Carlisle United – SciFiFootball

I’ve just completed writing the latest Lower League Week for BornOffside and, after filing it for editing, I realised I’ve not linked to last week’s edition.

The main stories are news and opinion of Swindon and Cheltenham being defeated in the FA Cup; Hartlepool’s excellent form; Gillinham appointing a permanent manager; Shaun Derry retiring from playing to focus on management; Port Vale banning their local paper from covering their matches; Carlisle taking released criminal Courtney Meppen-Walter on trial; and mascots solemnly observing minute’s silences while smiling gleefully.

Imagine this guy with his head bowed trying to be dignified, and tell me that wouldn't be funny/creepy. — Imagine this guy with his head bowed trying to be dignified, and tell me that wouldn’t be funny and/or creepy.

Click here to read The Lower League Week – Port Vale Battle The Sentinel

FootballOpinion

Turns Out, I’m Not Dead

November 8, 2013 David Stringer

My Lower League Week column has, over the past two years, become the premier weekly internet recap of events in Leagues One and Two written by a guy called David Stringer.

That is, unless the David Stringer who wrote The Insect Hotel has decided to branch out.

When I feel sad, I like to look at this cover and pretend Bill Oddie wrote a foreword to my book.

After not being able to find the time in a hectic last seven weeks (which I’ll blog about at some point soon) I’ve finally gotten back into the swing of things with a Lower League Weeks, published today at Bornoffside.

In it I cover Leyton Orient maintaining their position at the top of League One; Bristol City’s surprisingly enduring underachievement; a mass of sackings and replacements; and, more seriously, Tranmere player Joe Thompson’s battle with cancer.

Click here to read The Lower League Weeks – Getting Back Into the Groove

FootballOpinion

Look! A Lower League Week!!

September 18, 2013 David Stringer

Going up tonight, the latest Lower League Week, covering events in Leagues One and Two, is now live.

Northampton have had a surprisingly bad start to League Two given their playoff finish last season; Hartlepool and Carlisle have their first wins of the season; Sheffield United are struggling in League One; I’ve covered the latest, (relatively) mundane developments for Coventry; Leyton Orient can’t stop winning even if they wanted to (though I assume they don’t); Notts County can’t win at all; and there’ve been a load of goals in League One, now officially* the best league in the world.

*It’s at least as official as Sky Sports’ insistence that the Premier League is the best league in the world.

So how can you say no to all that? Be honest, you can’t, can you?

Click here to read Lower League Week: Northampton Are Cobblers And Sheffield United Still Blunt

FootballOpinion

Goals Galore for Coventry and Peterborough

August 29, 2013 David Stringer

Today at Bornoffside.net, the latest Lower League Week is up.

Carlisle’s results this weeks have been less bad than previously; Bradford’s Nahki Wells has broken a club scoring record; There’s been lots of goals for Coventry and Peterborough but few for Hartlepool; Wycombe have had a double financial boost; Mark Cooper has started well at Swindon but still has a few problems ahead.

Peterborough are binging on goals - any chance one or two could be spared for Hartlepool? — Peterborough are bingeing on goals – any chance one or two could be spared for Hartlepool?

Plus, there’s been a few upsets in the second round of the League Cup.

Click here to read The Lower League Week – Posh Peterborough Slaughter the Royals

FootballOpinion

Mistakes Made at Coventry

August 21, 2013October 1, 2013 David Stringer

At Bornoffside.net, the Lower League Week has gone up today.

There’s some bits on the Football League and governance in general (it’s more interesting than it sounds); a large section on Coventry; Carlisle and Greg Abbott; Swindon’s new boss Mark Cooper; Oldham’s kitman doing a runner; and Bobby Moore, Leyton Orient legend.

It takes a lot to be a legend at a club you never played for.

Click here to read The Lower League Week: Michael Knighton’s Bloody Awful Poetry

FootballOpinion

Wolves v Blades… And a Tale of Two Coventries. Coventrii?

