Tim Hughes' Blog

2010-10-13T00:57:00.000-07:00

Apologies for recent period of inertia on the blogging front (my last blog 7 September following Saints 0-0 home draw with Yaxley) ... combination of work and family commitments (plus inherent lazy streak).

So I make it 7 games since Yaxley and a big bag of mixed results which leaves Saints the wrong side of mid-table with 14pts. Not our best start to a season but clearly no need to panic (yet). Simply put we dramatically improve on our 11 goals from 13 UCL games and we start to move up the league. Simple!

Our lack of goal scoring has undoubtedly cost us a shed load of points this season in games where we've dominated but lost the points to the odd goal. For me perfectly summed up at Raunds where we battered their goal for 50 mins but still went 2 down and finally lost 2-1. That night Saints (and Cobby, Danny P in particular) played their hearts out but just couldn't score. I know having spoken with other fans that this mirrored games at Rothwell and Sleaford (although believe Sleaford deserved the win on the day - I wasn't there so stand corrected if not the case).

All a bit frustrating as we've undoubtedly got the players up front to cause any defence a problem. Dan M, Scott and the new lad from Rushden are all proven goal scorers so fingers crossed things will pick up and we'll start banging some in. Every confidence this will happen and sure it's only a matter of time (luck and patience).

Lets remember that we've just come off the back of 2 really hard away games against Kings L and Newport. In both games the lads put in really spirited displays and were heavily hit by injuries to key 1st team players. Even at full stregth we'd struggle against these sides so no shame in either scoreline. We now need to put these behind us and crack on together.

The next few games will shape our season in the league and no more important than this Saturday's home game with Deeping. We need to get back to winning ways and put some space between us and the bottom pack as soon as possible. We certainly don't want to be below mid-table come turn of the year if we can help it.

Off the field the club's Forum has made interesting reading lately. Dave's thread about travelling support certainly generating mixed opinion! For my money I guess people need to call it as they see fit. If you make a game then great but if not it's not the end of the world (well unless you miss Saints scoring 13 away from home). If you've not posted on the forum yet then why not give it a go ... it's all about opinion.

Finally, I'm in London so will miss the Deeping game at WWR (party not City playing in the capital ... blues are in Blackpool for a weekend knees-up). So good luck to the lads and heads up - it will get better and if not ... well we're still the best club in the UCL anyway!

Cheers for now - Tim H

Short blog, no goals

2010-09-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

John Lydon once said ''never trust a hippee''. I remember years ago coming out of Maine Road and having to listen to some soap dodger type telling anyone who cared to listen how great the 0-0 game we'd just endured had been. Total crap of couse because as a footy fan there's no such thing as a good nil-niler. Cos football is essentially all about goals and a guess that's why we put one at each end of the pitch. Anyway I didn't buy it then as a kid and certainly don't swallow it now.

Tonight's game at WWR was no exception. Not a terrible game but it needed goals. Preferably for Saints but at times I'd have taken anything! You see I missed Saturday's 3-0 win and I'm feeling a bit like I need to see a goal, or two. Ok, reason why I missed our weekend cup win was that I was watching Slough Town smack 5 past Biggleswade but that's Slough and not the Saints. And that matters.

So tonight's match ... well not a bad team performance and no lack of effort. Tight game really with both sides not giving much away. We both had decent chances but the longer the game went on the more likely it looked like ending as 2 eggs. Thought both defences dominated proceedings and not much got through all evening bar a few early runs by Dan and Scott, plus a few shots from distance. All in all a point isn't a bad result though and hopefully one of the few home 0-0s we'll see this season.

On the wider footballing front it's all internationals currently so not too much for me get excited about. Really pleased however to see France get back to winning ways and hope this is the kick-start they need post Domenech circus. Oh and of course England have now seen sense and are fielding as many City players as they can fit into their 1st eleven (without anyone noticing). Should of done it ages ago really. Always thought Kevin Bond, David Oldfield and Andy Dibble were all world class waiting to happen. Well possibly not but f you're going to give David White a run out!!! Yep dream the impossible dream.

