The Gross Incompetence of the NWCL

That bunch of clowns called the North West Counties League have driven me away from Non League football before. They couldn't run a p*ss-up in a brewery. I suffered so many wasted journeys going to ridiculously postponed games I packed it in. Friends persuaded me to think again and not let this incompetent organisation spoil my enjoyment of watching the game.

This season the NWCL have been back to their old tricks, today Saturday 14th January 2012 they finally did for me.

We had a bad frost last night. I spent all of this morning and early afternoon (up until 12.45pm) looking at websites, carefully keeeping a check on twitter and ringing up various grounds to see which games had survived.

A lot of games in reach were called off but at 11am AFC Liverpool announced that their NWCL game v Silsden HAD PASSED AN INSPECTION AND WAS ON! Bearing in mind how shyte the NWCL are at information I double checked this game would take place and left it right to the last possible moment to travel.

I struggled with M62 traffic and roadworks but eventually arrived at the Prescot Cables ground that AFC Liverpool use at 2.10pm.

I was met by locked turnstiles and the entire Silsden squad (in their smart tracksuits) angrily marching out the ground and boarding their mini-bus. "Whats going on" I fearfully enquired, "They've just decided to call it off" came back the reply from one of the players, he went on to say "two bloody hours to get here and they postpone it at the last minute.... the league told us it was on"!!!

So there you have it. Yet another ridiculously late postponement from those masters of farce The Glorious NWCL. This was a major balls-up even by their daft standards.

I wasted over 120 miles worth of diesel and gave up a gloriously sunny day (it was 6 degrees in Prescot) to let those stupid tw*ts from the North West Counties League f*ck up another of my Saturday afternoons. They really are useless.

They've done it once too often as far as I'm concerned.

End of!

Bootleg Report: Ramsbottom 2 Salford City 1

This uncut visit report has not featured on the Tea Hut site before now. Recently came across it whilst surfing the archives of 'Tonys Non League Forum'. It concerns an FA Cup Preliminary Round clash that I attended at Ramsbottom Uniteds ground on September 2nd 2011 (a Friday night fixture). There are no pictures (unfortunately).

Here we go.....................

FROM TONYS NON LEAGUE SITE
http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/

Like Cod of the North I was also at........

RAMSBOTTOM 2 SALFORD CITY 1

Attendance 345

I respect Cods well compiled views but I have a slightly different opinion of the proceedings.

Not happy Ramsbottom decided to put the kick off back to 8pm to let a load of ale heads in who couldn't be arsed leaving the local pubs half an hour early. I passed most of these late comers driving around the corner to the ground at 7.10pm! They were all supping pints before toddling down to the ground 5 minutes before kick off. I strolled in the ground 20 minutes earlier and was the only person at the turnstile. Obviously the club didn't want the beer boys going back to the pub if they risked missing the start so they made everyone who'd been sensible in getting in a bit early pay the penalty. They should have kicked off on time, it would have served the ale heads right but greed is a funny old thing isn't it. Funnily enough I spotted some of the same late comers peeing all over the adjoining cricket buildings, typical!

As for all the hype about local people being able to see the real FA Cup trophy on show..... they kept it mighty quite about the ridiculous £4.50 charge for doing so! I'll stick to seeing it on the BBC. Ridiculous!

I also noted the 20% hike in admission price since the short time I last came here, nice to see a club taking note of the hard times around this part of the world.

As for the game, a superb opening goal from Salford in the first minute was a great start. Sadly, apart from a few good saves at either end the match turned out to be (generally) pretty poor quality with lots of mistimed passes and poor control. The referee very much favoured the home side as they kicked, elbowed and niggled without caution. A typical example was the Ramsbottom equaliser. The home sides NO.4 (Morley) cut down a Salford player with a blatant tackle from behind which unbelievably went unpunished, Ramsbottom went up the pitch, Salford put in a cleaner tackle (winning the ball) but got penalised, from the resultant free kick Ramsbottom made it 1-1. Salford suffered a lot more bad decisions as the evening panned out.

Wished I'd saved my money to be honest.

Harrogate Railway Athletic 2 Salford City 0

Saturday 7th January
Evo Stik Northern Premier League Division 1 North
HARROGATE RAILWAY ATHLETIC 2 SALFORD CITY 0
Attendance: 78
Admission: £7
Tea Hut Stuff: Tomato Cuppa Soup and a Kit Kat
Weather: Gusty breeze, turned cloudy and quite chilly
Parking: On Station View just outside the club car park

The Match Shed trundled past the Blackstone Edge Reservoir high up on the Pennines a gusting wind was blowing sheets of water across the road, the Match Shed duly copped for it. The scenic cross country journey also took in the highlights of Hebden Bridge, Addingham and Blubberhouses, there was plenty of standing water in the fields as the tributaries gushed down from the fells. An hour and a half later I was in Harrogate taking the A59 Knaresborough Road to nearby Starbeck the home of Harrogate Railway on the suitably titled Station View. Todays chosen game was from the Evo Stik Northern Premier League Division 1 North, I've not been to the Harrogate Railway ground before and the visit of Salford City (one of the better footballing sides in the division) provided the ideal opportunity. A friendly chap in the turnstile bunker took my admission money and I was immediately surprised at the apparent scarceness of facilities.

