Well, this has been an extraordinary FA Cup year for me. TWO lifetime ambitions achieved. First there was my surreptitious appearance on the Glossop North End bench right back in the Extra Preliminary Round in the second week of August (http://haggisinwonderland.blogspot.com/2010/08/one-for-grandchildren.html), and now, after I generation of waiting, I have finally seen Manchester City reach an FA Cup final.
Over the years City have had a propensity to building us up and then letting us down, and everything was set up for it to happen again, because it had been an extraordinary day. Setting off early down the M6, it was a sea of blue cars, minibuses and coaches. I couldn't work out if it was proof that the cliché of only City fans coming from Manchester was proving true, or if we were just more giddy than them.
Warwick services was the same. As former City goalkeeper Alex Williams happily darted from one group of fans to the other wishing them well, United fans were keeping themselves to themselves. The party atmosphere was building, and us blues know that the team has often been the ultimate pooper.
For 20-25 minutes it looked like that be the case, and Berbatov underlined accusations of him being just a flat track bully by missing two gilt edged chances. From there though, City first were the equals of their opponents, and then after the break were superior. The win was well deserved, but never celebrated until the final whistle went.
Driving back, I haven't enjoyed a 6-0-6 as much since Danny Baker was in his pomp. Call after call of United fan ringing in to complain about the team selection, the FA, the referee...everything but the traffic...and all to much hilarity in the front of the car.
From a personal point of view, days like this have been all I ever wanted from being a City fan. I would take an FA Cup final over 4th place in the league any season. Football's role is to make you feel alive and over the course of a league campaign you'll only get that a few times. In cup competitions, win or lose, you feel something, whether it be extremes of disappointment or pleasure.
I love the bloody FA Cup. I hope I can get a ticket for the final, not least because it means I'll have a story to tell from the Extra Preliminary Round right through to the denouement.
Sunday 17 April 2011
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Why I'm standing on May 5th
The nominations for the 2011 High Peak Borough council election have been released, and the eagle eyed among you may have noticed that my name is among them – standing for the Lib Dems in Simmondley.
I have been a member of the Lib Dems for a number of years, but it may seem odd to some of you that I have decided to throw my hat into the ring at a time when the party is getting its greatest ever kicking. After years of supporting football teams who are famously on their uppers, has my predilection for supporting the downtrodden underdog taken hold of me again? Well, maybe a little.
Some of the criticism the party has received has been justified. I’ve already mentioned on this blog that the legacy of the student fees debacle is more than just an obscene annual charge on students, because let’s face it Labour would have upped the fees that they introduced anyway. The main damage was that having sold the party as one that would keep the promises it made, our MPs destroyed that faith within months of coming into office by ignoring a pledge they all signed pre-election. We are now just the same as the rest of them.
What is unfair though is how the Lib Dems are perceived to be to blame for all that is wrong with this government. I would ask people to think what it may have been like had the Tories won outright, as they damn well nearly did. Starting with those fees, I very much doubt there would have been a cap on how much a university could charge, nor rules on accessibility in place. We can be sure that personal allowances would not have risen by £1000 today, taking an estimated 500,000 low earners out of the tax system completely.
That disparity is partly why I'm standing for the Lib Dems, although in truth I'm not sure that there's much of a need for party politics at borough council level. Party loyalties matter much less than the character of the people you vote for the lower down the scale you go. Rather than vote blindly in support of your usual party, check out the person. I'm most definitely a nice guy, in case you were wondering.
The other part is that the upcoming referendum has reminded me of the major reason why I joined the Lib Dems in the first place - their steadfast belief in Proportional Representation. I have always firmly believed that no one party has the perfect manifesto and that there are snippets from each that would run the perfect country. In short, I believe in consensus politics. Too much power in one party without someone applying a handbrake so that they can at the very least reflect on their ideology is, in my view, a bad thing.
So, the AV referendum matters. At the last election, despite being a member of a political party, I had to consider very carefully whether or not I should vote for them. What a nonsense. Every vote should count, and each should be cast for the party whose policies you agree with the most. Is that really too much to ask? It has always struck me as proper democracy.
So, although there has been a last minute conversion by some of the Labour party, I think it is right that I represent the party who have argued tooth and nail for some sort of PR for as long as I have been able to vote (and longer). AV is not perfect, but it is a start. So even if you don't vote for me on May 5th, at the very least I hope you can vote for that, and make sure every subsequent vote you cast afterwards is (another) one that matters.
I have been a member of the Lib Dems for a number of years, but it may seem odd to some of you that I have decided to throw my hat into the ring at a time when the party is getting its greatest ever kicking. After years of supporting football teams who are famously on their uppers, has my predilection for supporting the downtrodden underdog taken hold of me again? Well, maybe a little.
