Field Mill Memories

Mansfield Town  0  Swindon Town  0

English Football League – Division Two

My Dad will probably not remember it, but one of my earliest and most vivid football memories is from the day he took me to a Mansfield Town game.

It was Boxing Day 1985, I would have been thirteen years old, and for some reason we made a late decision to go and watch the Stags play Stockport County in a Division Four game. I think it was a late decision because Belper’s game had been postponed if I recall, but anyway, time was tight.

My Dad claimed not to have been for many years, but had a recollection of where the ground was. I’d never been at all so was pretty clueless, but as the clock ticked onto 3pm we were parking up at the bottom of Bishop Street, and by the time we’d got to the turnstiles at the back of the West Stand, the crowd had roared twice and Mansfield were 2-0 up!

The Ian Greaves Stand

Having only ever been to the Baseball Ground, the City Ground and Meadow Lane, visiting Football League grounds was a new and exciting experience for me, and I simply loved it at Field Mill. The old West Stand which we were stood in front of on the paddock, was a beauty of a structure. It dominated the ground, while to our right was the open Quarry Lane end which housed the Hatters fans. The hard core Stags support stood on the terraces behind the opposite goal, while the tiny Bishop Street Stand sat opposite.

On a sunny day (yes, December, I know), it was a belter of a game which finished 4-2 to the Stags. I can tell you that Tony Lowery scored twice for Mansfield, while Neville Chamberlain and Paul Garner got the other goals. The Stockport goals came courtesy of a brace from Mark Leonard. The crowd was 4,206 and Les Chapman saw red for the visitors, who’s fans were very vocal!

Bishop Street Storage Facility

How do I know all of this? Well, for one season only, I used to write the match details on a piece of paper and slip them inside the programme, only at the time, I thought one day they might come in useful, like today, when it comes to writing this blog! So, according to my records I’ve got 76 sets of match details tucked away in programmes, maybe one day……

I Knew Those Notes Would Come In Handy One Day!

Visits to Field Mill have been infrequent over the years since. Following another Belper Town postponement a car load of us went to see them play York City in 1987, while I made the journey with a mate the year after that to stand in the away end to see his Tommy Johnson inspired heroes smash the Stags 3-1.

When non-league football befell the Stags, I was very much under the influence one Christmas courtesy of a public transport, and watched Burton Albion gain a victory on their march to the Football League, while on a snowy evening I saw Nuneaton Town edged past as Mansfield made their own way back to the professional ranks again.

So, Mansfield Town, why today?

Quarry Lane

Well, I’ll be honest, it wasn’t the match of choice. We were meant to be going to Harrogate Town v AFC Fylde, on the basis we had to be at a Wedding Reception in Penistone that evening. Only, Mrs H had too many wifely tasks to carry out so that went out of the window. I toyed between Mansfield and Burton, but, what swung it was the fact that I’d not been for a while, and as they sat third in the league, they were probably worth a look.

With street parking available just five minutes walk from the ground, if you know where it is, I was buying a ticket less than half an hour after leaving the house, so with a seat secured in the Quarry Lane End, it was time to nip round to the Sandy Pate Sports Bar for a bit of liquid refreshment.

The SPSB is a cracking little place, open every day, it sells the Lord’s Finest Carling at a mere £2.90 a pint, and if you so wish you can upgrade to a two pint pot on a matchday to save queuing. With lager and a burger consumed, while watching the Gers beat the Celts on the telly, the place got busier and busier with both Stags and Robins fans taking advantage of the great value for money.

Suitably refreshed, I found my way to the seats and elected to ignore the actual seat number on my ticket, and went for the very top corner of the stand towards the Bishop Street side. I’d forgotten to bring any chalk with me, which was a great shame as I was in the family enclosure and on the backs of the seats are chalk boards for kids to draw and scribe on. What would I have written? No idea, probably just drawn a penis or something equally childish!

The Away End

Field Mill has changed an awful lot over the years. The old West Stand has been replaced by a two tier stand named after great former Manager Ian Greaves, while behind both goals are two similar single tier seated stands. The Bishop Street side still has the old stand but it’s boarded up and is now used as a dumping area / TV gantry / advertising board hoarding. Put simply, that side of the ground is perhaps next on the list of redevelopments.

Expectation was in the air, a higher than average attendance of 5,333 were in place to see if the Stags could maintain their excellent recent form and remain firmly in the promotion hunt. But, to be fair, other than a spell of intense pressure in the final ten minutes as Mansfield laid siege to the Swindon goal, the game was a bit of a damp squib.

We're Ready To Go

Swindon had done their homework and were able to stifle the Stags, while they could argue that they had chances themselves to have won the game. But alas, not the best performance from Mansfield you’ll see this season, and in terms of a spectacle, it was a touch disappointing. But, teams coming to Field Mill may well adopt a more defensive minded approach in the coming weeks and months, so the Stags are going to need to formulate a Plan B.

