Return Of The Mack

FC Darlaston  0  Oldbury United  3

Birmingham County FA Vase – First Round

When the jungle drums started beating following a reportedly stormy West Midlands Regional League AGM, I had a strong hunch.

And once the list of newly admitted clubs began to appear, one name jumped out at me, and that was FC Darlaston. A little shufty on the web and my hunch started to look like it was on the right lines, FC Darlaston had all the hallmarks of having the involvement of Mark McIntyre.

I’ve known Mark over ten years, we first met at Wolverhampton United one Bank Holiday and his connections with Bradford Park Avenue resonated with me as at the time I was involved with fellow Northern Premier League club Belper Town.

Since re-locating to his native West Midlands/Salop, Mark has had involvement with various clubs and leagues. Dudley Town, Bridgnorth Town, Ellesmere Rangers and Darlaston Town 1874 are some of the clubs I’ve known Mark involved with, while he has served on the management committee of both the Shropshire County League and indeed the aforementioned West Midlands League.

It was worthy of an email to make a few enquiries, and as I suspected FC Darlaston were indeed a club that Mark had been heavily involved in the formation of. Why though? He had been involved in the formation of Darlaston Town 1874 only a couple of years earlier, so why another club in Darlaston?

The answer was quite simple, 1874 were based outside of Darlaston in Bentley, and Mark, like others, believed the club should be located in the town itself, which the facilities on Hall Street would allow them to be.

Remnants Of The Old

So that was it, simple, at some point I was going to be making the trip along the Black Country Way, and that time had now come.

I must admit to being in two minds on the morning of the game. Storm Brian was sweeping across the South and the edges of it, according to our pals at the Met Office, were going to be going straight over the West Midlands, around kick off time. High winds and heavy rain were forecast, so I made the cursory call to Mark, with a Plan B up North tucked inside my sleeve.

Mark spoke with confidence, the pitch was fine, the match referee had already arrived, and any rain had drained away with no problems, so as far as I was concerned it was worth a gamble. Darlaston, on a good run is only an hour away for me, being so close to the edge of the M6, and I had that good run, arriving at the ground for 2pm.

Big Pink Thing Sticking Up.........

The pitch looked in great nick, the rains had not yet materialised and Mark was busy with the team sheets. I had a quick chat and then had a wander down the road to find a suitable establishment for some of the Lord’s finest fizz, and a packet Dry Roasted Peanuts (KP).

Upon returning to the ground I handed over the £2 admission to the Chairman, picked up a programme (Mark specialises in programmes) and took a look at the facilities. The Darlaston Community Association Sports Ground is a tidy enclosure, with a large car park and smart function room doing a variety of warm and cold snacks. The ground has been used in the past by both Moxley Rangers and Wednesbury Town, and the striking feature of its past that still remains is a steep bank of partially overgrown terracing down one side. Three sides of the ground are railed, with the dugout side open. It is also tree lined giving it an enclosed feel, despite the proximity to the urban sprawl that is the Black Country.

Mark and I watched the game together, it wasn’t the greatest spectacle to be fair, in fact both Darlaston and the re-formed Oldbury United (no connection to the old club) by half time had barely mustered a shot on goal between them, so our thoughts that a 0-0 followed by penalties was looming didn’t appear to be a bad shout.

Corner Ball

The second half was a much better spectacle, Oldbury scored with a header almost straight from the kick off, but then looked to be in bother when they were reduced to ten men. It didn’t seem to affect them though, they scored a well taken second goal, and then got a third late in the game via a penalty, after the home goalkeeper was sent off after bringing an attacker down.

Where's Brian?

Mark told me as the game drew to a close that this was likely to be his final port of call in terms of involvement with a club. He’s done it for forty years and the time is coming whereby he would like to have more freedom to do as he chooses, rather than feel the pressure and the frustrations of running an organisation. He’s also a very principled man, so one thing he won’t accept, and indeed can’t accept given his role with the league is things not being done right or according to the rules. I got the feeling, he was somewhat frustrated by those in the non-league game who had their own agendas and sought to contravene regulation.

But, that said, one thing about ‘Macky’ that I do know, is he does struggle to say ‘no’ when someone asks for his help or expertise, so even if he does begin to wind down his club involvement in the short to medium term, I wouldn’t rule out the return of the Mack at some stage in the future!

You Can Actually See The Wind Blowing....