CLUB NEWS

It is with regret that Black Boy Football Club has folded and is no longer competing in the Bury St Edmunds Saturday League.

The club has been struggling to find enough people on and off the field to carry the club forward after a hugely successful campaign last season which culminated in promotion to Division 1.

We would like to place on record our thanks to those of you who have been committed and loyal to the club with particular thanks to the management, past and present, who have built this club with an unrivalled spirit and togetherness.

Finally, I am pleased to announce that the Christmas Doo will still be going ahead, beginning in the Black Boy on Saturday 21st December at 3pm. I hope to see as many people there as possible so we can go out with a bang.

Thanks,

Charlie
BBFC Chairman

BBFC vs St Edmunds

Saturday saw us play our second of five games against St Edmunds. We mixed it up a bit and tried an new 5-3-2 formation.

What can I say, first 30 minutes was fantastic. Everyone as talking, listening and getting stuck in. The football we were playing was brilliant and St Eds didn’t really have an answer to it. Defensive we restricted them to just a handful of half chances at best in the first 25 minutes. We were tracking and closing down well and when we gained possession we broke well as a team. We gave them all sorts of problems at the back. If at this point someone said we were going to leak 8 goals I would have laughed at them!!

Disappointingly and for no apparent reason we just crumbled on the half hour mark, which is something we all know is not an option in division 1 and were punished severely. We stopped listening, talking and lost our composure. As soon we gain possession it was like a hot potato, we couldn’t get rid of it quick enough. Closing down was an issue as well time and time again we allowed them to much space and time to pick out passes which cut us open. Unfortunately too many players got lost and fell to pieces.

Having said that it is a testament to how far we have come in the past month or so. To be disappointed with our performance shows we are making great steps in the right direction. I think the new formation suited our style of football more than 4-4-2 and has given us a good platform to build on.

This Saturday we are home to Barons and will look to build on our opening 30 minutes. We will all need to be strong and committed for the full 90 as Barons are another top team capable of running riot if allowed. We need to pick ourselves up and go again. Come Saturday win or lose, I want everyone to walk off the pitch knowing they gave 100% which is all I can ask for.

 

Shanks

RF Saints vs BBFC

Saturday saw us looking to get one back over RF Saints, our ‘close’ rivals. A game we should have been confident going into looking to get 3 points.

 

First 20 minutes was very disappointing from my perspective. We didn’t play nowhere near the level we are capable of. Defensively as a team we struggled to track runners, pick up spare men for throw in’s or even get men on the post for corners. Attacking, we showed little support and looked very static at corners and throw in’s making it easy for R.F. Saints’ big men to defend and play out from the back.

 

Towards the end of the half we looked a lot more threatening going forward and really started to give R.F. Saints something to think about. Half time everyone seemed really fired up and confident of turning around the 1-0 lead, which was pleasing to see the heads hadn’t dropped.

 

Unfortunately within the first 5 minutes of kicking off the second half we found ourselves 2-0 down. We battled on though and were unlucky not to be back in it with Matty Jones’ header stopped on the line. It was nice to see us creating chances out wide with some very good balls being placed into the box.

 

Final result was a 4-0 loss which flattered Saints really, deserved of the win but not by that margin.

 

This Saturday see us against Elmswell in the cup. Let’s make sure we get the basics right from the start by making sure we talk and track and most importantly we stick together as a team.

 

Shanks

BBFC End Of Season Do

After what has been a historic year for Black Boy Football Club, our End Of Season Do went down a treat and I am sure I speak for everyone when I say a big “thank you” to Graham, Sean, Shanks, Batesy and anyone else who helped organise the event. Thankfully the weather was kind and this year we were able to enjoy a selection of sausages and burgers in the sun. Mark Austin was even treated to his favourite type of brown tofu pancake. We also had a good turn-out of players while the emergence of Taff can surely be put down to a free bar and the sound of sizzling meat which is known to attract Elks from far and wide.

This particular season saw the presentation of our league runner’s up medals which was a nice touch and a reminder that this has been by far the best season the club has ever had. The only frustration was to lose out on the league title on goal difference. On to the individual awards and James Driver deservedly received the Managers Player Of The Season honour, while Graham Plummer picked up the Player’s Player trophy   …before handing it to Charlie Leighton.

