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.

Les Miserables? They've got nothing on us.

Occasionally our hardy band of contributors would turn to adapting the lyrics of popular tunes in the feature 'Gigg Lane Rock Lyrics'. Included in these were 'Gigg Oddity', 'A Town called Bolton' and a Beatles inspired tune called 'Tony Rigby'.

As the musical Les Miserables hits the big screen this weekend, it seemed appropriate to mix an old favourite with latest events and borrow the best tune from that show.

(If you don't know the song, here's a link to the original http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwM8fSDsgLI )

Do you hear the Shakers sing?

(With apologies to Claude- Michael Schoenberg)

FOLK OF GIGG

Do you hear the Shakers sing?

Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people

Who’ve been asked for cash again!

When the sinking of your heart

Echoes the cemmy ender’s drum

There is a crisis about to start

When tomorrow comes!

BOARD

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will buy next season's ticket now?

Beyond the embargo

Is there a player you long to see?

Then join in the fight

That will give us some funds for a free!

ALL

Do you hear the Kevin sing?

Singing a song of angry bloke?

It is the music the only guy

Who didn't know we're broke!

When the bleating of his voice

Tells you the same stuff every time.

There’d be a season about to start

If the swear box was full.

KEVIN

Will you give all you can give

So that my win rate may advance,

We were 14 points adrift you know

Who cares about the facts?

We can’t fill a bench

But the fault lies with everyone else.

ALL

Do you hear the Shakers sing?

Singing the songs we always will?

It is the music of a people

Who love Lucketti, Farrell and Hill.

When the beating of your heart

stirs as you walk up Manny Road

There is a game that's about to start

When a matchday comes!

Up the Shakers

New Years Revolution

140 Characters is not much when you want to have a moan is it? However my tweet from New Years Day evening summed it up quite succinctly for once I felt:
[Excuse the lack of punctuation] "Dismal times at Gigg Lane Sick of excuses from manager blaming everyone but himself & hoping for a leader to inspire my club"
As those of you who were present for the game v Tranmere on New Years Day there was much to give credit for from the inexperienced Shakers, who inevitably conceded just once and slid to another dispiriting defeat, however the growing mood of gloom and disenchantment seems to be taking over the entire club and one wonders what can be done to stop a slide back to the basement and a return to the misery of the real 4th division.

In my eyes there are several reasons for the situation.

On the playing front Richie Barker had had a decent first full season in charge and had added to the squad with development and nurturing in mind to coax some above potential performances from the kids he'd brought in. Loans have become the way forward for teams at all levels and I'm sure would have supplemented the squad as the early months progressed. We all know what happened in early August and RB's decision was inevitable, even if his timing as bad as his predecessor's.
The impact on the players was more marked this time around. When Knill left they banded together to ride out the crisis to a glorious conclusion, the 8 games remaining had a clear purpose - to end what we started, all for one and one for all etc. However the departure of Barker must have left them with a horrible feeling of deja vu just 15 months on and a full season of uncertainty to aim at.

In the boardroom there was a dual problem, the loss of Mark Catlin was a big blow. He spoke the fans language, knew what needed saying and how to say it. Shakers supporters liked and trusted him and he felt like a big part of the previous 2 year progression. Without him the conduit of information disappeared just when we needed it most. Secondly the decision to give Peter Shirtliff an extended run in charge backfired spectacularly as the team licked it's wounds and retreated, leaderless to the bottom of the table.

On the pitch, as I mentioned above, the team was flat and unable to raise itself. Several players went missing and some have yet to return to anything like the displays they are capable of. Young lads with 2 or 3 seasons experience were now to be leading the side. Recruitment of new players caused occasional sparks of life but little more, returning players raised more questions about wages than contribution, loanees were sometimes inspired, more often shots in the dark.

The appointment of Kevin Blackwell appeared to have steadied the listing ship. A first victory, a run of results to raise us from last place to the dizzy heights of 3rd bottom indicated progress before the PFA loan/ transfer embargo ripped morale to pieces once again. The weather and poor crowds had brought about short term financial problems yet the manager has chosen to use this as a reason to create a them v us mentality within the club, his constant whining about 'you'd better ask them', 'nobody told me' (as if the board can plan the weather) and cursing through post match interviews sounds too much like a man preparing his exit strategy with reputation intact than a motivational tool.

