Teenage Armchair Fandom (Subbuteo-style)

Continuing with the Half Man Half Biscuit-inflected 'Subbuteo' -themed series of still life paintings, this latest composition - essentially a study of a slight reduction in scale of the represented objects exploring the potential of a larger, more complex proposition - references the title and subject of the song 'I Was a Teenage Armchair Honved Fan' and thus features our miniature heroes sporting the colours of Honved on the left, in the red and black strip, and their Budapest neighbours and rivals - to whom I became attracted and attached as a pre-teen and have favoured since - Ferencváros in the green and white to the right. I've blogged on the subject of this very teenage armchair fandom as it relates to European clubs teams previously, at some length and in some detail, but this seems to be the first time I've made such an allusion in paint.

'Teenage Armchair Fandom (Subbuteo Budapest derby)'

oil on canvas/25cm x 35cm/June 2018

The pair of miniature figures are here represented as being placed in their cutout slots in the cardboard box of the type in which complete teams of players were/are presented for sale or otherwise in the boxed sets of the Subbuteo game, as will be obvious to anyone with even a passing acquaintance with such. It's noticeable that the plastic bases reflect more highlights in this state than being placed on a horizontal surface as previous examples have been, which helps give a bit more painterly 'zip' to proceedings.

An Alternative Christmas 'Want'?

Following-on from the previous post, the latest painting on and off the easel mines the same Half Man Half Biscuit-inspired subject-matter a little more deeply and quite possibly obscurely, this time depicting a vintage Subbuteo football (soccer) player figure sporting something of an Ujpest Dozsa 'away' kit.

'Subbuteo Footballer #6 (Ujpest Dozsa 'Away')

oil on canvas/35cm x 25cm/June 2018

Christmas 'Wants'

Continuing with the current series of small still life paintings, the latest pair (as they’ve become, related) again feature vintage ‘heavyweight’ Subbuteo football player figures (circa 1960s-70s), empirically observed as objects, but here sporting invented colours, the first inspired by the title and lyrics of the legendary and much-beloved in this parish  Half Man Half Biscuit‘s early song ‘All I Want For Christmas is a Dukla Prague Away Kit’, thus being an idiosyncratic representation of, based upon what research reveals to be pretty much established facts, with a nod to period generalities of Subbuteo style.

'Subbuteo Footballer #4 (Dukla Prague)

oil on canvas/40cm x 30cm/May 2018

The matter was by no means laid to rest upon the resolution of this painting (as I assumed it would be), however, as a particular research find served to rock the concept to its very foundation, with Nigel Blackwell‘s revelation here that it was his initial intention to lyrically reference not Dukla Prague but another East European football club – indeed, another Hungarian one to accompany the also-legendary Honved, of whom he wrote and sang of being ‘a teenage armchair fan’ (see here for a personal ‘adversarial’ response to this, which might help explain a lot, not least an obsession with the romantically-named football clubs of Hungary and Budapest in particular which began in the 1970s and continues to this day) – in the form of Ujpesti Dozsa, who’d opposed British teams in numerous European club competition ties during the late Sixties to mid-Seventies, but had unfortunately been unable to make such a lyric scan.

Accordingly, and in particularly multi-nerdy manner, what is (re)presented below is a ‘hand-painted’ interpretation/approximation of the traditional Ujpesti Dozsa colours of purple and white – the former of which is perhaps a little too blue in hue, especially when compared to the mauve of Subbuteo vintage as they represented teams such as Anderlecht and ‘Austria Vienna’.

'Subbuteo Footballer #5 (Ujpesti Dozsa)

oil on canvas/35cm x 25cm/June 2018

This imagining of the ‘home’ colours of Ujpesti yet creates another doubt, of course – did the song’s character instead desire the ‘away’ version, and is another painting in order to address this possibility? To be brutally honest, another painting is already in order to address the failure of this unsatisfactory offering, so perhaps watch this space for further developments.

