Lopo’s View: January transfer window special

January 18, 2011 Leave a Comment

The much awaited January transfer window opened 17 days ago and up to now only one arrival has been made whilst 3 of Boro’s Conference winning side have moved on to pastures new. Let’s have a closer look at the business done so far…

Byron Harrison arrived on New Year’s day in time for the trip to Gillingham. I thought he might be a member of the youth system until his name was announced and a quick google later made me realise that he in fact was a former Carshalton and Ashford Town forward who had been fairly prolific in the lower leagues. He did ok against Gillingham, but was starved of service and looked a bit raw. I would certainly like to see him get a bit more of a chance though.

First out the door was Lee Boylan. It’s been a frustrating year or so for Lee with injuries limiting his first team opportunities. It’s a problem that has pretty much hampered his career. During his first season he managed to stay fit and went on to score 14 goals. He was seemingly the man to play up with Morison, but this season in particular Boylan has struggled with injuries, making his release unsurprising when it was finally announced.

Second to go was Peter Vincenti, again no real surprise after he was loaned out to Mansfield earlier this season, but I think PV had a bit more to offer despite not being technically not as good as other players in the squad. Tim Sills was also released after returning from Rushden. I was a fan of Sills despite some of his critics. He seemed to have a bit more to offer than some other strikers in the squad, especially as a target man, which you would have suited Westley’s style of play. With him and Vincenti joining league 2 rivals Aldershot, let’s hope they don’t come back to haunt us!

One other player who left the club earlier this month was Terry Dixon. It seemed like the club and Dixon couldn’t agree terms. Maybe being a talented youngster playing for Spurs and West Ham didn’t help Dixon when injury hit him. This is just an impression I get when speaking to other people who know more about him than me. You hear good things about his ability, but when he joined he was clearly overweight. He worked hard to appear a couple of times albeit for limited minutes.

I wish all these players the best in the future, but now on to the who we might sign or won’t sign or simply who we’ve just been linked with!

Plenty of names have been thrown about and I will choose a few and look at their pros and cons etc.

Shaun Harrad
After refusing to sign a new contract at Burton, with his current deal running out in the summer, it looks like Harrad is on the move whether it be January or in the summer. He is a player who always seems to score and play well. However, is he a realistic signing for us? Joining Boro wouldn’t necessarily be a big step up, but I haven’t heard that he has been linked with any other teams so maybe for the right price it could be a possibility.

Danny Kedwell
Highly rated forward in the Conference and I’m sure he will be linked to more clubs as the month goes on. Is he better than we have already got though?

Michael Rankine
Currently at York City. Westley had Rankine during his time at Rushden & Diamonds. He’s a tall and physical striker that I think would do well at Stevenage. He isn’t a prolific goalscorer, but is a player that will put in 100% and work the channels. I do think we have too many strikers like him though in Beardsley and Griffin.

Chris Holroyd
During his earlier loan spell I quite liked Holroyd. He seemed like a bit of a goal predator which is what we need, however Brighton took him back and a couple of sub appearances is as far as it’s got since his return to the Withdean. With his contract running out in the summer there could be a deal made, but I personally can’t see it as much as I would like to.

Kevin Phillips
The least likely to sign, but stranger things have happened. He has confirmed he wants to leave Birmingham and his goal scoring record is there for all to see. High wage demands and a potential move to Celtic are most likely to scupper any deal but veteran striker might fancy a deal a bit closer to ‘home’.

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Our success shouldn’t come as a shock

January 14, 2011 Leave a Comment

Below is a guest post I wrote for twofootedtackle.com earlier this week. Two Footed Tackle is a blog devoted to the world of football, covering the Premier League right down to non-league. You can follow them on Twitter via @twofootedtackle.

Stevenage’s 3-1 victory over Newcastle United at the weekend may have shocked the nation, but those who have followed the club over the last few years will tell you that they were not surprised to see a Premier League side turned over at fortress Broadhall Way.