Speaking of motivation, the players brought in by RB needing an arm around and a bit of gentle persuasion were dealt the iron blow of 'mistakes were made preseason', 'I can't even fill a bench' and the latest gem 'what you'd get for their wage wouldn't buy a hat'. Any chance of the young lads getting a game and progressing were torn to pieces as he made clear his views that they wouldn't play under him and it's all someone elses fault.

So where does my hoped for 'New Years Revolution' come from?

Ideally it will come from within. The team need to develop a siege mentality and a few seniors step up, just like they did during the final throws of promotion. They need to become a unit (which is tough when half the team is made of loanees). I would love to see Steve Schumacher, Andy Bishop & Efe Sodje take the lead in this, just like Ryan Lowe did.

I'd love to see the manager backing this action and supporting it, and recognising that sometimes motivation can happen in positive ways rather than simply telling someone they're crap. Moaning through press conferences isn't inspirational for supporters who deserve better. Hopefully the 'them v us' message being portrayed is just a clever way of trying to stimulate some dressing room cohesion, who knows?

The fans have done their bit, dipping into pockets once again to buy into the emergency funding offers, so keep us in the loop. Let us know how it's going, are we close to paying it off and getting back to normal or are we lurching into another financial crisis?
We are going to have to pull together once again. A revolution in thinking at Gigg Lane means getting off the backs of the young kids who have carried the team to where it currently lies. I know that frustration is at simmering point and the expectation of disappointment seems to have replaced the anticipation of hope, however crucifying every mistake will not save the season, no matter how regularly they happen or damaging it is.

Generating some atmosphere in the ground also needs a revolution in thinking, can we please put out own feelings aside and shut the Manchester road end, put visitors in the Cemmy and get closer to the away fans. The recent match v PNE had good banter and increased volume levels to way above the recent norm despite the smaller crowd. Surely this would help the players (both established and loanee) and may encourage the occasional visitor to return to the ground?

Any or all of these requires some leadership. It may salvage the season, it may not. But as even the most committed begin to question their sanity once again it must be time for something to happen? Come on Bury, let's not end the season wishing someone had tried something.

Please Bury FC - Make our new year resolution be to start the revolution. Up the Shakers.

Grounds for improvement?

As Christmas time is a time for reflection (and as this season has been so toe-curlingly awful so far) I often find myself drifting off, thinking back to days gone by. New books delivered by Santa meant a bit of re-organisation of the shelving, during this task I was waylaid by my elderly copy of Simon Inglis's Football Grounds of Britain (my edition dated 1996) and as I flicked through more and more I was transported back by the excellent descriptions of grounds and the pictures of the lost grounds I visited in my formative years of supporting the Shakers.

Many games jumped out of the pictures, Rotherham's Millmoor ground, scene of Baichung Bhutia's fine goal - maybe his best moment in a Bury shirt - flashed by, I regressed further to David Lee's 1990(?) team when I was lucky to escape on the train with my life as some local hoolie wannabees spotted me as they got off a couple of stops before my return to college. Millmoor was a tidy ground with a narrow alley at the back of the away end by a scrap yard. It had a big social club (the Tivoli) on the front that sold stones or wards bitter and was probably the warmest place on the ground. Millmoor was a lucky ground in recent times, I don't remember losing too many there and it was generally a good trip.

Wigan's Springfield Park fell open before me, an unlovable bowl with a grassy away end, and a small stand plonked on the terracing down one side. I recall laying out on my flag sunbathing during one end of season game, and slithering down it celebrating goals during wet Tuesday nights in the middle of winter. It was rarely a pleasure to visit Springfield Park with its big empty wide open spaces and big fence, strangely when they moved to the JJB Stadium it remained difficult but I do happily recall a Steve Redmond header salvaging a Boxing Day point a few years ago.

Simon Inglis describes Scunthorpe and Walsall as 'tin shacks' as he registers his dismay at the modernisation of grounds 'off the shelf'. The Walsall chapter had me waxing nostalgic as I returned to Fellows Park, one of my first away visits on the coach. Fellows Park is a supermarket now but was surrounded by decent pubs and had a good chippy and was a club in the heart of its community, unlike its replacement down by the motorway which isn't exactly supporting local business, and like many pubs and shops left behind those excellent services struggled once the clubs moved away.

