2026 Front Runner

Insiders are predicting further shock decisions from FIFA for 2026.
Current front runner is Antarctica, which is seen to provide a major challenge to extend the influence of the game and the impetus for infrastructure development. 
A sole senior FIFA official was spotted carrying out some reconnaisance visits:

Extension of existing hotel arrangements are being considered:

And the local side has been undergoing extensive bonding sessions:

Cautious Optimism

I have no illusions of being a person with a good understanding of financial and corporate issues. My knowledge extends little further than IT strategies and depreciating personal investment portfolios.
However, the news from the club regardiing the planned takeover is still uplifting.
As others have noted, caution least is required about the ‘Xmas present’ news until we learn more about it and, most importantly, what group is behind Peter Varney.
Nevertheless, given Richard Murray’s (and his colleagues’) incredible support and dedication for the club in recent seasons you would have to be a real cynical pessimist to anticipate the club going into the wrong hands to a bunch of deviant financiers who had their eyes on exploiting whatever “assets” come as part of the deal. He has held on stoically for a long time, reducing his level of wealth considerably, in discarding some previous potential bids as being unfavourable to the club.
The club owes him and enormous debt in terms of his financial commitment, effort, time, and probable sleepness nights that it has cost him. I hope that any final deal brings him some piece of mind and, most importantly, it finds an important and responsible place for him in any new structure.
It bodes well that it is fronted by  Peter Varney who has undoubted credentials as a CAFC fan and has anm excellent reputation within the football world. It seems unlikely that he would have been duped by dubious financial backers. I would not have had the same confidence with Dennis Wise.
However, let’s not get too carried away by thoughts of some mega-bucks treasure trove being available for a transfer kitty in January. A modest implant of funds to cover investment of additional players in key positions and the retention of other squad players would be a major leap forward given the otherwise reliance on sales or loans to cover any team building.
There has been speculation of Curbs coming back into the fold. If money permitted him to take on some form of Football Directorship that he could undertake productively without interfering or stunting the role of Parks then fine, though this may be a tall demand. Otherwise, it would be a real kick in the teeth for a manager who has done well to get us where we are and make the club more attractive to potential bidders.

Qatar: a stroll in the sand

What a sad joke the selection of Qatar is for the future of football.

After sterile walking pace games in various hot and humid climates in recent World Cup tournaments (with FIFA efforts to spice it up by unpredicateble plastc footballs)  it goes to a country that has temperatures around 45 degrees or more at the time it will be staged.

Let’s forget about infrastructure, crowd, and training problems and focus on the football. Solar powered power is projected to drive air conditioning that will maintain temperatures at 27 degrees. ( probably wildly optimistic). For those still reluctant to commit fully to Celsius, that’s around 80F.
The South African tournament was characterised in the main by its walking pace, passing from side to side of the pitch and back to goal, and extreme caution displayed by all sides, occasionally sparked into life by the Germans. No wonder the broader non-‘soccer’ devotees in the States find it difficult to get enthused about the game.
The Qatar tournament will do little to enhance the quality and attractiveness of football other than to those in the Middle East who will rise to it in patriotic fervour.

Happy Birthday Phil

I hope Park's has a great birthday and a moment for brief relaxation.

He seems an amiable chap but I have been unable to find a smiling photograph of him, he obviously takes his responsibilities seriously unlike some who have gone before him. I guess with the way the weather is up north he may be able to look forward to a break over the weekend (let's hope for all concerned that if the conditions are that bad that the game is called off early enough to permit that. Nothing worse than a god forsaken trip up the M6 to find it is called off at the last moment).

This BLOG has been consistent in supporting Park's on the premise that he could overcome the hic-cup we had in form prior to the recent run. I suggested that he needed a fair amount of time to get specific good results and / or performances after the team had performed badly after the Brighton game. He did just that and we have marched ahead to get amongst the main contenders.

