Arcticterntalk.org

The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world

Archive for the tag “nonleague football”

The Swans of Painshill Park


Swan at Painshill Park. Copyright Chris Bushe 2015

Swan at Painshill Park. Copyright Chris Bushe 2015

Swan at Painshill Park. Copyright Chris Bushe 2015

Swan at Painshill Park. Copyright Chris Bushe 2015

messy Swan at Painshill Park. Copyright Chris Bushe 2015

messy Swan at Painshill Park. Copyright Chris Bushe 2015

The Hersham Caterpillar


There is only one real car park in Hersham and this is where this caterpillar decided to try and cross, luckily saved from a squashing demise by the good eyesight of a 15 year old. Rescued and placed on a leaf. These humble I Phone photos try and capture the brave if impulsive caterpillar.

Hersham Caterpillar

Hersham Caterpillar

Hersham Caterpillar

Hersham Caterpillar

What is going on at Brentford and what is needed right now


After the farcical events of the last month we need to briefly recap.

  1. We employed an unknown manager and he has been sacked after 8 games.
  2. The results were not the issue but other factors which have not been specified.
  3. Mitigating factors include an unforseen series of injuries
  4. The new manager given the role till the end of the season does not want the job permanently.
  5. Brentford are heading for the relegation places, potentially this saturday.

What has gone wrong? Last season the fans were all together as a unit. Crowds were growing. The ground was sold out most games. Away travelling fans increased in numbers. This season that is all in reverse with 126 fans travelling to Middlesboro for a midweek game. My own view is this. The results have been poor but the performances poorer. A definite lack of tempo compared to last season ( this translates in my language to lack of effort), lack of leadership on the field. Would any away fan during the game be able to spot who the captain was? The quality of the play has been poor. The new players have mostly failed to be as good as the departing ones and certainly not better. And the defence has got worse, and frankly it was bad last year. Brentford are regularly conceding two or more goals each game.

So we need this

  1. A clear statement from the board about the long term managerial situation
  2. A statement from Matthew Benham regarding these matters, his plans and an explanation for what has happened
  3. A new captain on the field.
  4. A new defensive coach
  5. A far higher tempo to the play
  6. some stability for the next 6 months such that we can avoid relegation.

Anyone who thinks we are immune from relegation please think again. We have beaten only two of the poorest sides in the division so far and lost to sides that frankly are mediocre. But importantly we need to see something from the players. management team and board that we as fans can identify as an explanation for what has happened. We need to be able to get behind the team again and give them support. This is not easy when we have no clue what is going on.

Putting out the fires at Griffin Park?

Putting out the fires at Griffin Park?

Putting out the fires at Griffin Park?

Putting out the fires at Griffin Park?

The sun going down on Brentford dreams?

The sun going down on Brentford dreams?

Brentford Sack Marinus Dijkhuizen. Some Thoughts


News emerged a few hours ago that Brentford had sacked Marinus Dijkhuizen after only 8 games in charge. The reasons may be fairly clear.  Not only poor results ( for which he cannot be soleley to blame), but the insipid manner of the performances with a lower work rate and tempo than under Mark Warburton gave cause for concern very early on. Visually Marinus failed to motivate from the touchline, often giving the impression he was simply a spectator at the game rather than an active component to what was going on on the field. Any coaching that was done,and their was precious little evidence of it, came from his coaching assistant. His failure to bond at all with the fans was also notable.

in hindsight at the Bees forum last week, not only was the atmosphere flat, suspiciously so, but the lack of obvious communication between Marinus and Rasmus Andersen, Phil Giles, Cliff Crown , was obvious to the watching eye. they hardly spoke to each other and some of the questions that were addressed to others normally might have gone to Marinus. This was both before the forum, during and after. The bond I hoped and expected to see between coaching staff was absent.  Again in hindsight, a dead man walking. Crowds were also falling, and after 3 sustained seasons of increased crowds with incredible support for the players, this was starting to vanish. Numbers of away fans were frankly minimal compared to last season. Atmosphere at home games was nothing like last year. Put simply we have gone backwards. Where we have exciting talent on the bench, Sergi Canos, there were reasons/excuses why he did not start a game. The interaction between players and coaching staff at games looked poor and minimal. A few tweets from senior players also caught my eye, sometimes what they did not say as much as what they did.

There will be debate over this, and already comment has been made that we do not want to be ” another Leeds” but if something is wrong then it needs to be changed. Marinus seemed an intelligent and likeable man, but did he motivate me or inspire me,  not at all, and one wonders if that at the end is the simple aspect that was wrong. Brentford fans demand clear high work rate on the pitch, they forgive mistakes, but will not forgive insipid performances. I wish Marinus well, but do imagine that the Football League is not the right place for his talents and maybe a return to Netherlands might be the best option.

