Chawton Athletic v Royal Oak Match Report

The task of rounding up a team proved harder than expected as we only had 11 right up until the time we were due to meet up at the train station.

Liam, fresh from his trip to Sunderland added a twelfth name to the Team Sheet and we were off to face the Royak Oak at Bordon Rec.

Chawton had played superbly well in the second half of their previous meeting with the Royal Oak, keeping a clean sheet and holding Oak to 3-0, and more of the same was in the forefront of the Athletic players as we made the short trip over to Bordon.

That confidence was soon shatter as late arrivals meant that Athletic started the game with just ten men, and by the time Rich E and Ben had arrived the damage was already done with Oak racing into an early 3-0 lead. Jimmer had taken Matt's place in goal, the original idea was to have Matt start from the bench and make an appearance late in the second half, but the shortage meant he was pushed into the action from the start.

Oak are a physical side and Athletic never really came to terms with that, the early exchanges saw Athletic bossed from the ball sometimes illegally but with far too much regularity to gain a foothold on the game. Oak's fluent and organised football had the Athletic midfield stretched even after Rich had joined the fray. Athletic were at sixes and sevens as wave after wave of Oak attack cut mercilessly through a labouring Athletic side. Matt and Liam tried in vain to start the closing from the front, but Matt's fitness which had originally been the reason from his Goal keeping position and also why he was due to start on the bench, really offered the Athletic midfield scant protection.

Athletic occasionally broke away but lack of numbers and or the odd nudge off the ball by the robust Oak midfield meant the attacks broke back down.

Oak continued to stride confidently forwards and it was mostly poor finishing and poor fortune that saw Oak go in at half time 4-0 up, having hit the post twice and the crossbar once.

It did not take long for Oak to extend their lead in the second half, again swift pass and move football saw the Athletic side helpless.

Matt went off and allowed Ben to take up an unfamiliar role on the left hand side of the midfield, and despite Athletic's best efforts and some great saves from Jimmer, the goals kept going in.

The referee, who coincidentally was the secretary of the Royal Oak lol, had a decent game, was quick to jump on any ill discipline and swearing, but again could have done more to protect the Athletic side in the tackle, who were really struggling to gain a grip in midfield.

Athletic were certain they had scored when John chased a back pass down and did well to block the Oak Keepers kick, the ball ricocheted over the keeper and more than likely over the line before being cleared the referee was not in a position to see clearly and the linesman signalled that ball had not crossed the line.

A shame and would probably have been fair as Athletic at least kept trying right to the end of the 55 minute second half.

So the game ended 10-0 and probably could and should have been a lot more. Matt will resume his keeping duties for the next fixture with Jimmer returning to the field.

Chawton Athletic V Royal Oak - 14th Dec MATCH POSTPONED

The scheduled cup fixture between Chawton and the Royal Oak succumbed to the inclement weather Saturday afternoon. Bohunt were unhappy to allow us to use their pitch after so much rain and despite the best efforts of the Royal Oak, we were unable to locate another pitch, again due to the waterlogged nature of the ground.

We have mooted the 28th December as the proposed date to play this fixture, I will be in touch with all the players a little closer to the date, in the meantime I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas.

Chawton Athletic V Royal Oak - 14th Dec update

Ok so far I have 6 players who have confirmed their availabilities for this sunday's vital cup game against the Royal Oak, 3-0 conquerers of a determined Athletic team earlier on in the season.

The Club has recently been fined £25 for failing to fulfil a fixture against The Shots, on November 2nd and so I am extremely eager that we manage to gather enough of the squad to ensure that we are able to at least play the game rather than just forfeit the opportunity to progress to the next round of the cup.

I will continue to chase players throughout Friday, but will have to contact the Royal Oak should the numbers not start to improve.

Chawton Athletic v Wey Valley Sunday Match Report

Chawton managed to scramble together 12 players for this division 1 game against Wey Valley Sunday, a side who had put 21 goals past Athletic in their two meetings so far this season.

The "Laundry Pitch" was basically frozen solid and so after some lengthy discussions between both Captains and the "referee" we decided to go ahead with the game, but review that decision after 20 minutes.

Chawton were looking to build on two improved performance over recent weeks, and started the game brightly, keep Wey Valley at Bay. Matt having won the toss decided to force Valley to kick toward to the more frozen end with a view that their silky football should have been harder for them to play.

After the 20 minute mark had passed the "referee" had chatted to both captains and all agreed that the game should continue, the decision to defend the totally frozen solid end sadly backfired as possibly an even tamer shot than that which evaded Matt's grasp last week took a huge bobble from the frozen surface and skipped up over the prone keeper and into the net.

Athletic kept up the pace and were doing well against a well organized Valley side. Valley added a fortunate second as a hopeful ball into the box again bounced awkwardly on the solid surface, and caught Bob on the chest and upper arm; the "referee" surprisingly had no hesitation to answer the Valley appeals in the positive and award the second dubious penalty against Athletic in two weeks. Matt was sent the wrong way and Valley had doubled their lead.

Athletic still battled away without creating many chances themselves, and were finding some success down the Valley left hand side. Athletic forced a few corners but were still unable to find a way through.

Valley added a third as a back pass left Matt with little option than to hack clear left footed ahead of the on-rushing Valley striker. Again the pitch played it's part as a bobble took it past the Keeper who was then pushed to the ground, the "referee" seeing nothing wrong with the challenge and the Valley striker rolled the ball past a retreating defender.

Chawton's heads were starting to drop a little and Valley added a forth before half time as a flick on at the near post from a long throw saw Matt manage to get his hands to it, only for it to drop to an un-marked Valley striker who volleyed home.

The fight had left Chawton completely as they kicked off for the second half and Valley soon added to their tally. Time after time the Chawton defence were shifted around by the swift play of Valley.

The "referee" intervened once again as he awarded Valley yet another penalty, this time Bob's closing down of the striker led to the Valley Man slipping and bringing Bob down with him. The booking the Chawton man received for the challenge rubbed salt in to what was an already very sore wound. Another highly dubious decision. Valley's Keeper took the Penalty, sliding a slow roller straight down the middle as Matt picked a direction to dive in.

The "referee" continued to influence the game as decision after decision went against Athletic and even several extremely shocking outbursts of appalling language did not stir him to take action against Valley. Valley took control of the game as tackles and niggly fouls in Athletic's favour were let go, and soon Valley had racked up 9 goals as Athletic tried to push on to get anything from the game.

The "referee's" day improved marginally as he generously awarded Athletic a penalty, to little too late if he felt he would try to balance the decisions from the other 80 minutes, Rich E calmly slotting home. The "referee" again choosing to ignore the astonishing language screamed directly at him by the Valley keeper, just incredulous.

Martin took over in goal allowing Matt to enter the fray up front. Athletic started to look dangerous on the counter attack and were exceptionally unfortunate not to as a through ball from Matt released a seemingly well-onside Liam who stroked home. Liam's questioning of the "referee's" decision lead to him going into the book, another quite astonishing decision considering the Valley keeper's behaviour regarding the penalty.

The "referee" finally called time on another disappointing 90 minutes for Athletic and you would have to question, on the evidence of the game, the decisions and the amount of time the "referee" spent fraternizing with the Valley players, whether the £30 fee was being topped up by the opposition. Matt has marked the "referee" as 4 out of 10 and will be sending an official letter of complaint to the league, 3 Games by that "referee" 3 shocking performances by him, surely it is no coincidence that he turns these efforts in against us!!

Athletic have another cup game next week, against the Royal Oak at Bohunt School. Here's hoping that the league see fit to appoint someone with a modicum of professionalism who is able to referee the game fairly.

Fixture Sunday 7th December

Chawton Athletic head into the Christmas break with a tough trip to Wey Valley Sunday, the side that have already put 21 goals past them in their two previous meetings.

Chawton hope that player numbers will be significantly up on last week when they were forced to field just 10 men against CSL Hartley Wintney, but will be bouyed by their performance having created as many if not more chances than their opponents in the 7-1 defeat.

Matt hopefully will have his catching gloves on this week which should help too.

