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!