Haggis in Ponderland

My Top 6 Tweeters of 2011

2011-12-30T03:29:00.000-08:00

Top 6? Yes, because I wrote it and realised I'd forgotten one. These were my favourite tweeters of the year, although anyone I follow provides entertainment.

@suttonnick

For services to providing the headlines of tomorrow’s newspapers the night before we can buy them. We must hope that this is part of his job – a current affairs producer for BBC Radio I think – because if I showed his dedication to providing Twitter with front and back pages on a nightly basis five days a week either I, or my wife, would get heartily sick of it.

@AndrewSteele

A Beijing Olympic 400m athlete, no less. Unfortunately for him since that appearance in China his career has been blighted by illness and injury that he still struggles to recover from as London approaches. Despite all this, his feed is full of dry humour and optimism and is well worth a follow.

@NickMotown

Consistently funny, coming up with 140 characters of witty wordplay on an almost daily basis. There are plenty that attempt this and it’s bloomin’ hard. I’ve had a go and managed one day (although it WAS a goodun). Follow, and watch how many you RT.

@katefruitnveg

A local tweeter for local (Glossop) people whose everyday life tickled me more than any other this year. ‘Tis a shame she is currently on a Twitter break. Look forward to her returning.

@Ca1_

My favourite story of the year. Callum Saunders was simply telling his mate that he was coming to Glossop to check on areas to live for a planned move North from London when his twitter feed was pounced upon by nosey-but- friendly Glossopians offering advice on houses, pubs, food and which Manchester club to follow. Despite a traditional High Peak drenching on their first visit, he and wife (@lucaluxes) still moved here, immersing themselves in the town, even supporting @glossopnorthend. A welcome addition to Glossop, and you can’t hear his funny southern accent on Twitter.

@yesitsnumberone

There have been many tweeters who have enhanced my obession with Top of the Pops 1976, not least the @totp1976 user itself. But @yesitsnumberone takes that obsession to new levels. Not just live tweeting the show, he writes a blog on the programme every week, and was the prompter for my best tweet of the year which combined 'Mississippi' by Pussycat and Chris Eubank. If you like your pop nostalgia, you must follow this account.

Other twitter highlights

Being retweeted by a Doctor Who writer was good, but a retweet by Wincey Willis was the bizarre highlight. Wincey Willis! It is for surreal moments like this that I continue to love the Twitter.

To usurp Fergie, Michel Platini must truly be a fool.

2011-12-09T06:40:00.000-08:00

Has it really come to this? Have I really been moved to put finger to keyboard to...deep breath...defend Alex Ferguson.

Alex Ferguson is a man I have very little time for. More one eyed than a Cyclops, his simple equation on life of Man United right/everyone else wrong rubbed me up the wrong way for years until he took himself off my screens in a fit of pique with the BBC, lowering my ire levels at the same time in what was a happy co-incidence.

So who has made me stand up for a man who’s voodoo doll I’d happily stick pins into all day long. It must be someone of real idiocy, right? Step forward Michel Platini.

Platini has been pushing my buttons for a while. Firstly, he introduced his ‘Financial Fair Play’ regulations, which initially were aimed at preventing clubs having debt, a jibe that Platini aimed squarely at English clubs. This was subsequently amended to deal with what he called ‘financial doping’ – where a benefactor sticks in a huge amount of money – when it was pointed out to him that most of the big clubs in Europe had HUGE debts and that Manchester City, who let’s face it were the main target of the new evangelism about club’s finances, had no debt as Sheikh Mansour had turned his cash into equity.

The upshot of this banning of new money into football means that everything must come from the punter, and will see the continued rise of already astronomical ticket prices whilst more and more of the best seats are allocated to corporate fans. Whilst clubs might be motivated to keep ticket prices affordable to allow people from all walks of life to watch their team, they are now forced to extract as much cash as possible from their fans. Did you know there are clubs that charge £10 a season just for you to be on a season ticket waiting list. That’s just a rip off, but FFP is the driving force behind it.

That disregard for the paying customer was further embellished last week when after the draw for the Euro 2012 tournament, awarded to Poland & Ukraine, it emerged that for the games in the remote City of Donetsk, UEFA had already booked EVERY hotel room in the place. Not one left for supporters.

Instead, they are building a 6000 capacity camp site for fans to mingle in where, if they can get to sleep, they can dream of a comfy bed, hot water, a good old cup of tea and other luxuries that UEFA’s bigwigs won’t allow them.

So, onto Platini’s latest thoughts, which has led to the bizarre position I currently find myself in.

Fergie, naturally disappointed with his teams (hilarious*) early exit from the Champs League said the following when asked about the Europa League –

“That is our penalty for not qualifying tonight," added the Scot. "It's a competition I've never been in with United. It does mean Sundays right through and Thursday-Sunday matches. That has to be dealt with.”

Nothing about the competition, just that the scheduling was awkward and it’s their own fault that this is where they find themselves. This was Platini’s reply –

“I know Mr Ferguson would have preferred to be in the Champions League but so would many clubs who don't have that possibility. The world does not revolve around England. The Europa League is a brilliant competition."

It is the second part of that statement that I find utterly bizarre and rather exposes Platini’s dislike of all things British. Debt and financial doping only became an issue when English clubs formed 3 of the 4 Champions League semi-finalists – it was never a problem when this was achieved by Italian clubs. Ferguson made no reference to the standing of the Europa League, except to imply that it for inferior to the Champions League (and this does not really need pointing out to even the most laymen of laymen) yet Platini sees fit to suggest that the English have slighted his competition, even though City have been pretty positive about going into it and trying to win.

Platini is a disaster for supporters of football. In trumpeting a system that he claims will prevent the destruction of the game he is taking it further away from its working class roots, whilst taking every opportunity to take pot-shots at political enemies to try and smooth his way into Sepp Blatter’s position when he finally gives up.

Judging by his treatment of grassroots supporters, love of luxury hotels and disdain for all things British, it would seem he is the perfect replacement.

*sorry MU fans, couldn’t resist, please read on

All the way to Wembley - Part 4b

2011-10-23T01:35:00.000-07:00

There are thousands of stories from Glossopians about the final. Whether they travelled on the ‘Hogwarts Express’ from Glossop to Wembley, or gathered in Trafalgar Square on Saturday afternoon, or took one of the many buses that left Surrey Street, or simply nostalgically commuted half an hour from your house having economically migrated down south years ago.

All these stories had one thing in common though – everyone was going to enjoy the day. In the build up to the game the town had gone North End crazy, with merchandise sales hitting unprecedented levels for the club and ‘Wembley’ being the only topic of conversation in local pubs. Chairman Dave Atkinson was ubiquitous, pictured in the local papers more than MP Tom Levitt.

My own personal difficulty over my daughter’s communion was solved by an uppity letter from the school over the clash that so infuriated me I decided I would stick a metaphorical two fingers up at them. Her communion took place a week later at a different church where she made so many new friends she moved to the school shortly afterwards. It was meant to be!

Preparation for the day took up all the spare time and thoughts of everybody connected to the club. Players and management found plenty of demands on their time from various sources as the town and media latched onto the story, and at the same time they had the matter of a compressed season to complete without getting injured. Semi final hero Kelvin Lugsden picked up a nasty knock in a home game with Abbey Hey that put his participation in serious doubt, whilst captain Dave Young was carried off at Squires Gate the week before the final. Ash Gotham had also picked up a knock as the season ended.

The match was set for a Sunday, but the North End bus set off from Glossop on Friday afternoon, waved off by supporters and both the BBC and ITV. The hotel chosen was the same one that the club had used for the semi-final, this time without the Friday night disco thankfully, and after a late evening arrival and a few drinks, preparations were made for Saturday. However, there was one surprise waiting for the club, as on reception a silver salver from Arsenal commemorating the achievement of reaching the final.

On the Saturday arrangements had been made to train where England train – Bisham Abbey. The session went well as spirits were high, but whilst Young and Lugsden came through without problems it was obvious to onlookers that Gotham was struggling.

From there it was off to Wembley Stadium where the FA Trophy final was taking place between Stevenage and York City. They served up a turgid match, giving the Hillmen nothing to live up to the day afterwards, but it did give the players a taste for the stadium…in the posh seats too.

After the game and back at base, High Peak Radio were broadcasting live from the hotel and Ben Price did his best to relax the players with a light hearted quiz and interviews. As the team went early to bed again, you felt that the preparation could not have gone better.

The morning of the game began with a team meeting. Steve Young began by telling the team that Ash Gotham had told him that he wasn’t fit. It would be a devastating blow to Ash and his family, who had been staunch supporters since the beginning of the season, and meant an unexpected opportunity for Matt Cooper, brought in as cover for this precise event. Young announced the rest of his side – Young, Kay, Lugsden, Yates, Gorton, Morris, Hodges, R Bailey, Hamilton & Allen. Subs were to be T Bailey, Balfe, Parker, Whelan & Hind.

Everyone went off to put on their Wembley suits and then gathered on the lawns behind the hotel for photos with friends and family before the time came for the bus to depart. The Wembley arch was soon in view and as the bus headed into the bowels of the stadium a small band of North Enders cheered it into the darkness.

North End had the home dressing room. I say dressing room, but these were so far away from the Surrey Street changing areas to be believed. As you walked in there was a management team dressing room on the right. A bit further along had the showers, baths and mirrors (complete with hairdryers) on the left and on the right were around 10 physio tables. Only when you went through the next set of double doors did you come to the changing room for the team, with its individual overhead wardrobes and fridge full of energy drinks. And then through another set of doors was a warm up area. In short, they were huge.

It was a few minutes before the players were allowed out onto the pitch, so they spent the time having their photos taken with the shirts that carried their names. Finally though, the gates were unlocked and we were allowed into the arena.

Walking out of the tunnel and onto the pitch, you could not help but to be awestruck. From the giant North End badge hanging from the rafters to the images of yourself on the big screen and the 90,000 seats, largely empty but still impressive, everywhere you looked was a reminder of what the team had achieved. However, there was no greater buzz than the moment Steve Young and Terry Hincks led the teams out to line up on the pitch. It is a moment every football fan dreams of but only a select few achieve.

