Non League Paper Article 16th April 2023

Below is taken from the Non League Paper from Sunday 16th April 2023.

TOOTING & Mitcham United fans have slammed club chiefs for presiding over a demise which has seen their famous old club relegated to the lowest  level of football they have  ever played.

The Terrors saw their  long-standing association  with the Isthmian League  come to a end after Monday’s 1-1 home draw with  Chipstead confirmed their  relegation from the South  Central division.  In their proud 91-year  history, the club have never played as low as Step 5  but are staring demotion  to either the Combined  Counties League or Southern Counties East League  in the face following a disastrous campaign.

The team’s  last win was  against Binfield  in February, 11  games ago, and  since then they  have seen a  group of senior  players including wily keeper  James Shaw leave Imperial  Fields, disillusioned with  the club’s direction on and  off the field. Supporters club member Steve Harrold, a prominent voice on social media  as ‘Hackbridge Harry’, believes chairman Tony Cox  should shoulder the majority of responsibility. “It’s been the perfect  storm,” he told The NLP.

“The players are not doing  it on the pitch and the people who run the club don’t  seem to understand what it  takes to do that. They seem  to think ‘we’re a big club,  we’ll stay up’ but the truth  is we have been sleepwalking towards disaster and  they only tried to change  things when it was too late. “You can accept a bad  season but there are problems that have just been  ignored and now it’s too far  gone to make a difference.

“It would be wrong to  pick on one person when  it’s fair to say everyone  takes responsibility. I’ve  been going to watch for  about 16 years and this is  by far the worst period I’ve  experienced as a supporter. “We’re in a right state  and I’m very concerned  about supporter morale. It  all seems to be going terribly wrong and the chairman has allowed it to do so  through naivety. “If there is somewhere  to lay the blame, I’d pretty much put it there but  the players have to look at  themselves too.” Another fan, Anthony  Harrold, says he can even  see Tooting going to the wall  with the club  now competing  at Step 5. “We haven’t  been listened  to,” he said.

 “It’s as if the  club have just  seen supporters  as being there  to be negative and cause  problems. All we want to  do is help the club. I’m disillusioned and many feel  the same. It’s gone too far.  It wouldn’t shock me if the  club folded.” But first-team joint manager Ashley Bosah insists  the club can rise again  next term.

 “There is a disappointment from a management perspective in the  expectations we set out for  this season and where we  are now,” he said. “We have to look at what  we could have done better,  on reflection, like the recruitment. But there is a  lot of support inside the  club, they believe in what  I do although it is challenging mentally. “There is a plan in place  for next season for rebuilding and restructuring and  for us starting to go forward again.”

Another day in paradise.....

Well due to ill health and work commitments, I’ve not seen us play since the Uxbridge game at home in November, no bad thing you may think and perhaps you’re right. 

At the time of writing, this once proud Non-League Club sit rock bottom of the league and seemingly without any idea of how to change things. 



I care about this club, and it really upsets me the way the club has imploded so badly since the London Senior Cup victory and then failed to build on the crowds and new supporters we were getting that short time ago. The club missed a massive chance to build on the interest shown by newcomers. Covid hit the club badly, to lose two seasons including the income from the other interests at the ground would have had a huge effect on things. In many respects the ground is far too big for us. The facilities, rates, insurance, and maintenance must be a huge drain on finances. 

I don’t believe the club was set up to fail but I do think that at this moment of the club’s history it is failing dramatically. With Steve Adkins stepping away from things, Tony Cox has stepped in to oversee what’s going on. Although, to his credit he makes himself available to fans at games. But he seems totally oblivious to their feelings and worries about the club. Talking to people as if they were employees and not supporters who have been regulars at Tooting games for many years and therefore don’t understand or need to be told what has happened and why it has gone so disasterly wrong. 

I’ve spoken to Steve Adkins on a number of occasions about the club and his hopes for it. I don’t believe for one minute he is happy with the way things are going. Why would anyone want a business to go so badly wrong? Maybe it’s time for a fresh pairs of eyes and a knowledge of running sports events etc to take a look at the current business plan and advise on moving forward. I wonder if the links with the Members Club and running of the club as it stands holds things back. A bit of honesty wouldn’t go a miss…. Caroline McRoyal leaving also had a big effect. She has not been replaced and we miss her influence at the club. 

The Members club although providing match day volunteers, helping raise funds though events and sponsorship needs a major shakeup. The mantra seems to be “We’ll get a volunteer to do it” or “We’ll get supporters to pay for it” seems to be the answer to everything, forgetting that a large part of our fan base will have very little time or disposable income to help out with. Well, good luck with changing that that with the drop in crowds and interest in the club goes elsewhere. Their reply to the open letter written on behalf of the supporter’s clubs raising concerns about supporter morale seemed to be ignored and not taken seriously. I get the feeling that the fact of that losing games, no matter how well the team have played will wear down support so much that people will stop going to matches, they simply don’t seem to understand. 



I have spoken to other fans at games and socially who have also said that unless there is a rapid change in fortune, they will also stop coming to matches. A large number of our regular support has already stopped. Many of these are long term Tooting and Mitcham United fans who have followed the club for decades who watched from the stands and terraces of Sandy Lane. This is not due to any coordinated boycott from fans or any hidden agenda from any groups, this is simply that many supporters are feeling less and less involved with the club and feel the club has lost its way. Many of the people I meet and spoke with when I first started coming to games, people who welcomed me into the Terrors Family are no longer seen at any of our fixtures. For the club to succeed we need to get big crowds. The bigger the crowds the more income comes into the place. The bigger the crowds the more people will volunteer to help. The bigger the crowds the more interest on social media and local media outlets. All aspects of our supporter based social media has dropped away to nothing. No posts, No Blogs, Nothing from fans on Twitter apart from doom and gloom. Supporter morale is at an all-time low, which is quite a statement when you look back over resent history. You need success on the pitch, winning teams will bring the fans back and attract new fans along. Relying on Supporters loyalty to turn up no matter how badly the team is doing is very naïve and does not work. 

On the pitch. A very stop start season with games getting postponed and called off for a number of reasons. Plus, the dreadful run in all of the cup competitions means the team has not had the chance to play together continually for any period. The coaching staff have brought in a number of new faces, but lack of game time means the team often seems to play as if they don’t know each other. 

I like Ashley, I’ve always got on well with him and personally I think he is a great bloke. Do I think he should still be the manager; well results are hard to argue with and at most other clubs he would have been replaced by now. But are the links between the Academy and the running of the first team so intwined that it is impossible to run things differently. One thing I don’t want to happen is that if things get worse and we do end up getting relegated, that Ashley is not thrown under the bus so to speak and blamed for everything that happened. I spoke to him after the Supporters Club letter went out. Spending some time at the ground watching him working and interacting with the pupils and staff there. We spoke about the team, playing budgets at Tooting and some of the playing budgets that other teams in our division are working with. This is a very difficult league with some clubs able to work with huge budgets. Is he good for the academy? Absolutely 100% … I want the Academy to work. I want to see pupils get something from their time at the club with Ashley and his team. Being a father, I want to see kids given a chance to build their knowledge and confidence. I know people at St Matthews Project, who know him and have worked with him. All saying what a difference he has made to peoples lives though working there and at Tooting and Mitcham. 

