Gricehead Posted November 19, 2004 Author Share Posted November 19, 2004 Stalybridge Celtic Squad, 2004/2005. Football League Division 2 Goalkeepers: 1. Jason Batty Age 33. New Zealand (39 Caps). 134 appearances Jason is still number one between the sticks, and has to consider himself unlucky not to have added to his international cap tally. His position wasn't threatened by either of the other keepers at all last season, and there is no evidence that that is going to change in the near future. Of course, he can still leave the club for £26k if anyone choses to make an offer, as he has a non-promotion release clause from back in the conference days. 13. Paul Hulse Age 23. English. 2 appearances Paul's challenge for the first team spot, mentioned in last season's squad rundown, failed to materialise. Indeed his performance in the two appearances he did make was disappointing. He's still relatively young, especially for a keeper, so still has a chance to prove himself. 34. Peter Brown Age 19. English. 7 appearances The coaching staff are of the unaninimous opinion that youth product Peter Brown's time at the club should be up. Hence, he will go on the tranfer list. Defenders: 2. Andreas Elgert Age 28. German. 23 appearances Andreas quickly found himself floundering at the level of the third division, leading to the purchase of Burns. However, he has proved an adequate backup player in either fullback position. Will remain as such at least at the start of this season. 3. Tommy Jaszczun Age 26. English. 71 appearances. Missed only three league games, despite declaring mid-season that he wanted to continue his career at a higher level. Hopefully he will soon realise that I am helping him to persue his career at higher levels than he would otherwise have achieved. His contract becomes unprotected in December. Then we will see if anyone at a higher level is interested! 4. Dave Challinor Age 28. English. 72 appearances, 5 goals. Another major player in the successful Division 3 promotion season, "Big Dave" only missed two league games and even managed to get on the scoresheet a few times with some vital goals. Having spent a season and a half as one of the first names on the team sheet, he may have to fight for his position a little more this season with the signing of Morgan. Another player whose contract becomes unprotected in December. 5. Matt Hocking Age 26. English. 52 appearances. Thankfully, Matt is back to full fitness after his sickening injury last season. Unfortunately for him, that injury has knocked his significantly down the pecking order. He will probably find himself in the reserves unless one of the first three centre backs suffers injury or suspension. 12. Chris Morgan Age 26. English. Signed on a Bosman transfer from Tranmere in the summer, Chris is looking forward to renewing his partnership with Dave Challinor this season. He is strong, brave, agressive and determined in the tackle, a player who is willing to sweat blood for the cause, something which might just be needed this season, and equally likely to get himself sent off when the red mist descends. He has managed a red card in each of the last three seasons. If it were not for this red mist syndrome, he would be an ideal choice for the captain's armband. 16. Steve Heaton Age 25. English. 74 appearances, 1 goal. I've come to the conclusion that Steve is a player who, unfortunately for him, is most comfortable in the Conference. He didn't have the chance to prove me wrong last season, making just one appearance, and he's now on the transfer list. There has been no interest shown so far, and this is the last year of his contract. I can't see him securing another one. 18. Liam Burns Age 25 Northern Irish. 37 appearances. An £80k signing from Wycombe, Liam slotted straight into the right back position, and made most of his appearances there. He also covered at centre back on the odd occasion, and performed adequately when asked. First choice at right back, and regarded by me as one of the first names on the team sheet. He is stil not valued as highly by the bean counters though. Suffered a broken leg towards the end of last season, and will miss the first few weeks of this campaign as well. 29. Ronnie Howells Age 18. English. 1 appearance + Loan spell at Purfleet + Loan spell at Weymouth At 18, Ronnie has lost the faith of the coaching staff. Once rated as a player of immense quality, the majority now think he should be placed on the transfer list. However, his contract is protected for another full season, so I'm giving him a final chance. He will not go out on loan this time unless a conference or third division side request his services. 30. Mike Lewis Age 22. Welsh. 12 appearances. Mike's Stalybridge career is progressing slower than he would like, however the majority of my coaching staff still feel that he has something to offer. Has a long time to go on his contract, and is only on £220 per week, so I'll side with the coaches on this one. 32. Tony Horner Age 20. English. Tony Horner has had more prospective transfers than anyone else at the club! Still on the transfer list (to his disgust), he can leave if someone will actually show me the cold hard cash rather than just pretending they have it. 37. Danny Cullip Age 28. English. 35 appearances. A £65k signing from Rotherham during the season, and will probably face his old club this time around. The third member of the threesome fighting for the two centre back places. Also club captain. Midfielders 6. Lee Collins Age 30. Scottish. 86 appearances, 12 goals. Lee backed up his first full season as a Stalybridge player with another very consistent year. In that period he has made the defensive midfield position his own, fighting off the challenge of Marsden along the way. However, with Acuña on the scene this season, he could find things a little trickier. 7. Andrew Cameron Age 22. Scottish. 105 appearances, 27 goals. Flying winger Cameron coasted past the 100 appearance mark as we eased towards promotion and, although not always attaining the level of performance of the season before, was still a major player. Seems to have got over his stamina problem this season. Given that I've been able to offer him a contract with a significantly higher release clause, I suspect him to be around at the club for some time yet. The arrival of Mackie and Foley Sheridan will give him some well needed competition as well. 8. Neil Mackenzie Age 28. English. 54 appearances, 17 goals. Neil's lack of goals this season have cost him dear. Only 4 from 25 appearances meant that he was never going to be first choice. The appearance of Bastow as a first team player, and the signing of Friars, has also forced him down the pecking order. With the arrival of some relatively high earners at the club, Mackenzie may have to make way, and he's been placed on the transfer list to gauge interest. It doesn't look like he will have a problem finding another club, and it doesn't look like we'll have any problem recouping the £22k we paid. 11. Dean Harris Age 20. English. 62 appearances, 9 goals. Much to my pleasure, Dean definitely managed to prove himself a rung up the ladder. Scoring 8, and making a further 11 to boot, he has established himself as a solid first team member. Hopefully he can continue his development as we move up through the leagues. There are another two years on his contract yet. 15. Clarence Acuña Age 29. Chilean (76 caps, 1 goal). Stalybridge hit the headlines when we secured the signature on a 1 year contract of the Chilean national captain. So far he has held down his international place, despite moving away from top flight football. Primarily, he will occupy the defensive midfield spot, but pre season games have proved he can also operate on the right side of the midfield three. 19. Darren Mackie Age 22. Scottish. Signed on a 1 year contract from Aberdeen after a short trial at the club, the young Scottish winger sees himself as a short term Stalybridge player and is sure he will soon move on to a bigger club. I'm not concerned if he does, as long as he performs this season. Of course, if he can be persuaded to sign a longer term contract, all well and good. Has a fair bit of top flight experience, all be it in Scotland, which should prove useful. The time he spent on trial with the club has also ensured he is match fit to go into the season! 20. Frazer Toms Age 24. English. 7 appearances, 1 goal. A straight swap for Phil Salt with Barnet, Toms has also taken Salt's squad number and place in the reserves. A lot of players will have to pick up injuries before he is considered a first team player, so he is available for loan to aid his development should the opportunity arise. 21. Darren Bastow Age 22. English. 33 appearances, 6 goals + loan spell at Stotfold "It's a long hard season in the reserves for Darren", or so I said last season, but his performance when called upon in the early games of the season caused me to rethink. From then on it was a battle of wills between him, me and his agent to persuade him to sign an extension to his contract, something which he managed to avoid for a long time. His services were eventually secured for the next three years, and his performances in pre season have ensured that he will get a fair share of first team opportunity this time around. 22. Garry Clemence Age 19. English. 4 appearances, 1 goal. Despite being coaches pet for a long time, Garry has lost that position, and managed only 7 loan appearances last season. I am now receiving recommendations to offload him. It always pains me to make this decision with our own Youth products, but I'm not exactly short of midfielders at the moment. 23. Kevin Aitchison Age 22. Scottish. Loan spell at Cheltenham Saracens. The jury is out on Aitchison, who undeniably has talent, and has shown it on occasions in the reserves. Needs another loan spell at a reasonably high level this season. 28. Darren Watts Age 18. English. 3 appearances + loan spell at Fisher. Another player who last year could do no wrong in the eyes of the coaches and is now struggling to get their attention. Got glowing reports from the staff at Fisher, but considering the differences in levels between the two clubs, will need to show that he can perform at a higher level this season. 33. Tommy MacDonald Age 19. English. End of the road for Tommy, who hasn't made any impact in the reserves this season. Not only that, but he doesn't fit into my tactics, and refuses to retrain for a new position. Unsurprisingly, I'm open to offers. 36. Sean Friars Age 25. Northern Irish. 46 appearances, 12 goals. Undeniably one of the players of the season, well worth his £35k transfer fee from Carlisle. Sean is a versatile attacking midfielder who can play in any of the three midfield positions. The only thing preventing him being everpresent is his versatility, as he is such a good player to have on the bench, as proved by his ten substitute appearances in the last campaign. 38. Michael Foley Sheridan Age 21. Irish (Capped at U21). Signed on a one year contract as the highest paid player at the club, former Liverpool player (with a vast 2 appearances) Foley Sheridan will have to graft hard to prove himself. Will be one of the first for the chop if the team struggle to perform this season, either financially or on the park. Also: Listed youth product: Carl Bird, age 18 Attackers 9. Leo Fortune-West Age 33. English. 105 appearances, 76 goals. Still scoring at a rate better than 2 goals every 3 games, "Big Leo" has eased his way past the landmarks of 50 Stalybridge goals and 100 Stalybridge appearances this season. He's also significantly improved his ratio of shots on target this time around. His unwillingness to discuss an extension to his now unprotected contract worries me, as it leads me to believe he may be considering retirement. We need more goals from him this season. He's now two appearances short of 300 for his career. 10. Dave McEwen Age 26. English. 26 appearances, 4 goals. Dave remains the record signing for the club, and also still has a £100k appearance fee due if he makes another 17 league appearances. This looks unlikely to be activated, however, as his lack of consistent performances, combined with his relatively high wages, means he is added to the transfer list to keep things balanced. Interest is coming from several clubs, although he is believed to be disappointed at the decision. 14. Sergio Ommel Age 26. Dutch. 81 appearances, 22 goals. Ommel started the season as third choice striker, but soon moved up to a first team place. He dropped back again when Barker was signed, but again bounced back into the team. During all this he managed to double his goal tally for the club. The ex Groningen and Bristol Rovers player will have to watch his back again this season, with Barker and the two new signings vying for the place. 17. Gary Hart Age 27. English. 58 appearances, 5 goals. Gary still hasn't managed to hold down a first team place, partly because of his inconsistent performances (which haven't really improved when he's being playing reserve team football), but mainly because Cameron has kept him out of the side. With Mackie now in the side, his opportunities will be further limited, and it's only fair that I give him an opportunity to get first team football elsewhere. He's transfer listed, and anything we get for him is a bonus. 24. Mark Peters Age 21. English. 31 appearances, 5 goals. Three full years at the club now for the young striker signed on the same day as Cameron. The coaching staff still think he's got a lot to offer, but his first team performances this season haven't provided any evidence. Eight goals for the reserves, though, help his cause. The arrival of Riordan and Sutton probably drops him down the pecking order a bit. 25. Alex Hutchinson Age 20. English. 2 appearances + loan spell at Folkestone. Performed brilliantly in his 22 reserve team appearances this season, without the opportunity to break into the first team. The coaches have cooled a little and now think he should be moved on, but I'm going to trust my own judgement here. He's only 20, so he has time on his side. 26. John Willoughby Age 19. Scottish. 4 appearances. John's report card this season is identical to last. Impresses the coaches, and had a good season in the reserves. Stays where he is for now. 27. Derek Riordan Age 21. Scottish (Capped at U21). Signed on a one year contract after being released by Hibs, where he had scored 10 goals in 37 appearances over 3 seasons. I'm looking forward to seeing him push Ommel and Leo for a first team place. Hopefully, eventually, he'll establish himself well enough for him to agree a longer term contract. 31. John Sutton Age 20. English. Released by Tottenham, the youngster is happy to get another professional contract. He may struggle to immediately get first team action, but is definitely one to watch for the future. 35. Richard Barker Age 29. English. 27 appearances. For £70k, Richie showed an amazing lack of ability to finish. He only managed 30% of shots on targets and we're still waiting for him to score his first goal. He'll come up against his old Rotherham teammates this season, if he's picked. Nominal third choice striker, although any of the youngsters could push him out of the way. Also: Transfer Listed youth product: Anton Walsh, 17, English. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 20, 2004 Author Share Posted November 20, 2004 Torquay manager Roy McFarland contacts me on the eve of our annual meet up with Accrington. He's offering £75k for Dave McEwen, which is a reasonable valuation. I'm in a league now, though, where every penny counts. They'll need to stump up an appearance based fee as well. It's a very difficult team selection for this game, as at this stage I really don't know what my best eleven is. There is real competition in almost every position, and only Batty, Jaszczun, Acuña and Leo can consider themselves automatic choices. Elgert is in too, but not through choice. Morgan and Challinor are the centre back pairing, with Harris Bastow and Mackie beating off Foley Sheridan, Friars and Cameron for those midfield spots. Riordan partners Leo, as he is in most need of the game. 1740 plus fans have shown up, knowing the history of this particular fixture. There are goals for them to see, the first coming within quarter of an hour of kickoff. A left wing cross from Jaszczun was met, like so many others, by the head of Leo, who laid the ball of for Riordan, who shimmied past his man and scored a great goal. Before the half hour mark, Stalybridge were two up, a Mackie shot parried to Bastow, who tidied up. There were several changes to the personnel before the scorers were troubled again when the Chilean captain crossed the ball and Richie Barker suddenly figured out how to hit the target! Friendly. 7th August 2004. Stalybridge 3 Accrington 0 Riordan 13 Bastow 28 Barker 85 Comfortable, and most importantly no injuries, with a knock to Riordan's shin responding well to ice treatment. Wrexham throw their hat into the ring, offering the same £75k for McEwen, but I'm not going to let him go to a team in the same division. It turns out to be the right move, as Torquay come back with what I ask for - £75k plus £50k after 40 league appearances. Dave agrees, taking a small pay cut, and it's a done deal. Dave McEwen (Stalybridge 24/2/03 - 10/8/04) Played 26 Goals 4 Assists 2 Man of the Match 2 AvR 6.65 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 20, 2004 Author Share Posted November 20, 2004 Keeping up with the usual programme of friendlies, the second string side get a run out against Halifax in midweek. The visitors take the lead and both sides have a goal disallowed, but we have to wait until the 85th minute to get on the score sheet, with Friars getting on the end of a neat move between Ommel and Willoughby. Halifax snatched a second in the dying seconds, which could have been a killer blow to our morale, but for an unbelievable solo run and shot from young Alex Hutchinson, going some way to vindicating my decision to keep him on. Friendly, 10th August 2004. Stalybridge 2 Halifax 2 Friars 85 Hutchinson 90 / Clarke 28 Victory 90 We go into the season with a healthy bank balance of £4.1m, which should allow us to buy our way out of trouble if absolutely necessary. I'm looking for mid table respectability, but I'd like to get it as soon as possible. There are still one or two players I would like to bring to the club if the opportunity arises, but I'm not sure it will. Our first game takes us to some familiar territory, however, as we travel to the Vetch Field to play Swansea. It's not quite the same Swansea, though, as Paul Ince has spent a fair wad of cash strengthening an already strong team. I stuck with the basis of the team from the Accrington game, with Ommel coming in for Riordan being the only change. The two captains tussled early on, and it was Ince who got the better of the meeting, heading the opening goal. This was not how things were supposed to start. In need of a break to get back into the game, we got one when Matthew Bound holds back Mackie. Morgan, still smarting from Ince's early victory, nominated the Chilean to take the kick, and he dispatched his first Stalybridge set piece straight into the top corner. Straight from the kick off, Morgan, Jaszczun, Harris and Acuña linked up, and Harris put a perfect ball onto the head of Ommel. 