Monthly Archives: April 2013

Mobility

17 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in F

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Tuesday 16th April 2013 ko 19.45

Wessex League Division One

FLEET SPURS 0

BROCKENHURST 3 (Ritchie 46 Spinney 53 Kenna 72p)

Att 23

Entry £4

Programme £1

I hate the fact the only reason I did this game is because Fleet Spurs have resigned from the Wessex League. It is the lot of the groundhopper that the end of the season is spent at least in part doing clubs and grounds that may not be there the next time round.

The Southwood Pavilion, in Kennels Lane, lies more or less equidistant between Fleet and Farnborough on former MOD land. At one end is the soon-to-be vacated Nokia building, the other woodlands leading to the Cody Sports and Social Club the former home of Farnborough North End. Therein lies the problem, the facility is nowhere near any population, so the most relevant statistic above is the attendance. They didn’t even cover the cost of the referee and linesmen this evening.

With financial facts of life stacked against you, a change is clearly necessary, but what that actually is isn’t known as yet. The club like would a sideways move to the Combined Counties, thereby reducing travelling costs, but a drop in status to the Hampshire League is possible, as is no move at all. It’s all down to the committees and darkened rooms of the FA to decide next month, or maybe the month after, the club simply doesn’t know. That can’t be easy for the players, not knowing even the level you’ll be playing next season.

And to be honest it showed, as promotion-chasing Brockenhurst dominated. They contrived to miss a string of chances during the first half. Over an excellent burger and cup of tea, the Fleet faithful feared the worst if the visitors found their shooting boots. Which they did with much of the crowd (such as it was) still in the pavilion, Dan Ritchie blasting home from 25 yards. Fleet worked hard, but offered little up front but it took something fortuitous for Brockenhurst to double their lead. The ball was worked well from the left but Mike Spinney’s shot was scuffed. A clean shot would have been easily blocked by keeper Ryan Bone, but instead it spun up and over the wrong-footed glovesman and looped in.

A silly penalty will no doubt help Brockenhurst’s goal-difference, it is extremely tight at the top after all, that was easily dispatched by Warren Kenna, the brother of former Southampton professional Jeff, for a rather harsh scoreline for Fleet.

Maybe I was the mood I was in, but I found myself warming to the small band of volunteers trying to keep Fleet Spurs going despite almost insurmountable odds. I wish them well whatever the FA decides.

Vista

14 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in R

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Saturday 13th April 2013 ko 14.30

Wearside League

RICHMOND TOWN 0

WILLINGTON 1 (Marshall 78) White sent off (2nd booking)

Att 94 (h/c)

Entry £2

Programme £1

Tea 80p

Apparently Richmond is the UK’s most replicated place name with 57 instances so for the avoidance of any doubt, this beautiful place is in North Yorkshire! The Georgian Theatre here, is reckoned to be the most complete anywhere in the world. Its a town of narrow, cobbled streets, and seemingly is unchanged much since it was founded in 1071 by the Breton Alan Rufus, on lands granted to him by William the Conqueror. The name Richmond is an anglicised version of the Norman Richemont, meaning Strong Hill, there’s still a town of that name in Haute-Normandie. Richmond Castle, completed in 1086, consisted of a keep with walls encompassing the area now known as the Market Place.

The castle still dominates the scene, built at least in part as a response to the 1069 rebellion at York which was followed by his “harrying of the North” – an act of ethnic cleansing which depopulated large areas. As a further punishment he divided up the lands of North Yorkshire among his most loyal followers. Alain Le Roux de Ponthievre of Brittany received the borough of Richmond and began constructing the castle to defend against further rebellions and to establish a personal power base.

The castle was finished as a defence by the 15th century but remained as a tourist attraction and occasional military base, Robert Baden-Powell the founder of the Scout movement ran the barracks here from 1908-10, and during World War I as the base of the Non-Combatant Corps made up of conscientious objectors. It was also used to imprison some of those objectors who refused to accept army discipline and participate in the war in any way. These included The Richmond 16 who were taken to France from the castle, charged under Field Regulations and then sentenced to death, those death sentences eventually being commuted to ten years’ hard labour.

The Earl’s Orchard Playing Field gives the most spectacular view of the south side of the castle situated as it is just over the River Swale from castle walls. It used to be a jousting field and if you look to the right side of the castle walls you can still see the holes where a balcony was fixed so the Earl of Richmond and his retinue could watch the action!

Behind the near goal the Culloden Tower is clearly visible. It was built in 1746 by John Yorke, a Richmond MP and the architect is thought to have been Daniel Garrett. It was originally called the Cumberland Temple and was built to celebrate the victory of the Duke of Cumberland’s army over Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonny Prince Charlie) at Culloden Moor in April of that year.

