Hiatus

Blurton Reds Under 17s   1   Hanley Town Under 17s   12

North Staffordshire Youth League – Under 17 South

It’s bloody depressing isn’t it?

Ok, so he’s put a timeline on it, we will be out of the lockdown period early December, but the sceptic in me has a feeling that won’t quite be the end of it. It can’t be that straightforward or that predictable, and as regards playing football again, depending on the level you are at, are players going to take to the field without any training? I doubt it.

Yes, I’ll be honest, while I grudgingly accept we’ve probably got no option if we want to stop the NHS collapsing, at the same time, I also perhaps have to accept that I might not see another game again in 2020.

Blurton Reds were on the radar, newcomers to the Staffordshire County Senior League. Blurton is an area of Stoke on Trent, and as regular blog readers will know, my alma mater was in the Potteries and I know the area well as a result, but Blurton is a place I’ve known of since I was a child.

We were on holiday in Weymouth, me and my Sister, Mum and Dad, Grandma and Grandad, our other Grandma, plus of course Aunty and Uncle. We travelled by train, a proper entourage, and I can remember in our Hotel, as you do, you get to meet other kids.

“Where are you from?” was always my first question, only I knew where places were because I liked looking at maps, and I knew all about football teams, although I distinctly remember losing an argument on the train on the way down with my Dad. We were approaching Southampton and he asked me to name Southampton’s nickname, I said Red Devils, I was convinced, he told me that was Manchester United and the name I should have said was Saints. I wasn’t having any of it, until we were rolling into Southampton Station and the name was sprayed onto a wall!

He won, but I digress, kids and all that, anyway, a couple of kids in our hotel told us they were from Blurton, which as far as I was concerned should have been Burton, but clearly they couldn’t speak properly! Anyway, once again I was put straight, it was part of Stoke, fair enough, and strangely they were on the same train back as us the following weekend, getting off at Burton on Trent ironically!

Fast forward from 1980 to present day, I spotted that Blurton Reds played at St Thomas More Catholic Academy, which is an institution just off the A50, virtually on the interface between Longton and Blurton. Along with Socially Distanced Steve, we had a look at how many teams they had and who else might play at the venue, and it came to light that they had an Under 17s side that played on a Sunday afternoon in the North Staffs Youth League.

I was going to go a couple of weeks previously but a double check on the morning of the game showed they were at home to FC Werrington, but on closer inspection the opponents had got a 100% losing record, all by walk over, so I decided not to bother travelling as a result. Seems FC Werrington are based at a Young Offenders Institution so I guess in the current climate, playing football isn’t practical.

I’m always a bit nervous about Youth / Sunday games, mainly because of short notice changes to kick offs and venues that aren’t going to be reflected on league websites. But thankfully, despite quite a bit of rain being around on the Sunday morning, pulling into the car park at the academy I could see quite clearly that a game was about to take place.

Blurton Reds is a FA Charter Standard club that has numerous teams under it’s umbrella. Youths, children, adults, ladies, the whole spectrum of options are available to anyone who wants to play football, and from looking at the clubs website and social media it was clear to see what the club is all about.

Base wise, as I’ve said, they play at the school, and to be fair the grass pitch that sits behind the main buildings was in good condition despite the constant rain. This looks to be the first season the club have moved into Saturday adult football and what they have at their disposal from a facilities point of view is more than adequate.

However, today was about the youth, so how did it pan out?

Not very well if I’m honest, league leaders Hanley Town arrived in confident form with a 100% record to their name, and they went on to win the game at an absolute canter. It was hard on Blurton because sometimes, especially at youth level, you come up against a team that is some distance better than you, and that can be hugely demoralising for the players.

But, to be fair to Blurton, they plugged away, and while disheartened, clearly, they never threw the towel in and they fought to the end. I would also say that they scored the best goal of the game with a fine volley, it was just unfortunate that Hanley found the net twelve times at the other end.

I felt for Blurton, but it was a tough lesson, Hanley had some very good players and looked a well drilled side who’d played together for some time. They’ll bounce back, I’m sure.

Let’s just hope all of football can bounce back in December, then run through uninterrupted to May, and we can see seasons concluded.

So, that’s me done for now, have a good lockdown everyone, stay safe, and, don’t hoard bog roll!

Lock, Stock & A Smoking Gun

Burton Khalsa   0   FC Sunnyhill   9

Midlands Regional Alliance – Division Two

“Could everyone please stop getting shot?”

A classic line from Guy Ritchie’s ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’, and while not a laughing matter or indeed something to take lightly, I just want to say….

“Could everyone please stop catching Covid?”

