Craig Priest looks ahead to tomorrow’s home clash with Tamworth... Following Tuesday evening’s emphatic 5-2 victory over troubled Darlington, it’s fair to say the mood is high and that tomorrow’s game can’t come quick enough. Frustratingly still in 9th place following Gateshead’s 2-1 win at York on Wednesday, it may be easy for sum to label tomorrow’s game as another ‘catch up’ fixture, however a look at the league standings will tell you that Paul Cox’s men are just three points of the bottom play-off space, with a game in hand over current occupiers Southport, who travel to Ebbsfleet tomorrow. The league is so tight; one round of results can change the whole outlook of the table – this season’s final day could well be a dramatic one. That is all I’ll say on the matter at the moment however, as looking too far into the future can put a massive dent into the here and now, as Paul Cox said to the press on Thursday mornings press meeting, the most important game is the next one, let’s focus solely on that. I totally agree and having watched and analyzed this seasons’ progression, we play well and get the best results when there is no pressure heaped upon us and the lads, as a result, enjoy their football. The Mansfield gaffer came out with an interesting quote on Thursday, ‘We are working everyday to become better, but sometimes all you have to do is put a smile on the faces’. I’ll let you work that one out for yourselves, but trust me with our squad, this makes perfect sense and in actual fact, could be the key factor in whether or not we finish in the play-offs when the final full time whistle is blown. We are yet to face Tamworth this season so it’s difficult to be able to know what to expect in tomorrow’s fixture, although scanning the Lambs season progression, I hazard a guess at inconsistency. A strong start of three wins, a draw and a defeat in August saw Marcus Law’s men in a play-off place as the first month of the season drew to a close, however with just eight wins since the start of September, the former Bristol Rovers goal keepers side have slipped from 4th down to 14th picking up just eight points (two wins and two draws) from the last 10 fixtures. Perhaps distracted by a decent FA Cup run which saw the Lambs pull Everton out of the round three hat, Law’s side have a habit of conceding early doors, picking the ball out of the net 14 times in the opening 15 minutes of games over the course of the season. That said, at the other end the Lambs have netted 17 times in the final fifteen minutes of games this season – as I say, inconsistency would be the best way to describe their season. The Everton game may be the inspiration Law needs to steer the Tamworth ship, the largest ever crowd for a Tamworth game may see a few more come through the New Lamb Ground turnstiles as the former Kettering manager looks for success in the first year of his three year contract, after he joined Tamworth in May 2011. However the mid table position won’t help the Lambs who are 14 points off a play-off spot with as many to go and 13 from the drop zone. Three familiar faces will be returning to Field Mill tomorrow, former player assistant Paul Hall is on the coaching staff whilst former midfielder Kyle Nix has recently signed following the expiry of his Gateshead deal. Top scorer from our 2002-03 campaign Iyseden Christie is currently leading the goal scoring charts for the Lambs, with 11 in all competitions. Moving on and despite the victory, Tuesday was actually a sad evening for some as John Dempster played his final game before returning to Crawley. Since the full time whistle questions have been asked over who would replace Dempster, today Paul Cox has brought giant defender Exodus Geohaghon to the club, on emergency loan from troubled Darlington until the end of the season. Myself and Wayne will be discussing his addition tomorrow on the show, also discussing whether or not his addition will be enough for the final fourteen games in newly introduced section, Hot Topics. Standing tall at 6ft5in, the 26 year old arrives on the back of a loan spell with Dagenham & Redbridge, and will be eager to make his mark on the team, also giving the option of an almighty long throw which has undone many a Stags defence over the past four seasons! As I mentioned at the top of the piece, let’s keep our focus solely on tomorrow’s game and enjoy the remainder of the season, enjoyment breads confidence, confidence breads winning which in turn breads success. To those inside Field Mill tomorrow, as always make as much noise as possible, to those unable to go – join myself and Wayne Briggs for regular updates throughout the afternoon, on 106.9FM only, from 2pm.  Last Time We Met