1-0 down to 2-1 up in 2 minutes, and things were looking a bit healthier! Swansea were understandably knocked back by this turn of events, and it was all our pressure now. Thankfully, we managed to make some use of it and Ommel turned creator as he set up Morgan to ensure both captains were on the score sheet in the first half! With the home side now waking up and smelling the coffee it was important that we got to half time intact. We did. Even more importantly, we managed to add a fourth goal immediately after the break, when Leo, Ommel and Bastow combined to set up the dutchman for his second. Now we could coast it a bit, and Riordan, Friars and Cameron got to come on. Even though Swansea got a goal back with ten minutes to go, this was an excellent result. Sergio Ommel picked up the first man of the match award of the season, although it was a good all round team performance. Division 2 Game 1. 14th August 2004 Swansea 2 Stalybridge 4 Ince 2 Howard 80 / Acuña 5 Ommel 7,48 Morgan 23 Our Chilean has another Transatlantic trip to contend with, and at least they get on the scoresheet this time, only losing 2-1 to Argentina in Santiago. After seven games in the extremely protracted South American qualifying series, Chile are bottom of the pile with only one win. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 22, 2004 Author Share Posted November 22, 2004 With the traveller returned, we are well on our way to gearing up for our first home game of the season when Leo picks up a back strain in Friday morning training. Good news for Riordan, at least, as it ensures he will get a start partnering Ommel. The visitors are Wigan, who we last faced two seasons ago. We've come a hell of a long way since then, whilst they've stood still. They still have Bushell on their books, but he's a million miles from the first team. No other changes are required from the team that performed at Swansea. 6383 fans are packed into Bower Fold, our highest attendance in the league, and a promising sign for the future. They don't particularly enjoy the first half hour, though, as Wigan's formation causes us all sorts of problems. They go 2-0 up in that period of time, with Australian internation Jacob Burns and 35 year old Dutch Captain Dennis de Nooijer doing the damage. Changes to our style of play do the trick, though, and we start to get a foothold in the game. Once we start attacking, we have the strength to create chances, and when Ommel forces a corner, Challinor rises to head Harris' cross goalbound. It bounces back off the post, but captain Morgan is on hand to tidy things up again. Wigan are rocked, but manage to hold things together until half time. With the formation now cracked, it's just a case of chasing that second goal, and the lads know what they have to do without me telling them. We're putting Wigan under pressure straight from the kick off, as Ommel forces a good save out of Simonsen. Elgert is getting some room under Wigan's system, and he makes the most of it, whipping in a near post cross which Bastow controlled, turned with and fired left footed past the keeper. Wigan started to push forward again, but their heart didn't really seem in it anymore, having been pegged back by a bunch of upstarts. Harris was replaced by Cameron as the dominant home team pushed for the winner, with the best chance falling to substitute Barker with five minutes to go. His dreadful luck held, though, as he saw the ball ricochet away off the post. The referees whistle brought proceedings to an end, Morgan picking up the man of the match award for another good, solid performance. Division 2 Game 2. 21st August 2004. Stalybridge 2 Wigan 2 Morgan 37 Bastow 51 / Burns 12 de Nooijer 29 Quite an impressive start! Unbeaten after two games shows we might just be able to compete at this level. Foley Sheridan receives a call up to the Irish Under 21 squad for the match against Israel on the 3rd September, whilst interest is being shown in Mackenzie by a third division club, and a club from the Irish league. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 22, 2004 Author Share Posted November 22, 2004 A long, long time ago, or so it seems, we drew West Ham in the League Cup first round. Now it's time to fulfill that fixture, and attempt to progress in this particular competition for the first time. I toy with the idea of changes, but there isn't really a fitness problem to justify it. There are one or two players who would definitely benefit from a run out, though, and of those Barker and Foley Sheridan get starts. Less than 5000 show up, but the League Cup is renowned for it's lack of pulling power. Those regulars who found alternative forms of entertainment would have been disappointed at missing the way we opened the game. Elgert was finding space down the right again, and his 6th minute cross caused chaos as it headed towards Barker. Ukrainian defender Holovko won the header, but he was unbalanced and could only steer the ball into the path of Bastow. Once again the youngster made no mistake to put us 1-0 up. The superior opposition were never going to accept this lying down, and they came at us in force, with Michael Ricketts being guilty of spurning a couple of opportunities after the restart. Right now we needed solidity and experience. We got them, as after 28 appearance, Richie Barker finally decided to put his name on the scoresheet. Challinor provided the cross, and the experienced head of Barker put the home fans into a frenzy at 2-0. Perhaps all the celebrations went to the heads of the Stalybridge players too, as they failed to defend for the remaining eight minutes to the break, allowing Paolo Vernazza to sneak a stoppage time goal to bring West Ham right back into the game. Mackie had to come off at the break, and Cameron was introduced. there was no point telling the lads to try and defend the game out, as that sort of philosophy rarely comes off against superior opposition. Indeed, it has been clear in both games this season that attack is our best form of defence, so I ask for more of the same. The lads try to give me what I ask for, but we rarely string three passes together as West Ham push and push for an equaliser. Izzet and Soma had the best chances, but to be honest our defence stood up to what was thrown at them. There was even time for Barker to resume his woodwork target practice deep into stoppage time. League Cup 1st Round. 24th August 2004. Stalybridge 2 West Ham 1 Bastow 6 Barker 32 / Vernazza 45 A huge win for us, on a par with the league scalps we took when in the Conference. In fact there was probably a bigger gulf between these two sides, with West Ham fielding millions of pounds worth of talent and 5 internationals. They now have to go back to trying to get back into the Premier league. Our reward for a such a hard fought victory is a trip to The New Den. Millwall are in the fourth season of a Division 1 - Premiership yoyo session, and have spent £18m in the summer, aiming to ensure that their stay in the top flight is more than one season. Nicky Butt (after four seasons at Sunderland) and Laurent Robert (just one season at Villa) make up the majority of the spending. There is no doubt that we face a difficult task! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 23, 2004 Author Share Posted November 23, 2004 It's back down to earth quickly though, and a trip to Kenilworth Road and Neil Adam's unbeaten Luton side. The reserves manage to win their meet up 2-0, but at the cost of injuries to Toms and Aitchison. Something tells me our task will be that little bit more difficult! First of all, though, there's the matter of Neil Mackenzie's future to sort out. Now all the papererwork is completed, I can reveal that third division Hull City won the race to sign him with a bid based on £120k up front and another £30k depending on appearances. The Irish club couldn't match that, and we wish Mackenzie all the best at the end of the M62. It's useful to keep the coffers topped up as well, not that we desperately need it. Neil Mackenzie (Stalybridge 19/11/02 - 27/8/04) Played 54 Scored 17 Assists 5 Man of the Match 2 AvR 7.15 There are no changes in the side to travel to Luton, who field most of their £2.5m worth of summer signings for this game. We can't afford to be scared of players with that sort of price tag if we are going to survive in this division though. It's a quiet start of the game, with both sides testing the water. A foul on Mackie after 14 minutes not only led to a promising looking freekick and a yellow card for the offending Luton player, but also resulted in Darren limping from the field. Cue the arrival of Andrew Cameron. But it was at the other end where the breakthrough was made, as right back Thomas Helveg found himself in a shooting position and made no mistake, scoring his first goal in 8 years! Luton clearly had the upper hand in midfield, and they demonstrated this with some neat interplay. No goal came directly, but we lost our shape badly, and eventually central defender Chris Coyne was allowed to run straight through the middle of the park to add a second goal. This caused the lads to lose their cool a little, and the repercussions went on that little bit too long, allowing Fox to break free and set up Liam George a minute later for the third. Game over? Well at least we had half time to try and sort things out. What could I tell the team? There was no point laying into them, despite Batty, Elgert and one or two others performing distinctly below par. Instead, we reminded them that this wasn't the first time they had been 3-0 down at the break, and that coming back was a possibility, no matter how remote. Nothing was forthcoming immediately after the restart, and an underperforming Bastow made way for Friars ten minutes later. This change, at least, seemed to signal some sort of improvement. His first shot, 15 minutes later, fizzed just over the bar, before he hit the post a minute after that. The rebound fell to Barker, who reacquainted himself with the woodwork. If only the goals were 6 inches bigger in each direction, Barker would have a hatful! It wasn't long, though, before Friars provided Ommel with a goal scoring opportunity, and the on fire striker finished with aplomb. Rallying to the cause, Challinor headed home a corner with 9 minutes to go, and Luton were rattled. When a freekick was awarded on the edge of the area for a foul on Barker, the remaining home supporters were looking distinctly agitated, but keeper Banks was just equal to Friars' shot in what was the last action of the match. Division 2 Game 3. 28th August 2004 Luton 3 Stalybridge 2 Helveg 19 Coyne 34 George 35 / Ommel 73 Challinor 81 Mackie joins the contingent in the treatment room and will miss three weeks with knee ligament trouble. Along with Friars, he's the only one who can really come out of the game with any credit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 23, 2004 Author Share Posted November 23, 2004 We need to bounce back from that performance, and at least we have a Monday night game to exorcise the memory. It's at home as well, but unfortunately it's against top of the league Bristol City. There are some tired legs in the camp, so Friars, Collins, Harris and Riordan will all start. Bastow loses his place due to underperforming and Mackie through injury, with Barker and Foley Sheridan being the leg-weary ones. Acuña will try life on the right for once. It's another record league attendance, as the Bower Fold rocks to an almost entirely partisan 6463 fans. Four minutes later you could hear a pin drop, as a four man move by the Robins ends with a defender scoring against us again. Stig Inge Bjørnebye finds himself at Bristol City after a short term contract at Wycombe, and is on fire from the left back position. Our confidence at home is a different prospect, though, and we don't crumble this time. Friars fires in another dipping shot which narrowly clears the crossbar, before a Harris corner is headed home by Sergio Ommel who still can't stop scoring. Friars clears the bar again, and both he and Harris provide some work for City keeper Evans. As the attacking continued, Riordan struck the crossbar and with Harris running through unmarked there was only one outcome. 2-1 to the Stalybridge! The visitors could have equalised a couple of times before half time, but they were well marshalled by the defence and ensured we carried out lead into the break. Much of the same outlook in the second, and within 3 minutes Riordan has lifted a shot disappointingly over the bar. The Scot is struggling to keep up with play, and Sutton is sent to warm up with a view to coming on. Evans keeps his side in the game with another cracking save from Friars which he just manages to tip round the post, and the resulting corner is cleared at the second attempt by his defence. The visitors did eventually break out into attack, however, with ex Sheffield Wednesday and Anderlecht striker Gilles De Bilde breaking down the left. He put in a wicked cross which the defence had to deal with, but Collins' header heads in the wrong direction and leaves Batty helpless. It was not what Collins deserved in his first start of the season. Surprisingly, the league leaders sat back, and seemed happy to settle for the draw, and that left Evans to perform acrobatics in the goal as our attack minded players pressed for the winner. Sutton, eventually on the pitch not long after the equaliser, should have doen better with a couple of chances, but no winner came. The man of the match award went to Harris. Good lad! Division 2 Game 4. 30th August 2004. Stalybridge 2 Bristol City 2 Ommel 15 Harris 26 / Bjørnebye 4 Collins 64(og) We drop to 13th, and one of these days we might actually get a game against a side not near the top of the table! At least the board enjoyed the game, so I don't suppose things could be that bad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 23, 2004 Author Share Posted November 23, 2004 It's award time, and Dean Harris is the first Stalybridge winner this season. He carries off the young player of the month award, presumably with ease given his one goal and two assists. The head of the Youth Academy pays me a visit. I'd almost forgotten who he was, but he introduces me to Bobby Gee, a 16 year old Striker who he considers good enough for the senior squad. He features in the 4-1 reserves defeat against Colchester, where Aldo choses to play him in midfield for some reason! Matt Hocking suffers a twisted ankle in that game and misses another month of action. The coach party for the long, long journey to Colchester is joined by Liam Burns, back to fitness again after his broken leg. He's not match fit, so will not be taking part this week, but it's good to have him back with the squad. Barker returns to the team, and that's the only change. Colchester are in 18th, but still highly rated by the scouts that watched them. It's a hot, hot day in Essex, 34 degrees according to the pitchside thermometer, so it's set to be an energy sapping game. Danny Schofield misses a sitter in the second minute after Batty pushed away a Neil Sorvel shot, and we don't need telling twice to pull our socks up. Ten minutes later Barker is free in the area when Challinor delivers a freekick. The ball comes to his feet and those behind the goal start to hide in case of a nasty deflection off the woodwork. But not this time, as we're 1-0 up with a fine strike. Ommel's not having a good game by his recent standards, but that doesn't matter because Richie has the taste for goal now, and he's on the end of a Harris cross to make it 2-0 before the half hour mark. With the official holding up the stoppage time board, Harris puts another ball in the box and unbelievably Barker has a hattrick. We're all in shock, to the extent that no-one really notices Schofield sneaking in to score just before the referee signals the end of the half. We notice alright when Sorvel adds Colchester's second midway through the second half though. Ommel is replaced by Riordan, as he tells us he's got a knock on the shin. Some people might say he's feeling upstaged, but I doubt it. It's last gasp defending to hold on to the three points, but we manage it. A valuable three away points and a man of the match for Richie Barker. There'll be some celebrations on the coach home! Division 2 Game 5. 4th September 2004. Colchester 2 Stalybridge 3 Schofield 45 Sorvel 65 / Barker 12,28,45 Up to 9th, and more plaudits from the board. It's nice to have them on your side! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 23, 2004 Author Share Posted November 23, 2004 Acuña makes another transatlantic trip, but it's fruitless again. 