St Helens Town vs. Pilkington

No matter the level of football, derby matches always bring the best (and worst) out of supporters and players alike; rivalry boiling over in the strive to attain local bragging rights. Well, I’m in St. Helens today for beer, food and El Glassico – the town famous for glassmaking has two sides in the North West Counties League Division One North and they’re going head-to-head on the second weekend of the 2021-22 season. To make things even more intriguing, they both play at the same ground – a smart 3G facility a mile-or-so from the town centre. Let’s hope it’s only metaphorical glass that is smashed today!

I planned to see this fixture on Easter Monday last year (which, due to COVID, obviously didn’t go ahead) so it was great to learn that it was taking place so early this season. Sadly, it’s pissing down and there’s plenty of walking to do! I do have somewhere to provide shelter, however – the haven being ‘The Cricketers’, the CAMRA national pub of the year 2018. Located just outside the town centre, the pub sits in a residential area, just off the main road, so there’s a ‘hidden gem-feel’ about the place. Covered in plants on the outside, the building has a bigger-on-the-inside feeling where it looks busy, but it isn’t packed, so it’s easy to get served and find a seat – somehow, I think this situation might change come the late afternoon! The interior itself is mostly wooden – not in a boring sense – most of the materials used in the interior is indeed wood, so it looks and feels like most people’s idea of a ‘traditional pub’. I just need a dog running around, asking for pats/crisps now and it would be the perfect pub!

Then there's the beer - what a selection! From Carling's and Fosters for the kids and newbie drinkers to the local real ales and foreign beers for us more refined beer ponces. This is as close to heaven as I can get right now. It’s like Valhalla, but with beer. And the prices! I get a pint of the magnificent Czech lager, Staropramen and expecting pennies change out of a fiver, imagine my delight when I learned it would only cost £3.60 - you'd be hard-pressed to find a pint of premium pilsner for that price these days! Maybe in Prague. To top it off, it came in a handled glass – it goes without saying that I’m toying with the idea of coming back after the game.

Speaking of glass, St Helens is notable for its industry in the creation of such material – with Pilkington, being one of the foremost companies to come from the town. Established in 1829 as the ‘St Helens Crown Glass Company’, it was originally founded as a partnership between members of the Pilkington and Greenall families – when the last Greenall departed the company in 1845, it was renamed ‘Pilkington’s’ and went on to establish itself as the industry leader over the next century. In fact, by the end of the First World War, they were only one of two glass manufacturers remaining in Britain – the others being Chance Brothers. Pilkington’s would buy shares in Chance and by 1951, had fully acquired it, becoming the undisputed glass manufacturer in the country. In 1959, Sir Alistar Pilkington (no relation, astonishingly), pioneered ‘float glass’; a new glass-making technique that made better-quality flat glass more efficiently and cost-effectively. Thanks to this innovation, the company had expanded their operations globally and by the 1970s, were on the stock market – today, they are owned by Japanese company NSG and are still one of the leading glass-making brands in the world.

The present Pilkington Football Club was founded in 1938 – but they were predated by several other teams that came from the works’ floor. One of these included an initial amalgamation, under the name of ‘Pilkington Amateurs AFC’ in 1933, however they’re regarded as a separate team to the eventual Pilkington FC, who were created five years later. Playing in various local leagues – from the Liverpool Business Homes League, St Helens Combination, Mid-Cheshire League and presently, the North West Counties, their home since the 1948-49 season has been Ruskin Drive; the very place they play at today. Although, it's very different these days – and is also now home to St Helens Town, their ‘rivals’.

In 2010, St Helens Council stepped in to take over the lease of Ruskin Drive, which (in addition to being the home of Pilkington’s) had been developed into a sporting area for local cricket and rugby league clubs. They quickly recognised that the site needed regeneration and by 2016, had put their backing behind a redevelopment plan that would see £3.6m spent on improvements, including the creation of state-of-the-art 3G artificial rugby and football pitches, a cricket and rounders field, bowling green and all-weather tennis courts. Aimed at providing better quality facilities for locals to enjoy, the expanded facilities also helped to bring another local sporting institution ‘home’ – St Helens Town.

Formed in 1946 (following the 1920s folding of another club by the same name), St Helens Town initially played at Hoghton Road, a former cricket ground in the Sutton area of the town. Two years later, they gave an opportunity to former German POW, Bernhard ‘Bert’ Trautmann, to keep goal for them in the Lancashire Combination. Despite initial indignation from crowds at a former Nazi solider playing football in England, Trautmann impressed enough that he earned a contract with Football League side Manchester City a year later – going on to make 500 league appearances in a 15-season career with City. His most famous moment occurred during the 1956 FA Cup final when City beat Birmingham City 3-1 at Wembley. Coming out of his goal to field a cross, Trautmann collided with Birmingham forward Peter Murphy and broke his neck. Although he didn’t realise at the time – after initial treatment, he carried on, playing out the rest of the match, making several saves.

