Brunton Park Diary - May 2010
13/05/10 20:18
May 1st (Sat)
CARLISLE UNITED 1 WALSALL 1
The final home game of the season ends with a disappointing draw at home to Walsall after Price equalises a very early Walsall strike. We did play 4-4-2 though and the fans behaved after appeals that there should be no invasion of the pitch.
** Player Ratings: Collin 6, Keogh 7, Raven 7, Harte 7, Horwood 6, Taiwo 6, Marshall 7, , Thirlwell 6, Clayton 7, Madine 8 (star man), Price 7.
UNITED YOUTH 1 PRESTON YOUTH 0
The young Blues get an excellent home win thanks to a second-half Phil Towler header.
May 3rd (Mon)
Evan Horwood fears that he has played his last game at Brunton Park as he is out of contract at the end of the season and has still yet to be approached by Greg Abbott over a new deal.
May 4th (Tues)
CARLISLE RESERVES 3 OLDHAM RESERVES 0
Bridge-Wilkinson, Bowman and Cook are on target for the reserves as they end their final league season in second place. 19 year olds Billy Gibson and Michael Uwezu, to be released by Watford and Fulham respectively, make impressive trial appearances.
United line-up:- Pidgeley, Kane, Kavanagh, Swinglehurst, Lakeland (Osmond 85), Rothery, Bridge-Wilkinson, Burns, Gibson (Cook 79), Uwezu, Bowman.
UNITED YOUTH 4 WIGAN YOUTH 1
The young Blues end their season with an excellent home win thanks to goals from Dan Jones 2, Manny Richardson and David Symington.
May 6th (Thurs)
Four players (Rothery, Burns, Lakeland and Richardson) are all released by the Club as Abbott begins to trim his squad. The N&S reports that 3 Championship clubs (Watford, QPR and Norwich) are chasing Harte.
May 8th (Sat)
NORWICH 0 CARLISLE UNITED 2
The Blues celebrate St Jimmy’s day by surging into a 2 goal lead within 8 minutes. Madine finishes off a great move and then Price’s hair gets the second from a Harte free kick. That was enough to secure the points between Norwich celebrations. Delia’s wears a chef’s hat in solidarity with the 40 or so West Cumbrian Blues dressed as chefs in a packed Carrow Road. Mark Gillespie made history as Carlisle’s youngest ever keeper with his late entry into the fray.
* Player Ratings: Collin 7.3, Keogh 7.6, Raven 7.6, Harte 8.3(star man), Horwood 7.6, Bridge-Wilkinson 6.8, Marshall 8, Thirlwell 8.2, Clayton 6.8, Madine 8.2, Price 7.5.
* Taken as an average from the CUFC online messageboard.
** Taken from CUFC online main report as no (sensible) messageboard ratings
May 9th (Sun)
The trophies are handed out at the end of season’s award ceremony at Brunton Park.
Most improved YTS: Steven Swinglehurst
YTS player of the year: Ryan Bowman
London Branch player of the year: Richard Keogh
BBC Radio Cumbria Derek Lacey Memorial Award: Tom Aldred
Goals of the season: 3rd = Kavanagh away at Leeds, 2nd = Robson away at Walsall, 1st = Robson at home to Bradford City.
Away supporters player of the year: Adam Clayton
Wembley Men of the Match: Adam Collin and Adam Clayton
Fans player of the year: Matty Robson
Players player of the year: Richard Keogh
May 10th (Mon)
KKKAAAAAAAPPOOWWWWWWW!!!!
The curse of the London Branch claw strikes once again. Ongoing contract talks with Keogh reveal that he (or rather his agent) sees his future away from Brunton Park. It appears clear that LB’s Number 1 has been touted around with the likes of Hibs rumoured to be at the front of the queue. Even worse for the club, unlike a tribunal-led deal to an English club, such a move wouldn’t be subject to the same restriction due to a loophole in the regulations about cross-border transfers.
The last time the Tories overthrew a Labour government there were riots in the St.Paul’s area of Bristol so it’s a double blow when Anyinsah reveals that he’s turned down an offer to stay in favour of a club that will allow him to spend more time near the city. Mass urbanisation and motorways versus the mountains and valleys of Cumbria. Eh?
Meanwhile it’s game over for a number of players from the first team squad as four more are given the order of the boot. The best days of the Dobster are no doubt behind him but he was still an experienced head up front. Pidgeley seems to have paid for a couple of erratic performances and headline errors at the wrong time although he looked a reasonable stopper. The gap as no.2 to Collin seems likely to be filled for now with Tony Caig in discussions with a move into a player-coach role at the club on a full-time basis. Even though he can do a job at right-back and centre-half and more importantly, Keogh’s Carlisle future hangs by a thread, Raven is off too. The most surprising is probably Evan Horwood’s release given the 41 games he played in the season during which he received several plaudits.
