Exeter 1 Franchise FC 2: We care a lot

Happy as Larry: Like Faith No More, we care a lot. We don't have a snazzy bathroom though

At 51 minutes into yesterday's game, I started caring about the result. Up until Barry Corr pulled one back for City, I'd been in a state of semi-sulkiness.

HaL had already stated that, hammering Franchise FC apart, it wasn't a game that held that much interest. Yeah, well, whatever. We were just being petulant teenagers.

But going two-nil down within six minutes didn't really encourage much in the way of caring, as ex-Them Lot Down The Road striker Jermaine Easter hit a brace. At that stage, all planning and tactics go out the window.

At half-time, our woman in the ground, Oj, had this to say via text message:

"Bad start and now struggling to look up for it. Only 1 guy in midfield seems to be winning any balls. Had a yellow card [Corr] who just nearly missed another one and being sent off! But things are picking up slowly."

And pick up they did and my text of "Yesss!" crossed paths with Oj's "We got one back" as Barry Corr netted his first goal for the club.

And that's that really - from the post-match phone call Oj said Exeter pushed and pushed but just couldn't find the breakthrough. Which is a common recurring theme for City.

What follows is a bit of ill-informed I-haven't-seen-the-game analysis.

Franchise were always going to provide a stern test and should be up there come the end of the season, and it's never easy when you go two down so quickly, so credit to City for going at it and nearly getting a point.

But, as we mentioned after Leeds, we can't keep coming away from games playing well enough to get a point or three but not taking them.

From the sounds of things, City took 45 minutes to get started. I have no problem with Tisdale's cautious policy, especially if he, like many of the players, is still figuring the lead out. But we also need to have a bit of fight.

For teams at the wrong end of the table, home form is vital. Exeter have yet to win at home next and have now got a couple of tricky, but winnable, away ties to Gillingham and Leyton Orient before facing Tranmere at home.

We can - and should - take points from all three games, and it'll be comforting to get a few more points on the board. Not that I think we'll go down, mind.

Oh, and the AFC Wimbledon v Oxford game I was planning on seeing? Turns out I needed to go to the ground in Kingston, in person, with proof of ID and address to get a ticket.

Much as I'd have liked to have supported the Dons on a day we were up against the pariahs of Franchise, bugger that for a game of soldiers.

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The return of Stannnnoooooo

Oh boy, have we missed Adam Stansfield. The small, nippy striker isn’t without his faults but you only really appreciate his qualities when he’s not there.

He’ll chase, harry and run after every ball and has great awareness. He may not be the most complete striker ever to grace St James Park, but defenders know when they’ve been playing against him.

Without Stanno, or the similarly crocked Ben Watson, we’ve been missing that little bit of pace and penetration, and the ‘nuisance factor’ that unsettles defenders.

Jimmy Norwood can play that role in the future, but, at 19, he’s still got a lot to learn. Against Norwich, there were a number of times where you could see what he was attempting to do but it didn’t quite come off, whereas you feel Stanno would have beaten his man.

Jimmy’s time will come and next season he could be a revelation, if coached correctly. For the time being, he’s a 20 minute impact player, albeit a very good and promising one.

Similarly, with Big Mac and Logie in the team, there’s a bit of pace and plenty of height but they give defenders very different problems. The team suits having Stanno and one of these as opposed to both of them (unless we’re going with three up front).

The news that Stanno may be on the bench for the Franchise FC game is encouraging. His return won’t mean that we’ll become free-scoring but his movement is excellent and frees up space for the likes of Bertie and Ryan Harley.

Welcome back Stanno, you’ve been missed.

In other news, there’s rumours linking us with Craig Noone from the green lot down the road. Noone used to play for Southport and Skelmersdale (yes, this is a real place) and looks like a real prospect.

Sturrock wants him to get playing time, so a loan move to us would make sense. He may be an Argyle player, but he’d be just the kind of winger we could do with at SJP. In fact any kind of winger would be appreciated.

Right, let’s hope we hammer Franchise tomorrow.