August 15, 2013 David Stringer

Today my latest Lower League Week went up at BornOffside.

It featured stories on Wolves trying to clear out unwanted players so that they can take a star player from Sheffield United, one of their rivals; Exeter have decided to expand their fanbase by appealing to Brazilians; Walsall have started surprisingly well and Carlisle surprisingly badly; there’s some brief thoughts on Hartlepool; and two different versions of Coventry City were playing at ‘home’ at the same time on Sunday.

We have a saying here in England - home is where the dangerously amateurish and visually repulsive DIY is. — We have a saying here in England – home is where the dangerously amateurish and visually repulsive DIY is.

Basically, it’s just another ordinary, bizarrely colourful week in the lower leagues!

Click here to read Lower League Week: Wolves at Sheffield United’s Door

FootballOpinion

Bornoffside Bits

January 17, 2013 David Stringer

After missing the first scheduled Lower League Week of the year due to other commitments, today a Lower League Fortnight has gone up at Bornoffside.

In it, I write about lower league involvement in three different cups, Dean Saunders waiting for the moment he starts being quite good to leave his job (again) Port Vale spending money, Notts County’s chairman surfing the web, and Graham Westley was booed by his own fans on his anniversary.

Click here to read The Lower League Fortnight: Glory of the Cups

I’ve also had another in the series of African Cup of Nations previews published, this time for Togo.

Click here to read African Cup of Nations Group D Preview : Togo

All Bornoffside previews for the competition (and subsequent coverage) can be found at the Africa 2013 section

FootballOpinion

If You Beat Arsenal, Does It Really Count As An Upset?

December 14, 2012December 14, 2012 David Stringer

My latest round-up of the events in football’s League One and Two went up at Born Offside this morning.

If you even vaguely follow English football, you’ll probably be aware that Arsenal were knocked out of the League Cup by Bradford City – a team three divisions lower than them. You can read about the Bradford side of the story, and the rest of their eventful week.

Meanwhile, Coventry have been in negotiations over rent for their ground, Portsmouth fans are trying to enforce the sale of theirs, Southend and Bury have struggled to pay their wages, a Carlisle director inadvertendly put his manager under more pressure, and you can hear tales of an amusing own goal and an impressive double save.

Click here for The Lower League Week – Keeping Calm and Going to Penalties

FootballOpinion

Billionaire Owners are Passe, Knights Are Cool Now

October 25, 2012 David Stringer

The latest Lower League Week is now up at Born Offside.
Port Vale and Portsmouth are both on the verge of takeovers, and I’ve been slightly mystified by reports that Portsmouth manager Michael Appleton is the favourite for the Burnley vacancy.
Swindon have replaced their chairman (with a knight who was ambassador to Afghanistan – pretty imperial), Oxford insist on being inconsistent, Hartlepool have parted ways with manager Neale Cooper, and York’s Matty Blair managed to get himself injured by a training ground mannequin.

Maneken by Apatzi Taken from Wikimedia Commons — In his defence, these guys can be absolute thugs

All that and more can be found in The Lower League Week: Owners and Managers

FootballOpinion

Taking Over The Internet

April 4, 2012April 4, 2012 David Stringer

One of the WordPress blogs I follow is PRattleblog, in which Matt Briggs writes about football from a PR point of view.
Myself and @Mark2606 talked with Matt about the impact Twitter has had on football, the results of which are now up on Matt’s blog.

Also, the latest edition of the Lower League Week is now up at BornOffside.
It’s been a colourful week in the lower leagues, with a playground spat breaking out after a match between Bradford and Crawley last Tuesday, and Preston manager Graham Westley accusing his senior of playing for the other side.
That came out wrong.
There’s also the usual kind of stuff – Bury breaking back into form, a good goalscoring week for Ched Evans, and the like.

Come this way for The Bad Things Happening to Unpopular Managers Edition