Wear your old shirt day, then and now.

Remember 20 years ago?

Like it was yesterday for those of us who were there. Gary Kelly v Lee Bracey for the goalkeepers jersey, Mark Carter and David Johnson doing the master and apprentice role, Chris Lucketti and Tony Rigby in their pomp and the final memorable Saturday when the Shakers won 3-0 and everyone in the ground was listening to Radio Manchester commentating on Scunthorpe v Darlington, the result of which would either confirm promotion or condemn the Shakers to ply off agony once again.

When you look at the footage of the final few seconds with everyone milling about on the pitch awaiting the final whistle from Glanford park, the eagle eyed observer will notice a strange phenomenon. The Shakers fans certainly aren't wearing a uniform colour of shirt, even though the replica kit market was at least 10 years into it's high priced swing by then.

The reason can be laid firmly at the door of WWYATS? In an attempt to liven up the last day of the season we had declared it 'wear your old shirt day' and the fanbase had embraced the concept. The Bury Times had given the idea some print inches and as over 5000 gathered for the final fixture shirts of every vintage were on display much to the pleasure of the team knocking out fanzines for 50p on the forecourt.

It certainly relieved the tension of the final day, spotting the Hobbot shadow stripe from 83/4, looking for a spray breaker, wondering if anyone had the lucky Blue Umbro and comparing the offerings home and away from the Ribero/Macphersons years. One of my favourite memories of that day was the TV gantry stringing up a washing line with about half a dozen different shirts pegged up.

A few years later we did it again, early on in the season as a nod to the fact that by early September the current season's kits hadn't yet arrived in a container from somewhere in Aisa. Some benefit did come from it, as we collected unwanted kits that were boxed up and sent out to India where they were donated to a football league for kids in Goa.

So, ever the old nostalgic I wonder could we do it again? We have another 20 seasons of kits to go at. I reckon between 50 and 60 shirts to add to the mix. Some shirts that have gone down in Shakers history; the Purple and Green years, the Golden birthdays shirt, Choccy and Blue numbers, some black ones, some blue ones, a grey one, a silver one not to mention 2 decades of home shirts.

Lets do it, the final home game on Sunday May 8th v Southend 12.30 kick off will be a sunny spring lunchtime. Lets celebrate the season, 20 years since that amazing promotion day and look back on some sartorial history. I'll be wearing my old shirt, which one will you choose?

#UTS

Talking about a Revolution

Like all Bury fans I breathed a sigh of relief at the end of May when the white smoke emerged from the Cistine chapel (or at least Mike the groundsman's storeroom) to confirm the end of the protracted take over negotiations and signal relief from the financial woes of the last few months.
The Gigg Lane PR machine has been in overdrive ever since promising a smarter corporate image, an overhaul of facilities and most refreshingly a much needed simplification of the pricing structure, a move which has been met with a positive response from supporters, especially as it shows a degree of understanding of where 3rd and 4th tier football should be realistically pricing itself.

The new board seem happy to enter into dialogue with interested parties and present their views of what they've found so far which is always a good sign, but there are certain elements of the last few weeks which have felt clunky at best. The branding of the 'revolution' with the inundation of posters, hashtags and clever marketing, #BuryareBack made me wonder as, thankfully down to the actions of the new owners, we hadn't been anywhere as far as I can see (even though it was mighty close). The lack of photographic evidence of who the new regime were, whilst a minor detail, made Shakers nervous, as does the perceived lack of movement on the 'players in' side of the ledger. We were promised 'exciting news' almost straight away but since then KB, like a miserable party spoiling uncle turning down our music, poured cold water on expectations warning not to expect too much, and I fear "We are 5 weeks behind" will become this years banker on Blackwell Bingo as he trots out a favoured sound byte or two.

