Red Rose Football Blog Edition 57
November 21st 2017
Red Rose County Player of the Week
Danny Rowe;
AFC Fylde
Involved
at Manchester United as a youngster, he drifted around the Non-League circuit
when released. He played at Fleetwood Town, Lincoln City, Macclesfield Town
and Stockport County, always scoring goals wherever he played. In the summer of
2014, he arrived at Fylde at the age of 24. The Coasters are full time
professionals and Rowe’s goals have taken them into the 5th Tier of
English football. An old school centre forward, he has already passed the
century mark for the Mill Farm club. He knocked in 50 last season and in the
tough, full time National League, he is now topping the goal scoring charts
once more. There is no doubt that he could play in League 2
and interestingly he played alongside Jamie Vardy whilst with the Cod
Army. Danny Rowe may not achieve as much as the English international, but he
destroyed Torquay United on Saturday and is a deserved winner of the Red Rose County
Player of the Week award.
The Premier League; still the world’s most competitive?
Pundits have talked about the ”Big 4”, the “Big 5” and last
season it was the “Big 6” in the Premier
League, with the two Manchester
clubs and often Liverpool occupying three of those slots. Normally you would expect a chasing pack followed
by a group tailed off, but with the exception of Burnley (and possibly
Watford), the other thirteen clubs are already also-rans. There is a very good
reason for this; they are simply not good enough. So although there is always
going to be an occasional upset, it is looking more and more that the old adage
of the “Prem” being the most competitive league in the world” is a thing of the
past. On Saturday for example, as hard as Leicester City tried, they were
always kicking uphill against Manchester
City. They failed to register a single shot on target and the “Sky Blues”
could have easily added to the strikes of Gabriel Jesus and Kevin de Bruyne.
Likewise at Old Trafford, although Newcastle United were the first to score,
they were swamped by a rampant Manchester
United side in which the returning Paul Pogba ran the show. It was a similar
show at Anfield. Liverpool could
have run up a cricket score against a Southampton side which eventually
conceded three goals, two to Mohamed Salah, now the league’s leading scorer,
and Phillipe Coutinho. The press had been writing up the start Leicester had
made since Claude Puel took over, the fact that Newcastle were much more
difficult to beat this season and that the “Saints” had only conceded an
average of one goal per game, but all of this meant nothing as each one
crumbled against much superior opposition. The situation at Burnley is not too dissimilar. Pre-season,
we would have deduced that they too would be rolled over by the top six and have
to battle to win sufficient points against other strugglers to survive at the
top level for another season. Against a struggling Swansea City on Saturday,
they coasted to a 2-0 victory.
I know the season is not quite one third over, but the statistics
do bear out that upsets are a rarity. The chart below shows that of the 120
Premier League games played so far this season, only 5 have resulted in a win
for a lower team against a Top 7 club. The other 11 defeats collected by the
teams below have been inflicted by fellow Top 7 sides.
Team
|
No of Defeats
|
Victorious Opponents
|
Manchester City
|
0
|
|
Manchester United
|
1
|
Huddersfield
Town
|
Chelsea
|
1
|
Crystal
Palace
|
Tottenham Hotspur
|
0
|
|
Liverpool
|
0
|
|
Arsenal
|
2
|
Stoke
City & Watford
|
Burnley
|
1
|
West Bromwich
Albion
|
If only another half dozen or so clubs could lift their
performance level to that of “the low budget extraordinaire” Burnley, we really
would have a Premier League that, in terms of competitive value, is the best in
the world.
Other interesting
results from the weekend
It was a predictable 0-0 result at Deepdale on Friday evening
in the Championship.
We had a Preston
North End side desperate to avoid losing five on the spin against Bolton Wanderers
who, having had their confidence ripped away by the worst of all starts to the
season, were reluctant to over-commit, preferring to increase their unbeaten
run to six games rather than chasing the 3 points. North End are still
relatively safe in a lower mid-table position and although the Wanderers remain
in the bottom three, they are no longer isolated from the rest of the pack.
Wigan
Athletic lost 2-1 at home to the talented Bradford City to fall
behind leaders Shrewsbury Town but Blackpool returned to winning ways after an
extremely commendable 1-0 win at Peterborough United; Kyle Vassell scoring the
goal.
A
draw can be a good result; it can also be quite disappointing. It is all down
to circumstance and situation. Accrington Stanley, fresh from their shock FA Cup elimination
to Non-League Guiseley following a penalty shoot-out, must have fancied 3
points from their home fixture against Newport County. In fact they had to wait
until an 88th minute equaliser from substitute Mallik Wilks to claim
a 1-1 draw, whereas Morecambe, faced with a tough trip to
Colchester United, were pleased to travel back north with a point from a
goalless draw. Stanley have slipped to 3rd in League 2 and the “Shrimps”, now
unbeaten in two successive league games, are 4 points clear of the relegation
zone in 20th place.
