KNOCKERS BLOG
IAN WILLIAMS
21st December 2008
I went into yesterdays game full of confidence,after our last 3 performances and always thought we could do a job vs Larkfield,but again we fell short and ended up losing 4.....2,i think we had to many players having an off day,and some players not taking criticism too well from me and thinking that they know best,what disappoints me is that some players seem to take things said to them as an personal attack,which of course is not the case.Also the fact that i felt that larkfield were there for the taking,our 1st goal was scored by Alan after excellent build up play and going in 2....1 down at half time i felt we were still in with a shout,and for the first 25 mins of the 2nd half we were the better side but still managed to concede another goal totally against the run of play,again we played some great football to set up our 2nd goal,when marshy played in the returning phil jackson who was tripped in the box and we were awarded a pen which barks slotted home,so 3.....2 down and larkfield down to 10 men we pressed for the equaliser but were dealt another blow when larkfield broke away and scored there 4th goal......GAME OVER!!!!.If we had been beaten by the better side i would accept that,but i felt we should have got more out of this game and some players should take a long hard look at themselves and instead of fighting against me fight with me and lets turn it round in the new year.
I would like to wish everyone in the club a merry xmas and a happy new year.
7th December 2008
Yesterday saw us take a rest from league action and play University of Kent in the Les Leckie Cup. It was always going to be a difficult fixture as they are a division above us and doing well this season but I think we came out of the game with alot of credibility despite losing 2.....1. I was pleased with our attitude and our will to take the game to them. I started with a young side and a new signing Jay law,who scored our goal on his debut and was very lively throughout the game. Considering we had 6 teenagers in the side they gelled well and we were always in this game and the chance of an upset was always there for us. I think on goal scoring chances it was us who should have won the game and we kept their keeper much busier than they did ours but we rode our luck a little bit as the uni boys did hit the woodwork 4 times. Having said that we hit the woodwork twice and their keeper made at least 3 one on one saves with our forwards. To win games you have to take your chances and kill sides off.
The plus"s for me where the youngsters coming through and showing me that we have a good youth set up at the club also nice to see Charlie back at the club again and giving me a real headache in the goal keeping selection. I believe that if lady luck had been on our side we would have won this game and comfortably too,hopefully we can take our performance into the league game vs Lanes End next week.
WELL DONE BOYS.
30th November 2008
After last weeks performance I was looking for the boys to carry on the good work and making us a difficult side to beat, the boys did not disappoint with a well earned 3.....3 draw vs AFC Sevenoaks. I decided to stick with the same formation as last week as I felt that it is a system we are comfortable playing with.The pitch was always going to be a great leveller as it was heavy and would cut up but to our credit we played some good football on it and went in at half time 1....0 up but it should have been more as we were guilty of missing some good goalscoring chances. Sevenoaks were a very good footballing side probably the best side i've seen this season and I knew they would come at us 2nd half and within a minute of the restart they got a very very very dubious penalty which they scored and that put them back in the game and also seemed to spur them on. Before we knew it they had scored 2 more goals and we were now 3.....1 down with about 20 mins to go and this is were the boys showed their real fighting spirit and were determined not to be beaten. Marshy got us one back with a free kick and then with a couple of mins to go a goalmouth scramble and the ball fell to Tony Goold who stuck it away and we were back to 3.....3. I was pleased with the fight and comittment the boys showed to earn the point,they fought hard right to the final whistle. Also it was nice to hear the Sevenoaks players and manager say what a good side we were, so lets keep it going boys and take this performance into the cup game vs Uni of Kent next week.
WELL DONE BOYS.
23rd November 2008
After our last two performances I was looking for a much improved performance vs high flying Bredhurst Juniors, the boys did not disappoint with a well earned 1......1 draw. Going into the game I had a plan to change the usual formation and go with 3 up front, I knew that Bredhurst only play with 3 at the back and thought that we could keep their back 3 busy. This proved to be the case because the plan came together when we took a deserved lead after 10 minutes when our wing back Phil Jackson arrived at the far post to head us into a 1.....0 lead. That gave us the start we wanted and it was all looking good until Phil was on the wrong end of an awful challenge and had to come off to be replaced by Nicky Fuller but to the boys credit this did not disrupt us and we continued to take the game to Bredhurst. We stayed with the lead till half time and I said to the boys at half time that they will come at us 2nd half and we must keep our shape and have a bit of belief. Bredhurst had a good 20 mins but we stayed calm and were still creating our own chances,and then Bredhurst scored their goal which again to the boys credit did not disrupt us. We continued to stick to our plan and continued to have more scoring chances but at the end it ended up as a point for us.
This result has given us confidence and the boys and me know that we can compete with the rest of the league,but we know there are no easy games in this league and hopefully we will take this result into next weeks game vs AFC Sevenoaks.
WELL DONE BOYS.
