| DECEMBER 2001 |
| And on the 7th day God created Middlefield Lane. |
|
Most of you know I was an Athletic supporter before the merger, but was also
100% behind the 2 teams joining forces. So, I apologise now if this piece
sounds a bit bias. So the choice of location for the ground has been made. Obviously the decision is as much to do with land available as it is to do with the practicalities of the new stadium. However does anyone think that the decision of Leicester Road is a bit predictable? I know it's a provisional site, but all the indications are that the ground will be in this location. Whilst the site offers the chance to develop and create a purpose built football ground with no restriction due to suburban commitments, I can't help feel that the problems that Hinckley Town suffered in such a location will be exactly the same for this club. I'll not only highlight these problems but also suggest a possible answer to overcome them, as I don't want to be accused of holding the club back. Access for a start is limited somewhat by the distance from Hinckley's residential areas. So many supporters that come on foot, mainly the elderly and the young, could be put off the long haul down Leicester Road. One solution for the club could be to provide a bus service from the Town Center on match days or nights. This would be at extra cost for the club, but weighed against the probable absentees might eventually prove fruitful. Leicester Road itself is a nightmare for pedestrians or cyclists. Whilst the Perimeter Road has fancy bike lanes and is really well lit, Leicester Road is a death trap waiting to happen, especially at night Imagine the scene of a night match with attendance of around 400-500. If only 20% of people walked to the ground then there could be up to 100 people walking up Leicester Road footpath at one time. We all know it's not the widest path in the World. Two solutions could be that the Council has stated their wish to help the club, so they could have increased lighting and a wider path where possible. Alternatively if the Council are really serious about being committed to the re-siting of the club, then Barwell Lane could be made up into a proper hard standing pathway for cyclists and pedestrians, fully lit. This would provide a second access to the proposed site, which would probably be more accessible to the 'traditional support' and would be much safer. Talking of 'traditional support', one of the problems that Hinckley Town had were gate sizes. Placing the ground away from residential areas is not the recipe to attract more supporters. The current support will carry on and with a bit more success maybe some more may be dragged along. In 10 years time though where will our support come from? The future of our support is in the hands of youngsters watching now. From my personal experience, my first game, when I was 12, was due to a ticket given out at my school. At the moment the club do have the vouchers printed in the Hinckley Times, but as far as I'm aware have no links with any schools in the area. Maybe increased communication with schools through training sessions or voucher schemes, and higher profile for the Junior Clubs affiliated to Hinckley United could provide the base for the future. For definite, one thing that must not happen is for current fans to turn their backs on Hinckley United solely down to the fact of ground location. This, obviously, is aimed more at the former Athletic fans who will no doubt feel begrudged that having agreed to a merger, with a team playing at Middlefield Lane, only five years down the line have the playing base switched to the former site of Hinckley Town. If you want to be really cynical it could be suggested that the club could move to Leicester Road and change it's name to Hinckley Town. Voila sarcasm! I'd think quite a few people will have this view and feel saddened at leaving Middlefield Lane, but as an Atho' fan myself the cold hard facts are simple. Middlefield Lane has only been used since the end of the Second World War. Many will say it is the traditional home of Hinckley football, but what is tradition. If in a hundred years time Hinckley United still play football at the Leicester Road site then surely that will then become the traditional home of Hinckley football. Tradition is only a matter of perception and a measure of people's fear of change. Middlefield Lane is not a Conference standard ground. It only just reaches DM Premier level. No body likes to admit it, but it is a tip when you regard it in the same window as Hednesford, Weymouth or Crawley. There is no way Middlefield Lane could be redeveloped for a higher standard. Just look at the fuss when we played Cheltenham. If it was up to the police, they would have shut down half the Town just to play one game. Look at established teams like Worcester, who themselves are in the process of planning an out of town purpose built stadium. The only way forward is to think forward and not live in the past. Where ever the Club sites the new ground, as fans we must bury any prejudice and carry on through those turnstiles. Having said all that, why don't they put it on the Perimeter Road/Stoke Road roundabout junction? It makes a lot more sense for access, development and residential relations. It would be my choice, but until I win the Lottery big time, we'll just have to have faith. Happy New Year. |
