Bedford FC

[Rhodes]

Real Bedford are one of just six Club's in the entire Country to reach one hundred League goals so far this 2023/24 season, will the records every stop, Bedford Town, for example, have scored just 59 League goals so far which says it all :

[Rhodes]

On 28/03/2024 at 09:10, Rhodes said:

RallyInRaleigh - Yes, see highlights of the livestream from the 2-1 win at Colney Heath on Tuesday, it reminded me of the Bayern Munich and Manchester United Champions League Final 😉:

Groundhopper Charlie Bradford was at a very wet Recreation Ground on Tuesday evening, also see a match report and some local Bedford Independent press coverage:

Super Sub Hitchcock grabs last-minute winner at Colney Heath | Real Bedford FC | Running Bitcoin

Eagles and Real both strike late to post key wins in title races - Bedford Independent

Colney Heath 1-2 Real Bedford

Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division

Tuesday 26th March 2024, 7:45 PM @ The Recreation Ground

Admission - £8

Programme - on-line only

Pin badge - no

New ground number 495

Game number 180 of the 2023 / 2024 season

After visiting Potton United last Thursday, it was time to do another Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division ground tonight and with good reason.

Real Bedford have been flying this season and came into today’s game eight points clear at the top of the league.

However second placed Milton Keynes Irish had three games in hand over Real Bedford and so Real Bedford couldn’t afford any slip ups as only the league champions would go up automatically.

Colney Heath came into tonight’s game in twelfth and were therefore looking to upset the applecart and make a dent in Bedford’s title aspirations.

Of course of concern tonight was the rain but Colney Heath tweeted at 5:20 PM that the game was good to go and to “carry on with your plans” and so, via a pit stop to the Golden Arches, it was over to the ground - a pleasant and rural one that required me to get an Uber to make it in time.

Joining me tonight was Dave Higgins and we witnessed an opening half an hour or so that was as damp as the weather with both teams only really having one clear chance each with Colney Heath’s Thomas Fraser guiding a corner past the post on the volley before Jones got played in for Bedford but saw his effort well saved around the post.

What’s that saying about not conceding before half time. Well Bedford didn’t get the message because they conceded the opener in the 44th minute when a ball in from the left was coolly tucked into the bottom right corner by George Sippets.

HT: 1-0.

In the second half the pitch represented a pond in places with lots of standing water and puddles which made you wonder how on earth the game finished. Both sides really struggled with the conditions and the rain, if anything, got worse as the night went on. Indeed the rain falling from the gutter into the bucket by the stand got louder and louder.

Nonetheless the game continued so full credit to everyone involved with both Club's and the match Officials for that and it was Real Bedford’s Stevens who had the next two chances in the game when he had a shot patted down before playing a neat one two before shooting down the throat of the Colney Heath custodian.

The sense was that Bedford were biding their time but boy did they leave it late to equalise, the 89th minute in fact when Eniola Agemoh-Davies’ cross from the left was tapped into the bottom right by Tom Hitchcock.

Dave then said “Bedford will probably go and nick this” and lo and behold they did when a cross was headed home by Tom Hitchcock in the 95th minute to cue wild scenes and a big bundle.

FT: 1-2.

MOTM: Tom Hitchcock (Real Bedford) - the two goal match winner.

Edited April 2 by Rhodes

[LondonEagle]

2 hours ago, Rhodes said:

Real Bedford are one of just six Club's in the entire Country to reach one hundred League goals so far this 2023/24 season, will the records every stop, Bedford Town, for example, have scored just 59 League goals so far which says it all :

 

59 games in 30 games is still approx  2 goals a game, hardly that boring to watch!  Fariplay on 100 goals though, we only scored 94 when we won it in 1994: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993–94_South_Midlands_League

Edited March 28 by LondonEagle

[LondonEagle]

St Panteilmon (spelling)! have gone bust.

All results expunged.

Irish lose 1 point and Real Bedford 3, but Irish still had them to play, so Irish are now 6 points behind but with only 2 games in hand.

So it's now in Real Bedford's hands as if both teams win all their remaining games, RB will win the title on goal difference.      

[RallyInRaleigh]

Hate to see this. 

