The Rise of The Sports!

[itsBilly]

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December 2016

Results

Northampton 3-2 Eastbourne
Jordan Wynter (41)
Tom Beere (45+1)

A poor result away to relegation threatened Northampton. Tom Beere scored his first of the season to give us a 2-1 half time lead, but a superb fightback gives Northampton the win.

Eastbourne 2-0 MK Dons
Nathan Rooney (10)
Jodey Lovegrove (82)

A good solid win for us, just what we needed. Nathan Rooney scored his first of the season to give us an early lead, and Jodey Lovegrove sealed it on the counter attack later in the game.

Eastbourne 0-0 Millwall

League leaders Millwall held us to a goalless draw here, and it was a fair result. Neither side pushed, but the point sees Millwall top of the table at Christmas.

Eastbourne 1-3 Colchester
Jodey Lovegrove (63)

'Tis the season to be grumpy! A heartbreaking boxing day defeat sees Colchester leapfrog us in the table. I had rotated some players due to a heavy schedule and it backfired as Colchester walked into halftime with a 3-0 lead. Jodey Lovegrove did try to mount a comeback, but it wasn't to be.

Eastbourne 2-0 Portsmouth
Jeff Goulding (42, 79)

Thats more like it! We continue our push for a play-off spot with a good win over Portsmouth. Pompey had beaten us twice this season, so it was time we got revenge. Jeff Goulding scored a brace to wrap the calender year up.

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League Position: 5th (42 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (14 goals)
Player of the Month: Jodey Lovegrove

Difficult one this month. Nobody had really put in outstanding performances for the entirety of the month, but 2 goals and 2 assists takes it for Jodey again.

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated.

January features 6 ties; including away trips to Bradford, Doncaster & Yeovil!

Stick around!

​

 

[itsBilly]

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January 2017

Results

Bradford 2-0 Eastbourne

Terrible start to the new year with this defeat. This game was just 2 days after our last, so rotation was key but it backfired for us.

Doncaster 0-1 Eastbourne
Jodey Lovegrove (90)

Thats more like it! We steal the points in the final seconds against Doncaster who are struggling at the moment. 15th of the season for Jodey Lovegrove.

Eastbourne 1-1 Notts County
Martin Riley (30)

Vice-captain Martin Riley headed in what we thought was going to be the winner, but an injury time goal from County denies us our first win of the year.

Swindon 1-1 Eastbourne
Tommy Hughes (15)

New striker Tommy Hughes nets his first goal for the club. Great skill from the Irish youngster as he takes the ball with his left, and finishes with his right. Once again we struggle to hold onto our lead and can't find that elusive first win of the year.

Yeovil 0-0 Eastbourne

A bore draw against 2nd place Yeovil. Nothing really to say about this one, but we end the month winless.

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League Position: 6th (48 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (15 goals)
Player of the Month: Martin Riley

Martin had a couple good individual performances against Notts County & Yeovil and takes this months award, but no one really stood out.

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​Thanks for reading! February coming up!
​

 

[itsBilly]

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February 2017

Results

Cheltenham 2-1 Eastbourne
Jodey Lovegrove (2)

Cheltenham are fighting relegation this season and took a big leap forward by beating us. Two very late goals wins it for us, and show us we need to sort out our defensive issues.

Eastbourne 2-1 Preston North End
Jodey Lovegrove (3, 28)

Finally we get a win in 2017! League leaders Preston were completely outclassed & two early goals from Lovegrove seals it for us. Preston did nick a goal in injury time, but it was too late for a comeback.

Eastbourne 2-1 Fleetwood
Tommy Hughes (76, 78)

All the action come right at the end. After falling behind to bottom of the table Fleetwood, two goals in 2 minutes from sub Tommy Hughes shows the fans why I bought him. More pressure on Fleetwood who are now 15 points from safety.

Eastbourne 0-2 Coventry

Just as we try to get a run going, we are outclassed. Two stunning free kicks from Anthony Wordsworth either side of half time were the difference. Coventry have acquired Adam Lallana from Southampton on loan & he run rings around our midfielders.

Charlton 4-2 Eastbourne
Martin Riley (30)
Jeff Goulding (53)

After falling behind 2-0 very quickly, we mounted a sensational comeback. But Charlton showed their experience by scoring 2 more and jump us in the league.

