Wigan Athletic Legends vs. Wigan Athletic Academy – Joseph’s Goal Charity Game 2021

So, where were we? After almost A YEAR since my last groundhop, we’ve seen further lockdowns, a brief civil war in the top echelons of football, more clubs struggle under financial hardship and England lose a European Championship final on penalty kicks. With most of the country back open, vaccines rolled out to the majority and no mandatory restrictions in place, hopefully we’re back on track to enjoy football in person again. Hopefully.

I’m back at Ashton Town today – it’s the annual Joseph’s Goal charity match which in the past has pitted a Wigan Athletic ‘old boys’ side against former players from Manchester City, Manchester United, a Dutch Masters select and Hollyoaks. With COVID still a lurking concern, this year’s opponents have been drawn from the Wigan Athletic Academy – budding professionals taking on former professionals, adding fresh intrigue to the occasion.

Interestingly, the inaugural Joseph’s Goal charity match back in 2015 was supposed to feature the Latics youth team but that fixture was rained off and when a rearranged date was set, they couldn’t make it. So, in stepped the aforementioned team made up by actors and staff from the Channel 4 soap – despite a spirited effort, the Hollyoaks lads struggled to keep pace with the Latics veterans, who ran out 10-0 winners.

It’s quite apt that the academy are in action at this celebrated occasion today because it was the youth set-up that essentially saved Wigan Athletic from going under last year. The inexplicable move to put the club into administration by an owner who had only purchased the club a month previously led to Wigan being in danger of not paying the bills, in the middle of a pandemic with no income coming through the gates.

In the end, the club had to sell three talented youngsters – Jensen Weir, Alfie Devine and Joe Gelhardt to Premier League sides Brighton, Tottenham and Leeds for a fraction of what they were worth if the club didn’t need to sell right then and there. Together with money raised by supporters, the team got through to the end of the season where they just came up short in surviving the 12-point deduction and thus relegated to League One.

The 2-0 defeat at Ipswich on the opening day of the 2020-21 campaign saw half of the Wigan squad made up by academy players – this number grew throughout the first half of the season as more players left and injury plagued the squad. Somehow though, everyone railed together – the club was devastated as more than 70% of staff were made redundant leaving coaches performing 6 or 7 roles. The arrival of new owners, Bahraini-backed Phoenix 2021, a month or so before the end of the season gave everyone a lift and the cobbled-together squad of youth players, short-term contracts and loanees managed to do enough to survive a second successive relegation.

While, with smart investment, there’s hope we can challenge around the top end of the table this season, it’s the academy that will continue to provide the club with its heartbeat going forwards – graduates like Callum Lang, Thelo Aasgaard, Adam Long, Luke Robinson and Harry McHugh chief amongst them.

Funnily enough, one of my last groundhops before Corona shut everything down was Wigan’s youth cup quarter-final against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The scorer in the 2-1 defeat that day was Sean McGurk – another player who has recently left us, joining Gelhardt at Leeds for what was probably little more than a training fee. Academy Manager Gregor Ricoh (featuring in today’s Latics Legends team) recently commented that the set-up has been set back several years by the administration – the number of players leaving causing a vacuum to be formed that has seen U18s having to step up to the U23s. It was a relief to hear that the academy is a priority for the new owners – as I’ve just outlined, it saved my football club, creating bone-fide legends out of teenagers who had never played a game of professional football before. It’s only right that it should be protected and invested in going forwards.

COVID has overseen what is probably a slimmed-down occasion for the Joseph’s Goal match this year – the Latics Legends side is made up of club staff, including the aforementioned Ricoh and first-team manager, Leam Richardson. Emmerson Boyce and Gary Caldwell (making his Latics Legends debut) are the standout former Latics players – but it’s the presence of an active professional that has been the headline-making news about this game. Sam Morsy, one of the players who had to be moved on last summer, has obtained permission from Middlesbrough manager, Neil Warnock, to play a part today – an incredibly brilliant gesture from them both. I sort-of feel sorry for the Academy lads now as their team is essentially a mix of the U18s team (possibly with some U16s?) against these legends – and to make things worse, several of the older lads from the U23s are lining up for the Legends too!

Co-managing the Legends today is a member of England’s coaching staff – former Latics striker and FA Cup-winning assistant manager, Graeme Jones. He was a major presence during England’s run to the final of Euro 2020 (well, I saw him on telly a lot) – a match that ended in heartbreak for England as they lost on penalties. It happened three weeks ago now and to be honest, I’ve been avoiding all the fallout from it. The reports of sickening online racial abuse just added to a day of utter cringeworthy behaviour from fans – England already has this prejudiced reputation of being arrogant (in fact, the opposite is true; you will never find a more self-deprecating people), but the combination of the occasion and the unlocking of Coronavirus restrictions just created this orgy of cringe.

England didn’t do enough to win it on the day, fair enough, but it isn’t the match itself that makes me not want to watch it again (or even think about the tournament with fondness) – it’s all this outside stuff (and accompanying political machinations) that hurt the most. It’s such a shame because the country was growing closer during the tournament – everyone of all backgrounds, walks of life and views uniting to support our team. It’s what football is so good at. Unfortunately, people can’t watch a game of football anymore without being dickheads and acting the ‘big I am’ or previously uninterested ‘fans’ using the fallout to further their partisan ends.

Speaking of which – the pandemic also saw an attempt by Europe’s biggest clubs to form a ‘European Super League’. It’s something that’s been talked about for more than 30 years so it’s not a surprise to see the idea floated, but it was the cheek of them pushing for it now, taking advantage of the pandemic, that angered most people. To make things worse, these clubs expected to be allowed to compete in their domestic leagues, effectively rendering them second-tier competitions while they played in their closed-off league, growing richer. It was an affront to the game we love – one of the best things about football is that clubs can grow from being small provincial clubs into ones that take on the best in their country week-in-week-out.

To me (and most others, it seems!) the move was purely a ‘pull the ladder up’ exercise that quite justly fell on its face almost as soon as it became public. The excuse given for them wanting their own league is that the top club ‘attract all the supporters and sponsors’ and ‘don’t get a fair cut of income’ – almost like their opponents don’t matter. They forget that the reason they’ve been successful in the first place is because there have been (supposed) ‘smaller’ clubs that provide fodder for them – the trouble is that this fodder beating them is often the difference in them winning something or not. So, let’s dismiss the ‘more competition’ argument – they wanted the ESL to make money, nothing else.

Fair play to supporters of the English clubs who responded in anger to the news; protests happening at all of those involved – but we all shouldn’t let it rest. These top clubs, their owners and the investment firms backing them will definitely try again to carve up more of the football finance cake for themselves. Whatever they come up with, it is the duty of our national associations, UEFA and FIFA to stamp them out before they ruin our game, taking away that dream for many of our clubs to compete at the very top levels. In the meantime, let’s stop pretending the top clubs care about football and the people who watch it, eh?

Far away from the shenanigans at the top level of our game is non-league football, proper football some might say. People say this because these clubs inhibit the philosophies that has seen football grow to be the biggest sport in the world – namely, its community spirit. Today, Ashton Town are once again hosting the match for a local charity, given global exposure during the 2013 FA Cup Final. Named after Joseph Kendrick, a now-12-year-old boy who suffers from NKH (Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia, a rare life-limiting disorder), the charity has come to represent the good of football and the people who watch it – growing a community of its own and even inspiring others to go on and create and got involved with other charitable endeavours.