I know, it’s not that simple, and no, of course people don’t have a choice about whether they get shot or indeed catch Trumpy’s ‘China Virus’, but it hasn’t half proving to be bloody problematic!

It’s been a funny few days, clearly the problem is escalating by the day, the government is coming under increasing pressure and with leaked press reports that a national lockdown is imminent, I suspect football is about to grind to a sudden halt.

In terms of Saturday’s games, we had the usual plethora of Covid cancellations, then add in of course the fixture changes due to clubs being in Tier Three, and the spectator restrictions that go with that and you suddenly found the list shrinking.

Oh, and of course it decided to piss it down, so as the morning wore on we saw postponements hitting the airwaves.

I had a plan though, and it was simple enough. Burton Khalsa were due to be at home with a 2pm kick off, and with neither them or the away team putting anything out on social media I took the view to simply have a wander down and see what was happening. If it was off, then I had a 3pm kick off on plastic at Cannock United, which incidentally happened to be where Socially Distanced Steve headed to after initially arriving at a game in Mansfield only to find nothing doing.

Burton Khalsa are a new name in the Midlands Regional Alliance this season, but, my sources tell me that they are the club formerly known as Real Medina who were also in the MRA last time around.

When I say last time around, Medina played at Shobnall Sports & Social Club on Shobnall Road, a ground where I saw Stretton Eagles play a few years ago, but to be fair, I’d seen Medina play at both Eton Park Recreation Ground and Hillfield Playing Fields previously. So, I incorrectly assumed I’d seen football on every available piece of grass in Burton Upon Trent, but apparently not!

It seems there is a football pitch on St Luke’s Recreation Ground, in Horninglow, which is on the West side of the A38, and it’s at that venue where Khalsa have pitched up for the current campaign. Now to be fair, despite the fact that it was slinging it down, I was quietly confident the game would be on, only because SDS went earlier in the season on an equally wet day and said the pitch was superb in terms of drainage, but, the proof would be in the pudding!

As I drove down towards Little Eaton and on to Markeaton I did think to myself that the game would be off, the rain was torrential, monsoon like, lakes were forming on the road and herons were circling looking for fishes in the puddles. But, weirdly, as I got down towards the A50 it changed beyond recognition, we had blue skies and sunshine. Just as I was approaching the entrance to the car park, with the entrance on my left, I was forced to stop as a cavalcade of cars came the other way, it was the players of FC Sunnyhill in convoy. They hadn’t quite got a police escort, but nothing was stopping them getting the last few parking spaces, so I sat back and waved them in!

We had a game then, no need to head to Cannock!

The football pitch sits at the top end of the recreation ground, at the summit of a slight slope so you can see why it drains so well. It is quite a large space as well, while to the side of it is the De Ferrers Academy, which back in my day was probably called a school.

So, with two sets of players and a referee in place, we got on our way, with visiting FC Sunnyhill from Derby also a new side in the league this season, and for that matter a side that was doing better in the table after half a dozen games.

To be honest, the game was as one sided as you’ll see. Sunnyhill took an early lead after about a minute and I’ve got to be truthful, it was pretty much one way traffic for the rest of the game. They went in 5-0 up at the break, and by now the Khalsa players were falling out with each other at regular intervals.

We got to 9-0 with around ten minutes to go and I was confident we’d see double figures, but it wasn’t to be, despite two disallowed goals that would have made the difference. Sometimes the club linesman and his offside flag can be all you need to keep the goal difference down!

Sunnyhill to be fair looked a decent side and they’d got some good players, whereas Khalsa looked awful. That said though, they had won their previous two games so they were hardly the whipping boys of the league, but, having lost a game 8-1 as well this season you sense that when it goes wrong, it goes badly wrong.

Boris was due on telly later that night, and while he perhaps wasn’t going to go as far as to ask us all to stop catching Covid, he was highly likely to ask us to stop going out. Fair enough Boris, you’re probably right, but maybe just let us have a couple more games before we try to save Christmas?

Education

Leek CSOB   2   Audley   1

Staffordshire County Senior League – Premier Division

The road from Ashbourne to Stoke-on-Trent is one that stirs so many memories every time I drive down it.

You see, from September 1991 through to the Summer of 1994 I was a student at Keele University, and during that era the A50 wasn’t the road it is now, so for me, the easiest way of getting to the Potteries was the scenic route.

I used to love the drive, climbing out of Belper and then through Hulland Ward to Ashbourne, before then heading up the hill through Swinscoe and dropping a left onto the A52. That road then took you through the villages of Whiston, Froghall and Kingsley before you started to enter the outskirts of Stoke, going through places like Cellarhead and Werrington, before eventually dropping down onto the Leek Road, almost opposite the Northwood Stadium.