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League Position: 7th (54 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (18 goals)
Player of the Month: Jodey Lovegrove

3 goals and a couple assists for Jodey helps us to our first wins of the calender year.

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated.

March to come tomorrow! Its all getting very close in the League, with just 11 points between the top 11 teams.

Stick around!

​

 

[itsBilly]

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March 2017

Youth Intake

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A Pretty poor haul of youngsters in this years intake. A little promise for midfielder Wayne Hazell & striker Jason Carroll, who netted a brace as the trialists beat my U18 side 3-1.

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Results

Eastbourne 2-0 Ipswich
Chris Sheppard (16 pen)
Jodey Lovegrove (19)

We made quick work of Ipswich in this one. Despite them being mediocre this season, they still have a very strong side full of experience, so I was very proud of my players for winning this one with such ease.

Brentford 0-0 Eastbourne

Relegation candidates Brentford hold us to a goalless draw and pick up a valuable point in their quest for survival. Once again this season, we were able to keep a clean sheet against their strong striker partnership of Samed Yesil & Mason Bennett.

Eastbourne 1-0 Carlisle
Jason Prior (79)

With the signing of Tommy Hughes, Jason Prior has fallen way down the pecking order, but he took his chance tonight. It was a tedious afternoon as nothing was going in for us, but 75th minute sub Prior made an instant impact with a goal that won us the match.

Bristol City 3-0 Eastbourne

Our promotion bid takes a big hit as Bristol City claw themselves away from the relegation zone. Set-pieces were our downfall here as all three goals come from poorly cleared headers. Moving on quickly.

Eastbourne 2-0 Southend
Rhys Bennet (27 o.g)
Tom Beere (38)

A strong win for us as we keep ourselves in the promotion chase. Tom Beere's excellent performance clouded the poor showing from our strikers.

Walsall 5-5 Eastbourne
Jeff Goulding (1, 13, 73)
Jodey Lovegrove (46)
Tommy Hughes (81)

Wow! Goals galore in this one. Jeff Goulding nets his second hat trick this season against Walsall, with his first coming in just 16 seconds; a new club record. It was a rollercoaser ride, at one stage we were 5-2 down, but staged a superb fightback & almost stole it at the end when Nathan Rooney hit the bar.

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League Position: 7th (65 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (20 goals)
Player of the Month: Jack McClaren

Despite bad performances against Walsall & Bristol City, the young goalkeeper managed clean sheets in 4 games this month. He has really made the position his own this season & kept James Beasant on the bench.

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated

The end of the season is near and it is still so tight for promotion places. Just 10 points seperate the top 8 teams, and some still have games in hand!

April sees us challenging for a play-off spot with away trips to relegation threatened Tranmere & Title hopefuls Millwall!

Stick around!

​

 

[itsBilly]

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April 2017

Results

Eastbourne 1-0 Leyton Orient
Jeff Goulding (7)

We start the month with a win and continue our push for promotion. Jeff Goulding's 14th of the season gave us the lead and we held on well against mid table Orient.

Tranmere 1-2 Eastbourne
Jodey Lovegrove (42, 88)

We steal a win here to put a lot of pressure on relegation candidates Tranmere. Jodey Lovegrove took his tally to 22 this season, but also picked up a knock that will see him out for 2 weeks; a massive blow to our promotion chances.

MK Dons 0-2 Eastbourne
Max Wheeler (24)
Tom Beere (60)

What a win as we all but confirm a play-off spot. Results elsewhere means that we just require 1 win from our final 2 games to secure a play-off position. Max Wheeler hit a beautiful free kick for his 1st of the season.

Millwall 4-0 Eastbourne

Ouch! Despite making it to half-time without conceding, Millwall cam out fighting and hit us for 4, confirming the title & promotion back to the Championship. On-loan Spurs players Soulemaine Coulibaly & David Hurtmann were sensational & we couldn't handle them.

Eastbourne 3-1 Northampton
Jeff Goulding (11)
Jodey Lovegrove (55, 76)

An easy win against already relegated Northampton secures us a spot in the play-offs! Jodey Lovegrove takes his season tally to an impressive 24 with a great second half performance.