In other, more important news, there is coincidentally a brand-new Half Man Half Biscuit album, in vinyl LP, CD and mp3 download format, to enjoy, which is most advisable under these and indeed any circumstances.

Blue Sunday

'Subbuteo Footballer #3'

oil on canvas/40cm x 30cm/May 2018

Continuing the current theme and series of small paintings, this most recent one, brought to a resolution yesterday afternoon after a substantial session on Saturday, depicts another of the recently-acquired late-1980s' vintage Subbuteo 'lightweight' football (soccer) player figures, enlarged on the canvas to around x 10 scale, this one being from the 'blue' team in the boxed set, opposing the 'reds'.

Again, part of the challenge involves the 'Uglowian' representation of different types of plastic (the cup of the base into which the figure is fixed being of a particularly 'polished', highly-reflective-surfaced type not unlike a ceramic glaze), some of which has, obviously, a hand-painted finish applied to it, thus opening-up a dialogue between two forms of hand-painted object in the figure and the painting itself.

Showing Our Colours

'Subbuteo Footballer #2'

oil on canvas/40cm x 30cm/May 2018

Another in the current series of the still life paintings of miniature model football players, in this instance the object of active contemplation being a later-generation so-called 'lightweight' Subbuteo figure, dating from the late 1980s, recently acquired as a member of one of the two teams contained within a boxed edition of the game, discovered in a local antiques emporium at what was considered to be an affordable price.
As differing from the previous painting - that being a direct transcript of the observed subject - this one takes a certain artistic licence in that the colours sported by the figure have been invented in the hand-painted 'customised' manner of one's youth, and in fact are intended to represent those of Atlético Madrid, one of TOoT's favourite European clubs. As it so happened, the painted was resolved early on Wednesday evening, soon before the kick-off of that night's UEFA Europa League Final, subsequently won by Atlético by a 3 - 0 margin over Olympique Marseille, thus serving as something of a personal tribute to the victorious team.

On the Ball

Another take on the still life, on this occasion the subject/object matter being a pair of miniature moulded plastic model football (soccer) players of a certain indefinable vintage (given the length of the shorts in relation to football fashions it could be anywhere between the 1950s and 1980s, with the neckline of the shirt suggesting the earlier end of this timescale), each scaled up by about 7:1 to fill a 35cm tall canvas - the models, indeed, are pictured beside the  painting(s) on the easel to illustrate.  It should be declared at this juncture that football probably takes up more head space than art in that particular Nick Hornbyesque 'Fever Pitch' manner that afflicts many, so to combine the two enduring passions is a treat indeed (although not a novel one, given previous football-themed projects that have been undertaken, as may be evidenced within the archives).

The hand-painted nature of the figures, specifically its less-than-refined finish, suggested a broad approach should be taken in the representation of, and the paintings proceeded accordingly to a point of resolution, although it's yet to be decided whether they're individuals or a companionable diptych.

'Red Footballer'

April 2018/oil on canvas/35cm x 25cm

'Blue Footballer'

April-May 2018/oil on canvas/35cm x 25cm

Art and Football (Again)

‘Slavia Praha shirt’  pencil and watercolour/36 x 25cm

The challenge of the representation of drapery is, of course, as old as painting itself, and a recently-acquired football shirt suggested itself as being a suitable subject-object of study one afternoon last week, so out came the pencils and watercolours. Whilst the particular qualities of the contemporary somewhat shiny-surfaced sportswear fabric were perhaps the main motivating factor in getting to work in the active observation of, the allure of a jersey bearing a red star, particularly in the context of such a pleasing design, cannot be denied a certain significance too.

Pin badges representing the famous name of Slavia Praha, from the treasured collection as previously featured in forensic detail, may be found here and here (x2).

Fair-Weather Football Watcher

Having pretty much taken the subconscious (and, on the days in question, conscious) decision to become, quite literally, a ‘fair weather’ local football spectator this season, such was hoped-for to coincide with the event of our heroes Gresford Athletic’s concluding home fixture of the Huws Gray Cymru Alliance league season on Saturday and, blessedly, nature complied in the form of a glorious warm sunny afternoon, thus the short journey was made to the Clappers Lane ground to attend, sagging-off from what should probably have been another painting session on a rare day of fine natural light - such are the conflicts of the football-nerd artist.

