|
LOBFC NEWSLETTER
SEASON 2001-2002
Chairman's Report
Probably the most emotional season in years. Probably too positive
and upbeat before the season had started. Probably the best team
in the league by the end of it...
Things change so quickly even in amateur football. At Christmas
time, the 1st XI's confidence was low. We were clear favourites
for the drop and lost our captain Adam Pierce for most of the remainder
of the season due to a fractured cheekbone. Things looked bleak.
Dave Gurney and Lee Taylor took up the reins and, to both their
credit, secured the services of James Butcher, Johnny Norfolk, and
Alex Dodsworth from the college 1stXI and Nick Taylor from Sussex
local league football.
Winning seven or the last eight games was a magnificent achievement
and congratulations to Adam, Ben, Dave and Lee. The 1stXI were not
only safe from relegation but lying in a very comfortable mid-table
position. Adam is standing down after three years at the helm and
he has done a tremendous job in difficult circumstances. He joins
a group of only five players who have captained a Lancing Dunn-winning
side and should be extremely proud of his achievements. Next year
the league will be tougher. Westminster and Forest are up and three
of the 10 teams in the premier league will now be relegated. Also
three points for a win will be introduced for the first time in
the Leagues' history.
The 2nd XI run by Ben Copithorne had started the season brightly
with some notable wins and were well placed at Christmas. But the
1st XI's change in fortune was to the detriment of the 2ndXI. Players
were moved up to strengthen the 1stXI which resulted in a weaker
2ndXI and thus points proved difficult to pick up. The 2's however
did reach the Junior League Cup semi-final only to be beaten by
Eton 3. Ben is also handing over the captain's armband next season
to Phil White. Ben has captained the 2's for the past two seasons,
leading by example every week.
With emotions high on the field, the club had a stable year off
it. I must thank each member of the committee for their hard work
in running the club so smoothly. We are now recognised by the Arthurian
League to be one of the top clubs administratively and thus resulting
in our lowest fine bill for 12 years.
Our annual dinner in March was another huge success at the Radisson
Hotel in Portman Square, with over 110 Old Boys and guest's attending.
Mihir Bose from the Daily Telegraph was a fabulous guest speaker.
The Tim Buckley award was presented by Ken Shearwood to Ben Evans
for all his contribution to the club over the past 13 years. All
our thanks must go Nick Evans, Nick Rimmer, Jeremy Taylor and especially
Simon Kelsey for all their efforts in organising a superb evening.
Oli Bailey organised an excellent football club tour to Majorca
in early May. Much fun and many laughs were had by the touring party.
(See tour report).
We must all now look forward. Overall the club is in good shape
for the new season. We have superb facilities for both our sides
at our home pitch at Cobham which, although very expensive, is well
worthwhile. Between September and March, the club hold a weekly
training session on the Astro turf at Battersea Park on a Wednesday
night between 8pm and 9pm with any new faces always welcome.
In the first round of The Arthur Dunn Cup this year we have been
drawn away to Harrow and the game will be played on Saturday 14
December, 2.00pm Kick off at Cobham. The Annual Dinner has been
pencilled in for Friday 21 March 2003 at the usual venue with further
details available on the website. In the Vet's Cup, the fixture
against Forest is to be played at home on Sunday 24 November, with
Neil Grainger organising the troops.
Please do look at the club website www.lobfc.co.uk for details
of the club matches throughout the season and we look forward to
welcoming your support at Cobham and enjoying a drink afterwards.
Alastair Mercer
1stXI Captain's Report
Any lingering doubts over the funniness of football (as an old
game) were put to rest by the 1stXI during the 2001-2002 season.
Our position immediately prior to our home game against Salopians
on 16 February wasn't just worrying, it was embarrassing. We had
lost each of our eight previous league games and had been knocked
out of the three cup competitions we had entered, having been beaten
by Charterhouse in the first round of the Dunn, and by Chigwell
(4-0) in the first round of the London Old Boys Cup. But a messy,
desperate 3-2 victory over Salopians on that day began a run of
seven wins out of our final eight league games, which left us respectably
sitting fifth in the table at the end of the season.
The pre-season had been a time of (as it transpired) naïve
optimism, as we welcomed some good young players to the squad. Lee
Taylor, Sam and Toby Windridge, Oli Kent and Si Brown all made promising
debuts in our 2-2 draw against the College on OL Day, and all but
Toby (who is still studying at Loughborough University) would play
regularly during the season. Shortly after OL Day, Yosef Salameh
became a welcome addition to our central midfield and Nick Neilan
returned to the fold after an absence of three years, having clearly
spent a significant part of that time in the gym and/or drinking
protein supplements.
Nick's season ended with a knee injury in our fourth league game,
a tight 2-1 defeat to Repton, but our dire results in the first
half of the season, despite the new faces, reflected more than anything
the lack of strength in the squad inherited from the aborted 2000-2001
season. Put simply, we had not had half of a team that could compete
in the Premier league. Our tie against Charterhouse in the first
round of the Arthur Dunn cup provided one of the few moments of
promise in the first half of the season, but ultimately proved that
we were still a couple of players short of a squad. The 2-1 defeat
in the replay at the College was a great disappointment after a
brave 1-1 draw at Charterhouse. Having gone a goal behind in the
first game, all the players showed a level of commitment unsurpassed
in any LOB game I have been involved in, and we thoroughly deserved
our equaliser from Dave Gurney who, along with the rest of the defence
(Ben Evans, Lee Taylor, Sam Windridge) had played superbly throughout.
With those couple of extra players, that heroic draw would, I am
sure, have been a heroic victory.
