The Red Rose Football Blog (Number 49)

 

Red Rose Football Blog Edition 49

September 25th 2017

Red Rose Player of the Week

Simon Mignolet; Liverpool

There may be arguments to suggest that the goalkeeper is the most valuable member of a football team, although this is not reflected in the transfer market, but there are few sides that have “got away with” a dodgy keeper. Perhaps Brazil and Real Madrid/Barcelona have managed it from time to time but that is when they have world’s greatest outfield players. So for the vast majority of elevens, a reliable and inspired last line of defence is absolutely essential. There are question marks about Simon Mignolet (pictured); in fact I remain to be convinced that he has Juergen Klopp’s total confidence but in one specific area, the Belgian is in a league of his own. So when Liverpool were under fire trying to hold on to a 3-2 lead as the clock ticked down and Jamie Vardy was lining up a penalty, the “Reds” needed something special. The record books tell us that Mignolet has saved 7 out of 15 penalties conceded by Liverpool since he joined the club over 4 years ago. When you consider that a spot kick is virtually a free hit, that is an amazing statistic. Leicester City’s Vardy always lashes the ball goal wards, often down the middle, but “cometh the hour, cometh the man” and the keeper guessed right, stood tall and somehow kept the ball out of the net. It may well be a pivotal moment in Liverpool’s season. It has catapulted them into 5^th place and no doubt restored some confidence at Anfield. I have my doubts as to whether history will list Mignolet amongst the Liverpool legends but his performance in that 60 seconds at the King Power Stadium certainly earns him the accolade of the Red Rose County’s player of the week.   

Red Rose County Local Football Heroes

Barry Roche; Morecambe

Barry Roche was born in Dublin way back in 1982. He was spotted by Leeds United and joined their Academy under its successful coach Paul Hart. When the son of the Manchester City legend Johnny Hart moved on to Nottingham Forest in 2000 and was quickly appointed manager, he brought Roche to the City ground where he gained his solitary international U/21 cap in goal for the Republic of Ireland. Although the young Irishman was always around the First Team squad, he played only 10 games in almost 5 years and when Roy McFarland, the ex-Derby County and England centre back invited him for a trial at Chesterfield, he jumped at the chance. It was never easy at Saltergate, but he made the goalkeeping position his own, making 126 appearances from a potential 138 league games in 3 seasons. There was a relegation to League 2 in 2007, but the new manager Lee Richardson, the ex-Blackburn Rovers and Oldham Athletic midfield player, kept faith in him. The following summer however Sammy McIlroy, then manager at Morecambe, persuaded the “Spireites” to release him and he quickly became a fans’ favourite at Christie Park and latterly at their new ground, The Globe Arena.

Apart from the 2014-15 season, he has been an almost ever-present in the Shrimps’ goal in what is now his 10^th season at the club. Morecambe have often flirted with relegation in these years and there is no doubt that the athleticism, bravery and technique of the 6’4” keeper has played a huge part in retaining their place in the “pro game”. He is much respected by the long serving manager Jim Bentley who appointed him team captain in 2010, a move the “boss” has never regretted. The goalkeeper has even scored a goal, at home to Portsmouth in 2016. One down in the dyeing seconds of the game, Roche went up for a corner and nodded in the equaliser. He is still the first choice every week and has clocked up 368 league appearances for the Lancashire side which, when added to the games at his previous clubs, gives him an overall total of 507. If you count the number of 1^st team games in all competitions, he has just crept past the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Danny Blanchflower and Alan Shearer, but he still only sits around 275^th in the all-time English records. We know that keepers generally have a longer career than outfield players and at the age of 36, there is perhaps a lot more to come, but it is his longevity at Morecambe that really makes him stand out. League 2 is famous for its regular turn-over of players, but Roche has been at the same club for a decade, has played almost every game in that period and is still the first name on the team sheet. He is a local hero, maybe someday a footballing legend both at this still relatively infant club and in the town also.

  Performances of the last week

Three Red Rose County sides have progressed to the last 16 of the Carabao EFL Cup, more commonly known as the League Cup. Both Everton and Manchester United won comfortably at home against limited opposition. Dominic Calvert Lewin enhanced his growing reputation with a couple of goals as Sunderland were beaten 3-0 whilst over at Old Trafford, the “Reds” cruised past Burton Albion by a 4-1 margin, Marcus Rashford scoring twice. These were expected victories, but Manchester City had a far more competitive fixture, finally defeating West Brom down at the Hawthorns 2-1; Leroy Sane also notching a double. Both Manchester clubs made 9 changes from the weekend but ominously, both elevens had a full complement of internationally capped players with veterans Michael Carrick and Yaya Toure making their seasonal debuts.

