The Pyre

Improving....

2012-01-07T21:47:00.002+01:00

So, tonights win in Slough makes it 5 on the bounce for the Phoenix.

Which is bloody good news. For one thing, it means that the players are growing in confidence, something I believe was a major factor in our results during Oct/Nov/most of Dec. And it also sets us up nicely for a tilt at the play-offs, coming into form during the second half of the season. And given that we are on track to take 400+ Manc fans to Coventry again this April, that can only be a good thing.

As usual, the EIHA have been on the ball. After shifting around 450 tickets for last years play-offs, we have been initially allocated 322 tickets. 130 less than we sold last season, and will probably sell this year, too. Makes you wonder just how these guys manage to administrate the sport in any manner even approaching acceptable, if they can't sort out sensible seating allocations for their 'big weekend out'.

Anyways, I digress (as usual). The boys are hitting some form, I've finally ordered a jersey for this season (thank fuck for Xmas money), and my play off tix and hotel are booked. Good times!

And i'm going to Telford tomorrow. Sweeeeet!

A few musings...

2011-11-29T19:58:00.003+01:00

Sooo, I've been al quiet and shit lately haven't I? Sadly, it isn't because I have nothing to say (as those who see me on match nights can attest to), but just a symptom of my general laziness these days.

I was tempted to post a long diatribe about people starting to panic after a few bad results, but frankly I felt it would most likely fall on deaf ears. Don't mean I wont have a small moan though....

Some folks need to give the guys a break. despite the not so stellar performances of late they most certainly have been trying. Sometimes, despite the bets will in the world, it is impossible for a team to get its collective shit together so to speak, and make things happen. Confidence dips, and it just get harder. Add in some injury problems (Speldas freak infection, Ladzi taking a puck to the face, Ciarans knock, Tonys freak ankle hit, and Wallaces busted wrist), and it is pretty easy to see why the rest of the guys struggled. Bad luck/karma tends to linger until someone says 'enough is enough' and gets on with trying to brrak it. Tom Duggan might have just been doing that for us this past few weeks. That young man has been playing out of his fucking skin.

And don't let Sundays result fool you. We were not as bad as it seemed. Sure, 5-0 down after 2 periods on home ice sounds bad, but it sure as hell wasn't for the lack of trying. Rockman was inspired between the pipes for Slough, and we just couldn't break him, whereas Slough got all the luck they needed in front of Fone. A few of us were in the abr come the end of the 2nd period saying how we didn't look like a team being outplayed by 5 goals. Luckinly we broke the back of the problem in the 3rd period, and if we had been able to have that luck earlier in the game, I don't doubt that it would have been a different game alltogether.

Sure, some are not matching the hype which we the fans gave them pre season (Faith springs to mind), but who does? Faith is coming into his own now he is playing in his natural role as a centre, which might possibly give Tony pause for thought when it comes to the lines upon his return to on ice action.

And don't forget, despite the bad results we are still only 3 game soff the league leaders. a 4 point weekend could see us jump up 2 or 3 places with ease, and back to back 4 pointers.... They say it isn't over til the fat lady sings. Well, at the minute, the fat lady isn't even in the venue, let alone warming up.

See y'all Sunday for my Birthday game (mines a pint of Carlsberg, if anyone cares...)

For F***s sake!

2011-10-27T19:31:00.000+02:00

It never sodding rains, but it pours!

First off Spelda picks up a nasty infection in his ankle, which requires surgical intervention, putting him out of action for at least 6 weeks (just a guess). Fine, I can cope with that. Shit happens, and you move on.

Then Harabin (our other import D-man) takes a puck to the face in Guildford last night. Seriously? Are the Hockey Gods mocking us? Have we pissed them off that much? Something tells me we might be a little short of numbers on Sunday, making a tough game about 10 times bloody tougher.

And to top it all off some muppet Bracknell 'fan' (and I use the word 'fan' very loosely), decides to tweet the official Phoenix feed thusly:

@manc_phoenix harabin believe in karma?! Thinks its ok to knee the bracknell imports,well say hello to a puck to the face! KARMA BITCH

Nice, eh? Sometimes I despair. Our sport, nay any sport, has no place for morons like this. I know I can be a bit confrontational at times. Possitively aggressive even, but there is a line and this little piece of distended rectum corssed it. Especially with his repy to another Phoenix fan on Twitter:

hahaaa anymore fan mail? love that uv taken the time to send me your b******t many thanks douche's #loveyouall

Prick.

Ego boost!

2011-10-13T21:56:00.000+02:00

I got called 'famous' on Saturday!

I didn't want to mention it in my earlier post, but, what the hell! It made me feel good, dammit!

Not that I consider myself 'famous', even within the social circle that is British Ice Hockey. Infamous perhaps, but not famous.

But still, it felt good....

That made a change.

2011-10-09T15:44:00.003+02:00

So, thats the first Saturday night game of the season out of the way, and it was different (as Saturday games usually are). The crowd was healthy for a Saturday game, especially given the inclement weather and the opposition. No offence to the Phantoms, but a Guildford or MK visit would have drawn a higher crowd. But those who were hardy enough to brave the almost constant drizzle made plenty of noise, and saw perhaps the sides finest performance so far this season.

Indeed, THs men made it look easy towards the end, after a short benched Phantoms line up held out bravely in the first period. Losing Glowa to the 'Accidental High Sticks + Blood = 5+Game' rule (which is bloody stupid as a deliberate High Sticks can be assesed a lesser penalty!), then Ricky Skene after he blocked a Spelda slap shot with his neck (ouchies) didn't exactly help either. And you ain't getting a full match report on here. It's hard enough writing one for the Programme, let alone a secondary one for here!

Other than that, the rink sound did improve as the game went on. Come the 3rd period I could almost hear all of the announcements. And I bought myself a coat. Not the most exciting purchase imaginable, granted, but I did need a new one, so...

Oh, and it was nice to see Ciaran Long back on the ice. Hopefully we will have a full line up out there soon (No Archer last night... groin strain apparently. Brenda offered to rub it better....).

Back in the saddle...

2011-10-01T00:47:00.001+02:00

So, the season has finally begun. 4 points from the opening weekend was quite possibly the most perfect way to begin. Not to impressed with the officiating though. Some outrageously obvious calls were missed, which surely can not instill confidence in the officials, but only time will tell on that one.

Anyways, given the weather, it certainly does not feel like hockey season. 27c? In September? What the fuck is that about?

See you at the rink!

Its driving me INSANE!

2011-09-03T13:48:00.001+02:00

I can't take it anymore! The summer has run on for far too long! I NEED my hockey back!

It's not that I'm some desparate hockey obsessed freak.... oh, wait, thats exactly what it is. As I write this it is now September. Thats hockey time, not sat on my arse at home thinking about hockey time. And it's not even as if I have nothing else to do with myself, it's just I miss my hockey, quite possibly more so than is healthy, but....

Anyways, lets try and be vaguely sensible here. 2 more bodies added to the sqaud, and were are a step closer to being on the ice. Juraj Faith looks like he could be another of THs genius pick-ups, and should in all likelihood join the "100+" club (I.E. scores 100+ points for us). And it's nice to see Adam Summerfield replaced with a call up from the Metros in the shape of Jorge El-Hage. Yes, he's young, but he has to develop his game, and this is the next logical step for him.

And it was also a pleasent surprise to find that we have set a new record for Season Ticket sales, with over 440 being sold by the club. I guess those who thought that moving to the EPIHL would kill the club have now been proven somewhat wrong. ST sales are up, match night attendance is up, things are looking up (I'm sure winning some silverware helped). I guess the target for this season will be to raise attendances further (our average is just under 1,100, apparently, so 1,200 is a reasonable target), and to win some more trophies (I'm not greedy, retaining the League will do for starters).

And I would like to confirm 2 things:

1: I will be continuing in my role as Fan Liason for the coming season, so stop bothering Tambo, and come bug me instead!
2: I have stepped down from the board of the Supporters Club. Nothing sinister, it's just i have a wedding to plan, and something had to give, and that was it.

See you all at the Dome in a fortnight!

So close I can almost smell it....

2011-08-28T16:39:00.000+02:00

...The new season that is.

Over in the ~~EVIL~~, sorry, EIHL the pre season games have already begun, with the Sheffield/Cardiff 'Festival of Hockey' taking place (2 'serious' freindlies, some junior games, and a couple of 'Legends' games featuring a few names who have also played for Manchester teams), the Panthers play the Giants, and the Stingrays are playing the Blaze.

Non of the Scottish teams are playing, although none seem to have even a vaguely complete roster. Hell, Fife are talikg about starting the season with maybe just 7 imports. Could be on the wrong end of a few spankings early doors up in Kirkaldy.

Other than that, there isn't much going on. I would expect some news to come from the office on Tuesday, but apart from that.....

Roll on 17th September.

Its getting closer....

2011-08-11T20:23:00.000+02:00

The long wait is slowly starting to near its end. The days are shortening, the autumn draws ever closer.

And thank fuck for that. I hate the summer. Its too warm, to bright, and there just isn't enough hockey!

Squad building continues apace with James Neil being the latest addition. The team is looking good, with 2 more to be added, including THs annual 1st line import goal machine (and you thought that was Cingels job...). There were hints at the shirt launch, with much mention of stamped passports, but that could just be a ruse. Time will tell.

As for the shirts themselves. Well, mixed is the best way to describe the response. For myself, I quite like the designs. The cup jerseys maintain a nice continuity with the previous 2 seasons one, being Yellow/Black/White, but the regualr season jerseys have seen a change in colour scheme from the established Red/White/Black to a a Red/Black/Blue/White combo. And we are using the 'Latin' logo instead of the 'GameFace' for the forthcoming season.

The main issue folks have had though, is the sizing. The jerseys are being made by Rhino and are somewhat more snug than the last couple of seasons. The general consensus is that you need to add 2 sizes to your usual order (ie if you were an XXL last season like myself, you will likely need an XXXXL this season). Material feels nice too, and is different to last seasons.

Oh yes, and in much the same way that the Storm bought a new, supersized trophy after seeing how underwhelming the old BD1 trophy was, NM has risked the wrath of the EIHA (again) by buying a new, supersized trophy to replace the EPL one.. which was like a large egg cup really. The new one is nice and big, and will actually be visible at centre ice from the back of the seating. Which is nice.

2 more join the squad....

2011-07-21T19:24:00.000+02:00

So, this weeks signing announcement saw TH add another 2 Brits to the squad in the shape of local favorite utility player Ben Wood, and Ryan Johnson, returning after a season on the wrong side of the Pennines.

Ben Wood, for my money anyways, was a no-brainer. He has improved season on season, and is a rare commodity: A true utility player, equally at home patrolling the blue line and in front of the crease. He is also a very popular young man, and probably the best of the 'home grown' players to come from within the set up at Alty.

Johnno's return took most folks by surprise. Not the greatest player ever, Johnno is a solid, reliable presence on the blue line, and a tiny bit of a character off the ice, too! I should know having been pressganged into a players photo by him at Coventry a couple of seasons back, and having to suffer the indignity og being stuck between him and Rhys McWilliams in the Skydome bog this past playoffs!

Added to this, TH has told the MEN that he wants a bigger squad than previous seasons to help combat injuries better. This makes sense. The past 2 or 3 years have seen us seriously short of bodies on the bench at difficult stages of the season. Adding another 2 bodies to the bench ( be it from the Metros, U-18s, or outside the Alty system) can only be a good idea. Plus, it has the added benefir of helping to blood new players, and give them vital experience of being on the bench during a senior game.

And the rumor that Andrew Sharp is signing for Guildford... brilliant. Some Guildford fans are practically distraught at the thought of 'Blunt' as they like to call hime sullying their beloved team uniform. Personally, i'll miss Sharpy next season if indeed he isn't part of the Phoenix roster. Although, him and Johnno... jesus, that would be trouble....

Some summer musings....

2011-07-14T19:56:00.000+02:00

Yes, I still haven't done a write up of the fucking play-offs. So sue me.

Anyways, whats going on then? Well, Th has continued to build the squad, adding 2 more to the squad in the shape of newbies (to the Phoenix at any rate) Ciaran Long and Josh Ward. Both seem to be pretty useful pick ups, and reaction has been positive to their arrival. The announcement of Long in particular laid to rest an very, erm, long running rumour (it started somewhere around the play-offs) about his joing us for 2011-2012.

Anywyas, not much else has happened really in Phoenix land. Spread out wing a little further however, and all manner of stuff has been happening...

First up, Paul Ragan the 'Saviour of British Ice Hockey' (tm) has managed to do something that only bob Phillips has previously managed. yes, he managed to bankrupt both clubs. Although more impressively (if that is the word) Ragan managed to do it to both clubs on the same day. On what would ahve been pay day in June he rather callously wound the operating company for both clubs (Rink Corp) up leaving significant 6 figure debts. Mysteriously (or not if you prefer) just before this, he awarded licences to 2 different companies to run the respective franchises. The Steelers are now 'owned' by the guy who owns Rhino (and whose name escapes me for the moment). I say 'owns' as allegedly PR still has a 50% stake in the Steelers, but no one seems to be able to completely confirm or deny this. The Devils? AFAIK, Ragan is still the owner. The saga continues...

And speaking of the Devils, come December they very well might have no rink to call home. Again. It seems that Cardiff City Council has gotten cold feet about awarding the tender to Planet Ice regarding the permanent replacement for the WNIR, and has pulled the rug from under them. Problem is PI own the current rink, but only have a lease on the land it is built on (which is owned by CCC) until December.Cue PI threatening to dismantle the building and ship it elsewhere come xmas time. Naturally the Devils fans are up in arms about this... even though may of them actively campaigned against PI getting the tender in the first place. The Devils fans, you see baulked at PIs intention to construct what would effectively be the Coventry Skydome (2500 seats)with a nicer exterior, demanding instead a 4000 seat twin pad facility. Well, now the council looks set to give them their wishes (assuming anyone has the moeny to build something like that anymore as the only previous bidder with that on the table was...Paul Ragan) they are upset at PIs business decision to move on. Truthfully, I think that what the Devils want could turn out to be a 'white elephant' (the much smaller twin pad facility iceSheffield has struggled to turn a profit from day one), which would bankrupt whoever wished to run it, and PIs plan was more sustainable in the long run. This has legs yet, though, as I'm sure there will be a few more twists before the fat man in a red suit comes 'ho-ho-ho-ing'. (as an incidental deal, it has emerged that the newly bankrupt Devils got/get free ice time, significantly reducing over heads. Interesting).

And a piece of good news.. The Coventry Blaze have finally retired the 'Worst Logo In British Ice Hockey, Ever!' (tm) in favour of a new one. About fucking time! The old one looked like it had been drawn by a bored 10yr old in art class at school. The new one looks much, much more professional.

AN UPDATE!!!!!!

2011-06-02T20:54:00.000+02:00

Yes, tis true, this is an actual update!

OK, it isnt the play off write up (my personal life has taken precedence lately), but it is a few musings on how the off season is shaping up.

Now, like almost everyone else, I was a tad disapointed to see some of last seasons squad choose to move on rather than defend their title, but if we continued on with the same squad, I honestly could see us being overtaken as everyone else would know where they needed to strengthen their squad.

Having said that thank fuck Ladzi is coming back. Huegely popular, and 110% dedicated to his job, having him back gives the D a solid core, alongside long time Phoenix player Luke Boothroyd. And the new signing... well, I ain't complaining one bit! Koulikov should prove to be too much for most EPL level D men to handle, so despite loosing Huppe to Guildford the goals should keep piling up. Mind you, with TH feeding the puck I think that even I would be good for about 30 goals!

Other than that there is a public meeting of the SC coming up, which I sadly am unable to attend due to prior commitments (yes, I have a life beyond hockey... weird, isn't it?). And we are awaiting next weeks 'big signing' news. Rumours seem to be pointing to a return to the Phoenix fold for Joe Tallari, and/or the arrival of Martin Cignel from the Edinburgh Capitals... I'll take either thanks! Cingel has been a standout for the Caps despite their mass of off and on ice problems, and we know what Tallari is capable off.

Aaaaannd, thats it for now!

Laters!

That was a hell of a weekend.

2011-04-12T20:02:00.000+02:00

Indeed it was!

Despite the disappointment of getting knocked out in the Semi final for the 2nd year running (but what a comeback!), the Coventry weekend was a damn fun time.

Officially, my Coventry weekend ran from 10.30am Friday to 2.39pm Monday. I drank, oooh, loads of pints of beer, ate a lot of Wetherspoons breakfasts (Pancakes with bacon FTW), and had afr more fun than should be legal.

As a warm up for the full write up, here are a few selected highlights:

Being stood between Ryan Johnson and Rhys McWilliams in the bogs at the Skydome.
The back and forth chants between ourselves and Guildford.
Wetherspoons running out of the lager for the Beer & Burger Promo.
The bike chained to a pub chair for security(!).
Glow Sticks.
Tambos Flag.
Tambos Don Cherry suit.
Buzz Bee in drag.
And realising my hotel bill was £30 lower than I thought it was going to be.

Once thursday rolls around, i should have recovered sufficiently to report on the weekends shennanigans. As it is, I'm still processing the details myself.

Bits and pieces....

2011-03-15T20:02:00.000+01:00

So, the mighty Phoenix are just 3 points away from the first (meaningful) piece of silverware in the clubs existence. Am I excited by this prospect? You bet your arse I am! Its been a fucking long time since a Manchester team won a trophy, and dammit, I want this one! Going to the play offs will be even more fun than usual with a trophy to brag about.

Other than that....

It was awesome to see Harabin back out on the ice this past Sunday. We've certainly missed his strenghth and calmness at the back this past couple of months. Flipside to that ray of sunshine is Duggan screwing his shoulder up. I really feel for the poor lad. Of all the times in the season to have an injury like this, right before the play-offs is not the one!

And the first line. What can I say except...fucking WOW! 333 points (at the time of writing) in the league between them, and all 3 men over 100 individually. This has truly been a record setting season. Howe the fuck we will follow this one next year is beyond me. Seriously. How the hell do you replace even 1 player who can do 100 points for you Because make no mistake, if Kristofferson stays in the UK expect the EIHL and its money to come a callin' for the Scandinavian goal machine.

