2008 stats

The season has finished, and being the anorak that I am, I thought i’d share a few of the seasons stats with you.

Home

We won 8 games at home all season, 6 of these were competitive games, and only 4 of these were in the league. We drew 3 at home too. We scored 23 at home in the league and 11 in cup games. Conceded 49 & 14 respectively. Average league attendance was 176 (incredibly) though if we take out the FC game this would drop to a realistic 135. Its 117 for the cup games. Lowest was 77 for a cup game and highest 1006 v FC United.

Away

We won 7 away with 4 in the league and 1 cup game. Drew 5 in the league and 2 cup. Goals for 19 in the league and 2 in the cup, conceding 50 in the league and 1 in the cup. Average attendance was 299, again take out the FC United game and its 201. 71 for the away cup games. Highest was 2250 or so at FC United.

**NB – these stats don’t include the cup games that were draws where we lost on penalties.

• We conceded 4 or more goals 9 times this year, 8 in the league and 1 cup (there were 3 in friendlies that are not included)
• We scored 4 or more 4 times, 3 in the league and once in a cup (and again once in a friendly thats not included)
• We failed to score 19 times, 17 in the league and 2 in cups
• We kept 9 clean sheets, 7 in the league and 2 cups
• We only had one back to back win, Mossley and Woodley
• We didn’t win any of the last 11 games
• Top scorer left the club in mid November – with 10 goals.
• WE used 44 players during the campaign, seemed like more
• It’s cost me a few quid to endure the season, not as much as some though

Cheerful soul aren’t I.

Brid 1 Chorley 2 (a)

So the final game of the season became a supposed life or death situation for the away team, a win would probably see us stave off relegation, a draw might do it, a loss would seal our doom.

The game was something similar to “the Battle of Little Big Horn” –

1 down at half time, the Indians now surrounding us

2 down early in the second half, the Indians were now attacking,

Then Sam Dixey getting a straight red for “getting involved” – shit, the Indians have the upper hand with no signs of us improving

Flesh gets one back with 5 to go, ahh General Custer’s decided to turn up and at least try and give it a go in this seemingly losing battle.

Ref blows for full time, and the last bit of life is sapped out of the valiant, but defeated visitors

To rub salt into the wounds, Gary Ashbee scores a late winner for Hull against Palarse to deny Stoke their promotion party.

This sums the season up to a tee – with us ending up with a defeat, having played well, but just not having that cutting edge when needed. We finish for the second season in a row, propping up the rest of the table.

My thanks go out to everyone that’s been to the blog and visited, also to everyone at Brid that has made this season possible, and hope you get some decent support for next season.

D-day

Today is one of the most important footballing days I will ever experience as a footy fan.

Brid are on the verge of relegation and Stoke are on the verge of the Premiership (a chance of top flight football for the first time in 22 years).

Both are away, and i’m going to neither. Thanks to Turnstile Man, i will hopefully get updates by text for the Brid game, thanks to Internet, I will listen to the Stoke game (very nervously).

4.50pm could be a highly euphoric moment, a mixed moment, or a highly depressing one – good job theres plenty of beer in the house either way.

Good luck guys

Brid 1 Radcliffe Borough 2 (h)

I decided to go and watch and was glad I did, though the result doesn’t do us any justice at all. Radcliffe was very much like Woodley, a fairly average team. The three teams occupying the bottom three spaces of the division.

Again, another team line up, with two or three changes to that of Saturday. For me and probably all the other Town supporters, it becomes difficult to keep tabs on the all the names and faces that come in and out of the club – another season with what seems like another 60-70+ players who have donned the red shirt.

We fell behind to a scrappy goal, but for an hour we carved out some excellent chances, with Luke Smith deservedly getting a corker just before half time. Their keeper made two sensational reflex saves in the second half that just gave you that feeling that the bastards would go up the other end and score – and they did. The relief on the Radcliffe players faces summed it all up, they are virtually guaranteed safety, and another lucrative home fixture with FC United to look forward too next year. The dejection on the Brid players faces, some possibly in tears (it looked like it), was scant reward for their heroic efforts tonight.

A few words about the officials – Wankers, Bastards, Awful, shite, shocking, money grabbing gits………..get the point ?

Then to cap it all, I get home, turn on the TV in the back room, to see Maluda of Chelsea crossing aimlessly into the opponents box only for John Arne Riise of Liverpool to score one of the best diving headers I’ve seen in ages – albeit into his own net. I hear a shout from upstairs, I go up only to find little zin, the Liverpool fan, kneeling on his bed watching the TV and sobbing his little heart out. Gutted.

Must have been something about the home red shirts versus the away blue shirts tonight, that brought heartache to those of us following the reds.

Brid 2 Mossley 3 (h)

The penultimate game brought its own misery for everyone concerned with the club. The clubs new theme tune should be Lynsey de Paul’s Rockbottom

Yeah, we finally scrapped the bottom of the barrel – amazing it wasn’t sooner, given the recent run of results.

This was another game where we had the chances; we did take the lead at one point (2-1), but squandered it to a very, very average team – probably the Bridlington of the North West. With Woodley (bottom at start of play on Saturday) played Bradford Park Avenue (top) and beating them 1-0 we secured our place at the bottom.

Get your head around this – we draw with Woodley 1-1 two weeks ago, we lose 7-0 to Bradford Park Avenue last Monday and then Woodley beat BPA 1-0. BUT – aha, Woodley have been punished for fielding an illegible player against us and have been deducted the point that they gained in that game – but we’re still leaves Rockbottom.

The dejection at the defeat gives most attending a very difficult choice on Tuesday for the last home game of the season – Do I go, or shall I stay in and watch the Liverpool v Chelsea tie ?

NB

There has been 3 or 4 games played since the demise of the blog on the old site; one all with Woodley (a few Town faithful went to watch this as our old manager Ash Berry is currently involved at the club), a seven zip pasting at Bradford, another defeat at home to Rossendale…..<YAWN> boring isn’t it ?

At last…some life in the old dog

Unfortunately, I have had to migrate the blog to a new home. Frankly, I was pretty peeved at having to do this with only a few weeks of the season left. Problem with the hosting company not offering any further support from tomorrow and a big chance I could lose the blog totally.

This is the new home and hopefully peeps can leave messages.

I shan’t dwell on the last couple of results, albeit to say, THEY WERE CRAP !!!! Nothing ne wthere then….

Thanks for your patience

zin