The Nearly Ground

Hanwell Town  0  Marlow  6

Isthmian League – Division One South Central

I nearly went to Hanwell Town in December 2008.

I was sat in the clubhouse on a Tuesday night at the home of Wingate & Finchley, only for an official to walk in and say the game was off because the referee was unhappy about a floodlight bulb being out!

I needed a Plan B, and quickly, I spoke to a bloke who was a locally based groundhopper, and recalling that Harrow Borough were at home to Enfield Town that night, I asked him if he fancied a very quick run across the North Circular!

He did, I think his name was Graham, I’m not too sure, but as we got to Hanger Lane Gyratory, he mentioned that we were very close to Hanwell Town’s ground and they were at home that night.

Nice!

You see, I am a man of targets, Harrow Borough was a target at the time, Hanwell Town wasn’t, and my sat-nav said we could just make kick off at Earlsmead. We drove past the floodlights at Hanwell with Harrow very much in my sights, Graham was muttering something about missing kick off etc, but I was driving, I called the shots.

The gamble paid off, we pulled into the car park at Harrow just as they game was kicking off, and saw a 6-2 home victory. I dropped Graham off at the tube station and that was the last I ever saw of him. I think he enjoyed it, but, I suspect he had a secret hankering deep down for a trip to Hanwell, or, it was an easier ground to get home from in terms of his journey back to East London?

Anyway, as is often the case, Hanwell came onto the radar this season, and I got an early taste of them earlier in the campaign when I saw them play away at Waltham Abbey.  They lost 3-2 that night but I was impressed with what I saw.

Cover

Going back to the mid-eighties, Hanwell were a London Spartan League club, and then were part of the league when it merged with the South Midlands League, to form the, wait for it……Spartan South Midlands League!

One of the stronger sides from the noughties onwards, they never finished outside the top eight and then after a third placed finish in 2005-06 they won promotion to the Southern League.

That adventure lasted just one season, finishing next to bottom, and with it came a swift return back to the SSML. However, 2013-14 season was a glorious one for Hanwell, they won the league and the Southern League beckoned once again.

Nice (again)

Four seasons into Step 4 football, after a couple of solid campaigns and a couple of struggling ones, they found themselves moved to the Isthmian League via a restructuring. What that did do was present a large number of locals derbies in and around the West and South West London area, so arguably a very good move for the club.

This season has been a very reasonable campaign, a good FA Cup run saw them reach the 3^rd Qualifying round only to lose a replay to Leatherhead on penalties, while in the league, they occupy a mid-table placing.

The journey down was gloriously problem free, ok, the M1 between Northampton and Milton Keynes is a pain in the arse due to the 50mph limits, but once that had been negotiated it was all the way to the very end and then round the North Circular to the A40. Graham was right, once you get past Hanger Lane, the ground is a stones throw away and sits on the Perivale junction.

The Pitch

Reynolds Field is a very nice football ground. The car park sits behind the goal, as does the turnstile block. Once through having parted with £8, to your left is an area of cover that runs the width of the pitch. To your right is the dressing room and clubhouse building that is raised up from the pitch, with a viewing veranda in front of it, while moving around the ground, beyond the building is a small area of covered seating.

The rest of the ground is hard standing, barring a small covered shelter on the opposite side of the ground to the dressing rooms. But the focal part of this side of the ground is a large electronic scoreboard. The pitch, with it’s in built sprinkler system, I have to say, was in absolutely fantastic condition, and it will come as no surprise that Sheffield United have used it to train on this season before an away game at Brentford.

A friendly and progressive club, a cracking set up, but I have to say, on the field it really wasn’t a good day at the office.

Panoramic

Marlow, who sat third, were very good indeed and absolutely swamped Hanwell with six goals scored without reply. Pace, power, precision, confidence, are all words that could be used to describe the performance of the visitors from one of the posher parts of Buckinghamshire as they set about creating and taking chances with a nerveless ruthlessness.

In front of an encouraging crowd of 153, James Clark scored the opening goal on the half hour mark, while seven minutes later Devontae Romeo had doubled the lead.

James Clark bagged a third ten minutes into the second period before Tristan Campbell scored from the penalty spot.

The fifth goal came in the 68^th minute from Chris Ovenden and then with sixteen minutes still on the clock, Adam Richards scored the sixth and final goal for Marlow.

White Lines (Don't Do It)

You did have visions of Hanwell going for seven or eight, but in all fairness they dug deep to keep the score down, but to be honest, it was definitely a day to forget. Marlow on the other hand, look a very useful outfit indeed.

So that was Hanwell Town, ten years after temptation had been initially thrown my way, but it was definitely worth the wait. Unlike the wait on the M1 near Northampton while travelling back, as a Citroen 2CV was rescued by a breakdown truck, which to be fair, while annoying, was not really enough to sour a very enjoyable day out.

I didn’t think Citroen 2CV’s existed anymore? Oh well, maybe I’ll see a Dodo walking down our garden path next………..

Scoreboard

Baba O'Riley & The 92

Portsmouth  1  Peterborough United  0

English Football League Trophy

It wasn’t quite how it was supposed to be, when it came to completing the 92.