Andy Cook and Tom Aldred are offered one-year contracts and Livesey, a two-year deal.
KAAAAAABOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!
There’s a shake up in the backroom for next season with Kav moving into the assistant manager post. Dennis Booth takes on the new role as “Head of Football Affairs”, a position that sounds more suited to Terry Thomas in an Ealing-style comedy. In a club quote, "Dennis will help us to oversee all of the football areas within the club. He will watch the football that is played at all levels, from the first team through to the Youth team and the Centre of Excellence, and he will offer advice on everything that he sees. He will assist with the scouting network that we have, and he will be out there looking at targets in terms of player recruitment. He will also watch and produce match reports on our opponents in conjunction with the scouts who are already out there.” Unlike initial rumours, 48 year-old Kavanagh will retain his playing registration for next season.
KAAAWWWHHHHAAAAAAMMMMMMYYYYY!!!!
CUFC decide to pull out of the Reserve league from next season having finished a narrow 2nd. The theory is that the Reserves will instead play the occasional friendly against a mixture of Scottish and higher level teams from the North East and pick up the odd player along the way……watch this space for Workington, Barrow and a County Select XI kicking MBW 12 feet into the air on a pitch soon.
May 11th (Tue)
After initially indicating his departure, Keogh announces that he wants to mull things over while on holiday and will come back with a response in the next three weeks. Apparently he left Abbott’s office in tears. He must have heard about Offiong coming back.
May 12th (Wed)
Pre-season starts to take shape with a game against the Bar Codes at Brunton Park on July 17th and then the Conference new boys, Safecrackers FC, at the Northern Echo stadium on July 23rd. Abbott will be head-to-head against old boy Simon Davey in the latter fixture. Who needs tours to Malaysia and China, in between what’s left of the first team squad will be treated to a five-day training camp down in Colchester. Several eager local estate agents enquire if they can send a representative down to Carlisle’s base during the week.
Abbott admits that he may improve Aldred’s initial one-year deal to two years and it looks increasingly likely that Danny Livesey will continue to terrorise opposition centre-forwards and passing coaches in equal measure; arguably both the tracksuit type and any large passenger vehicle in the vicinity of the ground, for a further two years at Brunton Park.
Seaton Carew-based Horwood issues a “come and get me” plea to Hartlepool United to fulfil his dreams of playing for his hometown club.
Abbott is fined £1,400 and banned from driving for 6 months after being caught doing 99.8mph near Penrith last December. If you were driving Offiong down to Rotherham for the rumoured on-off loan move, wouldn’t you?
May 13th (Thu)
Ex-stopper Williams is Colchester’s official player of the year after 17 clean sheets for the season.
Anyinsah comes out in the press with his reasons for seeking a move and revealing that 18 months ago, he had the chance of joining Swindon (oh no, not them again) but instead went back to Carlisle following his first loan spell at the club under Abbott. After five years up north, he now wants to settle nearer his family home. Colchester it is then.
May 15th (Sat)
The unfortunate Offiong returns to the UK for a scan on the injured hip sustained during his first game in Sweden. Meanwhile Harte-horse is linked with a move back to Leeds. Good grief.
May 17th (Mon)
Portsmouth are rumoured to head a line Championship clubs eyeing up under contract pig-bladder catcher Adam Collin for next season. Flap, flap, oink, oink.
* Taken as an average from the CUFC online messageboard.
** Taken from CUFC online main report as no (sensible) messageboard ratings
May 18th (Tue)
The scan on Offiong’s thigh-knack reveals a ruptured thigh tendon that although not requiring surgery, will keep him out of action until late September at the earliest.
Out of contract Barrow midfielder Andy Bond (24) is confirmed as a target on Abbott’s spin-the-player dartboard via the medium of BBCRC Sport. Barrow boss Dave Bayliss states that Andy is thinking over a move to Carlisle United and although he has also received offers from other League One clubs, he’s recommending a move to Brunton Park.
May 19th (Wed)
Games at Kendal and Workington are added to the list of pre-season friendlies.
May 20th (Thu)
After a successful season where he fired in 23 goals, transfer target Marc Richards turns down the chance to join Carlisle United on a two-year deal in favour of signing a new contract at present club Port Vale on lower wages than the Blues had tabled. Richards is quoted by the N&S as saying: “Carlisle’s offer was a temptation because every player wants to play higher. Their offer was more lucrative, but it was more to do with where I was going to be happiest playing. I’ve mulled it over for the past week, but I want to stay at Vale because I firmly believe that if the gaffer adds a couple of faces we will challenge for promotion next season.”
