A giant of the National League North comes to Edgar Street this Saturday, a side whose reputation is feared from Blyth to Gloucester, and whose colossal might casts a long shadow over other clubs with promotion ambitions. Yes, it’s the visit of, er, AFC Fylde.
AFC Fylde have only been known as AFC Fylde since 2008, having previously been called Kirkham and Wesham which, whilst presumably geographically factual, is a very dull and rubbish name for a football club, so they must have got a swanky marketing ‘agency’ (ugh) in from big Manchester to focus-group the new name. Yes, that’s a verb in that world. I know.
These marketing gurus presumably threw in the club strapline for free: ‘The Football Team of the Fylde Coast’. I know I’ve mentioned that before but they seem particularly proud of it and it strikes me as being a very, very limited claim to greatness. You don’t get the Rose and Crown proclaiming itself ‘The Gateway to Tupsley’ for instance.
However, the Lancastrians benefit, like so many other over-achieving smaller clubs, from the deep pockets of bankroller (Bulls News legal team please note the double ‘l’ there rather than double ‘b’) David Haythornthwaite. Therefore on home crowds of 1000ish the club is full-time and able to collect the better players from other clubs, such as strikers Jordan Hulme, who dropped a division to join them from Altrincham, and Leamington’s prolific Sam Osborne.
39-year-old David Perkins, who always seemed to play well for Morecambe against Hereford United, is another to be wary of if his knees still work. He scored Fylde’s goal in the only match between these clubs last season, a 2-1 Hereford win at Edgar Street which triggered a long unbeaten run stretching to Wembley. It’s telling, perhaps, that the two stand-out performances for Hereford that day were from Kennedy Digie (centre back) and Lenell John-Lewis (centre forward), with the Shop getting the goals. Both have now departed, and arguably remain unreplaced.
The club enjoyed a couple of seasons in the National League Premier recently, finishing fifth in 2018/19 before losing out to Salford in the play-off final. However, a dramatic slump and relegation in 2020 saw them back in the NLN.
Morecambe legend and one-time Graham Turner target Jim Bentley manages the Coasters, who have so far justified their pre-season billing as promotion favourites by winning both of their opening matches, against Boston (tricky) and Guiseley (not tricky). They won their first four last season and then slowed a little, so it would be nice if the slowdown happened a bit earlier this time around.
They were very well placed in second position when last season went pop, five points behind Gloucester but with three games in hand over the Tigers. Midfielder Nick Haughton and dangerous winger Ben Tollitt scored the goals to get them there, and already this season they’ve scored five between them.
Their squad, it has to be said, is a very strong looking one, and they look like solid contenders to go up as champions at the end of the season.
In 2007 the club announced its ambition to reach the Football League by 2022, going so far as to have it printed on their shirts, which is just plain dopey and asking for trouble, reminiscent of the ‘On loan to the Conference’ mistake. Needless to say, they’ve come up short. It’s not known whether they’ve now had ‘Failures’ printed on their shirts for this season.
The Bulls’ season has started with more of a whimper than a bang, but that was the case last year, followed by a marked upturn before Covid caused everything National League North-wise to fizzle out. The catalyst for that upturn seemed to be Brandon Hall returning in goal. This time, perhaps the arrival of a centre half and/or centre forward will have the same galvanising effect on the squad, and wins will start to come. Certainly everything in between those positions seems to be taking shape nicely, with players coming in these days with Football League experience, rather than from Weston-super-Mare.
George Forsyth’s super finish on Saturday offers more evidence that the Gowling-Burr partnership may have the happy knack of being able to spot a player, and Forsyth could perhaps keep his place, although competition in the Hereford midfield is now hotting up nicely. Fellow midfielder Tom Owen Evans is still a doubt following his absence last week with concussion, however.
I’ve got a good feeling in my bones about this one, a feeling that something will start to click (and that’s not my bones – they started clicking some time ago), something on the pitch, something to suggest that this season could be one to enjoy. Hopefully the 2000 from the Farsley match will keep the faith, come along and witness the first of many wins in 2021/22.
COYW