Typical! Accrington Stanley play ineligible players and get away with it scot-free!
You've heard the Groucho Marx joke that he wouldn't join a club that would have him as a member? Well I'd be wary of joining a club that has Brian Mawhinney as a leader! Have a look at Accrington's website-it has a rambling explanation of their cheating, and lets slip that they wanted to keep it quiet until someone at another club blew the whistle. I'll bet they did, and the Football League too! Then they could have held a disciplinary hearing along the lines of:
"Should we punish Accrington Stanley or brush it under the carpet?"
"Accrington Stanley? Who are they?"
"Exactly!"
I can't believe this has happened! I can't believe this can just be ignored! I feared they might get off lightly, but no punishment? Amazing!
So, let's play our new benefactor, Craig Bellamy, th next time he's rested by Liverpool. A £12,000 transfer fee will be worth it to buy the three points!
Friday, 30 March 2007
Wednesday, 28 March 2007
Thanks Mister Blair
I can't believe that, through an airy word in Prime Minister's Question Time, AFC Wimbledon's punishment for fielding an ineligible player for a good chunk of the season has been reduced to almost nothing. More pressingly, I don't like the possible ramifications on the Accrington case.
Blair said the rules should be reviewed as the punishment seemed harsh. Why the hell didn't he say that two years ago when we were hit with an arbitrary ten point penalty?
Stop me if I'm wrong, but isn't playing a player you're not allowed to field cheating? If the punishment for that is minimal, why bother playing it straight? When red tape held up the transfer of Mike Carvill, we didn't pick him. Clearly we should have told the Football League to clear off and played him anyway as we might have got away with it!
I hope the "romance" of having Accrington Stanley in the league doesn't blind the Football League to reality. But it will, won't it.
Ever felt you've been cheated?
Blair said the rules should be reviewed as the punishment seemed harsh. Why the hell didn't he say that two years ago when we were hit with an arbitrary ten point penalty?
Stop me if I'm wrong, but isn't playing a player you're not allowed to field cheating? If the punishment for that is minimal, why bother playing it straight? When red tape held up the transfer of Mike Carvill, we didn't pick him. Clearly we should have told the Football League to clear off and played him anyway as we might have got away with it!
I hope the "romance" of having Accrington Stanley in the league doesn't blind the Football League to reality. But it will, won't it.
Ever felt you've been cheated?
Monday, 26 March 2007
The power of suggestion
As I picked my lad up from school the woman at the after-school club said she saw Wrexham tickets in Asda and decided she'd get one even though she'd no real interest in football.
Isn't it amazing that once people get into a supermarket they'll suddenly impulse buy products which they'veno real interest in? And with over a hundred tickets sold at Asda in the first 24 hours, isn't it wonderful?
Sunday, 25 March 2007
Bristol Rovers 0 Wrexham 1
Boy was that sweet! We deserved that, but it didn't look like it was going to happen! At last, someone got turned over late on in one of our games, and it wasn't us!!!!!
The three new players looked sound, and the fact that they also appeared to be a little short on match sharpness can only bode well for the next few weeks! Anthony Williams was sound, and made one great save from a volley from the edge of the box in the first half. Mind you, that was the closest Rovers came-we defended very well and they were restricted to shots from outside our box.
Walker was a big part in the defensive display which held Rovers at arm's length. He's a hell of a big lump of a guy and he looks like a solid replacement for Steve Evans. Spender and Pejic were absolutely outstanding alongside him.
As for Proctor, he looked the rustiest, but you could see what Carey has seen in him. He had his moments on the right, and athough he was fairly peripheral in the first half, he put one great cross after turning his man nicely, then set off on a great run, beating two men before trying a through ball for Roberts which seemed to be handled in the box! If we'd swapped today's ref with last Saturday's we'd have beaten MK Dons and had a penalty and a Rovers red card for that handball! In the second half Proctor looked like he was picking up a bit of sharpness too!
As for the goal, the key moment was Shaun Pejic, hardly known as a cool customer in the box, putting it perfectly onto Jeff Whitley's head when you'd have expected him to just thrash at it from fifteen years. At least, I think he meant it!!! I was so excited that I said Roberts had scored at first, and looking at NASA on Red Passion it looks like my slip led to a bit of confusion! I hope I'm forgiven!
