(25 Oct 2014, 4:51 pm)Andreos1 wrote Blyth and Gateshead through to First Round proper. Sounds like the Blyth game was a cracker - with Leek passing up the chance to make it 4-4 in the 97th min, by missing a penalty.

Spennymoor and Shildon drew, with replays away at Telford and home to Norton respectively.
I fancy Shildon's chances, but feel Spenny have a tall order getting through.
Hopefully they both progress.

What do you want in the 1st Round, a fairly sized league team like Coventry or Portsmouth or a more local game against someone like Hartlepool, York, Carlisle or Spenny/Shildon should they make it...

I agree with your opinion about Spennymoor, on paper AFC Telford should win, but we all know paper and form means nothing in the Cup...

Hopefully Gateshead get a fellow non-league team. The same in round two and then a Premier League team in round three.
All at home.

Ditto, Blyth, Spennymoor and Shildon!

What happens is anyone's guess, but hopefully they can all get a decent run going and a plum tie or two and a live TV game.

Not sure Blyth will get to the QF's again, like they did in the 70's though!

(25 Oct 2014, 5:41 pm)Tom wrote I think we see Pantilamon in goal against CRY.

As much as I like Vito Mannone, he was not player of the year last season for nothing, I think it is time to call on Costel Pantilimon, I have always thought Mannone is a hell of a keeper, but 10 conceded in 2 games is bad and has probably lost a lot of confidence. If it was not for Mannone last season, Sunderland would have went down. I hope he can get some confidence and regain his place and feel better for it

(25 Oct 2014, 5:47 pm)Andreos1 wrote Hopefully Gateshead get a fellow non-league team. The same in round two and then a Premier League team in round three.
All at home.

Ditto, Blyth, Spennymoor and Shildon!

What happens is anyone's guess, but hopefully they can all get a decent run going and a plum tie or two.

Not sure Blyth will get to the QF's again, like they did in the 70's though!

Would to see that happen, not necessarily Blyth, any north east non-League team.

A Third Round Tie against either Newcastle or Sunderland would be huge and to a lesser extent Middlesbrough.

The Glamour ties are normally better for non-League clubs if drawn away from home because of the money involved...

Lets say Gateshead gets Newcastle in the 3rd round, it is better financially to play at Sid James' than The International Stadium...

In the Cup, rules state the away team is allowed upto 25% of the tickets,, so at SJP Gateshead are guaranteed just over 13,000 tickets out of 52,405, compare that to The International Stadium which holds 11,800 with an away team only being able to bring about 2,900. Also in the Cup money made is split between the 2 clubs, so Gateshead would recieve close to a kings ransom for an away glamour...

Mr Fozz the Turf Accountant would probably bet a 3rd Round game with Gateshead against anyone in the Premier League would be a good bet for TV to pick it up...

Wonder what will if Spenny or Shildon get through and get a good draw at home, wonder if there grounds are fit enough to stage a big FA Cup Tie, although Spenny got 1,800 and 2,670 in the 2 games against us and about 1,400 at Shildon when they played us, I wonder if they could cope with a game against someone like Coventry, Portsmouth or Hartlepool

#mistafozzbookies

So the 1st Round Cup Draw is tonight...7pm on BBC2

I have decided I want Gateshead or Blyth to draw Bury...Bury are one of my soft spot clubs, I shit you not I know the Bury Assistant Managers dad and I always like to take the piss about this



Would be nice to see Chris back up home for a change...

As for other ties

Would like to see North East Teams play each other, Hartlepool, Spennymoor, Shildon, Carlisle and York...

Shildon should go through, Spenny have an uphill task, but the Cup can be full of surprises, surely Spenny or Shildon will be a good bet for TV if they make it through with a glamour in the 1st Round...

Spennys task is similar to Durham 6 years ago, same level as Spenny now, played Histon from the Conference, got a very good draw at The Hetton Centre, got beat 5-2 at Histon and Histon went on to play Swindon, Leeds and Swansea in the Competition Proper.

