David Cameron Walker

Posts Tagged ‘League One’

All aboard the League One Train

Friday, May 24th, 2013

Finally after years of having to witness journeymen pros and dross football along with relegations, Bradford have started their march back up the leagues and they did it in style. If you could guarantee promotion at the start of any season it would be to go up via the Play-Offs at Wembley and on Saturday at the home of English football promotion was secured inside the opening thirty minutes as Bradford blew Northampton Town apart producing their best performance of the season when it really mattered. First half goals from James Hanson, Rory McArdle and Nahki Wells propelled the Bantams back into League One.

Bradford can now swap Wycombe for Wolves, Southend United for Sheffield United and Chesterfield for Coventry. The fixture list will look a lot better, bigger clubs coming to Valley Parade will generate more revenue, there will be a better atmosphere at the games as bigger crowds will be in attendance – it might sound big headed but Bradford should be playing the likes of Wolves and Sheffield United as opposed to Accrington and Dagenham unfortunately though over the last few years Bradford have been at their right level because results simply haven’t been good enough.

The class of 2012 / 2013 will live long in the memory it’s hard to say they haven’t just produced Bradford’s best season ever. A League Cup Final appearance beating the likes of Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa over two legs en-route and securing promotion in the same season – sensational! Even more sensational given the fact this is by a League Two side who completed a staggering 64 games only Chelsea domestically completed more fixtures this season.

This season has been my best since I started watching Bradford I’ve seen promotion from what now is League One when City beat Notts County in the play-offs in 1996, I’ve seen promotion to the premier league and staying up there after beating Liverpool on the final day but this season has been truly remarkable. In a way I feel sorry for fans that support other teams this season as Bradford have had so many unbelievable highs. Other clubs have had extreme highs like Watford’s play-off drama against Leicester, Doncaster against Brentford and other teams will have had similar situations but it just seems Bradford had so many highs. In one season I’ve probably been able to add five games into my all time 10 favourite Bradford games – surely that is unheard of?!

Beating Arsenal on penalties after drawing the game 1-1 was amazing, surely it couldn’t be beaten then City beat Aston Villa 3-1 yes 3-1! In the semi final first leg, what scenes when Carl McHugh rose like a salmon late on to get the third…again surely it couldn’t be beaten but it did when James Hanson headed home at Villa Park to give the Bantams that vital away goal that sent them to Wembley – let’s be honest a League Two side shouldn’t get to a major domestic cup final and it probably won’t ever happen again, a historic moment and something I feel proud to have witnessed.

For all the highs of beating the premier league sides the 3-1 win away at Burton in the second leg of the play-offs is well up there with the Arsenal and Villa games. Having seen Burton comfortably beat City at Valley Parade I feared the worst heading to The Pirelli Stadium but again when it really mattered City rose to the challenge and produced a superb performance against what was the best home record in the country and just like at Villa Park my glasses decided to go walkies after Wells tucked away the third of the afternoon…..scenes!

Then you have the final itself. I fully expected Bradford to beat Northampton, the experience of being at Wembley before for the Swansea game I thought would help Bradford players relax whereas The Cobblers visiting for the first time would be nervous. Despite Northampton finishing higher in the league, player for player City are a much better side in my opinion and I think that showed in the final. Don’t get me wrong Northampton are a good side and I’d back them to do well next season but on the day they couldn’t cope with the Bantams.

This week Phil Parkinson his assistant Steve Parkin and fitness coach Nick Allemby (unsung hero!) have all signed three year contract extensions. The trio were out of contract next month but have now committed their long term futures to the club. Now that’s been resolved then the need to keep the out of contract key players becomes a massive task will City be able to keep the likes of Nathan Doyle and Andrew Davies personally I can’t see it happening. They’ve both had immense seasons and clubs in the Championship will be looking closely at them. That leaves City with their jewel in the crown Bermudan Nahki Wells 26 goals and a string of fine performances he will be a much sort after signing during the summer break. Already less than a week after the season has finished both Crystal Palace and Burnley are rumoured to be readying themselves with the cheque book the latter if the papers have anything to do with it, will pay as much as 2 million pound for his signature.

If and it is a big if Parkinson can keep the likes of Davies, Doyle and Wells and add in the correct areas I generally don’t see why Bradford can’t compete and challenge for a mid table to play-off place finish. It will be difficult but I believe the Bantams are well equipped to go again and challenge, Mark Lawn one of the co-chairmen has already indicated money will be provided to strengthen and I trust Phil Parkinson to strengthen the team wisely.

For now though it’s all about basking in the sun and enjoying the moment Bradford after all have just secured promotion to the third tier of English football. Some Bantams fans are fretting over the possible departures of Wells, Davies and the like and yes they might go to clubs higher up the leagues which means City as a club have achieved success. If Bradford had struggled would other clubs want the same players probably not, unfortunately City will probably be victims of their own success when it comes to the players who leave.

The journey home on the minibus from Wembley will live long in the memory, plenty of songs were sung including live on 606 to Darren Fletcher and Jason Roberts who got treated to a rendition of “oooohhhh Stephen Darby baby” and “we are going up”. This season has been City’s time, so many times the fans have had to sit back and watch other clubs celebrate success, well for the first time in a long time the Bantams have had their turn.

WE ARE GOING UP, SAY WE ARE GOING UP! WE ARE GOING UP, SAY WE ARE GOING UP!!!

Written by Mark Scully, We Are Going Up’s Bradford City Blogger

Mark tweets at @scully87

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Bradford City, League Two | No Comments »

Where do we go from here?

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

So, we’ve reached the end of another rollercoaster season and had our hearts broken at Wembley yet again. Oh the joys of being a Brentford fan! But where do we go from here? Can we really keep up the momentum and make this year’s dream, next year’s reality?

