Latest news with #Askey
Daily Mirror
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Truro City boss John Askey on English football's record-breaking 870-mile away day
After winning a crazy six-way shoot-out for a place in the National League, and delivering professional football to Cornwall for the first time, Truro City face nightmare travel logistics - with their 'local' derby 140 miles away They will break all records for long-distance awayday travel in English football next season. But for Truro City, whose promotion to the National League is the greatest moment in Cornwall's football history, the 870-mile round trips to Carlisle and Hartlepool, and a probable 912-mile hike to Gateshead, will be nearer privilege than purgatory. If they set off for Brunton Park before dawn, they might just about make a 3pm kick-off. But if their coach is stuck behind a caravan on the A30, they will need to hit the road the day before yesterday. These Tinners are not tinpot - after holding their nerve on the final day of the season, when no fewer than six teams could have won the National League South title, manager John Askey's underdogs won the golden ticket. And for Askey, a one-club legend who made a record 679 appearances for Macclesfield as a player, the headaches were only starting with the plink-plink-fizz following Truro's giddy celebrations. Cornwall used to be the distant peninsula where you spent summer holidays scoffing pasties, toppling off surfboards and pretending you were nearly there when you'd made it past Bristol. Now it's British football's southern outpost, barely a year after they were homeless and groundsharing with Gloucester City a mere 200 miles away - after 60-year-old Askey proved the Tinner takes it all. 'We had no right to go up - in fact we were favourites to go down because of the distances we have to cover and our budget was nowhere near the teams around us in the top six,' he said. 'For a couple of days I enjoyed taking in the view from the top of the league, but now it all starts again. We'll have to get our heads around the logistics and somehow navigate the big trips ahead of us next season. 'We will have to go full-time as a club - you can't expect lads to take time off work in their day jobs for trips to Gateshead or Carlisle - but I want to retain as many of these players as possible and keep that spirit going. I'm not saying some of the trips are far away, but I'll need to get my passport renewed and apply for visas. 'We are closer to France than any away game in the National League. Our 'local' derby next season will be Yeovil, which is a 280-mile round trip. People don't realise how far west Truro is - I fell asleep for two hours on the road trip to one away game and when I woke up, we were only at Exeter. 'Cornwall has never had a full-time professional football club before, and for some games we are going to look into flying. It's a nice problem to have, and at times it's going to be a logistical nightmare, but we are ready for the adventure.' Askey has spent a lifetime in football, including 19 years at Macclesfield - now resurgent under Mirror Sport columnist Robbie Savage - across four divisions and managing six clubs. But none of his feats has been more rewarding than Truro's defiance of travel exhaustion, poor training facilities and four years of homelessness after plans to share a stadium with Cornish Pirates rugby club collapsed. He said: 'We won four promotions at Macclesfield and they were crazy times. I played until I was 38, when a broken leg put an end to my career, and one year we played Manchester City as equal partners in the third tier. They were great days, but for all the trials and tribulations as a player, and leading Macclesfield back into the Football League as manager seven years ago, this is probably my best achievement in the game. 'Sometimes, as you get older, people question whether your enthusiasm for the game ebbs away - but for me, the fire has never gone out. If anything, it burns brighter than ever now. Coming down to Truro was one of those decisions that could have turned out badly for me. I had never managed a club south of Shrewsbury before and, if it hadn't gone well, I might have disappeared off the radar, never to be heard of again. 'But now we've taken football in Cornwall where it's never been before. Whatever you say about rugby, and this county is a real rugby hotbed, there are more people who are passionate about football down here. 'They have been crying out for a team to get behind and this is a massively untapped market. As well as fans rallying to the club, there must be some real talent that never gets picked up - you can't tell me that people who live beyond the border with Devon can't play football.'
