The White Shirts of Dover

BALL CONTINUES TO BREAK RECORDS AT DOVER ATHLETIC

We kicked off October with a good home win against lowly Solihull Moors. They were sitting down in 21st position so I fancied a result here and the boys duely delivered. I gave them a bit more creative freedom to show what they can do and it was rewarded with a 3 goal return. September's stars Ricky Miller and Taylor Tombides both weighing in with a goal a piece.


Our next game saw us at home to another struggling opposition. North Ferriby were sitting in 23rd position and with the confidence from a 3-1 win against Solihull I expected myy team to get another result....which we did. It was more of an even game than I would of liked with North Ferriby giving it a real go and showing some fight, but eventually 2 goals from David Fitzpatrick (brought in for Tombides who was rested for this game) secured the result for us.


Our first away game of October was to high flying Sutton Utd, sitting 5th in the table and in high spirits after their start to the season. I was expecting a tough game but it just didn't come as Sutton simply seemed in awe of our passing game and just couldn't keep up. We romped to a 2-0 victory. A corner provided our first goal with centre back N'Gala getting up to head in from close range before Ryan Burge (CM) finished off a nice team move to put the game beyond doubt midway through the 2nd half.


Time for the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round against Woking. The club is in a pretty dire state at the moment financially and a decent cup run may earn us a bit of prize money to ease the pressure on the bank balance. I'm therefore taking this competition seriously and hoping I can get us through to bag a big tie with a large club further down the line for the big payday. So I fielded a full strength squad for this match and we cruised to a 5-2 win against a Woking team that had lost 4 of their last 5 games. Ricky Miller hitting his first hat trick of the season despite missing a first half penalty.


This was by far the most dominant we have been in a game this season. We finished the match with 65% possession and 22 shots on goal. However, we only actually created one lear cut chance which was slightly disappointing, which Ryan Burge was able to take to get his 2nd goal in 3 games.


Beating Dag & Red at home made it back to back 1-0 wins, showing me that my defence is tightening up and getting stronger as a back 4 unit. Again, we dominated the match creating 18 chances to Dag's 8. Good to see Jim Stevenson getting on the scoresheet for the first time this season from CM.


Last game of October and we were hoping to get through the month with 7 straight wins but unfortunately Chester spoiled the party for us. It was a tight game, backwards and forwards with both teams creating good chances. Chester took their chances as our defence fell apart scoring ratings under 6.4 for all the back 4. I made sure they got a b*llocking after the match and expect an improvement in the next game.

OCTOBER REVIEW

All in all, October was an excellent month with 5 wins and 1 loss in the league taking us to top of the table! We also saw ourselves get through to the 1st round of the FA Cup where we have been handed a home tie to non league minnows Stratford Town.

Unfortunately, a defeat to Chester ended an unbeaten run of 15 games in all competitions, so we are looking to bounce back from that heading into November.

It was positive to see that we kept 4 clean sheets in October, and we now have the best defence in the league conceding only 13 goals in 18 games.

Ricky Miller continued in fine goalscoring form with another 4 goals, with Ryan Burge also emerging as a goalscoring hero this month with 3 goals from central midfield. Also worth mentioning that 20 year old James Caton bagged himself 5 assists from left wing this month.

Top of the league! That's good going in the last couple of months! It'll certainly be a challenge to pull away, but a few good results before the turn of the year will put you in a very strong position!

You're doing brilliantly, also welcome to the site! (I know you joined a few month ago but I don't think you've posted elsewhere on this forum so ) Enjoying this so far so keep it up.

What a month! Hopefully Dover can keep this form trough November.

November Results

We opened November with what was expected to be a relatively easy game against minnows Stratford in the FA Cup 1st Round. I took the opportunity to rest a few first teamers and the stand in players gave me an OK (not great) performance. In what turned out to be a pretty even game with both teams recording 11 shots on goal, it was our superior finishing which came through on the day. Moses Emanuel, coming in for the rested Ricky Miller up front bagged his first goal of the season. Now we could hope for a home draw against a big team to bring some decent gate receipts in.


Barrow, one of the pre season favourites for the playoffs, are having a dire season and find themselves sitting in 18th position going into this game. So confidence was pretty high and my big names were back in the team following their rest for the FA Cup game. Ryan Burge took another goal, continuing his excellent goalscoring form from October. Right Winger David Fitzpatrick, and right back Loui Fazakerley also bagged goals as we attacked the right side of the pitch throughout the match, putting pressure on a stand in Left Back for Barrow who usually plays centre midfield.