[PatrollR24]

Sad news, but definitely a boost for Real Bedford! Takes off the pressure to win every game now! Does feel a little harsh on MK Irish however with a tough run in the look likely to drop points somewhere

 

Do we know for sure that the results are expunged? Thought I’d seen a rule that if 75% of the sides games had been played then all remaining fixtures were an automatic defeat for the folding side which would mean that it’s advantage Irish

 

Interesting to see what happens, hopefully doesn’t ruin what has been a fantastic and competitive season

[LondonEagle]

[Rhodes]

So to this afternoon's fixture with Shefford Town & Campton at McMullen Park which will be live streamed, see everything you wanted to know about the game but were afraid to ask as well as Chairman Peter McCormack's interesting match programme notes:

Match Focus: Shefford Head to the Home of The Pirates | Real Bedford FC | Running Bitcoin

From the Clubhouse: Peter McCormack’s Programme Notes | Real Bedford FC | Running Bitcoin

[Rhodes]

More good news from McMullen Park, Real Bedford Ladies Eastern Region Women's League Premier Division fixture tomorrow (Sunday 31 March) afternoon against Wroxham FC Ladies, (kick off 2.00pm), will be live streamed with no pedantic restrictions as is the case with live streaming of the Men's team's matches:

RBFC Ladies Have First Live streamed match on Easter Sunday | Real Bedford FC | Running Bitcoin

Edited March 30 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

On 25/03/2024 at 14:10, Rhodes said:

It's certainly looking a lot better than it did a couple of weeks or so ago however Rob Sinclair's men aren't home and hosed yet are they

The revised Premier Division League table following St Panteleimon's withdrawl from the League:

[Rhodes]

No difficulties for Real Bedford on Saturday against a well beaten Shefford Town & Campton side, in a 4-0 victory, who still enjoyed their visit to McMullen Park, being 'wined and dined' after the proceedings with their boss Kane Dougherty being a friend of Chairman Peter McCormack, see a match report and highlights from the live stream:

The Pirates Put Four past Shefford at Mcmullen Park | Real Bedford FC | Running Bitcoin

Edited April 6 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

On 30/03/2024 at 13:25, Rhodes said:

More good news from McMullen Park, Real Bedford Ladies Eastern Region Women's League Premier Division fixture tomorrow (Sunday 31 March) afternoon against Wroxham FC Ladies, (kick off 2.00pm), will be live streamed with no pedantic restrictions as is the case with live streaming of the Men's team's matches:

Here we go folks, highlights from the first live streamed Real Bedford Ladies v Wroxham FC Ladies Eastern Region Women's League Premier Division fixture on Sunday afternoon, resulting in a 4-1 victory for the Ladies:

[Rhodes]

I see that Mr McCormack has openly issued the Club's accounts for 2022/23 with a statement, I wonder what Bedford Town's accounts were like for the same period 😉:

A lot of made of Real Bedford's finances with wild accusations regarding spending, budgets and FFP rule infringements. Our accountants have just completed our accounts for the 22/23 season. The Club made a profit of £99,283 for the year on a turnover of £482,366. £79,030 of profit is chargeable to Corporation Tax with a corporation tax bill of £16,197. Real Bedford is a profitable and sustainable Club, the turnover comes from a mix of match day revenue, sponsorship and merchandise sales, while our Bitcoin treasury means we have a healthy and growing war chest for future seasons. With the appreciation of the Bitcoin price this year, our strategy of holding Bitcoin for the long term has protected the Club against the pressure from inflation that irresponsible government economic policies have caused, Bitcoin will play a key role in our strategy of trying to get Real Bedford into the Football League. Other Club's should consider this, some might expect the profits to be higher on that turnover but we do have some high operational costs: - £60,000 per year on streaming to support our growing international fanbase - £40,000 investment in kit, equipment and coaching for youth teams - £40,000 investment in our Ladies team - £50,000 in ground and infrastructure upgrades. There are many other costs but these are the big-ticket line items in our P&L, we also operate a hardship fund to support families who can't afford to have their kids play football. This fund has over £10,000 remaining, and we are looking to expand it into other sports in Bedford.

