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Rank: Championship  Groups: Registered, Moderator, Manager Joined: 5/29/2009 Posts: 1,533 Points: 4,602 Location: Woodies
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Bit of alack of chat on the messageboard of late so thought I would start people thinking about the Div 1. BS XI - some new faces expected as Jim trawls through the amateur ranks of Bristol and the surrounds as rumour has it the likes of Franco and Jonah aren't playing this year. So will no doubt be very strong again and undoubtably the "team to beat". Started strongly against Christchurch on Saturday so back to back titles will be the target and my guess is they will get it. Christchurch - surprised a few people last year where they challenged BS XI almost all the way but have always had a good team capable on their day of beating anyone. In the season we won the league having lost only 3 games we were royally thumped by CC. I expect them to be consistent again and potentially top 3. Counterslip - a few comings and goings, more goings than comings but some fresh faces mean that Slip continue to have youth on their side. No doubt they will have some inconsistent results and their obligatory win over BS XI although not sure that will come this Saturday. Should have too much to get involved in the relegation scrap but maybe not enough for the top 3. I would say 5th or 6th. Hillfields - the loss of Rich to the Reserves will no doubt strengthen the team  but I can only see Hillfields scrapping near the bottom. Kensington Baptists - bit of an unknown to me but they appear to be strong. Some teams have struggled when they have come up to the top division and battled at the bottom but I have no idea of their strength so can't comment. The top of Div 2 was pretty competitive so I would expect them to be strong. Pip n Jay - GFA winners last year will give them a lift for this season. With Ken finishing University I would think he is more available this season for the league so they will be stronger (despite him actually working for Woodies but I'm not bitter.....). Still iffy defensively but they will score goals with the likes of Ali and Ken so I would expect another mid table finish. SAS - continue to be strong and challenge at the top. New keeper installed will help them and another year playing together. Top 3 is possible again. Thornbury - won Div2 well last season and will be stronger than they were when they were in Div 1 last. In the Cat Hancox they have a good goalscorer but I think they will still be battling a bit near the bottom. Widcombe - not sure what to expect from them this season as they started poorly last season but finished quite well. Depends on what they recruit in the student world this September/October but I fear they may get involved in the relegation scrap. Woodies - well, lost 3 decent players this year in a striker and 2 wingers but we have a few new players (including twins who nobody can tell the difference between them yet!) so the future of Woodies is secure with some good young players but whether we have enough to challenge at the top only time will tell. Last season ended poorly for us, we will be looking for top 4 again and we WILL nail that flipping GFA trophy before I die !!! Enjoy the season everyone.
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Rank: Championship
Groups: Registered, Manager
Joined: 5/25/2009
Posts: 1,758
Points: 5,277
Location: 'Slip
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Pretty good summing up Eakes. I still think BSXI are the team to beat. Not many people could do it last season, but one good looking side did manage I think...... They might have lost two or three players, but they'll be right up there again. Hard to read much into their game v CC the other day. I think I remember BSXI beating them 4-0 early on last season, so on that basis, CC have improved! At the moment, I'd guess they'll be up there again, and I would currently predict SAS to make up the rest of the top 3. Woodies and Pip n Jay are the teams most likely to break into the top 3 from last season. Woodies could probably do with more consistency in personnel at the back and maybe a slightly better keeper if they're to do that (not that we tested their keeper last year, just what I'm told), and PnJ probably need a consistent turn out from Ken to do so. I'm disappointed with how we're shaping up at the moment. We've had the worst pre-season I can remember in terms of results (and player availability come to think of it), and having started the summer thinking we'd have a good season, I've now lost the two people voted 1st and 2nd for player of the season last year, plus a new signing who has dropped out due to a bad injury. It remains to be seen how we will fair....... Only BCFA team to beat BSXI 4 times since 12th December 2009.....
