Southport 1 F.G.R. 2

The first home game for yet another new manager at Haig Ave. Three new players brought in to replace the ones the club let go with Cook.
The game didnt start well and Southport were soon a goal behind. With the fans discussing how terrible their team were it wasn't long before Southport were another goal down. With the team written off a well placed cross was met by Patterson in midair who vollied it into the goal past former Southport loan player Ryan Robinson. Patterson had only just come on as as sub 20 minutes into the first half and scored almost straight away.
Southport hit the bar once in the first half but rarely threatened.
In the second half Southport attacked but couldn't get a goal to salvage a point, the bar was hit a couple of times and FGR cleared their line once. In truth Southport didnt look like they would win or indeed get a draw.
With yet another new striker Southport still didnt look like they could finish. The new players need time to bed in, time Southport do not have.
On the positive side Patterson played well, but it has to be noted that the two best players were Baker and Lane.

Southport 3 (Three) Greys Athletic 1

Today was Southports frist game since the chairman ditched the manager. Southport now needed a manager, new players and some points. I wasn't expecting Southport to do much today but after 1 minute 30 seconds Southport scored with a brilliant solo run from loan player Donnelly. Southport had two ex-strikers as managers and for once Southport were shooting at goal. Southport showed all the skill they did at th Morecambe game and once again went in at half time in the lead this time by 2 goals, the second coming from Grey. Southport could have had more goals.
After the 15 minutes of half time the doubts were back and Greys looked a lot more confident. But again 2 minutes after the restart Southport scored, with a great Carl Baker goal.
Southport held on despite a goal for Greys when Southports defence took time out to do a reonstruction of Athony Goremans Another Place.
Keeper Harrison had a great game and kept Southport in the points.

Southport1 Morecambe 2

Haig Ave was as full as it has been for a long time and the crowd was in good voice home and away. Southport were the better side for most of the match. They passed the ball with ease and accuracy. Though the side still lacks a striker Southport attacked well and put the ball in the net 4 times, though only one goal counted. Morecambe had a player sent off and Souhport looked likely to hang on to a one goal lead. Whether it was the substitutions or too much turkey taking effect Southport lost momentum and Morecambe scored twice n quick succession.
What should have been the best performance for ages and a much needed 3 points ended in a loss and disappointment.

Southport 1 Droylsden 0

Droylsden lined up with 4 ex-Port players including 2 strikers, Daly and Fearns, that Southport has yet to replace. Southport had plenty of possession and put lots of crosses into the box but there was no Southport striker there to meet them. Both Fearns and Daly were subbed in the second half without a goal. After a red card The Bloods were down to 10 men but there was little difference between the teams until the last 10 minutes with Southport pushing for the goal that eventually came from midfielder Carl "Cruiform" Baker who scored with only a couple of minutes to go.
Southport are playing some nice football but still lack a striker or two who can put the ball in the net. Sadly in the Conference National there is little chance of buying a player who can score 50 goals season.

Southport 1 Cambridge 2

Football is a game of two halves, unfortunately. It was scrappy start wih the SFC side including two new loan signings Sean Doherty and Ciaran Donnolly and a couple of players returning from injury and suspension. Southport played well and passed the ball well. Although there were few if any shots on target Southport did score with a header from Tony Gray after a free kick on 30 minutes.
Cambridge's half time team talk must have been good as they came out playing better in the second half. Southport might have held on but for two defensive mistakes which gifted Cambridge an equaliser and then the match.
Southport had plenty of possession and got into the box onnumerous occasions but couldnt get the ball in the net. Typical Southport.
Robinson's kicking was poor today and he didnt command his area. The defence was lacking despite some good moments from Kirkup. Doherty is a very good player and would be an excellent signing.
Southport still miss a physical striker who can force a goal or a gifted striker who can get a goal with little effort. They also need an experience centre back to take control.

No sign of Dino today...

Southport 0- Kettering Town 1 FA CUP

A game that summed up the season so far. The weather was miserable, so were the crowd. The PA was deafening again the crowd was silent, and couldnt even bring itself to boo the players off the pitch. Southport were poor in the first half, better in the second but could have played for 90 days and not scored. The highlight of the match was the fight in the Kettering goalmouth which saw their keeper and Kirkup being sent off.
At least we didnt drop any more league points today.

Will sacking the manager solve the problems that Haig Ave has had for over two seasons?

Southport 1 Stevenage 2

Football really is a game of two halves. Southport dominated the first half and had countless shots on goal, but only managed to score one. Although the side was missing some players through injury it looked pretty good and played very well. Jackson had a good game (I had begun to wonder if he was still with us).
At the end of the second half the team got a standing ovation and were applauded off the pitch.

