Messages

736

The B-Ark / Re: Aaron Butcher set to depart on loan

« on: November 26, 2010, 07:18:26 AM »

From Aaron's Twitter:

"Paperworks been completed tonight for a months loan. Now just looking forward to getting some games!"

No word on where he's going just yet, but does he have the potential to break into Boston's team in the future?

No

I don't really agree with some of the negative comments posted about younger players, particularly when they're goalkeepers.

We mustn't forget that goalkeepers are at their best at a much older age than those in front of them. Just think about people like Peter Shilton, John Burridge, David James, Tony Roberts, Bazza and Kevin Poole. Even Tom Evans was substantially older than the rest of our promotion winning squad last season.

Butch has been at the club a long time, but he is still a young player with time on his side. I'm not suggesting he should be first choice at the moment, but I think it is short sighted to say that he doesn't have the potential to be number one within a couple of seasons. He's clearly got the right attitude (warming up Montgomery on Saturday, for example) and with proper coaching, a little bit of good luck and perhaps some encouragement (instead of criticism), who knows what will happen? When called upon I personally think he hasn't let us down - and was probably man of the match when we won the League Cup against Retford last season for example. Better goalkeepers at that age are few and far between, and we're a bit spoilt in being able to call upon McKeown on a short-term basis.

Bazza didn't pull up any trees when he first signed for Boston and played for us at a similar age. We were relegated during his first season at the club, and if it had been down to me he'd have had a free transfer at that point (along with most of the squad of that season). The bottom line is the club stuck by him and he became the player that he did. Maybe there's a lesson in there somewhere?

737

The B-Ark / Re: Aaron Butcher set to depart on loan

« on: November 24, 2010, 03:56:47 PM »

At the risk of reopening an old topic of discussion, with five substitutes available my own view is that we should have a goalkeeper on the bench. It is simply too specialised a position to expect an outfield player to cover in the event of an injury or sending off. It is commendable that Butch has travelled all over the country as part of the squad, and yet more often than not didn't even earn a place on the bench. He deserved better.

I understand that the reserve team have had injury problems in the goalkeeping department this season, and that Martyn Bunce has been involved in the squad for some of their matches. Wouldn't Butch have been better off getting some match practice with our reserve team rather than travelling everywhere as a first team spectator?

738

The B-Ark / Re: Rory Coleman

« on: November 20, 2010, 07:20:20 PM »

Interesting to see that our latest Scunthorpe loanee - John Williams - has joined Rory Coleman at York Street .....

http://www.scunthorpeunited-mad.co.uk/news/tmnw/youngster_williams_moves_to_boston_601237/index.shtml

.... If Scunthorpe think Coleman is at Boston and yet we haven't actually seen him, should someone perhaps be filing a missing persons report?

739

The B-Ark / Re: Trophy Prize Money

« on: November 19, 2010, 05:57:54 PM »

From: the FA Web site.

FA Trophy Prize Fund
The FA Carlsberg Trophy
Season 2010-2011
Prize Fund Payments

Preliminary Round winners (52)    £2,000
First Round Qualifying winners (72)    £2,200
Second Round Qualifying winners (36)    £3,000
Third Round Qualifying winners (40)    £4,000
First Round Proper winners (32)    £5,000
Second Round Proper winners (16)    £6,000
Third Round Proper winners ( 8 )    £7,000
Fourth Round Proper winners (4)    £8,000
Semi Final winners (2)    £16,000
Final runners-up (1)    £25,000
Final winners (1)    £50,000

It's the 3rd Round Qualifying on Saturday - so that's £4,000 up for grabs.

Do the figures from each round "stack up", or do they merely replace the values listed from the previous round? In other words, do the winners get a total prize of £50,000 for winning the competition, or is that £50,000 just for winning the final and added to any monies won from the earlier rounds?

Hopefully each round is independent of the previous rounds, but that would mean the total prize money across the competition coming to £981,400. Surely that would be too high?