Having had an anxious end of the season, and a start to the close season offering days at a time with a months worth of information in an afternoon, all Shakers fans need now is a period of consolidation where everyone does their bit and puts together a club we can be proud of on August 3rd, an excitement peaking at news of a new signing we've heard of or a tantalising peak at a new kit .
As I write signs are positive, fan concerns over who may be lurking on the periphery of the take over were quickly addressed, pre season has an interesting feel to it with some old (Radcliffe Boro), some new (Cornish tour) and a game v European opposition at Gigg giving the faithful something to look forward to. New sponsors are getting on board and the new guard seem to know what they should be giving them, and are working to put that in place.

My own take on the events of recent weeks is that Bury FC are obviously under very new management, new management who obviously want the best for the club and seem well placed to make that happen. The danger with any 'revolution' is that there are almost always casualties, and the possible collatoral damage of this revolution will be some of the things that make Bury FC the entertaining, infuriating but always ever present part of our lives that it has been. The club has been around for almost 130 years, not everything it has done has been wrong, out dated and needs dumping in a skip at the reception door.
Thank you massively to the board for saving our club. As fans we need to gratefully acknowledge the financial implications taken on our behalf, respectfully can we ask you to acknowledge that you have implications towards us also, in guiding something we hold extremely precious. There will be times when emotions are fraught, decisions questioned, motives doubted and minutiae scrutinised but please remember its only because we care.

Up the Shakers

Leagues Apart

So we head into the summer still as desperate for news as we were 6 weeks ago, still hoping for the best yet knowing that optimism rarely goes hand in hand with the usual role of the Shakers fan.

The Bury skipper Steven Schumacher has now been removed from the wage bill in the same manner that Joe Skarz was, the young lads have been pruned away and the only pre season confirmed so far is the annual trip to Radcliffe. Never has my Dad's comment "bring your boots, you'll get a game" felt more accurate.

During the 2002 SOS campaign Bury received a huge amount of support from the fans at Brighton who had campaigned to save their own club following the loss of the Goldstone ground. When Bury played B&HA at the Withdean the team paraded a thank you banner, and Albion's poet in residence - Attila the Stockbroker - produced this poem in support of the Shakers.

It remains as relevant today as it did then. The only difference is that Brighton, and their superb supporters, were so close to making it back to the top flight and have their own stadium once again. A reminder of what can be achieved and that bad times don't have to last forever.

 LEAGUES APART

A few clubs earn the Royal Mint.
Most live beyond their means.
And now they tell us Wimbledon
is part of Milton Keynes!

The rich elite don’t care about
a Womble or a Shaker -
The only thing they want to shake
is Murdoch’s money maker.

It’s market forces, they will say.
Don’t care if your club dies.
There’s not one crust to come your way:
We’ve eaten all the pies.

The game’s awash with corporate cash:
besmirched by corporate greed
But, we, the fans through thick and thin
will help out those in need.

They’ll never bury Bury,
Nor the grass roots of our game.
And those who stitched up Wimbledon
should bow their heads in shame.

And now your team is threatened too.
Let’s find a new solution.
So hear this, Chelsea & Man U -
 We want redistribution!

Attila the Stockbroker - March 16th 2002

Reproduced with thanks.

An hour with Joe Skarz

One of the regular accusations from the 21^st century football fan is that the players don’t care, and that they don’t feel it like we do. The poor unfortunates with the life sentence supporting the club, ten, twenty, thirty plus years of service; we feel it, we live it, they just dip in and out.

This week I had the pleasure of spending an hour with Joe Skarz, virtually ever present at left back for the past three seasons and another victim of the cash flow problems that have taken over the Shakers season.

We started by talking through events that had led up to his move away from Gigg on deadline day. Joe explained that he had had discussions with Stevenage but as there was no manager in place, and a long distance away. He didn’t fancy such a long distance move and wanted to stay at the club to try to salvage the season. However word had gone around and Rotherham tested the water and the move came about to get him off the wage bill.

