The future is still in our hands

First published in The Grecian, 08 May 2010, Exeter City -v- Huddersfield

Well, it’s come down to the big one. For Exeter City, today’s final match of the season against Huddersfield will determine, in combination with results elsewhere, whether the Grecians will be playing again in League One next season.

I feel like immediately adding, “don’t panic!” For while there is absolutely no hope of anything other than frayed Devonian nerves on an occasion such as this, one reality stands out in the midst of all the statistical variables attaching to precious points and vital goals. And it’s this: City’s future is still in their (our) own hands.

This truth does not make life any easier at St James’ Park today, but the fact that a win will secure survival whatever Tranmere Rovers do at least means we are not depending upon anyone else for flubs and favours.

That said, there is bound to be a lot of radio and mobile phone checking going on across the terraces while the action unfolds on the pitch. In the old days (which, in spite of my deceptively youthful appearance, I am old enough to remember!) it meant waiting for some guy in a phone booth to pass on the information ages after it happened. Now, at least, communication is instant.

Among the other abiding clichés about a relegation decider like this is that “it’s like a cup final.” Which is true in the “all or nothing” and “everything to play for” sense. That said, it will probably end up mattering to us much more than to Huddersfield Town, and there’s no trophy to be collected at the end… though if the Grecians are victorious “our cup will overflow”. Literally, I suspect!

Of course, it isn’t accurate to say there’s nothing in this for the Terriers. Last Saturday’s magnificent Lee Novak winner in stoppage time against Colchester means they have a mathematical chance, albeit a slim one, of an automatic promotion place if Leeds fall flat on their faces against Bristol Rovers. Meanwhile, they are guaranteed a play-off place, so the worst pressure is off.

Exeter City, meanwhile, will be wanting to lure the Town out of defence and strike back decisively. I saw the Terriers in action at Leyton Orient a few weeks back, and I can report that they are well organised, dogged, can show some flair, and have a loud and proud away support. The atmosphere this afternoon is going to be hot and bothered, for sure.

In reality, we can pretty much expect that our most significant relegation rivals, Tranmere, will claim three points over doomed and troubled Stockport, although with only pride to play for and the bookmakers off home, it isn’t a real upset isn’t beyond expectation. Rovers will be tough and professional, though, and will anticipate more trouble for Exeter than for themselves.

What all this means is that, while it will be natural to wonder how Gillingham are faring at Wycombe, or whether Orient are being subjected to a massive defeat at Colchester (unlikely), it would be far preferable to stay focussed on ‘doing the job’ on home soil.

This will definitely be Paul Tisdale’s message in the dressing room. Given those astonishing wins against Torquay and Cambridge two seasons ago, which saw the Grecians return to League football, no-one can say that this isn’t a gaffer who knows how to equip his carefully sifted side for the big occasion and the one-off vital triumph. That’s why my money – or at least my heart palpitations – are on Exeter City eyes to be smiling come 5pm.

For me, it would be a fitting conclusion to my years in beautiful Devon. Sadly, I shipped off to Birmingham full-time earlier this year, and should be going to Edinburgh (and closer to my Scottish delights, Dumbarton) in a few months time.

So this is an ‘adieu’ column, at least in terms of the regular fortnightly gig. I am delighted and honoured to have been asked to pen a few one-off pieces for next season, whatever fortunes prevail today, and I will definitely continue to look out for City and get down here for a game when I can. That’s what holidays are for!

Looking back, I began to follow the Grecians in 2003, when my wife and I moved to this fair city. That was the fateful year that Exeter dropped out of League football, having won our last match against Swansea – another reason why the fans have reason to be glad it’s “all down to us” this afternoon, despite the tension.

Whatever today’s results, City, the fans and the Trust will definitely be seeing League Football again next term. Never forget that. Just go out and play, struggle, cheer… and succeed. ’Mon you Grecians!
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We've got to want to succeed

First published in The Grecian, 24 April 2010, Exeter City -v- Charlton Athletic

Brace yourselves, then. Until recently not much Flybe traffic was getting through in the wake of all the volcano ash around, but Exeter City most definitely need ‘take off’ this afternoon, and over the coming two games away at Hartlepool and here at St James’s against Huddersfield, to ensure that we do not crash and burn in the last few kicks of the season.

To say last week’s 3-1 defeat at Tranmere was a disappointment would be an understatement. If the result had gone the other way, City would have been eight points clear of danger before Tuesday night’s catch-up game for Rovers against Brentford.

It hardly needs saying that “if” is the most impotent word in football, especially when combined with hindsight. The previous Saturday is ancient history now, and all Exeter eyes, hearts and minds are now fixed on the task of overhauling Charlton Athletic, who in turn will be desperate to pick themselves up from their Norwich defeat in order to secure a play-off place and keep the side in with a slender chance of automatic promotion if Leeds slip up again – as they might.

But frankly, what’s happening at the top of League One is of little interest or consolation to Grecian hearts, more intent as they are on not being broken than in wasting tears on the jostling of the big boys. The relevant fact for Paul Tisdale’s team is that Charlton will be in no mood to show generosity or quarter today. So this game has all the ingredients for hard fought, end-to-end entertainment. But let’s be honest, City fans would happily settle for 93 minutes of unalloyed goalless boredom if a winner in the last gasp of time-added-on was guaranteed. Which it won’t be.

This season the Grecians have had their ups and downs (more of the latter, as our league position shows) and along the way have displayed more than a few moments of promise, quality and inventiveness. But it is mistakes and lapses that have cost them precious points and left, if not a mountain (let’s be positive), at least a steep hill (let’s also be realistic) to climb. So bring on the jets, boys!

Beating Charlton is going to be very hard, but it is well within the realms of possibility. As I mentioned in my programme note for the (disappointing) Leyton Orient game, I saw the O’s take on and overcome Athletic 1-0 at the Valley back on 25 January. They did it by being at the top of their game, matching the Reds for flair, pace and commitment, and then making sure that they hassled and harried every ball.

After what proved to be the winner went in, it looked for a time as if Charlton were going to steal back. But then Orient pushed forward again, not by sitting on a lead (or recklessly trying to add to it while leaving them exposed, either), but by moving up from the back and continually trying to take the game to their opponents.

It was heart-stopping stuff, and anything like that this afternoon would be welcome entertainment. But the outcome is what really counts, for both sides. The pitch at St James’ is hardly likely to be as smooth and invitingly playable as the Valley was that cool February evening either, but City surely know how to play at home – and as the gaffer rightly suggested earlier on this term, it is likely to be our Devon exploits that keep us in this division, rather than travelling fortunes.

Positively, then, two of the Grecians’ final three games are on domestic territory. The trick is that they are also the toughest ones. My guess is that six points will do it. But nine has to be the target, to ensure that City really are masters of their own fate, following Brentford’s helpful victory over Tranmere on 20 April. My late grandad’s Bees have inadvertently kept City buzzing just that bit louder over the past few days. Now is the time to turn up the volume against the east Londoners again.

Meanwhile, as we agonise over every kick, ball and decision, a little secret mantra will be doing the rounds in the stands and on the Big Bank: “Gillingham, Tranmere, Wycombe, Southend… stay down.” For while wishing none of them any ill-will (and I don’t), those are the sides who will stand between Exeter City and League One football again in the summer – after England’s World Cup fortunes have… oh, I’ll let you finish that sentence as you wish!

Realistically, the Gills and the Rovers are the real survival rivals. But no half-thoughts should stray in their direction today. Every ounce of effort and grit is needed within St James’ Park to will on Exeter City to a morale-boosting, point grabbing win. We’ve got to want to succeed. Then we can.
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Loyal to the red, white and red again

First published in The Grecian, 10 April 2010, Exeter City -v- Leyton Orient

Football loyalty can be an intense, tribal, frightening thing at times, especially when it comes to identification with a particular team and locality, or the rivalry embodied in a fiery derby match – like the one Exeter City fans hope they will be enjoying with Plymouth Argyle next season.

