England vs. Sweden - Women's Euros 2022 Semi-Final

As it turned out, the rails were too hot to run trains on (what a thing to write), so I had to miss the Italy-Belgium game in Group D that I had a ticket for – however, advanced planning has got me all excited today (again, what a thing to write), as I’m at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane to watch a Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final – and it’s only England vs. Sweden!

Before the tickets went on sale for the tournament, I plotted England’s route through if they won all their games – winning their group and the subsequent quarter-final would see them here while finishing as runners-up and a win in the quarters would have seen them play in Milton Keynes. So, with much hope, I applied and managed to obtain a ticket for a game in Sheffield that no confirmed teams playing in it. Thankfully, England DID win their group and got through their first knockout game, so now I could see them potentially get through to the final tonight, as they take on Sweden – who I saw in my last game, as they took apart Portugal five-nil.

However, this fixture very nearly didn’t happen – Spain were just a couple of minutes away from beating England in the last round before Ella Toone popped up with a late equaliser; volleying in from an Alessia Russo-headed knock-down. The nature of Russo’s header caused controversy within the Spanish camp – they believe that Russo had elbowed their defender as she jumped. I would say this as an England supporter BUT it wasn’t a foul in my book; her arm ‘gently brushed’ her opponent after she had won the header, so no advantage was gained. Would I be saying this if it was the other way round? Honestly, I can’t say – I would like to think so; with V.A.R. in place, I guess we have to give it the benefit of the doubt. They didn’t think it was worthy of bringing the incident to the referee’s attention, so what else can you say? If several referring professionals don’t think it’s a foul, then

The match was very gripping to watch – after a first half in which both sides traded large periods of possession, Spain grew into it and dominated the second half; their goal being a well-worked move that has become a trademark of Spanish teams at all levels. They very nearly sealed the game not long later, when a cross looped towards the top corner of the net, which Mary Earps did brilliantly to claw away (especially with her having to back-pedal to reach the ball). Just as it seemed hopeless, England put in a cross, Russo produced a brilliant knock-down (with no hint of a foul whatsoever), and Toone volleyed in to force extra-time. Spain were 5 minutes from winning and this seemed to put them on the back-foot at the start of ET – Georgia Stanway received the ball in the centre of the park, took a great touch into space, she wasn’t challenged as she approached the area and let out a shot from 20 yards that rocketed into the top corner. A brilliant goal, worthy of winning any game – which it did! England beating one of the favourites to seal a place in the semi-final here tonight.

As you might imagine, a rush for tickets kicked off as soon as the match was over – people desperately clamouring for information on how to get a hold of the few remaining tickets that were held back for sale. This wasn’t an issue for me of course – I had booked my ticket and hotel months ago, but it was somewhat heartening to see so many people interested in wanting to be part of cheering the England women’s team to a potential final. And some would have you believe that nobody cares about women’s football.

Once I arrive in Sheffield and check-in, I go for a potter about (to find a pub) and already see plenty of people – adults, kids, families – walking around with England tops on. We’re still five hours before kick-off at this point! Choosing Bramall Lane as a semi-final venue is very apt – it’s the oldest ground to continuously host professional football. So, if England do get through tonight, it will have witnessed another major milestone in the development of women’s football in this country.

I’m sat in the Kop Stand, which I’ve been to before during my ‘doing the 92’ series, ‘Playing Offside’ (yes, it’s an obvious plug!) This is one of the most unique stands still left in English football – the stand is built on a hill, so the walk up to it is done via a steep staircase, with the smells of old pipe smoke, beer and greasy chip butties enveloping you. The catering facilities and toilets are at the bottom of the hill, so I’d imagine this helps to keep people in their seats for the majority of a match – no quick and easy visits to the toilet during play. In today’s era of ‘super mega stadiums’, it’s easy to see some bright spark licking their lips at the prospect of landscaping this area and redeveloping it into a brand-new stand with corporate facilities – there’s certainly room for it. However, despite Sheffield Unite’s flirts with the Premier League, the stand remains, hopefully for another hundred years – standing as a reminder of how football used to be, while still being part of its future.