This is always a well-organised event, but it looks to be even better this year – possibly due to COVID, there’s plenty of outdoor amenities around the ground; a cider bar, burger trailer, ice cream van and a can point. Like the maverick I am, I go into the empty clubhouse and get a pint of Skinny Lager – a brew that’s new to the club this year I believe, and it's actually really nice. It slips down the palette easy enough; it’s what I would describe as a ‘trendy lager’ – low-calorie (hence the name ‘Skinny’!), gluten-free and safe for vegans. The best thing is that it doesn’t compromise on the alcohol content too Along with Kopparberg on tap for even trendier cider drinkers, it's certainly a step up from the cans of Carling in previous years – there’s still no Leffe, though.

There’s a decent crowd around the ground, not as many as there’s been in previous years (for obvious reasons), but there’s still a good atmosphere nonetheless. The two teams enter the field and line up to have their photos taken – Morsy, Boyce and Caldwell all starting. The first 15 minutes of the match are decent – the U18s look good on the break and they open the scoring; a single pass splitting the Latics’ veteran defenders before an attacker hits the ball high, across the goalkeeper, and in.

Morsy was already off before the goal went in; he played 10 minutes, which was clearly the arrangement with Middlesbrough. Despite his role being a cameo, the combative midfielder saw plenty of the ball and even got to show his trademark aggression, by getting in front of an opponent to muscle him off the ball. Top lad. The U18s add a second goal not long after the first, which was almost a carbon copy – a through ball saw an attacker speed in from the right and hitting it into the opposite corner. It’s a shame for the Legends to be down 2-0 already as they’ve had most of the ball and done most of the attacking.

A full-back during his playing career (at least from what I remember!), Leam Richardson is looking excellent in central midfield, dictating the play (well, he’s either playing well or the young lads don’t want to go in hard on the club’s First Team manager!). He has a great chance to get a goal back after a volley from the edge of the area is deflected and the keeper, who was diving the wrong way, just about grabbed a hold of the ball. That’s him getting nowhere near the First Team! The young keeper then does well to parry a shot from Boyce, as the right-back skips past a few challenges to shoot – typically, they break upfield and almost grab a third but pressure from the opposing keeper sees the ball lifted over the bar.

Just as it seemed like the U18s would run riot against a Latics Legends defence containing three men over 40, Harry McHugh (only 18 himself) showed the quality that he demonstrated in his fleeting First Team appearances last season – finding space to slide the ball across to a U23 teammate who lashed home. It got better just before half-time as the Legends found an equaliser through a near-post corner – completely unmarked, another U23 player side-foot volleyed in. It caps off an entertaining half; the teams are better matched than I thought. While the Legends are showing great skill and obvious experience, they lack the legs to keep up with the young lads – the U23 players helping to redress the balance somewhat. U23 captain, Scott Smith, is usually a midfielder but seems to be playing as a third centre-back, doing the running for Caldwell and Co! In fairness, Boycey is showing he still has a great engine – even at 40, he’s getting up-and-down the right-hand side well!

Bizarrely, the teams don't swap sides for the second half – not sure what that's about? The Legends take the half-time opportunity to sub off the more ‘senior’ players; the side now being a Wigan Athletic U23 Select, plus Gary Caldwell. The fresh legs make a huge difference as they add two goals – a long ball that’s chested down brilliantly and fired past the onrushing goalkeeper, and then yet another through-ball sees an attacker clip past the beleaguered keeper (I wish they would have announced the goalscorers!)

With 20 minutes to go, the Legends believe it’s safe for the veterans to return as a whole host of seniors are subbed on. Among them is Academy manager, Gregor Ricoh; a brilliant coach who basically created the production line of youth the club enjoys and is someone who stuck by the club last season to help with the first team. The first thing the youth head honcho does is give one of his U18 opponents a shoulder squeeze – classic intimidation!

As if the result was scripted (it definitely wasn’t – the match seemed like a Dads vs Lads game for the last 20 minutes!), the U18s score twice. First, the goal of the day when a long-range strike finds the top corner and then a late penalty (it was) is tucked away, signalling to the ref to blow up for full-time (not sure it was). Penalties it was – not the first time in this annual charity game! First up for the Legends is Gary Caldwell – the last time he stepped up first to take a penalty was in the 2014 FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal at Wembley. Can he exorcise those ghosts by tucking one away at Ashton Town? He did – giving the teenager between the sticks no chance; “That’s what I meant to do last time” he shouts amongst the good-natured banter that sounds after the ball hits the net.

Emmerson Boyce slots home his penalty

The shoot-out goes to sudden death, where the Legends keeper pulls off a fine save and it’s left to another U23 player to score the goal that takes the win. Another great occasion, one that was definitely affected by the pandemic but was nevertheless no less entertaining, raising money for a great cause in the process. Here’s hoping for a larger occasion next season, as well as an uninterrupted season and many more groundhops! You can learn more about the Joseph’s Goal charity here.

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Happy New Year & Groundhopping Hopes For 2021

Happy New Year! It’s been a difficult year for most of us, to say the least – for those of us who like to forget about the pressures of everyday life on a weekend afternoon by watching people kick a ball about, the last few months has been a constant rollercoaster of hope and disappointment. No supporters have been allowed in grounds for most of the year, then non-league clubs were permitted supporters back, then professional sides in select areas – and now, following the news yesterday of large swathes of England being put into ‘Tier 4’ restrictions, it’s back to square one.

Of course, us not being able to go to a football match pales in comparison to what other industries (and not mention, people who have been affected by the virus) are going through at the moment, but with football being a representation of our culture, it’s a good screen on which to see how our way of life has changed. As I said in my groundhop to Ashton Town just before lockdown became official; the only times football has been suspended was during the First and Second World Wars (and even then, friendly matches and wartime leagues were held). So, with such a upheaval, it’s no surprise that many people have felt lost without their usual routine and social contact with others – making the famous football quote by Pope John Paul II that more poignant; “Amongst all unimportant subjects, football is by far the most important”.

And we’ve seen this, with all clubs doing various things in their local communities, trying to connect with people – community trusts', football club staff and even players helping to deliver items, hosting virtual events, making phone calls, giving things away, etc. All of this is an example of the impact football has on society, why it’s been frustrating to see the continuing situation unfold – and why we must continue to push for a return to some semblance of normality at the earliest opportunity.

Groundhopping In 2021 – and My Book

As it happened, I only got to see two matches after non-league sides were originally permitted to welcome crowds in again. Now, it’s difficult to assess when games will be able to restart – we don’t even know if non-league will even be able to continue beyond January as many leagues have already been suspended (some for the second time this season).

So, playing by ear it is – hopefully, the right solution can be found to protect our clubs, even if it means cancelling the season again. The initial lockdown was a leap into the unknown, so with the experience and resulting measures put in place by leagues, you’d imagine that swifter decisions can be made in everyone's best interests.

The unfortunate break has seen us all trying to fill the football void in some way; On this blog, I’ve written about a few different things (including my own team, Wigan Athletic's, fall into adminstration – unresolved as of yet). I've also featured a couple of interviews with people who use football as means to produce something – so far, I’ve spoken to a Norweigan groundhopper who has been to no less than 500 English grounds, and a bloke who has built the grounds of the 92 out of Lego! Unfortunately, it’s not been as much as much content as I would have liked to have produced, but there’s a reason for it – which brings me to some self-indulgent selling!

From the 2014-15 season through to the early part of 2019-20, I travelled across the country in a bid to ‘do the 92’. After each season I released a volume of the all the grounds I visited that season, ticking all the visits off. Containing an ever-expansive historical, social, and (often) irreverent look at our clubs and English football in general, I was delighted to see them warmly received.

