From The Management
With all the latest news and updates from the entire Aylesbury United management team, as well as periodic reports from the club captain, this is the best place to keep in touch with the goings on at the club.
We also welcome any questions from supporters. If you have something you wish to put to management team then please e-mail info@aylesburyunited.co.uk
13th March 2008
We are now very much into the business end to the season in our last report on the 14th December we were third and we are now fourth so despite a few blips we are still very much in with a great shout of the play offs. We have been in the play off positions all season and have not ever lost two matches on the trot and I think that consistency is something we can be very proud of.
Some teams have got games in hand but I think most would happily swap the points but no doubt this is going to go to the wire with lots of twists and turns still to come. After the losses to Sutton Coldfield and Leamington we have worked very hard in training on defending as a tight unit and I think in the last three games this has shown. The game against Evesham was a big confidence boost to have finally beaten one of the top teams.
On players we have had a great year of players coming through the ranks and the latest Chris Aslett has been a major find and what a prospect the lad just loves to defend and win big headers an important factor in this league. He has effortlessly stepped up from the youth team to Southern League and we believe will go on to be an excellent player.
We felt for the run in it was important we brought in some new blood to freshen the squad and make it as competitive as possible. Mike Feely, Danny Nicholls and Mark Jones all have Southern League Premier experience but more important than that we now have every position being challenged for whereas earlier in the year it was only the strikers that had this type of competition. It can take a few games for players to settle in and as every game is now of major importance it makes it even more difficult so we have to take this in consideration when making judgements on players.
The team spirit in the camp is still fabulous and this was demonstrated when recording the Bring the Ducks Home song even though the singing certainly wasn't. We are going to be fighting all the way to try and gain promotion but whatever happens this season we have built a platform and a young squad that can definitely go on to bigger and better things hopefully at a new ground in Aylesbury.
We will post another update later in April; all we ask is your continued fantastic support.
Best wishes,
Mark
14th December 2007
If we had been told coming into the Christmas fixtures we would be 3rd in the league 2 points off the leaders we most definitely would have taken that, at this stage of the season you are where you are on merit with the exception being Chasetown due to their fantastic FA cup run.
When we sat down with Graham and John at the beginning of the season the main word we used was progress with both on and off the field activities with an emphasis on developing young local talent.
It's easy to forget we are still a very young side who are punching above their weight, some have had only one season at this level others have had none and every so often in a game it shows. John has been fantastic with his energy and endeavour with the Bring the Ducks Home campaign.
We had some fantastic performances after the Bromley FA cup game where we completely dismantled teams like Willenhall, Stourport and Romulus, but those games are not the norm in this league and as we have found in recent games learning to win without being at your best is vital.
We have not yet recorded victories when we played the leagues stronger teams like Chasetown, Stourbridge, Sutton Coldfield and Evesham but we face all of them plus Leamington twice so there is everything to play for.
The two Bromley games were a big turning point in our season as prior to this we didn't have as much confidence to get the ball down and play mainly because the type of teams we normally face don’t let you. We learned last year that first and foremost you have to be competitive and we now believe we have a team packed with winners who are prepared to give their all for the cause the bonus is we have really good football players who can also play and we have at times been able to impose our passing game on teams, the pitches recently have made this more difficult.
I don’t believe there is a better midfield pairing than Ben Stevens and Sam Swonnel in the league and in every department we are fairly strong.
In previous reports it was stated that we wanted to continue searching for local talent, Nathan Graham of course has been find of the season and it's also great to see his buddy Jason Castello making the same in roads, raw talent but massive potential.
We are very proud that we are continually fielding a team made of local lads we have a fantastic team spirit and this is a massive strength as they are all good mates on and off the park.
The signing of another local lad James Faulkner has strengthened our squad and he has shown by his performances and goal tally what a talent he is.
This brings me on to the Sunday football issue which has created lots of publicity most unnecessary in my opinion. So everyone knows what has gone on James did play for the Aristocrat and was sent off. The sending off has gone to appeal and to date no decision on any suspension has been made.