When he collected his winner’s medal from the Queen, the accompanying Prince Philip even commented on the state of Trautman’s ‘crooked’ neck. A few days later, Trautmann was diagnosed with breaking five of his vertebrae – apparently, the third vertebrae had wedged itself against the others, preventing further damage and thus, probably saving his life. Nevertheless, his story – from a child who was swept up by the Hitler Youth, to Nazi soldier, POW and finally a free man who went from a hate figure to an inspiration due to his professionalism and bravery, is a story that struck a chord with many people over the years – it was even made into a film, in the shape of 2018’s The Keeper. I also heartily recommended his biography, written by Catherine Clay, as great reading if you wish to learn more about his life.

St Helens Town meanwhile did have a brief flurry after Trautmann’s departure, earning a promotion to the First Division of the Lancashire Combination. But it was to be their nadir – aside from winning the FA Vase at Wembley in 1987 (3-2 against local rivals, Warrington Town) – it’s largely been a struggle for football in the town ever since. With rugby league being the dominant sport here – and not to mention, the town’s population being expanded post-war by the relocation of people from Liverpool, thus having their football allegiances already set – it’s been an uphill battle to establish a presence for a substantial football club here. All this came to a head in 2002.

With their home at Hoghton Road becoming increasingly unsuitable, Town entered into discussions with St Helens ‘Saints’ RLFC about arranging a long-term lease to use the rugby side’s Knowsley Road home. In exchange, Town gave their ground to Saints – who later sold the land to Barratt Homes for £575,000. For this, Town got an agreement that they could play at Saints’ ‘current playing facility’ for 80 years, and they would support the football club ‘financially and practically’ in its push to climb the non-league pyramid. Although this arrangement initially worked harmoniously enough, Saints began to demand payments – and despite selling off Knowsley Road and moving to a new stadium with the promise of a ‘Sporting Club St Helens’ in 2011, Town did not go with them, leaving the football club homeless.

There’s obviously more to this affair that could be delved into – but what it makes clear, is the importance of a football club to have at least some degree of ownership over a facility. With a population of around 130,000, St Helens is a sizeable town – bigger than many of those who already have a Football League side (its bigger than Wigan, in fact). There’s potential here to grow a top-level non-league side at least, but poor decisions and unclear intentions have stunted that growth. Essentially, they were sold a dream by the town’s biggest sporting institution and instead, they found themselves without a home and their status has dropped. From playing at Knowsley Road in front of crowds of a couple of hundred with hopes of pushing towards the top level of semi-professionalism, they instead found themselves groundsharing at Ashton Town and Ashton Athletic, just hoping to survive – and now, although they’re back in St Helens, they’re playing in front of a hundred-or-so supporters at a 3G pitch, shared with Pilkington.

I arrive at the Ruskin Park ‘Sports Village’ easily enough – but the pitches aren’t well signposted. I had to wander about for a bit before finding the main 3G pitch, which was past the cricket ground and at the side of the rugby pitch. I had purchased a digital ticket before the match, and it took an age to scan – leaving me thinking if this is indeed the ‘future’ of football ticketing, when paying with cash would have taken a quarter of the time! Nevertheless, I get in and the ground is, okay. There’s a single seated stand by the side of the pitch, with standing areas behind each of the goals. The other side of the pitch is reserved for the teams to sit/stand and is backed by a fence. It’s still raining so I head for the stand and notice there are seats missing, presumably due to previous COVID restrictions – not sure why removing them was the best option? Why not just tape them off? There’s a decent enough crowd here, with both sides having a visible representation with flags scattered across the fences that surround the pitch. I was left thinking – does this count as a ‘double groundhop’? Obviously, this is a ‘home’ game for Town, but it’s also home to Pilkington too, so all their supporters will be here too – it's not like there are ticket allocations! I’ll pencil this off as two groundhops, then!

Town enter the pitch in their blue home kit, while Pilkington wear green – the colours of the company. There’s a weird juxtaposition between both sides’ kits too – the shirt numbers are completely different sizes! Town have MASSIVE numbers on the back of their shirts, while Pilkington’s are a bit on the small side! Surely, even the North West Counties should insist on some consistency when it comes to issues like this? They’re quick enough to tell them to have NWCFL patches on the sleeves!

It's increasingly seeming like I’m moaning about my day, but I’m having a good time, really – and the match being an entertaining one helps! Pilkington open the scoring when the Town goalkeeper goes out wide to boot a loose ball back upfield, but he completely misses it! An onrushing attacker appears, collects the ball and plays it across the area where a teammate is on hand to shrug off a defender to tap in. The errors continue for Town, as they present several opportunities to their opponents to extend their lead – but they don’t take them. 

