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Hinckley United are Champions of Dr Marten's League Midland/Western Division. |
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Well there you are then. 4 years ago who would have thought we could do it at all,
let alone this quick. There were quite a few people against the merger of the 2 clubs, Town
and Athletic. The rival clubs never really got on that well and some people were so steeped
in 'tradition' that they still don't come to games now. Hinckley Town and my old club
Hinckley Athletic ceased to exist and in their place was a united club. This has also been
off the pitch as well, but then we have been reasonably successful. |
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It's not been all plain sailing though. Can anyone remember when the 'shed' were
calling for Dean Thomas to get the sack when we were in the bottom 6 a couple of years ago?
How fickle we are. Still, he's proved he was the right man for the job and Hinckley will be
playing Dr Marten's Premier football next year, but who with? Tiverton, Chelmsford and
Newport Isle of White have come up with us, but Kettering and Hednesford have been relegated
from the Conference. The Ryman league is being re-structured and no team was relegated into
the Unibond League. This could mean a close season where some clubs are moved from the Dr
Marten's to the Unibond. Oh joy. |
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A word of caution though for all those of you that are getting a bit carried away.
To keep our feet on the ground, have a think about Bromsgrove Rovers. 5 years ago they were
playing Conference games and on Match of the Day in 3rd round of FA Cup. Next season they
will be playing Midland Alliance football. It's a long hard climb to get up the leagues,
but it's a steep drop to fall all the way back down. I'll see you next season and clap them
off the pitch, whatever the score. |
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The crucial month started... |
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...with a voyage to the bottom of the sea, to basement club Cinderford's quagmire
pitch. The team, still getting used to the snorkels, conceded an early goal and looked as
if it was going to be one of those days. Sadler and Lucas having got Hinckley back into it,
the game seemed to be heading for a draw and inquest into how on earth it was allowed to be
played, when Titterton stepped up from a late free kick to burst the net from 8 yards, for
all 3 points. With Cinderford looking below them towards the Western league, hopefully we
won't have to go there again for some time. |
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The 'Big One' against Mangotsfield. If ever there was a need for 3 Souness
lookalikes on the touchline shouting 'calm down, calm down' then this was it. Mangotsfield
had clearly come with a brief to 'get stuck in, f*** the ball'. With some handbags
exchanged early on, Mangotsfield's manager Andy Black clearly wasn't happy with the low
level of violence so decided to increase it on his own. Having been sent from the dugout he
decided to carry it on in the stand. All of a sudden Dean Thomas looks like a saint! This
exchange was followed, on the pitch, by Mangotsfield's Dave Elsey and our own Rich Lavery
swapping er� phone numbers, with almost everyone else deciding to join the 'party'. Both
players were sent off and continued their game of 'scissors, paper, stone' on the way to
the changing rooms. The game was eventually settled 1-0, with 'supersub' Paul Hunter
scoring with his first touch, and even the brutal tactics of Mangotsfield were not going
to move us from this win. Easter, and 2 tough local derbies to get through. The first away
at Bedworth, though not a stroll, ended in an easy win for Hinckley. Even though Hinckley
dominated it took until the second half to score all 3 goals, 2 for Hunter and 1 for Lenton.
Dave Sadler, who was looking to score his 50th career goal for Hinckley, even missed a
penalty. Mmm, now we know why Jamie Lenton takes the penalties! |
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Sh*psh*d, Boxing Day, have we all banished it from our memory? Well we don't need
to anymore. Hinckley drew first blood when Sadler controlled the ball and cleverly flicked
it over Selby in the Sh*psh*d goal. The referee drew second blood! Selby chasing down a
through ball caught the ball on the edge of the area and as he came out of his area he
dropped the ball. Apparently not quick enough for the referee as not only was it a free
kick on the edge of the area, but Selby also got his marching orders for deliberate
handball. Ruined the game as a football match, but can't say that I was gutted. In fact I
was quite pleased as Sh*psh*d did not have a reserve keeper on the bench and their
midfielder Andy Davies went between the sticks. His first job was to pick the ball out of
the net after Danny George's bullet header from the handball free kick. Almost straight
away Davies was picking it out again. Lenton's run had been sabotaged in the penalty area,
and Lenton picked himself up to fire home the resulting penalty. 3-0 at half time and
Hinckley stepped down a gear. It was wrapped up late in the game with further goals from
Titterton and Sadler, for a 5-0 win that made up for the drab performance on Boxing Day. As
Sh*psh*d's players were keen to tell us on that day, there really is only one team in
Leicestershire! Away to Solihull next as they continued their gruelling schedule of
catching up games. This game seemed just one game too many for them. Trailing by an early
goal from Sadler, who enjoyed some fortune when the keepers clearance hit him and rebounded
into the net, they then had Richard Beale sent off for 2 bookable offences before half time.
