Eastleigh FC

Following his release from Blue Square Premier side, Crawley Town, Kevin James beat the March transfer deadline to sign for the Spitfires. James joined the Red Devils during the January transfer window from league rivals Woking. He scored on his full debut against his former club, making in total 13 appearances for the club, scoring twice. Profile supplied by Ray Murphy: Kevin James – Transfer deadline day signing in March 2008 from Blue Square Premier Division Crawley Town. Has also played for Woking, Swindon Town (2 apps/0 gls), Grimsby Town (3/0), Yeovil Town (7/0), Walsall (18/4), Boston United (8/0), Nottingham Forest (8/0), Gillingham (53/4) and Charlton Athletic. Can also play as a wide man. Born in Southwark 3rd January 1980. Kevin James in action against Havant and Waterlooville on his debut (1st April 2008, photo kindly provided by Dave Haines)

EASTLEIGH v BISHOPS STORTFORD SATURDAY 29th MARCH 2008 Blue Square South By Jamie Montigue Seeking their third straight win following two excellent victories over the Easter weekend, Eastleigh named an unchanged side in this ‘six-pointer’ between two sides both chasing a playoff spot. Mark Marshall will be having his stitches taken out on Monday and should make a return in two weeks following his freak accident in the home last weekend. The conditions were far from ideal with a heavy, water-sodden pitch but both sides gave it a good go and by and large put on an entertaining display for the crowd of 709. Barely a minute into the game, an Andy Harris long throw on from the right was helped on superbly by the commanding figure of Ashley Vickers to the back post where Peter Adeniyi nodded wide. Bishops Stortford meanwhile, came very close to an early goal in just the second minute attacking at good pace. A low cross from Sam Higgins on the right hand side was met by Ahmed Deen whose ...

EASTLEIGH v BOGNOR REGIS TOWN MONDAY 24th MARCH 2008 Blue Square South By Jamie Montigue On this Easter Monday, Eastleigh came up against their ‘local’ rivals Bognor Regis Town buoyed by Saturday’s terrific 2-1 away win at Newport County. Luke Byles returned from suspension to play alongside Ashley Vickers at the heart of the defence, filling a void left by the injured Anthony Riviere who was withdrawn just twenty three minutes into the Newport game two days ago. Mark Marshall missed out due to an accident at home that led to the electrifying winger in need of stitches to his feet. This meant there was a starting place for Matt Hann who came into the side and impressed with his pace and liveliness from the off. Four minutes into the game, Peter Adeniyi chipped a well-placed pass into the path of Hann, who had made a positive run into the area to bring the ball down with a good early touch. However, the former St. Albans man was unable to take advantage of this early opportunity th...

NEWPORT COUNTY 1-2 EASTLEIGH SATURDAY 22nd MARCH 2008 Blue Square South By Ray Murphy Another excellent away Spitfires' performance brought a deserved three points back from Wales in a match that saw plenty of incident and controversy for both sides. Having watched Newport in their midweek home defeat by Welling United, Manager Ian Baird and his back room staff selected a side for the afternoon with certain tactics in mind with the personnel available. This brought about unfamiliar starting positions for Anthony Riviere and David Hughes as well as a recall to the side for Peter Adeniyi. Nobody failed to impress. Having already snuffed out one Eastleigh attack, the home side created a chance in the opening minute but no player looked as though they had the confidence to have a shot on goal. Play switched immediately to the opposite end as Eastleigh attached a strong wind, with Mark Marshall causing all sorts of concerns for the Newport defence. His initial effort though was sto...

Eastleigh 2nd XI 0-3 Uxbridge Res. Suburban Premier League TEAM: Andy Wynn, Niall Bryant, Sam Doswell, Aaron Martin, Jason Sangha, Chris Mason, Tom Winzar, Adam Wiltshire, Scott Waters, Joe Maxwell, Adam Shepherd SUBS: Les Wallace (on for Winzar 67), Aaron Milburn (on for Waters 67), Sam Skinner (on for Bryant 84)   Match Report by Jamie Montigue It was one to forget for Eastleigh's second eleven this afternoon in the poor playing conditions of swirling, strong wind and the bitter cold. This was the Spitfires' third straight defeat as todays visitors to the Silverlake Stadium, Uxbridge Reserves took to the weather and adapted far better. Just two minutes into the game Eastleigh found themselves a goal down - the worst possible start. A hopeful free kick from range looked to have been covered by goalkeeper Andy Wynn but was dropped dangerously in front of goal and according to the referee's assistant on the near side had crossed the line in the fiasco. Conceding so ea...

A statement on the club messageboard from Director of Football Dave Malone confirmed that club great, Danny Smith who was very influential in the Spitfires rapid rise up the non league ladder in recent years since his move from Winchester City, has now signed a permanent deal with Bashley after a successful loan spell. "Eastleigh Football Club can confirm that we have agreed to the transfer of Danny Smith to Bashley FC. Danny has been at Eastleigh for three seasons, and has played a significant part in our rise through the Leagues. We would like to thank him sincerely for his never failing efforts, and wish him every success in his future football career. Danny will remain as an important and integral member of our thriving Football in The Community team."

Download Sponsorship Form The Ray Murphy day usually starts at about 5am, making sure he is ready for the 65 mile trip to his offices in Chichester where he works for Covers Builders Merchants from his Christchurch home, a trip which at that times of day usually takes about an hour. For his full time occupation Ray runs a Joinery Directs department in the family owned thirteen-branch strong company where his role encompasses all the branches. The working day usually ends between 4pm or 6pm depending on work load with rarely a break for lunch, business at the moment is seeing more 6pm finishes than 4 and the journey home usually averages an hour and twenty minutes. Fortunately in his spare time Ray is also Football Secretary at Blue Square South side Eastleigh Football Club, where he ensures all contracted players procedures are carried out as well as organising matches for the first team, reserves, youth side and Ladies team. As a hobby Ray is also writing a history book on the Wess...