A decent crowd has built up as the rain has stopped; everyone now ducking out from cover to stand beside the pitch. Town do seem to have a loud and animated supporter base at least – judging by the bloke sat near me, bemoaning his sides’ poor defending. As we’re all enjoying the game, a sudden THUD on the top of the stand makes us all jump – turns out it was a rugby ball that was kicked over from the other pitch and landed on the metal roof above us. In fairness, a football was booted over from this pitch to theirs earlier, so I guess it’s some sort of payback!

Town collect themselves and have a great chance with a snapshot that the Pilkington keeper does well to get down to and save – but on the stroke of half-time, the ‘home’ side do equalise. It’s an error by Pilkington this time as they give away the ball on the edge of the area, allowing an attacker to nip in and fire past the keeper. Despite being up against it for most of the half, St Helens get to half-time with the score all square.

I linger around the ground at half-time – I believe there’s a refreshment area of some sort somewhere because I see people with cups of tea, but I can’t see one. It’s raining again, anyway, so I just take a look around the rest of the ground. Aside from the aforementioned flags – one of which pays tribute to Bert Trautman – another way the club have tried to create a ‘home’ feeling here, is the inclusion of plaques that have been attached to the fence, describing various historical moments from the club’s history. It’s a nice little nod to their heritage,but that's all it is - it doesn't feel like this is their home. Maybe it's the fence being green that doesn't help? Although I suppose Pilkington won't have an issue with that!

Town start the second half strong, having most of the ball and creating a couple of half-chances – but it’s all in vain. In a role reversal (of sorts), it’s Pilkington who score against the run of play – a ball into the area isn’t cleared, it bounces around before an attacker volleys it into the back of the net. The task of getting back into the game is made harder for Town not long later when they have a man sent off for a high challenge.

Despite this, they rally and create a few more half-chances on the break – the closet being a shot hit into the side netting. Naturally, gaps are evident as they push forward for an equaliser with one fewer man, and Pilkington take full advantage to seal the win. An attack down the left sees the ball played across the area and it’s a simple tap-in for 3-1. Then – just as a shout of ‘Where the hell is the keeper going?’ from the bloke at the side of me goes up – another attack from the left sees the Town custodian out of position and it’s yet another simple pass across the area and a tap-in into an open net.

It finishes 4-1 and as we snake past the fences displaying the signs informing us of the club’s history on the way out, I’m left wondering if any more of them will be added in years to come? Despite securing a home back in the town, it’s a tough time for St Helens Town who I think will struggle for any sort of growth here – it just shows how easy it is for clubs at this level to lose their momentum.

I decamp back to The Cricketers after the match and unsurprisingly, it’s rammed with the early evening crowd – so I nip to another nearby real ale pub, Talbot Ale House. I don’t know what I was expecting but a massive pub painted in blue wasn’t it! It seems most of these real/craft ale venues that I go to are in repurposed shops or are purpose-built, so I always expect small, tight places. The Talbot is a proper pub though, very roomy inside – absolutely no issue in finding a seat in here! I plump for a pint of Triple Choc by Saltaire, a chocolate stout that slips down a treat!

I have a few more beers around various pubs on the route back to the station and all-in-all, it’s been an enjoyable trip (despite my earlier complaints!) St Helens is a cracking place for a couple of beers, it’s just a shame their football clubs are so low down in the pyramid because there’s plenty of untapped potential here.

St Helens Town 1

Pilkington 4

Attendance: 195

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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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Interview With A Viking Hopper

In a new series, the blog is going to feature interviews with a range of different people who use their love of football to explore other passions. Whether that’s scratching a particular creative itch, visiting new places, building a career, connecting with others, delving into history…there’s many great stories out there that sum up what ‘the beautiful game’ can provide people outside of the 90 minutes – so I’m aiming to uncover as many of these personal tales as possible.

In this opening Q&A, I was delighted to chat with Anders Johansen – a groundhopper from Norway who has become notable on the English scene, visiting 526 grounds throughout the country (and plenty more across the rest of the UK too). He’s been featured in articles on BBC News, on many of the websites of the clubs he’s been to and has a strong following on Twitter. Always looking to explore new places, he’s constantly planning his trips to England – it literally took a global pandemic to pause his total!

Anders has made use of his trips, writing travel guides – ‘Engelsk fotball: Lagene, banene, pubene’ (English football: teams, courses [directions], pubs), which caters for a growing market of football-mad Norwegians taking ‘football holidays’ in the UK. Interestingly though, it isn’t the glamour of the Premier League that attracts many of these Vikings, who are simply looking to experience what British football is truly about – as you’re about to find out.

