Match Fixing

Standard Liege  2  FC Krasnodar  1

Europa League – Group Stages

We rose from our pits on the Wednesday morning knowing we had a long day ahead, for it was time for what is becoming the almost annual trip to Borussia Dortmund, which in my view is the greatest venue in Europe.

Bobbles Blog has featured Dortmund before, so I won’t go into too much detail, suffice to say that for the first time this season we decided to go into the centre of the City before the game. The National Football Museum was a very interesting experience, especially the sections dedicated to the old East Germany.

Post Museum, which our Dutch friends took little joy from, given the animosity between the two nations, we had a wander into the main square which was full of fans from both Dortmund and visiting Atletico Madrid. It was a superb atmosphere and what the Champions League should be all about, until of course someone decides to light a flare and the local Polizei decide to intervene!

The game was excellent as was the atmsosphere, Dortmund won 4-0 and the quality was significantly better than at the Ajax v Benfica game the night before, which is probably reflective of the respective national leagues.

An early night was had upon our return to Duiven, only we had a long journey to make the following day, and it was me that was driving, for we were on our way to Wallonia, to Liege, to watch the mighty Standard play crack Russian outfit Krasnodar.

Red Army

The Volkswagen Polo made its way past Arnhem and out towards Eindhoven, before dropping South to the historic City of Maastricht. Once past the City famed for it’s Treaty, we were soon over the border into Belgium and the landscape noticeably changed as we drove along the banks of the River Meuse and into the industrial centre that is Liege. The scenery was fantastic, but Liege itself, a French speaking part of the Country is steeped in it’s past. Steel manufacturing was the major source of employment, and looking at some of the properties around the City, wealth came from it.

A quick stop at the ground to buy tickets proved to be hassle free, less than 9,000 attended the last Europa League game in a stadium that holds over 26,000. After that it was time to check into our Hotel and make our way back into town via the local bus service.

Irish Pubs are the lifeblood of the football weekend and as soon as we spied one that looked to be within walking distance of the City Centre, you’ve never seen three men leap from their seats so quickly and pile off of a bus. The Shamrock on Rue Saint Gilles was a perfect pit-stop to plan the rest of the evening.

Maurice's Place

Trip Advisor sorted us out a restaurant called Huggy’s, which in effect was a quite brilliant burger bar serving a great selection of vegetarian options, which all of us skipped over and went straight for the meat options. The helpful staff pointed us in the direction of a Taxi Rank, and it was there where Mr Hatt Senior got into an altercation with a chap who decided to try to climb into the taxi that we’d already commandeered. No violence of any note ensued, but he did seem to move very quickly indeed from the back seat to the pavement!

Our Taxi driver was under instructions (mine) to drop us off where two pubs sat, less than five minutes form the stadium, which he duly did. The Sclessin area of Liege is not the most appealing part of the City, but the pub we found ourselves in certainly was appealing in the build up to the game as Standard fans and the odd Krasnodar bod turned up for refreshments. It wasn’t the warmest night but when a Krasnodar fan turned up in shorts it did raise a few eyebrows, but then I guess when you live close to the Black Sea, just North of the Georgian border, cold weather is not a major concern to you.

Suitably imbibed, and with a very modest crowd expected, we didn’t rush to the Stade Maurice Dufrasne which was only a five minute walk away. The stadium, named after some chap called Maurice, reminds me very much of the Valley home of Charlton Athletic.

A steep three tier stand clad and seated in red sweeps from behind the Southern end, all along the West side and round to the Northern end. It looked pretty impressive, even more so if it swept the whole way round, but it didn’t, and the side we had seats on was a two tiered stand-alone structure, which looked considerably older than the rest of the ground.

 A Bookie's Worst Nightmare

Belgian football is currently going through a period of controversy, all due to allegations of match fixing that have resulted in numerous arrests in the past month. Many top flight clubs have been implicated and Standard Liege are one of those clubs. What the outcome of this will be remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a major talking point.

On the back of this, our friends back in the Netherlands were more than happy to bombard us with banter once they realised where we were, the best text being

“Can you find out what the final score will be so I can have a bet on it?”

Theo had a bet, he had a tenner on Krasnodar winning 2-1, the odds were very generous, but were Liege going to play ball and meet his requirements?

Well, it certainly looked like it in the first half where the away side were well on top, playing much the better football and carving out chances. They took the lead in the 39^th minute through ‘Ari’, and at that point 2-1 was still on…..

It was even more on two minutes after the break when Renaud Emond equalised, so all we needed now was for the Russians to grab that all important bookie-beating winning goal.

Krasnodar lobbed everything at it, and you got the feeling the goal was going to come very late in the game, just to keep the punters on edge, and guess what?

The goal finally did arrive, in the 93^rd minute it was 2-1…..to Standard Liege?

A very unlikely win based on the quality of the two sides on display, and if Liege wanted to prove to anyone that they aren’t bent, then this game was a great example.

