Category Archives: W

Wild West End

17 Friday May 2013

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Sunday 12th May 2013

“Stepping out to Angelucci’s for my coffee beans
Checking out the movies and the magazines
Waitress she watches me crossing from the Barocco Bar
I get a pickup for my steel guitar
I saw you walking out Shaftesbury Avenue
Excuse me talking I wanna marry you
This is the seventh heaven street to me
Don’t you seem so proud
You’re just another angel in the crowd

My conductress on the number nineteen, She was a honey,
Pink toenails and hands all, dirty with the money,
Greasy Greasy hair, easy smile.
Made me feel nineteen for a while,
And I went down, down Chinatown,
In the backroom it’s a man’s world
All the money go down
Duck inside the doorway, duck to eat
There just ain’t no way,
You and me, we can beat

Walking in the wild west end
Walking in the wild west end
Walking with your wild best friend.”

excerpt of  “Wild West End” written by Mark Knopfler 1978 from the album “Dire Straits”

Here’s a little tip if you’re visiting the West End of London. Don’t take the underground to Covent Garden, go to Leicester Square instead. The two stations are only a fifth of a mile apart and the walk is interesting. You take in the edges of Theatreland, Chinatown and of course Covent Garden.

All three areas are Meccas for the art of people-watching and it was a pleasure showing someone new around one of my old haunts. From the market stalls and street entertainers of Covent Garden, to the discount ticket booth underground at Leicester Square station, and the multiplicity of restaurants in Chinatown, there’s never a dull moment!

We finished off the day with a visit to another of my old haunts, Wonk Kei’s restaurant. To use its colloquial name Wonky’s serves the most exquisite Cantonese cuisine at bargain prices, with free green tea thrown in. There is a catch, the décor is tired, the plates plastic and the service such as it is, is designed to move you on quickly. When busy the staff can be positively rude, I remember asking for a beer many years ago and having the can thrown at me! Romantic it isn’t, but its worth a visit just to experience the place and I noted the best possible recommendation, Chinese people still eat there.

It seemed completely appropriate a place given the characters outside, a bog-standard restaurant wouldn’t fit in would it? I felt genuine regret as we caught the Piccadilly Line train back to Hillingdon.

The Pirton Hundred

16 Thursday May 2013

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Wednesday 15th May 2013 ko 18.30

Oxon Senior League Division One

WATLINGTON TOWN 1 (Pitts 74)

OAKLEY UNITED 6 (Woodfine 11 17 A Rogers 16 P Brown 73 78p Keeble 75)

80 minute game

Att 20

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale

As a groundhopper I hanker after visiting grounds that I’ve driven past a lot. When I lived in Banbury trips to my former parents-in-law involved driving along the Shirburn Road. Its a just off Junction 5 of the M40, past the Model Farm (used for not-so-secret GM crop trials) and past the hamlet of Shirburn.

That’s where the interest starts, as the signpost is for a “Historical Church” not what lies at the end of the lane. In fact its the walls of Shirburn Castle, the seat of the Earls of Macclesfield, and its where in 1761 the astronomer Thomas Hornsby first observed the transit of Venus.

The present owner of the castle is the Beechwood Estates Company, the Macclesfield family estate management company. Following a long-running and acrimonious court battle, the 9th Earl of Macclesfield, Richard Timothy George Mansfield Parker, was evicted from the family seat at the end of 2004.

According to Sir James Dixon Mackenzie’s The Castles of England: their Story and Structure, “The castle is rectangular in plan, having a central open courtyard, and at each of the four exterior angles a massive round tower rising straight out of the wide and deep moat, which, supplied with running water from springs, encircles the whole fabric. Access to the castle is gained by crossing three drawbridges, and the summit of the walls is battlemented throughout; the main entrance is guarded by a portcullis.”

