THE BLUES
I believe Tilly must read these preview columns and have a good laugh. So tough away game then at Walsall, Captain Kev must be back, I'll show them. Well I got Hammell right! This week, with Adam only sporting a black eye, 'unchanged side'. You heard it here first!
Nice win though. It helped there was half the Walsall youth team out there but you can only beat ect. and with Orient facing Doncaster on Sunday who knows where we might be Monday morning. Leeds are getting uncomfortably close and face Millwall at home while Notts. Forest will not find it easy at Luton. Tranmere face Huddesfield on Friday night, Swansea travel to Yeovil the next day. The improving Swindon, that Paytner chappie seems to be doing well, go to the Potteries.
T&B have got the team back on track after the mad last five at Brighton. Questions were fairly asked and have been answered quite emphatically. (As for their contribution overall just read the reports below of the last times we faced the Cumbrians. Halloween stuff at home; Wignall, Corbett, et al, read and send shivers down your spine. All the joys of spring, well as much as you can get up there, away. Tilly was now in charge and we were on our way.) Still a lot to do, we have to prove ourselves consistently against the top sides in this division, but as the nights draw in, clocks back for a lie in Sunday morning, and the goals of Leon Clarke continue, there is certainly a strong light at the end of any tunnel you wish to choose. 2-1 win, COME ON YOU BLUES!!!!!!
THE OPPOSITION
For anyone who passes a Carlisle supporter speaking in a strange accent, offer him a beer and pass on this local poem. (In their local accent of course, it was written for the Queen. Whether she's actually heard it or not is the stuff of Cumbrian legend.)
HEZ she ivver used a poop-scoop
When t'corgis couldn't wait
Stannun wid thur legs crosst
Ootside ut Palace Gates?
Hez she ivver peeped through t'curtins
Theer doon Balmoral Way
Than said "Blow me, it's rainun,
Und ah wuz ganna wesh, tuday!"?
Well done, give yourselves a pat on the back.
If ever a side summed up BT (Before Tilly) and AT (After Tilly), season 2003/04, it's Carlisle. Read about the 'season that saved the club' below but for now let's concentrate on the present and yet another top of the table clash at Roots Hall, well if you forget Orient, and let's face it they are easy to forget. Anyway three points separate the top six sides while the two United's are separated by a single point and three goals in Carlisle's favour.
For a side doing well it came as a bit of a shock when the manager Niel MacDonald was sacked, a tiff with the Chairman it seems, and replaced by ex-Cheltenham boss John Ward. Nothing seems to have changed much, they are still winning, and with striker Joe Gardner causing everybody problems it's not going to be easy but three points and a possible top of the table spot are there for the taking.
Carlisle team that finished the match v Gillingham where Sodje got booked again, surprise, surprise! Westwood, Raven, Livesey, Murphy, Aranalde, Anyinsah (Gall 73), Bridge-Wilkinson, Lumsdon, Hackney, Garner, Graham. Subs Not Used: Carlton, Arnison, McDermott, Howarth. Booked: Garner. Goals: Cox 15 og, Hackney 54.
A match report from the West Cumberland Times and Star
SOMETIMES progress is easy to detect, other times it creeps along quietly. There were no thunderclaps or lightning bolts for Carlisle United fans on Saturday, but look again if you think the day was without significance. Stop cheering the Blues' sixth triumph of the league season just for a moment and consider this: Carlisle are now at the stage where they can win League One matches at a reasonable canter without getting near their most persuasive form.
Against Gillingham, their tank of inspiration was quite low, and yet at no occasion in the game did they look destined for anything other than victory. There was a certainty about the occasion, a sense that the points were staying in Cumbria all along. Factor in Gillingham's weaknesses all you like - and there is something positively agoraphobic about their unease beyond the comforts of Priestfield - but you still have to conclude that United must have made a pretty big evolutionary leap to be able to win this comfortably, at this level, despite dropping hardly any stardust on the occasion.
This wasn't a day for eulogies. John Ward used words like "thorough", "disciplined" and "patient" in his post-match assessment, which painted the game's picture accurately enough. And yes, Carlisle will have to put something much better on the table when Leeds and Nottingham Forest show up here next month (not to mention next Saturday's jaunt to Southend, which must be marked down as the most formidable test of United's season so far). Yet there they are, third in the division, two points off the top and happily chugging along with Ward's steady hands at the wheel. Away from the grind of Saturday's win - which arrived via an Ian Cox own goal and a deflected shot from Simon Hackney - the day draws closer when we will be obliged to recognise that an authentic promotion challenge is unfolding at Brunton Park.