All of the history means that the football club’s scope for improving facilities is more or less nil. The pavilion was opened by Jack Charlton in 1975, but the both the pitch rails and dugouts and removable. The club won the Teesside League last season and went into this fixture in second place. Its clear that for elevation to the Northern League the club will have to move to progress.

The game saw a contrast in ambitions. Willington are ex-Northern League, and are looking to return for next season. They’re top of the table, and this win makes that ambition likely now they’re 10 points clear from Stockton FC, who are now second. It wasn’t the greatest game to watch as a neutral, two good sides simply cancelled each other out, and it took the dismissal of Willington’s Jason White, moronically for an incident of dissent in each half. Oddly it was the visitors who responded the best as substitute Reece Marshall fired home to take the points home north.

For all of that, I could have witnessed a 7-6 thriller, and I still wouldn’t remember this place for anything other the view. Its quite something isn’t it?

The curious case of Del and Raquel

12 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in W

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Wednesday 10th March 2013 ko 18.30

North Berkshire League Division 4

WARBOROUGH UNITED 0

WESTMINSTER 3 (Sillence 13 Bourton 46 Slater 58)

Att 10

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale

The village of Warborough is adjacent to Shillingford, on the road from Oxford to Reading. Its most obvious feature is the Parish Church of St Lawrence, with its ring of 8 bells and its 12th Century font. The houses are as pretty as they are expensive, and the Six Bells Pub overlooks the village green where the football and cricket teams play. Affable Glaswegian manager Derek Russell described the place as “Chocolate Box” and it really is a perfect description. In a nearby field the 4th World Ploughing Championship took place in 1953, the site marked by cairn of British and International stones, topped with a Canadian model plough.

The Warborough team playing here now are in fact the former Radley FC, but moved here after Warborough & Shillingford folded and they’d lost their ground. With a new Radley team in the NBFL the circle is now complete, but Derek did share an anecdote. He was the postman for this part of the world, and soon discovered that actress Tessa Peake-Jones lives locally. Since her most famous role is that of Raquel in Only Fools and Horses, it was a case of Del and Raquel all over again!

I did make the mistake of asking to which team in Glasgow his loyalties lie. His answer was obvious, look at Warborough’s green kit. We spoke about groundhops, that’s inevitable given my connections with the league, I spoke to Westminster too, and Derek has some excellent ideas for when his turn comes. One thing is clear the visitors will love it here, so long as they don’t stay in the excellent pub!

With plenty of space to work with Derek plumped for the largest pitch that’s legally possible 100 x 120 yards, and it was noticeable that both teams tired with the space available. Westminster won, they were just that little bit sharper, but 3-0 was harsh on Warborough who fought to the last. That last bit was cold and wet as the rains came, which meant the dark curtailed the fun slightly early. It didn’t matter, it was a pleasure to spend a couple of hours with these gallant, friendly clubs at the heart of my favourite league.

The Orange Box

11 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in H

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

Tuesday 9th April 2013 ko 18.00

Banbury & Lord Jersey League Premier Division

HANWELL UNITED 4 (Hughes 57 Trevitt 71 82 86)

DEDDINGTON TOWN 3 (England 19 Thornton 38 Cook 66)

Att 10

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale

Hanwell Fields is a fairly mundane new housing development at the northernmost edge of Banbury. Built between 2001 and 2009, it would have meant absolutely nothing had I not bought a house there, finally selling up and moving back to Oxford just under 2 years ago. As part of the planning gain, a sports field and clubhouse was built at the bottom of the hill on Dukes Meadow Drive, and each day I’d pass and wonder why on earth no one was making use of an excellent facility.

That changed for the start of the season when FC Naranja moved in. To be honest when I saw the name on the Full Time website, I imagined they were an Asian team, which shows my appalling linguistic ability. In fact they are a group of university friends who still wanted to play after graduating. They bought a kit, and since it was orange took the Spanish word for the colour as a name! As part of the agreement to play at Hanwell Fields they agreed to change their name, but thankfully the orange kit remains.

Deddington Town will win this year’s title, and for the vast majority of this encounter looked likely to win easily. Hanwell suffered the indignity of losing a player to sprained ankle collected retrieving a ball for a throw in, and Deddington looked sharper, and seemed to have that happy knack of scoring at opportune moments.

All that changed when Hanwell pushed James Trevitt forward by 10 yards. It completely flummoxed the visiting defence and Trevitt took full advantage, notching a 14 minute hat trick, to the delight of the Hanwell faithful. Even this cynic smiled; it won’t change anything, Deddington will win the title, and Hanwell will be happy to finish mid-table in their first season at this level.

