The Biggest Name

Enfield Town  0  Needham Market  2

Isthmian League – Premier Division

Continuing the theme of ‘when I was a lad’, Enfield Football Club were one of the biggest names in non-league football when I started to foster an interest in the game.

It was the early eighties, Isthmian League Champions, Alliance Premier League Champions twice, FA Trophy winners twice, the Third and Fourth Rounds of the FA Cup in successive seasons, it was incredible! I apologise, Enfield weren’t one of the biggest names in the non-league football, they were the biggest at the time, end of.

Even when they got relegated from what had now become the Conference, in seven successive seasons in the 1990’s they never finished below third in the Isthmian League. But, in 2001 they left their iconic Southbury Road stadium and began a nomadic existence.

These things rarely work, and by the end of the 2006-07 season Enfield Football Club went into liquidation, but the officials chose to form a new club who ultimately would become Enfield 1893, and they remain today playing in the Essex Senior League.

Clearly disillusioned by the sale of Southbury Road and the direction the club was moving in, in 2001 a group of fans formed Enfield Town Football Club. An approach was made to Enfield 1893 regarding working together but terms could not be agreed.

Art Deco At It's Finest - Donkey Lane

The traditional support base were right behind Town though, starting in the Essex Senior League and playing at the ground of Brimsdown Rovers. Success followed, they won promotion to the Southern League, found a home back in the Borough of Enfield in the shape of the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium on Donkey Lane, and finally moved into the Isthmian League before winning promotion to the Premier Division in 2012 via the Play-Offs.

And this is where we are today, something of a sorry tale but with a happy ending. Enfield in their day were huge rivals with neighbouring Barnet, and of course Wealdstone, who it appears were rivals with everyone! The North London triumvirate have all gone in different directions, with both Barnet and the Stones competing at a higher level than Enfield, but, at least Enfield can say they play in their own Borough, unlike the others.

Enfield Town Football Club on first impressions is a thriving organisation, that became apparent from the moment you walk through the turnstiles to the moment you exit the car park. Blessed with good support anyway, nearly 400 attended today’s game, they are also not short of bodies to help run and administer the club. Football, even at non-league level, has changed hugely over the past few decades, and being realistic, a return to former glories whereby they could dream of a possible promotion to the Football League is perhaps beyond them, but I see no reason why they couldn’t make the move to the National League South.

Glorious

The stadium on Donkey Lane is a cracker. I must admit to not being a fan of athletics arenas, but Enfield have made a fantastic job of it. The focal point is the fabulous Art Deco style building that adorns the entrance and also incorporates the bulk of the clubs facilities.

To enter the building you rise up a spiral staircase into what is effectively a circular turret, before a space opens out in front of you which leads to the clubs bar.

The balcony out the front is used as a viewing area and is also the access route to the seating area which offers an elevated view of the action. It’s a spectacular building, and certainly goes a long way towards transforming the venue from an athletics track to a football ground. Clearly Enfield have refurbished the old building for their use, but what about the rest of the stadium?

From Athletics To Football

Three blocks of terracing steps have been erected in front of the stand, but much closer to the pitch, leaving a space for the running track in between. A smaller Atcost seated stand sits on the far side, while to deal with the problem of spectators being too far from the action, a barrier has been erected which runs behind both goals, with covered terraces at each end. This effectively cuts out both curves, and gives the ground a rectangular rather than elliptical feel.

I liked it, very much, but what about the game?

Enfield are in a season of transition, the loss of the manager and the bulk of the squad at the end of last season meant a rebuilding process had to take place. Andy Leese has come in and got them into a position whereby they sit just below the half way point in the league. The Play-Offs are not out of the question, but they will need a strong end of the season to achieve that.

Visitors Needham Market from a small village in Suffolk are quite a story themselves, how they are competing at this level is remarkable, but that’s a story for another day. Ironically they were the side that Enfield beat when they won the Play-Offs to get to the Premier Division. After many years of unprecedented success, Market are finding it a struggle this season and sit in the bottom four.

More Seats

It was a damp drizzly afternoon, but the pitch was in good fettle, and that lead to a fairly even opening period, but in the twelfth minute it was the visitors who took the lead when Adam Mills rose highest in the box to plant a header past Joe Wright in the Enfield goal.

Seven minutes later and disaster struck for Enfield. Caught out at the back, Wright upended an onrushing striker who was about to round him and slot the ball into the empty net. A penalty was inevitable as was the resultant red card. Daniel Morphew dispatched the penalty past stand in goalkeeper Mat Mitchell-King.

An away win at that stage looked inevitable, but huge credit should be paid to Enfield who regrouped at half time and were actually the better team in the second period. Credit must also go to Mitchell-King who never put a foot wrong between the sticks and made two fantastic saves late in the game as Needham Market exploited the space and the tired Enfield legs.

The Other End

If Enfield had kept eleven men on the field the outcome could have been very different, but, a huge win for the visitors and a scoreline that certainly doesn’t help the hosts attempts to climb the table and make the end of season lottery.

But, I guess if you are an Enfield Town fan, the fact you have a club in your Borough playing at a fantastic facility, at a very good level of football, is not to be sniffed at. In this part of the Country, too many big names have gone by the wayside, been swallowed up, or been shunted from ground to ground.