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Rank: Championship  Groups: Registered, Manager Joined: 5/25/2009 Posts: 1,140 Points: 3,435 Location: Castle Green AFC
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I think it will be BSXI again, you only have to look at their record over the last 7 seasons available on Full Time, top 2 every season? Plus over 7 seasons they have on average lost 3 games a season and that is not bad going over that length of time. I can't really speak for the rest, although for alliengence sake I hope Counterslip sort themselves out. Don't underestimate Thornbury or Kensington. That was my 4th season on the trot in the 2nd division and it was by far the toughest and most competitive. We had a number of matches that would not have been out of place in the 1st division, not only against those 2 but also against the likes of Welton and BUCU. Maybe Kensington could be more of a surprise package as hardly anyone in the 1st div will know anything about them, in the meantime Thornbury will be solid and hard to beat. They will be the strongest sides promoted since SAS went up. Green Army!"You don't stop playing football because you get old, you get old because you stop playing football"Mangotsfield and Castle Green URC
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Rank: Championship
Groups: Referee, Registered
Joined: 5/31/2009
Posts: 1,578
Points: 4,737
Location: 'Slip
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Who got voted 2nd last season?? Congratulations to Woodies.
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Rank: Championship
Groups: Referee, Registered
Joined: 5/31/2009
Posts: 1,578
Points: 4,737
Location: 'Slip
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I now know who else has left. Definite relegation candidates now :-( Top scorer gone (along with his physical attributes and non-stop closing down) and also our second top scorer from last season will get limited match play due to reffing committments. Seriously worried. Congratulations to Woodies.
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Rank: Championship Groups: Registered, Moderator, Manager Joined: 5/29/2009 Posts: 1,533 Points: 4,602 Location: Woodies
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No Tim?? Shame, really nice chap to play against as well. Ian, are you sure you haven't just regurgitated your comments from last season about Hillfields and Nailsea?
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Rank: Football League  Groups: Registered
Joined: 6/2/2009 Posts: 210 Points: 630 Location: pip n jay fc
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A bit of a late entry seeing I've missed the deadline for predictions by 3 days so: BSXI - As previous posts have said, still the team to beat, even if the current stats read P 2 W 1 L 1. Christchurch - I reckon they could finish in the same position as last season, if all the key players can stay fit. Top 3. Counterslip - Unpredictable, with a few new additions and youth they could well be a force. Replacing Moody will be important. 5th Hillfields - Joe's lads played well on saturday and the match may have been different. It depends how they fare against newly promoted the Baps x2. Bottom half. Kensignton - Seemed ok from a distance against SAS, I expect a strong showing with a few upsets. Not to be taken lightly. 6th Pip n Jay - After the GFA cup win obviously the aim is to improve on our league placing. If Kendo returns and we can tighten up at the back (maybe without me! ) then there could be a chance. Important GFA match in a few weeks time v's BSXI. SAS Utd - Another strong season, can they push on and imrpove on 3rd, only time will tell. A bit of a 6 pointer on 17th september for us when we play them. Top 4. Thornbury - The welcome return of the Baps sees everyone's favourite away ground once more. Unsure of squad but with 'The Cat' in attack and Cookie they should be ok. 7th. Widcombe - Again, slightly unpredictable, I didn't play in our 2nd match towards the end of 2010/11 but heard they struggled to bring a starting XI. If on song (as mentioned) can beat anyone on their day. 8th Woodies - With Eako bitterly disappointed about last season's finish there will be a few aspects to improve on over the next 9 months. Will GFA focus take away from the league (do a spurs!), I'm not sure. Top half. I haven't predicted the relegation places, can't be too unkind. Not sure about Divisions 2 & 3 although from my sources they are becoming increasingly stronger over the years; Division 2 top 3 VCF Santos Castle Green Nailsea/Powerhouse Division 3 top 3 Suburbs Utd Hartcliffe Saints OCR http://pipnjayfc.ukffteams.co.uk/ Pip n jay GFA Minor cup winners 2010-11
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Rank: Championship
Groups: Registered, Manager
Joined: 5/25/2009
Posts: 1,758
Points: 5,277
Location: 'Slip
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phil wrote:I haven't predicted the relegation places, can't be too unkind.
You haven't, although you have predicted Kensington 6th, Thornbury 7th and Widcombe 8th. You've gone for BSXI, Christchurch, Slip, SAS and Woodies to be top half, so that only leaves 9th and 10th, and the only teams left are Pips and Hillfields, so presumably they're your tips for relegation? Only BCFA team to beat BSXI 4 times since 12th December 2009.....