As mentioned above, Paul Cox’s side have yet to face Tamworth this season with the return fixture penned in for Saturday 10th March. So we have to go back to last season for the last game between the two sides, under the leadership of Duncan Russell the Stags ran out 2-0 winners against then Des Little’s side, with second half goals from Ashley Cain and Louis Briscoe. Incidentally in the three ties played at Field Mill between the clubs, Mansfield have failed to beat the Lambs, a 2-0 victory for Tamworth in the FA Trophy (December 2009) and a 1-0 victory (September 2010) goes along with a 0-0 draw (March 2010). Line Up: Tamworth 0-2 Stags 5/3/11 David Grof, Gary Silk, Tom Naylor, Kevin Sandwith, Dan Spence, Ashley Cain [1], Adam Murray (C), Tyrone Thompson, Louis Briscoe [1], Paul Connor, Louis Moult (Danny Mitchley). Audio highlights of the game are available here, playable via your computers media player The views expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not of Mansfield Matters or its related organisations – if you’d like to submit a piece, email it to mtfcmatters@gmail.com
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Following the departure of 28 year old centre half John Dempster to parent club Crawley on Wednesday, the Stags now have no real cover at centre half with summer signing John Thompson still weeks away from being fit after suffering another injury set-back.
Martin Riley, who was dropped to the bench on Tuesday after three consecutive starts, remains the only fit centre half at the club following Dempster’s departure and with Rhys Day and the aforementioned Thompson realistically out for the season – Paul Cox’s side have gone from having strength in depth to being one suspension or injury away from having a hole at the back. With Paul Edwards also due back at parent club Fleetwood after tomorrow’s home tie with Tamworth, our resources will become further stretched with new signing Sam Craven and summer signing Matt Bell also around three weeks away from being match fit. Cox has two realistic options in front of him, appealing to the football conference for an emergency loan, or promoting a couple of the youth team defenders as cover for the bench. In the last hour, Cox has indeed been successful in bringing in a replacement, Darlington defender Exodus Geohaghon joins until the end of the season on emergency loan. The 6ft5in former Peterborough man ticks all the boxes in replacing his former Kettering team mate and looks likely to go straight in to the fold. Despite the addition, the same principal may well apply if, or indeed when, Edwards returns to Fleetwood – would we still have enough strength in depth. In this weeks hot topic, myself and Wayne Briggs will be discussing the options the Stags boss has and which one will be of benefit ahead of the final 14 games. As always we want your input on the issue, should Cox bring in another defender on emergency loan, if so who? Should he promote a youth teamer to the bench, if so are they ready? Or do we now have enough strength in depth to power us towards the play-offs? Get in touch via the following methods: TEXT: 07987 865 624 FACEBOOK – TWITTER – EMAIL Stay tuned for a match preview ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Tamworth, and those all important coverage details.  Craig Priest writes ahead of tomorrow's home game with Darlington... After a lacklustre performance at Newport on Saturday which brought our unbeaten run in 2012 to an end, it’s fair to say tomorrow night’s game can’t come around quick enough. Paul Cox has no fresh injury worries to contend with as we face our old FA Trophy adversary’s, however the Stags boss does admit that his squad contains a lot of bruised ego’s following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat. It was far from the best performance and in my opinion lacked the qualities we have within that had, prior to the South Wales trip; put us in a prime position. There seemed to be a clear lack of energy, a lack of willingness, fight, desire and ability – quite simply we we’re poor and if we want to be successful, cannot perform like that again. No doubt over the weekend loved ones ears we’re bent and cats have been kicked releasing the frustration left by the result at Newport, however as Paul Cox said at this morning’s press call, there’s 15 games left to go, we can’t afford to sit and mull things over. In my opinion dwelling takes you nowhere but a darker place, you can make a mistake so long as what you do next is strong enough to counter it. Yes we we’re awful at Newport and looked a shadow of the side which went six unbeaten, keeping three clean sheets – however none of us own a tardis or a back to the future delorean, so we have to