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League Position: 5th (77 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (24 goals)
Player of the Month: Jodey Lovegrove

Jodey has been fantastic all season, and he bagged 4 goals this month to help us secure a play-off spot!

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated!

I can't believe it! Once again we defy the odds and could be in for a chance at promotion to the Championship! Coventry stand in our way in the play-off semi's.

Stick around. Play-off update & an end of season review coming later!​

 

[itsBilly]

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May 2017

Results

League 1 Play-off Semi-Final: First Leg
Eastbourne 1-1 Coventry
Jodey Lovegrove (32)

We set a club record attendance of 6,121 in our first game at Priory Lane all season since the expansion work finished. Jodey Lovegrove scored his 25th of the season, and it looked like we were going to win the game, but a sensational free-kick from Peter Whittingham levelled it for Coventry & set up a difficult second leg for us.

League 1 Play-off Semi-Final: Second Leg
Coventry 2-3 Eastbourne
Jeff Goulding (7, 59)
Jodey Lovegrove (14)

OHHH What a performance! We prove everybody wrong and overcome an incredibly strong Coventry side to book a date with Wembley for the 2nd season running. A change of tactic completely stumped Coventry as we took a quick 2 goal lead. Goulding scored his second of the day to make it 3 before Coventry tried to mount a comeback. They scored two late goals, but we were simply incredible and deserve to be in the final.

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League One Play-off: Final
Eastbourne 2-1 Notts County
Austin Eaton (13)
Tom Beere (111)

I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! Our strikers were terrible today, but the midfield shone to cover it up. Austin Eaton's 1st of the season couldn't of come at a better time, and Tom Beere tapped in a Chris Sheppard cross in extra time to defy all odds once again. I am absolutely ecstatic.

EASTBOURNE BOROUGH PROMOTED TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP!

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League Position: 5th (77 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (26 goals)
Player of the Season: Jodey Lovegrove

The young striker was released by Arsenal this season, and they missed out big. 25 goals in the league help us to promotion and he picks up the Top Goalscorer award. He has a big future ahead of him.

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated!

What an incredible season. We gain promotion to the Championship as we continue to defy the odds.
A Season review will be posted soon and I will get started on Championship life next week.

Stick around!​

 

[itsBilly]

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2016/17 Season Review


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Manchester United regained the Premiership from Chelsea's clutches. A mediocre season for Liverpool is a nightmare as they finish 9th & sack manager Michael Laudraup. Aston Villa are relegated from the Premiership for the first time since in 30 years!

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Brendan Rogers leads Middlesborough back to the Premiership after 8 years in the second tier, but Rogers will depart for Southampton. Their joined by Birmingham & play-off winners Hull. At the other end, Crewe drop straight back down to league 1, but the talking point is surely about the relegation of Bolton.


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Millwall & Preston return to the Championship, and they're joined by the underdogs Eastbourne, who gain their 4th promotion in 4 years. Colchester, who were 6th at Christmas, are sensationally relegated after they fell to pieces.

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Gillingham return straight back to League 1, winning the title. More play-off heartache for Port Vale as they lose in the final for the second season running to Chesterfield. Kidderminster are relegated straight back to the Conference.

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Jose Mourinho continues his Trophy haul with an FA Cup win for Chelsea. West Brom get revenge against Arsenal in the League cup after last years final defeat.

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More cup heartache for Arsenal, as they loose in the Champion's League final against AC Milan, who win they're first European title in 10 years. After sensational falling out of the group stage, Real Madrid went on to win the Europa League as expected.

Elsewhere in Europe there were Domestic League wins for Juventus, PSG & Bayern Munich. In Spain, Atletico Madrid took the La Liga title from the clutches of Real Madrid & Barcelona, with the Catalan Giants finishing 5th, and missing out on net seasons Champion's League!

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Club News

- In compliance with Championship rules, more work will be done on Priory Lane. The 4000 standing positions will be converted into seats. Construction will be finished in November.

- I was offered the job at Brentford, but laughed it off after their relegation to League 2.



​

 

[itsBilly]

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2017/18 Season Preview

Transfers

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Once again, the transfer window was a difficult time for me. Many teams & players still don't believe in our side and refuse to talk to us. This meant that we were unable to obtain many of our original targets and had to settle for some less skilled players. Its unfortunate as I was given a huge ?1.2m transfer budget.