The club have come a long way since the name of ‘Stevenage Borough’ was first thrown into the limelight. The FA Cup runs of the late 90′s and the two games against Newcastle in 1998 were what stuck in people’s mind when reminded of the little non-league side from Hertfordshire. Last season changed that. Graham Westley took over the club for a second time in 2008 and steered the club to the Conference title in his second season back at the helm. Football League status was achieved, 14 years after being denied due to an inadequate stadium.

Westley has built a strong, physical side that has adapted well to their first season in League 2. The team is comfortably in mid-table and with a couple of astute signings in January, a play-off push may not be out of the question. The main focus this season has been surviving in the League and as a result the FA Cup has taken a back seat. Unlike previous years, the club didn’t have to go through any qualifying stages and were put straight through to the round 1. 

MK Dons were Boro’s opponents in the first round. An uneventful draw at Stevenage meant a replay at stadium:mk. It was at this point that the prospect of AFC Wimbledon meeting MK Dons in the 2nd round was looking like a real possibilty. Boro were 1-0 down for a large period of the replay and were seconds away from going out until Darius Charles grabbed a last minute equaliser to take the game to extra time and penalties. A mammoth shoot-out followed and a Matias Doumbe miss meant that it would be Boro who would face the Wombles, ruining ITV’s plans for a Wimbledon reunion.

Stevenage overcame Conference leaders AFC Wimbledon with a professional display at Kingsmeadow. The 2-0 win meant that Boro were safely into the velvet bag for the 3rd round draw, where they drew Newcastle United, 13 years since that infamous tie that captured the nation. The build up for the game had a very different feel. After the media circus in 1998, there was very little this time around. A much more professional approach by both clubs.

Even the walk to the ground was more low key. I remember my Dad really struggling to get a parking space anywhere near the ground in 98, but I got parked easily in my usual space on Saturday, with my Dad in the passenger seat. There were not the big queues on Broadhall Way, nor the market traders with their trolleys of half and half scarves and flags made specifically for the game.

Stevenage started the game nervously, but their Premier League opponents failed to stamp their authority on the game. Gradually, the home side began to come into the game more and more. Chances were being created and when the half time whistle blew, it was Boro who found themselves unfortunate not to be ahead. Boro started the second half strongly and took the lead when Stacy Long’s shot deflected in off Mike Williamson. It was 2-0 just 5 minutes later as Michael Bostwick took full advantage of being given space at the edge of the box to fire in the second.

Joey Barton grabbed a goal back in the 90th minute to threaten a nervy finish, but Boro killed the game off when Peter Winn slotted in a third in injury time. The victory was complete, but it didn’t have that same sense of achievement that the draw in 1998 did. The class of 98 were part-time footballers playing for a mid-table non-league side. Anything less than a 5-0 defeat would have been treated as a success back then. The same for the now professional 2011 side would have been seen as a disappointment. 

I suppose that Stevenage should take that as a compliment. It shows just how far they have come in a relatively short space of time. Competing against the likes of Portsmouth, Newcastle and Reading has become the norm this season and will do for many years to come. They are no longer recognised as the minnows of the FA Cup. They are an ambitious club that continues to push in the right direction. You will hear more from Stevenage in the future, but it won’t be a shock.

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Does Stevenage have talent?

August 18, 2010 1 Comment

I read an article on the Guardian website today and learned that last week’s England game ended with two players from Stevenage in the team. Aston Villa’s Ashley Young and Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere came on for Fabio Capello’s new look England side and helped them come from a goal down to win the game by 2 goals to 1. Out of the 17 players that made an appearance against Hungary, 12% were from the Hertfordshire town.

That’s not a bad stat considering the town only has a population of approximately 90,000, compared with the 51 million people of England.

It seems that Football is not the only sport thriving with talent from Stevenage. Of course, the most obvious example is Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, but others like Golfer Ian Poulter and Birmingham City footballer Kevin Phillips are also at the top of their respective sports.

This got me thinking. Why have Stevenage never been able to bring through any talent themselves when it is obviously out there? Will that change now the club has reached the football league?

I think the club’s youth system has always been pretty poor. When I first started watching Stevenage back in 1994, I remember the EFCO scheme. It was ok, it brought through a couple of players that made a handful of first team appearances, but on the whole it failed. These players would come on in a couple of games, look out of their depth and then eventually get released ending up at Hitchin, Arlesey or Boreham Wood.