But as we all know, it wasn’t to be a trophy presentation at the end of the afternoon. North End probably shaded the first half - although both sides hit the woodwork through long range shots from Nick Allen and an extraordinary effort from halfway by Adam Johnstone - but Lee Kerr took full advantage of a collision in defence to score from an angle for Whitley Bay, and just before half time Paul Chow scored on the counter attack – David Morris could have scored but for a last ditch block and the long clearance ended up in Chow’s path, one on one with Cooper.

After the break Whitley Bay applied some pressure and probably should have added further goals but eventually they tired. The Hillmen tried to press but could not get that first goal that might have given them the momentum to grab a second. The ultimate goal was just beyond the team, but as they took the applause from the magnificent support from Glossop folk they could, and should, be proud of what they achieved in that glorious journey - from Sporting Khalsa all the way to Wembley.
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NB - apologies for this final piece. Found it oddly hard to write. I think the weekend went so quickly and I tried to take so much in, I absorbed too much of the minutae and not enough of the big stuff - can barely remember a thing about the game.

All the way to Wembley - Part 4a

2011-10-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

A 3-3 draw a Chalfont St Peter in the first leg meant the second could not be more finely poised. An amazing day at Surrey Street opened the door for an amazing day in London.

Glossop fans were confident after the 3-3 draw at Chalfont St Peter. Their team had shown impressive tenacity to come back from first 2-0 and then 3-1 down to level, and they felt that the Surrey Street atmosphere would give their team the edge at home. They hadn’t reckoned with nature’s great leveller in football though – wind.

Gusts in the first leg had helped Chalfont more that North End down south. Their game was centred on set pieces, and swirling winds allowed balls into the box to cause chaos. Glossop preferred a game on the floor, and an unpredictable run of the ball was a hindrance. No wonder Chalfont striker Terrell Lewis smiled when he said ‘yep, it’s blowing’ when he walked into the ground – he knew that it was to his teams’ advantage.

The excitement in the town in the week leading up to the game was electric. The Glossop Chronicle paper had a ‘Come on Glossop’ special cover. Mettricks produced blue sausages. And tickets were like gold dust. Sold out before the first leg the club fielded call after call of requests for help with tickets. The only hope was that Chalfont might send some back, and on the day of the game queues formed at the ground before 11am to see if this might be the case. A long way from the pay-on-the-gate against Sporting Khalsa back in early September.

There were crucial and dramatic moments in the game, but in truth they were fleeting. The tension and the weather did not make this a great game for the neutral, but there were precious few of those in the ground. However, Glossop did get off to the best of starts when just two minutes in Dave Hodges fed Rick Bailey and he slid the ball under the keeper to open the scoring.

North End dealt with the aerial bombardment from Chalfont much better than they had in the first leg, but on the half hour both Dave Young and 17 year old keeper Ash Gotham came to meet a deep cross and collided. The ball came loose and Lewis hooked in to equalise.

The nerves took over for the next hour and neither side could carve out chances. Chalfont passed the ball better, but could not break down the sturdy Hillman defence. However, a change in full back had largely neutered the attacking threat of Hodges for North End, and as such much of Glossop’s spark was missing. Extra time seemed inevitable very early on in the second half and so it proved to be the case.

In the extra period, Chalfont had a spell of pressure that finally ended with a goal. Danny Yates was forced to head a ball off the line but shortly afterwards a speculative long shot bounced in front of Gotham and was spilled, and Strutton took full advantage to prod home and give Chalfont the lead.

Glossop immediately created a chance, Hodges heading inches over the bar, but as time ticked on they got more and more desperate. Jamie Kay had a shot cleared off the line but several thought time was up in the 122nd minute when the whistle went. Whilst half the Chalfont bench rushed onto the pitch to celebrate the referee in actual fact signalled a free kick to the home side on the half way line. However, the whole ground knew that this was the last chance for the Hillmen.

The free kick was looped into the box and panic ensued. Hodges had a chance cleared off the line before the ball fell to Rick Bailey, whose shot went over the bar. This time the referee surprised the home side by awarding a corner as few saw a deflection. But from the flag kick Mark Balfe headed back across goal and Kelvin Lugsden, from about 4 yards, turned the ball home with his thigh before wheeling away, circling his shirt above his head. Chalfont barely had time to kick off.

The first three penalties were scored, but when Chalfont missed Jamie Kay changed his mind in his run up and his kick was saved making the remaining penalties were sudden death. Both sides scored two more before Ash Gotham dived full length to push a shot round the post. Rick Bailey, who had been down with cramp towards the end of the game, stepped forward and scored the winning kick, sparking a joyous pitch invasion (for which the club was later fined!). Wembley was going to have to prepare for Glossop North End, they were coming!

All the Way to Wembley – part three.

2011-10-20T01:17:00.000-07:00

With Bitton beaten North End had now made the quarter finals, and got a home draw to boot. Could they continue to write more chapters in the club’s history?

As the hangovers from the day out at Bitton began to fade the morning after the night before, a personal nightmare began for your author. It might only have been February, but in an optimistic moment I allowed myself to get carried away and check the date of the final. Discovering that it was to take place on May 10th confirmed my worst fears, this was the same date as my daughter’s first communion, a date that her atheist dad had no understanding of other than it was very special for her. At the moment, this dilemma could be straight-batted with a ‘well, it’s not going to be a problem really is it?’, but what if...what if they did?

The reward for the hard fought victory at Bitton was, in theory, an easier one – a home tie against a team from one notch lower down the ladder. This simplistic outlook though ignored the strength of the Northern League, from where Marske United hailed.

Due to travelling distances involved, Northern League sides are traditionally less willing to be involved in the national league system, which means that whilst sides at Step 5 around Manchester are battling against tens of sides offering a better standard of football (nominally anyway) North Eastern players drop to this level much quicker meaning that there is, in theory, a better standard of player at a comparative level. And besides, Marske were in the quarter finals of the FA Vase, they were clearly no mugs.

The build up to the game was busy, with club officials speculating how many people might turn up. ‘I reckon we’ll get near four figures’ was the most optimistic of guesses, and it was still a regular North End attendance short of the final figure of 1120. Of that number, Marske brought a sizeable following who took over half the scratting shed and with their ringleader – a bulldog mascot – made a noisy build up to the match.

It wasn’t just the crowd that was up for it either – North End blasted Marske from the kick off, Hodges opening the scoring on just two minutes and Bailey tapping in 10 minutes later. As per their billing though, Marske were a handy side, playmaker Glenn Wesson in particular, and they got one back on 20 minutes, only for Bailey to score for the home side again shortly afterwards.

Jamie Kay’s brilliant diving header with half an hour to go seemed to have sealed a semi-final place but within 2 minutes doubt was back as Skelton scored for the visitors. Only as the clock ticked into the final moments of the game did Glossop fans feel able to celebrate and Sam Hind sealed the game with an injury time goal.

The 2-legged semi finals were said to be drawn the following Monday at 11am. From 10:45 fans of North End, Whitley Bay, Lowestoft and Chalfont St Peter were frantically refreshing their browsers approximately every 20 seconds. The draw finally came online on the FA’s website shortly after midday – we were going to Chalfont!

The large crowd for the Marske game forced the Glossop board into action for the 2nd leg at Surrey Street, and the game was made all ticket. They could have still sold the 1500 capacity three times over. But first, there was a very tricky first leg to take on.

The team travelled down to the Chalfont area on the Friday night. A nice quiet hotel had been found for them in Marlow. However, this nice quiet hotel had occasional club nights, and one such evening was scheduled for 27 March 2009. As the North End group sat in the hotel’s lounge more and more club-goers filed into the bar and Terry Hincks’ face got sterner and sterner as he worried about the distraction. He needn’t have – the players all filed off to bed early as professionals would.

As had been the case at Bitton, as the coach entered Chalfont and headed towards the ground there was astonishment on the team bus as the occupants saw just how many fans had made the trip from Glossop to Buckinghamshire. Fans were spilling out of the The Greyhound pub on the main street and carrying their flags to the ground. At the ground the team were cheered off the bus by a throng including one of North End’s greatest supporters down the years – Steve Baran – right at the centre of the commotion as he often was.

It was down to business now though and the players had to calm themselves and deal with some tough conditions – the pitch was hard and rutted and the wind was blowing, neither of which would help the Hillmen’s style of play. This proved to be the case as the home side stormed into a two goal lead in the first half hour, both from set pieces that were not dealt with in the 6 yard box.

However, towards the end of the half Chalfont seemed to tire, and this allowed Jay Gorton to give Glossop hope by scoring from a corner only for the break to galvanise the home side and score again just after half time from another long throw.

Again though, Chalfont’s energy dropped towards the latter part of the half and on 73 minutes substitute Mark Balfe lifted a ball over the defence for Hodges who used the bounce of the ball to lift it over the keeper and into the net.

They weren’t finished there either as five minutes later another ball over the back line put Tom Bailey through on goal. Bailey was on a hot scoring streak in the league, and confidently held off the desperate defence and slipped the ball under the keeper before disappearing into a sea of supporter arms behind the goal. Amazingly, Hind nearly pinched a win for Glossop when he guided a side-foot volley just the wrong side of the post.

It had been a breathless game, and at times there were moments that it looked as though Glossop might not just lose the game but the whole tie on that afternoon. They showed amazing resilience to come back from the almost-dead, and if you suspected they might need all of that tenacity again come the second leg a week later you’d have been absolutely right. This game was only the start of a titanic encounter.

Next time – the story of that amazing second leg and the North End players’ TWO trips to Wembley stadium.

All The Way to Wembley - Part Two

2011-10-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Last time we saw how North End cruised through the first three rounds. However, tougher tests awaited...

Part Two – From Biddulph to Bitton.

Having disposed of Sporting Khalsa, Calverton Miners Welfare and, gloriously, local rivals New Mills in the 2008-09 FA Vase, Glossop North End had been rewarded with a home draw vs Biddulph Victoria.

There was some history between the clubs, Glossop having been Biddulph’s first victory of the season when they knocked them out of the Vase in 2006-07. Revenge was sweet though, as Hodges, Nick Allen and two Martin Parker goals saw The Hillmen cruise to a 4-0 win. The game was most notable for the record of Biddulph midfielder Chris Boast who, having been sent off in the previous two rounds, managed to get himself dismissed again! An unwanted Vase record I’d wager.

