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.

Following St Swithun

A couple of Wednesdays ago was St Swithun's Day. In East Grinstead, the main parish church was dedicated to the saint, so we took an interest in the legend that we will enjoy, or otherwise, the weather on his feast for the next forty days. Naturally, about three days later, the weather changed and we forgot about it for another year. The weather here has been fairly dry, so, at Prescot Cables' first home pre season game against St Helens Town, the pitch was looking in need of a couple of days' steady rain.

St Swithun's Day also marked the eightieth birthday of stalwart Cables supporter Harry Thomas.

Harry prepares his team talk

Congratulations are also due to my friend Luke, who was awarded his PhD over the summer. I was pleased to see Dr Luke and Dr James immaculately attired for their graduation: suits (not shirt sleeves) under the robes, polished shoes, and ties covering the top button, just like everyone turned out when I graduated (just a Bachelor's) in ... er ... the year before Luke was born. I expected nothing less: as a referee, Dr James is aware there is a point on the assessment for turning up with the correct equipment.

I do not usually cover two games in one post, but this is pre season, and both were at home, so ...

We have been in competition with St Helens Town since they were re-founded after the Second World War, and they played at their ground in the shadow of Bold Power Station, and we played there for a season whilst Prescot Panthers took over our ground. Sadly, it was then their turn to fall into the clutches of the professionals, and they now ground share at Ashton Athletic.

We all know the referee tosses a coin, and the winner usually chooses an end, but who gets to call? On this occasion the duty goes to the captain with the bushier beard.

There had been a good turnout of returning players in midweek, and most were also available for this fixture.

Danny Flood

The game at Runcorn had felt like something of a training exercise, but this time honour was at stake, so the balance of pictures between "profile picture" shots and action in competition for the ball was back to normal.

Paul Cliff holds off the opposition

The game was a good workout for the team, with league position proving decisive in the final result.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 3 St Helens Town 1.

For the game last Tuesday hosting Skelmersdale United, the weather forecast had been changeable. The evening turned out dry, but the darkest of the cloud settled over the ground - oddly with lighter conditions visible in most directions - which did not help with shutter speeds.

James Edgar

The sun broke through in patches towards the end of the first half.

Neil Prince

I wondered why the Skelmersdale substitutes were wearing red. The reason became apparent at half time, as the visitors fielded a separate team in each half. They have the strength in depth to do so - players who have gone to Skelmersdale in the past have sometimes found it is not a pathway to a guaranteed first team place..

The visitors' first half team had finished one goal up after a missed communication led to an own goal - something you prefer to happen now than in the first game of the season. Our best opportunity of the second half came as I was walking round to my usual position, with Liam Hollett putting Jonah O'Reilly's free kick just wide.

Liam Hollett

At this time of year, sunset is at about the end of the game, which with the right conditions can mean we can use natural light almost to the end. With the cloud cover, this was not one of those occasions, with the floodlights switched on at half time.

Ben Greenop

This was an encouraging performance against a team a division above, with our holding out for most of the half, until conceding from a free kick a minute or two from the end.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 0 Skelmersdale United 2

Coming in to land

Prescot Cables' first game of pre season was at Runcorn Town, who play at the Pavilions, although there seemed to be just the one pavilion, an impressive structure.

I consulted Mr Google's maps to plan a route, about 20 minutes from the station. Looking at the Ordnance Survey map later, I realised that navigation apps identify the shortest horizontal route, but have nothing about vertical distance, something that may be of interest on foot. The recommended route was also the best in that regard, had I taken the second route on offer, I would have walked up one side of a hill and down the other. Passing a car park on the way, a group of bikers were relaxing around a trailer advertising itself as a mobile tattoo and piercing studio, but which seemed to be moonlighting by serving light refreshments in the evening.

Seeing the first evidence of a football pitch from the road, I wondered whether they would finish marking the pitch before the players had finished warming up.

I am not sure why this pitch had been abandoned, but there is a new ground behind the pavilion.

On arrival, I joined Jack Phillips and his brother Anthony (who Jack had persuaded to come along with the promise there are always loads of goals in pre season). Jack is currently training with Accrington Stanley, a well deserved opportunity, whether in the shape of a professional contract now, or keeping his name in the minds of professional clubs to keep watching him as he continues to develop.

In the meantime, there were other distractions. The ground is four or five miles from Liverpool Airport under the main easterly flight path. Having grown up three or four miles further from Gatwick, and had the famously noisy BAC 1-11 flying overhead since I was in my pram, I found it amusing when friends from not under the flight path would look up with an air of concern every five minutes as an aircraft thundered overhead. These happy times were recalled when it transpired Jack does exactly the same thing.

The main attraction of these games is to see who has returned from last season's team (non contract players are free agents until they sign registration forms) and to see if we recognise anyone trying out. For a midweek game at this time of year, we had a decent turnout, with about half the starting lineup having been with us at the end of last season.

James McCulloch

A few were trying out from the Reserves.

Sam Gifford

Also from last year's Reserves (and a couple of first team appearances), stepping up a league with the hosts, was Jack Hont.

Jack Hont

Pre season games enable us to get back into our physical routines. Even for lighter activities like photography, coordination becomes rusty when you have not done it for a few weeks. In your forties, the lens in the eye become less flexible. I am not sure whether, using a SLR camera, the eye is focusing at distance on the subject or close up on the prism on which it is projected. Either way, my eye muscles seemed to be out of practice, as I was not completely sure I was in focus for the first five minutes or so, after which everything felt normal, i.e. I could see perfectly through the viewfinder, but I did not stand a chance with the screen without taking my glasses off.

Representing the Train Crew, I was distracted by unloading operations at the chemical works next door. It was not until half time I could identify whether they had a mobile crane, or if the train was moving slowly forwards.

For the second half, I sat in the stand along one side of the pitch. The sun was out by now, with plenty of shadows cast by the stand and the trees behind it.

Joe Evans

Both teams seemed keen to play a game based on keeping possession, which meant I had more individual pictures of players than usual - the sort that have "profile picture" written all over them. Having said that, I tend to crop these pictures closely in portrait format, when I should probably be making them square.

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

Final score: Runcorn Town 2 Prescot Cables 0.