St@tto's Harriers Diary

St@tto's Kidderminster Harriers Diary

** LATEST NEWS **

"Not many of them deserve the shirt" - Gary Barnett 30 September - The Harriers management was again disappointed with the peformance in yesterday's deafet by Swansea at Aggborough. Gary Barnett said, "There were some poor performances first-half, second-half there was a bit of a response there and we created a few chances but the finishing problem has occurred again.
"There's a lot of talking to be done but once that's finished it's got to be back to the hard work on the training ground. There's plenty of work to be done and there's only this set of players that can turn it around".
Hinting that there will be changes for next Sunday's trip to Macclesfield he continued, "We're all disappointed, once again there's not many of them that deserve the shirt for next week. The second goal Adie Smith's made a mistake and individual errors is something that you can't legislate for. If Colin Larkin takes that chance early on then that puts us on the front foot but those little things aren't going for us".
He then backed the referee for his decision to send off Stuart Brock, "Brock has been having a good season and he's usually very calm so it must have been a bad challenge for him to react like that although there's no defence for his reaction."
Swansea manager Colin Addison felt that the result was the right one, his first win since taking over, "We deserved the win over the 90 minutes, I'm delighted with the players. Our football in the first-half was excellent and we took our chances well. I said to them at half-time Jan would change it and it would be hard and that's the way it proved to be. They brought Broughton on who caused us problems but I think they only had one clear-cut chance.
"The end was a little disappointing, I felt the goalkeeper threw the punch he had to go. Tyson went for the ball, there was no intent to play the goalkeeper - it was there to be attacked and he went for it."
29 September - Stuart Brock is sent off as Harriers lose their unbeaten home record in a 2-0 defeat against Swansea. Two defensive errors in the first twenty minutes gift the goals to the visitors, and then Harriers gave another toothless display as they failed to even look like they would score. Before the game kicked off, the travelling Swansea supporters had given Jan Molby a tremendous reception as he took to the field.
28 September - Drewe Broughton is back in the squad for tomorrow's visit of Swansea City. This will be the first time that Jan Molby will have faced his former club since he was controversially sacked in 1997. The Swans are having no better a season than the Harriers, currently lying one place higher in eighteenth. However, goalscoring has not been a problem for them notching 16 times from their ten games in comparison to Harriers' five.
Broughton returns to the squad as his move to Oxford seems unlikely to take place. Harriers boss Jan Molby said, "It is doing neither the player or the club any good the way this has dragged on. As far as I am concerned the deal is dead." Oxford boss Mark Wright does not necessarily agree, "There is nothing happening with Broughton at this moment in time. I'm looking at a few things but am not going to overdo it."
There are not likely to be too many changes to the team tomorrow as Harriers look to maintain the unbeaten home record. Swansea, however, have several absentees: Mamady Sidibe has a hamstring injury, Jason Smith has ligament problems and Watkin has missed most of the season. On the plus side new manager Colin Addison welcomes back Nathan Tyson and Nick Cusack to a squad that has yet to win under his stewardship.
Expect Harriers to line-up as follows: Brock, Clarkson, Joy, Blake, Shail, Smith, Bird, Davies, Larkin, Bennett, Stamps.
27 September - Veteran Harriers player Paul Webb is to extend his loan at Hereford United for a further month. Webb hasn't figured for Harriers this season but is enjoying his time at Edgar Street, "It took me a few games to get back in to the swing of things and adjust to the pace of the game. I have to admit I'm just enjoying playing football again. It makes sense to stay there and play competitive games every week rather than play reserve football every other week. I have to make sure I'm fit and ready should an opportunity arise at Kidderminster."
26 September - Jan Molby was encouraged by the performance Harriers gave against fancied Oxford United at Aggborough yesterday evening.
The Harriers boss said, "Apart from the first ten minutes I thought we were magnificent. It was a good game and I thought we matched them well, I'm proud of them."
He went on to praise the amount of work they had done as a team, "In terms of effort and determination they were excellent, I think it's hard to find somebody who didn't do their bit.
"It's only a week ago that we witnessed the terrible performance against Shrewsbury and since then we have taken two points against teams who will be disappointed if they don't make the play-offs."