You see, throughout this season, I’ve been working on the fact it was five grounds needed to complete the quest. Number 87 was Reading, Charlton Athletic came in at 88, while at 89 was Southampton, closely followed by Fulham as the mission moved onto number 90.

Numbers 91 and 92, were going to be Portsmouth, and of course Tottenham Hotspur once they’d moved to their new stadium, which in all fairness I’d assumed would be before Christmas at the very least!

Clearly, I couldn’t obviously get to Spurs until it was open, and even then getting tickets was bound to be far from simple. So, it was always the plan that Spurs would be number 92. But, I had a caveat, and that was all based around the fact that I didn’t want to complete ground number 91, (Portsmouth) until Spurs had taken residence, for a reason that I shall try and explain.

You see, if I got to Portsmouth and Spurs hadn’t moved in, I would technically have completed the 92, but potentially only for a very short period of time, and in my own warped little World I didn’t want it all to end like that! I wanted 92 to be 92 and remain that way for a considerable period of time, not just a couple of months say?

The Iconic Frontage

But a few things have happened that questioned that call. The delays on the Spurs stadium have actually started to cast doubt as to whether it will be functional this season at all. The chat is that it still remains far from complete, and in reality 2019-20 is the likely entry date. That in itself would have meant putting number 91 off until next season, and in my own mind I didn’t want to do that.

Then, having been summoned to head office in Milton Keynes to do some assessments, I started to look at fixtures for the Tuesday evening where I had a room booked for the night. Initially I was looking at the likes of Dorking Wanderers and Molesey, but then while making a cursory look at the BBC Football website, I spotted it was Checkatrade Trophy Quarter Finals night.

Portsmouth v Peterborough United, 7pm kick off, £10 admission and two hours from Milton Keynes. On one level it was an absolute no brainer, I mean, cheap and available tickets, an early kick off meaning an earlier return, and the journey time halved. On another level it was troublesome, firstly it would mean that the 92 was done, for the foreseeable future, and furthermore, it was the Devil’s Cup, the competition we’ve been urged to boycott, beyond Mickey Mouse, unless of course you win it in which case it’s probably quite good!

I thought about it, and then spoke to Mrs H, we were both in agreement, it was like fate had presented an opportunity. Maybe it was meant to be like this, maybe Fratton Park, was after all destined to be the venue where a mission that started in 1980 was to be completed. Let’s be honest, everyone who’s done the 92 is going to have to go to Spurs, so what’s unique about finishing it at a stadium that’s just been built? No, and as much as it didn’t sit perfectly, it was going to be Pompey, I was going to bite the bullet and go for it.

North Stand

So, mission 92 then? It did start in 1980, at the Baseball Ground in Derby, but as that no longer exists, the first of the current grounds being used that I visited was the City Ground in Nottingham to see Forest beat Southampton 2-1. Peter Ward scored that day, who at the time was one of my footballing heroes.

At what point did I think it was actually achievable to complete the quest? Probably about three years ago when I had a run that bought the numbers right down, and working on the principle that I normally would get five or so a season in the bag, I reckoned a three year aim would be a realistic one. At the start of the current season I wanted to get them all done, barring potentially Spurs, but lets not labour on that one again!

I’ve only ever been in the City of Portsmouth twice, once en-route to St Malo via Brittany Ferries, which took in a tour of HMS Victory, and another time when a train trip from Bournemouth while on holiday seemed a good idea at the time.

Fratton Park did fascinate me though, one of the few remaining old fashioned football grounds that once hosted top flight football. This season virtually every home game has been a sell out, largely due to the fantastic support they have anyway, but also due to the fact they sit top of League One. 

Between 18,000 and 19,000 turn up every week, and I must admit, as what looks like a promotion gets closer, I did begin to think getting a ticket could be tricky.

The journey from MK was a breeze, the M25 almost opened itself for me, like it understood the magnitude of the occasion. Once on the A3, the sleet showers around Petersfield were brief, and as the road became a motorway, Portsmouth, and Southsea Island in particular was within sight.

The Away End

The route into Fratton Park is a simple one and it was while on the phone to Mrs H that the old style four pylon floodlights came into view, the Holy Grail was visible, it was within my grasp, and it was still three hours until kick off.

Parked just a street away, I had the chance to wander around the perimeter of the stadium, and it reminded me so much of the Baseball Ground. Tight, hemmed in, with tall stands and space at a premium, rows of houses adjacent, and on a cold and wet day, those floodlights looked majestic as they towered over the structures they sat alongside.

I had a feeling I was going to like it, but I still had niggles at the back of my mind. The pub just down the road provided relaxation and contemplation time, I was getting my head around it, slowly, I guess I needed to get into the ground to start to feel the experience properly.

Chips were sought and found, before I made my way down Frogmore Road and underneath the iconic Mock Tudor frontage of the club offices. The South Stand, built by the legendary Archibald Leitch, was my choice of seating, and once underneath, forty five minutes before kick off, it was sparsely populated as you would expect.

