Club Notes

Can I assure readers that these notes are being written in Long Melford and not being ghosted elsewhere, I take this precaution because after yesterday's game against Whitton when after filing ,as I have done all the season, the Match report with the Greenun, upon purchase and reading my issue on Sunday I noticed the report had no resemblance to that filed by this writer. I always thought, however minor this aggravation might seem to some, that protocols did exist whereby unless the home Club had "no reporter", then "ghost" reporters would in the interest of good practice and courtesy to the Home Club, keep their ink dry on the day, anyway to have two reports filed is both a waste of time and resource for all involved, so please note this Mr? Ghost Writer from wherever you come from

The report on the day did not coincide entirely with the view of this writer and the many others at the match. Although this was Whitton" Reserve" team as some of their supporters indicated ,and they were minus some of their "superstars" they were keen to grab all the points with an outside chance that still remained of promotion. It was not to be, the Melford team to a man fought with spirit and endeavour, with both keepers making some good saves and some resolute defending from both teams the zero draw was overall a fair reflection of the game, and shows that over the last few weeks that confidence can make such a difference to this young Melford team.

The report also omitted to mention the two tackles in the dying minutes which produced yellow cards for Whitton players (one lucky not to be red) one of which put Danny Statham out of the game and on to the injured list and hopefully with not too much time off work. However this now means that Melford now have six first team players sidelined through injury.

Perhaps the game itself was not the main talking point as in the week following the filing of club notes Chris Tracey accepted the post of the Stanway Rovers Manager. Greatly disappointing for all at Melford, but despite that the ex AFC Sudbury stalwart leaves with the best wishes of everyone at Long Melford.

So one door closes and the other one has not quite opened for Melford, the Board have wisely left the decision of Manager in abeyance until the end of the season with Paul Grainger assisted by Reserve manager Ryan Owens in charge for the final games. They will hopefully make the managerial decision before the players depart for their short break, as this team despite the overall struggle have great potential for next season and already most of them have had illegal? approaches from reps of another Club trying to convince them that Melford is a footballing graveyard. Hopefully despite that distraction most the current team will want to start again next season at Stoneylands.

Everyone at Long Melford would like to place on record their appreciation of the excellent work by Andy Cussans and his team on the fine programme and website that we have at Long Melford Football Club the programme is to the highest standard and the website is active,up to date, and the envy of many. Well done to you all!

What a great afternoon for all those from Melford at Diss Town yesterday. An excellent win against a promotion chasing team, some very well worked goals and three points for Chris Tracey on his 1000th game at this level of football. It was a great gesture by the team to form a "guard of honour" for Chris as he left the pitch. Everyone played well for Melford but without doubt Chris Tracey was monumental on the day, like a rock in defence he capped that off by contributing to three of the goals, from everyone at Melford well done team and Chris in particular.

The game itself saw the home team mainly in command for the first thirty minutes,but after Melford had levelled they had an even share of the play. Again during the second half Melford lost momentum and Diss came close , but a combination of good keeping by Floyd Croll, some determined defending and some pretty poor finishing saw Melford stay in the game. After taking the lead, Melford could well have taken the tally to six,but on the day they will have been well satisfied with the four.

It was particularly pleasing for the Club ,as again, as earlier in the season, the management and Club had come in for some external anonomous sniping on the Club website, that seems to be a common feature these days on all websites and it does make you wonder whilst although freedom of thought is totally applauded, whether the negative aspects of website forums are of any real benefit to the Clubs who have them. Anyway it was good to see that all the players came to the defence of the management making various postings,one can only assume that some of these more unwelcome comments come from players who have left and feel that perhaps there own high opinions on how good they were as players were not shared by the management!

On the debit side last Saturday the Reserves lost to Stanway Reserves by 6 goals to 2, with Manager Ryan Owens getting on the scoring act for Melford. On Saturday (19 April) we will be entertaining Whitton hoping to get something back after taking a six goal hammering the other week and next Saturday we travel to Thetford Town and for the final game to Debenham.

