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Reply | Danny to ensure the Grecians Urn zip, nadda, zilch…
at 16:58 17 Oct 2026
Tough game, probably deserved the win, but you can see why Exeter have only conceded six goals so far. However, infinitely better than last Saturday.
Still, look on the bright side, only one team in Essex is still in the FA Cup! Bravo Berkhamstead! |
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Reply | Danny to ensure the Grecians Urn zip, nadda, zilch…
at 14:03 17 Oct 2026
Jack Payne and Harry Anderson both injured, Thorn and Terry starting - not sure what that means in terms of formation? Presumably Terry, Digby, Tucker and Iandolo across the back, Hunt and Williams in the middle, Lubala, Thorn and Sesay ahead and Ihionvien up front? |
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Thread | Danny to ensure the Grecians Urn zip, nadda, zilch…
at 18:16 16 Oct 2026
Well that’s what he hopes anyway, but the way things are going at the moment, that might be less than expectation. I wish there was some sort of positive spin I could put on the trip to Newport last weekend, but it was just poor. The football lacked any quality (on both sides), the ref blew for absolutely everything (apart from Hunt’s desperate attempt to haul down Matty Jacobs to prevent their goal), and the popped up U’s kids were just embarrassing. My high point – had a lovely afternoon with Alfie, the Newport stewards (and the police) were as first rate as ever, in spite of some severe provocation at times, and the chips were excellent.
Whilst we were in Newport purgatory, tomorrow’s opponents Exeter City were doing what we failed to do, holding on to a lead at Shrewsbury, albeit their goal came just four minutes from the end of normal time. That win moved them up to mid-table, but given how early in the season we are, still only two points ahead of the U’s.
Form is temporary…
This time last season, after nine games we were 20th with eight points, so from a glass half-full perspective you could say 19th and ten points is ahead of last season’s curve? It just doesn’t really feel like it right now, but 3pts on Saturday will no doubt brighten everyone’s outlook. Moses Sesay ‘tops’ the goal scoring on three goals, Harry with two and a bunch of others on one goal. Therein is the problem, Moses and Harry are midfielders, it’s the men up front who are struggling to make an impression.
Played for both
Considering we’re on virtually the opposite sides of the country, the number of players who made the journey (directly or indirectly) is actually quite impressive. As I mentioned in my previous preview, that inevitably includes Jamie Cureton, but it also includes Matt Jay. I remember the buzz amongst supporters when Matt Bloomfield signed him in January 2023. Matt Jay had always been a thorn in our side when he played against us, and he seemed a real coup.
The signs were there though, on Grecian forums – despite his folk hero status, and many sorry to see him go, no one was really surprised given his first team opportunities at League 1 Exeter were few and far between. A drop down to League 2 could have been just what his career needed. Sadly though, it didn’t really work out here either, and after 39 appearances spanning three seasons (and just one goal scored), we agreed to part company, and Matt Jay returned to the West Country at Torquay United, where he combines playing for the first team and recently appointed as Head of Youth.
There are loads of others, so recollections/ recommendations gladly received.
Head to head
To date, we’ve played Exeter City 80 times in the League (W26, D22, L32), five times in various cup competitions (W2, D1, L2), and twice in the play-offs (W1, L1) – obviously the latter were the home and away legs of the 2020 Covid play-offs. We hold the unenviable record of being the first team to go out of the FA Cup without conceding a goal, after 0-0 draws home and away in the 1991 FA Cup 1st Round and then losing the newly introduced penalty shoot-out 2-4.
Games to remember: A 5-1 victory at St James Park back in 1985 under Cyril Lea, a 4-0 victory under Jock Wallace at Layer Road as we flirted with relegation to the conference in 1989, and of course John Ward’s 5-1 demolition of a very poor Grecian outfit in 2011. Games best forgotten: the aforementioned Cyril Lea’s in 1984 losing 3-4 at Layer Road, a 0-5 battering at St James Park for Jimmy Allen back in 1951, and a few other matches down there where we’ve conceded four, but nothing compares to the 1-6 defeat for Steve Ball’s U’s back in 2020 during lockdown (Matt Jay scored a brace).