I still love it now, and I make no excuses for it, sometimes if I have a choice of games to go to, I’ll deliberately select one that takes me that route, especially midweek as there’s something quite atmospheric about doing it in the dark!

I had a couple of options on a cold and wet Wednesday night, but, knowing that the easiest route to Leek CSOB was going to take me a good way along that route, it won the day over the alternative game at Eccleshall.

You can get to CSOB’s Pointon Park in Cheddleton by heading up to Leek and dropping down out of the town, but I elected to follow my preferred route and then head up via Wetley Rocks, just before you got to the junction at Cellarhead. It was a quiet but enjoyable journey, and to be honest, in just over 45 minutes after leaving home, I was parking up.

This wasn’t a new venue for me, I first went to Pointon Park when it was newly opened, back in March 2015 when they played what was I think their first game under floodlights, ironically against Keele University. It could have been even more ironic as the floodlights packed up at one point during the game, I seem to recall it was because they were trying to turn the lights off on the 4G pitches and someone flicked the wrong switch by mistake. Anyway, it was a night when the great unwashed of the travelling fraternity turned up, and they were treated to a 4-0 home win.

What’s the story with Leek County School Old Boys then, to give them their full name?

Formed in 1945, the club was set up for the former pupils (and I assume staff) of a school, or a collection of schools in the Leek area, I’m not sure exactly. Records suggest that that started life in local Leek leagues, before becoming founder members of the Staffordshire Senior League in 1984.

They remained in the competition until it was renamed the Midland League, but then in 1996 they won it and with it gained promotion to the North West Counties League.  They then got promoted again to the top flight of the NWC two years later, but by 2001 they were back in the second tier again, where they remained until 2014 when they resigned from the league.

The North West Counties League era saw the club playing at Leek Town’s Harrison Park, but after desperately trying to find a home of their own for a number of years, they finally secured a new ground in the village of Cheddleton, which coincided with the clubs move into the Staffordshire County Senior League. They won the First Division title in their first season in 2014-15, and then went on to win the Premier Division the year after.

Pointon Park is a community based facility, which was built by the company John Pointon & Sons, an animal by-products company who’s factory sits to the East of the ground. The ground and it’s children’s play area, and it’s all weather court sit between Felthouse Lane and the aptly named Bones Lane, which both lead to the factory itself.

It consists of a community changing facility with a tea bar, while the car park sits behind the West goal, with the pitch raised up in front of it. It’s fully railed, with hard standing, and it has floodlights, but at present it has no cover for spectators, which may explain why they haven’t yet pushed forward for a return to the North West Counties League.

That said, on the field, things have been looking pretty good this time around, prior to the game they sat just behind leaders AFC Alsager, Foley Meir and the visitors Audley, knowing a victory would take them to within a point of the summit.

A decent crowd pitched up on a chilly night and we got an entertaining and hard fought spectacle. Leek took the lead only for the visitors to peg them back, but a goalkeeping error lead to a second and winning goal for the hosts. Despite Audley’s late efforts, they couldn’t force an equaliser.

But then, it right royally kicked off! To avoid any doubt, this is what I saw and heard from my vantage point on top of the grass slope on the side of the ground opposite the dugouts.

As we were in added time, a Leek player went down injured but the visitors refused to put the ball out of play for him to be treated. It mattered not in the end, but at the final whistle, and I assume because of that, we had a bit of pushing and shoving.

Suddenly though, the whole thing very quickly escalated and we had the sight of supporters running onto the pitch to join in the melee. It started to get nasty, clearly punches and kicks were being thrown and the ‘scrum’ started to work it’s way across the pitch to right in front of where I was stood.

It was at this point that I could get an understanding of where the main issue seemed to be. Accusations were being made that a player had hit a child during the initial coming together. Now, whether the child was on the pitch or indeed not isn’t something I can say as I didn’t see it, but, as a result it became quite clear that the player accused of this was being singled out, largely by individuals who hadn’t taken part in the game.

It was nasty, the player was trying his best to get away from the situation, but every time he moved, someone came in with kicks or punches from another angle. Eventually, shirtless, he managed to get under the spectator barriers and into an area where he could be protected.

Finally, sometime after the final whistle, the pitch was cleared and I made my way back to the car. All very unpleasant and an unseemly ending to what had been a good night, what the repercussions will be I really don’t know, but I would be amazed if the matter found it’s way under a large carpet!

But, scenes from Kung Fu Fighting aside, it had been a good night, the road home was quiet with just 5 Live for company. I have a feeling though, that as Winter approaches, we might not have many more chances to watch football, but, one more midweek, maybe?