Moving on....

The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth world cup. And of course it was won by England.

Originally planned to be co-hosted by both Australia and New Zealand, all games were moved to Australia following a dispute between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World Cup Limited.

And Jonny Wilkinson will dine out on the last minute drop goal for the rest of his life.

But world cup victory came not simply via Jonny’s boot, but more as a result of the forward's massive effort on Saturday October 18th. England beat South Africa 25-6 and then went on to play Wales in the quarter finals. South Africa were left to get stuffed by New Zealand….

October the 18th was also my first game of the 2003/04 season, our first in the Conference. A season that would take us all the way to the Britannia Stadium, Stoke, and the heartbreak of a penalty shoot out defeat in the play-off final.

Yes, I had been grounded by something more powerful than my wife, and after a long summer of recovery Tamworth was to be my first game of the season….3v3, with a last minute equaliser... just the test my heart needed.

So it is always with a mind full of memories that I make the trip north to Tamworth. Despite being relegated from the Conference last season the Lambs would still prove to be dangerous opponents in the quarter finals of this season's FA Trophy.

And it doesn’t help telling children….’don’t worry it’s only an exam….don’t worry the new school will be nice….just forget what that boy said, names will never hurt you…..I know you lost 12v0 son, but don’t worry, move on….’

I guess for many of us moving on can be easy. Examinations, illness, divorce .....losing to Shrewsbury in a penalty shoot out.

But suffering two seasons of the most dismal football, after the exuberance of 2003/04 and the optimism of the following season, led my brother to the edge. His despair so intense, he refused to buy a season ticket for this season….

And no amount of comment on the Aldershot Town ‘message board‘, advising ‘move on, get over it, we all have’ could get anywhere near to his innermost feelings.

But on Saturday, at the scene of my own rehabilitation, my brother was there.

Yes,at Tamworth. Shouting at the Ref. Shouting something about a character in Eastenders. …Something to do with Max and Stacey?

The FA Trophy quarter final, last Saturday, was not a game for the purist. A narrow pitch that helped the Tamworth midfield get very close to our speedy youngsters resulted in a poor game, settled by a sublime strike by Kirk Hudson, in the last minute of added time. Certainly a goal out of keeping with the rest of the game.....

Tamworth 1 v 2 Aldershot Town....and back to league action tomorrow.

Kidderminster will be tough on Saturday.

But then they won’t enjoy our power, and pace……speed and intensity of thought.

Oh and by the way….thank you Gary and Martin.

Harding, Hudson and Hylton.....

It certainly doesn’t seem like 34 years ago that I folded back the hood on my MG, and made the short drive into Norwich to collect Martine from the station. Her first trip to England and the start of a friendship that has survived to this day.

As Chief Executive of an Avignon Business School, with University links across Europe, Martine now makes regular visits to the UK. Her husband, Jean-Jacques, on the other hand, very rarely strays from ‘the south‘. Perhaps a trip to the Alps for a weeks skiing, but certainly not England in February. So it was just a bit of a surprise when they both turned up to visit last week……a few days in Wales, sandwiched between meetings in London, Stoke and Portsmouth.

And for the second time this season, I found myself grounded. ‘No, Jean-Jacques doesn’t want to go to Aldershot on Sunday to see the Stevenage game…..so don’t ask him’, my wife quietly affirmed.

I considered that to be a decision…..

I think we were about to serve the roast beef as our third goal went in……the French love a ‘good roast’.

And I was still singing Gary Waddock’s Red and Blue Army in my head at 2am….. a 3v1 win accompanied by Pic St Loup and Tavel.

Symmetry is the set of mathematical rules that describe the shape of an object. The two most common kinds being reflection or mirror symmetry and rotation symmetry. Interestingly the letter H has both horizontal and vertical mirror symmetry. And when one considers rotational symmetry H displays two-fold symmetry…..when one rotates the object around the symmetry axis.