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The visit of Franchise FC: the anthesis of excitement

Franchise FC: Money for old rope

What can you say about the visit of a club you have no interest in even existing other than "they still exist". The visit of MK Dons this weekend is interesting in pure footballing terms but it's also a rare City game it's hard to drum up too much enthusiasm for.

The footballing matters first. Unfortunately, Franchise FC should be there or there abouts come the end of the season and they've not lost in the league yet.

That said, Ince's side have only scored three goals, one of which was a penalty. Given our own striker issues, this one may not be an overly high scoring game.

Exeter, meanwhile, will be lifted by the smash-and-grab raid victory at Carlisle last week and will fancy their chances. Franchise, sadly, aren't a bad team but they're definitely beatable. And, finally, things have settled down to the extent where we can say the result on Saturday should be a good barometer for City's season.

Off the pitch... well, yes. We're playing a club who really shouldn't exist. Nothing against the younger fans who've latched onto their local club, but the game's better off without a constant reminder of one of the FA's more spineless moments.

Anyway, they're here, we have to play them and hopefully we'll thrash them, as HaL hopes for every team that visits the Park. I wouldn't have been able to get down to Devon this weekend anyway, but in solidarity I'm hoping to get along to AFC Wimbledon v Oxford.

It really is a slow news period for Exeter though. When the Echo is leading with striker Barry Corr stating his aim to score goals, you know there's not a lot to get excited about.

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Carlisle 0 Exeter City 1: I know naaaathing

Hola? Exeter City's result? I no know, sorry señor

Literally. I should go to weddings more often if this if we can keep winning. I'll offer to go to a wedding a week if it means we win every game this season.

For a whole afternoon, I was in the heart of the English countryside in a place with hardly any phone reception and no sign of Sky Sports.

Having headed out in the knowledge that my sporting interests would be curbed for Saturday, I was strangely calm and, having a great time at the wedding, it was actually quite nice to forget about football for a day (had it been a vital 'big' game, or Leeds away, this viewpoint would probably have been somewhat different).

A snatched couple of minutes on the BlackBerry in the loo during the evening party was enough to make me a happy man by telling me Marcus Stewart had given City a 1-0 win over Carlisle.

A glance at the sports section in the morning papers was enough to tell me it was a penalty. I leaned back, content in my train seat, and supped my tea, musing on the fact we actually managed to score a penalty.

So, as of this point in time, I can tell you no more about the match or how we played or any other ill-informed opinions from a game I didn't see.

What I can say, is that goal takes Marcus Stewarrrrt onto 250 career goals, which is a fantastic achievement for any professional. He doesn't always get the credit he deserves, but his football brain is way ahead of anybody else in the team and he does a lot of hard work that doesn't always gets noticed.

I can also tell you it was a bloody good wedding.

It also continues our good record at Brunton Park, our longest away trip of the season. And it means we have that all important first win in League One.

Part of me isn't that bothered about how we performed, just that we've got that stumbling mental block out of the way. Now we can hopefully thrash Franchise FC in style next week.

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Manny moves and Wayne fades to Gray

This month, I've had a small inkling what it's like to be a Manchester United fan after witnessing the most protracted non-move in Exeter City's history. Never before have I got to experience the first-hand mind-numbingness of logging onto the forums everyday only to find the only development is somebody heard from somebody who's friends with the player on Facebook that said player has set a semi-cryptic status which means HE'S DEFINITELY COMING TO EXETER.

At the moment, Stuart Fleetwood probably isn't coming to Exeter.

The Charlton striker was on-loan with us towards the end of last season, scoring three important goals in the process and was rumoured to be back at the Park, making his loan move permanent.

And then... well, nothing. Tisdale put in a bid for him and Charlton said no and quoted some ridiculous figure back at us, to which we said "he may have scored a shedload of goals for Forest Green but he isn't that good". And that's about it. Hasn't stopped plenty of being telling us it's definitely a done dea... OH GOD PLEASE MAKE IT STOP.

So, we've got an impasse, which is unlikely to be resolved until the last hour of the transfer window. Until then, we have Wayne Gray on trial with us.

He was Yeovil's top scorer a few seasons back and was released from Leyton Orient at the start of the summer after doing his cruciate ligaments in.