Other than that its been a weird 4 weeks, with me being off the booze on Docs orders... First time in over 10 years I've watched games without having at least 1 pint. But rest assured, after last season herculean efforts at the bar (£150+) in Coventry, I will be having a few over that weekend, so consider yourself warned.

Recent stuff

2011-02-22T20:17:00.000+01:00

So, its been a bit quiet here on The Pyre of late, and i hold my hands up, its my fault.

I've been quite busy with some non hockey related stuff in my personal life, and starting a major project for the Supporters Club (all will be revealed in good time). The net effect of this has been me not having time to update the blog as much as I would like to have done..

Anyways, here we are again. things are looking good out there on the ice. Top of the league with a reasonable cushion, results being ground out when perhaps they shouldn't (a sign of a championship capable team.. just look at Man U), and a decent cup run (brought to a halt by Basingstoke). And its not looking too bad off it either, in some respects. Almost 550 seats sold for the play-offs (about 1/4 of the seats available in Coventry), the match night presentation is getting back to where it was under the previous director, and the club has been talking to the fans once more (something which has been lacking this season, and again, something I am partly responsible for).

Ok, things ain't all great. Ladzi is hurt, and the rest of the guys keep taking knocks. I'd wager most of them are carrying a minor injury at the moment. Tom Duggan took a nasty hit from behind on Sunday and has injured his knee, although we don't know how badly as per Phoenix policy (keep the opposition guessing).

the thing that is bothering me the most though (and this could derail our title hopes) is the frankly piss poor officiating we seem to see a lot of at the Dome. Take this Sunday. The ref (who I won't name) was woeful. He was often out of position, or so far behind the play he missed most calls. He washed out a goal thanks to this, and then gave another when he refused to make the call that is in the rule book (Man in the Crease, fwiw). This same ref has been shit every time we have had to use him. And sadly, from what i gather he won't improve as he apparently believes that he is doing a good job on the ice...

that is all for now...

Small changes

2011-01-09T14:50:00.000+01:00

Those of you who are regular visitors to this blog might have noticed I've added an entry screen (courtesy of Blogger) when you visit.

This is in response to a number of complaints I have had recently about the use of adult language on the blog. It seems that my warning at the top of the page has been insufficient for some newer visitors, and as such I have had to take this step to remind people that this is a blog written by an adult, who likes to use adult language, especially when discussing a subject that he feels passionate about. Within this blog, I let off steam. Often times, the easiest way to do this is with some carefully chosen expletives. I certainly am aware that my usage of the 'C' word before Xmas upset people, but I did justify the context, which is rare for myself as I feel that if you have to justify the context, then you shouldn't be saying what you are saying in the first place.

Regardless of this, everyone is now pre-warned. I can, and do use adult language. I make no apologies for this. I will continue to use this language when I deem it to be appropriate. I don't make people read this blog, you all read it of your own volition. Please, if you have an issue with what i write on here, contact me directly, not via a 3rd party. I'm easy enough to get hold of either online, or at the rink.

Thank you for your time.

Sharp gets a 2 game ban!

2010-12-30T19:30:00.000+01:00

According to the official forum, and taken from a poster who asked NM what was going on:

"1. Sharp is suspended for two games - this one and the MK game.
2. The League have seen the fan video that was posted on YouTube or wherever and have decided that the suspension is appropriate.
3. The Club are not happy with the decision and have asked the League to review it. "

So Andrew Sharp has been banned base dona video review of a YOUTUBE clip? What the fuck?

I wouldn't mind if it was a proper video review involving the official match DVD, but a leaked (as it was clearly taken from our centre ice camera), incomplete video clip of the incident posted on fucking YOUTUBE? Once again the powers that be in British ice hockey prove beyond all shadow of a doubt they are about as professional as, well, amatuers really.

Fucking YOUTUBE, seriously?

Smackdown!

2010-12-22T20:06:00.000+01:00

So, it finally happened. Andrew Sharp finally got his maiden fights under his belt as a Phoenix player.

And judging from the reaction, people either loved it or hated it!

Lets quicky cover what went down:

1st fight. Sharp and Payette have a little scrap. Payette seems to 'jump' Sharp, but the both exchange blows before Sharp pulls Payettes jersey over his head, and Payette wretles Sharp to the ice. Some folks are edging this to Payette based on the takedown, me? I'm calling it a draw.

2nd fight: This is where it gets interesting. Payette is out on the ice, agitiating, he spends an entire shift trying to draw a Phoenix player who isn't called Andrew Sharp into a fight, finally settling on Tony 'Killer' Hand. To do this he literally grabs Tonys stick and refuse to let go as they drift towards the benches for a line change. Tony looks a bit pissed off by this, and after about 10 or so seconds of Payettes juvenile bullshit motions that Sharp is to replace him on the line change. Now this is where stories diverge a bit. Frtom my vantage point Payette clearly sees (and hears) Tony call Sharp onto the ice, and given his experience knows what is about to happen. Sharp is coming onto the ice purely to throw some fists Mr Payettes way. For reasons known only to himself, as Sharp rushes at him, Payette decides to half turn away and 'turtle' the fight (ala Jamieson last season against Payette). all this results in is Sharp landing a monster blow which drops Payette immediately. Rather stupidly Sharp then aims a few puches at the prone Payette, before being dragged off. Tony gives him a little bollocking for being a bit too rough. Sharp isn't happy, but heads straight to the locker room as the ref indicates he is to do so. (Icidentally, people closer to the action thatn myslef heard Sharp trying to get payette to man up and 'Fucking fight' instead of turtle, and others claim the punches were actually Sharp trying to pull Payette back to his feet). Payette lies there like he has been knocked into next week.

Then something odd happens. Sharp is brought back out, and put into the penalty box, to serve just a 2+2. Payette has suddenly recovered and beigns a Benny Hill-esque attempt to chase the ref around the ice, almost hitting a lino at least once. Payette racks up an impressive penalty call of 2 + 2 + 10 + Game + Match, mostly for abuse of an official. Naughy boy.

Oh, and we won 7-0. But that seems to be secondary.

Plenty of folks enjoyed the fights (I know I did, nowt gets the blood up like some fists flying. Not that i want to see it every fucking game, but every so often it has to be done), and plenty didn't. I certainly heard comments to the effect that 'we don't need/want that in hockey'. And plenty of folks though Sharp was out of order for his 'suckerpunch' on Payette.

Now, I'm sorry, but Payette knew what was coming. No questions. He tried to pull a turtle, and it didn't work. Far worse from my viewpoint was his pathetic petulance after the fact, chasing the ref, etc. If he had used the brain he was born with he would have had a 2+2 just like Sharp, and a chance to take his 'revenge' if he so wished. Instead, he acted like a spoilt brat who has had his favorite toy taken away from him. Hardly the best example to a bench full of young Brits who need guidance from a sebior player (and make no mistake, at the Steeldogs Payette is the senior player).

And from a 'tough guy' perspective, Payette lost his pissing contest with Sharp on Sunday. He'll come back for another tilt, mark my words, and Sharp will probably come off a stand up fight worse. But I don't see a 'stand up' fight. I see some pathetic tit for tat revenge attack. Which could be very bad news indeed.

But just to re-iterate, we won 7-0. And we looked very comfortable and smooth in doing it. Bring on Jan 2nd!

Things are getting better.

2010-12-08T20:58:00.000+01:00

So, whilst we haven't exactly been playing with the style and fluidity of the early part of the season, things are picking up. And just in time too, with Guildford coming back to the Dome on Saturday. Banging 6 past the Bees will have given the lads a bloody good boost to their morale, and seeing Huppe play like he is will boost that even further.

Which is good. And what is also good is that Andrew Sharp coming in seems to have boosted the confidence of the Brit lads in terms of their physical play. The number of big hits has risen noticeably since his arrival, and about fucking time too! I was starting to get flashbacks to last season where we were all too easily out muscled near the boards. Not any more hopefully.

And Harabin... what a fucking peach Mr Hand got us there! I have rarely seen a player work as hard as he does every shift. He hits hard, holds his position well, and isn't afraid to give some verbal (or hand gestures) to players he has taken a disliking too during the course of a game. Just wait for the fireworks when he next meets Tubby Boy (aka Nicky Chinn). That will be a corker if Harabin decides he fancies a bit. Which I've been told he very well might. And to top it all, his end to end goal on Sunday... stunning!

Back to Mr Sharp, who has only really slipped up once in the manner in which we were 'warned' about, on Sunday. Although reports from ice level suggest that it was another case of an opposition player talking shite, then shitting a brick when Sharp asked them for a dance. He'll get a chance soon enough, mark my words (I'm looking at you, Payette). Other than that he has been reliable for the most part, and is surely due a goal if h can keep finding those gap in front of goal.

And finally, to finish up this surprisingly polite and calm posting, I'd like to thank Five Minute Majors Becky aka ladyhathaway) for making the fine birthday cake I received on Sunday. I enjoyed it, Mrs. Learned enjoyed it, the Barmy Bunch enjoyed it, Russ did, and Caz & Ang too! Hell, we all enjoyed it! And yes, I am officially as miserable old bastard now (like I wasn't before).

See y'all Saturday (and Sunday too)!

OK...I've been beyond lazy...

2010-11-25T19:12:00.000+01:00

Yes, I haven't done an update since the start of the month. What can I say? I'm a busy guy with loads of other stuff going on (and believe me, writing one 500 word match report on a Monday evening is enough. There is no fucking way I'm gonna try and do two of the fuckers).

Anyhooos, what can i say about the past couple of weeks activity in the Dome? Well, lets see:

Being beaten by the Bison when we had the game won... Yup, we stole a defeat cleanly from the jaws of victory. And it fucking hurt. Especially after the muppet known as Wiggins had totally failed in his quest to draw a scrap out of the Phoenix players (hmm, hitting a player in the face when he won't fight you...thats a samrt move. Not.). Of course, afetr calling Mr Wiggind a muppet on THF, I was meerly being a 'sore loser'. Naturally I explained myself (more than once): Wiggins will always be a muppet in my eyes, as long as he keeps on acting like one, whether we win or lose against the Bison.

And to follow that...

Andrew Sharp joins the Phoenix. I'll freely admit that my first reaction was 'What the fuck? has Tony started to go a bit senile?'. Then I thought about it a bit. Sharpy ahs a rep for being a bit 'wild' shall we say, which might just work in our favour. After all, who's going to try and, oh say slash a player of the puck (Tubby Boy from dahn sarf, I'm looking at you!), when you know that Sharpy will just come onto the ice and try and ring your bell with his fists? It will certainly make a fair few of the leagues agitators/'hard men' think twice. (but please, Gods of hockey, let Sharpy twat the Greeners, preferably into the middle of next season). And being fair, if any coach can control Sharp, its Tony. He controlled Anglestad, Cloots, and Payette easily enough. Which brings me to my next point of interest...

Payette joins the Steeldogs. Which means Sundays game over on the wrong side of the hills should be a bit tasty. I'll stick me neck out and say there will be at least 1 bout of fisticuffs in iceSheffield. Dont want to call the winner though.

Thankfully from a non fighting perspective a semblance of normailty reigned this past weekend as we won our home game, if in a slightly nervy manner. The lads were/are clearly a bit down, so hopefully a return to winning ways will perk them up a bit.

Hell, it better, as I'm getting seriously pissed off with going home miserable. It don't exactly keep the missus happy.

See you all on Saturday, peeps. I can't fucking wait.

Yes, its the fortnightly update...

2010-11-02T22:15:00.000+01:00

So, the bulk of this update is going to cover the game against Guildford. Yes, we lost, and yes, it was a silly 5 minute spell in the 2nd period which lost it for us. For the first time this season we got caught napping, and were made to pay the price. And yes, it was shit to be on the wrong end of the scoreline. C'est la vie.

Mind you, for most of the rest of the game we looked pretty comfortable, so I ain't gonna worry my pretty self just yet.

No, for my money the main talking points were the officiating and Guildfords nettie, Hala.

So, the officiating... Is it too much to ask for some fucking consistency from the men (and women) in the stripey jerseys? On Sunday it was pretty apparent that Boardman just wasn't quite up to reffing a game as important as 1st vs 2nd in the league. He either made no calls at all for some pretty obvious infringements, or made calls which seemingly made no sense, then applied a different criteria to a similar incident seconds (or minutes) later. Example: Pasha got himself a 10 minute abuse of official misconduct for swearing at the ref when a Guildford forward pushed our nets off deliberatley. He appeared to say very few words, and wa sent to the bin before anyone knew what was going on. According to one fan who lip reads, Pasha quite literally said 1 'abusive' word (I'm assuming something along the lines of fuck, shit, bastard, or the c-bomb... cunt. They didn't specify) which was enough. Minutes later, as Guildford rather excessively lobbied for our 3rd goal to be disallowed (more on this later), Longdstaff and Hala certainly said much more to Boardman, which drew no call whatsoever. WHich, in my book is a lack of consistency. If you penalise 1 team for abusive language, you have to penalise the other team when they use it too. Thank fuck I don't paly. I'd be getting misconducts every fucking game, motherfuckers.

And now onto Hala. On Sunday night he displayed some quite frankly disgusting unsportsmanlike behaviour. Firstly he appeared to take Wallaces skates out from under him (or thats what it looked like from my vantage point) as he was try to shoot (which could have been nasty, but wasn't). Then he kicked the goals off the moorings on our 3rd goal, very obviously on purpose, which thankfully Boardman did see, and gave the gaol anyways, giving us fans a couple of minutes to watch Guildford almost spontaneously combust with rage. During this Hala also threw his stick, which he should have recieved a penalty for. It was a pointless tantrum in the end, and only served to make him look like an idiot. Following that he then tried to fake an injury in a most bizarre manner.

Hala threw his blocker into the air (I swear it went 6 fucking feet straight up), then dropped to the ice like Nani in the penalty box, clutching his wrist in agony. Within seconds the fine display of the thespian arts ended as he realised that the ref was stood next to him and wasn't giving jack shit for his hsitrionics. Hala then got up, popped hsi blocker back on, and set for the face off as if he had just taken a moment to have a sip of water. Again, no call against him either, which pissed me and quite a few others off immensely.

The sad thing is, thse actions late in the game spolt what was for me a great dislpay of netminding from Guildford. He didn't need to do it, and was acting like an idiot frankly.

Hmm, not as sweary as I thought I'd be this time. Methinks I need more beer... now where's that fucking bottle opener....

Lets look at the last 2 weeks...

2010-10-19T19:59:00.000+02:00

Yes, I've gotten lazy with the blog.... but thats because its fucking tough to write match reports on here, however irreverant, and do them for the match night programme (which you all buy just to read my wonderfull 500ish words each week, right?).

However, I'm going to try harder, honest!

Anyways, what can I say about the last couple of weeks? Should I praise the frankly stunning 1st line? Or the wonderfully solid looking D? Or the overall cohesion of the team? Nah, fuck it, I'll just witter on about how much I'm enjoying the teams performances overall.

Seriously, its been a long fucking time since we saw a team this damn good bearing the Manchester name. All the way back to the championship winning Storm team of the last century, in fact. The guys all look like they are enjoying themselves out there, and that enjoyment is infectious (at least for most folks). I mean, how outrageously good is Marcus Kristofferson? And Huppe? And Harabin? And Ben Fucking Wood. If he carries on, he has to be a shoo in for 'most improved player' come the seasons end. Some of his stick handling on Sunday was way beyond the quality that many expect of young Brit players. Well fuck them. It shows you what can happen when a lad is given a chance to show he belongs on the roster.

And I can't wait for the bar re-furb to be completed... draft beer finally. Probably more expensive, mind, but what the fuck are you going to do?

Oh yeah, and Foneys injury looked awesomely gross. It wasn't so much a 'gash' as a fucking big hole. I swear you can see bone in his pictures of it. I did feel sorry for young Mr Brown though. I'm sure his pants became a similar colour to his surname once he realised that Foney was going to need to leave the ice. Poor lad. But major kudos to him for having the balls to step up.

Right, thats enough swearyness for this time. See y'all at the rink Saturday.

That was fun...

2010-10-05T20:35:00.000+02:00

Ok, so Im a lazy bastard and I didn't blog last weeks game. Suffice to say I left the rink very chuffed with another solid victory behind the team.

Anyways, on to this past weekends visit by MK... Phew, that was a tasty 1st period wasn't it? Tony 'Killer' Hand taking young Mr McPherson and giving him an almighty arse kicking, for the 2nd time. Jesus, you'd think he would have learnt last time: DO NOT FUCK WITH TONY HAND. HE WILL KICK YOUR ARSE. Which he did. Pretty conclusively. Altogether now: 'You got beat by an old age pensioner!'

Mind you, that decision wasn't as mind numbingly dumb-ass as his next one. Slashing the legs out from under Marcus Kristofferson at a face off...before the puck was fucking dropped. Not quite sure what he hoped to achive by doing that, except getting himself an early shower (hey, maybe he wanted all the hot water to himself)? And he was obviously not finished, as he had to be manhandled into the MK locker room (and allegedly made threats to Marcus Kristoffersons safety next time they meet. Alegedly, mind you).

Other than that, this was pretty good game, despite both teams indulging in the 'black arts' at times. Late checks, holding, hooking, eye rakes...it was almost WWE at times. But the goals were good. Our first line is simply amazing. The 5th goal was as perfect a phase of passing play as you will likely ever see at the Dome. Seriously, it was that fucking good. And given they guys on the line, I think the rest of the EPL will find it a very difficult line to shut down. Not that it matters, as the Brit lads on the other lines are more than holding their own.

Can't wait for Sundays game already. This is a good thing.

It has returned!

2010-09-25T12:11:00.000+02:00

Yes, the new season has begun, and I'm back behind the keyboard!

Ok, so the game was almost a week ago, but I've been busy, what with working, writing game reports for the match night programme (which you have all read, right?), and doing stuff for the Supporters Club (join us!). But, here we are, so on we go....

