Rotherham has two football grounds!

I recently had some time to kill in Sheffield and decided to drive to Rothetham. When you travel through the road system in Rotherham centre you drive along Centenary Way over the river Don bridge and your eye is immediately drawn to the Millers home, The New York Stadium which dominates the view as much for its modernism and brightness in an industrial landscape that has served the employment prospects of locals for a long time. New York because of the area’s name not because it is homage to a far larger Trans Atlantic metropolis. This is one of the new concrete homes to many football clubs that are slowly replacing outdated stadia originally implemented with the rightfull move to safety and more or all seater grounds. In my view Rotherham is one of the most successfulI Community Stadia, I always feel at home there and get a good view and feel for the game. Yes we have lost some of the history and the atmosphere but when we look back was steep terracing, tobacco smoke and urine where we want to be.

Rotherham though stands out for another reason in that if you look left insteasd you see another football Stadium, Millmoor, the home to Rotherham United FC until 2008 when the new owners of the club fell out with Ken Booth of C F Booth the owners of Millmoor. The Millers then became nomads before they moved into the New York Stadium in 2012 playing for a time at the now also defunct Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield. At least the Don Valley Stadium and surrounding area have become a Millenium Park with Hallam Universities nationally renouned sports science facility, an ice rink, school and soon to be the new home of Sheffield Eagles Rugby League club a very fitting replacement for the previous sports facilities.

Millmoor was used by a youth team playing Sunday football for a time but now sits an eerie empty place with the new main stand never completed. The grass looked cut and very green from a distance but the advertised redevelopment seems stalled. Millmoor was an Athletics Stadium and I believe I have read that there is a long standing covenant on the ground that prevents it from being anything else for some time to come.

My last recollection of Millmoor was with my son when we stopped on the way back from a Harrogate show to see their last match of the season in 1990. Although we stood out of the way of the bulk of fans their exhuberance or end of season fun almost knockef us over. I also remember the disgusting toilets that you had to tiptoe around in or wade through the liquid on the floor.

The old ground is now well protected by razor wire, a dense undergrowth in places and a security company whose van was parked within the confines. Very sad to see but the progress that has been made at the new ground was worth it. Walking down one side of the old ground you can smell that oilly metal smell of engineering and you can hear the sound of scrap metal being processed.

An interesting two hours to see this odesey of the old v new that seems will not be resolved or removed any time soon.

I love the FA Cup

Being on holiday for the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup meant I joined the fun at Belper for a Preliminary Round game. This year is the 150th anniversary of the first ever FA Cup game and I am dreaming of a smaller Non League club having a miraculous run this season.

Belper Town’s ground is on the very edge of town near the river Derwent and close to Strutt’s Mill one of the industrial icons that make up the World Heritage listing of the Derwent Valley to mark it’s importance to the birth of the Industrial Revolution.

Not knowing the area I had difficulty parking and a 5 minute walk down hill from where I parked looked like a bad idea when I realised it would be 10 minutes up the steep incline at the end of the match. The rain, grey skies and clammy warm weather did not help the mood but WOW what a fantastic ground greeted me. A long covered seating area down one side, cover for standing fans behind one goal and two refreshment bars. The floodlights are state of the art and the pitch was flat with thick very green grass. I asked if I could get a program and was directed to the woman in red on the corner although it turned out it was the woman in black next to the woman in red who was selling them. I was lucky there were only two left and I’m not surprised, 20 glossy, coloured pages packed with info. The program would grace many a National League side.

Belper Town are nicknamed the ‘nailer’ very obviously because nails are manufactured locally. They have played in local and Midlands Leagues and the highest they have reached was the Northern Premier, Premier Division but lasted only one season and returned to the level they currently play at in 2016.

Belper started back in 1883 and reached the first round of the FA Cup in 1887 narrowly losing to ‘The Wednesday’ so their involvement in today’s competition goes back over 130 years.