To make that possible, the Grecians need to stay in League One so as to be ready to welcome the Pilgrims back to where City-ites think they really belong! That remains a challenging task, too, with this tough match at St James’ against fellow strugglers Leyton Orient next on the menu. Then there are five matches between City and safety.

In midweek manager Paul Tisdale named the two qualities that he thinks can make the crucial difference between success and ‘the other option’ this term. They are “steely determination” and “the freedom to play.” They sound opposites. How can you be tight and open, constrained and free, disciplined and adventurous all at the same time, you may ask?

Yet that is the epitome of the modern game at its highest levels. When I played the knockabout stuff at school, you could have teams that did well because they were really strong in attack, or rock solid at the back, but not vice versa. It was the old “we’ll simply score one more than you” or “if we don’t let a goal in the worst we can end up with is a draw” syndrome.

In professional football you still come across that kind of thing. But it is far less common. The artistry of the game has merged with its science, and aptitude in one department alone has had to give way to competence in all. Of course the Barcelonas of this world can become sublime rather than merely great because of the exceptional talent of a Lionel Messi, but even they have to integrate that magic into a formula which eliminates weaknesses and builds on potential in every area.

The ’70s vision of ‘total football’ may never have been realised fully and consistently anywhere, apart from flashes of Brazilian, Spanish and Dutch genius over the years. But the notion of ‘deep football’, in the sense of combining across the board, is the ubiquitous aim now. As a result, my estimate is that the fitness, strength, skill, application and adaptability at the core of third-tier English football would have put today’s sides at least a division higher twenty-five years ago. Maybe more.

You can argue over that later. The task in hand is this game with the lads from East London. It’s what the pundits terms, with mocking self-awareness, “a six-pointer”. The winners, if there are such (and no-one would really benefit from a draw), will not only claim three points for themselves but take three away from one of their competitors for the dry land of 20th place. This is where Orient sit right now – with the Grecians just three points, three places and two goals ahead.

Below that mark lies a watery grave, a dip in finance and support, plus football in the fourth tier for 2010-11. No-one on the pitch, on the bench or behind the scenes for either club will be wanting to think in those terms for at least 90 minutes. But it is a reality that shadows us all.

That said, the Grecians enter this tussle with a booster from some good recent results and form. The gritty 0-0 draw away at Brentford over Easter follows victories against Colchester, Walsall and Bristol, interspersed with single points from Wycombe, Southend and Oldham.

Orient, on the other hand, who only a couple of months ago were drawing with Leeds, thumping Bristol Rovers 5-0 and beating Charlton 1-0 at the Valley (I saw the last two of those, and impressive they were), now find themselves on the edge of crisis – if not dangling right in it. Six defeats in the last seven games, slumping nine places from 11th on 2nd February, and sacking manager Geraint Williams after a 3-1 humiliation by Hartlepool… all this puts a very different complexion on their season.

Now former Yeovil boss Russell Slade has come in to try and rescue Barry Hearn’s team, with this trip to Devon his first outing in that role. City hardly need telling that sympathy or complacency cannot be allowed any head- or pitch-space today. Personally, however, I want to see both these sides remain in League One. It’s that loyalty question again, with mine spread (though not split).

I’ve been following Exeter City as my local side now for seven years. But in English terms (41 years of my life having been fully dedicated to Dumbarton up in Scotland) Orient have been my ‘London team’, thanks to my friend Kevin Scully, an Os fanatic and Rector of St Matthew’s Bethnal Green. Sadly, he can’t be here this afternoon – though he usually travels with the Orient faithful.

I’ll be in the Exeter stands nevertheless. I want it to be a great game; and whatever the result, I definitely hope for a couple of repeat fixtures next season.

[Pic: Fr Kevin Scully (right) and Mark Smith - the Orient faithful]

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Just too much excitement?

First published in The Grecian, 02 April 2010, Exeter City -v- Colchester United

Ah, the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. An ideal time to relax, unwind, enjoy some good weather (hopefully) and let the stresses and strains of the first three months of the year disappear as we spend time pottering in the garden, playing with the kids, enjoying a distracting hobby, or taking in a game of football…

Hold on, though. If you thought this afternoon’s clash between Exeter City and Colchester United was going to be some kind of stress sinecure, you maybe haven’t been paying sufficient attention to what’s been going on in League One of late!

Here is an encounter between two sides at opposite ends of the table, with competing aspirations and rather different fortunes of late, who will both be stretching every fibre and sinew to secure another three points. A relaxing afternoon is unlikely, at least if you have the slightest concern for the fate of either team.

At this stage of the season, with eight matches separating us from the final verdict for 2009-10, every game has the potential to develop the spirit of a crucial cup-tie – dogged, thrilling, unpredictable and nail biting. And that’s just in the terraces!

For the Grecians, the pressure of the past few weeks has been alleviated by a positive run of results, culminating in a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Walsall at St James’ Park last Saturday. In five games, City have claimed nine points and six goals, conceding four. That followed seven games without a win, during which time we gave away eleven goals and scored just five, following the euphoria of a 2-0 home victory over Leeds United on 16 January.

In recent seasons, Exeter have been known among fans and observers for making a strong finish, often after a period of uncertainty or slump. That capacity to respond well under pressure has contributed to the not inconsiderable achievement of two Wembley play-off finals and back-to-back promotions from the Conference and Football League Two over the past three years.

This time, however, the Grecians have faced an unrelentingly tough eight months, lightened by some fine performances and one or two notable victories, surely – but also marked by high quality opposition, little room for manoeuvre or mistakes, and results which have proved disappointing compared to the degree of endeavour and skill invested by Paul Tisdale and his aspiring side.

Right now, however, City are showing the determination to dig themselves out of the League One relegation mire. Following that Walsall win, Exeter sit two points and three places above the drop zone, with just two sides holding games in hand over us. The team are in the position they need to be – namely, in control, of their own fate.

That is vital. Having to rely on other teams to drop points for you is perilous at any stage of the season, but most especially when it is heading towards its climax – because that is the time when you can least rely on those below or around you to do you a favour. Everyone is scrabbling for advantage, especially those for whom it could be a matter of survival or non-survival come May.

It hardly needs pointing out that three points for the Grecians this afternoon would be a further huge boost to the confidence of team, fans and city alike. Far from ‘job done’, but heading towards the mid-table boredom that, frankly, we all crave. A point would not be sniffed at either, in normal circumstances, but it is ‘full house’ that the lads will be going for in every game leading up to Huddersfield at St James’ on 8 May. That is the best route to safety.

Meanwhile, our opponents will have very different ideas. Colchester United sit on the bottom edge of the League One play-offs, with three hard games against top table rivals Millwall, Swindon and Charlton in the offing. This away trip to Exeter forms the bridge between those matches and a run of results which has been dispiriting, to say the least.

If the Grecians have been able to talk about revival of late, the men from Essex, and what claims to be the oldest town in Britain, will be feeling desperate to end a run of six games that has included three defeats (versus Walsall, Carlisle and Bristol Rovers) in spite of seven goals scored.

The last two matches against lowly, battling Wycombe Wanderers and mid-table Brentford have seen four scored and four conceded in two draws. Last Saturday the U’s gave away two more points in the 93rd minute, so they will be wanting to make sure they are as tight as possible against City this afternoon. An absorbing encounter is in prospect for a ‘relaxing’ Easter Saturday.
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Wondering as they wander

First published in The Grecian, 17 March 2010, Exeter City -v- Bristol Rovers

Rovers. There’s a name to entice the football emotions of men (or women) “of a certain age”. Roy of the Rovers, the cartoon soccer hero some of us remember from our youth, has undergone a bit of an unexpected resurgence over the past year or so – with a 64-page “collectors edition” on the newsstands last April, a Guardian facsimile appearing more recently, and two ‘Best of’ books, featuring successive runs of strips from the 1980s and 1970s, being published in June 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Roy Race and his Melchester Rovers side have appeared in various British publications since 1954. An attempt by a group of dedicated fans to revive the publishing tradition that still leaves football commentators referring to “a Roy of the Rovers moment” (when something spectacular happens) didn’t quite come off in 2009. But aficionados still live in hope of a comeback.

