The Crowing Cockerel

4 out of 6 points so far. Without having seen the game, I'd've taken that before those two fixtures. Plus, we have only shipped 1 goal, so that's an improvement!

Its almost worth the squad making a week of it in Brighton! This may well be the defining week of our 22/23 season. Three very tough away fixtures against Bognor, Hastings and Lewes. Three defeats and we can ready ourselves for fixtures against the likes of Hashtag United in the Isthmian Prem next season. If we're still in a play-off spot at 5pm next Saturday, then we might just have a shot at promotion (with fixtures against Casuals and Herne Bay following). Lets hope the boys can hit something resembling top form and put the past few fixtures behind them!

Agreed, LS. Although I guess it could be worse - we could be under-achieving! I have to give the manager some credit for that. However he's not really pulling up any trees! My real hope is that the next manager is able to do more with the resources available - either coach players recruited within our budget to perform to a much higher level, or perhaps unearth a few hidden gems. A long FA Cup run might even push our player recruitment into a different financial bracket.
I appreciate that we very nearly lost senior non-league football in the borough, and we've come a long way from that roped-off pitch at Goldsdown Road, but some of us are anxious to relive the glory days of an Enfield side at the very top of the non-league pyramid - and in my life time! So lets hope for some real ambition rather than stability and stagnation.

LS, I think its indicative of where we are as a club. We are making progress, but its just very slow progress. Thats part and parcel of our business model. We can't do what the likes of Bishops Stortford and Hornchurch are doing - attempting to buy their way into the National League. For example, BS have very recently signed Sam Deering who was plying his trade in the football league 18 months ago - I suspect he's being paid comparatively well. Meanwhile Hornchurch have recently shelled out a reported £40k on a striker Folkestone had (very sensibly) tied down to a 2-year contract.
I can only grumble so much about our current inconsistencies. I have no idea whether any other manager could do any better than AL with our budget. Our reality is that we have to hope that we can make the play-offs. And then we need to get very lucky, twice, in order to get promoted. Assuming we continue to make progress then it will probably happen at some point in the future. Its just tough when we've been up against teams who can draft in loan signings from football league teams (Worthing) who can be real game-changers and (while not paupers) we're financially ham-strung.

Strange afternoon at the QE2. We've put ourselves in with a shot at promotion, but we need a fair amount of luck if we're going to achieve that this season. For my money, I reckon finishing 3rd (behind Hornchurch - who are splashing the cash, and Bishops Stortford) is probably the best we can achieve, but its a funny old game!
Back to today... I get it, we've out-muscled a fair few teams recently with long balls up to Cunnington. The trouble is: (1) We're actually a better footballing side than that; (2) Its not really a style of football to excite the fans. Whilst Adam won ALOT of headers today, Wingate did a good job of clearing up the second ball. The Wingate keeper also dealt with pretty much every cross thrown into the box.
The Wingate goal was nothing short of brilliant - well worth a watch on the highlights when they come out. A cross-field ball to their right wing is volleyed into the box first time where the diminutive No.10 hit an overhead kick which Nathan could only watch sail into the top right-hand corner of the net.
The sending off. I was a long way away, but it looked like handbags to me. I think everyone was surprised when the red card came out.
Pleasing that we managed to come back from that position and claim a draw. There are going to be tough days like that over a season. Yes, we could've won it, but I think we might view that as a point gained rather than two points dropped come the end of the season.

It's £20 membership.That business model ensures that the club will never shink.As does the 99 year lease on our stadium..I would say clubs that have good potential real estate and a single owner/chairman that can sell up at anytime are at far more risk than our business model..But the short term success that the later business model can achieve is harder to do with a supporter run club. Swings and roundabouts.After what happened to Enfield Fc i know which once i would prefer to rely on.

We were all getting along just fine - there was even going to be a Community Cup game between us - and then you Chesericians decided that the rules didn't apply to you! And then your little weirdy-beardy manager decided that was quite amusing! So don't come round these parts claiming the moral high ground, Albs!