Back to the bread and butter of league football on Saturday, four of the five Red Rose County Premier League clubs recorded wins. “Ain’t no stopping us now” was a two million selling hit single for R&B duo McFadden and Whitehead in 1979 but it could easily be the current catch phrase for Manchester City. Following their  5-0 home win over a goalless  Crystal Palace, “City” have now scored 5 goals in three successive top flight games, the first since Blackburn Rovers hammered Newcastle United, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur at the start of the 1958-59 season. Incidentally, the “Rovers” then failed to win any of their next 8 games, something we hope does not happen to the club from the Etihad. Much to the relief of the blue half of Liverpool, Everton came from behind to defeat AFC Bournemouth 2-1 at Goodison Park, courtesy of a late double strike by Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse (pictured).

The south coast club had controlled much of the game, but Niasse, selected by the manager for the first time in 16 months, came off the bench for a blood-stained Wayne Rooney and might just be the striker the manager has been craving for. Southampton, another English Channel based club, could also feel aggrieved. They gave Manchester United more problems than any of their previous five opponents, but still narrowly lost. That man Romelu Lukaku scored his 6^th league goal of the season and “United” managed to hang on from then on in. Nonetheless, the “Reds” sustained the pressure on their city rivals, although they now trail them on goal difference as opposed to alphabetical order. You can never accuse Liverpool of failing to produce excitement. On their second visit to the King Power Stadium, the Merseyside “Reds” managed to turn the tables on Leicester City but had a late Jamie Vardy missed penalty to thank for their narrow 3-2 win. Having led 2-0 and 3-1, it should have been plain sailing, but once again it was the fire power of Salah, Coutinho and Henderson rather than dominant defending which saw them over the line.

If the Premier League offered rich pickings for North West clubs, the situation was completely reversed in Tiers 2-5. The sole winner in any of the four subsequent leagues was at Spotland where Rochdale comfortably saw off Gillingham 3-0 in League 1. Early goals from Ian Henderson and Joe Rafferty enabled the home side to pull clear and when the “Gills” had a player dismissed on the stroke of half-time, it was game over. Henderson could even afford to miss a penalty before Matt Done sealed victory late on, moving “Dale” out of the relegation zone.

There were important victories for Chorley and Salford City in the National League North. Matt Jansen’s Lancashire side are in a rich vein of form after a poor start and they dominated AFC Telford United with first half goals from Josh Wilson and Marcus Carver. Unfortunately Anson was sent off just after the break and the Shropshire side roared back, scoring twice, but Carver used his pace to net a breakaway goal, giving Chorley a 3-2 victory as they moved to within 3 points of the Play-Off zone. The “Ammies” showed their professionalism, grinding out a 1-0 victory over the lowly Gainsborough Trinity in Lincolnshire. A vicious close range strike from Michael Phenix (pictured) was sufficient to guarantee all three points and Salford and Harrogate Town continue their neck and neck struggle at the top of the pile, a lead which has stretched to 6 points over the chasing pack.

In the Northern Premier League a Matthew Chadwick double helped Ashton United to stay in contention at Nantwich Town, although they almost conceded a 3-0 lead as the Cheshire side scored twice in time added on before the “Robins” completed a 3-2 victory. The best performance in the Northern Premier League 1 North was at Trafford where the home side lifted themselves towards mid-table security by defeating a disappointing Droylsden side 3-0.

The all Liverpool clash in the FA Vase 2^nd Qualifying Round saw City of Liverpool emerge as 2-0 winners at the ground of rivals AFC Liverpool, Daniel Dalton and Thomas Peterson providing the goals in front of 492 spectators. There were also wins for Red Rose County clubs against South Yorkshire clubs. Ashton Athletic were 3-1 winners over Maltby Main, Burscough hammered Armthorpe Welfare 6-0 with 2 goals apiece from Lee Healey and Peter Henerty and Irlam had the edge over Parkgate with a 2-0 score line. AFC Darwen had an encouraging 4-2 win at West Yorkshire’s Glasshoughton Welfare, Mark McKay being another double scorer and West Didsbury & Chorlton aided by 2 early goals from Joe Shaw, edged out Stockport Town in a 4-3 thriller. In all Red Rose County ties, Charnock Richard comfortably saw off Bacup Borough 3-0 and Litherland REMYCA had a close 3-2 victory over Chadderton, coming from two down after an Andrew Bainbridge double in the first 10 minutes. Earlier in the week, rock bottom Squires Gate eventually put some points on the board when an early strike by Dean Ing gave them victory at AFC Darwen in a North West Counties Premier League encounter whilst Bootle stepped 3 points closer to the summit with a tight 2-1 win at Barnoldswick Town. The best performance in NWC League 1 was Atherton LR’s surprise 4-1 win at New Mills, Jordan Arklie-Young scoring twice in the first half. Down in Tier 11’s West Cheshire League, South Liverpool won a table top battle with Ashville 2-0 to move into top spot.