Enfield – the biggest name in non-league football.

Sunset Over Enfield

Hazzard County

Hucknall Town  3  Mickleover Royal British Legion  0

Central Midlands League – South Division

Football in Nottinghamshire has gone through the wringer somewhat over the last few seasons.

When I was a lad, the big names were Eastwood Town, Worksop Town, Sutton Town and Arnold. If we take those clubs in turn it doesn’t make especially pretty reading.

Eastwood Town, under the stewardship of owner Rob Yong had a meteoric rise after suffering relegation to the Northern Counties East league in 2003. They were immediately promoted back to the Northern Premier League, had a few seasons in the First Division South and then got promoted to the Premier Division in 2007. 

Two years later and they were in the Conference North having won the league, a fourth place finish and a Play-Off place was in the bag, or was it? Ground issues saw them removed from the promotion lottery, Yong departed, huge debts were uncovered, two relegation's followed before they folded mid-season.

A new incarnation re-surfaced, in the Central Midlands League, as Eastwood Community, where they remain.

Worksop Town I’ve covered before, an Eastenders of a club that’s been through more turmoil than a kitten in a tumble dryer. Now residing in mid-table of the Northern Counties East League, they're under new ownership and they are playing in the town again. This is a club that once challenged in the Conference North, spent several seasons playing home games at the likes of Gainsborough, Retford, Hucknall and Ilkeston as they had a home they couldn’t play at due to ownership issues. Recently they finished up suffering a double demotion from the NPL Premier on the back of financial issues.  Hopefully, with change in the air, they can get back to their rightful place and the consistently good support can watch a team in the higher echelons of non-league football.

Sutton Town have come and gone more times than I care to remember. Playing at Priestic Road then Lowmoor Road, a name change to Ashfield United, gone, back again as Sutton Town via North Notts FC, a move to Huthwaite, gone again, back again, and now gone again! Rumours constantly abound about another phoenix like return, but you do wonder why anyone would bother given the track record? 

Arnold were a very steady club, but like many they jumped ship in the Eighties to join the Central Midlands League and leave the Pyramid. That cost them as they feel behind some of their former peers in local football. They changed their name to Arnold Town via a merger with Kingswell, got back to the Northern Counties East League, but then they lost the town centre ground and were forced to move to a soulless new build in the middle of nowhere on the way out to Calverton.  They took demotion to the East Midlands Counties League and have remained their ever since, looking unlikely to get out of it, with crowds a fraction of what they used to be. A sad and cautionary tale is that one.

Oh, I almost forgot.  Sometime after those clubs, we had the meteoric rise of Retford United from Notts Senior League obscurity through to the top flight of the Northern Premier League, sadly with them now staring a possible relegation to the Central Midlands League in the face, it’s another all too common example of how to get success on the pitch but neglect pretty much everything else. The new custodians at Cannon Park have had to pick up the pieces and try to rebuild, but that is going to take quite some time. The town of Retford is a story in itself when it comes to football, one I've covered before.  

Soon To Be Gone

Tonight’s blog focus is Hucknall Town, blimey, now we are talking a real roller coaster with this one!

Let’s begin back when I were a lad. A successful Notts Alliance side known then as Hucknall Colliery Welfare, vying with rivals Rainworth Miners Welfare for supremacy. They were a very good side, well supported and known for some excellent FA Vase runs.

They changed their name to Hucknall Town, to give themselves more identity with the growing urban area, and clearly with the colliery now closed, it made sense, albeit it was a somewhat emotive decision. On the field it mattered not, they went into the Central Midlands League, won it twice, moved into the Northern Counties East League and then very quickly went up to the Premier Division.

The club then had a period of unprecedented success, they won the NCE Premier Division, finished second in the Northern Premier League First Division and were promoted to the Premier Division. 

After a few seasons of consolidation, they won the title in 2003-04 but were denied promotion due to failing the ground grading, the Conference National was oh so close.

The Watnall Road End

They did make it to the Conference North though, and in the period they also reached the FA Trophy Final, only to lose to Grays Athletic at Villa Park, a game I witnessed.

They were glorious days, and to be fair, backed by Brian Holmes, they managed five seasons in the division, but with plans to move to a new stadium seemingly hitting continual stumbling blocks, combined with numerous rumours about behind the scenes issues affecting the club, the decline was as rapid as the climb.

They had two seasons back in the NPL Premier, then a further two seasons in the NPL First Division, before dropping right to the base of the Pyramid and effectively re-building in the Central Midlands League, which is where they remain to this day after first arriving in 2013.

On a positive they have a new ground over the road from their current Watnall Road venue, and that is expected to be ready at some point early next season. In the meantime on the field, they are one of four sides challenging for promotion this season and stand as good a chance as anyone of a return to Step 6.

The Kop End

Watnall Road, when I first went was nothing more than a field with a shelter, now it is a proper football ground, albeit given the clubs decline and impending move, it is suffering from wear and tear plus a lack of tender loving care, understandably so.