If we can't get Fleetwood (or rather, not pay over the odds for him) then maybe Gray's the backup option. I'd have no objections to this, although hopefully it wouldn't displace Richard Logan, who HaL suspects could be rather good for us.

And in other transfer news, as predicted, Emmanuel Panther has joined Morecambe on loan. We've already covered this, so all that need to be said is it'd be nice to think he still has a future with us when he comes back, but that probably won't happen.

And if he doesn't want to be here, then best he moves on. We've not had a proper pouting premadonna since Justin Walker left. Not that Manny is such a thing, but no player's bigger than the club and all that.

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Exeter 1 Yeovil 1: Oi gerrofff moi larnd

Smell the Glove(r): Could that result be any more black?

Out of all Exeter's early season results, this one has to be the most disappointing. In all seriousness, wins against Leeds and QPR were a bit fanciful, Norwich were a bit of an unknown quantity, but Yeovil are predicted to struggle this season and have a rookie manager, plus City were at home.

Without wanting to sound too dramatic, if City want to have a good season (whether that be not getting relegated, or a play-off place) then Yeovil at home is the kind of game we need to win.

No point in analysing it this end as I wasn't there, but from the sounds of things we had the better of the first half and didn't turn the screw when needed, which is something you get accustomed to watching Exeter. And a defensive mix-up for the equaliser. Less common to see, but still not a rarity.

From the two games I've seen so far, our defence and midfield are good enough (although lacking a bit of width, again nothing new) but we're missing the tireless running behind the defence that Adam Stansfield provide up front. Jimmy Norwood shows a lot of potential but he's not quite that player yet.

Next up is Carlisle away, and no intelligent analysis again as HaL is at a wedding (and Carlisle is a loooooooooooong way away). Exeter have a surprisingly good record at Brunton Park and Carlisle are another team that are beatable. Wouldn't be a bad place to pick up our first three points, that's for sure.

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Exeter 1 Naaaaarch 1: learning absolutely nothing yet everything at the same time

Obligatory Delia photo. She'll have needed a glass or two after seeing two ex-Tractor boys snatch a point away from her side.

If there's a theme emerging on this blog it's the phrase "It's too early to tell yet". After the Norwich draw, really, it's a bit too early to tell yet how the season will pan out.

Norwich arrive with no manager, as he's been sacked around 24 hours previously. Strange timing. And given that you can rarely fathom what managerless teams are going to do, three points against an assumed-to-be hapless side with the floundering Bryan Gunn in charge turned into something more interesting and less certain.

Similarly, the roars from Exeter fans that greeted the final whistle were part-relief part-pride in the team. One all was probably a fair result, but we could have won it. Or lost it. It was that type of game, although bar a couple of moments Norwich didn't look much like scoring. But then neither did we.

Their goal came from an inability to clear our lines. Our goal came from introducing a bit of height and power up front. Marcus Stewart, who had a excellent game, produced a peach of a cross for Richard Logan to head home with his first touch of the game.

From then on we had slightly the best of it and there were a few times where an outstretched Norwich boot just prevented that killer pass.

City, again, when they played well looked like they could compete at this level and it's nice to be off the points mark for this season. But it'll be nice to get that first win under the belt, otherwise we could be congratulating ourselves for playing well but not winning for a while. And that's not a good place to get into.

Encouragingly, not one member of the squad had a bad game. Alex Russell, who previously had been filed under "Oh dear" played some fantastic balls and kept the midfield ticking over nicely. I reckon he'll get at least eight goals this season.

Ryan Harley lookes like he's added a bit of muscle to his game and kept finding space where there was none while our back four were very solid.

Matt Taylor won every single header and made a case for his name being included in the dictionary definition of 'no-nonsense'. Troy kept a very unimpressive Grant Holt in his pocket. Duffy looks like a good addition and Steve Tully was absolutely awesome.

Given Tully was up against the impressive Wes Hoolahan, who was easily Naaarch's best player, he did well to keep the attacks to the minimum. Plus he linked up well with Liam Sercombe on the right and made some storming runs.

The only question mark has to be up front. Stewart was excellent but Norwood is still a little green. A fantastic talent-in-waiting, yes, but he'll have learned plenty of lessons coming up against Gary Doherty.