Undoubtedly, achieving this will hinge on whether we keep our young squad, the fifth-youngest in the entire Football League, together and Uwe has a tough job on his hands. The majority of the squad is under contract until summer 2014 at the least but wingers Sam Saunders and Harry Forrester are both out of contract next month whilst standout loanees Tom Adeyemi (Norwich), Jake Bidwell (Everton) and Bradley Wright-Phillips (Charlton) will return to their parent clubs after their loan deals expire.

If rumours are to be believed, we could also be hit with the departures of goalkeeper Simon Moore, who has reportedly been scouted by Manchester United, along with last summer’s acquisitions, Harlee Dean and Adam Forshaw both of whose eye-catching performances will have put scouts from bigger teams on alert. Nevertheless, it was today reported that the club will open talks with the pair later this week with regards to extending their stay in TW8.

Four Development Squad players have been offered improved contracts and will be hoping to build on their minimal first team appearances in the coming season. Midfielder Charlie Adams, who made his Bees debut against Carlisle this season, has been offered a new two-year deal whilst strikers Luke Norris and Antonio German along with defender Aaron Pierre have each been offered another year at the club.

To progress next season, I think a few new faces are required in the squad starting in defence. Obviously Jake Bidwell has only been on loan from Everton for the past 18 months and if he doesn’t sign permanently, a new left-back might be required. Tony Craig can play there if needed and Scott Barron should be given another opportunity to impress as he recovers from injury yet many Bees fans would hope to see the young Bidwell, recently named in the provisional England U20 World Cup squad, become a permanent fixture at Griffin Park.

Personally, I believe signing Tom Adeyemi up for another loan spell would be perfect for the team; he has passion, drive, power and is composed on the ball whilst I think we need another striker to complement Farid and Clayton. I liked Paul Hayes and defended him when others doubted but now I don’t think he is what we need; he holds the ball up brilliantly but is not a prolific scorer and if’s there’s one thing we need, it is goals. Clayton scored twenty-four this season and Forrester scored eleven but they did not flow; the former having more than one six-game drought.

Looking at the list of teams we are set to face next season, there are more than 15 teams who we can beat with the squad we have now, hands down. It will not, by any means, be plain-sailing next season, though. You just have to look at the teams who were relegated from the Championship this season, Bristol City, Wolves and Peterborough, all clubs of a large stature with quality and experience of football at a higher level. Wolves will have something to prove next season having been a Premier League side just one year ago and I would go as far to say that they will be favourites for the title already with Bristol City not far behind.

Nonetheless, I would definitely expect Brentford to finish in the top six and if automatic promotion is not a realistic prospect by the end of April, with a few good signings and the same winning attitude as this season, I don’t see why we can’t tackle the playoffs again and finally break the ‘curse’ they have over us. Could it be eighth time lucky?

Written by Dan Long, We Are Going Up’s Brentford Blogger

Dan tweets at @_DanLong_ & also writes HERE.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Brentford, Featured, League One | No Comments »

End of season report

Monday, May 6th, 2013

Another season has passed and it seems incredible to think that it’s nearly a year since Scott Neilson’s 67th minute goal at Accrington. Since then, a lot has changed.

For example, only six first team players from then are still with Crawley Town. Dannie Bulman, David Hunt, Kyle McFadzean, Josh Simpson, Sergio Torres and Billy Clarke, and I would be surprised if that number isn’t lower come the start of next season.

The club also have a new Chief Executive, are up for sale and on the pitch have just secured a very respectable 10th place in their first season in League One.

Next season there is plenty to build on, and if we keep the core of this squad and build on it I think we really stand a chance of making the play offs, particularly as we weren’t far off this year and we held our own against a number of the top six. This included wins away at Doncaster and Sheffield United, draws at home to Swindon and Doncaster when we really should have  won, a win at home to Bournemouth (admittedly before they sacked Paul Groves – indeed, it was that game that prompted the Bournemouth board to sack him.)

Also, it was a case of not winning games we should have won which has cost us, such as the aforementioned home games against Swindon and Doncaster, Walsall away, Yeovil home (a game we lost but dominated) and away, Stevenage at home, Carlisle at home, Notts County at home, to name some.

It is a case of converting performances that merit wins into wins for next season, as we have shown we are one of the better sides in this division, and the core of this side is excellent. Players like Dannie Bulman, captain fantastic Josh Simpson, Mark Connolly, Paul Jones, Nicky Adams, Billy Clarke, Kyle McFadzean, Joe Walsh, Jamie Proctor and Mat Sadler are the players we should build our side around, these are the players who will form the nucleus of a successful season next term.

Josh Simpson has signed a new contract which is excellent news, but added to that inevitable departures of several out of contract players such as Shaun Cooper means that Richie Barker will surely be looking to add at least a few faces to his squad for a second season in League  One – but where do the Reds need to strengthen?

A new striker, or likely two, will surely be brought in, as both loanees Paul Hayes and Aiden O’Brien are returning to Brentford and Millwall respectively and the out of contract Lateef Elford Alliyu has been released, leaving just Jamie Proctor as the club’s sole striker currently (discounting Billy Clarke as he’s more of a forward than an out and out striker). Proctor himself has shown he is capable of leading the line this season, scoring seven goals since joining in January, and he will surely be a crucial part of the side next season.

A new central midfielder may also be on the list as whilst out-of-contract Matt Sparrow looks set to sign a new contract, Dannie Bulman is out of contract although I expect talks about a new deal to begin soon if they haven’t already,  and of course Josh Simpson has signed on for another two years, but four central midfielders will probably be an ideal number.