Meanwhile, the legendary (if imaginary) striker has survived takeovers, buyouts and a host of traumas including a helicopter crash where he lost his foot in 1993. Right now Exeter City fans are feeling sore over the decidedly real-world loss of new signing Troy Archibald-Henville, ruled out for the remainder of the season after sustaining a cartilage injury. Very bad news. But at least it isn’t anything as drastic as the wandering Rovers hero’s mid-air collision!

The Rovers that the Grecians face today are also far from fictional, and bear little resemblance to the Melchester crew, hailing instead from the fair city of Bristol. “Well, it’s fair from this distance, anyway!” an Exeter supporter said to me the other day. With cracks like that, and, er, a ‘fair few’ flying back the other way, you know you’re in for a solid bit of local rivalry tonight – bolstered by a sell-out all-ticket crowd at St James’ Park.

Following the visit of lowly Stockport County to Devon on Saturday, for a game which the Grecians very much wanted to signal the start of a revival in our own League One fortunes, the arrival of the Gasmen this evening signals another challenge on the path to securing our foothold in this division. As the Rovers wander, City wonder: how many points do we need to feel safe, and when will we secure them? As soon as possible has to be the answer, starting now.

As it happens, I caught a glimpse of Bristol Rovers in action on the television just over a week ago, while visiting my local hostelry in search of some football entertainment after a very hard day’s work.

The match in question was the Gas against Charlton Athletic, who I coincidentally saw live when losing out to Leyton Orient in a great game at the Valley on 25 January – before their trio of 1-1 draws and then the 2-1 defeat at the Memorial Stadium. Bristol looked tight and determined against the Addicks. But City already know what they are up against, following the lessons absorbed by Paul Tisdale and the boys after a 1-0 away defeat in Horfield on 1 December.

That evening the BBC described the Grecians as “unlucky Exeter”, with City losing out to an opportunist Darryl Duffy goal in the first half, following a half clearance from Jo Kuffour's initial low shot. Richard Logan, Alex Russell and Ryan Harley also came incredibly close to getting on the score sheet for the Grecians, with the latter’s noble 25-yard effort at the end just being denied by the woodwork.

Since that encounter Bristol Rovers, previously known as the Pirates (for acts of robbery like that?), have had mixed fortunes. At the beginning of December 2009 they were in the play-off zone. Now, twelve games on, they are ten points behind the pack chasing the automatic promotion places. But that will only increase their determination to take something from this game.

I was not able to get to the Memorial Stadium for the Grecians’ away game there last year, but I have seen Rovers once before this season, in circumstances that ought to give City a bit of encouragement. On 2 February, Bristol visited Leyton Orient, where I go with my friend Kevin Scully when I’m working in London. Leading 1-0 at half time, the Os scored an incredible 5-0 win over the Gas. What a match it was!

Our visitors are exceedingly unlikely to be as generous again in Exeter this evening, but the evidence of those two games in London is that you need to compete with Bristol Rovers for good, flowing football and then hit them hard when the opportunity arises. That is what the Grecians will be aiming to do tonight.
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Digging for victory

First published in The Grecian, 06 March 2010, Exeter City -v- Oldham Athletic

According to the popular aphorism, “If you find yourself in a hole, just stop digging.” That makes perfect sense in most departments of life, where further excavation will inevitably make the dreaded pit even larger. In football, however, finding yourself in or near the relegation zone is precisely the time to get those shovels polished, into action and working extra hard!

There, I’ve mentioned it. The ‘R’ word. Not because I’m pessimistic, but because there’s little point in denying the scale and difficulty of the task Exeter City face, viewing the League One table from twenty-second out of twenty-four teams in the division. To do so would be sheer denial of reality… something that never, ever helps you to turn things around.

A prompt about-turn is precisely the Grecians’ task this afternoon – right through until the final whistle. No, not the one at around ten to five today, but the one we will hear on 8 May, against Huddersfield. There are exactly thirteen games left for City to dig for safety and victory. Some regard that as an unlucky number – but they are the ones who have already abandoned themselves to an unnamed fate. By contrast, the teams still playing at this level next year, or going on to higher things, will be the ones who have chosen to take fate into their own hands.

I have no doubt that the Grecians have the capacity to do that. But there is little time to lose (literally!), and there is therefore no point in looking back in grief or disbelief at the current poor patch of results: three wins in the last nineteen, if you must know, and no three-pointers since that euphoric 2-0 victory over ‘famous Leeds’ at St James Park on Saturday 16 January.

All that’s history. What really matters is what lies ahead. And the most important aspect of Exeter’s future is the grass beneath our feet and the goal right in front of us today. The manager and staff at Oldham Athletic will be thinking exactly the same thing, of course. For the Latics lie just one point in front of us, with the extra cushion (and incentive) of two games in hand.

There’s also a strange symmetry attached to this fixture, and it contains a ghost we definitely need to bury. When City travelled up to Boundary Park back on 12 December last year, we lost 2-0, following a level first half. The previous week, the Grecians’ opponents had also been Brighton & Hove Albion, and the result – like the match at the little-loved Withdean Stadium last weekend, ended in disappointing defeat… albeit by one rather than two goals.

In every sense, then, the task facing Exeter in this game is to disconnect themselves from the “what happened last time” and generate fresh momentum for what lies ahead. On paper this is entirely achievable. But it’s what happens on the pitch that counts, more so in the result than in the type of football played.

For most of the season, even when things have not been going well, City have done themselves credit with some attractive, flowing play. What we have lacked is consistency, concentration at the back (particularly when facing counter-attacks) and the ability to translate dominance and movement into balls striking the back of the net.

As pundits often observe, the line between success and failure in the professional game is incredibly thin. A kick, a touch, a well-timed run or a refereeing decision can make all the difference. That and the confidence to take get to that challenge first, to spot the gap, to take necessary risks, and to pounce on half-chances.

If City can win today and follow up with another good couple of performances, our prospects will start looking very different. The table remains tight, the results around us are not stacking up evenly, and we have Southend, Wycombe, Leyton Orient, Brentford, Tranmere and Hartlepool among those still to come. None of these are sides it will be easy to beat. But they are all within reach of our position and they are all teams we would rightly hope to take points off.

So it’s a going to be a challenging couple of month, undoubtedly. But there is no reason to start giving ‘bad luck’ a foothold. If the players can keep digging, the results will start to come. Stop for a breather, and the earth is likely to fall around them. Meanwhile, we in the stands can do our part to ensure that Exeter City are where they deserve to be next term: here in League One again.
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Exciting the football passions

First published in The Grecian, 20 February 2010, Exeter City -v- Stockport County

Somehow you get the feeling that the milk of human kindness doesn’t flow freely when football passions are at their most intense. Fans love to kick a team when they’re in trouble, and around this time of year chants of the “You’re going down!” and “You’ll be sacked in the morning!” variety start to resonate more regularly around terraces up and down the land.

Exeter City have had a few of the former serenades over the past few weeks, but we’re determinedly ignoring them. Losing away to Millwall at the last gasp was hard to take, and one that didn’t do credit to the effort put in by our players. But it did illustrate the toughness of grabbing points at the New Den these days.

At this stage of the season there’s no point in looking back and grumbling, however. Every Club in the country would have an extra 15 points in the bank if all those near misses, unlucky losses and “we wuz robbed” moments had gone the right way. But they didn’t, and we are where we are.

