St@tto's Harriers Diary

St@tto's Kidderminster Harriers Diary

** LATEST NEWS **

31 October - Gary Barnett was proud of his players and the way they performed in last night's LDV Trophy exit at Chesterfield despite the fact that they were ultimately beaten by David Reeves' extra-time goal.
He said, "We're delighted with every single one of the lads tonight. We spoke to them before the game and told them they needed to produce a good performance and they did exactly that. They have now set themselves a standard which we expect them to now achieve every game. We were desperately unlucky to lose but the lads can take a lot of heart of the performance."
Harriers may use video evidence in order to help have the red card shown to Ian Foster rescinded, Barnett said, "The referee has confirmed he sent Fozzie off for allegedly kicking their guy whilst he was on the floor but from where we were standing the referee has sent Fozzie off for kicking the ball twice! If the referee takes another look at the video of this game, then I would hope he would be very disappointed with that decision - it was a terrible decision and we're very unhappy. We'll take a look at the video and decide where to go from there."
Chesterfield boss Nicky Law saw it differently, saying, "Booty went in for the tackle and he was on the ground with the ball between his legs then for some reason their lad forgot about the ball and tried to kick Martin".
As it stands, Foster will face a three game ban which would rule him out of the FA Cup tie with Darlington and the League games with Lincoln and Rushden.
30 October - Harriers are knocked out of the LDV Trophy by an extra-time Golden Goal at Chesterfield. Harriers had had Ian Foster sent off after 30 minutes and then performed magnificently to hold heir hosts and send the game into extra time.
30 October - Harriers visit Chesterfield this evening for an LDV Vans tie against one of the teams promoted from the Third Division last season.
Jan Molby knows that it will be a tough encounter even though Chesterfield have not had the best of starts to the season. Molby said, "We saw last year when we lost 2-0 at Bury in the competition how strong Second Division teams are. We know Chesterfield from last season when they beat us comfortably twice, so we will have to produce an outstanding performance if we intend to beat them. But, on the other hand, they are not having the greatest of times in the Second Division. I don't know how serious they are taking the competition, although in their situation financially you would have thought that they would try and see if they could reach the final. So, it's going to be difficult for us, but it's one of those games you can go and enjoy. You have all to win and nothing to lose, but a run in the competition would be tremendous. It's one of those competitions with very few games and you are there, so anything can happen."
Chesterfield have recently taken two youngsters on loan from Aston Villa, Stefan Moore and Thomas Hitzlsperger, and Spireites boss Nicky Law will use both of them in the game, he said, "it's an opportunity for another look at the two young youth internationals on loan from Aston Villa. Stefan Moore had a useful debut at Blackpool. He will be playing against Kidderminster Harriers, and so will Thomas Hitzlsperger. With the added incentive of reduced prices, I hope we get a good turn out to support the lads."
Molby has said that Harriers will be taking the competition seriously and will be fielding the strongest team. That should see Harriers again playing with three men up front in an effort to find goals which are stil sadly lacking, particularly away from home.
I expect Harriers to line-up as follows: Brock, Clarkson, Stamps, Blake, Hinton, Sall, Bird, Williams, Broughton, Foster, Larkin.
"We Lacked Imagination" -Gary Barnett 29 October - Gary Barnett again found himself bemoaning Harriers' lack of a cutting edge up front after Saturday's single goal defeat at Southend. Despite having most of the possession again, Harriers could not reach the heights of Tuesday's victory over York.
He said, "We gave ourselves a big task after getting caught with that early goal. Although we had plenty of possession in our third of the pitch we lacked the imagination and killer instinct in the final third.· The corner count of 12 - 3 (sic) in our favour tells a story but we couldn't find that killer pass or finishing touch. We didn't fire on all cylinders and that is disappointing."
Southend boss Rob Newman was pleased to have recorded his first win since taking charge of the team, "That is the sort of win that I like," he said.
