Football

[DarloRich]

Scarborough 1 v Darlo 0

Poor end of season game heading for a dull 0-0 until our young Boro loanee was suckered into a naïve sending off pushing over a Scarborough player who then rolled around as if hit in the face with a hammer ( contact was hand to chest) . Mid table for us. Could be the last game Scarborough play at home for a while:

A football club which was due to have its pitch replaced before the start of the new season in August has been told it will not now be ready in time.

Scarborough Athletic's current artificial 3G pitch at the North Yorkshire Council-owned Scarborough Sports Village was supposed to be replaced after the final home game of the season on 21 April.

However, the club said it had been told by the council that a site survey had revealed "serious structural issues", including problems with the drainage system.

Scarborough Athletic 'in limbo' over new pitch delay - chairman

Scarborough Athletic's artificial pitch will not be ready for the new season, the club is told.

www.bbc.co.uk

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Apr 2025 ==

Two championship sackings:

Mowbray sacked at WBA: https://www.wba.co.uk/news/club-statement-tony-mowbray

West Bromwich Albion have today parted company with Head Coach Tony Mowbray.

Assistant Head Coach Mark Venus has also departed the club.

The club would like to place on record its thanks to Tony and Mark for their efforts – but has made the decision to part company following a series of poor results.

Norwich City sack Thorup: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c0rz9ekdpg9o

Norwich City have sacked head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup and placed ex-Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere in charge for their two remaining games of the season.

Thorup, 36, was appointed in May 2024 as the replacement for David Wagner, who had been sacked following the Canaries' play-off defeat by Leeds United.

But the Dane leaves Carrow Road following a run of six defeats in eight Championship matches.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

As it stands, West Ham are the only team not mathematically safe. However, for them to be relegated requires them to lose every remaining match, Ipswich to win all of theirs, and a goal difference swing of 20 to be overturned. (WH on -18, Ipswich -38).
I think it’s safe to say the bottom three are sorted.

The next league match that Ipswich have to play is on this coming Saturday....away at Newcastle United.

 

[Howardh]

Probably the dullest Premiership ever? We know who will be relegated and will win it - known now for weeks, and just about everyone else gets a place in Europe it seems, even if it's UEFA's version of the Leyland Daft Trophy.

However, fascinating stuff at the bottom of the third and fourth tiers!!

 

[Cletus]

More exciting leagues to found down south, where with one game to go the top 6 of the NLS are separated by 3 points.

1	Truro City	45	25	11	9	70	40	+30	86
2	Torquay United	45	24	14	7	69	41	+28	86
3	Eastbourne Borough	45	24	13	8	67	43	+24	85
4	Worthing	45	25	10	10	73	57	+16	85
5	Boreham Wood	45	25	8	12	83	47	+36	83
6	Dorking Wanderers	45	23	14	8	87	54	+33	83
7	Maidstone Utd	45	21	15	9	68	36	+32	78

And in the Isthmian Premier where the top 3 are level with 1 game left. My team Dover Athletic are in the final play off place level with Chichester. Dover's final game of the season? Away at Chichester

1	Billericay	41	+39	84
2	Horsham	41	+38	84
3	Dartford	41	+31	84
4	Cray Valley PM (-3)	41	+25	77
5	Dover Athletic	41	+33	73
6	Chichester City	41	+15	73

 

[DarloRich]

There is a lot of talk about who will be in NLN next season.

I think it will be Fylde, Macclesfield, Worksop, Kettering, Bedford & Merthyr joining us in NLN but I still hope we might get Hemel Hempstead!

 

[SuspectUsual]

There is a lot of talk about who will be in NLN next season.

I think it will be Fylde, Macclesfield, Worksop, Kettering, Bedford & Merthyr joining us in NLN but I still hope we might get Hemel Hempstead!

Merthyr in NLN is just insane

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Merthyr in NLN is just insane

Does seem strange, but who, from National League South, would you shift into National League North, to make way for Merthyr?

