Quorn 2 Long Eaton United 3
Midland Football League – Premier Division
It would have been around the time I was drinking a mug of
tomato soup that the news came through of Priti Patel’s ‘resignation’ from the
cabinet.
Ms Patel fell on her sword, and no doubt did significant
damage to her reputation as a rising star in the Conservative Party, following
revelations that she met senior Israeli political figures without the consent
of the Foreign Office. It was a heinous
crime bordering on treachery, quite clearly, and one
I’m frankly amazed she
avoided the rope for (a means of punishment she allegedly campaigned to see the
return of).
It got me thinking though about the directions our lives go
in, because going back to the years 1991 to 1994, Ms Patel and myself were not
only at the same University, we were actually part of a group of six students
who formed a particular tutorial group.
I don’t recall ever having a great deal of dialogue with
her, we were certainly never what would be regarded as friends, but strangely
enough, if you asked me to name the other members of the group, I simply couldn’t
do it.
And I guess that kind of tells you all you need to know
about her, she was clearly a very intelligent and ambitious woman, but what she
did was leave an impression, and you always knew when she was in the room with
you because her voice was both heard, and her message was one that she could
deliver very eloquently. In short, she was a strong presence.
At that time she was maybe thinking about a glittering political
career, whereas I was thinking about the next pint and how to get to a game at
Eastwood Hanley. Our paths were clearly never going to cross again.
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| Luke Varney Paid For This - In A Roundabout Way |
But then, while finishing the remnants of the soup, I
thought about politics and how it can impact upon football, because of course I’m
writing a blog and I needed to come up with something relevant! But how could I
get from Priti Patel to Quorn Football Club?
Bingo! It hit my like a bolt out of the blue, and it was
while I was staring at the clubs badge that the link was made, readers, read on…..
In 1696 the Quorn Hunt was established, and remains to this
day one of the most famous hunts in the land. The football club badge depicts
this, but in 2004 the landscape for the hunting population changed following
the introduction of the Hunting Act. This caused some intense debate in the
Houses of Parliament and indeed amongst the Lords (as you might expect!)
It’s a very divisive subject matter, and I’ve got my own
thoughts.
I’m not a massive animal lover, so the thought of a fox
being hunted and mutilated by a pack of beagles, while a bit tasteless and
gruesome, does not particularly horrify me or sicken me to the pit of my
stomach. I wouldn’t do it myself, but I wouldn’t go out with a placard to stop
others.
What I don’t like is the gentrification of the pastime (I
won’t call it a sport), the regalia and the middle / upper class snobbery that
seems to sit alongside it.
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| Foxes Must Not Stray Onto The Artificial Pitch |
The village of Quorn is a beautiful location, and very ‘well
to do’, so you can almost see why the hunting would be a pastime many of the
locals sway towards, given the traditions it has within the village.
Quorn Football Club has been around for a very long time,
not quite as long as the hunt, but a long time all the same. For countless
years the club has been run by Chairman Stuart Turner and while he has his
critics, what he has done is seen both the steady progression of the team, but
probably more importantly, they now have some superb facilities at their Farley
Way stadium.
When I first went to Quorn in 2002 I saw them beat
Shirebrook Town in the FA Vase, and on that particular day one man ran the
show, that man was Luke Varney, who pretty soon after the game signed for Crewe
Alexandra. When he then moved to Charlton Athletic, the sell on clause that
Turner had negotiated meant Quorn got a very significant windfall, and that was
invested very wisely.
Farley Way is fantastic, a fully enclosed ground with a
large car park, and it’s entered from one corner where to the right is a large
covered terrace that runs the width of the pitch.
To the right of the terrace is a seated stand that runs for
three quarters of the length of the pitch, while opposite is the smart and
modern clubhouse combined with a dressing room complex.
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| She May Have Been In A Ministerial Car And Met The Israeli Prime Minister, But Has She Been To Quorn? |
Over the Summer a 4G pitch was installed which allows the
club to further integrate with the community and generate revenue.
On the pitch they did rise to Step 4 and were one of the
stronger outfits in the Northern Premier League, but relegation followed and
they’ve remained comfortably at Step 5 for some time. I must admit, I’m not
sure where the on the field aspirations of the club lie as I’d always had the
feeling they were more about facilities and the community, but then what do I
know?
It had been a while since I’d been, so I thought it worth a
visit, and on a very cold night we were treated to an entertaining spectacle.
Quorn took a first half lead but then Long Eaton scored two goals in quick
succession past ex Rams and Foxes goalkeeper Russell Hoult to give
themselves a half time lead.
I then saw something I’ve never seen before, the players
were set to kick off the second half when Long Eaton’s Nick Hawkins hit the deck
signalling that he had cramp, the referee walked straight over to him, issued a
yellow card and blew for the game to commence. Hawkins to be fair, did get back
to his feet pretty quickly with seemingly no ill effects, so I really don’t
know what that was all about?
Long Eaton got a third goal, but Quorn never gave up and
after a spell of sustained pressure they netted from close range to make it 3-2,
but despite continued late pressure including a header that came back off the
bar, it was the visitors who hung on for the three points.
The roads were quiet through Loughborough and back up the M1
into Derby, it gave me time to reflect on another enjoyable evening out.
I suspect my evening was considerably more peaceful and
enjoyable than that of Priti Patel, and when it came to reflection, I’m pretty
sure she had an awful lot more to think about than I did.
I’m kind of glad I went in search of lager and football
after lectures, a lot less hassle in the long run if you ask me….
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| Lots Of Red Seats - But This Is A Very Blue Area, In More Ways Than One |
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