*Naming copyright OUFC

Hopefully there are enough of us supporting Conference sides to maintain a thread this season.
For my part there is a certain amount of pessimism around Tamworth. Pre-season performances have not been too bad, but the squad is thinner than a catwalk model. Of course this is the situation for quite a few teams in the BSP this season, so we are starting from the same platform as quite a few other sides, survival is as good as we could expect if we're being honest. Though relegation issues may well be decided by accountants rather than players this season.

Good news: We have had a European Cup winner playing in some of our pre-season games.

Bad news: It's the manager Gary Mills, and he's approaghing 50.

Best player: Nick Wright, when his confidence is up, could get 20 goals this season.

Worst player: Nick Wright, when his confidence is shot, can look hopelessly out of his depth.

Predicted position: 17th.

Promoted: Luton as champs, with Wrexham as play-off winners.

The silence on this thread does not bode well for my proposed Northern Premier League thread.

I'm a community spirited kind of guy, I'd be happy to rename and expand to a Non-league pyramid thread.

No, you crack on. I'm sure the seventy Wimbledon fans will be along shortly. Plus the OUFC types, the Wrexham one, and ermmm, cock it, whoever else plays in that league.

I'll just start my thread, invent a load of characters, and talk to myself, as I usually do.

Okay, but don't forget you're always welcome, come on over if you want someone to talk to, or you just need a cuddle. I'm sure there'll be somebody come along soon....
Hello....






HELLO......

Sean of the shed wrote:

Good news: We have had a European Cup winner playing in some of our pre-season games.


Hmmmm, we had an Uefa Cup winner last season - he was probably our worst player. We also had an Olympic Gold Medal winner - he wasn't much better either.

Good news: We can look forward to our cross border derby again this year ... and another 6 points

Bad news: Chester may not make it into the league after all.

Good news: Dean Saunders has brought in a totally new squad.

Bad news: His dabbling in the transfer market last season wasn't really succesful.

Best player: Mark Jones ... recently returned from Rochdale and if he plays anywhere near as well as he did in his last season but one at The Racecourse he'll be a star.

Worst player: Mark Jones ... recently returned from Rochdale and if he plays anywhere near as well as he did in his last season at The Racecourse he'll be shite.

Predicted position: 5th.

Promoted: Luton as champs, with Wimbledon as play-off winners ... Wrexham to lose in the play-off semi finals

Wimbledon as play-off winners

Very nice of you to say so, but I think you ought to go for a lie down, dear.

Our manager (who knows a thing or two about the conference) is being incredibly downbeat about our chances. I think that guaranteed survival by Mid-March would be a real achievement given that much of our team dates back to the Ryman League days (when we only snuck up through the playoffs).

Good news - Terry Brown knows what he's doing[/b]

Bad news - I really think we're going to struggle to score this season.

Best player - probably Paul Lorraine, with an optimistic side flutter on Kennedy Adjei.

Worst player - sad to say I'm expecting very little from Jon Main this time around. And with a pessimistic side flutter on Kennedy Adjei.

Predicted position - 16th

Promoted - Luton & Stevenage

Down, if they survive the season at all - Ebbsfleet, HandY, Chester & Salisbury

Good news: We’ve retained a two or three vital players, against our expectations.

Bad news: But we’ve lost loads of others to lovely places like Oxford and Hereford. Not nice.

Best player: Chris McPhee – all-round top guy, signed when Weymouth crashed and burned at the turn of the year, and the catalyst for our (too) late surge for the play-offs. Has signed a two-year deal, now that the Supporters’ Trust (KHIST) has bought him a shiny new car.

Worst player: You suspect some of our pre-season trialists that have been offered one-year deals will turn out to be a tad below par. I’ll nominate Aaron Farrell, signed from Hednesford or some other powerhouse of West Midlands football.

Predicted position: 10th.

Promoted: Luton as champs (obvious but obviously likely), with kin Stevenage as play-off winners. I really hope I’m wrong about them.

Relegated: Chester, Hayes & Yeading (although they’ll get a result against us in their first game, as Think-about-the-girl-Lewes and St Albans did before), Grays and Eebbssfflleeeett.

Good News: Paul Carden staying.

Bad News: the now-becoming-annual 'let's sack the manager after finishing second and losing in the play off final' close season farce.

Best Player: Carden (again), plus hoping that this season our youngsters push on - Holroyd, Wilmott, Farrell, and Reason will hopefully step up this season.

Worst Player: Andy parkinson. Too small, too slow. A nice chip against Woking isn't really enough. (It hit the bar, anyway).

Predicted Position: anything but second. Play-offs at least.

Promoted : Not sure, but Luton will not find this league as easy as the delightful people at Kenilworth Road seem to think. But probably them.

Relegated: Chester (if they even start the season), Grays (they're shite, and I don't ever want to go there again), & Webbsfleet.

