Terras Times January 2020

Southern Football League Champions 2018/2019

TERRAS TIMES The newsletter of the Weymouth FC Supporters Association

ISSUE Jan 2020

From the Editors Chair You can be forgiven for reading the date and thinking that the editorial is about to descend into my usual monologue apologising for being late and promising to publish the newsletter in a more timely fashion going forwards.

However, history has shown that my reliability is unlikely to improve too much in 2020 so there is no point in making a new years resolution that wont last more than a month! Apologies for the delay though.

One thing I have been working on is my desire to celebrate Weymouth goals a little less enthusiastically. Over the weekend my kids had friends round during the match and whilst listening to the brilliant commentary on the club website I noticed a certain level of emotion and desperation in my voice. So much so that it felt like the group of children has stopped making pink slime glitter jars and were more interested in my pacing the living room carpet bemoaning Eastbourne’s resilient defending.

It doesn't matter who you support and what level your team plays at. The passion and commitment is real and the emotions stay with you. I wasn’t surprised by the recent BBC survey that reported football supporters stress levels were really high compared to the average man on the street.

Factoring all of the above in though, I still can’t get too upset when things don’t go our way this season. Even as we approach the home straight it feels like a dream come true for us to be at this level and I want to enjoy the ups and the downs without any fear.

Sure we conceded last minute at the weekend, but we’ve won our fair amount in time added on this season so we just have to take that (officiating aside).

There are still reminders of the last time we were in the Conference South and the disaster that season was.

So much so that it was brought back to me whilst watching The Masked Singer. “Why are you booing Teddy Sheringham?” my Wife asked. “He never played for Yeovil?”

“His Son scored a double hat-trick in the season Weymouth got relegated to the Southern League” was my reply… “Forget Euro 1996, Teddy is guilty by association”.

And that’s why we love the game, the rivalry, the personalities and drama. So in 2020 my footballing resolution is to #lovethegamelovetheterras … I hope you are in!

James

Chairman’s Chatter It has been quite a busy period with the Christmas raffle being very successful and raising valuable funds.

As you can see from the photo attached, with the help and backing of our generous supporters, on your behalf we have been able to offer some help and support to Pete Pavey and the away travel. This injection of money has also allowed us to agree a ÂŁ5 discount off the advertised travel price for all 'Terras Supporters Club' members, who tarvel away on the coach for the remainder of this season, our thank to all involved for agreeing to this.

In other news, it was very sad to see the departure of Paul Maitland from his position of Directors of Football. I have written in my programme notes for the Dorking game (available to read on the forum) about what Paul has done for this club and offered thanks on behalf of all supporters. Paul will be missed but we wish him and his family all the very best moving forward.

Work is currently ongoing to establish a Membership Secretary who will be able to handle all applications and deal with enquires, organise renewals and keep our records up to date. We will be issuing membership cards with expiry dates from now on so you can see when yours is due to renew and we will endeavour to send reminders as well! We have a volunteer who has kindly come forward and we will be fine tuning our processes over the coming months to ensure we continue to deliver the best service possible. If you have any suggestions for how we can improve our process or there is something you feel is missing, please get in touch at weymouthfcsa@gmail.com Finally from me this month, you will have seen the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of footballer Jordan Sinnott and the subsequent appeal for shirts from his former teams. This went viral with shirts coming in from all over the world, as well as just about every team in the UK. On behalf of everyone connected to Weymouth FC, we have donated a home and away shirt with SINNOTT 25 on the back. These will eventually go to Sport Relief, a fine gesture in memory of a fine young man.

That is all from me, thanks for reading. Best wishes to you all.

Pete Nash Chairman Weymouth Football Club Supporters Association

2019 through the eyes of Melvyn Lake Following a successful request for contributions through the club forum, I am pleased to include this excellent summary of 2019 from Melvyn.

Thanks and please keep your contributions coming…

I would like to give my view on my favourite matches of 2019. Firstly, I need to explain I’m an Exile and can’t get to every home. After the disappointing playoff defeat and the end of 17/18 season, hopes were high of a more preferential finish to the end of the 18/19 season.

These are my favourite matches in 2019: Best Performance 2/4/19 Home vs Met Police W4-0 Top of the table clash and all to play for with both teams in contention for the title (and after a 4-4 draw earlier in the season which we should have won). On paper this was a make a break game midweek under the floodlights. Weymouth absolutely dominated the game and it was a superb performance from start to finish. Great strikes from Yemi & Thommo, with a brace from Goodship. A total model performance, motivated by what the win would mean in the title run in.

Favourite Game 26/1/19 Away v Salisbury W4-3 A wet and mizzy day, raining for 90 minutes with no cover in the way end. Salisbury competing at near the top with us. Weymouth took a 2-0 lead against an average Salisbury side on the day. Salisbury pulled one back for Weymouth to extend their two-goal lead. Salisbury then made it 3-3 with a quick double. Harry Baker then got the winner two minutes after coming on, with a cool finish. He then ran to the corner and slid on his knees into the corner flag and pandemonium broke in the corner and behind the goal. Great game.

Title Winner 27/4/19 Home v Farnborough W3-0 A win would guarantee us the title and not worry about results elsewhere. A very windy day with Weymouth playing against the wind in the first half saw the half end 0-0 (thoughts went back to the defeat at Farnborough earlier in the season where Weymouth played some excellent football for sixty minutes only to lose 3-4). We use the wind to our advantage and Yemi settled the nerves to give us a deserved lead, further goals from Goodship and Thommo settled the nerves. A bumper crowd of over 2500 saw Weymouth lift a deserved title.

A great end to the 18/19 season and 2019 has seen a very good start to life in National League South.

Here’s to more success in 2020 and beyond.