In: Former Newcastle & Blackpool goalkeeper Jack Alnwick joins us on a free-transfer; an absolutely fantastic deal for us. We break our club record transfer with the signing of Dougie Wilson from Cochester for ?425k. Wilson is a Northern Ireland international. With Jeff Goulding aging, we needed some cover up-front. I brought in veteran Dean Bowditch & young Manchester City striker Denzeil Boadu.

Out: A ton of players left on free transfers this season, as I felt they were not good enough for the Championship. This includes club veterans Morten Knudsen & James Beasant, who have been at the club since my first season. Max Wheeler becomes the highest transfer out of the club with his move to Premier League Hull. A great transfer for him.

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Pre-Season Results

Eastbourne 2-3 Brentford
Eastbourne 0-1 Queen of the South
Oxford 2-2 Eastbourne
Havant & Waterlooville 0-1 Eastbourne
Bury 0-2 Eastbourne

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Thanks for reading! Comments welcomed.

The start of the Championship comes with a home tie against Crystal Palace.
August will be played tonight & uploaded tomorrow hopefully

Stick around!​

 

[itsBilly]

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August 2017

Results

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What a great start to the season! It was the Lovegrove show today, as he come back from the embarrassment of scoring an own goal, to score a brace. His first goal came in a shocking style, as he scored from a corner. His game ended with injury though, and the young striker will miss up to 6 weeks of action.

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I rotated the entire squad for this League Cup tie against League 2 Stevenage. They made us work very hard for it, but we eventually got the win in extra-time. Young striker Cameron Gooda netted his first for the club to avoid a penalty shootout and set up a home tie against Everton!

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Unfortunate defeat as the scoreline doesn't reflect our performance. We pushed very hard for the equaliser, and made the Derby goalkeeper work very hard to preserve their lead. The second goal come in the final minute, once we had already conceded defeat.

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What a victory! It was simply fate that new striker Dean Bowditch would give us the lead against his former club. The second half performance was fantastic, with club favourites Sheppard & Goulding netting to give us an emphatic victory. A first clean sheet for Jak Alnwick gave him the MOTM.

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I am speechless. We beat one of the League's favourites on their own turf. Yaya Sanogo's debut goal early on looked like we were on to a hiding, but we turned it around, and 2 goals either side of half time seals a memorable win for us.

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We crash out of the League Cup, but we took Premiership side Everton to penalties. We were solid defensively, but we're just 2nd best in the shootout. They're were a couple upsets elsewhere as Premiership sides Fulham, Birmingham, Middlesborough & Wigan all crashed out to lower league opposition.

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Transfers

In: 23 year old Italian winger Mario Pacilli has joined us on a free-transfer from Oxford United.

Out: No permanent deals out, but a few loans to the Skrill South;

Seth Addo & Eddie Ramsay - Hendon
Simon Maybury - Havant & Waterlooville
Shane Stacey - Bishop's Stortford
Jerome Bridcutt - Whitehawk
Michael Loftus - Tonbridge
Darren Johnson - Chesham

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League Position: 5th (9 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jeff Goulding (3 goals)
Player of the Month: Jeff Goulding

The big veteran has been in good scoring form in the absence of Jodey Lovegrove, scoring goals against Rotherham & Forest in league wins.

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated.

What a great start to Championship life. Unfortunate to be dumped out the cup but it gives us time to focus on the league.

September will hopefully be up tomorrow. Stick Around.

​

 

[itsBilly]

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September 2017

Results

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We start the month with a disappointing defeat to Barnsley. I was foolish enough to expect at least a point, but many players in the side had experienced Premier league football when they were promoted 3 years ago. They were simply the better team and we will move on quickly.

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Ouch! Another crunching defeat, but this was expected against league leaders Leicester. The penalty call was questionable, but in truth, they would of won the match regardless. We were very poor.

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Thats more like it. It may not be a win, but at least its not a loss. Brighton were very strong today, but a combination of skill from Andrew Black, and cool finishing from Chris Sheppard allowed us to snatched a well earned point.

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Well I am speechless. Jodey Lovegrove returns with a bang, scoring twice in injury time to cap off an excellent tactical performance. We switched up our playing style to counter West Ham, and it worked perfectly. Great win.

