3rd march
tonight's match at bath city was postponed at 7pm following heavy rain leading to a waterlogged pitch.

2nd march
93 votes were cast and counted for the man of the match poll from saturday. harlee deen emerged as a close winner on his bow for the blues, beating nicky eyre by just two votes. danny green came third.

sam higgins has joined steve king at brentwood town on a dual registration basis. higgins made his debut on saturday as a sub in brentwood's 3-0 defeat of enfield town in ryman division one north.

ross bristow's first half goal was sufficient to give the under-18s a 1-0 win over local rivals harlow town yesterday.

28th february
blues climbed up to 14th in the table with an electric 2-1 defeat of chelmsford city at woodside park today. the blues played 74 minutes with 10 men following the dismissal of narada barnard. but goals from duane jackman and harlee deen were enough to secure the win. this was deen's final appearance for the club before returning to dagenham & redbridge. match report and motm poll here.

27th february
the hardy souls who travelled to hampton on tuesday made debut keeper ed thompson their man of the match. with 25% of the vote, thompson edged out harlee deen and mark wright by just one vote.

The Young Blues suffered their second defeat in three days losing 2-1 to Snaresbrook playing under the floodlights at Woodside Park. Match report here.

joe scanlon's first half goal wasn't enough to stop the under-12s from going down 2-1 at panshanger last sunday. match report here.

26th february
the reserves make the short journey to ware this evening for a capital league fixture. meanwhile, woodside park will host a women's fa cup semi final tie between arsenal and everton. the match will be played on sunday 22nd march with a 2pm kick off.
more information from fa.com here.

24th february
blues pushed second-placed hampton & richmond all the way at the beveree this evening. but two late francis quarm penalties saw the beavers extend their unbeaten league record to fifteen games. danny harris' 25th minute first half goal was the first conceded by hampton in over six hours. but quarm levelled on 75 then doubled his tally with six minutes left of a pulsating match. match details and motm poll here.

matt jones picked up his first man of the match vote of the season. the right back took 31% of the vote with danny green leading the chasing pack in second place.

there'll be something of a fresh look to the side that faces hampton & richmond this evening as the club has once again dabbled in the transfer market.
ed thompson will make his debut between the sticks. ed was recently at dagenham & redbridge.
alongside paul goodacre in the centre of defence will be stevland angus. the defender has bags of football league experience and has arrived at woodside from concord rangers in isthmian league one north.
slightly more familiar to blues' fans is marlon patterson who made four appearances for stortford before being snapped up by histon as cover for gareth gwillim. patterson has returned on loan until the end of the season.
finally, jimmy webb makes the subs' bench. webb played for blues' second string last week and, according to gordon boateng on nonleaguedaily.com is a "marvellous propsect". the striker has scored 7 times in 23 appearances this season for great wakering rovers. his signing is on a dual registration basis.

23rd february
The young Blues slumped to a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Stevenage Borough and in doing so lost their unbeaten Alliance League record this season.
steve craston's match report here.

22nd february
roy essandoh performed his super sub routine to grab a point for the blues at play-off chasing eastleigh yesterday. brett williams fired the home side to a sixth minute lead. but essandoh levelled eight minutes after his introduction on 75 minutes.
match report and man of the match poll here.

16th february
mark wright has won the st albans city man of the match poll on his return to the club.

a new date has been arranged for the visit to bromley: tuesday 24th march for a 7.45pm kick off.

14th february
blues had to settle for a draw today against herts neighbours st albans city. a crowd of 602 witnesses lewis smith's first half opener equalised by ex-blue paul hakim just past the hour.
the point maintains blues' 17th league position ahead of the visit of team bath on tuesday night. match report and man of the match poll here.

13th february
sunday's under-18s alliance league match at stevenage has already fallen victim of the weather and has been postponed.

as widely reported, mark wright has re-joined the blues. the defender left woodside park for fisher athletic shortly after receiving a red card in a 3-4 defeat against st albans last season. since then, wright has trialled for bournemouth before joining thurrock.
meanwhile, liam hopkins and sam taylor have joined concord rangers on loan in order to regain match fitness. another loanee, piers wixon, remains at afc sudbury.
ahead of tomorrow's game, mark simpson was able to confirm duane jackman's availablility and was hopeful of confirming further player news over the weekend.

the woodside crowd will be swelled by around 150 youngsters tomorrow, wet pitch permitting. coach tim moylette is leading a training session, joined by blues' players, at lunchtime. the future blues fans will then be head to woodside for the home fixture against st albans city.

10th february
tomorrow's reserves team fixture against harlow town is in doubt. the heavy snow that has fallen on woodside has begun to melt, leaving the pitch in danger of waterlogging (see pictures). supporters should check the fans' message board tomorrow for confirmation of the game going ahead or not.

        

6th february
blues' match at bromley was postponed earlier today following an early pitch inspection. a new date for the fixture is yet to be arranged.

5th february
three reserve team matches have revised dates as follows:
monday 2nd march - away to aveley
wednesday 1st april - home to harrow borough (league cup semi final)
thursday 16th april - away to maldon town

blues are now set to visit havant & waterlooville for the much-postponed blue square south fixture on monday 9th march.

3rd february
the under-18s preserved their unbeaten league record with a 1-1 draw at enfield.
match report here.

lewis smith may only have been on the pitch at worcester for under an hour, but his two goals earned the fans' man of the match vote. the striker took just under a quarter of the votes. harlee deen and danny green were second and third respectively.

blues' visit to havant & waterlooville has been postponed for a fourth time as the hampshire outfit struggle to settle their fa trophy tie with crawley. no new date has yet been set.

the observer is offering a family ticket to the st albans match as a prize for answering a simple question. click here for details.

31st january
two first half crackers from lewis smith set blues on their way to a 3-1 win at worcester city today. both of smith's goals were strikes from outside the box and within the first half hour. city were reduced to ten men on 36 minutes following a horrific-looking challenge. the home side reduced arrears when marco adaggio's speculative punt beat nicky eyre from long range on 66 minutes. but the two-goal margin was reinstated on 75 minutes when harlee deen glanced in danny green's corner on 75 minutes. blues have moved up to 17th position in the blues square south table.
match report and man of the match poll here.

midfielder scott curley has joined the blues. known as an ex-afc wimbledon player, his last club was afc hornchurch. wikipedia entry here.
two players have made a temporary departure on loans to gain match fitness. central defender steve king has not played for around 16 weeks. he will return to his previous club, brentwood town. while striker peter dean has joined isthmian league side hendon and made an appearance for the club in a 2-0 defeat to staines town on thursday night.

dave battram's under-18s will be playing at brimsdown town's ground against enfield on sunday 1st february in the alliance league with a 2pm kick off.

