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... (for Dec 2nd) to Rod Haslam @ Woodley Sports - the entire Mossley team tonight decided to give you an early birthday present of three points ...
... and make my birthday (Dec 1st) not so much fun ...
Photos tonight ?? Get stuffed ... and I even managed to miss both Woodley goals due to equipment malfunctions ... malfunctions which - until I get a job - may well happen again during the sh*te weather time of year ... suffice to say a Manfrotto 679 (or 679b) is now top of the Christmas list (it's cheap - yet good - but contrary to some opinions, it's NOT for life !) for starters anyway.
All in all ... bugger ...
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Sunday – with Mrs Smiffy still away (think about it - why else would I have been wide awake very late on Saturday night sorting out pictures (after a Chinese Takeaway for tea) AND listening to “Relayer” by Yes AND drinking ‘dirty beer’), I also managed a trip out to pub early Sunday afternoon to watch Kettering Town beat Leeds United (well almost) - and I won some Spare Rib Chops in the “Brit Meat Draw” as well ! – but this trip was ONLY after doing some resealing around the upstairs bath (top tip – sod the lolly sticks idea, squeeze out the silicone stuff – then a dab or three of washing up liquid on the finger and run that along the joint – it tidies up the bead of silicone beautifully !!). Oops football - I reckon keeper Lee Harper should have got MOM – two tremendous saves – and he’s copped for the Manager job since Mark Cooper went to Peterborough - the tempter of a trip to Old Trafford must loom large when they get to the replay.... which leads beautifully on to ..
.. Monday – and today a job interview (ironically for work with the Department of Work and Pensions – they’re taking on staff because … you can work out the rest !) - OK first things first – some lit/num tests to pass – which weeded out 50% of our batch/tranche – before my first job interview since May 1985 – which took place in a private box overlooking the pitch …….. at Old Trafford – I kid you not ! Interview took the best part of 40 minutes – and when I realise I left our house at 0955 – and left Old Trafford at about 1530 (with no food – and without setting foot in the Megastore !) – it was a long day, and I was a complete nervous wreck when I came out !!! The question has been asked by several peeps, viz “How did it go ??”. Well I refer my right honourable reader to the earlier line regarding first interview for nearly 25 years - - - - I’ve absolutely no idea !!!! I gave what I thought was my “best shot” – pass or fail, I’ve been promised feedback from the interview – but having got to that stage … and passing the tests … and getting the interview … it’s a move in the right direction I guess, and any feedback (positive or negative) WILL give me some clues regarding interview performance/technique in the 21st century.
Anyway a couple of shandies helped to relax – and now we prepare for yet another day in the hunt for work – I’m certainly putting together a few “thoughts” regarding the whole “agency/register CV/we feed you job options” – but I’ll leave ‘those thoughts’ for a while .. early days yet. And after the hunt for work – we have football – away at Woodley Sports, so theoretically it could rain/snow/anything – the game should still be on thanks to “3G Fieldturf technology” – although that’s what we all thought last season when we “jollied” up to Durham City – see.
So much for all-weather pitches !!
Fingers crossed all should be fine tomorrow …
Oh yeah – and I’m 53 years young as well ….. and I wonder if it's Woodley Rod's birthday as well - need to check this as I may need to take cake/candles to Lambeth Grove tomorrow.
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... to the "Brother Rabbit" conundrum posed yesterday is of course "The Commitments" - Jimmy Rabbit and Joey "The Lips" Fagan (who called him "Brother Rabbit") are the two pix adjacent to the pumpclip.
But you all knew that anyway didn't you ............... didn't you ??
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... well after all the "early morning kerfuffle" I had the choice of two (OK Chorley v Curzon was a third - and I had offers of lifts too - thanks Joe - seven goals - bugger !!!) - I decided to eschew Droylsden in the end (save my "voucher" for the real Stalybridge re-arranged match I guess) as Ashton United is just that touch easier transport-wise - and I get a beer or two at Stalybridge Buffet Bar at both ends of a 408 bus !).
