One Hand on the Trophy
St James Hotel took a big step towards the Cheltenham Sunday 3rd Division title with a 4-1 home victory over closest rivals Kings Arms Newboys. It was a close match for around 60 minutes at a wind swept KGV but the St James superior quality and fitness shone through in the end: they scored three goals in the last half hour to seal the win and virtually seal the title.   Read more...

St James Power Into Round 4
St James Hotel reached the 4th round of the county cup for the first time in their brief history, with a smash and grab away performance in Gloucester. The 4-0 scoreline didn’t tell the true story as the James produced waves and waves of confident attacking football to overwhelmed Robinhood FC. It could (and should) have been a cricket score but in the end first half goals from Harker and Puddy (2) gave St James Hotel a 3-0 half time lead. The defence were rarly troubled but what they had to do they did very well. After several missed chances from forward players, Adam, a second half substitute, completed the scoring with a cool finish to claim his first goal for the club.   Read more...

Prince of Wales Go Through After Tough Encounter
St James Hotel tasted their first defeat of the season yesterday after a 3-1 score line in favour of the visitors. It was a good quality match throughout and was well contested by two teams who currently top their respective divisions. When Prince of Wales took the lead through a penalty after 10 minutes, it looked like the James were in for a tough morning. But they battled back well and had the better of the first half. The score was level around the half hour when Andy Williams guided a superb looping header from around 16 yards out into the opposite top corner of the net. This sparked Prince of Wales into action and just before half time they put together a nice passing move which resulted in a smart finish to make it 2-1. Again much of the second half was an even contest with both sides creating chances however it was to be the away side’s quality in front of goal that was to prove the difference. A third goal was added midway through he second half which sealed the victory and progression through too the next round of the intermediate knockout shield. Next up for St James Hotel is a trip to Gloucester to face Robinhood who sit 3rd from bottom of the equivalent league in Gloucester.   Read more...

Undefeated – St James v Prince of Wales
Sunday’s cup match sees two sides come together who both have 100% records this season. The St James FC, who are top of the Third Division, have won all their 10 games where as POW have won their first 9 respective fixtures in Division Two. Make no bones about it this will be a massive test for us; we go into this game as underdogs against a side that beat us 6-1 and 4-0 last season. We have a better side now, though, and should be able to close the gap, whether it will be enough to progress remains to be seen.   Read more...

10 Man St James Battle to County Cup Victory
Apologies for the lack of facts in the following report but, due to injury, I was not present at the game on Sunday. From what has been said since it was the best performance of the season so far. Starting the game with only 10 men, away in the county cup, and then going 2 zero down at half time, to come back and win 3-2 after extra time is nothing short of remarkable. Well done to everyone who was involved. There’s some good news on the injury front, looks like Dan Jacobs will be back in action this week following a 4 week lay off and my ankle is feeling a whole lot better and I should be back in two weeks. Will be back to the sideline to cheer you guys on this weekend!   Read more...

St James Too Good For Bellec
It was the first proper away game of the season which saw the team travel to the Burrows expecting a tough game against title rivals Bellec United, who sat third in the league before kick off. St James FC started off the brighter of the two teams; working some nice triangles with good passing which ultimately lead to two goals in the first half followed by two in the second. Although nothing spectacular was required, it did, however, take a solid performance for the full 90 minutes in order to come away with the points. Rueben, awarded Man of the Match this week, and Kyle controlled the midfield from start to finish with Guffer excelling up front with three goals. The defence were comfortable in the game for long periods, only having to deal with sporadic attacks from Bellec. We now have two cup games: the first against Cheltenham Saints in the league cup, which is then followed by Longford Sunday in the County Cup (who have now won 3 games after a poor start to the season).   Read more...

Injuries and Suspensions Start to Stack Up
After the most eventful match of the season so far (10 Goals, 2 Red Cards, 1 Yellow Card), the St James FC could be left with a shortage of players over the next few weeks. Two more sending’s off on Sunday added to Hackets red card earlier in the season and totals 3 players serving at least a 35 day ban. The injury list now has three names on it: Dan Jacobs (Hamstring) joins Andy Holder (Knee) and Rich Turner (Broken Arm) on the sidelines. Hopefully Holder will be able to return this week with a big game ahead at the Burrows against Bellec United, which is followed by two cup games. A shortage of defence players is becoming a real concern. Other members of the squad will have to be adaptable and do the best they can with what ever position the Manager decides to put them in.   Read more...