The end I had come in at had a bashed tin fence and little else, across the pitch was perhaps the smallest Main Stand I had ever seen. The far end of the ground did have a stand which was half shallow terracing and half seats but the rest of the ground seemed to be made up of a few weather worn dark green portakabins. My target was the Tea Hut and I eventually found it set back from the portakabins near the exit gates adjacent to the car park.

It was a long white building with a big kitchen taking up half its length, the other section was set out as a sit-in eating area. I was pretty hungry, my breakfast was hours ago. My food choice today was somewhat hampered by the fact that I was having a big home made 'gut-buster' steak and ale pie with chips and mushy peas for my supper (once I got home). I decided to plump for a burger, or even a hot dog if need be (even I can't eat pies all day). I entered the tea hut which was already full of greedy looking Salford supporters huddled over steaming trays full of pie, chips and gravy. I approached the lady at the food counter. "Do you do burgers" I asked, "no" she replied, ok, "what about a hot dog" I asked, "oh no, we don't do hot dogs" came the response, my worst fears came to fruition... today of all days when I (for once) didn't want a pie, I end up at a tea hut that does pies-only and bugger all else! I realised I had to set my sights a little lower "alright, i'll just have a bag of crisps then". The woman smiled back at me "oh we dont do crisps here" she said. Bloody hell, this was one hell of a limited menu! I eventually ended up with a luke warm tomato cuppa soup and a kit kat! I scowled to myself as I trudged out the tea hut past the tables full of slavering pie monsters. That pie the wife was making had better be a good one. As I slurped the soup my attention focused to the sloping pitch in front of me, my concern was not so much the slope but the uneven, cut up and muddy look of the playing surface. It looked like they'd just had a 3 day Horse of the Year Show on it.

Salford are a side who like to play fast, pacy, passing football, this gloopy field of mud did not look good for their prospects, especially when you added a strong gusty breeze blowing towards the Starbeck railway station end. 

Salford had been doing well over recent weeks and had picked up quite a few points, the opinion on the street was that they were not far from play off form, a win at bottom four Harrogate Railway was just what they needed to strengthen such lofty aspirations. However 'Railway' have always been an unpredictable side and they are well capable of upsetting form calculations at the best of times, never mind playing on a mud heap with a wind behind them. I got my scarf and gloves on, it was going to be a chilly afternoon. As kick off arrived it was disappointing to see such a poor attendance, only 78 souls turned out for the game, ok Harrogate Town were playing Histon in the Conference North just a few miles away but it was still a poor turn out from the locals, especially as more than half the gathered crowd had made the trip over from Salford, they brought the big orange and black banner with them which they proudly plonked behind the nets in the first half before cheekily putting it up in the locals Main Stand after the half time break. I wonder if the Salford fans were as surprised as me at the line up for City, there seemed to be some new faces and a few youngsters being given a game, I suspected injuries had forced a slightly unfamiliar line up. I knew one of the new faces, Lloyd Rigby the goalkeeper who'd done a bit at Rochdale AFC, I think this must have been his debut?

The game started very niggly and very scrappy and got steadily worse. There was plenty of commitment from the home side and naturally they seemed more at ease with the conditions (it is their pitch after all). Salford didn't like it. They struggled to get their normal game going and it wasn't long before player boss Rhodri Giggs was throwing a wobbler in the nearby dug out. After 15 minutes he shot out from the bench and threatened to take legendary hit man Gavin Salmon off the pitch if he didn't get more involved in the proceedings, Gavin was very much 'a fish out of water' today. To give Gavin credit he did get a bit more stuck in following the bollocking.

Railway had the wind behind them in the first half and forced Salford back into the mud. There was no way that football was going to be a winner today. Railway went 1-0 up when a corner swung in with the wind and overshot keeper Rigby and his defenders, despite a goal-line last ditch attempted clearance by Alex Mortimer the ball ended up in the roof of the net. 

All 21 of the attending Railway supporters went mad. The rest of the first half was crap, the only winner was the terrible uneven pitch. It looked like a football match being played in treacle syrup for the most part. Half time I followed a gang of pensioners to stand outside the semi steamed up windows of the Director and VIP Hut, I wondered why they all eagerley piled off to do this? Perhaps they had some saucy strippers on or something, a couple of the old blokes did seem genuinely quite excited? Then I realised what all the commotion was about... the half time scores on Sky Sports, you could just about make out the screen between a couple of fat bast*rds sat inside the hut scoffing jumbo sausage rolls.

In the second half Salford had the wind behind them and there did seem to be a bit more 'go-forward' about them. It all went pear-shaped for the visitors when one of the growing number of Railway counter attacks came up trumps, Luke Durham got forward onto a cow poke from the back and edged it past the Salford keeper to make it 2-0. We then had a festival of defenders performing a cultural ritual of end to end hoofing and old time toe bunging. It had got colder and colder and the football seemed poorer and poorer, Salford had a last push at it when Rhodri Giggs came on for the last 15 minutes but despite hitting a post the 3 points went to the Railway, in all fairness they just about edged it but to be honest... it had been a pretty poor game of football.

I was glad to get back in the Match Shed and get the results on the radio. Harrogate is a nice place and it was looking mighty fine all lit up in the dark, there look to be some nice eateries and pubs for those inclinded to spend an hour or two sampling it.... I had to get back across the pennines for that Steak and Ale Pie!

All aboard for Harrogate Railway

Saturday 7th January
Evo Stik NPL Division 1 North
HARROGATE RAILWAY ATHLETIC 2 SALFORD CITY 0

Just as well the Match of the Day camera's weren't there.
Not exactly the 'total-football' classic I was hoping for.
Bit of a blow to Salford's play-off aspirations.