Meet for the game is as always 9:15am sharp at Alton Station for those not going direct, please let me know if you decide to go direct to save us waiting at the station for anyone.

Chawton Athletic v CSL Hartley Wintney

Another wet and wild day greeted the 10 Chawton players as they met at Alton Station to return to the venue of their biggest league defeat in the club's short history.

As is typical from week to week, there should actually been 15 players but illness and late unavailability meant that this was always going to be an uphill task for Athletic.

The game started ominously with CSL passing the ball around confidently, Athletic's defence and midfield working hard to try and close down the spaces available.

Athletic's two banks of four with Shaun holding the line were looking dangerous on the attack, as the CSL defence were holding a very high line indeed. A clever through ball saw Liam race clear and round the keeper before being brought down, the Linesman stating perhaps dubiously that the offence took place outside the box and the referee obviously caught by the earliness of the incident chose to not even caution the keeper, who was a lucky man to stay on the field. How much more of a goalscoring opportunity do you want; having rounded the keeper with no defenders giving chase. Liam's free kick was cleared and CSL started to take control.

CSL took an early lead when the normally reliable Matt let a powder puff of a shot slip through his newly gloved hands, he immediately dispatched Pat off to the changing room to retrieve his old gloves. The next attack saw Matt caught by a swerving cross shot, still only half way through the process of putting his gloves back, a good save followed by an almighty scramble saw the ball cleared and the game stopped momentarily to allow the keeper to finish donning his mitts.

CSL who were also struggling with only 11 players and with an outfielder in goal, looked vulnerable at the back and time and time again Craig and then Shane played superb balls through for Shaun, who unfortunately could not find a finish to match.

Matt's game seemed slightly off as another shot made it's way through his hands, a lot more powerful than the first but still one he should have dealt with. Craig's shot straight from the kick off looked to have caught the CSL keeper way off of his line but he managed to scramble back just in time.

Chawton had eased into the game and we giving as much as they got, chance after chance fell to Shaun on the break but it was not to be his day, though he worked tirelessly.

CSL were awarded a soft penalty for handball and Matt was sent the wrong way to make the scoreline perhaps slightly more flattering than the performance of both sides warranted. Still Athletic plugged away, Craig spreading the play wide well to Liam and Pat and Ben Lo, playing out of position at left back linked well up the left hand side. Ultimately it was the extra man that started to tell as the half wore on and CSL added two more before the very cold looking young referee blew the half time whistle.

Athletic were buoyed as they trudged from the park, to see the arrival of Ben Le, who had managed to make it over. He got changed and joined the fray. Athletic started the second half in a similar vein, looking dangerous on the attack but again lacked a touch of composure when looking for a finish.

Sadly Athletic's parity in numbers last just ten minutes into the second half. Patrick having brilliantly turned away from his man and set off on a run was mercilessly scythed down by an awful and unacceptably late challenge, I mean it was so late Pat was just getting into his car to leave for god's sake!!. It prompted Skipper Matt to venture from his goal to see what action the referee was going to take, and of course it was none, CSL could easily have been down to 9 men by this stage and you probably would not have found too many in their team to argue against that. Patrick, already nursing a weak left ankle, was forced from the pitch, a real blow for Athletic who were causing problems for CSL.

Another Athletic break saw the CSL stand in keeper turn a goal bound shot aside for a corner and Ben's floated ball evaded Martin but found Liam behind him, who nodded home. The confidence was up and despite CSL looking dangerous, they made little of their chances and Matt, whose handling had improved immeasurably from the first half looked comfortable plucking crosses out.

Again the chances came Chawton's way on the break and determined running saw Liam's chip just evade Shaun at the far post.

CSL added two late on, another blooper for Matt I'm afraid as his attempted palm over the crossbar saw the ball nestle in the corner and late on curled left foot shot from the guy who cut down Pat found the inside of the post.

Blog Man of the Match was Shaun N, I know he felt down as he was unable to convert one or more of the chances that came his way, but he worked tirelessly for the team and with a bit of luck the result could have been very different indeed.

Chawton Athletic v Blue Bell

13 hardy souls braved the coldest wettest Sunday of the season so far as Chawton made the short trip to the Blue Bell ground at Liss.

Chawton lined up in familiar order with Matt in goal, James, Jimmer, Robbie and Martin across the back, Ben, Bob, Rich E and Ben L taking the midfield positions and Sean and Liam up front with George and Simon attempting to keep warm on the bench.

Chawton started very brightly indeed and deservedly took the lead as a long clearance from Matt released Liam who burst on to the through-ball before striking his short early past the Blue Bell keeper.

The enthusiam of the Athletic midfield kep the Bell honest and restricted them to long shots which were no trouble for Matt. Both Ben's stretched the Bell full backs, Ben L especially hareing off after another accurate long throw from Matt.

Bell edged back into the game and it was within that period that they scored the equaliser, a long shot evaded the flying Matt and came back off of the crossbar and before he was able to regain his feet the Bell striker nodded home.

Half time came as the rain and wind whipped up Athletic spurred on by their excellent performance in the first half approached the second half full of belief.

That belief was short lived as an excellently curled ball set the Bell striker through and caught Matt half coming to meet it and had the simplest of tasks to tuck the ball past him.

Chawton kept plugging away and were unlucky not to level as Liam cut inside and fired an excellent shot which the Bell keeper athletically tipped onto the post and away for a corner. The game remained an even match up as attacks were exchanged back and forth. Chawton always looking dangerous on the break but the heaviness of the pitch and tiring legs meant the final ball was perhaps lacking some accuracy. Matt had already pushed Jimmer forward and reverted to a 3 at the back to try to regain parity and George had replaced the excellent James at left back.

And so to the final five minutes, Chawton pushed on looking for that all important equaliser when Bell scored their third against the run of play. A sweeping move up the right hand side saw the ball squared across the goal mouth for a tap in. Athetlic kept playing and Liam was unlucky as he burst through one on one with the keeper to beat, his legs coming to Bell's rescue.

Bell added to further goals both from corners and both exceptionally unfortunate as aerial challenges saw headers loop in the same corner two minutes apart with Matt stranded.

That last five minutes were harsh on a Chawton side that kept plugging away and made the result look more comfortable than it really was. Still encouraging for the boys.

Blog Man of the Match goes this week to Bob, who from my vantage point hurtled round the pitch the whole game, a really excellent effort, well done Bob really brilliant commitment.

Fixtures show Chawton entertaining Hartley Wintney on Sunday 30th Matt will be in touch through the week should we find a pitch to play on.

P.S. It really is imperative that everyone brings money along to pay for subs, £5 for those who play a whole game and £2.50 for subs. There is plenty of expense that we need the money for; today's outlay was £65 and several of us had to pay up to £15 this week to ensure that we could pay for the pitch and for the referee.

Matt has the kit to wash again, and having paid extra as well, he will not be paying subs for a while. It will reach a point where those players who still owe outstanding monies will not be considered for selection!! So please for the sake of keeping the team going lets all sort our subs.

The Shots v Chawton Athletic - Match Report

Chawton managed 14 players for this Division One fixture against the Shots at Farnham Park. With Rich P' unavailability the centre back roles were taken by Jimmer and new Robbie, while old Shaun joined Liam up front and Craig replaced an ill Rich E in the centre of the midfield.

Matt returned in goal, reversing the shortest retirement in history, though he still has a bit of bone loose in his knee it appears to have floated off to somewhere inside that is not causing the problems of a couple of weeks ago.

Old Shaun took the Captains armband, and Chawton kicked off facing the car park.

Previous results had suggested that The Shots and Chawton were likely to provide a keen and even test for each other and so it proved.

Both sides started well in patches on a pitch that was very heavy through the middle, the first early chance falling to The Shots, a powerfully struck shot that took a slight deflection that Matt did well to hang on to after a slight parry.

Chawton grew into the game and were creating problems of their own a couple of shots that were blocked or went wide, and a couple of slightly harsh offside decisions that stopped Liam and Shaun in their tracks.

