Could playing away be more to Carlisle United's liking?

Also because, that season of 2002/03, the Irishman who is perhaps not remembered for successful football and winning runs before he is remembered for…other things…was pretty adept at picking up a result away from Brunton Park.

The Blues ended that campaign with eight away victories in what’s now League Two. And thank goodness they did. Anything less and they’d have finished it as a non-league club.

While Collins' Carlisle at home were a basket case, away they were more than respectable. Eight away wins was the equal of the top two teams in the division that season, also equal to or better than three of the four play-off sides, and superior, overall, than 15 of their fourth-tier peers.

Roddy’s away-day tally reflects favourably, or at the very least on par, with some strong Carlisle counterparts over the years. In 1996/97, Mervyn Day’s promotion-winning side also totted up eight away wins, as did Keith Curle’s play-off team of 2016/17.

Collins’, shall we say, inconsistent troops also managed a better away-win record than, for instance, John Ward’s League One play-off team of 2007/08 (six away wins), and the soundly-performing third-tier teams of Neil McDonald (seven in 2006/07) and Greg Abbott (six in 2011/12). Chris Beech’s side, who topped League Two for a spell in 2020/21, ended with six away wins. Paul Simpson’s promotion-winners of 2022/23 managed only one more than Roddy’s lads.

Not bad, then. In this context it is entirely appropriate that United’s adventures in 02/03 were bookended by notable away wins – 1-0 at Southend United, followed by the Battle of Sincil Bank (the eight-man 1-0 win) and then, eight months later, the 3-2 win at Shrewsbury Town that sealed safety, Brian Wake and all that.

Carlisle have made gains in Williamson's first away league games, less so at home (Image: Richard Parkes)

Because United were so rank at home, it was a stressful battle all the way to the 45th game of 46. Even along the run-in, Carlisle’s away form had to sustain them. In the last 12 games of that league campaign, they collected 15 points; 11 of them came away from Brunton Park.

Somehow, that team found character on their travels when, at home, they were pitiful at setting the tone. Maybe there was something in the argumentative, us-against-the-world, ragtag feel of parts of that Collins team that was more suited to the identity of an obnoxious guest than that of a smooth and confident host.

Mike Williamson, let us be absolutely clear, is not Roddy Collins (unless, behind that roped-off training pitch, there are boxing matches going on that we just don’t know about). The only very early comparison we can make is that United, in Williamson's initial league games, have found greater comfort in far-off places than at headquarters.

And yes, it’s a tiny sample size so far, four points from two fixtures on the road, no points from two at home. Is it still worth considering, though, the idea that Carlisle might, in the immediate term, find away games more to their liking?

There are obvious reasons why this might be the case, and they come down to expectation, pressure, scrutiny, eyeballs and what you can get away with and what you can’t depending on where you’re playing.

Putting it basically, half a performance can be tolerated with more understanding by 300+ in Essex than by 7,000 on Warwick Road. Going from dominance to backs-to-wall, as Carlisle did last weekend, is easier to sell as a story of defiance at Colchester's ground than if it had happened against similar lower mid-table opponents at Brunton Park.

A certain patience is going to be necessary in these early days of a new regime, though it is hard to accuse United's home crowd of impatience given the amount of defeats they’ve had to suffer in the last year or so. However, an intolerance of difficulty was still audible when Carlisle were trying, and struggling, to play a certain way against Notts County in their most recent home league game. The dynamic when you’re on someone else's turf, trying to disturb a home side who carry the strong expectation of victory, is naturally different.

Williamson as a good away manager is an image that runs against what some MK Dons fans said upon his United appointment, but it feels facile to brand him a homer considering he won more away games than home fixtures with Gateshead in the whole of 2022/23, for instance.

Keith Curle's 2017/18 United side were also happier away than at home in terms of results (Image: Barbara Abbott)

When he left the north east club for Stadium MK a year ago, his 2023/24 record was, at home, W4 D2 L2 and, away, W3 D2 L2. Hardly the figures of a manager with agoraphobia.

It is not too creative a leap to imagine that the Williamson way, the Williamson style, might be something that can help a struggling side build anxiety in an opposing team and ground in a manner that won’t necessarily be the case at Brunton Park straight away.

And yes, the long route back to Brunton Park as a “fortress” must be undertaken. Settling the recent home wobbles would help immeasurably, and the sooner the better. Being consistent away, though, is a strength that can certainly make a bad season better, or even save you if other solutions are taking longer to find.

If it could keep a Roddy Collins team up, when so much else at that time was in the grip of chaos, controversy and drunken nights, then there really must be something in it (and yes, if it goes terribly at AFC Wimbledon today, then don’t blame me for wasting your time reading these 996 words. It was your choice).