Its a real shame the castle doesn’t appear to be open to the public, as the history is fascinating. In in letter from Brunetto Latini, the tutor and friend of Dante, of Inferno fame dated 1802 he commented rather pointedly that,

“We passed through many woods, considered here as dangerous places, as they are infested with robbers, which, indeed, is the case with most of the roads in England. This is a circumstance connived at by the neighbouring barons, from the consideration of sharing in the booty, and these robbers serving their protectors on all occasions, personally, and with the .whole strength of their band. However, as our company was numerous, we had nothing to fear. Accordingly we arrived the first night at Shirburn Castle, in the neighbourhood of Wallington, under the chain of hills over which we passed at Stocquinchurque (Stokenchurch). This castle was built by the Earl of Tanqueville, one of the followers of William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy … It is now in the possession of a descendant of the said earl.”

I reflected as a drove the half a mile or so to the Recreation Ground on how I could miss something like that for such a long time.

You don’t actually see Watlington if all you do is visit the Recreation Ground. That’s a real shame, as its a fine market town, and there’s an interesting folly to find too! The Watlington White Mark was designed by local squire Edward Horne, who felt that the parish church of St. Leonard, when viewed from his home, would be more impressive if it appeared to have a spire. He had the unusual folly cut into the chalk escarpment of Watlington Hill in 1764. It is 36 feet wide at its base and 270 feet long. When you drive along the M40 through the chalk canyon near Junction 5 just glance towards Watlington and the mock spire is the other side of the chalk cutting.

It all puts the football ground rather in the shade to be honest. The club played in the Hellenic League from 1964 to 1977 and had one game in the FA Vase in 1976 a 4-0 defeat at home to Barton Rovers. These days there’s a pavilion and a permanently roped off pitch and really not much else. The vista is pleasant enough, but the neither of the town’s quirks are on show, but the players put on a decent show even if the game was trifle one-sided.

Its fair to say that Oakley are the form team in this division. Normally games this late in the season consist of teams whose grounds have drainage problems, but this one is because Oakley have been rather too successful! Their league record shows one blemish, a draw, against 19 wins. On top of that the Buckinghamshire club has made the finals of the Berks & Bucks Junior Cup,  and the Oxon Presidents Cup, losing both.

With the league title won on Saturday they were clearly focused on making sure the unbeaten league record stayed that way though this and the other 2 games left. And at no point did that statistic look like being shattered. They ran in 6 goals in batches of three and played champagne football in between. At the end of it all I suspect Watlington were happy to have got the game played and not been completely humiliated while Oakley march on to the Premier Division.

 

That Point

09 Thursday May 2013

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Tuesday 7th May 2013 ko 18.30

Witney & District League Premier Division

WEST WITNEY 8 (Lewis 21 77 Hirons 33 Holder 62 Perry 79 85 Rayfield 86 Stubbs 90)

CHARLBURY TOWN 0

Att 22

Entry FREE

No Programme

Just over a week ago I watched West Witney agonisingly fail to take the point they needed to secure the league championship at Long Hanborough. It was a mere 30 seconds from full time when Hanborough’s winner went in, and in all honesty I rather felt for the league leaders so it was an easy decision to make for the West Witney Sports Ground on the B4047 Burford Road. One thing is clear, the club’s location means they’re well named, in fact you’re as close to Minster Lovell as you are to Witney!

It’s a well appointed site, featuring tennis and cricket as well as football. It used to be the Smiths Industries Sports Ground, and Smiths Industries FC played Hellenic League football here from 1964 to 1967.

Last week West Witney’s nerves got the better of them when the finshing line was in sight, but since then they haven’t looked back. The first XI have won the the Fred Ford and Witney Senior Cups and the reserves have won the Jack Busby Cup. It also turned out that Charlbury Town weren’t going to put up the level of resistance that Hanborough did.

The visitors though should take credit for fulfilling the fixture. They maintained their Premier Division survival on Saturday, and it would have been easy enough for them to have scratched this fixture. They turned up, and don’t let the scoreline fool you, they fought from start to finish, and had the class to stay around afterwards to applaud West Witney as they received the trophy.

But this evening was all about West Witney, and once Chris Hirons had scored the second, they looked irresistible. The football that had frozen in the tension last week flowed, and the goals rained in. Adi Holder headed home from a cross, before Kev Lewis collected his second. The decision was then made to put centre half Tom Perry up front. He did well, collecting a brace, the second a vicious left foot shot from all of an inch!

