The Motson of Nailsworth hill

At 11 o’clock on Tuesday morning, I was in a state of panic. I had an assessment for my Broadcast Journalism degree due in three hours time – to present a piece of commentary on a sporting event (football for me of course), and, after a disastrous button incident at the Cheltenham-Bristol Rovers derby the night before, a commentary was yet to be recorded.

So it was down to the student advisor’s office to beg for an extension. She explained that the best she could offer was 48 hours, unless there were mitigating circumstances, e.g. if my gerbil had died or if I was gravely ill. However I wasn’t, so I had two days to save myself. I like to see myself as someone who can get his way out of anything, and again, the Gods were on my side.

A quick look at the fixture list showed that Forest Green were playing York City at home that evening. Perfect. A game of football would be good for me. Forest Green didn’t give me a straight answer regarding use of the press box, so armed with a minidisk recorder (which the technician assured me wouldn’t run out of batteries, as the old brick of a portadisk did), and having booked a taxi to the station after the game so I wouldn’t be stuck in Nailsworth overnight, I set off on the long trek to the New Lawn.

Anyone who’s visited the New Lawn will know that the ground is at the top of a hill. A very tall hill. The sort that’s so tall, you feel as though you’re physically climbing it, rather than walking it. On Saturday games, the bus will take you up this hill and right outside the ground. On midweek games, it won’t. This was slightly handy though as I needed to pop into Tesco to get a pen to make notes with.

My main worry was using the recording device without being spotted. Football grounds are instantly suspicious of recording devices, presumably in case you’re a spy, or recording a scandal-inducing radio show. Fortunately these minidisks are small, so to the fans I probably just looked like an arrogant teenager listening to his ipod. With the microphone tucked into my coat pocket, and having found a space as isolated as possible, I began my commentary.
I wasn’t helped by the fact that police had joined the stewards today – presumably the York fans have a bit of a repuatation. Every time a policeman walked past I held my breath…

The game itself was rather scrappy. York began with a 5-3-2 formation, from what I could decipher, with a player up front, Richard Brodie who’d signed from Newcastle Benfield at the start of the season. Who says you can’t make the step up! Forest Green’s tactic meanwhile was for goalkeeper Ryan Robinson to launch the ball towards Rigoglioso, who would then head on for Fleetwood to chase.

Sixteen minutes in Forest Green gave away a free kick about 25 yards out, just to the right of the ‘D’, as I described it in my commentary. York’s Nicky Wroe stepped up, and fired the ball into the bottom right hand corner, just past the diving Robinson. The keeper’s day got worse 40 minutes in, as he spilled Simon Rusk’s shot into the path of York left back Mark Robinson, who gleefully slotted the ball home.

Forest Green improved slightly in the second half, and deserved their goal back, Rigoglioso firing low into the corner after the York defence failed to clear the ball. Rovers then had a penalty turned down, which got me rather excited "The fans are furious. THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS!" I shouted, trying not to be too biased. Then a few minutes later Fleetwood put the ball in the net, but the referee judged that he was offside.

Ultimately York deserved their win, they came with a game plan, and stuck to it. The result leaves Rovers needing a miracle to get to the play offs. York are in a similar position, but will have renewed hope at a sensational push towards the top five.

JAMES LEWIS

Overview: The Western Rising

Football in the south-west has never had the status and importance of that in other parts of the country. The Westcountry has eight professional football teams, yet none has ever won a major honour. The most successful, Bristol City, experienced their heyday a century ago with runners-up medals in League and Cup, but as recently as 2004 only they and my beloved Plymouth Argyle could even boast third-tier status.

Now things are changing. Argyle won the old Division Two that year and were finally followed into the Championship last season by City. The Ashton Gate outfit have been a revelation, with quick passing football and a formidable home record propelling them to the league’s summit. Most pundits seemed sure they would fall away eventually, but Gary Johnson has made remarkable consistency the trademark of a club which always used to choke when it really mattered. Argyle, much to my delight, are pushing hard for a playoff spot and it is not inconceivable that the Match of the Day cameras could be covering a pair of Westcountry derbies next season.

