onetruekev – Page 2

There’s No Other Way

Seeing as half of Blur hail from Colchester, I’ve gone for this Blur single from their debut album “Leisure”, which reached number eight on the UK singles chart (and after all, the only way is Essex apparently). I had a few lined up depending on the outcome and performance. (“This Is A Low”, “Death Of A Party”, “To The End”, “No Distance Left To Run”, “Out Of Time”, “Battery In Your Leg”, “Charmless Man”, or very optimistically woo hoo “Song 2”.)

Quiz Time Answer – A very similar style question to the one after the away game against this opposition, just a different trophy. Swindon Town won the Anglo-Italian Cup back in 1970, but which other Anglo-Italian Cup winning side have we played this season? Notts County.

A question keeps flashing through my mind after the Swindon game, are we going to have any fit defenders? Scott Malone was limping off on Saturday, I saw Theo Vassell post-game on Saturday on crutches, and someone else says they saw Josh Flint on crutches as well.

And more thoughts on Saturday; back to the ref, I forgot to mention the twice the ball hit him in the second half (both on Swindon attacks), and he waved play on. Should be automatic (and contested) drop ball.

The post-match handbags got blown out of proportion by The Sun looking for clickbait on Sunday, pointing the finger at Jay Williams, when it’s obvious it’s the Swindon keeper causing what aggro there was. And finally, I heard about several people who missed the equalising goal. (Then on Thursday both clubs were charged “The FA has alleged that both Crawley Town Football Club and Swindon Town Football Club failed to ensure that their players and/or officials did not behave in an improper and/or provocative way following the full-time whistle.” Nothing mentioned on our website, I got this from Swindon’s.)

Why would anyone leave before the end when only trailing by one goal, especially after the late late show in our previous home game. I bet these people leave concerts before the encore, because they aren’t particularly bothered about hearing the best / most well-known songs. (I knew someone who did this at Blur in Hyde Park, and they forced me to go with them.)

I’d written the above on Monday, so when the Observer came out on Wednesday and Steve Herbert’s column had the header of “I walked out when Crawley Town were 2-1 down. I won’t be doing that again.” I did have a wry smile to myself.

There was talk again of the performance on Saturday being us turning the corner. Again. Which has been said so many times this season I can only assume we are stuck in a housing estate full of dead ends. But surely one of these roads has to lead us out of the estate, hopefully out the top of it and not the bottom.

Not much of interest in the Football League Paper, but the longer the season goes on, the more interested I seem to be in all levels of football (with the probable exception of the Premier League), and so I’m also getting the Non-League Paper as well. One of our former players was on the front (Aramide Oteh – after scoring for Dagenham & Redbridge in the National League South), and there was a feature on Three Bridges in there as well. They’d had one on Horsham the week before, and then both of them have promptly lost. Perhaps it’s best not to be featured. Additionally I’ve been reading the latest edition of Football Weekends, they covered Fulham and Dulwich Hamlet from England, but some of the game hopping European journeys look most interesting.

On Monday it was announced that Jacob Chapman had won the February player of the month in what was a surprise to no one. Tuesday saw Barrow play one of their two games in hand on us, and lose at home to Bristol Rovers, so they stay a point behind us, and only have one game in hand on us now.

Onto the opponents today, there are a few programmes dating back fifteen years in the collection as paths have crossed in both League One and League Two and in cup action as well, and including the double header from the Christmas period, the second of the ones done since we reintroduced supporter produced programmes.

In all we have played them twenty-five times, six in League One, seventeen in League Two, and one each in the Football League Trophy and League Cup. Overall we have won eleven, lost five and drawn nine. Away it is four wins, two losses, and five draws.

I was looking for squad crossover, only to not find any current crossover, but prior to last season that hadn’t been the case for nearly twenty years, there is a lot of crossover, with those to have played for both including John Akinde, Kwesi Appiah, Andrew Bond, Billy Clarke, Billy Clifford, Tom Dallison, Ryan Dickson, Josh Doherty, Tom Eastman, Luke Gambin, Rene Gilmartin, Karl Hawley, Dean Howell, Lloyd James, Beryly Lubala, Izale McLeod, Jeffrey Monakana, Dean Morgan, Magnus Okuonghae, Aramide Oteh, Daniel Pappoe, Josh Payne, Thomas Pinault, Sanchez Watt, and Anthony Wordsworth.

As mentioned in the preamble for the home game, I couldn’t find any cards for them, but I did manage to find a year when Panini were including Division 3 sides in their albums in the early eighties and there’s a sticker from that.

Plus there’s what is in this year’s EFL Panini collection. (I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve sent off for the last few I need now.)

Mind you, I did find four of their former managers in Topps cards, although it’s somewhat ironic that three of the four were players for Ipswich Town who Colchester fans consider one of their main rivals (behind Southend and Wycombe).

There was nothing in the beautiful badge book relating to the Colchester badge, but there were a couple of images from 1950 in this book I found a few weeks ago in a charity shop.

And then yesterday in a batch of programmes I’d got off eBay were some Football League Review magazines from the 1969-70 season, and the centrefold in one was of that season’s Colchester United side.

Colchester have been at the JobServe Community Stadium since 2008, having moved from their original Layer Road stadium (as in the photos above). It would be convenient to get to if the journey weren’t on a Friday and didn’t involve the M25 and A12 at rush hour, so I got the train over early in the day so I could have a look around Colchester, as I’ve never been before. In fact, I’m fairly sure I’ve only been to Essex twice before, once for a work meeting to Brentwood, and a second time when we got a second-hand Kia from a dodgy wide boy on the outskirts between Southend and Leigh-on-Sea.

It did mean a day out to have a look around the city and check out the Roman remains of what was Camulodunum, as it was the first Roman capital of England. And it predates that as Shakespeare’s play ‘Cymbeline’ is probably based here, as it was the home of Cunobelin (who Shakespeare called Cymbeline), king of the Catuvellauni before the Roman’s arrived.

If you came by train and thought it was a long walk along the platform, there’s a reason for that, it’s the longest platform in the UK.

I took a bit of a detour out of town to Layer Road and the site of the old Colchester United stadium. It’s now a small housing estate, with names of Turnstile Square and Bar Terrace, but in the middle of what would have been the pitch us a statue to Peter Wright (fans choice of player of the century) with inscriptions on all four sides of the base. Further up is a Sainsbury local, which was obviously a pub before, bet it would have been rammed on match days.

I wasn’t the only Crawley fan wandering around Colchester during the day, I bumped into Martin and Karen in a charity shop, one of many I went into during the day. Found some vintage Top Trumps, a Shoot annual from the 70s, and a football quiz book which turns out to have been produced to help dementia sufferers.

Elsewhere there were Roman remains, a Castle, several churches, Tudor buildings, Art Deco, Georgian and grand municipal buildings. So many I clicked so much the battery was going on the camera, and I had to find somewhere to dive into for an early tea to recharge it.

Anyway, to the game, we start proceedings nine places and twenty-three points behind Colchester United, and it is a reversal of fortunes fixture from our game against them at about this time two years ago, when they were the relegation threatened team, and we were the ones within touching distance of the play off places. They won that one, so let’s hope the reversals keep coming and we can win this one.

Colchester have a digital programme, and it’s a good one, with it being light on adverts which is always a bonus.

And in six pages of Crawley Town content, Leigh Edwards is back again with another ‘top ten’, this time of Crawley player of the season winners.

Got to the ground early got to the shop and picked up a pen (6 colours!) and fridge magnet, but perhaps it should be called the Jobsworth stadium, they wouldn’t let me bring my bag in. Fortunately, Emma was close by and let me put it in her car. However I did leave my glasses in the bag. Should make player identification interesting! And to add insult to incompetence they let lots of others in with the same sized, or larger bags.

But to help that we have an unchanged lineup, both on the pitch and on the bench, from Saturday, which is good news as it means Scott Malone’s knock on Saturday wasn’t too bad then. We are in our all red with white trim, and Colchester are in blue and white striped shirts, blue shorts, and white socks.

It’s a cagey start; it takes a while for anything to happen. A long diagonal ball from Charlie Barker is put out for a throw. Jonny Russell launches one and it’s headed out and a shot from outside the box takes a deflection for a corner. It’s swung under the bar and caught by the keeper.

We are pressing well and block a ball in midfield, Taylor Richards gets into the box, but it’s cleared for a throw. It’s another Russell rocket and goes all the way over to the right and a cross is put behind for a corner. It’s taken to the near post, headed back, crossed and put out for a throw. Barker takes, it comes back to him, he crosses to the near post, comes back out, put back in and there’s a header on the end of it, but straight to the keeper.

Colchester break down the right and get a free kick for a second challenge, and Scott Malone gets a booking for the first one. The free kick is taken deep, headed out, put back in but runs for a goal kick. Colchester players have been caught offside three times so far, but them playing on the last man doesn’t bode well. They beat the offside next time around; there are a few passes in our box as we fail to clear and a shot through legs goes wide. They are getting forward more, and a shot from outside the box is straight at Jacob Chapman. And again, down the left, a cross in and a header is saved.

We break down the left, put it across to the middle a shot is deflected out wide and put back in and Colchester clear and break and get their own cross in which Chapman claims. A long throw on the right is cleared and there is a lightning break and the cross in hits Malone and it forces a good save from Chapman for a corner. It’s taken short and we are asleep and it comes to an unmarked player in the box and his shot is blocked, not sure which of the three defenders who threw themselves at it, it hit.

A strong challenge from Barker on the touchline brings a yellow with the home fans calling for a red. We are struggling to get out of our own half, giving free kicks away, allowing crosses and just about dealing with them. We finally get out and get a throw, Russell heaves it in, but it’s cleared. Back on the left there’s a cross in and an attempted bicycle kick blocked, and it ends up with the keeper.

Geraldo Bajrami plays it out from midfield to Russell on the left and his cross is put behind for a corner. The keeper makes a bit of a mess of it, and we get another corner on the other side. Taken deep it’s put out for a throw, which is launched into the box and Colchester clear and win a free kick. Then Richards picks up a booking for a late challenge trying to close a defender down.

There’s one added minute and there is an echo of the announcement from the home stand, but they haven’t bothered turning the speakers on in the away end. The half time whistle goes and it’s all square 0-0.

We are out early for the second half which makes a change. It doesn’t seem to do us much good as it takes three minutes for us to get out of our own half. When we do Russell plays it across to Kellen Gordon and his cross is put out for a throw. Russell doesn’t launch it and Colchester and break. We win a free kick in midfield, take ages over it and are offside when it comes in. Colchester break, get a cross in, a shot is blocked, we break and Richards runs box to box, slips it left for Klaidi Lolos, he cuts inside and his shot goes just wide right.

As an attack is cleared Russell picks up a yellow for a tackle on halfway. Chapman is not having his best kicking game, putting a lot of balls straight out on the left. A blatant dive doesn’t bring about the penalty he and the fans were hoping for. The ref gave a corner but was overruled by the lino who gives a goal kick. The home fans have the cheek to chant ‘shit referee’.

A ball out down the right sees Gordon win a free kick, it’s headed out and we keep it but pass it back to Chapman. A ball out down the right and Dion Pereira plays it to Gordon, and his cross is headed to Richards, and his shot is blocked, gets back to Gordon and he’s tackled for a corner. Which the ref stops twice to have words with Bajrami and the Colchester number 6, the second time after a theatrical dive from the latter claiming an elbow. When the corner comes in it is cleared.

Substitution time. Malone, Richards, and Russell are replaced by Akin Odimayo, Ronan Darcy, and Harry Forster. Down the left Pereira and Forster combine and Forster is cynically taken out. We win the free kick, but there’s no card. Of course we waste the free kick. Colchester make some subs of their own and we replace Lolos with Tobi Adeyemo.

A long ball out by Colchester goes down the left and they get a cross in which Chapman fumbles behind for a corner. And so the loop begins. It’s taken short and we’ve switched off, it goes over to the right and a shot goes over. Chapman puts the goal kick straight out on the left again, Colchester attack and win a corner. Short again and we put it out for another corner. Taken short, we concede another. And repeat. Then swung in and put behind for, yes you guessed it, and corner. Taken deep, headed clear, put back in and then we put it out for a throw.

We break down the left and win a throw but wasted a chance to use the overlap. And Colchester win it back, break, get a cross in which takes a deflection and Chapman collects. A long ball forward sees an Adeyemo flick onto Danilo Orsi, he lays it off to Darcy and his low shot is saved for a corner. It comes into the box and bounces around without us ever looking like getting a decent chance from it and finally Barker slices an attempt high.

Chapman shanks another kick straight out on the left. Adeyemo wins a free kick on the left, it’s put into the box and there’s a shot blocked and Colchester win a free kick.

Forster is the fifth Crawley player to pick up a yellow, this one was for winning a tackle in midfield. The board goes up and it looks like it says seven minutes. Can’t hear the speakers in the home stand, but they may have announced the crowd as well.

We put the ball into the box four times but can’t produce a shot, Colchester break and we pick up yellow number six for Bajrami stopping it. Then the ref blows the final whistle, it was only three added minutes. For the best probably. And it ends 0-0. There was some expectation bias in reading seven minutes as there were a lot of substitutions, both teams were taking an age over throws, goal kicks, and free kicks, although contrary to claptrap elsewhere the physios never got called onto the pitch.

The point is better than nothing but results today could see us in the relegation places by 5pm. Come on Barnet and Accrington.

Quiz Time – When Colchester United were promoted back to the league after winning the Conference in 1991-92, how many other current league teams did they play during that season, and who were they?

Next up is another evening kick-off, this time at home against Barnet on Tuesday night, and as for all games left this season, we really need a win. What we definitely don’t need is a first twenty minutes like we had at their place on New Year’s Day.

Come on you reds.

Two Left Feet

This is not a comment on how we appear to be playing. It is a nod to the (suspended) manager of the opposition today – Ian Holloway. That is because this was the 2006 debut single from the band The Holloways, which reached number 3 in the UK singles chart. And one of the end of verse refrains is the repeated words “I need some joy in my life.” A win today would help with that. And here’s an image of a Holloway with hair, looking like he could have been in an indie band.

A quick record detour, although it isn’t music, I saw this record in one of Crawley’s charity shops (I know, not like me to be in them at all). For some reason the colourful sleeve and title jumped out at me as I thought about this season. It is all BBC sound effects, and thought it would be related, but then I looked more closely at the listing of tracks and band 3 starts with the sound effect “Restless Crowd – Growing Anger”, which sums up part of our crowd.

Quiz Time Answer – I had mentioned in the preamble piece that Oldham had an owl on their badge similar to the one Sheffield Wednesday have, but which other League club do they have the same nickname (The Latics) as? Wigan Athletic.

Besides the charity shop meanderings, too much time on my hands means there is eBay to scour as well, and so I found this little oddity, a Crawley Town Supporters Club old style van. I shouldn’t be allowed online unsupervised either.

Early on Friday the February player of the month candidates were announced, with January’s winner Jacob Chapman being joined by the only goalscorer of the month in Jay Williams, and to make the numbers up Kellen Gordon. I don’t know why they are bothering, as there is only one possible winner.

Then later on in the day there was a Fan Advisory Board announcement made, as the results of the vote for the four remaining members came in, “The club were incredibly pleased with the high calibre of candidates that applied to be part of the new FAB, and we truly believe that this is an exciting time for fan engagement at Crawley Town Football Club. We are pleased to confirm the following supporters will join the FAB: Sam Jordan, Chris Lord, Dan Maguire, and Steve Leake.” So, both of the two I voted for made it.

Out early this morning and disappointed to see the racists have been out and have lined Southgate Avenue with Union Flags.

