Raptor

Do you take bets on upcoming fixtures? I have a gut feeling SCFC will do fairly well pretty soon :cool:

Bagpuss

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Raptor:
Do you take bets on upcoming fixtures? I have a gut feeling SCFC will do fairly well pretty soon :cool: <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

this is the only way your bets will pay off

Gricehead

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Raptor:
Do you take bets on upcoming fixtures? I have a gut feeling SCFC will do fairly well pretty soon :cool: <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>



Wouldn't bet on them quite just yet

Gricehead

After an evening like that, I had to let the lads cut loose a little. Of course, we had a league match to contend with on the Wednesday, and it was a long trip to Farnborough. Peacock was the only one not to recover sufficiently, but Stuart was fit again so it was on the right wing that Cameron got his full debut. It was one of those games you had to keep your eye on all the time. Three goals in three first half minutes put us 2-1 up, with the third marking Stuart's 100th League goal of his career. A goal each in the second half and we snuck away with the three points. Barratt pointed out to me that we were now unbeaten in 5 Conference games. With all the cup activity I hadn't noticed, but the league table didn't lie and we were up to 8th.

Conference Game 18. 12th December 2001.
Farnborough 2 Stalybridge 3 Riddell 25 Rose 60 / McNeill 24 Stuart 27 Woods 75

Batty arrived back from Brazil, where his country had lost the second leg 1-0 without his assistance, and immediately announced that he wanted to move to a bigger club to resurrect his international career. I told him that if someone came in with the right offer, something approaching £100k, he could go, but that he had to understand that he was a valuable asset. He wasn't happy, but he didn't want to complain too loudly, especially when he learned about our forthcoming cup showdown.

And out of the revolving door went James Turley, as the International Transfer window opened.

James Turley (Stalybridge 01/08/01 - 15/12/01) Played 7 Goals 0 Assists 0 MoM 0 AvR 6.29

As the days rolled relentlessly by towards Christmas, an out of form Nuneaton Borough came to town. Cameron stayed in the side, but swapped wings with Stuart resting and Peacock returning. Goals early in each half meant we could relax and rest weary legs, and even though the visitors got one back they were never going to equalise, especially with only ten men.

Conference Game 19. 15th December 2001.
Stalybridge 2 Nuneaton 1 Bushell 3 McNeil 58 / Hamon 64 (Peake sent off, 47)

A trip to rock-bottom Leigh RMI should have been an easy three points, but as is so often the case in these games we got a little lazy. Three times we held the lead, and three times the relegation favourites equalised. I was livid with the defence, who had fairly average games all round, but I also knew that we had had the chances to put the game beyond reach, and some poor finishing had let us down. Shooting practice all round I think.

Conference Game 20. 22nd December 2001.
Leigh RMI 3 Stalybridge 3 Hallows 38 Coote 54,90 / Courtney 23,49 Peters 83

Gricehead

On Christmas Eve, as I was clearing up papers before heading off to catch the last of the late night shopping, the Chairman stopped by at my office. He congratulated me on my work so far, and we chatted about the big cup game at some length. He commented that he was pleased to see the clubs accounts heading in the right direction. Almost casually he added that he had decided to put in some money to aid the day to day running of the club. He tossed a bank statement on the desk, wished me a Merry Christmas, and walked out.

Abandoning all ideas of getting the Christmas shopping done, I opened the statement and reached for a pencil and paper. A few quick scribblings showed that I had probably £90k of transfer kitty, with a little more (if I played cards right) for signing on fees. I rang up Mr Field, told him that yes I did know what day it was, and asked him if he wouldn't mind getting out and about after Christmas to find me some players who's contracts were almost up. I'd keep the £90k secret for now.

Christmas Day came and went, and a tired bunch of players assembled at 6am on Boxing Day for the long haul down to Dover. Stuart was absent with turkey-related injuries, and Peters got a start because Courtney seemed to have put on about 10 pounds! It was another game we could have won, but our defence just wasn't sharp enough and, very much in the Christmas spirit, we gifted two goals to Dover who not surprisingly seemed more "with it" having not had an 8 hour coach journey to endure. Cameron celebrated his first goal for the club though.

