Retro - Cardiff City 1 Nottingham Forest 1 (Football League Championship - 2015-16)

29th December 2015

Cardiff City  1  Nottingham Forest  1  (Football League Championship)

The first time I went to Millwall I was scared, scared of the reputation that went before them, and I have to say while I got away from the New Den safely, it wasn’t the most comfortable and straightforward of experiences by any means. Around the same time, the mid nineties, another club had a shocking reputation in football violence terms, and that club was Cardiff City. Battles with Stoke, Leeds and indeed the much lauded conflicts with Swansea City were well publicised, a trip to Ninian Park was not one for the feint hearted.

So when Rach suggested we got to the Cardiff v Forest game, and take George with us, I have to admit to being a touch nervous, especially when she was insistent we went in the away end. In all fairness, it was probably going to be fine, but I could still recall the TV images of the battles taking place on Sloper Road.

The ‘Soul Crew’ had a big name for themselves, in fact a BBC documentary was devoted to them, it portrayed images of battles adjacent to our hotel with Manchester United fans, it showed some horrendous scenes inside and outside of the ground against Leeds, while faces like Annis Abraham, Tony Rivers and Dai Thomas were some of the most feared in football.

On top of all that, owner Sam Hamman not only refused to condemn the Soul Crew, he actually glorified it by socialising and travelling with them, and to an extent, employing some of them! My only issue with them previously actually formed part of the documentary in question, an game away at Chesterfield when I was working that day in the town centre. We had police horses charging up and down the road outside the office, while the walk back to my car just after the game finished was an interesting one as battles reigned all across the town centre.

Our Hotel in Cardiff was a lovely one, the Marriott adjacent to the Railway Station, as I previously mentioned, the area where battles have taken place in the past, and having spent a fantastic day touring the City and looking round the Bay, we were set for our evening at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Rach was excited, it was her first Forest away game for years, and George’s first ever Forest game. I don’t particularly like Forest for obvious reasons, but I agreed to go in the away end for them, it wasn’t going to be easy, but if I got a few pints down me I was sure I’d be ok!

We got the train, just one stop along to Ninian Park Station, Forest fans were wearing colours, no great fear in that respect, and as we walked down the station to Sloper Road you could see where the new housing development had been built on the site of the old Ninian Park stadium. The shiny new Cardiff City Stadium sat on the opposite side of the road in a large open expanse that was once a car park and an athletics stadium. It looked imposing on the skyline, but it didn’t feel especially busy.

We were soon in the away end and I have to say that the welcome from the stewards was a really friendly one, we downed a few pints and took our seats. Description wise, it wasn’t dissimilar to Derby County, Middlesbrough, Leicester City, or any of the new build stadiums around In the top two tiers of football. However, one thing stood out and that was the recently added tier to one of the stands that was full of red seats. The story behind that stems back to crackpot owner Vincent Tan (they have a track record with nutcase owners!), who changed the club colours from blue to red, partly due to his business dealings in Malaysia and Thailand, and partly to do with the national team colours. It went down badly, they have now quite rightly reverted back to blue again, but the bizarre tier of red seating remains, it was closed tonight though, and I suspect only ever opens for international games.

The Forest fans created a good atmosphere and they took the lead in the first half through a fantastic effort from Ollie Burke, but soon after Cardiff equalised with a deflected effort. The second half was dull by comparison, Cardiff seemed content with a point despite being the home side, while Forest didn’t have enough guile to force a winner, albeit they did miss a last gasp chance in injury time. As for the Cardiff fans, and this is the thing. The crowd was given out at just over 15,000, the largest of the season, but it looked less than that to me, 10,000 maybe? And while the atmosphere at Ninain Park was hostile and intimidating, in the new surroundings it was sterile and morgue-like, the Cardiff fans barely made a murmur, and while I was pleased it had been safe for obvious reasons, I was disappointed it wasn’t a bit more lively.

The walk back to the station was the same, as was the train journey back. If Cardiff have managed to solve their hooligan problem then fair play, but I suspect it’s more to do with the opposition, for a bigger name with a bigger reputation, maybe also on a non festive weekend, then they may well have been out in force.

But the overriding one for me was the lack of numbers and the lack of passion, that in itself may be a bit of post-Premiership blues, and also some disillusionment at the way the club is going under Tan, and Manager Russell Slade. Get Sam Hamman back, he’ll soon stir it up again!

Rach and George loved it though, that was the main thing, and they were soon back safely in the hotel, whereas I had survived ninety minutes with the Forest fans, they weren’t that bad a bunch after all!

Retro - Newport County 1 Plymouth Argyle 2 (Football League Division Two - 2015-16)

28th December 2015

Newport County  1  Plymouth Argyle  2  (Football League Second Division)

When it comes to having the piss taken out of places, Newport has suffered a bit over the years.