Games to look forward to this week

It is a busy mid-week for football; Champions’ League and Europa League group matches plus a full fixture list from the Championship and Leagues 1 and 2. And all of this before the usual mix of weekend action. Liverpool kick off proceedings on Tuesday with a long flight to the Russian capital to take on Spartak Moscow. After 10 games of Russian Premier League action, the Muscovites are languishing in 10^th place of a 16 team league, so this is surely an opportunity for Juergen Klopp’s side to stamp its authority on the group and fly back with 3 points. On the same evening, Manchester City take on Shaktar Donetsk, reigning Ukrainian Champions. The opposition is experienced in European football but it will surely take a much higher pedigree continental side to stop the Sky Blues in their tracks. Manchester United are also in Moscow this week, taking on CSKA on Wednesday. The Russians have made a stronger start than their city rivals, occupying 4^th place, but although United have potentially the toughest task, I would not be surprised to see them return with the spoils of victory. Everton are at home to Apollon Limassol in the Europa League on Thursday. The standard of football is now much improved in small nations such as Cyprus, but anything other than a win for the Toffees will seriously affect their chances of qualification for the knock-out stages.

Without a doubt, the game of the weekend is the Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge between the reigning champions Chelsea and current leaders Manchester City. Kicking off at 5.30 on Saturday, this game will tell us much about the final resting place of the 2017-18 Trophy. City have made a flying start but apart from the game against Liverpool, ruined to some extent by the first half dismissal of Sadio Mane, have they played a side which will hit them as equally hard, defend all day and punish them on the break? A fascinating game is in prospect. Manchester United will probably have gone top by the time the Sky Blues kick-off, because it is difficult to see bottom placed Crystal Palace holding the rampant United at Old Trafford. The three other Red Rose County clubs play on Sunday with Everton entertaining Burnley in the mid-afternoon match. Burnley seem to have found a way of grafting out a result on their travels after last season’s shambles away from home and Everton have yet to convince anyone that they can put on a performance. It will be a dour encounter. Late on Sunday afternoon, Liverpool travel to Tyneside and this too is a difficult fixture to predict. Newcastle United have found a winning formula after a year in the Championship and although the “Reds” ought to have sufficient class to take home all 3 points with Philip Coutinho (pictured) back in the side, it will take grit and skill to prevent the 52,000 St James’ Park army from roaring the Toon to victory. 

There will be no shortage of irony around Deepdale on Saturday. Simon Grayson returns to the club he left during the summer, presumably having believed that his career was taking a huge step forward at one of English football’s traditionally major clubs. Looking at the current Championship league table and noting the 17 places between Preston North End and Sunderland, Grayson must privately be shaking his head. On current form, anything other than a home win would come as a surprise. If only life was so rosy for Bolton Wanderers. They travel to meet another former giant of English football, Aston Villa. Steve Bruce’s Villa have been disappointing thus far, but they are firm favourites to knock another nail into the Wanderers’ coffin. The game of the day in League 1 is at the Highbury Stadium where Fleetwood Town play host to Charlton Athletic. Both sides have made decent starts to the campaign and they occupy 7^th and 10^th places in the league. The London club has played at a far higher level than the Cod Army in the past but that will count for nothing when the referee’s whistle blows. There ought to be comfortable home wins for 4th placed Wigan Athletic v Walsall and Blackburn Rovers against a lowly Gillingham side. Blackpool will be confident of taking at least a point from an unpredictable Southend United down in Essex, but there are difficult (and long) away trips for Rochdale against the physical giants of AFC Wimbledon and Oldham Athletic at the extremely well-supported Portsmouth. Finally Bury, the third of our sides bogged down in the relegation mire, entertain Milton Keynes Dons but the mid-table Buckinghamshire side may have too much for the struggling Greater Manchester outfit. Accrington Stanley and Morecambe have similar, but contrasting journeys into the south west. Stanley, with Shaun McConville (pictured) directing operations, will have the scent of promotion in their nostrils as they head for Gloucestershire’s Forest Green Rovers, the League 2 bottom club in their first season at this level. The “Shrimps” on the other hand travel even further, down into Devon to meet 2^nd placed Exeter City.  The “Grecians” will be strong favourites here.