But… I also want the team to do well, and I believe the vast majority of our support feels the same. Are we a football team with an academy or are we an academy with a football team? What is the long-term plan? Is there a long-term plan? Will we the supporters ever get any form of answer. 

Come On You Terrors !!!!!!

Bin Fire at Binfield

“If you can keep your head while all about you are losing theirs…. You obviously don’t understand the seriousness of the situation”. 

So here we are. Third from bottom, out of all the cups and it’s not even Christmas yet. My last blog was on the 19th of October, yet again another doom ladened, sad piece of literature more suited to the letters page of the Daily Mail than for fellow Terrors. But now I’m finding things seen to have gone even further backwards since fingering my keyboard back then. A deserved win against Bedfont Sports being the only highlight. Our home form is still mind blowing, we’ve lost to teams who have been shite but still managed to take all the points from us. I hate to say that some of the matches this season, have been some of the worst I’ve ever witnessed. Some very sad faces on the Bog End at full time. 

                   Happy Harry

 Away from Fortress Imperial. The game against local “Rivals” SCR was plain awful. A defeat to a team that probably won’t have an easier game all season and who I’d be very surprised would finish higher than mid table. I watched fellow supporters laughing with some kind of gallows humour to try and keep away the tears as the second half came to an end. SCR players celebrating as if they’d won the Champions League showed how much they wanted to put one over us. 

A handful of fans managed to get over to Walton and Hersham to see a much-improved side play possibly their best performance of the season so far. But too many players switched of during injury time after a quite baffling free kick was given against us and players were having a go at the match officials allowing W&H to score their winning goal in a game, we should have at least left with one point. A bitter pill to swallow after many had made the journey across Surrey on a day when the trains were on strike, some long bus trips and hefty cab fares paid out. But compared with other trips down to that neck of the woods when I’ve seen the travelling Toots outnumber the home fans on several occasions a very low turnout. 

Basingstoke, again defensive mistakes leading to in my opinion three of the four goals against us. Yes, we seemed to have two perfectly good goals disallowed and two penalty shouts turned down along with the two well taken goals scored. The heart-breaking thing was that when we got a goal back to make it 3-2 with about 5 mins to go, after getting a free kick which I think should have been played straight up field, somehow, we gave the ball away after messing around allowing Basingstoke to score from a penalty after their player was brought down…. How from an attacking option we ended up conceding another goal from a situation all of our own making? Players switching off. Last year about 70 Terrors possibly more made the trip, this year about 30 turned up. 

 Now for the bin fire at Binfield. Three goals conceded in 7 minutes when we were already 1 nil down pretty much sums up what a bin fire this season has been so far. I class myself as being lucky not to have been there and only following on social media, which dear reader was bad enough. 

 I am totally at a loss what has gone wrong. It has rightly been pointed out that we have not had a chance to build up any momentum as we have missed playing on a couple of Saturdays. Once due to a tragic accident outside the ground but the other occasions have been due to us going out of the two FA competitions leaving Saturdays free as the clubs, we were due to play progressed into the next rounds. 

A couple of wins could see us move up the table, but with our form at the moment, it’s hard to see where they will come from. A mid table finish is looking like the best option at the moment, the other option doesn’t bear thinking about. 

 My main worry and what the main part of the Blog is about is supporter morale. Along with the long-time fans of Tooting and Mitcham. We have to be honest and say, a lot of our fan base both home and away, we’ve borrowed from other clubs. Supporters from Palace, Fulham, Chelsea Arsenal, Grimsby, Lincoln, WBA, Norwich, Man City, Liverpool, Hartlepool, Newcastle, Leeds, Man United, Tottenham, West Ham and QPR can be found in the stands and on the terraces at Tooting Games. 

Many now watch us like me after becoming disillusioned with the modern game and many due to the cost of watching league football. 

Throw in the geographical nature of the local population that people simply can’t get to see their home teams after moving to South London. Tooting and Mitcham has become their new footballing home. Very easy for them to go and watch one of our many local neighbours. I’ve seen a few Terrors in the crowds at RPV and Carshalton games on the “free Saturdays” and I know of a few others who now go ground hopping for their football fix. 

One of the big reasons to go to games is to meet up with friends and have a laugh and socialise with everyone. I’m under no illusion that Toots will win every game, but it’s also about watching your team or adopted team play well, I’ve seen Tooting lose loads of games and thought that they were unlucky but at least they tried, and I’ve gone home feeling optimistic about things. These last two seasons since the London Senior Cup win have been hard to watch. It worries me that a lot of the fans who I used to see no longer turn up for games. This isn’t some organised boycott. People just can’t be bothered anymore. People talk about life in the Combined Counties and wonder if the club would still be able to get the crowds we get now. 

I’ll be at the game Saturday as I have some important Supporters Club business to deal with, but in truth, I could quite happily miss yet another crap day out watching us play. Even a win on Saturday must not allow people to think that things have changed, and we have turned a corner. Things need to change, and they need to change sooner rather than later. 

Up The Terrors !!!!

Where to start.....

Right where to begin, 

To say that this season so far has been a complete disaster is not far short of the mark. Our home form has managed to be even worse than last season, which I’m sure none of us would think possible. We now find ourselves sitting in the lower half of the table with the Combined Counties looking up at us…. Out of both FA competitions, which in fairness we can only dream about winning or at the very least getting a couple of good games out of now gone for yet another season. Both trophies are considered money earners by clubs at our level and to go out of both so early on must be a big hit in the pocket of the club when it looks at playing budgets etc. Out of the League Cup which is no real surprise looking at our record in the competition is not surprising. Now out of the London Senior Cup, which is a personal favourite of mine. Now our only hope of any cup success is in the Surrey Senior Cup where we have been drawn against Chertsey, so let’s be honest, a very tough draw. Ashley looks as if he’s won a Tottenham Season Ticket in a raffle, and I don’t think I’ve seen him smile in ages. The players look to be suffering low morale and confidence wise and a lack of self-belief especially during home games. Away matches are better, maybe there is less pressure on the players when not at Fortress Imperial. This is a big worry and I’m think I ‘m right saying we’ve not won a home game in the league since December last year. We avoided going by the skin of our teeth last year. In truth two clubs going out of business done us a huge favour but even now I find myself looking at the clubs below to be having worse results than us. It’s only October but I think we need to get the mindset that we at the time of writing are in a relegation scrap. A couple of good results can see us climb the table but it’s hard to see where they are going to come from at the moment. There is a dark cloud hanging over the Bog End. I have not fingered my keyboard in ages, as the results have led to a big hit of “Writers” block as I honestly can’t think of anything to say. I could copy any number of blogs from the last couple of seasons, change a few names and post them up and no one would be any the wiser. The excellent social media output has dried up and it’s very hard to think of what to put out in regard to the club. Crowds are still good but the game against Westfield had a large number of staff from St Georges in attendance and they are not there every week. A number of regular fans have stopped going to home games and I don’t mean the tinfoil hat brigade on the forum. Some pretty heated discussions in the stands and on the terraces when even die-hard loyal fans are questioning the direction the club is taking. In a nutshell, low morale on and off the pitch on match days, low confidence and a huge lack of self-belief missing…. And it’s only October…. We all have our views on what to do to change things but one thing we can all agree with is that things need to get put on track before it’s too late. 