After getting their first point in a run of thirteen games, the unaware visitor may have thought Melford had won a Cup at the end of ninety minutes,such was the relief and joy after coming so close but finishing so far from the moment in a number of games, one could understand the sheer joy of the moment for Tracey's Teenies.This also marked the first point under Chris Tracey,who if he plays at Diss on Saturday will have clocked up his 1000th game in Senior football a fairly remarkable feat for the 38 year old...and a testimony to his dedication to the Local game.

Speaking to the Melford boss he said "To get a point was marvellous the boys have all worked very hard for this over the past few weeks,achieved in the last minute after going behind 2..1 with minutes left of the game, against a much stronger Yarmouth team now under the direction of Dale Gordon.It bodes well for the future, if we can keep these boys together we will go places next season". The Villagers had Ez Durell back from restrictive work rotas, the returning from injury Danny Brind scored a fine goal and coming off the bench Steve Chisholm scored an excellent equaliser.

The only downside was the injury sustained by the promising Luke Bennett who came into contact with the external perimeter concrete path and gashed his leg requiring six stitches at the Hospital,which means he is likely to be out for the rest of the season.

Although the Reserves were without a game it was good to see many of them at the game supporting their first team colleagues. On Tuesday at Whitton , the situation was totally reversed with Melford being hit for six by the rampant home team althought for short periods Melford played well the home team proved too strong and experienced. Perhaps we can get our act together for the game at Diss Town at Saturday.

As this season moves to a close we are now preparing for the next one, friendly matches are being looked at for July when we will be inviting any aspiring Ridgeon players for trials. If you are interested just email the Club your details or if not contact Chairman Alf on SUDBURY 372966 and he will pass your names onto the Managers. Whilst we can still do with some matchday hekpers,we also need a first aider/physio for the first team so if you can help please contact Chairman Alf as above. The following Saturday (19 Apr) we entertain Whitton in our last home game 3pm kick off.

Concentrate on the positive and that is what I will do! Well done to Manager Trevor Warren, coach Neil Bagshaw and all those who have helped in guiding our Under 18s to the Runners up position in the Ridgeons Youth Division South, something for us all to take some pride from at the Club, and hopefully by all accounts with players pushing from the Under 16s we shall be in contention for the League title next season.

With games called off at Whitton and Haverhill, with about 1000 others this writer took a trip to Bloomfields to watch Needham try to make it to the Vase final. It was not to be despite a courageous performance the visitors who played in an excellent all round fashion pipped the local boys at the post. However surrounded by Lowestoft fans diectly connected to Whitley Bay it was an anguish of its own, with the other Suffolk contenders going three goals behind in only 19 minutes, it was almost distressing for these supporters from the Norfolk border. Pleasingly as we all know Lowestoft hung on and will represent the Ridgeons League and Suffolk at Wembley. Well done from Melford and our very best wishes, and of course our sadness at the result for Needham, who should be proud of taking the same flag to the last hurdle.

With Stoneylands waterlogged and the Reserve game off it was with some trepidation Melford left on the long trip to Gorleston last Saturday. Despite the a greeting of sleet,snow and wind lashed rain on the journey, arrival at Emerald Park was accompanied by bright sunshine. and a good playing surface. Starting for Melford was the newly signed Danny Manser,and we thank Tiptree for their help over this, and missing was Ashley Skeggs who was away for the Easter period.

The home team who have revived this season, won by the three goal margin and with experience showing through were worthy winners. Scoring for the home side was Gary Ingrams, who we were told over the sound system, had now scored his 200th goal for the Greens. An excellent feat by good loyal Clubman, what a rare commodity that is in local football these days!

Although the Melford performance picked up in the second half again sheer strength and experience were key factors, and I did not agree that Melford were a "poor" side as reflected in the home team report, in fact I thought this Melford team were better than the Melford team who won at Emerald Park a season ago, but it all a matter of opinion.

In the wooden spoon contest on Easter Monday against Cornard it was the Blackhouse Lane team who took the points and deservedly so. For Melford Danny Statham was great in midfield, in defence Justin Crissell had another good game and on the flank young Luke Bennet impressed with his pace and crossing ability with both feet not that common these days.