"It wasn't an entertaining game like the last three or four games we have played, we scored after just two minutes, had some good chances first half, second half it was not a good spectacle but we defended doggedly and that's something we have not been doing lately"
He went on, "I'm highly delighted to have won and to have won with a clean sheet. The defenders have been coming in for some stick lately but you can't fault them today, we defended well as a team today. What I liked today is that they all kept going right to the end. It wasn't an entertaining 1-0, it was a good dogged 1-0. I feel we have a good squad here and now we have got a result we can go on a good unbeaten run, Kidderminster put us under a lot of pressure but we coped with it and we showed a lot of steel in the side, as I said I like one-nil wins and clean sheets"
27 October - Another disappointing afternoon for Harriers as they are sunk by a single goal at Southend. Carl Hutchings, who turned down a move to Kidderminster in the summer, scored the goal after just 75 seconds.
26 October - Harriers face a trip south tomorrow for the first time this season, travelling to Roots Hall to take on Southend United.
The Shrimpers currently lie one position above Harries in the table, ahead on goal difference, so a repeat of Tuesday night's performance will see Harriers leapfrog the opposition once more.
New Southend boss Rob Newman is searching for his first win since taking over. On Tuesday night they lost at Scunthorpe and last Saturday they were beaten by York. Kevin Maher will miss the game for Southend as he is recovering from a knee injury, but Stuart Thurgood could return.
Harriers should have Adie Smith and Mark Shail available for selection again after they missed Tuesday night's victory through injury which would mean Abdou Sall would miss out. The young Senegalese defender could keep his place, however, as he performed admirably on his debut and Jan Molby likes to spring a surprise or two when picking his team. The other main selection question mark is again what formation Molby will choose. Will he be brave enough to start with 4-3-3 away from home or will he be cautious and start with 4-4-2 and only change it later on if the situation requires it? Given the situation that Southend find themselves in, an overly cautious approach is not neccessarily required.
Last season Harriers blew a 1-0 lead at Roots Hall after Southend had been reduced to ten men when Kevin Maher was sent-off. For a run down of all previous Harriers - Southend encounters, click here.
I expect Harriers to line-up as follows: Brock, Clarkson, Stamps, Blake, Hinton, Smith, Bird, Williams, Broughton, Larkin, Bennett.
25 October - Gary Barnett was again sent out to face the press after Tuesday's 4-1 thrashing of York City at Aggborough, and he was understandably delighted with the performance and result.
He said, "It was all very, very positive stuff and it's full credit to the players, it was a tremendous attacking display. We played some terrific stuff and the players' confidence had risen in the first 45 minutes."
Also, he was positive about the change of tactics as Harriers went to a 4-3-3 formation which the Minstermen couldn't cope with, "It was a different formation with a couple of quick forwards that link well with Drewe and it's paid off for us. We have been working very hard in the last few games but we haven't played football like we have tonight."
The assisstant manager was also pleased with the performances of Harriers' two debutants, Abdou Sall and Matt Lewis, "Abdou's a 20-year-old athlete still learning the game but he's had a taste and he'll want more. The boys on the pitch did the business and allowed Matt to come on and get a bit of experience."
York manager Terry Dolan was disappointed but felt that his enforced use of youngsters didn't help.· "We have to make sure we don't make mistakes, we got away with it on Saturday but tonight we didn't. In the second-half Michael Proctor's had an effort which hit the bar that could have made it 3-2 and that would have made it interesting. But, I've been saying all along when youngsters are playing in the team for a long period they're going to have to learn the hard way and that's what is happening."
The City supporters turned against Dolan during the second half, chanting for him to go, but wasn't unduly bothered, "As long as they're chanting at the manager and not the players that's the important thing."
23 October - At last the goals flow! Harriers thrash York 4-1 at Aggborough, their highest score in the Football League. On the flipside, however, the crowd of 2002 is the lowest since joining the league.
22 October - Harriers entertain York City tomorrow evening with victory being vital. After the defeat at Carlisle on Saturday, three points and nothing less, are needed to keep Harriers in the tightly packed mid-section of the table and away from the relegation zone.
Changes may be made to freshen up the attack which only managed one shot on target all afternoon on Saturday, although it is hard to see where the spark may come from. At the moment Colin Larkin and Drewe Broughton is the only combination which is causing any problem for opposition defences, and Broughton has yet to score this season. In a late attempt to get something from the game on Saturday Harriers again switched to 4-3-3 which did lead to the brightest spell of the game, and being at home tomorrow evening it may be worth starting with. Ian Foster is starting to come back to fitness so he would be brought in alongside the other two. Unfortunately, there are not many alternatives for boss Jan Molby, Stewart Hadley is not enjoying any sort of form at the moment and Tony Bird has not scored since August 27 at Hull, Andy Ducros is still trying to find full fitness and Matt Lewis is clearly not ready yet, so the forward line almost picks itself.