Also, captain Mark Blake now faces a one-match ban after being booked for the fifth time this season. Molby said, "Four of those bookings were ludicrous decisions but there is nothing we can do about that now." The player will miss the game aganst Cheltenham on October 13.
25 September - Harriers' clash with Oxford ended all square, and goalless. Despite the lack of goals, the game was fairly entertaining and could have gone either way. Harriers need to start scoring goals soon, however.
25 September - Oxford United are the visitors to Aggborough this evening. Harriers will be hoping to build on the point gained at Hartlepool on Saturday, maintaining the unbeaten home run at the same time. Oxford will arrive at Aggborough in fairly good form having won 3 and drawn 1 of their last six. They do, however, have a number of injury problems - striker Andy Scott is set to be out for six weeks with a hamstring injury, Jamie Brooks is a possible replacement but he also has a minor injury and Joey Beauchamp, Paul Tait and Darren Patterson are also crocked. One player who will not be lining up for United tonight is Drewe Broughton whose transfer has fallen through again for reasons that have not been made known, so he could feature for Harriers instead.
Harriers should have Parfait Medou-Otye and Colin Larkin available again after they missed the weekend trip north, although Jan Molby may not make many changes to the side. Expect Harriers to line-up as follows: Brock, Clarkson, Joy, Blake, Shail, Smith, Shilton, Davies, Bird, Larkin, Stamps.
24 September - The transfer of Drewe Broughton to Oxford looks to have been resurrected and is likely to be completed this afternoon.
The drawn out transfer saga was set to take place before the weekend with Harriers and Oxford agreeing a £70000 fee, based on £50000 down and four installments of £5000 after every 20 appearances. However, after the clubs agreed the fee, Broughton and his agent turned down the personal terms on offer and the deal didn't take place.
Oxford then spent £150000 on Tommy Moody from Milwall and the saga seemed at an end. Today, however, the transfer came back to life and is set to be completed in time for the player to make his debut tomorrow night at Aggborough when Oxford visit.
"It was a ridiculous situation" - Chris Turner 24 September - Jan Molby was pleased with his players after the point gained at Hartlepool on Saturday. He said, Coming to Hartlepool and getting a point is always a good result". Describing his gameplan he continued, "Our main tactic was to be solid and deny them opportunities. They had one or two opportunities in the first half, but we came in 0-0 at half-time which gave us the confidence to go out and try to create some chances in the second half.
"All of my players worked extremely hard today and produced a good performance. The work rate was excellent but that is the very least I expect from them every game. We kept the shape well, Brocky's done well and made up for his error that resulted in the penalty, the defence have cleared most of the danger and our midfield battled extremely hard, and Birdy and Dean Bennett's movement was good. Some of our final balls into the penalty area could have been better though."
Both managers were surprised by the penalty decision, Chris Turner said, "It was a ridiculous situation, I don't know who smacked the ball, but how could the boy get out of the way of that?".
22 September - A Mark Blake goal gained Harriers their first point away from home in a 1-1 draw at Hartlepool. 'Pool debutant Gordon Watson had headed them ahead two minutes earlier. Hartlepool had a chance to win the game later on when they were awarded a controversial penalty, but Stuart Brock dived away to his left to save Ian Clark's spot kick.
21 September - Harriers visit Victoria Park tomorrow still searching for their first away points of the season. Danny Williams is set to miss the game as he has picked up an ankle injury, also out are Craig Hinton with a testicular infection, and Parfait Medou-Otye who has had flu. Colin Larkin is in the squad after suffering with a dead leg. Hartlepool, who have had an even worse start to the season than Harriers, also have injury problems. Chris Westwood has had a hernia operation and will be out for around six weeks and Micky Barron, Kevin Henderson and Graeme Lee are very doubtful for tomorrow's encounter. 'Pool are likely to include Anthony Ormerod and Colin Watson who have both joined the club this week. Harriers will also be searching for their first points against Hartlepool, last season they lost 3-1 at Victoria Park with a goal from John Durnin while Sam Shilton set up two of the Hartlepool goals, at Aggborough Hartlepool triumphed 1-0 with another set piece goal.
Expect Harriers to line-up like this: Brock, Clarkson, Stamps, Blake, Shail, Smith, Bird, Davies, Hadley, Bennett, Shilton.