Barrow produced
arguably the performance of the day for a Red Rose County club by ending a long
barren spell, winning 2-0 at Eastleigh, a wealthy club from Hampshire. Striker
Byron Harrison and defender Jimmy Dunne were on target as the “Bluebirds”
extricated themselves from the relegation spots in the National
League. Meanwhile AFC Fylde picked
up another three points with a 2-0 win over strugglers Torquay United, that man
Danny Rowe once again on the score sheet….twice.
Games to watch out for this
weekend
Jack Cork has proved to be an inspired signing,
complementing the skills of the Irish duo of Brady (pictured) and Hendrick and whether the manager plays Wood, Vokes or
Barnes up front makes little difference; each one is a serious threat. Arsenal have
a tremendous home record this season but have been flaky on their travels. Messrs
Ozil and Sanchez will have to be really up for the fight to prevent the Clarets
lengthening their winning streak. The “west coast” derby at Highbury Stadium on
Saturday will be an interesting game. Just one point and three league placings
separate Fleetwood
Town and Blackpool in this League 1 encounter, with both
clubs still harbouring dreams of a Play-Off place. The “Cod Army”, forced to
sell two of their star players in the summer, have had a decent season, but
lack the cutting edge of last season’s eleven. The “Tangerines”, fresh from a
welcome win on the road at Peterborough, are an unpredictable side so a close
game could be in prospect. The FA Trophy Qualifying Round 3 has paired two of
our struggling clubs. Marine from the Northern Premier League play
host to FC
United of Manchester from the National League North. Both clubs need a win
here to help them to kick start their season, enabling them to pull away from
the prospect of relegation, but this game is too close to call. In the same
competition, National
League North leaders Salford City have been given the toughest
possible draw, away to Brackley. The Northamptonshire side are equally pushing
hard for promotion. The Greater Manchester side has never before progressed
beyond this point so a win in the Midlands will add to their ever lengthening CV.
Prescot Cables welcome table toppers South
Shields to Valerie Park for a Northern Premier
League 1 North game. The “Geordies” are pulling in tremendous crowds but
the “Cables” are having a much improved season and may give the leaders a run
for their money.
Quiz of
the Week (Answers
at the foot of the Blog)
All the
questions relate to Wembley Cup Finals
 |
| 1 For which team did this man win his only FA Cup winner's medal? |
 |
| 2 This man's header won the FA Cup for which team? |
 |
3 This goalkeeper played for which team?
4 With which club did this man win 2 FA Cup Winner's medals?
 
6 Which is the team playing in white?
7 Which team won the FA Cup this particular year?
8 Which Red Rose County team had these three internationals just beaten in the FA Cup Final?
9 Who was the last man to be presented with the FA Cup?
10 Against whom did this man score twice in the last final played at the old Wembley?
|
Non-League
Chatter
The Ashton United v Barwell 1-1 draw in the Northern
Premier League may seem like a run of the mill result, but it was
actually filled with drama. With 15 minutes remaining and the score goalless,
Ashton were reduced to ten men and with 5 minutes still on the clock, were
further reduced to nine. Amazingly they gained a penalty which Dan Pilkington converted
but were denied a heroic victory when Barwell equalised well into time added.
The Greater Manchester side slipped out of the Play-Off spots as a result. Warrington Town
remain in second place after coming from behind to win 3-1 at
Mickleover Sports. The best performance in Northern
Premier League 1 North was Ramsbottom
United’s 3-2 win at league leader’s Bamber
Bridge. “Rammy” led 3-0 well into the second half, “Brig” came roaring
back but failed to find the equaliser. Bootle will be disappointed by their
efforts this season, failing to match the fluency of last year when promotion
was achieved. They did however record a comfortable 4-0 away win at a
struggling Maine Road on Saturday to enable them to hang on to 5th
place in the North West Counties Premier League.
The shock result of the day however came in the North
West Counties League 1 where Holker Old Boys ended Silsden’s 17 game winning streak, Nathan Reid
scoring a last minute winner.
Non-League
Club of the Week
Abbey Hey FC
Schools’ Football;
a possible solution to gun and knife crime?
