Welcome to the ridiculous world of Britain’s most overworked football team
HIS Side had just dominated a game at one of the division’s high- flying teams, but Paul Bowyer, 1874 northwich’s manager, was reluctant to talk promotion.
‘We can’t really assess things for a few weeks yet,’ Bowyer said, which was a mighty understatement. Win their games in hand in the north West Counties league Premier division, and his side will leap into the second promotion spot, occupied by Widnes. Yet today, they sit 24 points adrift of them.
Welcome to the ridiculous world of Britain’s most overworked football team, whose fixture pile-up means they’ll play on each of the next five Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, wrapping up 19 games in a month before this season is through.
injuries take on a whole new significance when you’ve almost half your league games still to play. A second-half knock on Saturday to Ryan Jackson — one of Bowyer’s most influential midfielders — could rule him out of contention for two weeks. ‘That means he misses eight games,’ said Brian edge, the club chairman.
Conventional team selection has long since gone out of the window. ‘We’d usually tell them who’s in a few days in advance,’ said Bowyer, after pulling up at hanley’s tidy little ground in the Potteries. ‘i gave them suggested squads last Sunday for Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and today and asked them if they could make the ones they’re picked for. We’re spreading the workload. They’ve got jobs, families. They need to plan car shares.’
Captain Matt Woolley, who works for an engineering firm, says he has ‘ understanding employers’. And an understanding wife. They have a threeweek-old baby. other members of the side are juggling fixtures with jobs ranging from accountant to shop worker. Bowyer, who co-manages the side with former Barnsley full back Wayne Goodison, is also head of design and technology at Sandbach School.
Club physio Phil lea has become something of a cult hero.
‘it took me an hour to find my legs on Tuesday,’ said Woolley, with that 2-0 win at City of liverpool already a distant memory. ‘i felt like a different person today.’ his performance in an organised central midfield at hanley has just borne this out.
This is an ambitious supporterrun club formed in 2013 when a succession of owners wrecked northwich Victoria. on Saturday, they nursed a justifiable sense of injustice within 15 minutes. Top scorer Scott McGowan was denied a clear penalty. hanley then took the lead as midfielder Josh Thorpe capitalised on indecision in the 1874 area.
But 1874 — named after the year Victoria played their first match — showed good energy to recover after the break. impressive full back Paul Connor linked with Sam hind, whose cross just before the hour was poked home by McGowan at the second attempt.
it’s the second draw in a week for Bowyer’s side, who, factoring in Thursday’s defeat by irlam, have now dropped seven points in six days. But there’s a very good reason why the club will take the season they’ve had, even if it doesn’t bring promotion.
Some of the backlog is down to the weather — december brought seven postponements and only one league game — but an extraordinary cup season has also played its part. The club had a giant-killing run to the last four of the fA Vase before losing to Thatcham in front of a home crowd of nearly 1,400, 10 days ago. They also played nine fA Cup ties — more than any other club in this year’s competition — with four replays before losing on penalties in the third qualifying round.
‘it’s more than we dreamed of when we set the club up,’ said Vicki england, 1874’s football secretary, whose northwich Victoria-mad parents named her after the club. ‘Until the fixture back-up, people were saying we were one of the favourites for promotion, but nothing could be better than the journey we’ve had this season.’
Today brings Winsford, Wednesday Barnoldswick, Thursday Winsford in the Mid-Cheshire Cup and next Saturday irlam. ‘ i’m sure i’ll be playing Monday,’ says Woolley. ‘Beyond that? God knows!’