April 2008 Archives

I KNOW you shouldn't criticise referees - but what was Mr R J Martin of Weston Super Mare thinking of when he started Halesowen Town's BGB Southern Premier play-off clash with Chippenham Town!
Heavy rain had fallen for some considerable time prior to the kick-off and it was plain to see the pitch was totally unplayable by 7-45 pm as large areas of surface water could be seen on the pitch.
This was made more apparant by the floodlights, where you could see the water shimmering in the reflection.
Nevertheless, Mr Martin, in his wisdom started the game and the farce commenced immediately when Halesowen goalkeeper Mark Osborn went down to smother a regulation through ball and promptly slid betyween 10 to 15 yards, taking the ball out of the area.
Technically, isn't that a handling offence!
With the ball splattering to a halt everytime it hit the surface, it was beyond my comprehension that the ref allowed the game to continue for 32 minutes before coming to his senses and calling a halt.
A check with the weather forecast would have told him that rain was predicted to fall until 11pm - so the situation was only going to get worse - not better.
But that wasn't the best of it. Stuart Pierpoint's header was clearly handled by Chippenham's Ross Adams who prevented it from going into the net.
Penalty and red card is the correct proceedure.
However, it became clear after several minutes of faffing around, that referee Martin had lost sight of who the culprit was.
After consultation with his linesman, Mr Martin duly awarded the penalty, but there was no sign of any card, red or yellow for that matter.
So there's your answer. Any defender who commits a similar crime -run and hide and you'll get away with it!

I IMAGINE Midland Alliance officials are sqirming with embarassment at the moment.
The Alliance completed its campaign last Saturday - yet they don't have a clue who is getting promoted and relegated.
We'll have to wait for an FA meeting on May 14, I believe, to have any chance of finding out.
Unbelievable - the FA had all season to work this one out - yet everyone must bide their time until the FA finally get their act together.
Non wonder football fans believe that FA are only interested in the Premiership these days.
It completely outrageous teams could compete for an entire season not knowing what awaits them at the end.

Hang onto your hats -it's play-off time.
Love them, or loath them, you can't ignore them.
With so many of our local teams involved, it keeps the season going right to the bitter end.
Experience already suggests never to bet on the side finishing second - which doesn't bode well for Leamington in the BGB Southern Midland Division.
Numerous people have been pressing me for predictions - but I'm doing what Trevor Brooking does best, sitting on the fence.
Oh alright! He's my prediction for Tuesday night.
Leamington to beat Rushall Olympic, bayed on by a bumper crowd.
Sutton Coldfield to get the better of Stourbridge - they'll lynch me for that one back home.
I just fancy Sutton's attacking style suits play-off type football - but I could be wrong!
Halesowen Town have a hard task against Chippenham and I'm a bit concerned recent Yeltz form has slipped a bit recently - but they should do it.
As for AFC Telford - well Rob Smith did say the Bucks love a good play-off, so my money's on them, even if they did finish second

Had a rare trip down to Billesley Common to watch Moseley take on Cornish Pirates.
Great game, despite the dreadful weather. I can't remember the last time I was so cold!
One incident stands out in my mind which took place towards the end of exchanges, when one of the Pirates' pack floored his Moseley counterpart with one hell of a haymaker.
Had that been in football, there would have been an uproar.
Instead, the matter was resolved by a chat with the referee, a handshake and 10 minutes for the pair of them in the sin-bin. Situation dealt with.
What a contrast to all the vitriol and vile that was emminent at the second city derby.
I have this vivid image of James McFadden racing through and firing narrowly wide - to be greeted by a wall of Villa spectators offering obscene gestures to the striker.
Can anyone spot the difference.

I've been going through a bit of an identity crisis this week.
According to the Sunday Mercury, I made a few timely tackles for Kidderminster Harriers against Weymouth.
Clearly it wasn't good enough as Harriers eventually lost 2-1, so I'm quite expecting to be left out of the side to face Burton Albion.
If that's the case, I'll be slapping in a transfer request at the first opportunity.
It's obvious that if Mark Yates had picked me right from the start of the season, we'd be looking at promotion by now!
Between you and me, I think the said reporter was getting me mixed up with Gavin Hurren - even though Trigger's hairstyle is considerably brighter than my greying locks.
Nevertheless, I'll be buckling down to training this week, just in case I get the call.

Good to see that some things don't change in football.
Former Kidderminster Harriers striker Ian Foster has become established as their physio these days.
Everytime he runs onto the pitch, he's greeted with a louder cheer than the current players.
Whenever Fozzie is called upon to administer - the chant 'Super Ian Foster' echoes around Aggborough.
Now that's what you call a fans favourite!

GOOD to see that football can still throw up one or two nice touches.
Although immersed in their FA Cup semi-final with Barnsley, opponents Cardiff City still found time to send Chasetown a couple of tickets.
The Bluebirds have kept in touch with Chasetown since their epic FA Cup meeting.
Consequently, a pre-season friendly at the Scholars looks on the cards.
Chasetown are just hoping Cardiff arrive equipped with the FA Cup as well