It suffered at the hands of a musical parody when Alisha Keys and Jay-Z recorded New York State of Mind, suddenly, up popped Newport State of Mind, it became a YouTube sensation and even got a mention on the News at Ten!

Then of course rappers Goldie Looking Chain, who originate from the City, recorded various numbers, one of which was a further parody of State of Mind. While entertaining and at times comical, it’s fair to say they probably were not the local Tourist Boards favourite people.

Johnny Morris from Animal Magic is also from Newport, while so is Nicky Wire from the Manic Street Preachers, but other than that, it doesn’t have an awful lot to shout about.

From a football perspective, Newport County specialised in not achieving very much, but did create a bit of history when they reached the quarter finals of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1980-81, only to suffer a cruel defeat against East German outfit Carl Zeiss Jena. County qualified for the competition on the basis that they won the Welsh Cup, at a time when Football League clubs were allowed to compete in it.

By 1988 County had been relegated out of the Football League and didn’t manage to complete a full season in the Conference, going out of business in February 1989. Somerton Park, widely regarded by many as one of the worst grounds in the Football League, was not to lie empty forever though.

A newly formed club, Newport AFC, emerged in the Hellenic League, and after ground shares at both Moreton Town and Gloucester City (due to political and legal reasons), they did eventually return for a spell to the decrepit old stadium, however as the club reached the Southern League, they then found themselves playing at the recently built Newport Stadium, and returning to the former name of Newport County.

Somerton Park was demolished, County worked their way to the Conference National, and then decided to move closer to the City Centre to Rodney Parade, the home of Newport Gwent Dragons Rugby Club. A place in the Football League came their way in 2013 via the play offs, 25 years after they had dropped out, the future suddenly looked rosy again.

And that is where the story is currently at, and for me it’s always held something of a fascination, and I think it’s partly to do with the tangerine and black kit they wore, but not only that, on the day of the tragic Bradford Fire, I was watching Alfreton Town v Denaby United, while Derby County were playing away at Somerton Park. The Rams fans that day trashed the place, but the news of that carnage very quickly got buried in the events at Valley Parade. A week or so after the game my Dad got me the programme from the match, so for one or two spurious reasons it’s always been a club I’ve had a bit of a soft spot for.

I was too young to go to Somerton Park, and never got round to visiting Newport Stadium, partly because it was a soulless athletics arena, while trips to the City itself have been limited to travelling through it on the train as a teenager en route to Cardiff, and then driving through it last March when we went to an event at nearby Celtic Manor. It looked a bit of an uninspiring place when we drove through it looking for somewhere to eat, but in fairness, a lot of building work was going on and we did only effectively travel along one main road! It was probably an unfair assessment!

We always like to go away between Christmas and New Year, so when we spotted Forest were playing at Cardiff on the Tuesday night, it was just a case of seeing if something could be twinned with it on the Monday, and yes it could, at last I could go and watch Newport County play, because league leaders Plymouth Argyle were the visitors at Rodney Parade.

The weather was a concern but South Wales had got away with the storms that had wreaked havoc elsewhere, and from our base in Cardiff City Centre, it was a brief fifteen minutes on the train down to Newport, and then a ten minute walk over the bridge to Rodney Parade. Being nice an early I secured a ticket, which proved to be a good move because as it turned out, anyone arriving after 2.30pm to buy a ticket was not going to get in the ground before kick off.

I made my way to the Rugby Club bar only to be joined at a table by a bloke with his son, we got chatting and it turned out he was from Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland, so as you can probably imagine we shared a couple of pints and chewed the fat about all things Northern Ireland, ranging from football to politics, and even a bit of rugby!

Rodney Parade is great, and while not the aesthetic arena with clear lines and modern facilities that your average Premier League fan would be wanting, it had a certain character and charm. The old Hazells Stand with the terracing in front is a great structure, while I stood to the left hand side of it on the North Terracing. To my left was the modern Bisley Stand, while opposite me was the open Away Terrace.

I was expecting the pitch to be a complete mess due to a combination of the weather and also the fact that Newport Gwent Dragons had played Cardiff Blues the night before, but in fairness it was absolutely fine. The largest crowd of the season had assembled, boosted by an away following of over a thousand coming from Devon. It was a decent atmosphere in the ground, and as darkness descended, this felt like a throwback to the Eighties, I loved it.

Newport took the lead in the first half with a delicate lob, and at half time were pretty good value for their lead. The second half was a different story though, almost straight from the re-start it was 1-1 due to a close range header, while a neat turn and finish soon after saw a reversal of fortunes. Plymouth were leading 2-1, and after that, other than a good save from the Argyle keeper, it never looked as though the points were going anywhere else other than back down the M5.

