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Football: Wherever it may be

~ Laurence's football travels

Football: Wherever it may be

Tag Archives: Cheltenham

Roger, Steve & Gary

16 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by laurencereade in R

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Tags

AFC, Cheltenham, Cheltenham League, Kings, RSG, Springfields Park

Tuesday 8th September 2015 ko 18.15

Cheltenham League Division One

R.S.G. 0

KINGS AFC 1 (Newgil 75)

Att 26

Entry FREE

No Programme

I’ll miss the early evening kick-offs without lights, although I’m fairly certain that the players won’t! It can’t be easy finishing work, then heading over to the ground, getting changed and warmed up, and be ready to kick-off at 6.15. But I’m grateful the players are, and once again the Cheltenham League gave me plenty to ponder. Continue reading →

51.910841 -2.115726

Show me the way

19 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by laurencereade in C

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Tags

Cheltenham, Cheltenham Civil Service, Cheltenham League, Civil Service, County League, Frampton United, GCHQ, GCHQ United, Gloucestershire County League, Government Communications HeadQuarters, Tewkesbury Road

Wednesday 15th April 2015 ko 18.30

Gloucestershire County League

CHELTENHAM CIVIL SERVICE 0

FRAMPTON UNITED 0

Att 104

Entry FREE

Programme £1.50

In an odd way, the roots of the club aren’t in Cheltenham. The Civil Service suffix refers to GCHQ which used to be based near Swakeleys Junction, Hillingdon. The football club was formed there in 1948 and when the Government Communications HeadQuarters moved to Cheltenham in 1953 the club (and half the team) relocated with it. They moved to their current home at Tewkesbury Road, Uckington, at Cheltenham’s western edge in 1954, and the club renamed itself from GCHQ in 1957 as players from other parts of the Civil Service locally were representing the club. Continue reading →

51.919017 -2.111750

Success

13 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by laurencereade in W

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Tags

Cheltenham, Cheltenham Town, Chelternham League, Football League, Kings FC, Whaddon Playing Field, Whaddon Road, Whaddon United

Tuesday 7th April 2015 ko 18.15

Cheltenham Association Football League- Division One

WHADDON UNITED (Winter 9 Hackett 13)

KINGS FC 0

Att 46

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale

It has so be said that this has been a particularly bad season for football in Cheltenham. Cheltenham Town are rock bottom of the Football League and racing certainties to return to non-league, and other local sides Bishops Cleeve and Cheltenham Saracens are also in deep relegation trouble too. In fact you have to look to local football to find any great success, and the great irony is that the success is to be found right opposite Cheltenham Town’s Whaddon Road ground. Continue reading →

51.904484 -2.057477

The Frogmill

14 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by laurencereade in A

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Air Balloon Pub, Andoversford, Cheltenham, Cheltenham Association Football League, Cheltenham League, Football, Frogmill Inn, groundhopping, Marco Pierre White, Prestbury Rovers, Ted Mansell

Tuesday 9th September 2014 ko 18.15

Cheltenham League Division Two

ANDOVERSFORD 5 (R Cleal 41 57 Frewin 61 77 84)

PRESTBURY ROVERS 0

Att 16

Entry FREE

Programme NO

I suspect if you live to the east of Cheltenham, as I do, Andoversford is where you turn off of the A40 to head down to the Air Balloon Pub, then on towards Gloucester and the M5. Apart from passing the Marco Pierre White-owned Frogmill Inn, you do tend to by-pass the pretty village, which really is quintessentially Cotswolds in character. Continue reading →

51.872377 -1.973111

Rest in Peace

05 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by laurencereade in B

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bredon, Broadway, Cheltenham, Football, groundhopping, League, Milestone Ground, Olympia, sir arthur evans

I’ve just heard the news at that Broadway United of the Cheltenham League have folded. Now while this isn’t exactly massive news in the world of football, it’s a real shame as the ground is a cracker, and I really enjoyed my visit there last season. So, here’s my report from that time, which I have updated slightly to the format I use now here. The original title was “Loz! Your thong is showing!”