There was however one concern as substitute Shaun Rayfield slotted home for his first of the season, and that was where was the cup? As the game re-started a man with a wooden box slowly made his way over from the car park, and everyone relaxed. Alex Stubbs rounded off the rout, before everyone decamped to the clubhouse for the presentation and a beer or ten.

The only question that remains is can West Witney do it all again next season? They won’t take promotion, few clubs do from this league, but there’s no lack of competition to be found in this league.

 

The curious case of Del and Raquel

12 Friday Apr 2013

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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.

Strip Lighting

07 Thursday Mar 2013

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Wednesday 6th March 2013 ko 19.30

Mercian Regional League : Premier Division Cup Quarter-Final

WHITCHURCH ALPORT 0

SHIFNAL UNITED 97 4 (Biggins 22p 42p Falmer 70 Wood 87p)

Att 29 (h/c)

Entry £3

No Programme (old copy FREE)

Coffee 90p

There seem to be quite a few Whitchurchs in the UK, so for the avoidance of any doubt this one is in Shropshire! It’s also only a couple of miles from the Welsh border, and a few more from Cheshire. The town is home to JB Joyce Ltd. the oldest Tower Clock manufacturer in the world, having started trading in 1690, and is now a subsidiary of the Smiths Group. In 1849 the company copied the escapement in the clock in Big Ben at the Houses of Parliament. Continue reading →

Merrie City

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

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Tuesday 19th February 2013 ko 19.45

Northern Premier League-Division One North

WAKEFIELD 1 (Marsden 75) Grant missed penalty 10

OSSETT ALBION 1 (Tracey 28)

Att 92

Entry £8

Programme £1

Joni Mitchell once sang “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone,” and I feel that way about the urban football ground. As a small boy visiting Oxford United’s Manor Ground, you felt the anticipation as you walked through the narrow back streets to the turnstiles, often at the end of a cul-de-sac. The rusting turnstile, with the brass plate from a manufacturer from a northern town, and the brickwork painted over time and time again so only a rough pattern remained. A floodlight at each corner, and a stand with a pitched roof completed the painting.

Time, tide and the Taylor Report have seen a general drift of the larger grounds to out-of-town locations, and many of the classic football grounds have disappeared. The same process is happening with Rugby League grounds, but so far Wakefield Trinity Wildcats’ Belle Vue ground is still there to be enjoyed. It’s all there, the town centre location, and the narrow side streets, even the oft-painted brickwork!

Wakefield Trinity were formed from men who worshipped at The Holy Trinity Church in the West Yorkshire city in 1873. When the schism between the northern professional (League) clubs and the amateur (Union) south happened in 1895 Wakefield as a city found itself with both an amateur Union club, and a professional club,Trinity. It meant that the club needed its own ground, and Belle Vue was purchased in that year. The club had in fact played there since 1879, and when I entered the stadium via the one open turnstile in the corner I stopped, stood, and sucked in the atmosphere.

This is the football club’s second stint at the ground. Emley FC moved here in 2000 and re-named themselves Wakefield & Emley. When a new club was started back in Emley the suffix was dropped, and around the same time the club moved to the former Wakefield Rugby Union ground, College Grove. The club was evicted in 2011, and spent a season sharing at Ossett Town, before returning to Belle Vue for this season.

Three sides of Belle Vue are the quintessential large football/rugby ground, with the fourth a staple of the rugby ground of both codes, the multi-storey hospitality block. With just 92 present, all sides were accessible, including the bar area in hospitality, assuming you were prepared to pay the high prices for food and drink demanded at professional sport, I was not.

I contented myself with getting a teamsheet, ” No problem mate, I’ll print you one off,” (contrast that with Maidstone!) and walking round and enjoying a generous slice of sporting history.  Enjoy it while you can, as Belle Vue doesn’t satisfy future Superleague ground criteria, so Trinity are looking to either move or redevelop.

Behind the goal on the huge terrace a small crowd of young boys shouted their support for Ossett in a game that didn’t quite live up its exhalted surroundings. Two struggling sides took just the one pass too many to create enough impact to force the win. Josh Grant missed an early penalty for Wakefield, and Albion took control of the game, scoring through former Sheffield United forward Richard Tracey. They’ll wonder how they failed to force the win as a defensive howler allowed Tom Marsden to nip in to slide home.

