York City encouraged to ‘have a go’ at Wimbledon

11:49am Friday 8th March 2013 in Sport Photograph of the Author By Dave Flett, Sports reporter

Nigel Worthington takes charge of his first York City game tomorrow Nigel Worthington takes charge of his first York City game tomorrow

NEW manager Nigel Worthington is encouraging his team to shoot on sight during his first match in charge of York City at AFC Wimbledon tomorrow.

The Minstermen have only managed one goal from open play in their last nine matches and not scored more than a single goal in any fixture since a 3-0 home win over Burton on New Year’s Day.

But Worthington, who has worked with the likes of Peter Crouch, Dion Dublin, Dean Ashton, Darren Huckerby and Robert Earnshaw in the past, wants his players to pull the trigger at every possible opportunity.

The former Norwich and Northern Ireland chief said: “Scoring goals is all about practice, self-belief and having the courage to go and shoot. I’m a great believer in shooting on sight.

“I’ve told the players in training that if they get a chance to have a go then take it because the ball can come off one or them or one of us. If anybody misses, I won’t be having a go at them because I want the lads to be positive.

“We need to move forward and take the game to Wimbledon in a controlled way.”

Centre-back Chris Doig is expected to be in contention for the Kingsmeadow clash despite missing training this week due to a virus but Curtis Obeng is unlikely to make the trip due to the same illness, while David McGurk (calf) could be available for Tuesday’s home match with Rochdale.

With Worthington still learning about his inherited players, he admitted that he will lean heavily on newly- promoted first-team coach Steve Torpey when he selects his side to take on the Dons.

Worthington added: “I’ve been picking Steve’s brains so a lot of it will be based on what I’ve heard from him but, also, partly from what I’ve seen on the training ground.”

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Victory would move bottom-of-the-table Wimbledon within a point of the Minstermen with a game in hand and Worthington, a veteran of many meetings with the Dons’ old Crazy Gang in his playing days, is expecting a similar physical examination from their class of 2012/13.

He said: “The old Plough Lane ground was an intimidating place to go and your mindset had to be right from kick off to the final whistle. When it’s like that you have to make sure you match the physical approach of the home team to get a result otherwise you get overrun and overpowered, and we can’t afford for that to happen.

“Training here has gone very well this week and the attitude and spirit has been excellent. But that’s training and we have got to bring that into the game.

“All the players can handle the ball, which is a big plus, but what I will be really looking for tomorrow, because I know AFC Wimbledon are a big, strong and physical side, is how we cope in that respect.

“Have we got the mental and physical strength to deal with that side of the game? If we have, then we can use this quality that we have got to pass the ball, create opportunities and take them when they come.”

City will be taking on Wimbledon for the fourth time this season, having lost two and drawn one of the previous encounters back in November.

Under Gary Mills, the team were held 1-1 at Bootham Crescent in the FA Cup first round before being unfortunate to lose the replay 4-3 after extra-time following Scott Kerr’s first-half red card. In between those two ties, the Minstermen were also comprehensively beaten 3-0 at home in the league.

Worthington, though, is counting on those fixtures carrying no relevance ahead of this latest encounter. He said: “I would hope it’s a brand new, fresh game. There’s everything to play for and we are in a situation where we need points sooner rather than later.”

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Sheffield Wednesday ’keeper Arron Jameson has joined City on an emergency loan, and John McGrath’s loan from Burton has been extended to the end of the season.

Comments(36)

tomwillo1 says...
11:54am Fri 8 Mar 13

It'll be nice to see a few shots going in on goal, went all the way to wycombe and we only had 1 shot!

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BorderReiver says...
12:10pm Fri 8 Mar 13

"All the players can handle the ball".
Well, it looks like it could be rugby at Wimbledon ! Nice one Nigel !
Cmon City !

