What with Dave Talbot agreeing to write up his comments after each match this page has become rather redundant in recent months. I'm certainly not promising to reverse that trend because I feel sure that new manager Dave French will have just as much to say during the 2006/2007 season in his own manager's comments. However, if anybody wants me to put any news here email me by clicking the following link - I've got some news.

Congratulations to all concerned for the fourth place finish. I think it will take me several months to recover from the shock of getting to the end of a season and not having to write about wooden spoons.

If you get bored of waiting for next season and the World Cup just isn't exciting enough then why not tune in to Radio Rudy? Apparently it will soon have "a request thingy on it" so that listeners can choose the records.

Have a good summer with just a bit of rain so we don't have a drought.

It's been a funny old season so far. On paper the squad seemed bigger and better than ever, but somehow we have already ended up having to postpone several matches due to a failure to get a team together. Our last game almost ended up in yet another postponement, but by midway through the first half we actually had eleven players. Progress of sorts, but now we need to get back to winning ways.

On the competition front thanks to all those who entered the caption competition (all TWO of you - well done Dave and Jonathan!). In the interests of not pissing either of you off (I wouldn't want only one of you to enter next time) I have decided to give you both a prize. I hope you both enjoy "Any chance of game?", a Falcons book would have been better, but we have yet to write it.

The winning captions are on the caption competition page. Who says that you can't get something for nothing these days?

It could so easily have been a happier start to life in the Grafton & West London Millennium League Premier Division, but sadly it wasn't to be. A late goal saw the Falcons come away with nothing from a very close game. Sandmere will probably argue that they deserved to win on the balance of play, but they can still count themselves lucky. This is particularly the case when you take into account the penalty miss in the first half which would have seen the Falcons take a two goal lead.

If nothing else Ash should be able to come away from this game with the knowledge that he has got a squad that is the best we have ever had. Let's hope it can remain largely injury free and can get some points in the next couple of games.

I have been a bit negligent in updating this site lately, but the main reason for this has been my complete confusion when it comes to knowing what is going on with the Grafton & West London Millennium League. Anyway it seems as though this has now been resolved so here is my understanding of the situation:

Phoenix Burge & Gunson, our perennial wooden spoon rivals, and Inter Aztec, the team that always out-muscled us, have officially left the league leaving only four teams remaining. This has led to a rethink about the plans for the top teams from the Grafton Division forming an upper diviion with the top teams from the West End Division and the bottom teams forming a lower division. Instead one new division has been created called the Premier Division.

I have put the proposed fixture dates up on the site here and as can be seen there are a lot of them. I'm not sure how successful we will be at booking so many pitches and referees or how successful we will be at getting a team of moderately fit players every week, I for one doubt my body will cope, but it looks like there is a feast of football in store for the Falcons over the next four months.

Good luck to the squad and the management/administrative team. It looks like there are busy times ahead.

...Oh and before I forget it ever happened, when it gets erased from the history books as the league that never was, congratulations to everyone for the nine points we gained from four games. That was an excellent performance and well deserving of an extra big piss up at the end of the season no matter what happens in the new league.

The new season is on its way and with it comes a new manager (Ash), some new players and hopefully some much better results. There is training this Sunday 15th August at Wandsworth Common from 11am to 12:30pm and a friendly match has been lined up for 22nd August.

The serious stuff gets going on 5th September when we play host to Phoenix Burge & Gunson. As you are probably aware this season will be slightly different from previous ones in that the five games before Christmas will decide who we end up playing in the new year. If we do well in these five games we will end up with the other top teams from our league and the top teams from another league to form a new upper division. Alternatively we will be with the less successful teams in a lower division.

The provisional dates for our 2004 matches are available here. Please remember that these are subject to change.

One final thing - Don't forget the d'arcy gig at the Betsey Trotwood Farringdon on Thursday 19th August. More information is available from www.darcymusic.com.

I've now had plenty of time to reflect on this season and although we did pick up the wooden spoon without much of a fight I'm not as upset as I thought I might be. Shrewsbury making it to the playoff finals has helped to dampen the blow, but there was something strangely enjoyable about this season even though we did dismally in terms of results.

I for one hope we have another season of the Falcons, but if it does happen I'm sure there will be some important changes. Watch this space and I'll try to keep you informed of what is going on.