We were unaware that James had played and therefore it has nothing to do with Aylesbury United. We spoke to all of the players and made it clear that Sunday football although tempting to play with your mates was not acceptable for obvious reasons like injuries and recovery time.
Since then it was reported despite our warning James was persuaded to play again which appeared on the Sunday League website. We have met James and conducted a disciplinary hearing the result of this was James was fined by the club and warned of his future conduct. James was very honest at the meeting and it is now time to draw a line under this matter and concentrate on getting him fit to play.
On the injury front apart from James (hamstring) we have a full squad going into the Christmas period; Justin Gordon, Aston Goss, Roni Joe Jamie O'Grady and Jack Silletoe have been on loan at Buckingham but are still training with us. Although not desperate we would still like to bring in another centre half to cover for Leachy and Carl.
With our current on field success it's easy to forget the club is still in a precarious position - the recent Monday night games with a poor attendance mean we lose considerable amounts of money due to the ground share and lack of additional revenue.
It is vital as the season progresses we get support from the local community even if it does mean a trip to Chesham, the supporters we have are so loyal and all of the players and management alike appreciate the fantastic support given.
If anyone knows companies or individuals who may be prepared to get involved with sponsorship opportunities both general and match day please contact John Newman.
If nothing else please encourage other friends and family to come and support a young team full of potential. We have a run of very winnable games and will be giving our all to stay amongst the leaders right until the end of the season.
Up the Ducks
Mark Eaton
Assistant Manager
5th October 2007
Club captain Nick Leach writes about Aylesbury's start to the season and elimination from the FA Cup:
Its two days after our FA cup replay away at Bromley as I write these notes. To say I’m gutted would be an understatement, the lads were absolute different class and maybe I'm biased but I really do think we were the better side over both games.
We all felt that we just needed a rub of the green and decisions to have gone our way on the night. Personally to be 5 minutes away from winning the tie and to have that penalty awarded against me for what was a dive which the referee got sucked into giving (some of their players admitted so afterwards) was hard to take on the night.
As for our start to the season it hasn’t been too bad, obviously we lost personnel during the summer for different reasons. We have had the serious injuries to Butts, Liam and Sheddy to contend with, along with Ben’s suspension and Tom missing games due his Honeymoon etc, having all tested the squad this early on in the season.
We are not a million miles away in terms of points from the early pace setters at the top of the league but due to our cup games haven’t had a lot of successive games to build up momentum. We proved last season it’s not a sprint but a marathon and you get nothing for being top at end of September!!
We don’t think there is going to be a team that’s going to run away with it this season and all feel that if we can get consistency in our level of performances, we believe we will have a chance of getting out of this division.
We are still in the league cup and start the F.A Trophy campaign this weekend so there is still plenty to look forward to this season, it just means the quadruple is not going to happen now that’s all!!
The new additions to our squad this season players like Sam, Ross, Nathan Graham, Craig, Jamie along with Roni and Aston returning have all fully settled into the squad now which can take time, they all now know what is expected of them from the Management and what this league is going to be like.
With some of the injured lads not too far away from being in contention again in the next 3-4weeks this will enable us to have the strongest squad we would have had all season, This gives the management a headache but a good one at that and having competition for places is always a positive and healthy thing to have in any squad.
One of the major assets of this squad is the team spirit and the fact that everyone does get on off the pitch as well as on it. Everyone knows the work ethic principles required of them individually and collectively which is constantly drummed into us by the management team of Tommo, Mark, Ken and Paul.
We are a young team but a lot of the lads have had a full season already under their belts now and with more belief in their own abilities can help to drive the club forward back to the level it should be at, starting with this season.
As always the support from the terraces has been first class whether it is at home or from the hardcore who come to the away matches! I know that all the lads really appreciate it and know it really does give them a lift and an extra push in games when you all get behind us!! The club is moving in the right direction again off the pitch now so its important we all pull together to make this club successful and envied once again.
Onwards and upwards!!
Cheers,
Leachy
13th September 2007
As most people are aware we have been very unfortunate with injuries at the start of our campaign. Matty, Liam and Sheddy would have almost certainly figured in our first eleven so to lose them long term was a massive blow.
