Balotelli: £16 million flop?
It’s been a hard start to the season for Liverpool’s marquee summer signing. The flamboyant character of Mario Balotelli has failed to live up to the hype with the Italian only scoring one goal for the red’s since his arrival from AC Milan.
The loss of Luis Suarez in the summer and with Daniel Sturridge out injured for another month, Balotelli is under intense pressure to perform and deliver the goals needed for the reds to be successful this season.
The frustration of the enigmatic Italian was evident in Liverpool’s most recent game against QPR. The most notable low point in the game was Mario’s horrific open goal miss that he blazed closer to the international space station than the goal itself. But more worrying for Liverpool fans was his failure to link up well with his new teammates. A simple misplayed pass from teammate Jose Enrique resulted in Balotelli shouting and showing his anger towards the Spanish left back.
A main issue many fans had raised before Balotelli arrived at Anfield was how would this egotistical superstar fit into the dressing room? Balotelli hasn’t had the easiest of rides when it comes to working alongside his managers and coaches. Regular bust ups with then boss Roberto Mancini meant he was shown the exit door of the Etihad. But so far the hot headed Italian has kept his cool. Regular instagram posts showing him being close pals with skipper Steven Gerard gives everyone the impression that all is well in the Liverpool camp. Although it was clear that it wasn’t Balotelli’s day at Loftus Road last weekend, one issue that will aggravate manager Brenden Rodgers and the Liverpool skipper is the Italian’s work rate. Balotelli gave the ball away countless times at Loftus Road but instead of showing the desire and aggression, like many of his teammates did, to win the ball back. Instead the forward cut a forlorn figure on the pitch; confused and angry at his misfortune. With Sturridge’s latest injury setting the forward back another 2-4 weeks until he is fit to play again, Liverpool are relying on Balotelli to deliver goals quickly in the games coming up.
Pretty soon if there is no upturn in form many fans are going to question the signing of Balotelli. Although super Mario was never expected to fill the void left by previous maestro Luis Suarez, he was expected to perform much better than what has been on show so far.
Liverpool will play host to current Champions league title holders Real Madrid on Wednesday night. The reds have been a shadow of their team of last season, they will need to improve drastically in order to compete with Madrid’s Galactico’s. They have defended poorly all season, especially from set pieces, and the build up play and creativity in the final third has been slow and lethargic compared to that of last season. In short, Liverpool need a miracle to produce a win against Madrid on Wednesday night.
But as pessimistic and gloomy as that sounds, big players react well to big games. Mario Balotelli is one of those players who can produce in a big game.
Despite his discipline issues, outrageous of the field incidents and complete arrogance, no one can deny that on his day Balotelli is a world class striker. He has scored huge goals for club and country. One of which broke English hearts when he nodded in a goal against England in Brazil.
The stage is set for Mario Balotelli to perform once again in a big game. Scoring a crucial goal against Madrid on Wednesday night would make him an instant hero amongst Liverpool fans and help him overcome a slow start to his career at Anfield.
Skrill North clubs struggle to maintain pitches after extreme weather
The poor weather we’ve been experiencing over the past few weeks has taken its toll on many grounds up and down the country with a lot of matches having to be postponed. Many teams are experiencing a backlog of fixtures that need completing before the end of the season.
Even the premier league clubs have had to call off fixtures, which just goes to show how extreme the weather conditions have been. For non league clubs, struggling against the elements is much harder than for teams in the premier league. A limited budget means there’s only so much a grounds man can do to maintain the pitch before a game.
Guiseley AFC for example, were unable to play a home fixture at Nethermoor for 7 weeks due to the pitch being waterlogged.
Postponements cause a lot of problems for all teams. Rearranging a fixture can take time and money, not to mention more physical demands on the players. Having a backlog of fixtures means that the players are more likely to be fatigued due to playing more matches with less time to rest. This can lead to injuries to players due to a lack of rest and being unable to recover in time for the following game. In a previous story I did about Kevin Holsgrove return to Guiseley, club secretary Adrian Towers talked of the importance for the squad to have “depth”.
Teams have to spend more and more on pitch maintenance in order for them to be able to complete all their fixtures for the season. Harrogate Town AFC were an example of this last season when they had to play three home fixtures at York City’s ground, Bootham Crescent. During this time Town paid a substantial sum of money to get the pitch re turfed halfway through the season. As a result of this Town now have one of the most reliable grounds in the Skrill North after only having to call off one fixture this year.
With the bad weather reported to stay with us for the coming weeks, it looks likely that teams are going to suffer from an increasing backlog of fixtures to complete. With the race for promotion to the Skrill Premier being so tight, the ability to maintain a pitch and playing matches at the designated time could prove to be crucial.
Audio Interview: Adrian Towers
I recently interviewed Guiseley AFC secretary, Adrian Towers, to see what the realistic targets are for the team by the end of the season. The Lions are in a poor run of form at the moment and currently stuck in mid table after being tipped by many at the start of the season to be challenging for promotion.
