I remember once last season watching a Chelsea game on television with my 6-year old son Ben, and David Moyes, the Everton manager, was in the crowd.
"Why is he there?" asked Ben "Everton are not playing". Impressed by his knowledge (though not surprised considering the amount of cash spent on Match Attax football cards) I went on to explain how clubs watch their opponents ahead of games so they can work out their tactics, look at set pieces and identify strengths and weaknesses.
It was only by persuading Ben that we were going on a scouting mission for Andy Leese that I was given the go ahead from the family to take in a bit of football whilst holidaying in Weymouth...as long as Ben came with me. The game was a pre-season friendly, but a bitter rivalry between Weymouth and Conference South neighbours, Dorchester Town, now managed by former Weymouth player Ashley Vickers, which had more to it than your average friendly.
Weymouth's ground, recently named the Bob Lucas Stadium, is a fantastic "proper football ground" - like our own, but with a bigger stand, larger terraces, more covered areas and far greater facilities; as soon as I parked the car (which cost me £2) I was given the option of following the signs to the Home entrance or the Away Supporters entrance. We opted for home.
The crowd was actually relatively small for a local derby, though still over 550. There were stewards and safety officers all over the place and it felt like a big club. We took our place up in the main stand, a great place to watch football (and spot how desperate the pitch was for some rain - though it had done alright during the week we were on holiday!). Weymouth had a group of vociferous supporters behind the goal and an older guy that stands on his own with a drum creating an increasingly thunderous noise when Weymouth attack and get closer to the goal. However, my lasting memory of the Weymouth fans will be the chorus of you "dirty northern bastards" sung to their visitors from 6 miles up the road from the south coast resort...
...Earlier in the day I had been on the beach at said resort with the boys digging in the sand all around me, I never get bored of staring out to sea from the Dorset coastline - so calming, so peaceful, a time to reflect. My mind switched to Chesham and the fact that we were hosting Hendon in a friendly that also represented our open family/community day. The gates to the football club are open and we want the town to come along and see what they can enjoy on their doorstep. I remember last year when we did a similar thing for the Northwood game having to deal with a complaint from some supporters about the language coming from the football pitch not exactly being conducive with a family day. I had to agree, it was not acceptable.
With that in mind I dropped Andy Leese a quick text to remind him that it is our family day and today more than any day we would like the players to avoid any offensive language, particularly within earshot of the crowd. Andy called me straight back and we had a good chat whilst I paddled my feet at the waters edge. We discussed arrangements for Truro, we chatted about the other friendlies I had missed (wins at Potters Bar Town and at home to Slough Town), we agreed on some player terms and chatted optimistically about the day ahead. The conversation finished with an agreement that everyone will be on best behavior and we might even finish the day with some silverware (the match was also the David Stanley Memorial Trophy in memory of David Stanley who had done so much for both Hendon and Chesham United as one of the best administrators in the non-league game)...
Back at the Bob Lucas Stadium it was an entertaining match. Weymouth had a couple of big guys up front, who were also pretty nippy and capable of causing trouble. It was a physical battle, with the home side giving as good as they were getting. Twice in the first-half the referee brandished a yellow card - Bit unnecessary in a friendly I thought. Weymouth took the lead through a deep far post cross from the right which was nodded home by the tall striker, Charles. 1-0 The Terras. That livened the game up.
"Shall we text the Chesham manager and tell him that the No.10 is good in the air" asked Ben, still taking his scouting mission very seriously.
"He'll be busy managing the Chesham team at the moment, we'll tell him later when he is not so busy" I replied.
Just then my phone beeped. A goal at The Meadow perhaps? I read the text: "Family day has just had 22 man brawl, teams now separated on pitch". I make no secret of my anger and disappointment at the scenes I could only picture in my head. Especially after the morning's conversation whilst on the beach, especially having added a clause to the Manager's contract that had targeted an improvement in player discipline and especially as we have only just recently paid the considerable fine we received from when a similar thing happened at Romulus last season. What? How? Why? Are we wasting our time...?
Back in Weymouth. Dorchester Town came back to win 3-1 as the home side began to tire and experience and fitness showed from the Conference South side. But my mind was back at Chesham and the embarrassment that seemed to have taken place.
That evening I received a text from a very despondent Andy, apologising for the incident and pointing out that he had apologised to as many people present as possible. I admit that on the last evening of my holiday I wasn't really in the mood and replied with a reminder of how important the day was to us because we, now more than ever, rely on the goodwill and support of local people, local businesses and families, the local community and the actions of the players had been a huge step backwards in our efforts to convince people that Chesham is a fantastic place to watch football.
Look, I'm no prude. I know I've done more than my fair share of shouting from the terraces and people may have looked at me as being not good for the perception of the club in the past and I would never want to take away that competitive instinct, that pride in the shirt and that camaraderie that comes from adverse circumstances. I feel that as much, if not more, than anybody. But there needs to be lines that should not be crossed, particularly from those so visibly representing the shirt, representing the town. What might the Mayor of Chesham who was present at the game think of the fact that these are the people going all the way to Cornwall on Saturday to represent the town? I shudder to think. I prefer not to think.
The other side of the story is the very simple reality of basic business economics. If we do that again in a league game, we will be hit with a hefty fine and that fine will have to be paid for from the footballing budget. Everyone loses. And I thought a couple of yellow cards in the Weymouth v Dorchester match was a bit feisty.
For the record, we lost the game 1-0 to the nine men of Hendon that finished up playing against our ten.
The forum seems to have remained quiet, not sure if that is good or bad. I know that by Monday Andy Leese was still very despondent and was staring at an uphill battle to get everyone in the right frame of mind for a long and testing trip to Truro at the weekend. This should concern me, but I happen to believe we have one of the best managers at this level who wears his heart on his sleeve and rides the emotional roller coaster on a regular basis. We have a game at Aylesbury FC tonight - albeit with a weakened team to preserve players for Saturday - and I am very confident that we will get over last Saturday's blip and set about the task ahead in Cornwall in the best possible manner.
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