Not wishing to attract the comments of others, as overall the officials had a good day, there were two decisions that seemed to upset each side from Melford aspect it was the fact that to a number of people, Lawson handled the ball in an offside position and then scored the opener for Cornard and for Cornard they were distinctly unhappy with the final minute sending off of Whybrow for what was thought to be retaliation by the Cornard player. Perhaps we should all temper our judgements by the fact that over a a game any of these decisions are usually balanced out by the others that fall in favour of the respective teams. For this game Melford were without Ashley Skeggs still away, Dan Manser working and Steve Adams who broke a bone in his hand at Gorleston, hopefully they will return for the game at Whitton on Saturday.

This writer has now concluded that we will probably end up with the wooden spoon this season,so attention starts to focus on the longer term future and to that end there is some positive news, Chris Tracey has accepted to extend his present position for another three years and will now have opportunity to build up his playing strength to put us back amongst the front runners in Divison 1.

There is also a serious message from Chairman/Director Alf Woodhouse and fellow director Simon Garden, if there is anyone out there wanting to invest financially in the Club they would be pleased to hear from you. Like every Club without wealthy benefactors Melford will continue to struggle on despite the odds, but like others it becomes harder when more and more rules and regulations are applied and the financial burden increases. Cornard Manager Chris Symes points this out on regular basis, in his notes , and as this writer said last week in the Melford notes the Grant system seems to be concentrated on items that really are not compatible with the needs of a Ridgeon Div.1 Club.

Speaking to Chris Tracey on Tuesday evening the Melford boss was not pleased with the team performance against Cornard and the Melford manager said he had read the riot act to his team after the game. Looking to next season he was already on the lookout to reinforce his team and had already spoken to one or two contacts who were considering moving to Stoneylands next season.

It would be easy after your team has allowed a 1...1 draw at halftime to subside to a 4...1 defeat,to find all manner of criticism, but oddly enough that would be difficult to do taking the game overall at Stoneylands last Saturday. For the first half in particular the "Teenies" of Melford competed well against the senior and experienced Stowmarket team.

After Carl Daw had levelled Melford after only six minutes, the first equaliser of the season for Melford the omens looked good. Tenacious in tackle and brave in spirit the youngsters of Melford with seniority at a mere 22yrs of age did Melford and Chris Tracey proud, having soaked up some enormous pressure with Stowmarket forcing five corners in as many minutes,one had the sneaking feeling this was to be the day of return for Melford.

It was not to be be midway through the second half saw a rash challenge from keeper Sam Mansfield, to give the penalty goal and from then on in the game seemed doomed for Melford and so it proved to be with the end result a flattering scoreline overall. With Fakenham winning this puts Melford on the bottom with the Norfolk team, so hopefully the numbers in the League will mean that Melford are not destined to revisit the Border League.

With every shift of policy there are side effects, the Tracey policy of concentrating more on Youth, has meant after four years Paul Walker has moved on and with Hadleigh putting in a 7 day notice it looks as though Mark Alder will also be on the move. We thank both players and wish them well in the future. The position of keeper is also unsure as Floyd Croll has extended his period of trials in Denmark, and if he is succesful then he will be back in the full time game and our very best wishes would go with him.

At Stanway the Reserves lost by the same margin 4...1,the Melford scorer was Dave Kenyon by all accounts the game was not great for Melford,one shining display came from 16 yr old Luke Hounsell in the Melford goal,who had a great game. Meanwhile last week the Under 18s came away with a zero draw at Braintree and on Maunday Thursday travel to meet Harwich who are the League winners with Melford still hoping for the runners up spot.

On the Development side of the Club work has started on the creation of a Mini Soccer pitch at the River end of the ground,with a total costing of �3500 the Youth Section, players and all turned up Saturday morning to make a great start to the project. Grateful thanks to all who have helped so far with equipment,manpower hopefully that will continue. The Club is grateful to Long Melford Parish Council and Suffolk County Council through the Councillors Locality Fund who have indicated help with the funding,needless to say other avenues explored fundingwise to assist with the development of this grassroots project have borne no fruition for various reasons. It amazes this writer and a lot of others that whilst we as a country spout on about helping with the provision of such facilties to keep "young people usefully engaged" when it comes to the crunch there are a multitude of reasons why grants and funding are not applicable! So if you out there and can help financially or in kind Youth Section Chairman Dave King would be pleased to hear from you on 01787 881285

Speaking to Manager Chris Tracey after the 2..1 defeat at Clacton,the Melford Bossman who was sidelined with a broken nose from the Stowmarket game but was upbeat about the performance of the very young Melford team. He said " Considering that we had the youngest team of the season,with an average age of 19 yrs,the boys did exceptionally well and there is little doubt that with every game there are improvements, I am sure this process will continue over the rest of the season".