Halifax defender receives England C call up
FC Halifax Town defender, Matty Pearson, has earned a call up to the England C squad to face Jordan on Tuesday 4 March.
Pearson has been a regular in the Halifax starting eleven this season after being signed on a permanent basis from Rochdale in the summer. Neil Aspin’s Halifax side currently sit 9th in the Skrill Premier league after being promoted last season. Halifax still have an outside chance to reach the play off’s this season but finishing mid table seems more likely. Pearson has contributed heavily to this successful first season in the Skrill Premier league.
For those who don’t know, the England C squad is an England team that includes only players from outside the football league. England C manager, Paul Fairclough, chooses who he feels is best to represent the country.
This is the third time the Shaymen’s prized defender has been included in the England C team. Pearson also featured once for England U18’s back in 2010 whilst he was still a youth player for Blackburn Rovers.
When asked on his thoughts on his inclusion within the squad, Pearson told the FC Halifax Town website that “It’s a great feeling as always to be picked to represent my country, this is my third time going now so I’m just buzzing to be back and get involved”.
Fairclough told the FA website that the match against Jordan “will be perfect in assisting me with preparation for our all-important International Challenge Trophy clash against Slovakia in May”.
The England C squad are currently in good form after their last win against the Czech Republic U21 team and will look to build on this for the next match against Jordan.
The England C squad will face Jordan at the King Abdullah stadium in Amman on 4th March.
Audio Interview: Craig MacGillivray
Photo taken from Harrogate Town AFC website
Earlier I interviewed Harrogate Town shot stopper, Craig MacGillivray, over the phone to see what the teams views are on what they can achieve this season.
Town are currently just outside the play off positions in 7th with an important tie against fellow promotion hopefuls Boston United coming up this weekend.
Rollercoaster season for Harrogate Town AFC
Photo taken by Peter Arnett (Harrogate Town AFC
Harrogate Town AFC have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and are looking likely candidates to be in the mix for promotion come the end of the season.
Town fans will be buoyed by the fact that their team are unbeaten since Boxing Day and have also managed to reach the final of the West Riding County Cup after knocking out rivals Halifax. Town continued their excellent run of form last Saturday when they managed a 1-0 away win against league strugglers Histon.
But as I’m sure many of you are aware, this current run of form is almost a complete contrast compared to the torrid start to the season that Town endured.
In a way you could say Town have completely turned their season around, after a start which had many fans questioning whether Simon Weaver was the right man to lead the team. Five losses in a row through September to the start of October proved to be a very depressing time for Town fans. One of those losses included being knocked out of the FA Cup 2nd qualifying round by Colwyn Bay, the competition which put them on the map last season when they reached a second round replay.
There was also the controversial 3 point deduction that came after fielding a supposedly ineligible player during a game against Oxford City back on the first day of the season in August. Unfortunately this mix up caused fans favourite secretary, Charlie Lockwood, to resign from her position.
Following these disastrous results a fans questioning session took place at the sides 1919 venue at the CNG stadium, so that fans could get their questions answered by Simon and his father Irving, who is chairman of the club.
Town line up before a game against Workington
As you can see it seemed like a very dark time for a team that proved to be strong and successful last season, but manager Simon Weaver has worked extremely hard to turn this season around. A lot of fans earlier in the season feared the worst but at this current point in the season, the fans are encouraging the team to push on and there is a sense of unity around the CNG stadium.
Town will also have the chance to claim their first piece of silverware in 5 years when they face Eccleshill in the West Riding County Cup final. Although the appeal of bringing silverware back home is very strong, I’m sure the majority of fans would agree that promotion should remain priority for Town this season.
Town currently lie 7th in the table and are only 4 points behind the play off positions with games in hand over the majority of the teams above them.
Town will face another tough test of their credentials this weekend when they entertain fellow promotion hopefuls Boston United. Boston also currently occupy the final position in the play off positions, so a home win for Town would put them right in the mix coming into the final stages of the season.
Mike Bligh Interview
Here is the audio from my interview with Mike Bligh from today. Mike is currently Harrogate Town’s secretary and also coaches the under 21’s squad. In this short interview Mike talks of the importance of youth development in any football team.
Holsgrove rejoins Lions
Guiseley AFC have confirmed the resigning of forward Kevin Holsgrove on loan from Skrill Premier side FC Halifax Town, for the remainder of the season.
Holsgrove signed for Guiseley from Colwyn Bay last season and scored a total of ten goals in his short time with the club. At the start of July 2013, Holsgrove signed for a newly promoted Halifax side but failed to recreate the strong run of form he showed whilst at Nethermoor. After struggling to keep a place in the starting line up, Holsgrove agreed to be loaned out to the Lions for the rest of the current season.
Club secretary Adrian Towers mentioned that both Holsgrove and fellow recent signing Adam Boyes have been brought to the squad in order to “add pace, power, experience and an eye for goal as we look to push on”.
Adrian also mentioned the need for depth in the squad following recent injuries and fixture cancellations; “it is also the case that given the awful weather we will need depth in the squad to deal with fixture backlog and inevitable injuries”.
