Archived News from March 2009
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COMMENTARY LINK AND PREVIEWS
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If you can't get to Field Mill on Saturday, then Stagsworld will bring you exclusive full match commentary by Nigel Pinnick and Martin Shaw.
Commentary will NOT be available anywhere else (eg on BBC website, as BBC Southern Counties are not providing commentary). In case of any difficulties logging in, follow this link and enter your username and password directly. For a 30 day free trial to Stagsworld, click here. A reminder that Stagsworld subscribers can watch video footage of ALL the goals from EVERY Stags league and cup game this season (including extended highlights of the last home game, against Kettering). To view the goals, StagsWorld subscribers should go here and sign in. The view from the commentary box: 
-------------- Holdsworth video interview, courtesy of Stagsworld freeview here Mayo and O'Connor video interview, courtesy of Stagsworld freeview here ------------ Injured Stags duo close to returns Evening Post, March 05, 2009 DAVID Holdsworth is hoping injured Mansfield duo Louis Briscoe and Scott Gardner will be available for Tuesday's trip to high-flying Cambridge United. Full story at Evening Post website here The pair have been progressing ahead of schedule from their respective back and thigh injuries. Right-sided player Gardner is close to a return having got back in training on Tuesday. He has an outside chance of making the squad for Saturday's visit of bottom-of-the-table Lewes to Field Mill. But it is more likely the former Leeds youngster and Briscoe will target the trip to the Abbey Stadium for their comebacks. %3Cbody%3E%3Cdiv%20id%3D%22adDiv%22%3E%3CA%20HREF%3D%22http%3A//ads.anm.co.uk/ADCLICK/CID%3D0000b139f7f5f6ff00000000/AAMSZ%3D452x118/POS%3D/SITE%3DTHISISNOTT/AREA%3DFOOTBALL/SUBAREA%3D/ARTICLE%3D748558/acc_random%3D5988384238/pageid%3D/RS%3D%22%20target%3D%22_new%22%3E%3CIMG%20SRC%3D%22http%3A//iad.anm.co.uk/house/1x1.gif%22%20ALT%3D%22Click%20here%21%22%20border%3D0%20style%3D%22margin-bottom%3A%200px%3B%22%3E%3C/A%3E%3C/div%3E"The good thing about the two of them is that they are both young lads and their turnaround is likely to be quicker than a player of more experience," said Holdsworth. "They are both hungry to play, which is fantastic. "Louis has a little bit to go but he is making rapid progress. "Scott is all healthy and back in training and we will monitor how he goes." Michael Blackwood is a doubt for this weekend because of illness. The left-sided midfielder has missed training today, but Holdsworth knows he now has cover. He said: "Michael has a bit of sickness, but hopefully it will just be one of those 24 hour bugs. "As a manager you want to know you have someone to step in, and we have that now, but it doesn't happen by accident. "We have got the little man (Ryan Williams) in and it means we have good competition for places." Curtis Woodhouse will come back into the frame against Lewes after sitting out last weekend's win over Rushden as part of the agreement that saw him move to Mansfield from Nene Park. -------------- CHAD AUDIO: Do not take Lewes lightly - Stags boss Holdsworth Full story at CHAD.co.uk here 05 March 2009 , By John Lomas DAVID Holdsworth today again stressed his side and supporters should not take visitors Lewes lightly when the struggling bottom side visit Field Mill on Saturday. The Stags boss is plotting to hammer another nail into their hopes of survival by inflicting a 13th successive defeat on the Rooks. But, at the same time, he is aware he must make sure it doesn't become unlucky 13 for his own team. "Lewes will be fighting for their lives," he said. "They have a lot of experience down there and won't be very happy with their position and the run they are on. "I know their manager is working extremely hard for the club and I am sure they will come out on Saturday like a wounded animal. "It is down to us to impose ourselves on them very quickly. "I can't see us scoring five or six - though that would be wonderful in an ideal world. But let's face it, We haven't got a prolific goalscorer at the moment and we are working with a team ethic. "I respect Lewes 100 per cent and I expect a workmanlike performance with some quality. "We won away at Rushden last weekend and, to put it in persepective, we won at a side that had just won 9-0 and 2-0. So it was a wonderful day for us. "Now if this Saturday is a banana skin we don't want to fall flat on