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4 to 8 March 2005 |
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4 to 8 March 2005 |
Marcus Hallows receives his Man of the Match award from Mrs Flynn, mother of STAR chairperson, Brian Flynn.
Alty completed their first double of the season with this 1-0 win over an impressive Stafford side whose main weakness was an inability to hit the the target. The winning goal was a well constructed move from defence which saw the ball come from Aspinall, through Hussin, to Thornley on halfway. He found Potts on the right, ahead of him, and the winger's low, drilled cross was met by a finely timed run from Marcus Hallows who swept the ball into the net (29 mins). In a very entertaining game, Alty put aside the absence of suspended top-scorer Colin Little and stalwart centre-back Gary Talbot (away in Germany, working), to give another impressive display and extended their unbeaten league run to 12 games. Rangers' Wilding saw a header come back off the underside of the bar in the second half but otherwise Coburn was relatively unoccupied. Marcus Hallows was named Man of the Match but young centre-back George Melling had another fine game alongside a limping but determined Mark Maddox, whilst Kirk Hilton again showed his class in a brief sub's appearance. Report to follow.
Right: After being wrongly sent off against Runcorn, Alty's Colin Little suffers another injustice as, here, he is seen getting two fingers from the ref at Alfreton on Saturday. Fortunately, Mr Greenwood was only indicating two minutes of added time at the end of the first half!
Lincs Today also reports that Gainsborough "have announced they are running at a loss... Trinity's problems started in October after they were beaten in the FA Cup by Halesowen. Falling gates have also been a concern, with a current average of 350 against a forecast of 500. Kevin Selby, supporters' club chairman said, "We have been able to give assistance until the end of the season and are very pleased to do so. We are the club's biggest financial backer and contributed around £36,000 last season" Selby and two other members of the supporters' club committee serve as directors on Trinity's board and have full voting rights... The Northolme is owned by the supporters' club, who lease it back to Gainsborough Trinity for a peppercorn rent..."Because the ground is not owned by the club, no backer can come in and seize the assets. There will always be a Trinity", he said.
Barrow "Manager Lee Turnbull has signed a second player on work experience. Stuart Ludlam, 19, has registered for Barrow, while completing his education at Rotherham United. This follows the goalscoring debut of Paul Armstrong, having joined under the same terms from Oldham, on Saturday". Both Armstrong and "Graham Anthony who has broken a small bone in his toe" are now injured, however.
NL Daily says that "Paul Ogden, manager of Leek Town [has]... landed former Republic of Ireland under-21 international Kieran Durkan" from Runcorn". Leek also are hoping to sign "veteran defender Mick Heathcote" from Hucknall Town.
Second-half action featuring (l. to r.) Alty's Talbot, Potts, Aspinall, Melling and Coburn
Above: Alty's first goal, with Thornley and Little following the ball in.
L. to R: Adam Walker, James Monaghan, Arron Hevingham and John Parker-Chambers in action today.
Despite a strong second-half performance Alty Youth lost 0-2 to Morecambe "A" Youth in the Premier Cup semi-final at Wythenshawe Town today. More pictures on Youth Page. Report to follow.
In the same article, Graham Heathcote says "We'd have loved to have gone further in the Trophy but we're out so it's imperative we get our minds back on the league straightaway. We've games in hand...We know we can be in the shake-up providing we're able to get back in our stride quickly".
Just before he played in yesterday's game against Altrincham, Alfreton Town confirmed that they had "signed left sided defender Nick Heinemann on loan to the end of the current season from Scarborough. Six foot tall Heinemann (20) began his career with Halifax Town before moving on to Bradford Park Avenue".
The attendance at the Halton Stadium yesterday for the Runcorn v Gainsborough match was just 131. There were reportedly problems during the match when Gainsborough's Simon Bird's leg was broken by a bad tackle and a long delay ensued over his treatment. Runcorn's Ness was sent off for the foul. Runcorn boss Steve Soley and a Gainsborough player were also red-carded during the game.
The opening of Hinckley's new ground boosted their attendance to 2,029. Hinckley's manager Dean Thomas said, "We've got to take advantage of the marketing possibilities and the great facilities at the new ground... It's a far cry now from the club we are used to. The running of the new ground will have to improve tenfold compared to the old one". Chairman Kevin Downes added, "We must put the work in off the pitch because there have already been discussions at league level about bringing in a wage cap as a percentage of a club's income. I think that will happen in two or three years' time so we must bring money into the club through our facilities, and the marketing and hospitality opportunities that the new ground provides". Downes told This is Leics that there was still "'about a month's work' to do finishing off 'bits and bobs' at the ground. And with the decision to spend most of the FA Cup money on expanding the West Stand, the ground will not be officially opened until the last week in July". The chairman revealed that "We are targeting getting into the Conference as our next move - something we could never have achieved without moving from Middlefield Lane... And with all the talk of a new ground, Middlefield Lane remained an awful place to play football, but we obviously didn't want to spend too much money on it".