The Lion’s have suffered since the turn of the year and their only league win so far came in an away fixture to Solihull Moors. The current slump in form that Guiseley are suffering may come as a surprise to many. Before the turn of the year, Guiseley were unbeaten in 15 games which made them one of the most in form teams in the league. The Lion’s will look to recreate this strong run of form in the coming months, but their large fixture list could prove to be a problem.
Guiseley currently have the most fixtures left to play along with league strugglers, Oxford and Gloucester City. Last Saturday’s home loss to Worcester City was the first time the Lion’s have played at home this year. The cancellation of last night’s fixture against Harrogate Town and tonight’s away fixture against Eccleshill just adds to an ever growing fixture list to be completed by the end of the season.
The addition of both Holsgrove and Boyes to the squad looks to be vital as Guiseley head into a very busy stage of the season. Guiseley manager, Mark Bower, will be looking to get the best out of his new signings who are both available for selection for this Saturday’s away game against Stalybridge.
Holsgrove arrives at a Guiseley side which have been struggling for form since the turn of the year. The introduction of both Holsgrove and Boyes should look to improve the team as they push for a place in the play off positions.
Town take a trip to Nethermoor
Harrogate Town travel to Nethermoor tomorrow night to face a Guiseley side that have lost their last three fixtures.
The lions were in a strong run of form through the whole of December but their results since the turn of the year have put a dent in their promotion hopes. If Guiseley win tomorrow night it will only be their second win of 2014.
Guiseley should be feeling confident if recent performances at Nethermoor against Town are anything to go by. Town have not managed to win at Nethermoor since the 2008 quarter final of the West Riding County Cup. An even worse statistic for Town fans is that their side have failed to score at Nethermoor since 2012.
Unfortunately for the Lions, Harrogate have started the year with a bang and their current results are keeping them in contentions for place in the play off positions come the end of the Season.
The last time these two teams met was on boxing day in a controversial match where four penalties were given in total. Guiseley won the match at the CNG stadium after a hattrick of penalties was scored by Gavin Rothery. Mallory scored a consolation for Town mid way through the second half but by that time the game was out of reach of time.
Town will be looking to avenge this recent defeat and the team have worked hard to improve since. Simon Weaver’s recent signings have proved key to the sides current strong run of form. Former Leicester and Leeds United centre half has brought in a wealth of experience to tighten up Town’s defence. The most recent addition to the Town squad is the signing of Dan Clayton from North Ferriby United. This is Clayton’s second spell at the club and he made his debut last weekend in a 3-1 win against Hednesford. The winger made an immediate impact in his second debut for the club, helping set up the first goal for Chris Hall.
Town forward, Chris Hall, is in a good run of form after his brace against Hednesford at the weekend. Town will be familiar with the Lion’s top scorer Gavin Rothery after his brief spell with the club back in 2008 after moving from York City.
Harrogate currently sit 8th in the Skrill North table and just 7 points behind the play off positions with games in hand over the teams above. A win against Guiseley tomorrow night will send a message out to rival teams that they are serious contenders for the play off positions this season. Guiseley on the other hand need to win against Harrogate tomorrow if they are to be seen as realistic challengers for a coveted place in the play offs.
A pitch inspection will take place at 3pm tomorrow to see if the game is ok to go ahead after the recent heavy rainfall.
Match Report: Harrogate Town AFC 2-1 FC Halifax Town
Chris Hall headed home a late winner as Harrogate came from behind to knock current West Riding County Cup holders Halifax out of the competition.
It was a closely fought encounter at the CNG stadium with Halifax forward Joe Ironside giving the away side an early advantage midway through the first half. Goals from Ashley Worsfold and Chris Hall eventually booked Harrogate’s place in the semi finals of the cup.
Halifax dominated the first half of the game after going a goal up through Joe Ironside’s close range effort. Ironside had another chance moments later to put the Shaymen two goals clear, but sent his curling effort wide from close range after poor defending from Harrogate.
The home side came out fighting in the second half and equalised in the 59th minute through a tap in from Ashley Worsfold. Harrogate were almost caught on the break moments after their equaliser, but keeper Craig MacGillivray managed to deny Kevin Holsgrove in a one on one situation.
Despite this setback the home side continued to push forward. Substitute Cleveland Taylor almost put Harrogate ahead but his shot from the edge of the box was well saved by Halifax keeper, Phil Senior.
After continuous pressure from Harrogate, the home side were rewarded with a late headed goal from substitute Chris Hall in the 82nd minute. The ball was worked well down the left wing and the cross found Hall, who headed home from 6 yards.
Halifax struggled to put much pressure on the home team in the final 10 minutes of the game with the exception of a long range effort from Paul Marshall which forced a strong save from man of the match, Craig MacGillivray. The following corner was swiftly cleared and referee Adrian Holmes blew the whistle for full time.
Harrogate now face a home fixture against Ossett Albion in the semi finals, which will be played at the start of the new year.
Non League Yorkshire 
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