The Cheesemen

With City playing Hayes and Yeading United away at Woking (I know it is ridiculous, and today Worcester City have announced they will be playing at Kidderminster) I decided to eschew the City game, and return to Bradford on Avon for the Western League clash against Cheddar FC.

Cheddar, like City have been struggling due to postponements and this was only their fourth game in two months, while Bradford Town have also had a weather hampered fixture list.

I returned to BoA by train, and disembarked to meet other stripes in The Three Horseshoes, a swift Danish Dynamite wet my whistle, before a quick march to Trowbridge Road (I was running late, the rest had been there a couple of hours!)

Cheddar FC amazingly play in the colour yellow, which we all hope is due to the cheese but who knows! They have been in existence since 1892, originally playing in the Cheddar Valley League (again I hope this is named after the famous luminous orange cider...)  which they won in 1911, their first ever trophy. They continued in local leagues, and in 1952 moved to their current home Bowdens Park, sadly though they are planning to relocate, no doubt to a dismal out of town location.

Last season, for the first time in their history Cheddar achieved promotion to the Western League and that led to today. Trowbridge Road was bathed in a pleasant sunshine and was missing the cold bite of recent weeks, the pitch however, was showing the damage the weather has caused.

Bradford started the game well, as expected from a team on a 6 game winning streak, however, against the run of play, Cheddar broke into the box and a deft chip over the keeper by Jamie Howson, gave the Cheesemen the lead.

This just seemed to sting Town into action, and the men in blue swarmed all over the visitors. Palmer standing behind the goal was questioning the oppositions stature and querying the defensive positioning of his men on the post. Bradford star man Matt Minnis picked up an injury during this period and was substituted.

Not long after the ball broke to a Bradford player about 20 yards from goal, a soft shot was hit along the ground, but the keeper horribly misjudged it and dived over the ball, 1-1 and you couldn't help but feel for the keeper as he buried his head in the turf.

Bradford's number 18 was having a cracking game, linking play well and driving forward with intent, while at full back was Frome Town's Josh Brigham, who to be fair is carrying a little bit of extra timber! But he had a cracking game, and I later learnt he had broke his leg while playing for Frome.

Bradford then scored a goal from a powerful header from a corner and deservedly took a 2-1 lead into half time. At half time we wandered into the old Spencer Moulton social club building, as detailed previously in my blog this has since been closed apart from the football and bowls clubs, and it is still a saddening sight. What isn't depressing is the vast array of bowls pendants from past touring sides and victories Bradford bowls team, I learnt last year was the bowls club centenary year, and if I eventually return to Bradford as a retired man I hope they are still going for me to join!

A nice winter day in West Wiltshire

Bradford were buoyed in the second half, and playing like a team full of confidence. For a Western League side some of the play was superb, and the passes were knocked around, "Brazil, it's just like watching Brazil" was sung by the striped Bradfordians, and truly it was.

Tempers flared near the halfway point of the half, and a Cheddar player crashed into a smaller Bradford attacker, the giant centre half cleaned out the smaller man, who kicked off, both sides rushed in, and it took an age, which included consulting his linesman before the referee sent off the assailant.

After Cheddar were reduced to 10 men there was no chance that they were going to get back into the game and Bradford increased their stranglehold on the game. Bradford scored a wonderful third which involved a jinking, weaving run, a dinked cross a header back across goal and a wonderful finish.

Palmer had been winding up the Cheddar number 4 thoughtout the game (who was a big bastard to be fair!) and at one point after the third Palmer's ribbing had got too much and the big man told Palmer to "Shut up, you cunt" Well that told Palmsy!

The game finished 3-1 and was Bradford's seventh win in a row, and Town currently sit in third with potential promotion on the cards. We wander though town to sink some beers, and in The Plough had a giggle over a 1999 Swindon Town team photo with a very young looking Charlie Grffin (with full head of hair) and a City photo from 2005 which led to some reminiscing.

Sadly City's Tuesday game was called off, so once again another game is added to the too be played file.

In the bleak midwinter.

Due to the ridiculous number of postponements we seem to have received it is looking more and more likely that we will be playing many Tuesday night games. So it was that on 15th January, on a bitterly cold night we welcomed Bromley to Twerton Park.