The Fratton End

Now, for quite some time, I’ve wanted to write a blog that linked with one of my favourite songs of all time, if not my absolute favourite. The brilliant ‘Baba O’Riley’ by the Who is that very song, but I just could not come up with a link, no matter how hard I tried and how spuriously I went about, it simply wouldn’t happen. 

It was then while stood in the narrow concourse behind the stand that I heard the PA system play the opening bars of the song, the first time I’ve ever heard it play inside a football stadium, ever! It was at that point that the niggles went away, this was the 92, this was meant to be, this is exactly how it was all meant to end.

Mrs H phoned again, she had probably been more excited than me up to this point, but I was now sharing the enthusiasm, along with just over 3,000 others, we had a Checkatrade Trophy game to watch.

The old South Stand is a wonderful structure, it’s been re-clad and re-seated, and despite the pillars that do obstruct the view a little, it’s a very atmospheric place to watch football from. Just prior to kick off, Mike Oldfield’s ‘Portsmouth’ was played, a tune that incidentally got to number three in the Top 40 back in the mid-seventies, and with the small crowd clapping along, you did wonder just what the atmosphere in a full Fratton Park would be like?

Archibald Leitch At His Finest

The North Stand was formerly terraced with seats at the back, but now it’s all seater from back to front. While both the Fratton End and Milton Road End terraces have been roofed and seated to meet what were Premier League requirement back in the clubs heady days of the mid-noughties when the FA Cup was won and Harry Redknapp was causing all kinds of South coast controversy with his antics.

It’s an absolute belter of a stadium, what better place to be, where better to hit the magic number?

The game itself while engaging, it wasn’t overly entertaining. Both sides were under strength yet both tried to play football. Chances were at a premium and it wasn’t until the 85^th minute that Pompey grabbed the all important goal that took them to a semi-final away at Bury.

The game to be fair, was almost a sideshow to the occasion, as we moved into injury time and the final whistle loomed, I began to wonder if this occasion meant as much to anyone else in the stadium as it did to me? In years to come, I can talk fondly about the night Pompey beat Posh in the Mickey Mouse Cup, who else amongst the 3,000 will be able to do that?

Checkatrade Trophy Action - Never To Be Forgotten.....

At the final whistle I jogged to the car, but on a couple of occasions I looked back at the floodlights shining brightly over Fratton Park, it reminded me so much of when I used to leave the Baseball Ground with my Dad all those years ago. Back when 92 football grounds wasn’t even heard of, let alone on the radar.

The journey out of Pompey and back to MK was simple enough and by 11pm I was in my room with a can of lager. I turned on the computer and went to my Excel spreadsheet, it had two names left on it, Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur.

I deleted Portsmouth, and then I deleted Tottenham Hotspur as well. Then, I listened to Baba O’Riley.

Babylons

Staines Town  2  Wimborne Town  4

Southern Football League – Premier Division South

Partly thanks to Ali G, the town of Staines took the decision in 2012 to change its name to Staines-upon-Thames.

It was argued, that in order to boost the local economy, and take advantage of the riverside location it holds, the name change was the sensible thing to do.  But also, certain negative publicity and perception, a consequence of the front man of the ‘Da West Staines Massif’, needed to be eradicated.

Ironically though, it seems one of the objectors to the name change was Staines Town Football Club, clearly they felt the young Staines Ghetto resident Alistair Graham was a positive figurehead for the town?

Anyway, I’m not going to make any more Ali G references or comment on the purported size of Madonna’s babylons, I’m going to focus on the football club that is Staines Town.

I must admit to being very surprised at seeing the Swans propping up the Southern League Premier Division South table, after suffering twelve consecutive defeats? They were only relegated from the Conference South in 2015, and having taken a couple of years to find their feet in the Isthmian League, last season they just missed out on qualification for the play offs.

I spoke to a mate of mine who is from the Surrey area and his cynical view was that Staines were actually quite happy to be relegated this season because they never wanted to be moved into the Southern League in the first place, especially given that the travelling will mean trips to Merthyr Town, Taunton Town and Tiverton Town. Relegation would almost certainly see them in the Central Division of the Isthmian League and with that, oodles of local derbies!

No one is ever going to admit that from the football club, but I did ask the chap in the club shop why they were struggling so much. The answer was relatively simple, they are under new ownership, there isn’t any money and as a result the players are all kids.

The truth, as is often the case, is probably somewhere in the middle.

Staines Town has a fine history though, an Isthmian League club since the mid-seventies, they jumped with some regularity between the First Division and the Premier Division. But then in the late noughties they finished runners up in the top flight for two successive seasons, beating Carshalton Athletic the second time in the play-off final, and with it earned promotion to the Conference South.

They remained in the second tier of non-league football for six seasons, recording a best ever finish of eighth. Otherwise, it was largely uneventful, and then of course came relegation.

They have got a reputation in the FA Cup though. They’ve twice reached the First Round Proper in recent seasons, losing away at Leyton Orient and Brentford, while in 2009-10 they beat Shrewsbury Town and after holding Millwall to a draw at Wheatsheaf Park in the Second Round, they lost the replay.