Talking to Joe you got a sense of the frustration with how the season has gone at Bury FC. “Pre season was really good, everyone was settled and we were going into it in a really positive mood wanting to improve on what we did last year. The side was full of plenty of lads with things to prove; Marshy, Lenny and others. We played Bradford and battered them, then Richie left and it hit the lads really hard. We’d had every day with him over pre season and Shirty and Futch got thrown in at the deep end.”

The early season obviously still grates on Joe; “we had no luck at all, Notts County was a perfect example, it was the most one sided game I ever played in but they scored in first and last minutes and we lost 2-0. Unfortunately the run of 8 games set in and it felt like a really long time, runs like that feel like a long time.” (I agreed it felt equally as long from our perspective too.)

The arrival of Kevin Blackwell changed the focus of the club, Joe explained:

“the run of 8 games showed something wasn’t working and the gaffer tried to change it. He knew what he wanted and brought in some more experienced players who’d been there and done it a bit. Dom Poleon did really well, Tom Soares was a great signing, Matt Docherty is now in the Wolves team but everything we tried to do, something else popped up to stop us. The Bournemouth game was a killer, we’d gone on a run and the last minute goal that saved Eddie Howe’s record for the draw stopped us from getting out of the bottom four, and from then there was always another hurdle that stopped us doing it. There was always something.”

I really felt for Joe, and the lads, when he tried to express his thoughts on the latter stages of the season “I know some people will be angry at what’s gone on, but he did his best with what he could do. Tom Soares did everything he could to help us out. It feels like the club fought so hard to get out of league 2 and it’s just been thrown away.”

I moved Joe onto his arrival at Gigg Lane, Shrewsbury had shown an interest and a few other clubs but once he’d met Alan Knill and heard what he wanted to do he wanted to play for him. 

“He’s the best manager I’ve played for in my career so far. He got my career going again, I was low in confidence and my career was going downhill, but he picked me up and got it going again. Everything he had us set up to do was right, and worked. Some good lads brought in, people with things to prove and the loan lads and the experienced core of Lowey, Sodje, Sweens and Schuey. Everything about it was enjoyable, we started slowly and were mid table but from November on we were playing teams off the park, passing them to death, especially away. I enjoyed every minute of the first two years, it couldn’t have been more perfect really.”

Alan Knill’s departure was obviously a blow and I was curious how it had impacted on the team. “I was really sad, he’d brought me and many of the lads in and first training afterwards was a shambles with Sodje, Schuey and Lowey. We realised we’d need someone in charge quick and we’d been told to expect to see Iain Dowey the following morning. But the experienced lads suggested we needed some continuity and it’d be better if Richie (Barker) did it til the end of the season keeping it going and just tinkering with a few things.”

Joe obviously took as much pleasure from the final 8 games as we all did and was animated as he described the process of how the momentum built from Nicky Ajose’s first minute goal v Oxford “I’ve never heard Gigg Lane so loud, it was like a release and we just kept winning, the lads were flying out of the traps Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday for 3 weeks we just kept winning, suddenly we were at Chesterfield and it was my best day in Football.”

For some of the Shakers I mentioned at the beginning, this was their first season supporting Bury where something positive came from it, for others it had been 14 years since the champion team of Lucketti, Butler, Johnson and Carter so that emotion was equally shared.

The way the side that year played and their togetherness is a marked contrast from the revolving door of players this year. Joe waxed lyrical about his friend Tom Lees and the part he played in that side

“He’s the best player I’ve played with for sure, the best with everything he had. We travelled in together every day for a season and I see him regularly still for something to eat and a catch up.  Look at him now, 150 league games for Leeds by 22 and England U21 international. He’d win games for us on his own, popping up with a header, just class. I’ve played with a few though, Peter Sweeney can manoeuvre his way out of a situation no one else can and then pick you out on the other wing with a 70 yard pass, Schuey, Jonah (Mike Jones), Nicky, Lowey were all class players. If we’d been able to have kept all those players we’d have gone up again.”

The delight in talking about this side and the players had us both talking with beaming smiles reminiscing. “The whole side went out after, you sometimes get players wanting to do their own thing but everyone was there, celebrating together.”

