Lopo’s View

It’s been an interesting several months, a mixture of high, low and unbelievable moments which seem to be a regular occurrence as a Boro fan! 

We finished last season well with a long unbeaten run and another Trophy win. However the 4^th May 2009 will not be a day to remember as we surrendered a 3-1 lead at The Abbey. I went into that game feeling confident that we would go there and get to Wembley however tactically we got it wrong and paid the price for missed chances, poor refereeing decisions and generally just poor tactics. 

My wounds were healed slightly by winning the FA Trophy again against York but it was a comfortable game for us and we deserved to win. The victory also saw Steve Morison play his last game for us and he went out in style scoring the opening goal and being given the man of the match. It wasn’t my personal choice as I felt Ronnie Henry was brilliant at right back and Andy Drury played very well in the whole just behind Moro and Boylan. 

With Morison’s departure a replacement was never going to be easy to find, however Graham Westley swooped to sign Charlie Griffin from Salisbury who scored 21 league goals last season. When he first arrived I was unsure, but I kept being reminded of 21 league goals he scored in a team worse than our own! So far Griffin hasn’t quite lived up to our expectations however I’m sure there is more to come. 

Joel Byrom’s arrival for £15k was seemingly a good deal as he was very highly rated by Northwich fans and I think, potentially, he could be a good player for us. He was brought in along with Stacy Long as a replacement for the outgoing Gary Mills who decided Mansfield was a bigger club for him to move to! Byrom’s red card against Tamworth was a bit stupid but he is still young and I am confident he will find his feet soon. Yemi Odubade is without doubt an impact player with electric pace. It’s enough to give defenders at any level nightmares, but hasn’t been given much of a chance so far with just a couple of substitute appearances and a tap in at Oxford on Saturday to his name. 

Stacy Long was, in my opinion the best signing of the summer, however so far Westley hasn’t quite found him a place in the side with Mitchell Cole continuing on the left. It’s a real shame as I feel Long is a very good player and hopefully he will be given an opportunity to find his feet and kick on. Chris Beardsley was the final signing of the summer and one that I was slightly unsure of initially, but after seeing him against albeit a poor Ebbsfleet team I felt he offered a bit more than Griffin and deserved his goal too. 

This season so far has shown players in a different light such as Lawrie Wilson picking up some good form and looking twice the player he was last term. The start of the season has also highlighted a few worries about a couple of our other players. Darren Murphy in my opinion has not improved enough and seems to lack pace and technical ability to cut it at this level. He is strong and gets stuck in, but sometimes that does lead to his downfall especially with poor officials blowing their whistle every 2 minutes! Some people have criticised John Ashton and in some ways I would agree, but I definitely prefer him at the back and Bostwick playing in midfield. I think the team is far more balanced when Bostwick is in the middle. 

The squad is generally in good shape, however it seems that “so near but yet so far” is our motto, especially after last season’s defeat in the play-offs. After Woking’s relegation to the Blue Square South last season, we are now officially the longest serving team in the Conference! That is something that will hopefully be changed soon by winning promotion to the football league. It’s going to be another long hard season ahead with inevitably more drama, but hopefully more success.

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