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Mad for Minstermen says...
12:14pm Fri 8 Mar 13

That's all anybody wants, give it a go, all guns blazing, let them worry about us. Confidence and moral should be high, new ideas, play for your place, show the gaffer what you can do, be positive not negative. A win on Saturday goes a long way in repairing the damage of our bad run. COYR, do it for the club, do it for the fans, do it for the gaffer, most of all do it for yourselves, show what you are made of. 3 points nothing less, get stuck in!!

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21york says...
12:19pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Doesn't sound terribly promising to me, if the players are being urged to shoot in the hope that a deflection or ricochet may result in a goal. However I suppose it will be an improvement on the Bradford game when the first shot on goal came from Rankine in the 92nd. minute.

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Edsoni says...
12:47pm Fri 8 Mar 13

21york wrote:
Doesn't sound terribly promising to me, if the players are being urged to shoot in the hope that a deflection or ricochet may result in a goal. However I suppose it will be an improvement on the Bradford game when the first shot on goal came from Rankine in the 92nd. minute.
Not only negative but inaccurate.

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21york says...
12:56pm Fri 8 Mar 13

The first threatening shot that had any hope at all of hitting the net.

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RooBeck says...
1:28pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Without going gung-ho, this encouragement by the new manager for the players to have the confidence to get some shots in at goal, is just what we need. The final third has been the main problem area for us this season and Nigel is right to get the team to adopt a more positive, attacking mindset. All the side need to be switched on to-morrow because this is a tough place to visit and there is a lot at stake, but it would be a great time for us to get the right result and in doing so, balance up a bit AFC's three other results against us earlier in the season when our only real performance was the FACup replay at their place that went to extra-time and but for a few moments of slackness at the back, we could and should have won! COYR.

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walwynwasgod says...
2:26pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Think you will find out Curtis Obeng has returned to Swansea, Mr Flett.

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paintitred says...
2:49pm Fri 8 Mar 13

walwynwasgod wrote:
Think you will find out Curtis Obeng has returned to Swansea, Mr Flett.
And Afc wimbledon have had Goalie Neil Sullivan recalled by Doncaster.

JOHN Sullivan has been drafted in on loan from Charlton.

So lets take advantage on a new goalkeeper and defence partnership.

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pip007 says...
2:50pm Fri 8 Mar 13

On BBC: NW says "I don't think there will be too many changes from the last match." Erm ...

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prince naseem says...
2:53pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Thank God we've got Nigel, if Mills was still in place this would be yet another loss coming up!

Well done Jason for getting rid of the plonker.

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Southern Exile says...
3:09pm Fri 8 Mar 13

pip007 wrote:
On BBC: NW says "I don't think there will be too many changes from the last match." Erm ...
Tactics have worked pretty well away from home, it's home form that needs a drastic improvement...

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heartbreaker says...
3:09pm Fri 8 Mar 13

We'll win, but won't keep a clean sheet.

Ermm.. 3-1 City I'm going for!

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Edsoni says...
3:33pm Fri 8 Mar 13

21york wrote:
The first threatening shot that had any hope at all of hitting the net.
Still negative; still inaccurate.

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duffy says...
5:00pm Fri 8 Mar 13

prince naseem wrote:
Thank God we've got Nigel, if Mills was still in place this would be yet another loss coming up!

Well done Jason for getting rid of the plonker.
Time for some of the trolling on here to stop ? It's getting a bit silly.

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fishboy says...
5:55pm Fri 8 Mar 13

c'mon 5 - 1 to city, a tasty 150/1 get your money on, it's about time we gave someone else a good hiding, starting with the wombles. A fast pace, shots from anywhere and we take the 3 points and nearer safety for this year.

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prince naseem says...
6:45pm Fri 8 Mar 13

duffy wrote:
prince naseem wrote:
Thank God we've got Nigel, if Mills was still in place this would be yet another loss coming up!

Well done Jason for getting rid of the plonker.
Time for some of the trolling on here to stop ? It's getting a bit silly.
it's not silly it's true, Mills was a disaster this season, should have been sacked weeks ago

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prince naseem says...
6:45pm Fri 8 Mar 13

duffy wrote:
prince naseem wrote:
Thank God we've got Nigel, if Mills was still in place this would be yet another loss coming up!