The visitors were the wonderfully-named Holyhead Hotspur as, coincidentally, they had been for the corresponding fixture of last term on the occasion of my inaugural attendance at a match at ‘the Lane’, on a dank December day as opposite to Saturday as could be. That game proved to be something of a corker, one indeed to warm the cockles, as Gresford, at one point of the second half 1 - 2 and a man down, rallied to prevail 4 - 2 and instantly earn a place in the favourite football teams compartment of the heart. Subsequent visits to watch ‘The Colliers’ during the course of last season proved them to be a whole-hearted, well-organised and obdurate team who were a match for all but the top sides in the division (please see here), although alas I wasn’t fortunate enough to see them score another goal, as was again the case in the instance of a pre-season friendly hosting the local professionals of Wrexham one Friday evening last July, going down late and most unluckily to a single own goal in a match that has proved to be more of an indication of Wrexham’s uninspiring travails this season than Gresford’s, who, adding a more expansive and goalscoring dimension to their play, have performed so creditably as to have risen to third place in the Cymru Alliance, behind only the much larger fish of Prestatyn (who recently confirmed their championship with a narrow victory over Gresford) and Caernarfon Towns, despite the mid-season upheaval of their promotion-inspiring manager defecting to divisional rivals and ‘bigger club’ Denbigh Town.

Facing mid-table Holyhead, then, brought with it the anticipation that Gresford could surely find the net and produce a result that would help cement that third place ahead of the chasing Flint Town United and Porthmadog, the latter of whom Athletic had beaten and established more distance between only last Saturday in their previous home match.
Perhaps it was the sudden arrival of surprisingly clement weather (the preceding midweek had brought such rainfall across the North and Mid-Wales region that provides the Cymru Alliance’s member clubs that led to the postponement of a round of league fixtures) but Gresford began the match in something of a casual manner, with misplaced passes and a general, palpable lack of focus, frustrating to themselves, that brought to mind nothing so much as the drowsiness of just-awakened bumble bees. Soon, Holyhead capitalised on the slackness in  their opponents’ ranks and, from a free-kick pumped into the Gresford penalty area, scored the game’s opening goal to take the lead, one they held without much alarm until the point midway through the first half when, following a foul tackle more mistimed than malicious, although it led to the hobbling Gresford victim also leaving the field of play for the duration, the perpetrator was dismissed with a straight red card and the Hotspur were reduced to ten men. Even with this numerical advantage, Gresford struggled to find any rhythm or penetration to the extent that, as half time approached, the more cohesive, direct and threatening Holyhead were quite correctly awarded a penalty after a clear trip in the Gresford box and Dewi Thomas, scorer of the opener, duly dispatched the spot-kick to establish a 2 - 0 interval lead for the visitors. News came over the tannoy that Flint, five points behind Gresford at start of play and with the teams due to showdown at Flint next Saturday, were leading Prestatyn 2 - 1.

Upon the resumption, the second half proceeded to become virtually a game of attack versus defence, with Holyhead holding firm as again Gresford struggled to find any fluency despite their efforts although, due to sheer weight of pressure, the latter did create chances, some clear cut. However, through a combination mostly of hapless profligacy (hitting the crossbar from a yard out, headers from the centre of the six yard box glanced wide) and fine saves from the Hotspurs’ keeper, one of Banksian miraculousness, still, to mounting incredulity and wry, resigned amusement, the hosts could do nothing positive to reduce their arrears and this spectator considered himself doomed not to see his local village team score another goal, certainly on this occasion or this season. This state of affairs continued, alleviated by one opportunity to Holyhead, on the counter-attack, to score what would surely have been a decisive third goal, thankfully saved, all the way until the 89th minute when Gresford did manage to pull a goal back - at last! And then, just a minute later, like the buses making their way between Wrexham and Chester and vice versa along the main road beyond the stand side of the ground (at one point they could be observed queuing up), another arrived courtesy of Jack Chaloner’s quick penalty box reactions once again, an equaliser on the day and cup-overflowing riches indeed, a bit harsh perhaps on the valiant visitors after their sustained rearguard action but reward for Gresford’s perseverance at least, a characteristic that has been a significant factor in the successful season they’ve enjoyed even though this had clearly not been one of the afternoons when they’d managed to attain the highest standards they’ve set for themselves. Honours remained even at the conclusion shortly afterwards, the draw a fair result on a fine football-watching afternoon that ended all the better for Gresford as Prestatyn also staged a two-goal comeback to triumph 3 - 2 at Flint and thus enable The Colliers to edge a further point ahead in the battle for third place.