1-0 to Paraguay in Santiago this time. For the first time this season, the youth system throws out a couple of players simultaneously. Perhaps misguided, I still hold out hope that one day one of our own products can go all the way. The two new members of the full squad are Shaun Gordon (Right sided midfielder, aged 18) and David Dicks (Central midfielder, aged 18) Peters, Toms, Hart and, most importantly Leo, are all back to full fitness ahead of the visit of 19th place Darlington. Neither Ommel or Barker deserve dropping, so Leo will start his comeback on the bench. There's another record league crowd at the Bower Fold, with 6490 fans in total packed into the small ground. Darlington's tactics are different, a 5-3-2 which doesn't seem to offer them many attacking options. We soon get control of the midfield, and our full backs Elgert and Jaszczun get to roam forward at will. It's an Elgert cross that sets up the first Stalybridge goal, Barker grabbing his 5th of the season, and enjoying his newfound goalscoring abilities. We kept things tight until half time, but I had a good feeling about this 1-0. After all, Darlington had shown absolutely nothing so far. Clarence Acuña hobbled off not long into the second half, meaning a chance for Cameron to stake a claim. He almost did so straight away, having a shot turned round the post by keeper Bennett. Friars got his first goal of the season with 20 minutes left. He's taken his time to get going in this division, but hopefully now he can knock them in regularly. The game was rounded of nicely with something we hadn't seen for quite a while, a trademark Cameron run and shot leading to a very comfortable looking 3-0 scoreline. Comfortable sums up the game as well, as Darlington only manage two shots at goal in the entire game. The man of the match goes to Lee Collins, mainly for a solid holding performance in midfield, but also for his inch perfect ball which set Friars free for his goal. Division 2 Game 6, 11th September 2004 Stalybridge 3 Darlington 0 Barker 25 Friars 69 Cameron 79 Hopefully, the near capacity crowd will be persuaded to come back regularly to the Bower Fold. If they do, there can be no doubt that the Chairman will have to spend some pennies expanding the stadium. That last result moves us up to 6th, and above that famous line in the league table. Good news, but tinged with a little bit of bad news, as our Chilean is out of action for three weeks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 23, 2004 Author Share Posted November 23, 2004 We welcome a new member of staff to the club. Scot David Walker joins our Scouting team, as we move towards a more professional staff compliment. Chris Barnes joins our full squad from the youth system on the same day. He's an 18 year old right sided defender. I don't fancy his chances in the long term at the club, as from an initial viewing he doesn't seem to have the right mental characteristics. We have a midweek trip to make to Barnsley, who are struggling at the bottom of the division. The scout report is a cautious one, though, as he reckons they're a stronger side than their league placing indicates. Cameron comes in for Acuña, but the rest of the squad are fit so no other changes are required. Leo will again have to be happy with a place on the bench. There's little sign of action from the attacking players in the early part of the game, and it's left to Challinor to open the scoring with a header from a Harris corner. Friars gets the second, but this time he does it before the break, meaning that we can go in comfortably 2-0 up. We're still just as comfortable at the hour mark, and with one eye on the weekend's fixtures, Harris and Cameron are withdrawn in favour of Foley Sheridan and Bastow. Leo joins the party shortly afterwards, but the celebrations are put on ice by late goals from Isiah Rankin and Bruce Dyer, the reds' fearsome attacking pairing who now have three goals between them. Friars has done enough to get the man of the match award, but I'm fuming that we threw two points away, even though it may have been partly my own doing. Division 2 Game 7, 15th September 2004. Barnsley 2 Stalybridge 2 Rankin 77 Dyer 83 / Challinor 22 Friars 35 A game of two halves, if ever there was one, and it drops us down to 8th place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 23, 2004 Author Share Posted November 23, 2004 Three days later, and we're facing Leo's old team, Cardiff, who are just one point and one place below us in the league. Rumours around the club suggest that Gary Hart may be on the way out after a cash bid was received from an unnamed Southern Premier club. Meanwhile, Leo is included in the starting eleven to face the Welshmen, at the expense of Ommel. The Dutch striker has done nothing wrong, it's simply a case of horses for courses, and I don't think he really minds letting Leo have a crack at scoring against his old club again. There are no other changes, as the lads maintain high fitness levels despite the midweek fixture. The Bower Fold rocked again, as the Stalybridge players ran out in front of another near capacity crowd. Only 37 empty seats around the ground, and the team stepped up again to the fantastic support. It was blue and white pressure from the off, with the Bluebirds (resplendent in red for a change) having keeper Maik Taylor to thank for keeping the score 0-0. Leo had a couple of headers well saved, whilst at the other end Batty kept out Justin Jackson and Peter Thorne whenever the visitors put any moves together. The last five minutes of the half saw Taylor pull off three saves in rapid succession, to deny Cameron and Friars from opening the scoring. On another day, we might have had two or three by the time the referee blew the half time whistle. That is never a good feeling to go into the break with, as you are always aware of the possibility that the opposition could get a goal quickly after the break and all your hard work would be undone. So it was with a little trepidation that I asked for the players to keep things solid for the first five minutes or so before looking for the goal. They heeded my words well, and any threat emanating from the Cardiff ranks was subdued with ease. Back in search of the opener we went, but still we struggled to master the puzzle of the Welsh defence. Barker shot wide before once more finding the woodwork. Taylor again pulled off a massive save from Harris, and time ticked away. Ommel was sent on to replace Barker, and as often happens, the opposition took the subsitution as a sign to apply pressure. The Stalybridge bench gripped the edge of the seat as first Alex Smith and then Justin Jackson spurned decent goalscoring opportunites before the decisive moment of the game. Midfielder Paul Evans went in two footed on Collins, a malicious challenge which the referee decided warranted a straight red card. It still looked as though the goal wasn't going to come, as Paul Hay and Thorne (now playing centre back) kept us out. Leo, who had been quiet for the entire half, was lucky that the ref didn't notice his shove on Graham Allen, which aggrieved the Cardiff players. Doubly fortunate for us, as with only stoppage time to play he got on the end of a corner and scored the winning goal, his first of the season. The goal, against his former employers, earned him the man of the match award. Division 2 Game 8. 18th September 2004. Stalybridge 1 Cardiff 0 Fortune-West 90 (Cardiff's Paul Evans sent off, 70) The win pleases the board (who I presume only saw the last two minutes) and sends us up to sixth. A solid defensive performance, at least, bodes well for the future. Especially our next game at Millwall! One of my least impressive signings, Gary Hart, seals a deal with Salisbury, netting £26k for the club. He should be a really quality player at that level, after all he wasn't that bad in the Third division. A lack of consitency cost him dear. Gary Hart (Stalybridge 30/6/02 - 19/9/04) Played 58, Scored 5, Assists 6, Man of the Match 1, AvR 6.81 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 24, 2004 Author Share Posted November 24, 2004 The New Den would not be the first place most people would chose for their first trip to a Premier League stadium. However, the luck of the draw has dictated that this should be the case for us. The Scout, having braved a previous visit to the hothouse, reports that Millwall have a strong midfield which Laurent Robert and Nicky Butt will feature strongly in. It's enough to scare anyone! The players again show an insatiable appetite for the game, with none of them having any signs of tiredness entering their 4th game in 11 days. Mackie is back, and makes the bench. What we weren't really expecting was for Millwall to run out with 9 changes from their previous game! No Butt, Robert, Rigobert Song, Sadlier, Harris or Ben Thatcher. Danny Murphy does start, though, with four other players gaining their first start of the season. The early pressure belongs to Stalybridge, with Challinor clattering the post with a header from another of Dean Harris' superb corners. Arguably, we should have had a penalty midway through the half, when keeper Green brought down Leo in the area, but the referee had other ideas. Speaking of Leo, he caused all sorts of trouble amongst the defence, and both Millwall centre backs ended the half with yellow cards. Down at the other end, Batty kept Steven Reid, Millwall's biggest threat, at bay, whilst Collins kept a close eye on Murphy. 0-0 at the break. Ommel replaced a hobbling Barker for the second half, as we looked to make the most of the cautions received by their defenders. Class was beginning to tell, though, and Reid and Christophe Kinet started to take control of the game for the home side. Mackie came on for Cameron, and Millwall brought on Giovanni Savarese. The experienced Venezuelan striker threatened to run the show for the last 25 minutes, with Batty coming under more and more pressure. Jaszczun picked up a yellow card battling for the cause, as we failed to escape our own half for long periods of time. When we did finally escape, deep into stoppage time, the ball made it's way via Challinor and Ommel to Leo. Was he going to pop up with a last minute winer for the second game in a row? No, his header was weak and fell comfortably to Mark Bircham. 0-0 at the end of normal time. Millwall were clearly tiring, their lack of match fitness showing throughout the team. The first period of extra time brought only one obviously dangerous moment, with Morgan forced to foul Savarese and pick up a yellow for himself in the process. Make or break time then. Not being a fan of penalty shootouts, especially in an environment such as this, and being well aware of the tired legs on the Premier League side, I made a decision to go for it. On came Bastow, for Harris, with instructions to attack. The youngster had a chance to shoot within five minutes of coming on, but saw his shot fizz high and wide. But there was still to be a twist in this game. With the clock showing 120 minutes, a long throw by Challinor fell to Friars, who played a pass into the path of Leo. Here he was again, with possibly our last of the game. But there was Bircham again, getting a foot in, and Leo was disposessed. Following up was sub Darren Mackie. One touch to control, a second to get the ball from under his feet, and the third sent the ball flying high past the keeper! His first ever Stalybridge goal, leading to our first ever victory over a Premier League side. League Cup 2nd Round. 22nd September 2004. Millwall 0 Stalybridge 1 Mackie 120 Only 6700 or so fans had witnessed it, but the historic win over Millwall marked another stepping stone in my career as Stalybridge manager. It remained to be seen how much 30 minutes of midweek extra time would affect our league progression, but right now no-one was thinking of that. Jason Batty had deservedly been awarded the man of the match award, for without his bravery we would undoubtably conceded in the second half of normal time. The board are ecstatic, but I think they've got one eye on the next round. We'll have to see what the draw brings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 25, 2004 Author Share Posted November 25, 2004 Understandably, there are tired legs around as we travel to Wycombe, currently 21st in the division. Leo and Harris don't travel, with Friars and Barker dropping to the bench. The four promoted to the starting eleven are Foley Sheridan, Bastow, Riordan and Ommel. Minds were also clearly not focussed on the matter in hand, and for once we were the ones on the fortunate end of a bad refereeing decision, when perennial Wycombe forward Paul Emblen was brought down by Batty. Play on, said the referee. Emblen took the matter personally, but reacted in the right way, for him at least, by terrorising our defence for the rest of the game. He wasn't involved in the opening goal, however, which came from a direct freekick taken by Martin Grainger. He got the second though, less than ten minutes later, after breaking our offside trap. Nothing doing for us, as we limped to the end of the half in a damage limitation exercise. Changes during the break. Riordan and FS wouldn't be walking out for the second half, Barker and Mackie would. Barker's first action was to pick up a booking, and my last throw of the tactical die was taken from me when Collins limped from the field only 6 minutes into the half. Against the run of play we got one back, Ommel rising to a corner taken by Jaszczun in Harris' absence. His 5th of the season, but he wasn't really celebrating. Picking up the pace a little, Cameron forced Taylor in the Wycombe goal into a couple of smart saves, and the keeper pulled off a double save from Friars inside the last ten minutes, but we couldn't put enough pressure on Wycombe to force the equaliser, and they always looked as though they were playing within themselves, Emblen looking menacingly whenever he got the ball. Division 2 Game 9. 25th September 2004. Wycombe 2 Stalybridge 1 Grainger 21 Emblen 29 / Ommel 55 Down to 7th, after a disappointing performance. However our biggest worry is Collins, who misses a month with a calf strain. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 25, 2004 Author Share Posted November 25, 2004 Despite struggling to hold down a place in a Division Two starting lineup, Michael Foley Sheridan is still considered good enough for the Irish U21 squad, and receives his call up papers for the next two matches. His joy is shortlived, however, as he picks up a badly torn groin muscle in the reserve game at Wrexham. It will keep him out for 3 months in total. That's bad news for us as well, when you think about how much money he will be raking in whilst recovering. In what was a match of attrition, John Willoughby also picked up a bad injury. The game also saw the debut of trialist Richard Talbot, a forward brought to my attention by Barry Smith. He scored one and made one after coming on for Willoughby in the 4th minute. An impressive debut! The third round draw for the league cup also took place on Thursday night, and we were paired at home with Crystal Palace. Statistically, they are the lowest placed of our three sets of opposition so far in the competition. This bodes well! Hearing them mentioned also reminds me of a couple of their players I've had on my shortlist for a while. Now is as good a time as any to take a closer look at Andrew Martin I think. The end of September brings no awards to Stalybridge. The Fat Fryer takes the manager of the month award, as he steers Peterborough to the top of the table. Players awards go to Wrexham, our next opponents, and Northampton lads. There is some good news for us, though, as Clarence Acuña wins the race to be fit for our home game against the Welshmen. He'll go straight into the starting lineup, as will Harris, Friars and the fit again Leo. 6480 fans are rocking the Fold once again, and the players respond, attacking the Wrexham goal from the off. Neil Moss is having a good time between the sticks, though, and he keeps out several chances that by rights should have gone in. He doesn't have an answer to Cameron's delicate lob twenty minutes in though, and the crowd have seen a goal worth waiting for. It seems to have badly dented Moss' confidence as well, because soon after he flaps wildly at a header by Leo, which the big striker is unfortunate to see rebound off the post. Two minutes later, he gets the direction right, and a fierce shot flies past the bewildered keeper. 2-0 at the break, and Wrexham have had just one shot on target. The Welshmen double their shots on target tally in the early minutes of the second half, but they fade away again as Bastow and Mackie bring some fresh legs into the Stalybridge attack. Five minutes later, Mackie and Ommel have combined to give Bastow the opportunity, and the young midfielder doesn't need telling twice. That wraps up the game nicely, and it looks like becoming a rout, with only some more last ditch goalkeeping from Moss keeping the score down. Division 2 Game 10. 