I completed the project (spoilers!) in September 2019 and have been working on the final volume, Volume Five, ever since. It’s taken a lot longer than I envisioned – it’s by far the largest volume of the series and with COVID and everything, I’ve been pre-occupied with other things to get it all finished. I suppose an ironic twist to all our football grounds being shut is that I’m technically still ‘in the club’ in regards to having been to them all. Us groundhoppers can’t visit Barrow or Harrogate, or Brentford and Wimbledon’s new grounds until the start of the 2021/22 season at the earliest – so that’s good enough reasoning for me to justify the time taken to release the book!

Anyway, Volume Five will (hopefully) be out in late-February and I’ll no doubt be pushing it on here! If you’re interested in the series, you can buy the first four volumes of 'Playing Offside' on Amazon Kindle for £4.96. You don’t actually need a Kindle to read them – you can download the app from Google Play or the Apple Store and read on there.

So that’s all I have for 2020 – a frustrating year for us all, but however you’re celebrating its end, ensure you throw yourself into it because you doubtless deserve it. Hopefully 2021 will be much better, so take care of yourself and everyone around you, and hopefully we'll be back on those terraces, drinking, chatting, laughing and shouting as soon as possible!

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The Future of Football: Ticketing Apps and Livestreaming

As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to rumble on, many industries are predicting what their futures may look like – whether that’s offices who want to establish a more flexible way of working (as employees divide time between the office and home), schools testing out new contact systems, through to pubs and bars that have established table service arrangements – we’re living in a time of experimentation.

Football is no different – this weekend (19^th September), some experiments are going ahead in the EFL with a maximum of 1000 people attending select games. Non-League has been back for a few weeks now but even at these levels, maximum capacities and experimentation is happening.

As the last groundhop I did before lockdown, I returned to Ashton Town this week to have a look at the innovations they put in place for their first home game back – how will they affect games at these levels going forward? Well, that and a Wigan Athletic legend making his debut for the club encouraged me to go too!

Emmerson Boyce, the 40-year-old former Wigan Athletic captain, who lifted the FA Cup in 2013, signed for Ashton Town 3 weeks ago  – saying it was a ‘thank-you’ to chairman Mark Hayes for his years of charity work. Ashton have big ambitions for promotion this season (also appointing former Chesterfield striker, Glynn Hurst, as manager) and this signing made waves on the non-league scene. The capacity for this match was set at 150 – while this is certainly far more than the average crowd 10^th-tier Ashton get, they would have got far more in if no restrictions were in place. And it was all marshalled by a new Manchester-based ticketing app, Shocal.

The lockdown has undoubtedly provided the perfect opportunity for these types of apps to grow their user base (I’m absolutely pig sick of seeing that Just Eat advert with Snoop Dogg – and no, I’m not linking to it) – and Shocal have moved quickly in an attempt to establish themselves as ‘the home of local deliveries’ for a range of different business in Greater Manchester. They aren’t the only home delivery app that has created a ticketing arm – I’ve seen other non-league sides promoting different ones – but I believe Shocal is one of very few that offer partners more than just an avenue to sell tickets. In fact, Ashton have put their entire club shop on the app – you can buy season tickets, scarves, player sponsorship and a plethora of Emmerson Boyce memorabilia on there.

For football clubs, having a means to make the purchasing process easier will help to promote them, working to increase their revenue – customers appreciate a quick, no-nonsense way of finding what they need above everything else. Mobile phone apps (especially ones that work!) offer such convenience – and I’m pleased to report that Shocal offered a seamless, secure way of buying my ticket (I was even tempted by the Emmerson Boyce cushion they had in the shop too). On approach to the ground, the representative of Shocal scanned the QR code on my phone and I was in – no waiting around, no fishing in my pocket for the right change; straight in to beat the queue at the bar for my can-of-Carling-in-a-plastic-cup. Yep, still no Leffe behind the bar.

Whist having the club shop on an app is great for non-league sides to potentially increase their revenue on a more consistent basis, it should go without saying that ticketing apps won’t be needed for the vast majority of games at this level. However, I won’t be surprised to see ticketing apps brought forward into the professional ranks in the next year or two. As someone who has apps for buses, taxis and Wetherspoons, I’m actually a bit surprised they haven’t been introduced already – the ordering ease they provide can’t be questioned. Not great news for paper tickets – as a collector myself, it’ll be a shame to see these physical reminders go, but with the time and money it costs to produce, print and send them out, it doesn’t make sense to keep doing it.

Another experiment that was conducted for this match was a livestream. Broadcasting games over the internet is nothing new, but the pandemic has provided an opportunity for service providers, leagues and clubs to experiment with it on a mass level. As a groundhopper, you can probably guess that I’m against streaming and television in general – I don’t think the way it has influenced the game (changing kick-off times, encouraging people to not go to the match, growing a generation of fans who have never been to a match, who then label clubs as ‘tinpot’ for having empty seats, etc) has been positive – but we mustn’t kid ourselves any different; just like the ticketing apps, they provide a quick and convenient way of watching football.

For the professional level, I’m very worried about the effect it’ll have when things eventually (hopefully!) get back to normal. Despite a few boomer hiccups with the EFL’s iFollow service, it has generally been a success in providing fans with access to games. Before the pandemic, football games held at 3pm were not allowed to be streamed in the UK to protect crowd numbers – but as we’ve seen through the rise of streaming services and YouTube, the money is moving from television into the streaming market – Amazon already have a Premier League TV deal and will no doubt be pushing for more slices of the Sky/BT pie in the next few years.

If television has the power to move games, streaming companies will be powerful enough to dictate what they want too – it isn’t inconceivable that a streaming company will come in with a big offer for the EFL and as many of clubs (including my own) are currently on their arse, it stands to sense they’d submit to anything asked of them. Unless clubs let people in for free, I can’t ever see the vast majority of stadiums being anywhere near full – again though, it makes perfect sense; people don’t want to travel to games, spend extra money on programmes and catering when they are able to watch it from the comfort of their own home.

 So where does that leave non-league clubs? Here at Ashton Town, they provided those who couldn’t get a ticket with an opportunity to stream the match for £1 – and 362 took them up on that offer. I have no idea of the cut they may have got, but let’s just say it was half – that’s £131 going to a club that usually gets 50 people on the gate (add that to 150 who were the game, and that’s over 500 people watching a game between a 10^th tier side and an amateur club). The signing of Emmerson Boyce was the obvious attraction, which is why (beyond the odd curiosity like a former pro in action or a big match), I can’t see the streaming of non-league games lasting long-term – there simply isn’t a big pre-existing audience there to tap into. The attraction of non-league football is the ground and what you experience there, so unless they bring in some virtual reality app that recreates everything (the smell of the mud, the materials of the wonky stand, a dog pissing on an advertisement board, etc), the same people will continue to go these games.

However, just like how the shop app provides a way for non-league sides to promote themselves, I think the streaming of matches in non-league can give a curious local the opportunity to see a side in action, potentially encouraging them to go one day or at the very least, buy an Emmerson Boyce keyring. It’s how you use the technology that matters – and as these experiments continue, I hope clubs and leagues are able to find a way of encouraging people back to games, rather than presenting them with reasons to stay on this ‘new normal’, streaming games long after the pandemic is over.

As for the match itself, it was great to see Boycey back playing football – he’s obviously a legend at Wigan for his 9 years service and winning the FA Cup, but he’s a great man to boot; always willing to get involved with local community projects and charity work. Playing at centre-half, he marshalled his new side to a 5-1 win over Orrell Athletic – who despite playing their football many levels below their hosts in the South Lancs League, put up a great show. They certainly scored the goal of the game when their forward lobbed the Ashton goalkeeper from just inside the penalty area!

