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Some of you may remember several months back a story of Conference South no-hopers Havant & Waterlooville, or The Hawks to their gathering of fans, from myself. All was going well, top of the league in the early weeks of the second season. Then, following a number of viruses, a wipe of the PC, the loss of my FM disc and then the loss of my internet connection due to BT ballsing up several times, it was gone and forgotten.
Having spotted FM going cheap and re-purchased, and being back online, it is revived. Well, restarted. Enjoy.
The sun began dipping over the horizon as I gazed from my window. I'd seen prettier views over the years, but this was a nice one to call home. I'd just moved in this afternoon, from my home town up in Essex, in order to take up my new employment.
Most people relocate for a hefty pay rise and a big job that secures their future. I hadn't. I'd just joined Havant & Waterlooville FC as their manager. Back home I did a similar job part time for various local sides over the last few years, alongside my full time work running my own pub. Half-serious I applied to Havant when the managerial position was vacant, and apparently I won the race. I am not, however, sure if I was actually racing against anyone.
Nevertheless, I was here, a real football club. 'Just' 5 promotions from the Premiership. To be honest, one would be nice, and would take this tiny, young club to new heights. I was determined to be the man that led them there, and prepared for the long road ahead. But with just 12 months on my contract, being that man meant getting to work fast.
Good Luck mate, I never saw your story about The Hawks, strange that we have two going now at the same time, we can compare notes etc !! Mine is entitled Havant a Chance....... or do we?
Thanks Road kill & thegeezer2k. Noticed your H&W story and will certainly be keeping an eye on it, best of luck with them!
Pre Season 2005-06
Following my appointment at Westleigh Park I had a total of four friendlies to contend with. Before that my first task was to bring in a coaching team. A healthy number was brought in, all on short and cheap contracts. The array of coaches gave a good base to allow each to concentrate on separate areas of training and wouldn’t leave us in the situation of giving some poor sod a horrific workload. Max Griggs took the Assistant Manager’s role following the departure of Shaun Gale.
Three scouts also joined, one of whom would be constantly touring the country to keep an eye on our forthcoming opposition, with the others traveling as assigned to hunt down new talent.
Only the two players left during the early weeks of my reign, namely 34-year-old keeper Colin Matthews, who headed up to Billericay, and wing-back Jason Chewins, also 34, who joined Windsor & Eton.
The first friendly saw the visit of local ‘rivals’ Portsmouth, well their reserves at least. Harry Redknapp’s backup side still made light work of my outfit, going 4-0 up with little trouble. Veteran keeper Jörg Stiel’s miserable day was finished off with an injury shortly after the break. Maybe the former Swiss international should stick just to his coaching duties here. Two from Keene and one apiece from Torre and Todorov had long since secured a win for the visitors before James Flood fired in a consolation.
Braintree were next to visit, and were held to a 1-1 draw. Rastoll’s second half effort cancelled out the opener from Liam O’Connor and we played well enough, but quite clearly needed to make more out of the chances we get to do well in the league. Third along were Hitchin Town, who were beaten by a single early strike from Savage. A win at last but Savage’s goal was one of 20 attempts on Richard Wilmot’s net, and again showed the lacking ability to make the best of our chances.
The final friendly came a week before the Conference South season opens with the visit of title-favourites Weymouth. Grantham were the last side to test my team before the off and were confidently beaten 2-1. The challenge from the visitors was all but killed off early in the second half with goals from Savage and Baptiste. Jason White pulled one back but it wasn’t enough to deny us finishing our warm-up on a high.
Pre Season Results
Havant & W 1 (Flood 63) Portsmouth Reserves 4 (Keene 14, 33, Torre 38, Todorov 50)
Havant & W 1 (Rastoll 53) Braintree 1 (O’Connor 23)
Havant & W 1 (Savage 7) Hitchin 0
Havant & W 2 (Savage 52, Baptiste 58) Grantham 1 (White 67)
Matthew Ghent, Age 24 – English The former Aston Villa trainee has struggled to graduate to first team football over the years and now drops into the sixth tier of the league system. Looks impressive enough in training and the friendlies and begins as number one.
Gareth Howells, 35 – English The veteran originally started at Spurs back in 1989 but never made it to the big time, moving from the London giants to Torquay before floating around the lower leagues. Will battle with Stiel for position of aging bench-warmer.
