The Elvis Moment

Longlevens  1 Hardwicke  1

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It was a bit of an Elvis Presley falling off the toilet in 1977 moment.

I’ll never forget the moment when we finally got notification that we could legitimately go to watch football matches again. We were sat in 5 Degrees West, a bar overlooking the docks at Falmouth, when Mrs H spotted on her phone that subject to certain guidelines, the doors were opening.

It was too late to secure any midweek football in Cornwall, but it did mean that the journey back on the Saturday could be broken up with a game somewhere.

We looked at options in Cornwall and Devon, notably a game at Elburton, but that would have meant a long haul in early evening so we scrapped that idea. A 1pm kick off at Bridgwater Town was tempting, but again, ideally when we got back in the car we’d got it into our heads that we’d prefer to be North of Bristol.

That meant venturing into Hellenic League territory, so the Twitter feeds of the likes of Cheltenham Saracens, Tytherington Rocks, Newent Town, Bourton Rovers and Moreton Rangers were scoured, but jumping out as the clear favourite was Longlevens.

Longlevens jumped out for a few reasons, it was very close to the M5, and it was located in Gloucester so eating options would be relatively plentiful. The clubs social media was excellent so we could be kept fully up to speed regarding admission and the fixture itself, bearing in mind pre-season friendlies do have a habit of falling by the wayside at the last minute!

The only issue of course would be the traffic, the plan was to depart Falmouth at 9am, and under normal circumstances we should have ample time, but, A30 and M5 on an August Saturday? Funnily enough though, I’d spotted a bit of a connection between Falmouth and Longlevens. It seems the two sides met in the FA Vase last season, and one of the Falmouth goals in the game got some exposure on social media for the players and the crowds reaction, encapsulating the passion of non-league football.

Anyway, other than a bit of a queue around Exeter, we were soon speeding up the M5 and turning off into Gloucester with plenty of time to spare to go and grab some food. Food was duly grabbed and with about three quarters of an hour to spare we were soon parked up next to the hotel that sits adjacent to the Saw Mills ground of Longlevens.

Longlevens in an area on the very North side of Gloucester, but the ground is located in an area called Barnwood which sits to the East of the City Centre very close to the M5. The area around the ground is dominated by retail and commercial units, with the aforementioned Ibis Hotel behind one goal and a telecommunications providers offices behind the other.

The club were doing things properly, it was Track & Trace on the way in and a temperature check, it seems I was coming in at 32 degrees which is a good way off the 37.5 degrees that, I quote “we’d start to get a bit nervous about!”. Admission was free by the way for the game against Gloucestershire County League (Step 7) neighbours Hardwicke.

The Longlevens story is one of recent success. Once a Gloucestershire Northern Senior League side, they moved to the County League in 2011, and going on to win it twice in 2013 and 2014. This saw them promoted to the Hellenic First Division West, which they won at the first attempt, and since then they’ve plied their trade in the Step 5 Hellenic League Premier Division. Last season was the clubs fifth at this level, and without ever challenging for honours, they’ve always been comfortable in their highest ever status.

The ground is tidy, when you come through the gates on the Saw Mills End road side, the dressing rooms and tea bar area are in front of you, with a narrow seated stand adjacent that runs down past the half way line. Otherwise it’s standing room only, and as you can imagine, the ground is quite tight due to the proximity of all that’s going on around it. The pitch was in excellent condition, and to cap a very good visit, we were treated to a competitive and entertaining game of football.

The hosts looked the better side in the early stages, playing some good stuff, although they did lack a finishing touch in the penalty area. Hardwicke on the other hand had to work hard to get a foothold in the game, and as they grew in stature they took the lead with a cracking strike late in the first half.

The second half saw numerous changes, not least from Hardwicke who looked to field a completely different team (well they all had a different kit on!), and after a considerable spell of pressure the hosts got a deserved equaliser late in the game courtesy of a close range finish.