 

Now we can begin our preparation for the forthcoming season, one that will be tough on us, but I know we can take a lot of heart from our performances against the likes of Westbury and Stoke-By-Nayland while there will be plenty of other teams in the league who are very beatable. Above all, let’s make sure we continue to enjoy it.

Budapest 2013

Well it's that time of year again that the Black Boy make an emotional voyage to new pastures in search of cheap beer and a footballing lesson. This year was no exception and will once again be summarised in the traditional Black Boy style, so here goes...

Great Yarmouth, Look At You, He's Up And He's Down, Shankets, Rita Ain't All That, Mega-Round, Jock On The Dancefloor, Beards, Twelve Inch Black Rubber Cock, Crooky's Eyebrows, The Kebab Quest, Strictly No Prostitutes, Standing In Vomit, Beer Bike, Your All Ewok's, The Plane Dribbler, Window Dancing, Beers For The Tramps, Revens Chunder, Humpety-Back-McFuck-Pig, Thai Massage, The State Of The Badside, AK-47 Shooting, Bed Of Shoes, Kiss The Wooden Man, Mr Shaggy, The Line Of Shots, Leftover Beer Tokens, Proot, Naked Dave, Ujpest vs Newcastle United, Stu's Expressos, Stun Or Kill, Angry Football Freestyler, Kososovans, Leighton On The Loo, Spocking, Narrow Gauge, Get Your Jacket Out, Map Reading Skills, Business Proposition, Dave Shoots His Magnum Into The Ceiling, No Shoes, Garthy Gets The Finger, Reeaally?, Taff's Centre Of Gravity, Chuckles, The Most Successful Side In Hungarian Football History, Condom Pencil, 10pm Curfew, Hard Rock Beers, Dragon, Nearo's Fountain Dash, Own Goals, The Lifejacket Hatch, Minibus Home

Michael Monksfield All-Star Charity Cup

Friday night at Ram Meadow could only mean one thing, The Michael Monksfield All-Star Cup Final. With a turnout as low as ever witnessed at this historic national stadium, professional athlete Michael Monksfield was left to pick the left-overs from a season which had taken its toll on both the Black Boy and their Veteran counterparts. Graham Plummer was chosen to captain the opposition Vikings while the lucky players who weren’t picked for the match could make full use of the bar facilities.

Kick-off saw the All-Stars take the initiative as on-loan Lee Pallot combined well with Paul Revens on the corner of the area before the latter sidefooted into the corner with a trademark finish. The crowd and players went ballistic. One soon became two after full-back Charlie Leighton was released down the left and his pull-back was finished by Carter. The Vikings hit back strongly as the half progressed and pulled one back after Driver spilt a cross to self-proclaimed superstar Paul Nozedar to steer home before the interval.

With the game delicately poised and a raft of substitutions being made, The Vikings came out of the traps quickly in the second half with Phil nearly breaking the deadlock before Nozedar added his second of the night after rounding the keeper. The All-Stars went close through Pallot and then not-so-close with a long range effort from Shanks which only worried the corner flag. The sell-out crowd was also treated to Dave Neary’s specialist move, the “human-nutmeg” before Leighton was forced to withdraw with a cut to his eye after a robust aerial challenge.

The Vikings were soon rampant again as Chris Rogers caused all sorts of problems up front, scoring while sat on the ground as the keeper came out of his goal. Minutes later, Rogers scored an identical effort from a seated position leading to chants in the crowd of “He only scores on his arse”.

After another flurry of substitutions, The All-Stars were chasing the game. A bandaged Leighton pulled one back with a looping header that no-one dared challenge him for after his injury before rifling in an impressive second from range after a mazy run from Pallot.

With the scores tied at 4-4, the lottery of penalties commenced. Gareth Adams was the red-faced party as he missed the decisive spot-kick after an ill-advised attempt to lob the 6’4” keeper who was stood on his goal-line. That left Graham to lift the trophy, Leighton to head to A+E, Shanks to superbly raise £2000 for his MacMillan charity and everyone else to head to the bar.

BBFC vs Beck Row

After a promising run-in, Black Boy slipped to two defeats in the last two games with a comprehensive final day loss to Beck Row Res. Much improved since we drew with them at the beginning of the season, Beck Row started brightly and deservedly took away the three points after a clinical display against a disappointing BBFC.