While the signing of Boycey can be seen as great marketing for the club, his ability and experience will undoubtedly help Ashton on the pitch too. Straight from kick-off, he was rallying his teammates and dishing out instructions – just by this brief insight, I can only imagine playing alongside him will encourage players, getting the most out of their own abilities and even help to improve their own game. I hope more former professionals consider similar moves; if grassroots clubs are given the means by the FA to offer a way into coaching for them, I’m sure we may see more of this.

As it turned it, the experiment on this night was a success; everyone had a great time, easily socially distancing in the 2,000-capacity ground and the ice cream van parked inside the ground even played the Match of the Day theme for our half-time entertainment. Ashton have already got tickets on the app for their opening league home match against St. Helens Town in October, with a maximum of 300 now allowed in – so I made sure to snap one up.

Here’s hoping the professional clubs are just as successful with their own experiments so we can all get to games as safely as possible. In the meantime, we’ll have to settle for the television and livestreaming.

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Ashton Athletic vs. Greenalls Padgate St Oswalds

After FIVE MONTHS of not watching a football match in person, I’m delighted to say that I’m back on the groundhopping bandwagon – but rather than spread my own brand of disease throughout the public transportation network, I decided to keep my first trip as local as possible. This is why I’m at Brocstedes Park to see North West Counties League Premier Division Ashton Athletic play Cheshire League side, Greenalls Padgate St Oswalds in a pre-season friendly.

If you recall from my last groundhop at Athletic’s rivals, Ashton Town on the 14^th March, I was planning on coming to Brocstedes on that day but the game was postponed due to the developing pandemic. As it turned out, the following 10 days saw the country placed on lockdown and football at all levels wasn’t played for months – even now still, the professional game is being held behind closed doors. That was initially the plan for non-league too, but as these clubs’ entire income is based on what comes from the gate, sense prevailed and the authorities gave the go-ahead for limited capacities to be let in. As most clubs below the National Leagues have ground capacities of more than a thousand and a couple of hundred (at most) coming through the gate, it really isn’t difficult to upkeep social distancing measures.

During the pandemic, in the strive to keep up a fitness regime of sorts, I took up walking like many others; I had many a great day (and still do), walking to the local country park, spotting wildlife, getting pissed on rum-and-coke, etc. As Brocstedes Park is roughly four miles from where I live, I decided to make more of a day of it by walking to-and-from the ground, naturally with a pub stop on the way.

After an epic 45-minute ramble, I stop for a pint break at The Park in Bryn; a Marston's-owned pub, it's quite cosy inside (not always the case with Marston's – they sold The Swan and Railway 18 months ago, a notable pub in Wigan town centre as it sits opposite the mainline train station, after many years of genuinely not knowing what to do with it. After a refurb and a reimagining of the beer selection, it’s doing better now). In The Park today, there are social distancing markers everywhere, staff wearing face shields, me wearing a snazzy light-grey cardigan…so let battle commence. After a quick peruse of their taps, I plump for a pint of their own-brand Smooth to cleanse the palette. You always know what you're getting with a Marston's Smooth, it does a job; the James Milner of mass-produced bitter.

Most of the walk to the ground from there (just over a mile) is done in complete shock after seeing an advert for festive menu bookings. How is it (almost) September already? We've lost a year through all this – normally, I’m moaning about Christmas advertisements at this time of year, but it all hits home just how much time has gone, so I’m too stunned to moan about it. Still, it was a nice walk to the ground; it’s all country lanes and farms, occasionally bleeding into motorway bridges – Brocstedes Park itself sits in the middle of a group of farms who make it quite clear what they are with ornate signage on their gates, and sheep roaming around provide a big clue too.

Whilst it’s great the club have a home to call their own, it isn’t exactly ideal for the foot traveller or and/or those who want to have a few jars – the nearest bus stop is a good mile away. With land difficult to come by at the best of times, it just goes to show how difficult it is for non-league sides to find an ideal location that suits the club in terms of building a facility that will attract and develop players, but also to build the supporter base that provides the finances for them to push on.

Founded in 1968, Ashton Athletic started life in the Wigan Sunday League, moving up through the divisions and winning various cup competitions – a later switch to Saturday football in the Warrington League brought similar successes. After developing a ground at Brocstedes Park, the club joined the Lancashire Combination, later becoming founder members of the North West Counties League when the LC combined with the Cheshire League in 1982. Non-League football was changed, becoming more organised in a sense – which meant money was needed to bring clubs and their grounds up to a set standard. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much money knocking about to be spent on Brocstedes, so in 1986, Ashton were effectively relegated to the second tier of the Manchester League.

At the turn of the millennium, the club embarked on a youth development policy, forming part of

their ten-year plan to improve the club and its facilities. This helped them to gain access to several grants made available from the Football Foundation and Wigan Council; the main pitch got a new drainage system, a second pitch was acquired and improved, new changing facilities and a clubhouse was built. All these enhancements allowed the club to regain their membership to the NWCFL in 2006 – additional improvements to the ground since then have seen more seating installed. Their second season in Division One of the league saw a third-place finish, which was enough to gain them a promotion to the top tier of the North West Counties. A level they have remained at ever since.

In more recent times, the club have had three great runs in the FA Cup – winning three ties to reach the Second Qualifying Round in 2016, where a crowd of 479 saw the visit of FC Halifax Town, who ran out 5-0 winners. Ashton went one better a year later, facing another Step 2 side in the shape of Chorley, again at home. A record crowd of 610 packed into Brocstedes as the visitors squeezed into the final Qualifying Round – winning 1-0, the match streamed live on the BBC Sport website. In 2018, the club reached the Second Qualifying Round again, being drawn away to York City – although they suffered another 5-0 defeat to yet another National League North side, they nevertheless learned a lot from playing such a prestigious club in front of a crowd of more than a thousand.

These three huge shots of income have undoubtedly further helped to develop the club; aiding their push to get in the Northern Premier League – they were lying in 5^th in the NWCFL’s Premier Division when football at these levels was abandoned last season, and hopes remain high that they can get there sooner rather than later. Their youth development philosophy has continued; they currently have a wide array of teams; from Under-7s, right through to Under-18s and even a Development Squad (‘Reserves’ in old money) – not necessarily something that’s common at this level of football. They’re certainly making great strides to become Wigan Borough’s second-best producer of youth footballers, anyway (after Wigan Athletic, obviously!)

There are full social distancing measures and a one-way system in place in the clubhouse; a nice, roomy facility that’s well-set to make concessions for this ‘new normal’. With a choice of Coors or Tetley’s Smooth on tap, it isn’t really a choice – it’s another smooth bitter for me. I got here just after 2:15 pm, expecting there to be quite a few here at the first public game they’ve held since March – there’s a couple of others in the clubhouse and a small crowd outside, but not as many as I’d have hoped. I’m not complaining – it at least lessens the chances of me getting COVID – but it would have been great for the club to get more £4 entries on the gate. 

As much as I'm revelling being back in a clubhouse, drinking my Tetley’s and watching Cash In The Attic on one of the big tellies, there was a game to watch! I walk out to the side of the pitch for the kick-off, before moving to the larger of the two stands midway through the half – this structure has three rows and covers most of one half of the pitch. The other stand is tiny and lies right in the corner – I’ve no idea, but I suspect this was put there to abide by ground grading rules for 'number of seats'!