As the season got under way last August I guess few Aldershot Town supporters would have predicted that the Shots would be setting the pace in the Blue Square Premier on February 21st….and how many would have marked Ben Harding down as the future player of the season? Not too many I guess…..but Ben has been the axis around which all of our power and pace has been controlled.

And to complete the symmetry….Hylton a gem to be polished and Hudson a gem currently being polished by our maturing coaching staff.

Yes, H, H and H…..long may the symmetry prevail.

And a postscript to Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling…..

‘Northern Rock has now been nationalised, the government says.
The Northern Rock Transfer Order 2008 has been passed, transferring all shares in the troubled bank into government hands.

The order was made after the bill allowing it to pass into government ownership was given Royal Assent (late on Thursday night Feb 21st)’ - bbc.co.uk

Now I wonder if Gordon and Alistair purchased JJB shares ,when they were valued at 97.75, and after reading my blog on January 15th. My concern then, was that with the Rock passing into state hands, the Bank’s sponsorship of Newcastle United may be at an end, and new shirts could appear before the season was out…….

My professional indemnity insurance would not cover me for Stock Market advice…but with the price closing yesterday at 126.75, an increase of 30% in about a month, all I can say is…… that my contribution to the future of the Northern Wreck has been covered……nice one Gordon.

The '39th step'.....

John Buchan wrote The Thirty-nine Steps while he was ill and in bed with a duodenal ulcer. And the novel, first published in 1915, marked a turning point in Buchan’s literary career.

It is the first of five novels featuring Richard Hannay, an all action hero with a stiff upper lip and a James Bond ability to get out of perilous situations.

With Europe close to war, and with spies hiding behind every curtain, Hannay uncovers an anarchistic plot to destabilise Europe; with Act One….a plan to assassinate Greek Premier, Karolides, during his upcoming visit to London.

Despite departing from the original story line, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 adaptation The 39 Steps is a ‘Cinema classic‘…..

Real Madrid are football’s highest earning club, making £24.1m more than Manchester United last season (Source: Deloitte Football Money League 2008).

The European Premier League makes interesting reading….

Real Madrid £236.2m
Manchester United £212.1m
Barcelona £195.3m
Chelsea £190.5m
Arsenal £177.6m , followed by….

AC. Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, AS Roma, Tottenham, Juventus, Lyons, Newcastle, Hamburg SV, Schalke 04, Celtic, Valencia…..

And propping up the League….

Marseilles £66.6m
Werder Bremen £65.5m

Now I wonder if Newcastle, currently languishing in 13th place in the EPL, would feel ‘bigger’ if they held down a similar position in a new Euro League….

Perhaps Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the Premier League, has an eye on this mountain of Euro cash when he talks of the ‘39th step’.

Cambridge United came to the Recreation Ground on Tuesday evening determined to go home with a point…..

And they did.

Cambridge defended deep….filled up the midfield. And ran and ran and continued running, right up to the final whistle. Aldershot wasted two good chances to, perhaps, steal a victory and the game ended 0v0.

And in a hard fought game the sending off , by Referee Phillips, of Aldershot defender Anthony Charles, appeared to be the result of a personal motivation rather than the fair application of the Laws of the Game.

A 'Global Brand'....

On May 21st 2007 the Cutty Sark caught fire and burned for several hours before the London Fire Brigade could bring the fire under control.

Initial reports indicated that the damage was extensive……

I watched the news reports with a feeling of shock and personal loss. A strange mixture of emotions surfaced without any obvious or rational cause. Strange emotions, given that it had been twenty years since I had taken my son to see the famous clipper in its dry-dock.

And it was probably fifty years since my father had held my hand on the same trip to Greenwich. The image of the ship, stranded forlornly like a whale washed up on the beach at low tide, still etched in my memory.

The Cutty Sark was designed by Hercules Linton and built in Dumbarton. She was destined for the tea trade and the intensely competitive race from China to London.

But in reality she was not that successful…..and with the advent of steamships the Cutty Sark was moved to service the Australian wool trade....In 1895 she was sold and her name changed…..

