The Red Rose Football Blog: November 2016

Number 6 November 29th 2016

The curse of the Manager of the Month Award

In my November 2^nd Blog (Number 2), I was speculating on the identity of the next Red Rose County manager to bite the dust. As usual I made the wrong call, suggesting it might be Owen Coyle at Blackburn. In the same edition I was commiserating with David Flitcroft, whose Bury club had lost six on the bounce. Having subsequently lost another three league games and suffered a 5-1 hammering at AFC Wimbledon in their FA Cup replay, it was inevitable that he would go. This however is the man who was voted Division 1 Manager of the Month in September and had hitherto been successful at Gigg Lane. There is a fag paper thick line between success and failure in football and managers tread that thin line weekly.

September must seem a long time ago to David Flitcroft

Some may advocate that the advert for the position of manager should be accompanied by a Government Health Warning. For those non-believers, may I suggest they look at the chart below which indicates that only 5 of the area’s 18 clubs have employed their current manager for over 12 months? The Fergusons and Wengers are the exception in this industry and even more so in Continental Europe. There appears to be an “end by” date for most managers; a shelf life as if they are a supermarket commodity. But it is also something of a roundabout for the ones who have had success before finally “losing the plot”. They usually find re-employment quickly. Carl Robinson was snapped up by Charlton Athletic last week, days after being sacked by MK Dons. Hope for David Flitcroft then?

Current managers at Red Rose County clubs in order of length of service.

Pos	Club	Manager	Start Date	Length of Reign in Months
1	Morecambe	Jim Bentley	13.05.11	66
2	Burnley	Sean Dyche	30.10.12	49
3	Rochdale	Keith Hill	22.01.13	46
4	Preston North End	Simon Grayson	18.02.13	45
5	Accrington Stanley	John Coleman	18.09.14	26
6	Liverpool	Jürgen Klopp	08.11.15	12
7	Barrow	Paul Cox	23.11.15	12
8	Manchester United	Jose Mourinho	27.05.16	6
9	Blackpool	Gary Bowyer	01.06.16	5
10	Blackburn Rovers	Owen Coyle	02.06.16	5
11	Bolton Wanderers	Phil Parkinson	10.06.16	5
12	Everton	Ronald Koeman	14.06.16	5
13	Manchester City	Pep Guardiola	01.07.16	4
14	Oldham Athletic	Stephen Robinson	09.07.16	4
15	Fleetwood	Uwe Rosler	30.07.16	4
16	Southport	Steve Burr	08.09.16	2
17	Wigan Athletic	Warren Joyce	02.11.16	1
18	Bury	-	-	-

Ronald Koeman

He has managed 9 clubs in 16 years, sacked only twice. Where will he be in 2018?

The best Manchester City XI I have had the privilege to watch.

Chosen by Mike Ryan

League appearances for club in brackets

Bert Trautmann (508),

Tony Book (244), Vincent Kompany (223), Mike Doyle (448), Glyn Pardoe (305),

Yaya Toure (198), Colin Bell (394), David de Silva (198), Kevin de Bruyne (38),

Francis Lee (249), Sergio Aguero (161),

Captain Tony Book, Manager Joe Mercer

Mike said that right and left back were the hardest slots to fill, believing that they have never had world class players in these positions. Has anyone out there any different views on that or on any other of the players that Mike has chosen?

Colin Bell (1966-1979) Considered City’s greatest post-war player until the arrival of Aguero

Incidentally, following last week’s article on the best ever Blackburn Rovers side, readers mentioned several centre backs, each of whom played at the top level and is worthy of being thrown in the mix. There was Matt Woods, signed from Everton in the late fifties who played in the 1960 Cup Final. The other two were regular team mates in the first decade of this century. One was Congolese international Chris Samba, the other being Kiwi international captain, Ryan Nelson.

Performances of the last week

Newcastle United 0 Blackburn Rovers 1 (EFL Championship)

Tribulation turned to triumph on Tyneside for a Rovers side which was looking every inch relegation fodder. As they said on Radio Lancashire, this was “a coupon busting result”. The Geordies had won 9 on the spin; the Rovers had accumulated just 4 away points but Charlie Mulgrew, now looking like a rare inspired signing by the blues, notched the winner.

