Last night, Mansfield Town recorded their fourth consecutive away win at Wrexham. The first for Mansfield in 25 years! After a disappointing 3-0 defeat at home to Kidderminster, many feared the worst (Me included) Paul Cox went with a surprising team selection and formation, but 4-5-1 proved to be an astute choice. Out wen't Joe Kendrick, Louis Briscoe (Suspended) and Lindon Meikle and in came Tom Naylor at rightback (Played there agaisnt Manchester United reserves, when on trial at Fulham) John Worthington in midfield and the return of Andy Todd, who had not been involved since being dropped after the 1-1 home draw to Bath City.
I was unable to make the game due to not leaving Notts till around 4pm, i had to settle for commentary instead. Mansfield went 1-0 up thanks to what was credited as a wright (og) and it stayed that way until half time. Wrexham then equalised as Antony Howell made a similair mistake to the one at home to AFC Telford, though those that attended said it was another good performance from him bar the mistake. Shortly after Mansfield were back ahead after Nathaniel Knight-Percival brought down Matt Green and recieved a second yellow and Green stepped up to score the penalty.
I always find it so difficult to listen to away games on commentary, when they are as close as this game it is far worse than being at the game and it got worse when Tom Naylor was sen't off after a second bookable offence,despite appearing to be the one who was fouled. It once again opens up the debate asking why it is not possible to appeal a yellow card. It could well have been Tom Naylor's last game for the stags with the news that another Championship club has come in for him (Burnley the rumoured club) a deal could well be done by the time his suspention is up.
Wrexham were throwing everything at it to get something out of the game and thankfully i was able to relax again when Ross Dyer had put Paul Connor through 1-1 after Wrexham had been caught on the counter.
Bouncebackability is certainly present in Paul Cox's side, as for the second time Mansfield recorded victory after a defeat. The win put Mansfield back in to the top 5 and 4 points off leaders Gateshead. It is surprising to see Gateshead at the top with Braintree 1 point behind them, it may not last but credit to Ian Bogie and Alan Devonshire respectavely.
Up next for Mansfield is a trip to Forest Green rovers, Mansfield will be without Ben Futcher and Tom Naylor who both face suspentions. Both will be a massive loss but Martin Riley and Joe Kendrick should be more than capable of filling in, It is hard to say if that will be the way Paul Cox goes, as not many people would have predicted the line-up or formation Paul Cox went with yesterday.
The off field saga involving the new CEO took a new twist this week, when it was revealed she had agreed to marry chairman John Radford. As always i prefer to focus on the football instead, but wish them all the best!
Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully ill be writing about another great away win in my next update.
UTS!
Wednesday 28 September 2011
Monday 19 September 2011
Welcome
Mansfield Town sit fourth in the conference under new manager Paul Cox. An impressive 2-3 victory away to Barrow sees Paul Cox's side go 7 games unbeaten and five wins on the bounce.
Loanee Matthew Green continues to impress with another goal to take his tally to 6 goals in 9 appearances. If he keeps up this kind of form there is no reason he won't be the 20+ goal a season man that Mansfield have been missing. It hasn't come as much of a shock to me as he was always impressive when playing against Mansfield for Oxford on the wing. His pace and ability to hold up the ball is phenomenal and not forgetting his skills on the ball(His flick on to Luke O'Neill in the Newport game would have been talked about for a long time on Motd etc) Green has stated he is happy to stay here and hopefully it won't be a problem extending his stay beyond December.
Fellow Loanee Ben Futcher who this week extended his loan deal until November 5th, recorded his first goal of the season in the victory at Barrow and continues to be that no nonsense rock at the back we have badly needed for a few seasons now. It is somewhat annoying that it wasn't possible to keep him on loan until January with it becoming a permanent move as since Futcher and Antony Howell have come into the team Mansfield have not lost a game.
With Tom Naylor completing his trial with Fulham it is likely we will hear some news on his movement in the next few days and November and December could be testing months without the services of Futcher and Naylor, though Martin Riley is now fully fit again and John Thompson is set to return to light training soon.
It is hard not to get carried away with how well things are going on the pitch at the moment but if Mansfield can keep this form going until November and cope until January without Futcher then there is no reason why they won't be challenging for the playoffs this season if not automatic. It is not the first time Mansfield have started off well but signs are much better this season after responding to the defeat away to Gateshead and after falling behind in other games. The next three fixtures will be very interesting with two home games and an away game at Wrexham, if this Mansfield team can pick up a win at Wrexham it will certainly start to make people stand up and take notice, if they aren't already.
