Tonights 'From the Terrace'
Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 9:53 pm
I'm sure there are one or two other people out there who still bother to buy a programme, and who read my 'From the Terrace' article tonight with some confusion. It turns out Crawley have been whinging to the Conference about some criticism they received on the official Alty website, and so the board have contacted all Conference clubs asking them not to slag off other teams on their websites or in their programmes. As a result, my article had to be editted somewhat, and ended up making very little sense. I felt it only fair that I shared the full version with everyone. Besides, if Crawley don't like the criticism they shouldn't employ a convicted criminal as manager and continue to cheat at every given opportunity!
"I am going to be completely biased here, as always, but why is it that the footballing Gods so frequently smile upon the least deserving? I refer to the game nine days ago against Crawley Town, who, despite possessing a squad of very talented footballers, still feel the need to resort to the type of tactics that have become synonymous with Steve Evans’ teams over the years. The old adage of not being able to teach old dogs new tricks has never seemed more appropriate. Sour grapes, perhaps? Probably, but then I’ve always been a sore loser!
Creepy Crawley raised many an eyebrow with their extravagant spending during the summer transfer window, and unsurprisingly picked up a few more enemies along the way – not that they were particularly well liked in the first place. On the face of it though, it does seem a little hypocritical for a Rushden & Diamonds supporter to be criticising them for throwing money around like it’s going out of fashion, given our flamboyant spending during the Max Griggs era.
On three separate occasions we broke the record transfer fee paid by a non-league club; £85,000 for Carl Alford (we must have paid by the kilo), £125,000 or thereabouts for everybody’s favourite ex-goalkeeper, and then £180,000 for Justin Jackson in 2000, a record which stood for ten years until Creepy paid a reported £275,000 for Plug from the Bash Street Kids. Sorry, I mean Richard Brodie.
There are however, some subtle yet significant differences between the situations at the two clubs. Firstly, in Max Griggs we had an owner/chairman who was passionate about football and had been involved in the game for some time with Northampton Town. He was a popular and successful local businessman, whose goal from the outset of the club’s conception was to create something that could be enjoyed by the whole community. On the other hand, Crawley’s moneymen are, well.... no one actually knows. By all accounts their identities are as much a mystery to the Crawley fans as the rest of us. Indeed there is some debate over whether they have ever actually been to Crawley before!
Then there are the managers. Roger Ashby always came across as a true gent, and although Brian Talbot was never the most popular person, his integrity and professionalism could never be questioned. Steve Evans’ managerial history, however, is controversial to say the least, and the general consensus among supporters of non-league football (and beyond) is that there should not be a place in the game for such characters.
On a much happier note, we bounced back from the Crawley defeat with a well deserved win over Eastbourne Borough. Our first half performance displayed a level of assertiveness that has perhaps been missing at times this season, and although we had to weather the storm throughout the second half (in more ways than one!) the two goal victory was a just reward for our early endeavour.
Our attacking prowess has certainly improved with the signing of Tim Sills, who, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, is a horrible player to play against. He has always caused us problems in the past, especially during his time with Torquay, and is one of those players who opposition supporters love to hate. Tim has certainly endured his fair share of abuse from the De Banke in the past, but he is exactly the type of player we need at the moment, and I'm delighted to see him in a Rushden shirt."
"I am going to be completely biased here, as always, but why is it that the footballing Gods so frequently smile upon the least deserving? I refer to the game nine days ago against Crawley Town, who, despite possessing a squad of very talented footballers, still feel the need to resort to the type of tactics that have become synonymous with Steve Evans’ teams over the years. The old adage of not being able to teach old dogs new tricks has never seemed more appropriate. Sour grapes, perhaps? Probably, but then I’ve always been a sore loser!
Creepy Crawley raised many an eyebrow with their extravagant spending during the summer transfer window, and unsurprisingly picked up a few more enemies along the way – not that they were particularly well liked in the first place. On the face of it though, it does seem a little hypocritical for a Rushden & Diamonds supporter to be criticising them for throwing money around like it’s going out of fashion, given our flamboyant spending during the Max Griggs era.
On three separate occasions we broke the record transfer fee paid by a non-league club; £85,000 for Carl Alford (we must have paid by the kilo), £125,000 or thereabouts for everybody’s favourite ex-goalkeeper, and then £180,000 for Justin Jackson in 2000, a record which stood for ten years until Creepy paid a reported £275,000 for Plug from the Bash Street Kids. Sorry, I mean Richard Brodie.
There are however, some subtle yet significant differences between the situations at the two clubs. Firstly, in Max Griggs we had an owner/chairman who was passionate about football and had been involved in the game for some time with Northampton Town. He was a popular and successful local businessman, whose goal from the outset of the club’s conception was to create something that could be enjoyed by the whole community. On the other hand, Crawley’s moneymen are, well.... no one actually knows. By all accounts their identities are as much a mystery to the Crawley fans as the rest of us. Indeed there is some debate over whether they have ever actually been to Crawley before!
Then there are the managers. Roger Ashby always came across as a true gent, and although Brian Talbot was never the most popular person, his integrity and professionalism could never be questioned. Steve Evans’ managerial history, however, is controversial to say the least, and the general consensus among supporters of non-league football (and beyond) is that there should not be a place in the game for such characters.
On a much happier note, we bounced back from the Crawley defeat with a well deserved win over Eastbourne Borough. Our first half performance displayed a level of assertiveness that has perhaps been missing at times this season, and although we had to weather the storm throughout the second half (in more ways than one!) the two goal victory was a just reward for our early endeavour.
Our attacking prowess has certainly improved with the signing of Tim Sills, who, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, is a horrible player to play against. He has always caused us problems in the past, especially during his time with Torquay, and is one of those players who opposition supporters love to hate. Tim has certainly endured his fair share of abuse from the De Banke in the past, but he is exactly the type of player we need at the moment, and I'm delighted to see him in a Rushden shirt."