I asked Anders about his groundhopping, his best experiences, what he thinks about modern football and if Norway, without a major finals tournament appearance in 20 years, can qualify for Euro 2020 (now taking place in 2021, of course!) 

Hi Anders, when did your passion for groundhopping start? 

I'd say it was something that happened over a bit of time. At first I was happy flying over watching Reading, then sit in the pubs waiting for the next Reading game or fly back home. At some point I decided I might as well watch some other games on days Reading weren't playing. However, it didn't really take off until a few years later, and I'd say my first proper groundhopping trip was over Christmas and New Year’s 2008/2009. Then things really started picking up once I went to a couple of non-league games in 2010 and got the taste for it. At that time I was becoming disillusioned with football at the top levels, feeling it had been reduced to a business, but I now fell in love with the game again and never looked back.  

Many people in Norway have a great love for British football; not just the Premier League, but all the clubs in England's professional leagues seem to have a Norwegian supporters club - what's the appeal behind a Norwegian following, say, a struggling club in League Two? 

The Norwegian’s fascination with English football can probably be quite easily explained. NRK (Norway's equivalent to BBC) showed, from November 1969 onwards, live football from one of the Saturday matches in England. A whole generation or two grew up watching English football as this soon became an institution and the TV highlight of the week. The weekend's game was what we talked about in school, and the stars of the English games became the heroes, collecting and swapping cards and stickers of them. 

As for the appeal behind lower league clubs as well, that's a harder one to answer. English football in general has a big appeal here, but I can't really explain why someone in Norway chooses to support the likes of Exeter City, Hartlepool United or even Chippenham Town. Maybe a desire to support someone that not "everyone else" supports? For some clubs now in the lower divisions, it could be a case of them having been in the top flight in the past and shown on Norwegian telly at the time; some people might have liked their kits or something. Most people in Norway will of course support the big clubs, but other clubs now outside the top flight have a good following. However it's easy to explain the amount of support for clubs like Leeds, Forest, Derby etc, as they were big teams when most of this people were kids watching them on telly. Some will have been on a trip to England, taking in a game somewhere, then getting hooked on that club. But it'll be mostly guessing on my part. 

I know however, for some of the lower league and non-league clubs, that there are people who might have supported a big club in the past, who got fed up with the modern game and how it's been reduced to a business; hence finding a new club to follow further down. But again, this is a difficult one to answer. 

So you’re a Reading supporter – how did you come to be a fan, when was your first visit and what’s your favourite memory supporting them? 

In 1994, a mate and I was on a holiday in Playa del Inglés, Gran Canaria. We ended up spending every night out with a group of lads from Reading, and I went over to visit them the year after, just as Reading were on their way to Wembley and the play-off final (which they lost to Bolton after throwing away the lead).


My first visit to a Reading home game was the following season, in October 1995, when my mate Rob took me to wonderful old Elm Park in some of the worst torrential rain I've ever experienced. They were playing Bury in a league cup game, and the away team looked to cause an upset when the ref stopped the game after 28 minutes with the score at 0-2. The Bury fans were fuming, the homes fans were singing "always look on the bright side of life", and I was hooked. On a side note, I still miss Elm Park a lot.

As for my favourite moment supporting Reading, the first that comes to mind is a certain Saturday back in April 2002, when they played in the third tier. Last game of the season, it was Brentford v Reading at Griffin Park. Reading would go up as runners-up if they managed a draw, while Brentford would leapfrog Reading by beating them. Brentford took the lead in the second half, but with 13 minutes remaining Jamie Cureton popped up to score a vital equaliser. After a nervy finish, Reading got the point they needed. Cue wild celebrations on and off the pitch.

Also fondly remember some cup games from later years, like knocking out Liverpool etc. But sadly, as football at those levels has changed (and the club has changed with it), I have to admit that my interest isn't quite the same at all anymore.  

One of the things I enjoy about groundhopping is visiting unfamiliar places and being surprised at what I find (especially the pubs!) – do you like to explore the towns and cities you visit? 

Oh yes, very much so! That's half the fun, I think. Always plan ahead to see what there is to see and what pubs there are there, and I always try to get there with plenty of time to spare to have a look around and check out the pubs etc.  

You’ve visited over 400 grounds in England – you once did 20 games in 3 weeks, which is incredible. How would you explain the attraction of your hobby to someone who doesn’t know what it’s about? 

I'm actually on 526 grounds in the English pyramid now, and hope it won't stay that way for too long. The trips have just gotten bigger and longer over the years, but I think my most productive trip was when I did 31 games in 24 or 25 days back in April 2017 - with the good help of the organised groundhop in NCEL & NWCL [Northern Counties East League & North West Counties League]. 

