This Saturday - Tough Decision - Decsion Made ...

Newcastle Blue Star v Mossley is not for me...


I've been agonising over this for a while - Monday's "second half capitulation" against Rossendale obviously didn't help, but after a few beers - hey relax - so I did check out train times and costs. Stalybridge to Newcastle - Day Return - will cost £55-80 (yes fifty-five pounds eighty). Hmmm - some tweaking - perfectly legal (known in the trade as "ticket splitting") saw two tickets (Stalybridge to York - Day Return - and York to Newcastle - Day Return - coming in at just over £40 - yes forty quid). Fifteen quid better, but still obscene .... plus there's a bit of travel on the old "TyneandWearMetro" (Kingston Park does have it's own station very close) once you get to Newky - poss another fiver or so.

In fact a couple of seats on the coach appeared on Monday - with "provisos" (viz no "drinkies" on the outward journey) - but "a couple of seats" will not accommodate the full "shedhead crew" - we've had some good train trips out this season with a dozen or so of us. There are a few cars going up as well - but with my "old man's problems" the A1(M) would be awash with urine !!!! [Bet you all wanted to know that - it's an exaggeration anyway !! ]

I love travelling on the train to a game - always have, always will. The "Long Good Friday" last week was a grrrand day out - marred only by one result at Bradford PA and a landslip at Brighouse - and a reasonable price as well - so it's always my first choice - obviously night games can be a pain - but Saturdays ..... it's great, and you often get to meet like minded footy fans (both league and non-league) who are also in it for the "holy trinity" of beer, foootball and train - not necessarily in that order !!

With it being "skool hols", Mrs Smiffy has wandered off to Bristol for a couple or three days so time is not a problem - and one little voice is reminding me that this is probably Newky BS's one and only season in the Unibond before they run kicking and screaming back to the Northern League, blaming (and here's the irony) the cost of travelling !!!!

But are Mossley challenging for the championship - or a play-off place ??? I'm afraid not, otherwise there would be none of this "Shall I / Shan't I ??" rubbish. As I think I said in a txt to "Dydo" - "Unlike L'Oreal - I'm afraid they're not worth it" - it's sad that it comes to this - but £40/45 goes a good way towards the camera bag I want/need - Ashton United are at home on Saturday - Stalybridge are at home on Saturday (more likely than Ashton - because Ashton are at home on Monday night, and with it being "skool hols" - no ju-jitsu for boy..)

And remember - that £40/45 is before a ball is kicked in anger - or before a beer is slurped "not" in anger, but in enjoyment - or before a "Burger King" is eaten "in desperation". A fan of a Premier League team may well be able to justify this kind of expense - or even a Droylsden fan 'for this season and this season only' (and no I'm NOT taking the p*ss here - remember I know a lot of Derby fans going through the same "enjoy it while you can because next season .... experience" experience).

Thinking it through a little more - given the parlous state of Mossley's finances, I'm sure the club would rather me spend my money at home games anyway ........

So ... as a simple Mossley fan I've got to say ....."Not this time"....

We'll see what Saturday brings.....and where we end up ....