The Bear: A Salisbury Story, Part Two (Winter 2011)

A Winter to Remember

Well let’s see, where were we when last we spoke? Oh, right, the end of August! Has it really been that long? I suppose they say «time flies» for a reason (though if I’m honest, it’s an awful cliche). So at any rate, let’s pick up where we left off, heading into September.

Basingstoke gave us a surprisingly good fight before we went on to sweep through Staines, Bromley, and Weston-super-Mare. Coincidentally (or perhaps not), all three of those teams were trying hard to be relegated. All in all, it was quite an uneventful month, which was good, because we had cup fixtures galore going into October:

We managed to win our only league game against mid-table Farnborough without too much trouble, which kept us in the pole position. We plowed through Southern Football League side Clevedon, before a rather unexpected struggle against Frome Town (another Southern Football League side). They put up quite a plucky fight at home, and actually had us on the ropes at different points in the game. Unfortunately for them, they were completely overmatched at the Ray Mac, and we dispatched them easily in the replay.

The shocker in this list was our 4th qualifying round match-up against BSP side Bath. Now I have pretty high expectations for my lads, and I wanted us to perform well, but I was hardly expecting to land 4-1 demolishing AWAY from home. Bath never looked like competing, and from what I could tell, fielded a fairly full strength squad. Needless to say, The Bear is happy.

November next:

Well, the FA Cup dream came to an abrupt end. Our reward for beating Bath was a draw against League One side MK Dons at Stadium:mk (horrible name for a stadium by the way). The 0-2 scoreline doesn’t do the Dons’ domination justice, as we failed to register a single shot on goal.

That setback aside, we continued our dominating league form and easily dispatched fellow promotion contenders Welling. We struggled a bit against Dorchester, before wrapping up against Maidenhead, Dover, and Dartford (all mid-table squads). While we were out of the FA Cup, our Trophy dream continued as we battled our way through an impressive Evesham United team.

Next up are our December and January fixtures. I’ve decided to lump them together so you can see just what we were dealing with during these two months:

Holy. Crap. Eleven games in 29 days, and several one-day’s rest outings as well. The highlights include downing another BSP side in the FA Trophy, this time in the form of Kidderminster, and our continued excellence in the league. Granted we did some of that damage ourselves by failing to wrap up our FA Trophy matches on the first outing, but I’m a very proud Bear for how we played through that.

Unfortunately, that success didn’t come without a cost:

The players with pink dots are regular starters, and D’Agostino was well on his way to earning a first-team spot before succumbing to a month-long injury back in December. Louis Swanson was the biggest loss (contrary to the star ratings), and he had been the life blood of our midfield before falling in November. Fortunately, that gave another player the opportunity to step in.

Here are some of our star players during this run:

Stephen Stirling:

I brought him in back in July, and initially thought he’d be just a rotational figure in the midfield. It turns out he was a complete revelation, and completely dominates the center of the pitch wherever he is. When Swanson went down with a long term injury, Stirling coolly slipped into the AMC role with equal fervor, and continues to dominate there as well.

Charlie Clough: 

He was so good I bought him (for free). Interestingly his statistics reset when he went from being a loanee to a full fledged White Lion (that’s what I’m calling us now, The White Lions). His attributes aren’t stellar, but his play is, and frankly that’s what matters.

Eliot Richards:

(OOC: Totally forgot to take a picture of him before his loan ended, so this one is a bit late)

He has been a phenomenal addition to the squad, and quickly (and permanently) won the sole striker job available. When El Haimour doesn’t score, Richards does. His clutch has really helped us along the way, and I’m not looking forward to the end of his loan spell.

El Haimour:

I told you he was my Messi, and you didn’t believe me. He’s a consummate inside forward, and he takes full advantage of the near-endless number of through-balls Stirling has been sending his way. I’d like to credit Haimour and Richards for all of our success, but it’s honestly our midfield that does all the work. Without them, these guys would be nothing.

Mid-January Table:

With 23 games played, we’ve opened up a commanding 15 point lead at the top, and have yet to lose a single game. I’d love to tell you how thrilled I am to be dominating in such fashion (and don’t get me wrong, I’m quite pleased), but it just doesn’t feel right. There’s no joy in winning like this. There’s no challenge in demolishing teams that are plainly on a lower level than we are. We don’t belong in this league, and the sooner we move up to the BSP, the better it will be for everyone involved. Fortunately, that looks to be happening at season’s end.

Miscellaneous:

There are two things that I’ve stumbled across recently, that I’d like to share. Firstly, I was looking for a decent Goalkeeping coach, and I found this extremely depressing resume on my desk:

With a heavy heart, I shifted it over to the trash bin. How far have the mighty fallen?

Back on November 1st, I was checking the results from the rest of the Blue Square South, and noticed Eastbourne Boro gave themselves quite the start to the month:

I’m a little sad we were only able to put three past Staines. I had to remind Boro of their place upon our next meeting, and promptly quieted them down with a 3-0 victory. Still, I’m not quite satisfied, and I’ll be sure to give them a second reminder for the next match…

With that, we’re in mid-January and things are looking fine. No other team in this league has looked even remotely capable of challenging our domination, and baring some catastrophic loss of form (a strong possibility mind you, with all of our injuries), I don’t see that 15-point gap closing any time soon. I’ve already started looking forward to the next season. I sincerely hope the Blue Square Premier offers a stiffer challenge…

OCC: No backstory this time I’m afraid, I just haven’t had time to finish enough of it to make it worth posting. :( Thanks for reading everyone, see you guys next time!