Visit report and pictures due up on here sometime Sunday evening.

Stalybridge Celtic 1 Hyde 3

New Years Day (Sunday) January 1st 2012
Blue Square North
Stalybridge Celtic 1 Hyde 3
Attendance: 1,806
Admission: £10
Tea Hut Stuff: Meat and Potato Pie £1.60
Weather: Surprised it was on with all the rain
Parking: Side Street off the Main Road, 5 minutes walk

Driving the Match Shed towards Stalybridge was a bit like a scene from that sea-faring film with George Clooney in it 'The Perfect Storm', I half expected the bloody fishing boat to overtake me. It was leathering it down. Up where I live on the hills it had rained relentlessly for days, I'd given up on the big local derby between the top two sides in the Conference North having any kind of chance of beating a postponement. It was more out of curiosity than expectation that I had rang the Stalybridge office at around 12.30pm. I was amazed to hear that the game was definitely on! I got my trawlermans gear out the garage and set out to pick Frugal Glenn up from a makeshift floating pier at the end of his lane. Upon arrival in Stalybridge the weather was almost as bad as up on the hills, some locals said it had only started raining around lunchtime? Unbelievable, there must be some some sort of micro-climate around here! The last minute jaunt in the Match Shed meant a loss of my dinner, Frugal Glenn had some emergency rations on board but I politely refused, sharing 3 cold samosa's left over from last nights dodgy Chicken Bhuna take away was not my idea of a snack, especially as one of the samosa's had broken up where the seat belt had been rubbing against his parka, half of the Indian delicacy had got through a hole in the lining, all I could smell for the rest of the afternoon were the remnants of that damp samosa in the unreachable parts of his coat. The scene on Mottram Road was one of hardened northern folk... backs bent into the driving rain as they ploughed up the hill like a line of football starved zombies moving towards the lights, me and Frugal joined them, the weather was disgusting.

At last we reached the car park and the queues at the turnstiles, a sodden Father Christmas looked up at me from a torn selection box lid half submerged in a dark brown puddle, you could just about make out the red of his tunic, must be a Hyde supporter, would this rain ever stop? Last time I had a pie at the Bower Fold ground it was crap, I had a burger in my sights as a dripped like a drowned rat in the Tea Hut line, wiping the water from my specs I spyed the price list.. £2.80 for a dodgy mincey cheese burger at a non-league ground! They can f*ck off! I ordered another of those crap pies like last time instead. I was that hungry it was more edible than previously, partly due to all the brown sauce I'd squirted on it.

Stalybridge had visions of a 2,000 crowd for this top-2-tussle and quite a good few Hyde fans had swam over to cheer on their league leader heroes, there was no trouble, despite fierce rivalry both sets of supporters seemed to pleasantly put up with each other. The sides had played out a 1-1 draw over at Hydes place on Boxing Day, rumour had it that Hyde had stopped Stalybridge playing that day and were intent on getting people behind the ball today? It was all nicely set up for a festive feast of football (even if it might be a bit soggy around the edges). I have to give credit here to the Stalybridge groundstaff, they had done a tremendous job in preparing an exceptional playing surface for this game, in view of the weather it was excellent, something not seen too often in non league circles. To emphasise this fact, it must be noted that other northern BSN fixtures had earlier been washed out at both Halifax and Guiseley, apparently some Halifax supporters had now headed here (just keen to see a game).

I'm not going to go into great detail about the match because there are some good reports already posted on the Stalybridge and Hyde websites about all the nitty gritty stuff. I'll just give my usual incompetent overview. To say these two sides were currently first and second it was a bit of a disappointing match, the wet conditions can be taken into consideration but for me... there were too many (simple) misplaced passes. Looking at the home side there was too much indecision going forwards, everything went well until they arrived at the 18 yard area then it all went a bit 'school-playground'. None of the forwards imposed themselves despite some great work from Jack Rea in midfield (he was tremendous throughout the game). Joel Bembo-Leta also applied some great wing back play down the right touchline but he couldn't deliver the final ball. Celtics deadly hitmen Phil Marsh and Connor Jennings just couldn't get going.

As for Hyde, they kept it tight at the back, built up play calmy without any panic and started to make it tell in the second period. The rumours of them coming here to spoil the game and take a point were completely unfounded, their forwards went up a gear in the second half and Scott Spencer was leading the way, his burst down the right followed by a precision strike to bang in Hydes second goal was a stunning goal (at any level). Hyde had taken full control after that second goal, Celtic tried to rally, their manager Jim Harvey had used all his subs to try and generate a bit more cut and thrust (these rotations started as early as the 60th minute), including the introduction of new striker Nick Rogan but the result was in the bag, Hyde had the more complete game plan and also (on the day) applied more composure and technical ability. The home fans started to casually drift off with around 10 minutes to go, with much mickey-taking from visiting supporters nearest the gates, the drifters would possibly have missed Hyde making it 3-0 in the 83rd minute before Connor Jennings got a last minute Celtic (consolation) penalty.

So the bragging rights certainly go to the Hyde club, a fine win in tricky conditions against what is normally a very good Stalybridge side... needless to say, the Hyde supporters absolutely loved it! I made Frugal Glenn put his Indian spiced parka coat in a plastic bag in the boot for the trip back home, he said it should stop smelling after a few days? 