Joe returned to the managers he’s worked for at Bury, I asked him about the differences between them all.

“Alan Knill was a quiet guy, a lot calmer, got things set up right and if you didn’t follow it through he’d just tell you he was disappointed, you don’t need a DVD to know if you’ve made a mistake. He had Brassy who would be the one to give out the bollockings or pick up everybodies spirits if we’d lost, then Knilly would come down and it was time to work again.

Richie Barker was similar to Knilly, quite calm training was really good and he makes it enjoyable. At times you could tell it was his first job sometimes things would get on top of him, especially when we went on that run (after Christmas) and people getting on his back, but I think he learned a lot from it and made him a stronger manager and person. He lets you go out and enjoy yourself on the pitch.

Under Kevin (Blackwell); one to one when you talk to him he’s so knowledgeable and he likes high tempo training and wants you to work really hard, like I do. He’s been at big clubs and has high expectations which he’s had to pull back through no fault of his own with circumstances this year, he came in and decided we weren’t fit enough and changed the training. I can tell you this, Bury aren’t going down because they weren’t fit or training hard.”

I suggested that the training may have led to some of the injuries which have plagued the season, Joe was honest “some people need different things, it did me no harm but others may need a rest, it may do, who knows?” Later we mused if Kevin’s high standards would allow him to manage in league two, and agreed that it was going to be interesting to see what happened next.”

I suggested he was still a front runner for player of the season, Joe laughed and told me “Schuey is player of the season, 10 goals from midfield in a struggling side is great, a top side would take that, it’s just a shame we could never get a striker in form to go with him and knock in the chances we creating. We drew too many we might as well win one lose one than all those draws, conceded as many as last year but couldn’t score enough.”

Joe’s memories from Gigg are all positive; “from the day I joined to the day I left its all positive. There’s been some downers obviously, losing home and away at Rochdale, that’s not good getting some Twitter abuse etc but that’s part of it taking the lows and the highs, but then you balance that with what happened at Chesterfield I don’t think anything will beat that, the way it happened, and staying up the next year, first day at Huddersfield showing we were ready for league one was brilliant. The whole three years I’ve not a missed a game through injury, just one suspended, never missed a day training, its just been a great experience for me. Travelling over, some of those car shares with Leesy, then Giles (Coke), Nathan (Clarke), Grella. We had a spell of tyre blow outs and could never change them, but good laughs too.”

Reflecting on the year he commented “I just hope Bury can come back stronger, as long as the club is still there that’s the most important thing. It’s been a tough year but as long as the club survives is the main thing, doing it somehow without stretching themselves. Yes it’s league two but it’s still a good league with a few decent grounds. The fans have been always been brilliant with me, when I left I got lots of lovely messages on twitter and wishing me well and sending their thanks, really touching. Its really sad to leave but I’ve really enjoyed it.”

As we went our separate ways on the car park I reflected on our hour, chatting about a club that we both love from different perspectives. Mine from the fan angle of hopes and dreams for my team, Joe’s from the impact on his career, lifelong friendships made and personal development.  Thanks to Joe for his time in chatting to me, and for his service to the club especially as part of that special 2010/11 team.

Good luck, come back soon.

What's so bad about league two?

In HG Wells War of the Worlds the Journalist character, who narrates the story, meets up with a young soldier, hiding away with the world at its lowest ebb and all hope lost. They share experiences before the artilleryman reveals his plan to restart human existence underground, asking the question 'what's so bad about living down there? It's not been so great up here if you want my opinion'.

This made me think of the recent events at Gigg, and posed a similar question, is league two such a bad place to be because for the last two seasons League one has been a  fairly dispiriting challenge.

There are plenty of local teams, Morecambe, Fleetwood, Accy, Dale, possibly Oldham depending on how the next few weeks pan out, all of whom may bring a reasonable number should they start ok. Slightly further afield the trip back to York is one to look forward to, Bradford home and away haven't been bad games in recent years and possibility of new grounds at Rotherham and Barnet to whet the appetite of the ticker make it a not wholly unappealing prospect.