Conference Game 21. 26th December 2001.
Dover 2 Stalybridge 2 Strouts 30 Carr 38 / Cameron 14 McNeil 67

As December, and the year, drew to a close, excitement around the Bower Fold was building. Tickets were on sale, and by and large sold, for the Leeds game and the team were playing well. Eight league games unbeaten cannot be sniffed at. The final action of the year would be against 3rd place Doncaster. Batty returned to action, having cheered up somewhat since his earlier whinge session, and Steele came in for Cameron, with Peacock still sidelined. Five goals in the first half kept the attention of the fans, whilst a yawn fest of a second half probably sent them all to sleep. Still, the result was right and Courtney celebrated a man of the match award for his efforts.

Conference Game 22. 29th December 2001.
Stalybridge 3 Doncaster 2 McNeil 9 Courtney 23,33 / Tierney 12 Miller 30

Gricehead

Welcome to 2002. Welcome, that is, to another 400 mile round trip, this time to league leaders Dagenham & Redbridge. Despite poor performances from Perkins, Peters, Cameron and Peacock, we completed a 1-0 smash and grab raid, with a goal in injury time from substitute Steele. Was this just the boost we need in time for Saturday?

Conference Game 23. 2nd January 2002.
Dag & Red 0 Stalybridge 1 Steele 90

It was no good, the excitement was getting to me. Even I couldn't sleep, so goodness knows how the players were feeling. Especially those who had to hold down day jobs whilst living for the dream of playing against Premiership opposition. Giving up on sleep for the night, I pored over my drafted teamsheet for the big game. How was I going to make a decision to ruin some lads dream, telling him that he would not even make the bench? Casting the paper aside I picked up a sheaf of scouting reports, the latest batch from Mr Field. A quick scan through, and a few jotted notes later, and I felt a lot better. I wrote a note for the club secretary, detailing which clubs to make approaches to, and returned to bed. Just as it was getting light.

The big day arrived. In the end I took the easy option team-wise, naming an unchanged side from the last league game. That way, no-one could really feel hard done by. The Leeds teamsheet indicated that they were doing us the unspoken honour of naming a strong team. Household names such as Martyn, Mills, Woodgate, Ferdinand, Keane, Dacourt, Fowler and Kewell figured in the starting eleven. 6474 fans crammed into the tiny Bower Fold stands. Presumably the other 26 fans who had tickets either got lost or broke down on the way over the pennines. Soon enough, three o'clock arrived and referee Mike Tingey blew his whistle to commence possibly the biggest game in Stalybridge Celtic's history.

The dream lasted 15 minutes. That was the time it took Bridges to get onto the end of a Bakke cross to put the favourites 1-0 up. We had no answer, although we appeared to be doing well to restrict any further chances. Until stoppage time that is, when Bakke pounced on a deflected freekick to double the advantage.

A dejected bunch of players trudged into the dressing room. I knew how they felt, yet it was up to me to try and motivate them. I concetrated on the basics, told them to mix it a little and not be intimidated, however it was all in vain when 6 minutes into the second half Bridges scored his second to put the result completely beyond doubt.

FA Cup 3rd Round. 5th January 2002
Stalybridge 0 Leeds 3 Bridges 15,51 Bakke 45

The players were depressed. The fans were depressed. I was depressed. Even the chairman looked depressed. How could I lift the club after this? We had a 10 match unbeaten league run to maintain! The answer came to me on Monday night at a reserve game where my assistant and I were scouting for players to take on loan when Mackenzie's spell was up. Having already been refused the rights to talk to the player we were there to see, we were about to leave when my eyes were drawn to the subs bench, where one very unhappy player sat in the knowledge that he was never going to get on the pitch. 12 hours later, for a club record £60k, and albeit on a relatively short term contract, Leo Fortune-West was a Stalybridge player.

This was one big gamble.

Gricehead

There would be non-league representation in the fourth round, but it would not necessarily come from the Conference, as the giant-killing act of the round was produced by Unibond League minnows Burscough, beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground. Southern League Halesowen would have a second bite of the cherry against Birmingham, continuing a run which had seen them go to a replay in each of the previous three rounds, whilst Hereford and Chester both earned themselves replays. Burscough would travel to Stockport in the fourth round.

