Late yesterday afternoon the news was confirmed that we all knew was coming. Gareth Seddon has left the club, but not to Northwich who after agreeing a deal couldn’t then come up with the agreed fee, but instead to last years Blue Square North winners Kettering Town.

I certainly wish Sedds the best of luck for the future, he has been a magnificent player for us during the last 2 seasons scoring 63 goals in 88 games and as much as he will be missed it was obviously the right time for him to move on.

He will be remembered in Tigers folklore for his five goals at Bower Fold last season but Hyde fans will remember him for being approachable and very funny.

Good Luck Gareth!

Sat 09 August 2008 Alfreton Town v Hyde United 15:00
Mon 11 August 2008 Hyde United v Burscough 19:45
Sat 16 August 2008 Hyde United v Fleetwood Town 15:00
Sat 23 August 2008 Droylsden v Hyde United 15:00
Mon 25 August 2008 Hyde United v Gainsborough Trinity 15:00
Sat 30 August 2008 Harrogate Town v Hyde United 15:00
Tue 02 September 2008 Blyth Spartans v Hyde United 19:45
Sat 06 September 2008 Hyde United v Hinckley United 15:00
Sat 13 September 2008 Kings Lynn v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 20 September 2008 Hyde United v Vauxhall Motors 15:00
Sat 04 October 2008 Tamworth v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 18 October 2008 Hyde United v Stafford Rangers 15:00
Mon 20 October 2008 Hyde United v Farsley Celtic 19:45
Sat 25 October 2008 Hucknall Town v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 01 November 2008 Hyde United v Gateshead 15:00
Sat 08 November 2008 Solihull Moors v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 15 November 2008 Hyde United v Workington 15:00
Sat 29 November 2008 Gateshead v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 06 December 2008 Burscough v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 20 December 2008 Hyde United v Alfreton Town 15:00
Fri 26 December 2008 Stalybridge Celtic v Hyde United 15:00
Thu 01 January 2009 Hyde United v Stalybridge Celtic 15:00
Sat 03 January 2009 Fleetwood Town v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 10 January 2009 Hyde United v Blyth Spartans 15:00
Sat 17 January 2009 AFC Telford v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 24 January 2009 Hyde United v Tamworth 15:00
Tue 27 January 2009 Farsley Celtic v Hyde United 19:45
Sat 31 January 2009 Hyde United v Redditch United 15:00
Sat 07 February 2009 Southport v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 14 February 2009 Hyde United v Hucknall Town 15:00
Sat 21 February 2009 Stafford Rangers v Hyde United 15:00
Mon 23 February 2009 Hyde United v Southport 19:45
Sat 28 February 2009 Hyde United v AFC Telford 15:00
Sat 14 March 2009 Workington v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 21 March 2009 Hyde United v Kings Lynn 15:00
Tue 24 March 2009 Vauxhall Motors v Hyde United 19:45
Sat 28 March 2009 Hyde United v Harrogate Town 15:00
Sat 04 April 2009 Hinckley United v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 11 April 2009 Hyde United v Droylsden 15:00
Mon 13 April 2009 Gainsborough Trinity v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 18 April 2009 Redditch United v Hyde United 15:00
Sat 25 April 2009 Hyde United v Solihull Moors 15:00

There isn’t much going on at Ewen Fields it would seem. Rumours are rife with tales of signings and released players as well as those regarding budget cuts and the like but there is very little official news coming from the club right now.

What we do know is that Mark Innes is on the transfer list alongside Gareth Seddon and there could be some news on the Sedds front soon as Northwich Victoria are “close to finalising an exciting signing”. We all know that they have been courting Sedds for months, perhaps they have finally put a bid in?

News will appear once it’s all official………….For now the silence remains!

There have been quite a few changes to the league set up this year. As well as the usual ups and downs we’ve had a couple of demotions and a club moved South so I thought I’d give a quick list of the teams that will make up next season’s BSQ North and a brief summary of each.

