborne likes it over on musingsfrommedway.blogspot, next up, who knows, praise from Rehman Chishti himself perhaps? His expenses make interesting reading. Wonder if he got into work this week, what with him refusing to claim for a second home. And wonder if he's really going to stick to that election promise to battle for fairer rail fares (muttered asides about the sum of his promises being a meeting with the head of SouthEastern and asking them to be nice, when really it was all down to government moving away from subsidy...)
See the back page for something Chatham Town related. See the rest for other stuff. Pretty good reading in places. Like a non political Schnews, its something decent to come out of Medway. Tristan Osborne likes it over on musingsfrommedway.blogspot, next up, who knows, praise from Rehman Chishti himself perhaps? His expenses make interesting reading. Wonder if he got into work this week, what with him refusing to claim for a second home. And wonder if he's really going to stick to that election promise to battle for fairer rail fares (muttered asides about the sum of his promises being a meeting with the head of SouthEastern and asking them to be nice, when really it was all down to government moving away from subsidy...)
Worthing P-P Chatham Town
Surprise of surprises, today's adventure to the south coast was called off due to the weather craze that's been sweeping the nation. I've been on an enforced absence from work this week. True it is, our firm closed on Tuesday afternoon and didn't re-open. Mustn't whinge, its bonus time off - but its all starting to get a bit The Shining, the snow only subsiding after the rainstorm last night. In fact, its true that yesterday I took Little Miss Sunshine out in the garden, and so as not to completely ruin the snow, I walked backwards in my own footprints. Kubrick would have loved it.
Its disappointing that the game was off. It was Chatham's third postponement in a week, and with another cold snap predicted, we're looking at the possibility of next weekend's game at Whitehawk also failing to beat the freeze. At best, if the game goes ahead, the side would have had an enforced three week hiatus. Will be some tired legs at the end of the ninety.
The following weekend, (18th December), sees the club's christmas present to the fans. Free entry to those with programmes from the home games in November (3 x £2 - and actually, what about the game on the 27th November that was called off??? - does the offer fall apart), or just £2 in for everyone else. We need a bit of publicity. Lordswood planned a free game this weekend, and it was on the back of the Medway News. We need to get the word out there. Sure someone's got it in hand. That'll be my next game, and I can't wait. It'll have been five weeks with no Chats, but for once, most of them weeks missing football will be due to the weather, not my malaise.
Enjoy the sludge everyone...
Its disappointing that the game was off. It was Chatham's third postponement in a week, and with another cold snap predicted, we're looking at the possibility of next weekend's game at Whitehawk also failing to beat the freeze. At best, if the game goes ahead, the side would have had an enforced three week hiatus. Will be some tired legs at the end of the ninety.
The following weekend, (18th December), sees the club's christmas present to the fans. Free entry to those with programmes from the home games in November (3 x £2 - and actually, what about the game on the 27th November that was called off??? - does the offer fall apart), or just £2 in for everyone else. We need a bit of publicity. Lordswood planned a free game this weekend, and it was on the back of the Medway News. We need to get the word out there. Sure someone's got it in hand. That'll be my next game, and I can't wait. It'll have been five weeks with no Chats, but for once, most of them weeks missing football will be due to the weather, not my malaise.
Enjoy the sludge everyone...
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Been a while...
Frankly, I've been busy. Sorry about that. Results have been mixed, so no news there really. That's the season summed up. Today's announcement on the offical site is that Lee Maskell has left the club. Its understandable really, his first team opportunities limited. Best of luck to him wherever he lands, this being his second departure from the Chats. I have to admit to being a bit gutted that our only player about whom we can sing a song to the tune of Dizzee Rascal's Jus' A Rascal has left (he's just Lee Maskell, a big Lee Maskell...) Perhaps I'll have to try and work Matt Solly into some Grime. Nothing like the sound of UK Urban music being hollered by white middle class lads on away days.
Which brings me on to my next outing with Chatham. I can't make the home game on Saturday, due to a family commitment, but I might visit Worthing on Saturday week as part of a weekend visiting a friend on the south coast. The weather looks a bit dodgy though - perhaps I'll miss that too. The following week we're away to this years Croydon Athletic, the decidly iffy looking Whitehawk. League position versus status + apparent big budget = confusion.