At the final whistle we were soon away and back on the M5 in minutes, home was reached in just shy of an hour and three quarters. Longlevens had been a bonus game we hadn’t been expecting, and as a club, I’ll be honest, they weren’t even close to the radar a few weeks ago let alone on it, so much so, I didn’t even know where they were from, but from now on, they’ll always be the club that came next after the Elvis moment…..

Cornish Blues

Marazion  1  Mullion  0

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Like most people, our holiday plans went royally tits up thanks to Covid 19.

The Easter break to Cornwall was the first to go, and with it went a large number of matches I’d got lined up at places like Mousehole, Marjon and indeed Truro. While the Summer all-inclusive shindig to Menorca, while touch and go for a period, finally bit the dust with a couple of weeks to spare, thankfully. No football matches were harmed by the latter cancellation I might add…..

But, we took a punt on the fact that the holiday to Cornwall could be resurrected in August, and maybe, just maybe the pubs would be open and football would have started.

Yep, the pubs were open, but, the football was a bit of a mess. Some games we couldn’t attend due to restrictions laid down by the FA and DCMS, whereas some we could go to because they were at a suitable low level. Other clubs seemed to go underground and never actually said whether they were playing or not, so to be fair, I’d resigned myself to the fact that if we dropped lucky we might just get a game on the Saturday when we travelled down, otherwise, the pickings were pretty much non-existant.

I’d got my eye on Marazion v Mullion, I’d been following the home club on Facebook and they’d been advertising their games were fine to attend as long as you completed the paperwork and had your temperature taken upon arrival. However, as the game we were looking to go to was against a Step 7 side, in theory we weren’t allowed to attend, but, they advertised it was fine subject to the usual stuff and all that, so off we went. On that, the chances of the authorities punishing Marazion, even though they admitted themselves it was a park and they couldn’t really stop anyone turning up? Nil I would say!

Setting off at 6am from Casa Hatt, we were pulling into the car park for St Michaels Mount just before Noon, the only traffic issue being a diversion around the edges of Truro due to a problem on the dual carriageway that runs down past Redruth towards Hayle and Penzance.

The weather was scorching, and soon we were sat on the beach, which gave me the chance of a brief period of shut-eye before we set off back in the car through the busy streets of Marazion and up to the football ground.

Marazion is a very pretty coastal village on the Southern Cornwall coast, and of course it goes without saying that much of the tourism is linked to the fact that you can walk over the causeway to St Michael’s Mount at set times of the day, on the days it’s open of course. (we were to end up doing this the following Wednesday, when the weather was not quite so good!)

Parking is very limited so all roads lead to the main car park at £4 a chuck so someone is making plenty of cash, however, parking was plentiful at the football ground, you just drove through the main gate and parked on the grass behind the goal.

The ground is pleasant but basic. Some relatively new portakabin style dressing rooms sit on one side, although the players changed pitch side for the game. On the half way line is a tea bar, while dug outs sit on opposite sides of the pitch. The pitch is fully railed, but there is no cover for spectators. It is located at the top of the hill so on a nice clear day you do get excellent view of the castle and such like on the island.

Marazion FC were once known as Marazion Blues, in fact the clubhouse which sits over the road, albeit wasn’t open today, has the name as such over the door. The Blues joined the Cornwall Combination League in 1962 where they remained until in 2004 when they finished bottom of the table.

The clubs most successful spell came in the late Seventies when they won the title twice and gained a runners up spot, along with two third placed finishes, all in a successive five year period.   

The club re-formed as Marazion FC and returned to the Combo (as it’s known locally) at the start of the last season, and at the point when the season was cut short they sat just below half way. The visitors were Mullion from the Lizard, who had been a Combo side before being elevated at the start of the last campaign to the Step 7 St Pirans League.

In terms of the game, well it certainly wasn’t played like a pre-season friendly! Marazion lost a couple of players early doors through injury and battled through to half time to keep the scores goalless.