Second half Stevenage scored while Southport were still licking their fingers from the half-time oranges. And not long afterwards our make-shift defence let another in. Despite some good moments, Southport never looked like getting a win or a draw. Stevenage attacked well and looked far more confident. Lane was sent off for two yellows after a bad tackle.
The team that was applauded was boo-ed off at the end and were told they were shit.
Its a funny old game.


The away fans didnt stop singing all night, I could hear them before I had walked up to Haig Ave. They were only drowned out at the end by the cries of "SHIT" and "Boooo" from Southport "supporters" abusing their own players.

Southport 1 St. Albans 1

I had expected a good attacking game from Southport following their mid-week trip to Oxford. Sadly the match wasnt worth the trip up from Liverpool. Southport sleepwalked through the first half. Only a cross from Baker and some long ball tactics with Dino looked threatening. Sadly Dino retired duringt he first half and the side was robbed of one of the few players who look like they have played football before. Without Dino it was all midfield and no threat. If Southport could pass to their own side as well as they gave the ball away they would have looked much better.
0-0 at half time and neither side looking pretty.
Hoolickin came on at half time but rather than use him at leftback or left wing he played in centre midfield, and though he always tries hard and is good on the ball he was not in a position that best suited him. Carl Baker looked something like the player of seasons past but still dallies on the ball and loses posession. Its hard to say whether he had a good game or everyone else had a bad one.
Southport rather sportingly allowed St Albans to score a goal and take the lead. St.Albans then got a penalty and a chance to make it two nil, luckily for Southport Clarke hit the crossbar. Southport then realsised the point of a football match and decided to get a goal of their own, which they did 5 minutes later when prolific striker Tony Gray got his second goal of the season.
After that the game did improve slightly with both sides looking for the winning goal. Hoolickin, Boyd and Blakeman all had shots and Robinson made some good saves.
It finished in a draw, the biggest cheer of the day was for the missed penalty.
Hard to pick a man of the match given the poor performance so Baker and Robinson can share the honours.

Southport 0 Exeter City 1

The first half was very good, although Southport were playing a defensive 4141 formation we had the possession and all the chances. Southport should have been two-nil up at half time thanks to some comedy goal keeping from the timewasting clown in the City nets, and Southports Tony Gray missing a goal when it seemed easier to score.Nil Nil at half time, Exeter came out looking for a goal, but the match was still balanced. Exeter got the goal and Southport spent the rest of the game trying in vain to find the equaliser.
Good performances from Lane (back in the side and not sacked as the experts predicted), Robinson and Smith.

Cook

There are those who want Paul Cook to be sacked from his job at Southport FC, I am not one of them. In fact I find this idea to be very stupid. Paul Cook has done a great job of getting rid of the part-time players of last season and building a new fulltime young side. Yes the side needs some more experience and the manager knows this. Cook has found some very talented young players, he obviously knows a good player when he sees one.
I think most of the reason why those who want him out do so is because they were in love with Liam Watson. Sounds odd but thats how the fans act. They have lost all reason and have very selective memories. When Watson left the fans sounded like they had lost the love of their life, and now they hate his replacement. It is also interesting to note that while these peopel are visible online, at the ground you do not hear the same comments in the majority of the crowd.


It is hard to know when the online fans are joking, some are even saying Brabin should be brought back as a player and even as manager! For me Brabin signing a fulltime playing contract was a sign that the club had little ambition in its fulltime direction. He was in his last days as a proffesional footballer and didnt have much of a future to offer the club.
Some even think that the club offered players contracts in an effort to force the players to leave the club. Like all internet conspiracy theorists they cannot back their cliams up with evidence and do not liek to be questioned. Why, I wonder, did the club bother to offer them contracts whent hey could have just sold them or paid them off? Answers on a postcard...

Some good news this week, Cook has brought a promising young player in to fill the gap in our defence left by the injured Lee. Again this has been the topic of debate with the online fans who think it is another ploy to rid the club of Chris Lane. They have also deliberately mis-quoted Cook to use his words against him. They complained when the club lacked players and now complain when it brings players in and also complain the one they brought in wasnt brought in for long enough.
But no one said football fans were rational.
I have every faith that Cook can bring in the players he needs and take the club forwards. Cook will be having another Q&A session for the fans, I wonder if his critics are planningt heir excuses not to attend already...

