Well as soon as I saw earlier in the week that Launceston's ECPL game had been made an evening kick-off, I wanted to take advantage of it and ensure I got two games in. It's not often this happens.
So off to game 6 in the afternoon - an all Cornish based South West Peninsula League Premier Division game between Wadebridge Town and Torpoint Athletic. I expected more than what I witnessed, although perhaps I should have known better when as soon as I got there, the programmes were free due to a current internal problem with what advertisers should be appearing in it etc; and a cup of tea costing 70p - ouch!
The game was no better either - Liam Thornton failed to put the visitors ahead early on and I'll cling to the thought that perhaps the game would have been so different had he scored. It was interesting to think that the referee - an 18 year old that has been moved up from level 4 to 6 apparantly, was being assisted by his Dad on the line. However, not sure from the programme exactly what his name was - the man (or rather youngster) in the middle was named as James Strout, whereas according to the programme - the assistants were Graham Rickard and Alan Stokes!
The referee showed a red card to Daryll Beesley for Town midway through the half - for a bit of a kick out at Torpoint's Danny Brook. Harsh to the few of us watching, but to his assessor in the stand, Ray Brown, according to the book - the ref was spot on and the player had to walk. That's the problem now with referees - they have to do everything "by the book".
Another thing the assessor pointed out was the fact that Wadebridge players weren't all wearing the number allotted them on the team sheet - Beesley wore 8, was 6 on the sheet; Ashley Menhinick had 6 on. Two of the subs were culprits as well - Jon May and Joe Knight - check your shirts next time lads. If a scout was there watching, he might have missed you!!!!
The game finished 3-1 to Torpoint, goals from Ryan Lucassi, sub Warren Daw and evergreen Mike Roberts. Town's new signing Glyn Squires levelled the game at one stage, but I'm afraid to say, it could be a long season for the Bodieve boys.
So, off to Launceston - it was a lovely evening and perhaps another game soon after the drab afternoon one would instil some enthusiasm back into me!
First impressions of the Pennygillam surface - looking good. Lots of grass on it. And the game itself was a cracker too. Launceston, bottom of the league without a win from four games, against a Bude side with a 100% record. Played four, won four. And a crowd that was far more vocal than the afternoon. In fact was there anyone watching the earlier game - it'll be interesting to see the attendance.
Launceston went at Bude and were ahead early on when their lively no. 10 Paul Cowling gave them the lead, which Bude found difficult to pull back. They didn't level until about ten minutes from time when central defender Dan Balsdon volleyed home. Described as a "simple tap in" in the paper, I would give him more credit than that!
A draw a fair result I would say - and how glad I was to witness this game - passion, both on and off the pitch! Well done lads. Watching Game 7 was a resounding hit. I have to say it's the first ECPL game I've seen for at least a couple of seasons, and if the others I take in this season are half as good, I won't be complaining.
Right then - it's Bank Holiday Monday and off to struggling Wendron this afternoon for ground 8!
Firstly let's clear up my remarks from last time. It looks as if the total for my season's Cornish Senior ground visiting is back with 53.
You may remember that Portreath were on the brink of leaving the Jollys Cornwall Combination League before a ball had been kicked this season.
The club announced on our Forum :"...Portreath AFC has been going through a tough time with various events and for many reasons the Club will be disbanding with immediate effect. " But within 24 hours the crisis seemed to have been sorted with some players taking over. Good to see, but one must ask - where were these players in the first place?
Anyway, back to the ground visiting and having watched Truro win away at Bedford in their first-ever Southern League Premier Division match on the first Saturday of their new season, I thought it only right and proper to watch their first-ever home match - Merthyr Tydfil at Treyew Road and after a shaky opening, it ended a comfortable 3-1 victory. A bit similar really to the performance at Bedford. Certainly from watching the two games, I can't see them having any problem holding their own in this further step up the pyramid system. Indeed, they surely will have a good chance in another promotion. Can they make it 5 in 5 seasons?
Because of the previous paragraph question, I took a day out from my 53 club journey to watch Truro against the league's big favourites - Farnborough. And ok, they lost 3-2, but no disgrace whatsoever. Another promotion season is a reality prospect - and you read it first here!