The hosts won a second half penalty that Adam Caul converted, but then it was about determination and organisation to keep the visitors out. The game got lively and both sides had a player red carded for a bad challenge and the subsequent retaliation, but in fairness the Marazion gaffer intervened and suggested that both players be given a ten minute sin bin to cool down. The referee called both managers together and common sense prevailed.

Marazion had to hang on in the end, and you could see at the final whistle just how much it meant to them to get a victory over higher ranked opponents.

The modest sprinkling a spectators on a sweltering afternoon had been treated to an entertaining game of football, courtesy of two sides who both clearly wanted a victory. I do love my Cornish football, it’s just a shame this time that I can’t get any more in on our weeks holiday.

The School

 

Pass Move Grin  2  Beeston Development  1

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Towards the latter part of 2018-19 season a football club called Rushcliffe came to my attention.

They burst onto social media platforms, and indeed the popular Non-League Matters forum with a bit of a bang, and clearly those who ran the accounts had a very good knowledge of local football, plus an understanding of the mechanics and the politics that go with it.

I followed them, they were initially going to join the Notts Senior League but made a late decision to move into the Notts & Midland Amateur Alliance instead. The reasoning behind this was because they felt to join the NSL at that stage would be a step and standard too far for them.

I also established at the time that they were playing in East Leake, and if memory serves me that was due to the costs involved in getting a suitable facility in their own borough, which is of course just South of the River Trent in a desirable yet fairly central area of Nottingham.

I’d also heard of the Nottingham Football Centre, based at Rushcliffe School, a popular and well utilised venue, albeit one I’d never seen a game at, and to be honest, I was at a bit of a loss as to why it had never been used by an NSL side on a Saturday before as a regular base, especially as it had grass and 4G options.

Things have changed in recent months though, now I assume Rushcliffe would have made the step up to the NSL anyway as was their long term intention, but with news that the Amateur Alliance was folding and all clubs were being invited to join the NSL, they dropped onto my radar once again. Social media has been busy and it soon became clear that they would be taking up residence in their ‘home’ patch, at the aforementioned Football Centre.

As soon as football was allowed to resume, the fixtures came thick and fast at  the Centre, pretty much every Saturday has seen Rushcliffe and Rushcliffe Ravens (reserves) have home games kicking off at different times, on both grass and plastic, while other teams were encouraged to take advantage as well.

I’d got the Centre pencilled in for a Rushcliffe game until I spotted a Thursday evening fixture that caught my eye, a game between Beeston Development, and the superbly named Pass Move and Grin FC.

Now, I’d come across PMG (it’s much easier abbreviated) a few years ago when they had some connection with the club that is now FC Cavaliers and was once Caribbean Cavaliers. For a season or so the club was named PMG Cavaliers and I saw them play at Charnwood College down in Clifton.

From my point of view, or certainly where I was looking, the name disappeared off the radar, although it seems it still carried on in youth circles. But then a team called Nottingham Education appeared last season in the Central Midlands League, and the team that is now PMG are what was that club, taking up the place in the CML, you following me so far?

I’m not going to talk too much about the growth and ethos of PMG as they have a ground of their own in Bulwell that I’ll visit in due course and report on, but for the purpose of this blog I want to really focus on the hive of activity that is the Football Centre.

I arrived in good time having fought my way through the roadworks on the delightful ring road, and was quickly parked at the front of the smart college, which even for non-term time (do we still have schools anymore?), was a busy place. You then walk round to the back of the college where a number of grass pitches are side by side, while the 4G surface is set in a cage, at the far end of the complex, surrounded on three sides by trees. A further grass pitch sits to the East of the 4G but in between is the Football Centre HQ, which you will be delighted to know contains a bar! How about that, a school with a bar?

It's an impressive set up, and on the night in question, the 4G was in continual use, while one of the pitches was being used for a gigantic outdoor keep fit session which was mildly entertaining viewing for a short while.