 Up The Terrors….

Happy Clappy Harry

Well, goodbye and good riddance to the 2021 – 22 season. One which will be the stuff of nightmares for players, supporters and everyone else at the club. The Football Gods who had sat up in the clouds laughing and giggling at our plight while thinking up even more fiendish ways to fuck us over decided at the last minute to bring back Whyteleafe into the league equation and therefore pushing us up the table and finally out of harm’s way after victories against other bottom dwelling rivals. 

I don’t think anyone could have seen this happen, although a few Dulwich and Sutton fans probably prayed for it. Two good seasons lost to covid and the London Senior Cup win against the young Wombles meant we started off full of hope for the campaign. The happiness was not to last too long.

Not sure the best way to describe the season in a simplified way. We spent the first third of the season trying to bring in younger academy players and get them involved with the 1^st team squad. But in truth it was looking obvious that it was not working out as well as the club hoped. Stuck in the lower mid table just ready for the second third of the season when a number of players left, and others were brought in to replace them. A couple of whom never really had the impact we all were looking for. Then the final third, when we lost a 3-goal lead at Bedfont sports and then became one of the few teams Staines have beaten this season. Staines went on after their victory to lose their next game 12 nil. The loss of a number of senior players hit hard and the Terrors found themselves in a relegation fight and one for a period of time, that they didn’t look to have any chance of winning. 

Losing top scorer Dan Williams threw a large spanner in the works and it is fair to say the strikers who stepped into the breach had problems hitting the back of the net. Defensively, things looked ok. We didn’t suffer any real heavy defeats and with a bit more luck Infront of goal we would not have ended the way they did. 

 But it all ended with songs, cider and smiles after the Staines game and the Player of The Season awards presentation. Cheers to Joel for being an excellent awards host and for letting me rant and rave while giving out the Supporters Club awards.  

 

Sometimes we all have to accept that the club you support will have a bad season. Even the top clubs have them, but it still hurts when it happens to you. A strange feeling off the pitch this season with splits in the supporters ranks and some really negative stuff going up on a couple of media platforms not helping fan moral. There is so much good stuff going on supporters wise and it’s upsetting to see people turn on each other. The club has been in bad places before moral wise but this season it was hard to see after all the good work that had gone on over the last few seasons.

Lots going on behind the scenes and many new companies coming in as sponsors etc. Kingstonian ground sharing will also help bring more money into the club. As I’ve said before, bills need to be paid and with all of our household utility bills going up the same is happening to all types of businesses including Toots.  I had a number of chats with people who work at and run the club. They all fully understand the frustrations we all felt. I’m sure they are all more than aware that changes will need to be looked at the next season. No one at Tooting and Mitcham wants things to fail. No matter what anyone says. We all want to move up the football pyramid and regain our true position. We all want this club to succeed.

This is a big club with a great fan base and history, one we should all be proud of.

Take a good look at our crowds and remember that more than any other South London Non-League club how much our fan base represents the people that live here.  There’s so much to be proud of. Please remember that, when the dust from this season settles.

I’m handing over running of the Club Shop to the Members Club next season. Anyone interested in running it please come and see me and I’ll point you in the right direction.

I’ll still be involved with the Supporters Club and will be trying to raise their profile through social media etc. and also trying to get new members signed up and involved. A bit hard to do that when also running the shop on match days.

Shout Out Time !!!!!!!!!

 I won’t mention names because I’m always worried, I will forget someone, but a big thank you to all the match day volunteers and people who do so much behind the scenes over at Tooting. Clubs at our level need people to help out so anything you can do please get involved. 

 Good to see so many people from St Matthews Project becoming regulars at our games.

I always look forward to a good to chat with people who help over at SMP. Even if one of them is a moaning old git who manages to make me look like the happiest bloke South of The River. We have a number of links and friendships with the people there. Please visit:

https://thesmp.net

 Spread the word please, so much negative press about young people especially in South London and yet there are so many people making a huge difference who never get mentioned.

 As always, a big thanks to Jimmy and everyone over at the Ramble Inn up near Amen Corner in Tooting for all their support. They have done so much to bring people together and get them down to Tooting games over the last few years. Love and kisses to all the Irish Lot xxx

 Last but not least, Go and visit those South London Is Black and White Herberts for far better Terrors related stuff all written by intelligent sensible people, not the rantings of a mad old bloke in Hackbridge. Been a bit quite on there over the last couple of months but in truth, it’s been hard to finger our keyboards and try and come up with anything happy.

https://www.southlondonisblackandwhite.com

 

 Just remember. No matter how bad things were, we all know that after spending a couple of Saturdays on all those DIY jobs you’ve ignored and spending quality family time in the Asda Beddington Lane you’ll get checking out Twitter hoping and praying for the preseason friendlies to start and to all get together shouting our heading off following the mighty Toots....

Come on you Terrors !!!!!!

Tears on the Wandle - A tale of woe and heartbreak.

A great Irish Philosopher said on twitter that Tooting and Mitcham went from flirting with relegation to sending it dick pics in a couple of weeks. One of the most true posts I've seen on any type of Toots social media.

This will be a short blog. I really can't think of too much to say. Dear reader, If you were there Saturday, you will understand.

 The game against Ashford was awful. The atmosphere was down beat and even the mighty Bog End was often out sung by a single Ashford Loon who had a great afternoon down on the banks of the Wandle. Both teams played as if it was an end of season game between two mid table sides, the trouble is that one of them was in a relegation fight and didn’t seem to know it. Billy Smith hitting the bar was the nearest thing we did to trouble their goalie who had quite a relaxing day between the sticks. I said after the defeat at Bedfont that we were heading for a fight to remain in this division. I thought at the time it was possibly too dramatic and over the top, but it turns out I was right. 

 I have said a number of times that the last time Tooting went down that we sleepwalked into it. Not realising until it was too late that we had a major problem on our hands. That time we were able to build on things for the following season and improvements off the pitch have changed the club for the better. Even now we are still getting good crowds for the league position we are in. The major doubt I have is if that will be the same in the Combined Counties or some strange Kent league if we do go down. Will we still get people willing to volunteer their time on match day to help out? The simple fact is, the better the team is on the pitch, the better the crowds are, and more people will want to get involved behind the scenes. Ask any of our regulars about friends and family who no longer come to games for various reasons. A successful team will bring them back I’m sure, another relegation however, could lose them forever. 