Jörg Stiel, 37 – Swiss (21 Caps) The former Switzerland international made a disastrous start to his career by letting four in against Portsmouth Reserves pre-season. He later was injured and will miss the early part of the league season, but when fit might just edge the second-choice keeper role.
Defenders
Darren Annon, 33 – English Darren will be useful enough to keep on the books for at least this term. He is a decent enough tackler for this level and is reasonably quick for his age, which could prove useful making quick breaks from defence. Can play on the right or left of defence and will at worst be on the bench.
Robbie Pethick, 34 – English A 300+ game career at Portsmouth, Bristol Rovers and Brighton led Robbie here via Weymouth. Annon looks better though, and Pethick commands a large wage, thus the right back is on the transfer list.
Neil Sharp, 27 - English
Another right back and no better than Pethick, Neil will be kept around for the time being. His age advantage and lesser salary won’t be enough to keep him around for too long though and will need to do well when he plays.
Matthew Wicks, 26 – English The Arsenal graduate is a definitely useful defender and will most likely start in the heart of defence during the early part of the season. Pacy, good in the air and a great tackler, Matt could become a very important part of this side.
Matt Gray, 27 – English The central defender offers nothing out of this world and seems to come off second best a lot more than some of his competition for a place in the squad. With the need to lower the wage bill, currently just staying under the budget by a mere £51/week, Matt is on the transfer list.
Tom Jordan, 24 – Scottish The Scottish central defender looks useful, and will be among the first choice back-ups. He’ll need to impress when called upon, however, as his £220/week wage will be happily wiped out if he slips up/
Phil Whelan, 33 – English The former England Under-21 International heads to the south coast to finish off his lengthy career, well probably anyway. His no-nonsense leadership and brave tackling make him a cert to start, and likely choice for captaincy.
Sam Pearce, 17 – English The teenager shows some potential to become useful in the centre of defence and will learn a lot this season. Could get a few games off the bench and hopefully will improve enough to replace Whelan in a year or two.
Lee Briscoe, 29 – English Another ex England Under-21 player, Lee will be taking place on the left of defence to begin with this season. A good tackler, he’s also fairly quick getting forward and can put in a decent cross.
Sebastian Wallis-Taylor, 18 – French The versatile youngster shows bags of potential and will likely get a few games this season. His ability to play in defence and midfield, central or left-sided will make him a key asset to have on the bench.
Midfielders
Stéphane Rastoll, 20 – French A free signing from Bagnols-Pont, Rastoll is a very quick, skilful winger with a dangerous left boot. With time certainly on his side he should prove to be quite a gem in this side. As a bonus, he can also lend his services at the back.
Brett Poate, 21 – English Similar to Rastoll, Brett is essentially a left midfielder with a good ability to get the play moving forward, and can also cover in defence. Lacks a bit of the technique possessed by the Frenchman, and Taggart looks more useful a backup. Listed.
Neil Champion, 29 – English Neil’s nothing special, and can’t offer anything above the other players battling for his position. Transfer listed.
Mark Ford, 29 – English The former Leeds man stops off here at his latest club following freefall from the Premiership, and looks likely to slot straight into central midfield. Good on the ball and very hard working, he should be a vital player during the 9 months ahead.
Guy Lopez, 26 – Senegal Nothing spectacular but workmanlike and decent where it matters most. Good enough to stick around for now as cover for Mark.
Neil Davis, Luke Byles & Craig Newman All not much good, and on the list.
David Savage, 23 – English Again nothing spectacular but decent enough where it counts, and very impressive in the friendly matches. At home pushing forward from the heart of midfield.
David Town, 28 – English Very pacy right winger, and will be tussling with Corbett for the place in that position. David also has a decent shot and could provide the odd goal from midfield when played.
Jimmy Corbett, 25 – English A former colleague of Whelan at Southend, Corbett joins us after failing to make the grade there. Very quick and shows excellent movement on the ball, he’s also a quality passer and can also play up front if required.
Tony Taggart, 23 – English Left winger Tony seems more than sufficient backup to Rastoll. He’s slightly quicker than the Frenchman, and only slightly weaker in his overall game. Taggart could well find himself in the first eleven should Stéphane hit a bad run of form.