Charlie Mulgrew

Manchester United 4 Feyenoord 0 (Europa League)

For Lancastrians, who support their local clubs, there is probably more antagonism towards the Red Devils and their followers than any other top club. It may be jealousy, but it is probably aimed at their supporters in the public eye who see it as just another fashion item. But being honest, United is a great Red Rose County club and I would much rather it achieve success than Arsenal or Chelsea. By the standards set by Ferguson, they have been suffering of late so this victory over the 1970 European Cup winners ought to have done them the power of good. Pressure should have been reduced on their besieged manager, but then came Sunday’s bottle kicking incident. Cue head shaking in the Owner’s Lounge.

Morecambe 2 Plymouth Argyle 1 (EFL Division 2)

This was another shock result. Morecambe had not won in their last 7 home games, whereas the Devon side had won the last 7 on their travels. But an away banker it certainly was not as a Michael Rose penalty and a header from the skipper Peter Murphy, the ex-Accrington Stanley player, secured a much needed win for the Shrimps.

Dagenham & Redbridge 1 Barrow 4

The East London club had been Football League residents for 10 years until being relegated to the National League in May. Barrow however, on a long unbeaten 20 game run, travelled down from Cumbria on Saturday and totally dominated the game. Byron Harrison scored twice, taking his tally to 16 for the season as the “Bluebirds” leapfrogged the “Daggers” into 3^rd spot while announcing themselves as serious title contenders.

Games to look forward to this week

Manchester City v Chelsea (Premier League) Saturday 12.30

Without a shadow of a doubt, this is the media’s match of the day. Two hot sides, each packed with quality players; a tummy tingling encounter. Hazard and Costa versus Aguero and de Bruyne would pack any stadium in Europe. If both teams attack it could be a classic, but Chelsea may opt for a defensive set-up and hit City on the break. I hope not.

Sheffield United v Bolton Wanderers) (FA Cup Round 2) Sunday

There is equally no doubt as to the FA Cup match of the day. Second and third in League 1, these are the class of the field. Both of the clubs have their names engraved 4 times on the trophy, albeit the last time for United was in 1925. Bolton’s last triumph was Nat Lofthouse inspired in 1958, but which club will win this particular war of the roses?

Nat Lofthouse with the FA Cup 1958

Ashton United v Spennymoor Town (Northern Premier League) Saturday

Ashton is in its twelfth consecutive season in the league with top five finishes in the last two seasons. Sadly they are unable to attract large crowds (averaging 165 per match), placing them 23^rd out of 24 in the attendance league table. They are just 2 points behind the 5^th placed club, level with Saturday’s opponents but the well supported Durham side will bring lots of support. It is a game both sides need to win if they are to challenge for promotion.

Cleethorpes Town v Bootle (FA Vase Round 3) Saturday

A list of entries numbering around six hundred clubs has now been whittled down to the last 64; five more wins required before Wembley Stadium beckons. Cleethorpes Town from the North Lincolnshire coast is currently top of the Northern Counties East Premier Division, a similarly ranked league to the North West Counties where Bootle plays. So it is a clash between two teams in top form; a real 50/50 tie. The winner could go all the way.

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

All of the answers have Red Rose County connections

1 Paul Stewart, who sadly dominated the news last week, started his professional career and made over 200 appearances in Divisions 3 & 4 for which club?

2 Which current manager holds the record for most consecutive conversions of penalty kicks (25) in La Liga and has allegedly scored more goals than any other defender in the history of world football (195)?

3 For which club did Tommy Briggs score 7 goals v Bristol Rovers in 1955?

4 Which National League North club was only founded in 2005?

5 Steve Bruce, Owen Coyle and Malky McKay have all managed which club within the last 10 years?

Steve Bruce

6 Which North West Counties Premier Division side bears the same name as a former football stadium which hosted 18 FA Cup semi-finals between 1928 and 1994?

7 Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj is currently on loan to which Premier League club?

