Massive Staines

For most people if you mention the expression Staines Massive they will automatically think of Ali G and the hit comedy show. For Tooting and Mitcham followers the expression Staines Massive means "Massive Score line" and the heavy defeats inflicted on Toots over the years. The promotion year and the two heavy defeats early in the season were the writing on the wall... In six-foot-high letters which may have got slightly over looked. Staines beat us 2-1 at home earlier on in the season but this must be viewed as an improvement to both results before. They even stuffed us in a preseason friendly a couple of years ago. So, it's not looking good for the trip West as Tooting and Mitcham must have around 73 bogie teams, but Staines statistically over resent years are right near the top of that long depressing list.

                                                                    Massive Staines

But let’s not kid ourselves, football isn't meant to be fun in most cases and for most supporters, football is 99% misery and 1% joy. Have you ever met a happy Tottenham Supporter? We might throw in the occasional horrendous bad result but generally following The Terrors is a laugh and even heavy defeats don't stop the Bog End from turning out in numbers week after week. Addicts to "Black and White Joy" and Trifles. Although most of us at some point when leaving the ground have had to talk Tim Magone out of jumping into the Wandle after yet another home defeat and I now keep a pair of wellington boots in the boot of the car just in case need to leap into the darkened depths and fish him out like a scene from Baywatch. So I hope you all have the mental image of me bouncing down the A217 in a sexy red swiming costume burning into your brain. 

So I set off West not at all confident of getting anything after hearing Connor French was out injured and Hady missing the game as he is on trail with Charlton Athletic, really hope it works out for him there.

                                                               Paranoid

 The game ended 1-1 which must be looked as two points dropped if the league table is to be believed. A first half penalty for them cancelled out by another great goal from Jamarie Brissett. A combination of good saves, near misses and in truth some bad finishing cost us all the points. I can't fault the effort shown by the team though, but the end finishing needs to be addressed as we reach the final run in for this year. Still in a good chance of the play offs but outright promotion may be slipping away as Ware keep getting results. Another good turn out of travelling Terrors in what was quite a small crowd. Yet again we must have come close to making up half of the crowd. No sign of Ali G either. We play Westfield on Tuesday which is looking like a very important game for both clubs. Fair to say they all are from now on...

 

 

 

I went for a job interview in Staines a couple of years ago and although it meant more pay and better working conditions I was quite happy when I didn't get the job. It would have been a long and expensive commute every morning from Hackbridge Towers and well you get to my age the thought of spending hours on a sodding train to get job satisfaction does not appeal too much. I did however after getting feedback from the interviewing panel, changing the hobbies and interests’ part of my CV from "Leather fetish football violence roleplay" and Dogging to "Listening to Cliff Richard CDs"

I don't mention Tooting and Mitcham at interviews in case people think I'm some kind of weird deranged sadomasochistic pervert.

Up the Stripes !!!!!

The Joy of Six

The Joy of Six

So Dear Reader, we start this Bog End Type Blog Thingy with another home game, this time against FC Romania a club who had started a few years ago pretty much as a pub team. They have struggled this year which is a shame as they are a friendly mob but this is football and on the day the Mighty Tooty Wooty Boys were in no mood to be nice and of course with us playing FC Romania I get to mention The Cheeky Girls yet again and also get to mention those Hammer Horror Films from the 60,'s and 70's and my all time favorite actress Ingrid Pitt... Yes I know she was from Poland but this is my blog and I loved her. I met her once at a book signing in Central London, a boyhood dream came true. She was lovely and chatted to all of us there, who it must be said were all male between the ages of 35 to 60.

Back to football... The mountains and castles of Transylvania, I'm told does looks a lot like Cheshunt where FC Romania play their home games at the moment and they must have travelled "Down South" in a optimistic mood of a Vampiric bloodbath seeing as our home form had been rather pants recently. But six first half goals sent those Cheeky Boys back up Norf feeling well and truly spanked. Aparently scoring six goals in the first half is a new club record.... I also remember Chatham scoring five goals against us in 15 mins a few years ago and I wouldn't mind betting that was a club record as well, but I'm over that now and only think about that game two or three times a day.