EASTLEIGH v HAYES & YEADING UNITED SATURDAY 15th MARCH 2008 Blue Square South By Jamie Montigue A week is a long time in football! Eastleigh played themselves up to 3rd in the table last weekend - the highest position they have ever held in this division, with a 5-0 demolition over Maidenhead but were given a stern reality check this afternoon at the Silverlake Stadium. The only change from last weekend’s triumphant starting eleven saw Adam Everitt replace the suspended Luke Byles. Former Weymouth pair and new Spitfires signing duo, Jason Matthews and Ashley Vickers both made their home debuts. Miserable weather coupled with poor performances all over the park from the Spitfires made for a very long and disappointing game as the extremely well organised Hayes & Yeading took charge. Eastleigh did however have the first opportunity of note in the fourth minute. The towering Vickers flicked Andy Harris’ long throw on from the right to the back post where Mark Marshall arrived t...

MAIDENHEAD UNITED v EASTLEIGH SATURDAY 8th MARCH 2008 Blue Square South By Ray Murphy Maidenhead United will be glad to see the back of Eastleigh especially second half periods of matches, as for the second time in seven days, Maidenhead were torn apart by a solid Eastleigh second half performance. The previous week had seen Maidenhead squander a two-goal lead to lose by the odd goal in five. For Eastleigh there was no such drama this time though after a scoreless first half the thoughts were switching to a hope of a single goal victory. Eastleigh welcomed midweek signings Jason Matthews and Ashley Vickers into the side and both gave solid performances. As for Maidenhead they are nervously sitting on the edge of the relegation zone and having already been called in early by manager Johnson Hippolyte, the players remained in the changing room for a long time after the final whistle. The home sides preparations were not helped by the loss of striker Manny Williams during the warm up t...

Eastleigh 2nd XI 1-3 Carshalton Athletic Res. Suburban Premier League TEAM: Andy Wynn, Niall Bryant, Justin Hall, Jason Sangha, Sam Doswell, Perry Mullins, Chris Mason, James Screen, Tom Winzar, Scott Waters, Doug Rowe. SUBS: Adam Wiltshire (on for Winzar 62), Joe Maxwell (on for Hall 62), Aaron Milburn (on for Waters 80) Match Report by Jamie Montigue Carshalton Athletic’s high-flying reserve side, who sit 2nd placed in the Suburban Premier League, were today's visitors to the Silverlake Stadium. Seemingly determined to come away with a good result, the visitors started the game at a good pace and had the first opportunity, Danny Elgar heading narrowly behind from an impressive left wing cross from Anthony Bridgeman in the opening stages. Andy Wynn, the Eastleigh goalkeeper was forced into a fine athletic save as he tipped over the cross bar to thwart a good shot on the spin minutes later. Eastleigh had very little by way of ‘clear-cut’ chances and were limited to the odd attem...

Club statement from official website - www.eastleigh-fc.co.uk "Following the recall of David Wilkinson back to Palace, Eastleigh have signed Jason Matthews from Weymouth. The Spitfires management have admired Jason for some time and have taken this opportunity to secure his goalkeeping skills for the Club. He has been at Weymouth for six seasons and prior to that, Jason has had spells with Taunton Town, Nuneaton Borough and Exeter City. He rejoins his former team mate, Ashley Vickers, who also joined Eastleigh from Weymouth earlier in the week." -------------- - Baird brings in a keeper, by Wendy Gee Eastleigh have brought in a second player from Weymouth to boost their Blue Square South play-off push. Hot on the heels of central defender Ashley Vickers joining the Spitfires, they have snapped up experienced 32-year-old goalkeeper Jason Matthews ahead of tommorow’s return trip to Maidenhead United. “We’ve been on the look-out for a keeper for next season and Jason com...

* Click image below for full size article * By Wendy Gee, Daily Echo - Wednesday 5th March 2008

Blue Square Announce “Manager of the Month” Winners for February Cambridge United’s Jimmy Quinn has won the Blue Square Premier "Manager of the Month" award for February. Quinn's side remained unbeaten as they negotiated a number of tricky fixtures throughout the period to go third in the table. The U's beat fellow promotion hopefuls Forest Green and Stevenage - as well as holding table-toppers Aldershot to a goalless draw followed by an away win at Halifax. Setanta Blue Square Premier pundit Paul Parker had this to say about Quinn - "When you look at the quality of the opposition that Cambridge faced, the fact they remained unbeaten was a real achievement." Quinn is the first manager this season to pick up a second monthly award, after scooping the November prize. In the Blue Square South the award goes to Bishop's Stortford manager Martin Hayes. The former Arsenal striker led his team to four wins and a draw, their only defeat coming in the 1-0 away...

EASTLEIGH v MAIDENHEAD UNITED SATURDAY 1st MARCH 2008 Blue Square South By Jamie Montigue Paul Sales was Eastleigh’s superstar saviour in this game of two halves. Eastleigh made just one change to the side who beat Welling United by three goals to one last Saturday. Karim El-Salahi was recalled from Sutton United following his loan spell away from the Silverlake Stadium to fill the void left by injured centre back Chris Collins. Maidenhead United were today’s visitors to the Silverlake Stadium, Johnson Hippolyte’s men boasting a very impressive away record this campaign and looked to demonstrate that sort of form this afternoon also. As early as the fourth minute, the Magpies were threatening with Lee Newman firing just wide of David Wilkinson’s post having linked up well with strike partner Manny Williams. A good early attempt, one, which signalled Maidenhead’s intent at this very early stage in the game. Four minutes later, a dangerous ball in from the left-hand side saw Adam Ev...