Archived News from May 2007
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STAGSNET`S STATISTICAL PREVIEW
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The Stags' final league game this season will be away to Bury. And both sides definitely secured their league status last Saturday, the Stags by beating Barnet 2-1 at home, the Shakers by playing a goal-less draw at Stockport. That leaves the race against the second trap-door to the Conference (there will be a new name next campaign) wide open between Wrexham, Macclesfield and Boston. Still, Wrexham play Boston at home, while Macclesfield host Notts County. And the game at the Racecourse Ground will IMO be the decider on who will follow Torquay out of the League.
Mansfield, as well as Bury, have endured a topsy-turvy league season with best positions upper mid-table and the lowest ones a few places above the drop zone. Of the sides, Bury have had the more strange season. In relegation zone after eleven games, the Shakers then won six on the trot, then lost three before winning 2-0 at Field Mill on December 9, 2006, in which was to be Peter Shirtliff's last home game as Stags manager. In the following round, Bury beat Stockport at home 2-0. Since then, the Shakers haven't won at home and have the worst home record in League Two this season. But Bury's away record is much better than several sides that will finish above them. Proof of that is good wins at Shrewsbury and Walsall in recent months. But before the 1957-58 season, Bury had spent the whole of their league life in the top two divisions – and even twice been FA cup winners, 1900 and three years later without conceding a goal – best league position 5th in the old first division as far back as 1925-26, just five years before the Stags' election to the League. And in 1957-58, the Shakers found themselves in the third level for the very first time. This was in the last season of the old 3rd division set-up. And the first-ever league meetings between the teams were won by the Stags, 2-0 away on November 9, 1957, and 6-4 at Field Mill on April 19, 1958, the latter game being the one with most goals scored. Both teams were to be founder members of the old third division at the end of 1957-58 with Bury finishing fourth and the Stags just two ranks below. Since 1957-58, the stats at Field Mill have been quite even with one third of the games being drawn and just equal number of Stags and Bury wins with the Shakers winning five of the last eight Field Mill fixtures, among them a 5-1 on October 28, 1995 when a certain Phil Stant, Stags top scorer with 26 goals in the 1991-92 promotion season, hit a brace for Bury. But it was not the only Bury 5-1 win in Stagsland, the first being played on January 16, 1960, and this was Sam Weaver's last game as Stags manager. . The biggest Stags win was a 5-0 on October 2, 1976 in the division 3 Championship season. Two goals apiece from Kevin Randall and John Miller, one from Paul Matthews completed the rout in front of 6516. And that during a period of nearly 25 years when the teams faced each other very frequently in the old third and fourth divisions, being relegated together in 1979-80. And in two cases of Bury old division four promotions, the Stags have been promoted the following season. This happened in 1974-75 and 1985-86 for the Stags. Furthermore, in the Stags two last promotion seasons, Bury have been relegated! The teams have also faced each other twice in the FA Cup – and both seasons the Stags reached the 5th round! In 1969-70, the Stags won a 1st round replay 2-0 after the first game at Gigg Lane had been drawn 2-2, and in the 1974-75 Championship season, the Stags won a 4th round encounter at Bury 2-1 (attendance there, 16623!). During this campaign, both sides left the FA Cup in the second round. While Stags did that on the field by losing a replay at Doncaster, Bury did that off the field. While winning a replay at Chester, Bury fielded an ineligible player and were thrown out, depriving the Shakers of an eventually lucrative third round home tie against Championship side Ipswich. Maybe that affected Bury's league form for several months, playing sixteen league games without winning before gaining an all-important late winner at Boston on March 31, 2007. Four of the Stags' five league wins at Gigg Lane have been achieved by the score of 2-0. Here they are: * The first-ever league fixture on November 9, 1957 in the last-ever division 3 (N) campaign. Two goals by Chapman (S), suspended by the Stags in 1964 in the wake of the then match-fixing