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Football: Wherever it may be

~ Laurence's football travels

Football: Wherever it may be

Tag Archives: NWCL

The Pipe

28 Monday Mar 2022

Posted by laurencereade in B

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Avro, AVRO FC, Barnoldswick Town, Chris Berezai, Football, groundhopping, GroundhopUK, Non League, North West Counties League, NWCL, Victoria Park

Saturday 5th March 2022 ko 19:30 (delayed to 19:45)

North West Counties League- Premier Division

BARNOLDSWICK TOWN 0

AVRO 2 (Ellis 53p 62)

Att 517

Entry £6

Programme £2

From Nelson we headed north once again for our fourth game of the day. So far north in fact, we saw signs for Kendal and wondered “What? Is that the Kendal in Cumbria?” Yep, that far north…. Continue reading →

The John Noakes Hop

11 Friday Mar 2022

Posted by laurencereade in G

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Campion FC, Chris Berezai, Football, Golcar United, groundhoppers, groundhopping, GroundhopUK, Joe Skarz, League, Longfield Avenue, Non League, North West Counties League, NWCL

Friday 4th March 2022 ko 19.45

North West Counties League Division One North

GOLCAR UNITED 3 (Cox 14 Barrett 27 Naidole 52)

CAMPION 2 (Maltby 59 Boshell 85)

Att 467

Entry £5

Programme £2

If you are roughly my age then the most famous person to have been born in Halifax was unquestionably John Noakes. The Blue Peter presenter was, in a age of two channel tv and received pronunciation a revelation to this small boy from the shires; who could forget his climbing of Nelson’s Column without any kind of safety equipment? Continue reading →

What Was Left

06 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by laurencereade in F

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

AFC Flixton, FA Vase, Flixton, Football, Manchester, Non League, North West Counties League, Northwich Flixton Villa, Northwich Victoria, NWCL, Valley Road

With the football season over prematurely due to the Coronavirus Pandemic I’m in the unusual position of actually having this blog up to date! So to keep the content coming, and for something to do, I’ll do some old grounds and games where there’s a story to tell.

Saturday 18th November 2006 ko 15.00

FA Vase 2nd Round 

FLIXTON 4 (Mitten 44 Grandison 53 Wilkinson 75 Tobin 83)

PICKERING TOWN 0

Att 84

Entry £3

Programme £1.50

The sole reason I, and around 50 groundhoppers ended up here was the Salford City/FC United game at the Willows that kicked off at midday. There was roughly an hour to get the tram back to the car, and make a quick blast across western Manchester which did limit the opportunities to complete a Mancunian double. It boiled down to a choice between Trafford and Flixton, we chose the latter mainly to watch another Vase game. It proved to be both a good move, and an interesting one too! Continue reading →

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The End Of The World As We Know It

04 Saturday Apr 2020

Posted by laurencereade in W

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

1874 Northwich, Barton Stadium, Football, groundhoppers, GroundhopUK, Non League, North West Counties League, NWCL, Winsford United

Sunday 8th March 2020 ko 14.45

North West Counties League Premier Division

WINSFORD UNITED 0

1874 NORTHWICH 2 (Woolley 25 Knight 31)

Att 627

Entry £6

Programme £2

Delaying the kick-off 15 minutes looked like a good idea as the Groundhop coach inched it’s way into an already-full car park at the Barton Stadium. It took all of a second to work out that the club had thought long and hard about how they were going to cope with a huge crowd. Those who’d bought advance tickets were directed to a separate entrance, that took well over 100 away from the cash turnstiles speeding up the process of getting over 600 people in. Continue reading →

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The Friendly Bear

02 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by laurencereade in C

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bears, Booth Street, Congleton Town, Football, groundhopping, GroundhopUK, Non League, North West Counties League, Northwich Victoria, NWCL

Sunday 8th March 2020 ko 11.30

North West Counties League Premier Division

CONGLETON TOWN 2 (Jones 7 79)

NORTHWICH VICTORIA 4 (Barski 11 22 Lynch 52 65)