It had been nine years since North End had got through to the 3rd round of the competition, so Glossop were heading into almost uncharted waters, but the importance of a football match was put into sharp perspective before the game when news of the death of Steve Young’s father came through. Steve, and his son, Glossop’s captain Dave, were devastated, and quite rightly rushed away to be with their family.

It was a testing game for the Hillmen and their character, especially after brushing aside every team they had played thus far, and Winterton took the lead in the 9th minute, but Darren Hamilton equalised on 22 minutes to give the side impetus. Rick Bailey in particular was on a mission to find the net with numerous shots on goal, and it was he who got the winner on 63 minutes when linking up with David Morris and driving home from the edge of the area.

It was an emotional day for the Glossop team and whilst it might be trite to say that the team had done it for their manager, Steve Young’s father was certainly in people’s thoughts on the day and for the rest of the run.

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It was another home draw in round 4, the furthest North End had ever been in the Vase previously, and the visitors were Corby’s Stewarts and Lloyds. Word was getting around as nearly 400 turned up to the match, many having brought inflatable friends and an intention to sing their team to victory – this game saw the debut of the ‘car of fun’ and the introduction of ‘The Trenches’. Dave Hodges was the hero as he scored in the first and last minutes of the game to seal a 2-1 win.

The victory should have been much more comfortable as Glossop wasted chance after chance after the glorious start they had been given. Stewarts and Lloyds equalised with their only real shot of the game in the 64th minute before the onslaught continued and more chances were wasted.

When the goal finally came, in the second minute of injury time, given his scoring record it perhaps wasn’t a surprise that Hodges notched it...but from a corner with his head? No-one would have predicted that! Not that they cared, they were too busy jumping up and down before a party in the clubhouse with the S&L fans ensued. The visitors left a great impression, and GNE would love to meet them again someday.

The furthest GNE had travelled on the run so far had been Nottingham, but the last 16 draw threw up a difficult trip to Bitton, a small village outside Bristol. Plans were made, coaches were booked and Matt Murray even delayed from moving to Australia so that he could play in the tie...only for heavy snowfall to see it called off on the Friday. On my way home from work I decided to call into The Friendship to pass on the news, only to find the chairman, the manager, his assistant, the captain and the centre forward all enjoying a beer. I was just a touch late with the headline.

Steve Young always cites the moment that the team bus arrived at Bitton a week later as his favourite point of the run. By co-incidence the squad arrived about two minutes after two coach-loads of Glossop fans outside the ground. The crowd parted like the red sea to allow the bus through, cheering and singing at the team all the way to the dressing room.

North End took a magnificent support to Gloucestershire that day, probably half of the 443 crowd, and they, along with the promise of a home draw in the next round, spurred the Hillmen on. However, it was an attritional game.

The weather had made the pitch incredibly difficult to play on, probably unplayable for a league game, and had so much sand on it players said they felt they were running downwards rather than forward and this didn’t suit the Hillmen’s energetic style of play. In addition, they had early adversity to counter when an iffy penalty was awarded for the home side.

Marc Cherry took it but Ash Gotham got down to his right to save. Cherry had another bite, but Gotham saved again and a follow up header looped millimetres over the bar. Glossop took the lead just before half time when Hodges ran onto a cross-field Dave Young pass and blasted it past the keeper.

In the second half, further scares followed, including a header that hit the bar with a follow-up cleared off the line by Yates, before Morris sealed it in the 71st minute, bursting from midfield to latch onto Parker’s pass.

It meant a home game with Marske United was on the cards, but that was for a month’s time. At that moment the celebrations were in full swing in the Bitton clubhouse, to be continued four hours later when they arrived back in Derbyshire.

Next time – Cup fever grips the town as the biggest crowds anyone can remember at Surrey Street cheer The Hillmen onto the final.

All the way to Wembley - The Story of Glossop North End's Vase Run (Part One)

2011-10-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

As part of the 125 years celebration, many people have been writing articles on the club. I was asked to do the FA Vase run in 2008-09, but it can't go in the Glossop Chronicle's 'Yesterdays' section, as it's not long ago enough. So it's going in the programme in four parts. Part one was in tonights programme, and here it is...

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Part One – The early rounds.

Prior to 2008-09, to Glossop North End the FA Vase was a competition to win two or three games and a few crucial pounds in prize money. As such, there was no indication of things to come as Steve Young’s Glossop North End team made their first appearance in that season’s renewal, in the 1st Preliminary round, taking on Midlands teams Sporting Khalsa.

The game attracted some interest from The FA’s press department, as Khalsa were an all Asian team; the first Asian side to own their own ground. However, they did play 2 levels lower than North End, and the home side were expected to win easily.

When Khalsa had their goalkeeper sent off in the first ten minutes, it looked a more difficult task for the visitors, and so it proved, with goals from Jay Gorton, Dave Hodges, Rick Bailey, Jamie Kay and Martin Parker sealing a 5-0 win, but bizarrely the crowd went away slightly disappointed – North End could have scored three times as many goals.

The highlight of the afternoon was the Khalsa keeper walking around the ground during the game, apologising for arguing with the referee when he was dismissed. A first for football at any level, I’d wager.

The reward was a trip to Nottinghamshire club Calverton Miners Welfare. Around 40 loyal Glossop fans made the trip and were rewarded twice. Firstly when Rick Whelan, Bailey, Sam Hind and Hodges scored to seal a 4-1 victory, with only a late consolation blotting the copybook. The second reward was that they knew who they would be facing in the next round…a tasty tie against local rivals New Mills in the first round proper.

To many fans of the Hillmen and the Millers this was their cup final. The draw had been made in July, so both teams knew the derby clash was a possibility, and as the straightforward wins for both sides were ticked off, anticipation increased. Duly, on game day, an impressive 490 people turned up to Church Lane and local radio carried live commentary from the match.

Glossop started confidently, and broke through on 22 minutes when Darren Hamilton scored at the near post. But 8 minutes later New Mills levelled when a Meakin free kick deflected into the path of Glossop lad, Josh Howard, and he scored.

After half time though, Glossop were irresistible. Although the breakthrough didn’t come until the 71st minute, they had bossed the match and it was no surprise when Tom Bailey finally scored. Nick Allen and Hind scored further goals to make it a dream day for North End fans and to secure a place in round two.

So far it was three games, thirteen goals and three rounds negotiated. The club was rightly feeling confident as progress had been serene thus far. But no-one could have anticipated the happiness, sadness and drama to come.

Next part – Home draws help the Hillmen, but as the competition goes national, there is long journey and a stern test for Steve Young’s team.

Semi Final Memories

2011-04-17T02:40:00.000-07:00

Well, this has been an extraordinary FA Cup year for me. TWO lifetime ambitions achieved. First there was my surreptitious appearance on the Glossop North End bench right back in the Extra Preliminary Round in the second week of August (http://haggisinwonderland.blogspot.com/2010/08/one-for-grandchildren.html), and now, after I generation of waiting, I have finally seen Manchester City reach an FA Cup final.

Over the years City have had a propensity to building us up and then letting us down, and everything was set up for it to happen again, because it had been an extraordinary day. Setting off early down the M6, it was a sea of blue cars, minibuses and coaches. I couldn't work out if it was proof that the cliché of only City fans coming from Manchester was proving true, or if we were just more giddy than them.

Warwick services was the same. As former City goalkeeper Alex Williams happily darted from one group of fans to the other wishing them well, United fans were keeping themselves to themselves. The party atmosphere was building, and us blues know that the team has often been the ultimate pooper.

For 20-25 minutes it looked like that be the case, and Berbatov underlined accusations of him being just a flat track bully by missing two gilt edged chances. From there though, City first were the equals of their opponents, and then after the break were superior. The win was well deserved, but never celebrated until the final whistle went.

Driving back, I haven't enjoyed a 6-0-6 as much since Danny Baker was in his pomp. Call after call of United fan ringing in to complain about the team selection, the FA, the referee...everything but the traffic...and all to much hilarity in the front of the car.

From a personal point of view, days like this have been all I ever wanted from being a City fan. I would take an FA Cup final over 4th place in the league any season. Football's role is to make you feel alive and over the course of a league campaign you'll only get that a few times. In cup competitions, win or lose, you feel something, whether it be extremes of disappointment or pleasure.

I love the bloody FA Cup. I hope I can get a ticket for the final, not least because it means I'll have a story to tell from the Extra Preliminary Round right through to the denouement.

Why I'm standing on May 5th

2011-04-06T05:52:00.001-07:00

The nominations for the 2011 High Peak Borough council election have been released, and the eagle eyed among you may have noticed that my name is among them – standing for the Lib Dems in Simmondley.

I have been a member of the Lib Dems for a number of years, but it may seem odd to some of you that I have decided to throw my hat into the ring at a time when the party is getting its greatest ever kicking. After years of supporting football teams who are famously on their uppers, has my predilection for supporting the downtrodden underdog taken hold of me again? Well, maybe a little.

Some of the criticism the party has received has been justified. I’ve already mentioned on this blog that the legacy of the student fees debacle is more than just an obscene annual charge on students, because let’s face it Labour would have upped the fees that they introduced anyway. The main damage was that having sold the party as one that would keep the promises it made, our MPs destroyed that faith within months of coming into office by ignoring a pledge they all signed pre-election. We are now just the same as the rest of them.

What is unfair though is how the Lib Dems are perceived to be to blame for all that is wrong with this government. I would ask people to think what it may have been like had the Tories won outright, as they damn well nearly did. Starting with those fees, I very much doubt there would have been a cap on how much a university could charge, nor rules on accessibility in place. We can be sure that personal allowances would not have risen by £1000 today, taking an estimated 500,000 low earners out of the tax system completely.

That disparity is partly why I'm standing for the Lib Dems, although in truth I'm not sure that there's much of a need for party politics at borough council level. Party loyalties matter much less than the character of the people you vote for the lower down the scale you go. Rather than vote blindly in support of your usual party, check out the person. I'm most definitely a nice guy, in case you were wondering.