scandal, contributed to the victory in front of 11895. * Before the game at Gigg Lane on February 23, 1980, the Stags had failed to win away all season (four draws and eleven defeats) and had slipped into the relegation zone due to a twelve-game winless streak (half of them draws) after a 2-1 win against Carlisle on November 6, 1979. When the game at Bury was over, the Stags had smashed the nil in the away wins column to pieces with a 2-0, scorers Pollard and Austin, attended by 3606. This being the first and only Stags double in 1979-80. At the end of that season, Bury were relegated as well but hadn't been that if the three-points ruling had been in force then. * The league fixture on April 6, 1996. The Shakers were fighting auto promo while the Stags were lower mid-table. The home fixture (see above) was lost heavily. So the Stags were seeking revenge. Simon Wood and Steve Harper silenced the Shakers faithful by securing the Stags' last 1995-96 away win in front of 3600. * The away fixture on February 19, 2005. Late goals in each half from Adam Murray and Adam Rundle secured a 2-0 victory at Gigg Lane. Three seasons ago, the teams played a goal feast at Field Mill. In the end, the Stags ran out 5-3 winners, the killer punch delivered by Liam Lawrence four minutes from the final whistle to end Bury's dream of a point (for more details see the Stagsnet match report of that game). And the away one at Gigg Lane was one that Stags fans don't want to talk about, as the Stags crashed 3-0 after a very poor display, one of the worst in the 2003-04 season. Played for both sides: George Anderson, James Ball (early 1900's!!!), Luther Blissett, Laurent D'Jaffo, Eddie Edmonds (1934-35 vintage Stags!), Dave Goodwin, Chris Hackett, Glynn Hurst, Mark Kearney, Keith Kennedy, Adrian Littlejohn, David Lyon, Joe O'Neill, Thomas Peters, John Phillips, Kevin Randall, George Raynor (who later had much success as coach in Sweden, i.e. 1958 WC Finals!), Danny Reet, John Ryan, Phil Stant, Matthew Tipton, Alan Tyrer (no mention of him playing for Stags in the 1973-74 Rothmans Football Yearbook while on Workington's books!), Chris Withe. Played for Stags, later managing Bury: Sam Ellis (managed the Shakers between April 1, 1989 and December 11, 1990). And the Sunderland 1973 FA Cup winner's manager, the late Bob Stokoe, managed Bury in two spells. Ian Greaves, the longest-ever serving Stags manager, was later coach at Bury. And the late Billy Ayre, Stags player in 1982-83, coached Bury a few months before he passed away in April 2002. Daniel Tremelling was assistant trainer at Bury in the mid-thirties. Home stats: P 29, W 9, D 9, L 11, GF 40, GA 47 Away stats: P 28, W 5, D 9, L 14, GF 24, GA 40 Season Home Date Away Date 1957-58 6-4 1958-04-19 2-0 1957-11-09 Div 3 (N) 1958-59 0-2 1958-12-13 2-2 1959-04-28 Div 3 (old) 1959-60 1-5 1960-01-16 1-4 1959-09-05 Div 3 (old) 1967-68 1-1 1967-09-30 1-3 1968-02-10 Div 3 (old) 1969-70 3-1 1970-02-23 0-1 1969-09-30 Div 3 (old) 1970-71 1-0 1971-02-13 0-0 1971-01-23 Div 3 (old) 1972-73 1-1 1972-09-09 0-1 1973-01-27 Div 4 (old) 1973-74 1-2 1974-04-01 0-2 1974-01-27 Div 4 (old) 1975-76 1-1 1976-02-23 1-2 1975-09-23 Div 3 (old) 1976-77 5-0 1976-10-02 0-2 1977-03-12 Div 3 (old) 1978-79 3-0 1979-04-21 0-0 1978-12-30 Div 3 (old) 1979-80 1-0 1979-10-13 2-0 1980-02-23 Div 3 (old) 1980-81 2-0 1981-02-07 1-4 1980-09-13 Div 4 (old) 1981-82 1-1 1981-09-19 2-3 1982-01-30 Div 4 (old) 1982-83 1-4 1982-10-09 0-1 1983-02-19 Div 4 (old) 1983-84 1-1 1984-03-17 2-2 1983-10-08 Div 4 (old) 1984-85 0-2 1984-11-24 0-0 1985-04-20 Div 4 (old) 1986-87 1-3 1987-02-07 1-1 1986-09-16 Div 3 (old) 1987-88 0-0 1988-04-23 0-1 1987-11-03 Div 3 (old) 1988-89 1-1 1989-04-22 1-0 1988-09-24 Div 3 (old) 1989-90 1-0 1990-02-10 0-3 1989-09-16 Div 3 (old) 1990-91 0-1 1991-02-05 0-1 1990-09-22 Div 3 (old) 1993-94 2-2 1994-03-26 2-2 1993-10-02 Div 3 1994-95 0-2 1994-09-03 2-2 1995-03-25 Div 3 1995-96 1-5 1995-10-28 2-0 1996-04-06 Div 3 2003-04 5-3 2003-09-16 0-3 2004-03-16 Div 3 2004-05 0-0 2004-10-30 2-0 2005-02-19 League Two 2005-06 0-3 2005-11-11 0-0 2006-04-29 League Two 2006-07 0-2 2006-12-09 (at Field Mill) League Two FA Cup: 1969-70 2-2 1969-11-15 1st round at Gigg Lane 1969-70 2-0 1969-11-19 1st round replay at Field Mill 1974-75 2-1 1975-01-25 4th round at Gigg Lane Svante Bernhard aka Sweden Stag (pictured, above right) Statistical updates courtesy of the Centenary book and some editions of Rothman's Football Yearbook, furthermore the history CD. Bury managerial details courtesy of http://www.soccerbase.com |
Latest | May 2007