That's someone most people will probably describe as madness, and I think you have to enjoy football to even understand it. But I'd say it's a fantastic way to see the country. I like travelling, and UK is my favourite country to travel in. Unlike a "normal" vacation, my groundhopping trips have brought me to places I wouldn't have visited otherwise. And I've made lots of good friends along the way. It's probably harder to explain to them my fascination with football grounds.

Still, must my mates here still think I'm a bit mad, I think.  

What are your 5 favourite grounds you’ve visited? 

Oh, that's a hard one. I always have a reply right away when asked about my favourite ground, but picking 5 is not easy. Well, off the top of my head now...

1) The Oval, Glentoran
It just has to be the Oval. Fantastic, classic old school football ground, just how they should be.

2) Borough Park, Workington
Even with the old Main Stand long gone, and the classic old floodlight pylons replaced and finally removed, Borough Park is a reminder of a time when the club played in Football League...and when FL grounds had much more character.

3) Royal Oak, Harwich & Parkeston
That steep old stand is just wonderful, even though most of the seats were missing on my visit back in 2014, or covered in pigeon droppings. Nice little cover behind the goal as well. Can only imagine how great a ground that was when it apparently had cover on all four sides.

4) Millfield, Crook Town
The Northern League once had loads of lovely grounds oozing with character. Of those remaining, Crook Town is many people's favourite, and also mine. You can just feel the history walking up the steps and looking out over the pitch, with the characteristic main stand on your left.

5) The Recreation Ground, Aldershot Town
If I have to pick a favourite ground from the current top 5 levels of the English pyramid, this will be it, no doubt. Apart from the pre-fabricated, little stand put in at the end near the entrance, it's like time's stood still at the Recreation Ground. The East Bank is just something else, with its barrel-shaped roof and big terrace. Main Stand looks great as well. Shame there aren't any grounds like this left in the Football League (where my current favourite would probably have to be Carlisle United btw).

On a different night, maybe I would've ended up including one or two others, but there are so many great grounds to choose from. And I didn't even include old Elm Park, as I focused on grounds still there. Other grounds worth a mention are Bath City, Boston United, Hastings United, Falmouth Town...I could go on and on. And from Scotland there are great contenders in the likes of Ayr United, Queen of the South, Morton, Pollok, Cambuslang Rangers, Johnston Burgh, Fraserburgh etc. But have to stop somewhere…moving on! 

You’ve commented that you’re not particularly fond of ‘modern’ stadiums – what’s your main issue with them? 

While they are probably great in a functional way, as well as new and modern with 'better facilities', I find them lacking the character of the older classic grounds. They're often a dull plastic bowl, I think. And of course, for the all seater ones, I miss the terracing. I see the point that some people prefer them as they're more comfortable with better facilities. But if I wanted to be comfy, I'd watch the game from my sofa. Also, many of them are built miles out of town. Not a fan!

In non-league they won't be plastic bowls, but here I think they'll often be uncharming complex type grounds...often with a plastic pitch, which is also something I hate with a passion (it's one of the main reasons Norway is perhaps still my least favourite country to groundhop in). But each to their own. 

Following on from that, how important do you think it is for professional clubs that stadiums are built in the communities they represent? 

The short answer is: very important. Not the biggest issue for me anymore as most my games these days are in non-league. But of course, much better when grounds are in the community and walk to the ground, rather than miles out of town needing a shuttle service (if there is one) or taxi. A nightmare getting back to catch your train after an evening game at some of these places. And then there's the possible impact of local pubs etc in the town centre.  

The Premier League has been criticised for a long time for valuing profits over supporters and the communities they’re based in – is this just a problem in England, or is this something that’s common across Europe? 

You'd be surprised by how little I actually follow top-level football these days. The only time I watch it is if I'm at a game watching it live. I very rarely watch football on TV, and the main reason I even keep somewhat update on results here and there now is my betting. 

But I'd say the PL is probably the best example of this. When the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City fly across the world to play a friendly against each other (even having cities bid and pay millions to get them there), it's utter madness as far as I'm concerned. We've already seen English cup draws conducted on Chinese time to accommodate the Asian sponsors and the markets there [The EFL Cup], and it's probably just a matter of time before we'll see English clubs go to other continents to play each other in domestic competitions. Never mind local season ticket holders who have supported the club all their lives. 

Think I read something about the Spanish league already planning something like this, so they might be just as bad. But naturally, it's probably worse in the bigger leagues. Seems to me we're seeing a tendency in more and more leagues, where "Champions" League/Europa League money etc has resulted in a league where the same 2-3 clubs keep winning year after year, the financial gap between them and the rest increasing every year. In Norway, Rosenborg benefitted from this in the 1990s and ended up winning 13 seasons in a row, causing many to lose interest. Still, it's not come to the point here where the clubs seem to value profit over supporters and the community, but that's probably just because the Norwegian league is a small league compared to the likes of PL, with MUCH less money. They know they can't compete with English, German, Spanish and Italian clubs on the Asian to American markets anyway, so this doesn't seem to be an issue at all here yet. 

