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Blue Square South Guide

Bin Man 87

31-07-2008

...to the victor the Mr Whippy

"The Thursday/Saturday combo meant Friday was freed up for some hardcore, hell-for-leather, what-goes-on-tour-stays-on-tour, boys-Friday-night-on-the-town action. Thus two rounds of adventure golf, a 99 cone, a gentle stroll round the Jersey War Tunnels, and a swiftly aborted attempt to traverse the increasingly ocean-licked causeway over to Elizabeth Castle it was. Believe me, we London Branch boys know our way round ‘avin’ it large".

part two of the reportage into the jubilant jape-filled jogtrot round Jersey available at http://dubsteps.blogspot.com/2008/07/jersey-league-xi-1-havant-waterlooville.html

Posted by skif at 08:24:26 0 comments Leave a comment

28-07-2008

On land and sea, now in the air

"Springfield...is Jersey’s national stadium but has a public park and fitness centre within its boundaries and so, while fairly rudimentary save for a relatively gigantic main stand, the general leafy- and greenness makes for a pretty comfortable location for those who wish to combine their football with a little light sun-basking. Hawks on holidays: knees out, knotted hankie on. Bring on the leisure"

Reportage and snappy snaps from part one of the Hawks two-game jolly junket to Jersey now available via the dubSteps site.

Part 2 to follow later this week.

Posted by skif at 09:51:19 0 comments Leave a comment

16-07-2008

Kit me baby, three more times

Always different, always the same. That goes for Fall albums, Dr. Who and football kits. Only a couple of weeks ago the nation was on tenterhooks, messages boards aflame with theoric fervour as they waited to see if Havant & Waterlooville’s kit would be changing or not.

No, wait, that was actually Dr Who wasn’t it.

The good Doctor does like to regenerate every now and then (usually when an actor’s contract is proving tricky to renegotiate) and football clubs are much the same. However this doesn’t represent itself as root-and-branch change through to the core, it usually just means a chameleonic change of skin.

So, to cut a potentially long metaphor short, a new season does indeed bring new shirts for the H&Dub Foundation. Believe me this does excite some of our supporters more than is possibly healthy, the online conjecture about manufacturers, colours and trim reaching a weird dizziness at times. All it does is remind me of our former manager Billy Gilbert’s reported line, just prior to our merger, after petty squabbles broke out about the amalgamated kit – “you can have whatever shirts you like, it’s the players inside ‘em that counts.” And it still is, of course.

However, us supporters, we like our stuff, our bits and pieces that tell the world “I SUPPORT A CLUB YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF. DEAL WITH THAT, MUH’FUH’”. The mugs for the office coffee binge; the bookmark to save you folding down the corners of your Barbara Cartland; and the mousemat that says, simply, “I have more money then sense.” Honestly, my desk at work is like a top-flight footballer’s wedding, gaudy tat everywhere the eye can see. Only with H&W-imprinted gear outweighing the pink tiaras.

What better ‘stuff’ can you really get than to wear a shirt “like what them players of ours are wearin’”? New season, new trinkets. We might whinge about spunking our hard-earned bunse on yet another kit but, really, in our heart of hearts, it’s like beckoning our Fairy Godmother and asking her to sort us out with “somethin’ real pur’dey.” A spangly new outfit appears, and thus Cinders shall indeed go to the (foot)ball.

This year we’re hoping our club is going to take us out on the town a bit more and treat us right, and so we don’t need just one new outfit, we need a whole range. So, on top of our home and away, this year we will also be entertaining the notion of an official third kit.

For our home ensemble, we’re going for simplicity. Plain white and no trim. Like Leeds in the 1970’s. For our away games, it’ll be a rich yellow with medium blue across the shoulders, sleeves and down the side. Like, err, Leeds in the 50s. Or Team Bath.

Our third kit will certainly test our retinas as we’ll be turning out in a curious orange, although more Blackpool than Holland. I’m trying to think of a context that will require a third kit and I guess we can use it when we play teams wearing white and yellow stripes.

So, when Oxford United’s 1987 first XI come knocking around for a kick-about, we’ll be ready for ‘em.

Finally.

Kits can be seen here

Posted by skif at 08:22:02 0 comments Leave a comment

14-07-2008

Away from home with the Oatways

East Preston 0 Havant & Waterlooville 1

"This was, after all, a friendly arranged so that our assistant manager Charlie Oatway could begin his on-field rehabilitation by kicking his son, East Preston’s Charlie Jr., around a pitch for a half. Perhaps Jr. hadn’t been doing his fair share of the chores, or had been lippy to his Ma at breakfast. While some kids get grounded, or have their iPod confiscated for a week, Charlie Oatway Jr. has, instead, to deal with the possibility of his old man leaping in studs up and breaking his shiny new birthday shin-guards."

Read more about H&W's opening friendly at the dubSteps site. Couple of pictures n'all.

Posted by skif at 00:27:55 1 comments Leave a comment

04-07-2008

dub Steps (truncated)

Afternoon folks

This blog is titled by way of tribute to the goal that was voted, almost unanimously, as our champagne moment of last season - Tony Taggart's goal against Notts County - which gave us our first ever league club scalp in the FA Cup.

Along with some bits that occur from time to time as the season progresses, I'll try to keep this updated with the Conference South related stuff that I post on my H&W/non-league/music website - http://dubsteps.blogspot.com

Perhaps I could have subtitled this blog "(Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying About Finishing Just Outside The Play-Offs And Start Accepting That We're Going To Piss This Tinpot League)" as our Conference South brethren, going by the forum here, seem to be convinced that it is ours to lose this year.

Some proven, quality signings have been made and there has been no senitement shown to last season's heroic squad, with only one of the seven players who scored for us in the FA Cup rounds proper last season definitely still with us for this campaign. Nonetheless we have no reserve side and thus the squad is small.

I'd certainly like to think that our players won't believe the hype, and are not already in the mindset that all they've got to do is turn up at the grounds this season.

It is a delicate balancing act between being powered by self-confidence and hamstrung by hubris. That goes for the players and staff but also we terrace types.

I'd like to think we'll do well, we have earnt the financial muscle to give it a good go certainly, but while approaching the season with a great deal of excitement, I for one am trying to keep a level head, if only to prevent me jumping on an advertising hoarding and shouting "Gale Out" and "Sack the Board" if we happen to go one down at St Albans on August 9th.

Posted by skif at 15:50:18 1 comments Leave a comment

Archive
...to the victor the Mr Whippy
On land and sea, now in the air
Kit me baby, three more times
Away from home with the Oatways
dub Steps (truncated)