The game between PMG and Beeston took place on the grass pitch nearest to the 4G, the same pitch that my mate Dave had seen East Leake Robins play Rushcliffe on the night before it seems. And on a night that was warm and humid, and with a pitch that was very hard underfoot, it was going to be interesting to see how it panned out.

PMG were a young outfit, very young in fact, and it was they who went into a two goal lead, but Beeston pulled a goal back in the second period, and had it not been from some absolute heroics from the PMG goalkeeper, the result could easily have been very different.

It will be interesting to see how grassroots football in Nottinghamshire pans out this season, PMG are obviously a big part of the fabric, while the influx of new sides, including Rushcliffe, into the NSL will be one worth keeping an eye on.

I’ve a feeling I’ll be heading down the A52 quite a bit over the coming months…..

 

Nemesis

Brighouse Sports  4  Bowling Eagles   1

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On numerous occasions over the past few years I’ve had conversations with SDS (Socially Distanced Steve) and they have centred around the fact that some clubs, and indeed getting to watch them play, can be something of a challenge.

To be fair to SDS, when he decided to take on the Hope Valley League, that issue became pretty much half of the teams within it! Turning up at grounds, games not taking place, yet results appearing on websites later in the day, and of course the infamous club who shall not be named, who refused to tell him the location of a game because they feared that he ‘worked for a publication’ and was planning to turn up to write about them!

This is the Hope Valley League for Christs Sake, not the Belarusian Premier Division in mid-Pandemic! 

I’ve had some fun myself over the years, there was the club just over the border in Staffordshire who wouldn’t tell me if a game was on unless I identified myself and explained the purpose of the visit. Then of course another club (from the same league) who were more than happy to tell me if the game was on, but, it would only be on if I could print out and take five signing on forms to register new players to make up the requisite number to enable the match to be played!! Seems the manager / secretary had a broken printer and I was about to save the day…..(this is not a joke by the way, a very true story!)

Last season, I spotted Brighouse Sports had merged with Brighouse Old Boys from the West Yorkshire League, and with it came a move to the Sports Club in the town, plus a change of name to Brighouse Sports Old Boys! In early August I sent them a message on Twitter asking if an advertised game was on, but was to find that despite it duly taking place, it was being played at the old ground of the Hipperholme and Lightcliffe College.

Little did I know, but I was about to embark on what seemed like a monthly dialogue with Glen Hall, the Twitter guy and First Team Manager, that ended up going on for a year before I finally got to see them play!

Back in August 2019, I was never going to see a game at the Sports Club for a period as Glen explained to me, they share with rugby league, and had to wait until that season had finished before they could change the posts over and re-mark the pitch.

With other plans, along with not anticipating what was about to happen in the World both in terms of the weather and of course the great plague, I made contact again in October. However this time while the game was scheduled to be at the Sports Club, there was some doubt about drainage and at the eleventh hour the game was moved to the college.

This was to become a common theme.

I tried again in December, all was good with the pitch, but as it was a cup tie that had been postponed the two weeks previously, the rules stated the match had to be switched to the oppositions ground, that is what you call sods law! By now and I was beginning to wonder if fate was conspiring against me.

January, same old, drainage problems, this time with the stark warning from Glen that he couldn’t see when a game would be played again at the Sports Club, until a month or so later when I got a message out of the blue saying the pitch was fine and a game against Howden Clough would be on at the ground. Sadly, I was on a train to London at the time.

Early March, I tried again, but the weather had been monsoon like in the run up to the game, so the message was once again that the fixture had this time been moved to a 4G pitch.

Then the season came to an abrupt end, a season that I’d drawn up a list of 50+ clubs to visit, and Brighouse Sports Old Boys ended up being the only one I couldn’t get to, they had become my nemesis.

But then, I spotted on Twitter once again a list of pre-season games for the club that had dropped the ‘Old Boys’ from their name. So I got in touch with Glen and he advised me that a game I had picked out on a Wednesday night in August was indeed being played at the Sports Club, and, spectators would be more than welcome etc etc.