The other part is that the upcoming referendum has reminded me of the major reason why I joined the Lib Dems in the first place - their steadfast belief in Proportional Representation. I have always firmly believed that no one party has the perfect manifesto and that there are snippets from each that would run the perfect country. In short, I believe in consensus politics. Too much power in one party without someone applying a handbrake so that they can at the very least reflect on their ideology is, in my view, a bad thing.

So, the AV referendum matters. At the last election, despite being a member of a political party, I had to consider very carefully whether or not I should vote for them. What a nonsense. Every vote should count, and each should be cast for the party whose policies you agree with the most. Is that really too much to ask? It has always struck me as proper democracy.

So, although there has been a last minute conversion by some of the Labour party, I think it is right that I represent the party who have argued tooth and nail for some sort of PR for as long as I have been able to vote (and longer). AV is not perfect, but it is a start. So even if you don't vote for me on May 5th, at the very least I hope you can vote for that, and make sure every subsequent vote you cast afterwards is (another) one that matters.

He's made mistakes, but Steve Young's legacy is one he should be proud of.

2011-04-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

The news of a parting of the ways between Glossop North End and their manager Steve Young did not come as much of a surprise here. For the most part of the season there has been an undercurrent that each was wearying of the other and perhaps the only thing about yesterday's announcement that was a shock was the timing - I expected that the old 'mutual agreement' would have been made at the beginning of May.

The announcement provided by the club gives us a clue on what went on. The initial statement from the board tells us that Young did not form part of the clubs plans for the 2011-12 season. This was subsequently amended to add the detail that on being told this, Young had handed in his resignation.

You can't fault either party in these circumstances. Presumably the manager had sought from the board some details of the planning for the coming season. Having decided that they would change the boss, I feel that it is right that the club did not string Young along and gave it to him straight. For Young's part, he too has every right to walk away immediately having got the news.

Young has been more than a manager for North End during his four year tenure, and deserves plenty of credit for what he did. There wont be many more managers in this league who have tended to the pitch, helped fix seats into the stand or complete other odd jobs around the place that ensure the ground meets its grading. It was a commitment that was total, and he would most likely be up at the ground six or seven days a week.

In the league, in the first two seasons results improved to a point where the fans thought they could be genuine title contenders, although that challenge never quite arrived, and he forced a new attitude from club officials by demanding much from them - although it might a demand too much that did for him in the end. However, the major credit on his managerial balance sheet was, of course, that Carlsberg FA Vase run in 2008-09.

In that unforgettable run to that amazing Wembley weekend there can be no doubt that Glossop North End were punching above their weight, coming up against better funded sides along the way who on paper should have beaten them. But Young had engendered a belief and team spirit among all at the club that had everyone pulling in the same direction. Off the pitch everyone was working flat out, and with the same aims, whilst on it we had an exciting young side that would give everything for their team-mates and never knew that they were beaten. It was a textbook example of how with the right spirit can mean the sum of the parts can be greater than the whole.

The day in London was a carnival, despite the result. It was the greatest weekend of my sporting life. The party continued into with a civic reception in the town where North End applauded their Wembley supporters from an open top bus, and the town applauded them back. After that a black tie gala dinner was a roaring success, and it seemed obvious that the momentum built up would carry on at the start of the season to come.

And then it started to go wrong.

I understand that Young demanded, and got, the largest budget of any North End manager in any fans memory. You could probably argue that it was the largest ever, although that of course is relative. I'm sure the amounts Mr Hill-Wood put into the side were greater once adjusted for inflation!

With the increase in budget, Young put his faith in a number of players he could not previously afford, and one by one they let him down. Mickey Goddard came with a pedigree he couldn't live up to in pre-season. Nathan Neequaye went on holiday and took umbridge when he didn't walk back into the side so walked away. Lee Blackshaw returned from Mossley, and he too went on his jollies (do Evo-Stick sides tolerate this more?) and too departed after falling out with Steve when not immediately restored and Bradley Clegg came simply for money, famously turning up for a match he wasn't selected for just to claim his pay, departing as soon as his got it rather than stay and support his team-mates.

All this could have been accepted had things been going ok on the pitch, but the team made a poor start, drawing on the season opener with to-be-relegated Ashton Athletic thanks to a late equaliser and performances did not improve too much in the early part of the season, which saw North End well towards the bottom of the table.

It all led to a spiral that saw the spirit that had been built up over a two year period, disappear in a matter of weeks. The team became fractious with each other and they became fractious with referees. Suddenly, the battles that were being won with ease were being lost. There was resentment among those that had been there in 2008-09 when others came in on better money.

Off the pitch, Young was justifiably frustrated that things were not progressing as they should, with the board seemingly unable to capitalise on the goodwill the Wembley run had given them. Rather than increase commercial activity, the clubs main sponsor was actually lost, leaving an wages bill that could only be funded by the Wembley money. Rather than cut the money, it appears the board left the bill as it was to keep the manager happy.

That was unsustainable though, and it was to the surprise of no-one that there was a major revision for the current season. The manager wasn't happy and he let everyone know about it. Every interview with the Glossop Advertiser or High Peak Radio would eventually turn to his reduced budget. There was an embarrassing and very public stand up row with a club director (about money) that nearly turned to fisticuffs at Rossendale. It needed to be pointed out that even reduced, the budget was most likely above any that the previous manager had received.

All this could have been forgiven had results been positive, but the side were again sluggish from the start. There may have been mitigating circumstances - Key players Rick Bailey, Dave Young and Danny Yates had all departed - but with the talent at the manager's disposal they were still not good enough. Whilst being beaten by teams who paid only the measliest of expenses like St Helens, twice, Young continued to blame the drop of budget in every interview.

To outsiders looking in it ran much deeper than that. The team spirit was awful. Whatever magic Young had sprinkled to inspire his 2009 troops could not be reproduced, and continued poor results led to questions about his style. Young's frustration boiled over too often, and from the bench he appeared to coach less and less whilst berating his players more and more. It was a downward spiral, that affected performances. His attitude towards referees during games was a constant source of annoyance to me in the good times, but you can get away with it if your team is winning. If you are losing, it looks like sour grapes. There were further public rows with spectators that lost him more friends and ultimately led to the decision the board took this week.

I have absolutely no doubt that Steve Young is a fine manager at this level, and probably a couple above. Ultimately though, I think the pressure he put himself under by demanding that wage hike in the summer of 2009 led to his demise. He himself raised the expectations that that would bring, and failed to live up to them.

Football management is a job where things tend to finish this way, and the best a manager can really hope for is that when he leaves a club, he has left it in a better state than he found it. Steve Young's tenure has brought the club out of debt and into financial stability and on the pitch the club's reputation is increased to such an extent it is thought that there will be no shortage of applicants for the position. That wasn't the case when he took over.

I hope that during a short break from the game Steve can take stock of his time at the club and acknowledge and learn from his mistakes. But I also hope he comes to see his time at North End with a huge amount of affection. He can be justifiably proud of what he achieved at the club, and should GNE thrive in the future, as we all hope it will, he can view his contribution to that success as a hugely significant one.

You're good fun again

2011-03-09T15:17:00.000-08:00

7-1 vs Silsden. 8-0 vs Ashton Athletic

If there is anything that can put the fun back into football it's 15 goals in 5 days, and more importantly, the lads showing what they are capable of.

Nicely timed too, because next week it's the Derby vs New Mills.

Congratulations to the players and management at North End. You not no fun any more any more.

A liar or incompetent, you decide

2011-02-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

There have been plenty of controversial moments in the Premiership this season, but here are just a few you may remember...

26 Feb 2011 – With the scores level Wayne Rooney elbows James McCarthy at Wigan. United win 4-0

5th Feb 2011 – At 1-1 Gary Cahill is booked for diving at Spurs for what looked a clear penalty. Spurs win 2-1

23 Jan 2011 – At 0-0, WBA are awarded a free kick for a foul clearly in the box vs Blackburn. They lose 2-0

30 October 2010 - At 1-0 to Man United, Nani handballs but no free kick is awarded to Spurs. No free kick is awarded against Nani, allowing same player to take advantage of confusion to score into empty net

16 October 2010 – Late West Ham winner at Wolves ruled out for controversial handball.

The common denominator in this lot of course is the referee, Mark Clattenburg.

Now, regular readers of my match reports and blogs of the past will know that I have a lot of time for referees. They have an incredibly difficult job to do, and most do it honestly and pretty well. But Clattenburg...well as he yet again proved today, he is either incompetent or a liar.

He saw the Rooney incident apparently, but felt he dealt with it appropriately. Not even the most dyed-in-the-wool Man United fan could argue what Rooney did was worth a red card, although Fergie of course, a knight of the realm no less, seems to think it was ok. But Clattenburg is not prepared to admit he erred. He cannot bring himself to be shown as fallible. And that his is main problem, his own vanity.

Like in Politicians, vanity in referees is the worst possible trait. Look at Mark Clattenburg's perma-tan. Look at the way he teases his hair into asthetically pleasing angles before he takes to the field. Hair that, by the way, he has already had treatment on to cure balding.

Vanity means you think too much of yourself, and this means he cannot see his own mistakes...which is why he makes so many, as he has never learned. So is he simply incompetent...the evidence suggests so.

But many contend he is simply craven to the 'big' sides, blinded by being involved in the big games, desperate not to upset them so he is still centre stage when they play. The Rooney incident is the latest, but let's go back a little further.

When Emmanuel Adebayor's studs made contact with Robin Van Persie's cheek, Mark Clattenburg said he didn't see the incident, and if he had he would have dismissed the Manchester City striker.

Well, here is that incident. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZBBdG_Tfow

Mark Clattenburg is looking right at it. In reporting to the FA that he didn't see it, he is either admitting that he is useless, or not telling the truth. That in fact the governing body considers him one of the best there is is very very worrying.

You're No Fun Any More

2011-02-27T14:01:00.001-08:00

Watching Glossop North End yesterday, and then the aftermath at the match and online, I was reminded of the line repeated often in an episode of the first series of Monty Python's Flying Circus - 'You're no fun anymore'.