Bog End Ant has missed a number of games this season due to feeling so low after results, we have both swerved away games which we would have gone to normally.... You'd be hard pressed to find a bigger Terror than Ant... If he feels like this, you know there are problems...

This club has so much potential, a great history and fantastic fanbase. I sometimes think this is taken for granted. People need to realise this. All of us will have different ideas on where things have gone wrong. I never want to use this platform to have a go at anyone. I have my views, as we all do, but personal attacks are not the way I do things. I feel sorry for the players and coaches. All good people, all of them now in a horrible position. A big Hackbridge shout out to Nathan Daly who has played his heart out this season...  But I also feel sorry for our fans, many of whom looked crushed on Saturday.

 

More than anything at the moment we need to pull together and show some unity. Yes, easier said than done… But fucking important at this moment in time.

 Come On You Terrors !!!

Guest Blog From Darren Parker

Hello Dear Reader, another guest blog, this time from Darren Parker with his views on the South Park game and also his views on this season and what is happening at TMUFC...

 TMUFC Vs South Park………….time for a change? By Darren Parker.

 Having not attended any Tooting games for a few weeks, and with a weekend off work with no commitments, I decided to head down to Imperial Fields for my footie fix. In truth, I was in two minds as to whether I should go or not, as I haven’t really been enjoying the entertainment on the pitch recently, and thought my time might be better spent catching up with the washing. Having got that ridiculous thought out of my brain, I made my way down to the ground, just in time for a pre match pint, and a catch up with some familiar faces. The first thing that hit me when entering the bar area was the lack of people inside. It wasn’t so long ago, that with an hour to go till kick off, you would have had to wait in a queue at the bar to get served. Perhaps this has something to do with the recent increase in pricing, or are the hard core fans staying away in favour of washing their smalls! Entering the ground I was greeted by the familiar faces of Hackbridge Harry and Dee Pee, the later of who gave me a sneak preview of the new book that is coming out. It looks fantastic, and is a must buy for all die hard Tooting Fans. I would encourage everyone to get in contact with David to make a pre order. I certainly have, and look forward to getting my copy in the next few weeks. I was happy to see that although the bar area wasn’t particularly busy, the numbers inside the ground we’re still up to our normal levels. The team itself was pretty much an unchanged side since the last time I visited. Looking through the team sheet I recognised the majority of the names, which given the number of players used so far this season pleased me no end. I wasn’t particularly happy to see both Billy Brown and Jordan Clarke on the bench, both of whom are exciting experienced players that can make things happen. The game itself was fairly well contested in the early stages, with Toots having most of the possession, and the visitors looking dangerous on the break. We managed to take the lead on the quarter of an hour mark, a cross into the box looping away to Mark Waters on the edge of the box, who done really well to keep his effort down. The shot bounced off the bar and over the line, a good spot from the officials. This seemed to force South Park into a more attacking mentality, and it wasn’t long before they equalised through a penalty. Their big centre forward got kicked in the head, and I don’t think even the most die-hard Terror would argue with the referee’s award of a spot kick. South Park took control of the first half from this point, and I felt we were fairly lucky to go in level at the break. Tooting came out with a new vigour in the second half, and took the game to their opponents. However, we struggled to create any real clear cut chances and didn’t look like we would make the opposition keeper earn his money. I, along with a number of other supporters, became increasingly disgruntled at the seemingly lack of action to change things up, and started berating our Management team as to why Billy Brown wasn’t being introduced. The bog end faithful stirred up a rendition of “We want Billy Brown”, which finally had an effect with 5 minutes remaining. This was far too late in my opinion, but I was nearly made to eat my words as Billy forced the Park Keeper (I have been waiting to use that one!) into a brilliant save to tip the ball over the bar. It was a rasping shot, and came out of nowhere. That’s what Billy can do! Unfortunately, time ran out, and we were forced to settle for a point. Probably a fair result at the end of the day, and is a true reflection on the standard of our football at the moment. I didn’t really fancy a pint in the bar at the end of the game. My partner in crime was down in Exeter, watching a far higher standard of football, and I had promised Mrs P a Curry in the evening, so didn’t want to fall into her bad books by rolling in pissed. Two pints had served me well, and I would only have ended up crying on someone’s shoulder about the lack of experience and organisation within our team. Which brings me on to my thoughts on the current situation at our beloved club. In my opinion, we don’t have enough experienced players in our team, the tactics aren’t working, and things need to change. We very rarely create any clear cut chances, and keeping players like Brown, Clarke, and Hamlin sat on the bench is just criminal. Losing Daryl Coleman was a real kick in the teeth, and just a few weeks later our top scorer in Danny Williams also departs. Player retention is key at our level. For me, too many good footballers have left for pastures new and there is little cohesion in the team. We have given debuts to a number of youngsters, who in my opinion do not look ready for first team football at our level, and the obvious connection with a certain Consultancy company is quite worrying from a player promotion point of view. Sky Sports cameras have been an unnecessary distraction, and having the Manager’s discuss tactics on the pitch at half time so that they can get footage is just ludicrous. Ashley and Cornelius have worked wonders with the youth teams, and up until this season have performed reasonably well as joint first team Managers. Perhaps they have too much to deal with, looking after teams at so many levels, and can’t dedicate enough of their time to concentrate on first team matters. We have been told by our Members club chairman, via an unofficial forum, that everyone at the club, from the very top down, are really concerned about our results, and it is not an issue based around money. So hopefully, they will do the right thing, and make a change. Personally, I would love to see an experienced non-league Manager brought into the club, to take the reins of the first team. Let Ashley and Cornelius continue to work with our under 23’s and below, whilst learning from an experienced hand in first team matters. I am sure there are Managers about that would be happy to consider joining our club, and that would fit into the way that we operate. Thanks to Steve for giving me the opportunity to air my views and opinions at TMUFC, and I look forward to seeing you all at a game sometime soon. Come on you Stripes! 

Cheers Darren for sending this over.

The Joy of Football - Part 38

Hope you all had a groovy Christmas and are looking forward to a fantastic 2022 both on and off the pitch…. And that Dear Reader is about as happy and cheerful as this blog gets….

 Now for the Hanwell game and where to begin is a tough one. A bad game in which we didn’t seem to trouble their goalie at all. Very sad to hear booing at the end. Many of these players are very young and looked totally crushed when they came up to the fans that stayed behind after hearing the jeers. But the fans pay good money to watch the team. Their weekends can be ruined by bad results just as much as the players and coaches. They have a right to be upset and to question what has happened this season. It upset me to hear the jeers and it upset me to see the players faces, but it also upset me to see the faces of many of our fans as they headed home or to the bar for the after-match discussion. 

