Martin Ash has decided to move on to pastures new due to family commitments. Head Coach 'Ash has decided to call it a day' in order that he can spend more time with his family. Ash has played an instrumental part in the recent rebuilding of the squad at the Manor and will be deeply missed. Manor first team Manager Graham Chester who brought Ash to the Club last Season said " I will be personally sad to see Martin go, he has been a great boost to the Club since his arrival last season, he has contributed enormously, however, the demands at this level are high and I fully understand and support Martin's reasons for wanting to move on. It is crucial that we continue with quality Coaching and therefore I am extremely pleased to announce Martin's replacement will be Nigel Nelson, Nigel's got superb knowledge of the game and I know the lads will respond to his type of Coaching methods. We continue to be inundated with requests from people wanting to help support this great Club get back to it's original glory days, I am confident that we shall continue to improve in every way both on and off the pitch"

Eton Manor Football Club would like to thank Martin for his contribution and wish he and his family best wishes for the future.

 

 

Well, it's now time to see who can and who can't and on yesterday's performance a few come up short of what is needed at this level. Our fitness looked ok but at times we tried to do much instead of doing the easy thing. In the first half we looked very comfortable knocking the ball about and not really giving Kentish Town to much of a look in, we were to wasteful in front of goal but in a way that's a good sign as we are creating a lot of chances so the end product will come.

With six new faces starting Saturday and more to come it looks like we have the makings of a good squad 'but only time will tell on that one! Two well taken goals by Anton in the first half and Ricardo late on in the second, The first was a well created goal by good team play and the second by the never say die attitude of Chris Hammond. There is still a lot of work to be done between now and the start of the season with friendlies coming in thick & fast. I would like to thank Kentish Town for coming down and giving us a good match which we learned so much from, Good luck in the coming season. One last thing and it is an important one "TIME KEEPING" if its a 12noon meet 'it mean's 12 noon and not half past! I take it seriously and I expect others to do the same!

Well done Saturday, however, I will be looking for a big improvement from all of you as the matches continue and the friendlies get tougher.

All the best Martin

 

What a result on Tuesday night, we restricted Romford to a long ball game and in turn forced them into a hit and hope strategy of football. Against Romford it was always going to be a tricky affair, but again we surprised not ourselves, but a large majority off the crowd. A well crafted goal by Richardo came after another sublime through ball from Stephen Parker to Anton Stevenson down the left hand-side, who then found Richardo in the centre of the goal to volley home from 6 yards.

As a team we are now playing as one unit and it's a shame that the end of the season is upon us no, just when we are starting to play some outstanding football. I don't want to be negative about anything our lads do but there is so much more room for improvement in all aspects of our football from training through to match days but at the moment the future is looking good.

On the matter of training we appear to be light in numbers and this is simply not good enough, both Jamie and I spend a long time discussing what we are going to work on but when we arrive at the training ground, especially the last few weeks, no work can be done with the back four as we have far too many no shows! We cant work on passages of our play because not all our midfield and attack are there? The only way we will do better next season is if you all start showing for training. But at the end of the day its up to everyone at the club to want to better themselves! That's the only way forward.

Back to Tuesday night and finally it was good to see Tony Leary back from long term injury and complete a solid half, well done Tony, but on a sour note Bradley Nelson came off with what looked like a dislocated shoulder with only four matches left I wonder how many matches he will play if any? My man of the march against Romford was Lee Smith, a complete all round performance by the youngster.

So its a big week starting with Brentwood on Saturday, then London APSA on Tuesday, onto Basildon United on Thursday and then our final match of the season the following Saturday against Barkingside. So 4 homes games in the next 7 days! Will be interesting to see our our fitness levels hold up!

It's come around too soon again but enjoy the summer rest because your going to need it. To the players I say "enjoy this week lads and play your football to the best of your ability.