So, this is a big old non-league club, it was time to go down and have a look at them.

Staines is located just off the M25, South of Heathrow Airport. The town centre has to be navigated to get to the ground which lies to the South of the centre. It’s a busy place and takes a bit of getting through, but with plenty of time on my side, I was travelling down the banks of the Thames and turning into the ground well before 2pm.

Wheatsheaf Park has been the clubs home since 1951, but it went through something of a transformation in the early 2000’s and one side of the ground was redeveloped completely. It is via this side that you approach the ground, and the clubs offices, dressing rooms, clubhouse etc forms part of the Thames Club Leisure Centre, which in itself incorporates a pool and a gymnasium.

It’s a huge structure, and you then head down to the left end of it to gain access to the football ground. In front of the building is a steep rake of seats, the only seated accommodation in the ground, while opposite is a low roofed covered terrace that stretches virtually the full length of the pitch. Its open behind both goals, but on the East side is a very small terraced area offering elevation.

The pitch was in superb condition, but it appears it’s also used by Chelsea Ladies, and has the grading to be able to host Women’s UEFA competition football.

I made my way to the bar after a brief look in the club shop, lager was £4 a pint, Egham Town this is not, but to be fair, not unusual for this part of the Country.  A decent number of Wimborne fans had made the journey from deepest Dorset and were taking advantage of the hospitality. They made a good noise throughout the game, the price of the beer clearly not off putting!

The first half was not the most entertaining of spectacles. The young Staines side moved the ball around well and did take the lead in the thirty fifth minute when Luca Charles-Valentine finished well after a flowing move. Wimborne had plenty of the ball but they struggled to create premium chances.

The second half was an altogether different matter though, and what entertainment we had.

Ten minutes into the half and Billy Maybury equalised with a superb free kick, but within a minute of the kick off the hosts had regained the lead when skipper Gardi Milenge looped home a header from a cross.

It was Matt Oldring’s turn to then use his head as he equalised for a second time for Wimborne, and then within ten minutes it was 3-2 to the visitors thanks to Luke Burbidge’s quick reactions.

Staines fought back and with Thomas Gogo causing all kinds of problems with his close trickery, Wimborne had to dig deep, and their cause wasn’t helped when Maybury received a harsh second yellow card and was subsequently dismissed in the 82^nd minute.

But, with Staines pushing, Wimborne exploited the gaps and made it 4-2 in the closing moments when Toby Holmes broke down the right and placed the ball wide of the goalkeeper.

A deserved victory for Wimborne, buts Staines, for me, came out of the game with a lot of credit. That elusive victory can’t be too far away, but whether they have too much to do to save themselves is another matter indeed.

It’s one to watch closely, 197 did so today, probably wondering what the next chapter holds for Staines Town Football Club.

A name change and a rude boy from the West side are not the answer…….

All White

Clifton All Whites  3  Eastwood Community  2

East Midlands Counties League

Have a guess why Clifton All Whites are called Clifton All Whites?

Easy one really, they play in an all-white strip. But, in 2012 they were forced to drop the ‘All Whites’ suffix from their name because it could be construed as racist!

This is the amateur football club in Nottingham with a fine reputation finding and nurturing young talent, that eventually makes its way to the professional ranks.

Among the names that progressed were Keith Alexander, Pedro Richards, Jermaine Jenas, Michael Johnson, Darren Huckerby, Phil Starbuck and Jermaine Pennant. I seem to think a number of those are black? Clearly, being a member of the All-Whites was not a problem to them, not in the slightest.

Imagine though, the New Zealand All Blacks, named for the same reasons, if they were told they had to drop their name? There would be law suits going into millions, All-Blacks is a World renowned brand, but let’s face it, it will never happen.

But it was much easier to impose on little Clifton, the proud club from a large social housing estate in Nottingham, the proud club who probably did more for integration and inclusion than any football club in the locality.

So, the history lesson.

Formed in 1963, originally as Thistledown Rovers, by Dick Lambert and Bill Nowell, they dominated junior football in the County and attracted players from far and wide. Innovative in so many ways, they helped fellow clubs establish themselves and were one of the first junior clubs to embark on international tours.

They were courted by professional outfits to become a nursery club, but this was against club policy, so they ploughed their independent pathway and talent continued to find its way into the Football League.

With a portfolio of junior sides, they took the decision in 1973 to join the senior ranks of the Midland League having secured their own ground.  It was a struggle, and partway through their fifth campaign in 1977-78 the club withdrew from the league and records were expunged.

The Nineties saw the club performing at a senior level in the Notts Senior League, and by the time they were being forced into a name change, they had moved into the Central Midlands League, where they remained until 2015, before reverting back to the NSL..

Promotion came at the end of the 2016-17 season when the club won the championship by six points, and this allowed them to make the move to Step 6 for the first time and join the East Midlands Counties League.