And finally…how do you rate Norway’s chances of qualifying for next summer’s Euro 2020? They’ve not been to a major tournament for many years but with Erling Håland smashing in goals for Dortmund, confidence must be high? 

I think the future looks brighter than in a very long time for Norway. They've got a squad with several young, talented players, and I think the postponement of Euro 2020 can even work to their advantage, should they qualify. As for Erling Braut Haaland, I don't think he's actually scored a goal yet at senior level for the national team. But he's only had a couple of games still, and no doubt he's had a big breakthrough, so it'll obviously just be a matter of time. He'll be important in years to come. I think the Serbia game can be tough, and Mitrovic the danger man, but feel Norway have a good chance. Should they win, it's either Scotland or Israel, and I think Norway would be slight favourites against the Scots and bigger favourites against Israel. Norway with home games as well (unless they decide to change that somehow). 

But as I don't really follow the Norway national team that closely, I took the liberty of asking another Norwegian groundhopper about this as well. Stig-André Lipper has the blog paabortebane.no, and follow the national team as well as Norwegian team Strømsgodset. He had this to say:
He seems to agree with what I said, and believe Haaland will indeed be a key player up front. However, he points out that the Norway team will be more than just him. Ajer is a rock in the back 4, Ødegaard is already class in the midfield, where Sander Berge also will only get better. And up front, Norway is starting to become spoilt for choice for a change. Haaland, King, Sørloth…he thinks the Serbia game is 50/50, and reckon the Norway would be slight favourites in a home game v Scotland, while they should beat Israel. All in all, he's positive. 

Massive thanks to Anders for answering my questions (and the images featured!) – here’s hoping we all get to return to matches as soon as possible! 

You can follow Anders’ adventures through his Twitter @vikinghopper2, Facebook and on his own [Norwegian-language] blog at https://vikinghopper.blogg.no/ (Click here for an English translation).

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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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Stalybridge Celtic vs. Buxton

Aside from having a football team, most towns in the country will have something notable about it that provides some riveting conversation between you and someone from there (whilst you’re on holiday in Benidorm or wherever). It could be a trade they’re famous for, a gruesome moment in history, a celebrity who’s from there – perhaps their football club reflects the town’s notability in some way. 

For us groundhoppers, the opportunity to visit new grounds in unfamiliar towns allows us to immerse ourselves in these facts, to learn more about them and even join in with whatever it is. This is why I’m in Stalybridge this afternoon – and it was an absolute pleasure to arrange. I’m off to see Stalybridge Celtic in Northern Premier League action against Buxton – and to visit the pub with the longest name in the UK for a pint or six on a bitter Saturday in late-November. 

Yes, The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn being the longest pub name in the UK is the notable fact that Stalybridge should be famous for! Located close to the railway station (turn right, walk under the bridge, you can see the massive sign right away), the pub isn’t actually the first version of The Rifleman. The original, which held the Guinness World Record, closed in late-2015.

Originally named ‘The New Inn’, it first changed to ‘The Thirteenth Cheshire Rifleman Inn’  – this earned it a place in the first edition of The Guinness Book of Records in 1951 as ‘the pub with the longest name’. It seems that they were involved in a tit-for-tat war with other lengthy-named pubs (such as The London, Chatham and Dover Railway Tavern, and the Ferret and Firkin in the Balloon Up The Creek, both in London) – the extra words added to the Rifleman name over the years saw the Cheshire pub grab the title back.

After securing a premises to open a new pub earlier this year, landlady, Sarah Farrer-Baxter, thought long-and-hard about a name. By chance, she was well acquainted with The Rifleman’s former owners who on hearing the news, offered her the use of the name in order to keep it (and Stalybridge) on the map. Whilst delighted with the offer, Sarah indicated that reality hurt a little bit when it came to paying for the lettering!

It’s a fantastic story, something that is so quintessentially British; a pub in a provincial town having to battle the big city for the honour of having the longest name, just to create some notability for their community. Thinking about it, there could be a good TV drama made from two pubs trying to outdo each other over seemingly trifling issues as ‘having the longest name’. As long as there’s a decent script, mind (call me, producers).

Brilliantly, as I walk into the pub at around 1.30 pm, there’s only one other customer in! Although they have a decent range of premium lagers on, there’s nothing in the way of real or craft ales (that I can see – apologies if there were) for us beer ponces to get excited about, so I plump for a pint of Amstel. It’s a smart, well-lit place but it doesn’t feel like a traditional pub – more of a modern ‘bar’ with its bright walls, lighting and second floor with a swirly staircase.

