Things can only get ... er ...

Travelling to Prescot Cables' game away at Trafford, I was in the right part of the city to use Liverpool Central, and some tunnels where in the 1880s there had been a spate of fatal accidents. A number of men (they were all men) had been killed striking the tunnel wall or an oncoming train. It transpired at the inquests that they had been leaning out of the window, or in some cases clinging to the outside of the train, to observe "courting couples" in the adjacent compartment.

Believe me, that is as jolly as the evening gets.

I arrived just in time for the start of Joe Gibiliru's first, and it transpired, only, game of his current stint in charge of the first team. The event was facing stiff competition for the attention of the busy Urmston resident: Army Cadets were busy drilling next door, and bell ringers were practising about half a mile away.

It was overcast, so the floodlights were needed from the start. I remember on my last visit for an evening game, the floodlights were partially obstructed by trees, Most of the branches now appear to have been cut back, apart from on one specimen. The pitch is close to the perimeter fence on two sides of the ground, with a substantial gap on the other two.

There was a welcome return by Andy Harper from last season ...

... and by Franny Foy, who has played a couple of spells for the club in the past.

This picture neatly illustrates the problem with floodlights, unless you have 15 or 20 heads, you always have pools of light. Here, Franny is in the shadow, and the player in the background, Jonah O'Reilly, is fully illuminated.

Our play in the first half was encouraging: although we conceded two goals, one was a controversial penalty, and our team were visibly keeping formation. It would be a struggle, but at half time, if confidence continued to improve, a point was not inconceivable.

Sam Gifford

There was also news that our new manager would be announced the following day. If I had taken a break from my half time salmon and egg sandwich (I always go for fine dining in south Manchester, and it was reduced in Sainsbury's) to go to the stand side, I would probably have found out more.

Unfortunately, the hosts claimed the game shortly after half time, with three goals in as many minutes. I am not in the habit of leaving games early, but had the gate nearest to the station been open, I might have called it an evening, as there was a train due. As it was, I watched a confidence sapping defeat with Trafford scoring three more goals. Some were able to keep going, with Phil Bannister taking a shot that, had it been a couple of inches lower would have provided a consolation, and been the goal of the game.

Phil Bannister aims for goal

The announcement of the new manager indeed came the following day, although, as we are currently relying on the League for official announcements, at the unusual time of 1am. We have appointed Andy Paxton, who kept goal for us in the 2009-10 season, and has most recently been coaching at Skelmersdale United. He will be assisted by Steve Pilling, formerly of Atherton Collieries. This is a positive appointment, Andy knows the club well, has good experience in our League, and will be looking to make an impression in his first managerial appointment - and is probably best placed to address our most urgent problem in defence.

Andy Paxton playing for Cables in 2010

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Trafford 8 Prescot Cables 0.

Well, that escalated quickly

I had been expecting rain for Prescot Cables game at home against Glossop North End, and, as I had not replaced the hood I lost a couple of weeks ago, I was wondering where to stand to get a decent view without getting wet. There were some cask ales from the Melwood Beer Company in the bar: the Walloper Gold the brewery makes for us is usually on keg dispense, presumably to avoid losses from tapping a cask before a late postponement and the contents going unsold. I need not have worried about the weather, and I found a plastic pint glass somewhat tricky to handle in conjunction with the camera.

Our Train Crew is often mentioned in these pages as respectable people naming themselves like a dodgy outfit from the late seventies. Some Glossop supporters with a minibus had the same idea.

I took up position in front of the tea bar, as against Witton in midweek, although this time I was alongside the half we were attacking.

I have reported over the last few weeks that we have kept about half the side we had at the end of last season. However, that has come a bit undone, with only three of the team that played against Padiham on the team sheet for this game, with Joe Evans, James Edgar and Ben Morrow all on the bench. I was unsure on the whereabouts of the others, apart from Jonah O'Reilly, who was injured.

Phil Bannister has been getting back into his stride since rejoining.

Phil Bannister

We did not have a good first half, not only conceding three goals, but also losing Leon Williams and Rob Doran to injury.

Rob Doran

In the second half, we seemed to be playing a bit more as a team, but we still conceded a fourth goal.

With three poor results from three poor performances, there was talk of whether the manager's position was in jeopardy. This seemed premature, although the board would need to feel he was on top of the situation. I am not aware of any discussion that took place between Neil and the board, but they clearly did not feel they had the reassurance they needed, and the following afternoon the League posted a club statement that we had parted company with Neil Prince.