What could go wrong? Pretty much anything given what has gone before over the last twelve months, but on the day of the game with a confirmation tweet, good weather, and fingers crossed, it was off to Brighouse.

The Sports Club is a cracking venue, on the North of the town centre just off the main road to Bradford. A large car park sits at one end with a very large clubhouse facility being the focal point of the venue. The clubhouse however was not open for the game.

A cricket field sits at the car park end, whereas beyond is the railed pitch that houses the football and the rugby. I have to say, the pitch looked superb, with a significant amount of work having been carried out on it in recent months. It was a very pleasant venue, and on a warm night, a fantastic place to be watching football.

As kick off time approached, it was noticeable that while both sides were out on the pitch, we seemed to be lacking a referee, given my luck, surely not, and as more time passed still no sign? But, lo and behold, over the cricket field he came, and we got underway fifteen minutes after the scheduled start date.

Visiting Bowling Eagles from the Bradford area compete in the Yorkshire Christian League, which is a Saturday morning competition, and in fairness they put up a good fight against a young Brighouse side that would surely have won promotion from the third tier of the WYL had the season run to a conclusion.

Brighouse played some very good stuff on the night, and won the game 4-1, this after being 3-0 up after just 22 minutes, at which point I half expected a cricket score, but it was not to be. If you were being super critical, the one thing Brighouse lacked in the game was a bit of cutting edge in the final third, the build-up play, the movement and fitness levels were all excellent though.

Later that night I got a message from Glen, asking if I’d made it to the game, happily I could confirm that finally I’d made it. It might have been a long wait, but, at least I didn’t have to confirm my identity, state my purpose, or, take any signing on forms.

They do things properly at Brighouse Sports Club.

ELR

 

East Leake Robins  4  South Notts   2

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The tribulations of the new season continued at a pace, as petitions were being drawn up to lobby the authorities to allows spectators back into non-league football grounds, I was busy trying to find myself an option for what was forecast to be one of the warmest days of the year.

To be honest, I’d got East Leake Robins on the agenda for the previous Saturday, but after initially contacting the club and being told I was fine to go and watch them, they sent me a further message on the Saturday morning saying spectators would not be allowed. On the basis the game was at a sports centre I completely understood that and moved on to look at other games.

However, I then spotted that they played at home again in midweek and with it put out a message saying that spectators would be welcome as long as they wore full nuclear incident clean up suits etc etc. So, with that in mind, I dropped them a note again on Saturday morning and got the thumbs up, happy days, I could put the step ladder and binoculars back in the garage, no peering in over fences for me today!

Given the fact East Leake is less than twenty miles from my humblest of abodes, I’ve never once set foot in the place. I got to it via Kegworth before turning left through Zouch and into the village from the South, however, it’s probably quicker heading up to Ratcliffe Power Station and then doing a right down through Gotham City and approaching from the North.

Either way, it’s a straightforward run and doesn’t take long, and to be fair, once in East Leake it was noticeable what a pleasant place it was, with it’s attractive looking pubs and selection of shops. It also looked like a considerable amount of new housing has been built on the South side, and I guess with it being kind of betwixt Nottingham and Leicester, it’s a handy little commuter village if you have the right money!

SDS (Socially Distanced Steve) went to watch ELR (East Leake Robins) a couple of years ago and that time they were playing at a different venue on Costock Road, plying their trade in the North Leicestershire League. However this time around they have moved into the Notts Senior League and it looks like they upped sticks and relocated to the Sports Centre, a move they made in the early part of last season.

Arriving just before kick off, the Sports Centre is located just to the North of the centre of the village, and is conjoined with a school / academy. The 4G caged pitch sits on the far East edge of the complex, with fields and trees beyond it, while the whole site is secured by the standard green fence.

Visitors South Notts were something of a mystery until this week, it seems they are a late addition to the Notts Senior League themselves, having been known as Tingeham last season and members of the Midland & Notts Amateur Alliance.

