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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Emmerson Boyce slots home his penalty

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

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Happy New Year & Groundhopping Hopes For 2021

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

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

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

Groundhopping In 2021 – and My Book

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The Future of Football: Ticketing Apps and Livestreaming

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ashton Athletic vs. Greenalls Padgate St Oswalds

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ashton Athletic 9

Greenalls Padgate St. Oswalds 1

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