DOUGLAS v MANCHESTER WANDERERS

It is plainly excessive to hope that the earth gets destroyed by a large asteroid in the early hours of Saturday morning however it neatly sums up by current thoughts on Saturday. Not only would I avoid a hangover but equally I would avoid having to endure a dour England side probably winning the Rugby World Cup in their far from exciting tryless style before having to watch Douglas take on the form side in the league Manchester Wanderers at Port E Chee in the afternoon.

The omens are therefore not good but I have not yet abandoned all hope although I have no doubt that this should be Douglas’s most difficult home fixture of the season as Manchester Wanderers are currently undefeated this season in all competitions. They are currently top of the league and their last league fixture saw them put 40 points on the previous leaders Wallasey without reply. They followed this up in a cup fixture last week by beating Burnley who currently lie third in North Lancashire division one which effectively is two leagues higher than which Douglas and Manchester Wanderers play in. There is therefore no doubt they are a very good side.

  In Douglas’s favour is that traditionally they do tend to play at a level which is more becoming of their opponents rather than their own ability. Accordingly at times against the poorer sides they get drawn down to their level rather than impose themselves. Equally against the better sides they have an ability to raise their game. This is also a game Manchester Wanderers should be expected to win and so hopefully with the pressure off they should not play as if the whole cares of the world are on their shoulders. At times this season they have played as though they are trying to give England a game in the lack of entertainment stakes.

  Douglas also have to be confident in their own ability and they have not become a poor season over night. Their results at the start of the season were strong although recently their performances have been more on a par with my stock market investments and it is to be hoped they recover slightly more quickly.

  Definitive team news is fairly limited from the Port e Chee side but Dave Wood is out until after Christmas and John Ledwidge is also unavailable. There is also a doubt over Pete Moorhouse. More positive though is that Chris Darnhill and John Hill should both return having missed the surprise defeat away at Congleton. Captain Andy Malpass has stated he is debating making a couple of changes and surprise selections. I am not sure whether there is much truth in this though and as a forward it is more likely Andy is trying to give the impression he is a deep thinker when in reality he is taking a couple of days over writing out the team sheet neatly.

  The match is scheduled to kick off at 2.00pm and come 5.00pm I expect to be fairly depressed having endured victories for both England and Manchester Wanderers. However if you wander down to Port E Chee rather than rely on the television for your rugby entertainment at least you should see two sides trying to spread the ball and score tries. Maybe I should send Clive Woodward an invite.