Durham should have won that game against Histon at Hetton.
They were tremendous that day.

Kept an eye out for Histon and if I remember right, they got a TV game or two.
One or two of the players (names escape me), ended up playing for league teams, following on from that run.

(27 Oct 2014, 8:36 am)Andreos1 wrote Durham should have won that game against Histon at Hetton.
They were tremendous that day.

Kept an eye out for Histon and if I remember right, they got a TV game or two.
One or two of the players (names escape me), ended up playing for league teams, following on from that run.

Were you there that day mate...I remember it well, there keeper was called Danny Naisbitt, I was behind his goal in the first half, and some a couple of young lads said to him something to the effect of 'You won't be used to the weather up North, you soft Southern poof...where you from mate' to which Naisbitt in a broad Co. Durham accent answered 'Spennymoor' the young'uns did not know what to say

Durham battered Histon in the 2nd half and should have won it.

Histon played Swindon in the 1st Round, Leeds on tv in the 2nd and beat them 1-0, iirc, they battered Leeds that day and got beat 2-1 in the third round off Swansea, a game I am almost featured Murton lad Alan Tate in the Swansea line up

My query about Spenny and Shildon stands, if they get through, do we think a home game for them would be moved because the polis aren't happy...

Spenny have a canny ground and Shildon is a shithole

Would imagine the five-oh(not the shitty painted buses) would have kittens at the thought of unwashed hordes from Hartlepool or Coventry or Pompey descending on there little shitholes

Aye, I was there at Hetton that day.
Was a great game and as you say, Durham battered them in the second half.

Was sat in the stand trying to keep warm.
The Histon directors etc were pretty nearby and were doing my head in.
Sure they thought they were the bees knees (for some.deluded reason).

The family of Danny Naisbitt were also nearby.

Durham had a good team up until the end of that season (we all know what happened there).
Histon were going for promotion to the league that season too if I remember correctly.

(27 Oct 2014, 8:57 am)Andreos1 wrote Aye, I was there at Hetton that day.
Was a great game and as you say, Durham battered them in the second half.

Was sat in the stand trying to keep warm.
The Histon directors etc were pretty nearby and were doing my head in.
Sure they thought they were the bees knees (for some.deluded reason).

The family of Danny Naisbitt were also nearby.

Durham had a good team up until the end of that season (we all know what happened there).
Histon were going for promotion to the league that season too if I remember correctly.

Yep had a benefactor in at the time, As did Durham...Both were extraordinary that season, Histon came close, and Durham pissed the League that year, it pretty much all came crashing for both at the same time, Histon went to shit after being punished for financial irregularities and are now at the Southern Equivalent Level of where Durham was when it went to shit for them.

I really felt sorry for Durham that year, losing there sponsorship because the Conference refused to accept 3G pitches, well at least that has been overturned now...As we have discussed before that has to be good move for footy in general...

Now, how to convince Northern League Teams to be more ambitious

I experienced Consett's synthetic pitch the other week - they seem to be the hosts for a few games at all sorts of levels/ages/sexes for kids football on a Saturday morning.

Quite impressed, but the eldest was picking bits of rubber out of all sorts of orifices' for days!

Keep missing your other question.
Unless it is a Gateshead v Blyth game (or the other way round at Croft Park), I can't see why the polis should be too bothered.
As long as controls can be put into place, it should be safe enough.
There isn't the rivalry or history that would possibly warrant too many safety concerns.

The problem with grounds at that level is space, moreso, lack of it, things like Segregation has to be taken into account, Spenny and Shildon could probably handle both Blyth and Gateshead with little/no segregation, but if they draw a Hartlepool, Carlisle or York, you start to have problems, Spenny can segregate, they did twice for us, Shildon probably could not, there could potentially be problems if they drew a League side like Coventry or Portsmouth, big sides in terms of fanbase, that is when the hurdles start to get bloody big, when you look at both Spenny and Shildons location, hemmed in on all sides by housing...I reamember Newcastle drawing Hayes and Yeading years ago and it was played at Loftus Road...Then at grounds like that, if TV want the game, there is nothing in the way of media facilities.