 

[SuspectUsual]

Does seem strange, but who, from National League South, would you shift into National League North, to make way for Merthyr?

There isn't an easy answer, it's just unfortunate that the 48 clubs at that level are nowhere near a 24/24 split either side of the traditional Birmingham-ish divide. When Halifax were in the NLN it was bad enough having to go to Gloucester, Oxford City and Histon

 

[DarloRich]

If you draw a line they are about the same as Oxford and Gloucester so while mad not MAD!

 

[SuspectUsual]

If you draw a line they are about the same as Oxford and Gloucester so while mad not MAD!

Until you try and actually go there!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Until you try and actually go there!

Merthyr Town vs South Shields next season will be a bit of a trek!

 

[Haywain]

Merthyr Town vs South Shields next season will be a bit of a trek!

Meanwhile, in the South this year, Truro to Chelmsford which is, near as dammit, the same distance. Every year there's a fuss about how far clubs in the National North might have to travel with no appreciation of the shape of the south and the distances involved.

 

[DarloRich]

Until you try and actually go there!

It can be done by train! Plus Darlo played there in our GM Vauxhall championship season and I wasn't allowed to go!

Merthyr Town vs South Shields next season will be a bit of a trek!

Don't know they are born!
I have done Darlo to Plymouth by coach

 

[SuspectUsual]

It can be done by train! Plus Darlo played there in our GM Vauxhall championship season and I wasn't allowed to go!

Halifax last played them in the 94/95 season, which coincided with me getting my first company car and the ability to (to a degree) shape site visits around the football fixture list. Merthyr away was on a Tuesday night in April and of course I went. Lost 2-0 with both goals in the last ten minutes. Looking at the details, the crowd was 420, the smallest crowd we played in front of all season.

And it was cold and wet

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Why don't Merthyr play in the Welsh League?

 

[Haywain]

Why don't Merthyr play in the Welsh League?

Because they don't want to. They would, it seems, rather be a small fish in a very big pond.

 

[1D54]

Why don't Merthyr play in the Welsh League?

Club don't want it and neither do a majority of the fans. FAW recently offered the club money to transfer to the Welsh system but they weren't interested.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Club don't want it and neither do a majority of the fans. FAW recently offered the club money to transfer to the Welsh system but they weren't interested.

It doesn't seem to bother the Rugby Union teams.

 

[Haywain]

It doesn't seem to bother the Rugby Union teams.

Why would they be bothered which league Merthyr play in?

 

[d9009alycidon]

Was it controversial. From my memory, Clydebank were a basket case at that time, homeless after the owners sold the ground so playing in Dumbarton and Greenock for 6 or 7 years, were in admin for years and support had drifted. Probably did them the world of good.

In trivia they did play one of the last two Christmas day games in Britain - playing Alex Ferguson's St Mirren in 1976. Not sure what happened to that guy!

Everyone bleated about how nasty Airdrie United robbed Clydebank of their team and league place, short memories indeed. In 1964 the Steedman Brothers attempted to do something remarkably similar by "merging" East Stirlingshire with Clydebank Juniors and moving the club from Falkirk to Clydebank and calling then ES Clydebank, this arrangement only lasted one year until East Stirlingshire shareholders wrested control back and returned their club to Falkirk. 60 years on Clydebank are once again a Junior Club, what goes around etc....

 

[Haywain]

Everyone bleated about how nasty Airdrie United robbed Clydebank of their team and league place, short memories indeed. In 1964 the Steedman Brothers attempted to do something remarkably similar by "merging" East Stirlingshire with Clydebank Juniors and moving the club from Falkirk to Clydebank and calling then ES Clydebank, this arrangement only lasted one year until East Stirlingshire shareholders wrested control back and returned their club to Falkirk. 60 years on Clydebank are once again a Junior Club, what goes around etc....

So, what Airdrie did to Clydebank was OK because it had happened to Clydebank before? That's a very strange sort of logic.