Meanwhile the club have (with Emma) produced a video about the inclusion of disabilities for supporters, and it is on various social media channels.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1491999245589359

Back to today’s game, there have been a lot of games between the two, with two FA Cup games, and last season’s Carabao Cup encounter there have been twenty-three games in total, with nine wins, seven draws, and seven losses. At the Broadfield, there have been five wins, five draws, and two losses. And from all those games there are a plethora of programmes for games against Swindon in the collection.

Swindon were reasonably well covered as a lower division side in the eighties Panini albums, there’s a Proset card, and this year’s EFL collection to draw from for cards and stickers for them.

They have a couple of mentions in the beautiful badge book, once about the very old cigarette cards which had town arms and details on, and then later when they have a big town crest to compare to the current badge.

There is a fair bit of crossover in the squad today. Scott Lindsey was Swindon Town’s manager before taking over at Crawley in his first stint. Dion Conroy (although he’s not in our squad list anymore), Harry McKirdy, Ronan Darcy, Akin Odimayo, and JoJo Wollacott have all played for them as well. And Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, and Ben Gladwin were playing for Swindon under Scott in that season before he moved to us. In the current Swindon squad there are Crawley old boys Will Wright, Tom Nichols, and Ollie Palmer. Others to have played for both include Nicky Ajose, Gary Alexander, Anthony Grant, Mark Marshall, Kabongo Tshimanga, Luke Rooney, James Collins, Josh Lelan, Kellan Gordon, and Nathan Byrne.

We go into the game just the eighteen places and thirty-four points behind Swindon, and with a very real danger of ending up bottom of the table tonight if results go against us after Barrow got a point last night and went above us on goal difference.

Getting to the ground early I was surprised to see Steve Leake, only to find that his planned shoulder op had been cancelled late last night, so he was doing roving programme sales, whilst Mick Fox manned the booth, and the programmes sold like hot cakes with the last one going to Carl just before half two.

There are a couple of changes to the starting lineup, with Scott Malone returning from a long-term injury to start on the left of the back three, and Dion Pereira starting. Harry Forster and Ronan Darcy are the ones dropping to the bench.

The away end is full; Swindon have brought well over a thousand (exact figures were drowned out by the fan noise towards the end of the game).

We are in our all red with white trim home kit, and Swindon have gone with white shirts, and blue shorts and socks.

Kicking off and we have early possession, a throw on the left is worked across to Charlie Barker on the right, rolled back to Kellen Gordon and his cross is met by a Geraldo Bajrami header which goes wide. We are having decent possession and have a free kick in midfield, and it gets back to Scott Malone and his shot from thirty-five yards is straight at the keeper. And again we go down the right, Gordon to Dion Pereira, and he cuts inside and his curling dipping shot comes back off the crossbar and is cleared.

Swindon have an attack down the left and a cross in is met by a header which is saved by Jacob Chapman. A throw on our side allows TAFKAL to get an early ‘get on with it’ shouted out, but he’s a bit subdued today as he’s got a headache himself (instead of giving others one).

Danilo Orsi intercepts a back pass and plays it to Pereira, he plays it out to Gordon and his cross is flicked out for a throw on the far side, Jonny Russell shapes as if it will be a long one but takes it short and we just put it out for a throw to Swindon. Pereira is clattered in midfield, but nothing given, and moments later a Swindon player goes down with no one within ten yards of him. He gets treatment and is subbed off.

Meanwhile former Crawley player Ollie Palmer is constantly falling over. I’m assuming it’s because since his appearances on ‘Welcome To Wrexham’ he appears to have become pregnant, either that or we should check if any of his teammates are missing and hiding around his waist, and that this has altered his centre of balance so he can’t stay on his feet. He is down in the penalty box claiming a penalty this time. The ref isn’t interested and gives a goal kick to us.

We work it forward down the right and switch it over to Russell on the left, he plays it into Klaidi Lolos in the box, but he loses it. We get it back and play it out to Gordon, his cross sees a lot of pinball in the box and half chances, it gets back out to Malone on the left, he plays it into Taylor Richards in the middle of the field and his attempt from distance goes over. The bar, the KRL Logistics stand, and would have gone over another KRL Logistics stand stacked on top as well. It probably landed on a passing number 10 bus for ball loss number one of the day.

Coming out from the back down the left with Russell, and it is crossed deep to Gordon on the right, he plays it back to Barker and his shot is deflected for a corner. It’s taken to the near post and there’s a Swindon head on it as it flashes across the goal and out for a corner on the other side. That comes into the box and a Richards header is well saved and the follow up shot bundled out for another corner. When that comes in there is a scramble in the box before the ref blows for a foul in there and Swindon can clear.

We break when Jay Williams wins a ball in midfield and gets it to Pereira, he plays it out to Gordon and his first time cross ends up going straight to the goalkeeper. A ball to Richards in midfield sees him go forward with it and shoot, it stays low this time but goes wide. Barker hits a long diagonal ball to the left corner flag and Lolos retrieved, beats his man twice and puts a cross in which the keeper claims under his own bar.

Swindon have a rare attack and win a corner. We have three up as is now usual, and we clear the corner out to Gordon on halfway, he’s bundled over to prevent a quick break and we get a free kick, but why is there no yellow card for that? A free kick in midfield is played into the box, Barker flicks on, but the Swindon keeper just beats Orsi to the ball. We come again, down the left, Russell and Lolos combine and Russell’s cross is met by a Richards’ header straight at the keeper.

The ball out sees Swindon get a free kick as Gordon and Pereira take each other out. It goes into the box, and a shot is half saved by Chapman, and then cleared off the line by Barker, and from his prone position on the deck he sticks a leg out to block the follow up for a corner. We clear that and go long down the left only for the Swindon player to hoof it over the west stand for ball loss two of the day.

A late tackle on Richards in midfield finally sees a yellow card for a Swindon player, and there are three added minutes at the end of the half. A long throw is half cleared and then pumped back in and leads to a bit of panic in the Swindon box before they put it put for a corner. We put it in, but the ref blows his whistle for an infringement, and then another one to signal half time, and we go into the break level at 0-0. We’ve played well and created chances, but it is worrying there is no goal to show for that.

Into the second half and we start brightly again. A long throw routine is held up as the ref stops play to give both sides a talking to for the wrestling in the box. The throw from Barker comes in and takes a friendly bounce in the box to Lolos and his shot takes a deflection which wrong foots the keeper, and it ends up in the back of the net and we lead 1-0.

We attack again down the left and Russell wins a corner; it is cleared to midfield and picked up by Gordon who goes down the right wing and his byline cross is put behind for another corner. It is taken towards the near post and ends up hitting the side netting. Pereira is absolutely laid out in midfield, but the ref isn’t interested in giving a foul for the thuggery, but he does stop play for the Swindon player down twenty yards away pretending to be injured. A long ball forward sees Swindon through, but there is a heavy touch, and Chapman just gets to it first and collects at the second attempt.

Keeping the ball we work it down the left, then across the pitch to the right, and then back into the middle to Williams, he surges forward and is fouled about thirty yards out to the right of centre. Bajrami curls it round the wall, and the Swindon keeper gets fingertips to it onto the post and out to the right. It is crossed back in and cleared, and Williams is down prone in the six-yard box. It is played back into the box twice and cleared twice before the ref finally stops play for the potential head injury.

Whilst he is off after the treatment Swindon get a corner, it comes in deep and the ref blows his whistle and points to the penalty spot for Malone holding / pulling the shirt of a player. It is very soft but can see why it’s been given. It is taken and Chapman is sent the wrong way and it’s all level at 1-1.

From the restart we play it down the left to Russell he beats a man and gets into the box, he’s pushed in the back once, but beats another man, and is then pushed over. An obvious penalty you would think based on the decision at the other end a minute before, but no. Nothing given at all. It’s the seemingly biased inconsistency we’ve been on the receiving end of all fucking season. Fuck this shit.

Again coming out from the back, Lolos beats a man in midfield and the defending player alternates between trying to swap shirts and rugby tackle him, it rolls to another Crawley player and so the ref waves play on, and we get down the right and win a corner. There is no further action taken by the ref, and once again, where the fuck is the yellow card? The corner is swung in and punched clear. Swindon break and get the ball into the box, a shot is saved and the rebound looks to be going in but Chapman throws out a leg and saves it somehow and we clear.

And we finally make a substitution with the knackered looking Malone being replaced by Akin Odemayo. Pereira is absolutely wiped out and knocked off the pitch on the right and there isn’t even a free kick. Orsi harries well and wins a corner which is easily cleared. We make another substitution with Russell being replaced by Harry Forster. We win a corner on the right, it’s taken deep and the Swindon number 3 has both hands pulling Williams’ shirt, and as the ball goes over their heads, he throws Williams to the ground. Penalty? Don’t be fucking daft. Why give that when the much softer one by Malone at the other end was given. Just how much was in the brown envelope at half time?

A long ball into the box comes to Bajrami, he gets it to Orsi, and his shot is deflected for a corner. It’s taken to the near post and cleared, put back in, and cleared again for a throw on the right. Swindon get it and go down their right and get a cross into the box and a header at the end goes just wide.

There are nine added minutes. Swindon come down the right again and Barker slips, the Swindon player is in the box and a ball goes across, the first attempt is saved by Chapman, but the rebound is bundled in and somehow, we manage to be trailing 1-2.

From the kick off we go straight down the left and get into the box, a shot is blocked and goes to the right, a Swindon player runs straight into the back of Gordon and collapses like a sack of spuds, and unfortunately, very believably the ref gives them a free kick. Lolos picks up a yellow for dissent. He is then substituted with Tobi Adeyemo coming on to replace him.

The crowd was announced as being 4,124 but only heard the thousand bit of how many away fans as the crowd noise was going some. Difficult to tell if the chants of cheat were aimed at the Swindon players going down like extras from Platoon every time there was a Crawly player with two yards of them, or at the ref who was indulging them by giving them a free kick every time.

We are keeping going though, a ball goes down the left and gets to Forster, he beats a man and gets a low cross, and Gordon slides in to get on the end of it, and it flies into the top corner for a more than well deserved equaliser and it is 2-2 in the ninety-eighth minute. There are three minutes more played, but we can’t create another good chance, and the final whistle goes with it being another point gained.

Most of the Swindon players are quick to go and shake the ref’s hand at the final whistle, a lot of Crawley players don’t and come and applaud the crowd, until the Swindon keeper starts kicking off and trying to fight with everyone, with handbags flying around, and the ref just ignores it all and walks off the pitch without any yellow cards. Another fucking joke from this excuse for a ref who phoned in his second half performance, as again compare and contrast with the volume of post final whistle yellow cards given to us over the last year.

The point saw us jump back over Barrow into twenty-first, although they still have two games in hand on us. Meanwhile both Newport County and Harrogate Town lost again. It keeps us out of the relegation places, but we need to be converting more of these chances we keep creating and have to stop relying on their being teams worse than us.

As a side note looking at results elsewhere. There is a rumour that due to a falling out, Dion Conroy (who is not in out lodged EFL squad list) is training with Sutton United. Which appears to be going well as they got tonked 5-0 at home by relegation haunted Morecambe today.

Quiz Time – A very similar style question to the one after the away game against this opposition, just a different trophy. Swindon Town won the Anglo-Italian Cup back in 1970, but which other Anglo-Italian Cup winning side have we played this season?

Next up is a ridiculous Friday night away game against Colchester United. No idea why they have Friday night games (it’s not the first this season). It’s not like the eighties where Tranmere and Stockport played their games on a Friday night to try and draw extra crowds in to prevent clashes with Everton/Liverpool, and Manchester City/United on the Saturday.

Come on you reds.

Jigsaw Puzzle

A Rolling Stones track from their Beggar’s Banquet album (and not to be confused with anything off the record label of the same name, but some Gary Numan might be an idea, and I’ve already used Siouxsie & The Banshees this season). Not because it has any link to today’s opponents mind you. But more along the lines of the old joke that we are just like a jigsaw puzzle in that we just go to pieces in the box. Or that we have all the right pieces but can’t seem to put them together in the right order, and that whenever we come to complete the jigsaw there seems to be important pieces missing in action. (And I wrote that paragraph before we started.)

Quiz Time Answer – Besides Chesterfield, which are the only other two sides from Derbyshire to have played in the Football League? Derby County (obviously), and many, many years ago, Glossop North End.

Did anyone else see the clip that surfaced during the week of King’s Lynn apparently having the sprinklers on during a rainstorm in an attempt to make sure their pitch was waterlogged and their game called off due to issues with fit players in their squad, only for someone to dob them in? Perhaps we should have tried harder with this for the Cambridge game (not that I’m still disappointed to have missed it of course), as we still wouldn’t have a point from it, but teams wouldn’t have a game in hand on us now.

Speaking of points, we have picked up a couple in our last couple of games including the last-minute dot com headed equaliser from Jay Williams last time out against Chesterfield, but we are now below the points progression from the 2022-23 season again.

Being off work with too much time on my hands means a lot of charity shop purchases including this book, which will take some time to get through as even I think the print in the cartoons is a bit small, and I’ve not seen any of them before as I’ve not really read a newspaper for years, let alone anything as nominally high brow as the Guardian.

But I do read magazines, and a couple I read on the train on the way up were Weekends Football, which had a four-page piece on Horsham. It’s the second time they’ve featured looking in the back issue directory in the back of the magazine. They include teams from all over the world, but they’ve never been to Crawley yet, but in addition to having covered Horsham twice, they’ve also done Brighton, Worthing, and Chichester in Sussex. The other one was Back Pass, which covered Brighton under Brian Clough, it also had him again in a piece on the 1988-89 League Cup, and interesting pieces on Laurie Cunningham, Arthur Rowley (holder of the record of most league goals in the UK ever), and a piece on Gary Mabbutt and how he dealt with being the first diagnosed professional with type one diabetes.

Most of the Oldham Athletic (our opponents today) related preamble ended up in the exceedingly long piece I put out last night following the wander around swathes of Greater Manchester yesterday, which is in the link below.

I mentioned the second-hand treasure trove of The Rat’s Tail in that, and there were some more general football pieces picked up there, with some Football League Reviews from the sixties, and another League Football magazine after the couple found in Crawley last week.

And a couple of Rothmans annuals, including one from this century, which was a surprise as I though it had already changed name by that point, turns out it was the last ever sponsored by them.

Going into the game we are six places and fourteen points behind Oldham, and with Harrogate Town drawing their game last night we are at least safe from the threat of slipping into the relegation places this evening but could well be only a point off bottom if results go badly.

I had plenty of time to get to Oldham early and have a good wander around taking photos. On the tram journey I wasn’t concerned with where I had to be next and so spent the time looking out of the window. So many huge, magnificent Victorian mill buildings dotting the landscape, each with their chimney, and a grand tower.

In Oldham itself there are plenty of great buildings.

This one reminded me of closer to home, can’t think why.

Every day is a school day or so they say, and blue plaques give more learning as I didn’t realise Oldham was where Winston Churchill first became an MP, or that it was where the first ever fried chips were made.

The club shop had pens and a fridge magnet, and there was a whole host of programme sellers. It’s one of the better ones, decent content to advert ratio, and good coverage of us.

At the ground they only let me in on the condition my camera stayed in my bag, but were nice about it, and appreciated the idiocy of it as the camera on phones can be more powerful. So phone pictures it is from here on.

There are three changes to the starting lineup, with Taylor Richards and Harry Forster starting, and Ade Adeyemo and Justin Ferizaj dropping to the bench, and Lewis Richards out injured with JoJo Wollacott coming into the squad. We are in our all red with white trim home kit, Oldham are in blue and white shirts with blue shorts and socks.

