The Match

It will be interesting to see how the Stags go this season after the trauma of a play-off final defeat on penalties and the subsequent loss of a number of key players. One departure was of course Craig Disley, but the biggest loss will surely be Liam Lawrence, who scored 22 goals last season and was quickly snapped up by Sunderland. With the two other top scorers from last season – Junior Mendes (to Huddersfield) and Christie (perhaps to Kiddie) – also departing it’s easy to see why Stags fans are worried about where the goals are going to come from. Manager Keith Curle has given the dubious honour of replacing Lawrence to Derek Asamoah, formerly a bit part player at Northampton, and judging by the Mansfield message boards there’s some doubt about whether he’s up to the task.

The lack of a cutting edge would certainly be a help for us on Saturday, as it’s fair to say that Field Mill has been a bit of a graveyard for the Gas over the years. In fact, there were many who thought last season’s goalless draw up there reason for the granting of a public holiday in North Bristol. For those of you looking for straws to grab hold of, results at the Mill have at least been moving in the right direction during the last three seasons (0-3, 0-2, 0-0) so the next logical step is surely an away win. And how that would get the superstitious murmuring – the last time we won at Mansfield was the 26^th August 1989.

Finally, as we stated in last year’s Mansfield away guide, if you haven't been there recently, Field Mill has undergone a total facelift and is now a 10,000 all-seater stadium. Grounds, makeover. Now there’s an idea….

The Place

As we all found other things to do last Easter Monday, Mansfield remains one of those places none of us have visited much since the 80's. Therefore, we’ll simply have to regurgitate a lot of stuff from last season’s Mansfield guide - sorry if you’ve read bits of this before.

There are claims that Mansfield has been around since Celtic times and it's also the centre of 'Robin Hood Country' but other aspects of Mansfield's past aren't quite so pleasant. Twenty years ago, during the Miners' Strike, Mansfield was, as one of gasheads.com's correspondents noted "Scab Central". Around Mansfield and throughout Nottinghamshire the breakaway UDM were formed and thrived which earned the area the enduring hatred of miners and their supporters. A few years later, in the early 90's, Mansfield gained a reputation as a centre for many far-right and fascist parties from the BNP through to Blood and Honour and many others with the former even launching an anti-pit closure campaign aimed at UDM miners

At least getting there by public transport is a bit easier these days; once upon a time the only train station was "Alfreton and Mansfield Parkway" which serves both towns and was consequently miles from each. These days Mansfield has its own station (see map above) only ten minutes away from Field Mill which makes things a little bit easier…

Upsetting the Locals

Bearing in mind the recent history, a chant of "Scabs, scabs, scabs" or "There's only one Arthur Scargill" is not going to go down very well. Also singing your admiration for Chesterfield (aka the Direites) or Craig Disley isn’t likely to win you many friends. However, all of this is likely to pale into insignificance compared with the fact that we’re going to be taking over their traditional end.

As stated above, the move has been instigated by “security advice” from the Notts Police following problems against Doncaster last season. However, it’s safe to say that the move has outraged Stags fans on the grounds that there was no consultation whatsoever and the North Stand is basically their Blackthorn End or Tote End. They also claim that the move will cause more problems than it will solve and give opposing hoolies a field day as (a) both sets of fans will come out together and walk straight into each other and (b) there’s loads more room outside the North Stand for a punch up. A fair few of the problems predicted by many fans apparently materialised in a recent friendly against Stoke, though by all accounts two friendlies afterwards (versus Leeds and Wolves) passed off without problems following a change in police tactics. Anyway, it’s all created a bit of a stir in Mansfield, with petitions being raised and the local MP even getting involved. The links below will give you a bit more of an insight.

Petition
FTYBR Fanzine (search stories for May and click on the “Meale Backs North Stand” story dated May 20^th)

Boozers

This is going to be a bit tricky as we are going to be the guinea pigs for what doesn’t seem the brightest idea ever by Notts police, namely to shift the Stags fans out of their natural home - the North Stand - and put us in there (more of this later). In previous years away fans have been tended to be OK in the The Early Doors on Nottingham Road, which is a stone’s throw from the ground (though one site we read did say it had also seen 'sporadic trouble' over the years). However, our contact in Mansfield suggests the police may not be happy with away fans going there now the ends have changed as it will involve away fans and the locals being a bit too close for their comfort.

In addition, Mansfield also falls into the "they've got a few boys" category and a Sunderland website review strongly advised avoiding the Victoria and Red Lion pubs.

Having said all of that, it’s not all doom and gloom. The Talbot is apparently OK for right-minded fans and does a good range of food and beers. Away from the ground, and especially handy for those travelling by train, we’ve also heard good reviews about The Bold Forester on Botany Avenue, a few minutes from the station. This map shows both the Station (bottom centre square) and Botany Ave (middle left square) while Field Mill is on Quarry Lane just before the junction with Nottingham Road (bottom right square).  The pub is large and while it looks newish it maintains a large range of real ales - and ciders!

 S**thead Alert (new away guide feature for this season)

 Keith Curle is an obvious candidate, but for those of you who remember his Rovers days fondly, a certain Darren Barnard is apparently on an extended trial at Field Mill.