Enfield Town v Canvey Island

[littlehampton]

Only 72hrs to go to the start of the new season, and you can sense a general buzz of anticipation and optimism, as Town prepare to host Canvey Island at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium this Saturday, in the opening match of our 2016-17 Ryman Premier Division campaign.

 

Town have produced some cracking performances and results in pre-season friendlies, winning five of seven, and will be approaching Saturdays home fixture in confident mood, with high hopes of success.

 

Our matches with The Gulls are always close encounters, with not a lot in it, but Town have chalked up home wins against our visitors in the past two seasons, albeit by narrow single goal margins. Can we make it three in a row?

 

Nice hot weather is forecast for the weekend, and this will undoubtedly be a very entertaining match to launch our new season. Don't miss it, Brad and the lads need plenty of home support and encouragement to deliver the three points. I'll definitely be there to give them a shout - so see you there!

 

 

'COME ON YOU TOWN'

[Tally Ho]

I reckon it'll be another narrow win over them.

1 - 0 i'll go for.

 

 

 

 

Come on Town - Tally Ho.

[littlehampton]

The countdown to the big kick-off is now under 48hrs away and news updates are a bit quiet on the official Club website this week.

Casting our minds back to the end of last season, when we missed out on a play-off place by one point, most people would put it down to the very poor start we made to the season twelve months ago. Our record at that time was one win, two draws, and six defeats from our first nine League matches. That equates to just 5 points out of a possible 27. One of those defeats, incidentally, was a 2-0 reverse at Canvey Island at the end of August.

All of us will be hoping and praying for a much better start this season, and we certainly need it if the Club is to achieve its ambitions, and move onward and upwards.

How do you rate our chances this season? Where do you think we will finish in the League? Are we good enough to get promoted this time round?

Let's go for it guys!





 

[OldTowner]

An honest answer.........play offs, if we start well and continue at a good points return percentage.

A poor start like last season will leave us behind the pack.in my opinion, a difficult season ahead unless we can sign a proven goal scorer in the next 2 weeks.

 

Brad must know our weak points just like he knows our strong points.

 

Think there will be more 0 - 1. and. 1 - 0 scores this season.

[littlehampton]

TOWN SIGN TWO NEW STRIKERS

 

Great news just announced on the official Club website, Town have just signed two new strikers - Kelvin Bossman from Chesham United and Tom Collins from Hayes & Yeading Utd. Well done to Brad and the Board in strengthening the team in the nick of time!

 

Just 24hours to go now to the big kick-off. These new signings will undoubtedly attract plenty of interest, and add numbers to a decent size crowd.

 

Will they make their debut at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium tomorrow, will they get amongst the goals? There is only one way to find out.

 

See you there.

 

'COME ON YOU TOWN'

[littlehampton]

It's back! In just under 6hrs the new season gets underway at Donkey Lane, and the weather couldn't be better, blue skies, plenty of glorious sunshine, and a nice warm afternoon in prospect.

 

There are plenty of reasons for Towner's to get excited about the new Ryman Premier Division campaign, and many people will fancy our chances of being up there with the best, come the end of the season, particularly if we get off to a good start, and play consistently well.

 

Our Club needs to move forward. The heartbreak of last season is behind us. We have lost some players, secured some quality replacements, and Brad has a strong squad available for selection. Hopefully, the players will perform to the best of their ability, wear the shirt with pride, and we will arrive where we want to be.

 

Good luck all. Let's hear it for the Town today.

[DerekR]

HT ETFC 0-0 Canvey Island

[Father Jack]

1-1 at full time. Tyler Campbell with a 90th minute equaliser. Disjointed performance, but hey it's a start.

[4wembleyfinals]

Although, at the moments there is very little comment on he game so seems a draw was par for the course.

 

My current worry, however, is the absence of Kirby. It may seem a strange thing for me to say but, I hope he is out through injury, rather that BQ has decided to do

without him. Is there any news on this front.

 

Also, as I have lot of time on my hands, I have tried to research the

histories of our two new " Strikers" In the case of Tom Collins, over the

past couple of years he hardly ever appears on H & Y's the score sheet. Does anyone know

where else he has been reported to be a Striker. Kelvin Bossman on the other hand seems

to have fairly regularly when appearing for Cheshum last year.