Not that was a fucking brilliant way to start the season. A win at B'Stoke (always a tricky trip), then a nice 3-0 shutout of the Slough Jets in our own barn. Call it a small measure of revenge for last seasons play-off semi final loss, eh? And even though its early doors, I'm damned impressed with how the team is looking. The overall balance seems to be better, with more of the sqaud willing to play both ways, jumping up on the break, and tracking back when required.

And the first line... dear gods, they look awesome. Hand/Huppe/Kristofferson. Those names will scare the shit out of other teams in the coming months, which means I expext them to be targeted by every 'tough guy' in the league. Indeed, Sluff tried it with the Greener Sisters, sorry Brothers, but to no avail. And I have heard that Mr Wiggins is coming looking for a barney on Sunday, so I am expecting some fireworks there. And when it comes to toughness, we look pretty tough ourselves this season. Kristoffeson looks big and capable of handling himself, and Mr Holland... well, he certainly is a tough little S.O.B., isn't he? Cracking scrap in the 'friendly' against the Steeldogs, the first of many I'm sure.

And having had a little chat with BT at the open training session, I am as convinced as he is that the D is much, much more solid this season. Having the second import back there provides a better balance, which of course will help BT keep the puck out of the net, as a stronger D will give up fewer shots on goal.

So, bring on the Bison. I can not fucking wait. Ah... I love hockey season.

It's coming.....

2010-09-09T10:45:00.001+02:00

Yes, the first full on update to this here blog type thing will be coming very soon. Y'know, like after the Steeldogs game. Or maybe something before it. I aint decided yet.

Oh, and keep an eye out for my debut piece in the match night programme.

It's been a loooong time, hasn't it?

2010-07-04T15:36:00.000+02:00

Yes, it's been a bloody long time since I updated the Pyre. And yes, I am a lazy bastard, and thats why!

Actually, thats not really true. Truth of the matter is I've been a very busy boy. As you all know from the previous entry, I now do some work for the club (which currently dose not take up too much time, but I am pretty damn sure it will once the season begins). Now I can add to that the fact that I was successful in becoming a member of the Supporters Club Board. Yes folks, I got voted in! I know, I know, there must have been something in the water for that to happen, but nevertheless, happen it did.

So, with that in mind, I have been quite busy, talking to other SC board members, and working out just what the fuck I will be doing for the SC (beyond swearing less in public). Well, as it stands, I'm going to be responsible for pretty much the same as I am for the club, plus I'm also going to be the head of the new Block Reps team, and a few other sundry items to boot.

Now, where does this leave this esteemed publication? Well, once the season starts it will be pretty much business as usual. I shall endeavour to continue with my irreverant and sometimes sweary look at the Phoenix, plus anything else that takes my fancy (such as the shit storm going down on the other side of the Hills...more on that soon). So, despite what some folks seem to think I have NOT been gagged by the club. HURRAH!

Off season round up #1

2010-05-29T15:53:00.000+02:00

So, whats going down, then.....

Well, the roster is looking good. 12 Brits already (11 if Farmer gets a spot in the US from his trial), some solid new names (Duggan, Holland), and a good core of returnees (Boothroyd and both Woods stand out for me). Foney has been given another season to prove himself, which I feel is the least we could do given the circumstances (playing whilst seriously injured). All we need to do now is sort out some quality imports....

Off ice, there are some interesting changes. The new sponsors block has caused a few upsets, but the club has in all fairness done everything it can to lessen the impact, including offering a free upgrade to the all new 'Gold Seating' block. Which is another new development at the rink. Comfy seats, private bar... for £2 extra a game. And by all accounts its proving popular.

And the off ice staff has had a change too, with a new addition to the team...ME!

Yes, I have joined the team as the 'internal communications officer'. Which means that its my job to do all the stuff that Tambo used to do as Fan Liason (plus a little bit more). So, anyone got any gripes, or quations they want answering through the forum, or on match nights, ask me (or expect me to answer them at any rate). And don't worry, the blog will continue. Oh yes, it will continue.... On top of that i will also be working as a 'Block rep' on match nights.

And finally, I am standing for election to the Supporters Club board on June 3rd too, so come down to the meeting (Cresta Court Hotal, Thurs 3rd June, for a 7.30pm start) and vote. And don't worry if you are not a SC member, as you can join on the night. Christ on a bike, I'm going to be busy!

Rumours (again)....

2010-04-20T19:35:00.000+02:00

I shall resist the 'Fleetwood Mac' joke this time.

So, here is a little round up of the rumours circulating the Phoenix in the post-palyoff wilderness:

Ross Dalgliesh to join us from Nottingham. Apparently we are looking at a 'fiesty' young Brit with 3 seasons EIHL experience behind him. Dalgliesh fits the bill, so his name has surfaced. Could be a good signing if he does pitch up in the Dome.

Doug McIver to join us from Peterborough. He has admitted on his Twitter account that an EPL side has expressed an interest in his services for next season. And he's mates with Brett Clouthier... Would be good if Payette didn't/wasn't asked to come back.

And the apparently Walker and Jaakko have been approached by us, but both want to 'asses their future' before signing on the line. Or to put it another way, they both want to see who else is willing to take them on, and how much they are willing to pay. Which is fair. One of these guys would be a huge loss, the other... meh. You decide which is which.

Now THAT was a weekend to remember! (Part 2)

2010-04-15T20:00:00.000+02:00

So, where were we?

Oh yeah....

Sunday:

Well, Sunday got off to a fairly quiet (and late-ish) start, with yet another meander around Coventry. I swear every time me and Russ went for a walk, we found another fucking shopping mall... anyways, we made our way to the Wetherspoons again, for a gentle start to the day (big assed glass of coke), where we bumped into Matt and Becky once more. After a very pleasent little chat (about the usual hockey-politik), we were joined by Caz, Ang, and Nathan. Whilst everyone else had brekkie, with the intent of going to watch the U18s game, me and Russ nursed our drinks until the lunch menu started.

At this point, everyone else left for the rink, and me and Russ tucked into possibly the worst excuse I have ever had for a chicken dinner. Seriously, it was awful, like some weird creature had vomited up a chicken, and then it was dried off until not an ounce of moisture was left. Even the IceDomes burgers would have been more appetizing.

Anyways, we eventually made our way down to the rink, and saw, ooooh, about 30 seconds of the U18s game, before we heeded the call of the beer, and set up shop in Crosbys for a nice relaxed afternoon....

Oh, who the fuck am I kidding? We went into Crosbys and proceeded to drink. Rather a lot. Some of the Phoenix players were there, enjoying the hospitality of the bar. Chief amongst them were Lacho (who was quite amazingly drunk, and very proud of his hideous new hoodie), Ryan Johnston (pissed and in a cheeky mood, and Fone (who was being quite quiet... most unlike a netminder).

To save a few blushes, I shall now give a precis of some of the afternoons events:

Lacho got more pissed.
Ryan got more pisssed.
I got dragged into the middle of a players photo (by Ryan)
Quite a few of us had a bash at the 'punchbag machine' (The winner was Tony Jones).
Mikey hurt himself on the punchbag (to the hilarity of everyone else).
Ryan did 'The Fish'.
I broke up what was almost a bar fight (I know, I know, I'm usually the cause of the fights).

And no-one watched any hockey. At all. Although poor old Lacho (who was claiming to have been up all night) kept getting sent to chack the score.

I also had a nice little chat with ex-Phoenix play Rhys McWilliams. Nice lad. Seems to be happier than he was at our place, so good for him. Definately lost weight.

After the final finished, the bar seemed to empty pretty fast (which I felt was odd). However, at this point I did actually get to watch some hockey when a group of us went to see the reccy practise/game taking place in the rink. Poor old Wheeler was playing, and we decided to treat him like a star, with cheers and everything. Eventually, Caz and Ang went to Crosbys again, whilst I found myself once more with Matt and Becky.

Once the reccy game was done, we decamped to the Old Windmill (minus Russ, Caz, Ang, and Nathan) for more drinkies. Until the kicked us out at about midnight-ish. Much like the previous night, there were jokes, stories, and a little bit of debate (I fully admit to being questioned over a number of isssues, and trying my hardest not to argue with people, which i think I did quite well for me). As the night wore on, we were joined (for last orders) by Caz and Ang. Which was nice.

Funniest moment of the night came after we left the Old Windmill, when Wheeler managed to walk, boolck first into a wall mounted cigatette bin.And yes, I took a photo.

The 4 remaining nutters (ie me, Becky, Matt, and Wheeler) made it back to Crosbys for one last drink, then folks, after a little chat with the Bracknell fans who were the only other folks left, that Im afraid to say was that....

Monday:

Monday was a nice quiet day. A brief chat in Wetherspoons with Becky and Matt (spot a pattern here?), after the chavviest breakfast ever in McDs. Seriously, there was an entire family in Chav uniform, even down to the blingtastic (or shite as I prefer to call them) sequin adorned baseball caps.

We then meandered our way to the train station where we bumped into more Phoenix Reprobates, then began the long, sad train ride home.

Bring on next season....This was just the warm up. Coventry, you have been warned!

And being serious for a minute, I just want to thank everyone who made the weekend so damn special:

Russ, Caz, Ang, and Nathan (Every home game, you guys make it fun)
Matt, Becky, and Paul (Damn, they were some fun times)
Mags, Brenda, Cath, Linzie, Paul, Carla, Dave, et al.
Pete C, Buzz Bee, Ashley, and far too many others (you guys make it better than the EIHL weekend).
And everyone I've forgot.
And lastly, the players of the 2009-2010 Manchester Phoenix. You exceeded our expectations, and did us proud. We'll hopefully see a lot of you guys in September.

Now THAT was a weekend to remember! (Part 1)

2010-04-13T21:02:00.002+02:00

Ok, so the end result wasn't what we all really wanted (Well done Slough....there, I said it), but god-damn, that was a fucking awesome weekend of hockey, booze, and acting like an idiot (one of my specialities).

So, lets have a vaguely chronological rundown of what the hell happened:

Friday:

So, Friday began when I met some of my fellow reprobates (Caz, Ang, Russ, and Nathan) in the Wetherspoons on Piccadilly gardens. I was the last to arrive at 11.45, and with our train leaving at 12.27, there was just time to squeeze in a swift pint before headin on up to the train station (via Sainsburys for some 'road beers').

The trip down was eventful. We drank beer, played cards, and his our valuables when the travellers got on the train. Hell, Nathan even almost got into a fight when one of them called him 'four eyes'..which was actually damned near hilarious, given that the traveller in question was wearing a pair of glasses himself. Thankfully, before the carrige could errupt into violence (or guffaws) we had to disembark at sunny Coventry.

We then separated for a while as we went to our differing hotels. The Ramada was the hostelry of choice for myself and Russ. And what a damn fine location. A 'Scream' student pub next door, and 5 takeways opposite the hotle doors. Result. Dropped the bags off in the room, then it was swiftly on to the pub next door (the Aardvark) for a burger and beer combo. Which was damned nice for £3.75.

After that it was into Coventry itself for a bit of an explore, before settlling into 'Crosbys' for a few more beers (spotting a pattern yet, folks?).

The evening was spent exploring the bars of Coventry, including a rather interesting place inside an old church. Which was nice, if damned expensive...and beer with an ABV of 8%? YES PLEASE! After a detour to The Glasshouse (and a few apperances by the crazy move known only as 'The Fish') for a single beer split 8-ways after Brendas whipround (yes, we found even more reprobates, including Brenda, Linzie and Paul), it was on to Spon Street.

We eventually settled on the wonderful pub known as The Old Windmill. Where I headbutted a low hanging light fitting (an occupational hazard when you are over 6 and a half feet tall).

And I don't want to scare anyone, but we were all back in our hotels for about 11! I know, it's scarcely believable, but its fucking true. Pizza from over the road, then bed time for Robb and Russ (Damn, that sounds wrong).

Saturday:

So, after rising at the ungodly hour of 8am, Russ and I took a stroll around Coventry centre properly, locating the Wetherspoons pub we craved for a swift breakfast and coffee fix. Caz, Ang, and Nathan joined us at this point, and the drinking began. after we were all fed (and a bizarre incident involving a random old geezer just sitting next to me and Russ whilst we were eating), it was off to Crosbys (again), for an afternoon of beer and hockey (in that damn order).

Upon arriving at Crosbys, we set about drinking and enjoying ourselves. We were joined during the build up to the game by Ashley and his missus (whose name escapes me for the moment). For those who don't know, Ashley is 'Bud The Bison', the Basingstoke mascot, and was effectively 'on loan' tou us for the weekend, whether he wanted to be or not!

Pretty soon, people such as Tambo, Richard Allan, Brenda, et al began appearing, and for a while it was all bout the Phoenix and Bison as we pretty much took over Crosbys for an hour or two.

Comedy highlight of the build up to the first game was Tony Jones and Mikey turning up in Ed Courtenay jerseys and long, flowing blonde wigs. Naturally, much alcohol was consumed.

as for the first semi...well, it was a tepid affair if I'm honest, which I really didn't expect at all.

Then we began the final countdown towards our date with destiny. A rather fun and humerous bit of back and forth banter and chanting began in Crosbys during the wait between our very own Choir Boys, and some of the Bracknell contingent. This certainly helped relax some of the Phoenix Fans who were pretty much full of nerves at this point (and beer). Then it was time...

And we came so fucking close. Slough performed an act of robbery more audacious than even Ronnie Biggs could concieve of, managing a 2-1 win, despite being convincingy outshot. And this game was played like a paly off semi. Full of hard hits, played at a frankly stunning pace, and backed up with at time some of the loudest crowd noise I have ever heard at a hockey match. Sure, we went a quiet in the 2nd period, as nerves took hold, but the volume we generated in the 1st period, and towards the end of the 3rd was truly fucking epic. We screamed, we shouted, we sang our hearts out... but it wasn't enough.

The end of the game was a touch fractious, as when the hooter went, Andre Payette tried to get hold of one, or both of the Greener Brothers (or the little shits as I prefer to call them). Then in a move of true 'class' the Slough coach ran across the ice to his fans like he had won the fucking Stanley Cup.

Credit to the boys though, despite the fact that they were clearly all upset, Payette lined them all up for one last 'wave' before leaving the ice. And I swear he was crying (or at least damned close to doing so).

And for everyones edification, I shall now repeat what i said in the bar after the game:

FUCK. FUUUUUCK. FUUUUUUUUUCK! fuck.

AFter that there was only one course of action available... drink like there was no tomorrow (which, in a way there wasn't). o we had a beer in Crosbys, but when the door staff started letting the Chavs in, we buggered off to the Windmill, accompanied for the evening by Five Minute Majors Matt and Becky (aka Mattski93 and ladyhathaway), plus on loan Blaze fan, and writer of the Breakaway Blog, Paul Wheeler. Once firmly ensconced within the pub, we were swiftly joined by Ashley and his lovely missus (whose name I still can not fucking remember..aaarrrgh!)once more, and we set about having some fun.

And we did. There was beer, a glowing purple furry wand (which was used to dreate some truly filthy photos...they are on facebook for people to find), some glowsticks, a telling off from some Scimitars fans (they didn't like the general swearyness going on... well, tough shit, peeps), and some very nice bikers from the Coffin Scratchers Motorcycle Club). This was a truly epic night. I saw some new sights (such as a drunken Becky...now that was funny), some disturbing ones (if that truly is Pauls wanking face....ewww!), and drank a metric fuckload of beer (yes, its a real measurement).

And I think I'll detail Sundays goings on next time.

We're going to Coventry!

2010-04-05T16:42:00.000+02:00

Oh yes.

The Phoenix are going to Coventry.

YES!

Phew, err, where was I?

Oh yes, Sundays game.

So, the Phoenix came into Sundays game on the back of a 3-3 tie in the first leg down at Potty, looking to bag a home win and an inaugural trip to the EPL Finals weekend. And they only bloody well did it! The game was possibly the most tense game I have witnessed in many seasons, with both sets of fans kept on the edge of their seats right down to the final buzzer.

Much of the game was played at a frenetic pace, with the play shifting from one zone to the other exceedingly quickly. The games highlights were a simply beautiful opening goal from the Phoenix, easily the best I have seen in the Dome. Just wait for the video. Its that fucking good. really. And the other major highlight was Payettes masive hit on MacIver in the first period. And I mean massive. If it had been an open ice hit, MacIver would have been sent flying. No shit.

And, for me, it was fitting that the GWG came from a Brit. There was something poetic about it, especially given just how well the lads had coped with the pressure (thanks to Wardells ususal standard of officiating...ie shite). And when that goal went in....jesus christ on a bike, the noise was unbelieveable. There was shouting, chanting, screaming, crying...the works. Although it was a bloody tense last couple of minutes, especially when P'Boro pulled Wall for the extra attacker.

But we fucking did it!

You might get something more coherent from me about this later in the week. I'm too happy.

The only downers to last night were Wardells piss poor officiating. Shit, the linos had to tell him to call a delay of game on P'Boro for an incredibly obvious deliberate shooting of the puck off the ice and over the plexi. And he was the same for both teams, mind. Infact, over the course of the season the only thing consistent about his calls were there inconsistency. Prick.

Oh, and the rink ran out of booze at the start of the 2nd period break. Not good management methinks.

Bring on Coventry next weekend. The Phoenix are coming to get you....

And the regular season is..... done!

2010-03-31T10:51:00.000+02:00

So, this past weekend saw the boys play out the regular season, and it was very much a case of mixed fortunes.

On Saturday, we got a hiding from Swindon. 10-2. And by all accounts, TH was pissed off, big time, by the lack of performance put in by the team. And I'm betting a coach with faulty air-con and a arse of a driver didn't help (apparently, he made the people due to be dropped off in town get off at Alty as he 'hadn't been told' there was a drop off in town... which was at odds with what had been booked).

So on to Sunday, and we were faced with a delay. Initially, the game was delayed for an hour, as Bracknell had broken down near Oxford and were waiting for a replacement bus. The game actually eventually faced off 2 hours late, but I guess these things just can not be avoided. And it was niceto get to meet some of the Bracknell fans in the Station pub beforehand. Nice bunch of people.

Now, onto the game...

It finished 10-1. Which was nice.

In all honesty, the game was over within the first 2 mins, by which point Bracknell had conceded 2 quickfire goals. From that point, I just could not see any other result than a Phoenix win. NAd we played some nice hockey, laying 50 shots down on the Bracknell goal. I will freely admit to not really watching the 3rd period, as I was talking to Becky about a few things, but I never enjoy watching 1 sided games anyway.

And we had a damned good crowd in. A contingent of nearly 400 Scouts boosted the crowd to one of a simialr size to the famous MKL game, putting near enough 1200 butts in seats. Which was nice.

And now we get the play offs. 2 games against Peterborough to decide who gets sent to Coventry (hang on... isn't being 'sent to Coventry' normally a bad thing?) for the Finals Weekend. hould be close, but I think we will edge it over the 2 legs.

And a little rant at this point.

Some Phoenx fans, instead of being at the Dome, supporting their own club are insted goign to the EIHL playoffs. WHY? The club needs you here, watching them, not down in Nottingham watching games you have no vested interest in. Priorities somewhat skewed, n'est pa?

Is it possible for a win to be boring?

2010-03-23T20:06:00.000+01:00

Of course, the title is purely rhetorical, as the answer is clearly yes.

Poor Romford. They started the game quite brightly, but once they were behind, it was goodnight Vienna. Not that they gave up, far from it, its just that the now Big Ed less Phoenix looked like they really wanted to bury this game stone cold dead. Even Adam Summerfield got some more ice time, once the scoreline was sufficient enough.

And credit to Tony for having the lads lessen the pressure when Romford sent little Frankie Sabine out to man the goal. Nothing would have been achieved by blasting another 7 or 8 past the lad, other than his total embarassment and humiliation.

But it did get boring. Given that the result was pretty much a given by the 2nd period face off, I spent most of the 3rd having a lovely little chat with Mags about how the season has gone.

I alos had a very polite chat with Neil Morris about a few things, including my intention to apply for the new job of Communications Officer at the supporters club. I might get it, I might not, but no harm in trying, eh?

Anyways, back to the action in the rink, and I would say that the crowd was pretty average, being in the 850ish region. And from what I can gather, for our last regualr season home game, there may well be about 400 Scouts in attendance, which will make for a noisy game to say the least!

And thats it. Once more, nowt controversial. I must be loosing my touch...

Well, I wasn't expecting that in my inbox....

2010-03-19T20:57:00.000+01:00

Not at all.

Now, whilst I understand that the club needs all the money it can get, to go after loyal Season Ticket holders, and to renege on not 1 but 2 'benefits' is, in my opinion, morally wrong.

For the amount it will gain the club (under/approx £1k extra over what they would have earnt on the gate) makes me wonder why they are bothering? Are finances that desperate?

Clearly so.

And I resent the tone of the email, too. It read to me like it was accusing ST holders of denying the club funds, when many of them have simply been taking advantage of offered incentives.

Personally, I will pay the extra £3, but I resent the way in which it has been ~~asked for~~ demanded. As I said, I understand the reason, but resent the way.

(more) back to back wins!!!!

2010-03-15T00:16:00.000+01:00

Yup, for the 2nd weekend on the bounce we have taken all 4 points, and have shown a further improvement on the ice.

So, on to the first of our unique 'double header' home games, being Saturdays visit from the Sheffield Scimitars...

Phew, what a game! A solid 4-1 win, and 3 (yes, THREE) fights!

The standout goal of the game was Adam Walkers sublime shorthanded breakaway, which looked like a quality finish, from a quality forward. Walker is really maturing as the season has progressed, thriving on a line with TH. And we certainly didn't miss EC, indeed, we seemed much more willing to try out different attacks. Which was nice.

And now on to the fights. First fight of the night went to Tony Hand, of all people! The instigator seemed to be a seriously dangerous slash from behind on Tony, who turned around and battered the Scims lad cleanly. 2 punches were all that were required, but fuck me, what a sight! Tony Bloody Hand, fighting. He looked so pissed off. I don't think t helped that shortly before this, James Neil was punched by a player on the Scims bench, which seemed to get the blood up for most of the Phoenix lads.

This in turn lead to Tony very visibly signaling to Andre Payette that it was time to go to work. And Payette did not disapoint, picking out the biggest man on the ice, in the shape of Ben (?) Wilson, a man who looks like he has stolen Pasi Raittenens entire pie allocation fore the season. But a big man does not amke a great fighter, as Wilson proved by being easily battered by Payette, who barely broke sweat. Score that 2 fights to the Phoenix.

The 3rd fight was much less interesting with a bit of rolling around and a few shoert digs between a Scims player and Jaakko Hagelberg just a few minutes later. score that a 3rd fight, 3rd win for the Phoenix.

Following this extremely enjoyable win, came Sundays game against Bracknell.

And score a very solid 7-3 win for the boys, who once again came out and played their hearts out. Goal of the game was Payettes little stunner. I mean who the fuck told Payette he can play hockey? He's just a 'goon' isn't he? No, he bloody well isn't! As on Saturday, Payette had a cracker, bossing the play about on the ice, and playing like a man possessed. Payette has certainly flourished without Ed being in the line up, and on this form could well earn a contract for next season.

No fights, but this was a very physical game, with some monster hits being thrown, especially by young Ben Wood, who has certainly made significant improvements to his game since his benching.

Crowds on both nights were quite consistent, holding at around 800ish for both nights. Good travelling support to, although a big thumbs down to the idiot from Sheffield who refused to listen to the stewards when asked to not stand on the stairs during the game, and became quite abusive about it. Cock.

And that is all for now.

£70k down....

2010-03-10T19:32:00.000+01:00

What follows is a quoute of a posting I placed on both Burning Budgies and the Official Forum:

Hmmm, something doesn't add up here....

Supposedly it takes about £7k/week to run the Phoenix (that was the figure mooted in the summer), now to make that [i]from gate receipts alone[/i] requires 778 people @£9 per head (averaged admission figure based on walk up, advance, concession, and ST per game prices), given the team plays for the full 30 weeks of the season. This gives a total gate reciept of £210,000/season.

Now, if we knock £70k off this we have a figure of £140,000, leaving a gate reciept of £4.6k/week, or 511 paying punters.

Our average attendance is somewhere arounf the 750-800ish mark (all paid from what I gather).

So either the £7k figure is erroneous, or something is seriously wrong. (Of course, these figures are a gross oversimplification of the actual cash flow, and ignore any ancilliary incomes such as sponsorship and merchandise, 50/50. etc). I personally think it is a combination of both.

Stick with me here...

I have heard that the magic figure for the season (ie the amount you could run the team on, including all expenses) is £300k, or £10k per week (which sounds more reasonable when you take everything into account).

Now, if all the clubs income currently gets near to this figure, then I would assume that either a large chunk of the clubs existing debt is being paid off, leaving a shortfall on the +/- for this seasons accounts, or the club has a serious inefficiancy somewhere along the line.

Of course, this is all just speculation, and I may be miles wide of the mark, but it does get you thinking, doesn't it...

So, what does this all mean?

Only 1 person has an accurate answer to this, and his name is Neil Morris. Personaly, I think that there is something deeply wrong with the finances of the club at the minute. Wrong, but rightable. I don't think we will be going bust any time soon, but I think that there is a pressing need for some major financial re-organisation. Running at a loss has a historical precendent for the Phoenix (every season AFAIK), but it can not continue indefinately, unless we have some very generous and forgiving creditors.

Sundays game, and more on the Supporters Club....

2010-03-09T19:08:00.000+01:00

So, lets start with the game:

Firstly, this was a massively improved performance, when held up against the past few weeks worth. Most notably, the Phoenix were missing Big Ed (back home having a job interview), and Wallace, who is injured. This forced Tony to chnage thigs around mor ethan he might have liked to have done. And it worked. The first line looked pretty formidable, comprising Tony, Adam, and Jaakko, and if they have a few games they could become a pretty effective unit by the seasons end (just in time for the playoffs).

Being honest, Peterborough were still in the game (indeed they lead early on in the game), right up until we went 2 goals clear. This seemed to take the wind out of their sails, and allowed us to take control, and hold it until the final buzzer. Walker was good value for his goals, and seemed happier than he has done for a while. Which is nice.

Now, onto the supporters club...

After listening to the official Podcast, it seems that Neil Morris has taken a fair amount of the criticism onbaord to an extent, and made some changes:

All Members now own a 'nominal share' (although there was no mention of the value of this share).
The board will ultimately be comprised of 9 members (excluding Neil) who all posses 'Voting Shares'.
Members are now invited to applyto fill out the remaining 4 spaces on the board.

So, there does seem to be a reasonable amount of movement on Neils part. Of course, there are still issues. such as the implication from Neil that not being able to put in the '15-20 hours' would make someone 'ineligible' for the board (or at least, thats what I took his comment to mean). If, and thats IF, this is the case, I feel that Neil has fucked up once more. Someone who might only be able to give 5 or so hours up might be invaluable to the board for what they may bring to the table. Of course, Neil says that whoever gets one of the 4 remaining spaces has nothing to do with him, but we shall have to wait and see in this respect.

I also await the updated articles of this company (whose name we don't yet know, but the most prevalent assumption is that it is a re-activation of the FOMIH holding company), confirming these chages. If they don't, then its all moot, as NM will maintain final say (although part of me feels he still will anyways). But, as I will state once more, I am prepared to give this Supporters Club a go, and see what happens with it.

And yes, I am going to apply to be on the board. It would be rude not to.

The Phoenix and Me.

2010-03-04T20:37:00.000+01:00

Some folks wonder why I get so involved with the club, and what goes on around it. I've been told that I should just 'pay my money and watch the game', or that if I don't like what goes on I should stop following the team.

But I just can not do either of those things.

I was there when it all started. I remember reading on 'Into The Storm' about the Storms home game against Nottingham being cancelled by the arena. At the time we all believed that SMG were trying to force the clubs hand and increase the per game rental cost, so I, along with a handful of other Storm supporters arranged for a protest to be held outside the Arenas box office (aka 'The City Room').

As it transpired, we were all duped by Gary Cowan, who took everyones money and bailed, leaving the fans without a team. From this, a number of meetings were held at Manchester Town Hall, and out of this grew FOMIH (Friends Of Manchester Ice Hockey). I was one of the founding members, serving on its board for a number of months, until I was removed in my absence. I hold no grudges about this. A decision wa smade that my post was extraneous, and I abided by that decision, although it would have been nice to have been there when it was decided.

From there, I became one of the original 'Block Reps' at the MEN, looking after new fans, and generally helping whenever I was asked to. Shit, I nearly got banned from the arena for doing the job of a steward when a visiting supporter was being verbally abused by some scrotes, then having the nerve to call the duty supervisor out over it. Fun times.

After the MEN season is topped volunteering on a match night for personal reasons, but have still been involved with the club as intimately as possible. I have attended a number of meetings at Comtec at the request of Neil Morris, and enjoyed quite a cordial relationship with him until lately.

These days, I am seen by some as a bit of a troublemaker. I have never been afraid to question the club over some of its activites, which hasn't helped me win any popularity contests. I like to believe though that I have the best interests of the club and my fellow fans at heart, which is why I have been, and still am so critical of the current situation regarding the supporters club.

Sometimes, I do wish I could just turn up and watch the game... but it just wouldn't be the same.

Weekend musings, and stuff from Tuesday...

2010-03-03T21:57:00.000+01:00

So, lets begin at the beginning (as it were) with Sundays game.

Well, despite another defeat, there was a significant improvement on the ice. Sure, we still looked worryingly weak at the back (indeed, we nearly gave up a goal straight from the opening face-off), but going forward the boys certainly showed much more invention. This was probably helped by TH splitting himself and Ed up, running with Ed on the 2nd line. Sadly, lady luck wasn't on our side, with a number of chances that earlier in the season would have been bankers just not faling our way.

And thats it really. The team improved, and the crowd was lower than normal (if a little quiet, which is quite understandable) in my opinion. I would say there were about 700-750ish in the Dome. A number of whom left early to go and watch some other hockey game being played on Sunday evening).

Now, to the Supporters Club meeting on Tuesday.

Now, I, along with a number of others expected to attend this meeting to discuss the make up and operational parameters of the newly formed Supporters Club. However, Neil Morris clealry had other ideas. The Offical Manchester Phoenix Supporters Club is now a limited company, with a sole shareholder, namely Neil Morris. He has picked the board of directors, and he retains the sole right to remove or replace them at any time.

This caused a certain amount of consternation amongst a number of attendees at the meeting, most notably Tony Jones, owner of Synergy Interiors, one of the Phoenixs sponsors. What followed was a debate which appeared to become an arguement as Tony sought to get a full explanation as to why Neil had taken the steps that he did.

And thats it really. Plenty of folks were convinced by what Neil said, even if most didn't really understand the implications of his actions. equally so, there were a number of individuals (myself included) who left the meeting with grave misgivings about the self same actions. There is still not an adequete answer as to why Neil needed to set the supporters club up in this manner, as it appears to be unnecessary. Inded, as it stands, the supporters club does not have a constitution, but company articles, which we as members cannot vote upon or ratify, something I am deeply unhappy with.

It must alos be noted that Neil appeared to turn up in a combatative mood, indeed, upon his arrival to set up for the meeting, he came over to a group of us who were already there, and only acknowledged 1 member of this group, who is a part of the current S.C. board. Not even a simple 'hello' or 'good evening'. Nowt.

I will state this now, and I wish there to be no confusion: I have kept my membership of the supporters club, but I have deep misgivings about the way in which Neil Morris has gone about the setting up of the s.c.. I feel that there are issues to be resolved, and that we (the fans) have been deeply let down by not being given a say in how our own supporters club ahs been constructed. I also apportion no blame whatsoever to the current board members, who appeared to be as surprised as the rest of us. The fault for this lies solely at the feet of Neil Morris.

That is all.

This weekends update...

2010-03-01T11:33:00.000+01:00

...WIll have to wait until Wednesday, so I can include details from the Supporters Club meeting taking place Tuesday @ Walkabout.

Lost for words...

2010-02-23T20:37:00.000+01:00

3 home defeats on the bounce.

18 goals shipped.

Er, Houston, we have a problem.

Ok, so Sundays performance against Basingstoke wasn't as dire as Thursdays was, but there were still far too many basic errors being made, especially by players with enough experience to know better. Sure, TH rolled with 3ish lines, but the bulk of the icetime went to the 1st line, and it showed. Basigstoke knew how to limit our offence, and creamed our D. It was probably more luck than judgement that we lost as lightly as we did.

And I really don't know what to write. I could rant and rave about piss poor defense work, a powerplay that couldn't score in a brothel most of the time, or the seeming inability of TH to look beyond EC for scoring options, but what good would it do? Sure, it might make me feel a bit better, but I still have to go back to the rink on Sunday, and that is something I am not looking forward to at all. My only hope is that some lessons have finally been learnt, and the players can pull this shit out of the fire, before things get way too fucked.

Bad times, but at least we are still heading to the playoffs! Team or no team, the party starts with us!

EPL Cup Semi Final, 1st leg review...

2010-02-21T11:59:00.000+01:00

Shit.

Complete and utter shit.

On a stick.

With a frosting of shitty shit on top.

The lack of performance and guts shown by most (not all) of the players on Thursday was inexcuseable.

Yes, some things went against us (the call on Payette that lead to their equaliser...shit, even their bench agreed it was a bullshit call), but that does not excuse the display. Truly fucking woeful.

And Jaakko has a 2 match ban thanks to the draconian and inflexible accidental high stick causing blood rule. You can get a lesser call for doing it deliberatley.

But, I will still be there on Sunday. It really can't get any worse.

C'mon the Phoenix!

OUCH! Not good...

2010-02-16T20:07:00.000+01:00

So, after a couple of weeks general improvement (including a number of road wins), The form of January has returned, in the shape of a thouroughly demoralising loss at home to Guildford.

Fone shipped 6 goals, all 6 of which he will likely want back. He was, to put non to fine a point on it, shite on Sunday. He looked slow and quite off the mark, reverting to type and rebounding shots he should have killed dead. The D wer not far behind him, gifting the Guildford fowards with space aplenty in which to work, with the inevitable consequnces.

As for the forwards... well, we seemingly couldn't have scored in a brothel. Big Ed seemed to be back in the old rut, looking like he really didn't give a flying fuck about the game. Sure, he hustled for the puck a few times, but his back checking was non existant, often leaving us a man down facing a rush. Pure laziness on his part. The he mouthed of to the ref (more on him later), and got himslef a 10mins misconduct. Followed up not too much later with another (and a match penalty to boot) for his petulant and frankly embarrasing ranting from the box. Muppetus Maximus as the Romans would have put it.

And Tony reverted to his '2 lines FTW' tactics... which clealry now does not work. Everyone in the league has our number on that one. Last weeks 'makeshift' (ie, Ed-less) attacking was much better to watch, showing more variety and invention. Ah well.

And now to the main course... MR Wardell our, ahem, 'esteemed' refferee.

His performance on the night was absolute shite. Seriously, he was awful. At one point, one of the linos had to point out he had just not called a blindingly obvious trip, which he somewhat reluctantly then did call. He also missed many, many other obvious penalties (against both temas being fair), quite a few of which he was looking directly at.

He clearly upset the team as they mostly refused to handshake him after the game. Fact is he was not in control of the game at all, and it could have spiralled into chaos very quickly were it not for the fact that most of the player kept their cool (dis-hounorable mentions go to Ed, Payette, and Tony, all of whom picked up 10 minute misconducts). Shit, even Boothroyd had to be shepperded away from him at one point, and he is one of the calmer players.

And I still don't think anyone knows what exactly Ed did initialy to get his misconduct. Wardell stopped the play, seemingly to call a penalty on Ed, who turned round and mouthed off, and Wardell slapped the misconduct on him. Any ideas?

And we've apparently got him on Thursday. Oh joy.

*takes deep breath*

And relax.

That was almost embarassing to watch...

2010-02-09T19:31:00.000+01:00

Ok, lets get it out of the way.

12-3.

Not since the back to back visit by Edinburgh a couple of seasons back (when their imports had all pissed off) have I felt so sorry for a visiting team and its supporters.

It's not that Romford didn't try... far from it, most of their players were clearly trying to play with us, but we looked so far ahead of them it was almost unreal. And what made it even more bizarre is the fact that they have beaten us twice in their own barn this season!