our faces. I would happily take a 1-0 win now. A win is a win. "Opponents are fearing Mansfield now which they haven't done all season. It is the mark of a team that has improved tenfold. I am delighted with the way it's going." Michael Blackwood could be out after missing training with illness, while Saturday is too soon for injured pair Scott Gardner and Louis Briscoe. However, one or both could be in the squad for Tuesday's tough trip to promotion-chasing Cambridge United. "Scott had a great session back with us on Tuesday and Louis is makingfaster progress than first expected," said Holdsworth. "Saturday may be too soon but we will have another look at them before Tuesday. "We have three big games coming up next week and I may want to freshen things up at Cambridge and I am willing to do so. It is a squad game and I may have to rotate things. "I certainly won't use the same formation on Tuesday as I do on Saturday." After last weekend's superb win, one major decision Holdsworth has to make it whether to bring back midfielder Curtis Woodhouse after he sat out the Rushden game through a 'gentleman's agreement' between Woodhouse's former club and his new one. "I do have a few selection headaches and Curtis is one of them - I mustn't forget he is a boxer," smiled Holdsworth. -------------------- CHAD VIDEO: Williams says sorry for Spireites goal against Stags! Full story at CHAD.co.uk here 05 March 2009 , By John Lomas SOME 12 years after leaving home town club Mansfield Town, Ryan Williams is back with the Stags. Chad Sports Editor John Lomas speaks to him on this exclusive video interview about his two-year nightmare at Aldershot and Weymouth, his memories of Mansfield first time around and also persuades him to apologise for scoring against the Stags in a Chesterfield shirt in 2000! -------------------- FIrst goal will be vital says Stags full back Mayo CHAD.co.uk, 05 March 2009, By John Lomas STAGS defender Paul Mayo said the first goal on Saturday will decide if Stags can go on to flatten Lewes or suffer an afternoon of struggle. Full story at CHAD.co.uk here The South Coast crisis club have just lost 12 BSP games on the bounce, including a 1-0 home defeat by the Stags, and yesterday saw a petition to wind up the club adjourned by the courts until next month. However, Mayo warned: "Everyone is expecting a home win which I am sure we will get. But in my experience these games are never straightforward. "It will be all about getting the first goal. If they score it then it makes it a lot more difficult if they have something to hold onto. "Down at Lewes it should have been all over by half time but we ended up making things difficult for ourselves. "But if we can get the first goal on Saturday hopefully we can go on and get a few more. "We haven't conceded too many of late but we'd like to score a few more. If you can get two or three ahead it gives you the breathing space to express yourselves a bit more. "If you are only 1-0 up you are afraid to make a mistake that might cost your team the game." Mayo made his Stags debut in the spartan surroundings of Lewes six weeks ago - and scored the winner with a superb free kick. He said: "The game at the Dripping Pan is one I will always remember, particularly having to warm up on the park next to it which was a first for me! "But we are at home on Saturday with a bit of atmosphere and I hope we can put on a show for the fans and give them a few goals. "We have been working hard in training and I am feeling much fitter though I have tired towards the end if we have had three games in a week. But I think there is still a lot more to come from me." ---------------- D'Laryea urges fans to get behind Stags Thursday, March 05, 2009, 08:00Comment on this story JONATHAN D'Laryea today followed chairman Andy Perry's lead and urged the Mansfield public to get behind the in-form Stags. Full story at Evening Post website here Perry hopes after just one defeat in eight games since David Holdsworth stepped in as manager, the team can pull in a crowd of more than 3,000 for Saturday's visit of rock-bottom Lewes. "When you run out and hear the fans cheering for you in big numbers it really lifts you," said D'Laryea. "Before the York game, when the fans cleared the pitch of snow, we were all determined to win it for them and there is the same determination to win when a big crowd turns out. "When the fans get behind you it is a great feeling and if we could get 3,000 against Lewes rooting for us, I'm sure it would be intimidating for them. %3Cbody%3E%3Cdiv%20id%3D%22adDiv%22%3E%3CA%20HREF%3D%22http%3A//ads.anm.co.uk/ADCLICK/CID%3D0000b139f7f5f6ff00000000/AAMSZ%3D452x118/POS%3D/SITE%3DTHISISNOTT/AREA%3DFOOTBALL/SUBAREA%3D/ARTICLE%3D747342/acc_random%3D1258859893/pageid%3D/RS%3D10307.