Right backs David Hunt and Mustapha Dumbuya are both out of contract this summer and so that is another area which will need to be strengthened, even if one of them signs a new contract.

There’s a lot to be optimistic about going into next season, and, whisper it quietly, I believe there is a genuine chance of us making the play-offs and even challenging for automatic promotion if the right players are retained and brought in.

This past season has been a funny one, one of great memories tinged by a hint of frustration  we slipped up in games we could and should have won. Winning away at Portsmouth on Boxing Day, the recent win at Sheffield United, Nicky Adams’ wondergoal in the first minute against Reading, beating Bolton at home with two goals in the last five minutes. All wonderful memories and moments that will brighten up a season which, after looking like it could have promised so much, fizzled out into a season of consolidation.

Finishing 10th however is far from a disgrace for our first season in League One, and as one of the smaller if not the smallest club in the league it’s a position we can be very proud of. Barker’s done an excellent job on a small budget and this year he has a pre-season to build his own squad, something he didn’t have last year and if he uses the summer wisely, next season could be a very exciting one for the club.

Written by Louie Elmer, We Are Going Up’s Crawley Town blogger

Louie tweets at @louie_j_e

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Crawley Town, League One | No Comments »

A bright future to make up for the lacklustre present?

Tuesday, April 30th, 2013

And so the curtain closes on another League One season. For Notts County, the overriding feeling is one of disappointing apathy, where the damage was done a long time ago, a season of play-off hopes beginning brightly but falling apart at the seams and ebbing away to nothing.

In hindsight, a team that, between February and April, played fifteen games and won just three, and whose strikers went ten games without scoring a goal at one point – Francois Zoko’s goals against Bury on 22nd February were the last scored by an established forward until Yoann Arquin and Romello Nangle netted against Colchester on 13th April – frankly isn’t worthy of being anywhere near the promotion zone.

Despite a decent finish in April, the highlight of which was the 1-0 win against Doncaster at the Keepmoat which set up one of the most dramatic final day clashes in recent times, when Rovers played Brentford for the final automatic promotion slot, it ultimately counted towards nothing. The season was over and the pressure was off.

So, what has cost Notts this season?

I pinpoint it down to three things: the lack of a cup run, the loss of Lee Hughes and the failure to replace him.

Losing to Bradford in August in the Carling Cup first round didn’t raise a murmur back then, but despite how amazing their run to the final was to witness, I doubt I’m the only one who looked in with just a tinge of regret and longing, imagining us in their shoes, if only Arquin’s chance went in.

Meanwhile, the heavy defeat against Rotherham in the FA Cup second round was possibly our worst display all season, and in addition, missing out on the third round meant we lost out on some much needed funds which we could have invested the team, in the form of improved contracts and signings.

Losing Lee Hughes was a major own goal for the Magpies. The seeds of discontent were sowed early on, with him losing his place in the team and his number 9 shirt. After his failed attempt to force through a loan move to Port Vale in November, his subsequent sick note confirmed what all Notts fans feared: Hughes was as good as gone.

And if that wasn’t enough, the board, short on funds, was unable to replace him, and the existing strikeforce of Arquin, Enoch Showunmi and Francois Zoko failed to rise to the challenge of filling his boots – since Hughes left in January, the three of them have scored six goals between them.

It’s a shame really, since this year’s League One was one of the weakest in recent times, and our backline has been superb for most of the season – Bialkowski and Speiss have been revelations in goal, and a back four of Alan Sheehan, Dean Leacock, Gary Liddle and Julian Kelly is as strong as you’ll get in the division.

Since the season finished, the club confirmed that Alan Judge, our star man in midfield, is to leave the club, Bialkowski is also rumoured to be the subject of interest from teams higher up, and our skipper, Neal Bishop, has relinquished his captaincy – another worrying sign which some have taken to be a precursor to leaving the Lane.

However, the last couple of weeks have seen some great youth players come into the team and prove they’re more than capable of performing in the division. Curtis Thompson, Haydn Hollis, Tyrell Waite, Fabian Speiss, Romello Nangle and Greg Tempest have all enjoyed spells in the first team, and some, like Nangle and Waite, have already contributed goals, while Speiss was so good in goal when Bialkowski was injured that many thought he was going to displace him from the first team spot – not bad for an eighteen year old!

And as an extra bonus, the Notts youth team made it all the way to the final of the Midland Youth Cup Final against a talented Walsall side, and took the Saddlers all the way to extra time before being eventually broken down, suffering a 4-2 loss.

With such promising prospects in the Notts County academy and an increased emphasis by the board on bringing home-grown young talent into the first team, next season should see many of this year’s young stars break through and get plenty of appearances – and hopefully turn in some great performances and score some goals – which I am quite excited about. So let’s hope the future truly is black and white, and as always, Come On You Pies!

Written by Giuseppe Labellarte, We Are Going Up’s Notts County blogger

Giuseppe tweets at @JoeJonesHome

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in League One, Notts County | No Comments »

Winner Takes All

Thursday, April 25th, 2013

Ahead of this week’s promotion decider in League One between Brentford and Doncaster Rovers, two fans from each club share their views going into this match, which sees the team with the best home form hosting the team with the best away form.

1. Which team do you think will be considered the favorites for this match, considering the Rovers terrific away form, the Bees’ equally exceptional home form and the fact that Brentford need to win to secure promotion whereas Donny can settle for the draw?

Dan Long (Brentford): That’s very tough. Both clubs have had an excellent campaign, Doncaster’s more inevitable than ours but credit to them for getting straight back in contention after relegation last season. Personally, I would see Doncaster as favourites for the game. They have it all to lose if they don’t at least achieve a draw and I think they will be massively up for it. They sold out their ticket allocation very quickly and they are a big team seemingly ready for promotion.