Knutsford v Gamesley POSTPONED

After what seems like weeks of relentless rain its no wonder lower league pitches resemble paddy fields from the set of Apocalypse Now. I got the call-off call from Wong Fat Chong at 12.30pm. All Cheshire League matches had been postponed. Apparently Knutsford FC were offering pleasure boat trips to nearby Tatton Park from where the centre circle had once been.

Another blank Saturday I'm afraid. There was little on offer Football League wise (without spending a shed load of money) and I don't like going to League Grounds anymore really, they don't let you take a proper camera in for starters, so 2011 ended on a wet, damp, miserable footing for 'Wheres The Tea Hut'. Surely these horrible gale force winds we keep getting and all the endless days of non-stop rain will have to give us a break before too long? The winter is a cruel master in this part of the world, it certainly is.

All the best for 2012 Tea Hut readers. Hope to get the chance of a non-league game soon.

Rochdale 0 Yeovil Town 0

Saturday 17th December
N-Power League One (The Old Division 3)
ROCHDALE 0 YEOVIL TOWN 0
Attendance: 2,692
Admission: Free ticket from 'Ron Atkinsons Neighbour'
Grub: Massive long queue (binned it)
Weather: Very cold, started fair but turned dull, remained dry
Parking: Off Edenfield Road, 5 minute walk

The snow and ice returned to the North West this week, nothing major, a slight covering and temperatures down to around -2 but it was enough to activate a string of local postponements in non league circles, my first choice planned fixture was Maine Road v Stone Dominoes, sadly it got the call-off. It was damned decent of new Tea Hut crew member 'Ron Atkinsons Neighbour' to kindly put me in receipt of a free ticket for (what he described as) one of the big league matches of the day, I was somewhat surprised to find out it was for Rochdale v Yeovil Town (the true Barcelona of mid Somerset). 'Ron Atkinsons Neighbour' is called what he's called because he once lived a couple of streets away from Ron Atkinsons house when Ron was Manager of Manchester United, he's wined and dined on the fact for years (the neighbour not the actual Big Ron). Anyway 'Ron Atkinsons Neighbour' is still doing a stint at an open prison for his part in a massive fake underpants scam (which may be a touch over glamourised from his part) so he passed me his annual Goldbond Lottery Members free ticket for Rochdale Football Club which he gets from his cousin who does the lottery but hates football.

Dale give free entry for one game each season to all Goldbond members. Frugal Glenn was none too happy I was given this treat, he flatly rebuked my suggestion that he was still welcome to come along so long as he paid in "I'm not paying 20 quid to watch that shower of shyte" was his carefully worded polite response. After years of not catching Rochdale in action this would now be the third time I'd seen them in one season, they'd yet to score in my presence, never mind win! I watched them lose at Bradford City in an FA Cup 1st Round tie which they deserved to win, and then last week (courtesy of reduced admission prices), I witnessed them easily surrender at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane. I parked the Match Shed at the side of a walled bowling green just the other side of Edenfield Road and after five minutes of a dodgy walk slipping along icy footpaths I was outside the Spotland Stadium, a much respected ground often given good feedback from away fans all around the country. Small groups of Yeovil supporters were huddled over brimming trays of Pie, Chips and Gravy from the Willbutts Lane chippy which is positioned smack bang opposite the away supporters turnstiles. They proudly wore their green and white hooped replica shirts, one fat lad was already struggling to wipe clean a green/yellow smear of English curry sauce which smeared over the stretched nylon. There must have been about 60 odd Yeovil supporters that had made the long journey up from Somerset, apparently the coach set off at 7.30am that morning, for a struggling side just dumped out the FA Cup by non league Fleetwood Town that is some dedication to the cause. As I arrived at the Main Stand turnstiles around the other side of the ground (where Ron Atkinsons Neighbours ticket was designated) I was surprised to find them still shut with small disgruntled queues forming, it was 2.30pm! A horde of out of condition stewards in skin tight high visibility clothing sweated off the pounds as they shovelled out spade fulls of second class grit onto sheet ice in front of the turnstile entrances. Surely something they should have ascertained as a hazard a good while sooner than half past two? Especially the ones with big labels on the back of their jackets stating Superior Chief Health and Safety Director (have they never heard of a basic risk assessment)? Even those hard drinking drug induced bonzo's from the Rochdale Youth Orchestra couldn't get access to the stadium!

They set up an impromptu free gig in the Directors car park instead, it was great to hear those old Hawkwind and Black Sabbath classics again, all credit to some of the Dale Pensioners for getting into a bit of rough and ready headbanging as well. As soon as I got in the Stand (unreserved seating only) I bumped into Grinton Borrington who also does a bit of groundhopping in between his commitments in the antiques and collectables business. Grinton loves a drink and quickly produced half a pint of rum in a plastic coke bottle, I politely refused a tipple due to Match Shed considerations but Grinton already appeared decidedly half cut. He'd been hoping to watch Warrington Town v Lancaster City but it had been postponed. I did hope he would behave himself, he said he'd got the nod from a couple of female Dale supporters in the Church Inn pub beforehand, then it all went pear-shaped when their husbands came back from the bar? He'd had to leave his pint. As regards todays crucial game, both Rochdale and Yeovil are having a very lean time. Dale can count victories on one hand. Manager Steve Eyre is under a lot of pressure from loyal fans who suffered for 40 years to get out of the basement division, they now look destined for a 'wimp-like' prompt return. The previous boss who 'did the business' in getting them promotion to League One, Keith Hill, has moved onto Barnsley FC and Steve is struggling to make his mark in football league management without many of the good players that have also moved on, either through transfer sales or the conclusion of key loan deals. Steve Eyre was in charge of the Manchester City youth set up and the Rochdale board presumed he would be the ideal candidate to further the Dale dream of establishing themselves at this higher level, it hasn't happened (yet). In defence of Steve Eyre his signings have had to be extremely careful, the squad appears untested, young or in some cases too old, there are no dependable, quality tried and tested successful players to call upon, true, players like Jason Kennedy and Gary Jones can do the business in the centre of midfield but the defence looks flimsy, even a bit slow and there is a serious lack of a threat upfront, the forwards seem young, nervous and lacking in presence.