My parking spot was a belter, I drove straight out and was home again within half an hour. In hindsight, I perhaps should have invited my old man along, I owe him a trip to Mansfield after he introduced me to them all those years ago. Maybe next time, I’d make sure we didn’t miss kick off though…….  

Marching In

Southampton  1  West Ham United  2

(The) Premier League

The Dell was a football ground I nearly went to.

It was back in the late Eighties when we used to travel to watch Derby County away games on Ernie Hallam’s ‘Roadrider’ coaches. With match ticket in hand and the bus just getting on the ring road, we were about to set off on the long journey to see the Rams play at Southampton.

I don’t know how news got to us, but it did, the game was off due to a frozen pitch. It was a quick turnaround, and back home we all went. I never went to the re-arranged game, opting for a refund instead. The Dell never did get visited, and then it was gone.

So, the quest to complete the 92 was about to reach 89 when it was spotted that Southampton’s game against West Ham United was being moved to the day after Boxing Day. It would involve a little family outing and an overnight stay, which Mrs H arranged as she is in charge of such important matters such as hotels and the like.

Tickets were procured well in advance, and after taking it a bit steadier on Boxing Day in terms of the otter sauce, it was an early departure to the South coast, and a City I only ever briefly visited the once when on holiday in Bournemouth.

The journey down was a breeze, taking the M1, cutting across on the A43 to the M40, and then taking the more scenic route down the A34 via Newbury. No hassles or hold ups and from door to door it was almost bang on three hours.

We chose to take in the sights during the afternoon, which basically consisted of a shopping centre and the impressive Ocean Village complex. It was while at the village that we spotted the West Ham team bus parked outside a hotel, so we decided to pay it a visit. Fully expecting my pants to be firmly pulled down after ordering drinks at the sixth floor bar of the Harbour Hotel, it was soon noticed that several members of the Hammers coaching staff were in discussions in the bar, along with some geezer off of Sky Sports who’s name escaped me. When the bill did arrive, I felt very little discomfort in the posterior region, the grand total wasn’t to damaging after all!

An Uber back to the hotel, which was located a mere eight minutes walk from the St Mary’s Stadium, meant time was on our side, and with the Church of the Drinker (JD Wetherspoon) only a few minutes away as well, our plan for the evening was nicely in place.

Call me a bit slow on the uptake, but it was while in the busy Spoons on London Road that I made a life changing discovery, the Wetherspoon App. From this marvel of modern technology you can order food and drink to your table, how good is that? Oh what fun I had ordering lager and chocolate brownies, I was happy as a pig in poo.

With the pub very busy with both home and away fans, it was time to make our way to the Saints temple. But first, it was a little detour down Old Northam Road to the super little programme shop, where all things shiny and glittery could be purchased at very reasonable prices. The main route into Saint Mary’s is via the footbridge over the railway line, which leads down onto the stadium concourse, and with just under an hour until kick off it was thronging with folk looking to catch a glimpse of Southampton’s recent upturn in form since the appointment of Ralph Rabbit Hutch (look it up, seriously!)

Saint Mary’s is not dissimilar to the many stadiums built around the same time. Middlesbrough, Derby County, Leicester City and Swansea City are all of a similar ilk and consist of an uninterrupted bowl, albeit in the case of the Saints, like with Leicester, it’s all on one tier.

Pre-match, as some clubs do nowadays, they put on a superb fireworks and light show which involved co-ordinated switching off and on of the floodlight bulbs. It would have been superb I might add, only we didn’t see it as Mrs H suddenly decided she needed a wee.

The atmosphere was very good, despite the fact Southampton only seem to have one song which is something about ‘marching in’. The Hammers boys and girls were also in very god voice, as they always are from experience, especially on their travels. A capacity crowd of over 31,500 crammed in to watch a game that has probably been hyper analysed by various Sky pundits down to the exact yardage run by every player multiplied by the calorific boxing day intake, minus highest score on Fortnite. Suffice to say, after going a goal down to a Nathan Redmond strike just after half time, a brace from some Brazilian chap called Anderson sealed a deserved win for an impressive Irons side.

A quick departure at the final whistle as the sounds of ‘Fortunes always hiding, I’ve looked everywhere’ rang from the away end, and we were back in the hotel bar just over ten minutes later to reflect on a very enjoyable day, along with many West Ham fans who’d also taken the opportunity of an overnight stay.

It mattered not that the draught lager packed up and we had to resort to bottles, I’d done ground 89, and discovered the Wetherpoons App all in one day. What’s not to like about a trip to Southampton, even if it wasn’t courtesy of Ernie-Tours and didn’t take in the Dell?   

