The title to this blog is a bit of a dichotomy, the grass roots refer to the organisation of a football club that has a strong growing web of teams of all ages, abilities, sexes, and not to the pitch itself. In Dinnington the pitch is a modern artificial surface that allows all weather and all day play. It also has multi lined out pitches with 14 mobile goal mouths of all sizes. The senior team is benefitting from the money and effort that has been put in, with perhaps their stars of the future developing in the many junior teams.

I was last here on Christmas Eve last year and returned to see the finished ground with the new covered seated stand. With the stand finished and all of the other improvements I believe that Dinnington Town now meet the grading requirements to enable them to go up to another level.

You enter the ground via the Dinnington Resource Centre which was opened in 2000, a new building on the site of the old Colliery Institute. This is a self financing centre at the heart of the community which offers, function and meeting rooms, a FIFA approved 3G football pitch, a library (Rotherham Borough Municipal Council), a community cafe , home to Dinnington Pre-School group and a Post Office. There can’t be many football clubs that have such an association with a Post Office.

It was an amazing sunny day with clear azure blue skies, no wind but a cold 3 degrees. Parking right outside for a quick get away, was a bonus. I bought a coffee and took a seat in the new stand which looked like it could seat 100, overall the crowd looked to be getting on for that figure.

I have written before on Dinnington Towns’ history which goes back to 1908, with the current club reformed in 2019. They are looking to move up to their highest ever level.

The opposition Elite AFC were only started in 2020 as a Junior Academy with teams of all ages, last year entering the Central Midlands League gaining promotion to the Premier Division.

Dinnington Town FC v Elite AFC

Saturday 25th November 2023 Kick off 15.00.

Central Midlands League Premier Division North.

3rd v 7th Dinnington, bright yellow shirts black shorts; Elite, white shirts blue shorts.

The young Elite team were under pressure from the start but did cause some problems with quick counter attacks. Dinnington though did take the lead on 21 minutes when a player burst into the box to see his shot parried by the Elite keeper only for Ben Bertram to tap it in. Only 5 minutes later the Dinnington Manager was sent off for not agreeing with the referee over a potential penalty appeal and he walked off and sat next to me in the stand.

The day was so bright that the floodlights were not switched on until 33 minutes and a short while later a ball swung in from the right was met by Justin Circuit who headed it straight into the net. The goal was a que for some noisy boisterous fans to let off a flare. Dinnington played out the rest of the half and went in at halftime in command.

Elite had not given up and after some close play Jacob Tupling scored for them shooting from the edge of the goal area into the roof of the net. The home side restored their two goal lead on the hour when Ben Bertram scored.

With 71 minutes gone Elite, who had kept pushing, scored their second when Tommy Pallett ran through to hit the ball across the goalkeeper, hitting the post and rebounding into the net. The game was now any bodies except that a ‘worldy’ from 30 yards out on the right by Josh Baxter ended up in the top left hand corner for a 4.2 lead. Elite didn’t give up but Dinnington eased their way to the win and retained their third spot in the League.

Great to see the development of Dinnington’s facilities and their team responding to investment. Elite too showed that with some more experience they could well challenge for the title in the future.

I had a coffee to start the game and at half time queued up while some fresh chips were cooked. They were really good, crisp, golden, tasty, no after taste of oil and therefore a great score of 69.

I know the M180 from a previous life but this time it was to see Scunthorpe United play Darlington in the FA Trophy second round. These two ex English Football League clubs have been on a downward trajectory but have now steadied their ships and look to move higher.

It was a grey day with full cloud cover that luckily gave no more rain. It almost seemed a balmy day at 13 degrees and even the breeze didn’t feel cool.

The stadium is just off the motorway into town and just behind a retail park. There is plenty of hard standing parking, don’t park there if there is an alternative, I queued for 25 minutes to get out and then had to navigate those leaving the Retail Park.