As for Yeovil, it was great to see Darren Way on the pitch again, although this time as a coach rather than the excellent 'midfield-general' he once served the Glovers as, Darren had a bad car accident and has done really well to return to the game. I remember always choosing Darren Way and his Yeovil midfield partner Lee Johnson in my Football Manager PC game squads no matter who I was in charge of (great players). The current Yeovil side are struggling, Terry Skiverton is doing his best as Manager but confidence appears a bit low as to how they will get out of this slide, todays game against Rochdale is one they could simply not afford to lose. Back to what was happening off the pitch... Grinton finished the rum 10 minutes into the first half and said he needed the bogs, I never saw him again! Perhaps he spotted one of those married women from the Church Inn?

On the pitch Rochdale were taking the game to Yeovil and there was plenty of sharp inter-play between Akpa-Akpro and David Ball coming in from the left while Nicky Adams danced down the right, Harry Bunn was holding up the ball upfront and it only seemed a matter of minutes before Dale would score. Yeovil thought otherwise. The Somerset side soaked it all up and played out the game plan, sit back, defend in numbers and hit them on the break (unfortunately for the neutral there wasn't much hitting them on the break, in this match at least). Akpa-Akpro hit the bar, Dale kept creating chances but it often seemed the younger players were trying to walk the ball in the net, frustration reared its head and at half time it was 0-0. I'd had a pre match dinner back at the house, this consisted of a Pukka Steak Pie and Beans, to be honest, I was still pretty full. I went along to sample the Rochdale Tea Hut with a view to sampling a burger or something more than puff pastry and the like.

What I found was a massive long queue of gigantic proportions, I asked a bloke ahead of me "what are the burgers like here"? "Its only pies, pies, pies here mate" came the reply. I went back to the stand, I sat in the other end that Rochdale were attacking for the second half, there was bugger all to watch in the half Yeovil were facing! The second period was a copy of the first, more Rochdale pressure, odd periods of highly skilled inter-play, odd periods of dross, a few clear cut chances and lots of hit and hope.

Perhaps the true man of the match was Rene Gilmartin the Yeovil keeper, he was fantastic the whole game, he pulled off some wonderful saves time and time again (poor lad even suffered a dislocated finger and had it fixed there and then on the pitch), he just carried on regardless, a great performance. The icy cold chill set in for the last twenty minutes or so, it was painful to sit there to be honest, it was bloody freezing, I longed for the heater of the Match Shed.

It all ended all square 0-0, I reckon Yeovil would be a lot more pleased with the result than Rochdale. Dale needed 3 points from this game, if they cannot beat teams like Yeovil (no disrespect intended) especially at home, one has to wonder where they will gather enough points to remain in this division? Rochdale go to Tranmere on Boxing Day, that looks a lot more difficult than what was on the menu today. I just hope somebody will buy Steve Eyre a nice warm coat for christmas. Why does he only wear a jumper on the touchline when its obviously bloody freezing? Get a duffle coat on man!

Update as of Monday 19th December: Rochdale AFC today sacked Manager Steve Eyre and his Assistant Frankie Bunn. It appears the Yeovil fixture was a game too far.

Postponements: Seen it all now!

Radcliffe Borough postponed last nights Lancashire Cup Quarter Final match with Barrow because it was a bit windy! The news was posted on the Evo Stik fixtures page yesterday evening.

The Radcliffe official website simply says it was due to health and safety concerns?

The Barrow site provides a tad more clarity..... apparently, it appears one of the floodlights was not adequately maintained and was in danger of blowing down onto spectators? It seems Barrow didn't get told of the problem until late afternoon!

You couldn't make this stuff up (unbelievable).

What the hell is going on with non league football in the North West?

No wonder a lot of spectators can't be arsed anymore.

This is the second time that Radcliffe have pulled this fixture, first time around it was the usual 'northern classic' the traditional waterlogged pitch.

