It had been a while since I last visited Thames Road. Nothing to do with the club itself. Just two reasons. It smelt bloody awful half the time thanks to the gas works and sewage works nearby. And it was always testicle-shrinkingly cold there. It's the only club I knew where you needed a duffle coat in the summer.
That club in question is, of course, Concord Rangers. They'd been going along quite nicely, gradually working their way up to the ESL, then landed on their feet. A sugar daddy. New players and management attracted, ground improved beyond all recognition - well, improved a fair bit, anyway - and rocketing up to the Ryman Premier, where they now sit quite comfortably.
The difference between Concord, though, and other clubs that have had money thrown at them only to go down the tubes, is that the sugar daddy actually loves the club and invested in people as much as anything else. The management, coaching staff, and an awful lot of the players have been together for some years, as has all other club staff. Very shrewd.
The result has been not just progress on the pitch, but a genuinely warm welcome from as soon as you walk through the turnstiles. Everyone at Thames Road seems happy and comfortable in what they're doing and that transmits itself through to everyone. In essence, Concord Rangers are a great club.
Just one fly in the ointment though. Online, at very least, my God do they crow about it and big themselves up. It can, and does of course, be dismissed as a bit of fun, just harmless banter. But it really starts to grate when on twitter or other forums, as soon as they get any favourable result, or if Canvey get beat, the boasts and mindless 'you are my Concord' stuff gets rolled out again and again.
So tonight I'm in this position of being really pleased to be at Concord but at the same time wanting them to suffer a bit. It could happen as well. Hampton & Richmond Borough top the Ryman Premier table and play a decent passing game, relying on possession and patience. Not exactly death by a thousand passes but goals from a decently placed few.
No sooner had the gateman taken my tenner, which is the standard at this level of football - take note, West Auckland, charging a tenner for Step 5 this weekend, you bastard greedy gits - than I bump into an old colleague from the local circuit, a one time ESL boss I'd done the PA with for a while. He's looking well, but I get the impression he's hurting a bit, though, as things aren't going for him football-wise.
It's often the way with the game at any level. He's a good man, and when he goes to a club he makes sure everything off the pitch is tailored to suit the players, absolutely everything. They're treated better than many semi-pro players when he's in charge. But, once out on that pitch, there's nothing he can do. His players continually let him down, so of course he had to go.
As well all know, mind, coaching comes into it an awful lot, and if players don't respect a manager or his colleagues, they're not going to train properly or play properly. As I hadn't seen any more than warm-up sessions at senior level for a while, I couldn't say how much that has contributed to his predicament. But it's a pity when good people are frozen out of the game as well as frozen at the game itself.
I digress. The game itself, yes. Well, you know me by now. I was too busy gabbing to see Harry Elmes give Concord the lead early on. When I started paying attention, the hosts were well on top, with H&R on the backfoot. That's the difference between Thames Road and Ibrox these. At Thames Road, Rangers are leading in a Premier Division game.
The visitors get a grip on things, pushing up and gaining possession as the half wore on. They seemed, however, to have an aversion to shooting at goal. Pretty passing in and around the penalty area but no end product. When you saw the free kick they had just outside the area, though, you could perhaps see why they tried to walk the ball in. Like a Charlie Adam penalty but without his accuracy.
As half time approached, I'm afraid the home side - this time the bench - indulged in something else that pisses me off no end. A Concord player goes down in the area. He made the most of it, bit of a swan dive, but it did look as if there was contact. The ref waves play on though. They do. Within seconds there's a clear chance, a shot from the edge of the six yard box. It smacks against the post then bounces away.
As soon as that happens, the home bench is up, shouting like spoilt kids about the 'penalty'. They wouldn't have said a bloody word if the player on the pitch had bothered to shoot home from less than 10 yards rather than the 12 from the spot. They then berate the lino nearest to them, shouting about how he missed it. Except he was patrolling the other half of the pitch and about 60 yards away. Pathetically childish.
Anyhow, as the second half started, I did my usual thing. Started chatting. This time not to a manager but to a one time official at an ESL club. One of the thousands of people behind the scenes at every club that make sure it can function at all in the first place. Giving up time and energy freely, often at times when they can least afford to.
Not now though. He's been lost by a new regime at the club. Whereas before, the old chairman knew and trusted everyone, and let them get on with what they do best, now the latest incumbent has ruffled not just a few feathers but cooked a few geese as well.
There was once trust. Now everyone must meet up at 1pm and be given specific duties. Where once youth teams were welcomed and allowed to use the clubhouse free, they've now been driven out to use different premises, losing all the revenue parents would bring. Where there was a ladies side, they have now asked a local rival club if they could join them instead.
The depressing news of a club imploding, as I feared it might months ago, was counterbalanced by an outstanding moment on the pitch. Reece Harris lined up to take a free kick for Concord in a similar position to where Hampton & Richmond had theirs. Except this went straight into the top corner, the keeper not having an earthly. 2-0. What a goal.
The game carries on as it has done. Fairly even in terms of possession but Concord looking far more menacing. Only some great keeping prevents Rangers from putting the game to bed. Something I was contemplating, as the night grew colder, as I chatted away. Missing, of course, Hampton & Richmond grabbing a goal with five minutes left. It must've been a header. There's no way they could have kicked it into the net.