Sunday May 22nd 2011 ko 4.00pm

Evesham Hospital & Charity Sunday Minor Cup Final

BREDON FC 3 (Drew 11 Carroll 45 Oughtred 90)

AC OLYMPIA 0

Att 97 (h/c)

Entry & Programme £2

Played at The Milestone Ground, Broadway (Broadway FC)

The Worcestershire town of Broadway is right in the centre of the Cotswolds and it would be hard to find a prettier location, nestled as you are in the hills. The most famous feature is the Broadway Tower. It was built on an ancient beacon site and has a colourful history. It was home to the renowned printing press of Sir Thomas Phillips, a country retreat for Pre-Raphaelite artists, notably the artist, designer, writer, craftsman and socialist William Morris, a location for the studies of the distinguished archeologist Sir Arthur Evans, and less interestingly as a farmhouse!  Today the Tower houses exhibitions connected with its past and the surrounding area. On a clear day you can see 13 counties from the top!

So, picture the scene. A warm Sunday evening, and I’m sat on a grass bank watching two Evesham and District Sunday League teams slug it out for a minor piece of silverwhere, when a WAG yells out “Loz! Your thong is showing!”

Not many people answer to “Loz,” so I checked the back of my trousers, no they were in place, and come to think of it that would not be my choice of underwear! but then I glanced away from the action, to my left. Loz, it transpired was Laura, the girlfriend of one of the Bishops Cleeve based Olympia players, and she’d stood up to throw the ball back in. And yes her red thong was showing, and yes she wore it well, to quote Rod Stewart. Well worth the £2 entry!

Other than Laura’s underwear there was plenty on display. Broadway is a pretty village just over the border into Worcesterhire from Gloucestershire and the ground reflects that. There’s a fair sized clubhouse but for the hopper, there’s a wooden stand made out of larchlap. Its raised too, on a grass bank, no seats just covered standing. I’ve not seen anything like it. Which rather belies the ground’s original use as a rubbish dump. Once upon a time the pitch was flat, like a bowling green, but then the rubbish rotted, and it has to be noted that there were obvious undulations. It didn’t help the players, who were of a low standard, and with a long season behind them.

The game pitted Bredon in Division 1 against Division 3 Olympia, and with all due respect to Laura and her mates, whose support was excellent, they didn’t look like winning from the moment goalkeeper Alcock dropped the ball right in front of forward Mark Drew.

Just one of those warm evenings when you can relax and watch a Broadway show when you don’t know the ending. Lovely.





The Mickey Mouse Quotient

09 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by laurencereade in T

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Tags

Cheltenham, Cheltenham Association Football League, Football, Halling, Higgins, Jordan, League, Northway, season, silly, Tewkesbury, Town

Cheltenham Association Football League Division 2

TEWKESBURY TOWN 4 (Jordan 15 57 Halling 55 75)

NORTHWAY 1 (Higgins 24)

Att 47 (h/c)

Entry FREE

Nothing for Sale

Many groundhoppers have standards of football beyond which they won’t venture, a favourite measure is whether a programme is available. For others it’s a specific level, measurable by how many promotions it would theoretically take to reach the Football League.

As a result the Cheltenham League is off the beaten track for many, and it’s generally difficult to sell a game on a pitch behind a school, with no cover, and no facilities.  For all of these perceived difficulties this was an enjoyable evening out. It helped that the club were kind enough to phone me to offer directions and both sides gave information about the lineups and themselves freely. It was handy for the neutral also, that the two sides are local rivals, hate each other, and the two benches spent the encounter glowering at each other from opposite sides of the pitch. A division 4 game was taking place on the adjoining pitch to add more flavour.

So what was it like? Well the standard was predictably poor, but I’ve seen a lot worse, and at a far higher level, but it was always entertaining. We had the unusual sight of Northway’s Steve Prosser being booked for dissent, whilst a non playing substitute, but his side’s defence was notably more incompetent than their opponents’ and in  the second half the home side made that implied advantage count.



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