Well done Jason for getting rid of the plonker.
Time for some of the trolling on here to stop ? It's getting a bit silly.
it's not silly it's true, Mills was a disaster this season, should have been sacked weeks ago

Report this post »

duffy says...
6:48pm Fri 8 Mar 13

prince naseem wrote:
duffy wrote:
prince naseem wrote:
Thank God we've got Nigel, if Mills was still in place this would be yet another loss coming up!

Well done Jason for getting rid of the plonker.
Time for some of the trolling on here to stop ? It's getting a bit silly.
it's not silly it's true, Mills was a disaster this season, should have been sacked weeks ago
A plonker ? The one that did the double last season. I think the right decision was made but give the guy a bit of respect for last season. He deserves better than that.

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prince naseem says...
6:53pm Fri 8 Mar 13

duffy wrote:
prince naseem wrote:
duffy wrote:
prince naseem wrote:
Thank God we've got Nigel, if Mills was still in place this would be yet another loss coming up!

Well done Jason for getting rid of the plonker.
Time for some of the trolling on here to stop ? It's getting a bit silly.
it's not silly it's true, Mills was a disaster this season, should have been sacked weeks ago
A plonker ? The one that did the double last season. I think the right decision was made but give the guy a bit of respect for last season. He deserves better than that.
Like Chelsea gave RDM for winning the Champion's League you mean? Football has no sentiment, Mills had to go, not good enough for this league.

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limbert says...
7:04pm Fri 8 Mar 13

As long as we win who cares if we score through deflected goals.3 points is all that counts at this stage of the season.

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duffy says...
7:28pm Fri 8 Mar 13

prince naseem wrote:
duffy wrote:
prince naseem wrote:
duffy wrote:
prince naseem wrote:
Thank God we've got Nigel, if Mills was still in place this would be yet another loss coming up!

Well done Jason for getting rid of the plonker.
Time for some of the trolling on here to stop ? It's getting a bit silly.
it's not silly it's true, Mills was a disaster this season, should have been sacked weeks ago
A plonker ? The one that did the double last season. I think the right decision was made but give the guy a bit of respect for last season. He deserves better than that.
Like Chelsea gave RDM for winning the Champion's League you mean? Football has no sentiment, Mills had to go, not good enough for this league.
That's not the point I'm making. I agree with the decision just feel he deserves better than to be called " a plonker" given what he did for the club last season.

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Dortmun says...
7:31pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Dear Duffy don't take the bait just ignore the troll

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duffy says...
7:39pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Dortmun wrote:
Dear Duffy don't take the bait just ignore the troll
In all honesty i've been quite disgusted with a lot of the personal abuse written about Gary on here of late. Ok we have the trolls as always but there are still some regulars that seem to have forgotten just what the guy did very, very quickly. Right decision but have a bit of class.

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Even AndyD says...
7:43pm Fri 8 Mar 13

At some stage we'll get a bit of luck - hang on to a lead, get a penalty, etc etc. Hope its tomorrow - we desperately need to know we can win football matches again.

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Dortmun says...
7:49pm Fri 8 Mar 13

duffy wrote:
Dortmun wrote:
Dear Duffy don't take the bait just ignore the troll
In all honesty i've been quite disgusted with a lot of the personal abuse written about Gary on here of late. Ok we have the trolls as always but there are still some regulars that seem to have forgotten just what the guy did very, very quickly. Right decision but have a bit of class.
Totally agree with you on that, some people have short memory's and or no football knowledge at all.
I for one think that we would still be in the BSP and the club would have not made anywhere near the amount of money we did from our cup success to put us on a good financial footing if we had not had GM in charge while we did.

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bartsimmo says...
7:55pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Given wobbles recent home form I would be happy with a point but 3 points would be a fantastic return.