accept defeat and move on. Next up is Darlington at Field Mill tomorrow night, re-arranged after the big February freeze saw the original game, scheduled for Saturday 4th February, postponed. As I wrote in my original match preview, we have all followed the story of Darlington closely and genuinely feel for them. That said, and with no disrespect intended what so ever to Craig Liddle’s side, we must go into the game and take maximum points. Darlington, weather made up of youth players or not, are fighting for survival both in terms of relegation and as a club itself. That fight brings some inner energy out of players, if they get a good start they believe they can get something from the game and kick there heals in deeper, a quick bad start and things can go the other way, Darlington are fragile and each game is a fine line. One of my favourite quotes is “under estimation and over confidence will be our greatest downfall” we have to live by this tomorrow and be cautious of what Darlington have in their locker. Despite an almighty fall from 11th to 20th in a run which has seen the troubled Quakers collect just two points in eight outings, they still play some good stuff and put teams under pressure, it’s easy to forget their fall to one place from the drop zone is not entirely performance related as they we’re handed a 10 point deduction for entering administration in January. As I’ve often wrote I wish to see no team in financial troubles and would hate to be in that position as fan, watching my beloved club die a slow painful death would be unbearable. Sometimes results don’t matter, just playing week in week out is enough as the devil is killed by life – I wish Darlington well. I’m having to fight against myself to write this now because the one thing I hate is selfishness and arrogance, but in terms of OUR season tomorrow night we have to be selfish, we have to be a little arrogant and mean and condemn Darlington to another defeat. We got lucky on Saturday as we didn’t really slip to far away from the play-off chasing pack, we need to rectify our wrong doings and spark the start of another unbeaten run, so at the end of the season we can look back and say we we’re fighters when it mattered. If you can’t get to Field Mill for tomorrow’s game, be sure to tune into 106.9FM only for regular updates throughout the night from 7.30pm with myself and Wayne Briggs. Prior to kick off both tomorrow and Saturday, we’ll be discussing Keith Curle’s appointment as Notts County manager and how that will affect how we remember his tenure at Field Mill. Plenty of you have had you’re so far including former Stags front man Junior Mendez, there’s still time to get your thoughts in via FACEBOOK – TWITTER – EMAIL or TEXT 07982 865 624.  LAST TIME WE MET... Well we all know the story of the FA Trophy final Wembley, when Chris Senior broke our hearts in the final minute of extra time, however since that beautiful yet heart-breaking day, the Stags and the Quakers have indeed met. Paul Cox’s newly build squad headed to Darlington and came home with a 2-0 victory, thanks to two first half goals from Matt Green: goal machine. It was a tougher contest than the score line suggests with the Quakers threatening to break a strong Stags resistance for the majority of the game, however Mansfield hung on until the end, smashing those Wembley memories into oblivion, with no one more delighted than Adam Murray. Team: Marriott, O'Neill, Futcher, Sutton, Kendrick, Meikle (Connor), Murray (C), Howell, Briscoe (Worthington), Green [2], Dyer SNU: Redmond, Stevenson, Naylor Podcast Below - Commentary from Craig Priest & Scott Rogers The views expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not those of Mansfield Matters of it's related organizations
 Craig Priest previews tomorrow's trip to Newport County... At the time of writing it’s been 20 days since Gary Roberts tapped home our third goal, sealing victory at Ebbsfleet. The past three weeks have been dominated by Mother Nature and Jack Frost, who have conspired to see our last three scheduled games postponed, leaving us frustrated and hungry for football. Finally the wait is over as tomorrow, we head to South Wales to take on Newport County. Usually there are a few groans when a trip to Wales is mentioned, it never seems to be a lucky place to visit as over the past few years we’ve returned from Wrexham, Swansea, Newport and Cardiff empty handed. Tonight though you can sleep soundly in your beds as the Mansfield-Welsh hoodoo is over, Paul Connor’s 90th minute striker was the icing on the cake as we defeated then league leaders Wrexham on their own patch back in September with a 3-1 victory. The task that night was to fight against those fighting