The situation at the moment is that Liam will have key hole surgery on 17th September and will be out for a further 6 weeks. Matty’s op will take place very soon and he is in good spirit despite such a horrendous injury. The positive news is that Sheddy should resume training next week he’s naturally a fit lad so hopefully he’ll be back in the squad very soon.
To update you on players coming and going - Julian Old left us to go to Aylesbury Vale. Jules was excellent last year and very consistent but probably by his own admission didn’t start the season as confidently.
Last year we were fortunate with injuries which meant, due to our budget, we normally survived with one senior sub and two youth team players. We knew we would have to improve in this area and have a stronger squad. When we had a meeting with the whole squad we made it clear that there would be competition and no one was guaranteed to play every week and our plan was to be able to rest some players at certain times. Obviously that plan was before the injuries were suffered.
Personally I would have liked for Jules to stay and ironically due to the injuries he would have probably played every week. Luke Melisi also went to Vale before the season started but that decision was taken after dialogue with Tommo as naturally Luke wanted to play every week and we are pleased he is doing well.
Danny Jones signed for Vale last week and that was a joint decision as we felt that Danny needed some match time. Danny is a great prospect but unfortunately our league is uncompromising physically and therefore difficult for someone of Danny’s build, but we will continue to monitor Danny’s progress.
We have been constantly looking at strengthening the squad which is one of the main reasons we asked Paul Burgess to join our management team. Paul has a wealth of experience managing teams at this level and importantly has a large network of players. As well as helping on match days Paul will be going to watch other games for us both looking at players and opponents. We believe that you can never have enough good people at a football club and Paul definitely fits that bill.
We are also working hard on the clubs strategy to bring Aylesbury based players through to our first team and we have been delighted with the way Nathan Graham has fitted in. We were aware that Nathan had been at West Ham as a youngster but thought that his professional boxing license would prevent him from playing, Tommo watched him in a reserve game and saw enough to suggest he could do a job for us.
Historically the club has failed to bring through local talent into the team and we want to give a message out to the players in Aylesbury if they are good enough they will get a chance here. There are other players we are looking at in training and we will announce any further signings. Our pursuit of a proven target man has been frustrating we have had some let downs and no one has really fitted been what we are looking for but that search will continue.
As far as results are concerned up until last week we were relatively satisfied particularly with the Romulus result they are a big powerful team and will upset a lot of teams this year. It’s easy to forget we still have a very young team and some of the players haven’t played at this level of football before.
We certainly didn’t play well enough during the defeat against Stourbridge but on reflection the goals were simply down to individual mistakes in the first half which left us a mountain to climb.
We have had injuries, illness and suspensions which I know all teams face from time to time but it does mean we have some big challenges ahead no more so than at Banbury on Saturday in the FA Cup.
Regards,
Mark Eaton
6th August 2007
We knew this would be a tough workout for us as any game against a UCL side always is.
In the first half although we started brightly we were disappointed that we did not impose our normal game on our hosts, failed to get into any kind of rhythm and to be fair we were second best.
Obviously the three injuries disrupted us somewhat but there is no blame on the Spencer players if anything we were the more physical team.
All three players have had x rays which showed no broken bones and they will have scans early this week. Andy Shed looks like he has damaged ankle ligaments so he will almost certainly miss the start of the season, Chris Francis ankle is only bruised so there is no long term damage.
Matt Butler is our biggest concern and we are keeping our fingers crossed that his knee injury is not serious he's a great lad and a really important part of our team, we will up date the website once we know more.
In the second half we looked more like the our normal selves and in fact at times were exceptional, Craig Henney will get the plaudits and rightly so for a superb hatrick and we are so pleased that Craig has started to find the net because he is a natural goal scorer and this will do his confidence the world of good.
Our midfield 4 were fantastic in the second half and we kept the ball much better, Sam Swonnell gave a master class in the centre of the park and Liam's superb volley came after the best piece of football in the whole game.
Ross Taylor's energy and commitment on the left in sweltering conditions proved what an asset he will be and with Ben Stevens carrying on where he left off last season we feel strong in this area of the park.
