Behind The Greens II

Episode 2 of Behind The Greens is a quick and fairly random interview with Cheadle Town Striker, Connor Martin.

Imagine by Si Cook

Connor is in his first season with the club and has impressed with his hold up play, link up play and eye for goal, seeing him currently as the clubs second top scorer in the league this season with five goals. Including two tidy finishes in Cheadle’s recent 5-0 win against Squires Gate just a couple of weeks ago.

However, the whole point of this interview is to delve into what a player does in their free time, whether that be work or leisure. Or, most importantly, whatever form of random but interesting questions (football or not) we can think of to get a better idea of each player as a person.

As usual, the questions will kick off with a bit of background on the player before we get started on the serious brainstorm questions.

What do you do for work outside of Cheadle Town?

“Recruitment.”

Do any aspects of your job ever have any impact on anything related to Cheadle whether it be good or bad?

“Sometimes the hours can affect getting to the games or training but apart from that all good.”

What do you enjoy doing in your free time outside of Cheadle and your job?

“Eating out at restaurants, cooking & going on holiday.”

What do you think is the most important aspect of playing football in a team, apart from anything ability related?

“Work rate and attitude.”

Image by Si Cook

 What’s your all-time favourite moment playing football, in any level, place or age?

“Scoring my first goal back after a long injury probably felt the best.”

Now what’s your all-time favourite moment watching football?

“Divock Origi scoring from the corner kick against Barcelona.”

If you could have 2 footballers past or present to play for Cheadle this weekend who would you pick?

“Ronaldinho and Messi.”

If you could compare your playing style to any ex or current player who would you pick and why?

“Honestly no idea on this it would have to be someone pretty slow though.”

Do you have any superstitions and routines when it comes to match day or before match day?

“Taping my ankles up before every game and wearing different football boots if I have a bad game or don’t score, changed them a lot this season.”

If Cheadle went onto win a trophy or get promoted this season what would your following two days look like?

“A serious party and then a day on my death bed.”

Who is the greatest player to ever play in the Premier League and why?

“Thierry Henry, just made it look easy.

If you could score any goal in a cup final, describe that goal for us?

“A last minute goal mouth toe poke.”

Image by Si Cook

What’s your all time favourite football boot?

“Nike Tiempo, black and orange.”

If you could have any animal as a pet knowing it won’t attack you or anyone, what would it be and why 

“Chimpanzee because they’re mint.”

Lastly if you were hosting a gig with three artists dead or alive, who are you having on?

“Michael Jackson, Biggie Smalls and Chris Stapleton.”

Let’s hope that Connor can keep himself in them black and orange Tiempos for the rest of the season with the assistance of a few goal mouth toe pokes, we might even get him that pet Chimpanzee if he does manage to do it in a cup final!

Behind The Greens I

Today is the start of a fortnightly series where we will be delving into the players' lives off the pitch, from the workplace to favourite pair of football boots. We will be kicking things off with Cheadle Town midfielder / defender, Liam Delaney.

Image by Si Cook

Firstly, we will always be starting off the series by finding out what each player does for work to get an understanding of their day to day life away from Cheadle Town.

Starting off with your job title, how long have you been doing it and what do you do in the job?

“Account Manager, two years. The job is mainly sales, but within its role there is an element of customer service too in making sure the customers are getting the answers from me that they require so requires an element of adaptability within the role to take on tasks as and when they come.”

What do you enjoy about the job / what are the challenges?

“The flexibility of the job itself is a big perk, as it allows the work life balance to be a real factor in it. Some of the main challenges consist with people, some people just don’t like the answers that they are given at times and that can be difficult to manage.”

Does the job ever make it a struggle to get to training / matches or is it all arranged to suit?

“Yes and no, it’s all dependant on the timing of these things, the hard parts are after being in work all day to get yourself motivated for the evening ahead, often leads to a case of over tired but it’s all good crack with the lads at the end of the day so it’s worthwhile.”

When you’re not working or playing football what do you like to get up to

“I’m quite active outside of football to be fair, I play some golf and padel mainly, but I enjoy going for some decent long walks with my dog, headphones in and a good podcast on.”

Now it’s time for some more random (maybe even more interesting) questions as we knew Del would supply us with some interesting answers.

It seems you’re the designated team coach DJ, how happy would you say people are with your ability on the aux?