Geography is understood to have been a factor in Richards’ decision, a familiar obstacle to Abbott and his predecessors in the Brunton Park hot-seat during their efforts in the transfer market.
There are various rumours that Scunny are coming in for Adam Clayton with City looking to offer him football at the CCC level.
May 21st (Fri)
Skipper Danny Livesey puts pen to paper as expected on his new 2-year deal. At 25, his best years are potentially still ahead of him.
May 24th (Mon)
It’s confirmed that Carlisle will host Hibs in a friendly at 2pm, Sunday 1st August.
May 25th (Tue)
Sky Sports report that Carlisle are amongst three clubs, St Johnstone and Dundee being the other two, chasing Kilmarnock’s out-of-contract defender Simon Ford. Ford has been at Killie for 5 years having previously played for Grimsby and has 3 caps to his name on behalf of Jamaica.
May 26th (Wed)
Ivor Powell (93) announces his retirement from the game after 37 years of coaching at the University of Bath despite still being a shade faster than Ian Harte over 30 yards. The former Blues manager led Carlisle to their first promotion in 1961/2 and was awarded an MBE in 2008.
May 27th (Thu)
Recently released Donny left-back Sean McDaid joins Carlisle on a 12-month deal with the option of a further 12-month contract should he make 30 starts for us next season. He joined Doncaster Rovers in 2005 after arriving from the Leeds United Training Academy where he trained under Abbott. He can play both in defence and in midfield if needed and has represented Scotland in every level up to under-19. He was named the Player's Player of the Year and the Doncaster Rovers Young Player of the Year in 2005/6 and played a key part of the promotion winning 2007-08 squad. The last two years have been a long road to recovery following a tackle which dislocated his knee.
May 31st (Mon)
It’s goodbye Dagenham & Redbridge and Yeovil, hello Ibrox and Parkhead as the Dobster agrees a one-year deal for next season with St. Johnstone following his recent release.
After living on generous handouts from Carlisle for the last two seasons, former manager John Ward decides it’s time to do something useful with his life as he takes over the reigns at Colchester following a short spell as their assistant manager.
CARLISLE UNITED 1 WALSALL 1
The final home game of the season ends with a disappointing draw at home to Walsall after Price equalises a very early Walsall strike. We did play 4-4-2 though and the fans behaved after appeals that there should be no invasion of the pitch.
** Player Ratings: Collin 6, Keogh 7, Raven 7, Harte 7, Horwood 6, Taiwo 6, Marshall 7, , Thirlwell 6, Clayton 7, Madine 8 (star man), Price 7.
UNITED YOUTH 1 PRESTON YOUTH 0
The young Blues get an excellent home win thanks to a second-half Phil Towler header.
May 3rd (Mon)
Evan Horwood fears that he has played his last game at Brunton Park as he is out of contract at the end of the season and has still yet to be approached by Greg Abbott over a new deal.
May 4th (Tues)
CARLISLE RESERVES 3 OLDHAM RESERVES 0
Bridge-Wilkinson, Bowman and Cook are on target for the reserves as they end their final league season in second place. 19 year olds Billy Gibson and Michael Uwezu, to be released by Watford and Fulham respectively, make impressive trial appearances.
United line-up:- Pidgeley, Kane, Kavanagh, Swinglehurst, Lakeland (Osmond 85), Rothery, Bridge-Wilkinson, Burns, Gibson (Cook 79), Uwezu, Bowman.
UNITED YOUTH 4 WIGAN YOUTH 1
The young Blues end their season with an excellent home win thanks to goals from Dan Jones 2, Manny Richardson and David Symington.
May 6th (Thurs)
Four players (Rothery, Burns, Lakeland and Richardson) are all released by the Club as Abbott begins to trim his squad. The N&S reports that 3 Championship clubs (Watford, QPR and Norwich) are chasing Harte.
May 8th (Sat)
NORWICH 0 CARLISLE UNITED 2
The Blues celebrate St Jimmy’s day by surging into a 2 goal lead within 8 minutes. Madine finishes off a great move and then Price’s hair gets the second from a Harte free kick. That was enough to secure the points between Norwich celebrations. Delia’s wears a chef’s hat in solidarity with the 40 or so West Cumbrian Blues dressed as chefs in a packed Carrow Road. Mark Gillespie made history as Carlisle’s youngest ever keeper with his late entry into the fray.
