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A week on from the fantastic game at Glossop, and I've now had time to calm down a little and take a few things on board. It has been a very busy week for me, mainly at work but also at home. I was so shattered yesterday evening – both mentally and physically – that by the time I had got my son to bed, and my wife was out partying with friends, I was ready for bed myself. 9pm on a Saturday evening. How sad is that? After a good night’s sleep, it is time now to put a few things into perspective:
1. Glossop In The Semi-Finals! Stating the obvious I know, but that really does sound good. Imagine what the Glossop fans must be feeling; a whole raft of emotions coursing through their bodies. 5-2 against a strong Marske United side was a great result, but the thing that stood out for me was the performance. The Glossop team really do have some strong players, and in the two games I have seen them play I have been impressed with a number of them; David Hodges, Ashlea Gotham and Rick Bailey to name but three. The Hillmen are riding high at the moment; their fans must be besides themselves, praying they can negotiate the final hurdle and grace Wembley.
2. It is Chalfont Next. Yesterday, Chalfont St Peter and Needham Market played out their Quarter-Final replay. After 90 minutes, it was 0-0. After extra-time, it was 0-0. After 5 penalties apiece, it was 5-5. Chalfont scored the first sudden-death spot-kick, but then Needham's Jon Sparkes missed and that was that. Chalfont St Peter v Glossop on March 28th, the return leg at Glossop one week later.
3. Tickets Please? There was a huge crowd at Glossop for the Markse game. The inevitable questions about the Semi-Final games have already started. Will the games be all-ticket? Will they be moved to bigger grounds? (AFC Fylde did this in last season’s Semi-Final). I think we won’t know the answers to these questions for a few days yet, but I really hope that the games, particularly the second leg in Glossop, stay at the club’s home grounds. It just won’t be the same if it moved to a bigger, vacuous venue. Let’s save that scenario for Wembley.
4. A Little More Football. Away from the FA Vase, there is no avoiding football. My son has signed up with Chertsey Town U9s and he had training on Friday night; I played in a game of ‘kids v parents’ at the end of the session, and after a day of playing golf in impossibly boggy and waterlogged conditions, this almost killed me. Blessed with no footballing skills whatsoever, trying to control a ball as ten ‘wasp-like’ 8 year olds swarm all over you is impossible. Especially for an old crock like me. Saturday morning my son was then involved in a 1-0 defeat against league leaders AFC Brooklands. It was a close tense game, and I’ve never been so nervous watching a match. Despite the defeat, it was a great team effort and my son won 'Best Effort' award, for the second week running. I maybe a crocked Dad, but I’m also a proud Dad.
5. Even More Football. Now my son is the proud owner of the full Chertsey Town kit and tracksuit, and is a fully fledged member of Spencer Day’s revolution at Chertsey Town, he can now get into their home games free of charge. I and a friend took our respective offspring along yesterday to Alwyns Lane to see Chertsey Town beat Badshot Lea 2-0. Chertsey still have an outside chance of promotion from the Combined Counties Premier League and are chasing table toppers Bedfont Green. In the few months since I saw Chertsey Town lose at Arundel in the FA Vase, they are a noticeably improved side. With Spencer Day’s money improving the club facilities and now trickling down through the youth structure, the future looks bright at Chertsey.
6. Semi-Final Plans. Arrangements are now underway for the next FA Vase game, which is 20 days away. The Glossop fans are sorting out their scarves, flags, musical instruments, songs and transport for their long journey down to Buckinghamshire. I have yet to make contact with the Chalfont club or fans, but I’m sure they are still celebrating after yesterday’s nail biting win. For me it will be a short hop around the M25, 30 minutes at the most. Time for me to chill today and relax with my family; the toughest decision I’ll have this Sunday is choosing which pub to visit near Chalfont St Peter from the ‘Good Pub Guide’. It’s a hard life.
There is a rather peculiar, and extremely unbelievable, story doing the rounds this morning. I heard it on the radio at breakfast, and it is about a mobile phone that was found in the belly of a 25lb cod. A chap from Worthing, Sussex, lost his phone whilst walking his dog on the beach and it turned up a few weeks later, still in working order, inside a fish which had been caught by a local trawlerman. The phone and owner were reunited when the fisherman phoned a couple of numbers to trace the owner.
This kind of story surfaces every now and again, and I have to take it with a pinch of salt (no pun intended); the only national newspaper running this story is 'The Sun', so therein lies a clue to its authenticity. These are stories of chance; the 'million-to-one' occurrence. The pensioner reunited with his false teeth after losing them 25 years ago; the chance meeting of a long lost brother whilst on holiday in Outer Mongolia; that oil painting you picked up at the local car boot sale for a fiver which was actually painted by your Grandfather's Grandfather a couple of centuries ago. People generally love these stories and use them as evidence that there are 'other forces' moulding and shaping our lives. Luck, chance, fate; whatever you want to call it.