The new back four of Paul, Jimmer, Robbie and Si were coping well, though a sliced clearance from Paul saw Matt stranded only to see the ball bounce back off of the post and back into the of the grateful keeper.

Chawton were actually on top when The Shots took the lead, another powerfully struck shot which Jimmer had done well to close down; took a flick of the Centre Back's shin pad and deflected past a helpless Matt at his near post.
Chawton got back into the game almost immediately as Craig started to show his class, skipping round players before cutting inside and firing a powerfully struck left foot shot past the Shots Keeper. The rest of the half ebbed and flowed and despite Chawton's lack of clear cut chances in comparison to the Shots two or three guilt edged opportunities that were dealt with by Matt well, the match hung in the balance. Young Shaun picked up an injury and was replaced by George.

1-1 at half time probably a fair reflection of the first 45 minutes.

The second half saw the helpful breeze at the Chawton Player's backs and immediately started to look a bigger threat but again against the run of play The Shots took the lead, this time a sliced cross-shot caught Matt edging out to collect the cross, and despite the slow speed of the shot, the keeper could only help the ball into the net again at his near post.

The lead again did not last long at all, a superbly taken 30 yarder from Craig found The Shots keeper in no man's land, the ball sailing over his head and into the net; to make it 2-2.

Chawton had drawn The Shots defence up to nearing the half way line and suddenly Matt's kick's partnered with excellent flick headers suddenly made Chawton look dangerous as firstly Craig and then Liam went close after latching onto through balls.

The Shots still showed they were still well in the game and it took an excellent and disciplined defensive display to keep them at bay.

Chawton deservedly took the lead when The Shots centre back handled a difficult bouncing ball in the box, the Referee consulted with their linesman who confirmed the offence had taken place inside the box and Liam stepped up to slot home the resulting penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way.

Chawton were in the ascendancy and it seemed only a matter of time before they took another opportunity, but again The Shots dug deep and countered and equalized after a well flighted corner that prevented Matt coming for the cross was met by a solid header, 3-3.

Chawton never looked panicked, and continued to pass the ball well, and George did well down the left hand side to square for Old Shaun to strike on goal, his original effort being excellently blocked by the desperate lunge by the defender. Shaun chased the rebound, reached it and turned and clipped a chipped ball to the back post where the ball found the back of the net via the inside of the post, 4-3 to Chawton.

The nail was finally hammered into The Shots coffin when Craig fund himself through on goal with just the keeper to beat, he made no mistake in slotting home, completing his hat trick and sealing Chawton's first league win. 5-3.

Blog man of the match was clearly Craig, who controlled the game superbly from midfield and who's hattrick deservedly helped Chawton to a result which they thoroughly deserved.

Sunday 16th November - Away to The Shots

Morning all,

Seemingly we have a few key players returning this week to balance Pat and Rich P who are unavailable.

9:15am sharp meet at Alton Train Stattion for the short trip to Farnham Park, by the Par 3 golf course and Farnham Cricket ground at the top of Castle Street Farnham for those who are travelling straight to the ground.

Pat has kindly washed the kit so that's a start, the boys will be looking for a better performance and result after last weeks disappointment.

So far I am waiting on Ben and Robbie to respond to availability requests, and depending on how we look numbers wise, with no recurrence of the current knee problem Matt I will probably return in goal possibly, but no promises.

Wey Valley Sunday v Chawton Athletic

Chawton slipped back into some old habits both on and off the pitch for this Division 1 cup match.

The writing was probably on the wall when the promised 15 players evaporated into 12 by the time we reached the changing rooms at Lindford. Our journey to the ground was not helped by playing on a pitch a ten minute walk away but with no real idea where we were going and who had arrived already.

Matt took over the Management duties after his recent retirement through injury and after finally arriving at the ground he cobbled together a very makeshift side and who then took the pitch after the referee had gathered the two sides together for a period of remembrance for Armistice Day.

Chawton lined up in a familiar 4-4-2 formation, Rich E being given the armband by Gaffer Matt. and his assistant Archie. Chawton started brightly and were more than a match for the mis-firing Wey Valley (a side who had easily beaten Chawton 8-1 in a league match earlier in the season), Chawton fought for the ball bravely and we seeing enough possession to feel content with life.

Wey Valley took the lead probably as Chawton began to look their most settled, unfortunately details of the goals are almost impossible to recall this game, for which I apologise. The goal really sucked the life out of the Chawton hearts and legs, Wey Valley took control of the game and never looked back.

Possession was being given away too easily and the muddy ground drained the energy and fight from Chawton as Wey Valley piled on the pressure. John the keeper made several excellent saves but the fight was not there this week and Chawton succumbed to goal after goal as Wey Valley settled into a driving seat that they never looked likely to relinquish.

Chawton did had several good moments, great interplay and perhaps over-confidence by Wey Valley allowed Shaun and Patrick to fire goal wards only to see a generally bored Valley keeper save well.

By mid-day through the first half, the heads had dropped and now it was a matter of how many for Valley as seemingly each attack bought an effort on goal, some poor finishing and hasty shooting helped Chawton out.

The game as a whole was going against Chawton, as 50/50 tackles, decisions by the ref and the bounce of the ball all seemed to go against them, rounded off by a soft penalty award against Shaun near the end of the first half.

A pretty dismal performance on a whole.

George made way for Simon at half-time, Gaffer Matt obviously feeling the disappointment of retirement even more keenly than expected fired a verbal volley at the boys, asking them for a little more composure on the ball and some more effort.

Sadly the damage was done and this was one result that Chawton were never going to get anything from, not even a consolation goal.

The second half continued in the same vein as the first, though Chawton did manage to pressurise the Valley back four a little more in places. Refereeing decisions still seemed to be going the way of Valley as a more and more disappointed Gaffer Matt vented his frustration at the inept official, as foul after foul, some of them fairly nasty looking challenges were let go, whilst he penalised Chawton for lesser infringements of the rules. One outburst which followed a clear last man professional foul on a bursting clear Shaun and 15 seconds later led to another Valley goal bought the official to the sideline to have a chat with Gaffer Matt, Matt ensured the official knew he was not having a very good game and the subsequent mark of 6 on the results card bore that out.

Officials have a duty to referee the game for both sides not just for the side that plays the best football and that was something he clearly seemed unable to do, which was a shame, even a rugby tackle in the first half only just drew a foul for the Chawton man.

And so the game lumbered on, not only were Chawton being outplayed now, every conceivable piece of luck was going against them including an unfortunate own goal as a cross caught Paul on his standing foot and squeezed into the corner past a desperate John. A couple of deflections including one off of a man stood 5 yards offside next to John in goal and another that was "kept in play" when the ball had crossed the by-line by some distance.

But at the end of the day Chawton did not deserve anything from the game, and only having 12 players really limits their options.

Blog Man of the match was almost impossible to choose from but I feel for his first start on an exceptionally difficult day it should go to John the goalkeeper.

Final score Wey Valley Sunday 13 - Chawton Athletic 0

This Sunday away to the Shots - Farnham Park - 9:15 meet at the train station. Gaffer Matt will be calling players Wednesday evening, please ensure that if you make yourself available that you turn up on time at the station. If you subsequently become unavailable please let Matt know on 07971 178147 as soon as you know. We need committment from everyone to make this club succeed!

Also please all take the opportunity to review the club charter again.

Sunday 9th November - Away to Wey Valley

Sunday 9th November sees Chawton Athletic return to cup action, this time in the Division 1 Cup. Fixture to be played at Lindford, 10:30 kick off.

Chawton head into this welcome distraction from the perils of league football; missing some key players, well there's a surprise!! Martin iappears likely to be missing due to a rib injury and of course Matt's knee injury has forced him to hang up his exceptionally cheap boots and Keeper's gloves. So if anyone knows of a goalkeeper then get him along to Tuesday nights.

However, Matt now joins the ranks of ex-pro turned coach as he will be shouting and hoppping up and down on the touch line from now on having taken on some of the administrative and Managerial duties from Seth.

George is liaising with Bob re the new kit and hopefully it wont be long until this is sorted.

Sunday November 2nd 2008

Unsure of the reason but Seth advises that Chawton have no fixture this weekend.

