As the Skipper for the reserves this season i thought as we are approaching the festive period (roughly half way through the season) i would put on a little round up of our season so far from the lads point of view.

With only three weekends left till the we have our festive break, the lads feel it would be fair to sum up our season so far as "a reasonably start to the season" and this is where the hard work begins.

The next three weekends sees us facing three very tough away ties.

Sat 5th Dec - Congleton Town (Quarter finals - League Cup)

Sat 12th Dec - Moore United (League - Currently 4th)

then the toughest test of all

Sat 19th Dec - Lostock (League - currently 3rd, if they win their games in hand plus this game they will go top by 1 point)

However on the other hand if we win all three games which we definitely believe we will then this will see us into 2 semi finals (Manchester Trophy and Mid Cheshire League Cup) and sitting at the top of the league with a minimum lead of 5 points at the half way stage.

There is a great team spirit in the camp at the moment and although there is a lot of competition for places, this only makes individuals more hungry to play for the club and this is definitely making the team stronger. The lads although having won 12 out of our 14 league games still feel there is alot more to come from us and that we can definitely step it up a few more gears and if we can do this, someone is going to be on the recieving end of a huge defeat. Having said that in the our last 10 league games the defence has been strong conceding just the 7 goals (5 clean sheets) and the players are also doing doing the job at the other end scoring in every game we have played this season (18 in the last 10 league games). Although im sure if you speak to any of our players they would still tell you we could be a lot more clinical in front of goal and that we have not kept a clean sheet in our last 4 games, which goes to show the amount of chances we are creating and the high standards we are setting ourselves as a group of players.

On behalf of the lads i would like to thank all the fans who have been turning up to support us (we really do notice this support and believe me when i say this it does make a HUGE difference. We would also like to thank Paddy and Gary for all your hard work in making our preperations as professional as possible leaving scotty and jameo to concentrate on sorting the squad out for the game as you fill in team sheets, fill water bottles, deal with first aid etc thanks once again.

Finally for those who dont no the draw for the Manchester Challenge Trophy is as follows;

Beechfield United V's Maine Road
Hollinwood CC V's East Manchester

The semi finals are played over 2 legs and according to the county FA looks like they are scheduled to be played on the 9th and 16th January 2010.

Regards

Mike Hollin

Hi Mike, good to have you on board and thanks for that summary.

Very, very well done to you guys. As you say still a long way to go, but certainly, so far, so good.

I thoroughly enjoyed that Congleton home game and those that were there tell me Trafford was better still. Exciting times!

Just back from the first team's 2-1 win against Flixton.....a tight match...I need a drink!

_________________
MAINE ROAD F.C.
South Manchester's Premier Club

Great to hear from you, Mike.

Brilliant effort by the lads so far this season. Been to watch you a few times and been impressed by everyone's work ethic. Every player seems to know his role and is prepared to bust a gut. I wouldn't like to single anyone out because everyone plays their part, but your leadership and organisational skills set the tone, and i've noticed that not only on the pitch but during any training i've seen, too.

All the best with the tough upcoming games. Sadly, all three clash with City and Road's first team fixtures, or else i'd like to think i'd be able to get down to a couple. By the looks of it i won't see a Ressies game until after the New Year now, but i look forward to it immensely, i've really enjoyed those so far, pretty much guaranteed an interesting game.

Good luck to you all, you're really doing us proud!

great shout from mike...and very fair assesment

after watching the lads in action all season...i have no doubt
that they will continue to give their all for the team....
as for lostock....i cant see us playing as bad again ....and besides...we owe them...the lads will really be up.

can only say what a great 1st half to the season...and wish you all the best for 2nd half.keep up the same approach and work ethics to games....and think it will take care of itself

and dont forget....leave the RITZ...42nd Street...and 5th Avenue till the xmas break