retired_richcoble

The talk of the papers on the Monday was Lincoln’s fighting display to hold Chelsea to a 0-0 draw and secure a lucrative replay. A packed Sincil Bank saw Lincoln hold players like Tevez, Cole, Robben, Duff, Diarra and others to a 0-0 draw. A number of teams had withdrawn their offers for Lemos after I had asked for money from them and as I went into Tuesday, the last day of the transfer window, he had not chosen who he wanted to join. I went to bed at midnight and was awoken at the ungodly hour of six am, it was Patrick Cohen, my assistant.


“He’s chosen Charlton”

“Who, what, who’s chosen Charlton” I wasn’t really awake, I certainly wasn’t functioning very well

“Bruno, he wants to join Charlton”

“How much did they offer again?”

“£50,000 plus future incentives, a lot less than other clubs but we accepted before we knew about them”

“Cancel the deal, I want our money’s worth. Cancel the deal and offer him to clubs for £90,000 plus 35% next sale.”


“Are you sure? It’s a big risk, you might regret it, we need that £50,000.”

“Fortune favours the bold Patrick, do it.”


He was right though, I had a feeling I might regret it. We were playing Bognor Regis and it was just before kick-off and no teams had come in for Bruno and there was nothing on Baker either. I checked my future transfers file I have and noticed I had Jake Cole and Lenny Pidgeley coming in soon, 6th and 8th of February in fact. I cursed, the Pidgeley deal was for £75k at least I think and that will push closer to the red, I hoped it got cancelled as we had a transfer budget remaining of £55,000.


My mind was still wandering when the game kicked off against Bognor Regis at Nyewood Lane when five minutes into the game their keeper kicked the ball long where Jones and a few Bognor players were fighting for it before Mitchell played it forward for Hejazi who played it left for Lemos, Bruno crossed it into the box where Teymur rose for it but mistimed his header and ended up only glancing it away from the defender where it fell to Horsley, Horsley capitalised by shooting at the near post, the keeper dived to his left to try and keep it out and got a hand to it but could not prevent it from going in. Horsley had scored, again, he really was trying to justify a place in my team and at the club.


Half an hour had gone when Sorensen took a throw in and threw it to Lemos who ran to the byline before turning his marker inside out by reversing and coming back to cross the ball into the box where Teymur stood and just directed the ball back at a right angle to the way it was travelling and into the near post across the face of the goal. Two goals up after 30 minutes in our maroon kits and we were cruising.


With ten minutes left in the first half Bognor had a thrown in which turned into a cross into the box which outran their forward and Jones cleared to the left where Sorensen picked the ball up and passed it down the left but straight to a Bognor defender who cleared it, but only into the centre of the park where Jones volleyed it forward for Hejazi who hit the ball first time into the path of the advancing Horsley who beat his man with a shimmy and was bearing down on goal before cutting to the right and slotting it under the keeper for his second of the game. It was a well taken goal and Horsley really was playing very well and making the most of his run in the team. The match was 3-0 at half-time and an uneventful second half meant that was how it finished.


Bognor Regis 0 Canterbury City 3

Goals: Horsley 5, 42, Teymur 31;
MoM: Mark Jones

retired_richcoble

My decision to cancel the Charlton deal was made to look even worse when first noone came in for him on the last day and then when the board revealed at my monthly meeting the next day that the club had lost £100,000 in January. With the Pidegely transfer about to go through it was about to be a bad month in February as well. Our next game was the FA Trophy 3rd round match against Worthing at Woodside Road.

We travelled to the game in the knowledge that it should be a comfortable victory and therefore I rested Hejazi and Teymur, and brough in the youth prospect Serkan Yalcin from my under 18’s to play his first senior game upfront alongside Appleby. I also gave Paul Brown his debut in a Canterbury shirt by playing him on the left wing. My decision to start Yalcin was instantly repaid just 4 minutes into the game. Worthing made a mess of a thrown in by Blomkvist that saw Andrrews volley the ball back to Cable, the Worthing centre back, he completely missed him and sent it all the way back to the six yard box where Cable picked it up instead of the keeper and cleared it to the right aiming for touch but instead finding Paul Brown who crossed the ball into the near post where Yalcin had ran from the half way line to be and who headed the ball into the goal just inside the near post for a debut goal.

