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And Kiddy too

Lacie has been wearing that type of shirt all season for the Black Kites.

She does say it is very comfortable to wear, especially when she is actually playing. She wears it around the house too and sometimes when she does PE at school.

One thing I like about Phil and Neil is that they like to start going into transfers fairly quickly after the season ends. I am very confident that they are already planning targets and looking at who may be available from releases at other clubs. I hope the retain around 75pc of our current squad and I imagine we will start hearing id the not too distant future.

I look forward to it with much interest, and the friendlies for next season.

She's much better now thanks, no break and recovering well

I am glad we have a home tie on a Thursday. The girls have cubs and Scouts and Guides on Tuesday night, because we are at home so it is do-able and they can now experience their first ever cup final, no matter what level. I just hope that despite it being a less major trophy, we still have plenty of support.

I hope you all (or the club) don't mind me using this forum as below:-

Yesterday after the Torquay game ended I went into the CSH to buy drinks for myself and the girls. Lacie went outside to help set the pitch up for the tournament tonight, which her Black Kites Girls team are taking part in. She then played football on the pitch with other children. Brooke went out of the bar to look for her, walked onto the CSH terracing and lost her balance, falling on her right side. She then came into the CSH looking for me, crying. After talking to her and finishing my pint, I took her into the St John's Ambulance First Aid room, where the staff looked her over as she had also hurt her hip. she was fine but her elbow was painful and she had virtually no mobility in her arm without discomfort. They recommended a check at Wythenshawe Hospital which we eventually did.

Brooke, who is twelve, was very upset because she wanted to go to the club's 'meet the players party' in the CSH afterwards for photo's and to get autographs. The St John's staff saw how upset she was and asked me if she would like a visit from a player to cheer her up. Brooke likes Isaac Marriott, so I asked if she could say hi to him and get a photo. The nurse fetched him, and in the meantime my wife Carys arrived. Isaac gave up 15 minutes of his time to come and chat to Brooke, asked her what had happened and she was able to get her photo taken with him. He also asked her who her favourite player is and she looked him directly in the eye and said, 'You are Isaac.' He laughed, said he was glad and finally went back afterwards to rejoin the party. Brooke visibly cheered up and was happy that Isaac had given her a little of his time. We as a family really appreciated the care she received from the St. John Ambulance staff and also the time Isaac spent with her. I would like the club to pass on our thanks to St John's and to Isaac in particular.

This is further evidence of the Alty Family we have become, and how priceless the club is to the community.

Thanks to the club for their duty of care, the St. John's Ambulance team, and in particular to Isaac Marriott for giving Brooke some of his valuable time. I did take Brooke to hospital afterwards. They found a small crack in her elbow, but this was found just to be a growth crack as the bones grow naturally when a girl reaches 12 years. There is some bruising, but no bone damage. We finally arrived home with her at 1am. Brooke is out at the St George Parade in Sale currently and is fine now, with her arm in a support sling. Lacie is excited to be playing football with her team later today, it took 10 minutes to get her off the pitch yesterday, to go and take Brooke to hospital!

Carys and my thanks go to all involved yesterday.
   

Gerry Quinn his manager did remark that Clive Freeman's goal was indeed a superb one, but he also remarked that he thought one he scored away at Slough Town was even better than that one. Bring back anyone's memories? Sadly, I was not there to witness it but some of you others may have done.

Clive Freeman remarked on the goal that he was knackered by the wet heavy pitch they played on that evening. He said, "My legs were really dragging towards the end of the game, when Charlie played a pass towards me. In that moment I thought should I run towards the box with it, but the heavy pitch had taken it's toll so I just hit the bloody thing as hard as I could."

Personally, my mind's eye still sees the water shaken off the crossbar, when the ball hit the underside on it's way in. I can still see it even now.

All in all, I think it has been a good but unpredictable season, with the change from part to full time. We had a good squad, which was broken up during the January transfer window, but we managed to replace the lost players and get the results which led us to safety. My highlight was the FA Trophy run, and despite it's minor value, we are still in a cup final with a chance of some silverware.

Most importantly, we are safe from relegation and have stopped being a yo-yo club like we were prior to Phil and Neil arriving. We have the basis of a good football team for next season, with some new additions and the return of Matty Kosylo. We are also now set up to improve season on season, and ouir crowds average over 2000.

I would call that meeting the plan.