All you Falcons remember to let Dave have your votes for the player of the season and the most improved player awards and hopefully catch up with you all in the under 30s v over 30s match or whatever we have had to rename it.

Almost forgot. Well done Dave for getting the golden boot! Two fine goals in the last game. It's a shame they weren't enough to bring us a win.

Come on Shrewsbury!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gutted is the only why to describe how I feel after two dismal weeks for the Falcons.

We've left ourselves with a mountain to climb if we are to avoid the wooden spoon this season and it could have been so different.

It's fair to say that we probably wouldn't have got a result out of Surbiton Strollers anyway, but to only have six players turn up was pathetic. Many thanks to Surbiton for agreeing to a 9-a-side kickabout for those that did travel all that way.

This weekend however, saw the crucial Burge & Gunson game and to only have ten players was a huge disappointment. The ten men came so close to getting a result, hitting the post several times and winning countless corners, but in the end they just came up short by a solitary goal. It was very harsh after one of the best team efforts I have seen for some time. Well done to Jonathan for scoring his first ever eleven-a-side goal and thanks to Carlos for stepping in at the last minute to play at left back. Thanks also to Jose and Dave for doing all that ringing around to try and get some extra players to turn up. Those of you with rubbish excuses know who you are.

Okay I realise that leaving anyone off the poll about the golden boot, even those not actually playing for the team at the moment, was a major oversight. Thank you to those who pointed this out in the guestbook. The situation has been partially rectified although clearly more suggestions are welcome.

The fact that Quinine FC failed to field a full team last Sunday was clearly a blessing for the Falcons, but at least we took full advantage of our numerical superiority in the end. Dave and Anthony scored two very nice goals and everyone worked really hard to limit Quinine to their solitary early effort. It's our highest real points total ever so the poll has definitely got to change.

Today was a much better performance from a somewhat depleted Falcons team. Nine players for half an hour and then ten for the rest of the game, but we still managed to come away with a result. Sadly a draw may have doomed us to the last place in the league, but it was good to see everyone playing like a team rather than a group of individuals.

A special mention for Jose who had a blinding game in goal (including a penalty save) and for Niaz who after a long absence scored the all important goal that gave us something to play for.

Another rubbish result for the Falcons leaves them languising on the bottom of the league. In patches we played well, but the second half collapse was disappointing. I blame it on the injuries. Losing Paco, Jonathan and Pete before the game was more than we could cope with.

A new poll will follow shortly.

A new poll feature has been added to the site so people can vote on a series of stupid topics. The latest poll can be accessed via the main menu, the ticker on the homepage or this link so there's no excuse for not joining in.

The first vote isn't very exciting. It relates to our ability to do better this season than we have ever done before. I for one am undecided on this after the disappointment of the Sporting Tooting game, but I shall be using my democratic right to spoil my ballot paper.

If anyone has any topics for future votes then please email me or leave a message in the guestbook.

It's been the best start ever for SC Falcon and the website hasn't been around to record it. Apologies to anyone out there who noticed.

Those pesky people at oneandone.co.uk really messed me around so hooray for Me2uweb!

There are no doubt a lot of things I should say after so long, but anyway the main thing to do is welcome Phil Horsham, Pete Daw, Richard Dunkley and John Fallon to the squad. I know these are not totally new names to the squad list, but it will be good to have them around on a more regular basis from now on particularly after their goalscoring antics against Grafton.

I'd also like to welcome John to the exciting world of football management. Only turning up for one game and still successfully guiding the team to four points out of a possible nine seems to be a truly Chris Coleman-like performance. We look forward to more of the same over the rest of the season.

Most importantly I'd like to say CONGRATULATIONS to George and Sam on the birth of their third child. I haven't spoken to them yet about a name, but their daughter weighed in at 5lbs 8ozs.

It's been a good start to the season all round and long may it continue.

For those of you who weren't able to make it to the annual awards presentation after the match on Sunday I have updated the Awards page. Well done to those who received the awards! We'll need a lot more of the same next season from them.

It was a shame that everyone wasn't able to make it to the pub, but hopefully pub attendances will improve when the new season starts. Mind you I probably shouldn't be encouraging anyone to drink after the hangover I had yesterday morning. I put it down to the sunstroke I was suffering from after all that time in the sun during the game.

STOP PRESS for those who weren't at the post match event on Sunday it was announced that Philosophy Football will no longer belong to our league. Could last season mark the final time the Falcons concede more than 10 goals?

