Top Ten Target For Lloyd
Wed 24th November 2010 | Flixton | By Ian Templeman
Flixton manager Lloyd Morrison is targeting a finishing place in the top ten of the Premier Division, after a series of impressive performances from his young side have moved them out of the relegation zone and into mid table.
Victories over Congleton Town and Barnoldswick Town in the past few weeks, scoring four goals on each occasion, proved that Flixton can match the best in the Premier Division, and the club's position now is a far cry from where they were when Lloyd arrived at Valley Road two years ago.
He explained: "The previous management team and players had left the club, it was the middle of November, we were bottom of the league, had no players, no budget and staring relegation in the face. It was a big challenge, but I thought why not? Â
"I was at Styal and had just won the Mid-Cheshire League with them the previous year, and I knew a lot of players from around the non-league scene. I had to assemble a team for the next game from scratch, as the first training session I held after I was appointed saw one player turn up, all the other players had left. But the only way was up.
"Obviously getting players to come down that were good enough was very difficult, because there's always money being banded around at other clubs. But if you get a bunch of lads together, who want the chance to prove themselves at a higher level and are prepared to give it a go and learn, then you have always got a chance."
Lloyd eventually steered Flixton to the safety of 20th place at the end of the 2008-09 season, and they again survived last season in finishing 19th, a creditable performance given the amount of player turnover he has had to deal with.
"There are only two left from that squad I assembled two years ago. My squad has probably changed two or three times a season, but whenever teams play us they will meet a team that is made up of my strongest squad I can put together. Whenever I get lads in who do well, other clubs come in and offer them money or the chance to play in a higher league, and we just can't compete with that.
"If clubs could only pick players who lived within a five or ten mile radius of the ground, you'd see a totally different league, but obviously life isn't like that. We have so many teams near us in the Manchester area that are within ten or fifteen minutes in a car around the motorway, it's very difficult to stop other teams taking our players.
"Before you know it, just when you think you are getting a settled squad you lose two or three to other clubs. If we were a bit more isolated, it would be different, but for us we are always fighting to keep our best players and the ones I do have, I just try and build a squad around them."
Despite the constant threat of his players being poached, Lloyd has so far managed to hang on to his leading scorer Ashley Mulholland, despite plenty of interest from other clubs.Â
"So far I've kept Ashley, although there have been no shortage of clubs trying to take him away from us this season. He has told me he wants to play at a higher level, which I totally understand, and if anyone makes an enquiry about him I always tell him, whether it's from our league or above. But he's very happy at the club right now, he enjoys the type of football we play, and he's benefitting from that because he's scoring goals for us."
In the meantime, Lloyd continues to leave no stone unturned in his search for additions to his squad.
"I have contacts in various places and I use them all to try and add to the squad. I've got contacts in Sunday football, the Manchester League, the Cheshire League - I go absolutely all over the place looking for players.Â
"I know lots of people around the scene and if they tell me there's a good young player playing somewhere I'll go and have a look at him myself, or send someone to have a look at him. If I think he can do a job for us, we'll invite him down to training and take it from there.
"I also organise a lot of friendly games during the season and get players down to have a look at them, and again if someone comes along who looks good we'll take them in. The good thing about it is that young lads know they will get a chance at Flixton to prove themselves, and if they are good enough to move up, they'll get a chance to show it."
Looking ahead, Lloyd is looking to combine his footballing philosophy with a continued determination to build on what he has achieved so far.
"We try and play football as much as we can. When I first took over we had to scrap a bit to try and get out of trouble, and while it worked for a while there is only so long you will get away with that. You get a bad reputation, referees are looking out for you and decisions start going against you. Â
"We don't fear anyone in this league now, although some teams are better than us, and when you come across a better team you have to hold your hands up. The best team we've played this season are Ramsbottom United, who beat us on the opening day of the season. They dominated us, and deserved to win by a bigger score than they did.Â
"But I think generally there is very little difference between the top and bottom of the league. If you don't turn up and perform as you know you can, you are going to get turned over in this league, no matter who you are. You can't look at playing a team at the bottom of the league and think you'll get a nice easy three points, it just doesn't happen.
"The first target for me each season is simply to finish outside the relegation zone. If I achieve that I've done my job. In saying that though, if I can add one or two players to the squad to strengthen it a bit, I'd be disappointed if we didn't finish in the top ten this season.Â
"We have been playing well enough, we just haven't been getting the results we deserved on the day, and I really believe we are better than our league position suggests."Â
Top Ten Target For Lloyd
Wed 24th November 2010 | Flixton
By Ian Templeman
Flixton manager Lloyd Morrison is targeting a finishing place in the top ten of the Premier Division, after a series of impressive performances from his young side have moved them out of the relegation zone and into mid table.