The visitors started brightly with a youthful line-up while Black Boy were short of a few key players and again looked tired. Two goals before half time put Beck Row 2-0 up at the break with the BBFC looking uncharacteristically shaky and struggling to deal with the pace and power of the opposition frontman. This led to Graham Plummer shuffling his line-up with an early substitution in order to try and stem the Beck Row attacks.

The start to the second half was much brighter from The Mighty Boy with Carter and Carl Wager going close as we got more support to our front players. This left the game very stretched with both sides looking to hit each other on the break. The Boy pulled a goal back when Carter’s cross just evaded Graham at the back post and Charlie was able to centre for Chris Wager to swivel and fire home. This was the boost we needed but also an incentive for Beck Row as both sides pushed bodies forward. It was Beck Row who finished the game off though as they clinically took three chances in quick succession after defensive errors as the Boy went for broke.

While the magnitude of two defeats at the end of the season could be very costly for us, there is no doubt that if we evaluate the season on the whole, it has been the best ever in the club’s history. It might, just might, still lead to promotion.

BBFC vs Elephant & Castle

After last week’s nail-biting victory over Wickhambrook, we knew that we had promotion and the league title in our own hands. Perhaps what we wrongly thought was that we had already won it. Well we were brought down with a bump after our disappointing mid-week game against a strong Elephant & Castle side and were second best for much of the game. Their movement and short passing game was tough to deal with from the outset while our legs were tired from the efforts of Saturday. While The Trunk players were assured on the ball, we found ourselves unable to get a foot on the ball and instead were all guilty of smashing balls hopelessly down field to clear our lines.

With our lack of possession, E&C slowly turned the screw and it took some good defensive blocks from the back four and Driver to keep us level. After a rare break forward, Charlie managed to beat the opposition keeper to a flick-on only to see the ball rebound off the upright. The Mighty Boy were eventually 1-0 behind though as a E&C forward broke the offside trap and finished in the corner. Phil was working tirelessly up front for us and his strength and persistence paid off when he was barged over on the right touchline. Phil took the freekick himself into a dangerous area, allowing Charlie to poke home the equaliser just ahead of Graham.

Half-time was welcome respite and after drawing level, we had hoped to go on and dominate the second half. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be though as Elephant & Castle continued to have more possession and territory, making the Black Boy players work hard to close them down. They eventually got ahead again while we tired and at this point the game looked beyond us as we were leaving ourselves vulnerable to the counter as we looked to push for an equaliser. Shanks was introduced from the bench and both he and Chris went close with speculative long range drives.

A third for E&C looked inevitable though and it promptly arrived to kill off the game and any hope of a comeback. We all felt dejected at full time but have to acknowledge that E&C are an unpredictable team and today we were deservedly beaten by them. All we can do now is put points on the board from our last game wait on other results.

Foghorn Leighthorn
Giant Looney Tunes Chicken

Wickhambrook vs BBFC

This Saturday was arguably our biggest game of the season and it was one of our best performances – perhaps not in terms of the quality of football but certainly in terms of commitment to the cause and sheer effort. We knew Wickhambrook would be a tough test and the game became scrappy and interrupted almost straight from the kick off with both sides closing down quickly on the small pitch and nobody backing out of a challenge.

With clear-cut chances at a premium, first blood went to Wickhambrook as a corner was half cleared to the edge of the area and when the ball was floated back in, it found the back of the net via a post. It wasn’t long before The Boy were level though, and it was something of a gift as a long throw was flicked on by Chris Wager and inexplicably punched clear by a Wickhambrook defender. Pete was left to dispatch the penalty and we could have been ahead moments later after Ben released Charlie down the line and his centre was almost stroked home by Phil. Half time came with few other chances created and both sides needed the break after a scrappy half played at break-neck speed.

The second half became stretched, scappy and dirty but with Chris and Carl winning every 50/50 ball in the centre, it was the type of game we were always going to dominate in that area. Both sides threatened more with pockets of space opening up and legs getting tired. Ben went close for us before a Wickhambrook break ended with their striker poking the ball home between Charlie and Rees who had got back to cover on the line.