Here's a little photo-record:

Clappers Lane looking across the pitch to the stand and dugouts from behind the ‘garage end’ goal.

Holyhead Hotspur take to the pitch…

Closely followed by Gresford Athletic

About to kick off

Second-half pressure from Gresford, trailing 0 – 2, on the Hotspur goal

Close marking

Full-time: honours eventually even, Gresford Athletic 2 Holyhead Hotspur 2

The Gresford team troop off, Holyhead huddle.

Proper Football

Something of a classic for us football (soccer) romantics on Tuesday evening, with a match between two of the truly great names of the English game, Stalybridge Celtic v Bradford Park Avenue in the National League North, a thriller which ended in a 4 - 3 victory for the hosts - that the visitor's manager attributed the scoreline and result to his team's shambolic defensive performance only adds to the glamour of the event.

Alas, the victory represented but one of pitifully few for one of TOoT's very favourite clubs (an entirely randomly-assembled collection from down the years) Stalybridge in what increasingly seems likely to be a season ending in relegation - the three points gained at least elevated them a place above rock-bottom in the division - which is a fate also hanging menacingly over what seems to be an unfortunate number of those dear to the old heart this term. Gainsborough Trinity have sunk to also teeter on the precipice in the National North, Marine likewise in the Evo-Stik (Northern) Premier, Mossley and Prescot Cables are struggling in the northern section of the NPL Division One, Northwich Victoria have been deducted 10 points for another 'insolvency event' and thus find themselves bottom of the southern equivalent, and Hendon are second-bottom of the Ryman League Premier Division, it's really not pretty or good for the soul. To offer a little balance, Blyth Spartans appear well-set at the top of the Northern Premier and Marlow and Tranmere Rovers are in the play-off places in, respectively, the National League and Division One Central of the Southern League, whilst the mighty Gresford Athletic are an impressive third in the Huws Gray Alliance, having added a goalscoring dimension to their undoubted well-organised teamwork. The less said about the current efforts of Wrexham the better.

Of course, the ideal would be for all or most of our favourites to be pitting themselves against other at the same level, rather in the manner of our much-admired (Fictional) Football Alliance and as in fact a fair few did back in the Eighties heyday of the Northern Prem (also including South Liverpool at that time) in which case Stalybridge and Gainsborough dropping down into the NPL wouldn't be the end of the world but then we'd need Blyth to forego any hopes of promotion, Marine to stay up and Mossley and Prescot Cables to get their acts together and get on up out of the division below: what a treat that would be.

Passions Overflowing

Featuring today a recent, glorious & irresistible find (& subsequent purchase, thanks to the wonderful A, who came to the rescue & took the decision for me when I couldn’t quite bring myself to ‘invest’ the £20 asking price – which, of course, has proved to be an absolute bargain), from amongst the treasure trove of the second hand bookshelves at Dagfields, that, coincidentally, links nicely to the most recent entry on the Groundhog’s excellent, must-read football ground-visiting blog, a result of the author’s travels having taken him to Berlin.

The object of desire in question is the German-language publication ‘Fussballtempel’ & is a veritable cornucopia of delights, lavishly illustrated as it is with panoramic photographs of a selection of mostly German football stadia, supplemented with a few Austrian & Swiss examples.

