I made my first ever trip to Haywood Way on Saturday to watch the Mighty Moles take on Beaconsfield SYCOB, and I promised Mr F a review so here it is!
For me non-league football is nothing to do with football or at least it’s only tangentially related to football – all I know is if the ball goes in the net your side’s keeper isn’t standing in you are happy and if it goes in the net he is standing in then you are sad – that is the beginning and end of my football knowledge so never try and talk strategy with me I don’t have any!
To me it really is about having a Saturday afternoon out, drinking beer, listening to very funny banter from fans, talking to the away goalie (hello Mr Reading), community and coming together as a group of like-minded individuals with a common aim and who just want to have fun and (excuse the Mole based pun) this is something you get in spades at Aylesbury FC.
If you really are going just for the football you may be better spending your cash on a Sky subscription (although you can obviously watch footy in the bar before the game!). If you do want a proper review of the game, Jools Thomas has done an excellent one on the website and I would urge you to read it – 3-3 draw – to be fair it wasn’t a great game but believe me I’ve seen worse, at least there were plenty of goals.
I enjoyed every moment of afternoon from the club house, to meeting a veritable company (the collective noun for moles apparently) of Moles fans, to Jim who quizzed me on my working knowledge of Liam Brady and 1970’s Arsenal games (non-existent), to Jordan who would insist on singing ‘we hate United’ and pointing at me whilst doing so, to a young man who I think was called Rob who would shake his maracas at me to the general amusement of the other fans.
The game had everything you could want, sunshine, good food, great banter from Will and the guys behind the goal, eloquent though somewhat Anglo-Saxon hair criticism of Jon-Jo Bates hair style from Jordan and indeed Jon-Jo’s anatomically themed response – which would certainly be illegal and to my mind impossible – I was also very interested to find out that Jordan is an 'other-plucker' – whatever that is.
The game had drums, maracas, a young lady who took £5 off me for raffle tickets and when I remonstrated with the announcer that he didn’t pull my numbers out she confirmed that I had indeed been robbed but should have seen it coming. I also think I know what some of the drainage issues are at Haywood Way a kid urinated what appeared his own body weight in piss against the back of the stand which dribbled down the back of the stand and flowed towards the pitch – adding towards the already boggy conditions and also adding to my amusement as I saw Jake Nixon wade through it at least twice. I met someone who’d had a heart attack a couple of weeks ago and yet was back at football smoking, drinking and remonstrating with the referee!
I have to give a special mention to Teresa who really does do a great burger (good food at a non-league ground? as Chris Kamara would say ‘unbelievable!’) and is obviously too good for Tony, who, among all his many faults you can add 'can’t count!' One, two, four …..
In short I had a great afternoon – where is this love-in going I hear you say? Well I do have what I think is going to be a very unpopular conclusion to what was a great afternoon.
Since my team United have been evicted from the Buckingham Road I have traveled over to Leighton once or twice, but frankly I just can’t be arsed. Now I appreciate this will make me a bad fan in the eyes of some, but hey that’s the reality of the situation and I am sure I am not alone, I just want to go to football in my own home town.
I looked at the attendance figures for Ayesbury FC and Aylesbury United for this season and they are average 139 and 171 respectively. Now I was amazed on Saturday to find out that the Becky game was the first for 3 months and frankly I am staggered that FC are still in existence, I’m sure that outgoings didn’t stop just because there was no football – so great credit to Danny and the committee without whom there wouldn’t be a football team I’m sure.
Surely a merger has to be an option? I appreciate there is bad blood between the chairman of the respective clubs and not knowing what happened I’m not in a position to comment – but a merger would have so many benefits, you’d at least double the fan base, the council and the Bucks Herald are far more likely to listen to a combined team – in short and, with apologies to any Scottish Nationalists, we really would be ‘better together’. We could then get back to hating the real enemy - Chesham. I’ve been reliably informed a merger will never happen which is a shame – so in the meantime – if you’ll tolerate an ex-pat Duck I will pop along to the Saturday home games when I can and, other than when FC play United, I will support the Mighty Moles because frankly I had a great time on Saturday and would highly recommend a trip to the Affinity Stadium to anyone– keep smiling!