I was just pleased to see the ground getting used, and being quite royally entertained into the bargain. Do pay them a visit, they’re well worth the effort.

 

 

 

Doubting Thomas

11 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in O

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Saturday 6th April 2013 ko 15.00

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 0

WYCOMBE WANDERERS 1 (Grant 19)

Att 6,777 (1,132 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (incl Oxford Mail)

In the morning I received an email from the club with renewal details for my season ticket. In truth I couldn’t work out whether it represented an increase or not, so convoluted were the discounts, and special offers. My suspicions were confirmed when I looked up the Oxford Mail website, who’d clearly employed a mathematician, and the increase is around 3%. That’s hardly surprising with the club posting a £1million loss, but the cynical bit is only giving the full discount for renewals before 17th May. At that point the decision would be based on this year’s team, management, and performance.

Many years ago I wasn’t popular with the nuns at catechism classes, as my hero was doubting Thomas. Even as a 13-year-old St Thomas’ refusal to believe Jesus Christ had risen from the dead,

“Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:24-29)

struck me as an entirely sensible attitude, much to Sister Marie-Anne’s consternation.

And that’s how I feel about my renewal, and that’s how a felt about this non-event of a local derby. Two sides with absolutely nothing to play for, save for individual careers, and on the Oxford side many look to be terminating at the Oxford end of the line. One piece of class won it, Joel Grant jinking past 2 challenges to fire home into the bottom corner. After that it was a dull as dishwater encounter that owed far too more to fear than expression.

The other side of that early renewal date is the trust that new, better players will be signed to replace much of the dross that clutters up the back of my programme. I don’t trust manager Chris Wilder to bring in the correct calibre of player, and I don’t believe that any manager chairman Ian Lenagan chooses will have the funds to put together a competitive side with the losses that the club are racking up.

The clarion call will be to speculate to accumulate, and there are enough clubs entering administration to show the folly of that thinking. These are tough times, and tough decisions need to be made.

 

An everyday story of country folk

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in I

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Tuesday 2nd April 2013 ko 18.00

Midland Combination Division Two

INKBERROW 0

HENLEY FOREST 1 (Fitter 38)

Att 12

Entry FREE

Programme NO

With Silly Season kick offs this early I wonder how on earth amateur players manage to reach the ground on time. From Banbury I only just made kick off on time, and I didn’t have to change or warm-up.

The Worcestershire village of Inkberrow is one of those pretty-as-a-picture places that you’d enjoy a drink at the local pub, and take a picture at the church, but then move on to the next place on your itinery. However it does have one massive claim to fame.

The world’s longest running soap opera is Radio 4’s The Archers, and the fictional village of Ambridge and its pub, The Bull, is based on Inkberrow and it’s pub The Old Bull. The series started on May 29, 1950, and since January 1, 1951, five 15-minute episodes (since 1998, six 12½-minute episodes) have been transmitted each week, at first on the BBC Light Programme and now Radio 4. The actor Norman Painting played Phil Archer continuously from the first trial series in 1950 until his death on 29 October 2009. He holds the title of longest-serving actor in a single soap opera in the Guinness Book of Records. The series is now over 15,000 episodes old!

Since my previous visit to Sands Road, the club has moved pitches, over the hedge on to what was a farmer’s field. Football Foundation money has seen that field levelled and drained, and the result is two excellent pitches. The trouble was that those pitches are on top of a hill. The views are spectacular, but the wind ruined the game, and watching anything is difficult when you’re uncomfortable! Some spectators commandeered an upturned dugout for shelter!

One goal settled it, Ed Fitter, finishing well after a good move from the right. Inkberrow continue to be a notably friendly, go-ahead club running a number of teams where the population base would suggest one would struggle. When you go, do pay a visit to the Old Bull, but check how windy it is first!

 

 

Sweet Tooth

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in B

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Monday 1st April 2013 ko 18.15

Bedfordshire League Premier Division

BEDFORD HATTERS 2 (Grant 7 Simons 66)

CALDECOTE 3 (Boyd 6 45 70)

Att 30

80 minute game

Entry FREE

Programme NO

In groundhopping terms the last few weeks of the football season, when the clocks have gone forward are referred to as “Silly Season.” Its when there are a multiplicity of evening fixtures at clubs without floodlights, as the evenings are just about light enough to fit a game in providing the participants aren’t too fussy about fripperies such as 15 minute half time breaks!

It was a quirk that the Bedfordshire League was the only league to hold its Bank Holiday programme in the evening. The reason apparently was to attract hoppers, itself odd as the league has a groundhop each October to do precisely that! It takes all sorts I suppose!