30th january
nicky eyre earned the man of the match vote following the wimbledon match. eyre won 41% of the vote, some way ahead of harlee deen and danny green in second and third. it's the keeper's fourth win of the season.

harlee deen's loan from dagenham & redbridge has been extended. the full 93 days has been secured, meaning the popular, talented midfielder will remain at woodside until the end of february.

28th january
blues  lost by a single danny kedwell goal last night to league leaders afc wimbledon. a crowd of over one thousand created a cracking atmosphere, but blues were denied a point just before the hour when kedwell pounced on jon main's blocked shot to volley past nicky eyre from eight yards.
the result leaves blues in 18th spot ahead of saturday's first ever visit to the home of worcester city.
match report and motm poll here.

the club has confirmed the signing of central defender grant cooper, released by maidenhead united. ex-reserves team player, reese prestedge, has followed gordon boateng from cheshunt, according to the cheshunt website.

26th january
blues' manager mark simpson is having to play a waiting game ahead of tomorrow's home fixture against wimbledon. with tom champion unavailable at university, simpson would ideally play grant cooper in the centre of defence. although cooper's loan spell from maidenhead has ended, simpson is hopeful that he can bring the former blue back to woodside on a more permanent basis. but cooper is still on contract to the magpies and terms for any release need to be agreed. meanwhile, nerada bernard will be available for the left back position and so adrian pettigrew could play alongside paul goodacre in the centre of defence. otherwise, simpson can be expected to select the same side that defeated maidenhead on saturday.

danny green is the supporters' man of the match for the sixth time this season. green, who played a part in both goals, took 28% of the vote, narrowly edging out duane jackman by two votes. both were streets ahead of the rest of team led by captain paul goodacre in third.

24th january
blues completed back to back victories over teams in the top six with a 2-0 home win over maidenhead at woodside park today.
harlee deen opened the scoring on 42 minutes with a glancing header from danny green's long throw-in. lewis smith completed the scoring with a powerful header from green's corner on 49 minutes.
it was a comprehensive win for the blues who move one place up the table to 18th.
match report, stats and motm poll here.

23rd january
an ex-chelsea professional is blues' latest signing. adrian pettigrew has joined the blues and will fill the left back slot as nerada barnard is not able to play against maidenhead tomorrow. pettigrew enjoyed loan spells at brentford, wycombe and rotherham before a trial in greece for aek athens. he has also represented his country at under-16 and under-17 level. the 6ft 4" defender joined cheshunt in late december but has followed his old boss gordon boateng to woodside park.

with pettigrew's arrival, tomorrow's likely starting line up should include: eyre, jones, pettigrew, lettejallow, goodacre, champion, dean, green, harris, smith, jackman, essandoh, mason, hyem, higgins & hasler.

22nd january
the man of the match award following the win at welling is, for the first time, split two ways. with 16% of the votes each, the fans voted for max lettejellow and lewis smith. captain paul goodacre was just one vote behind.

19th january
The young Blues were knocked out of the Herts FA Youth Challenge Cup in the fourth round, losing a closely fought encounter by the odd goal in five against a strong well organised Bishop’s Stortford Community Club (Harlow) side.
Steve Craston's match report here.

west ham united have switched tuesday's scheduled reserve team fixture against fulham from woodside park to upton park.

17th january
blues came from a goal down at half time to score a great win at play off hopefuls welling united today. a danny green penalty set the ball rolling to equalise welling's 9th minute opener. substitute sam higgins grabbed the lead before danny harris' injury time winner. match report and man of the match poll here.

the football club has released the following statement:

two recent postponed matches have new dates set as follows:
blues v team bath - tuesday 17th february
bath city v blues - tuesday 3rd march
both games will kick off at 7.45pm.

15th january
mark simpson has filled the left back position left vacant by the unexpected departure of marlon patterson to histon. maidenhead united's experienced narada bernard has been signed on a one month loan deal on the recommendation of team mate grant cooper. bernard, 27, has made 21 appearances for the magpies since signing from weymouth and started his career with three years at bournemouth.
simpson confirmed that he is keen to clinch a permanent replacement during bernard's loan spell.

11th january
a new date has been arranged for blues' visit to havant and waterlooville. the fixture is now set for monday 9th february.

10th january
blues' home league match against team bath has been postponed due to a frozen pitch. the next scheduled match at havant & waterlooville on monday evening is also in some doubt. the hampshire side are due to meet lewes in the fa trophy today. however with that game in doubt, it is likely that the game will be rescheduled for the midweek, postponing again the havant v blues fixture.
a ptich inspection is planned at lewes at 10am this saturday morning.

4th january
The club is initiating some new schemes in order to get children from the area more interested in local sport and hopefully, more involved in exercise generally and the club has already announced that all children now get in free to league home games. One of the first initiatives is to run a competition so that the children of Bishop’s Stortford can be involved in designing the new team kit for next season.
The home kit is to be designed by children from the secondary schools in the area as the colour scheme is slightly restrictive in that only blue and white may be used. The away kit, which essentially can be any colour, will be designed by children from the primary schools in Bishop’s Stortford.
Entry details and an entry form are available from the club shop at home games or can be downloaded from the front page of the website.

lewis smith received 22% of votes cast, enough to earn the man of the match award from bluesnet readers. 'keeper nicky eyre came second just one single vote behind with danny green third.

2nd january
dagenham midfielder bai mas lettejallow has joined the blues today. the 24 year-old midfielder has been at dagenham for three seasons, usually making contributions from the subs' bench in their final conference season. last year, "max" was able to play regularly for thurrock as a non contract player for the daggers. this season, he represented thurrock until the end of october.

the dagenham website has reported that harlee deen's loan spell at woodside has been extended for a further month.

marlon patterson's time on loan at woodside has come to an end. the club tried to extend his loan spell, but histon fc approached dagenham & redbridge, patterson's club, for a permanent move, and the deal was struck. the left back is likely to line up for histon in their fa cup third round tie against swansea city this weekend. histon's regular left back, ex-blue captain gareth gwillim, is sidelined through injury.

an inspection of bath city's twerton park pitch has been planned for this afternoon. officials at the club rate the prospects of tomorrow's game going ahead as 50/50.
bbc weather forecast for bath here.

1st january
Some clinical finishing from Braintree saw a spirited Bishop’s Stortford side comprehensively beaten at Woodside Park despite the Blues enjoying the majority of the possession and attacking play. Match report here.