The annual Under 30s V Over 30s match had to be rejigged a bit this year due to the lack of under 30s in the squad. However, this development turned out to be a very positive one when the game took place on Sunday. The two teams were surprisingly well matched and the game ended up going to extra time before Simon's excellent goal settled matters.

The final score was 4:3 with the other goals coming from Ash (pen), Niaz, and Jose for the winners and Anthony, Dave and Marcus for the LOSERS (that's enough bias ED.).

There were a number of entertaining moments in the game. My personal favourites include John's excellent rugby tackle and even better save from the subsequent penalty (a fine way to show everyone what they will be losing when he hangs up his gloves and takes up his new managerial role next season) and of course Simon's winner in his first game in a Falcon's shirt for some time after a long injury layoff (well done Simon!).

The game was such a success that a rematch seems likely in August.

I know it is hard to believe, but somehow we have managed to avoid the wooden spoon yet again. It would appear that Sporting Tooting lost 2:0 in their final game of the season leaving them with seven points. See the league website for confirmation. We could even finish ahead of Burge & Gunson if they fail to win their remaining games. Hooray!!!!!!!!!!

Now all I need is a Shrewsbury victory tomorrow. Bournemouth here I come!

Another season comes to a close and the Falcons have managed as many points as last time out (eight). At least they were all genuine points this season unlike last season when we had a dodgy three points awarded to us for a game which never took place.

It remains to be seen if the point gained today will be enough to avoid the wooden spoon, but at least some progress was made. Hopefully Burge & Gunson and Sporting Tooting won't play for a draw in their match, but it is out of our hands now.

Today's game could and should have been a victory given that Surbiton Strollers had eight men at the beginning of the match and only had eleven at the end because of a mass betrayal by those Dharsi boys, but those chances in the first half came and went and we were holding on at the end.

Roll on next season!

...but before that there is the small matter of an Under 30s V Over 30s match which so as to avoid Simon playing on his own against all of us pensioners will probably involve some school playground style team selection. Watch this space for further information.

There are also of course the awards to hand out. Ash's six goals were enough to get him the golden boot this season, but who will win the coveted player of the season title and the most improved player title? Get your votes to Jose.

Finally don't forget this Thursday 10th April sees the welcome return of D'Arcy as they play a gig at The Telegraph in Brixton, Brixton Hill. To quote 'Five-Tricks' himself "It's a few minutes walk from Brixton tube/rail, doors are open from 5.30pm, obscene chanting and heckling starts at 8.15pm (the time we're on stage), and cheap alcohol will be available." Check out the band website at www.d-arcy.co.uk. I would encourage everyone to turn up and indulge in some serious abuse of the lead singer. Have a good one Ash!

The last game of the season will be at Crystal Palace this Sunday on the astroturf. Kickoff will be at 12:30pm.

Please let Jose know about your availability for the game by 5pm this Wednesday.

Nobody really expected any kind of result against Inter Aztec, but to only have nine players against them for most of the first half was hugely disappointing. The nine players probably did as well as could be expected in the circumstances, but it was very hard work. Hopefully some members of the squad will be more reliable for the last game of the season next week. I wouldn't be overly optimistic though.

Alas we are still bottom of the league, but we still have two games to rectify that situation. Our first opportunity is on Sunday against Inter Aztec. Kick off is at 10:30am and the pitch can be found on streetmap.co.uk. Let Jose know about your availability.

The FA may not have given Ash credit for a goal direct from a corner in our last game, but this week they will probably get writers cramp dealing with all his goals. Not only did he score direct from a corner, but he also scored a free kick and three other excellent goals. It was a fantastic performance from the 'Five-trick pony' and a pretty good one from the rest of the team as well.

Thanks for the three points Grafton we needed them. Maybe we won't be claiming the hideous wooden spoon after all.

The game this Sunday against Grafton will be a 12:30pm kickoff at the Crystal Palace bar pitch.

Please let Jose know about your availability for the match.

For the second time in three years it looks more than likely that the Falcons will be ending the season clutching the wooden spoon after coming away with nothing from today's game against Burge & Gunson.