Primarily concerned with the homes of top-level &/or historically noteworthy clubs, a number of the images are naturally of recent developments in stadium design & construction, which to my tastes don’t hold a great deal of aesthetic interest, seeming pretty much similar in their shiny new blandness, lacking that particular visual ‘atmosphere’ that defines the most attractive of the genre, most of which, therefore, are of a certain vintage (we are, of course, incorrigibly nostalgically-prone here at TOoT).

Fortunately, ‘Fussballtempel’ features many such gems, either in the form of the inclusion also of some of the predecessors of the new stadia (unfavourable comparisons between new & old, in favour of the latter, are inevitable, as the reader might imagine) or otherwise the still-current but longer-established grounds of other clubs, not least from the east which, back in the day of the separate entities of East & West Germany, was/were always much our favourite/s, in the shape of the likes of the Dynamos Berlin & Dresden, Lokomotive Leipzig, Carl Zeiss Jena, Hansa Rostock, Sachsenring Zwickau & 1FC Magdeburg to name a selection (all of whom we have collected lapel badges of the crests of, as featured on TOoT over 2013-14, should anyone wish to repair to the archives in order to admire at their leisure).

One particularly notable feature of a number these older German grounds is the striking and individual form of the floodlight pylons, stunning pieces of architectural design & obviously a real signifier within the context of the towns/cities in which the stadia reside. Delight also in the examples of grandstand roof design and the environmental details beyond the immediate confines of the grounds, the examples of civic architecture, the wooded hillsides, the sense of space & of them existing within a space, the landscape, none of which, alas, are visible from inside the new stadia, enclosed as they all are. Enjoyable also is the fact that each of the grounds is pictured whilst a match is actually in progress, bringing them to proper life &, related to this, other details such as those of the crowds of spectators, the very sparseness of some within stadia of obviously significant capacity.

All in all, it’s a fabulous book, to be pored over at leisure & treasured as a part of the ever-burgeoning library.

Here’s a selection of favourite images…

N.B. The tile-topped coffee table, an item of furniture long desired for the household, upon which the book has been photographed was another of our Dagfields finds & essential purchases that day.

Special Saturday (and a Bit of a Wobble)

A browse of the afternoon’s football results is of course an essential activity on a Saturday evening, circumstances permitting, and was yesterday rendered particularly pleasurable as not only the team to whom we are irrevocably yoked, Wrexham, won (2 – 0 at the Racecourse against Bromley in the National League) but, browsing through and down the leagues,  it transpired that all our Northern favourites had too – Stalybridge Celtic 3 – 0 at Boston and Gainsborough Trinity 2 – 0 at Hednesford in the National League North; Blyth Spartans 5 – 0 against Ramsbottom United (with the stupendously-named Wilson Kneeshaw scoring all five goals) and Marine, 2 – 1 against Matlock Town with a brace of added-time goals, for the first time since November, in the Northern Premier League Premier division and, just below in the NPL Division One North, Mossley indeed running riot in a 7 – 2 romp at poor old New Mills (who have but a solitary point to their name from 25 matches this league season) and Northwich Victoria surpassing even that with an 8 – 2 pasting of Droylsden. Happy days and, given this, today the excellent Non-League Paper had to be purchased to celebrate such. Below is evidence of how the publication reports the Mossley and Northwich Victoria goal-fests.

 

But that’s not nearly all, as this edition of the Non-League Paper also carries a fascinating article detailing the mighty Jah Wobble’s support of non-league football and particularly of his now-local club Stockport County (who unfortunately have of late fallen even further than Wrexham), which, to someone who has ever been a fan of the great man’s work with PiL on the early 'Public Image' and 'Death Disco' singles and first two studio albums, particularly the seminal and still extraordinary ‘Metal Box’, which begins with the deep throbbing rumbling foundation of Wobble's bass guitar and is thereafter driven along by it, makes him even more admirable and groovy.