My first visit to the Norman Harvey Ground came in 2007, and it was completely unplanned. I was on my way to a game in Leicestershire but due to an event taking place at Donington Park, I couldn’t get close to the M1 so headed over the roundabout at Kegworth and into Nottingham, with all intentions of going to Ruddington. I spotted Clifton’s ground and players warming up on the pitch, so decided to call in and watch a game their instead. Turned out it was the reserves against the second string of Attenborough. My only other visit came in 2014 when I saw the first team play Westella Hanson in a League Cup tie, albeit it was actually the visitors home game but due to pitch issues the tie had been switched.

So, as I picked Derek up, who himself had never been to Clifton, I explained to him that this was going to be my first ever visit to a Clifton All Whites first team home game!

The ground has been improved steadily over the years, and in all fairness it’s a neat and tidy venue. With a decent sized car park, the clubhouse sits outside the ground, and on a night when the game had been dedicated to Ray Smithson who passed away the previous Friday, it was packed.  Ray was a very well known and hugely respected local man who worked on the gate at All Whites. Ray worked for the BBC in outside broadcast and they lead a superb tribute to him the day before on the local news programme.

Inside the ground, the pitch was in superb nick, and the floodlights were very good indeed. Access is slightly limited once inside the ground, you can’t get behind the bottom goal, and half of one side beyond the dugouts is out of bounds. The cover sits on the half way line, and comprises of a low roofed structure with three rows of seats in it, but to be fair, many choose to stand.

The game was a real belter. Eastwood looked very sharp in the first half, taking the lead in the first minute through Rory Smith. The same player then made it 2-0 in the ninth minute, and you could have been forgiven for wondering just how the evening was going to pan out for the hosts.

But, following an untidy scramble, the much travelled Daryll Thomas reduced the deficit right on the stroke of half time, and then what then panned out in the second period confounded many.

Clifton were excellent, Ashley Way equalised in the 74^th minute and then in the 80^th minute another experienced campaigner in the shape of Aaron Large got the third and ultimately the winning goal for the All Whites.

At the final whistle Clifton celebrated, the win was quite rightly dedicated to Ray. 106 spectators were in attendance and no one could argue that it wasn’t money well spent for a fine evening’s entertainment.

It’s quite interesting looking around the ground, the Football Foundation award sign calls the club simply Clifton Football Club, as do various other forms of signage. I am guessing this is the legacy of the political correctness gone mad.

What a superb football club Clifton All Whites are, and that’s why such esteemed names in football owe a chunk of their success to them.  

Sandwiches

Egham Town  1  Chalfont St Peter  1

Isthmian League – First Division South Central

The mission continues, to work my way through the Step 1-4 stadia of England, but with a scientific methodology behind it.

I was trying to explain it to Ian Townsend, the Isthmian League webmaster / social media guy in the bar before the game after we’d made contact with each other via Twitter. Ian asked me why Egham, I said because it’s 141 miles from home, and therefore the nearest ground I’ve not visited. Simple logic you see, but it might start getting a bit tricky in 84 grounds time when Guernsey is on the radar!

But for now, Google Maps is sending me very much in the vicinity of West and South West London, with Bedfont Sports, Hanwell Town and Staines Town all on the agenda over the next few weeks.

First of all though, I need to say a big thank you to Ian, he featured me and my blog in his report for the game. A great bloke who does so much work to raise the leagues profile, and, unlike many other official channels, he’s more than happy to promote others work if it’s positive about the league and it’s clubs.

So, Egham Town Football Club, what’s the story?

Nicknamed the Sarnies (get it?), they were a Surrey Senior and Spartan League side from the late Sixties through to the early Seventies, where after they moved into the Athenian League and then the Isthmian League in 1977.

Other than a one season spell in 2004-05, they remained part of the Isthmian family until 2006 when they chose to take voluntary demotion to the Combined Counties League. Seven seasons followed before the Championship was won in 2012-13, but this time due to restructuring of the pyramid, they found themselves in the Southern League.

Promotion through the Play-Off’s was missed out on twice when St Ives Town and Farnborough were the victors, but then at the start of the current campaign they moved back home again to the Isthmian League. This season has been a struggle to be honest, sat bottom of the table, they look to be in a battle with South Park and Molesey to stay up.

Egham is an easy place to get to, nestled right alongside the M25, adjacent to Staines, while the ground is just off of Pooley Green Road. I know Pooley Green Road from my university days, you see when I was at Keele I was friends with a girl called Nadine Morris, and she lived on the road. As often happens, we exchanged Christmas cards for a couple of years after leaving university, but then lost touch.

The Runnymede Stadium is straight from the late Seventies, a glorious football ground with six areas of cover. The main stand and dressing rooms sit on one side, while behind both goals are areas of covered terracing. Opposite the main stand, the length of the pitch is taken up by three structures that all provide covered accommodation. The clubhouse sits outside the ground in the large car park, and with Fosters at £2.70, what’s not to like?

An amusing exchange took place in the clubhouse before the game. The lady serving me asked the score from the West Ham v Arsenal game, I told her that West Ham had won, all excited she said.

“My husband is a massive West Ham fan, he’ll be so happy, in fact now they’ve won I’ll be getting one tonight….”

I was somewhat speechless, and her colleague behind the bar was equally lost for words. Anyway, an explanation quickly followed.