It all gets a bit lively from theron in. Plenty of pressure on the Beachboys goal. Corners, free kicks, scrambles in the box, and in injury time a ridiculous visiting tackle, stopping a home side breakaway, that results in a bout of handbags. It looked a straight red. But I was about 80 yards away. The ref gives a yellow. The difference with me is that I accept that the ref is closer and probably has a better idea of it than me.
Concord hold on for a handy little win. I'm pleased for all the good decent people at the club, and there's plenty of them, making it such a welcoming place to visit on matchdays. But the twittersphere and forums could well be full of it again. And I'm pleased I'm not sat on the home bench too. What a paradox Concord Rangers are.
And what a grumpy old git I still am.
Concord Rangers 2, Hampton & Richmond Borough 1
That club in question is, of course, Concord Rangers. They'd been going along quite nicely, gradually working their way up to the ESL, then landed on their feet. A sugar daddy. New players and management attracted, ground improved beyond all recognition - well, improved a fair bit, anyway - and rocketing up to the Ryman Premier, where they now sit quite comfortably.
The result has been not just progress on the pitch, but a genuinely warm welcome from as soon as you walk through the turnstiles. Everyone at Thames Road seems happy and comfortable in what they're doing and that transmits itself through to everyone. In essence, Concord Rangers are a great club.
Just one fly in the ointment though. Online, at very least, my God do they crow about it and big themselves up. It can, and does of course, be dismissed as a bit of fun, just harmless banter. But it really starts to grate when on twitter or other forums, as soon as they get any favourable result, or if Canvey get beat, the boasts and mindless 'you are my Concord' stuff gets rolled out again and again.
No sooner had the gateman taken my tenner, which is the standard at this level of football - take note, West Auckland, charging a tenner for Step 5 this weekend, you bastard greedy gits - than I bump into an old colleague from the local circuit, a one time ESL boss I'd done the PA with for a while. He's looking well, but I get the impression he's hurting a bit, though, as things aren't going for him football-wise.
It's often the way with the game at any level. He's a good man, and when he goes to a club he makes sure everything off the pitch is tailored to suit the players, absolutely everything. They're treated better than many semi-pro players when he's in charge. But, once out on that pitch, there's nothing he can do. His players continually let him down, so of course he had to go.
As well all know, mind, coaching comes into it an awful lot, and if players don't respect a manager or his colleagues, they're not going to train properly or play properly. As I hadn't seen any more than warm-up sessions at senior level for a while, I couldn't say how much that has contributed to his predicament. But it's a pity when good people are frozen out of the game as well as frozen at the game itself.I digress. The game itself, yes. Well, you know me by now. I was too busy gabbing to see Harry Elmes give Concord the lead early on. When I started paying attention, the hosts were well on top, with H&R on the backfoot. That's the difference between Thames Road and Ibrox these. At Thames Road, Rangers are leading in a Premier Division game.
The visitors get a grip on things, pushing up and gaining possession as the half wore on. They seemed, however, to have an aversion to shooting at goal. Pretty passing in and around the penalty area but no end product. When you saw the free kick they had just outside the area, though, you could perhaps see why they tried to walk the ball in. Like a Charlie Adam penalty but without his accuracy.
As half time approached, I'm afraid the home side - this time the bench - indulged in something else that pisses me off no end. A Concord player goes down in the area. He made the most of it, bit of a swan dive, but it did look as if there was contact. The ref waves play on though. They do. Within seconds there's a clear chance, a shot from the edge of the six yard box. It smacks against the post then bounces away.
As soon as that happens, the home bench is up, shouting like spoilt kids about the 'penalty'. They wouldn't have said a bloody word if the player on the pitch had bothered to shoot home from less than 10 yards rather than the 12 from the spot. They then berate the lino nearest to them, shouting about how he missed it. Except he was patrolling the other half of the pitch and about 60 yards away. Pathetically childish.
Not now though. He's been lost by a new regime at the club. Whereas before, the old chairman knew and trusted everyone, and let them get on with what they do best, now the latest incumbent has ruffled not just a few feathers but cooked a few geese as well.
There was once trust. Now everyone must meet up at 1pm and be given specific duties. Where once youth teams were welcomed and allowed to use the clubhouse free, they've now been driven out to use different premises, losing all the revenue parents would bring. Where there was a ladies side, they have now asked a local rival club if they could join them instead.
The game carries on as it has done. Fairly even in terms of possession but Concord looking far more menacing. Only some great keeping prevents Rangers from putting the game to bed. Something I was contemplating, as the night grew colder, as I chatted away. Missing, of course, Hampton & Richmond grabbing a goal with five minutes left. It must've been a header. There's no way they could have kicked it into the net.
Concord hold on for a handy little win. I'm pleased for all the good decent people at the club, and there's plenty of them, making it such a welcoming place to visit on matchdays. But the twittersphere and forums could well be full of it again. And I'm pleased I'm not sat on the home bench too. What a paradox Concord Rangers are.
And what a grumpy old git I still am.
Concord Rangers 2, Hampton & Richmond Borough 1
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