“And Now On BBC One . . . “

When I was asked to take over Valley Free Radio’s (www.valleyfreeradio.org) soccer show slot in May of 2007 from Carson Cistulli there was only one name I could think to call the show I was inheriting. The show which was on Valley Free Radio at the time was called “Goal! The Soccer Show” and quite frankly the whole name and format of the show didn’t appeal to me. If the show was going to be mine then there would be changes.  The name of the show would pay homage to a highlights show that became a household name in Great Britain – “Match of The Day”

 Now I was of the opinion that I couldn’t use the exact name as that would be cheating! So, seeing how the show was being broadcast in the USA meant that the name would be “Match of The Day the USA Way”.  I knew I always wanted to have a theme tune to my radio show, so what better theme tune than the music that is synonymous in a lot of ways with football. I had theme tunes for the other shows I was involved with (“The Late English Breakfast” www.thelateenglishbreakfast.blogspot.com  and “The Nightclub”) so why not the football show? It certainly made sense to me!  

Why do I reminisce about theme tunes today? Well, last Saturday night I had a trip down memory lane when the continuity announcer on BBC One said “And now on BBC One,highlights of today Premier League action with Gary Lineker on Match of theDay” and cue the music!  

I had looked forward to watching the show all day. You see, for most people of my generation, “Match of the Day” was the main source of football on the television back in the 1970’s. It was part of a stellar line-up of programmes on BBC One back in the day. It was on after 10pm back then, like now, but it was the weekend so I was allowed to stop up to watch!  

It was funny watching the show last Saturday, because deep down, although I was obviously aware that it was 2011 it felt like I was transported back in time to the 1970’s. Although the format of the show has changed dramatically from the halcyon days of the 1970’s, the excitement of the programme starting was just the same.   

Jimmy Hill the presenter of Match of The Day in the 1970's and the man who got on ym Dad's nerves!

Back in the 1970’s there was just two games covered on that show. Even in the 1980’s, when I started going to Old Trafford, if you saw the cameras at the stadium you got that extra sense of excitement knowing that the game you were about to see was going to be “on telly”.  

Live football on television was a rarity in those days. There were a handful of games covered live all season; now there are several each week on Mr. Murdoch’s Sky Sorts channel (which charges £1500 A MONTH –outrageous!). I have to thank the Landlord of the Castle Inn Public House here in Congleton for that fact. I was reminded of a conversation I was involved in several years ago with another Landlord here in Congleton. He said he couldn’t afford to show live football in his pub, but couldn’t afford NOT to. His way round the exorbitant fees charged by Murdoch was to show an Arabic channel’s coverage of the BBC’s coverage of Manchester United versus Tottenham Hotspur. What made the afternoon more exciting and slightly clandestine was that what we were watching was being viewed illegally!

You see we (my friend Richard and I) were watching the game at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon, with, if my memory serves me correctly, the curtains of the pub drawn. In England, it is illegal to show games that kick-off at the traditional 3pm on television. That’s why games that are shown on television live on television live on Sky are known as having being “skyjacked”! We’ve only been back in England for nearly a month so I don’t know if ESPN has its own version of skyjacked yet!  

Not everyone has satellite television. I commend the landlords and landladies who install Sky Sports in their pubs. It takes a lot of courage to be bold enough to spend that much money in the hope of pulling in the punters, especially in this economic climate. It’s a bold move. So, highlights shows that are on free to air channels like the BBC (yes I know there’s the Licence Fee but it’s not a pay per view channel) are essential and play a role in the cultural make-up of this country.  

Thinking back to my time on Valley Free Radio, my co-presenter Tim told Stokes told me that friends of his who were ex-pat Brits were instantly taken back to their childhood when they heard the theme tune to our show. That’s how I felt when I heard that music last Saturday night. Happy Days! 

Enjoy your football wherever you are in the world – it’s still the beautiful game and will always be the people’s game, despite what you see and hear!  

Best Wishes,  

Ed

Match of the Day the USA Way goes on the road to . . . Booth Street Congleton via Foxborough, Massachusetts?!

“It was the third of September, a day I’ll always remember” The Temptations famously sang when warbling about their dad being like a “Rolling Stone”. Well, for me, the 3^rd September 2011 was the day I discovered National Non- League Day back home here in England and that meant a chance to visit the ground where my love of live football began – Booth Street, Congleton, home of Congleton Town Football Club – our version of “Da Bears”. (For the uninitiated, my hometown has the nickname of “Beartown”, a name that relates to the town’s ancient past, when it had a bear for entertainment.)