Today’s visitors, from Padgate in Warrington, play in the Premier Division of the Cheshire League – two tiers below Ashton. It’s no surprise then, that the home side look the much stronger team – they’re quicker to the ball, spending much of the first 20 minutes probing down their opponents’ side (why does everything I write seem to be an enthusiasm these days?) Despite the dominance, it takes ‘The Yellows’ 23 minutes to score the opening goal – a well-placed finish from the edge of the area. The floodgates were open; just a minute later, Ashton swarm up Greenalls half again, winning a penalty that was slotted home with ease.

By the time I get my second pint of Tetley’s and take my seat in the stand, the temperature has dropped and there’s a cutting breeze in the air – my decision to wear a snazzy cardigan is looking increasingly idiotic by the minute. Half-an-hour in, Ashton add a third through a close-range finish – the dejected Greenalls players must have felt even more put out by the sound of two kids singing ‘three-nil, three-nil’ in their angelic tones. At least these players get to run about and keep warm, not be freezing like some people who have come out, ill-dressed for the weather.

After slipping in a fourth just before half-time (another close-range finish), Ashton don’t let off at the start of the second; scoring the pick of the goals early on. Some careful, intricate play down the right-hand side (where I'm sat) eventually sees the ball crossed in and headed home. Not long later, it's six; a shot inside the area is saved by the keeper, but it falls back to the striker who lays it across to a teammate to roll in. Greenalls do get one back – a break sees them 2-on-1, the ball played across and side-footed in. It was a decent finish as it came to him quite quickly – Ashton respond by netting another from close-range.

The main issue with Greenalls (as highlighted by one of two blokes with high-quality digital cameras sat below me – definitely groundhoppers!), is that they keep playing the ball out from the back every time they have a goal-kick. This recent rule change that allows for defenders to stay in the penalty area for a goal-kick (so they can receive it short) has been interesting to watch – while it undoubtedly allows for the play to be built up from the back, it does lead to the other team pressing you into mistakes – I’m not sure it’s a good idea for a team who plays in the 11^th tier of English football to constantly keep doing this. I understand the need to learn and improve, but at least belt it long once in a while when you're under pressure, lads!

Ashton add two more; the eighth is a well-placed finish, across the goal and in the corner, whereas the ninth is a result of a ball being slipped through the defence (claims for offside not given) and the striker places it in the corner. There was even a chance for a tenth; the keeper making a save and the ball just-about cleared before the referee blew the whistle to end the match – two minutes early, by my clock! Fair play to Ashton for not letting up and keeping on putting pressure on their opponents. While there was an obvious gap in quality, it will do them no harm to sharpen their attacking play with the season approaching. If all teams play out from the back, they’ll be champions by March.

So as I’m walking back to civilisation, I’m left to reflect on this ‘new way’ of watching football; sanitising your hands, one-way systems, keeping your distance from people – what new way? The only thing that’s new here is my new-found passion for walking; something that I’m hoping to continue for a few more groundhops in the coming months. Well, until Christmas, anyway – the only season when I'm properly dressed for the weather!

Ashton Athletic 9

Greenalls Padgate St. Oswalds 1

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Wigan Athletic’s Administration – (Further) Exposing The Weakness In Football

Football is exciting because we’re aware that a single swing of a boot can change the outcome of a match – we accept this, it’s why we buy a ticket and get so involved in the narrative playing out on the pitch. What we don’t expect to change in an instant is the status, nay the future of our clubs.

Just a matter of hours after a fantastic performance against Stoke City – a 3-0 win that put them eight points clear of the Championship relegation zone – my club, Wigan Athletic, were put into administration. There was no warning, no build-up – this wasn’t the result of months of uncertainty or because of mountains upon mountains of debt – it was a calculated move by the club’s new owner who had only got involved four weeks prior. He has effectively booted the club into uncertainty and it seems that the English Football League (EFL) has a lot of questions to answer.

When Dave Whelan, the man who had transformed a struggling fourth-tier club into one that graced the top tier for eight years and won the FA Cup, sold Wigan Athletic to Hong Kong-based International Entertainment Corporation (IEC) in 2018, we were told that the club had a bright future. Initially, it was going okay – the team flirted with relegation but this wasn’t overly unexpected in The Championship where the financial gap between clubs is becoming ever-wider. IEC sanctioned investments into the infrastructure of the club – the Academy was expanded to meet Category 2 grading, the stadium got a touch-up in places and we even got a big telly put in the corner of one of the stands. It was starting to go well on the pitch too – despite a difficult start to this season, the team has been one of the best performers in the division since the turn of 2020. So what happened?

In June, IEC sold the club to a company called ‘Next Leader Fund’ (NLF). Both of these companies are headed by Stanley Choi, a professional poker player who through IEC, has an interest in a casino in The Philippines. Prior to the sale going through, the consensus was that Choi was taking the club from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed IEC to NLF, a private company based in the Cayman Islands, so that ‘decisions could be made quicker’ (any changes to IEC would have to be announced on the HK Stock Exchange).

NLF was only set up in January 2020 and it borrowed £28million from IEC to fund the takeover. The terms of the loan raised eyebrows when announced on the HK Stock Exchange – the interest rate was 8% rising to 20% if it wasn’t paid back within the first year. This amounts to roughly £100,000-a-week in repayments that Wigan would not be able to afford – the EFL approved the takeover. NLF was announced as being 51%-owned by Stanley Choi, with the remaining shares being held by one Au Yeung Wai Kay. On the 24^th June, Au Yeung took a majority shareholding in NLF (believed to be 75%), paid off the loan owed to IEC and immediately put the club in administration – despite there not being a single creditor.

Why? Why would Au Yeung invest so much money to buy the club only to put it at risk with less than a month to go until the season is completed? It makes no sense on the face of it – if he found that he had got over his head, he could have got the club through the season and put a Championship club on the market. Instead, he called his lawyers who notified the administrators and the club’s future – both in the short and long-term – was put at risk.

Obviously I need to be careful here as any theory is unsubstantiated – there is no clear reason why Au Yeung has done this. A young Wigan supporter, who happens to live in the same area as EFL chairman, Ricky Parry, chatted to the man about it – and he mentioned a rumour about bets being placed in The Philippines on Wigan being relegated. Almost immediately after it was announced that the club was in administration, the EFL sanctioned a 12-point dedication – which would put Wigan at the bottom of the league. The theory is that seeing the team perform well, Au Yeung moved quickly to gain control of the club and place it in administration. You can, by now, imagine why he might do that.

It seems nuts to even suggest that anyone would go to such great lengths to do this – I’ve heard about how crazy Asian betting markets are but do they really take bets with the equivalent worth of tens-of-millions of pounds at stake? Without any other clear thread to pick on, this is the only theory that makes a modicum of sense. The only other theory that I’ve seen is that IEC wanted to dump the club because it was costing them too much – the loan repayments saw them make a small profit. But again, why would Choi not seek to sell the club externally (rather than to himself) and why did Au Yeung effectively write off his investment?

This is a world away from what supporters should be worrying about – we should be looking forward to the match against Brentford today; the two in-form sides in the division going head-to-head but it has now been tempered with an urgency of we need to win to claw back the points that the EFL may end up taking away. Whilst relegation is only a setback (when compared to the club going out of existence!) it will thin-out the field of investors and may even lead to the club being asset-stripped. I know I’m a supporter and therefore liable to be biased, but purely through their performances, the players don’t deserve being relegated – it isn’t their fault that some shady Far East character plunged the club into the mire mere hours after taking charge.

It’s important to get one thing straight – Wigan Athletic’s administration has got nothing to do with the Coronavirus pandemic. The club was ticking along (as well as what can be expected during a pandemic, anyway) and had even agreed contracts and signed up players for next season. This isn’t a result of a club spending beyond its means – it’s something far more sinister, which is why it needs investigating by the EFL, the government, perhaps even Interpol.