Stuart Brock will be available after completing his suspension and will take over from Eric Nixon. The rest of the defence is likely to be unchanged despite the way they forgot how to defend at corners on Saturday. Depending on what formation Molby decides to play there should be few changes to the midfield.
York are currently only three points ahead of Harriers, so a victory of three goals or more would see Harriers leapfrog the Minstermen. If Harriers can find some form in front of goal, York have a suspect defence when on there travels this season, in their seven games so far they have conceded 15 goals, although they have also scored 11.
Last season, Harriers won the corresponding fixture 3-1 with two goals from Adie Smith and one from Ian Foster. For a full run down of previous Harriers - York encounters, click here.
I expect Harriers to line-up as follows: Brock, Clarkson, Stamps, Blake, Hinton, Smith, Foster, Williams, Broughton, Larkin, Shilton.
"We looked punchless up front" - Ian Clarkson 22 October - After Harriers' disappointing and fruitless trip north to Carlisle on Saturday, both assistant-manager Gary Barnett and Ian Clarkson expressed unhappiness in both the result and the performance.
The lack of goals is causing concern to Barnett, he said, "We know we have got the characters who can get goals. We just want it to come sooner rather than later. We are trying to be very positive. Balls are going into the box but we just have not got the desire to get on the end of them.
"We started brightly but then we started to cause problems for ourselves and let them back into the game. We didn't get our passing game going early enough. If we'd played the football that we played in the last 20 minutes we might have got something out of the game.
He also criticised the team for the poor defending that led to the Cumbrians' winner from Harriers' old failing - a set-piece, "It was a poor goal from our point of view. The lads have worked very hard in training on defending, but we get these little lapses in concentration."
Carlisle boss Roddy Collins, on the other hand, was delighted with his team's win, "I think they are going to put me beside Houllier in hospital after watching that today. We didn't need the last ten minutes, but when you don't put your chances away that is what happens. It's funny, the goal we scored was a set piece after we created aout three or four good chances from open play, and if you don't put them away teams will throw everything at you and you end up scrapping at the end. But all fairness to the lads, they stood their ground but we'll work on that as it's a mental thing rather than a physical thing.
"Today's wiin was vital to us as other teams around us slipped up and it givess us the comfort of not being at te bottom of the table."
Speaking to the Official Club Website, Clarkson said, "We started well for the first ten or fifteen minutes but they finished the stronger side and maybe should have been in the lead at the break.
I thought we slightly had the better possession in the second half but the old failings have cost us again... It was a poor goal to concede from a defensive point a view and we looked punchless up front."
20 October - A goal from a corner proved to be Harriers' undoing at Carlisle. Richie Foran's sixth goal of the season was the only goal of the game as Carlisle lifted themselves off the bottom of the league and ended Harriers' three game unbeaten run.
19 October - Harriers will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to four matches tomorrow when they visit bottom-of-the-table Carlisle United for another crucial Division Three game.
Having won the last two away games at Macclesfield and Doncaster and not conceded a goal for 340 minutes, Harriers are beginning to show some form. Jan Molby is convinced that some time soon Harriers will begin to take more of the chances that are being created and make somebody suffer, with one of the worst defences in the league Carlisle are a prime candidate. At the moment, however, he is happy to continue grinding out results.
It looks likely that on-loan Colin Larkin will get over the injury that he picked up when scoring the winner in the LDV game at Doncaster on Wednesday and keep his blossoming partnership with Drewe Broughton going. Molby will have a selection dilemma, though, as he will have to decide whether to revert to his normal 4-4-2 formation or stick with the 4-3-3 that was used so effectively in the second half at Belle Vue.
Last season Carlisle became something of a bogey team for Harriers, four games were played between the clubs and Harriers only came out on top once, the LDV game at Aggborough with Tony Bird scoring the Golden-Goal winner.
The full head-to-head record can be found here.
Harriers should have an almost full squad to pick from, Stuart Brock is definitely out serving the last game of his suspension, and Daire Doyle and Lee Ayres are both injured. Adie Smith and Scott Stamps are likely to be back in contention after sitting out the midweek win with slight knocks, and Mark Blake who was hurt in a car crash last weekend should be OK after making a brief appearance at Doncaster.
