This week marks The Cold End's fifth birthday so as is customary I'd like to thank Mrs Cold End for putting up with my interest in (she'd call it an obsession!) non-league football. Also a big thank you to all who read the website putting up with my regular spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Thank you to everyone who sends me feedback especially on the match highlights I produce through the season. Your comments are very much appreciated and make it all worth while to me. Please take note I don't make any money from The Cold End - I'm proud it's independent (although I do support Enfield Town FC) and advert free - it's purely a labour of love that promotes local non-league football that I hope you enjoy reading.
Below are highlights of the two of the best matches I've seen over the past year. If your new to non-league football please take a look and hopefully visit a local club - you be made most welcome.
Saturday 9th November saw Knebworth face Letchworth Garden City Eagles in the Hertfordshire Senior County League Premier Division which turned out to be a seven goal thriller -
Still in November on Saturday 23rd Dulwich Hamlet visited Enfield Town (under caretaker manager Bryan Hammatt) and the Town fans were mesmerised by the performance of highly rated Hamlet attacking midfielder Erhun Oztumer who was quite simply outstanding for the away side. I wrote after the game 'Erhun Oztumer will play in the football league sooner rather than later. He was the best player I've seen in the Ryman Premier Division for a long while' and it was no surprise when he moved to League One side Peterborough United this summer. We'll all be looking out for Oztumer on the football league show this season.
best football blog around. up the towners!!
ReplyDeleteI was told about the skills of Erhun Oztumer over a year ago from a friend who follows non-league football. Sometime last March I decided to trawl the internet to find out a little more. Your match report was the first mention I came across and started an amateur scouting enterprise and one-man campaign to get Erhun to London Road. As it happened, he was already on Posh's radar but I like to think that my tireless championing of the lad helped colour the thinking of our Chairman and management.
ReplyDeleteOn the morning of 9 July, I was so full of consternation at the topical news that Erhun was about to sign for either Wimbledon, Gillingham or Luton, I was resolved to contact both his agent and our Chairman offering to pay for Erhun's flight to pre-season training, so convinced was I that Darren Ferguson would make a firm offer if only he had the chance to scrutinise him at close quarters. Shortly after midday, the news reached me that Posh had stolen in at the eleventh hour and done a deal. I've still got the creases on my face from the protracted beaming of that day.
Erhun has already made a very favourable impression with the management and his team mates but I'd like to add that my visits to Champion Hill to watch Ryman League football made a very favourable impression on me. I'll certainly take in a few games this season but I won't be doing any further scouting as I know I'll never come across such a great talent again - unless you advise me to the contrary of course.
Keep up the great work.