Of course, that sort of talk won't get through the filter of Ward's experience as he scans approving headlines and pats backs in training today. Nor, it seems, are his players growing giddy at their current altitude ("it's done, it's gone and we move on to Southend now," said Hackney, quite sensibly). Our obligation is to keep hype's flame low, too, since late October is no time to be drawing lasting conclusions about any team. All we can say is that United currently merit their place amongst the likes of Forest, Southend, Leyton Orient, Swansea and (give it a few more weeks) Leeds at the division's summit, and the growing regularity with which teams are descending on Brunton Park with the sole intention of asphyxiating the Blues suggests there are plenty of people out there who reckon they are there to stay. Let's leave it there for now. And let's also be fair to Gillingham, whose strategy wasn't all about stifling Ward's side. Saturday's early evidence suggested an open, lively game was about to be played out. But the visitors' faltering attacking efforts, and then their ham-fisted defending, swiftly put a clearer pattern in place.
From United, there were a few fitful bursts and then, in the 13th minute, an opening goal which began with a sweeping move and ended with a dose of slapstick. First, Zigor Aranalde's red left boot zipped the ball down the left flank to Danny Graham, before Simon Hackney's cross earned a corner. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson aimed the set-piece beyond a cluster of near-post bodies, whereupon it struck the startled Cox - who was under stern pressure from Danny Livesey - and bobbled over the line. Joe Garner's follow-up slide was a fraction too late for the recalled teenager to add the goal to his personal tally. It wasn't the last time Garner would be seen in the prone position on Saturday. The striker, back from suspension, was getting so far up the noses of Gillingham's defenders with his terrific energy and trademark belligerence that they spent much of their day barging and bundling into the young man, conceding free-kicks aplenty. "I must be a wanted man," reflected Garner later, although he knew - like the rest of us - that the visitors weren't smart enough to learn from their repeated infringements, and their clumsiness played perfectly into United's hands. It was an object lesson in how not to defend against Garner.
A woeful Efe Sodje backpass ,(now where have we heard that before!), which drifted out for a corner, summed up the visitors' anxiety. That followed a Joe Anyinsah header and a Garner shot from the Blues, and then a rare foray from the Gills which led to Chris Dickson having a headed goal disallowed, for a barely-concealed shove on Livesey. That was their most promising moment of an uninspiring spectacle, and Carlisle then eased their way into a two-goal lead early in the second half. First, they cleared a corner and then made promising progress through Anyinsah. Then there was a throw from Aranalde, a tidy pass from Bridge-Wilkinson and a fizzing shot from Hackney, who got his gambler's reward when the ball struck a Gillingham body and flew past the rooted goalkeeper, Simon Royce. United were livelier now, and a third almost arrived through Graham, who ran onto Hackney's fine dinked pass and blasted a volley towards goal, only for Royce to tip it onto the bar. Simon King then swept a decent chance at Keiren Westwood and Bridge-Wilkinson clipped a free-kick inches over, but by now we were observing the formalities.
The only disappointing footnote was another booking for Garner, for a frustrated but needless jab at Mark Bentley's ankles at a time when the result was beyond doubt. But this was genuinely a day when the young striker's attributes far outweighed the disciplinary concerns which Ward has already voiced ("we've done that topic," was the manager's way of diverting Saturday's post-match questions away from Garner's sixth yellow card of the campaign). You take his point, particularly when the day's real story was how United dispatched the memory of the previous week's sloppy defeat at Yeovil, and parked themselves near the front of League One's grid in the process. Wayne Bennett, the Australian rugby league win-machine who visited United on a fact-finding trip last week, would presumably be impressed. Don't Die With The Music In You is the title of his book - sound advice, certainly - but let's credit Carlisle for finding a way to win another match without their full orchestra striking up. Southend, Leeds, Forest: save the crashing cymbals for that little lot.
MAN OF THE MATCH - JOE GARNER: Defensively, United did what was needed against a limited threat. In midfield, they were not at their most creative, although Hackney - whose improving form is highly encouraging - was again a lively and persistent threat. But Garner was the most influential player on the pitch and to put it bluntly, Gillingham didn't have the brains to deal with him.