And from the off it is Oldham getting into our box, within twenty seconds they are there but Jacob Chapman cleans up. We seem to be a bit off the pace from the start. Needless throws given away, poor tackles or attempts at tackles, misplaced passes. An Oldham free kick into the box finds an Oldham head, but it is nodded tamely wide. We give it away in midfield and a quick ball into the box is well taken down and a shot from Oldham forces a good save from Chapman and Harry Forster does just enough to put the striker of the follow up effort off and their shot goes wide.

We can’t seem to get forward at all. Oldham win a corner; we haven’t even got the now standard three on the halfway line before it is taken short and then deflected out for another corner. That one is taken deep and goes all the way across to the right where Jonny Russell picks it up and we attempt our version of a fast break, but we lose it and Oldham come straight back down the pitch and win another corner, although they are claiming it deflected off a hand. It is taken short and half cleared but comes back into the box and a shot is straight at Chapman.

And here they come again, back into the box and this effort forces a diving save from Chapman and it goes out for a corner. It’s taken to the near post, cleared, pumped back in and another shot is saved by Chapman. Then there’s a saving block needed from Charlie Barker. As we come out with it on the left there’s a clash and there’s an Oldham player down. Taylor Richards gets a yellow card for it, but if it was the elbow claimed by the home support then he might have been lucky to still be on the pitch. The resulting free kick goes all the way across the box and out for a throw.

Oldham have the clock and score on the electronic hoardings, right opposite where I’m sat at the other end, but they have positioned a ball boy and a photographer in front of it, so can’t tell how much longer the torture is going to go on for (until the half hour mark when I notice there is another one in the corner on the other side of the pitch).

There is another streaming Oldham attack, another shot, another Chapman save, and he stays down. As all the players run to the bench, I might have to hazard a guess that this isn’t really a proper injury, and we are doing the cheating we moan about other teams doing. But we do need all the fucking help we can get at the minute, as this has been like the fucking Alamo so far, probably worse than the first twenty minutes at Barnet, the only consolation is we haven’t conceded so far.

And as if by magic when we restart, we have an attack down the right, we switch it to the left and win a free kick about thirty yards out. It is taken deep and Jay Williams’ attempt to hook it back across fails and it goes for a goal kick. Then we break through the middle, there’s a ball out to Kellen Gordon on the right wing and his cross is met by Danilo Orsi and the keeper saves, but the flag had gone up for offside anyway.

Then Gordon is taken out on the wing, and we win a free kick about thirty-five yards out (difficult to judge exactly when sat behind the goal). It goes into the box and is headed clear for a throw on the other side. Russell winds one up and it bounces dangerously in the box but is cleared. A ball is played out of defence to Richards in the middle of the park, he beats a man and plays it out to Forster on the left, he cuts into the box and has a shot which is saved. Then on the other side a Gordon cross is easily cleared. Gordon gets taken out again on the right and the Oldham player gets a totting up yellow card for that.

The home support are restless as we have probably gotten away with a few ropey tackles (I know, normally a sneeze in the wrong direction equals a yellow card for us), and there’s been a few off the ball comings together and a few shoves out of the way. But it appears the Oldham players are trying it on a bit as well as they theatrically go to ground at every opportunity. (Which might be a bit pot / kettle considering how Gordon ends up on the floor most of the time.)

We play out from the back down the left to Forster, he plays it across to Ronan Darcy, it gets shifted again, and then over to the right to Gordon who gets a cross in, and someone gets a head on it, but it goes wide.

Oldham, having had a five minute breather, come again down the right and get a cross into the box, Williams is on the deck as it comes over, and it gets to the far post, the first effort is just stopped by Chapman, I think he saved a second effort as well before the ball was bundled over the line. Our players are claiming Williams was fouled in the build-up, but the ref doesn’t agree and we trail 0-1.

And Oldham are in again, Chapman spreads himself well and blocks the shot. And then they win a corner. The taking is delayed as the ref goes over to book someone on the Oldham bench. We just about clear the corner on the second attempt. Forster is fouled as we attempt to break down the left, and it leads to a yellow card for the Oldham player. By this point the home support are booing Gordon’s every touch and cheering as if they’ve scored if his pass or cross goes astray. The Oldham number nine has been tussling with various players, and he goes down again after a tangle with Geraldo Bajrami, nothing given but the fans are screaming for a foul. There’s an Oldham player down on the edge of their box after another coming together, more screams for a foul, and when we get a free kick on the other side of the pitch, there is another yellow card for the Oldham bench.

The Oldham fans are now chanting / singing “shit referee” and there are ironic cheers when the ref gives them a free kick as we went into two minutes of added time. Richards breaks through the middle and is brought down and a yellow card for the Oldham player just annoys the fans more and increases the abuse for the ref. It is taken deep and cleared, and the ref blows for half time with us trailing 0-1.

We make a substitution at half time (just the one? I hear you ask) with Forster being replaced by Ade Adeyemo. The Oldham players are out well before we are and they are doing team warm up exercises, almost as if they are organised or something.

Not difficult I know, but we start the second half better than we did the first, Richards plays the ball out to Adeyemo and there’s a neat back heel to the overlapping Darcy and he gets a cross in, but it is cleared. We have a free kick on halfway, it’s put into the box and cleared and Oldham break, two passes later there’s a man in the middle in on goal and he slots it in the corner and we trail 0-2. Scrub that about starting the half better.

Oldham seem relentless, but it may well just be us playing like a team of blind men with the bell having been removed from the ball. They get a corner, but I doubt the ref knew for sure as he takes an absolute age to decide whether it was a goal kick or a corner, and the lino isn’t helping as if to say to the ref, “this is your shitshow, get on with it.” We head it clear.

We attack and work it down the right, it gets to Klaidi Lolos and he’s in the box but is hesitant and for some reason reluctant to take a shot, it does get across to Richards on the left, who does shoot, but it is blocked. And we make a sub, Lolos goes off (to a refrain of ‘about bloody time’ from somewhere behind me in the crowd) and is replaced by Dion Pereira. Who has an impact almost immediately. He gets it to Gordon and the ball into the box is kept in by Orsi who feeds it back to Pereira and then onto Darcy and his shot is tipped over the bar for a corner. Which is swung in straight to the keeper.

An Oldham player runs full pelt into the side of Adeyemo and goes down lack a sack of spuds but gets the free kick. We clear and break down the right get a cross in, but it eludes everyone. We are struggling all over the place, losing the ball in midfield now, and there needs to be a saving tackle from Bajrami, but it’s at the expense of a corner. There’s product from that and a shot forces a Chapman save. I hadn’t said that so far in the second half. A ball out from the back gets to Orsi in midfield and he pings it out first time to Gordon on the right, but his cross is cleared. The Oldham number nine is down again claiming a foul, but nothing is given. And seconds later an Oldham player misses his kick at the ball but does manage to get Richards on the follow through and gets a yellow card for that.

The free kick from forty yards out is wasted. We attack down the right put a deep ball in which Adeyemo retrieves, he passes it back to Orsi and his shot from just outside the box is over the bar. Oldham get a free kick about thirty-five yards out just right of centre, and Chapman comes and claims the lofted ball. In news that will surprise nobody, there is some nice work up to a point, but the final ball is letting us down. Pereira beats a couple of men in midfield and looks to play Orsi into the box, but the ball is too strong and seen out for a goal kick.

We make another substitution with Richards going off to be replaced by Tobi Adeyemo, and for the first time since his signing we now have both Adeyemo’s on the pitch at the same time. We attack down the right with Pereira, and he gets the ball out to Ade Adeyemo on the left, he cuts inside into the box and goes to cross, but it ends up as a shot and goes over the bar. Oldham waltz up the other end, get into the box and shoot, but it is blocked, comes back to one of their players on the right and their cross is blocked behind for a corner.

Coming forward we have the ball in promising positions in the box again but are unable to generate a shot and we lose the ball. Somewhere there is a field full of very happy cows, who know their arses are very safe, no matter how many banjos our players are given. There’s a ball out to Ade Adeyemo on the left wing, he gets a cross in, and Tobi Adeyemo gets on the end of it (it looked more by accident than by design), but the header goes wide.

Russell launches a throw into the box, and it is headed out for a corner, which is swung in under the bar straight to the keeper again. There are five added minutes to endure. An Ade Adeyemo cross is headed back out and then he and Russell combine and we win a corner. It goes in and is punched clear; we pump it back in to give the keeper catching practice. A free kick is put in from the right and headed back out and the full-time whistle goes on another demoralising defeat 0-2.

The crowd was announced as being 7,050 with 188 Crawley Town masochists in that number.

There are boos at the end, a lot of players don’t really make much effort to come down to the away fans, but Orsi stayed applauding the fans for a decent amount of time, and when Chapman made it down to our end there were big cheers for him. He won the January player of the month vote, and I can’t see there being any other options for the February award. He did save us from it being a much bigger defeat.

The Oldham fans saved their boos for the ref. I saw online that they said it was the worst referee they’d had in twenty years. In which case they’ve been leading a charmed life. He wouldn’t even make the top five of useless, biased, inconsistent referees we’ve had do our games this season.

Somewhat miraculously we didn’t drop in the table. Newport drew, so are now only three points behind us with a game in hand. As we were leaving it did look as if we were going to drop a place as it was deep into injury time and Barrow were drawing. But Gillingham scored in the one hundredth and second minute to win and keep Barrow beneath us. But it is difficult to see where the next win, or for that matter the next goal is going to come from, and we really can’t rely on there being teams worse than us. There are a few of the most ardent supporters who are now waking up to the realisation we could really go down this time.

These football related pieces have been the only writing I have been doing for months. They are keeping me from completely losing the plot, I love doing all the preamble and the falling back in love with football as a whole it brings, but FFS, the typing up of the part once that whistle goes for the kick off gets harder every game. There is only gallows humour keeping me from just doing a truly short write up. We were garbage (and I don’t mean the Shirley Manson led rock band either).

Quiz Time – To be honest, but this point, who cares, but I will continue. I had mentioned in the preamble piece that Oldham had an owl on their badge similar to the one Sheffield Wednesday have, but which other League club do they have the same nickname (The Latics) as?

I had planned on going to the local Indian Restaurant and was surprised to see it advertising on the hoardings during the game. It must be successful advertising as they had no room for me. I found somewhere else and that got packed at twilight, I’d forgotten it was Ramadan.

A quick update on teams and competitions mentioned in yesterday’s or today’s piece, Bury won at Lower Breck last night to stretch their lead at the top of the NLP Div 1 West. The two Manchester sides in the FA Vase quarter finals both lost, Droylsden 4-2 at home, and West Didsbury & Chorlton away on penalties. And Horsham lost in the FA Trophy quarter final.

So with my jinxing all done for this weekend, I’m going to go and rest now before battling with Avanti in the morning for the journey home (two parts of the journey are already marked as rail replacement). And then we are in action at home next Saturday against Swindon Town. Send help.

Come on you reds.

Spinning In Daffodils

Well the first daffodils are springing up all around the town, and it suggest spring are coming. But it is more of a nod to today’s opposition and their famous crooked spire, as this is a track from the self-titled 2012 album from the band Them Crooked Vultures.

Quiz Time Answer – well two in one, before the MK Dons moved to Milton Keynes; 1, which was the closest Football League team to Milton Keynes, and 2, which was the only Football League club situated in Buckinghamshire? Part one was Northampton Town, just closer than Luton Town, and part two was Wycombe Wanderers.

We are back in action at home after a double header of away games where the point on Tuesday night against MK Dons and a clean sheet against the top scorers in League Two seems less of a good result with those below us in the table winning. But hopefully it’s something we can build on today. And after being on a broken-down train for three hours on the first of that doble header, Avanti have refunded the whole of the ticket cost.

I picked this up, not sure if it was in the library or the museum, but in my current state thought I would try it on Wednesday afternoon. Only I hadn’t taken half term into account and there didn’t appear to be anyone around apart from kids being picked up from soccer school. Perhaps I’ll try again next week.

Thursday night finally saw the voting phase for the FAB be announced. The lone female and lone person under thirty got automatic places, which left the other spots open for voting. There were no little pictures to go with the candidates’ manifestos, but the names would suggest they are all white males. There were two I didn’t read the manifestos for, one for someone I would have voted for regardless, and the other being someone I wouldn’t have voted for even if they’d promised to end all wars and solve world hunger.

The opposition today are Chesterfield. We have played Chesterfield five times, two in League One (a home draw and an away loss) in the 2014–15 season, and twice in League Two (a home loss and an away win) in the 2017–18 season and a 2-2 draw away earlier in the season. There are a couple of programmes in the collection from games against them, including that one earlier in the season.

Speaking of programmes I found a few old Crawley Town ones in one of the charity shops in Crawley from the early eighties.

What I love about these old programmes is the adverts in them, and how they show how much changes (and in some cases how it stays the same) over forty years.

There were quite a few other interesting things in the charity shops, following on from the one last week there was a 50 Soccer Skills book (which was left on the shelf), and a Banstead Eagles shirt (left on the rail), some Fulham Top Trumps (I’ve never seen them before), and the first two ever issues of the League magazine issued by the Football League in 1972. I think that someone had dumped the contents of my brain in one of the charity shops as there was also a book of Victorian and Edwardian ordnance survey maps, and a stack of late eighties hip-hop and house albums, most of which I’ve never seen before, let alone had a chance to own, a happy shopping day.

Anyway, back to the game and the squads. Reece Brown is a former Chesterfield player, but he won’t be featuring as not in the EFL squad list, and Ronan Darcy was there on loan from Wigan Athletic earlier in the season before being recalled and then loaned to us instead. On the other side, they have Kyle McFadzean, one of Crawley Town team who won promotion to the Football League, and then to League One in their ranks, as he played four seasons for us and racked up 156 appearances. Others to have played for both sides include Corey Addai, Adi Yussuf, Nicky Ajose, Richard Wood, George Smith, Chris Atkinson, Leon Clarke, Mark Randall, Dean Morgan, Kieran Djilali, Steve Fletcher, Laurence Maguire, Mike Jones, Ricky German, Scott Griffiths, James Hurst, and Danny Hall.

Aside from the couple of cards from the Proset 1991-92 collection, there were a couple of years where Chesterfield were high enough in the league to get included in the mid eighties Panini collections, and of course there is this year’s collection as well.

Which includes the shiny badge. The Chesterfield badge was one they included in the beautiful badges book, with it being based on the town’s famous crooked spire. Some of the previous iterations of the badge did include the spire as well, but others were a simple blue and white with the club’s initials on.

We go into the game fifteen places and twenty-five points behind Chesterfield, who are the second team on the trot we play as they sit in the playoff places. And we are back at the point where a loss and results elsewhere could see us in the relegation places at the end of the day.

No away travel and no writing group this morning, meant it is a rare Saturday chance for a bit of a lay in and laze around before heading to the ground. It doesn’t mean I didn’t get there any later than I usually do though. Got a programme, still feels odd, being involved and having content in them. Especially as each edition sells more copies than all my books combined have.

More changes, seemingly enforced, as Josh Flint isn’t in the squad. Ade Adeyemo starts, which means either a change of formation, or Jay Williams or Lewis Richards drop into the back three. Taylor Richards comes back into the squad on the bench. It didn’t look great when Barrow were two up in the early game away at Fleetwood, but late goals saw Fleetwood win 3-2 and do us a favour, now let’s do ourselves one.

It is certainly a surprise that we are watering the pitch before the game. After all, all it’s done this week is rain every time I leave the house. Although Steve Leake suggested to me that perhaps I should stop leaving the house. It’s a tempting thought. We are in our all-red kit with white trim, and Chesterfield are in blue shirts and sock, and white shorts.