Big game up next away at 3rd placed Eastleigh and I expected a big challenge and potentially notching up a loss. Eastleigh just did not turn up for this one, and were bitterly disappointing for a team flying so high. We thoroughly dominated with 58% possession and 11 chances created to their 6. Winger David Fitzpatrick banged in 2 more goals taking his tally to 3 in the last 2 games.


A top of the table clash up next with 2nd vs 1st. Tranmere away and the team I personally felt would win the title when asked at pre season. And Tranmere did not disappoint with their footballing performance as they passed the ball brilliantly at times and created 17 chances against us....However it was just not their day, with my goalkeeper Mitch Walker claiming man of the match with a huge performance. We only created 6 chances ourselves but when you've got that man Ricky Miller up front, sometimes you just don't need a lot of chances to score goals! Cracking result and this was the first time in the season I actually thought 'we could win this league'.


Following two really tough games away from home against the teams in 2nd and 3rd in the table, we were just glad to be back in front of our home fans, no matter who the opposition. Braintree were in the bottom half of the table but came really up for it and took the lead with a good early goal. I encouraged the team, rallying behind them and 2 goals in two minutes from Ricky Miller got us back in control. Early in the second half, Miller secured his hat trick and we thought the game was won. With 10 minutes left, I made some changes and told the team to take a breather which Braintree capitalised on and made us sweat with 3 minutes to go. The boys held on for another 3 points!


Bromley up next and for the first time this season I told my team I fully expected a win before the game. Bromley were sitting bottom of the table with a measly 7 points so far and only 1 win to their name. My boys stepped it up and secured a comfortable 3-0 win and for once Ricky Miller didn't get on the scoresheet, as both my centre mids banged a goal in within the first 20 minutes. The game never looked in doubt and Bromley were awful....sorry Lilywhites fans but I just can't see you surviving the drop this year.

NOVEMBER REVIEW

WOW WHAT A MONTH!! Secured our name in the draw for the FA Cup 2nd Round, where we drew League One's Northampton Town at home. And 6 straight wins, 5 in the league. And we scored 3 goals in every game....18 goals scored in November alone with the formidable Ricky Miller taking 5 of them!

These results have allowed us to open up a bit of a gap at the top with a 4 point lead over 2nd placed Eastleigh, and more importantly we are now 10 points clear of the playoff places. The season is shaping up nicely and I'm feeling excited that this could be a big season for us!

Ricky Miller has to get a mention this month for his 5 goals again. David Fitzpatrick (RW) popped up with 3 goals, as did Jordan Sanderson (CM). Both players I brought in at the start of the season. Also worth noting that Sanderson also added 3 assists this month too!

BALL WINS HIS FIRST MANAGER OF THE MONTH AND IS REWARDED WITH NEW CONTRACT BY DOVER ATHLETIC BOARD

Still going strong, already 10 points in the promotion spots. Great start and first half of the season so far!

You've had a fantastic month there and with a win in your game in hand, you will have a nice gap at the top!

A strong lead at the halfway mark, keep the form going and it'll be plain-sailing in the end!

DECEMBER RESULTS

for the 2nd month in a row we started with an FA Cup game. This time a much bigger proposition in Northampton Town. Although stuck down in 23rd in League One, they were still heavy favourites to win. But their lack of confidence from taking only 4 wins this season showed as we were the stronger side, creating 19 chances on goal and dominating possession with 58%. Twice we took the lead, but were pegged back both times as I think the nerves got to my boys at the prospect of a FA Cup 3rd round draw against one of the big boys in the Premiership loomed. Following a 2-2 draw, there was a feeling in the dressing room that maybe our chance had gone as we knew it would be tough to get the win away from home in the replay.


Our next league game saw us welcome Gateshead who we'd played on the opening day of the season. They had created a mighty 30 chances against us that day but we'd managed the smash and grab win at their place. However, I felt that if they were able to create so many chances again we may not be so lucky, so I tightened things up in midfield with two anchormen rather than just one. The aim was to block anything coming through the middle and exploit the flanks. I'm pleased to say it worked, as we limited them to only 7 shots (all long shots), creating 12 chances of our own with Ricky Miller tidily finishing from two through balls from Jim Stevenson in centre midfield.


First round of the FA Trophy up next and we felt confident on the coach to Bromley who we'd torn apart in a 3-0 win only 3 games ago. I took the opportunity to rest no less than 7 first teamers, and although the game was a little tighter than I'd have liked we still scraped the 1-0 win. Ricky Modeste bagging himself a goal, playing up front in place of the rested Ricky Miller.