Attackers
Rocky Baptiste, 33 – English Just the sort of player we need at this level, a tall, strong lad to muscle in a few goals over the coming months. Has a good shot on him and should put himself on the scoresheet a fair few times. At 33 though, he’s beginning to fade, and any failure to impress will see him on his way while I can still grab a few thousand.
James Flood, 24 – English James looks in a fairly similar mould to Rocky, and for now will play backup to the latter. Should hopefully improve neatly to fill Rocky’s place before too long.
Gareth Law, 22 – English Relies on his creativity and pure shooting more so than the strength of the previous two, and will create a good balance paired with one of the two up front. Has an excellent right foot and could well be our 20+ a season man.
Carl Wilson-Denis, 22 – English Carl isn’t anything special, but good enough to be kept on for now simply because of a lack of backup.
Finally, my competitive football debut. For the first time of many, I hope, I followed the starting eleven out at Westleigh Park.
Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 399
Havant & Waterlooville v Weymouth (Conference South)
This side had looked promising, if unspectacular, during the weeks pre-season, and I had high hopes that my mix of youngsters and experienced men from the leagues above would work well in our bid to challenge near the top of the table this season. Today offered the perfect test – a visit from the side widely tipped to run off with the title.
A poor start gave the visitors the better of the early play, and only a solid performance in goal from Matt Ghent kept them at bay for now, long enough for us to get out of first gear and start pushing forward ourselves. The first half was very end-to-end stuff thereafter, and the deadlock was only broken by a cracking free kick. Law was pulled down a few yards from the area, and Mark Ford found the top corner with a superb effort.
Our best period of the match followed just after half time, with Law and Corbett coming closest to doubling the lead. But all good things end, and against the run of play Alex Varney finally found the way past Ghent to level the match at 1-1. That would be how it ended, although not before a nervous last few moments with Weymouth threatening to steal all the points.
Havant & W 1 (Ford 42) Weymouth 1 (Varney 71)
Ghent 7, Briscoe 6, Annon 6, Wicks 6, Whelan 7, Corbett 6, Rastoll 7, Ford 7, Savage 6, Baptiste 7 (Flood on 80, 6), Law 7
Man of the Match: Ben Smith (Weymouth)
16/8/05
War Memorial Sports Ground, Carshalton – Att: 199
Carshalton Athletic v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference South)
Our first trip on the road saw us as the bookies’ favourite, and we happily obliged and made light work of taking all the three points. It took a good performance but the hosts today weren’t much of a tough nut to crack.
David Savage scored the first of a pair early on, poking in a neat cross from Law, ending a quick move that had come from Ghent’s hands to the back of the Athletic net in a matter of seconds. The second came when he rose above Nwanze to head in Corbett’s corner. This came shortly after the interval and at just the right time. Carshalton had been playing well in the last 15 or 20 minutes before half time, and this served neatly to destroy that confidence.
Thomas Carter pulled one back a few minutes later, though, ironically assisted by a bad pass from Savage, and looked like they might claw themselves into it again. The loss of Michael O’Byrne to a red card with 25 minutes left ruined their hopes though, leaving them with few options to turn this around. Mark Ford poked in Rastoll’s inch-perfect cross to finish off the battling hosts towards the end.
Carshalton 1 (Carter 54) Havant & W 3 (Savage 17, 50, Ford 82)
Ghent 7, Briscoe 8, Annon 7, Wicks 8, Whelan 7, Corbett 8, Rastoll 8, Ford 9, Savage 9, Baptiste 7 (Flood 45, 7) Law 7
Man of the Match: Mark Ford (Havant & W)
20/8/05
Westleigh Park, Havant – Att: 308
Havant & Waterlooville v Basingstoke Town (Conference South)
Confidence was certainly high following the impressive midweek victory, and it showed in the start we made to this match. Ford continued his good scoring start to the season with another of his screaming free kicks, smashing one home from a good thirty yards. The lead was soon doubled with Savage also getting his third in as many games so far. The attack was yet to score in the league, but the centre of midfield was certainly producing the goods thus far.
All was going so well until defender James Taylor was pushed up front as Basingstoke went all out to save the match. Taylor went on to pull one back almost immediately, and grabbed a second just minutes later to save a point for the visitors. We were naturally feeling a little hard done by after that, but a point is better than nothing and kept us unbeaten so far.