740

The B-Ark / Re: Boston United v Gainsborough Trinity

« on: November 19, 2010, 05:47:07 PM »

Instead of announcing the away attendance figure of 26, maybe it would be a nice touch for the club to read out the names of the visiting supporters over the tannoy?

741

The B-Ark / Re: Season over ?

« on: November 13, 2010, 08:49:34 PM »

But why did we suddenly go to 4-5-1 which I can't remember us using before?  Suarez was too isolated up front.

I wasn't sure what shape we were playing at times, but fully agree about Suarez being too isolated up front. Most of his flick headers were directed forwards, and as he was the furthest player forward himself, this merely conceded possession. Weir-Daley seemed very withdrawn and was closer to our full-backs at times than he was to Suarez; he offered no threat at all today.

Burge did enough for me to suggest he is a better player to have in the squad than Gareth Davies, but at times our midfield seemed a bit too condensed, with Sleath, Church and Burge all attracted into the middle. They were so close together that the Droylesden midfielders had plenty of space to go round them. With Semple offering width on one side, shouldn't it have been Burge's responsibility to balance things up on the opposite side? Weir-Daley could have then pushed forward alongside Suarez instead of playing in front of the full back.

Overall, it must be said that we were beaten by a better side today. Based on 90-minutes of play, Droylesden looked every bit as good as Alfreton, and their first goal would have graced the Premieship. It was unstoppable, and was one of those goals that even away fans were applauding. Droylesden are playing well and are full of confidence after their FA Cup run. If they hold things together they will be in the mix at the end of the season.

I have every faith in our firxt XI to bounce back to winning ways, but I think today uncovered some doubts around the options we have available beyond those first eleven players. Our subs bench of Hunter, Davidson, Yates, Newsham and Ward offered plenty of attacking options, but yet again no goalkeeping cover and no experienced defensive cover. There was little we could do to change things round in defence or midfield. With McKeown and Pearson both needing lengthy treatment in the first half, things could have panned out a whole lot worse this afternoon. I've always thought that we ought to have a goalkeeper on the bench for every game as it is a specialist position; if Butch is expected to travel and yet not be involved then he'd be better off going out on loan somewhere for experience. And our abundance of strikers and lack of defensive and midfield options on the bench suggests to me that the squad probably isn't as balanced as it should be.

742

The B-Ark / Non League 24 Magazine

« on: November 12, 2010, 07:57:52 PM »

Does anyone know what happened to the monthly Non League 24 Magazine?

I picked up and read through the first ten issues, but haven't seen it on the shelves lately. Issue 10 is dated September 2010, and states inside that issue 11 will be on sale from 16th September. But that doesn't seem to have happened. And presumably another month is about to go by as well.

Their website (link below) is still advertising issue 10.

http://nln24.com/mag

Makes me think they must have ceased trading, but does anybody know for certain? I'm hoping not, as it was a good read. I believe the club used to sell copies of it as well.

743

The B-Ark / Re: Pearson to Leicester?

« on: November 12, 2010, 06:06:08 PM »

Logan is their number 2 - Chris Weale is number 1.

Thought Logan was a goalkeeper, not a right back?

744

The B-Ark / Re: Pearson to Leicester?

« on: November 11, 2010, 07:46:00 PM »

Leicester's squad is a bit thin on the ground as far as defenders are concerned, with their numbers currently bolstered by Kyle Naughton on loan from Spurs and Curtis Davies on loan from Aston Villa. If those two players go back to their parent clubs at the end of the loan deals, they will be short on numbers in defence. If there's an area of the Leicester squad that needs strengthening, then the defence would be it.

Shaun has the ability to play at a higher level and, if the opportunity does come his way, then club can't really hold him back. When all is said and done though, there is a big step up between Blue Square North and the Championship. I doubt he'd get in their side straight away. That being the case and if he did go to (or should I say come to) Leicester, I wonder if we could negotiate a loan deal until the end of the season?

745

The B-Ark / Re: Miles Hunter

« on: November 10, 2010, 08:40:22 PM »

Any comments on the referee? Might be my imagination but he seemed to be one of the best we've had this season, making allowances for the conditions and letting the game flow.