So, we now had to plan our next move, and given the fact we’d spent a fair few Euro’s down at the local pub we decided to revisit and see if the lads behind the bar would book us a taxi, which they duly did, giving us an hours ‘reflection’ time post match.

We reflected well.

Three Little Birds

Ajax Amsterdam  1  SC Benfica   0

UEFA Champions League – Group Stage

Now into its fourteenth season, the infamous ‘Football Weekend’ began its life at the Amsterdam Arena, and little did we know on that day in October 2005, the journey we were going to embark upon.

It’s an oft told story, what started out as a weekend has now stretched to almost a week, based close to the Dutch / German border, we have seen umpteen games at some superb locations in some of the most fantastic towns and cities in both of those Countries, and now more recently, that’s been extended to Belgium.

This season, clad in our ‘Football Weekend 2018’official merchandise (please contact me for a catalogue), the journey began at East Midlands Airport and upon arriving in Amsterdam we were met by our fantastic host Theo de Reus and his driver/nephew, Jasja who had clearly been coerced into the proceedings!

Johan

A short drive took us to the district of Duivendrecht which in itself is no more than a ten minute walk away from the Johan Cruyff Arena, as it is now known. It was far too early for entering the ground so we found a bar-cum-Indonesian restaurant in the plaza to the South of the ground, and only a two minute walk from the turnstiles. Much tucker and lager was to be had.

I’ll be totally truthful, despite having visited the stadium four times previously for Ajax games, I’ve never quite taken to it. Our first ever game was a 0-0 draw against Heerenveen that was far from inspiring, while since then we’ve seen a midday kick off against PSV that was muted in terms of atmosphere and a game against Excelsior which was mightily frustrating as Ajax tried to score the perfect goal at every opportunity.

A Europa League game against Panathinkaikos was a little more atmospheric, but I think my reservations have been three fold. Firstly, and this was perhaps just the choice of games, the atmosphere was never that great. Secondly, and while the Arena is a fantastic stadium, the fact that it had multicolour seats, it didn’t seem to identify with a magnificent club like Ajax. Finally, watching Ajax can be mightily frustrating at times. They can play the Total Football Cruyff reveled in, but sometimes you have to be a bit more than that, you need to be able to be effective, decisive, ruthless and even a bit direct, but that didn’t seem to always be in the Ajax make up.

It Feels Like A Football Ground

Of course, Ajax have one of the best, if not the best, youth academies in Europe, with perhaps only Chelsea and Barcelona matching it, but in recent times they’ve been known as a selling club. Domestic football in Holland is not strong, certainly when compared to England, Spain or Germany, so they don’t need to invest heavily to achieve domestic honours. Great Ajax sides come in cycles, a crop of wonderful players come through at the same time, they go on to make a dent in Europe, but then the players are sold.

Tonight, Ajax were playing a game in the Group Stages of the Champions League, the first time in four seasons they’ve reached this stage.  Prior to that, they’d achieved it five years on the bounce, but again, in the five years prior to that, not once. In fact, since 1997 they’ve only got past the group stages twice, but the glory years were the three seasons between 1994 and 1997 when they were winners, runners up and semi-finalists. But again, in the twelve years prior they only qualified for the premier European competition three times, each time going out in the First Round. But go back to the early Seventies and they won it three years on the spin! See what I mean about cycles?       

Great Seats

What was once known as the Amsterdam ArenA, has now been named after the finest footballer Holland and Ajax has ever produced, Johan Cruyff. It’s a fitting tribute to a man that not only shaped football for his club and Country, but also across the World. Along with the renaming, it looks to have had a makeover, and for the better in my opinion. The garish multicolour seats have gone to be replaced by red, this now actually looks like a ground belonging to a football team.

The stadium is a bowl, with two rings, and it holds 54,000 spectators, it also has roof and serves very much as a venue as opposed to just a football stadium, with various concerts and events taking place. One thing that is strange though is that a road runs underneath the stadium, with car parks to either side.

I was hoping that a Champions League game would bring the best out of the Ajax support and we’d get a really cracking atmosphere, and to be fair, I wasn’t disappointed. Pre-match we had a repertoire of club songs and Dutch ‘Levenslied’ ditties such as ‘Bloed, Zweet & Tranen’ by the Amsterdam legend that is Andre Hazes.

In the first half, Benfica looked to have the edge in the game, but after we’d managed to sneak our way into a sponsor lounge for a snifter and the Ajax support had belted out their anthem ‘Three Little Birds’ by Bob Marley, the second half was a different matter.

It did look like the game was going to finish goalless, just like that night in 2005, but as we moved into injury time, a mistake saw Ajax work the ball into the box and as it fell to Noussair Mazraoui, his shot took two deflections and found its way into the Benfica net.

The F-Side Starts To Fill

The ground erupted, and even as we left the stadium and made our way back to the car, the crowd on the F-Side were still saluting their heroes. This Ajax side is one of the best for several years, but with players like Frankie de Jong and Hakim Ziyech tipped for mega-millions moves at the end of the season, who knows what happens next?