Spenny may just be able to cope, maybe too much on Shildon, would be a dream for them to get the dream and do something...Who remembers Bedlington beating Colchester 4-1 in about 1998...

Would love Shildon to get through though, no team from the Northern League has made it to the First Round since 2003 when, funnily enough, it was Shildon, they got beat 7-2 at Notts County...Hebburn came close a while back, Gateshead put them out and Marske came close last year, Southport put them out and Grimsby beat Ashington 2 years ago

FA Cup Draw has been made:

Blyth at home to Altrincham
Hartlepool at home to East Thurrock.
Shildon (if they get through) at home to Gateshead.
Spennymoor (if they get through) away to Basingstoke/Harrow.

North Cup ties

York v AFC Wimbledon
Basingstoke/Harrow v Spennymoor/Telford
Peterborough v Carlisle
Norton Utd/Shildon v Gateshead
Hartlepool v East Thurrock United
Blyth v Altrincham

Just beat me to it Andreos...

Local Derby for Heed, had a funny feeling it was coming, really think Shildon will win there replay, crap draw for Spennymoor should they make it...

In all honesty, Gateshead will not fancy that trip, could potentially be banana skin for Gateshead...Could see that being a TV game as Shildon are the lowest ranked side...

I hope Shildon have the local postman signed up

Has anyone ever noticed it seems to be an unwritten rule that all low non-League teams have to have the local postman in the team going alongside a bin man, sometimes a poloceman and a teacher who will be say something like 'my pupils will be watching and will no doubt take the mickey on Monday Morning'...


EDIT...Poloceman...Sounds like Officer Crabtree from Allo Allo

(27 Oct 2014, 7:30 pm)marxistafozzski wrote Just beat me to it Andreos...

Local Derby for Heed, had a funny feeling it was coming, really think Shildon will win there replay, crap draw for Spennymoor should they make it...

In all honesty, Gateshead will not fancy that trip, could potentially be banana skin for Gateshead...Could see that being a TV game as Shildon are the lowest ranked side...

I hope Shildon have the local postman signed up

Haha, our fingers must have been poised!

Hopefully Shildon and Spenny both get through their replays.

Looking at the positives - Basingstoke and Harrow aren't the biggest of teams.
Didn't even realise Basingstoke had a team, despite working in the area a number of times!
If Spenny can force a replay and get them back up here, I fancy their chances of getting into the second round (Basingstoke in level 6 and Harrow level 7), cos Spenny in November isn't the nicest place in the world!
Excellent chance for the Northern League players to show their talents!

(27 Oct 2014, 7:38 pm)Andreos1 wrote Haha, our fingers must have been poised!

Hopefully Shildon and Spenny both get through their replays.

Looking at the positives - Basingstoke and Harrow aren't the biggest of teams.
Didn't even realise Basingstoke had a team, despite working in the area a number of times!
If Spenny can force a replay and get them back up here, I fancy their chances of getting into the second round (Basingstoke in level 6 and Harrow level 7), cos Spenny in November isn't the nicest place in the world!
Excellent chance for the Northern League players to show their talents!

Basingstoke are Conference South and Harrow are Isthmian League Premier Division, 1 Step higher than Spenny...Get past Telford and I would fancy there chances of progressing...

I will take Gateshead to progress, but Shildon or Norton Utd will be up for it In a big way, if it is Shildon, I can see the interest being quite high purely based on locality...Again if, and it is a big if at this point, then I would like Shildon to force a replay, it could potentially set them up financially for a while.

Only other stand out games are

Worcester v Coventry...Something of a Local Derby
Portsmouth v Aldershot...I once heard someone refer to games between these two as The Armed Forces Derby(Pompey being a Naval Base and Aldershot being an Army Town)
Hartlepool v East Thurrock United...Hartlepool are utter shite at the moment

Out of interest, where does term Derby Game originate, does it have anything to do with The City of Derby...

If 2 two teams from Derby play each other, would it be called the Derby Derby...