MANAGER'S VIEW - United boss John Ward: "Gillingham really packed the rearguard and trying to open things up when they've got a lot of bodies in there isn't easy.
"So I'm pleased with the way the boys have dug out this win. It shows a lot of good things for the future because there will probably be more games like this than there will be like the Millwall match. Simon Hackney asked the question with his shot and got his reward - it took a deflection but there's no way I would take the goal off him."
Gills boss Iffy Onuora: "We started well and kept them quiet but I was disappointed with the first goal. I felt Simon Royce was fouled and the referee missed it. I'm disappointed with the disallowed goal too. I couldn't see a problem with it. The referee has got two massive decisions wrong and I'm far from happy. The chairman (Paul Scally) came up to me near the end and told me to be careful but it was the heat of the moment and I was unhappy with the ref for large periods of the game. He just didn't let it flow."
KEY MOMENT - 53rd minute: United score a breakaway second through Hackney, and the lights go out on Gillingham.
From the same paper (I think; they have a lot of local papers for a town with a population of just over 100,000!)
FIERY striker Joe Garner reckons he's a marked man by defenders - but has vowed to clean up his act after another yellow card. Carlisle United's record signing admits he must cool it and stop reacting to the opposition trying to kick him. Garner picked up his latest booking in Saturday's 2-0 win over Gillingham on his return from a one-match ban. He said: "I need to try and stop getting the silly yellow cards. I picked up one on Saturday but after you get kicked around for 80 minutes, it's just a bit of frustration. I was a wanted man out there - every time I got the ball, I was getting kicked. I made one tackle all game myself and got booked for it. But it's something I need to get out of my game."
Meanwhile, the 19-year-old insists United fear no one in the League One promotion race as they prepare to tackle high-flyers Southend, Leeds and Nottingham Forest in the coming weeks. The teenage goal ace says John Ward's men are on a massive high going into a potentially pivotal run of games. They face Southend at Roots Hall on Saturday in a second-versus-third clash. Garner said: "The lads will be ready for it and I think well go down there and get a result. Teams won't fancy playing us and we won't fear anybody. These games are the reason I came back here. I felt the club had ambition and these big games are what you play for.
We're a top side with a great bunch of lads. A few more wins and we can still be up there towards Christmas, and let's see where it takes us."
The all-action striker, who was voted man-of-the-match on Saturday, reckons his enforced lay-off the previous weekend helped him recover from a knee injury. He said: "I had a little knock on my knee and it swelled up a bit, but it's all right now. In a way missing a couple of games has worked well for me because I feel fresh and hopefully I can have a good run now."
THE MATCHES
After a 5th round qualifying cup meeting 5 years after Carlisle F.C.'s birth, the town had been around for a few years longer, and 20 years before they were elected to the football league, on January 4 1908 we somehow found a way to lose 0-4. (So we've lost to non league clubs a long time before Harlow). The Blues then had to wait a long time for revenge, we did not face them again them for another 54 years! So only 28 matches, where we have won 8, lost 12 and drawn 8.
That first meeting in the league took place on Sat. Nov. 1962, a 2-0 home win, Woodley and Beesley the scorers. Sadly we have taken some big hits at the hands of the other United. 2 0-3's, 2 0-4's and a 0-5, January 1998, presuming not too many saw that one! One of those 0-3's was Jan. 6 1990 when a top of the table clash took place and we were denied a clear penalty that could have altered the final score. (Yes, I still remember!) However we all know who had the last laugh at the end of that particular season.
Our biggest winning margin remains two goals which we have done on three occasions. The first is above in the sixties, the other two were on March 3 1990 and Easter Monday 2000, the list of scorers being, first, Butters with two, then Curruthers and, erm, Pepper.
The last two games against the team from Cumbria was at home on September 20 2003 when it all looked very bad when a 2-0 lead was thrown away for a 2-2 draw. I was on my way to Oz for the 2003 Rugby World Cup that day, you know the one we won, and took many happy farewell calls from the airport at half time. It was a couple of days before I knew the final damage! A reminder of our darkest hour. (Reports from the excellent SUFC Database, thanks guys as ever.)
Another home match and more points thrown away, this time allowing the only team below the Shrimpers in the league to pull back two goals and draw 2-2.