Game 4 - Perranporth v Newquay on the following Tuesday (Aug 25th). A bit different from my two previous matches, but a game between two very hungry sides on the night. It looked at times that the contest might get a bit fiesty, but it didn't, and the Peppermints came away with a 2-1 win and for the moment at least go top of the table.
The day after saw Game 5 between Camelford v Foxhole. In the same division as the previous night, but a different style game. Nowhere near as fast, perhaps the difference in a game between possibly two mid-table sides and the previous one where the teams are being tipped as promotion candidates.
Whatever, it was a personal night to remember for home striker Paul Menhenick as he scored all four goals in Camelford's 4-2 win. Although sadly for Paul, in regional paper it gave the credit to "Mark Menhenick"! Camelford are now third for the moment, on goal difference. Foxhole's two were two headers, from Sam Kenny and Mark Rowe.
I liked the comment from one Foxhole supporter in the crowd early in the second half when Camelford's long-serving manager Reg Hambly trotted around the pitch and back to the changing room to get something. Now for those of you who don't know Reg, he's well into his 50s, but the comment came :"He's still quicker than some of ours!". Needless to say, the visiting supporters were none too happy with their side's performance on the night! 
There was still time to catch 25 minutes of Bodmin against Falmouth on the way home. The return of Alan Carey! The game didn't count against my mission, but I was keen to see the new-look Falmouth in action. 1-0 to Bodmin when I got there, Falmouth must have been thinking they would leave with a point when Matt Drummond levelled with a cracking shot with only about five minutes to go. But the defence panicked a little and new Chris Luxton helped in a Steve Colwell shot. 2-1 to the champions, and Darren Gilbert's side once again look the side to have to beat if you want to take the title!
One final note from that game, how fickle a football fan is! Alan Carey and Sean Flynn came in for some stick come the final whistle 
Right, must be off to consider where to go next!
Well at long last we're away on season 2009-10 with my aim to try and visit a game at all of our 53 Senior clubs!
This was something I intended doing a few seasons back, but with my involvement with BBC Radio Cornwall then and having to cover the "big" games in the county, I failed badly. This time around, it has now been made more interesting with a small wager with the League Chairman of the South West Peninsula - Mark Hayman.
Mark intends visiting his 55 SWPL clubs to watch a game, before I've done my 53. Whoever does it first, wins the money for charity - Mark's will go into the SWPL Benevolent Fund, and if I win - whatever Charity I fancy at the time.
So with the SWPL Premier season being the first to start, it was no wonder Mark and I both turned up at The Mill for Torpoint v Plymouth Parkway. With this being a Friday night game, it meant we both had a Saturday opportunity as well - Mark witnessed the Premier Division new boys Bovey Tracey drawing with Launceston, while I took in champions Bodmin Town who started the new season in fine style with a convincing 5-1 home win against Tavistock.
On the same day, it was announced by Portreath that they might be folding ahead of their Jollys Cornwall Combination League campaign. I say "might" because later in the day, it was hoped that some players might be keen to continue the club, we'll have to wait and see over the next few days.
Of course it'll be sad if they should have to fold, but I'll look on the bright side - it'll be one less club for me to visit!
Well I'm back from spending a few days in London, stayed a two minute walk from the Emirates Stadium - fantastic looking thing, although it's difficult to admit publicly being a Spurs supporter all my life!
Back in the Duchy now though and despite it being early June, already things are looking to be heating up for next season! Loads of rumours flying around as to who is going where, and when you look at what happend to Leigh Cooper at Liskeard, when even the manager doesn't know for sure whether a playing is signing or not, how are we suppose to know anything!
I can tell you though that CORNISH SOCCER has made another big signing this week! Steve Massey will be writing for the website and my publications and with Steve always wearing his heart on his sleeve, I'm sure it'll make worthwhile reading. As an ex-pro and being around the local scene now for over 20 years, he's plenty of material!
Keep an eye on his page on the main website - you can get to the site by clicking on the website address towards the top right of this screen.
Dave
It's suggested that Nancarrow will become new manager Glyn Hooper's first signing since recently replacing "sacked" Bobby Oaten last week which will mean that Nancarrow makes the move back to one of his former clubs after just one season at Poltair Park.
Meanwhile, St Austell boss Glyn Rowett who has been quoted as being hopeful of signing three players during the summer, is confident he can retain the majority of his Cornwall Senior Cup winning squad. One down, how many more to go?