Big celebrations at the final whistle from the away contingent, and as I headed back along Rodney Parade towards the bridge, they could still be heard in the ground. Newport City Centre was now lit up, and it looked quite attractive, much of the building work now looks to have been completed as they try to freshen up the image. I was quickly onto a train back to Cardiff, it had been a very enjoyable afternoon.

Somerton Park may be no more, and some would say thankfully so, while memories of Carl Zeiss Jena are simply that nowadays, Europe will never happen again, not in our lifetimes anyway. But, Newport has a Football League team, it has a proper ground, and despite the piss taking, it also has regained a sense of pride in its football club, no longer the jokers of South Wales struggling to compete with the likes of Merthyr Tydfil and Barry Town

“Newport, concrete jungle nothing in order, not far from the border….”

Retro - Northwich Manchester Villa 2 Litherland Remyca 1 (North West Counties League - First Division - 2015-16)

19th December 2015

Northwich Manchester Villa  2  Litherland Remyca  1  (North West Counties League – First Division)

The story of football in Northwich is both a complex and controversial one.

At one time it was relatively straightforward, Northwich Victoria were the main team and played at the Drill Field just South of the town centre, whereas Witton Albion were arguably the slightly lesser team, and they played right in the town centre at the Central Ground.

The Central Ground was sold to Sainsburys so Albion had a purpose built ground developed for them in Wincham, and with the surplus funds they created a side that were suddenly on a par with their deadly rivals. It didn’t last of course and over the last few years they have yo-yo’d between the upper and lower divisions of the Northern Premier League.

Northwich Victoria on the other hand is a very different tale. To cut a long story short, they also moved to a purpose built stadium in Wincham, but that has now been demolished. They had a spell of being owned by various unfit individuals, entered administration twice, played for a season in Stafford, one in Flixton, and now sit in the lower division of the Northern Premier League, with their neighbours the Albion.

While all this was going on, the supporters became disillusioned and set up a club called 1874 Northwich who play in nearby Winsford, and that is where the hardcore of the Vics support now remains. The current Victoria side in the NPL is poorly supported, ironically ground shares at Witton Albion, but is doing pretty well due to being bankrolled by Jim Rushe, a Manchester based individual who’s business practices and reputation has been questioned by some.

Rushe also set up a feeder club a couple of years ago called Northwich Flixton Villa, playing at the old Flixton FC ground in Urmston, they entered the North West Counties League and with no history, identity or support base, quite frankly no one cared. It is also worth noting that Woodley Sports, a Stockport based club were involved in the equation somewhere, they ended up being swallowed up in the mess.

But, at the start of this season something happened whereby the NFV club were taken over by a gentleman called Bill Prendergast, Bill ran a soccer academy in Manchester called Diamonds, and he wanted an outlet for his young players to perform on a semi professional stage.

He took out the ‘Flixton’ name, added the ‘Manchester’ name, and in a surprise move, obtained the use of the Manchester Regional Arena, which is effectively an athletics stadium smack bang next door to the Etihad Stadium.

It was met with both curiosity and scepticism, how was it going to work? Many of the fixtures were scheduled on dates when Manchester City had home games, and very quickly they started playing certain games elsewhere. No midweek home games were scheduled, and as we moved into the wet weather, games started to get postponed with alarming regularity. I for one, felt this was a move that wasn’t going to last.

I’d planned to go on several occasions in recent weeks, but postponements put paid to that, and in all fairness as I stepped out of bed on the morning of this game, I fully expected to be making plans to go elsewhere. However, I was both surprised and a touch concerned when they tweeted to say the game was definitely on. I didn’t have a Plan B in the area, and with the heavier rain forecast for around kick off, it was pretty much a case of keeping my fingers crossed.

The journey was simple enough, Buxton, Glossop, Hyde and then via Gorton into the Etihad Complex, which I have to say is a superb set up thanks to the oil money that has poured into the club. I was early, so had a little wander around, only to meet Bill, and it was then that stuff started to become a bit clearer.

Firstly he took me on the pitch, it was fine, but the problem was in two areas, if it rained heavily and consistently the water sat as opposed to drained. It tended to be a problem if the rain came in the run up to the game, but if it came during, he felt it wouldn’t be an issue.

The midweek game issue was also quickly explained, the stadium is hired out virtually every night of the week for athletics, as it’s now a community facility and has no connection to Manchester City, so quite simply they could not get access to the stadium in an evening.

Finally, the Northwich connection is completely gone, he had to keep the majority of the name as it had to be seen by the league and the FA as a continuation of the club that previously existed, as opposed to a completely new entity. But now he has control and ownership, he plans to change the name to Manchester Diamonds next season, therefore totally cutting all connections with Northwich.

The stadium is very good, it is an all seater arena, with the stands curving round the track in an oval shape, it was access all areas, but the crowd tended to gather in the main stand area that backed onto the Etihad Stadium car parks.