We never even got out of 2nd gear. Hell, even Payette grabbed 4 goals! Summerfield was sent out in place of Fone after just 9mins!

And we looked a shit-load better going forward without Big Ed. Shit, we looked like we had some ideas other than 'bang the puck to Ed and hope'.

Attendance was good, arounf the 850ish mark, for my guess.

And its nice to have Boothroyd confirmed for next season too. Might shut a few of the doubters up (although I doubt it).

Rumours....

2010-01-31T18:53:00.000+01:00

No, not the sodding Fleetwood Mac album (ask yer dad), but some interesting ones I've heard circulating lately:

1: New team to join the EIHL in the summer. Now, this rumor has a couple of sub-rumours attached to it. One is that a team based in Dundonald will be playing (the near legendary Dublin Druids have been mentioned), which is fairly unlikely, but if Mr Convrey (who as well as being head honcho at the EIHL holds the 'franchise' rights for Dublin/Eire) has the funds in place it could happen). Another is that we (Phoenix) will return to the EIHL...yeah, can't see it myself given that we are still allegedy running at a loss in the EPIHL. And the pereniall 'Guildford to the EIHL' mutterings have surfaced too. Best bet is for another attempt to run a team in Braehead, although this is still not a dead cert.

2: EPL to expand. Rumors have a number of different EIHL side approaching the EPL independant of each other with a view to joinfg the EPL for next season. Front runners are Hull and Newcastle (who are sadly dying on there arse out at Whitley). This has a stronf smell of plausible about it.

3:ENL North 1& South 1 to become 1Import leagues. According to hearsay the EIHA has a 5 year plan to improve the quality of the ENL North sides allowing for a proper expansion of the EPL into the north of England. I can see this happening personally. Whitley, and Blackburn are the best bets for this if it happens.

2 wins on the trot....

2010-01-30T17:18:00.000+01:00

Could this be the start of a revival in our fortunes? Only this weekends double header road trip will give us an answer on that, but it sure was a releif to win back to back games again.

And the scoreline made it look like a tighter game than it actually was. But for an overall lack of effort (again, we looked stuck in 2nd gear) we could, nay should, have been looking at a double figure scoreline. Sadly, our D was somewhat lacking when required, a fact that is becoming more and more fucking annoying with each passing game. As players they must be aware of their collective faliure to protect our clearly not 100% fit netminder, and should eb looking to change things.

The message hasn't got through based on Thursday. Not being rude, but a team like the Scims should not have as much time and space on the puck in the offensive zone as we gave them, if we truly wish to be seen as a top team.

I think that Tony is learning some valuable lessons for the off season, and the structure of the squad for the 2010-2011 season.

Speaking of which, there are some juciy rumours doing the rounds regarding developments over the summer, which I will go into in more detail on in the next blog, which you can expect on Sunday.

Lastly, given that it was midweek, the attendance was fairly respectable, and I guesstimated it to be around the 600ish mark at the max.

This is a tough one to write....

2010-01-26T20:11:00.000+01:00

I'm going to be honest here.

It was great we got such resounding win on Sunday against Swindon (7-2), and I was damn relieved we picked up 2 points, but by the gods was I bored.

I really just could not get excited by the game.

The first period was quite slow, as they are wont to be down at Alty, with us being more than unlucky to be a goal down going into the break. After we got into the lead though, it was pretty clear that we were cruising along in 2nd gear, never really pushing, or punishing Swindon as hard as we could.

For sure, their nettie stood on his head to keep it fairly respectable, and got a well deserved MOM award, but there was a spark lacking from the Phoenix which worried me somewhat.

I guess it didn't help that the crowd was flatter than a freshly squashed pancake either. There were a decent number in the building (the club is claiming 1200, I say more like 950-1000 max), and it started off as loud as usual, but thereafter it was just lifeless.

Ho hum.. always Thursday to look forward to. Might have some added bite with the Scims new 275lb pickup from the ENL2. Could be interesting. And whats the betting we get at least one 'Who ate all the pies' chant?

And the club have confirmed the Play-Off tickets. Priced as I announced last week, but the block allocation is now for blocks 7 & 8, giving us 322 tickets as opposed to the leak allocation of 261, and sticks us in the corner and behind the goal.

The great Tony Hand debate.

2010-01-20T21:56:00.000+01:00

So, I'm sure most of you who frequent the official Phoenix forum will have seen the debate over the past few days about the ability/suitability of Tony Hand as our coach, and whether he is able to take the club forward or not? If not, I'm sure some of you will have heard people talking about it at the games.

There seem to be 3 camps developing:

1: Tony is the right man. Things are good.
2: Tony could be the right man, if he changes certain aspects of his coaching (this is the camp I am in)
3: Sack Tony.

Now, I am definately part of the 2nc camp there. Tonys coaching has its flaws. He is too offence minded, lacks conviction in his 3rd line Brits, and places to much emphasis on his own ability to drag the team to a positive result. All of this is in my opinion of course.

For me, the best way for Tony to take the club forward, and one I feel we probably will get to see is he hangs up the skates, and becomes a full time coach. Take away the worry about his own on ice performance and he will be free to concentrate on the other palyer 100%. This would in turn remove the temptation to play the '2 Line Hockey' he is now synonymous with. As well as this, he needs either a dedicated Defence coach, or a veteran D-man, who wants to move into coaching and is willing to be Tonys AC.

Now some folks would like to see him carry on as we currently are. This is certainly a viable option, but one I fear will not yeild the results that a certain section of our fanbase seem to be demanding (more on this later).

And finally some poor deluded folks seem to be suggesting that we ditch Tony altogether. Yeah, that would be a smart move, fuckwits. Seriously, anyone who thinks the club would be better off without the single most skillfull player in the EPL has a major issue, and should seek help. Tony is without a shodow of a doubt still more than capable on the ice. He is averaging 2.1 points per game, for fucks sake! Why the hell would we gas him?

Anyways, the reason this debate seems to be picking up steam is that some filks are now panicing because we might not win the league! OH NOES!

Funny thing is, I'm pretty damn sure that the clubs intentions for this season did not include winning the league. Making the playoffs for sure was one of them. Being competative was another. And last time I checked, we were doing just fine in those regards.

Being in the EPL is a long term situation. We shouldn't be assuming we are good enough to win it at the first time of asking just because we 'dropped' from the EIHL. We are an inexperienced club at this level, as the roster selection has shown. Its a damn good roster but not quite in the same overall class as Milton Keynes or Guildford, who have seasons of experience to draw upon. We will get ther for sure, but it will take time for the players and coach to adjust. Next years roster should eb more balanced with a better sense of depth to it. Thats when the title might come. Or maybe the season after. People need to realise this, and quick.

The EPL isn't an easy league, and it isn't an instant success league. Its a development league, and thats what we are doing. And long may it continue.

Why can't we seem to sort it out?

2010-01-19T20:32:00.000+01:00

So, that was another entry into the 'What the FUCK?' column for the Phoenix.

losing 9-2 on the road was bad enough (and by all accounts we were absolute shite), but to stage not 1, but 2 comebacks from 3 goals down, only to lose on penalty shots... argh1 Not fair!

Now, to be honest, it was an end to end kind of game. As bad as our defence looked (and at times it looked woeful), our forwards showed moments of almost sublime brilliance. After a faltering start, even Big Ed started to hustle for the puck, and look like he gave a shit.

The major talking point was Jakkos Match penalty for an 'accidental high stick leading to injury/blood'. This surely must be one of the most contentious rules in the EIHA. By giving out a Match penalty for something which occure by accident (which by definition means not deliberate), you are penalising the outcome, not the intent. Indeed, from what i gather, it was the Guildford player, Masa, who in trying to lift his own stick caused Jakkos to catch him in the mouth. This caused a small amout of blood to flow, and the Match penalty call came into effect.

As others have stated on both forums and blogs, even given that we play ina semi pro league, and most of the guys have jobs to go to on a Monday, the Match penalty call is a tad excessive. 5+Game, maybe, if a fairly serious injury is caused, but for a minor injury (say a split lip, bitten tongue type) surley 2+2 is ample. Shit, its what the infringement would have gotten in pretty much any other league you could care to name.

Anyways, for neutrals and newbies alike this was surely a stunning game to watch, although from my perspective, I don't think my heart can take much more of these games.

Clearly something needs to be done about our D (and the lack of effective back checking by the forwards), and if rumor is to be believed, the the Phoenix have added Steven Wallace (laterly a membe rof the Sheffield Scimitars) to our roster as a forward, meaning Jakko is likely to drop back to the D permanently. Not the solution I would have prefered, but one which may yeild some positive results.

And thanks to Rock Radios tickest promotion the crowd on Sunday was a scarcely believeable 1500 (give or take a couple of dozen or so), which made for a cracking atmosphere.

more heavy handedness from the club... and some play-off details.

2010-01-16T11:42:00.000+01:00

As I'm sure many of you are aware, some folks over on the Official Forum have been moaning about a list being taken to effectively 'pre-book' tickets for the play-offs.

I personally call it a sensible move. Gets the wheels in motion for the office, gives them an idea of how many tickets we will likely sell, etc. Of course to some people its just another way for the 'clique' to get preferential treatment.

Well, after the usual round of handbags, Andy costiga has just effectively banned anyone from discussing the matter any further. Which is too heavy handed an approach in my opinion. Forums are all about discussion, and if you are going to stiffle debate then why bother with a forum in the first place?

Anyways, thanks to the magic of the internet, here are some details (which the club isn't releasing until after this weekend, afaik...):

Block allocations for the Coventry Skydome:

Block 1 - Sheffield = 92 seats

Block 2 - Peterborough = 212 seats

Block 3 - Slough = 162 seats

Block 4 - Guildford = 214 seats

Block 5 - Guildford = 217 seats

Block 6 - Romford = 42 seats

Block 7 - Swindon = 228 seats

Block 8 - Basingstoke = 94 seats

Block 9 - Basingstoke = 239 seats

Block 10 - Officials = 41 seats

Block 11 - Milton Keynes = 209 seats

Block 12 - Manchester = 129 seats

Block 13 - Manchester = 132 seats

Block 14 - Bracknell = 138 seats

Block 15 - U18's & Gen public = 81 seats

Which gives us 261 seats... not enough, imho.

Prices:

Adults: £37.00

Children (under 16): £25.00

Be aware though, these details are all unconfirmed (but I bet they are almost exactly right).

A much needed 2 points there....

2010-01-11T11:12:00.000+01:00

Bloody hell, we needed that win! After 5 losses on the bounce, a win was the only option otherwise any lingering hopes of mounting a charge for the regular season title would have been done for.

We didn't make it easy mind. The first period was shocking. We looked like a bunch of newbies, playing their first ever game together. Passes going astray, players out of position, and a look of general anarchy. Luckily for us, P'Boro could only manage 1 goal, meaning that there was still everything to play for in the 2nd.

And what a difference! A quick change into our road jerseys, and it was like a different team was on the ice. Big Ed was patroling the 'Courtenay Triangle' (c) (Thats bench, to blue line, to the crease, and back to the bench again), and looking like he had a goal in him. Mind you, he was doing it like he had been up all night doing animal tranquilisers, but still, he was doing it.

Fone was vastly improved on last weekend, and looked sharp, making some fine stops. Still too many fucking rebounds though. And the GB u20s line looked seriously fired up. 3-1 come the end of the period was a pretty good reflection on the team.

All the graft of the 2nd period was almost undone in the 3rd, when we took our foot off the gas, and allowed P'Boro back into it. Our D conspired to make Joe Miller look like a world class forward (he is an average player), and with the period finishing 2-1 in P'Boros favour it was off to the dreaded OT for the 2nd time in as many games.

Luckily for us we had Big Ed back, and he slotted the winner in past a visibly pissed off Wall, who proceeded to lie on the ice for a minute after the goal, then have a mini strop when he got up, hittting bopth the goalpipes, and the boards on his way off. OT also saw a very odd penalty. Defending a 4 on 3 PP, P'Boro took another penalty, meaning 2 minutes of 5 on 3, not 4 on 2. AFAIK, teams must have a minimum of 3 outfield skaters on ice at any time, hence the call.

And that was it. Still a lot to be improved on (the fucking D especially), but the important thing was the points.

Attendance was around 600-650, which wasn't bad given the shite weather and the fact it was a Saturday game.

Aaaargh! Frustrating is not the word!

2010-01-04T11:23:00.000+01:00

Last nights game was beyond frustrating.

Being beaten, I can take. Indeed, I honestly went to the game last night expecting to be beaten. What I can not take is the way we played the game.

The D played like they did at the start of the season. Out of position, slow, and nore often than not plain badly. Fone was back in the goal, and we all know how many rebounds he coughs up, so why the fuck was there no-one there to cover them? And coverage on the back post? Non-existant last night. In truth it was a piss poor showing at the back, only allieviated when Jakko played some shifts back there.

Going forward we looked ok at times (shit, we scored 6 goals so we must have done something right), but we gave the puck away too many times, far to quickly. It was obvious last night just how much we missed Big Ed up front. he might be 'lazy', but he always seems to be there when we need him, patrolling the 'Courtenay Triangle' (a triangle from the bench, to the far point on the blue line, to the crease, and back to the bench).

And it was a dirty game. Wardell had no clue at all as to what to call, missing some blindingly obvious stuff (such as Jakko getting held and punched right in front of him), then called seemingly innocuous and trivial offences (did anyone actually see Walkers 'slash', apart from Wardell?). With the inconsistent, and frankly baffling calls, the team seemed very reticent to get involved in the rough stuff less they be called for a big penalty. And frankly it pissed me off. How fucking difficult is it to get an even half decent ref in the EPL? Goodwin is just as shocking, and both refs seem to not care when players complain, prefering to dismiss them and skate off. Almost makes you miss Hicks and Carson really.

So, Tony needs to work on the D (a weakness of his teams since he took up coaching), and he needs to do it fast. We are now 2nd in the table by the skin of our teeth, and could slip as low as 4th in the coming few weeks if the backslide is not arrested asap.

Oh yeah, and Fone is nowhere near 100% fit. He should not have played the full game last night. He was clearly uncomfortable on his glove side (ie the one he dislocated), seeming unable or unwilling to make catches above shoulder height. If it were up to me, he should sit out another few games, and get more strength back into his shoulder before suiting up as the starter again.

Flashback 2009.....

2009-12-29T19:48:00.000+01:00

So, what interesting things went down this year? And what did I think of them? And more importantly, how much beer did I drink at the Play-Offs?

Well, the early aprt of the year brought a few rumblings of discontent to my ears, mostly about the Phoenixs future. Some folks said we were in deep financial shit, some folks said we were going to quit the EIHL, some even said we were going to be kicked out. Most agreed on one point though. The EIHL as it stood (and still stands) was putting the club into an untenable position.

These rumors came to a head shortly before the playoff weekend, when news filtered through that the EIHL board had convened a meeting, but decided to exclude ourselves, Edinburgh, Basingstoke, and Newcastle from the discussions. This set alarm bells ringing at all 3 clubs, more so when rumors of the league preparing to run with just 6 teams in the 2009-2010 season emerged from the meeting.

This all came to a head at the playoffs themselves. Upon arrival in Nottigham, before we even set foot in a pub, myslef and my cohorts (Russ, Caz, Ang, and Nathan) were pounced upon by some Newcastle fans bearing rolls of gaffa tape, to cover up the EIHL logos on our shirts. Being the supportive types, we all aquiesed, and continued on. Certainly, this got under the skin of a few Notts and SHuff fans, but that wasn't the point. The feeling of, well, betrayal by the league manifested itself further during the games themselves, when the Phoenix fans en masse joined inwith the Viprs fans chant of '6 team league, your having a laugh' on a frequent basis.

This chant did seem to rile a few folks (I was personally asked more than once why we were doing it), and allegedly one D. Simms and R. Wilson took particular offence at this, and tried to get the stewardss to stop the Vipers fans (who were situated beneath the box set aside for Sky TV). Score an epic fail on that point.

Following this, a few weeks of uncertainty followed, until it was finally announced that both ourselves ad Basingstoke were actually joining the EPL as of September. There was an attempt to head this off by the EIHL, but seemingly the promises made were not kept, and here we are.

And that was probably the biggest news directly affecting us. SOme other teams (most notably Telford and the Isle of Wight) had there own problems, and the seemingly annual 'will they, wont they' confusuon reigned in Bracknell.

The nest major event for myself wasn't actually our starting the EPL campaign (that went exactly as well as expected), but the increasingly shoddy treatment the club seemed to recieve from our rink. Poor standards of ice (stretching back our 12 months), poor cleanliness, and poor service (allegedly, i myself haven't experienced this) were bad enough, but the way the rink bar was taken from the club rankled.

Check the rink bar out now. It isn't half as busy as it was when the club ran it. And thanks to this, we (the fans) lost a wonderful aprt of our relationship with the club, namely the opportunity to talk to the players after the match over a cold beer or two. Damn, I miss that.

And thats it for this flashback. I'm sure there is other stuff, I just can't think of anything at the moment.

Half term review...

2009-12-25T13:10:00.002+01:00

So, we are just slightly over the halfway point in the fixture list for our inaugural season in the EPL, and I have to say, things are looking good.

The team is sitting quite comfortably in 2nd palce as I write (although, with no games for ourselves this next weekend, this may change), and look to be a serious contender for all 3 pieces of silverware come the seasons end. Which is nice.

Tonys new recruits seem to have settled in nicely, with even the controversial addition Mr Payette winning folks over, mostly by not being the waste of space many assumed he would be (remember this folks, assumption is the mother of all fuck ups), and instead contributing on the ice by making plays and space for the 'skill' players on his line. Oh yeah, scarring the shit out of the majority of the opposition probably helps.

'Sir' Tony and 'Big' Ed are easily the most potent pairing in the league (probably in the EIHL too), scoring points seemingly for fun ('Big' Ed currently has a massive 73 points to his name, and 'Sir' Tony has 60, for a combined 133...gulp!), and everyone seems to know it. Close down the Hand/Courtenay line, close down the team, right? Wrong! Points are coming from all over the squad. Jakko and Walks have 43 points a piece. Ian Bowie and Greg Wood ahve 20 and 21 points respectively. So we actually have 3 productive lines.