“I’ll be honest it was kind of picked by the lads that I played with at West Didsbury. I was the DJ there and it kind of just carried on as I took initiative to get us a decent speaker but I like to ask the lads for good songs they’ve heard and bang them all together so that everyone has a song in the playlist when it is shuffled, Foley would disagree but he loves a whinge as his never make the cut.”

If you could be any footballer for a week who would you pick and why?

“Current Footballer, Scott Carson, what a life, third choice keeper getting paid good money at some of the best facilities in the world with some of the best players in the world! He’s got some life. Ex - Footballer, Ronaldinho, for people of my age he made you love the game with his intricacies and flair, alongside JJ Okocha, they just gave you pure entertainment and made you want to try and recreate the things they did on the pitch.”

Then if you could take one players certain speciality for life what would it be and why? (Messi dribbling, Beckham free kicks, pirlo passing etc)

“I think it would be Vidic, the man loves heading the ball, what a man.”

Image by Si cook

If football didn’t exist what would your main sport of choice be?

“It’s a close call between Golf and Padel really, both excellent sports that I like to think I’m goood at when I am actually bang average at best! But great sports that can be enjoyed alongside mates too.”

Favourite all time football boot and is there a reason why?

“It’s got to be the Total 90 laser in yellow and black, just reminds me of Rooney and the old school Nike ads were brilliant and they were just a solid boot, they did a remake of them but they were limited to 2000 pairs and cost an arm and a leg to buy, but what a boot they are, I hope they do bring them back.”

What’s the ultimate post big win meal?

“It honestly really depends, myself and Foley like to gain inspiration from post game by seeing what everyone is having, but if it was a case of being particular it would have to be a Curry for me, a nice lamb madras, pilau rice and loads of garlic coriander naan, really does hit the spot?

And lastly what is your favourite moment in the Cheadle top so far?

“I think it’s between Squires Gate away or Pilinkgton away for me, both games we looked great as a team going forward and defensively, we did concede in both of these games due to a lapse of concentration but overall I think they’re up there with our best performances so far this year.”

Hopefully Liam can continue to earn himself a post match Curry by scoring some Nemanja Vidic headers and keeping the team spirits up with his selection of music on the coach, thanks for reading!

Derby Day: Cheadle Town v Stockport Town - Match Preview

Cheadle Town will be hosting a Stockport Derby this Wednesday at ‘The Ground Up Solutions Stadium’ against Stockport Town.

This week Cheadle will be looking to win back-to-back games for the first team this season, or in the gaffer's words, ‘find some consistency’. So far this season, the league form has been win, loss, win, loss and then win. Which, of course is nine points out of fifteen and a great foundation to build on throughout the season. However, winning runs are needed to really push those promotion play offs, and what better way to start one of those runs than a local derby.

Last time out, Cheadle got their first clean sheet of the season in a 1-0 home win against Colne. Ryan Morton made a trademark run in behind and the Colne defender felt he had little option but to bring the winger down, eyes went towards the referee as he placed the whistle in his mouth and pointed towards the penalty spot. Darren McKnight stepped up and slotted the penalty down the middle to get his side the three points they ultimately deserved on the day. A week prior Jake’s side made the trip up to Squires Gate and left with three points thanks to a goal filled sixteen minutes where the game went from 0-0 to 3-2 to Cheadle just before half time, and in the end full time. Despite losing away at Chadderton in between those two games, positives were there to be taken from the performance against a side who currently sit second in the NWCFL Premier Division.

Stockport were playing in the First Division South last season and certainly earned their promotion, finishing the season in second on seventy-two points and with a seven point gap over third placed Sandbach United. They currently sit sixth in the league in their debut Premier Division season, three places and one point above Cheadle. Meaning, not only is this game a local derby but also a potential early season six pointer. Their three wins have come against Irlam, Litherland and most recently, Prestwich Heys. However, they are yet to come up against opposition who currently have more than one win in the first five games. Therefore, the side player-managed by ex Stockport County midfielder Paul Turnbull will also be out to put a marker down against a side who currently sit near them in the league table.

Despite Stockport being in the First Division South last season, the two sides met in the second round of the Cheshire Senior Cup for a dramatic encounter. Cheadle’s number nine Daniel McLaughlin was then playing for Stockport Town and opened the scoring in the seventy-first minute, however a ninety-fifth minute own goal leveled the game for Cheadle, before then going on to win the match in the subsequent penalty shootout.

The game will get underway at 19:45 and when comparing the sides this season there is little to split the two, meaning all will be revealed across ninety minutes which determine which of the two Stockport sides will take the bragging rights for now, come on Cheadle!