All the best Martin

 

Why do we have to make it so hard for ourselves? We played well against Concord mid week and all we needed to do Saturday against a rejuvenated Clapton side, was to push the ball around and make them do all the work, but again, we gave away three very sloppy goals, we must get this sorted & quick, certainly before the start of next season.

The way we started Saturday was fantastic, I thought it was going to be a comfortable win, 1-0 up in the first few minutes and to come in 2 up at half time, I thought to myself, "right we just need to keep the ball!" But then within 15 minutes of the restart Clapton claw back two goals, then we step it up a gear to go 3-2 up only for them to score straight from a corner to our Keeper Kenny Addi I say "big man that's bread 'n' butter for a keeper" But the way our lad's then dug in and got a winner was a great sign of how much belief we have in ourselves & each-other. I applaud you all for your resilience and 10 out of 10 for determination.

On individual performances Jamie Barry put in a solid hour also the same goes for Ray Coker, remember these two guys are still carrying injuries, yet they are the first to put their hands up to be counted. also well played Anton Stevenson, again scoring two goals, what an impact he's had on his return to the Manor, not only a gifted Striker but a really nice guy as well.

Finally, I've stumbled upon a serious matter and it is getting bigger every time we are at either training or on match days, its Jamie Warrens arse, it's getting that big that the subs need an A-Z and a compass just to warm up!

Anyway Romford at Home on Tuesday Night, now we need to be focused for that one.

Enjoy the Bank Holiday and I'll see you all Tuesday evening

Best Regards - Martin

 

After the Concord Rangers Game everything about the team surprised me! Speaking to both Chester & Jamie we are all agreed that this team has come on in leaps & bounds. I remember my first game Coaching the squad back in January against Stansted, during the warm I saw an half hearted effort & a poor attitude and the football 'well, not much better, in fact 'if I am to be honest against Stansted we made look them look like Brazil's first team on a good day!. But with a few changes on the playing side and certain players now opening their minds, we have become a team which every Club in the ESL will be dreading to play against!. We are now matching teams with pace, power & performance, our energy and appetite for the game is encouraging, at the same time our passing game is getting better and we seem to be working more as a unit. Our thoughts now turn to next season and things are looking really optimistic & promising. I expect a good Cup run and a high league placing in the 2007/2008 season!

An update on Legend Tony Marsh, due to an injury he will be out for the rest of the season but will be back in a Manor shirt come August 2007.

On a light hearted note, both Steve Reading and Chamberlain made mistakes against Concord on Tuesday night, but not to worry lads. I understand the glare from Chester's ever expanding bald patch was enough to make the odd mistimed tackle or even drop the occasional ball! I have invested in some designer Sunglasses for the players in time for our next evening game under the floodlights! Mind you 'it would be cheaper if the gaffa just wore a hat!

Best Regards - Martin

 

It's truly difficult to know where to begin, certainly on the evidence of our last two matches, especially after watching the way we played and was so creative against both Burnham and Sawbo, but here we go! We lacked direction, passion, creativity and most of all knowledge and at this level we will be punished as we have been.

For our strikers not to have a shot or any thing to feed off isn't good enough at any level, our only goal came from a well worked corner that Steve Reading finished off well (its good to see you back) Since the three of us (Chester, Jamie and myself) have been here we have only picked up two points that's simply not good enough, but I do feel that in patches our football is improving and it will continue to get better as long as we've got the desire for it!

I've never known a club with such a high number of injuries with Paul Smyth no return date as yet Ray Coker is back in light training also it was good to see Chris Hammond Saturday joining in the warm up both are about two to three weeks away which is a good sign, but again in the warm up against Beaumont Jamie Barry broke his little toe so he will be missed. Also in Saturday's game we picked up another two injuries, Tony Marsh and Stephen Parker both players will be missed! lets hope their recovery is good and quick one. I nearly forgot Kenny bruised a rib in the Sawbo game, now he's on the bench with us can't wait for that one to heal but if Chamberlain and Ragen carry on performing then he might have to get use to the bench!

Last thing let's enjoy our football and be brave with it.

Best Regards - Martin