Unusual Football Injuries

Sunday December 5th 2004. Playing in the Swiss league, Servette midfielder Paulo Diogo scored against Schaffhausen, then jumped into the crowd to celebrate. On the way, he managed to catch his wedding ring on a fence and tore off the top half of his finger. He was booked for excessive celebration.

Arsenal vs Chelsea, Saturday 6th May 200. After scoring Arsenal's (and his) second (and winning) goal, Thierry Henry went to celebrate in the corner of the pitch and required treatment after hitting himself in the face with the corner flag (see report). ArseWeb reader Joel points out that Marco Tardelli (Italy) did a similar thing in the World Cup final in Spain, 1982.

New Scientist of 5th August 1999 reported on research into a condition called SARA (sexually acquired reactive arthritis) in sportsmen, particularly footballers. It seems that footballers have so much sex that they're particularly susceptible to the condition, which in turn makes them more susceptible to eg knee injuries. See this newsreel item for more.

Perry Groves was on the bench for an Arsenal match (before he'd played for us). We went one-nil up and he jumped up to celebrate only to hit his head on the roof of the dug-out! He knocked himself out and needed treatment from physio Gary Lewin.

Sometime in the 70s, Norwegian International defender Svein Grondalen had to withdraw from an International after an accident which happened while he was out jogging. He collided with a moose.

David Seaman once broke a bone reaching for his TV remote
Another time, when already out with an injured knee, Seaman went carp fishing and put his shoulder out while reeling in a 26 pounder.

Carlo Cudicini is also said to have damaged a knee reaching for a remote control. Could be that one or both (see David Seaman in the entry before last) is urban legend? Or that there's something about goalkeepers that makes them prone to this injury?

In 1970 the career of Chic Brodie (Brentford keeper) was ended by injury following a mid-match collision with a dog that had invaded the pitch.

In 1975 Man United keeper Alex Stepney screamed so hard at his team-mates that he broke his jaw.

Brazilian star Ramalho was in bed for three days after swallowing a suppository intended to treat a dental infection

Milan Rapaic once missed the start of Hajduk Split's season after sticking his boarding-pass in his eye at the airport.

Not so funny perhaps, but where else are we going to tell you about it?..... Indonesian star Mistar, 25, was tragically killed by a herd of pigs that invaded his team's training pitch before a Cup fixture in 1995.

in 1999 Portsmouth's Johnny "Lager" Durnin, playing a round of golf with Alan McLoughlin, crashed his buggy into a fairway hollow because he was admiring the view rather than watching the ground in front, and dislocated his elbow putting him out for 6 weeks.

In 1993 keeper Dave Beasant was kept out by a foot injury caused by a falling jar of salad cream. Yes, he fumbled it, and because his hands were full he stuck out a foot to stop it hitting the floor!

Barnsley's Darren Barnard slipped in a puddle of his new puppy's pee on the kitchen floor. The resulting knee ligament damage kept him out of action for five months.

Wolves striker Robbie Keane ruptured his knee cartilage in 1998 after stretching to pick up his TV remote control (cf Seaman & Cudicini, above).

Steve Morrow broke his collarbone after falling off Tony Adams while celebrating the 1993 League Cup final win.

David Batty's return from an Achilles tendon injury was put back when he was run over by his toddler on a tricycle.

Allan Nielsen of Spurs missed several matches after his daughter poked him in the eye
Republic of Ireland star Alan McLoughlin, John Durnin's golf-partner (see above), ruptured his right thumb picking up daughter Megan.

Alan Wright, Villa's little full-back, needed treatment for a knee strain caused by stretching to reach the accelerator in his new Ferrari. 'It gave me grief,' said Wright, who swapped the car for a Rover 416.

Arsenal legend Charlie George never fully recovered from cutting off his big toe with a lawnmower.

Lee Hodges of Barnet slipped on a bar of soap in the shower, wrenching his groin

Alan Mullery missed England's 1964 tour of South America after putting his back out while brushing his teeth.

Reserve Liverpool keeper Stensgaard once injured himself in an incident with an ironing board. We don't know if he was ironing at the time.

Rio Ferdinand of Leeds damaged his knee in January 2001, while relaxing in front of the telly with his feet up on a coffee table. He had to go for scans on a tendon.

Former Arsenal keeper Richard Wright, was warming up in the goalmouth in preparation for an FA Cup tie against Chelsea for his next club Everton, when he twisted his ankle. He did it landing on a wooden sign instructing people not to practise there ((see newsreel)/

From Sheila Dodds in the US. This is not a funny one! "In 1999, My sophomore son, who was a star tail-back got hit and lost his left kidney. There were no bruises on his body at all. Had they not done a cat scan, he would have died. He walked off the field, and laid down. His kidney was severed in half, and was bleeding internally. Doctors were amazed he lived. His story has been brought up numerous times to the board of doctors in the hospital, and they also watched the play of how he was hit. Unfortunately, he can never play football, soccer, or wrestle again".

Spain (and Valencia) keeper Santiago Canizares was ruled out of the 2002 World Cup finals after a bottle of aftershave dropped on his foot (by himself, we assume) caused cuts and serious tendon damage.

David Beckham needed stitches above his left eye following a dressing room incident after Arsenal's 2-0 FA Cup win at Old Trafford on 15th Feb 2003. The injury was caused by his manager Sir Alex Ferguson kicking a football boot at him.

Crystal Palace keeper Alex Kolinko was hit around the head by his boss Trevor Francis in October 2002. Kolinko was on the bench, and Francis took offence when he laughed at their conceding a goal. The FA fined Francis 1000 pounds over the incident.

In 1996, Grimsby manager Brian Laws broke midfielder Ivan Bonetti's cheekbone after the Italian threw food at him in a dressing-room row. Laws escaped punishment, but they both were forced to make public apologies.

Shaun Goater injured a foot while playing for Man City against Birmingham in the autumn for 2003. The injury was sustained when he kicked an advertising hoarding in celebration of a goal by Nic Anelka. Goater had to be substituted.

Also in 2003, Villa striker Darius Vassell injured himself while attempting DIY surgery on his own foot. He had a blood blister under the toe-nail on his big toe and was using a power drill to drill through the nail and drain the wound. Drilling to drain such blisters is not an uncommon procedure, but normally it is conducted by a qualified person under sterile conditions. Vassell made it worse, picked up an infection, and had to have half the nail removed.

Stalybridge Celtic keeper Mark Statham missed a game in 1999 after trapping his head in a car door. We presume that his absence was caused by a resulting injury (rather than that he was still stuck in the car at kick-off) but we don't know what the injury was.

Halifax defender Dave Robinson put his shoulder out falling off a kid's slide

Royal Oak v Chawton Athletic - Match Report

A grey, wet October morning met the Chawton squad as they gathered at Alton Train station for the short journey back to Bohunt School, the site of their famous victory in the cup the previous weekend.

Si unfortunately was unable to participate due to an injured back, but the squad was bolstered by the return of Bob and Lee making the squad actually number 15 in total.

Royal Oak, though looking a well organised outfit, forgot to mention the change of venue for the match so after waiting around for the opposition to arrive we finally established that we needed to go back to the REME pitch in Bordon.

Arriving obviously later than originally planned and with no changing rooms and it raining, it was not the best of starts for the Athletic boys.

Again the league were unable to provide a referee, the third time in 5 games, and again a random man provided by the home team filled the role exceptionally.

Oak started the game well, their neat; passing triangles were shifting the Athletic midfield around but opportunities were few and far between as both sides battled hard in the middle of the park.

The first moment of danger came as a thunderous right foot shot left Matt a spectator, only to watch as the ball cannoned back off of the bar. A lucky escape for Chawton who had yet to get a grip on the game. The ball was then cleared from danger.

Back came Oak, forcing corner after corner all dealt with comfortably by Matt in the Chawton goal. The back line of Old Shaun, Paul, Rich P and Martin, were inspired all doing brilliantly well to block, harry, close down and scramble clear on more than occasion each.