There were three changes from the team that lost to Lincoln on Tuesday, Andy Petterson signed on a monthly contract yesterday took over in goal, Corbett replaced Smith in midfield and Constantine started in place of Broughton.
The first half was really a tale of missed opportunities for Southend. Two minutes into the match livewire Corbett cut in from the wing and saw his stinging shot cleared, then great one-two with Maher allowed Gower to set up Constantine for a simple tap in, but his shot was poor and Glennon saved. Minutes later Maher won a tackle on the edge of the box and saw his shot saved, Bramble turned his marker, but his shot went wide. Then David McSweeney ball fully 30 yards from goal and sent a screaming effort into the roof of the net to register his second goal for the club and emphasise his claim to being player of the season to date. The strains of 'Hey Baby' which is now played to greet a Southend goal had barely died away when the ball found Constantine onside 15 yards from the halfway line and he ran forward, lobbed the 'keeper and the crowd got another rare opportunity to 'Ooh Aah'. The Cumbrian's where very much on the defensive as Gower set up an unmarked Bramble with a deep cross 4 minutes from the break, but the golden opportunity was squandered as he failed to find the net. Constantine took a long Maher pass well, turned his defender but saw Glennon tip his shot over cross-bar.
Wignall warned the players at half time that Carlisle would come out with all guns blazing and it was important to stay behind the ball and not make any mistakes. Cort failed to heed the warning after just 2 minutes of the half when he allowed McDonagh time to hit a shot from Murphy's pass and Petterson's block fell to Henderson who tapped the ball into an empty net. 2-1, but the opportunity to restore the lead came within 3 minutes as Corbett was brought down by Murphy. Maher took the resulting penalty hard to his left, but Glennon was equal to it and appeared to save with some ease. That knocked the stuffing out of the Blues and they never matched their first half performance again. Broughton came on for Bramble and almost immediately Constantine failed to beat the keeper from the edge of the six yard box from Corbett's excellent pass. McGill then lobbed Petterson, but the ball hit the cross-bar allowing Warren to clear. The same player then brought a superb save from the new keeper with a powerful shot and Petterson kept out the rebound. However Carlisle were not to be thwarted and when the Blues failed to first to block a well place centre from new substitute Molley, then clear the resulting scramble in the area Billy headed the ball to Foran who scored from close range. Sadly for Blues fans Carlisle looked the more likely winners in the remaining minutes, but it finished 2-2.
Wignall said in his post match interview that this was the first time he had really lost his temper with the players after a match and threatened to make changes now he had the likes of Smith, Fullerton and Jenkins fit. There cannot be many home fans leaving the match that did not agree that something needs to be done and soon.
The last game against them and the next that season, Sat. March 27, was the time, even half way across the world, that I knew we would stay up, but never even dreaming what Tilly and Brush would do over the next two years, even with the LDV Final that season. A happier time all round whatever you think of Constantine.
Southend set aside their LDV Vans Trophy final disappointment against Blackpool last week to deepen Carlisle's relegation anxiety.
Worthy winners as they were, to ease their own relegation fears, it took a controversial penalty kick to see them home. In the 76th minute Carlisle skipper Peter Murphy conceded a free-kick 25 yards out. The kick was played short to Mark Bentley who hammered a low drive against the home defensive wall 10 yards away. The ball bounced up and astonishingly referee Lee Mason whistled for a penalty kick for handball against substitute Adam Rundle. Leading Southend scorer Leon Constantine, whose brilliant solo goal put Carlisle behind after 49 minutes, shot powerfully to beat keeper Matty Glennon from the spot. But because of encroachment he was made to take it again, and this time he sent the Carlisle keeper the wrong way to give the visitors a cushion they needed.
The Cumbrians kept at it with star man Craig Farrell scoring four minutes from time, but they failed to beat the clock. From the opening 10 minutes and that late spell, both inspired by Farrell, the Cumbrians were second best. Two great attempts from Farrell in the first four minutes, the second producing a fine tip-over save from keeper Darryl Flahavan, looked promising. But Southend - more accurate with the ball, more imaginative without it, and dominating the midfield - had United forced to make some last-ditch blocking tackles inside their own box. Yet ironically Carlisle had the best chance in the 31st minute when Brendan McGill played Kevin Langmead through on the right. He tried to place his shot across the oncoming keeper and was wide of the far post.