4 days later we were away at Northampton for that FA Cup replay. I had a pretty fresh first team available having rested most of them at the weekend. Again we gave an excellent account of ourselves and were the better team for 90 minutes, with 59% possession and creating 10 chances on goal. However, poor finishing looked like it was going to cost us as Northampton were awarded an 82nd minute penalty. My head was in my hands as right back Loui Fazakerley completed took out their onrushing winger as he shot past him and into the box... However, the whole team was jumping for joy as goalie Mitch Walker (Man of the Match) pulled off an unbelievable save to keep us in the cup. We were dominated in extra time but held strong to take the game to penalties which we won 5-4 after 6 penalties each. We'd done it....now we pray for a home tie against a huge club please!!


This would be the third time this season we have played Woking. Having lost 2-1 in the league and won 5-2 in the FA Cup it was hard to know which Woking side was going to show up. And it looked like we had the game in the bag with two goals in the 70th and 73rd minute. However, the boys lost their concentration, stepped off the gas and threw away the lead and Woking came away with an unlikely 2-2 draw. This was hard to take and it felt like a defeat but after the way my boys have played all season to date, I felt it too harsh to criticise so I ensured they knew we were unlucky after the game so not to dent morale too much. Ricky Modeste came off the bench to bag his second goal this month....maybe I had someone to push Ricky Miller for his position up front.


Hmmm I was starting to wonder as this game went on whether I should have given the boys a bit more of a bollocking after throwing the game away in the last match as we just wasn't at the races today. Didn't turn up and looked really poor. To be fair we were lucky to come away with only a 1-0 loss....it could easily have been 3 or 4. I made sure the team knew I was not happy!


Coming into this game off the back of a poor showing against Lincoln there was only one thing to say in my pre game team talk. The boys were told in no short terms 'I expect a better performance'. They responded well, looking motivated and up for it as we left the changing room. I was proud of their reaction and they went out and delivered a performance for me and the travelling fans. 61% possession and 15 chances created as we secured an excellent away win against an Aldershot team flying high in the playoff places.

A good month for the cups saw us progress into the next rounds of the FA Cup (drew Blackburn away) and FA Trophy (drew Guiseley away). Shame with the Blackburn draw as it was a game I could foresee us losing without getting our big payday for a great cup run.

League results read as 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat so a fair month. However, as we had the game in hand and the other teams near the top not having great months themselves, we managed to stretch our lead at the top to 7 points going into the New Year. Even better than that, we are now sitting 15 points clear of the playoff places - and yes if you'd have offered me a playoff place at the start of the season I'd have bitten your hand off!

My strikers were the standout players of the month with Ricky Miller and Ricky Modeste both chipping in with most of the goals. Modeste hadn't played much up until this month as (to be honest) I just hadn't given him a shot. He came to me at the end of November and asked for more playing time so I said I'd give him some games and it's great to see him repaying the faith shown in him. Hopefully this is going to keep getting the best out of Ricky Miller for the 2nd half of the season as he may have genuine competition for his place in the starting lineup.

Now I'm a big believer in signing at least one player in January, even if you have a strong and harmonious squad with everyone performing and playing well. My thinking behind this is that it's a lift, a boost, for the players and the fans. Our fans will want to see new faces coming into the club, a new star to cheer. The players will want to see 'better' players coming to the club to show our ambition and that we are moving forward....let alone from my point of view as a manager it keeping them all on their toes for their place in the team.

So I went browsing the market but with no transfer budget left, I focused on the loanees available to me. One of the positions I still felt I needed cover was for Ryan Burge in centre midfield. I play a DM (anchorman) and 2 centre mids (one support, one attacking). Ryan plays the attacking role, hitting the box late from deep a lot. However, when he has been out, all of my other centre mids are used to playing deeper and more defensively minded. So we were looking for a young talented centre mid with attacking tendencies who wanted to prove themselves to their parent club.

That's when I found him....young Cy Goddard. My scouts had watched him play a few times in the U23's league this year and gave him a good review. Spurs wanted no money towards wages and accepted my loan offer immediately. I sat down with Cy and his attitude was brilliant. He wanted to join us to win things this year. This was music to my ears as before the season started, the thought of winning anything hadn't crossed my mind, but Cy's words reinforced the fact that we really could win something this year! Welcome on board I said as our meeting came to a close as cheeky young Cy dropped me a wink as he left my office. I had a good feeling about this kid!