The important thing this afternoon is to retain focus and to go for a convincing win – against opponents who, in a close and high quality third tier, are still seen as the closest thing to whipping boys… but who will have absolutely no intention of living up to that reputation at St James Park.

Stockport County took an important point off fourth-placed Colchester United at Edgeley Park last weekend, indicating in the process that they are willing to fight for every inch of turf this term, in spite of major difficulties on and off the pitch.

That said, the Hatters have a pretty grim away record, as their basement status and overall 31-goal deficit confirms. ’Keeper Owain Fon Williams will also want to forget the moment that let United’s David Prutton's innocuous free-kick slip through his grasp and in for the opener last Saturday. A classic “comedy goal”, though the man between the sticks certainly won’t be laughing!

Things got worse when Colchester then went two in front from Anthony Wordsworth on 18 minutes. But County showed tremendous courage in clawing themselves back from the brink of destruction, and Jabo Ibehre’s brace, completed with thirteen minutes to go, secured them a deserved draw. It might even have been a win if substitute Ian Henderson's shot hadn’t hit the post… but we’ve already observed that football teams cannot live by “if” alone.

Incidentally, it was a redemption moment for Islington-born Jabo, too. The well-travelled front man is on his second loan spell at Stockport from Milton Keynes Dons, after being released by Walsall last year. This follows a less-than-auspicious end to eight years and 209 senior appearances from 2000-2008 at Leyton Orient – where I put in terrace appearances when I’m in the vicinity of East London these days.

Stockport County could do with every bit of fortune passing their doorstep right now. In March they are appearing as a featured team in the excellent When Saturday Comes magazine, though not exactly for the reasons they would choose.

‘County caught’ is the headline for David Meller’s article about the web of financial, legal and municipal woe surrounding the Hatters at present. What follows is an all-too-familiar litany of money mayhem. Football is in a crazy state economically, and the government’s recent announcement that it plans to take action on governance, debt and regulation within the game has not come a moment too soon.

There’s another dimension to this story, however – one that rarely reaches the tabloids. So David Meller (no relation to a certain Chelsea-supporting ex-Tory MP, who spells his second name with an ‘o’) also reports on the solid action Stockport supporters have been taking to highlight the crisis that has gripped their club, and to try to get them out of it.

It’s not the first time this season that Exeter City are welcoming to their Devon home a football team whose fans have had to channel passion on the terraces into a practical concern for how their club is run and how it can be salvaged from destruction. Brighton and Hove Albion also come to mind.

What the financial shenanigans have demonstrated at Stockport, says Meller, looking on the positive side, is “a determined and loyal supporter base worthy of investment” from the right sources. Though the Grecians badly need to pile the agony on County from a football point of view today, we should wish them all the best in their efforts to stay afloat. Another needless casualty is not what the game needs.
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Football saints and sinners

First published in The Grecian, 06 February 2010, Exeter City -v- Southampton

No doubt about it, this afternoon’s match against Southampton at St James Park is going to be seen as one of the ‘big games’ of the League One season for Exeter City, at least as far as the fans are concerned. Then again, the prestige or otherwise of the opposition counts for little if it’s not worth three points at the end of 90 minutes. Some recent results have taught us that hard lesson.

Points, of course, are precisely what the Grecians need right now. Letting things drift further is not an option. Attractive football may be what we all hope to witness after parting with our hard-earned pounds at the turnstile, but skill alone is to little avail when the drop zone lurks menacingly behind you.

After the midweek results, City now stand four points above that forbidding relegation line, but with Gillingham, Brighton, Oldham and Tranmere holding one, two, four and two games in hand over us, respectively.

The situation is manageable, but only if we starting winning again. Thankfully the creditable point in the 2-2 draw away against promotion-chasers Milton Keynes Dons last Saturday ended a five-game losing streak for City and has hopefully regenerated the confidence of Paul Tisdale’s men.

An added boost came a few days ago from the signing from Spurs of admired 21-year-old defender Troy Archibald-Henville, who is now with us on a permanent basis. The deal was clinched right at the end of the January transfer window.

Not only does this amount to the Grecians’ first formal transfer fee in seven years, it also secures the permanent services of a player whose 19 games last term helped to guarantee Exeter automatic promotion from League Two, and whose 17 appearances this season have amply demonstrated the talent, effort and determination Troy brings with him.

That little transfer statistic is also a reminder of the way City are trying to leave past troubles behind. The same is true, in a rather different way, for Southampton. The sequence of wheeler dealing and speculation around the club between April and Summer 2009 led one local paper to headline the saga, “From the brink of extinction to a billionaire.”

Overall, Southampton’s current League position (twelfth, on 33 points) belies their actual level of accomplishment on the field of play and the £3 million they have spent in the transfer window. Docked ten points in April 2009 for going into administration, and then ten with relegation, Saints fans will have their own ideas about who the chief ‘sinners’ are: that is, who is most responsible for leaving them in the third flight for the first time in 50 years.

The fact remains, however, that without that deduction they would be on the edge of the play-offs with games in hand over two of the other contenders. That is a fair measure of their quality this season, notwithstanding one or two blips and blemishes. Promotion is far from ruled out.

Meanwhile, although this encounter is hardly what most people would class as a ‘derby’, the relative isolation of the southwest lends all south coast encounters at least a bit of added spice as far as the Grecians are concerned – as does Saints’ recent acquisition of Exeter's Danny Seabourne.

I’m glad to say that I’ll be back at St James today. Having moved recently to the West Midlands I shall have more of a ‘commuting’ relationship with Exeter City for the rest of the year, but thankfully there are Devon friends and interests to keep me coming back from time-to-time.

As for Saints, well I remember them well from the 1970s, from 1980-81 when they finished sixth in the old Division One (with Alan Ball, Phil Boyer, Mick Channon, Charlie George and Ted MacDougall on board), and from the 1983-4 season when they achieved their highest ever top flight finish, second place. Now a friend of mine even lives in ‘Channon Court’ in Southampton, named after one of their legends!

I last saw Saints play here on 12 August 2008, when Dean Moxey was the Grecians’ 85th-minute goal hero in a midweek 3-1 defeat in the first round of the Carling Cup. Southampton looked quite comfortable in the end, but if two near misses by Adam Stansfield had gone the other way it might have been a different story.

At that time, just 18 months ago, Saints were a Championship side and City were the League Two new boys. Now we meet ‘on the level’, and Exeter have a chance not only of reversing Cup and friendly defeats at the hands of our visitors from St Mary’s, but also easing our current League concerns.
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A big step, but still a long journey

First published in The Grecian, 26 January 2010, Exeter City -v- Carlisle United

If you don’t support one of the Premier League ‘big boys’ there’s a piece of conventional football observer wisdom that says it’s often better to be involved in a promotion chase in a lower league than a survival scrap in the one above.

Try telling that one to Exeter City fans after the last couple of weeks! The word ‘Leeds’ is likely to be among the first thrown back at you – and in any case, the Grecians aren’t easily admitting that the bottom of the table is on their minds. Boring it has not been.

It’s now a fortnight since that incredible 2-0 victory over the mighty men from Elland Road, and while we now have more to chew on following the away derby defeat at Yeovil, the aura of that famous victory still understandably lingers around St James Park.

Unfortunately, I’m not one of those who is entitled to join the burgeoning new Facebook group called ‘I Was There The Day Exeter Beat Leeds 2-0’. But as the final whistle blew, I found an email in my inbox from a Grecians fan simply saying, “I’m walking on air!”

When I mentioned this to my wife, who takes a passing interest in football – by which I mean she tries to pass it wherever possible! – she responded dryly, “Hmmnn… I thought you were supposed to play it on the ground.”

