2018-19 National League North

[Railway Blue]

Never really got going yesterday at Leamington. After playing on York's bowling green on Tuesday and getting a 0-0, we played on the Brakes meadow. Fair doos to them they had a plan and it worked. Our dangerman Dan Mooney always had 2 or 3 men on him as soon as he received the ball and he only managed a few wayward shots. We sat amongst Leamington fans and credit to them they were a decent bunch. After our good run we've scored 1 goal in 3 winless games. No more league games this month thank God.

 

[Lucky Bobble]

County had the better of it first half yesterday, without ever really threatening the Brackley goal. Second half was a completely different story, as soon as they put some pressure on us we were at sixes and sevens. Brackley also showed up one of County's biggest weaknesses, with no real aerial presence up front we play it along the ground, they went very narrow which meant they could intercept everything.

The result hinged on an incident towards the end, Brackley lad kicked the ball away, Gannon goes to retrieve it and the Brackley assistant sticks his foot out, don't think he actually tripped JG up but it was enough to wind him up anyway; Gannon squares up to the feller who then goes down like he's been shot. End result, it gets the crowd riled up, and adds some minutes to injury time, allowing County to equalise at the very death, Mulhearn heading a corner ball from the near post to just inside the far post.

Definitely left us with a feeling of 'you got what you deserve'; however I'd say based on the game itself we barely deserved a point. Definitely need to do much better on Tuesday, we have to make our games-in-hand count.

Wasn't there so don't know... but both our manager and Mark Noone and David Staff are three of the most decent people you could meet. Never swear, rarely riled, polite and respectful etc. Never even heard Mark Noone complain loudly to a ref. Be very surprised if anyone did anything out of order. Breath of fresh air after our previous manager, who was hard to like....

 

[Josh Butler]

August seems a bloody long way ago now.... 13 pts in 13 games after 12 in the first five....
about 34 players since then too!

 

[AnimoEtFide]

County had the better of it first half yesterday, without ever really threatening the Brackley goal. Second half was a completely different story, as soon as they put some pressure on us we were at sixes and sevens. Brackley also showed up one of County's biggest weaknesses, with no real aerial presence up front we play it along the ground, they went very narrow which meant they could intercept everything.

The result hinged on an incident towards the end, Brackley lad kicked the ball away, Gannon goes to retrieve it and the Brackley assistant sticks his foot out, don't think he actually tripped JG up but it was enough to wind him up anyway; Gannon squares up to the feller who then goes down like he's been shot. End result, it gets the crowd riled up, and adds some minutes to injury time, allowing County to equalise at the very death, Mulhearn heading a corner ball from the near post to just inside the far post.

Definitely left us with a feeling of 'you got what you deserve'; however I'd say based on the game itself we barely deserved a point. Definitely need to do much better on Tuesday, we have to make our games-in-hand count.

It was interesting that Hinchliffe went up for the corner we scored from. I don't think I've ever seen that under Gannon. From what I remember from comments on our forum (so could be complete BS), Hinchliffe has always been told to stay back when he's tried similar in the past, so I wonde if this was a consequence of Gannon being sent off?

Disclaimer: This isn't some coded criticism of Gannon, as I really don't think Hinchliffe going forward made any difference, and it's pretty unusual keepers go forward in league games where GD's a factor.

 

[Inactive]

Really good game between Leamington and Chester on Saturday. Draw would've been fair as both sides put in a good performance (although both wasteful!). Leamington nicking it towards the end but put in a big shift throughout the game. Judging from the response from a few Chester fans on Saturday, it was a bit of a shock for them to be visiting a ground like Leamington's! Good atmosphere and good advert for the National North. Leamington top half...

 

[Railway Blue]

Really good game between Leamington and Chester on Saturday. Draw would've been fair as both sides put in a good performance (although both wasteful!). Leamington nicking it towards the end but put in a big shift throughout the game. Judging from the response from a few Chester fans on Saturday, it was a bit of a shock for them to be visiting a ground like Leamington's! Good atmosphere and good advert for the National North. Leamington top half...

That looked a better game on screen than it did being there. I never spotted that handball that should have been a penalty in the first half and fortunately for Leamington neither did the referee. I think the Chester players couldn't get their game going on the heavy pitch, which Brakes players will be used to. Considering we've only taken one point from our last 3 games we're still only 4 points of Bradford at the top. We need a break after having to catch up the 4 games that were postponed.

 

[GuiseleySteve]

That looked a better game on screen than it did being there. I never spotted that handball that should have been a penalty in the first half and fortunately for Leamington neither did the referee. I think the Chester players couldn't get their game going on the heavy pitch, which Brakes players will be used to. Considering we've only taken one point from our last 3 games we're still only 4 points of Bradford at the top. We need a break after having to catch up the 4 games that were postponed.

When we played there the pitch was more akin to a beach covered in grass. Bumpy and uneven, impossible to pass on the deck with any reliability that the ball would travel straight and true. It was reminiscent of the state of Chorleys pitch for our play off final, a well trodden cow pasture, baked hard in the sun!

