What did you do on your day off?

[Roy D Hacksaw]

For want of a City game today, I hopped on the local train down to The Creek to watch Bristol Manor Farm play Hengrove Athletic in the FA Vase. No players we may have recognised (on the pitch at least) on show, and the match finished a flattering 7-1. Flattering to Hengrove, that is, because the Farm could easily have got double figures. A nice organised side who like to pass it about a lot and play zonally. Anyone know who their manager is?

Their best player was a nippy little lad called Pete Shepherd who practically ran the game on his own. Quick, brave and unafraid to run at players. He'd warm our bench perfectly.

But finally getting this thread on topic, Chas and Ash Kington were there, and seemed to know most of the players on both sides. Sorting out their playing homes of next season, perhaps?

Anyone else get to a game anywhere? See any old boys or holidaying Bath players?

[stillmanjunior]

Went to Plymouth 1-2 Cambridge United. Didn't spot Ben Adelsbury. Not a classic but an excellently taken winning goal near the end.

The name Pete Shepherd rings a bell for some reason.

[comrade powell]

Nothing. I was going to go to Rovers/York to relive every last second of that memorable day exactly a year ago, but in the end stayed in the warm. If I could have chosen a game in hindsight it would have been Eastbourne/Hemel in the Trophy. The home side were 3-0 up after 20 minutes, 4-3 down an hour later and eventually won 7-4! The result means that our fixture at Hemel in February can go ahead...

[comrade powell]

Went to Plymouth 1-2 Cambridge United.

What colour anorak did you wear?

[stillmanjunior]

Whitehawk losing as well means our game with them can go ahead. I think all trophy dates clash with opponents who are already out.

[yuffie]

And I see Bognor won 1-0 at Maidstone. No info on whether their manager is considering his position.

I spend my day watching Charlie singing solo in a concert, having lunch at the Crown near the M4 and then shopping at Cribbs Causeway, having turned down the chance to go to Plymouth.

[comrade powell]

I spend my day watching Charlie singing solo in a concert.

You chickened out?

[yuffie]

I spend my day watching Charlie singing solo in a concert.

You chickened out?

There's only one talented male singer in this family and it definitely isn't me

[2weirdtown]

I stayed at home watching Columbo whilst nursing Friday's double hernia operation soreness. Still more fun than watching City at present though.

[Dusty Lynfield]

I went and watched the Academy players this morning with my son.....first half was really tight, with Bristol Academy edging it until the last minute of the half when City were awarded a free kick 30 yards out. Ryan Bole stepped up to take and scored an absolute screamer! Second half started brightly and city scored from another set piece, but Bristol quickly got one back and thus followed a five minute spell where Bristol were in the ascendancy. City kept their heads though and then we ended up scoring another three (yes three...could have been four more but for a disallowed goal). Throw in a few great saves and posts hit and it was an extremely enjoyable morning and really raised our spirits after the ongoing travails of the senior squad. Many thanks to Stillman Jr for flagging this fixture on the forum earlier in the week. Also, don't know if anyone else was there and know who the number 8 and 10 who were playing for us were? Really impressed with them. Goalie had a decent game too.

[Ashley]

Quite an expensive day off for me, I bought a car.

[Marc Monitor]

Thanks for posting that, Dusty. I would have liked to have gone to that but man-flu is rather catching up with me. Not so much that I didn't have to do chores like help a friend clear out her car that she had to abandon and collect a Christmas tree. I then had the unbridled thrill of seeing Wales' first draw for an international competition since 1958 and then we get drawn with...bloody England. We could have stayed at home.

You know how you drag yourself into work when you are ill and then you think "I have dragged myself into work so I am allowed to have a beer tonight". Well, I had had to do chores today so I decided I was allowed to go and see my mates play in a doom metal four band bill at the St James Wine Vaults. I lasted my mates' band and two songs of the very West Country metal band on afterwards and realised I was too ill.