 

 

Of another of the lower league football teams in whom we’ve come to take an interest and have indeed recently featured on this blog, our local heroes Gresford Athletic’s scheduled Huws Gray Alliance match at Mold Alexandra was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

 



When Saturday Comes...(Drawing a Blank)

A bright but cold Saturday afternoon and, procrastinating over progressing with the painting, quite shamefully considering the rare lovely quality of available daylight in the ‘studio’, the lure of a football match but a short stroll from home proved the greater attraction, what with it being a clash between the local village team and the one from the town where I was not born in Yellow Submarinesque fashion but at least raised and to which I returned some years later to reside for a while.

Gresford Athetic v Flint Town United (who once featured as the football club ‘Badge of the Day’ when the collection was being paraded here on TOoT back in the day) in the Huws Gray Alliance was the event, an affordable £3 the admission price, and there follows a brief photo sequence of the experience/entertainment.

This particular fixture was in fact the second visit of the season to take in a match at Gresford’s Clappers Lane home, the first being for what transpired to be Athletic’s thrilling 4 – 2 victory over the wonderfully-named Holyhead Hotspur on the Saturday before Christmas, a dank day indeed but enlivened by our local heroes’ gutsy comeback from 1 – 2 and a man (unfortunately sent off by an over-officious referee) down, just the sort of performance to encourage the punters, or at least this one, to return for more, both for its own sake and in preference to attending a match a little further up the road and football echelons at Wrexham, as we had done earlier in the season for the visit of the mighty Gainsborough Trinity.

Anecdote duly delivered, back to this Saturday and a little visual evidence. To begin, we feature the small covered stand at the Clappers Lane ground, with the dug-outs to either side, home team to the left, the visitors to the right (contrast this with the comparative grandeur of the facilities at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground and the supposed glamour of e.g. the over-hyped FA Premiership).

 

The opposite view, from the covered stand side of the ground, of the teams taking to the pitch, Gresford in red, Flint in their traditional black and white stripes. To digress briefly, and by way of a curious coincidence, the very first football match of which I took notice was the 1974 FA Cup Final, as televised, contested by Liverpool and Newcastle United, teams wearing similar colours, Liverpool eventually being the victors by 3 – 0: a portent for today’s match, perhaps..?

 

 

First-half action, watched by a healthy crowd of around 70 spectators (including a contingent from Flint) dotted around the perimeter railings and in the stand, Flint on the ball, largely in control of possession and proceedings during the early exchanges but without creating much at the business end, Gresford dogged in their attentions, well-organized and grafting, closing down the space.

 

One of a number of corner kicks to the home team, now applying occasional pressure of their own, all coming to nought, alas.

 

The referee in control of a feisty encounter, the Flint management duo keenly observe proceedings with much vocal encouragement and opinion offered (throughout) with a choice selection of ‘industrial’ language.

 

Spot the ball – oh look, there it is, up yonder! The respective number 2s double-up as the tower of the village’s imposing church peeps over the roof of the Memorial Hall in the distance.

 

A second-half free-kick to Gresford in what might be a dangerous position. The Flint goalkeeper lines up his defensive wall in readiness. Again, the opportunity proves unproductive.

 

Events proceeded with the occasional effort on either goal, Flint’s custodian making a fine save at one point to deny the home team and Gresford defending their goal staunchly when called-upon, but ultimately it was all to no avail, and a hard-fought match ended goalless, honours even, time to return home and gain some respite from what had become the bitter cold.

 

 



 





 





Cultured Football

A happy new year indeed with the sight, observed whilst tuning-in to the BBC's 'Final Score' yesterday afternoon, of the mighty and magnificent Jonathan Meades, whose marvellously idiosyncratic, fiercely intelligent, erudite, opinionated and witty television films, often based on explorations of architectural idioms but expanding to cover a dizzying range of cultural aspects of peoples and places, are the stuff of hero-worship in the parish of TOoT, turning his hand (or more likely foot, under such circumstances) to a spot of goal-scoring during the day's football fixtures. Ah, the delight of inhabiting alternative universes where such occurrences do actually happen...*

Mr Meades, of course, did touch upon the subject of football, and a discerning selection of the small-town names of the Scottish game that exist in the general public consciousness for but a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon when they appear amongst the soccer scores/results lists, during his 2009 series 'Off Kilter', so the association is not too fanciful a one to make, perhaps.

