Notts County v Stevenage
Meadow Lane | League 1
4th February 2012 | 3:00pm kick off

Gary Smith's first game in charge was against Notts County last weekend and his first league game will also be up against Martin Allen's side as Boro travel to Nottingham this Saturday. Stevenage are still on a high from last weekend's Cup win and the bonus of drawing Tottenham in the 5th round.

If the draw for the Fifth Round of this year's FA Cup was notable for anything in particular, what really stood out was the presence of two clubs for whom an appearance at this stage of the competition would been inconceivable just a couple of decades ago. Last weekend, both Crawley Town and Stevenage chalked up notable wins in the Fourth Round of the competition both by a single goal, with Crawley's coming at Hull City and Stevenage's against Notts County - and the reward for each is a home match against Premier League in the next round, in the form of Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.

"Go on, touch it. I've put the safety on."Football on a Friday night? It's just not cricket. Perhaps that was the reason for Tottenham's utterly distasteful performance at Vicarage Road as they scraped past a plucky Watford. If you were to believe the general theme of the commentary and post-match media reports, you'd be forgiven for thinking Spurs arrived in north west London, rudely parked their giant team coach wherever they chose, shaped to headbutt anyone and everyone on their way in and spend the entire game cheating and coercing the ref into allowing them victory.

January was another interesting month at the Lamex Stadium. After an unbeaten December and with Stevenage now in the shake up for the League 1 play-offs, Graham Westley was a wanted man. GW and his team were snapped up by Preston North End after weeks of uncertainty over his future. A new era has begun at Stevenage with Gary Smith appointed as the new manager.

Spurs took the concept of winning ugly to new depths on Friday night in a poor performance that saw them edge past Watford and into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Match winner Rafael van der Vaart conceded that this wasn't the best performance by this current Spurs side but he was relieved to get through the tie.

The draw for the FA Cup's fifth round was held earlier today. A reunion with Gus Poyet (via Brighton) wasn't in the cards, with Chelsea being drawn against Birmingham.

Not bad. The Championship club will pose a threat, but not to the extent that traveling to Anfield would have. Ties will be held 18/19 February.

Stevenage will host Tottenham at the Lamex Stadium

Not the draw I wanted at all, but taking personal reasons away and concentrating solely on the club, drawing Tottenham at home is a very good tie. The Lamex Stadium is almost guaranteed to be packed to the rafters mostly with Spurs supporters to watch Boro host the Premier League side for the first time in a competitive fixture.

Luke Freeman was heavily involved in the winner

stevenage 1-0 notts county | stewart (og) 12
fa cup | lamex stadium | 4,439

A Damien Stewart own goal was enough to earn Stevenage a place in the 5th round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history and gave Gary Smith a winning start as Boro manager.

If you had asked any Stevenage supporter a couple of weeks ago who Gary Smith is, the majority would have replied 'Who?' It would have been a justified reaction because until his name began to be linked with the vacant managerial position, Gary Smith's reputation within this country was, well, non-existent.

Gary Smith is the new Stevenage manager. It doesn't come as any surprise that Smith has been appointed as he has been the favourite for the position over the last week or so. He was even in the main stand watching his new side beat play-off rivals MK Dons 4-2 earlier tonight. News of his appointment broke soon after and the Harlow born coach is set to be the man given the task of replacing Graham Westley and continuing Boro's promotion push.

Karl Robinson and his Milton Keynes Dons side make the short journey down to the Lamex tomorrow night in what could be a pivotal match as both sides look to cement their position in the League 1 play-off positions. MK Dons sit one place above Stevenage going into the game, although the Dons are 5 points clear with the bonus of a game in hand.

In what was a disappointing game somewhat dictated by the poor weather conditions, Stevenage came away with a well-earned point thanks to a late goal from substitute Darius Charles. Scunthorpe had taken the lead early in the second half when Garry Thompson latched onto a through ball from Mark Duffy and shot past Chris Day.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that midfielder Jack Wilshere's rehabilitation process has finally reached the phase where he can take part in outdoor training sessions.

Wilshere's last competitive football match remains the Euro 2012 qualifier that he played for England against Switzerland in June last year.

Stevenage are on the road again this weekend as they make a trip up to Glanford Park to face Alan Knill's Scunthorpe United. Boro are still managerless after Graham Westley's departure last Friday, but they will be confident going into the game after a run of 10 away games in all competitions without defeat.

A name that has been cropping up since Graham Westley's departure last week is Gary Smith. In fact, Smith is currently the favourite for the job with bookmakers and is reportedly on Phil Wallace's 6 man shortlist along with the likes of Paul Buckle and Paul Ince. However, Smith is the one candidate that not many supporters know much about.

With several candidates being linked with the vacant managers position at Broadhall Way, I thought it might be interesting to see who the supporters prefer as their new manager.