Yet again the Falcons lost by a single goal, but this thankfully for the watching fans was a more entertaining affair than the game last week against Surbiton Strollers. Some fine corner kicks by Ash and Paco coupled with good headers from Jeremy and Marcus and some sloppy defending resulted in the highest goalscoring effort from the Falcons for some time. There could have been more as well with two very good shouts for a penalty being turned down by the apparently blind ref.

To be fair to Burge & Gunson and their strangely youthful team (we hardly recognised any of them from the game earlier in the season) they should probably have been out of sight well before the end given some of the second half chances they had, but thankfully John made some fine saves which kept us in the game.

Let's hope the wooden spoon race can be livened up with a good performance against Grafton. Watch this space.

Sadly today we had to say goodbye to Jeremy who embarks on his world travels tomorrow. Good luck to both you and Nat from the all the team. Keep in touch.

Yet more bad news came from Cardiff after the game with Rudy having been involved in a motorcycle accident and then having been attacked by Manchester United fans. Best wishes to Rudy for a fast recovery. We hope your injuries are nowhere near as bad as they sound.

Just in case people don't know the bottom of the table decider against Burge & Gunson is at their pitch this Sunday at 2pm. Jose needs to be told who is and isn't available for the game.

Despite managing to win a penalty in the absence of a referee, today will not go down as one of the finest days for the Falcons. Sadly the 10 players who turned up didn't play well enough to beat the 9 men of the Surbiton Strollers and although a 0:0 draw would probably have been a fair reflection of a poor game Surbiton possibly deserved their win for battling hard and taking their chances when they came.

Let's hope for a lot better against Burge & Gunson next week. A full team would be a good start.

Philosophy Football may have controlled today's game, but the eleven Falcons who turned up, including both Jose (playing for the first time since his serious ankle injury) and Mark Brooker (playing for the first time since his stroke), battled hard and deserved to keep the score somewhat more respectable than the Regent's Park fiasco earlier in the season.

West Molesey here we come! Hopefully we'll have worked out how to get there by next week.

Have a good holiday Dave!

Yet more distractions for the Shrewsbury contingent in the squad mean they will be unavailable and no doubt unmissed for the game this Sunday against O.W. Strollers. We have to wonder whether, or not, the Chelsea fans have even noticed their team has a game this weekend, but hopefully they will by Monday morning.

Good luck to everyone playing against O.W. Strollers. I'm sure you won't need it, but just in case.

Remember to contact Dave using his new email address about availability for the next few weeks.

On February 2nd there is the away fixture against Inter Aztec at Hampton Court. A map can be found here . Kick-off is at 10.30am.

The game against Surbiton Strollers which was due to be played on 5th January may be played on 9th February. Dave will not be able to confirm this until 3rd February. We also have a game on 16th February at home to Philosophy Football. The management sees this game as an ideal opportunity for a bit of pride to be restored after the 16:1 drubbing we suffered at their hands earlier this season. Surely that result was a temporary glitch, but I for one will not be rushing out to the bookies just yet.

Apologies for the late message about the Surbiton game being called off. I trust that everyone already knows. For some reason I was a bit distracted by a certain game in Shropshire.

Bring on Manchester United or Arsenal in the next round and maybe the BBC will decide to opt for a Live game with a bit of Cup Magic about it for a change. The Mighty Shrews will be ready.

BTW the guestbook should now be working again. Any comments about how fantastic the Shrews were today are more than welcome.

A message from Dave about the Surbiton Strollers game:

Lads,

Kick-off for the game 5th January is 10.30am so for those who normally travel by public transport, start figuring out how you are going to get there. For those who didn't get the 1st message, map for the ground is on the league website under contacts, then Surbiton Strollers www.graftonfc.co.uk

Dave

Victory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Falcons have put the performance against Inter Aztec two weeks ago far behind them with a famous 2:1 home victory over Sporting Tooting.

A lot of the things which were so horribly wrong against Inter Aztec seemed a distant memory. The team were much more disciplined than at any other time this season and they kept going for a full 90 minutes.

It was hard to imagine that this was virtually the same team that lost 17:1 against Philosophy Football only a few weeks ago.

There were some excellent individual performances, but it would be unfair to single anyone out for praise ahead of the rest of the team. Well done to all concerned!

Let's hope that the team comes back after Christmas ready to put in some more performances like this one.

On a disappointing note Marcus picked up an injury early on in the game to increase the number of Falcons on the treatment table. Hopefully it's not too serious and the Freak will be back in full training in the pub before Christmas.