Much has been written about the Cutty Sark since the fire. How much of the ship is original? Why should we spend £35m on the restoration programme? Indeed why bother…….?

I guess the answer can be found in the feelings that I experienced on May 21st.

Legal interest, equitable interest, exclusive possession, exclusive use and enclosure, acquisition, conveyance…..

Possession - the actual holding of a thing, whether or not one has any right to do so. The right of possession is its legitimacy and the right of property is that right which ‘trumps’ the lot.

So what should we make of the Premier League declaring that the season will be extended by one match….to be played somewhere in the world. Somewhere that will come up with loads of money. Money that will be used to improve the game back in England.

Richard Scudamore and his ‘Brand’ managers declared at the weekend, that if ‘they’ didn’t do it someone else would. Well Rich it won’t be me….and I don’t think it will be the Blue Square Premier. Farsley Celtic v Droylsden in New York….

But it is the ownership of this ‘Global Brand’, the ongoing development of the product that gives me cause for concern.

Emotional connections are not simply warm and fuzzy……illustrated by a distant memory of Jim leaving his gloves on the coach at Carlisle, on the coldest day of the decade…..nor are they simply interesting aspects of behaviour to contemplate and debate. No, they have powerful financial consequences, ranging from a share of my disposable income to frequency and repeat business.

Fully engaged customers spend more and return more than those who become disengaged.

Some companies are good at creating emotional connections with their customers. Most, however, are not.

And the Premier League should beware….the customer is first and foremost a supporter. Someone who has acquired emotional property in their Club.

And emotional connections aren’t static. They ebb and flow but will never go away. Brand ‘passion’ should be treated with respect.

Roker Park…..The Stadium of Light.

Anfield…..the stadium of ‘who paid the most’!

‘Our next home game will be played in Bangkok on January 29th…we regret to inform all supporters and club members that coaches will not be organised for this fixture’.

Players from every football playing country in the world are featured in our ‘Global Brand‘….. Celtic, European Cup winners in 1967, with a team of Scots.

Bill Shankly, Brian Clough, Alex Ferguson……Fabio Capello, Vladimir Petrovic, Zhu Guanghu.

Yes, I think the Premier League should take care…..as for me, I’m comforted by the fact that The Cutty Sark will still look like the Cutty Sark after the process of restoration.

Farsley Celtic was a long trip north…..three more points and a first senior goal for Danny Hylton. And two more for Kirk Hudson. Too much pace and applied power, when needed, flattened Farsley, despite a spirited second half performance by the home side.

And just a passing comment for the local Police.

If you are worried about our travelling fans, don’t just panic the local club….and demand segregation….then demand additional stewards….and then advise, that if it ‘kicks off’ you will get there as quick as you can.

The village centre pub was a comfortable retreat….

Flight of the bumblebee.....

Britain and Ireland have 25 native species of bumblebee, although 3 species have already become nationally extinct and a further 5 are now designated UK BAP species (UK Biodiversity Action Plan).

But they are such fun creatures.

Bumblebees are indeed fascinating and important insects. They live in annual colonies, feeding on nectar and pollen and they provide an important pollination service for many of our fruit and vegetable crops, as well as wild flowers.

According to 20th century folklore, the laws of aerodynamics prove that the bumblebee should be incapable of flight, as it does not have the capacity (in terms of wing size or beat per second) to achieve flight with the degree of wing loading necessary. Not being aware of scientists 'proving' it cannot fly, the bumblebee succeeds under "the power of its own arrogance".

Braintree Town visited the Recreation Ground last Saturday…..the Shots eased past them, and into the Quarter Finals of the FA Trophy.

A competent performance against a team clearly from a league lower. Superior fitness and the performance of two players, in particular, the difference between the sides.

Ben Harding has been the outstanding player of the season…..and his goal against Braintree was one for my ‘top three all time strikes’ seen at the Rec.

Simply brilliant…..

