Number 19
February
27
2017
Manchester City;
Their finest hour
With scarcely an exception since 1946, United has ruled the
City of Manchester. The trophy count tells it all; 37 to 11 in that period. The
Blue Moon shone brightly from 1968 to 1977 when Joe Mercer’s wisdom and the
flamboyance of Malcolm Allison produced a League Title, FA and Football League Trophies
and a UEFA Cup Winners Cup. Tony Book oversaw another League
Cup triumph, but then it was a downward spiral to the 3rd Tier in
1999, the nadir of their history. They scrambled out after one year following a
Wembley play-off win against Gillingham, on penalties after extra time. The sea
change in their fortunes came in 2008. The club was bought by the Abu Dhabi
United group who employed Roberto Mancini as manager. The combination of his
experience gained in winning 3 Serie A titles at Inter plus their vast wealth
saw the club begin to seriously challenge for honours. After a strong start to
the 2011-12 season which saw a 6-1 victory at Old Trafford, they slipped off
the pace in their battle royal with their closest neighbours. Unexpectedly
United blew an 8 point advantage and it all came down to the final game. The
two clubs were level on points but City had a superior goal difference. As the
final whistle sounded signalling a 1-0 United win at Sunderland, City was
losing 2-1 to QPR at the Etihad, playing time added on. In those last few
moments, an Edin Dzeko header and a shot from Sergio Aguero turned the title
race on its head. It was City’s 6th consecutive victory and Vincent
Kompany was presented with the club’s first League Trophy for 44 years;
undoubtedly their finest hour.
Roberto Mancini; complete with the
Sky Blue scarf as always
Loyalty in Football; difficult
to find in this day and age
The Claudio Ranieri case has provoked comments from every man and
his dog in the football world, many extremely scathing of the Leicester City
ownership. But let us make something clear from the offset. Unless we have been
in the dressing room at the King Power Stadium or on their training ground, we
have no clue as to the facts of the matter. So is the manager to blame for this
stunning decline or is it the fault of the players? Even amongst those close to
the action, it is probably down to opinion. What we do know is that the Italian
brought a touch of magic to the lives of so many last season. Traditionally,
Leicester is a “nearly” club, unsure of its standing in the football hierarchy.
It specialises in yo-yoing, having been promoted on 9 occasions from Tier 2 in the
71 seasons since the Second World War and relegated 8 times. For it to have won
the Premier League title and to potentially play in the quarter finals of the
Champions League is the stuff of dreams. Ranieri leaves them in 17th
place. Putting it another way; normal service has been resumed in the East
Midlands. Trying to be fair to the Thai consortium which owns the club, they
are desperate to stay in the Premier League and believe that continuing with
Claudio would have hindered the cause. Arriving in 2010, they have known only
progress from the lower reaches of the Championship to the summit of English
football. In spite of this success, they have presented P45s to Paulo Sousa,
Sven-Goran Eriksson and Nigel Pearson prior to Ranieri. Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, like so many other current owners, struggles to
understand that even for the privileged few, the football journey is full of
peaks and troughs. Without this knowledge, he has made a judgement, no doubt
believing that the “bounce factor” will instantly right the ship. Of course it
can work (e.g. Paul Clement at Swansea) but even Sam Allardyce, the “rescue-meister
extraordinaire”, has so far bounced like an over ripe tomato at Crystal Palace.
Even Jose Mourinho struggled for a while to get to grips with his latest club.