[OliverH]

First visit to Larkhall AFC, lost 2-1. Lovely ground. Managed to have the exact same conversation with Bas I had this time last year where I didn't quite get what he was saying and ended up buying ten quids worth of Christmas draw tickets :-)

[Marc Monitor]

First time I went to Larkhall, I played on the pitch.

[Midsomer-steve]

We were set to watch Welton Rovers play Bodmin in the FA Vase, but it was called off, so spent the afternoon wrapping presents etc.

[RUDI GULITS]

went to work and done 12 hours overtime at time and a third
that will help pay for the trip to Ebbsfleet next week

[SteveS]

Regarding Hacksaws post the manager at Manor Farm is Lee Leshenko (think that is how you spell it). Do not know much about his background but he was in charge at Bishop Sutton when they won the Western League about 3 season ago. He left to go to Manor Farm and took most of the players with him, hence Bishop Suttons decline.
He has a reputation for playing attractive football and is ambitious.
Manor Farm have applied to join the Southern League next season depending on league position, as have Odd Down and Brislington although often clubs apply then backdown. I think Manor Farm will go for it if they win the league.
Clubs around are progressing, we are not.

[yuffie]

With all due respect to the Odd Down's, Bristol Manor Farm's, etc it is a lot easier to progress from that level than where we are.

[comrade powell]

Genuine question, Yuffie - why is that?

[turnstyle13]

Martin - I think at Western League level there is a tendency that a successful manager is of course linked to a successful team and that when the manager moves then so does the team.
As Steve S says above the successful team and manager is now at BMF. Its happened recently at Frome where the manager and team came from Paulton.
If you think back to the last genuine Western League manager we had - Alan Pridham - during his tenure he effectively tried to bring his last club team with him, but the step up was too high and we ended up with no settled team and in the end fielded, I recall, something like 60 players that year.
Its a local club that plays in a predominantly local league so travel and logistics for players/managers are much the same whether you play in Bristol or the Mendips.
Where it is harder to progress is the move out of local to regional to national and the change in mentality of club, player, manager and probably supporters that it is highly unlikely that you are going to progress if you only ever set your horizon as club/player/manager/supporter and stay within 50 miles of your base.

[comrade powell]

Thanks - it will be interesting to see if that was what Yuffie was getting at. Your post reminds me of a conversation I had a few weeks back with someone who was criticising the fact that we had to bring in players from as far away as London, Devon and Cornwall because local players didn't have the hunger to make the necessary step up.

[Jon_BOA]

... who was criticising the fact that we had to bring in players from as far away as London, Devon and Cornwall because local players didn't have the hunger to make the necessary step up.

Is that the case? Or is it more that we don't live in that heavily populated an area, the better players go to FGR etc., and it is better for us to get a half decent player from Devon, than it is an awful one from Radstock? I'm genuinely interested.

In that vein though, I know that a certain forward for Bradford Town was offered trials by a few clubs (I think we may have as well) but didn't take them, as he's on decent money, and doesn't have to train. I can see his point of view, would I rather continue with my normal job, get well paid in my football "job", play with my mates at a level where I score loads. Or step up for similar pay but with training, disrupt your job/life with trips to god awful places like Ebbsfleet etc on a Tuesday night, all to potentially not play and be subjected to the joys of playing for Bath City. I seem to remember Stillman Jnr saying that a lot of the players had cancelled their Cheltenham trip as they didn't have any time off they could take after the Trophy exploits, is it really worth it?

[BenE]

Martin - I think at Western League level there is a tendency that a successful manager is of course linked to a successful team and that when the manager moves then so does the team.

But isn't that the case throughout the leagues. Managers always take important players with them if they can - that used to happen even at premiership level before those managers had forgotten that you are allowed to recruit from within Britain.

For all the talk of developing players I don't believe very much development goes on. The tendency is to bring in the talent fully formed. The policy of say Bristol Rovers is to mass recruit from the local area and see who rises to the top naturally. The development comes from getting bigger and stronger.

[turnstyle13]

Agreed Ben, but the difference is a manager - at any level - taking the important players out their old team or, at Western league level, effectively taking the team.

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