MARCH 2002
Relegation, is it really a dirty word?
 
If all the top teams in the World were put into a super league one of them would come bottom. Imagine teams the calibre of Real Madrid, Manchester United, Independiente, Bayern Munich, River Plate, Juventus, Liverpool, Barcelona, Roma and Ajax all in one league. Who would come bottom? Somebody has to be relegated no matter how big a team they are. For Hinckley this season has been a struggle to avoid relegation, but how much easier would it be if there weren't four relegation places. If Hinckley were in the Ryman Premier they would have secured Premiership survival at 40 points. Only one team is relegated from that League. In the Unibond Premier two clubs get automatic relegation and a third plays off to avoid the drop. If we were in that League we would still be in the battle but would also have the wild card chance of the play off. The DM Premier League must be the hardest league to stay in. With four teams going down it is still mathematically possible for the club in 3rd place to be relegated! So even midtable respectability is not certain for some clubs.
Which is right? One up one down not upsetting the balance of the league and running the chance of become stagnated, or four up four down and having a complete new balance every season. The Ryman Premier and Unibond Premier Leagues have the advantage that they are fed by only one league below them. The DM Premier League though is spread across the South and Midlands and has two feeder leagues, so therefore must be seen to be as fair as possible to feeder clubs throughout it's system. Is it fair though to relegate a club that has won 14 games in the Premier League? Newport County, at time of writing, are in 10th place, have 49 points and have won 14 games. They are only 10 points above the relegation zone and it is possible for them to drop.
Personally I think the Unibond have got it almost right. The DM Premier should relegate the bottom two clubs automatically and promote the Champions of the feeders automatically. The 19th and 20th placed clubs should play-off with the runners up of the feeder leagues. If the feeder clubs are really good enough they should win these games. If the Premier sides were not good enough, they would lose.
As it is I still think my original target at the start of the season of 12 wins will be enough. Dean Thomas has asked for another 3 wins, but he'll settle for 2! Trust me. Good luck boys.
 
Weymouth were in dire financial trouble and had released a number of players...
... and off the back of last month with 3 consecutive draws, Hinckley were looking for a convincing win when they visited the Lane. You couldn't ask for a better start than Scott Huckerby opening the scoring after only 7 minutes. Hinckley were motivated and certainly enjoyed the majority of possession, but like so many other times this season, a lapse of concentration midway through the half let in Weymouth for an equaliser. Obviously being the better side on the day it was only going to be a matter of time before Hinckley got more. They came out for the second half in much the same vein and midway in the second half 2 quick goals for Williams and Titterton put the game beyond Weymouth. Even a last minute consolation for the Isle of Wight bound Laws couldn't save them. So Hinckley won their first game since Bath at the start of January and extended their run to 4 games unbeaten.
Right in the middle of an unbeaten run, what a time to play our 'arch rivals' Tiverton. However what a dour game it turned out to be. No repeat of the explosions of the earlier game at Middlefield Lane. The only highlight, or lowlights, were the goals. Tiverton opened the scoring in the first 5 minutes and Andy Penny equalised for Hinckley in the last 5 minutes. By all accounts there was absolutely nothing in between. A 1 - 1 draw did extend the unbeaten run to 5 games though.
In a break from the league struggle Hinckley had a Leicestershire Cup semi-final game. Being the holders, this is the cup we as fans like to take seriously. Especially as it means a trip to Filbert Street for the final. It would've meant divided loyalties within the club boardroom as the game was against Downes Sports. It was never a competition though, 2 goals in each half for Hunter, Eustace, Lenton and Huckerby was too much for Downes who had a consolation goal just after half time. A 4 - 1 win for Hinckley put them into the final against Midland Alliance side Oadby Town. Now 6 matches unbeaten.
Hinckley's first away win of the season was against Folkestone. 2 goals in the last minute won the game for Hinckley then, when Folkestone were in the top 5. Folkestone now were midtable and Hinckley again would be looking for a home wine and the first double of the season. In a scrappy game there were few chances and often the most entertaining thing was trying to work out if Folkestone's home kit of black and amber stripes was actually identical to our away kit. The teams went in 0 - 0 at half time and neither side deserved that many goals! Second half as has been most of this season, Hinckley came out up for it. They grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and started to attack more. In the 70 minute a ball was thumped into the area and pinged around 3 players before hitting a Folkestone arm. After consulting the linesman the ref gave a penalty amid much harassment from the Invicta players. It was unlucky, but still nether the less it was a penalty. Jamie Lenton stepped up and buried into the corner and in the process joined Dave Sadler as the clubs top scorer with 53 goals. That's how it stayed. Hinckley were on course for another win and nothing looked like changing that. Then the game ended� well for the Hinckley players it did. After 88 minutes they just all switched off. How many times this season have we seen the players stop concentrating late on? In an exact reverse of the game at the New Pavillion ground, Folkestone Invicta scored 2 goals in the last 2 minutes to win the game 1 - 2. Not really deserved but accomplished all the same. Goals win games and other clich�s etc. So ended the unbeaten run and with Title favourites Kettering to come it looked like we could possibly finish the month in the relegation zone.
Well, the Kettering game. What can I say, this had everything. Re-writing the Hinckley United record books across the board. Firstly it was the debut of Phil Stant, the ex Mansfield striker who had signed for Hinckley on the eve of the match. Secondly it was Hinckley United's biggest home league crowd ever with an 'official' attendance of 966, though I think there were well over 1200 in the ground. I'd say about two thirds were probably Kettering support and they certainly made themselves heard. That is until the 13th minute when Paul Hunter snuck in between a hesitant Kettering defence and a static goalkeeper to toe poke the ball into the net. I don't think even the Hinckley supporters could believe it. Then the game turned very physical. There were plenty of elbows and ankle taps, not to mention the shirt pulling. Both sets of players were really not letting the game flow, but Hinckley looked the more adventurous. We could have scored a couple more but settled for a 1 - 0 half time lead. Phil Stant certainly added an edge of experience to the front line and he had 2 good chances to extend the lead early in the second half. It was against the run that Kettering equalised. A hoofed cross came in and a goalmouth scramble followed. Hinckley couldn't clear it properly and it was rammed home from close range to make it 1 - 1. We were still positive and looked for a winner. In the 75th minute we got it. Titterton ran into the area and was needlessly bundled over. Jamie Lenton stepped up. If he scored he would become Hinckley United's top club goalscorer with 54 goals. Top corner, 54 goals, record club top scorer, 2 - 1. Kettering tried, and through everything forward to get something, and substitute Scott Huckerby almost made it 3 as he went passed a couple of players and almost curled his shot around the keeper only to see it turned onto the post and away for a corner. Even an injury time period of 5 minutes couldn't save Kettering and they would have to accept that on this occasion they were going to be second.
Ilkeston two weeks earlier were on a run of 11 games without a win. They had sacked their manager and replaced him with Scotland International John McGinlay. Then they beat Kettering the week before we did. Strange how football works isn't it? So what happens in our meeting together? Well both teams cancel each other out. A routine bore score draw. 1 - 1, which has been a popular result for us this year. The highlight being Phil Stant opening his goalscoring account for Hinckley United with the 3rd minute opener. Ilkeston equalised in the second half and the game petered out into a draw.
All together an encouraging month, after the debacle of last month. The Folkestone game apart the players have dug deep and held firm, especially for the Kettering game. Sometimes it is frustrating how we seem to match the team we are playing, so therefore only seem motivated for the 'big' games. How important would those 3 points against Folkestone be at the end of the season?
 