Southport 3 Crawley Town 1

After telling everyone at work I was off to watch Southport play Canvey Island it was a nice surprise to see us play Crawley Town today. As the teams came out I felt a surge of optimism not often felt on the terraces of Haig Ave. that optimism was obviously shared by the team as they had the perfect start and a very nice goal from Alex Smith after 4 minutes. Southport passed well and had more skill with the ball than any Southport side for quite a while. Southport again beat the defence and Dino scored his first goal. The first half saw great performances from Dino, Hoolickin, Blakeman, Smith and Clancy. For the first time Lane was not the best player! Dino and Hoolickan will both be upset they didnt get more goals. Dino made it three with a penalty after some debate and appeals to the bench over who got to take it.
The second half wasn't quite as good, Crawley scored a goal met by silence and Southport played too deep backing off rather than challenging. Although Southport had some very good chances they failed to score. Crawley seemed to have hundreds of corners and Scully was able to do what he liked on the leftwing. He would be a brilliant signing for any team.
It all ended after a tense last 15 minutes 3-1.
MOTM Hoolickin.

Southport 2 Gravesend & Northfleet 2

The rain stopped just in time for kick off, moving the kickoff to 3pm made sense after all. The first half was pretty terrible despite having all the goals. The first two goals came from well taken free kicks in an otherwise dire game. The next two came from some good football before half time. Booth worked hard and put the cross in for Powell to score.
Cook did plenty of shouting during the first half and no doubt did plenty during half time to get his team fired up. Powell was maybe too fired up and got himself sent off early in the second half, leaving the ten men of Southport to hold out for 45 minutes. As it happened though the second half was a vast improvement on the first. Southport played some good attacking football and didnt look like they missed the eleventh man. Booth had a great second half and Hoolickin showed he has a decent left foot. Neither side managed to get the winning goal and a draw was a fair result. Tony Gray came on as a sub in the second half and looks promising, although we still need an experienced player up front to get the goals.

Southport 1 Rushden & Diamonds 2

The day started with some Guantanamo Bay style torture courtesy of the PA playing an endless version of You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive. Strikerless Southport played some good passing football in midfield but had nothing upfront. Southport had more shots than R&D until the deadlock was broken. The first goal came while Southport were frozen, rooted to the ground. The second from a free kick. Southport didnt look like they could get back into the game but when Baker was fouled in the box Southport got and scored a penalty.

Southport desperately need at least one striker.Midfield players cannot be relied upon to get all the goals or to play upfront in the strikers role. Jackson works hard but where are his goals?

Man of the Match: Chris Lane

Southport 0 Woking 0

The first game of the season. After all the preseason talk it was good to get back to some football. Southport played well, there was some good attacking football and the passing was an improvement on last season. Ryan Robinson was very good and made some saves that wouldn't be out of place on the Match of the Day highlights, but Ryan wasn't the only player making great saves. Chris Lane, who remains part-time, put in a truely professional performance. My man of the match, Chris made some important tackles and kept the score at 0-0 with some goal line clearances. Dino is clearly a midfield player these days but he played some good football. Baker made some good tackles, but often dallied on the ball. Baker is my tip for being the first yellow to see a red card. Robbie Booth came on in the second half and looked like the player we had been told about when he moved to us from Chester. He had pace and wasnt scared to get stuck in. It might take me a while before I can comment on the rest of the team but I did notice Smith looking good and Hoolickin improved after looking lacking in confidence .
Southports best chance of a goal was a penlty taken by Boyd which hit the post.
Leaving the ground with the score 0-0 I couldnt help but think of the striker who left recently, Steve Daly.
Over all a positive performance.

Seasons Eve

Twas the night before kick off... Today I bought the new home and away shirts. Very nice Nike shirts, as good as if not better than the England shirts. Well done to SFC for listening to the fans complaints about the rubbish kits. I am sure the team will appreciate running out in a new kit.
There have been a lot of chnages since the start of last season, the squad is almost completely different, the coaches and manager have changed, the attitude of the club has changed and SFC are now a fulltime proffesional club. Last season we went up only hoping to stay up, this time expectations and aspirations are higher. We still need players to come into the side but the club has successfully cleared out the part time players who couldnt commit and have brought in a squad that more than matched League sides in the preseason. the future is bright the future is yellow!

Steve Dickinson to leave

Southport's number 1 is leaving the club. It is sad to see a real Southport legend leave the club. I wish him all the best for his future career. Also gone is Steve Daly. Last seasons hero has gone to be with Terry fearns at Droylsden.

Southport v Carlisle United: Hawks and High Hopes

Team list for tonights game:

Steve Dickinson
Chris Lane
Kevin Houlihan
Michael Powell
Paul Martin
Mark Boyd
Carl Baker
Liam Blakeman
Tony Gray
Mark Jackson
Alex Smith
Francis Barry
Robbie Booth
Joe Fowler
Kevin Lee
Scott Stamps
Jordan Holmes
Steve Rowlands
and the gobby keeper from yesterday.