[Rhodes]

Well known groundhopper 'Tales From The Riverbank', from another Forum, was present at McMullen Park on Saturday:

Part 2 of the weekends South Midland Trilogy travelled also to a rare trip to a previously unvisited (the first of 2024) with a long overdue visit to McMullen Park for:
Real Bedford 4 v 0 Shefford Town & Campton - South Midlands League Premier Division.
Programme 24 pages £2.50 - Admission £4.00(c) - Att. 186.
One for this seasons horribly one sided box with the hosts squandering a raft of chances in both halves to the extent that they could easily have achieved double figures, though they were fortunate that Shefford on the rare occasions that they posed an attacking threat were equally as wasteful in front of goal.
The rays of a (for March) fierce sun along with an almost perfectly stripy cut pitch greeted those attending, though as was the case three weeks before when RB were seen at Milton Keynes Irish, their numbers of orange on orange shirts with a black outline were as indecipherable as they were previously.
From this angle, Shefford made the slightly better start and the hosts could have been embarrassed if Amir Hadi's cross from the right had been more accurately aimed towards two waiting forwards. However, it was not long before RB were passing the ball around in a highly impressive manner with their approach play being some of the best seen at this level this season. Their increasing dominance provided two goals in two minutes giving the impression that the margin of victory was going to be emphatic. No doubt about the penalty award for the opening goal when Archie Jones was felled by Charlie Mitten whilst running purposefully towards the by line to send over a cross, Joey Evans sent Josh Mollison the wrong way from the resultant penalty. A second goal then quickly arrived when Jones' awkward bouncing shot from the edge of the area could only be parried by Mollison back to Evans who easily dispatched the rebound.
With an early two goal advantage for RB the direction for the remainder of the contest was set, but the constant problem for the hosts afterwards was the failure to take any of the numerous chances that they created. Quite clear that there was a degree of complacency in the final third, the Shefford defence only rarely made errors as they were simply overwhelmed, but what was most noticeable apart from the missed chances from the likes of Evans (trying too hard to achieve a first half hat trick), Jones and Josh Setchell. What also imposed was the hosts frequent inability to read the positioning of the Shefford defence with the outcome being that one of the busiest on the pitch was the linesman on the far side raising his flag for offside.
If Shefford had pulled a goal back in the latter stages of the first half then it may have shaken RB out of their collective complacency but there was only one chance for the visitors when Scott Metcalfe raced clear of the trailing RB defence on the right but the angle was too narrow and Tyler McGregor in the RB goal sufficiently narrowed the angle to parry. The first half ended with Evans once again trying to complete his hat trick for once beating the offside flag and bearing down on goal, but he dallied too long in assessing how to shoot allowing Dempsey Thomas to successfully complete what was a risky sliding tackle in his penalty area.
There was no difference between the first and second halves, though promisingly RB increased their lead within five minutes of the restart as Setchell took a more direct approach on the right and his run forward culminated with an excellent angled finish into the left hand corner of the goal. With RB increasing their lead so early in the second half, the assumption was that they would take full advantage in order to dramatically improve their GD, but the same problems that existed in the first half carried over into the second half with an overly casual approach and the linesman raising his flag for numerous offsides. Two excellent chances for Lee Watkins through on goal, the first was ballooned high over the bar and his second attempt was placed too close to Mollison. Setchell's direct approach showed his team mates what could be achieved again advancing on the right and his further angled shot finding the left hand corner of the goal, on this occasion Mollison obtained a faint touch with his outstretched boot but completely insufficient to prevent the ball from undertaking its course.
For their efforts, Shefford deserved a goal or two but their finishing in front of goal was as erratic as their opponents, typified late on when Luke Carter was square on goal in a surplus of space and he hooked over the bar from close range. You could sense the consternation of Kurtis Alleyne whose header down set up what should have been the easiest of conversions. In the end a comprehensive win for RB but the GD should have been enhanced further. After St Panteleimon's demise (the Full Time League table was helpfully updated between departing and arriving into Bedford), RB now have a six point advantage and a +15 GD over rivals Milton Keynes Irish though the latter have two games in hand. With both teams being streets ahead of their Divisional rivals it does particularly iniquitous that one of them will have to go through the vagaries of the Play-Off's but rules are rules.
Must have passed McMullen Park at least ten times when travelling the few steps prior en-route to the New Eyrie. Standard Level 5 ground with a small (unused) area of cover in the far corner along with a much more substantial seating area which was almost full. The impression was obtained that if they are promoted there are numerous areas of work i.e. provision of a turnstile being the most obvious, that will need to be undertaken in order to obtain Level 4 status. Not that finances seem to be in any way a barrier as their balance sheet published on their Twi/X output showed a Club profit of just less than £100k that would seems inconceivable at their current level and which includes a hefty wage bill. For all the crypto currency, bitcoin basis of their backers, some of the day was decidedly old school Non League with a paper programme, teams written up on a board in extremely neat writing and a higher than expected elderly demograph of those watching. I did expect to be one of the oldest in attendance. On departure I did stick my head around the open door at the New Eyrie for literally the final seconds and it transpires that I had just missed the only goal of the game. Given Bedford Town's rapid drop of form over the past two months, it would not surprise that they will be playing their next door neighbours in league competition in 24-5.
The walk out from Bedford town centre to Meadow Lane does seem to take longer and longer on each visit. though on this occasion the walk was made more picturesque walking alongside a very swollen Great Ouse and this was repeated on the walk back but on both occasions over an hour was taken increasing the number of daily steps.
Arrived into Bedford just before midday and prior to the long walk out, there was a brief trip to The Pilgrims Progress (JDW) for another sampling of Reedley Hallows' excellent Beer O'Clock. When In Bedford there is no reason to head to any other hostelry but The Wellington as was the case post match. Just five ales present on this occasion with the Goffs Brewery Lancer being as close to ale perfection as is possible. The pale from the more local Nethergate Brewery was in comparison decidedly average but was still a more than palatable ale. Ideally I would have liked to have stayed for a further pint but a quick check on trains showed the Thameslink service that I wanted to catch being cancelled and therefore it was a quick rush back to Bedford Station to catch the earlier 19.18 service. Remainder of journey interconnected without issue with the c2c service being one of the new 720 series that allows a flagging phone to be recharged. Indoors at 21.42.