So it was a good victory but came at a cost, but in preparing for the kick off it's important that we have tough games and hopefully we'll get through the next two games unscathed.
Thanks for your support.
Mark Eaton
30th July 2007
Last year was definitely a transitional period for the club with the main objective to stay in the league and get the club on a sound footing financially so our 6th place finish definitely exceeded expectation and with a little luck we could have been promoted.
Tony, Ken and I sat down with Graham and John in June to discuss plans both on and off the field. We outlined what our expectation was and what the management team expected from them. The meeting proved that we had the same objectives and were committed to getting the club back to where it belongs. Graham, John and the committee have delivered everything we have asked especially the training facilities at RAF Halton.
We were also able to agree a sensible playing budget that would mean we could be competitive in this standard of football and not threaten the long term financial stability of the club. We have structured the wages so there is no large disparity between anyone in the team which we feel helps with team spirit.
As far as our squad goes unlike some teams we made a conscious decision not to cast a huge net and get loads of players in for pre season only to have to sieve through to see who we wanted to keep whilst neglecting those who performed so well last year.
In line with the club's goals we are committed to the development of as much local talent as possible working with players who are totally committed to Aylesbury United rather than an extra £20 in their pocket. Fundamentally we were happy with the players from last year and just wanted to strengthen in certain positions.
In terms of players we lost from last year we hope to have Danny Mead back when he returns from his world travels, Pringle and Gutzmore had shaken hands to say they were staying with us until Barton I imagine offered substantially more than our budget would allow.
To be fair to Gutzmore he had been told that he may not be an automatic choice but his experience would be welcomed. Pringle is a disappointment as we worked hard on his development as a player and believe we helped him improve but as when he left for Bedford last year he didn't give us the courtesy of a call proving that unfortunately a hand shake in football doesn’t mean to much. That said he is an excellent player and obviously a big loss to us for his goal scoring ability.
Dean Buss came and went without playing a game so no loss there as far as we are concerned.
We feel very positive towards the new season the lads have had a terrific attitude in training even with the hill running in Wendover woods and they are looking very sharp. The majority of the squad are under 22 years old which makes it even more exciting to see how far they can go and how much they can improve.
One of the most pleasing things about working with this group is the fantastic work ethic the players have and seeing the likes of Liam Smyth, Ben Stevens, Karl Kavanagh and Tom Vincent improve so much.
The most important thing for us was to keep the majority of the players from last year and we have done this and if I look back to last year where we didn't have anyone signed on at this stage compared to now where everyone is signed.
We have been further boosted by the signings of Sam Swonnell and Ross Taylor as well who, as being talented, again fit perfectly with the hard work ethic and team spirit of this squad and we know they will play an important roll this year.
We have Andy Shed back from University, improving young players like Danny Jones and Justin Gordon and of course after some doubt have re-signed our captain Nick Leach. With Leachy there was no major issue it was simply sitting down with him and making sure his and the clubs ambitions were in line.
There is always going to be speculation with players pre-season with clubs bringing in lots of players and then when the season starts not being able to keep everyone happy. We know where we would like to improve the squad and Tommo has been busy networking with clubs at a higher level who have large squads as well as pursuing some long term targets but we have to be patient.
We were overall quite pleased with our first display against Waltham Forest; Chris Francis who played looks a willing lad and prior to this game had not played much football for a while. Craig Henney has a great goal scoring pedigree in lower leagues and we have worked with Craig before and know what potential he has and he was unfortunate not to score.
It was also great to see Luke Melisi look so sharp when he came on. These games give us the chance to experiment like using Julian Old in midfield and moving Kevin Mealor back to his preferred roll at left back and giving another youngster Jamie O'Grady an opportunity to show what he can do.
If you make wild predictions in football they normally come back to bite you but what we can promise this season is the continuing progression and development of our players which hopefully will reflect in our results.
I apologise for the length of this and I am sure future up-dates will be a lot briefer. Thank you for your continued support as it means a lot to both the management and the players and please get behind the campaign to get the Ducks back in Aylesbury where we belong.
Mark Eaton
Assistant Manager