1 more daft thought, when footy is on TV, a teams 3 letter abbreviation is used...In the past I have seen Wal v Rus(Wales v Russia) a friendly between Ars v Hol(Arsenal v Holland)...

What 3 letter abbreviation would be used is Nigeria plays Germany???

Pleased with Gateshead's draw. As already mentioned though, Norton or Shildon are a potential banana skin. As long as we don't underestimate them then we should be fine.

Mills' mission is to get us into the Third Round. It'll certainly be interesting to see if and how we get there. 

(27 Oct 2014, 8:57 pm)Adam wrote Pleased with Gateshead's draw. As already mentioned though, Norton or Shildon are a potential banana skin. As long as we don't underestimate them then we should be fine.

Mills' mission is to get us into the Third Round. It'll certainly be interesting to see if and how we get there. 

Hit the nail on the head Adam, as long as Gateshead are not complacent, show Shildon or Norton the respect they deserve, then the 3rd Round is a real possibility...A glamour tie away to Sunderland, Newcastle or one of the top Prem teams will be a great day out

(27 Oct 2014, 9:07 pm)marxistafozzski wrote Hit the nail on the head Adam, as long as Gateshead are not complacent, show Shildon or Norton the respect they deserve, then the 3rd Round is a real possibility...A glamour tie away to Sunderland, Newcastle or one of the top Prem teams will be a great day out

It would be great if we did get the third round. The amount of money we would recieve is fantastic for a little club like Gateshead. If it's on the telly, even better. I think we got close to £35,000 from BT last year when they showed our replay with Oxford United live.

(27 Oct 2014, 9:31 pm)Adam wrote It would be great if we did get the third round. The amount of money we would recieve is fantastic for a little club like Gateshead. If it's on the telly, even better. I think we got close to £35,000 from BT last year when they showed our replay with Oxford United live.

Could you see Shildon v Gateshead being taken up...The novelty of a near local derby and the fact Shildon will be the lowest ranked side left...

Would like to see Gateshead win, but the old football romantic in me wants Shildon to win or at least force a replay for financial reasons

(27 Oct 2014, 9:35 pm)marxistafozzski wrote Could you see Shildon v Gateshead being taken up...The novelty of a near local derby and the fact Shildon will be the lowest ranked side left...

Would like to see Gateshead win, but the old football romantic in me wants Shildon to win or at least force a replay for financial reasons

No, it won't be on the telly. All the telly channels see anywhere north of Yorkshire as too far a hike North, so won't come up unless they absolutely have to.

(27 Oct 2014, 10:53 pm)Adam wrote No, it won't be on the telly. All the telly channels see anywhere north of Yorkshire as too far a hike North, so won't come up unless they absolutely have to.

There are some other tasty games like...

Worcester v Coventry...local(ish) derby

Pompey v Aldershot...Another derby game(a pal of mine once called it the military/armed forces derby)

I am interested to see if Shildons Dean Street could host it...I am certain segregation is mandatory at this stage, and I cant see how Dean St could be adaquately segregated...will have to wait and see I guess

Blackpool have sacked Jose Riga

Owners are wreaking the club, expecting them to go down

Edit: stupid phone 

(27 Oct 2014, 11:30 pm)Michael wrote Blackpool have sacked Jose Riga

Owners are wreaking the club, expecting them yo go down

Leeds and Watford have gone through a few managers this season!

The last Leeds manager only lasted 44 days...the same as Brian Clough...

Not as good as Leroy Rosenior, he lasted 10 minutes as Torquay Manager

George Caulkin from The Times wrote a piece the other day, based around John Alder, flight MH17 and an interview with his sister.

Unfortunately, it was hidden behind the paywall.

Niall and Biffa from www.nufc.com, have reproduced it (explaining they have done so without permission) in full.
It can be seen here: http://www.nufc.com/2014-15html/john-alder-times.html

The FA Cup dream is over for Spennymoor, got beat 3-0 off AFC Telford last night...

Hope Shildon do the job tonight