So onwards and upwards and Sleaford away on Sat. Big Phil tells me that half the team are in Benidorm? but given half a chance so would I. Anyway, sure who ever is left will get the 3 points and we'll start to move up the table. Long way to go and the Squad looks as strong as it's been for many seasons. Lots more to come I'm sure. Up the Saints.

Where did it all go right?

2010-08-22T02:09:00.000-07:00

After a promising pre-season Saints have yet to get going in the UCL and early exit in the FA Cup compounds a pretty disapointing start to the season. I was in Italy for game 1 so missed our only victory (shame but I'd take the sunshine anyday!). At Holbeach by all accounts we played really well and fully deserved an opening day win. So 5 games in what's gone wrong? Well nothing I guess that isn't pretty obvious ... and importantly nothing that can't be fixed. We start scoring and eradicate the basic mistakes and Saints start winning games. OK, another largely frustrating Saturday at WWR V Long Buckby but a certainly a better performance. Saints dominated large chunks of the game and had we taken early chances I'm sure we'd have enjoyed a fairly comfortable afternoon.

So where now? Well Potton in the HBC now becomes an important game and one we need to take seriously. Saints need to end our losing streak and find some goals. Up the confidence and transfer this to the UCL and next string of fixtures. A top 6 place is still possible but we need to do the hard work first and make sure we don't get bogged down at the bottom. Facts are we have got injuries to key players and we've not had much luck in games so far. But the players we have got are better than displayed in recent weeks and I'm sure that things will turn around soon. Time to dig in and turn in some results. We're right behind you on the terraces and will remain so whatever happens.

40 years of watching City has taught me that to enjoy the good times you've got to take some poor results on the chin. Now as a blues fan I'm still arguably waiting for the good times (and probably always will be) but following Saints we've enjoyed lots of highs in recent years. Team and formation changes plus injuries may mean that these transitional times may not be immediately fruitful. As fans we need to believe in the team and management. Saints together ... matchin' in.

Finally, I'd encourage anyone who has not done so to buy a season ticket. I've just got mine and for £40 it is outstanding value. Money to the club and real live football around 30 times a year. For an exiled City fan it gives me my weekly footy fix and has led to me meeting lots of top people at this really friendly family club. Ok, I still can't help doing the Eastland's thing when possible but Saints run City pretty close these days.

All the best

Tim H

Slow start or sign of things to come?

2010-08-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

My season starts in the Floods as I watch City 'tactically' defend for 90 mins and pick up a point at White Hart Lane. Not a bad result but still think Bobby Manc needs to get the boys to attack more away from home. Still lots of new players all finding their feet and hopefully the next few weeks will see us settle down and put together a run of results. Guess it's a little similar at WWR where Saints will also take time to bed in new players and systems. In both cases I'm sure success will be somewhere round the corner! At WWR Saturday's early FA Cup exit may not be the worst thing in the world as fixture congestion has in recent seasons proved our undoing. Although nice to have a decent cup run I'd rather have it in the Vase (where chance of winning is a posibility) and push-on in the UCL. Cogenhoe were on balance better than us on Sat and no complaints about the result really. We never got to grips with their runners at corners and found it difficult to clear our lines all afternoon. Not all bad though as new signing Dan Matson looked lively until being injured and Ricky as usual put himself about in the midfield. Quiet game from a few others but I'm sure as games progress the team will find its rythem and balance. So out of the cup before end of Aug but still lots to look forward to both at WWR and on the road. Hopefully Dan's injury will not be as bad as it initially looked and Lee Ellison will be back soon to bolster the midfield. Anyway we move on and Northampton Spencer away on Tues night. Sure 3pts will help put this weekend's dissapointments behind us - lets hope the lads deliver. Sure as always they will do their best. Good luck Saints. As for City - lets just buy the league and get it over with.