Havant & W 2 (Ford 9, Savage 20) Basingstoke 2 (Taylor 75, 80)
Ghent 6, Briscoe 6, Annon 5, Wicks 6, Whelan 6, Corbett 6 (Town 48, 6), Rastoll 7, Ford 7, Savage 7, Baptiste 7, Law 7
Man of the Match: Ricci Dolan (Basingstoke)
24/8/05 It was adios to two of our less useful players today, with Newman and Byles moving on. Teenager Newman joined Hailsham for £1,000, plus a good share of his next sale price. Luke Byles joined Croydon Athletic for a similar fee.
In the European Champions’ League, the main news of the draw is the Battle of Britain in Group F, with Arsenal and Rangers drawn together alongside Brugge and PSV. Elsewhere, Chelsea face Brondby, Monaco and Dinamo Kiev, Man Utd will play Porto, Sparta Prague and Lille and Everton will face Inter, Shakhtar – who ousted Celtic in the final qualifier - and Rosenborg in the Group Phase. Liverpool were shockingly beaten in the first round of qualifying by Armenian minnows Pyunik Yerevan.
26/8/05
Liverpool bounced back from that European disappointment by capturing the European Super Cup title. A brace from Djibril Cissé scored a 2-0 win over Russian side CSKA Moscow in Monaco.
27/8/05
Woodside Park, Bishop’s Stortford – Att: 486
Bishop’s Stortford v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference South)
Our hosts today had started similarly to us, with a win and two draws propelling them to 6th place, one above us, at this early stage. It was hard to call a favourite here with both sides containing some quality players who could easily win the game.
Lee Briscoe left the field injured early on, with inexperienced Sam Pearce having to replace him it might’ve been difficult to stay focused at the back. Fortunately Pearce had a solid match and made light work of his debut, with Ghent also on form to keep out a determined attack from Essandoh and Morison. David Town came closest for us, hitting the bar moments from time, but the fair result came in the end. It was merely a shame that an exciting match had to end goalless.
Bishop’s Stortford 0 Havant & W 0
Ghent 7, Briscoe 6 (Pearce 12, 7), Annon 7, Wicks 7, Whelan 7, Corbett 7, Rastoll 6 (Poate 54, 6), Ford 7, Savage 6 (Town 54, 6), Baptiste 7, Law 6
Man of the Match: Gareth Gwillim (Bishop’s Stortford)
Briscoe will miss only a few days after his injury was found to be no more than bruising.
3/9/05 In the Germany ’06 qualifiers, four of the home nations were in action. In Group 5 Scotland managed an impressive draw against Italy, with only Totti’s late equaliser denying all three points. And in Group 6, England and Wales shared the points with a 1-1 draw in Cardiff, and Northern Ireland took three points, beating Azerbaijan 1-0 in Belfast.
7/9/05 Another round of World Cup qualifiers saw all five of the home nations play. Ireland collapsed to a 3-0 defeat against France, with Henry scoring a late brace to finish the Irish off following Zidane’s opener. Scotland’s good work against the Italians was undone with defeat in Norway, which barring a few shocks sees them crash out. Wales won in Poland by a single goal, and finally England demolished Northern Ireland 5-0, with Defoe the star of the show, netting a hat-trick.
10/9/05
Newport Stadium, Newport – Att: 466
Newport County v Havant & Waterlooville (Conference South)
A hot afternoon in South Wales was the location for our first complete balls-up of the season. The team’s performance on the whole was good, but the front two continued their worrying inability to find the net and Ghent had one hell of an off day at the back.
Matt Stowell put the hosts in front poking in Ross Cosgrove’s cross, but Rastoll leveled the match just before half-time. In the second half we performed brilliantly but just couldn’t add the killer final touch, and eventually Newport took the lead through a Jason Bowen effort which Ghent should have kept out. Craig Hughes added a third with a deflected shot.
“What the hell happened there?” I muttered to Griggs as we trudged back to the changing rooms
Newport Co 3 (Stowell 12, Bowen 75, Hughes 82) Havant & W 1 (Rastoll 45)
Ghent 5, Briscoe 7, Annon 7, Wicks 6, Whelan 6, Corbett 7, Rastoll 7, Ford 7 (Pearce 62, 6), Savage 6, Baptiste 7 (Flood 71, 6), Law 7
Man of the Match: Tony Pennock (Newport Co)
I Really Havant A Clue... Parte Deux 
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