Remember, Jimmy was playing schools football a few months ago so it's a big step up for him. You can see the talent and potential in his game and the more coaching he gets and the more he plays, the more he'll develop (obviously statement of the day winner). The attributes are there, he just needs to fine-tune them.

But at the moment he's more a player you'd bring on against tired defenders with 15 minutes to go than to start against a former international centre-half. But the striker situation means Jimmy will have plenty more chances (and I suspect a first goal will come sooner rather than later).

Logie has admitted he isn't quite match-fit, Big Mac is more of an impact sub, Corr's suspended and Stanno and Ben Watson are crocked. We missed the penetrating runs the latter two can make.

I'd be tempted to start with Logie and Big Mac against Yeovil and bring on Stewart and Norwood later on in the game as the former two will be itching for a start and Marcus looked knackered after giving every ounce of sweat on Saturday.

That's our first three tough opening fixtures out of the way. Now we have a winnable home game against our local non-rivals. Can we win? It's too early to say.

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Next up Norwich. What can you say after a 5-0 loss? About the same as Norwich could say after losing 7-1, I suppose

It's rare that this blog is lost for words. Or rather doesn't have a lot to say. Normally it specialises in half-arsed punditry and badly constructed opinion cobbled together from the back pages of the Express and Echo after they've been wrapped around the weekly fish and chip meal.

But today's different. Well, it isn't, but it's certainly unusual. For once there's not a lot to be said. We've just lost 5-0 in the Carling Cup, Norwich come of the back of a 4-0 victory.

Cups are slightly different from the league and it's probably a good thing for Exeter the Canaries have got their big win out of their system ahead of visiting us.

Bar Manny's transfer request, there's not a lot of news. Richard Logan looks like he's back from injury, which gives City more options up front. Tully will probably come into the team in place of the suspended Goldbourne. And, er, that's it really.

It's kind of difficult to analyse ahead of a game that could go either way. Once it's over, we might have a better idea of what type of season Exeter are going to have. I think we might sneak it by a goal, but it's going to be close. Certainly closer than people think.

Off to Devon tomorrow morning so posting will be light. In the meantime, if you're feeling particularly masochistic, here's the QPR goals. Quality finish for Routledge's first.

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Things I'd rather not have to talk about No.87: QPR

A friend of Flavio Briatore's. Probably not invited to St James Park tonight

Should I be depressed? Relieved? Confused? Beating QPR in the Carling Cup was always going to be unlikely, but losing 5-0? At home? There's going out of a competition we were never going to do well in and there's just plain embarrassment.

It's difficult to know how much to read into this. QPR are a division above us and have a very decent side. Do we shrug and move on or is this symptomatic or something a bit more serious.

After the Leeds defeat I said we couldn't come away from any more games saying we'd played well but lost. Tonight confirms this. By the sounds of things the first goal was against the run of play and we'd matched them up until then.

What's equally worrying is Norwich beat Yeovil 4-0 away tonight. Suddenly three points on Saturday looks much less likely. It'll probably be 0-0 now considering the amount of goals scored and conceded.

Also, Goldbourne got himself sent off for a handball on the line. Can't say if that was harsh or not but it deprives us of our only out-and-out left back, and we're down by two players next week after Corr's rabbit punch at Elland Road.

Two-nil would have been about what I'd have expected tonight. But, no matter how difficult it is to raise enthusiasm for this game beforehand, 5-0 still hurts. Hopefully Exeter have got a bad result out of their system now.

Flavio will probably sack Jim Magilton tomorrow for not scoring six though.

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We’ve got 29 men and no panther doesn’t have the same ring. Manny hands in a transfer request according to Sky

Panther: Soon to ditch the red and white?

Seems like the best named played in our squad’s had enough. Emmanuel Panther has, according to Sky Sports News (according to somebody who saw it on Exeweb - so that's third-hand news for us and no sources checked. Top quality journalism, as always), handed in a transfer request. Which is a bit of a shame as HaL had high hopes for Manny this season.