Some of the criticism the party has received has been justified. I’ve already mentioned on this blog that the legacy of the student fees debacle is more than just an obscene annual charge on students, because let’s face it Labour would have upped the fees that they introduced anyway. The main damage was that having sold the party as one that would keep the promises it made, our MPs destroyed that faith within months of coming into office by ignoring a pledge they all signed pre-election. We are now just the same as the rest of them.
What is unfair though is how the Lib Dems are perceived to be to blame for all that is wrong with this government. I would ask people to think what it may have been like had the Tories won outright, as they damn well nearly did. Starting with those fees, I very much doubt there would have been a cap on how much a university could charge, nor rules on accessibility in place. We can be sure that personal allowances would not have risen by £1000 today, taking an estimated 500,000 low earners out of the tax system completely.
That disparity is partly why I'm standing for the Lib Dems, although in truth I'm not sure that there's much of a need for party politics at borough council level. Party loyalties matter much less than the character of the people you vote for the lower down the scale you go. Rather than vote blindly in support of your usual party, check out the person. I'm most definitely a nice guy, in case you were wondering.
The other part is that the upcoming referendum has reminded me of the major reason why I joined the Lib Dems in the first place - their steadfast belief in Proportional Representation. I have always firmly believed that no one party has the perfect manifesto and that there are snippets from each that would run the perfect country. In short, I believe in consensus politics. Too much power in one party without someone applying a handbrake so that they can at the very least reflect on their ideology is, in my view, a bad thing.
So, the AV referendum matters. At the last election, despite being a member of a political party, I had to consider very carefully whether or not I should vote for them. What a nonsense. Every vote should count, and each should be cast for the party whose policies you agree with the most. Is that really too much to ask? It has always struck me as proper democracy.
So, although there has been a last minute conversion by some of the Labour party, I think it is right that I represent the party who have argued tooth and nail for some sort of PR for as long as I have been able to vote (and longer). AV is not perfect, but it is a start. So even if you don't vote for me on May 5th, at the very least I hope you can vote for that, and make sure every subsequent vote you cast afterwards is (another) one that matters.
Sunday 3 April 2011
He's made mistakes, but Steve Young's legacy is one he should be proud of.
The news of a parting of the ways between Glossop North End and their manager Steve Young did not come as much of a surprise here. For the most part of the season there has been an undercurrent that each was wearying of the other and perhaps the only thing about yesterday's announcement that was a shock was the timing - I expected that the old 'mutual agreement' would have been made at the beginning of May.
The announcement provided by the club gives us a clue on what went on. The initial statement from the board tells us that Young did not form part of the clubs plans for the 2011-12 season. This was subsequently amended to add the detail that on being told this, Young had handed in his resignation.
You can't fault either party in these circumstances. Presumably the manager had sought from the board some details of the planning for the coming season. Having decided that they would change the boss, I feel that it is right that the club did not string Young along and gave it to him straight. For Young's part, he too has every right to walk away immediately having got the news.
Young has been more than a manager for North End during his four year tenure, and deserves plenty of credit for what he did. There wont be many more managers in this league who have tended to the pitch, helped fix seats into the stand or complete other odd jobs around the place that ensure the ground meets its grading. It was a commitment that was total, and he would most likely be up at the ground six or seven days a week.
In the league, in the first two seasons results improved to a point where the fans thought they could be genuine title contenders, although that challenge never quite arrived, and he forced a new attitude from club officials by demanding much from them - although it might a demand too much that did for him in the end. However, the major credit on his managerial balance sheet was, of course, that Carlsberg FA Vase run in 2008-09.
In that unforgettable run to that amazing Wembley weekend there can be no doubt that Glossop North End were punching above their weight, coming up against better funded sides along the way who on paper should have beaten them. But Young had engendered a belief and team spirit among all at the club that had everyone pulling in the same direction. Off the pitch everyone was working flat out, and with the same aims, whilst on it we had an exciting young side that would give everything for their team-mates and never knew that they were beaten. It was a textbook example of how with the right spirit can mean the sum of the parts can be greater than the whole.
The day in London was a carnival, despite the result. It was the greatest weekend of my sporting life. The party continued into with a civic reception in the town where North End applauded their Wembley supporters from an open top bus, and the town applauded them back. After that a black tie gala dinner was a roaring success, and it seemed obvious that the momentum built up would carry on at the start of the season to come.
And then it started to go wrong.
I understand that Young demanded, and got, the largest budget of any North End manager in any fans memory. You could probably argue that it was the largest ever, although that of course is relative. I'm sure the amounts Mr Hill-Wood put into the side were greater once adjusted for inflation!