Over the last eight games, Alty are now top of the Nationwide North form chart with 5 wins and 3 draws. Our next opponents, Stafford, lie fifth, behind Southport, Droylsden, Nuneaton and Stalybridge Celtic, who are the only club other than Alty unbeaten in their last 8 matches.
Harrogate Today says that "Guiseley chairman Rob Northfield... has revealed he failed to buy a 50 per cent controlling stake in Harrogate Town from Bill Fotherby this summer before taking over the Nethermoor club instead". Northfield said, "I told Bill I wanted a 50 per cent share, but he wanted to keep a controlling interest in the club". Fotherby responded "There are quite a few people who would like to take over Harrogate Town, and if anybody offers any help to us I will listen to them - but not for somebody to take over... We've got a plan, and if that plan comes to fruition we'll be in the Conference".
Above: On Alty's last visit to Alfreton in August 2003, Rod Thornley (10) goes close in a goalless draw which saw Mark Maddox sent off after 73 minutes. Alty line-up: 1. Richard ACTON, 2. Gary SCOTT, 3. Chris ADAMS, 4. Mark MADDOX, 5. Gary TALBOT, 6. Steve ASPINALL, 7. Stephen ROSE, 8. Ian CRANEY, 9. Peter BAND, 10. Rod THORNLEY (capt.) 11. Paul ROBERTSON. Subs: 12. Dave GARDNER, 14. Rob MATTHEWS, 15. Barry SHUTTLEWORTH. Only Scott, Maddox, Talbot, Aspinall and Thornley are likely to be involved today.
The Alfreton Town website says that "manager David Lloyd is expecting to bolster his injury-hit squad before the Reds face sixth-placed Altrincham... Matt Fisher misses the game as he completes a two-match suspension, and also definitely out are injured trio Mark Blount, Mitch Ward and John Knapper. There are doubts over Ian Robinson who has contracted the same virus which afflicted Blount, Ward and Carl Bradshaw in midweek although is is hoped the latter may have recovered in time. Mark Sale will also need a late check after an ear infection in midweek. Reds from: Lee Butler, Gav Saxby, Carl Bradshaw, Grant Brown (captain), Luke Foster, Ian Robinson, Ben Chapman, Emeka Nwadike, Peter Duffield, Mick Godber, Mark Sale, David Holmes, Richard Cooper, Stephen Woolley, Paul Teather". Alty will be tyaking two coach loads of fans as well as many who will be making their own way to the Impact Arena.
On Thursday, Stalybridge Celtic beat Halifax Town 7-3 in the GLS Cup with both Chris Denham and Steve Smith hitting three and Aron Wilford scoring too.
Radcliffe Borough have secured the services of former Alty midfielder Scott Wilson for next season and have also re-signed "top scorer Steve Foster" for two more years. "The 26-goal striker... recently turned down a move to Ashton United".
IC Sefton reports that "Southport could run out of money in the next four years if the town doesn't get behind the club... Chairman Charlie Clapham said the club had lost £350,000 in the last five years and that it was only through careful planning that they were still in the black... But he warned that if attendances didn't improve, funds would run out in the next few years". He said: "The club and team are going in the right direction. Our youth development policy is taking the club forward and I thank Caterforce and Richard Hughes for supporting what is the largest youth development sponsorship in the country".
Barrow boss "Lee Turnbull has landed the services of young Oldham Athletic scholar Paul Armstrong... With Guy Heffernan expected to be out with injury for at least a further fortnight, Armstrong is thought likely to figure in his role".
Bradford PA have re-signed "former Avenue player Dean Calcutt on loan from Stalybridge Celtic for the remainder of the season".
Lancaster City boss Phil Wilson says that "Jamie Hughes... has decided to go to Ashton to gain this fitness... Jamie Speare has been offered a contract for next season however the pull of Conference National [Accrington] maybe the deciding factor... We are not going to let him go without a fight. Last Tuesday we saw the majority of the players fail to arrive at the ground for the Runcorn game... We ended up in a traffic jam 7 miles from Lancaster at 6-15pm, unable to move or turn back... All I can say is that I apologise to all the fans that went to the game and hope nothing ever like this again happens... Lastly to our friends at Southport who moaned because we did not let them win because we did our homework and stopped their leading scorer scoring. We went to Southport to win. Unfortunately, attack wise, we never really got going, however defensively we were strong. It was not a negative move to bring on another forward in Tony Sullivan mid way in the second half, it was a move to win the game".
