Shake it off, Shake it all off :D

All good things must come to an end and our league unbeaten streak did so at the hands of AFC Hornchurch at home on Saturday afternoon. It was by no means a vintage Darts performance and we were poor for large periods of the game but in a way perhaps it may signal a mental turning point for us this season.

Gone is the pressure of having to win every game which could be interpreted as a bad thing by some but in my opinion sometimes the pressure can get to you. I stopped playing football last year but the season before last, i was lucky enough to be captain of a team that lost only twice the entire season on our way to the Bexley C Division East U15 title :D. It was brilliant for me to be a part of the squad that kept on winning and grinding out results, but sometimes, even subconsciously, an air of invincibility crept into our minds and whenever we came against a team who were up for it from the off and put us under real pressure, we tended to panic. We weren't supposed to lose.

Our first loss taught me a lot. Firstly, that mental preparedness plays a huge part in determining the result of a game. A team who are 150% fired up for a game have got a better chance of winning in my opinion than a better team who are only 50% up for it. Secondly, a loss gives you a chance to really appreciate a victory the next time around and in a way, helps you to reset your mind. Thirdly and finally, a loss isn't the worst thing in the world. It has to happen to someone and undoubtedly it will happen to you, the main thing is to shake it off, learn from your mistakes and get back to winning ways.

Lest we forget, we are still top of the league, with the best squad in the league, the biggest fan base in the league and the best stadium in the league. I'd say we've still got a lot going for us :)

Dartford vs. Dover - The Motion Picture

The videos are up and in high definition quality :)

In Focus - Danny Harris

This week my player In Focus is Danny Harris. He's been with The Darts for about a month and a half after joining us on a dual registration contract with Hertfordshire Blue Square South side Bishop's Stortford and thus far it looks to be another shrewd bit of business by Darts boss Tony Burman.

Harris caught all our eyes from Day 1 when he sealed the deal against our arch-rivals Tonbridge with a brilliant curling shot into the bottom corner after coming on as a substitute. From then on he's continued in terrific goalscoring vain and currently has 5 goals in 7 starts.

Harris in my opinion has all the traits of a good striker. He's got a good turn of pace, he knows where the goal is and most importantly he has the determination and engine to boot. I've always felt that the big man, little man combo is one of the most lethal strike combinations in football and that this season, despite having arguably the best strike force in the league, we didn't have that. For me Haworth, May and Burns are all similar types of players; strong, well built and hard-working but I've always said the addition of a pacey striker in combination with those three would destroy any defence in the league. Not only is Harris pacey, but he's an adept finisher and will work equally as hard as the "target men" as shown by his exploits against Dover. He's a definite BSS quality striker, and I'm glad we've got him on board. Hopefully if he does well this season, TB will look to put him on a permanent deal for next season.

Coming Up on the Blog

I'm glad to announce that there'll be quite a lot of new content hitting the blog in the coming days beginning tonight with the live première of Dartford v Dover - The Motion Picture :D

The trailer was out yesterday and is post below for those of you who haven't sent it but basically its just a little video I put together of the "Ultras" day out against Dover.

Secondly I'll be putting up a weekly feature I'm aptly naming, "In Focus". In this little segment I'll be giving an introduction to the player, how he's doing so far and what I like about him.

Thanks all for your readership, it's much appreciated believe me. Also thank you to my first official blogger follower for subscribing :D

Dartford - Dover

So much to talk about with Saturday - video will help me to do some of the talking :)

Dartford - Dover Pre Match

So we're off. Unfortunetly no news of teams or anything like that but just for the record here's mine.

Young
Burgess Coyle Beales Gross

Hayes White Burns Noble

Harris May/Haworth

Whatever way you look at it, that's still a pretty strong squad out there. Hopefully they can "do the business" and cause some trouble to the Dover who will probably be quite reared up for this one having lost quite a few domestically in the BSS themselves. A tough game against Bognor gave us a bit of a reality check and i feel that the Borehamwood game would have been a good test and a chance to get confidence back but it'll all come down to how much the players put in today.

That's all for now. I've got to rush to get the train to St. Pancras and then get the Eurostar to Douvre so I better get moving if i wanna be in France before kick-off :) Bon voyage!!!

The Three Flags

Just some quick pics of my three newest polyester friends :)



An sign of good international relations between us and our hosts on Saturday




To celebrate our crossing of the finish line at the end of the year (hopefully with the title in the bag)



The Regional Flag of Dartfordia County ;)

Rain, Injuries, Buffets and Bog Roll

As it turns out all four items are actually related. Firstly after consulting every weather website under the sun we can at least be pretty certain that there will be some rain during the course of tommorow. It seems conditions will be similar to last season's encounter which may not be a great thing as word is a lot of fans were put off from making the journey due to the poor driving conditions. We want a massive turnout from the supporters this time around, regardless of the result, this game is a chance to show the players and new boys in particular a sample of the support that they can receive on a regular basis when playing for us. Of course a win would go down even better :D

Elliot Bradbrook and Allan Tait are two key players we've got missing from the squad. Both were in excellent form prior to their injuries and undoubtedly both would have had a huge role to play in the game. Tait's physical presence and gritty determination would have been a plus over the more "mild" Jay May and the pace, directness and all-round ability of Bradbrook will be equally missed. Hopefully those covering take this as an opportunity to step up to the mark in the best way possible.

The coach journey to France is shaping up to be one of the best ever with live music, food and singing all set for the 1 and a bit hour shift down the A2/M2.

And finally, were hoping to get our own Tifo display going pre-match by the traditional lobbing of bog roll down the terraces in a serene and aesthetically pleasing show of support ;)

Passports at the ready people, tommorow may be slightly alright :)

BURGESS!!!!

We recently had a chance to catch up with this living legend at one of his numerous book signings. He was at Waterstones in Bluewater for this particular meet and greet. After waiting for over 3 hours in a queue that extended from the back of the shop, all the way down to John Lewis and then all the way through John Lewis to the entrance to the carpark, we finally managed to get a glimpse of the man himself; his blonde cut just about visible in a sea of people. As we clutched onto our copy of his new bestseller, “How to become a cult hero in one second” forwarded by Steven Gerrard, author of the book, “How to become a cult hero in ten years” we decided what question to ask the man once we finally got to meet him. An hour passed, we had plenty of time to think about it.

Finally, we reached the front of the line. Our eyes beamed as the numerous security guards allowed us past. We were here, standing in front of BURGESS!!!!
“Billy, just how do you do it?" one quivering lipped fan from behind me asked. BURGESS!!!! Simply smiled and pointed towards a TV screen on the wall besides him. What we were to see would change our lives forever.

Le Dourve - Samedi

Dover is nearly upon us. It's been two weeks of planning, waiting and anticipating but its nearly here now. At lot has been written, a lot has been said, but come Saturday, we hope the football will do the talking. Of course regardless of the result, the "youth" section of the Black and White Army will be aiming to create an amazing atmosphere at the ground to boost the players and we're hoping all Dartford fans that turn up will be doing the same. At the moment it looks like we'll be armed with a drum, a couple of whistles, a vuvuzela, an air horn a trumpet, beachballs and an "assortment" of flags. The coach journey to France is shaping up to be quite epic as well, for anyone on our coach, they'll be singing, live music and food :D


It should be a Saturday to remember regardless of the result. Mind you, serious celebrations of uberly epic proportions will be in store for a draw or win. Let's go for it. Ebbsfleet in the next round anyone?