Oak then struck on the 20 minute mark, a speculative long shot through the rutted and muddy puddle strewn goalmouth saw the harmless shot bounce up and catch Matt on the upper arms, before falling into the path of the on-rushing striker, who slotted the ball home passed a helpless and disappointed Matt.

Chawton were edging back into the game, but Oak always looked dangerous in possession and Matt did well to push dangerous shots, one round the post and three over the bar. Despite the attention given to Matt by the striker, he still managed to come and claim most of the corners, snuffing out the danger.

Eventually Oak found a way past the Chawton defence to score the second, a deeper corner prevented Matt for coming to collect and the resultant scramble saw Matt slip and only palm the ball back to the penalty spot, it was forced goal wards where the striker was able to cutely finish.

The third came very quickly after and it started to look like it could become a rout, the right winger's mazy run, ended with a neat turn inside before firing passed a stranded Matt high into the far corner.

Chawton's heads were not to drop though as they continued to try and get the ball down and play the kind of football that saw them to victory in the previous fixture, despite Bob's return in the middle of the park they were just unable to put together the precise passing moves of the previous week, the final ball letting them down at the last.

An Oak corner sparked the best and most dangerous Athletic move of the half as Matt collected yet another corner inches from the head of a defender before launching an overarm throw into the Oak half, behind the full-back and into the path of young Shaun who had made an excellent and intelligent run. Sadly as he forged his was into the box, the move broke down and the ball cleared, but it proved that Chawton could still have a say in the outcome of this football match.

Half time saw a change of personnel with Seth and George being replaced by Lee and Rich E, sadly Lee's involvement was not to last long as an injured hamstring curtailed his involvement, after 15 minutes of the second half. It was enough time for the attacking elements in the Athletic side to show they were still up for the fight, Bob, Lee, young Shaun, Liam, Ben and Rich E, were finding more space in which to get the ball down and play.

Oak still pressed forwards but apart from corners their danger was restricted to very wayward shooting from distance, much to the relief of an untroubled Matt.

Chawton's best move came as Liam was set free of a very high and square Oak back four, he raced clear before superbly touching the ball one side of the keeper, running the other side and collecting before steering the ball toward the open goal, only for the full back to brilliantly block on the line, the block fell to Bob who could only steer his shot at the keeper, an excellent opportunity and one that lifted the Chawton heads even further.

Chawton kept plugging away and although mostly ineffective going forwards, the pressure on the Oak back four was increasing. Liam forcing the centre back to lob his own keeper and watch agonisingly as the ball slipped past the wrong side of the post for a corner. The resultant set piece saw Martin unluckily head over the bar.

Things turned a little ugly as the Oak number 11, who had left his foot, elbow and shoulder in for the majority of the game, finally got a talking too for a very high and very late challenge on Bob. The Chawton man very lucky to come away from the challenge with just a hole on his sock. The melee or pushing, shoving and finger pointing was handled fairly well by the make-shift ref, but many felt the punishment of just a talking too was perhaps a little lenient on this occasion. Especially as it was not the first time the official had spoken to the Oak man.

Chawton kept pressing and Oak kept shooting, waywardly, with Matt reduced to the occasional comfortable save and to retrieving the ball from the other side of the road.

And so the final whistle went in the rain, Royal Oak 3 - Chawton Athletic 0. A fair result and one that Chawton can be proud of; having drawn the second half 0-0.

Blog man of the match goes to Martin at Centre Back, he headed, intercepted and blocked shots and crosses all day, and alongside Rich P who also had a solid game, is starting to form an excellent partnership. His important contribution in yesterday's game ensured that the scoreline remained respectable, but special mention goes to old Shaun and Paul at full back who kept plugging away and to Liam who never stopped running from first minute to last.

On a sadder note, it now seems fairly apparent that Matt has re-injured his troublesome knee during Sunday's game. If the injury is the same as those previous injuries, which is almost certain, it will likely curtail his season as surgery will be required again. A real blow for the keeper, who despite having shipped 29 goals in 5 games; has been in great form so far this season. The Dr's appointment is this Thursday morning where he is likely to be referred back to the knee specialist at Basingstoke and hopefully join the waiting list to be operated on.

Royal Exchange 1 - Chawton Athletic 2 Match Report

Chawton Athletic entered into this cup tie; after an enforced two week break; on high spirits and raring to put up a bit more of a battle than in previous fixtures.

They were immediately dealt a blow when Bob and Lee both had to pull out, so Chawton's 14 on paper had dissolved to 12.

Setting up in familiar 4-4-2 formation, Matt in goal, Rich and Shaun at centre back, Martin and Liam at full back, Seth and Rich E in the middle of midfield, Ben right midfield, young Shaun left midfield, with George and Si leading the line up front.

After many discussions on tactics but lacking the leadership of either Bob or Alex, the general consensus was to try to play a little deeper at the back this week, to try and ensure that we were not caught by the long ball and as the game kicked off it immediately paid dividends.

Exchange though started brightly were stifled by the workmanlike Chawton, both sides settling into their respective passing games.

The first chance fell to Exchange as the Chawton defence were caught a little square at the back, and despite their calls for offside, the referee waived the game on the Exchange striker bore down; one on one on Matt's goal, the keeper doing well to stay tall and palm to safety before scrambling to collect and start another break.

Shaun, Seth, Rich E and Ben were all exceptionally industrious in midfield and soon were stretching their Exchange opponents, Ben doing well to beat his man several times down the right hand side.

Chawton survived a couple of scrappy passages of play, Matt snuffing out several chances and confidently claiming corners. During that Liam caught a very solid blow to the head whilst executing a great tackled clearance; it clearly shook him up and he took some time out to recover but soon re-joined the fray making visible contributions.

And then the deadlock was broken, Rich E drifting to the left in possession, cut back on to his favoured right foot, and placed a superbly lofted ball over the stretching Exchange centre back finding George.

George's one touch control took him clear of the last man and he honed in on goal, the Exchange keeper perhaps surprised by his first piece of real action seemed slow to advance and George hammered the ball home past him into the corner of the net. A superbly taken goal, which was celebrated in excellent style by George.

Chawton, though perhaps fortunate for the lead, looked very settled with their new found success, (having only scored in one game prior to this one and certainly never having taken the lead before) they passed the ball round confidently, and despite the odd half chance had restricted Exchange to shooting from long distance which rarely troubled Matt.

Chawton forced a corner, from which Ben's well struck shot screwed past the post. But just when it looked like Chawton had weathered the storm, Exchange struck back to level. Matt being left with no chance as the Exchange striker smashed to ball home high into the corner from 20 yards.

Chawton's heads dropped a little and Exchange grew in confidence, Matt having to smother well at the feet of the striker, catching a well struck shot and palming aside another one on one.

The Half time whistle went with the game evenly balanced at 1-1. The break seemed to restore the confidence in the Chawton boys, and knew we had a great opportunity in the second half having competed so brilliantly for the first 45 minutes.

And so the second half kicked off, Chawton settled back into the game well, Martin and Rich P marshaling the defensive line well and ensuring that Chawton's eagerness to push on did not leave them vulnerable at the back.

Seth and Rich E had swapped slightly in the second half, giving Seth a more defensive role; sat in front of the back four and he helped to mop up the Exchange attacks, whilst Rich E's more unrestricted role enabled him to affect the game a little more.

Fifteen minutes in and the scheduled change of Paul for Seth was altered slightly and with it came a total shift. Paul came on for Shaun, with Liam going up front, Si to right back, Paul to Left back and Martin moved across to partner Rich at centre back. Chawton still looked dangerous on the break but Exchange were now looking like the better footballing side. Rich P, Martin, Si and Paul all doing well to stifle the Exchange forwards, whilst the tireless George, young Shaun, Liam and Ben looked dangerous as the Exchange defence pushed higher and higher up the pitch trying to push home their advantage.

Exchange's dominance was tempered by their poor choices and equally poor finishing, all the time Chawton soaking up the pressure and all the time always in it.

Then a magical moment as Liam was set away by a great through ball and confidently struck the ball home under the Exchange keeper. Against the run of play but Chawton gleefully accepted the advantage.