Worthing had a corner in the 30th minute that got cleared, Yalcin picked it up and played it forward for Yemane who crossed the ball into the box where the advancing Daniels met it and thundered a header from the penalty spot into the Worthing goal. Disaster struck eight minutes later when Hill got in behind Sorensen to receive a ball that he crossed for Pacquette who put it past Baker in my goal to make it 2-1 and give me one hell of a fright as it was the first goal we’d conceded in eight games, and it was to a team playing much lower football than ourselves.

It took three minutes before Jones cleared the ball from the defence and Appleby latched onto it, taking it round the keeper and scoring his first of the game to make it 3-1 Canterbury. Fifteen minutes into the second half and Harkness cleared a Worthing cross upfield, it bounced over the Worthing defenders and Appleby was in behind them once again as he went after the ball he controlled it and dribbled to the edge of the box where the left back, coming in from his right was about to tackle him, Appleby knocked it past the left back in the direction of the corner flag and then cut to his right to allow the left back to run across the front of him, before reaching the ball and striking it with his right foot and it went crashing into the goal at the near post for his second of the game.

With twenty minutes left in the game Yalcin found himself one on one with the keeper after a superb ball from Brown, he fired at goal but the keeper saved but couldn’t hang onto it and the ball fell to Appleby who converted the ball into the empty goal for his hat-trick. He wasn’t finished there, as their keeper took a goal kick which was headed straight back by my defence over the Worthing centre halves and Appleby latched onto it, took it round the keeper to the left and scored at the near post for his fourth of the game. 6-1 Canterbury was how it finished and we had absolutely destroyed them after an initial scare in front of 1,010 people at Woodside Road.

Worthing 1 Canterbury City 6
Goals: Pacquette 39; Yalcin 4, Daniels 31, Appleby 41, 61, 73, 90;
MoM: Andrew Appleby

After the game I found out that Teymur had thigh strain from training and would be out between a week and four weeks which was a blow.
The day after the game Jake Cole joined my team for £2,000 from QPR while I received offers at last for Bruno Lemos all offering £90,000 upfront, 35% next sale and £20,000 after 10 league games. Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Wigan, Birmingham and Leeds were all bidding for him. Patrick phoned me on the Tuesday to say Pidgeley had joined from Chelsea, it wasn’t the real reason though, it was because of the cost. £240,000! I cannot believe it, I cannot remember ever agreeing to such a huge deal for him and we couldn’t afford it and yet it had gone through and the money had left the club account despite putting me way over budget!

retired_richcoble

It turns out Patrick had been reading the papers which although were lauding my vision in signing Lenny who stating the transfer at £230,000 when a close inspection of the finances showed it was actually £75,000 with future incentives and clauses, still it was a lot of money and I hoped he was worth it but I knew that if I had any decent offers for either Pidgeley or Baker I’d sell them instantly.


The same day as we signed Pidgeley we were drawn at home to Morecambe in the quarter finals of the FA Trophy, we were the first team out of the hat. The game was scheduled for 17 days time. Before that we were facing Weston-super-mare on the Wednesday and when I woke on Wednesday and turned up at the office I found several papers asking for a quote about Pidgeley. A journalist approached me on my to the training ground, he stated that there was a lot of excitement amongst the club’s fans following Pidgeley’s signing with many tipping him for a massive impact and asking him if I agreed. I was not about to let Lenny or any of the other players think he was the star of the team.

“Quote. Star or no star, Lenny Pidgeley will have to prove to me he is worth a place in the team. End Quote.”