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The money and allure of QPR means that the squad includes high profile names such as Ashley Young & Nathaniel Chalobah. But we held them off today and picked up another well-earned point. A second clean sheet on the bounce is another big bonus.

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Team News

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- Eastbourne have announced that Finnish defenders Andreas Vanhanen & Aleksi Leinonen will join the club in January.
Vanhanen (19) is a center-back, who is already a full international, and joins from Finnish champions HJK for just ?110k.
Leinonen (18) is a right-back who joins from Honka on a free transfer, and has been capped at U21 level.

- Dougie Wilson became the first player to be capped internationally whilst playing for Eastbourne. The new record signing won his 2nd cap for Northern Ireland is the September international break.

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League Position: 11th (14 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (4 goals)
Player of the Month: Chris Doyle

The 22 year old centerback has fit in fantastically since his transfer from Morecambe. He has really stepped up to the next level in his career and has impressed this month with some solid defensive performances.

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Thanks for reading! Comments welcomed.

Not the greatest month, but by far not the worst. October sees us host high-flying Huddersfield, as well as a daunting trip to the Stadium of Light.

Stick around!

​

 

[itsBilly]

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October 2017

Results

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Disappointed to lose this one, but Preston are in good form. A late goal from Scott Arfield following a scramble in the box from a corner was the winner. Perhaps we should focus on defending set pieces some more.
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The Blades are in great form, so a win & a clean sheet was a delightful afternoon. Denzeil Boazu marked the extension of his loan from Manchester City with his first goal for the club to seal it. Fantastic result for us as we begin to climb the table again.

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Another match against one of the promoted sides, but unlike Preston, Millwall have been struggling. I thought we had thrown away the game when we went down to 10 men, and conceded an own goal, but a late winner from super-sub Jeff Goulding gives us a 2nd win in a row.
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Bournemouth currently find themselves at the lower end of the table and struggling this season. We heaped the pressure on them with a 3rd win in a row. Denzeil Boazu scored his second goal for us, hopefully a good omen.
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Here is were our run gets difficult. Sunderland jumped us in the table with this win, but we made it very hard for them, and were a little unlucky. Their only goal came from a clearance that deflected of a unknowing Calum Butcher. We struck the crossbar three times in this one, so we were a little unlucky.
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Huddersfield are flying high leading the league and they extended their lead with a win against us. Jay Simpson scored from the spot, which turned out to be the winner, but it was a questionable call.

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League Position: 9th (23 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (6 goals)
Player of the Month: Denzeil Boazu

The on-loan striker scored his first two goals for the club this month to win us two matches.

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated.

3 wins, 3 losses this month. Not bad. I touted 15 wins (45 points) in the season as the safety point to avoid relegation, and we have already notched up 7! Although, all three teams that were relegated last year lost 20+ times. With 6 defeats already, we really need to start drawing games.

Stick around.​

 

[itsBilly]

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November 2017

Results

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We were a little unlucky not to come away with something from this, but victory was never really on the cards against a strong Reading side, looking to return straight back to the Premiership. Chris Sheppard scored early on to give us hope, but we were pegged back immediately and couldn't really find our way back.

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Leeds are in deep trouble sitting rock bottom of the Championship, so I am a little disappointed not to have won this, but I will take the draw. Once again, our defensive weakness was our downfall as Peter Crouch broke his marker twice to score tap-ins and pull Leeds back into the game. Chris Sheppard netted a beautiful volley to round of a great passing move, and score his 2nd in 2 games.

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Much better! One of our most comfortable wins so far this season, against a strong Wolves side. Tactically we were brilliant, starting and finishing each half the stronger side. Wolves did fall down to 10-men after a cynical challenge from Micky Mooney, halting any chance of a Wolves comeback.

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League Position: 9th (27 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (8 goals)
Player of the Month: Jodey Lovegrove

Two goals & two assists this month for Lovegrove who is doing very well leading the line.

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated.

A short month due to the international break, but December makes up for the loss of fixtures with a whopping 7 games; including trips to Aston Villa & Sheffield Wednesday.

Stick around!

​

 

[itsBilly]

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December 2017

Results

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A very disappointing result against a Cardiff side who are floating around the relegation zone. Once again our defensive errors from corners comes into play for their first goal, and the second was a classic counter attack once we had thrown everyone foreward. Moving on quickly.