I enjoyed skimming through Oxford's manor ground chapter, calling in at David Adekola's hat trick day at Scarborough (which deserves a blog entry all of it's own) and recalling visits to Leeds Road Huddersfield, Northampton's county ground, Roker Park and Stoke's Victoria ground where Reginald T Roofer once scored twice to stun the locals.

Of course I paused to re read the most read entry of all. Inglis perceptively describes Gigg Lane as 'the corner shop we all desperately want someone else to fraternise to ensure its survival'. This certainly continues and the ground he presents to his readers is more or less still the Gigg we know and love. I got to thinking about how supporters of other teams view Gigg? Would they mourn it's passing if the club upped sticks to a new fancy purpose built multi use community stadium?

I suppose the away games and grounds I remember are the ones where the best things happened for the Shakers, so by the same thinking the games I most want to forget at Gigg are where similar things happened for the opposition. I can think of (memorably) Swansea and Sunderland getting promoted at Gigg, also Walsall and their celebrating fans on the social club roof. Plymouth fans who were there probably recall fondly the 5-0 victory that cost Mike Walsh his job in September 1995 (I recall it as WWYATS? sponsored the game) but would they feel sad at the passing of our ground? I somehow doubt it.

The thing that struck me most during my nostalgic skim through Inglis's book was the ariel shots. Grounds are moving away from their communities, and heartlands. Those shots provide evidence of the evolution of the stadia and how their localities fit in around them (look at a picture of Goodison park if you don't believe me). Granted the new grounds are better appointed, more comfortable and fitted with all the fancy kit required to cover the game in the 21st century.

But are they an improvement? Not always in my book.

Do you ever have one of those days?

If you are amongst the 95 souls who follow me on twitter you'll be aware I'm not in good form.

I'm at a fairly low ebb with football, like many Shakers you could say I'm reeling from a combination of blows that would make, if not Sugar Ray Leonard but maybe Darren Bullock, very proud indeed.

It all started on Saturday, which was grim. Attendance wise it was grim, performance wise it was grim, Mum was bleating about her favourite wind up Andy Bishop, which darkened my mood and by the end of the game it was freezing and raining which meant it was a grim ride back over the pennines.
I sulked and planned a blog post which I quickly abandoned as too miserable and unnecessarily negative. I put it down to one of those days.

Sunday by mid afternoon was suddenly another one of those days. I felt like I'd stepped back in time 10 years. Transfer embargoes, financial peril, bucket collections and clamour for information screamed from the places where virtual shakers hang out. Had the curse of Brian Fenton's holidays had struck again (surely the answer is to confiscate the man's passport?) It's easy to say 'let the board deal with these situations' but when news is leaked out by the local paper, and fans have been so instrumental in the efforts to keep the club going not so long ago it's not surprising there is a panicked reaction. Particularly when it coincides with the quickest turn around in players I can remember.
Martin Dobson's promotion team used just 15 players (thanks James Bentley) yet I reckon KB has already signed more than that in his brief tenure at the top, I had already mused to myself it must be impacting on finances somewhere.
So I shared the information I had with the people who asked it, and went to bed with a heavy heart fearing the worst but hoping for the best from the official announcement as to what exactly was going on.

Monday's announcement allayed the fears somewhat, a quick PFA loan, being paid back in a month to ease the pain caused by called off games was the diagnosis of the embargo. The team set off to Southend mid morning with it's full complement of loanees still intact, and proceeded to get stuck in a huge accident on the M6. Having had 2 days from hell the club must've felt like someone was sticking pins into them.

Tuesday's cup tie and subsequent penalty shoot out loss was horribly depressing listening. The importance of the revenue from the cup overtook everyone, and the pressure was too severe. What made it worse was the juxtaposition of the Bradford v Arsenal shoot out happening virtually simultaneously, with the miraculous giant killing and £1 million pay out. For a brief moment it seemed like the Shakers had got it under control but the lead lasted a subliminal advertisers target time and the prize pot disappeared.