I think the underdog status will suit Brentford very well. We have come from behind to win on numerous occasions this season and I think the element of surprise may unsettle the visitors. The previous tie between the two saw Brentford dominate possession yet lose 2-1 and they will have to make sure they take their chances if they want to beat a strong Doncaster team on Saturday.

Lee Croft (Doncaster): I think most will see us as favorites; we go into the game having accumulated more points over 45 games than Brentford and the majority of them coming from away games. It’s funny actually, because we are usually the underdogs in situations like this and I’m not sure if being the favorites for this one is a good or bad thing.

2. Just how big a game is this for your club?

DL: Words cannot describe how big a game this is for our club. It is the most realistic chance of Championship football we have had since 2006 and I think most would say the quality and mentality of the team is far superior to Martin Allen’s in 2006. Having lost in the play-offs no less than SIX times since 1991, we are desperate for a positive result on Saturday.

LC: This is our tenth season in the Football League, and in that ten seasons we have won the League Two championship, the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and the League One play-offs in 2007/08. We spent four years back in the Championship after 50 years and relegation last season was probably inevitable. That said I really want to see us back in the Championship, I think it will really deflate the club if we cannot achieve promotion, even more so considering we have been at the top of the table for the last eight games prior to last week.

3. Who has been your best player of the season so far?

DL: There have been so many stand-out performers this season; Tony Craig and Harlee Dean have been solid at the back, Simon Moore has been incredible in goal and Adam Forshaw has shown, time and time again, why he is too good for this level of football. But for me it has to be Clayton Donaldson. So far he has scored 22 goals, double his total for the whole of the last campaign, and finally showed Bees fans his full potential. Although the goal against Portsmouth was his first for six matches, he has continuously managed to pop with important goals and dealt with the tragic death of his mother like a true professional; a gentleman on and off the pitch.

LC: Chris Brown, of the three strikers (Brown, Paynter and Hume) Brown has scored the least but his work rate and ability to hold up the ball and bring others into play is second to none. He has scored some very nice goals this season and he won’t stop running the length of the pitch for the full 90. Our Captain Rob Jones is a close second though, the giant of a centre back and commander of the team has shown his resilience in his no-nonsense style defending and even managing to bag himself a few goals this season.

4. Which result this season made you think, “You know, we might actually do this!”

DL: There have been some amazing games this season, but it would have to be the 3-2 win against Portsmouth. They proved a very tough side to break down and showed their attacking threat with two great goals and equally impressive build up play. But the Griffin Park faithful sang their hearts out and the passion paid off when Bradley Wright-Phillips equalised five minutes from time. Just one minute later, Clayton Donaldson’s lofted finish sent the crowd into raptures. In my 10 years as a Brentford supporter, I can honestly say I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like that; going from settling for a play-off place to being in contention for automatic promotion in two minutes sums up our season in one word, crazy!

LC: The result away at Crewe a couple of weeks back, we were a goal down and weren’t playing great, by no means we were poor but we just didn’t look like a team at the top of the table. However when Paynter was subbed on two quick goals put us in the lead and we held on with a brilliant away crowd to cheer the boys home. Top of the table and two games to go put Doncaster into party mode, something we are hoping Brentford don’t end this coming Saturday.

5. What type of game are you expecting?

DL: I reckon it will be very tight. I would expect Doncaster to be highly defensive and to play for the draw but if a chance arises, I would say they would give everything they have in attack to try and nick a win. We have everything to play for and will go for all out attack. Donaldson has said he is ready to ‘explode’ on Saturday and with any luck, he can convert that energy into goals and take us up.

LC: Brentford have to win, we don’t. That will be key here. Brentford have to attack us, they have to put us on the back foot leaving us the option of defending for most of the game and the counter attack our only chance of scoring. That is what we have done all season, that is where Doncaster Rovers have been most comfortable and that type of game won us all three points at both Bournemouth and Tranmere and why we have the best away record in the Football League. I think it will be tight, but I am confident that the game will suit the Rovers.

6. What threats does your team possess?

DL: Donaldson is back from suspension, there are no major injury concerns and the stadium will be rocking. Bradley Wright-Phillips is on form and only Tony Craig is suspended. The biggest weapon we have is the crowd; we will have over 10,000 home fans and the players have previously admitted that loud support contributes to the way the game will be played. Saturday is no exception.

LC: Our biggest threat at the minute is probably our midfield. John Llundstram and Dean Furman are both on loan at the Rovers from Everton and Oldham respectively. Both centre-midfielders know how to pass the ball and have shown they have an eye for goal and can dictate the play when needs be: Couple that with a back-line and strike force where the majority of players are over 6”2, our biggest threat is our physical presence and a deadly midfield.

7. What do you know about the opponents, and how they will approach the game on Saturday?

DL: When I think of Doncaster, I immediately think of a Championship team. They should not be in League One and they have proved that with their league position this season. Some of the players they have are of a Championship quality and although the loss against Notts County last week came as a big surprise, I would expect that they will be fully confident it will spur them on that they can just play for a draw on Saturday.

LC: When Brentford visited the Keepmoat they played us off the park, if they had a decent finisher, it might have been a cricket score. However we managed to withstand most of the pressure and our only two shots on target in the second half were just enough to see us take the points. But if that is how Brentford play away from home (where their form is – without trying to sound offensive – not above average) then I am a little frightened to think how good they will be at home where they have only lost twice. Brentford will surely be looking to the home crowd to make a great atmosphere that they hope their team can rise to.

8. Did you know that promotion would come down to the final game, or was promotion never an expectation for you this season?

DL: I think I can speak on behalf of many fans in saying that although the dream was in the back of my mind, I never expected that it would become a reality. History shows that we have always been there or thereabouts but never quite had the luck needed to take us up.