The three new players looked sound, and the fact that they also appeared to be a little short on match sharpness can only bode well for the next few weeks! Anthony Williams was sound, and made one great save from a volley from the edge of the box in the first half. Mind you, that was the closest Rovers came-we defended very well and they were restricted to shots from outside our box.
Walker was a big part in the defensive display which held Rovers at arm's length. He's a hell of a big lump of a guy and he looks like a solid replacement for Steve Evans. Spender and Pejic were absolutely outstanding alongside him.
As for Proctor, he looked the rustiest, but you could see what Carey has seen in him. He had his moments on the right, and athough he was fairly peripheral in the first half, he put one great cross after turning his man nicely, then set off on a great run, beating two men before trying a through ball for Roberts which seemed to be handled in the box! If we'd swapped today's ref with last Saturday's we'd have beaten MK Dons and had a penalty and a Rovers red card for that handball! In the second half Proctor looked like he was picking up a bit of sharpness too!
As for the goal, the key moment was Shaun Pejic, hardly known as a cool customer in the box, putting it perfectly onto Jeff Whitley's head when you'd have expected him to just thrash at it from fifteen years. At least, I think he meant it!!! I was so excited that I said Roberts had scored at first, and looking at NASA on Red Passion it looks like my slip led to a bit of confusion! I hope I'm forgiven!
Saturday, 24 March 2007
Typical!
Right, off to Brizzle soon, but I can't deny that I feel a certain amount of trepidation about what lies in wait for us there.
A couple of weeks ago I had this and the Mansfield games marked down as a great chance for us to start the fightback. Both sides looked to be drifting in mid-table, exactly the sort of sides we need to be up against, who'll hopefully play without heart as there's nothing at stake for them.
How things have changed!
This is Rovers' third home game in a row and they've won the first two. I suspect that it's still a long shot for them to get into the play-offs, but that's not the important thing. The point is they now believe they can, so they'll be up for today. Great!
A couple of weeks ago I had this and the Mansfield games marked down as a great chance for us to start the fightback. Both sides looked to be drifting in mid-table, exactly the sort of sides we need to be up against, who'll hopefully play without heart as there's nothing at stake for them.
How things have changed!
This is Rovers' third home game in a row and they've won the first two. I suspect that it's still a long shot for them to get into the play-offs, but that's not the important thing. The point is they now believe they can, so they'll be up for today. Great!
Friday, 23 March 2007
So who robs us this week?
Hate to say it, but one of the first things I've done in prearation for tomorrow's game is look at who the referee is. After all, if last week was anything to go by, he'll be the most important man on the pitch.
It's Ray Olivier, who hasn't done much to upset us really-in fact he has been so keen to ingratiate himself that he even sent a Millwall player off against us on my birthday eight years ago!
Mind you, the fact that he hasn't hurt us yet probably means he's been waiting until tomorrow to do us good and proper!
The other pessimistic note is that just because he hasn't made enemies at The Racecourse, doesn't mean we do well when he's in charge-last game he reffed for us was when we lost 5-2 at Stockport!
It's Ray Olivier, who hasn't done much to upset us really-in fact he has been so keen to ingratiate himself that he even sent a Millwall player off against us on my birthday eight years ago!
Mind you, the fact that he hasn't hurt us yet probably means he's been waiting until tomorrow to do us good and proper!
The other pessimistic note is that just because he hasn't made enemies at The Racecourse, doesn't mean we do well when he's in charge-last game he reffed for us was when we lost 5-2 at Stockport!
Thursday, 22 March 2007
Beating the deadline
Anthony Williams, eh? The Pepe Reina of the lower divisions! Well known for his penalty saving but, as I recall, not that hot when it comes to commanding the box. Mind you, in the circumstances I can't imagine us getting anyone better, and he could turn out to be a good acquisition.
Interestingly, Brian Carey's been able to make some experienced signings in the loan market, which is unusual for this season. We've tended to only get kids, damaged goods or favours from Martin Allen to Denis Smith on loan so far, but Walker, Williams and Proctor are all players who've been around a bit. Let's hope they can settle in quickly!
Interestingly, Brian Carey's been able to make some experienced signings in the loan market, which is unusual for this season. We've tended to only get kids, damaged goods or favours from Martin Allen to Denis Smith on loan so far, but Walker, Williams and Proctor are all players who've been around a bit. Let's hope they can settle in quickly!
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