Our first decent attack sees Justin Ferizaj winning the ball in midfield and he exchanges passes with Kellen Gordon and he then cuts inside and curls a shot just wide. Chesterfield win a corner, and we are sticking to the tactic of three up on the halfway line. They play it short and get a curling shot just wide of their own.

Looking towards the scoreboard I can see they have finally moved the score and the game clock to the bottom of it so that most of us in the east stand can see it as well. Only taken fifteen months for common sense to kick in.

Klaidi Lolos is fouled on a run through midfield, and he makes a meal of going to the ground and the Chesterfield player picks up a booking. Less than a minute later Lewis Richards is taken out by a far worse lunge on the left by the same player, a much more certain yellow than the one given, but nothing is given. Word is Scott Lindsey, who is serving the first of a two-game touchline ban, is going absolutely mental behind the scenes at the lack of a second yellow.

A Chesterfield attack sees great blocks, first from Ade Adeyemo on the left, and then by Gordon on the right. Lolos breaks and beats three players, deftly flicking the ball over heads but a heavy touch sees Chesterfield get the ball and counterattack and a chip shot over Jacob Chapman goes just wide. We storm forward and Gordon gets into the box and puts it across to Danilo Orsi and his shot is saved. A Charlie Barker throw goes back to Gordon and his cross into the area is met by a Lolos header which goes just wide.

It is end to end stuff. Lolos gets it on the edge of the area and flicks it over a player again but that the final touch is just too strong. Chesterfield attack and win a corner. It is taken short and a cross is swing in, and a header goes just wide. Chesterfield win another corner on the other side, which is swung in under the bar and Chapman puts it behind for another corner on the other side, which is taken short and gets played out for a goal kick.

We break, Ronan Darcy plays it to Lolos, and he plays it out right to Gordon and his cross cum shot is deflected out for a throw on the far side. It’s taken to Adeyemo and he cuts into the box, and an attempt is blocked and Chesterfield break quickly and end up with a shot which goes well over the bar. Richards takes some time getting up and is limping and is substituted a minute or so later to be replaced by Jonny Russell.

There is good harrying of the Chesterfield defence and force an errant back pass out for a corner. It is flapped at by the keeper, Adeyemo and Geraldo Bajrami have shots blocked in the area and Chesterfield scramble it clear. We attack down the left and Ferizaj, Adeyemo, and Darcy combine and get the ball over to the right where Gordon puts a deep cross back in which gets to Adeyemo, but he can’t quite get the ball across into the middle and it is cleared. Another Gordon cross into the box just can’t quite find a Crawley player to get on the end of it.

A quick Chesterfield break out to the left and there is no one within ten yards of the attacker just inside our half and he heads to the box and is in one on one with Chapman but puts the shot just wide. After the miss the Chesterfield bench shout and signal their keeper to go down, which he does and as the ref stops play all of the players head to the bench for new instructions. Cheating cunts.

We lose the ball in midfield and Chesterfield attack down the left, get the ball into the middle and there is a curling shot which looks like it might be heading for the top corner, but also that Chapman might get to save it. Russell dives at it to attempt a clearance but doesn’t get much on it, just enough to deflect it into the goal and we trail 0-1.

From the restart we play a ball through midfield to Darcy, and he gets into the box and gets a shot off which is blocked out for a corner. It’s taken to the near post, and someone gets a head on it, and it goes wide behind, apparently it was one of our players as a goal kick is given. Chesterfield work the ball forward and have a shot in the box which goes through a defender’s legs but straight at Chapman who saves.

There are three added minutes at the end of the half. Chesterfield win a free kick on the left wing, it is taken into the near post and there is a shot just wide. The half time whistle goes, and we head into the break trailing 0-1. We make a substitution at half time with Ferizaj being replaced by Taylor Richards.

Into the second half and there is an early break down the right from which we win a corner. It is taken in low to the near post, half cleared, put back in, and then hacked high into the air and the keeper collects when it comes back down. Gordon gets a booking for something as the ball is pumped forward in the air from the clearance. We give it away and there is a cross in from the left which is headed out for a corner. Chapman gets to it and a long ball gets through to Lolos he beats a man and has a shot which goes wide.

We come down the right, Darcy onto Orsi in the box and back to Darcy and on again to Adeyemo who gets a ball into the box, but no one can get on the end of it. We are keeping good possession and again get the ball out to Darcy in the box; he lays it back to Russell and the attempted cross becomes more of a shot and is saved under the bar by the keeper.

A free kick on the right is taken deep and retrieved by Darcy, he plays it back to Russell, who plays it on to Lolos and he cuts into the box and has a shot which hits the side netting. A Russell clearance is blocked over the east stand for the only ball loss of the day. We keep the ball on the left as Darcy, Russell, Richards, and Adeyemo combine well and Russell crosses it in and it is headed over for a corner. It comes out to Richards and his shot is saved. And he gets a yellow card for a foul in midfield on the Chesterfield counterattack.

We make a substitution with Harry Forster coming on to replace Adeyemo. A Russell long throw is lined up on the right, but it’s taken short to Gordon, and his deep cross is retrieved on the left again by Darcy, he cuts across the front of the box and is fouled, and we have a free kick twenty-five yards out just left of centre. Bajrami takes and puts it just over the bar.

There was only a single TAFKAL shout during the second half of ‘get on with it,’ but it was well timed as the rest of the crowd was quiet and it bounced around quite well.

Chesterfield win a free kick on the left wing, it goes into the box, and there’s a slight touch from a Chesterfield player and it goes wide and we make another substitution with Dion Pereira coming on to replace Lolos. Russell gets a yellow card on the right wing for bringing down a Chesterfield player. The Chesterfield player taking the free kick slips as taking it and kicks it twice and we get a free kick instead.

A ball into the Chesterfield box sees a couple of half chances cleared and it is played back to the right and a Jay Williams’ low shot is saved. Down the right again, Pereira beats a couple of men and gets into the box and plays it to Orsi, and then back to Darcy and his shot comes off the outside of the post and spins out for throw. Chesterfield break and play it right to left and then into the box and a shot is well saved by Chapman, and we break which is stopped on halfway and there is a yellow card for a Chesterfield player, and we waste the free kick.

Chesterfield win a free kick about thirty yards out to the right of centre, and the shot is on target and well saved by Chapman. Chesterfield have another effort after cross from the left and Chapman saves again. We give away another free kick, this time on the left and Bajrami picks up a yellow card. But there is a foul as the ball is played in and we can clear. We have a couple of free kicks on the left, but Chesterfield break and get one of their own on the right which we manage to clear.

A Forster cross is cleared, Russell gets it and his cross goes deep and is cleared as well. There are four added minutes at the end of the game. We have a couple of long throw attempts which come to nothing, and then line up another but take it quickly short to Darcy, he whips a cross in, and it looks as if Forster might have just flicked it on and Williams gets on the end of it and heads it into the net for the equaliser. Absolute scenes as that levels the scores up, with only enough time for the restart before the ref blows the final whistle and we have drawn 1-1.

Two successive draws against playoff placed teams, and finally after over eight hours of playing time we score a goal. The point lifts us over Barrow who lost in the early kick off. However Bristol Rovers (along with Shrewsbury Town) won and leapfrog the pair of us, so we stay in twenty-first position in the table. Still only two points above the drop zone as Harrogate Town also picked up a draw, but at least Newport County lost again. We are also two points behind Bristol Rovers, with there now being another five point gap to a trio of teams above them in Shrewsbury, Tranmere, and Cheltenham.

Amusingly though, there were a couple of fans who sit close to me who were celebrating the fact that we had won for the first time in five matches. They had sloped off to the bar well before half time and therefore had missed the Chesterfield goal, and at no point on their way back, or during the second half had noticed that Chesterfield were showing as being 1-0 up on the scoreboard, and so when Jay scored, they thought it was the winner. It explains how come they were so relaxed during the second half. If only it had been a winner.

The crowd was announced as 3,250, with 461 Chesterfield fans having made the trip down from Derbyshire. The sponsors’ man of the match was announced as Ronan Darcy.

And upon leaving the ground we noticed that the club shop was open, so the club are acting upon the suggestion made at the fan’s forum last week. Hopefully, that is successful.

Quiz Time – Besides Chesterfield, which are the only other two sides from Derbyshire to have played in the Football League?

Next up we are away again, with a second trip of the season to Greater Manchester for a game with Oldham Athletic. So battling the vagaries of Avanti West Coast again, but I’m not doing it as a there and back in the same day this time.

Come on you reds.

My Lonely Feeling

I’ve gone back to Northern Soul bangers with this 1966 non-charting single from Milton James (so it’s loosely connected with this evening).

I finished my previous piece with this paragraph,

“Then there is the journey home, and of course, as Avanti West Coast are involved it’s a fucking shit show, all London trains out of Liverpool Lime Street are cancelled, with the advice of get to Crewe and try and get a train to London from there. So if I’m home before midnight it will be a fucking miracle.”

Well, I had just finished posting the piece on the socials and closed my laptop when the train came to a quick, and unexpected stop. The brake hydraulics had lost pressure, and the emergency brake had kicked in as we were about a mile out from Euston. Attempts to fix were unsuccessful. There were a couple of blackouts, and then, three hours after coming to a grinding halt, they got another train to come out to us and the passengers were transferred over to it, over the gap between the trains on a special assistance board. I banged my head on both doors. And when the new train rolled into Euston, the station was shut, all the Thameslink trains had finished for the night, so it was a case of making my way to London Bridge to get the hourly ‘drunk’ train back to Three Bridges. I got home at half three Sunday morning.

So far this season I’ve had three journeys to games where Avanti have been involved, for Shrewsbury, they cancelled the booked train out of Euston going up, and on the way back they had cancelled all trains between Birmingham and Euston. For Salford, they cancelled the Manchester bound train out of Euston as we were at the barrier, claiming a lack of train crew, only to send the same train to Glasgow twenty minutes later. It was then three hours before there was a train to Manchester. It does make me wonder how they will fuck up the Oldham and Accrington travel (Fleetwood will be OK as I’ll be driving to Morecambe). In fact for any away trip which forces us to use Avanti, then we should just be awarded the points for having made it.

Quiz Time Answer – With me moaning about missing the Tuesday night game (the first league game missed this season), what was the last Crawley league game I missed before Cambridge? (It was away in March.) – It was the 4-0 victory away against Rotherham.

After previous moans about the Football League Paper ignoring our January transfer window activity, they did nearly a full page on us on Sunday.

It was just a shame that what is quite a positive piece happened to be on the same double page as the match report from the mediocre performance at Tranmere Rovers.

Also, on the way back from Tranmere I had plenty of time to read When Saturday Comes, and in what I doubt is a coincidence, after the article on Padova in sister magazine Late Tackle, the classic kit of the month in WSC was an early nineties Padova one. I also mentioned buying the Italian Calcio Panini album ‘for purely reference purposes’, well it came with two packs of stickers, and it would seem that Panini, being Italian, treat their home market fairer than ours as the packs are one Euro (as opposed to a Pound for ours) and contain six stickers per pack (we only get five). Speaking of the EFL one, I finally completed the Crawley half page; three of whom have left the club, one is not on the EFL squad list for the second half of the season, and another is missing in inaction.

Wandering around Crawley charity shops yesterday, I saw this (didn’t buy it). You can fill your own jokes in about it.

I’d been thinking about doing a comparison of how we got on depending on the kit worn, when Sooty put a post of the forum about us always losing in Black. Which is true. But we’re not great in any colour really this season as the table below shows.

There is plenty of overlap between the two squads today, we have Jay Williams and Danilo Orsi who played for MK in between their spells for us, and of course, manager Scott Lindsey went there before coming back. In the MK squad they have Liam Kelly, Laurence Maguire, Connal Trueman, and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy who have played for us previously, all within the last two seasons. There has been a lot of players to play for both clubs over the years. Others to have done so include Max Watters, Hiram Boateng, Ben Gladwin, Joe Walsh, Izale McLeod, Sullay Kaikai, Mark Randall, Kyle McFadzean, Brandon Mason, Lewis Price, Jason Banton, Mitch Hancox, Ryan Hall, Jake Hesketh, Tom McGill, Filipe Morais, Kieran Murphy, Bondz N’Gala, Tom McGill, Alfie Jones, Carl Baker, Dean Morgan, and Daniel Powell.

Two of those overlap players are included on the stickers for MK Dons in the EFL collection this year (Liam Kelly and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy), there are no other cards or stickers relating to MK Dons which I can find.

I did find some programmes though. Of the six, the first is from a 2007 pre-season friendly against them, which saw the first column from new manager Steve Evans. The last two are from the playoff games two seasons ago, the home one was the only programme the club produced all season, and the away one was our last away game against them, in the record setting 5-1 win which saw us make the playoff final.

Those two playoff games equalled up the record against MK, which now stands at five wins, five losses, and three draws after the home draw against them earlier in the season. At MK, the record is two wins, a draw, and three losses. (Oh, and the aforementioned friendly finished 0-0.)

This is the first season where games against them where Dean Lewington hasn’t been in the squad for them, he played the last of his 791 league games for them last season and holds the record for most league games played for the same club, and that figure doesn’t include the 29 games he played for Wimbledon before they upped sticks and moved to Milton Keynes, which is a bit harsh on him, as the club changed around him, he didn’t change clubs. But for more on that then I’d suggest getting Steve Leake’s latest book – “Better The Devil”, which goes into more detail on all incarnations of the Dons.

Their badge doesn’t get a mention anywhere, but it forms a crest shape and is made up of the two initials of the city, although it does look like the K has fallen over and the M is now standing on it to make sure it doesn’t get back up.

We go into the game in a perilous position, only a place outside the relegation zone (but four points), and seventeen places and thirty-one points behind our opposition, who are a single point outside the automatic promotion places. MK are also the top scorers in the division, which doesn’t bode well for our beleaguered defence. Especially as our strikers aren’t converting the chances created. The pictogram below demonstrates the saying best connected with our scoring prowess.

Got an early train up (never can tell when Avanti might be involved) and had a wander into the shopping centre. Found a couple of items that I hadn’t known existed (The Supremes sing country). The mall has a load of fact Blue Plaques up, this one in particular caught my eye, and I dug the single out to see. I’m not going to be watching Cliff Richard’s ‘Wired For Sound’ to see where the shopping centre was used in that video.

I’m not saying I was at the ground early, but it was still daylight.

Went into the club shop where the staff were ‘discussing’ staffing levels at a volume which prompted the manager to come out of the office and intervene. I got a pen and fridge magnet.

MK are another club to have moved away from a match programme and have gone down the monthly magazine route. It’s not bad, but I’m not convinced their ‘ones to watch’ is the most up to date I’ve ever seen. But I did get it for free as their wi-fi technology wasn’t connecting the card machine, so the seller just gave up and let me have it. I noticed they moved inside the stadium to sell them not long afterwards.

There are three changes to the starting lineup, with Charlie Barker, Justin Ferizaj, and Lewis Richards starting, Akin Odimayo and Harry Forster drop to the bench and Louie Copley not in squad. Tobi Adeyemo and Jonny Russell return to the squad, and we go without a keeper on the bench.

We are in our all red and MK are in all white. There are more people stood along the back row than there are seats for and one of the stewards comes to move people on. He calls Carol ‘darling’, and she asks him not to, so he calls her it several more times and when challenged on it say, ‘I can say whatever I like’. So in the spirit of kick it out, if the senior section steward is the one doing the casual sexism, who do you report them to?