9th Nov 2008
Well what can i say,yesterdays game saw us go down to Saga Sports on the back of a great result vs Swale Utd, I was full of confidence after our last performance and the boys were also looking forward to the game,unfortunately saga had other ideas and really upset the odds. We ended up losing 5......4 to a team that had lost their previous 6 league games. To concede 5 goals is bad enough but also to score 4 away from home that should have been enough to win us the game, yes I accept the conditions were bad but it was the same for both teams and it was Saga who adapted to the conditions better than us. We had to many players that had an off day and didn't really fancy mixing it with Saga. I told the boys after the game that these are the games that we should be picking up 3pts to progress us up the league table. The boys know they didn't perform and hopefully we will put this result behind us and go into our next league game vs Malgo with a different attitude and desire. It also highlighted to the boys that this league is wide open and every team is capable of beating each other.
Lets forget about this result and put it right next saturday.
26th october 2008
Firstly my apologies for not writing on my blog for a while, what with holidays and busy at work i've not had much chance to update but i will be doing my best to keep this page up to date regularly now.
Yesterday saw us go into our first local derby of the season vs Swale Utd, it was eagerly awaited as it featured some of my old players from last season who left borden to go to pastures new and also Hakey and Smithy who left to become manager and assistant. I felt it was always going to be a close game and that proved to be the case with us edging a 2.....1 win and inflicting Swales 1st defeat at home in the league this season. I had a plan going into the game and the boys carried it out, I could not single out one player they all stuck to the job that I asked of them and worked extremely hard and as a team to get the result. Hopefully we can push on from this result and work our way up the league table as I believe we are a better side than our league position shows.
Finally I would like to end by thanking Hakey and his players for the sportsmanship and hospitality they showed to myself and my players after the game.
10th August 2008
Well done for yesterdays game boys it was a good result against a good and organised side which Woodstock always are,again it was nice to see football being played the right way by that i mean lots of passing and the movement was also good.I feel our fitness levels were good and we still have 4 weeks till the season kicks off and already we are looking sharp and positive.I would like to say a well done to the new players at the club who played yesterday,i thought they slotted in well and have been made welcome by the other more established players at the club.After yesterdays performance i am looking forward to next saturdays game vs Ramsgate res which again will be a good test for us,also it will give us a bit more insight into how some of these bigger clubs work.But having said that we still only take one game at a time,and we can not get carried away as its still only pre season.
WELL DONE AGAIN BOYS
Well done for yesterdays game boys it was a good result against a good and organised side which Woodstock always are,again it was nice to see football being played the right way by that i mean lots of passing and the movement was also good.I feel our fitness levels were good and we still have 4 weeks till the season kicks off and already we are looking sharp and positive.I would like to say a well done to the new players at the club who played yesterday,i thought they slotted in well and have been made welcome by the other more established players at the club.After yesterdays performance i am looking forward to next saturdays game vs Ramsgate res which again will be a good test for us,also it will give us a bit more insight into how some of these bigger clubs work.But having said that we still only take one game at a time,and we can not get carried away as its still only pre season.WELL DONE AGAIN BOYS.
27th July 2008
Our first game of the new season finally got under way yesterday with a friendly vs Chilham from the Canterbury premier division,it was a good test for us and we eventually came out 6.....4 winners,good for the spectators but nightmare for me to watch,as usual my stress levels were really high!!
It was good to see that the things we have worked on in training with Kari starting to pay off and some of our football at times was excellent,the only disappointing factor was that we conceeded 4 goals but considering the side have not played together for a few months,im not gunna lose sleep over it and i am already looking forward to our next game.Also pleasing for me was our fitness levels on a hot sunny day we never looked like we were struggling for energy and again thats all thanks to Kari and his fitness programme.It was also nice to see players playing with a smile on there faces and actually enjoying the beautiful game.
WELL DONE BOYS!!!
19th July 2008
Training has now been going for nearly 2 weeks now and i'm pleased with the turnout of old and new players,players are starting to get sharper and certainly fitter due to their own hard work and that of Kari,who is really putting the players through their paces.I for one am looking forward to the 1st friendly next saturday vs Chilham.It will be a good test for us and will give me the chance to have a look at players in a proper game as opposed to just in training.Hopefully we can put the same amount of hard work into the game as you all have in training.
WELL DONE BOYS KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
6th July 2008
Our pre season get together last night went really well,I would like to thank all players who attended,old ones,current ones and new prospective players hoped you all enjoyed yourselves?
Sorry i did not stay till the end but some of us had to work this morning.From the comments i heard last night and the commitment it will be a good season?
I would like to thank Kari for making the effort to come down and meet committee members and players,he said he is looking forward to training on tues night.
REMINDER
1ST TRAINING SESSION THIS TUES 8TH JULY @ 7PM @ BORDEN.SEE YOU ALL THERE.
26th June 2008
The new season will soon be upon us and i would like to remind all players old and new that training begins on Tuesday July 8th at Borden.
Training will begin promptly at 7pm. There will also be a training session on thursday 10th July and twice weekly on tuesday and thursdays there after. Our newly appointed FA qualified coach will be taking the sessions and is looking forward to meeting all players.
This coming season will see a fresh start at the club and I would like to thank both Committee members and squad members for their continuing support.
I hope that the coming season will be exciting and challenging both on and off the pitch. I will be working closely with the reserve team manager to achieve the best results for Borden Village Football Club.
On a final note can I remind all players of a social evening on Saturday July 5th 7.30pm starting at the Ship