It’s also not entirely surprising. City are oversubscribed already in central midfield, and with Big Rob, Nelly Saunders and Marcus Stewaaaaarrrrrt also capable of playing there, it was always going to be a battle.

Also, Panther is the only one of our squad who’s got the hump at being left out. He had a bit of a sulk last season and went on loan to Rushden where he got sent off twice before coming back and slowly forcing his way into the team.

He’s also bloody strong and the only player I’ve seen that compensates for a awful first touch by just muscling the opposition player out of the way.

Maybe he got the hump as he didn’t even make the bench at Leeds. But Bertie and Harley are both playing well, and Big Rob appears to be the first choice to sit in front of the defence. Which means he’s got to wait for an injury or suspension,

But Tis often brings players back in so he’d probably have got his chance sooner rather than later. Plus we need a bit of muscle in the centre of the park, especially if Harley’s playing.

So, does Manny want to be a big fish elsewhere or a player who has the potential to establish himself in a League One club given the choice? Well, we know the answer now.

Shame really and, if he has indeed handed in a request and does go, he’ll be filed under ‘what if’. He could still do a great job for us. But if he doesn’t want to be at City then let him go and free up the wages for somebody else.

We would report on exactly what he said, but Manny has one of the most unintelligible Scottish accents so that may not be possible.

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Corr Blimey: Ten men Exeter come close against Leeds

The Corrs: Three-quarters better looking than Barry and they don't pick up daft red cards

As a rule of thumb, fans who's team have just lost to a last-gasp winner should not be leaving the stadium smiling and singing. They should be sulking and moody and sending an advance text message home warning the family to put the cat out of the way lest it gets kicked. But grinning wildly from ear to ear? Surely somebody's drugged the pies at Elland Road.

But then such fans don't usually turn up to games with no idea of what to expect, look to be on a tonking after the first 20 minutes and come so close to snatching an improbable winner. The smiles, essentially, are coded language for "phew, we're not relegation fodder after all."

Secretly, all Exeter fans would have been approaching the season opener against Leeds with a wee nip of something strong in their morning cuppas. After two successive promotions we get probably the biggest game of the season to start with.

Leeds United are a known quantity. They have some rather good players. They are meant to be title contenders. Exeter are a club coming off the back of two promotions with a new look squad, injured strikers and an aura of je ne sais quoi around the team selection. Until the whistle was blown for kick-off, we were a riddle wrapped in an enigma stuffed in a glass of cider.

With just one striker on the pitch, Tisdale was clearly going for a safety-first containment strategy which didn't really work as the players looked a little nervous, scarcely believing they were at Elland Road, which was hosting Champions League football less than ten years ago.

But that was then and the current bunch of Leeds players are in League One for a reason, meaning there wasn't much excuse to let Jermaine Beckford waltz through the defence to fire off Leeds' opener.

Up to that point, it had been mostly Leeds anyway and the fears looked like they could become a reality. Back-to-back promotions are all well and good but a hammering at the hands of the title favourites would bring us crashing back to earth.

But, weirdly, that goal seemed to wake Exeter up a bit and gradually we started to match them. New signing Barry Corr scuffed a decent chance and once we worked out lumping it out of defence generally meant the ball came straight back, we started to play what is commonly known as a bit of football.

At half time, only one down, the more optimistic of us quietly suggested we could grab a draw. This wasn't laughed out of the stadium and all the way to Bradford, as it would have been 25 minutes earlier.

And the second half saw more of the same. Whatever Tis had done to calm the team down had worked. We were playing football, and we were just about holding our own against one of the best sides in the division.

Yes, they still dished out a few footballing lessons, most notably in when to realise a ball, and there were a few cute moves that City will need to cotton onto, but essentially it was an even contest. Albeit with a one goal deficit to us.

Then came a rather odd turning point. As Ryan Harley tootled over to take a corner, stroking his ginger beard and mulling over whether to hit it long, play it short or put it in the mixer, the ref showed Corr a red card.

At this point I'd love to be able to offer some insightful analysis but, truthfully, I was looking elsewhere. As was the majority of our fans.