A similar start for the yet unknown Ranieri replacement will surely send the
Foxes down. Speaking of Jose, the Portuguese’s words really impressed me this
week. He talked of selfishness amongst the playing staff at Leicester, all squabbling
to double their wages in the summer rather than concentrating on the
forthcoming challenges of the new season; loyalty to themselves rather than to
the manager who changed their lives. It is a truism that it is easier to change
the manager rather than the players, particularly post-January, so perhaps the
game also needs a “transfer window” for managers. There is little loyalty amongst
the owners. Gary Rowett was sacked on a whim after putting in a solid shift at
Birmingham City, replaced by Gianfranco Zola (no bounce there as yet). But the
managers themselves can be equally selfish. Lee Clark left an improving Kilmarnock
last week, presumably because Bury offered him a huge salary hike. I remember
Mark Hughes leaving a then decent Premier League Blackburn Rovers for the
Arabian riches at Manchester City. Ambition is good and many of us have changed
jobs for a wage increase, but these departures leave grieving supporters (the
heart of the club) saddened to the core. Thankfully Wayne Rooney has so far stayed
faithful, turning his back on millions of yens to help United chase trophies on
four fronts. I would love to see him in the Championship after his Premier
League days are over, remaining loyal to the English game, passing on wisdom to
younger players on the way up. Let’s face it; he certainly does not need the
money. It is a different world since I saw my first game and “us oldies” should
not let nostalgia rule. But perhaps because there were no instant fortunes to
be made, there was more loyalty in the game; a virtue now sadly disappearing
down the plug hole.
Performances of the last week
Manchester City 5 Monaco 3 (Champions’
League Last 16, 1st leg)
Football needs strong defending but
spectators love games where the defence manual is torn up and both sides
attack, attack, attack. With a performance that drew parallels to the epic 1960
European Cup Final between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park
which ended 7-3 to the Spanish maestros, Manchester City and AS Monaco threw caution
to the wind and produced a classic. Both Falcao and the returning Aguero gave
master classes in the art of striking and we are left with a delicately poised
return in the Principality. Game of the season thus far? Undoubtedly!!
Preston North End 2 Queen’s Park
Rangers 1(EFL Championship)
Unbeaten in five and having lost just
one in eleven, PNE remain in the chase for a play-off spot. A 25 yarder from
Aiden McGeady (always a class performer) and a typical strikers’ effort from
Jordan Hugill saw them to a hard-fought victory over QPR. The Preston Board has
shown faith in manager Simon Grayson and promotion is not just a pipe dream at
Deepdale.
Fleetwood Town 3 Northampton Town 0
(EFL Division 1)
Fleetwood Town continue to match the
long unbeaten run of Chelsea (now standing at 17 games). After a shaky first 40
minutes, a virtuoso performance from David Ball saw the Cod Army imperiously
crush Northampton Town. Devante Cole, Bobby Grant and Ball himself were on
target and the club has now moved above Bolton Wanderers into 3rd
place. They are level with second placed Scunthorpe United who have a game in
hand, but the force is now with Fleetwood.
Morecambe 1 Grimsby Town 0 (EFL
Division 2)
There are three Lancashire clubs in
this Division and Morecambe are now leading that particular race. Lee Molyneux
scored the early winner from yet another Michael Rose assist and with a game in
hand, the Shrimps are a mere 5 points off the vital 7th place. It
would appear that the town made famous by a comedian has now to be taken
seriously on the football pitch.
The Non-League Scene.
All five of our National League North clubs won on Saturday. AFC Fylde stayed well
clear at the top by beating Tamworth 3-1 and Salford City (2-1 winners over AFC Telford) and Chorley with an identical score line
against Alfreton Town, remain 2nd and 4th. Both Curzon Ashton and FC United of Manchester won on the road to further allay fears of
being drawn into the relegation scramble. Curzon had a narrow 1-0 win at
Gainsborough Trinity and two Nathan Lowe strikes helped FCUM to come from 2
down to win 3-2 at Gloucester City. Warrington
Town moved into the top half of the Northern
Premier League with 2 late Reuben Jerome goals in a 2-1 home win over
Coalville Town. Lancaster City is
now 9 points clear of Farsley Celtic at the head of the Northern Premier League Division 1 North following an emphatic 3-1
win at Ossett Town, although Farsley has 3 games in hand. In the same league,
lowly Prescot Cables shocked the
highly placed Trafford 2-0 in mid-week.