He has not got everything right but there are not many managers who had to face the rapid shedding of resources close season and the urgent rebuilding with such scarce resources.

The jury remains out on some player acquisitions and only time will tell whether they can dispell current doubts. However, the team he has assembled, warts and all, is getting results and showing an apparent personal commitment to him.

With the forthcoming schedule and complications die to the weather, it's crucial we keep players fit and do not incur unnecessary bookings (unless as is the current vogue, they are 'tactical'!

So, I am hoping we do not pick up silly bookings for dissent along the way.

Have a good one Park's.

Few positives emerge

A dire brass monkeys afternoon at the Valley with lots of negatives and very few positives.
Let’s take the positives first:
Jackson: one of the few players to perform well, made intelligent runs, scored a good goal an d badly let down by the team not passing too him, and Reid ignoring him (and others) when in good goal scoring positions;
Anyinsah: Did well until he tired;
We are still in the Cup!
The overpowering negatives:
Not enough stuff to warm up the freezing dedicated
Francis: His distribution reached an all time low; he really seemed to be colour blind for much of the game. After coming out of a bad patch his last couple of games have seen him sink into the mire again;
Fortune: I am a Fortune fan and felt he should have been alongside Dailly for a number of our recent games. However, at one point he showed an appalling lack of speed that shed great light on all the stories that abounded about him having to get match fit. Until he can get up to speed, Doherty should return.
Lierra: tried really hard and generally had a fair game but still prone to serious mistakes and being given the run around on the ground. Like to think it is lack of first team outings but that may be too generous;
Racon: Did not stamp his authority on non-league opposition and drifted out of the game;
McCormack: Looked forward to seeing what he could do, but after a bright start faded badly;
Wagstaff: anonymous for most of the game, couldn’t beat his man or put in a decent cross;
Reid: Tries, and is player who can turn a game when in the right frame of mind. Not this time, after a good run to cross the ball for the first goal, infuriated mostly (especially in the second half) by either not looking up or blatantly going for the glory himself and not passing to others in goal scoring chances. The epitome of the schoolboy trying to impress with the message “pass to me and I’ll go through on my own”.
Have said it before, if he had done that too many times to "Killer" Hales he would have placed one on him!
Benson: I have been a fan until now. Everyone is allowed a stinker, let’s hope this Tricky banana skin: potential humiliation at Kenilworth Road unless we pull our socks up;
Elliot: He made several good stops but was nowhere near saving a first half shot that hit the post and did n ot make even an effort to stop their second goal.
Over the years Iit has never ceased to amaze me how goalkeepers can get caught 5 yards off their line and l.eae themselves wide open for the looping shot. The old escuse of narrowing the angles (especially when the threat is from 25 yards) has always seemed lame one.
If by a miracle, we get through, it's potentially Stevenage or Dover in the next round!

Performance fails to keep feet (etc.) warm in East Stand

A cold uninspiring night at the Valley saw a point gained rather than lost, even though their keeper made two great saves from Sodje and McCormack in the closing minutes.
The side did not get their passing game going to any effect, not helped at all by the poor distribution from the full backs and the lack of running into empty spaces by the midfield and forwards.
Samedo did his usual spoiling game effectively. Though Racon probably just about won man of the match, the overall lack or creativeness led Parks to sacrifice Samedo’s combative skills to introduce some flair.
Martin did not stop running and cannot be faulted in that respect. However, though his early efforts promised a lot as the game wore on he reverted to failed attempted flicks rather than the simple straightforward option. He increasingly tried for glory ignoring others in better positions, epitomised by his miss in the last few minutes when Benson appeared to be free in the area. We need his inventiveness but he needs to get the balance right.
Jackson saw little of the ball in the first half when it was being constantly directed to Wagstaff who was generally ineffective. Given Jackson is in such good form this seemed a great waste.
McCormack performed promisingly when he came on and was thwarted by a great save from their keeper. With potentially heavy grounds overdue and ongoing injuries and suspensions he may have an important role to play. He is obviously capable of fulfilling the midfield dynamo role, I’m not sure how much of an attacking force he can be.
Sodje was all effort with limited skill but made a positive difference in being a constant thorn to the Rover's defence. He provides a good option as a late sub’ to turn a game. There were no Rudolf Nureyev pirouettes to win the elusive penalty (pity we could have done with one in this game).
As Major Ken of  CAFCPICKS tried to resist the damp cold of the East Stand (which Canada had not prepared him for) he rightly remarked that Benson appeared a half a yard too slow on the night. We missed Anyinsah who seems able to bring the best out in Benson.
The Southampton Boxing Day game is building up, thogh there are a few hgames to win before then. Let's hope it is not the usual anti-climax for us.

