Benjrider10

Delighted that Ryan Blackman has committed to ETFC for another season. Unlike 4WF, I enjoy seeing him play 😜. He keeps it simple, which I like. I also remember seeing RB at the ground the Sunday after his nasty, season-ending injury when I was watching the ETFC Ladies first team play (maybe to start physio?) and was impressed by his dedication. Equally delighted that Sam Youngs has signed too, and the feedback from CUFCgeneral re 2 of the 3 new signings is positive. Squad shaping up OK. Keep going, Management Team!!

Seems to me that there is some information on the website already for those on tenterhooks - the 5 pen pictures on scroll make a decent starting point for the squad 😎. Let's see who else comes in. Can't understand why people expect the info to be shared any earlier. Was no different in previous years. Let the management team get on with it - we will find out soon enough. And now, back to the cricket and the women's World Cup .....

Interesting that there is a remarkably similar debate to this one on the Hornchurch forum 🤔 !!! We're all non league fans at heart and just want the best for our club. No point in speculating who's leaving and who's joining. We'll find out soon enough. I think back to the "old" days when I first worked abroad and waited for a monthly letter from my dad with clippings from the Gazette. Now the same gossip is a mere tweet or post away. Enjoy the summer everybody, there's plenty of cricket to keep us entertained 🙂 But please renew!!

Theo, 4WF I understand your frustration and appreciate that you are both long time supporters (EFC and ETFC). You're both better placed than me to comment on the quality of the football over the last 2 seasons - I work abroad and only get to a handful of games each year. My point is we are a supporters owned/run club and if the funding dries up, it's not just the first team that suffers. We've seen the "old" club turn to ashes and I have no intention of seeing the "new" club start spiralling the wrong way. That's why I renewed 2 days ago - 3 season tickets and 7 ETFCSS memberships. Most of my family are members and don't even know it 😋 The debate on the forum is healthy but let's not forget: "no club - no debate". I'd rather have sh** football than no football.

Can somebody explain to me how NOT renewing ETFCSS membership/season tickets timely is going to help build a decent team for 2019/2020? We all know that players come and go each season. I'm as disappointed as anyone that Matt Johnson and Joe Wright have chosen to move on, but that is their call. Let the management team get on with their jobs and let's do our bit by renewing. Very few clubs at our level can afford to keep players on a contract for more than a season at a time. If us supporters hold back renewing, the downward spiral begins.

Very enjoyable match tonight (never mind the traffic and the various magic roundabouts)!! Thought we played some good football at times and was very impressed with the work rate of Davison in particular, who ran his socks off and made life difficult for the Hornchurch defenders every time he was near the ball. Youngs as skilful as ever in midfield - he really is a good player. Yes, we have under-achieved in the league, but we only have to look at Braintree to see what can happen to a team that gains promotion when perhaps they are not ready for it. ETFC is far more than just the first team. I've had the pleasure the last 2 Saturday mornings of watching the ETFC disability squad train, and I watched the ladies 1st team play some very attractive football last Sunday afternoon. I'm very proud to be a member of the club, even more so with a new trophy to be added to the honours board. Looking forward to seeing that in the bar next season. I agree with Steph's post. The team/squad has improved incrementally the last 2 seasons. I take little notice of the negativity on this forum. I suspect the manager and players don't bother reading it and I don't blame them. You have to be thick skinned to be a success in this game. Everybody has an opinion. Let's have some positive posts congratulating the team, coaching and management staff and all the directors!!!

Well this post got me thinking. My first game at Southbury Road was the 1977-78 season, a two-nil win over Tooting & Mitcham (I think). I remember Bruce the dog! How time passes ..... now Greg Heald's son is on the ETFC subs bench 🙂. Fingers crossed he breaks into the first team (cue mass reminiscing )

Great news to wake up to! Can't wait for the final - I'll be there!!

Great to see a green box on the website!! (too many red boxes lately) ..... I'm still comfortable that we have a good squad (good = challenging for play-offs). Didn't get the results over the last few games but our form was going to turn around at some point and I'm delighted it was last night. The players should regain confidence from that result, let's hope it's the start of a winning run.