Once inside you can see that Scunthorpe have been at a higher level. There are three sides with covered seating and one covered standing terrace all linked with the same roofline. Only two and a bit sides were open for the crowd of 1977. The leg space on the seats was great, not like having to be a contortionist to recently sit at Mansfield. An amazing ground for a National League North side. It did look a bit shaby but not surprising after recent times and the greyness of the day didn’t help.

The vibrant green grass flat pitch stood out against the grey sky.

1899 saw the start of Scunthorpe United, 11 years later merging with North Lindsey United and adopting the name Scunthorpe and Lindsey United, a name they kept until 1958 when they dropped the Lindsey. After formation their success in local football was rewarded with entry to the Midland League in 1912. Their success in that league spawned applications to the Football League which was finally rewarded in 1950.

The highest level they reached was 6 years in the Second Division in the late 50’s and early 60’s. and again in the Championship in 2007 and 2010. They then yo-yoed in leagues One and Two until relegation to the National League in 2022 and lower still the following season to where they are today.

Uncertainty at board level over the last few years has seen them teetering on extinction but they were bought by a local business person in early October 2023 and just a few days ago it was announced that their Glanford Park ground has been saved too, is this the start of a come back.

Darlington were founded even earlier in1883, after playing locally they were founder members of the Northern League in 1889 and of the Third Division North in 1921. They too have been in the second tier of the Football League but were relegated to the Conference in 1989 only to bounce straight back. With the turn of the millennium they were financed by a George Reynolds and they moved to an amazing new stadium. Unfortunately loans, previous personal problems and little chance of filling the stadium led to their first administration in 2003. Despite a charity match by famous footballers raising £100000 and being sold on they again went into administration in 2009 but again survived. They were relegated to the Conference in 2010 and sparked a mini revival when they won the FA trophy at Wembley in 2011. 2012 saw another administration and a relegation. Darlington was wound up in 2012 and placed in the Northern League with the new name Darlington 1883. They duly won the Northern League in 2013 as a fan/community owned club and further back to back promotions from the Northern Premier League in 2015 and 2016. They did change their name back to Darlington FC in 2017 and developed their new ground and after 4 years looked set at their new level until this season languishing near the bottom.

Saturday 18th November 2023 Kick off 15.00 pm FA Trophy Second Round.

Glanford Park, Scunthorpe Iron v Quakers also ‘Darlo’

3rd in National League North v 22nd in National League North

Scunthorpe; claret shirts and shorts with light blue shoulders and sleeves, Darlington Black and white horizontal hooped shirts with black shorts

Scunthorpe United FC 2 Darlington FC 0

Darlington started the game on the back of an eight nil drubbing at Chorley in mid week and things didn’t look good when on only 8 minutes Connor Smith of Scunthorpe was left alone to run through to receive a perfect pass to let him clip the ball along the ground across the goal keeper into the far corner of the net. Scunthorpe dominated play and added a second on 28 minutes when some individual brilliance from Jacob Butterfield saw him unleash a 25 yard shot into the net.

It took until 34 minutes for Darlington to have their first shot but with no avail and by half time the home team were well on top with from my estimate over 65% of possession.

The dullness of the second half did not improve as I watched a train meander by on an embankment behind the goal rather than the football. There was a burst with 6 minutes left when Darlington finally had a shot cleared off the home team’s line and another that just clipped the post.

All in all a dull game after last weeks 4.4 in Beverley although the home fans were happy as their revival continues.

Unfortunately no chips or hot drinks other than coffee although some fans in front of me were expecting a return of a better food offering now that the ground ownership has been secured. Instead I had a sausage roll that was delicious but not good for the waist line.

There was also no program!

Back again to Mansfield this time to see a EFL Trophy game, a competition I have never really understood the necessity except for the benefit to the two teams who reach the final. Tuesday 7th November EFL Trophy.

Mansfield were playing Everton U21’s but without an on line or physical team sheet I had no idea who the young hopefuls were. This was apart from Seamus Coleman one of the Senior players allowed in the regulations. I believe he is coming back from injury and his experience, control and commitment showed until subbed off as a precaution after a slight injury.

It was a cold clear night but only 819 had turned out (74 from Everton). The pitch looked great but after just a few moments there were traces of brown showing though the grass after the recent continual rain.