The long, low roofed main stand remains with its collection of various coloured seats, while at both ends of the stand are covered terracing areas. Behind the Watnall Road goal is a covered terrace while at the open end is an area of uncovered terracing. When it does go, it will be sad, and it will be a shame to lose such an impressive arena, but clearly to maintain it for the level they compete it, is a very costly exercise.

They still get strong levels of support though, and while the crowds even at Conference North were not spectacular, the volume of support has been a constant, what Hucknall fans are is very loyal to their club, whatever the level.

Hucknall beat Mickleover Royal British Legion 3-0 on the night, but sadly the victory was overshadowed by a broken leg suffered by Michael Banister who was the victim of a reckless rather than malicious challenge.

The goals came from Jamie Crawford in the first half, while Joe Ashurst and Adam Nelson netted in the second period. Mickleover battled hard but Hucknall had the quality.

Pitch Covers - At Step 7!

The balance of power in Nottinghamshire is very different to what it once was. Basford United are now the senior club, while Carlton Town would be next in the pecking order. Could the likes of 

Worksop, Eastwood or maybe Hucknall get back to be in a position to challenge for that crown again?

Hucknall, through the loyalty, hard work and passion that exists amongst those who run the club and indeed support them, stand as good a chance as any of those clubs to return to their former glories.

It might take time, but we all know the pitfalls and consequences of rapid rises up the leagues, not least the lads and lasses from Watnall Road.

One Last Time?

The Corridor Of Uncertainty

Royston Town  2  St Neots Town  1

Southern Football League – Premier Division

If the word on the street is correct, the FA’s plan for forming the new Central League at Step’s 3 and 4 is going to be based around a ‘Golden Triangle’ which in simple terms is the basis of the league’s geographical footprint.

Taking the three points of the triangle in turn, in the North West it would allegedly begin just South of Shrewsbury, stretching across to the North East point just beyond Kings Lynn, and then forming the third and final point in the Maidenhead / Slough area. A perfect triangle if you will!

Basically, if you then sit inside that triangle at Step 3 or 4, you are in the Central League next season, if you sit on the edges of it, along what could best be described as ‘The Corridor of Uncertainty’, you may be in it, or you may not.

It further complicates itself around the Southern point because you could in theory go one of three ways, which would be either the Southern League, Isthmian League, or indeed Central League.  Consequently some clubs are a little on the vulnerable side here, one of them being Royston Town.

Garden Walk

Royston currently compete in the Southern League, but if you draw the triangle, they fall into the Isthmian League, but then when you do the maths and work out an equal split of numbers in each league, you could then arguably move them into the Central League. That said, if they get through the Play Offs which they are in with a shout of reaching, they could end up in the National League South!

All this started to occur to me as I was looking at the programme from the game the other night, I noticed that next Tuesday they are at home to Weymouth, and that is a 356 mile round trip! It’s not the longest journey though, as Tiverton is 444 miles, Taunton 414 and Merthyr Tydfil 416 miles.

So, forgive me for being presumptive, but surely if given the option, Royston would want to be giving those trips a swerve next season if they can help it.

If they were in the Central League, I reckon the longest trip would be somewhere like Rushall, and that is a round 216 miles, while in the Isthmian its Bognor Regis at 266.

Change and restructuring can only be a very good thing for Royston, along with many other clubs who sit on the outer boundary of a leagues footprint, the creation of another league at the same step will reduce costs massively, but the issue of the unknown remains.

Decking - With A Roof

Players are typically signed with one eye on geographical location. For example, I know of a well know Step 3 Surrey based club that signs the bulk of its players from Kent as they compete in the Isthmian, but they are strongly being tipped to join the Southern League and as a consequence the distance and direction of travel would mean a complete re-think in terms of recruitment.

I suspect it will be mid-May, whence the Play Offs have been finalised and the promoted clubs from Step 5 are all allocated, before the provisional constitutions can be declared (they aren’t final until the AGM). That doesn’t leave a club an awful long time to prepare, especially if they are moving to a new league. This is nothing new by the way, clubs have moved up down and laterally over the years, sometimes without prior warning, take London Colney last year who were fully expecting Isthmian football, got put in the South and suddenly quit as they weren’t prepared nor happy to move into that competition.

No easy answer to this, but maybe some kind of steer would be useful, especially to the clubs that do sit along this corridor? For all I know, they may well get consulted about the moves, but evidence in recent seasons would suggest possibly not.

Moving on, I first saw Royston Town play in October 2010, they were away at Langford and smashed then into the next County with a 7-1 victory.  They finished third that season in the South Midlands League, but then won the competition at a canter the following season.

Match Action

After some near misses, finishing seventh twice and second twice in the Southern League Central Division, they finally clinched the championship last season and found themselves promoted to the Premier Division, the highest level in their history.

I’ve been meaning to go for a while, and when, my  first choice game at Ware was called off, I immediately decided to bring forward a visit that I’d originally planned in for February. Now, I talk a lot about clubs making great first impressions, and that is exactly what I got with the Crows of Royston. Texts were sent to both the Club Secretary and Fixtures Secretary, and within minutes both had got back to me with positive news about the pitch, then going on to wish me a safe journey South.

