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CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
Unless, like Lazarus, I return to the position at some future time, as
I have done on about four occasions, this should be my last Chairman's
Report.
I seem to remember predicting a tough season about this time last year
and so it proved. Once again I feel it will be the same this year but
like most of you I realise the team have the ability and determination
to remain in the top division and do well in the Dunn once more.
New Captains for both XI's, a new President in Jeremy Taylor and a new
Chairman of the Committee in Alastair Mercer, all help to revitalise the
club and one can already feel a wave of enthusiasm on the field with Adam
Pierce in charge of the 1st XI. Around 16-20 players have been training
weekly on Clapham Common since June! and with the Astroturf relaid at
Battersea Park, the club having sessions each Wednesday, are regularly
attended by over 25 of the lads.
Our move to Cobham, although expensive, has been a great success and
this year providing sufficient pitches are available, the 2nd XI under
John Dovell, hope to play a good percentage at their games there. In fact,
Cobham has become a mecca for the Arthurian League with Harrow, Westminster,
Repton, Malvern, Shrewsbury and Lancing all playing there. The big bonus
is that we only have to be in Essex for three League matches this season.
Nigel Bennett has passed on his Treasurer duties to Robert Grey but his
experience and wise council remains at our disposal. I have every intention
of being just as involved with the Club by watching most of the 1st XI
games and therefore spending most of the subsequent Saturday evenings
with the lads in the Ship at Wandsworth! This is no hardship as they are
a cracking bunch of lads and I feel very privileged to be accepted as
part of the set up watching, however, can be agony!
We are continuing to build up our database to keep all "members' informed
of Dunn dates, dinnner dates and league tables. etc. Please visit the
website, www.lobfc.co.uk - you will find it informative and also
fun!
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REVIEW
OF THE 1998-99 SEASON - 1ST
XI
The 1998-1999 season was undoubtedly often a frustrating one for those
connected with the 1st XI: confidence proved hard to find after a run
of poor results early in the season, and the ideal of fielding the strongest
footballers playing at their peak was rarely realised due to a spate of
niggling but persistent injuries to key players. However, in retrospect
the season was perhaps more worthy than it appeared at the time. Although
our league results were noticeably poorer than in the previous year, where
a win in our final game would have secured the league title, we defeated
all but two of our opponents at least once in the league (Chigwell and
Forest unfortunately being the two exceptions), and also reached the final
of the Arthur Dunn Cup, losing to Salopians in the final. Our collective
disappointment at our performances last season is therefore perhaps an
encouraging indication of the standards we have set ourselves.
In the close season the captaincy reins had been passed from Simon Lees
to Simon Kelsey, and the new skipper's immediate concerns centred over
the loss (to overseas work commitments) of lan Brown-Peterside and Andy
Rimmer, who had proved a prolific strike partnership the previous season.
These were eased by the return to England of Danny Moulding after three
years spent in the United States on a football scholarship. Danny and
Peter Alcock, playing alongside him, scored our goals in an encouraging
5-3 victory over Repton early in the season. However, goals proved much
harder to come by in the remainder of our games before Christmas despite
regular contributions from midfield by Danny's brother Russell, and with
regular changes of personnel at the back we often struggled to hold on
to single goal leads.
We had stumbled to the foot of the table by Christmas, but had made an
encouraging start to,our Arthur Dunn Cup campaign with a convincing 4-1
win over Brentwood. We were all delighted that the semi-final draw pitted
us against 1" Division Winchester, thus avoiding the two remaining big
guns, Salopians and Forest However, we certainly made hard work of the
tie when it eventually came around in the spring. An early two goal lead
was squandered and despite a late cameo appearance by a sprightly looking
Nigel Bennett, as the game went into extra time we were happy to hold
on for a draw and replay at Lancing. We eventually eased through with
a fairly comfortable 2-0 victory in the second game, aided by the return
of lan Brown-Peterside and an impressive 2nd half display by our substitute
striker Matt Russell. And so we travelled to Motspur Park full of confidence,
or at least hope, of a cup victory against the odds. We held our own for
sixty minutes, replying to the Salopians' early strike with a neatly taken
goal by Brown-Peterside. However, as tiredness crept in, our opponents'
incisiveness going forward eventually proved too much for us and they
eventually ran out deserved 3-1 winners.