It'd be easy to criticise the ref - and why not, he was pretty shite - but they don't tend to send off players in a sedate lapse in play without good reason. A few on Exeweb have suggested Corr had a dig at the centre-half and the ref saw it, which is fair enough and, if that's what happened, a bloody stupid way to start your Exeter career. Not young Barry's finest hour.

Anyway, with our only striker on the pitch gone, McAllister replaced the already-booked Rob Edwards and immediately set about imposing himself up front.

Honestly, he probably went down a little easily to get us a free kick on the edge of the area but at least he looked like he'd been fouled. Unlike Luciano Becchio who spent much of the game tripping over invisible molehills.

But, no matter, we'd been pressing for a while and nobody could say we didn't deserve a goal. Russell and Harley exchanged passes before Russell hit a sweet curling shot into the top right hand corner and I found myself hugging the Exeweb editor, something neither of us thought would have been on the cards.

From then on, Leeds looked panicked while ten-men City stayed calm. Young Jimmy Norwood made his debut as a sub and, despite some shocking pink boots, looked incredibly useful and chased after everything for us up front (and nearly got a goal).

But Leeds were still pretty good and were only a crisp passing move away from a goal and Beckford's second was a wonderfully flowing move finished by a top-draw header. He's a bit good, that lad.

So heartache, but also delighted. We'd proven we could mix it with Leeds and were unlucky not to come away with a point. The fans made A LOT of noise and there's a lot to suggest that, if we keep up the passing game, we'll be ok.

A quick word for our Number 14 as well. Bertie Cozic, who is affectionately loved for putting in the effort while not being that good, was magnificent and Happy As Larry's man of the match. And long may that continue. He ran, he chased, he harried and most of our attacking stuff went through him. Allez Bertie!

Also, a quick word for Leeds fans. They have a reputation, but they were some of the nicest supporters I've met. Funny, frank and very gracious in victory, they've earned themselves a bit of respect from this corner of the internet and were the icing on the cake to a very enjoyable day in their city. A great bunch of fans, and a phrase I never thought I'd write.

But a note of caution. On Saturday we were happy because we'd done bloody well against a good side in a cracking game and lost. The match has set a marker for the season.

What we can't have is that same feeling over the next few games. We've shown we can compete in this division, so let's not end up smiling at unfortunate defeats any more. Next time we lose, I want the full bloody agony again. It may not be fun, but it's better for us in the long run.

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There's only a small matter of a football match this Saturday. It's only Leeds United. Let the season begin

Exeter City's purple away kit of the 1990s. Unlikely to have been modeled on the purple training kit from The Damned United film

Saturday. 3pm. August 8th. That point in time cannot come quick enough as Exeter finally play their first game of competitive football in nearly three months. I know it's been hard, but somehow I've got through it. And an opening day fixture against the biggest club in the division is a rather nice start.

How Exeter will do is another question. At Soccerlens, Leeds are my tip for the title this season and with the likes of Snodgrass and Beckford, on paper they're a class above what we probably have. All that stands between us and oblivion could be Bertie Cozic.

But hang on. Let's wind our necks in and calm down a bit. On paper could mean anything and Exeter, under Paul Tisdale, are nothing if not unpredictable, in the best possible way.

We can lose at home 6-1 to Chesterfield, away in the FA Cup to Curzon Ashton yet still gain promotion with some of the best football St James' Park has ever seen. And we're not about star players, City are very much a team. And an unknown quantity team at that. Even us fans have no idea what we'll do this season.

This may just work in our favour. The bookies won't fancy us, Leeds may well see this as an easy three points (they shouldn't. They doesn't mean they won't), and you can't imagine they'll know a great deal about us. They certainly won't have learned too much from our pre-season results.

So that means the opening day is a perfect time to be playing Leeds. Although the majority of my head says we'll lose, there's also a small part of me that thinks City have what it takes to nick a draw or even an unlikely win.

Tis is also a big game manager. Bar that playoff final which I'd rather not talk about, City have a decent record against the big clubs and big games. It's the smaller ones we tend to come unstuck with.

Equally, I'm just as clueless about the team selection as anybody else. Pre-season has given a few clues as to who Tis will pick, and it's hard enough to guess who'll line up even when watching Exeter week in week out.