Now then ... long time lurker around these parts with only two posts to my name but as I spend every other weekend down Bootham Crescent this is right up my street.

Good News: York have spent some money (Michael Gash)

Bad News: 4 players arrested at the weekend after punch up in local Subway in the wee small hours (including Gash)

Best Player: Ingham in goal. Solid, dependable, daft as a brush, "insert further keeper cliche" Also arrested Saturday night.

Worst Player: Onome Sodje. Now at Barnsley having messed York around over contract - there's a whole thing to do with loyalty ...... it's all here:

http://www.ycfc.net/news/june09/10.php

Don't know the new squad well enough to pick a particular donkey.

Predicted Position: Anywhere. Hopefully better than last years turgid mess

Promoted : Oxford, Luton or Mansfield

Relegated: Chester (-10 if not more?), Grays, Salisbury (still up for sale I think) and Forest Green (seem to be in a mess .... manager consulting lawyers, no money, star striker banned 5 months)

hissing fauna wrote:

Bad News: the now-becoming-annual 'let's sack the manager after finishing second and losing in the play off final' close season farce.


What's the deal with the turnover of managers? I've been following this in the NLP and the only conclusion I can come to is that George Rolls is a complete arse who has learnt how to be a chairman from Ken Bates and Milan Manderic.

Good news: We're still going. Pre-season has been good.

Bad news: The ownership issue is still up in the air, players are on short term deals and likely to be nicked if nothing longer term is sorted.

Best player: Sean Clohessey. Showed a lot of class in a struggling side last year, amazed we've managed to get him after he was released by Gillingham.

Worst player: Robbie Matthew. But only from the view point that he's got a brilliant physique, height, pace. All you need for a front man and can't harness any of these attributes. However, pre-season he's scored a shed load of goals.

Predicted position: 20th.

Promoted: Luton as champs. AFC Dons via the playoffs, just because it'd be ace to see (aside from ourselves of course).

Sean of the shed wrote:
hissing fauna wrote:

Bad News: the now-becoming-annual 'let's sack the manager after finishing second and losing in the play off final' close season farce.


What's the deal with the turnover of managers? I've been following this in the NLP and the only conclusion I can come to is that George Rolls is a complete arse who has learnt how to be a chairman from Ken Bates and Milan Manderic.

well...it would seem that one manager had his hand in the till, and one didn't have a till to start with.

There's some poltics going on with the NLP and Rolls - Stuart Hammond who writes for them is great mates with Brabin, and fancies himself as a bit of non-league Jeff Samuel (the bloke with the beard who has 'the inside scoop' for the News Of The World - have I got the right bloke?). That said, Rolls doesn't do himself any favours as he can't seem to keep his trap shut. But then he's the chairman, aren't they supposed to be dickheads?

Would I be right in thinking you are posting for Salisbury, Psycho? If so, good luck with sorting your ownership, it's always seemed a decent club when I've been down there, despite building a ground in the middle of nowhere.

Grimmer wrote:
Best Player: Ingham in goal. Solid, dependable, daft as a brush, "insert further keeper cliche" Also arrested Saturday night.



Blimey, you must have had some crap in nets before Ingham turned up then! He's a good bloke, but a crap keeper!

Good news: Everyone at the club is pulling in the right direction, we have a chairman and manager who appear to know what they're doing (first time ever), we've signed some cracking players and have competition for places in every position.

Bad news: Struggling here. Possibly the difficulty that Wilder might face in keeping everyone in the squad happy.

Good news: Luton's presence means that we're no longer the biggest club in the Conference and they'll be seen as the team others have to beat, taking some of the pressure off us.

Bad news: the bastards will probably go back up.

Best player: don't know yet, but Dannie Bulman is looking a good shout. Adam Chapman is a class above too.

Worst player: Wilder got shot of the deadwood at the end of last season. Of the remainder I'd have to say that Adam Murray, when off form, can be a liability (when on form he's the catalyst that sparks the team into life).

Going up: I'd love to say Oxford, but a) don't want to jinx us, and b) suspect that, for all the protestations from others that they won't know how to play the Conference, it's going to be those bastards from Kenilworth Road.

Going down: Depending on how things pan out financially, it's looking to me like Ebbsfleet, Salisbury, H&Y, and Grays. With a possible reprieve for Grays, with Gateshead losing the AGM Cup (too far to travel for Brian Lee and co.)

Thanks, Psycho Charlie NobCheese. After too many years having to break bread with Bromley and their ilk that's really nice to hear.

If you are Salisbury, I really enjoyed our PSF down there a couple of seasons ago. And the guy in charge of your car park was most obliging. Good luck.

Ah, I see Boris has beaten me to it. Which is probably a good thing as I don't have a bleeding clue what's going on at Banbury this season let alone Oxford. It would be nice to scrape up through the playoffs though.

He's probably too modest to do it, so allow me to point you at twohundredpercent's excellent season preview.