Safely in situ, I had a wander into the nearby Bradford Estate and found a pub, it did remind me a little of the Chatsworth Estate from Shameless, not least because it was set nearby, but despite its appearances, it was absolutely fine inside the ‘Townley’.

The forecast pre-match rain never materialised, and a very sparse crowd were treated to a pretty good encounter between Villa and Litherland Remyca. Villa took the lead just before half time, and then scored a second early in the second period. The visitors pulled a goal back later on in the game but it was the hosts that held on for the points.

I spent the second half chatting to an old groundhopping friend, Mike Latham, who I had not seen for a few years. He is now the Chairman of Cumberland County Cricket Club, a Director of Leigh Centurians Rugby League Club and also runs his own accountancy business, talk about a busy man, it’s no surprise our paths very rarely cross these days. He is a lovely bloke though, and a real mine of information, especially about non-league football in the North and also in Wales and Scotland. It was great to chat to him, and I was able to give him a few pointers on possible future trips he’s got in mind for the Midlands area.

Midway through the second half the rain started to pour down, the pitch, as Bill said, was absolutely fine, the journey home was a simple one, and with this ground now ticked off, my original list from the start of the season of places to visit had finally been completed, something of a satisfying achievement!

I did think about the future of the football club though, they have no identity as such in the community, they pay rent of three hundred and fifty quid a game, but have virtually no match day income, and the chances of staying at this level and developing a ground in Manchester is probably years away. So it begs the question as to why? Well Bill obviously see’s it as a way of enhancing his Soccer Academy in Manchester, but not only that, by talking to Bill it became clear he has a passion for the game and a passion to develop players.

Sadly, as another Northwich footballing name is set to disappear from the map, albeit a pretty inconsequential one, the same can’t be said for many of the individuals who were allowed custody of one of the biggest names in Non League football.

Northwich Victoria have been destroyed by egotistical and unfit business men, but that is just one story from an ever increasing list of examples. Maybe though, as an ex-girlfriends Dad one said to me, and they lived in Northwich, the town simply isn’t big enough for two football clubs to prosper, one, or indeed both, will inevitably suffer. He was quite prophetic at the time as both clubs were then in the Conference, a place neither are likely to return to….

Retro - Thornton United 8 Lower Hopton Reserves 1 (West Riding County Amateur League - Division Two - 2015-16)

12th December 2015

Thornton United 8  Lower Hopton Reserves 1  (West Riding County Amateur League – Div. Two)

Some days you simply never forget, and not always for reasons you would expect.

Take today, I was expecting to have to wait until the New Year to take in Thornton United, my last remaining ground in the West Riding County Amateur League, only for a home game to be hastily re-arranged after last weekend, meaning a gap would be filled.

Not only that, with it being a plastic pitch (which I am now fast running out of), I had less concerns about the weather than I perhaps ordinarily would. To be fair though, on the day, pretty much the entire North of England was a complete wash out with the persistent torrential rain, including the Football League game at nearby Bradford City.

Mindful of the unexpected postponement of a few weeks ago, when I had to do a detour to Bradford FC, I made the prudent decision to text the secretary to confirm all was ok, and he was quickly back to me with positive news.

The journey was exactly the same as the one previously, fairly straightforward until the last two or three miles when it got a bit sticky, and at this time of year, it does get a touch worse on the roads. I arrived at the ground and saw the welcoming sight of cars in the car park, and players in the dressing rooms, something that was sadly lacking last time round!

One of the home players confirmed to me that the game was definitely on, so I made a few enquiries as to the proximity of a local hostelry, and was soon on my way to a place less than thirty seconds in the car. Upon entering the pub, I noticed it was somewhat quiet, and it looked as though I’d stumbled across the final stages of a kids party, in the sense that the place was being cleaned up while the DJ was packing his kit away.

Yes, I had indeed wandered into a club that had only been opened so a party could take place, however, after explaining that I had been sent by the nice chaps at the football, and working on the principal that the clean up operation looked as though it would be a lengthy one, they happily served me while the hoovers were working away around me. Little did I know though, all was not well back at the football ground.

When I got back to the ground I wandered down to the pitch side and noticed that Thornton were happily warming up, and a number of Lower Hopton officials were present, taking shelter from the now heavy rain under some cover at the front of the school buildings. The kick off was due to be 2.00pm, but by 2.05pm, no sign of an away team, and no sign of any match officials.

Eventually, the Thornton players left the pitch and wandered back up to the dressing rooms, uttering suggestions that the game was off due to the visitors not having a full team available. That was confirmed when I took a walk back up myself, but what was also clear was that the visitors had a plan in mind, they had eight players and could conceivably start the game, but were refusing to do so, obviously trying to get the game called off. However, a couple of players seemed to be hiding in parked cars, and when that became apparent, one or two people, including myself, had a word, and suddenly the eight became ten, and before you knew it, some more cars appeared and not only had we got a full team, we also had subs!