Carlisle's cause wasn't helped when midfield dynamo Chris Billy pulled up in some distress chasing a ball and was stretchered off in the 37th minute with Paul Arnison coming on. The dangerous Constantine should have put Southend in front immediately after the interval. He outpaced Murphy through the middle onto a ball from Maher to lob the oncoming Glennon but over the crossbar. He made amends three minutes later, weaving through a static United backline to slot the ball in. He was there again in the 63rd minute to beat keeper Glennon, but Brian Shelley cleared off the line. The sense of injustice after the second Southend goal produced some late urgency from the Cumbrians. When the Southend defenders misjudged the bounce of a lofted McGill cross, Farrell turned on the ball to hit a peach of a goal. Referee Lee Mason, castigated by Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock in midweek, was under fire again from Carlisle boss Paul Simpson.
Simpson said after the game: "The penalty was an incredible decision and ultimately one that cost us a point. I find it hard to believe, and I can't think of any time in my career that I've seen a decision given like that. "Our player blocked the shot with his foot and the ball bounced onto his hand. The same referee was slaughtered in midweek but nothing at all will happen to him and he will have another game next weekend."
Southend boss Steve Tilson supported Simpson, saying: "The ball bounced up and hit the player's hand. Carlisle didn't cause us many problems and it was a great performance. It's the first time we have won here since 1963.
THE HISTORY
The club was formed when two Carlisle based teams, Shaddongate United and Carlisle Red Rose, merged in 1903. The newly formed club initially played at Milhome Bank and later at Devonshire Park, finally settling at their current home Brunton Park situated on Warwick Road.
Carlisle were elected to the Football League Third Division North in 1928 replacing Durham City. They won their first game in the league, the side of Prout, Coulthard, Cook, Harrison, Ross, Pigg, Agar, Hutchison, McConnell, Ward and Watson beating Accrington Stanley 3-2.
Carlisle spent one season in the old First Division, the 1974-75 season. They won their first three fixtures of the campaign to top the table, but finished the season in bottom place and were relegated. A decline over the next 13 years saw them fall back into the Fourth Division by 1987.
1987-88: With Carlisle in the Fourth Division for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century, their form continued to slump. They finished second from bottom in the league, but at least they were never in any real danger of relegation because of Newport County's exceptionally awful form - which saw 19 points separate the two teams.
1988-89: Carlisle's league form took a major boost after three awful seasons and they finished a respectable 12th in the Fourth Division. They reached the FA Cup Third Round, where their run was ended by defending league champions and eventual FA Cup winners Liverpool. 17-year-old defender Steve Harkness was sold to Liverpool at the end of the season. His place in the team was filled by Middlesbrough's Paul Proudlock.
1989-90: Carlisle's good progress continued into the new decade, but their playoff hopes were ended on the final day of the season by a 5-2 demolition at the hands of Maidstone United. This was a disappointing end to an encouraging season during which the Cumbrians had topped the Fourth Division on Christmas day and for a while in January as well, but in the end they only missed out on the playoffs due to inferior goal difference.
1990-91: A promising start to the season suggested that the Cumbrians were finally on their way out of the Fourth Division, but a disastrous second half of the campaign saw them slump to 20th in the final table and cost manager Clive Middlemass his job in March. He was succeeded by Aidan McCaffrey, who was left needing a substantial overhaul to get Carlisle's fortunes back on track.
1991-92: Carlisle endured one of the worst seasons in their history as they finished bottom of the Fourth Division, but were lucky because the demise of Aldershot resulted in no relegation to the Conference taking place that year.
1992-93: Michael Knighton took Carlisle over just before the start of the season, and within weeks had sacked manager Aidan McCaffrey following a terrible start to the new Division Three campaign. David McCreery, 35, was appointed player-manager and steered Carlisle to safety as they finished 18th in the final table.
1993-94: Before the season began, Michael Knighton announced his intention to deliver Premiership football to Carlisle by 2003. He re-organised the management team to appoint Mick Wadsworth as Director of Coaching, while David McCreery was given the role of head coach and 38-year-old goalkeeper Mervyn Day was named as assistant coach. This season was Carlisle's best in years, as the £121,000 record signing of striker David Reeves in October saw them acquire a much-needed prolific goalscorer. They won 10 of their final 14 league games to secure the final playoff place in Division Three, though their promotion dream was ended by Wycombe in the semi-finals.