There is an early free kick to MK, and it’s a yellow card for Geraldo Bajrami – 22 seconds is good going, even for us. Played in and we put it out for a corner which we clear.

Justin Ferizaj is showing some nice touches early on and he gets through the middle and plays it out to the left and the cross in is deflected to the keeper. A long ball forward from MK deceives Charlie Barker in flight and a player is in behind him, but the shot is well wide.

Ferizaj comes out again and plays it down the left, Ronan Darcy plays it on to Lewis Richards who cuts inside and curls a shot just wide right.

Klaidi Lolos lunges in trying to get the ball back, but only gets a talking to, a bit lucky there. We win a corner down the left after patient build up and a Richards cross is put behind. The ball comes in and there are a couple of attempts at shots before the flag goes up for offside. A free kick into the box is headed out to Jay Williams and his shot is well over.

MK break and work it through the middle and look to be in but we get back to block and clear. Josh Flint has the ball and runs from his own half to the area and has a shot which takes a slight deflection and is saved. Williams gets a yellow card for a sliding challenge in midfield.

We nearly have a quick break but manage to slow it down and not get a final ball in. MK break themselves down the left to the byline and cross it and there is a free header at the back post which is well saved by Jacob Chapman for a corner, and we throw four up to the halfway line for it. When it comes in there’s a foul on Chapman and we can clear.

A long free kick from MK sees us unable or unwilling to get a head on it, it comes to a MK player, and the shot is guided away by Chapman. MK keep it and cross it back in and we put it out for a corner. Taken deep, half cleared and a shot is scooped over the bar.

Lolos is fouled in midfield and makes the most of the contact and the MK player gets a yellow card. It’s played down the right, Kellen Gordon onto Lolos to Danilo Orsi and on to Darcy and his shot from just outside the box goes over the bar. There is a MK player down getting treatment and he is replaced.

A Barker long throw is put back to him and his cross bounces around in the box before a shot through a forest of legs is saved by the keeper. There are four added minutes. We concede an extremely late corner, and a shot is blocked for another corner, and we clear that and the half time whistle goes with the scores level 0-0 as Ferizaj was taken out by a two footed challenge.

Into the second half and our first foray into the MK half sees us win a corner. It’s swung in under the bar and caught by the keeper. We win the ball back and it comes to Lolos in the middle of the half and his long-range shot is saved at the second attempt.

MK get the ball on the right after we give it away, a cross into the box is met by a striker and the shot is straight at Chapman. They attack again and work it left to right and get a cross in which Chapman palms away, there is a shot which is cleared for a throw and that is worked into the box and out for a goal kick.

We attack down the right and Williams lays it out to Gordon who crosses it and Orsi’s flick goalwards takes a deflection for an easy save. A throw on the left to Lolos sees him switch it to Gordon on the right and he cuts inside and curls a shot just wide left.

MK break down the right and put a ball into the box and a shot is saved and the effort from the rebound goes wide. We make a substitution with Richards being replaced by Dion Pereira. He’s involved nearly straight away down the left getting into the box and putting a cross in which just eludes Orsi.

As MK break there is a clash in midfield and the ref brandishes the yellow card, apparently to Scott Lindsey. A deep ball from MK should be cleared easily but we dilly dally, the clearance is blocked and we concede a corner, which goes straight to Chapman.

We attempt a quick break but are intercepted and MK break the other way and win a corner. At the other end, a Flint long throw gets to Darcy, and his attempt is deflected up into the air and falls into the keeper’s arms. We have possession around the edge of the box but none of Orsi, Lolos, or Darcy can get a shot off.

Time for more subs with Flint and Lolos departing for Jonny Russell and Ade Adeyemo. We have a quick break, and Pereira plays it out to Gordon on the right but his cross lands on the roof of the net.

MK make subs of their own and win a corner. It’s swung in and half cleared, played back in and a shot forces a great save from Chapman. The follow up is blocked for a corner. It’s punched clear by Chapman and the shot back in goes over the bar.

We make another sub as a limping Gordon is replaced by Harry Forster. There’s a free kick in midfield and a Williams header comes back to him and he puts it into the box, and attempted clearance from MK hits the closing Darcy and it forces a decent save from the keeper. A Russell long throw is half cleared and Ferizaj’s header back in is caught under the bar.

There are six added minutes at the end of the half. Chapman gets a yellow card for time wasting – it had been coming. Another Russell throw comes to the edge of the area and Forster more blocks it than shoots and it goes wide.

At the other end, a long throw into the box sees a clash of heads, and the final whistle goes not long after play restarts and it is a 0-0 draw.

The crowd was announced as 7,036, but no mention of how many away fans there were.

Before kick-off, a point away against a team in the playoff places might have been considered a good result, but other results mean a point is less than was needed. Shrewsbury and Newport both won and Harrogate beat Barrow. We may have gone up a place to twenty-first but are only now three points off the bottom, and apart from Harrogate all the teams around us have a game in hand.

The journey back wasn’t as horrific as the one on Saturday, just the one brave twelve-year-old yelling out the back window of his parent’s car ‘enjoy the National League you fat cunt’ as I made my way back to the station. But left finalising and posting this until this morning as need the sleep.

Quiz Time – well two in one, before the MK Dons moved to Milton Keynes; 1, which was the closest Football League team to Milton Keynes, and 2, which was the only Football League club situated in Buckinghamshire?

Next up is Chesterfield at home on Saturday. Points required urgently.

Come on you reds.

We Went Away

Okay, so it is back into the tenuous links section of finding song titles. This title was the first single release by Dion & The Belmonts back in October 1957, one which failed to chart in the UK or the US. Well, today’s opponents were founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, before changing their name to Tranmere Rovers the following year.

Quiz Time Answer – Crewe Alexandra were both founder members of Division 2 in 1892, and of Division 3 (N) in 1921, which other three teams were also involved in those first seasons of both Division 2 and Division 3 (N)? (Two were founder members of both, the other were moved to Division 3 (N) from Division 3 (S) where they’d played in the 1920-21 season.) Lincoln City and Walsall were the founder members, and Grimsby Town were moved from Division 3 (S).

After the final whistle last Saturday in the ultimately disappointing loss to Crewe Alexandra, there was time for a post match curry at the Downsman, publish the match report and get a bus to the airport to fly to Florence.

Whereas our traditional kick off time was always 3pm on a Saturday, Serie A had their games on a Sunday. Now as lots of our top flight games get played on Sunday, more Serie A games take place on Saturdays. And typically Fiorentina’s weekend fixture was Saturday night whilst we were in the air. An entertaining 2-2 against Torino, who equalised in the fifth minute of added time. The closest we got to a game was therefore the official club shop in the city centre. I’d already seen lots of purple Fiorentina shirts on stalls all over the city, most with Batistuta, Baggio, or Kean on the back. I’ve always loved those purple kits, but they’d sold out of larger sizes, so just a t-shirt to go with the obligatory pen and fridge magnet. We really need a preseason friendly against Fiorentina. In Florence obviously.

I saw that on Monday we’d sent Louis Flower out on loan to Woking for the rest of the season. When I read it the first time, I thought it said Worthing. Perhaps that was because I’d been reading an article about them in the latest edition of Late Tackle on the flight over. There was also an article on the last season of the Anglo-Italian Trophy, and then one on Serie B side Padova. Almost as if they knew where I was coming from and going to.

Tuesday evening saw one eye on the Crawley weather. The hour time difference and the picture of the pitch from the Observer feed raised hopes it was being called off, only to realise twenty past seven and no team lineup where I was, wasn’t a cause for excitement as it’s only twenty past six at home. And hopes were dashed when the game went ahead and I miss my first league game of the season and miss out on doing all forty-six.

Although I’m sure plenty of others wished they missed it too. I’ve only seen brief highlights (or lowlights) and caught the forum and Facebook feedback. But from that it does appear to be a cut and paste game cobbled together from any number this season. We start well, squander gilt edge chances throughout the first half, let in a sucker punch goal in the last minute of the half, have a bromine tea half time team talk, battle for a bit, concede a goal from a pacy break, and give up, then a salt in the wounds third conceded late in stoppage time. Talk our way into picking up three unnecessary bookings and slink off the pitch and down the tunnel at light speed as Scott Lindsey is abused. But I did notice this little snippet on the BBC feed for the game, “Among fixtures that will be played in the Football League this season, Crawley Town vs Cambridge United is the most played in the top four tiers of English football that has never ended in a draw (P14, 5 Crawley wins, 9 Cambridge wins).” It still hasn’t.

And of course Louis Flower goes and scores on his debut for Woking. Shrewsbury Town beat Barrow in the other game of the night, which keeps both sides below us, but they both have at least one game in hand on us. To cheer myself up on Wednesday morning I went in the Calcio store around the corner from the hotel and got fridge magnets for big Italian teams and then picked up the Panini Italian sticker album for purely reference purposes.

The corridors of the hotel we are staying in are covered in black and white photos of a hundred years of Florence history, and when taking time to look at them I find the three closest to our room are from Fiorentina’s two Serie A titles in 1956 and 1969. Including one where the fans are giving a player flowers. There were no pictures from any of their six Italian Cup victories though.

Thursday night was the fan forum; Scott Lindsey didn’t attend so he could concentrate on preparation for today’s game. I don’t know what people were moaning about, it’s not like the manager has attended any of them recently. There were player and injury updates, and a whole load of topics covered in previous forums. And no antisemitic abuse this time.

Tranmere is situated in Birkenhead and therefore would originally have been in the county of Cheshire before the 1974 rearrangement of the counties moved it to the newly formed Merseyside. So this follows on from last Saturday’s game against Cheshire side Crewe Alexandra. Not only like are they like Crewe in that they were founder members of Division 3 North, but they played each other in Tranmere Rovers’ first league game in August 1921, which Tranmere won 4-1. Both Dixie Dean – who still holds the record for most goals in an English season, and Pongo Waring, who holds the record for most goals scored in a season for Aston Villa, both started out playing for Tranmere in the 1920’s.

By the nineties Tranmere had made it up to Division Two, and there were a number of cards available in the 1992 Proset, including their new signing the previous year — John Aldridge. They were heady days for Tranmere, and they made the playoffs for promotion to the Premier League three years on the trot only to go out in the semi-finals each year. They just about made the last knockings of Panini including Division 2 sides in their sticker collections in the early nineties as they included John Aldridge in their best Division 2 players line up. And there is this year’s collection as well.

We have played Tranmere sixteen times, the first four games against them came in League One, the rest in League Two apart from a single FA Cup tie against them in 2021. The record is won seven, lost eight, with a single draw – including a 2-0 loss at home earlier in the season. Our record against them away is worse, with two wins, a draw and four losses. There are a few programmes in the collection from all those games.

What I did notice from the backs of the programmes was how during the period of those games how the Tranmere Rovers club badge has changed, it isn’t one that was covered by the beautiful badge book, but the current one is eye catching in its various colours, and it is one that has been used for three separate periods in the club’s history, the blue one was a simplified version of it, and it is taken from the Birkenhead coat of arms. The symbols in these arms were taken from the seals of former towns. The crosier and the lion were taken from the old Birkenhead seal and represent the Benedictine Monastery in Birkenhead. The oak is taken from Tranmere. The two lions are taken from Oxton. The meaning of the crescents in these arms is unknown, as is the starfish-looking symbol in the bottom left quarter. It could be a star, but the badge suggests the sun, and that ties in with motto – “UBI FIDES IBI LUX ET ROBUR” which when translated means, Wherever There Is Faith, There Is Also Light and Strength. The crest shows the lion and crosier again, as well as an anchor, symbolising that Birkenhead depends on sailing and shipping.

There is no overlap between the two squads today, but in the past the following players have played for both (however briefly); Chris Atkinson, Josh Cogley, Lateef Elford-Alliyu, Shamir Fenelon, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Mike Jones, Guy Madjo, and Joe Maguire.

It was an early start, and there were a few other fans at Three Bridges. Whilst it is good to see others you know, I’m struggling badly with social anxiety and want to hide away from having conversations with anyone. It’s a contradiction, I don’t want to miss out on any games, but don’t want to have to deal with people at the moment. So it just looks like I’m being a miserable unsociable so and so.

We go into today’s game six points and three places behind Tranmere Rovers. They are on a terrible run of losses at the moment, so with our history of playing teams in that situation, it doesn’t bode well. But we really do need a win, as apart from bottom of the table Harrogate Town, we have played more games than any side in the bottom half of the table, and we are only five points above the relegation places.

Once off the train at Birkenhead Central there was some time to wander around Birkenhead taking photos. Some very nice buildings, but a lot of looking up is required.

There were charity shops to be looked in and there were a couple of nice items. A history of Bootle FC, who were a founder member of Division 2, but didn’t survive after that first season. And issue 2 of the Blizzard, something to read on the way home.

At Prenton Park, there’s a nice touch next to the away turnstiles.

There are memorials, statues, blue plaques (see earlier), and decent gates. It’s my first time here and I like it a lot (apart from the apparent lack of scoreboard anywhere I could see).

The club shop didn’t have pens, but had a couple of fridge magnets, so, swings and roundabouts.

They do a decent enough programme still. It’s a double issue to include the Tuesday night fixture as well.

And as if to remind me of my week, there’s an Italian restaurant opposite the ground, Venetian rather than Florentine though.

There was a steward giving out team sheets at the turnstile on the way in, and a drink token as promised at the forum on Thursday.

Speaking of teams, Geraldo Bajrami, Akin Odimayo, and Louie Copley start, Ade Adeyemo returns to the bench and Justin Ferizaj is there as well. (I realise now, as I wasn’t at the game on Tuesday, I’m only comparing to the Crewe game.)

We are in our third, all black kit, playing against the all-white of Tranmere. And we do the twatish thing of changing ends before the kick-off.

Tranmere win an early corner, which we clear, and I’m glad to see we are still going with having three up on the halfway line when the corners are taken. Tranmere attack again and a player is given far too much time to twinkle toe his way through the fairly static defence, and they get a shot in, which Jacob Chapman saves well, but there is a Tranmere player to the rebound first and they put the ball in the net. Chapman is furious, and the ref wanders over to chat with the linesman and after a discussion, the lino’s flag goes up and it’s ruled out. Difficult to tell from our end but may have got away with one there.

We have an attack, down the right and Kellen Gordon’s cross is headed behind for a corner, and the ref is giving Ronan Darcy a talking to before it is taken, after he was taken out in the build-up, and he’s obviously said something to the ref. The corner comes in and is blatantly cleared with a hand which is ignored by the ref, and when the ball comes back in Adin Odimayo is offside. Darcy and Gordon combine well down the right and a Gordon cross is blocked for a throw. Josh Flint comes over to take the throw; it bounces around in the box before falling to Klaidi Lolos and his shot is blocked. Tranmere break quickly and we didn’t learn from the earlier let off as they let twinkle toes loose in the box again and this time his initial shot beats Chapman and we trail 0-1. Jay Williams is moaning at the ref that he was fouled in the build-up, but that was never going to wash.

Again we work it down the right and a Gordon cross fizzes into the box and is just over Danilo Orsi’s head and cleared. Harry Forster is fouled on the left-wing level with the edge of the box. Darcy takes it deep and Flint heads it back into the middle, but it is cleared for a throw, which Flint takes and it is cleared.

We win a corner on the left and it is taken deep and half cleared, and Flint picks it up on the right and cuts into the box and gets a shot in which is saved by the keeper for a corner. Which is taken deep and goes out for a throw. Again we attack, this time down the left and Forster gets a cross blocked for a corner, taken deep and put out for another corner on the other side. This sees a couple of headers in the box, before it’s put back out for another corner on the original side. That’s taken short and an Odimayo shot is blocked and cleared.