So, as we drove back to base camp, it was time to reflect on a game and an experience that had been very enjoyable indeed. My faith in Ajax and the Arena had been restored, the beer, cheese and sausage we had in the back of the car was accompanied by choruses of Bob Marley, for the Ajax faithful, they’ve learnt to accept that one way or another, every little thing is going to be alright, it just takes time!

Walking Football

Holbrook St Michaels Juniors  0  Willington Reserves   3

Midlands Regional Alliance – Division One

Work this one out, it’s your one thousand three hundred and sixty eighth football ground visited for a game, and it’s a ten minute walk from your front door!

You see, this is where the weird and wonderful eccentricities of Groundhopping are pushed to the limit, because I was going to spend my Saturday afternoon at a venue that I’ve played on, and, that I spent a large number of Friday night’s last winter watching Master Hatt train on.

It was with a sort of despair that I flicked through the Midlands Regional Alliance Directory at the start of the season and noted that Holbrook St Michaels Juniors were playing on the 3G surface at Belper Leisure Centre. You see, because I’d not seen a game played on it, and, because it is a league I always complete, I had to go and ‘do it’ as is the speak.

A midweek option did not offer itself at the start of the season, so I was left with no choice. I would be spending a Saturday where I could have been in any number of places, watching football just down the road in a cage, on a piece of land that I’ve stood on so many times before. So, I had to make the most of it, with all due respect to the two teams involved.

It was as I was walking across Whitemoor Recreation Ground, the current home of fellow MRA side Belper Sports, that something struck me. Belper and the locality is pretty well blessed for non-league football, all of which is within walking distance of the home I share with my fellow Hatt’s. Belper Sports I can get to in five minutes, Belper United Reserves equally so on Nailers Way. Holbrook St Michaels Juniors is the aforementioned ten minutes, while Christchurch Meadow, the home of both Belper Town and Belper United is circa twenty minutes from Casa Hatt.

If you want to stretch your walking to the 30-45 minute mark, you can also get to the grounds of Holbrook Sports and indeed Holbrook St Michaels. When I get old and can’t be arsed with driving all over the place for football, I think I might just resort to shank’s pony and watch the local games, all of which have pubs en-route to them.  I can think of worse things….

So what of the home of Holbrook St Michaels Juniors then? Well it’s a relatively modern floodlit caged 3G surface at the back of the Leisure Centre, and to access it you have to enter the building and make your way out of the back. Many years ago it used to be an old floodlit ‘Redgra’ surface that did your knees and elbows no good at all, and on a wet day was guaranteed to double the weight of your trainers due to the amount that would be caked on.

I used to train on it for RJN Juniors and then a few years later I played a game on it when Belper School Teachers took on a Belper Town Supporters side, whereby I played in goal for the Supporters.

More recently as I said earlier, I watched young Hatt train on it for many consecutive Friday nights, and not once sloping off to the bar for a pint during the process! Incidentally though, during the bad weather spell which felt like most of last season, Belper Town Academy used it for a game against Radcliffe Borough, and if I remember correctly the surface only just meets FA guidelines for size, but as far as the NPL Academy goes it turned out to be too small. Belper won the game but the visitors protested, the outcome of which I’m not sure on, but it transpired Radcliffe were aware before the game that it was undersize, so sour grapes maybe?

The game was being refereed by Steve Davies, a Walsall fan from Newhall who I first met many years ago as he was mates with my mate Steve (confused yet?). I’d never seen Steve referee a game before, and I’m pleased to say that the game itself went by without controversy and we managed to keep 22 players on the park. Well done Steve, great to catch up with you!

So what about the game? Well it turned out to be a reasonably comfortable win for the visitors who took the lead virtually on the stroke of half time through Tom Toon.  Two second half goals from the giant that is Rayon Martin secured the points against a young Holbrook side who never gave up, but 

lacked the killer pass and punch in the final third of the field.

It was noticeable how small the pitch was though, a goalkeepers clearance could easily make the opposite goal, while the gap between the edge of the penalty area and the touch line was only a few yards.

Back through the front door by 4pm, Jeff Stelling for the second half updates and a little snooze at the final whistles, I could get used to this walking to football lark!

As Good As It Gets

Longridge Town  7  Ashton Town  2

North West Counties League – Division One North

As the final whistle blew at the Mike Riding Ground, Longridge Town had scored an incredible 60 league goals in just 13 games. Putting that into perspective, it equates to an average of 4.6 goals scored per game.

It’s fair to say that tonight, I’ve watched a very good football team in action, as they demolished mid-table Ashton Town 7-2, and to be fair, it could easily have been more.

More on the game later, but what’s the story with Longridge Town?

The Crowd Gathers

A West Lancashire League side, based to the North East of Preston, they have been mooted as a contender to move into the North West Counties League for some time. They had a floodlit ground, ambition, and in 2016-17 they were crowned as champions. They didn’t make the move as many outsiders had expected, but last season with a third placed finish under their belts, combined with a regionalisation of the lower division of the NWCL, it was time, along with neighbouring Garstang, to make the move.