Football is certainly currency with the younger kids. Until
the age of eleven there is massive engagement; they wear the shirt, talk up their
team, collect the stickers and constantly kick a ball around. The professional
clubs help, attracting boys and girls from as young as 6 years of age to become
involved in coaching schemes and they are backed up by local authority summer
camps and by an ocean of junior clubs who may run up to as many as four 5 aside
or 7 aside teams per age group. From eleven onwards, the fall out begins; at
first a trickle leading to an avalanche by the age of 18. The local clubs have
done a great job but they are mainly run by dads who often lack the skills to
deal with problem “teens” with absentee fathers and no transport. They are subsequently
lost to the game and the game’s loss is society’s loss because many of these
youngsters develop into testosterone fuelled hell-raisers who look for an
outlet for their pent-up energy; finding it in the gang culture. Hence there
are far too many boys in this age bracket who are being locked up and on the
road to becoming career criminals. Once upon a day there was schools’ football
with the pupils playing 20 plus games a season for their school and if they had
problems getting home, the teacher would drop them off. Schools’ football is now
on its last legs and the English Schools’ FA, the parent body which had overall
responsibility for providing an opportunity for millions of boys and lately
girls to play the game, will soon cease to exist, the FA taking over the
responsibility for inter-school competitions. The PE Teacher was generally looked
up to in a school. He was the one they would listen to, the one who knew what
was going on amongst the kids, a positive role model with often (quite
literally) the clout to sort them out. For many young people, football is an
outlet for excess energy and aggression. It creates excitement; it produces
team bonding and loyalty. It is a force for the good in society and helps to
make worthy citizens. Bizarrely however, the gang culture offers some of the
same to its crews. Just like football, it provides a sense of belonging, makes
similar demands of its members, has its own code of conduct and role models to
look up to. Sadly however with its reliance on knives, guns and drugs, it not
only ruins the lives of its intended victims but also the majority of its
participants. We didn’t always win with troublesome pupils but if we could get
them playing sport through those troublesome years, we had a chance and I am
certain that many teachers who were involved in schools’ football have virtually
saved the lives of numerous potential thugs and drug addicts. Now they are
simply cannon fodder for the gangsters, all because governments have played
down competition in schools and have put far too much emphasis on the delivery
of the National Curriculum to the detriment of extra-curricular activities. The
fear factor surrounding teachers giving lifts to youngsters has certainly not
helped and the Premier League, who said that the coaching of young footballers
could not be trusted to amateur school teachers, and the power-lusting FA have sounded
the death knell for the ESFA. Is an organisation which worked for free, helped
produce the likes of Charlton and Moore, Robson, Shilton and Giggs but most
importantly gave millions of kids, often from unstable and dysfunctional families
a feeling of self-worth and a positive buzz from their lives, not worth saving?
Post Weekend Musings
It
will be an interesting return to East Anglia for Alex Neil on Saturday as his Preston North End side
meet Norwich City in the Championship. The Canaries sacked the Scotsman
part way through last season but their situation has shown no significant
improvement and North End likewise, who lost manager Simon Grayson to
Sunderland prior to replacing him with Neil, are still a mid-table club. It
makes one wonder whether we don’t attach too much significance to the role of a
manager these days. Pre-1st World War, the committee would pick the
side, throw the ball to the skipper just before the game and say “here you are,
sort it out, get on with it”. Would that still work? It would be interesting to
find out.
It’s
European football midweek, with six of our clubs in action. It is difficult
however to drum up a sense of excitement in what is on offer. With two games
still to be played in the group games of the Champions League, Manchester
City have already qualified and a home win over Feyenoord on Tuesday will
guarantee top spot (and a seeded draw). Manchester
United travel to FC Basel the following evening, knowing that a draw will
be sufficient to top the group. Liverpool
have the most difficult task. A draw at Sevilla on Tuesday will help the cause,
but a win would guarantee qualification. It has been a most encouraging set of
results for our sides thus far, but some of the opposition has been poor. I
suggest that the likes of NK Maribor, Feyenoord, Olympiakos, FK Qarabag and RSC
Anderlecht would be amongst the dead wood in our Premier League and Monaco, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica and Atletico
Madrid have disappointed. Hopefully the knock-out stages will be far more
competitive once the rubbish has been binned and we can really enjoy the games.
It also asks questions about the long-mooted European Super League and how
competitive that might be.
Following failures at Real Sociedad and Sunderland, West Ham United have been brave to take him on but he was an adopted Red Rose man for many years and without an ounce of bull-shit in him. For those reasons, I really wish him all the best in the East End of London. I do however wonder if they will understand his “lingo”.
Quiz Answers: 1 Tottenham Hotspur, 2 Wigan Athletic, 3 Manchester City, 4 Manchester United, 5 Preston North End, 6 Bolton Wanderers, 7 Everton, 8 Burnley,
9 Per Mertesacker, 10 Arsenal.
No comments:
Post a Comment