for the exit to the next level, the fight tomorrow is totally different as we face a team rebuilding and looking to distance themselves from the drop zone, at this stage of the season facing a team at the bottom end of the table can be more difficult than a team at the top, especially after such a long layoff. In the time Mansfield have been cursing the relationship of Nature and Frost, Newport have been distancing themselves from the drop with a point against Stockport and all three against Bath City on Tuesday night on home soil. Justin Edinburgh’s side are now, like ourselves, on a six game unbeaten run with the exiles form coming in all competitions as they progress through to the quarter finals of the FA Trophy. Newport’s last defeat came on January 3rd, a 3-2 defeat at fellow strugglers Bath City – since then the South Wales club who are also close to a change of home, have gathered momentum under the former Rushden & Diamonds manager. Tomorrow they will be itching to stretch their run a little further with another fixture arriving in quick succession, we must be sure our cobwebs are blown off before the referee starts the game, I do not want a repeat of last season’s home fixture played a year and five days ago, when we we’re three nil down within 28 minutes, two down within two minutes. Looking at this seasons stats though and seeing how each team has fared in comparison to last season, I think there’s more chance of me winning the euro millions than that happening! (I haven’t brought a ticket). Newport have struggled at home this season and have only picked up four victories. On home soil the exiles have the second worst rated from line in the entire division, they lie 23rd in the home goal scoring charts, something which the departure of leading scorer Danny Rose to Fleetwood, would not have helped. On the flip side Newport’s home defence is rated far higher, sitting in 6th in the defensive league standings, I’m sure this will please former Tottenham defender Edinburgh however I’m sure he’ll be weary of our strike force, which bagged five in the return fixture, however this was under previous manager Anthony Hudson’s brief tenure. If you want to balance the books and have a look at our defensive record on the road, we have the third best defence away from home with a clean sheet percentage of 40% - that said I can throw these stats around all night long and play the game on paper, but we all know that won’t get us the three points tomorrow, only hard work, determination like usual, will seal the win. Paul Cox isn’t daft either, he’s kept the lads on their toes and rather than build comedy snowmen on the training ground, the boys have been around the local leisure centres running, keeping fit and cursing the words ‘Bleep Test’. Not only that but the Stags head-honcho has found the lads a few 3G pitches to train on as well, plus they’ve had a taste of competitive action last Saturday, seeing off Sutton Coldfield Town 2-0 on their artificial pitch. I’m confident this time round, the lads will stuff have their focus and tomorrow will see us continue our unbeaten 2012 and stretch our unbeaten run to 7 league games. Justin Edinburgh as I’ve mentioned is a good manager and keeps his side well drilled, in his previous jobs at Fisher Athletic, Grays Athletic and Rushden, he’s achieved success in some form, now tasked with guiding Newport away from the drop zone following predecessor Anthony Hudson’s fall from 12th place to 23rd, in a run which featured five consecutive defeats. Going well in the Trophy too, Mansfield will have to show there ruthless, ugly side in south Wales, to return home with all the points in the bag. If you can’t get to Newport tomorrow well 106.9FM and indeed our MM-LIVE page is the place to be, join myself, Scott Rogers and guest Wayne Briggs for build up on 106.9FM only from 2pm-2.45pm – then join us on 106.9FM AND ONLINE from 2.50pm for full commentary. Below is a short list of some of the things we’ll be talking about during build up, don’t forget to have your say – see details on how to do so below. · Look back at our 6 game unbeaten run, who has stood out and what the key factor is being the run · HOT TOPIC: 3G Pitches. We debate the use of 3G pitches and weigh up the pros and cons of introducing them to Mansfield Town and the football conference · Ebbsfleet Away: we play highlights of our last game, a 3-0 win at Ebbsfleet back in January · We bring you the latest on the youth team, the recent friendly fixtures and discuss the new additions, Sam Craven and Matt Rhead Get in touch via facebook or twitter, alternatively you can TEXT US on 07982 865 624 or message us via Skype, just add craigpriest14.  