* See 'The (Fictional) Football Alliance', where such possibilities might exist!

Up for the Cup

An autumn Saturday afternoon & the football fixture list conjures up an irresistible attraction on TOoT's very doorstep, a match between the locals Wrexham, with whom we go back rather a long way, &, no less, one of our very favourite other clubs, the mightily-named Gainsborough Trinity.

Now, this game happened to be, in reality, an FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round tie, with a place in the First Round of the competition proper the reward for the victors, but, over in the parallel football universe of 'The (Fictional) Football Alliance', it would be & indeed is, fact, a top flight fixture between two of the leading lights in our fictional, fantasy football league, a match that has, in recent seasons, produced some thrilling & significant results.

The opportunity to witness these two clubs in opposition, then, & for the sum of a mere £10 (plus another couple of quid for a matchday programme & subsequently the further similar cost of a half-time Bovril to keep out the seasonal chill), proved impossible to miss & thus we made our way to the Racecourse Ground: at this point, a certain nostalgia kicks in as it had been a little over 30 years since such a pilgrimage was last made (the last live match that had been attended was, in fact, one between York City & Hartlepool United, another lower division classic, chanced-upon when visiting York late in August 1989 & the club's then Bootham Crescent ground proved to be at the bottom of Railway Terrace, in which the guest house being patronized was located).

The latter being the case, in the interests of introducing proper novelty into proceedings, the decision was taken to purchase a seat in the venerable old stadium's Mold Road Stand, a new structure since our previous attendances during the youthful football-going heyday of  the later-1970s - early '80s, & a fine spec it proved to be, the perfect spot from which to enjoy the experience of witnessing a match featuring Gainsborough Trinity: tremulousness prevailed as proceedings were anticipated & kick-off grew ever-nearer.

It proved to be a contest pretty free of much of the nonsense that infests the upper echelons of the game, in which Wrexham enjoyed by far the majority of possession & chances, all of which they spurned & failed to convert into goals, eventually allowing a well-organized & mostly solid Trinity to perform a classic act of smash-&-grab with a goal from the second of quickly-successive free-kicks approaching the Wrexham penalty area, & then, a few more desultory efforts from the home side later, that was that, the final score a 1-0 giant-killing win for Gainsborough & progress into the FA Cup proper which, to one not quite as partisan (or grumpy) as most of the home support, was rather gladdening & groovy to see. How wonderful it would be if we lived in a football world where the lovely old name of Gainsborough Trinity might actually stand a competitive chance of winning the trophy itself, although, by way of coincidence, they did in fact win the 'Football Alliance' Cup last season in addition to a runners-up spot in the League, which is, of course, just how it should be.

Back to the match & the experience of, as a one-off it was jolly pleasant, job done & good to be a part of a crowd of 1,870, of which, apparently, 170 intrepid travellers were from Gainsborough, enthusiastically supporting their club, to whom we must sportingly extend our congratulations & wishes for further progress in the FA Cup &, let's be honest, hopefully up the leagues in the near future - come on Trinity, & Wrexham too.

To close, here's a little for-posterity photo-essay on the afternoon's entertainment.



Choosing a seat in the Mold Road Stand, view of the pitch

with the teams warming-up, the Yale Stand opposite

Wrexham continue their warm-up

as do Gainsborough Trinity

Side view of the Mold Road Stand

The teams emerge into the autumn sunshine

Wrexham kick off

Second half: a throw-in to Gainsborough

Late in the match, at 0-1 in arrears, Wrexham are awarded

a free-kick in a dangerous position: it comes to nought.

Full-time, Gainsborough celebrate a famous

giant-killing 1-0 victory.

Boos and "Bloody rubbish, Wrexham" from the home supporters:

it was, mostly, ever thus.