30th december
the under-18s may only have played four league games so far but, at the turn of the year, they remain unbeaten. but sunday's 4-4 draw at home to brentwood town was more a case of two points lost than one gained. match report here.

danny green's return to fitness is being recognised by blues' fans. the midfielder picked up his second man of the match vote in consecutive games. this puts him ahead of the field in the bluesnet man of the season award. grant cooper made an impression too, picking up just one less vote than green to take second place in the poll ahead of duance jackman in third.

26th december
blues went down to a 2-0 defeat at braintree town today. louis riddle scored twice - a first half penalty and a 72nd minute goal from open play.
mark simpson gave a start to grant cooper, pushing tom champion into midfield. sam higgins found a place on the bench on his return from fisher athletic.
match report nad man of the match poll here.

24th december
with steve king still unavailable, mark simpson has moved to secure cover. and, just as with the reappearance of sam higgins, it's another ex-blue who has returned to the fold. grant cooper, currently at maidenhead, is in the process of signing forms and should be available for the new year's day match at braintree town. the deal is for one month initially.

23rd december
mark simpson expressed his delight with the team's performance on saturday, giving particular praise to the hard working duane jackman. "duane worked hard all game, closing people down and winning balls".

the manager reiterated the need to win points rather than try to play attractive football at the moment and shared the message that the players are receiving. "they have been asked to get the ball moving with forward passes, early and to feet. it's not about humping the ball up front, but neither is it about pretty patterns. we can work on something more subtle when we've got enough points on the board. to be fair, we've had only 4 training sessions since i took over."

simpson accepted praise for the tactics that won the game on saturday. "we moved to a 4-3-3 and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. but it worked against weston. the subs made a difference too. deano gave us something different and i thought roy was a handful for them." he was also delighted with lewis smith's first start.

the one item of bad news for blues was the injury sustained by liam hopkins. the youngster has sustained a hairline fracture of the foot and will be out for four weeks. meanwhile, ex-blue sam higgins is now available to play for the blues with the necessary paperwork completed this afternoon.

danny chapman grabbed four goals as the under-18s romped home to an 11-0 win over wheathampsted in the county cup. the reward is a local derby against BS community on the 18th january. steve craston's match report here.

nearly 100 votes were cast in the man of the match poll for the recent home win over weston super mare. and just one vote separated the winner, danny green, from the runner-up, debutant lewis smith. the chasing pack was led by duane jackman in third spot.

20th december
danny green's 83rd minute strike secured three much-needed points for blues today against weston super mare. fulham loanee lewis smith put blues ahead on 28 minutes. but the visitors equalised within a minute through marc mcgregor's close range volley.
the win lifts blues one place up the table to 18th. match stats and motm poll here.

16th december
les reed's association with the blues has already started to reap benefits. reed has recommended a one month loan spell at woodside for fulham striker lewis smith. the youngster has been a regular fixture in fulham's premier reserve league side, scoring recently in a 1-1 draw with aston villa. smith is a product of the fulham youth academy, well thought of by his club, who should add some bite to the stortford front line.
 

15th december
To end the speculation that has been occurring recently the Football Club wish to reiterate that they have not advertised the position of manager and have not sought a replacement manager nor met any potential managers despite what has been reported in the local press.

Mark Simpson remains the caretaker manager and will continue to run the side with assistance from Les Reed.

The Club reiterate that this is the current situation and there will be NO changes to this before the New Year

13th december
blues' caretaker manager mark simpson hopes to be able to reveal a new signing early next week. bluesnet will confirm any news as soon as possible.

mark simpson has secured the services of jamie forshaw from southend united for a further month. the teenage scottish schoolboy international has made a good impression with fans and has now recovered from the flu that stopped him travelling to basingstoke.

loan spells at sudbury provided some useful match practice for david chick and george jermy in the fa trophy today. the host side lost 0-2 to oxford united, but chick, who started, made a good impression before being subbed late on. jermy came on with a quarter of an hour remaining. both players, along with richard howell, will be hoping to be involved on tuesday when sudbury travel to bedworth united. meanwhile howell, who was cup-tied for the oxford game, impressed in training with the blues today and is reportedly getting sharper with every session.

david chick has joined richard howell and george jermy at afc sudbury.

blues' trip to havant & waterlooville on monday has been postponed. this follows the postponement of the hawks' fa trophy tie against bury town. the match has been rescheduled for monday 12th january.

12 december
Last night the reserves reached the semi final of the Capital League Cup with a hard fought 3 – 2 win at Maldon Town. The Blues took the lead through Atif Amouk Khamis playing his second game for the reserves. Maldon pulled a goal back before the break and the teams went in one a piece at half time.  The visitors got off to a great start in the second half extending their lead again with Khamis getting his second, again the home side pulled a goal back but a great move completed by Ross Bristow with 8 minutes on the clock secured the semi-final spot for the blues.  The semi-final takes place at Woodside Park week commencing 19^th Jan with the opposition being either Potters Bar or Harrow Borough.

9/12/08
duane jackman's goal after 27 seconds was all blues had to show from tonight's herts senior cup tie at ware. for the second time this season, the home side scored four and dumped blues out of a county cup. with a free saturday coming, blues now look ahead to racking up more league points with a visit to havant & waterlooville next monday.

tonight's team to face ware has been confirmed:  pack, hopkins, patterson, mason, chick, hyem, jones, deen, wixon, dean, jackman. subs: green, craston, chapman, barker.

the reserves have a match scheduled for this thursday evening at maldon town in the capital league cup. the rearranged league match against billericay town will now be played on the 25th march.

goalkeeper nicky eyre was an overwhelming choice for man of the match following the draw at basingstoke town. eyre took 55% of the votes with the rest evenly distributed amongst the rest of the team.

7/12/08
today's under-18s fixture at woodside park was postponed earlier due to a frozen pitch.

manager mark simpson has given bluesnet an update on the squad. jamie forshaw's absence from the squad that travelled to basingstoke was due to 'flu. he should be okay for tuesday's herts senior cup tie at ware. david chick will get some much-needed match practice in the same game. simpson has confirmed that richard howell's loan spell at sudbury has been agreed to get howell match-fit. finally, charlie hasler has been loaned out to maldon town for the same reason.