Last Gasp Turner Keeps St James Top Of The Pile
A last minute penalty was required to keep the 100% record going this season, and Rich Turner (leg end) didn’t disappoint by stepping up and putting away yet another penalty (I think that’s around 7 or 8 pens he has scored over the last season and a bit). This has been made even more remarkable with the news that he had destroyed his arm in a collision earlier in the match, which has lead to his retirement. This is devastating news for the football club. Rich has been immense since he has joined the club, not only bringing experience, but real quality to the team. I hope he will stay on and help Martin with the coaching of the side, picking the team, and generally keeping the spirits up. With Andy Holder, also picking up an injury on Sunday, this is now a time when everyone needs to pull together. Players that have been on the fringe of the first team will get their chance. This is why we have a big squad. It’s a long season and everyone will get the chance to play games.   Read more...

Shock Exit As Hayes Leaves For Pastures New
We are waking up this morning to the shock news that St James FC legend Graham Hayes has left the club by mutual consent due to lack of first team football at the KGV. Graham has been a fantastic servant to the club over the past 3 seasons; he was the original captain back in 2004, leading the club through some tough times. We are now into our forth season and with things looking good, after 5 wins on the spin, it's easy to forget that back in the first season people like Graham were relied upon just to get 11 players out on the field. Without that, the club wouldn’t be where it is today. When £300 was required to pay pitch fees this season Graham was one of seven (yes, seven) of our twenty players signed on to turn up at the pub to raise the money. Good luck with your new club and we will look forward to meeting again in a couple of weeks when the St James take on Cheltenham Saints! Hopefully other players that are on the fringe of the first team will not decide to go the same way.   Read more...

Bitter Rivals Rotunda Smashed For Six
Another confident performance saw the St James destroy the Rotunda Rovers 6-1 in Cheltenham Sunday League Division 3! Rotunda got off to the perfect start when a long kick from the goalkeeper ended up at the feet of the centre forward, who coolly slotted home a volley into the top left hand corner. A goal from Harker levelled the match at half time, and from then on it was all about the St James who started to play some scintillating football. Three goals on debut by Guffer was the highlight of the second half, with Bick and then Harker with his second putting icing on the cake. Great Performance and victory. Next up its Cheltenham Auto at the KGV!   Read more...

Under Par St James Struggle to Victory
It might have been complacency, but a number of the St James players had an off day yesterday in their Division Three clash with the Cheltenham Rejects. The 4-1 victory had a certain amount of gloss to it as at around 70 minutes the game was locked at one each. Late goals from Williams, Puddy and Bick spared the blushes and kept the James top of league. Next weeks match is going to be a tough one, when the St James line up against Rotunda Rovers, to renew a healthy rivalry over the last 3 seasons.   Read more...

St James Romp Sends Shockwaves Through Division 3!
A wonderful 6-0 victory over Gaffers Sunday FC moved the St James ominously to the top of Cheltenham Sunday League Division 3. From start to finish it was a brilliant performance: every one of the 14 players available on the day had a part to play in some slick stylish football. It lead to Andrew Puddy scoring 4 goals and bagging the man of the match award (an award that Harker was starting to think was his own). There was also a debut goal for Jack and a cameo performance by Rich Turner, coming from the bench, which lead to him getting his second of the season. On this sort of form it’s hard to see who is going to stop the James' relentless march towards the title. Next up it’s the unknown quantity Cheltenham Rejects - should be a cracking game!   Read more...

St James Made To Work Hard On Opening Day
After an appalling first half hour against the Kings Arms Newboys, the St James were on the rack, 2-0 down, with no one playing well. The situation looked bleak. The Kings Arms Newboys began brightly, working in groups to close the ball down quickly all over the pitch. Their endeavour was rewarded with two well taken goals. The turning point came on the stroke of half time when a well timed flick on by Puddy put Turner in on goal, one on one with the Monk, he made no mistake. During the second half everything the Newboys did well in first was lacking, they were no longer closing the ball down, no longer applying pressure, which lead to the St James' quality players to get their heads up and start picking out the forward runs. Goals from Harker and Jacobs turned the tie around with Bick adding a fourth late on after coming on from the bench.   Read more...

New Season Now Looms Like A Hurricane Off The Coast Of Florida
There's no mistake, I smell that smell, it's that time of year again. Yes, gentlemen, it’s almost time to strap on your new boots and stride out to play for the St James again. First game of the season is against the Kings Arms Newboys which I am led to believe is the new name for the Kings Cuckoos. Any first game is tough as every team will want to start well. However, if we play like we did against division one opposition last week we should have no problems. It was good to see the whole squad there last week with everyone getting some time on the pitch in an easy 7-1 victory over SGV Batmen.   Read more...