Line-up
So in addition to Newport County, we now also know that Kouassi is out for quite a while. I must admit, starting with no recognised strikers on the pitch at Newport was somewhat baffling, and given the performance, hopefully an experiment we won’t see again. With no criticism of Oscar, we did marginally improve once Bradley replaced him, so fingers-crossed we stick with that tomorrow. We can’t not start Moses, you just never know whether you’re going to get dribbling wizardry or wizardly dribbles served up – and often both in the same game.
Lo-TutalaIandoloDigbyTuckerHuntPayneWilliams (Jay)LubalaAndersonSesayIhionvien Substitutes: Smith Chiwome Harvey Kuffour Thorn Roberts Terry
Another tough game looms, and with following fixtures away at Chesterfield and Northampton, and then home to Walsall, now is definitely the time to get three points on the board. By the end of the month, we could be firmly in the play-off promotion hunt…or potentially in a lot of trouble – fingers crossed. Tomorrow will be tight, but I have to believe we can get the result – 2-1 to the U’s with Bradley to get us off the mark.
Weather watch
There’ll probably be some rain about before kick-off, but that should have dried up by 3pm. It’ll be patchy cloud for the game, about 13-14 degrees and with a moderate breeze from the north, hopefully helping our attack towards the south stand.
Up the U’s! [Post edited 17 Oct 7:32]
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Reply | Former U's
at 10:25 13 Oct 2026
Terrible news, that's no age at all.
Condolences to his family and friends - rest in peace Doug. |
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Reply | Exiles to lose their undefeated home record, as the U's finally win away
at 09:38 11 Oct 2026
Unfortunately, it only takes a few disappointing results for the RC shit to resurface. I got the sense that a few of the older vocal supporters weren’t there yesterday as a moderating influence. To be honest though, there was very little for a decent turnout to get excited about. I thought Digby had a decent game, but few others did. Jack Payne was surprisingly poor, struggled to find a pass all game.
Chips were good though. |
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Reply | Exiles to lose their undefeated home record, as the U's finally win away
at 09:50 10 Oct 2026
Nice one mfb, thanks! I must admit I always find it a bit of a quandary whether a reformed club is the same club as the original? Newport Council thought so, which was why they prohibited the new Newport from playing at Somerton Road over unpaid rent owed by the old Newport.
Second trip of the season coming up, looking forward to it. |
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Reply | Happy League 2026/27 Week 9 (of 38) - Deadline Saturday 10th October 12.30
at 09:08 10 Oct 2026
ASTON VILLA v BRENTFORD 1-1
CHELSEA v AFC BOURNEMOUTH 2-0
IPSWICH TOWN v FULHAM 2-0
CHARLTON ATHLETIC v BRISTOL CITY (12.30) 1-2
BLACKBURN ROVERS v CARDIFF CITY 1-1
PRESTON NORTH END v MILLWALL 3-1
BRADFORD CITY v LEYTON ORIENT 3-0
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN v SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 1-2
CRAWLEY TOWN v CHESTERFIELD 0-2
YORK CITY v NORTHAMPTON TOWN 2-1 |
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Reply | U's Mad As Hatters Take The Win
at 17:19 3 Oct 2026
U's lose in the penalty shootout, but a great equaliser from Brad to give us that chance. For those that care, I believe we still have a chance of getting through to the knockout stages, but I think it relies on Ipshit U21s beating Posh, and then Luton beat Posh and we beat the tractor boys - there might be other scenarios, so happy to be corrected. |
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Reply | U's Mad As Hatters Take The Win
at 15:55 3 Oct 2026
0-0 at halftime, and quite an entertaining game to be honest. Luton are the better side at the moment, but not by much, and neither side have created any really clear cut chances. [Post edited 3 Oct 15:55]
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Reply | U's Mad As Hatters Take The Win
at 10:24 3 Oct 2026
Incidentally, only S3 is open for ticket sales, but it’s looking quite full. Luton have apparently sold more than 500 tickets, so with the West Stand included, probably be around 2,000 attendance. Not bad considering it’s the EFL Trophy, probably more than double what we’d normally get. |
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Reply | U's Mad As Hatters Take The Win
at 21:00 2 Oct 2026
Nice one RS, thanks!
