YOU CALL THAT A FIXTURE PILE-UP?
IT’S common these days to hear a manager talk of Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday fixtures as being a hectic run of games. Throw in another for good measure and questions are asked.
But how would managers react if they had to play three games in three days, or four in four … or how about nine in nine?! That was the unlikely task facing Redditch United at the tail end of their 1997-98 Southern League Midland Division season.
Cup runs and a particularly wet winter left the Reds facing a fixture pile-up like no other after league bosses refused to grant them an extension – a run of eight league games and a cup final in those nine days.
“We knew we had to get all the league games played but we had hoped we could delay the final but they wouldn’t budge and so we had to play that in the middle of it all,” explained manager Phil Mullen, now in charge at West Midlands League side Bewdley Town.
“The way I did it was to write out all the players that I’d signed including all the youth team. At the start of the nine games I put out our best team and then after each match I’d select the team for the following day out of who was left fit and able to play.”
The nine-game saga began with a 1-1 Friday night draw at home to Moor Green before the
Reds lost back-to-back matches at Wisbech Town and Brackley Town.
They looked to be heading for a first win on the Monday at home to Corby Town only to let a two-goal lead slip on their way to a 3-3 draw.
Mullen added: “It had been a difficult winter and we’d had a number of games cancelled because of the state of our pitch. The stupid thing was, when we played at Brackley on the Sunday the pitch was a joke – it was full of water. It shouldn’t have been played but the ref said we had no choice otherwise we wouldn’t get all the matches in!”
Higher-ranked Halesowen Town ran out 2-1 winners in the Birmingham Senior Cup final before the tide turned with two wins in their final four games – against Stourbridge and Racing Club Warwick.
By the time Raunds Town arrived at the Valley Stadium for the final chapter, the run had taken its toll with Mullen having to name defender Kevin Nokes in goal because keeper Jim Arnold was injured.
At the end of their history-making season, the Reds had played 65 matches – 40 in the league and 25 in various cups – finished tenth and reached three cup finals.