The club has never really brought through any top class talent that could compete for a first team place at Boro or go on to play at a higher level. That said George Boyd came through the scheme after Boro picked him up after his release as a trainee at Charlton. Of course, we all know that he has gone on and become a success in the Football League.

I don’t know if it’s different now with the new Centre of Excellence installed over the summer, but I never got the feeling that Stevenage were out there to spot talent from the local area and try to bring players through themselves. I always thought that they were happy to wait for players to be released by League clubs and then bring them in after. It’s like they were resigned to the young players wanting to go to the “bigger” local clubs instead of sign for Boro.

When I played youth football in the Royston Crow League, I was aware of scouts from Watford, Luton and Norwich, but Stevenage never came to mind. I was aware of its EFCO scheme, but I don’t think the club ever had youth sides going from Under 11′s upwards like Barnet, Luton and Watford did. Maybe the fact that the club couldn’t offer a Football League environment was the reason that many good, young players from Stevenage and the surrounding areas opted to go to Watford or Luton instead?

Now we are a football league club, the appeal of signing for Stevenage will increase. I think being a league club will instantly bring a better quality of player into the club’s radar. Also, the fact that Luton are now no longer in the league may also assist Boro in trying to attract the local talent. The club have made the initial steps of setting up a centre of excellence and the trials in the summer yielded 8 new scholars that now have their chance to become professional footballers. Hopefully it’s just the start of a prosperous new era for the standard of youth players coming through the system at the club.

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Lopo’s View

August 13, 2010 Leave a Comment

Plenty of changes at BHW in the last few months, the most notable one being that we are now in the Football League! Despite a flurry of Luton goals and wins towards to the end of last season Boro’s consistency shone through to pick up the Blue Square Premier trophy for the second time in 14 years.

This time there was no rejection as the ground met Football League standards and the club seemed ready for the big time. Last season Stevenage went up breaking records on the way. With the current team spirit at the club, it wouldn’t surprise me to see us do well again this term.

The club changed their name back to Stevenage Football Club from Stevenage Borough back in the summer. Wallace has always been looking to change the name and going up seemed to bring this on. I’m not overly bothered personally, but I did like having Borough as it was unique (ish). Wallace said it was down to marketing the club which is fair enough. I just hope the council are still on our side if and when we need them.

In my opinion last season’s squad, as a whole, contributed towards our title win. There was no real stand out star, like in previous years with the likes of Barry Hayles and Steve Morison, who were all the media could talk about when Stevenage popped up. Having our top goalscorer score just 16 goals in all competitions shows how the whole squad contributed towards our success.

After a disappointing Trophy final defeat at Wembley it was a matter of playing the guessing game of who stays and who goes from the squad. There were some surprises such as Andy Drury opting to join Luton. A player, who before Stevenage had done little in his career. He had a chance in the Football League this season, but then blew it by joining non league Luton Town. That surprised me. That was until I heard the amount of money he was offered to join our neighbours. Whether he thought that the Football League might be a bit of a step up for him or whether money forced him to move, you have to think that this will backfire on him and he’ll end up nowhere before you know it.

Others to leave include Eddie Odhiambo and Mark Albrighton, unsurprising departures considering the little game time they both got last season. Both worked hard and were good backup players to have, but Newport and Kiddy have both picked up good players worthy of most BSP sides. Mitchell Cole, a player with so much talent, but little determination sums him up. He spends 20 minutes of a game on the floor and 60 minutes with his hands on his hips, but when Mitch is on fire then good luck to any right back up against him. Unfortunately his attitude means he’ll never play at the level he could potentially hit and when Westley offered him a new deal similar to a deal Michael Owen is on with appearance and contribution bonuses, he decided to join Oxford.