Later on that day Barking and East Ham came in with an offer to loan one of my youngsters, David Lloyd, a defender, I accepted right away and he joined them the same day out on loan. Amidst all the commotion and things going on with Pidgeley, Bruno, and other transfers I had failed to notice that Eastbourne Boro had drawn 1-1 with Newport County who were in 4th position. Bishop’s Stortford did however get back to winning ways with a victory over Dorchester, a narrow 1-0 victory away from home. Eastbourne’s draw put my side 12 points clear at the top with a game in hand, I really felt confident of winning the title now and securing automatic promotion to the Conference National.


Never in my wildest dreams could I have seen the team I have put together over a frantic summer run away with the title, admittedly having the money helped but that was all gone now and we were haemorrhaging money at an increasing rate of knots and I needed to offload players and salaries for much needed cash as soon as I could but no one was coming in for Stiel who earns the most. The only good thing was his contract expires at the end of the season and he will no longer cost me an arm and a leg once this season reaches a conclusion.


The problem I now faced was I had four fairly highly paid goalkeepers of which three are young, eager, and talented goalkeepers. It was unfair on Baker who had performed admirably in goal, he had really developed into a quality goalkeeper over the season to my surprise and it felt harsh to throw open a competition for the number one spot in the team once again after he had won it so convincingly at the beginning of the season. I knew I had to for the sake of the club but I did not want to, I sure did hope some team came in for one of my young starlets to make the decision easier.


Fortunately for me, Baker was injured for about a week, allowing me to start Cole or Pidgeley for our Wednesday game against 6th placed Weston-super-mare at Marlowe Road. Lenny Pidgeley hadn’t responded well to my comments in the press apparently telling people he was unhappy and wondering if he had a future at the club. For such poppycock and pathetic whinging after I had challenged him I decided to start Jake Cole and relegate Lenny to the bench, hopefully he’ll learn to deal with me and respond to my challenges. No one is moddycoddled at my club and I did not appreciate whiners.


I still had Jamie Horsley on the transfer list going into this game but resolved myself to taking him off it and praising his recent performances if he was again outstanding on the pitch, he had shown great character recently and I always liked rewarding those who showed great character. Yalcin was benched as he was quite tired from playing in the U18’s as well as the senior side recently and with Teymur out injured Hejazi started upfront with Appleby. It took four minutes for the first chance of the game to materialise, the Weston-super-mare defenders were playing it about and passed it back to their keeper who dallied on the ball and had the ball stolen by Appleby who once he got it under control just passed the ball into the back of the net for a one goal Canterbury lead.


Fifteen minutes later and Mitchell hit a long ball upfield after Smith had won it from their striker, his ball went over the defence and found Hejazi in the box with some space on the left hand side of the pitch, he chested it down before firing a half volley at goal, the ball crashed against the post and spun across the face of the goal before going out for a goal kick, so close, yet so far. Just five minutes later and Mitchell headed a poorly cleared ball into the path of Hejazi who had come free of his man, making no mistake he slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to make the game 2-0 to Canterbury. Hejazi went close against just before half-time, a cross from Appleby was met by Hejazi at the far post but he couldn’t get his attempt on target and it went wide for a goal kick.


Two minutes into the second half and Appleby was sent down the right by Mitchell, he had plenty of space and struck the ball with force at goal, it was going wide until Hejazi got on the end fo it and poked it in, only for it to be disallowed as offside. Blomkvist took a corner on the hour mark which was flicked on by Appleby at the near post, the ball looped over everyone’s heads to the back post where it was met by Lemos who just nodded the ball in at the far post for his first senior goal. Weston-super-mare conceded a free kick twenty five yards from goal in the 74th minute, Hejazi stepped up to take it, his run up was quite short but he hit a curling, dipping ball that went up over the wall before coming down slightly and nestling itself in the top corner of the goal at the near post for his second of the game and the Bishops’ fourth! That was how the match finished as Weston-super-mare gave up after that and my team were happy with their 4-0 crushing of 6th placed opposition.