I predict the following Harriers line-up: Nixon, Clarkson, Stamps, Blake, Hinton, Smith, Bennett, Williams, Broughton, Larkin, Shilton.
"We fully deserved to win" - Gary Barnett 17 October - Gary Barnett was delighted with last night's 1-0 win at Doncaster Rovers in the LDV Vans Trophy which stretches the unbeaten run to three games.
On-loan Colin Larkin scored the only goal of the game to seal a narrow win. The home team had had the best of the first half which resulted in a stiff talking to for the Harriers at half-time. Barnett said, "We weren't at the races in the first half and we let them dominate large parts of possession.· If we were to win this game that had to change quickly and when we reverted to 4-3-3 formation early in the second half we began to play some nice stuff. I thought we fully deserved to win."
In the process of scoring the winner, Larkin was hurt in a collision with Doncaster's keeper Barry Richardson. The collision angered the Harriers managment, Barnett continued, "From where we were sat their keeper appeared to have followed through on Larkin after he has placed the ball past him. It was a dangerous challenge that could have injured Colin seriously and the Gaffer was understandably unhappy about this. Now it looks as though Colin won't be fit for the trip to Carlisle." Barnett confirmed then that Molby was banished to the stand not for foul and abusive language but because he refused to sit down.
16 October - A single strike from Colin Larkin was enough to take Harriers past Conference side Doncaster in the LDV Vans Trophy.
15 October - Harriers take a break from League action tomorrow evening with their first cup tie of the season. Conference side Doncaster Rovers are the opposition for the LDV Vans match at Belle Vue.
Rovers are one of the form teams in the Conference at the moment, lying in sixth place albeit ome way off leaders Dagenham. There are several experienced players in their squad such as keeper Barry Richardson, full-back Tim Ryan and player-coach Paul Barnes who was a pre-season target for Jan Molby.
For a check on previous Harriers - Doncaster matches click here.
Harriers will have captain Mark Blake available again after his suspension, although Stuart Brock will still be missing. Injuries to Daire Doyle, Lee Ayres and Abdou Sall will keep them out of the team which is likely to show few changes from that which drew with Cheltenham on Saturday.
Expect Harriers to line up as follows: Nixon, Clarkson, Stamps, Blake, Hinton, Smith, Bennett, Williams, Broughton, Larkin, Shilton.
14 October - Gary Barnett was happy with the performance of the team after yesterday's goalless draw with Cheltenham.
"The players have shown again today another step in the right direction with regards to the battling qualities needed in this division. In this division to get points you have to be very, very organised and very, very strong. If we were braver with our football we would possibly have won the game.
"We created chances but I thought with a little bit more quality with our passing we might have created a little bit more.
The assistant manager also praised the contribution of stand-in goalkeeper Eric Nixon. "Eric's a friend of the gaffer and we have kept an eye on his fitness for the last season and a bit in case this situation arose. He's very pleased with a clean sheet and he will be here for three games on a non-contract basis."
Cheltenham boss Steve Cotterill, on the other hand, was completely unhappy with his team. "We chose a local derby to produce one of our worst performances of the season, certainly in the first half," he said.
"That was doubly frustrating because we had a great turnout of supporters here today. But to come away from home and get a point without playing well is the sign of a decent side. We didn't do anything as well as we have done for the last few weeks and the only thing we did do was keep a clean sheet.
"We didn't play anywhere near as well as we did last weekend and we are very disappointed with that. The players are very lucky they are not in for training tomorrow morning after that performance. We've had a great week and on Thursday and Friday in training the lads looked sensational and right on top of their game. Maybe next Thursday and Friday we've got to be useless and then come out and play on Saturday."
"That's only one bad performance in six weeks so we have to bin that one straight away and get on with next week," he said.
"There were a couple of good individual performances because I thought Chris Banks was outstanding, Tony Naylor in the first half looked a threat and Lee Howells in the second half ran his socks off, but we didn't do it enough today.
"We could have done without the injury to Mark Yates because he is a big driving force for us and one of the best lads I have signed as a manager. But overall we didn't meet the high standards we have set ourselves over the last couple of weeks."
