Who'll take the derby honours? I couldn't hazard a guess...

HAPPY New Year (and all that) and what an exciting year it promises to be, starting with this weekend's Lune derby.

Last season or the season before I'd have been tipping Lancaster to take the honours. They had turned Giant Axe into a fortress and demonstrated an ad-mirable level of consistency at home.

However, this season results there haven't been so hot and Morecambe are going great guns in the Conference. At home.

In fact, apart from their cup exploits, Morecambe's away results have been disappointing, losing at places like Leigh, Forest Green and Kettering, against teams who don't have anything better than Lancaster to offer.

Ouch, that fence hurts, especially in this position... Morecambe to win after a replay. There, that feels so much better.

Heard a few grumbles recently about the segregation at this weekend's match. The gist of the argument is that there won't be any trouble anyway and that Shrimps fans will have no problem getting into the home ends if they want to (or away tickets sell out).

Both true but, I fear, missing the point. Club officials (and the licensing authorities) are worried about the weather obviously, everyone cramming into the covered end at the Axe or even taking part in the traditional changing ends at half time' ritual is a recipe for a crush and the risk of serious injuries. I'm sure nobody wants to see that happen on a day that should be a celebration of progress for our two local clubs.

Speaking of progress, thank to Mark Hallam for his interesting letter on Morecambe FC's future and how it affects the rest of the area (this page, last week).

He argued, quite correctly, that the prestige of a place in the football league adds much to the profile of the town represented by the football club in question.

In fact most lads and many lasses owe everything they know about British geography to football. Local rivalries provided a join the dots map of Britain without one glance at an atlas. Sunderland must be near Newcastle cause they don't like each other. Middlesborough can't be far off.'

And the relative merits of football teams can also be a deceptive guide to population. For example, Wigan (population-wise) is far bigger than Blackburn but who would have thought it?

Could it be that the businesses of Lancaster and Morecambe are losing out and have been for years because neither town can boast a league club.

Let's hope some of the many business people in this area who don't currently back one club or the other begin to seriously reconsider and make an investment.

January 9, 2003 10:30