Once again it's been a while since I've completed a blog, more down to my laziness rather than workload. But due to the lack of football recently as a result of the weather, I thought I might try and get this blog kick started again.
Yesterday, Wealdstone's clash with rivals Lowestoft was postponed AGAIN, meaning it is looking increasingly like the Stones will be playing every midweek towards the back end of the season. However with teams around the constantly dropping points, the title challenge is still very much alive for Wealdstone. Having seen 2 games of football since boxing day, I needed a footie fix and having looked at the fixtures, there were 2 options, Northampton V Plymouth, or St Albans v Weymouth. I chose to go to the latter, mainly due to the fact a number of ex Wealdstone players are involved in the current St Albans set up, including James Gray, Lee Chappell, Darren Locke and Peter Dean. As well as this, there has been much discussion over whether the standard of the Southern League is as good as the standard of the extremely competitive Ryman League. So I decided to head to Clarence Park to see for myself!
Entrance to the ground was pricey, with £12 for adults and £8 for concessions, it was the most expensive game of football I had been to see this season. The ground is a nice set up, with plenty of elevated terraces to provide a good all round view, however there was limited standing cover, which would make watching in the rain a nightmare. The clubhouse was very small although it had a warm feeling to it, with a limited selection of beer at the bar. The tea bar consisted of one burger van run by one man, resulting in a long queue and pricey food. All in all not a cheap day out!
On the pitch, St Albans looked a very competent side, with no notable weak areas. Peter Dean linked up well with the very impressive John Frendo, who scored 2 excellent goals. He was by far the outstanding performer against a very average Weymouth side, who offered little throughout the game. The atmosphere was very subdued in the first half, however in the second half around 20 St Albans fans behind the Weymouth goal made some noise, however without covered stands it was hard to generate any atmosphere. With a crowd of over 700, it was clear there was a large number of neutrals, as when the goals were scored there were no wild celebrations or cheers within the stands. All in all it was too easy for St Albans, who, being 3-0 up at half time, took their foot off the pedal and eased to a 3-0 victory.
Based on what I have seen this season, I think that the standard of the Ryman League is far superior to that of the Southern League. If you take Hemel Hempstead out of the equation, who are running away with the league, I don't think any other sides in the Southern League would be challenging for the Ryman League this year. Weymouth, who sat in 10th place at the start of the day, looked very ordinary, and I would back Leiston, who sit 10th in the Ryman League to beat Weymouth with relative ease. As well as this, having seen both Wealdstone and St Albans this season, who now both sit in 3rd place in their respective leagues, I firmly believe, (unbiased, promise) that Wealdstone are the better side. I acknowledge the fact that I have only seen St Albans once this season, however particularly with players such as Tom Hamblin, Glen Little, Tom Pett, Scott McGleish and many others performing well every week, I believe the Stones would have the edge. In my opinion, the only St Albans player that would stand a chance of making the Wealdstone starting line up would be John Frendo, who took his two goals extremely well.
Having said this, a competitive game between the two sides would undoubtedly be an intriguing fixture, which, I would imagine, create a good atmosphere between two well supported sides. All in all a good day out considering I was unable to watch Wealdstone, and I do hope that we will be meeting St Albans in the conference south next season!
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