Whitchurch Alport situated west of Stoke and east of Wrexham play in the Midland Football League Premier Division. This border country club have punched above their weight for some years considering the size of the local population. Formed in 1946 they have played in many local leagues progressing to the North West Counties League and now the Midland League with the recent restructure.

Belper Town F.C 3 Whitchurch Alport 1

Belper started the day as favourites, playing at home and at a higher level of football but it was Whitchurch who scored first in the slippery conditions as the rain became a constant. A corner from the left by Joe Minishall was pounced on by No.6 Alex Hughes who smashed it in the net for a very early lead in the 3rd minute. Whitchurch were close to adding a second but on 7 minutes the Belper No.6 equalised after the Whitchurch defenders failed to clear a cross from the right.

Within a further 3 minutes Belper were now in front when No.6 again (Tom Wilson) scored this time with his head. Whitchurch pressed hard to get back in the game but we’re left with a lot to do when Belper scored their 3rd minutes before half time through Johnathan Margetts.

The second half started with the local church, which backs onto the ground, sounding its bells at 16.00 which also signalled the rain to stop. Belper should have taken this as an omen and put the match out of Whitchurch’s reach when awarded a penalty on 53 minutes. Margetts gamely stroked the ball to Mason Springthorpes left and he comfortably saved.

Whitchurch didn’t give up and pressed hard but never looked like overcoming a robust Belper defence.

Belper’s good win has been rewarded with an away tie in the next round to local rivals Matlock which is just 10 miles away, a true Derwent Valley derby.

Not only did I enjoy the football and the facilities but the chips were fantastic,hot, tasty, golden, firm, no fatty after taste and a score of 85. Best this season so far.

Tulips blossom at the start of a new season.

A stop on the way back from a holiday found me at Spalding to see local team Spalding United (The Tulips) play Loughborough Dynamo in the first matches of the Northern Premier League. Midlands Division which had seen Dynamo and Spalding moved to as part of the Non League Pyramid reorganisation.

This is a very good ground not far from the town centre with plenty of room and a good seating area, club house and food stall. The pitch looked very flat but the good grass cover was begining to yellow in a few patches due to the lack of rain. The temperature at 22 degrees with a light wind and an overcast grey sky made it perfect conditions for playing and watching.

There has been a football club in Spalding since 1905 and they initially played locally until joining the Peterborough & District league in 1930. Since that date with promotions, relegatiions and League re-organisations they have played in the Northamptonshire League, the United Counties League, the EasternCounties League, the Central Alliance, the, Midland League, the Northern Counties East League, the Midland Division of the Southern Leaguè and most recently the Northern Premier League. True wanderers of the Non League football system because of their geography being on the perimeter of many leagues. Throughout this time if they fell on hard times financially or football wise it was the United Counties League that welcomed them back and gave them stability. They should change their name to Spalding Nomads.

I visited Loughborough Dynamo last season and was impressed by their set up and play. I have written about their history in a previous blog but just to say that they were formed in 1955 and can also be called the nomads due to their frequent change of grounds but are now firmly at home at the ADT Stadium in Watermead Lane.

Spalding United 2 Loughborough Dynamo 1

It was a sad start to the game as we all took part in a minutes applause to comemorate the three back room staff at the club who had passed away since the last league game.

The football seemed to be suffering from a hangover as neither team seemed to make any progress in the first 15 minutes but Loughborough were begining to make a mark. Perhaps neither team wanted to make mistakes on this season opener but on 22 minutes Curtis Burrows stepped forward to take a free kick to the right of the D. He struck the ball brilliantly around the wall and into the bottom right hand corner of the net.

Loughborough now had more chances to further their lead but a through ball to Marcus Smetherson to Marcus Maddison enabled him to show his EFL credentials with a well slotted ball past the goalkeeper. Both sides now had chances but it was Loughborough who must have left the field at halftime feeling that thet should have made more of their chances.

The ground staff need some ball maintenance training as the referee discarded some of those on offer for poor inflation.