I'll hopefully get some of the love back for this writing lark soon enough. The malaise has been driven in part by the lack of beauty on it. Let's get things lifting. Come on the Chats!
Which brings me on to my next outing with Chatham. I can't make the home game on Saturday, due to a family commitment, but I might visit Worthing on Saturday week as part of a weekend visiting a friend on the south coast. The weather looks a bit dodgy though - perhaps I'll miss that too. The following week we're away to this years Croydon Athletic, the decidly iffy looking Whitehawk. League position versus status + apparent big budget = confusion.
I'll hopefully get some of the love back for this writing lark soon enough. The malaise has been driven in part by the lack of beauty on it. Let's get things lifting. Come on the Chats!
Monday, 8 November 2010
Sing when when I'm whingeing.
Yep. That's me. We start doing well, like proper well, and I've not much to say. Truth is, I've got a dodgy gut and a dodgy backlight on the laptop. Just found a way of fixing that for under a score though, but will use several hours of my time. In other news, Paul Foley is really fixing things up at TOSC. Kane Rice has rejoined us. That, as Foley has said (and I'm paraphrasing here) should complete things. Four recent signings of Raymone Powell, Billy Shinners, Craig Wilkins, Leroy Huggins combining with Kane will add massive depth to the side. And things are looking up.
We beat Burgess Hill Town (then fifth) 1-0 on Saturday, meaning we've taken eight points from the last 12. We'll have that. Derby time tomorrow, away to Faversham. It's bound to be off due to this crap weather we're having. And home to an ailing Godalming on Saturday (again, weather's looking iffy - are we about to be undone by the seasons??), so plenty to be positive about. Come on the Chats!
We beat Burgess Hill Town (then fifth) 1-0 on Saturday, meaning we've taken eight points from the last 12. We'll have that. Derby time tomorrow, away to Faversham. It's bound to be off due to this crap weather we're having. And home to an ailing Godalming on Saturday (again, weather's looking iffy - are we about to be undone by the seasons??), so plenty to be positive about. Come on the Chats!
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Cops 2 - 2 Cabbies
Chatham came away from the Met Police's Imber Court ground as the first side to take any points from the team formerly known as police officers (just Craig Brown for the home side is employed by the Met). It was an outstanding result, but was one that you could, if you were prone to taking analogies too far, compare to a bag snatch on the tube, Chatham coming from two goals down to steal a deserved point and hang on the latter throes of the game to avoid defeat.
Met Police started the stronger, and showed throughout the first half why they are champions elect - a 100& record going in to the match, having scored 28 goals and conceded just twice. They had that something that we don't have, and that is something that money can buy, and that's the quality that meant so many of the individual battles on the field went their way.
They were two up within 40 minutes, and it could have been four or five if not for some excellent defending. Their first goal was sublime, scored by the only police officer in the side, Craig Brown, a run through the heart of the defence and a scorching daisy cutter across to Tedder's right. The second was comically awful. The Imber Court ground is soulless, so it wasn't even noticed by some that a goal had been scored, such was the lack of reaction from the 110 strong crowd. Tedder fumbled the ball and dropped it to the feet of a Met player who fired into the empty net - I say fired, I mean passed.
In full credit to Chats, they picked up the pace when they could realistically have capitulated. Chatham had not been completely out of the game, and when Ray Powell broke into the box, he unleashed a powerful drive that was well held by the league's best keeper, Mo Mann. A very brave refereeing decision followed, and it was one that shocked the entire Met side, the ref awarding a penalty for a push on Powell that most had missed, and hadn't appeared to impede the diminutive utility man's ability to get a shot in. Powell himself stepped up, took a worrying lack of steps and time over it (I was convinced he'd spoon it over) and walloped it into the top corner, in the sixth minute of stoppage time. There was so much stoppage time that the first half ended as most second half's were kicking off.
Chatham came out first in the second half to the, I hope, ironic use of the Clash's I Fought The Law. Really. One Copper. Its like us coming out to Joe Le Taxi because Gary Ward's a London Cabbie. Word has it that Tedder's doing the knowledge - perhaps we should rename our team London Hackney Carriage Association FC?