Sheffield United 3 Rochdale 0

Saturday 10th December 2011
N Power League One (The old Third Division)
SHEFFIELD UNITED 3 ROCHDALE 0
Attendance: 15,892
Admission: £15
Grub: Fish, Chips & Curry Sauce £3, Tea £1.80
Parking: Horrendous! Ended up miles from the ground
Weather: Dull, damp, showers, cold (ok for Sheffield)

With a lot of Northern non league games either already postponed or under a late threat of being called off just before kick off me and Frugal Glenn took the safe option. We could have done Stockport v Stalybridge in the FA Trophy but I didn't fancy the ultra right wing stewarding policy at the ground with the Rugby Union pitch markings. We could have also done Ossett Albion v Salford City but the food is crap at Ossett and its not long since the last visit. So it was off to the Steel City and the delights of Bramall Lane. The only negative is that I couldn't get the camera in so there's no pictures. Last time I went to Bramall Lane I went on the train (to see a Plymouth Argyle away win, I think, or was it a draw), the time before that was a good few years back against Forest and I remembered there being lots of street parking around the terraced houses close to the ground, this time around I was dismayed to find that every single street had been designated 'permit holders' only. For 45 minutes I struggled to get a parking spot for the match shed, I ended up in another part of Sheffield behind the big bus garage, it seemed miles from the ground and Frugal Glenn was none too happy with the route march to the ground, especially as he had some new shoes on which hadn't been broken in. It was 2.30pm when I rushed into the chippy next to the ground, I hadn't had anything to eat since half a bowl of cornflakes first thing in the morning. The tiny chippy was packed with Blades fans who all appeared to be regulars. I found out they did special mini fish dinners which consisted of a smaller sized cod or haddock (which still seemed bigger than normal portions in other chippies), chips and either pea's, curry or gravy, all for 3 pounds, I found it to be excellent stuff and very reasonably priced. Me and Frugal got Main Stand tickets for £15 each, the Rochdale game had been given category C status which allows a major price drop from the bigger games in the fixture list (such as Wednesday and Charlton etc). It cost me £1.80 for a tea bag but this was league and I had to expect the rip-off, I needed a hot drink to wash my dinner down. I'm not going to go on about the ground as lots of people know the crack, I'll just mention that I find it a good stadium with good views (from where I was anyway), the all red backdrop is quite charismatic but the place really lacked atmosphere for this game, there were 15 thousand in the ground but the home fans never really got fired up about the proceedings. Rochdale took along a decent number of supporters, they got put in the lower tier of the Bramall Lane end, they did their best to support the team but its looking like a difficult season for The Dale this time around. I'll cut to the chase.... it was a crap match, simple as that. These looked a couple of very poor sides on the day. Sheffield United are a physical bunch who seem to lack flair and finesse, everything was crash, bang, wallop. None of their football flowed, it was all bits and bobs thrown together in a whirl of confusion. Rochdale look a side made up half and half between young lads and older journeymen, neither of whom can be described as quality first team material. Apart from the first 20 minutes or so Sheffields hardened pro's bossed the Dale kids around all afternoon. More experienced Dale players like Gary Jones and Jason Kennedy stood up to the challenge and applied a bit of craft where they could but the visitors never had a full deck at the card table. When Rochdale unfortunately lost their keeper David Lucas just before half time due to injury (he got knocked out for 15 minutes) things got even harder. Sheffield players like Ched Evans and Cresswell got far too much time and space from a disintegrating Rochdale back line. A 3-0 scoreline turned out about right. Sheffield were substandard, Rochdale (on the day) were far worse. A lot of Blades fans around our seats were very critical of some of the players performances and the Manager Danny Wilson came in for a lot of stick about a lack of width and the teams non-ability to put passes together. Rochdale Manager Steve Eyre is finding his first league job a lot different from being in charge of the Manchester City youth set up. Some Dale fans are on his back. I'm afraid relegation does seem a possibility if things continue as they have for the last couple of months. Dale seem to have a game plan but there is a question whether the calibre of player has the quality and technical ability to compliment it. It is noticeable that when the original starting plan goes off track (as it did today when Sheffield United went 1-0 up) Rochdale struggle to apply a different strategy to get back in the game. Dale played reasonably well for the first 20 minutes, after that they were never in the game. I dont think Steve Eyre is tactically naive, perhaps its more of a case that he hasn't the money to buy (or loan) the right type of players to play the standard of football demanded by his tactics. In that case the Rochdale board need to make some decisions (before its too late). After the game we made the long trek back to the Match Shed, we both agreed it had been a very poor game. Frugal Glenn refused to take the short cut up a muddy bank behind the bus garage claiming it would spoil his new shoes, they were only £7.99 slip-ons?

More silly postponements in the North West

Here is a surprise!

The North West of England witnessed random light squally showers today. Nothing major, nothing prolonged, simply the type of everyday December drizzle-brand weather we've had for donkeys years.

Here's the mix (can't really call it a 'surprise' as it happens every week now)..............

The North West Counties League and Evo Stik Northern Premier League had yet another round of 'ridiculously' postponed matches to announce this Saturday afternoon.

The pathetic excuse was that old favourite the 'waterlogged pitch' (or should I simply state 'totally unprepared pitch').

Needless to say, the affected fixtures were all late communicated call-offs with the usual minimal notification we've come to sadly expect at this level (nobody gets to know until its far too late, for example... mug punters like me making stupid wasted journeys every other week).

I'm done with throwing time and money at these people in pursuit of what I naively class a hobby. We're not talking park football here, a lot of these incompetent clubs charge good money to get through the turnstiles, shame none of it gets anywhere near the maintenance or protection of the bloody pitch!

The rule of thumb round these parts for watching non league is wait until the Spring.

Shame the clubs who don't give a toss spoil it for the really good outfits at this level (the ones who put a game on today without any problems whatsoever).