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Rank: Championship  Groups: Registered, Manager Joined: 5/26/2009 Posts: 825 Points: 2,487 Location: Hillfields
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My predictions for Div 1 1 SAS - Good signings I think if they can keep a strong team and believe they will be right up there. 2 Counterslip - Think they will be in the hunt right till the end. 3 BSXI - Think they will be in there as always but lose more than the usual 2/3 games. 4 Woodies - Think they will win the GFA cup but may just lose out on the league 5 Hillfields - If we can strengthen squad then think Joe will spring a few surprises this season 6 Pips - They are a good team and with a GFA cup under their belts think they wont be in the relegation hunt as before but not sure how much they can push near the top. 7 Thornbury - Think they will be consistant enough to survive 8 Christchurch - Think they wont be at the top as they were last season 9 Kensington - Good team if they keep a strong squad all season they will be a challenge but they always seem to struggle to put out a constant squad. 10 Widcombe - Think they ma start badly but this time not recover as quickly as they did last year. Div 2 2 from Santos Nailsea and Castle Green to go up 2 from Pistol Powerhouse and Rock to go down. (this division looks well tough struggled to pick a team to go down and 5 of the 10 teams have been in the firsts div) Div 3 2 from OCR, Suburbs and Hartcliffe to go up Has seen 4 lads through his team become Christians in the last 18 months or so - How awesome is that?
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Rank: Football League Groups: Registered
Joined: 6/2/2009 Posts: 210 Points: 630 Location: pip n jay fc
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Ok Nathan, that wasn't quite what I intended. I will change my predictions: 1. BSXI 2. SAS 3. Christchurch 4. Pips 5. Woodies 6. Counterslip 7. Thornbury 8. Kensignton 9. Hillfields 10. Widcombe I know, it's different from 24 hrs ago. Maybe I could just alter this post everyday from here until the end of the season, surely then I will get at least 50% correct! http://pipnjayfc.ukffteams.co.uk/ Pip n jay GFA Minor cup winners 2010-11
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Rank: Championship
Groups: Registered, Manager
Joined: 5/25/2009
Posts: 1,758
Points: 5,277
Location: 'Slip
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Lol Phil, although I think your second go could be pretty good, especially the top half of the table. Not sure about the bottom, which will be hard to predict until we've had a few games to size up how good the promoted teams really are. Only BCFA team to beat BSXI 4 times since 12th December 2009.....
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Rank: Football League  Groups: Registered
Joined: 9/29/2009 Posts: 231 Points: 708 Location: Welton Wonderland
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Div 1 1. SAS 2. BSXI 3. Pips 4. Christchurch 5. Counterslip 6. Woodies 7. Thornbury 8. Widcombe 9. Hillfields 10. Kensignton Div 2 1. Castle Green 2. VCF Santos 3. Nailsea 4. Welton Rangers FC 5. Rock 6. Powerhouse 7. BUCU 8. Gordano 9. Corinthians of Bath 10. Bristol Pistols Div 3 1. Suburbs 2. OCR 3. Hartlciffe 4. Hayhill 5. Racing Santos 6. Hilfields Res 7. Carmel 8. Grace Church The only time you run out of chances is when you stop taking them.