Marinus Dijkhuizen at Bees Forum 2015 Sept

Marinus Dijkhuizen at Bees Forum 2015 Sept

Marinus Dijkhuizen at Bees Forum 2015 Sept

Marinus Dijkhuizen at Bees Forum 2015 Sept

Marinus Dijkhuizen and Cliff Crown at Bees Forum 2015 Sept

Marinus Dijkhuizen and Cliff Crown at Bees Forum 2015 Sept

Marinus Dijkhuizen at Bees Forum 2015 Sept

Marinus Dijkhuizen at Bees Forum 2015 Sept

Supermoon 2015 In Sequence.


Supermoon 2015 UK Copyright Chris Bushe

Supermoon 2015 UK Copyright Chris Bushe

Supermoon 2015 UK Copyright Chris Bushe

Supermoon 2015 UK Copyright Chris Bushe

Craterseclipse 3eclipse 4eclipse 6eclipse8red moon 2Red Moon

The Last Redcurrants of 2015 from UK


One single plant has produced around £100 worth of redcurrants this year. I was somewhat amazed to find a few more the other day at the tail end of September. Tasted amazing. Thoroughly recommend a redcurrant plant for 2016.

Redcurrants from surrey

Redcurrants from surrey

Redcurrants from surrey

Redcurrants from surrey

Redcurrants from surrey

Redcurrants from surrey

Redcurrants from surrey

Redcurrants from surrey

Redcurrants from surrey

Redcurrants from surrey

Whats is it like to watch youth team football? Worth it? Brentford Under-18s


My first experience of watching youth team football was around a year ago when i began photographing some of the Under 18 games at Brentford. The first thing that surprised me was the huge variability in size of the players. Some looked more like 25 and some 15 years. The second thing was the real quality of the football. What was missing was the majority, not all, of the thuggery and cynical fouling that one sees week in and out in the football league. Dont get me wrong there is some strong tackling but not so many cynical fouls. The football standard is hard to gauge but maybe around Ryman Premier standard and on bad days Ryman South. Crowds tend to be small and some bring chairs to sit on not unlike a cricket game. Most of the noise comes from the players. Games are generally played on training pitches, so no stands and terracing. Games get videod.

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Personally I would happily watch this level of football on a regular basis. If a few more folks would come down that would further improve the atmosphere.

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

all the 4's.Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

all the 4’s.Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

Watching youth team football at Brentford training ground

Brentford 1 Huddersfield 2 Under-18


Despite threats of rain the sun came out and gave decent conditions for this saturday lunchtime game. The reality was that this was an easy win for a Huddersfield team that showed more physical strength than Brentford but all 3 goals were scrappy, with some doubt over the second Huddersfield goal which looked offside.

For those not familiar with this standard of football it is mostly played in decent spirit however Huddersfield did resort to timewasting from their goalkeeper as early as the 60th minute and a few cynical tackles from both sides. The last 10 minutes was frantic after Brentford scored a scrappy goal and four yellow card in four minutes summed up the frenetic nature of this last 10 minutes.

The standard of football is good with a lot of skill but it seems that physical strength plays a large part at this level in terms of results when the average age of the side is low. One player stood out on the pitch, the Huddersfield number 7, Jack Boyle. He displayed stamina, strength, skill and and effort. He is the player to watch here.

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Jack Boyle shoots .Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Jack Boyle shoots .Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Jack Boyle. Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Jack Boyle. Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015. Brentford keeper gets lobbed

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015.
Brentford keeper gets lobbed

all the 4's.Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

all the 4’s.Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Brentford v Huddersfield Under 18. Sept 2015

Walton and Hersham 1 East Grinstead 1 . A poor game


As I have been watching Walton since the days of their FA Amateur cup win at Wembley, where then the bulk of their team was the team that became Wimbledon under Allen Batsford,  maybe it is fair comment to say that last saturday was one of the worst games of football I have ever seen there and indeed am struggling to think of anywhere else. I realise this is Ryman South but for 9£ standards need to be a little higher than sunday park football.

The ground is starting to look derelict with the terrace area along the pitch now boarded up for safety reasons. It is also fair to say that there was no air of positivity in the crowd, which recently hovers around 100 hardy souls.

Here are my photographic memories. The most memorable moment? The Walton keeper hitching his shorts up in some strange manner, which clearly put off the East Grinstead striker who subsequently took a poor penalty that was easily saved.  The second most memorable moment? The cheeseburger.

IMG_2668IMG_2666IMG_2664IMG_2661IMG_2653IMG_2641IMG_2629IMG_2626IMG_2593IMG_2610IMG_2575IMG_2573

Referee Mr C Green Ryman South

Referee Mr C Green Ryman South

Met Police 5 East Thurrock 0


Penalty

Penalty

IMG_2493

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