Last Time We Met Mansfield last faced Newport at Field Mill earlier in the season when the Stags picked up their fourth consecutive victory and clean sheet, hammering Hudson’s failing exiles 5-0 in front of the premier sports TV cameras on September 10th. A brace from Louis Briscoe which included a sublime volley, plus goals from Matt Green, Ross Dyer and full back Luke O’Neill sealed the win. Tomorrow’s trip will be Mansfield’s third to Newport, last season’s trip being the only competitive one however as Dean’s Newport, won the battle of the Holdsworth twins. The previous trip was for a pre-season friendly, when David’s new look Mansfield ran out 2-0 winners with Kyle Perry netting both. LINE UP (Vs Newport 10th September) Stags 5-0 Newport: [4-4-2] Marriott, O'Neill [1]. Futcher, Sutton, Kendrick, Briscoe [2], Murray (C), Howell (Worthington), Meikle (Smith), Dyer [1] (Connor), Green [1] SNU: Redmond, Naylor A podcast of the game can be heard below, with commentary from Craig Priest The views expressed in this blog are that of the writer and not those of Mansfield Matters or its related organizations. To submit your own piece, email mtfcmatters@gmail.com
Ahead of our proper return to Takeover on Saturday, we are ready to introduce a new feature to the show for you to get heavily involved with, titled ‘Hot Topics’
The idea would be for myself, Scott and occasional guests to debate the weeks burning football topics relating to Stags, taking on board and most importantly, reading out your comments. To kick things off this week, myself, Scott and special guest Wayne will be discussing the potential introduction of 3rd generation pitches to the game following the big February freeze which has seen the Stags have to endure a three week break from action. We would like your views initially on whether you would like to see these artificial pitches introduced and why, or indeed why not. If you want to go further with your thoughts on the subject, then feel free – we want as many views as possible to help get to the bottom of the hot topics and make great radio in the process. The hot topic debate will take place around 2.10pm until around 2.20-30pm airing on 106.9FM only, with a brand new ‘Hot Topics’ podcast to be put online after the show. There are many ways to get in touch, see below for more details. FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/mtfcmatters TWITTER: www.twitter.com/mtfcmatters Tweet @mtfcmatters EMAIL: *Must be sent before 1pm on match day to be read out* mtfcmatters@gmail.com TEXT: 07982 865 624 SKYPE: Add craigpriest14 (please put Mansfield Matters in the initial message to be accepted) Stay tuned for a preview of Saturday’s trip to Newport which will be posted tomorrow 
After three games failing foul to Mother Nature and Jack Frost’s evil plan, the beautiful game returns tonight as Paul Cox’s side head to AFC Telford for an open to the public friendly at the New Bucks Head, 7.30pm.
As with the majority of open to the public friendlies played so far, Mansfield Matters will provide full match commentary. Craig Priest will dust off the cobwebs from the commentary kit and will be LIVE on our MM-LIVE page from 7.25pm – commentary will also be back on 106.9FM locally for the first time since November, starting at the same time. With Scott possibly in the squad, Craig will be on his own again this valentines night, so keep him company throughout by tweeting @mtfcmatters or texting 07982 865 624 Roses are red, violets are blue, there’s been no game for a while but tonight, we’ve one for you! (If you think that’s cheesy.... see you tonight) CLICK HERE TO BE RE-DIRECTED TO LISTEN LIVE (ONLINE FROM 7.25pm) 
Focus Craig Priest previews tomorrow’s home clash with troubled Darlington Over the past couple of month’s we’ve all followed the story of Darlington and their possible demise with a keen interest. It has to be said that the interest has been one of concern rather than hatred, Darlington at the end of the day are still a football club with a history and supporters like ourselves – nobody wants to see that disappear, regardless of any result in any cup final. We may grumble about whatever, but three weeks ago like now, we we’re in a stable position finically with no doubts lingering over our future bar the ever on-going ground issue. You can move home, it’s been done by many a team many a time, what you can’t do is revive something from the dead, well not unless your an Eastenders Script writer anyway. Jokes aside, just over three weeks ago Darlington we’re on the brink of death with a very slim chance of survival, had they not received a last minute injection of finance they would be nothing bar a memory. Yes clubs have in a way risen from the ashes of death, a prime example being AFC