Finally in the North West Counties
Premier Division, Atherton
Collieries thumped Congleton Town 5-0; two Ben Hardcastle goals sending
them top as their season goes from strength to strength.
Games
to look forward to this week
Liverpool v
Arsenal (Premier League) Saturday March 4, 17.30
It’s another weekly scramble for points to
ensure a Champions’ League place/Top 4 finish. It could go all the way to the
wire but these are games that none of the top 6 (excepting Chelsea) can afford
to lose. A draw would open the door for Manchester United to squeeze ever
closer so it is almost a win or bust situation. Assuming Liverpool beat
Leicester on Monday evening, the Merseysiders may have the psychological edge
going into this fixture and home advantage may just swing it their way.
Blackburn
Rovers v Wigan Athletic (EFL Championship) Saturday March 4, 15.00
This is a shoot-out at Ewood Park. I cannot
believe both of these North West clubs will escape relegation, so whoever wins
will have the advantage. It’s a new manager (Warren Joyce) versus an even newer
manager (Tony Mowbray) and the Latics have certainly improved under Joyce. The
Rovers attack with gusto at Ewood so if Mowbray (as an ex-defender) can tighten
up the back line, the Rovers could win it.
Scunthorpe
United v Fleetwood Town (EFL Division 1) Saturday March 4, 15.00
As a fan or a player, you wait for the big
games with baited breath, the adrenalin starting to pump through the veins for
days before. This is a big game, second v third. It also pits current manager
Uwe Rosler against ex Cod Army manager, Graham Alexander. Both have had
exceptional seasons taking unheralded sides to undreamed of heights. I suspect
one of these two sides will achieve automatic promotion to the Championship. If
it is Fleetwood, it will be a feat on a par with Leicester’s achievements last
season.
Blackpool v
Morecambe (EFL Division 2) Saturday March 4, 15.00
It’s the North West seaside derby and can
Morecambe possibly be favourites? Blackpool respond well when behind but
struggle to hold on to a lead, hence they are the Division’s draw specialists.
Both sides will have to press hard to make up the points deficit to the
play-off hopefuls but Saturday is all about seaside resort bragging rights.
Tom Aldred; the Blackpool rock returns from
suspension to face Morecambe
Quiz
of the Week (Answers at the foot of the
Blog)
All of the questions have Red
Rose County connections
1
AFC
Wimbledon, Fleetwood Town and which other Red Rose County club are the only
current EFL Division 1 clubs never to have played in the top 2 Tiers?
2
Which
Premier League player conceded a penalty and scored an equalising goal on
Saturday?
3
From
which club did Liverpool buy Simon Mignolet in 2013 for £9million?
Simon
Mignolet; reserve to Chelsea’s Courtois in the Belgian national side
4
Anders
Lindegaard, ex Manchester United and now Preston North End goalkeeper has won 5
international caps for which country?
5
Tony
Mowbray, newly appointed manager of Blackburn Rovers made 78 appearances for
which Scottish club during his playing days?
Tony Mowbray in the colours of Middlesbrough,
his own town club
6
Three
of the current Everton squad have notched up over 200 Premier League
appearances for the club, Baines, Coleman and which other player?
7
Manchester
City waited until 2000 for its first Premier League hat-trick scored by which
Costa Rican international?
8
Where
did Manchester United’s Eric Bailly play last season?
9
Which
Red Rose County club won the National Conference (Tier 5) in 2005-06 by 11
points from Hereford United?
10
Which
North West Counties Premier Division club plays its matches at Silver Street
within the City of Salford?
Post Weekend
Musings
I
thought (rather naively) that fortune was smiling on the Red Rose County. There
had been no managerial sackings in this calendar year; just a couple of
permanent appointments made. It took 51 days for the axe to swing and the unfortunate
head that rolled was the one sitting on Owen Coyles’s shoulders. The Blackburn Rovers manager had never been
the fans’ choice, possibly due to previous links with the arch enemy up the
road in Burnley. A win ratio of 30%
did not help his cause but neither did the parsimony of the Venkys. He will not
be long mourned but there will be street parties when the Indian owners finally
bid farewell. The experienced Tony Mowbray has replaced him; another lamb to
the slaughter?
