With Chelsea and City left to play, my old club Liverpool are contenders
Once again the weather has played havoc with the fixtures as our games against Basingstoke and Sutton were postponed this week.
It’s not helping our cause whatsoever. The ramifications for a club like ours are massive.
We might end up with a couple of weeks where we play Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, which can bring on fatigue-based injuries, and that will be problematic for a small squad.
On Saturday, we played Harrow Borough on our grass pitch at the new stadium.
I have to say the playing surface was excellent, it didn’t cut up once. I don’t know what sort of drainage is being used but I certainly recommend it!
We played five of our Under-18s in the game, alongside a few trialists and a couple of first-team players.
It was a chance to give our regulars the weekend off and the youngsters a chance to show what they can do.
Myself, my assistant Tristan Lewis and the chairman have been talking about trying to bridge the gap between the scholars we’ve got at the club and the first team.
We want to give them opportunities to train with the big boys and this match was a worthwhile exercise which I’d like to do again.
This Saturday we’re due to travel to Bishop’s Stortford. They had their game called off on Tuesday and by all accounts their pitch is not in the best of conditions, but we will prepare for the game to be on as usual.
They are a strong, physical side, with the squad you need to play through inclement weather and on heavy pitches.
This club, in recent years, has had a lot of young players who are good technically and they excel on good pitches. But when you get a quagmire of a pitch you need a different type of player and it’s about striking the right balance.
On Tuesday, we’ll make the journey down to Dorchester – again – to replay the match which was abandoned last month.
Although they are bottom of the league, we will take nothing for granted. With our form as it’s been, they will be looking at it as a chance to get something from the game but if we apply ourselves and don’t give away silly mistakes we will be confident of doing the same.
Both teams have got different things to fight for, with Bishop’s Stortford looking to narrow the gap to the sides in the play-offs and Dorchester fighting for survival.
But this league is fascinating because back-to-back wins can shoot you up the table and the same goes for us.
First of all it’s about stopping the defeats and if that takes a draw than so be it.
It can be easy to build up a run of results in this league because every team is beatable. We know that on our day we can match or beat anyone, even the big boys.
When you look at the way we played against Bromley, they were left wondering how they managed to win it. We need to repeat that performance in every game from now until the end of the season.
Away from non-League, I noted with interest that Bristol City’s Ashton Gate will be used as a trial for so-called ‘safe standing’ areas, albeit for a rugby match rather than football.
Stadia in this country have improved massively since the 1980s and as I understand it this system would be entirely different to the terraces. People certainly wouldn’t be fenced in and it’s safely managed in other countries, notably Germany.
Even in all-seater stadia, people are standing up anyway. Instead of being on the edge of their seat, some people might prefer to be stood the whole time.
If it’s maintained properly, is safe and the numbers are managed, then people should have the right to stand.
On the pitch, my old team Liverpool are looking in tremendous form at the moment. After the win at Fulham on Wednesday, everyone’s asking if they are outside title contenders.
Well, both Manchester City and Chelsea have still got to come to Anfield and if Liverpool can make points up in those games then I’d say they are.
With the confidence they’ve got, and the way their strikers are performing, they’re always going to score.
My big concern is the defence. Daniel Agger is back now and I’d imagine he’d come back alongside Martin Skrtel which will improve things.
And all the while it’s mathematically possible, you can’t rule anything out.
Follow West London Sport on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