Wimbledon and of late, Chester – however they are not what they once were and despite a core of the supporters watching the transition of football death to football life, deep down they’ll know it’s not quite the same. History is fine, so long as it can be added too in the future – I know a lot of you will be wondering what I mean with that quote, hopefully it’ll become clear when you think about it. Time has been a wonderful thing for the Quakers, looking on the outside since the injection of cash from the Darlington Football Club Rescue Group, the administrators at the FA Trophy Champions have come painfully close to securing a buyer and have over the last few days accepted plans by the DFCRG for a community based club – In short, have found light at the end of the tunnel just a few steps from reach. Now I’m not a big follower of politics or money in football so what you may have just read will be nothing you don’t already know, however I am a keen follower of something else in football – Love. Each and every supporter of Darlington will love the club in some way, whether it be because of Wembley (ouch!) or because of another moment, the love is there and it remains constant. I think back to a couple of years ago when we we’re close to being in a similar situation and how I would have felt had Sir John not arrived, I’d have been heartbroken. I can imagine the scenes from Quakers fans at Barrow in what they thought may be their last game, the tears at the full time whistle, the memories fading away like the evening sun. Getting home that night and taking off the replica shirt for what could have been the finial time on a match day must have been difficult, I think now about if that for me and must admit to getting a tiny lump in my throat. Luckily for me, our demise never happened and once again we’re ready for the climb with very little worry, for the Quakers faithful, we’ll there club is still alive and the simple most loved things like match day routines can continue. I’m pleased that Darlington have lived to fight another day and I’m confident the light will be reached very soon, I wish them well for the rest of the season and of course, for the very long future. Providing tomorrow’s fixture passes it’s 9.30am pitch inspection, we must keep our focus during the game – Darlington will naturally be fighting for their lives and we must match them, currently six unbeaten it would be disastrous to lose that by way of arrogance or under estimation, which so many teams in this league will be guilty of when they face a struggling team. Fortunately I believe Paul Cox is not the type of manager to allow such things, he knows the importance of every game and the value of every point gained. The arrogance and under estimation thing counts for our other games this month as well, not just Darlington, I’m not writing this to make them out to be the soul strugglers – every team has their problems, every team has something to fight for. As I wrote for the Chad this week (shameless plug!) we have made some good deals during the transfer market, and despite the imminent departure of John Dempster, we must carry on and use the captures to our advantage. We are unbeaten this calendar year, having not lost at Field Mill since 5th November. We’ve kept three clean sheets in our last four games and are playing some decent football – there’s no denying that those inside the Stags dressing room are enjoying life at the minute. Enjoyment breads confidence, confidence breads winning, winning breads success – it’s a simple equation and I guess a little like a game of Jenga, the building blocks are stable, the next game is our next move, let’s go into it with our eyes wide open and ensure that once the move has been made, it is us that remains stable, whilst the others start to fall. We’ve a key month ahead, going into face Fleetwood stable and with four clean sheets out of five games, plus four wins out of our last five would be idea – we need to be steady for when the league leaders arrive. Finally, no doubt you’ll have heard the excellent news about our return to Takeover, for one final game you can catch twitter updates via @mansfieldtownfc tomorrow before we return with updates on the Fleetwood game. Fingers crossed tomorrow’s game passes the pitch inspection, especially with the midweek trip to Alfreton being off! Otherwise I’ll either find myself writing endless nonsence (what do you mean ‘again’!) or watching endless rom-coms on DVD – mind you it could be worse, at least I won’t get a call off the mrs telling me she’s on the search for a new dress and I’m going with her – Oh single life can sometimes be under rated! On that note, I bid you farewell and goodnight – make as much noise as possible tomorrow at Field Mill and help the pitch thaw out with noise! To any Quakers fans making the trip, have a safe one and all the very best for the future – I hope the beautiful game helps continue your love story for many years to come.  