6/12/08
a club official has confirmed that precious koko and dee okojie have left the club, as revealed previously in the herts & essex observer. richard howell has been loaned to afc sudbury for one month. the mercurial howell scored on his debut today as sudbury drew 1-1 against bury town.

blues returned from basingstoke with a valuable point today. a duane jackman goal eight minutes from time gave blues the lead. but joe dolan equalised for the home side three minutes into injury time.
match report and man of the match poll here.

thursday 4th december
the herts senior challenge cup draw will take place live on three counties radio tomorrow evening (friday) at 7.30pm. while blues still need to dispose of ware to progress, teams already through are hertford town, boreham wood, leverstock green, st albans city, oxhey jets and cheshunt. bekhamsted and stevenage are yet to play their second round tie.

jamie forshaw won the fans' man of the match poll for the his performance in the recent win over newport county. the youngster polled almost a quarter of all votes and narrowly pipped paul goodacre to the award.


two goals apiece for greg douglas and dan chapman were enough to give the blues reserves a 4-1 win over maldon town. the win sees blues leapfrog enfield into 8th place in the capital league eastern division.

paul morley's hat-trick was the highlight of an emphatic 9-0 win for the under-12s last sunday. welwyn pegasus found themselves outclassed as the boys marched on to a semi final spot in league shield. match report here.

wednesday 3rd december
blues' herts senior cup tie at ware has been rearranged to be played on tuesday 9th december. the blue square south league fixture at havant & waterlooville will now be played on monday 15th december.

tuesday 2nd december
this evening's herts senior cup tie at ware has been postponed. this is due to a waterlogged pitch.

saturday 29th november
blues moved out of the bottom three following a 1-0 win at newport county this afternoon. it was a day of firsts as jason mason's first goal of the season secured a first ever win at newport in manager mark simpson's first league game in charge. match report and motm poll here.

friday 28th november
blues' caretaker boss, mark simpson, has told bluesnet of two new loan signings made today. both have come via john still at dagenham & redbridge - one of the many contacts in the non league game that simpson has made. the experienced marlon patterson is described as a good athlete who will be able to get up and down the pitch. the ex-yeading player has made six appearances for the daggers and has spent a short spell on loan recently at grays athletic. still has also signposted a youngster, harley dean, to simpson - a tall, powerful midfielder who scores goals too.
there'll be no mass exodus of players from woodside as the new boss was pleased with his players' performance at tiverton on wednesday. asked what he felt was missing from the current squad, simpson identified in his first coaching session that he was inheriting a technically gifted set of players but felt there needs to be a more direct style of play to escape the relegation zone: "supporters may not want to hear it, but i know they'll want to see the team start winning some games. maybe we're going to have to win ugly and maybe i'm going to have to bring in a couple more faces. i'm picking the brains of some of my contacts. we need a couple of results, settle the ship and then we can add a few things and start playing like arsenal! but i could not have asked for more from the players on wednesday. they worked very hard."
simpson was looking forward to the return of tom champion to the squad but felt steve king was a further couple of weeks away from his return. "steve is the type of player we need right now. he rolls his sleeves up and will run through walls for the side. the fixtures ahead are tough and the number of away games and amount of travelling wouldn't be accepted by the man uniteds of this world, but we have to get on with it and i'm looking to get some points on the board from the next few games." simpson finished in confident mood, "we will turn this around."

wednesday 26th november
mark simpson's first game in charge as caretaker manager resulted in blues' exit from this season's fa trophy. nathan rudge's close range header on 18 minutes was enough to see tiverton town through, in front of 290 spectators in devon this evening, to play bashley in the next round.
match report here.

monday 24th november
the fa trophy first round draw has paired blues with bashley from the southern league premier division. bashley currently sit one place above rugby town whom blues knocked out of the fa cup earlier in the season.
however, tiverton town must first be beaten in wednesday evening's qualifying round replay.
 

wednesday's scheduled capital league fixture at home to billericay town has been postponed.
the next scheduled reserve team fixture will see maldon town visit woodside park on wednesday 3rd december.

The young Blues were knocked out of the Alliance League Cup by Thurrock 3-0 on a bitterly cold day at Galleywood FC, Chelmsford.
Match report here.



danny green  has been voted fans' man of the match following the weekend draw at home to tiverton. danny took 37% of the vote with jamie forshaw in second and nicky eyre third.
it's the midfielder's third poll win from the last five matches.



the football club has released the following statement: "Bishop’s Stortford Football Club advise that Martin Hayes has been relieved of his managerial duties with immediate effect.

The Club would like to place on record its appreciation for Martin and all that he has done for Bishop’s Stortford Football Club on and off the pitch over the past ten seasons. Assistant Manager Paul Joynes has also left the Club.
The Club wishes Martin and Paul all the very best for the future.

Reserve team manager Mark Simpson will be in control in a caretaker capacity whilst a new first team manager is sought.

There will be no further comment from the Club on this matter until a successor is appointed.

saturday 22nd november
Blues were unable to find their way through the Tiverton defence this afternoon despite dominating large spells of the game at Woodside Park. A replay now beckons on Wednesday 26th November with a 7.45pm kick off.
Match report and man of the match poll here.

friday 21st november
West Ham have advised that their match against Portsmouth scheduled to be played at Woodside Park on Tuesday 25^th November will now be played at Upton Park NOT Bishop’s Stortford as previously advertised.
 

duane jackman impressed home fans on his return to stortford. jackman was the overwhelming winner of the man of the match award with 40% of the votes cast. nicky eyre and paul goodacre finished joint second with 12% each.


wednesday 19th november
duane jackman's 15th minute goal wasn't enough to prevent a 4th consecutive league home defeat for the blues. hampton and richmond ran out 3-1 winners and there was more bad news as danny harris saw red on 20 minutes, dismissed for violent conduct. match report and motm poll here.

monday 17th november
blues' reserves side turned in an excellent performance to win 3-0 at brimsdown rovers this evening. ross bristow picked himself up after being fouled to fire home a 46th minute penalty. two minutes later, harry merton scored the first of his two goals, the second coming on 64 minutes. the team consisted of blues' youth team along with charlie simpson and charlie hasler

liam hopkins earned the fans' vote for man of the match following the defeat against fisher athletic. the young defender took just over a third of the vote with newcomer jamie forshaw a close second with 27%.

sunday 16th november
blues slipped into the relegation zone following yesterday's 1-0 home defeat to fisher athletic. the return to the fold of duane jackman failed to ignite blues who have another chance to rack up some much-needed points with the visit of hampton and richmond this coming tuesday. match report and motm poll here.

club officials have announced two signings completed on friday afternoon. duane jackman has returned to the club from cheshunt. 18 year-old jamie forshaw, a scottish schoolboy international, has joined on a month's loan deal from southend united.

 
the under-18s returned to action today after a 3 week lay off. the rest doesn't seem to have affected the lads who recorded a 2-1 win over chipperfield corinthians in the herts county cup. dan chapman and george wappett were blues' goal scorers.

tuesday 11th november
paul joynes led a team of experience and youth to a herts senior cup win on penalties tonight at hemel hempstead town. the game ended 2-2 in 90 minutes and 3-3 after extra time. blues won 4-3 in the penalty shoot-out to set up a tie at ware fc in the next round. match report here.

monday 10th november
the rearranged blue square south fixture at havant & waterlooville will be played on monday 8th december.