 Sky TV are still filming over at Fortress Imperial. I’m sure when they first come into film the team and academy, things were buzzing after the progression of a number of players though the footballing pyramid and the London Senior Cup win. It would have been great to get more media exposure and help raise the profile of the club. At the moment, hopefully they will have lots of positive footage from behind the scenes as there has been very little to look forward to if the match day footage gets shown. It’s bad enough seeing the team lose but to know that it’s being filmed for all to see is sickening. A couple of people involved in the footballing side of things have said that having Sky walking around filming has been a distraction that the players and coaches do not need. It’s also obvious that the Bog End faithful are not happy with the cameras at games. I for one do not blame them. 

Non-League football has become more and more popular, Sky will know that. The chance to stick their nose into a number of places will be too much for them to turn away on their hunt for viewing figures and the chance to fuck up yet another sport…. Bear that in mind if in 5 years’ time our away game with Chipstead is on Pay to View on Thursday night at 9pm. 

 There are splits growing in the ranks of our supporters. The various reasons would fill a blog in on their own, one I may well do. Different groups with different views on how things could or should be done. All of their views valid and worth listening to even if they are not the views you want to hear or agree with. I like to think that I know most of the people who come to see Toots and have heard various views on how the clubs has gone wrong and what the club is doing right. Covid has caused the cancellation of a meet the people who run the club night. A new date needs to be looked into and if possible and able to be done safely as I know a lot of people are concerned about the direction the club is going. Some kind of clear the air meeting should be done to at least try and heal some of the bad feeling at Toots.

 Kingstonian will be ground sharing at Fortress Imperial next season it has been announced. Strange move for them as they were over at Corinthian Casuals and at least were playing games in the Kingston Area. An awkward journey for many of their fans and one that many seem unhappy with. This is meant to be for a couple of years / seasons until they are able to go back to the Kingston. As for Tooting Bec and the various teams they have set up, I should imagine there will be major changes for them. What this will mean for all three clubs remains to be seen but I’m fully expecting various weird and wonderful conspiracy theories.

 Let’s face some facts here. TMUFC have lost two years’ worth of income including gate money due to Covid so in all honesty extra gate money coming in will help out any short falls that have happened over the last couple of seasons. I work in the facilities industry. This involves looking after and managing budgets, invoices and bills. We need to face facts that to run Imperial Fields is very costly. The Electric, gas and water utilities have to be paid. Insurance and rates. The upkeep of the ground and pitches. Ironically the Sky sports subscription to show games in the bar, not forgetting the wages of the staff etc. Plus, the added cost of finding funds for the playing budget all needs to be found. 

I get on with both Steve and Jackie and have no axe to grind or hidden agenda against them or the way the club is run as a business etc. But I believe that supporters should be given some idea of the costs of the day to day running of TMUFC. I'm not suggesting anything untoward, but how was the money collected on the Crowd Funder page put to use at Imperial Fields. A lot of people put money into this and would like a rundown of what the money went towards I would ask for more information from the club and the Members club, who I believe own 10% of Imperial Fields on what goes on behind the scenes and what goes on in general. The social media side has much improved in the last few years, but supporters need more updates. The rumour mill often goes into overdrive when announcement are made. Two and Two becomes Five as people try and find out what is happening. For a start some of the conspiracy theories that often spring up could be put to bed early instead of growing and growing. A lot of the good work that the club does with the local community and local business either goes unnoticed or is not explained allowing Roswell/ JFK type conspiracies to spring up. Recently, the club has had to find a lot of money to upgrade the ground after recommendations and regulations that have come into force since the terrible fire at Grenfell. Plus, the work done on the pitch. Yet this is not common knowledge. If more people knew this, they may well become more understanding when it comes to the costs of running the place. Bills have to be paid and staff have to be paid. My job possibly may give me a better idea of costs and budgets. Not everyone has the same experience. We don't need to know everything and see every single invoice but an idea of what is going on behind the scenes could help people understand more. Might even help stop more of the negative stuff that goes up on various platforms. 

 At this moment in time many people do not know what the Members Club do or their role in the club and what stake they have in the set up at Imperial Fields. There is very little communication between the Directors of the Members Club and the other supporters when it comes to these matters. Directors sit in the stand and are not seen or visible before and after games. It has been good to see Chris Woolley walking around and chatting at resent home games, it would be good to see a bit more of that in future. In short and maybe unfairly, many fans do not know who the Directors of the Club are and what the Members Club do. There needs to be more open dialog between the Members Club and the supporters when it comes to their part in the running of the club and financial matters. Supporters need to be informed of what the Members Club are asked / expected to contribute to the Team / playing budget each season. What other costs the Members Club may also be responsible for during the year. Without this information people do not know where their money is going or what it is being spent on. A regular newsletter given out on match days or regular articles in the programme could go a long way to heal the "Them and Us" feeling that some supporters have in regard to the Members Club. The club over the years lost a number of supporters who were willing to help out but became disillusioned with things at TMUFC. Last of information and bad communication often playing a part in this. 

Christ, how depressing was that…. It must be bad enough having read it if you managed to get this far. Believe me it was hard enough writing the thing. I’ll be there Saturday and I’ll be cheering the team on. None of us are enjoying this. Not the players, fans, coaches, owners or staff. Try to stay positive and cut others some slack if you don’t agree with them. We are stronger together than we are when split up into various factions. 

 Up The Terrors !!!!!

Hackbridge Wonderland

Mention Westfield to most people they will think of the large shopping centres in and around London which, in turn make me dream of  "Dawn of the dead" type of days out. Well getting eaten alive by Zombies would have been preferable to witnessing  two of the worst Tooting performances that I have been "lucky" enough to witness over the last couple of years at Westfield ground in Woking.

         Merry Christmas Oiks

As Toots enter the Christmas holiday fixtures needing points, playing Westfield could either be the test the team needed to help kick start the season again or the chance for me to start the holiday period  looking at my online credit card statement while crying and praying for a Zombie apocalypse to put an end to this season sooner rather than later. 

A one nil victory in a game that will not live in the memory of those who turned their backs on Christmas shopping in Croydon for a Saturday afternoon in the freezing cold. Still, three points and I left Fortress Imperial feeling rather pleased which is more than could be said for Westfields twitter account writer who after moaning constatly about time wasting from TMUFC was trolled by various Terrors all though Saturday night. I've watched loads of clubs do it to us and it made me rather happy to do it back to someone at long last... But my happiness was short lived.

Like many, I work very long hours in a badly paid job. This means I miss the vast majority of mid-week away games. Every now and again I thank fuck for long hours as I missed the trip to Staines for what would turn out to be another "disappointing" result against a team which somehow was having up until then, a worse season than we are. I'm told by those in the know that we have so far played over 45 different players in our attempt to find our best match day squad. Even if this is down to the ongoing pandemic or injuries, we are strugling on the pitch to get things right. Not good is it.