Written by Rob Mackenzie

FA Cup: Longridge Town v Cheadle Town - Match Preview

Cheadle Town will begin their FA Cup journey this weekend against fellow NWCFL Premier Division side, Longridge Town. The match will be Cheadle’s first away game of the season as they make the journey up to the ‘Recycling Lives Ground’ in Preston.

For Cheadle, the season is off to a steady start, opening their campaign with a 2-1 win against Prestwich Heys thanks to a brilliant first time finish from Danny McLaughlin in the 85th minute. Securing him the man of the match award and two goals on the opening day. However, four days later, last season's NWCFL Division one winners St Helens made the trip down to Cheadle and left with all three points. St Helens led 3-0 after sixty-six minutes, and despite Cheadle’s valiant efforts to fight back in the last half an hour, it was all too little too late. 

As for Longridge Town, they have also seen similar fortunes in the opening two games of the season. Kicking off their campaign with a 1-0 at home to Burscough, also stealing the points late on thanks to a ninetieth minute winner from Leighton Hewitt. But, just three days later, Longridge found themselves two goals down inside ten minutes at home against Charnock Richard. They managed to steady the ship and get into halftime just two down, however a goal six minutes into the second half may have done damage to any second half plans, before a late fourth goal went in to seal a 4-0 win on the road for Charnock Richard. 

In terms of previous results between the two sides, there was little to separate the two last season, but there was certainly drama. They met each other at the ‘Recycling Lives Ground’ in late September where the points were shared in a thrilling 1-1 draw, Longridge took the lead in the sixty-first minute through Dean Ing. However, in the ninety-second minute Jordan Lazenbury found the back of the net to ensure Cheadle did not leave empty handed. But, just two weeks later, Longridge got their revenge, making the forty-five-mile trip down to Cheadle and leaving with all three points thanks to late late drama, finding themselves 2-1 down before scoring in the eighty-eighth and ninety-first minute to steal all three points.

So to put it simply, both last season and this season there is next to nothing to separate the two sides. This season they sit next to each other in the league table, Cheadle in thirteenth and Longridge in fourteenth, albeit being very early doors. However, a good result and run in the FA Cup is enough to get the confidence flowing at any level. The game will kick off at 15:00 and judging by the two fixtures last season, it’s set to be a thriller, come on Cheadle.

Written by Rob Mackenzie

Cheadle Town v Prestwich Heys match preview

Cheadle Town will be hosting their season opener this Saturday against Prestwich Heys at the newly named ‘The Ground Up Solutions Stadium’. The game promises to be a thriller as both teams will want to hit the ground running in the first of a forty-six-game league season. 

The Grounds Up Solutions Stadium will be seeing a lot of new faces this season, from players to staff. Jake Davies and John Phelan will be the management team in the dugout and they’ve not been shy in bringing new players through the door. Nineteen new signings have been made before the new season commenced. All of which will be out to impress on their competitive debuts this weekend.

Last season Cheadle Town finished fifteenth in the twenty-four team NWCFL Premier Division, following a play-off win the season before to gain themselves an impressive promotion. Leaving a great foundation to build on this season as they look to further work their way up the famous English football pyramid. And you could argue that there is no better manager for that challenge than Jake Davies. Jake was part of the coaching staff at Wythenshawe FC last season, achieving an incredibly impressive back-to-back league titles in the last two seasons. Meaning, his and John’s standards will be set high going into the new season.

As for Prestwich Heys, they are also coming off the back of a strong previous season in which they amounted 80 points and scored 95 goals across the forty-six games. Resulting in an eighth-place finish in a season where the bar was set incredibly high by Wythenshawe FC (95 points), Wythenshawe Town FC (95 points) and Bury FC (92 points). Fourth place being Charnock Richard FC on 81 points, further highlighting how impressive the top three teams were last season. Therefore, with both Wythenshawe sides out of the way, Prestwich Heys will certainly be setting their sights on promotion this season.

Last season Prestwich Heys got the better of Cheadle Town in both fixtures, winning 4-2 at Cheadle Town and winning 2-1 at their home stadium, Adie Moran Park. However, Cheadle go into the new season with only two players who were at the club last season, meaning last season’s results are little more than history.

The game kicks off at 15:00 and everyone at Cheadle Town will be hoping the current buzz around the club can transfer into an enthralling ninety minutes of football, and most importantly three points, come on Cheadle.

Written by Rob Mackenzie