Uxbridge Town AFC: Season 102 Midseason Review

A year ago, Uxbridge Town AFC was a scrappy up and coming team in the hunt for their first championship. Now, the team is an established winner having one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory. Through 19 matches, Uxbridge sits at the top of the table with an undefeated 17-2-0 record, 11 points clear of the second place Stratford-Upon-Avon King's Men.

Club President Bertrand Jeunechamp was again complementary about his club and the people who work for it. "We really continue to feel like a class organization" said Jeunechamp in a recent interview. "We have been established as a top club in the world, and I am just so proud to be a part of it. Seeing the success on the field is just the icing on the cake of working here."

Uxbridge is far and away the best team in the league with 90 goals scored and only 16 conceded, giving them a differential of +74, double that of the second place King's Men. They have only taken 9 yellow cards (T3rd in the league) and have yet to take a red card this season.

Manager MacCallum Barry once again raved about his team's play and how good it feels to be among the elite. "I have kind of missed being at this level" said Barry with a laugh during a post-match press conference. "Every day I come into work and see how hard these guys compete, how much work they put into training and bettering themselves and growing as a team. It makes a manager's job so much easier having this level of commitment."

For individual performances, scoring has been consistently good across the team. Last year's golden boot winner Gilbert Cadogan is having another strong season, leading the team with 16 goals in only 14 league matches. Huenu Barragan sits just behind with 15 goals, Kobe Otsuka has 14, and Lyle Maigny has 10. Gaetano Gatti  leads the team with 4 yellow cards, and no other player has more than 2. Wynward Garnis leads the league with 8 clean sheets in 15 matches.

For his part, captain Stephen Mill talked about the difficulty of being the target among the rest of the league. "You definitely notice it during matches" said Mill. "Other teams are really pushing hard to beat us. We have had some close calls and very tough matches, but we continue to overcome. Having guys like Huenu and Gilbert and Lyle here who can take over matches on any given day just make every game just feel far more in control."

As the second half of the season kicks off, time will tell if Uxbridge can continue on this form and complete an all time season.

Uxbridge Town AFC - Season 102 Preview

After an incredibly successful second season, Uxbridge Town enters its third season in the Premier League as the reigning league champions. And with that comes the immense pressure of mounting a title defence in the coming season. Much of the team will be returning this season, with only a few new faces among the players and coaching staff to add to the strong core already in place.

Club President Bertrand Jeunechamp stressed the need for stability in the organization. "We now feel like we have everything in place to be a successful club this season and into the future" said Jeunechamp in a recent interveiew. "The goal is to have the level of consistency required to remain at the top of the league. That will require trusting the coaching staff, the players, and other members in the organization that we know the directions that we want to take and are ready for whatever comes at us. It will certainly be an exciting campaign, and I am really looking forward to seeing our team thrive."

Manager MacCallum Barry has been in this situation before, and said that being the team that everyone is chasing is very tough. "We have set the bar for high achievement in this league currently" said Barry after a recent exhibition match. "Now, we have a league where there are 19 clubs trying to catch us and surpass us. And every match we play will be against a side that is hungry and motivated to knock us down. We just need to shut all of that out and play the type of football we know that we are capable of."

Uxbridge returns to the pitch in a 4-4-2 formation, with this starting XI expected to get the bulk of the available playing time:

 

In goal, Wynward Garnis returns for his third season as the primary keeper for the Lions. MacMillan Andrews also returns to act as Garnis's mentor and backup. The big new additions are in defence where Gatti, Mill, and Coda are joined by newly signed 18 year old Ivan Valdez, who will join Mill as a centre back. The newly signed Pepe Merello adds depth to a team that already includes Onxleah Osinowo. Meanwhile, Bafetibis Chalme moves into the midfield to join Barragan, Maigny, and Leigh as the primary men in the middle. Kenyon Paulo Canineu is demoted to a bench role where he joins Harleigh Bulkeley. The striker tandem of Gilbert Cadogan and Kobe Otsuka proved to be deadly up front for Uxbridge, with Mehdi Florentin providing solid support. 

Defender Stephen Mill only just turned 20 years old, but is the captain of the defending champions and noted in a recent interview that the team's expectations were as high or higher than the fans. "Obviously, the goal here is to hold onto first place" said Mill. "We came into camp this year with that as our goal. Things haven't necessarily gone as smoothly as we would have liked, but I feel confident that this team has what it takes to succeed. We believe in our abilities in this locker room, and we are looking forward to taking what we have been working on at training onto the pitch. Exciting times to be sure."

Uxbridge Town kicks off their season on the road against last year's third place team Carson FC. Their home debut is a week later when they host a derby against North London City FC.