I rather imagine that the gaffer has been saying something similar to his players in recent days! Indeed, in his post match interview, while still relishing the Leeds triumph, Paul Tisdale was quick to point out that it was “only three points”, hard as that is to credit when you topple the side that only recently beat Manchester United in the FA Cup.

When it comes to the prediction stakes, I’m usually not one to follow. But I had ‘a feeling in my bones’ about that Leeds match. In my last programme note I wasn’t quite bold enough to forecast a definite upset, but I did manage to write: “The bookies have most of their money on new-look Leeds today, and the pundits say Exeter should be happy with a point. But that underestimates the determination of [the] side... who will be straining every muscle to make this a truly memorable match for all the right (red and white) reasons.”

This afternoon, by contrast, I predict a tough game – but would be happy to be proved wrong with a convincing and large victory. However, Carlisle United visit the southwest today buoyed by a few boosters themselves. The fact that they also managed to beat a certain Leeds, for example. They won 2-1 at Elland Road (no less) in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

Likewise, though they are just below Exeter in League One, the Cumbrians have games in hand, and will be keen to avenge themselves of the 1-0 defeat to the Grecians at Brunton Park back on 22 August last year. That day it was a 73rd minute penalty from Marcus Stewart that separated the two teams.

Much has changed since then, of course. But Exeter City still sometimes give the appearance of bringing out their best performances against a few of the strongest teams, while letting goals and points slip in the lower zone of the table. It will be a clear New Year’s resolution on Well Street to ensure that the kind of weaknesses that contribute to this pattern are ironed out, and this game is as good as any to prove that.

An added impetus for City this afternoon is the knowledge that there are some demanding fixtures just around the corner. Next weekend the boys take on Milton Keynes Dons, who are pushing hard for the play-offs. Then it’s Southampton at home – another game that’s sure to attract a large crowd. Hopefully, I will be able to make that match, as I am down in Devon from my new home in Birmingham over the weekend.

Hardly will Exeter have had a chance to capture their breath from tackling the Saints than a trip to the New Den to face Millwall hoves into view on 13th February (that’s Saturday, not Friday!)… followed by two home matches in quick succession on the 20th and 23rd, concluding with an end-of-the-month trip to the seaside to take on Brighton.

Hopefully that fixture bundle gives a fair idea of just how resilient the Grecians and their supporters will need to be in the second half of the season. A good result this evening would be a fine start to the journey.

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More memories in the making

First published in The Grecian, 16 January 2009, Exeter City -v- Leeds United

There is little doubt that today’s encounter with Leeds United at St James Park will be, for many Exeter City fans, ‘the big one’ as far as home games go this season. Anticipation has been heightened further by Leeds’ magnificent FA Cup victory at Old Trafford on 3rd January, recalling the Grecians’ own heroics against Manchester United a few years ago.

While fans of the Peacocks (to give Leeds their traditional nickname) still like to sing, with tongues firmly in cheeks, “We’re not famous any more!”, the ‘brand recognition’ for the club nevertheless remains high, not just in Britain but across Europe.

So Whites’ supporters holidaying in Italy, Spain and Germany still find themselves in long, nostalgic conversations about past glories with fellow aficionados of the Beautiful Game. And that’s before anyone gets on to the subject of Brian Clough’s notorious 44 days at Elland Road and the side’s consequent appearance last year in a fine football film, ‘The Damned United’, starring Michael Sheen.

This big screen cameo was admittedly a bit of a mixed blessing, as it highlighted aspects of the all-conquering 1970s Leeds side that earned them the dislike of some football followers, as well as undeniable respect. Cloughie said at the time that Don Revie’s warriors should be relegated to the second division. In the event, they went one better!

But that’s all history. If their current formbook is anything to go by, Leeds will almost certainly be playing Championship football next season, deservedly so. Few would doubt that their challenge to get back into the Premier League will then be swift and substantial – buttressed by a huge supporter base in West Yorkshire and beyond, as well as by fans willing to travel far and wide to show their loyalty… as we are witnessing in the southwest this weekend, wild weather permitting.

For those of us in our 40s, 50s and beyond, the thought that Leeds have ended up playing in the third level of English professional football for the first time in their history is still hard to credit. Their fall from grace over the past decade was startling. Remember that United were only ejected from the top flight in the 2003-4 season, after 14 years there and an illustrious history stretching back many years before.

Indeed, not long after the turn of the Millennium, the men from Elland Road were appearing in a major European semi-final and planning yet another assault on the Premiership title. It was economic folly that was their undoing – spending massively beyond their capacity, and mortgaging huge borrowing on TV rights and income from a qualification place for the Champions League that did not materialise.

At that point the Leeds slide began in earnest, serving as a definitive lesson about the perils of gambling with big money in modern football – a financial warning which many clubs have sadly failed to heed, as the current lamentable mess at Portsmouth illustrates.

Exeter City have suffered their own problems with mismanagement in the past, too. But now the Grecians are on a path towards sustainability at a respectable level within the Football League, and this afternoon’s match is both a marker of the huge distance travelled since the bad old days of relegation, near non-existence and non-league obscurity. It also provides an opportunity for us to judge the level City have now attained, and how far they have to go to negotiate the next step up.

Meanwhile, as the current Peacocks strut their stuff in Devon – mindful of the tough game that Exeter gave them up North during their narrow 2-1 win on 8th August, no doubt – many Grecians fans will have their own recollections of the Leeds of old. Mine go back to 2nd December 1972, and an away clash with Arsenal at Highbury.

Those were the days when you could get a walk up ticket for a clash of the titans if you were lucky, and I spent the afternoon with two schoolmates who were Gunners fans watching 22 players who are now all legends. That day Leeds consisted of Harvey, Reaney, Cherry, Bremner, Madeley, Hunter, Lorimer, Clark, Jones, Bates and Yorath – and they still managed to lose by the odd goal in three!

The bookies have most of their money on new-look Leeds today, and the pundits say Exeter should be happy with a point. But that underestimates the determination of Paul Tisdale’s side, now without Danny Seabourne, who will be straining every muscle to make this a truly memorable match for all the right (red and white) reasons.
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In Trusts we trust

First published in The Grecian, 28 December 2009, Exeter City -v- Gillingham

So Exeter City's neighbours Plymouth have secured one of the coveted places as a potential World Cup venue in England’s bid to host the 2018 competition. This news (not so new now!) has generated a mixed response among the Exeter faithful… unsurprisingly, given the not-always-friendly sense of football competition between the two cities.

Personally I hope a sporting response will win out over instincts towards rancour when it comes to anything connected with our green rivals. After all, there’s justifiable pride in Devon and southwest at stake here, together with tangible benefits for both Exeter and Torquay in terms of related facilities.

There’s also the more fragile promise of economic benefit and a tourism boost for the region if Plymouth survive the final hurdle – Bristol are their more favoured competitors for a regional venue – and if England win the bid.

That’s two big “ifs” already. A further one concerns the longer-term viability of a 45,000-seater stadium for the Pilgrims. A ground share with the Grecians, perhaps? Don’t worry, I’m only kidding!

Nevertheless, as the situation at Everton demonstrates, even big clubs may have to think the unthinkable in terms of resources and development as the financial noose around the game becomes even tighter in our credit-crunched and environmentally threatened world.

In other European countries fierce rivals sometimes share grounds, and many clubs hire or share facilities rather than owning them outright. In Britain that seems culturally odd and out of synch with the way the game has evolved. But it will be interesting to see where we are in 25 years time.

Talking of proprietorship, I hope football fans across the country will be making New Year’s resolutions to back even more Trusts with a stake in owning and running their clubs.

The Trust movement and Supporters Direct are still thriving, in spite of recent difficulties and resistance from some of the ‘old guard’. It is a source of pride in Exeter that we are now the only fully Trust-owned club in the Football League. But I still wish there were many more.

The sad mess at Notts County ought to serve as a solid warning to those who think that provident societies are just a temporary phase for a team seeking to avert a crisis before they move on to “bigger and better things” – that is, finding a gold-rich benefactor to hand over the millions which will ensure their success.