 

three of dave battram's under-18s have been called into the first team squad by martin hayes for tomorrow night's senior cup tie at hemel hempstead. the players are ross bristow, scott barker and sheldon sellears.

thursday 6th november
peter dean helped himself to five goals as blues' reserves ran out 11-1 winners over ware last night. blues' other goals were scored by danny green (4), michael hyem and dee okojie. the full team: hasler, hopkins, taylor, hyem, goodacre, koko, okojie, dean, wixon, mason, green.

wednesday 5th november
danny green won the fans' man of the match vote following the dorchester defeat. it's danny's second successive poll win in a week, this time taking 30% of the votes. defender liam hopkins was a close second on 28%. nicky eyre came third with 16%

monday 3rd november
today's fa trophy draw has paired the blues up with tiverton town of the southern premier league. the match will be played at woodside park on saturday 22nd november. blues' fans will be praying that a replay is not necessary, thus avoiding a 456 miles / 7 hour midweek round trip.
full draw here.


sunday 2nd november
blues lost to dorchester town for a second successive saturday and have slipped down the blue square south league table to 19th position.
a goal in each half from ryan moss gave the visitors a 2-0 win ahead of their fa cup trip to oxford united next week. match report and motm poll here.

the under-18s faced another blank sunday today when their fixture was postponed late on saturday evening.

friday 31st october
stortford's under 12s were held by panshanger on sunday, failing to take advantage of numerous chances to take all three points.
match report here.



dorchester manager shaun brooks is urging his players to forget about their fa cup exploits and instead concentrate on picking up three blue square south points at woodside tomorrow.
full story here.

tim langer has led the praise for martin hayes as the club celebrates his 500th game as manager with a special presentation before the home game against dorchester town on Saturday.
full observer story here.


thursday 30th october
danny green's return from injury earned the plaudits from both sets of supporters on monday night. blues' fans were impressed enough to vote green their man of the match with a massive 47% of the votes cast.
some way behind came danny harris, precious koko and liam hopkins with around 10% of the votes each.

the blue square south fixture at home to hampton & richmond borough has been scheduled for tuesday 18th november.
the original date was postponed due to fa cup commitments.


monday 27th october
blues gained a well-earned point at league leaders chelmsford city tonight. piers wixon's penalty and a danny harris goal gave blues a 2-1 lead. harris' second early in the second half was the final goal of the game to move blues up two places to sixteenth. match report and man of the match poll here.

tom champion was the popular man of the match pick following his sterling display at dorchester on saturday. the centre half picked up nearly one third of the votes. nicky eyre and craig edwards tied for second place.



sunday 26th october
blues made their exit from the fa cup at dorchester town yesterday. nick crittenden's 26th minute goal was all that separated the teams and blues now look ahead to tomorrow's blue square south fixture at chelmsford city.
match report and man of the match poll here.

the under-18s eastern junior alliance league match at silver leys to face harlow was postponed earlier today due to a waterlogged pitch.
 

martin hayes introduced a new face to the starting line-up at dorchester town yesterday. ashley miller filled the left back position after hayes agreed a one month loan deal for the youngster. miller has made one barclays premier league appearance for the hammers this season.

friday 24th october
Bishop’s Stortford are honouring manager Martin Hayes next Saturday (1st November) when they play Dorchester Town in the Blue Square South for the second week running having played the same opponents the previous week in the FA Cup.

The Football Club and the Supporters Club have joined forces and are planning a guard of honour for their longest serving manager together with a pitch-side presentation and special T shirts commemorating the milestone of Hayes recently passing 500 first team games in charge. The celebration match programme will also feature several pieces on the popular ex-Arsenal star, who is now the longest serving manager in the Blue Square South.

Not only that but admission charges for adults have been halved for the day to 500 pence (£5) to mark the occasion.

Martin Hayes joined Bishop’s Stortford in February 1999 as a player from Romford making his debut at Aldershot in a Ryman League game. He went on to appear 174 times for the club scoring 50 goals. Due to an injury crisis last season, he was forced into making a rare substitute last year in a 2-0 home win against Bromley at the tender age of 42! Further comebacks have been put on ice for now, but Hayes is still registered as a player with the Woodside Park club – just in case!

Martin’s first game in charge was on 12th October 1999. His first victory as manager came on 30th October at his old club Romford. He got the winner with the only goal of the game. Last season he passed the previous longest serving and fellow ex-Gooner, John Radford who like Hayes was also a favourite in his playing and managerial roles with Stortford.

jake morley's first half goal earned the under-12s a draw away at john warner reds on sunday.
match report here.


tuesday 21st october
woodside park hosted a crowd of 751 for tonight's barclays premier reserve league fixture. junior stanislas scored the only goal as west ham overcame arsenal to record their second consecutive win at woodside.

blues made their exit from the setanta shield this evening. there was no embarrassment though in the 4-2 defeat at conference national leaders kettering town. the hosts swept into a 4-0 lead with fa cup hero alfie potter on target before david chick and dee okojie grabbed blues' brace.
 

nicky eyre and liam hopkins ran away with the man of the match poll following the afc wimbledon match. but it was the keeper who edged out the defender taking 28% of the 69 votes cast. eyre joins three other players on two poll wins, behind steve king with four wins.

monday 20th october
Striker Ross Bristow bagged all four Blues goals as the U 18’s overcame Basildon United in a contest that for long periods wasn’t for the football purist.
Match report here


saturday 18th october
A lacklustre display from a depleted blues side saw stortford comprehensively beaten by afc wimbledon at kingsmeadow this afternoon.
match report and man of the match poll here.


thursday 16th october
danny harris has won his second man of the match of the season. following the fa cup tie against rugby, harris collected 22% of the votes.
precious koko and steve king took second and third places in the poll respectively.

the under-12s went down to a 0-1 defeat at the hands of broxbourne rangers on sunday. a close fought game was decided by a late goal for the visitors.
the man of the match vote went to jack pennell.
match report here.

luke webster returned from injury last night as blues' reserves went down by a single goal t neighbours harlow town. blues might have faced a heavier defeat but for a good performance in goal from charlie hasler.
herts & essex observer report here.
 

monday 13th october
supporters will have a chance to hear about plans for the club at the next fans' forum. chairman luigi del basso will be available to answer questions too. the meeting will take place in the club bar on tuesday 4th november, 7.30 ko.

the fa cup fourth qualifying round draw has paired blues up with dorchester town. the game will take place at the avenue stadium on saturday 25th october. coincidentally, dorchester are the visitors the following saturday for a blue square south league match.
full draw here.