Moving On

Melksham Town  2  Fleet Town  1

Southern Football League – Division One South

Nothing creates quite as much of a frenzy amongst the travelling community as a famous old football ground closing its doors.

When I say travelling community, I don’t mean the ones who live in caravans towed by battered old transit vans, which turn up and take over public spaces. I’m talking about the football traveller community, the groundhoppers, that special breed of individual who are unmistakable in their appearance and indeed mannerisms.

I spotted this phenomenon around ten years ago when Northern League club Ashington left their famous old Portland Park ground, the stadium they had used when a Football League club. It was like a pilgrimage when it was announced that it was in its final season. Of course, everyone was suddenly in love with the place, and of course it was a tragedy of the highest order. I didn’t attend the wake, I couldn’t be arsed, it was a long way and I’d not been bothered about it before, so why should I be bothered about going now?

The one that really got me though was a venue called Tinto Park, the home of Scottish Junior outfit Benburb. Playing in the delightful Glasgow district of Govan, not far from Ibrox, it was revealed that 2013-14 was to be the last season at the ‘famous old venue’.

Now, you might accuse me of being cynical, but when I first saw the pictures of Tinto Park, several thoughts came to mind. ‘Dump’, ‘Depressing’, ‘Death Trap’, ‘Derelict’, and that’s just those that start with the letter D.

To be more precise, it was a huge bowl that had certainly seen better days, in an area of Glasgow where vandalism would probably add value to a property from an aesthetic  point of view! But, the feature that everyone was soiling themselves over was a huge area of covered terracing that spread the full length of the pitch. Yeah, it was impressive, but to be honest, on a windy day, I wouldn’t feel safe under it, and on a wet day, of which there are many in Glasgae, avoiding the drips would be a challenge.

I didn’t go, I had no interest, I’d seen a photo, that was enough for me.

The Impressive Facilities

So then, moving on to 2016, and it was announced that Melksham Town were finally going to be leaving the Conigre, and guess what? Melksham Railway Station was inundated with ‘the bewildered’ with plastic bag in one hand and A-Z in the other as they stumbled towards the venue that quite simply must be visited.

To be fair, the Conigre was featured in the brilliant Groundtastic magazine, and I have to say that the pictures and the history did really sell it fantastically well as an old school non-league football, with lots of unique structures and features. It did look a truly super little ground, and in some ways its loss was going to be a shame, but from a personal point of view, the six hour round trip, and the thought of another six hour round trip for the new ground made my mind up for me, I’d wait for the new one!

The new ground, Oakfields, built on the very edge of the Wiltshire town, opened with a bang in January 2017 when over 1,200 attended the opening game against Bristol Manor Farm in the FA Vase.

View From The Stand

The 2017-18 season was a success on the pitch, as often happens after a club moves into a new stadium. A runners-up spot to Bristol Manor Farm saw them promoted to the Southern Football League for the first time in their history, and with crowds impressive, things were definitely on the up for the club, the move had been an unequivocal success.

So, onto this season, sat in the top six, and with the best crowds in the division based on an average attendance of 353, it was time to go and take a look at what it was all about.

The journey, considering it was the last Saturday before Christmas, was a relatively straightforward one. The M42 and the M5 behaved impeccably, while the route via Cirencester, Malmesbury and Chippenham added some interest to the journey as opposed to slogging it down the motorway.

The ground was well signposted once in the vicinity, and down a long driveway is the new home of both Melksham Town Football Club and indeed Melksham Rugby Club. The car park was spacious and with just over an hour to kick off it was time to wander up to the back of the stand and make my way into the very impressive clubhouse that offers views across the playing area.

Scoreboard End

Sat down with pint and programme in hand, it was interesting to read the comments of Melksham Chairman Darren Perrin (a former Manager of Chippenham who took them to a Vase Final at Wembley) who explained the club faced demotion at the end of the season as the ground had failed its grading. It appeared more covered accommodation was required, but on a positive, the club had obtained some sponsorship and a new covered terrace was going to be in place before the deadline at the end of March.

It was an impressive stadium anyway, the main stand, clubhouse and dressing rooms dominates a side of the ground, but what is interesting is the facility is also shared with the rugby club and the frontage for them faces the opposite way in the direction of the rugby pitch. The seats offer a great view, while the only other area of cover is a smaller Atcost on the opposite side of the pitch. Both ends are open but a large electronic scoreboard dominates one corner.

The Smaller Stand Opposite

A good sized crowd of just under 400 turned up to watch second bottom club Fleet Town from Hampshire take the lead before a minute was on the clock, thanks to a low shot from the edge of the box by Billy Oram that found the back of the net.

Despite the hosts having a lot of the ball, they struggled to create any clear chances, although they did hit the top of the bar on a couple of occasions. It was the visitors who looked like they might add to their lead when twice they had great chances to net a second goal.