Sean
Hessey has left his management post at Marine.
He saved the club from relegation in 2015 but failed to build on that success
subsequently. He leaves them close to the drop zone and is replaced by the 66
year old Tommy Lawson, the ex-Skelmersdale
United boss.
The
last Red Rose County club crashed out of the FA Trophy at the last eight stage when
Tranmere Rovers dismantled Barrow 5-1
at Prenton Park.
Going
all Jane Austen for a moment, “it is a truth universally acknowledged” that 40
points equals safety in the Premier League. It is 50 points in the Championship,
Division 1 and National League. However, it has been as many as 51 in Division
2 even though only 2 are relegated. This means that of the 18 Red Rose County
clubs in Tiers 1-5, both Manchester
and Liverpool clubs, Preston, Fleetwood, Bolton and Barrow are totally safe from the drop. Looking
from the opposite side of the spectrum, if the yardstick of “less current
points than games played” generally equals relegation, Wigan, Blackburn and Southport are in serious trouble. Burnley, Rochdale, Morecambe and Blackpool appear to be fairly safe, but
Oldham, Bury and Accrington need
to keep their eyes on the rear view mirror.
Aiden McGeady; the Everton loanee has helped
to ensure Preston North End’s safety
The
League Cup Final at Wembley on Sunday was no cagey affair full of fear. It was
a match to remember and Southampton was so unlucky to lose out in the closing
minutes. The ridiculously complex off side rule will be debated once more, the
Saints having what appeared to be a perfectly legal goal (according to the
current interpretation) scratched off. But 5 goals usually make for an exciting
match and congratulations to Manchester
United for keeping the trophy in the city. My only disappointment was that the
Reds started with only 2 English players. Will we ever see the likes of the
Busby Babes or the Class of 92 again?
Red
Rose County Player of the Week
It was all planned to be awarded to Leroy Sane
after the youngster’s thrilling performance against Monaco or possibly
Everton’s Seamus Coleman for yet another stirring performance against
Sunderland, but you simply cannot ignore two goals in a Cup Final. Therefore
for the second consecutive week, the award goes to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a
superstar who cannot stop scoring. It is the 7th double in League
Cup Finals this millennium, with Ibrahimovic and Gabbiadini adding to the
numbers on Sunday. Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, the Swansea pairing of Dyer and
de Guzman plus Leicester’s Matt Elliott complete the list.
Tier 10 Club of the Week
AFC
Blackpool; the 5th best club on the Fylde Coast
The triangle of land close to the South Shore in
Blackpool and adjacent to the Airport is a veritable oasis containing 3 enclosed
football grounds belonging to Blackpool Wren Rovers, AFC Blackpool and Squires
Gate. Originally known as Blackpool Mechanics, AFC were a successful amateur
side from their foundation in 1947, quickly moving through the leagues to the
Lancashire Combination and then the North West Counties League. They briefly
played in the top Division in 1992-93 but were generally long time inhabitants
of the second level. After a couple of amalgamations they changed their name to
AFC Blackpool in 2008 and three seasons later were Division 1 Champions. After
a 5 year stay in the Premier Division, they finished rock bottom and were
relegated. This is their first season back and they have found the going tough under
the managership of Stuart Parker, an ex-pro centre forward from the 70s and
80s. He has been in charge for 10 seasons and they currently sit in an
uncomfortable 19th place, but their massive junior section is of benefit
to the community.
Quiz Answers
1
Rochdale, 2
Michael Keane, 3
Sunderland, 4 Denmark, 5 Celtic,
6 Phil
Jagielka, 7 Paulo
Wanchope, 8 Villarreal, 9 Accrington
Stanley, 10
Irlam FC.