There is a Tranmere player down injured on halfway. They just look more dangerous than us when going forward. Pacy attacks and decent final balls in. They come down the left and the cross in isn’t really dealt with and the shot crashes up off the bar. Another let off there.

Lolos wins the ball in midfield and gets it to Orsi, and he plays a great ball through the middle to Darcy who is in one on one on the goalkeeper, but his shot is saved by the keeper’s feet. Another gilt-edged chance squandered. Williams gets the ball in midfield and plays it to Orsi on the right and he cuts into the box but seems hesitant to shoot and instead passes it, but it is intercepted and cleared.

Meanwhile Chapman is getting booed every time he gets the ball, which I assume is to do with the goal which was disallowed early on. A deep Tranmere cross is headed clear and then put back in, and both times the Tranmere players and fans are screaming for penalties to be given. And Louie Copley is down in midfield getting treatment. When he’s back up, Tranmere have a free kick which they put into the box, then back into the middle and we knock it onto the roof of the net. The corner is headed out for another, which is put out for a goal kick.

Copley is pulled back in midfield and there is a yellow card for the Tranmere player. This ref obviously didn’t get the memo on only being able to book Crawley players. A long throw on the right wing and bounces around in the box and come to Darcy and he slices his shot onto the roof of the net. Forster gets into the box and to the byline and gets a cross in which is cleared and there is a quick break. There is a tussle in the box, and the Tranmere player goes down behind Geraldo Bajrami, and the ref points to the spot. Again it’s a surprise there’s no card if he was the last man. Chapman is sent the wrong way and we trail 0-2.

There are four added minutes, and we are nearly undone by another quick break, but Odimayo gets back to block the shot. All through the first half Orsi and the Tranmere number five had been battling each other. There’s been a lot of shirt pulling, and retaliatory shoves, and the ref now talks to both of them before the half time whistle goes with us trailing 0-2.

At the break we replace Copley with a debut for Justin Ferizaj. An early clearance from Chapman manages to clear the Johnny King stand for the only ball loss of the day. Then we are lucky that Bajrami doesn’t give away another penalty, he probably just about let go of the shirt of the Tranmere striker in time, and we clear. Flint takes a throw on the right, but doesn’t go long, it’s played back to him, and he gets into the box, riding a couple of challenges, but he can’t get a cross at the end of it.

But we do get a couple of crosses in from either side of the pitch, but Tranmere clear them and then break quickly (have I said that before?) and have a shot which goes just over the bar. They attack again and it is Orsi back in his own box who clears it for a corner. We clear and go to break down the left and Forster is wiped out before halfway and there is a yellow card for the challenge.

Flint and Forster combine down the left and the latter’s cross sees a Darcy attempt spin over to Orsi who attempts an overhead kick which is cleared. A Flint long throw is put out for a corner. It is half cleared and falls to Forster, who fluffs his attempted shot and Tranmere clear. Darcy wins a free kick in the attacking half, but the ref is giving Gordon a talking to (again it looks like something he said after being bundled off the pitch before the free kick was given). The free kick is taken deep and headed back into the middle but cleared.

A Tranmere player is down getting treatment, and we win a corner from a blocked Gordon cross, but it is easily cleared. And we make some substitutions with Lolos and Odimayo being replaced by Ade Adeyemo and Charlie Barker. And Adeyemo’s first action is winning a corner. Taken into the middle of the box and easily cleared again. We are trying to get crosses into the box, but they are being cleared, and Gordon has been caught offside a couple of times. And we make another sub with Forster being replaced by Dion Pereira.

A long ball out from the back by Barker is put out for a corner. And surprise surprise, it’s cleared. We work a shooting opportunity but Darcy’s effort from outside the box goes over. Down the right Darcy passes to Adeyemo and then onto Ferizaj and his cross is put out for a corner. It is flicked on and Ferizaj’s shot goes wide. Another Tranmere player is down needing treatment. A quick Tranmere attack down the right wins a corner, and we clear and Gordon is fouled as we come out and he then takes a quick free kick straight at the non-retreating Tranmere player and there is a yellow card for the Tranmere player.

Then for the first time since the new rule was introduced at the start of the season, we see a referee give a corner for a goalkeeper holding the ball for more than eight seconds. It is against Tranmere, and it didn’t seem overly long compared with some we’ve seen not given this season. But they haven’t quietly dropped it then. As if in surprise, we waste the corner.

We are trying to press forward, and Flint gives the ball away, and Tranmere attempt a shot from their own half, but it goes wide. There are seven added minutes. A cross into the Tranmere box is cleared for a corner. We keep it in there and a ball is hacked off the line and then out for a goal kick.

A free kick is put into the box and cleared, a Darcy shot is well saved and Adeyemo gets it on the left and puts it back in and Ferizaj’s shot goes over. Then the Tranmere goalkeeper is booked for timewasting. Apparently, it was a different memo this ref got about which team there was a quota for. We are still trying (very fucking trying some may say), and get a ball to Pereira, and his shot from the edge of the area is tipped onto the bar and goes out for a corner. It comes in and a shot is blocked and the final whistle goes on a 0-2 defeat.

The away support were restless at the final whistle as the players came over in dribs and drabs, and the stewards had to intervene when some of the player’s families took issue with what was being chanted. Which is not a good place to be.

The crowd was announced as being 5,739 with there being 181 away fans to have made the trip up to Merseyside.

In other games there was a Shrewsbury Town draw, and a Barrow win which means we slip to twenty-second in the league, and with a Harrogate Town draw it means we are now only four points above the relegation places.

Then there is the journey home, and of course, as Avanti West Coast are involved it’s a fucking shit show, all London trains out of Liverpool Lime Street are cancelled, with the advice of get to Crewe and try and get a train to London from there. So if I’m home before midnight it will be a fucking miracle.

Quiz Time – Being away for a week means I am struggling to find a decent question, but with me moaning about missing the Tuesday night game (the first league game missed this season), what was the last Crawley league game I missed before Cambridge? (It was away in March.)

Next up is another away game, against MK Dons on Tuesday night, a repeat of our last game there would be dreamland for us. Here’s to dreams. Come on you reds.

U Can Be Happy If I U Want To

Yes, it’s tenuous link time. As you will see, I am going to mention today’s opposition’s sponsors, and as they make porridge oats, here is a track from Porridge Radio’s 2022 album “Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky”. And there isn’t a typo in the title, that is how it is written on the album. And it could apply to lots of professional miseries on the forum.

Quiz Time answer – The last time we kept clean sheets in three consecutive games was in February 2024, when we also did it in the space of eight days with one game being at home and the other two away. Which three sides did we keep those three clean sheets against? Forest Green Rovers at home, then away at AFC Wimbledon and Accrington Stanley.

Deadline day came and went, no more incomings, but some outgoings. Harvey Davies and Kaheim Dixon were both recalled from loan by their parent clubs, and Jack Roles’ contract was terminated by mutual consent, so he will be free to sign for anyone now. It’s a shame he’s going as he’s one of those who gave his all and was always willing to stop and chat with fans at any time. I hope he finds a decent club and does well. Then the day after Ben Radcliffe went out on loan to Gateshead, where he will be playing for former boss Rob Elliot. And a couple of days after that it would appear we have recalled Anthony Papadopoulos back from his loan at Maidstone United.

And after abandoning the concept for December, player of the month is back for January with three of the new signings – Jacob Chapman, Theo Vassell, and Taylor Richards, joining recent captain Jay Williams on the shortlist released yesterday.

I don’t know how I haven’t seen it until this week, but I did see a clip of an Estonian team managing to score an own goal after fourteen seconds after passing it backwards six times from the kick off (from 2017). At least we haven’t managed that yet. The Latvian national team managed a fourteen second own goal in 2024, but at least that was after the opposition (Liechtenstein) had booted it down their end from the kick off before they fannyed about with it at the back.

Anyway, today’s opposition are Crewe Alexandra. There must have been something about Cheshire sides having their suffix names named for female members of the royal family, with Crewe Alexandra and Northwich Victoria. And Crewe had another side with the suffix of Britannia. I’m not convinced their fans will be happy with the early kick off, as it’s a trek to get here for a lunchtime kick off.

This will be our twenty-third game against Crewe Alexandra. And our record against Crewe Alexandra is not particularly good, in the twenty-two games we have only won four, drawn five, and lost thirteen. The away record makes even worse reading, with two victories, three draws and five defeats. But there was the all-important win on neutral ground when we won the playoff final at Wembley against them two years ago.

I only have the same cards from the 1991-92 Proset I used in the Cheshire Connections piece I did as a prequel to the away game (Mark Gardiner and Phil Clarkson).

And since then nothing until this year’s Panini collection.

There is a bit about their badge, and it’s nineties update in the Beautiful Badge book.

In the away piece I mentioned their stadium being called the Mornflake stadium and that it sounded like a naff own brand label Aldi or Lidl would use, or someone has tried to mash up muesli and cornflakes and that it turned out to be porridge oats. Despite this, somehow it is only this week that I have been noticing this in the cereal cupboard at home, as if it’s only needling at my mind because we are playing Crewe this week. And I didn’t have it for breakfast.

In our line up we have one former Crewe player in the shape of Harry McKirdy, and they have our former player Jack Powell as their squad’s vice-captain. Others to have played for both include Lee Barnard, Anthony Grant, Travis Johnson, Mathias Pogba, Scott Shearer, Nicky Ajose, Simon Walton, Chris Atkinson, Andrew Bond, Shaun Miller, Dean Morgan, and Daniel Powell

There are a few programmes in the collection, from an early away one in our first season in the league, through to the monthly magazine Crewe have been doing for a few years, which covered the game away against them earlier in the season. And of course the Wembley one. Where it is interesting to note at the bottom of the cover, “Every Minute Matters,” which fits nicely with the kick off theme this afternoon.

It is a 12.31 kick off, so it has been altered twice, once by FSS who, for once failed to mess up my plans and have actually helped us as the early kick off gives us extra time to get to the airport for six days in Florence. The minute later is from the EFL as all games are due to kick off a minute later to highlight the difference CPR can make in that first minute.

And the pitch has had extra protection this week as the same dome FSS gave to Cheltenham to keep the frost off just after new year has been in use to keep the persistent rain off the pitch all week.

We go into the game in twentieth, a place lower than we finished last weekend, as Bristol Rovers won their game in hand in midweek. Our opponents are ten places and eighteen points ahead of us in the table. And with seven from the last nine available points we have caught back up with the points trajectory of 2022-23, and any points in the next four games will put us ahead of that trajectory for the first time since the draw away at Gillingham.

Pre match means getting to the ground ridiculously early to hover around others as they sell programmes. This one is a double header covering today’s game, and Tuesday night’s rearranged one against Cambridge United. They’re only two quid, full of content, not adverts like most, and also contain some condensed versions of my previous match reports.

It is very soggy out; the front garden is a bigger pond than the postponed ones against Charlton Athletic and MK Dons. And the apron of the pitch is very soggy.

There are two changes in the starting lineup, with Klaidi Lolos returning from suspension and Harry McKirdy starting, with Taylor Richards dropping to the bench and Max Anderson out through injury.

A reasonable turn out of away fans considering the early kick off and distance. We are in our all red with white trim home kit and Crewe are in all black with a green pattern on the front of their shirts.

An early long ball is nodded down to Ronan Darcy and his shot from distance goes just over. It looks as if the wind may be a factor as the ball is getting blown all over the place.

We give away an unnecessary corner, getting closed down whilst passing it around at the back. It’s taken short and crossed in and Jacob Chapman just about flaps it away. A Crewe free kick on the right comes in, the ref blows for a foul before they put it into the net. And almost straight away another Crewe shot comes in and is comfortably saved by Chapman. The Crewe players are throwing themselves to the ground at the slightest hint of contact, and the ref is buying it most of the time.

A Jonny Russell long throw on the right is flicked on by Josh Flint but cleared and Crewe break and have a shot easily saved by Chapman. Another Russell throw is flicked on by Flint again, half cleared and worked back to Klaidi Lolos who has a shot on the turn from twenty-five yards which goes over the bar.

A long Crewe free kick is nodded down and a shot from the edge of the area is another easy save for Chapman. Crewe attack again down the right, cut into the box and a shot hits the side netting after a foul in the build-up wasn’t given.

We attack down the left and get the ball into Lolos he plays it across to Kellen Gordon on the right and his cross is headed behind for a corner. It’s curled in by Russell but lands on the roof of the net.

Perhaps I’m going deaf, but TAFKAL sounds a bit muted today. Russell is down for a second time and is getting treatment this time. Crewe get a corner and take it out to the edge of the box and a shot flies over the Eden Utilities Stand for ball loss number one of the day.

A long ball down the left is won by Harry McKirdy, he plays it across the box to Gordon on right and then onto Darcy and his attempted clip over the top to McKirdy is too strong.

Crewe are looking the more dangerous going forward and are pressing well and get a corner which is taken deep, headed back and a shot goes just wide. We almost gift Crewe a chance as a Charlie Barker ball across the box is cut out but the shot is saved and we smuggle it out for a throw. Crewe keep the ball and only a blatant hand ball to push it away from Jay Williams’ head gives us a free kick and possession. But seriously, how isn’t that a yellow card?

We break and a McKirdy shot is blocked, it comes back in and gets to the edge of the area and a Williams’ sliding effort is blocked and cleared. Gordon gets a yellow for a pull back on midfield which seems to have turned the volume up on TAFKAL. The free kick comes to nothing. There are two added minutes before the half time whistle goes with the scores level 0-0.

We make a substitution at half time with Russell being replaced by Lewis Richards.

Into the second half and Crewe are still pressing really well and we are getting no time on the ball and there are quite a few misplaced passes, but we break and there is a misplaced Crewe pass to Richards and his shot from the edge of the box is well saved for a corner. It’s taken low to the near post and cleared.

We’re working it well now. A long ball down the right finds Gordon, he puts it across the box and Richards and Lolos combine, Lolos cuts inside and has a shot from the edge of the box which goes just wide.

A ball down the left gets to Richards and he plays it through to McKirdy in the box, he beats a man and goes a bit wide but gets a shot off which is parried by the keeper and Danilo Orsi bundles it in and the celebrating starts, but the lino has his flag up for offside. Not sure how he worked that one out. (Apparently, the ref ruled it out for a handball by Orsi.)

Crewe have a couple of free kicks in the attacking half, both of which are borderline at best. They are both taken deep and go for goal kicks. Flint rampages down the left, exchanges passes with Richards and his cross is blocked but comes to Orsi and his shot is saved.

A Crewe break is stopped by Lolos and McKirdy and we get it forward to Darcy, but he can’t quite get it under control. It’s not really working for him at all today. And then he picks up a booking for stopping a Crewe break.

Another Crewe break down the left sees a cross in which is met by a striker near the penalty spot and the shot beats Chapman’s despairing dive and we trail 0-1. We make substitutions before the restart with Darcy and Gordon being replaced by Taylor Richards and Harry Forster.

Williams wins the ball in midfield and plays it to T Richards, then out to McKirdy who clips it into the box and Forster plays it back, but it is cleared for a corner. It’s taken deep and cleared. Crewe break down the right, and their cross is put behind for a corner. It’s played back to the edge of the area, and a shot takes a deflection for another corner. Taken deep and Crewe keep on left but cross goes out. A blatant foul on T Richards is ignored, and Crewe get a shot which goes over.

Another Flint run out of defence ends with him going down on the edge of the box. He made a meal of going down but we get the free kick. Lolos lines it up but hits the wall. L Richards crosses it, but ref blows for a free kick to Crewe.