2nd October 2004 Stalybridge 3 Wrexham 0 Cameron 21 Fortune-West 40 Bastow 67 The board are delighted with the performance, which not only sees us move up to 5th, but also marks the completion of a notable treble over the three Welsh sides in the division. It means that the Division 2 table, after 10 games, looks a bit like this: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************************************************************ English Second Division - Saturday 2nd October 2004 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2004/5 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Peterborough 10 3 0 2 7 7 5 0 0 12 4 24 2nd Watford 10 4 1 0 10 5 3 0 2 11 6 22 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Bristol C 10 4 1 0 13 4 2 1 2 7 9 20 4th Luton 10 4 0 1 13 7 2 1 2 6 6 19 5th STALYBRIDGE 10 3 2 0 11 4 2 1 2 12 11 18 6th Sheff Utd 10 3 1 1 11 4 2 1 2 6 5 17 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7th Cardiff 10 3 1 1 11 7 2 1 2 7 7 17 8th Oldham 10 4 1 0 12 7 1 1 3 5 8 17 9th Northampton 10 1 4 0 5 4 3 0 2 12 9 16 10th Reading 10 3 1 1 11 9 1 2 2 8 9 15 11th Oxford 10 3 0 2 8 6 2 0 3 7 10 15 12th Notts Co 10 3 2 0 12 5 1 0 4 7 13 14 13th Kidderminster 10 3 0 2 9 4 1 1 3 6 7 13 14th Wrexham 10 2 0 3 5 6 2 1 2 11 10 13 15th Macclesfield 10 3 0 2 7 6 1 1 3 5 9 13 16th Rushden 10 3 1 1 11 10 1 0 4 6 11 13 17th Rotherham 10 2 1 2 8 7 1 2 2 9 10 12 18th Port Vale 10 3 2 0 8 5 0 1 4 4 13 12 19th Wycombe 10 1 0 4 5 13 2 2 1 6 7 11 20th Swansea 10 1 2 2 7 9 0 3 2 6 10 8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21st Barnsley 10 1 3 1 8 6 0 1 4 3 8 7 22nd Colchester 10 1 1 3 6 8 0 3 2 3 5 7 23rd Wigan 10 2 0 3 7 14 0 1 4 5 12 7 24th Darlington 10 2 0 3 5 9 0 0 5 2 11 6 </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 We acknowledge the Welsh landmark by signing two Welsh players! Andrew Martin joins on a two month loan, at which point his contract will be unprotected and we can hopefully negotiate to sign him permanently. The 24 year old has been capped at Welsh Under 21 level, and has been called up to the senior squad by Mark Hughes recently. Lee Hill, a 27 year old midfielder cum striker joins on trial. Hill's experience lies in the lower divisions with Braintree, but he has shown signs of being capable of stepping up. Contacts lead me to believe that he aims to make the most of his short professional career however, and his wage demands could be out of our reach. With the possibility of two trialists and a loan signing all being involved in our next reserve game, I make the relatively short trip to Macclesfield and sit in the stands to watch the lads perform. At this level the result isn't the most important thing, which is probably a good job as the lads lose 3-2 to a last minute penalty. Martin scores, but Lee Hill has a disappointing game. He's clearly tired, but he does show one or two impressive moments of skill. Talbot doesn't feature at all, with Aldo preferring to play Mark Peters up front. Hill's performance obviously impressed others, however, as Mark Hughes requests his presence in the full Wales squad. I'll be very surprised if he gets anywhere near the team! There aren't any changes necessary ahead of the senior team's game with Macclesfield. Martin is not far from the starting eleven, but probably needs another game under his belt to get up to match fitness. It doesn't really matter, as Leo shows the rest of us the way to goal to open the scoring after twenty minutes. It was just what we needed, as 6456 Stalybridge fans were beginning to get a little restless. With Gavin Gordon looking to cause trouble at the other end, we needed another goal before we could consider sitting on the lead. It came from Morgan, after he picked up a deflected freekick. His third this season, it can hardly be classed as rare anymore, except when you look back and see it's only his 5th career goal! Gordon had a fine opportunity to pull one back before the break, but his close range header went over the bar rather than under it. 2-0 at the break. Mackie took to the field for a run out in the second half. The young Scot was looking to make an impression to try and win his place back from his compatriot Cameron. It took him 30 minutes to make an impression, starting a move on the right and forcing a fine save from Marshall after Leo's shot had been pushed away. Batty had a couple of saves to make before the referee signalled the end of the game, and another 3 points to Stalybridge! Man of the match, for a strong defensive performance and his goal, went to captain courageous, Chris Morgan! Division 2 Game 11. 9th October 2004. Stalybridge 2 Macclesfield 0 Fortune-West 19 Morgan 29 Up to 4th, and time to open negotiations with Lee Hill's agent over a permanent deal. As expected, initial discussions do not go well. Only time will tell if things are to improve. However, before the Peterborough game we have to fight off the advances of Division 3 Tranmere, who are keen on signing Cullip. Just because the lad hasn't played this season, doesn't mean he's out of my plans! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 A training injury for Jaszczun means that Elgert will have to deputise on the left for a while, and there are two other changes for the difficult looking trip to league leaders Peterborough. Mackie and Martin start, with Cameron and Ommel dropping to the bench. Peterborough's striker Francis Green is making his 200th appearance for the club, at the tender age of 24. Green and his striking partner McKenzie (32 goals last season!) manage to get off early sighters inside the first ten minutes, but against the run of play, we're the ones who score first. It's another goal from a corner, as Friars is the one rising highest this time. the lead lasted less than five minutes, with midfielder Matthew Gill doing the damage. It was all Peterborough for the rest of the first half, and I was quite relieved to get the troops back in the dressing room at half time. I'd take a point from this game, so I told the lads to maintain our careful attitude in the second. Andrew Martin was struggling to keep up with play, so I switched sides for him and Leo. It didn't have the desired effect, as Peterborough came out hunting for a goal. Even having lost their inspirational defensive leader Matt Elliott to an injury didn't deter them, and when the chance finally came it was the easiest of tap-ins for McKenzie. Ommel and Cameron came on, but they couldn't do anything about Peterborough's third, which came from a corner. At 3-1 down with only 15 minutes to play, heads dropped. From that point we never looked like getting anything from the game. Division 2 Game 12. 16th October 2004. Peterborough 3 Stalybridge 1 Gill 22 McKenzie 60 Thomas 73 / Friars 18 When asked by the press what I though of the performance, I had to admit I was disappointed. It shows just how far off the pace we really are in this division, and just how much we'll struggle if we do pick up a couple of injuries. It was a case of too many bad individual performances on the day, and coming up against a strong team in Peterborough. Still, hopefully there will be a suitable opportunity to bounce back against Northampton in mid week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 The long and winding FA Cup road will begin for us with a home tie against Macclesfield. Our last meeting suggested nothing much to worry about there. Tranmere give up on Cullip after being told they would have to stump up his full £500k release clause to be allowed to talk to him, but Danny feels he needs to move to get first team football. I've tried telling him that his chance will come, but he's obviously not going to listen. Neither is Lee Hill, as he flatly refuses our final contract offer. He does tip us off on a couple of his ex-teammates who we might want to look in on though. Although the lads do get a bit of stick from the coaches and I about the weekend's performance, I'm not going to make lots of changes. In fact, it's the same side to face Northampton as we look to bounce back immediately. And we notch up another record crowd, with only one empty seat in the stadium. They're in for a frustrating afternoon, as we spurn chance after chance in the first half. Just about everyone is guilty. Friars and Martin were the first, but Morgan missed what was probably the easiest on 18 minutes. Credit to the Northampton goalkeeper, veteran Billy Mercer, who did a fine job in general and on that occasion in particular. Eventually we broke through on 40 minutes, the two wingers combining to give Leo the time and space he uses to such good effect. That saw us through to half time, but you had to be worried that we were going to be punished for all those missed chances. The nerves were visible on the player's faces too, but as the second half got older, it began to look like we might be in luck. We were starting to dominate the midfield again. The only trouble was that our finishing still wasn't up to scratch. Friars had his last chance just after the hour mark, when he went one on one with the keeper and still couldn't get the damned ball in the net. Bastow replaced him immediately. He actually got a shot on target soon afterwards, but the keeper was equal to it. The inevitable came when a through ball was played for Peter Weatherston to run on to, and the promising young English striker made no mistake in notching his 6th goal of the season. There was now the added risk that we could actually lose the game, however it didn't seem to spur our attacking players on, as Bastow and Martin both enjoyed a quick game of hit the bar. I was quite surprised that the adjudicators gave the man of the match award to Mercer. Maybe our shooting wasn't as bad as it seemed! Division 2 Game 13. 19th October 2004. Stalybridge 1 Northampton 1 Fortune-West 40 / Weatherston 69 Needless to say, our position suffered. Down to 7th, and looking uncomfortable at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 Just one change as we head to 17th placed Kidderminster, to hopefully get back to winning ways. It's Martin who is rested, as he can't manage three games plus a reserve fixture inside a week. He's still lacking match fitness, so he drops to the bench and in comes Ommel. Any visitors to Aggborough on this particular day would have been fast asleep in the late October sun before they had seen any significant action. Dean Harris conspired to fail to put the ball in the net on a couple of occasions when missing must have been more difficult than actually scoring. Credit, again, goes to the keeper in question, 39 year old Mike Stowell. This time we made it to the break at 0-0, although there were chances at both end to take the lead towards the end of the half. Harris and Friars, both having poor games, were replaced by Bastow and Cameron for the second half, and Kidderminster had the better of the early opportunities. Martin replaced Ommel just before the hour mark, and at last our loan signing produced what he is capable of. A fine run and shot to score the only goal of the game, and to tuck the three points safely in the bag and onto the coach home. Division 2 Game 14. 23rd October 2004. Kidderminster 0 Stalybridge 1 Martin 68 Phew! That was a bit too close for comfort! It moves us back to 4th, which is a good thing, but I'm not at all confident we'll always be able to fluke results like that. Still, they always say that if you win when you're playing badly you'll go a long way! The board are pleased as well. Amusing result of the week comes at Macclesfield, as our cup foes are defeated 7-1 by Northampton for no real reason! The newspapers are full of the story of Tranmere, who despite spending £850k this season, are still struggling in 15th in the Third Division. Manager Chris Waddle, just short of a year into the job, surely needs to pull up his socks soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 Amazingly, less than 5950 fans turn up to see the Third round League Cup tie against Crystal Palace, the furthest the club has ever gone in the competition. Those there see Danny Cullip's first start of the season, in place of Challinor, Bastow replacing Friars, and Andrew Martin starts against his employers. There was a brief heated discussion before the game between representatives of the two clubs regarding the availability of the Welshman to play. Fortunately, our Chairman had all the documents to hand so Palace had no case Surely it wouldn't matter though? It looked from early on as though the First Division club's class was going to show through. The first five minutes were spent camped in our half, and Tony Popovic looked odds on to score in the sixth minute. Batty just got his fingertips to it, and the ball fell kindly to Burns who dribbled it cleverly out of the box before playing a long ball into the path of Martin. The young Palace player took the ball down the left wing before playing a glorious cross field pass to Mackie. Mackie lobbed the ball forward to Fortune-West, lurking on the edge of the area and the big man controlled the ball, moved past his man and laid the ball into the area, where Martin had completed his run and took the ball on the bounce to slot it past the motionless Palace keeper! GOAL!!! Unbelievably, 1-0 to the Second Division outfit, and who more fitting to score it! You might have expected Palace to be stunned, but not really. Instead they just came at us harder. We witheld 25 minutes of solid pressure before another long ball out of defence, by Elgert this time, found Bastow. Bastow lifted it forward for Martin down the channel, and the Palace forward became their undoing again, with a perfect ball into the box for Leo to head home. Leo's 5th of the season, but for once the crowd were singing to a different tune. That one saw Palace shocked. They didn't recover before half time, and the team were cheered from the field with a 2-0 lead. The combined Stalybridge back room staff used every last minute of the half time break to try and prepare our lads for the onslaught they were bound to face in the second half. Palace, and their proud manager Danny Wilson, were not going to take this sort of thing lightly. That much was obvious by the fact that they had put out a full strength side in the first place! Dean Harris was brought off, and replaced by Friars in an attempt to strengthen midfield. However, the best thing the opposition could muster in the first 25 minutes was a long ball into the box, which Batty dealt with easily. Things might have changed on 70 minutes, when Bastow shoved Popovic away as the Palace player attempted to retrieve a dead ball. A bookable offence, maybe, but the referee decided a straight red was in order. Fortunately, Collins was available on the bench, so Acuña moved forward and Leo was withdrawn. Even against ten men, Palace struggled and the cheer when the final whistle went made it sound like there were 10000 in the Bower Fold rather than 500 less than normal! League Cup Third round. 27th October 2004. Stalybridge 2 Crystal Palace 0 Martin 7 Fortune-West 32 (Stalybridge's Darren Bastow sent off, 70) The result delighted the board once again, whilst I was straight off into the office to fax my appeal against Bastow's red card to the FA. Richard Talbot won't be around to share the celebrations, as his trial spell expires and I'm not interested in taking him on. The draw yields First Division opposition again, but this time it's away from home. We'll travel to St. Mary's to face Southampton in the Fourth Round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 The FA aren't interested in overturning the decision on Bastow, so he will miss the trip to Southampton. We're off to Rotherham next, and there are three changes. Jaszczun is back, so returns to his position at left back, whilst Cullip is tired after two games in quick succession, so Challinor returns. Plus, I feel compelled to give Richie Barker a start against his old club, so Martin drops to the bench, initially at least. Rotherham are struggling near the foot of the table, which they really shouldn't be given the squad they have. This particular match was settled by a single goal in the first half, Dean Harris scoring his second of the season from a loose ball. It was enough to get him the man of the match award in a game where individuals didn't really shine. Barker had a reasonable game. Indeed, it could be claimed that he got an assist to the goal, but the statistics won't record it. Rotherham's best opportunity to equalise came in the 73rd minute when Paul Warne was one and one with Batty, only to shoot against the outstretched keeper, and then lose the race to the loose ball. He was trying to run off an injury at the time, and I suspect that had he been fully fit the scoreline would have been 1-1. Division 2 Game 15. 30th October 2004. Rotherham 0 Stalybridge 1 Harris 34 So, the good news is we won and the board are delighted again, the bad news is that Jaszczun picked up his 5th yellow in his first match back, and has a suspension to serve in mid November. We're clinging on to that playoff spot. 6th place, but the top two are starting to pull away now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted November 28, 2004 Author Share Posted November 28, 2004 Lee Hill's trial ends, and the Welshman leaves the club. We haven't been able to negotiate a mutually beneficial contract, as his agent stubbornly refuses to be flexible on wages. How a player with no league experience can expect to command £8k per week is beyond me. There is some good news on the player front though, as Left Back Tommy Jaszczun finally decides that he doesn't want to move to a bigger club. He now believes that Stalybridge can achieve great success under my leadership. Well, we'll have to see about that! We don't achieve any awards for October, as Dave Bassett gets the manager award for steering his Reading side through the month unbeaten. The player awards go to Bristol City and Barnsley lads. Speaking of Barnsley, they are the latest team coming in with an offer for Danny Cullip. I really don't want to let him go, however he's looking more and more disconsolate with his current position. Barnsley are told to come back with £250k, whilst Cullip will make the starting eleven for the next game to try and cheer him up. It's time for me to spend some big money of my own, however, as I finally prise Bill Browne away from Southend. It costs me £210k, with over £100k up front, but he should be worth it. Contract negotiations are underway with Jaszczun, and should progress in the next couple of days. I make another trip to see the reserves in action, at Meadow Lane this time. With Browne in the starting lineup I'm interested to see how he plays. It's a mixed performance, as he picks up a yellow card in the first minute, but he does score the first goal as the lads run out 2-0 winners, having played against ten men for 65 minutes. Remarkably, now he finds himself without a club again, Lee Hill is willing to join us. It's only a short term contract, but it's a start. It makes him our highest paid player. Not bad at £2000 per week. Having said that, we've added a fair amount to the wage burden in the past week or so, so it's time to reevaluate things. In what is turning out to be a pretty amazing week, Barnsley come back with the £250k for Cullip. What a difficult decision! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 The Cullip situation costs me a whole night's sleep, so I'm in the office early on Friday morning. I soon have John Sheran on the phone, and I have to politely decline his offer. I just cannot justify selling him to a rival club, especially one so desperate to sign him! The early start does give me some time to go over the playing staff to see if we can trim a few corners off the wage bill. It's up to £22k, which is a pittance compared with the rest of the division (the next lowest is Kidderminster, who pay out £41k a week, the rest being £60k plus!) but I like to keep these things under control. So, I now find myself in a position where there is competition for just about every place in the team. Only Batty, Jaszczun and Burns are automatic choices. Time to change things around a little for the Notts County game. Bastow has had a couple of weak performance in midfield recently (and with the signings of Hill and Browne, he really doesn't want to be doing that!) so he'll drop out of the reckoning. Acuña will come in to take his place, with Collins slotting in behind him. Cullip returns as promised, as does Martin. Hill starts on the bench. Out comes the autograph book again. It's been a while, and there's a fair coating of dust on it, but I add the signature of Kenneth Gustavsson, Newcastle's 22 year old Swedish midfielder. If the game goes badly for County keeper Mart Poom, I could also add sub Luke Holloway to the book, on loan from West Brom. Notts County look dangerous, with their premiership experience in addition to that mentioned, of Michael Reddy and Keith Gillespie, and their Icelandic star Baldur Bett. An extremely one sided encounter was witnessed by 18 short of a full house (6482). I must have missed Notts County's only shot of the game, but it didn't trouble Batty by all accounts. It wasn't as easy as all that, though, as Mart Poom had a blinder and kept all our efforts out in the first half. Acuña, in particular, caused chaos, with his skill really showing in the advanced position as he ran at the defence. Despite naturally being a defensive player, at this level he is good enough to play just about anywhere. With ten minutes of the second half gone, and still no goal despite our best efforts, it's clearly time for a change. Off comes Martin, inexplicably having a poor game, and on in his place comes debutant Hill. Cameron replaces Mackie, who hasn't performed real miracles and has been a little sloppy in front of goal. Cameron is the first to make a difference, as Leo links up with him and Poom has to palm away his shot. Acuña is denied the rebound thanks to brave goalkeeping by the Estonian. His kick only found Cullip, though, and the ball was distributed wide right to Burns, via the Chilean. A perfect cross was delivered by the right back, and 7 minutes into his Stalybridge career, Lee Hill headed his first goal. Notts County were urged forward by their bench, but there was no notable difference in their play. Instead Leo hit the post, and the Chilean forced Poom into two top class saves before finally hitting one that gave him no chance after running from deep in our half. Quality, sheer quality. No bias shown again by the man of the match adjudicators, as Leo picked it up despite having no direct involvement in either goal! Division 2 Game 16. 6th November 2004. Stalybridge 2 Notts County 0 Hill 61 Acuña 85 The board are delighted, the chairman coming up to me after the game personally to thank me. He's also clutching a piece of paper, which he eventually pushes my way. It's the Vans Trophy draw, and we're playing Preston at home. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 More delicate contract negotiations are going to be necessary, because Jaszczun rejects our initial offer to extend his Stalybridge career. He wants ridiculous amounts of money, and should by now have realised that we are a small club without a bottomless pit of cash. Meanwhile, Frazer Toms sneaks out the door to spend 7 weeks at Lancaster City. Midweek brings a phone call I was expecting and to some extent dreading. Someone with money wants Danny Cullip. It's Jim Jeffries, Leicester City manager, from midtable in Division One. I can't deny Cullip the opportunity, but I never accept a first offer. If he comes back with approaching double that amount, then they can talk turkey. In the mean time, Cullip will play against Southampton. The only player not fully fit from the weekend is 33 year old Leo, and he's got the experience to be able to deal with a bit of leg weariness. No changes then. After a 5-0 thrashing of Southend in the first round, it's taken penalties for the south coasters to gain victories over Sunderland and Spurs on their own patch. Jim Smith has taken them up to 5th in the division in what looks like being their most successful season since relegation from the Premier League in 2002. They still have quality, having played the transfer markets intelligently, with Paul Ifill (record signing at £4.9m) looking their best player. The Saints at least do us credit in putting out a full strength side, even though only 6503 fans have turned up to watch. This decision pays off for them early on, as Ifill whips in a corner, and Paul Murray heads home easily. They have another shot before James Beattie shows his class and finishes at the second attempt. 2-0 down after quarter of an hour, and it's all over, isn't it? Well, I've rattled on a great length in the past about the never say die attitude I instill in my sides. The two goal lead only lasts 3 minutes, when a Harris cross finds Mackie jumping with the keeper. The ball tumbles into the net, and after checking that the referee isn't going to blow in favour of the higher division side, the Scot wheels away in celebration. Beattie and Delgado continue to cause us problems of a defensive nature, and Liam Burns picks up the first of a ream of yellow cards dealing with the situation. Nothing comes of it for them, though, and when Harris demonstrates that he really has his crossing boots on with a fine corner, up leaps captain courages to head in an equaliser! Unbelievable! With both sides in shock, and me still celebrating on the touchline, the last ten minutes of the half passed in something of a blur. Mackie got a yellow card, and Harris proved that crossing boots do not equal shooting boots by lifting a shot over the bar. All square, and all to play for. There's no point telling the lads to try and defend the second half out. So they go out to hunt the third goal. Not that it makes a whole lot of difference to the way we end up playing, as we still spend most of the time clearing our own lines. Delgado hits an early shot over the bar, whilst at the other end keeper Manninger does well to get down to a low Mackie drive. With the hour mark gone, there are some tired legs out there. Leo comes off having achieved little by his high standards, and Mackie comes off knackered after running his heart out down the right wing. On come Cameron and Hill to replace them. With Leo out of the picture, Martin starts to get into the game, and he drills a shot narrowly wide, having been set up by Hill's first touch. The Southampton fans are getting on their players' backs, and they don't like it. Consequently, we are starting to come more and more into the game. Martin has a freekick well saved, and Cameron blasts a shot disappointingly over the bar, with no response from the Division One side. Into the last five minutes we go, and Martin joins the players wishing the goals were significantly higher. The chance of the half, however, went to Southampton substitute Brian Howard, who sent a header over the bar in what would turn out to be the last action of normal time. Extra time, again. I can hardly watch. Southampton are now playing more cautiously, and clearly don't want to give a goal away. Maybe they've been watching a video of the Millwall game! Still, most of them can't do anything when Martin gets hold of the ball on the edge of the area. Spotting Manninger off his line, he tries to lob the keeper, who does well to backpedal and grasp the ball. Goalscorer Morgan picks up a yellow card for manhandling Delgado, and from the freekick Batty is forced to tip the ball around the post. He's called into action again from the corner, palming the ball away and then diving onto it before the onrushing Howard gets there. With neither side looking like scoring, I have to admit I've got one eye on the penalty taker situation. So making my final throw of the dice, I withdraw Harris and send on Friars. Batty has one more save to make from Delgado, whilst Collins gets a yellow card in the dying minutes. With the clock ticking down, and everybodies minds firmly on a shootout, Acuña heads the ball down to Martin, who turns well, runs forward and crosses the ball into the path of Lee Hill. The crowd ares silent, and everything appears to be in slow motion, as the makeshift striker, playing only his second Stalybridge game, pulls back his leg and the takes a swing at the ball. 600 or so pairs of eyes follow the ball as it flies towards the goal. It's dipping all the time. Manninger dives, his hand outstretched, a grimace of effort on his face... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 2, 2004 Author Share Posted December 2, 2004 ...and then some poor soul in the 5th row is struck squarely in the face by the ball. The referee blows his whistle, and nervous chatter breaks out amongst the applause in the stadium. Southampton fans must be used to this by now. Unbelievably it's their 3rd penalty shoot out of the competition. I'm forced to leave the relative comfort of the dugout, heading out towards the centre circle to organise the penalty takers. The names are already written down on a rather crumpled piece of paper, no asking for volunteers here, and it's just a case of tipping a nod to the lads involved. Collins, Martin, Hill, Acuña and Morgan, in that order, are notified, and the referee starts the procedure of organising the shoot out. Now I really can't watch. Southampton have won the toss, and Wayne Bridge steps up and scores their first penalty. No problem for Collins with ours, or Delgado with their second. Martin, Michael Clegg and Hill also have no problems. It's 3-3, as tight as a very tight thing, and the keepers aren't even getting near the kicks. Up steps James Beattie. 4-3, and a mistake now could cost us everything. The experienced Acuña doesn't look like he's fazed by the pressure, and calmly puts the fourth away. Can Paul Murray, who opened the scoring for Southampton, now finish it? He scores, and now the pressure is on Chris Morgan. The captain needs to show a steady head, and prove that he can score with his feet. Up he steps, and as sweet as anything, puts the ball in the corner. Sudden Death. There's further consultation in the centre circle, as the management teams select their next takers. Friars will take ours, but first it's Paul Ifill for the Saints. Ifill hits it right, and for the first time in the shootout, Batty guesses right. He gets his hand to the ball, and Ifill is powerless to do anything but watch as the ball bounces of the post and back towards him! No rebounds in this shootout, Paul! So it's down to substitute Sean Friars, who hardly had a touch of the ball in his 15 minutes of game time. If he scores this, I can claim one of the best tactical decisions of the season. I turn my back on the goal, looking at the faces on my exhausted players. The sudden change of expression immediately tells me what's happened. Combined with a single unison groan, it's obvious that Friars has done his stuff, and Stalybridge are through to the Quarter Finals! League Cup 4th Round. 10th November 2004. Southampton 2 Stalybridge 2 Murray 2 Beattie 15 / Mackie 18 Morgan 34 (Stalybridge win 6-5 on penalties) Astounding! The celebrations go on long into the night, before anybody even thinks about boarding the coach for the long trip back to Cheshire, and then they carry on some more when we get back. The Reserves get absolutely thumped by Port Vale, but no-one really cares as they're all hung over. Amongst the stack of paperwork marked for my attention back at the office is notification of the Quarter Final draw. We'll play either Liverpool or Stoke, away. There's also a fax from Leicester, withdrawing their interest in Danny Cullip, and a highlighted newspaper article in which Paul Gascoigne tips Cardiff for promotion from Division 2. I'm left wondering what a fat, past it Geordie knows about the second division! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 5, 2004 Author Share Posted December 5, 2004 Jaszczun's suspension kicks in, so Elgert comes in on the left. Making a clean sweep of changes down the left, Harris is rested and Cameron comes in. Otherwise it's the same jubilant players making the slightly less intimidating trip to 17th place Port Vale. The Vale Park crowd witness a very tight first half hour, a yellow card for Collins being the first of not many talking points. They need not have worried, though, as there were plenty more talking points to come! A Cameron header hit the post on 36 minutes, and a minute later Andrew Martin had the ball in the net, but the goal was chalked off by the linesman for offside. That was it for the first half. It was early in the second that the real talking point of the game came. With Port Vale striker Steve Brooker taking possession down the pitch towards the Stalybridge goal, the referee notices his assistant flagging back on the edge of the other penalty area. The two officials speak briefly, and amazingly the referee indicates a Stalybridge penalty. It would appear that the assistant saw a foul by the Port Vale keeper on Darren Mackie. If he did he was the only one in the stadium! The Port Vale players surround the officials, and the game is held up for some time whilst the issue is resolved. When it finally restarts, Leo nestles the ball comfortably in the corner of the goal, to the sound of boos echoing around the stadium. The referee then has the tenacity to disallow a Darren Garner goal for offside! Port Vale must have thought it really wasn't going to be their day, but I was getting concerned that the atmosphere of the game was starting to affect my players. The wound up crowd were firing up their team, and Port Vale were getting very close to the equaliser. Sure enough, it came with four minutes to go, from a long distance freekick after Brooker was brought down by Cullip. No time to come back, and another two points thrown away. Division 2 Game 17. 13th November 2004. Port Vale 1 Stalybridge 1 McPhee 86 / Fortune-West 49(pen) We hold on to 6th place, but I'm irritated at conceding a late goal. We could have gone second if we had won! Waiting on my desk at the office is a fax from Leicester, officially offering £500k for Danny Cullip. I never believed they would cough up his full release clause! There really isn't much I can do, so I reply with Danny's agent's mobile phone number. Sod the fact it's a Saturday night! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 6, 2004 Author Share Posted December 6, 2004 We bid fairwell to Danny in midweek. He's been a damn good player in his short time at the club. I believe that Leicester have paid over the odds for him, but it does leave us in a difficult situation, as after Challinor and Morgan, we're scratching around a little. I'll be looking to reinvest some of the money from Leicester in that department. Danny Cullip (Stalybridge 13/9/03 - 17/11/04) Played 39 Assists 2 Man of the Match 3 AvR 7.21 Most of the time during the rest of the week I spend hunting down defensive replacements, however nothing is sorted before we have to face Macclesfield at the start of another FA Cup campaign. Challinor comes in and Jaszczun and Harris return. Macclesfield caused us very few problems last time around. Here's hoping for the same again. Not the most impressive of first halves, in front of 6470 fans, with Batty being forced into a couple of saves early on. Chris Greenacre should have done better for the visitors on the stroke of halftime, and he may live to regret it, as deep into stoppage time, the Chilean received the ball from Challinor and blasted home with the last kick of the half. Just the advantage we needed going into the break. Boredom sets in during the second period. The only shot of the half is an effort by Leo, which is easily saved by the Macclesfield keeper. We have a muted appeal for a penalty, but the referee never looks interested. It doesn't matter, we're through. Maybe not in the way I like to see football played, but progression is important. Chris Morgan got the man of the match award. He was a rock in defence! FA Cup 1st Round. 20th November 2004. Stalybridge 1 Macclesfield 0 Acuña 45 I fear the sound of pigeons coming home to roost, as I make several "panic" bids for defenders in the wake of Cullip's departure. On reflection, it might be better to get someone in on loan, and then look at the Bosman signings at the end of the season. The loanee is confirmed as Watford's Jerel Ifil, a 22 year old lad who has been on their books for 5 seasons. He already has the physical stature and raw skill to make a very good centre back, and if he can mature with first team experience he could become the real thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 6, 2004 Author Share Posted December 6, 2004 We don't have long to wait to find out our second round FA Cup opposition, as we're the first team out of the draw. We're paired with Southport, relegated from the Conference last season after finishing 4th and 5th in the previous two seasons. They've stayed loyal to manager Phil Wilson, and we will renew our acquaintance at the Bower Fold in three weeks time. Ironically, we've never beaten them under my management. A bit of a shuffle for the visit of Watford, as our lack of goals is concerning me. Ommel comes in, with Martin dropping to the bench. Friars also starts, with the Chilean dropping back at Collins' expense. Onto the bench comes Bill Browne, for the first time since signing. Cameron is the player who loses out overall. It's beginning to look as though he may be getting out of his depth at this level. It's important we get something out of this game. Watford are two places above us in 4th, and the winner, should there be one, will go 2nd in the table. A draw would move us up one place, but would be enough for them to take 2nd place on goal difference. It's another crowd of 6450+ at the Bower Fold, and it's another frustrating first half for them. Acuña tries single handedly to outrun the Watford defence, but ends up in a dead end, which causes the supporters to get on his back as there were several opportunities to pass. As the half petered out disappointingly, fans went in search of their bovril and pies, hopeful of a better second period. Those who were at the back of the refreshment queue would have missed the frenzy of early action in the second half. Ommel and Leo resumed their partnership with the dutchman setting up the big striker to head the first goal of the game, but the lead lasted just a minute until captain Matthew Oakley put in a freekick for Finnish defender Lasse Karjalainen to finish(!), his first Watford goal in a career spanning three seasons. Watford's Greek keeper Giorgos Lambropoulos kept them in the game with fine saves from the two strikers, in what rapidly became another frustrating period of play. Could Bill Browne make a difference on his debut? He came on with ten minutes to go, and his first pass found Mackie in the area. The Scottish winger also saw his header well saved by the keeper, but it wouldn't have counted as Leo had strayed offside. As the clock ticked over the 90 minute mark, Browne picked up the ball just outside the penalty area, ran forward and unleashed a powerful shot. This was the chance, and the crowd held their breath and then their heads, as the ball fizzed just wide of the post. Unlucky. It could have been costly, had either Noel-Willams or Alan Wright seen their efforts beat Batty's double save. Division 2 Game 18. 