Chip Wrappers: 08/12/2006

Maybe it's a penance for the embarrassment of last weeks 'big story' (see here if you don't know what it was) but for the first time this season there's nothing Stalybridge Celtic related on the back page of The Reporter.

Have they finally realised that no news from Bower Fold isn't necessarily a bad thing and that the world will keep on turning, or will we be treated next week to the exclusive - 'Celtic Get Phone Bill!' with a quote from the postman who delivered it and a potted history of British Telecom to beef it up a bit? I can't wait to find out!

Actually, on second thoughts, I can.

Quite rightly, given their recent form, the biggest football story on the back of the paper is devoted to Curzon Ashton. Following Mike Norton and Steve Moore winning the league's Player of the Month awards for September and October respectively, Gary Lowe has been awarded with the Manager of the Month for November. Or as their chairman Harry Galloway puts it:

"Last season we awarded the inaugral Groundtastic Award... Now this!"

On the back of the Advertiser, one local manager is having a go at his team for the manner of their defeat last weekend.

"(the) players let me down and themselves down, but most of all, they let the supporters down who all paid good money to go and watch them."

Hyde manager Steve Waywell (you didn't think it was our manager did you?) goes on to say:

"Ninety per cent of the players do prepare themselves properly, it’s the other 10 per cent who aren’t and it’s not good enough. I need to sort those players out."

Assuming he's including the substitutes, that 10% amounts to 1.4 players which raises a few interesting questions. 1) Where do you get two fifths of a player from and 2) how long do you think it will before Mr 0.4 is spearheading Mossley's long ball attack?

Both local papers carry reports on Mossley's game at Matlock but some reason, they've both been cut short. Orph's piece in the Reporter is missing the closing paragraphs, as is Graham Mather's in the Advertiser along with the final third of the game which included two goals. Do editors think we don't notice these things? The Advertiser doesn't seem to have a problem editing Graham Shuttleworth's Curzon Ashton reports without cutting out goals (his unedited piece appears in The Reporter) so why Mossley? Do the sub-editors hold a grudge?

On to the FC United of Manchester Evening News where Stuart Brennan's latest bum licking in-depth story centres on an interview with FC Hypocrites' defender Rob Nugent:

"I have been a United fan since I was a little lad, but have become disillusioned with the way the club, and Premiership football in general, is going. It all came to a head with Glazer and his debt, but there are a lot of different issues such as unaffordable prices, not being able to take kids, and the atmosphere."

However, the article began with:

Rob Nugent is aiming for a big Red double on Saturday - by cheering Manchester United to derby victory and then putting on his boots to keep FC United on course for FA Vase glory. The 23-year-old defender... will be forced to miss most of the second half of the lunchtime Old Trafford clash with the Blues in order to prepare for the visit of Quorn to Gigg Lane.

"I will be getting to Gigg Lane earlier than usual to watch the derby in the social club," said the FC central defender, who signed up to join the rebel club on the day of its inception. "But I will have to tear myself away for the manager's pre-match team talk, so will miss most of the second half. I just hope United can beat City and then we can make our fans doubly happy by seeing off Quorn."


Obviously not that disillusioned then, eh? Like nearly everybody else associated with the club it appears he wants to have his cake and eat it.

On the subject of which, I'm going to try and get permission to run an article that appeared elsewhere regarding the FCUB bandwagon which sums their attitude up better than I ever could. So, fingers crossed, that may appear here soon.

Till next week...

0 Comments: