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    #51
    Nothing quite as extreme as that but Hinckley’s manager was guilty of some pretty unsportsmanlike behaviour today and it left me and my dad quite annoyed at him. I expect to see a bit of chat between players/staff and officials but I don’t think it’s okay for the manager to spend the first half hectoring the linesman, incuding telling him that if he can’t do the job he “should fuck off home”, followed by him letting him know that he thougt he was “a dickhead”.

    Maybe I’m going soft but I spend my time watching football at that level as an antidote to some of the less enjoyable things about watching football at Leicester. This is the tenth tier. The bloke will be giving his time up for a pittance because he loves the game. Something our manager ought to appreciate given he’s doing the same. Putting a bit of pressure on is one thing. Being cruel is quite another.

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      #52
      I can understand wanting to take the game seriously at any level but I agree that it's wearisome hearing every decision argued with as if lives were in the balance. Happened today at what is glorified parks football.

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        #53
        Frickley Athletic 4-4 Kidsgrove Athletic

        I took my ten year old expecting to see a comfortable home win and a bit of relief for him from watching Barnsley. Frickley were third in the table and Kidsgrove near the bottom before today.

        Kidsgrove took a three goal lead midway through the first half before Frickley scored two just before half time. Frickley then scored twice to take the lead before Kidsgrove equalised with about ten minutes remaining. There was still time though for Frickley to have a penalty saved with two minutes of normal time remaining.

        It was by far the best match I've seen this season, and perhaps the most entertaining non Barnsley match I have ever seen.

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          #54
          Carlisle 2-0 Chesterfield

          Comfortable first half for Carlisle (once Clint Hill had sliced one onto his own crossbar early on). Kelvin Etuhu put us in front and almost immediately got injured, though we did at least have a midfielder on the bench to replace him so that Curle's line up still featured 4 centre backs, one midfielder and 5 forwards.

          Second half was largely dull, bar Chesterfield making a strong challenge for the worst attempt at taking a corner that I have ever seen, at any level of football. At one point it seemed to dawn on them that, awful though they were, they could get something out of the game - they had what looked a reasonable shout for a penalty waved away, scored a good goal that was chalked off for someone interfering in play from an offside position and had another chance go narrowly wide. This woke Carlisle up just enough for John O'Sullivan to stab home a close range effort to make it 2-0, and the rest of the game trundled on to a conclusion.

          Another 3 points gained from a mediocre performance against a really dreadful team, and our charge towards a 12th place finish is well and truly on.

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            #55
            Oxford United 0 -Plymouth Argyle 1.

            Oxford, still managerless, didn't play badly. Conceded a very soft goal from a corner on the stroke of halftime. Pressed well second half, created a lot of chances, didn't score. Plymouth had two attacks. One hit the bar, the other was cleared off the line. Three minutes of added time was a travesty given the amount of time wasted by the Plymouth keeper.

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              #56
              Bath City 1 Whitehawk 1

              This was one of those games that you have to explain to non-football supporters why a 1-1 is entertaining. Before Whitehawk scored with a great free kick, they could have been 1-0 already but for a fantastic clearance off the line from our Jack Batten. We were then awarded a dubious-ish penalty which back to form after a recent converted penalty, was saved. Nothing much happened then until 10 minutes before time. Firstly, the referee classically booked the wrong player for a foul then, after two players clumsily missed the ball and kit each other's shinpads, the ref sent off their player. A foul in itself was ludicrous but to send someone off was unbelievable. Anyway, we wasted that opportunity and Whitehawk sent on some subs that were so tall, it was like the circus had come to time. Therefore, it was quite satisfying to see one of our players score a great curling header in the 91st minute. Then it was all Bath City for the final five minutes of extra time but 3 points was not to be. 2 goals, a sending off, a penalty, injury time drama, fantastic stuff.

              A word has to be said for Steve King. He is a pantomime villain at this level. He is one of the highlighted hair faux-cockney wankers that we seem to see a lot of in this division. I have a feeling that he wore a blue suit with brown brogues at one game here. However, that may have been one of the other Simon Jordan-a-likes that come over from East of London. However, I have got to say that he is good value. He brought a bottom of the table team who caused us a load of problems and he gave us a target for, for us, some quite unseemly terrace abuse. I wouldn't want him as a manager - especially with his teams' time-wasting antics - but I would prefer him to, say, Tony Pulis or Warnock.

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                #57
                Curzon Ashton 4 York City 1

                A good day in the pubs of Stalybridge ruined by one of the most vile, spineless, inept City performances I have ever witnessed, and believe me there are a lot of contenders in recent years. Curzon weren't amazing by any stretch of the imagination, but would have reached double figures if it hadn't been for our genuinely wonderful goalkeeper Adam Bartlett. My friends and I left at half time with the score at 3-0, which was letting City off lightly at that point. Nice little set-up Curzon have got, though not great location-wise. Also, if you're going to enforce segregation when there's a large away support expected (outnumbering the home support in fact), you probably want to provide the designated away section with more than 2 portaloos and stock the bar with enough drinks so that most of the selection doesn't run out midway through the first half.

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                  #58
                  I've got a couple of mates work for Curzon Ashton. Great little club.

                  I popped along to FC United v Stockport. Consequently FC United lost their first home game since September. Stockport fans are bad dickheads. Stop smashing stuff up, lads, and enjoy your day out.

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                    #59
                    First stop of the day was the inaugural Parkrun at Queen's Park in Crewe. Pleasant surroundings and a decent mixture of up and down bits. Finished 26th of 395 in 20:54.

                    From Crewe I drove the length of Shropshire to Ludlow and the Ludlow Football Stadium. This is at the north end of the town and was built for Ludlow Town, who have since folded with massive debts. They were replaced by AFC Ludlow, who lasted about four years before being wound up due to "lack of commitment" from players. I was there to watch the latest team to call the ground home, Ludlow, who were hosting AFC Bilsbrook at noon.

                    The Ludlow Football Stadium has a clubhouse block at the centre of the site, with seating on both sides - some looking on the main grass pitch and the rest viewing the 3G pitch. Ludlow's game was on the 3G pitch and started well for the home team as one of the Bilsbrook defenders decided not to do anything with an incoming cross, leaving an easy finish for a Ludlow forward. After that there was more effort than skill and one further goal for Ludlow in the second half. Most memorable moment was the Bilsbrook keeper leaving the pitch to retrieve the ball then misjudging the height of the barrier as he crossed over and doing a belly flop on to the pitch.

                    After that I moved next door to the grass pitch where Shawbury United were hosting Bromsgrove Sporting. Shawbury is a village about ten miles north of Shrewsbury and around forty miles from Ludlow. Prior to this season they played at Wem, about five miles from Shawbury. It may surprise you to learn that there appeared to be few "home" fans yesterday. There was a decent number of Bromsgrove fans and they went home happy as their side got a convincing 3-0 win to maintain their lead at the top of the division.

                    After that I left Ludlow and headed to Oswestry, the obvious location for a Scottish Challenge Cup semi final. Hosts TNS were the better team in the first half but couldn't do better than hitting the bar. In the second half TNS remained on top and they took the lead about five minutes in. This seemed to finally get Dumbarton going, but TNS still seemed likelier to score the second until the visitors got an excellent equaliser from very little with about fifteen minutes left. Extra time was looming but another excellent finish, this time from a free kick, gave Dumbarton the win. Very impressive turn out by the Dumbarton fans.

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                      #60
                      Wimbledon 1 (Pigott, 90+3) Bristol Rovers 0

                      I love that match reports now state the minute of injury time that a goal is scored in. I may be mistaken but wasn’t always the case, was it? I’m sure I’m the olden days yesterday’s winner would have been recorded as a 90th minute goal which simply would not have done it justice.

                      The first half of the game was terrible from both sides and at the break I was as convinced as I have ever been that The Dons are going down this season. It didn’t get much better for the next 15 minutes either but then a radical reshuffle of the team and formation due to an injury led to Wimbledon taking control of the game.