The second player to turn Braintree inside out was Danny Hylton….a youngster who has spent most of the season warming the bench or playing in the reserves. He first came to my attention at Burton, back in October, when he replaced a lacklustre Jonny Dixon in a two nil defeat. His tenacity unsettling a strong Albion defence, untroubled by the lightweight Dixon.

And now with Dixon signing for Brighton, Hylton has been given a chance to shine…..and he has grasped the opportunity with youthful exuberance.

Danny doesn’t really look the part. Ungainly gait, but deceptively quick. An ability to get behind defenders….something Dixon could never do. Always looking to find space. A first goal will be followed by many more.

Hylton may just succeed under the power of his own arrogance….

And finally a quick postscript to Peter Hain….

Peter, after more than ten years of a New Labour Government, are things still so bad in your Neath Constituency that the only person you can find capable of operating e-mails, and using a mobile phone is your 80-year-old mother. Were you not the Work and Pensions Secretary before falling…..

In memory of Munich

At 3.04 pm on 6 February 1958 a British European Airways flight carrying 40 passengers and 4 crew made a third attempt to take off from a snow bound Munich airport.

The plane failed to gain adequate height and crashed into a fence surrounding the airport, then careered into an unoccupied house.

As news of the crash flickered across our television screen I was oblivious to my father’s concern. The new red wheelbarrow, that I had been given the day before for my birthday, held my attention as Dad tried to explain the unfolding tragedy.

And it would be another two years before I could start to understand the enormity of the disaster that unfolded on the slush ridden Munich runway.

Two more years before I experienced my first game at the Recreation Ground.

It was not until Bobby Howfield and Paddy Hasty….. Alan Woan and Jack Howarth had filled my veins with red and blue blood that I could possibly understand the events of Feb 6th 1958.

23 people died in the crash.

And Manchester United lost eight of their finest players.

Geoff Bent
Roger Byrne
Eddie Colman
Mark Jones
David Pegg
Tommy Taylor
Liam Whelan
Duncan Edwards


In most, if not all, of the documentaries about the disaster Duncan Edwards is described as the ‘golden boy’ and Bobby Charlton said of his friend, ‘he was the only player who made me feel inferior’.

Had Edwards survived the Munich crash then in 1966 he would have been 29, at the peak of his powers and Bobby Moore would have been consigned to West Ham history and not World Cup winning glory.

But I like to read about Mark Jones…..he died aged only 24 having made 121 appearances for United. A big man, Mark stood 6ft 1in tall and weighed in at 12st 12lb. The Barnsley born centre half was the imposing centre piece to a skilful back line.

But Mark was a gentle man. His dressing room nickname, Dan Archer, after the leading character in the radio series still broadcast today……(and I think Brian Aldridge has just made a big mistake….yes in my opinion Debbie and Adam should be left the farm).

He smoked a pipe….kept budgerigars…in fact he had 55 budgies….and on more than one occasion he brought his shotgun to Old Trafford to assist in keeping down the pigeon population.

Mark Jones and Rio Ferdinand ………..sadly generations apart.


The Crimean War, 1853-1856 was fought between Imperial Russia on one side and an alliance that included France and the UK on the other.

The ‘popularity’ of the war inspired the Prince Consort to establish permanent buildings at North Camp ensuring the long-term future of Aldershot as the primary base of the British Army. As a result, in September 1854 work began on the building of permanent barracks, the first phase of which was completed in 1859.


The Crimea public house stands in the lower part of Crimea Road and is no more than a goal kick away from the Recreation Ground. Opened in 1856, as the Crimean War was coming to a close the pub lasted for about seventy-five years before it was rebuilt in the 1930’s….and it hasn’t changed much since.


Tuesday evening saw the Shots entertain Oxford United. A handful of U’s supporters found their way to the Crimea. They predicted a 0v0. We didn’t fully disappoint….they scored nil.

The Shots conjured up a scruffy goal from a corner midway through the second half. Our new pre-match home is indeed lucky.


Good beer on hand pump….ham rolls….comfortable seats…..see you Saturday.