* Player Ratings: Collin 7.3, Keogh 7.6, Raven 7.6, Harte 8.3(star man), Horwood 7.6, Bridge-Wilkinson 6.8, Marshall 8, Thirlwell 8.2, Clayton 6.8, Madine 8.2, Price 7.5.
* Taken as an average from the CUFC online messageboard.
** Taken from CUFC online main report as no (sensible) messageboard ratings
May 9th (Sun)
The trophies are handed out at the end of season’s award ceremony at Brunton Park.
Most improved YTS: Steven Swinglehurst
YTS player of the year: Ryan Bowman
London Branch player of the year: Richard Keogh
BBC Radio Cumbria Derek Lacey Memorial Award: Tom Aldred
Goals of the season: 3rd = Kavanagh away at Leeds, 2nd = Robson away at Walsall, 1st = Robson at home to Bradford City.
Away supporters player of the year: Adam Clayton
Wembley Men of the Match: Adam Collin and Adam Clayton
Fans player of the year: Matty Robson
Players player of the year: Richard Keogh
May 10th (Mon)
KKKAAAAAAAPPOOWWWWWWW!!!!
The curse of the London Branch claw strikes once again. Ongoing contract talks with Keogh reveal that he (or rather his agent) sees his future away from Brunton Park. It appears clear that LB’s Number 1 has been touted around with the likes of Hibs rumoured to be at the front of the queue. Even worse for the club, unlike a tribunal-led deal to an English club, such a move wouldn’t be subject to the same restriction due to a loophole in the regulations about cross-border transfers.
The last time the Tories overthrew a Labour government there were riots in the St.Paul’s area of Bristol so it’s a double blow when Anyinsah reveals that he’s turned down an offer to stay in favour of a club that will allow him to spend more time near the city. Mass urbanisation and motorways versus the mountains and valleys of Cumbria. Eh?
Meanwhile it’s game over for a number of players from the first team squad as four more are given the order of the boot. The best days of the Dobster are no doubt behind him but he was still an experienced head up front. Pidgeley seems to have paid for a couple of erratic performances and headline errors at the wrong time although he looked a reasonable stopper. The gap as no.2 to Collin seems likely to be filled for now with Tony Caig in discussions with a move into a player-coach role at the club on a full-time basis. Even though he can do a job at right-back and centre-half and more importantly, Keogh’s Carlisle future hangs by a thread, Raven is off too. The most surprising is probably Evan Horwood’s release given the 41 games he played in the season during which he received several plaudits.
Andy Cook and Tom Aldred are offered one-year contracts and Livesey, a two-year deal.
KAAAAAABOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!
There’s a shake up in the backroom for next season with Kav moving into the assistant manager post. Dennis Booth takes on the new role as “Head of Football Affairs”, a position that sounds more suited to Terry Thomas in an Ealing-style comedy. In a club quote, "Dennis will help us to oversee all of the football areas within the club. He will watch the football that is played at all levels, from the first team through to the Youth team and the Centre of Excellence, and he will offer advice on everything that he sees. He will assist with the scouting network that we have, and he will be out there looking at targets in terms of player recruitment. He will also watch and produce match reports on our opponents in conjunction with the scouts who are already out there.” Unlike initial rumours, 48 year-old Kavanagh will retain his playing registration for next season.
KAAAWWWHHHHAAAAAAMMMMMMYYYYY!!!!
CUFC decide to pull out of the Reserve league from next season having finished a narrow 2nd. The theory is that the Reserves will instead play the occasional friendly against a mixture of Scottish and higher level teams from the North East and pick up the odd player along the way……watch this space for Workington, Barrow and a County Select XI kicking MBW 12 feet into the air on a pitch soon.
May 11th (Tue)
After initially indicating his departure, Keogh announces that he wants to mull things over while on holiday and will come back with a response in the next three weeks. Apparently he left Abbott’s office in tears. He must have heard about Offiong coming back.
May 12th (Wed)
Pre-season starts to take shape with a game against the Bar Codes at Brunton Park on July 17th and then the Conference new boys, Safecrackers FC, at the Northern Echo stadium on July 23rd. Abbott will be head-to-head against old boy Simon Davey in the latter fixture. Who needs tours to Malaysia and China, in between what’s left of the first team squad will be treated to a five-day training camp down in Colchester. Several eager local estate agents enquire if they can send a representative down to Carlisle’s base during the week.
Abbott admits that he may improve Aldred’s initial one-year deal to two years and it looks increasingly likely that Danny Livesey will continue to terrorise opposition centre-forwards and passing coaches in equal measure; arguably both the tracksuit type and any large passenger vehicle in the vicinity of the ground, for a further two years at Brunton Park.