Longridge is a small town of around 8,000 inhabitants, and access to it is pretty straightforward, especially by car (as it doesn’t have a train station!). Once off the M6 at the Preston exit, the B6423 takes you straight into the town, past the large reservoirs, into the town centre and then out along Inglewhite Road, with the ground appearing on the right hand side.

Lushness!

The car park is quite large but on a night when close on 200 spectators were in the ground, getting in early and parking nearest to the clubhouse was a bit of a schoolboy error as getting out was a bit of a challenge!

Once in the ground, the dressing rooms and a clubhouse / tea bar sits along the Inglewhite Road side, while directly in front of the structure is an Atcost that has been put into place to satisfy grading requirements. Further down this side of the ground is a smaller area of covered terracing that looks to have been in place for some time. It does have some seating to the rear but this wouldn’t be much use on a wet night as anyone taking shelter would end up standing in front of those seated. Tonight, it didn’t matter.

Let There Be Light

The rest of the ground is hard standing apart from an area around the North goal that was technically out of bounds. The floodlights were excellent and the pitch, which had been troublesome last season, although given the weather not surprisingly, has been dug up and replaced with what looks to be a superb playing surface.

I was going to go last season in May to a game, against Blackpool Wren Rovers if I recall, but I found out the day before the game that it had been switched to Blackpool because Longridge’s pitch had been dug up!

Pristine

This is a well run and indeed a very friendly club. Everyone was helpful and happy to chat, and anyone that does a pie and a pint deal for £4.50 deserves credit in my book. Clearly they are relishing the move upwards, not only on the pitch, but also off it. Making new friends, visiting new places, seeing what is out there in Step 6 land is all part and parcel of getting promotion. They have developed some excellent facilities, but they haven’t rushed it. They probably could have made the move a few years ago, but for whatever reason they waited until the time was right for them, and for that they deserve credit.

What’s also happened is the club have built a real groundswell of support. The attendance for what was only their second midweek home game of the season was a very impressive 191. They have had a high of 211 against Prestwich Heys, while the lowest has been 141. Putting that into perspective, in the particular division they are in, their lowest attendance has only been beaten nine times by every other team in the competition!

So then, the football match?

The Obligatory Atcost

Prior to the game a minutes silence was held in memory of the Mother of Longridge player Jordan Tucker who had passed away at the weekend, and Manager Lee Ashcroft (ex WBA and Preston) said after the game that the performance and victory was dedicated to her.

Mrs Tucker would have been immensely proud of the display Longridge put on against an Ashton Town side that were by no means a poor outfit, they were just simply put to the sword by one of the most clinical displays of football I’ve seen in a very long time.  

Tom Ince (no, not that one!), opened the scoring by finishing a fine move inside the six yard box, while it was 2-0 just before the break when Richie Allen fired home a half volley from the edge of the penalty area.

Immediately after the break it was 3-0 when Phil Doughty blasted home a header, but then in a rare attack Ashton pulled a goal back from an impressive flowing move.

Ince then scored his second to make it 4-1 before the hugely impressive Jay Hart made it 5-1. Hart then set up Paul Turner who rounded the goalkeeper to score before the talisman netted his second and celebrated with a backflip, much to delight of the adoring Longridge faithful.

Ashton netted a second goal near the end, but nothing could be taken away from Longridge who played attacking football of the highest quality, and with it overtook Carlisle City and went top of the league with eleven victories from thirteen games.

Drone View (Longridge Town FC / Mark Ashmore)

It was the kind of performance whereby you didn’t want the game to end, and it’s not very often that I say that, such was the quality of the entertainment on display.

I wouldn’t bet against Longridge getting promotion again this season, and with the side Ashcroft has built, the future looks very rosy indeed. Clearly though, with performances like this, clubs higher up the pyramid are going to start showing interest in the players, so that in itself might be a challenge.

But tonight was about a great football team, and a club that seem to quite simply have got things right on and off the pitch.

What’s not to like about that? This is about as good as it gets.......  

Pain Barrier

Newport Town Reserves  2  Audley Reserves  1

Staffordshire County Senior League – Division Two

It really wasn’t supposed to be like this.

The plan was a simple one, on a fine Autumnal morning I was going to rise from my slumber and make the long journey up the M6 to the Cumbrian outpost that is Cleator Moor. Cleator Moor Celtic are a new addition to the North West Counties League, and being located just to the East of Whitehaven, it was going to be right at the top of the arduous journey list for this season.

I’d psyched myself up for it by preparing two changes of clothing for the journey, a blanket in case of ending up stranded, and a fully stocked emergency survival kit. I went to Barrow once, I know what to expect…..

But, two things happened in the build up to the game against AFC Liverpool in the week prior. 

Firstly, some bastard of a storm by the name of Callum was forecast to deposit a ridiculous quantity of rain over the North West of England, and as the week wore on, this seemed to be narrowing down to effectively Cumbria, which look set to be washed away.