So we returned to the league programme, and matched the gloom of
December and January with our football. Even after a three match
cameo by the still mercurial (though now hardly wirey) Hisao Iijima,
who had returned to England from Tokyo in the New Year on a business
course, the LOBs were still 'not troubling the scorers' in terms
of league points.
So, how did we turn the season round so suddenly? One answer, which
I like to suggest, so that it cannot be suggested to me, is that
I was injured in the game immediately after our victory over Salopians,
and did not return until the final game of the season. Dave Gurney
certainly did an excellent job as caretaker manager in my absence,
but I like to think that there were two other more important reasons.
The first was that we were able to fill three key positions with
stars from the College 1stXI. In goal, James Butcher had clearly
grown in confidence since the previous season, and provided us with
a miserly back five, which now included Ed Davies and, for the final
two games, Justin Davis. Johnny Norfolk provided a vital spark of
creativity in central midfield, which had already been bolstered
by the involvement of the tenacious Nick Taylor since Christmas.
And up-front Alex Dodsworth's ability to hold the ball up and link
play enabled us to keep possession in a way which had previously
eluded us.
The second reason for our revival was that, encouraged by the new
arrivals and the long forgotten taste of victory, the rest of the
team significantly upped their games. Alex Rum, who had looked forlorn
for much of the season, suddenly sprung to life and showed what
a handful he can be for defenders. Alex scored the late winner in
our 2-1 victory over Charterhouse during the run-in: a crucial goal
as, in hindsight, this was the only really tight game during our
winning run. We scored 24 goals in our last six games, (conceding
only seven) with Si Brown contributing seven of those from left
midfield, and Charlie Martin and Peter Alcock also finding their
scoring touch. We came together as a side in March and April for
the first time since our Dunn victory in 2000, and every player
involved during that time should take great pride in our achievement.
I am therefore pleased, and a little relieved, to hand over a Premier
league team to Dave Gurney as the new skipper, and hope he retains
his Midas touch during the 2002-2003 season.
Adam Pierce
2ndXI Captain's Report
Fireworks, rockets but all up in smoke…
In September, as the 2s gathered again for the start of another
campaign, the squad looked to include a strong blend of experience,
character, youth and talent. Hopes were high that the disappointment
of the lost season 2000-2001 would be banished and that silverware
was a distinct possibility this time around. Despite early fireworks
and some first class performances however, the season spluttered
and, by March, had fizzled to a gloomy end.
With a record of five wins from the first eight games, a draw and
just two losses (one being on penalties at the end of a spirited
performance in the AFA Cup against Old Bealonians), fires were burning
bright in the 2s camp. The goals were going in a-plenty and, on
3 November, the 2s tally stood at 27 goals scored to only nine conceded.
The addition of Phil Goulstone to complement Rob Black provided
a solid defensive foundation at No. 1 and a back line of Laurence
Hannam, Oli Bailey, Ed Davies and Tim Kemp were effective at snuffling
out opposition attacks and creating an offensive platform. Victories
over Haberdashers and Brentwood in the league and Wandsworth Borough
in the AFA Cup promised more success and a narrow league defeat
to a strong Charterhouse side seemed only a minor setback.
On 3 November itself, the 2s enjoyed their outstanding game of
the season beating old rivals Brentwood 6-0 in the London Old Boys
Cup. A brace each for Richard Spink and Phil White plus goals for
Ed Davies (who would later move into the 1stXI) and Matt Gibson
told the story of fiery attacking play and bright football from
the LOBS. The team was playing in a tremendous spirit and every
player was working selflessly for the side. The fireworks did not
last though and an unexpectedly heavy loss to Eton 2s poured water
on the side's season which spluttered to a sad end with just one
more League win in the year.
Points were dropped in a series of tight games and all too often
potential wins turned to draws or draws to narrow defeats. In five
games the 2s went down by a single goal and, when a bizarre ruling
from the League subtracted four points picked up against the Haberdashers
- who went into a quasi-administration status - relegation loomed.
The final game against Salopians - the eventual League winners -
summed up the season. The 2s going down 2-1 after an even match
and the Salopians joining with the LOBS in wondering just how it
was that Lancing had gone down.
As skipper, I will remember the year though not as one of failure
but as one of playing in an outstanding spirited and united team.
Every 2s player made their own contribution to foster a camaraderie
and togetherness which was a pleasure to share. A successful Club
Night in the Ship in October was memorable but, for me, celebrating
England's World Cup Qualifying victory over Greece in the Eagle
Tavern in Clapham with all the chaps was what being part of the
Lancing Old Boys set up is all about. For that, and for the season,
thanks and praise should go to all the players. I am sure that under
Phil White and Alastair Mercer's enthusiastic stewardship, the 2s
will be fizzing again in 2002-2003.
Well done the 2s (regulars for the Season): Phil Goulstone, Rob
Black, Laurence Hannam, Tim Kemp, Oli Bailey, Ed Davies, Richard
Spink, Alex Harari, Matt Gibson, Paul Surtees, Rob Burnett, Mark
Watson, Phil White, Guy Bransby and Chris Williams.
Ben Copithorne
KEY DATES FOR THE SEASON 2002-2003
The Arthur Dunn Cup: the 1st XI will play Harrow (away) on Saturday
14 December, 2.00pm kick off at Cobham.
The Annual Dinner: has been pencilled in for Friday 21 March 2003
at the Radisson Hotel, Portman Square, London with further details
to follow on this website.
Click
here for the 2002 Tour Report
Click here
for last season's final league tables
|