21st place Forest Green had the misfortune of being the first team to see Fortune-West in a Stalybridge shirt. Loanee Brown took up a new position in central defence, at the expense of Crookes, whilst Cameron and Peacock formed their midfield partnership again. Our record signing had to wait a whole 45 minutes before opening his account, by which time we were already 2-1 up. McNeil reached ten for the season in the second. The new man took the man of the match award, hopefully the first of many, and I started to feel a little better about my gamble.

Conference Game 24. 9th January 2002.
Forest Green 2 Stalybridge 4 Heggs 38 Daley 89 / Bushell 13,27 Fortune-West 45 McNeil 66

If the Hereford scouts had been doing their jobs, their management team must have been just a little worried about the trip to Bower Fold. Rightly so. With Stuart and Parr in for Cameron and Bushell, it was the quickly gelling partnership of Courtney and Fortune-West who destroyed the visitors.. Courtney took the Man of the Match award, although it must have been at the toss of a coin.

Conference Game 25. 12th January 2002.
Stalybridge 4 Hereford 1 Courtney 15,64 Fortune-West 43(pen),65 / Robinson 90(pen)

We lost Peacock with a badly strained groin during training as we endured another 11 day gameless stretch. The physio's report didn't make good reading, with the influential midfielder not due back in training until the end of February. A lot of pressure was going to be put on young Cameron's shoulders then, starting with the visit to 17th placed Hayes. News travels fast in this division, and Hayes' defence had turned up in numbers to mark Fortune-West out of the game. This defensive attitude led to a very boring first half, in which the few chances each side created were repelled by two in form keepers. The second half saw us concede a soft goal, and there didn't look to be a way back into the game. However, with the opposition defence concentrating so hard on one man, I was able to sneak on an attacking substitute almost unnoticed, and Matt McNeil snatched an equaliser with 3 minutes to go. Fortune-West still got the man of the match award, presumably for managing to get two shots on goal despite the attention been shown.

Conference Game 26. 23rd January 2002.
Hayes 1 Stalybridge 1 Spencer 66 / McNeil 86

FA Cup Third Round replays ensured that no other Non-Leaguers would progress, but full credit to Southern League Halesown for taking Birmingham all the way to penalties, especially playing the whole of the second half and extra time with only 10 men.

Three days later and we faced 4th placed Southport at home. Steele started for the knackered Cameron, and again all the goals came in the second half. The introductions of Cameron and McNeil making the differece. With 15 minutes to go, the score was 1-1, but a manic last 10 minutes made it 3-3, with my lads having to fight back and equalise twice in quick succession. Although not strictly one for my Premiership autograph book, the presence of West Bromwich Albion's Russell Hoult in the Southport goal bares mentioning...

Conference Game 27. 26th January 2002.
Stalybridge 3 Southport 3 McNeil 59,82 Fortune-West 84 / Elam 74 Collins 80 Whitehall 83

As the month drew to the end, so did Stu Mackenzie's loan spell, and he returned south with, in my opinion, a solid set of performances under his belt. The fact that hs isn't getting a game at that level is somewhat criminal.

Stuart Mackenzie (Stalybridge 22/11/01 - 31/01/02) Played 6 Conceded 10 Assists 0 MoM 1 AvR 7.33

Non league interest in the FA Cup ended, as Burscough found themselves steam-rollered at Edgeley Park, 4-0.

Gricehead

Another training injury ruled Cameron out of the short trip to Chester. So we were unchanged. It was a good job I'd brought my autograph book this time, though, as lining up for the opposition were Middlesborough's Phil Stamp and Sunderland's Michael Reddy. We weren't in the mood to let that distract us, as we steam rollered our near neighbours with two second half goals, and Leo walked away with another man of the match award after scoring his 5th goal of the season and setting up the second. The result lifted us back to 6th, the highest we had been all season.