There are some large splits in the ranks between fans and supporters about the direction the club is going. The club of "Progression" is not progressing that well. It's hard to sit on the fence when it is obvious to everyone that on the pitch things are going badly. I have accepted the fact that the best we can hope for is a mid table position in the league, there is still hope for a good cup run as we are still in a few trophies, but this season has been dreadful league wise. 

Yet again just to add to the joy, all other local teams all seem to be doing well but never the less we are still gettings loads of new faces in the stands and terraces at Toots, many now becoming regulars. Maybe there is some kind of masochistic sex cult in the area which involves regular bouts of pain and humiliation.

"Right, you dirty little pig. After you've finished the lawn, you can clean the toilet with your toothbursh and then go and watch Tooting and Mitcham"

So after Santa emptied his sack over the carpet at Hackbridge Towers there was the small matter of our away game with Sutton Common Rovers. Worth bearing in mind we would regularly play their Landlords Sutton United in games not so long ago. Now at the time of writing they sit in the play off positions in League two while we have Chipstead as our big local rivals or Sutton Common Rovers.... But..... The dreaded Bug struck again which meant no Christmas fixtures this year. On the plus it meant Christmas wasn't ruined by by another "Disappointing" result.

Shout Out Time !!!!!!!!!! 

Thanks and a Merry Christmas and fantastic New Year to Jimmy and everyone at the Ramble Inn up near Amen Corner in Tooting and thanks for their help and support over the last 12 months

St Matthews Project are still doing great community work and putting on various events over the Christmas period. A fantastic group of people. Great to chat with a couple of people from there at the Westfield game.

Please go and visit: 

https://thesmp.net/ 

And show them the support they deserve.

If you need a bit more intelligence with your reading material than this. Go and visit those South London Is Black and White Herberts for far better Terrors related stuff than this rubbish I come out with  https://www.southlondonisblackandwhite.com/ 

Last but not least, all the hard people over at Tooting and Mitcham who help out on match days and in many cases all though the week at Fortress Imperial. Thanks to all of you xxx

Christmas in Hackbridge Towers is always a happy occasion. We all sit around the table while I play the harmonica and Ant sings Christmas Carols with lyrics changed to mention how shit Dulwich are. Mrs H was really happy with her black designer "Sports Direct" bag which is the equivalent of a   Louis Vuitton handbag to the locals in Sutton, you can guess how envious the local ladies will be when we next visit the Asda. I've told her not to take it to the Asda on Beddington Lane though as she might well get mugged.

Bog end Ant has his £400 Stone Island underpants to wear on match days and I got a tube of Pringles. Hope Christmas was full of peace and love where ever you are.... 

Up The Terrors !!!!!

Heart Of Darkness

The Joseph Conrad story "Heart of Darkness" tells the tale of Charles Marlow, a sailor who takes on an assignment from a Belgian trading company as a ferry-boat captain in the African interior. This dark book is one I have read a number of times and would go as far to say it is one of my favourite books. It provided the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's epic 1979 film Apocalypse Now. A dark tale telling how normal men can turn into inhuman beasts, capable of committing the most dreadful of crimes. A story I can relate to after my trip back from Barking a couple of seasons ago.

 "You too can own this special commemorative 50 pence coin celebrating Tooting and Mitcham United's 2020 London Senior Cup Final victory over AFC Wimbledon for the special price of £79.99. These coins are a limited edition and will be highly sort after".

 Talking about bloody Marlow…… Yes, Dear reader, yet another defeat this time 2-1 at Fortress Imperial. Swap the mighty Congo or the Mekong Delta for the River Wandle and Steve Carpenter for Kurtz and you could do a sequel. The Police Helicopters that regularly fly over the Budge Lane estate could play Wagner out of loudspeakers as they hunt out signs of angry locals and burnt-out mopeds. 

 As for the game… You know what I’m going to say don’t you… Well, we should have got at least a point from this game but as per usual ended up with nothing to show for the hard work on the pitch. So, with that in mind, the last thing we really needed was a Tuesday night game against high flying Chertsey and guess what… You know what I’m going to say don’t you… Yes, Dear reader, another defeat this time 2-1 at Fortress Imperial. Well, we should have got at least a point from this game but as per usual ended up with nothing to show for the hard work on the pitch…… Oh for Fuck Sake. I could cut and paste my last few blogs and they would all look relevant. 

 We can go on and on about bad luck, I can mention the footballing gods having it in for us. We can all say how well we played and fought back, but the truth is, our defence can't defend, and our attack can't find the back of the net. I believe we are now on our fifth goalie so far in the season. The vast majority of goals conceded seem to be though defensive mistakes or bad communication at the back. I felt really down after the game against Chertsey, times like this I hate football. 

Those sexy chaps at South London Is Black and White set up a “Twitter Space” get together which gave us / me a chance to get things off our / my chest which was for me personally a good thing. 

 Visit: https://www.southlondonisblackandwhite.com 

And follow them on Twitter: @TaM_BaW 

 I’m sure they will be running so more counselling sessions in the future for us Terrors. Hope so. Spoke to Bog End Ant about doing one ourselves so watch this space.

"Right, just enough time for a quick wank before I log onto The Bog End forum"

 And then dear reader some joy. Just ignore my last couple of paragraphs of misrable bollocks... Sittingbourne beaten in the League Cup thingy trophy followed by back-to-back wins in the league against Chalfont and away to (Margaret) Thatcham. Neither games could be classed as being great matches, but I enjoyed them both immensely. We won ugly and against Thatcham even kept a clean sheet. Hurrah !!!! A good day out past Reading and hopefully next time we play them it will be on a nicer day weather wise. A good place to spend a Saturday afternoon. The locals were rather cruel about the dress sense of one of our fan’s choice of wet weather clothing, but we had the last laugh on the pitch. Of course, then we go and lose away to Binfield 1-0 after giving away a goal early on and we are back where we started. One step forward, two steps back. This season, Two clubs go straight down and third from bottom end up in some kind of playoff game with whoever finishes third in the division below. Not a game you would want to have at the end of the season. We are too good to go down. We have too many talented players to go down. Our management and coaches are too good to get relegated…. But it doesn’t matter. We can all name a team at some level on the Footballing pyramid who were “Too Good to Go Down” but did anyway. 

 A mid table finish seems very likely, but a couple more bad results could drag us back into the mix. A number of new players have come in and I feel a lot more optimistic than I did after the Chertsey game but obviously we need some more wins under our belts moving forward. 

 A shame to see Daryl Coleman leave. A great leader and fans favourite, I wish him the best wherever he goes. One of the worst things about football and no matter who you support is when popular players leave and go elsewhere. This happens a lot at our level and can happen for all manner of reasons. One good thing about our support is that we are always welcoming to our ex-players and generally always give out a warm welcome when paths cross. So, a lot to think about for the rest of the season. Will we turn things around, will we get hit with another lock down and will Jon Simpson ever wear that yellow jacket again? Only time will tell Dear Reader…. 

Her: He's thinking about other women.

Him: What coat shall I wear to Thatcham away next season.

 Up The Terrors !!!!