21 September - The transfer of Drewe Broughton to Oxford has fallen through after the player was unable to agree personal terms with the club. Harriers had earlier confirmed that talks were under way with Oxford United over the deal for the first time. The striker's possible move has been the subject of gossip and rumour for a couple of weeks, and this was the first time that anything concrete had been made public. The two clubs had negotiated a fee, believed to be in the region of £75000 while the player was today in Oxford to discuss personal terms. Had the deal gone through today, Broughton could have made his debut for United tomorrow and would then have come back to Aggborough on Tuesday when Oxford are the visitors. Since joining the club in January, Broughton has made 23 appearances (plus 3 as sub) and scored 7 goals.
"I can only apologise to our fans" - Jan Molby 19 September - Jan Molby was furious with the team after the thrashing dealt out by Shrewsbury last night. He said, "I was disgusted by our lack of character and mental strength. With it being a local derby you'd have expected the players to have been up for it. For whatever reason they weren't. There were a number of players out there last night who have produced their worst ever performance since joining us. In fact, the only one who can hold his head up high after that performance was Ben Davies. We are failing with basic things and that is unacceptable.
"I feel very down after witnessing that performance and I can only apologize to our fans. Maybe some of the players should do the same.
"As manager I have to accept as much of the blame as anyone as I pick the team. That performance has upset me but I can't hide away from it. It's my choice to be a football manager and you have to accept both the hghs and the lows. It's now my job to ensure we start picking up points immediately.
"Of course it is a worry. We are not supplying enough quality crosses to our front men and in return their movement has been very poor. We're only eight games into the season so relegation isn't a consideration, but if that kind of performance becomes a regular occrence then we will end up in trouble."
18 September - A hat-trick from Luke Rodgers helped Shrewsbury to humiliate Harriers 4-0 at Gay Meadow.
17 September - Harriers travel to Shrewsbury tomorrow night looking for their first away win of the season. Parfait Medou-Otye returns to the squad from suspension, but may not get a spot in the starting line-up following the good form shown by Ian Clarkson in his absence. Colin Larkin should be OK to start following his withdrawal on Saturday. Expect the following Harriers line-up: Brock, Clarkson, Joy, Stamps, Blake, Shail, Smith, Bird, Williams, Broughton, Larkin, Shilton.
Jan Molby feels that his team should be doing better than they are after the 0-0 draw with Plymouth on Saturday. "I thought that we deserved to take all three points. It was all one-way traffic in the first half. We put them under a lot of pressure and their keeper kept them in the match with a few good saves. Our passing and movement was good but pointless if we can't put the ball in the back of the net. We had one or two chances that should have been converted", he said.
Speaking of Colin Larkin he had this to say, "Colin picked up a dead leg in training on Friday and it was touch and go whether he'd play. We gave him a fitness test before the game and he said he felt okay. However, he took a knock on the same leg midway through the first half and had to come off at half-time.
"He looked lively and I know he will do well here. He has a lot of ability, it's not a case of whether he is good enough to play with the players here, it's whether the players have the ability to play with him."
Plymouth's manager, Paul Sturrock was happy with the point, "I was disappointed with our first half performance. We looked tired and the tight pitch didn't really suit our formation. However, we made a few changes and for a twenty minute period in the second half we could have nicked all three points.
"Last season we went to places like this and lost. It shows how the character of the side has improved since then. I'm happy with the result"
14 September - Craig Hinton is set to miss a Football League match for the first time tomorrow with injury. The popular defender was kicked during the game against Mansfield in the groin, leaving him with a swollen testicle which has been getting progressively worse for the last few days. Mark Shail is set to step in and make his first appearance of the season.
Plymouth come to Aggborough as a team in form having won their last three games after a shaky start. A repeat of last season's result will end that, however, as the corresponding fixture last term ended in a 3-0 win for Harriers - their best win of the season.
Making his debut tomorrow should be Colin Larkin, the on-loan striker, while Parfait Medou-Otye serves the last game of his suspension. Scott Stamps has recovered from his ankle injury but Ian Joy will probably keep his place in the team. Expect the following Harriers line-up: Brock, Clarkson, Joy, Davies, Shail, Smith, Bird, Williams, Broughton, Larkin, Shilton.