I have to say the referee was very good here, he could easily have accepted what Lower Hopton told him and just called the game off, but his experience told him to be firm, and not simply let them get away with the shenanigans they were trying to use to pull the wool over his eyes. Thornton were not overly impressed by this, and also in fairness, the Lower Hopton officials who had also wandered up, were equally unimpressed and made it clear to the Manager (who was a different chap to the one last week), that they were letting the club and the league down badly. A couple of the more experienced Lower Hopton players I spoke to were not happy at the events, one of them describing it as a shambles, and in fairness it was the younger players being difficult as opposed to the older ones, you would have thought they would have been keener to play?

So, with a potential blow out averted, we finally got underway just after 2.30pm, thankfully they had working floodlights as it was very gloomy in the now torrential rain. And that was the thing, without an umbrella, I was inevitably going to get soaked to the skin.

The game was reasonably tight in the early stages, but Lower Hopton lost heart completely as it wore on. They were 3-1 down at half time, but then in the second period they conceded five goals inside half an hour, and it came as no surprise that the referee called time with almost fifteen minutes remaining. The result stood of course, but it was getting to a stage where it had become a procession, and in the conditions, neither side was really enjoying it. Everyone wanted to go home, it was the right call to make.

This was where the real comedy started though, I was absolutely piss wet through and wasn’t at all looking forward to driving home. I have driven home from a game in just my pants before, but to be truthful, even they were wet by now, I was in a quandary. That quandary got significantly more troublesome though as I left the ground and tried to work my way down a muddy slope. I failed, and ended up flat on my back, so not only was I soaked, I also had mud from head to toe, I simply could not drive home like this!

A brainwave came to me, inside my car was the fancy dress costume that I’d worn to film a sketch for our work Christmas Party, if I could manage to remove the clothes that were now stuck to me, I could try and get dry and then put that on. It wasn’t easy, I threw my sodden and muddied coat in the back, and then put my cardigan down to try and protect the front seat. Once in the front I removed my shoes, socks, jeans and pants, I was now stark naked, but as it was dark, and the windows were steamed up, I didn’t seem to be putting myself in any great danger of being arrested!

Using the cardigan to dry myself as best I could, I put the top half of the costume on, slid the bottom half on, and managed to slide on my soaked shoes! In case you were wondering, I was one of the Village People, and to be specific, the soldier!

So, I had to drive through Bradford, the Muslim capital of England, on one of the busiest Saturday’s of the year, dressed as Norman Schwarzkopf, this was going to be fun! But drive I did, and get home I did, but not before Rachael in her infinite wisdom asked me to call at Tesco on the way back for some milk! I obliged, but not without kicking up something of a stink.

Like I said at the start, some days you just won’t forget, and I also think when I let this story slip out to some of my football friends, I can safely assume it’s a tale that will find its way into local groundhopping folklore!

The bath, when I walked in the house though, was a heavenly experience, and very welcome indeed!

Retro - Hull United 2 Bottesford Town 1 (Northern Counties East League - First Division - 2015-16)

10^th November 2015

Hull United   2  Bottesford Town 1  (Northern Counties East League – First Division)

It’s funny how things turn out isn’t it?

My first game of the season was at Hall Road Rangers, and it's worth remembering the story about how they were effectively booted out of their ground by Hull United, the young upstarts and moneybags club that had arrived late on the scene.

Well the Hull United story this season hasn’t been without it’s twists and turns. Some big crowds have been turning out to watch the club run by ex Hull City legend Ian Ashbee and pro-footballer turned pro-boxer, Curtis Woodhouse. However, two midweek games were abandoned due to floodlight failure, then all of a sudden about a month ago they postponed a game at short notice due to problems with the ground.

I won’t go into the somewhat tedious and predictable political background behind it, but they had basically been turfed out of the stadium, with lots of questions being asked about who actually owned the ground, and what the connection was with the former Hull United Chairman who had very recently been booted out of the club in controversial circumstances.

The cynics would say that justice was being served with what happened to Hall Road Rangers, but suddenly speculation arose about what the future held for Hull United Football Club. One thing you can’t accuse them of is not taking advantage of social media, very quickly messages were flying around suggesting that the future was still bright, and that very soon an exciting announcement would be taking place as to where they would be moving to following the demise of the Dene Park arrangement.

So, were they going to be grabbing the olive branch that Hall Road Rangers had very sportingly offered them? Would the Dene Park farce come to a sensible conclusion? Would they do a deal with North Ferriby United? No, of course not, that would be too obvious and by Hull United’s standards, a bit too tame.

Oh no, in a fanfare of publicity they announced that they were going to be playing at the KC Lightstream Stadium! Where the hell is that you may wonder? It’s more commonly known as Craven Park, the home of famous Rugby League club Hull Kingston Rovers! Talk about aiming high!