With the clock ticking over ninety minutes, despite being under considerable pressure, it did look as though the visitors, who were well drilled, would hang on for a point, but then came the late drama.

Another cross (there had been many throughout the second half) from the right hand side was met powerfully by Warren Maidment and he found the corner of the net.  The resulting melee to get the ball back for the re-start saw something akin to tag team wresting break out on the pitch, and by the time it had all sorted itself out, the officials seemed clueless as to who to take action with, so they didn’t!

Moments later though, Fleet broke and as Meshach Williams moved into the box he went down, claiming a push, but the referee deemed it to be a dive, and as a result it was a second yellow followed by a red card.

Footy One End - Egg Chasing The Other

Melksham threw bodies forward and in the ninety fifth minute an almost replica of the equaliser saw Maidment rise again and head home, before disappearing under a pile of bodies made up of players and fans as he headed into the crowd to celebrate.

It had been a dramatic end, and despite not playing at their best, Melksham earned the points, while Fleet will be absolutely gutted that their efforts left them unrewarded. Play like that for the rest of the season and they should get to safety.

Could a second successive promotion be on the cards for Melksham? It’s a real possibility, something that could probably have never happened at the Conigre, it was such a shame to see it go……..

In Brackets

Ashford Town (Middlesex)  2  Chalfont St Peter  0

Isthmian League – Division One South Central

I forget the name of the player, or indeed the club, but I do recall the story of a perplexed footballer once turning up at Ashford Town in Middlesex only to discover that his teammates were in actual fact at Ashford Town in Kent!

I can also recall that the two Ashford Town’s once played in a pre-season friendly, due to the relationship the two secretaries had developed courtesy of having to re-direct mail to each other when it arrived at the wrong location.

It can’t happen now though, because Ashford Town in Kent re-formed as Ashford United, but, the suffix or brackets if you prefer, of ‘Middlesex’ firmly remains part of the name of the club situated a very short distance from Heathrow Airport.

So, on a cold and wet day, myself and my partner in crime (Mark Thorpe – Alfreton Town Club Shop) decided it was worth a trip to have a look at Ashford Town (Middlesex) and find out a little more about the club that has had to be more specific than most about their own identity.

It's A Wet One

The rain lashed down as we travelled South, but comfortable in the knowledge that Bedfont Sports were at home on the 3G a mere stones throw away, we travelled without any concerns of not finding any football. The journey wasn’t too tricky, the M1 was a bit more of an issue than the M25 which is somewhat unusual, but once inside the M25 and coasting along the Southern perimeter of the airport, the ground on Short Lane was found with ease.

Considering the proximity of one of the busiest airports in the World, the Robert Parker Stadium has something of a rural feel to it. Set in a larger area of greenery, two sides of the ground are tree lined, while more pitches sit to the rear of the ground, across the car park. Behind one goal are the famous gas holders, and they are the only real indicators of an incredibly busy urban location.

Gas

The clubhouse sits just outside the ground and provided warmth and cover from the incessant rain that showed no signs of abating. Refreshments were indeed taken, although real ale enthusiast Mark was less than overwhelmed by a traditional pint of Courage! The Fosters however, was on blinding form so I was more than happy.

The ground is very neat and tidy. Just through the turnstiles is a club shop and a tea bar, albeit minus hot food today. The players enter the pitch in the corner, and to the left of this is a shallow seated stand, with a further area of covered terracing further up the side towards the half way line. Behind one goal is another area of cover, while a larger main stand sits on the airport side of the ground.

The floodlights are noticeably very low, presumably again due to the proximity of the airport, while at the gas holder end, high netting is in place to prevent stray footballs from leaving the arena.

The Airport Sits Behind

The club chose to add ‘Middlesex’ to its name in the early nineties, and that coincided with a period of unprecedented success on the field. From 1995 onwards the club won the Combined Counties League championship five times in six seasons. This saw them promoted to the Isthmian League in 2000, which lasted until 2004 when they were switched to the Southern League. A runners-up spot in 2006 saw them promoted, and indeed moved sideways to the Isthmian League Premier Division, where they remained for four seasons.

Relegation saw them flipped back to the Southern League (as a club on the borderline between Isthmian and Southern this is always a hazard), but after four seasons they found themselves back in the Combined Counties League. Two seasons was all it took to get back to the Southern League, but, at the start of this season they were moved back into the Isthmian League, and now ply their trade in Division One South Central!

This season it’s going quite nicely, they sit just outside the play-off places, and with the visitors sat in the lower half of the table, they were hopeful of a victory.

Getting Wetter

A crowd of 91 were huddled under the cover, and despite the visitors having plenty of the ball, it was the hosts that went in at the break two goals to the good. James Cottee opened the scoring in the eleventh minute after the Chalfont keeper had initially made a great save, while the second came in the thirty ninth minute courtesy of Nebay Haile who finished well after great work from Tommy Brunton.