Most people connected with Melford would agree with those sentiments, and it was good to see the introduction of some further young signings. With the regular keeper Floyd Croll on a week's trial with Danish Division One contenders Sikeborg IF, Youth team keeper Sam Mansfield was pressed into action. Making debuts were teenager Luke Bennett signed from Histon, and Dave Gibson from Lawford who was probably the oldest player in the team in his early twenties.

After taking the lead through Carl Daw, against the forceful wind, most people from Melford at halftime thought we might steal a point or so, but is was not to be. On came substitute Kevin Coyle, and he within minutes set up Sean Hillier for the leveller and then rifled home a free kick for the winner. Perhaps that is where experience overcame raw young talent, but for those from Melford who made the journey to the Rush Bowl it was another improved performance, with all the team working hard and Adams and Crissell outstanding in defence.

Saturday will see Melford take on Stowmarket with Chris Tracey back on the field, and although two seven day approaches are still out it is unlikely they will have produced any results. The following week Melford go to Gorleston, and on Easter Monday travel to Cornard,whilst the Reserves entertain Stanway on March 22nd and have a home game against Halstead on Tueday March 25th KO 7.45 pm .

At the end of the 1..0 defeat against Stowmarket yesterday,it would have been easy to shout "SNAP", as it was an identical defeat to that suffered the previous week against Godmanchester losing by the single OWN goal. The considerable difference this time was that after nineteen minutes the home team lost defender Carr who it appears was over zealous in imitating a windmill in the Melford penalty area, and as far as anyone could ascertain was sent off for his high arm actions.

Despite the defeat again there were some positive signs in the defensive regions, although in what was a wind blighted game with very limited amounts of football being played by both teams. From my own perspective I think the level of ability in general has decreased since Melford first entered the League, moving back that short time, I think the Reserve team that we had at the time would if resurrected find victory against many of the current Division 1 teams.

Anyway to get back to the present Chris Tracey has worked very hard in his short time at Melford and as stated earlier there are definite signs of improvement, and to that end we fielded new signing Richard Grimster, the 20 year old defender joining us from Ely City,who Melford thank for their speedy help in effecting the transfer.

Like many teams in the League we seem to have the ability to create chances but fail in our efforts to convert them to goals. Speaking to General Manager Paul Grainger yesterday it would appear that the Club have four seven day notices in for players in an attempt to bolster the team for the final run in, that being more of an important issue with Fakenham picking up three points yesterday and now hot on our heels from the bottom of the table.

On Saturday (8 March) we are at FC Clacton, the following Saturday (15 March) we have Stowmarket at Long Melford so perhaps we can avenge our defeat yesterday then . Easter Monday we have a crunch match against near rivals CORNARD, when we travel the short distance to Blackhouse Lane. See you there!

Despite the defeat to an unfortunate own goal,there were some positives from the Godmanchester game for newly installed Player Manager Chris Tracey. Having worked hard at training sessions to improve the defensive side of the Melford game,the improvement was evident against Godmanchester,only to be breached the unfortunate "fluke" own goal giving the visitors all the points.

For Melford Tracey himself had a commanding game and again Ashley Skeggs was the pick of the team with a hardworking display. The game itself was not a spectacle for the purist,and was not helped by the crosswind and the very bumpy surface of the pitch. But taking all that into account there were signs of change and surely the points must soon come soon.

It is with some trepidation that one mentions the referee,but it will suffice to say that not many people were impressed that in a pretty docile game,ten yellow cards were issued with six going to Melford. Not a good day for those at Stoneylands,losing all the points through an own goal, a �150 mandatory fine for the Club for the bookings and to cap it all the Boiler produced no hot water after the game for the showers,no wonder Chairman Alf looked grim after the game!

But cheer did arrive from Tiptree where the Reserves returned with an excellent 4..2 victory,where it appears Dave Kenyon scored two great goals, Barry Budgen got a cracking goal and Paul Walker who was the man of the match crowned the display with an excellent goal. Overall it was a great performance by the Ressies and gets them well and truly back on the winning trail.