The problem was that this was not the first anyone heard of it, as the news dribbled out on social media, with the first club related statement being from the Reserves' Twitter feed that Joe Gibiliru Senior would be taking temporary charge of the first team. I see how they reached the conclusion that the news was in the public domain, but it points to a gap in our communications. Hopefully the new website will be active soon, as it will allow multiple people to add content, and make it easier to ensure the club's official channels are the first to issue news.

I enjoyed the football Neil Prince's team played last season, with a decent group of young players - perhaps the team I have felt most attached to over the years - and we avoided relegation with a couple of weeks to spare, so this blog wishes Neil well in his future endeavours.

Neil Prince

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 0 Glossop North End 4.

Kevin who, or naming names part 2

When I first saw the list for Prescot Cables pre season games, it had been jotted down from a conversation with Neil Prince, and the last game was against a team called Kevin. I knew about Barry and Keith, but this was Cefn Druids, from near Wrexham. Druids are a part of cultural life in Wales, and can lead to misunderstanding elsewhere, such as when the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury accepted (whilst Archbishop of Wales) appointment as an Archdruid of the Gorsedd of Bards, causing consternation amongst those who thought it involved wicker men rather than poetry in Welsh.

We had a team sheet, which caused some merriment, with our team featuring "Bram", "Gaz" and "Evo", and the visitors fielding "Fiz" and "A. Trialist". A team sheet at a pre season game is a working document, a rough and ready resource for those with an interest in knowing the names of at least some of the players, and something the management can use to make notes. It is not a league or cup game where names are checked for registrations, suspensions, etc. Having said that, it is surprisingly common for players to appear with unusual spellings, coming from a busy match secretary reading the opposition manager's writing for names they have not seen before.

Evo needs no introduction.

Joe Evans

Anthony Phillips, the brother of Accrington Stanley player Jack Phillips (a sentence a proud big brother might like to see in print - I will probably do a separate post for Jack's move) was able to identify Bram, but I did not think to write his full name down.

Bram

Some names needed to be corrected from previous versions.

Adam Garner

The sun had come out for the end of the day, which was just as well, as I still needed to take some ground pictures for the programme. As well as the stand, I took one of the Hope Street end.

As for the game, an early goal from the visitors was cancelled out by Phil Bannister on 30 minutes.

Phil Bannister shoots for goal

It looked as though we would hold on for a draw, but we fell to a goal three minutes from time, something we still need to address to make sure we are taking advantage of late goals, not losing to them.

After the end of the game, it was time for a couple of shots of the stand before the floodlights were switched off.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 1 (Bannister) Cefn Druids 2.

Stationary

Bus timetables almost always allow the bus the same time to complete a route regardless of the time of day. There seems little consensus amongst companies, or drivers, on how to address when light traffic means the bus is ahead of time. Some set out late and have you standing at the start of the route; some race along and arrive early leaving prospective passengers at intermediate stops; others take extended pauses at every timetable point. My 10A to Prescot Cables' home game against Witton Albion took the third option, which meant we were passed by at least three buses taking one of the first two approaches. In the event, I might have preferred the bus to have stayed put for the evening.

Jack Cookson

To manage expectations, I thought this game would be likely to prove fruitless, barring a stellar performance on our part. Witton were narrowly relegated last season, and appear to have recruited well over the summer.

A club in our position can still be building a team in the first few weeks of the season, due to players becoming available from higher placed clubs, and to holiday commitments. In an ideal world, everyone would be away when there is no football, but particularly where people are tied to school holidays, players who have been training in pre season become unavailable for a few competitive games. At least three or four likely first choices were missing for this game.

I took up position, unusually for me, in front of the stand, so I could continue my conversation with Dr Jon. We thought the visitors shorts were a bit close in colour to our own, but agreed this was the least important part of the kit to avoid a clash.

Phil Bannister

Witton's shirts had a plain panel on the back, too make the numbers easier to read; however, this was negated by black numbers, which come out better in the photos than with the naked eye.

Joe Evans

As a result, I was alongside our own half.

Witton looked likely to stop us scoring, whereas we looked in danger at the back. Jonah O'Reilly was doing a reasonable job in defence, but had to go off injured after 18 minutes.

Jonah O'Reilly

With the visitors 3-0 ahead at half time, the second half would be about damage limitation, and we were none too successful, with Witton adding three more to their total. This was undoubtedly a poor performance, with some first choice players absent, and the team unable to perform as a unit, The result will not be good for morale, there is nothing like getting those first few points on the board, the priority now is to make sure it is a one off at the start of the season rather than anything worse.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 0 Witton Albion 6.