Conference Game 28. 2nd February 2002.
Chester 0 Stalybridge 2 Fortune-West 60 Bushell 79

News filtered through that Leo Fortune-West had been awarded the Conference Player of the Month award for January, a first for a Stalybridge player. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, I invited the walking-on-air striker into my office to begin negotiations on a new longer-term contract. Much to my surprise, he agreed almost immediately. Much more to my surprise was that I didn't have to completely destroy the wage structure to do it. OK, so it wiped out the savings I had made by selling Woods and Turley, but it kept the weekly bill down to a respectable £7250.

Keeping conference affairs in Cheshire, we played host to Northwich Victoria, and there was more thrilling football on offer. Fit again Cameron returned to give Stuart a break, and Matt McNeil replaced Courtney in the second fiddle role. Just for a change Leo snaffled the Man of the match award, and took his goal tally to 7, single handedly bringing us back from 2-1 down.

Conference Game 29. 13th February 2002.
Stalybridge 3 Northwich 2 McNeil 15 Fortune-West 28,57 / Walsh 17 Meaker 21

A phone call the day after the match from Barnsley boss David Platt told me what I didn't want to know. Hayes had been that impressed by the performance of Keith Brown that they wanted him, and they were willing to pay the full £75k for the privilige. Brown, surprisingly, accepted a permanent move to the Conference, even though this meant a significant wage cut, and so he left us without even as much as a fairwell match.

Keith Brown (Stalybridge 1/12/01 - 16/02/02) Played 14 Goals 0 Assists 1 MoM 0 AvR 6.93

Gricehead

All of a sudden I had no loan players again, and not only that but I was getting extremely negative responses from my enquiries. Still, I couldn't let this bother me too much. I had a game against our Trophy foes Margate to deal with. Williamson earnt a recall to the defence, where we now had a serious lack of cover. Things were looking good, with another Fortune-West goal, but it all went pear shaped in the last five minutes when the visitors suddenly started to play and sneaked an undeserved equaliser. Although the result extended our unbeaten sequence to a frankly quite amazing 17 games, we missed the chance to go 4th.

Conference Game 30. 16th February 2002.
Stalybridge 1 Margate 1 Fortune-West 59 / Adedeji 86

However, all good things come to an end, and even with Peacock and Stuart both fit to play, goals from Fortune-West (there's a surprise) and Cameron in the first half were insufficient to keep 9th place Barnet at bay. Two goals from Loanee Paul Brayson in nine second half minutes not only ended our undefeated run, but also knocked us straight back down to 8th place.

Conference Game 31. 23rd February 2002.
Barnet 3 Stalybridge 2 Bell 4 Brayson 69,78 / Cameron 23 Fortune-West 45

Still, 8th place in the league going into March was more than the chairman could have realistically expected, I suppose. Although personally I was disappointed. We had been steadily mounting a challenge on the leaders of the league, and now we sat a whole 10 points adrift with eleven games to play. Mathematically, there was still that chance to creep up on the rails, but it was looking unlikely. We had drawn too many games - 11 out of the 31 played. Even when we were playing well, we had conceded silly equalisers. Still, I had to snap out of this depression. It was only one loss, and it was time to bounce back.

Gricehead

My mood was lifted slightly with the news that Leo had scooped his second player of the month award. The ability to select an unchanged side for the visit of 13th place Telford helped as well.

The Stalybridge forward line heeded my advice, and gave Telford keeper Sam Turner hell in the first half, snatching a goal each, the 15th of the season for McNeil and the 10th of the season for Fortune-West. Cameron joined in as we generally steam rollered the visitors. That, however, was only the start. Fortune West grabbed his second 5 minutes into the second half, and Woods made it four, before Leo completed his first Stalybridge hat-trick. Two minutes later he had a fourth. Unbelievably, in the final minute, Leo was barged down in the area. Guess who converted the penalty. A clue - the same player got the man of the match award.

Conference Game 32. 2nd March 2002.
Stalybridge 7 (Seven) Telford 1 McNeil 14 Fortune-West 29,51,74,76,90(pen) Woods 63 / Martindale 82

In the grand scale of things, the result did nothing other than improve our goal difference. We remained in 8th place. Boy had we bounced back though. That was most definitely the striking sorted out, now I just had to find some cover for my defenders. A situation which got worse rather than better, as Perkins picked up a training injury, albeit a short term one.