Back came Exchange but their poor finishing again were their downfall. Matt did have a scare as a routine cross evaded his grasp and he required Si's intervention to maintain that advantage.

The tension started to affect both sides and tempers flared several times throughout the game, none more so when Matt, feeling slighted by a late challenge as he came to collect another corner and making the Exchange player very aware of his feelings on the matter. The playful push turned into quite a shoving match with Matt wisely deciding the floor was the safest place to be, the referee doing well to restore order as the Chawton boys rallied round to protect one of their own.

Exchange chances were coming thick and fast as Chawton were drawn deeper and deeper, Chawton finding it difficult to clear their lines. Two chances falling late on as a header struck the post and then defensive moment of the match as Martin's attempted header back to Matt fell at the feet of an Exchange player, pulling back his foot to fire at goal, he was thwarted by a superbly timed tackle by the tireless Si.

And so the final whistle; a momentous 2-1 victory for Chawton, very probably not really deserved, but the cohesion and fitness is finally making an appearance.

Chawton progress to the semi finals where they face Blue Bells in this the short filled Challenge cup competition.

Blog man of the match was almost very nearly impossible to decide, several real contenders with special mentions for both goal scorers; Liam who did brilliantly after the kick to the head to score the winner later in the game and George who closed down and hassled the Exchange defenders in the second half and who took his goal superbly, but the Blog Man of the Match goes to Si, for his excellent all round play and his match winning tackle at the end.

Next fixture away to Royal Oak at Bohunt again.

Just a quick reminder about the Farnham Sunday football league website, which is hosted by Sports Today.

Follow this link http://www.sportstoday.co.uk/
Choose results from the choices at the top of the page
Then Surrey from the England drop down box
Click on the Farnham & District Sunday league.

Away to Royal Exchange - Bohunt School

After an enforced two week hiatus, Chawton Athletic return to footballing action this Sunday (19th October 2008) with an away cup tie against Royal Exchange at Bohunt School.

According to the word on the street, we have 14 for Sunday's game which sadly means someone has to miss out. Patrick is missing again this weekend, his extremely busy social life preventing him from joining back up with the squad and Jimmer is unavailable also. Paul I is again available after his impressive cameo debut at the Wey Valley game.

Meet at 9:15 at Alton Station.

Chawton Athletic v Morley Road - Match Report

Yet another bright sunny day greeted the Chawton Athletic players as they gathered expectantly at Alton Station.

Deemed by the league to be our home game;despite taking place at Farnham College, Morley Road;the Chawton boys were a little surprised to find no changing facilities and even more surprised to find no referee either. A few telephone calls later revealed the worst and that the league knew we did not have a referee but seemed no to think it useful or important to mention it. Mind you having no referee would have been better than having the one we had last week.

Discussions we taking place as to how to get around this minor problem when a Morley Road squad player accepted the challenge and took up the whistle (more on this later)

Shaun had linesmen flags and a whistle, and we were under way, albeit slightly late, with Bob taking the Captains armband.

Alex had instilled a drive and determination into the Chawton boys and after twenty minutes Chawton were easily passing their way round their opponents. Chances were hard to come by i the opening quarter, Matt doing well to tip over from a powerful drive, getting hands to the subsequent corner before smothering the resulting effort on goal.

Bobby was vocal and controlling the midfield and was looking instrumental in Chawton's forward play and it was the Skipper whose excellent one-two almost fell back into his path.

Chawton were first to the ball all over the park, but it was Morley Road who made the break-through against the run of play, as the right midfielder dribbled and dribbled his way into the box, before cutting back inside and firing past a helpless Matt. It did nothing to dampen the Chawton boys and they immediately went back to the sparkling passing game that had lit up the first half forcing a couple of corners.

As the Chawton midfield took a stranglehold on the game the defencive line squeezed up and a long ball found Matt in no-mans land, misjudging the through ball. The Morley Road attacker did well to lift the ball over the stranded Keeper before passing the ball into an empty net.

Chawton continued to repel the Morley Road attacks with ease, the best half of football the newcomers had put together so far and boding well for the future. The half-time whistle went, Chawton 0 - Morley Road 2.

Alex had nothing but praise for the boys. they knew they were not out of this one and just need to press home the footballing advantage they had felt in the first half.

The second half started similarly to the first, Chawton controlling the game and passing the ball around, but lacking cutting edge and a quality final ball. Lee, Ben, Bob and George all giving their all to push the team forward from midfield. Liam had a couple of snapshots, but Chawton were still failing the test the Morley Road Keeper.

As Athletic pushed on, another through ball caught the back four slightly high and as the attacked honed in on Matt's goal from the angle the square ball found a free man at the back post whose slotted shot just evaded a scrambling keeper. 3-0 to Morley Road.

That strike was difficult to take, Chawton felt that they were only a slice of luck or a a good pass away from registering on the score sheet instead they found themselves a further goal behind.

George was replaced by Paul, who immediately had an impact on the left midfield, YES, the left midfield. Doing well to dispossess the Morley Road midfielder, Paul set off for the byline before crossing inside, sadly the chance melted away.

Matt was untroubled in the Chawton net, confidently collecting corners, crosses and shots, and immediately releasing another counter attack.

Bob let fly from distance then saw a free kick safely gather by the Morley Road Keeper, Si and Liam swapped positions for a while and new Shaun, playing out of position at right back, found himself pushing up to support a very hardworking Ben on the right hand side.

Alas, it was another through ball down the Cawton left that found Morley increasing their advantage as the square ball was deftly lofted over Matt from close range.

Though only 4-0 down the heads had dropped a little and despite more good passing and football, Ben and Paul involved in separate forays forward, Morley Road had time to add a fifth near the end as a misplaced pass led to Matt being rounded and the scoring was wrapped up from close range.

So yet more improvement on last week's performance by the Chawton boys, a 5-0 defeat but probably a slightly unfair scoreline on the balance of play.

There were only a couple of mistimed tackles of any note on the whole game, it was possibly the most sporting game I have played in, a real challenge of two fairly evenly matched sides, refereed excellent by a player. Respect for the "official" was abundant throughout and it is a credit to him and the two sets of players.

Blog man of the match was Bob, an excellent, vocal, calm and influential performance by the Skipper in the middle of midfield.

Apparently no fixture this coming Sunday 5th October, it is hoped, if agreed at Tuesday training, that all of the squad available should meet up at say Anstey Park for a full pitch, grass training session. More details to be announced shortly.

Wey Valley V Chawton Athletic - Match Report

A beautifully sunny day greeted the Chawton Athletic players as they met for this their second league game of the season.

Feeling slightly more confident after their drubbing last week at the hands of Hartley Wintney, the boys feeling that another week's worth of training had helped iron out some of those organizational issues experienced in their opening fixture.

The team without Seth, Paul, Clark, Jimmer, Robbie, Arj, Vinnie and Phil set off from the train station with 11 but thankfully Martin was soon recruited to boost the squad size to a respectable 12 men.

Arriving at the ground, Alex, whose input into the side as Manager is starting to bear fruit, quickly had us gathered in the dressing room and set about a very uplifting team talk.

Rich, took over the Captain's armband from Matt and Alex laid down the plan for the first half.

A well devised warm up and stretch routine had the Chawton boys ready to go; and so with the young referee ready we kicked off.

Chawton settled excellent, causing problems to the shaky Wey Valley back line in the early exchanges, Matt was a spectator in the opening ten minutes. Rich was holding the line well, with Pat having taken up the left back berth vacated by the missing Seth.

Slowly Wey Valley came back into the game, and from the first chance; a hopeful ball forward; the Wey Valley striker managed to get an early shot away that caught Matt out and could only watch as the ball fizzed in the bottom corner. The shock of a goal technically against the run of play caught Chawton, and the confidence ebbed slightly. A well placed corner saw Wey Valley score again as a header was planted firmly inside the post.

Chawton rallied and Liam and Lee both had good efforts on goal, but sadly didn't test the keeper; it was on the break from another sustained piece of Chawton pressure that lead to the breakaway third for Wey Valley as a through ball behind the defence saw a one on one that Matt did well to get has to but could not stop the ball rolling into the corner. Matt had made a couple of good saves including one smothered attempt as he was rounded again one on one.