Secondly, what started out as a niggling pain in my left arm, ended up with an emergency GP appointment on Thursday that culminated in a course of painkillers and a physio referral. I could drive, but it wasn’t very comfortable, and I wasn’t exactly overwhelmed by the prospect of 194 miles of my arm held upright to alleviate the pain, plus, let’s be honest, fellow road users looking at me and thinking I’m some sort of dick!

The decision was made, I wasn’t going to Cleator Moor, and to be fair by 10am on Saturday morning it wasn’t an option anyway as the game ended up being inevitably postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

I’d got three choices. I had the plastic option at Eastwood Hanley but I only wanted to play that card when I had no other alternatives. I then had either Newport Town Reserves, which was my first choice, and a second choice of Burton Town Reserves. I took the view that if Newport got back to me with a positive, then it was all systems go, and a significantly reduced journey time with my arm held up in the air.

Responses came via both text and Twitter, the game against Audley Reserves was on, and, it was being played at the Tibberton School, just West of the Shropshire town of Newport.

So how did the reserves of Newport Town come onto the radar then?

When it comes to my completist tendencies, the Staffordshire County Senior League is one of the ‘must do’ competitions, albeit it has a caveat whereby as it stands, I’ll never be able to complete it. That’s because Featherstone Prison play in it, although spectators are not allowed admission to games, and I know that because I know people who’ve tried various methods to gain entry which have proved unsuccessful. At one point you could get the visiting club to add you to the list of designated club representatives, but nowadays even that’s been clamped down upon.

So, the nick aside, the league gave me four newbies this season. The aforementioned Eastwood Hanley, Ball Haye Green who got a visit back in August, Coven Athletic who I visited last week, and of course Newport Town Reserves.

I didn’t initially think when I saw them in the constitution that it would be a new ground. I knew the first team were moving to play at Eccleshall, but I assumed the reserves would pick up where the first team used to play at Shuker Field in the town, but not so it appears, a school field in a nearby village was to be the base, but even then after making enquiries and pencilling them in for a visit much earlier in the season, I subsequently found out that they weren’t actually moving into Tibberton School until the end of September.

With rain still in the air I was taken on a magical mystery tour by my sat nav as fellow road users waved back to me at regular intervals, no doubt thinking I was a touch eccentric with the constant raising of the arm at random moments of my journey. I ended up going via Uttoxeter to Stafford, before being taken around the top of the town and under the M6 on the road to Newport itself.

Once in Newport it was past the Harper Adams University (Tractor Studies), which is another former home of Newport Town, before turning off the main road and into the lovely little village that is Tibberton.

The school playing field is located at the rear of a housing area, and once parked up and checked in with a club official who was trying in vain to get the respect barrier to stand up in the high winds (unsuccessfully), I made my way to a pub that I’d spotted less than a couple of minutes walk away.

Lager was taken to wash down the painkillers, while a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel took a liking to me. I’m not sure if Codeine and dogs mix, I’d left before they had chance to take any effect……

So, what is the place like? Well, it’s a school field, but it doesn’t feel like that because it has two things that make it feel much more like a village football ground than a school. Firstly it has two permanent dugouts, and it has a separate changing room and tea bar facility at pitch side. The respect barrier had now gone, so no rope or rail, while the end furthest away from the school, which was a good three hundred yards away at least, was very tight to some trees, so much so the branches overhung into the goalmouth.

The pitch was in very good condition though considering lots of rain had fallen overnight, so no danger on that front, but, it was very windy, although to be fair it didn’t seem to have too adverse an impact on the game itself, which was quite entertaining.

Visiting Audley Reserves have had a tough season and sat bottom of the league, whereas the hosts were sat in a mid-table spot. The first half wasn’t blessed with lots of chances, but it was Newport that took the lead, and to be fair, deservedly so.

A further goal came during the second half, and with three points looking to be in the bag, the complexion of the game changed slightly when Audley reduced the arrears with around ten minutes remaining. They pushed on to find an equaliser but in fairness the goal sparked a bit more urgency in Newport who went on to close it out.

The journey back was done in one armed fashion, and under the circumstances, it was probably the limit of just how far I could realistically travel. This had better sort itself soon, otherwise it won’t just be a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that feels the wrath. I’ve got three games in three Countries in three days coming in up just over a week, if anyone mentions Brexit (the choice of the stupid and the geriatric - look what mess we are now in?), I might have to raise my arm…….

Village Life

Coven Athletic  1  Cannock United  3

Staffordshire County Senior League – Division Two

Being raised in a small village, I spent many of my formative years sheltered from the real World!

No sooner had I turned up for my first day at the semi-borstal that was Mortimer Wilson Comprehensive School, did I start to realise just how lucky, and possibly even how naïve I’d been.

These kids were different, for a start, they seemed to be let out after dark and they understood the basic concepts of survival in a working class town. Arguing, fighting, haranguing the opposite sex, loitering, even minor criminal acts were part and parcel of daily life.

But, they couldn’t recite their twelve times table, and I could, so it gave me comfort that I might just have enough to survive the five year rat-race, and assuming I got out of the other end, I stood half a chance of a life without penal incarceration.