What has been pleasing, is seeing Wiganers and football supporters of all clubs come together on this – everyone sees that the EFL’s checks and balances simply aren’t fit for purpose. A great example of this can be seen through Wigan's supporters – in a couple of days they have found out more information on Choi and Au Yeung than the EFL ever did. I say that because I refuse to believe that the EFL let the takeover pass if they had access to all the information that’s floating about on Twitter right now – if they did, then the governance of football in this country is rotten.

Hopefully, this will be the tipping point for the government to reign in the powers that run football – Wigan MP, Lisa Nandy, has spoken brilliantly about the issue, lobbying the Sports Minister and doing the press rounds. Having worked closely with the club’s Community Trust – a charity that has spent the last three months delivering essentials to people on lockdown, ringing them up and seeing how they’re doing – she understands, like us, that football clubs are about more than what goes on, on the pitch. They are the beating heart of our communities in most cases.

As for the players, to a man they have come out and shown defiance – the captain, Sam Morsy, typifies this. Just a day before the club went into admin, he paid tribute to the cardboard cut-out of the son of a Latics supporter, who lost her baby at just five-months-old, by placing his shirt over him. Like many of our players who have been and gone, he understands that the club is a family – it isn’t the biggest club around, but it doesn’t want to be. We all want to feel part of our clubs and Wigan Athletic, with its community outreach, harnesses that brilliantly. It was no surprise to see Sam was the first to come out and say that the players were going to fight to keep the club going (though knowing the combative style of his play, I hope he doesn’t mean it literally!)

It’s difficult, to sum up my feelings right now because I’m still trying to come to terms with what’s happened. So whilst I spend the next few days trying to collect them, cheering on the lads from my television screen as I do, I would heartily recommend you read this blog by Sam Whyte – though obviously Wigan-centric, any supporter of any club can transfer their own experiences to the spirit of this piece. It beautifully sums up why football is important to us all and why it needs protecting from the characters outlined here.

Finally, I would like to mention that the Wigan Athletic Supporters Club have set up a fundraising page to see the club through the season – the staff at the club were not paid and there are other costs that need to be paid to host/get to the remaining games, so if you would like to help out, please visit the crowdfunding page. Also, if you could share information about what’s happened (including this Tweet that sums everything up brilliantly) or contact your local MP; the more people with influence that can be made aware of what’s happened, the better. It isn’t just the future of Wigan Athletic that’s at stake here now – our game MUST change.

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Watching Football In ‘The New Normal’

Saturday 20th June saw football ‘return’ – at least for me. My team, Wigan Athletic, are currently involved in a 7/8 team battle to avoid the Championship relegation zone, with the promotion places similarly being competitive.

With so much money at stake, the league was always going to continue in some form – aside from the obvious windfall clubs will get by winning promotion to the Premier League, the drop in TV money from The Championship to League One is massive too (which explains why League One and Two were ended with Points-Per-Game).

With the rest of the season being played behind closed doors, this leaves season ticket holders somewhat short. As a season ticket holder at Wigan, I was presented with 3 different options instead of being able to attend in person:

• A pro-rata refund.
• Put credit towards next season’s season ticket.
• ‘Donate’ the remaining credit to the club for a streaming pass for the remaining 9 games.

As I’ve already spent the money, I’ve missed watching games and I’ve got everything I need to stream it on the telly – I chose the latter option. It offered great value; I get to watch the remaining 9 games (instead of the 5 home games I would have been entitled to) and the club keeps the money, so everyone’s a winner. I should say that this was the best option for me – in times like this where money is scarce, it’s understandable that people would want refunds.

Hooking up my laptop to my telly with an HDMI cable, I got settled for ‘the new normal’ watching football – to be honest, I didn’t notice much difference. Our match was a particularly important one at Huddersfield, who are also hovering around the bottom end of the table. Obviously, no crowd being there made for a weird atmosphere, but I found that after 10 minutes of watching the game, I didn’t really notice, as I concentrated on the play.

The most interesting aspect of these remaining games will be to see how the home teams get on without a home crowd there to cheer them on (and to sway the referee, which we all know doesn’t happen…) – and there certainly were some interesting results in The Championship, where only TWO home sides managed to win (Cardiff and Blackburn, who we are hosting next week, coincidentally). Winning 2-0, Wigan continued their pre-lockdown form; it took a while for them to get going, but once they were able to get their pressing game sorted, the team controlled the match from then on.

Huddersfield looked a little tired if truth be told – despite making the five substitutes (the rule brought in for these remaining games) they still had a player going down with cramp late on. Whilst the players have been in training for a couple of weeks, they’ve essentially had to fit in a full pre-season in that time, with only one-or-two friendly matches for practice. You can’t get up to speed physically in that time.

Overall, the streaming service was great – full HD, no connection issues or anything. Apparently, supporters of teams who use the iFollow service had connection problems at kick-off – the server provider not making concessions for the sheer volume of people who would have been streaming. Although Wigan’s feed is provided by iFollow, it’s hosted on another server – so it was fine for me and the millions of other Wigan fans across the globe!

The issue with the atmosphere at these empty grounds is a sticking point for many – as I said, I don’t mind it, but others said they found it a hard watch. The Premier League games have seen crowd noise pumped into the grounds to make up for it – I don’t like it, to be honest. It’s been designed to ‘create familiar surroundings’ for the players and the people watching back home. The problem is that I know it’s fake and the players know it’s fake – wouldn’t that work to provide a negative effect? I even watched one game where it was clear someone was in charge of a soundboard and had to do the ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahs’ whenever there’s a chance, but unless they’re psychic, it’s always going be a couple of seconds behind.

Another thing clubs (including Wigan) have done is to have cardboard cut-outs of supporters (and certain notorious people) at grounds – again, I’m not a fan (it sounds a bit ridiculous on the face of it), but as they’re raising a bit of money for the clubs who’ve had their income streams hit, I’m more willing to let it slide. Our cardboard cut-outs cost £20 for the remaining games, so I’m currently racking my brains of a notorious celebrity that will get through the censors!

The good thing about our teams playing behind closed doors is that it shines a spotlight on how important supporters in a match-environment – hopefully this dystopian future where we all watch on television in the homes we live, work and play in 24/7 won’t happen now, as we’ve experienced what it’s like? Maybe the importance of supporters will be shown some appreciation when games do resume with cheaper ticket prices…okay, I concede that’s less likely than the dystopian future!

So whilst this new normal will do for now, I hope we get back to being in stadiums before long – it isn’t just the matches we all miss, it’s everything we do before and after; the meeting up with friends/family, travelling, going to pubs, exploring new places, meeting new people…you can’t recreate that with streaming, WhatsApp or Twitter.

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Was The FA Too Hasty To ‘Null and Void’ Non-League Over COVID-19?

With the ongoing situation with the COVID-19 virus growing increasingly severe by each passing day (virtually placing people on lockdown in their own homes), the Football Association have taken the decision to nulland void the 2019-20 season for all non-league teams in steps 3 and below, as well as the women’s leagues below The Championship.

Whilst there’s obviously more than football to worry about with this emergency, with nothing else to do but stay inside for most people, it’s not really a surprise there’s been much speculation on the status of the 2019-20 season.

It’s the haste in which the FA have taken the decision to cancel the non-league season that has caught many by surprise – as of yet, there is no firm idea of what will happen with club football at the top levels of the game (the consensus is that the Premier League and The Football League will resume in the summer), which makes the decision to cancel the non-league football season now all the more perplexing.

Why Has The Non-League Season Been Cancelled?