Seeing the view

An attraction of Clitheroe Castle is the view of the Ribble Valley and surrounding hills. The Clitheroe Tourist Board may not like my pointing this out, but on my last few visits, the advertised views were unavailable due to inclement weather. I did not visit the Castle this time, but the view from around the town revealed hills I had not previously realised existed.

The Market Place sometimes feels like a Lowry painting, and some sources assume "A Street in Clitheroe" depicts Church Street, off the Market Place. Closer inspection reveals that the building in the painting is not the Library, and a quick trip with Mr Google's camera cars reveals that the scene is a quarter of a mile away at the foot of Castle Gate, just down the hill from Wool Craft.

Google Earth currently shows an estate agent in the Market Place opposite the Library. In good news for the discerning drinker, this is now The Ale House, described on its website as a micropub, although, as it has seats on two floors and more than one toilet, it is perhaps a minipub. Given that the common experience in other pubs was finding beer coming to the end of the barrel as they started to pull the first pint, a fair proportion of the travelling support eventually joined us. To be fair, the first pint in the Ale House met a similar fate, but they had enough other beers to make up for it.

I have never needed to consider the position of the sun at Clitheroe's ground, but the pitch is aligned north - south, so that was going to cause problems for one half. For the first, we played into the sun, and I took up position on the covered standing behind the goal.

Almost before I was ready to start taking pictures, the pristine playing surface acquired its first divot.

Rob Doran was making a welcome return, and quickly reminded us what we had been missing, with a goal after 11 minutes.

Rob Doran

The advantage was short lived, according to the timestamps on the pictures, it was precisely one and a half minutes later that we kicked off after conceding the hosts' first goal.

A league game means you can use the team sheet to name players with confidence.

Leon Williams

By half time I was ready for refreshments. The steak and kidney pies had run out, but the meat and potato was a more than acceptable substitute. Meanwhile Ben and his father wondered what the Train Crew were plotting.

For the second half, we were playing with the sun behind us, which puts the players in shadow even when you find a spot where you are not looking into it.

Mike Kennedy

A Clitheroe goal straight after half time probably killed off any chance we had of getting back into a winning position: whatever we did up front, it was apparent we were missing key players in defence. Although there was plenty of time on paper, a third goal from the hosts ten minutes later effectively put the game beyond reach.

James Edgar

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Clitheroe 3 Prescot Cables 1 (Doran)

Missing goats

On the way to Prescot Cables' pre season game at Kidsgrove Athletic, the train conductor made an announcement, "The emergency call for aid button in the toilet does not flush the toilet or open the door". He then explained the flush button could be used for the former, and the open doors button for the latter. If possession of gorm were a criminal offence, there would be passengers leaving the court without a stain on their characters. At Crewe, sumo wrestling was specifically prohibited: it is tempting to organise a Graeco-Roman bout and see what happens.

On arrival, I adjourned to the Blue Bell, where the conversation when I walked in was the standard staple of births, marriages and deaths - omitting births and marriages. The beer choice was more cheerful, and I went for the local option, Arbor Light, from Whim.

My photos turn up in all sorts of places, one is on Kidsgrove's website, in the header, a corner flag with the club badge, taken on my last visit.

When they asked if they could use it, I thought it might have been easier to pop outside and take a picture, but they seem no longer to have the flags. The ground seemed cheerful enough.

It was a sunny day, which restricted my choice of position, as I have mislaid my lens hood. Fortunately, whilst there are no baby goats, the ground is very much in a grove, surrounded by trees. As we played the first half downhill, I took a seat in the shade behind the goal, near one of the reduced corner flags.

Phil Bannister

It felt whilst I was taking pictures that we spent a lot of the first half in defence, although, looking at the end results, we made more movement forward than I had thought.

Joe Herbert

We made the most of the opportunities, opening the scoring as I was still making my way behind the goal, and added two more before half time.

Jack Cookson was kept in action in our goal.

The feet behind Harry do not seem to have a visible owner.

The second half was a different matter in all respects. The back wall provided plenty of shade, and once again a seat offered a good vantage point.

Neil Prince

We still made some good movement forward, but the hosts had changed goalkeeper at half time, switching I believe to their regular keeper.

James Edgar

The hosts took advantage of the slope, as you would expect, and scored three without reply.

Elsewhere, competitive fixtures were starting, with Dulwich Hamlet winning 3-0 at altitude against Canvey Island. Actually, every away game for Canvey is at altitude, as their home pitch is below sea level.