Games against Luton - one date is etched in my memory, on Tuesday 12th September 2006 at Kenilworth Road. This was in the Championship, Luton had started well and were just outside the play-offs, we were just outside the relegation zone. It was always going to be a difficult match, so as I took my place amongst the 429 faithful, it was more in hope than expectation. With regard to the played for both category in the Hatter's squad that season, they had Chris Coyne, Rowan Vine and of course Dean Morgan.
My expectation took control after 32 minutes when, after considerable pressure, Parkin headed home for Luton. Hope was, however, rekindled when Jamie Cureton blasted in an equaliser on 40 minutes with a 25-yard rocket. But we were still under pressure.
However, cometh the hour, cometh the man. My Matches of Yesteryear blog picks up the story from here.
Into the second half, Aidan Davison had already pulled off a number of saves, to give a glimpse of what was to come, but after our equaliser he really came into his own. Wave after wave of Luton attacks crashed against the rock that was Aidan Davison, but he had it all that night. Acrobatic and sublime flying stops that would grace the Premier League, gnarly one-on-one's diving at the feet of on-rushing forwards, dangerous crosses plucked out of the air as if he was picking apples – Davison withheld everything that Luton threw at him. Luton’s manager, Mike Newell, put it quite simply “In the second half we created a number of chances and that is something of an understatement”. We rode our luck a bit too, Richard Langley missing a 50th minute penalty (hitting the bar), Edwards also hit the bar, and Rowan Vine had a goal disallowed in the 53rd minute for offside.
This isn’t the best photo, again from an archived newspaper report, but it conveys the right impression – Aidan defiantly in the thick of things, refusing to let anything past him.
The local press described it as the “The Aidan Davison Show!”, and I remember at the time the Luton messageboarders were unanimous that they’d never seen such a performance in their life. Aidan was quoted as saying at the time (and very modestly) “It's a long time since I've had so much to do, you have to go back a long time, to the days when I was at Bolton. I remember a game against Tranmere that was similar, which we actually won, but this was just as hectic. In fact, we were under even more pressure tonight. The luck went our way, and it was a good team effort. Luton kept pressing, and we could not relieve the pressure. However, I don't regard this as one of the very best performances of my career, because I was far too over-worked. I had too much to do. Strange as it may sound, I think some of my best games have come when I haven't had that many saves to make, because of the organisation of the defence. We need to tidy things up a little over the coming weeks, but we have a relatively inexperienced team, and the lads are learning all the time. It's a steep learning curve at this level, but we showed in this game that we really want to stay in this division”.
Luton Town 1 (Parkin 32’) Colchester United 1 (Cureton 40’)
We would go on to finish 10th in the Championship, just a few points outside the play-offs for the Premier League. Luton were relegated. |
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Reply | Lubala Proves To Be Shrewd Signing At New Meadow
at 20:56 25 Sep 2026
True, but he's got a few more years and clubs, and at a reasonable level, now under his belt, so fingers-crossed. We do need some attacking flair on the wing, that's for sure.
Nice preview RS - after what seems an age, this will be my first awayday of the season. A combination of family, work and travel logistics have scuppered anything else up to now, so I'm really looking forward to it. On the played for both list, there is of course Jamie Cureton, but given he's still playing, it's becoming more of a rarity these days to find another club he hasn't played for.
My top pick has to be Mike Walker though. Originally on the books at Reading, I think his league debut came when he signed for Shrewsbury. After a handful of other clubs, most notably Watford where he was part of the lower league team that knocked Bill Shankly's Liverpool out of the FA Cup in 1970. He joined the U's in 1973, where he would spend the rest of his playing career, and one of the stars I grew up supporting. Our longest-serving goalkeeper of all time (and unlikely to be beaten ever), he went on to manage the U's briefly, until sacked whilst we were top of the league, allegedly off-pitch bedroom matters were involved. He was 'posthumously' awarded the Manager of the Month award several days after his departure.
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