Ten Games In

Position	Team	P	GD	PTS
Full Blue Square Premier table
1	Crawley Town	9	8	20
2	Mansfield	10	10	19
3	Wimbledon	9	8	19
4	Tamworth	10	4	19
5	Luton	10	7	18
6	Fleetwood T	10	6	18
7	Newport County	10	5	17
8	Darlington	10	5	15
9	Eastbourne B	10	3	14
10	Rushden & D	10	1	14
11	Wrexham	10	0	14
12	Grimsby	10	-1	14
13	Cambridge	10	6	13
14	Barrow	10	3	13
15	York	10	0	13
16	Kidderminster	10	-2	13
17	Southport	10	-1	12
18	Gateshead	10	-5	12
19	Forest Green	10	-6	9
20	Bath City	10	-7	8
21	Histon	10	-8	8
22	Kettering	10	-7	7
23	Hayes & Y	10	-13	7
24	Altrincham	10	-16	4

Well we're ten games into the season and midtable. We've lost some, won some, and, drew some. Far too early to guess where we'll end up but midtables a likely position. If we're 12th in a few months time it gives us a great chance of the play offs. I don't think we need to be looking over our shoulders for once either...

Football Fans are Fools

Abe Lincoln once said "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time".

A slight change around of the words and we get to the basis of the football fan. Some people some of the time and some people all of the time are fools.

There was a huge amount of people during the Summer who thought that England genuinely had a chance of actually winning the World Cup. No seriously. A lot people actually believed the media hype. A lot of people genuinely thought that a squad containing three goalkeepers who had either been relegated, nearly relegated or not even first choice at their domestic teams. Not to mention wingers who get in the team for the sole reason that they can run fast.

Anyway, I digress slightly. The quality of the England team is not for discussion, it's the football fan who thinks the quality is there. This leads onto the main part of this post/thread/rant. There are Grimsby fans out there who are thinking we should be promoted this season. Nothing wrong with that I hear you cry, well listen further more. They expect us to win every game. 46 games. 138 points. Seriously, these people are out there, they are amongst us. Seriously and genuinely thinking that this can happen. They attend matches, without carers, and expect us to win comprehensively. The basis of this remains slightly a mystery but so far I've managed to work out these points three:

• We have a bigger fan base than the opposition.
• We have had a more illustrious history.
• Calton Palmer played for England.

Okay the last one's a bit of a joke, but these are the people we are up against. Unrealistic expectations. Even Charles Dickens didn't have expectations as great as some of our supporters. The simple understanding that we can be outplayed by 'minnows' from Histon or Fleetwood doesn't register. Presumably when we were in the old First division winning games against Wolves was because we had a divine right to do so. The simple, saddening, fact is we are a non league club and deservedly so. Lincoln, York, Mansfield, Cambridge, Carlisle, Luton, Doncaster, and, Oxford have all fell before us. It doesn't mean the end of the club, it doesn't mean the end of rubbish lager in the Imp, and, it doesn't mean that if Carlton Palmer played for England so can you.

If you're reading this and getting angry, thinking that we are Grimsby Town, a club with a proud history and we should leave this league as quickly as possible by winning every game then more fool you. It's you and not the players that are causing you to be angry on a Saturday night/Wednesday morning. By expecting us to win eleventy nil you're setting yourself up for a great fall. I bet Chelsea fans weren't in uproar back in 1939 when they lost to 'little Grimsby' in the FA Cup quarter final…okay maybe there were but my point is that football isn't played on paper, the club with the biggest fanbase doesn't win every game. Spain won the World Cup without winning every game. Just because you're lack of Geography means you are unable to locate Hayes, Histon, and, Forest Green on a map doesn't mean that we should beat them.

We are in this league on merit, not because itv digital stole some money, not because Leicester or Portsmouth renegade on parachute payment back in 2001, or because Alan Pouton scored an goal at home to Reading from 45 yards. We're here because we're shit. We're shit, gettit? We're shit and have been for approximately 8 years (with the exception of 05/06 under Slade). After years of shit why oh why should we become "untouchables"?

If we're here on merit, then it's more than likely the players are as well. With exceptions, obviously, but it's likely as a shit team in the Conference that the players are going to be either injury prone journeymen or just not very good. If they could perform excellent every week do you seriously think they would be playing once a fortnight in North East Lincolnshire?

Back to the England team, if they were that good do you not think they'd be plying their trade at Real Madrid or Barcelona rather than Aston Villa reserves?

I suppose we could blame Alan Buckley for his success on his return in 1997, maybe if we hadn't secured promotion at the first time of asking we wouldn't have had unrealistic expectations in 2002, or 2003. On the back of that relegation in 2004 we had a season of mid table nothingness - it was dull but a relief, no stress come May. The next season we occupied the top places all season, only to fall at the final hurdles at Macclesfield, Leyton, and, Cardiff. Then again throughout the 05/06 campaign people moaned at the performances, apparently winning wasn't good enough. And herein lies the problem, if the foolish amongst aren't happy with a win what chance have we got?

Tamworth 2 - 1 Grimsby Town

Having missed the opener at Crawley this was our first visit to a 'proper non league ground'.

It was an eye opener.