At the start of the second period, the referee did an impromptu pitch inspection in one of the penalty areas, the ball wouldn’t bounce, but it would float! Anyway, he chose to soldier on and to be fair, the pitch was playable, albeit one or two areas were getting waterlogged. The players however were sensible and deserve credit for putting on a very good spectacle in the conditions.

Low Floodlights

The second period was fairly even although the better chances did fall to the visitors, but they lacked the killer edge to convert, and consequently it was the Tangerines that took the three points. I commented to Mark at the final whistle that I would not have been surprised had games been abandoned today, but to be fair the casualty list wasn’t as big as I thought. Local to Ashford, only Molesey bit the bust.

So that was Ashford Town (Middlesex), a great day out at a very welcoming and homely club, I suspect if you ever did go there by mistake, part of you would just want to stay anyway!

The Bridgford Classico

Bridgford United  1  AFC Bridgford  2

Nottinghamshire Senior League – First Division

It had a certain inevitability about it.

History tells me that season after season, someone, somewhere, on my big list of leagues that I follow, is going to up sticks mid-campaign and move to a new venue.

The list this season of new venues was thirty strong at the start, and a fortnight ago I was down to just one, Thringstone, in Leicestershire. With the mission almost complete I’d got my sights set on working down some of the longer distance Step 1-4 venues, with December and January almost planned out.

But then, the oracle of all things Nottinghamshire, Rob Hornby, announced via his Twitter feed that Bridgford United had indeed emptied the removal van and were putting up new curtains. Somewhere called Highfield Park, just off University Boulevard, it rang no bells whatsoever with me, and my immediate thoughts were that it was uncharted territory.

Google Maps did indeed confirm it, the large sports complex which also combined the esteemed Beeston Hockey Club, Nottingham Tennis Centre and the University Sports Grounds, had never even been sniffed at in the past, it meant scheduling in a visit.

As luck would have it, the Bridgford ‘el-classico’ was on the horizon, the following weekend it appeared, with Bridgford United taking on neighbours AFC Bridgford. Only AFC play in Bridgford by the way, with AFC playing at the Gresham Playing Fields and United having previously been down on Lenton Lane along with everyone else.

I’ll be honest, when I look on Google at a new venue, the first thing I do, without fail, is look for a watering hole, ideally within walking distance, so I can dump the car and have a little wander, but despite the built up nature of an area just to the West edge of the City Centre, I could see no boozers. But, a little marker sat right in the middle of the map, pointing to a building next to the football pitches, and it simply said ‘Stick & Pitcher’, which upon further inspection did appear to be an establishment of imbibement, more later on that.

I’ve had dialogue with Bridgford United before, via Facebook, and they’ve always been prompt and helpful. This was precisely the case this time round again, with Ash Nehra, the Secretary, being quick to respond to messages about the venue and the pitch conditions. Despite it wanging it down with rain overnight, Ash confirmed all was good on the pitch front, it was time to head down Brian Clough Way.

I’m not overly familiar with the student areas of Nottingham, so it was a venture into the unknown as I made my way down University Boulevard. A large park sits on the left, then just over the tram tracks is the entrance to Highfield Park. It is indeed a large complex, with numerous sports pitches to the West end of it, while the Hockey and Tennis facilities are further East.

With players from both clubs milling about, I made my way to the building that I thought might be a pub, and it turned out it wasn’t, it was merely a changing block. Undeterred, more signs of life seemed to be in the vicinity of the hockey club, and it was as I made my way in the general direction that I spotted a building that could easily be what I was looking for. My senses were correct, on the top floor of the Hockey pavilion was indeed the Stick and Pitcher.  A lovely little boozer catering for the Hockey lads and lasses, it was just the job, and it was while perusing social media over a pint that I discovered the esteemed Mr Hornby was in fact en route to the game himself.

With the countdown clock on ten minutes, a wander in the general direction of the football pitches saw me find Mr Hornby chatting to the officials from AFC, and what a great bunch of lads they were. The last time I met Rob was at Helston in Cornwall, it banged it down with rain that time, and the skies up above were suggesting it may well be the case today.

Playing on a pitch with a rope down one side, although a fully railed pitch sits alongside it, and that is used by the University BUCS side, we were treated to a very decent game of football.

Bridgford United were flying high while AFC were of the mid-table variety, albeit with some good results over recent weeks.

Kyle Pemberton gave United the lead in the fourteenth minute when an AFC corner was defended and the hosts broke quickly. The lead didn’t last long though and when AFC beat the offside trap it was left to Sam Gaskin to calmly slot the ball home.

