Hello, well after 9 months of Unibond Premier Division action and an impressive run in the qualifying rounds of the FA cup Kendal’s season is finally over.
It has been a very testing season, but it has also been a season of improvement, especially since the turn of 2008.
Players have come and gone throughout the year and the new faces that have come in have improved the squad massively.
It has been a relegation battle throughout the year where anybody from 19th to 10th place were in a battle to stay up
Overall considering the limited resources the club has compared to other sides in the division a 11th placed finish is fantastic for the side.
Highlight of the season:
Going on that FA Cup run was my highlight, to be 1 round away from the 1st round proper was the disappointing aspect as we narrowly lost out at home to Altrincham. And we only lost by 1 goal and there was nothing in the match at all. I would also say the 6-0 home win over Marine was another .highlight as everything came together in that one match for the side
Disappointment of the season:
It has to be that long run after The Altrincham game where we couldn’t win a match. We just couldn’t buy a win and at that stage it looked like we were destined for relegation.
Players that have come and gone:
Here is a list of all the players that have joined us and the players that have left us this season.
Neil Murphy,David Standley,Tony Hallam,David Newnes,Michael Cole,Paul Fildes,Callum Warburton,George Melling,Carl Osman
The Future:
Ashy has said he is looking to bring in 2 players for next season. One of which is likely to be a striker. I think if we can produce the type of form we have produced since the start of 2008, I can’t see any reason why Kendal can’t be battling for a play off spot at least. With Fleetwood promoted and the likelihood of either Witton or Gateshead going up through the playoffs, Kendal stand a fantastic chance of competing in that upper tier of The Unibond Premier Division.
I am pretty hopeful the team won’t be fighting relegation for a while,
(hopefully)
Other news:
A Kendal Town select 11 beat a Kendal Sunday League 11 9-1 in The Brian Kitching Memorial which was held at The Lakeland Radio Stadium on Sunday. £500 was raised from the match with all proceeds going to a new bench in the memory of Brian which will be in the millennium fields.
Reserve news:
Kendal Town’s reserves end their season with a home game against Barrow reserves on Monday night (28/4/2008) it’s been a season of progress where some of the players have broken into the 1st team squad this season. The match has a 7.45 pm kick off, and it’s £2 to get in.
And Finally:
Well this is my last blog of the season, I would like to thank everybody that has read them , I hope you have enjoyed reading what I have put down this season.
I will be returning for a 2nd season and will start posting them again on Friday 4th of July.
Hope you enjoy your summer and look forward to seeing you again next season (You can keep up to date with all things Kendal Town on my site www.myspace.com/theblackandwhitearmy or on the official site www.kendaltownfootballclub.co.uk
Hello, hope everybody is well, finally the last day of the season is upon us, Kendal safe from relegation and set for a top 10 finish, all goes well going into this Saturdays match at Guiesley.
The team from what I understand is pretty much at full strength and they play a Guiesley team who need to win to stand a chance of getting in the play offs, all the pressure (for once) won’t be on Kendal which is quite a rare thing for me to say considering we have been fighting off relegation most of the season.
That said the teams improved massively this campaign, especially since the new year. Where our record is as good as a play off teams record, you just wonder if it wasn’t for that 10 game spell after The Altrincham FA Cup qualifier Kendal could have been in the playoffs.
The future is bright at Kendal, I know that Ashy is trying to extend his own contract with the club as well as trying to keep this current crop of players for next season. He is after 1 maybe 2 players next season, a striker being the number 1 target for the club,
Its been a testing season however Kendal have got a great future ahead of them, and I see them seriously competing at the upper end of the league rather than battling it out at the bottom end next season.
Other news:
Kendal Towns reserves suffered a heavy 7-1 home defeat at The hands of Formby on Thursday night which wasn’t great. If I can take anything from that game it would have to be Rob Henrys performance who was superb for most of the match.
Brian Kitching Memorial Shield:
A Kendal Town select 11 will be playing a Kendal Sunday league select 11 at The Lakeland Radio Stadium this Sunday. The match is to raise money for a memorial bench for Brian Kitching who was a keen local football fan and former Sunday league,manager and player. The game kicks off at 1 2noon with a good attendance expected
That’s my latest blog of the day, look out for my last blog of the season this Monday from 3pm.
Hello, hope everybody is well, congratulations has to go out to Kendal Towns 1st team as a 2-1 home win over Matlock on Saturday guaranteed Unibond Premier Division survival for a 2nd season.
The match was never a classic, and it was a tight contest from start to finish, that said Kendal looked more likely going forward and were even more solid at the back.
3 penalties decided the contest, Lee Ashcroft and Michael Cole for Kendal and Dene Cropper for the visitors who briefly levelled.
Kendal are now 10th in the league with a last day visit to Guiesley next weekend to look forward too.
The aim for Kendal going into that last game is to try and cement a top 10 finish which would be a fantastic achievement for a side with limited financial resources.
I also have to say congratulations to Paul Byrne who was deservedly voted The Supporters player of the season. He has been fantastic from day 1 giving his all and at times has been the driving force behind Kendal’s resurgence in 2008. The way he plays makes me wonder why he is playing at non league level as he is good enough to play league football in my opinion.
The future is definitely bright for Kendal, if Ashy can keep this team and maybe even add to it, who knows what can be achieved next season. This season has been a bit of a learning curve for the team as they have faced many challenges so to come through the disappointments like they have is fantastic.
I have 2 more blogs left after this, one of which will be a blog of the season.