Your You're a strange lot over here. 
Big fines ? - A few £k is definitely small fry for you big time Charlies at Chesericay.
A ban for Frempah ? - The cancellation of his registration at Chesericay seems to be the least the FA would do, looking at previous cases.
A  3 -12 points deduction* ? * See below
Automatic Relegation ? * - I'm not sure the Spartan South Midlands League deserve you, but it seems about the right level.
Compensation ? - Automatic relegation will be sufficient compensation.
A hint of a court case ? - Perhaps they can televise it?
And on your FB site someone wants to hang one on Frempah. Not that they'll have the bottle  ? - Mr Frempah clearly knows how to make friends, bless him. 
Just to say thanks to the few who showed up on Saturday .Not all of you are so easily lead. - Not overly surprised that there were only a few fans in total.
And don't forget to pay your £10 membership like good little club shareholders. God help you all if the ship sinks ? - Unlike Chesericay, the ETFC ship is not reliant on a benefactor of any kind. I'm willing to bet it floats the long of the two. ?

Haha I love it.
Now that Chesericay are massive, who knows, they might even get their own forum so we can troll them ? ??

Chesericay has a nice sound to it.    Chesericay FC from now on.

Henceforth the little village club up the A10 will be known as Chesericay.
If you think Mo was on big bucks then you really have no idea about ETFC.
In the circumstances, assuming Frempah was registered correctly by ETFC, then I would expect Cheshunt to be reprimanded by the FA. Had this happened mid-season, then it would've been a fine and points deduction. I would much rather find out in July that a player has no loyalty to the club than later on, so thats all well and good. The damage to the relationship between the two clubs is a much more unfortunate side-effect with the blame for that certainly being laid at Chesericay's door.

Quite humorous, but I'm not sure the Cheshunt Manager should really be getting involved in the banter given the circumstances. Still, its a matter for Cheshunt how they wish to present themselves.

Quite humorous, but I'm not sure the Cheshunt Manager should really be getting involved in the banter given the circumstances. Still, its a matter for Cheshunt how they wish to present themselves.

I suppose the main point for me is more about Cheshunt than ETFC. Cheshunt have some money, they've secured promotion and seem to have some exciting plans for the future. Their stated desire is to become a big non-league club. All very laudable for a club in a town with a population of only 45,000 people. At the same time, they've handled this situation with a rather 'small club' mentality. Its even reached the point where Cheshunt's manager (- who I know has something of a reputation,) is poking fun online. Perhaps the Cheshunt board and management have decided that they want to be seen as the new Billericay? We all know how that ended.

I suppose the main point for me is more about Cheshunt than ETFC. Cheshunt have some money, they've secured promotion and seem to have some exciting plans for the future. Their stated desire is to become a big non-league club. All very laudable for a club in a town with a population of only 45,000 people. At the same time, they've handled this situation with a rather 'small club' mentality. Its even reached the point where Cheshunt's manager (- who I know has something of a reputation,) is poking fun online. Perhaps the Cheshunt board and management have decided that they want to be seen as the new Billericay? We all know how that ended.

The whole affair reflects poorly on the player (and on Cheshunt).
Frempah is (was) an experienced professional and must be familiar with registration formalities. He knew that he had signed registration forms with ETFC only a few days ago. Incredibly naive if he thought he could play a trial/friendly for another club mere days later and NOT cause a stink. I agree with LS. No way Frempah can be allowed back into the ETFC dressing room now. Andy signed him because he thought he would fit well with the team and set a good example. Sadly, the player’s actions speak for themselves. 
Cheshunt’s conduct is equally unbecoming. Somebody at Cheshunt FC approached Frempah to play. The question is whether that “somebody” knew that Frempah was registered with ETFC. I await with interest the result of the FA’s investigation. But to some extent that investigation is irrelevant. The player’s conduct demonstrates an utter lack of commitment or loyalty and Craig Edwards has already made his feelings on that plain:
https://cheshuntfc.com/2022/07/05/news-from-manager-craig-edwards/
 
I’d be pretty disappointed if I was a Cheshunt fan, to see Frempah in their team going forward. He’s done it to us, who’s to say he won’t do it to them?
 