You have to love Tuesday night games, suddenly the working week is split by a few beers and some entertaining football (that is the theory anyway!) So after a few at The Whitehorse, we wandered down the hill to the ground. It was properly cold, and definitely a day for scarves and gloves.

The pitch looked interesting, and potentially frozen, so it was a wonder that the game was played. There was a paltry looking crowd, and near the end of the game it was confirmed that only 386 people had bothered to turn up to watch the boys in black and white, this is pathetic for a city of 80,000+ people. The poor crowd added to a miserable night, and generally added an air of depression to the proceedings, barely a peep was made as the crowd watched what was a shocking performance by City.

After the good 4-1 win away at WsM it would have been thought that City would have been full of confidence. However, this was clearly not the case. The opening of the game saw Nichols set up Noah Keats, but the youngster scuffed his shot at the keeper, and that was basically the end of City's attacking intent until the last quarter of an hour of the game.

Bromley were having having the better of the game, and on 38 minutes Theophanous latched onto a pass and stroked the ball under Jason Mellor. The game drifted to half time, and City emerged to a pitch that was definitely starting to freeze. They had upped the tempo a bit, but Bromley then extended their lead. Theophanous crossed a simple ball into the box, where the brilliantly named Pierre Joseph-Dubois chested the ball down and knocked it goalwards. Jason Mellor was clearly nursing an knee injury and the stopper couldn't get down to it, the ball trickled over the line at a painful pace, and if Mellor's injury is severe we may regret releasing Glyn Garner.

Lee Howells did then ring the changes, bringing on Marc Canham, Morgan and Aaron Brown, and despite a very late rally, where Morgan miscued a right footer effort and Mark Preece had a shot cleared, but that was basically it. The game finished 0-2 and around 375 of the 386 sloped off into the bitterly cold night air. I walked across the pitch after the game and it was frozen solid, so I don't envy the players being on the pitch.

Then a day later came chairman's Manda Rigby's statement about the trouble Bath City FC are in, and the need to leave lovely old, gorgeous Twerton Park.

I have posted a link to the statement here. (http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Bath-City-chairman-Manda-Rigby-answers-critics/story-17863345-detail/story.html) While I am saddened at the thoughts of leaving Twerton, I think a lot of fans accept that this maybe the only option for the club being that it is saddled with debt. I have been pleasantly surprised by the reasoned reactions (for once) but do wonder how we can sell TP, and with the money made from that sale, clear the debts, buy land and build a new ground. It seems unlikely but hopefully the board are working on something that would work, although I fear that we will end up being second class citizens to the rugby club.

Basingstoke Town (A)

This is being written three days after the game when Bath City are playing in Weston super Mare (the rearranged game from the disgracefully cancelled New Years Day game, and they possibly might not be playing as WsM won't confirm the game is going ahead!) but given the appalling treatment last time I refuse to go to the game and give them any money.

On Saturday City traveled to Basingstoke, I wasn't going to go, so hadn't arranged for coach or train travel. However, Friday I started to think it was a good idea to go, and I awoke on Saturday morning, and thought "What the hell else are you going to do?" Therefore I arranged to collect Palmer, and hopped in the car for the relatively short journey to Hampshire.

Basingstoke play at The Camrose (apparently named after a late benefactor Lord Camrose) although they have a planning application to build a new ground and sell off the Camrose to developers. Palmsy and myself arrived in Basingstoke around 45 minutes before kick off, and the experience confirmed once again why I will always take the train over coach or car as we parked up, and the only option was the clubhouse.

While there was nothing particularly wrong with the clubhouse, they are just generally slightly depressing, Phoenix Nights styled places, and Charlie's/Randalls for all their niceness have the same air, and it is why I will always drink in the Crown/White Horse etc or proper pubs on awaydays rather than in clubhouses.

We went into the ground earlier than usual due to boredom brought about by the clubhouse. The Camrose, is a neat enough ground, but is small with one reasonable sized main stand, two terraces and one uncovered end. It was while in the ground (and getting some chips) that we found out Charlie Griffin was on the bench, as was Kerry Morgan, with 5 in midfield.

City were attacking the covered terrace opposite where we were standing so we began our movement around the pitch.