Southport lost the toss and had to play into the setting sun in the first half. In the first couple of minutes alone Dicko made a great save and Southport had a goal disallowed for off-side. Already it was a better match than yesterday. Steve Dickinson looked confident and assured in goal. It was great to see a Southport team pass the ball well, play positive football and have some good pace. Southport's hard work was rewarded with a penalty taken and scored by Mark Boyd and then to mark the new era of football at Haig Ave Southport scored two goals from set pieces, with Michael Powell from a corner and Tony Gray following a free kick. This was definately a new side.
The game was marred by the substitutions in the second half. The side lost shape and cohesiveness and fell apart. Carlisle were allowed back in and would have socred three in three minutes if they hadn't missed a penalty. With Dicko off the field Southport didnt look at all safe.
After a while Southport settled down and played better. Joe Fowler made a couple of good runs but both time shot straight at the keeper.
The end result was a fair one, Southport deserved a win. Everyone watching that will have high hopes for the new season (excpet maybe the away fans).

Southport v Oldham: The Heat and the Flies

The Southport team for tonight was:

John Bagnall Keeper
Shaun Foster Def.
Lee Roache Def.
Dan Bromilow Def.
Matty McGinn Def.
Carl Osman Mid
Tom Fields Mid
Joe Fowler Fwd
Paul Brown Mid.
Paul Hart Fwd
Rob Dutton Fwd
Michael Powell Def

Phil Palethorpe Keeper
Shaun Tierney Mid
Kevin Lee Fwd
Steve Williams
David Brooks

The first half saw all the action, amongst the heat and the flies the game kicked off. Oldham were clearly the better side and despite a lot of shouting from Bagnall Oldham were allowed to score 4 goals with easy style. Matty McGinn, one of the few to have played last season had the best performance, he put some good free kicks and crosses in and managed to hit the post on the half hour mark. Tierney and Osman showed some skill and Powell looked confident when he came on. Chris Lane was on the pitch at half time.
The second half was quieter. Shaun Foster came on (again) for McGinn and looked disturbingly like the love child of Daly and Pickford...
Oldham got another goal before the end and a hot air balloon floated across the dusk sky.
the best players were McGinn, Powell and Tierney. Cook will have to decide if they are up to Conference standard or have the potential to be. Fingers crossed tomorrow night is a bit more competitive!

For Oldham Chris Hall (hat-trick) and Paul Edwards looked the best, I would be happy if the team playing in blue was going to be starting for Southport on August 12th.

Chorley and Crewe

Southprot FC beat Chorley 4-0 and drew against a strong Crewe side 2-2. Although I didn't go to either match from the reports I have read it sounds like Paul Cook is heading in the right direction and will have a Conference standard side when the season starts. This being Southport some "supporters" are not happy, you would think we had lost both games and struggled to field a side. But they can be easily ignored even if they boo the team on the first day! There will always be those shouting abuse at the manager and players whatever the results are.

This is the start of a new era for Southport FC and one that looks increasingly positive!

The next games are midweek:

Jul 18 19.45 H Oldham Athletic
Jul 19 19.45 H Carlisle United

Hopefully if the traffic on the M6, M60 and M57 isnt too bad I will make it back from work to watch both of them. I am looking forward to see the new Southport FC in action.

Signings and leavings

PLAYERS STAYING
STEVE DICKINSON: Staying as a part-time player
LIAM BLAKEMAN: Signed fulltime contract
CARL BAKER: Signed fulltime contract
ROBBIE BOOTH: 2 month trial contract/ fulltime contract
MATTY McGINN: 2 month trial contract
MICHAEL POWELL: signed fulltime contract
GARY BRABIN: Sign fulltime contract under Watson

PLAYERS DITHERING
CHRIS LANE: Been on holiday in the USA
STEVE DALY: Offered fulltime contract, wanted by Droylsden.

PLAYERS OUT
EARL DAVIS: Rejected fulltime contract, Gone to Hyde Fc
JEROME FITZGERALD: gone to Fleetwood Town
STEVE PICKFORD: Gone to Hyde FC
DOMINIC MORLEY : Moved to Burscough
KEVIN LEADBETTER: Moved to Burscough
NEIL ROBINSON: Moved to Burscough
NEIL FITZHENRY: Moved to Burscough & Wigan as a pysio
JAMIE SPEARE: Gone to Barrow

PLAYERS IN:
Tony Gray (striker) from Burscough
Mark Boyd (midfielder) from Accrington Stanley
Paul Martin (defender)
Kevin Lee (defender)
Joe Fowler (midfielder)
James Olsen left winger
Mark Jackson (striker)
Francis Barry (striker)
Dino Maamria (striker)

Coaching Staff In
John Durnin
Mike Marsh