It was one of those draws that seemed to be of little use to either club. Thatr’s a real shame as both club’s have been notably friendly when I visted previously, Ossett Albion at Dimple Wells, and Wakefield at their former home of College Grove. I’ll look forward to seeing them again. Hopefully Belle Vue won’t be paved in favour of a parking lot in the meantime.

Shaving the Mendips

03 Sunday Feb 2013

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Saturday 2nd February 2013 ko 15.00

Western League First Division

WELTON ROVERS 0 Dando sent off (handball on line) 78

BRADFORD TOWN 4 (Ridout 18, 23 78p 84)

Att 76

Entry £5

Programme £1

Sometimes its the little things that go wrong are what conspire to really make your day. With three of my friends heading to watch Cheddar I suggested we meet at Weston-super-Mare for lunch before we all headed off in different directions for the afternoon. As it transpired I was the only one who made in to Weston, but it did mean I approached the West Clewes Recreation Ground from the east, rather than the north had I not made my diversion.

I stumbled upon Burrington Gorge, at the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, in North Somerset. According to legend Augustus Montague Toplady was inspired to write the hymn Rock of Ages while sheltering under a rock in the combe, during a thunderstorm in the late 18th century. Nearby Aveline’s Hole is the earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Britain, the bones are roughly 10,400 years old.  Not bad for a 5 minute stop!

From there it wasn’t far to the small town of Midsomer Norton, around 10 miles south-west of Bath (Welton is a small village nearby). It’s quiet, almost sleepy with the football ground in the centre of the town, on the main road through. In fact if it wasn’t for the huge conical spoil heap in the background, called the Old Mills Batch, you wouldn’t know this used to be the centre of the Somerset coal industry, the last mine closing in Norton Hill in 1966. The locals are rather proud of their spoil heap, it sets the town apart, and is a nod to their heritage.

The town was immortalised in Flanders & Swann’s Slow Train, a song about small railway stations closing under Dr Beeching,

“No more will I go to Blandford Forum and Mortehoe, on the slow train from Midsomer Norton and Munby Road, No churns, no porter, no cat on a seat, at Chorlton-cum-Hardy or Chester-le-Street, We won’t be meeting you, on the slow train..”

In more recent years part of the town name was borrowed for the tv series “Midsomer Murders,” despite the show being set in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

West Clewes are much to attract the casual football watcher, other than the notably friendly supporters. They’ve styled themselves the “Green Army” after Paul Whitehouse’s advert for Aviva Insurance, and they have two-thirds of a wonderful wooden stand built just before the Second World War. The other third was lost in an arson attack recently, and therein lies the club’s problem. The ground, including the car park is a public space. The club can take a gate, but away from matchdays there’s little to stop people walking in and vandalising the stand. So at the end of the season the stand will go, to be replaced by a prefabricated affair, with roller-shutters at the front, and the entrance will be remodelled with a set of turnstiles. It will fulfill everything the club needs, but a quirky piece of history will be lost. I was pleased to have visited while the original edifice is still in place.

The game turned out to be a personal triumph for Bradford-upon-Avon striker Paul Ridout, who scored all four goals, as Bradford added to their 6-0 win at home to Welton earlier in the season. He could have had two more, with two further efforts cleared off the line, one by the hand of defender Greg Dando, who at least had the good grace not to argue his mandatory red card! Yet for all of that the scoreline was harsh on the hosts who had much of the possession and territory, but lacked someone, anyone, who could make all that possession count for something.

On a cold afternoon, I drove away pleased I’d seen a friendly club, at an interesting ground. Get there before the “Improvements” start.

The Cold Wind Doth Blow

13 Sunday Jan 2013

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Saturday 12th January 2013 ko 13.30

Reading Senior Cup 2nd Round

WOODLEY TOWN 3 (Cripps 14 Edwards 53p Elmore 73og)

NEWBURY FC 1 (Shaw 35)

Att 15 (h/c)

Entry FREE

Programme NO

Coffee 50p

Now I’m back in Oxford, my local league, is I suppose the Hellenic, which covers clubs 5 and 6 promotions from the Football League, from West London to the Welsh border. There are several Woodleys in the UK, this one lies on the A4 on the outskirts of Reading. It’s the home town of TV star Chris Tarrant, and comedy actor Felix Bowness, and the site of the long closed Miles Aircraft Factory.