Another player sent off in a Hinckley game. Other teams might start thinking that there is
some kind of conspiracy? After that it was really one way traffic as Sadler added a second
with a simple tap in, and Hunter scored the third. A 3-0 away win at Solihull is more than
most could have hoped for. A trip to the seaside was our reward for winning the championship. Off to Weston, and with the championship won would we be motivated for it? Well no, not
really. On a poor pitch Hinckley never really got out of second gear and settled for a 1-0
win until Weston equalised late on. A 1-1 draw that didn't stop the promotion party. The
final home League game of the season and against Weston again. Hinckley were still stuck in
the same gear and even after an 18 second (yes, 18 seconds) goal, sloppy defending and some
outstanding goalkeeping managed to grasp defeat out of the jaws of victory. So bang went
the undefeated home record, but let's face it, it was never going to last forever and 51
unbeaten at home is a good record to hold. When the players were holding up the Championship
shield after the game, I don't think anyone could remember the score anyway. The season
ended with an away win at Warwick. In a hard fought game Hinckley won 3-1 with some unusual
scorers. Jon Hassall opened the scoring and after the equaliser Ben Steane put Hinckley
ahead. To make sure of it Neil Cartwright scored his first goal for the club, from a free
kick. A popular and deserved goal if ever there was one. Nice way to finish the season. |
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The second chance for silverware came in the form of a trip to Filbert Street for
the Leicestershire Challenge cup final versus Barwell. It had been over 15 years since I
last came to 'Filbo' with a Hinckley side. I know the Town had more success in this
competition than Athletic, but I've managed to blank that out over the years. The memories
are now so repressed I can't recall them back, even under hypnosis. Back in 1985, the
nightmare is still fresh for me, the 1-1 draw for Athletic against Wigston, and the 0-2
defeat in the replay at Leicester United's ground (now a housing estate, mmm). Could this
team wipe out those memories? Yessssss! 2-1 to United and a league and cup double! To try
and help the team I sat as close to where I was in '85. Of course it was the old West Stand
then and not the 'Carling Stand'. It wasn't the best of technical footballing games, but
it's been a long season er� or something. However, 2 goals from Morton Titterton gave
Hinckley a 2-0 lead, then a bit of sloppy defending let in Barwell for a goal back. This
led to a last 10 minutes of Barwell lumping everything forward in search of a second. Oh
how we laughed when the ball hit Tittertons hand in the penalty area, in injury time! Oh no
penalty, equaliser, extra time and penalties. It's all gone 1985, all over again! Well no
not exactly. The ref' was blind sided despite the strangled screams of the Barwell fans and
he never saw the hand 'pop up'. Ho ho, touched by the hand of God, isn't football cruel? So
our second piece of silverware was in the bag and as the team celebrated I was off to work,
already 4 hours late. Nevermind, it was worth it, all season. |
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World of Football Stuff |
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Transfer requests, often used by players to highlight their inability to talk to
managers, but to put in a request during the game! Alex Nyarko, Everton's averaged
ability midfielder, was confronted by an Everton supporter on the pitch during the Arsenal
vs Everton game this month. The disgruntled fan offered to swap shirts with Nyarko and
finish the game for him, as the fan did not think Nyarko was trying his hardest for the
club. After the fan was ushered (beaten to a pulp by 'stewards' outside the ground?) off
the pitch, Nyarko went to the Everton bench and requested that he be substituted as he was
quitting football. Nyarko stormed (?) away from the ground and true to his word announced
that he is quitting football. He's a footballer and he's foreign, so expect to see him
playing for Chelsea next season! |
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A couple who ran half naked across the pitch during a Manchester City game have
been banned from the ground for life. The pair said they streaked to 'liven up the game'.
Half naked, what the hell is that? How embarrassing, getting banned for life for not even
getting all your clothes off! Or was it just an excuse for next season because they daren't
tell their mates they'd had enough of City losing. Remember that for next season all you
'Shedside' Dinosaurs. When we're being heavily beaten at home, it's time to get your
long-johns off. |
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Lottery Millionaire Mick Taylor has bought his own Football Club. Mick, who won �4
Million, paid a six-figure sum for a 63% stake in Scarborough Football Club. Mick says he
aims to take them back into the Nationwide League. Er� does anyone know what the numbers
were on Saturday? |
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Coming next Season: Premiership Football, Dr Marten's that is. How long before we
concede a goal? How long before we score a goal? What records can we break? What will break
us? How long will we stay in the Premier Division? Tune in next season to find out. |
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