Bishops Stortford U 18s returned to Alliance league action winning away against a Wormley side in some comfort 2-0 to record a third consecutive league victory and four in all competitions so far this season.
match report here.

sunday 12th october
a dramatic stoppage time penalty from an ice-cool piers wixon safely saw blues through to the 4th qualifying round, though a spirited display from rugby town made them work all the way.
match report and man of the match poll here.

saturday 11th october
martin hayes has added a new name to his squad to face rugby town later today. 23 year-old left back, david chick, was signed late last night and the 23 year-old is expected to play some part in proceedings at woodside. chick has represented his country at schoolboy level and, like steve morison and greg pearson before him, dropped down a level or two to try to rebuild his footballing career with the blues.

thursday 9th october
steve king has been talking to the herts & essex observer, ahead of saturday's fa cup tie against rubgy town.
link to interview here.

richard howell was on the mark for the reserves against cheshunt last night at woodside last night. although the team lost 2-5, first team manager martin hayes will be pleased with howell's contribution. blues' other goalscorer was triallist ian hillaire.

wednesday 8th october
the man of the match poll following the welling defeat took 62 votes. most of them, 18, went to central defender steve king. it's his fourth award of the season already after signing for the club from brentwood in the summer. peter dean took 15% of the votes with sam taylor in third.


the under-12s were unlucky losers in sunday's county cup tie at hadley rangers. michael coppin's two goals secured a draw, but the blues were defeated 5-3 in the subsequent penalty shoot-out.
match report here.

sunday 5th october
the under-18s safely negotiated a passage through the first round of the county cup today. george wappett, harold craston and ross bristow were on target as the boys ran out 3-0 winners at the home of bengeo tigers.
match report here.

saturday 4th october
blues went down to a freak goal at home to welling united today. both sides cancelled out each other in a dull game. but the points were decided on 73 minutes when graeme andrews' cross flew into the stortford goal, assisted by the wind. match report and man of the match poll here.

tuesday 30th september
the under-12s romped to victory over bengeo tigers on sunday with an 8-1 mauling. top of the scoring charts was paul morley with a hat-trick leaving manager spencer godfrey to purr "the effort was superb with everyone trying to play the ball". match report here.

danny harris' hat-trick was enough to earn him the bluesnet man of the match fans' vote following the wingate & finchley cup tie. it's his first award of the season.
harris took 40% of votes with peter dean and roy essandoh in second and third places.


the setanta shield second round tie at kettering town will be played on tuesday 21st october. the league visit to chelmsford city will now be made on monday 27th october. and the visit to hemel hempstead town for the herts senior cup will take place on tuesday 11th november.

monday 29th september
Stortford chalked up a second consecutive Alliance victory away to Snaresbrook at Nutter Fields, Wanstead. The game made compulsive viewing for a reasonable sized crowd in attendance and was keenly fought by two teams eager to play football. Match report here.

today's fa cup third qualifying round draw has pitched the blues against rugby town. the game will be played at woodside park on saturday 11th october. rugby currently lie bottom of the southern premier with 2 points from 8 games.
weblinks: club website, fans' forum

saturday 27th september
Danny Harris spared Stortford's blushes with a hat-trick that included two spot-kicks. But with so many shocks elsewhere, Stortford will just be relieved to make it into the hat for the next round of the FA Cup.
Match details, report and man of the match poll here.

wednesday 24th september
the man of the match award following the defeat at maidenhead went to peter dean. the striker won 30% of the vote to take the fans' award for the second match in succession. liam hopkins and paul goodacre were second and third respectively.


dave battram's under-18s have a chance to recover from their fa youth cup exit on sunday. the boys will make their way to wanstead to take on snaresbrook with hopes of a second league win. their opponents followed up a 4-1 defeat of enfield with a 0-3 loss at harlow town.

tuesday 23rd september
Bishops Stortford were eliminated from this season’s FA Youth Cup competition by a hard working Stevenage Borough side 7-2 taking full advantage of some sloppy Bishop’s Stortford defending.
Match report here.

saturday 20th september
blues came from behind twice, but lost by the odd goal in five at maidenhead today. danny harris and peter dean cancelled out the home side's lead. but lee newman's goal with a minute left denied blues the point they seemed sure to take in an entertaining game at a sunny york road.
match report and man of the match poll here.


thursday 18th september
richard howell played his first full 90 minutes since returning from injury last night. blues' reserves lost 5-0 to afc hornchurch, but martin hayes will be pleased that howell, george jermy and michael hyem emerged unscathed. sam taylor meanwhile picked up a knock on twenty minutes and is doubtful for the first team trip to maidenhead on saturday. observer link here.

tuesday 16th september
blues' under-12s recorded a win in their opening league fixture on sunday. aaron cooper and paul morley were on target in a 2-1 home win over potters bar town crusaders.
match report here.

monday 15th september
today's fa cup draw has given blues a home tie against ryman division one north's wingate and finchley. the teams last met in the fa cup in 1999. a 1-1 draw was followed by a 2-3 defeat for the blues as w&f enjoyed their best ever cup run before losing 0-5 to ilkeston town. the opposition lie in 8th place in their league having won their first 4 games but lost their last two. it's their third fa cup game already. a replay settled the tie against northampton spencer and this was followed on saturday with a 2-0 defeat of witham town.

six players found the net in the under-18s 7-4 defeat of boca mountnessing at woodside park yesterday. it was the boys' opening eastern junior alliance fixture. the goals came from khama (2), legore, bristow, sellears, chapman, nowak. next saturday's league fixture against enfield has been postponed as the boys travel to stevenage borough in the fa youth cup.

peter dean's versatile performance against newport won the striker/goalkeeper the fans' man of the match award. dean ran away with the vote on 44%. sponsors' pick jason mason and liam hopkins were joint second.
dean won the vote with a first half that saw the 'port defence ran ragged and an assured second half between the sticks following charlie hasler's dismissal.

