It's all in the timing.....

Gordon. Gordon. Gordon.

Perhaps you are just a bit late with your demand for a review of all Government data handling systems.

How many years was it that you were the man in charge?

Now I would indeed have called you a visionary, if you had come to the conclusion that our personal data was at risk, and things must be improved, in 1997 when you took over at the Treasury.

And just a little observation…..you may regret saying ’I apologise for the inconvenience….’

Moving the Grays Athletic game to a Thursday night to satisfy Setanta would not have gained my approval…. but then who cares about the long distance supporter.

I dislike the influence that television has over football. Call me old fashioned , but a Saturday 3pm kick off is just about right, with the occasional Tuesday evening game to make sure the floodlights are working ok.

So tomorrow I live in hope that the M4 widening at Cardiff will not be too troublesome, and with luck I will get to the Social Club in time for a pint before kick off. If not, then I will return home and pour a glass of Chablis to accompany the memory of Ben Harding’s goal against Rushden last Saturday. A better struck goal I find impossible to recall in all of my years supporting the Shots..

Well done Ben.

For me you have been the player of the season so far……continue to celebrate your new found confidence and the Football League will be your stage next year.

Gary Waddock and Martin Kuhl have built a vibrant team (yes well done to you too Martin……so many points of improvement over last season)….and Ben you are the heart…..brilliant goal.

It’s all in the timing.

And Steve McClaren……….

The English Disease

Italian soccer authorities met last Monday to discuss proposals aimed at tackling the increasing and widespread violence affecting the game. A violence re-ignited by the fatal shooting of a Lazio supporter on Sunday.

The ‘tragic error’ made by the police officer only served to reprise the tragic error made by a supporter in February of this year, when a policeman was killed at a game in Sicily, and the League was suspended for a short time.

So why is it that football hooliganism still carries the cachet of the English Disease, across the World?

The chronology is sadly well defined. A history dating back to the ‘60s when Mods and Rockers played out the First Leg at the seaside; Brighton or Southend or Great Yarmouth, with the return fixture at Stamford Bridge or the Den.

Then the ‘70s saw the emergence of organised hooligan groups (Firms). Burnley offered the Suicide Squad and West Ham the infamous, Inter City Crew.

And we weren’t spared at the Recreation Ground. Long before the birth of the founder member of the Red and Blue Army, the East Bank was claimed by the often ‘ugly’ masses from Swansea, Cardiff, Portsmouth……and not forgetting Reading, who were never pretty.

But ‘safety’ was restored with segregation and fencing…..or was it?

Not to worry, Margaret Thatcher would soon enter the fray. A woman who was not simply satisfied with changing the British political landscape. With no love whatsoever of football. With no understanding of the ‘beautiful game’. A woman who was unable to recite, unaided….Banks, Cohen, Charlton, Moore, Wilson, Ball…….Margaret Thatcher successfully changed the Football landscape of Britain.

Returning the Falkland Islands to British control in 1982 was pretty easy. A few ships and planes. The Black Buck raids on Stanley Airfield by the RAF Avro Vulcan bombers of 44 Squadron……

649 Argentinean soldiers lost their lives.

256 British Servicemen were killed……..

Yes, a ‘war cabinet’ was clearly the answer following the rioting by Millwall fans at Luton in March 1985.

‘Look……I don’t like football. So it will stop’.

‘But Prime Minister. It’s our National Game. Remember Bobby Charlton. Bobby Moore…..and you must remember that silly dance. You know the one, Nobby Stiles, after we won the World Cup in 1966. You can’t close down football, Prime Minister’.

But the events that unfolded before our television eyes at Heysel, on 29 May 1985 would be the tragic dynamic for change. 39 Juventus fans were crushed to death after Liverpool followers broke through a line of police. They ran toward the Juventus fans in a section containing both English and Italian supporters. The fence separating them collapsed. Fighting broke out. Fans fled. A wall collapsed……

English clubs were banned from European competitions until 1990.