[SeasideTowner]

Christ that was dull. Pretty toothless up front and a bit disjointed at the back. Didn't think it was a penalty and a brilliant stop by NM. A point flattered us to be fair.

[OldTowner]

The question about Kirby.

He chose to attend a wedding today, so, no do not blame Brad.

I also believe Mark has been missing from many training sessions.

Not the best way to "hit the ground running" !!!

 

As for disjointed, yes agree, but the two new guys only signed on Thursday.

Let's wait 6 games before adverse comments.

 

First games of season are often "funny" affairs, just look at many results.

[big guy]

I thought we played slightly better in second half  and a bit more after  going 1 - 0 down then looking for a winner  but then it was only the 1st game  lets wait and see  

[OldTowner]

Big guy, I agree.

[waggamick1]

From the Hayes & Yeading United web site re Tom Collins:

Originally signed for United following his release by Stevenage in the summer of 2011 before leaving for Stockport at season end from whom he returned to United on loan. Became a bit of a roamer with further spells at United during 2014/15 and 2015/16 but never really seemed to settle, whether this is down to player or management, who knows! 

47 games 16 goals

More details:

http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=62088

[Enfield United]

Thought Ottaway was out of sorts. Bossman looked OK deserves another outing or two to prove himself. Tom Collins looked very good when he came on. Crook+Livings were good and well balanced in midfield. However, too careless in defence on a few occasions. Kirby is a school teacher so has missed some training due to seasonal holidays (understandably) and missed yesterday due to a wedding (slightly less understanding but it's not our personal circumstances it's his) so hopefully he will be back on Tuesday, it will strengthen us at the heart of defence

[4wembleyfinals]

Thanks OT for your info on Kirby. I just can't understand his attitude. Having been

welcomed back it seems he has no sense of commitment. He seems to have a self

destruct button.

 

If it is as you described, then he has left Brad with little room for manoeuvre

other than to show him the door. For one I would be unhappy if this happens

because I believe he brings a lot to the teams performance, but what else can Brad

do without losing creditability with the other players.

 

I don't envy Brad, who would be a football manager!!!

[4wembleyfinals]

Having just read EU comments posted all most at the same time as mine, I feel that they

put a different light on the subject of Kirby's absences.

 

Knowing the demands put on school teachers, especially prior to the new term, I feel that my previous remarks are somewhat redundant.

 

I should have remembered the first legal principle " NEVER JUDGE IN HASTE !!!! "

[littlehampton]

After completing my 200 mile round journey to see Towns opening game of the season, thought I would wait to read what other people had to say, before adding my own thoughts on the match.

 

Where to begin. Well, sitting in the stand with my good friend Geoff Lee, we both felt it was more like cricket weather than football, and the hot humid weather, must have drained both sides long before the final whistle. Both teams played with plenty of spirit, but Town gave the ball away far too often for comfort, particularly at the back, and Canvey used the long ball to good advantage, often creating all manner of problem for our defence, and for long spells definitely looked the more dangerous, and likely to score. They eventually did, after Nathan made an excellent penalty save, and just when we were thanking our lucky stars for the let-off, a minute or so later Canvey got their noses in front, when our defence failed to clear in a crowded penalty area.

 

This encouraged Town to step up a gear, and having gone close from a number of well worked chances, Town were rewarded in the last minute when Tyler scored from close range, to secure a share of the spoils, much to the relief of Brad and the Town faithful. A draw was probably a fair result, but Canvey might be cursing their luck and see it differently.

 

Early days, but that is one point more than the same stage last season. Dulwich on Tuesday will be a real test. They drew as well yesterday, so should be an interesting match, before another big crowd. Talking of attendances, there were 404 at the QE Stadium yesterday, so that is another positive for our Club which, hopefully, we can build on this season. Well done everyone!

[thecoldend]

How long did the Canvey Keeper take on goal kicks? Slowed down the game no end and the ref let him get away with it time and time again especially in second half.

 

All it needed was for ref to run over tell him to hurry up or next time he would be booked...

 

Dulwich is going to be a hard game as ever... always a good away trip