Colne v Maine Road postponement

Saturday 26th November 2011
North West Counties League Premier Division
Colne v Maine Road
POSTPONED (at 10 minutes to 2pm)!
Attendance: Me, some other mugs and half the Maine Road team
Wasted Fuel: At least 10 quids worth
Weather: Breezy with a bit of drizzle in the wind
Parking: On top of a hill right next to the turnstile

My love/hate relationship with the North West Counties League continues. Ok, the North of the country got a touch of wind today and around about lunchtime it started raining a bit. That is not to say we witnessed uprooted trees and 'Noahs Ark' flash floods. Still, to be fair, if Colne (or should I state the referee) thought this game was in doubt, I could go along with the theory (just about). What I cannot go along with is to simply call this game off when a lot of people had already travelled! If the referee doesn't want to get wet socks and splash marks on his new shorts, call it off at 1pm and make sure everybody knows about it! I actually got access to the pitch after the referee had left the ground to do a bit of his shopping in that new Sainsbury's near Colne town centre.

Guess what, I passed the pitch perfectly playable. The only bit of squelchy grass was in one of the goalmouths and near the outer (non playing part) of the corner flag. Take a look at the photographs for confirmation.

It must be me getting old, I remember loads of times when pitches far, far worse than Colnes simply got the go ahead for a perfectly reasonable (safe) game of football. The NWCL have got it in the neck from me before this season for stupid postponements, this one joins the ever increasing list. I suggest they start monitoring and assessing some of the so called 'in-charge' officials for what criteria they are using when making their decisions whether a game takes place or not?

Just because some fine-weather ref would sooner do a bit of silly christmas shopping because a bit of rain might spoil his new hair-do is completely unacceptable! And I'd not had any dinner! The nearest I got to a Colne pie was the sign next to the fully shut Tea Hut.

How ironic that on the long drive home the Match Shed travelled past 3 separate public playing fields that all had games taking place?

Salford City 3 Skelmersdale United 3

Tuesday 22nd November 2011
Evo Stik Northern Premier League Division 1 North
SALFORD CITY 3 SKELMERSDALE UNITED 3
Attendance: 122
Admission: £7 (Concessions £3)
Tea Hut purchase: Chicken cup-a-soup £1
Weather: Fairly clear evening, very chilly
Parking: 50 yards up the road from the gate

A busy night of football for the local clubs from around these parts but beware of cheap substitutes and inferior products..... forget the local playboys playing another round of over-hyped glory hunting down at Old Trafford, and shove the Etihad fueled millionaires poncing around the Bay of Naples..... tonights real football action was at the proud Moor Lane home of Salford City Football Club. I like the Moor Lane ground, it has a great old fashioned stand with plenty of leg room (almost like a life size subbuteo model but without the plastic), there are loud, witty and proud local supporters who continually get behind the team (no matter what ups and downs are occurring on the pitch) and there is an 'uncut' genuine warming football feeling that oozes out of the atmosphere from every nook and cranny. The tragic loss of the burned-down clubhouse a couple of seasons ago has not dampened the likeable character of the place. Salford have simply picked themselves up and just got on with it, rebuilt and remodelled.

Nice to see the Tea Hut in full swing, a steady stream of punters were queuing up for goodies, the burgers appeared to be very much in demand for the travelling Skelmersdale supporters, I got stuck in the line behind some of them and they bought loads of stuff. Come my turn I just had a chicken cup-a-soup, Frugal Glenn reluctantly handed me the quid for it, the arrangement is he gets me something from the Tea Hut in return for door to door travel to the game and back (he wasn't too keen to pay up this evening, he is immensely tight though). We took up a position in the Main Stand just to the left of the singers who regularly stand at the back in front of the big orange and black banners. They make a racket but I would recommend sampling it if you get the chance of a visit to these parts, it provides a lift to the proceedings not often witnessed at this level and its great fun listening to the cutting wit and the cheery songs.

Not sure if the gathered Skelmersdale supporters liked it much, perhaps it was their first time at Moor Lane and were not expecting it, the boisterous Salford lot were 'giving-it-large' to some of the visitors players who started the game like fluffy rabbits caught in the headlights. Skelmersdale had tactically adopted a Serie-A old Channel 4 Sunday afternoon Italian style game plan, it didn't work. Their back four continually passed the ball between themselves, sideways and backwards for ages, then they lost it without having made any headway. The Salford fans and the Salford team loved it. That crafty poacher spearheading the Salford attack, Gavin Salmon, was having one of his 'on' days, in fact I've never seen him play as well! His first goal was sheer class, a crafty step-over, the drop of a shoulder, a cut inside... next comes the traditional Gavin Salmon shot which usually ends up in a nearby back garden, not this time, Gavin struck a beauty which flew precisely into the nets like a stealth missile on a computer game, Frugal Glenn spilled his Bovril in shock. Up went the magical chant "Feed The Fish And He Will Score", tremendous! Halfway through the first half Gavin Salmon got a second, a real poachers goal after some cutting go-forward approach play from Morning and Metcalfe.

To their credit, Skelmersdale are a fine footballing side and they ditched the over-cautious fancy pants stuff to immediately grab a goal back. They started to apply more pressure on Salford but surprise, surprise, the home side went up the other end before half time and grabbed a third to make it 3-1, Salford were in dream land! Half time gave a chance for everyone to draw breath, it had been a very good first half of quality football and we all knew there was surely more drama to follow.

I popped by the brightly lit pitchside club shop during the break and a really nice chap was doing his best to politely get me to buy something. He'd been busy during the first half writing out his own marketing posters and missed all of Salfords three goals, he reminded me that the team had recently started to put on much better performances, including a 4-2 away win at Durham last Saturday.