                      They still didn’t score or even threaten a goal too much until the final minute of injury time. Jon Meades doggedly refused to let a ball go dead, touched it to sub and creative hub Harry Forrester who arced in a cross for totemic new signing Joe Pigott, also fresh off the bench, to bury with a header. I can’t really do it justice so video here :

                      https://twitter.com/mattmaginniss/status/964908397727485956

                      It’s fair to say that the goal and subsequent intense celebrations (the entire side charged to right in front of our block of the grandstand as it’s where the players’ families sit which added to the fervour) are by far the highlight of the season so far. It’s the kind of moment that always feels like a corner turned but there have already been a few of them this campaign and they’ve been false dawns. It did left them three places, if only one point, clear of the relegation zone though.

                      As the tweet above says, one of those “I love football!” moments.
                      Last edited by Ray de Galles; 18-02-2018, 16:43.

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                        #61
                        Originally posted by Jobi1 View Post
                        Curzon Ashton 4 York City 1

                        A good day in the pubs of Stalybridge ruined by one of the most vile, spineless, inept City performances I have ever witnessed, and believe me there are a lot of contenders in recent years. Curzon weren't amazing by any stretch of the imagination, but would have reached double figures if it hadn't been for our genuinely wonderful goalkeeper Adam Bartlett. My friends and I left at half time with the score at 3-0, which was letting City off lightly at that point. Nice little set-up Curzon have got, though not great location-wise. Also, if you're going to enforce segregation when there's a large away support expected (outnumbering the home support in fact), you probably want to provide the designated away section with more than 2 portaloos and stock the bar with enough drinks so that most of the selection doesn't run out midway through the first half.
                        .... and supply plasters to the lad in the bar. I only noticed the blood running down his hand after I'd bought the pie.

                        I lasted the full 90 as I'm stupid like that. Kempster looked alright when he came on. Parkin' sending off may be a blessing. It's hard to drop your top goal scorer but he's practically immobile.

                        .... and it was a red card despite what everyone around me thought.

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                          #62
                          I went to AFC Croydon Athletic v Hollands & Blair in the SCEL Premier last night.

                          I wonder, has there ever been any research in to the correlation between extreme cold at a game and the likelihood of a 0-0 draw? The two coldest games I've seen this winter have both been goalless, although last night was nothing like as moribund as Molesey v Carshalton in December and had plenty of chances, just none converted.

                          A nice little ground, the stand and clubhouse being especially impressive for a fan-owned phoenix club, especially given they had the ground gutted by fire a while back and have only been going for 6 years following the collapse of the previous club after the money-laundering owner's jailing over the Pakistan match-fixing controversy and chairman's suicide.

                          Difficult place to find though, The directions led to the locked gates of a cemetery and I had to spend twenty minutes circumnavigating a fair section of a massive fenced off park following vague hints of distant floodlights and eventually the sounds of players warming up before climbing a grass bank to find my way in.
                          Last edited by Ray de Galles; 21-02-2018, 12:26.

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                            #63
                            Originally posted by Corieltauvian View Post
                            Nothing quite as extreme as that but Hinckley’s manager was guilty of some pretty unsportsmanlike behaviour today and it left me and my dad quite annoyed at him. I expect to see a bit of chat between players/staff and officials but I don’t think it’s okay for the manager to spend the first half hectoring the linesman, incuding telling him that if he can’t do the job he “should fuck off home”, followed by him letting him know that he thougt he was “a dickhead”.

                            Maybe I’m going soft but I spend my time watching football at that level as an antidote to some of the less enjoyable things about watching football at Leicester. This is the tenth tier. The bloke will be giving his time up for a pittance because he loves the game. Something our manager ought to appreciate given he’s doing the same. Putting a bit of pressure on is one thing. Being cruel is quite another.
                            That's pretty shocking, but at the same time, the officials shouldn't put up with it. As an AR, I'd have had the centre ref over and insisted he be sent to the stands, followed by a disciplinary report. Or turned around and said, "Fuck off home yourself, twat."