Jones in goal is a given, as is Matt Taylor in defence. After that, who knows? Harley's had a good pre-season, Panther and Russell have featured a lot but that's as far as I can guess. As for the strikers, spin a wheel and take your choice.

We can't treat this as just a day out in Yorkshire. If the fans and the players think we're just along for the ride then we'll fail.

Not that for one minute I expect that to happen.

If you're expecting immediate post-match analysis on here, prepare to be disappointed. Mrs HaL is from Leeds and we're spending the weekend there so we'll be offline. But then you'd expect nothing less from us either. Tis' team selection = predictably unpredictable. Happy As Larry = predictably amateurish.

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City gloss over the first round of the cup

John Paintsil. Not appearing in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. Or for Exeter City. Shame.

Exeter City have received a bye in the first round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. That is it. Seriously, it's a trophy named after a brand of paint. What more do you want us to say? What more can we say?

At least this means we'll get past the first round of a cup competition this season. Like a badly-fitting bra, Exeter don't do cups very well. At least not in recent seasons.

Anyway, this blog post gives a good impression of exactly how excited we are at this news. Later in the week, though, we have a feeling there may be something rather exciting indeed.

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Steve Basham: the often injured footballing genius heads to Luton

We're the short-lived Exeter City strike partnership and we haven't had any dinner (pic from www.thesweeney.info)

For a while, Exeter City’s strike partnership was the rather gloriously violently sounding Basham and Stamp.

Ok, maybe only one pre-season friendly at Dorchester Town two years ago had the youth team goalmachine and the experienced frontman playing together, but what a combination. On paper at least. And when the words ‘on paper’ are written, that actually means it was an excuse for a bad pun.

Dean Stamp may be gone, shipped out to Truro City for a fee soon afterwards (yes, a fee. Around £10k, I think. Proof that Cornwall has a sense of humour) but Steve Basham stayed at St James’ Park for two years before being released in the summer.

And now he’s joining Luton. Probably. And I’m genuinely happy about that. Not because Happy As Larry would wish having to live in Luton on anybody, but because he’s joining a very good team with a chance of promotion and will be a real asset to them.

Bash spent as much time on the treatment table as he did on the pitch but he made a real difference when he did play. As my old mate Kirky used to say, he was the one player you used to fear when he was on the opposition team sheet.

Basham was very much a Sheringham-type player who could unlock defences with one swift pass and could read the game probably better than any of our other strikers.

It’s no coincidence that Jamie Mackie started scoring goals playing alongside Bash, as did Stanno. And his strike at Stevenage probably made the difference between us making the playoffs (and going up) that year and not.

But there’s no room for sentiment in football and Bash was told this summer he wouldn’t be pulling on the red and white of City again. A shame in one respect, as he added plenty to the team.

But then he was also getting older, often injured and possibly not up to League One. A tough decision, but also the right one on balance. It would be nice to keep your favourite players at the club forever, but you’ve got to be realistic.

Anyway, HaL wishes Bash all the best at Luton. To any Luton fans reading this, if he’s fit you’ve got yourself one of the most intelligent players for Conference level. I already thought the Hatters would get promotion this season, and Bash is another reason to believe that.

Also, Steve Basham may just be one of the most intelligent footballers HaL has ever spoken to, which probably explains why he often does radio summarising and this blog is reduced to ranting into an imaginary microphone after a few pints.

Bash, we salute you. And if you’re not running the BBC or managing a Champions League club in ten years, we’ll be very surprised.

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Sign him up, sign him up

Jealous, very jealous. My old mate Andy Greeves got to play for the Spurs legends v Exeter City earlier this month. Not that I'm overly bothered about him pulling on the white of Spurs (although Andy himself may have needed some calming down afterwards).

No, what I'm jealous about is he was able to take to the hallowed turf of St James Park, something I've yet to do. And he managed to score a rather good goal in front of the Big Bank as well. Git. He was never that good when I kicked about with him in the park.



If we suffer injuries up front and our strikers aren't firing, maybe we should sign Andy. Of course if we need a right-winger or right-back I'm always available for the right price. Yes, I will play for a cup of tea and a biscuit.

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