The atmosphere, as you would expect, is fantastic pre-kick-off – most people wearing white England shirts, brandishing flags and singing songs. It’s badly needed, as the opening half hour is very tense – Sweden having the better of the play, playing very much like I saw them in Leigh the other week. Earps has to react quickly to save her side on two occasions – she’s also beaten from a corner when an attack gets in front of her and heads onto the bar. England, however, started to take a grip on the game, dominating the play – and their pressure tells on 35 minutes. England break down the left, towards the Kop and put in a cross – which missed everyone in the area. Lucy Bronze has caught up on the opposite flank though, and the right-back collects the ball, plays it to Beth Mead in the centre, back-to-goal, she takes a touch, turns and volleys the ball into the corner. It was a great finish – happening right in front of me, and even I couldn’t help but jump up with everyone as it hit the back of the net. Don’t think I even did that at Old Trafford!

Half-time arrives and England manage to control the game to go in 1-up – it’s still tense though; Sweden have been putting pressure on the England backline, who seem to enjoy passing it around, almost daring their opponents to press them so they’ll leave gaps in-behind. That’s how England’s goal was scored, to be fair – but all it takes is one slip and the Swedes will be on top again. I nip down the hill to use the facilities but before I head back into the stand, I stand atop the hill and take in the sights of Sheffield that are visible – I doubt there are many UEFA-standard stadiums whose city you can see whilst standing inside it!

Any tension that may have been exorcised in those toilets at half-time (again, what a sentence to write!) will not be making a comeback thanks to England’s early actions in the second half. They win a corner which is hit beyond the crowd of players in the middle, towards Bronze – who for some reason is unmarked – and she gets her full forehead onto the ball, and it ends up finding its way into the corner, across goal. For me, it’s a clear goal – I don’t understand why she was unmarked or how the ball found its way in – but there’s a V.A.R. check for an apparent offside/obstruction of the keeper. After a nervous wait, the goal stands, and everyone jumps up in excited celebration once again – not me though, I’m very much a ‘two goal lead is a dangerous lead type of person!’. We need at least another five here for me to be certain!

The start of second half’s are usually pretty quiet in terms of atmosphere – everyone’s just come back from a break, so it takes a bit to get things going (this applies to the players as well as the supporters!) Thanks to the early goal, it has generated the same sort of atmosphere that I experienced in the first half, only it’s slightly more frantic now the England supporters believe that their team has one boot in the final. There’s a large contingent of Swedes here too – dotted around the ground (they’re wearing yellow, so very easy to see amongst the England white!), but there’s also a concentrated ground in the corner of the stand to my left. They’re singing ‘Sverige’ (Sweden) along with the unique tune that I heard in Leigh – a progressively up-tempo clapping of hands, in the vein of Iceland’s ‘thunderclap’. It’s very impressive to still hear them loud and clear, amongst all the England supporters.

Another impressive entity during this tournament has been Mary Earps. She’s very much a ‘no nonsense’ type of goalkeeper – doesn’t believe in that ‘zonal marking’ stuff; when she sees the ball, she comes for it. She’s at it again now – Sweden put some pressure on the England goal, force a corner and after the kick is flicked on, they look like they’re going to put it in at the back post. Nope, Earps, all 5ft 7in of her, somehow springs across the goal to tip the ball over. I’ve plenty of ‘critics’ of the women’s game cite the quality of goalkeeping as a major issue, but when you watch Earps making saves like that – in a goal whose dimensions were designed for men, by the way – it makes a mockery of their complaints, really.