It’s important to acknowledge what a difficult decision the FA faced – there are thousands of clubs that make up the leagues below step 2 of the non-league pyramid and wiping all those results from the records must have been a result of a great amount of deliberation.

But let’s not kid ourselves here; money is the biggest driver in most decisions in football and it’s no coincidence that the part-time leagues were the first to fall. It’s not just the television deals and sponsorships that the professional club garner that make deciding what to do with their seasons more difficult – but also for the fact they’re able to employ vast legal teams to challenge any decision they may find unfavourable.

Also, cancelling the season now provides leagues with the chance to start afresh next season – no having to reschedule fixtures and no having to fit in 2-3 games a week to squeeze everything in. Even if football could resume in the next few months, it’s unlikely that crowds would be allowed back – just like how television provides lifeblood to the Premier League, crowds are the income provider for the non-league game.

Solid enough reasons you might think, so why’s the cancelling been seen as problematic?

The Problem With Cancelling The Football Season

The biggest issue I have with what the FA have done, is that the decision seems to have been made too quickly – the clubs weren’t even consulted and were taken by surprise as much as everyone else was. If you’re making a decision that will affect the status of people, surely you would garner a majority view before you proceed?

The problem with cancelling football at this moment is that we’re in the backend of the season – it would have been easier to cancel it a few weeks or months in, but many clubs only have 10 matches left. A number of them have either already won promotion, are miles clear at the top, locked in promotion battles – or are completely marooned at the bottom of their leagues (somehow, I don’t think they’ll mind the season being cancelled!)

It has to be said – nulling and voiding makes a mockery of their efforts throughout the season; all those games and goals will be wiped off the records. For many clubs, this season could conceivably be the difference in them grabbing the opportunity to progress, building themselves a long-term future – or not. Many have already spent what little money they have to upgrade their facilities to fill the grading requirements of the league above – wiping the records for this season makes it more difficult for them to win promotion next season, leaving them with massive bills to pay (with less income that they would have got at the level above, had they won promotion).

Although I think that ending the season may prove to be the right decision for non-league (we’ve no idea when football may resume at all levels), nulling and voiding was not the right way to go about it. Ending the season as it was or using a points-per-game model is much better than completely wiping the records, surely? I’m of the opinion in their haste to be seen to be doing something, the FA panicked.

The Reaction To The FA Cancelling Non-League

As you might imagine, quite a lot of clubs aren’t best pleased with the decision. South Shields, who are leading the Northern Premier League Premier Division by 12 points, are heading a legal challenge on behalf of clubs who want to challenge the nulling and voiding. The open letter, signed by representatives of 66 clubs, have accused the FA of [taking the decision in] ‘needless and inexplicable haste’, [with] ‘a total lack of substantive dialogue or consultation with affected clubs’ and [having] ‘no consensus’ with the leagues.

I wish them all the best, although sadly, I don’t hold out much hope – it isn’t a coincidence that the status of professional football (which includes many clubs in the National Leagues) is still up in the air. As mentioned, these clubs and leagues have the resources to make more of a challenge if they deem they’re being handed a raw deal. This doesn’t make it right; I think all levels of football should be treated the same because otherwise, what’s the point in us having a competitive pyramid if everyone can't move within it? 

What’s your opinion on the non-league season being cancelled? Was it the right decision? Should the FA have waited or ended the leagues in another way? Leave your comment below or tweet me @pints_pies

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Ashton Town vs. Holker Old Boys

I think it speaks volumes about the renitence of our country that football games have only been suspended in times of war – indeed, the First World War was a year-old before the football season was halted. As football is engrained in our culture, it was used to act as a vessel of our defiance; no, we will not be cowed and change our way of life for you.

Whilst we’re not at war with any other nation today (thankfully), we are ‘at war’ with something else – the COVID-19 virus. This new infectious disease has wreaked havoc around the world, putting a stop to public events – including, as of yesterday, all professional football in Britain.

Faced with nothing to do of a weekend, many of us are lost. So I decided to play it safe; instead of fighting people for the last pack of bog roll in the supermarket, I instead made the 20-minute bus journey to Ashton-in-Makerfield to see Ashton Town take on Holker Old Boys in the North West Counties League Division One North.

Now, let’s get one thing clear here – I fully support the decision to suspend professional matches. Whilst I suspect that the decision was sealed when several players and coaches got infected (or went into isolation), you can’t really deal with a pandemic by having tens of thousands of people gather in one place, all over the country. The people most at risk are the elderly or those with pre-existing illnesses (a bit like seasonal flu – but it isn’t flu, it’s more aggressive, and there’s no vaccine), so it’s only right that we take measures to protect the most vulnerable – but whilst we need to take it seriously, we need to be calm too.

My issue is that people are panicking without due cause (it’s not like the Second World War when the prospect of a bomb dropping on your house was real) – the aforementioned fighting-for-bog-roll isn’t a joke, it’s actually happening. Exacerbated by the instant communications we have these days, people are being somewhat hysterical – even if they ever have a right to be, causing panic will only make things worse, leading to rash decisions that sees them bulk buy groceries or worse, put people in danger because of pure selfishness. What’s that war motto (that people/companies have ripped off to use as memes) – Keep Calm and Carry On? I’m even gladder that we aren’t at war with anyone but a virus right now!

I wanted to see a match today, as I don’t know whether any non-league games will be on in the next few weeks/months – a few I had eyed up last night were called off this morning after clubs had spoken with each other about the situation. Ashton Town happens to be the most local non-league side to me, so I thought about it – and then they offered Wigan Athletic season ticket holders free entry. I was on that bus faster than The Vengaboys.


If I were to speculate (always say that when you suspect you might be incorrect) – one of the reasons that this particular game wasn’t called off was due to the journey the away side were making – located in Barrow-in-Furness some 90 miles away, it’s not really a midweek trip a team of footballers (on expenses) would want to make after a day at work.

The decision from the Premier League and EFL to suspend their fixtures until next month was designed to cut down on mass gatherings – something that you don’t get in non-league football (bar the odd club in The National League). Interestingly, having their turnstiles open today will be of benefit for many these clubs; there are plenty of supporters without an EFL or Premier League team to watch, so they're looking around for games to go to – swelling the gates.

Today’s match will be the first time that I’ve been to their Edge Green Street ground to see Ashton Town – I’ve been there in previous years to see several Wigan Athletic Charity games (including last May’s against a Bryan Robson XI), but never to see the club itself (to my shame). Currently, they’re just outside the promotion places in the First Division North – a great start to the season was interrupted by postponements, squad turnover and naturally, poor results. Their town rivals, Ashton Athletic (whose home game was one of the postponements today), are currently in a similar position in the division above – and whilst I wish both teams every success, the panic buyer in me wants to see an Ashton derby at some point. Next season’s Wigan Cup, perhaps?

With their involvement with the Latics Charity games (which raise money for Josephs Goal), the club’s community involvement reflects the character of their committee. Chairman, Mark Hayes, is particularly active in the local area and just seems to *get* what a football club is and what it should be doing for people. His day job is being the landlord of The Gerard Arms in St. Helens (but let’s not hold that against him!), and in recent weeks has started an initiative to get people talking by simply opening up a table in the pub for a chat.

No booking required, no airs and graces, just turn up at table 12 for a chat with a friendly face. Whilst, in his own words, not a qualified counsellor, Mark understands that people just often need someone else to talk to – we all have problems, some of us suffer worse than others, many have a support network, and some of us don’t. As a pub landlord and non-league football club chairman, seeing and meeting the range of people he does, I’d say he’s well qualified to be a good listener! Often, it’s that chat, kinship and guidance that people need to feel better or take action to safeguard their mental health – something we’re going to need more of in weeks to come (if all these virus predictions happen!)