Att 495

Entry £5

Programme £2

It was all change at Crewe on the last day of the hop, and although we weren’t to know, the last day of organised groundhops this season. We’d spent the previous 5 games watching the North West Counties League Division One South and the previous 4 in Greater Manchester. Sat at the hotel in Crewe it was time to step up a division and aim for south of Manchester, and at least at our first destination, the foothills of the Peak District. Continue reading →

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There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

30 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by laurencereade in C

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Tags

Cheadle Town, Football, goals, groundhopping, GroundhopUK, Maine Road, Manchester AFC, Manchester City, Non League, North West Counties League, NWCL, Park Road

Saturday 7th March 2020 ko 19.30

North West Counties League Division One South

CHEADLE TOWN 2 (Davin 17 47)

MAINE ROAD 1 (Mooney 86)

Att 380

Entry £5

Programme £2

The coach pulled into Park Road, and we got precisely what we expected- chaos! One massive advantage of having the clubs’ meetings a month or two before the North West Counties Hop. We knew we’d be trying to get 300-plus supporters to a ground with a small car park at the end of a cul-de-sac. It meant anyone driving there would either park close by and risk being blocked in, or park further away and walk the last few hundred yards. We in the coach could drop the party off then driver Ian could park up elsewhere. Continue reading →

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A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours

26 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by laurencereade in C

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Cheadle Heath Nomads, Cheadle Heath Sports Club, Football, groundhoppers, GroundhopUK, Non League, North West Counties League, NWCL, Proseal Stadium, Stockport Town

Saturday 7th March 2020 ko 16.20

North West Counties League Division One South

CHEADLE HEATH NOMADS 1 (Foley 58)

STOCKPORT TOWN 5 (Depieaza 2 20 70 Furguson 12 Middleton 19) 

Att 343

Entry £5

Programme £2

Teamsheet 20p

Saturday’s 3rd game on the North West Counties Hop saw a change of locale, from Wythenshawe to the leafy Manchester suburbia of Cheadle. Or if you’re the unfortunate type that thinks along the same lines as me, then the start of second pair of the day’s clubs. While I’d greatly enjoyed Wythenshawe Amateurs’ company, I’d found their rivals Wythenshawe Town’s attempts at one-upmanship grating and their staging frankly poor. That last fact had a massive impact on our next hosts. Continue reading →

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William, It Was Really Nothing

24 Tuesday Mar 2020

Posted by laurencereade in W

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Abbey Hey, Ericstan Park, groundhoppers, GroundhopUK, North West Counties League, NWCL, Wythenshawe, Wythenshawe Town

Saturday 7th March 2020 ko 13.30

North West Counties League Division One South

WYTHENSHAWE TOWN 3 (Bryan 14 Byrne 49 Crellin-Myers 56)

ABBEY HEY 2 (Lazenbury 7 Spencer 23p)

Att 434

Entry £5 (concessions £3)

Programme £2

These days its not exactly surprising to hear that on a Saturday afternoon it was chaos at Tesco’s , but on this particular day the issue wasn’t folks trying to buy a year’s supply of loo roll in one hit, rather a larger than average crowd at Ericstan Park situated adjacent to the supermarket. Continue reading →

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The Pleasure Is Mine

22 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by laurencereade in W

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Football, groundhopping, Non League, North West Counties League, NWCL, West Didsbury and Chorlton, Wythenshawe Amateurs

Saturday 7th March 2020 ko 11.00

North West Counties League- Division One South

WYTHENSHAWE AMATEURS 1 (Howard 4)

WEST DIDSBURY & CHORLTON 0

Att 546

Entry £4

Programme £2

It seemed to me that the Saturday schedule of the North West Counties League could be summed up as being 2 pairs. First up were the two Wythenshawes followed by the two Cheadles. What I didn’t foresee was how those two pairs of clubs would react to the other in their pair… Continue reading →

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Service

20 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by laurencereade in S

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Alsager Town, community football centre, Football, groundhoppers, GroundhopUK, North West Counties League, NWCL, Sandbach United

Friday 6th March 2020 ko 19.45

North West Counties League- Division One South

SANDBACH UNITED 3 (Saxon 30 Schoesboe 69 Bartle 89)

Bartle missed penalty 89

ALSAGER TOWN 1 (Jones 20p)

Att 455

Entry £5

Programme £2

Sat hear as I am with all football in the UK cancelled due to Covid-19 it seems like a lifetime ago that we were all more concerned with the state of 7 football pitches in and around Cheshire. All the best to everyone affected by the crisis and let’s hope normality returns soon.