Number 19
February
27
2017
Manchester City;
Their finest hour
With scarcely an exception since 1946, United has ruled the
City of Manchester. The trophy count tells it all; 37 to 11 in that period. The
Blue Moon shone brightly from 1968 to 1977 when Joe Mercer’s wisdom and the
flamboyance of Malcolm Allison produced a League Title, FA and Football League Trophies
and a UEFA Cup Winners Cup. Tony Book oversaw another League
Cup triumph, but then it was a downward spiral to the 3rd Tier in
1999, the nadir of their history. They scrambled out after one year following a
Wembley play-off win against Gillingham, on penalties after extra time. The sea
change in their fortunes came in 2008. The club was bought by the Abu Dhabi
United group who employed Roberto Mancini as manager. The combination of his
experience gained in winning 3 Serie A titles at Inter plus their vast wealth
saw the club begin to seriously challenge for honours. After a strong start to
the 2011-12 season which saw a 6-1 victory at Old Trafford, they slipped off
the pace in their battle royal with their closest neighbours. Unexpectedly
United blew an 8 point advantage and it all came down to the final game. The
two clubs were level on points but City had a superior goal difference. As the
final whistle sounded signalling a 1-0 United win at Sunderland, City was
losing 2-1 to QPR at the Etihad, playing time added on. In those last few
moments, an Edin Dzeko header and a shot from Sergio Aguero turned the title
race on its head. It was City’s 6th consecutive victory and Vincent
Kompany was presented with the club’s first League Trophy for 44 years;
undoubtedly their finest hour.
Roberto Mancini; complete with the
Sky Blue scarf as always
Loyalty in Football; difficult
to find in this day and age
The Claudio Ranieri case has provoked comments from every man and
his dog in the football world, many extremely scathing of the Leicester City
ownership. But let us make something clear from the offset. Unless we have been
in the dressing room at the King Power Stadium or on their training ground, we
have no clue as to the facts of the matter. So is the manager to blame for this
stunning decline or is it the fault of the players? Even amongst those close to
the action, it is probably down to opinion. What we do know is that the Italian
brought a touch of magic to the lives of so many last season. Traditionally,
Leicester is a “nearly” club, unsure of its standing in the football hierarchy.
It specialises in yo-yoing, having been promoted on 9 occasions from Tier 2 in the
71 seasons since the Second World War and relegated 8 times. For it to have won
the Premier League title and to potentially play in the quarter finals of the
Champions League is the stuff of dreams. Ranieri leaves them in 17th
place. Putting it another way; normal service has been resumed in the East
Midlands. Trying to be fair to the Thai consortium which owns the club, they
are desperate to stay in the Premier League and believe that continuing with
Claudio would have hindered the cause. Arriving in 2010, they have known only
progress from the lower reaches of the Championship to the summit of English
football. In spite of this success, they have presented P45s to Paulo Sousa,
Sven-Goran Eriksson and Nigel Pearson prior to Ranieri. Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, like so many other current owners, struggles to
understand that even for the privileged few, the football journey is full of
peaks and troughs. Without this knowledge, he has made a judgement, no doubt
believing that the “bounce factor” will instantly right the ship. Of course it
can work (e.g. Paul Clement at Swansea) but even Sam Allardyce, the “rescue-meister
extraordinaire”, has so far bounced like an over ripe tomato at Crystal Palace.
Even Jose Mourinho struggled for a while to get to grips with his latest club.
