Firstly a brief mention for England who dispatched the Andorrans 5-0. This is a country whose 70,000 population could've fitted inside Old Trafford, the venue for the match. Or was it the Andorians? The blue aliens from Star Trek?
The Cheltenham match and the transfer deadline departure of Bridges did not have any effect on Carlisle's performance. Another near flawless display saw us run out comfortable 2-0 winners. In fact, Cheltenham 'keeper Higgs made two excellent saves which kept the score down. Our league results continued competently through September, with us getting a 0-0 at Forest, although the consensus of those at the game was that we should have won.
Charlton. A cup game. I was disappointed that I couldn't make this game - especially after our entertaining evening watching the previous round game against Bradford. So I reverted to my habits of years gone past and did some cooking whilst listening to the match. I had a lovely homemade tuscan bean sauce on pasta, and baked some of my (infamous) breakfast bars (banana, oat and apricot), Yum!
I also missed the Brighton game, as I was back in Cambridgeshire that weekend for an ex-colleague's retirement, and to see my step-sons and other friends. I did see the highlights on Lookaround and the comments from fans at the game, and was pleased to hear that we are continuing to dominate games.
Blackpool. Now, back in July I said:
On Thursday 2006-06-29 the club revealed our new manager as Neil McDonald, or was it Neil Cooper? There was confusion in our office at first. This prompted cries of "Who the hell is he?" and there followed many complaints and even calls for his departure before a ball has been kicked! I say give the new guy until Carlisle v Blackpool on Tuesday, 26 September 2006. If he can have us in a good position (top two thirds) in the league, playing good Association Football, and leads us to victory over the Tangerine Nightmares, then we should accept that he was a good choice. If not, then I'll agree that perhaps he was a bad choice.
and in the past I have also said many times that the mark of a good team was one that wins the games it shouldn't. Well, both of these have some part to play following the Blackpool game, as we ran out 2-0 winners and nestled nicely in fourth place in Tier 3 (League One). The first half was the sort of display we have come to expect from this team on our perfect pitch and went in 1-0 up, but the second half? Wow, what a difference! We were dire at times, and struggled to contain Blackpool, before managing to get a second goal on a breakaway. I liked the big screen, though - very pretty. Biggest laugh of the night? Richard Hackney getting Man of the Match!!
So there we were - fourth in the league, and I was happy enough. There are now comments about the possibility of our third promotion in a row, which would be a top-flight first. Now, whilst I would be happy enough for Carlisle to go up, we must face the fact that promotion to the Championship (Tier 2) will place a requirement on us to go all-seater within three years. This would be a large financial burden on the club and includes the possible requirement to complete the East Stand facilities. This is because we received grants for the East Stand and future grants may be dependent on the work being completed, which Big Fred is looking into currently. Also, Fred has stated that the pitch will not now be moved, meaning that the East Stand (CBS) will always be off centre in relation to the pitch. This is a shame, as I am sure they could have managed a moved pitch with minimal effort. Keswick Rugby Club's stand forms part of the town's flood defences, so the same could be done with the new Waterworks End stand. Ah well, kay ser-ra ser-ra, whatever will be will be.....
And then....... oops! A 5-1 defeat at Crewe! Ah well, nobody is perfect and slips will happen. However, we did struggle in the second half against Blackpool, so signs were there. But as it is said, good teams don't turn bad over night, so let us not panic yet.
Back in April 2006, I wrote about the BBC decision to axe Grandstand and replace it with seperate programmes covering each individual sport. I have occasionally considered this over the intervening months, and have now created a page calling for the saving the "BBC Grandstand" brand name.
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