Metro
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Metro
'It's just bizarre' - Six non-league clubs set for football's craziest final day
'It's been so competitive and exciting for the fans, but it's not something I ever want to be part of again.' Season run-ins can prove nerve-shredding and nail-biting at the best of times, never mind if, like Dorking Wanderers chairman and manager Marc White, you find yourself in a six-way title race with just one game to go. In the English top-flight, Liverpool have long-been considered champions-elect and are cruising to the Premier League title with five games to go. Way down the pyramid in the National League South, however, it's a very different story where a quarter of the 24 clubs involved in the competition can still be crowned champions by the end of Saturday's final round of fixtures. Just three points separate the top six sides after a topsy-turvy campaign which has seen virtually all the contenders occupy the top spot at one point or another before being reeled back into the pack. And with automatic promotion only awarded to the league winners, five of the other title contenders will be forced to lick their wounds and gear up for a three-stage playoff to secure the second promotion spot to the National League. Perhaps fittingly, it is the league's southernmost club, Truro City, that top the table – if only on goal difference – heading into the final day Level on points with local rivals Torquay United, John Askey's side host relegation-threatened St Albans on final day, knowing that victory alone might not prove enough should Torquay better their result by three goals or more. Regardless, it has proved to be a remarkable season for the Tinners who would become the first Cornish club to play in the fifth tier if they seal promotion. 'We were favourites to go down with our location and our budget. Realistically, we shouldn't be in this position, but I think our home support has had a big say in this run we've been on,' Askey told Metro. Kick-off: Saturday, April 26 (3pm) Dorking Wanderers (6th) vs Chesham United (14th) Eastbourne Borough (3rd ) vs Weston-super-Mare (8th) Enfield Town (19th) vs Worthing (4th) Hemel Hempstead Town (11th) vs Torquay United (2nd) Tonbridge Angels (15th) vs Boreham Wood (5th) Truro City (1st) vs St Albans City (21st) 'We're just enjoying it while it lasts, and hopefully it can for another 90 minutes – it would be a fairytale ending to the season.' With Torquay likely to attack from the off to try and eat into Truro's goal-difference advantage, will Askey be furiously checking his phone on the sidelines? 'There's obviously the temptation, but we've got to focus on ourselves to start with,' he said. 'Later on in the game, if it transpires that we need goals then it will have an effect, but first of all we just have to take care of ourselves. 'Promotion would put us just one step away from league football which is something many had never dreamed of. Hopefully that can have a snowball effect not just in Truro but Cornwall and give more lads an opportunity to play football at a high level.' Second-place Torquay are perhaps the biggest club at this level having plied their trade in the Football League as recently as 2014. But the Devonshire club have since tumbled down the divisions, in part due to the reckless actions of former owner Clarke Osbourne, who sent the club into administration midway through last season after pulling his funding. 'There were certainly moments last season when we didn't know if we were going to exist for much longer,' Matty Wesley, co-host of the TalkingTorquay podcast, told Metro. Ultimately saved by a consortium of local owners in May last year, Torquay are back on the up having recruited more than 20 players and a new boss over the summer. Truro City: 1/2 Torquay United: 5/4 Eastbourne Borough: 25/1 Worthing: 40/1 Boreham Wood: 500/1 Dorking Wanderers: 500/1 Odds via William Hill The Gulls will make the 200-plus-mile journey to Hemel Hempstead on Saturday armed with 1,900 fans and the knowledge that any blip from their local rivals Truro will leave the door wide open for them to secure the title. But after years of turbulence off the pitch, a renewed positivity around the club's ultimate direction of travel feels a more-than-acceptable consolation if they are consigned to a place in the playoffs after Saturday's action. 'The new owners just get it,' Wesley added. 'All of them are Torquay fans or have links to the town, and they understand the expectation of lower league football fans. 'They have included the local community and the trust far more than the previous ownership – it feels like a completely different club from a year ago and that's arguably more important than whatever happens on Saturday.' Should Truro and Torquay both fail to win, the title race will be opened to the chasing pack behind. A point further back are Eastbourne Borough and Worthing, although the former have a far superior goal difference. Eastbourne have enjoyed a marked rise since Adam Murray's arrival – progressing from relegation contenders to playoff hopefuls within 16 months – and are one of many clubs at the level who have reaped the rewards of a more analytical approach to recruitment as well as an increased professionalisation across several aspects of the club. 'I think it's down to fine margins in non-league football now,' manager Murray said, speaking to Metro. 'The coaching has got better, and everybody does things right in terms of the analysis and fitness, so the standard has shot through the roof. It's far more of a level playing field than perhaps it used to be.' 'Coming from where we've come from last season, we're fear-free. We're enjoying the ride, and we'll go into the final day full of energy and excitement. 'Hopefully the cards fall our way, but the league has changed hands so many times and thrown so many curveballs that you can't try to overthink it.' While still mathematically in the race, Dorking and Boreham Wood need a minor miracle to lift the title come Saturday given they both trail the top two by three points albeit with superior goal differences. The nature of this season's chaotic run-in may be a first for White, but the larger-than-life Dorking boss thinks it could well become the norm for a division that only promotes two clubs each season. More Trending UK 23 hours ago By Sarah Hooper 'Because only two go up in this division you end up with a bit of a bottleneck. This division now has now got seven or eight full-time, quality clubs, so it's only going to get more difficult as the years go on,' he told Metro. His side may be rank outsiders when the first whistle goes on Saturday afternoon, but should we expect a final twist in the tale from those above? 'We know an awful lot has got to go our way – we're 500/1 for a reason – so we're preparing for that quarter-final [playoff] but the others may not be and that's a dangerous thing,' he added. 'Truro and Torquay could go from visualising the trophy on Saturday to playing a quarter-final eliminator on Tuesday, having finished fifth. I've never seen anything like it – it's just bizarre.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Football fan killed himself over shame from being caught making racist gesture