Would it last? Would it even get started? Who gives a flying to be honest, as soon as they announced the first game would be played on a Tuesday night in November, we were going, make no mistake about that one.

I drove, I took Steve and our old mate Paul Earnshaw, or Bury Paul as he is known by many due to his lifelong support of the club from Lancashire, but more about Paul later. We set off nice and early and as usual when Steve and I are in tandem, the banter flew from the opening minute. Other than a bit of a sticky section of traffic on Clive Sullivan Way, we were checking in at the pub nearest the ground around 6pm, it had been a very steady run. But then again you don’t get many traffic issues going to Hull, why would anyone be going to such a place without very good reason?

The pub was rough, we sat out of the way, but then I’ve never been to a pub in Hull that hasn’t been rough. We got back to the ground and soon realised that a gathering of groundhoppers had converged on the place. I recognised my mate Dave Garrow, but I also spotted the likes of Peter Ford, Colin Picken, Nigel Tasker, Andy Marnoch and groundhopping celebrity Tony Incenzo.

The ground was superb as you would imagine for a top flight professional club like Hull KR, the main stand and the terracing in front of it were the only parts open, but opposite was a huge terrace that spread the length of the pitch. Behind the goal to the left was a modern seated stand with executive boxes at the back, while the opposite end was just a small section of terrace that curved round what was the old speedway track (so Steve tells me). It was a very impressive arena, and in fairness to them they had opened the tea bar, and also the main bar in the stand, although the beer was almost twice the price as it was in the local pub, but then it didn’t come with the underlying threat of violence!

I’ve been to grounds like this before and two things often stand out, the rip off prices for food and drink, which we quickly spotted, although at four quid admission that tempered it somewhat. The other thing that can be annoying are over officious stewards, of which there were none tonight, and other than the restrictions about being on one side of the ground, the crowd of 431 were pretty much left to their own devices.

The game was very good, Hull won it 2-1 and looked a really good outfit, that weren’t playing for buttons every week. Bottesford came back into the game later on and could have snatched a point, which would have consolidated their second place in the table, but United held out. What impressed me about Hull was their attacking prowess and their intelligence in dealing with a high line that Bottesford were clearly well rehearsed in.

We escaped from the car park pretty easily, and by the time we had skated past The Deep and gone under the Humber Bridge, the roads were virtually empty along the M62 and the M18 until we reached the M1. I Dropped Steve off and then took Paul back to Kirkby in Ashfield. I said I would tell you about Paul, well Paul is a dying man. He was diagnosed with Brain Cancer in the Summer and after some pretty horrific spells of treatment he can no longer be helped, in fact he has managed to live longer than was initially expected, and the latest prognosis is that he may see Christmas, but not much more than that.

As I drove him home he was very candid with me, it will end in one of two ways, his brain will either just die, quite quickly, or he will suffer in pain. If a long protracted painful death is to be the outcome, it won’t be happening, he has already prepared for that by making his own plans.

It was probably the most sobering and indeed harrowing conversation I have ever had in my life, and as I dropped him off and watched him back into his house, I couldn’t help but think that there is a very real chance that I may never see him again. He is the bravest man I have ever known, it remains, and will always remain, a privilege to have known him.

  

Retro - Haverfordwest County 0 Newtown 1 (Welsh Premier League - 2015-16)

7^th November 2015

Haverfordwest County   0  Newtown 1  (Welsh Premier League)

I suppose I got what I deserved really!

As last season moved into its final stages it became clear that in Scotland, there was a reasonable chance that Brora Rangers would be promoted to the Scottish League. When I say reasonable chance, I meant a 50/50 chance as they faced a two legged play off with Montrose to determine who would win the right to a place in the Third Division.

It tickled me, purely because if they did it, it would mean that Steve would face a 946 mile round trip from Chesterfield to re-complete things North of the border, and didn’t I just remind him of it. At one stage during the play off it did look as though he was going to have to pack the medication and the Passport, so while the game was in progress I took great pleasure in reminding him of the fact.

Thankfully for Steve, Montrose turned things round and the status quo was maintained, but for a wee while, I had my moment of fun, and Steve, his moment of discomfort.

But then the tables turned, I decided in the Spring that I was going to conquer the Welsh Premier League, and at that stage I just needed Carmarthen Town, but I was also aware that it was highly likely a team would be promoted from the Welsh Football League, and in all fairness it was going to be one of two teams.

The first and most likely candidate was Cardiff Metropolitan University, the second most likely option was Haverfordwest County. What’s the difference you might ask? Well, two hours to be precise, two bloody hours of navigating the M4, and the single lane carriageways to a place that is nearer to Wexford in Ireland than it is my home!