[Rhodes]

12 minutes ago, Rhodes said:

Well known groundhopper 'Tales From The Riverbank', from another Forum, was present at McMullen Park on Saturday

What a total contrast to this groundhopper from another Forum who was at the adjacent Eyrie on Saturday to witness yet another Southern League Division One Central defeat for beleaguered Bedford Town, an extortionate £12 for entry and a pricey £3 for a programme:

The Pitching In Southern Football League – Division One Central
The Eyrie Stadium – Official Attendance: 479
Bedford Town (0) 0 Waltham Abbey (0) 1
Since my visit to Milton Keynes Irish for their game against Real Bedford three weeks ago, I have been keeping an eye on proceedings at the top of the Spartan South Midlands league. I hadn’t got to any of the subsequent games, but this weekend I was contemplating a visit to Real Bedford for their fixture against Shefford Town and Campton. However, my attention was then drawn to their next door neighbours and a fixture that looked a little more appealing. Mathematically, either Bedford Town or Waltham Abbey could still win the division, but realistically it was a fixture pitting title-contenders against play-off contenders.
Having given up on my half-hearted thoughts of a trip to Nailsea on Good Friday, I was keen to make more of an effort on Saturday. It looked to be in the region of a 2.5 hour drive, so I set off around 11:30. My sat-nav was set, but I was not going to let it take me via the M25 and M1 – it eventually got the message as we headed up the A34. Arrived and parked-up in a lay-by off the A603, right next to the ground. At this point, I still had a choice of which match to attend, but in truth my mind had long-since been made up.
Admission - £12 (full adult price – would have been £10 with an advance booking online).
Programme - £3 (a glossy 40 page production – fairly priced in the current economic climate).
This wasn’t the most exciting match I have ever attended. The first half was quite scrappy with neither side taking any sort of control of the game and there were a fair few interruptions for players requiring treatment, making it a stop-start affair. Waltham Abbey came closest to scoring before the interval; they had one shot cleared with players claiming the ball had crossed the line – I wasn’t close enough to tell whether it was anywhere near in reality – and they had another effort which appeared to rebound from the foot of the post. The second half may have been marginally better, but it was still the visitors creating the better chances. Bedford had their ‘keeper to thank on a couple of occasions as the game appeared to be heading for a goalless draw. As we neared the end, the referee indicated 5 minutes to his assistant, but when the board went up it only showed 4 minutes of stoppage time. Four minutes of stoppage time came and went and it was still goalless, but deep into the fifth minute, the Waltham Abbey #7 got in behind the home side’s defence and crossed for their #10 to head home from six yards out. After the restart, the referee managed to find another minute, or so, playing time before bringing proceedings to an end.
For the journey home, as a special treat, I let my sat-nav decide the route – inevitably it chose the M1/M25 option. Whilst sitting stationary for an hour as an accident was dealt with in a section of roadworks on the M1, I had plenty of time to contemplate the wisdom of that decision.