You see, living in a small village was great, you knew everyone, everyone knew you. You could walk everywhere, you could get home nice and easily, before it got dark. You also couldn’t get into trouble, because everyone knew you, and unquestionably your parents WOULD find out everything you’d been up to.

We played football, we rode bikes, we played on our Sinclair ZX Spectrum’s and in the Summer we’d go down the woods and make dens. How Famous Five it all was, ‘Woof’ said Timmy. Lashings of Ginger Beer all round, with cream cakes for dessert!

There are some villages through the passage of time, that actually end up becoming small towns, rather sadly in my view. The price of progress and housing demands has seen the large developer win the battle of wills with the authorities, and green land subsequently turns to homes. I’ve seen this locally with places like South Normanton and Hilton, and what were once small village communities have become almost unrecognisable.

However, I don’t ever recall a town being ‘downgraded’ to a village before, but when I did my research on Coven Athletic, who were new to the Staffordshire County Senior League, I came across something very unusual.

My first discovery was that they played in a place called Brewood, which was located in South Staffordshire, not far from the Shropshire border, effectively to the North West of Wolverhampton. 

That rang a bell because I could recall a team playing in the West Midlands Regional League in the Eighties called Brewood, and so it transpires, Coven were going to be playing at the same ground.

But Brewood itself is unusual because it was once a town, but not anymore it transpires. It was reconstituted as a village in the early twentieth century as the population fell due to a migration to the major centres such as Wolverhampton and Stafford. But, soon after its status changed, the village grew again, and now with its population at almost 8,000, the highest it’s ever been, it remains a village.

Having had some very helpful Twitter chatter with Coven on the day of the game, I made my way to the ground and parked up, while having taken the advice as to suitable hostelries, I was soon at home in the ‘village’ centre with pint in hand.

Brewood is a nice place, much bigger than the village I grew up in, but a very welcoming and attractive place all the same. The ground itself sat right on the outskirts of the village and after driving down a short track you find a car park with a dressing room building to the side. Two pitches adorn the complex, with a further cricket field and pavilion in the distance.

It had a lovely rural feel about, and other than the two dugouts, the lack of any football furniture seemed to suit the location. Stands and floodlights might appease the ground graders, but from an aesthetic point of view, it’s not what Brewood needs or indeed wants.

As for the game, well Coven lost 3-1 to neighbours Cannock United, but to be fair, and I did make the comment to them afterwards, they did deserve at least a point, and probably more. Cannock took the lead early in the game but the hosts saw plenty of the ball, and indeed hit the woodwork on at least two occasions.

A second goal followed but then Coven scored with a header to get themselves back into the game. Despite more pressure and more chances, the decisive fourth goal in the game went to Cannock and this deflated Coven who in my opinion deserved more from the encounter.

The result saw Cannock maintain second position in the table, while Coven sit just below the half way mark, with two wins from their five games.

The journey back took just around an hour, down the A5, up the A38, and as always, it gave me a bit of reflection time. I got thinking about the village where I grew up and the fact that I could look out of my bedroom window across the valley, and in the distance on the horizon was that town that came as such a culture shock to me.

The irony now is, if you look out of the very same window, you can’t see the town any more, you can see an estate of new houses that have been erected over the past eighteen months, despite loud protests from local residents.

Village life is evolving everywhere you look, the local shop, the local pub, the post office, are all disappearing as the urban centres draw us ever closer. Villages like Brewood, with clubs like Coven Athletic, the pubs and the café’s, are getting fewer, and that’s a real shame, the price of progress is a heavy one in my opinion.

Town's becoming villages, that's not a trend I expect to see happening readily, Brewood clearly bucked that trend several generations ago. They may well one day have a fight on their hands from stopping it going back the other way.

Ejection

Buxton  2  South Shields  0

Northern Premier League – Premier Division

I’ve only ever been ejected from two football grounds.

One of those instances was a real schoolboy error (pardon the pun) at Wolverhampton Wanderers when I went through the junior entrance only for a Police search to find my car keys on me. I tried the plead the student line but it was to no avail, they put me in a holding cell at the back of the ground, took some photographs, completed some paperwork and then out I went. I was allowed back in, but this time at full price. Apparently, if ever found guilty of a football related offence again in the West Midlands I will receive a lengthy ban, so to be honest I’ve always been ultra-careful since, especially when going to places like Gornal Athletic and Cradley Town where the temptation to go bat-shit crazy can be overwhelming at times!

The other instance actually came after the final whistle, allow me to tell the story!

It was the end of the 1985-86 season and Belper Town had reached the Derbyshire Senior Cup Final, it was to be a two legged affair, and in that era the Senior Cup did actually matter, so we had a double decker bus to take us to the game. Myself and my Dad were collected at the Hurt Arms in Ambergate, and with many of the bus residents having had a good gargle back in Belper before setting off, it was a merry old journey up the Via Gellia.

We arrived in Buxton, and I went straight into the ground, but a good number went into Buxton, and it wasn’t long before reports were coming back of aggro in the town, so consequently the home officials and stewards were on their guard as us Belper louts needed to be watched closely.