24th November 2004. Stalybridge 1 Watford 1 Fortune-West 51 / Karjalainen 53 A good point, on reflection, and a good debut for Browne. I'm still a bit concerned about our lack of creativity, but you can't argue with 9 games unbeaten, our best such run. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 6, 2004 Author Share Posted December 6, 2004 Some contract negotiation bears fruition, as Jaszczun signs a two year extension for a significant wage increase, making him the second highest paid player at the club. Jerel Ifil has a good game in his first reserve outing, but he may find his first team opportunities limited, as I decide to spend some money after all. £150k brings Ross Johnson from Colchester to the Bower Fold. At 28 years of age, Ross has over 300 football league appearances to his name, and was part of the team who lost 3-2 to us at Layer Road back in September. I'm quite surprised that the club, struggling near the foot of the table, let one of their better players go so easily. Ironically, he spent his formative years at Brighton, and would have played alongside Cullip for at least one season! His arrival could mean Matt Hocking finds his Stalybridge career over. Cameron is back in the side, replacing an exhausted Dean Harris, for the trip to 17th placed Rushden and Diamonds. One of the non league success stories of recent years, they've been a mid table side for the past three seasons, since going up from the Third Division via the playoffs in 2002. Leo was frustrated early on in the game, with the referee giving handball against him. His reaction earned him a yellow card, and Acuña came close to earning the wrath of the official soon after. Such a scrappy start affected the players concentration, so it wasn't really a surprise when Kevin Byers scored. It was all Stalybridge from there on, though, and Ommel got back on the scoresheet to equalise after a brilliant move that split the defence asunder. Friars could have added a second almost straight away, but for a great double save from Phil Barnes. The half ended with strong Stalybridge pressure, with numerous corners and freekicks being conceded by the home side, and the pressure eventually told with Ommel setting up Leo for a header remarkably similar to the one from the last game. The second half was just a case of us peppering their goal for 45 minutes. Rushden weren't really at the races, but there's always a risk in that situation that you can concede a goal, and throw two points away. Not this time, though. The referee eventually brought the game to an end, Ommel was awarded the Man of the Match award and we headed happily home. Division 2 Game 19. 27th November 2004. Rushden & Diamonds 1 Stalybridge 2 Byers 6 / Ommel 32 Fortune-West 45 The mood on the bus hoome is made even more pleasant when James Alexander Gordon kindly informs us that Bristol City drew and Watford lost. We're up to 2nd! In another amazing move, the Chilean national captain signs a two year extension to his contract. In the process he becomes joint second highest earner, and sends our wage bill over £25k per week. There may need to be a clearout in the summer! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 9, 2004 Author Share Posted December 9, 2004 Leo's form has come to the attention of the media again. Someone in the national media thinks he is at the top of his form at the moment. Well, he's had a slow start this season, only 8 goals so far, but that's still nearly one every two games! At 33 that's really not bad at all! The fans appear to like my response, which is nice! Darren Mackie, another player who told us he would only stay one year at the Bower Fold, announces that he is willing to sign a two year extension to his contract as well. It's another £600 a week on the wage bill, but he's a damn good player and he's worth every penny. Then bùgger me if Jason Batty doesn't turn round and tell us he wants to stay at the club. Maybe he's finally realised that no-one else wants him? November's manager award goes to Teddy Sheringham, Wrexham boss(!), but at least there's recognition of a sort for Stalybridge. Leo picks up the player of the month award, his 6th monthly award in his Stalybridge career. Then, a whole day after announcing his attention to stay, Jason Batty hands in a transfer request. Now he's unhappy with his contract I wonder if anyone will be interested this time? Phase one of "operation clearout" marks the start of December, and sees three of this season's youth products released. Chris Barnes, Shaun Gordon and David Dicks leave the club, the coaching staff being unanimous in their decision that they have no future here. Only Bobby Gee survives to see another day. No changes for Oxford's visit. Oxford's main threat comes from the stupidly named Liberian striker "Prince" who has scored 14 so far this season. That, and their 5-3-2 formation, make this game more interesting than otherwise it might be. It's a fairly quiet start to the game, but there are chances to be had at both ends. Batty has to hold a header, and tip a strong shot round the post from Chris Byrne, but at the other end Leo is getting his head to a cross again. Friars delivers the ball in, and it's 1-0 to Stalybridge. Another near capacity crowd of 6494 go wild, and as they calm down they see two Oxford chances saved by Batty, the 33 year old Kiwi showing none of his want-away feelings. They are soon celebrating again, as Leo bags his tenth of the season, scoring with his right foot rather than his head this time. Leo could have clinched his hattrick with two minutes of the first half remaining, as he went one on one with Pollitt in the Oxford goal. His shot hit the post, though, which he must have been disappointed with. Comfortable at the break, Cameron and Ommel were withdrawn to give Hill and Martin some first team game time. Oxford have obviously made some tactical changes, and we spend an interesting few minutes trying to work out what to do about it. By the time we work it out, "Prince" has already got them a goal back. Having figured out that we can contain their formation, I stand in the technical area, shouting and waving frantically at the players. For some reason they ignore me for 12 minutes () which is just sufficient time for Ian Stonebridge to head the equaliser. Worse follows, as Challinor picks up a knock and has to leave the pitch. We hold on, for we never look like scoring a third, and eventually the whistle goes. Leo gets the man of the match, but there will be an inquest on Monday as to why my tactical changes were ignored. Division 2 Game 20. 4th December 2004. Stalybridge 2 Oxford 2 Fortune-West 28,40 / Prince 57 Stonebridge 69 Two points dropped yet again, and our position suffers as well. We're out of the top two as the midpoint of the season approaches. But there is worse news than that. Acuña's yellow card means he will miss the game against Sheffield United on the 18th December. Fortunately, Challinor's injury turns out just to be a dead leg, and he will miss a few days at most. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************************************************************ English Second Division - Saturday 4th December 2004 ************************************************************************************************ ================================================================================================ 2004/5 Table ================================================================================================ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Peterborough 19 5 1 3 12 11 9 1 0 24 8 44 2nd Bristol C 20 7 2 1 19 7 4 3 3 13 14 38 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd STALYBRIDGE 20 5 5 0 19 8 5 2 3 18 16 37 4th Cardiff 20 7 2 1 19 11 4 2 4 11 13 37 5th Northampton 20 5 4 1 14 7 5 1 4 24 16 35 6th Luton 20 7 0 3 22 14 3 4 3 14 14 34 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7th Watford 20 7 2 1 19 11 3 2 5 14 15 34 </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 I've just read this in a couple of blocks over the past few days and it is excellent and well worth a couple of Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 10, 2004 Author Share Posted December 10, 2004 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Spav: I've just read this in a couple of blocks over the past few days and it is excellent and well worth a couple of <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Glad you're enjyoing the ride Spav. I'm grabbing every spare moment to construct the ending to this story at the moment, but work and moving house are conspiring against me. Office workers like me should not be throwing 55 hour weeks Anyway, the good news is that there's at least 5 more seasons to read before the ending comes along. Enjoy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 10, 2004 Author Share Posted December 10, 2004 The Vans trophy. Not my primary objective for the season, but then if by some miracle we get promotion, this will be my last chance to win it! There'll be changes, but not as many as you would have seen last season. Ross Johnson makes his debut, due to Challinor's injury, and Harris returns to the left side of midfield. Bill Browne gets his first start, whilst up front the normal pairing are rested in favour of Mark Peters and Richie Barker. Ommel was originally in my plans, but then I realised that this would be his 100th appearance for Stalybridge. I didn't want that to happen in such a meaningless competition! The Stalybridge public don't share my optimism, and the average gate at the Bower Fold will take a huge knock with todays attendance of 983! Those that are present are cheering early, as Richie Barker reacquaints himself with the back of the net in the second minute. He has the Chilean to thank for the cross. We should have made it two. In fact we should have made it anything up to six before the break. Peters and Barker had chances before Jonathan Macken had the ball in the net for Preston. A friendly linesman ruled that Macken's fellow striker, David Healy, was offside. Back to massed Stalybridge attacking, and the Chilean forced a good save from Tepi. Bill Browne hit the bar and the side netting before Peters forced Tepi into another save. Browne was off target again and Peters brought yet another fine save from the keeper with what would turn out to be our last attack of the half. Preston weren't finished though, and the best passing move of the half ended with Healy beating Batty for the equaliser. Damn. As for the second half it's probably best just to list the missed chances. Peters, saved by the keeper. Peters, wide. Sub Riordan, saved. Mackie header, saved. Mackie again, saved. Harris, saved. Mackie left footer, saved. With 10 minutes left, Preston's Paul Turner, himself a substitute, picked up a knock, and with all three changes already made, Preston were reduced to ten men. Surely this would bring the breakthrough? Nope, the list continues: Mackie, freekick, saved. Mackie, saved. Acuña, saved. Acuña again, over the bar. The final whistle came, and who knew what was going to happen from here. Mackie, frustrated by Preston's wonder keeper, came off and Andrew Martin got a run in his place. The pace was understandably slower now, and only Riordan had a shot on target (saved, what else!) before play degenerated into a midfield meleé. The final straw for the unlucky visitors was another injury, to goalscorer Healy, reducing them to 9 men. Acuña ran through almost straight away, and his shot finally got past Tepi. My first Golden Goal! Vans Trophy, 1st Round North. 7th December 2004. Stalybridge 2 Preston 1 Barker 2 Acuña 101 / Healy 45 (Stalybridge win on Golden Goal rule) The board find this result pleasing! I'm just relieved that we got through unscathed, unlike Preston... Frazer Toms returns from his short loan spell at Lancaster, where he played 4 games. He managed 1 assist, and a modest average rating of 7.75. He's still lacking match fitness when he returns, though. Lee Collins will miss the opportunity to notch up his 100th appearance against Southport, as he badly stubbed his toe(!) warming down. The draw for the Second round of this particular competition sees us at home, again, to Darlington. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 11, 2004 Author Share Posted December 11, 2004 Challinor recovers, and just as he gets back to training picks up another injury. He'll be out for a week this time. Good job I picked up that extra defender! With the fixtures really coming thick and fast, there are more new faces for the FA Cup 2nd round tie against Southport. Mike Lewis gets his first start of the season so that Burns can have a rest. Into midfield come Foley Sheridan and Cameron, whilst Riordan replaces Peters up front. As you would expect, we had the most of the early pressure against the non league opposition. However, their defence held firm for some time, and it was a cross by Foley Sheridan which split the defence for Barker to nip in and score. The lead lasted only a minute, though, as we were found guilty of the most heinous of crime, not concentrating on defending after scoring a goal. Was our history against the Lancashire side going to haunt us even longer? Well half time came and went, and we hadn't managed to increase the scoreline. Even twenty minutes into the second half nothing was doing, and it was left again to the Chilean to break the deadlock, notching his 5th of the season from a freekick. Still we didn't look comfortable, though, with Southport having an undue amount of pressure. Changes were made, with Hill and Martin coming on. The two of them combined for Martin to add a third with four minutes to go, and Hill got his own goal two minutes later. On we go, and a rare man of the match award for Foley Sheridan. FA Cup 2nd Round. 11th December 2004. Stalybridge 4 Southport 1 Barker 28 Acuña 69 Martin 86 Hill 88 / Marshall 29 My post match sympathies go out to Phil Wilson, as his Southport side battled hard, and 4-1 was not a fair scoreline. We share a few drinks after the game, toasting old times, and he congratulates me on our excellent progress, whilst I wish him all the best in getting his side back to the Conference. Again the board are pleased with the result. They're easily pleased sometimes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 12, 2004 Author Share Posted December 12, 2004 I really love being in the third round FA Cup draw, and as usual I like to follow the progress of my former non-league colleages. but first things first, and it's a local derby for us as we snag another home tie, against 1st Division Crewe. Nice. It's a day for drawing 1st Division clubs for the non league sides as well, with Alan Pardew's Southern League Hayes getting a big home tie against Fulham. Boston also get a home tie against Stockport. The third side, old friends Northwich Victoria, will be away at Huddersfield. Somewhat bizzarly, Rotherham's Alan Lee is described in the media as a "Goal Machine". Sure he's got 13 goals this season, but a return of only 1 goal in the last 5 isn't exactly mechanically repetitive. Chris Morgan joins the casualty list with a short term facial injury. This means that our Wednesday night local derby with Oldham will see the first outing for our two new defenders as a pairing. It's worth recapping the line-up, given the changes that have been in force for the past two games. In goal is Batty, with a back four of Jaszczun, Ifil, Johnson and Burns, a midfield of Acuña, Harris, Friars and Mackie, and an attack pairing of Ommel and Fortune-West. The dutch striker is due to make his 100th appearance, and will no doubt get a great reception, having chipped in with 28 goals in that time. The landmark man had the first chance of the game in the fifth minute, but Oldham keeper, and fellow Dutchman Rob van Dijk, was equal to it. Oldham have the best of the chances for the next ten minutes, and indeed it's end to end stuff for most of the half. Jerel Ifil showed his inexperience in front of goal, allowing himself to be challenged when he should really have tapped the ball in, but the move that mattered came in the last minute of the half. Ommel's shot, on target as were most of his efforts, was palmed away by the keeper, but Mackie was following up and finished with ease. 6492 fans went to their pies happy! It is said that the best time to score is just before the break. I disagree. The best time to score is just before full time. Scoring just before half time gives the opposition manager a whole 15 minutes to sort out his tactics and wind up his players, and a whole 45 minutes to get a goal back. Our recent form would suggest that we are likely to give a goal away at some point, so we have to go out in the second half looking for a second goal. Mackie had the only real chance, forcing van Dijk into a diving save in the 67th minute. But as predicted, Oldham got the equaliser when a cleared ball came to young midfielder Stephen Gough. The dutch keeper made two more saves, denying us a winning goal, before the referee brought proceedings to an end. Darren Mackie won his first Stalybridge man of the match award, and I'm left to rue yet another two points dropped. Division 2 Game 21. 