It had made copious use of the aerodrome that had sprung up in the late 1920’s and visitors such as Charles Lindberg, and Amy Johnson tested the latest planes here. On 14th December 1931 Douglas Bader lost both his legs at the aerodrome attempting some low-flying aerobatics. His log rather laconically reads, Continue reading →

Sky Fall

25 Sunday Nov 2012

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Saturday 24th November 2012

Ko 10.30

Oxford University Middle Common Room League

WOLFSON/St CROSS P

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE P

Postponed due to a waterlogged pitch (!)

Ko 15.00

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Constable 14 Pittman 79)

NORTHAMPTON TOWN 1 (Platt 76) Carlisle sent off 89 (2nd booking)

Att 6,635 (1,075 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (ic Ox Mail)

Its been a long time since I did a Middle Common Room game. Its a league primarily for post-graduate students, perfect for Wolfson, a purely post-graduate college, and 10.30am kick-off games work well for me, when Oxford United are a home. The trouble is that Wolfson sits on the banks of the River Cherwell, bucolic when its sunny, but flood-prone when it rains. And it’s rained here for most of the week, so I really should have guessed that the pitch wouldn’t be playable, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad!

Still it left me one game to see, unlike many groundhoppers, with games falling to waterlogged pitches all over the country, and my game was a local derby too! The odd thing is that there’s never been any great rivalry between Oxford or Northampton with the former being far more concerned with swindon, and the latter Kettering. Still “Ultimate Support Saturday” did produce a better-than-average gate helped in no small part by the travelling Cobblers fans.

They got a good game too, with the action making up for technical deficiences, and the appalling weather. Oxford United and the supporters know what Ade Akinfenwa gives to the Cobblers, he’s portly but he’s still one hell of a player. Few players at this level have his control and vision, and he was marshalled carefully. Also well known to United is midfielder Chris Hackett, who started his career at Oxford before moves to Hearts and Millwall. He marked his return with a fine game showing both pace, and a glut of well place passes, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one wondering why United didn’t re-sign him in the summer?

But for all of that this was Oxford’s day. Was James Constable offside when he tapped in Alfie Potter’s cross? He looked it, but the linesman’s decision was probably based on a feeling that Potter’s pass was entirely lateral and so Constable was always behind the ball. Either way home fans will point to the woodwork being hit twice, by Jake Forster-Caskey and Sean Rigg’s deflected effort.

As befits any side managed by Aidy Boothroyd, Northampton were well-drilled and a series of corners at the end of the first half tested Ryan Clarke in the home goal, and he did well to get down to Ben Harding’s low shot.

Cliches are cliches for a reason, and one goal was never going to be enough with Oxford’s defensive frailties, and the introduction of the towering figure of Clive Platt after an hour proved to be significant. With Michael Raynes keeping Akinfenwa quiet, he rose above Jake Wright to head Hackett’s cross home. I wondered what that meant for Chris Wilder’s tenure as manager. I didn’t ponder for long as Peter Leven’s ball over the top allowed subsitute Jon-Paul Pittman to run throuugh and he blasted home past Lee Nicholls for his first goal in 10 months, and earning Oxford a first win in 4 matches.

All that remained was the dismissal of Clark Carlisle for his second booking. It made no impact on the game but I wonder if getting sent off is more embarrassing when you’re PFA chairman? The Press Association reported his second booking was for foul and abusive language, but after the game Northampton Town swiftly asked that it be altered to a simple foul. For the record, I saw the 2nd booking as for a foul challenge, and there was no hint of any back-chat. It is worth noting that the PA feed is staffed by former players sourced by, yes, the PFA!

I used the term “Predictably Unpredictable” on a previous piece on Oxford United, and nothing I saw in this highly entertaining game changed my opinion on the club, and in a wider sense the division. I do wonder what chairman Ian Lenagan is thinking though. 18th place does not represent the level of ambition, or expenditure at the club. Some might say a change is needed, but if so who?