I don’t remember an awful lot about the game, but I can remember a fair bit of taunting going back and forth in the big main stand as the two sets of fans goaded each other. At the final whistle, after a game that I seem to recall ended 2-2, the crowd dispersed, and with our battle wagon not due to depart until half an hour after the final whistle so the committee could make the most of the post match hospitality, a few of us decided to have a charge around the terraces.

It was at the point where I think we might have been in the process of considering what souvenirs to take home with us (parts of the ground), that we felt the long arm of the local stewards. Within seconds we were being frog marched to the exits and placed back on the Trent bus. Technically not an ejection I guess, more of a hastened departure, but all the same, it was my first instance of forced removal from a football ground.

It didn’t put me off, I’ve been to the Silverlands numerous times since. We actually played them again the following season in another Senior Cup Final, this time without the drama, while I can also remember going with Alfreton for a pre-season friendly after a hefty drinking session in the Hope Valley, that day, did not end well. I won’t elaborate, but sometimes in hindsight you are quite rightly ashamed of yourself!

I can remember being at another Derbyshire Senior Cup tie against Ilkeston Town, when the game was played in incessant rain. It finished all square at the final whistle, by which time the rain had abated. With extra-time due, the referee, Mr Shoebridge from Ripley, decided to abandon the game to everyone’s amazement. The pitch was perfectly playable so it made no sense. This caused a problem though, because the 90 minutes had been played the game was to be replayed at Ilkeston, but the weather took a turn for the worse and it was a real job to actually get the game played. Future rounds were significantly delayed as a result.

I’ll be honest though, as much as I love going to the Silverlands, I’ve always been super cautious due to the fact it suffers from the extremes of the weather. Snow can arrive when it’s sunny elsewhere, you can have a frozen pitch when it’s mild just down the round, and my mate Steve has on at least three occasions been sat in the bar when the game has been called off, albeit once due to a somewhat bizarre and controversial incident involving Buxton’s player being caught in horrendous traffic (Morrisons Car Park down the road it transpired!) prior to another Senior Cup tie against Alfreton.

But that’s all in the past now, because Buxton have installed an artificial pitch, so unless we have a pile of snow, it’s happy days. But, I had picked a game out as soon as the fixtures were announced, with my old favourites South Shields in town for a midweek game, it was straight into the planner and barring a freakish weather incident that would even surpass Buxton standards, I was going!

Why do I love the Silverlands? Because it’s a proper traditional football ground, that’s why. A cracking old stand with the dressing rooms and offices below dominates the vista, while behind the railway line end is a steep covered terrace where a great atmosphere can be created. Opposite the main stand is the popular side which is a full length covered terrace, while behind the other goal it’s just open. The clubhouse and tea bar are just as you enter the ground in the corner, and over the years the warmth of that clubhouse at half time has been a godsend!

What about the club?

A Cheshire County League side until 1973 when they were crowned Champions and won promotion to the Northern Premier League, they went on to become one of the mainstays of the premier non-league competition in the North, remembering that up until 1979, the winners of the NPL could apply for election to the Football League.

They never really threatened in the NPL but once the top sides moved into the newly formed Alliance Premier League in 1979, they did conjure up sixth and fourth placed finishes for a couple of seasons afterwards. They continued to tick along, without really threatening, until 1996-97 when a disastrous campaign saw them finish bottom and relegated. Financial problems hit the club and once again the following season they finished bottom of the First Division and were relegated to the Northern Counties East League.

Despite being without doubt the biggest club in the league, they didn’t find life easy in the NCEL. Twice they had to survive relegation scares and in the end it took eight seasons before they were crowned champions and were able to return to NPL football. In fact, it was once Nicky Law was appointed Manager that fortunes changed. He was the man who took them up, and then the following season they won the NPL1 at the first attempt, and finally, they were back where they belonged.

Since then they’ve flirted with the Play-Offs on a couple of occasions, but in all honesty, they’ve never really looked like going up, nor have they ever been in any danger of going down. Arguably, they are now at their natural level as a football club, but that said, the National League North is still something to aim for, they certainly have the facilities and the support in the town is strong, so why not?

The current campaign has started positively, prior to the match against South Shields they were just outside the top six, and if they could muster up a victory, a top four place with a quarter of the season gone was within grasp. Crowds have been good as well, the highest being over 700 while an average of just under 500 is very healthy for the level.

So what about the game? I had a feeling beforehand that South Shields would have too much for them, despite them not perhaps having had the start that would have hoped for and indeed expected. Bearing in mind this is the club that have stormed all before them in the previous three seasons, and in many pundits eyes, were the favourites again this time around. I was one of them, I felt that they would go through the league this season (having seen them last year) and would be taking up a place in National North for 2019-20.

Buxton had different ideas, they played a high tempo game and pressed the ball quickly. Shields had plenty of possession but more often than not the ball was going sideways or backwards such was Buxton’s tenacious attitude. Buxton took the lead in the seventh minute when the impressive Liam Hardy saw his shot from distance take a deflection and find its way into the back of the net.