I can't say I noticed the referee. And generally the good referees are the ones that you don't notice - so he must have had a good game!

746

The B-Ark / Re: Miles Hunter

« on: November 10, 2010, 07:04:34 AM »

Despite all the good (and deserved) publicity about our run of clean sheets, the other fact to consider is that a run of 0-0 draws and a period without games meant that we hadn't actually scored a goal for the best part of a month. We've got a lot of young players in our side and I think we were lacking a bit of confidence going forward last night. I wasn't sure where the goal was going to come from, but once it did we collectively improved 100%. Hopefully we can now continue to keep the clean sheets whilst at the same time having shifted the lack of goals monkey of our backs.

As for Hunter, I think the managers got the substitution absolutely spot on last night. His main attribute is his pace, though most defenders can deal with this threat when games first start. Throw that raw pace onto the pitch against tiring defenders and after the hour mark, and suddenly that pace becomes a whole lot harder to defend against.

Wasn't entirely sure about Hunter for man-of-the-match, given the limited amount of match time he played. Shaun Pearson was everywhere again last night, and for me was the outstanding player.

747

The B-Ark / Re: tonight's game

« on: November 04, 2010, 07:20:52 PM »

They are not scouts. They are part of a convicted criminals inner circle.

Maybe "scout" is an abbreviation. It could stand for "Scottish corrupt obnoxious untrustworthy tyrants", for example. There may be other variations along a similar theme.

748

The B-Ark / Re: Kidderminster Harriers

« on: November 03, 2010, 11:38:25 AM »

...hadnt heard they were in trouble.....but I would sure miss the Aggboro soup and pies-----absolutely superb food!

The Shepherd's pie at Aggborough was tasty as well!

It's ironic that we're discussing some of the best catering available at football stadia after last night's visit to Guiseley - which surely has to go down as one of the worst. No chips, no burgers, no hot dogs. Basically you could have anything you wanted - as long as it was a pie!

Hope Kidderminster can pull through. On the footballing side, anyone else remember Andy Kirk's hat-trick at Aggborough?

749

The B-Ark / Article in today's Loughborough Echo

« on: October 29, 2010, 10:09:44 PM »

University players selected for England team

CURRENT and former Loughborough University students have worn the famous three lions' shirt, after being selected to play for a "representative" England C team.

Students Kieren Murphy and Anthony Chuch, along with graduate Dan Dillon, featured in the England non league team which played against Hallam FC in Sheffield.

The match was organised by the Football Association (FA) to celebrate Hallam FC's 150th Anniversary at their Sandygate Ground, recognised as the oldest football ground in the world.

As well as turning out for Loughborough FC, Sport and Exercise student Kieren Murphy and Anthony Church, studying Business Economics and Finance, also play for Boston United in the Blue Square Conference North. Since graduating Dan Dillon now plays for Alfreton Town.

Tom Curtis, Head Coach of Loughborough University Football said: "At Loughborough we pride ourselves on being the most successful University football team in the UK.

"The fact that Kieren, Anthony and Dan have been selected to play for England by the FA in this special fixture is not only an honour for them personally, but is also a great achievement for our club."

The England C National Football Team comprises the best footballers at non-league level. Former in 1979 as the England Non-League team, it features players who play for clubs outside of the Football League.

Many players who have been capped at non-league level have gone on to play at a higher level.

750

The B-Ark / Sub-plot developing: Guiseley vs Boston United

« on: October 24, 2010, 09:03:33 PM »

The draw for the First Round Proper of the FA Cup has paired Guiseley with Crawley Town. The tie will be played during the weekend of 6th and 7th November.

As manager of Crawley, you'd imagine Steve Evans will want to watch Guiseley in action ahead of the cup tie. However Guiseley only have two first team fixtures between now and the match taking place. Evans presumably won't be able to watch their game at Eastwood on Saturday, as Crawley themselves have a fixture against Mansfield at the same time. That leaves him with only one other option...

... Will Evans be in the crowd for the Guiseley vs Boston United fixture on 2nd November?