Of more significance in the wider scheme of things, this blog would like to congratulate the joint organiser of the Dulwich Twelfth Man scheme, Neil Cole, on completing the Dulwich parkrun, one of the nationwide series of free 5k running events. This is not normally an event that attracts the attention of these pages, but Neil was running in his first event since suffering a cardiac arrest, from which he had an approximately 2-4% chance of survival, at the end of his last parkrun on New Year's Day.

The rest of the pictures from the game at Kidsgrove can be seen here.

Final score Kidsgrove Athletic 3 Prescot Cables 3.

Bactrian to the future

I had not previously noticed that the badge of Cammell Laird 1907,who visited Prescot Cables last week, features a Bactrian camel: I had thought it featured a dromedary. However, the same animal appears on the logo of the company after which the club is named. It is a strange choice for a shipbuilding company: the Bactrian lives in the steppes of central Asia, some venturing into the Stans, all some distance from any ocean going vessels.

Our visitors had a successful first season as a new club, having been in a two horse race with Atherton Collieries in the North West Counties League First Division. This was not altogether surprising, the change of legal entity and mandatory two step drop through the pyramid was to resolve an ownership issue, so most of their resources remained in place.

We got off to an unfortunate start, with John Riley, who has played for Cammell Laird for some years, and previously played for Cables, sustaining a dislocated shoulder in the first few minutes. Fortunately, John later reported that reduction (putting the joint back in its correct position) was successful, so we wish him all the best for a speedy recovery.

John Riley

This was the visitors' last pre season game, as the North West Counties has started a week before the Northern Premier for some years. Their being a week further advanced in their preparations showed: despite some good runs forward ...

... and some good saves from Jack Cookson in goal ...

... they had taken a three goal lead by half time.

Having used my usual position behind the goal at the Hope Street end for the first half, I was a bit lazy for the second. I stopped to talk to Jack Phillips in front of the stand, by the tunnel, and stayed put. This is not the best place for light once the floodlights come on, as there is a bulb out on the pylon in that corner. Still, the results with the available light seemed reasonable enough.

Mike Kennedy

Our performance on the field was much better in the second half. Cammell Laird changed their goalkeeper, and we took full advantage, eventually securing a draw with two goals in the last five minutes. This is only a pre season game, but keeping up the pressure to the end makes the difference in so many games, and we need to be the side taking advantage. We lost some points in the last few minutes of games last season, but we gained some too: I would have liked to do a quick count to see to what extent that worked for or against us, but the league website has archived the results, so only final scores, not goal times, are available to view.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 3 Cammell Laird 3.

Naming names

I remember a comedy sketch by Alastair McGowan where he impersonated the BBC's Huw Edwards reading a news bulletin, "Griff Rhys Jones has been arrested, at my instigation, for not being sufficiently Welsh". You can sometimes be reminded of this playing a side from North Wales, on the pitch many accents are from Liverpool and Cheshire. A friendly in our area may be more convenient for many visiting players than a home game. Having said that, in the last census 41% of the population of Flintshire identified themselves as English, so plenty of the locals probably come from here too.

I had thought Mold Alexandra's name was derived from Queen Alexandra, the wife of Edward VII, whose name was used for a number of clubs and public houses in the first quarter of the twentieth century. The Queen remained popular after her death in 1925: I am sure I remember my mother, who was not born until 1942, referring to "Queen Alex". However, the history page on the club's website is silent on the point, and Wikipedia (unsourced) tells us that the name came when someone at the inaugural meeting in 1929 picked up a copy of the Alexandra Hymn Book. I cannot see any reference to such a book online, the closest being Alexander's Gospel Hymn Book, an American publication from 1928, which was unlikely to have found its way into a Welsh church or chapel.

We were seeing more names for the first time, those of the players, as this was the first of the pre season games for which there was a team sheet on display, even if one visiting player was the traditional A. Trialist. I could therefore start learning names.

Jay Roberts

Alan Garner

Team sheets at these games are put together quite hastily, so names may not match those I have gathered from those following my photos on Twitter. A John Donnelly was listed, but I think his name might be Josh. Either way, he scored our only goal of the game, from a penalty.

J. Donnelly

We had some rain during the week, and the pitch was looking much healthier for it. We had a top up during the game that had me adopting the large format photographer pose, with the rain cover over my head, for a few minutes.

Phil Bannister in the rain

As for the game, there is definitely still some work to be done. We were missing a couple of players we would normally rely on in defence, so the visitors scored three in reply to our one.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 1 (Donnelly pen) Mold Alexandra 3

Maxing the Dayrider

If a bus journey involves one operator, you can go a surprisingly long way for a small fare. A trip from Liverpool to Coppull United on Arriva buses cost the reasonable sum of £5.20. It is not the quickest journey, but many routes have WiFi, and there is nothing like knowing you have passed from one local authority to another by the rise or fall in the number of writing errors caused by bouncing over potholes.