The cold weather certainly kicked in today - maybe something to do with the hair cut as well ! The pitch looked not unlike Mossley on a Tuesday night i.e. playable but "good to soft". Ashton went into the game on the back of a poor run, and I'm afraid it showed at times - confidence is certainly lacking a bit, and after NFU took the lead - yes Gary Bradshaw - it seemed to drop another notch. Here's the pix from today:
Ashton United 0 NorthFerriby United 1
It might have been a heavy pitch - but the Robins seemed (to me) to be playing the game far too long - at times it was "hoofball" as Darlo at Belper would say. I look back (wistfully) to 1970 - to the Great Harwood v Stafford Rangers game - on a mud heap down the slope - 6-1 to Rangers at half-time using "hoofball" tactics - finished up 7-5 as Great Harwood employed similar tactics in the second half. But I digress ... there's always room to play it short, play it through the midfield, and in my humble opinion that's where it went wrong today. This, combined with some "eccentric" refereeing at times (OK inconsistent/poor) led to the eventual result.
They shouldn't worry though - there's some good players up at Hurst Cross - they just seem to be lacking in confidence - just not wanting to take that little bit of extra time on the ball. Had that free kick gone in just after they went one down ... it might just have been the catalyst - but that's football godammit !! I know both fans and officials have great faith in Danny Johnson (Ashton Boss) - he'll turn it round I'm sure. To put it into pictures (OK one) ...
Another real disappointment was the crowd - with only Droylsden as an option in the vicinity, 136 was poor - especially when I saw FC United fans, Kendal fans and even a Witton Albion scarfed fan in the bar - I've no idea what the crowd was at the Butchers Arms but is it any wonder that teams struggle financially ?? I used to blame Sky - but that's only midweek - these days it's those damned Albanian/Italian satellite cards that are doing the damage - but then again with pubs closing at a rate of 25 per week, they've got an fair excuse as well - just narks me that when a club's game is called "off", many of their fans don't think to go to another game "just up the road" - it works both ways you know ...
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... armed with a copy of the inside back page of last week's "Non League Paper", battle plans are now being drawn up -
- Part 1 (viz local) was documented yesterday (Mossley, Ashton U, Droylsden, Oldham, Chadderton)
- Part 2 (a bit further) looks like Chorley v Curzon or Buxton v Stalybridge Celtic (only a friendly however so could disappear very early !).
No Part 3 as yet ... although time and public transport play a big part here as well - eek !
Looking for those magical words ... "Game On" ... poss updates later ... also any updates from out there in "web land" would be gratefully received as well !
1030 - New Mills v Maine Road - OFF
1050 - Droylsden v Hyde United - ON !
1100 - Chapel (en-le-Frith) Town v Prestwich Heys - OFF
1115 - Mossley v Ossett Albion - OFF (bugger)
1120 - Ashton United v North Ferriby United - ON !
1145 - Chadderton v Rochdale Town - OFF
1145 - FC United v Kendal Town - OFF
1145 - Radcliffe B v Garforth Town - OFF
1145 - Buxton v Stalybridge Celtic - ON !
1200 - Chorley v Curzon Ashton - ON !
Decisions now in for all "Six Tame Sides" - therefore closing this one off for the day ... hope it's helped some ...
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A story from the blog from March 2008:
The Murder of Sophie Lancaster
A video to watch which was premiered yesterday in Manchester:
The Murder of Sophie Lancaster
As it says at the end - please pass this link to as many people as you can ... thank you ...
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... or "s'amuser" or something like that (now there's a clue) ... it's nothing viral or spammy or owt like that ...
Help Thierry score ...
...now off for a hair cut - job interview type thing on Monday !
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... despite sterling efforts all round, we didn't make it. Ilkeston obviously took a good look at our performance on Saturday, made the necessary "tweaks", and basically gave us pretty much nowt all night. Pictures are finally available (too much time on my blistered hands ? Not really - 'twas yet another night of drying stuff off !) at
Mossley 0 Ilkeston Town 2
It's been a good FA Trophy run though - makes a welcome change to have had a decent cup run in something other than the Manky Prem (still got the League Cup this season as well, although away @ Lancaster City won't be easy). I reckon it's time to kick-start the league form - beginning on Saturday with a home game against Ossett Albion.
(I wouldn't have been able to make the Blyth game on the 12th December anyway !)
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*rse !
We got what we deserved !
Pictures tomorrow/later today ...
*rse !
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