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Again we fail to beat another struggling side, which is not good for us. Peterborough were actually very strong today, despite their recent results, and we done well to manage a draw. Our misfiring strikers are worrying me though.

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A daunting task travelling to Villa Park and we done fantastically to earn a point. Another clean sheet is another good sign, but we're still looking for our first goal of the month.

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Finally a win after a poor run of games. Jak Alnwick's first match against his former club got off to a terrible start as we fell to an early goal. Once again, with his loan spell coming close to an end, Denzeil Boadu shows me why we should extend with a great second half performance to win us the match.

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Unlucky defeat against the Owls, but I didn't expect a win with them sitting 4th in the league. Denzeil Boadu scored his 3rd in 2 games to secure an extension on his loan from Manchester City.

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Very glad to have avoided another defeat here in what I figured would be a tough game. Club record signing Dougie Wilson scored his first goals for the club to mount a sensational 2 goal comeback and give the fans something to cheer on Boxing Day.

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Fantastic result against 2nd place Derby. Unfortunately we couldn't hold onto a clean sheet but I'm focusing more on the positives. Our 10th win of the season, 2/3rd's of the way to my pre-season target.

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Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas to me as I am given a new 1 year contract extension.

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League Position: 10th (36 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (9 goals)
Player of the Month: Denzeil Boadu

He signs a loan extension until the end of the season and caps that with 4 goals this month!

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated.

A good month for us, 2 wins & 3 draws from 7 games.
January is another busy month with 6 games including away trips to Leicester & Brighton, as well as the start of the FA Cup; a home tie against Fulham!

Stick around

​

 

[itsBilly]

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January 2018

Results

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Happy new year all around! Dean Bowditch has only scored one goal this season, but he triples his tally with a brace today against his former club. We responded very well to falling behind & the rotated squad came through with a win.

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We have made it to the 3rd round of the FA Cup twice in my career so far, and fell to Premiership opposition. The 3rd time was definitely to charm as we score a win in the most dramatic way possible. Vice-captain Martin Riley scores a last minute winner against 10-man Fulham to cause a massive upset.

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First of two games against Forest after drawing them in the cup. New signing Andreas Vanhanen scores a brace on his league debut! Great result.

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What a run we're starting up here as we beat another team fighting for promotion! Dean Bowditch scores his 4th of the season off the bench to push us level with Forest just outside the play-off spots.

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What a win!! The old-school partnership of Lovegrove & Goulding was on fire, each bagging a brace. Unfortunately, both strikers picked up injuries during the game that would keep them out for 4 weeks each. A massive loss, but a great result.

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We are through to the 5th round of the cup! The furthest we've ever gone. Just like the last game against Forest, our goal comes from a corner routine. It seems Forest are worse than us at Defending set-pieces. We set up a mouth-watering 5th round tie at Anfield!!

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A perfect month! I can't quite believe. With injuries everywhere, we had to rely on fringe players & youth, and it payed off. Captain Pat Kanyuka hasn't featured much this season, but he got us off to a flying start. The winning goal came from young striker Jason Carroll on his debut, just 2 minutes after coming on as a sub.

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Club News

- Striker Jeff Goulding has announced he will retire at the end of the season.

- Long serving defender Adam Watts picked up a hip injury in training that will keep him out for the rest of the season.

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League Position: 4th (51 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (11 goals)
Player of the Month: Jodey Lovegrove

2 goals & 3 assists for Lovegrove, and he missed 3 games this month.

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Thanks for reading! Comment's appreciated.

We have hit our season target of 15 wins, so I hope that relegation is completely ruled out!
February features tripes to QPR, Sheffield United & Liverpool in the FA Cup!

Stick around.​

 

[itsBilly]

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February 2018

Results

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I was expecting a win, or at least a draw here, so I am a bit disappointed, but injuries are starting to get the better of us. We were forced to start more youngsters, and one shone; Wayne Hazell. The young midfielder scored on his debut to give us the lead, but West Ham's experience took over.
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Another defeat, but this was much more heartbreaking. Adam McGurk has now scored in all 4 games we have played against eachother as Preston look to have become my 'bogey team'. We need to move on quickly.

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Jodey Lovegrove returns from a 1 month injury to bag a brace and twice but us ahead at Loftus road. QPR's big guns pulled them level twice as we pick up our first point of the month.

