The Ball is Round

Category: Blue Square North

  • More than a feelin’

    If I was a betting man (yes, yes so you say), I would have lost my shirt, house and probably a few of my organs by lumping heavily on Loughborough Dynamo after an hour of this game. But the reason why we all love football is that literally anything can happen. As we saw earlier…

  • How was it for you? Part 7 – Oh to be a Pilgrim

    Boston United fans know something about ups and downs, mostly downs… Cheating our way into the Football League, winding up with the same cheating fraudster taking us down five years later while doing his best to run the club into the ground. Skipping the Conference and being dumped into the Conference North before another demotion…

  • How was it for you? Part 6 – Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

    Starting the campaign as favourites for relegation, the target being a finishing place of twentieth, meant that despite the eventual disappointment, Southport still had an encouraging season. The home win against Luton in March, the big wins against Gateshead, York and even the strong performance put in against league champions Crawley Town, culminated in a…

  • How was it for you? Part 3 – Ewch ar y Cymru

    Favourite bits of the season? The final was unbelievable, even if it took a month of my life. The bad bits (of which there were few) paled in insignificance and really weren’t football’s fault (Northern Rail trains being an hour and a half late following an away Tuesday at Burscough was one of them). And…

  • The TBIR Blueprint for the future of Non League football – part 3

    James Doe deserves a medal for making the first ever Non League Day last September. Not only did he have the energy to say “right let’s do it” but he was also able to get national media attention to the day. In short Non League day – what a brilliant idea! My Non League team…

  • The TBIR Blueprint for the future of Non League football – part 2

    I am not going to get into this whole cricket/rugby debate as to why they can drink whilst a game is going on and at football you cannot. Test matches go on for 7/8 hours but alcohol is served for the whole period (bar a one hour “cooling off period” after lunch) without any issue…

  • The TBIR Blueprint for the future of Non League football – part 1

    On Friday 1st April West Ham United reserves are taking on Manchester United reserves at Woodside Park. Looking at recent games played between the two you could expect familiar names such as Faubert, Winston Reid, Kovac, Boa Morte and Sears for the Hammers, plus Obertan, Bebe and Gibson for Manchester United. Potentially more stars on…

  • Northern roadtrip – Day 4 – Jekyll and Hyde

    This season they had struggled again so far, falling into the relegation fight with our old friends Gainsborough Trinity and Stafford Rangers. The visitors, Stalybridge Celtic had travelled all of 4.3 miles for this local derby and were in much better shape than the hosts sitting in 13th place.

  • Northern roadtrip day 2 – The wholly Trinity

    We sent out a carrier pigeon to the nearby town of Gainsborough, and a few hours later it returned saying “eh up lads, game is on”. So we were off, following road signs confusingly for a place called “Gainsboro’ “. It seems the local councils up here realised that by saving 2 letters off every…

  • The future of the football programme

    Do we really want to read the egotistic ramblings of the chairman or the manager who throws in every cliche in the book in their description of the 6-0 defeat last week? Pictures from the most recent games? It is hard to make football pictures interesting at the best of time. Some of the best…

  • 10 Reasons why I am a Non League Fan

    I could go on. I feel more at home now standing on the terrace at a non league ground (or even a simple grass bank) than I ever was at Upton Park in my plastic seat. I feel I have more in common with the people around me rather than the Premier League branded blinkered…

  • “If Heskey can play for England so can Jay”

    There are far too few model professionals in the game today. It is hard to see some of the Premier League “stars” of today still being in love with the game at 39 years old as well as preparing to play their game lower down the league ladder. We salute you Jason and hope that…

  • Has anyone seen Grays?

    Secondly, and more newsworthy is the fact that one name is glaringly missing – Grays Athletic. Obviously relegated last season from the Blue Square Premier and homeless after their Recreation Ground was sold from under their feet, they had planned on entering the Ryman’s league with a ground share at East Thurrock United. But that…

  • More non-league farce

    Remember my note from last week about the situation certain clubs have with a build up of unplayed games? We focused on Wealdstone and the fact that they have to play 7 games in the next 14 days (including 6 at home) in their push for a play off spot.  But one league has come…

  • Wash your Eres out….

    Ilkeston…Derbyshire’s riviera some say and home to a world record holder.  Have a wander around the Market Place on a Saturday and you may bump into William Roache MBE, better known as Ken Barlow, who holds the unique world record of playing the same character in a TV show for the longest period of time…