[LondonEagle]

1 hour ago, Rhodes said:

What a total contrast to this groundhopper from another Forum who was at the adjacent Eyrie on Saturday to witness yet another Southern League Division One Central defeat for beleaguered Bedford Town, an extortionate £12 for entry and a pricey £3 for a programme:

The Pitching In Southern Football League – Division One Central
The Eyrie Stadium – Official Attendance: 479
Bedford Town (0) 0 Waltham Abbey (0) 1
Since my visit to Milton Keynes Irish for their game against Real Bedford three weeks ago, I have been keeping an eye on proceedings at the top of the Spartan South Midlands league. I hadn’t got to any of the subsequent games, but this weekend I was contemplating a visit to Real Bedford for their fixture against Shefford Town and Campton. However, my attention was then drawn to their next door neighbours and a fixture that looked a little more appealing. Mathematically, either Bedford Town or Waltham Abbey could still win the division, but realistically it was a fixture pitting title-contenders against play-off contenders.
Having given up on my half-hearted thoughts of a trip to Nailsea on Good Friday, I was keen to make more of an effort on Saturday. It looked to be in the region of a 2.5 hour drive, so I set off around 11:30. My sat-nav was set, but I was not going to let it take me via the M25 and M1 – it eventually got the message as we headed up the A34. Arrived and parked-up in a lay-by off the A603, right next to the ground. At this point, I still had a choice of which match to attend, but in truth my mind had long-since been made up.
Admission - £12 (full adult price – would have been £10 with an advance booking online).
Programme - £3 (a glossy 40 page production – fairly priced in the current economic climate).
This wasn’t the most exciting match I have ever attended. The first half was quite scrappy with neither side taking any sort of control of the game and there were a fair few interruptions for players requiring treatment, making it a stop-start affair. Waltham Abbey came closest to scoring before the interval; they had one shot cleared with players claiming the ball had crossed the line – I wasn’t close enough to tell whether it was anywhere near in reality – and they had another effort which appeared to rebound from the foot of the post. The second half may have been marginally better, but it was still the visitors creating the better chances. Bedford had their ‘keeper to thank on a couple of occasions as the game appeared to be heading for a goalless draw. As we neared the end, the referee indicated 5 minutes to his assistant, but when the board went up it only showed 4 minutes of stoppage time. Four minutes of stoppage time came and went and it was still goalless, but deep into the fifth minute, the Waltham Abbey #7 got in behind the home side’s defence and crossed for their #10 to head home from six yards out. After the restart, the referee managed to find another minute, or so, playing time before bringing proceedings to an end.
For the journey home, as a special treat, I let my sat-nav decide the route – inevitably it chose the M1/M25 option. Whilst sitting stationary for an hour as an accident was dealt with in a section of roadworks on the M1, I had plenty of time to contemplate the wisdom of that decision.

 

It literally explains it is possible to buy a ticket in advance online for £10 (you can even do this on your phone at the ground() and says that £3 is a fair price for a programme. And 'beleaguered' Bedford Town are top of the league. Pathetic trolling, Rhodes.      

[RallyInRaleigh]

With the Irish loss last night to Harpenden, RBFC is fully in the drivers seat. Next two league fixtures are both tough with playoff caliber teams but if they can manage six there, they should be golden. 

[Rhodes]

1 hour ago, RallyInRaleigh said:

With the Irish loss last night to Harpenden, RBFC is fully in the drivers seat. Next two league fixtures are both tough with playoff caliber teams but if they can manage six there, they should be golden. 

RallyInRaleigh - Yes, I wonder whether a crate of Krug or Bollinger champagne arrived at Rothamsted Park earlier today, you can see the disappointment etched on Milton Keynes Irish boss Terry Shrieves face can't you although he has been there, especially with Buckingham Town, done that and got the tee shirt:

[Rhodes]

Real Bedford Ladies look destined for, presumably, the Women's National League Division One South East with the likes of Cambridge City, Cambridge United and Norwich City Ladies. I wouldn't have thought that it will be the Women's National League Division One Midlands with the likes of Doncaster Belles, Lincoln City and Solihull Moors Ladies although Peterborough United Ladies are in that Division: 

[Rhodes]

Back to the 'distraction' of Cup action tomorrow, albeit the Semi Final of the SSML Premier Division Cup and the opportunity I guess for another League and Cup double as was the case last season. Unfortunately, and perhaps surprisingly, there will not be a live stream of the tie for overseas fans, such as RallyInRaleigh and Cruz, to enjoy:

Edited April 10 by Rhodes