For the newly appointed Player Manager Chris Tracey, on his first "live" start last Saturday some promising factors emerged despite the the 3..1 defeat to FC Clacton. The start of the game was not good for Melford when the referee deemed that a point blank shot from Clacton which hit a Melford defender on the hand,was not self protection but was handball and awarded a freekick just outside the penalty box.

With the aplomb of Beckham,the lively Waters despatched the ball round the defensive wall into the top corner of the net. A pretty goal but not so pretty for Melford. For two thirds of the half Melford were much of the time chasing the ball and it was no great surprise when the Clacton lead was increased,Melford losing the ball in the wrong place and Periera ran through to slot past the advancing Croll.

To the credit of Melford they forced their way back into the game and were unlucky not to get a goal back before the half time whistle when Skeggs rattled the crossbar, Budgen headed the rebound goalwards for Rulton to dive and save,and squeezed in before the half time whistle Brind with a fine shot brought out another diving save from Rulton.

Although Melford were lucky not to concede from the restart,urged on by Tracey the second half was much better for Melford and after Sean Hillier against the run of play had scored for Clacton at last Ashley Skeggs got a deserved goal for Melford. New signing Budgen then came close with a header and on another day with a another referee Melford could have had a penalty in the dying minutes when Statham was clipped by Gibson in the penalty area the referee waved play on, and Chris Tracey was rewarded with a yellow card for his protests.

So overall an improved performance, although Chris cannot be expected to produce miracles,with the promise evident on Saturday, points I am sure will come before the end of the season. At the ground on Saturday was a young defender who has featured with various Ridgeons League Clubs who should be signing in the week and will perhaps feature in the squad against Godmanchester.

The Reserves faltered again with a 1..0 defeat away to Halstead Reserves,this will have been a huge disappointment for Manager Ryan Owens after such a promising start to the season., and he will without doubt be working hard to get them back on the right track.

It was a frustrating but encouraging start for the new Player Manager Chris "Lurch" Tracey at Hadleigh yesterday. Frustrating from the point of view that Chris along with four other regulars were out through injury and unable to take part, but encouraging that despite that circumstance the depleted Melford team turned in a gritty and fighting performance against the strong Hadleigh outfit,and despite the goal difference there was not too much difference between the actual possession and chances tally,except of course Hadleigh were able to convert more.

Early on Melford looked the more impressive and in fact could have taken the lead but young Carl Daw when through on goal placed his shot inches wide, when a goal looked certain. However it was the home team who steamed into a three goal lead by halftime,with Melford losing the evergreen Mark Dack with injury just before halftime.

With new signing striker Barry Budgen replacing Dack, Melford came back in the second half when 17 year old Karl Delves deservedly got a goal back when he headed his rebounding shot into the net. Then another blow for Melford when 17 year old Craig Green making his full debut for the first team, crumpled under a robust challenge,many of us thinking he had a broken leg. It is pleasing to report that after being carried off and taken to hospital,he will be on crutches for about three weeks with ligament damage. So much for antique Hadleigh supporter who whilst Craig was writhing on the ground suggested the Melford youngster was feigning injury,perhaps Craig can now expect a get well card from that person!

Melford Manager Tracey was upbeat about the Melford performance after the game, he said " Two of their goals came through the defending inexperience of our team, which I will be working on during the next few weeks, other than that we have the basis of a team that can and will improve over the rest of the season".

Although this was a defeat for Melford it was clear to many the overall performance of Melford was not that of a team second rung from the bottom of the League,and to concur with the Manager this performance repeated Melford will start to get points under their belts.

In addition to the recent signing of Justin Crissell who improves every game, the other new signing striker and John Taylor "ringer" Barry Budgen looks to be a very useful addition. Not sure about his height I thought John Taylor was about 6ft. 3" whilst one of the management said they thought Barry was 6ft 5", we will find that out in the next few weeks!

This underlines the fact that at Melford we still think there are many players out there at Junior level who can make it at Ridgeons Level, and we are still willing to give any a chance if you are interested and feel you would like a trial then make contact through our excellent website or ring Chairman Alf on 01787 372966, at Melford you get a fair deal.