United piled on the pressure in the second half and as the rains started to come it was the visitors who took the lead having created the better of the chances on the day, when James Musk netted at the far post. After this it was like the Alamo as United threw everything at AFC, but the equaliser simply wouldn’t arrive.

The final whistle was welcome, by now the rain was incessant and with the wind whipping up it was starting to soak through my jeans and into my undercrackers, I was just glad it was Nottingham and not somewhere more distant. Driving in moist pants is not an ideal scenario, I’ll tell you!

So, a jolly day down the Boulevard, good company, friendly locals and indeed a good game. With the added bonus of a boozer as well, the Bostik League will have to wait a little while longer.

Tax Dodging

Loughborough University  1  Boldmere St Michaels  2

Midland Football League – Premier Division

I was a tax dodger once, it was great, you didn’t pay any tax, but then again, you didn’t have any money either!

Students, once a source of humour on Soccer AM back in the Tim Lovejoy days, have, over recent years, been a real source of discussion when it comes to non-league football. Allow me to explain.

Universities in the UK have their own competition, the British Universities & Colleges Sport, or BUCS for short. Typically playing on a weekday afternoon, the games are of a high standard, certainly at the top end of the leagues, and of course, for the hopper that doesn’t have to worry about paid employment, they are a good way to pass idle time of an afternoon.

But, the odd University has taken it upon themselves to try and enter the football pyramid, and probably the most famous of these was Team Bath. Based at Bath University, they started life in the Western League, and within less than ten seasons had reached the Conference South. They became the first University side to reach the First Round proper of the FA Cup since 1880, playing Mansfield Town, and on the back of that gained tremendous publicity.

They started out at the University Sports Ground but as they rose through the pyramid, grading requirements meant they had to share at Bath City’s Twerton Park, not that it mattered because they had no fans.

However, it turned out that because Team Bath were not a Limited Company in their own entity, which contravened Conference rules, they were forced to resign, which they did from the non-league pyramid effectively.

The club was controversial in the sense that the squad was made up of both students and semi-professional footballers, and under the freedom of information act it came to light that the wage bill / scholarship payments was not insignificant. Clearly universities are not short of money (taxpayers) so again, this was a real debating point in non-league circles.

Team Bath aside, the other club who have hit the headlines is Cardiff Metropolitan University, who now ply their trade in the Welsh Premier League, the top tier of football in the principality, and if I were a betting man, they’ll qualify for Europe sooner rather than later. Similar questions have been asked about the ‘legitimacy’ of the qualification of players, and indeed the sources of funding.

So, University sides are controversial, quite simply because they are perceived to use taxpayers money to motor through the leagues, but is that really the case? Is it really that simple and straightforward? I’m not sure? It is very much a perception thing, but the perception is not a positive one.

So, Loughborough University FC, a club that started life in the non-league pyramid in recent times playing in the Midland Combination. Nased at the Nanpantan Road ground of Loughborough Dynamo, they won the top flight in 2009 and moved into the Midland Alliance. For a number of seasons they threatened, finishing fourth twice and fifth, but in more recent years it’s been a struggle and they’ve spent much of their time in the lower reaches.

But, when they moved to the purpose built stadium within the grounds of the University, that was when eyes were opened. When I first visited the stadium it was a jaw dropping experience. A huge main stand with a fabulous bar / food area overlooking the pitch is the focal point, but the rest of the ground is terraced on all three sides. It has an electronic scoreboard, floodlights and a quite brilliant playing surface. It really is a showpiece stadium, good enough for hosting football at a much higher level, but my first thought, if I’m honest, was that it was ‘my’ money that helped pay for it!

I’m not being cynical, but whenever you see anything being built on a University complex you immediately think of taxpayers money, like it or not, it’s true. This is definitely the case with the 

Loughborough University stadium.

But, it’s not the universities or students fault that they have access to such huge pots of cash, so no blame can be apportioned to them whatsoever.

They have some very good players, but, I would hazard a guess that the best footballers at Loughborough University don’t play for the football team? Why would that be? Simple really, they are too good, remembering that this is a sporting centre of excellence. I suspect the best players are plying their trade at much higher levels such as the Northern and Southern Premier, and even the National League’s. It’s a better standard and they can probably earn very good money doing so.

I’ve been to the ground a couple of times in the past and enjoyed the experience, despite the fact crowds are not huge, and do tend to get lost somewhat in a stadium of its size. If you pick a strategic place in the bar you can get a view akin to watching from an executive box, so I don’t begrudge them a bit of my tax for that luxury!

The game against Boldmere St Michaels was an interesting one. Christian Eneremadu gave the hosts a first half lead with a well taken goal, but ten minutes into the second period Harry Craven found the net for the equaliser.

The winning goal for Boldmere was a bizarre one. A corner was swung across and completely unchallenged the students goalkeeper, Jake Hilton, who up to now had played very well, inexplicably punched the ball into his own net.