Vote below.

Take Our Poll

As soon as Graham Westley had parked his Bentley into the car park at Deepdale, bookmakers online were offering odds on who will be the next manager to step into the Broadhall Way hotseat. It's arguably the best management position currently on offer in the Football League. Stevenage sit 6th in the League 1 table, are still in the FA Cup and have a squad full of young, hungry players with room to improve even further.

[I]t was only a matter of time before Graham Westley's achievements at Stevenage piqued the interest of more firmly established members of the Football League. And the club that tempted him from Broadhall Way could hardly be more established. Following the confirmation of Westley's appointment as Preston manager last Friday, much scepticism was expressed among the Football League Twitterati regarding the suitability of club for man, suggesting perhaps that he would have done better to wait for an offer from the league above that in which he continues to ply his trade.

[I]t was only a matter of time before Graham Westley's achievements at Stevenage piqued the interest of more firmly established members of the Football League. And the club that tempted him from Broadhall Way could hardly be more established. Following the confirmation of Westley's appointment as Preston manager last Friday, much scepticism was expressed among the Football League Twitterati regarding the suitability of club for man, suggesting perhaps that he would have done better to wait for an offer from the league above that in which he continues to ply his trade.

It's a story that has dominated the club over the past 10 days or so. Rumours began flying round that Preston were interested in Graham Westley just a couple of days before the 3rd round FA Cup tie against Reading. At first it just seemed to be rumours. But the rumours didn't stop. Instead, they just gathered pace and it became clear at the beginning of the week that Preston were not only interested in Westley, but that Westley was interested in Preston.

FC Boro has returned. After deciding to call it a day back in August, the desire to get this place up and running again has come back after the events of recent weeks. It's not totally back as it was as I've still got a few issues to iron out with the domain name and pictures etc, but the blog is back, just as Stevenage FC enter a new era after the departure of Graham Westley.

The versatile Arsenal midfielder/defender Francis Coquelin has been rewarded with a new extended contract at the Emirates. The 20 year-old impressed in a year-long loan at Lorient last season and his steady improvement persuaded Wenger to promote him to the fringes of the first team. Due to the massive defensive injuries at Arsenal, the French [.

December was another unbeaten month as Stevenage continued their climb up the League 1 table. There was also progress in the FA Cup as the Boro progressed into the 3rd round of the FA Cup after a professional display against non-league Stourbridge.

Boro progress into 3rd round of FA Cup

A comfortable win away at Stourbridge sent Stevenage into the 3rd round of the FA Cup and a tie with Reading at the Madjeski Stadium.

Viernes 6 de enero de 2012 Liverpool vs Oldham Athletic 14:00 hrsSábado 7 de enero de 2012 Birmingham vs Wolves 6:30 hrsDagenham & Redbridge vs Millwall 7:00 hrsBarnsley vs Swansea City 9:00 hrsBrighton vs Wrexham 9:00 hrsCoventry City vs Southampton 9:00 hrsCrawley Town vs Bristol City 9:00 hrsDerby County vs Crystal Palace 9:00 hrsDoncaster Rovers vs Notts County 9:00 hrsEverton vs Tamworth 9:00 hrsFleetwood Town vs Blackpool 9:00 hrsFulham vs Charlton Athletic 9:00 hrsGillingham vs Stoke City 9:00 hrsHull City vs Ipswich Town 9:00 hrsMacclesfield Town vs Bolton Wanderers 9:00 hrsMiddlesbrough vs Shrewsbury Town 9:00 hrsMilton Keynes Dons vs QPR 9:00 hrsNewcastle United vs Blackburn Rovers 9:00 hrsNorwich City vs Burnley 9:00 hrsNottingham Forest vs Leicester City 9:00 hrsReading vs Stevenage 9:00 hrsSheffield United vs Salisbury City 9:00 hrsSwindon Town vs Wigan Athletic 9:00 hrsTottenham Hotspur vs Cheltenham Town 9:00 hrsWatford vs Bradford City 9:00 hrsWBA vs Cardiff City 9:00 hrsBristol Rovers vs Aston Villa 11:30 hrsDomingo 8 de enero de 2012 Manchester City vs Manchester United 7:00 hrsChelsea vs Portsmouth 9:00 hrsSheffield Wednesday vs West Ham United 9:00 hrsPeterborough United vs Sunderland 9:30 hrsLunes 9 de enero de 2012 Arsenal vs Leeds United 13:45 hrs Gracias por tu visita Estadísticas de Fútbol

Southern League Premier Division side Stourbridge finally ended their greatest ever FA Cup run at the hands of League One Stevenage at the War Memorial Athletic Ground earlier today, thanks to two goals from Chris Beardsley and a late third from Robin Shroot.