 

My First True Love

Two goals from Ahkeem Belford and further goals from Lawrence Nzuruba, Jamarie Brisset, Danny Bassett and Connor French meant we got the three points and help to improve our goal difference. Another good crowd of 275 watching a brilliant first 45 minutes and a rather flatter second half 45 minutes which was understandable seeing as the game was pretty much done and dusted by the time both team came out after half time.
I hope FC Romania get some results go there way as I have a bit of a soft spot for them and hope they stay up. So an Ingrid type sexy six goal wonder game which both Besty and Lee missed therefore proving they both may well be jinxes after all.

 

Spanktastic Result For The Tooty Terrors

Next up for the "Mighty Toots" was a trip to Erith for the QF of the London Senior Cup was to end in a 2-1 defeat, which is a shame. The chance to possibly play AFC Wombledon or Brentford away at Griifen Park ended in South East London after we went 1-0 up from a goal from DMG. I really enjoy The London Senior Cup but alas for this season it is not to be. It's often said we play in too many cup compititions during the season and there may be some truth in that but I'd like to think TMUFC will always take the LSC seriously

With the club still in a very good position of making the play offs or a chance of getting the outright promotion slot, the league must be the priority so maybe not having the distraction of any further cup games could be a blessing. Well I hope so anyway. 

Next up for The Terrors is a trip to Staines... A team it could be said have bee a right pain over the last few seasons...

Shop (Table) news.... We are running low on stocks but will be getting a new design of scarf in soon and more beanie hats for those with cold heads. Hope to get them sooner rather than later and I've kept on at our supplier to pull his finger out..... ish

You'll all be pleased to know that my harmonica skills are improving although I've been getting negative feed back from Jackie who does the turnstiles at home games but I will carry on. I bet Nozart, Paul Lennon and John McCartney also had to put up with criticism, but like them I will not give in to Haters and Trolls.

 

Yes Hackbridge Harmonica

Up The Stripes !!!!!

5 MINUTE WARNING

Happy New Year Dear Reader 

 

Well it's been quite a while since I put finger to keyboard to discuss The Mighty Toots and their quest for Footballs Top Tier in an all conquering run of matches defeating all that fall before them...ish
Been really busy at work and being under the weather meaning I've not been my usual "Happy go lucky self".  My new job role as Prince Andrews PR advisor seems to be going really well though, so I'll try and be a bit more blogy from now on.
In my absence, hopefully you will have seen the stuff those cheeky chaps at South London Is Black and White have been putting up on their excellent page thus allowing me to lead a Blog few weeks while dealing with other things.

www.southlondonisblackandwhite.com

Please contact them if you want to help or add anything to what they do and make sure you follow them on Twitter as well.
@TaM_BaW

 A number of people send stuff on to be put online including players and coaching staff as well as supporters both new to the club and old grumpy regulars. Far better than my bitter and twisted rubbish and some of them seem to know a fair bit about football which again make a nice change from my wild guess work about what happens.

 

The travelling Bog End at Northwood proving that having a good education and following Toots does not often go hand in hand

 

 

As some of you know I run the Club Shop, when I say shop I mean the moss covered old wooden table which is inside the ground by the turnstiles at Fortress Imperial. I'd like to thank everyone who has bought stuff, which has helped the Supporters Club to pass on funds for training equipment and allowed us the donate merchandise to various groups and people and allowing us the spread the word about Tooting and Mitcham. I'll be getting new stock in shortly and hope to have a new range of scarves for sale soon.

 

New club shop stock available Mid February

The other thing which happens when running the table is that I miss the  first few minutes of the game putting stuff away or helping out with other stuff by the entrance. This as regular Terrors will tell you means I miss the team going one nil down within the first five minutes of each home game.
Or in the case of the resent Chipstead game by the time I'd put the club shop stuff away and gone to have a wee wee Toots were already two nil down.

It's a bit of a mystery how we can play so well away from home and win some really noticeable games and seem to go out of our way to balls things up at home.
But as anyone following Tooting and Mitcham will tell you that giving early goals away has been the case for the last few years. At the time of writing we have lost two home games on the trot after going down early on. Our away form still keeping us in with a good shout of the play offs but this does need to be sorted out sooner rather than later if we are to finish in the Play Off places at the end of the season. Away from home is a totally different matter. The games away at Chertsey Town and Northwood being brilliant days out for the travelling Bog End. If you do get the chance to get to an away match you'll find that we regularly take good numbers to most matches and we are rather vocal when visiting the Morris Dancing villages from Surrey and Middlesex.