So that was that, three points for the men from Sutton Coldfield while the students will be kicking themselves over the outcome, especially after playing so well in the first half.

My old seat of learning, Keele University, also has a football team playing in the Staffordshire County Senior League. I quite like them, and I’d like to think my overdraft facility that was spent behind the student union bar was what helped them on their way.

You see, I don’t mind spending someone else’s money, like the banks, it’s just I get a bit uptight when people spend mine! I think I need to speak to Harry Redknapp’s Accountant……

Most Haunted

Thringstone Miners Welfare  5  Cottesmore Amateurs Reserves  1

Leicestershire Senior League – Division Two

I can’t think of many football teams named after haunted houses, but, I think I might have found one!

When doing my research into the Leicestershire village of Thringstone, which sits just beyond Shepshed on the A512, and in all fairness, is more of an extension of Coalville nowadays, I found something unusual out.

Grace Dieu Priory, or at least the ruins of, sits on the village outskirts, by the side of the A512, and is famed for being one of the most haunted remains in the County. The ‘White Lady’ apparition is associated with the Priory, and was once seen waiting for the Ashby de la Zouch bound bus, only to vanish as the bus drew to a halt. Other strange sightings have also been reported, but so far, no ghosts or ghouls have been captured, nor has anyone asked for a day return either.

So what is the connection between Grace Dieu Priory and the football club now known as Thringstone Miners Welfare?

Tracing the clubs history back to 1971, then known as simply Thringstone, they joined the Leicestershire Senior League, winning Division Two at the first attempt. Division One was joined, where they remained until the early Eighties when they had a brief hiatus back in the second tier, albeit for only one season.

Once back in the top flight, now named the Premier Division, they were crowned champions in the successive seasons of 1984 and 1985, but by the end of the decade they were relegated again, only to return after three seasons away.

The FA Vase was entered, with the inaugural season in 1975-76 being the most successful. Victories over Gresley Rovers, Knowle and Anstey Nomads saw them reach the Third Round, only to bow out to Bermuda Working Mens Club. Can’t think what the travel bill would have been for that game, but it probably outweighed the gate receipts……!

So, we move onto 1998, and Thringstone embarked on a merger with, wait for it, Grace Dieu United, spooky eh? The newly formed club became known as Thringstone United, but this version only lasted for two seasons, probably due to hauntings and the need of an exorcism, before they eventually settled for the current title of Thringstone Miners Welfare.

Three seasons later, in 2002-03 they finished bottom of the second tier in the league without winning a single game, and the three points they did get from draws were all deducted. So it wasn’t the best, and beyond that they dropped very much into local football.

But, with excellent facilities in the village, it was only going to be a matter of time before they made their way back, and after a successful season in the North Leicestershire League last time out, they were elected as members of the newly formed Second Division (third tier) of the LSL, along with North Kilworth who I visited back in August.

With seven victories from their opening eleven games, they were well placed in a promotion position before the game against bottom of the table Cottesmore Amateur Reserves, so, it was time to go and have a look.

Thringstone is a doddle of a place to get to, just five minutes from the M1, and once on the main road into the village the ground is tucked into a housing estate on the right hand side. A modest sized car park sits behind the goal, with a modern dressing room and clubhouse facility alongside.

The pitch is railed, it’s also floodlit, and on the halfway line is a small area of cover to provide protection from the elements. It’s far better than the notional Step 9 football it hosts, and subject to getting it right on the pitch, the club have the infrastructure to move a number of levels forward.

On a chilly day, the hosts were much the better side, winning 5-1, and missing chances to have scored a few more. Although to be fair, Cottesmore never gave up, and did create opportunities of their own.

David Leigh netted an impressive hat-trick for Thringstone, while further goals came from Jordan Dent and Joshua Warren. The consolation goal for the Rutland based side came courtesy of Ben Dawson.

And that was Thringstone, the team with links to a haunted house, you can’t say that this blog isn’t educational can you?  I think Yvette Fielding is paying them a visit shortly….

Phobia

Bristol Manor Farm  2  Evesham United  1

Southern League – Division One South

I’ll be brutally honest, Bristol scares me.

To be more precise, I’ve got a phobia of bridges, especially driving over them. The Thelwall Viaduct on the M6 in Cheshire increases my anxiety levels every time I journey across it, and in more recent years on our trips to Cornwall and Devon, as you drop down the M5 to the Avonmouth area of Bristol and see the mighty bridge in front of you, I can feel the bricks forming.

But, not only that, if you head into Bristol and decide to cross the Avon further downstream you get the Clifton Suspension Bridge, I’ve never driven over it, but if I did I’d probably need a lie down afterwards.