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                              #64
                              Originally posted by imp View Post
                              That's pretty shocking, but at the same time, the officials shouldn't put up with it. As an AR, I'd have had the centre ref over and insisted he be sent to the stands, followed by a disciplinary report. Or turned around and said, "Fuck off home yourself, twat."
                              The bloke looked quite upset and I thought it was bullying behaviour. I think he was intimidated by it and think making a point of standing up to his behaviour would perhaps have been quite difficult for him. I do hope there is something included in the report.

                              My dad and I spoke about this again yesterday. We both like the manager and hope he is given a proper go in the role. It’s his first management job and maybe he is just feeling his way into a new situation. But he has gone down in our estimation, without question. He needs to learn from it he can go, as far as I’m concerned.
                              Last edited by Corieltauvian; 21-02-2018, 17:14.

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                                #65
                                Originally posted by Corieltauvian View Post
                                The bloke looked quite upset and I thought it was bullying behaviour. I think he was intimidated by it and I don’t think making a point of standing up to his behaviour would perhaps have been quite difficult for him. I do hope there is something included in the report.
                                You could always report it to the league yourself. I did so after a similar incident at Merstham earlier in the season. Lawd knows if it achieved anything but I felt at least I'd dome something to support the ref. More difficult if you're a regular and are generally well-disposed towards the manager though, I concede.

                                Comment


                                  #66
                                  Seville is great. I'm sat eating croquettes, drinking cerveza and just mooched around the alcazar. Fucking the game off to watch in a bar. A bar that does sirloin in whisky for €3.

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                                    #67
                                    I went to Ramsbottom last night for their game with Scarborough. The away side scored twice in the first five minutes, which largely ended it as a contest. Perhaps surprising that Scarborough only added one more, with the home side getting a consolation goal a few minutes from the end.

                                    First visit to Ramsbottom in about ten years - my last visit was a an August cup game so this was the first time I saw it in under the lights, which sounded like their generator had been nicked from an aircraft carrier. Possibly the highest ranked club where tea is served in a mug rather than a disposable cup?

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                                      #68
                                      Originally posted by Ray de Galles View Post
                                      You could always report it to the league yourself. I did so after a similar incident at Merstham earlier in the season. Lawd knows if it achieved anything but I felt at least I'd dome something to support the ref. More difficult if you're a regular and are generally well-disposed towards the manager though, I concede.
                                      I’m not too worried what the manager thinks, assuming he would even know. It’s his behaviour that needs to be remedied.

                                      I hadn’t considered reporting it to the league but will do so now. Thank you.

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                                        #69
                                        EIM knows which matches to watch in the pub, fam

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                                          #70
                                          Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                                          EIM knows which matches to watch in the pub, fam
                                          Money well saved

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                                            #71
                                            Report from Saturday

                                            Saint Charles v City of God, Blyth v Gateshead Redheugh, Blyth AFC v Whickham, Blyth Spartans v Bradford Park Avenue, A return to drinking, a guide to Northumberland dual carriageways, trying to understand Blyth's five non-league sides, substitutes eating the only KFC in the UK, spunking cock graffiti, makeshift wheelchair enclosures.

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                                              #72
                                              It goes without saying that the report is brilliant. I tried to read the bit about Blyth Spartans to TLMG, but I was laughing too much and now she thinks I'm mental. If she'd heard any of it she'd presumably think that BB&F! is the mental one.
                                              Last edited by Toby Gymshorts; 21-02-2018, 23:41.

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                                                #73
                                                Delighted that BB&F is back to writing about his adventures, but is it just me who can’t read the purple font?

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                                                  #74
                                                  No, me too. In places I can read it if I strain, in others not even then

                                                  Ah just discovered if I highlight the text I can. But its a bit of a faff
                                                  Last edited by ad hoc; 22-02-2018, 07:28.

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                                                    #75
                                                    The purple font defeated me as well. I'd learned about Newcastle Blue Star by then though. Always educational.

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