For Plymouth, the second-largest city in Europe (after Hull) never to have a top-flight team, it’d be a first. Of course, for those raised on the self-preserving Premier League elite, this seems absurd. But Bristol is the seventh-largest city in England, and Plymouth has a larger population than Derby, Portsmouth, and Blackburn to name just three. Both have huge catchment areas which could clearly support top clubs.

And these are not the only two south-western teams on the up. Swindon Town and Bristol Rovers both won promotion last season to join Yeovil Town, and of course Cheltenham Town, in League One. All four should retain their status this year, enabling them to push on afterwards. Cheltenham have risen from utter obscurity a decade ago to challenge Gloucester Rugby for public and media attention in this area.

Rovers have delighted football romantics nation-wide with their FA Cup adventure, with giant-slaying wins over Fulham and Southampton giving them a quarter-final clash with West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. It’ll be tough – the Baggies are the best side I’ve seen in the Championship this term – but with a raucous Memorial Stadium behind them and goalscoring threats Ricky Lambert and Craig Disley in the side, they have a real chance.

Further down, Exeter City, Forest Green Rovers and Torquay United are all vying for elevation from the Blue Square Premier, the Devon sides hoping for a return to their traditional fourth-tier level, and Rovers aiming to become the smallest club ever to play in the football league. Anomaly of the season, though, must be the fact that promotion could actually impact negatively on the finances of these clubs. Fifth-tier sides, now given ample television coverage by Setanta, receive excellent broadcast revenue, and greater media exposure than those in League Two. Added to the dent in attendance figures from a likely season in the middle or the lower reaches of the table, as opposed to a play-off race, and you can see why some have darkly suggested it might be better if Torquay and co remain where they are.

Look out, too, for Truro City. The ‘White Tigers’ from the Cornish capital are backed by millionaire property developer Kevin Heaney, who aims to give the peninsula a league side by 2017. They won the FA Vase at Wembley in May in front of an astonishing crowd of 27,754, and stormed Western League Division One last year, winning 37 of their 42 games and scoring 185 goals. Striker Stewart Yetton (formerly of Plymouth) bagged 72 himself, as well as 36 so far this season, and is a prime example of City’s successful policy of cherry-picking the best players from non-league and professional reserve sides in the area. Truro were installed as 2-7 favourites to win the 2007-8 Western Premier and have not disappointed, currently sitting five points clear. Next season they should go up to Southern League Division One, with four additional promotions needed to realise Heaney’s dream.

RICH PARTINGTON

Cheltenham's away form deserts them again

Cheltenham failed to follow on from their Manchester United style 2-1 win against Brighton, in which they scored twice in injury time, as they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Swindon at the County Ground.

Despite a bright start, in which Steve Brooker missed two good chances, and Dave Bird hit a post, the game changed when the usually reliable Alex Russell misplaced a pass. Sadly, this was in his own penalty area, and after the mix up, Simon Cox put Swindon ahead. Russell then seemed to think Cheltenham were still playing in red, as he hit dozens of passes to gleeful Swindon players, as Cheltenham got themselves in a muddle.

Thankfully the County Ground was a lot drier than the last time I visited, but still slightly cold, and Cheltenham's day got worse following yet another mix up, as again they tried to pass it out of the box. This time Billy Paynter was the recipient, scoring Swindon’s second, which was followed a bizarre celebration as Paynter pulled captain Hasney Aljofree's shorts down in front of a slightly bemused crowd.

While Cheltenham couldn't have been faulted for determination, Steven Gillespie especially, the killer touch was lacking, and any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Christian Roberts scored with practically his first touch after coming on. A good first touch it was too, firing an angled shot into the bottom left hand corner from long range.

So not as good a day as Cheltenham's last trip to the County Ground, and they'll need to pick themselves up for the game against Hartlepool on Saturday.

Meanwhile a good set of results for Forest Green's play off hopes meant nothing as they could only draw with Stevenage, although that in itself is a credible result. Rovers remain four points off top five, and still have to go to Cambridge.