Canterbury City 4 Weston-super-mare 0
Goals: Appleby 5, Hejazi 25, 74, Lemos 60;
MoM: Mahmod Hejazi


Weymouth beat 20th placed Bognor Regis to move up to second place in the table giving my team a fourteen point cushion over second placed and a mammoth 26 point lead over 6th placed. Asked to comment on a confident and assured debut from Jake Cole in goal I stated that I was pleased with his debut and hope he’d be able to make a success of himself at the club, knowing he had a tough job on his hands.


I was preparing for our game against Newport County (again, Eastbourne had just played them) when once again a journalist approached me about Lenny Pidgeley saying that there was a lot of excitement amongst the fans bout Lenny Pidgeley and whether I thought he’d have a massive impact. I decided to respond a little differently by stating that I fully expect Lenny to have a massive impact on the club. I was encouraging him as well as challenging him and I hoped he would respond to my recent comment in a positive fashion or he’d really have no future here. No doubt the question was brought about by me not starting him in our last game, something I hadn’t decided on for that afternoon as of yet.

retired_amanda_ward

Lovin this story it's a great read. Keep it up!

retired_richcoble

Thank you John, I'm glad that there are people out there enjoying it, motivates me to write more and continue with this.

retired_richcoble

With Horsley having performed well again I removed him from the transfer list while Pidgeley had been upset once again, sigh, he’s now apparently worried I’m expecting too much, no win with this guy, I decided to start him anyway to see what he can do as we were facing strong opposition once again. Within seven minutes of the game starting and Pidgeley had made a terrific save from close range from an excellent opportunity for Newport County and it was clear from the outset that Newport County were much stronger than Weston-super-mare.

Lenny came to the rescue again twenty seven minutes into the game by making another great save from a powerful shot from Campbell. Despite their domination Hejazi had a free kick twenty five yards out in a similar position to the one in the previous game, once again he curled and dipped it, a bit straighter this time and the same result occurred as he scored from a free kick to give us the lead. Pidgeley was called into action just before half-time, making another good save to prevent a goal. We went into half-time lucky to be leading and knowing we’d been comprehensively outplayed. On the hour mark and Blomkvist sent a long deep ball down the left wing where Hejazi ran to collect it and took it to the penalty area before crossing for the waiting Appleby who had a great opportunity to give us some breathing space, but he could only shoot wide and it was a disappointing miss, he didn’t test the keeper as he surely should have!

Ten minutes from time and I switched to a counter-attack defensive tactic, it almost paid immediate dividends as Scottie Mitchell put Lemos through on goal only for Lemos to pull his shot horribly wide when he should have at least tested the keeper. Barely a couple of minutes later and Newport had a free kick on the edge of the box which Pidgeley kept out With some tense final minutes as Newport searched for an equaliser it was the good goalkeeping of Pidgeley that had kept us in the game and then kept the lead that Hejazi had skilfully got us. It was no surprise for me to see Mark Jones named man of the match for an outstanding performance in both the central defence and then midfield when I switched things around with 20 minutes to go by taking off some tired players.


Newport County 0 Canterbury City 1
Goals: Hejazi 41;
MoM: Mark Jones


I received good news after the game as Barry my physio reported that Malmstrom had begun full training following his four weeks out of the team due to his thigh injury, with Lemos likely to leave soon should the transfer be allowed to go through during the season I’d need Malmstrom back as my starting left winger. Eastbourne Borough drew against 21st placed Havant & Waterlooville 1 all while Weymouth beat Weston-super-mare 3-1 away from home, Bishop’s Stortford’s recent win was an aberration as they lost 1-0 at home to Maidenhead.