Everton were on top in the first half and looked in complete control but for some scrambled away corners at the end of the first 45 minutes. Some of their team showed amazing pace with the ball and their inter passing skill and positional play was good. However they too had not really troubled Mansfield’s reserve goalkeeper who looked very composed.

Mansfield goalkeeper made 2 point blank saves in 1st 15 mins of the second half and Everton clipped the intersection of the upright and crossbar with a right foot curler 5 minutes later.

Nigel Clough made 4 changes on 73 minutes to try to change the game, with no avail and the game drifted on. One minute into the 4 minutes added time Mansfield’s Cooper, was adjudged to have pulled over an attacker who looked suspiciously to be leaning on. Up stepped Chermitti to hit the ball straight down the middle as the goalkeeper dived to his right.

No way back for Mansfield and a cruel way to lose.

Mansfield Town o Everton U21 1

Having completed my trilogy of Mansfield games I had time to reflect on footballs lower level survival.

How do you compare the income generated for an attendance of 819 for an official cup game with the money earned and spent at the pinnacle of the game. The gap between the top teams who play in Europe and those in the lower divisions grows inexorably every day. I wandered who this trophy is for, the smaller clubs, who must earn little if any income from the games or a means for the Premier teams to have competition for their Under 21’s players.

Clubs were born out of Churches, factories, cricket teams, Sunday League teams, youth teams etc, but the main theme was their community. Often as theses teams grew they needed local benefactors to support their gate receipts. This support may have been altruistic, due to a love of their local area or sometimes as a way of improving their standing in the community or to gain advertising for their company. The thing that is most relevant here is ‘Local’, which was also the tag that would be used to talk about fans. Fans started following their local team because there was not the transport to travel far and wide, they couldn’t justify the cost, they often worked Saturday mornings and there were a host of local newspapers that reported about the clubs. The majority of fans were from a working class background and if their club reached a national final ( FA Cup or Amateur Cup) they would descend on the capital and take it over, claiming it for their club and community. To some degree, communities not being left behind as teams from all parts of the land reached Wembley.

Jump to today and there are only a relative few teams who are going to win everything, backed by TV rights deals, a commodification of the club, European football and an ownership structure that may have an agenda to maximise profits or benefit the sporting political ethos of different states. There is a disconnect here that spills over to the fans. Fans of the Elite clubs are now from all over the world due to games being broadcast to everywhere, social media and an increase in disposable income and transportation. Low cost airlines even allow people to support teams in other countries than their own. So the working class community fan has been slowly squeezed out as the so named ‘prawn sandwich fan’ has been willing to pay increased seat prices, club merchandise prices and experience add-ons. Even the wealth of owners is graded, it cost Wrexham a great deal to get out of the National League but how deep are their owner’s pockets to get into the Premiership? Even if they succeed, there is a further tier level to confront. It appears to me there are the relegation clubs, often those promoted from the year before, the mid table group who don’t go down but don’t make it to the top table and the Elite. Having watched Watford in a previous era, my love of Luton FC is somewhat tainted, but I am rooting for this Supporters’ Trust owned club to defy the odds and stay up. Will this community disconnect result in local causes being overlooked for one’s that cater for their international base.

This wealth has increased the power of players to rightly demand their share of the riches but this has percolated to lower divisions clubs who can not afford it. This has also led to a disconnect with local fans in that they want success but there are no local players, often they are from the far side of the earth spending a fleeting glance in the history of the club. Although you could not say that Charlie Aitkin was local to Aston Villa, being born in Edinburgh, his recent death showed the loyalty by player and club that is so very rare to see. He played 660 games for Villa, all but 3 of them from the start, in three different divisions and was a League Cup winner. Now it seems that Elite Football Academy’s draw youngsters from far and wide and then often off load them to ensure they comply with the Fair Play Rules. Using Villa again as an example, will we see a Grealish, born in Birmingham and one of their own, come through again?