LC: At the beginning of the season all I wanted was stability and I said anywhere in the top 10 would be a success. However, when you have been at top of the table in the latter stages of the season you do hope the team can hang on and win promotion. I had a feeling it may come down to the final game this season, but only because of the amount of games in hand the teams below us had.

9. Just how nervous are you about Saturday?

DL: Incredibly nervous because of the past (play-offs) but quietly confident. I’ve experienced a promotion with Brentford back in 2009 and I know how brilliant that feeling is. I hope all the times this season I thought I was going to have a heart attack have been worth it and this can be our year!

LC: I’m nervous, but I know that if we play to our advantages, Brentford will not know what hit them. If it is anything like the majority of our away games this season Brentford will have more of the ball, and probably more chances but are the most efficient team in the division in terms of converting chances and that could be the key difference come 5pm Saturday.

10: Finally, what do you think the score will be?

DL: It’s going to be interesting to see how it pans out. I think Doncaster will give it a good go and score first but I think the fans will play a big part and we will claw it back in the end. I’m going for 2-1 to us.

LC: I am struggling to predict it, but I have to go for an entertaining 2-2 draw, with us probably scoring late on as we have done all season. I wish Brentford all the luck in the future after 5pm, as a trust owned club I admire what they are trying to achieve.

Written by Dan Long and Lee Croft, We Are Going Up’s Brentford and Doncaster Rovers Bloggers

 Dan tweets at @_DanLong_, Lee tweets at @mr1croft

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Brentford, Doncaster Rovers, Featured, League One | No Comments »

Thank God It’s Nearly Over

Thursday, April 25th, 2013

2012 was a summer of relative optimism – Neale Cooper was half a season into his second spell as manager, and while it hadn’t gone well up till that point, he would now have the chance to make his own signings, having identified a few key weaknesses.

Not quite ‘in Neale we trust’, but not far off.

The team that had finished 13th the previous year had been a team of battlers and grinders, rather than having anything spectacular, but, at the time of Mick Wadsworth’s sacking the previous December, Pools had one of the division’s best away records. The feeling was that Cooper would be able to add a little more class and invention.

The summer signings looked like good ones. Jonathan Franks would bring much needed pace to the wing; in pre-season Simon Walton looked both a good passer and a physical presence, while Steve Howard, returning to his first professional club, would give a focal point to the attacking play.

Howard had talked the talk in pre-season, comparing this side to the Derby side he helped take into the Premiership – maybe not the most talented, but full of application.

Since returning to League One 6 seasons previously, Pools have finished either in mid-table, or reaching almost certain safety, then dropping down the table in the final months. Given that this followed 8 successive seasons of either being relegated, promoted, or finishing in a playoff spot, it was a little hard to take the other extreme.

Pools, who’d lost 5-0 to Wycombe at the back end of last season, managed to lose by the same score this season against Crewe and Preston in the opening months of the season. Defeat to Bury in October, which took Pools bottom of the table, was the last straw, and saw Cooper walk.

The last time the Scot took over, he inherited a team on the back of promotion from League Two, who had finished in the playoffs for 3 successive seasons before that. Perhaps Cooper needed a foundation of strong self-belief to get the best out of players? Regardless, any other manager would probably have been sacked for so many big defeats.

Micky Barron, club captain during both of Hartlepool’s previous promotions and now on the coaching staff, took charge for the FA Cup match at Chesterfield. Morale was already so low among the fans that most expected to go out against the team a division lower, but few expected the 6-1 defeat that came.

John Hughes came in, talking the talk. Although most fans were accepting relegation at that early stage, Hughes has been constantly upbeat, talking about needing to keep fighting until there’s no hope left.

His first game, a tough home match against promotion-chasing Coventry went pretty well, being dogged and goalless at half time. But when the first goal went in, Pools collapsed once more, going on to lose 5-0. If Hartlepool’s season didn’t already sound to you like an impossibly rubbish team created for a melodramatic comedy, it must do by this point.

Slowly though, things improved. If nothing else, the team looked more organised, keeping possession for longer periods, retaining self-belief after going a goal down, and shambolic self-destruction, while still a constant possibility, became less common. When you’re desperate, you take solace in the small things.

And Pools had to look for solace in small things. Victory over Scunthorpe on September 1st (which saw Scunthorpe go bottom at the time) was the first win of the season, and the last win before a club record-breaking run of __ games winless. Bizarrely, the run was broken with victory at Sheffield United, one of the promotion challengers and the biggest crowd Hartlepool have ever won a league game in front of. Steve Howard scored twice in a 3-1 win, taking his tally for the half-season to 3.

In January, Hughes made a switch to 4-3-1-2, a move that didn’t start paying off until Howard and Tony Sweeney were injured, with Jack Baldwin a revelation as a classy central midfielder, and Charlie Wyke impressive as the focal point in a rotating front three.

But during the strong run that followed, Pools didn’t look all that different to before, still lacking a cutting edge, still with few players capable of dribbling past an opponent, and little belief that Pools could grab a goal. But daft errors became less common, and hard work meant that Hartlepool were doing ‘just enough’ to get the win on a number of occasions.

Even during the strong run, Pools have had a ludicrous lack of cutting edge. Portsmouth and Colchester sat deep at Victoria Park, and there’d have been no less chance of grabbing the winning goal if each of those visitors had constructed a brick wall across the goal.

It got so bad – and this is no joke – when chasing a goal late in the Colchester game, I remember thinking that our best chance of scoring would have been to send goalkeeper Scott Flinders up for a corner.

Despite the relative improvement, Pools have had absolutely no-one capable of playing an incisive through ball, and neither Howard or Wyke have been regularly getting on the end of some decent crosses into the area.