In all probability the team that is going restart the Shakers adventure in the 'Brave New World' is going to look very different from the current one, so much nostalgia for the owners of the 2013 calendar to look forward to by October and November, and the prospects for whoever does the root and branch reform that has been promised to put us together a team that will be stable, vibrant and fit for purpose at a price that suits the position we will be in.

Having had a couple of seasons of poundings by championship rejects and wannabes, it might be nice to see my team winning again, maybe playing some nice stuff occasionally and not having to constantly explain why things are as bad as they appear to be. In the 'Brave New World' of League Two whoever is in charge might just be discussing how they have brought on a gem from non league and extolling the virtues of Craig Jones's wonderful crosses.

Who knows? With just a handful of men, maybe we can start all over again. Here's hoping.

Up the Shakers.

We need to talk about Kevin

Firstly, I should acknowledge the lack of posts over the last month as the Good Ship Shaker listed from one crisis to the next. I'll be honest, I'm sick of talking about this season and wish it was due to end tomorrow, not the end of next month. Like many Shakers I've long since resigned myself to our fate and recognise that whatever happens results wise between now and then is only going to be the fore runner to a summer that offers as yet uncertain dramas.

Another reason for my lack of vocal musings on the situation is a reluctance to join in with the negativity that seems to be enveloping Bury FC like a dementor's gaze (one for the Harry Potter fans out there) and is sucking away the life blood of the club. Having said that I have been pondering this post for a couple of weeks, during which my respect for our manager fell to new, and I thought, previously unreachable depths.

I have already discussed the handling of some of the younger players in the new years revolution post, but since that was published it would appear that Kevin Blackwell is doing his best to rip the heart out of everything that Bury FC stands for. I cannot understand what goes through the man's head any more, when he comes out with statements about how much players earn, how the entire club needs restructuring, how no one has told him about what is happening, signing on players to dismiss them the next day paints the worst possible picture of our club, and he is allowed to do it over and over again. It's easy to buy into the attitude that the club is tinpot, if every message from the manager says this is case.

Bury FC over the last few years has been seen as a supportive place where good young players come, develop and move on in the company of a few experienced pros. Take away the manner of departure from Alan Knill and Richie Barker's stewardship and underneath was a culture of improvement and guidance where good youngsters were encouraged. Surely this has now been consigned to the dustbin with the treatment of the 2012/13 vintage, who having been welcomed in July by one manager were just as quickly told they were unwanted and substandard by the next in September. No nurturing, no development, no plans for improvement, just a quick undignified exit.

The tactics have been baffling, Blackwell's stubborn refusal to fill the bench, to use players who were able to fill the roles required and use that point to try to reinforce his own position and score points has made turning up for games a misery. I salute those supporters who travel long distances paying good money in difficult times. I once heard a quote that said the opposite of love isn't hate, because hate still shows an attachment. The real opposite of love is indifference, and I fear that under the current regime many Shakers fans are becoming indifferent to what is going on, in the hope that this will ease the pain. I saw several messages following the announcement of the postponement of the recent Scunthorpe game along the lines of 'thank Goodness, couldn't be bothered' etc showing a worrying lack of enthusiasm for the club just now.
I don't think that this is just the fact that relegation is looming, but a real sense of disappointment with how everything seems to be rapidly unraveling after several years of hard work to get the club back on a stable footing

I recognise the financial constraints can't be easy to work under and it must be frustrating, but to show that frustration over and over, and blame everyone but yourself is putting an unmovable wedge between the manager and supporters. Some (but a dwindling number I observe) applaud KB's honesty in his media work in identifying the situation he is working under. What I resent is the dishonesty liberally sprinkled through his comments. The painting of himself in a better light than has ever been the case (we were 14 points adrift when I came in etc) and the constant down grading of the club surely wouldn't be accepted anywhere else and, if he has been challenged about it and briefed about how to handle such questions, a blatant disregard for the club who's family, nurturing environment is being rapidly destroyed.