%22%20target%3D%22_new%22%3E%3CIMG%20SRC%3D%22http%3A//iad.anm.co.uk/house/1x1.gif%22%20ALT%3D%22Click%20here%21%22%20border%3D0%20style%3D%22margin-bottom%3A%200px%3B%22%3E%3C/A%3E%3C/div%3E"The fans last week at Rushden were brilliant and never stopped singing. I'm sure there were more Rushden fans there, but it didn't sound that way. "If that carries through to the home game then it will be a terrific atmosphere." D'Laryea appreciates there will be huge expectancy on Mansfield to beat Lewes, who have won just four league games all season. He added: "All the players are aware of their league position, but you have to put that to the back of your mind. "If we don't win then the hard work we did against Rushden will be for nothing. "The fans will expect it to be 3-0 or 4-0 but if we don't do things right we won't win at all. "I think it's a good thing that we only played them a few weeks ago because they won't have changed their team too much. "But we didn't have it all our own way down there and they put us under pressure towards the end, so we know we have to be on top of our game." ------------ Stags urge public and business to take club onto new level CHAD, 01 March 2009, By Tim Morriss MANSFIELD Town chairman Andy Perry has praised the club's diehard fans and issued a new challenge to the town - 'Your club needs you!' And he is calling for 3,000 fans to attend a match at Field Mill before the end of the season - an attendance which would be by far the best of the campaign - and help the owners back manager David Holdsworth in the transfer market and take the Stags to the 'next level'. Perry - with co-owners Steve Middleton and Andy Saunders - has transformed the Stags in just eight months, both on and off the pitch. Gone is the mistrust and acrimony between fans and the club - as was so prominent in the later years of Keith Haslam's ownership of the club. The commercial operation at Field Mill is also being rebuilt - with more events for supporters, the public and businesses to back and ticket offers to attract more fans to matches. And now, under manager Holdsworth, the club is being revived on the pitch, too - having won five and drawn two of the eight matches under the new boss. They have also condeded just two goals in those eight matches and have a very outside chance of making the play-offs. But, despite improved sponsorship from local business and better recent attendances, the club has yet to receive the backing suggested at a public meeting last summer when the campaign to end Haslam's reign took off. Chairman Perry said: "At the moment we have a squad of over 30. That is because when David Holdsworth took over he needed to get in players that were going to help us get away from the relegation zone. "We backed him and that backing has now proved to have done the job on the pitch. But we needed players to go out in January and nobody wanted Billy McEwan's players. "So to keep strengthening is now stretching the 'elastic band purse'. "Off the field activities are going tremendously well and are adding to the purse. "A squad of 22-24 on 2,500 gates was the aim. We now need the Mansfield public and business to back the club and show us their support. "I know we have got the best manager the club have had for years. I know we, the new owners, want to take the club to new exciting levels, but we can only do this with the support of the town. "I really do appreciate our core of die hard fans. They are the best fans a club could ever have. You are the ones that keep us going, but the next level needs the support of the whole town. "Let's get 3,000 at the Mill before the end of the season - Your club needs you!" ------------------ Lewes winding up court case adjourned BREAKING NEWS http://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/sport/Lewes-winding-up-court-case.5039272.jp 04 March 2009 A petition heard today at the Royal Courts of Justice to wind up Lewes Football Club has been adjourned until Wednesday, April 1, the Sussex Express can reveal. The petition, brought by Portakabin Limited, was heard by Registrar Derrett at the companies court. A deadline of March 26 exists for clubs entering into voluntary administration if they are to have their 10-point deduction this season and not next. -------------- |
Latest | March 2009