And big, big kudos to young Adam Summerfield who has stepped up to the plate and filled in for Steve Fone with some stunning displays. Growing in coinfidence everygame, even after a couple of heavy defeats. This young man has a damned bright future ahead of him.

And the D have finally settled. Mattsson is one of the best positional player I have seen for years, and now he has adapted to the pace of the EPL is fast becoming a defensive rock. Boothroyd was abit unsettled early doors, which I put down to being given the 'C', but has settled down, and is usually very assured on the ice.

So, what else to report on?

Well, the rink management seem to not really want us. Firstly taking the bar out of the clubs control, meaning no more post game drinkies with the players. Then they seem to be unable to give us anything like consistent ice over any given run of games. Oh yeah, and far too often the rink just looks like a shithole. Untidy, dirty, and ignored are words which spring to mind.

And the league?

I'm loving it. Any team is capable of taking the points on any given night (eg: We battered Romford in our barn, yet have lost both road games to them). The pace is certainly faster than I thought it would be, and even though the 'skill level' isnt as high as the EIHL, the games themselves are far, far more entertaining. I guarantee we won't see too many (any?) ground out 1-0 games in the remainder of the season.

Indeed, me and my good buddies Russ, Caz, and Ang have already booked rooms in Coventry for the end of season playoffs, we are that impressed.

Bring on January and the resumption of our games. I need my fucking fix!

Oh yeah, Merry Xmas, Happy Hannukah, and the like. Now, wheres the beer...

It's a conspiracy!

2009-12-20T20:47:00.002+01:00

Apparently.

According to some Scimitars fans, and a handfull of 'neutrals', it's a tad too convenient that todays game was cancelled due to 'inclement weather', and we only ndid it ot avoid the embarassment of losing 2 games on the bounce.

Fuck right off.

Seriously.

Fuck off.

Do these people seriously believe that the Phoenix would try to deliberatly cancell a game to avoid a possible loss? I can see it now:

'Oh noes! If we lose today we will only be 2nd in the league and will have lost 2 games on the trot1 What to do?

Wait! I have an idea....(picks up phone and dials)... Hello, Sheffield Scimitars? Yeah, erm, we can't like get near the rink, so, y'know, erm, we are calling the game off..b-bye!'

Hmmm, me thinks not somehow.

The real reason (as I'm sure most of y'all know) is that a: arounf 50% of the match night crew couldn't get to the rink from their house due to the weather, and b: access to the rink itslef was poor as the road leading to it had not been gritted or cleared.

I have also been told that the Scims phoned us and said they were having difficulty getting to Manchester due to the weather.

So, no conspiracy (unless of course the Scims were in on it all along.... Oh Noes!).

One more thing:

A massive congratulations to the GB u20s on their Gold Medal winning performance this past week at the World Championships. The Pyre salutes you!

Good result/ Bad result

2009-12-15T18:49:00.003+01:00

So, A solid win against Guildford on Saturday, and a 2nd defeat in as many visits down at RVW on Sunday.

And truth be told, I'd have take 2 out of the 4 points over the weekend. 4 players absent on GB u20s duty, and a rookie back-up netminder was always going to make for an interesting weekend, and it seemingly did.

Saturday was a good game. Tony had clearly worked out a gameplan, and the team stuck to it rigidly. Summerfield looked confident, Mattson was immense on the D, covering Adam really well, and keeping the lanes clear. Payette looked calm and in control, stamping his authority on the game with ease. And the first line was sublime. The passing was smooth, the positioning was practically perfect, and the end result was just what you wanted. And once again, Jakko was solid, moving the puck, and hitting everything that moved.

Guilford were not as poor as some of their fans would have you believe over on THF, they just couldn't make it work consistently. They did trouble the Phoenix goal, but failed to apply the last bit of pressure needed to force the errors from Adam and the D infront of him.

And to top it off, I won this weekends game of 'Musical Chairs on Ice' during the 1st interval, after I was 'volunteered' for action.

I'd guess the crowd was around 650-700ish.

Sunday, I can't really comment on as I wasn't there, but RVW does look like it will be our 'problem' road trip. Ah well, everyone has one I suppose.

Now, my bitch of the week...

Over on THF, the news that we were defeated by Romford has brought a few 'neutrals' out to gloat over this fact. Why?

We didn't come into the league and act all 'high and mighty', or try to boss the other teams about. Is it really just simple jealously over the fact we have settled in quite fast, and seem to have the knack of winning most games, even when we shouldn't? I'd like to think this is the case, but fuck it. There will always be some folks who feel the urge to post on forums like that. And I suppose someone has to be the 'bad guys'. It was Guildford, but I guess it's our turn now.

Ah well, bring on next weekend.

I don't think my heart can take to many games like that!

2009-12-07T11:46:00.002+01:00

Fuck me, what a game! We certainly don't like to make it easy for ourselves, do we? 4-1 down, before mouting a stunning comeback to take the game 5-4 in OT. Phew.

I swear that I was going to have a fucking heart attack during the final period, as MKL looked like they might just about hang on for the win, despite pressure from Tony and the boys. And the gamewinner in OT was sublime. A beuatiful break, a genius pass, and a stunning finish made for a truly worthy matchwinner.

And damn well done to Adam summerfeild who, despite a few errors (especially for MKLs 3rd goal), never let his head drop, and gerw in confidence as the game progressed. Not too shabby for a 19yr old rookie who has played less than a dozen games as starter in the past couple of seasons.

Player of the night was Jakko, who simply hit everything that moved, and made some cracking plays in the zone.

Plonker of the night was Nick Poole for taking a dumbass 10 minute misconduct in the aftermath of the Phoenixs game tieing goal, just when the MKL needed his experience on the ice. and he was bloody lucky not to be called again during OT for standing on the seat in the penalty box and trying to shout instructions over the plexi. Tut-Tut.

And as for the ref, Goodwin..... Argh, he was so fucking frustrating. the 1st period was a nightmare with him seemingly determined to penalise the Phoenix for everything he could, including a bizarre 10 minute personal misconduct on Big Ed (Ed has word with Goodwin over the placement of a face-off, had the puck passed to him, and played it into the zone. Goodwin was stood in the way, blew his shistle and intimated that Ed hit the puck at him deliberatley). 2nd period hew tried to redress the balance a bit, and in the 3rd, I just couldn't figure him out at all. Oh well.

Anything else... no, nowt for now. Laters.

Another missed game (again!)

2009-11-30T11:51:00.001+01:00

Yes, I missed another home game!

Sorry, I was busy having my ears destroyed by W.A.S.P. down at the Academy 2, as a birthday treat to myself.

So, 2 wins, 4 points, and an injured netminder. I would say that the positives just outweigh the negatives (just).

4 points keeps us top, with a 2 point cushion, and a game in hand over MKL. Good thing.

Fone dislocating his shoulder on Saturday. Bad thing.

But Summerfield appears to have stepped up to the plate admirablly. Good on the lad. Mind you, he will get a much sterner test next weekend, especially on Sunday, with MKL visiting our barn for another mouthwatering top of the table clash.

Of course, Tony could bring in a replacement, but I can't see who he would go after.

Anyways, I'll wrap up by reminding everyone that I will be there on Sunday, celebrating my birthday. So be nice!

Rollercoaster weekend...

2009-11-23T11:22:00.002+01:00

So, on Saturday, our intrepid boys make their first ever trip down to Romford, presumably expecting a fairly staraightforward win against the leagues 'whipping boys'.

We leave on the wrong end of an 8-3 tonking.

OOOPS!

Apparently, RVW (thats Rom Valley Way) is a bastard of a rink to go to and get a result. Hostile fans, hostile announcers (Saturdays was thrown out of the booth for mouthing off at Payette), and poor lighting all combine to put pressure on visting teams.

Ah well, normal service was resumed last night, with an absolute belter of a game against Milton Keynes. 3-1 hardly reflects the game, as it was as close a could possibly be. Seriously, you couldn't have fitted a piece if paper between the two teams, it was that close.

The game was played pretty much at full throttle for the entire 60mins, with some outstanding plays made by both sides. Man of the Match for ourselves was Steve Fone, who put in an assured, cinfident performance, showing that Saturdays game hadn't affected him one bit.

And it was physical. lots of chipping away from both sides lead to a few tempers getting short, culminating in young Mr Bowie dropping the gloves for a little tete-a-tete with on of the MKL players (whose name I couldn't hear properly, sorry. I'll correct it when I get the match stats). Bowie just edged the scrap, but as seems to eb the norm in the EPL was 'rewarded' with just 2+2 for roughing. It was not roughing, it was a fucking fight! Deep breath.

Anyways, crowd was good, and seemed very up for it, making plenty of noise. I would guess that there were about 750-800 in the Dome, and allegedly only a handful were freebies, so thats all good.

And the ice was much improved. It probably helped that the ambient temperature inside the doem was quite a bit colder than last week (thankfully). The ice cuts are still embarassingly poor though. Too many missed patches and too many extra laps to sort them out. Would someone please show the lad how to do the ice cut correctly please! Anyone?

Other gubbins:

The Pyres pre and post match watering hole, the Station Inn, has now closed. The lovely landlady, Janet, has moved on after a dispute with the pubs owners. Which is a bit of a bugger, as it was fast becoming the best damn pub in Alty. Janet hopes to re-appera at Uluru (or whatever its called now) in the next few weeks, so a new venue might not be too far off!

And the official forum has managed to piss me off once more. It seems that frequent poster and serious Phoenix die hard 'The Rat' aka Pete Roden, has been banned after arguing wiht the site main moderator and admin, Carl. It looks like Carl didn't appreciate Petes response sin a thread as to why the league table wasn't accurate on the offcial site, and after some forum based arguing made acryptic post about Pete getting the 'next best thing to an ignore button' on him. Yes, Pete is blunt, and yes, he will butt heads with other posters, but whats the point of a forum without debate? Seems to me that Carl just didn't like being criticised, and has used his powers in an unfair manner.

(Thats why this blog exists. I can't say what i really want on the offical forum a lot of the time withour the risk of posts being deleted or being banned. Some people on there are fr too sensitive. So yay for the bog1)

Whooooo! Back at the Dome!

2009-11-16T20:42:00.002+01:00

So, after a 2 week abscence, I returned to my 3rd 'home', the Ice Dome, and what a game it was!

We took a solid, 3 goal lead, only for the Phantoms to claw back to 3-2 in the 3rd period, giving more than a few fans a bit of a 'squeeky bum' feeling. Thankfully Big Ed was on hand to slot home a cracking winner towards the end of the game, making it a bit more relaxing.

Personally, I thought we played well as a team this week, possibly the best whole team performance I have seen yet this season. There were definatley fewer errors in the defensive zone, thankfully, but Fone still came out of his crease to play the puck behind the redline far to often for me. So Mr Fone, if you are reading this, a little message: STAY IN THE FUCKING CREASE FOR FUCKS SAKE!

Seriously, I have kittens almost everytime he does it. (on a side note, it seems to be a thing with Phoenix netminders. Platt did it, so did Wolfe, and Smurph. Must be something about playing in the Phoenix jersey). Oh yeah, and he is still coughing up too many rebounds for my liking, although the D seem to have the measure of this now.

Was quite a clean game too, with the ref (Wardell, IIRC), allowing the game to flow, and only calling when absolutely required to do so.

Other stuff:

Apaprently, Mags has had some signed player photos stolen from her over the past few weeks. Bastards. Just what the club needs. More money lost.

And now a moan about the Dome.

The ice maintainance is becoming, in the opinion of myself and others, worse and worse each week. The quality of the ice cuts is mostly piss poor, usually with far too much water laid down behind the zamboni. Added to this is the fact that it feels far too warm down at ice level. Seriously, the ice was as wet at the end of the 2nd and 3rd periods as it was immediately after the cut during the intervals.

I sincerely wish that the team at the Dome would get their shit together, but sadly, the management seem to be happy with the state of the ice as it is, so unless we complain en masse, I doubt anything will change anytime soon.

And thats it for now.

Another missed game....

2009-11-10T20:04:00.000+01:00

...another solid win. Bugger.

Ah well, by all accounts, the team is starting to click, so fingers crossed for the rest of the season.

Bring on Saturday!

Telford to return? And more fantasy 'ideal league' stuff.

2009-11-04T16:51:00.003+01:00

No games for me, but still stuff to talk about...

TELFORD TO RETURN?

If you click on this link HERE, you can read some encouraging news from Telford.

Looking at what the Telford Tigers Fans Trust are trying to do reminds me so much of the early days of FOMIH. I sincerely hope the trust can bring the Tigers back to the ice for the 2010-2011 season, as more teams means a stronger league for all of us.

WHAT ABOUT A POINTS SYSTEM?

So, I've already detailed a regional conference system, but how to manage the players? It is pretty obvious that if (when) the EIHL collapses, teams such as the Panthers would want to be included. The problem is though, the financial power of these clubs could and likely would see most of the top British talent stripped from existing clubs, thusly maintaining the status quo with the 'Big 4' being on top, and everyone else struggling to keep up, then going bust.

So what about a 'points' system? Each club has a maximum points value for the Brits in their squad, and each registered player has a points value, based on simple criteria, such as:

Age (+Points)
Experience (+Points)
Time spent at current club (-Points for long service, + points if player moves around a lot)
International Cap(+ Points)

So, Stevie Lyle would have a high points tally (fairly old, lots of experience, lots of clubs, played for Team GB a lot), whereas Adam Walker would have a comparatively low value (youngish, reasonable experience, not played for too many clubs, only Junior International caps ).

Properly administered, this should provide a relative parity amongst clubs, or at the very least stop 'Club X' from 'buying the league', and would also place a greater emphasis on developing your own players, rather than bringing them in from other clubs.

Thoughts, people?

No game review this week...

2009-11-03T20:14:00.003+01:00

..or next folks.

I wasn't at this weekends game as I was at an engagement do down in Dunstable, and this coming weekend, I'm at my own engagement do...

2 weeks without a game.. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

From the sublime to the ridiculous...

2009-10-26T10:31:00.002+01:00

Saturday: Bracknell 0-6 Manchester. Get in. Solid result away from home.

Sunday: Manchester 1-6 Slough. What the fuck?

Yup, it was a weekend of extremes for the Phoenix. A road win at Bracknell, by a convincing scoreline was reversed on Sunday by an absolute tonking at home to Slough.

And lets be honest, we were comfortably the poorer team on Sunday. No fluke goals, no poor reffing, no '1 man plays a blinder'. Slough were vastly superior to us in every aspect.

They came to the Dome with an obvious plan, involving high tempo play, solid forechecking, and rapidly closing down any passing channels we might have had going forwards, and they did this bloody well. Our D just could not contain Sloughs forwards, judging by just how much time they had on the puck, and how easily they scored.

Mattson had a bit of a mare. So did Boothroyd. Hell, our best D was Haggelberg, and he is technically a forward. Tony and Big Ed were almost entirely shut down, and the Brits jst could not get shots on target. So its time to gas someone, right?

Wrong! Despite the clamour on the offical forum for Payettes head (He is doing just fine thanks. Tony has told him what he wants, and Payette is giving him exactly that), gassing a forward to bring in a Defenseman is not sound thinkiing. Hell, who says we have the resources to bring another player in anyways? I personally think Tony needs to work more on the getting the D to hang back a bit more, and play more 'defensively'.

Think about it, we are 12 games into the season, sitting 3rd in the table with 9 wins and just 3 losses. Hardly panic stations just yet. If things are stioll the same on ice in a month, then we might have to try and change things, but not just yet.

And the crowd? Well, it was a tad smaller than last week (@700), but it was damn quiet. Even the Choir Boys (yes, I'll name them) gave up once it was clear we were done for.

Anyways, Onwards and upwards!

Fife for the EPL?

2009-10-23T14:48:00.003+02:00

Check out this link:

Fife want to play at a higher level (thats not the EIHL)

So, Fife Flyers in the EPL? Yes please!

Now, I know this would be something that the Southern EPL teams would probably be agianst, simply because of the travelling, but hear me out. I propose a new 'British Premier Ice Hockey League' (BPIHL).

To keep costs down, I would split this into 2 conferences, thusly:

North:
Manchester Phoenix
Sheffield Scimitars
Fife Flyers
Dundee Stars
Solway Sharks
Whitley Warriors/Newcastle Vipers (Whichever was interested and able to ice a team)
Hull Stingrays
Edinburgh Capitals

South:
Basingstoke Bison
Bracknell Bees
Guildford Flames
Slough Jets
Romford Raiders
Milton Keynes Lightening
Swindon Wildcats
Peterborough Phantoms

The schedule would run as thus:

2x home, 2x Away against teams in own conference (28 games), 1x home, 1x away against the other conference teams (16 games) for a total of 44 league matches (10 fewer than currently), plus 3x home, 3x away cup games, based on groups of 4 drawn at random from within own conference (6 games). Winners of each cup group progress to a 2 legged semifinal against winners of the other group in each conference (ie North Group 1 winners play north group 2 winners), and the winners of this move on to a 2 legged final.

Playoffs are top 4 from each conference, playing 2 legged conference semis. Winners of the conference semis go to finals weekend where they play 1 game for conference title, then conference winners play in Grand Final to determine play off champions.

I think that looks, and sounds pretty damn good, but undoubtedly it will piss some folks off (Too many/few games, too many teams, etc).

Thoughts people?

Sign it!

2009-10-22T21:45:00.002+02:00

Keep Streatham Ice Rink open!

Tesco (boo, hiss!) are trying to renage on apromise made to the people of the borough of Streatham to maintain a proviosion of an ice rink during the construction of their new store and replacement ice rink.

Sign the damn petition people! We know what its like to have no ice.

Did we escape just in the nick of time?

2009-10-22T20:34:00.002+02:00

The past couple of days has lead me to believe that we escaped from the lunatic asylum that is the EIHL just in the nick of time.

Both Edinburgh and Newcastle have put out press releases intimating that they both need more money, probably pretty sharpish. Scott Neil, the owner of Edinburgh has stated he feels he cannot put anymore money into the club to take it forward, and the Vipers are seemingly not putting enought arses on seats to make ends meet.