| A measure of Hinckley's recent upturn... |
| ...was that we started the month with 2 FA Competitions. First was a trek and a half up to Lancaster City for a 2nd round FA Trophy game. Having taken the lead in the second half through Jermaine Gordon, Lancaster were let back in straight away when Beattie made the mistake of clearing the ball against a Lancaster player. Open goal, thank you very much. With the game heading for a desperately undesired replay (I can't believe it was a ploy to avoid one!) and 7 minutes of injury time already gone, an inswinging corner was misjudged and Beattie punched the ball into his own net. All that way to lose like that, 2 - 1 Lancaster being the final score. |
| Second was the FA Cup, and we were the bookies favourites to go out of this cup too. All the hard work of the people behind the scenes would come to fruition and Cheltenham Town would be the visitors in this FA Cup 2nd round tie. 2661(who was the one?) crammed into the ground for what turned out to be a less than pulsating cup tie. I got down there at 2ish and managed to get my usual spot 'Shedside'. Soon however it really filled up and it became obvious I was going to struggle to see into the far corner because of the crowd and the Shed. Brilliant! It was just like being in the old West Ham away end. It's not a real footy game if you can see all the pitch! I'd like to say Hinckley gave Cheltenham a run for their money, but really we were chasing them all afternoon. Any game plan went out of the window early on as Naylor found himself unmarked in the box, in the 4th minute, and he doesn't miss them. From then on Cheltenham were happy to sit back and catch us on the break, which they frequently nearly did. Would Hinckley's reputation as a 'second half team' tell again? Well, er, no actually because as soon as the second half had started Hinckley got caught on the break again and Alsop had little to do to convert a far post header from a deep cross. The TV cameraman had not got back in time to film the goal, so Alsop joked of his 40 yard 'screamer' in a TV interview later on. Oh how I laughed! Unfortunately as you'd expect Cheltenham were that bit too professional for us and didn't need the time or space that we did. They never really got out of second gear and I always felt had they needed to then they could have stepped it up. Still on this record breaking cup run for Hinckley, no one can take away the last minute winners at Weymouth and Grays. They made up for everything from this game. Until next year... |
| So with both FA Competitions out of the way it was back to League action. To get back in the swing an easy game against basement club Salisbury was offered up. Strange how hangovers can last for days? Hinckley were showing off their new Keeper Chris Taylor and new striker Scott Huckerby. An old Hinckley favourite stole their thunder. Neil Cartwright tirelessly working his way up and down the right flank somehow found himself in the middle after a cleared corner. From about 35 yards out he just swung his leg at it. Sweetly it soared through the packed penalty area, amazingly into the top right hand corner of the net. Yet again an equaliser came straight from the restart. A 'mazey' run through the middle was followed by a dipping 30 yard shot that cannoned off the crossbar leaving Taylor diving into thin air. With the Hinckley keeper on the ground it was simple for the Salisbury attack to just tap the ball into the Hinckley net. From then on you couldn't tell who where the bottom team. Salisbury had got their confidence and sensed Hinckley couldn't step up a gear. It was somewhat against the run of play when Scott Huckerby scored his debut goal for Hinckley on the stroke of half time. The second half was forgettable, so that's what I've done! I can't remember a single worthy incident in it. 2 - 1 the final score, but it more about the 3 points won than the performance, and they'd need to play better than that against a strong Ilkeston side next up. |