Victories over Congleton Town and Barnoldswick Town in the past few weeks, scoring four goals on each occasion, proved that Flixton can match the best in the Premier Division, and the club's position now is a far cry from where they were when Lloyd arrived at Valley Road two years ago.
He explained: "The previous management team and players had left the club, it was the middle of November, we were bottom of the league, had no players, no budget and staring relegation in the face. It was a big challenge, but I thought why not? Â
"I was at Styal and had just won the Mid-Cheshire League with them the previous year, and I knew a lot of players from around the non-league scene. I had to assemble a team for the next game from scratch, as the first training session I held after I was appointed saw one player turn up, all the other players had left. But the only way was up.
"Obviously getting players to come down that were good enough was very difficult, because there's always money being banded around at other clubs. But if you get a bunch of lads together, who want the chance to prove themselves at a higher level and are prepared to give it a go and learn, then you have always got a chance."
Lloyd eventually steered Flixton to the safety of 20th place at the end of the 2008-09 season, and they again survived last season in finishing 19th, a creditable performance given the amount of player turnover he has had to deal with.
"There are only two left from that squad I assembled two years ago. My squad has probably changed two or three times a season, but whenever teams play us they will meet a team that is made up of my strongest squad I can put together. Whenever I get lads in who do well, other clubs come in and offer them money or the chance to play in a higher league, and we just can't compete with that.
"If clubs could only pick players who lived within a five or ten mile radius of the ground, you'd see a totally different league, but obviously life isn't like that. We have so many teams near us in the Manchester area that are within ten or fifteen minutes in a car around the motorway, it's very difficult to stop other teams taking our players.
"Before you know it, just when you think you are getting a settled squad you lose two or three to other clubs. If we were a bit more isolated, it would be different, but for us we are always fighting to keep our best players and the ones I do have, I just try and build a squad around them."
Despite the constant threat of his players being poached, Lloyd has so far managed to hang on to his leading scorer Ashley Mulholland, despite plenty of interest from other clubs.Â
"So far I've kept Ashley, although there have been no shortage of clubs trying to take him away from us this season. He has told me he wants to play at a higher level, which I totally understand, and if anyone makes an enquiry about him I always tell him, whether it's from our league or above. But he's very happy at the club right now, he enjoys the type of football we play, and he's benefitting from that because he's scoring goals for us."
In the meantime, Lloyd continues to leave no stone unturned in his search for additions to his squad.
"I have contacts in various places and I use them all to try and add to the squad. I've got contacts in Sunday football, the Manchester League, the Cheshire League - I go absolutely all over the place looking for players.Â
"I know lots of people around the scene and if they tell me there's a good young player playing somewhere I'll go and have a look at him myself, or send someone to have a look at him. If I think he can do a job for us, we'll invite him down to training and take it from there.
"I also organise a lot of friendly games during the season and get players down to have a look at them, and again if someone comes along who looks good we'll take them in. The good thing about it is that young lads know they will get a chance at Flixton to prove themselves, and if they are good enough to move up, they'll get a chance to show it."
Looking ahead, Lloyd is looking to combine his footballing philosophy with a continued determination to build on what he has achieved so far.
"We try and play football as much as we can. When I first took over we had to scrap a bit to try and get out of trouble, and while it worked for a while there is only so long you will get away with that. You get a bad reputation, referees are looking out for you and decisions start going against you. Â
"We don't fear anyone in this league now, although some teams are better than us, and when you come across a better team you have to hold your hands up. The best team we've played this season are Ramsbottom United, who beat us on the opening day of the season. They dominated us, and deserved to win by a bigger score than they did.Â
"But I think generally there is very little difference between the top and bottom of the league. If you don't turn up and perform as you know you can, you are going to get turned over in this league, no matter who you are. You can't look at playing a team at the bottom of the league and think you'll get a nice easy three points, it just doesn't happen.
"The first target for me each season is simply to finish outside the relegation zone. If I achieve that I've done my job. In saying that though, if I can add one or two players to the squad to strengthen it a bit, I'd be disappointed if we didn't finish in the top ten this season.Â
"We have been playing well enough, we just haven't been getting the results we deserved on the day, and I really believe we are better than our league position suggests."Â