But the main question has to be - why do so many players change clubs during the summer?
Well, caught up with reading the football news in the Sunday Independent today - did you see the article about Steve Massey respecting referees and assistants - it's June 1st, not April 1st!
And then some transfer news comes on the mobile via a text ......Danny O'Hagan has signed for Falmouth Town, while his club last season, Bodmin Town, has manager Darren Gilbert looking to talk soon to a possible replacement Adam Carter.
Alan Carey at Falmouth has also reportedly been busy elsewhere .... offering Gavin Coulton of Saltash United a £1,000 to sign on, £120 per game and a £1,000 at the end of the season if he stays at the Bickland Park club. Where's that salt - and I thought there was a creditcrunch going on!
Finally, Glyn Hobbs gets out of jail soon, on the 18th, and is staying at Tavistock.
I can't believe it's over four years since I last used this Blog service!
Anyway, it's now my intention to kick start the Cornish Soccer website and publication side of things, as I know from the past week that football in Cornwall is very much alive - the passion and the interest. Let me show you by recapping an eventful week for me!
Last Sunday - May 24th - hopefully all of you that look at the brilliant Cornish Soccer Forum http://www.cornwallfootballforum.com/forum will have known about the Charity game arranged by fellow Forum administrator Richard Chown. It was staged for Help the Heroes and brought together over 30 players from all different leagues and standards throughout Cornwall. Never, as far as I am concerned, has this been achieved and has to be testimony to the advantages and prestige of having a Forum such as ours in existence. A plus for the Forum!
Let's then move onto Friday, May 29th - travelling up to Liskeard to catch a coach for Dobwalls AFC's Dinner and Dance, I get a call on my mobile from a distraught person who tells me to phone him back! It's Vidal James, Porthleven's Football Club SWPL secretary. And it was immediately pretty obvious to me, and all you Forum readers why he was phoning! Yes, once again Isaac Rosenberg had no doubt been on the Forum and written things that obviously were upsetting Vidal. A minus for the Forum!
Anyway, I rang him, he was demanding the posts be taken off. Solicitors were suggested. And Vidal had even been around to see me at my postal address because he wanted action!
None of this was very convenient with me about to get on a coach!
The Dinner and Dance went well, and from sitting around a table talking, it's obvious that the Forum is a marvellous tool of communication and finding out things. Indeed, at the Dinner, the Dobwalls SWPL management pairing of Geoff Battams and Martin Hodge announced in public for everyone to be told that they would be doing the job again next season. This was even news to the club's officials - but by nine o'clock the next morning, it was on the Forum - how powerful can that be! Another plus for the Forum!
Which reminds me, when I got to bed after the Dinner, half past one in the morning or whatever, I checked my voicemails, and guess what? Another message on there from Vidal. Anyway, onto the next morning, and early on, Vidal's on the phone again. He's still not very happy, even going as far as suggesting I don't have much time for him. I corrected him on this point - totally untrue and I tell him so. I have the utmost respect for anyone who is involved in Cornish football. I feel aggrieved to think he should even suggest such a thing!
We further discussed things, after I had found the cuplrit postings, and I established what his concerns were - firstly, he had nothing to do with any lost/stolen money (bar takings) at the clubhouse; secondly, the players have received "expenses" for all but one of the games (as they are in debt, money is admittedly scarce); thirdly, he is only the First Team Football Secretary and so any tax investigation would not have been aimed at him; and fourthly, although he is the Jollys Cornwall Combination League Chairman, he has nothing to do with the JCCL team at Porthleven, and whenever anything comes up to be discussed at the League's meetings that may concern the club, he either goes out of the room, or abstains from the decisionmaking.
However, all this time I'm on the phone and the internet, was time that I was at someone else's house who had put me up for the night and so it wasn't exactly very polite of me and quite frankly when we get these very occasional calls from people, you start to wonder why we bother having a Forum - bad point for the Forum!
All this because of what would appear to be a personal vendetta between Forum member Isaac Rosenberg against Vidal and League Fixture official John Roberts.
The posts were removed in their entirety. I didn't have time to amend all the individual postings, and in the future, if Isaac has a problem with the two named above - I think its best he refers them direct to the people themselves and not bore everyone on the Forum.
Like I said, the good and bad of a week in the Forum's existence! 
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