By this point the game was very stop-start with arguments, elbows, tempers flaring and a succession of bookings for both sides. Stand in manager Sean Wiggins began the changes with Mark coming on up front and causing a real nuisance while Jock and Chris Rogers shored up the defence. It wasn’t long though before the equaliser came, Charlie’s first time volley being redirected by Chris’s head as the goalkeeper was diving in the other direction. The reaction of both teams showed what it meant to each of our seasons.

From that point on there was only ever one team that was going to win it. Mark went close with a dipping effort from range before another penalty appeal identical to the first half was turned down. At the other end the back four were repelling everything in relative comfort and restricting Wickhambrook to wild long-range efforts.

Then we got the slice of luck needed to finally get ahead as pressure from Mark Austin allowed Charlie to nip in ahead of a defender, turn him and run-in on goal with his shot squirming in under the keeper with a few minutes left to play. Despite an injury to the imperious Baz in central defence, the Boy battled on with 10 men and never looked likely to concede with Driver smothering at the feet of their striker with the last action of the game.

We knew before this game that a loss could mean falling out of the title race, a draw could take matters out of our hands and a win would set us up perfectly for the end of the season finale. It was all about the result and we earnt it this week through commitment and a will to win. We now have two games left in order to finish the season as strongly as we can and this game will be all for nothing if we drop points against two improving sides in Elephant & Castle and Beck Row. Let’s not underestimate them or think we are unbeatable. Let’s be professional and finish the job we started on Saturday.

Kim-Leight-Un

North Korean Bastard Mongler Dictator Midget

Westbury vs BBFC

After a hard fought 120 minutes of football Black Boy FC bow out of the McNeill cup losing 4-2 in extra time to Division 1 Westbury.

In truth the result really could of gone either way over the duration of the match and despite losing I have no real complaints that can be made about the performance, but several positives that we can build on to see the season out and push for the Division 2 title. After a bit of a gap, with no training for two weeks and last weeks game being called off, this week was always going to be a tough game for us on a cold wet day against a team sitting mid table in Division 1. We started the game slightly slow and struggled to get the ball down, but we defended well and prevent Westbury getting an early goal. Westbury clearly looked dangerous on the counter but the back four did a great job of holding the line and making some great tackles to stop any 1 on 1 chances. We started to work our way into the match with Mark and Flan finding pockets of spaces down both wings. We always looked like we would create chances when attacking as their defence seemed weary of our attacking play. The midfield and Phil did a great job in the centre of the pitch of putting themselves about and battling hard to not allow Westbury time on the ball. Unfortunately Westbury grabbed a goal shortly before half time direct from a free kick which seemed to just ghost its way through everybody and bounce in at the back corner. Unfortunately defending set plays has become a weakness of ours since Christmas and is something that everyone is going to have to make a concious effort to improve over the next 4 matches.

After half time the game continued to be a tightly fought contest with chances going to either side, however Westbury doubled their lead after 15minutes with a goal sneaking in at the post. We made two changes straight after the goal and decided to go all out attack to try and redeem something from the match. In truth from this point on we dominated the match and Westbury could not keep the ball for longer than 3-4 passes before we got the ball and attacked again. Phil and Charlie were causing their backline endless problems whilst the midfield were winning almost all 50/50 balls and helped pin Westbury in their own half. We finally got the goal we deserved when Chris Wager's cross/shot went across the face of goal and in at the back post. The goal just added fuel to the fire and we continued to press Westbury hard and they were becoming very anxious on the ball and seemed fearful of an upset. With about 10 minutes to go we levelled the match when Charlie broke free of the defence and calmly tucked the ball passed the keeper.

In extra time unfortunately luck seemed not to be on our side. Westbury scored early on after three of our players going for the same ball clattered into each other and the ball fell to a Westbury player who managed to sneak a ball past Driver where there appeared to be no gap. We did not give up though and despite being tired we kept working hard and nearly equalised when a great cross from Pete found Phil who headed the ball hard and low into the corner, only for the Westbury keeper to make a superb save to keep them in charge. The rest of extra time saw chances again for Pete and Phil but the ball seemed to always just be 1 yard too far or bounce the wrong way, then Westbury wrapped up the result with a class finish over Driver and into the bottom corner.