Upon arrival in the attractive Hertfordshire town, a town that doesn’t look to be short in disposable income, the welcome and the friendliness of the club officials at the Garden Walk stadium was first class. This may sound a bit sentimental, but when you get a good feeling about a club thanks to the people involved, you just know you are going to enjoy the experience. This proved to be the case.

Garden Walk is a quaint ground, maintaining a lot of traditional features from years gone by such as the clubhouse and dressing rooms that sit behind the goal, and also the old stand that perches on the halfway line. Hemmed in by housing and a graveyard, the club are clearly mindful that work needs to be done to move to the National League. A small standing area has been erected in one corner that has the appearance of decked platform with a roof over the top, unusual but not out of place by any means.

Beer, Burgers And Team Baths

Bases have also been laid behind the bottom goal and also adjacent to the dugouts whereby additional terracing and seating will be erected at some point. I have a feeling it will be the typical ‘Meccano’ style structures that are craned in, but one can only hope that Royston can buck the trend and go for a more bespoke version?

On the field, Royston sit just outside of a play-off space, while neighbouring St Neots occupied a mid-table berth. It was the home side that started positively, taking the lead in the eighth minute through a superbly taken John Frendo volley, then just seven minutes later a free kick wide on the left by Lee Chappell sailed over the bewildered St Neots goalkeeper into the back of the net.

Royston then missed two excellent chances to increase their lead, and in the end that might have proved costly.

The three points looked reasonably comfortable for the Crows as the game moved into the latter stages, but then a misplaced back pass was intercepted by Lewis Irwin who rounded the goalkeeper to make it 2-1.

St Neots were now galvanised and went in search of an equaliser, but Royston dug deep to keep them at bay, despite the visitors getting both man and ball into potentially dangerous situations.

It was a deserved victory in the end that moves Royston into the Play-Off places, and I really hope that they can continue on the upward curve that they’ve been on for a few years now.

What next for them?

The perils of living in the Corridors of Uncertainty mean just that, but whatever happens, I suspect any moves will be for the better, that’s why we have restructuring isn’t it?

The Green Green Grass Of The Southern/Isthmian/Central League

Truly Isthmian

Carshalton Athletic  5  East Grinstead Town  1

Isthmian League – First Division South

It seems I wasn’t alone in my cunning little plan.

As we boarded the train at West Sutton, some of the very same individuals who had jogged round from Gander Green Lane, were now walking at a pace down Colston Avenue for game two, along with myself.

The home of Carshalton Athletic is no more than five minutes from the station, and as the rain continued to pour, a queue was forming at the turnstiles as some of the reported crowd of 343 made their way in.

Colston Avenue is a cracking ground, with the focal point being the huge covered terrace that runs the full length of the pitch. It’s noticeable that the artificial pitch has a steep drop off at one end once beyond the touchline, while at the opposite end it rises up. This suggested the pitch was once on a slope, and the contours of the stand roof would also suggest that as they step down at periodic intervals from one end to the other.

THAT Terrace - At Which Point I think A Little Bit Of Wee Came Out

A modern seated stand sits opposite, with the clubhouse adjacent, while beyond the goal at the car park end is a further narrow covered terrace. Completing cover on all four sides of the ground is a smaller covered terrace behind the opposite goal.

Like Sutton, it’s a mixture of the traditional and the modern, thankfully in terms of tradition that fantastic old terrace remains untouched, and long may it stay that way.

Make no mistake about it, Carshalton Athletic are part of the Isthmian League fabric, joining in 1973 from the Athenian League, and then spending every year since in the league barring a two season stint from 2004 to 2006 in the Conference South.

Seat Boys - Give Us A Song

The bulk of their Isthmian life has been spent in the Premier Division, but over recent seasons they have found themselves uncharacteristically in the First Division South. This season they are well placed in third place behind Lewes and Cray Wanderers, so clearly the loyal fan base will be hoping it’s the season that they return to pastures more familiar.

Visitors East Grinstead Town from Sussex are not having such a good season, residing in the bottom four, but due to restructuring only one side goes down and that team (Shoreham) are already seemingly needing snookers to stay up.

Following a perfectly observed minutes silence to honour the great Cyrille Regis, Carshalton opened positively. Omar Koroma scored the opening goal from the penalty spot in the 14^th minute after he himself had been up-ended. The same player then nodded home Athletic’s second goal just before the break, and for my money had made the game safe.

A mistake by Risheet Lal in the Grinstead goal just after half time gave Ola Sogbanmu the chance to lob the ball into an empty net, and then in the 70^th minute Rocky Korboa raced away to slot home the fourth.

The Steep Slope Down To The Terraces

Grinstead, backed by a handful of vocal supporters, pulled a goal back through Isaac Hutchinson, but the four goal margin was restored in added time when Hamilton Academical bound Mickel Miller was fouled in the box and despatched the resultant spot kick past Lal.

It was a routine victory for a confident Carshalton side who simply had too much pace and movement on the day. Grinstead didn’t play badly, but they were well beaten by a better team.

I managed a few words in the closing stages with Paul Brockett, a Ripon based Hopper who I bump into from time to time, he was also on the train from the North East with friends, such was the attraction of the two fixtures.