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Rank: Championship Groups: Registered, Manager Joined: 5/25/2009 Posts: 1,140 Points: 3,435 Location: Castle Green AFC
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Division 2 Last season div 2 was very tough and competitive and without doubt the hardest of the last 4 years I have experienced since leaving the 1st division behind and some wonderful years at Thornbury. I suspect that this season will pretty much follow suit. VCF Santos and Nailsea will undoubtedly be bringing age and experience to a division more usually accommodating teams of average young age and they will certainly be battle hardened from the 1st division experience. Meanwhile the also rans from last season such as Welton, BUCU and Castle Green will be looking to go one further this time. BUCU are always an unknown at the start of a season and what the class of 2011 is like remains to be seen. Will there be a new Jack Edmondson for instance? Welton held up well last year after promotion and the Men Of Courage took scalps and could well kick on again. Castle Green? Well we'll wait and see, who knows! Rock appear to be enjoying a bit of a revival and a few familiar old names are back on the team sheet and the score sheet. Will this continue? Pistols have had a tough opener against Santos last week, but can be quite resilient. Castle Green will find out tomorrow night when we enter the fray. Corinthians surprised me last Sat, although after the final game of last season when they had some excellent players on display, they can certainly be capable. Will Big Dave become a regular? Then there are the new boys. Gordano looked sharp and quick on Saturday and capable of ruffling a few feathers, meanwhile Martin's boys at Powerhouse should also be coming into the new season bouyant after a triumphant 2010-11 season. So we are back in league action tomorrow night. Let the games commence! Green Army!"You don't stop playing football because you get old, you get old because you stop playing football"Mangotsfield and Castle Green URC
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Rank: Championship
Groups: Referee, Registered
Joined: 5/31/2009
Posts: 1,578
Points: 4,737
Location: 'Slip
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Ian, this is a preview of div 1 not the lowly div 2 ;-) Congratulations to Woodies.
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Rank: Championship
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Joined: 5/25/2009
Posts: 1,758
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Location: 'Slip
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Having played against Castle Green, Welton and Powerhouse during pre-season, my thoughts are this: Castle Green looked the most complete package of the three. Welton probably played the best football and looked well organised at the back, but were lacking the goal threat CG had when we played them, although I understand their keeper that day usually plays up front. Powerhouse weren't bad and had a couple of decent centre mids, but definitely the weakest of the three. Also need more threat going forwards (I realise they scored 3 times against us, but two of the goals were gifted by the ref and me respectively). As far as div 1 goes, I won't predict the whole division as I think it's too difficult at this stage, but I am going to predict the same top 3 as last year. I think the chasing pack will be a lot closer this year though, with Pips and Woodies most likely to break into the top 3. Only BCFA team to beat BSXI 4 times since 12th December 2009.....
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Rank: Championship Groups: Registered, Manager Joined: 5/25/2009 Posts: 1,140 Points: 3,435 Location: Castle Green AFC
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RingofFire wrote:Ian, this is a preview of div 1 not the lowly div 2 ;-) Surely not a case of a slip player complaining of someone else taking a thread off topic?  Green Army!"You don't stop playing football because you get old, you get old because you stop playing football"Mangotsfield and Castle Green URC
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Rank: Championship Groups: Registered, Manager Joined: 5/26/2009 Posts: 825 Points: 2,487 Location: Hillfields
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Crofty7 wrote:My predictions for Div 1
1 SAS - Good signings I think if they can keep a strong team and believe they will be right up there.
2 Counterslip - Think they will be in the hunt right till the end.
3 BSXI - Think they will be in there as always but lose more than the usual 2/3 games.
4 Woodies - Think they will win the GFA cup but may just lose out on the league
5 Hillfields - If we can strengthen squad then think Joe will spring a few surprises this season
6 Pips - They are a good team and with a GFA cup under their belts think they wont be in the relegation hunt as before but not sure how much they can push near the top.
7 Thornbury - Think they will be consistant enough to survive
8 Christchurch - Think they wont be at the top as they were last season
9 Kensington - Good team if they keep a strong squad all season they will be a challenge but they always seem to struggle to put out a constant squad.
10 Widcombe - Think they ma start badly but this time not recover as quickly as they did last year.
Div 2
2 from Santos Nailsea and Castle Green to go up
2 from Pistol Powerhouse and Rock to go down. (this division looks well tough struggled to pick a team to go down and 5 of the 10 teams have been in the firsts div)
Div 3
2 from OCR, Suburbs and Hartcliffe to go up
Just dug this out, I know there is a few games left, I have to say I wasn't miles off, Woodies and SAS are the wrong way round, but I did predict Slip to finish near the top (only one) and us to finish 5th, which we will do if we beat Widcombe. Got bottom two right but wrong way round. Everyone else predicted us to go down again  Has seen 4 lads through his team become Christians in the last 18 months or so - How awesome is that?
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Rank: Championship Groups: Registered, Moderator, Manager Joined: 5/29/2009 Posts: 1,533 Points: 4,602 Location: Woodies
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Got our prediction round the wrong way. Won league but missed out on gfa!! Otherwise not bad predictions!!
