by AndyPyrah » Fri Feb 12, 2010 4:22 pm
So this is it. The long awaited Big’un! Not any of tomorrow’s FA Cup matches, not the reappearance of Denman with Tony McCoy aboard at Newbury, not who will win the Six Nations match between France and Ireland but wait for it... Morecambe v Darlington, League Two, 3.00pm kick-off.
Why? Because this is going back in time, reliving a childhood dream, secretly being a ‘Shrimps’ supporter - even if I tell the world I am a Manchester United fan. It’s like Doctor Who, going back in a time capsule... and I am going to be there at Christie Park, it can’t get any better than this!
Imagine the delight when receiving my Christmas present from Pyrah Jnr, first one in five years, that he's gone and sponsored the match through WhatTheBookiesSay.com and I am the guest of honor. This is too much! Lunch in the Sponsors lounge, pre-match photo’s, drinks, and then presenting the Man of the Match award.
Why is this so special? Well, my million-dollar Father played for Morecambe before the second world war – seemingly he was a bit of a celebrity around that area. He played for numerous teams in his career and was big pals with an England and Arsenal legend called Alex James (well before my time – but some may have heard of him). Last time I went to Christie Park to watch Morecambe play, and was then never to return, was when the Shrimps played Preston North End in either a friendly or Charity match. Wait for it…England legend Tom Finney was just coming to the end of his career but playing!! Now that’s got to be around 35 to 40 years ago and I have never been back. Why? Like everything in life, time moves on, live down South, more important things to think about – yet Morecambe is always in the back of the mind. I watched them play down South in an FA Cup Trophy match against Dartford, when they were promoted into the league against Exeter at Wembley and even a League Two match against Brentford, not much, but the hearts in the right place!
Now the hard part! How do you get 10 friends, family or colleagues to head up to Morecambe on a cold February Saturday afternoon... especially as it’s even Valentines weekend! Having managed to rustle up waif’s and strays to commit to the journey up from Euston the next dilemma was where to stay! Not the famous Midland Hotel – fully booked, damn Valentines Day. We’ve ended up at the York Hotel Lancaster Road, sounds good, but large groans all round from the travellers – especially when I tell them there is a ‘Gangster Evening’ in the hotel after the match.
Note to self: must bring pin striped suits, fedora’s and spats – shoes to the uninitiated.
There is even more bad news for one of my unlucky companions - they'll have to leave their room and go down a corridor to either wash or go to the loo! (My friend Bill says it reminds him of being back at college, sorry Eton, and sharing beds etc!)
So who’s going to win? Having a weekly slot on BBC Radio Teesside for the past 18 months, I know more about Middlesbro', Hartlepool and especially Darlington than most people.
The Quakers sit five points adrift at the bottom of the table having won only four matches all season. There are however signs of a belated revival, despite being offered at 1-10 to go out of the football league. They have twice beaten promotion hopefuls Rotherham in the last month, and were unlucky not to pick up maximum points against Lincoln in mid week.
Morecambe on the other hand, are out of form. Following an unbeaten sequence of nine games which saw them just outside the play-off’s, they have lost four and drawn one of their last half dozen games - they badly need a win.
Having beaten Darlington 4-0 in January the bookies offer them odds-on at 8-13, Darlington 11-2 and the stalemate 11-4. Certainly no value there, but just maybe Morecambe striker Phil Jevons, on loan from Huddesfield, could prove a bet. Having scored 14 goals already this season and four of those as the first goalscorer, Jevons looks the pick of the bets to find the back of the net first.
BlueSq.com have kindly offered me a £50 free bet to celebrate my home coming – so it’s a 50 on Jevons at 9-2. Let’s hope he obliges – I will need it for the Gangster Evening drink-up in the York Hotel!!!