I made the train to Victoria with a couple of minutes to spare, and then was forced to queue for a time while the fans of Crystal Palace who were returning from Arsenal, were ushered from the tube to the mainline.

It Was Raining So I Didn't Bother Going Round That End

Otherwise, it was a smooth journey back to Euston and into a crowded Royal George pub before my train North. Arsenal fans were in the majority, but at five pounds plus a pint, I chose to only stay for a couple.

The train to Birmingham was rammed, it was the slower variety and full of squealing families, but eventually we arrived in good time for the return to Derby and a steady walk across town to the bus station for the last leg of what had been an epic day.

Mrs H had kindly left me some supper out, and over some garlic bread I could reflect on another cracking day out courtesy of the quirks and intricacies of our rail pricing structures.

Need to start scouring those fixtures for the next early kick off, Bromley or Woking would do very nicely indeed!  

Isthmian Encapsulated

The Tickety Split

Sutton United  2  Dagenham & Redbridge  1

National League

One of the benefits of having a couple of mates who don’t drive, is that they have an encyclopedic knowledge of the rail network, and how to take advantage of it.

I was taught a trick a couple of years ago about ticket splitting, and how it can save you a fortune. I’ve basically now found a way of getting to London on a Saturday for around twenty quid, by simply buying advance singles between Derby and Birmingham, and then from Birmingham to Euston.

Of course, it does mean early starts and late returns, which doesn’t bother me in the slightest, and it always means that the journey can take quite a bit longer than if you took the more traditional and indeed more expensive routes, but it’s a small price to pay for a cheap day out.

When I booked the tickets in December I was looking at doing a Football League game, the two clubs I need in London, Charlton and Fulham, were at home, it was just a case of picking the one I preferred. But then I spotted that Sutton United were kicking off at 12.30 as the game with Dagenham & Redbridge was being shown on BT Sport, and that put my brain into overdrive.

The Iconic Stand At Gander Green Lane

If that game finished around 2.20pm, where could I get in forty minutes by public transport? The answer was simple, two train stops and a five minute walk would get me to the Colston Avenue home of Carshalton Athletic by around a quarter to three. Both Sutton and Carshalton play on artificial pitches so bingo, it was tickety split-tastic, a plan was hatched, Fulham and Charlton will have to wait for another day.

It was a cold morning as I walked down to Belper station for the 6.43am to Derby. It was on time and sparsely populated, but the Birmingham bound train was pretty empty, and a snooze could be afforded before disembarking at New Street.

New Street is very smart these days, compared to the dump it once was, but at 8am on a Saturday not much is happening, the shops are shut and the eateries yet to fire up. The Euston bound Virgin Train was packed, confused travelers on the way to Birmingham Airport sat in the wrong seats and bashed legs as they humped suitcases down the aisles. Normality resumed as the bewildered departed for their flights, and then as the remainder of the student population finally did one at Coventry, the train was spacious and peaceful, the carefully prepared packed lunch courtesy of Mrs H could be unwrapped in more tranquil surroundings.

That's What You Call A Gantry!

With a Travel Card already in place, it was straight through a crowded Euston to the Victoria Line, and then a mere three stops later it was onto an equally busy Victoria station to wait for the Horsham bound train that would take me to Sutton.

A crawl to Clapham Junction with Battersea Power Station looming large just over the Chelsea Bridge slowed us up slightly but soon the train arrived in Sutton and a quick change to West Sutton saw me walking up to the ground at 11.15, well in time for the kick off, and certainly in time for some of God’s finest in the clubhouse.

A large Met presence was waiting outside the nearby pub, clearly the travelling Daggers had to be watched over carefully, but as the pub was not yet open, I chose to head straight to the clubhouse, where BT Sport expert summariser Dean Saunders was holding court. Deano is a Rams legend, and was the scorer of one of the finest goals my old mate Matt never saw at Villa Park. Matt had already been ejected by the West Midlands Police when Saunders put his head on a Paul Goddard cross and scored from twenty yards! Great days, you couldn’t beat a good ejection from a football ground as a teenager to increase your credibility. The same Police force did it to me a couple of years later at Molineux, a proud day I have to say!

Squaring Off The Ellipse - The Home End Terrace

Gander Green Lane is a mixture of the old and the new. The clubhouse was a large building, with various rooms used for serving food and drinks to the visiting officials, sponsors et al. Next to the clubhouse was the two story block which served as the main entrance and the club offices, while in front of this was the old main stand that is synonymous with Sutton United.

The ground is effectively a huge bowl, with curved terracing in the corners behind the West goal exemplifying it, but the covered areas behind both goals have been moved forward so they are nearer the pitch, however it’s still possible to see the outline of what went before. Another covered terrace sits opposite the main stand, but both stands on either sides are quite a distance from the pitch, again, testimony to the fact the ground was once elliptical in shape.

The Away End

The new artificial surface is clearly doing wonders for the club in terms of community use and driving revenue, but, with them sat in a Play Off place, will they be allowed to compete as the Football League will not accept synthetic surfaces?

Just over 2000 turned up, along with around 150 from the East end who were segregated behind the East goal. It was a damp and drizzly afternoon, but after a goalless first half, Sutton really turned on the style in the second period.

