Bootle’s away form is up there with the best in the league. The same can not be said of their home results. Cai Wilshaw takes a closer look.
Ahead of Bootle FC’s home clash with Newcastle Town on Saturday, the club sit ninth in the Northern Premier League West division – just three points outside the play-off places.
Following last Saturday’s 3-1 victory away to Kidsgrove Athletic, the Bucks now have 21 points from their travels which is a point shy of league-leading Lower Breck’s away form. Â
Therefore, we need to look closer to home to make sense of Bootle’s mid table league position. Â
Alan Morgan’s side have managed only 12 points from 11 games at the Berry Street Garage stadium where they have recorded the fourth-worst home form in the league.Â
Bootle’s away record shows they are more than capable of competing with the very best of the NPLW and have what it takes to keep pushing for a promotion place.
In contrast to their home performances, Bootle have secured 75% more points per game on the road, 23% more goals, a 400% increase in clean sheets and double the amount of wins.
Home advantage has been more of a disadvantage for Bootle but Morgan feels that psychological factors can be blamed for the mediocre record in L30.
He said: ”Listen, every side turns up at Bootle and looks at a pretty ground and a pretty pitch and raise their performance but we’ve got to raise to it as well. We’ve just got to get through it and hopefully the away results will give us confidence.”
Morgan was speaking after a 1-0 victory over Vauxhall Motors in early October, however despite their away performances continuing to prosper, the Berry Street Garage form has not lived up to the manager’s words.
This data flatters Bootle as the underlying numbers in the games don’t hold up well for the Vesty Road side.
One of the two home victories came most recently against bottom of the league FC Trafford in a difficult to watch 1-0 result with Bootle coming out on top by way of an early opener from Jayden Sergeant.
@bootlefc Alan Morgan speaks on Jayden Sergeant’s Performance following his winning goal versus FC Trafford on Saturday 🔵🟡 #upthebucks #bootlefc #liverpool #fctrafford #merseyside
Bootle will be desperate for more players to get the crowd of their feet and support the team as attendances are slipping.
Despite, the slightly lower figure for Bootle’s clash with Nantwich Town (shown above), the Bucks averaged an attendance of 446 in the opening five games but that has dropped to 306 in recent months.
The Bury FC fixture has been taken out of the comparison as the majority of the 920 attendance was dominated by the strong travelling Shakers.
As their away form proves, the Bucks can compete with the very best in the league on the road. However, if they are to mount a promotion push, Morgan’s side must get over their psychological difficulties at the Berry Street Garage Stadium.
On Saturday, the Bucks host Newcastle Town and will look to put the negative noise around the ground behind them and earn a vital three points that could propel Morgan’s side to the play off spots