Everything seems so tense at Surrey Street at the moment, on and off the pitch. On the fans side of the barriers there is a displeasure with results that bubbles under the surface based (I think) on a resentment that no Glossop manager has ever had it so good, and on the playing surface a lack of confidence is hampering decision making and leading to mistakes & defeats, perhaps based on the pressure that comes from the knowledge that the club has never had it so good. For all parties there is a frustration that a squad that looks to have all the right components in theory to comfortably finish in the top ten of the league continues to under-perform as a collective.

This malaise sees the club turning in ever decreasing circles. The players get more tense and play more poorly, the crowd gets more tense and angry, the players sense this and get more tense....etcetera, etcetera.

I think maybe it's time we took a step back and realised that football is supposed to be fun. We've been hamstrung by what Steve Young & Terry Hincks achieved in their first two seasons. It's time we lowered our expectations. And I mean fans, management, directors...everyone. Let's start having fun on Saturday afternoons again.

The Hillmen had been for years a rag tag outfit living hand to mouth and Chris Nicholson's only brief when he was in charge was to keep us in the division, and he achieved this with aplomb, improving the side each season.

The one thing his sides had, as did the sides in the Young era until recently, was an amazing team spirit. They wanted to play for Glossop and they gave everything they had. It often wasn't enough, but we accepted that and appreciated the effort warmly.

I'm not saying that the current side isn't trying because they patently are. I just think there is spark of team spirit missing. Players seem less willing to trust their team mates, and instead try and do something themselves. Of course, if that comes off, brilliant, but eight times from ten it will fail, and the opposition have the ball back.

How do you get that magic mix? Well that is the million dollar question*. Maybe the fans, directors, management and players just need to all go out and get pissed together? We can make a start by not being so angry with everyone; the referee, the players, the manager, the fans, and start enjoying ourselves. There is plenty going on off the pitch to be happy about and we know that the squad and the manager has the talent to mould a winning side - they've proved it. Maybe if we were all a little less uptight it might come naturally. And maybe, given recent events at Rossendale & Alsager we should be glad to have a club at all. Or as Python also said - 'Look on the Bright Side of Life'.

* - OK, so I can't get away with it so easily. We all have an opinion about how things on the pitch could be better and for what it's worth, which is probably not a lot, here's mine.

In 2008-09 we had a brilliant team playing 4-5-1. And all the time they were succeeding, we were thinking 'what if we had a proper big lad up front who was a natural goalscoring centre forward - how good would we be then?'. Now we've got one in Garry, we've not tried 4-5-1 and I'd give that a go.

But what do I know?

Today's debate and vote missed the real point.

2010-12-09T14:08:00.000-08:00

So it’s official, fees for students will go up to a maximum of £9,000. But amid all the rhetoric and riots, the broken promises and broken windows, party politics has served to disguise what to my mind is the real disappointment here – that the principle that a free education is a right for everyone who seeks it, seems to have been ignored.

The argument for fees has often come from Joe Public, repeating the same mantra – ‘why should they get it for free?’. Well, they don’t, do they? Prior to the fees that Labour introduced in 1998 do you know how they used to be paid for? That’s right, taxes!

Governments used to have the balls to increase and decrease tax depending on how much they needed for their programmes, but Labour, rather than, say, stick 10p on the top top rate of income tax, set us off down a path that has become increasingly common. That is, the things that used to be paid for by taxation suddenly became extra, to be paid for by the user.

At the same time the Government set about cutting basic rate tax for headlines in the red tops. The tax that would have paid the college fees that subsequently couldn’t be afforded.

Now, tax isn’t necessarily for anything specific, as Joe Public now seems to require, but it all went into the pot that paid for everything...health, welfare, education, transport, defence...you know. Apart from for the kids, I’ve haven’t claimed from the welfare state and I don’t use the NHS much, but I don’t begrudge my deductions being spent in those areas. I can see that what I pay helps to cover these things, but I don’t expect those that need it to pay money back when they start to get back on their feet.

General taxation has been sacrificed though, and the tax our parents had contributed to pay for our education and that graduates paid after university to pay for it again was suddenly not enough, for a bit of spin. Labour had to make their Public Relations tax cuts.

In the North West, we saw another example a couple of years ago when Manchester City Council tried to introduce a congestion charge. The electorate told them to think again, reminding them that they had already paid for transport improvements – trouble was the Government spent it on Iraq instead. That was their choice, and the electorate has the right to chuck them out because of it. A Government should NOT think it is able to come back for more indirectly having wasted what they’d already collected. If you are going to tax us, tax us properly, not by secondary means.

But we are where we are and today’s government must deal with what is before them. The fees genie was let out of the bottle many years ago and the likelihood was always that it would be the thin end of the wedge. Labour have been incredibly disingenuous during this malaise, particularly when they support a graduate tax. As pointed out previously on here, the measures voted through mean that students pay nothing up front and then pay back a little bit each month as they earn over a certain amount. A graduate tax means that students pay nothing up front and then pay back a little bit each month as they earn over a certain amount. The only difference is that the measures voted through appear to be finite.

Labour commissioned the Browne report, and let’s not be in any doubt about this; they would have reacted to it by putting fees up somehow. As it is, they have revelled in opposition, as is their right. And whilst I can’t pretend it hasn’t been fantastic to finally see students politicised, you can’t help but think that they are being led by the nose by their Labour Party Member president, who also supports a graduate tax.

Somehow, the Tories have come out of this relatively spotless. The Browne report suggested fees should be uncapped, and they would have gone with that were it not for Liberal intervention, which certainly would have made those elite universities out of reach of the less well off. Repayment terms may not have been so generous, the 30 year write off may not have been there or the threshold as high as £21k but they have not been the bad guys of the piece. Somehow they are getting credit for the progressive nature whilst the honour of being the hate figure falls to the Lib Dems.

And they deserve some of that flak I’m afraid and it is going to be a long drag persuading people to vote for them again. Despite their influence in tempering the proposals and making them progressive, the bottom line is they made that pledge. When it came to the coalition agreement, that should have been one of their ‘red lines’. A right to abstain was not enough and nor is it enough to simply change your mind and put it down to not winning the election...you made the pledge.

Deep down, it’s not the voting through of the measures that has disappointed people, because I give the public some credit for recognising that all political parties would have produced proposals like this, it’s that Nick Clegg and his party have turned out to be just like the rest of them. Labour and the Conservatives have broken many many promises in my lifetime, but sadly the Liberal Democrats have once again proved the old adage that no matter who you vote for, the government always gets in.

Elwyn Watkins and Party Loyalties

2010-11-25T02:30:00.000-08:00

I received an email the other day from the Liberal Democrat hierarchy imploring me to volunteer my services to Elwyn Watkins in Saddleworth, and give my time to help him get elected.

Now given that his opponent, Phil Woolas, the people representing him, have been found guilty of lying their way into office, I should be enthused to jump to the assistance of Mr Watkins and make sure he claims the place in Parliament that is justly his. The problem is, I’m not and I won’t, because this is a very different political landscape to that we had in May.

Since being given a slice of power from the election result, the Lib Dems have taken a kicking for forming a coalition with the Tories, a much of it has been unfair. Some party members were up in arms about an alliance with the Conservative Party from the start, but that rather suggests that they didn’t understand the manifesto. You can’t believe in Proportional Representation if you only believe in it so long as you get the result you prefer. You go with the hand you are dealt, and after a disappointing set of results, the Lib Dems did not find themselves with too many options.

It was clear that a period of election, hung parliament, election, hung parliament would not have seen the country thrive at a time it needed decisiveness. There was no practical chance of a coalition with Labour and that left one choice only, and although it was not a very palatable one to the likes of...well, me...there is a need to recognise it had to be done.

Where they have failed is not being able to trumpet what they have achieved. Politics is bound by collective responsibility – Blair’s Labour was exceptional at it – meaning everyone is on message. So despite the fact that dyed-in-the-wool Conservatism has been diluted by their presence, they have been stymied in shouting that achievement from the rooftops.

Meanwhile, Labour are quite enjoying opposition, the electorate having already forgotten the preceding years of arrogance that made them utterly undeserving of a 4th term of office. They can now, as their position suggests, say the opposite. But let’s look at the biggest controversy thus far in this government – student course fees.

How would Labour have reacted to the Brown Report? Well, of course no-one will ever know, but you can bet course fees would have gone up. As for paying those, certain Labour members (now) say that they support a graduate tax. A graduate tax would have meant that all students would pay nothing up front, then a tax to pay their fees for the rest of their working lives. Meanwhile, the Government have proposed introducing a system that sees them pay nothing up front, and students’ paying what is effectively a tax, probably for the rest of their working lives. But only when their income reaches a certain level. Spot the difference? The only one is that the Government has put a price on the education.

But anyway, back to Saddleworth. You almost feel a little for Woolas. Actually, that's not true, but he has been unlucky. Had they been in power, Labour would have fought tooth and nail for him – let’s face it, a dirty campaign is not unusual, and Lib Dems & Tories have been equally as guilty in other places. But in their current position they have cut him adrift ruthlessly, in the pursuit of good PR and the safer seat they will probably achieve.

Because ultimately that is the decision I suspect the Saddleworth population will make. The reason is the same as the one I made when asked to campaign – that is despite reasonable defences I can make of the Lib Dem position, Elywn Watkins isn’t standing in a General Election, he is in a by-election. The simple fact is that we already know what the make up of the Government is and I wouldn’t vote for it given the choice.

Premonitions

2010-10-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well, this blog post from August - http://haggisinwonderland.blogspot.com/2010/08/youve-got-to-have-fun.html - certainly became prophetic. As of this weekend, I have decided to absolve myself of all my responsibilities at the club. I have stopped enjoying it.

So what led to this point? There is no one thing you can pin it on, it is a complicated mix of things that have served to frustrate, depress, annoy and ultimately restrict my time.

In varying amounts of size, the factors at work are :- some people at the club who I believe are actively undermining the manager, and therefore the team; the manager constantly banging on about the wage bill; some supporters not realising what supporting means; getting a new job that is going to be tough and longer work; and my own thin skin.

About 10 days ago someone has had a pop at me, and I've always said that when that happens I wont hang around. I don't like it, or need it, as I take it too much to heart. I gnaws at me at work, and at home. So I have taken myself out of the firing line.

