The Centre of Things

26 Thursday Jan 2017

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Wednesday 18th January 2017 ko 19.45

West Midlands (Regional) League – Division One

TEAM DUDLEY 2 (Pinches 11 Knight 90)

ST MARTINS 2 (Passmore 52 Melusio 54)

Att 115

Entry & Programme £2

I live in Oxford, a city that in parts hasn’t changed much in the last two hundred years, even down to the 17th Century burial route that’s now an alleyway. That certainly is in contrast to much of the Black Country where the soot of heavy industry has gradually given way to the service economy. Nevertheless places such as Dudley, Coseley and Wolverhampton still evoke the past even if their raisons d’etre have long since gone. Continue reading →

I Fought The Law

24 Tuesday Jan 2017

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Tuesday 17th January 2017 ko 19.45

Isthmian League Premier Division

METROPOLITAN POLICE 1 (Michael-Percil 45p)

BILLERICAY TOWN 1 (Adelowo 1)

Att 108

Entry £10

Programme £2

Football does have the happy habit of throwing up quirks, and London’s police force having a side in the third tier of non-league is certainly one. The side are based at the force’s sports and social club, Imber Court in Molesey, just a stone’s throw from Hampden Court. It is worth noting that Molesey is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police! Continue reading →

Followings

17 Tuesday Jan 2017

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Saturday 14th January 2017 ko 12.00

Championship

BRISTOL CITY 2 (Murphy 50og Abraham 78)

CARDIFF CITY 3 (Pilkington 74 85 Harris 82)

Att 19,452 (2,100 away)

Entry £33

Programme £3

I think I owed Robyn this one; since she moved to Oxford she’s seen quite a bit of my club Oxford United, it was only fair I returned the favour! There were a couple of additional reasons to go too. The first was the fixture, call me ignorant if you will, but I hadn’t realised this was seen by both sides as a local derby. I was under the impression that Bristol City hate Bristol Rovers, and Cardiff hate Swansea…. Continue reading →

The Donkey

15 Sunday Jan 2017

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Tuesday 10th January 2016 ko 19.45

Southern League Division One Central

MARLOW 1 (Poulton 2)

ASHFORD TOWN 0

Att 122

Entry £8

Programme £1

There are many reasons why you’d want to visit the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground, but may I suggest a detour first to the Compleat Angler? The pub-cum-hotel claims to be in Marlow but since it’s on the Berkshire side of the William Tierney Clarke-designed suspension bridge over the Thames, I reckon it’s in Bisham! Wherever it is, the view over to All Saints Church is spectacular, and its also a high-class place to grab a pre-match beer. Of course the Compleat Angler also happens to be where in 1870 Marlow FC were formed.  Continue reading →

Start Spreading The News

08 Sunday Jan 2017

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Saturday 7th January 2016 ko 15.00

FA Cup 3rd Round

ROTHERHAM UNITED 2 (Ward 51 Adeyemi 90)

OXFORD UNITED 3 (Taylor 41 Edwards 80 Hemmings 88) Maguire missed penalty 36

Att 5,618 (1,292 away)

Entry £13

Programme £2

It’s a tradition that families gather round the radio or television to listen to the FA Cup draw. Everyone has their list of clubs they’d love to see they’re team play, but top of my list was, perhaps, a slightly unusual one. I wanted my side to play Rotherham away.
My reasoning was entirely selfish, the New York Stadium (it lies on an island called New York, would you believe), was the only stadium I needed to re-complete the 92 Football League and Premier League grounds. It would have been reasonably straightforward to blast up the M1 to get it done one midweek, but the story of Rotherham United’s homes is a tale that requires telling with attention to detail.

Continue reading →

Can’t touch Diss

08 Sunday Jan 2017

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Monday 2nd January 2017 ko 15.00

Eastern Counties League – Division One

DISS TOWN 2 (Blakely 34 Webb 74)

DEBENHAM LEISURE CENTRE 1 (Dixon 68)

Att 151

Entry £6

Programme £1

It was regular travel companion Chris Garner that suggested this one. I was scanning the fixtures without success when he pointed out that since the last Eastern Counties League club we’d visited was the Ghosts of Fakenham Town, the next really ought to be Diss Town. He was of course entirely correct, even if you do need to be aware of the music of the The Specials to understand his joke! Continue reading →

An F Please Bob

05 Thursday Jan 2017

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Friday 30th December 2016 ko 19.46

Hellenic League Premier Division

FLACKWELL HEATH 7 (Rapley 3 37 71p Bayliss 33 Thompson-Wheeler 55 Blount 60 72)

HENLEY TOWN 1 (Gardner 12) Griffiths sent off 72 (2nd booking)

Att 98

Entry £6

Programme £1

It had been years since my last visit to Wilks Park, in fact I think the last visit was during a Hellenic Hop game vs Oxford City Nomads. The league had spent our entire stint on its patch telling everyone that the Nomads weren’t Oxford City’s reserves, but City manager Mike Ford was at the game so a hopper sidled over and asked him. “These guys?” he replied, “Well basically they’re our reserves!” You can fool some of the people… Continue reading →

Ghost Train

04 Wednesday Jan 2017

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Wednesday 28th December 2016 ko 19.45

Eastern Counties League Premier Division

FAKENHAM TOWN 3 (Glover 21 Cary 24 Jarvis 52)

KIRKLEY & PAKEFIELD 4 (Eagleton 42 King 51 Lopez 66p Stone 79)

Att 45

Entry £5

Programme £1

It has to be said that the Norfolk town does have an intriguing nickname, there can’t be many, if any places who answer to, “The Ghosts!” The name references a poem by Robert Bloomfield, “The Fakenham Ghost,” but this was no ordinary apparition, it was the ghost of a donkey! Talk about “Drop the dead donkey!” Continue reading →

The Reason Why

03 Tuesday Jan 2017

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Tuesday 27th December 2016 ko 19.45

Southern Combination Division One

STEYNING TOWN 3 (Finney 14 Romain 51 63)

STORRINGTON 1 (Searle 83)

Att c90

Entry £5

Programme £1

Let me tell you a story. Almost exactly two years ago 3 of us travelled from Oxford for a Sussex County League game at the Shooting Field.  I’d phoned ahead as the weather had been wet, and the club were extremely keen to get the game on, as they’d put on a sponsors and players’ party in the clubhouse afterwards. We reached the pretty town, had Fish & Chips, and walked into the ground just as the referee called off the game due to a waterlogged pitch.  Continue reading →

Lordship

01 Sunday Jan 2017

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Tuesday 27th December 2016 ko 14.00

Southern Combination Division Two

WORTHING TOWN LEISURE 0

LANCING UNITED 3 (Page 45 Meason 57 61)

Att 60

Entry FREE

Programme £2

I must admit when planning this day I saw Worthing Town Leisure’s fixture and assumed the club was another quasi-reserve team and looked elsewhere for my middle game. As is always the case a little more research reaped rewards. Continue reading →