With the increase in budget, Young put his faith in a number of players he could not previously afford, and one by one they let him down. Mickey Goddard came with a pedigree he couldn't live up to in pre-season. Nathan Neequaye went on holiday and took umbridge when he didn't walk back into the side so walked away. Lee Blackshaw returned from Mossley, and he too went on his jollies (do Evo-Stick sides tolerate this more?) and too departed after falling out with Steve when not immediately restored and Bradley Clegg came simply for money, famously turning up for a match he wasn't selected for just to claim his pay, departing as soon as his got it rather than stay and support his team-mates.
All this could have been accepted had things been going ok on the pitch, but the team made a poor start, drawing on the season opener with to-be-relegated Ashton Athletic thanks to a late equaliser and performances did not improve too much in the early part of the season, which saw North End well towards the bottom of the table.
It all led to a spiral that saw the spirit that had been built up over a two year period, disappear in a matter of weeks. The team became fractious with each other and they became fractious with referees. Suddenly, the battles that were being won with ease were being lost. There was resentment among those that had been there in 2008-09 when others came in on better money.
Off the pitch, Young was justifiably frustrated that things were not progressing as they should, with the board seemingly unable to capitalise on the goodwill the Wembley run had given them. Rather than increase commercial activity, the clubs main sponsor was actually lost, leaving an wages bill that could only be funded by the Wembley money. Rather than cut the money, it appears the board left the bill as it was to keep the manager happy.
That was unsustainable though, and it was to the surprise of no-one that there was a major revision for the current season. The manager wasn't happy and he let everyone know about it. Every interview with the Glossop Advertiser or High Peak Radio would eventually turn to his reduced budget. There was an embarrassing and very public stand up row with a club director (about money) that nearly turned to fisticuffs at Rossendale. It needed to be pointed out that even reduced, the budget was most likely above any that the previous manager had received.
All this could have been forgiven had results been positive, but the side were again sluggish from the start. There may have been mitigating circumstances - Key players Rick Bailey, Dave Young and Danny Yates had all departed - but with the talent at the manager's disposal they were still not good enough. Whilst being beaten by teams who paid only the measliest of expenses like St Helens, twice, Young continued to blame the drop of budget in every interview.
To outsiders looking in it ran much deeper than that. The team spirit was awful. Whatever magic Young had sprinkled to inspire his 2009 troops could not be reproduced, and continued poor results led to questions about his style. Young's frustration boiled over too often, and from the bench he appeared to coach less and less whilst berating his players more and more. It was a downward spiral, that affected performances. His attitude towards referees during games was a constant source of annoyance to me in the good times, but you can get away with it if your team is winning. If you are losing, it looks like sour grapes. There were further public rows with spectators that lost him more friends and ultimately led to the decision the board took this week.
I have absolutely no doubt that Steve Young is a fine manager at this level, and probably a couple above. Ultimately though, I think the pressure he put himself under by demanding that wage hike in the summer of 2009 led to his demise. He himself raised the expectations that that would bring, and failed to live up to them.
Football management is a job where things tend to finish this way, and the best a manager can really hope for is that when he leaves a club, he has left it in a better state than he found it. Steve Young's tenure has brought the club out of debt and into financial stability and on the pitch the club's reputation is increased to such an extent it is thought that there will be no shortage of applicants for the position. That wasn't the case when he took over.
I hope that during a short break from the game Steve can take stock of his time at the club and acknowledge and learn from his mistakes. But I also hope he comes to see his time at North End with a huge amount of affection. He can be justifiably proud of what he achieved at the club, and should GNE thrive in the future, as we all hope it will, he can view his contribution to that success as a hugely significant one.
The announcement provided by the club gives us a clue on what went on. The initial statement from the board tells us that Young did not form part of the clubs plans for the 2011-12 season. This was subsequently amended to add the detail that on being told this, Young had handed in his resignation.
You can't fault either party in these circumstances. Presumably the manager had sought from the board some details of the planning for the coming season. Having decided that they would change the boss, I feel that it is right that the club did not string Young along and gave it to him straight. For Young's part, he too has every right to walk away immediately having got the news.
Young has been more than a manager for North End during his four year tenure, and deserves plenty of credit for what he did. There wont be many more managers in this league who have tended to the pitch, helped fix seats into the stand or complete other odd jobs around the place that ensure the ground meets its grading. It was a commitment that was total, and he would most likely be up at the ground six or seven days a week.
In the league, in the first two seasons results improved to a point where the fans thought they could be genuine title contenders, although that challenge never quite arrived, and he forced a new attitude from club officials by demanding much from them - although it might a demand too much that did for him in the end. However, the major credit on his managerial balance sheet was, of course, that Carlsberg FA Vase run in 2008-09.