“A kebab, he always buys me a kebab on a Saturday when West Ham win….”

That explains that then!

So what about the game?

Chalfont, who sat in mid-table, had a lot of possession but lacked a cutting edge in the first half. However they did manage to take the lead just before the interval when Rhys Rabess appeared to be pushed in the box as he chased down a ball that in all fairness was probably going to run out of play.

A penalty was awarded after consultation with the linesman and up stepped Adam Morris to score from the spot. To be fair, up until that point the Saints had not mustered anything in terms of a threat in attack, so they could count themselves somewhat fortunate.

The Sarnies went in search of an equaliser in the second period, but had to wait until the closing stages when Brandon McCarthy raced in on goal and accurately placed the ball past the advancing goalkeeper from the edge of the penalty area.

There was still time for Egham to find the net in injury time, McCarthy again, but the linesman’s flag thwarted his celebrations.

So that was Egham, a really smashing club, friendly folk and the sort of ground that you don’t see too many of these days. I do hope they stay up, under new management team of Dickson Gill and Mick Sullivan (the third incumbents this season already), performances, I was told, have improved, they just need the results to start to materialise.

I'm more of a cheese and ham man myself though.......

A Salutary Lesson

Eastwood Community Development  2 Awsworth Villa  1

Nottinghamshire Senior League – Premier Division

It’s been a well trodden path down Chewton Street to Coronation Park, ever since dear old Mr H (Senior) first took me on that cold November night in 1983 when Belper Town were well beaten by Bill Jeffrey’s impressive Badgers side.

Back then, and for many years after, Eastwood was one of those clubs whereby very little seemed to change. Bill Jeffrey was the Manager for years, and then after him came Bryan Chambers who again sat in the hot seat for many years to come.

Behind the scenes you had the stalwarts such as Paddy and Pat Farrell, Ron Storer, and while you wouldn’t always know the names of the other club officials, you’d know the faces.

On the pitch, certainly when I started watching them, they were always a successful side, and I remember players like Graham Wright, Mark Richardson, Graham Collier and Neil Lovell being mainstays of a team that quite frankly, always seemed to be a thorn in the side of Belper Town.

It was a bit of a shame when the Northern Premier League formed its First Division back in 1987 because local sides Alfreton Town, Sutton Town and Eastwood Town all made the step up, Belper elected not to for some reason or another, but what that meant was a ten year hiatus where paths simply never crossed.

So, let’s look at the history, but up to a point, because the story of this football club is one where things changed, very quickly, and the outcome, well, that’s for others to judge.

The Badgers joined the old Midland League in 1971, and after three ‘average’ seasons they then went on a spell of remarkably consistent seasons. In eight successive campaigns they never finished lower than sixth, winning it once, and being both runners-up twice and third twice.

When the Midland League joined forces with the Yorkshire League in 1982, to form the Northern Counties East League, again for the first four seasons they were runners-up twice (once to Belper!) and fifth twice. Ironically, in the final season before making the step to the NPL they came thirteenth, the clubs lowest finish for fourteen seasons.

The club never really hit the heights when in the First Division of the NPL, in sixteen seasons they recorded a best finish of fifth, while twice they narrowly avoided relegation by default. In fact relegation did come in 2003, back to the NCE, but a runners-up spot saw them return after just one year away.

It was not long after returning to the NPL in the mid-Noughties that things started to change at Coronation Park. The old guard moved on, and new blood arrived, and as it often does it came with a fanfare of high expectation, hopes, dreams and promises of great days to come.

Of course, for a period it certainly did that. The Third Round of the FA Cup was reached, after impressive victories over Wrexham, Brackley Town and Football League outfit Wycombe Wanderers. Kettering Town away was not the glamour tie they were looking for, they lost the game 2-1.

Promotion to the NPL Premier was achieved, then after a fourth placed finish in their first season what where they lost out to Gateshead in the play-offs, they won the title in 2008-09, having a right royal battle with fellow big spending neighbours Ilkeston Town on the way to it.

Life was good at Coronation Park, young Manager Paul Cox had assembled a very talented side, many of whom were playing below a level they were capable of.  

The first season in the Conference North saw a tenth placed finish, and then a fourth placed finish the following season was sufficient to get them into the play-offs. In that season (2010-11) the winners of the league were Alfreton Town, and towards the end of the campaign I was at the game between the two sides at Coronation Park that Eastwood won in front of a huge crowd. You would have definitely fancied them in the play-offs, but the World was about to dramatically change.

The club were denied a place in the end of season lottery due to ground inadequacies. The reasons seemed somewhat petty and the club argued that the issues didn’t come to light until the eleventh hour. Cynics suggested the Conference were sick of them and were waiting for an opportunity to shaft them, under the ownership of local entrepreneur Rob Yong, it did appear that while they won games, they didn’t win popularity contests.

With toys right out of the pram, Yong sold the club, with no money and no assets the club were relegated twice on the bounce, and then in November 2013 they were issued with a winding up petition for £168,000 over unpaid tax. The council padlocked the ground over unpaid rent, and after cancelling five successive home games, their playing record in NPL Division One was expunged, the club was dead. What a sad yet almost predictable end to one of the mainstays of non-league football in the East Midlands. The old guard, who had long since moved on, must have been horrified by what they saw.

