SHAKERS’ WILKO OVER AND OUT
PAUL WILKINSON will go down in football history as the League One manager who never was.
And, after the EFL’s decision on Thursday not to readmit Bury into League Two next season, it’s doubtful whether the former Everton and Nottingham Forest striker will ever be in the Shakers dugout again.
The club, which nurtured the talents of greats like Colin Bell, Terry McDermott and Neville Southall, must apply to the FA to begin life again, possibly in the North West Counties League.
Wilkinson, who left the security of a two-year contract with Cornish side Truro City to replace Plymouth-bound Ryan Lowe at Bury, will probably have moved on by then.
Wilkinson said: “It’s been a bizarre situation since I arrived here. We have been hoping for some sort of miracle. It wasn’t to be.”
After arriving in July, the odds were stacked against him, Bury having been deducted 12 points following their promotion from League Two.
Their ultimately terminal financial woes had seen a mass exodus of players and staff, and the team sheet for his first friendly at Nantwich read “trialist” for every single position.
Wilkinson added: “We knew it would be tough, but the confidence was there that we could cope with the points deduction.
“But things have just LUCKY, Liverpool? Maybe. But sometimes when you roll the dice, you win the jackpot.
And Jurgen Klopp showed he is ready to gamble it all after losing his shirt to Pep Guardiola last season. Gini Wijnaldum’s winning strike owed much to good fortune and the kind of error that will haunt Sheffield United’s England Under-21 keeper Dean Henderson for the rest of his career.
But it was also down to Klopp’s decision to send on striker Divock Origi to replace midfield enforcer Jordan Henderson when his team were under the cosh.
Liverpool reaped the reward of seeing opposition goalkeepers drop clangers on a
regular basis last season. But, in the final analysis, too many draws – seven of them – cost them the title.
With Chris Wilder’s side showing with every passing minute that they are a welcome addition to the top flight, Liverpool’s boss went for broke rather than look to limit his losses.
It was from Origi’s 70th-minute cross that the decisive moment arrived.
Wijnaldum connected sweetly enough with his volley from the edge of the penalty area, but it was still a routine save for Henderson.
That was until he allowed the ball to squirm from his grasp, slip through his legs and over the line.
So Liverpool maintain their perfect start to the campaign.
That’s seven wins from seven – on the back of eight successive victories when finishing a point behind Guardiola’s Manchester City in May.
Four more wins and they will break