I have an old adage, it is that you never see a poor game on a plastic pitch. The same was true of today, the visitors took the lead early in the game but a three goal burst from the hosts gave them a healthy lead, before the visitors pulled goal back. A fourth goal did arrive for the hosts and that crowned a deserved victory.

ELR looked a decent side with some good young players, so no reason why they can’t make a mark in the new campaign after being placed in Division Two South. Consequently, not too much in the way of travelling, the furthest journey looking to be South of Grantham and a trip to Colsterworth. Otherwise derbies against the likes of Rushcliffe, Keyworth Ressies and Ruddington Ressies are all handy enough. The NSL have also created a Foundation Division below Division Two, incidentally where South Notts have been placed.

Various spectators came and went during the course of the game, but no issues as distancing was respected. The campaign to let us back in gathers pace, and with leagues scheduled to start in September, I have a feeling that it might have to be below Step 7 for me a little while longer.

Clubs like ELR, South Notts and the plethora of other new names that have appeared in the NSL constitution might be getting a visit early doors, because I think trips to the like of Brentford, York, Isle of Man etc are some way off at this stage.

So, anyone know where AFC Ballers play?  

Raggy Arse Rovers

Stocksbridge Park Steels Development  2  Intake Old Boys   3

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I’m really not sure about this.

Twenty four hours before my next scheduled foray into this new and uncertain season, the FA lobbed in another grenade by saying that the guidelines around spectators not attending games included clubs at effectively what was Step 7. We aren’t just talking games at Step 7 grounds, we are talking games that simply include teams from that level.

To put that into perspective, five minutes down the road from my house is Whitemoor Recreation Ground, the home of Raggy Arse Rovers. If Rovers were to play the reserves of local side Holbrook St Michaels, then that would be fine for me to amble along, in a public space, and watch. However, if they were to play the first team of St Michaels, then I couldn’t go along because they are Step 7, in fact if I simply had a dog, walked past with it, stopped for five minutes to watch, I could be asked to move on, in theory.

Of course, that is never going to happen, Raggy Arse Rovers don’t exist, but you see my point. I get the FA have to draw a line, but the line has been drawn far too low down. You can watch cricket, in fact you can watch cricket at ground where you can’t watch football, you can even crowd into your local football clubs social club and spread disease all you like, but step outside to watch a game, oh no, very naughty, wrist slapped by the authorities.

Anyway, the problem currently is that you have to be very cautious about where you go, I’ve even seen clubs who don’t need to ban spectators, saying they are banned, then, on the other hand, I saw clubs ban spectators at the weekend when they didn’t need to, but in midweek when the rules have tightened, they are now welcome!

Stocksbridge Park Steels Development put a tweet out earlier in the day to say spectators would be welcomed at Bracken Moor, and to be fair, when what is effectively a Step 9 side playing a Sunday League side, you would reasonably expect that to be the case. Hang on, you are thinking, but Bracken Moor is a Step 4 ground, surely that’s not allowed?

The game was being played on the academy pitches over the road from the main stadium at ‘Stocky’ and therefore the rule about venues (I forgot to mention that one) did not apply, so it was very much game on.

SPS Development are new to the Sheffield County Senior League this season, and having never ventured onto the hallowed turf ‘over the road’, it seemed to be a relatively straightforward option on a night when to be honest, it was the only option!

It was also an opportunity to have a socially distanced catch up with my old mate Steve (hereafter known as Socially Distanced Steve – SDS), who I’d not seen at a game since early February when we ventured to Parkgate to see them take on the boys from the Dronx (Dronfield Town).

Getting to the ground at Stocksbridge is a bit easier than it used to be. You now carry on along the bypass to the new roundabout and head down through the Fox Valley Retail Park, which brings you almost opposite Nanny Hill, the infamous steep road up to Bracken Moor. It was as I chugged along Nanny Hill that I cast my mind back to my last visit to see a Steels side play. It was September 2011 and an FA Cup tie against Armthorpe Welfare, I got in on a freebie courtesy of then Steels gaffer Gary Marrow.