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Our cup dream is over, but it was a great run. We restricted Liverpool to just the one goal and not many chances, so I am happy about that. Unfortunately we couldn't bag a goal for the travelling fans but I'm sure they will be happy nonetheless.

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This wraps up our winless month, but at least we finished it with a point. I did expect a win here, but after falling down to 10-men, I am glad we held onto a game.

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League Position: 8th (53 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (13 points)
Player of the Month: Jodey Lovegrove

2 goals on his return from injury but nobody shone this month.

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated.

A terrible month :/ Hopefully we can get back to winning ways in March with games against Millwall, Sunderland & Reading all visiting Priory Lane

Stick around.​

 

[itsBilly]

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March 2018

Results

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A good start to the month against relegation candidates Millwall. We had to work very hard for the win though, with the decisive goal coming in extra time from on-loan City striker Denzeil Boadu.

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Slightly disappointed we didn't win this one, but I will take a clean sheet away from home any day! Not really much to say about this truly uneventful game.

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What a performance from Mr Bowditch! A stunning hat-trick seals a memorable win over play-off hopefuls Sunderland. The Black Cats did manage to pull one back, but they couldn't mount a comeback as we put a dent in their automatic promotion hopes.

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By far one of the toughest games I've had in my 5 seasons as Eastbourne manager. Huddersfield take a 13 point lead at the top of the table as they wiped the floor with us restricting us to just 1 shot, & 34% possession.

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Reading sit in 2nd place but along way off the title, so it was vital they kept up the pace set by Huddersfield. They did exactly that in a disappointing day for us. We'll look to move on fast from this one.

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View attachment 422910

Terrible turnout this year for the youth-intake. Almost everyone was turned away, meaning I may have some shopping to do in the summer to build up our youth squad again.

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League Position: 8th (60 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (13 goals)
Player of the Month: Dean Bowditch

Good hat-trick against Sunderland & some decent performances in the other games.

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated.

I have actually completed the season, but didn't have time to upload.
So April, May & end of season updates are coming!

Stick around​

 

[itsBilly]

View attachment 422909
April 2018

Results

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Our losing streak extends to 3 games with this disappointing result. Wolves were by far the better team and we were lucky to grab two late goals.

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A very late penalty from Chris Sheppard rescues a draw in the capital of Wales on a very eventful Championship weekend that sees Leeds relegated following their thrashing against Peterborough.

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Very disappointed not to have won this one, as Leeds have already been relegated with 4 games still to play. We did rest a lot of players, so I'm glad our fringe players managed a clean sheet, but it's still unacceptable not to be winning these matches.

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Finally back to winning ways! Aston Villa were tipped for the title at the begin of the season, but this result summed up how mediocre they have been all year. Jodey Lovegrove scored his first goal in over 15 hours of football to give us the lead, ending a horrific goal drought.

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We pile the pressure on Peterborough who find themselves almost powerless to avoid relegation. Two more from Lovegrove show he is truly back to scoring ways. Elsewhere, Huddersfield confirm the title, & their first ever promotion to the Premiership.

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Third win on the bounce and what a result it is! After falling down to 10 men early on, we took the lead and held onto it brilliantly. A great result for our final home game of the season.

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May 2018

Result

View attachment 422900
Great win on the final day of the season. After looking at the table and seeing Sunderland still level, I decided for a late push for the final play-off spot, but two late goals from Sunderland sealed it for them.

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League Position: 7th (74 points)
Top Goalscorer: Jodey Lovegrove (17 goals)
Player of the Season: Jodey Lovegrove

17 goals & 13 assists for the 19 year old. Another great season for him.

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Thanks for reading! Comments appreciated.

We were so unlucky not to earn a play-off spot, but I am delighted with the high finish. Hopefully we can push for promotion next year.

End of season review coming soon.​

 

[bluebirdboi]

Cardiff had the best end of season run I've seen in a while

 

[itsBilly]

Cardiff had the best end of season run I've seen in a while

Yeah man! They were 18th at Week 29 and they finished 8th, 1 point of the play-offs. Very good run.

 

[bluebirdboi]

Unbelievable Jeff! Could you show their squad? I feel if they can do that then they must have a good squad