The Canterbury United Gazette
The terraces21 Jun 2027
Anger at Canterbury United spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Boardroom21 Jun 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Canterbury United
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Canterbury United is running low.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Canterbury United
Ronaldo Barrett was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Canterbury United rebuffed over Martín Peña
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. WaiBOP United have kept their man, and Canterbury United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Matt Van Hattum gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Ben Waine gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ben Waine is on it.
In brief
- Market The shop window has Dane Fenton in it
- The dugout Ben Waine knocks on the manager’s door
- The dugout The manager plants his flag on Dane Fenton
- Squad Noah Nelson is fit again