The second half was again evenly matched although the referees intervention in booking the lively No9 for Loughborough, for backing on, pointing to various points of the field to denote he felt it had been ongoing was somewhat harsh. This did take the sting out of their forward play and they did not threaten as often. This was a particularly poignant booking when the opposite No 9 Greg Smith continually questioned the referees decisions all game along with swearing that could be heard from the stand.

It was left to a piece of footballing skill to win the game for Spalding when Scott Floydd overlapping on the right took a pass that looked well covered but he feigned right went left and passing his marker was able to score on 82 minutes from an acute angle.

A good win for Spalding with Loughborough happy with their first outing of the league saeson but disapointed at not getting a point.

The attendance of 189 was a dissapointment considering that 1400 had been in the game for a pre season friendly with Peterborough in mid week.

The chips were hot, large, thick, no taste of grease but with a squashy mess inside. Unfortunately I scored a lowly 50 when in this town in the fenland with much food growing, processing and distribution I expected more.

The Love of Football

Some people visit Teversal to try to view ‘The Manor’ which is believed to be the basis of the fictional Wragby Hall in D. H Lawrence’s 1928 novel ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover.’

On Saturday I visited this small Nottinghamshire village for my love of football and there was as much passion on display but on this occaision between Teversal F C and Armthorpe Welfare F C in their Northern Counties East Division One 2021/22 season opener. My dream was that this first game of the season would foretell a time when there would be no disruptions or early ends to the campaign. 133 others had turned up to see the game on a grey, dry, but warm afternoon and like me had been greeted by a friendly atmosphere and an open club house where I was able to get my first Chips of hopefully many.

I was asked what did they score in my chip League and my reply of 4038% which reflected that they tasted so good after everything we have gone through to get back to a very little thing that I enjoy. In reality they have set the bench mark for the season with a score of 69 being extremely hot, thick, tasty but with a taste of the oil too strong to get a higher score. The food in general here looks excellent and if I go again the curry and rice looked and smelt lovely. My coffee and chips were only £3.

You arrive at the ground through some houses into a very large tarmacked carpark that also serves a Bowling Club and a very popular walking and biking trail. The pitch looked green and lush but was a little undulating. There is a club house, seated area and behind one goal two batches of Tesco trolley parks so that you can shelter from the rain if needed. Everything has a warm and friendly community feel. Teversal have been moved back to this league as part of the F.A. reorganisation.

There has been a football club here since 1905 and had the words Miners Welfare in the name for many of the ensuing years reflecting the two local pits of Teversal and Silverhill. The miners influene, but not the heritage, ended in 1989 when the local district council took over the complex and still run it today. They have maintained their current level ‘s with a few ups and downs and look forward to the new challenge of the Northern Counties East League.

Armthorpe Welfare too as the name indicates come from a heavily ex mining area near Doncaster having been formed in 1926. They moved around local South Yorkshire Leagues until the early 1980’s when they joined their Current League. They were only relegated from the Premier League in 2017 and this season have virtually recruited a completely new team to compete for a place back in a higher level.

Teversal F.C. 0 Armthorpe Welfare 1

For the first 20 minutes Armthorpe looked in control although Teversal were dangerous on the break and on one of these hit the left hand upright. The game was dirupted quite a few times with the ball going over the concrete perimeter fence, some extended netting would be a benefit to a more flowing game. The game continued in the same pattern until the end of two minutes of added time when the dangerous Mathew Hughes received a through ball on the left wing and cut inside to riffle the ball into the net beating the Teversal goalkeeper who was the stand out player on the field. The referee blew his whistle as soon as Teversal restarted the game.

Despite some huff and puff from both teams the score did not change although Teversal did hit the bar with a thumping header. Armthorpe did get the ball into the net near the end but was diallowed and their Manager was yellow carded as he drew the ire of the referee for his remonstrations. You will need a few more results to put this game in context as to where these two teams will end up in theLeague table.

The game sounds a little dull but was amazing and has set me up for a season of hope.