Also, on-loan striker Colin Larkin has had his stay extended for another month, and Barnett was also pleased with his performance in the game, "He was very sharp today and he's caused their defence plenty of problems. It's just unfortunate he couldn't get into one of those goalscoring positions but he's had a very good game."
13 October - Former Tranmere goalkeeper was a surprise inclusion between the posts for Harriers this afternoon in the goalless draw with Cheltenham. The 39 year old keeper came out of retirement to cover for the suspended Stuart Brock, but was never really tested.
13 October - Former Conference rivals Cheltenham Town are the visitors to Aggborough this afternoon with Harriers looking to build upon last weeks victory at Macclesfield.
Cheltenham themselves didn't have the best of starts to the season, but have now strung a run of results together and sit in tenth place in the league. Victory for nineteenth placed Harriers, however, would see them leapfrog The Robins. Last season, the corresponding fixture ended in a 1-1 draw and the return at Whaddon Road resulted in a 3-1 Harreirs win, the last away win before last weekend's win at Macclesfield.
Harriers will have two enforced changes to the team, but those should be the only ones. Stuart Brock begins a three-match ban following his sending-off against Swansea. Captain Mark Blake is also suspended having picked up five yellow cards. Having failed to bring in another keeper on loan, Jan Molby will throw Brendan Murphy in for his League debut, and Ben Davies should step in for Blake with Ian Clarkson taking over the captaincy.
Cheltenham have a few selection problems also. Neil Grayson begins a three-mtch ban as a result of a sending-off in a pre-season friendly. Steve Jones who has been out all season with an ankle injury came through a reserve game in midweek but is unlikely to figure, and Richard Walker is also out with an ankle ligament injury, Keith Hill is another who will miss the game.
Expect Harriers to line-up as follows: Murphy, Clarkson, Stamps, Davies, Hinton, Smith, Bird, Williams, Broughton, Larkin, Shilton.
12 October - Harriers Chairman Lionel Newton has today issued a statement concerning the financial situation at the club in response to stories in the local press this week.
The full text of his statement as released to the Official Harriers Website is below:
"I feel it is important that I address our supporters directly with regard to what has been said in the papers this week about the financial situation of the club.
"Firstly I must point out that what I was quoted as saying in the papers was not meant to "bash" our supporters in any way. I know we have a band of loyal supporters who follow the team through thick and thin. The fact is that we have seen a reduction in gates from an average of 3400 to 2700 and, as a result, we have had to re-adjust the budget to cater for more losses in the financial year.
"Over the last six years, I have put a lot of time and money into this club. I have no vested interest other than to see this club succeed, and I can assure you that is my intention. What I have said in the press is that I can't carry on sustaining losses, and finance the new stand, without help. I have written to all the major companies in the area to see if they will sponsor us in anyway. I am also currently in talks with Wyre Forest District Council. I will not give up the fight, but I must stress I cannot win the battle on my own.
"With all that is going on at the club at the present time the Board of Directors have decided to put forward a "Set of Objectives" with a three-year plan. Within this will be a starting point of objectives, strategies, stadium redevelopment, community programme and a working relationship with our fan base. To kick this off I have agreed to meeting with the committee of KHISA within the next fortnight.
"Thank you all for your continued support."
Lionel Newton, Chairman.
11 October - The Official PFA website, givemefootball.com, is running a Player of The Month competition with voting done by the fans.
In order to stop Luton players running away with the awards, why not visit the PFA site and register a vote for a Harriers player.
This could be a tricky choice with the way the team are playing at the moment, but don't forget we are unbeaten in October!!
Brocky and the back four haven't conceded a goal, Blakey didn't get booked and Drewe Broughton has set up all of the goals. Maybe Colin Larkin is your choice, as he is top scorer for the month currently, although Saturday is set to be his last game unless his loan is extended.
"It was a must-win. Big-time" - Colin Larkin 8 October - Gary Barnett was again sent out to face the post-match Press Conference after Sundays game, this time though, his comments were far more complimentary to the team.
"The conditions were poor but it was a 100% effort from the lads," he said. He was very positive about the contribution made by Colin Larkin who scored his first goal for the club since joining on loan from Wolves, "It was a good team goal and Larkin made no mistake and he executed it well. He could have had a couple more which would have been nice but I'm sure the lads prefer to make the coaching staff and supporters suffer for the whole ninety minutes!