Late at night I received a call to say that Bruno Lemos had chosen Aston Villa, we’d receive an initial £90,000 when he joined them on the 1st of July but he couldn’t go before that as Aston Villa had a transfer ban due to being in the Premiership, I confirmed the deal knowing the money would be really useful at the end of the season. Having tried to obtain Paul Merson earlier in the season I found out he’d been offered the job as manager of Wycombe after they sacked John Gorman when they found themselves 22nd in League Two, seeing as Merson had no club he could play and manage them and join them for free, it would be interesting to see how they do if he takes over or if they’ll be playing Conference National football with my team (hopefully).

retired_richcoble

It took five days for Merson to decide to accept the job as he was unveiled as their new manager the Friday after our game against Newport. His first game was against Mansfield, a team we beat 3-0 in preseason, and a team also struggling in League Two, being in 21st position while Wycombe had fallen to 23rd after Shrewsbury’s victory in the week. It was must win game for Wycombe and one hell of a first game for a rookie manager at a new club he’d only been at for a day. Our game on the Saturday was against Havant & Waterlooville at Marlowe Road and given the opposition I wasn’t sure if we’d see a decent crowd for a hammering or a small crowd due to them being in 20th place, we had averaged a gate of 1,203 thus far in the season and I hoped to maintain that as our league average attendance of 1,077 was second highest in the Conference South, just, and it was quite telling that the top four clubs in the league, Newport, Canterbury, Eastbourne Boro and Weymouth had the highest attendances in the league.


I gave the start in goal to Pidgeley after his excellent performance against Newport County. Jones retrived the ball from a clearance from a corner fifteen minutes into the game and his cross was headed back into the danger zone by Lemos where Hejazi pounced, tucking the ball away into the goal for a 1-0 Canterbury lead. We went close a couple of times after that with good opportunities missed by my strikers and Havant playing some pretty good defence, it wasn’t until twenty five minutes into the second half that we had a golden opportunity to score. Searle had pushed Mitchell at a corner when the ball was coming in and the referee blew his whistle and awarded my side a penalty, Appleby stepped up and shot straight down the middle where the keeper just stood and saved it.


Hejazi took a free kick five minutes later from the left of the penalty box, he swung it over but it went past everyone, Mitchell collected it before sending a quick ball in at the near post where Appleby got to the ball first and poked it into the net at the near post for our second of the game. Horsley had been injured five minutes into the second half and his replacement Daniels was now also carrying a knock. After the game I found out from Barry that I had lost both players for a couple of weeks to injuries, which was highly disappointing.


Canterbury City 2 Havant & Waterlooville
Goals: Hejazi 15, Appleby 77;
MoM: Bruno Lemos


The victory stretched our run to 9 straight league wins, 11 in all competitions and 17 games undefeated, all Canterbury records. Three weeks after Glenn Hoddle’s resignation and John Gregory was announced as manager of Wolverhampton Wandereres who were lying in 21st position on goal difference with Brighton in 22nd having a game in hand. It would be a tough challenge for Gregory and I hoped he could save a team I had a bit of a soft spot for. Bad news came my way the day after the game when Barry came into my office to tell me that Malmstrom had strained his wrist lifting weights, he had only just returned from injury and had yet to feature as he got back to match fitness only to get injured again, I hoped this would not be a sign of things to come. Kent side Dartford came in for Eddie Hope a young midfielder I had just signed to an extended contract, they offered to take him on loan for a month and I readily agreed as first team experience was exactly what he needed.

retired_richcoble

I hadn’t been paying much attention to the Premiership table and when I looked at is on Thursday the 23rd of February I was shocked to see that Newcastle were 19th in the table and not fired Claudio Ranieri, their manager since the beginning of the season, in fact they’d just given him the dreaded vote of confidence so it may be that he is sacked soon but 19th place is no position for a team like Newcastle. At the other end of the table I was also surprised to see Liverpool leading Chelsea, closely followed by Arsenal, Man Utd, and Tottenham.


