Chester jaunt a headache for Linnets before Christmas

Mark Hearle reflects on a difficult trip to Chester before Christmas for the Linnets in his weekly Your Local Paper column.We are now a week (or less depending on when you’re reading this) away from the Christmas holiday spell and the one time of the year when it’s traditional to try and spend some time with families and loved ones who you don’t get the chance to see so much across the rest of the year.Bearing all of that in mind, it is rather strange that the powers in the National League decided to send King’s Lynn Town on their merry way to the North West of England this Saturday to face Chester in a National League North fixture.A round trip of 370 odd miles, equating to a seven-hour plus time on a busy road network is what faces not only the club’s players and officials but also Lynn’s hardcore support just a few days ahead of the holiday close down.As ever the Boxing and New Year’s day (or in Lynn’s case New Year’s Eve game, I’ll come to that in a while) fixtures are relatively local affairs but I’ve felt now for a while that the matches both pre and post-Christmas should also take on a more of a local look than they do at present.Lynn’s festive spell following this Saturday sees a home fixture with Needham Market on Boxing Day, a visit to Scunthorpe United on New Year’s Eve, with things being rounded off with a long haul to Warrington on the first weekend of 2025, a few miles there I’m sure you will agree!Everyone knows that the Town’s geographical location could be better, and it’s something that has always had a huge say in what divisions the club has played in down the years. The lower down the pyramid you go the less travelling you have to do, although I remember a trip to Market Drayton Town for admittedly, an FA Trophy fixture, a few seasons ago, the weekend before Christmas and that was with the club being at Step 3! However, having said that in the National North, teams such as Brackley Town, Peterborough Sports and even Leamington are within decent range of Norfolk so what would be the problem of including games against those teams at this time of the year as opposed to trips to the other side of the country? It makes sense for clubs and supporters alike to keep things more local at this time of year.In my time at The Walks, we were fortunate to have Boston United in the league and I remember that the National League would say to both clubs to arrange when they want to play each other over the holidays between themselves but alternate it yearly.This year that cannot happen but the league now appears to have changed the criteria with the club facing different opposition on the bank holiday days. I feel it’s a shame as there’s nothing like trying to gain quick revenge over one of your fiercest rivals in quickfire time.On the subject of rivals, I’m still baffled as to why the fixture at Scunthorpe is being played on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve and not 24 hours later. I know that the vast majority of people will still be on holiday but there will be some who cannot get along for one reason or another which is a shame.The game itself should be a post-Christmas cracker with seemingly Lynn in decent form as opposed to the hosts whose stuttering campaign continues. Last week in this column I predicted that Alfreton Town’s visit to The Walks wasn’t going to be pretty and, maybe for once, I was correct in my prediction as Lynn’s last home game before Christmas ended in a 0 – 0 draw.Alfreton is probably the most stubborn and disruptive team in National League North and has to be one of the most frustrating teams you could ever wish to face.However they have been for years, and, in playing that way, continue to be one of the most consistent sides in the division.Their style is not for me, and many others I suspect, but it works for them and continues to bring them relative success in recent seasons, including play-off place league finishes and cup runs. There were few chances for either side in the game with both sets of defences in good form it became apparent on the day that it would take something special to break the deadlock, which unfortunately never arrived.Like all good managers Adam Lakeland took some positives from the game, including his opinion that the Linnets had improved greatly since, and using Lakeland’s words, his team were bullied out of the reverse fixture which they lost 3-0.Personally, I think it’s a great point in the grand scheme of things, taken from a team who will again be in and around the play-off spots come May and shows the development that continues to take place in Lakeland’s squad’s mentality which has become stronger since the start of the current season.Lynn were in action at Brackley Town on Tuesday night and, as mentioned previously, travel to Chester this coming weekend. That strong mentality I spoke of earlier will again be needed at both venues against another two teams who will be in and around the action end of the table come the end of the season.Chester in particular will be a real test of the Linnets’ promotion credentials.Their hosts have long harboured a return to league football but have found themselves stuck at Step 2 for some considerable time now and would of course have to navigate another level above before any thoughts of league football can be entertained.It is though a venue where Lynn can go and return with at least a point for their efforts. Chester is among a gaggle of teams whose inconsistency must be proving frustrating to both management and supporters alike.With Curzon Ashton beginning to look well set at the top of the league table someone must step up from the chasing pack to mount a challenge for the league’s top spot.If the Linnets can collect something from both of these away games it will set up very nicely with the Christmas fixtures now very clearly in sight.