LAST TIME WE MET... Well we all know the story of the FA Trophy final Wembley, when Chris Senior broke our hearts in the final minute of extra time, however since that beautiful yet heart-breaking day, the Stags and the Quakers have indeed met. Paul Cox’s newly build squad headed to Darlington and came home with a 2-0 victory, thanks to two first half goals from Matt Green: goal machine. It was a tougher contest than the score line suggests with the Quakers threatening to break a strong Stags resistance for the majority of the game, however Mansfield hung on until the end, smashing those Wembley memories into oblivion, with no one more delighted than Adam Murray. Team: Marriott, O'Neill, Futcher, Sutton, Kendrick, Meikle (Connor), Murray (C), Howell, Briscoe (Worthington), Green [2], Dyer SNU: Redmond, Stevenson, Naylor Podcast Below - Commentary from Craig Priest & Scott Rogers 
After my previous post stating a return to the FM airwaves was round the corner, I can now confirm a date has been set for Mansfield Matters to return to 106.9FM following a productive meeting with the newly appointed station manager.
The Mansfield Matters show was set for a midweek return when Paul Cox’s Stags travelled to Alfreton, however following that postponement due to the FA Trophy, the show will return on Saturday 11th February 2pm – Mansfield Vs Fleetwood, with regular updates on the game bring provided throughout the afternoon. Mansfield Matters will pick up where it left off, providing regular updates on ALL home fixtures and FULL MATCH COMMENTARY on ALL away games. The new station manager and I had an honest discussion earlier today and I was told that at the moment, the station are only broadcasting on FM (106.9 locally) and NOT online because of the limited service provided by the previous online stream provider for a high price. I am told that the station directors and management team are working on getting a new online stream sorted but have been advised that this could take some time. My concern then focussed on having to lose a fair chunk of the audience due to being unable to broadcast online via Takeover, admittedly a good 80% of our audience prior to going off air was internet based. Since going off air we have broadcast full commentary via USTREAM, it has been agreed that until an online stream can be brought and installed for the station, we will continue to use the USTREAM facility, meaning we will broadcast our AWAY fixtures (full commentary) both on 106.9FM and via our USTREAM PLAYER on the MM-LIVE page. Unfortunately due to our agreement with the club, we WILL NOT be using USTREAM for home games, meaning regular updates will be on FM only. This move allows us to keep what has been a strong following of online listeners within our core net, whilst allowing those who have missed out since our departure from FM, back into the loop following a frustrating long wait. In the short term only match coverage will be returning, with talks over a phone in show and various other ideas to take place over the summer. As always, this website will be here to help you communicate with other Stags fans and will continue to provide features for you to get involved with. Finally I would like to thank each and every one of you for your fantastic support during our off air period. Your support and understanding has warmed my heart and reaffirmed my belief that when the chips are down, there is always someone that believes you can find a way through. The audience figures for the online coverage has blown me away, for that amount of people to come back week after week is amazing, I can’t wait to get back on Takeover next Saturday and add to what is already a wonderful amount. I will work extremely hard to deliver quality content and make each show as enjoyable as the next. Exciting times are ahead for everyone who supporters Mansfield Town FC and I’m happy that once again we have found our home on FM – please see below for the schedule for our next few games. Thanks again, please spread the word – Mansfield Matters IS BACK HOME! Craig 4/2/12 Darlington – Home – Twitter updates via @mansfieldtownfc 11/2/12 Fleetwood – Home – Regular updates on 106.9FM with build up from 2pm 18/2/12 Newport – Away – Full match commentary via USTREAM ON MM-LIVE (2.50pm) & on 106.9FM with build up from 2pm 25/1/12 Tamworth – Home – Regular updates on 106.9fm with build up from 2pm Further schedule details will be posted on MM-LIVE nearer to the date of the games. |