Whilst at Stoneylands the Reserves went down to AFC Sudbury 2...1,with only 19 paying spectators,we at Melford were aware of the rival first team game at Sudbury,and had suggested Friday night,when nearer 100 would have been there,but some of the Sudbury squad were unable to make it. So best plans at times do fail! The scorer for Melford was young substitute Jake Bennett who impressed when he came on . Lee Rayner made the most of a defensive mixup to score for Sudbury, whilst the other error was pounced upon by ex Melford player Danny Stokes.

Credit must go to our young ladies Under 16s team who turned over League leaders Bury Bluebirds by 4... 3 at Melford last week. Watching them train last week they all seemed very keen and skilful, and there is every possibility that next year in addition we will be starting a Senior Ladies Team.

That great man Bill Shankly once said " some people think that football is a matter of life and death, I can assure them it is much more serious than that", on a minor scale that is exactly the case for many people who are involved with the game at a much lower level. For many the ritual of putting the coat on and getting down to the local football match at whatever level, on a Saturday provides a window of relief from the humdrum of the working week. For some, credits do emerge from a period of restricted involvement with the early paint brush replacing the watching eye to the glee of some, whilst on the debit side the family moggie cowers below the kitchen table fearful of the angry wrath of the master due to his absence of a weekly dose of football. Not a new fashion of events,except as everything there seems to be a growing difference. Are we seeing the Global Warming effect upon our local Football? I ask, in yonder years this time of the year seemed to have interruption through frost and snow, and now it is the deluge of rain, or are we going through some cyclical change that has endured over the centuries of time?

Anyway for the second week running Melford were not involved in a footbal Match,with the cancelled Halstead game being moved to January 26th , weather permitting of course. The following week we journey to Gorleston hopefully with high pressure in control the game will go ahead, with Gorleston providing some stiff opposition, Melford will have to be on their best performance level to get a point.

With the Melford game being called off at Debenham through a flooded pitch,this scribe already committed to visit that area stopped off at Stowmarket and witnessed Cornard take all the points to level with Melford in the league table.

Whilst back at Stoneylands the Reserves managed to hold to zero draw against Tiptree, with keeper Sam Mansfield the hero of the day for Melford producing saves to keep the scoreline intact. One of the positive factors of the day was the fact that some 44 people paid to watch the game at Stoneylands, which is a total that some teams find hard to produce for Division 1 games.

Saturday will see Halstead Town at Stoneylands and on Tuesday Jan 29th we have Walsham at Melford in the Harwich Charity Cup. Next game for Melford after that will be the journey to take on Gorleston at their majestic setup ,at the moment they are very much the in form team,so we will have to work hard.

Last week young Carl Daw,who has been the subject of several approaches, on his 17th birthday signed a contract with Melford till the end of the 2009 season, according to Manager Paul Grainger he was pleased to pledge his immediate future to Melford, as have the other youngsters at Melford who have had similiar approaches.

On the question of players included in the Debenham squad was Justin Crissell another youngster who has played in the SIL and local Bury League, and has signed for Melford it seems that the two other 7 day approaches have been unsuccessful. Still the search will go on for players who put football ahead of the monetary rewards that seem to control so many these days.

The other Saturday Melford were mentioned in a letter from a local referee about a match report which was not complimentary of the referee in charge, of a game, the report was not down to this scribe, but one can only say that if you hold what might be called an official public position and you have a bad day then you cannot be above fair comment from the people who in effect are there judging your performance,it seems a long way from the tale that when my uncle refereed a village local derby near Bury St Edmunds,he was adjudged so bad by the local Villagers he was dipped into the nearest cows water tank after the game had finished!! not that I would condone a return to that situation.

On a bright, crisp afternoon yesterday the youngsters of Melford tried to emulate the feat of the ghosts of the past at Melford by progressing to the semi final of the Suffolk Senior Cup but it was not to be. Although Melford battled hard it was the Brettsiders who bossed most of the game and ran out worthy winners with an appropraite scoreline, everyone at Melford wishes Hadleigh well in the semi final.

Speaking to several of the home supporters at the match last week, I think most share the view that with a couple of experienced players added to the squad Melford willl start to go places. There is a little hope that an experienced player may arrive midweek from a Club not far away, but the odds seem to be that will happen next season and not this one.