AFC TELFORD UNITED - Have acquired well in the summer and will once again be towards the top of the table.
ALFRETON TOWN - Building an experienced squad, will probably stay mid table but the top end of mid table.
BLYTH SPARTANS - Struggled at times last season and will want to do better this time out.
BURSCOUGH - Sometimes the 2nd season can be trickier but I would expect another top ten finish.
DROYLSDEN - Finished bottom of the conference. Mr Pace will want to show he still has what it takes and they will be after a play off place at the very least.
FARSLEY CELTIC - Have had a taste of the big league and are always a strong side. Will they have enough to satisfy their delusions of grandeur?
FLEETWOOD TOWN - Have spent well so far this summer. Could prove to be a step too far following promotion, but in reality they could well be the surprise package this season.
GAINSBOROUGH TRINITY - Expect another boring mid table finish from the team that are never threatened with either promotion or relegation.
GATESHEAD - Will want to show what they are all about following their promotion. Ground with cracking facilities, just awful to watch a game at though!
HARROGATE TOWN - Missed out on the play offs last season after being consistently in the running for the last few years. The start of the decline?
HINCKLEY UNITED - Had an awful season last time out, narrowly avoiding relegation. Mid table would be welcomed at the Martsons Stadium.
HUCKNALL TOWN - Earned a relegation reprieve but their form in the second half of the season was not too shabby. Another struggle to come.
HYDE UNITED - A tale of two years 2007 was great, 2008 was pitiful. If we carry on that 2008 form we WILL be in the relegation mix.
KINGS LYNN - Bit of an unknown quantity. They wanted to go South but the league made Worcester go instead and they have lost some players as a result of being placed North. Not sure what to make of them?
REDDITCH UNITED - Weird side, will be ok and can produce great results but not consistant enough to trouble the front runners.
SOLIHULL MOORS - Can’t see much more than a battle against the drop for the midland’s side.
SOUTHPORT - They’ve got to be challenging for the title. Full Time squad and a decent set up, anything less than a challenge would be frustrating for their fans.
STAFFORD RANGERS - Back after a couple of hard fought seasons in the Conference. Strong set up but will need to improve to win the league.
STALYBRIDGE CELTIC - So close to going up that it made us all chuckle when it didn’t happen. Will expect another play off place as a minimum despite rumours of a reduced budget.
TAMWORTH - After a poor season of consolidation could they put a run together? Can’t see it myself.
VAUXHALL MOTORS - A late reprieve after Boston’s demotion. A season of possible re-building in the Unibond has been replaced by another season of woe in the Conference North. Probable bottom markers.
WORKINGTON - Isolated after Barrow’s promotion and have found it hard to attract players. Lower mid table bordering the relegation spots I’m afraid.

So those are the teams, who will win….god knows. All I would say is I would expect Telford, Southport and Droylsden to have a real go at winning it.

In just under 11 months we’ll found out for sure!

It was just over a month ago that the season finished in what can only be described as “disappointing” scenes as we lost the Manchester Premier Cup final against Radcliffe Borough at Oldham’s Boundary Park. Many in attendance that evening, as well as congratulating Radcliffe on a thoroughly deserved victory, were questioning the teams desire, pointing out that nine of the players who started had football league experience and if they were just here for the ride before hanging up their boots?

Others questioned Steve Waywell, who given an (allegedly) obscene budget could only provide a 9th place finish in the Blue Square North. Amongst some vociferous calls for him to resign he vanished down the tunnel at full time without staying around for the trophy presentation, an act that some fans called disrespectful to our opponents.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the season, Waywell is still in charge and for all the frustration of last season we should also remember the excellent times under his leadership. 2 championships and numerous cups were won prior to this season as Waywell restored the club to the position in the pyramid that many feel it belongs. With rumours of a reduced budget for next season and star striker Gareth Seddon looking to move on we can’t expect miracles next season and will probably have to accept mid table as a good season.

The league looks to have lost Nuneaton and Boston to financial issues which slightly weakens the set up in my opinion, certainly in terms of well supported teams. Rules are rules and I personally agree that they had to go but at the same time it begs the question of just how many times Boston will be punished for their former owners/directors poor running of the club?

As any news filters through about new signings, etc I will get it posted up here as soon as time allows, next season is still a long way off and I’m still depressed about the last. Give us somthing to look forward to Hyde….go on I dare you!

Firstly, apologies for the the lack of updates to the blog and also to the site. Now that I’m back on top I can hopefully stay that way for a while!

Well, on the pitch it hasn’t been great recently (but what would I know, my last game was the Setanta match at Tamworth!!). Certainly results wise it has been poor and we are not living up to our potential. With the squad of players we have we should have used christmas to cement our play off place but instead we may now struggle to make them at all, we still have a good chance, though that depends on us ending this slump we are in.

Tonight we face Ashton United in the MPC semi final and we must try and get through to the final and possibly a date with FC United in the final - that would be worth seeing!

Well Southport away on Tuesday was a huge let down in the end. Haig Avenue has never been a happy hunting ground for us having not won there going back to at least the late eighties and before kick off I think most people would have taken a point and been pretty happy. Whilst it wasn’t a brilliant performance by Hyde we had the better of the first half and probably just deserved to be leading through Matthew Tipton’s well taken close range effort. Southport had a couple of chances but nothing to set the alarm bells ringing but after the break we knew we would have to defend well and to be honest we did until the last five minutes. Before that though we had a few chances on the break and had we taken just one, the game would have been over. As it was we proceeded to not pick up men in the area on 85 and 93 minutes and succumbed to a defeat, even the most hardened Sandgrounders fan would say they barely deserved it, but they palyed to the death and their perseverance came good.

The FA Cup draw paired us with Stalybridge at Bower Fold which should be a cracking tie, even though both sets of supporters might have preferred a Unibond side at home. Hyde will be missing Steve Pickford who will start his 3 match ban for his sending off against Burscough and also Nathan Wharton who will be banned thanks to his pre-season shenanigans against The Celts. No doubt Peter Band will be eager to renew his “close” relationship with Chris Hall as well, I’ll bet now that it doesn’t end with 22 players!