saturday 13th september
blues played the last 35 minutes with ten men following the dismissal of keeper charlie hasler. but a performance full of heart and passion brought a deserved point. roy essandoh put blues 1-0 up late in the first half. rob duffy converted county's penalty following hasler's dismissal. report and motm here

friday 12th september
the bromley motm poll produced something of a two horse race. but dee okojie edged out peter dean to claim a second successive fan's vote with 28% liam hopkins polled 11% in third place.


wednesday 10th september
dave battram's under 18s earned themselves an fa youth cup tie at stevenage boro this evening. the boys ran out 3-1 winners against tiptree united.


tuesday 9th september
peter dean's wonder-strike settled this evening's setanta shield tie against bromley. substitute piers wixon fired blues into the lead on 51 minutes. bromley's equaliser came seven minutes later before dean's volley from a dee okojie corner. match report and man of the match poll here.
the next round is scheduled to be played week beginning 6th october. more here.

monday 8th september
dave battram was left scratching his head following his under-18s' defeat against thurrock. despite a second half bombardment, the visitors' keeper maintained his side's lead as thurrock ran out 3-2 winners. blues' goals came from amisi khama.

dee okojie's wingplay wizardry earned him the fans' nod in the basingstoke man of the match poll. okojie took just over a quarter of the votes to record his first motm win of the season. craig edwards took second with 19% and substitute liam hopkins came third with 14%.


saturday 6th september
richard howell's first team comeback from injury sparked a 3-2 win for the blues, despite losing 0-2 at half time. craig edwards, dee okojie and danny harris scored blues' second half goals.
match report and man of the match poll here.

thursday 4th september
blues' defensive display at st albans was recognised by supporters in the man of the match poll. just one vote separated the two front runners, matt jones and steve king, with the latter coming out on top.
it's king's third award already this season.


wednesday 3rd september
the under-18s recorded a remarkable 9-3 winning scoreline yesterday at standon & puckeridge. in their penultimate friendly, the goals were scored by harry merton (2), ross bristow (2), george wappett (2), ross fraser, amisi khama and lewis legore. the boys' final friendly will be played this coming sunday against thurrock at silver leys.

tuesday 2nd september
blues lost to two second half goals at st albans this evening. roy essandoh went close to securing a point, when at 0-1 down, the striker's header was ruled out for offside with just two minutes remaining.
match report and man of the match poll here.

monday 1st september
luke webster's impact on the team has been recognised with the fans' man of match award for the recent bognor regis game.
the ex-ipswich town academy youngster won 22% of votes polled in a tight contest.



sunday 31st august
the under-18s drew 2-2 with chelmsford city today at silver leys. ross bristow and michael nowak grabbed the goals. two pre-season friendlies remain before the boys take on tiptree united in the fa youth cup at woodside on wednesday 10th september.

saturday 30th august
three away points were secured for the first time this season at a sunny bognor. tom champion opened the scoring on 7 minutes, latching on to luke webster's free kick. and it was webster who secured the win with a tap-in from danny harris' cross early in the second half. match report and motm poll here.

friday 29th august
the club welcomes the return of roy essandoh. the striker has been signed to improve blues' goals scored column. essandoh made his 100th appearance for the blues at the end of last season and has scored 27 goals in total at stortford. the club has announced that kyri kyprianou has parted company with the best wishes of bsfc for the future.

thursday 28th august
mark simpson's reserves won their first three points in the capital football league at the second time of asking. brimsdown rovers were defeated 3-0 with goals from temitope arojogun, scott smith and george jermy (pictured). the starting eleven was: Charlie Hasler, Liam Hopkins, Scott Barker, Michael Hyem, Luke Silavwe, Dan Chapman, Richard Howell, Jason Mason, Temitope Arojogun, Ross Bristow & George Jermy.

steve king was a popular fans' choice for man of the match following the 2-1 defeat of thurrock. the defender took 37% of the 60 votes cast. matt jones polled 18% to finish in clear second place. king becomes the first blues player to win two man of the match polls so far this season.


wednesday 27th august
stortford's youth team returned from a pre-season friendly at takeley with a 4-1 win. the goals were scored by amisi khama, oscar nisbet, ross bristow and george wappett. next up are chelmsford city this coming sunday at silver leys.

tuesday 26th august
the under-18s fixture against takeley this evening has a change of time and venue. the game has been switched to takeley and will kick off at 7.15pm. for further information contact dave battram on 077196 79584.


monday 25th august
blues came from behind to record a first league win of the season over thurrock at woodside park today.
match report and man of the match poll here.

the man of the match poll following the hayes & yeading game produced a close race. but with just over a quarter of votes cast, the winner is keeper nicky eyre. our recent signing made several good saves to keep blues in the game until the hosts' late winner. steve king pushed eyre closest with 23% of the vote. peter dean came third in the fans' poll.

sunday 24th august
keiron knight's injury time winner denied blues a deserved point at church road today.
match report and man of the match poll here.


friday 15th august
supporters' player of the year, craig edwards, won a close fought man of the match poll for the bromley game. goalscorer edwards took 29% of the votes with 53rd minute sub, dee okojie, just 2% behind. central defender steve king came third.

thursday 14th august
bath city are the visitors to woodside park this coming saturday. with one point from two games, the romans will be looking for a first win of the season.
match preview here.


wednesday 13th august
blues 1-1 bromley
craig edwards' 86th minute equaliser secured blues their first point of the season in a 1-1 home draw against bromley.
match details and man of the match poll here.

tuesday 12th august
the first fans' man of the match award has been won by steve king following the defender's performance at weston super mare. steve polled just over a quarter of the votes cast with goalscorer piers wixon in second place.

sunday 10th august
blues' reserves will take their place in the capital football league this season. the opening fixture is a home one against chelmsford city on wednesday 20th august. all fixtures can be accessed on the reserves page here.

grays athletic under 18s 2-3 blues under 18s
the under 18s recorded an impressive pre-season win today. goals from ross fraser, dan chapman and ross bristow secured a 3-2 win at grays athletic.

weston super mare 2-1 blues
blues returned from the long trek to somerset with a narrow opening day defeat. goals in either half from ex-salisbury striker marvin brown and assistant manager andy gurney cancelled out piers wixon's penalty.
match report and man of the match poll here.

wednesday 6th august
blues 0-2 west ham united XI
the final pre-season friendly saw a creditable performance against a west ham side that included luis boa morte, lee bowyer and freddie sears.
match details here.

dave battram's under 18s have added another friendly. this coming sunday 10th august, the boys will travel to take on grays athletic.
youth fixtures here.



sunday 3rd august
sudbury 0-5 blues
blues cruise to five-goal romp.
the penultimate pre-season friendly resulted in a very satisfying outcome at the king's marsh stadium yesterday. kyri kyprianou scored twice with peter dean, matt jones and piers wixon also on target.
match report here.