Of course, what makes them sound spectacular is that they are reported widely, discussed, passed on, talked about and devoured with relish. The stories gather a momentum of their own. What isn't reported are the 999,999 other times that this kind of thing doesn't happen.
I have felt for a few weeks now that fate has dealt me a very kind hand. I'm off to Glossop tomorrow, my place of birth, to watch North End take on Marske United. I am so excited about going back to Glossop, you just wouldn't believe; since the draw was made, I have often found myself saying "what were the chances of that happening" or "I can't quite believe that I've ended up at Glossop". Having no control whatsoever where this FA Vase journey would take me, I'm still pinching myself that it is sending me, rather excitedly, towards my home town.
513 teams entered the FA Vase this season, so the likelihood of me going to Glossop is not really a 'million-to-one' chance. But its not only a '513-to-one' chance either, because many other factors have a bearing. Regionalised earlier rounds meant that I would only see teams from down South in the early stages; the chances of seeing Glossop were naturally much slimmer than, say, Banstead Athletic. Glossop still had to go and win their regional games to get to this Quarter-Final, against some very strong Northern teams. But for me to see them at Surrey Street, they did have to be drawn out of the hat at home, after already being put on my 'path' of the draw when they were drawn to face Bitton AFC in the last round. So the chances of me ending up at Surrey Street, tomorrow, were rather slim.
But looking at all the entrants to this season's competition, I may well be writing the same thing if I had happened across some other teams on my way to Wembley. AFC Blackpool and AFC Fylde (I spent 3 years at polytechnic in the Fylde and Blackpool area); Wick (as in 'Wick To Wembley' from last season); Runcorn Linnets (where by brother used to live); Morpeth Town (near to where by brother now lives); Newton Abbot (where my sister lives); New Milton Town (where my family holiday every year)...and so on. A visit to any of those and the now worn out phrase of "what were the chances of that" would have been aired yet again.
Who knows? One thing I do know is that it promises to be a great occasion tomorrow. We are down to the last 8 teams already, only two more rounds to negotiate before a Wembley appearance.
Preparations up at Glossop have been ongoing all week. A large crowd is expected as recruitment efforts around the town and High Peak are stepped up; an extra turnstile will be open, the clubhouse (opening at 1pm) now has a temporary extension to house everyone and the number of programmes being printed has increased tenfold compared to a normal League game. Fans are being encouraged to bring flags and drums and make as much noise as possible. Likewise with the Marske United fans; they will be bringing at least one drum, a bugle and a cow bell. Yes, a cow bell.
It sounds as if there will be a great atmosphere in Surrey Street. A couple of rounds ago, Glossop dramatically beat Stewarts & Lloyds Corby with a very late winner and the 'old fashioned' atmosphere inside the ground that day was, by all accounts, fantastic. The defeated Northamptonshire club later wrote to Glossop to thank them for their marvellous hospitality and also to say that was one of the best games, for atmosphere, they had have ever played in.
The Glossop players have also been given time to prepare for the game. The Vodkat North West Counties League allowed them to postpone a scheduled midweek fixture ahead of tomorrow's match. Meanwhile, Marske United didn't have that luxury and had a tough game on Wednesday, winning 3-2 at Birtley Town after being 2-0 down. The Glossop players will run out a little fresher.
And finally, one great piece of news for me is that Glossop will have a Pie Hut at the game tomorrow. For someone who loves his pies, I'm delighted. I don't recall ever going to a ground that has had something called a 'Pie Hut'. Wonderful. What were the chances of that happening? I'm off now to phone my friends to pass on this excellent news. Now, where did I put my mobile...?
Many people, far more knowledgeable and experienced than I, have explained to me in recent weeks that the Fourth Round Proper of the FA Vase is when the competition really catches the imagination with fans. From this round on, ties are no longer regionalised, attendances will rise as will hopes, dreams and expectations. As 2008 draws to a close, we are now down to the last 32 teams and the relative few still standing must feel they now face a realistic chance of walking out onto the Wembley turf in May 2009.
But who are the favourites to lift the trophy? One thing is for sure, I can't tell you. I've absolutely no idea. Many of the teams still in the competition I have barely heard of; others I am slowly starting to recognise. Last season's finalists are holding onto their dream of yet another day at Wembley. In the next round, the holders, AFC Fylde (formerly Kirkham & Wesham) face a tricky journey to Needham Market in what will be, on January 17th, a repeat of last years' Semi-Final. The beaten finalists last May were Lowestoft, and they will host Witney United.