 

[SuspectUsual]

So, what Airfrie did to Clydebank was OK because it had happened to Clydebank before? That's a very strange sort of logic.

I suppose in Scottish football you’d call that an Auld Testament approach

An aye for an aye

 

[Falcon1200]

For anyone wanting to visit Oxford City, the Stagecoach 14 bus runs direct, every half-hour, from Oxford station to Marsh Lane, where their ground is located (I grew up in Marsh Lane!).

 

[Cross City]

There isn't an easy answer, it's just unfortunate that the 48 clubs at that level are nowhere near a 24/24 split either side of the traditional Birmingham-ish divide. When Halifax were in the NLN it was bad enough having to go to Gloucester, Oxford City and Histon

When I used to watch a load of NLN football 8-10 years ago I would die on the hill that an East/West divide would be better than a North/South one in the Conf N/S.

Going up and down this country is far easier than going across it, yeah some of the distances are longer but the journeys much easier. An M1 corridor and M6/5 corridor league made perfect sense IMO.

 

[DarloRich]

For anyone wanting to visit Oxford City, the Stagecoach 14 bus runs direct, every half-hour, from Oxford station to Marsh Lane, where their ground is located (I grew up in Marsh Lane!).

When we went in September we got a cab from town and the bus back. It is quite a way out of town but not as bad as Oxford City!

 

[Falcon1200]

It is quite a way out of town but not as bad as Oxford City!

Oxford United rather than City, presumably? But I agree, absolutely. United's proposed new ground, should it ever materialise, will also be far from the city, but close to Oxford Parkway station.

Regarding United, we are locked in a multi-team battle to stay in the Championship. The bottom 7 clubs are separated by 6 points with 2 games to go.

 

[Haywain]

United's proposed new ground, should it ever materialise, will also be far from the city, but close to Oxford Parkway station.

It's worth noting that stations close to some other new grounds get closed after matches to prevent overcrowding.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

In the olden days, when you bought a programme, you were always told which town the referee came from. Arthur Ellis (Halifax), Maurice Fussey (Retford), Jack Taylor (Wolverhampton), ... and so on. That practice seems to have stopped about 20 years ago. Could this be because match officials are not always selected from neutral areas, particularly at lower levels?

A couple of years back, in post 28,887 on this thread, I complained about one of the worst linesman's decisions I had ever seen when Bradford had a late and blatantly onside FA Cup equaliser disallowed at Ashington, attaching video evidence.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1571170084655185929

Last season we had a late, late winner disallowed at Whitby thanks to a very marginal decision which hammered a big nail into our survival chances. But that's football.

This season our manager thought we'd had a couple of marginal offside decisions going against us at Dunston but, having not been there, I thought it was just a bad luck that these things tended to happen to us in the north east and thought little more about it.

That was until yesterday when I finally got round to reading Dunston's digital programme. The home club broke with tradition and revealed that the referee was "from London but travels from Newcastle today". One linesman was from Newcastle and the other was from Whickham. Thus all three officials came from the same Gateshead/Newcastle area in which Dunston is located. I'm not doubting the integrity of any of them - but how can it be right to appoint officials based so close to the home club?

 

[gg1]

In the olden days, when you bought a programme, you were always told which town the referee came from. Arthur Ellis (Halifax), Maurice Fussey (Retford), Jack Taylor (Wolverhampton), ... and so on. That practice seems to have stopped about 20 years ago. Could this be because match officials are not always selected from neutral areas, particularly at lower levels?

Maybe a reflection of the fact that where someone lives is no longer an especially reliable indicator of which team they support, not just due to glory hunters but also people who inherited their club from family members even though they personally may have never lived anywhere near said club.

 

[Haywain]

Maybe a reflection of the fact that where someone lives is no longer an especially reliable indicator of which team they support,

Or more likely that with social media and attitudes to referees it's better to be more vague about where they live. I doubt there were many people called Ray Lewis living in Great Bookham back in the day.