The list above exacerbates North End's current malaise. In the bottom two of the league and not playing well, struggling to get sponsors and probably losing money. These situations require a club to pull together, close ranks and work as a team. Instead folk appear to be sniping at each other, sometimes in public. Ironically, it was a call for everyone at the club to act as one that led to the straw that broke my camel's back.

I've done six years at the club and have enjoyed almost all of it. There are a lot of people to thank, and I will forget some...sorry. But thanks to Pete Hammond for all his assistance and advice. He takes the shit I avoided like teflon, mostly unjustifiably. Thanks to Dave Atky for allowing me to run with some things others may not have. Thanks to those supporters who I have stood shoulder to shoulder with and shared many a laugh, not least those who were at that freezing cold night in Newcastle, where we were in fits of giggles from start to finish. And thanks to High Peak Radio who have allowed me to indulge a long standing love of football on the wireless.

Muchos muchos thanks though to Steve, Terry and the players (and Nico before them), who have welcomed me into the dressing room without suspicion, despite the potential for me writing nasty things about them each game. But particularly 'cheers' to Steve and Terry, who have indulged more than a couple of whims over the years. They wont like me bringing up 2009 again, but for me to have been in the dressing rooms, traded teamsheets in the referee's room, sat on the bench, done a press conference and walked on the turf at the National Stadium is all down to their good grace. As was my place on the FA Cup bench earlier this season. I still think about that Vase final daily, and they and their 2009 squad were the architects of one of the best days of my life.

It's not like I wont be at games, but it will simply be as a spectator, enjoying the game just for football, not worrying about what else may take place. I must say, it is a while since I watched a game just for the craic and I'm looking forward to it.

The fact that I wont feel obliged to be at the game though is good. My family might be pleased to see me on a Saturday (although they may not!) and it will be fun to go and stay with friends the odd weekend having neglected them for six years while I was doing this job.

And one day, I have no doubt that fully refreshed and enthused again, I'll be raising my hand for some more GNE duty. Until then, see you in the trenches.

I can barely believe I'm writing this, but leave HMRC alone

2010-09-11T03:11:00.000-07:00

There is much to criticise HM Revenue and Customs about, and believe me, I know. It's 13 years since I left them to become gamekeeper turned poacher, and ever since I have dealt with them every day of my working life. Often, they are utterly hopeless, and their 'customer' service has become simply appalling.

This week though, they have been getting an unfair press.

The media has absolutely loved this week, being able to take a pop at HMRC over these letters that have been sent out to people over these under and over payment letters. Some 6 million sent out, according to reports, and all the papers have been united - this is a B L U N D E R. Yet more evidence of a useless organisation.

They could barely be more wrong.

These discrepancies have arised purely because the the PAYE system is imperfect. Any deductions in a tax code are retrospective, a guess based on what happened in the past, and unless the individual tells HMRC of changes, how are they supposed to know? They wont, unless YOU tell them.

These inaccurate deductions have been going on since PAYE began, and believe it or not, HMRC have usually found out in due course. When I was there, each of us was given a list of names and NI Numbers, some 80 pages of A3 paper, all of whoms deductions didn't quite add up. Our job, as 'Revenue Officers', was to plough through this list in time, issuing the assessments and await the phone calls.

Except of course, often there wasn't time, so these lists often got forgotten, (Not mine though - why do you think I left, I was good at it!), and as a result the government's revenue and individuals refunds would be left under the carpet.

So all HMRC are guilty is investing into a new swanky computer system that does the assessments all at once, taking those lists away from hard pressed staff and probably making savings. Ironically, those debasing the new system the most are of course those papers that lambast public services for 'waste' with the most vigour.

HBTY

2010-09-10T00:58:00.000-07:00

Today I become the parent of a teenager. This life landmark, along with the other big one looming in two months time, are likely to bring on a severe attack of naval gazing (metaphorically, rather than literally - I can only properly look at my naval in the mirror) and conclude with agonies over whether it is all worth it. But that is for tomorrow.

All that matters today is wishing a happy birthday to Phoebe Haggart. 13 awesome years.

You've got to have fun

2010-08-22T01:59:00.000-07:00

I love working for Glossop North End. It has given me some experiences that I could have got anywhere else, and that will be remembered for ever.

But I'm not daft. Those events were extra special, and should not be considered the norm. The day-to-day is more mundane - e-mails heading back and forth to opposition, referees, The FA and the Vodkat League. The match-day routine of teamsheets and post-game match reports. Trying to find opportunites to get the club into the press.

I see the work as some sort of community service - the town ought to have a football club, and all football clubs must be run by volunteers. A club can become a focal point for a town, and can bring an area together like nothing else can...we have had real experience of that.

But most of all I have to see it as enjoyable. There has to be some satisfaction, otherwise why I am committing my family to my being missing every Saturday, meaning weekends away are a rarity. Their patience must be rewarded with me at least not coming home in a mood that suggests I've been banging my head against a brick wall.

It's four years since I resigned as a director. Things had been brewing for a while, with me getting a fair share of angry telephone calls, and then at a game, a fellow director and the then manager had a stand up slanging match on the pitch that nearly came to blows. It was as depressing a spectacle as you could wish to see should you wish to take the club forward. It took place in full view of anyone hanging around the dug-out area, and reflected badly on the club, shortly before an important FA Cup tie.

The reputation of the club should always be more important than that of individuals, so I vowed to keep my head down, and just get on with what I do. But come the game next Saturday, I was apparently guilty by association and the manager refused to speak to me. Given my job was to gather the team sheets, and relay information to him, this made things very difficult. And we lost 5-0

It was the tipping point. Bad results I can take, they are part of the game - but the fun is gone when people start having a go at you, and this was now more like a bad job and I was taking the ugly bits home. It was time to walk away. So I did.

If a similar situation developed, I would walk away again. I think I have a positive influence on the club, but it has to have a positive influence on me in return.

One for the grandchildren

2010-08-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

No-one knew it as it happened very quietly, but on Saturday 14 August 2010 I fulfilled a near lifelong ambition. At the age of nearly 40, I made my first appearance on a club's team sheet for the FA Cup.

The FA Cup, or to give it the official name,'FA Cup sponsored by E-on' has lost its lustre to most in recent years. Why? Well it can be partly explained by that horrid official name, but mostly it is because it has been usurped by the behemoth Premier League, which because of the prize money involved, has now become more important to the clubs. Coming 7th rather than 10th is now more vital than actually winning a pot. (My own Premiership preference, Manchester City were the first to adopt this approach, from 1976, but forgot about the league position bit).

The degrading of the "oldest cup competition in the World" has advanced so far now that this season, not only will the Premiership not have finished when the final is played, as has happened before, but in fact there is a full set of Premiership fixtures scheduled on the day of the final. That this disgraceful timetable has not warranted even a single tweet from journalists further indicates the Cup's new standing.

But for those of us of a certain age, the FA Cup still matters, and always will. The Cup Final was the first game we ever saw on TV (1977) for the majority of us in their late 30s and above, and the only game we saw all year. It provided lifetime memories like Alan Sunderland's last minute winner, Tommy Hutchinson scoring at both ends and Trevor Brooking's header whilst making household names of hitherto unknown players like Roger Osbourne.

Because of this, when I was growing up, I wanted to play in the FA Cup. The final, preferably. Sadly, I was never even nearly a good enough player though to even make the early rounds.

Latterly, as the Cup has become less relevant to the public, it has remained relevant to me as I got involved at Glossop North End. A couple of wins in the early rounds could mean a couple of thousand pounds for the club, and when GNE were in dire straights, this was certainly welcome. I remember only too well the gloom around the place when there was a Preliminary Round defeat to Ludlow Town, who had looked eminently beatable.

And it is that involvement with GNE that has allowed me, sneakily, to finally tick another box on the list of things I want to happen before I die.

My role has many facets, but handily two of them are assisting in the player registration forms and completing the team sheet before a game. So pre-season, I filled in my signing-on form - I am now possibly the oldest player registered with the Vodkat League - and then before our tie with Wigan Robin Park on Saturday,once the proper team had been entered onto the sheet, I added my name to the list. Teams are allowed seven subs in the FA Cup, but rarely pick more than five, extraordinarily six, so there I was - in substitute number seven heaven.

I didn't tell anyone, and I didn't put myself on the printed list for the clubhouse window. But I did keep the clubs copy of the official teamsheet, and this will be going in a frame and kept safely in my possession as proof on my involvement in what in truth was an ordinary game, but marks a special moment personally in my continuing love affair with the competition.

Memories of Frank Sidebottom

2010-06-22T00:59:00.000-07:00

What a sad day mid-summer turned out to be, as news came through to me that Chris Sievey, the creator of Frank Sidebottom, had died. We shouldn't forget the name Chris Sievey, because without him Frank never existed, but John Robb pays tribute to him far better than I ever could here - http://johnrobb77.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/frank-sidebottom-rip/ - and I'd urge you to read that.

But for me, Chris is Frank Sidebottom, a ridiculous character who entertained me to the point of obsession in the late 80s and early 90s. So whilst I eulogise about the loss of Frank, it is with the greatest respect to Chris, who to me was a genius for coming up with this ludicrous idea, that made me laugh until I ached.

I can't recall when I first came across Frank, but it is possible I heard him before I saw his papier maché'd bonce. I used to listen to Piccadilly Radio late at night for the left-wing leanings of James H Reeve, but when he went on holiday, Frank Sidebottom stepped in for a week, and introduced me to his surreal world. On Monday his guest was Little Frank. Tuesday, Little Denise. Wednesday, Amoeba Frank was on air, all with the same song request - Living in a Box, by Living in a Box. I was hooked.

Over the next few years I bought the e.p.'s and albums, wore the t-shirts and saw Frank live on a number of occassions. At the 1990 Reading Festival he came on as Santa Claus, then played a Carol, before removing his red cloak and beard with a "ha...fooled you, it was me all along". In Manchester he spent almost an hour showing us pictures of Bury New Market, before tricking us with a picture of Glossop Bank Holiday Market, to extra lusty cheers from me. In Preston he chucked large silver wooden kitchen utensils into the audience, and I claimed a fork that I kept for years, until it was inevitiably lost in a house move.