The day started at half 8 in The Yarbough Hotel followed by a trip to Corals and then all ready for the half 9 train. Adidas Tabacco and Samba were the footwear on display in our cosy twosome. A three hour journey was punctuated with switches at Doncaster, Sheffield, and, Derby. Plenty of Blades making their way to Derby and horse racing fans heading to the St Leger Festival at Doncaster. Although one must say, the girls can put a posh frock and dress up but when you're necking out of a cheap bottle of cider it shows your roots!

Tamworth station was the setting for Staffordshires finest in their lovely flourescent jackets, to be expected given the run around they got a few months previously. To thier credit though they allowed us to wander where we want but their was a presence in all the pubs in the town centre and near the ground.

Yates' was the bar of choice for the early Premiership game and a thoroughally enjoyable experience to witness a wedding party and Man Utd throw away a two goal lead in the 90th minute.

A short stroll to the ground via some subways that could be intimidating if Tamworth have any 'lads' out and about. Think Wolverhampton but with more trees.

The game itself was won by Tamworth have had some good results of late. We started poorly and found ourselves two down at the break. Alan Connell working as hard as ever pulled one back and rattled the crossbar but the elusive second goal never came. We were poor and played a tad better once Kempson had been sent off. The 600+ travelling Mariners deserved better. Non league football is hard and teams will be up for playing, and beating, us. Our time in this league could well be longer than any Town fan wishes. At least it was only £4 to get in.

A quick stop at Lidl's on the way back to the station allowed us to restock our alcohol levels for the return journey. A couple of Leicester lads on the way back from Coventry enjoyed our company, and lager.

A refueling excercise took place at Sheffield were more alcohol was purchased which made for lively journey home with some chaps who had been at Doncaster races.

All in all a cracking day out.

Abacus

The lovely Linda took some time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions from the 66 gang:

Who are you?
Abacus Sportswear AB
Swedish clothing company Abacus design, market and sell apparel for men and women with golf at the heart of the inspiration. The collections combine functionality, design and quality. The Abacus head office is situated in a converted farmhouse outside Lund in Sweden, right in the middle of Scandinavia's most golf populated area.

Abacus is available in twenty countries, with very strong market positions in Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Germany and Canada. The goal is to continue developing Abacus into an international lifestyle brand that reaches beyond the world of golf. In particular one of the main focuses is the UK and Irish markets.

Abacus' partners in 2010 include many well known organisations such as The European Challenge Tour, The Solheim Cup, The Danish Golf Federation, and The Norwegian Golf Federation. Abacus also supports a number of individual players on The US PGA Tour, The European Tour, The Ladies European Tour, The Japanese Tour, The Challenge Tour, The Ecco Tour and The Tinius Cup.

How long has the brand been established?
Abacus has had its own brand since 1999 when the very first collection was a success. And that success has continued resulting in sport and functional clothing for a target group who like to challenge themselves and the elements; and therefore set great store by functional clothes of high quality with unique and well thought out design.

Are you intending to market the brand heavily in the UK or you will you allow word of mouth to attract customers?
We will undertake some marketing activities in UK this year and hope to increase this in 2011. Of course word of mouth is the best form of advertising if you have a premium product, which we do!

What section of the market do you aim for?
The clothing is not strictly aimed at the golfer, it is a real "lifestyle" brand and can be worn on and off course. There is a big part of the range which is highly technical and functional which is perfect on the golf course for men and women aged between 25-55 approx.

Are you hoping that the brand becomes more than just one for the golf course?
We will always have the heart close to golf, but through the years the active family has been able to wear Abacus garments the collections have developed so that the clothes can be used and feel right to wear off the golf course.

Do you feel that your clothing manages to combine performance with style?
Absolutely, our garments are a combination of functionality, quality and design. With innovative functionality and design Abacus' stylistically pure and Scandinavian accent is consistent through the collections. We work exclusively with fabrics and comfortable designs that perform on the course. Our Pitch Europe rain programme is the flagship of the abacus range. For many Tour Professionals, it is the only rain jacket worth playing in. The outstanding 4-way stretch and extreme breathability give unique freedom of movement and superior comfort. The easy-to-swing feature created by the special sleeve construction and lining, in combination with the lightweight and quiet fabric, make Pitch the answer for the most demanding players.

Where does the brands inspiration come from?
The inspiration comes from the Scandinavian nature. The strong Nordic elements are the starting point when we manufacture our clothes, they can cope with rain and sun; cold and wind.

You have some ambassadors, do they solely wear just this brand?
We are very proud of our ambassadors that have chosen to wear abacus clothing at all tournaments and support the brand worldwide. Mention some of them we have entered a sponsorship with the US PGA player Richard S Johnson, LPGA tour player Louise Stahle, Christian Nilsson and Barry Lane at the European Tour and Christine Hallström, LET.
To read more about our ambassadors you are welcome to visit our website; www.abacus-outdoor.com.

That's some collection of players, almost as good as the collection of clothing...any new players lined up?
We currently are talking to several young highly successful players with a view to a clothing contract. One of our main sponsored players, Richard S Johnson won the Scandinavian Masters on home soil a couple of weeks ago !

Super, thanks Linda!

Mixed Emotions

Hayes and Yeading. Instantly forgetable, they'll be a lot more results like this throughout the season. Fortunately, 3 points followed on Tuesday with a win away at Darlington.