We'll Meet Again...

Well, that didn't quite go as planned. This was meant to be one last bit of filler to effectively sign us off for what's looking more & more like a complete bust of a season, for us fans at least, after the National League decided they were going to start the season anyway and went cap in hand to the government for a hand out to pay for it all. But even then, the mob in blazers up in Brum had other ideas and put the kybosh on what we had planned as well. 

Osberton Radiator

As I'm now at that age where I'm past caring about haircuts, grooming etc and starting to have to lift up my glasses and hold mobile devices closer to the old boat so I can see what the fuck I'm looking at, I'm also finding myself getting sucked into what can only be described as a Totts-esque world of nostalgia and local history.

Whip It Like Devo

So the Sutton Mega bus carries on falling down the mountain. Wins these days are getting to become a bit of a rarity, certainly so far in 2019. Looking in the books and you can see that we now have a very miserable record of only two wins in thirteen attempts. But we're still a little way off from our rather limp start to the 2012/13 season. So that's a positive to take from Saturday I reckon.

Packing Like Bindon

I’m not one to bang on about the Good Old Days as you know but I was reminded this week that it’s exactly forty years since Ian Dury released his number one smash Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick and the Jam were riding high in the album charts with the seminal Old Mod Cons. That spun me right back to those days in 1978 when I was sixteen, waiting to leave school and sitting bored shitless in the office of the council education and youth officer discussing my career opportunities.

Fraying at the Edges

It is fair to say that our season is rapidly unravelling. Unravelling in fact at a speed not seen since Sir Edmund Hilary dropped his lucky ball of string when stood just shy of the summit of Everest. Since we briefly returned to the top of the table after narrowly beating Chester back on the 24th of March, we've managed to collect a grand total of 1 point from the 15 available. And even in a silly old season like this one where no one seems to really want to go up, that's proving to be pretty damaging to what looked like a nailed on play off spot 3 weeks ago.

Abandonment Issues

Back in November 2012, we brought Gandermonium back from the dead. Dukey and Juan (remember him?) had pestered me sufficiently that I went and gave them a new toy to play with. Of course, having gone to all that effort, the planned first game back 'in action' was called off about an hour after we'd arrived and hit the pub for the mandatory pre-match refreshments. The venue? Maidenhead. Must be something about the place.

Who Needs Tarpey?

So what is up with this season then? Have the footballing Gods decided to completely reverse our form from last season? Let us not forget, we only won two games away from home all of last year and we've already eclipsed that by the end of August. But it does seem that at home we're struggling to break down sides that are set up in a certain way.

Baby Oil, Bubble Wrap & Bin Bags

Three minutes. Three fuckin' minutes. That is all it took to take the maximum points away from us. Not for the first time this season have we let an away side back into the match by switching off in defence. Still a point is a point is a point as they say. And with many teams around us losing, the damage done was slightly limited.

No Taste of The Honey Pot

Maidenhead, oh good old Maidenhead. For a simple away day it does have a reputation for getting slightly out of hand when the Gandermonium boys are in town. I was just hoping that this game would make a change from the debacle that was Mr Kaye on Monday night. Luckily for everyone, Juan was in the driving seat for that one because if it were me, then, well there might've been a bit more swearing involved!

Title Amended For Legal Reasons

So here we are. The end of another season. Another 9 month journey through the hurly burly, all action world of the Conference South draws to a close. And what a journey it's been. Confusing, dismaying, appalling & disappointing in equal measure and just the once or twice briefly lulling us into thinking it actually wasn't actually a waking nightmare and would improve. So a bit like commuting on Thameslink really.

The Long and Winding Road

The day began with the usual stomp towards the station on a overcast Saturday morning. There was time for me to get some dollar out and grab a can of the old doctor before hitting up the ticket man for a one day travel card (£5.90 with a railcard). To my surprise I was not just met by the Firm Leader, but by Taz as well. The clock read 0911hrs as the train rolled into the station.

Poetic Justice, Innit?

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E Murder Squad! Murder Squad!

Today was the day a certain dream ended. And yet another dream continues to flourish as we fast approach the end of another crackin' season under our lord Dos.

Tony Daley's Gay?

Well, what a shit week that was eh? A rather lame exit from the County Cup, the loss of a well liked member of staff thanks to off the field events caused by utter weapons and then very recent ex-U Michael Boateng being nicked and subsequently charged as part of the match fixing enquiry launched a couple of weeks back. As Totts said on Twitter. "What next? Jenny the Giraffe nicked for possessing class A's?"

Add to this the release of James Folkes and Dean McDonald and the loaning of Jamie Taylor to Eastbourne late in the week and needless to say, there's proper sorry frowns all round.

Where was Timmy's Mallet?

We've been here before.....This place seems familiar.....And I'm not even under the influence once again....

Evening fellow comrades, and welcome to another sobering affair from the Duke. Who's turn it is to cover another night in Berkshire, Maidenhead were the opposition tonight, and not unlike other visits to York Road (minus the league cup game there a few years ago) there was very few goals to mention. Well there was only one, but we'll get to that in due course.

It's Bloody Cold - One from the Archives

Having sneaked through to the next round of the FA Trophy on Tuesday with a hard fought 1-0 win at Maidenhead, I've been making the most of a day off trawling through the absolute mess that is the old Gandermonium archives to see exactly what we do and don't have. Not as much as I'd thought as it turns out, but that's another matter!

One of Our Magpies is Missing

Yeah, a 1-0 win will do us fine. Finally, at the third time of trying, we get to play at Maidenhead and for the first time in around 12 years we make it to the second round of the FA Trophy. Thus on a cold Tuesday night at the start of December we descended on Berkshire to get down to business.

We're back. And it's not got any better....

Perfect. Just perfect. We go to all the effort of putting this shit back online and the first game since we went live is fucking postponed. It's like we've never been away!