| So it proved too. Ilkeston who have had a tendency to blow hot and cold during the season, did just that all in one game. Within 20 minutes Ilson were 2 - 0 up and cruising. A lifeline from Scott Huckerby just before half time gave Hinckley a chance, and as the game went on Ilson got desperate and Hinckley surged forward. When Jamie Lenton got the equaliser, it looked probable that Hinckley would get a winner, but had to settle for a point in the end. As we all know now, this would be the exact opposite pattern of the next match, against the old enemy from the West. |
| No one seems to know why Hinckley and Tiverton have such a rivalry? Is it because both football clubs developed within the pyramid at the same time? Or is it because they hammered us 7 - 2 to prevent us getting the runners up spot in 1999-2000 season? Could be! Either one, this is the team we always like to beat. So, when you are 2 - 0 up inside 10 minutes you can't help but have a silly grin. Hinckley's first attack had been a one on one by Scott Huckerby who kept up his 100% goal record of 3 goals in 3 games. Hinckley's second attack was a Cartwright deep cross that Jamie Williams, on his second debut for the club, met with his head and planted into the bottom of the net. Amazingly only his second ever Hinckley goal. Then it seemed it wasn't a football match anymore but a game of kiss chase between the ref and the Tivvy players. Every foul, every corner, every throw in, any chance to run after the referee and tell him how to do his job. Chief culprit was the Devon Spice Boy himself, Scott Rogers, but that's OK if you're related to the manager isn't it? Just before half time though Tiverton got back into the game. Penny took the ball away from advancing Chris Taylor, but only to old man Marker who put it back into the empty net. From then on Hinckley just went to pieces. Tiverton stopped their whinging and realised they could actually get something from this game. Second half Tivvy came out flying. Hinckley hung on until the 76 minute, when astonishingly they actually scored a third!!! A spellbinding run down the wing and inside the penalty area by Jamie Williams, going past three defenders, ended with a low shot. Although saved by Edwards in the Tivvy goal, the ball fell for Titterton to smash it into the goal. Somehow we were 3 - 1 up in a game we'd hardly touched the ball. Tiverton though never gave up. They got a goal back almost straight away. For a while it was open football, real end to end stuff. Then it happened. Bad marking let in Tiverton to score their equaliser. You could see the despair in the Hinckley players and suddenly panic ensued. With the game in injury time, fans baying for the final whistle. Tiverton's Mudge found himself in acres of space with no Hinckley defender near him. Chris Taylor really had no chance. So from 2 - 0 up, then 3 - 1 up, we managed to lose the game 3 - 4. Why? Why is it always Tiverton? |
| Still, let's be positive. Let's look at the first half of the season as a whole. We've won 7 games, drawn 6 and lost 8. If we repeat that in the second half of the season then we should avoid relegation, and that is this year's priority. Realistically the safety margin should be 45 points. So if we win at least 5 games and draw at least 3 we should be alright. As far as I'm concerned if we finish 18th then that's good enough. |
| In Out, Shake it all about. |
| We all know the chant 'where the money gone?' Well, let me tell you. Following the FA Cup run, with the prize money, the club dipped into the transfer market. Striker Scott Huckerby, brother of Darren at Manchester City, signed on a months loan from Conference side Woking. This is with a view to a permanent move. Scott was on Telford's books when we played them in the FA Cup last season, but an injury had forced him out of the side for some time. When he was fit again Telford decided to trim down the playing staff, and he was a casualty. From Telford he moved to Woking but has struggled to hold down a 1st team place. Also on the way in is Chris Taylor, a goalkeeper, from Bedford Town of the Ryman League. Chris's long list of previous clubs also includes Everton, Cheltenham Town, Kettering Town and Stevenage Borough. Plus an old Middlefield favourite Jamie Williams has returned to the Lane from Nuneaton Borough. We've reportedly paid a four figure sum for his services. Unfortunately current keeper Damien Beattie has had to make way for Taylor, as in Dean Thomas's opinion he is not getting better. Eh? I feel sorry for the lad because he has not really done anything wrong since he came here. You can't help thinking that the one game against Lancaster where he misjudged a cross/shot is somehow clouding our manager's mind. With the arrival of one striker, another one is shown the door. Paul Hunter, who has done so much for Hinckley United and was one of the major factors in us winning the