The Popplewell Committee was set up as a consequence of a riot at Birmingham City when a young boy lost his life. The disturbance that followed was described by Justice Popplewell as more like ‘the Battle of Agincourt than a football match’.

Shortly thereafter the Bradford City Fire was added to the Popplewell brief. Despite not being hooligan related the terrible event was undoubtedly a direct result of the amateurish and disturbingly arrogant demeanour of football authorities across the UK at that time.

‘Football may not be able to continue in its present form much longer’.

Then Hillsborough…….and at last the Government moved. With the passing of the Football Spectators Act 1989.

The Prime Minister didn’t get her way. Football survived. Stadia were upgraded. The approach to the policing of matches became both sophisticated and expensive. Ticket prices were increased. All-seater stadia became a requirement for much of the League.

And with that, the ‘90s experienced a period change. A decade where standards of behaviour were obviously improving....if one ignored the high profile incidents that characterised travelling away with England.

And when Aldershot Town FC was born in 1992.…the world was indeed a new world. The M25 a pretty standard route for away matches in the Isthmian League...and then with promotion to the Conference, in 2003, exotic trips could be planned to Scarborough and Carlisle. York and Nailsworth.

Long gone, the sad old days when only a hardy few could gather up the motivation to go to Barrow, on a damp and raw Tuesday night. The floodlights barely bright enough to see to the other side of the pitch….’was that a goal…did it go in…. we seem to be kicking off again…yes Bovril will be great…thanks‘.

Yes, long gone…..today Aldershot Town can be sure of a hardcore of 300 at all away games. And last Saturday 650-700 made the trip to the Abbey Stadium, Cambridge, to watch the FA Cup encounter.

A game that Aldershot could so easily have won. A game when a draw would have been a fair result. A game lost by way of two defensive errors, compounded by two glaring misses. A result that gives Aldershot the opportunity to focus on the League.

After all, in every round of the Cup an ‘upset’ will occur. ‘Top of the League Aldershot……..’

The day had started very early with the long drive down from Wales to collect my brother from Crookham Village…….and then a docile M25 allowed us to be settled in the Cambridge United Social Club by 1pm. The clubhouse was, by then, already pretty full with U‘s supporters. The handful of red and blue shirts holding polite conversation around the sides of the large and open room. The two spare seats at our table were soon taken by an elderly couple of United supporters who had moved to Cambridge just over 35 years ago. The husband had served in the Army, based in Aldershot. And having been brought up in Reading his ’real team’ were the Royals. And by chance his very first visit to the Rec coincided with mine….Oct 15th 1960, Peterborough United.

The sharing of reminiscences one of the joys of travelling to away matches.

But as we sat in the U’s Social Club sharing anecdotes spanning nearly 50 years I reflected on the ongoing segregation that pervades our society and controls our football.

Why would anyone want to be kept apart from these two gentle folk? Surely the sharing of experiences and the common bond that clearly existed between us was something to enjoy, and not keep apart. And with the time approaching to leave the Clubhouse; of course we all wanted to sit or stand with our fellow supporters. But this desire was not a definition of segregation. No, this was a feeling nurtured by shared emotions.

So with the kick-off only minutes away we made our way to the ‘new stand’ set back 30m or so from the goal-line. Now I’m sure the positioning of the stand was planned….and not a mistake. The Club just waiting for the right time to build another ‘big stand’ at the Clubhouse end, which would demand the pitch to move 30m eastwards.

As we settled into our seats I was instantly struck by the number of stewards and police. Was it 20.…. No probably 30 . A line of officialdom stretching out across the whole width of the pitch, in front of the Aldershot supporters.

And to do what? Protection for the distant Cambridge goalkeeper? Did the Force have intelligence that suggested a massive pitch invasion? And what chance of making contact with a Cambridge supporter…the nearest one being some 50m away.