Completely agree. I've questioned for some time whether the views on this forum are representative of the supporter base and don't think they are. Like TJF says, too quick to criticise, too slow to praise. I don't get to many games but saw 2 last time I was home. The first was the drab 0-0 against Brightlingsea which certainly didn't set the world alight (though we should have nicked a win right at the end). The second was the away win at Tonbridge which was one of the best games I have seen for a long time. We played extremely well and looked every inch a play-off contender, if not better. That was only a month ago and now the knives are out!!!! Give me a break. It's essentially the same team!! Us supporters are a fickle lot. I agree with people saying we are not playing to Bricknell's strengths when he is up front on his own. I prefer to see 2 up front (home and away). But it looks to me like the manager has tried 2 up front the last 2 games and we still lost. And he still gets criticised!! 😅 I think it's simpler. We had the run of the ball in the first couple of months. First game of the season we could easily have lost. The 2-2 draw at Lewes which kept momentum going and confidence high - could easily have lost that one too. Haringey at home - Kirby hit the bar for them in the last minute so could have lost that one as well. The Hayes & Yeading defeat didn't disappoint me - we put out a young team. But since the Trophy loss at Basingstoke, we've not had the run of the ball. 9 times out of 10 Johnson's back pass would have gone to our right back. It didn't, their forward took his chance and we've been like a deflated balloon ever since. Confidence has evaporated. But the playing squad is pretty much unchanged. Brandon Adams going to Ware is disappointing but don't blame the manager. The club received a 7 day approach and the player decided to go to get regular playing time. Why is that the manager's fault? The player chose to drop a league. The manager didn't show him the door. Quite the opposite, I suspect, but it was the player's choice. I enjoy reading the posts. Quite often I completely disagree with people's opinions but's that's the whole point of a forum. Air your opinion. We have a good squad, they just need a win to get some self-belief back. We've got a tough looking December but the players need to look at how they played at Tonbridge to remind themselves they are good. We'll get out of this slump.

What a fantastic advertisement for non league football! First away match I have been to on the supporters (and players) coach for many a year - brought back happy memories of journeys all over the country watching the old EFC. Hadn't been to Tonbridge's ground before - very impressive. First class playing surface that allowed both teams to play skilful, probing, attacking football. Town starting line-up was strong. We have an excellent midfield and I thought giving Sam Youngs license to push forward to support Bricknell worked well. Not easy being the lone forward away from home but Bricknell worked hard off the ball, often tying up 2 Tonbridge centre-backs and creating space for late arriving midfielders like Youngs, Blackman and Johnson. He (Bricknell) makes clever runs and when Youngs and Blackman in particular start seeing those runs earlier, he's going to get on the end of plenty of chances away from home. Our back 4 looked very solid and defended so well as a unit. First half both sides were well matched with not too many clear cut chances. Both keepers making good saves when called upon. The build up to Blackman's goal was one of several excellent spells of possession for the Town, and the goal was struck beautifully. I was standing at the side so only realised we had scored when the net bulged. The travelling ETFC fans standing behind the goal must have had a great view of the half volley flying into the net! Terrific support by the way - completely out sang the home crowd from start to finish and must have been a great fillip for the players. Second half I thought we played even better. Managed the game extremely well after Taofiq's bullet of a header and should have made the game completely safe by taking at least 1 of the clear cut chances we created, especially in the last few minutes after Tonbridge scored. If we can transfer the quality of that performance to our home games, we are definitely play off contenders if not up there challenging for the title. Due to work commitments I won't get to another game until March but hope we are right up there when I'm next back.

Does anybody know if Back of the Net is still being produced? I haven't seen anything for a few weeks. Shame if they have stopped - I always looked forward to seeing the highlights and hearing the views of the pundits. I'm sure there's a market for a non league Match of the Day.

With Greene, Bricknell and Blackman not even in the squad for last night's game (presumably injured or unavailable), I can't recall such strength in depth. We seem to be spoilt for choice going forward, but do we have that squad depth in defence and midfield, when injuries and suspensions come into play? The right mix of youth and experience to get us 3 points away from home in those mid-week matches in December/January on ploughed fields that sort the wheat from the chaff? Very promising start to the season - looking forward to reading what people think.

Fantastic start to the season!! The sign of a strong squad is the strength on the bench and that was an impressive looking bench. Won’t be back in country for over a week but just can’t wait to be able to get to a game and watch this team play. Looks full of goals to me.

I think it's key we get Sam Youngs to sign. With his signature, we have a very good squad. Fingers crossed he stays with us.