Coming in has been a mixture. Rob Sinclair or “Jesus” as he is known to some has done very well so far and looks a good replacement for Drury. Luke Foster has good experience and is a leader and again, so far, has done well despite being at fault for Macclesfield’s second goal on the opening day. I have seen little of John Mousinho due to injury, but comes with a good reputation and if Westley is right he may become a regular alongside Bostwick in midfield. Fierce competition from the likes of Byrom, Bridges and Murphy will certainly pressure him.

Darius Charles; I remember him playing against us at Stonebridge Road when we lost 4-0 and having a blinder at the back. Signing a defender from a relegated club is not always a good sign, but as backup I think he’ll do ok. Peter Winn, a player I knew little about before he joined, but someone Gateshead rated highly and during pre season he certainly filled the gap left by Mitchell Cole.

The frustrating thing about the summer is the lack of transfers up front, despite having 5 forwards in Charlie Griffin, Lee Boylan, Tim Sills, Chris Beardsley and Yemi Odubade, not having a forward who can consistently put the ball in the net is a real worry. This has been highlighted in the first 2 competitive games where we lacked composure up front. Chris Beardsley is a workhorse and will always give 100%, but the fact that he does not score enough goals does make you wonder whether his days are numbered at BHW. Lee Boylan is a good footballer, but unproven in the football league. Boylan was barely getting a game towards the end of last season and I for one expected him to go in the summer. Westley has given him a chance and it’s now make or break time for him to prove his worth.

Tim Sills is, in my opinion, the most underrated forward we have. Sillsy has found himself with little chance to prove what he can do even though he has only scored once since joining in January. I think he deserves a chance in the starting XI as he is a better target man than Beardsley or Griffin. Charlie Griffin had a good season last year all considering, chipping in with 14 goals and seems to be the most popular forward with Westley. I think the jury is still out for Charlie in the Football League, but got off to a good start against Macclesfield with a late equaliser. Don’t expect that every week though.

Yemi seemed to get better and better as the season went on last year, but this season is a big step up for him. I think he’ll do well, but may not score as many goals as the defences will be considerably better. He will still terrorise many defences with his pace and gave Martin Taylor a torrid time during pre season. I think we still need a “football league” striker. I liked the look of Chris Dickson and thought he could be a good choice, but it never looked likely to happen.

Two games in and apart from conceding from simple set pieces and crosses,I think we’re looking ok. I wouldn’t expect fireworks this year, but a steady mid-table season would suit me fine as we adapt to the higher level. Away to Bradford will be interesting as they are a big side in this division, who are expectant of promotion. It will be interesting to see how we get on as we are known to have struggled at bigger grounds in the past.

Macclesfield was a game the bookies had us down to win, but as any Boro fan knows we are slow starters and a draw in the circumstances wasn’t a bad result. Pompey was a good performance, but showed that we need a decent striker as Sonko and Wilson were mopping up any long ball up to Beardsley or Griffin.

All in all I’m looking forward to seeing how we get on this season, my expectations are not sky-high, but I certainly don’t want to be a non league side again!!

Come on Boro!

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Will Germany’s 4-2-3-1 system be the blueprint for the new season?

July 7, 2010 2 Comments

Germany have been one of the success stories of the World Cup so far. They have demolished the likes of Australia, England and Argentina and scored 13 goals in 5 games, conceding just 2 in that time. Their success has been based on a steady, organised backline combined with a deadly attack and that has propelled them from big outsiders to win the tournament to odds on favourites going into tonight’s Semi-Final with Euro 2008 winners Spain.  

A lot of Germany’s good play goes through their midfield three of Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil. Khedira has been the anchor man in the midfield alongside the box to box style of Schweinsteiger, who has been arguably the player of the tournament. Ozil is the playmaker in this system and his movement and vision brings the wide players of Podolski and Muller into the game. Those two have been given a licence to roam while Klose will finish anything he is given in the box.  

The system the Germans play is a more rigid version of the 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation Boro used last season. Westley played Bostwick in the defensive midfield role last year and then rotated Bridges, Byrom, Long and Murphy in the 2 positions ahead of him. Boro would then play 3 in attack which were also rotated regularly. However, with the loss of Andy Drury and Mitchell Cole plus the signings of 3 midfield players Robbie Sinclair, Peter Winn and John Mousinho, it got me thinking whether Westley will adopt a different system going into the new season?  

