Number 8                                                                                           December 13^th 2016

Are we brave enough to make predictions for the season’s end?

It is time for a prediction or two so here we go with regard to titles, promotions and relegations relating to our clubs. Diving in at the deep end, these are my predictions but the league tables in mid-May will most likely show me up as someone who knows “sod all”. So here they come; quick fire predictions. If you disagree, please let us hear about it.

League	Champions		Champions League spot	Relegated
Premier League		_	Liverpool Manchester City
League	Champions	Automatic Promotion	Play-offs	Relegated
Championship				Blackburn Rovers
League 1	Bolton Wanderers			Bury, Oldham Athletic
League 2			Blackpool
National League		_	Barrow
National League North	AFC Fylde	_	Chorley
Northern Premier		_		Skelmersdale United
Northern Premier North		_	Lancaster City	Burscough
North West Counties Premier	Atherton Collieries	_	_	Nelson
North West Counties 1	Charnock Richard	City of Liverpool	Litherland REMYCA

The two leaders of the 146 year old marathon that is organised football in England are Liverpool with 41 Trophies and Manchester United with 40. This adds spice to their potential League Cup Final clash in March when these two old foes could resume hostilities. If it happens, will Liverpool pull further ahead or will United draw level? 

The best Liverpool XI I have had the privilege to watch.

Chosen by Alan Reddin

League appearances for Liverpool in brackets

Ray Clemence (470)

Phil Neal (455)   Alan Hansen (434)   Jamie Carragher (508)   Emlyn Hughes (474)

Graeme Souness (247)   Steven Gerrard (504)   John Barnes (314)

Kenny Dalgish (355)   Luis Suarez (110)   Kevin Keegan (230)

Manager: Bob Paisley                                     Captain: Graeme Souness

Combined total of International Caps:- 739

Jamie Carragher; Liverpool’s second leading appearance maker after Ian Callaghan

Alan said that the mid-field positions were the hardest to make a decision about, but it is interesting to note that no current Liverpool player is in the side and with one exception; they all played internationally for England or Scotland.

The feedback from Mick Duffy’s Burnley XI generally made the point that the side was virtually all pre-1980. Tom Heaton was the only current player who sparked any interest

Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory

The disaster that befell Curzon Ashton last weekend in the FA Cup came just too late for inclusion in Blog 7, but I feel we ought to commiserate with the minnows from National League North who led an in form League 1 side 3-0 with just 10 minutes remaining. Was it tiredness, panic or a lack of belief which caused them to ship 4 goals at the death and allow AFC Wimbledon to triumph? I suppose we will never know but I am certain that the hearts of all neutrals went out to this valiant team and its management who almost pulled off the shock of the round. As they say, it’s never over until it’s over.

                                          Performances of last week

Burnley 3 AFC Bournemouth 2 (Premier League)

As I wrote last week, this was a game that the Clarets simply had to win. The Jeff Hendrick goal was worth the admission fee and George Boyd’s was almost as good. Stephen Ward’s first half goal was more of a scrambled effort but as the old saying goes, they all count. Bournemouth won the possession battle with a whopping 69 to 31 percentage, further evidence that the only meaningful statistic in football is the final score.

                                   Jeff Hendrick: Burnley’s record signing from Derby County

Manchester United 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0 (Premier League)

For those with a penchant for dreaming, this could have been seen as a dress rehearsal for the Europa Cup Final. But in terms of the here and now, it was an opportunity for Henrick Mkhitaryan to begin paying back his £20+million transfer fee that the club paid for the Armenian. Largely ignored by the manager until now, he actually started this game and scored the winner with a crashing shot from distance. At long last it was a result that matched the performance for the Reds and the gap to City suddenly seems within reach.

Rochdale 3 Scunthorpe United 2 (League 1)

It has to be a good time to be a Rochdale supporter. A win over the league leaders is always worth celebrating and after 75 minutes they led 3-0 with goals from Joe Thompson, Ollie Rathbone (son of the ex-Blackburn and Preston full back) and a returning Calvin Andrews from a 9 match suspension. The last quarter must have aged manager Keith Hill by a year or two but full marks to him for engineering their 8^th consecutive home league win.

Buxton 0 Skelmersdale United 0 (Northern Premier League Premier Division)

Skelmersdale’s season has been so dire; scarcely meriting a mention in this blog, but to travel to the Peak District and hold on for a goalless draw against second placed opposition is certainly worthy of inclusion. Can the division’s lowest scorers build on this and somehow escape relegation? It’s a big ask but all revivals start somewhere; why not at Buxton?

Games to look forward to this week

Manchester City v Watford (Premier League) Wednesday.

On paper, it is a home banker but this season there is no such thing at the Etihad. It’s far too early of course to be handing down judgement on Pep Guardiola, but there is evidence out there for gossip mongers to question if he is the right man for this League.  He is certainly on a massive learning curve and I believe that he possesses the skill to navigate it. But Watford on a wet Wednesday evening in December may well be another pot hole on that road.

Everton v Liverpool (Premier League) Monday.
Sadly this derby is losing its sparkle. Since the golden years of the 80s when Kendall’s Everton went head to head with the “Pool” and the English game danced to the rhythm of the Mersey, the blues have generally been subservient to their cross park neighbours. The previous four Goodison encounters have been drawn with Everton last victorious in 2010. Nothing suggests that Koeman will deliver anything better than mid-table mediocrity this season and it is a must win game for Liverpool who have to keep Chelsea in their sights.

Gareth Barry; still performing after all these years

Accrington Stanley v Plymouth Argyle (League 2) Saturday.