Pre-season pointers ...

2010-07-27T03:13:00.000-07:00

As always not really sure what can be read into pre-season results. If you lose the lot then presumably a tough season awaits. On the flip side, if you win the lot then promotion is surely nailed on!! Hmmm ... not quite that cut and dried but I guess a strong pre-season does offer hope and with it often rasised expectation. I think in our case we've every reason to look forward to the new UCL season and to some of the football we're likely to see Saints dish-up. The squad looks really strong, lively and capable of scoring goals. New system with a few quality signings should provide foundation for yet another successful season. No-doubt the league will be tough (with St. Neots, Kings L etc) and realistically Saints will do well to make the top 4 but who knows - great thing about pre-season is you can still dare to dream. What I do know is that as supporters we need as always to get behind the team and support Jez and Woz - best management team in the league. Looking forward to tonight's game at WWR V Soham. I saw alot of the Zam league last season (mainly Slough Town) and I always thought that Saints could hold their own on the pitch. What is clear is that the step up is a big one in terms of funds needed, travel required and that any club has to be ready in all senses before climbing the ladder. At WWR we've great support and a team/set-up with real possiblity of expansion. We need to do this sensibly and at a pace that works for us. Equally important is that we keep to our principals and retain our community links. There's lots of really great things about our club ... just look around you ... love it.
Cheers
Tim H

Thoughts from the weekend

2010-07-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Good to see football back at WWR and a really decent sized crowd on a nice sunny day (good showing from Cambs Utd as last season which is great to see). Perfect really. Bonus that Saints played really well particularly in the first half which we dominated and on another day could have scored 3. Thought Scotty looked sharp and another impressive performance from Lee Ellison and Dave Cobb. For second game in a row Matt B put in a really good performance at full-back and JP looks a great addition at left back. Fantastic especially to see Carl and Danny Moyes involved - both really talented players and our strength in depth generally is looking pretty solid. So all smiles at the moment and really looking forward to the new season proper. Good cup draws and a few cracking aways to look forward to in the early months (and possibly a home FA cup tie with St Neots?). Like to also thank all involved for getting things ready for Sat - couldn't make it down to WWR on the Fri night but clearly lots of hard work put in by some real stars. Hopefully we can sell lots of season tickets this year and build on some of last years gates. Only £40 for adults is a real bargain and unlike the Premiership you can be assured 100% commitment and effort.

Cheers

Tim H

No really pre-season starts here ...

2010-07-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

So 1 down, about 70 to go! Chatteris away gave the boys a good run-out against a pretty decent team. Surface looked ok and earlier rain gave it a bit of zip at times. 4 goals but only caught 3 of them. All well taken starting with a simple knock-in from Connor following a mix-up in the CT defence. Lots of new faces throughout the side (and rolling subs bench). As usual Danny Newman kept Saints back 4 pretty solid (alongside Steve Poore). Pick of new faces was Lee Ellison and Dave Cobb (looks like a player). Between the sticks Gav and Niall took a half each and both looked excellent. All-in-all a reasonably competative, well paced pre-season opener. Solid all-round performance from the boys and on this evidence we should do ok this season when things start proper away at Holbeach. Caught a preview of the new kit - looks smart as a frog (cross between Partizan Belgrade and a B/W version of an old Ajax kit). Anyway looking forward to Cambs Utd on Sat at WWR. Got around 6 CUFC mates coming along so hope to direct them to the bar for a few before KO.

Saints on the scoresheet: Connor (carefully crafted knock-in), Lee (nice, flicked header), Matty (60 yard screamer) and Fox in the box (in the bar so missed it ... sure there's more to come though)

Til the next time cheers and see you down WWR.

Tim H

Here we go again...

2010-07-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

As the first game gets closer and closer and the Cambridge United friendly is less than two weeks away you can keep logging back into my blog to get my insightful viewpoint from the terraces

Keep the faith - Up the Saints !