In truth, leaning on the super-rich is a highly fallible process, and often downright dangerous. Rather than keeping a club close to those who care about it most, the supporters, megacorp ownership makes it prey to the whims, fortunes and debts of wheeler-dealers.

This is a problem for football aristocrats too. Liverpool’s possibilities of winning the Premier League, for example, are now ransomed to the debt-servicing needs of their American owners. And only Manchester United’s massive global market is preventing them from having similar problems. But where did that £80 million for Ronaldo go, we might ask ourselves?

This is a different universe to the one inhabited by Exeter City. But perils lurk in our territory too. Some fans on Exeweb and elsewhere think that our Trust will need to sell out to a sugar daddy in order to secure a dream of regular Championship football. Notts County fans thought that too, and gave away everything they had built up for a pittance in exchange for Munto’s empty promises. Now they are hoping that Sven and his friends can do some more magic.

The real danger is that if a wealthy way forward is found for County (which in football terms we all hope will be the case) it will breed complacency among others about the tycoon route to ‘success’. It shouldn’t. We need to grow up and realise that not every team can aspire to the highest level. It is the game as a whole that we should be seeking to benefit. The best way to do that is for fans to be more involved – and more realistic in their expectations.

This principle also applies to the web-based MyFootballClub experiment, too. Ebbsfleet looked to have cracked this a couple of years ago when they were chosen as recipients of the largess of the £35 punters. Now that, too, is unravelling.

So my hope for 2010 is that the Trust movement will gain fresh traction. Exeter City has been offering a lead. Hopefully that’s also what we will have secured at the end of 90 minutes against Gillingham. Enjoy the game and happy New Year!
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Digging in for victory

First published in The Grecian, 19 December 2009, Exeter City -v- Southend

In recent years, Exeter City’s seasons have often grown stronger as they have progressed. That has certainly been the case under the tutelage of Paul Tisdale, and while they may have given Grecians’ fans a few jitters along the way, the past two terms have ended up being a cause for celebration rather than trepidation.

Unsurprisingly, League One is proving a really tough proposition, and following three straight defeats against Oldham, Brighton and Bristol Rovers, in which City have also failed to score, the determination of the home side to turn the tide today, so that we can get into a proper Festive swing again, will be very strong – as our visitors from Southend are bound to be aware.

As the cold sets in, the challenge for the Grecians is to ‘dig for victory’ and not to let a debilitating climate get to them too much. I’m thinking of the league table (which, as is often said, does not lie) as well as the obvious climatic conditions!

The approaching New Year is necessarily a time to look forward rather than back, but that isn’t automatically a source of consolation either. On or before 16 January 2010, Exeter face some massive fixtures. We come up against Southampton and Norwich away from home, and then Leeds United at St James Park – a mouth-watering prospect that one, and unimaginable only 18 months ago. The solid performance at Elland Road back in August (when we lost 2-1, but were unlucky not to come away with a point) shows the team have nothing to fear, but much to achieve.

Being a skilful side, the Grecians sometimes find their feet better against the really demanding opposition than when taking on what some might consider ‘journeyman’ teams. But whatever the opposition, the right frame of mind and the correct preparation remains vital. And that is in our hands, not somebody else’s.

Over the past few weeks it seems that we have lacked a killer touch in the final third once more. That appears to come and go with us. At Boundary Park we failed to take early chances. Opponents now know very well that City can keep the ball on the deck and move it around effectively, so they tend to sit back and close down spaces – waiting for chances to break away, for the occasional mistake from us, or for a loss of momentum in the game.

This means its important not to be predictable. Hopefully City will have one or two surprises up their sleeves (or should I say, “at their feet!”) for Southend this afternoon, away at St Mary’s on Boxing Day, and then for the visit of Gillingham to the southwest two days later.

It’s a demanding winter schedule, and one not made any easier by the realisation that the Grecians sit only a couple of points off the relegation zone. That said, the division as a whole has stayed pretty tight, and a few good results could alter the complexion of the situation significantly.

What is certain is that our 2009-10 campaign will go the full distance, that more than a handful of teams will find themselves caught up in a struggle for survival and better, that there will be no easy games, and that many of those we face will have considerably larger financial and other resources at their disposal than we do.

What Exeter City possesses in greater abundance, however, is community spirit and determination – together with some of the best coaching staff in the division. Things are difficult at the moment, for sure. But that’s precisely why it is desirable not to put yourself under any more pressure than you already face from your opponents on the pitch.

Equally, it is important to gain insight from the inevitable setbacks, rather than to wallow in recrimination or to allow division to set in. That includes the relationship between players and fans, as well as what goes on in the dressing room.

Overall, given the swings and roundabouts, it seems to me that Exeter City are continuing to hold their own commendably in an unyielding segment of the Football League pyramid. As the season progresses, and as more lessons are learned, so more opportunities will be opened up for consolidation and progress in our different performance ‘departments’, from front to back and all stations in between.

Right now, it’s the team’s morale that needs a boost – and that is something the fans can help to provide. Taking a glance back over the club’s recent history there’s a huge amount to be grateful for, and even more reason to go on cheering the current red and white’s squad into 2010.
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Hoping for a brighter future

First published in The Grecian, 05 December 2009, Exeter City -v- Brighton & Hove Albion

Today will be the second time I’ve seen Brighton and Hove Albion this season. Back in October I watched them play a spirited game at Leyton Orient, losing to a last minute goal from Adrian Patulea. A week or so before that, the Seagulls had achieved a 1-1 away draw in League One away to Bristol Rovers. Unfortunately this Tuesday night the Grecians couldn’t quite get that all-important equaliser at the Memorial Stadium. But we live to tackle another day.

Actually, there’s another Bristol connection which has become rather well known in Brighton’s history. Back in 1973, when iconoclastic manager Brian Clough briefly went down to the south coast between his sudden departure from Derby County and his apocalyptic arrival at Leeds United, he oversaw two dramatic Seagulls defeats. One was 4-0 against non-league Walton and Hersham in an FA Cup replay, the other an 8-2 televised pasting against the Rovers – shared in the dugout with sons Simon and Nigel (now of Burton and Derby fame).

This afternoon Exeter City and Brighton and Hove Albion meet each other on the back of mixed fortunes in League One and in the Cup. Up until that reversal against Bristol Rovers, the Grecians had not lost in five league outings, while the Seagulls have struggled – most recently with heavy defeats away at Norwich (4-1) and home against the aforementioned Leeds (3-0). But in the FA Cup they secured consecutive victories over Wycombe (2-0) and, last weekend, Rushden and Diamonds (3-2)… while City were crashing out 4-3 at Milton Keynes Dons, having led 3-1.

For different reasons, then, both sides will be eager to get back on track. Exeter’s home form makes them favourites with the bookies, but Paul Tisdale and the boys will not be taking anything for granted. The Seagulls may be struggling for points this season, but they have still managed to play some attractive football.

My own connection with Albion has been a curious one. I lived in Brighton for five years from 1999, two years after they nearly slipped out of the Football League altogether (a second half equaliser in a crucial final game sent Hereford down to the Conference instead) and around the time when their ground chaos was at its height. They remain one of the few ‘local sides’ I have lived near but not followed on a regular basis. This is partly to do with the goings on during that era.

A discredited old regime had sold the Goldstone Ground in Hove to developers without securing a viable alternative home, and in 1997 a ground share with Gillingham (round trip, 150 miles!) had to be arranged before a still less-than-satisfactory interim solution was arrived at in the shape of their temporary home at Withdean Stadium.

During that period, ’Gulls fans showed terrific determination to survive, and indeed Brighton thrived on the pitch with two back-to-back championships in 2001-2 (their centenary year, under Micky Adams) and 2002-3, before slipping back again to League One in 2005-6.