This was a superb team performance and one that everyone should take huge positives from. To come from 2-0 down and get to 2-2 in the second half against a Division 1 side shows exactly what we as a squad can do if we battle 110% and don't give up on ourselves. We have 4 matches left in the league and to win the title we have to win all 4, if we play with the aggression and determination we did this weekend I have no doubt that we deserve to win the league. But, we have got to deliver it. This weekend we are at home at Beck Row, lets turn up with the same desire we showed second half Saturday and make sure we put ourselves in the best position possible to win the league by getting a solid victory.

He's Not Heavy, He's My Plummer
Christmas No.1 2012

Wortham vs BBFC

This week I think the report can be kept pretty short and sweet, and unfortunately not for any positive reasons.I think it is fair to say that for all players at this weeks game at Wortham that we simply just never turned up for the fixture and it was a hard working performance from Wortham which showed us up and meant that we only took a point from a game before hand we should have been expecting to win.

There were no individuals at fault and I certainly do not feel the need to point fingers, simply put collectively we were not good enough. We seemed to really lack tempo through out the match and never really got a good run of football or possession.

Our best play came after going 1-0 up in the first half, we had good chances but failed to find a second goal which in hindsight may have proved crucial in killing the game off early. I am of no doubt that all players will know that they are better and we as a team are better than what we did this weekend. However promotion still lies in our control and to have taken a point out of a very poor performance is the kind of form which sees teams finish the season at the top end of the table.

We all need to move on quickly from this weekend and instead look at our next three league games and be fully aware that we absolutely must win all three if we want to stay in the hunt for promotion. We can not dwell on a poor performance and be disheartened, we have got to come out fighting and treat every match as if the title depends on it.

We have Ram Meadow Reserves next week and all players should be fired up to make a mends for the Wortham result, so lets not turn up sulking but instead turn up determined and focused on making sure we get a convincing win. Line drawn and let us not speak of the Wortham game again.....onwards and upwards!!


Albus Plumbledore
Mentoring Peter Potter since 1997

Elephant & Castle vs BBFC

After the news last week that Punch have dropped out of the league this season, it was vitally important that we went into a very tricky tie against Elephant & Castle and got a result. This surprising revelation has given us a real chance not only to win promotion but also potentially win the league title from under the noses of Wickhambrook. Let's not pass it up!

The pitch at Gt Barton was boggy and tough to play on so it was hard for either side to get their foot on the ball and play attractive football and it was from a series of corners that we opened the scoring after a short one-two and a good delivery from Carter that eventually went in off Phil's left testi.

The first half was often reduced to niggly fouls and hoofed clearances but it was testament to our desire to win the game that we won nearly all the 50-50 balls with the Wagers in the centre shielding our back four well and Graham and Baz winning everything in the air. Even a bizzare error from Batesy and Driver resulting in a dangerous freekick saw a real desire to charge the ball as Leighton took the brunt of the shot on his arse.

Shortly after though, E&C drew level against the run of play with a precise/flukey freekick but a firm drive from Rees from the edge of the area saw the Boy back in front. If the referee had seen a number of infringements in the box, or a blantent penalty when Leighton was clean through then the match might have been more comfortable by half time.

The second half saw much of the same scrappy play and full-blooded commitment as our defence repelled the E&C attacks without looking like conceding and looking dangerous on the break at the other end. Phil had been a real outlet all game when running at the back-four and it was from his play that Chris was able to pick the ball up from 25 yards and chip the keeper and covering defender for the game's best goal. Even though a reply from The Trunk saw our lead cut again, Phil managed to wriggle free of the defence to slot in his second and put the game to bed.

We knew this week that with the pitch and the type of game it was going to be won by the team who put in the most effort and wanted it most. It was not a game for pretty football, but one for getting a positive result. Job done.

This week we have to make sure we do not underestimate Wortham and go there with the same commitment in order to get the win - every game from now on is like a cup final (to use the cliche) so we don't want to be looking back come the end of the season and thinking "that's where we slipped up" or "could we have done more there". Up the Boy!

Charlie Neigh-ton
Containing up to 100% horsemeat since 1986

BBFC vs Wickhambrook

Unfortunately again this week luck was not on our side as we lost 2-1 in a big game against Wickhambrook. This week was a very frustrating result and I am sure a lot of players feel likewise. The match was generally an open contest with neither side particularly having the majority of chances of possession. We started the game slow yet again and were made to pay for it very quickly. From a poor corner delivery two players failed to react, allowing the cross to hit a Wickhambrook player on the hip and the ball to carry over the line.