But then not simply satisfied with this impressive show of strength, the Senior Officer commanded a ‘march past’. Up and through the singing hoards of Red and Blue Army members. A move obviously choreographed after watching a DVD of the Empire Strikes Back.

Oh, and then to compound the confrontation, a young policewoman, guarded by a burly minder, walked slowly from stage left to right, videoing the crowd.

The Cambridgeshire Policing Plan for 2007-08 is not, I would think, everyone’s bedtime read. In fact it is full of the usual rubbish that public bodies present on an annual basis to show that they are improving….meeting targets….and exceeding expectations.

The budget for the year is £116m - a ‘challenging year for the force financially…..’ Police officer numbers will be reduced by 22 to 1401 and the Authority had to raid £558k from its reserves to deliver the ‘Plan’. And Partnership and other income amounted to £2,517,000, with efficiency savings including a planned reduction of £250k in overtime spend.


Mmmmmmm isn’t it strange how as one gets older one can see more clearly!

Now how will the force improve the policing of Friday and Saturday night City centre frolics with fewer ‘bobbies’? It will demand more overtime. But this could pose a bit of a problem….we have just cut that budget. Perhaps then an increase in ‘paid activity’ will help fill the pockets of the officers and with just a bit of profit, the ‘other income’ will increase. And then with simple virement the ‘Plan’ can be met.

Now that is a good plan Chief Constable.

And oh, what a bit of luck. With the promotion of Histon Town a few more Friday night games will generate plenty of overtime cash. And after the final whistle the ‘boys’ can get down to the City centre for a couple of hours…..

Cambridge United v Aldershot Town. FA Cup First Round Proper. Saturday 11th November 2007.

‘Manna from Heaven Boss’

'Lest we Forget'

Set like a diamond in a Tiffany ring the Burgh Island Hotel is a unique and stylish retreat. Built in 1929 the English Art Deco style hotel is now completely restored, offering history and period opulence wrapped up in 21st century standards.

At low tide Burgh Island, off the coast of south Devon, can be reached on foot and at high tide the Sea Tractor, operated by the Hotel, provides a ‘ferry’ service.

Over the years the Island has been closely linked with many famous people and events. Agatha Christie was inspired by the setting. She wrote Then There Were None and the Poirot mystery, Evil Under the Sun, as a result of her many visits to the Hotel. Then in 2002 the TV adaptation of the Poirot mystery used the Island and Hotel as a filming location.

Visitors to the Hotel have include Noel Coward along with King Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson. And, secretly, Eisenhower and Churchill met there in the weeks leading up to the D-Day Landings.

Our autumn break was great. But I have suffered, just a bit, without my football……

A draw at Crawley and then victory at home in the FA Cup was followed by an away win at Weymouth. Aldershot into the First Round of the Cup and top of the League…..I missed it all.

Sitting not far from the away dugout at the Rec is certainly not a place for the shy and retiring. For more years than I care to remember, unfriendly banter, directed towards the men in the ‘away hutch’, has crashed down over our heads like a tidal wave of insensitivity.

But in all of those years I have never experienced an aggressive coming together of the two sets of management. Just my ‘luck’ then, that when Halley’s Comet passed across the Recreation Ground night sky…..I was in south Devon…..and missed the ‘excitement’.

So I had to be satisfied with just a brief report on the alleged incident between the Aldershot and Crawley coaching staff, in a text from my brother, followed by comment on the Shots message board.

Now, the coming together of players and management outside the Laws of the Game is undoubtedly a funny thing.

Verbal abuse is increasingly commonplace among managers. The press love it. They stoke the fire….and the majority of managers respond by playing out the sordid ritual as if their future depended upon it. Wenger, Ferguson, Mourinho….all consummate masters. Steve Evans, Crawley Town FC………

But physical contact between managers and coaches is rare. When it does happen, I guess the two parties quickly realise how pathetic they look and move on…..

