Category Archives: Sport

Oct 28 2024
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Daily Post, Portrait, Sport

Steve Gritt: worth my thanks

Saturday 26th October 2024, 3.25pm (day 4,811)

Steve Gritt, 26/10/24

The gentleman in the hat, pondering the action, is Steve Gritt, coach of Hornchurch FC. Though this story is, I am sure, of only the vaguest interest to most people, the reason I depict him on here today is that back in 1997 Mr. Gritt was appointed manager of Brighton & Hove Albion FC (a.k.a. ‘my lot’), when they were 11 points adrift at the bottom of the entire Football League and facing relegation and oblivion. A few months later, however, he had achieved the seemingly impossible, and Brighton survived with an (in)famous 1-1 draw at Hereford, who went down instead. 27 years later and the Albion are playing their eighth season in the Premier League. Not that Steve Gritt had anything much more to do with that part of the tale (he left the club in 1998) but all Brighton fans certainly owe him our thanks.

And so, realising that he was the coach of the club I had randomly come to see, I waited to shake his hand and give him that thanks as he came off the pitch. And I was pleased I had had the opportunity, and took it. OK, random stalker moment over, moving on…

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Oct 14 2024
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Daily Post, Sport

Incoming…

Saturday 12th October 2024, 4.25pm (day 4,797)

AFC Fylde shower, 12/10/24

That’s definitely some rain coming in. The players are about to get wet, as, I imagine, are most of the people sat in the main stand to the left, with its rather inadequate roof. At least those of us stood on the ‘East Paddock’ of AFC Fylde’s Mill Farm stadium had more satisfactory cover.

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Oct 06 2024
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Daily Post, Sport

Time to take shelter

Sunday 6th October 2024, 3.05pm (day 4,791)

Five minutes into the second half, and the cue came to watch the rest of the game from inside the clubhouse at Huddersfield Amateur FC (a place that has been seen before). Perhaps the visiting team, in orange, might have wished to join us, as they were at least 8 goals down by this point and we were nowhere near the end.

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Sep 06 2024
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Daily Post, Sport

Hurst Cross (Ashton United FC)

Thursday 5th September 2024, 8.20pm (day 4,760)

Hurst Cross, 5/9/24

Followers of this blog will be aware that I go to quite a few football matches — tonight being my 53rd of 2024 so far — but I try not to let the theme dominate these daily posts. However, Hurst Cross is a fine example of the genre and worth depicting. It’s been continuously in use by Ashton United since 1884 and so is one of the oldest extant grounds in the world, and a perfectly decent place to spend a Thursday evening, if you ask me.

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Sep 01 2024
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Daily Post, Sport

Main stand, AFC Bentley

Saturday 31st August 2024, 2.55pm (day 4,755)

AFC Bentley stand, 31/8/24

The younger members of the small crowd at AFC Bentley v AFC Phoenix disport themselves in an aesthetically pleasing manner over the little main stand. It would have been very easy for this one to have been cluttered up by a number of things — signs on the back wall, or dangling wires, maybe — but other than at the bottom right corner, these things are not present (and I did consider cropping further, but then the standing couple would have been too near the edge). I doubt any of them particularly cared that the visiting team won on the day, they were just enjoying the sunshine, as was I.

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Jul 21 2024
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Daily Post, Portrait, Sport, Stranger

The dugout

Saturday 20th July 2024, 3.10pm (day 4,713)

Stafford Rangers dugout, 20/7/24

The substitutes of Stafford Rangers FC ponder the fact that, about ten minutes into their game with a team from a lower division, they are already 1-0 down and are going to go on to lose 4-0. OK, it might have been a pre-season friendly but it’s not a great omen for the season to come. And none of these people were even in the starting XI.

I do wonder what the guy on the left of the shot has seen to distract him: assuming all the others are watching the current action on the pitch, he’s certainly not.

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May 28 2024
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Daily Post, Sport

The Final

Tuesday 28th May 2024, 6.30pm (day 4,660)

Gray Trophy final, 28/5/24

Despite having missed out on all of the last seven weeks, I am not giving up on the football season just yet. Nor were the blue-clad players of Newport AFC, who triumped 7-1 in tonight’s final of the Gray Trophy (aided considerably by the indiscipline of their opponents who obligingly reduced themselves to 9 men with quite a bit of the game still to go). Out they trot for the start of the game, not yet knowing how straightforward this will prove to be in the end.

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May 27 2024
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Daily Post, Family Member, Portrait, Sport

Clare’s marathon debut – 20 miles in

Sunday 26th May 2024, 2.40pm (day 4,658)

Clare, marathon woman, 26/5/24

No apologies for putting up the cheesy-grin family shot today as the day was all about Clare, who ran her first ever marathon in a time of 6 hours and 1 minute. The Edinburgh marathon started in the city, headed out along the coast, turned around and came back as far as Musselburgh. This is Longniddry, where Joe and I caught up with her at about the 20 mile mark. She looked, as you can see, fresh as a daisy, and from this point on I had absolutely no doubt that she would finish. I know what this has taken in terms of training — an immense effort! And I am very sure it won’t be her last. (Will I be taking up the challenge? No chance.)

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Apr 08 2024
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Daily Post, Landscape, Sport

The Anchor Ground and Jubilee Tower

Sunday 7th April 2024, 2.45pm (day 4,609)

Darwen landscape, 7/4/24

Both these facilities are to be found in Darwen, Lancashire, where concluded my last weekend in the UK until late May. By the time I get back it might have stopped raining — this shot was grabbed in one of the afternoon’s few dry spells. At least, if it does rain on my travels to come, it’ll be warmer rain.

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Mar 30 2024
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Daily Post, Sport

Turnstiles 12 and 13

Friday 29th March 2024, 2.55pm (day 4,600)

Turnstiles, Accrington, 29/3/24

Good Friday, hence a day off work, and plenty of football around so it seemed the logical thing to do, particularly as Clare was paying — the destination being Accrington Stanley v Morecambe in League Two. Which, insofar as anything does in Accrington, attracted quite a crowd.

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