MARINE LIFE
Jose in for a culture shock at Rossett Park
IF Jose Mourinho wants to have a look at Tottenham’s FA Cup opponents – nonleague giantkillers Marine - he’d better get a move on.
Because Tuesday night’s FA Trophy game at home to Hyde United in the FA Trophy could be the last time Neil Young’s side are in action before Spurs visit Rossett Park.
It would also provide a culture shock for the man who has seen it all during a glittering managerial career – well almost everything.
Safe to say he’s never witnessed the numbers of the neighbouring houses pinned on a perimeter fence enabling club officials to knock on the right front door to ask for the ball to be returned from the garden.
And Young (above) reckons ‘ The Special One’ had better come prepared for a miniscule technical area. “The technical area is the smallest you could find – if it’s a metre then I’m probably still exaggerating,” he said. “If I step out too far I get smashed into by the linesman.
“I’d better warn Jose to bring some protective clothing!
“You’ve also got people talking to you over the fence and throwing balls back.
“Our place couldn’t be more compact – it’s in the middle of a housing estate. It’s what the FA Cup is all about.”
Young also insists the game, which is cer t ain to be televised l iv e meaning a £ 75,000 cash injection in these austere times of Covid-19, will be staged in Crosby and not switched to nearby Anfield.
“We’re not sure yet about how many fans will be allowed and there will be Covid-19 protocols but I’m pretty certain Spurs will be coming to our ground and not somewhere like Anfield,” he added. A bigger problem for the eighth-tier club, who set up the
BUBBLING OVER Marine players celebrate their amazing FA Cup run biggest game of their history with a last-gasp winner against Havant and Waterlooville, is the likely suspension of their league due to so many Northern Premier League sides being in tier three and not allowed crowds.
The FA competitions are given dispensation which means that Marine, who are in tier two as far as coronavirus protocols are concerned, can have 400 fans watching their FA Trophy first round game.
“We’ve got an FA Trophy game on Tuesday night at home against Hyde which will go ahead,” said Young.
“If we were to go out then potentially we wouldn’t have another game until we face Tottenham, which is too ridiculous for words.
“We’ve only played one competitive game since winning at Colchester in the FA Cup first round and that was Havant and Waterlooville last Sunday. We will be able to train but as everyone knows that’s not the same as playing games. We were able to play Salford Under-23s, and Southport also did us a favour before the Havant tie.
“Now the problem is that we’ve got the Christmas and New Year period and teams that are able to play against us in friendlies will be already over committed with games.”
But Young and his squad will just get on with it looking to try and bridge the biggest gap in FA Cup history – 167 places between the two clubs in football’s pyramid.
“Having it at Marine isn’t about having any small advantage. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for a club like Tottenham to come to our place – with the players they’ve got, the England captain, the Wales captain, the French captain and the manager who is one of the best who has ever managed in the game.
“I started off managing on a Sunday morning and now I’m up against Jose.”