Team Spirit and (Our Rudolf) Win the Day

The feeling in the Rose O Denmark was that we would return to form and sweep the West Country Worzills aside. Crowborough Addick was more guarded suspecting a banana skin might be on the horizon.
Apart from some notable exceptions, there are no easy games or free meal ticket in this division.
Even that thrilling victory at Leyton obscured the good football that Orient displayed and we have struggled against other ‘lowly’ teams like Exeter.
There are some notably poor exceptions, e.g. Dagehenham and Redbridge (a comment which will probably go and rebound on me at the next away game there) and by all accounts Swindon at the away game.
Loftier sides like Oldham and Huddersfield gave us a real run for the money.
I don'tgo along with the view that it's a poor division, I reckon things have just evened out and the general standard is not that bad.
Yeovil demonstrated that again with a slick passing game that opened up a good chances early on. We were fortunate to take and retain a lead for most of the game. Had one of their forwards just smashed the ball (like Jackson does commendably from the spot) instead of flashily and limply trying place a short range shot (like too may modern players do) that allowed Elliot to save well, we would have been in more trouble.
We triumphed largely as a result of the great team spirit and 100% commitment that now exists in the side rather than any great footballing display. Over the years, this has not been the case even during good spells.
This presumably is largely engendered by Parks and the coaching staff, but my bet is that some of the leaders on the park, such as the unfortunate Dailly, have a great deal lot to do with it. He was given no benefit of the doubt by a referee who showed numerous errors of judgement.
Picking out players that caught my eye:
Martin showed a great work rate and some good touches but (like Sam) still has to grasp the ability to more regularly deliver on the final ball.
Benson looked good again up front but was hampered by a poor service.
Racon continued his resurgence and scored a peach of a goal
Samedo was generally effective in his negative kind of way, but wouldn't it be great if he had the confidence to exploit situations where he should go forward, overall it was not one of his better performances.
Reid did OK, but his displays over 90 minutes are a pointer to why Parks seems to favour using him as a 'super sub'. I am now beginning to see him in the same light, but would call him on earlier than Parks has done in the past to give him a fair crack.
Fry had a solid display.
Dailly, once again, had a commanding game before leaving the pitch.
Doherty; I'm not a great fan, but am pleased that he has turned in so many good solid performances of late, especially in the air. He was more uncertain yesterday though should not be castigated too strongly for the own goal (just one of those things).
Francis had a really poor run earlier on but seemed to have turned the corner with a couple of good performances, He dipped again yesterday and a fit Solly to contest the position would put us in a better position.
Elliot was generally sound but I had a feeling that maybe he could have got closer to the Yeovil shot that went in hit off the post, though others seem to think had had no chance.
Finally, Sodje's addition the front line added the required spice and 'won' the final penalty that Jackson crashed in with such aplomb. From where we were on the East Terrace (I have not seen the TV film) the defender clearly tugged at his shirt. Whether the linesman was flagging for that or the audacious pirouette that followed I am not too sure.
He followed that up moments later by such an artistic collapse in front of us in the East Stand that he would probably have a good chance of storming though a Covent Garden audition and even being hailed as the new Rudolf  Nureyev!