There are four added minutes, there is a coming together in midfield and a Crewe player is down claiming to have been elbowed in the face by Williams. The Crewe bench gets involved and all that comes from it is wasted time. Crewe force a save from Chapman and it goes for a corner. Crewe just play keep ball in the corner and the final whistle goes on a 0-1 defeat.

Quiz Time – Crewe Alexandra were both founder members of Division 2 in 1892, and of Division 3 (N) in 1921, which other three teams were also involved in those first seasons of both Division 2 and Division 3 (N)? (Two were founder members of both, the other were moved to Division 3 (N) from Division 3 (S) where they’d played in the 1920-21 season.)

I’m off to Florence which means I am going to miss Tuesday night’s game against Cambridge United unless there is a lot more rain and the rearranged game is re-rearranged, and so I’m going to miss out on probably the only chance to do all forty-six games in a season. And it’s not the only thing I’m going to miss, as it’s been announced that the first fan forum under the new ownership structure is taking place on Thursday night. So, my next action is Tranmere Rovers away next Saturday.

Come on you reds.

The Boys Are Back In Town

With it being unlikely we will be signing any more players before the close of business on Monday, we have stuck at getting four of the promotion winning side back in this transfer window to add to those we already had, and so there is this 1976 number eight hit for Thin Lizzy. The last nod to the new signings as a title for this season.

Quiz Time Answer – Having gone old school with a question from an ancient quiz book I found in an antique shop in Walsall with the question – Who won the Welsh Cup to gain entry into the European Cup Winners Cup for the first time? It was a bit of a trick question, as it wasn’t that the club was winning the Welsh Cup for the first time – just the first time since the ECWC was founded, and they aren’t eligible for the Welsh Cup anymore. It was Wrexham.

Before the game I think most would have taken a point away from home against a team in the playoff places, yet, coming away from the game and the more I think about it, the more it feels as if the draw at Walsall was two points dropped. It was one of our best performances of the season, a second clean sheet on the trot, but we still can’t seem to convert the possession and chances made into goals.

I saw this random quiz question yesterday, “Between 1975 and 1988 which football club was managed, consecutively, by: Johnny, Ronnie, John, Ron, Ronnie, Ron, Johnny, Nobby, Ron, and Ron?” A coincidence seeing as the answer is West Bromwich Albion, and I visited the stadium before the Walsall game. The journey back from Walsall took me through Spaghetti Junction, so just before there, you get a decent view of the back of the main stand of Villa Park, but I resisted the temptation to mess with the Graveley Interchange to go there and just headed home.

After two aways games on the trot, we now move into a spell of three home games on the trot, first up are today’s visitors, Harrogate Town.

Harrogate is well known as being a spa town, but it turns out this is a lie, the few times I’ve been there I’ve never seen a Spar shop there, and so I checked and they don’t have a single Spar shop in the town at all, the closest is five miles away in Boroughbridge.

Back in Crawley I was trawling the charity shops, checked out the new St Catherine’s Hospice store, but no footballing gems to be found. I did find a copy of this though, but I knew I already had it at home.

The maps in here are reproductions of Thomas Moule’s maps done between 1830 and 1842, and most were updated for the book he produced in the latter year, as can be seen by the fact the county map for our opponents today (the West Riding of Yorkshire) has railways on the map, which an 1830 version would not.

It is also interesting (well to me anyway) that the spelling of Harrogate on the map is not the current spelling we use, but it has a W in it, so it reads as Harrowgate.

Another thing about wandering the Crawley charity shops is just what randomness you might find. I doubt the annual would get away with that name nowadays, and

With Harrogate only being in the league since 2020 there are no cards of any description, but they do appear in this year’s Panini album.

There is just one previous programme to show for them, plus their monthly magazine that they moved to from the start of this season.

Being a recent addition to the football league there was no mention of their club badge in the badge book. It could also be because it is nearly as new a badge as their league status, only coming into being in 2017, having the name of the club, the year formed, their initials and the white rose of Yorkshire on it.

Their previous badge was much more interesting but was taken pretty much straight from the town arms.

After me mentioning the Crawley badge a few games ago, Mick Fox sent me a photo of some older Crawley badges, taken from a kit and a director’s blazer. A little bit different from the current badge.

Our record against Harrogate is quite good, we have played nine, won five, drawn three and lost just the one, this includes the first of our only two away wins this season back in early September. At home it is slightly worse, with two wins, a draw, and a loss. Their manager, Simon Weaver is the current longest serving manager of any league club, having been their manager since 2009, when Harrogate were in the Conference North – although I suppose it always helps when you are the son of the club’s owner.

Jay Williams, Lewis Richards, and Danilo Orsi all used to play for Harrogate, none of the Harrogate squad used to play for us, but others to have played for both include Tom Eastman, Tyler Frost, Owen Gallacher, Mitch Hancox, and George Smith.

Going into the game, Harrogate sit bottom of the table, so four places behind us, and five points beneath us. It really is a must win game for us, as to lose to bottom of the table would drag us right back into the relegation dogfight, and we need the points as the other three sides beneath us (but above Harrogate) have a game in hand on us.

I was at the ground early, straight from writing group where I wrote something non-football related for the first time in a couple of months. The programmes for this game were doing brisk business, including selling five to Danilo Orsi’s mum. Well, why not, after all he is on the cover of this issue.

Unless I’m mistaken (a common occurrence) we have the same starting eleven and bench as for the Walsall game on Tuesday night.

We are in our usual all red with white trim home kit and Harrogate Town are in an all-teal kit, though the shirts have some thin black line patterning across the front and bright orange necks.

From the kick off it doesn’t take long for Josh Flint to get flattened. The free kick is taken long and put out for a throw. Jonny Russell comes over to take, and it goes short to Kellen Gordon, and his cross is deflected behind for a corner, which is taken deep and the attempt to head it back across the goal is unsuccessful. Gordon is fouled on the right wing, the free kick is cleared to the left and put back in, but it is just too long for Ronan Darcy to get on the end of.

We break down the left and Danilo Orsi plays it on to Darcy and he’s tackled for a corner, there is a scramble in the box and the ball comes out to Taylor Richards and he puts it back across to Darcy and his shot is deflected wide for a corner which is taken deep and goes for a goal kick.

Harrogate mount their first serious attack and win a free kick on the right wing; the ball comes into the box and a flicked shot lands on the roof of the net. They get it back and attempt a shot from their own half as Jacob Chapman was quite a way out of his goal, but the shot drifts well wide.

Charlie Barker slips and loses the ball and he gets a yellow card for bringing the attacker down. A deserved booking, but one you’d take rather than having the opposition with a free run in on goal. The free kick gets flicked on and a shot from close range is well saved by Chapman. Harrogate keep it and play it back into the box and a header at the back post is collected by Chapman. A Harrogate player is down on halfway getting treatment.

When play restarts there is a Russell long throw on the left, it is headed back to him and his cross is caught by the keeper under both the crossbar, and pressure. And then Russell shapes to do another long throw but takes it short to Gordon, he plays it across the pitch to Darcy who comes back inside looking for the shot, when it comes it takes a deflection and is blocked and it falls to Max Anderson in the box and he rifles a shot into the net and we lead 1-0.

Jay Williams gets caught by a stray high boot in the stomach, and the Harrogate player gets a talking to, but there is no card, you can guarantee there would have been one if it had been a Crawley player making the same tackle. The Harrogate keeper is down injured, and for once it isn’t a tactical injury, it is genuine as he gets substituted off, and is replaced by Henry Gray, an appropriately named keeper considering the keeper kit colour for Harrogate this afternoon.

We have a prolonged period of possession, and the ball eventually comes out to the right wing, Richards and Gordon combine well and Richards gets into the middle and tries to put a ball over the defence into Russell coming in from the left wing, but it is just too strong. At the other end, a Harrogate player is lying on the ball and Barker kicks the ball; the ref blows for a free kick to Harrogate and after a few seconds holding my breath, I’m relieved not to see a second yellow coming out. From the free kick Harrogate work a shot which is blocked, and they have a second shot, also blocked before we clear.

Another Russell long throw on the left is headed back to him and put back into the box and cleared. Some great work down the right follows as Richards, Williams, and Gordon combine and Gordon is into the box a fizzes a ball across the six-yard box, which Orsi can’t quite get to, and is just behind Darcy as it goes out for a throw on the other side of the pitch.

Harrogate have some sustained possession in the final third of the pitch, and a cross comes in which Chapman blocks away and we scramble it clear. We come down the left and a Russell cross goes deep, and it’s headed back by Richards, but Orsi can’t quite get on the end of it.

There are four added minutes at the end of the half. We have a free kick on the right wing, but Russell’s ball is too deep, and it goes out for a goal kick. Harrogate go up the other end and get a ball into the box after a blatant handball in the build-up, and there is a mad scramble in the area before we somehow just about hack it away and the half time whistle goes with us leading 1-0.

We make a substitution at half time, with the goal scorer Anderson being replaced by Geraldo Bajrami for the second half.

Which we don’t start too well. A decent Harrogate attack only comes to nothing as an offside flag goes up. Williams picks up a yellow card for a bit of a lunging tackle in midfield (probably deserved). The free kick in headed down and a shot goes wide.

Another Russell throw is lined up, and again it goes short to Gordon, he plays it back to Russell and it is swung in, but Harrogate clear and break down the right and Russell blocks the attempted cross and the ball goes over the KRL Logistics stand for ball loss one of the day and a corner. It’s taken short and worked into the box far too easily, it is half cleared, then put back in and a shot is well saved by Chapman for another corner. It comes in, goes back out, a cross is blocked for a throw, and a then a deep cross is put behind for another corner, which is cleared. It is some sustained pressure from Harrogate and is released by a ball out to the left, Darcy picks it up and drives forward into the box and wins a corner. That bounces across the six-yard box and a shot attempt beyond the far post goes wide.

Yet another Russell long throw attempt on the right is cleared. Flint is taken out by a sliding tackle a couple of seconds after the ball has gone, and the Harrogate player gets a talking to, but there is no yellow card, another absolute fucking joke of a decision.

After a Harrogate corner is dealt with, Barker puts a long ball down the right wing and Gordon gets to the byline and crosses it in and Richards’ header goes over the bar. Then coming out from the back again, Bajrami plays it to Flint who charges forward, exchanges passes to get into the box and has a stinging shot well saved for a corner. But he is not to be denied and when the corner comes in, he gets his head to it to put it in for a 2-0 lead.

Before the restart we make a couple more substitutions with Russell and Richards coming off to be replaced by Harry McKirdy and the other Richards – Lewis, at least there is only one Richards on the pitch for me to deal with. There is more decent work down the right and Darcy puts a cross over which reaches Richards on the left, and he puts in a low cross which is deflected behind for a corner. It is taken deep and Barker gets a retrieving header on it, and McKirdy tries a flicked shot which lands on the roof of the net.

The subs continue, with Gordon being replaced by Harry Forster. Harrogate win a corner and it is headed clear and Richards brings it all the way down the left and into the other box before being stopped. Harrogate get it straight up the other end and win a free kick on the left wing in line with the edge of the area. It is punched clear by Chapman and a ball out of defence sees the Harrogate keeper a long way out of his goal to beat the onrushing McKirdy to the ball on the edge of the centre circle.

A Harrogate defender does a suplex move on Orsi in midfield, and although the ref has been letting a lot of holding and blocking go without punishment (more than the fare share by us), how that isn’t a free kick is anyone’s guess. But Orsi gets back up, wins the ball back and plays it to McKirdy on the right and he puts a cross into the box, but we have no one there, and no one within thirty yards of the goal line apart from McKirdy himself.

We come again down the right and Forster beats a man and then plays a decent ball into Orsi in the box and his shot is saved. Flint plays a splendid ball out from the back straight into McKirdy’s path in the penalty area, but he is tackled and the ball goes out for a throw. Richards lines up the long throw this time, but it is cleared.

And we make our final substitution with Williams being replaced by Dion Pereira. Forster win a corner on the right, it comes in and Theo Vassell gets his head on it, and it goes straight up in the air and a shot goes wide.

There are four added minutes at the end of the second half as well. A ball out of defence is controlled by Orsi, and he plays it on to Darcy and he puts it into McKirdy, he cuts back inside and has a shot deflected for a corner. Bajrami wins the header when it comes in and Flint has a shot which goes nowhere, Harrogate clear and the ref blows the full-time whistle on a 2-0 win.

The crowd is announced as 3,326 with 130 (or 113 depending on who is interpreting the muffled tannoy message) away fans making the long journey down from Harrogate. The sponsors’ man of the match was announced as Jay Williams.

The win sees us go up a place in the league over Barrow, although they have two games in hand on us. Below us, Bristol Rovers beat Newport County in the battle of the Severn Estuary, and Shrewsbury Town drew. It means we are now six points (and a healthy goal difference) clear of the two relegation places, the best breathing space we have had in months, although three of the sides below Barrow have a game in hand on us as well.

It’s a first home win in eleven games for us, and the first time in nearly two years that we have kept clean sheets in three consecutive games. Long may that continue. Although, as far as I can tell, we have never kept four consecutive clean sheets in the Football League. (I’m sure someone will correct that.)

Back to a nice normal routine as well, with a post-match curry at the Downsman tasting good, and after a dreadful start to the new year, seven points from nine at the end of January is a definite improvement.

Quiz Time – I nearly forgot this in all the excitement of another win and another clean sheet. The last time we kept clean sheets in three consecutive games was in February 2024, when we also did it in the space of eight days with one game being at home and the other two away. Which three sides did we keep those three clean sheets against?

Next up is another home game, this one against Crewe Alexandra next Saturday at the earlier kick off of 12:31, courtesy of FSS, but they have failed in their lifelong mission to fuck up my plans, as the early kick actually helps me for a change, but a minute later than originally planned as the EFL advertise that it takes a minute for CPR.

Come on you reds.

Broken Finger Blues

This 2012 track was by Richard Swift (formerly of The Shins and The Arcs) – a nod to the badge and former name of our opponents today, deliberately avoiding the obvious Swift choice, as it wasn’t tailor made for me. It wasn’t a hit or on an album, just out there, but it got a bit of traction with his death in 2018, and although uncredited it is definitely the basis for Lady Wray’s 2022 single “Where Were You”.

Quiz Time Answer – When Barrow won the National League in 2020 to return to the Football League, which other northern side were promoted with them for their first time in the Football League? It was the only other team we’ve beaten away this season – Harrogate Town.

I have made my way down to Walsall from Morecambe after the Barrow win on Saturday. I’m sure the Football League Paper hates Crawley. They led with the Barrow manager’s post-match comments, virtually ignoring Scott Lindsey’s, and again there has been absolutely nothing about any of our signings. We have signed more players than anyone else over the last three weeks and there hasn’t been even a mention in passing, let alone a little article in any of the last three issues of the paper, yet they have had articles about the signings Harrogate, Newport, Shrewsbury, and Barrow have made.

One thing I did notice is how similar the bottom eight in League Two are compared with the bottom eight in the League Two recent form as well, with seven of the eight being the same teams, the only discrepancy being Newport County aren’t in the bottom eight in the form (tenth from bottom), and Fleetwood Town are (they are tenth from bottom in the league).

Sunday and Monday saw me trawling second hand places as a way to pass the time, Sunday was at the Old Pier Bookshop in Morecambe, which is just a treasure trove and nooks and crannies with books piled on shelves from floor to ceiling in a seemingly unhinged manner, yet the proprietor knows where everything is. I was hurried along in there by mother hovering, which was probably a good thing.