Or in the case of Wenger and Pardew…one moves Club and gets relegated.

But between players.?

The favoured approach is, for many, the head-butt. Take for example, Luis Figo’s attack on Mark van Bommel in the 2006 World Cup. No. Perhaps not. In some quarters, I guess his hair could be considered a ‘weapon of mass destruction’. But not even George Bush would go to war over it.

Of course the head-butt properly delivered can be an effective form of attack. Take Zinedine Zidane. He is no doubt an expert. And not only an expert. But a clever one too. Head on head hurts. Head on sternum. Yes, that would work.

Stefan Freund, when playing at Leicester City, experienced big Duncan Ferguson at his ‘best’. Dunc was never a man to upset. ‘After you Duncan. Sorry I trod on your toes. I’m a member of the Tartan Army at weekends’.

Not enough to appease Dunc I’m afraid, and Stefan had his head ‘removed at the neck‘.


‘When the seagulls follow the trawler. It’s because they think the sardines will be thrown in to the sea’.

Yes, Eric Cantona of - Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nimes, Leeds United and Manchester United was no Isaac Rosenberg. But he did become infamous for an incident that occurred on 25 January 1995. In an away match at Crystal Palace, and after being sent off by the referee for a vengeful kick on Palace defender Richard Shaw, he launched a ‘Kung-Fu’ style attack at a Crystal Palace fan, Matthew Simmons.

After the seagulls had left the trawler far behind, Cantona was sentenced to 120 hours of community service after an appeal court overturned a 2 week prison sentence for assault.

But all of this crude aggression should have no place in the ‘beautiful game’. They are simply acts of violence born out of mental frailty and nurtured with the acceptance of child-like petulance.

Aggression in football is of course the ingredient that sets it apart from netball….and the all-time best illuminators of the passion and power.?

Dave Mackay and Billy Bremner.

Bremner, who sadly died in 1997 at the age of 55, was a diminutive but hard midfield player who made 587 appearances for Leeds United. Mackay, despite standing just 5ft 8in, exuded an awesome physical presence. Muscular thighs and a barn-door chest. He tackled like a granite avalanche. Not for him the kiss of the badge on his chest to signify his passionate desire to win.

Mackay was a man to whom you answered ….‘yes, I will’.

Dave Mackay’s career was made famous at Spurs where he won the League in 60/61 and the FA cup in 60/61, 61/62 and 66/7. But his passion was born in Edinburgh with Heart of Midlothian.

The words ‘Lest we Forget’ form the refrain of ‘Recessional’, Rudyard Kipling’s poem, composed on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The phrase passing into common usage after the First World War, becoming linked with Remembrance Day observations - and often found as the only wording on war memorials.

And as our thoughts turn towards Cambridge United on Saturday….just a moment to remind ourselves of the sacrifice made by so many. How is it that our Leaders still think ‘going into Iran’ would be a good thing?

On the 26th November 1914, with Heart of Midlothian comfortably leading the Scottish First Division, sixteen players exchanged their football boots for Army Issue. They enlisted to fight in France inspiring many others to do the same.

Seven members of the Hearts team were killed.

Another, Paddy Crossan, was so badly injured that his right leg was labelled for amputation. He pleaded with the German surgeon, ‘I need my leg - I’m a footballer.’ His leg was saved but he died after the war from the effects of poison gas, which had destroyed his lungs.

In The Trenches

I snatched two poppies
From the parapet’s ledge,
Two bright red poppies
That winked on the ledge.
Behind my ear
I struck one through,
One blood red poppy
I gave to you.

The sandbags narrowed
And screwed out our jest,
And tore the poppy
You had on your breast…
Down - a shell - O! Christ,
I am choked….safe…dust blind, I
See trench floor poppies
Strewn. Smashed you lie.

Isaac Rosenberg (1890-1918)




Saturday will be just another game of football…..

‘Lest we forget’