Before we had even reached the end there was a flash of black and white and Danny Ball hared past us and into the box, the young full back cut inside and fed Josh Low who placed the ball into the corner, City were one up with less than a minute played.

City were playing well, and loanee Tom Nichols up front started to show some of his football league class (and the form which brought him 10 in 13 for Dorchester Town) However, Nichols more that justified his selection, despite what some people [most of whom weren't there] would have you believe, and I write that as a man who thinks Griffin is our best player by a countrymile.

Basingstoke had a few chances, before Ball once again fed Low, the towering midfielder ignored the near constant cry's of "shooooot" as he tried to steady himself before unleashing a shot towards the top corner, a brilliant clawing save by the keeper managed to tip the ball behind for a corner.

However, moments later,  despite the positive signs City's weakness once again struck. Mark Preece dropped a massive clanger when all he had to do was clear a ball, instead some how it fell to Sam-York who fired home.

Low had his third good chance just before half time, when Noah Keats laid it on a plate for him, somehow Low managed to steer his shot wide when it seemed harder to miss from that position. Cue some fairly justifiable anger from stripes gathered around me.

During the second half we became involved in some light hearted pisstaking with the opposition keeper, mainly due to a man who must have been 6" 3' and 14stone who went down like he'd been shot when little Tom Nichols challenged him! To be fair to the keeper he gave some back and applauded a cracking save by Jason Mellor late in the game.

Basingstoke were having much the better of the second half, but Keats almost scored when a ball was threaded through to him by Nichols, sadly the ball didn't quite drop for the sliding Keats and when another chance came the midfielder couldn't get the ball out of his feet.

Morgan came on for Low in an attempt to change the game, but before Morgan had been on the field a minute City were behind. This time it was Gethin Jones who couldn't defend and the ball was in the back of the stripes net.

Griffin and Simpson both came on, but for the second game in succession the Romans seemed dead on their feet from about the 75th minute and no late rally was to be seen. Despite the positives, which came from the excellent performances by the youngsters, Ball, Keats and Nichols, once again City have lost a game they arguably deserved more from. We are now dangerously close to the relegation zone, and this is causing more than a few mumours of discontent, hopefully a good run of form will happen to raise the black and white spirits. UTC.

Weston super Mare FC, officially the tinpottiest of tinpot clubs

After the game against Weston super Mare on Boxing Day and the cancellations, and the continuing bad weather I did not expect the Weston super Mare away game on New Years Day to go ahead. With that in mind I didn't bother setting an alarm for the 9 o'clock pitch inspection, I did wake at 9:30, and found that the inspection had been pushed back to 10:30, "Ah the game is definitely off" I thought before rolling over and going back to sleep.

I did wake at 10:40ish, and found that the pitch inspection had been passed and the game was to go ahead. This completely screwed my original intention of getting the 11am train from Bath Spa, but the game was on! Happy days! So I caught a later train on my own and spent a leisurely hour traveling to WsM.

I arrived at the station and spoke to the stripes I was meant to meet on the earlier train, they were in The Waverley pub (named after a quality steamer which used to go down from Bristol to WsM and across to Wales) I entered, ordered a Tribute and spoke to the stripes outside. Myself and Tim decided to move inside, and I sat down a maximum of 15 minutes after arriving in WsM, at which point incredulously Pete walked in and informed us the game had been called off...

What!? I hear you scream, but there was a pitch inspection you cry. Yes, there was. And yet WsM FC once again proved what an amateur, crappy, awful little club they are, village teams are organised better, and definitely teams like Buckland Athletic, Bradford Town et al of Western League.

Suddenly 8 stripes were crestfallen, what to do, what to do. Sadly this could not be a Salisbury saviour (due to the impending doom of the 1st day at work) But we visited the pier, and went to the quality The Regency pub (The Waverley and Regency are definitely the best two pubs I've seen in WsM) So an enjoyable day was eventually salvaged, but WsM FC are now edging Crawley in clubs I truly despise.

Oh and in more devastating news Jim Rollo (Sir Jim Rollo, Jimmer, Rollodinho) club captain, record appearance holder and all round amazing man has left to join Chippenham as he wants to play more football, this news was truly heartbreaking, but Jim will forever be loved by anyone with black and white blood.

UTC!!!