A similar start for the yet unknown Ranieri replacement will surely send the
Foxes down. Speaking of Jose, the Portuguese’s words really impressed me this
week. He talked of selfishness amongst the playing staff at Leicester, all squabbling
to double their wages in the summer rather than concentrating on the
forthcoming challenges of the new season; loyalty to themselves rather than to
the manager who changed their lives. It is a truism that it is easier to change
the manager rather than the players, particularly post-January, so perhaps the
game also needs a “transfer window” for managers. There is little loyalty amongst
the owners. Gary Rowett was sacked on a whim after putting in a solid shift at
Birmingham City, replaced by Gianfranco Zola (no bounce there as yet). But the
managers themselves can be equally selfish. Lee Clark left an improving Kilmarnock
last week, presumably because Bury offered him a huge salary hike. I remember
Mark Hughes leaving a then decent Premier League Blackburn Rovers for the
Arabian riches at Manchester City. Ambition is good and many of us have changed
jobs for a wage increase, but these departures leave grieving supporters (the
heart of the club) saddened to the core. Thankfully Wayne Rooney has so far stayed
faithful, turning his back on millions of yens to help United chase trophies on
four fronts. I would love to see him in the Championship after his Premier
League days are over, remaining loyal to the English game, passing on wisdom to
younger players on the way up. Let’s face it; he certainly does not need the
money. It is a different world since I saw my first game and “us oldies” should
not let nostalgia rule. But perhaps because there were no instant fortunes to
be made, there was more loyalty in the game; a virtue now sadly disappearing
down the plug hole.
Performances of the last week
Manchester City 5 Monaco 3 (Champions’
League Last 16, 1st leg)
Football needs strong defending but
spectators love games where the defence manual is torn up and both sides
attack, attack, attack. With a performance that drew parallels to the epic 1960
European Cup Final between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park
which ended 7-3 to the Spanish maestros, Manchester City and AS Monaco threw caution
to the wind and produced a classic. Both Falcao and the returning Aguero gave
master classes in the art of striking and we are left with a delicately poised
return in the Principality. Game of the season thus far? Undoubtedly!!
Preston North End 2 Queen’s Park
Rangers 1(EFL Championship)
Unbeaten in five and having lost just
one in eleven, PNE remain in the chase for a play-off spot. A 25 yarder from
Aiden McGeady (always a class performer) and a typical strikers’ effort from
Jordan Hugill saw them to a hard-fought victory over QPR. The Preston Board has
shown faith in manager Simon Grayson and promotion is not just a pipe dream at
Deepdale.
Fleetwood Town 3 Northampton Town 0
(EFL Division 1)
Fleetwood Town continue to match the
long unbeaten run of Chelsea (now standing at 17 games). After a shaky first 40
minutes, a virtuoso performance from David Ball saw the Cod Army imperiously
crush Northampton Town. Devante Cole, Bobby Grant and Ball himself were on
target and the club has now moved above Bolton Wanderers into 3rd
place. They are level with second placed Scunthorpe United who have a game in
hand, but the force is now with Fleetwood.
Morecambe 1 Grimsby Town 0 (EFL
Division 2)
There are three Lancashire clubs in
this Division and Morecambe are now leading that particular race. Lee Molyneux
scored the early winner from yet another Michael Rose assist and with a game in
hand, the Shrimps are a mere 5 points off the vital 7th place. It
would appear that the town made famous by a comedian has now to be taken
seriously on the football pitch.
The Non-League Scene.
All five of our National League North clubs won on Saturday. AFC Fylde stayed well
clear at the top by beating Tamworth 3-1 and Salford City (2-1 winners over AFC Telford) and Chorley with an identical score line
against Alfreton Town, remain 2nd and 4th. Both Curzon Ashton and FC United of Manchester won on the road to further allay fears of
being drawn into the relegation scramble. Curzon had a narrow 1-0 win at
Gainsborough Trinity and two Nathan Lowe strikes helped FCUM to come from 2
down to win 3-2 at Gloucester City. Warrington
Town moved into the top half of the Northern
Premier League with 2 late Reuben Jerome goals in a 2-1 home win over
Coalville Town. Lancaster City is
now 9 points clear of Farsley Celtic at the head of the Northern Premier League Division 1 North following an emphatic 3-1
win at Ossett Town, although Farsley has 3 games in hand. In the same league,
lowly Prescot Cables shocked the
highly placed Trafford 2-0 in mid-week.
