SATURDAY 19th OCTOBER 1968.

CITY ARE STRUGGLING.

EXETER CITY 0
Shearing; Smyth, Blain; Kirkham, Harvey, Balson; Corr, Banks, Bullock, Mitten, Pleat, (Whatling),

NOTTS COUNTY 0,
Rose; Ball, Worthington; Farmer, Needham, Gibson; Oakes, Masson, Bradd, Smith (J), Bates.

Attendance: 4,123,

How long can Exeter City afford to wait?  A move has to be made to strengthen the side. They are struggling and need at least two additional players, Look at the Notts County game. It was avery depressing display against a side that had taken just three points in seven away games, Yet the City could only draw 0-0. People were leaving before the final whistle, They had reason to after this display, City dropped their 7th point at home in 8 games and they are in trouble at the foot of the table. The forwards were not fast or sharp enough and made too many mistakes, The side did not show enough fight or urgency, Notts County were a poor side but at least they fought and chased, something City could learn from, the club has been appealing for support since the start of the season, they got it early on, now gates are dropping again. If the team is there, the support will be there, City need a strong robust man up front. It is essential for any Fourth Division side. Exeter need someone desparately to support leading goalscorer Alan Banks and quickly or it will be too late,

Match Summary 

We went close to scoring early on with headers by John Kirkham and Dave Pleat, but it was soon evident that this game was going to produce very little entertainment. Both sides were guilty of too many elementary mistakes and passes were constantly going astray. By the time the final whistle blew (and I. do not know whether it was due to the boredom but injury time seemed to last longer than ever) we were greatly relieved to be able to join those who had gone home early.


SATURDAY 19th OCTOBER 1968.

BROOME LINKED WITH NOTTS COUNTY.

Exeter City manager Frank Broome whose name has been linked with the vacant manager's post at Notts County said today from St James' Park that he knew nothing about it apart from reading the story in the national newspapers, Broome said that he did not come back from Australia to buy a house and then uproot again, His wife and himself liked living in Exeter,

60 YEARS OF EXETER CITY FOOTBALL.

The entry of Exeter City into the Southern League in 1908 acted upon the sporting fraternity of the City of Exeter as a tonic. Hitherto under amateur conditions little interest had been taken in the Exeter soccer, Any enthusiasm that existed was for the popular Exeter Rugby Club in St Thomas. Now all that was changed and the City directors made a lucky strike when they appointed Arthur Chadwick, the ex Accrington Stanley and Portsmouth International half back as Player Manager.

Chadwick was an exceedingly nice man and his influence over the players made for success. The City directors wisely publicised a trial match -Probables versus Possibles - with the entrance fee, thus introducing professional football to the sporting public. It aroused tremendous interest and was well attended,

The City manager had got together under strict economy the best players he could, mainly from Northern clubs, engaging 15 professionals, They were goalkeeper Fletcher; full backs Craig, Bulcock, Crelly; half backs Ambler, Chadwick, Ware, Tierney; Forwards Parnell, Watson (captain), McGuigan, Bell, Copestake, Drain, White,

The team did remarkably well as the weeks went on. The ex England goalkeeper Jack Robinson was taken on and displaced Fletcher, who now played in the reserves with the amateurs and four reserve professionals. In many opinions Fletcher was the better goalkeeper of the two, Both the ex internationals, Chadwick and Robinson, were favourites of the supporters, and great was the disappointment if either of them were not playing, Chadwick at centre half was a tower of strength to the side. There was a story that he had never missed a penalty kick in his career, he certainly did not whilst with City. Robinson had undoubted had his day, tall, strong, but unpredictable. What old Jack had lost in agility he made up for by argument, How referee's disliked him On one occasion after conceding a goal Robinson walked all the way up to the half way line arguing and gesticulating about his opponents offside, On another occasion when a goal was scored against him, when told by the referee to stop arguing and return the ball to the centre, he kicked it out of the ground over the grandstand amidst roars of laughter. Levi Copestake was a dashing young outside left. Once he upset the referee named Schumacher by calling him Mr Shoemaker and got ticked off for his pains,
It is of great credit to Exeter City Football Club that with a comparatively small population to depend upon for support, they have presented professional football without fail for 60 years, Such a club deserves the warm support of all sports fans.

CITY'S 50,000 DEFICIT.

Exeter City's profit and loss account shows a total deficit of £50,268, This was revealed at the annual meeting of the Exeter City Football and Athletic Club Ltd. Last season City had a loss of £1,817 compared with a loss of £3,983 in the previous season,

The value of St James' park is shown as £5,548, but it is estimated that it is now worth in the excess of £30,000. Chairman Les Kerslake said that the board were anxious for success as much as anyone, except this still had to be done according to finances. The club could not go on as they were doing getting more and more into debt, a for the transfer of players, The transfer of Bruce Stuckey to Sunderland and the signing of Alan Banks and John Newman from Plymouth Argyle were mentioned, Mr Kerslake replying said that the reason was that one balanced out the other.

The question of building a clubhouse to raise additional income was raised, Mr Kerslake said to make the venture a success the clubhouse would have to be on the ground but they had no money to build it. The board had discussed the possibility of building new dressing rooms behind the big bank, and then using the existing dressing rooms for such a clubhouse,

Tributes were paid to the club's former secreatry, Dick Miller, killed in a road accident,, The meeting stood in a minutes silence as a tribute to Mr Miller, Directors Mr L, Kerslake, and Mr J,R, Cowley were re-elected to the board,

WHEN HAPPINESS IS EXETER SHAPED.

Less than six months ago, John Mitten was a wanted man, several clubs including Swansea Town, Rochdale, and Barrow were interested in signing him. He also had a firm offer to play in Los Angeles, but Mitten, Charlie to his team mates, decided on Exeter City, Both him and his wife like the Westcountry very much, and this played a big part in his decision to join the City. Mitten hopes to settle down permanently in the Exeter area when his playing days are over, he joined Mansfield Town groundstaff 12 years ago as a 15 year old, and made his League debut against Darlington in February 1958, Transferred to Newcastle United, a 58,000 crowd witnessed his first match against West Bromwich Albion. In 1961 he joined Leicester City moving onto Coventry City three years later, Plymouth Argyle in the Summer of 1967 was Mitten's next stop, and from there onto Exeter, Manchester born Mitten has won three youth international cap. He is also a very useful cricketer having played in the Leicestershire County Championship side as a wicketkeeper in 1962,

MONDAY 21st OCTOBER 1968.

WILLIAMS LOAN MOVE ?

Another name has been linked with Exeter City, it is that of Johnny Williams, the former Plymouth Argyle player, now with Bristol Rovers where he is club captain, It is reported that he may come to St James' Park on loan, City manager Frank Broome said today that he heard the player was available on a loan basis and he had made a routine enquiry,