Then a huge planning battle took place over the site of a new stadium at Falmer, not far from the University of Sussex, one of the places where I studied in the late ’70s. After rejections, a final granting of permission and further delays, it now looks as if the project Brighton fans have been longing for will be completed in 2011… though no-one is holding their breath.

Few groups of supporters have fought harder to secure the future of their club, including the formation of a ‘Fans United’ network, petitioning the government and local council, and organising demonstrations across the country. I wish them all the very best for the future. In honesty, though, in spite of my longstanding football loyalism, I was one of those who thought the Falmer site was wrong on both civic and environmental grounds, and I still do. It would have seemed hypocritical as well as awkward to watch them when that was my genuine (and deeply unpopular) view.

However, that is now n the past, the new stadium is on its way, and Brighton and Hove Albion are rightly looking to secure a brighter future (that’s where the city gets its name from, after all!) after years of turmoil. Whatever the disagreements, they deserve it.

Today however, I’ll be looking to my more recent ‘locals’, Exeter City, to resume their good form and secure a result that pushes them that bit closer to safety – and better, we hope – in League One. So I hope the Seagulls flourish and that their supporters enjoy a good day out in the West Country. Not too good, mind!

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Controversy, technology and fair play

First published in The Grecian, 24 November 2009, Exeter City -v- Millwall

Love them or loathe them (and today’s opponents attract strong emotions of both kinds!) welcoming Millwall to St James’ Park tonight is the nearest to a guarantee of a tough, competitive game as you could possibly get – in this or any other division.

One of the few lower division sides to have made an appearance in top-level European competition, thanks to an FA Cup final appearance a few years ago, the Lions’ 2004 UEFA Cup dream ended disappointingly against Ferencvaros, losing 4-2 on aggregate in Budapest.

At that time Millwall were in the Championship and seeking to recapture some of their past football glory, which has sadly been mired in an altogether less desirable reputation based on the unseemly behaviour of some who have attached themselves to the south-east London side.

Now they are one of several illustrious teams seeking an escape route from League One, and they sit just on the edge of the play-off zone in seventh place. This means Millwall will be determined to take more points off Exeter City this evening, just as the Grecians will be keen to build on the good results and performances of the past few weeks.

Among the Lions’ achievements already this term is a 2-1 victory over title favourites Leeds United: a real declaration of intent for their continuing 2009-10 campaign. That said, Brentford, who we beat at home recently, managed a 2-2 draw with them, and City will be trying their best to go one better.

Though for a brief time I used to live on the edge of Bermondsey, I cannot recall ever making it to a game at the Den, or to Millwall’s new ground. But you certainly used to hear a lot about them in the area! The word ‘controversy’ has rarely been absent in their recent history.

In the 24/7 media environment, what happens in the span of 90 minutes is only a fraction of the time the modern game occupies in the public consciousness. Indeed, a millisecond of action on the pitch can produce hours or even days of coverage.

That is definitely the case with Thierry Henry’s blatant handball last week, which saw the Republic of Ireland undeservedly denied the opportunity of penalties against France for the possibility of a place in the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa.

Usually “the luck of the Irish” is something you would happily wish upon your favoured side, but there will not be many Exeter City supporters craving it right now after what transpired on Thursday night.

By the time you read this, FIFA will presumably have had a chance to respond to all the fuss, but no one is predicting especially bold action.

Just as it is unfair to judge Millwall entirely on the behaviour of a minority of their fans, it would be very sad indeed if the skill, ingenuity and inspiration demonstrated by Thierry Henry over the years was to be besmirched by just one mad moment. It is therefore in his interest, as well as the game’s, that he is suitably punished. My own view is that he should be banned from the group stage of the World Cup.

Regrettable as it is in the circumstances, I can see why the world footballing authorities would not accede to a replay request based on a refereeing error. That would very likely open the (legal) floodgates.

But where a misdemeanour of this seriousness has been clearly identified by the cameras, strong post-match redress is essential if the genuine attempts to re-instil fair play at every level of the game are going to be taken seriously.

What the France-Ireland incident also illustrates is that the to-and-fro debate about the use of technology in the top echelons of the game is out of touch with reality. The issue is not whether technology should play a role in sorting out on-field misdemeanours and controversial decisions – it is already playing a role. The real question is how to respond to that fact.

Even if FIFA continues to insist that regulating matches should remain firmly in the domain of officials for the 90 minutes (to avoid extensive disruptions, and out of regard for the evenness of the game at all levels, low to high), the truth is that they cannot – and do not – ignore television evidence afterwards.

If players knew that there would be really serious consequences for being caught out ‘after the fact’, not just a quick ban, fine or proverbial rap around the knuckles, it would hopefully contribute to more discretion and honesty on-field.

That’s certainly what we all want to see in Exeter this evening, together with another positive outcome for the Grecians and en enjoyable night for both sets of fans.
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Football can never be captured by celebrity

First published in The Grecian, 31 October 2008, Exeter City -v- Brentford

Exeter City and Brentford both come to this afternoon’s match needing a good result to help take them out of the lower reaches of the League One table. If last season’s encounters are anything to go by, supporters of the two sides can expect a competitive and absorbing game.

While the Grecians were securing a last gasp draw at St James Park to basement team Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, the Bees were claiming a 2-0 home victory over Stockport County (who have exactly the same number of points and precisely the same goal difference as City) thanks to goals from Charlie MacDonald and Myles Weston.

Brentford’s two previous outings have resulted in a defeat at Leyton Orient and a goalless draw hosting Hartlepool. The upshot is that the two sides are now separated by just four places, three points and seven goals. This division continues to be very tight indeed.

At the end of this season, I remain pretty confident that both teams will be safe. They have good players and a positive attitude, though their respective qualities are being tested robustly by football in a higher division. So there’s much hard work to do before either can breathe easily.

Neither the Grecians nor the Bees could be described as ‘fashionable clubs’ these days, but both have had their curious brushes with fame and celebrity. Exeter fans will probably look back rather ruefully on that extraordinary day when a certain illusionist produced now departed music superstar Michael Jackson to parade around the pitch. But whether you blinked or not, it happened.

Similarly, Brentford supporters will have been puzzled when it was rumoured that they had come to the attention of a number of Hollywood stars a few years ago. I’m not sure that they can match ‘the King of Pop’, but for a number of years rock keyboard legend Rick Wakeman was known to be a keen Brentford follower.

I happen to know that there’s even a dedication to the Bees on the inside cover of the 1977 Yes album ‘Going for the One’ – an obscure fact which might come in useful for pub quiz question hunters, if nothing else!

These days Rick’s affections seem to have migrated to Manchester City, following a mysterious falling out with his old Brentford pals. Fandom can be as movable a feast as marriage in the celeb world, but the constancy of the bedrock support at both Griffin Park and St James’ is something that will undoubtedly weather both time and fashion.

When the fixtures for this season were announced, this was one I marked with a big red pen in my diary. As a child I lived a decent stone’s throw away from Brentford, and my late paternal grandfather was a long-term supporter. Indeed it was a trip to Griffin Park with him at the age of nine that really confirmed me in my love of all things football.

That said, the schedule has not been kind to me as far as Grecians versus Bees tussles are concerned. I missed both matches last season, and this week pressing work and domestic commitments mean that I will be on my way from London to Birmingham as you settle into your seat or take your place on the Big Bank.

Would I have had divided loyalties? Not really. I want Exeter to grab those points, though I wish both clubs well overall and find myself keeping my grandfather’s memory alive through a watchful eye on what the Bees are up to.

Similarly, I found time a few weeks ago to go and watch my namesakes Barrow in action away against Crawley Town in Exeter’s old stomping ground, the Conference. They snatched a 1-0 win, haven’t lost since, and are making an impressive fist of securing their place in the Blue Square Premier for a second season.