Surely Wednesday would be better?
Being awoken by my radio alarm singing the praise of Bradford's miracle by a lady DJ who doesn't quite have the terminology at her finger tips set me off in a bad mood. From twitter I gauged that several Shakers were having equally poor starts to their days. It wasn't until the FA's announcement of Bradford's reinstatement into the FA Cup that my blood began to boil again, the exact same circumstances had resulted in our explusion from the cup in 2006 yet City were off with a fine. The cynic in me can see that City were feeding at the FA's top table as recently as 1999, and as such still be part of that club. Only yesterday they got everyone talking about football in a positive way causing a huge cup upset. It wouldn't do to spoil the feel good by kicking them out would it?
Local radio tried to make a difference where there wasn't one - Bradford had spotted the problem and alerted the FA, other clubs had waited to be found out. Not true of course, Bury had flagged it up in 2006 as soon as the oversight was discovered but why let the truth hide a story. I hope Bury take legal advice based on what happened with this case, as there is now clear difference in treatment of the same case. It may solve the short term financial issues if the 2006 prize money for reaching round 3 is correctly reallocated (minus the fine of course).

So I remained cross, having had 5 days in a row. Let down by the governing body who had failed to keep to their own precedent, unsure about the financial stability of my beloved club, amazed at the never ceasing bad luck that seems to have enveloped the club like a blanket again and desperate for those players pulling on the shirt to feel it like we do. Maybe just once?

There was I at the Shay.

With the Shakers far, far away in deepest Essex or somewhere similar I took the chance to accept an invitation to take a nostalgic visit to the Shay, home of FC Halifax Town and the source of the name of this esteemed blog and it's paper based predecessor.

I wasn't there at the Shay on the Friday evening that named a Fanzine in May 1985, I was camping with my mates in the 10th Radcliffe Scouts at Giants Seat.I was aware of the importance of the game of course and had smuggled my trusty transistor radio to ensure I knew exactly what was going to be needed when my Dad picked me up to go to Gigg the following day. Frustratingly neither Radio Manchester or Piccadilly Radio told me anything other than 'Bury could gain promotion tomorrow...' and it wasn't until the following morning that I found out that Dobson's boys had been promoted without kicking a ball.

Many things had changed since my last visit to Halifax, the club had gone belly up, and been revived by swapping the FC to the front of the name (a useful trick, worth remembering), the old clubhouse had been wiped out and a fancy stand finally completed. The ground itself has been subtly renamed Shay Stadium, maybe since the New York Mets didn’t need the name anymore Calderdale council put in a cheeky bid and acquired the rights? The Shay hotel has been erased from the local pub scene but the art deco charm of the three pigeons and it’s excellent beers from the Ossett brewery remain firmly in place.

I didn’t visit the Shay until 1989, as a Yorkshire based student in my first year I got all the local grounds in that season. One of my firmest memories is the train backing out of Bradford station, an unexpected sensation. I stood in the chicken shed facing the main stand and took it all in, a familiar yet unfamiliar mix of souls whose lives, like mine were destined to follow their team in a roller coaster life sentence.

On the field at Shay stadium it was a bit scrappy, despite Droylsden’s relatively low position defences were on top. Ex Shakers Gaz Seddon and Jason Jarrett weren’t getting much of a look in, and when Seds finally tucked one in at the far stick he was flagged offside for the umpteenth time in the game. Seeing Seddon again sent me all nostalgic for a time when it wasn’t much fun being a Shaker, similarly Jarrett huffed and puffed and when he was eventually subbed off mid 2^nd half he threw a lovely diva strop and launched his jacket just wide of the dugout and just into the stand.

I didn’t visit the Shay as a Shakers fan until 92/3 season. It was the coldest I have ever been on a football ground. Colder than Ice Station Boundary Park, colder than Carlisle, colder than Boxing day when we cleared the pitch of snow for a game that never happened. Someone had daubed BFC on the tarmac mound that housed the away fans, and similarly painted our initials onto the pitch too. Danny Sonner scored to send the freezing hoards home happy but Halifax struggled all season and fell out of the league on the last day, watched by a huge crowd of ghoulish day trippers and programme collectors (all buying in multiple!!) A few days later, while selling the WWYATS? play off issue prior to the York game, one away fan told me ‘have some respect, the team from the Shay just went down.’ He mustn’t have got a programme.

Suddenly I was raised from my nostalgia, I’d been only 44 people off in the guess the crowd sweepstake amongst my friend’s regulars in the stand. Much tutting was going on and accusing glances came my way, fortunately someone a couple of rows in front was 22 closer. It wouldn’t do to win on your first attempt. Thankfully the game was looking up too. Seddon had been involved in a sublime move for the first goal, and a well taken 2^nd had given Town a cushion when Droylsden were woken from their slumbers with a training ground free kick. With 15 mins to go I was enjoying the game.