Tommy Wright capitalised on a mistake and rounded Daggers goalkeeper Mark Cousins to give the hosts a 58^th minute lead, only for Tom Bolarinwa to powerfully head home the second goal just three minutes later. It was the least Sutton deserved after a controlled and powerful display.

Fejiri Okenabirhie pulled a goal back for the visitors in the 85^th minute, but it was the hosts who finished the stronger with Craig Dundas almost spectacularly heading past Cousins but the keeper scrambled back to clear the ball off the line.

The Controversial Carpet

So, Sutton move up to second in the table, and the club probably more famed for their FA Cup exploits over the years (no mention of any pies) with victories over Leeds United, AFC Wimbledon and Coventry City hitting the headlines along with THAT defeat to Arsenal, are very well placed to be in the mix for promotion to the Football League. Sadly though, it may not be their playing efforts that dictate whether that happens or not.

With the rain pouring, there was no time to reflect, it was the short two minute walk to West Sutton station, I was on a tight timescale, but as the train rolled out in the direction of Sutton and then Carshalton, I did think to myself that Sutton United really do have the potential to be a League club.

In a tightly compacted part of the Country when it comes to football, averaging over 2000 spectators is no mean feat, but Sutton, and indeed high flying Bromley have got hurdles to overcome first if they want the rewards their excellent football teams warrant.

This is a story that is going to rumble on……..   

Dreaming Of The Football League

Monday, Tuesday, Who The......

Sheffield Wednesday  2  Carlisle United  0

F.A. Challenge Cup – Third Round Replay

The Spion Kop at Hillsborough is an impressive structure.

Back in Seventies it was a huge open bank which rose up towards one end, but then as we moved into the Eighties and Nineties it got extended further to level out the contours, although you can still make out the old outline. It also had a roof put on it to improve spectator comfort, but at the time it was one of the legendary terraces in English football along with the Anfield Kop, the Holte End and the North Bank.

Come In A Taxi.....

Packed to the rafters, Hillsborough has the record crowd for a third tier game in the Country when 49,309 saw the infamous Boxing Day Massacre of 1979 when Wednesday beat City rivals United, the Kop that day was rammed well before the 11am kick off.

The capacity at Hillsborough, a regular venue for FA Cup Semi-Finals due to its size, is now just shy of 40,000, and in fairness the facilities are a bit dated in comparison to some of the new builds we see, but, what an iconic stadium it remains.

The last time I set foot in the ground was March 1999, Derby were playing a First Division game and because of the tragedy of twelve months earlier, the terraces on the Leppings Lane End were closed. As a result we only had a modest allocation of seats tickets and they sold out quickly, so I had to stand with the home fans on the Kop.

An Annoying Pillar

My memory is a little sketchy, I remember losing 1-0 and Dalian Atkinson smacked a 30 yarder past Peter Shilton. I also remember standing near the back of the Kop and thinking how high I was, and what a tremendous view it gave.

I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of Sheffield Wednesday by any means, and I think that stems back to the period in question when games against the Rams were always tense and controversial affairs. Ok, it wasn’t the same rivalry as Forest, but it was a rivalry all the same, and if you ask any Rams fan from the North of the County, they would probably put the Owls ahead of the Reds in their hated list!

I probably drive past the ground once a week, we have an office less than a quarter of a mile away, but the desire to set foot in it has never arisen. However, as soon as I saw that my ‘favourites’ from Carlisle United had earned an FA Cup Third Round Replay, and, admission was pegged at a very attractive £10, I decided it was time to take a deep breath, have the vaccinations and pay a visit.

Of course, I was always going to go in the away end, with almost 1,000 tickets sold, which in hindsight turned into a very good move as the Carlisle fans made all of the noise whereas all Wednesday did was bang a drum and play a trumpet. Another very good reason not to watch England if you ask me with that lot creating the 'official' atmosphere…..

South Stand Boys Make No Noise

With heavy snow forecast I wanted to be able to make a safe and quick getaway, so parking at the office I took a walk up Middlewood Road, across Hillsborough Park, before finding the excellent S6 Football Programme Shop on Leppings Lane, and what a treasure trove that is. Richard, the owner, is a really sound bloke, and very helpful and knowledgeable with it. I’ll be back, but probably not when a game is on!

Stood at the back of the West Stand, the view out over the field of play was excellent, but, being a dated ground the pillars were a bit annoying. The North Stand was closed, The South Stand was reasonably busy but the top tier was closed, while the Kop was sparsely populated.

The Carlisle Army

With the wind buffeting the snow all around the ground, Carlisle started well and forced goalkeeper Cameron Dawson into an early save but gradually the Owls got a foothold in the game and took the lead in the 28^th minute when Marco Matias rifled a shot home from twelve yards.

Wednesday made the game safe in the second period when Atde Nuhiu slotted home in the 66^th minute, and from then onwards the game pretty much petered out, despite Carlisle’s effort in front of a passionate support that were by now facing a treacherous journey back to Cumbria given the conditions.

The pavements and roads were hazardous as I wandered back to the car, while the mob of teenagers dressed in Burberry clearly thought throwing snowballs at the Carlisle fans would provoke a reaction, it did, and I’ve never seen kids move so fast!

