Rick's Blog
Tue 18th September 2012 | Rick Bailey Blog | By Ian Templeman
Non-league clubs don't have the luxury of having an army of scouts. That's why when the draw for the FA Cup or FA Vase comes around it can be a step into the unknown.
Our recent FA Vase clash with Winterton Rangers of the Baris Northern Counties East League Premier Division is a classic example of what it's like for two teams who know very little about one another. Usually the first 10-20 minutes of these games can be quite cagey as both teams try and figure each other out.
For most cup ties like this, it's the first chance either side has had to see how the other plays. For me, it's in these early exchanges where I get a good idea of whether we're going to win or not. You can sense which way the game is going to go, just like when there are certain games where you know you're going to score.
The lads might joke about it in the dressing room and someone might shout ‘Let's get it finished today because we don't want to travel there on a Tuesday night' as you leave the dressing room but, in all honesty, when the game starts a replay is the last thing in your mind. You only think about that at the final whistle and, how you're going to get out of work early – that's the tricky part.
In the past my managers will always try and watch the opposition, especially if they play less than an hour away. Managers will often go themselves, with his assistant or send one of the coaches. Our manager at Congleton, Jim Vince, has even asked injured players to scout out opposing sides to keep them involved in the team set-up.
Jim will always try and give us some sort of background on the team we're playing no matter where they're from. I've even known managers in our league to help each other out. If a North West Counties team had played against a certain side from another league in a pre-season friendly then it wouldn't be abnormal for the two managers to chat about how the other team play.
However, with opponents such as on Saturday, with Winterton based just five miles from Scunthorpe, it means it's difficult to watch them. You're left relying on the opposition's website for information like league position and top scorers and even then, the website can be out of date. If our goalkeeper Matt Conkie is to be believed, every team you play outside the NWCFL is either top of their league or scored 20 goals in their last three games!
My experience of playing in the Vase is that you want to avoid playing teams from the NWCFL. Our run with Glossop North End in 2009 saw us play just one team from our league – a 4-1 win in a local derby at New Mills in round one. During that run in 2009 we played many teams who were top of their respective leagues but when we kicked off, we quickly discovered we were more than a match for them. Don't get me wrong, we had more than our fair share of luck during that run, but you still felt that if you played each other on a regular basis we would have still come out on top.
It sounds daft saying you'd rather play a team you know nothing about than one you know inside out, but, for me, that's definitely the case. Stepping into the unknown can lift your game, you don't want to be embarrassed, and you want to show that despite losing a number of big name teams over the years, the NWCFL can still hold its own in a national competition.
Rick Bailey
Rick's Blog
Tue 18th September 2012 | Rick Bailey Blog
By Ian Templeman
Non-league clubs don't have the luxury of having an army of scouts. That's why when the draw for the FA Cup or FA Vase comes around it can be a step into the unknown.
Our recent FA Vase clash with Winterton Rangers of the Baris Northern Counties East League Premier Division is a classic example of what it's like for two teams who know very little about one another. Usually the first 10-20 minutes of these games can be quite cagey as both teams try and figure each other out.
For most cup ties like this, it's the first chance either side has had to see how the other plays. For me, it's in these early exchanges where I get a good idea of whether we're going to win or not. You can sense which way the game is going to go, just like when there are certain games where you know you're going to score.
The lads might joke about it in the dressing room and someone might shout ‘Let's get it finished today because we don't want to travel there on a Tuesday night' as you leave the dressing room but, in all honesty, when the game starts a replay is the last thing in your mind. You only think about that at the final whistle and, how you're going to get out of work early – that's the tricky part.
In the past my managers will always try and watch the opposition, especially if they play less than an hour away. Managers will often go themselves, with his assistant or send one of the coaches. Our manager at Congleton, Jim Vince, has even asked injured players to scout out opposing sides to keep them involved in the team set-up.
Jim will always try and give us some sort of background on the team we're playing no matter where they're from. I've even known managers in our league to help each other out. If a North West Counties team had played against a certain side from another league in a pre-season friendly then it wouldn't be abnormal for the two managers to chat about how the other team play.
However, with opponents such as on Saturday, with Winterton based just five miles from Scunthorpe, it means it's difficult to watch them. You're left relying on the opposition's website for information like league position and top scorers and even then, the website can be out of date. If our goalkeeper Matt Conkie is to be believed, every team you play outside the NWCFL is either top of their league or scored 20 goals in their last three games!
My experience of playing in the Vase is that you want to avoid playing teams from the NWCFL. Our run with Glossop North End in 2009 saw us play just one team from our league – a 4-1 win in a local derby at New Mills in round one. During that run in 2009 we played many teams who were top of their respective leagues but when we kicked off, we quickly discovered we were more than a match for them. Don't get me wrong, we had more than our fair share of luck during that run, but you still felt that if you played each other on a regular basis we would have still come out on top.
It sounds daft saying you'd rather play a team you know nothing about than one you know inside out, but, for me, that's definitely the case. Stepping into the unknown can lift your game, you don't want to be embarrassed, and you want to show that despite losing a number of big name teams over the years, the NWCFL can still hold its own in a national competition.
Rick Bailey