The whole situation is begining to resemble the end days of the ISL. If Edinburgh and Newcastle make it to the end of the season (and there are no guarantees they, or indeed any club, will), we will be back in the summer of 2003. The same people will involve themselves in the same petty, ridiculous pissing contests. Fans will be at each others (metaphorical) throats, and the game as a whole will lose out.

It's deja-vu all over again......

Bloody hell, that was close!

2009-10-20T18:58:00.002+02:00

Talk about leaving it late. A win in OT, after not one, but two fightbacks from a 2 goal deficit each time. Not good for the old ticker, but tremendous entertainment nontheless.

Sure, there were problems. Take our woeful defending, leaving Fone high and dry, although to be fair he was having a bit of a mare himself. I do admit to begining to harbour some doubts about his ability as a starting nettie, but I shall wait til the season is over before passing any kind of judgement.

I know that at least 7 of the squad were feeling ill, but still...there were some atrocious errors at the back, from simple overcommitment going forward to not covering the channels when back in the zone. Basic errors I hope that Tony is trying to get rid of asap.

There were some positive points too, though. No penalties given up that left us on the PK was one. Given how the D were playing, this was a major relief. Payette getting the 'Fight' monkey off his back, by having a pleasent little tete-a-tete with the Bisons Wiggins. Score it a win to Andre, who did look a little rusty. Tony and Big Ed seem to be improving their link game on game, with some sublime interplay between them, and some moments of truly spectacular brilliance form Tony himself.

The young Brit forwards are looking more an more comfortable as each week passes, and Adam Walker actually looks comfortable now, after struggling for a few weeks. Hagglebeg has finally settles into the pace of the EPL game, and is leading his checks less with his elbows, and more with his shoulder.

The only othe rkajor dissapointment was the crowd turnout. It was visibly down on last weekend, with (at a guess) 700 people in there. What does the club have to do to get people to come/stay? Being at the top of the table and winning more than they are losing doesn't seem to work. Bugger. Back to the drawing board.

And following on from that....

I was going to go to the 'Commercial Board' meeting this week, but on reflection, I am choosing not to. Ther eis a simple reason for this, and it echoes the thoughts of many people I have spoken too about it. It already looks that it is a case of the same people being involved as everything else that is doen for the club. No disrespect to those involved already, but I do knwo that quite a few folks are pissed off at who seems to be in charge of this, and feel that their ideas will be ignored in preference to a supposed 'chosen few'. Maybe that is the bigest problem we face a sa club in motivating the fans. New blood is needed, but feels unable to come forward. And I'd like to see how it pans out after this meeting, and maybe attend later ones once the board remit and make up is fully known.

That is all.

(Only 1 swear word...bollocks, I'm loosing my touch!!!!! Shitshitshitshitshit!....ahh, thats better)

That was satisfying.

2009-10-11T19:23:00.002+02:00

So, a Saturday home game. Not something we do too often here in Manchester. Thankfully, we were not in direct competition with our big sporting neighbours down the road, but the RSL Grand Final didn't exactly help with some things (like parking spaces).

Anyways, I digress. The game itself was a full blooded affair, with some cracking end-to-end play on display from both sides. The mighty Phoenix ran out 6-4 victors, but it was a bloody close run thing.

And the game even had a fight, of sorts. Bowie vs Farmer was a bit of a non contest, with 4 punches thrown, before Bowie fell over, with Farmer on top of him... ooo-err! And for once, the ref showed some sense assesing just a 2+2 each for roughing.

And what an improvement from Big Ed. For the first time this season, he actually looke dlike he gave a shit, fighting for the puck, and moving about the ice with some sense of purpose other than 'where's my money?'. A top class show from himself and Mr Hand anchored a fairly solid performance from the boys. The D and Fone will wnat at least a couple of the Scims goals back, but all in all a solid team performance.

Attendance was down on last Sunday, as one would expect for a Saturday game, but it didn't appear to be by much, maybe only 50 or so in it. My guess is that there were about 750ish in the Dome, which isn't too bad at all.

And I would like to apologise for the behaviour of a small number of 'fans' sat in Block 16 who somehow felt it was 'right' to satrt taunting the travelling Scimitar supporters towards the end of the game. It's not big, and not clever... especially when you hoist your kid onto your shoulder and encourage him to do it too. You looked like a bunch of cocks. Grow up.

And thats it. For now.

AAARGH! Some people just piss me off!

2009-10-06T19:24:00.003+02:00

I present, for your edification, quite possibly the most annoying, irritating, and stupid 'Official Forum' posting I have read for a very long time (and thats saying something. That place pisses me off on an almost daily basis):

I really do try not to get involved on the forum however I am finding it really difficult to understand the stick some of OUR players and club recieve on this forum

Why not change the forum to

Slag of the players and moan about everything possible to do with the club Forum

Bring back the old video
If you cant say anything nice then dont say anything at all.

o, basically, according to this forumite (who I won't name), we should only use the official forum to be nice abnout the club and kiss its collective and metaphorical arse. Bollocks.

Forums, as another poster stated, are a place for debate and discussion. If people cannot offer any form of criticism, then the forum serves no real point.

In my experience, most fans only criticise their own team if they feel the need to try an make the club improve something, be it presentation, players, whatever. No one ever did anything truly great whilst having someones nose so far up their arse they could smell toothpaste.

Idiots.

That was actually quite boring...

2009-10-05T17:58:00.002+02:00

I never thought that winning a game so comprehensively could make for such a boring game.

Romford never even bothered to show up, ustering a pathetic 7 shots on goal during the entire game. So comfortable were we, that after the first period, Adam Summerfield was sent out to play the remaining 40 minutes, although rumour has it that Fone had tweeked himself and was rested as a precaution. Either way, it was good to see Adam out there for a spell.

I did feel sorry for the Romford fans who travelled the not inconsiderable distance to see their team. They were rewarded with a poor display from a team who ran out of ideas after about 30 seconds of the first period. They were piss poor tactically, resorting to dumping the puck on almost every play. They had no answer to Payette, whom they could not handle at all, and could not match the pace of any Phoenix player (with one exception).

And speaking of exceptions, Ed Courtenay was once again incredibly dissapointing. Showingost no desire to even be in the building, he once more failed to do anything of merit bar scoring an easy goal. And even then his 'celebration' was insultingly poor. No passion whatsoever. And when his commitment was questioned on the official Costigan stepped in and basically told people not to criticise him! Bullshit! If we can't criticise the players, whats the point? endless backslapping? Not for underachievers, thank you very much.

But to finish, another 4 point weekend, placing us 2nd in the table behind Milton Keynes.

Poor, poor timing....

2009-10-02T19:26:00.000+02:00

2 weeks into the season and the 'walk up' ticket price for adults has been shunted up by £1, making it £13 on the door.

Ouch.

Rather obviously, this has lead to the ineveitable, and understandable, backlash from a section of the fanbase (and a sponsor), with the even more obvious 'you're not a proper fan' comeback from another section. Sigh.

I personally don't agree with the price increase. But I do accept that there may be a very sound reason, or reasons for doing so. Having read NMs impassioned response on the official site, I fear he is engaging in some damage limitation for an action not entirely of his own doing. I believe that our 'illustrious' rink management team have more than a small part in this, and much like the way the club was treated regarding the rink bar, this sticks to high heaven.

I'm sure one day the truth will out, but until then do we really need a return to the petty bullshit of previous seasons?

I know I've got a lot of time on my hands, but some folks.....

2009-09-30T17:06:00.002+02:00

15 pages.

15 pages.

About the fucking intro video. What the fuck?

Surely as a fanbase we have more important issues, like the state of the rink (still dirty and barely cleaned week on week), the ice (still not good enough, and still has holes around the boards), certain players not pulling their weight (Mr Courtenay), but a fucking intro video? Give me a break.

Some folks don't like the music ('I want Ladies & Gentleman back! Boo Hoo!'), somne folks do like the music, some don't even care and seem to be bitching for the sake of doing so.

But seriously, 15 pages? Sheesh!

Reminded me of one of the reasons I don't post there very often anymore.

Last nights game...

2009-09-28T10:28:00.002+02:00

Well, first off, the better team won. Fact. We were out played and outclassed last night by a very well drilled and focussed MKL squad.

But we were poor. Loose passing, players looking disinterested (yes, Big Ed, I'm looking at you...), and a 'headless chicken' approach to chasing the MKL players made for an embarassing sight at times. Back to Big Ed... If you don't want to be playing here, why fucking bother? Last night he made almost no effort to win the puck at all, often just shrugging his shoulders after loosing it, rather than battling to win it back. He was embarassed by the mighty fine efforts of Ian Bowie, who was a shining example to the entire roster last night. rarely have I seen an MOM award given that was more deserved.

Sure, some frankly piss poor reffing didn't help. The amount on missed or ignored calls was beyond belief. At times it looked like the ref just did not want to call a penalty no matter what was going on. And when he did...

But I refuse to blame the ref. We played like shit and get the result that a performance of that quality deserved.

I could rant on some more, but right now, I'd rather be happy...

First weekend thoughts....

2009-09-22T19:21:00.002+02:00

So, after having a day or two to gather my thoughts...

Rather obviously, saturdays result was an absolute corker. Winning 7-4 on the road, with four of the goals coming from a forward who had only just arrived and had not even practised with his team-mates was the best way to begin a campaign possible. Big, big ups to Ed Courtenay for his performance.

And then to Sunday. Well, swindon showed up, and they gave us a hell of a game. Clearly more used to the style and standard of reffing in the epl, I feel that they made this work to their advantage. From my viewpoint, there was rather too much 'slash and hack' with the sticks, and too much holding the stick. The ref seemed very loathe to award penalties for these indiscretions, even if they were happening in his full view, and I did note that Tony mentioned this to him (and some Swindon players) on more than one occasion during the course of the game. Apart from that, the game itself was fast and furious, with Swindon taking the lead 3 times, only for the Phoenix to pull it back. Even at 4-3, things didn't look over comfortable, but the problems which were apparent are nothing 2 or 3 weeks more practise and games won't sort.

Highlight of the night was simply seeing the team skate out for the first ever EPL game at the Dome. The future starts here.

Now on to the shitter of the night. Our (not so) great rink management have decided that they are now gfoing to run the VIP Lounge, rather than let the club do it. Bad idea. On sunday the bar, which is usually rammed full and buzzing, was almost empty and very, very subdued. And it didn't help that when people ordered hot drinks, the satff were going outside and using the vending machines to provide these, which is beyond cheeky. Not to mention an absolute rip-off. A Hot drink in the bar was charged at £1.50... but the machines only charge £1.20. If you bought one, demand your money back on Sunday.

Personally, I think the rink have dropped a major bollock here, and have turned something which made them (and the club) a reasonable amount of cash (especially post game) into a dead duck. No atmosphere, no players meeting the fans (they are now going direct to the American Bar & Grill after the game). Thanks for ruining it, Vern. Myself and my cohorts will be heading to the Station Inn after the games now. Indeed, rather than get to the rink for doors, I believe we ware going to stay there before the game until about 10 mins before face off, and not buy drinks in there during the period breaks. Thats probably £50 a game lost just from us, let alone the other 50 or so folks who were absent on Sunday. Add it up.

Pricks.

War of the Roses...

2009-09-15T10:50:00.002+02:00

Well, we won it. It wasn't as easy as some folks may have expected, as the Scims are a very well drilled side (as they should be after the best part of a month together), and seemed very confidant coming of the back of beating Hull in a friendly, then winning a pre season tournament in Fife.

But, impressive as the Scims were, I was more impressed with our boys. Despite just 2 hours training, and 2 games together, they already ahve the makings of an extremely confident, skillful side. To those fans of other teams who seem to think that we will be a '1 line' outfit, with no-one to back up Hand & Big Ed.... think again. Almost every guy on the ice on Sunday looked like the real deal. No one making up the numbers here.

Now, my stars of the match were Andre Mattsson and Andre Payette. Mattsson is an absolute beast of a d-man. Fast, skillful, and very strong, it will take a phenomenal forward to get the better of him over a full 60mins. His positional play was awesome.

And big old Payette... Captain for the weekend, and seemingly relishing it. This man can play hockey! Y'know, like he did back during his time in Coventry. He ain't just a goon and he seemed to thrive on the responsibility. And major kudos for doing the rounds in the bar afterwards, trying to have just a few words with everyone present. Thats what I like to see.

Other stuff.... New shirts look better in the flesh. Got my order in for a Cup jersey, so fingers crossed the legend 'Learned 1' will be seen around the Dome in two weeks time. Also, the ice looked good. Plenty of logos, and clear, visible lines. Still looked a little soft, but I put that down to it having just been laid, and the warmth in the rink on sunday. Indeed, it was much warmer than usual, which is a tiny cause for concern, but not much.

And that about wraps it up.

Oh, and Swindon fans coming down next weekend, if you want to meet up and chat, bring yourselves over to the Station Inn, opposite the bus station. Myself and a number of other Phoenix fans will be in there from about 3-ish.

And we're done. No swearyness this time either.

I'm still here!

2009-08-27T11:13:00.000+02:00

Yup, I've been away, so I missed the shirt launch, but fear ye not, I'm still here!

a quick note on the shirts..... i quite like them. Sure, the home jersey is a bit too 'red' (I prefer white, with a red & black trim), but the away and cup tops are pretty damned good. I'll probably get either the away or the cup (or if I can, in my current poverty stricken state, both) at the start of the season.

Only 2 weeks to go!

We got 'im!

2009-08-07T10:37:00.000+02:00

Yes, one of the worst kept secrets in British hockey has finally been confirmed.

Ed 'Big Nose' Courtenay has been announced as a Phoenix player.

More details later. I'm getting excited. Oooh-err.

Why? Just Why?

2009-07-30T21:06:00.003+02:00

Why do I let them do it?

Another idiot poster on the official forum, complaining about all the sponsors logos on the jerseys, saying he wants a sponsor free one. Then when it is explaind (laboriously and repeatedly) o0ver the duration of the thread, the best they can do is say they will get their own unofficial one rather than spend the money on the club, and then tells everyone else to do the same.

Naturally I decided to join in at this point. And I got a post deleted (oh noes! I attacked the muppet and used a naughty word!)!

I fucking hate forum trolls.

And it keeps on getting more interesting....

2009-07-29T10:30:00.000+02:00

According to rumor, TH has secured the signature of fellow veteran forward Ed 'Big Nose' Courtenay as our 3rd import.

If this is true it adds another proven goal scorer to our line, albeit another 'veteran' one. Of course, with the EPL being a bit slower and less physical, being a veteran of the age of messers Hand and Courtenay is less of an issue (see Mr S. Moira for details).

Awaiting confirmation, which if this is true will come on Friday.

He might be a donkey, but he's OUR donkey!

2009-07-27T00:02:00.002+02:00

Yup, the rumors were correct, in a fairly surprising move TH has brough big, bad Andre Payette into the Phoenix fold.

Something a lot of folks have forgotten is that when used correctly (as he was during his first year in Coventry) Payette is a damn useful forward. And given how well TH kept Cloots on the leash, I doubt very much that discipline will be too much of an issue (6 fights and you are out for the season as per the EPL rules, I believe).

And lets be honest, Payette will likely be one of the most physical players that the EPL has seen for a very long time. Not to mention a pretty big draw.

Welcome to the Phoenix, Andre.

Its oh so quiet....

2009-07-16T22:04:00.003+02:00

Yup, summer is now in full swing (I can hear the rain lashing against my window as I type), so the news coming out of the Phoenix has pretty much dried up.

Adam Walker is doing a charity bike ride (summed up far better on the official site than I could do), and there are persistent rumours that we have an ex EIHl forward lined up to announce. Current front runner being good ol' Donkey himself andre Payette, who apparently can apply for a passport after being here for 5 years.

He would certainly be an 'interesting' addition if nothing else, especially given the EPLs much tougher stance on fighting during games.

And now that I'm unemployed, attending the hockey will have to become a cheaper night out, somehow.....

Simms talks shite...

2009-06-29T00:03:00.002+02:00

I know, I know, nothing new there, but for once he has actually pissed me off, properly.

In an interview he has conducted with the UK Hockey Live blog HERE, Simmsy has decided to 'run down' the Phoenix.

Apparently our club ethos is to be 'Big Fish in the pond', which is why we have moved to the EPL. Yes, according to his (arse)holiness, we threw our toys out of the pram at not being able to win things. Yes, he mentions that NM has put a load of cash in to the club, but gives the impression that the finaces are/were a ruse, not the deciding factor. Oh, and apparently, if we dont' get to be the Big Fish in the 'Small (EPL) Pond', he 'knows' we will simply move leagues again so we can be.

Wanker.

And for you EIHL fans, apparently, seeing the same teams 4 times at home is the best ratio of games. Y'see it's only once every 8 weeks.... except the fixtures never work out like that. Any more than 8 teams, and apparently its not worth it. Oh yeah, and small clubs should bring themselves up to the spending levels of the big teams to levbel things out, not vice versa.

I'm more and more glad about being in the EPL with every passing day.

So, that was a pretty good week or so...

2009-06-16T20:01:00.002+02:00

Well, the Paul Fox challenge game was a damn fine piece of entertainment for the 150-200 sould who made it down there. A comfortable 9-2 win for the Phoenix brought the trophy home. It was bloody good to see some familiar faces again, and the rink felt just like home.

Only downer was when they ran out of beer in the rink! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Anyways, the other important bit of news was the annoucement of our first 'import' player, versatile Finn Jaakko Hagelberg. Jaakko looks to be a very impressive 'utility' player, who has previously plied his trade in the Finnish SM Liiga (the top level of play in Finland), and in the German Bundesliga and Oberliga (the 2nd and 3rd tier of German hockey respectively. Both almost indisputably better than the EIHL in all fairness).

He is fairly young (26), and apparently matched Paul Deniset pretty much point for point whilst in Germany, so he looks to be a goodie.

Some folks have written him off already ('not DAB standard'), but his stats seem solid, and until we see him we won't know if Tony has made the right choice. Personally, I think Tony might have found us a doozy.