Despite almost taking out a line of traffic waiting by a junction at the bottom of a hill, thanks to the clever yet annoying invention that is anti-lock braking, the journey home was a steady one despite the hazardous driving conditions.

A 29 year gap had been bridged, on that basis I’ll be 74 when I next go, might only be a fiver next visit at OAP rates, that might just be enough to tempt me one more time. Will it be enough to get to me to go on the Kop though?

What do you think?   

Is There A Fire Drill?

Free Football

Haringey Borough  1  AFC Hornchurch  2

Isthmian League – Division One North

“White Hart Lane – on a Monday night?” cried Mrs Hatt.

This needed qualifying, and to be fair I thought I’d already had the conversation previously about my movements over the current month, but maybe I was mistaken.

It was over Sunday tea where I dropped what was seemingly the bombshell about my ‘little’ trip to Haringey Borough. You see, from home, Haringey is around 120 miles, so by my standards it is one of the longer trips, certainly for midweek, but not as far as say, South Shields?

I think it was more the fact I was going to be heading into London, which always sounds a lot further away than it actually is that took Mrs H by surprise. Then throw into the mix that I was going to be a mere stones throw from the past and future homes of Tottenham Hotspur, our boys beloved club, that came as the shock. I’m sure I’d told her before now, but of course I could be wrong……..

White Hart Lane

I’ve had my eye on Haringey for some time, they are one of my ‘Big Ten’ Step 1-4 clubs this season, they play on a artificial pitch, and they also play on a Monday night, what, dear reader, is not to like?

The journey is obviously not on the list of positives, the M1 was fine despite its unpredictable nature, but then I was left with a dilemma, do I follow the Sat Nav round the M25 and down the A10, or do I go the slightly shorter route via the North Circular. Of course, I picked wrong, the North Circular at rush hour is not pretty, but, eventually I was pulling into the car park at Coles Park, which sits around a mile to the West of what was and will become the home of Spurs.

I made the call to Mrs H to advise of my safe arrival (she called earlier while I was having an argument with a number 42 bus to Walthamstow), and took a seat in the tidy clubhouse which sits to the rear of the large and familiar main stand.

People watching became my chosen pastime. You see, Haringey Borough have come up with an idea which I find really quite interesting. You pay £7 to watch a game, but then you have the option to fill in a form and claim a free season ticket.

Plastic

Think about this concept for a second. You like your football, be it Spurs, Arsenal, Leyton Orient, Barnet, anyone for that matter. Haringey play on Monday night, so other than the Sky Sports game, it doesn’t clash with anything, but not only that, barring an avalanche of snow, the game is going to be on.

You would be mad not to get a season ticket, and with a home game on every Monday night throughout the month of January, it’s fill your boots time for the discerning neutral. Over the course of the next hour and a half, the bar started to fill up with a large number of people who I gathered were not connected to the club in any way.

On top of that you’ve got the hard core Haringey support, who have got a really good deal out of this, but not only that, they tell their mates about it, so they come along as well. The Borough of Haringey, by the admission of Chairman Aki Achillea, is an area that suffers from deprivation, so the club is offering a fantastic outlet for the community to use and enjoy, with no cost to them, so that really has to be applauded.

So how does the club win, other than significantly in the community PR stakes?

The Shelf

Clearly gate receipts are going to be adversely affected, barely anyone other than visiting supporters will actually be paying for admission. So you are reliant on two things happening, the fans who would come anyway will need to be spending some money on food and drink, whereas the newbies will need to do exactly the same to cover the shortfall of the regular fans who don’t buy a thing once in the ground.

It’s a gamble, but Haringey look to be making it work, over 200 turned up tonight, and plenty of them were making the most of the watering and catering facilities. Will it continue though? Mr Achillea says himself that as the club climbs the leagues and the cost base increases, then it’s unlikely, so grab the chance while you can!

It does help as well if the ground is easy to access and once inside the stadium it’s a pleasant and welcoming place. It has plenty of car parking at the ground, whereas a bus stop sits right outside the main entrance. White Hart Lane rail station and Wood Green tube are both walkable, whereas a W3 bus will take you to Finsbury Park Station.

Elevation

I liked the whole vibe around Haringey Borough. The club officials were a friendly and helpful bunch, the ground was very tidy and clean, whereas the view from the top of the stand over the pitch and on towards The City in the distance was excellent.

Following promotion to the Isthmian League a couple of years ago, last season they narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier Division in the Play-Off’s, whereas this season they sit on the edge of the race for the coveted places. But on the pitch tonight it was to be a tough test against the leaders from Essex, AFC Hornchurch, who themselves are a side well versed in Play Off fixtures over recent seasons.

The visitors took the lead through Theo Fairweather-Johnson who scored with a glancing header from a cross delivered from the left, and  then for the remainder of the first half the league leaders went into a game management mode and seemed content to stifle everything Haringey could throw at them.   

Haringey attacked with a bit more creativity and purpose in the second period, with the very impressive Michael Ademiluyi causing problems.  But they continued to remain resolute at the back, and it came as no great surprise that in a rare foray forward, Hornchurch scored a second goal when Leon McKenzie directed home another cross from the left.