The Meltis Sports and Social Club is tucked away in suburban Bedford, so with the both Bedford Town and Bedford FC playing out-of-town towards Sandy, it became my first game within town boundaries. Meltis were the manufacturer of Newberry Fruits, a fruit jelly sweet manufactured at a factory in Bedford. The firm were bust in 1996 and the name was bought by Hostas, and production was moved to Germany. Meltis Albion also play in the Bedfordshire League and use Pitch 1, nearest the clubhouse.

The use of Pitch 2 meant one thing to me, it was too darned cold and windy! Amongst the hoppers there, the number of grounds visited ran into the thousands, but not even the combined experience of all those miles could find a way of escaping the wind. That was a real shame, as the game was worthy of being remembered for reasons other than the cold.

The difference between the two sides was Caldecote’s Jack Boyd, who’s hat trick was a justified reward for a man-of-the-match performance. The Hatters worked hard, and managed to equalise twice through Ryan Grant and Jason Simons, but never looked liked getting more than a point. To be honest though, at the end of it all I was glad to get back to the car and put the heater on!

Prime Rib

08 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in B

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Monday 1st April 2013 ko 15.00

Hertfordshire County Senior League Division One

BUNTINGFORD TOWN 1 (Gilbert 58)

ASLAN 2 (Carvalho 64 Florence 85)

Att 28

Entry & Programme FREE

The town of Buntingford sits on both the River Rib, and on the Roman Ermine Street. It has a large number of Georgian and mediaeval buildings and was a stop-over on what was the main route between London and Cambridge, now the A10,

Buntingford was home to supermarket chain Sainsbury’s Anglia Distribution Centre, however this is now vacant and awaiting lease. The site was previously used as a Royal Army Ordnance Corps munitions factory, known locally as “The Dump.”

The Bury Sports Field lies adjacent to it, at the outskirts of town. And what a wonderful place to watch a game it is. The topography helps, the clubhouse is raised well above pitch level, and the balcony is easily the best place to view the action.

The opposition intrigued me, I overheard their officials speaking a language I didn’t understand, so I asked. It transpires they’re a Turkish Cypriot club, Aslan is Turkish for Lion, and they’re based in Enfield. A quick chat with referee Chris Flack revealed an expectation for a tough assignment, but he was easily up to the job, no cards and the game flowed.

The game was eminently watchable, on a cold afternoon when the balcony was welcome, providing shelter from the wind. Fellow hopper Chris Garner was celebrating a minor milestone, ground number 321, so the Ted Rogers gag was marked, a picture with a “Dusty Bin.”

With Aslan second, but with multiple games in hand an away win looked likely, and did come to pass, but it look a fright to get them motivated. Louis Gilbert lobbing Kemal Osyasa opening the scoring for the hosts. It was only then that Aslan made their territorial advantage count with a goal that Tijan Carvalho scrambled over the line with a sensitive part of his anatomy! The winner showed all present why they may well win the title as a flicked back-heel was latched on to by substitute Daniel Florence who hit the ball first time into the top corner.

 

XXX action

07 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in K

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Sunday 31st March 2013 ko 13.00

Oxfordshire Football Association Sam Waters Sunday Cup Final

OXFORD SPORTS & SOCIAL 2 (McGlynn 45 McMahon 48)

KIDLINGTON ROYALS 3 (Curtin 8 66 Odhiambo 78)

Att c300

Entry & Programme £2

At Court Place Farm Stadium (Oxford City FC)

To be honest, I didn’t really fancy watching any football. I know regular readers of these articles will find that hard to believe, but 8 games in just over 2 days is hard going! In fact my reason for going was straightforward, Kidlington Royals asked me! In the days leading up to the game Royals came up with a novel way of advertising the game and its one I don’t think I’ll see again! They used Twitter to get British Continue reading →

Breweriana

07 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in T

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 30th March 2013 ko 19.30

Northern Counties East Premier Division

TADCASTER ALBION 5 (Taylor 39 65 Rice 78 Winn 84og Youldon 88) Jeff missed penalty 2, Ward sent off (violent conduct) 61

BARTON TOWN OLD BOYS 1 (Dexter 20)

Att 288

Entry £5

Programme £1

The North Yorkshire town of Tadcaster was founded by the Romans, who named it Calcaria from the Latin word for lime, reflecting the importance of the area’s limestone geology as a natural resource for quarrying, an industry which continues today and has contributed to many notable buildings including York Minster. The limestone affects the chemistry of the water, which has given rise to the brewing industry here, as the water is similar to that at Burton-on-Trent, another centre of the brewing trade.

There are three breweries here, John Smith’s, Sam Smith’s and Continue reading →