It’s been great to get back to match action after the international break, which saw three of our squad playing for their home countries and our game against Birmingham postponed. If you caught the Birmingham Wrexham match on Sky, then you’ll see why these are the big boys of the league and, with their huge budgets, are going to be tough nuts to crack!
There was disappointment at Blackpool, with a late – 94th minute - winner from the home side, but at least we’ve broken the ‘Blackpool curse’ and scored at Bloomfield Park for the first time since 1979, thanks to Ed Francis’ goal. Next time lads, next time…
We were back to SJP on Saturday which saw a cracking game and 2-0 victory over Stevenage, putting us nicely in the middle of the table, although of course, it’s very early days. This time last season we were top of the table, and you all know how that went!
I’ve got to say, I’ve never seen Sweenz take as many shots as he did during the Stevenage match. It may have been because his mum was there, who I got to meet that night at, I think it was his 40th, birthday party at Woodbury Park. The place was full, so he must have hired in some friends…It was great to see Jake Taylor, Tis and Julia there. In fact, it was Tis who originally signed Pierce. I’m not sure if we’re ready to forgive him yet! It was also great to see Perks and all the players there, although apparently Gary wasn’t invited – look out for line-up changes next week!
Someone who’s absolutely flying at the moment is a certain young Jay Stansfield, what a player he is becoming. A £15million move from Fulham to Birmingham will benefit us here in Exeter. It’s fantastic news, but as ever not as straightforward as it seems. The payments will be phased, and we might even end up paying more tax in the first year, which just seems ridiculous. But it’s good news, and what’s also great to see is young Stanno scoring goals for fun for the Blues.
At ECFC Women, they’ve made a brilliant start to the season and are second in the FA Women’s National League South. The team’s manager Abbie was awarded manager of the month for August – not a bad way to start off your first few weeks in the third tier of women’s football!
Over at Exeter City Community Trust, the club’s partner charity, they’ve launched their new season of running events. It starts with the Halloween five and ten mile races on October 27 which are swiftly followed by the City Centre Santa Run on December 1. Both are
fantastic family events and profits contribute to the charity’s work in the community, so you can take part knowing that you’re doing yourself good and helping other people…win win!
An organisation we support at Exeter City, and have done for a number of years, is Her Game Too. The movement, which was founded by a group of female fans and aims to tackle sexism and inequality in football and make it a more inclusive environment. The club is dedicating the men’s and women’s double header (against Cambridge and Billericay) at SJP on Saturday October 5 and Sunday October 6 to Her Game Too. And if you buy a ticket for the men’s game, you get £2 off the women’s game the following day – and a double dose of football!
Following the Billericay match, the women are off down the road to face Argyle Women on October 9 and up to Cheltenham on October 13.
For the men, we’ve got two away trips to Wigan and Leyton Orient and then it’s back to SJP for a couple of games, which include that Cambridge match on October 5, followed by Mansfield Town on October 12.
See you at SJP soon – Up the City!
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