1994-95: Carlisle finally achieved their first major success in 13 years by lifting the Division Three title. David Reeves scored 25 league goals to help Carlisle achieve their long-awaited success which ended their eight-year ordeal in the league's basement division. They also reached the Autoglass Windscreens Trophy Final but missed out on the trophy after conceding a sudden death extra time goal against Birmingham City.
1995-96: Mick Wadsworth's resignation as manager in December was a major blow to Carlisle, as was the mid-season sale of key players Paul Murray and Tony Gallimore. They finished the season clear of the relegation zone with more goals than 21st-placed York City, who had to replay a game against Brighton which had been cancelled due to crowd trouble. But a 3-1 victory for York sent Carlisle down, just one season after they had won promotion to Division Two.
1996-97: Young players like Rory Delap, Matt Jansen and Lee Peacock were crucial as Carlisle bounced back from relegation to achieve promotion back to Division Two at the first time of asking. The promotion joy was accompanied by a penalty shoot-out triumph over Colchester United in the Auto Windscreens Trophy Final, in which Tony Caig pulled off some impressive goalkeeping heroics.
1997-98: Mervyn Day was sacked just six games into Carlisle's Division Two campaign, and chairman Michael Knighton promptly installed himself as manager. They were still in the relegation zone come Christmas, but by the time Knighton left the club a few weeks later they had climbed clear. But nine defeats from their final 10 games condemned Carlisle to relegation in 23rd place, with 17 goals from striker Ian Stevens not being quite enough to attain survival.
1998-99: Carlisle entered the final game of the season needing to beat Plymouth Argyle at Brunton Park to avoid relegation, and the score was still 1-1 with 90 minutes showing on the clock. The referee allowed four minutes of stoppage time, and during the final minute Carlisle were awarded a corner. Goalkeeper Jimmy Glass, signed in an emergency loan deal after the transfer deadline, drove home a last-gasp winner which preserved Carlisle's Football League status and sent down Scarborough.
1999-00: Once again, Carlisle narrowly avoided relegation in second from bottom place in Division Three. They lost their final game of the season 1-0 to Brighton, but were kept up by Chester City's defeat at the hands of Peterborough United.
2000-01: Ian Atkins, one of the most successful managers in the lower leagues, was appointed at the Carlisle helm and there was much hope that he could be the man to achieve promotion. But things didn't work out, and they finished 22nd - just one place higher than in the previous two campaigns. Atkins quit at the end of the season and was succeeded by Roddy Collins.
2001-02: After three seasons of close shaves with relegation, Carlisle enjoyed the relative luxury of attaining a safe final position of 17th - which saw them finish 16 points clear of the relegation zone.
2002-03: For the fourth time in five seasons, Carlisle narrowly avoided relegation. This time 22nd place was just one place above the drop zone, as this was the first season in which two clubs were relegated to the Conference instead of just one.
2003-04: The writing was on the wall for Carlisle after they lost 18 of their first 21 Division Three games. Manager Paul Simpson did all he could to salvage something from the next 25 fixtures, but couldn't quite achieve safety - 40 points from a possible 75 were effectively rendered meaningless due to Carlisle's appalling first half of the season. Had they performed as well during the first half of the campaign as they did during the second, then they would have featured in the push for a playoff place.
2004-05: Carlisle returned to the Football League at the first time of asking by winning the Conference National promotion playoffs.
2005-06: Carlisle's excellent form under Paul Simpson continued as they returned to the Football League with a bang, clinching the League Two title. Simpson then departed for local rivals Preston North End, and was succeeded by Neil McDonald.
2006-07: Carlisle become the first visiting team to win a League One match at the Keepmoat Stadium, the new home of Doncaster Rovers after a 2-1 win on February 3. The win was part of a sequence of games in which the club - mired in mid-table - staged a late run for a play-off place, they finally finished the season 8th, their highest league place for 20 years with the added bonus of returning their highest average league crowds for 30 years.
2007-08: Carlisle started the season with a 1-1 draw at newly promoted Walsall, but manager Neil McDonald was sacked on the Monday after the match, this move came as a shock to the Carlisle fans, Greg Abbott took over as caretaker manager, with Cheltenham Town manager John Ward taking over on a permanent basis in October 2007, with both clubs agreeing a six figure compensation package and Ward's contract will run for four years.
(Thanks to the usual suspects in their help in creating this article)
