Kick off!

Hello and welcome to my sports' blog - I'll be blogging on what's going on in the world of sport in Haverhill while keeping one eye on the goings on in the Premier League and the Championship.
Living in Haverhill I obviously want all our sports teams to cruise to promotion each year, and nationally I'm an unashamed Liverpool fan with a soft spot for Sheffield United after studying there. I do have a friend who's an avid Ipswich supporter so will no doubt be making a few visits to Portman Road this season.

So, the obvious thing football fans will be looking forward to is kick-off Saturday. It's been over five weeks since the World Cup came to an unspectacular close and those weeks seem to have been like the cold turkey effect of surviving without a morning cuppa (that's Northern for 'tea') on holiday.

But now we're ready to start the season again - well, outside of the Premier League - and as we climbs down to rung five of the non-league ladder to the Ridgeons Premier League, Haverhill Rovers will be going into the season optimistic.

After seeing their pre-season marred by opeing issues at the New Croft, the team have had mixed fortunes in preparation. They eased part Cornard 6-0 and scraped past Halstead 2-1, before losing 1-0 to Ridgeons Division One newcomers CUP and losing in their first game home game to Rymans Division One newboys Needham Market.

I was at the Needham game on Tuesday and was quitely impressed with the new facilities - gone is the peeling paint of the stand and in it's place is something you actually want to sit on. The shack beside the stand is now a proper kitchen and the whole area looks, well, new. No doubt we will all have our fond memories of Hamlet Croft, which had served as the team's ground for a century, but memories will probably make the place more pleasing than it was.

As for the football, there were a few refreshing changes but also a few depressing similarities from last season's campaign. Last year Peter Betts did a magnificant job of turning a relegation battling team into a genuine force - why I nominated him for the St Edmundsbury Sports Award for Sports Personality of the year. Voting close soon so I recommened you have your say by clicking here. The team could beat anyone on their day, were a tough task for anyone in the league at home and often resiliant away. CRC were the only team to turn Rovers over easily, and that was before several of their stars departed later in the season. And Rovers are a team run on a shoestring, with Betts telling me the financial difference between themselves and Leiston was the same as the gulf 'between Manchester United and Southend'.

However, Rovers' problems were seemingly consistant - a lack of pace, a lack of composure up front, and a lack of finished prowess.

At the back, the looked solid - the defence make very few errors and are tough to get past, and even stand in goalkeeper Liam Cutts looked able.

In the middle they were strong with some good passing - new signing Joe Boreham looked solid and Jack Higgs offers something new going forward, though both will be prone to the odd mistake as they are developing players. Marc Abbot looked very sharp playing down the middle, though sometimes it is frustrating to see the team not move into space or have the pace to counter quickly.

However, it is up front they struggle. I thought Rovers had more quality chances than Needham in their encounter - Craig Cutts missed when under pressure after rounding the keeper, but he was not the only guilty one. The team seem to need seven or eight chances to score and throughout a season will suffer for that - the number of narrow defeats and draws last season proved that, including Martin Westcott mssing when one-on-one with Needham's player deputising for their red carded goalkeeper in their 2-2 draw at Hamlet Croft.

With some pace, composure and finishing then Rovers really could be a top side. But let's remeber that they're now far from a relegated side, and though Betts may talk about his initial aim being survival I really don't think fans are being too optimistic in hoping that they can become an extablished top ten side this season.

So lets be glad the football drought is almost at an end and we have some action starting on Saturday. Now we have plenty of time to think of what to do before the next World Cup-less summer. Best of luck Rovers!