The Cup run certainly helped to keep spirits high during the season,
but we knew at Christmas that our priority remained the league, and the
prospect of playing 1st Division football for a season spurred the team
on to greater efforts in the New Year, which eventually pulled us out
of trouble. We were greatly helped in this achievement by the return of
stability to our defence. Messrs Simpson, Evans and Kelsey proved once
again to be a miserly unit, and we were able to win three of our games
in February and March 1-0, including a crucial away victory over Salopians.
We added some style to our battling spirit with an emphatic 5-0 drubbing
of Brentwood in the last game of the season which finally afforded us
mid-table respectability and the chance to look forward positively to
the new season.
I am sure all the players would wish to join me in thanking Simon Kelsey
and Nigel Bennett for their captaincy and managerial efforts respectively
during a tough season. With the return of key players, the arrival of
several younger ones, and a marked decline in the queue for the treatment
room, we start the new season with optimism and confidence.
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REVIEW
OF THE 1998-99 SEASON - 2ND
XI
Following the cup and league win in the previous year, this season looked
like building on that success. We had strengthened the squad even further
with the addition of the hard tackling Ben Copithome, the ever fit and
reliable Pieter Heyn and the welcome return of Simon Burton.
The early season results were encouraging; two league wins in the first
two games and a gritty performance on a wet and blustery day in the Junior
AFA cup. However, injury crisis in the 1stX1 drained us of many of our
players until Christmas. As a result we lost all remaining League matches
until the New Year. With injuries sorted out and the sight of Julian Dexter
and Andy Cunningham, we started to show the form that earned us the accolades
in the 97-98 season.
A 3-0 victory over Eton in the Cup and a 2-2 draw, against Eton in the
League the following week put confidence back into the team The highlight
of the season has to be our performance against Chigwell in the League
at the end of February. Having played some outstanding football in the
first half, we could not believe that we were 3-0 down. It took us until
twenty minutes from the end to get on the score sheet despite having created
twenty chances! Dexter curled a ball into the bottom right hand comer
from just outside the box and then the floodgates were open. Bullett Burnett
then lashed in 3 in a goal frenzy. A 4 goal victory the following week
against Millhillians and a 2-0 victory against Foresters away meant we
would stay up.
We reached the semifinals of the Junior Dunn and played Habardashers
away. Rumours that the Haberdashers had included a number of first team
players in their side came to light after the match Despite this on a
hot day and in poor conditions, we simply did not acquit ourselves and
were knocked out 7-2.
It is difficult to single out any one player, the squad performed very
well throughout the season. Jolm 'Diesel' Dovell will inherit a good nucleus
and I wish him lots of success for the forthcoming year. Should you wish
to contact John, his home telephone is 0171 771 7208.
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ARTHURIAN
VETERANS' CUP
Unfortunately we were knocked out of the Vets Cup at the first hurdle
losing to Bradfield 3-2. The eventual winners of the competition were
Old Etonians who beat Old Ardinians 3-1 in the final The 1st round draw
for the 1999-2000 Vets Cup has been made and we have been drawn away to
Old Foresters (date to be confirmed). Our 1998-99 squad was: C Sutherland,
T Hopcroft, M Wyatt, N Bennett, R Stallibrass, N Bell, P Heyn, N Triggs,
N Grainger, P Bullock, J Theobald, N Evans.
Should you be an OL, over 35 and would like to play for the Vets,
please contact Neil Grainger on 01372 813 236.
Neil Grainger
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