Peace
PS Jordan stop wearing that hat I think it angered the opposition!
For me non-league football is nothing to do with football or at least it’s only tangentially related to football – all I know is if the ball goes in the net your side’s keeper isn’t standing in you are happy and if it goes in the net he is standing in then you are sad – that is the beginning and end of my football knowledge so never try and talk strategy with me I don’t have any!
To me it really is about having a Saturday afternoon out, drinking beer, listening to very funny banter from fans, talking to the away goalie (hello Mr Reading), community and coming together as a group of like-minded individuals with a common aim and who just want to have fun and (excuse the Mole based pun) this is something you get in spades at Aylesbury FC.
If you really are going just for the football you may be better spending your cash on a Sky subscription (although you can obviously watch footy in the bar before the game!). If you do want a proper review of the game, Jools Thomas has done an excellent one on the website and I would urge you to read it – 3-3 draw – to be fair it wasn’t a great game but believe me I’ve seen worse, at least there were plenty of goals.
I enjoyed every moment of afternoon from the club house, to meeting a veritable company (the collective noun for moles apparently) of Moles fans, to Jim who quizzed me on my working knowledge of Liam Brady and 1970’s Arsenal games (non-existent), to Jordan who would insist on singing ‘we hate United’ and pointing at me whilst doing so, to a young man who I think was called Rob who would shake his maracas at me to the general amusement of the other fans.
The game had everything you could want, sunshine, good food, great banter from Will and the guys behind the goal, eloquent though somewhat Anglo-Saxon hair criticism of Jon-Jo Bates hair style from Jordan and indeed Jon-Jo’s anatomically themed response – which would certainly be illegal and to my mind impossible – I was also very interested to find out that Jordan is an 'other-plucker' – whatever that is.
The game had drums, maracas, a young lady who took £5 off me for raffle tickets and when I remonstrated with the announcer that he didn’t pull my numbers out she confirmed that I had indeed been robbed but should have seen it coming. I also think I know what some of the drainage issues are at Haywood Way a kid urinated what appeared his own body weight in piss against the back of the stand which dribbled down the back of the stand and flowed towards the pitch – adding towards the already boggy conditions and also adding to my amusement as I saw Jake Nixon wade through it at least twice. I met someone who’d had a heart attack a couple of weeks ago and yet was back at football smoking, drinking and remonstrating with the referee!
I have to give a special mention to Teresa who really does do a great burger (good food at a non-league ground? as Chris Kamara would say ‘unbelievable!’) and is obviously too good for Tony, who, among all his many faults you can add 'can’t count!' One, two, four …..
In short I had a great afternoon – where is this love-in going I hear you say? Well I do have what I think is going to be a very unpopular conclusion to what was a great afternoon.
Since my team United have been evicted from the Buckingham Road I have traveled over to Leighton once or twice, but frankly I just can’t be arsed. Now I appreciate this will make me a bad fan in the eyes of some, but hey that’s the reality of the situation and I am sure I am not alone, I just want to go to football in my own home town.
I looked at the attendance figures for Ayesbury FC and Aylesbury United for this season and they are average 139 and 171 respectively. Now I was amazed on Saturday to find out that the Becky game was the first for 3 months and frankly I am staggered that FC are still in existence, I’m sure that outgoings didn’t stop just because there was no football – so great credit to Danny and the committee without whom there wouldn’t be a football team I’m sure.
Surely a merger has to be an option? I appreciate there is bad blood between the chairman of the respective clubs and not knowing what happened I’m not in a position to comment – but a merger would have so many benefits, you’d at least double the fan base, the council and the Bucks Herald are far more likely to listen to a combined team – in short and, with apologies to any Scottish Nationalists, we really would be ‘better together’. We could then get back to hating the real enemy - Chesham. I’ve been reliably informed a merger will never happen which is a shame – so in the meantime – if you’ll tolerate an ex-pat Duck I will pop along to the Saturday home games when I can and, other than when FC play United, I will support the Mighty Moles because frankly I had a great time on Saturday and would highly recommend a trip to the Affinity Stadium to anyone– keep smiling!
Peace
PS Jordan stop wearing that hat I think it angered the opposition!
