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The (Not Quite) Unstoppable Force and the Immovable Object - Reviewing February 2021, Part Two

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Welcome to the second part of February’s review. The intensity and frequency of the games haven’t let up, by the end of this review Simon Rusk will have been in charge for eight games and it’s fair to say it has been an incident-packed few weeks since my last piece.  After the second stalemate in a row away to Maidenhead United, County made another long journey south to Eastleigh, a side hunting a play off place and who recently beat promotion contenders, Hartlepool United at home. Our strength in depth was tested one again as we were still without Mark Kitching, Connor Jennings and Ryan Croasdale, but now Tom Walker was sidelined through injury and a suspended Jordan Keane joined the growing list of absentees. Will Collar, whose performance was one of the few positives taken from Maidenhead, and Harvey Gilmour, injured and nearly forgotten for much of the season, stepped into midfield. Richie Bennett and Sam Minihan also started and loan signing Sam Dalby was a substitute.  Like the M
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A Cure for Insomnia? Part One: Reviewing February 2021

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Hello and welcome to February’s review. Despite the still-smouldering debates which erupted after Jim Gannon’s sacking the team certainly didn’t break stride and the 4-1 win at Woking in Simon Rusk’s first game as County manager, was arguably the best, in terms of the manner of victory, we could have hoped for and we could all now look forward to a mouth-watering clash with fellow challengers Sutton United with much-needed enthusiasm.  Before that though, the National League invited clubs to vote on whether to continue (or conclude) the season. Clubs have 28 days to vote, with Wrexham already stating their intention to abstain as they are not eligible for funding through the Sports Winter Survival Package.  Early indications suggest that the two steps will be treated as separate entities and the National League will continue, whereas the National League North and South may well be declared null and void. Without access to a grant, it’s easy to see why many step two clubs aren’t willing
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The End of the Line, part two: Reviewing January 2021

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Welcome to part two of the TSBW review of January’s action. Well, we left part one with Jim Gannon’s sacking. The devastating news has taken a while to sink in, since then we have seen more arguments, debates and accusations than an episode of Question Time, but more on Jim Gannon, Simon Rusk and the future later on.  Just 48 hours later, while the dust was still settling and with the debates in full swing the team had to return to some kind of normality (if one can perceive any kind of ‘normal’ these days) with a game against Boreham Wood at EP. Dave Conlon, in temporary charge of the first team, named Ash Palmer and Macauley Southam-Hales in the starting line up but dropped the rapidly improving Ryan Croasdale, as County set up with a back three.  Boreham Wood, impressive in their double dismantling of County last season, went on to make the play offs and rightly deserved to be named among the favourites to repeat the feat this season. County, with all the turmoil of the previous tw
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The End of the Line, part one: Reviewing January 2021

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Welcome to TSBW January review and what a month it has been. County kicked off the year at home to Altrincham, looking to finish off what they started against them in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day. After the Wrexham victory and in particular the manner of victory, a similar performance; one of consistency and tenacity, would be very sweet indeed.  We barely had time to settle down on the sofa before a dominant County surged forward and Alex Reid fired in from close range following some fine work by Macauley Southam-Hales down the right. Almost a carbon copy of Richie Bennett’s goal against Wrexham it set the tone for a jubilant first half, one which mirrored that of the Wrexham game. Surely this was the moment we had been waiting for? The moment when all the “when will the team gel?” hand wringing finally came to an end.  Well, the second half gave a little indication that we still had to wait sometime yet. The half time substitutions of first half heroes, Reid and Southam-Hales in
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Covid, Cups and Life on the Road, part two: Reviewing December 2020

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Welcome to part two of the December review, we left part one after the lethargic loss to Notts County and we moved onto the FA Trophy the following weekend. A competition which most feel is, considering the fixture pile-up, one we could do with being knocked out of early. The team was also back at Edgeley Park after what seemed like about six months and as expected Jim Gannon made several changes with squad players Josh Barnes, Macauley Southam-Hales, Ryan Croasdale, Louis Britton, and Harvey Gilmour all starting.  We could be forgiven for thinking the players were of the same negative opinion as the fans where the Trophy was concerned. While Guiseley weren’t the better side at any point, County were the same weak and moribund version of themselves which lost the previous game, although some slack can be cut here as the bulk of the side had never played together competitively before. Still, Guiseley were a division below and one would expect County to win comfortably and when, against
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