The White Gloves Final

08 Thursday Nov 2012

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Wednesday 7th November 2012 ko 19.00

1872 FA Challenge Cup

ROYAL ENGINEERS 7 (Hubbard 8 Carter 18 Griffiths 20 Cottam 23 45 Ellis 33 Crame 86)

WANDERERS 1 (Flash 66)

Att 2,257*

Entry £10

Programme £2

There are grounds which are routine, there are grounds that are unusual, and just once in a while there are grounds that you drop everything and head over there. The Oval for a football fan is definately one of the latter. It was the site of the very first FA Cup final, in 1872 at the end of a competition in which 15 teams entered, and a full 3 years before the crossbar was introduced. The 2,000 viewing on that day were at the start of something special, 758 clubs entered this season’s competition! This game saw both sides wear similar colours to those in 1872, but playing to todays laws.

I’ve put an asterisk by the attendance, as I reckon around 800 were watching. The figure above is how many tickets were sold, but with the event being a fundraiser for the Royal British Legion, The Haig Housing Trust, and Lambeth Tigers FC, many had opted to simply use the ticket as a means of donating.

The Oval is of course a cricket venue, but unlike its more illustrious London test venue, Lords, has seen other sports regularly played on it. Last week saw an Aussie Rules game, and baseball has been played regularly here. The Wanderers used here as a home in the 19th century and between 1951 and 1962 Corithian-Casuals used the Oval for home fixtures. Apart from a one-off Corinthian-Casuals fixture in 1973 there’s been no more football at the Oval since. That’s a long time to wait between games!

It was a superb night out with the Long Room normally only open to members, displaying the current FA Cup together with the second FA Cup, a replica of the first version, famously stolen, found, then stolen all over again. The second trophy was used from 1896 to 1910, and is the property of West Ham United chairman David Gold, who presented it at the final whistle. It was noticable that all who handled it wore gloves, for obvious reasons!

Whilst in the Long Room I managed to meet a real hero of mine, Stuart Clarke. His work, “The Homes of Football,” is a massive influence on the pictures you see on this blog. His exhibition is now at the National Football Museum in Manchester and I cannot recommend it highly enough. He gets right to the heart of the game in away I’ve not seen any other photographer manage.

In the 1872 final the Wanderers won 1-0 courtesy of a goal by Morton Betts playing under the pseudonym AH Chequer, apparently due to his having played for the Old Harrovians. This was rather ironic given that the roots of The Wanderers lie in former pupils of Harrow School!

Since 1872 the two sides have had differing fortunes. The Wanderers disbanded in 1887, they’d declined rapidly after winning the FA Cup 5 times. Incidentally the reason why if a club wins the FA Cup 3 times in a row, they don’t keep the trophy is due to the Wanderers, as when they completed the feat in 1878 the trophy was returned to the FA on the proviso that no club would ever be able to win it outright. The club was reformed in 2009, and completes in the lowly Surrey South Eastern Combination, a far cry from their all-conquering past. For this game they had a guest manager, Bobby Gould, an FA Cup winner both as a player with West Ham in 1975 (as a non-playing subsitute) , and as a manager with Wimbledon in 1988.

The Royal Engineers have never entered a league; the practicalities of being a regiment on active service making it impossible. Nevertheless the club has maintained a team continously since the famous first final, and continues to be a major force in armed services football, in fact I saw them at Aldershot Military Stadium in January 2012.

https://laurencereade.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/name-rank-and-number/

With the club having been credited with inventing the passing game, rather than simply kicking the ball forward and charging, and some military fitness, a repeat of the 1872 final was never likely to happen. The Engineers had the first half entirely their own way, and ran up 6 unanswered goals, without having to really try.

But a drubbing really wouldn’t be cricket, so the Engineers replaced 7 players at half time, and at the risk of a bad pun- declared! The second half saw the Wanderers cheered on by their followers and many neutrals at least manage to register a goal from Daniel Flash, whose header, er, flashed past Sapper Luke Cairney in the Engineers goal.

That took nothing away from the Engineers victory, but I did feel sorry for one of their organisers Matt Surtees, who would have featured but is on active service. That was food for thought with Remembrance Sunday just round the corner.