"He is very sharp and if you give him the service he wants then he will get into goalscoring positions.· He certainly caused Macclesfield problems today."
Harriers next match is the local derby against Cheltenham on Saturday and the management will be hoping that yesterday's win is not a false dawn but more the start of something significant, "We've had a bad run of results and confidence does play a big part in that. We created a few chances in the second half against Swansea last week and we've done that today also. If we can start scoring a few more goals I see no reason why we won't start picking up a few more points."
The Cheltenham game is set to be Larkin's last appearance for the club before his loan ends, although Harriers boss Jan Molby is keen to keep the player at Aggborough longer if possible, the player himself is also keen to stay for a while longer. He was thrilled to have scored his first Football League goal yesterday along with the result, "It was a must-win big-time, you only had to look at the table to see we were third bottom and the win has put us back towards mid-table, so I'm really happy," he said.
He contined, "The season really starts from here now, that's what we were saying in the dressing room. I was delighted with the goal and with it being away aas well, it was brilliant.
"The result was down to hard work, especially second half when we were a goal up and the wind was against us. The lads were all talking at half time about working to protect the lead and that paid off."
7 October - A goal by Colin Larkin, his first for the club, was enough to enable Harriers to sink Macclesfield and earn their first away win since beating Cheltenham in April.
6 October - Harriers travel to Macclesfield tomorrow for a game that Jan Molby has said they "Must win". Having been relatively pleased with the performance of the team in the second half last weekend against Swansea, Molby is likely to stick with the team that finished that game. The most probable absentee tomorrow, however, is Adie Smith who was involved in a car crash on Tuesday. Although not seriously hurt, he suffered whiplash injuries and has been receiving treatment daily since. Craig Hinton should return to the team though after coming through the Reserve game against Wigan on Wednesday.
After the Friday and Saturday games, Macclesfield lie in 19th place, three above Harriers and with current form not much better - one win in the last six. The Silkmen will be without Richard Tracey and Danny Adams who are injured and Steve Hitchen who is suspended.
Harriers and Macclesfield are old foes from the Conference, and Harriers have a fairly good record overall. See the full head-to-head record here.
Expect Harriers to line-up as follows: Brock, Clarkson, Stamps, Blake, Hinton, Shail, Bird, Williams, Broughton, Larkin, Shilton.
5 October - Jan Molby has suggested that Bo Henriksen, the Danish trialist, won't be coming to the club in the near future.
Henrikson is currently with Danish First Division side Herfølge, where he has been for the last three years. During his trial this week he has impressed Jan Molby but the boss is not confident about bringing him to Aggborough permanently. Speaking to the Official Club Website, Molby said, "We've had a good look at him and we've been impressed. He has trained well, his attitude is excellent and what's more he is a good player
"We'll keep an eye on him with a view to trying to bring him back in the future. Whether that is next week, next month or next season, well I don't know. I'd like to keep him here but finances dictate that probably won't happen."
One thing that may play into Molby's hands at a later date is Henriksen's contract with Herfølge, which expires at the end of December. Had the striker joined, he would have been a welcome addition to Harriers' goal-shy attack which has scored just five times in eleven games, the worst record in the Nationwide League.
2 October - Despite being in a dreadful run of results, Harriers boss Jan Molby has again been linked with a vacant managerial position, this time at Wrexham.
The North-Wales side last week dispensed with the services of Brian Flynn after 12 years in charge, and although there has been no approach for Molby, Harriers Chairman Lionel Newton has said that he would not stand in Jan's way if there was an approach and he felt that it would be a good move.
This is not the first time that Newton has said that he would allow Jan to leave, saying that he does not want anybody at the club who does not want to be here.
He said, "We have not been approached by Wrexham, so this is pure speculation as far as I am concerned. I am a friend of Jan's, though, and if anyone he considered better came in for him I would not stand in his way. If anyone preferred to work elsewhere than here, I would rather they go".
He continued, "He has a big job to do here and he needs our support at the present time. We are in a transitional stage and he has to continue putting in the foundations".
Also linked with the job at The Racecourse, along with around 20 applicants, has been Colin Lee, the former Wolves manager, who has been out of work since he left Torquay at the end of last season.

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