One Minute

I’m back Dear Reader for more tales of the joy of following Tooting and Mitcham from my luxury office here in Hackbridge Towers. As I gaze out of my window and look over at the wonderful Beddington Sewage Works which looks over the local inhabitants like a grand medieval castle, my thoughts turn to football as I try to forget the raw shit that was pumped into the River Wandle a couple of weeks ago. 

"My Dear Ratty, It's not smelt like this since Dulwich ground shared"

 I’ll gloss over the victory against Guernsey as I was not there, but I was jolly happy seeing the result. Also, the victory over Met Police in the Surrey Senior Cup which I think was the first time I’ve seen us beat them. A crowd over 80 at Fortress Imperial was bigger than what we would normally expect in the early rounds of that competition. The crowd including the mass ranks of Stone Island wearing Daily Mail and Express readers who follow Met Police over Land and Sea…. 

Next up an away fixture over at Ashford, but both me and Bog End Ant thought we’d give that a swerve and go and watch our near neighbours AFC Croydon play Fleet town where we happily paid our money and joined the fun and games at the back of the cemetery. Croydon in their previous life were used to getting big crowds but only around 50 turned up for this fixture including a few from Fleet. AFC Croydon started the game by doing a “Tooting” which means they went 1-0 down in less than a minute, possibly around the 15 second mark…. I thought it would be amusing and make a funny little tweet about them out doing anything that Tooting and Mitcham had done so far this season by giving a goal away in under a minute. So, you can imagine how I laughed when finding out by the time I’d written and then posted my humorous tweet at the expensive of AFC Croydon that Toots had gone 1-0 down away at Ashford in under two minutes. Mr Fucking Chuckles strikes again. 

With that in mind you can also guess the size of my grin when visiting Basingstoke, a week later Tooting managed to go 1-0 down in under a minute yet again. Christ knows what the managers and coaches must say to the team before kick-off or what the players say to each other doing the pre match huddle… My money is on “Let’s make Harry cry”. 

 We played well at Basingstoke losing 3-2 to a dodgy penalty which came seconds after Billy Brown was brought down for what all the travelling Terrors in the 653-crowd thought was a free kick, but to be chasing the game after the first minute again puts far too much pressure on the team. We should have left with a point but didn’t and that has been the story of this season so far. For any lovers of Drum and Bass I suggest heading over to Basingstoke on match days to join in with the two D&B throbbers who stood behind the goal and keep the crowd “entertained” throughout the game. No wonder so many of the locals seemed pill’ed up and off their heads. But credit where credit is due having a song about us sounding like Janet Street Porter was pretty funny. 

"Next time I go to fucking Basingstoke, I'll ram a drumstick up his ring piece"

 I think that unless we really hit form over the rest of the season that any chance of hitting a playoff spot must have disappeared over the horizon and a mid-table position is the best we can look at. Yes, we beat Guernsey away and even beat Met Police before the trip to Ashford and then Basingstoke but this “One step forward, two steps back” is wearing a bit thin now. Disappointing when we know we have such great talent playing for us. The football Gods seem to have it in for us again. By the way…. Basingstoke lost at home to Chertsey 5-1 and at the time of writing this we are 13th in the league and just two points ahead of the relegation positions. I’m getting quite concerned about things seeing as how we sleepwalked into our last relegation. The club prides itself on the progression for young players but does anyone really think that scouts or representatives from further up the footballing pyramid are going to come to watch us in the Combined Counties where the crowds are under 60 in most cases or walk through a dark cemetery and along a frankly dangerous looking path to watch us play AFC Croydon in our “Big” derby game or walk along the busy A3 to watch us play Colliers Wood. 

 Most of the people I know and have contact with over at Toots like myself remain positive that we can and will turn things around…. But there are dark clouds looming. 

 Shout Out Time !!!!!!!!! 

 One good thing about my day out in Basingstoke was bumping into Megan on the way home who is one of the coaches from St Matthews Project. Always good to chat with people who help over at SMP. We have a number of links and friendships with the people there. Please visit: https://thesmp.net 

There is also a Youtube channel showing the work they do. Check out these links for a couple of short films on what they get up to: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCwQmu_sGrc 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNR8YR1Gx4I 

Spread the word please, so much negative press about young people especially in South London and yet there are so many people making a huge difference who never get mentioned. 

 As always, a big thanks to Jimmy and everyone over at the Ramble Inn up near Amen Corner in Tooting for all their support. They have done so much to bring people together and get them down to Tooting games over the last few years. 

 Last but not least, if you think that I’m the only highbrow footballing pundit over at Tooting and Mitcham then you’re in for a shock !!!! Go and visit those South London Is Black and White Herberts for far better Terrors related stuff all written by intelligent sensible people, not the rantings of a mad old bloke in Hackbridge. https://www.southlondonisblackandwhite.com

Up The Terrors !!!!!

Disappointing - Tooting Squid Game

Well, if you thought the last couple of blogs started on a low note this will not do your nerves any good whatsoever. 

As some of you know Sky TV are currently filming at Toots for what only could be described as a “Video Nasty” as they go behind the scenes getting footage from various people and places. They must have over 10 hours of film of Bog Enders shouting “For Fuck Sake” at the top of their voices and looking despondently into the air during our home games. In fact, the documentary should be called “For Fucks Sake, It’s Tooting and Mitcham” and have Harry Hill or John Bishop doing comedy commentaries. Or Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett could do an episode of "Rob & Romesh Vs...” and get them to play Tooting and Mitcham in a penalty shootout. Anyway, Sky have now started filming away matches and were at South Park which to the great delight of their players, officials and supporters ended with Toots getting beaten 2-0. South Parks social media full of the fact that Sky were at the game and that they won. Who can really blame them? One plus point I wasn’t there…. And that’s about all I can add on the matter. 

In all truth this season has started dreadfully, to have Sky there filming it all, is the icing on the very large cake. So, with all this in mind I find myself heading over to the Wild West to top of the table Uxbridge FC with a sense of foreboding hanging over me. The official club Facebook and Twitter accounts later described the game as "Disappointing". To be 2-0 up after a very good first 45 minutes and to be in complete control of a game but to then surrender the with 3 dreadful defensive mistakes is a bit more than "Disappointing". Straight from the kick-off for the second half we looked all over the place as Uxbridge set out to salvage something from the game. Toots should have set out to defend straight from the restart. It would be interesting to see how many goals we have conceded in the first 5 minutes of games or in the first few minutes of the start of the second half. Since I've been watch Tooting and under all of the various coaching and managing set up’s we have always had problems switching on straight from the kick-off. This has cost us dearly over the years. Add in the number of red cards shown and you could have a very interesting spreadsheet to try and make any sense of. Take it from me, the small but very noisy group of travelling Terrors making the journey to yet another West London industrial estate to see Toots take on the league leaders left the ground feeling a little bit more than disappointed. And yet again, Sky had been there to film it all........... 

Now on Sky Sports its "For Fuck Sake, It's Tooting and Mitcham".