Seaton Carew-based Horwood issues a “come and get me” plea to Hartlepool United to fulfil his dreams of playing for his hometown club.
Abbott is fined £1,400 and banned from driving for 6 months after being caught doing 99.8mph near Penrith last December. If you were driving Offiong down to Rotherham for the rumoured on-off loan move, wouldn’t you?
May 13th (Thu)
Ex-stopper Williams is Colchester’s official player of the year after 17 clean sheets for the season.
Anyinsah comes out in the press with his reasons for seeking a move and revealing that 18 months ago, he had the chance of joining Swindon (oh no, not them again) but instead went back to Carlisle following his first loan spell at the club under Abbott. After five years up north, he now wants to settle nearer his family home. Colchester it is then.
May 15th (Sat)
The unfortunate Offiong returns to the UK for a scan on the injured hip sustained during his first game in Sweden. Meanwhile Harte-horse is linked with a move back to Leeds. Good grief.
May 17th (Mon)
Portsmouth are rumoured to head a line Championship clubs eyeing up under contract pig-bladder catcher Adam Collin for next season. Flap, flap, oink, oink.
* Taken as an average from the CUFC online messageboard.
** Taken from CUFC online main report as no (sensible) messageboard ratings
May 18th (Tue)
The scan on Offiong’s thigh-knack reveals a ruptured thigh tendon that although not requiring surgery, will keep him out of action until late September at the earliest.
Out of contract Barrow midfielder Andy Bond (24) is confirmed as a target on Abbott’s spin-the-player dartboard via the medium of BBCRC Sport. Barrow boss Dave Bayliss states that Andy is thinking over a move to Carlisle United and although he has also received offers from other League One clubs, he’s recommending a move to Brunton Park.
May 19th (Wed)
Games at Kendal and Workington are added to the list of pre-season friendlies.
May 20th (Thu)
After a successful season where he fired in 23 goals, transfer target Marc Richards turns down the chance to join Carlisle United on a two-year deal in favour of signing a new contract at present club Port Vale on lower wages than the Blues had tabled. Richards is quoted by the N&S as saying: “Carlisle’s offer was a temptation because every player wants to play higher. Their offer was more lucrative, but it was more to do with where I was going to be happiest playing. I’ve mulled it over for the past week, but I want to stay at Vale because I firmly believe that if the gaffer adds a couple of faces we will challenge for promotion next season.”
Geography is understood to have been a factor in Richards’ decision, a familiar obstacle to Abbott and his predecessors in the Brunton Park hot-seat during their efforts in the transfer market.
There are various rumours that Scunny are coming in for Adam Clayton with City looking to offer him football at the CCC level.
May 21st (Fri)
Skipper Danny Livesey puts pen to paper as expected on his new 2-year deal. At 25, his best years are potentially still ahead of him.
May 24th (Mon)
It’s confirmed that Carlisle will host Hibs in a friendly at 2pm, Sunday 1st August.
May 25th (Tue)
Sky Sports report that Carlisle are amongst three clubs, St Johnstone and Dundee being the other two, chasing Kilmarnock’s out-of-contract defender Simon Ford. Ford has been at Killie for 5 years having previously played for Grimsby and has 3 caps to his name on behalf of Jamaica.
May 26th (Wed)
Ivor Powell (93) announces his retirement from the game after 37 years of coaching at the University of Bath despite still being a shade faster than Ian Harte over 30 yards. The former Blues manager led Carlisle to their first promotion in 1961/2 and was awarded an MBE in 2008.
May 27th (Thu)
Recently released Donny left-back Sean McDaid joins Carlisle on a 12-month deal with the option of a further 12-month contract should he make 30 starts for us next season. He joined Doncaster Rovers in 2005 after arriving from the Leeds United Training Academy where he trained under Abbott. He can play both in defence and in midfield if needed and has represented Scotland in every level up to under-19. He was named the Player's Player of the Year and the Doncaster Rovers Young Player of the Year in 2005/6 and played a key part of the promotion winning 2007-08 squad. The last two years have been a long road to recovery following a tackle which dislocated his knee.
May 31st (Mon)
It’s goodbye Dagenham & Redbridge and Yeovil, hello Ibrox and Parkhead as the Dobster agrees a one-year deal for next season with St. Johnstone following his recent release.
After living on generous handouts from Carlisle for the last two seasons, former manager John Ward decides it’s time to do something useful with his life as he takes over the reigns at Colchester following a short spell as their assistant manager.