Stourbridge started with the same eleven that defeated Plymouth Argyle in the First Round, with the exception of influential midfielder Sean Geddes who missed the game through suspension – his place taken by Drew Canavan.

Southern League Premier Division side Stourbridge finally ended their greatest ever FA Cup run at the hands of League One Stevenage at the War Memorial Athletic Ground earlier today, thanks to two goals from Chris Beardsley and a late third from Robin Shroot.

Stourbridge started with the same eleven that defeated Plymouth Argyle in the First Round, with the exception of influential midfielder Sean Geddes who missed the game through suspension – his place taken by Drew Canavan.

Plymouth Argyle's season goes from bad to worse, as they were knocked out of the FA Cup First Round by Southern League Premier Division side Stourbridge. Goals from Paul McCone and Sean Evans gave the Glassboys a well deserved victory, and the chance to face League One Stevenage in eleven days time.

October was a tough month for Boro. It started with 3 straight defeats to the likes of Scunthorpe, AFC Wimbledon and Huddersfield. It soon picked up though and the win against Charlton kicked off another unbeaten run.

Stevenage 1-0 Charlton

A Stacy Long goal was enough for Boro to beat unbeaten, table-toppers Charlton Athletic.

As a fan of a Non-League side it's very rare that I have anyone to talk to about the team I support. I completely understand why some people will have little or nothing to say about the Non-League but what really gets on my nerves is when I hear people writing it off as being a poor level of football.

It was a mixed month for Stevenage in September. Here are some of the highlights.

Stevenage 4-2 Rochdale

Boro recorded their first home win in League One with a 4-2 victory over Rochdale. Goals from Craig Reid, Chris Beardsley (2) and an own goal from Neil Trotman gave Graham Westley's side the 3 points.

A friend of mine has a huge collection of the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight and within those pages, coverage devoted to institutions of which the organ actually approves is limited. Similarly, any word cloud representing The Daily Mail from 1997 onwards would probably throw up the term 'Blair' most commonly and copies of fanzines such as Red Issue spend an inordinate amount of time fixating

Striker Daniel Nardiello says there is no reason why Exeter City can't recreate one of the greatest moments of his career against Liverpool tomorrow.
The former Manchester United trainee was in the Barnsley side which completed a huge FA Cup shock when they beat the Reds 2-1 at Anfield in 2008, thanks to Brian Howard's dramatic injury-time winner in front of the Kop.

Stevenage 0-0 Exeter City
npower League 1 | Broadhall Way | 3,829

We are off the mark in League 1. It wasn't pretty, but a solid performance ensured that we came away with a point against the Grecians. Chances were few and far between throughout the 90 minutes and both Paul Tisdale and Graham Westley will be content with an opening day point in the circumstances.

Our opening game in League 1 is against a familiar friend in the shape of Exeter City. Whilst many are looking forward to going up against the big boys of Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton, Preston and Sheffield United this season, our first test in the 3rd tier of English football is against the Grecians, who we battled in the Conference just a few years ago.

League One is the junction at which all of English footballs avenues meet. At one end of the spectrum are the likes of Charlton Athletic and the two Sheffield clubs, who have fallen from their once lofty perches and are now trying to figure a way to get back to where they feel that they deserve to be.

Instead of going through all the 23 teams we are to face this season, I thought I'd do something slightly different to preview the new season. I've asked 6 Boro supporters for their views on the season ahead as the club prepares for its first campaign in npower League 1. If you want a preview of League 1, then I recommend reading The Seventy Two Unfortunates' Football League preview.

David Bridges has returned to Kettering Town, 3 years after he made the move in the opposite direction to sign for Graham Westley's revolution. A lot has changed in those 3 years. Boro have gone from annual underachievers in the Conference to punching above their weight in League 1. That is ultimately the reason why Bridges' time at Broadhall Way has been cut short.

After the unwanted drama of the previous two years, the supporters of Newcastle United could easily have been forgiven for wanting a season of peace and quiet last season and, to an extent, that is exactly what they received a twelfth placed finish saw them safe and sound in the Premier League for most of the season, after all, troubling neither the top nor the bottom of the table unduly throughout the entire season.

Shroot has impressed whilst on trial at Stevenage

Robin Shroot is finally a Stevenage player. After 2 weeks on trial and four pre-season friendlies, Shroot has managed to convince Graham Westley that he is worth taking a gamble on. A two year contract has been agreed and the former Birmingham City winger will go into tonight's friendly at Hampton & Richmond as a permanent member of the Boro squad.

One of the curiosities of African football has been the relatively undistinguished performance of national teams from the east side of the continent. Ethiopia and Sudan may have won continental titles in 1962 and 1970 but that was before the era when most countries participated, and the cultural and ethnic make up of those states is quite different from the the cluster of countries that tends to