Good to see Lee from The St. Matthew Project becoming a regular at Terrors home games which gives us both a chance to have a good moan about life in general which seems to act as much needed counselling sessions for us both. Along with Besty from the South London is Black and White mob he seems to think that he has brought bad luck to Fortress Imperial when he turns up. But I can assure them both that Tooting and Mitcham are quite capable of losing games no matter who turns up to cheer them on

Please have a look at the great work they do  by clicking on the link below

St. Matthews Project

Give them a follow on Twitter as well

@smpbrixton

 

I'll finish on a really positive note. There is a real good feeling about the place now and that is taking into consideration that we've just lost yet another home game. Crowds are still looking good and been growing this season. More and more new faces coming through the turnstiles and more people getting involved behind the scenes. Another special mention for all the regulars and staff from The Ramble Inn at Tooting who have turned up to home and away games over the last few seasons.

 

There are some good people following the team and there is a far better atmosphere at Tooting games than I'll admit there has been in the past. The club has come on in leaps and bounds off the pitch and that is all thanks to people who help out in various ways. Far too many to mention on here and I always worry that I'll forget to thank someone  but a big Hackbridge kiss to all of you x

Come along and make a difference. Say hello if you see me flogging badges and fridge magnets
You can't miss me.

 

Up The Terrors !!!!!!!

 

Reg Vardyians

Northwood...... Northwood...... The pain and anguish from our visit there last season is still etched into my feeble minded brain no matter how hard I try to stop thinking about it...... Northwood.... Northwood....
The Horror.... The Horror..... Winning 3-1 with a few minutes to go Toots managed to let in 3 goals and turn a comfortable win into a defeat of biblical proportions. But Dear Reader I'm over it now, I never ever think of that day.... Not once.

 

Now it's there turn to visit Fortress Imperial for our fourth game of the Victor Meldrew South Central campaign. It's also The TMUFC family fun day. So no stress, worry or blind panic as I set off to see if the Terrors could make it four wins in a row. Northwood almost putting a damper on the game by going ahead in the first half after having a goal disallowed earlier on. Toots seemed a bit out of sorts in the 1st half but came out in a far better mood for the second 45mins. An equaliser from Danny B set up a nervous finale as Toots pushed forward as Northwood looked to score from counter attacks. Well into injury time the fantastically talented Razzaq Coleman scored, sending Fortress Imperial into some pretty mental scenes as only last minute goals can do.
It was also the TMUFC family day and a good crowd of just under 300 turned out for the afternoon. Great to see Tooting MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan at the game and hope to see her back again soon.

A big thanks to everyone who helped make the day a sucess. One of the really positive things this season is the amount of volunteers who help out on match days doing various jobs. This really does help improve the whole match day experience and means more things can be arranged and run behind the scenes  

 
Sunday and another trip to the Fortress to see Tooting Bec play Walton and Hersham play out a very entertaining game in the FA Vase. W&H winning 4-2. Tooting Bec our new tenants playing some good football but undone by a couple of great goals by the visitors. 

A reasonable crowd including supporters from Sutton United, TMUFC and a few ground hoppers

As I've said before Non League football is far far better than people seem to imagine. Two days, two games and still change out of a twenty pound note for admission and programmes for myself and Ant. Add a couple of quid for food and drinks still far less spent on watching mercenary premiership players going through the motions for a weekly wage that would cover the playing budgets of two or three Non League clubs for a year.

Another trip to Gangrene Lane for another Friday night FA Cup match for Sutton Common Rovers this time against Beaconsfield was next on my hectic lifestyle, an enjoyable game but it was not to be SCR night as they lost 3-1. I was hoping they would get through for the chance to play them at Suttons ground. It's about time we played there again.

      The Greggs Superstore on Sutton High Road.... The only reason to go to Sutton
                                                                   this season ?

 

Anyway sod them. The big game this weekend was the visit of AFC Varndeanians to Fortress Imperial for the FA Cup fixture. A couple of years ago the Footballing Gods seemed to have it in for the Mighty Toots, well the Terrors got a huge hand from them as just before we scored our first goal the Ref and Linesman missed a nailed on hand ball in the penalty area which the South Coast side were quite understandably pissed about. TMUFC pretty much scoring at the other end a couple of seconds later. Good job VAR was not in operation but it's about time we had some luck. Goals from Nathan Daly, David Castanho and Nebay Haile sealed the 3-1 win which takes us into the next round. A crowd of 260 at the game including a number of Varndeanians who brought more than most of the other teams in the Victor Meldrew South Central will do.