15th December 2004. Stalybridge 1 Oldham 1 Mackie 45 / Gough 79 Chatting after the game with Oldham boss Dave Mosson, the topic of conversation came around to Matt Williamson. Dave said that Matt had been signed by his predecessor David Purdie, now Partick Thistle boss, and didn't really fit into his plans. Matt was therefore on the transfer list at his own request, having failed to make a breakthrough into the first team. I jokingly suggest that I'll give him £10k for the player. He laughs non-committally, and talk turns to the League Cup. Sky Sports news reports that Liverpool have squeezed past Stoke on penalties, with a relatively weakened side. The Oldham manager wishes me all the best against the scousers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 13, 2004 Author Share Posted December 13, 2004 Michael Foley Sheridan's bad luck with injuries continues, as he is put onto the sidelines for another two weeks with a chest injury, having just got himself onto the edge of first team contention. Dave Mosson obviously didn't understand my sense of humour, as there's an official fax from Oldham rejecting our offer for Williamson. Fortunately, Challinor and Morgan recover in time for Saturday's game. I say fortunately, because I forgot to withdraw Ifil and Johnson from the Reserve match on Thursday! Me a good manager? Naw. Sheffield United's visit, yes another home game, sees a bit of a reshuffle of personnel. The number of matches is starting to take it's toll now, and I have one eye on the Quarter Final tie at Liverpool next week. Back come Morgan and Challinor, whilst Elgert is in for Jaszczun. With Acuña suspended and Collins injured, Hill is in, and Cameron and Browne replace Harris (who is regularly exhausted after just one game) and Friars. Leo is also rested, with Barker coming in to the strike force. It's autograph time: David Platt fields Stoke's David Duke at right wingback, and Leeds' Cherno Samba up front. Another big crowd as well, 6496 fans. I hope the chairman is thinking about a stadium expansion in the summer! It all looked relatively simple, as we picked our way through the Blades' seemingly shambolic formation, getting shots in and testing keeper Moran. Just after the quarter hour mark, a Burns cross came to Barker, who as usual fired against the woodwork. Following up, though, was Bill Browne, and his shot was sweet and straight. As he turned to celebrate his first Stalybridge goal, he saw the linesman's flag raised. It was offside against Richie Barker, and goodness know what that did to the young midfielder's confidence. It certainly must have frustrated him, as he picked up a yellow card not long afterwards for holding back David Dunn. David Platt's offside trap was working well, and it was from one of these freekicks that Michael Brown set up Lenny Walker to put the Sheffield side ahead.We forced a series of corners before half time, but without Harris or Acuña in the side, these were not as fruitful as usual. Halftime came, and I wasn't happy. We were playing badly, and putting our unbeaten run at risk. Ommel in particular was having a torrid time, so throwing away all ideas of resting players, Leo came on for the second period. Just when we needed it most, our finishing seemed to have deserted us. Leo shot over the bar, as did Barker, and the woodwork-loving striker also managed to fire one wide. It was his last action of the game, as Martin was brought on for his first action in some time. At least his shooting seemed a little more accurate, as he fired a freekick straight at the keeper, and a header at the bottom of the post. But he, too, was guilty of firing wide as the clock ticked past 75 minutes. Cameron spurend a good opportunity, firing high and wide, and all looked lost, until Bill Browne showed what he was made of in the last minute, latching onto a Leo flick and firing home from 20 yards out. There was no time for any reply from the stunned Blades, and a strange decision saw Lee Hill get the man of the match award. Division 2 Game 22. 18th December 2004. Stalybridge 1 Sheffield United 1 Browne 90 / Walker 30 Another close call. Amazing inconsistency at the top of the table means we remain fourth. The record books will show that we are now unbeaten in 15 games. Unfortunately, 6 of the 10 league games in that run have been draws. We're turning into draw specialists! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 14, 2004 Author Share Posted December 14, 2004 The morning of our visit to Anfield dawns miserably. Sleet and snow is falling over the Bower Fold as the players undergo a light training session to judge their fitness. Everyone comes through with flying colours, so we'll have a first choice eleven all being well in the evening. As the players are warming down, the Chairman walks out of the office building, with a very worried look on his face. I've not seen him looking like this before, so it must be something serious. Turns out it is. Potentially deadly serious. Premiership side Ipswich Town have been in touch. They're interested in none other than Leo Fortune-West! The 33 year old's contract is unprotected, and has been for some time. he's never been interested in signing a new deal with us, but I assumed that was because he was happy to see out his career at the Bower Fold. We sit him down in my office and tell him the news. He doesn't react immediately, and goes off to talk to his agent. I'd like to think he'll be loyal, but then again he can't turn down the chance to play at the top level, can he? So Leo lines up in what is not only our biggest game ever, but also may be his last for the club. The news hasn't filtered out to the fans yet, so there are no banners or the like in the away end at Anfield. Getting hold of the team sheet, I'm exceptionally relieved to see that Liverpool are not taking the game seriously. Only Steve McManaman, re-signed last season from Spanish side Mallorca, has played more than 10 games this season. Right back Jason Thompson is making his Liverpool debut, whilst midfielders Willie Logan and Jamie Day are getting their first action of the season. Strike pairing Daniel Sjölund and Neil Mellor are making their first starts. The atmosphere inside Anfield is something very few of my lads will have seen before. Over 40000 fans are inside the ground, including a good 5000 sporting the blue and white of Stalybridge. The Liverpool supporters are clearly taking this game more seriously than their manager! The game kicks off with Liverpool on the attack, and Batty makes his first diving save from a Sjölund shot in the third minute. Corner to the scousers, and McManaman got on to the end of it, causing Batty to sprawl again. The ball runs free but the Chilean is there to clear up field. We've survived the initial attack, and things settle down a little. In what looks like becoming an interesting battle, Neil Clement tackles Leo, a foul and a yellow card for the defender. Acuña's freekick is deflected by the wall and we have our first corner. Harris' set piece is up to his usual standard, and Mackie rises on the end of it. The keeper Voulgaris palmed it away, but it fell straight back to Mackie. He elected to pass rather than shoot, a bad decision, as Clement got back to tackle and Colin Cameron cleared. 18 minutes in, and Mellor beats Morgan and runs into the penalty area. His shot is held well by Batty. The Chilean picks up a booking on 23 minutes for a trip on Liverpool striker Sjölund, but he's straight back in the action, firing an accurate long ball into the area for Leo. Leo's header causes Voulgaris to flap, and Harris gets on to the loose ball. The back of the net bulges, and Harris celebrates, but the linesman is flagging. Offside, apparently against Mackie, who in my opinion wasn't even interfering with play. Sergio Ommel marked the half hour mark with a crashing volley, which flew just wide into the side netting. That marked the last excitement of the half, with the referee blowing his whistle just as the Stalybridge lads earned a corner. Having survived to the break level, we let the lads have a few minutes to allow it to sink in when we got them back in the dressing room. Drawing at one of the most famous footballing venues in Europe! No doubt the pundits giving their TV interviews would be predicting an absolute onslaught from the reds in the second half, but I was telling my boys a different story. I was telling them that no matter what happened from here in, they had done the club and the town proud. That they should go out now and enjoy the second half. Enjoy the atmosphere, the sound of 40000 plus fans cheering. I was under no illusion as to what was coming, and it probably wouldn't be nice. It started very much as I had feared in the second half, with McManaman powering a header at goal which had Batty scrambling to reach the ball. Challinor cleared and we regrouped. Just five minutes into the half, and a challenge from Acuña sent Sjölund sprawling. The whole team seemed to cringe, but the referee gave only a freekick. The Chilean can think himself quite lucky there. Clement sent the free kick goalbound, and Batty did excellently once again to get a touch on the ball. It was Morgan this time who got in there to clear, but the ball came back, deflected by Ommels head, and Batty who had just got to his feet was diving to punch the ball away from the area. We had a brief respite as Friars and Leo took the ball upfield, but Liverpool recovered and McManaman put another wicked cross in, which Mellor headed, forcing Batty to turn it round the post for a corner. With the corner cleared, it looked like Liverpool were going to make a change. Off went debutant Wille Logan, and on came the experienced Jamie Redknapp. Our defence were getting some more well needed rest, as Leo was causing more problems for Liverpool. Bradley Barton was cautioned for a push on the big man, and the resulting Friars freekick went out for a corner. Harris' set piece was collected easily by the keeper this time, and we were back on the back foot. It was time to make a change of our own, as Sergio Ommel had not really found his feet in the game. Off he came, and on came Martin, the clock showing 65 minutes. The Crystal Palace man was involved straight away, being fouled by Bradley Barton, and taking the freekick himself. Nothing came of it, and Liverpool gathered themselves for another attack. It was clear the Anfield crowd were starting to get on their backs now, and their frustration showed that little more when Redknapp pushed over Mackie. Yellow card to the former England star. Batty held a Clement shot, after the defender had run half the length of the pitch unchallenged, and Redknapp hit a swerving shot high over the bar. All of a sudden there were only ten minutes to play. The half seemed to have gone by so quickly, and it was time to start contemplating extra time. But, wait a minute, Leo's fed the ball out right to Martin and the loanee's lifted the ball into the area, where Darren Mackie's running through. Mackie controlled the ball and hit a fierce shot, but the ball was never dipping quite enough, and it just clipped the top of the bar. Another chance for Mellor, as Cameron fed him, but once more Batty was equal and palmed the ball away. For at least the third time, the goalie rode his luck as a Stalybridge player, Acuña this time, was on hand to take the ball out of danger and clear it for a throw in. Up goes the stoppage time board, and we're into the dying minutes now. I'd settle for extra time, and it looks like the Liverpool players would as well. They sit back and let Acuña wander forward from the centre circle, play a neat one-two with Jaszczun, move out to the right side of the penalty box and swing the ball deep into the box. The crowd is silent, you could practically hear a pin drop inside Anfield in another one of those slow motion moments. Keeper Voulgaris is helpless having made the decision not to come for the cross. He can only watch as the ball heads towards the back post... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 16, 2004 Author Share Posted December 16, 2004 ...and the head of Leo Fortune-West. At the flick of a switch, Matrix style, time speeds back up, and the ball shoots into the back of the net! Silence. Apart from the 5000 Stalybridge fans who were going mental. Similar signs were to be seen on, or rather around, the Stalybridge bench, as we all ran full pelt to mob Leo. With normality eventually restored, we started the painful process of counting down the time to final whistle. It seemed an age, but according to the video it was only four and a half minutes. Eventually he blew, and we all ran like loonies onto the pitch again. The lads lofted Leo onto their shoulders and marched him over to where our fans were partying. Leo Fortune-West, in what was potentially his last game for the club, had just scored the goal that had knocked out Liverpool. The Liverpool. And sent Stalybridge through to the League Cup Semi Final. You couldn't write this stuff. League Cup Quarter Final. 22nd December 2004. Liverpool 0 Stalybridge 1 Fortune-West 89 Special mention to Jason Batty, who picked up the man of the match award in what must have been the performance of his life. There's a long, long party after the game, and the East Lancs road rocks to the sound of Stalybridge fans and players for many hours. Back at the ground, it seems like the entire town has come out to meet us. We dismiss the players, telling them to go home and enjoy their Christmas. They've deserved it. Meanwhile, I've got one or two interviews to do. Of course, with our tie against Liverpool being played later than the other Quarter Finals, the draw has already been made. It had slipped my mind, but the fans, and especially the chairman, were quick to remind me of it. Hold the back page. Manchester United are coming to the Bower Fold. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
displaced_seagull Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 \o/, I'd forgotten that bit. Brilliant Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 18, 2004 Author Share Posted December 18, 2004 Now seems as good a time as any to discuss a few matters with the board. Initially they are quite happy to listen to my ideas regarding stadium improvement, telling me that now is not the right time, but that I'll be the first to know should things change. However, by the time I move on to discussing the training facilities, they are becoming a little irate, politely reminding me that it's not my job to run the business side of the club. To be honest, I'm disappointed with this reaction. I expected more support. Not only have I brought the club through two divisions and up near the top of the current one, I've also taken them to a major semi-final. I've put Stalybridge Celtic on the map. Oh, and I've done my bit to keep the club profitable over the last three seasons as well. Matt Hocking's Christmas will be miserable again this season, as he picks up yet another injury on Christmas Eve. What he was doing training when the rest of the squad were out doing their shopping I don't know. Maybe he really is that desperate to keep his place in the squad. Having sent him home on his crutches, the physio comes to me to say he's not the only victim. Chris Morgan also picked up an injury warming down from the Liverpool game. His groin strain will keep the captain out for a whole month. Something tells me there may be a certain celebration based element to these injuries! Boxing Day brings a long coach trip to Bristol, to take on Bobby Williamson's City side. It's difficult to keep track of, but this is also a big game, City being one place and three points above us. Leo hasn't made his mind up, and after consultation with the chairman, I've thrown in a juicy contract to try and persuade him to stay. There's only one change, and it's an enforced one, with Ross Johnson coming in for the injured Morgan. Acuña takes over the captains armband. Another autograph for me as well, as Bristol City have Manchester United youngster Darren Fletcher in their side. The first goalmouth action comes from a very unusual source, as Tommy Jaszczun gets clear in the area. The left back who has made it to 94 appearances without scoring, shoots hard and low, but keeper Rhys Evans is equal to this attempt, and Tommy will have to wait a little longer. The only early chance for the home side comes from right winger Ronald de Boer, who cuts in side and sees his shot spilled by Batty, but as always seems to happen when a side is playing well, there is a man in the right place to steer the ball to safety. Jaszczun was the provider for the first Stalybridge goal, whipping in a ball from the left for Ommel, who had done well to beat his man, to shoot low and hard. No sitting back though, as our inability to hold on to a 1-0 lead means we have to push for a second goal. This of course left space behind the midfield for the home side to run at the defence, and a series of untidy play led to pressure moving down towards the penalty area. Marvin Brown could, and probably should have had a penalty in the 35th minute, but the referee waved play on after consulting his assitant. The goal came, eventually, from a corner, with Fletcher escaping his marker and heading his first goal of his 8 game loan spell. Followers of the form book would probably have tipped Bristol City from here in, but Ronald De Boer spoiled that, getting himself dismissed for pushing Mackie over off the ball just two minutes later. City were punished as they tried to reorganise, with a header by Leo being pushed away to Harris' feet, allowing the winger to score a rare goal. City made the defensive substitution they had been trying to avoid until half time, and Leo should have added a third on the stroke of half time. Advantage Stalybridge, but we've thrown games away from better positions than this. Surely though, when Harris tidied up after his own attempted lob to make it 3-0, the game was safe? Ommel and Leo continued to pepper the City goal, with Harris and Mackie providing the ammunition, and the home team's man disadvantage was starting to really tell. Cameron and Martin were sent on to give Harris and Leo a rest, as we've got another game to think about in a few days, and Andrew Martin could only wait 5 minutes before getting on the score sheet himself, a superb solo effort. There were other scoring chances, almost entirely for us, but 4-1 was a result that couldn't be sniffed at. Man of the match to Mackie, who is really turning on the performances. Division 2 Game 23. 