A few years ago, I would not have made a trip like this, as getting timetables would have involved a lengthy call to an enquiry office. Large areas of the country should have had a "Here be dragons" sign on the map, as they were some distance from a train service. Haydock and Ashton in Makerfield rarely impinge on my consciousness, so I was surprised to find quite substantial settlements with a bus every few minutes. On arrival in Coppull, I made for the Co-Op. I cannot fault their prices at the end of the day: even if they sell items just before they go off for next to nothing, you save them the cost of taking unsold stock away, so I grabbed something to eat for loose change.

These pages do not follow televised sport, but I like a television transmitter in the background, in this case Winter Hill. Apparently it sends out different signals in four directions.

After an overcast day, the evening turned out bright and sunny. The sun was low in the sky, and if we had been playing towards the clubhouse I would have been looking straight into it. The sun and the trees that surround the ground gave a combination of shots well lit from the front, and some shadows.

Neil Prince

Danny Flood

Playing into the sun is not always good.

Ben Morrow

Phil Bannister made a welcome return.

The hosts had floodlights, which they turned on from the beginning of the evening. I think the main purpose of the lights is to illuminate training, the West Lancashire League do not have evening games in the winter. By the end of the game, the lights were making a similar impact to street lights.

Jonah O'Reilly

This game, and that on Tuesday at Charnock Richard, was at least in part to try out some "possibles". I did not attend the earlier game: by all reports I did not miss much, as the hosts won 5-0, a bit disconcerting given the difference in league position. This game was a much better performance, with a 3-1 win.

After the game, I had more cause to be glad of Phil Bannister's return, as his parents gave me a lift to Wigan, which, with the assistance of technology telling me where my bus would be and the driver finishing his cigarette, got me home half an hour earlier than I anticipated. These pages often record the 10A as a bus where all human life is there; however, the 352 put up some stiff competition: We were joined by two young ladies deep in conversation. Unfortunately, one was sitting at the front of the bus and the other at the back, and one had difficulty recalling she had travelled outside St Helens.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Coppull United 1 Prescot Cables 3.

Motoring through the traffic

Some feel that urban design is geared towards the car, to the extent it is difficult to navigate some towns on foot. However, places where roads long pre date the motor car can be equally difficult to traverse. Vauxhall Motors, Prescot Cables' hosts in our pre season game last weekend sounds like an urban industrial destination, but the club is in a rural location, separated from the eponymous car factory by the M53. The walk from the frequent Liverpool to Chester bus service is along a country lane without lighting (not a problem in the afternoon) or a pavement. I come from a village, so I am used to this, but there are a couple of stretches with right hand blind bends, requiring use of the generally avoided left side of the road, with your back to the traffic. The noise from the motorway makes it more difficult to hear whether there is a car approaching behind you.

I arrived, so I thought, a few minutes late, to find the players emerging from the changing rooms to warm up. I had been expecting a 2.30 kick off, but our kit was having its own motorway related travel problem, being stuck in traffic on the M56. Vauxhall lent us a spare kit.

Joe Evans & Jonah O'Reilly

I joined our Chairman to watch the players warming up, and we reminisced about the days one just emerged from the changing rooms and started to play. One exercise involved jumping up and starting to run from flat on your face, which might be useful playing one or two of our more robust opponents.

Once we were inside the ground, the pitch was in good condition, save for a need for some rain. It is aligned more or less east - west, so the sun was shining from one side. In the first half, the sun was hazy, with intermittent cloud cover, enough not to cause too many problems with shadows.

Paul Cliff

We have not got to the stage in the pre season programme of issuing team sheets, so if I want to add captions, I need to stick to players who are with us from last year or from previous seasons. I might be able to identify some from newly acquired Twitter followers, but I would not be sure enough to use them in a published post. The list of players returning continues to grow as people come back from holidays.

Ben Morrow

In the second half, I even got a goal sequence, from Danny Flood.

Once again we were able to secure the result league position might have suggested, with our scoring four goals in the second half to go with one in the first.

The return walk from the ground is slightly more hazardous than the journey out, as one of the right hand blind bends is alongside the motorway. I made it safely to the bus stop just in time for ... Ben Morrow and his father to pull up and offer me a lift.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score Vauxhall Motors 1 Prescot Cables 5.