 

                                          Varndeanians on the starboard side Captain

Spent the second half with Lee from St. Matthews Project and what a top chap he is. St. Matthews links with Tooting and Mitcham are getting stronger and that can only be a good thing. Although we spent the whole of the 45mins moaning just like charectors from a bad episode of "Last Of The Summer Wine"

 

Please play them a visit and find out more about this fantastic group :

 

http://www.thesmp.net/

We have drawn Dorking Wanderers at home in the next round. A town famous for it's massive cock statue and little else. Saying that they are a team that have had a huge amount of sucess since we just beat them to the title in Franks second year so maybe I'm just jealous of sucess on the pitch and large cocks in general. Winable but it will be tough. Probably at good job it's at home. I'm sure they will bring a few over to add to the crowd, hope so anyway.

 

Massive Big Cock

 

Missed two events during the week. A league cup fixture at South Park and a 2-1 victory in the group stages. Why the league has thought this to be a good idea is totaly beyond me but "Hey Ho" a win is a win. Also missed the meet the manager get together at the ground die to work which was a shame and something I was hoping to attend. I work in a government office in Westminster as as you may have noticed there has been a lot going on there over the last few days, keeping your truely stuck at work sorting out various problems caused by the loons running the country.

 

Missed the 1-1 draw away to Harlow which means we have gone 8 games unbeaten so far this season. Fantastic stuff from the Terrors which has lead to much happiness and laughter in Hackbridge Towers over the last couple of months.

 

Talking of laughter the club will be holding a comedy night this coming Friday 20th Sept. So head over to Fortress Imperial for a night of chuckles and smiles which is not rhyming slang for piles. I'll be signing autographs and showing off my Twerking skills so be there early.

Up The Stripes !!!!!!
 

Wemmmmberleeeey

The magic of the FA Cup. A competition which has given me so many happy moments over the years, not with Toots obviously as my main FA Cup moment with TMUFC was seeing Bog End Ant get strung by a wasp at Leatherhead while we lost the game heavily. But I can dream of cup glory every season. On the way to Hertford while driving along the North Circular myself and Ant spotted in the distance the Wembley Arch from the middle lane on the Hangar Lane Gyratory System, rising high on the North London skyline like a giant toilet seat slowly closing on some kind of megalithic porcelain pan. Could this be our year. The Final against Manchester City on a hot day in May in front of a world wide television audience of millions...

 

                         The horrible type of online cyber bullying that I have to put up with.


Started off the FA Cup weekend with a trip to Gangrene Lane to watch Sutton Common Rovers game against Eastbourne Town for another Friday night footie fest. Meet up with those Pier Pressure chaps who kindly made up some limited edition stickers for myself and the cyber troll bastard face Bornatotter. A good set of chaps who are well worth following on Twitter etc. @TownUltras
Fame at last Dear Reader. I'm known in Eastbourne !!!!!!! and I'm still under 60

 

Fame at last

SCR winning the game the game 3-0. A good night out and an entertaining game from a neutral perspective. There are some good up and coming local clubs below us on the footballing pyramid.

Next on Saturday, it was time for the all conquering Terrors to start on the long long trip up to Wembley Way with a game against Kent Side Faversham Town. A comfortable 1-0 win in which their goalie made some fine saves although a good defensive preformance from Tooting made sure that there would be no trips to darkest Kent for a mid week replay. This also ensures my dream of being interviewed by the BBC match of the Day team on the day of the final without swearing, stuttering or soiling myself in front of Ian Wright could still come true. Again better finishing could have and should have killed the game off sooner, but a win is a win and our FA Cup journey continues. Of course I missed the only goal doing the Club Shop table thingy. We are hoping to end up in the old stewards room over at the far end of the ground once the turnstiles move. Until then look out for me shouting and yelling by the side of a scarf covered table.

 

No need to worry about missing the goal as Toots number one Vlogger Bog End Ant got it covered.