An Ashton Town Association Football Club existed as early as 1903, joining the Second Division of the Lancashire Combination. Despite winning promotion in their first season and stabilising at the level above, the club struggled to fulfil fixtures towards the end of the 1910-11 season and withdrew from the league. In 1953, Makerfield Mill FC (Makerfield being the area that Ashton is historically a part of – hence the suffix), were formed, originally playing in the Wigan Sunday School League, before spells in leagues in St. Helens and Warrington.

Having been forced to move from their home at Windsor Road in 1962 because of land development, the club sort to shape a tangible future – renaming themselves as ‘Ashton Town AFC’ and playing at a number of grounds (fields, basically) in the area before purchasing a plot of land off Edge Green Street in 1964. Five years later, World Cup winner and Liverpool forward, Roger Hunt, opened the clubhouse and a decade after that, the (present) changing rooms were built – giving the club the means to establish themselves in non-league football.

The motto of the club is ‘Onwards and Upwards’ – and there’s a real ambition to progress on a couple of levels. Despite being founder members of the North West Counties League, Ashton Town haven’t progressed beyond it; indeed, both Ashton clubs have seen another local rival, Atherton Collieries, progress to the Northern Premier League’s Premier Division in recent years (a promotion away from the National League North, for those who don’t know). Their success just goes to show that with robust organisation, a philosophy (both on and off the pitch), a dedicated volunteer base and a good community reach, what clubs can achieve at this level.

Edge Green Street is quite a large ground for a step 6 club; hidden behind housing (just a minute’s walk from the bus stop – press the bell when you turn the corner after ‘Ashton Carpets’), its official capacity is just over 2000, but the space behind one of the goals (acting as a grassy car park) and the left-side of the ground is quite substantial.  My mind races with ideas about a Saudi billionaire taking over the club and developing the ground into something like Accrington’s Crown Ground or Fleetwood’s Highbury Stadium. It would establish them as a proper local rival for Wigan Athletic; giving the fans somebody else to send nonsensical internet abuse too, instead of Wigan rugby fans. (Actually, thinking about what I've just said, it seems I may have the virus, after all!)

On approach to the turnstile, I spot a notice stuck to side about the Coronavirus; advising us on best practices. I’m one of those who thinks it’s odd that we need to be told how to wash our hands properly – having been in many Gents toilets over the years (no, not like that), I can tell you now (Ladies), that the majority of them do not wash their hands (I do, by the way). It's basic cleanliness – no wonder viruses are running riot.

I hummed and hawed about presenting my season ticket – whilst it’s certainly kind of the club to offer the deal, I wouldn’t have minded paying the fiver entry fee to support them. So I get a programme, raffle ticket and a couple of pints instead (clearly, the idea behind the offer!) The clubhouse is pure non-league; furniture and carpets that suggests they were bought second-hand from a working mens club, husky chatter from the patrons about anything other than football, a television showing the English Badminton Championships, multipack cans poured into plastic glasses – I didn’t even mind that there was no poncy beer on sale.

I take my (now, usual) spot on the left side of the pitch, taking a seat in the stand as it started to rain as soon as the match kicked off. Both sides make a good start, as both have Periods of Possession (POP), without much in the way of a clear-cut chance in the first 20-minutes or so. There seems to be quite a few on – crowds here average around 50-70, and there must be double that on today. I can even see a couple of fellow Latics supporters (we don’t all know each other, contrary to popular belief, I just saw a few with club gear on!)

After the balanced start, Ashton begin to take a hold of the game and they have a great chance to take the lead when an attacker runs through on goal, rounds the keeper, but he takes himself too wide and so by the time his resulting shot is aimed at goal, a defender gets back to clear off the line. No matter, they take the lead a few minutes later – and it’s a cracker (in the words of Frank Carson); a well-worked move from a throw down the right (my left) sees Jack McConville get clear of his markers, to the edge of the area before curling the ball inside the near post.

The goal leads to a period of Ashton dominance; Holker’s keeper has to pull off two great saves low down to keep it at 1-0. I make a dash for the bar just before half-time which took me around his goal – his side give away a free-kick and he doesn’t seem best pleased with his side, let’s just say that. He was bollocking them.

The half-time beer (can of Carling – don’t judge me. They didn’t have any Leffe) allows me to witness the raffle draw take place. Sadly, my ticket is 13 numbers away from the first prize when a lad sat on the nearest table to me draws it out. Then, to my excitement, the lady offers her raffle cup to me to draw out the second prize – here’s my chance. I ended up drawing a ticket 20 numbers away – no raffle whiskey for me to keep Covid-19 at bay!

Smarting from my defeat in the raffle, I return to my seat (it was still raining) for the second half, a few minutes into it. My arse wasn’t on the faded red seat for a minute when some controversy occurred – Holker are awarded a penalty when their forward is hacked down in the area. However, there are howls of derision from most inside Edge Green Street – pointing out that the linesman had flagged for offside. The ref goes to talk to his assistant and after a minute, proceeds to award the pen – much to the chagrin of those around me.

As the green-shirted Holker man steps up to take it, a lone shout of ‘SHIT’ was aired just as he struck the ball – and the keeper saves! The Ashton custodian, Chris Cheetham, was named in the programme as the NWCFL Division One North ‘Goalkeeper of the Month’ for December (showing how few games have been played recently!) – although it wasn’t a great penalty by any means, he still did well to dive the right way and hold onto the ball. So was justice done with the miss or was another crime committed by one of the spectators? I’m not getting involved!

The game grows more ‘industrial’ in action and language – a lad in a Latics hat near me (who, all game, has been dying to get a hold of the ball so he can throw it back), was giggling at the words ‘fucking hell’ that was uttered by a player when the ref ignored his pleas for a free-kick. I overheard his dad tell him ‘this is proper football’ earlier; with the pitch threatening to turn into a mudbath and players swearing at each other within earshot, it certainly takes me back. Thankfully, the lad got his opportunity to fag the ball and chuck it to a player – big smile on his face. Somehow, I don’t think he’ll forget a moment like that.

Despite some huffing and puffing from Holker (their best chance of the second half being a shot that went just wide), Ashton hold out for the three points. A cracking game on an otherwise odd occasion – when football does resume, I want to make a point of visiting more – I’ve no excuse really, what with it being 20 minutes away. Since the sad demise of Wigan Robin Park, they’re my ‘local’ non-league team, after all.

On the bus back into the centre of Ashton (it's only a mile away, but it's STILL pissing down!), I encounter the lady who won the 2nd prize that I drew for in the raffle. Jealously raged as I saw she was clutching her family tub of Quality Street, tightly. I've no chance of getting one. I console myself by alighting at The Twisted Vine alehouse to sink a few beers. Highly recommended if you’re ever in the area, it’s simply a great microbar – it has the usual tight surroundings, forcing people, who don’t know each other, to chat. There’s (of course) a plethora of ales on tap, as well as bottles as part of a 'beer library' too. As soon as I open the door, two dogs nearly knock me over. What a pub – you can’t whack welcomes like that. It’s easy to see why it is 2019’s CAMRA Wigan pub of the year.

So all that’s left to say is Keep Calm and Carry On. Look after those people around you and for heaven’s sake, don’t bulk buy things from the supermarket – spread your shopping trips out so you leave stuff for others (especially if it’s beer – we need something to get us through with no football being on). 

Ashton Town 1

(McConville, 27) 

Holker Old Boys 0

Attendance: 121 

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