I quite enjoy Albury Walker’s banter on this forum, it’s exactly what a local club rivalry should be. But this isn’t oneupmanship, this is conduct unbecoming. I hope Cheshunt do the right thing, send Frempah packing and clear the air with our manager and board. Their post about ETFC’s non-participation in this weekend’s Community Cup tournament was pretty ill-considered too.

I see that Mr Frempah has played (and scored) for Cheshunt tonight. If he is properly registered for another club then he is not permitted to train with Cheshunt and certainly not represent them in any kind of fixture. Its not simply a case of Cheshunt trusting the player's assurance that he is unregistered. They would have to check for themselves.
There's no way that he could come back and play for Town now. The concern must be that Frempah will eventually find himself banned for a lengthy period with Cheshunt receiving a fine/costs and a 'sporting penalty'.
I'm not overly impressed with the way in which Cheshunt seem to have conducted themselves. Had a genuine mistake been made then I would've expected a more conciliatory response from the Ambers. Afterall, we're going to be neighbours far longer than Ben Frempah will be playing for either side. There's nothing to stop them approaching players - particularly pre-season - but the arrogance of their response on social media has been disappointing.
Still, I'm sure it will all come out in the wash!

I see that Mr Frempah has played (and scored) for Cheshunt tonight. If he is properly registered for another club then he is not permitted to train with Cheshunt and certainly not represent them in any kind of fixture. Its not simply a case of Cheshunt trusting the player's assurance that he is unregistered. They would have to check for themselves.
There's no way that he could come back and play for Town now. The concern must be that Frempah will eventually find himself banned for a lengthy period with Cheshunt receiving a fine/costs and a 'sporting penalty'.
I'm not overly impressed with the way in which Cheshunt seem to have conducted themselves. Had a genuine mistake been made then I would've expected a more conciliatory response from the Ambers. Afterall, we're going to be neighbours far longer than Ben Frempah will be playing for either side. There's nothing to stop them approaching players - particularly pre-season - but the arrogance of their response on social media has been disappointing.
Still, I'm sure it will all come out in the wash!

I see that Cheshunt have put a rather different spin on things: https://cheshuntfc.com/2022/07/21/kings-lynn-town-fc-join-us-for-our-community-cup-tournament/
Over to the FA now, and whatever happens, by the time they take into account legal fees, I suspect Cheshunt will decide it probably wasn't a signing worth making.

We're normally very very careful about announcing signings, so this seems very strange. Can't imagine it'd be any kind of dual registration situation as we'd've made that clear from the outset.
Cheshunt must've known we'd announced the signing before playing him at the weekend. I'd suggest we politely withdraw from our place in this Saturday's tournament and leave Cheshunt and Haringey to have a friendly. Thereby avoiding any possible issues on the pitch.

Not really a move for 'footballing reasons', but I guess it fits with his social media ambitions.

I think we both know it won't be ETFC who will miss the trips down the A10 the most. ?

Oh ye of little faith! Any minute now, Andy, we'll discover that Lovely Stuff is in fact Joe Thwaite - winner of the £184m Euromillions jackpot - who has decided to provide Andy with a £10m 'war chest' this summer!

Agreed, LS. It seems as if we're heading in the right direction - getting a crowd of 2,000 into the ground shows that. Plus there definitely seems to have been a growth in sponsorship. If we can find a way of growing crowds to 'Dulwich levels' (- and I don't see why we can't in the long term), then surely we can be competitive at NLS level? Its hard to be patient as a football fan, but I guess we're in it for the long haul. I think we'd all rather that than going through a repeat of the demise of Enfield FC. You never know, perhaps a fan might win the Euromillions this week and decide to chuck a couple of million our way?

Agreed, LS. It seems as if we're heading in the right direction - getting a crowd of 2,000 into the ground shows that. Plus there definitely seems to have been a growth in sponsorship. If we can find a way of growing crowds to 'Dulwich levels' (- and I don't see why we can't in the long term), then surely we can be competitive at NLS level? Its hard to be patient as a football fan, but I guess we're in it for the long haul. I think we'd all rather that than going through a repeat of the demise of Enfield FC. You never know, perhaps a fan might win the Euromillions this week and decide to chuck a couple of million our way?