The premise of “National Non-League Day” was to generate interest in the lower levels of English football. It is a day when fans of the bigger clubs, like yours truly, get the opportunity to go and watch non-league, or semi-professional football. It takes place when there’s an “international break” as was the case this weekend. To add extra spice to the occasion, Congleton Town was playing in the F.A. Cup, the oldest domestic competition in world football. Their opponents were Runcorn Town, a team they had drawn (or tied if you’re reading this in the USA) 2-2 in the League the previous Tuesday.

Booth Street Congleton is a million miles from Foxborough Massachusetts. Let me make that perfectly clear. There was no car parking charge of $40 to contend with on this occasion. Linda and I parked by the side of a nearby street and walked up to the ground.

It cost £6 each to get in. The admission fee is a long way from the exorbitant fees charge by the more glamorous grounds around the world (hello Old Trafford and Gillette Stadium). Once you’d made your way through the turnstiles the programme was the next thing to be bought. The cost of one of these programmes was the princely sum of £1.20. Again, very refreshing from the £3.00 we last paid at Old Trafford three years ago or the $10 we paid in Foxborough (admittedly, that was a very glossy brochure so I’ll let them off on this occasion!)

Hindsight is always 20/20, but maybe things weren’t meant to be when the announcer, when welcoming everyone to the ground, said “Welcome to Booth Street, home of Congleton Town, for this North West Counties League . . . oh, wait a minute, it isn’t a league game, it’s the F.A. Cup isn’t it? Anyway, welcome to our visitors Runcorn Town!”

Could it be possible that it might just be 1989 all over again, when Congleton famously got to the first round proper of the F.A.Cup, the game’s oldest domestic competition, only to be beaten by neighbours Crewe Alexandra? Congleton lost that day by 2-0 to a side that was several divisions higher in the football pyramid. I went to that game and remember it vividly. The score was 0-0 for 70 minutes until Town‘s resistance finally gave way to their near neighbour’s superior fitness. What made that day even more memorable were the commemorative scarves made to celebrate the occasion.

Quality control went missing as the scarves famously said “Congletown Town” on them instead of “Congleton Town”! That rogue “W” was the inspiration for the title of a Congleton Town fanzine I once featured in entitled “What W?” Anyhow, let’s get back into the DeLorean and get back to 2011!

Would the game have a similar outcome to the recent league meeting or would “The Bears” win and continue on the road to Wembley? Sadly the game would prove to be the last Town would play in this season’s F.A.Cup as they lost 6-0. Tragedy struck after 14 minutes when the team’s goalkeeper, making his debut, broke his fibula and tibia.

There has always been a concern over how money is distributed in football in England. The inequality between the top level and the bottom was never more visible than watching the goalkeeper getting treatment for his quite nasty injury. Those of you whose football viewing is limited to the glamour of the Premier League or MLS would be astounded by how limited resources are at the semi-professional level.

It was necessary for an ambulance to be called – no ambulance on standby here; no doubt they couldn’t afford that – don’t blame Congleton in any way shape or form. They did the best they could. It took 45 minutes for the aforementioned ambulance to arrive. I’ve never seen a game held up for that amount of time in nearly 40 years of watching football, but hey, this is the harsh reality of life in the lower leagues. The poor goalkeeper needed morphine and gas and air to ease the pain.

I’m of the opinion that the injury to the goalkeeper had a detrimental effect on the team’s morale. The team that had drawn only 4 days previously looked second best right throughout the game. Runcorn passed the ball better and looked hungrier to win the ball whenever they lost possession. Defensive errors were costly for the home team.

An honourable mention must go to the number 8 for Congleton, Walsh, who battled ferociously for the 90 minutes and looked composed on the ball. Even though his team were getting a “thrashing” his head never went down and he always made himself available to a team mate. Both Linda and I liked the way he played very much.

So, although the result was not the one Linda and I hoped for, it was nice to go to watch Congleton Town again. It was a lovely fresh Saturday afternoon with an autumnal breeze that made it very refreshing after another hot and humid New England summer. Going to a game at a lower level is great because it gives you an understanding of how much it means for people to give up a couple of nights a week to train, because these guys have “day jobs” and then play on a Saturday afternoon at 3pm – the traditional fixture  kick-off time. No games commandeered for satellite TV here my fiends! 

I first watched Congleton Town play back in the 1970’s . . . I think I’ll be going to a game again soon – despite not winning the half-time raffle!

Enjoy your football wherever you watch it,

Ed