In recent times it has been good to see a couple of the "Golden Oldies" down at Stoneylands. At the Cornard match a certain John Taylor was there not the recent John Taylor, but the Melford striker who joined just after ex Colchester player John Harrison was Manager/Coach at Long Melford, and had a succesful season before being lured away by the "big money" at Braintree/Crittalls. At the Hadleigh game was Robin "Doughy" Beard ( his dad was the local baker) ,who like many Melford boys was coached at Sudbury Modern Secondary School by Sudbury Town Manager the late Jimmy Chalmers (ex Queens Park player). After a succesful career playing for Melford , Doughy was lured to Sudbury Town by Chalmers, and against the trend for any Melford boy joined Sudbury. Although many "outsiders" have played for both clubs it was not an easy decision years ago when Sudbury and Melford were on an even League basis, of course that has changed with status over the years with Melford boy Micky Boggis being one of the most successful Melford boys to join Sudbury during the peak of his career.

On a chill night,that would have done the Artic Monkeys proud, at Cators Lane Saffron Walden on Wednesday night Melford bit the dust via a 85th minute header from Chadwick. Not the most enthralling game to watch but interesting noting some of the side events that took place. One has to speculate that most of the match officials and players get a regular fill of Match of the Day,as there seems to be an increasing tendency to imitate, at local level.

In a game as benign as an end of term bunfight at St Trinians,the match official possibly suffering from a bout of post Christmas Card Traumatic Disorder, waved his yellow cards with gay abandon,with Melford running out winners by 5 to 1,he certainly got noticed!!. Then we moved onto the latest player habit, that when you are crunched in tackle you,give out a Tarzan like howl of pain,roll over six times clutching your legs,then as and when the opposition player has been booked you jump up,smile on face to be greeted by mass adulation from your team mates for having got an opposition player booked.Hardly cricket chaps!. As usual the friendly welcome at Saffron Walden overcame any side effects of the game,complimented by the fantastic catering provided,thank you Safrron Walden FC .

The game itself was pretty well dominated by the home team,who carved out numerous chances but were foiled by a dogged Melford defence and some great keeping once again from Floyd Crioll. Second half Melford came into the game and provided some work for the home keeper and Tony French netted but was declared offside,then as seems to be common with Melford at Cators Lane, Saffron Walden took the points at the end of the game when Melford for sheer courage would have been entitled to consider a pint was a just result. Manager Paul Grainger was fairly upbeat after the game.pointing out that with seven regulars missing the overall performance had been good, a point you you could not argue with.

After the encouraging display against Downham, the Villagers carried the form into the local Derby against Cornard winning by four goals to nil. A deserved win with a flattering scoreline. The brilliance of keeper Floyd Croll and the poor finishing of Cornard must have meant that Cornard Manager Chris Symes was scratching the remaining hairs from his head! but that is football for you. For Melford this was a good all round performance,and sent many of the 179 paying customers home singing "Happiness,Happiness". For the hardworking Melford Board and officials the attendance itself was very encouraging. Bolstered by some 60 "groundhoppers" from such diverse locations as Havant up to Nottingham is is a phenomenom that we would welcome every week at Long Melford. This was added to by the AFC Horn Brigade who gave added impetus to the home players.

After this good showing the game against Ely City ended in an disappointing manner with Melford being well and truly beaten by a strong well organised promotion chasing Robins team. Again although Melford showed some pluck,they were shoved aside by the sheer strength and organisation of the visitors,hero again for Melford was keeper Floyd Croll who excelled with some brilliant keeping.

Hopefully Melford will up the tempo for the Saffron Walden game (Jan.2nd) and be in the right frame of mind for the Senior Cup game on Saturday at Stoneylands Speaking to Manager Paul Grainger after the match he was still upbeat about his young team,and he was still confident that Melford would get amongst the points early into 2008, there were also said the Manager some important developments that might materialise before long in connection with the team.

On another point the Club is still looking for a First Aider to help on the bench during matches if you can help please ring Paul Grainger on 07984 914909 you would be very welcome. What we also need is fans down at Stoneylands to get behind the boys,so please give it a try!!