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Askey urges Truro City to push on for league title
Truro City manager John Askey said his side can "see the job through" and stay top of National League South as they prepare for Good Friday's crucial matches. The Tinners host fourth-placed Torquay United, while second-placed Worthing go to third-placed Eastbourne Borough. Just three points separate the top four sides as they aim for the one automatic promotion place on offer to the champions. "It's exciting. This is what you want to be involved in and hopefully we can see the job through," Askey told BBC Radio Cornwall. "But nobody is getting carried away, there's still a lot of hard work to be done." Nomadic Truro City return home after four years Attendances boom as Truro and Torquay go for title While Torquay are a former English Football League side, this season represents a high watermark in the history of Truro City. No side from Cornwall has ever reached the fifth tier of English football before, but Askey said there will be more pressure on his opponents than his side. "It's a game that Torquay have got to win. Both teams are obviously trying to achieve something this season. "I don't think there's been any real pressure on ourselves, it's tough when you're at a club like Torquay because expectations are so high. "Where, for ourselves, it's been a bit of an exciting ride really, so hopefully we can continue, but if we don't we'll still enjoy it there." Askey's side were one of the favourites for relegation at the start of the season and have a budget lower than any of their title rivals. But they have been on a tremendous run of form, winning nine of their past 12 games, including a key win over Worthing earlier this month, and losing only once in their past 15 games. "The players, week in week out, have given everything," Askey said. "I don't say that lightly, you won't get a better group of players. "They have to put up with a lot with the travelling, our training facilities are not great, but week in, week out they really fight, and that's why we are where we are. "If you do that it just shows where it can take you." He added: "I don't think there's ever been a league like there's been this season. "It makes it all the more exciting, doesn't it, but with three games to go, to be at the top of the table with a great chance of getting automatic promotion is obviously where we want to be." Truro City FC
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Askey urges Truro City to push on for league title
Truro City manager John Askey said his side can "see the job through" and stay top of National League South as they prepare for Good Friday's crucial Tinners host fourth-placed Torquay United, while second-placed Worthing go to third-placed Eastbourne Borough. Just three points separate the top four sides as they aim for the one automatic promotion place on offer to the champions. "It's exciting. This is what you want to be involved in and hopefully we can see the job through," Askey told BBC Radio Cornwall. "But nobody is getting carried away, there's still a lot of hard work to be done." While Torquay are a former English Football League side, this season represents a high watermark in the history of Truro side from Cornwall has ever reached the fifth tier of English football before, but Askey said there will be more pressure on his opponents than his side. "It's a game that Torquay have got to win. Both teams are obviously trying to achieve something this season."I don't think there's been any real pressure on ourselves, it's tough when you're at a club like Torquay because expectations are so high."Where, for ourselves, it's been a bit of an exciting ride really, so hopefully we can continue, but if we don't we'll still enjoy it there." Askey's side were one of the favourites for relegation at the start of the season and have a budget lower than any of their title they have been on a tremendous run of form, winning nine of their past 12 games, including a key win over Worthing earlier this month, and losing only once in their past 15 games."The players, week in week out, have given everything," Askey said."I don't say that lightly, you won't get a better group of players."They have to put up with a lot with the travelling, our training facilities are not great, but week in, week out they really fight, and that's why we are where we are."If you do that it just shows where it can take you."He added: "I don't think there's ever been a league like there's been this season."It makes it all the more exciting, doesn't it, but with three games to go, to be at the top of the table with a great chance of getting automatic promotion is obviously where we want to be."
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Truro City have 'great chance' of promotion
Manager John Askey says his Truro City side have a "great chance" of being promoted to the National League. The Tinners are on a 10-game unbeaten run and are a point behind leaders Worthing with eight games left to play. Only fourth-placed Dorking Wanderers have a better goal difference than the Cornish side, who are playing back in Truro for the first time in four seasons at their new ground. "It couldn't be going any better," Askey told BBC Radio Cornwall. "For our first season back in Truro it's been really good. "We're just hoping now that we can carry this run on and if we do then we've got a great chance of getting automatic promotion." Truro ended last season in 16th place after a fraught end to their campaign - postponements at their the grounds they made their temporary home meant they had to play 13 games in 28 days at the end of last season. But with experienced boss Askey taking over in the summer after manager Paul Wotton left for rivals Torquay United, Truro have gone from strength to strength. "At the start of the season I think we were amongst the favourites to go down," said the former Port Vale, Macclesfield Town and York City boss. "But as the season has gone on we've just got better and better. "This last 10 games we've just gone on this run and it's got us into second position, just a point behind the leaders and it's all to play for now and it's getting really exciting. "We've just got to keep it going now," he added. "Hopefully we're creating a lot of interest in Cornwall. We've got three home games to go and we're just trying to get as many people there to come down and watch us, because obviously the support will be vital and can make a big difference." But Askey knows any slip-ups could see Truro's title challenge falter. National League South has one of the closest title races going, with the top six separated by just six points and three points separating first place from fourth. "There's been six or seven teams all season who look as though they'll be in and around it come the end of the season," he says. "Compared with the ones who are up there we're probably the smallest as in budget, not the smallest as in crowd. "It's just great that we're involved and it's anybody's really, anybody from top down to seventh position could potentially win the league." Truro City FC