Arriving around 45 minutes prior to kick off, it was a shame to see the Bracken Moor Social Club currently closed, so it was a simple wait in the car park until the players were changed and ready to go. The Academy pitches at Bracken Moor are literally across the road from the main stadium, they have a large car park, while the pitches themselves are secured with a sturdy looking green fence. The game was taking place on the pitch at the top end of the complex, which has a large grass bank running down one side.

On an evening where we went from sunshine, to rain, to strong winds (what do you expect at Stocksbridge!), the views across the valley out towards Penistone were stunning as ever, this really is a spectacular setting for a football arena, and whatever the weather, you can’t tire of it.

The visitors Intake Old Boys, who play in the Sheffield Sunday League, had one or two familiar faces, notably Maltby Main gaffer Louis Axcell and former Belper Town midfielder Johnno Williams who has played for a few clubs in the Northern Premier League. SPS on the other hand were a young outfit, as you would expect, it was going to be interesting to see how the game panned out.   

The hosts started brightly and took the lead but once Intake got into their stride their purposeful and organised approach bore fruit as they turned a deficit into a lead, 3-1 at one stage.

SPS pulled a goal back just after the break, while Intake also managed to place a penalty into a neighbouring back garden!

It was a feisty affair as well, nothing overly friendly about it, we had plenty of banter between the SPS bench and the Intake players, while the referee was on the receiving end of one or two fierce conversations, one from an aggrieved Williams after being the recipient of a naughty challenge saw him enter the book.

It all boiled over in the last couple of minutes when an appalling challenge from the confrontational SPS captain, right in front of the visitors subs and management team, saw him receive a deserved straight red. And had it not been for the swift actions of his teammates to get him away from the scene, he would have received a straight right hander from the Intake gaffer who was determined to get to him. The manager too received his marching orders, when the referee finally got to him!  

The referee had clearly had enough at this stage, and promptly blew the final whistle, and while myself and SDS hung around to see if we were going to have any afters, it seemed tempers had calmed and all was relatively good again in the World.

A cracking nights entertainment, watched by a decent, but well distanced crowd, and right now every game is a bonus, how long this will continue is anyone’s guess. Might have to get a dog you know......... 

139

Crown  1  Central Ajax   3

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It was one hundred and thirty nine days apparently.

That was the last time I watched a football match, Saturday 14^th March at Elton Vale, I didn’t count the days, I’ve just used the same number everyone else seems to be going with, bearing in mind pretty much most people of a football watching persuasion all had the rug pulled from underneath them at the same time.

I can remember driving back from Greater Manchester that day, listening to Five Live and hearing of the bewilderment that was enveloping the World, a World that is no longer the same World we once knew and loved.

Like many, over the past few months I’ve cast my mind back to days gone by and thought about the places I’ve been, the games I’ve seen, and longed to have those simple pleasures back in my life once again. We took so much for granted, never gave things a second thought, but getting on a train right now, travelling to the South coast and watching a game in the National League still seems an awful long way off.

As a human race we’ve been through a very different kind of hell, and I’m not inclined to regurgitate a list of the things we could put on the page entitled “It’ll Never Happen In My Lifetime”, simply because there would be too many, and it would be too depressing. But the fact is, I never ever thought I would see the day where my greatest pleasure in life would simply stop, but not only would it stop, for so long we simply had no idea when we would see it again.

I don’t subscribe to conspiracy theories when it comes to Covid 19, I genuinely don’t think it was a man-made genocide tool designed to deal with a growing and ageing Chinese population, but what I do believe in, is that Mother Nature works in very mysterious ways.

We needed to change, we are killing the planet and killing ourselves, and despite the warnings and the threats, we carried on, accelerating, living our lives hedonistically, ignoring the consequences, and everywhere you looked humans were doing harm.