Non league football doesn’t suit the Shay, it’s a far better ground than that. The chicken shed stand was closed, but the now seated enclosure was ready and waiting for better times. This couldn’t be said for the away end where I’d last visited for a disastrous JPT game in the mid 2000’s when we had our keeper sent off and conceded a pan full. I was amazed to discover that the end had been condemned, the builders had used cheap materials that had rendered it unsafe, so there it stood with adverts hanging from it’s crush barriers, like a grumpy teacher reminding the class, ’if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly’.

A 3^rd Halifax goal prompted Droylsden to bring on a 3^rd ex Shaker. Joe O’Neill didn’t set any pulses racing during a loan spell at Gigg and he didn’t really on Saturday either. My mate was amazed at the amount of Shakers references I’d been able to get into one game, I was a bit concerned he’d laid it all on for me. The 4^th made it a bit one sided in the end but by that stage I was reminiscing again about visits past. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we can all ask where were you at the Shay again.

A welcome return in our eco system

Well it finally happened, season 2012/13 is up and running.

Just 3 days after the draw for the 1st round of the Cup and 3 managers on from the start of pre season, Bury have broken the seemingly never ending winless run that formed the worst start in living memory and has cut the Gigg Lane core support back to pre-Dobson era levels.
Having said all that the Blackwell era so far has been nicely positive, lots of enthusiasm and a return to siege mentality that the club thrives on in times of (so called) crisis. The influx of loanees has been a mostly improving feature yet on Tuesday it was the returning faces that cheered my evening.

Arriving into the ground at 7.30ish it was clear to see it was going to be a lonely old evening, Brian on the Mic was treating us to his early 90's playlist and it seemed slightly surreal to be singing 'Tony, Tony Tony, Tony Tony Rigby' along to Too Unlimited's original at a relegation 6 pointer in October. However as kick off approached there were some welcome returns. Efe Sodje was back in the team, complete with bandana, tights and gloves and (some of) the boys behnd me were back too.

When we chose our seats in the South Stand in 1997 we had no idea who we would sit near, but faces have become friends, some have come and gone, others now cheer on the lads from the grandstand in the sky sending celestial positive vibes. Others have joined our little posse of H Block protesters and the return of these guys cheered my evening on Tuesday. Always entertaining, these guy's views of the game are well worth a listen and the banter that accompanies it has educated my Mum over the last couple of years immensely, I'll leave it there. I heard Nick Hornby discussing his move from Highbury to the Emirates a few days ago, he said they had carefully moved their 'eco system' of matchday friends lock stock an barrell when they transplanted thier club, I would hope our similar network may stay together should we ever be uprooted.

Anyway, Tuesday evening was a lovely return to normal service. The boys behind discussed the chicken balti pie with an enthusiasm usually reserved for Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry dissecting the results of the technical challenge on GBBO. I had to agree that the morsel under discussion had a great flake, but the filling seemed stingy and it certainly had a soggy bottom. We moved onto our opponents, who would be in the 'your boys took a hell of a beating' rant should the first win happen tonight against Hartlepool? Jeff Stelling (obviously) topped the list, Captain Cook was suggested, H'Angus the monkey came the offer from the Bramhall Whites section of our area but beyond that we were stumped.

Of course there was a game going on but I was enjoying the evening too. The Shakers taking the lead raised spirits, and also started the checking of watches towards half, then full time. Worrall's glorious second was eclipsed by a wonder goal only seconds later leaving the slenderest of leads again. Efe was performing heroics, I asked the boys behind if removing his bandana would be a bookable offence? In a style that Kendo Nagasaki had to wear his mask, would Sodje be able to function if a Mick McManusesque opponent tried to remove his talisman? Suggestions came that the bandana covers the wires and robotics of a terminator style cyborg who would keep going even as his functions expired one by one, then the penalty came.

The law of Sod says that if it can happen, it'll happen to Bury (especially this season). However for once the stonewall pen was blasted against the bar, Efe resisted again in the dying seconds (as did the woodwork for a 2nd time) and even 5 minutes of injury time couldn't spoil the evening.

I set off home happy, equilibrium starting to return to the matchday experience.