Sunday 17 February 2013

Loui Fazakerley believes that the title race is "in our hands".

Picture: Dave Budden.

Welling United favourite Loui Fazakerley, who can play in either defence or midfield, believes that the Blue Square Bet South title race is far from over just yet.

Salisbury looked to have won the league during the winter months after putting in convincing displays at home to Chelmsford City and Eastleigh, but Welling kept their foot on the pedal and are now in contention for promotion.

"We could go on a great winning run and close the gap. Now it's in our hands and we just have to win our games in hand and then match their results for the rest of the season", said Fazakerley, 28, who has been at the club since 2008.

Welling made the play-off final last season, but unfortunately lost 1-0 in front of a sell-out crowd at Princes Park to the hands of Dartford, but Fazakerley believes that Welling are in a great position to not need the play-offs. "We were unlucky to lose in the final so this season we are aiming to win the league outright and we are in a great position to do so. The play-offs would be a last resort for us."

Chelmsford City have been in impressive form in recent weeks, despite the 1-0 loss at the hands of Eastleigh at Siverlake Stadium on Saturday, but Loui, the fans' Player of the Year for 2011/12, thinks that the Clarets are still in contention. He said: "Chelmsford have been on a good run of form recently and have got a couple of games in hand so you can't write them off. It will be a very interesting end to the season!"

If the Wings were to go up, Loui has no doubt that the squad can cut it at Conference Premier Level. "I definitely think we could hold our own in the Premier as we have already shown this season with wins against Newport County and Woking. We also did well against Grimsby Town in the Trophy. We probably would need to make a few extra signings to boost our current squad but I don't think we are far off at all."

Loui Fazakerley holds an impressive honour to his name. Apart from player-manager Jamie Day he has the most appearances of any current outfield Welling United player with 127 league games. And Day, who has been praised for his managerial style, is great to work under according to the former Bromley F.C player. "He has done a great job ever since he came in. He is a great man-manager; he knows how to get the best out of each player and has built a great team spirit at the club. He also brought a great management team in with him which helped. Barry Ashby, Dean Frost and Stacey Beckham have all played a massive part in our success too."

Welling have two tough fixtures in the next week as they play host to Farnborough on Tuesday before making the long trip to 7th placed Weston-Super-Mare on Saturday, but there are is no room for slip-ups as we enter the ‘business end’ of the season.




Thursday 14 February 2013

Robins' departure leaves Coventry "disappointed".

Coventry City were dealt with an almighty blow as boss Robins deserted the npower league 1 side after less than five month in the job.

The West Midlands based club find themselves in a healthy position in the league and are only seven points off a play-off spot, so his departure has bewildered many. The decision has not gone down well with the club's chief executive, Tim Fisher, who has asked for answers. He commented: "To say we are disappointed is an understatement. We gave Mark a three-year contract which we saw as a long-term appointment.". That's even more disappointing. To see a club have trust in a manager like Robins and give him three years in which he could rebuild the team, bring in his own players, contest for promotion and cement their place in the league is rare in football at league one level, but you can see why teams give managers shorter contracts because they know loyalty doesn't exist in the modern game.

Loyalty.

Is there any loyalty in football nowadays? I would say no without a breath of hesitation. What's even more infuriating is that it's not like Coventry are struggling, in fact, since their relegation from the Championship only last season, they have drastically improved their stability and have become more consistent despite their recent last two games which ended in defeats to Yeovil and Crewe. Players such as David McGoldrick, who's scored 18 goals this season for The Sky Blues, have stood out this season. It suggests that there was something special occurring down at the Ricoh Arena, but it remains evident that Robins failed to recognise.



Robins, who took Coventry to the Area Final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy; which left the club two games away from Wembley, has since been appointed Huddersfield Town manager in what's been a hectic period. Robins previously said that "it's (Coventry City) in my blood". Really?

The lure of the Championship is a hard offer to turn down for many managers as it represents a big opportunity to play against some top clubs, namely Leeds and Cardiff.

In his short period as First Team manager Robins became a firm fan favorite after launching the relegation dubbed side within sights of the Championship. Now, they will undoubtedly be wondering why. Why he has left them in the way he has?

Since his departure, Lee Carsley has been named interim First Team manager at Coventry City.

Coventry fans, I'd like to know your reaction to this saga. Would make for some interesting reading. Is there a sense of anger, or do you think that no club should stand in the way of someone managing in higher leagues? Please leave a comment if you so wish.