Bog End Ant - You Tube

Some more good stuff going online from those South London Is Black and White chaps going up on their blog. Please give the a follow and check out their stuff.

https://www.southlondonisblackandwhite.com/

 

 

"Another brilliantly written article by Warren" Father explained to the family

"Yes Father, Besty is very clever as well" said oldest daughter Elizabeth.

"But like Duncan's work the best" added Philip

"Better than that fucking bollocks Harry does" laughed Mother.

 

Next up was a trip down to visit the team who have become are biggest rivals according to the Victor Meldrew review of the season twitter and web site......... Chipstead..... Yes, those bastards

Bank Holidays often fall on various religious and pagan festivals so the locals may well have started the day by stripping down to their underpants and chasing a lard covered pig around the town square before watching the town elder throw a donkey off the church roof before heading over for the visit of The Mighty Terrors. One of Chipsteads staff mentioned that Tooting bring a good away support, most of whom seem a bit nutty... What could he possibly mean....

 

 

                                                         Local Team for Local People

 

Yet again The Terrors away following seeming to make up a large percentage of the Bank Holiday crowd. I bet a few of locals had wished they'd stayed at home and washed the lard off as Toots took the lead after a defensive mistake by Chipstead let Danny Bassett score an easy tap in. Being the true sportsmen we are we let them get back into the game after letting them score a free header from a free-kick. Toots scored the winning goal when another free-kick from Daryl Coleman twisted into the back off the net sending the travelling Toots into raptures.
Games against Chippy Town often get a bit spicey and Omari Hibbert got shown a harsh red card later on in the game after he was fouled, the Chipstead player only getting a yellow. A very hot afternoon which must of been hard to play in. Glad the ground has plenty of cover and shade for the snowflake fans like me. So another victory which leaves us second on goal difference. Yes still early days but things are looking good. 

I'm happy, Ant is happy and Mrs H is happy because we are happy. What a great way to spend a Bank Holiday Weekend. Come and join us on the Bog End, this could very well be the start of something special....

 

Just seen the draw for the next round of the FA Cup where we play AFC Vardenians who come from Brighton despite sounding like Dr Who villains from the 7th moon of Uranus.

 

                           "We've drawn Tooting and Mitcham in the next round, Make sure you

                                             iron my best Stone Island jumper you mug"

 

 

Wemmmmberleeeey !!!!!! 

Up The Stripes !!!

Here We Go

Right Dear Reader.... The friendlies are done and dusted and the real stuff begins. The summer holidays are nearly over and I'm ready for action. Beach Body Ready !!!!

 

 

                           Hackbridge Harry.... Beach body ready on the banks of the Wandle

 

 

Quite a few around in the Victor Meldrew South Central are tipping us to do well and the sense of self belief around Fortress Imperial amongst  the Black and White hoards is very positive.... So what could possibly go wrong.

 

 

First up was one of out furthest trips "Up Norf" to the land of the Wildlings, White Walkers, Whippets and coal mines....Hertford. Plenty of travelling Toots making the journey up the A1 to bolster the 160 crowd. One managing to tear his shorts outside the Wetherspoons in the town and then had to make a quick shopping trip around town to buy more clothing to cover his dignity.... Also found out that a couple of our fans made to trip to Harlow instead of Hertford. Both sober by the way who then had to get a cab over to the correct ground and match. I won't mention their names as I don't want to cause any embracement to Phil and Duncan Nightingale. Or Mitch the trouser ripper. Special mention to Besty and his choice of head gear. The man has a eye for fashion that many can never match in the world of male grooming and design.

 

 

 

Land of the Wildlings, White Walkers, Whippets

 

Hertford's pitch was dreadful and I was told that a number of issues behind the scenes there has lead to a number of problems there including the upkeep of the pitch. A shame as I've enjoyed games against them. This pretty much stopped our normal quick passing game and certainly had an bearing on the rest of the match. Toots scoring an 85 minute goal to take the three points which we deserved after a couple of great saves from the Hertford goalie and a few quite stunning misses. Good to see Omari Hibbert score and yet again DMG had another fantastic game. So a long drive back to Hackbridge Towers with massive grins on our faces for me and Ant.