Off to the game today

2009-06-07T14:07:00.001+02:00

And I should ahve a report of some description up for it later.

Oh, its the annual Paul Fox memorial cup game. Manchester vs Bradford.

Summer time hockey! Whoo Hoo!

The Brit Squad.

2009-05-19T20:25:00.002+02:00

So, not even at the end of May, and Tony Hand has already signed (and announced) his entire Brit contingent for the inaugural EPL campaign here in Mancland.

And overall I'm impressed. At the official announcement meeting for the switch to EPL hockey Tony promised a young, hungry squad of Brits, and he has most certainly delivered. he has signed guys with EIHL experience, guys who are straight out of ENL/SNL/Juniors, and kept himself in there to provide a core of unmatched experience.

If the import signings match up to the Brits in terms of quality, and given Tonys track record I see no reason to doubt that they will be, we could, nay should be looking at some very exciting times ahead for the club.

And it also looks like Bracknell and Romford will both be icing EPL sides too. Sadly, no IOW (a road trip I know many were looking forward to), and Telford still look doubtful, but the EPL is gearing up to be damn good.

Bring on September.

And one more thing...

2009-05-03T17:37:00.003+02:00

Some folks are already saying tht they wont watch the team in the EPL, and will instead go to various EIHL games, as the EPL will be 'rubbish hockey'.

Well, numb-nuts, it's EPL or fuck all hockey. If y'all want to watch an artificially high standard of hockey which exists to please the owners of but 4 teams, fine. Do that. Just don't come crying when it all goes tits up.

Oh, and don't let the door hit your arse on the way out.

Pricks.

(Yeah, I might have offened them. So what? Their attitude offends me.)

PHOENIX TIL I DIE!

So, about this move then.....

2009-05-03T16:49:00.002+02:00

Well, I've had a few days now to get things sorted in my own head, so here goes...

Firstly, I'm just as excited by the prospect of my team playing in the EPL as I was when it was first mooted to me early this year. Given our building size, crowds and financial base, the EPL is the ideal level for us to be at.

So, players so far. Well, I aint exactly complaining. Tony Hand will lace em up for the forthcoming season, giving us easily the most potent playmaker in the EPL by default. No D is going to relish facing Tony at all. Top points scorer come this time next year? Dont bet against it.

Steven Fone as starting netminder... Great. Sure, Smurph would ahve been better, but I'm sure he would have considered EPl a 'step back' for himself, especially with Lehman now being a Team GB player, So Fone is a more than adequete replacement (and a bit of a cult hero after hsi loan spell here 2 seasons back). He will also help his back up, the returning Adam Summerfield to progress hopefully (I fully expect Adam to start a few games this coming season).

Walker, Graham, and Boothroyd all return to the ice as well. Walker becomes the longest serving player at the club, IIRC, 09-10 being his 4th season at the Dome. All 3 made strides last season, and should form a solid core of Brits around which Tony can build the team. Graham in particular should benefit from more ice time, and I fully expect Boothroyd to be part of the 1st line D. Walker could be a good shout for wearing an 'A', as the 'senior' Brit (outside of Tony).

New boy Joe Graham.. Don't know much about him except that he has iced for the Panthers a few times.

And Ben Wood has been promoted from the ENL side. I believe big things are expected of this young d-man.

Imports? Tony is playing his cards close to his chest here. All he has said is they will all be high quality (ie not CHL/UHL cast offs), and one he has offered a contract to will be the best the EPL has ever see. Given his track record for unearthing quality guys, I have no reason to doubt this.

The new ticket prices look good. Not as chea[p as the 'established' EPL clubs, but better than the last few seaosns up here, and competative whne compared to other local options (Alty F.C., Sale rugby). Hopefully we will see a rise in attendances as a result.

And I honestly believe that the club will take the EPL ethos to heart, and won't come in being the 'Big Fish in the Small Pond'. we are in this for the long haul.

I can't wait til September now. Bring it on.

We're EPL!

2009-05-01T19:23:00.000+02:00

So, the cat is finally out of the bag.

As of NOW, the Manchester Phoenix are officially and EPL club. 4 imports, no work permits, lots of local lads, and cheaper tickets.

Brilliant.

I'll have more later this weekend once I have got everything sorted in my own head.

End of Season review

2009-04-19T12:45:00.002+02:00

Well, the dust has well and truly settled on the season now, so I guess I should do some kind of 'wrap up' piece.

This wrap up however will be slightly different to most others. I'm not going to rate each player individually, because I just cant settle on individual gradings for them.So here is my 'alternative' wrap up:

Inspired signing: Stephen Murphy. Smurph came in witha fair few people feeling that TH had dropped the ball, big time. Well, Smurph has probably been the best guy between the pipes we have seen in a loooong time here in Manc. I for one would love to see him back here next season.

'How Fucking Good': Mr D.A.Beauregard. Pure quality and without a shodow of a doubt the best forward to have graced these shores in many a year. Whats scary though is how fucking good he could have been were it not for his eye injury earlier in his career. Would love him back, but sadly I can't see it happening.

Total wanker: Joint award here. Grant Jacobsen for using us a a training camp, and Andrew Sharpe just for being a cock of the highest degree.

So, what else did I enjoy this season? Well, the cup runs were glorious, producing probably our finest hockey in the CC Semi against Belfast at the Dome. Even though we didn't win either of them, it proved we were able to compete with the 'big boys' on any given night.

And the cameraderie of the players. We got to see a bona fide TEAM on the ice this year. The way they played through the killer last month showed just how important it was to them to give 100% every night.

Off ice was equally great. After an early season snafu with our watering hole of choice, the Station Inn picked up, and became the prime pre-game watering hole for myself and my buddies (Russ, Caz, Ange, you guys made it great). And getting to a stage whereby I didn't have to ask for a drink ion the VIP lounge, they just appeared when i walked up. Brill.

The play-offs were great fun, even when I wore a tutu.

And thats that. I'm looking forward to a summer of 'fun', now. So expect to see a few more rants over the coming weeks about various bits and pieces.

The future of the EIHL

2009-04-09T20:38:00.002+02:00

So, after a week of sniping press releases, much rumour, and outright nastiness between some fans, the 'EIHL 6' becomes the 'EIHL 9' for next season.

The alleged split and its reasons seem to have been healed (possibly only temporarily) after a post play-offs meeting of all 9 EIHL member clubs. A plan has been drawn up for 09-10, and the gist of it is a s follows:

10 imports on any given game day may be dressed.
3x Home, 3x Away fixtures, for a shorter 48 game season.
K.O. Cup to be abolished.
Challenge Cup to have its format ammended.
A 'festival of hockey' to be arranged.

So, what does this actually mean? Well, in real terms not much has changed on the players/finacial side. No mention of the wage cap, so we must therefor assume that it is to remain static at the upper limit of £7k per week (not that everyone will adhere to this, mind). The useless KO cup is no more! A revamped Challenge Cup? I'll wait to see what the new format is before calling that one.

The 'Festival' seems interesting, especially given the presence of the Dutch and Belgian leagues at the play-off finals. Can you say 'Aherne Trophy'?

And the shorter regualr season? Well, to my mind this is either to allow for an expanded Challenge Cup, or an ammended playoffs (2 3/4 team groups?).

And just to keep the cat amongst the pigeons, Neil Morris in anoucing the move forward to the local press still kept his options open by giving a 2 week deadline to see these changes ratified, or 'other options' will be explored once more.

Summer of Uncertainty once more, methinks.

Well, it was a fun weekend.

2009-04-07T21:13:00.002+02:00

So, the Play-Offs 2008-2009 are done with. And, hockey aside, it was bloody good fun.

Yes, I said hockey aside. The 3 games I saw (2 semis and the final) were shite, to be honest. Seriously boring.

All the fun was had up in the stands, with various chants going on which seeme dto cause a little bit of consternation, and laughter, from fans either side of us (Giants and Panthers), such as 'we hate you both', 'hockey over money', and the one that pissed off Simmsy, thanks to the Vipers fans really letting rip with it: 'Six team League, You're having a laugh!'.

Some Giants fans chose to respond in kind, with the chant 'Show us your trophies', which got either a 'hockey over money' or a 'show us your wage bill'. The latter of which caused one Giants fan to shout accross at me 'if you can't afford to play with us, sod off!', a bait to which I sadly rose, causing a few minutes of tension between myself and the idiotic gentlemen, wherein I lost my temper. D'oh, stoopid me. I felt like a right twat after that I can tell you. But, it is done with, so c'est la vie. Next time I will simply rise above it (or just simply ignore it). Take note kiddies, lots of booze, plus minimum sleep equals frayed tempers. Sorry to anyone who witnessed it. As I said, I was behaving like a twat.

Anyways, outside of the hockey, there was much merriment to be had, from the second myself and my intrepid fellow fans (Caz, Ange, Russ, and Nathan) stepped onto the 8.45am train to Nottingham. First order of business was to crack open a few beers and have a good natter about the weeks 'revelations'. Upon arriving in Nottingham, we then had to find the hotels, which we did thanks to Russ 'getting his Google out' (ooh-err). Me and Russ couldn't check in til later, so we dumped our stuff with the ladies, and did the only sensible thing whilst waiting for the games to start... We hit the pub.

Truth be told, we spent most of the weekend in various pubs (special mention goes to the Pit & Pendullum, possibly the best pub ever) drinking beer, cider, and cocktails (by the pitcher). Hic. Bunkers was a hoot on Saturday night with various mascot performers doing incredibly silly things to each other whilst getting progressively more drunk. Wetherspoons was hit by a wave of Phoenix fans Sunday morning for brekkie, beer, and the GP. Somehow I eneded up modelling a skirt/tutu. Don' ask.

Then sadly, after the final, and just as the party was getting into full swing, Russ and myself had to return home. The girls and Nathan stayed to carry on the party.

Roll on next year.

PS, the league is going with 9 teams and an ammended format! More on this soon.

Well, it looks like its all gone a bit 'Titanic'

2009-03-31T20:08:00.004+02:00

Well, I just couldn't wait.

It appears after a posting on THF by venerable Phoenix fan Tambo, that the proverbial shit has hit the metaphorical fan, and the EIHL is about to go with 6 teams next season:

Sheffield Steelers
Nottingham Panthers
Cardiff Devils
Coventry Blaze
Belfast Giants
Hull Stingrays

Allegedly, a board meeting took place today, to which ourselves, Edinburgh, and Newcastle were not invited. Indeed, it seems that the meeting may have taken place without the knowledge of the 3 excluded teams.

If this is true, then the EIHL is fucked. Sorry to be so blunt, but its true. Last time we had a 6 team league it died on its arse (the ISL). Seems some people either have very short memories, or are so ignorant and stupid that they can not see history repeating itself. Wankers.

So, what of the 3 'expendables'? Where do we go? What do we do? We're all doomed!

Not quite.

The obvious options are as follows:

1: The 3 teams approach Dundee, Fife, Paisley, and maybe Whitley, and form a new 'Northern LEague', similar to the EPL (4 imports, weekend only games).

2: The 3, plus Dundee, Fife, and maybe Paisley approach the EPL about forming a new Northern Division of the EPL, alngside the Sheffield Scimitars.

3: Newcastle and ourselves apply to the EPL. Edinburgh become SPL.

Of course, this could all be bollocks, but something tells me there is more than an element of the truth to all this.

Stay tuned, peeps...its gonna be a hell of a ride.

Quick blog...

2009-03-31T19:23:00.000+02:00

My season review won't be up until after the play-offs, so you can expect that next week (it will give you all something to read over the bank holiday weekend).

And keep an eye out for a post this week regarding the state of the EIHL and what could be happening next (yes, I've done something similar already, but now we are at seasons end, more and more details are emerging).

Laters.

That was the week that was.

2009-03-22T12:11:00.002+01:00

So, lets recap the last 7 days then...

Sunday saw us face off against the Vipers, who were looking to secure their placing in the play-offs. Frankly, it was obvious even during the warm up, our lads were completely knackered. And once the game began, this tiredness showed even more. Plus, I'm sure that they guys had at least half an eye on Tuesdays game, and were trying to keep something in the tank in that regard.

So, Tuesday. Lets get it out of the way first. We lost. The giants took the CC 6-5 on agregate. Well done to them. We played as well as could be expected given the circumstances (outrageous fixture schedule, 5 guys dosed up on antibiotics), but Belfast were quite clearly fresher. We made them work for it, mind, but the better team won on the night.

Off ice, however, was a different story. What respect i had for the Giants organisation was somewhat erroded by the on site reports I recieved during the game. First off, there was a pretty major problem with the seating arrangements. We sold 120 tickets, apparently under the belief that these were for reserved seats. Upon arrival, we found that of this 120, only 75 had actuall seats, the remainder being forced to either stand, or sit on the stairs. This did not go down too well with the Phoenix contingent.

Then, there was no small amount of kerfuffle over the M.O.M. presentations, or lack thereof. What seems to ahve happened is that Belfast announced that Tony Hand was the Phoenix M.O.M., but seemed to not do the standard presentation and photo, prefering to move on to the trophy presentation. Thyis lead to a pissed off Tony, and some very pissed off fans (thanks for the call, Caz!). And allegedly, promionent Phoenix supporter Tambo spoke to Belfast GM Todd Kelman, who basiclly said 'tough', which needless to say did not go down too well at all.

Phew.

Then came Thursday where a clearly not trying, still knackered Phoenix almost took the full 2 points away from Hull without apparently trying. Hull needed OT and penalty shots to guarantee themselves the points in waht was a surprisingly hard fought game.

And thats pretty much that. I should be running the Twitter updates for todays game, but if you are going, I'll see you there.

this weeks update...

2009-03-20T20:18:00.002+01:00

will be made on Sunday. I have not had the time to sort one out yet. Sorry.

So, again, Sunday (probably around lunchtime. Tune in.

The week in review

2009-03-10T20:50:00.002+01:00

So, a busy week for us Phoenix fans, with 3 home ties in the space of 5 days.

And it was pretty successful too, 2 wins in league action, giving us an important 4 points in the battle for 5th place with Cardiff, and a 1 goal advantage in the CC Cup final to take to Belfast.

Of course, it wasn't all good. As is becoming oh so familiar, in 2 of the 3 games, despite taking the victories, the standard of reffering (and seeming bias) was shocking. Marco Coenen and Dean Smith are easily the poorest pair of refs we have in the EIHL.

Lets start with Mr Coenen. On Thursday night, with the Sky cameras in attendance, he gave a masterclass in 'how to piss people off and alienate them', by simply refusing to call the visiting Edinburgh team on any penalties until he himself was knocked on his arse by one of their reckless challenges by the boards. This happened 38 minutes into the game. Easily the longest I have ever seen any team play 'clean' hockey. Indeed, so offeneded were some of the (few) Phoenix Phaithful who were in attendance, he had to be escorted off the ice during the intervals (allegedly, I didn't see this). I honestly thought that this was the most inept display of officiating I had ever seen, or was likely to see again. Boy, was I wrong.

Enter Dean Smith. Probably the least experienced of the EIHL refs this season, and already proven to be unable to control a physical game (see the last game at Alty vs the Vipers for evidence of that), Mr Smith put on an absolute masterclass in bottling major calls, and blatant ineptitude.

Lets look at the 3 most heinous incidents from Sunday then:

1: The Phoenix have just gone 4-0 up in the 2nd period. Nathan Ward and George Awada chase the puck into the Phoenix zone, with Dean Smith looking directly at them. Awada proceeds to punch Ward very obviously in the face, and goes on to score. Smith does nothing, despite looking right at it.

2: Belfasts 3rd goal comes from a face off which was caused by a Giants player very clearly scooping the puck over the plexi. A straight 2 mins for delay of game, right? Nope, to the amazement of both sets of players, Smith simply signals for a face off.

3: Phillips cross checks Fulghum into the boards, which caused Tony Hand of all people to try and get at him. Another no call.

He also decide don a numbe rof occasions to send players from both sides th the box for incidents which would have required a 'one way or the other' decision, thus avoiding any tricky calls, and potential back-chat.

Being honest, I'm sure Smith is a nice guy, and he does show potential, but to be sent to ref a 'showpiece' event (CC Final 1st Leg)... nah, a game like that, espcially given the intensity it was always likely to be played at, required, nay demanded a Carson or a Hanson. Someone with the balls and authority to make tough calls, and stick to them.

Anyways, the good things were that in all 3 games, the boys looked great. Especially the Belfast game, where they were all hitting anything in a Belfast jersey with real intent and passion.

And apologies to the Belfast fan who I had a short debate with after the game. Adrenaline and passion make fools of us all, and I did not mean to be so rude. I humbly apologise.

Bring on the 2nd leg and the KO Cup Final!

Quick note

2009-03-08T14:18:00.002+01:00

I'll do a full review of the week later on (hopefully).

And don't forget the Twitter score updates.

Tweet Tweet!

2009-03-01T18:17:00.003+01:00

Starting on Tuesday for the home game vs. Basingstoke, I will be starting to do some score and incident updates via my shiny new Twitter account, viewable here: The Pyres Twitter page

Enjoy!

Well, it could have been worse.

2009-03-01T17:04:00.002+01:00

So we return to the norm for our games against the Blaze (or Blades as the tickets issued by the rink had it), by losing.

And, in my opinion, 6-2 was perhaps a touch flattering towards our visitors from Coventry. The first 2 Blaze goals had a significant element of luck to them, and Smurph had a real 'off' night. The forwards did good though, trying right to the end to get us back into the game. On any other night Fulghum could have bagged a hat trick with ease, but the luck just wasn't there. Ah well, there are always the games on Tuesday and Thursday to look forward to (should be 4 points, but if not...).

My only major gripe really was the fact we only had 2 on ice officials. 1 ref, 1 lino, which in my opinion isnt good enough for the 'top' league in the country. The EIHL likes to posit itself as a professional league, comparable to mainland Europes best, yet I cannot imagine a DEL game happening without a full quota of officials present. This naturally affected the reffing, as Boniface (for twas he), was consistently behind the puck as he had to cover 1 of the blue lines looking for offside infractions.

Ah well. As long as we beat the Bison and the Capitals midweek I won't complain too much. 4 points from 6 will be more than respectable.