AFC Fylde visit East London to cross swords with Leyton Orient, a fixture which pits two sides with vastly contrasting histories. It is the new kids on the block versus an Orient, once briefly in Tier 1 for the 1962-63 season and FA Cup semi-finalists in 1978, losing 3-0 to Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. Last season’s relegation ended 112 years of continuous Football League membership, so it will be interesting to see what happens on Saturday when young meets old. Barrow meanwhile have a more straightforward looking National League fixture when hosting Maidstone United. The FA Cup 3^rd Qualifying Round takes centre stage for clubs from Tiers 6 -10, but the Red Rose County has just 4 representatives. Two of them clash in the David v Goliath tie of the round. The Ashton Athletic v Chorley match-up is being streamed live on the BBC web site at 12.30 from Brocstedes Park in Ashton-in-Makerfield, a small town to the south of Wigan. Although there can surely be only one winner, it is so refreshing to see such an unpretentious club mixing it in the draw with six former post-war Football League clubs. One of these is Stockport County who play host to FC United of Manchester. Although both these sides are from the same league, County are having a much better season and FCUM will have to show lots of improvement to progress to the final qualifying round. Finally Lancaster City play fellow Northern Prem side Shaw Lane Association in Barnsley. The two sides met the other week, the Dolly Blues producing an outstanding performance to win 2-0 at the Giant Axe. This should be a corker of a rematch. Amongst other important non-league fixtures, the struggling Marine welcome Lincolnshire’s Grantham Town who are settled mid-table in the Northern Premier League, and Colne play host to Trafford, needing a win to kick-start their climb into the safer reaches of the Northern Premier League 1 North. In the North West Counties Premier League, the game of the day is at Mossie Park where Charnock Richard clash with Bootle, both sides desperately chasing runaway leaders Runcorn Town. In the NWC League 1, Nelson will desperately need points to climb off the bottom spot against a usually poor Eccleshall side.

Post Weekend Musings

The word “appellation” can be found on most French wine bottles e.g. Appellation Bordeaux Controlee, but in English it means “tag on to” or “add on to”, in our case the principal name of a football club, e.g. Oldham Athletic. Of the 92 professional Premier and Football League teams in England, 68 do actually have an appellation. “City”, “Town” and “County” have geographical or administration links, ”United” indicates the joining of two or more clubs and “Athletic” is a word in common sporting usage, popular Stateside. “Rovers” and “Wanderers” hark back to the days when a club did not have a permanent base and “Albion”, which is mentioned in Shakespeare’s King Lear, is the oldest known name of the islands which we inhabit. Virtually every appellation follows the name of the town/city except for the recently popular AFC which precedes the name (AFC Bournemouth and AFC Wimbledon). If you class yourself as a nerd or an anorak, I am sure that you want to know which is the most popular. The answer is actually a dead heat, “United” and “City” claiming 13 each with “Town” close behind with 12. “Rovers” come next with 4 and “County”, “Albion”, “Wanderers” and “Athletic” have 3 each. There are 12 appellations mentioned once. Can you think of them all?

 Rochdale gave a debut to Daniel Adzhead on Tuesday evening at Bury in the EFL Trophy, a game they won 4-0. Adzhead was aged 16 years 17 days, a club record, but he had to change away from the adult players because of Child Protection regulations. Yes, the world has gone crazy.

Barrow have now made a permanent managerial appointment to replace Paul Cox. Micky Moore, a former Derby County and Swansea City player who had been assistant to Cox, will now be number 1.

Managers are paid to put the interest of their club first. Pep Guardiola (pictured) is paid an obscene amount of money to do this and it can therefore be argued that when he makes derogatory noises about the League Cup and the Sky Blues future part in it, he believes that non-participation will only benefit the club.