Out of darkness comes light though, and along came Eastwood Community FC, a newly formed club playing in the Central Midlands League, and having got the keys to Coronation Park, the process of rebuilding football in the town was about to begin.

Sensible and commercially viable structures were put in place, a youth and community programme implemented, a 3G pitch installed, while the ground was given a much needed spruce up. A couple of years of stability were achieved before a runners up spot in 2016-17 was bettered last season with a championship crown, the club were promoted to Step 6 and the East Midlands Counties League.

I’ve been to Eastwood a few times over recent seasons and it’s a great place to visit, the bar is excellent, the ground equally so, and the team play some very good football. After the first team were promoted out of the CML last season, the development side took up it’s place at Step 7, but were moved sideways into the Notts Senior League.

With not a lot else on, it was time to pop down and have a look at how the young lads were fairing, especially in a derby game against near neighbours Awsworth Villa.

I watched the game in the company of the blogging legend that is Malc Storer who is a former programme editor of the Badgers from years gone by, and Pete ‘Ken Dodd’ Watmough, who to the best of my knowledge has never ran a blog or edited a programme. In and amongst the usual banter was a very decent game of football.

The impressive Joe Butler gave Eastwood the lead, but late in the second half the visitors deservedly equalised through Ben Watson. With a draw looking the likely outcome, it was Eastwood who had the last laugh when Butler finished well as the game moved into injury time, to secure the three points.

Whenever I go to Coronation Park these days, or the Play Soccer USA 3G Arena as it’s now known, I can’t help but think back to the days of Bill Jefferey, Bryan Chambers, Paddy Farrell et al, and wonder what they must have thought when they saw the boom and eventual bust of this once proud club. 

A salutary lesson for us all I guess.

Basket Case

Ilkeston Town  6  Wolverhampton Sporting Community  1

Midland Football League – Premier Division

I don’t know any Ilkeston Town fans personally, but if I did, I’d like to put my psychologists head on to see what I could find.

I suspect I would uncover a deep rooted sense of paranoia, a nervousness manifesting in a lack of control of bodily functions, a bipolar disposition, and finally a trigger reaction that would bring on bouts of tourettes.

You see, since I’ve been following football locally, in more recent years, this club is truly the ‘Eastenders’ club of the Midlands.

Let’s have a look at the history and pick out some landmark moments at both ends of the emotional spectrum. Bobbling along in the Seventies and early Eighties as a Midland League and then a Northern Counties East League club, they made the decision at the end of 1986 along with many other clubs in the East Midlands to jump ship and become inaugural members of the newly formed Central Midlands League Supreme Division.

They were then one of the clubs who quickly realised the CMFL wasn’t going to become what it wanted to be, and cast adrift from the football pyramid, in 1990 they made a slightly unusual step of applying to join the West Midlands Regional League.

They won the bottom tier at a canter, while around the same time they vacated the old Manor Ground and moved into the imaginatively titled New Manor Ground on Awsworth Road. They won promotion from the top flight of the WMRL in 1994 and took up a lofty position in the Southern League Midland Division.

The club looked to be on the way up, under the Chairmanship of the wealthy Paul Millership and the on field guidance of former Notts County player Bill Brindley, a superb side was built around players such as the Harbottle brothers, Dave Taylor, John Humphries and Dale Igoe, while after just one season they’d won promotion to the Premier Division.

It went wrong though, on the pitch it was a disaster, the team was virtually rebuilt over the course of the campaign and Leighton James was brought in as Manager. The lowest point came when ten goals were shipped at Merthyr Tydfil, the relegation inevitability soon followed.

But, they bounced back under the late Keith Alexander, and a year later and they’d got back to the Premier Division again, where they remained for six years, before relegation ultimately befell them. 

One year in the lower divisions of the Southern League was all they had though as restructuring saw them move into the Northern Premier League. After just one season Phil Stant got them promoted, and then after four years of trying they won the play-off’s against Nantwich Town and found themselves in the heady atmosphere of the Conference North.

Also a prolific side in the FA Cup, in the space of four years they’d held Scunthorpe United away from him, held Rushden & Diamonds at home and also more famously beaten Carlisle United at the NMG. On the face of it, things were looking up.

In 2011 the fans of Ilkeston Town were in shock, the club were liquidated over an unpaid tax bill of £50,000 and their results were expunged. Ownership and leadership came under severe scrutiny, just what had been going on, and why had it been allowed to happen?

But, like the proverbial phoenix from the flames, a new incarnation called Ilkeston FC were formed, and it was an educational body that was behind the new club. The emphasis was supposedly on youth, and to be fair, with a couple of players moving into the professional ranks, notably Che Adams, all looked to be going well. In the clubs first season in the NPL First Division (into which they were controversially admitted) they beat Leek Town in the play-off final to win promotion to the Premier Division.