Did I have a preference? Of course I did, and it doesn’t take a genius to work out which! All was looking ok though, Cardiff Metropolitan University had finished their fixtures and had a three point lead at the top of the table, Haverfordwest had one game to go, away at Aberdare Town, and they would need to win by five clear goals to get the promotion spot.

It was a huge ask, and in terms of odds, you wouldn’t bang on it. But by half time it was 4-0, and my mind had moved into the devious World of match fixing, and guess what, Steve was loving it! After all of my attempts to wind him up over Brora, he was now playing the Haverfordwest card with timing that was truly impeccable.

As you can now probably guess, it did finish 5-0, I smelt a dirty great rat, and Steve was happily preparing the AA Route Plan for me, the bastards!

Ok, right, so it was a long way, but I had a plan. Haverfordwest is 45 minutes from Carmarthen, and as I mentioned in my report from the visit to Carmarthen in September, the plan was to combine the two in a weekend, but the fixture Gods were complete bastards and failed to set it up for me. I was going to have to do it in a day, in solitary, and make sure I got to bed early the night before.

I did think when I planned the game a month earlier, that as the time got closer I would find a reason not to do it, to go somewhere else and perhaps shelve it until later in the season, but that didn’t happen. As the week prior came around, and as the days went by, I was really looking forward to it. 

The weather was a bit of a concern so I emailed the club, but more on that later, Haverfordwest County v Newtown was on, and as the alarm went off at 8am on the Saturday morning I was never more ready for the journey into the unknown. It felt a bit like when I went to Lowestoft, but I tried not to dwell on that because I remember how I felt coming back from that place, and it wasn’t great if I’m honest.

So the marathon began, it was plain sailing until around Ross on Wye when the heavens opened as expected, and that continued all the way through Monmouth, onto the M4, and pretty much remained a constant until approaching Swansea, when the blue skies could be seen ahead. Traffic wise it wasn’t too bad, the M4 in the rain was a bit special, but generally speaking it was fine, and justified the early-ish departure. The roads were noticeably quieter once past Swansea and with the sun shining as I came into Carmarthen (bringing back memories) it was just a mere 45 more minutes before I was to reach my destination.

Four hours and fifteen minutes after setting off, I was in the car park at the Bridge Meadow Stadium, eating a Tesco Meal Deal, watching players and officials arriving at the ground. Once in the ground nursing my pint, I got a phone call, it was the Secretary ringing in response to my email to advise that the game today was on! I did politely advise him that I was in the club house watching the players warming up, but I did thank him for at least making the call!

The ground was a good one. As I walked out of the club house I could see a large seated stand on the half way line, and then opposite a long line of Atcost Stands that filled the entire side. Behind both goals it was standing room only, but the club house end housed the dressing rooms, the tea bar, the club shop, and two glass fronted viewing boxes that are often commonplace at Welsh Premier League grounds. It did of course have the obligatory TV gantry as well, with a glass fronted press box beneath it.

The pitch was in decent condition, albeit the grass was a touch long, and in fairness to the club officials they were a really sound bunch. The ground itself is used quite regularly for minor International fixtures, and is a testament to the excellent facilities the club has available.

Was the game any good then? It was ok, Haverfordwest missed a first minute penalty for handball and for the most part were the better side, however, as usually happens when you are in the lower reaches of the league, the visitors scored with a close range header after 88 minutes, and it was game over. The defeat saw the hosts slump to the bottom of the table, but to be honest, they didn’t look a particularly bad side, they just need someone who can put the ball in the net. Standard wise it was of a reasonable quality, probably on a par with high end Step 3 and possibly even lower end Step 2 in England.

Then of course came the journey home, the bit I had kind of dreaded after feeling like I wanted to slit my wrists on the way back from Lowestoft, but to be fair it was ok, in fact it was better than ok, I actually quite enjoyed it. I think that was because firstly I knew what to expect, secondly because it was pretty quiet on the roads so I could relax, listen to the radio and not get stressed, but thirdly, because of the sense of achievement, I had finally done all of the leagues in Wales I wanted to complete, namely the WPL and the Cymru Alliance.

Of course, after four hours of driving, and a with a can of lager nestled in my right mitt, I sat on the sofa only to hear my phone bleep, it was a text message from Steve.

“Have you got back from Ireland yet mate??” He who laughs last and all that…………………..

Retro - Carrick Rangers 1 Coleraine 2 (Northern Ireland Premiership - 2015-16)

10^th October 2015

Carrick Rangers   1  Coleraine  2  (Northern Ireland Premiership)

Being something of a nerd when it comes to competing things, I finally cracked the Northern Ireland Premiership when I got to Warrenpoint Town in March last season (my last 0-0 draw incidentally). But within a month I had got a new name on my list courtesy of Carrick Rangers late surge in the promotion race from the First Division. I had hoped Bangor would do it due my connection with Trevor Best, the club chairman, but it was not to be, so one of the more traditional Irish clubs had made it to the top flight. They were in the top flight a few years ago but due to inadequacies with their Taylor’s Avenue ground, they played for a solitary season at Crusaders before being relegated again.