The fourth came from a mistake from the normally safe handed Matt as his attempted catch saw the ball slip from his grasp to be headed home, 4-0, it was not looking good for the Athletic.

The 5th came from a corner, and was turned into his own net by an unlucky Matt, this was followed quickly by the 6th another one on one that flicked off of Matt's hip before nestling into the goal. The only thing the ref gave in our favour was when a foul was committed in our box, the grass being so long he could not see the line and after checking with our linesman had no alternative but to give a free kick on the edge of the box.

So half time, Alex had his work cut out to lift the boys, but a very positive chat saw the boys refreshed and ready for the second half as Alex put it at "0-0".

Chawton started the second half a different team, suddenly the ball was down and being passed around and we started to look dangerous, but another ball over the top saw the Wey Valley forward manhandle Shaun off of the ball before slotting past an out of position Matt, a disappointing decision from the Ref who in my opinion had a very poor game.

Too many times he was quick to award free kicks against us for imagined pushes; as two players challenged in the air, but allowed Wey Valley to tug push and pull while the ball was on the ground, I reminded him of that fact and he petulantly moved a free kick all the way back into my six yard box, for which I again reminded him that he was only doing that because he knew full well my complaints were justified, suffice to say he did not hang around long afterwards.

A moment of magic then ensued as Chawton continued to push forward and their hard work and determination was rewarded as Liam smashed home brilliantly from 25 yards, a very accomplished finish indeed from the debutant.

Chawton carried on trying to get their passing going and an excellent interchange released George, whose effort on goal was tipped onto the post and away for a corner by the Valley keeper.

Wey Valley had time to wrap the scoring up as another one on one saw Matt save well only to palm the ball into the path of another striker who rolled the ball home.

Overall a much better performance in the second half with boys having only lost "2-1" in the second half.

Blog man of the match was Liam, who worked tireless both up front and at the back to give Si a breather and of course who slotted home so well to give Chawton their first goal of the season.

Our greatest challenge continues this week as we attempt to find a home pitch, more details to follow.

Sunday 21st September - away to Wey Valley

9:15am meet at Alton Train Station - away to Wey Valley -

Directions to ground.

Turn left down Station Road, under the railway bridge and head out past Omega Park industrial estate. Continue on the road through Worldham and through Kingsley, until you reach a T juntion, turn right then immediately left, follow the road for about half a mile ground on left hand side.

Match Report - versus CSL Hartley Wintney

Chawton Athletic's innaugural season in the Farnham and District Sunday league got off to a shaky start as the new boys were dealt a harsh lesson at the hand of CSL Hartley Wintney.

Buoyed by having persuaded 13 players to be available, sadly Vinny, Phil and Clark were unavailable; the convoy set off from the French Horn in a positive mood and; after only a slight hiccough; found the ground.

Seth named the team, with Shaun and Paul warming the bench, and there was a mad scramble for kit.

A short discussion followed and the honour of captaining the side this week fell to Matt. A slightly ad-hoc warm up followed and then the toss, which true to Matt's cricket captain form, he lost. Chawton defended the goal up the hill in the first half.

From the very early stages, it seemed apparent the CSL were a well organised outfit and their passing game and attacking speed soon had the Chawton defence on the back foot.

Matt saved well early on narrowing the angle and turning a powerful shot round the post, the subsequent corner was dealt with well.

CSL were pouring forward, Si and Seth at left and right back were fighting a losing battle as the CSL wingers constantly attacked the flanks and it was a passing move down the Chawton left that game CSL the lead as a one-two released the ball through a slightly static defence, a square ball found an unmarked forward who swept the ball home passed a stranded Matt, who did well to get enough on it to almost push it onto the post.

Sadly almost straight from the kick off CSL had doubled their lead as a raking ball to the back post saw a superbly struck side-footed volley rifle into the roof of the net, Matt having no chance.

Rich, at centre back then saw the lenient side of the referee as chasing back as the last man he brought down the CSL forward on the edge of the box, a stern talking to only, much to the surprise of everyone, including Rich. Matt organised his wall and waited and held on confidently as it was fired low round the wall.

CSL ominously attacked and after having squeezed another attempt out for a corner, a superb last ditch tackle from Jimmer, CSL benefited from some slightly hesitant goal keeping as Matt half came for the ball, only to miss his punch and the ball ricochet into the goal off of Jimmer for an unfortunate own-goal. 3-0 to CSL.

Bobby and Robbie then both were booked for slightly late challenges as CSL pressed home their advantage.

Si then had to leave the field to be replaced by Shaun as the sheer amount of pressure up the CSL left wing left him exposed time after time.

Chawton, although 3-0 down, were still trying to play football, but were struggling to break down a well organised and much fitter CSL midfield and defence, but were encourage as a good move lead to George bursting through one on one with the keeper only steer his shot wide.

CSL added two more before half time as time and time again the Chawton defence were caught short of a defensive midfielder, Matt having managed to block another two shots. 5-0 at half time.

A rallying call during what seemed to be the shortest half-time I have ever experienced as a player, stirred the passion of the Chawton players but despite having identified several key areas for improvement in the second half the slope only added to their problems as the back four defended higher and higher up the pitch the CSL attackers were released beyond them time and time again.

Chaos rained as the referee started to ignore Si's linesman's flag and CSL added to their tally with more than one generous offside decision to play despite Si flagging furiously. Always a lesson to learn is to play to the whistle, which a couple of times Chawton did not do.

Some better play in the second half saw Chawton manage a couple of good attempts on target, the keeper making a smart save from Robbie's pile driver.

Matt did well playing further from his line, sweeping up any over hit passes, but the pattern of the second half very much followed that of the first, as Chawton pushed on in an attempt to get their passing game going, they were caught up the pitch out of position and unable to assist an already tiring back four.

The goals rained in from all angles, including a very well taken lob that found Matt just slightly too far off of his line, the majority of strikes in the second half seemed to end up being two against Matt and all to easily CSL started to rack up a cricket score, capped by an audacious rounding of Matt which lead to an amusing exchange of views between the disgruntled keeper and the forward (understatement). Rich was fortunate to get away with bringing the very same forward down as he picked his way into the box, the referee either unsighted or taking pity on us waved away the claims.

And so the final whistle, CSL Hartly Wintney 12 - Chawton Athletic 0, not quite the start anybody was really expecting, but then I think that we very much mistook how good the opposition were and more importantly did not quite expect us to require that much improvement to be able to compete.

Plenty of things to work on in training on Tuesday and hopefully a few more players available next week, Vinny, Phil, Clark and Skilts should make for a more balanced squad for Seth to choose from.

Blog man of the match was Jimmer, despite normally being a goalkeeper and despite the scoreline, Jimmer did well at centre back alongside Rich and several well timed tackles saw him take the accolade.

WHAM!

Ok calm down, I don't mean George and Andrew I refer instead to West Ham, and of course the installation of Gianfranco Zola as the new manager at the Boleyn Ground (ok who though West Ham played at Upton Park?).

Perfect timing for the total management novice to take over, just as XL ;the club's principal partner; lurches into administration stranding thousands of Holidaymakers abroad with no way of making it back home. Still with all those Trolly Dolly's looking for work it should mean that the service improves at the ground and surely some of them must be able to play football so they won't be short of players.

"A West Hammer fan sauntered past a corner shop and spots a video for sale entitled "West Ham - The Golden Years" Enthused, the supporter asks the shopkeeper "How much for the video mate ?""£200 mate" replies the shopkeeper."£200 for a video?" says the fan, "Yer having a laugh!""Oh no" the shopkeeper replies "The video's only a fiver, but the Betamax player will cost you £195"

Not content with knocking the poor old Hammers, I return my attention to Chelsea, now they are fair game whatever is happening.

