CONSISTENCY is the one thing everyone seems to be striving for in football.

Yet, if there’s one thing that can be said of Worcester City for certain, it’s that they are consistently inconsistent. A cliche, yes, but it’s also very much true of Richard Dryden’s side.

It is interesting to note that City have only twice this season fielded the same team for consecutive matches. That speaks volumes.

The first time was against Basingstoke on August 17, a game which ended 1-1, followed five days later by the trip to Weymouth, when the Terras emerged 2-1 victors.

Sufficiently annoyed by what he saw on the south coast, the manager shuffled his pack again and, just a week later, the team which drew 0-0 against Staines Town at St George’s Lane went to Bath City 48 hours later and returned with a point. Since then, not once has the starting XI been the same from one game to the next and we are just a month shy of Christmas.

If I asked supporters to name Worcester’s strongest side, I doubt there would be two line-ups the same.

Dryden, too, cannot say for certain who would be in his best team. “I do one week and then I get let down the next week,” was his honest answer when asked after the 2-1 FA Trophy third qualifying round victory over Burnham.

“I thought I had it bang on and then we went down to Eastleigh with the best starting XI and we got absolutely pulverised.

“In football, you think you’ve got your best side, but then loss of form and injuries change that.”

True, but an element of stability certainly helps. Before Shabir Khan left for international duty with Pakistan, the defence virtually picked itself and has been the most settled area of the side.

Craig Wilding and Gary Walker seem to be the preferred midfield pairing with a combination of Matt Birley, Graham Ward, Rob Davies and Louis Bridges around them. But then it starts to get complicated. Marco Adaggio and Rob Elvins are currently in favour up front but the latter is about to serve another suspension and Marc McGregor will be back.

In all, there have been eight different pairings with the likes of Matt Dinsmore, Alfie Carter and, at the start of the season, the departed Martin Butler all getting a look in.

Things will have to change again if Marvin Brown is to feature before his loan deal from Weston-super-Mare expires. It might also go a long to explaining why Wilding is the top-scorer — he has started all but two games.

Having options and competition for places is one thing, but changes every week is hardly conducive to a stable side. City’s league position is testament to that.