We had late drama when Lawrence Yiga scored in injury time, but an equaliser could not be forced.

Not the end of the World for Haringey, they will go again, but Hornchurch’s march to the league title is seemingly relentless.

The journey back along the A10 was a much easier one, and despite being mentally prepared for the worst, I didn’t have single motorway closure to content with, and as a result it was just gone midnight when the key went in the front door.

Now then, when do I tell Mrs H about next Tuesday’s planned trip to Ware, you know, the one just south of Leicester……….

The Bright Lights Of The City

Barred

Thurcroft Miners Institute  0  Working Wonders  5

Sheffield County Senior League – Division Two

Thurcroft is a village that I became aware of from a very young age.

My Aunty Jill had a boyfriend called Ken, he used to spend a fair bit of time at my Grandparents house. We were told Ken was from Rotherham, but the reality was that he was from just outside the town, in a small pit village that sat on the edges of the M18.

Ken came from quite a large family that lived in the old pit houses on Osbert Drive, his Dad worked at Thurcroft Main, and when it came to the weekend, they liked to nip out of the back gate and across the car park to the ‘Top Club’

I never went to the Top Club, I was too young, but we did get taken to Thurcroft once, and being a shy sort of kid I seem to remember spending most of that Sunday afternoon clinging onto Jill in complete terror of all of those grown ups speaking with a funny accent .

It was some years later, probably around one Christmas when Ken (they were married by now!) and I were talking over a few beers. I asked him about his formative years living in Thurcroft, and of course the scrapes they got into.

The Top Club was high on the agenda, and like a fair few of the local youths at the time he had many a good scrap on a Saturday night, and on more than one occasion he had to serve a ban that had been imposed on him by the committee!

That's My Uncle Ken Screwed Then!

As families grow, and generations depart, ties to places are not what they once were, and I suspect these days Ken never goes to Thurcroft any more, he has no reason to I suppose, but that’s not to say it isn’t a place he thinks back on fondly. I mean, where else could you get a Gordon Bennett Memorial Hall?

Readers may recall I had an aborted trip to Thurcroft before Christmas, a picky referee wasn’t happy with the playing surface being too hard, but on a day when the weather was not an issue, it was time to try and go and have a look at them again.

Thurcroft Miners Institute joined the County Senior League at the start of the current season, taking up residence at the impressive Thurcroft Hub, which is a very short walk from the village centre. The Hub is actually situated adjacent to what was the old Thurcroft Main Colliery. The remains of the colliery are long gone, landscaped and replaced in a small part by housing, while the entrance to Osbert Drive is right opposite the Hub.

The Hub

The Hub is a large building with various dressing rooms, a large sports hall, a bar and a cafeteria area. It does look very smart and serves the football teams and indeed cricket teams that use the large expanse of sports pitches.

I was early though, I got to the ground to check all was ok, it was, so in turn I doubled back and parked up at the Top Club. The first thing that struck me as I approached the door, was a sign – ‘Under New Management’, nothing unusual in that I guess, but then underneath it said ‘All Customers Barred Under Previous Management Are Still Barred’.

Chuckling to myself, I got a pint, found a quiet area of the bar, made sure I wasn’t sat in anyone’s seat (alive or dead), and sent a text to Jill to enquire whether under the terms of the notice, Ken would be allowed in? It appears he may not be!

The Top Club was quite busy, the football was on, and the menfolk (plus one woman) were all settled down for the afternoon. I love pubs and clubs in pit villages, they are usually pretty smart places, the beer is cheap, and the locals, not only are they generally welcoming, they are absolutely hilarious. I’ve been sat on many occasions biting my lip trying not to laugh at some of the stories and banter you overhear in a Miners Welfare!

So that was the Top Club ticked off, and with no banning order slapped on me for one of the various offences that can lead to such a punishment (I didn’t take drugs / sell drugs / fight with anyone / abuse the staff), it was time to wander back to the Hub.

Wide Open Spaces

A healthy gathering of locals had pitched up to watch to the game, complete with crates of lager, although the bar was open? Anyway, Thurcroft have struggled, bottom of the league with just one win to their name, while visiting Wonders from Barnsley were sat in a mid-table position.

It turned into another bad day on the field, 3-0 down at half time and having had their goalkeeper sent off for bringing an attacker down when through on goal, it was going to be a long afternoon.

Two more goals followed as Wonders cantered to an easy victory, Thurcroft huffed and puffed but they just didn’t have the quality to make any inroads in the game.

They do seem a progressive club though, the facility is excellent, and they aren’t short of wiling helpers on matchday, all clad in club coats and hats. They have a Sunday side and also some Junior teams, so maybe they just need to find their feet in the slightly different world that is Saturday football.

If nearby Maltby, Dinnington and Kiveton Park can all sustain teams at a good level, then I see no reason why the same cannot be said for Thurcroft. A few more trips back wouldn’t go amiss, maybe I could take Ken and he could re-live his youth, I shouldn’t imagine it would be too hard to get another ban from the Top Club, not if you put your mind to it! 

Underneath Lies A Rich Seam Of Coal