As top clubs increase their match day prices to maximise income to cover costs the fans have become more drawn from a wealthy group, travelling often from far away. Tickets in the Premier League often start at £50+ if you have paid for club membership. There are loyal fans who I admire in keeping faith despite the cost demands of todays living.

Are there clouds on the horizon for the Super Clubs, TV Rights deals are not expected to see the rises of the past as more and more TV and streaming companies merge, Disney-Hulu, Warner-Eurosport- TNT Sport-BT, more sharing of content among rights owners and perhaps we have reached peak English football. There is also the big fish on the horizon, Saudi Arabia, who have disrupted golf and football with the lure of big salaries in their Global Sports Domination Program.

In my mind the EFL Trophy needs modifying if it is to survive. Perhaps very local leagues to start the season drawing in derby crowds with a final on New Year’s Day! Just a thought, I’m sure there are others.

It’s been good to go to Mansfield and enjoy a real community feel and belonging. Thank you, but it’s back to the lower levels for me to really feel that connect.

As I have said before there are no chips at Mansfield so I was ready for a cup of mushy peas with mint sauce. Horror, I had left my wallet at home because the ticket was on the phone. Perhaps it’s time to add payment to my phone.

I journeyed again to Mansfield for their next game in the EFL cup home to Port Vale. To have achieved progress to the last 16 (Fourth Round) was a good achievement but they did not use this attainment as a cash cow opportunity but kept prices low, my ticket was £5. I looked at the cost of going to a similar round game at a Premier League club and costed it at £20 to become a member and a ticket for £52, wow. More of that in a later post but first the game.

Mansfield Town v Port Vale

Tuesday 31st October 19.45 kick off.

EFL Cup (Carabao) Fourth Round (Round of 16)

One Call Stadium, Quarry Lane, Mansfield, NG18 5DA

The Stags v The Valiants Fourth Tier of English Football v 3rd Tier

Mansfield, Yellow shirts with blue flash from armpit to end of shirt and Royal Blue shorts. Port Vale, White shirts with two wide horizontal bands of black and yellow and Black shorts.

It was a very foggy drive and the dampness hung in the air all around you but the temperature was a mild 10 degrees.

There were still people queuing up for tickets and three sides of the ground were open for this game as against two in the previous round. 1644 from Port Vale took up the whole of one end and their continual singing and chanting created a good atmosphere within the 7432 attendance. The home crowd had increased from 3690 in the previous round to 5788 on the night which vindicated the clubs decision to keep prices reasonable a good example of a club that knows its community.

Mansfield Town FC v Port Vale

The fog swirled round the lights and became thicker and made it difficult to see the far end.

The match started at a frantic pace, end to end with Port Vale using Tommy Sang overlapping on the right and delivering tantalizing crosses that caused problems and one shot from one of his passes shaved the post after 12 minutes. Port Vale continued to show the greater endeavour and 12 minutes later it looked to me like a handball in the penalty area by a home defender to me but in the gloom I could have been wrong.

Despite all of the Port Vale possession Mansfield nearly went in ahead at half time when a great cross was met by Keillor-Dunn who se volley was brilliantly saved at point blank range by Connor Ripley in goal for the visitors.

Port Vale had created the most chances but Mansfield had stayed in touch and caused problems with some quick long balls to the wings for forwards to run on to.

HT Mansfield 0 Port Vale 0

The second half was only minutes old when Alfie Devine ran through the middle from half way and from 20 yards out curled a shot that beat the diving Mansfield keeper to his left.

Port Vale bossed the game from here although a triple substitute by the home side did inject some positivity but it was Vale who nearly wrapped it up a few minutes later when Christy Pym had to make two good saves to keep the game alive.

The Home supporters were riled by the assistant referee who made three contentious decisions against them when they were attacking with some momentum.

There was unfortunately no late charge and comeback for Mansfield like against Peterborough in the previous round.

Being Halloween, could I say this was a thriller, No, could I say it was a horror show, No, it was a straight forward display by the higher League side who progressed to the next round

Mansfield Town 0 Port Vale 1

No chips here as I have written before but this time I had the sausage roll, not quite as good as chips but a worthy contender.