Franks is a capable dribbler, but it’s too early into his development to carry the responsibility alone.

Despite having a lack of incision, one player definitely capable of providing it, Luke James, has been held back, with Hughes speaking about the need to protect the 18-year old. Many fans (myself included) have disagreed strongly, to the extent that his name has been chanted when he wasn’t on the pitch, and Hughes’ decisions to bring other players on earlier have been met with chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing”.

Despite the downturn in form, things have still been okay in recent weeks, with Pools roughly competitive for the most part, and not rolling over as easily as near the start of the season.

Hughes still hasn’t, 6 months into his reign, been able to make his first signing. Given the form, income has been significantly lower than the club have hoped. A few signings – including teenagers released by Newcastle in January – have fallen through for this reason.

As a result, the squad’s been very thin. For a recent game at Stevenage, aside from Luke James, the 6 players on the bench, all aged 20 or younger, had 9 professional appearances between them, with goalkeeper Adam McHugh played 6 games on loan at Forfar. Pools had a handful of injuries at this point, but that underlines how little depth the squad has.

The whole season has been an embarrassment. Saturday’s televised game was a pleasant surprise – although Bradley Wright-Phillips was allowed a free run on goal in the first minute, the overall display was better than the norm, with Franks and James linking pretty well – a positive sign for the future.

The hard work and application is certainly there at Pools, but if there’s to be any chance of coming back up next season, the squad needs more class and invention.

Written by David Stringer, We Are Going Up’s Hartlepool United blogger

David tweets @Joe_Bloghead and writes a weekly Lower League Week column, covering Leagues One and Two, for Bornoffside.net

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Featured, Hartlepool United, League One | No Comments »

In Rovers We Trust

Sunday, April 21st, 2013

Compared to this time last season, Doncaster Rovers have transformed their image in a remarkable way. On the field we have recovered from the mess left at the end of last season, which saw the club have a team full of players brought in by Willie McKay in a shop window ‘experiment’ to build a whole new team. We now have one of the best away records in the Football League and currently sit second in the table, one point behind leaders Bournemouth, with the chance to be promoted and possibly become League One Champions this Saturday when we travel to third place Brentford in a winner takes all match for promotion.

Off the field, however, has seen the real transition. Towards the end of last season the club, in partnership with the supporters trust the Viking Supporters Co-operative embarked upon a journey of fan engagement in an attempt to restore the pride and support of the Doncaster Rovers fans after many supporters left the Keepmoat Stadium last season feeling disillusioned with the club.

The idea behind it is a pretty simple one: The business model of most clubs in the country dictate that the quickest way of putting bums on seats is by winning and success, but out of the 92 clubs in the country, only a handful are successful, which makes it very unsustainable. So Doncaster are determined to improve every single other aspect of the match day experience to try and make the match as enjoyable as ever, despite what the result might be.

This new approach to building a support base (and keeping that base) began with an incredibly huge fan survey covering as many aspects as the match day experience as possible, including pre-match atmosphere, the club shop, ticket office, concourses, choice of food/drink, travel, parking etc. The results of this widespread survey set the mechanics in motion and since we as fans have seen the bar at the Keepmoat Stadium renamed the “Belle Vue Bar” in honor of our much remembered home for 84 years. This has been decorated by memorabilia donated by the fan-base, and if you go in there on match day you can order a unique pint of ’1879′ – a Rovers beer named after the year we were formed.

An improved bus service has been put on for matchdays and a new catering contract has been put in place to improve the food and drink aspect. Cash turnstiles, singing and unreserved sections have been trialled at cup games this season and a smoking bubble introduced so that those of us who crave a cigarette after watching tense football can relieve our needs at half-time with a quick ciggie! To top it off Rovers fans were invited to submit designs for next seasons shirts, with fans voting on those shirts, meaning that both the home and away shirt next season will have been designed by the fans, for the fans.

When Dean Saunders made the switch to Wolves earlier this season the club interviewed an eight-year-old fan for the vacant managers job, showing everyone just how much this club has embraced the fan engagement concept, adequately named ‘In Rovers We Trust.’

Meanwhile back on the field the Rovers have had an encouraging season back in League One after a four year stint in the Championship. The main highlights of this season include doing the double over M180 neighbors Scunthorpe United. After conceding late equalisers at Shrewsbury Town, Tranmere Rovers and Bournemouth we managed to score minutes later to secure three points in all three games showing that this new Doncaster Rovers may not play the pretty football we were known for under Sean O’Driscoll, but we are much more physical, stronger and efficient in front of goal.

When Dean Saunders left the club, a day after we beat Colchester 1-0 at home and sitting second in the table, there was a lot of speculation as to who would succeed him. With names flying round such as Mark Robins, Steve Cotterill and even ex-player Mark Wilson being tipped for the job , few were surprised when Brian Flynn was named the man tasked with continuing Doncaster Rovers form to seal promotion to the Championship.

In his first game in charge as caretaker manager the Rovers were playing at Broadhall Way against old Conference rivals Stevenage and with 15 minutes on the clock it seemed the resilience of Doncaster Rovers left with Dean Saunders. However the Rovers got back on level terms and with seconds remaining Rob Jones headed home the winner. The next game at home to Leyton Orient saw an average but efficient 2-0 performance keep Doncaster on track to challenge Tranmere at the top of the league.

However Brian Flynn’s Doncaster aren’t unbeatable and we did suffer defeats to MK Dons, Bury, Walsall, Carlisle and Coventry. Struggling Portsmouth held us to a draw and we managed to get lucky to stop Yeovil winning 10 games in a row. Results against Hartlepool, Crewe, Bournemouth Swindon and Tranmere however have kept us in the mix and a win last Saturday would have kept us top of the table, going into the last game of the season against Brentford knowing that even a 1-0 loss would send us up.