In Out, Shake it all about.
Dean Thomas continues his one man quest to re-assemble the Notts County 1985 squad as he signs his old (39 years to be exact) mate Phil Stant. Striker Phil is what you would call a seasoned professional. In a 13 year professional tour, including 10 clubs, Stant has clocked up 408 games and 166 goals. His most prominent period was when he played for Mansfield Town, as there were always rumours he would move to a big club, but never materialised. He has already shown his worth in the game against Kettering where he never let the defenders settle and was never hustled off the ball. Even at 39 years his knowledge and experience of the game has to be a plus for our players to learn from.
 
World of Football Stuff
Stadium bosses at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium have sent in 'Feng Shui' experts to cure their cursed dressing room. Every one of the eight teams that have used the South end dressing room have lost their game. Football League communications manager (wooooh) John Nagle said: "We don't believe there is a real hoodoo over the South end and are sure the best team will win on the day. (Well how do they explain Tottenham v Blackburn, sorry but it still smarts!) But we are equally sure a bit of Feng Shui won't hurt." 'Doctor' Paul Darby worked his magic on the jinxed area before the LDV final between Blackpool and Cambridge United. Cambridge were allocated the South end dressing room. Stadium Manager Bob Evans said: "It is only a matter of time before this statistical anomaly is broken."
Final result: Blackpool 3 Cambridge 1, jinx stays. Analysis: Feng Shui is a load of b*llsh*t and the words Money and Old rope come into my mind.
 
A cheeky footy fan faces a ground ban for trying to pull down a linesman's shorts. He leapt from his seat as Grimsby Town went 5 - 2 up against Crystal Palace, and lunged for the official, who struggled free. He could have been banned from Blundell Park, but laughing stewards threw him out before getting any of his details. Who says stewards are all non-emotional cyborgs? (Well Kettering's are obviously but not all!)
 
In an extreme example of Karma at work, unlucky Glenn Piper quit being a referee to play footy again. In his first match for Woodland Rangers, at North Baddesley, he was sent off. Dig Karma.
 
Coming next Month: The final countdown, no not the song from those Scandinavian pop/rock perm meisters, but the run in to avoid the drop. In a league which sees 4 teams go down it's always going to be tight and we will be playing 2 of those teams on the way, Merthyr and Newport IoW. Other games in the run in. will be Crawley who seem to have given up on the title but will still want pride. Tamworth who now look favourites for the Title visit Easter Monday and will be going all out for the win. There are also 2 cup finals: The Rolleston Cup against Sh*psh*d Albion and the Leicestershire Challenge Cup against Oadby Town at Filbert Street. Good luck boys.
 
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