Finally in the North West Counties
Premier Division, Atherton
Collieries thumped Congleton Town 5-0; two Ben Hardcastle goals sending
them top as their season goes from strength to strength.
Games
to look forward to this week
Liverpool v
Arsenal (Premier League) Saturday March 4, 17.30
It’s another weekly scramble for points to
ensure a Champions’ League place/Top 4 finish. It could go all the way to the
wire but these are games that none of the top 6 (excepting Chelsea) can afford
to lose. A draw would open the door for Manchester United to squeeze ever
closer so it is almost a win or bust situation. Assuming Liverpool beat
Leicester on Monday evening, the Merseysiders may have the psychological edge
going into this fixture and home advantage may just swing it their way.
Blackburn
Rovers v Wigan Athletic (EFL Championship) Saturday March 4, 15.00
This is a shoot-out at Ewood Park. I cannot
believe both of these North West clubs will escape relegation, so whoever wins
will have the advantage. It’s a new manager (Warren Joyce) versus an even newer
manager (Tony Mowbray) and the Latics have certainly improved under Joyce. The
Rovers attack with gusto at Ewood so if Mowbray (as an ex-defender) can tighten
up the back line, the Rovers could win it.
Scunthorpe
United v Fleetwood Town (EFL Division 1) Saturday March 4, 15.00
As a fan or a player, you wait for the big
games with baited breath, the adrenalin starting to pump through the veins for
days before. This is a big game, second v third. It also pits current manager
Uwe Rosler against ex Cod Army manager, Graham Alexander. Both have had
exceptional seasons taking unheralded sides to undreamed of heights. I suspect
one of these two sides will achieve automatic promotion to the Championship. If
it is Fleetwood, it will be a feat on a par with Leicester’s achievements last
season.
Blackpool v
Morecambe (EFL Division 2) Saturday March 4, 15.00
It’s the North West seaside derby and can
Morecambe possibly be favourites? Blackpool respond well when behind but
struggle to hold on to a lead, hence they are the Division’s draw specialists.
Both sides will have to press hard to make up the points deficit to the
play-off hopefuls but Saturday is all about seaside resort bragging rights.
Tom Aldred; the Blackpool rock returns from
suspension to face Morecambe
Quiz
of the Week (Answers at the foot of the
Blog)
All of the questions have Red
Rose County connections
1
AFC
Wimbledon, Fleetwood Town and which other Red Rose County club are the only
current EFL Division 1 clubs never to have played in the top 2 Tiers?
2
Which
Premier League player conceded a penalty and scored an equalising goal on
Saturday?
3
From
which club did Liverpool buy Simon Mignolet in 2013 for £9million?
Simon
Mignolet; reserve to Chelsea’s Courtois in the Belgian national side
4
Anders
Lindegaard, ex Manchester United and now Preston North End goalkeeper has won 5
international caps for which country?
5
Tony
Mowbray, newly appointed manager of Blackburn Rovers made 78 appearances for
which Scottish club during his playing days?
Tony Mowbray in the colours of Middlesbrough,
his own town club
6
Three
of the current Everton squad have notched up over 200 Premier League
appearances for the club, Baines, Coleman and which other player?
7
Manchester
City waited until 2000 for its first Premier League hat-trick scored by which
Costa Rican international?
8
Where
did Manchester United’s Eric Bailly play last season?
9
Which
Red Rose County club won the National Conference (Tier 5) in 2005-06 by 11
points from Hereford United?
10
Which
North West Counties Premier Division club plays its matches at Silver Street
within the City of Salford?
Post Weekend
Musings
I
thought (rather naively) that fortune was smiling on the Red Rose County. There
had been no managerial sackings in this calendar year; just a couple of
permanent appointments made. It took 51 days for the axe to swing and the unfortunate
head that rolled was the one sitting on Owen Coyles’s shoulders. The Blackburn Rovers manager had never been
the fans’ choice, possibly due to previous links with the arch enemy up the
road in Burnley. A win ratio of 30%
did not help his cause but neither did the parsimony of the Venkys. He will not
be long mourned but there will be street parties when the Indian owners finally
bid farewell. The experienced Tony Mowbray has replaced him; another lamb to
the slaughter?