At this stage of the campaign, the League takes precedence with every stakeholder. After Christmas, with a potential Wembley appearance and Europa League place at stake, it is a somewhat different story, but I do agree with how he must be feeling at the moment. There is much more to worry about than a tricky midweek away cup tie at West Brom. There are two areas however where I do take issue with the Catalan. Prior to 2010, the Sky Blues had won nothing since 1969, apart from the then Division 1 title (now Championship) in 2002 and……2 Cups; the Football League Cup in 1970 and 1976. In the ensuing 33 years, they would have done anything to win this particular trophy. “City” may be a massive club now but English football is all about peaks and troughs and you can be certain that somewhere down the line, there will be another massive trough. Secondly, how long will Guardiola be at the Etihad? It cannot be money that is his driving force; Bayern would have paid him the earth. It cannot be simply winning titles; that was a given at Barcelona. This is no Sir Alex and if he does more than a 5 year stint in Manchester I will be amazed. So listen to him if you will, but these are selfish words of a man thinking only about his club during his stewardship; certainly not “City’s” long term needs or the good of the game in this country.

Quiz of the Week (Answers at the foot of the Blog)

1                     On which North West ground did Brazil (often with a limping Pele) play all 3 of their group games in the 1966 World Cup?

2                     From whom did Manchester City buy the Brazilian international Robinho (pictured) in 2008 for £32.5 million, smashing their transfer record in the process?

3                     Which current Football League club holds the record for playing for 90 consecutive seasons in the league, never being relegated out of it but has never been promoted  in to the top two levels of English football?

4                     Chris Waddle, one of England’s greatest post war wingers and infamous for missing a penalty v the Germans in a World Cup semi-final, only managed for 1 year; for which club in 1997-98?

5                     Who captained Manchester United from 1997-2005, a period in which they won 4 Premier League titles, 2 FA Cups and one Champions’ League trophy?

6                     Kevin Nolan (pictured in the West Ham United colours) is now having success as the Notts County manager, but he started his career with which club?

7                     He retired from the game in 1958, having spent the last 5 years of his playing career at Accrington Stanley. He was then simultaneously, coach at Leeds United and memorably the England trainer during the 1966 World Cup. Who was he?

8                     Preston North End’s only defeat this season up to September 22 was away from home against which team which had former Deepdale favourite David Nugent leading their attack?    

9                     Reading had played at Elm Park for many years but in 1998 they moved to which new ground, named after their Chairman?

10                 Who was Liverpool’s first £1million signing, a player whom the Reds signed from Newcastle United in 1987?

Red Rose County Non-league Club of the Week

West Didsbury & Chorlton

Football clubs founded before the 1^st World War often had an affiliation to a church; Manchester City for example can trace its origins back to St Mark’s, Gorton. Likewise West Didsbury and Chorlton started out as Christ Church in 1908 before changing its name to West Didsbury to better represent its geographical location. This suburban area is on the south side of the city of Manchester, just inside the M60 and for many years, the club played in the Lancashire and Cheshire League, a strictly Amateur organisation. “West” had a permanent pitch on Christie Fields. It was Council owned property but the elected body, doing what elected bodies regularly do, sold the land for building. As a result, the club had a nomadic existence for several seasons, playing on various other Council pitches until they took the plunge in 1987. Assisted by a number of grants and fund raising activities, they took over the dilapidated Brookburn Road Stadium (pictured) in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, a football ground that was enclosed.

Season by season, the stadium was improved and in 2003, to take cognisance of the change of location, the name of the club was also changed to West Didsbury and Chorlton. The new ground was a catalyst for all things good as they moved to the more competitive Manchester League in 2006, dominating the prestigious Murray Shield and racing through the Divisions to reach the Premier League by 2011. By this time floodlights had been erected and, along with a refurbished club house, land was purchased to provide pitches for an ever expanding Junior Section. In 2012 they were elected to the North West Counties League 1, gaining promotion at the first time of asking and in the four subsequent seasons, have settled into the NWC Premier League, finishing 5^th and 6^th in the last two campaigns. In the 2015, they set the highest winning margin in the FA Vase, defeating Dinnington Town from South Yorkshire by a colossal 15-1 score line. This season, West Didsbury & Chorlton, playing in  white and black shirts, have shown consistency under manager Steve Settle and they regularly pull in crowds of 200 plus. Their progress over the last 20 years hints at far more to come although they are not quite ready for a promotion from an “on the field” perspective. In terms of meeting ground grading criteria to reach the Northern Premier League, more work is required but this club is an example of what a club can do if the committee and volunteers are prepared to be positive. “West” could have thrown the towel in when the Council sold their pitch, but they are now the city of Manchester’s 4^th best side. 

Quiz Answers:  1 Goodison Park, 2 Real Madrid, 3 Rochdale, 4 Burnley, 5 Roy Keane, 6 Bolton Wanderers, 7 Les Cocker, 8 Derby County, 9 Madejski Stadium, 10 Peter Beardsley.