Mother Nature had to take matters into her own hands, and this is what we reaped, we now don’t have a choice. We have to live our lives very differently, moderation, care, caution, consideration, all of these words form part of how we go about our daily lives, and only when we heed those things, will our liberty start to truly return.

It's been tough, but for me and mine it’s been ok, everyone is fit and healthy, no one has suffered too much financially, but, going back to what I said earlier, trying to reconcile with the fact that your passion in life is no longer around is hard to take. I make no secret of the fact that having to sit in the house and not be able to do those things took it’s toll, just the same by the way, as those millions who also suddenly were unable to do the things they loved.

Historically, my closed seasons used to follow a very simple routine. I’d call the football watching a day mid-May, and then after a few weeks break we’d start to see the AGMs and the constitutions appearing, and from that came the lists of the places to visit for the coming season. Then came the fixtures, then the plans were drawn up, by which time it was early July and we were into the pre-season friendly games.

Not so this time around, this time it’s been about speculation and rumour, when would the season actually start, and furthermore, would we actually be able to watch games?

Finally, a date arrived, 1^st August 2020, one hundred and thirty nine days after the last game, and subject to the venue being outside of the National League System, you could as a spectator attend a football game!

Now, I watched the Bundesliga start on TV behind closed doors, I then watched the Premier League, then the Championship, and yes, it was great to have some football back on out screens, but it wasn’t a patch on getting into the car and driving to a game. But now, it was possible.

I must admit to some reservations though. While in theory you could watch games outside the NLS, clubs, or indeed owners of grounds, could turn right and refuse entrance, plus, you had the added issue of any player or official having symptoms, in which case a game could be called off at short notice. Normally on Saturday you are checking for the outcome of pitch inspections, but this is of course the new World, other factors now play as big a part.

I plumped for a game on the interface between Sutton Coldfield and Erdington. Crown FC had been included on the West Midlands Regional League constitution a few days earlier, then I spotted a social media message which said they were playing at home to Midland League side Central Ajax, and their home ground was one I’d never previously visited. Finally, as it was a public space, spectators were freely admitted.     

Normal match day routines were not followed, I elected not to bother with a pub beforehand, it was too much like hard work having to find one that was open, and then mess about with the track and trace process. That’s all fine by the way, no problem with that, but today I just wanted to get to the ground, get in and watch the game.

It was a busy old venue, two games were already taking place when I arrived so the car park was akin to a scene from Wacky Races. Thankfully as the games ended, spaces opened up and those who arrived for the second two games could find a proper space as opposed to blocking up the entrances and exits.

The ground is on Cooksey Lane, up a tight entrance where at the end the clubhouse and dressing rooms are situated. They were closed today, players were to change in their cars as instructed. Beyond the dressing rooms was the aforementioned car park, while to the left was a large expanse which contained three football pitches.

For the later games, Crown and Crown Reserves were playing, with my game of choice for the first team on the pitch nearest the building end of the complex. I assume Cooksey Lane is going to be the home of Crown this season, although I did note last season in the Birmingham AFA that they played at Holly Lane in Erdington.

Visiting Central Ajax from Warwick went in at half time with a comfortable 3-0 lead, but a change of formation in the second period saw the hosts put in a much better performance and they deservedly pulled a goal back. It could have been more with a little more composure, but the performance itself would give them optimism for the upcoming league campaign.

In terms of watching the game, I was one of about a dozen, so social distancing wasn’t an issue, it remains to be seen when we can watch football in the NLS, but for now, I’m happy at grass roots.

So it’s back, it’s not quite as we once knew it, and I must admit, as much as I enjoyed it, it did feel strange, and I think part of that is the ongoing uncertainty about what’s around the corner. With local lockdowns seemingly the order of the day, I would not be surprised if we see mass cancellations and at least an extension of behind closed doors games.

That said, I’ll take it while I can, one hundred and thirty nine days is a long time in football…..