I managed to plan the trip to coincide with Derry City v Bray Wanderers the previous evening, and that in itself meant I could catch up with John Coyle and his family once again. It finished 3-1 and after the game we had a bit of a session at the Derry Oktoberfest!

I was relatively bright and breezy on the Saturday morning and managed to make my way to the Foyle Bus Station for the 9.30am bus back to Belfast, and courtesy of that I was well in time for the 11.45am train from Great Victoria Street to Carrickfergus. The forty minute journey was a pleasant one, travelling via Whiteabbey and Jordanstown, along the coast until the Whitehead bound train pulled into the old fashioned station at Carrickfergus.

As you walk out of the station you take a straight route in the direction of the sea front, passing the shopping areas and then finally appearing with the impressive sight of Carrickfergus Castle directly in front of you. The castle is set on the harbour and the marina is adjacent to it, it did strike me as a popular tourist destination, and after a brief walk round I decided to decamp in the nearby Wetherspoons for some pre-match refreshments.

Some Coleraine fans were already in the pub, and over the course of a couple of Heineken’s I was able to reflect on my visits to Northern Ireland over the past ten years. It all started at Cliftonville, and has since then take in some memorable games, such as the problematic  Linfield v Derry City Setanta Cup tie, the Coleraine v Ballymena United derby fixture, and of course the contentious Crusaders v Donegal Celtic game on St Patricks Day! Happy memories, I am never happier than when I am in Ireland, yet the feeling between being in the North and South is very different, albeit very hard to explain.

I tried another couple of pubs en route to the ground and then as I ventured along Taylor’s Avenue I spied the murals that bedeck the wall on the approach. Amongst team photo’s and shots of silverware being raised, I noticed programme covers from games against Aris Bonnevoie of Luxembourg and Southampton in the European Cup Winners Cup of 1976. This was perhaps Rangers proudest moment, the culmination of a victory over the mighty Linfield in the Irish Cup Final. Indeed the club refers to the ‘Spirit of 76’ in its history and a wall inside the ground is painted with the same slogan.

Taylor’s Avenue is a proper old football ground, and still retains traces of the seventies and eighties, notably with the perimeter security fencing that remains behind where the dug outs once where. Northern Ireland was no different to England in the aforementioned era, pitch invasions and crowd disorder were commonplace so segregation and security were paramount, however, add into that the backdrop of the Troubles in the North and what that bought to the equation, then we were dealing with a bit of a powderkeg!

The old stand is a fantastic structure, but it’s seen better days. The seats are old style school plastic efforts that have been bolted to the wooden frame, while foliage is growing in through the corrugated iron rear wall and also through the roof. Behind the far goal is come covered terracing that also doubles up as an away end when required, while the remaining two sides are just hard standing.

A small clubhouse exists just outside the turnstiles but it only sold cans, whereas if you wanted food it was the burger van that provided it. The welcome was friendly, it was a tenner to get in, and they did a pretty decent programme as well. As for the form guide, Coleraine were on a decent run and sat fourth, while Carrick after an indifferent spell were fourth from bottom.

The game went pretty much true to form on a glorious Autumn afternoon. Coleraine scored with a headed goal after just 30 seconds, but Carrick did equalise with a screaming effort from the edge of the box.

Coleraine got a deserved second goal from a rebound in the second half, and despite the visitors going a man down in the closing stages, Carrick had plenty of possession but couldn’t find a way through. I would have estimated the crowd at around 400, with getting on for half of those having travelled from the North West.

At the final whistle it was back into town for a pint, before the train back into Belfast and ultimately to check into the B&B just off of the Lisburn Road. I went to a couple of pubs on Lisburn Road and also grabbed something to eat, it wasn’t overly busy but then after Northern Ireland’s stunning victory over Greece a couple of nights earlier that meant they qualified for Euro 2016, I should imagine many are somewhat partied out!

So, Limerick completed the top two divisions in the Republic back in August, and now Carrick has completed the top flight in the North, so I guess that begs the question what next? Well I will come back to the North in March / April and take in a game along with another match at Derry on the Friday. I’ve got seven of the fourteen grounds in the First Division to have a crack at now, and the one that appeals to me most is Inver Park at Larne, or possibly Ballyclare Comrades or Loughall? I will have to see what the fixtures bring. Then of course what might change in the League of Ireland? 

Rumours suggest St Kevin’s Boys from North Dublin may join, but all will be revealed over the coming months.

That said, another great weekend, and as I settled with a final pint in the Bushmills Bar at City Airport on Sunday afternoon, I can reflect on the fact that it’s another great one for the memory banks, I’m sure there is a book in me somewhere!