So Steve Clarke has handed his resignation in at Chelsea, to join his old Blues team mate Zola as his assistant as West Ham, before Chelsea had the chance to reject his resignation, Big Phil had already wished his assistant well for the future, having helped him clear his desk (ok I made the desk bit up) so much for loyalty (that goes both ways) you can imagine the tears (possibly of laughter admittedly) roling down Big Phil's face as he sees his old pal off, "bye lad, good luck with wham"

"Two blokes were walking through a cemetery when they happened upon a tombstone that read:"Here lies John Sweeney, a good man and a Chelsea fan."So, one of them asked the other: "When the hell did they start putting two people in one grave?"

On that note it's nearly the weekend..

Full match report from Sunday's epic league opener away to Hartley Wintney should get posted by midday Monday

Walcott the wunderkind!

What a performance by England yesterday, reminded me very much of our trouncing of Germany and the scoreline could; and probably should; have matched that famous night in Munich.

After a slightly nervy start, England soon settled into a good passing pattern, ensuring Croatia would struggle to retain possession and maintain a threat. One early shot which tested David James was the best it got for Croatia in the early exchanges.

England went ahead comparatively fortuitously as Ferdinand, fit after missing the game last weekend against Andora, strode forwards with the ball glued to his foot, beating at least one Croatian midfielder before releasing the ball to Rooney. Rooney slid a measured ball through the gap to Joe Cole, but the bass was intercepted and ran loose into the Croatian area, a muffed clearance saw the ball smack into a defender and the ball fall at Theo Walcott's feet, he steadied himself before firing home low in to the far corner, an excellent strike from the Arsenal youngster and only a cynical body check that shook the boy wonder had stopped him from motoring into the box as England launched a lightning counter attack, so a satisfying lead at half time for Capello's men.

Fabio, must surely have has less arm waving to do at half time than against Andorra.

The second half started well, Croatia seemed in determined mood to get back on level terms, but the England looked to have the measure of them and kept pouring forward catching Croatia on the break, Rooney was having one of his best games for many a year and Heskey was leading the line very well indeed.

It was Rooney's quick feet that saw him skip by Simunic; who having already been booked in the first half, was extremely fortunate to get away with staying on the pitch for his very blatant block on the Man Utd striker. Lampard's free kick was palmed away by an unsteady looking Croat Keeper.

Minutes later as we were still discussing why Simunic was still on the pitch when Kovac caught Joe Cole on the side of the head with more than accidental elbow, the England man staggered and fell to the ground clutching his head, before getting back to his feet before finally going to ground again, blood pouring from a nasty looking wound. The referee, perhaps finding it easier to make this decision in the middle of the pitch rather than the edge of the box moments earlier, produced a Red Card, 53 minutes gone and Croatia down to ten men. Joe Cole stretchered off to be replaced by Jermaine Jenas.

England immediately stamped home their authority on the game as Rooney fed the ball across to Walcott and he produced a carbon copy finish into the far corner. 2-0 England and looking comfortable.

Jenas took over the Joe Cole left wing spot and did excellently to get to the byline to cut back for Rooney to make it 3-0, it was wonderland, the Croats were a spent force.

Mandzukic was released with ten minutes to go after a suspiciously high foot appeared to catch Terry in the face, the referee played on and the Croatian substitute did well to slot the ball under James, 3-1.

The consolation goal did not dampen the England players' spirits and after a Lampard strike was chalked off by a slightly over zealous referee it was Walcott again to raised the roof.

Rooney's exquisite control, turn and slide rule ball released Walcott who steadied himself before side footing (left footed) past the downcast keeper, 4-1 to England and a hat trick for Walcott!!

Chawton Athletic Club Charter

Chawton Athletic F.C.’s aims (hereinafter call “The Club”; is to provide Sunday Morning league football to its members.

RESPECT: The Players and Officials of The Club will at; all times; play with TOTAL respect for the Referee, lines persons and the players and officials of the opposition team. Games will finish with a shake of the hand for as many opposition players as deemed sensible AND the referee. He/She does it for fun, to enable us to play football and for minimal expense. Leave any personal disputes on the pitch.

Encouragement: Nobody plays to make mistakes; they play to be the best they can and to enjoy themselves. There will be times when mistakes are made but we must must try our best to encourage and not to criticize. If something needs to be said right there and then to rectify a problem ensure that you do it as positively as possible, remember nobody likes to feel as though they are being told off.

Ability: It is already apparent that we have a mix of abilities and experience throughout the squad.

Equipment: All players should remove all jewellery (not just tape it up) and shin pads should be worn at all times during the game. Players not adhering to these Football Association rules may find themselves unable to take part in the game.

Fines: Players found to be in breach of this RESPECT directive will be fined by the club (the amount dependent on the seriousness of the incident), all fines for disrespect will go to a charity of the clubs choosing, tba.

Additional Fines: There will be additional (joke) fines for various aspects of the game, these are purely fund raising fines (ie going back into the club) and will be used where deemed suitable.

Home Games: Matches kick off at 10:30am, players are therefore expected to arrive for home games at 9:45am, to ensure that nets are erected and pegged down correctly and that the flags are set out. Players are also expected to assist in the taking down of the nets and the collection of the flags after the games.

Away games: Players should endeavour to arrive at the meeting point no later than 9:15am. Football matches are strenuous and nervy affairs and require a calm collected approach, including a decent length stretching and warming up routine. Rushing straight into exercise will only cause injury.

Warm Ups and Cool Downs: Players should take it in turns to lead warm up and short warm down sessions. A regular routine of stretches should be established, though individuals may wish to do additional specific stretches. Warming down improves recovery time and fitness and prevents future injury.

Availabilities: All players should make sure that their availabilities for the following weekend are known by Tuesday evening. We still plan to meet on Tuesday’s at 7pm to do 4/5 a side and perhaps a little training. If you are unable to attend on a Tuesday please text your availabilities to Seth Lodge on 07786 530732.

Sponsorship and Fund Raising: Currently the team does not have a sponsor and therefore will require the financial assistance of its members. We will of course attempt to keep costs down as far as we can, but pitches and referees all cost money and so sometimes we will all have to put our hands in our pockets until a sponsor or funding can be found.

Selection Policy: The Club shall at all times endeavour to give everybody a fair game, no matter what the circumstances, but until a “Manager” has taken the responsibility of such matters, perhaps it should rest with a small selection committee and derived from those available as of Tuesday. There should be no exceptions to this rule, ie players only making themselves available after Tuesday night selection will start as a substitute, unless a player due to start subsequently becomes unavailable.

Running the line: Everybody needs to know how to run the line, everybody! The referee should instruct the person running the line at the start of the match, and if we swap over he/she may well come over during a break in play to re-issue his/her instructions.

Running the line basics:
· Remain impartial: If we lose because of something we lose because of something, that’s life.

· Remain as in line with the second to last man nearest the goal. The last man would normally be the goalkeeper, but occasionally a defender will go to the line behind a goalkeeper thus making the goalkeeper that man that holds the offside line etc.

· You should be positioned diagonally to the linesman on the opposite touchline and remain in your own half (generally referees will ask you to run the line for your own defence rather than the opposition’s.

· Remember, the player must be beyond the second to last man nearest your goal and in your half when the ball is played, the player must then either receive the ball or become “active” to be flagged as being offside.

· Flagging: If you need to flag for offside, you should stop in line with your second to last defender when the player became offside, the flag should be “cracked” then waved to attract the attention of the referee. Once you have attracted the referee’s attention you should indicate where on the pitch the player was when offside, (near to your touchline point the flag downwards, in the middle point the flag horizontally towards the middle of the pitch, far side point the flag upwards.

· Throw – ins and corners. Again remain impartial, indicate which way the throw is (throw-ins by pointing in the attacking direction of play for that side). Corners point to the corner flag, goal kicks point the flag horizontally to the goal.

· You cannot give (or be given) offside from a thrown in (unless it touches one of your players after it has been thrown, or a corner.

· Please, please try to keep up with play.

· Any further information can be obtained from football rule books at the library or online at http://www.fryclubfc.co.uk/loaf/laws_of_the_game.htm

Most important of all, please enjoy yourselves, if we are successful then all the better, but success may well come from patience and improvement and the desire to enjoy playing.