Sean
Hessey has left his management post at Marine.
He saved the club from relegation in 2015 but failed to build on that success
subsequently. He leaves them close to the drop zone and is replaced by the 66
year old Tommy Lawson, the ex-Skelmersdale
United boss.
The
last Red Rose County club crashed out of the FA Trophy at the last eight stage when
Tranmere Rovers dismantled Barrow 5-1
at Prenton Park.
Going
all Jane Austen for a moment, “it is a truth universally acknowledged” that 40
points equals safety in the Premier League. It is 50 points in the Championship,
Division 1 and National League. However, it has been as many as 51 in Division
2 even though only 2 are relegated. This means that of the 18 Red Rose County
clubs in Tiers 1-5, both Manchester
and Liverpool clubs, Preston, Fleetwood, Bolton and Barrow are totally safe from the drop. Looking
from the opposite side of the spectrum, if the yardstick of “less current
points than games played” generally equals relegation, Wigan, Blackburn and Southport are in serious trouble. Burnley, Rochdale, Morecambe and Blackpool appear to be fairly safe, but
Oldham, Bury and Accrington need
to keep their eyes on the rear view mirror.
Aiden McGeady; the Everton loanee has helped
to ensure Preston North End’s safety
The
League Cup Final at Wembley on Sunday was no cagey affair full of fear. It was
a match to remember and Southampton was so unlucky to lose out in the closing
minutes. The ridiculously complex off side rule will be debated once more, the
Saints having what appeared to be a perfectly legal goal (according to the
current interpretation) scratched off. But 5 goals usually make for an exciting
match and congratulations to Manchester
United for keeping the trophy in the city. My only disappointment was that the
Reds started with only 2 English players. Will we ever see the likes of the
Busby Babes or the Class of 92 again?
Red
Rose County Player of the Week
It was all planned to be awarded to Leroy Sane
after the youngster’s thrilling performance against Monaco or possibly
Everton’s Seamus Coleman for yet another stirring performance against
Sunderland, but you simply cannot ignore two goals in a Cup Final. Therefore
for the second consecutive week, the award goes to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a
superstar who cannot stop scoring. It is the 7th double in League
Cup Finals this millennium, with Ibrahimovic and Gabbiadini adding to the
numbers on Sunday. Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, the Swansea pairing of Dyer and
de Guzman plus Leicester’s Matt Elliott complete the list.
Tier 10 Club of the Week
AFC
Blackpool; the 5th best club on the Fylde Coast
The triangle of land close to the South Shore in
Blackpool and adjacent to the Airport is a veritable oasis containing 3 enclosed
football grounds belonging to Blackpool Wren Rovers, AFC Blackpool and Squires
Gate. Originally known as Blackpool Mechanics, AFC were a successful amateur
side from their foundation in 1947, quickly moving through the leagues to the
Lancashire Combination and then the North West Counties League. They briefly
played in the top Division in 1992-93 but were generally long time inhabitants
of the second level. After a couple of amalgamations they changed their name to
AFC Blackpool in 2008 and three seasons later were Division 1 Champions. After
a 5 year stay in the Premier Division, they finished rock bottom and were
relegated. This is their first season back and they have found the going tough under
the managership of Stuart Parker, an ex-pro centre forward from the 70s and
80s. He has been in charge for 10 seasons and they currently sit in an
uncomfortable 19th place, but their massive junior section is of benefit
to the community.
“The Mechanics”; home to AFC Blackpool
Quiz Answers
1
Rochdale, 2
Michael Keane, 3
Sunderland, 4 Denmark, 5 Celtic,
6 Phil
Jagielka, 7 Paulo
Wanchope, 8 Villarreal, 9 Accrington
Stanley, 10
Irlam FC.
