MATCH PREVIEW: Bring your boots!
The sleepless nights continue for Billy Barr as he contemplates his starting XI for Tuesday’s home game against Whitby Town (7.45pm).
The amiable Barr was employed as a football coach, not a miracle worker, so he might need a few favours from above to get through the Premier Division clash with the North Yorkshire outfit.
And just to epitomise how quickly fortunes change in football, cast your mind back to last Tuesday. Reds had just extended their unbeaten league run to eight matches with a commendable 2-2 draw at Warrington Town after Barr had been confirmed as the ‘Manager of the month’.
Fast forward a week and the reality is that Reds will have a stronger team sitting in the stand than the one which takes to the pitch.
You are never more than five minutes away from a crisis at WAFC.
Visitors Whitby Town have endured a mixed start to the season, winning four games to date, but losing seven. Their only draw was obtained on Saturday when they kept a welcome clean sheet in a goalless draw v. Bamber Bridge.
They are currently 16th in the division with 13 points whilst injury-stricken Reds lie 6th with 21 points following Saturday’s reverse at Quorn. Whitby, incidentally, won 6-3 at the Farley Way Stadium earlier in the season.
Town have recently changed their managerial team with Graeme Lee now at the helm.
This will be the twenty-first encounter between the two coastal clubs under the NPL banner. Reds have won eight times, Town successful on six occasions with six matches drawn.
However, in the FA Trophy Whitby have knocked us out of the competition on three occasions – two of which were at Borough Park.
One quirky fact to emerge from the current injury crisis was another league appearance for Reds’ assistant manager, Lee Andrews. The 43-year-old turned out as a substitute on Saturday and that was his first NPL appearance since April 2018.
Strangely enough that was also in Leicestershire – at Coalville Town!
There might be another outing this week!