To try and conquer my fear of the bridge, I did something both brave and stupid in equal measures a few years ago. I had a day off work and decided to head to Cefn Druids. Now, not too far from Cefn Mawr is the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct, a massive 38 metre high structure crossing the Trevor Basin, and you can walk across it, with the narrow boats running alongside.

To paint the picture further, it’s a bit like this. The rail is on one side of the path, and the canal is on the other, but on the canal side of the bridge, there’s nothing, it’s just a sheer drop. No way in this World would you get me across it on a boat, but I decided to walk it.

I managed it, I never let go of the railing, I’d lost all feeling in my legs by the time I’d got to the other side, and when a family approached me in the opposite direction, no way was I letting go, they were going to have to go round me. When I got to the other side I then had to get back, with my weaker arm holding the barrier. Apparently you get superb views of the Acrefair Youth football ground which sits below the bridge, but I don’t recall it, I don’t think I looked downwards!

Some years later, with the fellow Hatt’s in tow we did it again, it didn’t feel so bad this time, but trust me, I won’t be rushing back for the hat-trick.

So, that’s why I’ve kind of swerved Bristol over the years, I worked out that I’ve been four times to watch a football match, and on every occasion I managed to avoid a bridge. I saw Derby at Bristol City in the early nineties, I saw a pre-season friendly at Bristol Rovers a couple of years back, and then I once did a double, watching Almondsbury Town in the morning, and Mangotsfield United in the afternoon, but they were both very much on the bridge free North side of the City.

But, with Bristol Manor Farm being elevated to Step 4 status in 2017, having won the Western League, they fell onto the Hatt radar, and as luck would have it, they had a Friday night game on a day I’d got booked off work, result!

So, what’s the story with Bristol Manor Farm then? A relatively young club formed in 1960, they played local football before joining the Western League in 1977. Within six seasons they’d won promotion to the top flight, and bar a couple of seasons in the early noughties, they remained there ever since. Having finished second, third and fourth in the three previous seasons, a deserved championship was won in 2016-17 under the guidance of Lee Lashenko, and they did it losing just two games.

A mid-table finish last season was a very creditable effort, and the club quite rightly proclaims itself as the third club in the City, a title they battle Mangotsfield United and Yate Town for. Oh, I did go to Yate once, I forgot about that, it rained a lot, otherwise my memory is a bit vague on that one.

I set off nice and early and had a trouble free run from Belper, leaving the M5 with the Avonmouth Bridge just a junction away, and certainly visible in the distance. The A4 Portway takes you straight to the ground, but, you can’t turn right into it, so I had to drive quite a way past and do a u-turn in some queuing traffic. The ground sits right on the banks of the Avon, with the railway line that links Temple Meads and Severn Bridge running between.

The Creek, as it is known, is a super, old school, non-league football ground. You enter behind the goal and then turning to the left you’ve got the changing rooms and large clubhouse running from the corner of the pitch down to the half way line. Three stands adorn this side of the pitch, the first having seats in front of a standing area, the second, further down, is just seats, while finally the third structure is standing only.

Both ends are flat standing while on the far side of the ground which has the railway line running behind it, are the dugouts with a small covered standing area in between. The pitch was in very good condition considering the recent heavy rain, and with a larger than usual crowd of 230 in attendance, with a good number having travelled from Evesham, Friday night football looked to have worked for Farm.

The game was very entertaining. Evesham missed a great chance to take the lead when a penalty was awarded in the seventh minute, despite the fact they found the net moments after the whistle had been blown. Steve Davies saw his effort clip the top of the bar and sail harmlessly in the direction of the nearby sports centre. The referee, Stacey Pearson, allegedly said at half time that she’d made a mistake in not allowing play to go on, which clearly was no comfort to Evesham.

It kicked off in the 33^rd minute when Farm’s John Lock and Evesham’s Archie Haskayne were both shown red cards for their part in a skirmish, but then the hosts took the lead just before the break when Owen Howe rifled home from an acute angle.

The visitors equalised just after the break when Cory Simpson produced a clever lob from the edge of the box that drifted over the goalkeeper and into the net. The game ebbed and flowed thereafter, and it looked to be heading for a draw until the 88th minute.

Howe found himself in space, and ran in on goal before slotting the ball calmly under Andy Hannah, showing great composure as he did so. He ran to the crowd to celebrate, the three points looked to be in the bag.

And in the bag they were, on a night when the men from Bristol Manor Farm on the balance of play, probably just about deserved them.

The journey back was a steady one, until a crash right at the top of the M5, less than two miles from my exit, meant we were stationary for just over half an hour. A twenty past midnight arrival home was later than I’d hoped, but such are the trials and tribulations of the UK motorway network.

And not a single bridge was crossed, but it begs the question, can I get to Weston-Super-Mare without crossing the Avon? No, I thought not……..