 

[CFC4LIFE]

When we played there the pitch was more akin to a beach covered in grass. Bumpy and uneven, impossible to pass on the deck with any reliability that the ball would travel straight and true. It was reminiscent of the state of Chorleys pitch for our play off final, a well trodden cow pasture, baked hard in the sun!

Our pitch back then was awful, now a lot better as we actually have a full time groundsman who's worked wonders with a limited budget

 

[GuiseleySteve]

Our pitch back then was awful, now a lot better as we actually have a full time groundsman who's worked wonders with a limited budget

That's great to hear, well done that man!

 

[Bluandwite]

Really good game between Leamington and Chester on Saturday. Draw would've been fair as both sides put in a good performance (although both wasteful!). Leamington nicking it towards the end but put in a big shift throughout the game. Judging from the response from a few Chester fans on Saturday, it was a bit of a shock for them to be visiting a ground like Leamington's! Good atmosphere and good advert for the National North. Leamington top half...

We reformed in the Evo-Stik North, we've been to all sorts of grounds so no issue there. I think it was just a few comments in a match report from one of the press about the remote location of the ground and heavy pitch which didn't help us.

Some at Leamington have been a bit touchy about it for some reason and have sniped away for days about it on social media which has largely just been ignored back here, hasn't even been mentioned at all on Deva Chat for example. Bit strange as I thought Leamington were really friendly on the day and came across as one of the more organised clubs at this level.

 

[Darlo On Tour]

Saturday November 17 2018 National League North Results

Att. 481 - Alfreton Town 3 Nuneaton Borough 1
Att. 1,673 - Altrincham 3 York City 0
Att. 685 - Blyth Spartans 3 Curzon Ashton 2
Att. 1,146 - Boston United 1 Southport 2
Att. 474 - Bradford (Park Avenue) 3 Ashton United 2
Att. 1,427 - Darlington 2 Hereford 2
Att. 2,211 - FC United Of Manchester 1 AFC Telford United 2
Att. 964 - Guiseley 1 Spennymoor Town 1
Att. 2,090 - Kidderminster Harriers 0 Chorley 4
Att. 925 - Leamington 1 Chester 0
Att. 3,449 - Stockport County 1 Brackley Town 1

 

[Darlo On Tour]

They need a ground first. Where they play now is dreadful.

They were potentially moving to the Odsal and groundsharing with the Bradford Bulls.
But now they are set to remain at the Horsfall base next season, also along with some improvements to the ground.

Totally agree the place is a shit-hole, not a pretty sight at all.

 

[Darlo On Tour]

2-0 up and we f*cked it up. Not the only side to do that in this league today either...

You had a decent chance of sailing into a 3-0 lead if that happened it was game over, once we pulled a goal back shortly afterwards it was one way traffic, we should have won.

Ainge must have lost his contact lenses after missing an open goal for the winner. We created umpteen chances that other than the goals we scored we should have at least scored 1 or 2 more that should have been put away. Our disallowed goal was a bit dubious, other than that the referee was one of the best I've seen all season.

Your keeper Yates had a decent game along with Owen-Evans he was a handful at times.

Well done to all the Hereford supporters that made the long arduous journey, they were in good voice.

 

[DarkSithLord]

Alfreton host Leamington tonight in one of our games in hand. Chance to move in to the top half with a win. Elsewhere, Stockport travel to Blyth tonight

 

[Inactive]

That looked a better game on screen than it did being there. I never spotted that handball that should have been a penalty in the first half and fortunately for Leamington neither did the referee. I think the Chester players couldn't get their game going on the heavy pitch, which Brakes players will be used to. Considering we've only taken one point from our last 3 games we're still only 4 points of Bradford at the top. We need a break after having to catch up the 4 games that were postponed.

I actually thought it was a really interesting game. Certainly the best I've seen for a while. Agreed with the handball, seemed like nothing at the time but when you watch it back, Leamington may have been a bit fortunate to get away with it! Yes, Chester players didn't quite look up for it. They looked tired. Leamington were fresh having not played since November 3rd!

 

[Inactive]

We reformed in the Evo-Stik North, we've been to all sorts of grounds so no issue there. I think it was just a few comments in a match report from one of the press about the remote location of the ground and heavy pitch which didn't help us.

Some at Leamington have been a bit touchy about it for some reason and have sniped away for days about it on social media which has largely just been ignored back here, hasn't even been mentioned at all on Deva Chat for example. Bit strange as I thought Leamington were really friendly on the day and came across as one of the more organised clubs at this level.

Just an observation on the day, but there were quite a few Chester fans looking absolutely gobsmacked pre-match, taking pictures of the fields nearby and the very small grandstand we have. Sure, they could've been admiring the ground or capturing images for a memorable trip...but let's be honest, it was probably more than that. The other bigger clubs do tend to follow suite when they visit as well. Leamington fans feel they are disrespected a lot of the time by some clubs in this division, mainly from those who have a bigger reputation. I personally had no issue with the Chester fans on Saturday, all friendly and didn't cause any trouble.