tuesday 29th july
dartford 0-1 blues
craig edwards' 52 minute headed goal settled this tight match. the midfielder nodded in piers wixon's cross. blues had new signing, nicky eyre, to thank for maintaining their lead following a spectacular one-handed save just before the hour. match report here.

saturday 26th july
ware 4-0 blues XI
blues' triallists failed to shine today in this county cup exit. ware won at a stroll with early goals in each half and two more either side of the hour mark.
match report here.

friday 25th july
blues have concluded negotiations regarding the sale of greg pearson. the striker has turned down an offer from league 2 side notts county, preferring conference national football at burton albion for an undisclosed fee.

greg joined blues from rushden & diamonds in the 06-07 season. he made 67 appearances for stortford and scored 42 goals. he made his debut in february 07 in the 2-0 home defeat of sutton united as blues briefly headed the conference south league and scored his first goal two weeks later at farnborough town. pearson's last goal came in the final game of the 07-08 season, a 1-1 draw at home to bath city; a goal that saw pearson finish the season as joint top goalscorer. greg leaves for burton albion with the very best wishes from all connected with bsfc.

thursday 24th july
blues' second pre-season friendly resulted in a first win of the season. goals came from kyri kyprianou, danny green and craig edwards.
match report here.

thursday 24th july
the under-18s begin the new season this evening with a pre-season friendly against ware. kick off time is 6.45pm and the venue is the united glass sports ground in harlow.
more under-18s' friendlies and other fixtures here.

saturday 19th july
last night, martin hayes ran the rule over several trialists as blues lost their opening friendly to a strong histon side.
match report here.

friday 18th july
the club has released the names of 15 players who have signed forms ahead of tonight's friendly against histon. those names are: tom champion, dean cross, craig edwards, paul goodacre, danny green, danny harris, charlie hasler,  liam hopkins, michael hyam, george jermy, matt jones, steven king, precious koko, sam taylor & joe welch.

thursday 17th july
the under-16s' swedish adventure is over. the boys came up against a special side in the shape of brazil's cruzeiro, losing by four goals to nil. there was no disgrace in defeat as the brazilians went on to defeat a previous winner 5-0.



wednesday 16th july
dave battram's under-16s safely negotiated their first knockout match with a 7-2 win. helsingborg-based eskilsminne proved decent opposition, but simply not decent enough. three players claimed a couple of goals each - elliot king, george wappett and sheldon sellears. nick evans completed the scoring for the blues. next up in the final 32 are brazilian side cruzeiro at 9.15am on thursday morning.


the under-16s topped their qualifying group after a 4-0 defeat of german side stuhr. goals were scored by dan godfrey, sheldon sellears, george wappett and harold craston. the boys are now through to the knockout phase which begins later this evening.



tuesday 15th july
the under-16s scored a second win in the gothia cup. brazilian side matuso tradition were thrashed 14-0. nathan cox netted six times for the blues to set up a final group match against tv stuhr of germany. the game will kick off at 9.40am local time.



monday 14th july
stortford's under16s have kicked off their gothia cup bid with a 6-0 defeat of umedalens IF.
weblink here.




saturday 12th july
aaron cooper scooped the players' player award at the under-11s presentation evening. the parents' vote went to joe scanlon while jacob forth was the managers' pick. all of the boys received praise for their play during the season.
meanwhile the team are in need of a keeper for the 08/09 season. more information from pete (psjayoung@aol.com) or simon (simon.copper4@ntlworld.com). to qualify, boys must be under 12 on 31st august 2008.

sunday 6th july
bishop's stortford fc will be represented at the world's most prestigious youth football tournament - the gothia cup. dave battram's team will play their first game on monday 14th july against opponents from sweden before facing teams from brazil and germany.
full details on the gothia website here.

saturday 5th july
club statement:

friday 4th july
bluesnet caught up with the team's second-in-command, paul joynes after a summer evening training session.
interview here.


thursday 3rd july
dave battram's under-18s will face tiptree united in the preliminary round of the fa youth cup. the match will be played at woodside park in the week beginning monday 8th september.



blues have been handed a home tie in the setanta shield first round. bromley will be the visitors in the week beginning monday 8th september.

wednesday 2nd july
the blue square south fixtures for the new season have been released. blues' fans face a long trip to the seaside to the home of weston super mare. all league games can now be viewed from the fixtures page.

tuesday 1st july
blues' supporters' and players' player of the year, craig edwards, took part in pre-season training this evening. the club have started pre-season earlier than previously as a sure sign that the club intends to better its 10th spot in last season's blue square south league table.
more photos here.

sunday 29th june
the next trial for the under-18s will take place on thursday 3rd july, not wednesday 2nd. more info from dave battram on 077196 79584.



saturday 21st june
trials for the under-18s side will continue at grange paddocks. the dates are friday 27th june and wednesday 2nd and 9th july. all welcome.

the under16s presentation evening took place in silver leys' clubhouse. recipients of awards included julie sellears who was awarded a bouquet in recognition of her role as club secretary. aaron darnell was voted most improved player. lewis legore took the manager's player award while sheldon sellears' was the players' player.

the under-18s will take their place in the eastern junior alliance next season. before then, the team fly out to sweden for the gothia cup on 10th july. dave battram reports that he and mark simpson are looking forward to the new season following a constructive meeting with luigi del basso and john turner.

thursday 12th june
operations manager, john turner, has announced season ticket prices for 2008/09. the price of admission will remain at 07/08 prices for the majority of supporters. adults will still pay £10, under-16s £4 again and under-12s will gain free entry accompanied by an adult. students can gain entry at a discounted rate for the first time for a fiver. the concession price for over-60s is £6.

season tickets go on sale from saturday 14th june. a discount is on offer for supporters who buy their tickets before 1st july.
prices are as follows:
 

season tickets are available from the club at the following times:
saturday 14th june 10.00-12.00
tuesday 17th june 19.30-21.00
thursday 19th june 19.30-21.00
saturday 21st june 10.00-12.00

further times will follow. supporters only able to visit the club outside of the above hours, should telephone ahead of their visit to check availability.

in addition, entry prices have been announced for the pre-season friendlies against histon (friday 18th july) and southend united XI (thursday 24th july). adults can expect to pay £5, all concessions £3 and accompanied under-12s will gain free entry.

thursday 29th may
martin hayes has outlined his plans for the coming season. the manager is preparing to tighten the financial drawstrings as the club faces the outcome of the court case against bsfc in august.
the club's statement can be read here.