'Gate' earn points as Robins remain rooted

Margate FC recorded their first win in the Ryman Premier League since the beginning of September as they beat basement side Carshalton Athletic at Hartsdown Park in front of a crowd of just 82.

With England facing Germany at Wembley and the blustery winds making it feel like temperatures had plummeted to sub zero, the home side knew there was never going to be a high number through the turnstiles, however the figure would have no doubted disappointed.

The 'Gate' did very little in the first half to repay those fans that had stuck by the side that hadn't won in the League since recording a 1-0 away win at play-off chasing Wealdstone on the 5th September. The visitors showed their game plan from the beginning as they got men behind the ball and attacked when they could.

It was the visitors that shaved the better of very few chances in the first half, however 'Gate' player/manager Craig Holloway wasn't to be beaten as he pulled off two sublime saves in the opening 30 minutes to keep the scores level at 0-0.

While Holloway remained resolute in goal, the home side looked very lacklustre in any attacking moves and probably had their number one to thank for going in level at half-time.

Whatever Holloway and Simon Osborne said at half-time certainly worked as Margate came out having stepped up their work rate and creativity. The obvious improvement came via the Kent sides two Greek midfielders Jack Summoutis and Giannoulis Fakinos who's constant searching passes and vision were key to some much better play by the home side.

It looked though as the minutes ticked by that the home support would be going home frustrated as Phil Walsh who's work rate couldn't be questioned continued to be frustrated up front on his own as the 'Gate' went in search of the three points.

However, with 71 minutes on the clock the home sides pressure finally told as Fakinos delivered a fine angled ball to the fast post where the towering Walsh cushioned the ball to the feet of Defender Gary Borrowdale who couldn't miss from just four yards.

Despite the Leagues basement side threatening with a few half chances, Margate comfortably saw out the final 19 minutes with relative ease as the Carshalton drought in front of goal continued with still just 14 League goals scored so far this season.

After the game Margate joint manager Holloway said he was pleased to earn the much needed three points.

"It's been a difficult few weeks with results, we gave the lads a kick up the backside at half time and the work rate improved in the second half."

We looked lacklustre in the first half but obviously what we said at half-time gave the boys a lift and our second half was a lot better" added the 29 year old.

Holloway was named man of the match after keeping his side in the game in the first half, however the gaffer thinks there might have been something else to it.

"I think I have done quite well this season in goal, but my friend Paul was sponsoring the game so he might have been being a bit bias with that decision."

The boss was also happy to see Borrowdale on the scoresheet, despite being a defender.

"Ideally you want all your players getting on the scoresheet to take that pressure off your strikers but credit to Phil Walsh he has been our best player over the last few weeks.

"He is winning plenty of balls in the air and bringing other players into the game so a lot of credit must go to him."

With the attendance at just 82, Holloway urged the Margate supporters to come out in their numbers to help the Club achieve their promotion ambitions.

"It's always a quiet game when England play but we need them to get behind us to help us get to where we think we can get this club, but I am sure that will come if we keep winning games."

Margate climbed to 10th in the Ryman Premier League and travel to seventh placed Lowestoft on Saturday.

Brits abroad - Not good enough?

With so many foreign imports into the Premier League these days we rarely see English players heading in the opposite direction. Everything Sport explores if that is because the English game is the place to be or the English players are not good enough for other countries?

Only three days into the new week and Manchester City have spent over £50 million pounds on two foreign players, one from Spain and one from Brazil. There is no doubt that while these figures seem high, it has become a harsh reality that these numbers are expected. Even more so of a reality is that these players will be from other countries.

With the Under 21 Championships kicking off tonight with England involved there is plenty of proof that England does produce fine quality players, but why do they never seem to leave the Great British Isles to taste some exotic endeavors in other countries?

Of course some players have flown the nest to try some World football, however very few have succeeded and most have returned to the English game after a short stint away. Most recently we have seen David Beckham, Joe Cole and Joey Barton try their hand in another country. While Beckham is expected to make an impact wherever he goes, it can be said that it was not his footballing skills that lit up his time abroad but more his global attraction i.e shirt sales.

The shortage of English players moving abroad seems to have been a consistent issue throughout the last few decades, however some of English biggest stars have made the move, with most considered being unsuccessful.

In 1993 in form Watford Striker Luther Blissett decided swapping Vicarage Road for the San Siro of AC Milan was the 'dream'. One season and just five goals later, Blissett returned to Vicarage Road, so what went wrong?

"When we played away at Ascoli in the first game, the change was just chalk and cheese. It was literally just playing keep-ball for the whole match and it was very difficult." he said in a recent interview with Sky Sports News

"You'd lay the ball off and spin to get behind people and the ball would end up back with the sweeper. They'd just be keeping the ball across the back. That's how it was." He added.

Of course Blissett was not the only British player to make the move to Italy bringing about the most famous quote from Liverpool legend Ian Rush who described his time in Italy 'Like playing in a different country'.

Fans of the Premier League will argue that there is no need for players to uproot and move sticks as these youngsters are plying their trade in already the Worlds best League. While it continues to attract billions of viewers, English club performances in the Champions League this season would suggest that actually we no longer have the best division in the world.

Returning Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho yesterday dismissed this argument. "Sometimes these things happen and there is no answer. In my first stint here it was just Chelsea, United and Arsenal going for the title, now there are five or six teams."

With a rising number of foreign imports joining the Premier League,could this be the best time for youngsters from England to try their hand at clubs around Europe? Former Arsenal Midfielder Paul Merson thinks they should.

"If we had five or six players playing across Europe's top leagues that would help England". Merson said in a Newspaper interview last year.

Another issue seems to be the language barrier, however football is now considered a worldwide language so this should no longer be an issue.

While Premier League football remains the most watched League across Europe, it perhaps looks like that it is no longer leading the way with attractive, exciting, and attacking football with the emergence of countries such as Germany now leading the way.

The fact that very few players move away from England appears to be due to the fact that they are not good enough.

What do you think? Are English players not good enough to play abroad or are they better to stay in the Premier League?