Hope you have a good week, my next blog will be this Friday.
Hello, I hope everybody has had a good week, I think it’s fair too say that Kendal came away from Matlock on Tuesday night disappointed, not only with the 4-2 defeat but with the performance of the referee. To have 2 players sent off is very unlike Kendal and when I heard what these sendings off were for I couldn’t believe it. The club is considering an appeal but it’s highly unlikely anything will happen from that appeal, that said despite the officiating we did end up losing a crucial game and we are now in a situation where if the team beat Matlock in the return match at The Lakeland Radio Stadium this Saturday survival in The Unibond Premier Division will be guaranteed. It’s a special match on Saturday as it is also the last home game of the season, so Ashy’s team will be wanting to end their home campaign with a victory in front of the supporters. Kendal can be confident going into Saturday’s match, as the home form is pretty good, with only 1 defeat in 2008 and that was back in February, the players seem to play to an extra level in front of the home crowd.
I look back at this season and I feel as if it’s been a roller coaster ride, and I am pretty confident that Kendal will do the business this weekend, Matlock can be got at defensively, they have a poor away record and are inconsistent, Kendal are also inconsistent but they do score goals and cause teams problems and Matlock will feel the force of Kendal Town this weekend, you can guarantee that. When the stakes are high and the pressures on Kendal always deliver and I genuinely can’t see anything other than a Kendal Town win.
This Saturday also gives supporters a chance to vote for their player of the season, if anybody is interested in making their vote just turn up to the ground at between 2pm and 2.30pm on match day as the winner of the award will be announced just before kick off.
I have my own ideas on who should win the award, it would be unfair for me to say but I think those that know me will know who I am going to vote for.
Anyhow I close this blog by just reminding you that the team need our support more than ever this weekend, I appreciate the Kendal Rugby lads are also at home and celebrating their fine promotion but Kendal Town FC need the support, it will help the team greatly and give them that extra edge against Matlock Town this weekend. A packed Lakeland Radio Stadium has an intimidating atmosphere about it, and that will be needed this weekend.
I will be doing 3 more blogs and then that will be it for this season, so keep your eyes out for those, in one of those blogs I will be doing a season review and letting you all know when I will be back.
Kendal came back from the 1-1 draw with Worksop with mixed thoughts, holding on to the lead for so long only to concede late on was a bit disappointing. However Kendal know what they have to do, a win in either of The Matlock matches this week will guarantee Kendal’s survival in The Unibond Premier Division for another season. We are away to Matlock on Tuesday and then home to them on The Saturday, I guess in a way It would be fitting for Kendal to guarantee their survival at The Lakeland Radio Stadium on Saturday in front of the home fans but I am sure if Kendal guarantee survival before the weekend nobody will complain.
I have said for the past week that I don’t really fancy Kendal going into the last day of the season on the 26th of April having to get a result at play off contenders Guiesley; hopefully the lads can get the job done before that.
Matlock came into the season with high expectation but currently sit 2 points above the drop zone, so they will see these games with Kendal as important, which makes it a very good match to watch.
The Worksop away game at the weekend saw a few first teamers return to the squad, the likes of Tony Hallam and Paul Byrne were back which was good too see, considering we were without them in The Leek match last Tuesday night.
At this Saturday’s last home match of the season with Matlock Town, fans will have the chance to vote for their player of the year, so if you are going to The Lakeland Radio Stadium feel free to make your vote.
Hello, hope everybody is well, its been a mixed week for Kendal, the fine 3-2 win over Whitby last Saturday was followed 2 days by later by the 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Leek Town.
As there’s no excuses for a defeat like that, it has to be said that the 1st team were without up to 5 players including Paul Byrne and with a lot of the team missing through injuries and suspensions it was always going to be a hard game on a difficult pitch.
However fortunately that defeat hasn’t hurt Kendal in the league, they are still 12th 4 points clear of the relegation positions and one more win should keep Kendal in the division for another season. However as Ashy has said he doesn’t want to be going into the last 2 games of the season at home to Matlock and away to Guiesley with the threat of relegation hanging over the team.
This weekend sees Kendal away at Worksop Town looking to get that priceless win which will keep them in the division. Kendal have had some success down at Worksop with a 1-0 win in a FA Cup qualifying tie last September so that may stand them in good stead this weekend.
Worksop are safe from relegation but will always be a threat at home and I am sure they will fancy their chances of turning Kendal over, but at the same time Kendal will also fancy their chances.
I am kind of hoping like the manager that Kendal can do the business this weekend as we don’t want to be sucked in with the other relegation candidates. I want to go into the last home game of the season against Matlock next Saturday without any lingering relegation worries and sit back and enjoy a tension free match.
At the moment I am unsure what the injury/suspension situation is like, I think Paul Byrne may return this weekend which would be a huge lift, but its like casualty at the moment, Ian Kilford’s struggling on with a hamstring injury, Lee Ashcroft and Callum Warburton have had the flue, and George Melling is sidelined with ankle problems and broke down injured in the warm up before the Leek match. That plus Tony Hallam’s suspension it’s giving the manager all kinds of headaches at the moment.
Reserves:
Kendal Town’s reserves beat Leigh RMI’s reserves 3-2 at The Lakeland Radio Stadium on Monday night, Zach Clark, Tom Pickersgill and Jason Dodwell the scorers in what was an impressive performance by the lads.
That’s everything up to date with Kendal Town for today; I am hoping to be talking about a positive result from The Worksop match in my next blog.
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