Our next game was the FA Trophy quarter final against Morecambe at home on Saturday the 25th, to my surprise a side below Conference South/North level had made it this far, Frickley Athletic were at home to Dagenham and Redbridge from the Conference National. Frickley had knocked out Kidderminster and done brilliantly to make it this far so I hoped their good run continued. All in all, there were three Conference National teams, three Conference South teams, one Conference North team and Frickley.


With my midfield gutted due to injuries I had to start Gitselov out on the right with Paul Brown on the left, Lemos returned the centre of midfield to partner Mitchell, Tim O’Donovan and Yemane were my sole midfielders behind them due to Malmstrom, Horsley and Daniels being injured. Pidgeley got the start again while Teymur was still not fit for the match which meant Appleby and Hejazi would remain my strikeforce for this important game, due to my dominant position in the league I was going all out for a win in this match and playing the strongest side available to me.


It took us twenty five minutes to carve out an opening against a stout Morecambe defence, it was denied by Morecambe’s defence but they’d fouled in the process and so Appleby stepped up to take the penalty, I could see he was nervous, trembling in fact. He ran up to the ball and I thought I saw his leg wobble as he struck the ball, this time he fired it to the keeper’s right and he couldn’t reach it. Appleby had converted it, showing great character in doing so and we were one nil up against a team riding high in the Conference National, second place in fact.


With just a minute to go before half-time I was happy to go in 1-0 up when Smith played the ball down the left for Brown who ran with the ball before chipping it into the area ahead of Hejazi, he had room to manoeuvre and was about to shoot when Bentley hacked him down with two feet. I was off my seat in an instant screaming for a penalty which the referee duly awarded but unbelievably Bentley hadn’t even been cautioned for the outrageous foul on Hejazi. Appleby once again stepped up to take the penalty, this time he sent it to the keeper’s left, the keeper guessed the right way again but was unable to reach it as it nestled in the corner of the goal. The half-time whistle blew shortly after and we were 2-0 up and winning against a team in 2nd place in the division above us! I praised my team and told them to keep their play going and keep it tight at the back as we looked to close out the game.


Brown cleared the challenge of Adam Kelly fifteen minutes into the second half when he hit the ball back for Sorensen who advanced down the left hand side of the pitch before centring the ball. It got deflected by Blackburn but fell to Mitchell who unleashed a fierce drive high at goal only to see the ball go flying over the bar. Morecambe made a double substation with fifteen minutes left and it paid dividends immediately as Hardiker sent ball into the near post from the right which cannoned off James Smith and fell to Twiss who turned on the ball and smashed it to the top corner but sent it horribly wide, their first real opportunity in the game but it fell to the wrong guy.


The minutes ticked by and I kept looking at my whistle, I wasn’t comfortable at two nil up even when the clock hit 90 minutes and the fourth official signalled three minutes of added time. As he was doing that Mitchell had the ball in the centre where he laid it right to Gitselov who swivelled on it before bringing it forward and playing a one two with Lemos, he came forward with it again before crossing it into the box where Hejazi was unmarked. Mahmod drove the ball first time right footed and put it straight past the keeper, scoring our third of the game and securing an outstanding victory.


Canterbury City 3 Morecambe 0
Goals: Appleby pen 26, pen 44, Hejazi 90;
MoM: Mark Jones


I was very disappointed to find out after the game that only 318 people had turned up, I was shocked really, a cup competition at home against higher level opposition in the latter stages should attract a bigger crowd not one a third of the normal size! Andy D’Urso had refereed the game and awarded us two penalties so I hoped we’d have him a lot in the future was he was obviously good luck for us, perhaps when we were in the Premiership. ‘In my dreams’ I thought, I’d just be happy with playing league football in five years time. The victory sent us into the semi-finals along with Crawley, Weymouth, and Dagenham & Redbridge who recorded a narrow 2-1 victory over Frickley, it also won us £7,000 in prize money. The following day the draw for the semi finals was made and we were drawn against Dagenham & Redbridge. The draw resulted in our game against Eastbourne Borough at the end of March being moved from Saturday the 25th to the Wednesday after.

retired_richcoble

I received more good news after the Morecambe game when Barry told me Teymur would start full training the next day, a welcome relief, it was followed with some rather frustrating news the next day when Appleby stated to the Canterbury Gazette that his current pay deal was too low “for a player of his calibre” and he wanted to commit himself to the club if the deal was right. He had played very well over the season with 22 goals in 25 games but he was on £275 until 2008 and I didn’t feel he warranted a salary rise especially as he had a yearly wage rise of 10% built into his contract. He’d be on over £300 come the end of the season, I told the press that he would not be getting a new contract at the present time.