JAMES LEWIS

Fleetwood pledges loyalty to Rovers

This morning, on my daily look around the BBC Sport Website, an article grabbed my attention.

Over the weekend, Forest Green had accepted an offer from Crewe Alexandra for their free-scoring striker Stuart Fleetwood. It seemed inevitable that he had played his last game for the non-leaguers, and Rovers fans looked to console themselves with the £175,000 to spend, but Fleetwood had other ideas.

"It is a decision I have reached along with my family", said Fleetwood.

"Everyone at Rovers has made us so welcome, from the Boardroom to the supporters on the terraces. My mother in particular has a genuine affection for the club and everyone she meets each match day.

"The club is now part of my family as well and I am committed with my team-mates to making this the best ever season that the club have experienced in their history.

"Obviously I have been kept informed by the club of all the interest shown and I can honestly state that even if any other clubs come in with a late bid before the transfer window closes, I am not interested.

"The summer may be a different matter but I owe a debt of gratitude to the gaffer (Jim Harvey). At a time when many thought my career had ended, he had faith in me and I love the way he has the lads playing and that has helped me tremendously".

While this could mean Forest Green lose out on a substantial amount of money, Fleetwood's commitment would give them a decent shot at the play-offs, and possible promotion to the promised land of League football.

Fleetwood's attitude is refreshing, it's a nice change to see a player put his club before his wallet, and he's showing real gratitude to manager Jim Harvey for giving him a second chance.

It's good to see loyalty still exists.

JAMES LEWIS

FGR do Gloucestershire proud

Gloucestershire ‘village’ side Forest Green Rovers may not have won at the County Ground on Saturday afternoon. They may not have even won a place in Sunday’s FA Cup Third Round draw, but what they did win was the respect of the Swindon Town fans.

The weather for the game was typical cup tie weather. Drizzle soon turned into showers as I queued for a bus to the train station…only to find that the 12:46 train to Swindon had been cancelled for some reason. Fortunately there was a free bus to Swindon from Cheltenham, that took from 1:10pm to 2:50pm.

So I was already a bit late getting there. On my way to the stand I noticed a few hundred bank notes (presumably fake or I would probably have picked them up myself!) scattered over the floor saying "take your payoff and go". Unfortunately I couldn’t dwell on it too much as I had a game to get to.

Now anyone who has had the pleasure of being an away supporter at Swindon, will know that they are seated in the Stratton Bank, which is an uncovered area behind the goal….and although I had a coat, and a jumper on, I had no hood, so I was hardly shielded from the elements. I envied all the Forest Green fans wrapped up warm in their hats and scarves.

At half time, Swindon led 1-0, JP McGovern scoring direct from a corner. The first half wasn’t particularly noteworthy; despite the rain the sun was shining in the away fans faces, and it was difficult to see where exactly the ball was without getting a blinding headache.

What FGR boss Jim Harvey said to the non-leaguers at half time must have worked though. About ten minutes in, Stuart Fleetwood scored, followed by a crazy celebration in which half the team did Klinsmann dives one after the other. A word on Fleetwood before I go on by the way….that was his 24th goal this season. Compare that to the entire Derby County team who have scored a total of…five.

Most strikers would be proud to have scored two dozen goals in all competitions in May never mind early December. Just as Forest Green fans thought it couldn’t get any better, it did, Mark Beesley heading in a cross, and the away fans went wild. Only 24 minutes to hold on!

Ok…so they tried to hold on for the win, and it failed. Former Plymouth player Hasney Aljofree headed in a cross from the left, and the Rovers looked as though Rovers would have to make do with a replay.

Except they didn’t even manage that, because with minutes to go, substitute and general daddy’s boy Blair Sturrock scored a rebound from Billy Paynter’s saved shot, to send Swindon into the hat.

Despite coming so close, and missing out, the population of Nailsworth will have their heads held high tonight, after pushing the former Premiership side all the way, and almost pulling off another upset. I must confess I was already planning a trip to the New Lawn for the replay but alas it wasn’t to be and thoughts can carry on to the League, and the FA Trophy.


JAMES LEWIS