Rarely a season goes by without some form of controversy off the field at Mansfield Town and it is little surprise that the appointment of the new CEO has raised some concerning issues, thankfully things on Field have so far been unaffected and hopefully it will remain that way. In my opinion everyone deserves a chance to prove they are up to the job before being judged and I hope supporters will give her that chance before condemning her over allegations made in a tabloid newspaper and her rumoured relationship with Chairman John Radford.
For the first time in a while Mansfield Town fans are eagerly awaiting each game and that buzz around tomorrows home game against AFC Telford is in full swing.
Match Stats
Mansfield Current Form (Last 5 games)
W:5 D:0 L:0 GF:14 GA:2
AFC Telford Current Form (Last 5 games)
W:1 D:2 L:2 GF:7 GA:9
Mansfield Top Goalscorers
AFC Telford
Brown 2
Mills 2
Newton 2
Davies 1
Farrell 1
Meechan 1
Rooney 1
Sharp 1
This won't be an easy fixture but if Mansfield carry on performing at the levels they have been their quality should be too much for Telford and should put Mansfield on a run of 6 wins going into a tough home fixture against Kidderminster Harriers.
Loanee Matthew Green continues to impress with another goal to take his tally to 6 goals in 9 appearances. If he keeps up this kind of form there is no reason he won't be the 20+ goal a season man that Mansfield have been missing. It hasn't come as much of a shock to me as he was always impressive when playing against Mansfield for Oxford on the wing. His pace and ability to hold up the ball is phenomenal and not forgetting his skills on the ball(His flick on to Luke O'Neill in the Newport game would have been talked about for a long time on Motd etc) Green has stated he is happy to stay here and hopefully it won't be a problem extending his stay beyond December.
Fellow Loanee Ben Futcher who this week extended his loan deal until November 5th, recorded his first goal of the season in the victory at Barrow and continues to be that no nonsense rock at the back we have badly needed for a few seasons now. It is somewhat annoying that it wasn't possible to keep him on loan until January with it becoming a permanent move as since Futcher and Antony Howell have come into the team Mansfield have not lost a game.
With Tom Naylor completing his trial with Fulham it is likely we will hear some news on his movement in the next few days and November and December could be testing months without the services of Futcher and Naylor, though Martin Riley is now fully fit again and John Thompson is set to return to light training soon.
It is hard not to get carried away with how well things are going on the pitch at the moment but if Mansfield can keep this form going until November and cope until January without Futcher then there is no reason why they won't be challenging for the playoffs this season if not automatic. It is not the first time Mansfield have started off well but signs are much better this season after responding to the defeat away to Gateshead and after falling behind in other games. The next three fixtures will be very interesting with two home games and an away game at Wrexham, if this Mansfield team can pick up a win at Wrexham it will certainly start to make people stand up and take notice, if they aren't already.
Rarely a season goes by without some form of controversy off the field at Mansfield Town and it is little surprise that the appointment of the new CEO has raised some concerning issues, thankfully things on Field have so far been unaffected and hopefully it will remain that way. In my opinion everyone deserves a chance to prove they are up to the job before being judged and I hope supporters will give her that chance before condemning her over allegations made in a tabloid newspaper and her rumoured relationship with Chairman John Radford.
For the first time in a while Mansfield Town fans are eagerly awaiting each game and that buzz around tomorrows home game against AFC Telford is in full swing.
Match Stats
Mansfield Current Form (Last 5 games)
W:5 D:0 L:0 GF:14 GA:2
AFC Telford Current Form (Last 5 games)
W:1 D:2 L:2 GF:7 GA:9
Mansfield Top Goalscorers
| Green | 6 | ||||||||
| Briscoe | 4 | ||||||||
| Dyer | 2 | ||||||||
| O'Neill | 2 | ||||||||
| Connor | 1 | ||||||||
| Futcher | 1 | ||||||||
| Meikle | 1 |
AFC Telford
Brown 2
Mills 2
Newton 2
Davies 1
Farrell 1
Meechan 1
Rooney 1
Sharp 1
This won't be an easy fixture but if Mansfield carry on performing at the levels they have been their quality should be too much for Telford and should put Mansfield on a run of 6 wins going into a tough home fixture against Kidderminster Harriers.
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