And on Monday I found this place whilst wandering the streets of Walsall taking photos. What a place, I only skimmed through the books, it was all I had time for before they were shepherding me out of the shop at five, and I was paying for books when I noticed the records. There was the temptation to go back and camp in there all day today, but I went elsewhere.

The haul of books (the ones below are just the football related ones I picked up) was hefty and is exactly the reason why I should not be allowed out unsupervised with money in my pocket. I’m supposed to be reducing the stock of books at home, not expanding it.

Most of the usual Walsall related preamble is all in the separate piece I did, as I got a bit carried away. The link is below.

You would have thought with it being a quick turnaround between games and as we had already signed twelve players that the transfer action would be outgoings this week, but no, last night number thirteen came onboard. Justin Ferizaj, who we’ve signed from Bray Wanderers in Ireland, and who represented them at all youth levels up to under 19s but is also eligible to play for Albania. He is a midfielder and has been signed on a two-and-a-half-year contract, and only turning twenty-one two weeks ago, doesn’t count towards squad numbers. (But I wonder what ridiculousness he’ll have as a squad number?)

And today I had a day off from driving and went in search of football grounds by public transport. First a bus into Wolverhampton city centre once the rain had stopped around ten this morning. It isn’t very far to get outside the city ring road and be at Molineux, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Four large named stands, three statues, and set out so it is possible to walk all the way around the outside to get photos from every angle. And with the corners not being filled in all the way around, you can see into the stands as well.

The club shop was perfectly adequate, pens, and a three pack of fridge magnets, so very happy with that.

There was some wandering around the centre of Wolverhampton as well, another place I’ve not been to before, and another packed full of grand and interesting buildings.

And plenty of blue plaques to feed another of the seemingly endless stream of obsessive behaviours.

Then it was to the train station for a journey to the next stadium of the day. Now, one of the stands at Molineux is named after Steve Bull, and it just so happens that one of the stops on the way to the next ground was Tipton.

There is a change at Smethwick Galton Bridge, where a change of trains means upstairs to another line at a right angle to the first. And from the platform you can see the old bridge, late Georgian engineering at its finest.

It was one stop to the next stadium, The Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion, and the Football League stadium which is highest above sea level of them all. It has been their home for 125 years now but is much altered. You can’t get all the way around it on non-match days, and all the corners have been filled in to such an extent it’s probably watertight if the stadium was filled with water.

They had the same create your own fridge magnet machine Barrow had on Saturday, and pencils only. And the staff were miserable, unfriendly beasts, a direct opposite to the ones at Molineux.

The ground seems very sterile, but then there are touches which shows otherwise, such as the garden of remembrance in the corner of the car park.

And the Jeff Astle gates.

What amused me was across the road diagonally from the ground was the West Bromwich Allied Bakeries, and on the other corner opposite both god damn Greggs had gotten in there.

I did consider Villa Park, but decided that was cramming too much in, and so headed back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before wandering to the Bescot (sorry Pallet-Track) for the game. On the way back when changing at Smethwick Galton Bridge I noticed what the station was for trains on platform one. Unfortunately, it’s not the one in Crawley, a shame, how much easier would that make journeys up here?

Quiz Time – I’m going old school with a question from this ancient book I found in one of the shops I’ve mentioned at the start of the piece. Who won the Welsh Cup to gain entry into the European Cup Winners Cup for the first time?

Next up is the home fixture against the team we gained our first away win of the season against, back in the autumn when it was still warm – Harrogate Town.

Come on you reds.

99 Problems

With the returning Danilo Orsi having the number 99 as his squad number, I resisted exactly one game before using this 2004 single release by Jay-Z from his Black Album which reached number 12 in the UK singles chart. Here’s hoping that Orsi can cause a hell of a lot more than ninety-nine problems, and more importantly convert a fair few of them into goals.

And the old boy reunion hasn’t stopped as the rumoured loan signing of Ronan Darcy has materialised, and he rejoins us for the rest of the season. That wasn’t the end of the signings as we made it a full dozen yesterday with the loan signing of goalkeeper Jacob Chapman from Huddersfield Town, which might suggest Harvey Davies will be going back to Liverpool.

Meanwhile, there have been sales. Kabongo Tshimanga has been sold to Barnet. I think he’s been very unfairly maligned by parts of our fan base. Yes, he started slowly, and his first goal for us looked more a case of by accident than on purpose, but in what limited game time he got he never gave up, chased a lot of lost causes, had next to no services, and was our top scorer, and had another couple of great strikes ruled out for marginal offsides. I don’t understand why he didn’t get more game time, especially over say, Ryan Loft. And speaking of strikers who haven’t had the best opportunities this season, Tola Showumni has gone back to the American club we signed him from, and apparently has been in the US since November, which would explain his lack of even bench time.

Quiz Time Answer – Before they took on their now traditional black and white striped shirts, what colours did Notts County used to wear (and that they returned to for one season in 1934-35)? Chocolate & Blue.

After the ultimately disappointing loss at home to Notts County last weekend, it’s the longest away trip of the season for the game at Barrow.

I started travelling north for this game on Thursday morning. I split the journey up as it’s further than the trip to Cheltenham at new year, and that was my longest solo drive ever, so this smashes that. I stopped at Stafford Thursday night and took the time to do a Retro Kev piece covering Cumbria, me, CTFC, and other football, with a bit of cricket thrown in.

Then it was up to Morecambe on Friday to stay at my mum’s. Then over to Barrow this morning. Back to Morecambe after the game, and then travel down to Walsall on Monday, stay a couple of nights (quite near the ground, I saw both the Bescot and the hotel from the M5 on the drive up, whilst bizarrely being overtaken by an Oxford United minibus which was empty apart from the driver), and then home Wednesday morning.

When I wrote the home game piece I said “There are no old football cards with Barrow players on, they were perennial lower league dwellers before their failure to be re-elected in 1972, and they came back too late for the nineties revival”, however further searching has proved me wrong, and they did have a couple of cards in the 1966-67 A&BC set (the last year to have black and white photos).

And of course they are in this year’s Panini album, and there is a full set of them in my collection.

Their badge did not appear in the beautiful badge book, which I’m surprised about as it an interesting one. It references the submarine works at Barrow; it has the Lancashire red rose on it from when Barrow (and the whole of Furness) used to be in Lancashire before the move to Cumbria under the county reorganisations of 1974. Then there is the beet with the arrow through it (B-arrow).

It is based on the town’s coat of arms, with the bee and arrow taken from it, the submarine replaces the ship, and the rose and old football replacing the family arms of the Duke of Devonshire and the Duke of Buccleuch on it.

I have five programmes from games against them, including a couple of away game, such as the Easter Monday one from three years ago, but apart from the one from our home game against them in the last year we did programmes which has Dom Telford on the cover, I wasn’t able to find the rest of them, which means a trawl through all programmes when I get back from this road trip as it seems I can’t find anything I want to at the moment.

For the previous game there wasn’t any squad overlap, but since then we’ve signed Theo Vassell who has played for Barrow. In fact they were the last side he played for before we picked him up as a free agent in this transfer window. Others to play for both include Richard Brodie, Rory Feely, Mike Jones, Dom Telford, Jamie Proctor, Mazeed Ogungbo, Adi Yussuf, Danny Forrest, Andrew Bond, and Jon Shaw.

We’ve had nine encounters against Barrow in the football league, all in League Two, winning four, drawing one, and losing four. At Holker Street we have a win and three losses. We also played against them for three seasons in the Conference, winning two, drawing two, and losing two, with two draws and a loss at Holker Street, so it’s not a happy hunting ground for us.

When I was doing my Retro Kev piece a couple of nights ago,

I was using the 2003 non-league newsdesk annual to illustrate the lack of coherence in which leagues Cumbrian teams played. In that season Barrow and ourselves were both at level six in the pyramid structure, Barrow in the Northern Premier League and ourselves in the Southern League before they became badged as National League North and South.

And we go into today’s game three places and five points behind Barrow, who are one of the few teams whose current form is nearly as bad as ours. A loss today could not just see us drop a place into the relegation places, but there’s a chance of going bottom, as both sides beneath have home games, albeit against teams much higher up the table.

This morning there was a clear enough view across Morecambe Bay, Furness, and Barrow is over there somewhere.

It was a nice clear (if cold) day, so I got the train to Barrow, which meant a brief encounter with Carnforth station. Not that they make any mention of its use for the film.

The journey is one of the best in the country as it goes around Morecambe Bay with views into the mountains of the Lake District.

Coming out of Barrow train station there is a statue to a footballer just across the road. It is of former Liverpool and England (and Question of Sport) captain, Emlyn Hughes, who I wasn’t aware of being from Barrow.

In Barrow there was a chance to have a wander around. The shopping area is struggling, but there are plenty of great Victorian buildings around.

And a few charity shops to poke about in, found this wonderful book on Barrow AFC. It would be great to have something similar for Crawley.

Barrow have stopped programmes this season and moved to the monthly magazine model. It’s OK, if a little content light and advert heavy.

But their club shop does have a wonderful machine that enables you to create your own design of merch, which I did for a fridge magnet.

Since I last came here, they’ve put up a new temporary stand for the away fans, which I prefer to the corner behind the goal.

Unsurprisingly, more changes to the starting lineup, with the latest three signings all starting, so returns for Kellen Gordon and Ronan Darcy, and a first start for Jacob Chapman, with Harry Forster dropping to the bench, Harvey Davies out of the squad completely and Klaidi Lolos suspended (after an appeal against the red card last week was rejected).

We are in the all red with white trim kit, and Barrow are in white shirts with some kind of pattern on, blue shorts and white socks.

And we’re off. Barrow win an early corner which we clear easily. Jay Williams brings the ball out from midfield and plays it through to Ronan Darcy, back to Kellen Gordon and his cross is met by Louie Copley and his header is saved by the keeper and Barrow clear.

Barrow win another corner and it goes straight to Jacob Chapman (who was announced as Mackenzie by the Barrow announcer). He’s knocked down as he goes on clear. We had two players on the halfway line when the corner was taken. Something I’m more than happy to see. Barrow get into the box, but a good tackle clears it. A free kick in midfield on the left I’d put in deep, and Williams gets a free header, but puts it well wide. We win another free kick on the left edge of the box. Darcy takes a shot and it curls just wide.

There is a whole lot of nothing for quarter of an hour, then a quick throw finds Harry McKirdy in space about forty yards out and he tries a first time shot which goes well over. Barrow get a free kick on the left about thirty yards out, swung in low straight to an unmarked striker, but fortunately it’s a heavy touch straight out for a goal kick. Adin Odimayo is down injured and after treatment is subbed off, being replaced by Charlie Barker.

A Barrow throw on the left ends up with a cross in and a header in the middle of the six-yard box is tipped over the bar by Chapman for a corner. Taken to near post and headed clear by Williams. Barrow have a shot from thirty yards which goes wide. There are two added minutes, we get a free kick on the left, mid half. It’s taken deep. Too deep, straight out and the half time whistle goes with it being goalless.

At half time I lean over the side of the stand I’m sat in and look out of the ground to the north, the view is better than what has been on view in the other direction.

And I look down and the stewards aren’t paying much attention to their own no vaping rules.

Into the second half and Danilo Orsi wins the ball in midfield and plays it into McKirdy in the box, and he’s tackled and we get a corner. It’s headed out but played back into Orsi and his shot is blocked, it comes out to the left and Jonny Russell crosses, but it’s too deep and drifts out for a goal kick.

Gordon is flattened in midfield, but no foul is given, Barrow break and get the ball into the box, a shot is well saved by Chapman, and the rebound is turned in. It looks like it’s been given, but eventually we are given a free kick in the box, it doesn’t look like the lino had the flag up, so must have been a foul. Gordon is getting treatment as Barrow players surround the ref.

We get the ball into the box to Orsi, and he creates half a yard and gets a shot off which comes back off the post. He tries again on the other side but is tackled and Barrow clear.

The Barrow fans are booing Gordon’s every touch and when he is clattered again the ref reluctantly gives us a free kick. It is headed clear and we put it back in, but the offside flag is up.

Barrow win a corner after we give it away in our own half. We now have three players up at halfway as it is taken. It is cleared and Josh Flint wins a tackle, the Barrow player goes down as Flint comes away with it and is scythed down by another Barrow player with no intent on getting the ball, just in kicking Flint, and gets a booking for his troubles.

We break down the left and McKirdy beats a man and drives into the box and then smashes a cross which no one can get on the end of as it flies out for a throw. Barker is the next player to be hacked down as Barrow have changed tactics to kick the fuck out of us. The free kick is headed out of the box and Gordon shoots, but it is well over. A Russell long throw is headed out it falls to Gordon again and his shot goes wide this time. McKirdy is subbed off with Taylor Richards coming on to replace him.

Barrow attack down the right and put a deep cross in which is headed wide. And again they come only the header takes a deflection for a corner. It’s taken deep and flapped clear by Chapman, and we get a free kick. We give it away again, but Barrow’s shot is over the bar. Another attack and another corner for them, it’s taken deep and we clear. Time for another couple of subs with Copley and Gordon being replaced by Max Anderson and Harry Forster.

And Forster is involved straight away on the right, pinging a cross into the box which is headed clear for a throw. Russell heaves it into the box and it’s hacked clear. At the other end, a Chapman boot clear is caught by the wind and goes back out for a corner. From which there is a shot which goes just wide. Barrow get a free kick on the right corner of the penalty area but take it too deep and it goes for a goal kick.

Richards is just pushed over in midfield, no attempt to win the ball, we get a free kick, and the Barrow player gets a yellow card. The free kick comes into the box, but the flag is up for offside.

Forster wins a determined tackle in midfield and gets it to Richards, he cuts inside from the wing and curls a shot from thirty yards, and it hits the back of the net and we lead 1-0.

Absolute fucking scenes. Scott Lindsey runs down the sidelines to celebrate with the players; there are crutches being waved in the air.

Whilst that was going on the board went up for five added minutes. Anderson gets the ball in midfield and plays it to Orsi in the box and his shot is saved and hacked away.

Barrow get a free kick on the left about thirty-five yards out and load the box, it’s headed out to the left, comes back in and we concede a corner. Which we put out for another, and then a third which ends up in the hands of Chapman and the final whistle goes and we have won away 1-0.

It’s a bit fraught in the penalty area post final whistle, but Scott and the players make their way up to applaud the delighted fans who’ve seen only the second away win of the season after Harrogate. Can we have some more games over 250 miles away please?

On the train about to leave and Harry McKirdy gets on. A throwback to halcyon days when it was commonplace for players to travel with fans. I can certainly understand not wanting the six-hour coach journey back. And he happily spoke to fans and gives off a totally different persona to the one you see on the pitch.

The win sees us leapfrog Shrewsbury Town and Bristol Rovers up to twentieth and only now a place and two points behind Barrow.

The crowd was announced as 2,322 with 109 having trekked from Crawley, I suspect there were a few more than that, but Barrow wanted to claim they brought more to us earlier in the season than we took today.

Not that I was feeling a bit bored during the quiet fifteen-minute spell in the first half, but the thought that popped into my head was, “If Danilo Orsi became a ref, would players be appealing to him when fouled to ‘book him Dan-o’?” A second ancient TV and Film reference for the day

I got back to Morecambe a bit earlier than expected, but then had to act polite for a few hours before being able to finish off writing this.

Quiz Time – When Barrow won the National League in 2020 to return to the Football League, which other northern side were promoted with them for their first time in the Football League?

Before going home there is the small matter of an away game against Walsall on Tuesday night. More points needed please, and if possible if the team coach could go the long way around so it’s a journey of over 250 miles, then that may be useful.

Come on you reds.