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Interview with a Bury fan
Thursday, 24th Aug 2017 11:00 by Col

Shakers, Shakers, Ra Ra Ra - Bury come to town this weekend and to get you in the mood for it, we've sat down with of their supporters and asked them all things Bury.

1) Who are ya and how long have you supported Bury? My name is Peter Taylor and I've supported Bury for coming up to 24 years now. I'm a fourth-generation fan of the club. Originally, my mum and late grandma took me to games and the first one I saw was a Tuesday night match against the mighty Torquay United in the 'old' Division Three. All I remember about the game was the smell of cheap coffee and some pretty forgettable fare on the pitch. Now as an 'exile' living in Bedfordshire with a young son, I only get to go to a handful of matches per season.

2) What were Bury fan’s expectations for the season ahead? General fan expectations range from 'get promoted from this tinpot league' to 'a top-half finish is the minimum aim' and I would fall into the latter category, despite the signings and the rhetoric from both the coaching staff and board. Despite that, the consensus was that it would be a slow start, given the sheer number of new faces... and so it has proven.

3) It’s not exactly been the start you expected, what’s gone wrong? It's too simplistic to place all the 'blame' on Stephen Dawson's long-term injury sustained in the EFL Cup game against Sunderland but it is probably the largest contributing factor, especially when in spite of changing systems, the overarching tactics are still set up for a box-to-box midfielder in his mould that just doesn't exist within the rest of the squad. There's a 'situation' with Andrew Tutte at present but even the most charitable 'Dale fans will remember that he was better going forward than back, so I don't think his inclusion would have changed much. His injury record is also horrific. The effort is always there but sadly not the quality.

4) Is Lee Clark the right man for the job? Some of the more vocal fans on social media have already called him into question and even one or two for him to be sacked, which is symptomatic of the state modern football is in. Granted, there are some things he has got badly wrong thus far (even in the context of players bedding in and so forth), but a modicum of patience is required. Of course, if Bury are in a similar league position around Christmas as they are now, then given the resources that have been made available to him, even I would be casting serious doubt over his tenure.

5) It’s obvious that Bury’s wage bill is beyond what you might expect for a club of your size. Do Bury fans see this as a positive? Not many that I speak to! You have the 'enjoy the ride' types that you always seem to get at football clubs with more than sketchy goings-on behind the scenes. In one sense, I completely understand where they're coming from in that there is a limit to what fans can do to affect change. However, I will continue to be vocal about the problems until such a time as they are resolved. Even promotion to the Championship (and a stadium move) would not in themselves be panaceas to the finances without much more conservative management of them.

6) Much has been made of the new ground, will it ever happen, and why will it be a success for Bury when it hasn’t been for the likes of Chesterfield? I hope it does materialise, simply because of the way football is going as a business type. Bury need to making much more money than they currently do on non-matchdays, that much is for certain. There is limited scope to do that at Gigg Lane and the location is unfavourable for a plethora of reasons. As I said in answer to the previous question, even the 'best' outcome is unlikely to put the club in the black and a lot of due diligence and close study must be done to try to minimise the risk of what has happened at Chesterfield from happening to Bury... if indeed it ever comes to light. As time passes, the doubts grow.

7) Any particular highlights / lowlights from matches with Dale over the years? Suffice it to say that playing Rochdale hasn't exactly been something to look forward to for a Bury fan in recent times. The games that stick out to me most are from the 2002/2003 as I was still in college at the time and was friends with a couple of 'Dale fans. The home game I remember chiefly for the continuous chants of "lose at Gigg Lane? You're having a laugh!" after Lee McEvilly's quick equaliser after Jon Newby had put Bury ahead. The away game was my first trip to Spotland and a tempestuous affair was won by Colin Cramb from the penalty spot to make it 2-1. In fact, Bury scored all three in that game as Jamie Stuart had scored a quality own goal. As for lowlights... basically, any time the two sides have met in the third tier!

8) Name your all time Bury XI Dean Kiely; Chris Armstrong, Chris Lucketti, Paul Butler, Matt Doherty; Danny Mayor, Peter Sweeney, Andy Gray (the former Crystal Palace one), Tony Rigby; Leon Clarke, James Vaughan.

9)Which is your favourite Bury home kit? 2012/2013. I've always preferred the away kits though as there's only really so much you can do when white is the predominant colour.

10 )Any predictions for the game? At the time of writing (and despite 'Dale's opening games), I'm fully predicting another derby win for Keith Hill but Bury might actually score this time - let's go with 3-1.

Photo: Action Images



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DoloresRobinson added 10:02 - Mar 22
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