Three years in and they came within a whisker of getting back into the Conference North, only to lose the play-off final to Curzon Ashton. Behind the scenes though you sensed problems, rumours abounded of financial and indeed ownership issues.  Two years later and the club had been wound up in Liverpool  Crown Court over a debt of less than £15,000. For a second incarnation to go belly up so soon after its predecessor is at best very careless indeed, at worst, its criminal. For the fans, what must they have been thinking?

Anyway, along comes Notts County owner Alan Hardy, and then we’ve got the newly formed Ilkeston Town Football Club, and this time they are admitted at Step 6 (which was again questionable), taking a place in the First Division of the Midland Football League. Hardy as Owner/Chairman set about creating new structures and rebuilding supporter confidence.

In the clubs first season, 2017-18, they finished runners up, which at the time wasn’t enough to gain promotion. But with superb crowds topping the 500 mark regularly, the World was looking a good place again. Somewhat surprisingly, the FA decided to catapult Ilkeston into the Premier Division to fill a vacancy, which upset Tividale in the West Midlands Regional League who arguably had a better case, but anyway, they weren’t going to argue.

Right now, they sit top of the league, crowds are averaging over the 500 mark, but, they are on their third Manager of the season, but more on that later!

So, from a fans perspective, bloody hell, no wonder they’re feeling it, but from an outsider looking in, what’s the perception? To be honest, many would argue that the club have been treated very leniently by the footballing authorities by letting them re-start so high up the pyramid, but, given the facilities and the support, I can see why that would be. But by the same token, the clubs image has been tarnished and you wouldn’t see too many tears shed from outside of Ilkeston if the project were to fail. Yes, the new regime will argue that the two previous incarnations were nothing to do with them, but people won’t see that, they just see the basket case that is 'Ilson'.

So, what about my own memories of Ilson? Well, one of my earliest memories was in the mid-Eighties when my Dad and is mate went to see an FA Trophy game against Enfield at the old Manor Ground. Having won at Alliance Premier League Barnet in the previous round, all eyes were on minnows Ilson against one of the biggest names in the Country in terms of non-league football. Ilson were 5-1 down when all hell broke loose, the notorious ‘Green Berets’, a hooligan element linked to Forest, decided to storm down the bank behind the top goal and force the crowd onto the pitch. The game was ultimately abandoned and the tie awarded to Enfield.

A few years later, along with my Junior Nailers Club chums, we did a sponsored walk to raise money for Belper Town Football Club to our game at Ilkeston. To qualify that though, we set off from Smalley to be fair, it wasn’t far, but we got in free so we were happy!

Beyond that, one of my earliest visits to the New Manor Ground came during the clubs first season in the Southern League. They drew Conference outfit Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Trophy, and having secured a ticket for the all ticket game, I watched a pulsating encounter which finished 2-2. A huge crowd assembled, and they took some handling. The army of security officials (they needed something a bit more robust than your typical steward), had fun and games trying to get a couple of fans to climb off the roof of the stand. 

I was also at the infamous game at the NMG on a Good Friday evening, the year Ilson won the NPL play-offs. They were at home to rivals Eastwood Town who were odds on to win the league, and with over 2,000 in the ground the atmosphere was positively crackling. It didn’t go especially well off the pitch, and at half time we had a Police helicopter circling above with a spotlight shining on the area behind the goal where scuffles had broken out in the first half. Outside the ground at the end, with riot Police and dogs lining the street, it wasn’t the most comfortable walk back to the car, not with a nine year old boy anyway!

To be honest though, in recent seasons visits have been few and far between. So I thought given things were looking up once again on the field, I’d go and have a look at the game against bottom of the table Wolverhampton Sporting Community.

The Robins started the season with Steve Chettle in charge, but he moved on to Notts County, while his replacement Martin McIntosh fell on his sword after a home defeat to Eastwood Community in the FA Vase. New incumbent is Lee Fowler, and after a couple of iffy results, he seems to have got things back on track again.

The NMG hasn’t changed an awful lot over recent years, it’s still a smart non-league football ground with cover at both ends, and two seated stands, one of which is the iconic Clock-Tower Stand which gives an excellent raised view of proceedings. The social club is a busy place, while the pitch was in excellent condition, considering the number of games that take place on it. Admission is just a fiver so it also offers very good value for money, and clearly doesn’t put people off attending.

The attendance for the game was just under 400, and they were treated to an entertaining spectacle. Wolves started the more positive of the two sides, but the hosts took the lead via Jamie Walker. 

Undeterred, Wolves came back and scored a deflected equaliser through Sufyan Zia. However, two more goals just before the break from Walker and the impressive Elliott Reeves took the game out of the strugglers reach.

Despite playing some decent passing football in the second period, the visitors conceded a further three goals, with Reeve completing his hat-trick and Ryan Wheatley getting the other goal.

It was the Robins biggest win of the season, and in a competitive league with Walsall Wood on their heels, it could be an interesting finish to the campaign. I wouldn’t bet against a second successive promotion for the latest version of ITFC, but I’ll bet that Ilkeston fans will be tempering any joy with a sense of nervousness, history tells them to have one eye on what could be around the corner.

Paranoia indeed…….