AFC Telford United come to Ewen Fields on Saturday which will be our first meeting with the new club. We famously played Telford United in our first FA Trophy Semi-Final and the Bucks ran out 1-0 winners on the plastic at Hyde before tonking us 3-0 back in Shropshire the following week. We got some revenge by beating the 2-0 at Ewen Fields on our way to another semi-final appearance in 1995.

Monday night sees us host Nantwich Town in the Cheshire Senior Cup, a competition we haven’t done too well in recent years. Nantwich have recently moved into a new stadium and were FA Vase winners a couple of seasons ago, it should be a good game.

Regarding the site, there probably won’t be much updating going backwards for a while as I’m getting married in October but I’ll still keep the current records up to date although this will be delayed a bit around the end of October and start of November.

There is now a new unofficial forum run by Tom and Gavin, this takes over from the one at Nonleaguezone.com and the site address is www.eyeonthetigers.co.uk

Five days to go until it all kicks off down at Worcester, only time will tell if this is to be our year or not. There is no doubt that on paper we have a stronger team and ceratinly a deeper squad to choose from but will we conquer all or will it all be in vain?

Matty Tipton is a real coup for the club in my opinion, he has been a regular goalscorer in the football league for many years and will have the mentality to succeed in the BlueSquare North (Still doesn’t sound right!) this season. He won’t be another ex-leaguer who comes down and gets intimidated by the centre backs, I’m certain he will give as good as he gets. Adding him to Sedds, Dale and Geds gives us a pool of front players that can score dozens of goals this season (last year only Droylsden scored more and look where they ended up!).

Still not totally convinced at the back, it’s a bit Dad’s Army! Tom Cowan and Chris Brass are good fullbacks but both are on the wrong side of thirty. Andy Scott well, I’m not sure about him but will give him a chance even though heis an ex-Celt. Bandy looks as though he was never away, still more suited to fell running - yet wholehearted and effective. Earl Davis - time for himto come good this year, could be immense for us but needs to stay fit and have a good run in the side this time around.

Midfield looks stronger too with Cartwright in there and Simm who will provide a great outlet on the right as well as tucking up behind the strikers. Add them to Pickford, Wharton and Clee and on their day they will be a match for anyone.

I’m cautiously optimistic about this season, will we win it? - unlikely, but the playoffs must be our target. With the squad we have assembled, surely there can be no excuses come May if we aren’t extending our season?

Who will be our rivals then, Tamworth and Southport will be looking to get back to the Conference (Sorry, BlueSquare Premier) at the first time of asking. Kettering stay full time and will be in there will a big shout, especially with some of the bigger teams deflecting some of the attention away from them (Only some mind, they are still by far the league’s media whores!, cue Dazza). Nuneaton may well be bouyed on to greater things by switch to Liberty Way (more floods pending), Stalybridge have quite obviously increased their outlay duringthe summer and willwant a play off place as well, Harrogate have finished high each season, nothing to say they won’t perform well again but the biggest question comes from the Pilgrims of York Street - Boston United. They seem to have got themselves in order, they are behind in terms of planning and that may affect their start, but with the support and resources behind a team that was after all in the football league last season, who can say that once they get going, they won’t be a team to contend with? Keep your eyes on AFC Telford United as well, they could be the surprise package this season.

All in all it will be tough but we have some very good players here, let’s hope they can make it a season to remember.

Well off we went to Kidsgrove Athletic’s smart and tidy little ground for our first Pre-Season Friendly and the firstquestion anyone ever asks on these occassions is , who’s that when scanning through our side.

 It was a good workout and we dominated most of the play without really getting going, but the 4-0 scoreline probably flattered us a touch. First Half we did well but never really gotbehind the Kidsgrove back line, the closest effort coming from A Gareth Seddon scissor kick which bounced up and over the crossbar.

 A number of changes were made at the interval and it looked as though Kidsgrove would take the lead but Dootson made three very good stops to blot out the memory of his less than perfect handling in the first half. The first goal came on 60 minutes with trialist Liam George slotting in from close range after some excellent work from Dale. Nicky Clee was on hand on 72 minutes to put the finishing touches to George’s cross and on 82 minutes Danny Caldecott, who had come back on to play upfront,  scored a screamer from 20 yards. Tom Cowan wrapped it up in the 89th minute with a header that squeezed under the goalkeeper after making a late run into the area.

All in all a good run out and hopefully the limping Dale Johnson will be mended very quickly. I’ll run through the teams for each half.

 1st Half: Craig Dootson, Chris Brass, Andy Scott, Earl Davis, Peter Band, Danny Caldecott, Lee Cartwright, Scott Warner, Matthew Tipton, Gareth Seddon, Nicky Clee.

2nd Half: Craig Dootson, Chris Lynch, Tom Cowan, Michael Taylor, Peter Band, Lee Cartwright, Scott Warner, Liam George, Nicky Clee, Dale Johnson, Paul Gedman.

Lee Rick and Andy Waine also got second half run outs.

*Chris Hilton should be providing some new player photos prior to the start of the season, look out for those*

*New Friendly fixture added, Man City at Home on Wednesday 18th July kick off 7:45pm*