As if to address another common complaint that people have of the women’s game – it doesn’t contain a large degree of technical brilliance – the next big moment of the match makes a mockery of that too. England are advancing on the Sweden defence with Georgia Stanway carrying the ball – she slips the ball beyond the defence towards Fran Kirby. The attacking midfielder carries on to the six-yard box before playing it across to Russo – she shoots, but the Sweden keeper saves with her legs. The ball goes to the right where Russo follows it; she holds off two defenders before backheeling it towards goal – and through the keeper’s legs and into the back of the net! It was a brilliant finish – an unexpected moment that nobody expected – least of all the Swedish keeper! My favourite thing about this moment though was that Russo went sprinting over to Earps to celebrate with her; without her save a few moments ago, the score could so easily have been 2-1, instead it’s 3-0 – the margins of football, which Russo clearly recognised. ‘Football’s Coming Home’ is now ringing around Bramall Lane, as everyone believes this is the clincher. Not me though – JUST CALM DOWN! (I think to myself).

However, even I’m inspired to celebrate a bit not long later as England get a fourth – and in some style, once again. With Sweden pushing players as high as they can, there are large gaps of space opening up, so when England turn the ball over, they quickly find Kirby in space, who’s being tracked by two defenders. From just outside the area, she takes a touch before dinking it over the goalkeeper, who – despite getting a big hand on the ball – cannot prevent it from dropping into the corner. Kirby runs off to knee-slide in front of the jubilant supporters, and she’s quickly mobbed by her teammates.

England see the game out masterfully from there, sparking more chants of Three Lions and ‘Sweet Caroline’ (which I’ll never understand how that became an England anthem!) Just to sum up the feelings inside the ground, the majority of the crowd stayed for a good fifteen minutes after the final whistle to applaud both sides – feels weird to say this, especially after your team has just won 4-0, but my player of the match was the goalkeeper. Those early saves – and the one later, while England were defending that ‘dangerous lead’ – gave the team a platform from which to build from.

So, England are into the final – their first appearance in the Euros final since 2009, when the all-conquering Germany swept them aside, 6-2. Their opponents in the 2022 final? It’s only Germany! However, we have home advantage this time – can football finally ‘come home’? I’m delighted to say that I’ll be there to witness it, anyway.

Come on England!

England 4
(Mead, 34. Bronze, 48. Russo, 68. Kirby, 76)

Sweden 0

Attendance: 28,624

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England vs. Austria - Women's Euros 2022

I’m stood close to the top of the Stretford End, the famous home section behind one of the goals where the Manchester United faithful usually try and roar the ball into the back of the net. Today however, there are people of all ages here – not just the usual LADS ‘getting the [Stone Island] badge in’ or tourists clutching megastore bags – but equal numbers of men, women and children waving England flags, blowing air horns, flapping paper rattles and just generally making a nuisance of themselves. This wouldn’t do in men’s football – but this isn’t men’s football. It’s the opening game of the Women’s 2022 UEFA European Championships and I’m at Old Trafford to see hosts England take on Austria.

Earlier, I had made my way to Trafford Bar Metrolink, with the tram filling up with increasing numbers of England supporters at each stop. When I arrived, the streets were already awash with people, and it was a good one-and-a-half before kick-off! I popped into the pub immediately opposite the station, The Tollgate, which I would imagine would be difficult to do on a usual Old Trafford matchday. I get served straight away but in fairness, there was a decent enough number of people in there too, many of whom are women sporting the new England women’s away kit, which is orange (a reference to the Dutch manager, Sarina Wiegman, perhaps?)

This new kit caused chaos amongst viewers during England’s recent friendly with The Netherlands as The Dutch wore their white away shirts! Not only that – but get this – their manager, Mark Parsons, is English! So, we had a situation in which England, managed by a Dutchwoman, wore orange – traditionally the colours of The Netherlands – and The Netherlands, managed by an Englishman, wore white – traditionally the colours of England! Confusion aside, I like the orange away kit – aside from it looking striking (which you would imagine would be ideal if you want to pick out a teammate!), it’s a departure from what the men’s team have and therefore gives the women’s team something that I hope all women’s teams eventually strive for – their own identity. 