Lancaster Today says that "The Conference have launched an investigation after several players and manager Phil Wilson were... unable to get to Giant Axe [against Runcorn on Tuesday]... A Conference spokesperson said: "Once the matter has been thoroughly investigated, the facts will be reported to the Conference board of directors, which meets on March 10... Should a club be in default of a fixture, they can be deducted points, fined or in certain cases expelled from the competition"... The referee was prepared to kick off at 9pm, but when it became clear that there was no prospect of the players arriving, he called the game off at 8.30pm. The Runcorn squad did manage to reach Giant Axe by 7.30pm, but only after their coach travelled via Burnley and Skipton. The City players based in Lancaster, Ryan-Zico Black, Ryan Elderton and Neil Uberschar, made it to Giant Axe as did Paul Sparrow, from Preston. Steve Jones also managed to get there from Stoke. But City were short of the minimum seven players required to fulfil the fixture as the majority of the squad, who are based in either the Liverpool or Manchester areas, were stuck without any way of reaching the ground".
Runcorn FC Halton "midfielder Matty McGinn has confirmed that he will be staying with the Linnets after turning down a move to Southport. McGinn... will make his 100th start for Runcorn in Saturday’s game". Manager Steve Soley confirmed, "He can see that we are in the process of good, young squad here at Runcorn, and he knows that he will be a central part". But "In an unrelated move, Southport have recalled striker Lee Mulvaney from his loan spell at Runcorn to provide cover for their other strikers".
On the Runcorn Forum club press officer MaArtin Fallon says that the Linnets Trust (LIST) "has made the Doc [chairman] an offer for his shares, but he must agree to write off his debt... We will be attempting to produce a business plan for next week... The Council have asked the Doc on numerous times to produce a business plan for the club, so that they can offer us assistance, but one has never been produced".
The Worksop website reports that supporters have "voted unanimously in favour of approving a move to form a Worksop Town Supporters Trust... Jacqui Forster of Supporters Direct... gave details of why a Trust was needed".
NL Daily says that Matty Collins of Nuneaton Borough is the Nationwide North Player of the Month for February with 41% of the web-vote.
Forest Green striker Mark Danks has joined Kettering Town on loan.
"Already missing from Tuesday night’s trip to Southport were Mitch Ward and Mark Blount. Both of those have also now got viruses which also affected Carl Bradshaw... and Mark Sale had also had to cry off with an ear infection which affected his balance and then John Knapper had to have an x-ray on a shin injury at Southport hospital after the game. While no bones are broken, there is possible nerve damage as ‘Knapps’.. had no feeling in his foot. Mark Hume has had the cast removed from his broken leg but faces a scan on Thursday".
I am advised that before Tuesday's postponement "the Runcorn coach actually got to Lancaster City's ground at 7.25pm on Tuesday evening, with the team warming up on the pitch by 7.40pm". The game was called off at 8.45pm as the City side had not all arrived at their own ground.
IC Cheshire quotes a spokesman for Runcorn's Linnets Independent Supporters' Trust to the effect that LIST "made the chairman an offer for his shares - a nominal amount per share - so that we can take over the running of the football club. The conditions would be that he resign from the club as a director and write off any other debts that he is owed". But chairman Dr Robertson said: "I think to be honest that's irrelevant at the moment. What would that do? It would just leave the club owing me a lot of money with an organisation taking it over that, although it's backed up by a national body, is untried and untested. I have suggested to them that they should produce some kind of business plan to give me some comfort". The LIST spokesman added: "There is no communication coming out of the football club. We do not know where the club will be playing for the rest of the season... We want to restate our intentions which are to move to Witton Albion temporarily while we look to develop a new facility that the whole community could use at Pavilions". Dr Robertson added that the club owes Halton Council £11,000 for matches at the Halton Stadium "and there isn't £11,000 in the kitty. All the bills are being paid by supporters or directors and that can't go on... We are going to have to make some dramatic changes very soon".
Barrow's website reports that "Barrow AFC and Bradford Park Avenue today received a vote of thanks from the Conference Secretary Kellie Discipline for their endeavours in ensuring Tuesday's fixture went ahead." But "A group of supporters of Barrow have launched a petition urging the club’s board not to renew manager Lee Turnbull’s contract and claim to have got 100 signatures from an attendance of 604 [on Tuesday]". Turnbull said "Until those particular supporters are directors of Barrow Football Club, I don’t think it’s worth the paper it’s written on", says the NW Evening Mail. The Mail also says that "injured Barrow AFC striker Mike Kewley is still hopeful of making it back into action before the end of the season... [He] is currently waiting for an operation date."
The NL Daily reports that "Ossett Town have signed defender Kirk Wheeler on a permanent basis from Grimsby Town.... [He] had a loan spell with Barrow earlier this season". Town have also signed "Joe Walsh, a promising young midfielder, from Ashton United".