Andrew didn’t respond well to my comments and refused to back down the next day despite me attempting to tell him that I appreciated his contribution to the team. After a training he told a press conference he was adamant that he was deserving of a better wage and would be moving to a club that would appreciate his talent, it was news to me until I was told by someone at the club that he had written in a transfer request that was then reported to the press. I called a meeting with him, spoke to him and asked what he felt was a fair wage for him. He wanted £1,400 a week and become the highest paid player here, I tried reasoning with him, stating that it was more than five times his present wages and almost five time what I make at the club, he was having none of it and stated he wanted a transfer unless we met his demands, I didn’t want him disrupting the harmony of my team and agreed to his request, placing him on the transfer list at his request. His valuation was £90,000 but I hoped to fetch at least £120,000 if not more.

retired_richcoble

I had my monthly board meeting and the look on Adam Kent’s face was a sight to behold. He was scathing at me, literally ripping into me for the state of the club’s finances and accusing me of jeopardising the club’s financial future through my lavish spending.

“Edward the club spent £207,000 last month and £84,167 of that was transfer fees, you cannot spend any more money, you’ve exceeded your budget and we’ve cut back the amount you’ll get from sales to 60% but I’m wary of you even spending that. Our balance is under £200,000 after starting at £1.2 million. We’re aware that £300,000 of the £1,287,000 spent this season is loan repayments but £221,000 is transfer fees and we’ve spent over £350,000 in wages thus far which is more than the entire income we have received thus far this season from all sources.”

“Adam, I know, I’m sorry but we needed a team to compete and my team is doing more than that, I’m as disappointed as you and have been trying to unload deadweight without much success I have one sale confirmed and hopefully some more soon, we’ll get £90,000 in on July 1st and if Appleby goes at least that again. I’m trying to get rid of players but it’s hard and a lot of those costs are things I cannot control. Our attendances aren’t as high as I hoped and we’re struggling on income in other areas. It’s promotion or bust for this club and I realise that, if someone comes in for Teymur or Hejazi I will strongly consider selling them for our financial future but they are integral to the team and I’ll need them next year in the Conference National.”

“If we get there” Adam cut in.

“We’ll get there Adam, I believe it strongly.”

At this point Phil cut into the conversation: “Adam, we all understand the financial problems we are facing and I know Edward will work to help in that regard but I also have no doubt that we will get promoted, Edward has done a fantastic job and we are delighted with his performance, as long as we secure promotion and sell a couple of players we can remain solvent, of that I am confident.”

“As am I Phil” I responded “but if you’ll excuse me I need to get to Basingstoke and prepare for our next league match.

I dropped Appleby to the bench and started Yalcin as a sign of my disgust with Appleby and just to prove a point to the rest of the team that those not in this for the club are not guaranteed starting spots. I also started Jake Cole ahead of Pidgeley to test him out more as both had been exemplary thus far. The match was one of the poorer performances of the season from us as we drew 0-0 in a complete bore draw. We came close twice, Lemos had a free header from six yards out but sent it over the bar and Hejazi had a chance at the far post but shot into the side netting, both in the second half.

It was a disappointing match that ended our winning streak but extended our unbeaten streak to 19 games in all competitions. The press described the result as by no means a fair reflection of the game as Canterbury City controlled from start to finish with ease and composurd… ‘but unable to convert that into goals’ I thought.