Last Saturday, after a year of rebuilding, was the chance to sign off 10 years back in the Football League in style in front of our home fans. A huge fan engagement program off the pitch and a table topping side on the pitch was the ingredients of 11,000 fans making their way to the Keepmoat in the sunshine to romp the boys home. Unfortunately Notts County had other ideas and a wonder goal early in the game was just enough to deny Doncaster the chance to be promoted and after Bournemouth passed us into first position, it gave Brentford the chance to overtake us and put us third when they played relegated Hartlepool in a 5:15pm kick off.

Luckily for the Rovers the Monkey Hangers held on, with the draw making the headline game in League One next week the clash between the Bees and the Rovers at Griffin Park. Brentford have the best home form in the decision, boasting 14 wins and only two defeats. Doncaster Rovers meanwhile boast the best away record with 14 wins and an incredible 46 points picked up away from home and 35 goals scored, the most in the division.

Both teams have conceded the same amount of goals, with Brentford conceding just 21 goals at home (only Leyton Orient have conceded less) and the Rovers conceding the same away from home, the best defensive record away from home in the division. Brentford are known for fast attacking football, while some of Doncaster’s better results have come after withstanding lots of pressure from the home team and hitting them on the break.

If Brentford win then they are promoted with Doncaster left to play either Sheffield United, Swindon or Yeovil in the play-offs. If the Rovers win then Brentford could slip to fifth. A draw will be enough for Doncaster, but not for Brentford. In the reverse fixture Brentford had more possession and chances, but thanks to poor finishing the Rovers’ only two shots on target in the second were enough to secure the win. Its been seven years since Doncaster won the final game of the season and it couldn’t be more difficult to predict the result, but as the club named their famous fan engagement project; In Rovers We Trust.

Written by Lee Croft, We Are Going Up’s Doncaster Rovers blogger

Lee tweets at @mr1croft

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Doncaster Rovers, Featured, League One | No Comments »

Pompey – The New Era Begins

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

On the 10th of April at 16:21 papers were signed as the Portsmouth Supporters Trust (PST) reached an out of court settlement with Portpin over the value of Fratton Park, giving the PST the go ahead to complete an incredible takeover.

Weridly, just five days after the takeover, it was 10 years since Svetoslav Todorov sent Pompey into the Premier League. Futhermore the following day, while Portsmouth were playing a charity midweek freindly against club legend Hermann Hreidasson’s side in IBV,  Pompey had their drop to League Two confirmed.

In between this was a game away at Brentford, with 1,700 Pompey fans making the trip to London for a party after the PST were given the go ahead to complete their takeover. A party which was then scarred by a pitch invasion by 100 or so Pompey fans, and the club’s supporters have have come under a fair amount of criticism for this. I was there and didn’t go on the pitch but you have to say there are two sides to the story. The Brentford statement blaming the Pompey fans didn’t mention the flare that their fans threw on the pitch or them having to move some fans due to getting too wound up either. At the end though, this is all irrelevant and pointless.

The new era begins for the biggest community club in the UK, and surprisingly some fans would think the optimism couldn’t be higher right now in the Pompey community. The club starts debt free, we finally have a loyal squad of players who fight for every ball and we own our club.

Next season no one knows what will happen ahead of next season. We could end up signing the entirety of the current squad onto long term contracts and return to League One at the first time of asking. We could sign up a few, still have to build a squad and not go up, but with the revenue of our club through tickets and merchandising once the trust sort out all of the things that they can, there should be plenty to spend on the squad.

Whatever happens now we have amazing passion in this city, the fans have saved the club and no matter what anyone who doesn’t favour the trust says, just ask this;  could it be run any worse than it already has been? The finances at the club are a business nightmare and now it can only be run better by people who love it.

The effort by the fans is almost unbelievable, so much money raised through pledges and no one can forget the people at the top of the Supporters Trust. Ian McInnes, Mick Williams and Ashley Brown, the non stop work and fighting from those three people who refused to let their football club die, we can give no more respect to people for doing what they know is right.

For the fans of other clubs, don’t pity us getting relegated, we’ve saved our club and we’ll be back before you know it. The future is bright.

We did it, we all did it.

Written by Lawrence Hall, We Are Going Up’s Portsmouth blogger

Lawrence tweets at @LawrencePFCHall

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in League One, Portsmouth | 1 Comment »

Come In Mr. Turner, Your Time Is Up

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

So the mighty Salop need but one point from any of Colchester, Oldham and Portsmouth to book our place in League One next season… what a relief! All that icky hope from my last check-in can now be washed away and I can go back to being miserable again with no football over the summer!

Only joking! It’s been a decent season of progression for Shrewsbury Town FC. My prediction of being a solid mid-table team and possibly play-offs may have fell down the wayside somewhat. Failing to take any points off some of the current big guns at the top is a bit awkward but doubles over established bigger teams like Preston and Coventry shows progress. It comes across as a season in transition, coming up as what was a big fish in a small pond to being the opposite, but Salop have easily given a good account of ourselves.

Shrewsbury Town finally settled down and enjoyed a superior second half of the season, starting with a great run at Christmas, but that first half certainly was troublesome. 12 penalties given away over the whole season and the ridiculous amount of times concede early/late on and ended up chasing/losing games are just about a distant memory now. The decent football we played last year when we won automatic promotion has gone a bit, with our style becoming a bit lumpy again. It’s kept us up which is fine but I prefer to be some improvement in the summer with a bit more skill and flair. We won’t take any points off the top teams (which we haven’t off the current top 6) playing the same average football next season.