Shields saw plenty of the ball for the rest of the first half, but could only real manufacture one decent chance that went begging.

I had a feeling that Shields would go up another gear in the second period and perhaps try to be a bit more direct, but it was quite the opposite. Buxton were the side they found another gear and started to see more of the ball, so it came as no surprise when in the 78^th minute Greg Young found space in the penalty area to turn and fire low into the net.

A well deserved victory for Buxton, and disappointment for the healthy following from the North East who seemed somewhat disgruntled at the final whistle. They aren’t used to losing games, and this was the fourth away defeat from six games on the road.

But tonight was about Buxton, and under the guidance of Paul Phillips and Steve Halford, you do wonder whether this might be the season when they could mount that elusive promotion push. They’ve beaten Shields and another favourite in the shape of Basford United, so why not?

With a guarantee of games due to the shiny new surface, I’ll be back again this season, and being that bit older and slightly more sensible, I promise you Buxton, I won’t be causing you any trouble!

In God's Country

Ryburn United  3  TVR United  0

West Riding County Amateur League – Premier Division

I do love a trip to West Yorkshire.

Over the years I’ve been to some stunningly picturesque venues while watching football, highlights include Oxenhope and the breathtaking views over the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, Salts and the evocative Saltaire Village, Esholt and Emmerdale Country, and of course the ghostly mills of Marsden.

And Why Not.....?

The West Riding County Amateur never failed to disappoint as year in, year out, new teams would appear and new venues would be visited. It was that league that then set me onto the West Yorkshire League for what were some equally fabulous trips to some wonderful places.

Things are changing though, in 2010-11 season the WRCAL had four division with a membership of 54 teams. At the start of this season it was down to one division with 15 teams, but since then Wakefield City, AFC Bingley and DRAM Community have all resigned, it’s down to 12 teams.

Many knowledgeable locals are suggesting this could the final season for the league, with the clubs either choosing to go into the West Yorkshire League or the West Yorkshire Amateur League. It certainly has the look of a league on its way out, especially after a proposed merger with the West Yorkshire League fell through in the Summer.

That said though, it has persevered with its recruitment and in the Summer new teams in the shape of AFC Bingley, Toller and Ryburn United joined the fold, but of course Bingley quickly disappeared again. Toller, for that matter, did disappear before the season started, but they suddenly re-appeared again, and so far all looks good.

Halifax Road Side

Ryburn United though, a side from the Halifax League who finished runners up to Shelf United last season, despite winning 16 of their 20 games, looked to be one of the more competitive recruits, and competing out of their own base at Ripponden Wood, it was on the radar for a visit.

It’s taken a bit of time though as for the first month or so they didn’t play at Ripponden Wood due to some work taking place on the ground, but having been in a dialogue with their Twitter Guy, I got the affirmative that the game against Bradford based TVR United would indeed be at ‘home’.

Getting to the village of Ripponden is pretty straight forward, and once off the M62 at Ainley Top, as you would expect, it’s a very picturesque run out of Elland, into Greetland and then down into the valley where it sits. Located only twelve miles from Rochdale, Ripponden is very much a Yorkshire village, but being so close to the Greater Manchester boundary it does have close links.

Aesthetic

The River Ryburn (hence the clubs name) runs through the village which has a population of around 8,000, while it was famous for being on the route for the Tour de France in 2014 when it passed through before climbing the 1.3 kilometre long Cote de Ripponden.  Other than that, it has pubs and the like, and like many of these Yorkshire villages and towns, it does make me wonder how they cope when the snow comes!

The ground is located to the North of the village, on the main Halifax Road, and once down the narrow driveway, a car park and dressing room building appears on the right. Adjacent to the building is a storage container that’s been converted into a handy tea bar selling pies and other such delicacies.

Two sides of the ground are overlooked by the stunning views of the woodland that slopes up the side of the valley, while on the main road side is a steep wall that runs close to the edge of the pitch, which in itself provided a great viewing location for some of the spectators.

Dressing Rooms

The pitch was in good nick and to comply with regulations a ‘Respect’ barrier was erected down one side. Overall, a lovely venue that the club have worked hard on to give some basic creature comforts for players and spectators alike.

The game was due to kick off at 2.30pm but TVR were in no rush so it was 2.45pm by the time it actually happened, and that laissez faire attitude transmitted onto the pitch where they were comfortably beaten by a well drilled and determined Ryburn outfit.

The final score was 3-0 and that was probably a fair reflection of the balance of play, which saw the hosts jump over the visitors in the league table into fifth position. Quality wise it was of a good standard, but it does beg the question as to where clubs like Ryburn United might sit as regards next season.

If the WRCAL is no longer viable, and the future may not be clear until very late in the day, then decisions will need to be made early by clubs who want to secure a league for 2019-20. It may be that process which ultimately is the death of the WRCAL, unless of course the FA Leagues people get involved, in which case the outcome is anyone’s guess.

For the time being though, give me God's Country any day of the week……

The Wall