The year the Grecians won promotion back to the League I made the away trip to Broadfield Stadium on a freezing midweek evening to watch a 2-2 draw along with 841 other people who had decided to abandon the Champions League on the telly in order to experience ‘real football’.

There certainly weren’t many celebrity fans to the inch in Crawley that evening, and after Exeter’s triumph in the Wembley play-off final I never particularly imagined myself heading back to Broadfield again. But then I found myself less than an hour away with a chance to catch the Bluebirds, and couldn’t resist.

That’s football for you. Quite apart from the loyalties we develop, there’s a breadth, passion and interest to the game that makes for unexpected treasures. You never quite know when something special is going to happen. Let’s hope it’s today.
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Grecians need motivation not anxiety

First published in The Grecian, 23 October 2009, Exeter City -v- Wycombe Wanderers

It’s now a fortnight since Exeter City played a league game at St James Park, and in that time – as you will hardly need reminding – we have lost two away matches by three and four goals respectively against Walsall and Huddersfield, and have exited the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy on penalties after a 1-1 home draw.

Though those defeats by no means tell the whole story about how the team has played, in bald statistical terms the situation does not look good at present. The pressure is on for four points or more from today’s match against bottom side Wycombe Wanderers and from next Saturday’s Devon encounter with Brentford, who presently lie in seventeenth position – only one point and three places above the Grecians.

The secret of success in a situation like this is not to let pressure translate into anxiety, but rather to use recent setbacks as a motivational spur to find the winning trail again. Easier said than done, maybe. But good coaching is about helping players into the right frame of mind, as well as ensuring that they are confident about their role, on top of the tactics, and keyed up both physically and technically.

Modern football is a multi-faceted game, and in order to produce the right results, everything has to come together in those crucial 90 minutes or so between kick-off and the final whistle. Having the right blend before or afterwards isn’t sufficient.

When the going is tough, waning confidence, bad luck or small mistakes are magnified for players and fans alike. Similarly an early break or goal can settle you down and set the rhythm moving once more.

There’s a strange alchemy to football, and even the best can find themselves puzzled by how things turn out. Sometimes it just doesn’t seem to make sense. City boss Paul Tisdale was realistic enough to admit in the aftermath of that Huddersfield tanking that he couldn’t immediately identify what had gone wrong – though the quality of the opposition was evident.

Training and preparation had been very positive, he said. It was on the field of play, the one place where you need things to gel, that so much seemed to unravel. No doubt a lot of recovery work was put in before the trip to Walsall, which makes the reversal there – in a match where a point wouldn’t have been out of the question given the performance – that much harder to stomach.

But aside from identifying and learning from mistakes, there’s no point in looking back. A home game is a different proposition, and it’s worth noting that the Grecians haven’t lost a league game here at St James’ since 29 August, when two early slips against Milton Keynes Dons cost us dear, despite a good fightback and Barry Corr’s 51st minute goal.

At the beginning of the season, when the unknowns of League One were that much greater, everyone was saying that home territory was likely to be where our final fortunes would be decided. This is often true for a newly promoted side. Perhaps the most dramatic example at the moment is Burnley. The Premier League minnows, guided by wily gaffer Owen Coyle (who, incidentally, started his professional football career, along with his two brothers, at my team Dumbarton) have maintained an astonishing record at Turf Moor, winning all four games, even the one against Manchester United. The corresponding loss of all five away matches still leaves them in tenth position, clinging on to the top half of the table by their fingernails.

Thankfully, Exeter City’s away record and performances have been rather better than that, with four points garnered, alongside a few hammerings. I’m sure they can improve, too. But first we have an opportunity over the next week to prove ourselves at home against other clubs in the lower reaches of the division.

Wycombe have yet to win away, but they recently had a boost with the appointment of former Aldershot boss Gary Waddock. His reign began with a 1-1 draw against Colchester (who we face on 14 November), after spending two and a half years with the Shots and leading them from the Blue Square Premier to sixth in League Two.

The Chairboys had a poor start to their campaign under seemingly luckless former manager Peter Taylor, who ended his playing career with eight games for the Grecians in ’83-4 and later went on to suffer against City when he took over at Stevenage.

The new Wycombe boss got to know Exeter well with his old charges, and will be looking to outwit us this afternoon. However Exeter quickly leap-frogged Aldershot after losing out to them in the Conference title chase two years ago, and hopefully we will be motivated give Waddock’s new boys another rough ride today.
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City look onwards and upwards

First published in The Grecian, 03 October 2009, Exeter City -v- Hartlepool

So it’s ten games, ten goals and ten points for the Grecians so far. There’s a certain mathematical symmetry to the initial stage of Exeter City’s experimental first season in League One, but also an indication of the huge amount of work still to be done – since we nestle just two places and one point off the relegation zone.

Over the past few weeks some BBC reporters and summarisers have taken to referring to City as “struggling Exeter”. That’s not a fair judgement of actual performances on the pitch, where there has often been an elegance and thoughtfulness on display – as you would perhaps expect from a team managed by Paul Tisdale.

Looking back to my notebook from the beginning of the new adventure, I had reckoned that 14 points would be reasonably healthy at this stage. And with a few kicks and prods in different places, that’s just what City could be looking at.

Putting this in perspective, there’s now only five points separating Huddersfield (our next away opponents) in sixth place and the Grecians a full thirteen places below them. That’s how tight it is. If Exeter had sneaked one more win and a draw we’d be ninth, in front of fancied Norwich.

So in reality, a couple of games can make a huge difference in the run-up to Christmas. But that is certainly no cause for complacency. Points in the bag are the only ones that count, and the truth is that City have achieved only one clean sheet so far this term, and have been conceded far too many goals from set-plays, especially corners.

At the other end of the field, even when the formation has been 4-4-2, Exeter have often been caught with one up front, with the inspired young Craig Noone drifting to the wing, with forward midfielders fractionally off the pace, and with no one really ready to threaten central defenders from the air. Classy build-ups often seem to go begging for want of something more decisive. That’s how it looks from where I sit, anyway.

On Tuesday night all of those problems seemed to creep into an intriguing match against Swindon Town which we could easily have lost – or won, frankly – but which ended up with the honours shared (probably a fair result, all told) after some fine saves from Oscar Jansson and a bit of wizardry from Richard Logan.

Logie most definitely doesn’t want to be thought of as a ‘super-sub’, and it will be interesting to see how soon he breaks into the starting line-up again. But no one could fault the daring involved in pulling Troy Archibald-Henville off and using him to throw the team into attacking gear. It was a calculated gamble that paid off with a niftily taken goal at exactly the right moment – when all might have been lost.

So after ten games the Grecians have shown us plenty of flair and determination. But at the same time the backroom staff will undoubtedly be trying to iron out those little weaknesses and lapses that can make all the difference at this level of the game.

Maybe City sometimes need to mix their naturally attractive football with the odd burst of ‘route one’, too. Swindon’s several (surprisingly) missed chances came from sudden bursts of energy around the area. Knowing how to inject pace and adrenalin into the match is vital.

There’s still a little way to go to the next transfer window, which will focus our minds further on what is and what isn’t working as the season heads for its midpoint. Several of our strongest performers of late have come from loan deals, for example. But it’s also clear that a few regulars have more to offer, too.

City have what it takes to stay in this League, but it’s a question of constantly refining the blend for each game – while ensuring that the backbone of the side remains constant. Who’d be a coach, eh? It’s easy to pontificate from the terraces, but it’s what happens on the training ground and in the dressing room that really counts.

Meanwhile, Exeter now have a chance to improve their games-to-points-and-goals ratio this afternoon against Hartlepool, who sit seven places (but only two points) above us. The warning is that ’Pool have scored more and conceded half as many goals on the road as City – a trend which needs challenging on the park today. Despite their curious nickname, they’ll be no monkeys!
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