The lad who’s serving is very friendly though, pub name emblazoned on his back, as he’s clearing some glasses away, he apologises for getting in the way of viewing of the pub telly – which he didn’t. As I’m watching the end of the West Ham-Tottenham game (Jose Mourinho’s first game in charge of Spurs – which they win 3-2), the place fills up nicely; there are about 10 people in as I leave just after 2 pm. To sum up; nice place, decent beers, friendly staff, good-sized tellies to watch sport, just don’t expect a traditional pub experience.

Aside from pubs, the other notable thing about Stalybridge is the football club. Formed in 1909 (although there’s some circumstantial evidence that it may have been formed in 1906), the club’s heyday was in the 1920s when for two seasons, they were members of The Football League having formed the Third Division North with 19 other sides.

They had a great first season – finishing 7^th in a league won by near neighbours, Stockport County. Despite finishing 11^th the season after, the club resigned citing that they ‘couldn’t get sufficient support to justify a Football League side’ – which sounds odd, considering their average attendance of 5,400 was some 2,000 more than Rochdale, who finished a place below them. Was this a ‘sliding doors’ moment? Rochdale have stayed in The Football League ever since and currently ply their trade in League One.

After spending the majority of their existence knocking about the non-league pyramid, Stalybridge are currently battling at the top end of the Northern Premier League (Premier Division) table; holding onto the final play-off place. Coached by former Coventry, Wigan and Tranmere striker, Simon Haworth (scorer of many a great goal, including a particular favourite of mine at the old Wembley – see below), the Welsh international is carving out a decent non-league managerial career after spells at Eagley and Clitheroe a level or two below – so I’m interested in seeing how he’s getting on.

The club’s ground, Bower Fold, is located just over a mile from the town centre and has a capacity for around 6,000 spectators. The record attendance for a match involving Stalybridge was when 9.753 rocked up to see them in FA Cup first round replay action in January 1923, as they lost 2-0 against West Bromwich Albion. In more recent times, a crowd of 3,312 attended a second round FA Cup tie against Football League Third Division Chester City in 1999. Despite Andy Scott’s extraordinary goal (see the highlights below, it’s well worth it), Chester grew into the game and scored twice without reply to send them into the third round – where they faced Manchester City (then playing in the First Division).


The record attendance at Bower Fold, however, is believed to be as many as 10,300 when the famous women’s side, Dick, Kerr Ladies beat a ‘Rest of Lancashire XI’ 10-0 in 1921, raising around £600 (£29.000 in 2018, when adjusted for inflation) in aid of the local hospital. I say the crowd was ‘believed’ to be that many, as in those days, they could never be sure – some say the attendance could have been anywhere between 12-14,000). What we do know for a fact, is that Bower Fold is the only football ground in the country where the pitch apparently faces a perfect north.

Whilst researching the club (seeing if the game was going ahead, in truth) I see that they put out a plea for supporters to attend the game in big numbers, as they’re struggling for money – although I’d imagine most clubs at these levels are struggling, Stalybridge not having a home game in the league since the 12^th October hasn’t helped matters. The press release, urging people to attend, encouraged attendees to also indulge in a pint. So naturally, I did.

Passing through the turnstile (£10 entry), I immediately catch sight of the supporters club straight ahead. Inside, it looks a bit swanky; it looks and feels more like a wedding reception venue with its wide-open spaces, smart seating, vast white walls and one-or-two ornate decorations. I indulge in a pint of Kronenberg, poured into a doubled-up plastic container and sashayed outside with it, giggling to myself that I’m allowed to drink this pint of lager by the side of the pitch – the novelty still hasn’t worn off. The weather outside even cools my pint for me as I stand behind the goal, waiting for the game to start.

As I’m stood there, a bipedal badger walks past, handing out sweets to several kids who have been running around the terrace (as if they need more sugar!). What happened next took me by surprise – the badger walked to a shed, opened the door, ducked in and locked it. What’s going on here? It’s then I see that the shed is positioned in front of what (I assume) is the club’s old supporters club – the prefab building is locked, looking a little shabby and (the big giveaway) it has ‘Social Club Bar’ written on it. There’ve certainly upgraded with the wedding venue they’ve got now, anyway. A few minutes after the badger locked the door of the shed, it swings open to reveal a woman, a human woman – what’s she done with the badger?

Instead of reporting a possible badger murder to the police, I settle down to watch the match – supping my pint in the roofed terrace behind the goal. The home side make a decent start; passing the ball about nicely, looking for space in the Buxton defence – their first opportunity arriving courtesy of a shot-on-the turn that just cleared the crossbar. 10 minutes in, Ross Dent is the recipient of some more tidy play; he sneaks into the penalty area before opening out his body (not literally – it means 'turning your body into a comfortable position’) and guiding a centred-ball into the top corner of the net. Brilliant finish – one that certainly warms up the crowd around me, as the temperature continues to drop.