Western Championship, has been released by the club and has signed for Moor Green. That means I will now have to swap him to my favourite past player list. Shame. The midfield will be a bit short as well because Karl Brennan has been placed on the transfer list. After all the fuss of trying to get Brennan to sign, we've hardly used him and when we have he's been played in the wrong role. Times I've heard the dinosaurs in the shed barracking him for not getting back and tackling. What a waste, I think he's an attacking midfield player who can put his foot on the ball and do something with it. It is someone else's job to win the ball and give it to him to do something with it. Sort of in the 'Scholes' role. Still, if the club only want 'grafters' then we may be successful, but boring. |
| World of Football Stuff |
|
It wouldn't be the same without a Mascot story, would it? It now seems
that after the Football Mascot rule book was brought into force last
month, the sad students that think they are actually 'acting' in a furry
costume are threatening to go on strike. They are demanding their own
set of demands be met. These include proper changing facilities, a minder,
free entry to games and expenses paid. What? All I'd give 'em is an address
of the nearest psychiatrist and directions to the job centre. If these
demands are not met then Mascots will refuse to entertain families, snub
pleas for autographs, refrain from encouraging chants and stop those 'crazy'
(their words not mine) goal celebrations. Will anybody really notice? I
mean would anyone have looked twice at Cheltenham's mascot, Whaddney, when
he was here for the Cup game if he hadn't actually been lobbing sweets into
the crowd? It's about time that mascots where outlawed on pain of public disembowlement. In fact that could take the place of pre match entertainment. Come down to the game early and see Sammy the Shrimp boiled alive and served up with a nice Chianti. Filbert the Fox, give something for the Atherstone Hunt to do, doesn't it? Instead of Richard Keys and Andy Gray they could show Cyril the Swan being gutted by fishing line, or perhaps H'angus the monkey actually re-enacting the Hartlepool hanging for real. Now that's entertainment! Failing that, why not just replace them with more of those young ladies dancing and stuff, with not much clothes on, even in winter. |
| A top Spanish player could be banned after celebrating a goal, by biting his team-mate's cock! Yes you read it right. Francisco Gallardo stunned a 40000 crowd plus TV viewers by kneeling down and nibbling striker Jose Reyes' manhood. Reyes had scored in Seville's 4-0 win over Real Valladolid. Spanish football chiefs are now probing the 'obscene' incident. |
| Goalkeeper Lawrence Fisher of Falcon Rangers in Trowbridge has been booked five times for mooning at rival penalty takers. Apparently none has scored! You've got to ask yourself what offence was he booked for. Can't be ungentlemanly conduct, as baring one's bottom is exactly the type of gentlemanly conduct you'd expect at places like Eton and Oxford! |
|
Football referee Neal Ager had to call police on his mobile phone
after angry players held him hostage. Furious pub side Little Common
Wheatsheaf claimed they lost their cup tie because he added too much
injury time. Players locked him in the changing room and yelled obscenities
at him. He was released before the cops arrived. Cops and football chiefs
are probing the matter. Two questions: was he refereeing the Lancaster Trophy game and why didn't Thomas and the lads think of that solution? Lose a game, kidnap the ref. Ah that could prove costly for Sh*psh*d, they've only got a small squad, and if none of them get bail... |
|
South Bucks Mini Football Conference. Remember that name because you'll
never see any results or a league table! Guardianist loonies have finally
got round to the last remnants of working class entertainment. After a
team of boys lost 24-1, it has been deemed that it is not in the best
interests of the lads to publish scores. Goalscorers have been told not
to celebrate, and the expression '1st team' has been banned for fear of
upsetting those that are picked for the reserves. A spokes Though in keeping with these sentiments, so as not to undermine any development of individuals at the Butthole, the Loughborough Echo will no longer be printing Sh*psh*d's results and the Dr Marten Western division will now be printed upside down. |
| Coming next Month: Not many points to be had playing the table top teams of Crawley, Havant & Waterlooville and Weymouth. More importantly though, it's the Leicestershire Cup and we are the Holders, but it's Sh*psh*d Albion and any game versus them is a must win game! |
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