John Helm: Halifax plotting course back to league
I ENJOYED a rare visit to the Shay on Saturday and was encouraged to see the long awaited new stand is completed and ready for occupation.
Mind you it has taken ten years!
And Halifax Town as co-tenants along with the town’s rugby league club are still having to use the temporary cabins to entertain their guests.
Red tape still exists so the unveiling ceremony is on ice.
Meanwhile the club is desperately trying to pick it’s way through the minefield of the Unibond First Division (North).
The memories are still bright of visits from Spurs, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, but today’s diet consists of Rossendale, Mossley and Harrogate Railway.
People like David Bosomworth and Bobby Ham deserve the utmost praise for trying to steer Halifax back on a course to the Football League but the road is a long and bumpy one.
I still see faces at the Shay that were there in the good old days (whenever they were) and their loyalty is admirable.
Former World Cup referee Graham Poll is speaking at the club's annual dinner next week and there will be around 500 there, there were over 1,200 for Saturday's 4-2 win over Mossley, a sure sign that the club is not short of goodwill.
The co-existence of football and rugby league clubs may be essential but it is not always a happy marriage, or a desirable trend.
The pitch at the Shay was cloying and hardly conducive to flowing football, though both sides did their best to entertain.
It’s the same wherever the two sports come together, the outstanding example being Wigan.
The surface at the DW Stadium is poor at best, certainly the worst in the Premier League, and the groundsmen at the Galpharm and KC Stadiums must also work overtime to satisfy two employers.
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