The signing of Mousinho tells me that Westley may want to shape up more defensively this season. Mousinho’s signing certainly gives us that option and is a good move for Boro. He’s an experienced league player and was a key component for Peter Taylor’s promotion winning Wycombe side a couple of seasons ago. He hasn’t joined us to play a bit part role. He will be in and around the first team along with Michael Bostwick, who also signed a new contract. They are two players that if fit, will be in GW’s side.  

As they are both defensive minded players, Bostwick and Mousinho could play in those two positions in midfield behind a playmaker. It’s a position that would have been ideal for a Boyd, Miller or Drury and is one where I think Joel Byrom could make his own. He didn’t really shine in his first year at Stevenage, but improved as the season went on and would be a big asset in a free role behind the lone striker.

This formation would certainly suit the players we currently have at the club. The defence was very settled last season and that has been strengthened in the summer. Midfield is also looking healthy and while we may not have a “prolific” goalscorer in the style of a Klose, we have a number of strikers that all have different qualities. I would say Boylan is the most “natural” goalscorer in our squad at the moment. Beardsley’s work rate is a big asset, while Tim Sills’ intelligence on the pitch brings players into the game.

One of the reasons why Boro were successful last season is that they had a flexible squad that could cover for all situations. They had enough attacking talent to beat teams at home, but were also well organised away from Broadhall Way, where they could get a goal and then defend their lead. Westley would start with a 4-4-2 for example and then adapt it depending on how the game went. The flexibility of the squad was key and that will remain the case going into League 2.

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Lopo’s View

April 16, 2010 5 Comments

It’s been a season that no Stevenage fan will ever forget and it seems that destiny is finally taking over as we only require 3 more points to win the league. 14 years ago when I was 6, I remember the last day of the season when Steve Berry, Smudger and co lifted the title. 14 years on and my desire has grown and after years of mid table obscurity it has made me feel proud to finally see my hometown club so close to being promoted into the football league. After being in the Conference since I started watching Stevenage it will be strange not to be playing the same team’s week in week out, but the relief to be up is fantastic!

With 3 games left no doubt the trip to Kiddy will hopefully be the highlight of the season and I hope we will take a big number to see the boys across the line. 2 years ago when Mr. Westley returned to BHW I was sceptical to say the least, however the squad he has assembled along with the financial support from Phil Wallace and the board has seen us come through a very tough division. I felt after losing to Cambridge in the playoffs last season that we were never going to get promoted, but to bounce back with teams such as Luton and Oxford giving us a fight and Rushden, York and AFC Wimbledon having impressive seasons makes winning it this season all the more special.

Our squad is full of talent, despite a few players who I personally don’t rate and I’m sure will not be here next season. I think that the squad we have is more than capable of being an established football league side as long as we keep onto our best players which we have struggled to do in the past. The likes of Michael Bostwick, Mark Roberts and Chris Day will all be essential to keep hold of as I don’t think we will find better replacements. Credit must also go to the backroom staff of Dino Maamria, John Dreyer and Graham Westley who have done extremely well to get us into the position we are in.

The player of the year award will be hotly contested this season with several players up for the award showing a good team effort opposed to a one man team that some clubs rely on year in year out. I personally think Ronnie Henry deserves the award simply because he has improved considerably since becoming a right back. Changing from one position to another is certainly not easy let alone to then become such an important player within the squad. Also, Ronnie is the longest serving player at the club and that is increasingly rare at this level. He deserves credit for that.

Other players in contention include Scott Laird, Michael Bostwick, Chris Day, Yemi Odubade amongst others. All these have made massive contributions and one who has made a massive improvement during the season is John Ashton who has become a top quality centre half after being a bit of a liability at times.

Any real Stevenage fan will feel so much relief if we do go on to get promoted and as Westley has said there is only one way to get promoted and that is as Champions! It has been one hell of a season and let’s not forget our third trip to Wembley on 8th May. Exciting times to be a Boro fan.

Roll on the Football League and let’s get behind the boys for the rest of the season.

Lopo

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