This should have been the wake up call to get things going but for some reason we really did not seem up for the match in the opening 20 minutes and this allowed Wickhambroom to find a second. Again a very routine free kick was headed in as a player was allowed to run on to the cross totally unchallenged. Set plays are the absolute basics of football and this week we did an awful job of dealing with them and it is ultimately those two incidents which cost us this match. There is no need for a finger pointing exercise but everyone does need to learn from this quickly as if we want to push for promotion we simply can not allow the opposition to score such simple goals with no challenge from our players. The remainder of the first half we started to up our performance, with Bates heading just over the bar and Rhino's well hit shot being scrambled clear following a save.
 
Second half I believe we played better and overall Wickhambrook only created a few chances and were kept relatively quiet. The main difference seemed to be that we started to work as a unit, the passing become more decisive and players were actively looking to take the game to Wickhambrook. It is through this effort that we rightfully got ourselves back in the game following a crap cross [superbly placed shot - Ed] by Charlie. We created several half chances following our goal, the best of which fell to debutant Ben Gathercole who lost his marker well before just dragging his shot wide of the far post. But it was not to be and unfortunately our failure to deal with two very simple set pieces early in the first half cost us this match.
 
Must gutting of all from the fixture is that Wickhambrook have been gifted a victory without being the better side. We have 7 matches remaining this season and we now need to pick up at least 6 wins if we are to guarantee a promotion spot. This season we have played some great football but the last two weeks we have not been at our best and have allowed the opposition too much time on the ball and not threatened the opposition’s goal.

Next week we face Elephant and Castle who are a real hit or miss team, on their day I think they are probably the strongest opposition we face. Last time we played them we again gifted a 2-0 lead and had to fight are way back to a 3-2 victory. This week lets make sure we grab the first goal and put E&C on the back foot from the off, we are easily capable of getting the promotion we want but everyone needs to be ready to give 100% from start to finish. Lets hope we have seen the back end of a little blip in our season and we can get back in the promotion hunt with a big win on Saturday.


Hugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble & Plummer
Fighting Trumpton's fires since 1967

Elephant & Castle vs BBFC

(Better late than never due to a computer hard-drive explosion)...

Despite the best efforts of beer, mince pies and left over turkey curries the mighty Boy were able to pick up 2013 where they left off in 2012 with another good win.

The match started pretty badly in truth and it was very clear that E&C were the fitter side and they quite comfortably took charge and looked to play all their football in our half. They made their strong start count by taking a comfortable early 2-0 lead and in truth there could have been more. Luckily though we soon realised our long throw tactic really seemed effective against the Trunks defence and this seemed to give everyone a boost of confidence and we began to lift our game.

The football in the first half was never of the quality we would expect from ourselves put we started to work hard and press higher up the pitch which created more opportunities for us. We got lucky with two scrappy goals due to E&C failing to clear the ball from long throws, but what was most important was despite playing poorly and being two goals down we took our chances to give us a life line in the second half.

Second half again we struggled to get the football going and in truth we sent most of the half having to work hard and battle to keep E&C from getting clear opportunities. We did this well though and improved limiting the number of clear scoring chances despite them having the lions share of the possession. Our hard work paid off though 15 minutes from time when Phil got what turned out to be the winner, a well worked and taken strike from the edge of the box.

We made a couple of changes to sure up the back and everyone continued to put 100% effort into making sure we did not give away a late equaliser. Also noted this week that Driver again made several good saves which kept us in the game early on and allowed us to get back into the match.

So despite a relatively poor footballing display in comparison to other games, it was through high levels of commitment and effort that we snatched victory this weekend......two attributes we will be needing in future games if we want to seriously challenge for promotion. Hopefully this week shook out a few cob webs following the Xmas break and we can look to build upon this good result against strong opposition. Any game where you come from behind to win is a great achievement so well done to all, lets just try to ensure in future games we don't put ourselves in situations where we have to claw back from 2-0.


Graham "Giant Schnauzer" Plummer
Crufts Best-In-Show & Mixed Breed winner 2012