As life caught up with me, it co-incided with Frank disappearing from public life. I don't know where he went, and the odd 'whatever happened too...' question was met with no answer apart from tales of one shambolic drunken performance at a City supporters club night.

Then, a few years ago he returned and I was delighted. Props must go to Channel M for their decision to give Frank a series, which seemed to enliven his taste for public life as well as the public's taste for Frank. Whilst I failed, regretfully, to see Frank live since his comeback (although I did see him DJing with customary enthusiasm at Eurocultured a few years back) I was heartened that he was still out there, making people laugh as he had me. Latterly, his tweets were keeping me happy.

He didn't seem worried about the tumour that it seems killed him, cancelling only a few gigs with apologies, but still performing when he wasn't feeling poorly. His messages were hugely optimistic, and it was in this cheerful spirit I ran the Manchester 10k last month in a Timperley Bigshorts t-shirt, with 'get well soon Frank' written on my number. That's why it was a real shock to read about his death yesterday.

I think the world is a poorer place without him. I don't think there will ever be an act so unlikely to succeed on paper, but so brilliant in reality. In this 'Britain's Got Talent' age, he would be booed off stage before he'd finished the first lengthy 'ooooooh' of 'I Should Be So Lucky'. If he has any legacy over and above the fun he gave us, perhaps it could be for those who are outside of the 'norm' get their chance to shine. The outpouring of affection upon Chris/Frank's death should be telling people to persevere, no matter what the self-appointed experts tell you.

You know it should, it really should. Thank you.

Chester fans, welcome to the Vodkat League

2010-05-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

The news that came through on Monday that Chester FC, the new club formed by the fans of the wound up Chester City FC, was to be placed in the Vodkat League would have been greeted with excitement in Vodkat League quarters. It certainly was with me, as it gave the prospect of another big game in an exciting few years.

FC United of Manchester, whatever you might think of their reason for being, gleefully came through the Vodkat league in a fug of noise and good times, largely sweeping all before them, but doing so with humility and good humour. The big crowds they generated generally allowed most clubs in the league to make a useful bit of money, in some cases helping to keep the clubs alive.

So I logged onto devachat.com to see the CFC reaction and to say I was surprised was an understatement. The people of Chester, it would seem, were not amused. Some ripped up their season tickets before they had bought them, stating that they would not be watching football that they reckoned was just a small step up from pub league. Most were fuming at the FA for having the audacity not to place them, at worst, in the Unibond, sorry Evo-Stick, Premier. Only a few pointed out that given the last few years they felt happy just to have a side at all.

It was an ungracious reaction, borne from an indication from the NPL that should the FA place them in the Evo-Stick, they would be happy to have them. Devachat contributors pointed out 'precedent' where Halifax and Telford had been relegated only to the NPL when they had gone out of business, and accused the FA of selling them down the river by not similarly putting their new club in that league.

I think we need to put the precedent thing to bed right away. There is a difference. Halifax and Telford both finished the previous season albeit under a cloud, and as such, when they went down the divisions they we effectively accepting a demotion in FA eyes - although I would still argue even now that they should have started at Step 6. But the crucial thing is that the season before they played their 42 games. Chester meanwhile, didn't. They failed to turn up to one, and had another abandoned, then went out of business all together.

This of course was not the Chester fans fault. In Steve Vaughan they had a crooked owner and were quite rightly desperate to get rid of him. They had suffered enough embarrassment before the disastrous 2009/10 season, but that first season in the Conference had seen them given a clean slate with a new company (and no relegation, perhaps unlike the Halifax and Telford 'Phoenix club precedent') they ran up further debts to HMRC, whilst Vaughan claimed that the club owed him the best part of three quarters of a million pounds...run up in about 6 months. When the club was wound up, you could hear the sighs of relief from here...they were rid of him and could start again.

But there's the rub, starting again means just that...meaning that the bottom of the pyramid is where you have to be. That is the fair way of doing things, no matter how many supporters you have, or how big your home ground will be. You might argue that the clubs with an average attendance of less than 100 would not be able to cope, but that has already been disproved, as they all coped with FCUM, borrowing grounds if they had to.

The FA appear to believe in starting again too, and rather than sell Chester down the river, they appear to have kept the integrity of the game intact, showing that their are no short cuts. The FA didn't suggest that Chester would start in the Evo-Stick league either, that was an eager NPL looking to have them. They have no qualms about short cuts, their open-armed welcome of Halifax et al have already shown that.

So, Chester fans, you are where you deserve to be, and welcome to the league. Speak to FC United fans and they will tell you about the fun they had when they cut a swathe through the league. They will also tell you what to expect, but I'll add a little to that.

First of all, the disappointment - I think you'll start in Division 1. You've already read my opinion if you've got this far, and although I don't have a vote I expect the member clubs will be of similar mind. However, once you are with us the clubs will try to pull out all of the stops to welcome you, making it as friendly as possible. You can expect entry prices of about £6 too, which will be a welcome change I am sure.

There will be no FA Competitions for you this year, but there will be the Vodkat League Cup. Next season will see you able to enter the FA Vase and the season after will allow you in the FA Cup. The Vase will bring all sorts of fun with the prospect of a Wembley final at the end of it. And what a weekend that could be.

Rather than pub league standard, the Vodkat league is one of the strongest Step 5 leagues in the land, rivalled only by the Northern League in the North East. The players are fit as a fiddle and talented too. They can play more than a bit, and any side that comes into the league thinking they can sweep all before them without working hard for it will be in for a shock very quickly.

I doubt that will happen though, as you will undoubtedly have the financial clout to do very well. Here, you will find, that rather than put people off, the public will come out and support a winning side. Look (again) at FCUM. Crowds were down this season in the Unibond Prem, as were the results. When they were winning every game, the crowds were larger, noisier and having tremendous fun. They loved playing sides with names like Daisy Hill, Blackpool Mechanics (sadly renamed an dull-as-ditchwater AFC Blackpool) and Atherton Laburnum Rovers. They loved the pies made by local companies rather than massed produced in processed meat factories. They loved taking over the grounds and the fact that they were leaving a financial legacy to all they met.

So embrace it Cestrians. Come the kick off on 7 August love the fact that the team is yours, and yours alone. Love the new experiences that you are going to have rather than the sanitized matchday routine of leagues higher. Love that you are most likely going to win every week. Love the knowledge that away grounds are close enough for you to be home for Doctor Who, never mind Match of the Day. You will find that Vodkat League people are all volunteers doing it out of fondness for their town, their club and their community. Sound familiar? We have common ground and are genuinely looking forward to seeing you.

Two 'Must Win' Evenings for the Blues

2010-05-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

I've got a couple of tickets to special events this week, and I cannot wait for either. On Wednesday I'm snubbing Glossop North End for once, and instead will be heading down to Eastlands for the match that could help shape the new order in English football - if Manchester City can beat Tottenham and pip them to fourth place, they could shake up the system that has been in place since the late 90s. Barely any other English club bar the 'Sky 4' has had a place in the 'Champions' League since runners up were allowed in into the cup in 1997, but a place for the Blues could cause ructions in the established order, at the expense of the Reds, Liverpool. They will claim it's due to the money they've been able to throw at it.

My other ticket could also see me witness the Blues causing ructions at the expense of the Reds - also for the first time since 1997 - as I will be at the General Election count for the High Peak Constituency on Thursday night, where Tory Andrew Bingham will be hoping to pick up the seat vacated by Tom Levitt.

Levitt only just held off Bingham in 2005, by less than a 1000 votes, and it is fully expected that the High Peak will turn blue once again, having dallied with Labour since Tony Blair's initial romp. Despite Bingham's camp having to deny accusations about the source of his funds.

This wont be my first count. I was fortunate enough to be there in 2005, when I witnessed the bizarre sight of a Labour MP cheering when a (left-leaning) colleague announced that he thought he was beaten. In the end, Bob Marshall-Andrews came through, which could have made for an awkward moment when the two met, had he heard about Mr Levitt's 'yes!' when he near-conceded.

The second moment of note came at about 2am when there was a flurry of activity. It looked as though we had a result, and the candidates were gathered. We knew it was close, but not close enough to need a recount surely...we wanted to go home. Unlucky! Mr Bingham thought 800 to be close enough to keep us all there for another couple of hours. I got home from Buxton at around 5am.

Of course, this time Tom Levitt has gone, retired, not least because it would seem that he was so utterly certain to lose. He had not won any friends by being to faithfully loyal to the party on all matters, including Iraq and latterly the mess of a congestion charge proposal in Manchester. He finished himself off with the expenses claims, given unfair stick for a genuine oversight in claiming for a rememberance day wreath, but strangely not lambasted for asking us to pay for a hairdryer. Look him up on Google images if you are not sure why.

So it seems our Labour candidate Caitlin Bisknell has been given the most poisoned of chalices - and Mr Levitt has been noticeably absent in her campaign. It would be extraordinary if she could defend this marginal seat. Her chances are not helped by the national rise of the Lib Dems skewing the polls. Marc Godwin (now defected to the Tories in an apparent fit of pique) lost to Labour by nearly 10000 last time, but could the pendulum have swung so far away from Labour that a vote for their Alistair Stevens now the most effective vote against the Tories? And even if it hasn't, can the Lib Dem supporters be persuaded by the 'Guardian' argument that a vote for Labour could at least keep out Bingham?

The Lib Dem candidate spot has been plagued with problems. Apart from Godwin turning, previous candidate Steve Sharp was charged with fraud (and subsequently convicted) and he clung on for an embarassingly long time. Without Clegg's performance on TV, Stevens would have had no chance at all, and those that wish to keep Cameron out more than remove the Government should bear this in mind.

I envisage that Mr Bingham will stand on the Pavilion Gardens stage as a victor on Thursday. He has been the Tory candidate for a good eight years now, and has used his funds effectively to make himself well known. Bisknell will be second, with stubborn Lib Dems voting for their own to keep the percentages high, but coming in third. That said, if the Tories are to have any chance of winning nationally, this is a constituency they HAVE to take...and many many more like it.

One things for sure, both nights are going to be exciting.