In the betting markets, there is only one bookmaker laying odds for the FA Vase. SkyBet do not, rather surprisingly, have AFC Fylde installed as favourites. That honour goes jointly to three teams, namely VT FC, Leiston and Lowestoft (odds 10/1) whilst AFC Fylde are slightly longer odds to retain the trophy (12/1). I can understand why Leiston are up there - they had a great FA Cup campaign this season, and Lowestoft. But VT FC? Who are they?
I guess the bookmaker can only derive odds based on League position and recent FA Vase history; I doubt that anyone at SkyBet has a detailed understanding of any of these non League clubs. VT FC are actually based near Southampton and in case you are wondering (I had to look this up) VT stands for Vosper Thornycroft, the name of a public limited shipbuilding and engineering company. VT is essentially a work's team. There you go - that is the one thing I have learnt today. As for their FA Vase pedigree, this is the first time they have reached the Fourth Round Proper. They are third in the Wessex League Premier Division having lost only one League game this season, and as a Step 5 team on the pyramid VT are therefore one of the highest ranked teams still in the competition. Joint favourite kind of makes sense then.
Down at the other end of the pecking order are FC Clacton and Stone Dominoes. Both are Step 6 clubs and currently lie mid-table in their Leagues, the Eastern Counties League Division One and the North West Counties League Division One respectively. At odds of 66/1 they are not fancied. But could they be worth a punt?
In the FA Vase, League position and ranking in the pyramid seem to mean little. When AFC Fylde won the competition last season, they were one of the lowest ranked teams competing. Last season was their first time in the competition and they entered at the earliest stage (First Round Qualifying). At this stage of the competition last year they were 66/1 outsiders. That alone is enough to suggest that any of the teams remaining have a chance to win it. Even FC Clacton or Stone Dominoes. You never know.
I am a crap tipster and usually lose any football bets I make, so if you are waiting for a tip, I'm afraid you are in for a long wait. All I know is that in a few weeks time, I will be at Bitton AFC (20/1) for their tie with Cogenhoe United (40/1). I have no idea who will win the game. However, there is a 1 in 16 chance that the winner of the FA Vase 2008-09 will come from that tie. Don't bet against it.
It has been a rather hectic summer for me. After last season's FA Cup exploits, in which I travelled over hill and dale in search of real football, I have had little time to sit down and reflect on what was quite an experience. Writing a blog, fielding newspaper interviews, even a slot on the radio and a brief appearance in front of a TV camera were all alien to me and somewhat surreal. Not to mention the great football along the way.
But I entered the summer months, with Euro 2008 and the Beijing Olympics on the horizon, knowing I was going to be kept very busy. The FA Cup blog turned into an FA Cup book; details, if you are interested, can be found here. Writing a book is a first for me, and as much as the FA Cup journey itself was a real eye-opener, so was publishing a tome about it. I have learnt so much in a short space of time. Whoever said "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" was wrong, frankly. But that is a different story - suffice to stay I have not stood still for four months.
Whilst all that was going on, I had in the back of my mind plans for a significantly more low-key venture for this new season, 2008-09. Many have asked "would I be doing the FA Cup journey again?" The answer? Maybe in a few years' time, but not again so soon. But I felt as if I should do something. I enjoyed many, many things about the FA Cup last season: the new grounds; the travelling to uncharted parts of the country; making new acquaintances and friends. But the fondest memory is that of watching non League football, down in the lower reaches of the English football pyramid. The tiny grounds, the part-time clubs, the small but dedicated helpers, all in places I'd never heard of before.
So for this season I have chosen to take a butchers at the Vase - the FA's knockout competition for clubs at Steps 5, 6 and 7. Another journey to Wembley is on the cards and seems appropriate. Last season's FA Vase winners were Kirkham & Wesham (since renamed AFC Fylde) who beat Lowestoft in the Final. Those names alone give you an idea of the level of football we are talking about. I know I won't attract as much interest as I did last season, but that's not why I'm doing it. Getting into the matches will be far easier; the only real challenge will be the possible distances to travel, once again a potential nightmare if I should be faced with a mid-week replay. I'm already looking forward to a journey into the unknown, and having no control over where in the country I will be sent or who I will meet along the way.
As the publication date for my FA Cup book approaches I can begin to breathe a little easier and focus on my 2008-09 journey. This season 513 teams have entered the FA Vase and I will start (as I did last season in the FA Cup) with my local club, Chertsey Town. They have been drawn away, in the First Round Qualifying (on Saturday 6th September 2008) to Sussex County League Division One side Oakwood.
Never heard of them? No - neither have I. This is where the fun starts.