There are signs on the way to the ground directing to a ‘Fan Party’ – there’s going to be Fan Zones near each ground to build up the atmosphere for the game. These event spaces, usually taking place in a disused car park, have been growing within the English game in the last few years; offering a safe environment for supporters to enjoy themselves before the game, as well as for clubs to make an additional income stream. Being a miserable bugger, I give it a swerve (I also couldn’t find it, despite the signs), so I go straight to the stand I’m sitting in – and on the way in, notice there’s a nice atmosphere building outside too. There are banners of each host city tied to a fence facing the Stretford End of the stadium, and the ONLY one that was obscured, thanks to a French TV crew being stood in front of it, conducting interviews, was the Wigan & Leigh one! That’s right – despite Leigh Sports Village being one of the host stadiums, my town of Wigan has got itself involved thanks to Leigh being situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan! It isn’t Wigan (just like how ‘Greater Manchester’ does not = Manchester) and Leythers aren’t best pleased with having their party crashed, but being from Wigan, I naturally find it very funny. Plus, council taxes from Wiganers did go towards building the stadium, so they should be grateful, really!

My seat is in the upper echelons of the Stretford End, and it takes me an age to get there – the last time I was this high, I was on a plane to Tenerife. The DJ is whipping up the crowd with some nightclub classics – Whitney Houston's 'I Want To Dance With Somebody' gets a raucous reception and sing and dance along. Sadly, Old Trafford doesn’t sell pints of whisky to cope with such things, so I stew in my despondency. Looking around, the number of women here becomes more apparent as they get up and boogie with each dance classic that plays – and it truly is great to see them attracted to see a football match in an atmosphere that’s far more comfortable for them. Even the average of men’s matches can see idiots in the crowd bawling out obscenities and aggressive nonsense, so it’s refreshing to see such an upbeat atmosphere. However, for me, the standout positive to so many women being here, is that there was no queue for the Gents.

The opening ceremony was decent enough – mercifully short, as most football tournament opening ceremonies are – but there was some slick dancing (I’ve seen Strictly Come Dancing, once, so I know what I’m talking about), and flag waving before the unfurling of banners detailing all teams and host cities (Wigan & Leigh lol), before a plethora of pyrotechnics went off, earning wonderous ‘ooohs’ from the crowd as they exploded into the sky (the fireworks, not the crowd).

The teams come out, anthems are played, and the match kicks off – and the crowd continue with the jovial atmosphere that was building up before. Air horns, clapping and waving of paper rattles accompanying England chants. Both sides play it tidily, as the ball sticks to the floor. One thing you might notice when you first watch a women’s game is that physicality isn’t as prevalent as it is in the men’s – you don’t often see a target woman stuck up front waiting for balls to be lobbed up at her, for example. As a result, the players seem to be more versatile – a great example is on display here, as Rachel Daly, who plays as a centre-forward for her club side in the US, is playing as a left-back for her country tonight. Another example is right-back Lucy Bronze, who had a spell playing in central midfield for England in recent years. Not saying this doesn’t happen in the men’s game, but certain positions and roles require certain attributes, so you don’t often male players playing in such differing positions.

The pivotal point of the match occurs 16 minutes in, as forward Beth Mead springs the Austrian offside trap and proceeds to lob the ball over the goalkeeper and in. But is it in? A defender seemed to get back in time to hook it off the line (and onto the bar before it bounced away) – I don’t know if the ref got a signal on her watch from the goal line technology that’s presumably installed, but the decision goes to V.A.R anyway – and it’s given. The Austrians aren’t pleased, but they don’t have any basis to argue!

After a somewhat tense start, with both sides exchanging periods of possession without creating much in the way of chances, we’re hoping England can settle down now and play some of the rapid back-to-front attacking football they’ve shown under Wiegman so far. To ‘help’ push them along, the supporters decide to start a Mexican Wave, and I notice people start to inch towards the edge of their seats in anticipation of it hitting where we’re sat. It arrives and everyone joyfully stands up – except me, of course. It’s all good fun and all, but it’s an English tradition to not join in with this kind of collectiveness, so I’m too set in my ways/miserable to join in.