Buxton immediately try to put some pressure on their hosts and without a couple of timely interceptions at the back, they could have grabbed an equaliser. Stalybridge (or ‘Bridge’ as people around me are shouting) ride it out and could have even been two-ahead just before half-time as a volley-whilst-falling-on-your-arse (okay, an ‘acrobatic’ volley) smashed the crossbar and bounced away.

Half-time is spent in the wedding venue, as I sup on another cold pint to warm myself up (!) Early in the second half, Bridge do get their deserved second goal as Darius Osei seizes upon a loose ball in the area, turns and fires it into the back of the net. It’s a good job they have online match reports and videos – when it went in, I was finishing off my Kronie in the bar. Whoops!

I transfer myself to The Lord Tom Pendry Stand for the second half – named after the town’s former long-serving MP, this is the newest stand at the ground (built in 2004) and has over 650 seats. The main stand opposite has room for just over 700 people and was completed in 1996. Part of the reason why I chose to sit down for the second half was to get a different perspective of the match, the other because the regular supporters had moved down to the end where I was to watch their side attack the goal (so I lost my spot, due to babysitting a Kronie) and the final reason, was because it was colder than a White Walker’s heart now!

The -23 temperature (at least) didn’t bother the players much, as Bridge continued to control the game and eke out opportunities; a goal was ruled out for offside and Dent nearly bagged a second as his header was bound for the goal if not for the intervention of the visiting goalkeeper. A late chance sees a Bridge player go clear of the defence, but his chip over the keeper was just-about cleared off the line.

It finishes as a fully-deserved 2-0 win for the home side – Buxton unable to lay a glove on their opponents for the vast majority of the match. This win keeps Stalybridge in 5th, 7 points from top and automatic promotion. The crowd was announced as being 423 – which is up by 131 from their last home match in the league. Good news all round for the club, then!

I’m off back down to the town centre for a few more scoops – first stop is the Wetherspoons for some generic fish and chips. I then make a point of visiting ‘Bridge Beers’, which is a bottle shop and craft ale bar. The owner is friendly enough, guides me through the beers that were on tap – I have a pint of the pale ale Odin by Brightside brewery. I must say that I love a nice pale, hoppy blonde...ale. There’s a great array of bottles on sale behind me, but I decide to move on – 10 yards down the street to another real ale bar, The Craft Pint. This place is a bit more 'happening', as I walk in, I nearly bump into two greyhounds who are supping out of a bowl (water, before you worry – unless it was vodka?). My pint of choice here is ‘Deception’ by Abbeydale – sounds more like perfume than a 4.1% pale ale, but it’s something that I wouldn't mind wearing again.

Now there’s one fact about Stalybridge that I’ve left out until now (two actually, we’ll get to the next one in a minute) – not only does the town boast the pub with the longest name, It has the pub with the SHORTEST name too, located next-door-but one to the Rifleman! The pub is called ‘Q’ (technically it’s called ‘The Q Inn’, so it leaves it open for usurpers to steal the crown), and it’s fantastic. As soon as I walk in, the ‘traditional’ pub fixtures and fittings soak into your eyes, it’s tightly built, there’s a fire roaring and they have real ales on tap – the only thing that’s missing is a dog scampering around! I get a pint of their house beer ('Q Ale' - a 3.8% golden ale), which goes down rather nicely.

I round the day off with a visit to the Buffet Bar – the other attraction to Stalybridge that I haven’t mentioned. Apparently, this is one of very few remaining 'refreshment rooms' in the country and now mostly houses a real ale emporium in its narrow but long structure. With 20 minutes until I need to catch the train, I decide to grab a swift cider – but I didn’t account for the rowdiness of the lads, lads, lads that frequent train stations at 8 pm on a Saturday evening.

Now, think about the penultimate scene in Brief Encounter. Imagine if Dolly Messiter was pissed on craft cider, unknowingly costing the two philanderers (which is ultimately what they were – Fred was a lovely husband, an absolute innocent who deserved better), their final moment of love. Well, that’s exactly what it was like, as the lads were ‘having the banter’ right in front of the bar, slowing down the queuing, preventing me from a treasured juicy delight.

However, unlike the doomed ‘couple’ in the film, I managed to shake off these Dollies, squeeze myself near the bar, get my pint and have it supped in time for the train. In other words, the refreshment room at Stalybridge is best visited on a weekday.

I’m definitely coming back to visit though. Cheers! 

Stalybridge Celtic 2

Buxton 0

Attendance: 423

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