 

Next up were Ashford Town at Fortress Imperial for our second league game of the season. 250 turning out on a lovely summer night to watch the Terrors win 3-1 in a game which they pretty much dominated with an excellent performance over the visitors. Toots had to play in their plum away strip due to problems getting the Victor Meldrew logos etc on the normal black and white kit. Not sure one bit about betting  companies getting involved with sponsership side of football and the possible influence they can have on games but that's a topic for people more knowledgable people than me..Hady scoring the first after six minutes with David Castanho getting the 2nd after Ashford had equalised with a brilliant diving header. Danny B settling any lingering nerves with the third.

Great to see the team carrying on the fast flowing football shown during the pre season and which hopefully will keep us in the hunt for the play offs. Although we still have a long way to go and as anyone who has supported TMUFC over the years will tell you we can never take things for granted, but this feels good.

 

 

THE HORROR....... THE HORROR.........

 

More new faces showing up at games and the social media side of things is getting better and better at Toots. Not my stuff obviously... God forbid I start coming across as normal and rational on here or on twitter. Please follow @hackbridgeharry for all the Dulwich and Sutton trolling you could ever want.

 

If you need a little more of a sensible view on Tooting and Mitcham, please pay a visit to those cheeky chaps at South London Is Black and White a visit

 

https://www.southlondonisblackandwhite.com/

 

 

And of course the perfect antidote to Sky and the BBC..... Bog End Ant and his Youtube Vlog

Always worth a visit

 

Bog End Ant - You Tube

 

 

 

 

 

One of the main things that stops people coming to watch Non League Football is the idea that some have is that it is no better than pub football or watching a kick about in a local park. There is some great football to be watched all around the country and at a faction of the price of watching VAR slowly kick all the fun out of scoring goals in the so called elite leagues. The joy of seeing the ball hit the back of the net and the fans celebrations all taken away by technology and so the media pundits can spend hours discussing incidents again and again to see and work out if Harry Kane nose was offside or a Burnley player had one of this six toes parallel  with the linesman flag. Football is such an exciting but simple game why ruin it and take away the best part of the whole experience. VAR could however be the best thing for Non League over the country as people get to see how it will kill the game. Plus the fact that you will have paid so much money for a match ticket to have a robot tell you when to cheer or not. We never did really work out how the Cylon Robots became so powerful in Battlestar Galactica or how the Cybermen built their space and time empire in Dr Who but mark my words, I often check my crystal ball and  VAR could just be the start of mankinds demise.  

 

Well will the mighty Toots rise like a majestic firey Phoenix into the top reaches of the Victor Meldrew South Central division or end up like a one legged pigeon eating cold kebab meat off a South London pavement, only time will tell. But join us on the Bog End to find out Dear Reader.... You are missing out on some good football if you choose to stay at home and watch Sky and the BBC kill the game we all love....

 

 

Up The Stripes !!!!!

Pre Season Pre Nerves

Well here we are Dear Reader, Hope you had a lovely break away from my tales of doom, gloom, happiness and joy. So it's the start of the new 2019 / 20 season and we get ready for the start of the Victor Meldrew South Central League.

We'd all been waiting a while for the return to Fortress Imperial and the start of the Pre Season friendlies and the team has looked really good in the first few games. Much as I love Mrs H and I'm sure she loves me, spending too much time in each others company while going around the Asda Beddington Lane on a Saturday has meant she has looked forward to the start of the season more than I have plus she gets to be free of Bog End Ant for a few hours. So it was to be a pretty busy Pre Season programme for me and Ant...

Mrs H looking forward to the start of the 2019-20 season as she gets to get rid of Hackbridge Harry and Bog End Ant on Saturdays


A number of players from last seasons squad had left as Frank Wilson took the reins over at Mertsham and took a number of our players with him after Hayden Bird had joined Kingstonian . I wish him and the departing players all the best over there. I hope the footballing Gods treat him better than they did in his last year at Toots. In truth losing a number of senior players caused a lot of worry on the various social media sites but the club have brought in some new faces and a returning hero Dean Hamlin to bolster the ranks. A number of youth players from last seasons Under 23 Champions have also been brought into the first team squad. Things are looking good and there was a full programme of pre season fixtures booked to help get the Terrors up and running for the new season.