 It's all very well bringing more attacking options into the squad, but our defence is all over the place. We need to bring players in who can defend dead ball situations. A couple of big, experienced lumps in other words. Players who know how to hold onto a lead. I’m afraid, you’re not going to find these players in the ranks of the youth set ups. Unless this slump is turned around quickly then we will be in a relegation dog fight. This is not some melodramatic over the top comment made by a very angry blog writer on a Saturday night after yet another game when the team grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory. It is the truth. I can't see us making the play offs at the moment and winning the title is only going to happen if the teams above us have some kind of epic biblical collapse, or as TMUFC say a "Disappointing" set of results in the next few weeks. It's no use pinning all hopes on Academy and youth players and looking for the "Next Antonio" if we are in the Combined Counties playing in front of crowds of under 50. The Tooting support at Uxbridge was less than I would have expected, already some regulars are staying away from away matches. I have a real worry that the good crowds at home games will drop if results don't improve. At this moment anyone living locally in South West London or Surrey with no ties or commitments to any team and just looking for a footballing fix have quite a few other options than watching us lose on a cold and wet Saturday as Winter approaches. 

 I along with plenty of others watched Frank Wilson's team play some good football at times and still go down. This season so far, feels very similar to that. Last but not least, I'll make one thing plain. I want Ash and Cornelius to succeed, I want the club to succeed. I'm not asking for changes in the coaching staff. I want this club, our club to move onwards and upwards. 

On reflection, I can’t knock the effort the team put in against Uxbridge or Bracknell and I’m told they played well at South Park. But the defence needs looking at sooner rather than later. 

Shout Out Time !!!!!!!!!! 

Thanks as always to Jimmy and everyone over at the Ramble Inn up near Amen Corner in Tooting for all their help and support...

Talking about great people, St Matthews Project are still doing great community work and putting on various events over the Half Term holidays.  Hope to see them soon over at Tooting Please go and visit: 

https://thesmp.net/ 

And show them the support they deserve.

If you need a bit more intelligence with your reading material than this. Go and visit those South London Is Black and White Herberts for far better Terrors related stuff than this rubbish I come out with  https://www.southlondonisblackandwhite.com/ 

I'm lead to believe we are up against each other in some Non League blog thingy.... Vote for them if you get the chance.... Far better than depressing bollocks x

 Up The Terrors !!!!

There's only one Harry...

Some things never change.... Summer turns to Autumn, tide’s ebb and flow, the moon rises and the sun sets.... Tooting and Mitcham go one nil down in the first five minutes and miss penalties... Mother Nature can be very cruel.

                  The Thinker

 It's quite mind blowing following the Mighty Toots. Brilliant one week, crap the next. I had high hopes for this season but it's looking as if we will need a huge change of fortune to get anything from this. The Footballing Gods have a cruel sense of humour. You never really know what will happen on a match day. I should imagine that neutrals must love coming along to our games as they are often eventful, even when the results go against us, it's worth watching. 

Since I last put pen to paper, or more truthfully fingered my keyboard, The Terrors lost to Thatcham, Drew with Sutton Common Rovers and beat Chipstead, but I'll skip past those a go straight to Northwood at home and the chance to get things moving again after rather a long break from league games which led myself and Ant heading to the South Coast to watch Seaford Town and a shorter trips to Raynes Park Vale and Colliers Wood for our Saturday Football fix. I can't lie, watching games where I don't really care of the outcome is quite liberating and it's nice to know the result won’t ruin your Saturday night or even the whole weekend. 

"Today, I'm meeting Footballs hardest ground hoppers"

 So, at last I found myself back at the home of football for the visit of Northwood for the first Saturday league game in a while. I miss the first part of the home games because of sorting out and working in the club shop so I missed the first 20mins, but we went in at half time 3-2 up. Four goals in the second half at least giving me something to cheer. Got to be honest now, scoring seven goals is great but letting in three goals and seeing as Northwood also hit the post and missed a couple of sitters is worrying to say the least. 

Next up Whitehawk in the FA Trophy which we ballsed up quite spectacularly losing 4-1 at home and even managed to miss yet another fucking penalty which if it had gone in could have made a huge difference as we could have gone on to salvage something from the game.... or we would have just lost 4-2. Mind you they missed a penalty as well. Either way Toots need to sort out this penalty jinx as even the most ardent Bog Enders just shrug their shoulders when we get a spot kick now and look at each other with a knowing look in their eyes.

Can’t really say we played that badly, but finishing was a again our main problem. A couple of good saves from the Whitehawk goalie stopping any chance of us getting back into the game. 

So, no trips to Wembley this season. Out of both the FA Cup and Trophy at the first hurdle which is a big blow financially to the club and at a time where every club is having to try and get more money to help the running of things means a bit of a disaster over at Fortress Imperial. 

The league is still the main priority and it's important for the club to get out of the division we find ourselves in, so anything less than making the play offs will not go down well. Promotion means bigger gates as there are more travelling away fans in the top Isthmian Division as well as the chance to play more of our historical rivals. Glad to say that our defence of the London Senior Cup started well with a 4-1 victory over Redbridge. It's a competition I think we all regard with a great deal of fondness. Another good run in this please.... 

 So last one of the hattrick of home games saw the visit of Bracknell Town in what I was hoping to be a top of the table clash when the fixtures first came out. Our visitors winning one nil with a first half goal. The Terrors played well and should have come away with at least a point, but Bracknell defence worked well as a unit and were able to deal with everything we threw at them during the second half. Well, we didn’t concede after two minutes or miss any penalties. But we need a change of fortunes as the top five clubs are pulling away from the others leaving us in the mid table positions. A good performance yes but no points to show for the hard work. 

Even with all the gloom and doom, crowds are still healthy and going up. Loads of new faces coming to home games and becoming regulars. A crowd of over 260 for the Bracknell game. There's lots going on at TMUFC and if you can help out on match days please do. Even if you have Twitter, Facebook or any of the other social media platforms please follow other Terrors and the Official Accounts and help spread the word on fixtures and up and coming events. Just a couple of seconds on a smart phone or PC can do so much to help both the Club and supporters’ groups etc. 

 Before the Northwood game Some chap came up to me at the shop and asked if I was "Harry" Of course, I thought he was meaning Hackbridge Harry, thinking he must follow and be a huge fan my in-depth football punditry and match analysis on Twitter... Mr Chuckles was in fact taking the piss and meant that I looked like Harry Kane. How I laughed. I look more like Brad Pitt as everyone who knows me will back up. I've never been so insulted and even that big poo pants Totts at Sutton has never stooped that low.... Talking of which the way Sutton are taking points off everyone in League Two there is a chance of them having a very successful season. Just think in about four years’ time they could be playing Champions League games at Gangrene Lane while we’re missing penalties in our big derby game with Chipstead after going one nil down in the second minute…. I hate football.

Tooting and Mitcham 1 Whitehawk 4