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Rank: Championship Groups: Registered, Manager Joined: 5/26/2009 Posts: 825 Points: 2,487 Location: Hillfields
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Eakes wrote:Got our prediction round the wrong way. Won league but missed out on gfa!! Otherwise not bad predictions!! Not many people predicted Woodies to do much at all shame on you  Most of my mini write ups were correct as well, and the lower division weren't miles off not a bad set of predictions from me, I think I will predict us to be near the top next season  just to say congratualtions to Woodies, Santos and OCR all champions of their leagues. Well done to Castle Green and Suburbs on promotion. and commiserations to Widcombe, Kensington, Welton all who drop out of their divisions, I can personally see all three coming straight back up. Just one more relegation place to settle. PISTOLS or BATH??? Has seen 4 lads through his team become Christians in the last 18 months or so - How awesome is that?
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Rank: Championship Groups: Registered, Moderator, Manager Joined: 5/29/2009 Posts: 1,533 Points: 4,602 Location: Woodies
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Thought I would give me summing up now the league season is done and dusted.
1st Woodies - I think we have to be honest and say we were slightly surprised by our title this season, especially after the start we had. A couple of decent acquisitions in the summer in the form of the twins who added something at full back and confidence built from October onwards. Ben Mitch hit a purple patch through November and December and suddenly we looked unbeatable. This affected the whole team and suddenly confidence soared. After conceding 12 goals in our first 3 league games we then conceded only 14 in our next 15 games and were banging them in for fun up top. Plans for the off season include recruiting another centre back but we have a great squad ready for next season.
2nd Slip - a great season for them and they proved hard to beat throughout the whole season. I expected them to drop points at times but at one point they kept defying that and were winnng all the tight games. A "20 goals a season" man proved to maybe be their undoing in that they just didn't score enough goals but they can be well pleased with their season although disappointed that they dropped points against the bottom few teams.
3rd BS XI - always going to be a tough outfit to beat which was proven again but their two early losses against Slip (standard) meant they were always playing catch up. The loss of a couple of key players in Franco and Joner has left them a bit short of fire power but they still have a very solid team and I expect them to be the main rivals again next season.
4th SAS - blew a lot of teams away at times this year so the end result of losing 6 games will disappoint them. October and November were poor months for SAS which cost them a chance at the title but their form from January to March was title challenging form. If they can win the Shield this weekend they will consider the season a success but lose on Saturday and they will be left thinking what might have been. I rate SAS as possibly the best side in the league "on their day" although maybe they don't have the consistency that we and BS XI have.
5th Hillfields (assuming they beat Widcombe on Saturday) - well what a finish to the season for the Hillfields lads after hovering around the relegation zone until March. 5 wins from 6 games meant a great surge up the table and they will be looking to start strongly next season to avoid being tagged as relegation fodder again.
6th pip n Jay - a title challenge looked on the cards at the turn of the year but this faded from Jan/feb. The loss of Wes seemed to start the process and key players like Brian and Ken were only available intermitantly which meant a title challenge went out of the window. If they cna consistently keep those players available next season they should be a force again.
7th Thornbury - a great season for TBC who were safe a few weeks ago. Always tough to beat, Chris always has them "up for it". A great run in Nov/Dec saw them break away from the bottom 2 and they never looked back. They will be looking to cement themselves as Div 1 regulars next season.
8th Christchurch - a funny old season for them. Alex Bakker leads the line well so they have the goalscorer they need but they will feel their season was a bit disappointing. However, a good win the other week ensured Div 1 safety for another season.
9th Widcombe - despite finishing the season well they have paid for a shocking start to the season. A good set of young players which finished the season should mean they are challenging at the top of Div 2 next season and I can see them coming straight back up.
10th Kensington - struggled all season with player availability but they also have a goalscorer in Phil Butterworth so if they can recruit well then they will be challenging again at the top of Div 2.
All in all a very enjoyable season again. Some great sportsmanship shown throughout the season and the standard of football continues to improve. Looking forward to pre season already (I lied, I'm looking forward to the break!)
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