Ideally Shrewsbury needs to get someone in on staff who can work on fitness and concentration. Whilst we have improved on these factors, we’re still tending to concede needless goals. Concentration is a key factor in League 1 – you want a squad who can focus attention for 90 minutes otherwise it’ll prove costly. We’d easily be more mid/upper table if we didn’t concede all these late/early goals and drop valuable points. Of course, fitness is something to be looked at given our mini injury crisis right here at the death of the season.

An argument can be made perhaps it took a fair while for squad to gel given the massive upheaval last summer. Well, it’s always hard when you have a new loan signing coming in every few weeks. Whilst we’re not Watford this season or Sheffield United a couple of years ago, we’ve had 15 loan players this season, which when you think about it is pretty much a whole squad. There’s hardly been any highlights out of them (although I’ll get to the diamond in the rough in a moment), leading me to think there seems to be a fear to spend what’s needed on a player if he fails. It’s surely not too much of a gamble to spend 100k on a good player at League One level. Me and my Salop going mates were talking about this and we all agreed that all this loaning in doesn’t really create much of a bond between players, the club and fans as we know he’ll be on his way soon.

Then again, not to say we haven’t had a good loan signing come in through the door. More rhapsody is due in the direction of young Bolton striker Tom Eaves. The lad delivered massively in the final third, both of the season and pitch. 6 goals in 10 games doesn’t exactly sound like setting the world on fire but he always worked hard including a peachy hat-trick against Crawley. A big boy who can pelt it into the box has given a focus of attack and I’d love us to get him on a permanent despite Bolton recalling him.

I can’t really say he’s our Player Of The Season though. Despite him turning around and admitting a soft spot for the club, being on loan again doesn’t create the same emotional connection to fans as a permanent contracted player. No, my Player Of The Season award goes to (dun dun dun!) Chris Weale.

Whilst not covering himself in glory in his early performances, Weale has improved leaps and bounds to become one of the top goalkeepers in the division. His positioning and bendiness are what needed to keep our marathon in staying up going and lord knows where we were be if he wasn’t at the Greenhous Meadow. The man has simple won games for us by himself without a doubt. I really wouldn’t be surprised if anyone coming down from the Championship or who doesn’t go up from the playoffs swoops in and picks him up as his level is the top of League One.

Now, you may have noticed my title of the article and my mini moan so far. Well Salop manager Graham Turner has done a remarkable job for the club. He took us up and he’s managed to answer back some of his critics (me included) with little finds here and there who can compete in League One. But time and football are moving on as always and I wouldn’t be too surprised if he was offered to move upstairs in the summer. Turner still has a decent footballing brain and a lot to offer the club, but some fresh, younger blood would be instrumental in taking the club forward I believe and I hope chairman Roland Wycherley realises this sooner rather than later.

Overall, a decent introduction to the third division with us realistically safe with three games to go. A few moans here and there but some lovely highlights for the memory bank but the future of Shrewsbury Town FC could be decided by some big changes this summer.

Written by Terry Lewis, We Are Going Up’s Shrewsbury Town blogger

Terry tweets at @thatterrylewis

Tags: , ,
Posted in League One, Shrewsbury Town | No Comments »

Walsall’s Remarkable Turnaround

Friday, April 5th, 2013

At 5pm on December 8th, Walsall had just been humiliated at Coventry City’s Ricoh Arena, losing 5-1 in what was one of the most inept performances Saddlers fans had witnessed for years – and believe me there has been stiff competition!

It was the club’s 15th game without a win stretching back to the end of September and, after a promising start, Walsall had slipped to just 3 points above the drop zone and looked destined for a third successive season battling to avoid the dreaded drop to the basement division.

The following week, Yeovil visited the West Midlands and snatched a point despite being 2-0 down with 15 minutes remaining. Another demoralising turn of events, and it was difficult to see where the next win would come from.

Manager Dean Smith had many critics at the time, myself included, but the board stuck with him during an extremely rough patch. Something that you would not see at many other clubs – Blackburn Rovers being a prime example! Smith rode the storm and stuck to his principles; an admirable show of strength from such a young manager.

Fast forward four months, to the return fixtures with Yeovil and Coventry over the Easter weekend, and a remarkable turnaround has seen the club climb to within touching distance of the play-off places. Patience it seems really is a virtue.

The record since December 8th, now reads: P 21 W 12 D 7 L 2 – title winning form.

The true statement of intent from Dean Smith’s men came on Easter Monday when, this time around, it was Coventry who received the humiliation. Even without 19-goal top scorer, Will Grigg, Walsall were rampant and easily ran home 4-0 winners.

Off the pitch there are signs of progress too. The normal Walsall routine every summer is to release 15 players and bring in 15 new players. This year that will be different. Ten senior players are already signed up for the 2013/14 season. Captain Andy Butler has committed his future to Walsall, along with Jamie Paterson, George Bowerman, Ashley Hemmings, Mal Benning, Sam Mantom, James Baxendale, Andy Taylor, Paul Downing and Nicky Featherstone.

The club are also hoping to tie down star forwards Will Grigg and Febian Brandy in the coming weeks. Both players have been instrumental since Christmas, and in keeping them, Walsall will have a very strong basis to start next season from.

With four games to go it is still a lot to ask for Walsall to make the play-offs. Realistically, the full 12 points is going to be needed, but on this form, even that is not beyond the Saddlers.

Sheffield United will be the latest visitors to “Fortress Bescot” this weekend, and whatever happens for the remaining four games, this season has been a good season for Walsall FC – it is now just a question of whether it can become a truly great season.

Written by Tom Miller, We Are Going Up’s Walsall Blogger

Tom tweets @likelyladtom

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Featured, League One, Walsall | No Comments »

« Older Entries