Me and Frugal stood on the opposite touchline for the second half, amazing how much colder it was out in the open, the temperature was dropping fast. Skelmersdale went through the gears in that last 45 and really stretched the home side to breaking point. They got a second in the 52nd minute from a Tony Rendell header and at 3-2 the game was wide open again. Despite some lengthy periods of Skelmersdale possession, Salford still continued to counter-attack and rip through the visitors defence, Gavin Salmon almost had a magical hat trick, so near yet so far for 'The Fish'. The expected equaliser for Skelmersdale was being pushed further and further from view, could Salford hold out and take all 3 points? Sadly it was not to be, Skem got the crucial (scrambled) leveller with only 4 minutes left to play, one could argue it was deserved on the entire balance of play but it was a hard pill to swallow. Salford almost pulled off a sensational last gasp winner in injury time, as me and Frugal ambled behind the nets towards the gate Rhodri Giggs had a free header only a few yards out, almost in slow motion the ball looked to be going in before it disappointingly slipped wide of the target. Giggs fell to his knees, head in the turf, I could clearly hear his despair "No, no, no, no". Great game though.

Guiseley

Saturday 19th November 2011
Blue Square Conference North
Guiseley 1 Stalybridge Celtic 1
Attendance: 738
Admission: £10
Tea Hut Purchase: None (some big bloke had it all)
Weather: Sunny, then misty, then sunny, then cold
Parking: Got the Match Shed right near the turnstiles.

Must say we are getting some jolly good days weather-wise for November, today started bright, mild and sunny, such welcoming conditions even made the Outer Beirut ring road around Bradford a scenic picture of tranquility. You cannot go wrong if you head east out of Bradford for some top tucker in the curry department, some of the takeaways and restaurants put the local Yorkshire Fisheries cabin type fish and chip shops to shame in the presentation stakes. However, i've had a dodgy stomach all week so I was being extra careful today, I gave the Chicken Dansak a miss. Despite a couple of missing road signs I managed to get the Match Shed on the Harrogate Road and finally the A65, the shift in affluent property and environment is startling once you're a few miles out of Bradford. I was doing the game solo today, Frugal Glenn is still serving a domestic ban for spending part of the shopping money on Football Manager 2011 (it was 10 quid cheaper than the 2012 version).

As I arrived at the ground I was surprised to find a few pools of mist floating around the place, already it was taking some of the warmth of the sun away. As I prepared for the turnstiles a big cream and red Maynes coach arrived through the mirk, it was packed with ale hungry away fans from Stalybridge, the steward by the gate took his Leeds United bob hat off and shoved it inside his coat. I've been to Guiseleys ground before and have always admired the big orange Pukka Pie sign hanging outside the Tea Hut. Like a carpet tack to an industrial magnet I was drawn 'zombie-like' towards it. Unfortunately I arrived as some big bloke in a Stalybridge coat ordered everything going (the greedy bloater), it was estimated that it would take 15 minutes for re-stocking?

As regards todays match, Guiseley are well known battlers and have a reputation of being a very hard side to beat. In fact, they beat Stalybridge Celtic only a few weeks back at Bridge's place in the FA Cup. This would be a tough challenge for the visitors but if Celtic want to be there where it counts in the league table they had to get something from this fixture.

As kick off approached I took up a seat with a view in the nice little main stand, it was a bit of a struggle to get past the OAP Guiseley season ticket holders as they grumbled about having to re-position their tartan woolly knee rugs and all the flasks and madeira cake slices. The ground was a bit empty as the teams came out but a mass exodus of bar-room ale heads soon had the terraces clogging up.

There are some excellent match report details on the Stalybridge website so I'm not going to go into massive depth about the game but I will clarify that both these sides played some dandy passing football today. It was gung-ho box to box stuff, obviously both clubs wanted 3 points and they were giving it a really good go. What was lacking was the quality and the control of the final ball, both sides created openings but neither set of forwards could capitalise in that first half.

With the scores 0-0 at half time the second period continued much the same as the first, it seemed each side would have a 10 minute 'golden' period where they exploited possession and applied pressure, then the other side would fight back and have a go themselves, it was entertaining stuff. Guiseley got the all important opening goal in the 53rd minute when Michael Brough somehow got the bobbling ball past outstretched keeper and the post sending dozens of Yorkshire flat caps up into the darkening November afternoon. The old timer next to me almost choked on his Werthers Original.

Could Guiseley hold on and shut the door? They certainly tried. Stalybridge immediately went up a few notches in urgency and the game became stretched, the Bridge supporters got behind the side but the referee wasn't helping momentum, he'd been easily fooled all afternoon and I was getting fed up with all the interuptions. With 9 minutes left on the clock Stephen Brogan floated over a Celtic free kick from the edge of the Guiseley box and it seemed to just hang there before unbelievably drifting into the top right hand corner of the nets! GOAL!!!

Whether it was a cross or an intended strike on goal remains open to debate but it had a dozen Stalybridge officials in snazzy Blue Square car coats running up and down the pitch side hard-standing in wild jigs of giggling delight!

1-1 and everything set up for a grandstand finish....except....... the referee didn't get a copy of the script, he ruined the last bit of the match by shamelessly bottling a banker Stalybridge penalty and then needlessly sending off one of the Guiseley full backs (the ref had a stinker). All in all I reckon a draw was a pretty fair result, two decent sides had fully contributed to a hard fought match which was played the right way all the 90 minutes.