All now redundant abuse of the Met Police team for not being police aside (the only problem I have is that they still don't have to play on public holidays due to the need to staff events, which would be fine if they still only fielded serving officers, but they don't, so they should have to honour fixtures the same as everyone else), Chatham were the better side in a second half that saw the until then composed Met Police start to fall apart, bicker and swear (proof they're not coppers then), and Chats scored a great equaliser on 60 minutes, with that man Potter again unmarked in the box. I bloomin' love Brad Potter. Without fail, he always turns up in the box unmarked and scores. Genius.
Met threatened in the closing stages, but Chats stood firm. In fact, Chatham could have stolen all three points had the outstanding Mann not beaten Huggins to a quick through ball. Huggins had a great game, and despite drawing a blank, he chased every ball which some other should take note of. And it was good to see Foley throw on Maskell and Solly together early in the second half to spice things up. It worked. Special mention should go to James Tedder and Brad Potter who played on despite injury due to a lack of subs. If Tedder had gone off in the first half, we'd have been beaten as comprehensively as a Guardian reader at a G20 protest.
In the last three games, we've taken five points, two of them against the top two. Things are improving and looking up. Burgess Hill at home next Saturday. Three points please.
Met Police started the stronger, and showed throughout the first half why they are champions elect - a 100& record going in to the match, having scored 28 goals and conceded just twice. They had that something that we don't have, and that is something that money can buy, and that's the quality that meant so many of the individual battles on the field went their way.
They were two up within 40 minutes, and it could have been four or five if not for some excellent defending. Their first goal was sublime, scored by the only police officer in the side, Craig Brown, a run through the heart of the defence and a scorching daisy cutter across to Tedder's right. The second was comically awful. The Imber Court ground is soulless, so it wasn't even noticed by some that a goal had been scored, such was the lack of reaction from the 110 strong crowd. Tedder fumbled the ball and dropped it to the feet of a Met player who fired into the empty net - I say fired, I mean passed.
In full credit to Chats, they picked up the pace when they could realistically have capitulated. Chatham had not been completely out of the game, and when Ray Powell broke into the box, he unleashed a powerful drive that was well held by the league's best keeper, Mo Mann. A very brave refereeing decision followed, and it was one that shocked the entire Met side, the ref awarding a penalty for a push on Powell that most had missed, and hadn't appeared to impede the diminutive utility man's ability to get a shot in. Powell himself stepped up, took a worrying lack of steps and time over it (I was convinced he'd spoon it over) and walloped it into the top corner, in the sixth minute of stoppage time. There was so much stoppage time that the first half ended as most second half's were kicking off.
Chatham came out first in the second half to the, I hope, ironic use of the Clash's I Fought The Law. Really. One Copper. Its like us coming out to Joe Le Taxi because Gary Ward's a London Cabbie. Word has it that Tedder's doing the knowledge - perhaps we should rename our team London Hackney Carriage Association FC?
All now redundant abuse of the Met Police team for not being police aside (the only problem I have is that they still don't have to play on public holidays due to the need to staff events, which would be fine if they still only fielded serving officers, but they don't, so they should have to honour fixtures the same as everyone else), Chatham were the better side in a second half that saw the until then composed Met Police start to fall apart, bicker and swear (proof they're not coppers then), and Chats scored a great equaliser on 60 minutes, with that man Potter again unmarked in the box. I bloomin' love Brad Potter. Without fail, he always turns up in the box unmarked and scores. Genius.
Met threatened in the closing stages, but Chats stood firm. In fact, Chatham could have stolen all three points had the outstanding Mann not beaten Huggins to a quick through ball. Huggins had a great game, and despite drawing a blank, he chased every ball which some other should take note of. And it was good to see Foley throw on Maskell and Solly together early in the second half to spice things up. It worked. Special mention should go to James Tedder and Brad Potter who played on despite injury due to a lack of subs. If Tedder had gone off in the first half, we'd have been beaten as comprehensively as a Guardian reader at a G20 protest.
In the last three games, we've taken five points, two of them against the top two. Things are improving and looking up. Burgess Hill at home next Saturday. Three points please.
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