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neutral observer 2 says...
8:18pm Fri 8 Mar 13

prince naseem wrote:
Thank God we've got Nigel, if Mills was still in place this would be yet another loss coming up!

Well done Jason for getting rid of the plonker.
Tool

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bill bailey says...
8:36pm Fri 8 Mar 13

What i'm reading here is what i read when NW was replaced here (Norwich)
its all about opinion,but at the end of the day "the piper calls the tune" it dosen't make the guy better or worse its a matter of fact the club is bigger than any manager,if the board are the custodians of the club you pay to watch and support they make what they consider is best for the club. Im sure GM is a nice guy, but,i guess the cards were stacked against him, He will go to a club in the same circumstanses as
NW has come to you,good luck Saturday

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skilly says...
10:04pm Fri 8 Mar 13

What a strange week its been, a rollercoaster of emotions from losing our manager and starting to despair about who would come in, to getting Nigel W in and suddenly having a surge of optimism. Now its excitement about tomorrow's game and not really knowing what to expect! Can't wait for the game, I really hope the lads respond in the right way and get a win. It would really give us all a huge boost. COYR

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skilly says...
10:23pm Fri 8 Mar 13

On a totally different topic heard that Adriano Moke came on as a sub for Halifax v Harrogate last night, how things have changed for the lad. Case of grass not always greener.......!

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openallhours says...
10:23pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Prince naseem might be yorkcityluke's alter ego. Don't think you'd want to be in the same room as either of em.

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YorkCityLuke says...
12:07pm Sat 9 Mar 13

openallhours wrote:
Prince naseem might be yorkcityluke's alter ego. Don't think you'd want to be in the same room as either of em.
"bleat bleat bleat" says openallhours, literally not able to wait for our next loss so he can turn on the players and management again. "bleat bleat... hard eared cash... bleat bleat... I don't actually even go to matches... bleat bleat... bleat bleat... Luke is mean to me but I can't help goading him because I crave any sort of attention because my parents never loved me" Not too far off the mark, right?

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YCFC am byth says...
12:10pm Sat 9 Mar 13

About to set off to Wimbeldon - only 30 miles Let's hope we get a good performance today to say thanks to Gary! Most important that e don't loose today. COYR

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openallhours says...
12:29pm Sat 9 Mar 13

YorkCityLuke wrote:
openallhours wrote:
Prince naseem might be yorkcityluke's alter ego. Don't think you'd want to be in the same room as either of em.
"bleat bleat bleat" says openallhours, literally not able to wait for our next loss so he can turn on the players and management again. "bleat bleat... hard eared cash... bleat bleat... I don't actually even go to matches... bleat bleat... bleat bleat... Luke is mean to me but I can't help goading him because I crave any sort of attention because my parents never loved me" Not too far off the mark, right?
As always, way off the mark. I'm surprised that you haven't come out with your 'we're only a few points of the play-offs' rants yet. It's easier for you to insult a loyal fan like me (and others) as opposed to admitting that you know nowt about football. Good luck and all the best.

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YorkCityLuke says...
12:51pm Sat 9 Mar 13

openallhours wrote:
YorkCityLuke wrote:
openallhours wrote:
Prince naseem might be yorkcityluke's alter ego. Don't think you'd want to be in the same room as either of em.
"bleat bleat bleat" says openallhours, literally not able to wait for our next loss so he can turn on the players and management again. "bleat bleat... hard eared cash... bleat bleat... I don't actually even go to matches... bleat bleat... bleat bleat... Luke is mean to me but I can't help goading him because I crave any sort of attention because my parents never loved me" Not too far off the mark, right?
As always, way off the mark. I'm surprised that you haven't come out with your 'we're only a few points of the play-offs' rants yet. It's easier for you to insult a loyal fan like me (and others) as opposed to admitting that you know nowt about football. Good luck and all the best.
Oops, might have struck a nerve there. Try to keep it together, sticks and stones and all that.

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