Last year’s North West Counties League Hop had a troubled inception but by the time we reached Rylands the problems had been smoothed over and save for the postponement at Irlam the feedback meeting talked of the future, and on a highly successful event. That was reinforced when the league sent us their choice of line-up for this year’s hop and that ended up being the line-up we went with with one enforced change to the running order.

We picked Crewe as hop base, with our hotel being a short walk from the station and so while we sold every single coach seat and hotel room available the car park at the Holiday Inn remained virtually empty! The week before had been spent keeping a close eye on the weather, and the clubs pulled out all the stops to get their pitches fit for play. That said, I’m certainly that the dry week before the hop saved the event.

One notable change from previous North West Counties Hops was that Chris Berezai managed to hold a meeting with all of our host clubs. It always helps in both the planning and the on-the-day execution of those plans. It proved to be a convivial affair too.

So the event started at Sandbach, the Cheshire town suffering with the likes of Charnock Richard, Tibshelf and Tebay as being far more famous for the motorway service stations bearing there name than the anything within the towns themselves! But like the Sandbach Services it is straightforward to visit the town’s football ground without actually visiting the town itself!

The Sandbach Community Centre lies off of the south-western edge of the town, you actually cross over the remnants of the “Salt” railway line that ran from Sandbach to Middlewich, via the Salt mine; the suffix “Wich” is old English for salt after all.

On arrival we set up the stall to distribute programme packs for the advance ticket holders, and even an hour or so before kick off it was lovely to observe all the usual rituals of the start of a hop. That should always include Terry and Tav holding court at their badge stall, its got to a point that I can’t imagine an event without those two.

We’d expected a crowd of 250-300 so the 455 that turned up was a massive boost. Thanks therefore to all at Alsager Town, you playing at an odd time helped Sandbach, and in due course we’ll look forward to visiting you. It did mean that the club was stretched, but somehow still found enough hot pot to feed the masses, and cope with both wit and style. The programmes sold out early, and that is a source of regret, I hate seeing a club lose out on revenue, and I’d like to see the local supporters get everything they need; the unusual kick-off times, and different pricing does inconvenience them.

In the end I know a hopper won’t return, we’re a one-off financial injection, but I’d like to think a local might. But if you are a hopper and you want a programme then that is why we sell advance tickets, even for individual games. So if you’re a hopper the message hasn’t changed, if you want to guarantee a programme buy an advanced ticket! Is that really too much to ask?

We were royally entertained even though the pitch had fairly obviously been in the wars. Both sides set out to play football and unlike many opening games of hops folk actually watched the game and didn’t use the time simply as an excuse to catch up! That was the case from kick-off right through to Daniel Bartle following up his missed penalty to knock in the winner.

On arrival back at the hotel I’d expected to feel relieved, the rain of the previous weeks had meant simply getting the game played was a win of sorts. But as I enjoyed a hideously overpriced Punk IPA I and others reflected on what a fantastic job Sandbach had done. A week or two later I’m both thankful and proud of them in equal measure; they were superb hosts.


Photo by Robyn Reade

Photo by Robyn Reade

Photo by Robyn Reade

Photo by Robyn Reade



Photo by Robyn Reade


Photo by Robyn Reade

Photo by Robyn Reade
Photo by Robyn Reade

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  • Damage In The Box Chris Powell’s travels across the UK and Europe. The artist must frequently seen in the pub 0
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  • Football Club History Database Want to know where a club finished in what league and in what year? Richard Rundle’s site is a veritable goldmine! 0
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  • Kate Shrewsday. A thousand thousand stories Not about football, but beautiful writing, Kate can make words dance. 0
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  • The Intinerant Football Watcher Peter finds the grounds other hoppers cannot reach. Top bloke too! 0
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