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Neil Young is the Merseyrail manager who has also managed Marine, of the Northern Premier League Division One North West, to seven victories in this season’s FA Cup and a fairytale third-round tie at home to eight-time winners Tottenham. Here he gives the rundown on only the second team from the eighth tier of English football to reach the third round in its 149-year history …
Bayleigh Passant He came in this season after being released by Tranmere and his form has been very good. He’s a young, local lad who is still learning the game and fits the profile of what we are trying to do – a hungry lad who wants to do well and get back into the professional game. And he gets the ale in on his birthday [Marine beat Havant & Waterlooville on the goalkeeper’s 20th and, still in his kit, he went to a nearby Co-op to buy some beers]. He’s a lovely lad. The other day I told him he needed photo ID for his Covid test. He said he didn’t have any so could he use a selfie on his phone!
Josh Solomon-Davies Josh was also at Tranmere initially although we eventually got him from Stalybridge. He’s a very quick, attacking full-back who ran the 100 metres in 11.3 seconds when he was 16. He currently works in the NHS’s track and trace system.
James Joyce Joycey is one of the longest serving players at the club and was here before I arrived. An attacking left-back who is a great one-v-one defender, he has improved year on year. Works in a car plant.
Alex Doyle Doyley is on loan from Salford. He’s been struggling with an ankle injury since the Havant game and hasn’t played since then, but we’re hoping he’ll be fit for Spurs. We agreed an extension to his loan period only this past week.
Anthony Miley He had a slow start but has really stepped up to the plate this season, his second year with us, and has probably been one of our best players. He’s a real leader on the pitch and chipped in with five goals already from central defence, including the goal at Colchester in the first round.
David Raven This is an interesting tie for David. He made his Liverpool debut in a League Cup tie against Tottenham in 2004, when a young team beat an experienced Spurs team on penalties. His background speaks for itself, with nearly 200 games in the Football League and six years in Scotland with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. We have some good young centre-halves at the club but we waited in the summer for a more experienced centre-half and David was exactly what we wanted.
Neil Kengni Neil is a player I’ve liked for a number of years and we finally managed to get him on loan from Stalybridge towards the end of last season before lockdown. We then signed him permanently in the summer. Very quick, strong, and improving all the time. We’ve got high hopes for him.
Josh Hmami Signed in the summer from TNS [in Wales’s Cymru Premier]. Josh started out in Bolton’s academy but had come out of league football with Accrington Stanley. He caught our eye during a loan spell with Ramsbottom last year. A free-kick specialist who has scored seven goals already this season from midfield, a number of them direct free-kicks.
Niall Cummins I knew all about Niall from my Conference North days with Chester. We got him on loan when I first arrived, because we didn’t have many forwards at the club, and our record while he played was seven wins, one draw and one defeat. Then he broke his ankle at Hednesford [and Marine were ultimately relegated for the first time in their history that season]. Niall is a PE teacher. He’s a real talisman for the club, a good pro around the place, a firm fans’ favourite and the club captain. And a big Arsenal fan!
James Barrigan An ex-pro at Wigan Athletic. Baz has really improved this year. We gave him a positional change from wide left to inside and his form has been exceptional. He is one of the stars of this FA Cup run in terms of his energy and commitment. Never stops running. He’s a binman now, or a refuse collector as he keeps reminding me.
Adam Hughes On loan from TNS. We just agreed an extension to his loan deal this past week. A big centre-half who can also play in midfield or left-back. A real winner. I’m looking for him to kick on because we have high expectations for him.
Germano Mendes Germano is the character of the team. Our No 2 goalkeeper. He was here when I arrived, a real character and a good goalkeeper. Very good to have around the place – most of the time!
Kenny Strickland One of our more experienced players and the longest-serving member of the squad. He was at Chelsea and Manchester United as a kid and can play in a number of positions, including full-back and midfield. He’s vice-captain and great to have around the younger players as someone they can learn from.
Jay Devine Had a year as a pro at Tranmere and came to us after his release. Played a lot at centre-half last year but this season we put him in central midfield and in the last seven or eight weeks he has really taken off. He replaced Alex Doyle when he got injured against Havant and has been excellent. I’m hoping he believes in himself a little bit more because, if he does, I think we’ve got a real player on our hands.
Michael Howard Mike has had a stop-start time because of injuries. He came to us just before lockdown last year on loan from Morecambe, having started out at Preston, and we signed him permanently in the window. He was flying in pre-season but has had a few knocks and is just coming back from a knee injury. A quick winger who can get himself a goal.
Ryan Wignall Wiggy is another senior player who started at Liverpool, where he twice won the FA Youth Cup. We signed him from Connah’s Quay Nomads, who won the Welsh Premier League last year. His goal started this Cup run. We were 1-0 down against Barnoldswick Town in the preliminary round when he came on as sub and scored an unbelievable volley with two minutes to go. I think it was named FA Cup goal of the round.
Danny Shaw A big centre-half who had a short spell away from the club at Widnes. Great in the air, in both boxes, and another player who has missed quite a bit of this season through injury. He suffered a really bad back injury in pre-season and with so few games it has been difficult to get him back up to speed.
James Ellison A quick young left-back who has been out on loan at Stalybridge. Ex-Tranmere Rovers, he’s also had a few knocks but he did really well at Stalybridge and we’re hoping he can continue that form with us.
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