If there is a club that needs a win in the Red Rose County, it is “Accy Stanley”. John Coleman’s side has not won a league game since October 15, plunging close to the relegation zone. It is not the best of times to play the top of the league but points are now vital if they are to avoid the trap door which leads to the National League.

Southport v Eastleigh (National League) Saturday.

Southport is the Houdini of the National League and this season looks no different. Manager Steve Burr will no doubt be swotting up on his escapology manual as he plans to defeat Eastleigh on Saturday. The Hampshire side, known as the “moneybags” of the league, have recently poached an experienced manager in Martin Allen from League 2 Barnet on doubtlessly a Football League salary. In spite of this they are languishing in mid-table although still in the FA Cup. Southport needs a point at least at the weekend.

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

                                      All of the answers have Red Rose County connections

In the 1996-97 season, the top 4 professional English leagues were won by teams from the Red Rose County. Can you name the winning clubs in questions 1-4 below?

1             Premier League?

2             League 1? (there was no Championship then)

3             League 2?

4             League 3?

5             Discounting penalty shoot-outs, who was the last player to score 2 goals in an FA Cup Final?

6             Jussi Jaaskelainen played over 500 games in goal for Bolton Wanderers and is still going strong at Wigan Athletic. What is his country of birth?

Jussi Jaaskelainen, an expert at saving penalties

7             Who was born in Liverpool, started his Football League career with Southport back in 1971 and in May 1982, scored the only goal in the European Cup Final?

8             Which Northern Premier League North club from the Greater Manchester area had their main stand burnt down in an arson attack a couple of weekends ago?

        9             For which team did Luis Saha score an FA Cup Final goal?

10         Who did Alex Ferguson succeed as manager of Manchester United in 1986?

                                  Post Weekend Musings

I had to smile when I saw the name of Emlyn Hughes in “The Best Ever Liverpool team”. Every second Sunday morning throughout the 80’s, a group of six of us would travel to the BBC Studios in Manchester’s Oxford Road to assist with the recording of “Question of Sport”. We were dummy panellists, sitting in the celebrity chairs and using our expertise to judge the appropriateness of the questions and check the answers. One particular Sunday,   Princess Anne, a gold medal winning 3 Day Eventer, was on the show in Emlyn’s team. David Coleman was completely stressed out. “He’s been explicitly told that if he puts his arm round her, pats her back or anything like that then the silly bugger is finished with this programme. I don’t trust him. He can’t keep his hands still”. When the rehearsal had finished, we went home and a couple of weeks later, the BBC televised the programme. What the nation saw was Hughes with an arm round each team mate and HRH laughing throughout. Emlyn had such an infectious personality; what a pity he died at the age of 57.

                                                    Emlyn and his perpetual motion hands

It was a special day for Everton’s Gareth Barry on Saturday in spite of their 3-2 reversal at Watford. The 35 year old made his 609^th appearance in the Premier League, equalling the total of the now retired Frank Lampard. Only Ryan Giggs stands above them in the all-time list on 632, so with a touch of luck, the ex-Villa and City player could make it to number one.

The so professional Sean Dyche needs no incentive to keep Burnley in the Premier League. However, success this season will make him the first Claret’s boss to achieve this distinction since the legend that was Jimmy Adamson achieved a 10^th place finish in 1975.

There was a touch of early Christmas cheer for the South Liverpool team MSB Woolton, rock bottom of the Liverpool County Football League with zero points. At the eleventh time of asking, the last “pointless” Red Rose County club in Tiers 1-11  won 2-1 at Waterloo Grammar School Old Boys,

A salute is the order of the day for Lancaster City who won at Tadcaster Albion 2-1 on Saturday to go top of the Northern Premier League Division 1 North.

I watched the North End v Rovers encounter on television on Saturday. For the neutral it was a thriller with 5 goals, 3 great finishes, 2 penalties and contentious decisions to stir Owen Coyle’s emotions to boiling point. Preston impressed me, with the 2 Villa rejects Daniel Johnson and Callum Robinson particularly impressive. The Rovers fought back well in the second half and might have salvaged a draw, but relegation is still a haunting spectre as New Year approaches with Brighton, Reading, Huddersfield and Newcastle on the horizon. 

Blackpool made it 4 wins out of 5 with a 2-0 victory at Stevenage to boost their play-off prospects. Well done Gary Bowyer; perseverance should be your middle name.

Tier 11 Club of the Week

Blackpool Wren Rovers, West Lancs League Aristocrats

On the south side of Blackpool there is a triangle of small football stadia belonging to Squires Gate, AFC Blackpool and Blackpool Wren Rovers respectively. The latter play on Bruce Park and were founded in 1931 as Wren Rovers. They were successful for years in the West Lancashire League, eventually joining the Lancashire Combination in 1972. They were twice champions in the subsequent decade and in 1982 became members of the newly formed North West Counties League. In order to add some status to their name, they became Blackpool Rovers in 1990. It brought instant success as they were promoted to Division 1. They comfortably coped on the pitch at this level but found the cost of travel and ground upkeep prohibitive, forcing them to resign and re-join the West Lancs League in 1998 as Blackpool Wren Rovers. Since 2006, they have finished either first or second in the Premier Division each season. At the moment they are comfortably in 2nd place as they give chase to leaders Longridge United in an effort to retain their title. Their ground could easily pass the grading test to reach the NWCFL again, but for the moment, they seem to prefer to be the biggest fish in a small pond. In the current economic climate, who can blame them?

                         The Blackpool Wren Rovers Management Team celebrate another victory

Quiz Answers

1 Manchester United 2 Bolton Wanderers 3 Bury 4 Wigan Athletic 5 Steven Gerrard                          6 Finland 7 Peter Withe (Aston Villa) 8 Radcliffe Borough 9 Everton (2009) 10 Ron Atkinson