To start with a two nil victory over Moist Molesley and then another two nil win over our next door neighbours Tooting Bec set things off nicely for our short trip over to Carshalton on July 13th, Toots turning out an impressive three nil win against the Robins who had a fantastic last season and have start pulling in some impressive crowds. They played a mixture from their squad which I'm told contained only a few first team players but even so the second half was great to watch from a Terrors or Neutral perspective. Goals from Filipe, Hibbert and Danny Bassett who may or may not have swapped the delights of playing in Canvey Island and returned to up market Mitcham to play his football. Next up a home game on the fantastic looking home pitch against Reading who played a mixture of youth team players and trialists. Toots winning the game 3-2 with another excellent performance against the Championship Club. The Terrors switched of a bit at the end allowing the visitors to score two late goals.

Saturday 20th July we had a visit from our old friends from down the A3, Corinthian Casuals, a friendly club that prove that not all teams that play in pink are bastards. An 12:30 kick off was a shame as the Casuals would probably brought a larger away following to the game. A hard fought game which seemed to be heading to be a 0-0 draw until two late goals for The Terrors gave us victory. Tooting Bec also played Sheerwater on the day allowing me and Bog End Ant to fit in two games in a day. Also on the same day Dulwich Hamlet played Tottenham over in the Sainsburys Car Park. People call Football the "Beautiful Game" but every now and again footballs ugly side shows it's face... And it doesn't get much uglier than that.

 

                                                         Dulwich Hamlet v Tottenham

Next to visit us and play up the rear pitches were Greenwich who gave us a good work out and we got a 2-1 victory. They seem to be having a bad time off the pitch since the last time we played each other during our Championship season which is a shame. Which as anyone can tell you with Football is that is doesn't take much for things to go tits up.
Hastings then arrived at Fortress Imperial for another PSF. I'm told they expected the game to be played on the main pitch and weren't to happy about being taken up the rear to play on the 3G pitch.
I missed most of the game due to trying my hardest to sort out the millions of programmes we are going to be selling from the new super doper club shop on match days during the forthcoming season.
Hastings well beaten 3-1 I'm told by Bogend Ant who shows not in the slightest bit of bias when discussing Terrors games.

Next up was a trip over to Gander Green Lane to see Sutton v Barnet play out a 1-1 draw. I used to go and watch Barnet when living "Up Norf" so have a bit of a soft spot for those Bee types. Also allowed me to spend some quality time with "Dirty Barry" and Sutton guitar hero @bornatotter for a night of serious debate. Next game for myself and Ant was the friendly against a strong Charlton Athletic under 23 team who were to beat us 2-0 it what was to be an entertaining close game which despite the result still gives us Terrors a lot to look forward to. Point of interest was that Ex Terror Abraham Odoh scored the Robins second goal from the penalty spot.  Last two games involved another trip to GGL this time to watch Sutton Common Rovers play Moist Molesley in the early stages of this seasons FA Cup. An interesting 1-1 draw made for a good Friday night entertainment. I do enjoy Friday night games and wish that Toots got the chance to play a few. Last up on my Pre Season was Ramsgate at Fortress Imperial for a pretty ordinary 1-1 draw with out visitors from Kent going 1-0 up before a last equaliser from Shamal Edwards.

Really looking forward now to the start of the season and to see how we have improved from last year. We were pretty much undone by the bad start which cost us any chance of making the play offs. I still maintain that we were our own worst enemies last season and that a good number of dropped points were due to our own mistakes rather than the opposition teams good play. We've lost a number of the squad from last season but with four of them joining League teams it proves that the plan the club has got going at Tooting and Mitcham is paying dividends. Lexus Beedon finally joining Reading and Saidou Khan joining Maidstone. The club is getting an excellent reputation for it's youth set up. This of course could be a double edged sword which means any good players will move on but it also gets the club known for having good players which will hopefully help put bums on seats.

                                  "They play in Pink and Blue, Their goalie smells of Poo"

Off the pitch we have lost long time supporters with Dave McCann and Martin Harvey and our deepest sympathies go out to their families. Very Sad.
In other news former Surrey FA boss Caroline McRoyall has joined TMUFC as the Clubs Chairperson and we all wish her the best of luck in her new position.
There are a lot of changes going on at Tooting and Mitcham and the clubs has changed for the better, more people helping out and getting involved behind the scenes and there is a really good vibe about the place now.


Fingers crossed Dear Reader....
Up The Stripes !!!!