With hindsight, maybe a manager who was prepared to buy into the club's ethos would've been a better idea than one so keen on his own reputation and stats (real or believed). One who recognised that a long serving player may have had a few final cameos to make, that a young player may have stepped up to make a bid for a regular spot or one who wasn't going to cause years of damage to the whole collective being that is Bury FC.

It's now over ten years since we had to Save our Shakers. This time we need to save the soul of the club before everything that makes our little club special disappears.

Mid winter break, the way forward?

It was almost a relief to return to Gigg Lane on Saturday, not just for the very welcome 3 points and the little trip out of the relegation zone for the first time in months, but the actual opportunity to take in a home game, something we'd been unable to do for a full month.

The weather had imposed a very continental full on mid winter break on the majority of the Shakers faithful, and had caused me to reflect on would this be a sensible move going forward, especially in the lower leagues. Of course there are many pros and cons but this season has thrown up in stark reality how the weather can impact on a club, causing damage to revenue streams and imposing unforeseen costs - from policing and away travel, to sponsors, catering and programmes.

The British weather is inconsistent, but a mid winter break in England from 3rd Round FA Cup day on January's first Saturday through to the 4th Round on it's last weekend could be a sensible window The opportunity to plan budgets knowing where their expenditure would be in the most unpredictable of months would surely be a welcome benefit? Opponents suggest that the break disrupts form and slams the brakes onto much needed momentum, the clubs in continental Europe who have had a scheduled break for years view their season in two distinct parts - the Germans even have a name for it, Herbstmeister is the Winter Champion in their leagues, the team top of the league at the onset of the winter break, and are able to plan for it. As a Shakers fan I think the opportunity to reverse momentum and catch our collective breaths has been a positive this January.

Another bonus of a winter break would be to allow the wheeling and dealing of the transfer window to go on without it affecting the onfield action. I remember arriving at Lincoln just prior to David Nugent's sale to Preston. The imminent sale was common knowledge and to see him playing, knowing the importance of the transfer money to the Shakers finances, was like watching someone juggle a priceless Ming vase, every tackle and challenge was a heart stopper.

Mid winter training is always a problem, especially at Gigg. Lower Gigg and Goshen are often under water or frozen solid, there are only so many favours that can be called in to share facilities in Carrington by one or the other of our money bag big city neighbours, and it can't be pleasant to be rubbing shoulders with the proletariat at Trafford Centre's Soccer Dome. Last season the club were able to hurriedly arrange a warm weather training camp and match in Gibraltar with our scheduled opponents still in the FA Cup, a planned midwinter break would allow such plans to be made and budgetted for at the start of the year.

The transfer merry go round has been much more active at Gigg Lane this year than in many previous seasons. It was like the start of the season again on Saturday as we got used to a redesigned defense, and returning favourites settling back in. Obviously some of the Shakers hand was forced by the transfer embargo but even the away games played in January featured markedly different personnel to Saturdays side. The loanees and signed on trialists gelled immediately and produced a superb battling win, surely a midwinter lay off would have given a more comfortable trial window and allow the manager to make a decision without the pressing need to select a side for Saturday hanging over him.

The traditionalist in me loves the cold deep winter matches, but the risk factor of setting off to those away games (especially in a national 3rd division, but that's another discussion) when the almost certain outcome is that you'll get a call at 11am saying it's off is surely too much for cash strapped fans, for whom no one gets a refund from the hosting club. I remember several trips to Walsall in the 90's when games were called off late, and on one famous occasion was called off on the radio incorrectly, and then reinstated, but not before many Shakers had turned around and were heading home.

There are as many arguments against the Mid Winter break as there are for it. However events at Gigg Lane this January suggest that the lower down the divisions you look, there are less reasons why a January 3 week shut down might not be the way forward.