The first half was decent enough – England dominated the ball after the goal, but Austria still look handy on the break. Lauren Hemp did have a great chance when put through one-on-one, but the Austrian keeper pulled off a good save, throwing her arm at the ball to divert it over. A finely poised game, then; hopefully we’ll see more goals – these are thoughts that I’m pondering while taking my sweet time in the men’s toilets, thanks to the plethora of space that’s afforded to me. As it turned out, nothing much happened in the second half, as both sides continued to struggle to create anything – the best chance being an Austrian shot from the left that England keeper, Mary Earps, was well-placed to turn around the post.

England largely managed to control the second half and despite looking threatening from set pieces, Austria couldn’t fashion any more chances. It was a hard-fought win for the hosts, who will be looking to be far more fluent in their play as the tournament progresses – they’re certainly capable of a lot more. You know what they say about tournament football – you have to ‘grow’ into it; start from a low base and work your way forwards. I hope for the sake of the tournament – and England in general – that we do indeed see this in the next few weeks.

The vast majority of the 68,000 crowd go home happy though – England have three points on the board, which is all that matters. As it turned out, this was a record crowd for the women’s European Championships, some 27,000 more than the previous record set in Germany in 2013. The prices have been fantastic and there have been some great deals for families attending – which has been criticised by some, which I find odd. Imagine criticising cheap ticket prices for a football match in 2022, especially considering the unaffordability of top level – and even some EFL clubs – in the men’s game. The crowd today exemplified what supporting a football team should be like – everyone enjoying the atmosphere, getting involved with songs, cheering on their team in tense desperation; it’s what watching football should be about.

They can leave the Mexican Wave alone though, no room for that.

England 1
(Mead, 16)

Austria 0

Attendance: 68,871

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I'm Back! And There's A Major Tournament To Attend...

Hello! Long time no see! I never envisaged I would have been so busy since last August that
groundhopping had to take a backseat. Everything is (hopefully) in order now, so I’ll be back travelling around football grounds for the 2022/23 season. 

And it starts with a major tournament that’s kicking off tomorrow.

The Women’s European Championships is taking place in England and promises to be a great celebration (and examination of) the women’s game. Over 500,000 tickets have been sold and I’ve been fortunate enough to grab a ticket for five of the fixtures, including tomorrow’s opening game as England take on Austria at Old Trafford, as well as for the Final at Wembley at the end of the month.

I’ve been to a few women’s games for the purposes of this blog and each time it’s been an enjoyable watch – it offers a vastly different atmosphere to the men’s game (and that’s putting it lightly!), which I think is to its credit. I’ll probably expand on this more during the tournament, but I feel that the women’s game needs to offer something different to stand on its own – and there’s no doubt that this tournament offers a more ‘family friendly’ appeal which needs to be promoted throughout to try and get more people into enjoying the experience of supporting a football club.

Living in the North West has afforded me some decent games to attend in the next month – aside from the opening game at the home of Manchester United, I’m going to see a match this Saturday at Leigh Sports Village (a 40 minute bus ride from my home in Wigan!), another at Manchester City’s Academy Stadium and a semi-final at somewhere a bit ‘further afield’ – Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane! This is the biggest football tournament England has hosted since (the men’s) Euro 96 (the 2005 version of the Women’s Euros, ironically hosted in the North West of England, came and went without anywhere near the fanfare this edition has already had), so it represents a significant milestone in the women’s game in this country and I feel it’s important to document it.

I hope you enjoy reading my upcoming blogs, the Euros and/or even any pre-season games you might be attending. I’m looking forward to getting back to blogging; hoping these Euros can act as a catalyst for me to get back to it full-time!

Cheers!

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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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