13 September - Wolves youngster Colin Larkin is set to join Harriers tomorrow in a one-month loan deal. The move is seen as means to give Larkin experience and is not expected to be made permanent. Wolves manager Dave Jones said, "It's just a loan, similar to the one that Keith Andrews had at Oxford and Adam Proudlock did at Clyde. It's the next stage of Colin's education and it will be of great benefit to him to play in front of crowds for a few weeks.
"He has enjoyed a good season in the Reserves so far and he has been starting to live up to the expectations and showing the signs of the potential we know that he has.
"The advantages are that he will be local to us and he will be provided with good education by Kiderminster's manager Jan Molby who is an experienced man."
11 September - Jan Molby has declared himself flattered by reports linking him with the vacant managers' position at Coventry City, but says that he he is happy at Harriers and there is still work to do here.
8 September - A disappointing afternoon saw Harriers sunk by two set-piece goals at Spotland. Heavy traffic on the M6 meant that the team didn't arrive at the ground until around 30 minutes before kick-off.
7 September - Harriers can expect a tough afternoon tomorrow when they visit Rochdale. The Spotland club sit on top of the league and have yet to lose a game. Harriers will go into the game with a number of selection problems as detailed below, Ian Joy is likely to make his first start at left while Dean Bennett and Ben Davies will vie for Mark Blake's spot. Blake will travel but is highly unlikely to figure, Scott Stamps faces a late fitness test on his ankle. Despite being "tired" Andy Ducros came through 90 minutes in the Reserves on Wednesday night and gave a performance which should push him into the reckoning as did Drewe Broughton although he is unlikely to play in the centre of the defence tomorrow. Both games last season ended in 0-0 draws.
I predict the following Harriers line-up: Brock, Clarkson, Joy, Davies, Hinton, Smith, Bird, Williams, Broughton, Foster, Shilton.
5 September - Harriers face a mounting injury list ahead of Saturday's trip to League leaders Rochdale. Skipper Mark Blake pulled his hamstring in last Saturday's game with Mansfield and faces 2-3 weeks on the sidelines, Scott Stamps' ankle is still causing concern and he may not make the trip and Mark Shail has picked up hamsting and knee injuries in training this week.
With the shortage of defenders, the Reserves played Peter Faulds and Drewe Broughton in the back four in tonight's victory over Hartlepool at Aggborough. Neither player looked out of place and Broughton captained the team. Andy Ducros managed to make it through the full ninety minutes, scoring the winning goal and turning in a man-of-the-match performance.
Leading goalscorer Tony Bird has been speaking of his targets for the season, he told The Express & Star, "I don't set particular targets because you just end up disappointed but if you're looking to get goals from midfield then I would be quite happy with 10-15, to be honest I would be quite content as a striker to hit 15".
"We couldn't get near them" - Jan Molby 2 September - Jan Molby declared himself satisfied with yesterday's result, "I think 1-1 against Mansfield, with the way we are playing, is acceptable. We got the run around in the first half, we couldn't get near them.
"In the second half we managed to get a bit closer to them and we got the goal. But I must admit, after the save their goalkeeper made from Blake's volley, I thought that it was going to be one of those days".
Mansfield assistant manager Stuart Watkiss was disappoointed that his team didn't win, "I don't know whether we give credit to Kidderminster for coming back into it in the second half or kick our lads up the backside for taking their foot off the pedal".
1 September - Mansfield come to Aggborough this afternoon as one of the form teams in the division. In Craig Disley and Chris Greenacre they have two of the top scorers, along with our own Tony Bird. Last season both games ended in home wins, Mansfield won 2-1 at Field Mill while Harriers won 1-0 at Aggborough with some of the best football they played all season.
Harriers have a number of selection problems, Lee Ayres is out with a broken toe, and Parfait Medou-Otye begins a three match suspension today. Scott Stamps and Ian Foster both picked up ankle injuries at Hull and Tony Bird is still suffering from a slight groin strain but all three should be OK to play. Adie Smith could move back into the centre of defence to cover for Ayres and Ian Clarkson could come in at right back, or Mark Shail or Abdou Sall could come in for Ayres. Stewart Hadley, who played quite well at Hull when coming on as a sub will be keen to start against his former club.
I predict the following Harriers line-up: Brock, Clarkson, Stamps, Blake, Hinton, Smith, Bird, Williams, Broughton, Foster, Shilton.

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