In terms of why Leamington fans may by be a bit touchy about comments about their ground, here's an article. It may help you understand their perspective.

https://www.leamingtonfc.co.uk/index.php/club/history/new-windmill-ground

 

[Railway Blue]

I actually thought it was a really interesting game. Certainly the best I've seen for a while. Agreed with the handball, seemed like nothing at the time but when you watch it back, Leamington may have been a bit fortunate to get away with it! Yes, Chester players didn't quite look up for it. They looked tired. Leamington were fresh having not played since November 3rd!

Just a point about your location Nick. I put the postcode to the ground in my phone and ended up at an industrial farm-like place about 2 miles from the ground. I went in thinking this was the ground and the barrier closed behind me. Fortunately it opened again when I turned round to come out.

 

[Railway Blue]

In the past few days we've hired a general manager. He was fired a few minutes ago after someone on Deva Chat did some due diligence on him and discovered he had a serous fraud conviction. I wonder what his interview was like?

 

[MWS]

Tonight we travel to the North East to take on Blyth Spartans. Not an ideal trip to be making on a Tuesday night but that is the reward for cup success I guess.

We're on an incredible unbeaten run in all competitions at the moment but we all know that runs come to an end at some point!

Hopefully not tonight as we need the 3 points to keep in touch with the play offs.

Blyth are still managed by County legend Alun Armstrong. Always nice to see Super Al.

 

[AnimoEtFide]

And thus concludes the least inspiring 12-match unbeaten run in history

 

[DarkSithLord]

Alfreton 1-2 Leamington

Well that was absolutely dreadful

Slow lethargic aimless hooof ball. Leam were ok and deserved the win but were just not good enough and conceded abysmal goals at any level of football

One 1 win in 8 now in the league. Not sure this is where Billy would have wanted to be at this stage of the season. Some sole searching to do I think.

Not looking forward/ abit indifferent to this weekends upcoming FA Trophy tie with Farsley. Expect a similar result to that against Altrincham last season

 

[Darlo On Tour]

Tuesday 20 November 2018 National League North Results

Att. 316 - Alfreton Town 1 Leamington 2
Att. 531 - Blyth Spartans 3 Stockport County 2

 

[Minstermen central]

How do clubs survive on gates of 300,what is gate receipts £4000.
Styche must be on 20% of that.
Just shows that clubs like Stockport,York ,ChesterHereford etc are poorly run when getting 2-3k a home game

 

[E10rifle]

Interesting to see the Orient highlights being filmed from somewhere near the moon.

Everything about us is #MASSIVE, including the height of our camera positioning.

Some sole searching to do I think.

Try looking in the English Channel.

 

[DarkSithLord]

How do clubs survive on gates of 300,what is gate receipts £4000.
Styche must be on 20% of that.
Just shows that clubs like Stockport,York ,ChesterHereford etc are poorly run when getting 2-3k a home game

Last nights attendance of 316 is very low even by our stands we regualry normall get between 4-500. I do remember a midweek gate of 308 against Brackley one season but none lower than that.

A number of factors. We are in the middle of a run of 7 consecutive home games which at £14 a time is not cheap to say the least. We are awful. Oh and then there is the small matter of 90 minues of Billy heath hoooof.

Dread to think what the attendance is going to be on Saturday against Farsley in the Trophy @ £14,£10 #madness

 

[MWS]

I'm guessing Billy Heath wouldn't have had much say in the sale of Denton to Chesterfield? It's literally the only way he knows how to play and without him Alfreton have got literally nothing!

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

How do clubs survive on gates of 300,what is gate receipts £4000.
Styche must be on 20% of that.
Just shows that clubs like Stockport,York ,ChesterHereford etc are poorly run when getting 2-3k a home game

The Ashton clubs only get gates of 150 home fans at this level.

Absolute astute management, reliance on part time players, loans, youth and a mass of grassroots knowledge is how to get through it.

Volunteers, using other routes to raise funds and frankly relying on player base who play for football, not employment reasons.

Of course Ashton clubs lucky to have Manchester base, how say Workington survive is a different question.

 

[DarkSithLord]

I'm guessing Billy Heath wouldn't have had much say in the sale of Denton to Chesterfield? It's literally the only way he knows how to play and without him Alfreton have got literally nothing!

Exactly. He has shown he is totally unable to adapt.

We have Reece Styche to come back in now one he returns from International duty for Gibraltar.

 

[Inactive]

Just a point about your location Nick. I put the postcode to the ground in my phone and ended up at an industrial farm-like place about 2 miles from the ground. I went in thinking this was the ground and the barrier closed behind me. Fortunately it opened again when I turned round to come out.

Thanks for that, I'll let them know. It's a big problem for Leamington in terms of location, it is so far out of the way that it can actually be hard to find!

 

[ForeverUnited]

How do clubs survive on gates of 300,what is gate receipts £4000.
Styche must be on 20% of that.
Just shows that clubs like Stockport,York ,Chester Hereford etc are poorly run when getting 2-3k a home game

Couldn't agree more.