26th December 2004. Bristol City 1 Stalybridge 4 Fletcher 40 / Ommel 21 Harris 44,50 Martin 74 (Bristol City's Ronald De Boer sent off, 42) We move above the west country side into third, three points behind second place Northampton but with a game in hand. Our unbeaten run in all competitions moves on to 17 matches, 11 of them in the league. We celebrate by tying up Andrew Martin's contract. He'll join us in the summer on a three year deal. It remains to be seen whether Palace will let us reloan him when his current deal expires. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 19, 2004 Author Share Posted December 19, 2004 Our Tuesday fixture is at home against Colchester. They are 23rd, and sacked their manager on Monday. Tired legs mean changes, seven in all. In come: Elgert, Ifil, Collins, Cameron, Browne, Barker and Martin. Barker takes the captaincy, with neither club captain or vice captain involved. It will be Collins' 100th Stalybridge appearance, and the fans have been tipped off in advance that he would be involved, so hopefully there will be some show of support for the 30 year old. Yet more autographs, as Millwall's Emmerson Boyce leads his adopted side out onto a cold, sleety Bower Fold pitch. There's little action in the first ten minutes, as the players attempt to get used to the slippery underfoot conditions, and our players attempt to get to know each other. They might have been playing together for years judging by the build up to the opening goal. Martin, Cameron and Mackie combining some fine passing football, before Richie Barker finished it off with a volley. 6482 fans didn't have long to wait for the second goal this time, with Martin burying a long range volley six minutes later. Colchester's only attacking threat was coming from Danny Schofield, and he had the ball in the net soon afterwards only to see it disallowed for offside. No such flag came three minutes later, as Schofield ruled out the possibility of offside by running with the ball from within his own half. Ten goals for the season for him, but we weren't in the mood to go in to the break on such a sour note, and when Boyce cleared a corner, Cameron was there to fire the ball back past him. 3-1, and quite comfortable really. Nice and quietly went the start of the second half, the lads not doing anything absolutely unnecessary in order to conserve their energy. Not until the 64th minute when Schofield forced Batty into a fine save. This seemed to spur us into action once more, and with Hill replacing Mackie, the substitute whipped over a corner. Barker flicked it on, and Collins at the back post unselfishly put the ball back into the mixer. Up popped Jerel Ifil to head a typical centre back's goal, his first of his career! The last twenty minutes was played out without incident, and we wrapped up the game 4-1 again! Fittingly, Lee Collins was awarded the man of the match for his two fine assists. Division 2 Game 24. 28th December 2004. Stalybridge 4 Colchester 1 Barker 19 Martin 25 Cameron 42 Ifil 71 / Schofield 30 Well the board are pleased, but I have to say their words mean nothing to me. They really need to think about expanding the stadium, otherwise the club will never make enough money to survive in a higher division. Our league position remains the same, by the way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 26, 2004 Author Share Posted December 26, 2004 Leo Fortune-West has, after all, played his last game for Stalybridge Celtic. After considerable thought over the Christmas period, he tells me on New Years Eve that he will accept Ipswich's offer. Who can blame him - they're offering 4 times our maximum bid, and the opportunity to play Premiership football. Their current strike force of Marcus Bent and Robbie Fowler must be quaking in their boots! Could we soon be seeing Leo on "The Premiership"? Whatever happens, Stalybridge has lost one of it's all time great players. £80k is no compensation for a striker who can score you two goals every three games consistently over four seasons. Now I have the job of trying to find someone to fill the number 9 shirt! Leo Fortune-West (Stalybridge 7/1/02 - 31/12/04) Played 128 Scored 87 Assists 14 Man of the Match 33 AvR 8.02 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted December 26, 2004 Author Share Posted December 26, 2004 December brings no awards to Stalybridge again! Darlington's manager gets the award, with the players trophies going to Northampton and Macclesfield. There's always January, and we start it with a trip to bottom of the table Wigan. Their form has gone downhill dramatically, being relegated from the 1st Division last season and being many people's favourites to go back up. Gary McAllister is their new manager, having been in the job since Steve McMahon was sacked just over a month ago. The change of management has brought a change of fortune for our old friend Steve Bushell, who has found himself a first team regular since McAllister's arrival. Back come Challinor, Burns, Harris, Friars and the Chilean. Collins retains his place, with the Chilean on the right whilst Jaszczun is rested, with Elgert swapping sides. It's Martin's last game of his loan spell. Bushell starts for Wigan, and his midfield partner is one James Coppinger, who Stalybridge fans may remember from a brief trial spell in the summer. It's 1-0 to Stalybridge after a quarter of an hour's play. A cracking Andrew Martin volley at the end of a beautiful team move. Wigan can't match that, and they struggle to keep the score down immediately from the restart, Matt Jackson's challenge on Martin being a reasonable penalty shout. Friars is the man controlling the midfield today, and Martin is having all the chances. He's missed a couple of reasonable chances before scoring his second, a half volley direct from a throw in. Craig Russell misses a golden opportunity to put the league's bottom club back in contention, but they do get one before half time through Steven Watson. 2-1, but not for long. Friars and Harris play a neat one-two, and the Northern Irishman is away and clear. He beats two hapless Wigan men before burying the ball in the net. The next twenty minutes were a bit on the quiet side, but just to keep the fans entertained, the referee ensured that he liberally sprayed yellow cards around in what wasn't really a dirty game. Friars was involved once again, laying the ball to Barker who steamed through the defence before smashing low drive past the keeper. 4-1, again, for the third game in a row. Ross Johnson tried to make the last twenty minutes interesting, by taking down Wigan goalscorer Watson, giving the ref no choice but to show him a second yellow card. Jaszczun came off the bench to fill in the centre back position, and Wigan struggled to create anything, even against ten men! Unsurprisingly, Friars took the man of the match. He can't be far from the Northern Irish team, can he? Division 2 Game 25. 1st January 2005. Wigan 1 Stalybridge 4 Watson 45 / Martin 15,33 Friars 47 Barker 66 (Stalybridge's Ross Johnson sent off, 67) Martin returns to Crystal Palace on the back of that performance. We'll welcome him back to the Bower Fold in the summer. Andrew Martin (Stalybridge 3/10/04 - 2/1/05) Played 18, Scored 7 Assists 1 AvR 7.44 He never got a man of the match award Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted January 6, 2005 Author Share Posted January 6, 2005 The hunt for a striking combination for the rest of the season continues. For the trip to Reading, Lee Hill will partner Richie Barker. Also into the side come Foley Sheridan, just recovered from his latest setback, and Cameron. Some big names are rested with Saturday's FA Cup tie in mind. A bright start by us seems to take Reading by surprise, and Curtis Woodhouse barges Lee Hill in the back in the penalty area inside ten minutes. There's a moment of confusion, as the players try to decide who will take the spot kick, not a decision they are used to taking. Eventually Barker takes control and slots the ball away for his 10th goal of the season, a mark I never expected him to achieve! Sean Friars wastes no time adding to his goal tally when he receives a decent cross from Elgert, and we're cruising. Step forward one Darius Henderson. Two goals in five minutes from the striker, in only his fifth start of the season, bring the scoreline level and leave us reeling. The sucker punch comes five before halftime, as Forster waltzes through the defence and adds a third. No amount of attacking throughout the second half can find an equaliser. Acuña, Ommel and Mackie all take to the field at various points, but they can't make a difference either. After 19 games, our unbeaten run comes to an end. Division 2 Game 26. 5th January 2005. Reading 3 Stalybridge 2 Henderson 31,36 Forster 40 / Barker 9(pen), Friars 17 It couldn't last for ever, I suppose. The lads are distraught on the coach home. They feel that they've let me and the fans down. I gently remind them of what they've achieved so far this season, and how far they've come. No doubt the fans are beginning mutterings, and they're probably mentioning Leo Fortune-West's name along those lines. We need to bounce back on Saturday. Those very same complaining fans better not watch Match of the Day when they get back from Reading. If they do, they'll see Leo Fortune-West making his Ipswich debut against West Brom. They'll also see him score two headed goals as Ipswich win 2-1. Step up? What step up? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted January 6, 2005 Author Share Posted January 6, 2005 In an attempt to ease the striker situation, and not in any sort of panic move at all, honest, I approach Hearts manager Alex Totten to inquire about the availability of former Cambridge United striker Dave Kitson. To my surprise he is happy to see the transfer listed striker go out on loan for the rest of the season, and we only have to contribute £550 per week. Dave is nowhere near match fit, but I'm hoping he can give us that extra something, at least to keep the other strikers on their toes. FA Cup third round day eventually dawns dry and cold. It's a local derby against Crewe, whose priorities probably lie in securing a playoff place rather than a cup tie in Stalybridge. I'm pleased to be able to field what I consider a full strength side, although it's without the injured Morgan, of course, and Barker and Ommel haven't cemented themselves as the correct striking partnership quite just yet. Dave Kitson starts on the bench. It's not a capacity crowd, but yet again there's well over 6450 in the Fold. How will the side from 3rd in the Second Division fair against the side from 4th in the First Division? Chances for Mackie in the 8th minute and Harris in the 9th gave the crowd something to cheer about, but the 1st division outfit looked to get back into it with a freekick from Efe Sodje. No-one could make the breakthrough, though, and it was still nil-nil at the half hour mark. Batty had to make his first real save just after, when Paul Edwards lost his man and fired a low shot in. Glen Little had a good chance to take the lead, but fired disappointingly wide. Mackie took the ball down the right and crossed into the area. Ommel's header was well saved by Combe, but the ball fell for Harris. Combe again pulled off a fingertip save, but he wasn't to be lucky three times in a row and when Friars got to the ball the keeper was nowhere. That was it for the first half, and we went in with the cheers of the crowd ringing in our ears. The lads are fired up, and I don't really need to say anything to them for the second half. We get the best possible start when Friars spotted a crossball from Harris. Ignoring the support around him, he fired a shot from distance. Goal! 2-0! Crewe were rocked, and we were flooding forward. Ommel and Barker had chances, but nothing came of it. Unbelievably, the result was secured when Challinor headed a Harris corner goalbound! But that wasn't the end of it. On came Kitson and Browne, and with the new striker through on goal, Stevland Angus got a tackle in, but the ball fell to Harris, and the winger made no mistake! 4-0, and it's an absolute rout. Harris got the man of the match, and we're through to the fourth round for the first time. FA Cup 3rd Round. 8th January 2005. Stalybridge 4 Crewe 0 Friars 38,47 Challinor 65 Harris 88 Not surprisingly, the board are going crazy about this result. I sagely nod to the chairman, hoping he will understand that it's about time he got his bloody finger out. Ours is not the biggest result, though, as Steve Evans' Boston side beat Stockport 3-0. The other two non-league sides were less fortunate, but I get the chance to catch up on old times with Steve as we wait for the 4th round draw. This time we're plumb last out of the hat. The reward for this? A trip to bloody Millwall again! At least it's not a trip into the unknown. Steve is a little more fortunate as Boston draw Newcastle at home. Bonus! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankles Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 It's taken me the best part of a week to read all of this from start to Crewe and it's been great. Every step is still a surprise for me since I haven't read this before, but I'm hoping you might get a chance to play against Leo again one day in the top flight. Great story! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted January 14, 2005 Author Share Posted January 14, 2005 Thanks Frankles. Guess it won't get your vote in Story most in need of Euthanasia in the Grumpies then? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted January 14, 2005 Author Share Posted January 14, 2005 It really is all change, as next up is the Vans Trophy against Darlington. In come: Elgert, Ifil, Collins, Foley Sheridan, Browne, Cameron, Kitson and Hill! Still a strong side! Hill takes the captains armband for this contest. 867 fans witness a very big day for our German full back Andreas Elgert. Taking advantage of Darlington's formation, Elgert got forward and received the ball from Browne, burying it with his right foot as though it was something he did every game. We all know it wasn't, in fact it's 50 games since he last scored! The height of the moment was dampened somewhat when Gary Fletcher equalised four minutes later, and that remained the scoreline at half time. Hill was withdrawn shortly after half time. He's one player who will certainly have to buck his ideas up to earn a new contract! On came Riordan, looking to stake his own claim, but it was Bill Browne who successfully got onto the end of a cross by Kitson to retake the lead. Having dones his bit at providing, Kitson volleyed home a cross by Foley Sheridan to make the result safe. Great, another fixture to add to the list! Vans Trophy, Northern Section 2nd Round. 11th January 2005. Stalybridge 3 Darlington 1 Elgert 21 Browne 62 Kitson 76 / Fletcher 25 Hull at home in the next round. Last time we played them was in this very competition, and we beat them then. We're a stronger team, now. Go figure. Looking at our fixture list, the end of January looks pretty scary. Manchester United at home followed by Millwall away! For some reason, presumably Man Yoo's European commitments, there is a whole month between the first and second legs of the semi final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted January 14, 2005 Author Share Posted January 14, 2005 Big, big defensive crisis ahead of the game with Luton on Saturday. Ifil twists his ankle in training on Friday, and Johnson is suspended, so Challinor is the only first choice centre back available. The question is whether I should bring in Howells or Hocking, or move Burns or Jaszczun in from the full back position. It's Challinor's 100th game, and youngster Howells wins the call to partner him. The rest of the team are the first choicers as in the Crewe game. Super Seany Friars! That's what 6470 fans Stalybridge fans are singing just after the 5 minute mark. The Northern Irish man really is on fire at the moment, and his goal, provided by Harris, set this game off and running. For most of the rest of the half, we were under pressure from Luton's attacking pair of Chris Twiddy and Liam George. Nothing really came of it though, and we were quite comfortable at the break. The second half was a different matter though, and Twiddy will be kicking himself ten minutes in. His first shot was saved well by Batty, but he hit the second attempt over the bar when it would have been easier to score. And that really was the story of Luton's game. I was intensely relieved when the referee finally brought the game to an end. Man of the match to Dean Harris, crosser extraordinaire. Division 2 Game 27. 15th January 2005. Stalybridge 1 Luton 0 Friars 6 In the post match press conference, I try to slip in some comment about being happy to have reached 50 points and be safe. Somehow, I don't think it went down well. It is only January, after all! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacemaker7 Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gricehead: Thanks Frankles. Guess it won't get your vote in _Story most in need of Euthanasia_ in the Grumpies then? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I've got a feeling you're gonna be a wee bit dissapointed come the night Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gricehead Posted January 15, 2005 Author Share Posted January 15, 2005 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Peacemaker7: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gricehead: Thanks Frankles. Guess it won't get your vote in _Story most in need of Euthanasia_ in the Grumpies then? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I've got a feeling you're gonna be a wee bit dissapointed come the night <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Who defines disappointment? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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