My Unibond League Dreams Shattered

2010-02-15T00:31:00.000-08:00

So, 1767 words carefully crafted to try to get everyone pulling in the same direction so that we might have the opportunity to play in the Unibond League, and within 72 hours that ambition has already been taken from me. Unibond have decided to end their Northern Premier League sponsorship after 17 years.

Given that their signs are in football grounds all around the country, I would be not in the least surprised if we found that we were gunning for promotion in future years...to the Vodkat League!

Anyway, in other news, the current Vodkat League has decided that the Semi Finals of the league cup will be played over 1 leg this year. Not altogether a surprise after last 16 replays were put back to the date of the quarter finals. The side drawn first will be at home. Let's hope we're in the hat, travelling or not.

Planning for the GNE future

2010-02-12T05:51:00.000-08:00

The news that Glossop North End were not applying for promotion came as a surprise to me and, if I'm honest, a disappointment. We all know the ground isn't up to scratch, but it appears to have been decided that the work will not be done this season. I think that was the let down...not missing out on possible promotion, but the apparent inaction. However, it has transpired that the process of applying for grants is still ongoing, slightly stalled.

As part of the grant application process, the club is required to produce a ‘detailed’ report that backs up the application to the Football Foundation and other bodies, which seems fair enough, given that it is asking for pots of their cash.

To do this, the club has to take a fairly searching introspective look at itself, which will involve taking where we are now, where we want to be in the future, how we are going to get there, and who it is we need to do it.

Right now we have a ramshackle ground that needs a large amount of work doing to it. I understand that the ground grader last season announced that Surrey Street was one of the worst grounds he had ever been asked to grade. Enough said – open your eyes, face in any direction at the club, and you can see something that needs doing. Meanwhile, the team is very nearly good enough to earn automatic promotion, and next season ought to be challenging for it.

I will always maintain that getting the ground right before promotion is imperative, and that it should be of step 3 standard rather than step 4 (the level above where we are now). However, should we consider whether or not it is worth a quicker fix to achieve that aim rather than place all eggs in one grant pursuing basket, only to be met with disappointment 18 months or longer down the line, with no work at all having been done.

What is clear to me is that in 10 years, Glossop North End has the potential to be in, and be surviving in, the Unibond premier league. We need only look across the hills to see what is required. Buxton have a tidy ground, but aside from a stand that includes all the facilities that we might want – changing rooms, offices, washrooms, press & commentary positions and 500 seats – it’s not actually that far away from our beloved Surrey Street. There are a lot of smaller, bitty jobs, that will be required, but if we can build a stand that will hold much of those named requirements, we have broken the back of what is needed for the next step. However, even with Football Foundation funding, such stand could prove to be at a prohibitive cost and a vision of utopia.

At the moment we appear to have a pot of FA Vase money sitting in the bank, (gaining pitiful interest I would imagine). I would hope that this cash is ring-fenced, not to be touched - but away from this we have no identifiable income other than the hand to mouth income from match days. Perhaps we can find a way to add to this pot of gold?

There can be no disguising that having no other income of significance is disappointing. At Wembley last season we had 5000 people watching the club at the highest profile game that it has ever been involved in, but rather than tap into this potentially rich seam of sponsorship, the club has instead lost its main sponsor, and at the same time a director who up to that point had been shown through his actions over the summer to have a real drive to take the club forward.

We MUST find someone to sit on the board with the commercial nous to bring in sponsors. It is plainly a skill that is lacking at the moment. Think about it...5000 potential sponsors, ok maybe 3500 if you take the kids out, but we didn’t even publish details of how much it cost to sponsor a game, a match ball, a player. Whilst other club were actively out there gaining sponsors, we weren’t even making it easy for sponsors to find out with their own initiative. We only have to look at the tax return behind the clock or the unfinished shelving in the kids rooms to know that people need to be reminded, badgered, to get round to things. How many of those 3500 were thinking they would do more for the club next year, only to never get the reminder.

The team and some overheads should, if possible, be run with the income from match days, and to some extent that allows for cloth to be cut accordingly. But that means that income from sponsorship money could in part be saved, put away for the next project that has been identified. Maybe a stand, maybe a new clubhouse. Perhaps this clubhouse could be used commercially for local people. Then we earn more money for the next project...etc. We HAVE to get the commercial side sorted, as a matter of priority for 2010/11 - who knows, maybe there is a philanthropist out there, just waiting to be approached and ready to donate in the right circumstances. It happened to the rugby club.

There are, of course, many more jobs around a football club that just the commercial side. We must also consider that in the future what the make up of a board would be and ensure that we have the right people with the right skills to do it. I would suggest that the board breaks this down to the basics, and makes a simple list of every job that is required to be done in the facets of running a club, be that on a match day or during the week, and then delegates the appropriate board member to be responsible for them. If a particular skill set it missing, then a board member is responsible for finding a person with, inviting them onto the board if they feel that is what is required.

At the moment, things appear to be disjointed so that sometimes no-one is aware whose job is what. One thing is clear though, is that ultimately the board is responsible for everything, and if something isn’t getting done, it is up to them to arrange it. Being a board member is not a position to be entered into lightly, and those of you who may seek to criticise should bear this in mind. By the same token, when things don’t get done, it is not sufficient for the board to suggest ‘then you do it’ to those that may snipe. That person has not undertaken to run the club.

The current board did a tremendous job of battening down the hatches and chasing wolves from the door when that is what was required. Having emerged on the other side of that, we have to change the mindset and look forward to creating the opportunity for good times. By identifying the jobs that need doing to achieve our aims, and who is required to do them, we might expand or streamline the board, but we will get an outfit that pulls in the same direction, as a team, just like we would expect the lads on the pitch to do.

Ambitions must be clear and achievable. Personally, I would eventually like to see an integrated club, from Juniors (boys AND girls) upwards, with some facilities that the town could be proud of, such as some 3G pitches, indoor facilities and the like. This would take some vision from the council too, as they will have to take the lead with this and spot an opportunity for development in the centre of town. Our Leisure Centre is 30 years old, in which time the population of Glossop has increased by 33% from 30,000 to 40,000 people. The centre is too small for us now. Perhaps some Brownfield land where an old factory once stood with its large chimney could be developed to become the focus of sport and leisure in the town with the football club at its heart…if only we knew of such a place eh?

But let’s be realistic, that is unlikely to happen.

But the aims of the board as stated by Adrian on the messageboard certainly are achievable. To recap –

1/ Scratting Shed. This has to go and ideally being replaced with a structure running down that side, incorporating standing, enough flip seats to reach the minimum criteria with what we already have, ( could need about 200 - 250 in total ) a proper, yob proof press box in the middle and lighting / emergency lighting within.

2/ Changing Rooms. They will have to be replaced, firstly because they are falling apart and also because they are actually not quite officially big enough, for the next level up.

3/ Outside wall. This does not reach the minimum height standard. Surrey Street side would definitely need doing, but we may get away with some of the other sides.

4/ Outside Toilets. These would need improving and possibly a new small block building.

In addition, you would have to add that the integration of the football club into the community is vital. We have been shown that there is interest out there, and the club will need to find ways of reaching out to the community to draw their support. Be that through coaching sessions for kids, ensuring that there is representation at local carnivals, getting merchandise into local shops…and other ideas that people may have.

I believe that whatever the result of applications for grants, we should pledge to have the ground ready for promotion by inspection time in 2010/11. Not least, the anticipation of ambition of promotion and evidence of some drive to achieve it will help the turnstiles to tick over and keep the crowds high which will fund the team to do it. If the grants are not forthcoming (either in time or at all) the money to improve the ground will have to come from outside of that raised on match days.

Make no mistake, this will take hard work on behalf of everyone one us who can spare some time, together with some effective and dynamic leadership and communication from the board to inspire people to put the hours and effort in, to reach a collective goal.

So where do YOU want to see GNE in, say, 10 years, I’d be interested to know.

Awesome!

2006-12-17T16:29:00.000-08:00

5 minutes to type up what i've just done in the internet cafe at the Hermatage hotel is not enough really, but that's all i've got.

Kiwi's use the word 'awesome' an awful lot, for the simplest of things like handing over your $4 for a pint of milk, but heading up towards mount Cook in a helicopter before landing on a snow shelf and having a wander around finally does the word justice. It truly was, and well worth the 100 quid plus per person it cost. Hopefully the girls will remember this for ever...i will.

The views are simply stunning, the landscape almost lunar. I can't wait to upload the photos. And in truth, going in a helicopter was excitement enough. I was dumbstruck for a while after we landed.

it's great to be on the road, as Wanaka, with it's two streets, had become a little familiar. Ahen we get back i hope to build up to Xmas and have fun that way, then i've only a couple of days before heading home. I'm told the UK is miserable right now...really looking forward to returning then.

The journal is going ok, although i'm about 10 days behind. Will publish idc.

See you soon

JH

hello hello

2006-12-05T04:04:00.000-08:00

typing this in liz's aunt angela's fabulous house, 70km outside of melbourne. it's fantastic. From the veranda on the first floor (yes, as opposed to one on the groundfloor) you can see the ocean and the city centre across the bay.

reeling still from the cricket defeat today, which was on the radio on the way back from the city. You HAVE to come down here, it's brill.

San Fran was superb, Auckland wasn't much of a city tbh, but there are fantastic places around it. Drove 1000km in 3 days. This included the ace hairpins of the coromandel peninsula, which i loved driving, and made all my passengers car sick.

i'm keeping the journal, and will publish on return. online time hard to come by. Speaking of which...

til NZ (Monday we fly there) where hopefully I'll have more leisure time to update.

loveto all

J

Last day

2006-11-22T01:29:00.000-08:00

Walking toward this office this morning it finally hit home that it will be my last day in work for a month. A broad grin suddenly took shape as I went past Minshull Street Crown Court, which may have looked odd as

a) it was chucking it down

b) it's only Wednesday after all, officially the worst working day of the week*

c) no-one smiles at 8 o clock in the morning (expect the local bus loon)

Now if I can only persuade someone in authority to let me have an early dart...

*this has been measured by a team of boffins at some over funded University in Nebraska, probably. My research however is based on me being away for a week - Wednesday is when you wish you were at home the most.