8 Which Premier League club did Accrington Stanley knock out of the EFL Cup this season?

9 Which Premier League player who scored this weekend will have a statue of himself unveiled very soon?

10 How many players from Red Rose County clubs played in the 1966 World Cup Final?

Post Weekend Musings

Is it not ironic if not inevitable that Morecambe FC, on being taken over by a foreign business man in September would not be able to pay the players’ wages at the end of October? Perhaps we need to give Senor Lemos the benefit of the doubt this time but it does beg the question about the English Football League’s depth of investigation when completing the mandatory “Fit and Proper Person” check.

The retired Stevie G. A legend.………or not quite?

Every now and then, a footballer comes along whose name becomes synonymous with the game itself. So far in this century, I believe that Beckham, Gerrard and Rooney have achieved that status. For the Huyton born lad, it all reached a crescendo on that May 2005 evening in Turkey. The AC Milan v Liverpool Champions League Final (undoubtedly the game of the decade) was one of those events where you can picture where you were at the exact moment Gerrard led his battered troops back on for the second half. Within 15 minutes, the Reds had pulled back a three goal deficit, owing much to their regularly maligned keeper Jerzy Dudek, particularly in the penalty shoot-out. But it was Gerrard who led the comeback, just as he did at Wembley the following season when they defeated West Ham in the FA Cup Final. Captain of his country and 114 caps in his trophy room, is this not what defines stardom? I first came across him as a fourteen year old in my capacity as the North West selector for the English Schools’ FA. He was tiny but with his slide rule passing, his ability to keep possession by deftly turning away from danger and total mastery of the football, even the wife would have spotted him. He represented the North West but he was rightly considered physically too immature to play at Under 15 International level. When I next saw him, he had just broken into the first team at Anfield and I was stunned by the physiological changes which had taken place. He was now athletic, strong and quick and he had grown to the perfect height for a mid-field player. Somewhere along the road I felt he had lost the ability to open defences with an eye of the needle pass, but his raking long passes were his signature ball. Was he Liverpool’s best ever? So difficult to compare but Dalglish certainly and Suarez fleetingly have the edge in my opinion. A better captain than Emlyn Hughes? Let’s simply say that Steven Gerrard was a great player and a great leader, but only the future will determine if he is to be a legend beyond the banks of the Mersey.

Steven Gerrard: 2005 and all that.

Ronald Koeman started like an express train as the “Toffees” made such a promising start to the season. Now, one third of the way through, the club has managed 1 win in their last 8 league games. Everton also has a relatively new foreign owner in Farhad Mashiri and to be fair, we need to give him and Koeman time, but I am sure that the loyal and long-suffering Goodison fans need no reminding that their trophy room is full of 23 year old cob-webs.

He last played for England in 2007, he last played in the Premier League in 2012 and his last competitive game was for Blackburn Rovers over 2 years ago. Yet Sean Dyche was happy to pick the 37 year old Paul Robinson to face the free-scoring Manchester City attack on Saturday. He made lots of saves but if he has an ambition to become the oldest ever goalkeeper in English football, Robinson needs to know that Neil McBain kept goal for New Brighton in the 3^rd Division North in 1951 at the age of 51 years and 120 days.

Tier 11 Club of the Week

The Kings of Amateur Football on Merseyside

With a name evocative of days gone by, Waterloo Dock was founded in 1963. Based close to the beating heart of what was once a bustling sea port and ship building city, its first manager was Jimmy Davies who stayed in charge for 50……yes 50 years. The FA has acknowledged this as a record in English football. Davies presided over a club which has totally dominated Merseyside football at amateur level. It entered the Liverpool County Combination in 1970, being champions on 17 occasions. Equally impressive is that the club has never finished lower than 5^th in the Premier League and until Saturday had still to drop a point this season. It has won countless cup competitions and in 1985-86, reached the 4^th Round of the FA Vase, losing to Warrington Town. Twenty years ago the FA tightened up on ground criteria for entry to this national cup competition so playing at Edinburgh Park, a venue without floodlights close to Queens Drive, the club is now ineligible for the “Vase”. It will be interesting to see if it can regain its title from Aigburth People’s Hall this season.

Quiz Answers

1 Blackpool 2 Ronald Koeman 3 Blackburn Rovers 4 FC United of Manchester

5 Wigan Athletic 6 Maine Road 7 Sunderland 8 Burnley 9 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

10 5: Ray Wilson, Nobby Stiles, Bobby Charlton, Alan Ball, Roger Hunt.