Thus enquired a Buckley Town player of one of his team mates in Prescot Cables' pre season game at the weekend. The question was not confined to the home team: I watched the second half from where the Prescot substitutes were warming up, and introductions were going on there too. Observant readers may have noticed a lack of captions in the last couple of posts for the same reason.
Some players are familiar from the previous season, such as the agile Brian Pilkington.
One of the hazards of travelling independently (particularly when planning to pop in to the local ruined castle on the way) is negotiating the maze of local bus fares. Operators do not always help: Arriva's map of their North West (of England) area is a bit vague as to how much is included across the border. Mold appears to be in, and the driver confused me by suggesting all of North Wales was included (it isn't), although maps issued in Chester may have "here be dragons" somewhere near Gwernaffield. Had I used their "bus tickets 2 ur mobile" application, I would have probably overpaid by getting a ticket that includes the coast.
Buckley play in the Huws Gray Alliance (leagues seem to like names other than "League", but, as Prescot played for many years in the Lancashire Combination, I cannot complain). The Alliance attracts similar crowds to the EvoStik League, but ground grading requirements are not as strict. For example, the fence does not need to prevent viewing of the game from outside the ground, which means a view can be obtained from inside across into England and the Cheshire Plain, and the steam from the Stanlow Oil Refinery.
Looking around the ground, it seemed that Buckley are keen to progress to the Welsh Premier League, as there was ample evidence of improvements in progress - new turnstiles waiting to be installed, and a newly concreted area that looked as though it was being prepared for covered standing, in addition to the two fairly new prefabricated stands already installed.
The pleasant weather seemed to have had an effect, as this was a much better performance than in the humidity at Wigan in midweek.
The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.
For the last few seasons for Prescot have played an international friendly. Wales is not as international as some places - the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Team were spending the weekend playing the supporters of Altona 93 in Hamburg. However, it has caught out the odd English club in the past, who have not read the page in their League handbooks where it reminds them that players whose last club was under the jurisdiction of the Football Association of Wales need international clearance to play in England. Unless you attract the attention of the Prime Minister, failure to comply results in a points deduction for fielding an ineligible player.
The pleasant weather seemed to have had an effect, as this was a much better performance than in the humidity at Wigan in midweek.
The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.
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