In that unforgettable run to that amazing Wembley weekend there can be no doubt that Glossop North End were punching above their weight, coming up against better funded sides along the way who on paper should have beaten them. But Young had engendered a belief and team spirit among all at the club that had everyone pulling in the same direction. Off the pitch everyone was working flat out, and with the same aims, whilst on it we had an exciting young side that would give everything for their team-mates and never knew that they were beaten. It was a textbook example of how with the right spirit can mean the sum of the parts can be greater than the whole.
The day in London was a carnival, despite the result. It was the greatest weekend of my sporting life. The party continued into with a civic reception in the town where North End applauded their Wembley supporters from an open top bus, and the town applauded them back. After that a black tie gala dinner was a roaring success, and it seemed obvious that the momentum built up would carry on at the start of the season to come.
And then it started to go wrong.
I understand that Young demanded, and got, the largest budget of any North End manager in any fans memory. You could probably argue that it was the largest ever, although that of course is relative. I'm sure the amounts Mr Hill-Wood put into the side were greater once adjusted for inflation!
With the increase in budget, Young put his faith in a number of players he could not previously afford, and one by one they let him down. Mickey Goddard came with a pedigree he couldn't live up to in pre-season. Nathan Neequaye went on holiday and took umbridge when he didn't walk back into the side so walked away. Lee Blackshaw returned from Mossley, and he too went on his jollies (do Evo-Stick sides tolerate this more?) and too departed after falling out with Steve when not immediately restored and Bradley Clegg came simply for money, famously turning up for a match he wasn't selected for just to claim his pay, departing as soon as his got it rather than stay and support his team-mates.
All this could have been accepted had things been going ok on the pitch, but the team made a poor start, drawing on the season opener with to-be-relegated Ashton Athletic thanks to a late equaliser and performances did not improve too much in the early part of the season, which saw North End well towards the bottom of the table.
It all led to a spiral that saw the spirit that had been built up over a two year period, disappear in a matter of weeks. The team became fractious with each other and they became fractious with referees. Suddenly, the battles that were being won with ease were being lost. There was resentment among those that had been there in 2008-09 when others came in on better money.
Off the pitch, Young was justifiably frustrated that things were not progressing as they should, with the board seemingly unable to capitalise on the goodwill the Wembley run had given them. Rather than increase commercial activity, the clubs main sponsor was actually lost, leaving an wages bill that could only be funded by the Wembley money. Rather than cut the money, it appears the board left the bill as it was to keep the manager happy.
That was unsustainable though, and it was to the surprise of no-one that there was a major revision for the current season. The manager wasn't happy and he let everyone know about it. Every interview with the Glossop Advertiser or High Peak Radio would eventually turn to his reduced budget. There was an embarrassing and very public stand up row with a club director (about money) that nearly turned to fisticuffs at Rossendale. It needed to be pointed out that even reduced, the budget was most likely above any that the previous manager had received.
All this could have been forgiven had results been positive, but the side were again sluggish from the start. There may have been mitigating circumstances - Key players Rick Bailey, Dave Young and Danny Yates had all departed - but with the talent at the manager's disposal they were still not good enough. Whilst being beaten by teams who paid only the measliest of expenses like St Helens, twice, Young continued to blame the drop of budget in every interview.
To outsiders looking in it ran much deeper than that. The team spirit was awful. Whatever magic Young had sprinkled to inspire his 2009 troops could not be reproduced, and continued poor results led to questions about his style. Young's frustration boiled over too often, and from the bench he appeared to coach less and less whilst berating his players more and more. It was a downward spiral, that affected performances. His attitude towards referees during games was a constant source of annoyance to me in the good times, but you can get away with it if your team is winning. If you are losing, it looks like sour grapes. There were further public rows with spectators that lost him more friends and ultimately led to the decision the board took this week.
I have absolutely no doubt that Steve Young is a fine manager at this level, and probably a couple above. Ultimately though, I think the pressure he put himself under by demanding that wage hike in the summer of 2009 led to his demise. He himself raised the expectations that that would bring, and failed to live up to them.
Football management is a job where things tend to finish this way, and the best a manager can really hope for is that when he leaves a club, he has left it in a better state than he found it. Steve Young's tenure has brought the club out of debt and into financial stability and on the pitch the club's reputation is increased to such an extent it is thought that there will be no shortage of applicants for the position. That wasn't the case when he took over.
I hope that during a short break from the game Steve can take stock of his time at the club and acknowledge and learn from his mistakes. But I also hope he comes to see his time at North End with a huge amount of affection. He can be justifiably proud of what he achieved at the club, and should GNE thrive in the future, as we all hope it will, he can view his contribution to that success as a hugely significant one.
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